Chapter 8:
Angela seemingly waltzed into the lab humming "I feel Pretty" from West Side Story. Hodgins had just hung up the phone from talking to Brennan and stared at her as she hummed by his desk. Zach was standing beside Hodgins and observed her movements with a curious expression.
"Someone got laid last night." Hodgins said with a hungry grin.
"A lady never tells." Angela replied with a glance over her shoulder. "Especially when the people that are asking know the person you slept with."
"Oh Ho!" Hodgins cried. "You finally got Booth in bed!"
"No." Angela pouted. "He's got his eyes on someone else."
Hodgins took a sidelong glance at Zach and then shook his head. "So who was it?"
Angela shook her head and walked away. "I'm not saying."
Hodgins thought for a moment, his brow furrowed. He took a look at Angela and then stared down at his table for a second. His head suddenly whipped up and he started off towards her. "Not the Canadian! Please tell me it wasn't the Canadian!"
Angela looked back over her shoulder and laughed, "What's wrong with him, Eh?" she smiled.
Hodgins stopped and dropped his head. "They've gotten her."
Brennan slowly made her way down the stairs and looked around the dark room. Cement dust was everywhere. She peered into the darkness and fumbled on the wall for a switch. When she found one she flicked it on and waited for a moment while her eyes adjusted to the bright, bare bulb that hung at the foot of the stairs, just in front of a door filled with locks.
The door was like something out of a medieval castle, large and steel with great iron bands across it. A large handle sat on the right hand side and padlocks were stacked above it. Huge hinges were bolted to the wall and held it in place.
Brennan looked around her for anything she might use to get through the door. Then she noticed the nail attached to the wall beside the light switch. A ring of keys sat there.
This can't be that easy, Brennan thought.
She took the key-ring and tried key after key into the top lock. The fourth key fit. It smoothly opened and she moved to the next lock.
"Why?" Hawk asked. "Why do this to women?"
Cowl chucked and looked at the dirt at his feet. "I once captured and interrogated the wife of a high level Iraqi General." He said. He looked up at the trees around him. "It's what I was trained to do. It's what they trained me to do." He looked at Hawk, his eyes had gone cold and dark. Booth shuddered, a wave of chills running over his body, like the hand of death had just touched him. "I inflict pain and death. It's what I was trained to do, it's what I am."
"But why now?" Hawk asked. "You didn't get orders to kill these women you kidnapped."
Cowl smiled sadly at Hawk. "It's the only thing I was ever good at."
"You know the Canadian government can't allow you to stand trial here or back home." Hawk said.
Cowl nodded. "I know."
Hawk raised the gun and took aim. Booth jumped from his hiding spot and screamed at Hawk to wait , Hawk turned and looked away from Cowl. Cowl was suddenly in motion, leaping towards Booth and tackling him to the ground, rolling over Booth's broad back as he fell, Cowl rolled to his feet and raised Booth's gun taking quick aim at Hawk.
Booth rolled and reached into his jacket for his gun, finding his empty holster. How the Hell, Booth wondered briefly before he noticed the two Canadians suddenly opening fire. Both men were moving and firing. Cowl picking his shots, realizing that he had a finite number of rounds and Hawk blasting away at the quickly moving murderer.
As Booth stood up he watched as Cowl suddenly fell, clutching at his leg. Booths gun skittered across the grass and rested about six feet away. Booth ran over and grabbed his weapon reaching to his belt for his hand cuffs. Hawk slowly walked towards Cowl, who was clutching his right leg and grunting in pain.
Hawk levelled his gun on Cowl's head.
"And he's so incredibly polite." Angela said with a smile as Hodgins shook his head in disbelief. Zach was sitting beside Hodgins listening to Angela as she described her evening with Hawk in detail.
"He brought flowers." Angela said. "He said please and thank-you for absolutely everything. The guy has more manners in his pinkie-finger than every American man combined."
Hodgins and Zach frowned at this. "American men are honest." Hodgins said. "We show people our feelings and don't care what other people think."
"Uh huh," Angela muttered with a rye grin. "Anyways the guy is also built like a bust of Adonis." She paused here, as if going over the vision in her head. Then giving her head a shake she smiled. "All in all he's perfect."
Hawk pulled the trigger.