Okay, so a lot of my reviewers have been wondering how on earth I'm going to bury a bus. Well you'll find out here. I don't know if the science works but I couldn't come up with another way to bury a bus so you'll just have to accept it lol.
Sitting in the diner down the street from the Jeffersonian, Brennan swirls a teaspoon around inside her coffee cup, staring blankly into the deep brown liquid. She has drunk more coffee in the last twenty four hours than she has before and she's starting to despise the taste of it.
"Are you sure you won't eat something?" Booth asks softly.
"I can't." Brennan sighs. "I know what you're thinking but I'm just not hungry." She shakes her head, keeping her focus on her coffee cup.
"I understand." Booth nods. He does understand. Brennan is feeling guilty, worried, anxious and nervous all at the same time and those feelings are bound to play havoc with your body. He just wishes she would eat a little something to keep her energy levels up. She's looking exhausted and Booth is worried she might pass out or something. They might have a long wait for any more information on the location of the bus and Booth just wants Brennan to be at her best when they catch a break. He looks down at the fries on the plate before him, pokes a few with his fork then drops the fork and pushes the plate away. His appetite has suddenly left him.
"We're running out of time." Brennan murmurs.
"I know."
Xxxx
Several hours pass without any word and Brennan is getting very anxious. A quick mental calculation tells her the Gravedigger's victims have less than 10 hours to live. She paces the floor of her office, unable to sit still. Booth is slouched on the couch, a look of frustration on his face.
"Syler should have called by now." He mutters.
"Obviously he hasn't found out anything new." Brennan sighs, coming to a stop at the side of the couch. "Can't we do anything?"
"Everything is already being done. I know you hate it but we just have to wait."
"I do hate it Booth." Brennan's voice rises. "I hate that I'm standing here, alive, and five people are buried somewhere about to die!" she abruptly turns away so Booth cannot see the tears in her eyes. He sits forward on the couch and slowly rises to his feet.
"No matter what happens Bones, you can't blame yourself for what's happened."
"Easier said than done." She scoffs. "What are we supposed to say to the families?" Booth comes up behind her, places his hands on her upper arms and leans down to speak close to her ear.
"One way or another, this is going to be over Bones. And when that happens we tell the truth." Booth feels Brennan's body begin to shake a little and a soft sob tells him she's crying. With one swift move he spins her around and envelopes her in his arms.
"I know Bones, I know." He soothes. Brennan leans into him, burying her head in his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him. His embrace provides some comfort but doesn't take away the deep seeded feelings Brennan has about the whole situation. She doesn't need a psychologist to tell her it will take a long time for those feelings to go away, if at all.
Xxxx
Booth has managed to get Brennan to lie down for a while but he isn't sure she's actually sleeping. She has been lying motionless, her breathing regular and her eyes closed but he senses that she is waiting for something to happen instead of allowing her body vital time to rejuvenate. He is sitting behind her desk, fiddling with a pen and watching his cell which is sitting on the desk, almost mocking him with its silence. He jumps when it suddenly bursts into life after what seems like an eternity of silence, the screen flashing and repeated beeping noises blasting out.
"Booth." He answers it as Brennan abruptly lifts herself up off the couch to look at him. Clearly she hadn't been sleeping just as he suspected.
"That's a positive ID?" Booth asks. "Okay, we'll meet you out there."
"What's going on?" Brennan asks, her voice laden with hope.
"The bus was spotted at a gas station just outside of town on the highway headed towards Virginia."
"We're going there?"
"Wherever the bus was going, it's outside of Washington so we're better off there than here. I'll have the security footage from the gas station sent here for Angela to look at. She might be able to enhance the images and get us more information."
"I'll get my coat." Brennan rises from the couch but as she stands she wobbles a little.
"Bones!" Booth reacts and rises to his feet as she braces her hand on the arm of the couch.
"I'm fine, just a head rush." She feigns a smile and stands up straight. She knows she's physically and emotionally exhausted and it won't be long before she can no longer control it and she collapses. But for now she needs to remain focused, find the missing people and put the S.O.B Gravedigger behind bars. Thoughts of him, what he did to her and Hodgins and all the other victims fill her with renewed energy and she tugs on her jacket as Booth watches her intently. She knows he's probably fighting back the urge to mollycoddle her.
"Let's go." She adds. Booth tears his eyes from her and follows and she walks towards the door, catching up to her quickly and putting his arm around her shoulder. She glances up at him, a little curious about his gesture but she chooses not to say anything about it. If she does, he might take his arm away and she likes the feelings stirring in her as he pulls her closer to his body as they walk.
Xxxx
An hour later Booth pulls into the gas station the bus was spotted at. Syler is already present with his team and has the gas station owner and staff pulled to one side.
"Syler!" Booth calls to him as he and Brennan walk from the SUV.
"Booth, I had the video sent to the Jeffersonian. You really think your girl can get something off it?"
"If there's anything on that tape that will help, Angela will find it." Brennan responds. She has complete faith in her friend and she knows Angela has been waiting for her chance to help with the case.
"The owner here says the bus pulled two nights ago. He thought it was odd since buses don't normally stop for gas, especially that late in the day, but the guy who paid told him he was taking the bus to a garage for repairs." Syler explains. He gestures for the gas station owner to come over.
"This is Stevie White." Syler introduces. "Agent Booth and Dr Brennan."
"What did he look like? The man you spoke to." Brennan asks quickly, her eyes widening with the thought that the man standing before her spoke with her captor.
"He was average. Brown hair, brown eyes…I think." Stevie nods. "He seemed normal to me." Brennan glances at Booth, her startled eyes conveying her feelings. She can't believe that someone who kidnaps people, buries them and leaves them to die, could seem 'normal'.
"Did he talk to you much?" Brennan asks.
"Nah, just said he was real upset he had to drop the bus off because it was keeping him from his girlfriend." Stevie smiles.
"Did he tell you her name?" Booth asks curiously.
"Temperance." Stevie nods. I remember because it's a unique name." As the words come out of Stevie's mouth, Brennan's face loses all colour and she backs away from the group, feeling like she's been punched in the stomach.
"Are you sure?" Booth asks, almost a little harshly.
"I'm sure. He seemed real eager to get back to her."
"Mr White, did you see anyone else on the bus?" Booth asks.
"I wasn't looking." Stevie replies. "And it was dark. There could have been." He shrugs.
"Did you see which direction the bus drove off in after leaving here?"
"It carried on down the highway." Stevie turns and indicates the direction with his arm.
"Okay, thank you Mr White." Booth shakes his hand and backs away from the group to find Brennan. He knows Stevie's revelation must have shocked her and in her current state she is probably freaking out a bit.
Brennan stands by the SUV, one hand braced on the door, her head hanging down as she takes deep breaths. She feels a panic attack coming on but she desperately wants to stop it, knowing she doesn't have time for one. As she draws in ragged breaths, she feels a hand on her back.
"Just breath Bones." Booth says softly as he begins to rub her back. "That's it." Booth soothes. "You're okay, you're okay." He continues to rub soft circles on her back as Brennan takes control of her body and prevents a full blown panic attack hitting her.
After a few minutes, Brennan stands up straight and turns to Booth.
"Thank you." She says quietly. Booth merely nods in response then guides Brennan to the passenger door. He pulls it open and gestures for her to get inside. Once she is seated, he jogs around and climbs into the drivers' seat.
"Where are we going?" Brennan asks.
"Next town over, to talk to the local officers. If the bus passed through here two nights ago, and the Gravedigger gave the victims 48 hours to live, he has to have buried the bus nearby. He wouldn't have had time to take it much further."
"That makes sense." Brennan nods. "I'll call Hodgins, see if he can get some maps of the area." She pulls out her cell as Booth takes them out onto the highway. He can't help but glance over at her frequently. This case is more than taking its toll on his partner. She almost had another panic attack and she looks ready to drop. Yet he knows trying to get her to rest would be futile and he's better to just let her get on with things. He decides at that moment not to leave her side for a moment, in case she needs him.
xxxxx
An hour later Booth pulls into the Sheriff's station at the next town. He and Brennan make their way inside to be met with a scene of activity.
"Can I help you?" one of the officers asks.
"We're looking for the Sheriff." Booth states.
"He's out back." The officer gestures. "Is this an emergency? We're kinda swamped right now."
"We're with the FBI." Booth pulls out his badge.
"They sent the FBI to help with this?" the officer looks confused.
"What's this?" Brennan asks.
"We had a report of an explosion almost two days ago. Problem is we haven't been able to localise the explosion." Brennan looks at Booth and together the pair realise what this means. The Gravedigger buried the bus by causing an explosion.
"I need to see the sheriff immediately." Booth demands.
"Uh, sure. I'll get him for you." The officer backs away and disappears through as door, leaving Booth and Brennan in the front office. They take the opportunity to look at the large map the officer had been scrutinising when they came in.
"Virginia has a lot of caves." Brennan points them out on the map. "An explosion in one of the caves would cause rock material to block the entrance and cut the bus off from an air supply." Booth is about to respond when the booming voice of the sheriff interrupts.
"What can I do for the FBI?"
"We're here in relation to the explosion." Booth explains. "A serial killer has kidnapped five people from Washington and we believe he has buried the bus he stole with those people inside somewhere in the caves."
"You're kidding right?" the Sheriff asks with a grin.
"Do we look like we're kidding?" Brennan asks sternly. She glares at the Sheriff.
"Uh, I…well we don't know exactly where the explosion took place. Several people reported a loud boom and some folks living out of the city said it felt like an earthquake."
"I'll get Hodgins on the phone. Maybe he can work out the location of the explosion from the intensity of the reports filed with the sheriff." Brennan pulls out her phone and gets Hodgins back.
Xxxx
While Booth talks with the Sheriff, Brennan sits at one of the desks in the office and relays information from the reports before her to Hodgins.
"The first report seems to be the one where the explosion was most felt." She says before giving Hodgins the address. Based on the loudness of the explosion and any earth movement reported by the residents, Hodgins meticulously plots the reports on an electronic map of the caves of Virginia back at the lab in Washington D.C. Finally he makes a few clicks of the mouse and…
"Yes!" he jumps out his seat and punches his arm in the air.
"You got something Jack?" Brennan asks anxiously.
"Based on the reports you just gave me, the explosion had to have been at Organ Cave."
"Are you sure." Brennan asked as she bit down on her lip.
"As sure as I can be." Hodgins replies.
"Thanks." Brennan snaps the phone shut and turns to Booth, gathering up the reports as she stands. "Booth, Hodgins believes the explosion was at Organ Cave."
"How'd he come up with that?" the Sheriff asks, scratching his head.
"I'll explain later, Booth we need to go….now!"
"Right, Sheriff, you'd better call out all available emergency services." Booth orders as he and Brennan make their way to the door. "We're going to need equipment to move large rocks and boulders as well as paramedics and fire fighters."
"Uh sure thing." The Sheriff nods. He watches as Booth and Brennan hurry out of the office and to their vehicle, tearing off at break neck speed in the direction of Organ Cave.
