Chapter 8 – I'd Come For You


Booth


Present Day (18 hours after abduction) …

I swung the door open to the interrogation room, Heather Taffet sitting there, her hands cuffed to the table, and her face blank. There was a spark of recognition when I stepped into the room.

Heather Taffet, a.k.a. the Grave Digger, was ready to begin another game.

She smiled a slow smile. "Special Agent, Booth."

I didn't greet her, I didn't say a word, as I pulled out the chair, and slammed the file on the desk. I didn't sit, but I leaned in, both of my hands on the metal table next to me.

"Where is she?"

My tone left no room for the fact that I would be interested in games with her. That I wanted to hear anything other than the answer to my question.

The corner of her mouth lifted into a cocky grin. "Where is who?"

I managed to keep my voice calm even though I felt anything but that in this moment. Sweets was taking his duty of having my six seriously as he stayed glued to my side, looking at Heather every few seconds. She flickered her glance towards him, her eyes dropping and rising again and again. Each time, I made sure she looked back at me.

"I'm not playing games with you, Heather. We have all the evidence. We know you're the Grave Digger. You're already going to get life. Tell me where Dr. Brennan is, and I will make sure death penalty is off the table. This is a one-time deal."

She shot me a doubtful look. "Who do you think you are talking too?" she clapped back. "I am a state attorney. I am innocent until proven guilty. If this even attempts to go to trail, I will eat you for breakfast."

I opened the file, and threw a few pictures and documents at her. She held my gaze for a moment, before she looked down at the pictures. Heather was a good state attorney with an incredibly high conviction rate. She was good at her job, which already wasn't going to be an easy feat, but I was better.

It was small but I caught the sudden flash of recognition of the pictures of her storage locker, along with the information of the history and record of her paying for the space under another name. A name she assumed for only a month before her fiancé died. It was why or how no one even noticed the information until now.

"That's right," I drawled out slowly, until her eyes left the documents and looked back up at me. Her face was a blank slate again. I could feel the walls closing in. "We got your storage locker that ties you to all the same materials and evidence for the other cases. The Kent boys, Dr. Brennan and Hodgins last year…all of them. Let's see how you will talk your way out of this one. You can't. You won't. And when we are done…I will make sure they seek the death penalty. I will show up and watch you die. Slowly."

Heather Taffet was deranged and dangerous and the smirk that she was giving to me, sent a chill through me. She showed no remorse, emotions, feelings for anything she had done.

"I hope you have a warrant to obtain those documents," she replied truthfully, her tone taking on a bored one. "Even if you did—" –she pushed the photos and folder away from her as if she was playing a round of poker— "—it's child play. But nice try."

I shook my head. "Nah. I'm not buying it. You think you can sit here and act like you still hold all of the cards…but you don't. You're done. You reign of terror and death…it ends here. Now."

She just stared at me. As if she was looking deep down into my soul and trying to wrap her tentacles of death around me. "Don't I? Are you really sure about that?"

She raised her brow, leaning back in her chair, her arms crossed over her chest. I straightened upwards, the both of us starring each other down, neither one refusing to blink or look away. Two alpha's squaring off. Only, there was truly only one alpha in the room, and it sure as hell isn't Heather Taffet.

I stepped away to the side, looking right at Sweets. He looked at Heather for a moment and then at me. I had seen this look of his hundreds of times before when he would help me with cases. When he would profile a suspect for me and give his best estimate on how I could proceed. The slight shake of his head was all I needed.

She wasn't going to talk. She wasn't going to give anything away. She was well educated and coached on the laws and how to skirt around them. Never giving anything away that would be an omission of guilt. Ways to make sure there was even an ounce of reasonable doubt to get a non-guilty charge.

I was a man of laws. I wasn't the judge, jury, or executioner. I had told Bones that many times before, especially when the subject came up of her father. Even if I could rationalize that everyone that Max Keenan killed was a dirty cop, ruthless killer, crook, or even someone that meant harm to Bones or her brother Russ. I still would take him in because he broke the law, and it was my job to uphold the law.

Bones life was at stake, and I was not going to let her die on my watch. It was already bad enough, that every time I looked across the table at Heather, all I could see was the recent games she was putting Bones through. If she wasn't a female, I would already have her up against the wall, doing what was necessary to get the information that I needed. Heather knew that too.

When I looked back over at her, she challenged me with her look, her eyes all but telling me she knew I was reaching a level of desperation if I wanted to save Bones. She set up this whole thing, and she was the only person that could tell us where Bones was.

I snapped.

I whirled back in her direction, bringing up my leg and kicking the table until both the table smacked into her chest and pinned her against the solid wall behind her. It hadn't been something she had expected. The action caused her to yelp, and Sweets to jump backwards at the action.

I was at the edge of the table leaning in, both my hands on either side of my body, making sure to push the table into her diaphragm, just enough that she could get oxygen in, but enough to leave a bruise and keep her pinned against the wall, making it harder for her to breathe.

"Do you think this is a game!" I shouted what seemed like a question even though it was rhetorical. "You think I am playing with you. Tell me where she is."

"Agent Booth," Sweets stepped forward in a low warning tone.

I ignored Sweets, and pushed the table harder, extracting another gasp from Heather as the metal bit into her flesh.

"Where. Is. She?" I said, pronouncing each word in a dangerously low voice.

Even then, with the notion that I knew she was in pain, she sat there, looking at me calmly, with no intention of giving me a response that I was going to like.

Her lips puckered forming a perfect 'O'. "Who?"

Sweets grabbed my upper arm. "Agent Booth."

I shrugged him off, not easing up on the pressure. Heather tried to hide her wince; the pain she was feeling at how hard I was jamming the table into her. I didn't feel an ounce of remorse. It was for all her victims. It was for burying Hodgins and Bones last year alive. It was for locking Bones into a casket and trapping her in a metal container almost crushing her to death like a pancake. I pushed harder.

I leaned in close so that our faces were almost touching. So close that what I was about to say was going to be between Heather and myself. Her word against mine.

"You think you are so untouchable. You're not. You know how many people I put in prison? Some that are looking for the day they can get revenge on me. Hoping someone they think I care about ends up there so they can torture them." I paused, showing her my own cockiness. "There are some that even though I put them there…feel they owe me their lives for making sure they survived and got a fair trial. Just waiting for the day, they can do me a favor. I will make sure every single one visits you. Everyday. Never enough to kill you, but make sure you wish you were dead."

We looked at each other, another show down of who would blink first. Heather might think she is untouchable. She might think she is smart and that she has it all figured out…but not against me. Not when it came to Bones life being in jeopardy.

"Agent Booth!" Sweets said more firmly.

I stood again, only loosening my grip on the table and the pressure on Heather just a tad.

I turned my head to the side. "I'm a little busy, Sweets."

He turned so that he was facing away from Heather and talking directly into my ear. "She isn't going to talk. She thinks she is untouchable. Conditioned to not give anything away. No matter how hard you go at her…she won't talk. We are wasting time."

I looked at him. "I can make her talk," I promised, my voice taking on a note I hadn't had to do for a long time. For a time in the war that I had put behind me.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Do you really want to risk Dr. Brennan's life on it?"

I turned my steely glare on to Sweets. He held my gaze but didn't back down. We were running out of time, and he was usually accurate when it came to his observation. Most likely I would not be able to get her to talk in the time I needed, without having to resort to methods that were very much illegal regarding the circumstances.

"This isn't over," I seethed in her direction.

She pushed the table further from herself. "I sure hope not. I hope you find whoever it is in time…so it doesn't end in a bang."

My breathing was hard, my chest heaving at how bad I wanted Heather to pay.

Sweets cleared his throat. "What do we do now?"

I kept my eyes on Heather. "We are going to pull her government file. She would have taken Bones some place where no one would know and no one would have access to look up unless going through proper channels," I said.

Heather's façade cracked a little more.

"You think we can get it?" asked Sweets.

I finally broke the eye contact with Heather and turned to Sweets. "Watch me."


10 minutes later…

Julian pulled through and got me the file I needed. I was sure she pulled many strings and went through several backdoor channels to get it…but none the less, she got what we needed.

I poured through the file looking for any locations, anything at all that would be secluded, and far enough away that someone wouldn't have seen Heather putting together the games of horror's that she had for Bones.

The location jumped off the page at me. There was something I recalled from my conversation earlier with Angela when she had poured through the tapes and feeds, we had since Bones had been abducted. On top of the size of location needed to put all this together and still maintain privacy, the only thing that ticked off all those boxed was Kings Beach Boardwalk.

It was the perfect place. Perfect enough that she could orchestrate an attack like this with thousands of miles of ocean that would make it almost impossible to try and locate where Bones could be without coordinates.

I barked orders for all financials and property bought within the last year. This type of planning had to at least start after Bones and Hodgins had survived her last attempt. Something that she wouldn't—couldn't—let stand. The Grave Digger had to win, and Heather was about creating a scenario that would ultimately make sure Bones didn't survive.

Not going to happen.

I grabbed my cell and dialed Angela's number. She picked up on the first ring.

"Booth?"

"I am sending you some information. I need you to put this information in your system and give me the coordinates."

I could hear the ding on the other end of the phone letting me know that Angela got the file I sent her.

"What exactly am I looking for here?"

"Bones, Angela. I need you to find me Bones."

I waited on the other end while I heard her clicking furiously. She talked to herself as she worked out the problem in her head.

"Who's the king of the lab!" Hodgins yelled walking into her space. "Is that Booth? Are you on the phone with Booth?"

"Yes, Booth is on the phone," Angela replied.

"Put him on speaker," Hodgins said on the other end.

The phone shuffled, and then I heard the switch so that both of them were now clearly communicating together.

"Booth, King of the—"

"Yeah, I'm a little thin on patience right now. What do you have?"

"I finally figured out what that spec of material was on Vega's body. You see there was a combination of—"

I growled. "Land the plane, Hodgins."

"Fine. The material found are all the same materials that could be found on a ship or naval vessel. If you can cross reference that with whatever Ang is looking into, it will give us what you need."

"Angela—"

"Already on it," she said, her fingers clicking once again. A few seconds later I heard her computer beep. "It appears here that recently Heather decommissioned an old barge. The orders here match the address of her plot of land near the boardwalk. I am sending you the information now of the ship."

"Thanks, Angela," I said, grabbing my gun and keys and getting ready to stand.

"Booth?"

"Yes."

"Bring her home. Please."

"I will," I promised.

I heard Hodgins yelling King of the lab just as I hung up the phone.


I hopped into the helicopter, putting the headphones over my ears as I shut the door and we started off towards the coordinates of where the barge would be that was holding Bones.

On the way over to the pad, I asked if Angela could hack into the video feed the Grave Digger was using to give us quick glimpses back and forth of Bones as she worked out each puzzle. Just as we took off, Angela let me know she was able to get the feed. Looking down at my lap, I could see Bones standing on the main deck of the barge, looking tired and exhausted, sweat pouring from her forehead.

My gut clenched.

There was a crackle and then I could hear the static knowing that I was patched into the feed and could talk to Bones.

"Bones, can you hear me? Bones, we are almost there. We are ten minutes out," I said.

I looked out over the water, squinting as I could see something far out on the horizon. I was getting more and more frustrated that we couldn't get this thing there any faster.

"I don't have ten minutes," Bones exasperated voice advised.

I looked up from the device and at the back of the seat of the pilot of the helicopter. "Can this thing go any faster?"

The pilot turned his head over his shoulder to look at me. "We are going as fast as we possibly can."

I groaned, turning my attention back to the screen with Bones. "Yes, you do. I know you do. You can do this, Bones. Just a little longer and then we will get you out of there."

I could see on the screen that she was tired and hurting. I know Bones would do everything she could to survive, but even I could see that she was reaching her breaking point.

I turned to the explosive expert next to me that had pictures of the barge and all of the semantics of the bombs from the pictures we could get to give him the chance to figure out how we could disarm them, or bypass long enough to get Bones off the barge.

"Figured it out yet?"

Aaron—the explosive expert—looked up from the screen and over at me. His brows were pinched together, and I could already see the solemn defeat look on his face.

"Agent Booth, all of these devices are connected together. All wired to the pressure plate that Dr. Brennan is standing on. It is next to impossible to even attempt to disarm it, because if any of us go aboard the ship, it will denote," he said.

I sat there numbly for a moment. This couldn't be the end. Please God, don't let this be how it ends. "Find a way," I barked.

Aaron looked at me like he wanted to argue it was next to impossible, but closed his mouth instead, nodded, and returned back to looking at the information the F.B.I. provided.

Bones's voice brought me back to the device in my hands.

"No Booth…we don't. I have less than eight minutes before this entire thing blows. The Grave Digger wired a timer to go off. It's set to go off here in almost seven minutes."

I relayed the information back to Aaron even though I was sure he already knew that, yelling at the pilot to get the helicopter to go faster. I didn't care if we were already going as fast as possible, he needed to find a way. I didn't like a no-win situation. I had to experience that many times before in the war. I had lost teammates before.

My buddy Teddy's face filled the back of my vision. The whole situation coming back as if I was back there, his body slung over my shoulders as I carried him for miles to try and save him. I couldn't save him. I couldn't lose another partner. I couldn't lose Bones.

I drew in a long shuddering breath. "Bones, we are working on it. We will find a way. We won't let the Grave Digger win."

She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, her hands showing a glistening of sweat as they held onto the two wires in her hand. They were starting to shake in combination of keeping her both still not to set off the explosive.

"I don't want to talk about the Grave Digger in what may be my last few minutes on this earth."

I closed my eyes, a large sigh and the silence that followed was deafening. I kept ensuring her that we would get there in time. We would make it. We would get her to safety. I still believed all those things. I also believed in never lying to my partner.

If what would help Bones was to not talk about it, to talk about something else, I would do whatever it was she asked of me to help keep her focused and get us through this.

After a few seconds, I asked, "What do you want to talk about, Bones?"

She looked back at the clock. I squinted to see, even taping to zoom in as best as I could. It showed the clock ticking under six minutes.

Her voice sounded tired, filled with despair and acceptance. "I've had a lot of time up here to think, Booth. Think about my life. My work. My regrets."

I managed to keep my voice calm, as if I was simply just walking her through the easiest of problems. "Regrets? Nah, you don't have any regrets. You're the smartest, bravest, and best partner anyone could have. No regrets."

I watched a ghost of a smile cross her lips as she shook her head, and even though I couldn't see her up close, I was sure she knew I could picture her so clearly as if we were standing directly in front of each other.

"I have one," she replied simply.

"Bones…"

I watched her face as she winces. I can see her calves are cramping even worse. What was worse…I could make out something on her face that tells me she is thinking about doing something that I am not going to like.

"Booth…I'm so glad you pushed me to take that case with you. The case with the senator. I'm glad you didn't let me say no."

I wanted to scream. I wanted to yell. She was giving me the Dear John speech. I wanted to do and say something other than let her just accept this…but it wasn't about me. It was about her. I would give her—I would do anything for her.

"Me too," I grated softly.

I tried not to jump from the seat as I could see the barge come into view.

"We're one mile out sir," the pilot said, as I looked out the window.

I unbuckled my seat, rechecking all of my equipment so that the moment I could propel down to get Bones, I would be ready. I would get her off that damn ship.

"Booth, I never believed that love existed. That it was only something the brain secreted to make you believe in the idea of love. Everything I knew in my world…it turned upside down the moment you walked into my life. I couldn't be happier in this moment to be proven wrong about the idea of love. I don't need proof to know that something is real, and it exists. Sometimes, as you say…it's taking a leap of faith. So, I am going to take that leap now. I want you to know… you weren't just the best partner, but you'd become my everything. I love you. I love you, Booth."

Her confession was like a punch to the gut. The good kind. She had to be just fine. Especially, after what she just confessed to me.

"Bones, I see you. Just do me a favor and hang on…you don't get to leave after telling me all that," I said in a tone that told me it wouldn't be argued with.

I could see the tears start to slip from her eyes. "I wish we had more time. Good-bye, Booth."

I threw open the door to the helicopter, the barge almost within reach. "Bones! Bones!"

"Sir, you have to wait!" The pilot shouted.

I ignored him as I leaned out of my seat, checking one last time if my harness was ready so I could jump. Bones looked down at the wires in her hand, and the timer on the clock. Even from up here, I could see and read what she was about to do, just as I knew every password she would select. Because I knew Bones.

She closed her eyes, took in a large breath and touched the wires together. She pushed to a standing position, propelling her legs forward as hard and fast as she could muster.

"Bones!"

The explosion went off just as she reached the edge of the barge and jumped—more like thrown off the barge. The heat of the fire was right on her skin.

I shoved down the panic, quickly unbuckling the harness and shucking it off my body.

"Get me closer," I demanded.

"You won't make that jump," the pilot responded.

"Get me closer, damnit."

The pilot did as I asked, and when I was at the distance, I felt I could make – I jumped into the water right after Bones.

The cold of the water instantly penetrated through my clothes, feeling like thousands of tiny needles were digging into my skin all at one time. I paused for a moment to look around and see if I could locate Bones, the deep blue of the ocean making it difficult to see too far in front of my face.

Debris from the explosion off the barge were sinking along with me, the surface of the water lit up in colors of orange and yellow as fire burned through the debris that was still floating along the surface.

I could manage to hold my breath for four or maybe five minutes max. Bones—most likely unconscious from the blast—would be unconscious and potentially have less time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something. No…someone. I could make out what looked like a hand or possible a finger. I dove down, using my legs to push me farther towards what I hoped and prayed was Bones.

Bones face came into my view. Her eyes were closed, her head lauded to the side as she continued to drift towards the bottom of the sea. I wrapped my hand around hers, pulling her closer to my body. She was unconscious, and even as I brought my lips to hers to try and breath some of my oxygen, she didn't stir.

I held onto her tight as I started to kick to the surface, not caring at how tired my legs were, or how much my lungs were burning to want to break the surface and get a fresh gulp of air.

Finally, I made it to the surface, taking in that much needed gulp of air. I didn't even loosen my grip on Bones, as I pushed her wet strands of hair from her face, her head falling backwards.

"Bones. Bones, come on…wake up," I demanded.

My fingers traced her neck until I could reach the spot to determine if she still had a pulse. It was there. Weak and slow, but it was there. Her face was riddled with scratches from the explosion, but for now she was with me.

I looked heavenward, the helicopter I had jumped out of still circling head. I waved my arm to call upon their attention. Aaron was now seated at the door of the seat I had vacated. All around us was floating debris and heat from the fire.

I couldn't hear what Aaron was shouting even with his hands cupped around his mouth, but I could see the signal of where he was pointing. A large boat— the United States Coast Guard was on the horizon—already working its way to us.

I turned Bones in my arms, so her back was to my chest, as I kicked my feet to get us further away from the blast zone, debris, and fire, to make it easier for the Coast Guard to reach us.

"I got you, Bones. I got you. I got you, baby. Please just hang on," I pleaded.

When the boat finally slowed, they threw out a large rope that I tied to my forearm as they started to pull us in. The longer Bones went unconscious the harder it was going to be to get her back. We needed to perform life saving measures now if there was a shot at trying to save her.

I quickly got the harness on around her helping to hoist her up until they coast guard managed to grab hold of her and lift her on board. I used the ladder they had thrown over the side to pull myself out of the water and climb on board.

I fell to my knees; crawling over to Bones unconscious body as the coast guard medic onboard was already beginning the unresponsive measures and CPR to bring her back.

I wanted to push him out of the way and take over myself, but the medic was the most qualified at the moment to assist. I grabbed hold of her cold and still hand, wrapping it in my much larger one, as I brought it to my chest. I moved her hair out of her face, as the medic continued his methodical up and down of compressions.

The medic looked up at me, his face still holding a note of determination, but I could see the fear in his eyes. The notion of his medical training telling him that the ordeal she went through—the amount of time when she was in the water—making it far too difficult to overcome.

I shook my head at him and looked back down at Bones.

"Wake up, Bones! Come on, we need you to wake up."

It was another couple of minutes, but then I heard the best sound when Bones jerked forward and coughed up water.

"Bones! Bones!"

Her blue eyes looked up at me for a split second, before they rolled upwards in her head, and she went unconscious.

For a moment, I let out a sigh of relief. Bones was still alive.


A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter.