The Taking--Chapter 4
Profiler: The Taking-- Chapter 4
Rating: R for violence, sexuality, salty language.
Pairing: Grace/George friendship; Grace/Bailey; some Goat; mostly VCTF friendship.
Fandoms: This is my first cross-over with “Bones.” Temperance Brennance, Seeley Booth, Zack Addey, Jack Hodgins, Camille Saroyan, Angela Montenegro, the Grave Digger, and Gormogon are all property of Hart Hanson, Kathy Reichs, and Fox. I’m just borrowing them for a while.
A/N: This takes place during the imaginary fifth season, with the assumption that the VCTF hasn’t closed. This takes place in a future season of “Bones," though it references the season 3 finale featuring the serial killer Gormogon and the season 2 episode "Aliens in a Spaceship."
For the first two parts of "The Taking," click here:
http://community.livejournal.com/profiler_fans/357825.html#cutid2
For part 3 of "The Taking," click here:
http://community.livejournal.com/profiler_fans/363866.html#cutid1
“Look, Dr. Brennan, I don’t know what to tell you. The Grave Digger has never changed his M.O., not in six kidnappings.” Thomas Vega, the former FBI kidnapping and ransom specialist, spoke very firmly. “The evidence must be wrong.”
Brennan looked extraordinarily exasperated. “Evidence doesn’t lie, Mr. Vega. It’s neat and logical. Humans lie. They change. They’re messy and illogical. If anything is wrong here, it’s your assumption that the Grave Digger, a human being, would not or could not change his M.O.”
“Look, Vega, all we’re saying is that this is starting to look different from the other Digger abductions,” Booth broke in. “Yes, it looks the same on the surface- missing kids, ransom demand, GPS coordinates, the works. But it’s different underneath. The stun gun is different. The ransom demand came two hours after the abduction and the amount that was asked for was more than either Dr. Alvarez or Mr. Ballard could raise within the time limit. Even the victims are different- he’s never taken children so young before and never so boldly- right out of their own home! If this is really the Digger, then he’s changed his M.O. If it’s not the Digger, then someone is doing a damn good imitation.”
Vega shrugged. “What do you want from me, Agent Booth? If you’re so convinced this isn’t the Grave Digger, why call in the reigning expert on him?”
“Precisely for that reason,” Booth replied. “You’re the expert. You can give us the certainty that we’re looking for, one way or the other. I’ve already told you what I think of your relationship with the Grave Digger--”
“And I already told you that I have no relationship with the Grave Digger!” Vega exclaimed, voice rising. “I don’t aid and abet, Agent Booth. I’m a federal agent!”
“Former federal agent,” Brennan corrected, “one who’s made plenty of money off of the Grave Digger.”
“I won’t have my integrity questioned!” Vega stormed. “You want my help, fine. I’ll look at your evidence- just send it over. But I’m telling you that the Digger doesn’t change. Not even when he abducted you, Dr. Brennan. It was letter perfect, all the way across the board. I will stake my considerable reputation on that.”
“Mr. Vega,” Grace spoke up from her place at the table. “If we pay the ransom will he let my boys go?”
“He’s true to his word, Dr. Alvarez. If you pay, he’ll let them go. But he’ll do it on his clock, not yours. Once you pay, he’ll send you the GPS coordinates for their location, though he typically waits until the victims have an hour of air left. You’ll be on a time table from the moment you get those coordinates. If you can’t get your boys in an hour, they’ll die.”
“We’ve got a retrieval team ready,” Bailey said. “And we’re ready to send the money. Is there any chance of tracing his location through his bank accounts?”
“None. He’s a skilled hacker.”
“He’s not as skilled as George, I’ll bet,” John spoke up. “We’re going to try a trace.”
“It’s been done before,” Vega warned. “He doesn’t respond well. You try to trace him and he learns about it, he’ll go underground and you’ll never get those boys back.”
Morgan looked up from his Blackberry, where he’d been messaging Gwen and exchanged a stricken look with his ex-wife.
“Grace, no. Don’t risk it.”
Grace was already shaking her head. “Please don’t. I can’t lose my boys. I know catching him is important but-“
“I won’t, Grace,” George promised. “Not unless you tell me to.” He looked around at the assembled group. “It’s Grace’s call, guys. She’s running the show.”
There were nods from the group, though Brennan’s lips had thinned and she was drumming her fingers on the table. George turned to Vega’s image on the video screen. “No trace. I’m good but I’m not going to put my god-sons in jeopardy either.”
“A wise choice. Send me what you have on the Digger- I’ll look it over. If you’re going to send the money, do it now, but be ready with your retrieval team. They have to be quick and they have to be good. He won’t give you much time.”
Brennan rose abruptly and left the room. Vega watched her go, then addressed the VCTF group. “She knows what I mean- every second counts. I saw what the Digger did to her and Dr. Hodgins. Be on your A-game, Agent Malone. Good luck to you.”
As soon as the screen went black, Booth spat, “God, I can’t stand that guy!”
“You really think he’s in league with the Grave Digger?” John asked.
“I think Vega’s a parasite who wouldn’t have anything left if the Digger stopped now. But that’s just my opinion.”
“He really did a number on Brennan, huh?” John fidgeted with his coffee cup. “Maybe you’d better tell us exactly what happened.”
Booth went through the story, relating the team’s efforts to rescue Brennan and Hodgins after paying the ransom fell through. He found himself remembering the harrowing minutes standing at the edge of the slag heap at the Virginia strip-mine, surveying acres of dusty ground that held no clue where his partner was buried.
A plume of dust curled up from below, followed by the sound of loose rock shifting. That was all it took for Booth. He was down the side of the slag heap and running full tilt, eyes on the dust plume.
There! Loose rock. He plunged his hands in, began digging desperately.
His fingers brushed Brennan’s and he latched on to her wrist. Using all of his strength, he began to pull, hauling himself backward, digging his heels in.
Her wrist appeared, her arm, her head. The loose rock was pulling at her legs, trying to suck her back down. Booth got a grip on her waist and pulled with everything in him, then staggered backward and sank down onto the loose shale, Brennan in his arms.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” he whispered, not sure if she heard the words. He smoothed her hair back from her forehead, so relieved to see her face that he could barely contain the urge to pull her to him and hug her hard. “You’re okay, Tempe.”
She was struggling to breathe but she managed to gasp out, “Get Hodgins!”
He left her lying there and dug for Hodgins, noting that Angela, Cam, and Zack had joined him. Hodgins’ face appeared, dusty, white with pain. Angela and Zack hauled him up out of the hole, held him hard, laughing and crying all at once. Angela pressed her lips to his and, even disoriented, he managed to pull her down to him, kissing her back hungrily.
He moved back to Brennan’s side, flopped down next to her, tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t sound trite or cliched. He finally had to settle for a grin in her direction and a brush of his hands over hers.
“I’d say if anyone’s got a reason to be scared of the Digger, it’s Brennan,” John mused.
“You don’t know her well enough yet to know that she’d kick your ass ten ways to Sunday for saying that,” Booth responded. “Look, bottom line- we found her and Hodgins, we’ll find the boys, with or without Vega’s help.”
“The difference here is that two fully grown, incredibly intelligent adults were actively working to get themselves out of that situation,” Morgan interjected. “My boys are three and nine months. They have no idea what’s going on. What are you going to do if we can’t get to them fast enough?”
“Don’t think about that,” Grace said.
“Grace-“
”Don’t think about it! They’re going to be fine.” She rose. “Transfer the money, George. No trace. No hacking. Just send it and hope he sends the coordinates before the boys run out of air. I’m going downstairs to the range.”
Rachel turned startled eyes on the M.E. Grace never went to the range unless it was before a re-qualifier.
“Grace, do you want me to-“
”I want to be alone right now, Rach. Thanks anyway.” She walked out of the command center and headed for the elevator that would take her to the lower level and the firing range, her hand already at her waist where, Rachel noticed, she had holstered her service pistol.
George was working his usual magic at the keyboard and abruptly announced, “Okay, the money’s away. Everyone keep an eye on that phone. If he’s good as his word, he’ll send the coordinates.”
Rating: R for violence, sexuality, salty language.
Pairing: Grace/George friendship; Grace/Bailey; some Goat; mostly VCTF friendship.
Fandoms: This is my first cross-over with “Bones.” Temperance Brennance, Seeley Booth, Zack Addey, Jack Hodgins, Camille Saroyan, Angela Montenegro, the Grave Digger, and Gormogon are all property of Hart Hanson, Kathy Reichs, and Fox. I’m just borrowing them for a while.
A/N: This takes place during the imaginary fifth season, with the assumption that the VCTF hasn’t closed. This takes place in a future season of “Bones," though it references the season 3 finale featuring the serial killer Gormogon and the season 2 episode "Aliens in a Spaceship."
For the first two parts of "The Taking," click here:
http://community.livejournal.com/profiler_fans/357825.html#cutid2
For part 3 of "The Taking," click here:
http://community.livejournal.com/profiler_fans/363866.html#cutid1
“Look, Dr. Brennan, I don’t know what to tell you. The Grave Digger has never changed his M.O., not in six kidnappings.” Thomas Vega, the former FBI kidnapping and ransom specialist, spoke very firmly. “The evidence must be wrong.”
Brennan looked extraordinarily exasperated. “Evidence doesn’t lie, Mr. Vega. It’s neat and logical. Humans lie. They change. They’re messy and illogical. If anything is wrong here, it’s your assumption that the Grave Digger, a human being, would not or could not change his M.O.”
“Look, Vega, all we’re saying is that this is starting to look different from the other Digger abductions,” Booth broke in. “Yes, it looks the same on the surface- missing kids, ransom demand, GPS coordinates, the works. But it’s different underneath. The stun gun is different. The ransom demand came two hours after the abduction and the amount that was asked for was more than either Dr. Alvarez or Mr. Ballard could raise within the time limit. Even the victims are different- he’s never taken children so young before and never so boldly- right out of their own home! If this is really the Digger, then he’s changed his M.O. If it’s not the Digger, then someone is doing a damn good imitation.”
Vega shrugged. “What do you want from me, Agent Booth? If you’re so convinced this isn’t the Grave Digger, why call in the reigning expert on him?”
“Precisely for that reason,” Booth replied. “You’re the expert. You can give us the certainty that we’re looking for, one way or the other. I’ve already told you what I think of your relationship with the Grave Digger--”
“And I already told you that I have no relationship with the Grave Digger!” Vega exclaimed, voice rising. “I don’t aid and abet, Agent Booth. I’m a federal agent!”
“Former federal agent,” Brennan corrected, “one who’s made plenty of money off of the Grave Digger.”
“I won’t have my integrity questioned!” Vega stormed. “You want my help, fine. I’ll look at your evidence- just send it over. But I’m telling you that the Digger doesn’t change. Not even when he abducted you, Dr. Brennan. It was letter perfect, all the way across the board. I will stake my considerable reputation on that.”
“Mr. Vega,” Grace spoke up from her place at the table. “If we pay the ransom will he let my boys go?”
“He’s true to his word, Dr. Alvarez. If you pay, he’ll let them go. But he’ll do it on his clock, not yours. Once you pay, he’ll send you the GPS coordinates for their location, though he typically waits until the victims have an hour of air left. You’ll be on a time table from the moment you get those coordinates. If you can’t get your boys in an hour, they’ll die.”
“We’ve got a retrieval team ready,” Bailey said. “And we’re ready to send the money. Is there any chance of tracing his location through his bank accounts?”
“None. He’s a skilled hacker.”
“He’s not as skilled as George, I’ll bet,” John spoke up. “We’re going to try a trace.”
“It’s been done before,” Vega warned. “He doesn’t respond well. You try to trace him and he learns about it, he’ll go underground and you’ll never get those boys back.”
Morgan looked up from his Blackberry, where he’d been messaging Gwen and exchanged a stricken look with his ex-wife.
“Grace, no. Don’t risk it.”
Grace was already shaking her head. “Please don’t. I can’t lose my boys. I know catching him is important but-“
“I won’t, Grace,” George promised. “Not unless you tell me to.” He looked around at the assembled group. “It’s Grace’s call, guys. She’s running the show.”
There were nods from the group, though Brennan’s lips had thinned and she was drumming her fingers on the table. George turned to Vega’s image on the video screen. “No trace. I’m good but I’m not going to put my god-sons in jeopardy either.”
“A wise choice. Send me what you have on the Digger- I’ll look it over. If you’re going to send the money, do it now, but be ready with your retrieval team. They have to be quick and they have to be good. He won’t give you much time.”
Brennan rose abruptly and left the room. Vega watched her go, then addressed the VCTF group. “She knows what I mean- every second counts. I saw what the Digger did to her and Dr. Hodgins. Be on your A-game, Agent Malone. Good luck to you.”
As soon as the screen went black, Booth spat, “God, I can’t stand that guy!”
“You really think he’s in league with the Grave Digger?” John asked.
“I think Vega’s a parasite who wouldn’t have anything left if the Digger stopped now. But that’s just my opinion.”
“He really did a number on Brennan, huh?” John fidgeted with his coffee cup. “Maybe you’d better tell us exactly what happened.”
Booth went through the story, relating the team’s efforts to rescue Brennan and Hodgins after paying the ransom fell through. He found himself remembering the harrowing minutes standing at the edge of the slag heap at the Virginia strip-mine, surveying acres of dusty ground that held no clue where his partner was buried.
A plume of dust curled up from below, followed by the sound of loose rock shifting. That was all it took for Booth. He was down the side of the slag heap and running full tilt, eyes on the dust plume.
There! Loose rock. He plunged his hands in, began digging desperately.
His fingers brushed Brennan’s and he latched on to her wrist. Using all of his strength, he began to pull, hauling himself backward, digging his heels in.
Her wrist appeared, her arm, her head. The loose rock was pulling at her legs, trying to suck her back down. Booth got a grip on her waist and pulled with everything in him, then staggered backward and sank down onto the loose shale, Brennan in his arms.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” he whispered, not sure if she heard the words. He smoothed her hair back from her forehead, so relieved to see her face that he could barely contain the urge to pull her to him and hug her hard. “You’re okay, Tempe.”
She was struggling to breathe but she managed to gasp out, “Get Hodgins!”
He left her lying there and dug for Hodgins, noting that Angela, Cam, and Zack had joined him. Hodgins’ face appeared, dusty, white with pain. Angela and Zack hauled him up out of the hole, held him hard, laughing and crying all at once. Angela pressed her lips to his and, even disoriented, he managed to pull her down to him, kissing her back hungrily.
He moved back to Brennan’s side, flopped down next to her, tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t sound trite or cliched. He finally had to settle for a grin in her direction and a brush of his hands over hers.
“I’d say if anyone’s got a reason to be scared of the Digger, it’s Brennan,” John mused.
“You don’t know her well enough yet to know that she’d kick your ass ten ways to Sunday for saying that,” Booth responded. “Look, bottom line- we found her and Hodgins, we’ll find the boys, with or without Vega’s help.”
“The difference here is that two fully grown, incredibly intelligent adults were actively working to get themselves out of that situation,” Morgan interjected. “My boys are three and nine months. They have no idea what’s going on. What are you going to do if we can’t get to them fast enough?”
“Don’t think about that,” Grace said.
“Grace-“
”Don’t think about it! They’re going to be fine.” She rose. “Transfer the money, George. No trace. No hacking. Just send it and hope he sends the coordinates before the boys run out of air. I’m going downstairs to the range.”
Rachel turned startled eyes on the M.E. Grace never went to the range unless it was before a re-qualifier.
“Grace, do you want me to-“
”I want to be alone right now, Rach. Thanks anyway.” She walked out of the command center and headed for the elevator that would take her to the lower level and the firing range, her hand already at her waist where, Rachel noticed, she had holstered her service pistol.
George was working his usual magic at the keyboard and abruptly announced, “Okay, the money’s away. Everyone keep an eye on that phone. If he’s good as his word, he’ll send the coordinates.”