Background
Character: Cody Daniels
Role: Seely Booth's godson
Plot: Jacob Broadsky has taken a protégé in the form of discharged army sniper Travis Markem. To prove his worth, Travis must make his first justified kill, and he chooses the deranged serial killer that killed his sister years ago. The duo begin leaving clues for Special Agent Seely Booth and his team to follow in order to kill two birds with one stone: find the killer, and get revenge. Thrown into this is Cody Daniels, whose father, Justin Daniels, has passed away and left Cody in the care of his old army buddy and godfather: Seely Booth. Both Seely and Cody work to navigate their new normal and solve a decades old crime, all the while avoiding the murderous and revenge seeking Broadsky.
Bones: The Sniper and the Serial Killer
The tutoring session had been grueling. Cody felt numb as he and a few of the students he had helped left the classroom they had been in. Even though he was the one doing the tutoring, he felt as if he had been a student trying to figure out a difficult calculus problem. He said goodbye to the fellow students, who all headed in the direction of the student parking lot. Cody, instead, headed to the front of the school, where he could easily get to the bookstore the quickest.
He walked the halls and turned a corner, running straight into one of the receptionists from the front office. Cody stumbled backwards as a stack of papers fell to the floor and fanned out.
"I'm sorry!" Cody scrambled to pick up the papers and handed them to the receptionist.
"Oh, it's fine!" The receptionist, Mrs. Simpson, waved her hand as she took the papers from him. "Cody, right?" She asked.
"Um, yes ma'am," Cody smiled.
"Your older brother is outside; he's waiting for you. I couldn't let him in since it was after four and the doors were locked." Mrs. Simpson patted Cody's shoulder and walked away, leaving Cody confused.
I don't have an older brother, he thought to himself. He walked a few more steps until the school's front doors and windows were visible. Standing outside of them was a tall man that Cody instantly recognized as Travis, from the photo Booth and Brennan had been examining in the lab, and from the cemetery. Cody felt his body go cold from the sheer panic building inside him. Had Travis noticed him look in his direction at the cemetery? Was Jacob Broadsky also with him?
Cody quickly ducked down a hallway to his right as Travis's head turned towards the door windows. Cody had no idea if he had seen him, but he didn't care. He mentally mapped out a way out of the school via a side door that the janitors used often to take out garbage. As he hurriedly walked, he pulled out his phone and began dialing in Booth's number. He got Booth's voicemail as he jogged down a set of stairs.
"Uncle Seely, that guy Travis is at the school! He was waiting for me outside the front doors. I'm going out a side door and am going to make my way to the Diner. Please call me back!" Cody held onto his phone tightly and hoped Booth would see the voicemail and call immediately.
He turned a corner and ducked through a small hallway near the Head Janitor's office. After turning to the left, he could see the door that led outside. Feeling a bit hopeful, Cody broke out into a run. He slammed into the door, and stood outside in a side alley/street. He was on a cement landing with a long set of stairs leading down to the road. The stairs were near the end of the alley that led to the faculty parking lot, farther down to the left it opened up to the street in front of the school. As Cody began to descend the steps, a figure rounded the corner.
"Hey!" A rough voice rang out. Cody stopped as he reached the road and looked up to see Travis rushing down the alley.
Cody panicked as he quickly turned to run toward the parking lot. He took a few steps and then ran right into something solid. He realized too late that it wasn't a something, but a someone, who had been standing behind the cement wall that made the staircase. The impact made him drop his phone and sent his head spinning. Dazed, Cody stepped backwards and then winced as strong hands gripped his arms near his shoulders tightly.
"Hello, Cody," Jacob Broadsky said as Cody came back to his senses.
"Broadsky," Cody whispered and struggled a little to try and free himself.
"Sorry, sir," Travis thumped to a stop panting lightly. "I think the receptionist tipped him off."
"It's alright. Let's go." Broadsky held onto Cody's left arm and began to drag him towards the parking lot. Travis jogged ahead to get the vehicle started.
"No! Let go of me!" Cody stood firm and then shuffled forward with every step, trying desperately to free himself. "You can't do this!"
He craned his neck to look back to his phone, which laid abandoned on the asphalt behind them. He tried smacking at Broadsky's hand and kicking out at his feet, but every move was futile. For every strike and hit that Cody landed, Broadsky just yanked him roughly ahead. As they reached the parking lot, a sleek black truck pulled up near them. Jacob pulled Cody to the passenger side and opened up the back door of the truck.
"In you go," Jacob said as he hoisted Cody in and quickly shut the door. Cody tried the door in desperation, hoping for it to open, but was not shocked to find the door wouldn't budge. It wasn't locked, but Cody knew that child safety locks were easily engagedJacob got into the front passenger seat, gave Travis a nod, and then they were out on the street, heading out of the school.
Cody was silent and stared hard at his feet. Jacob had pulled him to the middle seat in the back to be more easily watched throughout the drive. His hands had also been bound together at the wrists with a thick zip tie. It dug into his skin a little, but Cody only paid attention to his hammering heart. It had been almost half an hour since he had been taken back at the school. They had made their way out of the inner city, and Cody thought they were headed more toward the mountain range.
"Is this because I saw Travis at the cemetery?" Cody finally found his voice and asked.
Jacob and Travis shared a look before the older man shifted in his seat to look at Cody. He could see the concern and fear in the young boy's eyes, but it hardly phased him.
"No," Broadsky said simply. "This has been in the works for a while now, though you were not the primary target."
Cody furrowed his brow, then suddenly remembered Hodgins's attempted abduction a few weeks earlier.
"You were trying to take Dr. Hodgins?" Cody said in disbelieve.
"Or his wife, we didn't care." Jacob said mildly. "We just needed someone to help move things along. Your spotting Travis in the cemetery may have changed my mind, but the goal is the same."
"What's the goal?" Cody didn't believe that Jacob would answer this question.
"To find a serial killer and bring him to justice." Cody blinked, shocked that he had actually gotten an answer.
"You mean your type of justice. Not him being arrested and tried in court." Cody said sternly. "You're going to murder the murderer."
"And maybe take revenge at the same time." Cody looked abruptly at Travis when he spoke. He was glaring at the road as they drove.
Cody didn't ask what the revenge was for. He knew for certain that Jacob thought Booth had crossed a line when Broadsky had come back. He had told Booth that things were going to get personal. Cody guessed that kidnapping him, Booth's godson, was extremely personal. But it would have also been personal had they had gotten Jack or Angela. Cody also felt that maybe Travis had something to avenge too, something that Cody missed. He thought back to the cemetery, and tried to remember what Dr. Brennan had been saying to Booth about the victim.
"Your sister," Cody muttered and at the wheel, Travis tensed. His grip on the steering wheel tightened until his knuckles were white.
"You're not going to worry about it, Cody." Broadsky turned back to sit in his seat. "All you have to do is be a good kid -obedient- and you'll be fine." Cody couldn't see the sneer on Jacob's face, but a shiver ran through him anyways.
It was dark when the truck had finally stopped. They had been traveling on a mountain road for several hours. The ride had lulled Cody to sleep, though he had fought it for a long time. He had leaned back against his seat and slowly nodded off, not waking again until he felt the jerk of the truck stopping. He sat up and looked around, more fright making his heart pound away in his chest.
His passenger side door was opened, and Jacob motioned him to scoot over and get out of the truck. Cody did so slowly, and hopped onto the leaf strewn ground. Broadsky took his left arm again, more gently than back at the school, and led him into a cabin that Travis had opened up and was turning on lights. Braodsky led him in and straight to a couch against a wall.
"Stay," He ordered as he went about, helping Travis with opening up the cabin.
Cody was still groggy from the ride, but thankful that that was the only reason why he was groggy. Jacob could have chosen to drug him, so Cody was grateful for that. He looked around the cabin, which was a modern build with hardwood floors in the entrance and living area, and then carpet for the bedroom areas. The smell of new paint meant that an addition had been added, and Cody dreaded to see what that new addition was for.
More lights went on in the cabin and Broadsky soon came stomping back to the living area. He motioned for Cody to stand, but Cody shook his head and glared. He had found something inside him that suddenly wanted to resist Jacob and his stupid ordering around. Cody felt bold and remained sitting on the chair; Jacob waited patiently for only a few moments.
"Now, now," He reached down and pulled Cody roughly to his feet. "I said be good, and you'd be okay." Cody struggled as he was once again dragged towards the carpet. "This isn't being good."
"What does it matter?" Cody barked out angrily, tripping over his feet when they got to the carpet. "You're going to probably end up killing me anyways!"
It was a cold truth that Cody hadn't really voiced until now. It was a truth that made Broadsky stop and glare at him in silence for a moment.
"I don't kill kids." Broadsky stated flatly.
"Then you'd really let me go, when all of this is over?" Cody hated that his voice sounded pitiful, and hopeful. His bold defiance was somehow melting away.
Broadsky said nothing, but looked down the hallway. At the end of the hall, Travis stood next to an open door with a knowing look. They must have shared some silent conversation, but in that moment, something seemed off to Cody. He never had a chance to ask as Broadsky shoved Cody down the hall and right into Travis, who caught him and shoved Cody into the room.
He was in a sort of windowless bedroom with thick carpet, a twin-sized bed, and a small nightstand next to it with a pitcher of water, a glass, and a small digital clock. For the first time in a while, Cody realized he had no idea what the time was, and was shocked to see that it already eleven o'clock in the evening. He turned and faced Travis, who pulled out a knife and quickly sawed through the thick zip tie around Cody's wrists.
"Lights out at ten, with the exception of right now." Travis explained, standing in the doorway. "I'll be turning them off in about half an hour. Meals will be served at six in the morning, noon, and six at night. If you need to use the bathroom then knock on the door." Travis modeled it by giving the door frame three knocks.
"The room is soundproof, so no amount of yelling or screaming will help you. And you're monitored." Travis pointed up to a corner of the ceiling and Cody followed it. In the corner was a small round camera. A red light was on, meaning that he was being watched at that moment.
"Any questions?"
Cody gulped. "When do I get to speak to my godfather?" He was referring to Booth.
Travis shrugged and then shut the door. Cody stood and stared at the door, his heart jackhammering in his chest. A wave of dizziness washed over him, and he practically collapsed and sat on the bed. This was real, he was trapped. And what exactly did Broadsky have planned for him other than tracking down the serial killer and getting revenge?
Without windows, the room Cody was in was pitch black with the lights off. It also meant that, though he could get into a deeper sleep much easier than normal, waking up in the middle of the night sent him into terrified fits of not knowing where he was. It also didn't help that the only lights in the room were from the digital alarm clock, and the red pinprick in the ceiling corner from the camera watching him. Several times throughout the night Cody woke up in a fit of terror, punctuated with fright from seeing the red dot of the camera.
Through the camera, Jacob Broadsky watched silently. After one particular fit, where Cody fell from the bed and landed on the carpet, he wondered if he should put some sort of small lamp in the room. When the idea appeared in his mind, Jacob scowled and pushed away from the desk he had been sitting at in a room across from Cody's. He wouldn't have done that if they had captured Jack Hodgins, his wife, or anyone else, so why do it just for this kid?
The man was frustrated, angry even, but not because of the boy. No, Jacob silently cursed Cody's deceased father, someone who Jacob used to be a friend, or even thought of as a sibling. Jacob remembered the days with him, Seely, and Cody's father, a man name Justin, in the same unit, working together to fight terrorists and other enemies. Jacob had been to weddings, blessings, and even other reunion parties. Cody's own father had promised to make Jacob his son's godfather, but that had been before Jacob had turned to seek his own justice in the civilian world. He remembered the day he had found out the cruel twist before Cody's father had passed.
"You've changed, Jacob," Cody's father, Justin, stood before Jacob outside a bar they had been in. They had gotten into a fight and had gone outside. "You have this dark vision of the world."
"Because I believe those who have wronged innocent people should be punished?" Jacob had replied. The anger in him was rising.
"Because you treat it so nonchalantly! And you demand payment! If you want to make a difference, become an agent or police officer!" Both men now stood dangerously close to each other. People passing them on the street eyed them warily, expecting a fight.
"I named my brother as Cody's godfather." Justin said softly, taking a step away from Broadsky. "If anything happened to me and I died, I know he'll guarantee Cody's safety. I don't think you can guarantee that." Before Jacob could say anything, Justin had turned and walked away.
The memory stung something deeply in Jacob as he sat back down at the desk with the Camera's monitor on it. The camera had switched to night vision, and Cody's green outline could be seen. Jacob didn't know if the revelation that he was not going to be Cody's godfather devastated him. At the time he didn't care, and never did care. That is, until he found out that the "uncle" had actually been Seely Booth, and it was then that Jacob felt any sense of betrayal.
Betrayal that Justin, an old friend -almost a brother-, had felt that Seely could give safety, but not Broadsky. Seely, who was the celebrated FBI agent and former sniper, who worked with the top-notch forensic scientist. Seely, the man who captured murderers, but couldn't really dish out justice like Jacob could. The bitterness churned inside Broadsky, and continued to churn as Travis took his place to watch over their captive.
If everything went according to plan, if they did manage to kill this killer, and avenge Travis's sister, Broadsky would not let Cody go.
The digital clock in Cody's room was also an alarm clock. At six o'clock in the morning it rang something fierce and loud. Cody, who had barely gotten to a somewhat terror-free sleep, jumped up and rolled onto the floor. He trembled as the door opened and Travis sauntered in. He crossed the room and quickly shut off the alarm. Cody looked up at Travis as he placed a plate of food on the side table and then left, leaving the light on.
He gulped and pulled himself back onto the bed. He looked at the plate: scrambled eggs, sausage, and a glass of orange juice. His stomach twisted a little before he laid back down on the bed, turning his back to the food.
He went back to sleep, easing into a deep and calm sleep now that the light was on. He remained asleep until noon, when another blaring alarm sounded from the clock. Again, Travis came in and shut it off, taking the plate of uneaten breakfast and replacing it with a plate that had a sandwich and a bag of chips on it. Next to it he placed a can of Coke and then turned to leave.
"I need to use the bathroom." Cody said quickly, stopping Travis at the door. The older man sighed, as if the request was bothersome.
"C'mon," Travis cocked his head, giving Cody the go ahead into the hallway.
Travis led him to a room right next to his that housed the bathroom. It was small and contained a toilet, small sink and mirror, and a shower. Travis told Cody he had two minutes, and then closed the door. There was a small window above the toilet, and after using it, and turning on the sink as a distraction, Cody pulled himself up to look out of it.
The window looked out at the front of the cabin, looking directly on the driveway. There was no truck outside, but Cody couldn't guarantee that Broadsky wasn't in the cabin. After another minute of scanning outside, Cody hopped down quietly, turned off the sink, and opened the door. He let Travis lead him back to his room, and to his surprise, Broadsky was standing in it holding a phone. Travis remained behind Cody in the doorway, and Jacob quickly dialed a number.
"Here," Broadsky handed the phone to Cody who took it gingerly. He put the phone to his ear and listened to it ring.
"Hello?" A frantic voice on the other end said as the call was picked up.
"Uncle Seely?" Cody said eagerly.
"Cody! Oh my god, are you okay? What happened? Is it Jacob?" Seely went on with the questions, and Cody could feel tears coming to his eyes.
"Uncle Seely! I'm okay, um, Broadsky and Travis came to the school and grabbed me. I don't know what's going on."
"Oh god, Cody, you're going to be fine. We're going to find you and get you out of there!" Seely said fiercely. Cody could practically hear his godfather pacing wherever he was. In the background someone spoke, and he realized that he was on speaker. It must have been Dr. Brennan
Jacob took a step towards Cody and reached for the phone in his hands. Cody looked up and thought for a moment before taking a deep breath.
"I'm in a cabin somewhere in the mountains, we were heading north-," Cody talked as fast as he could before Travis reached out and placed his hand over his mouth. He tried to call out, but Travis only tightened his grip and pulled Cody closer to him. Jacob snatched the phone from the boy and glared angrily.
"Meet me in Main Street park. Three hours." Broadsky hung up the phone and looked sternly at Cody, who struggled to free himself from Travis's grip.
After a brief moment, Travis let Cody go, and pushed him so that he stood between the two men. Cody said nothing, but glowered at Broadsky. His fists were clenched at his side, and his mouth was pressed into a thin line. Jacob grabbed Cody's shirt collar in both hands and wretched him forward and up so that Cody was practically on his tiptoes.
"I'm getting sick and tired of your attitude, kid." Broadsky growled. He whirled Cody around and then shoved him back onto the bed.
"Then you shouldn't have kidnapped me!" Cody yelled back.
Broadsky shook his head and growled angrily as he stalked out of the room. Travis moved to the side and watched his teacher leave.
"I'd be careful if I were you, kid." He spoke. "We're treating you nicely now, but that could change if you keep this up."
"This is nicely?" Cody motioned around the bare, and practically empty, room.
"Do you want to be tied up and left in the dark twenty-four seven?" Travis barked. Cody didn't reply and Travis slammed the door.
Cody sighed and then flinched as the room plunged into darkness. For added emphasis, Travis had turned off the lights, hoping to teach the boy a lesson.
Cody remained in the dark until the digital clock rang again at six. His stomach grumbled as the lights flickered and the door swung open. The uneaten lunch still sat on the nightstand, and Cody fought with whether to eat what was provided, or to keep up some level of defiance he felt like he was pretending to have. He was leaning against the wall, legs drawn up to his chest with his arms wrapped around them. A loud thunk! made him look up and he started at seeing Jacob setting a chair near his bed. The door behind him was closed, and he held two bowls of what looked like stew.
"Here," Jacob offered the bowl to Cody who looked at it warily before taking it. Broadsky sat in the chair and ate a few spoonsful of the stew, watching Cody as he took small bites from his own bowl. Though Cody had to control himself from not diving into it. It was good stew, and starving himself through the day probably had not been the best idea. They ate like that in tense silence until Broadsky leaned over and placed his empty bowl on the nightstand.
"I'm going to tell you the plan," He started slowly. "So that you are aware of it, and can decide if you're going to keep up the little tantrums you're having."
Cody said nothing and stared at Jacob.
"I have told Seely that he and his team have three days to find this serial killer. If he doesn't," He locked eyes with Cody, who gulped and took this as an ominous sign.
"You said you don't kill kids." Cody said softly. Broadsky did not reply.
"I need to talk to you about your behavior," He continued, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "So far, I've tolerated your small outbursts, you weren't causing too much trouble for me. I can't blame you; your father was the same way."
A million questions bubbled within Cody at the mention of his father. To his knowledge, his father had never mentioned knowing Jacob Broadsky before his death. Cody felt that he would have definitely heard about this crazy man if his father knew him. Though he wanted desperately to ask these questions, Cody hesitated in asking them. The look on Broadsky's face was serious and made him tremble a little. Cody hoped that Broadsky couldn't see him trembling.
"We are moving to a secondary location, since you have given Seely some major clues to find this location." Broadsky continued. "If you continue causing problems then things are going to become very uncomfortable for you." He glanced down at Cody's empty stew bowl and sneered. "For instance, drugging you," He motioned towards the bowl and then leaned back into his chair.
Cody felt that he should have been a little more defiant with the food. He could see dancing black spots at the edge of his vision, and felt a slow drag to sleepiness. He tried to fight off the effects of whatever it was that Jacob had put in the stew, but he was losing quickly.
"I'm not going to tie you up because I hope that this is a lesson to do what you're told from now on." Jacob stood up, gathered the bowls and chair, and then went to the door. He knocked on it and it opened.
Through closing lids, Cody watched Broadsky leave and the door shut. He was out before the lights were switched off.
The blaring alarm in the morning made Cody shoot up from his drugged sleep. He slapped a hand to his chest and gripped his shirt tightly, fighting with the rapid pace of his heart. The lights turned on and Travis came in, placing a plate of breakfast on the side table and then exiting. Cody doubted that this plate of food was drugged, but he grimaced at it and laid back down on the bed. As he laid there, Cody thought about what Broadsky had said, and lingered on the thought of him knowing his father.
It just didn't seem possible to Cody that his father had known Jacob Broadsky. From the sound of last night's conversation, Broadsky had been good friends with Cody's father. He tried to think of a time that his dad might have brought up Broadsky, but nothing rang a bell. Wouldn't he have remembered hearing about him? Or maybe seeing a picture of him with his father? He tried to reassure himself that he didn't really know about Booth before his father's death, but Cody remembered going to dinner parties and other social gatherings, and Booth being there. Broadsky was not, ever.