CHAPTER TWO:
THE MIRROR IMAGE
The fear in the room was so real that it seemed possible to see its horrible dark appearance. Temperance's eyes were still glued to the screen. She kept on blinking, hoping the image would somehow go away, but it didn't. The image of her face was still there as if she was looking at herself in a mirror.
Booth broke the silence, "This is not possible! Angela, you must have it wrong!"
"Angela is very good." Temperance whispered, but still with sincerity.
"How in the world did this person make...your skull?" Booth asked.
"Reverse engineering." Angela said.
"What do you mean by that?" Booth questioned with great insistence.
"It is the process of discovering the technological principles of a device, an object or a system through analysis of its structure, function and operation." Temperance announced.
"English. Please!" Booth pleaded.
"You start from the final product, work yourself backwards, and figure out how the object was made." Angela revised.
"Okay, I get that, but how did they make Bones... skull!" Booth hastily demanded.
Temperance explained starting in more layman terms this time. "If you have several three dimensional scans of the head, in theory, you should get a three dimensional image of the skull. But the skull is too complex with many different details and this process was proven not to be possible."
"Well it's real now!" Booth interjected.
Temperance re started, "There is only one person I know of who could make this monumental breakthrough."
"Great, who is it?" Booth asked his nerves still on edge.
Temperance turned toward Angela and said, "She is!"
"What?" Angela questioned, "What do you mean it's me?"
"I didn't say it was you. I meant you're the only one with the acumen to do this."
"What do you mean Bones?" Booth asked.
"Angela has made the Angelator which is an amazing devise which can make 3D rendered skulls. Also don't you remember she was able to make several skull prototypes for the woman who only had the skin left because an illogical woman took bones to make some money?"
"Yea...but, honey this is not my work." Angela replied.
"I know I said that!" Temperance said.
"Then who did this?" Booth asked.
"Some genius with an Incredible IQ!" Angela announced throwing her hands up not knowing what to do.
"How much time do we have?" Booth queried.
"Not much." Temperance declared.
"What do you mean not much?" Angela asked.
"To my calculations, if I am supposed to die in a day and it was delivered to me which would approximately..."
"Bones get on with it!" Booth interrupted.
"About 10 hours, but Booth we don't know who this person is let alone what their motive is."
"But we have to take this as serious threat Bones. We still don't know who this nut job and what he is planning to do!"
"I don't know where to start." Angela announced. Her face had morphed into a scared expression. For once she did not know how to help. She had always been able to understand the inner workings of things, but now she was drawing a complete blank.
"I'll Call Sweets, and see if he give us a profile of this weirdo; maybe use some of his Jedi mind tricks to find what this person is up to. Angela, I need you to call Cam, and Hodgins we will need all the help we can get." Booth said.
Cam arrived first, making a big running entrance into the room. With an exhausted breath she asked. "Okay, I got the message, but what is going on?"
Hodgins came in and almost knocked Cam over while he asked: "Explanation, please!"
When both of them saw Angela's finger pointing to Temperance's face displayed in the air.
"Wow!" both Hodgins and Cams voices intertwined.
"You got that right." Angela said.
"This is not funny. Angela, stop playing jokes!" Cam called out.
"This is not a joke, Cam." Booth said.
"Explanation please. I am dying for an explanation!" Hodgins begged.
"I came home, opened a package and found this with a engraving on the back." Temperance answered as she picked up the skull to show the engraved letters.
"COME AND SEE WHERE THIS VICTIM WILL LAY FOR SHE WILL DIE IN JUST ONE DAY." Cam read.
"I noticed the extreme realism of the skull, asked Angela to put it into the Angelator, and my face came out."
"I don't know how it is possible to make such a precise and detailed skull of Tempe, without her being there. This is beyond what is technologically possible." Angela proclaimed
"Well, I guess some tormented Einstein figured it out and is taking it out for a test drive." Hodgins figured.
When Sweets rushed into the room the first thing he noticed was the 3D projection of Temperance's face. "Wow, Dr. Brennan that is awesome! Were you made Employer of the Month? What do I have to do to get my mug shot on that thing?"
"Sweets, I need you to use The Force to figure who is the person behind this mystery?"
"What mystery are you talking about?" Sweets asked.
Booth gave Sweets the skinny.
"Sure, what's the big deal?" Sweets proclaimed nonchalantly "I can tell you right away who this person is!"
"What?" Colin Fisher asked. Every one turned around to look at him not realizing that he had been there the whole time.
"Oh I am correct I am invisible oh, the agony!"
"Shut Up Fisher!" Hodgins replied.
"Wait...You know the person's name?" Booth asked while he gave the universal Shut up sign with his hand to Hodgins and Fisher.
"No! Gee I'm good, but not that good! I mean I know this kind of personality." Sweets said.
"Oh...okay then what is it." Booth said sort of sheepishly.
"This person is very prideful, if he just wanted to kill Dr. Brennan he would have just done it. But he wants to outwit her he thinks that he is smarter and wiser. This person wants to get under her skin wants to take control. This person probably had a poor upbringing and has always been under someone else's thumb. He figures by doing this he can show the world that he is smarter and be at the top of the tandem pole." Sweets said.
"This is a weird way of doing it!" Angela announced.
"Well yea, this guy is immoral with a possessive aggressive attitude. He can't see through reality he thinks everything is a game and he has to win."
"Wait you mean this person is likely to play games all the time?" Booth asked with great thought.
"Yea any kind of game, he is very creative, but the games are probably vulgar because well, he is delusional!" Sweets answered.
"Booth, what are you thinking about?" Temperance asked.
"The one person that I know of that likes to play games from Bone's books..." Booth answered.
"Oliver Laurier!" Temperance announced.
TO BE CONTINUED.........
