"The Mobster in the Vault"

chapter one

a/n: I mostly wanted to do this fic cause' I'm in love with the 20's and 30's. So I hope everyone enjoys!!! And Big kudos to my sister Natalie who is my co-conspirator...I couldn't have figured everything out without her.

I don't own BONES. Hart Hanson does, and he is AWESOME


"You cheated!" Her voice rang out accusingly , fighting back a smile because the look on his face was distracting her from the reality of the situation. "Stop it Booth!"

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood, and I did not cheat." He stated matter-of-factly. His smug smile made her want to burst into laughter but she held it in. What a ham...She didn't even know what a ham was until Booth had told her, and she was sure he was acting like one. At first she didn't understand how someone could be cooked pig...but Booth explained that it means the person is always demanding attention. It made no clinical sense but eventually she let it go.

"Yes you did Booth, you moved one of your pieces when you thought I wasn't looking. But I saw you." She accused, holding back any sign of being amused. She was serious but his reactions were hilarious.

Booth shook his head, "You must be seeing things Bones. I don't cheat, I'm FBI...the good guy alright?" He held his hands up as if he were surrendering...which would have been a victory for Brennan if he was. But in this case it was more of a 'don't look at me' gesture. "How about we play another game?" He suggested, a wry smile appearing across his face.

Brennan scowled, "You're just gonna cheat again."

"I didn't cheat Bones, I swear. Just come on...one more game? Please?" His pathetic puppy dog eyes bore into hers. She was surprised at how much his groveling affected her. Now she was wanting more than anything to play another game with him, but if he cheated again that would be the last straw.

She sighed begrudgingly, "Fine...But I want to be white this time."

Enthusiastic over his victory he beamed, "Alright Bones! Let's get this party Sta-" he was interrupted by the shrilling chirp inside his pocket. "Hold on Bones, I gotta take this." He reached inside his pocket and flipped open his phone and asked who it was. It was silent for a few seconds before Booth answered, "Are you sure? Well okay then we'll be right there." He flipped the phone closed and eyed Brennan "We've got a case!"

"Really?"

He nodded, "Yep, come on Bones. Let's go catch a murderer."

They both shared a look of excitement before Brennan and Booth got their things together and headed out the door.


"I was a little shocked myself, this vault hasn't been opened in at least a month. We didn't think anything was in there before...but I came in early to deposit some cash and I opened up this secret compartment and found this..." He motioned towards the body...both revolted and fearful at the same time. The guy looked very short in stature and to Brennan he seemed like he had never seen a body like this before.

The remains were very old and obviously had already gone through the huge stages of decomp. But she could tell this was a murder, there was no way the victim would have sealed himself in a compartment that tiny without being forced. "Well he's a male...Mid to late thirties. By his facial structure I can tell he was definitely Caucasian. The bones are very old, I think maybe from the 20's or 30's."

"Ha that's new." Booth stated sarcastically, "so murder vic?"

Brennan nodded, "I would think so. There's no way this guy could have made it into here on his own unless he was an extremely good contortionist. Plus there's major bruising on the femurs, scapula, and most of the ribs." She concluded.

Booth gave a nod before consulting with the manager. Brennan turned her head back to examine the body and her eyes focused on something dangling around the victim's neck. She traced her fingers over the letters "BD" trying to figure out what it meant. "Uh, Booth?" She called over her partner who walked to her side immediately, "Do you have any idea what BD stands for?"

She looked up to see booth's face scrunched up in thought, "Huh, not at all. Maybe Angela can figure it out. She's usually the expert on jewelry stuff right?" Brennan nodded in agreement. It looked very old to her, the way it was weathered and the way the bones were...this was definitely a cold case. It would be very hard for Booth to find any living suspects.

Brennan turned her attention to the manager, "How long has it been since this compartment was last used."

The manager threw up his shoulders, "I don't really know it's a family vault. The Montgomery's have been using it since the late 1800's I believe...when their bank first opened up. I was just taking out the deposit box for one of our more wealthy customers...and...excuse me..." He turned his face away as to disguise his disatisfication.

"So this is a family owned bank?" Booth asked inquisitively.

The manager nodded, "Yes. It's mostly known for surviving the depression. Some people in the community have suspected it was due to money laundering, but nothing had ever been proven." The man didn't seem to know much but the basics, which was kind of frustrating to Booth. He needed to know more about the family than that they were Bank owners.

"What's the current owner's name?"

"Uh, Ronald Montgomery. He's a very famous politician. I believe his family also owns the chain of Gelato shops called 'Venice Delights.'" The thought of sweet treats immediately perked up the poor guy's attitude. "I personally eat there whenever I have the money. They're pretty hard to get...they cost a fortune."

Booth tried to remember hearing anything about a shop called Venice Delights but he didn't remember ever going there or hearing talk about it..."And where could we find this Gelato shop?"

The manager chuckled, "There's one like three miles from here right by the park...you've seriously never been there? I know they charge a lot of money, but you should really try their gelatos they are so good..." The man trailed off, closing his eyes and letting his lips curl up with delight. A sight that made Brennan roll her eyes.

Booth cleared his throat, taking the man away from his daydream "Um, as good as that sounds...we're trying to solve a murder here okay? So if you could please give me the adress of the shop...that'd be great" He stated sarcastically, a very common tone that Brennan always noticed he used when he was very annoyed.

"Oh, yeah uh sure. I'll write it down." The man took a piece of paper and pen out of his coat pocket and started scribbling. Booth and Brennan shared glances of mutual annoyance, obviously both not pleased with the attitude of the manager. "You know," He said happily as he ripped the piece of paper off his pad and handed it to Booth, "A Gelato shop is the perfect place to take your girlfriend here on a date. I'm sure she would enjoy it very much. Especially if she's having to deal with dead people all day, if that was me...I'd be dying for a break."

Booth laughed nervously, "That's nice...that's very nice sir and that's exactly why you're a bank manager and not a professional." Booth shot an intense look of annoyance at the small looking man, who cowered back in response. Brennan chuckled a little at Booth's insult, it's what she would have said if Booth hadn't...he was definitely learning a lot from her. She smiled at the thought.

Brennan added in matter-of-factly, "And next time Mr. Seager...you should think about what you're saying before you announce it to the public. You're obviously ignorant in many ways." Booth whipped his head over to his partner to give her the 'That was a little too far' look and she automatically wished she hadn't said that out loud. Still, however cruel the statement was the guy was too cowardly to fight back. He just nodded, said a quick goodbye and got out of the conversation as fast as he could.

Booth rolled his eyes, "I hate people who get into other people's business...it's like they never heard of privacy. I mean as for FBI...we have an excuse...we're trying to solve a mystery but Bank managers like him should keep their questions to themselves."

Brennan chuckled, "Yeah to think he thought I was your girlfriend. Like that would ever happen." She turned to look at Booth to share a humorous glance but was surprised when his face actually showed a hint of sadness that made her feel like someone was pushing down really hard on her chest. She didn't understand why he would act that way by her saying something like that, but it hurt her to see him so miserable. "W-what did I say?" She didn't want him to be upset.

"Nothing Bones." He said, trying to shake it off. "It's nothing. Let's just hurry up here so we can get back to where there aren't any damn mosquitoes poking the hell out of us." He said, referencing the awkward conversation with the manager a few seconds earlier. Brennan didn't understand so she started to question him but he pointed towards the direction of the manager who had maneuvered his way out of the crime scene. Brennan followed his finger and understood as soon as she saw Mr. Seager. Of course, Booth was calling the guy a mosquito...which made sense, he was very annoying.

Brennan nodded, "Okay. Let's bag it up." She said loudly as she stood up, allowing the other professionals to swarm in and do their job. She turned to Booth who was a little bit closer than she had predicted and ended up ramming her head into his. Both yelped in a painful shock, "Oh, ouch....I'm sorry Booth...I didn't see you were so close behind me."

Booth held onto his forehead as if it was going to fall off if he let go, "Yeah...I was just trying to see if you needed help bagging anything. Sorry, I should have known I was getting too close." Brennan concentrated on his forehead, studying it intensely as she moved her hands up to run her hands gently over the spot that had collided with hers. It was red and seemed to be sticking out slightly. Booth hissed at the contact. "Ow ow ow ow."

"I'm sorry I'm sorry...you might want to put some ice on this Booth. It's a big bump." Brennan said in a professional tone, with a hint of sympathy. Brennan bit her lip nervously, "Is mine okay? Does it look red?"

Booth looked up at her forehead, seeing the slightly red mark on his partner's forehead but his eyes shifted down to hers and remained there...looking into her pale blue eyes that seemed to twinkle whenever she was the most vulnerable. "I-uh....." He tried to answer but her eyes kept twinkling...and he felt his heart do the usual roll around in his chest...ever since the dream. Ever since he knew he was in love with her. He took a breath before answering her, "It's a little red...but you seem fine."

Brennan breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh good," a smile escaping her lips. "We need to get you some ice..." Cupping her hands over her mouth she yelled out, "CAN WE GET A BAG OF ICE OVER HERE?" Booth cringed at the thought of someone else getting the ice but he kept his mouth shut. She turned her attention back to his bump, allowing her fingers to graze over it once again....causing the hissing reaction from Booth like before, "Oh sorry, I guess I shouldn't do that. I was just checking it." Her cheeks flushed lightly, which she tried to hide by concentrating her eyes on the bump. Somehow though her eyes started traveling to other places and before she knew it she was looking into Booth's eyes, taken aback that he was looking at her as well. She looked away quickly, turning her attention on the manager who had a bag of ice in his hands. "Thank you." She said as she took it away from him quickly, trying to not pay attention to his nervous glances. As soon as she could sense that he had left she took the bag of ice and gently placed it onto Booth's head. Booth's face contorted into a grimace, his hand coming up to grab the bag...instead his hand gently formed around Brennan's, both aware of the warmth radiating off each others palms.

Brennan let go quickly, breaking away from the uncomfortable silence. "Uh...you're welcome." Booth watched her scurry off to help with the evidence...his heart feeling like it was going to beat out of his chest. He wanted to tell her he loved her, but he was afraid of ruining everything. He had been afraid of her not feeling the same way...but that moment...the way she had looked at him, made him believe that she did in fact feel something after all.

Maybe there was hope....


a/n : sorry the chap was so short but I just wanted to introduce everything first before I post the LONNNNNG chapters. Reviews would be welcomed. :)