- A body flies out of an exploding meth lab. As the team tries to identify the body, Booth works on a big case which could boost his career, but he's distracted when his brother shows up and shows some interest in Bones.
- A state police anti-drugs-bust training meth-lab explosion reveals an adult male corpse, circa 48. It seems to correspond to inventor Paul Stegman's absent, recently turned-up father Jim, an addict, last seen by Paul's ex-business partner, Mike Campbell. That proves a set-up, the exploded corpse is conman Anthony Pongetti, who was tortured. The real Jim's corpse was shot and found at sea near a naval base. Pongetti stole Jim's identity, fooling even the family. Seeley Booth enjoys a visit from his kid brother, US Navy lieutenant commander Jared Booth, an ambitious smooth operator and Cam's ex, but with an alcohol problem. More family and drug cash complicate the case too.—KGF Vissers
- An overzealous state-police trooper trains a group of raw recruits. Namely, dont EVER fire tear gas into an RV doubling as a meth lab. Why? Because the meth lab will EXPLODE. The trooper then demonstrates, resulting in a EXPLOSION that knocks the troops back on their heels. Pretty cool and all, but where's the dead body? Oh, there it is! A flaming corpse hurtles through the air and lands on the troopers windshield. SPLAT.
Back at the office, Booth is buzzing about an upcoming RICO case, which could result in much kudos (read: a pay raise) for the big guy. He is going to Hawaii afterwards for his birthday. Suddenly, his cell phone starts a-buzzin, as does Brennan's. It's time to go to work.
The dynamic (and attractive) duo arrives on the scene to discover that the ill-advised tear gas demo didn't kill the victim so much as a few gunshots to the chest did. Inside the man's pocket, Booth spots a book of detailed, hand-drawn schematics. An engineer? An inventor? We'll have to wait until after the opening credits to find out.
One opening-credits sequence later, Hodgins confirms it: the schematics are for a number of semi-clever household gadgets. Inventor, it was. Booth, meanwhile, introduces the team to his brother Jared, an officer in the Navy. "Your facial structure is even more symmetrical than Booth's," Brennan points out. Booth explains to his little bro that Brennan is NOT coming onto him. Or is she? Cam has offered to be Jared's date for some big dinner.
Booth and Brennan go to visit an inventor named Paul, whose name was found on a patent form in the victim's schematic packet. Turns out the dead man was Paul's father, who borrowed his son's jacket before biting the dust. Paul's wife, Lily, reveals that old Jim Stegman was a bit of a booze hound. Also, Paul had just recently reconnected with pops after being left with mom as a little kid.
B & B then pay a visit to a fellow inventor, who came by the Stegman homestead to borrow some tools and might have been the last person to see Jim alive. Mike Campbell denies any knowledge of the old man's death, of course. Brennan notices an interesting grate on one of Campbell's under-construction inventions. "This grating could have caused the damage to Jim's face," she points out.
On the ride back to the office, Jared calls. Cam can't make it so the boy once again needs a date to a function that evening. Guess who volunteers to accompany the younger Booth? That's right: Bones. But is that OK with the older Booth? "Why would I mind?" he asks rather unconvincingly.
Later that night, Brennan stops by work in a slinky cocktail dress and high heels. Clark mumbles 'You got to be kidding me', trying not to stare since Clark is almost eye level with her breasts , explains that the bones of the victim show no signs of long-term alcohol abuse. Also, Paul's dad had supposedly broke his leg 25 years ago but there's no evidence of that either. "We misidentified the victim," Brennan says.
Brennan has more important things to worry about, however. Namely, her big date with Jared. The two sip champagne and laugh amid a crowd of important men in uniform. And then the compliments start flying form the young, brash Booth: "beautiful" and "intelligent," to name a few. Bones says that the Elder Booth wuold be so uncomfortable at these kind of things. Jared explains that his brother likes to play it safe -- something he has never done. He shys away from success. That is probably why Seeley was such a good sniper. He would hide just below the ridgeline. For him, he would run that ridgeline. As if to prove it, Jared leans in and kisses Brennan. She doesn't pull away. Far from it, actually.
Camille, meanwhile, has identified the victim: Anthony Pongetti, who just happens to own multiple fraud convictions. "So Pongetti pretends to be Stegman," Booth theorizes. Why? Camille suggests that the man somehow wanted to cash in on Paul's inventions. Perhaps Pongetti read about Paul in the newspaper and posed as the inventor's father. After Booth hangs up the phone with Camille, a state trouper comes into his office. Booth mentions that he has been keeping them in the loop regarding the RICO case. The trouper mentions that it would be nice if certain aspects of the body exploding out of the Meth lab during a training exercise not be leaked to the press. He does not want them to be embarrassed that they did not check the lab before blowing it up. Booth disagees. You have to take your lumps when they come.
Brennan finally arrives at work, admitting that while she didn't sleep, she also didn't have sex with Jared. "Good," Angela says. "Because he's Booth's little brother and it would just be a creepy way to have sex with a Booth without having sex with the real Booth." Clark, uncomfortable with all the girl talk, points out that Angela has found the REAL Jim Stegman. In fact, the man's unidentified body has been in the morgue for a weak.
B & B head to Maryland, where Stegman lived in an old garage. The local sheriff shows the pair around. One of the betting slips strewn about the place has Pongetti's name on it. Booth explains the timeline to the sheriff: the REAL Jim Stegman was shot, killed and dumped in a river one week ago. Pongetti was shot, killed and dumped in a meth lab four days ago. The sheriff suggests that Pongetti killed Stegman, stole the man's identity and then got himself killed. He wouldn't put it past Pongetti, who the sheriff had arrested for fraud in the past.
Booth suddenly gets a text message. "I'm in trouble," it reads. He excuses himself and rushes back to Washington -- alone. Some time later, Booth arrives at a street corner to find that an obviously drunk Jared has pulled over by the state police. Jared claims that he fell asleep behind the wheel but it is obvious that he is pretty hammered. Jared says that he will loose his job if he is convicted for DUI. Booth pulls the arresting officer aside to have a little chat. Would you know it, karma hits. The state trouper who pulls Jared over is the same trouper who visited Booth at his office regarding the exploding meth lab thing.
Back at the Stegman home, Brennan explains that they have found Paul's father -- the real one this time. Lily explains that Pongetti (who was pretending to be Jim, you'll recall) left a duffle bag in the closet. Inside, Brennan finds $20,000 in cash. "That's the best motive we've seen for murder right there," Booth says.
One commercial break later, Booth watches a police press conference announcing the results of the RICO case -- but our favorite FBI investigator is never mentioned. Booth looks sad, but not surprised. Did big bro sacrifice credit on the case so that little drunk bro could walk?
Camille calls with news: a fingerprint on the wad of cash belongs to Lily Stegman, who acted like she hadn't seen that money before. Lily explains that the day after the man they thought was Jim (actually Pongetti) disappeared, the package of money arrived. Lily opened it and found $150,000. She hid $20,000 in the house and put the rest in a safe deposit box. The couple simply needed the money. She then confronts Seeley about the RICO case. She knows that something happened and thinks that Jared is the reason why he did not receive any credit. Booth gets mad and tells her to drop it.
Sweets meets Jared in the elevator at the FBI headquarters. Jared has two hockey tickets for Booth's birthday. He mentions that having a big brother is like having another dad but he was a dad who protected him for their real dad. It really gets him mad that the elder Booth is somehow always right in the end.
Turns out that Stegman and Pongetti had ratted out some guy. That guy was released from prison and it out on parole. They pull into the interragation room. Booth is not happy. He interragates the guy and how it must have felt good to kill the both of them. The guys is glad that Pongetti is dead since he ratted him out but Stegman was ok. He met Stegman a few weeks ago to try and clear the air. He still claims that he did not kill the both of them and he has an alibi. He puts his leg up on the table to reveal a tracking ankle braclet. Someone knows where he has been since he got out of prison. Booth leaves the room.
He meets Bones on the other side of the mirror. Booth does not think he did it. Bones asks him if he messed up somehow on the RICO case. She did not hear the news reports give him any credit about the bus. Booth says that nothing happened. The order came from way up. Very political. Bones mentions that it is ok but he does not have the ambition to be successful. It is ok to admit that he does not have it in him to be the best. Booth gets really mad. He asks if she thinks that he is loser like the guy in the interragation room. Bones does not answer. Booth storms out of the room. He is really pissed off.
This is getting WAY too complicated, so let's just let Booth sort it out, shall we? "So I figured what happened is that Pongetti got the money in some illegal way -- maybe in a way that could get him killed." Brennan theorizes that Pongetti then sent the money to his friend Stegman for safe keeping. Booth continues: "Stegman, he's about to visit his son, then Stegman gets killed. So to go get the cash, Pongetti decides to pretend to be Stegman." Got that, folks? Bones gets a call from Cam.
Brennan arrives back at the office to find Camille and Sweets waiting. She explains that Booth has spent his whole life bailing out Jared. Sweets says that the Elder Booth always bailing out the younger one has prevented Jared from really growing up. Moreover, Jared who is probably responsible for Booth losing credit on the RICO case. Brennan, who has a big of a crush on junior Booth, doesn't want to believe it. She is a scientist and she needs evidence. This is all just conjecture...
So, she meets Jared at the local pub. Bones gets a call from Seeley but she does not answer it. She brings up the point that the Elder Booth lost all of the credit for the RICO case. Jared is genuinelly surprised. She tells him that Cam thinks that he is responsible for this. He does not exactly deny it but says that this is something between brothers. Bones gets pissed. Can't say I have ever seen her so angry. She yells at Jared for telling her that the Elder Booth did not have it in him to be successful. What is worst is that she actually believed him. She would not blame Booth if she never spoke to hear again. "You're the loser!!" and smacks him on the head and leaves. Jared does not say anything and then suddenly Bones re-appears and pushes him off his chair.
Back in the car, Booth tells Brennan that the money from Lily's safe deposit box has been identified as confiscated drug money. When the money was being transferred from the local sherrif's office, Pongetti posed as an official driver and drove off with the dough. Brennan points out that this doesn't make sense because Pongetti had been arrested by the sheriff before. In other words, the sheriff should have recognized Pongetti. Or maybe he DID recognize Pongetti. Booth suddenly realizes that he told the sheriff about Lily's $20,000. It was the sheriff all along! And Booth has a good idea where the crooked lawman will head next!
Moments later, Booth and Brennan arrive at the Stegman home. Sure enough, the sheriff's car is parked in the driveway. Brennan points out that the grating in the car is probably what made the marks on Pongetti's face. Just then, the sheriff emerges from the house, where he had obviously been searching for the rest of the cash. Upon seeing Booth and Brennan, the sheriff grabs Lily and holds a gun to her head!
Before you can say "rare gunfight on 'Bones,' the sheriff turns the gun on Brennan and shoots, hitting her in the arm. He then throws Lily to the ground, gets into his cruiser and slams on the gas. Booth follows, blasting at the car with a shotgun. Second later, it's all over. Brennan is injured; Lily is OK and the sheriff is dead behind the wheel. Case closed.
Later that the night, the gang celebrates Booth's birthday at a nearby bar. After a moving speech by Brennan, who now understands that she was charmed by the wrong, she takes the REAL Booth aside. "The RICO case," he admits, "I traded my one shot at glory to keep my brother for being arrested."
And wouldnt you know it? Junior Booth is at it again drinking heavily at the bar. Big Booth asks Lil Booth to step outside for a few brotherly words. "Jared, I have to stop, do you understand?" he says. "No more stepping in to make things go away." Jared, defiant, downs his drink and shakes it in Booth's face before returning to the bar.
Brennan comes outside and sits down next to her dejected partner, who explains that his father was an abusive drunk. Clearly, he is terrified that his little brother is heading down the same path. Brennan does the only thing she can do -- and offers the big guy a piece of birthday cake. It seems to comfort him.
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