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Hodgins hadn't wasted any time. As soon as he saw Booth out of the vest he had left the back doorway and ran out into the yard. Stopping next to Booth, Hodgins got onto his knees and patted Booth on his back.
Looking towards the bomb squad disassembling the vest, Hodgins said, "Hey man, you're ok."
Nodding his head, Booth wiped his mouth with the back of his right hand and said, "I thought I told you to stay in the house."
Smiling, Hodgins said, "What and miss all of the fun out here? Let me help you back into the house."
Nodding his head, Booth started to stand with the help of Hodgins when he heard a quiet ringing sound coming from the area of the bomb squad. Looking over at Billy, Booth said, "What the Hell was that?"
Holding up a disposable phone, Billy said, "Apparently the bomber decided to set off the bomb. I thought you said we had at least another hour and a half."
Shrugging his shoulders, Booth said, "I just told you what he told me. Obviously we can't trust anything he says."
Laughing, Johnny said, "Damn Booth. Really?"
Shaking his head, Booth said, "I'm going into the house to get some Advil. I feel like my heads going to fall off."
Nodding his head, Billy said, "I can't imagine why."
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Booth had insisted that Hodgins look through his fridge to see if he could find what ever Pelant had used to drug him. Hodgins unloaded everything that Booth had used to make his sandwich last night on to the counter. He had also found part of the sandwich in the trash. Booth hadn't been very hungry and had only eaten half of the sandwich. Hodgins bagged up everything.
While Hodgins was conducting his investigation, Booth sat down on the couch with a cold wet wash cloth held against his forehead. His head was hurting and he thought the coolness would help.
Cullen, who had arrived a few minutes earlier, stepped into Booth's house and saw Booth sitting on the couch. Special Agent Hayes Flynn who had arrived at the same time as Cullen followed his boss through the doorway.
Walking over towards Booth, Cullen looked at Booth. He hadn't seen Booth in a few weeks and it disturbed him to see how tired and worn out Booth looked.
Sitting down next to Booth, Cullen said, "You look like shit."
Removing the cloth from his forehead, Booth said, "Thanks."
Looking at Flynn, Cullen said, "Well Agent Flynn, do you still think Pelant isn't a danger to anyone?"
Affronted, Flynn said, "I never said that Pelant wasn't a danger to anyone. I just felt that Dr. Brennan had the best motive for killing Ethan Sawyer and she and Agent Booth were using Pelant to draw the investigation away from her."
Throwing his wash cloth on the floor, Booth stood up and said, "You can get the Hell out of my house. I've had enough of you."
Not finished, Flynn said, "How do we know you didn't put that bomb on yourself so that we would take the heat off of you?"
Speechless, Booth stared at Flynn. Hodgins, overhearing Flynn, angrily walked out of the kitchen and said, "Look asshole, I was in the back yard when Pelant tried to set off the bomb. Booth was standing next to me and one of the bomb squad guys had the phone in his hand when it rang. I don't know how you managed to make it to Special Agent; but, as far as I'm concerned you're an incompetent son of a bitch who couldn't investigate his way out of a paper bag."
Stepping towards Hodgins, Flynn said, "And you can't be trusted any more than Booth can. You"
Angry, Cullen said, "Enough. That is quite enough, Flynn. Get back to the Hoover and wait in my office. It's time we had a little talk."
Seeing the anger clearly displayed on Cullen's face, Flynn shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm just doing my job." Turning around, Flynn left the house.
Turning to look at Booth, Cullen said, "What the Hell did you do to piss off Flynn?"
Shaking his head, Booth said, "Me? I've never even worked with the guy. He's only been in the D.C. office for about three months."
Looking at Hodgins, Cullen asked, "Don't you have a job to do?"
Glancing at Booth and then Cullen, Hodgins said, "Yeah, sure." Walking back into the kitchen, Hodgins kept his attention on the conversation going on in the living room.
Sighing, Cullen said, "Sit down Booth, we need to talk." Waiting until Booth had returned to his seat, Cullen said, "You know, I've stayed out of the investigation of the murder of Ethan Sawyer because of my friendship with you and Dr. Brennan; but, I think I shouldn't have done that. Flynn seemed to be doing a good job on the investigation, he's been backed by a staff psychologist. The Jeffersonian provided some proof that seemed to point to Dr. Brennan as being the primary suspect in Sawyer's death. Then she ran. You and I both know that innocent people don't usually run."
Holding up his hand, Cullen said, "Let me continue. On the other hand, the evidence has also pointed to Christopher Pelant for the murder of Ethan Sawyer. You and Dr. Brennan were making a case for him being a murderer before Ethan Sawyer's murder. With you and Dr. Brennan out of the way, Pelant has a good chance of getting away with the murder of a Danish citizen and the murder of Ezra Kane. If he could set up Dr. Brennan for the murder of Ethan Sawyer then he knew you would be taken off his case too. It's pretty clear that Pelant wanted the Jeffersonian taken out of the equation. Flynn included all of that in his reports. Pelant has been on Flynn's radar too although as a person of interest not the primary suspect in Sawyer's murder. Flynn has considered Pelant's previous alleged murders to be unconnected to the death of Ethan Sawyer."
Seeing that he had Booth's undivided attention, Cullen continued, " Dr. Sweets is certain that Pelant has been behind the murder of Ethan Sawyer from the time Sawyer's body was found. The squints at the Jeffersonian have stated categorically that the evidence that points to Dr. Brennan can be explained away and could easily be proven to be planted. Agent Marcus Geier has been pretty sure that Dr. Brennan has been set up from the beginning too. He's gone over the evidence and he concurs with the Jeffersonian. We have had two suspects Booth. Contrary to what you might have thought was going on, Flynn has been trying to track down Pelant too. The only problem with that is that Pelant is just as much a genius as Dr. Brennan. We can't find her and we can't find him. Now he's tried to blow you up. Why now? I don't know. He shouldn't have done it though. This just makes us want to get our hands on him now more than ever. The attempted murder of a Federal Agent can't go unpunished. It won't go unpunished if I have anything to say about it."
Not saying anything, Booth leaned back on the couch and crossed his legs. Clasping his hands across his stomach, Booth stared at Cullen. He was uncertain what Cullen wanted him to say.
Looking around the room, Cullen said, "Look, this has been rough on you. God knows it's been rough on Dr. Brennan. I understand the logic behind her leaving; but, she shouldn't have done it. We could have put her in protective custody. She would have been safe enough until we got this all sorted out."
Shaking his head, Booth said, "Like Ethan Sawyer was safe? He was in lock down at a mental institution and ended up dead in a forest. Pelant is a computer genius. He can hack into and manipulate any system he wants and do what the hell he wants. If Bones had been picked up; then, she might have been kept safe or Pelant could have arranged to have her locked up in a Supermax under an assumed name and we may have never found her again."
Sadly, Cullen looked at Booth's haggard face and said, "I know. Dr. Sweets pretty much said the same thing to me a few days ago when I put him back on the case."
Puzzled, Booth asked, "You put Sweets back on the case?"
Frowning, Cullen said, "Yes. Dr. Simpson said that Dr. Sweets association with the Jeffersonian and you and Dr. Brennan gives him a unique point of view and it would be ridiculous not to use it."
Pursing his lips, Booth said, "Flynn didn't object?"
Smiling, Cullen said, "Oh yes. He did; but, I don't answer to Flynn. He answers to me. He really has been spinning his wheels for the last few weeks and I needed some forward movement in this case. What Flynn doesn't appreciate is the fact that Dr. Brennan is the world's leading forensic anthropologist and a world famous novelist. This is not a quiet investigation by any stretch of the imagination. He hasn't turned up anything but circumstantial evidence against Dr. Brennan. No prosecutor in his or her right mind would take this case to court. Right now the only thing Dr. Brennan is guilty of is evading an arrest warrant. Whereas that is a crime, you and I both know that we would probably have a hard time convicting her of that because of who she is."
Reaching out and patting Booth on the shoulder, Cullen said, "I know you don't know where she is. I know you don't have a way to contact her. That is right? You don't have a way to contact her?"
Shaking he head, Booth said, "No, I don't."
Nodding his head, Cullen said, "You take today off. Tomorrow morning, I want you to come into my office at 9 a.m. We're going to have a meeting and see if we can come up with a way to get Dr. Brennan back home safely along with your daughter. This nonsense has gone on long enough. That's not just my wish either. The Director of the FBI has taken a personal interest in Dr. Brennan. He rose up through the ranks you know. He was a damn good investigator back in his day. He's gone over all of the files related to this case and he thinks the whole thing may have been mishandled from the beginning. He feels we were so worried about appearing impartial about this whole thing that we let things get out of hand. All we've done is feed into a feeding frenzy with the press and we've made the FBI look a bunch of Inspector Clouseaus. You be in my office at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning."
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After Cullen had left, Booth sat on his couch and watched the FBI squints move through his house. At one point, Marcus brought the alarm clock from Booth and Brennan's bedroom and sat down next to Booth. Holding up the clock, Marcus pulled the back off of the clock and pointed to the inside of the clock. Booth looking closer, saw that the insides looked odd. Smiling Marcus pointed to a small wire and said, "I hope you haven't been doing anything that you shouldn't."
Frowning, Booth said, "He's been in my house a lot more than I thought."
Nodding his head, Marcus said, "Now we have to really look through everything. I don't think you should stay here for awhile. If you want, I have a spare bedroom at my house you can use. Mona won't mind."
Hodgins, hearing Marcus' offer, walked into the living room and said, "That's ok Marcus, Booth is going to stay with me for awhile."
Looking at Hodgins, Booth said, "Thanks for the offer; but, I'd rather stay here. It might be too dangerous for me to stay with anyone. I'd be endangering their lives."
Smiling, Hodgins said, "Everyone at the Lab is already in danger. I've hired body guards for Angela, Cam, me and Clark. I'm sure I won't need to hire one for you. The FBI has already been embarrassed by what happened here this morning; so, I'm pretty sure they're going to make an effort to look after you from now on. I want you to stay at the house, Booth. Angela is worried that you aren't eating right. I don't like to see her worry. You'd be doing me a huge favor by staying with us."
Nodding his head, Booth said, "If you're sure then ok."
Looking at Booth and then Marcus, "It's settled. Pack a bag and then when I'm done here I'll take you over to the house. You look like shit. You need to go back to bed."
Shaking his head, Booth said, "I wish people would quit telling me that I look like shit. I'm going to get a complex or something."
Laughing, Hodgins said, "God, I promise not to tell Sweets if you do. He's a pain in the ass already."
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