Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, folks. I have three term papers this semester and an extra credit one thrown at me last minute.

Chapter 58: The Operation

"Peter!" Davy exclaimed as he jumped up trying to push Heather off his friend.

"Heather, let go of him," Claire said with a slight smirk on her face. Davy knew she was probably enjoying this. "We need him."

"Peter, are you ok?" Davy asked when Heather begrudgingly let go of him.

"I'm fine," Peter choked out trying to catch his breath. He rubbed his throat a little in pain, but seemed to be ok. Despite the blood trickling out of his scalp staining his blonde hair. Peter looked at Davy with a worried look. Davy was just as worried; if Booth thought the two of them were hurt too badly or in danger, he'd stop the plan dead in its tracks before they really got anything. Davy didn't want Peter to get hurt just to keep going, but Peter seemed to mostly be ok. He looked firmly at Davy and spoke as if he were speaking directly to Booth but without giving them away. "I'm ok. I'll be fine."

"That was very, very stupid of you, Peter," Claire said.

"Look, Claire, we aren't gonna give you what you want, so don't even waste your time," Davy said glaring at her. "And he didn't say anything that wasn't true."

"That's a matter of opinion," Claire answered holding up her hand to stop Heather before she could argue. Davy felt the van they were in finally pull to a stop. They hadn't been in the van for very long so they must not have gone very far. Then again, this was a small forest town and they wouldn't have to go far to reach a secluded area. It was why Mike and Micky chose this place.

"Get out," Heather sneered reaching over to open the doors. Neither Davy nor Peter argued. When they got out, Davy noticed they were on the edge of a mountain path leading into the forest.

"Walk," Heather instructed pointing away from the path with her gun. Davy looked around for any sign of Booth, but didn't see him. Davy silently hoped that he couldn't see Booth not because he wasn't there, but because he was that good at keeping himself hidden. They didn't have much of a choice but to follow Heather through the woods the way that Claire pointed. There was a man following behind them all that Davy didn't recognize along with the second man from the store.

"Who the hell are you?" Davy asked of the two men when Heather finally stopped about 5 minutes into the woods.

"Doesn't matter," the man Davy had seen inside the store answered.

"Who I am depends on the two of you," the other man said. "I can either by an ally or an enemy."

"You're with them," Davy said. "You're an enemy."

"Not true," the man said. "I'm here to offer you boys an option. A get out of jail free card. Literally."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked.

"You boys are wanted for murder," the man said. "As a police Captain in Los Angeles, I can make that all go away. I can make it so you didn't have anything to do with it. Mike and Micky committed the crimes alone and forced the two of you along with them."

"All we have to do is tell you where they are?" Peter asked. "That's not gonna happen. And you aren't gonna put us in jail anyway. Or you wouldn't have dragged us out here."

"Yes, but I know you boys," Claire said. "I know how you think. You stick your necks out for each other. So look at it this way: Micky and Mike are going to die whether you help us or not. We will find that little boy. We will win. But you can choose to at least save each other."

"Micky and Mike are a lot smarter than you give you credit for," Peter said. "You can close off as many exits as you want, but they'll still find a way out. There's no way you're gonna get your hands on E-"

"That little boy," Davy interrupted before Peter could say Emmett's name. They didn't deserve to know it.

"Were you about to tell me his name?" Heather asked Peter.

"You'll never know him and you'll never know his name," Davy said. "You don't deserve it. Everything Peter said was right. You're not his mother."

"Every baby needs a mother," Claire said. "I will make sure my grandchild has one."

"He does," Peter said. "Rose is his mother."

"You'll never touch him," Davy said. "You'll never get anywhere near him. You will never, ever corrupt that baby. You tried to corrupt Micky and you couldn't even do that. You failed then and you're going to fail now."

"Why don't we just kill them now?" Heather sighed impatiently. "They're stalling. They're never going to say anything. They're too weak."

"We aren't weak," Peter said.

"Just kill them," Heather said.

"Fine," Claire said.

"First you two need to dig your own graves," the captain said. "Or, better yet, you can dig each other's graves since you refuse to save each other."

"Does that even matter?" Davy asked. "I mean, we're gonna die, does it really matter which grave we end up in?"

"Shut the hell up," Claire said. "I'm getting tired of your snark."

"Hands up; you're all under arrest!" several men shouted coming out from behind the trees. They all held guns pointed at their kidnappers.

"Excuse me?" Claire asked looking around in surprise.

"Get your hands up!" the man closest said.

"This is ridiculous," Claire said pulling out a gun and pointing it at Davy and Peter. Davy reacted as quickly as he could knowing the officers weren't close enough to disarm her in time and tackled Peter to the ground trying to get them both out of the way in time. As he hit Peter, he heard the explosion of a gunshot and closed his eyes as the pair hit the ground. He opened his eyes when he heard Claire scream. She was on the ground clutching her arm with blood oozing out between her fingers. The other cops had moved in to disarm the others and place handcuffs on all them.

"You little fuckers!" Heather exclaimed. "You set us up!"

"We didn't make you kidnap us," Peter said getting up. He looked a little pale and green, like he was going to throw up.

"If my mother dies, I'll kill you!" Heather said as the officers started to drag Claire and the others away from them.

"Relax, she got hit in the arm," one of the officers said. "She'll be fine. Medics will check on her."

"Do you have any idea who I am!?" the captain exclaimed. "You can't arrest me!"

"I know who you are," Booth said emerging from the trees. "Doesn't mean you can get away with kidnapping, rape and murder."

"I didn't do any of those things!" the captain exclaimed. "How dare you!?"

"You helped these idiots cover their crimes up and allowed them to keep doing it," Booth said. "That's the same as committing the crime yourself. You're just as responsible."

"Nice shot, Agent Booth," one of the officers said as Booth walked over to Davy and Peter sitting on the ground.

"You shot her?" Davy asked. "But we didn't even see you."

"I was a sniper," Booth answered.

"You were a sniper?" Peter asked.

"I said you were in good hands, didn't I?" Booth smiled. "What happened to your head?"

"Heather choked him and his head bounced off the van," Davy answered for Peter.

"Jack!" Booth called as a few medics were cleared to come get and treat Claire before loading her up. Jack came over a second later and kneeled down next to Peter. "How's his head? He need a hospital?"

"How do you feel?" Jack asked inspecting Peter's head.

"A little dizzy," Peter answered. "And a little sick to my stomach."

"Does this hurt?" Jack asked poking Peter a little in the head.

"A little," Peter answered.

"Did you pass out at all?" Jack asked.

"No," Peter answered.

"I don't think it's fractured, but I'm not the expert," Jack said. "Better to let Dr. Brendan take a look. That's her area of expertise. I'm a geologist."

"Well, let's get you back to the cabin, then," Booth said helping Davy off the ground. Jack helped Peter up who almost fell over immediately.

"You ok?" Davy asked.

"Yeah, just dizzy," Peter said.

"Ok, let's walk over to the van together," Jack said. "It's a bit of a walk. Davy, why don't you walk on the other side of him in case he falls."

"I have to talk to the boys," Booth said. "I'll meet you at the van in a minute." Davy nodded and walked over to help Peter down to the van. Before they could reach it, Peter stopped and bent over as though he were about to throw up. Davy rubbed Peter's back carefully trying to ease his discomfort somewhat, but Peter still threw up.

"You sure he's ok?" Davy asked looking at Jack worriedly.

"This is a symptom of a concussion," Jack said. "But like I said, I'm not the expert. Dr. Brendan is. We're almost there." Peter apologized and they finished the trek back to the van. When they got there, Booth walked up telling them everything was settled and they were set to leave. On the ride back to the cabin, they barely said anything. Peter looked like he was trying not to throw up again and Davy just sat next to him with a hand resting on Peter's arm or shoulder the whole time, worried that something was seriously wrong. By the time they'd arrived back at the cabin, Peter looked very dizzy.

When Davy and Jack helped him climb out and start walking to the cabin. Davy was about to suggest whether or not they should go to a hospital when he saw Willow running toward them. She rushed over to Peter and threw herself on him in a large hug. The others followed closely behind her, but weren't rushing as quickly.

"Thank God you're ok!" Willow exclaimed.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Peter said.

"Sorry," Willow said pulling away from him and kissing him. "I was just so scared. I thought she'd hurt you really bad."

"I'm fine," Peter said. "Just a bump."

"Good job, guys," Micky said pulling Davy into a firm hug as well. "You had us worried."

"Nothing to it," Davy answered. "It didn't even take a lot to get her to open up."

"Thank you for everything you said," Mike smiled at them holding Emmett on his hip. "It means a lot."

"He needs to get inside," Dr. Brendan said indicating Peter. "With any kind of head wound, he shouldn't really stand."

"Of course," Micky said taking Jack's place and walking with Peter inside the cabin.

"Is he gonna be ok?" Mike asked when they'd all sat down and Dr. Brendan started looking over Peter's head. Willow was still right next to Peter clinging to him and resting her head against his shoulder.

"It's just a concussion," Dr. Brendan answered. "Minor scalp laceration; doesn't even need stitches, but could do with some bandages. He just needs a lot of rest and some ice."

"I'll get some," Angela said getting up and going to the kitchen.

"So did you get enough information?" Micky asked now that they were all sure Peter was going to be ok. "Is it over? Can we go home?"

"Yes, and no," Booth answered. "Yes we have enough to put them behind bars for the rest of their lives, but unfortunately, we can't quite send you home just yet."

"What?" Davy asked flustered. "Then what the hell did we do all that for!?"

"Calm down," Booth said as Angela came back in with the supplies for Peter so Dr. Brendan could tend to him. "We are doing what we can, but with the trial there's a chance they could try to silence you. I don't know who their contacts are on the outside. It would be all too easy for them to put a contract out on you to keep you from testifying."

"He's got a point," Micky sighed heavily. "So we stay here for a while?"

"No," Booth answered. "I need you close for the trial. Since most of this happened in California, that's where it'll be held. So we're going to move you back to California, but not home. You'll be under strict supervision by the authorities. Armed secure escort wherever you go, but at least you'll be home in a safe location."

"Where?" Peter asked holding the ice pack to his head.

"My house," Jack said.

"Palace," Angela laughed a little.

"Actually it's more like a mansion," Dr. Brendan said. "Palace's are for royalty."

"Either way it's already got security guards patrolling the area and we're running extended background checks on them trying to connect them to Claire," Booth said. "And there will be an FBI escort as well. My boss is choosing the agent as we speak."

"And you're sure we can trust him?" Rose asked.

"My boss was a soldier," Booth said. "Been through hell and back. Seen horrible things. When I showed him the evidence in this case, I thought he was gonna throw up. And when I played him the taped sessions with each of you, he very nearly cried. There's no way he's involved in any of this. I trust him."

"What about you?" Peter asked. Davy and the others looked at Peter quizzically for a split second before he realized what he said. "I meant why can't you be our escort."

"If that's what he chooses, then that's fine," Booth answered. "But they're gonna put me where they need me."

"Well aren't you guys all targets too?" Sarah asked. "You're all testifying, too."

"Yes, but we're trained for stuff like this," Booth answered.

"What about you, Grandpa?" Davy asked.

"I'm going home," Grandpa Jones answered. "I have to take care of my business now that I know you are all ok. I'll be back to support you during the trial, but I can't let my business fall apart. I'll be safe at home."

"Ok," Davy answered.

"What happens to this place?" Peter asked.

"The owner wants to open it to the public as a ski lodge," Booth answered. "We spoke to him and he's grateful for your help and is even going to get you a percentage of the profits during the first year. He told us his story and we exhumed his daughter, confirming she was murdered. We were also able to find his wife and prove Wayne Eichmann murdered her."

"That's great," Peter said. Again everyone looked at him quizzically. "I didn't mean...I just meant…"

"It's ok, Pete," Mike smiled. "We know what you meant. He can bury his wife and his daughter in a more peaceful, rightful place now."

"Yes," Booth said. "He's glad that he knows the truth and that he has a place to go visit them now. Everything is going to work out. The witnesses will all be looked after, but the big targets will be you."

"I honestly didn't think the FBI had the funding to do something like this," Micky said.

"This case is huge," Booth said. "They did a raid on your father's home a couple days ago, Mike. They found 5 women being held against their will. All who are going to testify against him. He's already sitting in jail. This case spans across the entire country; it's too big to worry about finances."

"I would have thought they'd have wanted to do witness protection, though," Micky said.

"That was my boss's first inclination, but I told him that would be a bad idea," Booth answered. "With how young the kids are, that would only add too much stress and confusion on them. They don't need that. I convinced him to do it this way."

"Thank you," Mike said. "We really appreciate that."

"You should all get some rest," Dr. Brendan said. "We'll be back in the morning to move you back to California."

"It's almost over," Mike sighed looking a little happy. "It's almost over."