Chapter 25 :Lyrics & Conversations
...just a short chapter
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Bones is not mine.
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The "Angelatron" was filled with images and information of boys..brown curls and brown eyes on each. ... If I took the youngest pics and lined them up they could pass as some of Raphaels cherubs... Angela thought before clicking on the newest image, of Craig Morrison. The boy from Andrews home movies. Along with the picture, was page after page of his recorded life. It had been a sad, troubled existence from day one. Both parents were in and out of jail for a variety of reasons public intoxication, illicit drug possession, domestic violence, theft and ultimately child endangerment. Craig and his two younger siblings were in and out of their broken home several times. Taken when things were at their worst, only to be returned when it seemed the parents had cleaned up their act. But it never lasted long. Angelas mind drifted to the video, she didn't watch it... not really... just skimmed through the parts Booth had requested the images of Craig be pulled from. In those quick scans she had seen enough ...the attack...the struggle... a young Sweets holding the bloody glass ashtray... then Andrews chasing after him, then nothing. Watching the anger and fear spill over into violence ...seeing that cold dark malicious stare coming from one so young, fleeting as it was... sent a shiver through her. She realized...anyone can become a monster. Even her sweet little boy... all it took was the right environment. And someone to push, shove and knock them in the wrong direction. Craig Morrison was proof of that. His own wrap sheet mirrored his parents with one glaring difference. He had been found guilty of sexual assault and attempted voluntary manslaughter against his younger brother. Only fourteen, he was placed in the juvenile corrections system until sixteen, when he would be sent to adult prison. She frowned as she read on. His attorney argued successfully that Craig was the victim of a abuse himself, who had suffered lasting affects of a serious head injury, a troubled youth who needed therapy and rehabilitation, not just being locked away... forgotten. So instead of prison he was placed in a secure mental health facility. Where he stayed... until a year ago. Then through a series of events that included new legal representation, re-assessment by a new doctor and the "discovery" of clerical errors that were in Craigs favor ...no doubt Andrews fingerprints are all over it... Morrison was released. He lives in some halfway house on the outskirts of Metro D.C., is registered on the sex offender list...has a part-time job at a recycling center. Her eyes narrowed at his id photo. He retained a youthful appearance, despite having buzzed off his curls in favor of a harsh buzzcut. His full lips were turned up in a sort of self-assured sneer. ...Yeah he knew he was getting away with something...cocky twerp... Angela forwarded the details and the address to Booths email. Then with a swipe of her hand, Craig Morrison disappeared... replaced by pictures of her missing friend ...please just be missing and not... Throughout the pictures, he wore a big warm smile or goofy grin in each one. She felt it again... that pang to the heart threatening to pull her down, nagging, whispering her fears ..."you're still too late.. he's probably dead already"... "you wasted too much time"... "you gave up so easily"...No..I'm not going down that road again! ... Angela focused on the next image, it was just some group shot. She must have taken it, everyone was in it except her. Some sitting, a few standing. They were all talking to each other, ignoring her as she snapped away with her camera... all except Lance he was staring directly into the camera sporting a dazzling grin, dimples in full force, one hand up saying "Hi"... while the other made rabbit ears behind a completely oblivious Cam. She smiled now, as another thought crossed her mind... the boy holding the blunt object, the bloody weapon...definitely wasn't a monster. He had stopped himself ...then later overcame all of it. Because someone was there to save him, hold him, pull him through and guide him in the right direction. ...And we are going to save you again, just like I promised...
"Hey Ange... Oh hey Hon, are you alright?", Angela turned her tear stained cheeks to see her husband rush in to wrap his arms around her. Embarrassed she quickly wiped her face.
"Oh I'm fine... I.. um well you know... ", Angela gently returned his hug before shrugging it off and stepping away. Slipping back into forensic artist mode, " ..I found everything I could on Craig Morrison and sent it to Booth."
Hodgens stood there, "Alright...and you're sure ...everything's okay? That ..you.. are okay Angela?" After the confessions of the past week he was wary... he couldn't help it. He needed to know she was truly fine...this time.
"Yes..I'm fine.", Angela turned back to her screen. Jack turned to leave. Angela sighed loudly, "Wait! No..I'm not fine!... What if we are too late? That may not be Sweets in there, but that doesn't mean he isn't ..." Angela paused there, not wanting to say it out loud. " Arrghh! You know... I keep doing this! " she cried out in frustration, then collapsed into the nearest chair, hugging her tablet tightly to her chest, staring at the ceiling as if it held the answer to some mystery she was trying to unravel.
"What Angie?" What do you .."keep doing" ?", She had him worried .. Jack braced for the impact of what she might say next.
"This! One minute, I'm on a woman on a mission... convinced everything is going to work out. We are going to find Sweets and bring him home. That we can go back to normal. He will be the same sweet, shrinky geek we all love... and we will all still see him the same. We will be a team again..." Angela struggled as her voice became strangled with emotion."...a family again, Jack." Jack took a seat on the chairs armrest, putting his arm around her, pulling her close. Angela nestled against his chest, as his fingers combed through her dark tresses, he kissed the top of her head. He could feel her body shudder as she silently wept. He held her in a full embrace, which she returned. Not sure what to say, and feeling tears welling up in his sapphire eyes, he buried his face into her neck letting her soft hair conceal the evidence of his own emotions. They held each other for a few more moments. Then Angela pulled back, sniffling, reaching for one of many tissues she already had in her sweater pocket. Jack looked on as she pulled herself together somewhat. Then in a discouraged, defeated tone that cut clear through him, Angela spoke once again.
" But that was a minute ago...now, there is this minute. The one where I am not sure about a damn thing!... The one were reality sets in and I know ... I know... even if we can bring him back...physically. What about mentally?...Emotionally? Jack what if our Sweets is gone? What if he can't get past it this time? Last time... he was so young and had some really amazing parents. They're gone! What if he is so broken we aren't enough? What if we act differently... knowing everything like we do? What if..."
Jack stopped her downward spiraling musing with a kiss. He wasn't sure why... it probably was the worst moment for it. But its all he could think to do. He heard her anguish... shared her pain. He just wanted to give her something else... love. It was all he had to give. He could not argue against all the what ifs, he couldn't predict the ultimate outcome. He didn't want to give false hope and empty platitudes. So he gave her his ear...his shoulder... and now his lips. A kiss so passionate and tender it dared the despair and fear to drag her away from him again. He waited for the recoil... the shove. It never came. For a few moments they were lost in each other, feeling nothing but love. Each strengthened by the other. Of course Dr.B. would insist it was little more than the "high" brought on by a rush of endorphins, not some deep cosmic bond. But the resulting sense of well being was the same regardless. Jack believed in the power love.
Angela gave in to the kiss, she didn't have to keep pushing him away. She didn't have to suffer in silence anymore. So she kissed back, hard, letting go of her worries, if for just a few moments. That warm tingle, that was filling her soul ,reminded her how powerful love was. She wasn't alone, Jack wasn't alone. Together they could conquer any obstacle. No matter what happened she had him by her side.
Together they parted.
"Wow...", Jack said softly. "Well... I guess I should to get back to work...". Slowly standing then backing towards the doorway.
"Y-yeah... me too." Angela smiled. Their eyes locked in adoration, refusing to disconnect until Jack bumped into the door jam and was forced to turn away.
"Hey wait! Why did you come in here... in the first place? You had your phone in your hand." The moment had passed and she was now back in work mode as she retrieved her tablet.
"What? Oh yeah. .. that. Oh, it was nothing important. I just wanted to see my lovely wife and any old excuse would do."
"Aww that's sweet. Now, what about the phone? "
"Haha, I was going ask your thoughts on Daisys musical taste. I always had her pegged as a Brittney Spears, Christina Aguliera or Taylor Swift type but..." Jack grinned.
"What are you talking about? ",Angela cocked her head, looking at her spouse as if he had lost it.
"Didn't you get the notifications? She shared three songs. The Beatles, Queen and Pearl Jam." Hodgens had his phone in his hand, but before he had chance to open the screen Angela had pulled up her own notifications.
"I had all non-essential stuff on the back burner. Let's see what we have." Angela tapped her tablet and the room was soon filled with John and Paul , ..Help! I need somebody! Not just anybody... Angela swayed unconsciously with the beat. She tapped the next shared title, "Save Me" by Queen. As the words filled the room with its plaintive cry, ...save me, saaave... meee.. Angela stopped swaying, her eyes narrowed in a serious manner as she was suddenly struck with a realization. She quickly qued up the third song. Eddie Vedder crooned, I...I...I'm still alive!... "Oh my God! Jack.. Jack this isn't from Daisy!...This is Sweets!... These songs, are a message!", Angela began tapping away furiously at her computer.
"A message? But it said Daisy..are you serious?...How? ", Hodgens watched over her shoulder, Angelas screen filled with code and she was intently focused.
"I'm not sure.. but I am sure this is Sweets, Jack. He's letting us know he's alive and needs help. Oh.. why didn't you show this to me earlier! "
"Hey... don't fuss at me for comforting yo... Oh nevermind. Hey wait ..this is great news! Oh man! I gotta let everyone know." Jack pulled out his phone.
"No! You shouldn't use your cellphone... this guy Andrews learned a lot of tricks from Pelant. He knew how to hack my phone. Now, a few shared hits might go unnoticed, but if we start talking about covert messages from the deceased... and someone is still paying attention we could make things harder on Lance. Now let's see... Sweets posted these after midnight last night.. one after another using Daisys account. So as of last night he was still with us." Angela pulled up a page with what appeared to Hodgens as just series after series of numbers. "Okay... well it wasn't sent from his phone. This ip. is unknown... hmm. Hey Hon, listen ..why don't you go tell Booth, Cam and Brennen. I need to figure this out."
"But Andrews.. is dead. So who?... How?.." Angela turned giving him that look, the one that said shut up, do what I tell you and no questions. "...Okay.. I'm going." He threw his hands up in surrender. Hodgens knew when he was being shewed away, his brilliant wife needed space to work. He rubbed her shoulders, kissed her cheek then left her to it. Before he made it down the hall Pearl Jams "Alive" was wailing behind him. He grinned and hurried to find Cam.
A loud sigh interrupted the stillness of her office, as the silver Parker pen clattered onto the paperwork cluttering her desktop. Days had passed since the happy news that their friend wasn't the burnt skeleton in the ooky room. It was great news. But not the best, they were now left wondering ..where their young psychologist was? And with whom? ..It can't be Andrews... pulled the Quaticos test results up on her computer screen. One of the best genetics labs in the country... Could they have made a mistake?... Cam scrutinized the findings...again. It wasn't the for the first time. The sample, matched Jason Andrews known profile...it had been in the system. ...The same system, that had been corrupted by Pelant on numerous occasions. I wonder... The forensic pathologist left her desk, pulling a file from a cabinet. Inside were the results from tests she had performed on Angelas yellow dress. She had filed it away,because with Angelas admissions there had been no question as to whose stains they were. Sweets and Jason Andrews. When the charred tooth had been sent off, she wasn't even sure there would be any genetic material found. When it had, the lab had used the genetic profile already in the federal database. She hadn't questioned it, until now. Now that the other set of remains were not Sweets she had more questions. She held the results from the file up, comparing them to the ones on the screen. Her dark eyes darting back and forth scanning, once...twice. She couldn't help but smile. She would have to do a formal comparison, but she could see the differences. The markers were wrong. That tooth wasn't from the man who bled on Angelas dress. She suddenly realized the irony, a kidnapper, psycho and possible child killer was alive, and she was happy. Because it meant her friend was none of those things. ...Agent Mettes can shove his little theory right up his...
"Cam!", came jogging in. "Sweets! He sent us a message..he's alive! He's alive and needs our help!"
"Jack..what are you taking about? How? ..when?!" , Cam stood letting the file in her hand drop to the desk. The grinning entomologist, stepped closer almost bouncing with excitement as he explained the musical messages.
"Oh my, that's ..that's wait, have you told Booth? We need to call him..."
"No! No.. phones. Angela thinks whomever has Sweets could be listening in. She still thinks its Andrews.."
"Angelas right! I was just getting ready to tell everyone. The older man .. is not Jason Andrews. I'll explain later... No phones? Okay, so I'll go tell Dr. Brennen. When I spoke to Agent. Mettes earlier, he mentioned meeting Booth at the Founding Fathers... so maybe you can catch Booth there."
"I'm on it!", Hodgens disappeared from her office without a seconds hesitation.
Brennen was in the ooky room. Surveying the reconstructed skeleton of the older male. She had gone over the bones several times now. And found herself annoyed with the lack of secrets the charred remains were revealing. Generalities, height, weight, age... within specified parameters for Andrews. But few details. Unlike the recently obtained catalog of fractures that served as a road map, leading to her determination that the younger male was not Sweets. Andrews records were missing such details. No helpful x-rays. Aggravated she shifted her attention to the other table, with the younger mans remains. While not Sweets, this man had suffered numerous injuries typical of abuse, as well.
"Dr. Brennen! I have some good news...and some well relatively good news.", hurried into the room. " As of last night Lance was still alive. He sent a message through some music sharing thing...I don't really know .. but Angela is certain it was him! Oh, and that..", Cam pointed a well-manicured finger at the remains behind Brennen. "...is not Jason Andrews! The file Quantico Lab used as a comparison had been corrupted..it's not him."
"A message? Does Booth know?", Brennen joined Cam and together they made a beeline for Angelas office. "This is good.. maybe Angela can give us a location."
When the pair of scientists entered the workroom, their ears were assaulted by music blaring through the Angelatrons sound system. The forensic artist was busy at her computer station. Cursing at the screen as she pecked at the keyboard. She smacked at the large touchscreen, swiping into another screen of code.
"Angela! Ange...!", Brennen began to repeat loudly, but stopped when her best friend turned to them, while simultaneously killing the music with a touch of her tablet.
"Angela...Hodgens said Sweets has a message for us?", Cam, asked with tempered excitement as she removed her hands from over her ears and crossed them in front of her.
"Yes..you were just listening to it. Angela turned the swivel chair around, facing the Angelatron. She tapped the tablet and three song titles popped onto the screen. " Here's the message.."Help", "Save Me" and my personal favorite "Alive". " Angela smiled.
"These tracks were shared on a social media account that belongs to Daisy.. basic stuff, pics, videos and music. Jack and I are on her friends list so... we received the messages. I called Daisy, she should be here soon. She can confirm that she didn't share this... but I don't need confirmation. Its him..I know it!"
Brennen stared at the screen, her eyes narrowed in concentration. "Angela, can you locate Sweets with this? " she asked anxiously. Brennen was disappointed to find Angela was shaking her head.
"Not yet, the phone wasn't his. Unknown. The signal was bounced all over the place. Similar to how Pelant operated. I'm going to figure it out... it's just going to take time." She said with determination.
"Okay then, Angela keep working on it. Oh, I have news too. The older male, was not Andrews. The genetic profile they used must have been switched. I'll tell the FBI computer experts to handle that... you stay on this. We need a location. Dr. Hodgens has gone to tell Booth." Cam noted the flash of distress darken the artists features at mention of Andrews continued existence. She recalled the bruises on the womans neck, the terrible torture of Sweets, Angela had tearfully recounted and the blood spattered all over her dress. Andrews was still alive and still dangerous. She understood how Angela must still be concerned about his threats to her family and herself. She would have to speak to Booth about precautions that everyone should be taking. Andrews influence seemed to extend well beyond his physical reach.
Angela returned to her work, barely registering the others exit. While she typed away, focused on the commands and actions she was entering, part of her mind wandered. ...He's alive..That bastard's still out there... still has Sweets...Oh God! That means he could still hurt Michael...No! I'm going to find him before that happens... She slammed the door shut on the fears and doubt, she had work to do.
Booths cell phone flickered to life on the bars smooth, dark surface. An email from Angela. Opening the file, he read the depressing details regarding Craig Morrison. ...I want to talk to that jerk!...It was next on the to do list, just as soon as he talked to the jerk he was currently waiting on. He checked the time, again. ...Come on, its been over half an hour ...Ugh! I hate waiting... Booth closed the screen, flagged down the bartender, then tapped his empty glass. A minute later ,another ginger ale was set before him. He sipped the effervescent amber liquid, it was something to do while he waited. The agent had suggested meeting at the Founding Fathers for three reasons. It had been the first location to come to mind that was in between their respective locations when he made the call. Second, this was his home turf so to speak, so Booth was comfortable here. ...Nothing like having home field advantage.... Lastly, it was private enough to allow for serious conversation, but public enough, Booth would feel compelled to resist to possibly punching the guy. He was just setting the glass down when the person he was waiting for came barreling in his direction. ...Finally!..
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There is was... such as it was. Sorry if Angela/Hodgens seem OOC . Hope it wasn't too fierce wretched.
So please, please..please review. Just a grunt or groan of acknowledgment is all I ask.
I love reading your thoughts...okay that sounds creepy.
Save Me Belongs to Queen
Alive Belongs to Pearl Jam
Help Belongs to the Beatles