The Other Bones

The Missing

Mia slipped back onto the bike before riding back to the apartment to meet her dad. He had chosen Seeley's apartment for their meeting which surprised Mia but she didn't mind. She was excited to see her father again even if he was a dangerous man.

As she pulled up outside the apartment block she looked around. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary except a black Camaro parked in the far corner of the parking lot. It was probably her father's. Flashy car for a criminal but equally the car she would pick if she needed a new one. 

For a moment she paused thinking of her car sitting in Texas waiting for her to get home. As fun as riding Seeley's Triumph America she missed her Mustang. Once she had done dreaming about her beautiful car and had successfully locked Seeley's bike up so no one would steal it she walked inside the apartment building and up to Seeley's apartment. She was scared of what her father could have done but hoped it was nothing. 

Clearly, her mind was occupying all of her senses as she was walking back to Seeley's apartment and suddenly there was a sharp pain in her neck. She dropped to the floor immediately. Her vision blurring dangerously around the edges but she still couldn't see the attacker.

As Max Keenan was sitting in Agent Booth's apartment drinking tea he was growing more and more concerned about his youngest daughter. She said she was on her way back an hour ago and the Jeffersonian was not that far from here. After another 30 minutes of patiently waiting, drinking tea and calling and texting his daughter he decided it was probably the time to leave in case Seeley came home.

Meanwhile, as Bones and Russ were discussing their lives and their mother Seeley's mind was occupied by the missing sibling. Mia had disappeared at least an hour ago if not two hours ago. He quickly picked up his phone to check if she had contacted her but there was nothing so he decided that he should probably call her somewhere private. He didn't want the wedding news getting out just yet. He quietly slipped out of the main area of the lab and into Bones' office. He quickly dialled Mia's phone but it just rang out. He waited a few minutes and tried again but there was still no answer.

As Booth was walking out of Brennan's office his phone rang. For a moment his heart leapt. He thought it was Mia but as he answered the phone his stomach dropped.

"Amelia Keenan has been buried alive wire transfer 10 million to the following account or your wife will suffocate to death. Do not involve law enforcement or she will die. When I receive the money you will receive her location. This will be my last communication"

Seeley silently kept walking past the argument that Temperance and Russ were having and settled himself onto one of the couches on the mezzanine dropping his head into his hands. How on earth would he save her from this? And who would take her and know they were married? Max Keenan was the most likely option.

"What's wrong honey" Angela asked, sitting next to Booth placing a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"Someone's taken Mia" he whispered, feeling the tears slip down his cheek. He didn't want to be this vulnerable at work especially when most of them didn't know about his real relationship with Mia.

"We'll find her" Angela assured him "but we will need help"

"No law enforcement" Seeley whispered "Or she dies" The helplessness was washing over him in waves now dragging him deeper into his sadness.

Angela quickly went and collected Jack, Bones, Russ and Cam bringing them up to where Booth was sitting. Completely still and almost hopeless. At this point, she wasn't even sure he would be able to explain the situation to them all. Once they had all assembled and settled themselves onto the couches around Booth the seriousness of the situation set in. No one had ever seen Booth like this before. Angela didn't explain the situation but it was causing Seeley a considerable amount of distress.

"They're all here" Angela whispered to Seeley waiting to see if she needed to explain the situation or if he would. He carefully slid his phone onto the table before pressing play on a recording. Within a second Angela knew it was the message. Her heart sank; she could feel it in her stomach now.

"Amelia Keenan has been buried alive wire transfer 10 million to the following account or your wife will suffocate to death. Do not involve law enforcement or she will die. When I receive the money you will receive her location. This will be my last communication"

Everyone took a collective shocked breath. No one said anything for a minute. They were all processing the altered voice and the content of the message.

"Wife?" Russ asked, trying his best to sound surprised while looking across at Booth who still hadn't moved an inch. He was frozen in place. There was a brief pause before Hodgins spoke.

"They got married the night of the gala" Jack explained to the group who now looked even more confused "Me and Ange were their witnesses"

Seeley was frozen in panic, this was not how he wanted to tell them but it was the way it had to be.

"You married my sister?" Bones screamed at Booth who right now was defenceless to her screaming. His body and brain had frozen. He was terrified he would have to tell Stella, August and the Walkers that he couldn't save Mia.

It was as if a switch had flipped in Booth's brain. All he could think about was getting her back. How much he loved her. How terrible his life without her would be. He was a soldier again. He pushed his feelings aside for now. He didn't need to go there yet.

"Brennan" He said sternly, finally looking at the assembled squints. He knew he looked like hell and there were tear marks down his face. But he didn't care. Out there somewhere his wife was terrified, alone and suffocating to death. Not that Mia was a defenceless woman.

Temperance got ready to yell at Booth again about how he couldn't be truthful at the moment but she stopped herself which was rare. She could see the emotion leave his eyes. She was scared she had never seen him look so dead inside. He was a soldier again, not the man she knew.

"Now is not the time to discuss my relationship with your sister unless you want her dead" Booth continued staring straight at Brennan she could feel his eyes slicing through her. Agent Booth was gone and Sergeant Major Booth was standing in his place.

Once Seeley was sure Brennan wasn't going to fight for control of the situation he glanced around the assembled squints. They seemed ready to comply with his demands. Taking a deep breath he ran through the exact steps needing to be taken.

"Brennan and Russ" Booth said, staring at the siblings "Go to my place, find any evidence of her getting home and let me know" Immediately they jumped up from their seats on the couch and headed out the door.

"Angela" Booth said less sternly he knew Ange and Jack wouldn't test his authority. They weren't a threat. "Can you please trace the call or unscramble the voice?" Angela simply nodded, earning a "thank you" from Booth.

"Cam" Booth spoke again "could you make a suspect list starting with Max Keenan" Cam grabbed her laptop and began typing.

"I'll start the timer assuming they've locked her in a car-sized object" Jack said to Booth giving him a firm clap on the shoulder. He was thankful Hodgins had taken some initiative.

Seeley settled on the couch. He needed to call Max Keenan but they didn't have a number yet. No one other than Mia had contact with him or even really knew what he looked like. Growling Seeley began working on a timeline of how long Mia had been missing and what had happened directly before she disappeared. Then it hit him. He could track her on his phone. They had shared their locations.

He unlocked his phone and opened the app. Her phone was at his apartment. That meant he would be able to get Keenan's number. Suddenly Booth's phone started ringing. It was Russ.

"Russ unlock Mia's phone and give me the number for your father he called about three weeks ago" Seeley said as soon as Russ answered the phone. Their father was the best lead so far.

Once he had the number he rang it hoping Max Keenan was the one that had her.