I know you guys have been waiting for this. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Not mine
Patty eyed Nathaniel warily. He had removed her gag but made no move to remove her bindings. Currently, he was sitting with his arms propped on his up drawn knees staring at nothing. The silence was killing her but she would be damned if she spoke first. She gasped as he suddenly turned toward her and pinned her with those beautiful blue eyes. To Patty's dismay, they were completely expressionless, no anger, no love, no hatred, nothing. She wasn't prepared for his first question.
"What happened to you, Patty? How did you go from the nice girl that I first met to this?" He gestured toward her being trussed up like a Christmas turkey and for the first time, she felt shame wash over her. She desperately wanted to blame the changes in herself on Nathaniel but she'd had some time to think while the others were talking and she was beginning to realize that she and she alone was responsible for what she had become.
"Why couldn't you love me, Nathaniel?" she questioned just as softly. Her spine stiffened and anger flood through her at the pity on his face when he turned to answer her.
"I don't know, Patty. We don't get to choose who we fall in love with. It just happens." Some of her anger left her at the sadness in his voice and she knew he was hurting just as badly as she was from unrequited love. Surprisingly, instead of making her glad that he was suffering, the knowledge made her soften toward him. She loved him too much to want to see him in pain no matter the reason.
"We need your help, Patty," he just laid it out there and waited for her response. Patty glared at Brennan across the clearing and a black hatred and need to see the other woman destroyed gripped her.
"Why would I ever help her?" Patty spat, her dislike of Brennan apparent in her voice and face.
"Because it's the right thing to do and you used to know that, Patty. Because she doesn't deserve any of this. She's one of the best people I've ever known in my life. She deserves for this to be over so she can get back to her life and her family." Nathaniel didn't hear the wistfulness in his voice as he spoke of Brennan but Patty sure as hell did and it infuriated her.
"You love her, don't you, Nathaniel?" She demanded, tears of pain running down her face because she already knew the answer. Nathaniel met her eyes levelly.
"Yes, Patty. I love her enough to want her to be happy and Booth makes her happier than I've ever seen her. I know you don't believe me but she never felt about me the same way I felt about her, so I do know how you feel, Patty. And it sucks royally, but you've let it twist you into someone that I doubt your father would even recognize. And what about you father, Patty? What's he going to say when we take you home and tell him you were cooperating with Rodrigo? That you kidnapped Red for that sick bastard?" Patty's face paled at Nathaniel's questions and he realized she had never given the consequences a thought. She had always been handed what she wanted on a silver platter and had never faced any type of consequences for her unacceptable behavior. Oh, God, her father would be ashamed of her, he might even hate her. If her actions got out it would definitely ruin his career. Even worse, since she was a government employee, she was subject to disciplinary action. Oh, God, she could go to jail for a very, very long time. What the hell was she going to do?
"Please don't tell my father, Nathaniel," she begged, tears running freely down her face now. "Please." Nathaniel looked at her incredulously. How the hell did she think they couldn't tell her father about this? "I'll do anything you want me to if you don't tell him," she bargained desperately and Nathaniel looked at her assessingly. This had been easier than he thought and he wasn't sure she wasn't just telling him what he wanted to hear and would turn on them with Rodrigo.
"How do I know I can trust you?" he asked suspiciously. She turned a face ravaged with grief and despair on him.
"I swear on my father's life that I won't betray you, Nathaniel," she promised desperately. Nathaniel nodded. He actually believed her but he would have to convince the rest of the team and he had a few more things to say to Patty first.
"I want you to remember that it's not just Red's life that you're putting in jeopardy with your little stunts. I would die for every single member of my team and you're just blithely putting them in danger as if they have no value, as if they're unimportant. Well, Patty, they're important to me and if you screw us over and one single person on our side is injured, you won't be able to run far enough or fast enough to escape my wrath." Looking directly into his eyes, Patty shivered at the ice she saw there and knew he was telling the truth, if she crossed them, he would kill her without a second thought. "Are we clear?" Nathaniel's voice was hard and cold and Patty swallowed hard. She nodded because she couldn't speak past the lump of fear in her throat. "But, if you help us," he continued more softly, "You get to go home, get yourself some help and get your life back together." Patty looked at him with hope shining in her eyes, she couldn't believe after everything she had done that would be willing to do that for her. "But, Patty, if you don't get some help and continue your little games with me and Red, I will tell your father everything. Think about it," he instructed as he rose and headed back to his team. He knew he would have to do some fast talking to get them to agree to the deal he had offered Patty but was sure he could do it.
Nathaniel outlined his talk with Patty and met each team member's eyes individually. He could see they didn't trust Patty but they did trust him and were willing to do what he thought was best. That was until he met Brennan's eyes and immediately knew she was working herself up into what could only be classified as a snit fit. Booth saw it, too, but before he could get to his wife and try to calm her down the angry anthropologist was nose to nose with Nathaniel.
"Are you freaking kidding me, Nathaniel? After everything that spawn of Satan has done, you want to just let her go home and not be punished at all? NO! FREAKING! WAY!" Brennan made no attempt to keep her voice down and Booth glanced around to see Patty glaring at her across the clearing. Going to his irate wife, Booth grabbed her hand and pulled her resisting form several feet from the others noting that she never stopped glaring at Nathaniel. Booth got in her line of sight and cupped her face in his hands making her look at him. She didn't look happy that her dressing down of Nathaniel had been interrupted.
"Hey," Booth said softly, "calm down, Bones. I know you don't like it, but we can't do this without her help." She had her stubborn look on and it almost made Booth smile but they didn't have much time to work with her so he went in for the kill. "Bones, you have to decide which you want more. Patty punished when I'd say you've already made her very sorry she messed with you." Brennan smiled at the thought of the beating she had given the blond bimbo. "Or do you want to stop Rodrigo? Permanently?" Brennan sagged at the question. There wasn't really a choice to be made and Booth knew it which was exactly why he had used that logic on her. Sometimes she hated how well he knew her. Giving him a look that let him know what she thought of her limited choices, she nodded her consent to the plan. The she surprised the hell out of him.
"I want to talk to her," she demanded and her voice told Booth the request wasn't optional.
"Uh, Bones, do you really think that's a good idea?" Booth looked doubtful and rubbed his earlobe between his thumb and forefinger as he did when he was very nervous about something.
"Yes, Booth, I think that is a spectacular idea. I don't think Patty knows Rodrigo as well as she thinks she does," Brennan shuddered in revulsion as she remembered the other woman bragging about sleeping with the pervert. "I think she needs to know exactly what kind of man we're dealing with." Brennan looked at him levelly and he knew he wouldn't be talking her out of this. Besides, he didn't think it was such a bad idea. Nodding, he followed Brennan toward Patty, motioning the others back when they moved to intercede.
Brennan sat down several feet away from Patty and wrapped her arms around her up drawn knees. Booth knew this was going to be hard for her to do but she was determined. Patty glared at Brennan but Brennan didn't even look the other woman's way, "I'm not sorry I beat you up," she began and Booth barely held back his snort of laughter. No one had ever suggested that Brennan should be a good will ambassador and with good reason. Patty struggled to get loose of her bonds but didn't say anything, glaring angrily at the anthropologist. "But I want to tell you about your good friend Rodrigo, things that aren't in the files you would have access to if you even bothered to check him out." She turned toward Patty and looked at the struggling woman levelly.
Patty stilled instantly, stunned at the emotions swirling in the eyes of the woman she had labeled as an emotionless android. This was no android sitting before her. It was a woman filled with pain and rage and grief. Pain, rage and grief that had apparently been caused by the man she had so blithely accepted for what he seemed to be. Even though he gave her the creeps, Brennan was right and she had never checked him out. She had simply grasped at the solution to her problem that he had offered. Oh, God, what had she done?
Brennan shuddered as her thoughts went back to those awful three days when she had been held captive by Perez. For just a moment, she didn't think she could do it, share those personal, painful memories with this woman who had hated and tormented her for years and who had, even on occasion, tried to kill her. Then she stiffened her spine. She had to believe that there was still a part of Patty that would be horrified enough by those events to help them make those two scumbags go away forever. So, she started talking. She told her everything in minute detail, ignoring the tears running down the other woman's face and the way she leaned over and vomited at the gorier parts of the story. She told her of Rodrigo's sexual preferences and what he had done to her to try to get her to come on this mission. When Brennan finished her story, Patty was sobbing openly, horrified by what she had heard. And as much as she hated Brennan and didn't care what the other woman thought of her, she had to make something clear.
"I never slept with Rodrigo," she sobbed, "I was just so angry at you and I wanted to shock you." Brennan couldn't have cared less and her look told Patty so.
"I've been trying to tell you for years that Nathaniel and I never had a sexual relationship," Brennan said not noticing the way Booth stiffened then relaxed at that statement. "I really don't care if you believe me or not, but it's the truth. I know you don't like me and to be honest, if I never see you again it will be way too soon. But these men are killers, child molesters and drug dealers, Patty. They need to be stopped and we need your help to make that happen. We also need to be able to trust that you won't turn on us. Can we trust you, Patty?" Brennan searched Patty's face but couldn't really tell what the other woman was thinking. So, she turned to her fallback. Booth. "Can we trust her, Booth?"
Booth searched Patty's face and saw a woman who was just now realizing how far out of the boundaries of decency and the law she had stepped. He saw horror and sorrow at what she had done. He also saw a determination to set things right. "Yeah, Baby, I think we can trust her." Brennan leaned over to untie Patty's bonds.
"If you even think about turning on us, I'll know. And I will take you out in a second," Brennan whispered in Patty's ear. Patty turned a wide eyed look on Brennan and saw that she meant every word. With a little shiver of fear running down her spine, she nodded her understanding. Brennan finished untying Patty and motioned the others over while Patty squirmed and wiggled, trying to restore feeling to her abused limbs. Looking up at her team and her husband, Brennan only had one request. "Let's get this done."
As soon as they started asking questions, Patty spilled her guts. She willingly shared that Rodrigo had given her the coordinates of three different clearings in the area big enough to land a helicopter. Her job was to get Brennan to one of those sites and radio Rodrigo the coordinates. Looking at their map of the area and the coordinates Patty supplied, they decided there was really only one spot they could make it to in the remaining time they had. Patty supplied that Rodrigo had told her he could be to any of the coordinates within twenty minutes which meant he was closer than they would have liked but it didn't really give him any time to set up an ambush, which was good. The rest of the team had arrived by that time and Nathaniel quickly showed them the positions he wanted them to take up when they arrived. While the men were concentrating on that, Brennan got a canteen of water and helped Patty wash the blood off her face and hands. Patty looked at her in disbelief.
"Why would you help me?" she asked softly. Brennan shrugged.
"If you have blood all over you, Rodrigo might ascertain that his plan has been compromised and we need him on the ground for our plan to be successful." Patty almost smiled at the explanation. It was definitely Dr. Brennan speak but the other woman didn't have to help her. She sure as hell wouldn't have helped Dr. Brennan if the other woman had treated her as she had been treated over the last few years. She guessed that proved Nathaniel's point. Dr. Brennan was a good person. Certainly a better person than Patty, but Patty hoped she lived long enough to change that.
Leaving their current position, they double timed it to the clearing that was appointed as a meeting place and arrived with twenty minutes to spare. Which gave them plenty of time to get into position and set up their ambush. They had no doubt that Rodrigo would arrive with plenty of protection himself but they had enough men that even if he came with two helicopters of men, which was all that could reasonably land in the clearing, they could take them out quickly. Booth pitched a fit when Nathaniel wanted him to take up a sniper's position. No way was he moving any further away from his wife than he had to and nothing Nathaniel said budged him. With a sigh, Nathaniel finally told him to pick his spot. And Booth did so. Well hidden in the brush, he was less than fifteen feet from Brennan. He didn't like the fact that Patty and Brennan would be alone in the clearing when Rodrigo landed but knew the man would never land if he caught sight of anyone else and, unfortunately, they didn't have the firepower to take down a chopper. They needed the sonofabitch on the ground to take him out and he would NOT be walking away from this.
Luckily for them, they also had the latest technology available, so the ear pieces actually fit down into the ear and you could only see them if you were using an otoscope so they were able to all be in constant contact. At the appointed time, Patty made the call to Rodrigo. Her voice was a little nasally but she actually did a great job simulating excitement that she would be getting rid of Brennan permanently. Of course, it might have helped that she had several guns leveled at her at the time, one held by Brennan and Patty knew the other woman wouldn't hesitate to shoot her dead. Rodrigo relayed his eta of 20 minutes and everyone took their positions. They had decided that Brennan needed to appear to be bound to give the scene authenticity, so her hands were so loosely bound behind her back that she could easily slip out of them and quickly access the glock tucked into the small of her back. Patty had asked for a gun, but they had all vetoed that idea telling her she would just have to trust them to get her out of this alive. She didn't particularly care for that as most of the men were looking at her as if she didn't deserve to live but she didn't really have a choice.
As promised, twenty minutes later two choppers set down in the clearing and armed men streamed out of them, immediately heading into the underbrush and poking around. One came within five feet of Booth and he held his breath, knowing that if he was discovered, it would be a free for all and Brennan probably would be the first one they tried to take out. After several minutes of poking around, one of the men signaled Rodrigo and he climbed out of one of the choppers. Most of Rodrigo's men turned their weapons toward the jungle around them ready to protect their boss from any threat from that direction. Three turned their weapons on Patty and Brennan and it infuriated Booth to see a gun pointed toward his wife. He wanted to shoot them all instantly but knew he couldn't do that. So, he waited. He would get his chance.
Booth saw Brennan twist out of the bindings on her wrist very discreetly and pull the gun from her waistband as the man strolled toward them as if they were old friends and they should be glad to see him. Good girl, he praised inwardly. Sighting Rodrigo's forehead, Booth determined there was no way that freaking sicko was ever going to hurt his wife again. Nathaniel quietly ordered every man to pick a target and radio back the targets position so they could be sure every man was covered. In less than a minute, each of Rodrigo's men was within the sights of men who had come here specifically to take them out.
As Rodrigo got closer to the women, he tutted at Patty's battered face. "Oh, my dear, I see that you had some trouble with the good doctor," he sympathized, stroking her cheek. Patty barely repressed the shudder of revulsion as he touched her. Stiffening her spine, she gave him a look of accomplishment.
"She may have gotten in a few licks, but I got her here, didn't I?" she bragged with false bravado.
"Indeed you did, my dear, indeed you did," he praised, stroking her cheek again and turning his attention to Brennan. Walking toward her, he surveyed her from head to toe and Brennan didn't even try to hide her shudder of revulsion. Rodrigo smiled as every step he took toward her, she took one back. "Come now, Temperence. The game is truly won. You must see that. I would prefer that you come with me willingly but I'm not averse to using a little force. The choice is yours." He told her smilingly.
"I'm not going anywhere with you, you bastard." Brennan spat, pulling the gun from behind her back and pointing it at his chest. Luckily, Rodrigo was blocking his men's view of Brennan and they couldn't see the gun. Rodrigo laughed, infuriating Brennan.
"Come now, my dear," he cajoled, taking small steps closer to her as she continued to back up. Booth was guiding her by her earpiece and he would tell her when to stop to give him a clear shot. "Look around you, Temperence. If you shoot me, you will be dead in seconds," he told her waving his hands around to indicate his men spread about the clearing.
"If I go with you, I'm going to die anyway. I'd rather expire like this than at the hands of a twisted freak like you or Perez." Her voice held conviction and he gazed at her thoughtfully for several seconds.
"You know, my dear, I almost believe you but I have found that very few people choose to die when there is even the tiniest possibility that they can live. They will do anything that it takes to stay alive as long as possible. Now give me the gun, Temperence, and let us be on our way." His voice had grown hard and threatening.
Brennan had been instructed to drop to the ground at the signal to fire but she had something she had to take care of first. She saw the surprise in Rodrigo's as her shot hit him directly in the heart. She dropped to the ground just before three sniper rounds hit him simultaneously within a two inch pattern on his forehead and his head exploded. Gunfire erupted around the clearing and most of Rodrigo's men fell like dominoes, not even getting a shot off. Brennan and Patty covered their head and stayed put as they had been instructed. Brennan heard Patty scream and looked over to see the other woman had been hit by a stray bullet. Staying low, Brennan crawled over to check the damage. Suddenly the gunfire ceased and an unnatural silence descended on the clearing as Nathaniel and his men slowly made their way out of the jungle, checking each and every man to make sure he was dead. Booth immediately went to Brennan.
"Help me, Booth. I think she was hit," said Brennan trying to turn Patty over, but the other woman was curled in a fetal position moaning and resisting Brennan's attempts to help her. Going down on his knees beside Brennan, he forced Patty on her back, cringing when he saw she was bleeding from her abdomen. That was so not good. Looking at Brennan, he saw that she knew it, too.
"Grant, we need you," yelled Brennan, jerking off her over shirt, wadding it up and pressing it against the wound to slow the bleeding. She gave Patty a look of sympathy as the other woman moaned at the pressure being applied to her wound. "I know it hurts," Brennan said gently, "but we have to control the bleeding." Patty nodded but her eyes were glazed with pain.
Grant was there seconds later with his field kit. Gently removing Brennan's shirt and cutting Patty's shirt open to get a look at the wound, he silently swore to himself. Dammit, a gut shot was one of the worst things that could happen in the field. Patty needed immediate surgery that he couldn't perform especially under these primitive conditions. Telling Brennan to continue to put pressure on the wound, he opened his kit and went to work.
"Hey, Patty, I'm going to give you something to make you feel better," he told her gently as he injected her with morphine and then quickly started an IV. He only had the standard IV fluids with him, no plasma expanders or blood to replace what she was quickly losing. Patty's eyes fluttered shut as the morphine started to take effect. By this time Nathaniel had made his way over and Grant stood pulling him a few feet away. There was such a look of regret in Nathaniel's eyes as he looked at the wounded Patty that Grant almost felt sorry for him but they didn't have time for that.
"How bad is it?" Nathaniel asked.
"Bad," answered Grant, "if we don't get her to a hospital soon, she's not going to make it."
"How soon?"
"A couple of hours." Nathaniel cursed and began to pace. He hated to lose anyone. And even though Patty had taken the wrong path somewhere along the way, she had come through for them in the end and didn't deserve to die like this. Looking around, Nathaniel spotted the choppers and had an idea. It would leave them short a couple of men but he had to do what he could to save General Hood's daughter. He had a great deal of respect for the man and knew it would break him to lose her.
"Check the choppers for fuel," Nathaniel yelled to a couple of the men who were just standing around.
"This one's full," yelled Joe a couple of minutes later. Good, thought Nathaniel. That would be enough fuel to get them to the nearest city with a hospital that had the facilities to possibly save Patty's life but it would take at least an hour.
"Is anyone else a medic?" yelled Grant. He knew what Nathaniel was thinking and as much as it killed him not to see a patient through a crisis, they needed him when they went after Perez and he couldn't be sure he could make it back to camp in time. Two men stepped forward and Grant quickly quizzed them about experience and what they needed to do with Patty. Satisfied that they knew what they were doing, Grant nodded to Nathaniel.
"Joe, you're the best damn chopper pilot I know," Nathaniel said clapping Joe on the shoulder, "I trust you to get her to the hospital." As much as Joe wanted to stay and finish things with Perez, he knew an order when he heard one.
"What do we do when we get her to the hospital?" Joe asked.
"You drop her off and get the hell out of there. If you're absolutely sure you haven't been spotted then you call for pickup from the closest camp. If there's any doubt whatsoever that Perez's or Rodrigo's men have spotted you, then you head for home. You know what to do." Joe nodded but Nathaniel could tell he wasn't happy about the situation. "Joe, I'm asking you to do this because I know you'll get the job done." Nathaniel squeezed Joe's shoulder and the other man chest puffed out with pride. Hiding a smile, Nathaniel turned back to Patty as Joe hurried off to do a preflight check on the chopper.
Walking over, Nathaniel heard Grant giving orders to the two other medics and almost rolled his eyes. Grant was notorious for bossing people around. Squatting down beside the wounded woman, Nathaniel looked at her and felt sadness that she had been injured trying to make amends and help them but nothing else. How could he? She had been the bane of his existence for the past three years but, at this moment, he didn't even feel anger over that. He just felt…nothing.
"We need to get her in the chopper," Grant told the other two medics.
"I'll do it," Nathaniel offered. Gently picking her up, he moved quickly toward the waiting chopper. Just as he was handing her to the waiting medics, her eyes flittered open and a soft smile lit her face.
"Did I do good?" she panted.
"Yeah, Patty you did good," Nathaniel offered softly.
"I love you, Nathaniel," she whispered as her eyes closed again. Handing her into the chopper, Nathaniel turned away, still feeling nothing for the woman who had just said she loved him and not sure what that said about him as a person. Quickly making his way around the clearing he made sure there were no other injuries and turned his attention back to Brennan and Booth.
Booth was sitting against the base of a large tree with Brennan held tightly in his arms softly stroking her hair as they talked quietly. Nathaniel knew that Booth was going to be pissed that he and Grant had also taken shots at Rodrigo. The other man had made it clear that it was his right to take out the bastard. But with the three shots, there was no way to tell who had killed him and therefore no one for the CIA to go after for taking out one of their valued assets. Ask any man here and they would have no choice but to say that Rodrigo was caught in the crossfire and it was impossible to tell who fired the kill shot.
Booth watched Nathaniel approach warily and almost smiled. He had been seriously pissed when the other two men had taken their shots, but it hadn't taken him long to understand they were trying to protect him. While it didn't give him the warm fuzzies inside, he did understand and was just grateful that no one else had been hurt. He was sorry that Patty had been injured and sent up a quick prayer for God to watch over her and keep her safe until they got her to a hospital. Although, she wasn't what he considered a good person, he didn't want her dead.
Suddenly, Brennan sat up in his lap and faced him squarely and Booth knew she had something on her mind. "Booth, I shot him right in the heart," she said softly, chewing her bottom lip, "and I don't feel bad about it, either." Her voice held confusion as if she couldn't resign the fact of taking a life and not feeling bad about it with the person she believed herself to be. "Does that make me a bad person?" she whispered, her big blue eyes begging for reassurance. Cupping her face in his hands, he drew her forward and kissed her tenderly.
"No, Baby, that doesn't make you a bad person. Hell, I shot him, too and I don't feel bad about it. I'd do it again if I had to. We didn't have a choice, Bones. Men like him can't be allowed to run amuck and do horrible things to people without any consequences." Looking deeply into her eyes, he saw the gratitude and that he had managed to reassure her that she wasn't becoming a bad person. Stealing another kiss, he finally released her with a smile and motioned for her to get up as it appeared they were ready to move out. Looking at the other chopper, Booth's eyes narrowed as he was struck with an idea. "Nathaniel," he called, "is there any chance that Gavin can find all the hidden transmitters on that chopper?"
Gavin stepped forward with an offended look on his face. "Of course, I can. Why?"
"Well," Booth drawled, "I was just thinking that we can't have too much air support when we go after Perez and it seems a waste to just blow it up." Nathaniel gave Gavin the go ahead nod and the young man went to work. Thirty minutes later, he had removed seven hidden transmitters and had been over the chopper with a fine tooth comb. He would bet his life he had found them all. He knew that he better be sure. It wasn't just his life he was betting it was all of them.
Nathaniel's trust in his team was absolute. If Gavin said it was safe for them to take the chopper, then it was safe. Quickly deciding that part of them would take the chopper back to camp and part of them would hoof it back, they piled into the chopper and took off. As they lifted off, Brennan looked down at the bodies strewn about the clearing and only felt gladness that men like this could never hurt anyone again. She looked at Rodrigo one last time before they were out of sight and thought that after the fear and torment the awful man had caused her and so many others, the ease with which they had taken him out had been almost anticlimactic. She could only hope it would be that easy with Perez, but she wasn't holding her breath.