Chapter 15: His Father's File
A/N This is my follow-up to The Fight in the Fixer. I want to believe that Aubrey brought this file to Booth for his advice on what he should do with the information. I hope we do get follow up on this before the end of the series. So, let me know what you think.
Brennan was maybe a little too gleefully in explaining via voicemail to Oliver that he had to remove her voice from his greeting because he was wrong, she was right; Christine had earned the E+ grades across the board, including in Art. They had confirmation from her teacher, so she was right to trust her daughter, Oliver was wrong to doubt her genius; when the doorbell chimed.
Booth crossed the room and opened the door to find Aubrey standing on his doorstep looking shaken. Booth waved Aubrey in. "What's going on, Aubrey? I thought you were meeting up with the gang at Founding Fathers."
"I was. I mean, I was there with them. Karen showed up." Waving the file clutched in his hand. "She'd brought my father's file."
"What? Okay, she's going too far. I can talk to her department head…" began Booth, but Aubrey interrupted.
"No, no it's okay. She's transferring to Oklahoma City on Monday so she shouldn't be a problem going forward; but she was right, I did need to see what's in this file." He waved the file in front of Booth again.
Booth gestured to the seating area, "Okay, here have a seat. What's in the file that is so important?"
Meanwhile Brennan had finished her message to Dr. Wells and joined the men in the living room. "Agent Aubrey, did you hear about Christine's perfect report card?"
"Yes I did. I always knew she was a genius. So where are the mini-Booths? Are they in bed already?"
"Yes, yes they are. They've both been asleep for a while. A good night's sleep is essential for a growing child, especially if you want them to do well in school. Although Christine will be quite disappointed to discover that she missed your visit."
"I'll have to make sure that next time I visit it's before her bedtime."
"I know she'd appreciate that." Brennan smiled.
"Okay, okay. That's not why you stopped by tonight. What's this about your father's file?" Booth cut-in.
"Yeah, you know the file Karen found with my father's name among the things we took in from Bowman's office? Well she brought it to me at Founding Fathers tonight, and she was right to think I needed to see it." Aubrey tossed the file onto the coffee table in front of the sofa. "Check it out."
Booth reached for the file. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I think you need to see it. I need your advice. Do you think it's something we need to bring to the attention of someone else in the FBI?"
"Why, do you think that?" Booth still hasn't opened the file, and instead is studying Aubrey's face.
"The file is not what I assumed. It's not an old file. This is something new; it was opened six months ago at my father's request. This file is on me. He apparently had Bowman following me, investigating me."
"What, why would he do that, what does it mean?" Brennan asked.
"I think my father is planning another scheme and is trying to figure out how he can use me."
Booth was looking through the file by this point. "That's a possibility Aubrey, but it might be something else." Booth was unsettled by what he was seeing, but also looking for a positive for his friend. "He might just be getting the lay of the land before reaching out to you. Maybe he wants to reconcile with you, and wants to see what your life is like before approaching you."
"That is a possibility. Max was keeping a watch on both Russ and me before he ever made his presence known. Of course, he only let us know he was still alive because we were investigating Mom's death. That investigation was stirring up danger. But anyway, he was trying to protect us by keeping watch, or having others keep watch over us."
"Well, while that might be a nice spin to put on this. I don't think it's the case this time." Aubrey spoke with a certain level of disappointed acceptance. "I think if you look through the file, you'll agree."
Booth who'd been studying the file throughout this exchange nodded. "Yeah, I have to agree with Aubrey. This file doesn't look like just checking to make sure he's okay, or just to find out what he's like now. This is the kind of file you compile before making a move on a mark."
Booth held the file out to Brennan, but looked to Aubrey and asked. "Do you mind?" before releasing it to her.
"No, I trust both of you more than anyone else I know." Booth released the file and once Brennan started reading, she saw not only the photos proving Aubrey had been followed for months, but also the comments, the reports from Bowman to his client that gave a pretty clear indication of what plans were in the works.
Booth leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. "Okay then, we need to start making plans. We'll begin looking for your father, but we need to plan so that when he makes his move we'll be ready for him."
The trio planned late into the night.