AN: Sorry guys, this chapter is a bit darker than the last one. That's the nature of the beast as far as this story goes though. Please let me know what you think, whether it's good, bad or indifferent. I really do value your opinions.

"Yes, sir. Yes, it's the same victim from that case. I understand that, and I realize that I was pulled from it for a reason, but I really need the jurisdiction on this one. I think it's connected to my current case. Yes, sir, thank you." Booth flipped his phone shut and looked at Angela. "Well, Cullen agreed to get the case file from the agent out in San Diego."

"I'll watch the rest of these and see if I can match the couple in the video to any others." The artist sighed as her stomach rolled. This was definitely not how she wanted to spend her evening.

"Ange, just tag this video and come back to it tomorrow. You've been at this all day." Angela smiled sadly up at Booth.

"Thanks for the suggestion Booth, but I have to finish this tonight. If I don't, then I won't want to do it tomorrow."

"Okay. Just call if you find any matches." Angela nodded and turned back to her computer. She'd rather have nightmares one night than spread over several because of the work.

Booth made his way to Brennan's office, knocking lightly on the doorway as he stepped inside. She looked up from her files and smiled at him.

"Well Bones, our case just got a little bit more complicated." He made his way to her couch and sat down.

"What do you mean?"

"Angela just found a video online of our victim from San Diego."

"What kind of video?"

"The sickos that raped her recorded the event, including chasing her off the edge of that cliff." His stomach turned as he thought about the video again. Brennan also looked a bit green around the gills, but swallowed back the bile rising at the thought of what the video contained.

"Do you think it's the same couple that hired Beth?"

"I don't know, but if it's not then we can at least try to get them for the crimes they have committed." Booth put his hands at his waist, his jacket spread wide behind them. "God, sometimes I get so tired of dealing with trash like this."

"Booth, we'll get the people who killed that girl, and we'll stop whoever it was that hired Beth. I don't like this anymore than you do, but you know that we are the people who get them off the streets."

"I know that Bones, but it gets to you, you know? I know so many guys who burn out and leave because they can't handle their jobs anymore. Sometimes I just feel so close to that point." He ran a hand over his face and sighed. "I was going to see if you were ready to go, but I think I'm gonna head back to the Hoover Building and do a search for cases similar to Rebecca Teasdale's. If these guys make a habit of picking up girls to rape and murder them, then maybe I can find something to help us out."

"Don't stay out too late." Brennan got up from her desk and approached Booth. She sat down next to him and gave him a hug. He wrapped his own arms around her and kissed her forehead.

"I shouldn't be too late. If the search criterion doesn't turn anything up, then I'll head home. Otherwise, I'll wait for the information to be sent in."

"Fine, but if you aren't home by eight, I'm coming to get you."

"Yes ma'am." He gave her a small salute and stood up. "You might want to check in on Angela. I think she could use some company. That trash is hard to watch." Brennan nodded and followed him from the office, only breaking off her path to head to Angela's office. Booth watched her until she was in with the artist and then headed from the building to return to FBI headquarters.

XxXxX

"Hey, are you still here," Brennan asked as she peeked into Booth's office. He threw the file he was reading onto a pile of others and sighed. Ten other cases from around the country were similar in circumstances to Rebecca's case. He was sick to his stomach as he read the same details over and over.

"Obviously. These people are sick and depraved. Geesh, I feel dirty just reading over these cases." He shuddered and straightened out the stack of papers.

"Well in that case, I say that we need to scrub you clean." Brennan smirked at Booth and leaned against the doorway to his office. Booth leaned back in his chair and smiled at his wife.

"I think I'd be up for that."

"Yeah? I thought you would." She held her hand out to him, a seductive smile on her face as he stood up to join her. When he reached her, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, sliding his tongue against hers as she opened up to him. God, he loved the taste and feel of her. She molded to him, pressing her body into his as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He growled in appreciation, pulling her closer as he moved his lips from hers and along her jaw line to her neck.

"We shouldn't be doing this here you know. There are cameras everywhere." He skimmed his hand down her side until it rested on her thigh. He hiked her leg up and wrapped it around his hip before grinding his pelvis into hers. She could get him hot like no one else. Everything about her was tempting to him.

"Then close your blinds and no one will be the wiser." Booth pulled back from her for a moment and shook his head.

"What have I done to you? Sex at work Bones? That's kind of hot, but not something I thought you'd be up for."

"Well, when you're in the mood," she said as she shifted her hips into his again, "then you make a few exceptions." He growled a bit at her and brought his lips to hers again. They stumbled their way into the office and toward his desk chair. Unlike Brennan, he didn't have a couch to collapse onto, but to be honest, he liked being able to see all of her when they made love.

Brennan reached for his belt buckle, undoing it and reaching inside his trousers to wrap her hand around him. Booth hissed and thrust into her hand as he tugged her shirt up over her head, breaking the kiss to get rid of the barrier between them.

"Bones do you have any idea what you do to me," he ground out, arching his hips to let her slide his pants down over his hips. He closed his eyes as she dropped to her knees and put her mouth on him. Bliss. Her mouth was pure bliss.

"Of course I do, but do are you aware of what you did to me?" Booth opened his eyes, puzzled. How was she able to speak if she was otherwise occupied? With a frown, he looked at her and yelled in shock. Temperance was covered with long cut marks that were bleeding freely, and a long, ugly wound ran down her abdomen. She shivered for a second before collapsing on the ground. Booth stumbled from his seat, dropping the bloody knife that was in his hand. He turned, horrified and saw a cameraman there, capturing everything.

"Booth?" Seeley startled awake, sitting up in his chair and looking around in a panic. "Are you okay? I was worried when you didn't come home." Temperance walked into his office, frowning in concern.

"I'm sorry, I must have…" He looked around his office. Everything was as it should be. On his desk, one of the files was open, and a crime scene photo lay there. Well, that explained the nightmare. He rubbed his face, trying to shake off the sleep and stood up, wincing as his back pulled. Obviously sleeping at work did nothing for his already bad back. "Did Angela finish looking at those videos?"

"Yes. I made sure she left before I came here to find you. I have to say that I've seen some pretty terrible things in my life, but those videos were incredibly disturbing." Booth joined her and they headed for the elevator.

"Yeah, I only saw one of them, but it made me sick. Is Angela going to be okay?"

"I think so. She said something about visiting a friend. I'm assuming she doesn't want to be alone tonight." As the elevator doors opened up, someone called for them. Booth turned around to see Charlie racing down the hall for them.

"Booth, hold up! We just got a call in for you. A body's been found in the McMillan Reservoir, pretty torn up. It sounds a lot like the victims in those files you were looking over this evening so Cullen wants you two over there."

"Thanks Charlie." The junior agent nodded as Booth and Brennan stepped onto the elevator. Seeley turned to his wife with a sigh. "No rest for the wicked, huh Bones?"

"I don't know what that means."

XxXxX

"Okay, so who found the remains," Booth asked the police officer on site as they walked to the remains."

"A groundskeeper of the park was making his rounds when he saw something in the water. As soon as he realized that what he saw was a body, he gave us a call. I gotta say though, it's the most disgusting thing I think I've come across, and I've seen a lot." The police officer raised up the tape and led them over to the edge of the reservoir. A body lay on some plastic tarps, mostly in tact. Brennan knelt next to the remains to take a look at them.

"Well, these remains are relatively fresh; I don't think that this victim has been dead more than a couple of days." She examined the head and shuddered slightly at the appearance. "Normally I don't deal in flesh, but I can see why this young woman is unable to be identified. There are multiple striations in the flesh, cutting down to the bone, and it looks like something in the water might have fed from her. Are there many fish in there?"

"Yeah, tons. You don't think they ate her, do you?"

"I'd say it's a possibility, though it's not exactly my area of expertise. I mean, it's obvious this is a young woman, but not enough of her bones are showing to give me more than that. Can you please have these remains taken to the Jeffersonian? I'm going to have to debride the remains before I can do a more thorough examination." Brennan stood up and let the crime scene technicians handle the body. As they loaded the remains into a body bag, however, Booth held out a hand for them to stop.

"Wait, what's that," he asked as he pointed to the lower back of the victim. "I need a flashlight."

"Booth, what is it?"

"I think I recognize that tattoo." One of the technicians handed the flashlight to Booth. He shone it onto the lower back of the victim and shook his head. "Beth has a tattoo like that on her lower back. I saw it last Friday at the hotel when she was arguing with manager."

"Are you sure? It's a pretty common design."

"I'm pretty sure." Booth handed the flashlight back to the technician and pulled out his pad of paper. After flipping through a couple of pages, he found the number he was looking for. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed, waiting for the other end to pick up. After the third ring, the line was answered.

"Hello?"

"Yes, hello, is this Beth Burkshire?"

"No, it isn't."

"May I please speak to Beth?"

"I think you'll find her a little bogged down right now." The woman on the line laughed. Booth motioned to another officer and pointed to the phone. Why couldn't they have been somewhere to make tracking the call easier?

"Bogged down? What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean Special Agent Seeley Booth. Really, I thought you were more intelligent than that. Playing dumb doesn't suit you." Booth's free hand formed into a fist as his grip on the phone tightened.

"I hope you know that we will find you, and when we do, you'll be lucky to escape without the death penalty."

"Now, now Agent Booth. We both know that's not how the game is played. Besides, I think you'll find that a media storm is about to blow and you'll be so caught up in it you won't have time to look for little ole me." The woman laughed and hung up the phone. Booth turned to the police officer he'd motioned to. The officer shook his head. They weren't able to track the signal.

"Damn it," he swore and threw the phone to the ground. He didn't like games, and now it seemed he and the Jeffersonian team was sucked right to the center of a very sick and twisted one.