I don't own Bones. Sorry for the delay, I've been busy.
Chapter Four
Angela needed a strong drink after she read the contents of the email. It had to do with a human trafficking ring and that an officer named Jones from the DC police department was involved with the murder of Steve Barton. She just called Booth to let him know about dirty cop Jones but he already learned from Sweets a few minutes ago and was pissed. He felt awful and even more like crap when he learned a policeman named Adam Jones offered to find the boy and the latest news was that half an hour ago, Sweets made contact with Connor O'Malley by phone but they couldn't get his location.
"Any news?" Hodgins asked.
"No," Angela replied.
"Don't worry, they'll find them," Hodgins said.
"I hope so," Angela said. Her computer beeped. She checked it and there was an email.
"What's that?" Hodgins asked.
"The FBI wanted us to look into Steve Barton's kids' relatives since the grandmother they live with is senile," Angela said. She clicked the attachment and downloaded the PDF of the two children's birth certificates.
"Oh my God," she said.
XXX
"Slow down Booth! We're going to get in an accident," Brennan warned. Booth jerked the car into a parking space in a parking lot and jogged down the street to the apartment building. They were going to Connor O'Malley's address. Booth banged on the door.
"What'd ya want?" asked a man with an obvious hangover, "Listen, tell Ronnie I'll have his money by tomorrow."
"We're looking for your son," Booth said.
"Connor? He's probably out with his friends," the man tried to shut the door but Booth stuck out his hand.
"What?" the man snapped, "If the brat got in trouble, then I don't see why you have to harass me."
"Your son is a possible witness to a murder. We need to find him now," Brennan said quickly.
"Well shit," the man said, "Listen, I don't know where he is. He likes to roam around the city. He likes seeing the monuments."
"We'll be back with a search warrant," Booth said as he turned away.
"What for?" the man demanded.
"To see if he has hidden potential evidence in your apartment," Brennan said, "Has anyone else tried talking to you to find your son."
"No, just you two," the man said.
"Good, there is a corrupt cop looking for him as well and we don't need him to know where your son is," Brennan said, and walked away to join her partner.
"Yeah, get a search warrant for his apartment," Booth hung up on whomever he was talking to.
"What was that about?" Brennan asked.
"Officer Jones was nearly beaten to death inside of a bar. The bartender said Connor ran in there saying he was a pedophile and the bar patrons didn't like the sound of that. They can't find Connor though. Bartender said he was wearing green shorts and a black t-shirt," Booth said.
"Oh God," Brennan said.
"Wait a second," Booth spotted someone and started to walk down the street.
XXX
Connor kept looking over his shoulder, half-expecting Officer Jones or the German/Russian man to be standing right behind him. The phone rang. He picked it up.
"Connor O'Malley?" asked the man's voice.
"You're not Dr. Sweets," Connor said dumbly.
"No, but I'm a friend of his. Special Agent Seeley Booth. Can you turn around for me?" asked Agent Booth. Connor reluctantly turned around. There was a man and woman by the parking lot and the man waved something that caught the sunlight. Connor bolted down the street. He could hear the agent running after him. Connor tripped over something and landed on his stomach. The left side of his face hurt and he felt something warm come out of his nose. He didn't need to check to know what it was: blood.
"We're not going to hurt you," the man said. Connor kept his mouth hanging open but he didn't say a word. He backed away slowly. The man continued, "We can put you in the Witness Protection Program. You'll be safe."
"Safe?" he repeated.
"Uh huh. Just come with us and everything will be alright," the man said. Connor was reluctant. Unfortunately, he didn't have to make a decision. Two gunshots rang out. He looked down and saw his black shirt get darker in two spots on his chest. He would have fallen onto the concrete but the agent caught him and lowered him down. He said something but it sounded underwater. God, he was tired. Surely it wouldn't hurt to just close his eyes for a second and think.
XXX
The paramedics worked fast. Thankfully, the woman who was helping the man with the boy had the boy's file on hand. On that form there was his age, blood type, and a blank that said no pre-existing medical conditions. They exhausted the blood supply in the ambulance. The boy flat-lined. They cut off his shirt and used the defibrillator to restart his heart. It took two tries but it came back.
He was rushed into surgery. There, he was given more blood and IVs for fluid, painkillers, and antibiotics. At 4:03 pm, the boy was pronounced dead.