Chapter Two
The Man in the SUV
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bones
Crime scene
"Bones! Bones! Over here." Sasuke yelled to me.
"Where have you been? You said you would meet us on the corner." I said while pulling my hair up into a high ponytail.
"There is a lot going on here in case you haven't noticed." He then turned to the security guard. "These girls they're with me Dr. Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamaka from the Jeffersonian.
"I need ID."
"Okay, check the RI5 list, homeland security. She's the forensic anthropologist."
"They're clear."
"Thanks. C'mon."
"God, What's that smell?" Ino asked while scrunching up her nose and throwing her head to the side.
"Burnt flesh. Are there a lot of injuries?" I asked.
"Four known dead. Fifteen injured." Sasuke answered.
"Oh my God." Ino said after seeing the burned and charred bodies that lay under tarps.
"Details, whatever you have." I told Sasuke while pulling on some gloves.
"Not much. Witnesses said they saw a Middle Eastern man mid thirties pull up to the café and the car just blew. The vehicle is registered to a Hamid Masruk, head of the American-Arab friendship league."
Stepping up to the burnt out jeep I said, "If you know who it is, why do you need me?"
"Because we're hoping we're wrong. Masruk is a White House consultant for Arab relations. Had lunch with the President just last week." an agent said as he came up to us.
"Remember Agent Gibson, Homeland Security." Pointing to me he said, "Dr. Sakura Haruno."
Pointing to Ino he said, "Ino Yamaka. If Masruk was involved in a terrorist attack it means we have a huge national security problem."
"Not to mention a very humiliated president. The press is already running with this." Agent Gibson said.
"If you think I'm going to alter my findings…" I started.
"Look, not at all but maybe it's not Masruk. We need to be sure. Uchiha says you're the best." Gibson said.
I turned to Sasuke. "I need surgical gloves and masks for the retrieval team. Sterile medical bags and vegetable oil."
"Vegetable oil?"
"The oil will loosen the seared body parts stuck to the metal. It's no different then steak on a grill that sticks."
"It's okay, I trust you."
Naruto joined the group with the requested items. Should I photograph the scene?" He asked since he had a very expensive camera around his neck.
"Focus on a 30 meter radius from the blast." I told him and he got to work.
"You know, it's okay to be upset." Sasuke told me as I bent down to pick up a charred leg that was covered in vegetable oil and loosened from the metal it was stuck on.
"I wish this is the worst thing I'd seen." I told him.
Ino handed Sasuke the retrieval bag in which I was going to put the leg. "You know…uh… I don't think I can…Sorry." she said before walking off.
"Well, if you can't either…" I guestured for Sasuke to leave if he couldn't while I picked up the burned leg.
"No, I'm cool."
"Naruto, I need two more evidence bags." I told him after I finished putting the leg in the bag that Sasuke was holding.
Medico Legal Lab at the Jeffersonian
"Facial epidermis and the fingertips are completely decimated. We're not going to be able to ID anything from the flesh. It's basically carbon." I said.
"We are missing the lower left leg and the lumbar spine." Naruto said.
"Here's the C2 and the right ischium." I said pointing then out to Naruto.
"Smokey here had access to the President. Why would he attack a café?" Naruto asked while staring at the burnt skeleton.
"Smokey?" I asked with a raised eyebrow while glancing up at him.
"It's how I deal with the stress."
"Targeting everyday places causes panic. People stay home. The economy is crippled. It's Terrorism 101, man." Skikamaru said from his table where he was examining something flesh related.
"Take samples from the clothes. See whatever you can find. Traces of cologne, laundry detergent, anything that we can link to Masruk's home." I told Shikamaru.
"I will grab any particulates that I can identify the type of bomb." He said.
"Isn't that the FBI's job?" Naruto asked.
"What you trust the FBI? You realize those guys are going to suppress whatever they need to cover their asses."
"I found a portion of the clavicle." Naruto told me.
"Are you even listening?" Shikamaru asked him while walking up to where he was bent over the examining table.
"No." Naruto bluntly said.
"They have a separate division you know that way their hands are always clean. In 1970…"
"Shikamaru! We're trying to work." I said so he would stop.
Sasuke then came walking up the stairs to the platform behind Naara. Though Naara didn't notice him.
"Someone seems really defensive about the FBI lately. You realize Uchiha is just another Government stooge?" Shikamaru said to me still not noticing that Sasuke was standing behind him.
"This has nothing to do with Uchiha."
"You know I don't enjoy having squints on my team anymore then you like me on yours but you know we're supposed to be working together. Okay." Sasuke finally said to Shikamaru.
Shikamaru turned to face Sasuke. He was about a head shorter than Sasuke though his pineapple hair-do added a few inches to him.
"Sure. So what do we do, group hug?"
"Agent Gibson here will be over seeing things for Homeland Security." Sasuke said ignoring Shikamaru.
"I'll try not to be in the way."
"No, uhhh …we don't need to be overseen." I told Sasuke.
"That's really not your call Bones. Okay how soon can we get the DNA match?"
"That'll take days. I can get a match much sooner then that I have all we need."
"You're going to be able to ID him from that?" Gibson asked while gesturing to the charred, burnt, and fleshy skeleton laid out on the examining table.
"Asking stuff like that is in the way." Naruto said while glaring at Gibson.
I pulled off my gloves and started to walk away. "Remove any flesh and particulates you can and then macerate him. If that's alright with you?" I said in a snarky voice to Gibson.
"Don't touch the table. Don't touch the table!" Shikamaru said in an aggravated voice to Gibson as he leaned on the table.
Sakura's office
"This is my lab. I'm a scientist. A doctor."
"Yeah, so I've heard."
"Look, would you be able to do your job if someone is looking over your shoulder all the time?"
"You do, okay I've developed a tolerance."
"I'm sorry but I don't understand the advantage of compromise."
"It's a terrorist attack Sakura. It's bigger then you and It's bigger then me."
"The job is the same." I retaliated to Sasuke.
"No, it's not! We're dealing with someone here who devalues an entire culture. Terrorizing people by using God to justify mass murder."
"You're making it personal. That doesn't help."
"It is personal Sakura. All of us die a little bit on one like this."
lab
"All the trace evidence has been stripped. Shikamaru scavenged as much as he could." Naruto said.
"Okay, let's get started." I said.
"What the hell are those?" Sasuke said referring to the jars of bugs Naruto was dumping on the body.
"Deremtus Maculatus." Naruto answered.
"Flesh eating beetles. That's how we clean the flesh off of burn victims." I told Sasuke.
Gibson's phone rang and he answered it while stepping away from the body. "Yes sir. Yes sir."
"The President wants to know how long the ID is going to take."
I referred to the beetles. "Why don't you ask them?"
Interrogation Room with the victim's wife and brother
Mrs. Masruk "You've made a mistake. It can't be my husband."
"My brother was no terrorist. He hated those people. You can read his speeches. Talk to anyone." Mr. Masruk said.
"We're not making any accusations." Sasuke said.
"It's all over the news. It's all anyone is talking about." Mr. Masuk said.
"We cannot control the press, Mr. Masruk." Sasuke said.
"How about your men? They've searched our house. They've talked to our friends." Mrs. Masuk said.
"Until we can identify the body we have to conduct a thorough investigation."
"So identify the body. The longer you wait... Do you know what it is like for us?"
"His body was fragmented by the blast. We're still retrieving pieces." I started before Sasuke touched my arm to silence me.
"I understand how difficult this is not knowing. I'll work as quickly as I can to get you what you need. That's why I asked for his history. Where he grew up? Any injuries from his youth? Medical records?"
"Of course. I brought you what you asked for." She said while handing me an envelope.
"Thank you."
Mrs. Masruk started to cry. "We lived just like you. We came to this country because we love it. We are Americans. It can't be Hamid. It can't. My husband was not a terrorist."
Lab
"It could be a perchlorate. Would that be used in a bomb?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah but this is a crystalline structure, aluminum based." Shikamaru said while looking at his computer.
Gibson leaned over top of the computer trying to seen what they were doing. Shikamaru, annoyed, tries to pull the computer screen so he can't see it.
"Okay, I'm back. How are we doing?"
"I have his detergent brand, cologne, shampoo. He died a well-groomed man." Naruto joked.
"Thanks."
"Dr. Haruno?" Gibson asked.
"Are the bones done yet?" I asked as I ignored the agent.
"Yeah, I will check the beetles." Naruto said.
"Dr. Haruno whatever you have there…." Gibson started in an annoyed voice.
"It's a piece of paper that's all, with some writing on it." I said while waking to my office.
Sakura's office
"Hard at work?" Ino asked from my doorway.
"I just saw his wife. She gave me his medical records…photographs. Apparently he was ill. They were testing for Lupus which would explain the face. It must have been painful."
"Look I … I know that you needed help out there. At the crime scene and I wanted to but…"
I sat on my couch and patted the space next to me motioning for Ino to come sit.
"It's okay. You see it. I don't anymore. I don't know what's worse."
"You holding up okay?" She asked me while joining me on the couch.
"His wife doesn't believe it was him. I've got to give her an ID."
"Whatever I can do." Ino said to help.
"Yeah, I know."
"And about this weekend…"
"Ino, I don't know."
"Oh come on."
"I don't know..." I trailed off.
"I know this great club, they play Trip Hop and Trance."
"I don't know what that means." I said giving Ino a confused look.
"It doesn't matter. We'll grab Sasuke."
"No."
"I think he likes you. God if I were you, I'd buy a ticket on that ride." Ino said while wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
Pointing to plastic boxes full of bones on my floor. "Look, I'm going to be very busy this weekend even after the ID, I have these."
"Remains from WWI." Ino said in a sad voice.
"That's what the institution pays me for. I've got hundreds of these waiting."
"And they can't wait one more weekend?"
"They've got relatives. They've waited long enough."
"You know it's not that scary Sakura. You have a few drinks. You move to the music. You might even smile."
"The bones are clean." Naruto interrupted.
"I've gotta run. You hang around. I may need you." I told Ino while leaving her on my couch.
Lab
Talking into a voice recorder I said, "Comparing remains to details provided of Hamid Masruk, age 37, of Afghani origin. Texture of pubic synthesis indicates age of bone consistent with Masruk, as is height.
I pointed the voice recorder in Naruto's direction. "Complexity of the cranial vault sutures matches the statistical probability of your age and decent." he said into it.
"Good." I said while turning off the recorder.
"Too bad we can't tell why he did it. Isn't what we all really want to know"
"Uneven growth patterns in the vertebrae indicate malnourishment as a child."
"Consistent with the diet where Masruk was from. Probably evidence on the calabrium?"
"Why don't you reconstruct the skull and check it out?" I told Naruto.
"My first cranial reconstruction." Naruto smiled and said.
"Evidence of multiple fractures to the bottoms of the feet consistent with methods of torture used in Afghanistan and consistent with Masruk's history. I'm convinced we have a statistical match." I said.
"So Masruk is the bomber." Gibson said.
"Yes."
"What about the skull? You're having the kid reconstruct it…" Gibson said.
I grabbed the file.
"This is an educational institute. He wants to learn. Is that okay with you? For forensic ID, we have all we need. Now I would like to get this data to Sasuke as soon as I can."
"I'll take it." Gibson said referring to the file.
"No, I don't think so. I work with Sasuke. That's my deal."
"Dr. Haruno, I have jurisdiction…"
"Then why don't I destroy my notes and let you guarantee the identity of the remains."
"It's best to just ride it out, like an earthquake." Ino told Gibson as I stalked away.
Sasuke's apartment
I knocked on Sasuke's door only to have him to open it with his shirt unbuttoned.
"Bones?"
"Yeah"
"Did we have an appointment?"
I handed over the file to him. "No, uh…it's him. Masruk is the bomber."
"I guess the wife didn't know the husband very well."
A girl walked into the room wearing one of Sasuke's shirts and not much else. she had long slender legs and a well built figure. Her hair was shoulder blade length and fell in brown waves.
"Hey."
"Hi, sorry." I said trying not to stare at her to much.
"Tenten, this is Sakura. Tenten Jankow, Dr. Sakura Haruno." Sasuke introduced us.
"Oh, hi. I've heard a lot about you."
"Really?" I asked.
"Tenten's an attorney." Sasuke stated.
"Mhmmm, corporate, keeping the fat cats fat."
"I was just studying a cranial fissure on a corporate attorney last week. Of course he was dead so…"
"Interesting." she said with a smile.
"Thanks."
Sasuke turned to me.
"Well the Bureau…I was just heading to the Bureau. Santana called and said something about a bombing and I thought you were at the lab. Maybe, uh, you should come."
"Sure."
Sasuke buttoned up his shirt and kissed Tenten goodbye.
"See you later."
Sasuke's office
"Okay, what is so funny?" Sasuke looked up from his desk to my snickering form.
"I just never figured you'd be in a relationship."
"Why, do you think something's wrong with me?"
I looked him over. He had broad shoulders and a well built torso. Which I had to admit was very ripped.
"Not wrong. You just have alpha male attributes usually associated with a solitary existence."
"What! Me? You're solitary."
"No, no I'm private. It's different and we weren't talking about me."
"Well I was."
"Well I wasn't. Look, I'm happy for you. Relationships have anthropological meaning. No society can survive if sexual bonds aren't formed betw…"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke cut in.
Santana then came into the office.
"Uchiha."
"Yeah?"
"You got that ID?"
"Yeah it was Masruk."
"Oh, that's too bad."
"He killed four people and injured another fifteen." I said.
Santana handed a file to Sasuke.
"The report came back from ballistics. Now the explosives were placed under the car with the trigger connected to the speedometer. Masruk was murdered."
I looked at the file as well. "So Masruk wasn't a terrorist."
"Somebody tried to make him look like one. Any leads on who did it?" Sasuke asked.
"That's why we're paying you Sasuke.
Interrogation room
"We're very very sorry Mrs. Masruk."
"I told you Hamid was the victim, but you wouldn't listen. You couldn't imagine an Arab who's a peace loving man."
"That's not true."
"No? We must investigate everything Mrs. Masruk. We must turn your house upside down because we believe your husband was a good man. Is that the truth?"
"No! They searched your house because Muslim extremist have declared war on the United States. Preliminary findings made your husband a suspect which we are required…" I interjected.
"It's not Bureau policy to target or profile any ethnic group. It wasn't our intention. I can understand why you may feel offended." Sasuke said.
"I can't." I said.
"Bones!" Sasuke yelled at me.
"What? She's been a part of a criminal investigation that's all. Her rights haven't been violated. It's unfortunate that her husbands' ethnicity is a factor but to say that it isn't would be disingenuous." I retaliated.
"I'm going to have to apologize for Dr. Haruno." Sasuke said to the woman.
"It's fine, Mr. Uchiha. Honesty is always a welcome relief. So when can I bury him? When can I give him peace?"
"There are certain body parts that I'm still examining. Others are still seared to the surface of the wreckage…" I started before Sasuke again cut me off.
He quietly said to me, "I'm sure Mrs. Masruk doesn't really need to know the details."
"If I can retrieve more remains of her husband, Muslim law requires that I do."
Then to Mrs. Masruk I said, "I spent some time in Iraq identifying bodies. I'll give you whatever I can so that he can be purified for burial."
"Thank you."
"Is that all?" She asked Sasuke.
"One last thing. A few calls were made to uh, his cell phone from your house minutes before the blast."
She looked down at a family photo. "Yes, we argued. It was a family matter. My final words to him were words of anger. "
"I'm very sorry. It must be very painful." Sasuke said.
"You looked very happy in that picture." I said.
"Yes." She said while picking up her belongings to leave.
"Thank you. If there's anything else that you know that you can think of, just give us a call."
"I think she's having an affair. Personally." Sasuke said after she left the room.
Wong Foos
"She was having an affair!" Sasuke said while sitting at the table.
"I'm sorry but that's an offensive assumption!" I said sitting beside him.
"Well all the signs are there."
"You can't make wild accusations about somebody's personal life based on a feeling."
"It's more then a feeling. Okay, that photograph is evidence just as solid as the markers you squints pick up looking at your little bones."
"The evidence that I find isn't empirical. What you consider evidence is merely conjecture."
"She dyed her hair. She lost weight. You know she shoved a little Botox in her forehead. She's still feeling guilty over the last fight she had with her husband."
Uhh! You are an insufferable…arrogant….man!" I said frustrated.
"Oh! So only a woman could know a woman. I thought woman wanted us to understand them." Sasuke retaliated.
"Not really. A magician never wants to reveal her tricks…" Ino said as she sat at the table with us.
"We're having a private conversation." Sasuke told her.
"I'm not here." Ino said holding up her hands defensively as if it would make her disappear.
"So you think you know woman just because you live with some sexy lawyer? Unbelievable." I told sasuke.
He scoffed.
"You live with a sexy lawyer?" Ino asked Sasuke intrigued.
"She has her own place okay." Sasuke told Ino.
"He thinks just because Masruk's wife started working out and had a little make over, that she was having an affair." I told Ino.
"Hmm, and how long were they married?"
"Eleven years." Sasuke told her.
"I'm with him." Ino said.
"There is no concrete proof!" I said in disbelief.
"Boobs perkier?" Ino asked Sasuke.
"Mmmm Hmm."
"I don't believe this if you're so sure then why didn't you confront her."
"Because if she or her boyfriend were involved, she would warn him." Ino said.
"Very good." Sasuke congratulated Ino.
"I'm a constant surprise." she chuckled.
"Alright. Great. I will be in the lab getting us some real data." I said leaving the table.
Sasuke sighed.
"So, how many nights a week does "sexy" sleep over?" Ino pried.
"Ha, ha, hah." Sasuke said as in you don't get to know the answer.
Lab
"How's it coming?" I asked Naruto.
"The Ethnoid and Sphenoid fragments won't piece together."
"Naruto, I would like to return the remains to the widow before her demise."
"I'm doing my best, Dr. Haruno. The integrity of the bone seems to be compromised. I don't know if it's the metal fragments from the blast..."
"I examined the chemicals used in the explosives. The perchlorates I found can have a degenerative effect." Shikamaru said.
"Not this quickly. Excuse me."
I said before looking through the microscope.
"Unusually soft bone tissue. You know, this has nothing to do with the blast. I owe you an apology Naruto. Do you have his medicals? Stiff joints, facial disfigurement. There's a disorganized Trabecula pattern here that his doctors wouldn't have been able to see. Could have been a degenerative disease."
"I don't get it. How does his medical condition figure into the murder?" Shikamaru asked.
"Now it's a murder. Before it was terrorism because we didn't have all the facts. You don't overlook anything when you're looking for the truth. Check for Lupus and Pagets. Do you have enough tissue?"
"Yeah, I can manage it."
"If those come back negative, he might have been exposed to a toxin which would mean his brother was too. He's exhibiting similar symptoms. I'll get the brother's medicals."
Shikamaru sighed. "I graduated top of my class, Rhode Scholar, youngest member inducted into the Academy of Physical Sciences but she still makes me feel like a cretin."
"She apologized to me." Naruto smirked.
Farid Masruk, apartment
"Yes, I am a Christian."
"And Hamid is Muslim and Sahar?" Sasuke asked.
"I converted. Hamid could never accept it. Religious differences caused too many problems."
"Seems to be a consistent fact throughout history."
"Please. I tried to make peace with my brother but it was difficult. There was more then religion between us." he said while guesturing for us to sit.
"Sahar mentioned that there was some…uh… family problems?" Sasuke asked.
"Yes."
"I can understand how, uh, delicate it can be."
"Did she tell you anymore then that?" Farid asked.
"No, but I mean, if you have any other information that could help us in the investigation?" Sasuke asked him.
"It's not my place."
"We're just trying to find out who killed your brother."
"Sahar was seeing another man but I can't believe she'd hurt my brother."
"Do you know who this other man is or is it just a feeling you have?" I asked him.
"I've met him. Ali Ladjavardi. He worked with Hamid at the friendship league. I wanted Hamid to confront Ladjavardi ."
"Did both you and Hamid have contact with Ladjavardi?" I asked again.
"Yes, once. Hamid, my brother brought me to meet him. Sharing a meal is a gesture of peace. I was trying to save their marriage but Sahar and Ladjavardi were not going to stop their affair so I told Hamid to repudiate her."
"Sorry?" Sasuke asked.
"In Muslim law it's a method of divorce. It's called Talak."
"I still respected his traditions."
"You and your brother seem to share a medical condition." I asked.
"Yes. Why is that important?"
"We don't mean to embarrass you, but Dr. Haruno is just trying to figure out the condition. That's routine. Part of the investigation."
"Have you seen a doctor?" I asked.
"Yes. He believes it's a genetic disorder we shared. He was going to call Hamid's physician to discuss it."
"Would you mind if we saw your medical records?" I asked.
"Of course not. If I could be helped, I welcome it."
lab
"Apparently, they live together a few days a week, but he was very clear that she has her own place." Ino said.
"Should you be intruding into their lives like this?" Naruto asked from his position by the skull.
"Oh yeah. Absolutely."
"We're negative for Lupus and Paget's. When you're done, I will do a scraping for environmental contaminates." Shikamaru said walking up with a file.
"I found these. Shiny flakes that caught onto the torn patches of bone." Naruto said to Shikamaru handing Hina Petrie dish.
"Bottom line, I still think Sakura has a shot with Sasuke."
"But she says she's not interested." Shikamaru interjected.
"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much."
"Maybe she protested just enough." Naruto said.
"Puh lease. She's been sleeping alone for months. She has enough pent up sexual energy to power a small mid-western city."
"This looks like gypsum. That wouldn't cause any organic damage. It's probably used to insulate the explosives, bet the FBI doesn't know that yet." Shikamaru said from his microscope.
"I'm gonna go check out this girlfriend." Ino said before leaving.
Interrogation room
Sasuke's pov
"I'm not proud of the affair. I admired Hamid but Sahar and I were in love and I can't change that." Ladjavardi said.
"You worked with Hamid. You had access to his car." I said.
"That's ridiculous."
"You also had contact with his brother Farid who said you were less then friendly with Hamid."
"Have you ever been in the middle of a messy relationship Agent Uchiha, or are you a perfect man?"
"You know I prefer to ask the questions Mr. Ladjavardi."
"And I have the right for an attorney. Have you called the number I gave you?"
"Of course. You know I would never deny anyone his rights."
Santana entered the room. "Mr. Ladjavardi, I'm Special Agent in Charge, Santana. We're sorry for the inconvenience, you're free to go."
"Thank you."
Santana said to me, "You're finished."
"What the hell was that all about? He was a prime suspect." I said in outrage.
"He's a mole for Homeland Security. They planted him in the Arab-American Friendship League."
"He admitted the affair."
"Maybe but Homeland Security says he's clean. They do not want his cover blown."
"But sir…"
"Do I look like I'm discussing this?" Santana said angrily.
Santana left and I punched the wall.
Sakura and Sasuke in his SUV
Sasuke honked the horn. "C'mon."
"You want me to drive?"
"No. Why?"
"You're angry."
Sasuke laughed, "I'm not angry."
"Yeah, you're furious. You're going to kill somebody."
"I'm not angry. Believe me, you do not want to see me angry. That's the last thing you want to see."
"Okay."
"This is me accepting reality."
"Okay, my mistake."
"My superiors, they make the decisions, Bones. Alright. They don't think them through that's really not my problem."
"If I were you, I'd be mad. Homeland Security is preventing you from doing a proper investigation of a murder case."
"I'm a grownup. I'll deal. You know that thing where you ask for the strength to change the things that you can and the wisdom to know the difference?"
"Not really."
"Well it's a good thing."
"Who do you ask?" I asked Sasuke.
"For what?"
"For the strength and the wisdom?"
"God."
"And that works?" I asked him.
"Can we talk about something else?"
"Sure. Tenten?"
"Tenten! No. Why do you want to talk about Tenten?"
"What? Why? Why not? I'm sorry. We won't talk about Tenten."
"I prefer if we would just stay on point and talk about things that you like to talk about like dead people. Dead bodies?"
"Sure, sure. You've killed a lot of people, right? When you were a sniper?"
"Maybe we shouldn't talk at all."
"Right cause you're angry."
"Not angry. I'm not."
"We'll find out who killed him, Sasuke. We've got Hamid's body. You can always count on the dead."
Lab
"When Uchiha sends over the brothers medicals, I want them matched to Hamid's." I said.
Shikamaru handed me a sheet of paper.
"I'm starting on a tox screen."
"Farid said his doctor suspected a genetic condition. Maybe we are overlooking something." I said.
I noticed an electronic device on the table, "What is that?"
"We used the trace elements we recovered to try and build the bomb. It might give you another link." Naruto said.
"Isn't the FBI working on that?" I asked while taking a closer look at it.
"Yes, this is just for fun." Shikamaru said.
"To see who's better?" I corrected.
"Maybe, a little. Yeah."
"Good luck."
Naruto presented me with a skull.
"Ta-da."
"Nice job. No wonder you had such trouble with reconstruction look at the spread of the Trabecular pattern in the bone."
"Microscopic fissures, like cracks."
"I knew that." Shikamaru said as If his pride had been hurt.
"I don't think so." Naruto smirked.
I said to both guys, "Can we focus? The spread is too rapid for any organic bones disease or genetic condition. It's definitely a toxin. Is there any surviving marrow to test?"
"Uh, I'll try and find some." Naruto said.
"Let's do it." I said.
Cafe
Ino walked into a cafe of sorts. She spotted a girl who looked like Tenten sitting at a table snacking on a muffin. She was reading a book on the FBI also. Ino looked at the paper in her hand that had Tenten's picture and information on it. It was a match. She walked over to the table and dropped her purse causing the contents to spill on purpose. Tenten looked down from her book before getting down to help her. They struck up a conversation after finishing picking up Ino's things.
Lab
Sakura's pov
"The marrow's degraded. I can give you basics but that's it." Shikamaru said.
"According to these tests the liver function was impaired." Naruto said staring down at a file.
"His body was trying to get rid of whatever was poisoning him." I said clearing it up.
"There is trouble in paradise." Ino said joining the group.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Tenten does not feel secure in that relationship. I think she's threatened by you."
"You talked to her?"
"She didn't say much but even though she has a phenomenal figure she was chowing down on a fat-free muffin and she was reading a book about unsolved FBI cases. Ughhh, she's obviously feeling insecure."
"She's spying for you?" Shikamaru asked me.
"No! No!" I said embarrassed.
"Even if you have nothing in common it's difficult to sublimate intense sexual attraction and we hear it's been awhile." Naruto said to me.
"Okay, Stop!" I said throwing my hands up in the air.
"He is there for the taking, honey." Ino said.
Sasuke then joined the group, "Okay, I couldn't get his medical records. What?" he said seeing as we were all staring at him with stupid faces.
"Oh nothing." I said embarrassed beyond belief.
"Trying to track down the doctor?" Sasuke asked.
"Don't need him. It's definitely a toxin but we can't determine what kind." I said looking back at the paper in my hand.
"Too bad the liver is cooked, that could tell us everything." Naruto said.
"You know, I need subtitles walking in here." Sasuke said.
"The liver is like a filter. It would contain evidence of any toxins in the system, but we don't have the liver or any of the flesh left." I said tying to explain.
"But we do have the beetles." Shikamaru said in an excited voice. He would jump at any chance to play with bugs.
"They ate Hamid's flesh and whatever organs remained and we all know you are what we eat." he said again.
"So you can ID the poison from the beetles." Sasuke said.
"You can't kill them. They have names." Naruto said trying to protect the beetles.
I took a handful from the jar. "We have to, Naruto. Some."
"In Thailand, they are sautéed in peanut oil. Mmm." Shikamaru said randomly.
"Oh." Sasuke said while patting Naruto on the shoulder who was sulking in a corner.
later in the day, lab
"We're going to have to run a simulation. I need you to input this skull and give me a face." I told Ino.
"You've got it."
"And no more talk about Sasuke. You shouldn't have gotten involved."
"That's what friends are for."
"Please, Ino."
Sasuke came up walking behind Naruto and noticed the bomb. "Hey, Wha…Where'd you get this?"
"I'm building it. Theoretical construct of the bomb based on the particulates we gathered." Naruto told Sasuke.
"This isn't your job. The Bureau's doing this."
"Got it! They were poisoned by dioxin, a very pure form. It would stay in the system for years cause cancer, diabetes, heart attack, and the facial system bone degeneration we saw." Shikamaru said in an excited voice.
"Give me the saturation levels. Ino can use it in simulation to give us approximate date of ingestion." I said.
"How much would it take to poison them?" Sasuke asked.
"Just a little slipped into their food. Like at that lunch they had with Sahar's lover." I said while walking away.
"Impressed?" Ino nudged Sasuke.
Ino's Office
"Dioxin levels were 5600 parts per trillion. Speed of bone degeneration is an 88% increase over base line osteoporosis. Date of death was…" I was saying.
"I remember that one, thanks." Ino interrupted.
"Run the scenario." Sasuke said.
"I'll never get used to this." Sasuke said looking at the holigraph.
"Yeah? Chicks with toys?" Ino said playfully.
"Poor bastard." Sasuke said seeing a picture.
"Match it to his INS photograph. See how accurate you are." I said.
"Good work, Ino. Probable date of exposure, about four months ago, I'd say first week in June." I said after seeing a perfect match.
"Let's go pay a visit to Mr. Ladjavardi." Sasuke said.
Sasuke and Sakura leaving the SUV and approaching Ladjavardi as he walks down the sidewalk
"I thought you were told to stay away from him?" I asked Sasuke.
"Yeah and as an FBI agent I cannot disobey my superior but you're not an FBI agent."
Hey! Hi! How ya doing?" I said walking up to him.
"What the hell are you doing here? You had orders."
"No. Not me. I just have a couple of quick questions for you."
"Look, I'm not involved in this. Sahar won't even talk to me anymore."
"Yeah, I wonder why?"
Ladjavardi pulled out a cell phone. "I'm calling Santana"
"Yeah, I don't think so."
"I'm warning you." he said to me.
"I wouldn't threaten her if I were you." Sasuke said.
"Look, I just want to know where you were in June, first week, to see if you poisoned Hamid and Farid."
"Subtle." Sasuke said to me.
"I'm leaving, that's it."
Ladjavardi moved to push me out of the way, but I swing my arm around and grabbed his. Pulling his arm around, I flipped him over on the sidewalk where he landed flat on his back. I walked over and put mu foot on his throat.
"Told ya. She doesn't like to be touched."
"I didn't poison anybody."
"Then tell me where you were in June."
"In Utah for training with Homeland Security. I didn't get to DC until August 12th. Check with the department."
"Alright, thanks." I said before stepping off of him.
lab
"The insulation they used is gypsum based with plaster and lead mixed with asbestos." Shikamaru said.
"Pyroab, It's a fire proof tile developed in 1903 by the United States gypsum company. It was only used for a few years." Naruto said.
"So probably came from the building where the bomb was constructed in." Shikamaru said.
"We find the building and we find the bomber." Naruto said.
Sasuke and Sakura in his SUV.
"How about this? Sahar wants out of the marriage. Hamid refuses so Sahar poisons him so that she can run off with uh A."
"Doesn't make sense." I told Sasuke.
"When someone dies the first suspect is the spouse."
"Well what about Hamid's brother? Did she poison him too?"
"Why not? You know he's pushing his nose into the marriage. I mean suddenly he is facing, you know, a devote Muslim and a fundamentalist Christian and you know and nobody allows divorce and she's pushed to murder."
"That's eschewed logic."
"Ah, C'mon Bones. Just work with me here. Alright. It's what we in the law enforcement call positing a scenario. Don't use the word eschewed."
"What if you and Tenten were going to break up and you didn't want to?"
"Interesting Bones."
"Well I'm positing a scenario. Tenten wants to break up and you don't want to so she poisons you."
"No, no, no."
"And then just to make sure she blows you up with a bomb."
"Why would Tenten do that?"
"Exactly. Thank you."
"See cause Tenten and I, that's a bad example."
"Well you're a couple in love, right?"
"Why do you keep bringing up Tenten? I mean why? What's the big deal? Is it so odd for you that I have someone in my life?"
"We were talking about couples. It's a natural segue."
"Alright, you know, you have to quit using the word segue and eschew. They sound French."
"Keep changing the subject. I get it. You're sensitive about you and Tenten."
"Why aren't we talking about you and your boyfriend?"
"I don't have a boyfriend."
"You just said that as though it's a good thing and you know what? It's a very, very sad comment on your personal life."
"Look, you're angry again." I said before my phone rang and I answered it.
"Sakura."
"The bomb insulation was made from Pyrobar which was used by an architect named William Allard. He was known for developing the Woodley Park neighborhood around 1910." Naruto said.
"Hang on a second Naruto."
I turned to Sasuke. "The bomb was made in Woodley Park."
"That's were Farid lives. Hold on."he made a quick U-turn in the road.
"No wonder we couldn't get his medicals. He already knew what was poisoning him. Alright, just stay in contact with your boys and tell them we're going to need them. Alright, Listen Sakura, we're heading into a very unknown situation. I think it's best if you just stay in the car." I glared at him.
"Okay, then. You know, if you have to come in with me you just stay behind me." I glared at him again.
"Fine, just be careful, Alright."
Farid's apartment
"Okay, Anybody asks that door was open. Stay right here!" Sasuke said to me.
"FBI Farid. Show yourself!"
I walked into his apartment and followed Sasuke into Farid's kitchen where he had been making something.
"Okay, give me Shikamaru." I said into my phone.
"Yeah?"
"Farid was making something here. Okay I got uh, melted plastic, bottles of chlorine…"
Dioxin. That's how you would make it."
"Bones!" Sasuke yelled from the bedroom.
"Yes?"
"Insulation. Farid definitely made the bomb. He killed his brother." Sasuke said referring to the hole in the closet.
"Alright, Stay with me Shikamaru." I said into the phone.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
"Hamid must have been killed because he found his brother making dioxin, alright, and that's probably how they got contaminated. C'mon, A mechanics guide for Hamid's SUV. Page on the odometer, dog-eared." Sasuke said.
"He wasn't a Christian." I said looking into a book.
"Deceit in the service of Allah is holy."
"The Koran?"
"No, Imam's twisted interpretation of the Koran so that mass murderers don't have to feel guilty." I corrected.
"He's made another bomb. It's out there, Right now!" Sasuke said after finding more bomb supplies.
"I'm convinced."
Then to Shikamaru I said.
"What's the dispersal rate for a bomb packed with say… two liters of dioxin?"
"Ahhh, homemade device similar to the car bomb that could be …three to five hundred meters if the victims weren't killed they'd develop cancer, blindness, lesions, diabetes.."
"Ah, no. Today's day is marked. Call Homeland Security they'll secure the apartment." Sasuke said while looking through a date book.
Sakura and Sasuke in his SUV Both on cell phones
"There is a convenience store across the street from Farid's apartment. The owner saw him get onto a bus and head downtown." Sasuke said into his phone.
"We're not sure what bus. Sasuke is checking with the FBI now if you find anything…" I said to Ino through my phone.
"I know. It's just these bus schedules are totally confusing."
"Yeah we saw his date book he had 5:30 circled, so just check anything that has anything to do with 5:30 that begins, ends, whatever. Yeah. I'm not going anywhere." sasuke said into his phone.
"Ino is checking too. I still don't understand why Farid would kill his brother?" I said to Saasuke.
"Because both of them were developing symptoms and then people would start asking questions then Farid would have been exposed. He had a mission to accomplish."
"How the hell does he think he's bringing about a better world by blowing people up?"
"Fanaticism and logic don't go hand in hand."
"It's almost 5:30. C'mon Ino anything between Woodley Park and downtown?" I said again into my phone.
"Okay, okay, uh…three movies start a six. There's a lecture at Fuller Hall on Birds. I can't imagine that will be crowded and a peace conference at the Hamilton Cultural Center. There will be speeches by Arab Moderates and a Congressman. That looks like the one."
"Peace Conference. Hamilton Cultural Center." I said to Sasuke.
"That's…" he started.
"That's it." I finished.
"That's gotta be it."
He said into his phone, "Okay Gibson, just get your boys over to the Hamilton Cultural Center and just keep them back when you get there. You understand me? If you spook this guy he will blow himself up before we can take him out. Fine, bye."
"Thanks Ino."
"You know, you don't have to come." Sasuke told me.
"You have got to be kidding me!" I said in outrage.
Hamilton Cultural Center
"Sasuke said. We'll start down here and make our way upstairs."
"Welcome to the Hamilton Center Peace Conference. We would ask that all delegates check in at the orientation located at the east entry before convening for the keynote speaker address…" an announcer said.
"There are too many ways in. Where are the reinforcements? Aren't there always reinforcements?" I asked.
"Sure, they're downstairs tying up the horses."
"Sarcasm doesn't help."
"Okay, they are mobilizing swat teams and additional agents but it takes time and if Farid has the bomb and spots them, it could be bad." Sasuke said.
"If you see him will you shoot?"
"Well, he might not have the bomb."
"You don't believe that?"
"I'm not taking out a target Sakura unless I'm sure."
"Is that how you make it easier? Calling him a target?"
"You know you really picked an odd time to have this conversation."
"Sasuke!" I yelled while pointing to Farid.
"Farid."
"There! That's Farid."
"I'm not sure."
"Look his walk is labored from the dioxin poisoning and the parietal bones in his skull match his picture."
"It's dexterous. What if you're wrong?"
"This is what I do Sasuke. Do you really want to wait? He's carrying something heavy in his camera bag, see the extra weight is causing his shoulder to…
"No, I can't!"
"He has all the markers, Sasuke."
"I need a face. I need a face." Sasuke said in desperation.
"Farid!" I shouted to him while cupping my hands around my mouth.
Farid turned around and looked at us.
"On the ground!" Sasuke yelled to Farid.
Farid reached into his bag and placed his thumb on the switch.
"He's going for the bomb." I said to Sasuke in a frantic voice.
Sasuke took aim with his large gun and shot Farid in the head. People let outs screams and ran away as they heard the shot. Gibson moved in to check and make sure it was the right person. He took the switch out of Farid's hand Gibson took off his sunglasses and nodded his head that Sasuke got the right guy.
Wong Foo's
"You know I told them to tell the press is was an undercover operation."
"But it would be a rose garden ceremony. That's an honor, Right? I thought you FBI guys loved your medals?"
"There's no pleasure in taking someone's life. Nothing to celebrate."
I smiled and touched Sasuke's arm. "You saved so many people, Sasuke. Don't forget that."
"You want to get another drink?" Sasuke asked me.
"Shouldn't you be getting home? Tenten will be worried about you." I asked Sasuke.
"Yeah. I guess I should. Thanks for your help Bones."
"Sure." I said.
Sakura's office
I was currently in my office identifying more more WWII skeletons. I smiled as I checked another one off of my list.
Review please :)