Chapter 38

Arcana coelesha - Secrets of heaven

'You even think of saying the words 'calm' and 'down' and take my word for it I will shoot you.'

Hodgins frowned and turned to Angela for support.

'Booth, maybe you should take a break, there's not much you can do here.'

That was the problem, there was nothing he could do. They'd been at the Jeffersonian all morning and with the team successfully whipped into a frenzy of panic he was beginning to feel more and more helpless. They had spent the morning reviewing all the evidence from the serial killer case, with Booth convinced that his partners disappearance along with Rebecca's had to be linked with the case they were working, a point he had vehemently expressed to Cam when she had questioned him just half and hour previously.

'I just know they're linked ok.'

'But you cant be sure of that.'

'Well I am ok.'

He wasn't completely blind, he was well aware that he was currently living in a deep pit of denial mixed with a desperate hope. The truth was he had to believe there was a link between the assumed kidnappings of Brennan and Rebecca and the case because if he didn't then that was like admitting he had no idea what had happened, had no idea how to help, how to find them…and he wasn't willing to do that.

'Ok everyone just…stop…just stop a minute.'

The already relatively still lab grinded to a halt. Zach narrowly missed running straight into a metal pillar as he skidded to a stop midway through running across the lab.

'Booth…'

'Not now Zach, look I need you all to listen.'

'But…'

'Zach not now, we're not doing this right, we need to be more organised.'

'But I think…'

'Zach for crying out loud, just wait ok. Right Hodgins, I need you to review all the evidence on any particulates you've found.'

The self confessed buy and slime guy frowned up from his work station.

'But I already…'

'I don't care if you've looked at it a million times already, look at it again.'

Hodgins sighed but didn't argue.

'Angela I need you to focus on the victims of the serial killer case, I know we've already looked but I need you to try find a link between the victims.'

Angela nodded and stood waiting to see what other tasks were going to be given out.

'I need someone to get to the hospital and see Cam, I need her to go over Brennan's notes, maybe she was on to something, or if she wasn't then maybe Cam can find something she missed.'

No one in the room thought Cam would find anything Brennan missed but again no one argued, it wasn't the time.

'Zach, I need you to go over the evidence that the scene of crime guys found at Brennan's and Rebecca's place, you never know something might come up.'

'Ok, but...'

'Just do it Zach. Right, I'm going to go review all the witness statements and testimonials for the relatives, if you find anything call me.'

Booth nodded to the squints and turned, heading towards the doors of the lab as they scuttled away to carry out the tasks he had set. Zach however didn't move but instead simply stood there, hesitating for only a moment as he grappled with his minor fear of Booths intimidation before a clear and succinct image of his friend and mentor flashed through his mind and he called out to the agent.

'BOOTH!'

The agent stopped at the doors before turning slowly, his face holding a stony expression that almost made Zach doubt himself.

'This had better be good Zach. Bones is out there somewhere, with some…maniac and if we don't find her soon then…I don't even want to think about it so if this is going to waste my time I swear to God you'll be able to redefine the meaning of pain. I swear to God Zach, if anything happens to her…'

Zach looked at the agent blankly.

'Dr. Brennan doesn't believe in God.'

'But I do Zach and by the power of all things Holy if I don't find her because you were here babbling on about her religious preferences then…'

'Booth, just shut up and listen to me!'

Booth was so surprised and the younger mans outburst that he wasn't sure whether to hit him or do as he said and listen to him.

'The point isn't about what she believed in it…look, I was going through the contents of her bag and…'

'Just get on with it Zach.'

'Booth, if she doesn't believe in God why did she have a Bible in her bag?'

Temperance woke with a panic, her vision blocked by the thick cloth tied over her eyes, her senses muddled by the events of the last few hours and the unfamiliar surroundings she presumed herself to be in. A deeply familiar scent drifted over her, the thick air filling her lung causing her to cough and splutter slightly. She tried to concentrate, the analytical part of her mind quickly processing the fact that she had been kidnapped and tried to make the best sense of the situation she could, subconsciously recording evidence, a mental catalogue of her environment. Her head ached from the point she suspected she had been struck. She tried to move her arms around only to find herself unable to as she stretched against the bonds holding them behind her back. Her reasoning had told her that the logical answer to her current predicament was that she had been taken by the killer they had been investigating but now she was just confused, this wasn't right, there was never any evidence to suggest that he or she restrained their victims, that they held them for any length of time.

She stretched her fingers out, letting them brush the cool tiled surface she seemed to be sat on. She felt need to evaluate how large her confinements were and attempted to moved her legs forward only to be met by a large, relatively firm object and the sound of a stifled groan followed by the objects movement quickly reached her senses.

'H…hello, is anyone there?'

There was another noise and another movement. Temperance held her breath, unable to determine if the person, for she firmly believed it was another person, if the person she had unintentionally kicked was another victim, another 'prisoner' or her captor. She tried again to find out.

'Hello?'

This time a croaky voice answered.

'H…hello..?'

The owner of the voice coughed and from the hesitance of the voice Brennan evaluated that the voice was that of another victim rather than the person holding her hostage. She also decided the voice was female and felt a sudden rush of solidarity towards the stranger with whom she was sharing her ordeal.

'Are you ok? Are you hurt?'

The owner of the voice answered more quickly this time, apparently recovering slowly from the blow on the head Temperance suspected she too had received.

'I…I'm fine, at least I think I am.'

Temperance frowned and then something suddenly made sense. She wriggled determinedly, brushing her head against her shoulder in an attempt to push her blindfold off to confirm her suspicions. It worked and the scrap of grubby fabric slipped from her face. Her eyes took a few seconds to acclimatise to the low light but soon enough she was able to get a proper look at the woman in front of her, her suspicions well and truly confirmed.

'Rebecca! It is you.'

Temperance shuffled forward and pulled at Rebecca's blindfold with her teeth, an ugly taste of smoke and flowers coating her lips until Rebecca's confused eyes blinked back into her own.

'Dr Brennan?'

Rebecca looked around, seemingly more confused that Brennan as to how she had ended up in the situation she was in.

'What happened?'

Temperance opened her mouth to speak but a noise drew her eyes to the door of the small dim room they were in.

'I'm not sure, but I think we're about to find out.'

The door opened, and suddenly it all made sense.