(After 'The Lance to the Heart')

This is a sequel to chapter 238.

I don't own Bones.

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Deputy Director Victor Stark had granted an interview to Hannah Burley hoping he might be able to set the record straight about the FBI's role in the Durant case. Before he could do more than greet her, Hannah handed him a newspaper.

"They found Congressman Hadley's body." She noted the surprised look on the man's face and found it strange that no law enforcement agency had been actively looking for a missing congressman. "Some hikers found his body in Shenandoah National Park. They contacted the forest service and from there the Sheriff of Waynesboro County was informed. He had his detective take over the case and though it was meant to look like a suicide, Detective Morrow is certain Hadley was murdered. He sent the body to the Jeffersonian for further examination and the case was taken over by Homeland Security. I take it the FBI hasn't been informed yet."

Quickly glancing at the paper, Stark noticed that the body had been delivered last night to the Jeffersonian. "Who gave you this story?"

Amused, Hannah sat down on the couch near the window and smiled. "I'm not going to give my sources away . . . I was assured by a representative of Homeland Security that the FBI is not going to be involved in that case. You have a bit of house cleaning to do before the other agencies will trust you again. Four FBI Agents arrested because of their connections to Durant. One of them was involved in covering up a serial killer's string of murders. If it hadn't been for Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan investigating the Ghost Killer case . . . well, I'm certain the Ghost Killer would have kept killing and no one would have been the wiser."

"A few bad apples." Stark had been horrified that his FBI could contain agents that used their positions to enrich themselves including covering up for a serial killer for a large payoff but he wasn't about to admit that to a reporter.

"A few?" Hannah laughed. "Do I need to remind you about Deputy Director Robert Kirby and his little group of murderers and blackmailers?"

Exasperated, Stark shook his head. "No, I'm well aware of the Kirby case." Stark had had a meeting with the Director of the FBI the day before and it was now his job to weed out any and all agents connected to Glen Durant and his group of traitors. The Director was embarrassed and the fact that his head of Major Crimes had been set up by Durant for murder just added to it. The Director had been lied to by one of the bad agents and he wanted blood. The fact that the DOJ was also doing house cleaning and rooting out corrupt prosecutors helped a little and it explained why the Director and the Deputy Director had been blocked from Booth's case.

Seeley Booth was now exonerated and he had his job back at the FBI, but Stark knew that there were going to be far reaching repercussions for what had happened and his plan was to clean up the FBI and move it forward. "We're in the middle of searching for any agents or other FBI employees that were connected to Durant and his cabal. This is a nationwide search and when we're done, the FBI will be cleansed of the traitors that were amongst us."

To Hannah, Stark's little speech sounded a little too rehearsed and formal. "Seeley Booth was set up for murder. He was almost killed in the process. He was imprisoned for something he didn't do . . . What have you done about that? I know he's back as head of Major Crimes, but what have you done for the man who was almost murdered in his home by rogue ex-Army Rangers. Yes, I know who they are now. That story will be posted in my paper this afternoon."

Stark didn't know who her informant was, but if he had to guess, he'd say that person was a world famous forensic anthropologist who worked at the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab, not that he could do anything about it. Not now anyway. "Seeley Booth has been given back his position with apologies for the gross injustice done to him. He's been assured that his position is safe and as far as the FBI is concerned, he's a hero. He and his wife uncovered an attempted coup and for that we are eternally grateful to both of them. Booth has also been told that when an opening for Assistant Deputy Director is opened, he will be considered for the position if he wants it. Booth is being taken care of."

"I see." Hannah stared at Stark for a moment before breaking her silence. "Is the FBI going to put into place a method to check on their employees and make sure there isn't a repeat of Kirby or Agent Miller's callousness in letting a serial killer operate with impunity?"

"Yes, of course." Stark sat down on the chair facing Hannah. "I have some specialists working on that issue right now." He was being honest. The FBI had suffered disgrace these last few years and that had to be prevented in the future.

Hannah made a few quick notes. "What have you done with the blackmail material that used to belong to Director Hoover? That stuff was supposed to have been destroyed after he died."

"It's been incinerated." The Director of the FBI had watched that happen making sure the material that had been destroyed was Hoover's archive and not blank paper. Stark had been there also checking to make sure everything was destroyed. They wanted Hoover's malignant influence in the FBI to stop and burning his blackmail material was a start.

A few more notes and Hannah looked up. "Does the FBI still plan to use the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab in the future? You shut down your links with the Lab when Agent Booth was arrested and the Lab was declared off limits."

"That was a misunderstanding and it has been corrected. The FBI has complete faith in the Lab and we will continue to use their services." At the time of Booth's arrest, Stark had been uncertain about what had happened and to be safe he'd wanted the Lab and specifically Dr. Brennan to be isolated from the FBI. He now knew that had been a mistake, but of course, hindsight is twenty-twenty.

Notes written Hannah closed her notebook. "Thank you for speaking to me, Sir." Standing she held her hand out and shook the Deputy Director's hand.

A feeling of relief the interview was over, Stark hoped that Hannah was honest when she reported their meeting. "It was of course my pleasure."

Ooooooooooooooo

"We're having company for dinner." Brennan entered the living room and spoke to Booth who was sitting on a chair staring out of the picture window. What he was looking at, she didn't know, but she had noticed that he did that a lot since he had left prison.

Turning, Booth sighed. "I was hoping we could have a quiet dinner just you, me and Christine."

"Christine is at Angela's house." Brennan had arranged it with her friend. "Michael Vincent got a new puppy and Christine wanted to see it. Angela asked if she could stay overnight and I said yes." It wasn't all a lie, but she needed their child to be out of the house for the next few hours.

"Okay." Not sure how he felt about that, Booth turned back to stare at the trees and grass outside. Ever since he had left prison, he couldn't seem to get enough of nature, whether it was trees or birds or flowers. He had seen nothing but ugliness while he was in prison and he thought enjoying the sights of nature would help erase some of those memories or at least make them less painful.

Returning to the kitchen, she checked on the chicken baking in the oven along with the roasting root vegetables. They were almost done when she heard a knock at the door. Turning off the oven, Brennan left the kitchen and opened the front door. "Come in. Dinner is almost ready."

"Oh, I wasn't expecting dinner." Surprised, Hannah had thought this was going to be a quick little meeting and she'd leave.

"You will of course stay for dinner." Brennan glanced at the living room and exhaled deeply. "I think we should talk to Booth now." Moving into the living room, Brennan smiled at Booth who was facing the window. "Booth . . . Booth we have company."

Standing, Booth turned around and felt utter confusion. "Hannah? Why are you here?"

"Temperance asked me to come." Uncertain, Hannah felt mildly anxious since the last time she had seen Booth he had been angry with her for turning down his marriage proposal.

"I asked her to come, Booth. You're not aware of some of the things that happened while you were in prison and shortly after your release." Brennan stepped sideways so Booth could get a better look at his former lover. "While I was trying to find a way to get you out of prison, Hannah was in town working on a story."

"I'll bet." Booth assumed it was his story.

Slightly annoyed, Hannah shook her head. "My editor wanted to know what Congressman Hadley was up to when he breached national security by mentioning one of your classified missions during your congressional hearing. I came down and tried to interview the congressman, but as you know he disappeared shortly after the hearing. I started digging into his background and I found some odd stuff that left him open to blackmail and I let Temperance know. I had already talked to her and she let me know she and the Lab people were working on your case without FBI help and she could prove that the men who attacked you weren't FBI agents."

"I could prove who they weren't, but I couldn't prove who they were for several weeks." Brennan wanted Booth to see the whole picture. "Angela delved into Foster's USB drive and she finally found the men who had attacked you, rogue ex-rangers."

"And that meant that you were set up." Hannah sighed. "I talked to Deputy Director Stark and pointed out that there had been no reported deaths of FBI Agents for four months and no funerals were held for the supposed FBI Agents that you had killed in your house. He had no answers for me, but that presented another mystery for both me and for Temperance. All of these little pieces formed a puzzle that both she and her Lab friends worked on. When you were released from prison, you helped put the puzzle pieces together and that led to Durant. Congratulations. What you and Temperance did was heroic."

Puzzled, Booth moved closer and stopped a few feet from his former lover. "Why did you help Bones? What did you hope to get out of this?"

"Two things." Hannah smiled. "One, I was promised an exclusive when the case was solved and Temperance found out what was going on and two, I knew you could never murder anyone and I had to help prove you were innocent. I didn't really help that much, but I did print about Hadley's betrayal and helped close the leak he used at the Pentagon. Hadley is dead, but the man who gave him your file isn't and he will go to trial for what he did. Angela linked him to Durant, so he won't walk away from what he did."

"You didn't believe I could murder anyone?" Booth wasn't sure how to react. He had hated Hannah for so long and now he found out she still trusted him enough to want to help him.

Reaching out, Hannah touched Booth's arm. "You're the biggest Boy Scout I've ever met, Seeley. You could never murder anyone. I convinced my editor that you were innocent and he let me work in the District on your story. He wanted an honest account of what was happening not the sensationalist things being printed in other papers and that was what I wanted too. I'm a damn good journalist and you should know that."

"I do." Booth touched her hand. "Thank you for believing in me. For a while I could only count on Bones and Cam, Hodgins and Angela. Bones saved my life, they helped her save my life."

"Yes, I know." Hannah dropped her hand from Booth's arm and turned to face Brennan. "You might want to check your oven or stove. I think something might be burning."

Hurrying into the kitchen, Brennan opened the oven door and removed the chicken and vegetables. "Nothing is burned, but a few more minutes and they would have been."

Still surprised to see his former lover, Booth nodded his head at the kitchen. "Bones is a fantastic cook and I love her very much."

"I'm not surprised, Seeley." Hannah had often wondered about the partners when she had been living with Booth and she hadn't been surprised when years later she had heard they had got married. "She really fought to get you out of prison. She trusted that she could do it and I guess I did too."

"Yeah, she took some risks that I wasn't happy about, but she did rescue me." Booth smiled at Brennan as she reentered the room. "Bones is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Hannah saw the looks that passed between the couple and she knew they were made for each other. "I think you're probably right."

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