Thank yous to: robinangelena, GalaxieGurl (yeah being held captive is driving Booth nunu lol!), aadams00, 554Laura, FaithinBones, regbride12 (sorry, I'm not giving too much away yet), Lauwy (things will work out, that much I can assure you), ZinaR, sandyholl, jsboneslover, Victoria, mendenbar (you're right about their reason for taking Booth too). Your reviews are very much appreciated.
Booth and Brennan drank half of the water in the jug, their spirits lifted by the cool liquid.
"We should save some of that, in case they take a couple more days to get back here." Booth said.
"Perhaps if I provided more answers, they'd bring us some food. Our glycogen reserves are probably near depleted by now. Adipose tissue is being used for energy now but it won't be sufficient. Soon our bodies would start breaking down protein for glucose."
"We'll start losing muscle."
"Yes. Which is not good because it would eventually lead to organ failure."
"I won't let it come down to that." He moved to squeezer her hand. "That was pretty smart back there, bargaining for water."
"I learnt from years of watching you in the interrogation room." She moved towards him, wrapping her arms round his waist.
Booth smiled proudly at her, tightening his arms round her. "I'm still gonna try find a way out of here though."
"Why do you think they kidnapped us just to get my help to identify remains?"
"I don't know. I can tell you that the person the skull belonged to was someone they cared about. Wouldn't have been wrapped in a cloth and kept in a box if she wasn't. And Jake said she, so he must know something."
"If they know who it is, why ask me to identify the skull?"
"Maybe they wanna be sure its who they think it is? Of maybe it's not the who but how? They were really interested in how she died. Maybe they already know who the remains belong to."
"Why didn't they just go through the proper channels? Call the police when they found the remains."
"I noticed they were kinda affected when you said it was a kid. Also when you talked about the healed fracture."
"You think they're responsible?"
"I don't know Bones, why get your help if they're the killers?
"We seem to have more questions than answers."
"At least we're getting somewhere, at least we got water for now. We gotta be thankful for that."
…
Progress after Christine helped identify Mrs Duncan was slow. Aubrey took some time actually locating her and it was already the next day by the time he got to questioning her. It was now day three since the couple went missing and he knew if either of them needed medical attention, he could have been too late.
He walked into Angela's office, hoping she had managed to locate Booth's phone.
"Hey Angela, anything?"
"No luck on finding Booth's phone. Bren's phone doesn't give us anything useful to help us find them either. Was Mrs Duncan able to help?"
"We did get a little lucky there. Christine was right, she walks her dog everyday along the same route. Mrs Duncan remembers a blue van parked on the street that I found Booth's car. Unfortunately she can't give us more than that. All she can remember is that it was blue."
"Any chance she saw the license plate?"
"No." Aubrey shook his head. "But she noticed because it wasn't the first time she saw it. Meaning, whoever took Dr Brennan and Booth had been watching them. I'm not sure if it gets us any closer to finding them though."
"She said she's seen the van a couple of times in their neighborhood right?"
"Yeah."
"I'll go through footage from the traffic cameras in the area, and I'll look out for the blue van. Maybe I'll be able to get a license plate number."
"Good thinking. Hodgins find anything?"
"So far nothing out of the ordinary, which means the kidnappers were not in Booth's truck. No traces of blood or anything which is good I hope."
"Yeah I hope they're not hurt."
"How are the children?"
Aubrey had Hank and Christine with him in his office at the FBI since their parents went missing, just in case they were in danger. In the evenings, he took them back to their own house to spend the night, hoping that the familiarity of their own home would comfort them.
"Caroline's with them now. Hank still doesn't really understand what's going on but Christine's worried. She's being brave for her brother. He keeps asking for his Mommy and Daddy."
"Poor things."
"We'll get their parents back." Aubrey said, "I promised Christine."
…
Booth groaned as he stretched, his side still hurting. A large bruise now covered the area were Jake had viciously kicked him before. He got up slowly after another uncomfortable night on the floor. Brennan was already up and taking a sip from the water in the jug.
"How are you feeling?" She asked.
"I'm okay."
Brennan moved to lift Booth's shirt, examining the bruise, her fingers probing gently.
"Staring at it won't make it go away you know."
"I know," Brennan smiled, pressing a kiss to his lips. "You should have some water, I know you've been drinking less for me. They will come back to replenish it, that I can say with some degree of certainty."
"I agree. They'll be back." Booth replied, obediently moving to take a drink out of the jug which was now a little less than half full. His stomach growled as the water went down.
"I'm starving though."
"I'm rather famished too."
The sound of the doors opening, again interrupted their conversation. Jake and Logan appeared.
"You guys are bright and early today. Assuming it's morning."
"It is." Jake replied, surprising Booth with his forthcoming answer.
"I've thought about what you said Dr Brennan." Jake turned to her. "You're coming with us."
"What about me?" Booth immediately asked, moving to put himself physically between Jake and Brennan.
Logan who had his shotgun aimed at them immediately stepped towards him, shoving the gun into Booth's ribs, causing him to grunt in pain.
"Back!" Logan commanded.
"I'll come with you, don't hurt him." Brennan quickly said.
"What?! No! You're not taking her! Where she goes, I go."
"You're in no position to bargain Agent Booth. As you can see, it's Dr Brennan we really need. We could do without you." Jake sneered.
Afraid for Booth's life, Brennan quickly spoke up. "Leave him alone. I'll come with you."
"What do you want her for?" Booth growled angrily, not intimidated by the gun that Logan had aimed at him.
"Dr Brennan was the one who said yesterday that she needed to see where the bones was found."
"If you hurt her in anyway…" Booth warned.
Jake chuckled, then reached into his back pocket, holding out a roll of duct tape. "Your hands Agent Booth."
Booth stared defiantly back at Jake. "Remember I told you we don't need you. Keeping you alive is just a courtesy on account of Dr Brennan here."
"Booth please." Brennan pleaded. She knew that as long as the both of them were alive their chances of escaping were higher than if they were alone.
Booth held out his hands. Jake roughly pulled them behind him, an action similar to what Booth often did when arresting a suspect. He bound Booth's wrists tightly behind. He then shoved Booth roughly, causing him to fall onto the ground. Booth lay on his side on the ground. It was a law enforcement technique. With his hands tied behind his back akin to being in handcuffs, it was much harder to get back onto this feet.
"Your turn Dr Brennan, we can't have you trying to escape."
Brennan obediently held out her hands, but unlike Booth, Jake bound her wrists together in front of her.
"Bones, remember what we talked about?" Booth said.
"Now remember Dr Brennan, if you try to escape, or if you disobey whatever we say, we'll come back and put a bullet through his head. Understood?" Jake added.
"I understand."
"Good. Now let's go." Jake led the way towards the stairs. Brennan took one look at Booth who was on his side on the ground. His eyes were telling her to try to escape and she glared back a "no".
"I'll see you later Booth." Brennan said to emphasize her point.
"Remember I love you Bones." Booth said, genuinely worried for her. What if she completed what was needed of her and they decided to kill her? He fumed inside, wishing she would just do what he wanted her to this time.
Jake could be heard laughing. "There's no need to be so dramatic. I assure you, Dr Brennan will come back. Now let's go before I change my mind!"
Brennan looked back at Booth, then started up the stairs. Her legs felt weak and they shook under her weight as she took each step. As she reached the top of the stairs and exited her underground prison for the last three days, she took in a deep breath. The bright light of day assaulted her eyes but the fresh air gave her a renewed sense of hope. Jake stopped and so did she. They waited as Logan closed the double doors then locked them. For additional security, he pulled a heavy chain over the handles, securing them with a padlock.
She now realised that they had been held in an underground storm bunker of some sort and as she surveyed her surroundings she began to understand how remote this location was. There were no buildings nearby, the storm bunker stood by itself. Logan then pulled some tree branches over the doors. She realised that unless someone was intentionally looking for the entrance, it was unlikely anyone would notice those doors leading down into the ground.
Her heart sank. Escape seemed impossible and she was certainly not going to attempt to escape and risk Booth's life.
"Let's go." Logan said, jarring her out of her thoughts. As she turned, he gave her gentle push.
Brennan stumbled forwards, following Jake into the dense wooded area that surrounded them.
