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I don't own Bones.

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Flashback

Moving silently through the woods, Max finally found the cabin that one of his paid informants had told him about. He knew Brodsky had to be in the vicinity and he wanted to make sure he spotted the man before he moved any closer. Kneeling behind a large bush, he made sure that his mouth was covered by his scarf and that the steam from his breath wasn't giving him away to anyone in the cabin.

Soon his patience was rewarded when Brodsky opened the door, moved down the steps and started to advance across the snow covered yard.

Holding back, Max watched the man enter the woods and then moved from his position very carefully. Following Brodsky's trail in the snow, he stayed back far enough to make certain that he couldn't be surprised by the assassin. Silently cursing his luck, snow started to fall again making him feel colder than he already was. Damn it. Careful to make as little noise as possible, he soon heard the sound of a waterfall ahead. Surprised, he stepped away from the trail and advanced through the woods as quietly as possible. Soon he saw a break in the trees and made his way to the edge of the woods, the sound of rushing water growing louder.

Once he was near the waterfall, he stopped behind a large tree surrounded by bushes and scanned the area around the waterfall, trying to find his prey. A movement to the right drawing his eyes, Max was surprised to see the young man he knew worked for his son-in-law. Wary, he watched Booth's lieutenant break from the trees and advance towards the falls.

Moving slowly towards Brodsky, who was standing near an outcrop next to the falls, Lester held his gun up and called out loud enough to be heard over the rushing water, "Brodsky!"

Surprised, Jacob Brodsky turned facing the man intruding upon his peaceful environs, "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm the man that is going to kill you, you sorry son-of-a-bitch." Moving closer, Lester stopped twelve feet from his prey and informed him, "You threaten my friends, you threaten the best man I know . . . I can't let you kill him or his wife."

Enlightened, Brodsky smiled, "So you're Booth's protector? I knew he was a cripple. If he wasn't he would have come after me himself. . . So, you're just going to murder me?"

A sneer on his lips, Lester chuckled without mirth, "Booth is no cripple. If he wanted you dead you'd be dead by now. . . . He's an honorable man and he's letting the FBI handle you. He doesn't want your blood on his hands and he's not willing to go to jail to get rid of you . . . Although if you did go near him, I'm pretty sure he'd kill your ass and claim self-defense and get away with it. You attacked him in his home. He has just cause."

Curious, Brodsky placed his hands on his hips, "So . . . you're telling me that you're not a man of honor like Booth?"

His hand steady as he held his gun on Brodsky, Lester laughed, "You got that one right on the nose. Honor doesn't mean anything to me if you kill Booth and his wife. He's the greatest man I've ever met and he's my friend. I protect my friends. I'm going to kill your sorry ass and he and Dr. Brennan will be safe. We'll all be safe."

Amused, Brodsky cocked his body a little to the side and slowly moved his now hidden hand towards his back. "A puppy. You're a puppy. Why don't leave while you still have a chance?"

Raising his gun, Lester smiled, "Yeah, I will in a few minutes. First I need to . . ."

Pulling his pistol from his waistband, Brodsky aimed his gun at Lester and shot at him. Lester, realizing that he'd made a mistake letting Brodsky talk, dove to the side and shot off a round from his gun knowing that he'd missed.

Brodsky, running towards Lester aimed his gun at the younger man's head only to hear shouting from the tree line.

"Stop right there, Brodsky." Stepping out of the trees, Max kept his rifle aimed at the assassin, "Drop the gun and cross your arms."

Surprised, Brodsky did as he was told and calmly turned to face the much older man, "Okay, who the hell are you?"

Not interested in conversation, Max informed him, "I'm the grim reaper."

Standing, Lester shouted at the old man, "Stay out of this Max."

With Lester's attention diverted, Brodsky leaped towards the younger man and brought him down. Wrestling he started to punch Lester trying to disable him enough to use him as a shield against Max. Lester, furious that the situation had deteriorated, traded punches with Brodsky trying to get the upper hand. As he threw punches he managed to knock Brodsky away from him towards the waterfall. Brodsky, desperate to get the upper hand, moved to throw a punch at Lester who counter attacked and prevented the older man from connecting his fists to his body. Pushing Brodksy away, Lester leaped up and used his foot to slam into the man's back thus propelling Brodsky towards the falls. Everyone was shocked when as Brodsky fought to gain his footing, his feet slipped into the raging water. Wind milling his arms he tried to maintain his balance and failed. His feet slipping out from under him, he found the strength of the water too great and was carried to the edge of the falls and then over them.

Breathing heavily, Lester gingerly made his way across the rocks to the edge of the falls and looked down. Not seeing the murderer, he shook his head and turned to look at Max who was still standing at the edge of the woods, "Go home, Max."

Setting his rifle down, butt first, Max smiled, "You surprise me Lester. I always figured you for a goody two shoes."

Unable to see if Brodsky was in the water below or not, Lester walked back to his gun, picked it up and turned to face Max. "Listen Max, you're involved in something you shouldn't be. If you get arrested for murder again you won't walk away from it this time. I know Caroline and she'll win this time. She won't allow Brennan anywhere near the courthouse to bail your ass out. Now go home. This is none of your business."

Pulling his rifle into his arms, Max stared intently at Lester, "You better make sure you don't leave any evidence behind."

A sneer on his face, Lester started to police the area, "Don't teach me my job Max. It's supposed to snow for the rest of the day and the temperatures are supposed to dip starting tonight. No one is going to come out here for a while at least. I'll make sure I didn't drop anything and you better do the same. Now get the hell out of here."

His gaze moving towards the waterfall, Max asked him, "Are you going to do down there and see if he survived the fall?"

Moving slowly over the rocks, his eyes sweeping the ground, Lester informed him, "Not a chance. It's wet and muddy down there. I'm not leaving any footprints for the techs to use. It's rocky up here and that's fine by me. The moss on the ground should protect your steps, but if I were you, I'd walk back through the woods on the trail and make sure not to touch anything. I know you're wearing gloves, but . . . well, Hodgins could probably tell what kind of gloves you're wearing and shit like that so just don't touch anything. Thankfully, the snow that's coming down should cover up any prints you do make."

His eyes sweeping the top of the falls once more, Max finally turned and walked back into the woods and over to the trail leaving Lester behind to make sure that the area was clean of evidence.

After a thorough search, Lester found several rocks with blood on them. Picking them up, he hurled them and some of the surrounding rocks into the river above the falls and left the area. Careful not to leave any footprints behind in mud or lose soil, he limped down the path knowing that he was bruised and had a few cuts on his wrists and face. I'll just have to think of an excuse that's all, if anyone asks.

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So, were you shocked? At least a little?