(The Secret in the Siege)
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I don't own Bones.
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Tom Molner wasn't sure what he should do about Agent Seeley Booth. The agent was still investigating the death of Christopher Pelant even though Jason Lau was dead. Tom had been certain that once Jason was out of the picture Booth would close the case, but the agent still wanted Jason's accomplices.
Trying to end the investigation, Tom had contacted the Attorney General and asked for an appointment. Much to his surprise, the AG offered to meet him the next day at ten in the morning. Arriving at the office, Tom was surprised to see that the meeting wasn't going to be a private one.
"Brad, thank you for seeing me." Tom stared at Caroline Julian and waited to see what Brad would say next.
Aware that Molner had expected a private meeting, Brad sat down and pointed at the chair in front of his desk, next to the one Ms. Julian was sitting in. "I don't have a lot of time, so what can I do for you?"
She had shifted on her chair when the CEO of Serberus had entered the room so Caroline could watch his face and Ms. Julian saw a man trying to keep his features as unemotional as possible. He obviously was trying to control himself and perhaps the situation.
"I know that the FBI still has the Pelant Case open and I was wondering why." Tom decided to be as blunt as possible. "The man that the FBI suspected of killing Christopher Pelant is dead. He was killed while working for me in Kazakhstan. I had his body brought back and the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab was given access to the body to verify it was Jason. He's being buried tomorrow and the case should be closed now."
Leaning back against his chair, Brad Menard studied the man sitting in front of him and knew Molner was a worried man. "Jason Lau did work for you and when we asked that he be brought back to this country you declined because the man had a contract in Kazakhstan. One could say you were guilty of obstruction of justice."
"Now look, just because Agent Booth thought Jason killed Pelant didn't mean Jason did it. I wasn't shown any proof and I wasn't about to break a contract just to satisfy the FBI." Molner knew he needed to control his emotions, but he didn't like threats. "I told Booth that Jason would be brought back once his contract was up. There is no statute of limitations for murder, so it's not like anyone was going to get away with anything."
Slowly shaking his head, the AG knew that Molner was a man with powerful friends, but so was he. "The Pelant case is still open because one man was not responsible for what happened to Pelant. Whoever killed that serial killer had help. An electrical substation was sabotaged and that is a federal crime. A flayed body was left on the steps of Lincoln Memorial for the world to see. Many people saw that body, pictures were taken and unfortunately, the press was given those pictures. No one and I mean no one wants a sadistic killer running free . . . Agent Booth and his team have accumulated a lot of evidence that points to Jason Lau being Pelant's killer. Fine, he's dead. But he had accomplices and I want them. The President wants them. The FBI Director wants them. This isn't going away."
Interrupting the AG, Caroline lifted her hand and spoke. "And if anything happens to Agent Booth while he is doing his job, this case will continue to be investigated. It isn't going away. If he has an accident, if he falls and injures himself, if the car he is driving in is blown up . . . well, the Department of Justice and The FBI will come down on whoever is responsible like a ton of bricks and I don't mean metaphorically."
Amused, Brad smiled. Ms. Julian was his favorite prosecutor. She was blunt, she was honest and she meant what she said. "Now, now Ms. Julian I'm sure nothing is going to happen to Agent Booth or his team or his family. That would be a fatal mistake by whoever tried to do such a thing. Isn't that right, Tom?"
Angry, his eyes glinting, Tom turned to stare at the AG. "I don't deserve this disrespect, Brad. I came here to ask you to close down the Pelant investigation because your principal suspect is dead. I cooperated and gave Dr. Brennan Jason's body, or what was left of it to examine and she confirmed it was Jason Lau. Keeping the case open just seems a waste of time and it is interfering with my company. I have people questioning me about my honesty. Some of my contracts may be in jeopardy. I had nothing to do with what Jason Lau did. Christopher Pelant killed Jason's best friend and he lost it. That had nothing to with me or Serberus. As for his accomplices, how the hell are you going to find out who they were if Jason is dead?"
"The case will stay open for as long as I and the Director of the FBI thinks it should be open." Brad leaned forward on his desk. "Two men were flayed, one after he died and one while he was still alive. The citizens of this country are outraged and frankly so am I. That was a depraved thing to do. Pelant is dead and so is Jason Lau, but I want Jason Lau's accomplices. This case will remain open until those accomplices are caught . . . oh, and they'd better not end up dead in a rocket attack."
Furious, Tom stood up. "I'm not a murderer no matter what you think of me or my company. Keep the case open for all I care, but do not interfere with my business. I have powerful friends."
"Again, so do I, including the President of the United States." Brad stood up because he didn't want to look up at Molner. "Don't bother to sic your senator friends my way. The Department of Justice doesn't answer to them. Check the Constitution if you're not sure."
A look of loathing on his face, Tom shook his head. "Thank you for seeing me. I'll let myself out."
Once he was gone, Caroline sighed, leaned over, picked up her purse and placed it on her lap. "At least he understands that nothing better happen to Agent Booth. You and I both know he had Jason Lau killed to shut down our investigation."
"He heard and he understands. Tom Molner didn't get to be the CEO of Serberus by being stupid, Ms. Julian. If he knows who the accomplices are, I expect him to send them out of the country and out of our reach. I will have people look into that. We may get the names we're looking for that way."
"Frankly, I don't think he knows." Caroline stood up. "Agent Booth thinks that Jason Lau may have been told to take care of Pelant but he didn't do it quietly like Molner wanted. We can't prove that Molner had Jason Lau kill Pelant, but I'm sure he did it."
"Yeah, so do I, Ms. Julian."
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Booth entered his house and found Brennan in the kitchen preparing vegetables to cook for dinner. After kissing her, he removed his jacket, placed his gun in the gun safe and reentered the kitchen. "Hey, let me help."
"No, I'm just making a vegetable stir fry tonight and I'm broiling a piece of salmon for you." Brennan appreciated the offer to help, but she felt she had dinner under control. "You can start a load of laundry if you have time. Christine is in the living room playing with her blocks."
"Got it." Once he had the laundry in the washing machine, Booth went into the living room and found a happy Christine trying to stack a block on one of her dolls.
Amused, Booth sat down next to the playpen. "Do you think Mr. Bear wants blocks sitting on his stomach?"
Squealing, Christine shook the block at Booth then dropped it on Mr. Bear. Crawling to the edge of the pen, she reached up her hands and cried.
After he made it to his feet, Booth leaned over and picked up his daughter and placed her on his hip. "Poor Mr. Bear." Laughing, Booth carried the child into the kitchen. "I can feed Christine if you want me to."
Grateful for the offer, Brennan pointed at the jars of baby food on the counter. "She's having sweat potatoes and plums tonight."
Once he was settled at the kitchen table with their child, Booth began to feed his daughter. "Tom Molner tried to stop our investigation into Pelant's murder. The AG told him to piss off . . . Well, maybe not using those exact words, but close enough. Caroline says Molner thought he could throw his weight around because he has some senators and congressmen in his pockets. Brad Menard is a powerful man in this town and Molner just learned he doesn't scare easy and he doesn't care who Molner knows."
"Do you have any leads about Jason Lau's accomplices?" Pouring her mixed vegetables into her hot wok, Brennan began to stir them vigorously.
"I have that list of Serberus employees and we're going to see if any of them leave the country in the next few days. I don't know if Molner really knows who the accomplices are, but he probably has some ideas . . . I told Caroline that if they're smart, they're probably already out of the country, but if they haven't left yet then she thinks they may try to leave before we figure out who they are." Christine was eating her food with gusto and Booth used a napkin to clean her chin. "Jason did a good job of covering his tracks, but he made a mistake with the van. He should have burned it."
The vegetables popped and sizzled in the wok. "We still don't know where the crime scene is."
"No and we probably never will." Booth tasted some of the plums in the jar and made a face. God, these are awful. "Jason was a professional. He knew what he was doing. If he was smart, he used a shack in an isolated location then burned it to the ground. The van is the only link we have between Pelant and Jason Lau. I hate this case. Two murderers are dead and it looks like no one is going to pay for anything."
"We've had cases where we didn't solve them completely." Brennan hated when that happened but she was realistic. "We will continue to work on other cases and if we get a break in Pelant's case then we will work on that one. At least Pelant and Lau are dead and can't hurt anyone else."
Booth couldn't see any fault in Brennan's logic. "Yeah, at least those monsters have been stopped."
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