Chapter 3
Sixteen hours before Philadelphia...
Booth drops Bones hand and runs out of the kitchen. She takes a second to collect herself, and then starts moving too.
What comes next is a whirlwind of activity Brennan thinks she understands, but isn't quite sure. She's had a go-bag for years, so she grabs that instead of packing something new. She takes cash and her revolver from the floor safe in the bedroom, and two minutes later, they are out the front door, which Booth leaves unlocked and open behind him.
They take the Prius instead of the Mercedes when they leave. Brennan guesses this is because the Prius is less conspicuous than the S-Class, though that notion is dissuaded when Booth pulls the car into the driveway of a run-down used-car lot on the north edge of town. He gets out, breaks the lock on the fence gate, and pushes it open. He motions for her to drive in, so she gets out and walks around to the driver's side.
"Park it as far back from the street as you can, see if you can hide the plates up against a wall or another car," Booth says to her. "Take everything of ours, but leave the car key. I'll be right back."
She watches him run across the street to one of those mail-box stores, and then takes the car and does what he asks. She has their stuff - her stuff really - sitting next to her by the parked car when he returns. He's carrying a thick, overstuffed manila envelope and a duffel bag. He doesn't mention the reason for either and per her earlier agreement, she doesn't ask.
She really wants to ask.
He leaves the bag and envelope with her, then goes over to the RV that serves as an office for the lot. She sees a camera hanging from one of the eaves, figures that all of this is on tape for later, just as he breaks one of the windows and then reaches in to jimmy open the door. He disappears inside for a moment and returns with a set of keys. She looks at him, but says nothing.
"I left a couple grand on the desk." She nods, guessing that the envelope must have had cash stuffed in it.
He grabs their bags and walks down the row to a beat up off-yellow Toyota. It's about as bland a car as she's ever seen. He gets in the driver's seat and turns on the car. She slips into the passenger seat. She wonders where Booth, the frugal agent who refuses to jaywalk and haggles $2 hotdogs, has gone.
He stops briefly and gets out of the car to close, but not lock, the gate behind him, and then five minutes later, they are off, heading north, away from the city.
She watches him as he drives, first past Fort Meade and then through Baltimore. It was already late when they'd gotten home from dinner, and all she'd wanted to do was strip down and crawl into bed with him curled around her. Now it's much later still, well into the next day really, and she has no idea how much longer it will all go on. She gets the sense, like the pregnancy, that everything is really just starting.
They drive for almost two hours, Booth's face a mask of concentration the entire time. Brennan sits back in her seat, tries to figure out where they are. They must be near the Delaware border at this point, but it's so dark its hard to tell if they've crossed over already or are about to. She wonders if they are headed to Philadelphia or further, all the way on to New York.
Booth pulls off the road at the next exit and turns into a motel that is visible from the interstate. The place is clean, but it's obvious that its best days are long past. Booth turns off the engine and motions for her to follow him in.
The clerk behind the counter makes no motion towards them when they enter, despite Booth's friendly nod.
"Hey, can we get a room for the night?"
"The two of you?"
"Yeah."
"Sixty bucks. I'll need your credit card."
"I'll give you eighty if I can pay cash."
Brennan goes to tell Booth that she has all of her credit cards, but decides better of it. She doesn't think he's forgotten.
"A hundred."
"Ninety," Booth counters.
"Done. But I still need names."
"Smith."
"And her?"
"Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Smith."
"John and Jane, right?"
"Got it in one."
"Yeah, anyway. Room eight is all yours. It's about halfway down, to your left. You can park in front."
"Thanks. Come on, honey," Booth says, and Brennan stops herself before correcting him. This is obviously a Hank and Wanda Moosejaw-type of situation. If they are undercover, why is he making it so obvious?
Booth drives down the row, but he goes past room 8 and around the corner, instead parking the car behind the motel, away from the interstate.
"When we get to the room, I want you to mess it up a bit, sit on the bed, whatever, but don't leave anything behind," he says as they walk to the room. He unlocks the door and drops his bag just inside the frame. She contemplates the space for a second, and then goes into the bathroom. She throws a tissue into the trash, then shuffles around some of the things on the counter. The motel room is ugly and old, but at least it's clean. She sits on the bed just in time to see Booth finish writing something on the pad of paper by the phone, and then rips the top page of the pad.
"Okay, let's go," he says.
He closes the door behind them, and then goes two rooms over to room 10. There are no cars parked in the spot in front, and he peeks inside the window to confirm the room is empty before picking the lock. He holds the door for her.
"Do we mess up this room too?" she asks.
"No, now we wait."
"Then can we talk about what is going on now?"
"In a bit. But last thing for now - I need you to take the SIM cards out of our phones, and then turn them off."
"They've been off. I turned them off hours ago."
"I know, but I need the SIMs out now too."
She does what he asks, then decides to lay down. Booth has been acting weird, but she supposes all of the things he's been doing make sense if you want to hide. But still, they could have been more careful. The cameras at the car lot, the fact that they still have their phones, the weird back and forth Booth did with the clerk - she's not an expert, but she'd bet they could have done a better job than they have.
But she decides to give him a few more hours before calling him on it. It is nearly four in the morning and she has already had a busy few days. She could just close her eyes for a few minutes, think about the rest...
She hears noises and sits up. Booth has somehow moved across the room to sit on a chair, and she realizes she must have fallen asleep. He is sitting by the window, his head propped against the wall so that he can see out the slight crack between the window and the shade. The lights are off.
"Booth..."
"Shhh," he says, with a finger to his lips. She stops talking and stills, wondering what he is seeing.
"They're here."