Fic: Dichotomy - Chapter 3
Title: Dichotomy
Sequel to: The Princess in the Tower
Author: mooners (Posted @ mooners_fiction)
Pairings: Booth/Brennan, Jack/Angela
Rating: PG to PG-13
Spoilers: Not so much... mostly rests on season 1 info... Also means no Cam, and still some Goodman :D
Disclaimer: Wish it was mine, but it's not... honest :)
A/N: Just to update you guys, I've now finished writing chapter seven... :D
PREVIOUS CHAPTERS: (see link above)
CHAPTER THREE - Inside & Out
Brennan sat quietly in the room she'd been confined to, staring intently at a clock on the wall... waiting. It was coming on one hour since she'd spoken to Booth. By all accounts, she would soon be allowed another minute to talk.
She hated not being able to do anything. The items in her room wouldn't allow for any furthering in the case or their release. It made her slightly powerless, something she couldn't stand for. For now though, she had nothing to go on.
When the door opened, she looked up to find Frank walking in, her phone in his hand.
"Showtime, Doc," he grabbed her arm to make her stand. Dialing Booth up again, he handed her the phone. She glared and waited for an answer.
"Temperance..."
It took all she had not to break. As it was, she remained very aware of her 'audience'. "Hi..." she slowly replied.
"We don't have much time, so I'll go fast. We IDed your vic, we think. Do you have a girl in there?"
"Yes."
"Got anyone who could be her brother?"
"We do."
"Right. You've got Franklin and Danielle Kinsley. Dead man's their father, Franklin Kinsley Sr. Time of death is probably somewhere last night, time of death or capture. He didn't come home. And he's a tailor." She took this all in. "Are you all..."
"We're okay."
"I'm getting you out of there, count on it."
"I know," she assured him wholly.
"And... I love you." She almost teared up.
"I..." Before she could go on, Frank took the phone back, shutting it after giving another promise of a call in an hour. He gave Brennan a nod, and then he left her.
Alone again, Brennan quietly sat back on the ground. There had to be a way to get things moving in the right direction. The problem was that anything tried and failed could end up costing Angela and Zack their lives. Still, she couldn't let it go.
xx
"How'd it go?" Hodgins asked anxiously as he saw Booth return to the office. He'd dashed out with his phone as soon as it had let loose the beginning of a chime.
"Told Brennan what we found," he explained, going to sit across from Hodgins and Goodman.
"And?"
"And that's it. She says they're okay. She also confirmed our IDs. Frank Jr and Danielle are among the intruders." A moment later, there was a knock at the door. The men looked toward it.
"Agent Booth, Mrs. Kinsley is here," an agent told him. The three stood. Booth looked to Hodgins and Goodman.
"I'll take care of it. You should look after those samples from the crime scene."
"Right," Hodgins nodded. "Just point me toward the lab."
Booth headed off to meet Mrs. Kinsley. He found her pacing about. Booth could tell how these possibilities the call had placed in her head were starting to get to her. He already knew this wouldn't be easy.
"Mrs. Kinsley, we spoke on the phone? I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth," he entered the room. She reached forward to shake his hand.
"Tina Kinsley," she introduced herself. There was silence as she stood there, still holding on to Booth's hand. Finally, she looked up. She had questions in her eyes.
"Mrs. Kinsley..." Booth started, his tone grabbing at the woman.
"Agent Booth, my husband and I have been married twenty-nine years. We're going to Spain next summer for our thirtieth anniversary. He's not... He can't..." Booth stood there, unable to place word one as he looked into this woman's already grief-ready eyes.
"Mrs. Kinsley, please sit," he finally indicated the chair. In that instant she knew there would be no trip to Spain.
"Oh God... Franklin..." she sobbed, and Booth helped her sit before her legs gave out. He let her hold on to his left hand as his right pulled the box of tissues within her reach. She picked one, bringing it to her reddening eyes.
"I'm terribly sorry. If you need a moment, I..." She looked up at him.
"My children?"
"They're unharmed. However..." he paused.
"What?" she asked.
"There's no easy way to say this. There's a hostage situation at the lab where your husband's body was taken..."
"Frank and Dani are in there?" she asked, a new panic rising. Just by her voice he knew she figured them to be hostages.
"They are. But they're not being held hostage. They're the ones doing the holding." Mrs. Kinsley looked up at him like she almost wanted to smack him for even suggesting it. But then he pulled out a small device, placing it on the table before them. "This is a recording from the first call we received." He pressed a button and the voice came.
"Mr. Booth. You may be wondering what's going on, so I'll tell you. I'm standing in front of these three labcoats right now..."
The further the recording went, the more Mrs. Kinsley seemed devastated and betrayed. When Booth stopped the tape, they both remained quiet. Finally, Tina Kinsley spoke. "That's... that's my son."
"One of the hostages confirmed your daughter is also present. We're unaware whether there are any others..."
"Jim and Ethan..." she simply spoke.
"I'm sorry?" Booth asked.
"Jim Perry and Ethan James. If there's anyone else, that'd be my guess. They're Frank's closest friends, Ethan is Danielle's fiance." Her voice was flat, still trying to accept these facts being presented to her. Booth pulled his phone.
"It's Booth. I need you to see if you can find a Jim Perry and an Ethan James. Yeah, they might be at the Jeffersonian." After Booth hung up, he turned to Mrs. Kinsley. "Your son doesn't have a record, he's never done anything close to this. Is there any reason he might suddenly do this?"
"No, I... I just don't understand. This isn't him, he's not..."
"It's alright, I believe you. Mrs. Kinsley, tell me about your husband. Does he have any enemies, people who've threatened him?" A look flashed across her eyes, though she seemed to try not to entertain the thought. "Who?" Booth asked. She looked up at him.
"T-they wouldn't," she persisted.
"Mrs. Kinsley..."
"Yes... Only once upon a time, before I was married that is... I was Tina Grassi." That made Booth sit up.
"As in..." he asked.
"As in," she confirmed. "My father is Robert Grassi." Booth looked at her, suddenly understanding this situation a lot more - and he really wished he didn't. "He didn't acknowledge me, or my mother, for years. We're a bit of a family secret. But we are still family."
"What is the relation like between your husband and your... family."
"My father didn't really approve of Franklin at first. Then when Franklin offered to make their suits at 'discount', he somehow changed his tune. They're still not the best of friends but at least they understand each other."
"What about your children? Has your father ever tried to..."
"Recruit them? I'd never allow it, and neither would Franklin."
"But he has tried."
"There are surprisingly few 'blood' males in our family. My father's had it in his head for years that Frank would take over after he was gone. We've told him that would never happen. But then he's persistent..."
xx
Zack sat on the ground in the middle of the room for what seemed like an eternity... thinking. There were things he knew as truths in regard to this situation they were currently in. He knew that as far as brute force, they were ridiculously outnumbered - not to mention they were lacking in fire power. He also knew that they were favored when it came to brainpower and creativity. That was going to have to be their way out. How to channel their brainpower and not have the firepower cancel that out... that would take some thinking.
He kept his eye on the clock as the minutes would roll on by. When he saw the time for the next allotted call to Agent Booth come and go, he established that they wouldn't come for him unless he were to ask. This meant he had one hour to find something he could bring to Doctor Brennan.
As much as he tried to take this situation as calmly and as rationally as possible, a fear would creep in and take to the spotlight. What if something went wrong? What if they couldn't do this without getting themselves killed? Would they end up like one of the bodies they worked over on a daily basis? Suddenly, he was very conscientious of what they all did all day.
He closed his eyes, trying to give himself a pep talk, a direction. Be like Booth. Booth wouldn't panic in a situation like this. No, Booth would somehow look past the danger and he would get them out. Of course, Booth could also probably take these people down with some technique or another he could do in his sleep. In Zack's case... it remained highly unlikely.
So he couldn't be Booth. He wasn't Seeley Booth, he was Zack Addy. And as Angela had put it, Zack Addy was 'freakishly smart.' With that in mind, he got off his feet, and started looking around the room.
There was something in here, something they could use. He was certain it was here, and he just couldn't think of it for some reason. It would just figure they'd all find themselves trapped in here... again...
He paused, mouth hanging open as he suddenly remembered. He all but smacked himself on the head in disbelief that he'd actually forgotten about it. He opened a cabinet and looked down, spotting the case at the bottom. Now with his 'offering to the cause,' Zack felt like there was a chance for relaxing until the time came around.
xx
"Found something," Hodgins announced to Goodman. He looked up. "Franklin Michael Kinsley. Born, blah, blah, school, honors, graduated..."
"I don't see how this helps our colleagues..." Goodman cut him off. Hodgins raised a finger into the air.
"You didn't let me finish. So he finishes school, he goes and takes over his father's shop after the old man dies. And that's around the time he meets his future wife."
"Again, I..." Goodman tried again, once more presented with a finger.
"The mystery is hidden thanks to a little case of name taking. The widow Kinsley took the name, in the process discarding the maiden name... Grassi." Goodman was awestruck. "What'd I tell you?"
"Where did you get all this?"
"Encyclopedia Dorothyca..." off Goodman's look, "My friend Dory. And don't ask me where she gets it." Before Goodman could comment, Booth rejoined them in his office.
"You two keep looking, I'm going to..."
"Wait, wait, where are you going?" Hodgins stood. "Did something happen at the lab?"
"No, nothing of that kind," Booth assured him. "I just have to take care of something."
"Agent Booth," Goodman spoke up, still facing away. Booth stopped. "Whatever you found out, let's hear it." More silence...
"Talked with Kinsley's wife. There's something in her family I need..."
"You mean in Robert Grassi's family?" Hodgins guessed. "We know too. And we're coming with you."
xx
Angela was counting for nicks in the wall. Anything that could serve to keep her mind clear, she did. One, two, three, forget that they were being held hostage. Four, five, six, forget the gun she'd found pointed at her before. Seven, eight, nine, forget the burnt up body a couple of feet behind her...
This was the job. She saw these things, the things that made people run and squirm, every day. But it didn't make it easier. She thought about this man. She thought about how messed up it was that she hoped they'd killed him before they set him on fire. She thought about this man's family, how they'd lost him. The fact that this involved their current predicament didn't even really matter. A woman had lost her husband, children had lost their father... Treating them as any different wasn't something she would do. She'd just have to part her thoughts.
She thought about Jack. She didn't want a silly argument over living arrangements to be the last thing they ever said to each other. She didn't know why it was so hard for her to think about it - or maybe she knew too much... Either way, things would change. If they got out - no, WHEN they got out - they'd change.
xx
"Booth?"
"Hodgins?" he replied.
"Are we going in?" Booth looked at his watch.
"It's almost time for the call," he explained after a moment.
"Oh... right. Sorry."
"No problem," he kept looking about. "Did you get in touch with your wife?" he turned briefly to Goodman.
"Yes. She's at home with the girls. Her sister came in to be with them. They're getting better. Thank you for asking."
"Sure," Booth nodded.
xx
Back at the lab, Zack looked at the clock and saw it was time. Deep breaths in and out accompanied a pat down of his coat pockets to make sure he could do what he planned to do.
Drawing his closed fist to the door, he knocked. A few seconds later, Ethan opened the door, his face devoid of any kind of emotion. Zack gulped discreetly.
"I, uh... I'd like to see Doctor Brennan and Angela, I want to see that they're okay." Ethan looked at him.
"I'll ask," he finally said. After a minute of pacing, he was rewarded with instructions for Zack to follow him.
He felt like a stranger in his own world. He spent countless hours in this place, but now he couldn't help feeling like this was some other place, not his home away from home. Soon, he saw Brennan and Angela escorted out of their isolation rooms.
"Nice and slow," Frank instructed them. They did, hands outstretched... it was almost like a dance. Zack reached Angela first, throwing his arms around her, she was almost knocked off her feet.
"Woah, hey... I'm okay, I'm... okay," her voice dropped when she felt an object drop into her coat pocket. Her eyes briefly crossed with Zack's, an understanding exchanged with barely a hint of a nod or a blink. They stepped apart and Angela kept a clear look.
"I'm glad you two are alright..." Zack took the hugging party to Brennan. She was still confused by what she was seeing.
"Hurry it up now. Wouldn't want your boss to miss her time with her boyfriend," he waved the phone about.
"R-right..." Zack said, pulling his little treasure from his pocket to Brennan's. For a moment, his fingers slipped and he worried he'd drop it. But a moment later, he got it where he needed it to go. He stepped back.
"Okay, you two, back to your corners," Frank indicated Zack and Angela. They were escorted back as Frank approached Brennan with the phone.
xx
"They're late," Hodgins told Booth as they remained in the awkwardly quiet car. Booth looked to his watch.
"They're not. He'll call."
"How can you be so sure?" Almost in response, the phone rang.
"It's a gift." He answered. "Hey..." his voice softened just a bit. "Are you okay?"
"I am. And... I saw Zack and Angela. They're okay too."
"Good... good, I'll let them know."
"Good," Brennan repeated.
"Listen, we have a lead. Tina Kinsley - the wife - is Robert Grassi's daughter. From what I can tell, he really wants his grandson to take his place after he's gone, you know? We're about to go look into that."
"Okay."
"We'll deal with this."
"I know." She could tell she was about to be cut off. "Talk to you in an hour..." she managed to get in before Frank took the phone away and got Danielle to take Brennan back to her 'lock-up'.
Things were happening, moving along. Just knowing that, she felt just a little more at ease, felt her breathing calm.
TBC
Sequel to: The Princess in the Tower
Author: mooners (Posted @ mooners_fiction)
Pairings: Booth/Brennan, Jack/Angela
Rating: PG to PG-13
Spoilers: Not so much... mostly rests on season 1 info... Also means no Cam, and still some Goodman :D
Disclaimer: Wish it was mine, but it's not... honest :)
A/N: Just to update you guys, I've now finished writing chapter seven... :D
PREVIOUS CHAPTERS: (see link above)
CHAPTER THREE - Inside & Out
Brennan sat quietly in the room she'd been confined to, staring intently at a clock on the wall... waiting. It was coming on one hour since she'd spoken to Booth. By all accounts, she would soon be allowed another minute to talk.
She hated not being able to do anything. The items in her room wouldn't allow for any furthering in the case or their release. It made her slightly powerless, something she couldn't stand for. For now though, she had nothing to go on.
When the door opened, she looked up to find Frank walking in, her phone in his hand.
"Showtime, Doc," he grabbed her arm to make her stand. Dialing Booth up again, he handed her the phone. She glared and waited for an answer.
"Temperance..."
It took all she had not to break. As it was, she remained very aware of her 'audience'. "Hi..." she slowly replied.
"We don't have much time, so I'll go fast. We IDed your vic, we think. Do you have a girl in there?"
"Yes."
"Got anyone who could be her brother?"
"We do."
"Right. You've got Franklin and Danielle Kinsley. Dead man's their father, Franklin Kinsley Sr. Time of death is probably somewhere last night, time of death or capture. He didn't come home. And he's a tailor." She took this all in. "Are you all..."
"We're okay."
"I'm getting you out of there, count on it."
"I know," she assured him wholly.
"And... I love you." She almost teared up.
"I..." Before she could go on, Frank took the phone back, shutting it after giving another promise of a call in an hour. He gave Brennan a nod, and then he left her.
Alone again, Brennan quietly sat back on the ground. There had to be a way to get things moving in the right direction. The problem was that anything tried and failed could end up costing Angela and Zack their lives. Still, she couldn't let it go.
xx
"How'd it go?" Hodgins asked anxiously as he saw Booth return to the office. He'd dashed out with his phone as soon as it had let loose the beginning of a chime.
"Told Brennan what we found," he explained, going to sit across from Hodgins and Goodman.
"And?"
"And that's it. She says they're okay. She also confirmed our IDs. Frank Jr and Danielle are among the intruders." A moment later, there was a knock at the door. The men looked toward it.
"Agent Booth, Mrs. Kinsley is here," an agent told him. The three stood. Booth looked to Hodgins and Goodman.
"I'll take care of it. You should look after those samples from the crime scene."
"Right," Hodgins nodded. "Just point me toward the lab."
Booth headed off to meet Mrs. Kinsley. He found her pacing about. Booth could tell how these possibilities the call had placed in her head were starting to get to her. He already knew this wouldn't be easy.
"Mrs. Kinsley, we spoke on the phone? I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth," he entered the room. She reached forward to shake his hand.
"Tina Kinsley," she introduced herself. There was silence as she stood there, still holding on to Booth's hand. Finally, she looked up. She had questions in her eyes.
"Mrs. Kinsley..." Booth started, his tone grabbing at the woman.
"Agent Booth, my husband and I have been married twenty-nine years. We're going to Spain next summer for our thirtieth anniversary. He's not... He can't..." Booth stood there, unable to place word one as he looked into this woman's already grief-ready eyes.
"Mrs. Kinsley, please sit," he finally indicated the chair. In that instant she knew there would be no trip to Spain.
"Oh God... Franklin..." she sobbed, and Booth helped her sit before her legs gave out. He let her hold on to his left hand as his right pulled the box of tissues within her reach. She picked one, bringing it to her reddening eyes.
"I'm terribly sorry. If you need a moment, I..." She looked up at him.
"My children?"
"They're unharmed. However..." he paused.
"What?" she asked.
"There's no easy way to say this. There's a hostage situation at the lab where your husband's body was taken..."
"Frank and Dani are in there?" she asked, a new panic rising. Just by her voice he knew she figured them to be hostages.
"They are. But they're not being held hostage. They're the ones doing the holding." Mrs. Kinsley looked up at him like she almost wanted to smack him for even suggesting it. But then he pulled out a small device, placing it on the table before them. "This is a recording from the first call we received." He pressed a button and the voice came.
"Mr. Booth. You may be wondering what's going on, so I'll tell you. I'm standing in front of these three labcoats right now..."
The further the recording went, the more Mrs. Kinsley seemed devastated and betrayed. When Booth stopped the tape, they both remained quiet. Finally, Tina Kinsley spoke. "That's... that's my son."
"One of the hostages confirmed your daughter is also present. We're unaware whether there are any others..."
"Jim and Ethan..." she simply spoke.
"I'm sorry?" Booth asked.
"Jim Perry and Ethan James. If there's anyone else, that'd be my guess. They're Frank's closest friends, Ethan is Danielle's fiance." Her voice was flat, still trying to accept these facts being presented to her. Booth pulled his phone.
"It's Booth. I need you to see if you can find a Jim Perry and an Ethan James. Yeah, they might be at the Jeffersonian." After Booth hung up, he turned to Mrs. Kinsley. "Your son doesn't have a record, he's never done anything close to this. Is there any reason he might suddenly do this?"
"No, I... I just don't understand. This isn't him, he's not..."
"It's alright, I believe you. Mrs. Kinsley, tell me about your husband. Does he have any enemies, people who've threatened him?" A look flashed across her eyes, though she seemed to try not to entertain the thought. "Who?" Booth asked. She looked up at him.
"T-they wouldn't," she persisted.
"Mrs. Kinsley..."
"Yes... Only once upon a time, before I was married that is... I was Tina Grassi." That made Booth sit up.
"As in..." he asked.
"As in," she confirmed. "My father is Robert Grassi." Booth looked at her, suddenly understanding this situation a lot more - and he really wished he didn't. "He didn't acknowledge me, or my mother, for years. We're a bit of a family secret. But we are still family."
"What is the relation like between your husband and your... family."
"My father didn't really approve of Franklin at first. Then when Franklin offered to make their suits at 'discount', he somehow changed his tune. They're still not the best of friends but at least they understand each other."
"What about your children? Has your father ever tried to..."
"Recruit them? I'd never allow it, and neither would Franklin."
"But he has tried."
"There are surprisingly few 'blood' males in our family. My father's had it in his head for years that Frank would take over after he was gone. We've told him that would never happen. But then he's persistent..."
xx
Zack sat on the ground in the middle of the room for what seemed like an eternity... thinking. There were things he knew as truths in regard to this situation they were currently in. He knew that as far as brute force, they were ridiculously outnumbered - not to mention they were lacking in fire power. He also knew that they were favored when it came to brainpower and creativity. That was going to have to be their way out. How to channel their brainpower and not have the firepower cancel that out... that would take some thinking.
He kept his eye on the clock as the minutes would roll on by. When he saw the time for the next allotted call to Agent Booth come and go, he established that they wouldn't come for him unless he were to ask. This meant he had one hour to find something he could bring to Doctor Brennan.
As much as he tried to take this situation as calmly and as rationally as possible, a fear would creep in and take to the spotlight. What if something went wrong? What if they couldn't do this without getting themselves killed? Would they end up like one of the bodies they worked over on a daily basis? Suddenly, he was very conscientious of what they all did all day.
He closed his eyes, trying to give himself a pep talk, a direction. Be like Booth. Booth wouldn't panic in a situation like this. No, Booth would somehow look past the danger and he would get them out. Of course, Booth could also probably take these people down with some technique or another he could do in his sleep. In Zack's case... it remained highly unlikely.
So he couldn't be Booth. He wasn't Seeley Booth, he was Zack Addy. And as Angela had put it, Zack Addy was 'freakishly smart.' With that in mind, he got off his feet, and started looking around the room.
There was something in here, something they could use. He was certain it was here, and he just couldn't think of it for some reason. It would just figure they'd all find themselves trapped in here... again...
He paused, mouth hanging open as he suddenly remembered. He all but smacked himself on the head in disbelief that he'd actually forgotten about it. He opened a cabinet and looked down, spotting the case at the bottom. Now with his 'offering to the cause,' Zack felt like there was a chance for relaxing until the time came around.
xx
"Found something," Hodgins announced to Goodman. He looked up. "Franklin Michael Kinsley. Born, blah, blah, school, honors, graduated..."
"I don't see how this helps our colleagues..." Goodman cut him off. Hodgins raised a finger into the air.
"You didn't let me finish. So he finishes school, he goes and takes over his father's shop after the old man dies. And that's around the time he meets his future wife."
"Again, I..." Goodman tried again, once more presented with a finger.
"The mystery is hidden thanks to a little case of name taking. The widow Kinsley took the name, in the process discarding the maiden name... Grassi." Goodman was awestruck. "What'd I tell you?"
"Where did you get all this?"
"Encyclopedia Dorothyca..." off Goodman's look, "My friend Dory. And don't ask me where she gets it." Before Goodman could comment, Booth rejoined them in his office.
"You two keep looking, I'm going to..."
"Wait, wait, where are you going?" Hodgins stood. "Did something happen at the lab?"
"No, nothing of that kind," Booth assured him. "I just have to take care of something."
"Agent Booth," Goodman spoke up, still facing away. Booth stopped. "Whatever you found out, let's hear it." More silence...
"Talked with Kinsley's wife. There's something in her family I need..."
"You mean in Robert Grassi's family?" Hodgins guessed. "We know too. And we're coming with you."
xx
Angela was counting for nicks in the wall. Anything that could serve to keep her mind clear, she did. One, two, three, forget that they were being held hostage. Four, five, six, forget the gun she'd found pointed at her before. Seven, eight, nine, forget the burnt up body a couple of feet behind her...
This was the job. She saw these things, the things that made people run and squirm, every day. But it didn't make it easier. She thought about this man. She thought about how messed up it was that she hoped they'd killed him before they set him on fire. She thought about this man's family, how they'd lost him. The fact that this involved their current predicament didn't even really matter. A woman had lost her husband, children had lost their father... Treating them as any different wasn't something she would do. She'd just have to part her thoughts.
She thought about Jack. She didn't want a silly argument over living arrangements to be the last thing they ever said to each other. She didn't know why it was so hard for her to think about it - or maybe she knew too much... Either way, things would change. If they got out - no, WHEN they got out - they'd change.
xx
"Booth?"
"Hodgins?" he replied.
"Are we going in?" Booth looked at his watch.
"It's almost time for the call," he explained after a moment.
"Oh... right. Sorry."
"No problem," he kept looking about. "Did you get in touch with your wife?" he turned briefly to Goodman.
"Yes. She's at home with the girls. Her sister came in to be with them. They're getting better. Thank you for asking."
"Sure," Booth nodded.
xx
Back at the lab, Zack looked at the clock and saw it was time. Deep breaths in and out accompanied a pat down of his coat pockets to make sure he could do what he planned to do.
Drawing his closed fist to the door, he knocked. A few seconds later, Ethan opened the door, his face devoid of any kind of emotion. Zack gulped discreetly.
"I, uh... I'd like to see Doctor Brennan and Angela, I want to see that they're okay." Ethan looked at him.
"I'll ask," he finally said. After a minute of pacing, he was rewarded with instructions for Zack to follow him.
He felt like a stranger in his own world. He spent countless hours in this place, but now he couldn't help feeling like this was some other place, not his home away from home. Soon, he saw Brennan and Angela escorted out of their isolation rooms.
"Nice and slow," Frank instructed them. They did, hands outstretched... it was almost like a dance. Zack reached Angela first, throwing his arms around her, she was almost knocked off her feet.
"Woah, hey... I'm okay, I'm... okay," her voice dropped when she felt an object drop into her coat pocket. Her eyes briefly crossed with Zack's, an understanding exchanged with barely a hint of a nod or a blink. They stepped apart and Angela kept a clear look.
"I'm glad you two are alright..." Zack took the hugging party to Brennan. She was still confused by what she was seeing.
"Hurry it up now. Wouldn't want your boss to miss her time with her boyfriend," he waved the phone about.
"R-right..." Zack said, pulling his little treasure from his pocket to Brennan's. For a moment, his fingers slipped and he worried he'd drop it. But a moment later, he got it where he needed it to go. He stepped back.
"Okay, you two, back to your corners," Frank indicated Zack and Angela. They were escorted back as Frank approached Brennan with the phone.
xx
"They're late," Hodgins told Booth as they remained in the awkwardly quiet car. Booth looked to his watch.
"They're not. He'll call."
"How can you be so sure?" Almost in response, the phone rang.
"It's a gift." He answered. "Hey..." his voice softened just a bit. "Are you okay?"
"I am. And... I saw Zack and Angela. They're okay too."
"Good... good, I'll let them know."
"Good," Brennan repeated.
"Listen, we have a lead. Tina Kinsley - the wife - is Robert Grassi's daughter. From what I can tell, he really wants his grandson to take his place after he's gone, you know? We're about to go look into that."
"Okay."
"We'll deal with this."
"I know." She could tell she was about to be cut off. "Talk to you in an hour..." she managed to get in before Frank took the phone away and got Danielle to take Brennan back to her 'lock-up'.
Things were happening, moving along. Just knowing that, she felt just a little more at ease, felt her breathing calm.
TBC