I'm so glad everyone is enjoying this fic, it's one of my favorites too. lol. Well, only a few more chaps to go...enjoy!
Hodgins wasted no time. He walked over to Brennan and Booth and held out a piece of paper.
"You recognize him?" He asked, waited while Booth studied the photo, Brennan peering over his shoulder from behind the couch.
"Where did you get this?" Booth stared wide eyed at the picture in his hands.
"I have my sources. Do you recognize him?" He repeated.
"Yeah. That's the General." He nodded. The man in the photo was in jeans and a ball cap, but there was no mistaking it. The man was the general Booth had recently been learning to hate.
"His name is Stephen Marshall, a General in the United States Army."
Hodgins began to pace Brennan's office, hoping his excitement wouldn't come off as insensitivity toward Booth, who really didn't look like he was in such a great mood.
"One of my contacts got in touch with one of his friends in the Army after I told him what you told me. We pulled a few strings and I was able to get a name and address on this guy and they were faxed over with that picture." Hodgins indicated the second paper stapled to the picture of the General.
Brennan noticed with amusement the way Hodgins was almost bouncing with energy.
What does Ange call him? A man of odd enthusiasms. Yeah, that's definitely Hodgins.
"And that's not all." The curly-haired entomologist continued, "He's known for working closely with a tight group of five other high ranking officials…who were all missing for about three months a year and a half ago."
"Missing?" Brennan crossed her arms. "What do you mean missing?"
"I mean, Dr. Brennan, no one knows where they were. They just up and disappeared one day and three months later…they were back. Being the US government we're talking about here, no questions were asked and they resumed their normal duties like nothing happened." He added, a hint of disgust on his tone.
Booth listened carefully as he studied the papers Hodgins had given him and when he was finished, stood quickly heading for the door.
"Thanks Hodgins. I owe you one buddy." He clapped Hodgins shoulder as he walked past him.
"Booth, where are you going?" Brennn started collecting her coat as she moved to follow him out of her office.
"To talk to the General." He responded, crossing the lab in long strides.
"Not without a driver you're not." She caught up and breezed past him out the door, keys held firmly within her fingers. Booth gave her back a glare that could melt ice, bu didn't say anything in protest
"Hey! Hey man, Booth, wait a sec." Hodgins called, stopping Booth from leaving after Brennan.
"Look, uh…" He slid his eyes from side to side like he was looking for eavesdroppers, "be careful okay?"
Booth frowned, but nodded, a little unnerved by Hodgins' paranoia, though it wasn't exactly unusual coming from him.
Booth turned to leave when he heard Hodgins calling to him loudly again.
"Hey, don't keep all the juicy details to yourself when you get back man!"
Did I just say 'juicy details'? I've been spending way too much time with Angela.
"Any information I do find out will probably be classified Hodgins."
"That's the best kind!"
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Brennan pulled up in front of a large colonial style home on the outskirts of DC half an hour later.
"Look, you just stay here okay?" Booth said, unbuckling himself and looking at her. Hodgins' warning to 'be careful' still rung in his ears.
Brennan smiled sweetly and leaned over to place a chaste kiss on his lips.
"Of course I will."
Then she proceeded to unbuckle herself and step out of the car.
Booth rolled his eyes.
"Why do I even bother?" He joined her walking up the path to the door, flanked on both sides by perfectly trimed green grass and pansies.
"I'm really not sure."
Booth knocked and stared intently at the door, straining to hear anything from inside. On his left Brennan did her usual poking around and looked in the windows.
"See anything?" He whispered once she was again at his side.
She shook her head and Booth reached up to knock again, despite being met with silence the first time.
Just then his cell phone chirped in his pocket.
"Booth."
"I always knew this might happen." A smiling voice responded to his curt greeting.
"Who is this?" Booth stepped away from the door and Brennan followed, her brow furrowed in curiosity.
"You know exactly who this is Major Booth."
Booth stiffened and nodded slightly when Brennen mouthed, 'the General' to him and tilted her head.
"Where are you?"
He heard a sigh from the General and then, "Meet me at the diner on the corner of 54th and Lexington in fifteen minutes." Then a click signaled the end of the call.
"What was that about?" Brennan asked as soon as Booth shut his phone.
Booth stared at her for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to lie to her and make her go home. Things had been disappearing a lot lately and Bones was the last thing he wanted to lose track of.
"Booth?" Brennan took a step closer to him, noting the contemplative look in his eyes, and not realizing she'd just made him fall in love with her all over again.
He couldn't help himself. He saw those pale blue ocean eyes staring up at him and knew he could never lie to her. Those eyes so full of trust and love…he simply couldn't betray them. Betray her.
He shook his head, as if physically confirming his decision and pressed a quick kiss on her forehead.
"Lets go to lunch Bones." Then he automatically climbed into the passenger side of the SUV, much to the delight of Brennan who was getting very used to driving.
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"I don't think I like this place Booth." Brennan rounded the car and walked next to him as they approached the small building, her face contorting into a scowl at the run down condition of the diner.
A neon 'open' sign blinked sporadically in the window and the paint on the outer walls was peeling and black with dirt. The roof was stained from rust and water damage and every few steps she had to hop slightly to avoid twisting her ankle in one of the many potholes that sprinkled the parking lot.
Booth reached for her hand, mistaking her disgust for apprehension and Brennan rolled her eyes.
"I'm not scared Booth, I just think General Marshal could have picked a meeting place that was a little less…cliché."
Booth smiled and squeezed her hand, finding her annoyance quite endearing and amusing.
Once inside Booth scanned the the diner and spotted the General quickly amongst the other five people there, three others if you didn't count the waitress and cook.
Marshal looked up and nodded at Booth as he slid into the seat across from him, then he frowned when he saw Brennan.
"You should have come alone Major." He mumbled to a cup of cold coffee.
Booth shook his head.
"Bones is my partner." He said simply.
"Bones?" The general looked up, a smile being hidden by his look of confusion.
"No. He calls me Bones." She sat next to Booth and jerked an accusing finger at him, "But my name is Dr. Temperance Brennan."
The General's eyes got imperceptibly larger.
"The forensic anthropologist?"
She nodded, unable to hide the pleasure admitting that brought her.
"Oh," Marshall visibly relaxed. "You can be here then, your security clearance almost goes higher than mine."
Booth glanced at Bones, squeezing her knee under the table.
That's my girl.
He turned his full attention back to the General.
"So you gonna tell me why everything related to my missions is disappearing?"
Marshal stared at his coffee for a moment and stirred the clotting creamer.
"You shouldn't be here …" He started.
"But you told me to meet you..." Booth protested.
"I did not give you permission to speak Major!" Marshal hissed, and Booth immediately shut his mouth.
Brennan watched inquisitively as Booth submitted to Marshal's wish for him to be quiet. It was strange for her to even watch him take orders from Cullen, Booth's alpha attributes just didn't click with being subordinate to other males.
"As I was saying. You shouldn't be here. It's against protocol and if anyone finds out…it could get ugly. But I knew when I chose you for this job that it was a possibility you would find me. You are, after all, one of the best investigators in DC."
Booth felt his chest swell with a familiar pride. Then, thinking of Hodgins, I'd probably be in pretty bad shape without my Squints though.
"But I needed the best for an operation like this and we couldn't take any chances on someone who might miss."
"And what kind of operation is this?" Booth ventured carefully.
Marshal met his eyes for the first time.
"A level one Servo Pacis."
Booth's eyes widened and he sat back in his chair with a sharp intake of breath.
Brennan narrowed her eyes and tilted her head, her mind already churning.
Allrriiighty then! lol. Push the button and feel free to talk my ear off!