Hi guys! Thanks for the reviews! I forgot to mention in the author's note for the last chapter that the whole "nobody dies in Disney World" thing? Totally true. I didn't make that up. Nobody can be declared dead on Disney property. Interesting, no?
As always, Bones and the Disney parks/rides/shows/etc are not mine, but I like playing with them. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
"Why did Angela and Hodgins want us to meet them here?" Brennan asked as they stepped off the monorail early the next morning.
"No idea," Booth said as they walked into the elevator to take them to the correct floor of the Contemporary Resort.
"Oh, no way," Brennan said as she spotted her friends.
Angela and Hodgins were sitting at a round table in the middle of a restaurant called Chef Mickey's. Mickey and Donald, dressed in chef's uniforms, were mingling among the many guests. Booth and Brennan took their seats at the table.
"A character breakfast?" Brennan asked, recalling what she had read in the brochures.
"You do realize that every other group in here has a child under thirteen with them?" Booth asked.
"Maybe we should've brought Sweets, then," Brennan said.
Booth laughed. "That was funny, Bones."
"I know. I'm very amusing," she said.
"Hey," Angela said. "We may be here for work, but we're here."
"We figured we'd do it up right," Hodgins said.
Just as Hodgins finished, Donald waddled over to greet the new arrivals. He wrapped Booth into a backwards hug, causing the agent to nearly spill his orange juice, before picking up Brennan's hand and bringing it to his beak for a kiss. Upon Brennan's slight giggle, Angela demanded a photo, so the partners stood, silently agreeing that it would be best to simply humor Angela while they were there. They stood on either side of Donald Duck and smiled. The restaurant featured a breakfast buffet, so before they took their seats, they filled their plates.
"So where are we on the case?" Brennan asked.
"I told them to get a lab set up for you ASAP and transport the remains to said lab, so you should be able to get to work today," Booth said. "And they were supposed to drain the ride last night so Hodgins can get some more samples and particulates."
"I'm hoping to check out the track and the area around the pirate ship where the remains were found," Hodgins said. "The waterfall, too, since there's no guarantee the room she was found in was the room she was killed in. I called Cam with all the details so far this morning."
"Sounds good," Brennan said. "We were missing a few of the smaller phalanges when I left last night, so draining the ride will hopefully enable us to complete the remains."
"What am I going to do?" Angela asked.
"I'll need you to get some high-resolution photographs of the body and the crime scene to send to Cam and Mr. Nigel-Murray," Brennan said. "After that, you're done until I can remove the flesh from the skull and perform my initial analysis of the injuries."
"So I can go to the Studios later?" Angela asked hopefully, referring to Disney's Hollywood-centered theme park.
"I don't see why not," Brennan said as Chef Mickey walked over to greet them.
They took a monorail back to the Magic Kingdom after breakfast and headed for the Pirates ride. Once again, they found guests yelling at workers about the ride's unexpected closure. Brennan looked at her watch in disbelief.
"The park has only been open for seven minutes," she said. "People get irrationally agitated about being denied access to something as silly as a theme park ride."
"Irrationally agitated, huh? Kinda like how you acted last night?" Booth teased, recalling the nearly hour-long ranting session she had gone into in the hotel the night before. Brennan simply glared at him and continued on to the crime scene.
"Why is the body still here?" she asked immediately after they walked in. "Why hasn't it been transported to the lab? Where is this lab anyway?"
"A lab is being set up for you as we speak in the nearest morgue," Janet told her.
"Being set up?" Booth asked, now a little agitated himself.
"It was too late last night when you guys arrived. We couldn't put in the request until an hour ago," Janet said. "It'll be ready in the morning."
"Tomorrow?" Brennan asked, incredulous.
"That's what 'in the morning' means, Bones," Booth groaned. He pointed at two security cameras in the corners of the room. "I'd like the security footage from this ride for the last week, preferably no later than tomorrow."
"Of course," Ron said, pulling out his phone to make the call.
Brennan pulled the high-resolution camera out of her bag and handed it to Angela. "Get as many angles as you can. Send them to Cam when you're done. It's going to be a few days before she gets a hold of x-rays or the actual remains, so the more photos, the better for now."
Angela nodded, taking the camera from Brennan. Hodgins and Brennan pulled on gloves to collect the remaining small bones.
Back in the Jeffersonian, Cam was sitting at her desk working on paperwork when Dr. Lance Sweets walked into her office. She looked up and shot him a welcoming smile.
"Dr. Sweets," she said. "What can I do for you?"
"I was supposed to have a morning meeting with Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth at the diner. I'm used to them ignoring my requests for sessions when they're to be held in my office, but they don't usually stand me up when there's food involved," he said. "I came here to look for them, but neither of them seems to be here."
"Sorry, Sweets," Cam said. "They're in Florida, along with Angela and Hodgins."
"Why is your entire team in Florida?" Sweets asked.
"A bunch of guests found a body in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney World."
"Oh, man," Sweets groaned. "I am never going to be able to watch that movie again."
"Yeah, tell me about it," Cam agreed. "I'm waiting for photos. Do you want to hear about the case so far?"
"Yeah," Sweets smiled, pulling up a seat with interest.
Brennan finished mentally cataloguing the bones, making sure she had a complete set of remains, just as Angela finished uploading and e-mailing the photos. Booth was discussing the length of time it was taking to get Brennan proper accommodations with Janet and Ron, and Hodgins was examining the waterfall in the other room.
"The photos are on their way to Cam," Angela said.
"Booth! Will the FBI handle the transport of the remains?" Brennan asked.
"Yeah, of course," Booth said, turning to answer her.
"Then I'm done, too," Brennan said. She scowled. "I need a lab."
"You'll have one tomorrow," Booth replied, equally frustrated.
"How do I get to the Studios?" Angela asked.
"Take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom transportation center and grab a bus from there. They run every fifteen minutes," Janet said.
"Take Bones with you," Booth said quickly.
"What?" Brennan asked.
"No offense, but if you stay here, you're just going to be in a really crabby mood all day," he said. She shot him another glare. "We'll meet you over there when we're done."
"Yeah, Brennan, come," Angela encouraged. "You're won't make me go alone, will you?"
The girls left for Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Hodgins walked back into the room.
"Can I gather particulates from the body here or is that breaking the rules, too?" he asked in a condescending tone. Booth shook his head.
"Squints…" he muttered.
Forty-five minutes later, the girls stood in the middle of the fake Hollywood Boulevard at the Studios. Angela held a map open between them.
"So what do you want to do?" Angela asked.
"I want to get into a lab and find out who killed that girl," Brennan said.
"Well, I do, too, because I want whoever killed her here to burn for all eternity, but that isn't an option right now," Angela said sympathetically.
"Fine," Brennan said, peering over at the map. "That rolling, rocking coaster sounded rather interesting."
"The Rock 'n' Roller Coaster?" Angela said with skepticism. "I don't know, sweetie."
Brennan grinned, stole the map from her hands, and headed off towards the coaster. Angela groaned and followed. They arrived at the building that housed the dark, indoor roller coaster to find a 70-minute stand-by line. Angela smiled.
"Oh, wow, that's a long line," she said happily. "Guess we should do something else!"
"Wait," Brennan said. "What are Fast Passes?"
An employee standing at the entrance to the line heard Brennan's question. "If you scan your park ticket through our machines over there, it'll give you a pass to return to the ride at a specific time and bypass the line."
"Oh, great," Brennan said. "Thank you."
Brennan got both her and Angela a Fast Pass, and they headed away from the coaster. Angela looked up at the Tower of Terror ride. A car was being dropped down the elevator shaft as they passed, and Angela cringed at the screams.
"I am not doing that," Angela warned Brennan.
"Fair enough," Brennan agreed. Angela grabbed the map away from her and started walking away. "Where are you going?"
"Little Mermaid show!" Angela called.
Back at the crime scene, Hodgins was walking around the scenery, the pirate ship and the animatronic figures, with a flashlight looking for evidence. Booth leaned against the wall furthest from the remains, which were still awaiting pickup from the FBI. He impatiently flipped his poker chip up into the air over and over as Hodgins worked.
"Hey, Booth," Hodgins called. "Grab a pair of gloves and come here."
"I don't wear those," Booth protested.
"Come on, man," Hodgins said. "I think I see something."
Booth groaned and struggled into a pair of latex gloves. He walked over to Hodgins, who was near the now-stationary pirate ship. The ride had thankfully been turned off while the pirate ship was tipping away from the ride tracks.
"Permission to retrieve!" Hodgins called, wanting to make sure what he was seeing wasn't supposed to be there. Ron and Janet nodded, and Booth told him to go ahead.
"What do you see?" Booth asked.
"I'm not sure yet. Help me out, man," Hodgins said. He and Booth pulled a large tarp from underneath the ship.
"A weighted tarp," Booth said.
"If positioned right, the boat probably pulled the tarp off of the body a little more every time it moved," Hodgins concluded. "Which would've been hundreds of times a day."
"So this was definitely pre-meditated murder?" Booth asked.
"Oh yeah," Hodgins laughed. "Someone definitely knew what they were doing…well, not really since their tarp plan failed, but…"
"Yeah, I got it," Booth said. He turned the tarp around in his hands. "Hey, wait a minute; this has Walt Disney World stamped on it."
"Well, not many people would bring a weighted tarp to a theme park," Hodgins said. "I think there's a storage closet just behind this room."
"So we're looking for an employee," Booth said.
"A definite possibility," Hodgins agreed. "Though Dr. B would tell you not to jump to conclusions this early in the investigation."
Over at the Studios, the girls made their way through the Fast Pass queue for the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. They were able to walk right up to the loading station without waiting in line.
"I still don't know about this," Angela said hesitantly as they climbed into the car.
"You'll be fine, Ange," Brennan laughed as they pulled their overhead harnesses down.
The train, painted to look like a limo, began slowly moving away from the station. It turned a corner and stopped in front of a long, dark tunnel, causing Angela to begin frantically looking around.
"What's wrong? Is the ride broken?" she worried.
"It's supposed to do this. They're preparing for the launch," Brennan said.
"Launch?" Angela squeaked.
"Zero-to-sixty in two seconds, baby," Brennan grinned.
"Brennan!" Angela yelled with fear. Brennan's mouth dropped open.
"I heard you tell Hodgins you would consider going on this with him!" she said.
"That's because he can make it up to me with sexual favors," Angela said. Brennan laughed as Angela nervously jiggled her foot. "Oh, this is torture. Go already!"
"Looks like you're about to get your wish," Brennan said as the countdown on the screen in front of them began.
Booth had just finished helping Hodgins pull the tarp from underneath the ship when his cell rang. The caller ID said Sweets. Booth rolled his eyes and flipped his phone open.
"Booth," he said.
"Next time you and Dr. Brennan leave the state, I'd appreciate a call or, you know, just a text saying breakfast's off," he said.
"Sorry, Sweets. What's up?"
"Disney World? I'm wicked jealous," Sweets admitted. "How's it going so far?"
"Hodgins is working the crime scene, and Angela took Bones to a theme park to distract her from the fact that it's taking forever to get her a lab to work in," Booth said, purposely raising his voice during the part about Brennan. "Plus, you know, killing in Disney World…that's weird, right?"
"Yeah, totally weird," Sweets agreed.
"What do you think?"
"Well, going from what Dr. Saroyan told me about the case, the murder was definitely planned, meticulously so. Your victim was planted in a dark ride full of skeletons, which also suggests that at least one of the two had some behind-the-scenes knowledge of the park," Sweets said. "Probably not your typical guest. The location also suggests the killer had something against the place itself."
"What do you mean?" Booth asked. "The ride?"
"Not necessarily. That ride, being that it's dark and full of skeletons, was probably just the most convenient place to hide a body. The killer wanted to tarnish the magical, pleasant images of the park by committing one of the most heinous acts a person can commit."
"Right," Booth agreed. "Thanks, Sweets."
Brennan, unaffected by the roller coaster, hopped out of the limo train after the harnesses were raised at the unloading station. Angela shakily climbed out behind her.
"You survived," Brennan said.
"Not sure I can say the same about our friendship," Angela muttered.
"Would you like me to repay you with sexual favors?" Brennan teased. A mom with a young boy turned around and frowned at them. Angela started laughing, momentarily forgetting the ride. They walked outside the building that held the roller coaster and pulled out a map.
"But I want the unicorn," a nearby little girl whined.
"The girl just told you she can't do that one, so pick another," her mom said, gesturing to the sign of face paint designs.
"I'm sorry," the employee said. "I was just hired. I haven't learned that design yet."
"Excuse me," Angela said, running over. "I'm Angela Montenegro. I'm a professional artist. If it's okay, I could put that unicorn on her face in five minutes."
"Oh, I don't know," the young employee said.
"I'll make you a deal. I'll do hers for free, and you can do me and my friend here."
"I don't want my face painted," Brennan said. Angela smirked and pointed to the roller coaster. Brennan glanced over at the forty-foot red guitar and looked back to Angela.
"Consider it payback for that awful monstrosity." Angela pointed to a design on the board so the employee, but not Brennan, could see her selection. "She'll have that one."
Twenty minutes later, the little girl had her unicorn. Brennan had sparkly rainbow swirls on the sides of her face, and Angela sported a glittery painted princess crown on her forehead.
Late that afternoon, Brennan and Angela walked out of a learn-to-draw-your-own-Disney-character seminar that Angela had insisted they attend to find their guys sitting on a bench next to the Magic of Disney Animation sign. The boys stood when they saw the girls walking over to them.
"Told you they'd be in the Animation Courtyard," Hodgins said.
Booth laughed and asked, "What the hell is on your face?" Brennan rolled her eyes.
"That was my revenge for this," Angela said, unveiling the on-ride photo they had purchased. Hodgins and Booth leaned over to look at the photo and laughed again.
"Case update, please!" Brennan said loudly.
"I collected particulates from the body, the ride tracks, and the pirate ship," Hodgins said. "I'll analyze them as soon as I get back to the Jeffersonian."
"The remains are in transport to the morgue, and Sweets thinks the killer had a vendetta against Mickey Mouse," Booth said.
"Well, it's about time some progress was made. It's like these people don't want us to solve their case and would rather just forget the whole thing happened. I'd like to start with analyzing the skull and applying tissue markers tomorrow, so you can get us as ID as soon as possible," Brennan said. Angela nodded as Booth and Hodgins cracked up. Brennan glared at them. "What?"
"It's really hard to take you seriously with a rainbow on your face," Booth laughed. Brennan sighed. Booth wrapped his arm around her. "I'm sorry. You look beautiful, Bones. Really," he said sincerely. Brennan's face softened into a smile.
"Dude, it's 5:10!" Hodgins said, smacking Booth's arm.
"What does that mean?" Angela asked.
"Well, Princess," he said, grabbing her hand. He began speedily walking out of the Animation Courtyard. "There's an extreme car stunt show starting in thirty minutes, and we want to see it."
Booth grabbed Brennan's hand and took off running after them, pulling Brennan behind him. "Come on, it's on the other side of the park!"
After the boys ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the stunts, the four decided to eat dinner at Toy Story's Pizza Planet before heading to the popular nighttime show called Fantasmic. Booth and Hodgins studied the park map as they ate, figuring out that they'd have approximately an hour between dinner and when they needed to head towards the show.
"Star Wars ride!" Booth exclaimed. "It's just around the corner from here."
"Sweet," Hodgins said. "Have you girls done that yet?"
"No," Angela said. "Is it terrible?"
"It's a motion simulator," Brennan read.
"That doesn't mean anything," Angela said.
After it had grown dark, and after riding the Star Wars ride, they were sitting on metal bleachers in the outdoor amphitheatre, watching an elaborate show that featured outstanding laser, fire, and water effects as well as a complex story about facing your fears. Brennan and Hodgins sat in the middle, with Booth to Brennan's left and Angela to Hodgins's right. One of Hodgins's arms was curled around Angela, her hand resting on one of his legs.
Some time after the show began, watching Booth and Brennan had become more interesting to Angela than watching Mickey slay dragons and vanquish villains. The partners sat close, whispering to each other constantly, pointing out things in the show they didn't want the other to miss. Booth goofily danced in his seat during the musical parts of the show, nudging Brennan repeatedly with his arm until she finally relented and played along. Eventually, little goose bumps formed on Brennan's arms, and Booth almost instantly noticed and draped his arm around her for warmth. She leaned in to his embrace, resting her head against his shoulder and her hand on his knee. Booth picked her head back up, making a joke about how he didn't want his white tee to look like her rainbow face, so she simply cuddled up close to him. While Hodgins watched the fireworks display that closed the show, Angela sat wrapped in his arms, watching Booth and Brennan.
In case anyone's curious, you can find pictures and descriptions of all of these theme parks, rides, attractions, and restaurants at the Disney Parks website or through Google.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!