(Season 5)

I don't own Bones.

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The next day, Booth walked over to the Royal Diner to get a cup of coffee and an apple fritter. He had a meeting scheduled for 11 a.m. and he was afraid it might run through lunch. Once he was seated and he'd given his order to Jane, he stared out of the picture window next to him and watched the traffic.

"We need to talk, Booth." Colonel Pelant had stood outside the diner for over an hour hoping that Booth would show up. After he sat down, he placed an envelope on the table between them, leaned back against his chair and stared at the agent.

Curious, Booth picked up the envelope, opened it and read the letter inside. Annoyed, he placed the letter back in the envelope, folded it and placed it in his jacket pocket. "The answer is still no."

Shocked, Pelant shook his head. "The Secretary of Defense asks you to contract with the army for a year and you have the balls to say no? What the hell is wrong with you?"

Jane arrived with his cup of coffee and a fritter and Booth leaned back so she could place them on the table in front of him. Once she left, he stirred some sugar in the coffee, made sure it was sweet enough and finally responded to the seething colonel. "My partner told me that someone is trying to get her to sign up for some dig in Indonesia for a year and you . . . you want me to serve in Afghanistan for a year. We're not stupid. We know when someone is trying to manipulate us and we will not let that happen . . . You can tell whoever is masterminding this little drama that we're not going anywhere. Since they're trying so hard to get us out of the country then that must mean that Bones and me are a threat to them and that's all the reason we need to stay."

Angry, Pelant glared at Booth for a moment then shook his head. "No one is trying to manipulate you and your partner. We need someone in Afghanistan to train young soldiers to do what you're good at. Young men are dying and we need you. You're supposed to be a patriot, but I'm not seeing any signs that is true. Are you afraid? Is that what's going on?"

Furious, Booth stared at the colonel for a moment and realized that the man was trying to back him into a corner and that seemed to confirm what he and Brennan thought was going on. "Your mission failed. I'm not leaving, Dr. Brennan isn't leaving and the Lab will stay open . . . When I find out what this is about, you will regret being part of it. I know how to protect myself and my partner and if I think I need help doing it then you will regret having this conversation with me. I know people. They don't have a sense of humor and they do consider themselves to be super patriots . . . Your plan is dead in the water. Accept it and don't contact me again."

His mission a failure, Pelant sighed and shook his head. "I don't know what you think is going on and I don't care. I'm here to try to get you to do your duty, but if you're not willing to do it then so be it." Standing, he held his hand out. "Give me back the letter."

Patting his jacket pocket, Booth glared at the colonel. "Fuck off."

Since there was nothing else he could say to change Booth's mind, Pelant knew he'd have to pass on the fact that Booth refused to go to Afghanistan. "You disappoint me. I was sure you'd do your patriotic duty. You always have before."

"You're disappointed in me? I used to look up to you. Now I know you're something else and that worries me. It worries me a lot. I'd watch my back if I were you." Booth picked up his cup and sipped some of his coffee. Staring out of the picture window again, he knew the colonel would leave and not come back.

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What do you mean you're turning me down? Don't do this Temperance. Jerry Westgate will not fund this project if you refuse and it will take me more time to find funding again. That will be time wasted and I can't afford to waste any time.

"After you called me the first time, my partner told me that the army is trying to contract him to work in Afghanistan for a year. Someone wants Booth and me out of the country for a year . . . I will not be manipulated Bill. I will not be part of your dig." Brennan was being honest with her friend. She needed him to understand that she would not allow anyone to manipulate her for any reason.

Look, I don't know what you're talking about. I have a legitimate find in Maluku. A find that will shake the anthropology world to its very core. I need you to say yes. This is a legitimate project and not something to manipulate you to leave the country. Come on. You know me. I'm not a Machiavelli. There is no one standing behind the curtain trying to make you do anything. I have a find that needs your expertise. I need you because Jerry Westgate loves your work. Tempe . . . Please, I don't know what you think is going on, but this is a real offer. Please say yes.

Sad, Brennan knew she was doing the right thing. "I must decline. I have called Jerry Westgate on your behalf and he says that if you can get Victor Diaz to come on board he will fund your project for six months, but he will need to see results in those six months before committing to further funding."

You talked to Jerry? I mean if I can get Victor to sign on for the dig he'll front the money for the dig?

"That is what I said, Bill." Brennan sighed. "I hope you have great success."

I hope you don't regret your decision, Temperance, but it is your decision to make. Thanks for talking to Jerry for me. I'm going to call Victor right now and hope he can join my project.

"Good luck, Bill." The call ended, Brennan felt she might be making a mistake, but something was going on and she wasn't going to leave the country until she and Booth figured out why someone was trying to break up their partnership.

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Curious about why Booth wanted to see him, Danny Beck arrived at the Hoover and found Booth in his office. "What's up?"

Standing, Booth walked around his desk, shook Danny's hand then walked over to the door and closed it. "Thanks for coming." Moving back around his desk he sat down and waited for Danny to sit. "Okay . . . This is going to sound paranoid, but I need someone else to know what's going on."

Intrigued, Danny stared at his friend and smiled. "This should be interesting."

"Yeah . . . A scientist named Bill Knudsen is trying to get Bones to go to Indonesia for a year and if that was all that was going on then I'd accept that on face value, but my former commanding officer Colonel Pelant contacted me the same day Knudsen contacted Bones and he's trying to get me to go to Afghanistan for a year."

A little shocked, Danny shook his head. "What the hell . . . you can't go to Afghanistan. You're recovering from brain surgery and you know you can't pass an Army physical . . . Something's wrong . . . I don't like it."

"No kidding." Booth leaned back against his chair. "Pelant gave me a letter from the Secretary of Defense asking me to go. They say I don't have to pass an Army physical since I passed the FBI physical and I'd just be a contract worker." Booth removed the letter from The Secretary of Defense from his jacket pocket and handed it to his friend. "Someone is trying really hard to break up my partnership with Bones. Maybe they want the Lab shut down. I don't know . . . I want to know if you've heard anything involving me or Bones . . . I feel like I have a target on my back and my gut tells me that going to Afghanistan might be a one way trip."

Puzzled, Danny took the letter from Booth and read it. Once he was finished, he placed it back in the envelope and handed it back to Booth. "It looks legit . . . I haven't heard anything . . . Still, let me check into this and see if I can find out what's going on. You have a right to be concerned, I know I am . . . Give me a few days and I'll contact you."

Glad that Danny was taking this seriously, Booth nodded his head. "I told them no and Bones did the same thing. We're waiting to see what the fallout will be."

Standing, Danny looked around his friend's office. "The trips just may be a coincidence, but I don't really believe in coincidences . . . I think you have a right to worry. I know I would be. I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

"Thanks." Booth sighed. "I used to admire Colonel Pelant . . . I hope . . . Thanks Danny." Once he was alone, Booth leaned on his desk, his face in the palms of his hands. He knew that if anyone was trying to manipulate him and Brennan then Danny would figure it out. At least he hoped so.

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