Hacker walked over to a stairway and overlooked the large room in front of him. Since the Hoover building bombings, the surviving members of the FBI were moved to share a building with the CIA in Langley, VA. It wasn't ideal, but it sufficed until a new FBI building was built. Below Hacker, 87 FBI agents sat at desks looking through paperwork rescued from the Hoover building. Hacker knew that it would occupy most of his agents only leaving a trusted few to "investigate" the Hoover building bombings. He smiled in delight at the power he felt over his agents especially one agent in particular….
Booth was sitting below him sharing a table with a younger FBI agent. He had his feet on the table while flipping through copies of an old homicide case. He seemed so relax that it bothered Hacker. He needed Booth to fear him to stop Booth from ever accusing him of any involvement in the bombings.
Besides the fact that a few of his favorite knick nacks had been destroyed, the bombings had gone according to plan.
Feeling in a good mood, Hacker decided to mess with Booth. He walked down the stairway while watching Booth. Booth was smiling and chatting with the other agent at the table. He wasn't squirmy like he had been before. It was time to strike some fear in the agent.
"Agent Booth," Hacker stated as he approached the table. Booth leaned back in his chair and said, "Morning, Hacker."
Let the games begin, thought Hacker.
"Agent Smith, would you give us a moment?" Hacker asked. As the younger agent bolted, Hacker leaned on the table ready to challenge Booth. There was a spark in Booth's eyes ready to take the challenge.
"As you know, the Jeffersonian will be identifying bodies that weren't recognizable from the bombings. I believe Dr. Brennan will be involved in the investigation along with her team," stated Hacker. Booth's relaxed expression was beginning to irritate him.
"Yes, sir. I was planning on heading over there in about 20 minutes."
"No, you won't. Until the investigation into the bombings is complete, you will be working on cold cases. I believe that it would be best the best thing for you, right now." Booth sat up and stared directly into Hacker's eyes.
"I understand, sir," he answered. Hacker hesitated before getting up and leaving. He had challenged Booth and lost. Trying to control Booth would be much harder than he thought.
About an hour later, Booth, Hodgins, and Sweets were in the Ancient Ruins wing of the Jeffersonian. Booth glanced up at a brightly colored sarcophagus in admiration. Sweets was sitting next to a glass display organizing sheets of paper in a file. Hodgins walked to the doorway of the wing then closed the door. He approached Sweets with a paranoid expression on his face.
"He broke off your partnership with Dr. B?" he exclaimed. Booth shifted his position and stated, "According to him, it is until the investigation into the bombings is complete. Since he is running the investigation and is the mastermind behind it, it could be months or even years before I could work with you guys again. "
Sweets replied, "He's suspicious of you, Agent Booth. It's the only reason why he would sever the partnership. He basically just cut you off from the evidence in the case. How many agents are doing the investigation?"
"6. Everyone else is either on medical leave or trying to organize and salvage any papers that weren't burned to ashes."
"There you go. Those 6 agents might even be involved in the bombings as well. He picked only 6- he probably picked agents that he could manipulate or force into helping him. "
"Ok. Did you get any evidence back from the building, Hodgins?" asked Booth.
"No, as soon as we are finished here, I have to head over the scene and meet Brennan, Angela, and one of the interns there. But I was talking with a few friends I have over at the FBI-"
"You have friends at the FBI?"
"Hey, I may be a conspiracy nut, but I am allowed to have friends at the FBI. Anyway, they said that Hacker had convienently went to his car to go "look for his wallet" right before the bombs went off. That contradicts what he told the media about him being in the building at the time."
Suddenly, Booth's phone rang. He checked it and saw that Brennan was calling him. He waved Hodgins and Sweets away and answered the phone. Both men left allowing Booth privacy in the wing.
"Hello?" Booth asked.
"Hey, you." It was Brennan. She sounded sad which concerned Booth.
"Baby, are you ok?"
"Yes and no. I'm at the Hoover building and there is barely anything left. I could not imagine what it must have been like. "
"You shouldn't. I'm alright, Bren."
"I known, but….."
"What?"
"I understand that you believe Hacker is behind the bombings, but Booth, I just don't see it. He said that he was in the building and I trust him. Booth, you know me, I need evidence. I-"
"You don't believe me?"
"I-I need evidence, Booth."
"Bren, just tell me. Do you believe me when I say that Hacker was behind the bombings?"
Brennan hesitated and bit her lip. She could feel the tension between the two of them. Booth muttered, "Ok," then hung up. Brennan put her phone in her bag and turned around to see Angela staring at her, worried.
She asked, "Is everything ok between you and Booth?"
Brennan mustered up a smile and stated, "Everything is fine, Ange. Let's get to work."