A/N: Hello from the wonderful world of Gold Wolf! The long awaited next installment of 'Real Life' is here. Goldy and I do hope that you like it. I know we had a blast writing it for you.

Disclaimer: Just to remind you all, Gold Wolf Productions, Goldpiece nor WolfMyjic owns any part of 'BONES'. Nor do we own or have any rights to the song 'Sexy Back' by Justin Timberlake.

Enjoy!

Zack Addy stood in his bathroom wearing only his underwear. He stared at himself in the mirror, leaning close to check what looked like the start of a bump, and then standing straight again. He held his arms up, bent at the elbow, fists tight and flexed his muscles. Then Zack turned his arms down, bringing his fist together near the bottom of his rib cage, and flexed again. He flashed himself a smile, and then turned from the mirror to start the water for a shower. He tested the water, and once he was certain it was just right, he stripped off his underwear and stepped into the hot stream. He grabbed a bar of soap and began washing himself. He bobbed back and forth as he began humming a song, spinning slightly as he danced to the beat in his head. "I'm bringing sexy back. Them other boys donno know how to act."

As he sang, Zack lathered the soap over him, and then reached for his bottle of shampoo. He brought it close to his mouth and sung out, "Dirty babe. You see these shackles, baby I'm your slave. I'll let you whip me if I misbehave. It's just that no one makes me feel this way." He went back to humming as he squeezed some shampoo into his hand, placed the bottle back where it had been and then began working it through his hair--all the while, swaying to the song in his head. "Go ahead child. Go ahead, be gone with it. And get your sexy on. Go ahead, be gone with it." Again he spun, closing his eyes to avoid shampoo in his eyes. He stuck his head back underneath the shower spray, washing away the soap. As he shook the extra water from his hair, he heard a knock at the front door. He stopped his movements, and listened through the spray of water. Again, he heard a knock--an urgent knock. Zack quickly turned the water off, pushed opened the curtain and then reached for a towel.

He was about to dry off when he heard a faint, "Package." Making a snap decision, the young doctor wrapped the towel around his waist and hurried out of the bathroom. He raced across the apartment, slipping on the linoleum. He slid a short way before falling backwards. His towel opened and he scrambled to wrap it around him again as he got to his feet. Again there was a knock at the door.

"I'm coming," he shouted, racing for the door again. Water slid down his body as he ran again, finally making it to the door. He undid the lock and threw the door open only to be met by darkness. Zack looked both ways before deciding that the delivery person must have left. His eyes came to rest on a small package sitting on the porch near the steps. He took a slight step, again looking left and then right, before chancing it and stepping completely out into the night air. He hurried to the box, picked it up and then started back toward the door. Just as he reached where he had previously been standing, his right foot slid out from under him. He landed on his butt, the towel again slipping from his body. He heard a groan from somewhere nearby, but didn't see anyone there.

As his face flushed red, he stood up, grabbing for the towel again. He picked up the package and turned back to his front door. As he stepped one foot inside, someone grabbed him from behind, gripping his hair and forcing his head back. Something slashed across his throat before he was shoved back inside his apartment, the door slamming behind him. Zack couldn't remember if he had screamed or not. All he knew was that his heart was slamming against his chest and his towel was once again on the floor. He quickly pushed himself to his feet, his hand going to his neck to check for blood. Pulling his fingers away clean, and rushed to a nearby mirror and looked at his reflection. A heavy red mark ran from one ear, across his throat and stopping at his other ear. Panic gripped him as he suddenly realized that he could have been killed. The sound of his heart beating flooded his ear when he saw the reflection of the package, lying on the floor. Slowly he made his way back to the package, only the sound of blood rushing in his ears. With a shaky hand, he picked it up, and shook it. There was no rattling, and it was incredibly light. He made his way to the kitchen, reaching for a pair of scissors to slice through the tape. He placed the box on the table, and took a deep breath. Carefully he cut the tape and then pulled back the flaps. His tongue darted out to wet his dry lips as he reached for the contents of the box. It was a single sheet of paper, the writing done in red Sharpy. You've been struck by the red marker bandit. The red marker bandit? Again his hand reached for his throat. If this was a threat, then the rest of the team would need to know about it.

Sometime later, at the lab...

"What happened to you?" Angela asked as when Zack stormed into the lab.

"Yeah, man," Hodgins threw in. "We got to take away your markers?"

"This," Zack said, pointing to his throat. "Is the work of the Red Marker Bandit."

"The who?" Cam asked, walking up to the small group.

"Is that a new rock band or something?" Brennan called from her place on the center platform.

Zack glared at the team, and handed over the note. Brennan took it to look it over. As she read the words, her phone beeped, indicating she had a text message. She handed the paper to Hodgins, and pulled her phone out. When she saw the message, she groaned. One down, four to go. B

TBC...