Disclaimer: Nothing has changed since this morning. I still don't own it LOL
Xylarisa: *sniff* You can't do a nice review? That mean you don't like it? o.O
Mibrunell: Tada, here you go. Just don't expect it everyday. I need these days to work on "other" stories =P
Tero0102: Once per chapter =P And CHEATER doesn't count towards the second chapter =P
Dreadswench: Brennan will snap and put a hurtin on him at some point. ;-)
1956JohnDeere50: Nope my guilt doesn't work like that =P that will must make me post later since I want you to read it but you have much more important things to take care of.
CharlieLou: It becomes more clear as the chapters are posted. Promise. The two of them, well you'll have to wait and see.
Dolphinb5: Just don't expect two a day on a regular basis. =)
Liz: Doh I honestly don't try to do it tooooo often. Guess I farged up there didn't I? =P
forrestphantom: The snakebite Series isn't really a trilogy I have another one to work on, I just can't bring myself to write it yet. And to answer the question..maybe ;-)
jenheir1: *grabs her spoon* not done yet =P
C3rd: LOL soon as my kid is on the bus I"m posting so we're alike in that aspect.
Caprigirl60: My apologies =/ misinterperted the data. Mai bad. Good points. I did write them in a rather assinine manner didn't I doh.
jsboneslover: I couldn't resist lol.
love alllways: Huh it's interesting to see your story through anothers eyes. You see things you missed or put in that you didn't even realize because it comes second nature.
nichellemarie: What can I say. I hate watching a show or reading a story and know halfway through what happened, who did what and pretty much the ending.
Archerblad3: read on to find out =P
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR AWESOME REVIEWS! See now that's what I'm talking about. Ya'll rocked out some reviews. Even if some of you cheated *looks at Tero* or some of you were just being persnickity *looks at mendenbar* =P. THank you all. So here you go. As promised if I get lots of reviews you get a second chapter.
Chapter 14 - Evanescence
"Please, tell me you are not part of this," she whispered. Booth watched as Cam approached him and set the bag he hadn't noticed her carrying, down on the desk. She unzipped the bag and grabbed his left hand. Snatching the tape off his wound, she began cleaning the hole in his hand. Booth listened quietly when Hodgins began to speak and ignored Cam while she bandaged his hand.
"No, Dr. B, we're not. Booth, we need to apologize to you," Hodgins said in a low tone.
Booth's head jerked up in surprise. Walking calmly to Brennan's desk, Hodgins set a folder on her desk. He tapped it lightly twice and sat down in a chair on the other side of the desk.
"It's called Evanescence," Hodgins began. Booth's head jerked around again.
"When Parks and White showed up, my conspiracy radar went off. I started digging and what do you know, Parks is CIA. He's more than that but I am unable to find any more information at the moment. There is another person I've been writing to and we've been talking about this particular program. We had no proof that it existed. Ahem, I found proof," Hodgins said, tapping the file again.
Booth picked up the file and began scanning the file. His face went pale and he closed his eyes. Brennan looked at him and saw the pain in his face. She reached out and snatched the file from his hand. Scanning the file, she raised an eyebrow.
"Someone you know?" Brennan asked in a flat tone.
Booth stood up and put his hand on his hip. Giving her a jerking nod, he turned and left the office. She continued reading the report for a John Gregg. According the file, he had told his wife, next to her name and their four year old child's name the word 'terminated' was stamped. Brennan closed her eyes and suddenly realized this was real. Not just some government conspiracy. They were in fact killing children.
"Dr. B. you have to keep reading," Hodgins said urgently.
Brennan continued to flip through the file. The three in the room watched as her eyes widened. Jumping to her feet, she let the papers in the file fly as she took off running. The three in the office followed her. She sprinted up the steps. The two men in the lounge stood up as she came running up the steps. Grabbing Parks by the front of his uniform, she pushed until his torso was hanging over the rail. He was balanced precariously over the platform.
"Children, you murdered CHILDREN! You threatened a pregnant woman. What the hell is wrong with you?" Brennan snarled everything but the word children, which she screamed. The work on the platform stopped and Techie's unit started running towards them.
"Stop!" Brennan snarled at Techie. He put his hands up and backed away. Shaking Parks, she got in his face again.
"You disgust me. He was four. Four years old. How could you?" Brennan snarled as the tears rolled down her face. Parks shook his head in confusion.
"Dr. Brennan, I don't know what you are talking about," Parks gasped.
"Well, now your secret is out and I don't care who knows. If you still think you can kill me, think about who my father is. You couldn't find him for fifteen years. You would never find me," Brennan growled. Booth came running up the steps.
"Bones, put him down on the floor," Booth said gently. Shaking Parks one more time, she set him on his feet.
"Booth, what is she talking about?" Parks asked, cringing when Brennan moved. Brennan stalked down the stairs and slammed into her office.
"She is talking about Jessica and Franklin Gregg. Knowing John like I do, he told Jessica. She and their son Frank were, as marked, terminated," Booth said between clenched teeth.
"Jesus, it was supposed to only be a scare tactic," Parks said horrified.
"Well, it's not. In fact they're now threatening pregnant women," Hodgins said coldly. Booth jerked his head around to Hodgins.
"Not Dr. B.," Hodgins assured Booth.
"Terminated, doesn't necessarily mean they were killed," Mr. White said in a low voice. Booth spun on his heel, his eyes on fire.
"If you know where they are, you will bring them back. I mean now. You will also apologize and give Gregg whatever he wants," Booth thundered at White.
"I don't have the authority to do that," White said. Booth stepped forward and grabbed White by his suit jacket.
"I served this country. I took out targets without question. When I finished with the military, I spent the next twelve years working for the FBI. I have faithfully served this country. Now, if you do not want a highly trained, enraged sniper running around the country. I suggest you put my faith in this government back where it belongs," Booth gritted out.
White's eyes went wide at the thought of Booth running around the country sniping people. Booth dropped White and turned on his heel. Booth stopped at the top of the steps and turned.
"You have 72 hours to fix this," Booth threatened.
"I can have you arrested," White threatened. Parks, Angela, Hodgins and Cam burst into laughter at his statement.
"Catch me. IF you can," Booth said with a smug smile.
"White, there is a reason we selected him. We really don't want him running off killing people. Especially since he found out about this Gregg person. That means he can find out who put out the order, who is involved, any number of things. We'll both be first on his list," Parks said frantically.
"I will not be cowed," White growled. Hodgins stalked over to White and looked up into his eyes. White glared down at the little scientist.
"Here's a couple of scary thoughts for you. First, he already has the list. There are fifty agents across the CIA, Homeland Security and US Military involved. He has names, addresses, Social Security numbers, everything he needs. Second scary thought, he would have the backing of the people who work here. And do not think that we aren't smart enough to hide things from you or anyone else looking for something. Like maybe a body. You come to us when you need help," Hodgins said in low threatening tone.
Booth walked into Brennan's office to find her frantically dialing a number. The phone rang straight to voice mail. Cursing, she flipped open her black phone book and began dialing again. She had tears running down her face. She choked back a sob when she got another generic voice mail. She was dialing through the speaker phone and Booth swayed when he heard his brother's voice.
"Hello?"
"Jared, it's Temperance. Get a tracfone and call me back immediately," Brennan said in a near sob. She hung up on his brother's protests.
"What the hell is going on?" Booth asked in a frustrated tone.
"Booth, out of the list of people they threatened, who was not on it?" Brennan said her voice catching in the back of her throat. Booth cocked his head and his eyes widened as he realized it was Jared. A moment later the phone rang.
"Dr. Brennan," Brennan answered the Jeffersonian line.
"Tempe, what the hell is going on?" Jared yelled into the phone. Brennan hit the speaker button and hung the handset up.
"Are you on a tracfone?"
"Yeah, you told me to call you on one," Jared said in a 'well duh' voice. Taking a deep breath, she wiped her fingers under her eyes.
"Evanescence is out in the open. You and Padme are leaving the country. Meet me at the National Mall in half an hour. Then you're going to go home and go on vacation," Brennan said firmly.
"How the hell do you know about that?" Jared roared in fear.
"I was on the list as well, little brother," Booth said calmly.
"You told her? Dear god, are you stupid," Jared raged through the phone.
"They forced my hand. It's got something to do with our investigation. I think, but I'm not sure," Booth said in a gravelly tone.
"How the hell am I going to go on an international vacation? I can't afford that shit," Jared snarled.
"I'm taking care of it," Brennan said softly.
"Oh, hell no," Jared argued.
"Jared, swallow your Booth pride and just do it," Brennan barked in irritation.
"No," Jared said firmly.
"Jared, I don't know how long it's going to take for it to get down the lines that Evanescence is out in the open. If something happens and your shadow finds out," Booth stopped breathing for a moment.
"Padme and your baby could die," Brennan said coldly.
"Way to be blunt, Tempe," Jared snarled.
"Yes, well which is more important?" Brennan said in an irritated tone.
"Fine, fine. National Mall, half an hour. Got it," Jared said, sighing.
Brennan hung up the phone, picked up her messenger bag. Digging around she pulled out a credit card. Brennan stood up and cupped her hands around Booth's face.
"I'm sorry, Booth. I should not have acted so irrationally," Brennan said, her eyes tearing up again. Booth wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her up to his chest.
"I love you, Bones. I would do whatever it takes to keep you safe," Booth whispered. Pulling back slightly, she placed a soft kiss on his lips. She turned, left her office, sprinted across the lab and out the door.
"Hey, where are you going?" Legates called out in frustration. Booth walked to the door and signaled for them to stand down.
"Doesn't matter. It's not like you could keep up with her anyway," Booth laughed at Legates.
Legates' face turned bright red. The unit hooted in laughter. Hodgins, Cam, and Angela stood at the railing of the lounge with their arms crossed. Booth looked up at them.
"As of now, the two issues are separate so we'll continue with the bombing case. Parks, you, in Bones' office, now," Booth bellowed. Parks flinched then walked to Brennan's office. Booth sat in Brennan's chair, leaned back and pressed his finger tips together.
"Why are you here?" Booth said in a cautious tone. Parks leaned back and sighed.
"Well, it may be tied into your case. We're not sure yet," Parks paused.
"Then wait until Bones gets back," Booth stopped him from finishing.
"You know, I generally don't feel like a shit for doing my job," Parks said in an apologetic tone.
"You got too close to your target," Booth said stiffly.
"You weren't a target," Parks said.
"Really? Huh, could have fooled me," Booth said sarcastically.
"Look, Booth, I was there to evaluate only. I did not realize that they were actually taking down targets," Parks said.
"You know, Parks, you followed a mission that could have caused you to kill innocents. No, sympathy from me. When I was a sniper, I killed people that were a threat. Not children and pregnant women," Booth said in gravelly tone.
"Like I said, I didn't know they were actually killing people," Parks said in a whisper.
"What gets me more than that is that I trusted you. I trusted you to protect something very special and at anytime you could have been ordered to kill her. Would you have done it?" Booth demanded in a tone that oozed of betrayal.
"No, absolutely not. I began to think of you guys as friends," Parks said. Booth snorted then stood up.
"I have guys to brief. If you will excuse me," Booth snapped. Stalking from the room he went to Cam's office. He found Agents Dunn, Williams, Young, and Price as well as Charlie sitting in Cam's office.
"Jeez, Booth. What the hell is going on? There are guys carrying guns walking on that catwalk. They're next to each entrance onto the platform. I haven't seen Dr. Brennan go nuts like that," Charlie said in an almost panicked tone.
"Those are our security. They're my unit from Afghanistan. You met them in Maluku. Bones, got a little pissed off with Parks," Booth said shortly.
"Well, what happened?" Price asked, his eyebrow in his hairline.
"National Security," Booth said in a clipped tone.
"Okay, we have a big case going on here. It involves the military so we are under security. The men around the catwalk are our protection. Nothing you, hear, see or otherwise take note of will pass your lips from here on out. Got it?" Booth said in a firm tone. The agents nodded and Price blanked his face.
"Yes, Price you're here exactly for the reason you think," Booth said.
"Which is?" Charlie asked, having picked up on a few of Booth's information filtering techniques.
"I transferred to the Homicide Division from the Intelligence Division. So my gut tells me I'm here for my contacts and information gathering skills," Price said abruptly.
"Are we staying here at the lab? Because these scientists look like they haven't slept or showered in days," Dunn said with a disgusted look. Booth snatched his head around to glare at the agent.
"They haven't slept in," Booth glanced at his watch, "eighteen to twenty hours. Depending on who you talk to. We will be guests of Dr. Jack Hodgins. You will be respectful of the teams assembled here and you will comply with orders." Charlie kicked back and propped his feet on Cam's desk.
"Will this be like the Maluku case?" Charlie asked with a smug smile.
"God, I hope not," Booth muttered. Cam breezed in the door and stopped.
"Agent Burns, get your feet off my desk," she said. The other agents started laughing at Charlie as his face turned red.
"Charlie, you'll be filling the position you do at the bureau. You'll be getting us as much information as you can. But you can't go to the Bureau," Booth said.
"If you guys think something smells fishy, you tell me," Booth said.
"For right now, you're just hanging out. We don't have any evidence yet. These scientists are very good at putting pieces together. So, they will be in on any brain storming," Booth told them.
"They're scary smart," Charlie muttered.
"Yeah, but they're not agents," Young snorted.
Booth rubbed his forehead in frustration. How long would it take the agents to learn there was a reason he had the best close rate? Booth heard the door open behind him.
"Get it done, Bones?" Booth asked her without turning around.
"Of course I did. I am capable of handling simple tasks. We'll have to leave through the bay doors. The Press has surrounded the front of the lab," Brennan said, putting her hands on her hips. Booth turned to look at Price as he started choking on his coffee.
"Bones, these are Agents Dunn, Williams, and Young. You already know Charlie and Price. Guys, this is my partner Dr. Temperance Brennan," Booth introduced.
"Booth you do not need to tell me who I already know. I am quite aware that I know Charlie and Agent Price. Agent Price, are you okay?" Brennan asked, eyeing the choking man. Price nodded his head, looking at the door behind her.
"Booth, I'm going back to the platform. The skulls need to be reconstructed," Brennan said.
"Bones, how long do you think you all will be? Security is probably getting tired. It's been a long day and there's only ten of them trying to secure this huge lab," Booth asked over his shoulder.
"I'll check. First, I need to change. I'll be in the decontamination shower," Brennan said turning on her heel.
"Yum, if I had a view like that I'd be at the lab all the time, too," Dunn commented. Young started laughing behind his hand, he knew about Booth and Brennan.
"If you touch her, she'll break something on you," Charlie said with a grin.
"Psshtt," Dunn said.
"What was it you said at Wong Fu's Booth? Oh yeah, she'll rip your nuts off," Price said, trying not to laugh.
"Okay, Dunn, you know those soldiers out there are Rangers. Special Ops right?" Booth said rubbing his chin.
"So, I've been told," Dunn said in agreement. Booth walked to the door and snatched it open. He let out a shrill whistle and the lab came to halt.
"Rangers! Would you recommend putting your hands on Bones uninvited?" Booth bellowed across the lab.
A resounding 'No, sir!' echoed back from the lab. Closing the door, he turned with a raised eyebrow to look at Dunn. All of a sudden a loud explosion rocked the lab.
A/N: For TOMORROW...Hodgins is at it again, chemicals, physicals, sample cups, king of the lab, answering to whistles, who gets Sweets, properly used metaphors, hangman, Fisher to the rescue, Michelle helps out and our favorite pig Jasper.
A/N2: Okay I'm done feeling guilty so =P a new chapter tomorrow morning.
Leave a review! I did give you two chapters after all