Backward Loop

Disclaimer: I do not own Bones. I wish I did. No profit made.

---------

Booth didn't get what they were saying. The squints were squawking excitedly in a manner he could not comprehend.

"Ok English for the non geek speaking group." He says.

Zach looked slightly miffed but he didn't care.

"The case that we were originally called on, which I'm working on my own has a woman who was killed through a backward loop." Cam said.

"As was the guy you and Brennan were chasing on the night she disappeared." Jack added.

"But I thought you said he died of an overdose." Booth stated.

Zach shook his head. "That was my initial prediction. Upon further analysis it was determined that cervical vertebrate was actually perimortem instead of postmortem damage which it originally appeared like. The backward loop of the noose was held in place by a man much larger than our victim."

"Backward loop?"

"It's seen in yo-yo's." Angela said. "No one kills with them unless it's a M.O."

"So they're connected." Booth stated. It wasn't a question. This was the beginning of the break he had been hoping for. The beginning. The end he was still unsure about.

"Anything else?" he asked.

Angela was studying the face of the woman they had found. It was badly battered making her appearance difficult to envision. Not so for the young artist who can picture a face from only skeletal remains.

"Oh my gosh." She breathed.

That wasn't good.

-----

He was home. She wasn't scared. Not this time. She had learned her act and was doing it well. She greeted him with a smile and a hug, feeling her skin literally crawl at the contact.

She followed him to bed, never letting him know that something was not right. However when she awoke in the middle of the night, she found Mark watching her, his eyes cold. She found herself shivering in the too warm weather. Kyra was already asleep and she felt a tug at her heart. They had to go. They had to go soon. No matter what.

----------------

She's smart but he believed she would never be as smart as him. For the time being everything seemed alright but he felt the restless feeling overcome him again. He was bored. He wanted the excitement of the hunt and of making everyone including his lovely prey dance in frenzied circles.

He glanced at her. She was awake, her breathing was shallow. He knew she was awake. What she was thinking was anyone's guess. He would miss her, but he couldn't deny his restlessness, after all he deserved to be happy didn't he?

---------------------

She had set up her computer to compare the picture of the Cam's victim alongside the picture from Brennan's Jeffersonian ID.

"Wow." Cam said.

Booth felt a shiver go down his spine at the picture of Brennan's striking blue gray eyes peering back him from the screen. He remembered finding the ID on her desk, knowing she may never put it on again. Something tugged at his heart. The feeling was getting harder and harder to push away.

"They look identical." Jack started.

"Facial structure is slightly different." Zach argued, pointing a finger at the screen.

"That's not the point!" Booth yelled, slamming his fist down.

The squints, including Cam jumped and stared.

"The point is that this psycho killer has an M.O. Brunettes with blue eyes. Bones just happens to fall into the category. It's not enough to narrow down the field." He was frustrated. He needed answers. Needed them now. Needed her. His frustration was exploding all over the place, all over the people that were his only chance of finding his Bones, yet he couldn't control it. Almost didn't want to.

"Booth, we're not finished." Angela said soothingly. She was always the peacemaker.

Booth let out a long breath, willing it to calm him. It did…barely.

"The killer's M.O. is brilliant women. Cam's vic was a television producer with like three hit shows. Brennan is naturally the top anthropologist in her field and writes bestsellers in her nonexistent spare time." Angela said. "We just have to go back and find more linked cases."

"I can do that." Booth said. "I can do that."

For once he wasn't helpless. He was doing something and not just watching other people do what he wished he could at times like these.

-----------------------------

She awoke with the urge to run. Instinct told her today was the day. Now was the time. She was sure. Her plan had to be set in place, but she still didn't know how he was tracking her movements. He knew immediately the moment she had left the house. There had to be a way. Electronically? Video cameras? She shivered at the latter.

He wasn't home and she began sweeping the house top to bottom with Kyra tagging along behind her as curious as ever. She felt affection for the child, bubbly inspite of frightening circumstances. There were moments where the child became terrified, but whenever Mark left the house there seemed to be a lift on the dread hanging over them. For the time being, they were safe.

Her hand touched a crack in the frame. She noted her location, garage door.

"Hey Kyra, hand me the magnifying glass on Mark's desk won't you?" she asked.

Kyra shook her head, nervous. "Daddy said never to touch anything on his desk. Never to go near it."

Brennan glanced at Kyra's pale face and let it go. There was something in the door frame and she would find out what it was without making Kyra frightened.

"Ok then why don't you go upstairs and play for a little bit while I finish cleaning up."

Kyra hesitated, then bounded up the stairs and into her room.

Brennan grabbed the magnifying glass off Mark's desk and examined the crack. Her keen eyes caught the glimmer of metal welded deep within. Her actions felt comfortable as if she had been used to examining nooks and crannies for things not meant to be found. Familiar.

Trip to the bathroom, back with tweezers, slowly pulling it out.

Five minutes later a blinking microchip flashed back at her in all mock innocence.

---------------------------

Five women five cases altogether. Jack let out a whistle.

"Okay let's find more similarities." Booth said, shooting Jack a glare.

"First victim, disappeared one and a half years ago. Brown hair blue eyes. CEO of Zonk Corporations." Cam said.

"Second one. Disappeared about a year ago. Same physical traits. Lawyer. Civil cases." Zach said.

"Third. Last seen eight months ago. Surgeon." Jack.

"Last two are Brennan and Cam's vic." Angela adds.

"Kelly." Cam corrects her. "Cam's vic is named Kelly."

Pause then added. "She has a daughter whose missing. Maybe the killer took her."

"Room for a lot of possibilities." Zach said.

Booth tapped his fingers on the glass table. "I'm going to dig deeper on each of the files. Bring you guys all the evidence. There has to be a place all these women touched paths with the killer Bones included."

-----------------------

It was strange to find so much so long after her disappearance, but Booth knew why. It was what she always told him. Letting the cases affect you while your investigating, letting them make you upset clouds your judgments, makes you blind to things that would otherwise stood out to you.

So long after their grief is commonplace, normal, expected. Happy endings are just a wish in the distance, nothing else. The squints were expecting to find a body. Realities of their job. It should have been his reality too, but he wasn't expecting to find her body. He expected to find her. Something would've told him if she was dead. He would've known. After all those moments spent together, he would know. His gut told him that she was still out there, still fighting, waiting for him to bring her home from her nightmare. Their nightmare.

-----------------------

Author's Note:

Sorry that was short guys. I still so busy. Why do they call it a break when they give you a bunch of work to do during break? It doesn't make sense. Anyway so sorry the post has been so late. I've been buried in work and other things that have been causing me a lot of grief. I'll try and do better, but I won't make promises I can't keep. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!