A/N: What do you know? It's time for another round of mischief thanks to the JustUs League (term coined by AllAboutBones). I know that the last chapter was a teeny bit angsty, but hopefully everyone will enjoy the mayhem that the group is about to engage in.

Thank you to all of those who've added this story to their alerts, favorites and who've reviewed. Especially those who've been there from the beginning. I send all of you a great big guy hug. You have warmed the cockles of my heart. I didn't even know my heart had cockles.

Again, just so I don't get sued - I don't own Bones or any of it's characters. If I did you'd see more naked Booth on TV.

The Truth about Villains

"Slow down Sweets," Angela ordered, trying to keep a level head. "Try one of your breathing exercises will you? I can't understand a word that you just said."

"Ok, alright," he conceded, taking a calming breath before continuing. "Angela we've got a problem. A very big problem."

"Let me guess, Brennan is dating Assistant Director Hacker." she replied dryly, rubbing her temple and wondering how she gets herself into situations like this.

"How did you know?" Sweets asked incredulously.

"I'm on the other line with Cam," she revealed. "Booth told her. Listen, give me a minute Sweets, because if I don't get back to her Booth is going to bust down the ladies room door."

"He's going to what?" Sweets squeaked, sounding more panicked. "I'm not sure I want to know. Look Ange, Lady Fate – this is important."

"What's so important that you can't wait for another, like ten seconds?" sighed Angela.

"Hacker is trying to sever their partnership." Sweets blurted.

"You didn't just say what I think you said." asked Angela in shock.

"Hacker is trying to find ways to end their partnership." said Sweets, sounding rushed. "Listen, I'll be at the Jeffersonian in ten minutes, ok?"

"I'll round up the team." declared Angela.

"You're not going to tell Booth or Brennan are you?" croaked Sweets, trying to stay calm, despite the fact that he keeps running into walls, doors and people in an effort to exit the Hoover as quickly as possible.

"Of course I'm not telling them," she hissed. "I can see the headlines now 'Assistant Director of the FBI trips and Falls out of Office Window."

"How is he supposed to have," Sweets paused, realization dawning on him. "Oh...I see what you mean."

"Wow Sweets, when it comes to talking your voice is like the Flash," Angela commented. "while your brain is like Droopy the Dog."

When he didn't respond immediately, she added a clarification. "One's a superhero, the other is a cartoon circa 1943."

"Nevermind, I'll see you when you get here." Angela ordered, switching to her other line.

"Ange, what the hell took you so long?" snapped Cam. "I had to tell Booth that I was suffering from symptoms associated with that time of the month to stop him from breaking the door down."

"Ah, a classic man stopper," Angela had to laugh. "Anyway, you have to get your ass back here. Sweets just uncovered more info about our glitch. We have to have a group meeting."

"Brennan and Booth won't notice if we all pack ourselves into your office, right?" Cam added sarcastically.

"Don't worry, I've got that covered," Angela declared. "Tell Booth that Hodgins found some particulate evidence tying the brother in law to the scene. While Booth and Brennan are picking him up, we can have a quick emergency pow wow."

"Ok, gotcha," she agreed. "I'll be there in fifteen."

Angela went to Brennan's office to tell her about the evidence that Hodgins found and that Booth would be by in fifteen minutes to pick her up. Brennan nodded, gathered her things, and Ange swore that she saw excitement in Bren's eyes when she was told that Booth would be by. Angela didn't bring up the information that she newly acquired because she didn't trust herself not to grab her best friend by the shoulders and yell at her for doing something as stupid as date one of Booth's superiors. Ange didn't care how superior Assistant Director Hacker thought he was, this guy was messing with Brennan and the man she was supposed to be with, not to mention Angela's brilliant, well planned and up until now well executed plans.

He had screwed with the wrong dynamic duo.

It would be different if she knew that this guy had really cared about Brennan. If Ange knew that he would be there for Bren and would take care of her. The fact that he's supposedly been dating Bren for a month and hasn't so much as met with her best friend, not to mention the people who had become Brennan's surrogate family rubbed her the wrong way. On top of that, he was playing Booth in order to get Brennan out of the field. Really? He obviously didn't know her or he wouldn't try. There was too much that was off about this guy that Angela couldn't leave it alone. Hacker had her Angeladar pinging high on the asshole meter.

Once Brennan was out the door, Sweets came in, talking like the road runner took over his lips. She, Wendell, Hodgins and Sweets waited patiently for Cam before beginning their meeting.

"Ok Ange, I'm here," Cam called out, sprint walking through the lab doors to Angela's office. "What do we do? I mean, should we even continue with this plan in light of what Booth told me?"

Angela told the others what Cam told her before directing them to the new issues that Sweets wanted to bring up.

"I appreciate your hesitance Cam, but at the very least we should tell her about the man that she's getting involved with." advised Sweets.

"What do you mean?" asked Cam, frustrated that she found herself utterly confused yet again.

"He's trying to break up Brennan and Booth's partnership," Sweets declared, giving the group a moment to process this information. "It's true."

"Wait, I thought that Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth were the best team in FBI history," muttered Wendell. "I overheard Miss Julian telling someone that she wondered if their insanely high close rate would increase or decrease if they ever got to doing the dirty deed."

"That's a topic that many of us have debated over the years," replied Angela wryly. "Which is probably why Hacker is so interested in severing their partnership."

"How do you know that this is what he's up to Sweets?" asked Cam, still reeling from the idea that Brennan was dating Booth's boss and that they might not be partners for much longer. When did things at the lab become the backdrop for a soap opera?

"He dropped by my office earlier today," Sweets began, breathing in deeply so that he wouldn't start panicking. "He told me that he was dating Brennan, and that things were going well between them. I was surprised, and I guess that it shone on my face so Hacker told me that he had a vested interest in what happens to Brennan and her partnership with Booth. He started stating that he no longer thought that their partnership was maintaining its efficacy. He believed that since Booth's surgery, Brennan was the one who was solving the cases with limited assistance from Booth. He said that he feels that Booth hasn't fully recovered from the surgery despite gaining re certification."

"That's bull." they all agreed.

"I know, right?" exclaimed Sweets. "I said that Booth passed all of his psychological, physical and weapons evaluations. He is a valued, and respected special agent within the bureau and he proves his worth with every case. Hacker basically implied that Booth had lost some of his - for lack of a better term - mojo, and that he was worried that their partnership was no longer effective. That they insisted on being partners despite this, simply on the basis of a frayed sense of loyalty. According to him, even in the best case scenario their closure rate would nose dive. Worse case would have an ineffectual Booth failing to keep Brennan safe in the field."

"That son of a -" snarled Hodgins. "This Hacker guy is the reason why I don't trust federal agencies. What did he want you to do to help him with whatever agenda he's cooking up?"

"He wants me to work on them," Sweets admitted. "He wants me to get them to accept the dissolution of their partnership. He also wants me to convince Booth to take a promotion that he's already turned down."

"The glorified desk job." Cam added when she realized what Sweets was talking about.

"That's the one," Sweets agreed. "He apparently turned it down because he didn't want to give up field work with Dr. Brennan. Hacker told me that it's in Booth's best interest to accept the position, and I'm certain that if I don't get Booth to do what Hacker wants him to, the Assistant Director is not above using whatever means possible to ensure the termination of the partnership."

"Wait a minute," interrupted Angela. "Aren't Booth and Brennan like, Director Cullen's favorite team? He won't let Hacker mess with them."

"He won't have a choice if Hacker can make it appear as though it is no longer advantageous for the FBI to maintain their partnership." shrugged Sweets. "I wouldn't put it past Hacker to ensure that Booth's evaluations in the near future reflect his ideas."

"You're saying that if Booth doesn't accept the position being offered to him, then Hacker would ruin Booth's career to get him away from Brennan?" clarified Angela.

"What if we tell Booth and Brennan?" suggested Wendell. "They wouldn't let Hacker do this to them, would they?"

"He's already started," Angela declared, realizing the cunning that her now arch nemesis was exhibiting. "He's been playing Brennan and Booth like a cheap violin. He's been taking Brennan to all of the places that she and Booth frequent, knowing that she'd miss the significance in this, and that Booth definitely would not. Hacker is aware of how it would affect Booth, and he must know that if Booth brought it up with Brennan she wouldn't see what the big deal was and they'd probably fight about it. He's offered Booth a promotion - a well deserved promotion - but one that would split he and Brennan up. When Booth didn't bite, he comes at Booth from his only blind spot - Brennan's safety. Hacker literally brings up old wounds and makes Booth feel like he's putting Brennan in danger by staying her partner and taking her out into the field. And as a plan B in case this tactic doesn't work, he starts setting up Booth so that the FBI has no choice but to split them up. This guy is an evil genius!"

"Ange, it's nice that you acknowledge his intellect, but right now we hate him." Cam pointed out. "What do we do? I mean we can't just let him break them up, can we?"

"My friends, for every hero there is a villain," smiled Angela wickedly. "And yes, he may have the power of his office, he may be brilliant, and he may be devious, but he messed with the wrong Dynamic Duo, and most of all the wrong Squint Squad. I know what game he's playing; he sees an attractive, intelligent, famous, successful woman - the perfect trophy arm candy. He charms and dazzles her...he probably thinks that he has a chance of taming her into being the perfect trophy wife. He thinks that the only thing in the way of that is her partner - whom she's obviously close to and who wouldn't fail to remind her of who she is if she begins to fall for 'The Hacker' and his plans."

Sweets was about to interrupt Angela with complaints that even Hacker got a cooler handle than he did, but Hodgins stopped him with a hand on his arm and a shake of his head. Hodgins knew better than to cut in when Ange was on a good rant.

"He pretends to care for her, showering her with attention and affection. In reality, if he really did care, he would get to know her. Really know her. Really knowing her would entail getting to know the people she considers family. But he doesn't do this because he's only interested in her beauty and her fame and the prestige that dating a woman of her calibre would bring him. Not getting to know her family will be his downfall. Brennan doesn't deserve to be treated as arm candy! She deserves the respect, the protectiveness, and the love that Booth has given her over the years without asking for anything in return. She deserves to be with Booth, the man she loves, and the man that loves her! They deserve to be together! They deserve to resolve that sexual tension that has been building up over five long years! They deserve the chance to tell each other how they feel, to taste the passion of the words on each other's tongues. To tangle their fingers in each other's hair...to memorize all the intricate details of each other's bodies with the tips of their fingers and the palms of their hands....to rip each other's clothes off as they-"

"Ange!" Hodgins finally called out. "Getting a little too hot and a little too off topic here. We still have work to do on the case."

"Right," she smiled sheepishly. "It's been awhile."

"We know Ange." grinned Cam.

"So, how are we supposed to bring Hacker down?" asked Wendell.

"Robin, ever heard of the saying 'don't throw the first punch, throw the last one'?" Wendell nodded, though he wasn't sure of where she was going with this.

"Basically, when you come across a villain the likes of 'The Hacker', you don't play around. You bring out the big guns and make sure that when you fire your shot, he stays down." replied Angela with fire in her eyes.

The rest of the gang didn't know whether to cheer or run for cover.