A Pain That I'm Used To—Chapter 32
Disclaimer: I still don't own them, even after 32 chapters of angst, love and some mature content.
Author's notes: You know the line—thanks to all of you who continue to read this story and special thanks to those of you who continue to review.
To Howdylynn—You will always get a shout out just for being you! Don't worry about being clever in your reviews…although you always are. I, too, cannot wait for November 1 and the new ep of BONES. In fact, I took a vacation day to make sure I would be home to see it. Does that mean I'm a wee bit obsessed? (LOL)
To BonesDBchippie—Glad you enjoyed the last chapter but I hope you're ready for a little more angst. Fair warning my dear.
To jaed621—Prepare for more nervousness…sorry but our fave couple can't be completely happy yet.
To amyrb—Welcome and thanks for reviewing. Nice comments are always appreciated.
And to my dear, dear elliot02uk (Jean B.)—Me, naughty? What in the world have I ever done to give you that impression? (evil grin) I promise that I didn't hurt Booth in this chapter—at least not physically. Enjoy….split infinitives and all. (wink)
And for the rest of you lovely, lovely people, I really do appreciate that you take the time to review. Even if it's one word or a whole paragraph, your comments always make it worthwhile to continue this story. And for those of you who are just as invested in "Hodgela", I promise you will see more of their budding relationship in the future. So please, read, review and let me know you're still out there.
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"Max Keenan." Booth's eyes left Temperance and Russ and slowly scanned the room and then the area outside through the large plate glass windows. "Where are you?"
The question was greeted with a wry chuckle on the other end of the line. "Have you ever had a bad guy answer that question Agent Booth?" The chuckle slowly died and gave way to a tired sad sigh. "I really do apologize for your injuries in the parking garage. My friends were only supposed to rough you up a little…scare you….and in turn scare Temperance."
"That was your doing?" He briefly wondered how the hell a man like Max Keenan could be Temperance's father.
Another sigh mixed with a long pause. "If you hadn't broken Rocco's wrist, you would've received nothing more than a black eye and a few scrapes…"
"Oh so you blame the victim, huh? Look Max—or are you still using Matt or maybe it's something new this week—why don't you just tell me where you are and I'll come pick you up. I promise that we'll protect you…"
Booth listened to the silence on the other end of the line for what seemed like an eternity. He glanced up and saw Brennan watching him and he could sense that she knew something was wrong.
"You can't protect me…you can barely protect my daughter. The scare tactic in the Hoover building parking garage didn't work did it? She's still intent on finding me, isn't she?" His voice was hollow with a twinge of sadness. "Just like her mother….so damn stubborn."
For a brief moment Booth empathized with Max Keenan's plight of keeping Temperance safe. "Just tell me where you are. If you're really concerned about your children's safety, turn yourself in."
"I am concerned for the safety of my children!" Max responded angrily. "Ruth and I…leaving them was the only way to keep McVicar and the others away—the only way! Don't you dare judge me or my actions when you don't know what I've dealt with."
Booth's grip on his cell phone tightened. "And don't you dare make this about you and only you," he seethed. "I can understand why you two left Chicago…drawing McVicar away from Temperance and Russ…but you don't seem to comprehend the irreparable damage you've done."
Both men were silent for a long moment, allowing their anger to slowly dissipate.
"Max, you're wanted for questioning in connection with Agent Andrews' death as well as the death of his 'informant'…"
"That man was no informant," the older man interjected.
"I know. He's the person the syndicate—Jared Piazza—sent to kill Temperance…as a warning to you."
"You're a smart man Agent Booth but the plan to kill my daughter was not to warn me. It was to draw me out of hiding so they could kill me too."
"Did you kill Andrews and Mason Short?"
"As I said Agent Booth, you're a smart man….but some subjects are better left alone. Take good care of my daughter."
"Max…" The dial tone in his ear signified the end to their very odd conversation. Booth checked his phone and quickly pulled up the list of incoming calls. Brennan's father had called him from a local number. As he quickly dialed a number to one of the technology geeks in the Hoover building, Booth noticed Brennan walking toward him. He swallowed the lump in his throat at the thought of their impending conversation.
"Watts, this is Booth. I need you to trace a local number for me and get an address ASAP. Yeah, 555-8760….yeah, I'll hold."
"Booth? What's wrong?" Her blue eyes held a slight glimmer of fear. Brennan had watched him from across the room—one moment he had been at ease, staring at her with a wistful smile on his face and the next moment, he was tense, his body rigid and on full alert.
Grabbing a cocktail napkin from the bar nearby, Booth searched his jacket for a pen. "Go ahead Watts…765 River Street…that's a string of abandoned warehouses…yeah thanks."
"Do we have another case?"
He paused and took a deep breath. "Your father just called me."
Shock and disbelief flooded her senses at his statement. "He called…you?"
Nodding his head, Booth placed his hands on her arms and stared into her eyes. "He called from a local number that's been traced to a pay phone on River Street."
"Let's go." She pulled herself from his grasp and turned to leave. He grabbed her arm, turning her to face him.
"I'm going. I think you and Russ should go with Angela…"
"He's my father Seeley," she said softly.
Sighing heavily, he relaxed his hold on her arm but didn't let go. "We're not going for a family reunion Temperance. When we find him, I'll have to arrest him and take him in…"
Brennan's gaze dropped to the floor. "I know but I need to be there when you find him."
"What's going on?" Russ asked as he approached them. His eyes traveled to Booth's hand grasping his sister's left arm. He watched as the agent slowly let go of Temperance.
"Dad called Booth. They've traced the call to a pay phone on River Street." Her matter-of-fact tone on the subject of their fugitive father bothered Russ. "We're leaving to go find him…"
"I'm going too," he stated firmly. Russ felt his stomach lurch at the thought of seeing his father face to face again but he was determined that his little sister would not go through this alone.
Booth stared at the stubborn siblings. "Fine, but you both have to listen to everything I say. If I tell you to stay in the car, then for the love of God, stay—got it?" They both nodded at him as he pulled out his cell phone again and dialed another number.
"Deputy Director Cullen, it's Booth….yes, sir I know that it's a Saturday but I just received a phone call from Max Keenan…yes, it was traced to local pay phone on River Street….we're ten minutes away from that area…yes, sir, understood." He closed the phone and slipped it back into his jacket.
"Backup will meet us there. Let's go."
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Angela stood near the bar area half-listening to frat boy Brad rave about her artwork. He was an attractive man—tall, well built, muscular—but he was missing something. He's not Jack, her brain screamed at her for the tenth time since Brad had accosted her as she ordered a martini.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Booth answer his cell phone. The change in his demeanor was scary at best. One minute he had been standing there once again watching Brennan, smiling and obviously lost in thought about her best friend. After answering his phone, a look of pure panic seemed to have invaded his body as he tensed and searched the room for someone. Angela could see why he had been so effective as a sniper.
Shortly after his terse phone conversation had ended, Booth was on the phone again as Brennan approached him, matching his concerned look with one of her own. She watched as he closed his phone, placing it back in his jacket while talking to Brennan. Angela's eyes narrowed as Booth grabbed her friend's arm roughly and pulled her back toward him. Just as she was about to excuse herself from Brad's presence, Russ had joined the couple and Booth had relinquished his hold on Brennan. Another quick phone call on Booth's part and the trio practically ran out of the gallery.
"Excuse me Brad." Angela searched the crowd for Jack. Upon spotting him across the room with Zach, she moved swiftly toward them.
"Jack, something's going on." She grabbed his hand and began pulling him toward the exit.
"Whoa, whoa, Ange. What's going on where?" He gently tugged her hand and turned her to face him. Her brown eyes were slightly glazed and her cheeks were flushed from the amount of alcohol she had consumed.
"I don't know what it is…but Booth was on the phone and then he and Bren…and then Russ…and they ran out the door…and we need to follow them. You drive!" She pulled on his hand again, propelling him forward.
"Angela, I can't drive us…I've had a few too many beers." His body collided with hers as she stopped short.
"Zach, have you had anything to drink?" She turned her eyes toward the young assistant.
He gulped and looked down at his glass. "Ginger ale," he replied sadly. "But Angela, I can't drive. I don't have a license."
"Zach! Ugh, did you ever take driver's ed?" She glanced out the window and watched as Booth, Brennan and Russ climbed into the SUV.
"Yes, but after I confused the brake pedal with the accelerator and crashed through a fence and hit a mailbox…well, the instructor wouldn't allow me to drive again." His face turned a soft shade of pink at the embarrassing memory.
"Well, there are no fences around the downtown DC area." She grabbed the tie that he had worn despite being informed of the casual dress code and pulled him close to her. "Take Jack's keys and let's go."
"Did I mention that I hit a cow too?" he squeaked as the artist used the tie as a leash and led him across the room.
Hodgins watched the scene in amusement. "Maybe I should've worn a tie," he muttered as he ran after them.
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Dusk had settled over the city leaving a hazy gray sky streaked with an orange glow. Booth slowed the SUV as he made a right turn on River Street. Brennan's eyes scanned the streets catching the occasional glimpse of a homeless person. Otherwise the street was empty.
"Here we are…765." He stopped the SUV and put it park.
"Let's go in," Brennan said as she reached to open her door.
"Whoa Bones. Just hold up, okay?" He grabbed her hand, squeezing it slightly. "We're not going to go rushing in there and possibly spook him. We're going to wait and observe…" He didn't want to tell her that his gut was screaming at him that something was off about this whole scenario.
Max Keenan had managed to keep his whereabouts, even the fact that he was alive, secret for many years. Now, suddenly, he makes a phone call to a federal agent—a phone call that could be traced, unlike the one he had made to his daughter—and gives away his location. Nope, too easy. And Booth had never been a fan of occurrences that were either too coincidental or too easy.
"How long do we wait?" Russ asked from the backseat.
"Until backup gets here. The call came from that pay phone over there." He pointed to the ancient looking piece of equipment standing outside of the building marked 765. "That doesn't necessarily mean that he's in that building. He could be anywhere around here so keep your eyes open."
Brennan nodded as she glanced out the front windshield for a few moments and then checked the side view mirror on the passenger's side door. A few more homeless people slowly walked along the street, entering and exiting the alleyways. The population of the downtrodden had increased tenfold in the years that Brennan had lived in DC.
Several more minutes passed in silence as the three continued to sit and watch the area, examining every person in the area.
A man appeared from around the corner and began walking up the street toward 765. He was clean shaven with short cropped grey hair. His clothes, while wrinkled, were clean. The man stood out in the crowd as he moved swiftly with his head down and his hands buried deep in his pockets.
"Dad," Brennan whispered. Before Booth could stop her, she had opened the door of the SUV and exited the vehicle.
Her eyes were fixated on the man she had not seen for fifteen long years as her legs propelled her forward. He looked older than the last time she saw him and the sadness etched on his features was a sharp contrast to the smiling, laughing man she had last seen in December of 1991.
Booth and Russ sat stunned for a moment as they watched Brennan slowly begin her approach. Russ moved to open the back door of the SUV but was stopped by Booth.
"Wait…let's see what happens." He wanted Temperance to have a chance to speak to her father before the calvary arrived and Max was taken into custody.
"Dad," Brennan called out softly. Max's gaze found hers and he stopped walking.
"Temperance?"
She nodded, her eyes stinging with tears. "It's me Dad."
He looked past her, spying the SUV and its two occupants. "I'm sorry," he said as he suddenly began sprinting toward the building leaving his daughter standing in the middle of the street.
Max scrambled up the stairs to the building and flung open the door. Booth and Russ quickly exited the SUV as Brennan moved to chase her father. The explosion from the building that Max had just entered stunned them all.
Brennan felt the heat from the flames that snaked through the door and windows of the building. Brick, glass and other debris fell through the dark sky landing on the street around them. She moved toward the building but was pulled back by Booth.
"Let go! Dad! Dad!" she cried out as she struggled to escape Booth's grasp.
"Temperance, no!" He used all of his strength to ensure that she didn't leave his embrace. He began to pull her away from the building even as she continued to fight him.
"He's in there Booth! Dad!" Booth fell to the ground with Brennan. Russ rushed toward the couple, dropping to his knees in front of his sister.
"Tempe, he's gone…he's gone." He lowered his head as tears rolled down his face. Both of their parents were dead—again. He and Temperance had been orphaned a second time.
Brennan ceased her struggle to escape Booth's hold as her shoulders sagged. Her father had been right in front of her and now… Her gaze fell on the burning mass behind her brother. No tears fell from her eyes. There was no sadness or anger coursing through her being. There was nothing—no feeling, no emotion. After the events of the last few minutes, Brennan welcomed the numbness. It was an old friend that she had thrust aside since Booth had entered her world. But now, not even Booth could repair this damage or erase this event.
"Dad," she whispered one last time just as backup arrived.
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"Zach, for the last freakin' time—the brake is that pedal in the middle and the long pedal is what makes the car go." Hodgins snapped the rubber band around his wrist several times, finding that the sensation was actually fueling his anger.
The mini-cooper came to an abrupt stop and then sped forward for a few feet before stopping yet again. Angela groaned from the cramped backseat.
"Oh bad idea, bad idea," she muttered as she clutched her stomach.
"You know, I think I'm sober enough now to drive us," Hodgins stated as he reached over to grab the steering wheel.
"No! Don't do that while I'm driving," Zach yelled.
"What you're doing to my car cannot possibly be considered driving. Now put your foot on the damn brake, stop the car, shift it into park and let me drive."
"Which one is the brake again?"
"Zach! I swear to God!"
"Hodgins, it's a valid question. Your steering wheel is on the right side of the car as opposed to the left. Hence, there is a strong probability that the brake and the accelerator have been switched." He slammed his foot on the brake causing all three occupants to lurch forward. "Okay, found it."
"The only strong probability here is that you are never driving again. Put it in park!" As Hodgins began yelling at the young protégé, a loud explosion shook the car.
Angela, Hodgins and Zach paused as they saw a huge ball of fire float above a building a couple of streets over.
"Oh god, Bren…" Angela's face turned deathly pale as she recalled the incident in the parking garage. Brennan and Booth had had a close call that day…. "Jack."
Hodgins shoved the car in park and forced Zach to exit the car. He climbed across the middle console area as Zach hurriedly ran around the car to enter the passenger's side.
"It's gonna be okay Angela," Hodgins said as he turned back to look at her. "Hold on." He put the small car in drive and pushed the accelerator to the floor. His chest tightened as he sped down the road and prayed that he had not lied to the woman he was quickly falling in love with—their friends had to be alright…they had to be.
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Hodgins made a right turn on River Street, taking in the burning building and the swarm of FBI bodies roping off the scene. His clear blue eyes then fell on the three figures sitting in the middle of the street. "They're all okay Angela," he said as he pointed.
"Thank God," she sighed.
Stopping the car at the curb, Hodgins, Angela and Zach quickly climbed out and rushed toward the crime scene tape.
"Whoa, you can't come in here," a young agent yelled at them.
Hodgins pulled his Jeffersonian id card from his wallet and waved it in front of the agent's face. "We're with Dr. Brennan."
"Let them through." Cullen approached the tape and lifted it for them to pass under. "We're going to need your help."
They followed the senior agent to Booth's SUV where Brennan, Russ and Booth now stood. It was obvious that Russ had been crying but Brennan….she seemed almost catatonic.
"Bren, sweetie," Angela walked to her friend and gathered her in a tight embrace. Brennan didn't reciprocate. She simply continued to stare straight ahead at the flames still roaring through the night.
"What happened?" she questioned Booth who stood behind her friend.
"Bones' father called me. We traced it to this area and….he ran when he saw her and the…um, the building exploded." He watched as Angela's embrace became tighter and Temperance's arms continued to hang by her side.
"Oh my god," Angela whispered.
The lights and sirens from the approaching fire trucks drowned out any further conversation as the group stood and watched the firefighters prepare to battle the blaze.
"Ange, could you take Russ and Temper…"
"I'm not going anywhere," Brennan stated in a cold detached voice.
Russ and Booth shared a concerned look. "Tempe, come on…"
"You can leave if you want to Russ. After all, that's what you do best." She didn't move. She didn't so much as blink. She stood and watched the movements of every firefighter.
His jaw clenched as he watched his sister. "And you can shut down and be a cold hearted bitch since that's what you do best," he spat out as he turned and stalked away.
Angela's jaw dropped as she and Booth watched the exchange. The agent gestured for her to follow Russ and she nodded. He moved to stand in front of Brennan, to force her to look at him. He was confronted with a blank stare.
"Temperance…"
"You can go with him." Her eyes were void of any emotion as she spoke to him. "I don't need either of you here right now."
Pain seared through his chest at her words. They had come so far in the last couple of weeks….she had come so far…and now here she was pushing him away again. They had been teetering on the cusp of normal—well, normal for them—when her father had once again destroyed her world. He let her walk away from him, watching as she approached Hodgins and Zach, instructing them to bring certain instruments and equipment with them when they returned to the scene from the Jeffersonian.
Booth turned his face up toward the sky, tears stinging in his eyes as he squeezed them shut. "Please God, help her through this…."