Author's Note: Have I mentioned that Amilyn is the best beta ever? Because she is.

Chapter 8: Choose Your Own Adventure.

It was morning by the time back-up arrived. Cam and Hodgins had been working diligently with the body, and Booth had worn a path between them and his SUV, alternating between demanding answers from the team and demanding updates from the dispatcher. The squints, they never let him down. They'd determined that the remains did belong to a male in his early fifties, and that stabbing was the likely cause of death. Hodgins had been able to tell him that the man had been murdered, then dumped in the marshes approximately. From the rate of decomposition, they determined that death would have occurred approximately seventy-two hours earlier.

Harvey McIntosh, prominent member of the Freedom First movement in Virginia, had been reported missing by his wife after he'd never returned from a political rally in Virginia Beach. The rally had been held at 3:00 PM, three days ago. It was circumstantial, but it was enough for Booth to reasonably conclude that their vic and Harvey McIntosh were one in the same. Enough for him to decide that he wasn't leaving Virginia Beach until he'd tracked down every last member of Freedom First and figured out the connection between Harvey's murder and Brennan's abduction. He was not leaving here without his partner.

Booth was speaking to one of the local cops, trying to get a sense of the major players in Freedom First, when he caught sight of Hodgins borrowing a cell phone. Angela. The other man had wanted to wait, to talk to her himself rather than having a message relayed by a stranger. He'd wanted to have good news, to be able to tell her that it was over. Booth edged closer, and he could hear a hysterical Angela on the other end of the line. He met Hodgins' eyes and made a motion indicating that he'd be willing to take the phone and answer Angela's questions. Hodgins shook his head, indicating that it wouldn't be a good idea.

She'd warned them. She'd asked them not to go, and they hadn't listened, because it was absurd. They hadn't taken her seriously, because who takes that kind of thing seriously? Even if they had, they wouldn't have been able to stay home, to turn their backs on their professional duties, just because a friend had a feeling. But he would give anything, anything, to be able to go back and do just that. He wanted a do-over. He wanted to go right back to that moment in the lab when Angela said "No." He knew exactly what he'd do differently. He wouldn't ignore her; he'd give her a knowing look, then he'd call Hacker. It would've had to have been Hacker, what with all the political undertones. So he would've called up goofy-ass Hacker, and he would've said, "Sorry boss, but the squints and I are going to have to take a pass on this one." Hacker would've thought he was joking, and they would've gone back and forth for a while. Eventually, it would've become clear that Booth was serious, and the boss would've been pissed. But Booth wouldn't have given in. He might've been suspended, maybe even fired, but it would have been okay. He would have hung-up the phone, shrugged his shoulders, winked at Angela, and told Bones to pack-up because they were going out for Thai.

Except none of that would have ever happened, right down to the Thai food, because he and Bones didn't grab dinner alone together anymore. And he was wasting time. Again. Hodgins kept trying to calm Angela, and Booth realized that he had phone calls of his own to make, and he had to do it now. He had to do it now, so he could focus all of his attention on bringing his partner home.

oOo

He managed to reach both of the people with whom he'd needed to speak. He'd had to borrow a cell from one of the locals, but apparently people were less likely to check caller ID when they were being awakened at an ungodly hour. He'd spoken first with Russ Brennan. He'd been looking for Max, but Russ said the older man was unavailable. Booth had explained about the case and the kidnapping, letting him know about some of the theories and investigative strategies they were developing. Russ was understandably upset, he wanted to make sure that Booth thought the kidnapping and the case were connected, and Booth assured him that it was the most logical explanation. Russ had gone silent, and Booth felt for him, but he really needed to get off the phone. He'd told Russ to have Max call him with the questions and death threats he was sure to have. He told him he'd find his little sister. Russ continued to say nothing, and Booth hung up. He loved Bones, but conversations with the Brennan-Keenans always made him uneasy.

He didn't have time to ruminate very long on his partner's family dynamics, because he still had to check-in with Hannah. His girlfriend had been touchingly concerned. She'd come to consider Brennan a friend. Their conversation was brief, but productive. Hannah had agreed to use her media connections to both help gather information about Harvey McIntosh and to get the word out about Brennan's kidnapping.

He'd no sooner disconnected his call when one of the Virginia Field Agents, he hadn't caught her name, approached him to let him know that they were bringing in members of Freedom First and Harvey McIntosh's family for questioning. He followed her to her vehicle, determined to take lead on the interrogations. Cam came up to him just as he was climbing in the passenger side.

"Hodgins and I are getting a ride back to D.C. He needs to be with Angela right now, and we've done all we can do here. We'll be a better resource to the investigation at the lab. I'll contact you as soon as we get there to coordinate efforts."

"Of course."

She paused for a moment before staring at him intensely. "I know I don't have to say this."

"But you will."

She smiled in acknowledgement of their pattern, then she sobered once again. "Find her, Seeley."

He stepped forward and wrapped Cam in an uncharacteristic embrace. "Count on it, Camille."