February 17th, 3:32 AM
Booth and his team met up a mile down the dirt road from the cabin. He finished securing the Velcro on his Kevlar vest as he looked around at the twelve swat members who were awaiting his orders and then his eyes traced the road as it disappeared up the mountain side. He checked his clip before slapping it in place and securing it to his side. Grabbing his rifle he closed the back of his SUV and started making his way to the Agent in Charge. His eyes locked with Agent Wilson and the nod was given as Special Agent Seeley Booth took the lead.
Ten minutes later the Swat team surrounded the cabin and awaited orders. It was eerily quiet save the sounds from a television somewhere within. He closed his eyes and sent a silent prayer to heaven. "Hold in there, Bones, I'm coming."
The order was given from the Agent in Charge, "Go. Go. Go."
Booth kicked the door in, not even checking the handle to see if the door was locked. A similar sound was heard from the front of the cabin and the side door. Booth swung his weapon around checking the first room, "Clear!" he barked.
"Clear." He heard another agent call as the team swept through the cabin.
"Clear." Another agent called.
"Team one, head up the stairs, team two – basement, team three secure the surrounding area." Agent Wilson's voice sounded in Booth's ear. He heard the light steps of team one as they headed up the stairs. Unable to follow orders he headed toward the basement.
"All clear – second floor." He heard and his heart raced. He rounded the corner into the kitchen and slid to a stop at the body on the floor. His eyes locked with Agent Wilson.
"Booth, your team was sent to the perimeter." He ordered.
Booth lowered his weapon but his eyes darted to the basement door and lack of communication coming from team two. His decision made he started toward the basement.
"She's not there." Wilson called as Booth ignored him. He opened the door and flew down the steps. At first glance it was a regular basement. There were boxes stores on shelves to the right and to the left was a work bench with saws, vices, sanding paper. To the far end of the dank space was a doorway partially hidden behind a book case. The sight before him froze him in his steps as he entered through the door. A large male lay on his back, naked from the waist down with multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen. In the center of the room was a four- poster bed, its linens tossed about. Multiple blood stains marred the quilt's flowered print. Booth swallowed hard to suppress the need to vomit, was the blood hers or his? Forcing himself to look away there was a dressing table with a cracked mirror. He opened the closet and there hung Brennan's clothes. His hands visibly shook with the restraint it took not to rip the clothes from their hangers. Their very presence in that closet was a taunt. She had been here and once again he had been too late.
"We found drugs, looks like heroine." SSA Wilson's voice came from behind him.
"I need to. . ." Booth began.
"You need to follow orders, agent." Wilson replied in a clipped tone. Booth face burned with rage as he turned to face the Agent in Charge. "Good, focus that anger. There is no body here so we need to keep looking." Wilson said as he ushered Booth upstairs. "We need to move fast. There is a lot of land to cover and temperatures are dropping. She won't last long without shelter."
Booth cringed as he remembered her coat and boots were back at the hotel. Following Agent Wilson out the side door he glanced to the back door and the back porch, both painted red with probably leftover barn paint. He offered up another silent prayer. Please Lord, let me find her.
Booth began walking the unfamiliar terrain of the suspect's property, letting his training take over. There were several more hours until the sun came up and he was hoping to find any clue as to where she had disappeared to. Other agents had lights out and were searching the barn and the surrounding shacks, even the suspect's car was under scrutiny. Booth began running the scenario in his head. . .
If they drove the speed limit as to not be detected from the hotel to here it would have taken them just over three hours. His eyes slid to the car parked in the drive. According to the records this was the only vehicle they had. Walking over he opened the door. Given that these two were built like football players it would have been hard to keep her under control in the vehicle so they must have put her in the trunk, he reasoned. Popping the trunk, he noted the lack of an emergency release from inside the trunk, the car was simply too old for that feature. His eyes roamed the pristine interior of the trunk and the smell of bleach that lingered in the fibers. Someone had cleaned up in here. He tapped his microphone, "Bring the Luminol in here and spray this down" he instructed.
"No other tire marks in the mud. Doesn't look like anyone has come or gone in the past several days." He reported in. He continued walking, not really wanting to see how much blood was in the trunk of that car. His feet brought his mind to the basement where she had obviously been held over the last several days. The suspect, thankfully, had been covered over with sheet. His body couldn't be removed until the techs came in and did their thing. Booth noted the uneaten food on the night stand. The water had been knocked to the floor during the struggle. There were keys still hanging in the handcuffs on the bed. Somehow, she had fought back and killed her attacker, freeing herself. What next?
She would have snuck upstairs as none of the windows were large enough for her to get through. Silently he slipped up the stairs. She had the advantage of surprise and the adrenaline rush. There had been another struggle up here, but in the end, she killed this one too. There was a lot of blood up here. This one fought harder. In the end Brennan must have won. He had a single stab wound to the neck, likely severing the carotid artery.
"Why didn't you call for help?" He asked, not realizing he had spoken aloud until he heard Agent Wilson's response.
"She was likely loaded up on heroine and God knows what else down there, PCP maybe. She was trying to escape. There is no logical thought pattern here except to get away. And this kill was efficient and out of need. The number of stab wounds to that guy down there was personal." Agent Wilson informed him.
Something red caught Booth's eye and he walked over and saw a partial thumb print in blood on the door frame. "Was the door open when you came in?" He asked.
"No." Agent Wilson replied.
Booth shut the door and the slightly smeared hand print that could only belong to Brennan came into view. "She went out through this door." He announced as he followed her path onto the back porch. His eyes searched the property line for any sign that Bones had gone in any particular direction.
"Hey big guy." Cam called softly. "You okay?"
"Cam, what are you doing here?" Booth asked, his eyes dark with dread.
"Our team was on standby to process the scene." She replied simply as she brushed some snow off of her shoulder.
Booth noticed for the first time it was now snowing. "Fucking perfect." Booth cursed as he hung his head.
"Excuse me?" Cam asked.
"She's out there, somewhere, Camille, and if her chances of survival in the cold weren't hard enough, now I have to try and track her with snow covering up her trail? Her only hope is that she is so pumped full of drugs that she leaves a messy trail behind her." Booth explained. Booth heard the creek of the wood as Cam stepped up the first step to the deck. Booth looked up and something caught his eye. "Stop!" he shouted.
"Seeley, what?" Cam asked.
Booth pointed to the top step and there, seeping though the snow, was blood. "There." He pointed.
Carefully making his way down the stairs, avoiding the blood he followed a straight line from the porch to the edge of the property. "She would have just run." Taking a moment to look back at the steps and back at the edge of the woods he tried to gauge just where she would have run. "No logic. Just pure adrenaline. Fight or flight." He knelt down and picked up the broken twig at his feet. The inside was still light and firm, freshly broken. "This way!" he called out.
"Hold on there." SSA Wilson called.
"What?!" Booth barked back.
"According to your ME, the big one in the kitchen has been dead about four to six hours. That's one Hell of a head start. I've called for the dogs." Wilson explained.
Booth knew Wilson was right. Brennan had such a head start she could very well succumb to the exposure before he was able to track her with the snow. Waiting for the dogs would lose time but they would make up for it. He returned to his SUV to retrieve Brennan's scarf for the dogs to use. As he walked down the drive he passed the mobile unit of the lab, Jack gave a small nod as they went by. By the time he drove back up Jack and the rest of the team were inside processing the scene.
Booth parked his SUV and went around to the back. He grabbed the blanket that Brennan kept in there and shoved it in her gym bag knowing she kept granola, water, and a complete change of clothes in there. Throwing the strap over his shoulder he slammed the hatch door.
"Why don't you come sit in the van and warm up?" Cam offered.
"I'll warm up when she warms up." Booth replied bitterly.
"Don't do this Seely." Cam pleaded.
"Do what, Cam? Blame myself? Too late, if I hadn't left her alone. . ." Booth ranted.
"You could be dead right now. Did you see the number of guns in that house?" Cam replied, placing her hand on Booth's arm.
"All I know is she is out there somewhere, alone, hurt, and probably scared to death." Booth shouted pointing to the woods.
SSA Wilson's voice came through the ear piece, startling Booth. "Dogs are fifteen minutes out."
Booth tapped his microphone, "Copy that."
By the time the dogs arrived the bodies of the two men where being placed in the ambulance and taken away in body bags.
"Alright team, listen up." SSA Wilson called, gaining everyone's attention. "We're going to divide into three teams to cover more terrain. Team one, you're with me. Team two, Agent Booth. Team three, agent Donovan. Dr. Saroyen, you stay with Booth. People, please keep in mind that Dr. Brennan has been held captive for over 96 hours. She is scare and likely still suffering the effects of heroine and PCP that they used to keep her compliant. She may be violent and strike out. She is, as you have seen, quite the fighter and can easily take one of you down. However, if she is scared, she may run. Remember to report your positions every hour. Each of you have a map. Let's find Dr. Brennan and bring her home before Seely here has a stroke." With a nod of his head the dogs were given a piece of Brennan's clothing to sniff by their handlers. Moments later the dogs started sniffing the ground before taking off barking into the woods. Booth followed the first dog and its' handler.
"That's good isn't it?" Cam asked.
"What is?" Booth asked, obviously distracted.
"The dog's barking already." Cam replied.
"It just means the scent hasn't been covered by the snow yet." Booth replied absent mindedly.
Cam replied, "Oh" but it was doubtful Booth ever heard her. His mind was on Bones. Would they find her and what condition she would be in when they did? She had been out in this weather for nearly eight hours with little clothing and no shelter. The longer this took the more likely it would be that she would be frozen. Then there was also the concern about withdrawal from the drugs they had been sedating her with which the cold would slow her metabolism down.
The handler stopped and reported in their position. Had it been an hour already? The first rays of light were promising the arrival of the sun, announcing the snow had stopped. Booth looked at his watch and calculated in his head how long Bones had been out here for and frowned. Her chances out in the open were dwindling.
"Are there any caves on that map?" He called to the handler.
"There may be a bear den or two, but nothing major." He replied.
Booth saw the slight frown on Cam's face and turned to face her while the handler refreshed the scent for the dog. "Why are you here, Cam?" He asked, more briskly then he intended. His feet were starting to hurt him and he was trying to hide it.
"Because, if things don't go well…well, you won't hit a girl." She replied sheepishly.
"Bones is crazy smart. If anyone knows how to survive out here, it's her." Booth said defensively.
Just then the dog caught a smell and bellowed on, stopping in front of a tree. Booth saw what it was. Blood. Bones had stopped here, at least for a rest. Was she slowing down? Tired? Injured? Panic started to creep up his spine. His eyes darted over the now rocky terrain for any sign of her. The dog circled around the rocks trying to pick up her scent. After a few minutes the handler urged the dog forward.
Fifteen minutes later the dog just couldn't seem to pick up the smell.
"I don't know what's wrong. I think the smell of the blood messed with her sense of smell." The handler informed Booth.
"What?!" Booth replied in frustration. Cam placed her hand on Booth's arm but he shrugged her off. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "What if her scent changed?" He asked.
Cam was about to ask, how that would be possible but the handler's reply answered her question.
"No, Maggie here is also a trained cadaver dog. But to be honest, in this weather that wouldn't be necessary yet. She should still be able to pick her up. Let's double back, let her find the trail." He offered and Booth nodded in agreement.
The closer to the tree with the blood the more anxious Booth and the dog got. Maggie started barking again and going in circles. Booth stood vigilant, waiting for Maggie to tell them which way to go. Cam took a moment to rest her feet and rested on a large boulder nearby. When she shifted her weight from one foot to the other the ground gave way, just a little bit, unexpectedly and she fell. Booth turned and looked as she yelped out in surprise.
"I don't know what happened… must of hit a soft patch." Cam explained with a nervous chuckle.
Booth bent down to help her up and spotted blood on the base of the boulder near the ground. Dropping to his knees he started pulling the dirt away. "That's why the dog lost her scent. Cam, hand me a flash light!" Booth pulled armfuls of dirt away to reveal an opening. "There's some sort of burrow down there."
"Team two, checking in. We may have something. Standby." The handler called in.
Booth wiggled as far in as his frame would allow him and sure enough, in the back of this small hole in the ground was Temperance Brennan. "Bones! Bones! Can you hear me?" Bones!" He called out to her but was unable to reach her. Backing out he looked up to Cam. "She's in there but she's not responding. I need to widen the opening and . . ."
"You do that and that boulder may roll right over top of you." The handler cut him off.
"Move Seelly." Cam ordered.
Booth didn't ask he just backed away as Cam removed her coat and laid it on the ground. She took the flashlight and kneeled at the opening. "I'm smaller. When I say to, pull me out." She instructed. Booth could only nod in agreement. Cam laid on her stomach and began inching her way closer to Brennan. She was balled up against the far wall as tight as she could. Cam moved the flash light around and looked. The burrow had soft dirt at the opening and was a little bigger the further in you got. She must have dug the dirt to close the opening from the inside, Cam thought.
She reached out and tried to wake Brennan. "Dr. Brennan, it's Cam. You're safe now." If Brennan heard her, she did not move. It didn't even look like she was breathing. She reached out and touched her mud smeared skin. Cold was the only thought that passed through her mind. Cam did her best to position the flashlight with her mouth as she reached out and grabbed Brennan with both hands. Realizing she couldn't signal Booth verbally she kicked her feet. On point she felt two strong hands grab both legs and pull her free from the hole.
"Team two, checking in. We have her. Send the chopper." The dog handler called in.
"Oh my God, Bones!" Booth called.
Cam began assessing Brennan as Booth grabbed the blanket from the duffel bag he had been carrying and brought it to her. Cam quickly covered Brennan from her neck to her feet, not wanting Booth to see the damage his girlfriend had suffered. Brennan's lips were blue as were her feet and hands. Cam checked for a pulse and finding none, began CPR.
"Copper can't land, they're going to lower the search and rescue basket." SSA Wilson's voice came over the radio.
Booth's mind went numb and everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as he watched Cam perform CPR on his Bones. The next thing he knew there was a back board being placed underneath of her and they were loading her into the basket to be lifted to the nearest hospital. He knew he couldn't follow her that way. Once she was safely on board the helicopter moving off, he started walking down the path, back to that house from Hell and his SUV.
The trip back down the mountain side didn't take as long as it had going up with the dog tracking Brennan's scent. Cam kept a careful eye on Booth as other's seem to understand to give him wide birth. Jack and Wendell were loading up the last of their equipment when they saw Booth come in to view but judging by his expression, they didn't want to ask the question on everyone's mind, Was Brennan alive? Jack shot Cam a look. She let Seeley get a few steps ahead before sending the text: Doesn't look good. When Cam caught up to Seeley, he was seated in the passenger side of his SUV waiting for her, keys in the ignition.