Just a quick reminder: This story is slightly AU. I don't own the Bones characters in the story. Any resemblance between the characters I've created and real people is a coincidence and unintentional.

Thanks for all the comments. If you have time to leave a review when you've finished reading, I'd appreciate it.

oooooooooo

Agent Mateo Lopez quickly glanced through the dossier that Special Agent in Charge Aubrey had compiled on Senator William Camden. Representing the great state of New York, Camden had served his valued constituents for twenty-four relatively unremarkable years. He'd managed to get re-elected to several terms by avoiding any political risks and by keeping himself out of trouble, maintaining a low profile and voting exactly the way he was instructed to vote by the fat cats who ran his political party. His family had a good name and lots of old money, so he was able to keep a small house in his hometown and a large three bedroom apartment in New York City in addition to the rambling yellow house at 22 Hickory Lane in Washington, DC. Other than that, there was nothing to set him apart from the rest of the politicians in the US Senate, but, in spite of his anonymity, he seemed quite content with his lot in life. Divorced several years ago, he had no children, and he had settled into a satisfactory routine of political rallies, meetings with lobbyists, and occasional votes on the various items that came up on the Senate's agenda. He had publicly stated recently that he hoped to retire quietly and without fanfare to his New York City apartment at the end of his current term.

The photograph enclosed with the file showed a slightly built, graying man in his fifties. Lopez shrugged as he set the picture aside. All in all, a plain vanilla kind of guy. I wonder how he got mixed up in this mess… He was reading through the senator's voting record when he looked up from the file to acknowledge the junior agent who had knocked on his office door. "Yes, Archer?"

"Senator Camden has arrived, sir."

"Excellent. Show him to conference room one. Agent Aubrey and I will join him there shortly. Make sure the senator has water or a cup of coffee if he wants one…" Lopez pulled out his phone and called Aubrey. "Senator Camden's here. Ready? Great. Five minutes in the main conference room. Right."

Senator Camden sat at the long table in the glass walled conference room, nervously drumming his carefully manicured fingers on the sleek wood as he inspected his surroundings. As far as he was concerned, this situation was simply unbearable for a man of his social standing. His carefully cultivated image of genteel respectability had been shot out of the water by the unseemly events that had taken place at his house the previous day, and now he'd been called in by the FBI to answer questions about Hannah's death. Pinching his lips together, he went over his story in his mind again...he had no idea what had happened to Hannah...no idea if Hannah had problems at work...no idea if she had any enemies or if there was anyone who might want her dead...just stick to the story, and things would be alright. He stared morosely into his coffee cup. The simple plan that had been presented to him had gone horribly wrong, somehow, and now Hannah was gone! It wasn't supposed to end this way!

He'd made the panicky phone call to his contact as soon as he could after the metro police officer charged with delivering the horrible news had left his Capitol Hill office. "You said it would work! You said no one would get hurt, remember? All we had to do was stick to the plan, remember? And now Hannah's DEAD! Someone shot her while she was at MY HOUSE! That was NOT a part of the plan that you presented to me!"

Camden shuddered, fretting as he sat at the table, still remembering the abject fear he felt as he heard the throaty voice on the other end of the call. "Fucking bitch said she wouldn't give up the kid. She said she had to protect him from me! She said she didn't want to hurt that bastard, either. Imagine that...all she went through with him, and she said she still cared for him. She wouldn't tell me where the brat was…she didn't want to go through with the plan. All that money, and she changed her fucking mind...she went batshit crazy on me...threatened to call the cops...I needed that kid, and I wasn't about to leave the house without him. I paid a lot of money for him, and I already had him promised to someone..."

"I can't help you with that.", Camden stammered, frightened at the thought of what might happen next. "I don't have him, and I don't know where he is...he was staying with her. Did you search the house and grounds? There's all sorts of places a child could hide…She could have hidden him almost anywhere. It's a large house..."

"Well, I found the little monster hiding in a cabinet in an upstairs bathroom. He was kicking and screaming as I tied him up and got him ready to take out to the car, so I put an end to that...and then Hannah got in the way. That stupid whore couldn't leave well enough alone...and you know know what happened to her, don't you? She got exactly what she deserved for fucking with the plan. That's why her brains and her pretty face are all over the walls and floor of your formal dining room. That's what happens to anyone who gets in my way! Keep that in mind, Mr. Fancy Pants Big Shot Senator! Remember, stay out of my way. Just ask Nataliya." A horrible guttural laugh was followed by another ominous threat. "Don't forget...I know all about you and all your kinky little habits, too. I won't shoot you yet...just leak those videos from that party to the press. Then you'll be so embarrassed you'll beg me to kill you, won't you? Suicide by assassin, right?''

"The housekeeper? Mrs. Jordan? What happened? What about the child...is the child alright? Where is the child?" Senator Camden yelled as the line went dead. Dear God...what have I done? He'd sat in his office for the rest of the afternoon, trying to figure out what to do next...

His worrisome thoughts were interrupted by the two stern faced men in dark suits who entered the conference room. "Senator Camden, thank you for coming to see us this morning. I realize it must be inconvenient for you at this difficult time. I'm Special Agent James Aubrey, and this is my associate, Agent Lopez. We'd like to talk to you about Hannah Burley's murder." Aubrey and Lopez both took a seat opposite of the senator. Aubrey glanced through the file folder in his hand as Lopez got his pad and paper out, ready to take notes as necessary. "To start with, what was your relationship with Ms. Burley and how long had she been living in the house at 22 Hickory Lane?"

Camden wiped his eyes and nose with his crumpled handkerchief as he tried to explain. "Hannah was the daughter of a friend of mine...someone I was in business with in New York before I was elected to the Senate. About thirty nine years ago or so, my friend had an illicit and very intimate affair with a woman whose husband was on staff at the Russian embassy in New York City, and Hannah was the child born of that relationship. The woman's husband naturally assumed that he was the father of the child, so my friend felt like he had dodged a bullet in that regard, and there was never any indication that the woman's husband ever found out about the affair or about the true parentage of the child, especially since the girl strongly resembled her mother. Because my friend worked with the husband on various projects for the embassy, he was able to give them a sizable sum of money as a gift for the child as his way of offering financial support for her without it appearing to be suspicious. And that would have been the end of it, except…"

"Wait a minute, Senator Camden…you're saying that Hannah was born to a mother who was a Russian citizen?" Aubrey flicked his eyes over at Lopez to see if he'd made the connection. Hannah had been helping the Russian housekeeper learn English...maybe she also spoke Russian fluently...Lopez nodded as he jotted a note to ask Booth what he knew about it.

"Yes, she was raised by the Russian family. She grew up speaking Russian at home. As it was, things had worked out well for my friend. He got to see the child from time to time, and he lavished her with gifts as a way to provide for her, so he was happy with the arrangement until the day when Hannah's mother was killed in a car accident when Hannah was about four or five years old. The man Hannah knew as her father was devastated by the loss of his wife, of course. In his grief, he decided that he wanted to return to Russia as soon as possible, but having the child complicated the issue in many ways. The child had not yet been issued a passport, and the man had no family in Russia that could help him raise a small child, so my friend, the man who was her biological father, offered to take Hannah into his home. His wife was agreeable, and they had no other children, so it was quickly agreed upon. Some of the staff at the Russian Embassy pulled some strings, and the adoption took place very quickly, so the man Hannah knew as her father gave up his parental rights and left for Moscow soon afterward. Hannah later went through the process of becoming a naturalized US citizen, because at the time she didn't know my friend was her biological father, and as far as I know, he never told her the truth."

"What was the name of Hannah's biological father?" Aubrey looked through his file. "We don't seem to have any next of kin listed for her."

"His name was Craig Buckley, and his wife's name was Ann Marie Morrow Buckley. They divorced when Hannah was about twelve. Unfortunately, Hannah's birth mother was not Craig's only illicit sexual dalliance. Craig just couldn't keep it in his pants." The Senator shook his head at the memory. "Ann Marie found him in a compromising sexual situation one too many times, but before she could sue for divorce, Craig simply vanished, and I never heard from him again. I think he's still considered to be a missing person. Ann Marie died about ten years ago without ever finding out what happened to him. As far as I know, she had a good relationship with Hannah..."

Aubrey held up his hand to interrupt Camden. "Lopez, make a note to see if the Bureau has any information on Craig Buckley being a missing person. Senator, you still haven't told us why Hannah was at your house yesterday. Based on the clothes, cosmetics, and personal items, it seems like she lived there…"

Camden felt his heart speed up as his blood turned to ice water. The plan...remember the plan… "She was house sitting for me. I tend to be out of town a lot...speaking engagements, checking on my constituents back home, things like that. My house had been broken into twice before, and the local police officer investigating the last break in suggested that I engage a house sitter, because occupied homes are less likely to be burglarized. Hannah knew I had a house in DC, so when she contacted me, saying that she needed a place to stay in the DC area, and because I needed someone to live in the house, we struck a deal for her to stay there a couple of days a week. It was just a happy coincidence…" Camden's voice trailed off as he realized the awful irony of his statement.

Lopez cleared his throat, glancing at Aubrey before he spoke. "Did she have a child with her, Senator? There were toys and clothes for a small boy in the house…"

The plan...the plan…"I'm unsure about that, Agent Lopez. Perhaps so...I don't know for sure…I didn't ask about whether or not she had any children, but I suppose it's possible."

"Is there a wall safe in the house? Do you know if she had any sort of safety deposit box or some other place she might keep important papers? Do you know where she did her banking or anything about her credit cards?" Aubrey tapped his pencil on the table impatiently. Aubrey could tell that the Senator was getting nervous, and he wasn't giving them enough details. This guy wants to clam up...he's hiding something...Giving Lopez a tacit glance, Aubrey decided he was going to have to push the senator a bit farther to find out what he needed to know.

"No, there's no safe in the house, and I'm sure I don't know anything about which financial institutions she used. That seems to be the sort of private information I wouldn't have access to. Our arrangement was strictly business. I paid her a small stipend to stay at the house, and I paid for her utilities while she lived there, but that's all." The senator glared at Aubrey. "It's not like I was doing anything illegal or immoral. I have a reputation to uphold, Agent Aubrey. I wasn't Hannah's sugar daddy, if that's what you think. She wasn't a 'kept woman'. Now, if that's all…" Camden nervously licked his lips and pushed his chair away from the conference table. "I'm in a bit of a hurry…"

Aubrey sat back in his chair, pressing his fingertips together as he watched the Senator grow more nervous and fidgety. "I'm afraid that's not all, Senator. Mrs. Jordan, the housekeeper that Ms. Burley had hired, was found shot to death in a park not far from the house on Hickory Lane this morning. Can you think of anything that might connect the two women, other than their ethnic background? It seems that perhaps they both had Russian ancestry..."

Oh my God...that's what he meant about Nataliya… Camden swallowed hard as he tried to present a nonchalant demeanor, even though his mind was reeling from the news. Remember the plan... "I have no idea about any sort of housekeeper, but if there was one, hiring Mrs. Jordan was Hannah's doing. I don't know anything about the housekeeper's background, but I imagine it might have been a mere coincidence that Hannah hired a Russian woman. Now, if you don't mind, I really must be going." The senator rose from his chair. "I have an appointment with the funeral director. I need to make Hannah's arrangements...it's the least I can do for her..."

"One more thing, Senator." Aubrey stood in front of the door to prevent the senator from leaving. "What was Ms. Burley's birth name? Do you remember?"

"Well, let me think a minute...oh yes, of course. Her birth mother named her Snezhana Ivanovna Biryukova…"

Aubrey nodded as he thought things through. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to get Hannah Burley from a combination of that name and the last name of Buckley. "Thank you, Senator. We'll be in touch."

As the Senator left the room, Lopez finished scribbling some more notes on the legal pad in front of him before looking over at Aubrey. "What do you think, Boss? Was he her sugar daddy?"

Aubrey shook his head thoughtfully. "I'm not positive, but right off hand I'd say no. He has too much to lose if Hannah were to make waves...a scandal might damage his plans to retire quietly." Picking up the file, Aubrey looked through it again and pulled out some of the crime scene photos. He tapped them with his finger as he spoke to Lopez. "But I do think he knows who did this to her, and judging by the way he was squirming, he's worried about being next. We need to arrange for some surveillance on our friend, the Senator. I want to make sure nothing happens to him...we're gonna need to talk to him again."

Oooooooooo

A man checked his watch as he sat at picnic table in a public park later that day, setting up a chessboard as he waited for his companion. Glancing around as he heard a small rustling sound, he nodded as a figure wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses quietly slipped out of the deep shade from a grove of trees into the bright noontime sunshine and sat down across from him.

The man with the chessboard grunted in annoyance. "You're late. I wondered if maybe you'd changed your mind about our business."

His playing partner smirked as he adjusted his sunglasses. "I was occupied longer than I expected. I had to find a place to put Nataliya's body where someone could find her easily. I wanted to make sure our target stays involved with the case."

"I see. Don't you worry that they'll trace the gun to you?" Pointing to the chessboard, he gestured to his companion. "You can take the white."

"The gun is not registered, since it isn't legal in this country, and I made sure there were are no prints. No...that's not what I'm worried about." Making a move with his first white pawn, Mr. Sunglasses commented, "It's the senator, Mikhail...he knows too much...and he talks too much. We need to get rid of him."

"And just how will we do that?" Mikhail moved his black pawn forward to meet the white one. "I can't just shoot a United States Senator, or make him disappear...you know that." He watched as his companion moved his bishop out across the board. "He has too much security surrounding him for that to happen. I guess we could arrange an accident…perhaps his car can run off the road and hit a tree...that always works well." Another black pawn moved forward.

"No. He can't just die. We also need to discredit the senator in the eyes of the public, so that anything he's already told the FBI will be doubted." There was a long pause while Mr. Sunglasses considered his options on the board in front of him as the game progressed. "I want you to suggest another party to him…"

"You mean like the one he had last month? Why? I still have the video from that one…for the blackmail..." Taking a white rook, Mikhail nodded for his companion to make a move.

The white queen was advancing across the board. "You'll suggest another party, but tell him it's at a secret location...somewhere new and different. I think the crime scene at his house will be released shortly, and they'll allow the cleaners in so he can have his house back all nice and neat. Ask him to meet you there so you can pick him up and take him to the party."

Mikhail shook his head. "I don't understand…" He paused a few seconds before moving his knight. "What good would that do? Where would we go?"

A hoarse laugh erupted from his companion as he took the black knight. "You're an idiot, you know that, Mikhail? He'll be pleased to try out a new venue...but he'll never make it there...understand?"

"Oh...I see…" Mikhail giggled wildly as he moved his bishop. "And then I can be creative with him? Practice for the agent and his family, I guess…"

"If you wish...but we need to wait before anything happens to them...I want to let them suffer for a while..." The white queen took the black queen. "Checkmate…"

"Checkmate? Already? Dammit." Mikhail reached down to knock over his king. "Of course, my friend...whatever you say. We can make them suffer as long as you want." Grinning broadly at his companion, he started to pack up the chessboard. "When will we get our money for the child?"

Mr. Sunglasses smirked as he turned to walk away. "Soon, Mikhail...very soon."