Okie Getaway Chapter 4
Hodgins' private jet was not only exquisitely comfortable, its expert staff included not only the flight personnel (two pilots and a mechanic) but a chef as well. He entered the cabin to serve Booth and Brennan a tempting array of their favorite Thai dishes. Brennan took one look at the slender man and smiled.
"Luca, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. Your sister had mentioned that you planning a move to DC, but I didn't realize you were already here."
Booth thanked the chef for his lunch, but looked puzzled as Brennan conversed with him. He knew without asking that his wife had identified the chef by his bone structure.
"Booth, I'd like you to meet Luca Sciuto, Abby's brother. You recall how she and Hodgins collaborated when that Congressional page was found in the Capitol parking garage?"
Realizing who Luca was, Booth gave the man a hearty grin and shook his hand. "The bad guys in DC don't have a chance between Jack Hodgins and your sister! I'm glad to make your acquaintance."
The Jeffersonian's bug man was well-connected in DC, as one might expect for a person of his wealth, but Hodgins kept that fact quiet as much as possible. He chose to use his influence surreptitiously to assist people when he could. He had known NCIS' forensic scientist Abby Sciuto since graduate school, and their two teams had worked cooperatively to unravel more than one complex cold cases in the past.
He'd heard about Luca's involvement with Eva Azarova, a protege of Russian Counselor Anton Pavlenko who'd been poisoned as they investigated Manta Ray. Tiny transmitters embedded in their teeth gave the two Russians little chance of escape, but Gibbs' team ultimately rescued Eva. Being arrested by US authorities for possible espionage saved her from USSR treason prosecution.
When Abby called Hodgins, frantic over her naively trusting brother's future, he wisely suggested a solution. He hired Luca to serve Cantilever in a unique dual role. Luca became the corporate chef whenever his culinary services were needed. At other times, he worked for the charitable foundation Hodgins established after his fortune, stolen by Christopher Pelant,
was restored. Both Abby and Luca had volunteered to donate a kidney for a total stranger, and his giving nature served the Cantilever Foundation perfectly.
Between bites of Mee Krob, the partners watched the sun's rays lengthen across the prairie sky as they flew over Missouri and Kansas. Upon touchdown, the couple headed for their inn. Brennan had considered staying at the Skirvin Hotel, but after hearing about a Cleveland Cavalier basketball star's sleepless night there, she opted for the Grandison, a Victorian bed and breakfast Angela enthusiastically recommended as one of her dad's favorite places. Their hostess Antonia greeted them warmly and showed them to the third-floor bedroom at the top of her home. Booth sighed with delight at its two-person corner Jetta tub and spacious king-size bed.
In the days before air-conditioning, the home's wide bay windows had provided cross-ventilation, and now offered a beautiful view of the historic tree-lined streets below. Developed as suburban housing before statehood, the Maney Historic District documented Oklahoma City's transition from small town to metropolis. Its namesake, James W. Maney, a successful Union Pacific railroad contractor, had moved his Victorian mansion a mile further out to escape urban sprawl in 1909.
Hodgins had suggested a stroll through the Myriad Botanical Gardens, whose hours were extended into early evening once springtime arrived. Booth had no trouble guessing it was one of their friend's favorite spots in the City, and Brennan agreed with a chuckle. From there, the couple visited Kirkpatrick Planetarium for a night showing of DaVinci's Sky. They saw the stars as they were during Leonardo's lifetime. Brennan was also looking forward to seeing her favorite constellations through the Mounds Observatory telescope later in their trip, once they reached Tulsa. It was far enough out from the city to allow unimpeded nighttime viewing like she'd had with Max as a child in Ohio.
By ten pm, the pair climbed into bed, enjoyed some intensely private pleasures and drifted off to sleep. Their forensic presentation began early the following day.