Bones Episode 6.15 The Killer in the Crosshairs

ACT 1

Jacob Broadsky prepares for the day ahead: shaving, dressing, ordering room service and packing away his rifle. He gets a call from Paula and makes plans to meet her at the cabin on Friday night. Is Broadsky happy to hear from her?

Brennan sprints through the park, going faster than any of the other runners. Only Booth manages to catch up with her. He has the day off and he decides to spend it with Brennan, accompanying her to a lecture about the Peloponnesian War. Brennan is surprised he wants to attend but Booth insists that war is interesting.

In a deserted warehouse, Broadsky conceals himself in an alcove of piping. He has his sights, and his gun, set on a man holding a briefcase. Broadsky phones his target, who is angry that Broadsky is late to their exchange. Broadsky fires his weapon. Money flutters through the air like confetti as the briefcase spills open and the body of the man hits the floor, welcomed by a swarm of hungry rats.

FBI Techs collect the rats and the money as Brennan examines the body. Caroline Julian arrives. Why didn't the shooter take the money? Booth has the answer after seeing a handmade bullet in the wall: Broadsky is the killer. He was never interested in the money. Brennan finds an ID: the victim was Walter Crane. Caroline Julian believes Crane was a bad man but Booth doesn't care. He wants to end this and capture Broadsky.

ACT 2

Brennan notices that Vincent Nigel-Murray is unusually quiet. Vincent explains that his sponsor wants him to stop blurting facts. He uses information to keep people at an emotional distance. Brennan suggests they turn to the case. High velocity trauma severed the victim's spinal cord. Brennan has reservations about identity. Walter Crane was born and raised in Virginia yet the nitrogen levels in his bones suggest he was a Midwesterner. It appears the remains do not correspond to Walter Crane.

Billy F. Gibbons surprises Angela in her office. He wants to visit his pregnant daughter...and name her child. The perfect name came to him in a song. Angela recalls that he also heard her name in a song and she changed as soon as she was legally able. Billy F. Gibbons insists that it is still her name. He convinces her to use the name he wants. She agrees to tell Hodgins.

In the Ookey Room, Hodgins explains to Booth that the money found with the victim was counterfeit. Smaller bills were bleached and printed with higher denominations. Is that why Broadsky killed Walter Crane?

Carline Julian meets with Booth at the FBI. Walter Crane was in Witness Protection. His real name is Walter Coolidge and he was going to testify against a drug dealer named Raul Ortiz. Caroline Julian has Ortiz here for questioning.

Ortiz insists he hired Walter as an art consultant, not to turn his drug money into larger sums. Caroline Julian reminds him that Walter testified that he saw Ortiz give the order to have three men killed. He helped put Ortiz in prison. Booth puts the pressure on and Ortiz admits that Broadsky contacted him about Walter. Broadsky chose the victim and the price. All Ortiz did was answer the phone.

ACT 3

Booth, Brennan and Caroline Julian meet in the FBI Conference Room. How did Broadsky find out the location of someone in Witness Protection? Booth thinks he may have a contact at the U.S. Marshal's Office. There are 18 Marshals in the D.C. Office. Caroline Julian will collect all their files. Maybe they can find a connection to Broadsky.

At the Diner, Angela informs Hodgins that her father will be selecting their baby's name. This does not sit will with Hodgins. Angela thinks this is a tradition that should be honored. Plus, Hodgins might love the name. They don't know what it is yet. Sweets joins the couple but when he hears that the topic is Billy F. Gibbons, he doesn't want to talk. Sweets is afraid of the man that kidnapped Hodgins and gave him a tattoo while he was unconscious. Angela believes they will love their child so much his or her name won't even matter.

Brennan combs through files of U.S. Marshals but no one has a connection to Broadsky. Booth comes across the file of Paula Ashwaldt. She served in the 4th brigade combat team in Afghanistan. Booth knows that Broadsky was there. He saved their unit. Paula owes her life to Broadsky.

Booth stops Paula Ashwaldt as she leaves work. She doesn't want to talk but he shows her the photograph of Tracy Leveque. She was an innocent woman and Broadsky killed her for getting in the way. This is enough to break Paula. Broadsky promised her no one else would be hurt. Booth relates that he murdered someone two days ago. Paula trusted Broadsky enough to leave him alone with her computer. Booth agrees to give Paula time to determine who the next target might be. Then, he has to take her in.

Booth and Brennan arrive at Paula Ashwaldt's cabin. She has been letting Broadsky use it. Brennan sees ravens. There must be meat around here. They approach two walls constructed in a field. Booth and Brennan find the head of a deer between them. Broadsky was using the deer as target practice, shooting through the wall. What is he planning? Booth gets a call. Paula Ashwaldt committed suicide.

ACT 4

At the Lab, Vincent and Brennan examine the deer. What type of weapon could cause this type of fragmentation? Vincent will remove the debris and bring it to Hodgins to analyze.

Booth comes home after a long day to find a visitor in his living room: Jacob Broadsky. He trains a gun on Booth. Broadsky is not happy that Paula took her own life. He blames Booth. Paula was a good person, the only good person hurt by their "clash of wills." Booth and Broadsky are both determined to kill each other but Broadsky slips out to leave their final battle for another time.

At the FBI, Caroline Julian is shocked that Broadsky went to Booth's Apartment. She wants him in prison more now than ever. Broadsky crossed a line.

In Angela's Office, Angela explains that the fragments recovered from the deer were pieces of a large bullet. It fragmented into hundreds of pieces...on its own. There was circuitry in the bullet. It was programmed like a computer and told when to detonate.

ACT 5

Booth approaches Sweets at the FBI. He needs to talk. Brennan seems to believe that Booth is similar to Broadsky. It bothers him that his partner thinks taking a life means nothing to him. Sweets explains that causing a death is a great burden. Broadsky could not handle that burden and so convinced himself it was his destiny to become a vigilante in order to deal with what he had done. Booth, on the other hand, has the strength to face and accept his reality. Therefore, he and Broadsky are NOT the same.

At the Lab, Angela presents the team with information about the "Smart Bullet," a programmable device from the Department of Defense. It is perfect for fighting insurgents in Afghanistan. You simply set the distance at which you want the bullet to detonate. Broadsky's next target must be in a location that is difficult to access. His weapon was custom made and Booth doesn't think Broadsky could have crafted it himself...so who did?

Hodgins is startled to find Billy F. Gibbons in the Ookey Room. Billy reveals that the name he has chosen is Staccato Mamba. Hodgins' face falls. He DOES NOT like the name. He has his own names picked out: Michael Joseph for a boy and Katherine Temperance for a girl. Billy F. Gibbons will just have to deal with it. He shows himself out but Hodgins knows he hasn't seen the last of his father-in-law.

Arms Dealer Benny Winkler sits in the Interrogation Room. He doesn't want to reveal the names of his clients. Discretion is important in his line of work. Booth tells him that Broadsky killed three people. He is going to kill more. Winkler isn't fazed. Broadsky AND Booth have killed more people than that in the service. Booth is not amused. He grabs Winkler until he draws his design for the bullet. It was to be used in a room with marble paneling, a copper ceiling and a marble floor. Winkler dropped off the bullets in a bus station. Broadsky needed them today.

At the Lab, Caroline knows exactly what room Broadsky is targeting: the women's bathroom in the Federal Courthouse. Angela's computer agrees.

ACT 6

Brennan scouts the bathroom in the Courthouse. It's a match. They have to figure out who the target is. Angela calls. Using the elevation and distance of Broadsky's practice shots on the deer, she has determined the location he could be shooting from: a rooftop at Riggs and 18th. Booth doesn't want to call in backup. It will spook Broadsky. Brennan stops Booth. Is he doing this to kill Broadsky or to stop him? Booth tells Brennan to trust him. Brennan says that she does.

Broadsky sets up for his shot as Booth and Brennan, also in position, try to find him. Caroline Julian waits inside the Courthouse, reporting to Brennan via cellphone. Everyone is clearing out. There are no female defendants but there is a female defense attorney. She is defending Gregory Allen, a corrupt cop. He took a bribe not to arrest a driver who killed a woman and children. Brennan realizes the men's bathroom looks just like the women's bathroom...the target is actually Gregory Allen!

Booth and Brennan run to another position. Booth finds Broadsky. He needs Brennan to be his spotter. She reports Broadsky's temperature, position and the wind speed. Booth fires and hits Broadsky's rifle. Broadsky runs off, his murder thwarted. Booth realizes Broadsky is long gone by now. Until next time...

Hodgins wakes to find Billy F. Gibbons standing over him. They are in an alley. Hodgins feels a pain in his shoulder. It's ANOTHER tattoo: a picture of Billy F. Gibbons with the name "Dad." Billy has agreed to let Hodgins name his child whatever he wants. He gets into his car and drives away. Hodgins calls Angela for help.

At the Founding Fathers, Booth laments the fact that Broadsky got away. Brennan knows that Booth will catch him. Booth finally admits he is angry with Brennan. Why does she think he is comparable to a vigilante murderer? Brennan reassures her partner. She knows Booth is good. She knows Broadsky is bad. Booth thanks her for being on his side.