The Pathos in the Pathogens

♪

I want all the venting double-checked for leaks.

And put plastic guards on any sharp corners of tables or gurneys.

Do we have enough suits for everyone?

Just.

These last two are for us.

The rep from the CDC is downstairs in holding waiting until we're set up.

The CDC sent over preliminary photos from the body find.

They were inspecting a facility in Maryland that disposes of biohazard waste.

And the remains were found with veterinary waste? Yeah.

MONTENEGRO: Yeah, I'm gonna have a hell of time with a skull that damaged. Do they have any idea what the infection is? They initially suspected necrotizing fasciitis.

Flesh-eating disease? Yes.

But the decomposition was too rapid, and it wouldn't have damaged the bone so severely.

Damage that advanced from fasciitis would normally take at least three to four days.

Dr. Jacobs from the CDC has taken initial cultures, but so far they don't know if it's viral or bacterial or... airborne or blood-borne.

MONTENEGRO: So we could be looking at some kind of outbreak situation here?

We have to assume so, yes.

I thought biohazard facilities had strict protocols.

How can someone just dump a body in there?

Well, the place has been cited twice before for security breaches.

That's why the CDC showed up for a surprise inspection.

Any word from the Jeffersonian yet?

Nope, not yet, not a word. They're putting on their space suits before they even look at the victim.

I'm telling you, usually I hope a killer is sloppy; makes them easier to catch.

Yeah, except this time being sloppy could cause a pandemic.

HODGINS: I have a mass spec up there?

Yes. And a centrifuge?

Yes, Dr. Hodgins, it's all up there.

Angela, all your camera equipment and scanning equipment's been set up next to the light table.

And the direct Ethernet link to the servers in my office?

They're finishing cabling now.

Okay.

MAN: Dr. Saroyan?

Uh, I'm Dr. Saroyan.

And this is Dr. Brennan.

Ivan Jacobs. It is an honor to be working with you all here.

Dr. Jacobs, you were on the front line in Turkey during the H5N1 outbreak.

Yes. And I've spent the past six months with the W.H.O. in the Congo, and I have not seen anything like this before.

You took preliminary viral cultures? Yes. It's virulent and replicating quickly. But we need additional cultures and more analysis to give us a strain.

We were hoping that an I.D. of the victim could provide where she contracted the infection.

Then let's get working.

I'll suit up.

♪

Was this person tortured?

JACOBS: We think the nervous system was hit, which caused the muscles to seize.

VAZIRI: Well, based on the occipital and pelvic outlet, the decedent is a female.

BRENNAN: The wear on the mandibular teeth indicates an age between 25 and 35 years old.

There are lesions on the... long bones and the ribs.

They seem to have developed recently.

Had to be within the past 24 hours.

She's turning into soup.

We're dealing with a single-stranded RNA virus, a mutation that doesn't depend on the cell cycle to replicate.

Which accounts for its speed.

And why we're seeing such severe damage to the bones.

The blood remaining in the heart wouldn't be as contaminated by decompositional tissue.

I'll use leukocyte depletion filters to single out white blood cells, see what kind of infection we're dealing with here.

There's insect larvae on her clothes.

This could tell us where she was before she was dumped. I hope so.

We need to I.D. the victim as quickly as possible.

If we know who she is, we might understand what did this to her.

♪ ♪

(beeping)

Hi, Booth. This is Dr. Jacobs from the CDC.

Hey.

Okay, listen, the biohazard facility can't tell us where the body came from.

The records, they're a mess, and everything that was supposed to be burned got mixed together.

That's common when the remains have been mislabeled.

She was placed in a level one containment bag along with veterinary waste.

Okay, look, do you have an I.D. yet?

Well, whoever did this didn't want us to.

Oh, my God. JACOBS: What?

You can't get an I.D.? There's not enough tissue left for fingerprints.

This bone damage isn't from the disease.

Someone smashed the teeth, mandible and maxilla to prevent a dental I.D. MONTENEGRO: Well, I'm scanning to at least get a close facial approximation.

Whoever did this knows how dangerous this virus is and was trying to hide it.

Well, but why?

Maybe they intend to infect other people and they don't want anyone knowing how to stop them.

Bones, we're talking about bioterrorism here.

I know.

♪ Bones 8x23 ♪ The Pathos in the Pathogens Original Air Date on April 22, 2013

♪ Main Title Theme ♪ The Crystal Method

♪

BRENNAN: Are you any closer?

Since I only have a partial reconstruction, I'm getting multiple hits.

Hodgins found evidence that she was last in Coral Hills, Maryland, before she wound up in the biohazard facility. Okay, well, all these DMV hits are from Maryland, so I must be getting close. Those three don't match.

Their temporal bones aren't angled like the victim's.

Well, the recognition program... That woman seems like a closer match, but the victim's zygomatic is more pronounced.

That's her. That's her.

MONTENEGRO: Okay...

(beeping)

(sighs)

Wow.

Mia Garrett.

So, why do we pay eight zillion dollars for the software when we have you?

Under normal circumstances, it allows me to take a longer lunch.

I'll tell Booth.

MAN: Are you sure it was Mia?

Yeah. (sighs)

I'm very sorry for your loss, Mr. Carr.

We were talking about getting married, picking out different places for the ceremony. And you had no idea where she'd been for the past three days?

No.

I was traveling-- she wasn't answering her phone.

That didn't worry you, not knowing where she was?

It wasn't unusual. She was working on a story, and she needed space-- I didn't have a problem with that.

She's a journalist? Yeah.

A blogger. Me, too.

We both were trying for that... story that would make the headlines.

Did she write about terrorism, by any chance?

Terrorism? No.

Her focus was on Big Pharma, medical research, doping, that kind of stuff.

What do you write about, Ben?

Travel. Nothing too exciting.

Look, I-I told Mia what she was working on was dangerous.

Those people she was investigating have money, power.

They don't want some blogger poking around.

What was the last thing she was working on?

I wish I knew.

She said it could've been the one.

But Mia liked to keep things to herself until she finished the project.

Didn't she trust you?

Well, of course she trusted me.

I just told you we were thinking about getting married.

Just th-that story, she didn't want to tell me.

For now.

Sounds like she didn't trust you.

The bone damage is reminiscent of multiple myeloma.

But there's no cancer that moves this fast.

There are some viral strains of the psittacosis- lymphogranuloma venereum group that have been known to affect bone.

(beeping) It's the preliminary pathology from the blood work.

(sighs) There are no aerosolized pathogens.

Thank God. It's not airborne?

It's not airborne. So it had to come through a transfer of blood or fluid or an injection.

So we can eliminate bioterrorism?

Well, not completely, but it would seem a stretch.

One thing's for sure-- we're not gonna need this tent anymore.

I think that deserves another "thank God."

(phone rings)

Booth.

Okay.

You sure? Yeah.

That's great news, Bones. Okay.

Great. Yeah, you, too.

All right, good news.

The, uh... the virus isn't airborne; they're safe.

That's a load off. Yeah, that is.

Can't even think about Bones being in there with all those germs-- I mean, give me a guy with a gun any time.

Now we just have to find out what Mia was working on, right?

Angela's looking at her laptop now.

♪

Mia encrypted everything.

Her e-mails, documents all used a steganographic encryption.

She was wicked smart.

What just happened?

That is me being smarter than her.

Okay, I just intercepted an e-mail, probably spam.

It shows me how the encryption process works.

Because it has to create an opening to accept the e-mail.

Exactly. You could be my lovely assistant.

If I wasn't your boss.

(chuckling): Right.

MONTENEGRO: Okay, her password. We are in.

Now I just search for the most recently updated documents.

SAROYAN: Viral mutation?

MONTENEGRO: Okay, these are random notes from an interview with Dr. Tessa Burke.

Seems like they were talking about mutation possibilities of SARS, Lassa and yellow fever, all... deadly viruses that could kill a lot of people very quickly.

Yeah.

SWEETS: So, according to her notes,

Mia Garrett had two meetings with you at your lab over the past few weeks? Yes.

And we're scheduled for another one next week. Why?

Mia's dead, Dr. Burke.

I just saw her.

What happened? Well, she contracted a fatal illness-- it was blood-borne.

Someone hid that fact by disposing of her remains.

She was working on an exposé on the dangers of mutating pandemics.

I'm an expert in the field.

That's why she wanted to interview me.

But she was just a blogger.

Did you find her suspicions credible?

Absolutely.

Mia's work could have been very important.

She could have raised public awareness, saved lives.

I can't believe she's gone.

Your lab works with infectious diseases, doesn't it?

Yes. My lab is a biosafety level 2 facility.

But we work primarily with Lyme disease and hep C.

Mmm. So she could have contracted something in your lab, couldn't she?

Mine? Yeah.

God, no. Given the quantities we work with and our safety protocols, you could lick any Petri dish in my lab-- worst you'd get is a bad case of the sniffles.

But there could be something unexpected. It happens.

Right? The reason I'm asking is because you seem to be one of the last people Mia saw before she died.

What are you suggesting?

I was helping Mia. I was on her side.

Of course. I apologize.

I understand how that might have made you feel defensive.

If there's nothing else, please tell the CDC or the Jeffersonian I'd be happy to offer my assistance if they need any help. Yeah.

We have our best people working on it, but I'll let them know.

We treated the different cultures with antibiotics.

No responses, so we have to assume it's viral.

That's something. It's very little something.

This woman died and began decomposing within 24 hours.

That's too fast to treat other cases unless we can isolate and identify a specific virus.

And the more people who are infected, the greater the chance that it mutates and becomes airborne.

Exactly. I think your expertise is being wasted on bones, Dr. Brennan.

Well, without my expertise, you wouldn't know as much as you do.

VAZIRI: A bone marrow sample is the surest way to see how the immune system was so severely compromised.

A big enough drop in eosinophils or neutrophils would guarantee the infection would grow unimpeded.

This sample should narrow down what kind of virus we're dealing with. JACOBS: We need to bag her until we do further testing.

Okay.

Okay, on three?

One, two, three.

(groans) BRENNAN: What? Are you okay, Mr. Vaziri? Something stuck me.

Something on her humerus.

Let me see.

We need to flush this with saline and sodium hypochlorite immediately.

And that'll be okay? Let's just do it now.

What's happening?

He was cut on the remains.

Get some rilpivirine.

But... Just go!

Oh. You need to get as much blood out as possible to delay infection.

But if this doesn't work, we don't even know how the virus multiplies or takes hold.

All we can do at this point.

My finger. Take off my finger.

You know how the circulatory system works.

That wouldn't help now.

Rilpivirine. Okay.

If the virus is in your system, hopefully, this will reduce the rate of its growth. For God's sakes, what the hell good is the CDC if you let this happen?

It's not his fault. We followed all the protocols.

Something cut me. BRENNAN: This is the cause.

I found it embedded in the desiccated tissue on the victim's humerus.

Which victim? There seem to be two now.

Cam. I-I'm sorry.

What is it? It's the tip of a micro needle.

I found it when I was reexamining the humerus on Mia's MRI.

JACOBS: That's how she was infected.

The gauge is so small, she probably didn't even feel it.

While you culture that, we'll get Arastoo to the hospital.

Why? To get a tetanus shot?

We don't even know what's in me or how to treat it.

And his immune system would be compromised.

He could get a lethal secondary infection at the hospital.

And I could potentially infect other people.

So we just let you die like Mia Garrett?

No.

You use me.

The Jeffersonian has all the equipment we'd find at a hospital.

If I get sick, you can study my symptoms.

It's the best way to discover what illness we're dealing with.

He's right, Cam.

This is now bigger than one man, Dr. Saroyan. Not to me.

You don't mean that, Cam.

I could be the key.

You know this is what has to be done.

Is there a room where he can be isolated and observed?

Guys, I need the bone room cleared and secured.

Get a hospital bed, cardiac monitors, a ventilator, defibrillator, nasogastric tubes and equipment for peritoneal dialysis.

Got it.

(sighs)

BOOTH: Arastoo is sick?

Potentially. He's not exhibiting any symptoms.

Well, yet. How about you?

I'm fine. Everyone else is fine.

I'm coming over. No, Booth.

The protocols have been tightened.

They won't let you in. I'll be fine.

You sure? Yes.

Just focus on your end of the case.

That's how you can help.

But wait. Take a look at this.

You got to be kidding me. Someone tried to kill her by injecting the virus?

The injection site on Mia Garrett appears to be on her posterior humerus.

Then they covered it up so no one would find out.

Yes. Once the virus is identified, it could lead directly to the killer.

Which means that you haven't identified it yet.

We're still waiting for test results.

What happened with Burke and the boyfriend?

I got nothing.

We're checking the blog and the travel records to find out where he's been and if his alibi even holds.

Burke seems clean, you know, but the CDC is checking the records at her lab for any inconsistencies.

The bone marrow results are back.

I have to go, Booth.

Sure. All right, listen, I'm gonna push Angela to get me more from Mia's laptop.

Look, I love you.

I love you, too, Booth.

The bone marrow results show signs of infection to the fibroblasts.

BRENNAN: And to the monocyte-derived macrophages.

I have never seen damage this pronounced over such a short period of time.

Coupled with the synovial thickening in the joints, I think we're looking at Chikungunya virus.

CHIKV? That's found in Africa, isn't it?

Yes. Unfortunately, there's a black market for pathogens.

Dealers pop up on the Internet every day.

But someone was skilled enough to mutate the strain to make it difficult to I.D.

Is there some kind of treatment for Arastoo?

There's a serum for CHIKV derived from the E1 polyclonal antibodies found in rabbits.

That's been known to help in certain cases.

Certain cases? Yes.

I'll have the CDC send some over.

(rhythmic beeping) 102.3.

It's only been an hour and 47 minutes since contact.

Do you need any additional blood work?

In 20 minutes.

I'll be taking another bone scan, Mr. Vaziri.

Since we have a baseline for you, it'll tell us the exact speed with which the virus is spreading.

So you can tell how much time I have left?

No, the serum's on its way from the CDC. You're gonna be fine.

How do your joints and extremities feel?

They're becoming painful.

It's more difficult to move.

(groans)

On a scale of one to ten, how much did that hurt?

Seven.

BRENNAN: Okay, if everyone can stand back, please?

Mr. Vaziri, just... just lie still.

Based on the progression you're seeing, do you think the serum will work?

It's all we have.

BRENNAN: Logic would dictate that whoever injected Mia with the virus has to possess an antidote.

Excuse me? Someone purposely altered the genetic makeup of CHIKV, and then used it to infect Mia Garrett.

That person wanted to control the virus.

Which means having a guarantee they wouldn't be a victim of their own handiwork.

Exactly. An antidote specific to the mutated virus.

So the key to saving Arastoo's life is finding Mia's killer.

They think the infection is a strain of the CHIKV virus.

It's spread by mosquitoes in Africa, Southern India and Southeast Asia.

So they can treat it?

They hope, but Arastoo-- he's developing a fever more quickly than CHIKV normally presents.

But they said that... They said it's a strain of CHIKV.

It's a mutation.

And they're trying to get a serum that's worked before.

And I'll do my own research, but just...

I want you to steer clear of Arastoo for the time being.

I have a lot to do here, but if they need me, then...

They won't.

Okay, well, you be careful, too.

Did you find anything? Yeah.

I was decrypting another story that Mia was writing.

She was planning on posting this next week.

She was investigating a private lab that was developing performance-enhancing drugs.

Like Lance Armstrong stuff?

Yeah, but for horses, and the guy funding it is Byron Fuller.

He owns over 30 thoroughbreds, and they have been winning a lot lately.

Now, get this.

I looked at a few e-mails from Mia to Fuller, and I realized...

They were sleeping together.

BOOTH: Mia Garrett was going to post a piece proving that you had a lab for doping horses.

I don't know what you're talking about.

You don't? Take a look at that, huh?

You probably wouldn't be able to race again, you'd be sued.

You'd probably be thrown in jail.

This is ridiculous.

I didn't kill Mia.

The CDC is tearing your lab apart right now.

I mean, I can only imagine, if you had a lab tech who could come up with something to make your horses run faster, it'd be real easy to come up with a virus to kill Mia.

I didn't kill her!

She was found in a biohazard facility with veterinary waste.

I mean, you do have a vet in your lab, right?

Yeah, look, look, he's on retainer to treat my animals.

You have nothing on me. This is ridiculous.

Nothing?

Okay, look at these e-mails between you and Mia.

Seems like you two were getting cozy.

I don't have to say another word.

Mia was sleeping with you.

You found out she was only doing it to bring you down.

You got mad, and you killed her.

Now, before more people die, where is the antidote?

I'm not saying another thing without my lawyer.

My temp has risen another degree.

Okay, we need to reduce the fever.

The fever could be fighting the infection.

No. It's spiking too quickly. You're burning up.

Couldn't you give me a Popsicle or something?

Ah, a smart-ass. I'll take that as a good sign.

But you're getting more IV antipyretics.

Did your people find anything in Byron Fuller's lab?

CDC and Bioterror Units swarmed over every inch of the place.

Nothing infectious. They're sure?

All they found were steroid derivatives, uh, growth hormones, testosterone, protropin.

The vet running the lab didn't even have the equipment for viral mutation.

Let's just hope the CHIKV antiserum works.

You don't seem optimistic. We're dealing with a mutation here.

Whoever designed it probably didn't want the antiserum to work.

And if you were in Mr. Vaziri's position?

I would take this as quickly as I could.

I'll reexamine the bone lesions.

Those don't mimic CHIKV.

(computer chirps)

All right, so I've been analyzing some of Mia's writing.

Now, stylistically, she is very aggressive and fearless.

Her ambition dictated some very poor choices.

Having an affair with someone like Byron Fuller might not have gotten her killed, but it certainly could have.

Well, then, this email to Fuller fits right in.

Look at the subject line.

"Counting down to Kentucky."

Well, she's describing some sexual acts she wants to engage in.

That would certainly make Fuller trust her.

Yeah, but how do you think it would make her boyfriend feel?

He was talking about how they were planning on getting married. I mean, you don't need my expertise to imagine how he'd react.

I'm asking because she sent this e-mail to her boyfriend by mistake.

What? ANGELA: Yeah.

Mia must have used auto-fill.

Both names start with "B." Okay.

That explains why he was overcompensating when describing their relationship.

Sweets, I'm telling you, if Hodgins did this to me...

I know. You'd want to kill him.

No.

I would kill him.

Yeesh.

I'm sorry to do this to you, but you need to sign a waiver.

But you said it's progressing like CHIKV.

For the most part.

Of course I'll sign.

Okay...

Let me know if you feel any change in joint pain, chills, anything at all.

His heart rate's increasing.

My heart's racing.

Shortness of breath.

What... shouldn't we do something?

We have to see how this develops.

Each person reacts differently. My arms.

I can't move them. Is that expected?

I haven't seen it before, no.

Help me get him onto his side.

Heart rate's 148 and climbing.

I'm giving him some midazolam and atenolol to lower his blood pressure. I'm not sure if...

No, it's clear you're not sure.

None of us are.

But I'm getting his heart rate down.

Stay with me.

Okay. Stay with me.

Arastoo, stay with me.

Okay.

Come on.

Did you find anything in the needle we found in Mia's upper arm?

Nothing. Whatever was in there was completely emptied.

How's Arastoo?

Still critical. What are you doing?

Uh...

I'm simmering medicine for Arastoo.

Excuse me?

The CDC's antiserum didn't work, okay?

Big Pharma doesn't have anything for us.

So you know what? I'm going to the source.

What... folk remedies?

Yes. For thousands of years before modern medicine, mankind used plant and animal extracts to actually treat disease.

Are those maggots? Yes.

Because their excretions have been known to actually reduce inflammation.

Listen, I mean no disrespect, here, but I don't have time to argue about this, Dr. B.

I don't want to argue.

The Makua are from Tanzania, where there was a recent outbreak of CHIKV.

You should research the plants they rely on.

Yeah. Well, yeah, that's actually why I'm using this.

It's eupatorium-perf, for the joint swelling.

Pyrogenium has been known to settle the nervous system.

We just have to figure out dosage to weight.

So... we read through your travel blog, Ben.

We know that you were in the middle of the Indian rainforest when you found out about Mia's affair.

I don't know what you're talking about.

We have the e-mail she sent you by mistake.

All right. Look...

I understand how humiliating this must be for you.

I loved Mia.

I got past that.

The question is, how? No. I...

I didn't kill her.

Sometimes, when we're emotionally hurt, we don't think clearly.

Now, it must have been hell for you, halfway across the world, alone, thinking about Mia in bed with another man.

She was just trying to get a story.

Things got out of hand.

She didn't mean to hurt me.

All right, but the Bureau got a-a warrant to search your apartment.

They found a stash of syringes.

Well, I'm diabetic.

Those are perfectly legal for me to have.

Black market drugs. Pretty common in India, right?

They think that you snuck some home, used one of your perfectly legal needles to kill your cheating girlfriend.

Look, I'm not denying that we had troubles.

But I would never hurt Mia.

You need to believe me. I'd like to.

I really would, Ben.

But you have to understand why believing you might be difficult right now.

Arastoo, we're inducing protective hypothermia.

We're also putting a catheter in your femoral artery to introduce a cold saline infusion.

It'll decrease cellular metabolism, and it'll buy us a little bit of time to figure out what our other treatment options are.

Okay. And I... will be giving you some lorazepam and methohexital to let you sleep.

'Cause this is gonna be painful.

Okay...

(clears throat)

(whispering): How long does he have?

Based on the bone scan Dr. Brennan did and the amount of time it took for Mia Garrett's symptoms to manifest...

I'd say four hours at most.

I'm sorry.

(sniffles)

Mia encrypted her notes for ongoing stories and scattered them in separate partitions on her hard drive.

That's a lot of secrecy for a blogger.

Yeah. The way this was encrypted, she could've worked for the CIA.

She probably didn't want her boyfriend to find out what else she was doing.

I don't think you have to worry about the boyfriend, actually.

Hodgins said his syringes are a different gauge than the one used to inject Mia with the virus.

Great. Okay. Back to a dead end.

Actually, I don't think so, Booth.

Mia was zeroing in on specific labs that were capable of mutating a virus.

Level 4 labs.

The most dangerous.

Is that Dr. Burke?

No, her facility is level 2.

Her lab doesn't have any exotic pathogens.

CDC checked.

Well, her current facility doesn't.

But this says that she was employed at a level 4 facility two years ago.

And that she got fired.

Why? I'm not sure.

The lawsuit cites wrongful termination.

What was she accused of?

I don't know.

You're going to have to figure it out.

The lawsuit was sealed after the settlement.

Just send me all the information about the other lab.

Okay. You'll have it in a minute.

Great. Look, how is Arastoo?

Brennan and Hodgins are looking into folk remedies.

Okay, well, that's not good.

Well, what's the CDC guy say?

If we don't find out who killed Mia soon and get an antiserum, Arastoo could be gone in a few hours.

His blood oxygen levels are dropping.

But his lungs are clear. I can't explain it.

We'd like to try this, Dr. Jacobs.

Nothing else now. We've just given him...

No, what is it?

It's a distillation of herb and animal extracts.

Nauclea latifolia, which treats fever, and Bidens pilosa, which... No.

I can't allow herbal experimentation.

At worst, it'll slow progress and give him more time until we find an antidote.

The CDC has a containment protocol, and without approval from the agency...

Seriously? We're going to wait for a government agency to act?

I thought that you said he only has a couple hours left.

You have spent time in Africa, Dr. Jacobs.

I'm sure you've seen cholera victims treated by local priests, and seen many of them recover.

I've also seen many die from treatable diseases because of superstition and ignorance.

And if you had a better treatment option than Dr. Brennan or Dr. Hodgins, then I'd agree with you.

But the fact is, you don't.

The virus is unpredictable.

You don't know how he'll react.

That's right. But we do know he'll die if we don't do something. I'm sorry, but the CDC is in charge and...

You are in charge of Mia Garrett's remains.

But this is my lab, I am responsible for this man, and we will be giving him this injection.

♪

MAN: I hand-picked Dr. Burke.

She was a brilliant researcher, very creative.

Creative? How?

You can't treat illness or devise treatments without imagination. Like mutating a virus.

Absolutely. Some of our greatest cures come when we find out how a pathogen can be transformed.

So how does a brilliant doctor end up suing you for wrongful dismissal?

I'm not allowed to discuss the case or the settlement.

Okay, look, a woman was murdered with a virus that the CDC cannot identify right now.

One of the last people that she talked to was Dr. Burke.

Now we have someone who's about to die from that same virus.

My God. You think Tessa actually killed somebody?

I don't know, you tell me. I mean, is it possible?

Tessa was a zealot.

The rules didn't matter to her.

But that's what made her brilliant, but also why she got fired.

I'm not supposed to talk about this, but... cultures went missing.

Tessa had access and motive.

Motive? What kind of motive?

Her research. She thought we weren't giving her enough leeway.

But we could have lost our grants.

This whole place could go away without them.

If she stole the cultures, why did she sue?

We didn't have proof, but I was sure it was her.

Okay. What went missing?

It was a tropical virus.

Uh, it's found in Africa, Southeast Asia...

CHIKV.

Yes.

She killed someone with it?

Well, apparently she changed it before she used it.

If it's mutated, I don't know any way to treat it.

How is Mr. Vaziri?

His vitals actually seem more stable.

Clearly the herbs helped.

I came to apologize.

No need. I understand that when someone is blindly subservient to institutional authority, their judgment is frequently compromised.

That was an eloquent insult. I thought so.

Did your department find any evidence of CHIKV in Dr. Burke's lab? Nothing.

And according to witnesses, she works day and night, so she wouldn't have had time to conduct experiments at another facility.

So, unless we find a way to tie CHIKV to her, she can't be arrested.

Unfortunately, that's the way it looks.

Perhaps this will help.

I thought you'd been over the victim's MRIs before.

I took new scans, because I saw this.

It's fractured. It's bowing outward.

Which means the pressure came from inside the bone.

This break wasn't here before? No.

It occurred postmortem. Now take a look at the most recent scans.

That's the site where Mia was injected with the virus. You can see there's a pocket in the trabecular section of the bone.

That's where the pressure originated that caused the fracture.

It looks like a small tumor.

This isn't CHIKV.

There was something added to that injection.

Something that's still growing.

I'm taking a slice for analysis.

Perhaps we can determine what's causing this postmortem cellular reproduction.

SAROYAN: These are prokaryotes.

BRENNAN: That means the growth in the bone isn't viral.

It's a bacterial infection.

So she was injected with a virus and bacteria.

The bacteria acted as a booster so that the mutated virus would grow even more quickly.

Botulinum toxin.

Botulism? HODGINS: Yeah.

Laboratory grade.

Botulinum toxin's a Class A selected agent strictly monitored through the CDC.

Once we determine the specific version of the toxin, we can prove that Dr. Burke made it in her lab.

And get the antiserum from her.

Hey, look, they're bringing in Tessa Burke.

How soon till you get the results?

Dr. Jacobs from the CDC's is cross-checking the botulinum toxin to see if it's registered to her lab.

Look, how's Arastoo?

The herbs are slowing progress, but I'm not sure how long he can hold out.

Look, I'll get what he needs from Burke.

All right, look, she's here. Just get me that proof as soon as you can.

Okay.

This is absurd.

I don't have any antidote.

Mia and I were on the same side.

I have no reason to kill her.

You stole cultures from the last lab that you worked at.

How did you...? That settlement was sealed.

Thorne told you, didn't he?

So, you're not denying this? I am, categorically.

He accused me of stealing so he could take all my notes.

Simatech Biolab owned all my research, and he wanted it for himself.

Why didn't you bring up Thorne before when you talked to Dr. Sweets?

Because I was under a court order, which, apparently, means a hell of a lot more to me than it does to Thorne.

So you're saying that he has reason to kill Mia?

I gave Mia everything I knew about outbreaks, unethical lab practices...

You're talking about Thorne now?

Yes, he would do anything to keep his grants.

I told Mia, she was looking into him.

He was about to lose 12 million from the NIH unless he came up with something really big.

You can check it out.

If he was doing something unethical and Mia found out about it, he would do anything to keep that quiet. (phone ringing)

Booth.

This is Dr. Jacobs with the CDC.

The botulinum toxin is registered to Simatech Labs.

It's run by...

Yeah, Dr. Leonard Thorne. I know. So someone stole the culture two years ago.

Impossible. Simatech was only certified for the toxin this year.

Okay, thanks.

Yeah, you can go now.

This fall, we are gonna drive through New England...

...and see the leaves turn.

I know this great inn that you would love.

And you can teach me how to make your abgoosht.

I am so sorry that...

I was too busy last weekend.

(sniffles)

You are gonna get through this, Arastoo.

You will.

Do you need anything?

(sighs)

You and Dr. Brennan already gave us... a little extra time.

His vitals are dropping?

You killed Mia Garrett because she figured out you mutated the virus.

I've already told you, I don't know Mia Garret...

You were gonna let it loose, weren't you, huh?

You were gonna let the virus out. (grunts)

Be the big hero.

Come up with the cure so you'd get rich.

I want a lawyer.

Yeah. A good man is gonna die in a couple hours.

I need the antidote.

That's it?

Okay, let's go for a little walk, huh?

(knocking)

Bones! JACOBS: We shouldn't do this.

We're technically still on lockdown.

But if we don't, he's just going to shoot out the lock.

Open up. (beeping)

Come on, let's go, huh?

Call for help. He can't do this!

Sure I can. I want you to see your handiwork.

Yeah? Where's Mia?

On the platform. On the platform, okay.

Up here. Come on.

(beeping and buzzing) BOOTH: Take a look.

Huh? Look!

Is that what you wanted to have happen to her, huh? Look at her.

Take a good look, Doc. You shouldn't get him so close.

Oh, right, right, we don't want the doctor to catch a cold here.

What do you say we go have a show-and-tell, huh? Come on.

Security tapes at his lab show Mia coming back to Simatech late at night.

She was already sick.

She must have known what Thorne was up to.

She wanted the antidote.

So you just let her die, and then sent her to be destroyed with the animals.

BOOTH: Let's go take a look in here, huh? Shall we?

There's your next victim, who's only got a couple hours to live.

We need the antidote.

Please, he's done nothing to you.

If he tells us where the antidote is, it's an admission of guilt.

It's over for you anyway.

I've asked for my lawyer. I know my rights.

These people are witnesses. Witnesses...

No, Booth! Please. Please.

His... his name is Arastoo Vaziri, and he's a good man.

A generous man, and I...

...love him, and you know that this is not...

He-he's done nothing to deserve this.

You know that.

What if this was someone you love?

Would you let them die?

Like this?

(sobbing): Please help him.

I want my lawyer.

Booth, that's not going to help. I can talk to him.

We couldn't make an antiserum, but we were able to cultivate the virus from the needle you stuck in Mia's arm.

Bones, that's not going to work.

I just want him to understand what's happening.

(groans)

What have you done?

I think it's pretty clear what I've done.

Perhaps now you'll tell us where the antiserum is.

♪ ♪ I am

♪ Just like an arrow

♪ Heading

♪ Straight for a destiny

♪ Then I met you

♪ And the world opened up in front of me ♪ ♪ Revealing

♪ There was more than the eye could see. ♪

Hey.

Hey.

Arastoo is, uh, doing well.

He's fever's almost gone.

Thank God. And Cam?

Are you kidding?

She's over the moon. The paramedics are here.

She's gonna go with them when they go to the hospital.

I'm so glad. You know, he would've died if it wasn't for you.

Oh, come on.

The antiserum saved his life.

No, you and Brennan gave him the time he needed until it got here.

You and Brennan saved him, babe.

You did.

♪

Dr. Brennan, I wanted to say thank you.

Without your team, I can't imagine what would've happened.

Many deaths, I suppose.

Yes. under less stressful circumstances.

I would enjoy that.

Thorne's in custody. You ready?

Almost.

You're a lucky man, Agent Booth.

Yes, I am.

Very lucky.

I think we're all lucky after today.

You ready? Yes.

You know that wasn't real virus, so I couldn't have killed him.

Yeah, I figured.

I would have used the real one if I'd had it.

Oh, I know.

Because I would have missed Arastoo, and...

Cam would have been so sad.

Guy has no idea how lucky I really am.

I mean really lucky.

Aw, I love you, too.

(chuckles)

Can we stop off for a drink?

Sure, champagne. The good stuff.

What's that mean?