A/N: thanks for the kind reviews. They are appreciated.

After driving across town for half an hour, Agent Turner finally turned his Suburban onto a side street in the middle of the city, not far from the National Mall. He watched from the corner of his eye as Booth took in their surroundings with a practiced eye. "He's looking for danger…for threats...for anything suspicious...," Turner said to himself. "I guess it's true...once a Ranger, always a Ranger...he trusts me, but he's still on alert…just like I would be..."

Finally, after a few minutes of silent observation, Booth raised an eyebrow at the younger man. "You must be taking us to a pretty swanky safe house…"

"Oh, I am." Smiling as he shrugged, he pulled the SUV under the portico of an imposing white building. "Here we are…" He hopped out and popped open the tailgate before handing the keys to a valet. "Home sweet home...

"No way…," Booth gasped. "This can't be right. You're not serious…" He turned to Brennan with a wide grin. "The Hay-Adams Hotel? I can't believe it…"

Pleased with his part in the surprise, Turner grinned slightly as he waved at the doorman, who in turn summoned a bellhop to help with the luggage. "Well, Director Cullen was concerned about where to put you two up so you'd be safe...he was afraid that the locations of the Bureau's regular safe houses might have been compromised by Hacker's apparent lack of discretion, so we needed another option. As it turns out, Cullen is golfing buddies with the President's head of security, so he asked for a favor, and here we are. I mean, all he could wrangle was a junior suite, but still…it's a lot better than one of those old cracker boxes you'd normally have to stay in…"

"And a helluva lot better than the burn unit at Walter Reed." Taking Brennan's hand, Booth tried to act calm and cool as they stepped into the luxurious lobby, but he couldn't help but stare at the well appointed decor. "This is amazing…"

"It certainly is." Brennan giggled softly as she leaned against him. "Except for the fact that we have a hit man trailing us, it's almost like being on vacation…"

Turner had a quick word with the desk clerk before coming back with the room's key card. "Let's go see what we've got for you guys, okay?"

They took the elevator up to the fifth floor. As they exited the car and walked down the hall, Turner explained the set up. "The security will be similar to what happens with a visiting dignitary. FBI agents and Federal Marshals will be providing round the clock armed security on the outer perimeter, in the lobby and the kitchen, and on this floor as well. The only way the elevator runs is with a key card that's been checked out to a guest, or with a pass key that one of the security team members has, and there's a limited number of those keys. The security team members rotate in and out on a random schedule, but there's always a full team in place. You can have room service brought up whenever you want, and you'll have a set of vetted servers assigned to you, each with their own federal agent accompanying them, so your meals won't be tampered with."

He used the card to open the room's door. "The only thing you can't do is leave the hotel grounds...but after looking at this place, you might not want to…"

"Wow…" Booth gaped in surprise as he looked around the pleasant space. "I think this hotel room is bigger than my whole apartment…"

The layout of the furniture divided the room into 2 sections, with a king sized bed in one half, and a plush sofa, a dining table, some side chairs and a large flat screen television in the other. The view was spectacular, overlooking the White House and the National Mall. Turner laughed in delight as he pointed out the small refrigerator in the kitchenette. "Already stocked with beer...Cullen knows you well, eh, Booth?"

"Yeah, he does." Walking into the large bathroom, it was Booth's turn to laugh. "Look at the size of that tub...and it even has whirlpool jets…"

Seeing the glint in Booth's eye as he gazed at Brennan, Turner cleared his throat. "Look, I'll get out of your hair in a few minutes, but before I go, I was wondering if you could fill me in on why you think Hacker was the leak…"

"Oh...yeah. Right." Sitting down at the table, Booth scratched the back of his neck. "It's gonna sound crazy...I mean, I know what happened because I was there, and I still have a hard time believing it."

Nodding, Turner pulled his notebook from his jacket pocket. "I'll keep that in mind…"

"Okay." Grimacing, Booth took Brennan's hand as she sat down beside him. "I'd been doing some surveillance work for RICO on the side, in addition to my work with Major Crimes, and things were getting kinda interesting in a scary sort of way, but then I found out I had a brain tumor and needed immediate surgery."

"He had a bad reaction to the anesthetic." Brennan sighed softly. "He was in a coma…"

"And Bones read me this story she'd written...you know, to let me know she was there. It was a murder mystery…and Sweets says my brain used real people to fill in the blanks for the characters…"

Brennan gave Booth's hand a gentle squeeze. "And one of those people was Dick Vorstenbach."

Letting go a low whistle, Turner shook his head. "No wonder you had nightmares…"

"I know, right? Anyway, I was calling out that bastard's name when I had those nightmares, so when Cullen, Sweets, and Hacker figured out that he was after me, we concocted a plan to get Bones out of town, and while she was gone, they pretended that I had died from side effects of my surgery, hoping to get him off my back."

"However, I came home early, which threw their plans into disarray." Brennan swallowed a sob as she glanced at Booth. "They told me Booth had died from complications of his surgery…I was shocked..."

"She went out to Arlington to visit my grave, and that's where Vorstenbach nabbed her. There was no way he'd known that she was back from Costa Rica or that I was really alive unless one of those 3 guys told him. I'm sure it wasn't Cullen, and Sweets doesn't have the stones to pull that shit off...so it had to be Hacker…"

"I see." Putting his notebook away, Agent Turner folded his hands in front of him. "Actually, that fits with what I found out earlier today. I talked to an agent on the gang task force who said that the word was that C-Synch had been bragging about having a guy on the inside at the FBI...a really big guy...like someone in a supervisory position...someone who could call off the dogs when an investigation into The Council's dealings came up. I guess C-Synch had given this person some inside info so he could take down some of The Council's rivals, which earned the guy a promotion, and it gave The Council some leverage." He puffed out a sigh. "However, just a few days ago, C-Synch's tune changed drastically, and he was talking all kinds of smack about his man on the inside...rumor has it that he ordered the hit to shut the guy's mouth permanently. Since Hacker worked with the gang unit at RICO…"

"That's probably who C-Synch meant. Jesus…" Booth ran his hand down his face. "So now what?"

"Well…" Turner thought things over for a minute or two. "I agree with your opinion on Cullen being trustworthy, so I need to talk to Sweets without spooking him. It's gonna be tough, though...I imagine he's already got Vorstenbach breathing down his neck…"

"Which is what happens when you play with fire, right? You end up getting burned." Booth gave Brennan a sad smile. "I've known Sweets for several years, Joe...I hate to think he's keeping company with gangbangers…"

"I think it's more like he's a conduit for information." Turner was grim as he rose from his seat. "I'm actually more worried about keeping him alive so we have someone who can testify about The Council and The Persians when we're ready to take the case to court. If Sweets isn't careful, he's gonna end up just like Hacker." He extended a hand to Booth. "But you two don't have to worry about that, okay? You just stay put and let me take care of it. After all, it's not often an FBI agent gets an all expense paid stay at a fancy hotel, right? I'll be in touch…"

"I'm counting on it." Shaking Turner's hand, Booth walked him to the door. "Just be careful out there…"

"Will do. Goodbye, Dr. Brennan." He turned and left them to their own devices.

"Hmm…" Wearing a sexy grin, Booth waggled an eyebrow at Brennan. "Whadd'ya say? How about a nice hot bath?" He was shocked as he heard her sniffle. "Wait...what's wrong?"

"I don't know!" Running a hand under her eyes to brush away her tears, she shrugged. "I'm just...I'm…I don't know why I'm crying..."

"Maybe because you're tired...you're sore...you're still grieving over losing our baby...you're under a lot of stress…you're scared...you're worried about us...and about Sweets..." Booth took her into a tender embrace. "...and maybe because I've been pretty selfish lately…"

"I don't think you've been selfish…" She sighed audibly. "I know you've been trying to juggle me and this case and your own feelings…"

"Yeah, but I need to think more about what you need instead of just thinking of myself." Grimacing slightly, he shrugged. "I tell you what...how about me and you lie down for a while and just be quiet together, okay? We can relax...maybe take a nap? I mean, we can talk if we want, or we can just enjoy being alone with each other...you know…just enjoying each other's company. Let me take care of you, okay? Let me comfort you..."

"I can take care of myself!," she offered in weak protest. "I don't need comforting…"

He kissed her tenderly. "Okay, fine...maybe you don't need it, but I do, alright? Can't we just spend some time holding each other close? That's all I want…and it may be a long time before we have another chance like this..."

Finally, after some more convincing, she nodded in agreement.. "Actually, now that you mention it...I think I'd like spending time with you in that manner." She pinched her lips together. "I'm sorry to be so...emotional…"

"Nah...no big deal. I'm feeling kinda emotional myself." He took her hand and led her to the bed. After pulling back the bedspread and the sheet, he had her sit down on the edge of the bed so he could help her with her boots and her clothing. "I figure if you could put up with me while I was having crazy dreams after having my brain scrambled, it's the least I can do for you, okay?"

She nodded slowly before stretching out on the bed. "I love you, Booth…"

"I love you, too, Bones." Laying down next to her, he put his arm around her and held her close. "I always will…"

Oooooooooo

Dick Vorstenbach had parked the large black SUV across the street from the old brick building housing Booth's apartment. Studying the place carefully, he contemplated the best point of attack, wondering if he'd be able to catch the occupants off guard long enough to gain entry.

He was beginning to feel antsy. He hadn't seen Booth for over 24 hours. He'd followed the agent to the Jeffersonian, but had decided that it would be unwise to confront him in that parking garage, especially with all the security cameras they had in place.

He'd waited a couple of hours outside the parking garage's exit, hoping to see when Booth had left. Then it would be simple to get the jump on the agent as he parked his SUV somewhere...like maybe in the parking lot behind his apartment building...and the job would be done.

But somehow, his quarry had given him the slip...probably because he'd had to take on the side job of eliminating Hacker. Now Vorstenbach wasn't sure where Booth was, but it appeared that the guy wasn't at home at the moment, and the hit man didn't feel like sitting around for the rest of the day waiting for him to show up, especially since he still needed to make arrangements to pick up the burner cell from the shrink. Anyway, chances were good that if Booth hadn't shown up at home by now, he was probably holed up in one of the FBI's many residential properties that were scattered around the DC metroplex.

Pulling a map from his jacket pocket, Vorstenbach surveyed the locations of the safe houses that Hacker had marked for him. It would be a pain in the ass to go from house to house, but if that's what he had to do to finish his commission, that's what he'd do.

Starting his SUV, he pulled into traffic. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he couldn't help but snicker. Hunting for Booth and Dr. Brennan was going to be a lot of fun...and he was looking forward to the challenge.

Ooooooooo

Sweets had been ruminating on his problem all day. With the uproar at the Hoover in the wake of Deputy Director Hacker's murder, nobody was really interested in what he was doing right at the moment. Everyone was focused on bringing Hacker's killer to justice, which would give him the anonymity he needed to complete his onerous task that afternoon. He felt sure he could pick up the cell phone with no problem, and he'd be able to hand it off to Vorstenbach. That would be the end of it...he'd be in the clear and nobody would be the wiser about his involvement with Hacker and the gangs.

As he boarded the elevator, he went over his plan one more time. He'd worked with Booth long enough to know the procedures that were required when dealing with evidence. An unbroken chain of evidence had to be maintained from acquisition to adjudication, so strict protocols had been put in place to ensure that happened. However, that was no problem...he'd just drop a few choice names and the problem would go away...at least until he had to make contact with the hit man to deliver the goods.

Exiting at the correct floor, he attempted to look nonchalant. As far as anyone would be concerned, it was just another day at work, and he was just another man in a plain dark suit attending to his duties.

He walked down a narrow corridor and rounded the corner, pausing as he read the sign on the door.

FBI Evidence Storage

Authorized Personnel Only.

Not a problem...of course he was authorized. He worked there, right? He had all the privileges of an agent...

He quietly pushed the door open and peered around it, hoping to avoid any prying eyes. Danielle, the receptionist who guarded the gates of evidence lock up, had sharp eyes and a sharp tongue to match. She regarded her position as being a bastion of security, and agents were expected to follow rules and regulations to the letter once they entered her domain. Her attention to detail was legendary, as was her memory, so the agents she worked with trusted her to keep their evidence secure.

All of the attributes that made Danielle excellent at her job would be making Sweets' errand even more daunting. However, he was a student of human nature, and he felt sure he could get what he wanted from her with a small amount of effort.

Fortunately, Danielle didn't seem to be available at the moment. Biting his lip, he shrugged, thinking that maybe this task would be easier than he'd first imagined. Maybe he could get this done without answering any embarrassing questions.

He walked up to the door that opened into the storage area, and ignoring the sign which read No admittance without prior authorization, he pushed it open and stepped inside.

He hadn't counted on the high number of evidence boxes that were in the storage area. In the past, he'd asked Danielle where something was stored, and either she'd given him a specific location where it could be found, or she retrieved it for him. Since he'd wanted to avoid her, he'd skipped that part...and stood overwhelmed at the towering shelves filled with numerous cardboard cartons. Even though the cartons were labeled on the ends, there was no apparent rhyme or reason to the way they were arranged, so finding the one he needed would take an enormous amount of time.

He glanced at his watch as a feeling of panic filled his body. He had to find that phone soon, or he'd be not just in big trouble...he'd be in mortal danger. There was no alternative...he needed to talk to Danielle.

It was like she'd read his mind. Angrily pushing the door open, the petite woman came charging down the aisle, waving her tablet at him. "What are you doing here? This location is off limits without permission! I'm going to call your supervisor and let him know what's going on, Sweets!"

"Wait just a minute…" He held up his hands in mock surrender. "I haven't touched a thing. Listen, I know I'm not really supposed to be back here, but you weren't around, and I was in a hurry, okay? I'm running an errand for Special Agent Booth...he wants me to pick up Deputy Director Hacker's personal effects...you know...wallet, keys...cell phones…"

Raising an eyebrow at him, Danielle shook her head as she consulted her tablet. "I'm afraid those items are off limits to Agent Booth. You see, he's not the guy working Hacker's case...that would be Special Agent Turner, and he's left strict instructions. No one is to have access to any items from that case without his personal authorization. See?" She held up her tablet so he could read the screen. "Says so right here…"

"Oh, come on, Danielle...so it was a slip of the tongue." Sweets shrugged. "You know...force of habit. I'm used to working with Booth, so that's what I said…"

"It doesn't make any difference. Agent Turner hasn't given approval for you to access any of those things, so no dice." She scrolled through some screens on her tablet. "Anyway, even if I could give you the stuff, it's not here. The FBI techs did the preliminary exams and then boxed up everything so they could send it to the Jeffersonian via a special courier." She studied the screen carefully. "Looks like Ms. Montenegro has his phones…" She looked up at him with a baleful glare. "...so get out of my storage room."

"Okay...okay! Sorry." Groaning softly, Sweets made his way to the storeroom's door. "Geez...try to do a favor for someone…"

After making sure her visitor had left, Danielle made a quick phone call. "You were right. I found him snooping around...and I think he took the bait. He just left. Right...bye."

Ending the call, she sighed. Things were about to go to Hell in a hurry.

Oooooooooo

Sweets made his way to the Jeffersonian as quickly as traffic would allow. Striding purposefully across the lab, he made his way to Angela's office, hoping she'd be working on the object he needed.

"Hey, Angela!" He tried to grin as he greeted the artist, who was studying her giant computer monitor. "Have you heard anything from Booth and Dr. Brennan?"

"No...not a peep. I hope they're okay." Turning to him, she frowned. "Bad news about Hacker...I mean, the guy was a bozo, but still…"

"Yeah. Too bad." He stepped closer to the screen. "That looks interesting. What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to access the information on this cheap burner cell. The techs found it at the crime scene where Hacker's body was discovered. I guess they think it fell out of someone's pocket or something." Tilting her head to one side, she studied the rows of numbers in front of her. "I think these are phone numbers…"

Hearing her desk phone ring, she paused to answer it. "Oh, hey, Hodgins. Really? Right now? I'm kinda in the middle of something...oh, alright. Be there in a minute."

As she hung up, she grimaced at Sweets. "So Hodgins needs me to help him for a few minutes. I'll be back shortly...make yourself at home. I have some things I'd like to discuss with you...you know, in your professional capacity."

"Of course. Take your time. I'll hang around." He gave her an artificial smile. "No rush…"

Waiting until she'd left, he rushed over to pick up the phone. As he looked through the contacts he was horrified to see his name and number listed there. I've got to get rid of that info...I can't hand it over to Vorstenbach like this…

After looking over his shoulder to make sure he was alone, he deleted his contact information and then began to scroll through the texts. The incriminating messages were all there...everything the Bureau would need to end his career and put him in a federal prison.

"I can't stay here...I need to clean this phone up before I give it to Vorstenbach…," he muttered in desperation. "If I give it to him, he'll use this to blackmail me…I'll never be free..."

He slipped the phone into his pocket and turned to leave, only to be greeted by a young man in a dark suit who was flashing an FBI badge.

"Lance Sweets? I'm Special Agent Joseph Turner, with the FBI. You'll need to come with me, sir…you're under arrest for tampering with evidence and for conspiracy to commit murder."