The Man with the Mantra

A "Bones" FanFic

Disclaimer: 'Bones' is the copy-righted work of its writers, producers and Fox. Seeing as I am none of those, I do not own 'Bones'. No copy-right infringement intended.

A/N: This was my very fist FanFic EVER. I started writing it a very long time ago… even before I BEGAN writing 'Homecoming' and 'Something to Make Him Different'. It has taken a very long time for one reason: my desire for perfection. I have had to go back and re-read this multiple times to make sure that everything stayed true to the characters, possibilities of things actually happening, and (of course) that there were no spelling or grammatical errors.

A/N 2: This fic is meant to be read as an episode… I guess making it an EpisodeFic. However, if it were truly an episode, it would end on a cliffhanger so that you would be forced to watch (or in this case read) the next one. There will not be a 'next one', so this fic will have an EPILOGUE at the end to give it a more completed aura. Oh yeah. That's right. I brought up auras.

Chapter One:

It was dark.

Temperance Brennan stirred. Her head hurt, and her abdominals were sore. As if I was kicked, she thought, but the thought quickly left her aching head. Looking around her surroundings did not help. She couldn't see anything more than a few inches away from her. She tried to lift herself up, but did not succeed, causing her attention to be directed at what – rather whom – she was lying on.

Ignoring anthropological evidence that she would have noticed, had she been able to see, such as the broad shoulders, approximate height and weight, Brennan assumed that she did not know this person.

After coming to this conclusion, she decided to try and move. It didn't work out too well. So she satisfied herself with laying her head back where it was before she stirred. Moments after returning to this position she felt arms wrap around her waist, and pull her tight.

She inhaled deeply, in an attempt to calm her nerves. What she got was a far too familiar scent.

"Booth?" She asked tentatively.

"Shhh… Bones. You've got to be quiet!"

"Why are you holding me?"

"Because! I don't know where we are, how we got here or who brought us here. Are you hurt?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe. My head hurts and my abdominals are sore, as if I was kicked. I will be able to know more when I can see."

"Yeah, it is dark in here. Let me know if you need to move or something."

"Okay. Booth……"

"Yes, Bones?"

"How long do you think we've been here?"

IN THE LAB…

"I have new information on the case!" Hodgins excitedly yelled across the platform. A few weeks ago, he might have added that he was also now 'King of the Lab' but, now Zach was gone, so there was really no point in it. It was hard, but he had to accept it.

"That's great." Cam said, obviously more interested in her computer screen. "Angela already made me happy a few hours ago. Her sketch of our victim got a hit on the missing person's database. His name is Richard Glocken. I sent Booth and Dr. Brennan to question and console the family a few hours ago. Why its taking so long, I don't know."

"Wait! Glocken as in 'Clockin' Glocken' the KING of the mantra stage?"

"Sure, why not Hodgins," came the sarcastic reply.

"Whoa… Clockin' Glocken was famous for repeating his mantras all the time. He was trying to be the fastest talker in the world. Always said he'd never give up. Dude was totally paranoid… looks like he was right to be!"

"I'll say. My guess is that cause of death is because of a bullet to the head. I'll have to wait until Dr. Brennan gets back to confirm this…" She had to stop herself from continuing the sentence with 'because Zach's gone.' She herself felt like she had lost a member of her family since Zach had left. And she had only known him for a couple years. The others had known him much longer.

"Ok, well I found something that can tell us the location of the murder. The floor was littered with particles congruent with a cement factory, most likely a warehouse. I'm about to run checks to narrow the location, but I'm comfortable with the assumption that the warehouse is somewhere in the Philadelphia region because of certain plant life and insect activity found on the victims clothes." Hodgins stopped for a breath. "I'm going to go find Angela now."

"Oh, I don't know, Bones. I woke up a little before you did. Since we can't see the sun, we have no reliable way of telling time. It could be anywhere from a few hours, to almost an entire day… Did you hear that noise?"

"No. You're probably imagining things, Booth. We've obviously been kid-"

"Shhh…. Nope. I heard it again. Now, I would feel a lot more comfortable if you would let me flip us over that way I will take the brunt of whatever will happen to us."

"What do you think will happen to us?"

"Most likely some form of torture. Kicking, beating. That kind of thing."

"But why would you want to take the brunt of that? It's not logical to knowingly submit to assault."

He ignored her. Unwrapping his arms he carefully lifted her up, taking care to remember that she had already been kicked, and placed her next to him. The next part was more difficult. He couldn't move himself on his own. "Bones, will you take my hand and pull me?"

"YOU! You lifted me up and put me over here. As if I were an object, something you possess." But she complied and within moments he was lying on top of her, prepared to use his body as a shield for her. Still taking care not to place his full weight on her so that she didn't end up hurt more than she already was, Booth made himself comfortable.

She had moved her hand over to where he had previously been lying and it was wet. Strange, she thought. She dipped her finger in the liquid and sniffed it. It was blood.

Just as she was about to point this out to Booth, she heard a door open. A small bit of light entered the room followed by a man. She felt Booth arrange himself so that his hands were under her back, holding her, or more accurately, her to him so that they couldn't become disconnected.

She also noticed that he had pulled her arms under him, and that they were nearly nose to nose.

Then the first hit came. Then the second. The third, fourth and fifth followed. After that Brennan stopped counting. All she felt were the repercussions. Like the aftershocks of an earthquake. Booth never made a sound, never moved his head, and never changed his position. She thought of how much this must have been hurting him. And how it could've been her had he not insisted that she move. And how angry she was that he was being hurt. She quickly pushed this thought away. Anger was an irrational emotion that would not help their situation at all.

"Dammit, dude. You are one helluva tough guy! You haven't even given me the chance to hurt your partner. Yeah, I know you two are partners. The hunt is always more fun than the kill. But I hope to change that with you two. The FBI Agent and his beautiful partner. You just couldn't let a few things slide. That's too bad. I'm going to take a few pictures now. I'm sure your friends will love to see your picture! Especially with the price-tag I'm going to attach. Then I'm going to be back in a few hours and we'll do this again. Oh and Dr. Brennan? I can't wait for when your Special Agent partner gets knocked out so I can finally enjoy you to your full potential."

At this Booth tightened his grip on his partner and thought, Like hell you will. He felt her shudder and smiled inwardly. He knew she'd fight it, if this bastard got what he wanted. But Booth said a silent prayer that he wouldn't even come close to getting what he wanted, and that put his mind at ease.

"Excuse me? Dr. Saroyan?" A security guard tentatively asked.

"Yes, what is it? I'm very busy, and still have no idea where my forensic anthropologist and her partner are." Cam practically snapped back. She instantly regretted it when she saw the hurt look on the man's face. "I'm sorry, I'm very touchy today," she said with a smile. "What do you have to tell me?"

"Well, Dr. Saroyan, its not so much something I have to tell you as give you. A mysterious letter was dropped off at Jeffersonian addressed to 'The Friends of Dr. Temperance Brennan and Special Agent Seeley Booth'. There is no return address and no postal stamp so that is how we know it was hand delivered. After an initial screening, conducted without opening the letter, my men found no reason to believe there is any kind of poison in the envelope."

"Umm… Thank you. I guess." Cam said. What could this possibly be? She wondered, turning the envelope over in her hands. Maybe I should open this with the others around. Yes, I'll definitely do that.

So she went off to find Angela and Hodgins, hoping with all her heart she wouldn't have to threaten them with cold water… Again.

Walking to Angela's office, Cam was anxiously waiting to open the letter. She entered the office and was surprised to find that Hodgins and Angela were only standing in the middle of the room holding each other. No making out or being otherwise obvious about their relationship. Just holding each other.

Angela was the first to see Cam. "Oh, hi Cam!" she said, wiping a tear from her eye. "I just, I mean, I said that I'd give something to Zach to look at… But he's not here, y'know? I – I guess I forgot that…"

"No problem, Angela. I just wanted to inform you that I was just given and interesting letter addressed to 'The Friends of Dr. Temperance Brennan and Special Agent Seeley Booth'. I haven't opened it yet. I have no idea what it is, so that's why I came in here. Whatever it is, we will all know about it at the same time. So, who wants to do the honors?" She smiled and held out a pair of gloves and the letter. "What no takers? Well, I guess I'll open it then."

Cam put on the gloves and carefully opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper folded in thirds. There were things folded into the paper so she tipped it up and a few Polaroid's fell into her hand.

They instantly caught Angela's attention. She ran to her desk, grabbed a couple gloves, gave one to Hodgins and put the other on. She grabbed the pictures and gasped. "These are captioned 'T. Brennan and S. Booth'. They are from different angles," she gasped. "You can't see Brennan at all!"

Hodgins put his arm around his fiancé's shoulders, trying to be comforting. "Angie, I'm sure she's in there somewhere." His attention turned to Cam, who was reading the paper that had encased the photos. "Cam, what does that say?" No response. "Cam? Cam?!" He snatched the paper away from her, and read aloud:

"To the friends of Dr. Temperance Brennan and Special Agent Seeley Booth,

I'm sure by now you are wondering what has happened to the good doctor and her partner. Well, I hope that these pictures are satisfactory. Their safety is guaranteed for 4 days, in which time you will receive many more of these letters. If in 4 days you do not follow the instructions below, they will be murdered, and you will be responsible.

If you follow the instructions below, they will be returned to you in 4 days time, relatively unharmed. Of course, they will be tortured before then; isn't that unfortunate? Of course my original plan will have to be altered, as Seeley Booth did not move from his position covering his partner during the entire first round of torture. What it entailed, I will not disclose, but feel confident assuming it was not pleasant. Once I break him, I intend to force him to watch whatever I do to his stunningly beautiful partner. But more about that later.

Your directions are simple. You have 24 hours to gather 10 million dollars. In 24 hours time, you will be given another one of these letters with information for depositing this money. It is currently 12:54 PM on Tuesday. Go.

PS: You've got to learn to let some things go… Glocken knew I was after him. It is his fault for not seeking protection sooner."

Angela let out a small sob when Hodgins finished reading. She instantly composed herself. "How in the hell are we going to get 10 million dollars in 24 hours?"

"I'll go make a withdrawal," Hodgins said. "We'll be sure to give this bastard whatever he wants if he'll keep them safe."

"Okay," after another deep breath, Angela was fully herself again, albeit a small waver in her voice, "We have to tell their families, and the FBI. I'll call Sweets and have him fill in the Bureau, and call Booth's family. I'll call Brennan's. We'll have them meet in the lounge and keep Sweets with them. Hodgins, you need to examine the letter and photos for fingerprints and any particles that can tell us where we are. Cam, congratulations. You just became a forensic anthropologist."