Ace sat at his desk, his feet up on the top of it as Booth sat in the seat by the desk. The office was very quiet. Between the Christmas to New Years holiday, and the snowstorm, the number of agents in the office was bare minimum. They were just talking back and forth about the case, mixed in with some humorous banter, though the knowledge that the phone had been silent about Antonia and Aiden was at the back of both of their minds.
Booth's phone rang suddenly, and he lifted it to his ear quickly. "Booth." He paused for a moment hearing the voice on the other end of the line, and sat up as he listened. "Okay." He said, nodding, glancing to Ace, who watched on with curiosity. "Thanks, Hodgins." He flipped his phone closed and looked to Ace. "The gun wasn't the murder weapon."
"What?" Ace asked incredulously.
"Hodgins said that was what Toni was working on last night. The bullets from the body didn't match up with the gun that you guys found." Booth said. "That was why she went out to the crime scene last night. She probably didn't want the snowstorm to hide the evidence, which was why she went out ahead of time."
"So, basically what you're saying, is that our murder weapon is still out there."
"That's what I'm saying." Booth replied. "We have the composite sketch from Angela and Grace for the one suspect, but it was too dark for Gracie to see the other one, she said. She could describe the clothes and that was it."
"So, we have a missing murder weapon, and two suspects out there… and Antonia went to the crime scene and hasn't returned yet." Ace replied.
"Right." Booth nodded.
"And we have a missing FBI agent also… who also may or may not be around where these suspects are located." Ace said, watching Booth nod. "Doc will kill us."
"She just didn't want us out looking for Antonia." Booth shrugged. "I mean, that's what she said, anyway. But we have evidence we have to look for, Ace. We should at least get ready to get out there and see if we can gather more." Booth shrugged. "I mean, if we come across Antonia or Fitz while we're out there, then that's pretty lucky for us, isn't it?"
"You're the one that has to live with her." Ace said as he kicked his feet off the desk and stood up. He grabbed his suit jacket from the chair and swung it over his shoulder.
Antonia stood at the small table, her eyes focused on some of the items located on it. She had gathered some evidence into some bags and looked down at the items that she had amassed. She was feeling rested, though still a bit tired, but happy to be somewhere warm. Aiden was resting his head on the table, his tall frame stretching over half of it as he slept peacefully with his head in his arms.
"Hey, my wrists hurt." One of the suspects complained from his corner, as Antonia glared at him.
"Keep it up, and it'll be more than your wrists hurting." She muttered angrily.
"Don't rile them up." Aiden muttered into his arms.
"Don't rile them up?" She muttered. "These idiots are murderers."
"We ain't murderers, that little shit deserved what he got." The other man yelled.
"Dude, shut up." The first suspect replied.
"Yeah, Dude, you just admitted to murder." Aiden said, sitting up, he glared over at the first suspect. "You both better just be quiet."
"You know, I think I've had enough of this delightfully witty repartee." Antonia said as she reached over to her coat and pulled out the deck of playing cards that she had shoved into her pocket earlier. She dropped them on the table and walked over to her knapsack. She lifted the bag up onto the table, and looked through it for a moment, as she pulled out a small pocket radio. Aiden watched as she shoved a battery into the radio, and looked for a radio station that might have the weather. She found an FM station with some pop music, and placed it on the floor between the two suspects, turning the volume up loudly.
"Hey! Shut that shit off!" One of the suspects shouted.
"I can't hear you." Antonia said, shaking her head, she sat down on the other chair across from Aiden. He moved closer to her, sitting beside her as she picked up the deck of cards. He leaned his head on her shoulder, and watched her open the box and lift the cards out, shuffling through them for a moment. "It's a trick Dad taught me." She said softly enough so only Aiden would hear her. She pulled out a jack of diamonds and a jack of hearts, folding over the corner of one of the jacks. She then pulled two joker cards out, folding them in half. "The jacks are you and I, the corner fold just means that it is supposed to be a different card. The jokers are the suspects, folded… meaning they're in custody." She said softly.
"And what were the two cards you left at the car?"
"Deuce of hearts, and Queen of hearts… I put them there so Dad knows I left the car willingly, that I wasn't forced."
"Why those cards?" He whispered.
She stared at the cards for a moment, spread out on the table before her, and wondered for a moment if she should tell him. She glanced to him, and watched his eyes sparkle in curiosity. She picked up another deuce, and looked at it closely. "Deuce of hearts represents my father, and queen of hearts is my mother."
"Combined, is you." He said, watching her eyes sparkle for a moment, she nodded. "Why is your father Deuce?" he asked, watching as her eyes darkened slightly, and a short breath escaped her lungs. He literally watched her walls lift and block him out.
"I should go put these outside." She said softly, pulling her pocket knife from her pocket, she gathered up the four cards. "I'll put them at the end of the driveway, on the tree. Dad will know that we're here."
"Do you want me to do it?" Aiden asked, offering up his assistance. He didn't want her to have to trudge through the snow to the end of the drive alone.
"I can do it." She said softly. "I just… I need to get out of here for a few minutes anyway." She said as she lifted her coat from the chair and walked into the second room away from prying eyes. She put the coat on as she looked out the back window onto the woods and falling snow and was about to zip it up when she turned around to find Aiden just inches from her. She looked up into his eyes. "What?" She whispered.
"Nothing." He said, catching a glint in her eye as the corner of her lip curled into a smile that mimicked her mother's. "It's nothing."
"Is it nothing, or is it something?" she whispered. She reached across and touched his tie which had been loosened around his neck. He shrugged, and she watched his pupils dilate slightly, his eyes only on hers. She tugged his tie, bringing him closer to her, until their foreheads touched. She closed her eyes, and she felt a sharp intake of breath from him. She tipped her head up, catching his bottom lip between her teeth as she lifted her hand to the back of his neck. He let out a growl as he pressed his lips to hers, pulling her into him hard enough to hear a low growl of her own as they explored one another's mouth for a moment. There was a sound from the next room, and they pulled apart reluctantly, his eyes flickering to the next room, he gave her a needful glance, but turned and walked into the next room. His voice was low and authoritative, as he scolded the two suspects for moving away from their corners, and she could hear shifting as he reached over and turned the radio down. Antonia recovered from the kiss slowly, her lips burning as they memorized his tender touch. She closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and opened them, zipped her coat and pulled the gloves out of her pocket. She slipped them on her hands and walked into the next room.
She avoided his eyes for a moment, walking over to the table, she picked up the cards and the pocket knife and stepped to the door. She looked up and could immediately see the need in his eyes. She could feel the heat in her face as she stepped to the door. "I'll be right back." She whispered, stepping outside of the cabin quickly before he said another word. As soon as she stepped outside, she was assaulted by the cold. She stepped down the porch carefully, and noted how much deeper the snow was today than it was the night before. Quickly she stepped away from the cabin. She took several steps down the drive, and looked back at the cabin, noting the tall figure in the window staring after her. She gave him a quick wave and quickly walked to the end of the driveway.
She found a tree that was visible from the road, one that was beside the driveway, and she turned to face it. She could see the cabin from where she was standing, but the snow was reflecting on the window. She lifted the cards to the tree, holding her hand on handle of the knife as she stabbed the cards carefully to the tree, ensuring that they were secure. She shivered in the cold, trudging carefully toward the cabin, her eyes focused on the snow. She was just about to look up, her focus moving toward the window, when the silence of the winter afternoon was shattered into a million pieces, just as the front window of the cabin, as two bodies came tumbling through the wooden frame window. One crashed into the railing of the porch sending splintered wood into the air, and glass flew in every direction, and the sound of a painfilled scream echoed through the quiet forest. His body landing awkwardly in the snow, and another followed quickly, his hands still bound with handcuffs, as he landed on his side in a nearby snow drift.