(The Recluse in the Recliner)

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I don't own Bones.

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Booth had never been in Director Darouses' home before, but he supposed there was always a first time for everything. It had been nine hours since the attack in his home and Booth had been ordered to appear at the Director of the FBI's home at seven that morning. Once he arrived, he was greeted by an FBI agent at the door who had let him in to the house. Booth wasn't sure if this was normal or not, but he approved of the caution.

Entering the living room, Booth was met by CIA Deputy Director Bing Taylor, FBI Deputy Director Victor Stark and FBI Director Brian Darouse. Feeling a little vulnerable, Booth sat down on a couch next to Taylor and waited to see what would happen next.

"I've been apprised of the situation at your house, Booth." Director Darouse had been Director for a few years and he was aware of Booth's reputation as a brilliant investigator who was somewhat of a maverick. He had been contacted the previous evening by Deputy Assistant Director Alan Butler and had been told that an arrest warrant had been issued for Seeley Booth. To Darouses' astonishment, he was informed that Booth was suspected of murdering Congressman Steven Palter. The Director had been up to date on the investigation into the Ghost Killer and he had been told in briefings that the Congressman had been killed by Herman Kessler, the same man that killed Stephanie McNamara. Darouse wasn't sure that he understood what was going on, but he had tried to contact Stark and had been told that he was at the hospital and he would contact the Director as soon as possible.

The conversation that Darouse had with Stark had been an eye opener and he had demanded that a meeting be set up at his house in the morning before anyone was expected to arrive at work. "I've been apprised by Deputy Director Taylor and Deputy Director Stark about what has been going on for the last several months starting with Wayne Kitchen and ending with the attack at your house Booth . . . I must say that I think I should have been brought in on this from the beginning. You do work for me and not the CIA."

"Yes Sir." Nervous, Booth wasn't sure if his job was in the garbage can or not. "It started out as an investigation into the death of a CIA Analyst. It led to the discovery that Homeland Security Deputy Director Wayne Kitchen had committed treason and that he had two people murdered. We also found out that he'd been manipulated by a blackmailer, but Kitchen wouldn't admit who that was. He still won't do it. We continued to investigate the situation when we could and we weren't getting anywhere until we started to investigate a serial killer . . . Stephanie McNamara."

Holding up his hand, Darouse stopped Booth. "I know all about that investigation and how it ended. What I am concerned about is that you didn't bring to me your concern about the blackmailer and what you were doing to track him down. I've been briefed by Deputy Director Taylor and Stark, plus I visited the Director of the CIA late last night and had a conversation with him . . . He and everyone in this room seems to think there is some kind of coup going on. I think you and the Director are right and I want to be part of taking down who ever is involved. You work for the FBI not the CIA, Booth. You should have trusted me and included me into this from the beginning."

Uncomfortable, Booth cleared his throat. "We know there's a traitor in the FBI, Sir. Up until yesterday we didn't know who it was . . . We've determined that it's Deputy Assistant Director Alan Butler."

"Alan Butler? . . . He's been with the FBI for fifteen years. He's a decorated war hero." This was getting worse and worse as far as the Director was concerned.

"So was Wayne Kitchen, Sir." He couldn't help but notice the way the Director reacted. The man was furious. Booth just didn't know who he was furious with. "Deputy Director Kirby betrayed the FBI and several of his associates are now in prison. The FBI has had a problem for a long time. It started with the murder of Augustus Harper by FBI Agent Delaney, the murder of Kirby, the arrest of several corrupt FBI Agents . . . We found corruption at the Department of Homeland Security and from there we now have proof that the corruption is deeper than we thought. It involves Federal Judges, some Congressmen, a few prosecutors, state law enforcement agencies . . . I was attacked in my home last night to stop this investigation. Whoever the blackmailer is thinks if they can shut me up they can kill the investigation. I don' t think they realize that I've been working with Agent Danny Beck. They don't know that someone at Homeland Security is watching a suspected traitor over there. Whoever is behind this doesn't realize that this investigation has grown as big as it has . . . Silencing me won't stop it. It's too late for that."

Stepping into the conversations Bing held up his hand to draw attention. "Booth is right, Brian. This looks like a coup and it's our duty to stop it . . . Yes, I know the CIA can't operate in this country and I think that's why we've been able to help Booth. Whoever this treasonous bastard is assumes we're playing by the rule book while he isn't. Judge Warner was the one that signed the arrest warrant for Booth yesterday. We know that the men who attacked Booth and my agents were former Army Rangers. Cashiered from the Army for various offenses. They've already been identified as of this morning. They are not FBI Agents and they never were. Their bodies are over at the Jeffersonian right now being guarded by Homeland Security on the order of Deputy Director Carla Jackson. If someone was counting on hiding the bodies of those men . . . well that's not going to happen. They tried to assassinate Booth last night with Judge Warner's blessing."

"But Judge Warner has been on the bench for years. He's considered one of the good guys." Angry, Darouse wasn't sure who he wanted to hurt, but someone was going to pay for what was going on.

"Judge Warner is being blackmailed for taking bribes." Stark inserted himself in the conversation. "I was shown some intercepted emails from Warner and a lawyer named Susan Jarvis. She paid Warner to make sure her client walked away from a trial. He was paid $50,000. A nice paycheck . . . I think the blackmailer has been holding that bribe over Warner's head."

Disgusted, Darouse leaned back against his chair and stared at a porcelain box sitting on the coffee table. "Are we close to finding out who the blackmailer is?"

Booth shook his head. "We're working on it . . . I need to be able to do my job, Sir. I can't do it if I'm sitting in jail."

Waving off Booth, Darouse gave his agent a rather guarded look. "I will be talking to Judge Warner in about an hour. I have a meeting with the Police Chief where you live in two hours and with the Virginia State Police after that. You won't be arrested, Booth. I'm going to give an interview with reporters at noon. Believe me, you will be able to continue your hunt . . . with the help of Agent Beck . . . for now. I need to do something about Alan Butler, but not at the moment. We don't want to show all of our hand to the blackmailer. I'll handle Butler and when this is over, he will be arrested for his hand in this treasonous mess . . . Do you have any FBI Agents you can trust at this time? The Hoover needs a cleaning out, but we'll have to wait until we catch the blackmailer first. I'm going to hope that Butler is the only one, but I'm not naïve. Not after what happened with Kirby and his goon squad."

"Thank you, Sir." Booth was relieved. Up to that moment, he hadn't been sure if he was going to jail or not. "There are a couple of agents that I can trust, but I don't know if I can use them since I don't know who else is working for the blackmailer . . . My people are good at what they do. My partner, Dr. Brennan and her team have been a huge help and they were the ones that helped bring down Wayne Kitchen. I have absolute trust in them and with their help we will get whoever this blackmailer is. It will take time, but I think we're pretty close to finding out who it is."

"Alright." Director Darouse knew that the men in the room were all patriots and they would stop this coup or whatever it was and they would bring down the evil that had torn at the fabric of the country. He would make sure that when this was done that the President of the United States would be informed and some heads would roll. "I have an agent I've been keeping an eye on. An up and comer. I think he's going to run the place someday . . . I'm going to have him transferred to the Hoover as quickly as I can. I think you can trust him but make sure. If you think he's trustworthy then bring him into the investigation. I'll need you to report directly to Deputy Director Stark. Keep him informed and he'll keep me informed. Agent Beck will continue to back you up as soon as he's out of the hospital. I'm giving you a free hand to do this investigation. I'll make sure your name is cleared this morning and you and your team will be able to do your job."

Things were moving fast, but Booth was grateful that he had more backup. Backup from someone with power. "What's the name of the agent you're going to have transferred?"

"James Aubrey."

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