The Killer in the Crosshairs

The Killer in the Crosshairs is the fifteenth episode of the sixth season of Bones
==Synopsis ==
After notoriously murdering The Gravedigger, sniper-on-the-loose Jacob Broadsky strikes again. This time, his victim is a prior suspect who escaped the justice system. More determined than ever to catch Broadsky, Booth uses his own military training to beat the sniper at his own game. He vows to go to any lengths necessary to ensure that justice is served. In a heated and dramatic face-off, Booth has minutes to catch Broadsky before he hits an intended target, but Broadsky’s skill and speed may prove to be a worthy adversary. Meanwhile, Angela’s father visits the Jeffersonian and insists on naming his unborn grandchild "Staccato Mamba".
== Summary ==
We open on Jacob Broadsky, who shaves and dresses ... while an enormous sniper rifle rests in the corner of his hotel room. Jacob leaves the suite and heads to a warehouse. There, he sets up his rifle and waits. A man carrying a briefcase enters. He calls Jacob, accusing him of being late. Of course, the man is unaware Jacob is watching him. Jacob fires, killing the man, who drops the briefcase and spills money everywhere. Hours later, the victim's face has been almost completely devoured by rats. Booth sees the copper, hand-made bullet buried in the wall. Caroline wonders why the killer didn't take the money. "He was only interested in the kill," Booth says. "It was Broadsky."
Back at the lab, Vincent Nigel Murray is on hand to help process the skeletal remains. Angela's dad shows up with a request: he wants to name the baby. Apparently, the name came to him in a song. Hodgins, meanwhile, tells Booth that the money found at the crime scene is counterfeit. Basically, five dollar bills have been repainted to look like one-hundred dollar notes. Later, Caroline tells Booth the victim was a known counterfeiter and maybe Jacob is doing everybody a favor. Booth then questions a former associate of the counterfeiter, a prison inmate named Ortiz. Turns out the victim testified against Ortiz, putting him away for life. Ortiz then admits he didn't call the sniper -- the sniper called him. "If the target was suggested ... it was because it came from him," Ortiz tells Booth. Apparently, Jacob is hunting bad guys.
Cut to the diner, where Angela tells Hodgins that daddy is going to pick the baby's name. "I would not fight him on this," Angela says. "We don't even know what name he's chosen. You might love it." Hodgins is understandably skeptical. Meanwhile, Booth finds a U.S. Marshal who worked with Jacob in the military. Apparently, Jacob saved the woman's life. "That's our girl," Booth observes. So Booth goes to see the marshal, Paula Ashwaldt, who admits she helped Jacob find the Gravedigger. She is upset Jacob killed innocent people along the way and asks Booth -- "one soldier to another" -- for a little time to make things right. Booth agrees and lets Paula walk ... for now.
Booth then tells Bones that Jacob has been using Paula's cabin. The partners head to the woods and see carrion birds circling the bones of a deer. "He was using the deer as target practice," Booth observes. The message: he is planning another kill. Booth then gets a call. It's bad news. Paula has just killed herself. Later, Booth returns home, locks up his guns ... and finds Jacob sitting on the couch and holding a gun. "What did you say to make Paula kill herself?" Jacob asks. "Which one of us will be judged more harshly?" Booth vows he will catch Jacob, who warns he isn't afraid to make Booth's son an orphan. Jacob then exits. The next day, Bones and Angela examine the remains of the deer on the computer screen. It appears the bullet shattered and scattered before it stuck the animal. How is that possible? Is there such a thing as a programmable bullet?
Later, Booth visits Sweets and that explains the whole Jacob situation makes him nervous because the two are so similar. "I never wanted to pull the trigger ... it was a terrible act for the greater good," Booth says. "I don't understand. Broadsky was a good man. What happened to him?" Sweets explains claiming the moral high ground is the only way Jacob can live with what he had to do in the war. Angela, meanwhile, has done a little research and discovered a "smart bullet" does exist. Basically, the bullet can be programmed to explode right before it hits the target, acting as a kind of shotgun blast to access difficult to reach areas. The only problem is the bullet found in the deer skull was custom made. Somebody made it for Jacob. But who?
CUT to Hodgins, who discovers Angela's dad sitting in his lab. "So the name that came to you?" Hodgins asks. The name: Staccato Mamba. Hodgins suddenly finds a spine and tells dad the baby will never have such a name. It will be Michael or Katherine. "I'll be going ... for now," Angela's dad says. Booth, in the meantime, has brought in arms maker Benny Winkler for questioning. Benny admits to making the smart bullet -- and claims Jacob showed him the government order. Booth tells Benny the order was likely fake before grabbing Benny by the lapels and demanding information. Benny describes the room he designed the bullet to breach. Angela takes that description and cross references it with architectural plans in the area. Bottom line: the building, with a copper ceiling, had to be constructed before 1939. Caroline knows exactly which room. "The women's bathroom in the Federal courthouse," the boss declares. Bingo.
Cut to the courthouse, where Booth tells Bones they know the "where," but not the "who." Angela, in the meantime, looks for surrounding locations which match the practice shot scenario -- and identifies a nearby rooftop. B&B head to said rooftop, but don't find Jacob. Did Angela get the locale wrong? The partners call Caroline, who explains the only case left in the courthouse concerns a dirty cop. "That sounds like Broadsky's target," says Booth, before realizing the men's bathroom is identical to the women's. Booth runs to the other side of the roof. Sure enough, he uses his own sniper rifle to spot Jacob aiming at the men's bathroom from another roof some distance away. Booth fires -- hitting Jacob's weapon. Jacob flees. "We missed him," Booth says. "He's long gone." Hmm. Did our FBI guy miss his target on purpose to avoid another kill?
Hodgins, meanwhile, awakens in an alley to find Angela's dad watching him. "Celebratory tequila -- it didn't sit well with you," pops explains. Hodgins also has a new, giant tattoo. Apparently, Angela's dad likes the fact Hodgins stood up to him. CUT to B&B, who sit at the bar and discuss the case. "I don't like the idea that my partner thinks me and Jacob Broadsky are alike," Booth admits. Says Bones: "Broadsky is bad and you are good." Booth thanks his partner for her simple, yet honest answer.
==Cast==
===Main Cast===
*Temperance Brennan - Emily Deschanel
*Seeley Booth - David Boreanaz
*Jack Hodgins - T.J Thyne
*Angela Montenegro - Michaela Conlin
*Camille Saroyan - Tamara Taylor
*Lance Sweets - John Francis Daley
===Intern of the Week===
*Vincent Nigel-Murray - Ryan Cartwright
===Guest Cast===
*Caroline Julian - Patricia Belcher
*Angela's Dad - Billy Gibbons
*Jacob Broadsky - Arnold Vosloo
===Guest Cast===
*Paula Ashwaldt - Marisa Ramirez
*Raul Ortiz - Jos Viramontes
*Benny Winkler - Andrew Patrick Ralston
*Walter Coolidge - Michael Papajohn
*FBI Informant - Cole Schaefer
==Featured Music==
*"Take Your Memory With You" by Vince Gill
==Notes==
*Hodgins says they'll name the child Michael Joseph if it's a boy or Katherine Temperance if it's a girl. Michael Peterson wrote this episode, and Joseph is Booth's middle name. Also, Joseph Michael are real names of Dusty Hill, the other long-bearded member of ZZ Top band. Kathy Reichs is the inspiration behind Bones, and Temperance is Bones' first name.
*On Booth's computer, it states that Paula Ashwaldt was born on August 30, 1974, and that she graduated high school in 1998. She would have been 23, turning 24 that August. For the both of the graduation dates to be correct (High School 1998; College 2002), she would have to have been born in 1980 or 1981.
*It doesn't make sense for Paula to be apprehensive around Booth. She also says she shouldn't be "talking to law enforcement without supervision." She is law enforcement herself. A US Marshal nonetheless. Why would she need supervision?
==Quotes==
Category:Season 6
Category:Episodes