Charlie and Hodgins are going getting to Booth in this Chapter. Will they get him out in time to save Brennan?
Chapter Eleven
"So where is Booth? Where are we off too?" Hodgins asked when they arrived at the airport.
"Okay, well first off I sent a man in undercover. He was assigned to Booths base as civilians. They integrated into the community and began collecting intel. Apparently Booth returned to base right after Wieland left, every time. The last time though he didn't come back. When Booth refused to kill who he need to kill for Hunter, Hunter had him put in a old building protected by some Afghan soldiers who turned against their government."
Charlie took a breath and continued on. "Last week one of my guys was in charge of watching Booth for three days while Hunter's men hid out from some Afghan soldiers passing through. I made my orders clear that under no circumstance were they to reveal who they were, not even to Booth. But on the bright side, we have GPS coordinates and as far as I know Booth is uninjured. Hunter is also back on base after being suspended. I already called Wieland, he is meeting us at the airport. Officially he is going to Iraq, but really his is coming with us to talk to Hunter. Apparently Hunter is being court martialed."
"Sweet, lets go get him out." Hodgins exclaimed and headed towards their gate. They were getting a ride on a military cargo plane. Wieland pulled a few strings and got them some seats.
Brennan sat against the wall and panted. She was in so much pain that she could barely move. The snake bites felt like nothing now, especially since the whip and red hot metals he used last night.
Klein seemed to be taking out his anger on her and she didn't know why. What did she do wrong? She can't remember any cases that could be even remotely connected to Klein or even her fathers, circuit. He wasn't even trying to get any information from her anymore, like it wasn't important to him.
The hatch opened and Brennan wanted to cry. She had been here for three days and he was getting progressively harsher. He had told her every day that Booth was dead. He was killed in Afghanistan. He was never coming back.
He told her every gory detail of how he died slowly, in excruciating pain, alone. He died screaming, blood slowly dripping into puddles on the floor. Broken bones keeping him immobile. She remembered her dad telling her that psychological torture was his specialty.
He brought down some chains and a pair of hand cuff. She was afraid of what he would was going to do next.
He tossed the chains up to the ceiling, over the rafters and secure them tightly. He
He attached a metal hook to the end and walked over to her. He turned her over and grabbed her wrists. She didn't even have the strength to fight back against him. Every move she made hurt.
He clamped the handcuffs on her wrists tightly and she knew this was bad. He picked her up by the cuffs and attached them to the hook on the chains. She was now suspended in the air, her toes just barely touched the ground. There was nothing she could do to protect herself. She was completely vulnerable.
Before she had time to register that he had moved something cracked and landed hard on her back. She had to fight really hard not to cry out. The long, thin, strap of leather snapped across her back repeatedly. It got harder to stay quiet with each blow. Behind her she could hear Klein laughing. He was having fun with this.
She on the other hand, was falling in and out of consciousness.
In between moments, Brennan could feel him rip her shirt off. The air was cold on her back and blood was running down, collecting in the waist band of her pants. Not for long though as they were next to go.
He unbuttoned her jeans and threw them into a corner. Klein grabbed his bag and walked back up the ladder without a word.
Brennan was left hanging, half naked, bleeding, and broken. The chilly air of the basement made her shiver. The blood oozing down her back wasn't helping matters.
Hodgins, Charlie, and Wieland sat in a helicopter. They were all wearing headsets and the pilot was flying them towards Booths last known coordinates. They were all three dressed to the nines in military get up. Even Hodgins who has never been military was wearing full military gear requisitioned by Wieland.
"Agent Burns, we are landing in two minutes. That's as close as we can get without tipping your hand to anyone nearby. Just follow your locators about a mile northeast and you should be right where you want to be." the pilot told him. Charlie nodded.
"Thank you, Sir." Charlie nodded and the pilot started to make his decent.
When they got to the edge of the trees separating them them from the cabin Charlie stopped. "Okay, as far as I know, two of my men are still there as guards. But just in case..." Charlie handed Hodgins a gun. Not just any gun either. He handed him an MP5 from the bag on his back.
"Whoa, really?" Hodgins asked taking the weapon into his hand.
"You learned how to use one of these when we first made plans to fly over here. You passed all the qualifications to carry it. Just clip it to your vest and remember what you learned." Charlie patted him on the shoulder and Wieland did the same with his gun. It had been years since he needed to shoot a gun so some time on the range had been a must.
"Lets do it." Hodgins was a surprisingly good shot. He surprised Charlie his first time on the range with the MP5. Hodgins expertly tucked the gun into his shoulder.
They moved closer to the building. As they reached the back wall Charlie heard talking.
"Boss is here." the voice said.
"Those are my men." Charlie, Wieland, and Hodgins lowered their guns and went in. They heard the Agents talking to Booth.
"Hey man, lets get you out of here."
"What are you doing? If they come back and sees you we are both screwed. Neither of us has any weapons." Booth sounded out of breath.
"Don't worry, we brought you one." Charlie, and Hodgins walked in. Charlie smiled at his buddy even though he looked like hell.
"Hey Booth!"Hodgins greeted and pulled a knife out of his vest. He started on Booths feet bindings and knelt up in front of the speechless man. He was covered in bruises and the way he sat in his chair made Hodgins believe his chest was probably hurting.
"What are you guys doing here? How did you Find me? I don't think any one on base knows where I am." It hadn't occurred to Booth that something could be wrong. He hadn't even thought that the arrival of the richest squint could mean something bad. All he knew was he was really glad someone finally pulled him out of this place.
"Are you okay?" Charlie asked as he uncuffed the mans hands.
"A bit beat up, but other than that I'm fine." He nodded.
One of Charlies undercover agents stepped up. "Yea, they liked to use him as a punching bag when they were bored. Of course Booths smart retorts didn't make them any happier."
"You are not supposed to antagonize your kidnappers, Booth." Hodgins commented from the ground. He cut the last of the ropes and Booth was free. He stood up and put the knife away.
"Why are you in ACU's, and who the hell gave him an MP5?" Booth asked aloud as he rubbed his wrists.
"That would be me. He is actually a surprisingly good shot. Better than many of the men I see come into basic training." Wieland walked in. Booth stood up straighter, his military training telling him to salute to those higher than him.
"No need to salute me, Booth. I am technically on 'vacation.'" He emphasized the word vacation.
Booth relaxed and looked at him curiously before turning to Charlie and Hodgins.
"As happy as I am to have someone get me out of here, especially since I have no idea why I'm here, whats going on?" Booth knew something was off when an off duty Lieutenant Colonel came to his rescue along with a squint.
"It's Parker and Dr. Brennan," Hodgins said his eyes tired and worried.
Booths heart stopped and felt like it was sitting in his throat. That's when it hit him like a ton of bricks. Something wasn't just off, it was very wrong.
"What do you mean, it's Parker and Bones?" Booth demanded.
"Almost seven months ago Rebecca sold Parker. No one could a hold of you, so the FBI started their search for him. Well three weeks later Caroline called me, Brennan, Zach, Cam, Hodgins, Angela and everyone into the Jeffersonian. She brought us all in from all corners of the earth. Max went out and found out where he was and who was holding him. Max has strange connections like that. Max narrowed the area down and I pinpointed an exact location in Alexandria; a small dilapidated, run down, gym that was abandoned many years ago. We eventually found him in the empty pool tied to a chair. We were eventually able to get him out and apprehend three of the men, Klein and two of his accomplices. I had to kill the fourth. We only had two injures on the home front, Dr. B and Charlie."
Booth interrupted him at this point. "What happened to Bones?" He demanded an answer and Hodgins sure as hell wasn't going to be one to deny him.
"Umm, a four inch laceration on her right arm, broken right wrist, and eight stitches on her face; two on her left eyebrow and six at her hairline. Those injuries didn't stop her though; she still managed to drop Klein with out a weapon."
Booth couldn't believe what he was hearing. In all the times Bones had been in dangerous situations with him, he never allowed her to get hurt. Why wasn't Charlie watching her back?
"Where were you, Charlie? You should have been there to watch her back. You promised." Booth growled.
"I was unconscious. I got lucky enough to get hit in the face with a two by four." Charlie defended. Booth just shook his head and looked back to Hodgins.
"Is Parker okay? What happened next?" Booth was anxious to get some answers.
"Parker, he was hurt really bad but the doctors fixed him and Dr. B took him home."
"Define really bad." Booth demanded.
"Uh, multiple fractures in his feet, broken ribs, and bruises and lacerations across his entire body. Honestly the emotional torture Klein inflicted took a much bigger toll." Hodgins could see Booth about to blow a gasket. His breathing was coming much faster and a deep flush was working its way up his neck. He hurried to finish is story before Booth stopped listening.
"Max warned us that Klein would come after Dr. B next but we thought that seeing as he was now in prison that she was safe; obviously not. Three nights ago Klein broke in to Brennan's apartment and injured and took her. We have no idea where to look, Booth. He tortured Parker for three weeks, and now he has Dr. B. He wanted her from the beginning and we are afraid of what he is going to do to her. We need you Booth and I am here to bring you back to the Jeffersonian." Hodgins had rattled off without breathing.
All Booth had heard though was, "He tortured Parker for three weeks, and now he has Dr. B," it replayed in his head over and over, echoing and getting louder; the guilt building with it.
"Come one Booth. I brought your ACU's from base." One of Charlies agents walked up with a duffle bag. Booth grabbed the bag and stripped the remaining clothes from his body. With the anger raging through his body modesty was the last thing on his mind. He pulled on clean boxers and a white t-shirt before donning the rest of his gear.
"Here," Charlie handed him a bag. In it was an un-assembled MP5. Booth quickly put it together and attached it to his vest.
"Hunter was the one to have you sent here by the way." Wieland informed Booth on their way out. Booth stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Wieland.
"What?" he asked.
"Hunter didn't like that you wouldn't take out Aamir. He was afraid you would turn him in. An MP should be to base about the same time we are to take him in. Court Martial." Wieland explained.
The trip back to base was sure to be filled with frustration on Booths part. His son was kidnapped after being sold by his own mother. Now his partner was being held and tortured for a reason he didn't know.
They arrived on base and Booth was off the helicopter quicker than anyone. Charlie, Hodgins, and Wieland struggled to keep up. They passed through the gates and two MP's followed them to the back where Hunters office was. Booth threw the door to his commander's office open and strode in.
"WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?" Booth yelled. He was angry, so angry that his whole body was shaking. His face was bright red and his eyes were black. The change in color on his face made the bruises and lacerations pop and stand out.
Hunter stood up, "Watch your mouth soldier." He warned surprised. Surely he wasn't expecting Booth to come barging in.
"No, you kept my satellite phone and told me it wasn't allowed. Then when people called it repeatedly you told them I was outside the wire and not reachable. My son was sold and tortured; my son, my five year old son. Now my partner has been taken by the same person and you didn't answer that phone call either. Then on top of that you had me locked away because I wouldn't kill people for you. What would you have done with me when I was due to go home?" Booth demanded of the man. He didn't answer and Booth limped and paced the small room.
"That's what I though!" Booth wanted to hurt him, he want to hit him so hard that his grandchildren would feel it.
"Yes I know. I'm sorry. Your honorary discharge papers came in last week." Booth snatched the papers.
"I want my phone," Hunter grabbed it from the drawer and handed it to him. Booth flicked it open.
"It still has battery?" booth asked seeing that it was on.
Hunter shook his head. "I've kept it charged in case something important came up."
136 missed calls?! 136 calls wasn't considered important?! You seriously thought it was better to just ignore the calls?" Booth shook his head and turned towards the door. He turned back to Hunter.
"I couldn't determine whether or not their calls were truth or not."
"Right," Booth laughed dryly. He shook his head, immediately regretting it as it both nauseated him and made him dizzy.
"I hope you rot in the deepest depths of hell," he whispered shaking. Charlie and Hodgins took a step back at the fury and venom in his words. Being the religious man Booth is, that was one of the worst things he say without physically harming them.
Wieland nodded to the MP's and they stepped forward.
TBC
Shaw is going to talk to Hannah next. What did you think?