Brennan's Office. The Jeffersonian.

[dr_temperance]

Brennan had gone straight for the pile of papers on her desk as soon as she stepped out of Milliways. Zach or Hodgins had evidently left them there--along with a cup of coffee.

Her brief breather in the bar, and the reassurance of knowing that Hannah was safe (if anxious and worried) had brought her back to center. Helped her focus. Brennan sat down and began to methodically review their findings.

The cup of coffee was now empty, and Brennan had reviewed the report eight times. There had to be something here. There had to.

But whatever it was, it wasn't showing itself easily.

Comments

[bringonthewonder]

Angela leans agains the doorframe of her best friend's office.

"You look exhausted."

[dr_temperance]

Brennan straightens up, easing the crick out of her neck as she does so. How long has she been hunched over the papers?

"What have you got?"

[bringonthewonder]

Angela comes in to stand by Brennan, calling up a file on the computer.

"Okay. This is an x-ray of Caroline's head."

She taps a button on the keyboard, and the view changes, zooming in on something. "These are shards of glass. Very fragile."

[dr_temperance]

Brennan watches the image as the shards come together to form a small sphere.

Amazing how such small things can cause so much damage.

She shakes her head slightly, looking up at Angela.

"What was it?"

[bringonthewonder]

"I think it was a glass capsule, filled with the poisonous powder. Epps inserted it after she was dead — probably up the nose."

Angela does not ask how anyone could do that. It kind of goes without saying at this point.

[dr_temperance]

Brennan can probably explain exactly how a foreign body can be inserted into a severed human head. But it's really a moot point right now.

She nods in agreement with Angela's assessment.

"And when the saw blade hit it, it exploded."

The glass would have been very delicate, ensuring that the powder would be expelled with some force when the shell was broken.

[bringonthewonder]

Ingenious, yet . . . gross.

Angela nods.

"Hodgins has some of the shards now. He'll figure out what the poison is."

He won't accept not figuring it out.

[dr_temperance]

Brennan has the utmost faith in Hodgins to find the evidence. Assuming the evidence is findable.

"If I were Epps, I would have made it something that changes composition after prolonged exposure to air."

There are any number of chemicals and chemical compounds that will degrade with exposure, making identification next to impossible.

[bringonthewonder]

"Let's hope he's not as smart as you."

Angela straightens, with a bit of a sigh.

"I’m going to go sit with Cam for a while."

There's nothing else she can do here.

[dr_temperance]

Brennan watches Angela go, and slowly turns her chair until she's facing the freestanding board behind her desk.

Even though the situation is frantic and uncontrolled, the board is precise and orderly. A map, pinpointing where Epps had been and roughly when since his escape. Post-It Notes of pertinent information.

And photos of his victims pinned in a row across the top.

She's staring at these when the phone rings; she picks up the receiver.

"Brennan."

[squints_and_co.livejournal.com]

"So, who did I get?"

Smug and pleased.

[dr_temperance]

Brennan catches Agent Rose's eye, and points to the phone.

Epps.

Agent Rose is almost as quick on the uptake as Booth. He nods and runs to trace the call.

Brennan gets up from her desk. She feels better addressing Epps standing, even if it's not a face to face conversation.

"If you're talking about the bulb in Caroline's head, we removed it. How did you get it in there without breaking it?"

She's partly talking for time. And partly because she doesn't want to afford him any satisfaction. They had managed to keep what had happened to Cam out of the press. That gave them a slight advantage.

A psychological advantage maybe, but an advantage nonetheless.

[squints_and_co.livejournal.com]

Nice try, Dr. Brennan, but he doesn't need to take your word for it.

"I saw the emergency vehicles. I know I got someone. They may not be dead yet, but they will be soon."

[dr_temperance]

He'd been outside the Jeffersonian again. Brennan makes a mental note to add it to the timeline they have on Epps's movements.

She tries to keep her voice nonchalant.

"Sorry. You missed this time."

[squints_and_co.livejournal.com]

"If you don't admit to who it was, then I can't give you the hint to save their life."

The voice is half lure, half shrug, and intended to be entirely unsettling.

There are rules to this game, Dr. Brennan.

[dr_temperance]

Brennan hesitates.

He has her there. And she knows it.

[squints_and_co.livejournal.com]

More importantly, he knows it.

"Okay then. It was nice talking to you."

[dr_temperance]

"Wait! Wait."

If there is even the slightest possibility that Brennan can come out of this conversation with a clue that will help save Cam, then she'll play Epps's game.

[squints_and_co.livejournal.com]

And that's another thing he knows.

He likes games where he sets the rules and holds all the cards.

"Yes, Dr. Brennan?"

[dr_temperance]

"Dr. Saroyan."

She's not volunteering any more than that.

[squints_and_co.livejournal.com]

He studies Dr. Sayoran in the picture he cut from the paper, tacked to the wall with others he's gather of Dr. Brennan's team, reaches out to touch it, figures caressing it almost like a lover.

"She tried to remove the bulb. With forceps. But it was too fragile. It snapped."

He can see it.

[dr_temperance]

"Yes, that's exactly what happened."

Epps is not omniscient. It's good to be reminded of that. He doesn't know everything that happens inside the Jeffersonian.

"Now will you tell me the poison?"

[squints_and_co.livejournal.com]

"The body knows what the head can't say."

[dr_temperance]

"Caroline's body?"

Brennan decides to pull a card out of her sleeve. And it's only partly to keep Epps on the line.

"Or your mother's body?"

Epps's profiler had said that Epps has a strong emotional attachment to his mother, in spite of indications of years of abuse. Brennan will not hesitate to exploit that if it will give them an edge.

[squints_and_co.livejournal.com]

Epps freezes.

"My mother?"

[dr_temperance]

Point for their side. And about time.

"Yes," Brennan says, conversationally. "We have her in custody. Didn't you know?"

[squints_and_co.livejournal.com]

He moves the phone away from his mouth for a moment, thinking rapidly.

"On what charge?"

[dr_temperance]

Brennan's voice hardens.

"What poison, Howard?"

She can be as ruthless as he is. If she has to.

[squints_and_co.livejournal.com]

There's no answer at first. He's pacing, quickly, fingers snarled in his own hair, almosting hanging up, curling his fingers around the phone in frustration.

"You had no right. My mother's not a part of this."

[dr_temperance]

You're the one who started this, Howard.

"You tell me about the poison and I'll tell you about your mother."

[squints_and_co.livejournal.com]

Yes, he started it. And he'll end it. And control it along the way.

Coldly, he says, "You don’t run the game. I run the game. You're going to be sorry. You, or Agent Booth, or that little blonde, you're going to be sorry."

He snaps the phone shut, drops it, and leaves.

He's in charge here. And he'll make sure she knows that.

[dr_temperance]

The receiver buzzes in Brennan's ear.

She's not going to waste anger over Epps's threats. Especially against Hannah. There's no way he can get to her. Not in Milliways.

Agent Rose sticks his head in her office.

"Cell phone downtown. There's a team on its way."

Brennan shakes her head and hangs up the phone.

"He's already gone."