Chapter 6
FBI Headquarters Wednesday at 12:30 pm
Brennan watched through the one-way glass window as Booth paced the room. So far all he'd done was thrown Agent Fitzpatrick into one of the chairs. She wondered what he was waiting for until Deputy Director Cullen walked into the room.
"Dr. Brennan," He only nodded his greeting as he moved into the interrogation room. The forensic anthropologist just nodded and focused her attention on the scene before her. When Cullen entered the room, Booth stopped pacing and stiffened. A smirk crossed his face. Fitzpatrick gave Booth a look and then turned around.
"I'm Deputy Director Cullen. I've been informed that you believe there is a leak in the FBI. From what I hear from Agent Booth, you are the leak. Prove me wrong or be prepared for a very long afternoon, Fitzpatrick," The tall balding man took a seat across from the arrested Agent.
"Booth blew my cover. I thought we had a deal," Fitzpatrick said.
"We did until my partner and I found out you were lying," Booth told him.
"I didn't lie," The other agent defended himself.
"That's not what I hear. The squints at the Jeffersonian discovered that there was no physical way you could shove a man up into a chimney by yourself. Care to explain it to me?" Cullen spoke up. At this Fitzpatrick sagged his shoulders; Brennan noted he knew that the lie had been found.
"I didn't do it on my own," The agent sighed heavily.
"Tell us something we don't know," Booth sneered, leaning over the table getting in the man's face.
"You have to protect me," Fitzpatrick said.
"Give us one good reason," Booth was in no mood. Brennan smiled at his behavior. She knew that he didn't like being lied to and it was part of the reason she had fallen for him. They both loved the truth and both wanted to find that for the cases they solved.
"You have to believe that I would never do anything to betray this agency or this country but I had no choice in the matter," John told them.
"What do you mean no choice?" Cullen asked.
"Shortly after we arrested Salvalzo and shut down his restaurant, two men approached me. They said that if I didn't do as they said, they would kill my sister and her family," Fitzpatrick explained.
"So what did they want?" Booth demanded.
"They wanted the names of the agent's on the case and information about where their boss was being held. You have to understand, years ago my sister witnessed a Mob hit and she was put into the Witness Protection Program. How they found her, I don't know but I couldn't take that chance," The agent said.
"Who knows about your sister and why didn't you tell Booth before?" Cullen asked, hoping his agent wouldn't lose it.
"No one knows about my sister except Witness Protection and now you guys. As far as telling Booth before I wasn't sure who to trust, I figured if I told part of the story it would be enough to keep my sister safe," Fitzpatrick told them.
"Who helped you kill the man in the chimney?" Booth backed off a little.
"I'm not sure who we killed but I was told to do it as part of my deal. The guy who helped me only gave me his first name, Jimmy," The agent said.
"That's not much to go on," Cullen told him. To Booth he said,
"Look up who has been put in charge of Mr. Salvalzo's case now. See if they can't shed some light on the name Jimmy. Also see who is aware of Mr. Fitzpatrick's sister,"
"As for you Fitzpatrick, you are on unpaid leave pending a complete investigation. You'll be kept in custody to ensure that you will testify should there be a trial. I can't speak for the District Attorney but I can't imagine you'll get away without any jail time, if you have a lawyer you might want to contact him," The Deputy Director informed the Agent. Fitzpatrick slumped n his seat and nodded. Brennan knew there was a good chance that John would no longer be an FBI Agent when this was all over. She watched as Booth hauled him out of his seat and exited the interrogation room. Cullen followed after but he stopped at the forensic anthropologist.
"Dr. Brennan, I need to inform you that you could be in danger in association with this case. This goes for the rest of your team as well," He told her.
"I understand sir. I'm sure Cam will have no problem stepping up security at the Lab," She said.
"I was thinking more along the lines of a personal detail," Cullen informed her.
"I can stay at the Lab, it's not as though I haven't done it before," Brennan told him. The Deputy Director sighed.
"I don't think you completely understand the severity of the situation," He said.
"The Mob is nothing new. I have been to South America during revolutions and the Balkans during times of genocide, I am not afraid," The forensic anthropologist refused to back down.
"Booth is right, you are stubborn," Cullen shook his head and left the room. Brennan followed him and headed towards Booth's office.
When she reached there she found her partner on his office phone. The look on his face was one that told her something wasn't right. The forensic anthropologist waited until he was off the phone to ask about what was going on.
"What is it?" She wondered.
"The new agent on the case, Tom Croft, has gone missing," Booth let out an exasperated sigh.
"So Fitzpatrick was telling the truth. There is a leak in his division," Brennan said.
"They have a team trying to track him down as we speak. As soon as they know something, we'll know," the FBI agent shook his head.
"What now?" His partner asked.
"We'll get you back to the Lab and have Cam beef up security. We still need to know who the guy on your table is. Hopefully you'll be able to get a real ID on him," Booth said.
"Angela has been working on that and Hodgins and Zach are still working on the bones," Brennan informed him. Booth nodded and came around his desk. He placed his hand in the small of her back and led her out of his office. The partners headed to the elevator and out to the SUV.
FBI Special Agent Tom Croft sat in the chair he was tied to; his right eye was swollen shut and he was bleeding from his nose and mouth. The two men who had been assaulting him were surprised that he had held out for so long.
"I guess you don't like your girlfriend. A shame really, she is very beautiful," the first one who'd hit him said.
"I told you to leave her out of this," Croft mumbled the words out of his injured mouth.
"And we said we would if you tell us what we want to know," the second one told him.
"I've told you what I know. I was just assigned to the case, I wasn't completely briefed," the FBI agent lied.
"We don't believe you and if you don't start telling the truth, we'll be sure to make your girlfriend's death a painful one," the first one spoke again. Knowing he was caught between a rock and a hard place, Croft tried to see if he could stall them.
"How do I know that you haven't killed her already?" He asked.
"You'll have to take our word for it," the second one said.
"Like I can trust you. I want to know that she is all right," Croft demanded. The first one pulled back to hit him again but the second stopped him.
"I have an idea. We'll prove she is unharmed if you give some real information, do you promise to do so?" The second asked.
"I swear," Croft lied.
"Very well, Jimmy, go and fetch the proof we need," the second one said.
To Be Continued…