Bones – NCIS
vol 3.
A few minutes later Booth parked his black Toyota Sequoia Platinum before Sarah's house. He loved his car, but never really understood why the FBI gave him a Toyota. He went up to Sarah's place quickly, carefully looking around. He pushed the doorbell and it rang loudly. He heard the steps coming from inside, but he could tell that Sarah was still far away from the door. He quickly canvassed the neighbourhood and apart from Sarah's, there was only one more house in the street, the other buildings were apartment blocks, each with no more than 8 flats inside. It was early January. The snow was melting thanks to the rainy days they were having. DC is usually covered in snow from early December till late February, but it had been raining since Christmas. The sky was clear now; the clouds that caused the heavy rain in the morning were gone. Booth turned back just in time to see Sarah opening her door.
"Agent Booth?" Sarah asked surprised.
"I'm sorry to bother you at home, but you... you seemed a little tense back at NCIS and..."
"I had every right to be." Sarah said still a little angry. She stepped a few steps back to let Booth in. Booth slowly stepped inside the house, waited till Sarah shut the door behind them, and then turned around to face her.
"It's about your boss, isn't it?"
"You got that one right." Sarah nodded "You want some coffee?" Sarah asked as she started to walk towards her kitchen.
"Coffee would be great." Booth nodded, and then continued talking "Look, I didn't want to cause any trouble with this case, but Bones really is the best anthropologist in the country, hell, even in the world, and I wanted to help."
"You don't have to tell me that, Booth. I know that very well. Let's just say that my boss is not the best when it comes to cooperation."
"Tell me about it! Cullen, the Deputy Director of the FBI. He can be a real pain in the ass when it comes to joint investigations." Booth smiled at her. Sarah smiled at the comment, but neither of them spoke till the coffee was ready. Sarah handed a cup to Booth, and they sat down in the living room.
"What did Gibbs say?" Booth asked after he took a sip from his coffee.
"Let me quote." Sarah started " 'They can be the world's best crime-solving partners, for all I care. When a marine dies, the NCIS investigates, not the FBI. There are more than 100 million people who commit crime in the USA, those can be the FBI's problem, but marine cases are ours.' "
Booth didn't know what to say; he didn't know what would be the best answer. Sarah drank her last sip of coffee then went out to the kitchen to put it into the dishwasher.
"Sarah..." Booth started when the woman came back to sit down next to him.
"Look, Booth, I... I want this case. I want to solve this together. My team and your team. But I don't want Gibbs to feel like I'm betraying him."
"I understand that. You know what? Let's go back to the NCIS. I'm sure they have something by now. I'll get Bones back to the Jeffersonian and we'll continue to work from there. That way, it would seem like you did what your boss asked. "
Sarah thought about this for a few seconds. She agreed with Booth, totally. But she felt really bad about this. She didn't like to lie, but now she was about to do so. And she had to lie to Gibbs. To the Gibbs, who had saved her from being fired. That's right. Gibbs had saved her. A year ago, she ended up in a really messy situation with her previous team. She always did an outstanding job, that was not the real problem. Her boss was a young and handsome freshly assigned agent. She fell in love with him. The agent loved her too, but Sarah didn't want a relationship affecting her job. Eventually she did go out with her boss for a few dates. Then suddenly, it turned out that the agent had some ugly deal going on with the local mob and that he was a corrupt agent. The NCIS had been suspicious of Sarah too, but Gibbs had saved her from being fired and made Vance assign her to his team. She had been working with them since that incident, and she hadn't been out on a date with a co-worker ever since.
"All right." Sarah nodded slowly.
"What's all right?" Booth looked at her surprised.
"All right. Let's do this. "
"Glad to hear that." Booth said as they both started towards the door.
"But on one condition."
"And what's that?"
"I'm going back with my own car." Sarah smiled.
"That's okay." Booth nodded. Firstly he didn't really understand why that was a condition at all. Then he figured it out. It would have been suspicious if he were the one to bring her back to work.
"Then let's go." Sarah smiled and picked up her coat. They went out and Sarah closed the door behind her, turning the key twice.
"Nice car." she nodded as she saw Booth going towards his Toyota.
"Yours isn't that bad either." he smiled pointing at her Chevrolet. They said goodbye and sat in their own cars. They arrived pretty much at the same time. Sarah told him where to find Abby then they said goodbye and she went up in the elevator while he took the stairs. 2 minutes later Booth was in the lab where Brennan and Abby stood in front of the computer, narrowing down the possible suspects.
"Bones. Ms. Sciuto." Booth spoke smiling as he stood behind them.
"Booth, we narrowed down the number of possible suspects to approximately 500 people."
"Approximately 500? That's better than a few million." Booth kept smiling and staring at Brennan.
"I agree. But the list is still too long. I couldn't access the new ND..." Abby started.
"ND?" Booth interrupted.
"Navy Database, Booth." Brennan answered instead of Abby, still smiling and looking back at him then back at the screen.
"I couldn't access it, since it's still under construction. So I'm using the old databases and they aren't exactly the fastest ones." Abby noted, clicking a few times. Then a new picture came up on the computer's screen. "Kurt Hokers." Abby read then shook her head "KIA last summer."
"That means 499 more to go?" Booth asked finally looking at Abby for a split second. He kept staring at Brennan. He saw weariness on her face, and Booth knew, that Brennan was not someone who became tired easily, especially when they had a case. If she was tired in the middle of the day, that meant she didn't sleep well.
"No, Booth. Exactly 526 more to go." Brennan answered him reading the numbers from the screen.
"That's okay. Bones, we need to go now." Booth turned back to look at her again.
"Booth, we cannot go now. We could narrow the list down more..."
"Bones, we have to go back to the Jeffersonian."
Brennan turned to Abby.
"Could you send me this list to the Jeffersonian, Abby?"
"That's not necessary, Temperance." Abby looked at her "You don't have access to navy databases from there. I'll check the rest of the list. It'll only take a couple of hours; I'll get McGee to help me. I'll send you the results when we are finished, okay? "
"Thank you, Abby." Brennan smiled and they said goodbye with a small hug. Booth said goodbye too, and the partners went out from the lab stepping into the elevator. Booth watched Brennan carefully. He couldn't believe what he'd seen back in there. Brennan said goodbye with a hug. With a hug! Brennan only hugs him and Angela. He couldn't understand it. Brennan likes to keep a certain distance with people, and he only left Brennan for what? 30 minutes, give or take a few. Brennan became friends with a stranger quicker than he had ever seen.
"What?" Brennan asked as she felt Booth's eyes on her.
"Nothing... I just... okay." he sighed "I just... I find it weird that you become friends with this Abby so...quickly.
"She's very intelligent, kind and highly educated. I don't see any problem with becoming friends with a person like her."
Booth only nodded. They went out to the parking lot and sat in Booth's SUV.
"What are you going to do, Booth? I mean, after you drop me off at the lab? –Brennan asked as she fastened her seatbelt.
"I'll stay there with you. While you work on the bones, I'll wait for that list, so I can check out the names on it."
Brennan nodded and she remained silent for the rest of their trip. They went straight into Brennan's office as soon as they arrived. Brennan hung up her coat on the coat rack, on the wall, while Booth dropped his onto the couch and sat down next to it. Brennan sat down at her desk and turned on her computer.
"Everything okay, Bones? You seem...tired. "Booth said looking into her blue eyes.
"I... I just didn't sleep very well the last few days... "Brennan admitted, not looking at Booth at all.
"What's wrong?" Booth asked, his voice full of worry. If she didn't sleep well, something was bothering her. Something was wrong and Booth didn't like that feeling.
"I ... I don't know." Brennan avoided her partner's eyes.
"You don't want to talk about it..." Booth stated the obvious, still searching Brennan's face with his eyes. Brennan seemed to read something for a few second and then fear and terror wa written all over her pretty face.
"Yeah Booth, I don't want to talk about it." Brennan said standing up "I need to talk to Hodgins."
Before Booth could say anything, Brennan left him in her office. Booth waited till she was at a great distance, then went to her computer and opened the last file. It was a copy of a newspaper article uploaded to the Internet. He sat down to read it. The article's headline was written in big bold letters, and a picture was put next to the text. Booth was shocked to see Heather Taffet smiling at him from the picture. The headline of the article read: "The Gravedigger is back!" Booth's heart wanted to jump out of his chest. He was afraid to read the whole article, but he had too.
- "Heather Taffet, better known as the Gravedigger, escaped from a federal prison yesterday night. The prisoners started a riot at midnight, and Taffet killed a guard, stole his uniform and walked out into the night. The FBI and the police are pursuing leads and are interested in hearing about any information regarding Heather Taffet's whereabouts. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the local police..."
Booth closed the file. He realized why Brennan had been so terrified.
Meanwhile Agent Timothy McGee just arrived at the squad room at NCIS. He held a laptop and a flash drive in his hands. The flash drive was in the usual red evidence bag. He went straight to Abby's lab.
"Hey Abby! I brought you something." McGee said smiling pointing at the laptop and flash drive.
"Great, at least I have enough evidence to work on." Abby commented then went back to her computer. McGee waited till Abby sent an e-mail then stepped next to her and put the laptop and the flash drive down at the table.
"What was that e-mail? If you don't mind me asking..."
"A list. To the Jeffersonian Institution. But Gibbs can't know about it!"
"What is it that I'm not supposed to know about?" Gibbs said as he entered Abby's lab.
"That I haven't found anything yet. Nothing that brings us closer to close the case." Abby said turning to face Gibbs.
"I need evidence Abbs. Work faster."
"I just got Wayhne's laptop." McGee pointed at the table "I'll help Abby analyze it."
"Great idea, McGee." Gibbs said and then turned around leaving the lab.
"Thanks." Abby smiled at him.
"I know that Gibbs is not a fan of joint investigations, but this case is important for Sarah. I thought we could help her out a bit. Plus Vance ordered the joint investigation so..."
"Agreed." Abby smiled then turned back to the computer- Let's start with the laptop.
Twenty minutes later Sarah came down to the lab and stood next to Abby picking up the flash drive from the table.
"Abby. What's this?" she asked as she watched her co-workers hacking their way into the laptop.
"It's Wayhne's. We haven't checked it out yet." Abby answered not looking up from the screen.
"Can I take it?" Sarah asked quickly.
"To Agent Booth?" Abby smiled looking at her.
"To the Jeffersonian." Sarah corrected her.
"Take it. Gibbs didn't see me bring it in. Maybe the expert there could do his or her magic on that thing." McGee said looking at Sarah then at Abby.
"Right. It'll take ages to decode this laptop." Abby nodded.
"Great. Thanks guys!" Sarah smiled. She put the flash drive into her pocket and left to the Jeffersonian Institution.
Booth heard the little voice coming from Brennan's computer indicating she got a new e-mail. He was sitting in front of it, so he couldn't help looking at it. It was from Abby Sciuto, the NCIS forensic expert. Booth checked the e-mail and printed out the attached list of the possible suspect. Then he ran to Hodgins' office. He could see that the squint was terrified too. He knew it. Heather Taffet was out on the streets, ready to kidnap any of them again.
"Bones." he started carefully "I have to go back to the Hoover."
"Booth! You can't go. Not now." Hodgins looked up at him. All three of them were victims of the Gravedigger. Booth was kidnapped nearly a year ago, while Brennan and Hodgins were buried alive three years ago. After Booth was kidnapped, Brennan and the team figured out that Heather Taffet was the Gravedigger. She was arrested and sent to jail till the trial. The trial's supposed to happen three weeks from now. But Heather Taffet escaped last night and now all three of them were potential targets.
"I have to go Hodgins. I can't access the FBI's system from here and we got the list from Ms. Sciuto." Booth said waving the papers in his hand.
"But, please. Be careful." Brennan looked up at him.
"One hour, or two and I'll be back, Bones. I promise." Booth nodded, said goodbye and left. Sarah came 5 minutes later. She showed her badge to the guards at the entrance, saying that she came to see Dr. Brennan and within minutes she was walking inside the lab with a visitor card on her coat.
Brennan went back to her office after Booth left and she was looking at the X-ray pictures taken of the bones when Sarah entered her office.
"Dr. Brennan?" Sarah asked smiling.
"Agent Bryce." Brennan looked up from the skull's picture "What a surprise seeing you here." she said putting down the pictures and shaking hands with Sarah.
"My boss told me that I can't work with your team..."
"Then you can get fired for being here, you know that right?"
"I know. But I brought some evidence." Bryce nodded pulling out the flash drive from her pocket.
"Let's take it to Angela. She can work on it." Brennan took the evidence bag from her and then led her to Angela's office.
"Ange, this is Special Agent Sarah Bryce from the NCIS. Agent Bryce, this is Angela Montenegro, one of our best forensic experts."
"Nice to meet you." the two women said and then shook hands. Brennan handed the evidence to Angela.
"Angie, can you tell us what's on it?"
"Sure." Angela nodded and then connected the gadget to her computer- It has a minor hack-defence system installed on it, it's relatively easy to crack if you have the proper tools for it. I should be ready in an hour.
"Great." Sarah smiled.
"Thanks, Angie." Brennan said and then she went back to her office with Bryce.
"Dr. Brennan. Can I wait for the results here?" Sarah asked after a few seconds of silence.
"Sure." Brennan nodded "But I have to go now, I still have some tests I need to get done. Make yourself at home."
Brennan went out from her office straight up to the forensic platform. She pulled gloves on and then leaned closer to the corporal's bones. She wanted to examine every single bone. She had to catalogue every abnormality she has found. 30 minutes later, Brennan was still working on the bones, while Angela still couldn't decode the gadget. However Sarah was called back to NCIS. She left a small note on Brennan's desk with her number and then she left. She was walking towards her car, when a black Toyota SUV stopped next to her car and a happy FBI agent jumped out of it.
"Agent Bryce." Booth called after her.
"Agent Booth, I thought you were at the FBI." Sarah smiled turning to face Booth.
"I hang out with the squints sometimes." Booth smiled and the agent smiled back at him. Sarah knew the term squint very well, but she never really used it "Where are you going?" Booth's voice shook her back into reality.
"Back to the NCIS. Actually I brought some evidence, your... uhm... squint is working on it." Sarah said, but Booth looked surprised waiting for a proper explanation "My colleague found a flash drive next to James Wayhne's laptop. Abby and McGee are working on the laptop, it's giving them a hard time, and I thought your experts could help us out. But I got a call a few minutes ago, so I really need to get back to work."
"I understand." Booth nodded. Before they could say goodbye a blue NCIS car stopped next to them with Anthony DiNozzo inside.
"Booth, Sarah." he waved happily "We need to talk to the corporal's CO. I thought you could come with me."
"Fine by me. Agent Booth?" Sarah looked at Booth, who only nodded in response. All three of them sat into their own cars and followed DiNozzo's blue Dodge Charger.