Chapter 51: Decisions, Decisions

Friday, August 6, 2010, 12:15 am:

Max slipped into the hall outside the children's ward and pondered his next move. His first thought was to go see his daughter. The security guard had assured him Tempe was in a regular room with no life-threatening injuries, but Max needed to be sure. On the other hand, the fact that Vladov was running around the building did nothing to calm him no matter what Booth and the Canadians were doing already.

As he continued down the corridor a movement on his left caught his eye and he pressed himself into an alcove and out of sight. A man, no older than Max himself, was shedding a white lab coat, all the while looking around furtively. Max melted further into the shadows, willing the man not to see him and at the same time wishing for just a little more light to see the man's face.

Half a minute later, the man was on his phone, speaking in clipped Russian. It was proof enough for Max that this was Vladov and that he wasn't operating alone. Not for the first time Max mused that a cell phone would be a useful thing to have handy for times like this, but Vladov was now on the move and Max had no choice but to follow him without any kind of backup.

Careful not to attract attention, Max crept along behind Vladov as the man wove through the hospital. The further they went, however, the more convinced Max became that Parker wasn't Vladov's target, leaving only one viable alternative. Tempe.

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Dimitri Vladov was growing agitated. Being rebuffed by the nurse had not been part of his plan and he was finding it difficult to improvise. To make matters worse, security in the hospital overall had been increased, forcing him to shed his cover as a doctor, and his driver had informed him that word of Dr. Brennan's hospitalization had gotten out to the press. Already, the man informed him, vehicles were arriving, as a crowd of reporters gathered outside hoping for a statement. This gave Vladov an idea and he made his way back to the parking lot as swiftly as he could.

A few times he felt as if he were being followed, but every time he looked back, he saw nothing and he convinced himself he was paranoid. Even if Agent Booth had heard by now that Dr. Brennan was in Canada, he wouldn't arrive until later in the day and the odds were slim he would know to even look for Vladov.

Waving casually to the nighttime security guard, the Russian mobster exited the building and breathed in the cooler air. A light rain had just begun to fall and he peered into the gloom for any sign of his car. No sooner had he lifted his cell phone to his ear to make the call did he feel a sharp piece of cool metal press against his neck.

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Max couldn't believe his luck when he realized Vladov was heading for the front door. Doubling back slightly he went out a different way and hid himself in the bushes outside of the main entrance while he waited. It wasn't long before he spotted his quarry stepping out into the open. Vladov took a few steps forward, then halted no less than ten feet from Max's hiding spot.

The ex-con-man counted to five and when he was sure on one was around, he leapt up, pressing the sharpened end of the copper pipe against the other man's jugular.

"Let's go for a walk," Max suggested in a low voice.

For a second he thought Vladov was going to resist, but instead he nodded slowly and allowed Max to herd him away from the hospital and further into the shadows. There was a small copse of trees not far away and when he was sure they couldn't been seen from any angle, Max signaled for a stop. Around them, water drizzled in through the canopy of tree branches, the moon passing in and out of view as the rainclouds passed.

"Max Keenan," Vladov nodded calmly as if this were a scheduled appointment. "I thought I had heard you retired?"

"I heard you don't like getting your hands dirty," Max countered without giving an inch.

"Circumstances necessitated a change," shrugged Vladov. "I'm sure you understand."

Max grunted, "We do what we have to."

"Indeed," the mobster agreed. He cleared his throat, clasping his hands in front of him and acting for all the world as if he wasn't in mortal peril, "And now we are at an impasse, are we not?"

"Seeing as you're the one about to be skewered I'd say not," replied Max, reapplying the pressure.

If the other man was concerned he didn't show it, but continued talking as if he hadn't been interrupted, "Surely, you must know I am a man who abhors leaving a job unfinished, just as I know you are a man who is willing to do anything to protect his family. My men have been instructed to do away with your precious daughter should I go missing and I assure you they are not in the habit of failing."

"They already have failed or you wouldn't have to be here in the first place," Max pointed out. "You won't be harming her or Booth any time soon."

"Ah, yes," sighed Vladov, "Seeley Booth. Surely you cannot be so foolish to think that a man of such scruples and lofty principles can last long in his field?"

Max wasn't but his face remained stoic and his gaze never wavered. Somewhere along the way he'd come to like the FBI agent no matter how idealized the other man's views of duty and patriotism were. He never would've given Booth the ring set if he hadn't believed he could take care of Tempe and if for no other reason than that he made Max's baby girl happy, Booth had fallen under Max's hedge of protection.

As the stare-down dragged out longer and longer, Max began to second guess himself. From the moment he'd set foot outside the hospital, he'd know he was picking a fight he might not be able to win. Max's previous dealings outside of the law were chump change according to the dirt he and Booth had uncovered on Vladov and the man certainly wasn't acting like he felt he was in danger.

"You cannot win this," Vladov smirked as if he could read minds.

"Booth's got enough evidence to nail you on both sides of the border," Max retorted. "Hard to win when you're rotting in jail."

Vladov raised an eyebrow as if surprised Max would allow him to stay alive, "Possessing enough evidence to go to trial is one thing." He raised one shoulder indifferently, "We both know the jury is the human factor. And highly persuadable."

Unsurprised that the Russian had done his homework too Max considered his options. It would be nothing to kill the man where he stood and burn the body deep in the woods. This man had been directly responsible for stealing his girl away for a full week and Max had killed for less than that in the past. Another appealing option would involve the same end result but with a little torture mixed in just to wipe that smirk off Vladov's face once and for all. Or he could take the high road and haul the man back into the hospital, leaving Booth and the authorities deal with him. Cursing Booth, Vladov, and even himself, Max shook his head and made his decision.

When the deed was done he cleaned up, making it back into Parker's room with time to get start playing a card game with the boy to keep him distracted until Booth made his way back. When the boy let it slip that Tempe was in the hospital, Max decided it wasn't the time to go announcing what had happened with Vladov. There would be time enough in the morning and until then Max would allow himself the best sleep he'd had in over a week.

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Friday, August 6, 2010, 9 am:

"Wanna clue me in on what's going on here?" Booth asked as he steered Max out into the hallway.

Max shrugged innocently and Booth waved the coin in front of him for good measure, "Hey, a little change in life is good, right?"

"You're hilarious," Booth deadpanned. "Now, because my son likes you, I'm going to give you to the count of five to tell me what the hell you did to Vladov. One. Two-"

"A sense of humor wouldn't kill you, you know?" Max gave a weak chuckle then waved. "Fine, fine, it's not what you think."

"It better not be because the last time I saw one of these I had to put my career on the line for your ass," warned Booth, though he backed off just a hair.

"Vladov and his driving buddy aren't far," Max assured him with a sly grin.

"Define 'not far.'"

"Little cluster of trees about twenty yards east of the main entrance," Max went on, chucking his thumb off to the right. "Don't worry, I took them a doughnut or two earlier and told them you'd be along eventually. I tie a mean knot so they won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

Booth looked like he was debating whether to throttle Max or hug him, but he settled for a curt nod before heading over to the nearby security guard. They talked for a few minutes, talked on the radio for a few more, and finally Booth rejoined the older man.

"You going to let them have all the glory?" scoffed Max.

"Nah," Booth grinned. "We figure they can wait while we sort out jurisdictional politics. Besides, no one wants to go out in the rain and the guys downstairs say it should clear up in an hour or so."

"Works for me," Max returned the grin.

"Yup," Booth nodded. "Now, in the meantime, I vote we grab Parker and go see if that nurse is done with Bones yet."

This time, his smile was wide and genuine, "Sounds like a plan."