A Boy from Philly
Part XXXVII
"This is officially your fault."
"My fault?"
"Yeah... if you weren't so gorgeous, then we wouldn't be rushing." Booth got out of the SUV and met Brennan on the sidewalk. He grabbed her hand and led her through sight-seers and a light mid-week crowd that mainly consisted of nannies and mothers.
"Where are we going?"
"Don't you know the strict definition of a surprise, Bones?"
"Booth, don't tease. Just tell me why we're here."
They stopped in line with a small amount of people. After they walked up a ramp, a man behind a counter waved them forward, "How many?"
"Two adults."
"Seventeen-fifty."
Booth slid his credit card through the open hole and received his tickets, then they walked up a ramp and onto the deck of the Riverlink Ferry.
"Doesn't this only connect to Camden?" Brennan asked.
"Bones. It's a surprise, OK? Just give it up."
"I'm not fond of surprises. I hate the idea of dealing with something that's unpredictable."
"I understand." They walked to the head of the ferry and ten minutes later, the ferry began to set sail, so to speak, into the Delaware River.
She walked to a bench and took a seat. Booth sat beside her, "Still thinking about baby stuff?"
She shook her head, "No." She looked up at him, "What about you? Are you thinking about baby stuff, too?"
He shook his head, "Not really." He put his hands in his pockets and ran his thumb across a velvet box that had been there for going on three months.
"What exactly is there in Camden that requires a ferry ride?" The wind whipped up off from the river and blew Brennan's hair in her face.
Booth noticed her shiver and removed his jacket, draping over her shoulders, "You should've grabbed your coat."
"It's not like I thought we would be riding on a ferry, Booth."
"Yeah, but it's March, Bones."
She sighed and sank into his arm that he had draped around her shoulder. They watched a young mother walk to the front of the ferry. In her arms was a toddler that was probably around two years old. She lifted the girl a little higher and pointed to a bird that circled in the air. Booth unwound his arm and intertwined his fingers with Brennan's. "We're already a family, Bones."
She nodded, rested her chin on her hand, and looked over at Booth, "I know, Booth."
He leaned close and kissed her.
The young mother turned toward a sound coming from the back of the ship. At first her eyes settled on the couple behind her, but when she realized that it wasn't them, she began to walk toward the back. Booth's eyes met with the woman's brown eyes for a moment and the woman asked, "Did you guys hear that?"
Booth looked back in the direction she was looking, "Hear what?"
She shook her head, "Probably my imagination." Then she looked at her baby, "Wanna go inside, Keke? Your little nose is all pink. It looks like a strawberry." She nibbled at the nose and the toddler laughed.
The woman walked out of sight. Booth turned toward Brennan, "Wanna go inside?"
She shook her head, "No, but I wouldn't mind walking around."
Booth stood and took Brennan's hand then they began to walk around the ship.
"Are you going to tell me or are you just going to torture me?"
Booth laughed and wrapped his hand around Brennan's waist, "Torture," he whispered in her ear.
The planks beneath their feet began to vibrate lightly. The vibrations hit a staccato and voices grew louder.
Over the loud speaker, a man's voice spoke, "Please remain calm. We are experiencing minor engine trouble. Please remain in your seats until the ferry has docked. Please remain calm."
A second later, people began to run along the deck as the ferry stalled in the middle of the river. A large man who tipped the scales at over three hundred and fifty pounds hurdled his way through the crowd, knocking Brennan to the ground as they continued to trample over her, stepping on her arms and torso without a second thought. Booth reached into the torrent of bodies and yanked Brennan to her feet and against the wall where he stood. "You OK?"
Brennan grabbed her arm with her right hand, "I think my radius is broken."
"What the hell is going on here?"
Life boats were being lowered and frenzied passengers threw their bodies onto the boats.
"Booth, something tells me this isn't just engine trouble."
Booth nodded, "You stole the words from my mouth, Bones. Stay here." He pushed through people and stropped a man in a blue-gray uniform. "What's happening?"
"It's a bomb, man. Blew a hole the size of a Buick in the hull. This sucker's going down. Terrorists, dude. You better find a boat and get the f-ck off this ferry or you're fish food."
"Please remain calm," the loud speaker reminded the crowd. "Please go back to your seats."
The man made a "Pshh" sound and climbed into a boat.
Booth pushed back through the crowd, thankful for his imposing stature.
"What's going on?" Brennan asked.
"Not sure yet. It's basic crowd mentality out there. Everyone thinks it's a bomb."
"The ferry is sinking?"
"If it isn't already, it will with people acting like this."
A woman a few inches away was crying frantically and holding up a three year old boy, "Save my son! Please! Please! Save my baby!"
A man who was directly in front of her turned around and growled, "Shut the f-ck up, lady. Unless you're holding up the next Bach, zip it."
"Who the hell are you to tell me that my boy can't live? He's a child!"
The man snapped his closed fist out and sanguine fluid began to gush from her right nostril. She pressed a shaking hand to her nose and the man disappeared through the crowd.
"Booth, your cell is ringing."
He couldn't hear the tone above the crowd. He pressed the phone against his ear, "Booth!"
"Special Agent Booth, aren't you in Philadelphia?" Cullen asked.
"Yes, Sir."
"We just got word of a bomb on a Riverlink Ferry crossing into Jersey. How soon can you get to the terminal?"
A hysterical woman felt her knees, "I don't wanna die! Oh, G-d! No! Please, G-d! Oh, G-d!"
"Sooner than you think, Sir."
A man pressed past, knocking the cell phone from Booth's hand. The phone slid across the deck, beneath the railings, and into the river.
Booth grabbed Brennan's hand, "That one has our name on it, Bones." He pulled her toward the life boat. People filled it quickly. Before they had a chance to get in the boat, the woman that was at the stern with her daughter appeared beside them. The little girl was crying from the excitement.
"Take our spot," Booth said. He helped the woman into the boat and they were lowered into the water.
"Please remain calm. This isn't the Titanic, there are enough life boats for everyone. Authorities are on their way," the loud speaker soothed.
The crowd was beginning to disperse into the boats that were being lowered safely into the water.
For a moment, the world froze for Booth. He looked around at the disorganization of the situation and he shook his head. He walked out and held out his badge, "Everyone stay calm. FBI."
Questions began to be shouted at him, "Who did this?" "Is it Al-Qaida?"
"I sincerely doubt it's Al-Qaida. Please stay calm. I'm going to direct you each into a boat so we can get out of here alive." He began to separate people, getting them to stand in front of different boats. After the last boat was set into the water, Booth grabbed Brennan's hand, "This is our boat, Bones." They got into the boat and it was lowered into the river.
"Wait!" A man ran along the deck which was tipping at an odd angle. "Wait for me!"
Booth stood up, "Wait!"
The man didn't heed to his warnings. He jumped into the boat feet first. When his feet collided, the whole vessel gave under his weight, then flipped upside down.
Beneath the water, Booth opened his eyes and all that was visible was a tangle of limbs and air bubbles. His face broke the surface of the water. "Bones!" He looked around and didn't see her. "Bones!"
He went beneath the surface of the icy river water and he was thankful that nobody on his boat was under twenty. There was no way an infant would survive for long in this water.
His hand happened to brush against his trousers and he realized the absence of a familiar square box. He swished about and spotted the box just inches below his feet, gently drifting to the bottom of the river. He dove head first, digging deeper into the water, but no matter what, it seemed that the box was out of his reach.
The black box sunk into the murky water, disappearing into the blackness of the river bottom. His head began to thud under the pressure and his lungs began to ache for air. Booth swam to the surface and instead of sucking in a breath, he blurted, "F-ck!"
Sirens came from the distance and he saw the River Patrol approach with their blue and white lights flashing.
From beginning to end, the whole event only lasted around ten minutes. And he still couldn't see Brennan. All around him were bobbing heads and people shouting for help.
The ferry tipped at an even greater angle and began to screech loudly. Something was odd about it and signaled an alarm in Booth's brain, "Swim away!"
He took two strokes before flames shot out from the ferry. He dipped below the surface just as the fire kissed the water just above his head.
Muwahaha...