The Pain.
2 weeks later. Brennan and Zack are on the platform going over remains from Limbo.
"The carbon isotopic composition of the collagen, shows a value of minus 16%." Brennan said focused on the bones.
"Supporting the theory that the deceased was born in Provence, France." Zack confirmed.
Hodgins, Angela, Cam and Sweets join them on the platform dressed in black.
"It's time, Dr. Brennan." Hodgins said sadly.
"The metacarpal phalangeal joints are smooth, showing dexterity. Perhaps a musician..." Brennan said ignoring him.
"That's enough. We're going. Now." Angela said seriously.
"I have remains to identify. He could have a family." Brennan said not moving.
"He's 500 years old. They've probably adjusted by now."
"I'm not going. I've already made that clear." Brennan said writing in the file.
"It's Agent Booth's funeral, Dr. Brennan. Losing a loved one is –" Sweets said taking a shot.
"A partner, Sweets. I lost a partner." She clarified, feelling like someone just stabbed her in the chest.
"Someone close to you. …The funeral allows you to grieve so you can come to terms with his death." Sweets said gently.
"The Arunta Aboriginal tribe in Australia grieve by burning down their village and… and moving to a new one. That seems no crazier to me than gathering around a hole in the ground."
"Being hostile won't –"
Angela touched his shoulder, stopping him from talking. "Brennan...a word." She gave Sweets a look that said 'lay off, I've got this'.
"Excuse me? Professional psychologist."
Angela ignored him and pulls Brennan aside. "Look. I know how you see things, and I respect that, but I need to ask you a favor. " she said holding up Booth's funeral card. "I have to go to the funeral. I'm not going to be able to get through this alone. …I've been crying for, like, days. I really need your shoulder here. I need my best friend."
Brennan sighed giving in.
30 minutes later. Arlington National Cemetery. Everyone is gathered around a casket and Caroline is giving the eulogy.
"I knew Seeley Booth. He was a good man who earned my respect and affection. And I don't like many people." She joked getting a few small laughs. "Booth had a selfless commitment to his work, first in the military and then the FBI. Two weeks ago, he made the ultimate sacrifice – giving his life to save his partner. And in the brave act, he showed us what greatness we are all capable of…"
"she was aiming at me. …I should have taken that bullet." Brennan said uncomfortably.
"I know." Angela nodded.
"May God's mercy and love shine on Seeley Booth as he takes his place beside the Lord." Caroline finished sadly stepping down.
"If there were a merciful God, why wouldn't he have saved Booth?" Brennan asked frustrated.
Drums start playing as the officers prepare to fire their weapons.
"standby!... ready!" one of the officers called and the men followed the orders watching as a man stepped forward towards the coffin.
"Aim!" the officer called.
Booth pushes through Zack and Sweets and punches the man, knocking him to the ground.
"What the hell is going on?" Brennan exclaimed watching as they fight, the casket being knocked to the ground and springing open revealing a dummy.
"They appear to be fighting." Zack said watching.
The man punches Booth to the ground and Brennan grab the dummy's arm and uses it to knock out the man and moves towards Booth angrily.
"Bones! Nice shot." He said smiling and standing. "What?" he asked confused by her anger.
Brennan hits him and walks away, still pissed off and Booth groans rubbing his chin.
Back at the lab. Booth follows Brennan out of her office.
"I'm sorry Bones. After I got shot, the Bureau faked my death so I could finally get that guy."
"I don't care." She said not wanting to hear it.
"Look, I drove him underground. He said the only way that we would ever see him again would be at my funeral, so..." he explained.
"I don't care." She said walking up onto the platform.
"Who is he?" Hodgins asked curiously.
"that's none of your business. What part of 'National Security' don't you understand, Hodgins?"
"'National Security' is a catch-all phrase for 'we can do anything we want'" Hodgins said incredulously.
"I knew I shouldn't have gone to that funeral. It was a complete waste of time, just like I said." Brennan said picking up the file.
"Wait a second… you thought that my funeral was a waste of time?" he said stunned and turning towards her again.
"I thought it was a lovely service, Booth." Cam said looking up.
"Just know I won't be attending your next funeral." Brennan said coldly.
"Bones, I'm sorry. I'm telling you. You were supposed to know that I wasn't really dead. I swear! That's why I thought you weren't crying!" he apologized again.
"Informed by who… exactly?" Cam asked curiously.
"I gave a list of people to the bureau to inform that I was not really dead. You know, if they didn't tell you, it's not my fault." He said growing defensive now.
"Dr. Brennan's actually upset because she had to face strong emotions that she'd rather deny. Striking Agent Booth, indicated the depth of your feelings for him. It was a very passionate act." Sweets said matter-of-factly.
"Thank you!" he said looking back to Brennan. "Did you hear that? Passion!"
"the only passion I have is to get as far away from you as possible." Brennan said walking into her office and locking the door behind her. She slid down the door and started sobbing uncontrollably.
Angela descended the stairs and slapped him across the face "y'know Booth, personally I'm happy you're alive but you're a real asshole." Angela walked away and Hodgins went after her, glaring at him on his way past.
Zack just stared momentarily then walked away.
Booth looked to Cam. "Are you gonna hit me too Cam?"
"Don't think I don't want to Seeley because I want to hit you so hard you'll never even be able to consider having any more children. …but I'm not going to do that. Because you're a good person and I know the guilt of your own actions will do that for me." She said pushing past him and into her office.
Booth turned angrily to see the only person left was Sweets. "…I'm gonna go." He said turning and leaving, knowing he didn't want him there right now. Booth sighed sitting on the steps to the platform.
Late that night. Booth is lounging in the tub, sipping beer from his beer helmet when Brennan barges in.
"I need to talk to you!" she said turning off his record player.
"What the hell, Bones! I'm in my house, in my bathroom, in my bathtub! How the hell did you get in here anyway?"
"I have a key, you ass. Remember you gave it to me the night before you 'died'?" she said throwing it at him. A long awkward silence set in and after a moment, Brennan relaxed herself and asked. "…Why are you wearing a hat that dispenses beer?"
"…Hot tub… plus cold beer equals warm beer. Hat? Equals solution." He explained. "So why are you –"
"not to mention the cigar…. I've told you before, they're very unhealthy."
"What the hell do you want now, Bones? You tell me to stay away and that's what I do, then you burst in here and …"
"And?" she demanded.
"and you're really killing my buzz."
"You should have told me that you weren't dead." She said angrily.
"I already explained this to you. The bureau has to vet everyone when there is a security issue. I was just following protocol." He said with a sigh.
"Protocol!?" she exclaimed fully pissed off now.
"Yes! Protocol!"
"I am sick and tired of hearing about the stupid protocol! YOU should have told me yourself."
"I DIDN'T have a choice." He said standing frustrated.
"yes you did! We've been partners for years, Seeley, and you've broken protocol before, usually putting my life in danger. …Which makes sense because you clearly don't have any real concern for me."
"I took a bullet for you!" he shouted.
"Once! That only goes so far." They stared at each other for a long minute. "Would you like a towel?" she said her eye flicking down then back up as she realized he was naked.
He grabs his towel, wraps it around his waist, and takes off the beer helmet. "Fine. What is it that I should have done? Wha- what did you want me to do Temperance?"
"You could have called, Seeley! And if you really loved me you would have found a way to let me know you were alive!" she accused. They were silent for a long time as Booth tried to ignore the comment that lingered in the air. "…Did you really think I needed to be vetted by your boss? I mean, don't you trust me?" she asked more calmly.
Stepping out of the tub. "Of course I do." He said seriously.
"Then why wasn't I told Seeley!?" Brennan asked tears forming. "I've spent the last two weeks mourning your death… bawling my eyes out because …I watched you die, Seeley. … you were shot …I had your blood on my hands and I thought that you were dead. …Now tell me why I wasn't told Seeley because I really want to know."
"Tempe I don't know why you weren't told. You were at the top of my list" he said looking her in the eyes. "…But I will find out." He promised kissing her lightly and she pushed him away. "and the next time I die, I promise that I will tell you myself" he joked hoping to raise her spirits.
"I'll look forward to that." She said with a small smile and walking out.
"I need something stronger than beer." He sighed looking down at the key in his hand.
The next morning at the lab. Brennan was finishing up on the Limbo bones as Booth watched when Zack walked up.
"Dr. Brennan? Someone left a package for you." He said handing her a package with her name handwritten on it in and nothing else. She opened it to find a wooden box containing a mandible and two silver screws.
"Oh!" Booth said standing.
"…It's a mandible."
"… Look at that. …Two silver screws."
"Silver screws as in..." Hodgins asked hoping she wasn't thinking what he was.
"Silver skeleton." Angela said eyes wide.
"As in.."
"Gormogon" Cam confirmed from behind him.
"That's speculation." Brennan said examining the mandible more closely. "Tooth marks."
"Someone's been snacking on him." Booth said looking over her shoulder.
"Snacking? As in cannibalism?" Cam checked.
"Evidence of cannibalism does not necessarily mean-" she rationalized.
"Bones, it's Gormogon…. it has to be." Booth said cutting her off.
"Oh, god. Who has he eaten this time." Cam said disturbed.
A few hours later. The team is gathered around a television watching Sweets on the news.
"This is the fifth known victim in the Gormogon murders, all of which have been subjected to ritualized cannibalism.
"He has apprentices?" the female reporter asked.
"…Yes. One at all times to help perform the murders, dispose of the bodies, eradicate evidence. …His mission, it seems, is to construct a complete skeleton out of the bones of his…"
"I've seen enough." Cam said turning the TV off before he was able to finish.
"Booth?" Brennan asked looking up at the platform as he paced infront of it.
"Bones, I'm thinking here." He said not looking up.
"Thinking about what exactly?" she asked growing frustrated.
"well, it's a pickle. The platform's a crime scene but we need to access it to investigate the crime." Cam explained.
"A 'have your cake and eat it too' situation." Angela nodded.
"Is it a cake or a pickle?" Zack asked confused.
"It's Schrodinger's Cat." Hodgins explained to Zack as he spun in his chair. *
"Oh, That I understand. Cakes and pickles mean nothing to me."
"Are you paralyzed by the paradox, Booth?" Brennan asked mildly patronizing.
"I'll make this easy. What do you need first?" Cam asked Booth.
"Identity."
"alright. Let's go people." She said going under the tape and up onto the platform followed by everyone else.
"Whoa. Hey, easy! you can't really…ok." He sighed giving in and following them up.
"Okay, the tooth sockets may contain enough tissue to check DNA." Cam said as they huddled around the skull.
"Zack, there are markings on this bone that need to be checked out." Brennan delegated.
"It appears to have been boiled." Zack observed.
"I'll see if I can pull any mineral traces that can help us determine the water he used." Hodgins offered.
They disperse and go about their tasks.
Okay. I, uh, give you all permission to do whatever it is that you squints do. I'll, uh, just…" he brakes the crime scene tape on the stairs and starts backing down. "Call me when you get something." He turns to the agents. "Let's go. "
A little while later. Zack was examining the mandible. "The markings were made by someone wearing dentures." He informed Cam as she was reading the DNA results.
"Well, a toothless cannibal just can't cut it in today's competitive serial killer climate." She joked, uncomfortably. "…How do you know he wore dentures?"
"Zack found traces of polymethylmethacrylate monomer tetrasalisic floramicha on the mandible." Hodgins explained.
"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume that's what dentures are made of." Cam said dialing.
"But not normal commercial dentures you get from the dentist. The main ingredient is polymethyl methacrylic." Hodgins explained. "meaning these dentures were homemade."
"I got our victims DNA results back." Cam told Booth. "it's the lobbyist."
"…I'll be right there" he said hanging up.
"Dr. Saroyan. Regarding the denture medium, if we recreate the process it could tell us a lot about Gormogon's resources." Hodgins hinted.
"if you want to do one of your experiments, just say it." She said rolling her eyes.
"We want to do one of our experiments." They said in unison.
"…Go! Make plastic, cannibal dentures." She said smiling.
Brennan's office. Booth, Brennan and Sweets are talking.
"You should place the jawbone in the skeleton." Sweets advised.
"Why?" Brennan asked surprised by his advice.
"Because it keeps a live and interactive relationship with the killer. That's why he provided the screws. You know, we give him something, he reciprocates." Sweets explained.
"yeah but how would he know if we added the jawbone to the skeleton?" Booth asked finding the flaw in his plan.
"it's his obsession. He has a way of finding out… which is another reason to do it."
"for all we know, Gormogon is dead and we're not on the list of people who get to find that out." Brennan said walking out and heading for the stairs, the guys right behind her.
"There's s cry for attention." Sweets pointed out.
"Bones broke into my house last night, all angry-"
"I didn't break in. I used a key!" Brennan said annoyed by the fact that she was being followed.
"because no one told her that I was dead. And I was just following protocol." He continued ignoring her comment.
"Broke into your house?" sweets asked surprised.
"I used a key." She repeated anger mounting.
"And barged into my bathroom." He nodded.
Sweets laughed. "What were you doing?"
"He was drinking beer and reading a comic book." Brenna informed him.
"I was taking a bath." Booth corrected.
"You read comics and drink beer naked?"
"Wait a second. Bones bursts into MY bathroom, alright, and I'm weird for being naked?" he asked confused.
"So you didn't tell her to leave? You just sat there, naked?"
"stood there. " Brennan corrected.
"It was my own bathroom, okay? What do you wear in the tub? Floaties?" he shot getting defensive.
Meanwhile in Hodgins's office.
"Ready for the monomer?" he asked Zack.
"Yes. I believe so. The mold is over there on the side table."
"Why don't you get the mold and I'll mix in the monomer?" Hodgins suggested.
"No. I'll mix it in. Please hand me the monomer, then the mold."
"Since when did I become the assistant?" he asked annoyed as he handed the ingredients to Zack.
"Since I became the uncontested 'King of the Lab'."
Hodgins rolls his eyes as he walks away and Zack puts the monomer into the pot, causing an explosion. The alarms sound and Booth, Brennan and Sweets run toward its source.
"Hodgins!" Brennan said running to him and kneeling to help.
"I'm alright. I'm alright. I'm okay. " he said sitting up and looking to Zack. His hands are still through the Plexiglas and badly burned, his breathing heavily. Booth digs him out from under the debris of the explosion.
"Oh my god. Zack?" Brennan moved over to him as Cam ran in.
"A medical teams on its way. Oh my God… I'll get the burn kit." She said running back out.
"Is he okay?" Brennan asked worried.
"He's in shock, Bones. Look at his hands."
"oh my God" she said looking down at his sadly.
The ICU of the hospital. The whole gang is sitting with him when Zack wakes up.
"Hey. How are ya, Zack?" Hodgins said softly.
"Quite severely injured. Are you alright?" he asked drowsily.
"I'm okay, man." He reassured him.
"Hey, anything you need, Zack. Just ask." Angela said smiling down at him.
"Do you know how this happened?" Cam asked hoping that might be able to help with something.
He shook his head. "I just added the 3 grams of monomer."
"But that doesn't make sense. There are no dipoles like amide or carbonyl in the monomer. Were there?" Hodgins asked confused.
"No. Just simple phenylethene."
"That's what I thought. And the PMMA was just-"
"Hodgins. He has third degree burns." Booth said giving him a look that said this wasn't the time.
"The doctor said you should rest, Zack." Brennan said looking from Hodgins back to him.
"She's right. Hey. We're gonna figure this out, okay?" Hodgins promised.
"And you won't be alone, Zack. One of us will be here all the time." Cam said reassuringly.
"no. that's not necessary." He said seriously.
"Yes it is. Because we love you. I'll take the first shift." Angela volunteered.
"And I'll write us a schedule." Cam said standing.
"I'll get you whatever you need to keep your job. We'll get through this." Brennan promised.
"Thank you, Dr. Brennan." He said grateful. Brennan gets up and kisses him on the forehead, then leaves with Booth.
Back at the lab. Sweets is on the phone in the hallway near Brennan's office.
"Yes. I'm busy. Cancel all my patients. You don't have to tell them anything just tell them I cant today."
Booth comes up behind Sweets takes his phone and hangs up before he begins to drag him towards Brennan's office.
"What are you doing?" he asked confused.
"A word?" Booth asked not giving him a choice.
"I was on the phone. …Ah, tight grip you got there…" he said as Booth pushed him through the door.
"And it could get tighter. So go ahead. Tell her." Booth said pushing Sweets down onto the couch.
"Tell her what?" sweets asks confused.
"Tell me what?" Brennan asked walking over from her desk.
"Tell her now." Booth ordered.
"What?" he asked looking confused still.
"Fine. I'll tell her. Okay? I sent my list to the bureau. They sent it to Sweets. You were the one who decided not to tell Dr. Brennan that I was still alive. He's the one that you should have slugged, so do it. Go ahead and do it now." Booth said angrily looking between them.
"What? You choose not to tell me?" she asked offended.
"…Yes, it's true. Technically."
"Technically?" Booth asked giving him a threatening look.
"Okay, I reviewed the list and decided, knowing Dr. Brennan as I do, that she was in fact able to handle your death." He defended.
"Slug 'em." Booth said looking to Brennan.
"It was a National Security issue. The fewer people that knew Agent Booth was alive, the safer he would be." Sweets continued hoping she wouldn't hit him.
Brennan was quiet for a long moment and Booth could tell she was trying to figure out how to objectively handle this situation. "…I think that was a good choice."
"You do!?" Booth asked stunned.
She gave him a look. "Yes." Then looked back to Sweets. "You knew that Booth's death was something that I could deal with because I can compartmentalize." She said purely rational.
"Whoa. Wait a minute. Now why are you mad at me then?" Booth asked confused.
"Because you should have told me, personally." She said obviously mad at him still.
"Oh, I should have just ignored National Security concerns, broken the law and told you." He said sarcastically.
"Yes. You know I'm very trustworthy." She nodded.
"Yeah, but Sweets..."
"Sweets made a professional decision. He knew I could process your death and move on. …which is precisely what I did." She said playing the cold and unfeeling role.
"That's right." Sweets defended weakly.
"There's gotta be other stuff going on here, right?" Booth said looking at Sweets now.
"What?"
"Transference…. paranoia. Come on! I mean, when I offer her a piece of pie you say it has deeper meaning." He said to Sweets confused expression.
"I don't like pie, Booth." Brennan pointed out.
"Well, apple pie. She doesn't like baked pie." He clarified.
"I don't like my fruit cooked." She nodded.
"… Okay, changing the subject is a way to avoid your feelings." Sweets accused.
"My feelings. Okay, now you're attacking my feelings?" he said as Cam appeared in the doorway.
"There's something in the Gormogon vault I think you should see."
"slug 'em." Booth said walking out.
"You know, I think it's interesting, psychologically how Agent Booth's constant efforts to persuade you to enjoy fruit pie could be interpreted as a kind of seduction." Sweets said standing.
Brennan rolled her eyes and followed Booth out.
"whatever you two are talking about? Just stop it. Zip it. Let's go" he said annoyed with Sweets and they followed.
Brennan stops Sweets on the stairs when Booth and Cam are out of earshot. "You think I don't recognize an experiment when I see one? You experimented on us." She accused.
"Beg your pardon." He said surprised.
"Not telling me Booth was alive? You wanted to quantify our reactions for your own research? You took advantage of us. Booth and I agreed to let you observe us. We did not agree to be used as lab rats, so you better cut it out." She said pissed off.
"Dr. Brennan, why are you talking so fast?"
"Because if Booth hears why you did what you did? He'd kick your ass. And as much as I would enjoy seeing that happen I don't want to see him fired."
"don't you think that'd be an overly aggressive act?" Sweets asked going shrink again.
"Not at all. So you better not do it again." She said smiling.
"Let's go, Bones. Where are you?" Booth called.
"On our way" Sweets called back. And they go down the stairs catching up.
"Security had the entrance to this wing locked and the vault, itself, was secured." Cam said as they walked into the vault.
"The skeleton." Brennan said stunned. "Where'd it go?"
"We don't know. I came down to see if the screws matched the silver in the skeleton and the skeleton was gone." Hodgins said standing.
"But there are security cameras and sensors covering every inch of this place." Sweets pointed out.
"They all failed."
" All of them?" Booth asked confused. "how?"
"When Zack's explosion set off all the alarms, every security camera in the building failed." Cam explained.
"The door to the loading dock was unlocked." Hodgins added.
"Someone stole the skeleton" Cam said pulling up the footage on the screen. "The explosion occurred at 12:03 and 22 seconds and after that… nothing"
"Aren't there any backup systems?" Booth asked looking over her shoulder.
'All dead too." She nodded.
"Where were the guards?" Brennan asked confused as to why the vault was left unguarded.
"There was a chemical accident. That takes precedence over any other security issue. All personnel went to secure the lab or went to secure any point that went to the museum property so there'd be no loss of life." Cam explained.
'During that time, the vault and the skeleton would be unsecured." Brennan sighed.
"Yes, until the security system was brought back up at 12:18 and 41 seconds. The explosion was a diversion set up by Gormogon."
"He's here in the lab. It's an inside job. Gormogon works at the Jeffersonian." Booth said with a sigh and began to pace.
"Either Gormogon or his new apprentice." Brennan nodded.
Booth takes out his phone and dials. "Yeah, it's Booth. Listen, I need a full forensic team sent to the Jeffersonian. Mobile labs, computers, analysis- the works" he shakes his head. "….No. Their equipment could be compromised."
An hour later. Booth and Brennan were sitting in the diner after being kicked out of the lab pending investigation of who stole the skeleton.
"The Medico-Legal lab has over 100 employees."
"Yeah, and all their records are being looked at including yours and mine." Booth sighed as their food was brought over.
"What, you're just having coffee? Don't you want pie?" she said surprised.
He shook his head "I'm fine."
"But you always have pie."
"Can we stop talking about pie?"
"is this because of what Sweets said? Because Sweets is an idiot."
"I'm just going pie-less. Okay?" he said giving her a look as Sweets walks over to them.
"Can we talk for a minute? I have a profile of someone I feel could be Gormogon." He said noticing Booth only had coffee. "No pie? You always eat pie."
"Enough with the pie, just sit down."
"Alright." He said sitting. "I've been looking into the possibilities of who could be Gormogon and through careful observation I have an idea."
"Whoa! You've been spying on us? …Another experiment"
"What experiment?" Booth asked confused.
"I'm just being thorough. The dynamics of our work environment play a role in how I treat you and Agent Booth."
"Okay, Sweets. Will you just get on with it? Who is it?" Booth asked still confused by Brennan's reaction.
"I believe it's Dr. Hodgins." He admitted.
"you think Hodgins is Gormogon?" Booth said incredulously.
"Hodgins exhibits clinical paranoia as well as a rationalized feeling of superiority." Sweets explained.
"Paranoia?" Brennan asked confused.
"Yes. He's consumed by numerous conspiracy theories. And today I learned that he's even suspicious of the FBI, with whom he works closely."
"That's all supposition. There's not concrete evidence." Brennan said growing annoyed by the accusation.
"No, no, no. let him finish." Booth said looking to Brennan then back.
"Booth!" Brennan said annoyance switching to anger with him.
"What? Hodgins knew all about the secret societies. I mean, he figured out the patterns Gormogon used that led us to the vault." Booth rationalized.
"He was doing his job!"
"Or justifying himself. He had access to all the chemicals Zack was using. He could have changed the labels." Sweets said putting up a possible scenario.
"He and Zack are friends he would never do that. …And by that logic it could have been any of us. I had access so did Cam. Why aren't we suspects?" she said standing.
"Well, you have a reverence for life that belies the cold, calculations of a killer. And the emotional connection you share with Agent Booth..."
"you know what I don't have time for this." She said walking out.
"seriously?" Booth said standing . You had to go there didn't you?" he said going after her.
Booth caught up to Brennan as they entered the lab.
"Look, he's just trying to help, Bones." He said trying to calm her down.
"he's wrong Seeley. You know it's not Hodgins"
"Tempe, he's a profiler with a great track record." He said stepping closer to Brennan.
"I don't care."
"don't care about what?" Cam asked curiously as she walked into Brennan's office.
"Sweets." Booth said taking a step back and looking at Cam. "Sweets says that Hodgins is the killer."
"Well, it makes sense." Cam nodded.
"What!?" Brennan exclaimed surprised.
"it throws suspicion off him."
"You think that Sweets is the killer?" Booth asked his interest piqued.
"listen, he shows up right after you find the Gormogon vault, when Gormogon's at his most vulnerable. And in therapy, he plays you two like a cheap piano until you ask for his help with the case." She offered.
"he doesn't play us."
"Hey! We all trusted the brilliant, young, profiler. I got him security clearance because he was gonna help us."
"He was here. He had the opportunity to switch Zack's chemicals." Brennan pointed out looking to Booth.
"Except he's not a chemist." Booth said with a sigh.
"But he's the only one we can't account for after the explosion. I was a cop for ten years. I can smell it on him." Cam said convinced.
"I'm sorry, but we need more than your gut feeling." Brennan said not believing her.
"Well, then find it. Cause trust me, Sweets is your boy." She said walking out.
The Royal Diner. The next morning . Sweets is sitting at the counter when Booth and Brennan enter.
"Hey." He said surprised to see them both there.
They take a seat on either side of him.
"Sweets where were you after the explosion?" Booth asked looking at him.
"I was with you."
"No. You were with us when the explosion occurred." Brennan specified.
"After that you were gone." Booth said a serious look on his face.
"I ran to call 911." He admitted.
"Where?" Brennan asked not really believing him.
"In your office. Why?"
"Then what?" Booth asked and Sweets turned to him.
"Then I went to the door to show the EMT's where to go."
"how come you didn't come in with them?" Brennan asked suspicion growing.
"I find it's best to stay out of the way of the professionals in those situations. Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot one thing."
"What's that?" Booth asked raising an eyebrow.
"I went down to the vault and I stole the silver skeleton because, um, I'm Gormogon's apprentice." He said sarcastically.
"That's a confession. You know, I can lock him up for 72 hours." Booth pointed out looking to Brennan
"You'd lock me up for sarcasm?" Sweets challenged.
"I think you should." Brennan said looking back at him.
"Wait. You guys actually think that I'm Gormogon's apprentice?" Sweets asked stunned.
"Well, somebody is. That way I can lock you up, check out your story and not worry about you running off to Bolivia." Booth said getting out his cuffs.
"Better safe than sorry." Brennan said with a nod.
"No. You're projecting, Agent Booth. You have a reasonable hostility toward Gormogon but you have no outlet for those feelings so you're using me—" Sweets said getting shrinky.
"Am I gonna have to use the cuffs?"
"You know what? Yeah. You are gonna need your cuffs cause I'm not about to make this easy for you." Sweets said standing.
"ok then." Booth said handcuffing him.
That evening. Brennan's phone rang with a call to meet Caroline in limbo right away.
"what is it?" she asked walking in.
"there is something I need to show you. The interns were still working on looking through the bones when they found something weird."
"how weird?" Brennan asked worried.
"you tell me." Caroline said leading her to a table with almost a dozen skulls on it, all of them missing their canines.
"All of the canines have been removed from these skulls. …Just the canines. …this is really weird."
"I want the security tapes from this room for the last 6 months."
"This room isn't covered." Brennan said looking up at her.
"Why not?" Caroline asked surprised.
"It's Limbo. …I need to re-examine the mandible Zack was working on before the explosion." She said getting a hunch and walking out.
Brennan walks onto the platform to find Cam examining the other bones found in Limbo.
"These appear to have been gnawed on too. They'll probably match the denture markings Zack found." She informed Brennan as she walked over picking up the mandible.
"They won't." Brennan sighed looking at it closely.
"You haven't looked at them yet." Cam said turning to her.
"Zack said these markings on the mandible were made by artificial dentures made from polymethylmethacrylate and other polymers. …These markings weren't made by artificial dentures. Zack should have known that."
"He made a mistake. It happens."
"Not often." Brennan shook her head walking into her office with the file. Cam watched her go, confusion evident on her face.
Booth walked in as Brennan was proving her theory on her computer.
"Hey. I heard Zack was wrong about the dentures." He said sitting on the edge of her desk.
"No." she shook her head.
"What do you mean?" Booth asked confused by her reaction.
"He knew they weren't artificial. Any first year student would know that." She said showing him a model on her computer. "The dentures were made from real teeth. All canines."
"Whoa." He said surprised.
"Canines are a symbol of the wolf which appears on the Gormogon tapestry in the vault. And certain ancient sects revere the wolf as a symbol of freedom. As a representative of the forces that will deliver us from persecution." She explained, beating around the bush.
"Okay, Bones. Enough about the wolf. What's going on?"
"Zack lied." She sighed. "He - he took the teeth from bone storage and he made Gormogon's dentures." She said staring at her hands.
"Zack has complete access to the lab. He arranged for the explosion himself." Booth nodded with a sigh.
"…It's Zack. He's the killer, Booth. It's Zack." She said fighting tears.
"yeah…" he said pulling her into a hug.
Within the hour Booth and Brennan arrived at the hospital. They stood there watching Cam read to him for a moment.
"The theory of conditional expressions is a non-profound generalization of propositional calculus." Cam read aloud from a calculus book.
"What does it say after 'Boolean forms'?"
Cam laughs. "Well, there's a little thing that looks like a Japanese stool then a B with a tail and a fat fish. Does this makes sense to you?" she asked completely confused.
"It doesn't to you?" Zack asked surprised.
"we have to do this" Booth said seriously. Brennan nodded and they walked in.
Cam laughs shaking her head.
"…Cam. I'm gonna need the room." He said with a sigh.
Cam turns to see Booth and Brennan in the doorway. Her face falls when she realizes why they're there. She looks back at Zack and then gets out of the chair and starts to head to the door. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask. Are you absolutely certain because- " she whispered.
Booth nods solemnly, in confirmation.
"I did not see that coming." She said with a sigh leaving the room.
"You looked at the mandible." Zack said looking at them.
"You had to know I'd see it eventually." Brennan sighed.
"I didn't foresee the extent of my injuries. I was going to sneak out of here but –" he confessed.
"Your friends never left your side." Brennan finished his sentence.
"And you intended to steal the jaw bone and add it to the silver skeleton." Booth added.
"But you designed the explosion. You must have known exactly how big it would be."
"Hodgins argued with me. He stood too close. The delay allowed the thermoplastic to reach the boiling point and as a result, the explosion was three times more powerful than I calculated." He admitted with a nod.
"You must have known how badly you'd be injured."
"Yes."
"Who's Gormogon, Zack?" Booth asked needing the answer.
"That's not what he's called." Zack shook his head.
"Then what is he called?"
"The Master."
"And you're his apprentice?" Brennan asked.
"I need a name." Booth insisted.
"I can't tell you. The apprentice is expendable. I'm expendable." Zack said scared.
"Who is he?" Booth pressed.
"Zack responds to logic, Booth." Brennan pointed out.
"Really? Cause I'd love to hear the logic of killing and eating people to change the world." Booth snapped frustrated.
"The Master's logic is irrefutable." He insisted. "If you knew what I know, you'd understand. You'd be proud of me."
"I've always been proud of you, Zack. I've never met anyone more rational or intelligent. But there's a fault in your logic." Brennan said sadly.
"With all due respect, you aren't cognizant of his logic."
"Assumption #1: Secret societies exist." Brennan stated.
"Accepted. Hodgins has been explaining this to me for years."
"Assumption #2: The human experience is adversely affected by secret societies."
"Accepted."
"Assumption #3: Attacking and killing members of secret societies will have an ameliorating effect on the human experience."
"Accepted."
"All of your assumptions are built upon a first principle, Zack. To wit: The historical human experience, as a whole, is more important than a single person's life." Brennan explained.
"Yes."
"Yet, you risked it all so you wouldn't hurt Hodgins." Brennan pointed out.
Zack lets this sink in and realizes that she is right, his logic was flawed.
"There's - You are correct. There is an inconsistency in my reasoning." He admitted a tear rolling down his cheek.
"Bones… I need a name." Booth said with a sigh.
"He first approached me three months ago at a symposium on burning plasma diagnostics."
"Zack, I need to know who this guy is. I need to go get him. Now." Booth pushed.
"I don't know his name. I've never known his name but I've been to his house. I was blindfolded when he first took me there. But, I remember every turn he took and I was able to estimate his speed. So when he brought me home, I found it on a map. It's in Bedding Ridge on a street called Savoy Crescent. It's a big place, almost as big as Hodgins' house but run down. There's a flight of stairs at the back – outside. There's a blue door. It'll be locked but there's a key hidden in the crevice to the left of the door just above eye level. You will see a hallway. If he's found someone, you will smell meat cooking and that's how you'll know you're getting close. One last door, and you'll have to be fast. He'll be at the bottom of an incline in the floor. He'll have a knife. He's very fast. And he's very strong."
"thanks Zack." Booth said walking out and pulling out his phone.
A couple hours later. Caroline and a few others are talking to Zack while the rest of the group stands outside the window watching.
"Did you get him?" Cam asked seeing Booth walk up.
Booth nodded. "Got him."
"Who was he, Booth?" Brennan asked barely curious as she looked through the window at Zack.
"Nobody. Am I right? He was nobody. An invisible man, angry at history for not seeing him." Sweets analyzed.
"For a nobody, he sure wrecked a lot of lives." Angela sighed
"Zack confessed to killing the Lobbyist – stabbed him in the heart." Caroline said walking out.
"He never ate anybody?" Angela asked hopeful.
"No." Caroline said grateful.
"So how did this happen?" Angela asked confused.
"Logic." Brennan said with an exhausted sigh.
"No. I'm sorry, Cherie. That might cut it with you eggheads, but this happened the way this always happens: a strong personality finds a weak personality and takes advantage. I hope we fry the guy." Caroline said pissed at the guy.
"That's not gonna be necessary." Booth said his arms crossed and his sleeves rolled up.
"Good riddance, I say."
"What'll happen to Zack?" Hodgins asked concerned.
"I cut a deal. …He pleads guilty, cooperates, and we find him non compos mentis. That way, Zack is moved to a secure psychiatric facility instead of going to prison."
"No, that won't stand up. Zack isn't actually insane." Sweets pointed out.
Booth grabs Sweets arm and pulls him away from the group. "I've been putting up with your stunts all week Sweets. So here's what gonna happen ok? You're gonna give this one to Bones and I'll keep pretending I didn't hear about your little experiment between Tempe and I. You understand?" he asked really not wanting to beat him up.
Sweets nodded, mentally noting that he called her 'Tempe'. "I understand."
"Good." Booth said relieved, patting him on the shoulder and they head back to join the group.
Brennan rests her head against Booth's shoulder, her hand on the window, the whole gang staring in at their friend, cuffed to the bed, an agent stationed next to him.
Late that night. Lounge Area of the Jeffersonian. Everyone is sitting around the table when Hodgins places a box on it.
"what's this?" Angela asks as Hodgins sat down next to her.
"Zack's things." He said with a sigh.
"y'know I probably could have spent more time with Zack. Maybe get him to see the world a bit more like everyone else." Booth said regretfully.
"All those things I say about secret societies and conspiracies, I never knew he was listening." Hodgins said as Angela laid her head on his shoulder, physically and emotionally exhausted like everyone else.
"I should have gotten him a girlfriend." She sighed.
"Ugh. You know what? The hell with Zack. He's an adult, he made his choices. People are who they are. There is nothing any of us could have done for the guy." Cam said shooting up and pacing angrily.
"We love Zack, Cam." Brennan said sadly, receiving a squeeze from Booth their hands laced behind her back.
"Yeah, well he killed someone. He deserves to be locked up for the rest of his life." Cam said anger mounting.
"I feel I must point out that what Dr. Saroyan just said is obviously her way of handling grief. She doesn't mean it. Quite the opposite, in fact." Sweets explained as Cam dropped back onto the couch next to him.
"I knew the day I met Zack, he'd cause me pain." She said letting her anger transform into sadness.
After a few moments of silence, Booth gets up to try to break the ice. "So, what do ya got there, Hodgins?"
"This is, uh, his favorite stuff."
"what are we gonna do with it." Angela asked.
"Where he's going, they might actually let him have it." Cam said strangely comforted by that fact.
Brennan watches as one by one the items are pulled out of the box as they reminisce about giving them to him.
Cam pulls out a trophy that says, 'Zack Addy – King of the Lab' "Oh, I got him that." Cam said smiling.
"Yeah, thanks. He waved that in my face every day." Hodgins said as he pulled a book out of the box. "Pocket Kama Sutra." Hodgins laughed. "I gave him this so he'd stop asking Booth sex questions."
"yeah thanks for that." Booth pulls out a harmonica and plays a few notes. "I got Zack this before he went to Iraq."
"Hey, I drew this for him." Angela said pulling out a caricature of Zack that read 'king of the Lab'
"It's interesting that all of his favorite things are objects you people gave to him." Sweets observed as Booth pulled an envelope from the box.
"I never gave him anything." Brennan said upset.
"Brennan, he totally loved you. I mean, as much as he was capable." Angela reassured her.
"But I never gave him anything." Brennan said standing and walking out.
Angela starts after her "Angela. I got this one." Booth promised following Brennan to the stairs where she sits down, head in her hands crying. Booth sits down next to her and starts reading the letter that he had pulled out of the box "'Dear Mr. Addy. It is my pleasure to offer you the post of my intern in Forensic Anthropology. I choose you from hundreds of applicants because of your knowledge, your desire to learn and because I feel you will find a home here.'" Booth tucked the letter back into the envelope and handed it to Brennan. "I think you gave him something great, Bones." He said as Brennan laid her head against him. He leans his head against hers.
"I should've been able to stop it Seeley. He looked up to me I should've seen it coming and taught him to be more emotional. None of this should have happened. It's all my fault." Brennan said guiltily.
"no its not. It's no one's fault Tempe. No one could have thought that this would ever happen. You taught him everything he knew and gave him the best thing anyone ever could… a family that loved him. You did great Temperance. Don't let anyone tell you differently."
Brennan pulled away looking at him and then pulling him into a long kiss, the tears falling freely now. "thanks Booth."
He nodded. "anytime, Tempe. …come on let me take you home." He suggested standing and offering a hand.
"I'd rather you took me to a bar." She said with a sigh taking it.
"nope. There will be no drinking tonight. Just some good old fashioned sleep." He said giving her a small Boothy grin.
Brennan couldn't help but smile. "ok."
Back at her apartment.
"so are you still mad at me for being dead?" he asked as they sat on the couch.
Brennan shook her head. "I was never mad. I was depressed, guilty, exhausted, but mostly I just felt numb. … like I wasn't capable of feeling anything anymore. That was the worst. I couldn't even be here most of the time because everything reminded me of you." She said the tears coming back. Booth pulled her into a hug holding her tightly. "promise you'll never let me go?"
"I promise."