CHAPTER 6

"Just what in the hell is this about a ransom note?!" Cullen's voice bellowed into the phone.

Booth groggily and gently got out of bed, trying not to wake Brennan. He opened and closed the bedroom door quietly. Once safely in the living room, he spoke. "What?"

"Rebecca just called me asking if we had any new leads on the ransom note. I told her there wasn't a ransom note and she got hysterical, saying that you told her there was," Cullen explained to Booth.

Crap "Sir, I was trying to calm her down and she wanted to know what was happening, so I just told her we had a new lead," Booth stumbled over his words, secretly smacking himself for telling her. He hadn't imagined she would call Cullen. "Why didn't she call me?"

"She said she did, but you didn't answer," Cullen replied. "Now, Booth. Please tell me that there isn't a ransom note that you are hiding from the FBI?"

Booth hesitated before speaking. "No sir, of course not. I just wanted Rebecca to believe that we were moving forward instead of being stuck where we are," he explained, very rationally, to Cullen.

"Because you are bound by law to bring in any evidence regarding this case. And I wouldn't want you to go out on your own without proper back-up," Cullen told Booth.

"Yes sir, I know, sir," Booth replied, desperately wanting to actually tell Cullen. He knew he could probably convince him to keep it under wraps, but at this point, it still wasn't worth risking it. Nothing about that note could make it into evidence or he wouldn't see Parker again…period.

"You let me know if you hear anything," Cullen instructed. "And Booth?"

"Yes sir?"

"For future reference, don't lie to your ex about the status of her son's kidnapping. I don't think it will help the situation. You need to stay sharp, okay?" Cullen instructed Booth in a fatherly tone.

"Will do, sir," Booth replied as he quickly shut his phone. He sighed loudly, throwing his head back and staring at the ceiling. What if the kidnapper had traces on their phones? What if he now knew that the FBI had gotten wind of the note? What if he didn't let Parker go? Booth's mind was racing. He checked his phone: 4 missed calls and all were from Rebecca. Was I really that asleep? He looked over at the clock: 10:14. He had actually gotten nearly 3 hours of sleep, which surprised even him. He started to pace again.

A moment later, a phone rang. Booth jumped at the sound. He looked over to the kitchen counter and saw that it was Brennan's phone. He rushed to it, glancing at the caller ID "unknown" before picking up.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Agent Booth. I was expecting Dr. Brennan. You are a lucky man right now, Agent Booth. Lucky that you got Cullen to back down. You keep that ex of yours in line or your sweet little boy will be missing his fingers the next time you see him," the garbled voice was menacing.

Booth didn't even have a chance to protest before the line went dead. Within seconds, he had Rebecca on the phone.

"Rebecca, hi. I think there's been some confusion."

"Look, I'm sorry, Rebecca. I don't know what I was thinking, I just wanted you to be at ease," Booth tried to explain.

"By telling me that there was a ransom note when there wasn't?! How is lying to me going to help anything, Seeley?" she yelled at him.

"I don't know, Rebecca! I'm going crazy here!" Booth screamed.

Brennan appeared in the living room. "What is going on?" she asked, concerned.

Booth looked over at her. "Sorry. I didn't want to wake you," Booth told her as he covered the speaker to the phone. Brennan could hear Rebecca's voice from across the room.

"Are you listening to me, Seeley?" Rebecca asked. Brennan pointed to the phone.

Booth turned his attention back to his son's mother. "Rebecca, just trust me, there is no ransom note, okay? Just make sure you get in touch with me before you talk to Cullen, alright?" Booth told her.

"I don't know what to believe, Seeley. But okay, I'll see you tomorrow. Good night," she finally surrendered.

"Good night, Rebecca," Booth said as he hung up.

"How does she know about the note?" Brennan asked him.

"Because I sorta told her…when you were on your way to-"

"Booth!" Brennan snapped.

"I didn't want her to worry and then freak out and call Cullen, so I told her there was a ransom note, but that it was being handled. I didn't give her any details, so there was no way that 'K' would know. Except she tried calling me to ask about any leads and when she didn't get a hold of me, she called Cullen," Booth explained. "And then Cullen called me and that's how I found out about all of this. I told him I made it all up, that I lied to Rebecca. And then, 'K' called your phone and told me to keep Rebecca in line," Booth continued as he handed Brennan's phone to her.

"He has a trace on my phone," Brennan said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, he does," Booth replied.

"Do you think Cullen is satisfied with your story?" Brennan asked.

"Yeah, at least for now. I can't stand waiting!" Booth exclaimed, beginning to pace again.

"Where do you think he'll leave the next letter?" Brennan asked him.

"There's no telling. But he won't leave it at the Jeffersonian, it's too risky," Booth replied. Booth stopped pacing and sat on the sofa. He paused for a few long moments. "He said he'd cut off Parker's fingers if…" his voice trailed off.

Brennan's heart sank as she sat next to him. "That's not going to happen. Whatever his 'request' is, it will get done and he won't even have an excuse to touch Parker," Brennan told Booth, ever so gently.

"I don't know. I just have this funny feeling," Booth tried to explain.

"Of course you have a 'funny feeling,' your son is missing. It's understandable and it's called anxiety," Brennan explained rationally to him.

"I know. I just want all of this to be over and I want him home and I want you not to have to go through any of this. He made you pay $25,000 and we didn't even get Parker back! Who knows what he'll ask for next," Booth was nearly foaming at the mouth as he stood up again.

Brennan stood with him. "Whatever it is, we'll handle it. We have to…for Parker. I'll do whatever it takes, okay? You know that, right?" she asked as she grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eyes.

"Yeah, I know that, Bones," he said, comforted by her voice.

She could not even begin to imagine what it would truly take to bring Parker home.