Booth rode the elevator up to the fourth floor, trying to figure out what was going on. He'd almost choked when Charlie called this morning. Why would Cullen be looking for Special Agent in Charge Booth first thing Monday morning? Dammit...of all the days to be late…

Life in the military had instilled a sense of order in Booth, and he hated being late to anything. Being late made the whole day seem off kilter, like he had to catch up all day. Today, however, thinking about why he was late caused a hint of a smile to appear instead of his usual gruff work expression and he walked with a slight spring in his step. He chastised himself slightly...he would have to be more responsible about being at work on time, no matter how Bones tempted him, but today...today it was like coming back from his honeymoon. He felt sure everybody who looked at him would see a man blissfully in love.

Booth got off the elevator and tried to find Charlie Burns without calling too much attention to himself. Charlie wasn't the flashiest guy in the world, but he was very reliable and extremely efficient. He also had Booth's back. Booth hoped Charlie would have time to fill him on what was going on before Cullen showed up again. He was on the phone when Booth found him, but he motioned for Booth to wait. The call ended, and Charlie turned to Booth, looking like he was going to throw up.

"What's up, Charlie? Why the panic?" After seeing Charlie so agitated, Booth was beginning to be really concerned.

"I don't know. Cullen came storming through the bullpen with Hacker trailing behind him, asking where the hell you were. I told him you had called and said you would be late but you were expected soon. Cullen turned and swore at Hacker, and told me he'd be back to find you. That's why I called...I'd thought you'd want to know." Charlie eyed Booth's tee shirt and jeans. "So are you planning to stay?"

Shit. Booth made a mental note to replenish the extra set of good clothes he kept in his office for just such an emergency. "I'm not sure what my plans are…."

"Agent Booth!" Sweets came bounding toward him like an excited St. Bernard puppy. "Agent Booth! I'd like to speak with you, please."

Wonderful. An irritated boss and a major irritation all in the same half hour. "I'm working right now, Sweets." Booth turned and walked toward his office, making sure his pace kept him slightly ahead of Sweets. He wanted to lock the younger man out, but Sweets would just stand and pound on the door. Booth groaned. Might as well let him in and get the irritation over with.

Sweets followed Booth into his office, breathless after racing to keep up with the Agent in Charge. "Booth...I wanted to ask you about the Gala."

"Okay. Yeah, it was great. The food was good, and I liked the music. Bye." Booth sat in his desk chair and turned to look through his file cabinet.

"Booth...you know what I mean...I saw the man with Dr. Brennan. I was sitting at a table with Daisy and the rest of the interns, and I saw them dancing together in an intimate fashion. Given your feelings for her….you need to be honest about the situation."

"Enough, Sweets. You don't need to tattle. I don't want to talk about it. My 'feelings' are not open for discussion." Booth smiled to himself. Maybe he'd have some fun at Sweets' expense. "I don't want to talk about Bones or any of the guys she knows."

"Booth, I know they sat at the table with you. They seemed to be very close 'friends'. Are you saying it didn't bother you that she was flirting with another man while you were sitting there watching? Aren't you worried about how that might affect your partnership?"

"Why would it bother me? It's not like we're married. Mind your own damn business."

"It is my business if it affects your work. You didn't feel the urge to be violent? I know you might feel sexually frustrated now that Hannah's gone" Sweets stood looking at Booth in disbelief.

Booth turned and glowered at Sweets. "What the hell are you talking about? Of course I wasn't violent, I'm not frustrated, and me and Bones are doing fine with our work partnership." Booth pretended to smile. "I guess you've helped me evolve, Sweets. I was a bit angry Saturday night, but when I was sitting there watching them together I thought about all the stuff you've taught me and Bones, and I calmed down."

"I'm glad I could help, Booth. I'm glad our couples' therapy has allowed you to understand how to relate to each other better and how to deal with your anger issues." Sweets beamed, obviously proud of himself for keeping Booth on the straight and narrow.

"Besides, Sweets….the guy is married...he and Bones are just old friends."

"Oh...I see." Sweets was visibly deflated.

"So, Sweets...any idea why Cullen would need to see me?" Booth watched for a reaction from Sweets, but the psychologist just shrugged.

"Nothing I know about. Hey, what's with the jeans and tee shirt? Not your usual office attire…"

"I was running late today. I gotta go...I just wanted to get some stuff so I can go back home to work…"

"AGENT BOOTH!" Director Cullen roared. "I need to speak with you immediately….my office, now!"

ooooooooo

Booth sat in the reception area outside Cullen's door, thinking of all the times he'd been sent to the principal's office as a kid. He'd been especially afraid of Sister Mary Therese and her paddle. Most of the time he could charm her...that's where he first learned the power of his charm smile. But every so often she'd give him swats for the hell of it, or so it seemed, just to keep him in line. He wondered if Cullen didn't rattle his cage every so often for the same reason.

Finally the secretary came out to where Booth was sitting. "Director Cullen will see you now."

Booth strode into the office, trying to exude the confidence he didn't feel. "What can I do for you, Sir?"

"Have a seat, Booth." Cullen gave Booth a quick once over. "Casual Day on Monday?"

"I was feeling a bit wobbly this morning...kinda weak in the knees. I decided to come in for an hour or two so I could get my papers and files. I'm going to do the budget and scheduling work at home." Not a lie...being with Bones this morning had made him wobbly and weak in the knees and it took a while for him to be able to stand up. That woman might just wear him out...but, God, it was so wonderful….

"Hmmph." Cullen saw the flicker of a lover's grin on the agent's face, and he wasn't buying it. Booth was normally too responsible to make up lame excuses...so he'd let it go for now. He had more important things to do than figure out where Booth had been all night.

The Director nodded to the man standing next to his desk. "Hacker says you may be able to help us out with something, even though it's not really under the umbrella of Major Crimes." He motioned at Hacker to begin.

"As you know, Booth, the Jeffersonian contracted a private security firm for the Gala. It was a standard operation. Sections of the museum that were open to visitors had security personnel in place, and there were security cameras in use for the whole evening."

Booth nodded. Everything seemed according to protocol. "Okay...I'll be glad to help in any way I can, but the security seemed fine."

Cullen leaned back in this chair and folded his hands. "Were you aware that Dr. Brennan suggested this particular security company to the organizers of the Gala?"

Booth began to feel uneasy. What the hell was going on? "Dr. Brennan and the owner of the company were classmates in college. I'm sure he asked her to put in a good word for him. That hardly seems to be something worth the FBI's time." Booth looked impassively at Cullen and Hacker, waiting for the next surprise.

Hacker cleared his throat and handed Booth a file. "We know that Greg Hamilton does covert ops for whoever happens to have the most money at the time. He's been on our watch list for years. His company is a cover for his mercenary activities."

"Based on the conversation I had with him Saturday night, I assumed as much. I'm still not sure what the problem is, sir." Booth bypassed Hacker and spoke to Cullen. "Is there something else I'm supposed to know? Is he a fugitive? Because so far, there seems to be nothing I can you help with."

"Hamilton isn't wanted for anything in particular. He's very talented...in and out of situations quickly, and usually it's something sanctioned by some government entity." Cullen knew Booth would understand the implications, given his own sniper experiences.

Hacker picked up another file from Cullen's desk. "The issue is Hamilton's spouse, Kelly Jones. Kelly Jones is an alias. His real name is Amir al Ghaheni, and he's a person of interest on several terrorism watch lists." There was a picture of the man Booth knew as Kelly Jones, staring back at him from a Yemeni passport photo. "The organizer of the Gala took Dr. Brennan's word that the security company was above board, and instead it's owned by a mercenary and a terrorist."

"There's no way Bones...er, Dr. Brennan would have done anything to jeopardize the security of the Jeffersonian. She hadn't seen Greg Hamilton in years. She just did him a favor because they had been close friends at one time. And just because a guy's on a watch list doesn't automatically make him a terrorist." Booth shrugged as he glared at Hacker. "It's not her fault the Jeffersonian didn't check the company out thoroughly."

Hacker handed Booth some pictures. "The top photograph is of Dr. Brennan and Greg Hamilton. This was taken from video from one of the security cameras outside of the museum. You can see that Dr. Brennan appears to be handing an envelope to Hamilton." The picture was grainy at best, and time stamped about fifteen minutes before Booth had seen her enter the ballroom.

"Okay, so what? That could be anything….hockey tickets, recipes…." Booth was becoming angry at Hacker's insinuations.

Hacker continued without looking at Booth. "The next picture was taken in one of the open sections of the museum. It shows a man who appears to be Ivan Petrovich, a known counterfeiter of passports and other identification papers. The face of the other person in the picture is hidden, but we've enhanced the photo, which is the third picture. The ring on the left hand is identical to the one 'Kelly Jones' wears, and it appears to be the same envelope that Dr. Brennan gave Hamilton."

So that's why Kelly took so long to join Greg at their table. Booth was starting to worry, but he pulled his poker face. "Appears to be? So you're basing suspicions about Dr. Brennan's relationship with these men on appearances? No way. Director Cullen, you've known Dr. Brennan for years…"

Cullen nodded. "You're right, Booth...I've known her for years, and I've almost gotten used to her, but you know yourself that she does what she wants, usually without caring what anyone else thinks." He handed Booth another file. "Then there's the issue of the large sum of money she wire-transferred into Hamilton's bank account in the Caymans."

"What?" Booth read through the bank records in the file. "How did you get Dr. Brennan's bank records without a warrant?"

"We didn't get her records, Booth. We were looking at Hamilton's records and her name came up." Cullen frowned slightly. "Look, Booth...we think there's a relatively simple explanation for all these things...probably a series of coincidences. But Homeland Security is really upset about one of our federal contractors having contact with Amir al Ghaheni and Ivan Petrovich."

Booth sat quietly for a few seconds, trying to piece together the overload of information he'd just received. "So you want me to find out how Dr. Brennan's involved and tell you, right?" Dammit. Just when things were so wonderful...something else comes along and threatens to screw it up….

"Well, Booth, we all know she can be prickly, and you have a good relationship with her. You'll have the best chance of getting information from her." Hacker was obviously not happy about that fact.

Booth inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. "Yeah, great. You have no idea… In fact, Director Cullen, there's something I need to discuss with you privately….."