Arab-American Friendship League. Washington, D.C. A sweaty man with bad skin walks out of the building, gets into an SUV, and peels out. As he drives, he wipes the sweat from his face, and you see that he doesn't have acne; he has weird, almost chemical-burn-like lesions on his face. He turns up the AC and answers his ringing cell phone, and then begins yelling into it in a language that sounds vaguely Middle Eastern, and that's about as specific as I can get for you. Hey, if I knew more than that, I'd be getting one of those high-paid consulting jobs for the CIA or something. Although I'm sure they wouldn't have me. Because of the snark. I don't think the CIA likes that sort of thing. Anyway, the guy keeps yelling angrily and gets all road rage, cutting people off and running red lights. His phone rings again, but he ignores it as he pulls up to the curb in front of a café. As he comes to a stop, his car explodes in a giant fireball. And I thought 24 was bad with the "all people with olive skin are terrorists" thing.
Booth, Brennan, and Angela roll up to the crime scene, which is fairly chaotic. Booth gets Brennan and Angela admitted to the crime scene so they can start investigating. Booth reports that there are four dead and fifteen injured. There are burnt body parts scattered about. I can't believe no one complains that this is on at 8:00 PM. I made the horrible choice to eat a spaghetti dinner as I was watching the show. With meatballs. I guess it could have been worse. It could have been barbecued chicken or something. Booth consults his notebook and says that the burnt-out vehicle was registered to a dude named Hamid Masruk, the head of the Arab-American Friendship League. Brennan wonders why they need her to identify the body if they already know who was driving. Agent Gibson, the Homeland Security dude who tackled Brennan in the airport, rolls up and says that they're hoping it wasn't Masruk, because Masruk serves as a White House consultant. Booth also says that if it was Masruk, they have a huge national security problem. Gibson adds that they don't know it was Masruk for sure, and they're relying on Brennan to find out. Okay, but couldn't they just try to track down Masruk, and if they find him, then they'll know he's not dead? I'm just asking.
Brennan goes into work mode and asks for some vegetable oil, explaining that it will help her release the body parts that have become seared to the metal. Like steaks on a grill. Whoa. Did I mention the spaghetti and meatballs? Regretting that. Angela looks like she might hurl. Maybe she just had dinner too. Zack starts running around and taking photos. Brennan is all matter-of-fact and Booth tells her that it's okay to be upset. She says that she wishes this was the worst thing she's ever seen. She picks up the bottom quarter of someone's leg, shoe still attached, nearly burned beyond recognition, and places it into an evidence bag. Did I really need to see that? I get that she's hardened to trauma. Really.
Back at the lab, Brennan and her peeps are analyzing the evidence and trying to reconstruct the driver's skeleton. Brennan notes that there's not enough skin left for analysis. Zack wonders why the guy would attack the café when he had access to the president. Bugs and Slime Guy, whose name I'm about to look up because I'm annoyed that they haven't told me yet, says that targeting everyday places causes panic and that's "Terrorism 101." Not a course they offered at my college. Thank God. Brennan, who has a mighty trendy wardrobe for someone who knows nothing about popular culture, orders the guys to test clothing samples for products they can link to Masruk's house. Bugs and Slime says he'll test particulates that can identify the type of bomb. Zack argues that the FBI will handle that, and Bugs and Slime starts going off on conspiracy theory this and government that until Brennan yells at him, "Jack!" Yay! A name! Jack starts going off on how Booth is "just a government stooge" as Booth walks up behind him, which seems like a very Angel type of joke. Booth reminds everyone that they're supposed to be working together, and announces that Gibson will be overseeing the investigation. Brennan protests that they can handle it in their own lab, and the whole point of this scene is to further the idea that there's tension between the government agencies and the…government agencies, actually. Aren't they all funded by the government? Maybe Jack is trying to effect change from the inside.
Brennan and Booth walk off so that Brennan can yell at Booth some more about the oversight. Booth reminds her that it was a terrorist attack, and it needs to be handled correctly. Brennan thinks he's taking it personally, and Booth says that he should, because innocent victims were killed on U.S. soil. Well, he doesn't say exactly that, but that's the gist.
Gibson wanders around the lab doing nothing. Zack reports that they've stripped all trace evidence from the remains, and Brennan gives him the okay to pour a jar full of flesh-eating beetles onto the remains to clean them up. Mmm. Spaghetti. And meatballs. Gibson gets a phone call and tells Brennan that the President wants to know how long the identification will take. Brennan totally passes the buck to the beetles, saying it's up to them. Typical governmental blame-shifting.
Booth and Brennan question Masruk's wife and brother, who insist that Masruk is innocent. Seriously, have they looked for him at all? What if he's alive? Anyway, Mrs. Masruk is upset that her husband's good name is being maligned by the media, and Bro Masruk says that they can look to Masruk's speeches and writings for evidence that he wouldn't commit such a crime. Booth says that they have to identify the body and conduct an investigation at the same time. Mrs. Masruk wonders what the holdup is, and Brennan starts talking about how the body was blown into tiny pieces until Booth kicks her under the table to shut her up. Brennan tries again with a little more empathy, and asks for Masruk's history and medical records. Mrs. Masruk hands them over, and then gives a speech about how much they love America. I note that Bro Masruk has bad skin too, but not as bad as his brother's was.
Jack and Zack (whoa, I just realized that rhymes) are still trying to do work while not letting Gibson know what they're doing. Brennan strolls through to find out what's up, and she also refuses to talk to Gibson.
Brennan sits on the floor of her office and looks over the information Mrs. Masruk gave her. Angela walks in, and Brennan sadly informs her that Masruk was ill, and they were testing for lupus, which explains his face. How does she know what his face looked like at the time of his death? Did they do one of those magic holograph things? Angela haltingly apologizes for bailing on the crime scene. Brennan tells Angela not to be sorry for being sensitive to humanity. Angela pledges her help, and then brings up plans for the weekend. Brennan tries to beg off, and Angela talks about a club that plays "trip-hop and trance." Brennan, and I know you know what's coming, doesn't know what that means. Angela says they can invite Booth, and Brennan really doesn't want that to happen. Angela thinks Booth likes Brennan. Now Brennan is in a panic, and says that she has work to do this weekend. Angela won't take no for an answer, because she thinks Brennan needs to get out there. Zack knocks on the door and says that the bones are clean, and Brennan escapes.
Brennan records her thoughts into a small recorder while looking over the remains. She interprets that the bones are definitely someone who was about 38 years old, and of Afghani descent. The bones also show evidence of malnourishment, which Zack supplies is consistent with the area where Masruk grew up. Brennan tells Zack to reconstruct the skull, and he's psyched. Brennan finds evidence of torture to the bottom of the feet, also consistent with Masruk's history. Or really anyone who grew up in the same place as Masruk. Brennan concludes that it's definitely Masruk, but I think the evidence is pretty weak. Gibson, standing nearby, is also not convinced, and asks why Zack is reconstructing the skull at all if Brennan is so sure. Brennan snaps that it's a learning institute, and that she needs to get the data to Booth. Gibson says he'll take it, but Brennan only works with Booth. Why don't they fire her? Bring down that person from Montreal or whatever.
Brennan shows up at Booth's apartment as he's pulling on his shirt. Boreanaz has still got a nice chest, I'll say that. Brennan shows him the file and says that Masruk is the bomber. A woman walks into the room wearing only a man's shirt, underwear, and a bra. And I know she's wearing a bra, because she didn't bother to button up the shirt too much. Come on. Have some modesty. Booth introduces the woman, Tessa, to Brennan, and they shake hands while Tessa's boob continues to hang out. Booth says that Tessa is a corporate attorney. Brennan tries to make small talk, and it predictably falls flat. Booth finishes getting dressed and says he's heading into the office and invites Brennan along. He gives Tessa a lingering kiss before he leaves.
As Booth and Brennan walk into the office, Brennan is chuckling over the fact that Booth has a girlfriend, since she didn't think he seemed like the type. They banter for a while about relationships and sexual bonds until they are interrupted by another agent. Booth reports that the driver was definitely Masruk. The other agent says that Ballistics determined that the bomb was placed under the car and tied into the odometer, so Masruk was murdered. So, wait. If the bomb-placer wanted to commit an act of terrorism, why would they tie the bomb to the odometer? Masruk could have gone for a long, lonely drive on a country road and ended up killing only himself. I guess I'm assuming terrorism was the end goal, and not murder. Booth asks if they know who did it, and the other agent says that's Booth's job to figure out.
Booth returns Mrs. Masruk's materials and apologizes for her loss. Mrs. Masruk starts going off on them for assuming her husband was a terrorist due to his ethnic background. Brennan gets pissed right back and explains how all the evidence pointed to Masruk, but Booth interrupts her to state official FBI policy about not targeting people due to their ethnicity. Brennan still doesn't get why Mrs. Masruk is so upset, and Mrs. Masruk says that her honesty is a relief. Mrs. Masruk wants to know when she can bury her husband. Brennan starts talking about multiple body parts again, and Booth tries to smooth it over, but Brennan says that she knows it's Muslim law to retrieve all remains possible. Mrs. Masruk looks touched, and Brennan explains that she worked in Iraq identifying bodies. Mrs. Masruk asks if there's anything else. Booth says that the final calls on Masruk's cell phone came from their house. Mrs. Masruk says that it was her, and they had an argument about a family matter. She sounds fairly flat when she says that her last words to her husband were words of anger. Shouldn't she be more upset about that? Mrs. Masruk walks out, and Booth says that he thinks she's having an affair. Me too, Booth.
Booth and Brennan walk into a bar, arguing over whether or not Mrs. Masruk was having an affair. Brennan doesn't think there's any real evidence, and Booth points out all the circumstantial evidence he has, like that Mrs. Masruk lost weight and dyed her hair. Angela, who is sitting at a nearby table listening to headphones, takes them out so that she can eavesdrop. Brennan and Booth continue to argue, and Angela joins them. Brennan accuses Booth of thinking he knows about women because he lives with "a sexy lawyer." Angela is surprised to hear about this. Brennan explains their argument to Angela, who asks how long the couple was married. Booth says it was eleven years, and Angela agrees that Mrs. Masruk was having an affair. Brennan is doubly frustrated now, and Booth is grinning. Hee! Brennan asks why Booth didn't confront Mrs. Masruk with the affair, and Angela answers that if Mrs. Masruk or her boyfriend were involved with the murder, Mrs. Masruk would warn the boyfriend. Booth agrees. I think Angela and Booth have more chemistry than Brennan and Booth. Brennan leaves in a huff, and Angela starts grilling Booth about his girlfriend.
In the lab, Zack is having trouble reconstructing the skull, and Brennan says they need to return the remains to the widow. Zack thinks the integrity of the bones is compromised somehow. Jack and Brennan debate what the cause could be, and after a look in the microscope, and at Masruk's file, Brennan says Masruk could have had a degenerative disease. She orders Jack to do some tests, and says that if they can't find a disease for the cause, Masruk might have been exposed to a toxin. Brennan realizes that if he was, his brother was also, since he's been having similar symptoms. He has? I mean, his skin was kind of bad, but they could have made that more explicit.
Booth goes to question Bro Masruk, and is surprised to find out that Bro is a Christian. He converted from being a Muslim, and it caused stress within his family. Booth asks if Bro knows anything about the problems between Masruk and his wife, but Bro thinks it's not his business. Booth says it might help them find out who murdered Masruk, and Bro admits that Mrs. Masruk was seeing another man, and that both brothers met the other man, Ali, who worked with Masruk at the Friendship League. (Ew. Friendship makes me think of stupid Maggie and Ivette from Big Brother 6. Worst alliance name ever!) Bro brought Ali and Masruk together to try to make peace, but the affair continued, and Bro told his brother to get a Muslim form of divorce. Brennan asks about the medical condition Bro shares with Masruk, and if Bro has seen a doctor. Bro has, and the doctor thinks it's a genetic disorder. Booth asks to see Bro's medical records, and Bro readily agrees.
In the lab, Angela reports to Zack and Jack (They're making a comeback! They're on the attack! They've got the knack! I'm all out of whack!) that Booth and Tessa live together a few days a week. Zack and Jack are trying to work, but Angela wants to gossip about Booth and Brennan. Zack doesn't think Brennan's interested, but Angela says that Brennan is super-horny. Jack finds flakes of gypsum in the bones, and theorizes that it was used to insulate the bomb. Angela needs more work to do, because she's allowed to just leave to go spy on Tessa. So she only works when they need the magic holograph machine? Nice gig.
Brennan watches via video camera while Booth questions Ali about his affair with Mrs. Masruk. Booth gets assertive, and Ali asks to see an attorney. Just as things are heating up, another agent shows up and tells Ali that he's free to go. Booth asks what that was all about, and the other agent says that Ali works for Homeland Security, and was a mole in the Friendship League. They don't want Ali's cover blown. Booth tries to protest, and gets nowhere, so he hits the wall! Hard! Brennan gets all turned on, watching the whole thing from another room.
Brennan and Booth drive somewhere with horrible blue screen backgrounds flying by. Brennan doesn't want Booth to drive angry, and Booth denies that he's angry. But he's clearly angry that his investigation got tampered with by Homeland Security. Booth brings up the Serenity Prayer, which Brennan has never heard of, because she was raised in a hatch under a mysterious island. Brennan asks if he wants to talk about Tessa, and Booth wonders why she's so interested. Brennan offers up another topic: Booth's years as a sniper. Booth doesn't want to talk about that either. How about the weather? That's always popular. Can you believe how hot it was this summer? And what's up with all the hurricanes? Brennan promises that they'll find out who killed Masruk through science, because "you can always count on the dead."
Brennan returns to the lab, where she spends barely any time now that she's a pseudo-investigator type, and learns that they didn't find any evidence of known genetic disease. Jack shows her the bomb they reconstructed from trace evidence, "just for fun." And to show that they're smarter than the FBI. I hope that's a non-working bomb, because otherwise this show might get explosive! It might blow up in their faces! I'm sorry. Zack brings over the skull he reconstructed, and if they have a skull, I don't know why they couldn't use dental records to identify the body, but whatever. Brennan observes the skull and declares that the cracks in the bones were definitely caused by a toxin. The peeps scatter to start testing.
Angela finds Tessa at a café somewhere. God only knows how she found her, but let's just let it go, shall we? It's about the least offensive plot shortcut this week. Angela walks into the café and "accidentally" drops her bag right by Tessa's table, which leads to an animated conversation between the two that we don't hear.
Back at the Hamiltonian or the Franklinsonian or whatever that place is called, the tests are reporting that Musrak's liver function was impaired. Angela waltzes in and reports that Tessa feels threatened in her relationship. The evidence is that she was eating a fat-free muffin, and reading a book about FBI cases. Because women only try to lose or maintain their weight to keep a man's interest, and as a woman, she couldn't possibly be interested in yucky crime. Shut up, show. Everyone gets all up in Brennan's business about how she should go for Booth, but of course he walks in and everyone stares at him awkwardly. Everyone talks science talk, and Booth doesn't understand, and Brennan has to explain to him that they can't test Musrak's liver, which would tell them what toxins were in his body. Jack suggests that they test the beetles, who ate Musrak's remaining flesh and organs. So they can test a beetle, and find out what was in Musrak's body. Cool idea, but also kind of gross. Zack is upset that they're going to kill the beetles, because he considers them pets. The others ignore him, and take off. On his way out, Booth thinks about putting his hand on Zack's shoulder for comfort, and then reconsiders, because…beetles. Heh.
Brennan finally gives Angela a real job to do, and hands her the skull so that she can magically holograph-machine Musrak's face. Brennan always wants ix-nay on the ooth-Bay. Booth finds the theoretical bomb that Zack and Jack are building and gets mad. Jack walks in and says that Musrak was poisoned by dioxin. Brennan says that Angela can use the magic machine to figure out when the dioxin was ingested. Seriously? That thing is magic, y'all. Maybe I should start calling it the Magic Implausible Plot Deus Ex Machina. But that's kind of long, and I'm lazy. Brennan says that only a little dioxin slipped into food or something would cause the problems Musrak was having. Angela reminds everyone that Musrak and Bro had lunch with Ali recently.
Brennan and Angela do some quick calculations, and then Angela turns on the Magic Machine, which shows a torso and head shot of Musrak. Just from looking at it, Brennan estimates that Musrak was exposed to the dioxin about four months ago, in the first week of June. I don't know. I've given up on wondering about how the Magic Machine works, other than it can do whatever the fuck they need it to do in order to A) visually illustrate plot points and B) solve crimes that seem unsolvable. I'm just going to go with it. Booth suggests they go visit Ali, and Brennan walks out with him.
Booth and Brennan track down Ali. Brennan points out that Booth was told to stay away from Ali, and Booth says that he was, but Brennan wasn't. She grins and runs up behind Ali on the sidewalk, saying hello. Ali denies that he's involved in this, and says that Mrs. Musrak won't talk to him. Brennan flat-out asks if he poisoned Musrak and Bro in early June, and Ali says he's leaving. Before he can go, Brennan pulls out her crazy jujitsu skills and tosses Ali to the ground. I still think she's going to get sued for assault one of these days. She's not a cop, or an FBI agent. That's just like a random stranger beating you up on the street. Anyway, Ali says that, in early June, he was in Utah for training with Homeland Security. Booth and Brennan realize that he wouldn't lie about something that's so easy to check up, and just walk off without even apologizing or anything.
Jack and Zack do research on the gypsum that was used to insulate the bomb. They find out that the gypsum was only used for building insulation for a few years, and Jack thinks that it came from the walls of a residence. Zack says that if they can find the residence, they'll know who built the bomb.
Booth and Brennan drive around and toss around theories. Booth thinks Mrs. Musrak might have done it to get out of the marriage. Brennan asks why she would poison Bro too, and Booth suggests that Bro was getting involved, so she wanted to get rid of him too. Brennan thinks it "eschews logic." Booth says he's just "positing a scenario." Brennan can't stay away from the Tessa thing. She asks, assuming Tessa wanted to dump Booth and he wasn't having it, if Tessa would poison him and then blow him up with a bomb. The bomb does kind of seem like overkill. Booth wonders why Brennan keeps bringing up Tessa. Brennan thinks he's sensitive about his relationship. Booth wonders why they don't talk about her boyfriend instead, and Brennan says smugly that she doesn't have one. Booth thinks that's sad. Banter, banter, banter. Boreanaz is good at it. Emily Deschanel? Not so much. Zack calls Brennan and reports that the gypsum used to insulate the bomb was only used in like, one neighborhood ever. Booth realizes that it's the neighborhood where Bro lives, and screeches his SUV around to head that way. He immediately goes into FBI guy mode and says that Bro wouldn't give up his medical records because he knew what the poison was. He tells Brennan that this could be a dangerous situation, and she should stay in the car. Brennan gives him a look like, "Girl, please." Booth relents and tells her that she should stay behind him. She continues the look, and he asks her to just be careful.
Booth busts open Bro's door and tells Brennan that if anyone asks, the door was open. So much illegal police activity on this show. Booth walks through the apartment, calling for Bro, and clears each room, gun drawn. He declares the apartment clear and Brennan calls Jack to report all the chemicals sitting on the kitchen table. Jack confirms that they are bomb-making materials. Booth finds a wall torn away where Bro was getting the insulation. Booth thinks that Musrak
discovered Bro's activities, and that's when they were both exposed to the poison. So helpful of Bro to leave all his clues sitting out in the open like that! But wait! There's more! Booth finds a mechanic's guide to Musrak's SUV with the page about odometers dog-eared. No, I'm not making that up. He really found that. For crying out loud. I wish that were the end of it. Brennan finds Bro's prayer rug and extremist materials! He wasn't a Christian! Booth finds something that convinces him that Bro has made another bomb, and is out in the world with it right now. Brennan asks Jack what the dispersal rate is for two liters of dioxin. Jack says it's three to five hundred meters, and it would be horrible for anyone exposed. If only Bro had left one more clue about what he was planning! Oh, but wait! Booth finds a day planner with that day marked.As Booth and Brennan speed away in the SUV, Booth is on the phone with the FBI, reporting that the store owner across the street saw Bro get on a bus and head downtown. Brennan is on the phone with Angela, also trying to figure out bus schedules. Booth says that 5:30 PM was circled in the date book. Brennan reports that to Angela, who does an online search and…what a break! Man, it only takes one break to make a case. Or in this instance, like five million breaks. Angela finds that there is a peace conference at the Hamilton Conference Center with speeches by Arab moderates and a senator. Booth and Brennan banter about how ridiculous it is to blow people up to bring about peace, like, thanks for the anti-terrorism lecture. Booth tells the FBI what they know, and calls for backup, but warns them not to spook Bro, or he'll blow himself up. Booth once again tries to convince Brennan to let him handle it, and predictably, Brennan's not having it.
Booth and Brennan arrive at the Cultural Center, where a crowd has gathered. Booth and Brennan search for Bro, but don't see him. They head to the second floor for a better vantage point. Brennan asks if Booth will shoot if they see Bro, and Booth says he won't take out a target unless he's sure. Brennan asks if it's easier to kill a person by calling him a target, and Booth points out that it's not really the time for a philosophical discussion on the ethics of being a sniper.
The Homeland Security backup starts to arrive. Brennan spots Bro on the first floor, stumbling across the floor, holding a giant, heavy messenger bag. She points him out, but Booth isn't sure it's him. Brennan uses her super magic vision to say something about his skull bones matching his profile. Booth draws his gun, and Brennan keeps pointing out similarities. Finally, she just shouts Bro's name, causing him to turn and look. Booth tells him to get down, and Bro grabs for the detonator. Booth takes him out. People scream and run off. Homeland Security swarms. Bro is dead from a single bullet to the head. Homeland Security checks the bomb and nods to Booth to let him know he did the right thing.
Booth and Brennan sit in a bar, looking depressed. Booth says that he didn't want any publicity or awards from the operation, because "there's no pleasure in taking someone's life" and it's "nothing to celebrate." Brennan points out that he saved a lot of people, and Booth smiles at her and offers her a drink. Brennan thinks he should be getting home to Tessa. Buzzkill. Booth agrees and stands up. He thanks Brennan for her help and they stare at each other for a while until Booth walks out. Brennan drinks her wine. Didn't Booth just offer her a drink? She already has one. He didn't offer her another drink, just a drink. Confusing.
Brennan goes back to the lab, where she apparently often works drunk, and starts identifying remains from World War I. Meanwhile, Booth has dinner with Tessa, but they don't really talk.