Okay folks… I really tried to get you an update yesterday, but it just didn't work out. Here's the next installment for you.
Oh, and I just opened up a new twitter account, so follow me and I'll follow back! I'd love to chat about Bones, writing, and other stuff. Look me up! My username is the same as here: ladyjanegrey777.
Here we go….
Chapter 11
Booth drove back to Camp Peary in a daze. He had not anticipated that seeing Bones would rattle him as much as it did. The past several weeks at The Farm had been great – he had been too busy to think about her, which had allowed his anger to wane, and he was able to keep his mind off of where he had left things with her because he knew he wouldn't have to see her anytime soon. It had been extremely easy to tell himself that he was done with her when he was sequestered to a secret military compound three hours away. But seeing her in the coffeehouse, knowing that she had a new partner, seeing that they were working together as closely as Booth had with her…well, frankly, it pissed him off. But more than that, it made him ache for her.
He was furious at himself for his crumbling resolve, and unconsciously pushed the speed limit as he drove away from D.C., desperately trying to escape the pull he felt to turn around, drive directly to her house, and show up on her doorstep begging for forgiveness.
No way. He would not debase himself in that way. He had to remain true to his decision to start anew. The sooner he could drive through those secure gates of the CIA training facility and lock himself behind their confines, the more secure he'd feel in that decision.
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Doggett and Brennan had found no leads on Katie Lopez, and Doggett was growing increasingly frustrated. A search of her apartment had turned up troubling evidence of foul play: the place had been ransacked, and it appeared that she had been attacked in her sleep and pulled forcefully out of bed, judging by the trail of sheets leading from the bed to the living room. There was a large bloodstain on the wall near the front door. After that, the trail ran cold, with no indication as to who had taken her. The only thing they had to go on was her comment Jacob's attempt to recruit her to the Handmaidens. That Jacob had contacted her was worrisome, and with what they suspected of him, they feared that Katie's time was running out. It was this reason alone that Hacker reluctantly approved Brennan's request to go undercover once again.
On Wednesday afternoon, Brennan received a message from Ashley with directions to the home in Cheverly where they would be meeting, and was given explicit instructions to come alone and not to tell anyone where she was going. "It's a secret group – we just have to protect ourselves from people who don't understand us," she had explained. Brennan printed out the directions in her office as Doggett ran through last-minute details.
"Once again, I'll be close and we'll have you wired," he said. "I want you to be as unobtrusive as possible, Dr. Brennan. Be a fly on the wall. Be compliant. Don't inflame or ask any prodding questions. Just observe – we're still trying to build a profile on this group, and the more firsthand knowledge we can get, the better. Our objective is to get you in front of Jacob so that you can get a read on him."
Brennan hesitated. She wasn't good at reading people. She'd gotten better over the years, working with Booth and learning from his knack for such a thing. But it wasn't science, so it mostly baffled her.
"All I can do, Agent Doggett, is make observations based on my anthropological experience."
"And that's why, unfortunately for me, you're the perfect person for the job."
"What should I do if I see Katie Lopez in there? She will recognize me."
"My gut tells me that she won't be there. She's being held against her will, and I don't think Jacob would risk parading a prisoner around the place knowing that you, a new recruit with no knowledge of how they really are, will be there. Too risky. You'd blow their cover. No, if he has her, she's locked up somewhere away from outsider's eyes."
She nodded, already considering ways she could search the house without being noticed.
As if reading her mind, Doggett said, "And Dr. Brennan, please don't do anything stupid. If you get caught nosing around, you could be in a world of hurt with these people. I've heard that have a mean right hook," he smirked at her, recalling how she'd taken down Agent Page, "but I'd really prefer not to blow our cover by having to send in SWAT to save your ass. Just get in, attend the Bible study, and get out. Understand?"
She sighed, frustrated once again with the painfully slow evidence-gathering process in cases such as this. A girl's life was in danger, and they had to take pains to make sure all laws were followed. She wished that Doggett could send a team in to barge in, take down Jacob, and tear the place apart in order to find Katie. They just did not have enough evidence.
"Dr. Brennan, I'm very serious, okay? I can't let you go in there unless you promise me that you will follow my lead. I can't have you getting hurt."
She agreed reluctantly, and they stood to leave.
"You'll take your own vehicle, and I'll follow you in the truck. We'll come back and get it, grab an early dinner, and then we'll meet up with the agents who are coming with me as backup. Right now, though, we need to swing by the Hoover and talk to Dr. Sweets, who has some basic profile information on groups like this."
Brennan gathered her purse and a change of clothes and followed him, anticipation growing over what the evening would hold.
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"Cult leaders are strongly egocentric personalities who are basically fundamentalists-gone-bad," said Sweets, as Doggett and Brennan sat down at the conference room table. "Fundamentalists are not all bad," he qualified. "In Christianity, for example, a fundamentalist would be considered someone who sincerely believes in all aspects of the Bible as being true with no errors. However, a broader, more psychological definition would be 'one who believes in a world of black & white issues; and that he or she is fully right and others are fully wrong.' Such a definition of fundamentalism then may also include those who are not affiliated with any religious groups or ideals at all, but channel their fundamentalist thinking into politics or psychology."
"So that's why this group, which looks like a blend of politics and religion, isn't that far off the charts as far as cults go," Doggett said.
"Right," answered Sweets. "While we don't know much about them specifically yet, I will say that it isn't out of the ordinary for a religious cult to be borne out of an extreme political agenda. They tend to justify their extremist views by backing them up with a twisted view of Scripture."
Brennan chimed in, "Well, anytime someone takes a book such as the Bible that is a historical record at best, full of fairy tales and myths, and attempts to build a rigid structure of rules and ideals with it, it's going to fail."
Doggett looked at her curiously. "A lot of people are comforted by the Bible's teachings, Dr. Brennan. It's our moral compass. Without it, we would be a lawless society. It keeps us on track."
"There are no moral absolutes, Agent Doggett," she stated. "Our morals are merely social norms that we have put in place to ensure the survival and success of our society. Organized religion has grown out of the instinctual need to have a common moral code, but, as we have seen throughout history, it corrupts…"
"We can debate the pros and cons of organized religion at a later time," interrupted Sweets, knowing that Brennan could argue about religion for hours. He cleared his throat and continued: "There are many Christians who consider themselves fundamentalists, and who lead normal, healthy lives with no harm to their family or social circles. However, there are others who make fundamentalism itself a religion. Many communists, fascists, and even some ultra-right or ultra-left wing political groups, for example, are fundamentalist in their thinking, often to the detriment of others."
"That's an understatement," said Doggett. "I'd say murder – if that's what this guy is doing – is a detriment to others. But how, if these people are fundamentalists, do they get around 'Thou shalt not kill'? Doesn't that contradict their fundamentalism?"
"Yes, but the Bible is full of seeming contradictions, especially when specific parts of it are taken out of context. A power-hungry leader can twist the scriptures to serve whatever purpose he wants. The cult leader is all about control, and so he will brainwash his subjects – who are usually very emotionally vulnerable people - into believing that he has a direct connection to God. This is why we've seen things like Jonestown, Waco, and Heaven's Gate - people take their own lives for the sake of their leader because they believe that he's a prophet. Others, who doubt or question, are severely punished."
"So, you think that these girls who were murdered were detractors?" Doggett posited.
"It is highly likely. Which means, Dr. Brennan, that you must play the part of an eager, obedient disciple." Sweets looked at her pointedly. "You absolutely cannot let the skeptic in you come out, or you'll be marked as a troublemaker from the get-go. No debates on organized religion or subjective morality, okay?"
Doggett stood, indicating that they needed to leave. Brennan rolled her eyes at Sweets. "I am intelligent enough to know my boundaries." She stood and gathered her things. "Besides, I find that this will be a fascinating observation of a micro-society of this sort. I promise to keep my mouth shut."
Sweets turned and headed for the counter for a warm-up of his coffee. "Okay. Because you know Booth will have my hide if you…" Sweets froze, realizing what he was saying. The words had poured from his mouth out of habit, and he reddened as he turned to see Brennan's face, which registered a look of anguish. Doggett was frozen at the door.
"Oh, god, Dr. Brennan. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking…"
She waved her hand dismissively, but her face was pale. "No, really, it's fine. Your mouth slipped."
He smiled weakly. "Um, yes. Slip of the tongue, you mean."
She nodded and turned to go, and then stopped suddenly in the doorway as realization dawned. "Dr. Sweets, you've talked to him, haven't you?" She turned and looked at him with eyes full of suspicion.
Sweets looked at his shoes in shame. "Uh, yeah. He called me this morning. He was grilling me about your new partner and about you being undercover."
"How did he know?"
Doggett spoke up. "That's partially my fault. He showed up at the coffeehouse Sunday while you were inside. I had to tell him to leave – he was about to cause a scene, and I was afraid he was going to endanger our case."
Brennan felt like the air was being sucked out of the room. "He was there? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't feel that it was going to do any good for you to know, Dr. Brennan. He was shocked to see you, as you would have been to see him. I think his being there was a coincidence, but considering the way he reacted to me, I thought it would hurt you more to know."
Brennan felt the anger rising within her. She glared at the two men. "So both of you have had contact with Booth this week, and neither one of you felt it was important to tell me? Neither one of you have the right to discuss anything with Booth regarding me! It's none of his business what I'm working on right now, and my relationship with him is none of your business."
Sweets spoke up, his voice gentle. "Dr. Brennan, it sounds like Agent Doggett handled it the right way. He didn't tell Booth anything about you other than what was absolutely necessary, and only because there was a chance that you would see him and blow your cover. My conversation with him was similar. I told him I couldn't give him any information – which I can't. He's not with the FBI anymore. I could get fired for discussing cases with him. He didn't mention that he had seen you on Sunday. Now I understand a little better why he called me."
Brennan's shoulders sagged a bit as her fury was taken down a notch. Her gaze shifted to a distant spot out the window. "How did he sound?" she asked, her tone clipped.
Sweets answered with a shrug. "Like himself. Only drunk. And pushy. I told him to let it go."
When she said nothing, he felt the need to fill the silence, reverting to psychology because it was comfortable. "When someone leaves a job after so many years, it can be hard for him to relinquish control emotionally. I suspect that is what's happening her, Dr. Brennan."
Brennan nodded slowly, considering this. "You are right. I hope he can find fulfillment in his new job." She turned and left the room, her mouth set in a thin line. Doggett followed her, unsure of what to say to her once they were alone.
Sweets watched them go, and let out the breath he had been holding in a long, slow exhalation. Because he had not wanted to raise false hope in her, he did not share with her his suspicions behind the true nature of Booth's call, but it was fairly obvious: whether Booth would admit it to himself or not, he was missing Brennan.
