Need Chapter 36

Sweets had just finished gathering the last of his fake files when he heard the sharp high pitch tap on his office door frame. It was Agent Shaw.

"He's here, Sir." Her soft voice filled his office. "I'm going to escort him up. Do you want him in the conference room or an interrogation room?"

"Great. Thank you, Agent Shaw, if you could take him to the conference room I'll meet you there." He was pretty proud of how the dummied up files looked. Angela had helped him create the fake victims complete with photoshopped pictures. She'd given him direction on how to bend, crinkle, and stain the paper so it looked like the files were active and used. He hadn't really thought of that. But she was right in suggesting it. They looked real. It was show time.

When he came off the elevator he held back just for a few minutes and watched Chambers' mannerisms. He was a short man, certainly shorter than Sweets had anticipated. No wonder he had to drug Dr. Brennan to take advantage of her, there was no way on Earth he could have taken her any other way. He felt horrible for thinking it but it was true. She would have laid him flat with one blow. The man had to be about five foot six or seven inches tall. He had a very slight build, weighing certainly not more than 145 pounds by Sweets' estimate. His fair colored features made him look almost sickly. Sweets watched as the man made every effort to appear confident and comfortable in his surroundings. It was always interesting to put physical characteristics together with a personality profile and see how they fit into one human being.

When Sweets finally introduced himself to Chambers, he towered over the man. After a surprisingly strong hand shake Chambers immediately started peacocking. He went out of his way to lay out all his degrees and qualifications. Sweets was already sick of him.

"Let's get started then." Sweets offered up as he directed the man towards the conference room door. As soon as the Chambers passed in front of him he let out a hidden sigh accompanied by a slight eye roll. It was going to be a long day. Sweets motioned the man to follow him towards the interrogation room as he led him out through the conference room doors.

It squeaked, the back door to the cabin desperately needed oiling. It automatically drew shut behind Booth, the sound startled her. He'd gone out into the shed to get the fishing gear. She'd watched him, purposeful and excited since they got up early in the morning. Now he stood in front of her with a fishing net, tackle box, an old rusty coffee can stuffed with garden items, three different fishing rods poking out in all directions, and several other items she couldn't identify. Making his way to the kitchen table he dropped it all into a pile.

Her arm wrapped around her waist, one hand covering her mouth as she tried to hide her amusement and appear as serious as Booth about their impending adventure.

"What?" She had a hard time holding back the giggles until he grabbed the coffee can, pulled out each item one by one, and explained her job.

Booth chuckled playfully at her confusion. "Worms, Bones. We need worms to go fishing. Since you're the one with all the digging experience I figured you would be the best person to go dig up the worms." With an outward thrust he held out the old coffee can, a rusty trowel, and a well worn pair of garden gloves he'd found in the shed behind the cabin.

Folding her arms across her chest, she let him know she wasn't amused. "Booth," She shifted her weight and glared at her partner. "And what exactly are you going to be doing while I dig for worms?"

"I am gonna make sure the fishing rods are ready, sort through the tackle box to make sure we have everything we need, and packing a lunch for us so we don't starve to death in the wilderness." He waggled the coffee can and trowel in front of her. "Come on." Batting his eyes as he liberally applied the use of his charming smile won her over. It always did.

With a slight smile she reached out and grabbed the digging instruments from him. "Okay, I'll go excavate for Lumbricus terrestris." Shaking her head at his silliness she went outside to the overgrown flowerbeds that surrounded the cabin in search of the best environment to find them.

It was a good distraction. They'd gotten a text from Shaw early in the morning. The attempts to catch Phelps at the Danville Train Station had failed. To top it off they hadn't had a solid read from his ankle monitor since early yesterday morning. First it seemed to have dipped into North Carolina. When it registered again it appeared to be heading North back into Virginia. Then they'd tracked it to Blacksburg near Roanoke. But that was it, nothing after that. Blacksburg and Roanoke were both along Interstate 81 and too close for comfort.

Booth tried to keep her busy in between reassurances that they would be safe. She was sure those were as much for himself as for her. They'd briefly discussed various scenarios where Phelps showed up at the cabin and made clear plans. It was impossible to miss his sidearm prominently displayed on his waist. It was funny to her that something so commonplace, something she usually ignored altogether, appeared so obvious and out of place in this setting. It was a startling reminder that even though they acted like this was a weekend mountain getaway, it wasn't. At the moment he was driving her crazy with his need to know exactly where she was at all times.

She'd settled on a spot and dug what could only be described as a "test pit" to be sure she was in the right type of soil to find the poor wiggly creatures. Putting the disrupted soil into the old can as she went, she'd barely begun when she heard him call after her.

"Where is Temperance?" Chambers asked, almost indignantly, as he settled himself in one of the hard metallic chairs in the interrogation room. Sweets didn't hear him, He was too busy gloating in his ability to control the situation. He'd convinced him that what he had to offer was so valuable to their investigation that he didn't want to miss any of it, using the interrogation room would give Sweets access to the recordings.

"Pardon me?" He'd completely missed the question.

"Where is Temperance, Doctor Temperance Brennan, my colleague who recommended that you speak to me? I would have thought she would be here for this meeting. It is, after all, for her benefit that I even agreed to this private confab." He started to get up out of his chair as if to leave.

"Oh, oh, I'm terribly sorry. I should have told you sooner." Sweets was up out of his seat cajoling Chambers to stay. "Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan were called out of town on a case at the last minute."

"Agent Booth? That's her partner, correct?" Sweets felt like he'd already lost control, tables turned, Chambers was now interrogating him.

"Yes." Determined not to give away any more information he kept his answer short and to the point trying to regain control. "I was reading up on you Mr. Chambers, you know to get a feel for your theory and work. You have -"

He couldn't hold his tongue long enough for Sweets to finish. "It's Doctor Chambers, young man, just like it's Dr. Brennan. You wouldn't disrespect her title, would you?"

"I apologize. You're right, Dr. Chambers. I wouldn't disrespect her title and certainly didn't mean to disrespect yours." Just play the game, Sweets reminded himself over and over. "Maybe you can start by giving me an overview of your theory. I read the papers you sent me in preparation for this interview but I am interested in hearing it directly from you."

"Gladly. There are several widely accepted theories on sexual assault whether they be by an individual or by a 'gang' meaning multiple people. One, centering on forced sexual assault by a group, by Dr. Sanday, purports that it is social rules and mores that bind the group. She misguidedly believes that camaraderie is what brings men together. That their act, the excitement surrounding it, the shared secret all lend to creating a unique bond out of this specific type of sexual experience."

"And you don't believe that."

"No, while I am sure that camaraderie plays a role and may have some influence, in and of itself it neglects to address the basest of needs among men. Sanday's theory denies that biological drive which is innate within each of us as men. A competitive, survivalist instinct that Thornhill and Palmer suggest that pushes us to seek the best breeders and make them ours, even if that means the use force." Chambers had been eying the stack of files sitting pushed off to the side of the table. "Are these the case files? May I? Maybe I can explain my theory better through the details of your cases."

He reached for the stack thumbing through the names. Sweets watched carefully, By now he'd realized that Dr. Brennan's file was not among the stack. Chambers was observably flustered and frantic as he checked and rechecked.

Checking and rechecking, it seemed to be all Booth could do. Keep tabs on her, know where she was, give her some space and freedom. Some independence to help her heal meant that he had to be watchful for both of them. She'd given up enough through this whole experience he didn't want to take away more by hovering. Even though it meant he had to be hyper-vigilant he was determined to let her spread her wings a little bit. This morning that meant loosely carrying on a conversation as he prepped for their hike back to the pond. He couldn't see her, she was out front and he was inside making sandwiches but he'd propped the front door open and he could hear her voice.

"Did you know that the Lumbricus terrestris are indigenous to Europe? They're now abundant in North America and western Asia. They have tiny microscopic bristles called setae that the worm uses to burrow. They burrow down during the day but actually come up to the surface at night which is why we call them night crawlers. Though they normally stay close to the surface though they have been known to go down as far as two meters."

"Meters, really? Haven't we already established that I don't do metric, Bones?"

She laughed. "About six and a half feet, Booth. They consume food as they burrow. As it passes through their system it redistributes nutrients making the soil rich. They are very healthy for the soil."

"Well, these are going to serve a much higher purpose, Bones, they're going to help us catch some fish!" He sounded so excited. Distracted by the thought of him, his sweet face which found childlike pleasure in simple things. She only half heard his next question. It played in her mind though as she pieced together the words, shifting and rearranging them until it was all put together. He'd asked her about worms, how many did she have? She hadn't been counting. Was it enough? Did they have enough bait that's what he had asked. He was ready to go and wanted to know if they had enough bait. Bait, worms, fish. Fish eat bait. It all clicked. Horrified she dropped the can. It fell to the ground crashing, clanking, clattering against rocks until it hit dirt and rolled to a stop.

When she didn't answer Booth thought she was counting the worms, she had an insatiable need to be precise. "You don't have to count them, Bones, just guesstimate." She still didn't answer. The silence made his pounding heart seem louder. "Bones." Nothing. He screamed her name again, this time as he raced through the house and out into the yard where she'd been. "Bones." Oh, God, please no. She wasn't there. He looked at the turned over coffee can, the trowel dropped haphazardly. There was no sign of her. "Bones, Bones." He pulled his gun readied himself and started carefully clearing each part of the yard, the shed, the other side of the house, as he desperately called her name and begged her to answer.

He couldn't find her anywhere.

"You seem to be missing a file, Dr. Sweets. Temperance's file in nowhere to be found in these files. I know for a fact that Temperance should have a file as she was reported a victim of this set of very specific sexual assaults. Where is her file? I cannot be expected to give you an accurate accounting of these men and their victims if I do not have all the facts, all the files. I need her file. I need to see her file."

Things were rapidly spinning out of control. Booth had made it very clear that Dr. Brennan's privacy was to be maintained, it was the highest priority. But, clearly Chambers was going to walk if Sweets didn't do something to stop him. Showing him the file, her file, seemed like the easiest way to make him stay. Was it worth it to keep him here talking? He couldn't believe he was even considering it. And what about patient confidentiality? He wasn't ready for the conversation to end, he felt like he could get more from him. As Chambers ranted more and more about needing to see her file Sweets made a decision. Chambers stood abruptly sending his chair skidding across the floor. Threatening to leave, just as he'd suspected he'd do. Sweets matched him using his height to his advantage as he towered over him.

"I will not be sharing Dr. Brennan's file with you today. She asked me not to and I won't go back on that commitment. If you want to see it you will have to ask her directly. As for your ability to provide insight to this case, if you can't do it based on what we have here, that I can show you, then I doubt you could help anyways. There is more than enough information in these files." He motioned to the stack right in front of Chambers. Then waited.

A long time ago he used to teach psychological techniques to car salesman to make money for grad school. One of the old timers became a good friend. He couldn't help share stories with Sweets, swapping insight for insight. He said once you make your pitch, or bid or whatever then it's time to shut the hell up, don't talk. The person who talks next loses. If it's the salesman that talks he'll most likely lose the sale. If its the client he'll most likely buy.

The room was silent, Sweets let it be silent. He remained standing, leaning in. They stayed that way for what seemed like forever then Chambers sat and started spreading out the files on Phelps, Clyve, and Halverson. Flipping through them, he read details from various interrogations and thumbed through collected records. Sweets sat down, leaned back in his chair, and waited. His heart still pounding.

Thumping loudly in his ears Booth couldn't control his racing heart. She was nowhere. He stopped, bent over trying to catch his breath and think. Straightening he walked in circles. The pond, it was the only other place to look. Forcing the very idea that she had been taken as far away as he could for the time being, praying to God that she hadn't been taken. But with each place he considered, each place he checked and didn't find her his fear grew. One more place, he promised himself, one more place to check, that was it. If she wasn't at the pond he'd call in the Calvary.

He turned and ran toward the path that led to pond. He knew it wasn't impossible but it felt like the brush had thickened overnight. He kept calling her name. Still no response. Fighting the low lying limbs of the trees, the overgrown brush on the ground. Every thing felt sped up and slowed down at the same time. Finally he could hear the water, the splash of the waterfall roaring. He was close, pushing, pulling, tearing his way through until he broke through the last of it, he almost fell into the clearing. Still calling her name, still no response. Immediately regarding every detail of his surroundings as he frantically searched for her.

"Look here. See how each of these men are completely different." Chambers began. "An engineer, a criminal, a mercenary, you would think they have nothing in common." He laid their files out next to each other so Sweets could see their pictures as he talked. "That would be a mistake. The same mistake Sanday made in limiting her research to fraternities. Of course, she wasn't motivated to study sexual assault other than in a fraternity setting. It was an assault case on the college campus where she worked that sparked her interest and she was essentially focused on understanding those specific circumstances."

Sweets sat up looking intently at the photos and listening. "Where's the mistake?"

"The mistake is ignoring their motivation. Every one of these men, every man for that matter, is motivated by something. In addition to the camaraderie theory that she put out and the biological, competitive theory of Thornhill and Palmer there are always outside motivations. Consider it a bridge that connects the camaraderie theory to the competitive theory making them both complete. That is my theory. That is what my research has proven."

"I did notice that your work talks a lot about motivations. Obviously the work we do here often revolves around motive. Just to be clear how are you defining it?"

"An irresistible drive. Beyond the biological need to procreate. Beyond the bond of shared experiences and secrets. We all have something and in most cases many things that we cannot resist. We will do anything to fulfill those desires." Chambers leaned in pushing Halverson's file forward. "Take this man, for example. He was in the Philippines, correct? Away from his family. In a demanding job. What was his motivation? Maybe it was comfort, a companionship that he was missing."

Sweets started to argue. "These rapes didn't take place in the Philippines, they took place here and when he was done he went home to his wife, his companion. While I might be able to see some convoluted circumstance that happened there I don't see how it applies here."

"Your assuming his motivation started here even though you have clearly connected that the men were all in the Philippines at the same time." This is exactly why Sweets wanted to bring him in, he let the man talk hoping he would inadvertently give away more insight to these specific men that he planned to. "Indulge me. Let's just pretend for a moment. What if the Philippines is where their bond started. What if there he was lonely and stressed and was looking for comfort to drown out the sorrow. What if he would do anything to make the pain he felt stop, anything for that comfort."

Her sobs, Booth heard her sobs when he finally stopped as he stood still in the opening where the path met the pond. "Bones, oh baby, what happened?" Kept talking as he moved quickly to be by her side. She was curled up on the rocks he and Parker fish from her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. When she lifted her head towards his voice he saw scratches and cuts. The same trees and brush that fought him must have torn at her skin as she made her way here to the pond. As he sat down next to her she curled into his arms sobbing violently. He held her in much the same way he had that night in the alley. Speaking softly, reassuringly and though she calmed as he held her she didn't talk, not one word.

Booth began to worry. At first he thought she must have had a terrible flashback but with those she was consolable and given a little time she would always talk to him, even if it was short one word answers at first. This time, nothing. Limp in his arms, her eyes closed, her fingers patting his arm at first frantically and now gently. They sat that way for at least a half an hour as his worry for her grew. What if something were really wrong? He didn't know what to do for her. As much as he hated to admit it he needed help.

He pulled out his cell, with both arms wrapped around her he typed a quick text to Sweets.

Need help she's falling apart won't talk

He sent it off and waited, hoping that it wouldn't matter, that by the time Sweets answered she would have started talking to him and it would all be okay. That's what he hoped for but he could feel in the pit of his stomach that this was not okay.

The buzz of Sweets cell phone interrupted Chambers continuing explanation of each man's secret motivation.

"Oh, man, I am sorry." He looked at the screen. Dammit. This was not the time or a interruptions but it was from Booth and he knew there was no way on Earth that Agent Booth would ask for his help unless it was mega serious. "You know what, this is a client." he pointed to the phone as he talked. "Looks like this client's in an emergency situation. Do you mind if I respond to this real quick? It'll just take a sec." Sweets didn't wait for an answer from Chambers. He started messaging back immediately.

What happened? What's she doing? How long has it been?

This wasn't help, this was twenty question. Booth could feel the rage building. He asked for help and all boy wonder sent back were questions. He reached up and rubbed his forehead. He talked to her softly, it was a desperate plea.

"He wants to know what happened, Bones. I don't know what happened. I don't know what to tell him. Just talk to me, tell me what happened and I won't even tell him. If you talk to me then I won't need his help. You know we can work it out together, like we do, you and me, just the two of us." He kissed the top of her head realizing she wasn't going to answer. Letting out a deep sigh he started his response.

I don't know what happened. She ran off found her like this. almost an hour.

After sending the text he realized he hadn't answered one of the questions.

I'm holding her she's crying patting my arm and NOT TALKING not a word since I found her

"You see, Dr. Sweets, for every man there is that thing we can't resist. For Halverson it was companionship, hypothetically. For Phelps it was power and money, a mercenary is always a man with a price. For Clyve, well he's a life long criminal, easily entreated by the thrill of committing the crime, hypothetically of course. Then you put them all together and add a beautiful woman, vulnerable enough, attractive enough that biology, genetics, screams that they need her, They would compete for her, as Thornhill and Palmer suggest, both outside and inside of her body as their sperm fight each others for dominance. In the end, they share that bond of experience and secrecy it binds them and given the opportunit-"

Chambers was cut off by Sweets text alert, again.

"I am really sorry. If weren't an emergency I would totally tell them to wait but it is. I really want to hear what you have to say, can you allow me a minute? I'm trying to get some information from them so I can advise them, Then I'm all yours. I promise." He looked down, holding the phone in his lap so there was no way Chambers could see the screen."

"They? I hope it's not an emergency with Temperance and her partner." He was fishing for information.

Sweets ignored him for the moment.

Details tell me exactly what she was doing before she ran off - Is she still patting you?

Finally, it seemed like forever between texts to Booth. He had no time for this, no patience for it. He typed back as quickly as he could, pressed send, and turned his attention back to her. He gently moved the hair sticking to her forehead and face. There was blood there, from the scratches and one little cut by her eyebrow. He would have to fix up once they got back to the cabin.

Annoyed but insistent both on finishing his thoughts about the case and finding out if the emergency was related to Temperance he continued.

Changing his tactics Chambers came at it another way.

"Have you ever met a woman, that woman, the one you just have to have. She is your motivation, your purpose, your desire. Every man's got at least one, just like their other desires, that they are willing to do anything to fulfill and then will do anything to hide what they've done. It's like Friedrich Nietzsche said, "Every -"

Chambers slammed down his fist in frustration when Sweets cell phone interrupted him again.

"It better be Temperance that is having an emergency. My time is valuable. I am in great demand. These constant interruptions are unacceptable, Dr. Sweets, if you do not have time to give me your full attention then I am done here." His tone was harsh and abrupt as he spit the words out.

"Again, I'm sorry, really sorry." He opened the text and read it. Chambers was so angry he continued as Sweets read the message from Booth.

She was getting worms digging up worms we were going to go fishing – I told her I was ready with everything else

"Nietzsche said, 'For every man there exists a bait which he cannot resist swallowing.' " Chambers' voice was loud and sharp as he emphasized each word separately, articulated them crisp and clear. They mixed with the text as Sweets read it.

I asked her if we had enough bait she didn't answer so I came out to check on her and she was gone.

Sweets looked up from the text. "Say that again. That quote, I was reading and I'm not sure I heard it all correctly."

"I quoted Nietzsche who said, 'For every man there exists a bait which he cannot resist swallowing.' You were going to tell me if that emergency involved my friend and colleague Dr. Temperance Brennan."

Almost absently Sweets answered. "No." He was quiet, then just as Chambers was about to lunge into a rebuttal argument trying to persuade this young man to tell him if the emergency involved Temperance Sweets continued. "You've used that quote a lot in your writing. Now that you said it I remember reading it in the various papers and articles you sent me."

"Yes, I believe it is incredibly accurate in describing human nature. It especially represents my theory well."

"Yes, yes it does. Will you excuse me for a moment. I'm going to go handle this situation, I'll be right back." He stood and left. Once in the hall he typed madly.

She remembered, the patting, she's doesn't know how to tell you she remembered. Think about the recording. She was trying to tell you a quote Chambers always uses. The slurred words, fish, worm, bait. Tell her that you know what she's trying to tell you, that you know that she remembered and tell me what she does.

Sweets hastily sent the text off and then waited.

Booth was confused his head turned so far around that it took a few minutes to get what Sweets was trying to tell him. He reread the text then followed Sweets directions and when he told her that he knew, knew that it was Chambers and that she remembered she immediately stopped patting his arm. She fell apart sobbing as she burrowed into his arms and chest pulling herself farther into the safety she knew she would find there.

Sweets sent another text with the quote in it. Booth didn't get it right away, he was trying to console her. It took awhile but as the sobs subsided she cleared her throat and spoke to him.

"'For every man there exists a bait which he cannot resist swallowing." It was broken, she worked hard to get the words out, between shuddered breaths and hesitation. Speaking it opened a harsh truth, a horrible reality, one she had secretly dreaded.

A/N I have been planning this chapter for a long time – it was a lot like writing two chapters and shuffling them like a deck of cards. Two events in separate places tied and coming together into one moment. I hope it worked – definitely hope you liked it. Let me know what you think of the chapter, of Chambers (scuzbag that he is) of Brennan's revelation – I'm excited to hear what you think!

Thank you for all the support and feedback on this story. It has meant so much to me and continues to.