A/N: That you so much for all the reviews you've submitted! They make writing so much more enjoyable, and I love to know what you think! big hugs
Disclaimer: Nope…still don't own them! ;)
Weak is week,
strength is Pow-er.
Her possession of each,
PLeaDs for control.
Aries
The newest clue lay before the team like a labyrinth. It had so many nuances that could be important, or could be nothing at all.
Booth, his head buried in the Durrsin evidence, felt his eyes sting with the strain of reading page after page. Zack sat plugging away variables in a computer, trying to figure out a context for the hyphenation of the word 'power'. Mirroring Zack's basic idea, Angela used a pen and paper to follow the flow of her thoughts. Hodgins, of course, was with Angela.
"Hang on guys I think I got something," Booth exclaimed. It wasn't much just a phrase written in Bones' handwriting about the body. "In her notes, Bones wrote that the body was exposed for a week under harsh elemental conditions. That could be the 'week' this guy's referring to, right?"
Hodgins glanced to Zack, then Angela, before slowly nodding. "Yeah. Yeah Booth, you may be on to something!"
"If it's true that it does reference the time the body was…well, a body-- before you guys identified her, maybe the first 'weak' refers to her physical ability after he killed her as a sick joke," Angela suggested.
Eyes wide Zack piped up, "So he's telling us that after he murdered her, she was 'weak' because she was obviously dead, and he dumped her body where it sat unnoticed for a 'week'."
Looking borderline happy with this news, Booth rolled his shoulders. "Which means that we're on the right path! This definitely is the same guy who murdered the Durrsin girl."
"Okay but why go after Dr. Brennan," Zack inquired innocently. Three sets of irritated eyes turned in his direction. "Okay," Zack continued, "Stupid question, moving on to the second line of the clue, maybe 'strength is power' refers to his ability to kill her giving him his power."
Angela bit her lip. "Okay I'll buy that, it seems to fit, but why is power spelled that way?"
Drumming his fingers against the desk, Zack suddenly turned, typing 'power' into a search engine. "It lists the spelling of the word 'power' as broken down by syllables 'pow-er', but in actual pronunciation it has it written as 'pou-er'."
Hodgins frowned, "That's odd, don't we have a federal prosecutor with the last name, Pouerston?"
"You're right, we do! Do you think this Aries has a connection to the prosecution's office?" Angela felt an idea tingle in the back of her mind. "Or…wait a minute… 'pleads' has a capital 'P-L' and a capital 'D'!"
Booth stared across the table at her. "You know what it is?"
"I think so. I used to date this guy who worked as a federal prosecutor." Hodgins stiffened at the mention of her ex-boyfriend, but Angela ignored his reaction. "In all of his notations about cases, he would use capital 'P-L-D' if he thought he should plead out the case! Maybe, Booth, just maybe, this guy did time, or at least was tried for something before!"
Hodgins leaned in. "That's great Angela! Now about this guy you used to date.."
"Later," Booth demanded. Hodgins looked suitably chastised, while Angela rolled her eyes.
Zack interrupted the by-play, "I'm guessing the reference to 'her possession of each, pleads for control' is related to his killing her. Perhaps her strength helps her to fight for survival, but the weakness, or weakened state of her body, wants her to give up. So each is fighting to control her will to live or let go."
The room fell silent. Booth grabbed his jacket. "We're not going to let it get to the point where she's in that position. I'm going to talk to Prosecutor Pouerston, see if he can give us any information." He headed for the exit passing Cam on the way.
"Hey, I just finished up on the autopsy I had to do, how is the note is coming," she asked. Booth turned to look her dead in the eye. "We finished. No thanks to you. I'd stay and chat, but I have a murderer to find, and a partner to save." He stomped off before she could respond.
Cam headed up joining the trio still around the table. "So what'd I miss?"
Angela and Hodgins mumbled something about needing to go re-process evidence, escaping as quickly as possible. Zack filled her in, but seemed reluctant to do so.
"What is with everybody around her," Cam demanded." Not knowing quite how to respond Zack shrugged. "Everyone's on edge with Dr. Brennan missing. I think they were surprised you didn't stay and help."
Cam crossed her arms defensively. "I know she's missing, but this lab still has to function. Bodies still have to be processed; the world doesn't stop just because she's missing. There's protocol to be followed, regulations!"
Zack headed for the door, but at the last second turned back. Adoration and respect for Dr. Brennan made it worth the risk of saying what he was about to say. "Excuse me, Dr. Saroyan, but this doesn't have anything to do with protocol. It has to do with Dr. Brennan missing, who could be dead in a few hours. She'd be right here ignoring everything else if it were one of us missing, because we all have a connection. You…don't seem to…care…" With that Zack fled, running to find Angela and Hodgins.
Cam watched Zack leave feeling ripples of anger beneath her skin. Even when she wasn't in the building, Dr. Brennan was still causing her problems.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Booth met Pouerston at an all night diner near the man's house. He had no way of knowing that as the time approached 11:40p.m., his partner was a mere 3 blocks away in a dilapidated apartment building set for demolition the following afternoon.
He couldn't see her struggle against the binds around her ankles. He couldn't feel how difficult it was for her to breathe behind her gag. He didn't understand the confusion or fear that clouded her mind.
He did however sense her. He could feel a tug, a pull, as if she was calling out to him, asking for help. It made him edgy, made him confront the unthinkable- what the hell would he do if he lost her?
