The Service in the Shadows

AN: I know it's been a while since my last update, but I haven't forgotten about this story. I'm not going to leave you hanging.

Disclaimer: Still don't own Bones or Scarecrow and Mrs. King. *sigh*

Revelations

"Hey, Jim? Can you come here, please?"

James looked up from his work and saw Dr. Hodgins in the doorway. "Sure, just a moment." He turned off the screen that was currently displaying several insect parts, then stood up and removed his gloves. He dropped them in the trash can as he walked to the door and followed Hodgins across the lab to Angela's office.

He slowed down before walking through the door. Angela's blinds were closed, which was not normal. He stopped walking. Glancing at Hodgins and then pointedly staring at the closed blinds, he folded his arms across his chest as this time, he looked Hodgins in the eye. "What's going on, Dr. Hodgins?"

"That's what we'd like to know." Hodgins mirrored James' position, also folding his arms across his chest. "Angela found some information that we'd like you to explain."

James sighed, wondering what they could have found. He wasn't really surprised. The Medico-Legal lab team investigated stuff all the time, and not all of it was corpses. He should have expected Angela to do some extra digging into their case. He nodded once, then walked through the door. "Okay, what do you have to show me?"

As he walked farther into the room, he saw Angela standing in front of her large monitor and nodded at her. He noticed Hodgins closing the door behind them, and then Angela addressed him.

"Dr. King, what exactly is your relationship to the remains we are investigating? And before you answer, take a look at this." She pulled up her collected information, displaying it on the screen.

James took a few minutes to view the information. Well, Angela had done a thorough background check on him, that was for sure. She had even managed to find out a bit about IFF. And the information about Philip wasn't a surprise, since that had been reported in the news and he had been a public figure. All in all, nothing displayed here was a revelation, so he was puzzled by their dramatics.

"I'm not sure what you want me to say. Why did you run a background check on me?"

Hodgins snorted. "Mm-mm, dude. I know a government cover-up when I see one. This has Agency written all over it."

James froze, then tried to pretend he hadn't. Hodgins was right, somewhat, though probably not in the way he thought he was. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on, man. IFF? What kind of conspiracy theorist would I be if I didn't know that IFF was the cover for the Agency? It's the worst best-kept-secret of the intelligence world." Hodgins stared at James. "Are you one of them? Were you sent here to spy on us? Is that your brother out there?" He gestured into the main lab in the direction of the platform.

"I wish I knew!" James finally responded to the last question, glaring at Hodgins.

Hodgins wisely stopped questioning James, having finally realized that if he was what he suspected he was, it might be dangerous to keep harassing him.

James took a deep breath and let it slowly out. "I wish I knew," he repeated in a quieter voice. "That's what we're trying to find out, okay? There's no conspiracy. Just trying to identify a victim to give closure to the family. And it just so happens, I'm possibly a part of that family. But maybe I'm not. Which is why," he pointedly looked at Hodgins, then gave a quicker look at Angela, "we should be out there investigating, not standing here talking."

Hodgins nodded. "I'll give you that, Dr. King, but I know there's more to the story than you're telling us. Your mother and stepfather both work for IFF, and so did you up until last year. So I know that the Agency's involved."

James sighed. He'd have to give Hodgins something to chew on until he could clear anything more with Lee or his mom. "If you're that knowledgeable about the Agency, then you'd also know that if I was a part of it, I wouldn't be able to talk about it."

Hodgins took a breath as if he was going to say something, then paused and gave James a searching look. The man had just basically admitted to being (or at least having been) Agency. And after all his interactions with him over the last year, he had the feeling that he could trust him. He sighed. "Fine. I'm willing to believe that it's not a conspiracy. But isn't it possible that we could be more effective at our investigation if we had all the facts?"

James glanced at Angela, who was watching the interplay with considerable interest. She raised one eyebrow and held James's eyes, letting him know that she agreed with Hodgins.

James ran his hand through his hair and let out a sharp breath in irritation, or maybe it was resignation. "I don't know. In some ways it would be better to have a blind investigation. There would be no preconceptions getting in the way. On the other hand, it could help narrow down some of our avenues of investigation if everything were out in the open." He eyed the two others, then made his decision. "I'm not actively involved in the investigation except as an employee here at the Jeffersonian, and you, Dr. Hodgins, were the one who invited me into it even that far. I don't know much more than you do. But I'll see if I can get someone to share a bit more info. That's all I can do."

"Alright." Hodgins nodded once, then gestured toward the door. "Then let's get back to work."

James held up his hand. "You'll need to keep all your suppositions to yourselves for now, okay?"

Hodgins huffed out a breath and set his jaw, clearly hesitant to agree. Angela finally spoke again for both of them. "Yes, we will." She glared pointedly at Hodgins. "Won't we, Hodgins?"

With a flare of his nostrils, he agreed. "Alright, fine. I won't say anything."

James turned and opened the door, followed closely by Dr. Hodgins.

:-::-:

Booth waited for Brennan to climb out of the SUV. "Alright, so you'll continue to look at the bones and the DNA evidence, Hodgins is continuing to investigate the box, and I'll be following up on Angela's lead of this guy Salvador Ulloa. Let me know if you find out anything more, okay?"

"Of course, Booth," replied Brennan distractedly as she opened the door.

The FBI agent eyed his partner with curiosity. She had been quiet on the way back to the Jeffersonian from Founding Fathers. He hoped that the silence meant that she was contemplating the chance for a relationship between them, rather than an indicator that she was distancing herself from him. It could go either way, really. He knew that she cared for him, but he also knew that she was scared to open herself up to the possibility of being disappointed in someone again. He was determined to be patient and not push, since that was a guaranteed way to make her build up her walls again. But he was also determined to continue moving forward, so he wasn't going to hide his feelings for her as much as he had been. No, it was time that she saw his concern and affection for her, and since she was mostly illiterate when it came to reading people's emotions, he was going to have to get more obvious about it.

"Hey, Bones?" She met his eyes as she was about to close the door, her face still displaying signs of the internal debate that had kept her silent during the drive.

He smiled at her, a wider smile than he usually allowed himself to give her. The slight furrow between her eyebrows deepened momentarily, but then smoothed out as the smile did its job and broke her out of her introspective mood.

"Yes, Booth?"

The translucent blue-green of her eyes, laser-focused on him completely, caused his heartrate to speed up. It was difficult to concentrate when she gazed at him like that. He almost forgot what he had been going to say, until she repeated his name and her eyes shifted to a more concerned blue.

"Booth?"

"Oh, yeah, Bones, uh, I'll call you later this afternoon to see how things are going with the case." He took a deep breath. "How about dinner tonight? I know this great little Italian place we could go, lots of vegetarian options…"

Her first inclination was to say no, but then she considered the thoughts she had been having in the car on the way back to the Jeffersonian. She cared about Booth, more than almost anyone else in her acquaintance. And the thought of getting more involved with him had definitely presented itself to her consciousness more than one time over the last few years. But as someone she cared about and trusted, as her best friend and partner, she had convinced herself that anything beyond that would be disastrous, and she would just end up losing what she already had with him. Then came today's confusing lunch with Mr. and Mrs. Stetson. They had been partners, then got married; they remained partners for some time after that, then stopped being partners but still worked together. And they were still married 23 years later. Was it possible she and Booth could have that type of lasting relationship? In her deepest consciousness, the part she mostly kept hidden away and blocked by fear, practicality, and scientific knowledge, she could admit that she loved Booth. She knew that her denial of the existence of love was another of her defense mechanisms, and her unfinished question to Amanda Stetson at lunch had been a tiny, hopeful grasp by her subconscious to support the feelings she had for Booth. Maybe it would be worth the risk to their friendship to try for more. There was no one she trusted more than Booth. He was the "heart" person; she was the "brain" person. If he was convinced that their friendship and partnership could withstand the attempt to reach for an even closer relationship, then she would trust him and follow his lead.

She swallowed hard, then smiled at him. "That sounds very nice, Booth."

If anything, his smile grew even wider, and Brennan had the odd impression that his brown eyes seemed warmer and even sparkled at her. But that was ridiculous. Eyes didn't get warm and sparkle. It must have been the light reflecting off the lacrimal fluid on the surface of his eyes.

"Great! I'll pick you up at your place at seven o'clock, alright, Bones?"

She blinked and took a deep breath. "Yes, that is fine, Booth." She shut the car door, then glanced through the window at her partner. His eyes were still focused on her, and his smile had turned into an eager grin. Suddenly, he winked at her. Her lips turned up into a shy smile, and she stepped back, away from the vehicle, so he could leave.

As Booth drove away, Brennan kept her eyes on the SUV until it turned the corner. She took a deep breath and turned toward the door of the Jeffersonian. She realized her heartrate had increased and she felt a bit out of breath. She walked toward the door, taking a deep breath and consciously relaxing her shoulders. It was time to get back to work. There would be plenty of time to think about Booth, and their dinner, later.

:-::-:

James walked into Dr. Hodgins' lab and went back to the station where he had been working prior to being summoned to Angela's office. Before he got back to analyzing the entomological evidence that they had found on the wooden box, he took out his cell phone. With a glance at Hodgins, who was keeping an eye on him with his peripheral vision (knowing when someone was watching him was a skill he had picked up as an agent), he typed out a quick text to his mother. He then set his phone on the counter and pulled on a new set of gloves.

He had just identified the insect he was looking at as a species of Ephemeroptera that was primarily found along the eastern coast of Delaware when his phone buzzed, indicating he had a text message.

He typed in the unlock code for his screen and read the text. I'm sending Evan. He's fully briefed and knows how much to say. Should be there in 30 minutes.

He nodded to himself. As he turned to speak to Hodgins, his phone buzzed again. I love you, Sweetheart.

He smiled and texted back. Love you, too, Mom.

He cleared his throat. "Someone will be coming to brief us in about half an hour."

Hodgins nodded. "Good."

They both got silently back to work.

:-::-:

Brennan and Wendell continued to search for more clues on the remains. So far, all the DNA tests run had been inconclusive because of some chemical treatment that had been given to the skeleton. She contemplated asking Dr. King to join them to see if he would be more successful. His extensive training in the most current methods of extracting DNA and genotyping could mean a better chance of success. On the other hand, she knew that most people would have a difficult time working on a family member's remains; not everyone could compartmentalize like her.

She frowned as she held a tiny piece of bone between her gloved fingers, peering at it through the magnifying lens, then setting it back down on the exam table. Her thoughts again turned to Dr. King. He had been a trained federal agent. From her experience working with Booth, she knew that Dr. King's Agency training would have included methods to deal calmly with emotional and dynamic situations. Plus, he had been eager to help discover the identity of these remains in a bid to get closure for his family. With a sigh, she decided that she would have to take him at his word. It was time to bring him into the investigation.

She turned to Wendell. "Mr. Bray, please continue to examine the remains. I need to speak with Dr. King."

Wendell nodded, watching as she stripped the gloves off her hands and left the platform. People around here were sure behaving strangely. Maybe Angela would fill him in about what was going on later. He took a deep breath, then let it out as he went back to examining the cervical vertebrae. There was something about the fracture patterns that was bothering him, but he couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was. He decided to show them to Dr. Brennan when she came back.

Brennan, meanwhile, had been unsuccessful in finding Dr. King at his normal workstation. Maybe he'd taken a late lunch, or maybe he'd gone to check in with Dr. Marsh, his GGI supervisor. Or…She shook her head, spotting just the person she was looking for, following Dr. Hodgins into Angela's office, accompanied by a person she had never seen before. She estimated he was approximately 180 centimeters tall, with red hair, wearing a conservative dark grey suit. Her eyes narrowed, recognizing the telltale protuberance of a concealed weapon under his suit jacket.

She sped up her pace, reaching Angela's office about 15 seconds after the door closed. She opened the door, noting a somewhat guilty look on Angela's face, a determined look on Dr. Hodgins' face, and unreadable expressions on the faces of Dr. King and the stranger.

"What is going on here?" she asked the room in general. Her eyes focused on the stranger. "And who are you?"