Time passed with inquiries, conferences, meetings. Booth had hardly slept through the night since Bones had disappeared and was accordingly irritable. He kept pushing Hodgins and Zack, who snapped back at him, being equally tired and annoyed. However, his anger remained on one level so his superiors didn't have to intervene.

"Where are the men?," Hodgins grumbled. "I am more and more sure that this is an important question. The direct relatives of the murdered women and girls have all disappeared. Where are they?"

"I have no idea." Booth was sitting on the couch in Bones' office and drank a cup of coffee. This office had become some sort of pilgrimage site for the two lab assistants and the FBI agent since its owner's disappearance. And it was a place of peace. They never argued in here. In here, quietness and concentration reigned.

"She has been gone for a week. And where the hell is Angela when you need her?"

"I am always there when I am needed," the woman in question chirped happily as she came floating into the room. "Hey boys. How are you? Where is Bones?" The three looked at her dumbstruck. "What? I just had a few days of vacation. I haven't changed that much, have I? Maybe I acquired a bit of a tan, but otherwise ..." She grinned.

"Would you please leave us alone for a moment?" Booth looked at Zack and Hodgins. Silently, they got up and left the room.

"Okay," Angela said. "What is going on here? Where is Bones?"

"Please sit down for a moment," Booth said and gently pushed her down onto the couch. "Angela..."

"I don't want to sit down," she said, shaking off his hands. She jumped up. "Where is Tempe?"

"She disappeared a week ago. We tried to reach you but no one knew where you were."

"What?" The woman stared at Booth, completely shocked. "For a week? Why? Where? Why?"

Again, Booth pushed her down onto the couch. "She went back into the camp with Hodgins."

"What?" She jumped up again and this time Booth let her go. "Why would she? Why didn't she take you with her?"

"I don't know. I would have come with her, of course. We wanted to go back there together, but it looks like she got impatient or whatever." He shrugged helplessly. "She wanted to look for the missing finger and then suddenly she was gone."

"No, no. She would not have gone there alone ... He is there ... I don't understand this..."

That got Booth's attention. "Wait a minute, Angela. You know why she was behaving so strangely?"

She nodded quickly, but then paused. Bones had made her promise not to tell anyone. But why? Because she wanted to be alone with her fears once again. Angrily, Angela slammed her fist onto the desk. "You stubborn woman!," she cursed her friend. "Booth," she said to him emphatically, "Bones was afraid. She was absolutely terrified of a man in the camp. Some guy she knew from El Salvador. I think he was a soldier there or something."

"Yes, the deputy director of the camp. Unsympathetic guy."

"He kept Bones prisoner in a dark cell for three days in El Salvador and kept threatening to shoot her and throw her body into a well where no one would ever find her."

"He what?," he asked a lot more loudly than necessary. "She knew that this guy is walking around there and still went back? Why?"

"Because she wanted to prove to herself that she can."

Booth sank down on the couch. "He has her. He has her again. Angela, what did that guy do to her?"

"I don't know and I didn't ask too many questions. But when she told me about what happened back then, there were tears in her eyes. Booth, you know her. She is strong and can put up with a lot. But she is afraid of this man even after all these years." She knelt in front of him. "Please, Booth, find her. Please."

He took her hands that were resting on his knees in his. "Of course I will find her. But if I had known that earlier ..." He pressed his lips together hard.

"He will hurt her, right?"

Carefully he pulled the weeping woman onto the couch and into his arms. "I think so, yes. But she is strong, you said so yourself. She will get through this."

"She believes in you, Booth. She hopes you will find her, you know that."

The agent nodded. There was a big lump in his throat. The pressure Angela was putting on him was working very well indeed. So far, he had been able to hide his fears, but now they sprang to the surface with all their might. He could feel himself starting to tremble.

Cam came running into the office. "Booth, your boss called. He wants you to come see him right now."

"I'm sorry, Angela, but ..."

"Go," she said urgently. "Come on, go."

He ran from the room and out of the building, jumped into his car and sped through the city, breaking each and every traffic rule in the process. In his boss's office, he met another agent who had worked with him on the drug dealers' case.

"Agent Stone? I am currently busy working another case, I'm sorry."

"I know, Booth. That's why I'm here. We arrested a man you are looking for."

Booth looked at his colleague in confusion but let him hand him a file filled with pictures. His eyes flew open in shock.

"Hello, my little doctor."

The sound of that voice alone made Bones shiver. She heard the door open and tried to crawl even further into the corner she was sitting in. She had drawn her jacket over her head to dim the light a little which had become torturous by now. She had hardly slept in all the hours or days it had been on. And the scare her kidnapper had given her before he had left sat deep. She had hardly dared to even look in the direction of the door and it had been pure horror for her to have to walk past it on her way to the bathroom.

The jacket was ripped away. Giorgio was standing above her. He told her to stand up and look at him. He had another bottle of water with him which he put on the floor. His eyes were measuring her.

"I need a picture of you. Just to be sure, you know. In case the coppers get me for the murders. Then I'll take your picture to this agent and show it to him and then I'll be right back here with you, my little doctor."

She stayed silent. He was right. Booth would let him go in the hopes of following him. And he would risk his career for it. She was so lost in thought she didn't see the fist. The punch hit her in the chin and made her stagger.

"Stay on your feet. Come on. You can take that easily."

He hit her again and again. She felt the blood run down her face, especially after the last punch which had thrown her head around so her temple hit the wall. She saw double and felt sick. Oh, how she would love to defend herself, to hit back just once. But then her life would be over. Right now the man only wanted to play with her and as long as she held still and suffered, he was having fun. As long as he was having fun, she was staying alive.

"Now you look good, little doctor. Go sit in your corner and look at the camera. Nice and fearful."

Bones had no trouble following that order. She could not help looking at the camera, filled with panic and with a silent plea in her eyes. The idea that Booth would get to see this picture of her broke her heart. Tears rolled down her cheeks while at the same time a spark of hope rose in her chest at the thought of him.

Giorgio laughed and threw a few slices of bread onto the floor, followed by a plastic bowl filled with cereal and milk in it. "Here. Eat that. And pray for me so your dear colleagues won't prove I am responsible for those murders. Otherwise, you will die a wretched death in here."

He left and switched off the light. She closed her eyes and savored the silence and darkness. Slowly she started eating the cereal from the bowl, using her fingers. It was completely softened by the milk and slimy, but her emaciated body accepted the nourishment gratefully. She listened to the fading steps, felt the blood on her face and couldn't suppress a crazy laugh. She put the food away and went to the door.

"You bastard!," she whispered through the hole. "You damn bastard." She was shaking from head to toe, unable to bear the mixture of fear and hatred and gratefulness any longer. Yes, she was grateful to him. Grateful for the water and the food, even grateful for the beatings that showed her that she had not been alone for a few minutes. She let out a long-drawn-out scream, filled with all the pain and fear she felt. Then she broke down crying.

A few minutes later, after she had gotten a grip on herself once again, she crawled back to her food and continued eating her cereal. If she restrained herself, she could distribute the food over a three day period. After that, it would go bad. It was simply too valuable for that. Surely he would bring her new food when he came back.

"My god," she mumbled in between two bites. "When did I stop hoping for rescue?"