Charlie awoke to an annoying ringing in his ear. It took him a minute to figure out that it was emanating from his cell phone. He glanced at his watch. Eight o'clock? No, that would mean he had slept for over five hours! He grabbed his phone and answered, "Hello?"

"Bad news, Charlie," Megan's dejected voice sounded in his ear. "None of the locals in California City or the other post offices recognized any of the photos."

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as his sluggish mind registered what she had just told him. "Wait," he mumbled as he shook his head, trying to wake up. "I found something last night." He glanced down at his laptop and studied the screen. "I think he had help."

"Who, Reiner?"

Charlie nodded, before realizing Megan couldn't see him. "Yes," he said in frustration. Jeez, wake up! Your brother's life is at stake here. That seemed to be the jolt he needed, as the fog lifted from his brain. "I think you should look at his wife and son."

"Okay." She waited for him to explain further.

"The wife, Jackie, came to the trial every day without fail. She also poured what little money and assets that hadn't been seized by the FBI into funding her husband's defense. After the trial, she filed for bankruptcy. As best I can tell, she didn't start popping up on the radar again for around a year, and then her name shows up in conjunction with some questionable investments where she made money, while all the other investors lost."

"Up to her husband's old tricks? Alright, she's obviously got a motive and the brains to do the research needed to plan a kidnapping and frame Davies. Why the son?"

"He was a stand out student at the UCLA before the trial," he informed her. "After the trial, he pretty much disappears. There's no record of him as a UCLA student anymore – no record of him at all, actually."

"You think he went into hiding to plan all this?" Megan asked doubtfully.

"No, I don't think so," Charlie said. "But I think he's the variable that I couldn't quantify, and that he might indirectly have something to do with the kidnapping. I think you should find him and question him as soon as possible."

"I have an old family photo in Reiner's file. I'll send it up to David right now."

The phone clicked in his ear, and Charlie wearily sighed as he stared up at the chalkboards in front of him. He was pretty sure this was the fastest he'd ever managed to run this many equations and suspects, but he was also sure that he'd never had this much incentive before. He just hoped it wasn't too late.

--

Sausage and pancakes. Dad must have cooked breakfast again. Don smiled as his stomach growled. He didn't know why he was so hungry, but he couldn't wait to dig in. He felt a yawn coming and tried to lift his arms to stretch. What the hell? He opened his eyes and blinked several times to clear the sleep from them. He found himself looking at a man and a woman seated on the ground in front of him, enjoying a delicious looking breakfast. His Dad had invited company over? He glanced around him. And they were eating outside? His confused mind tried to weed through the images and thoughts chaotically spinning through his head. He yawned again, frowning at the dry material filling his mouth, and the tightness in his chest.

"Sleep good, Donny-boy?" the man seated in front of him laughed.

No, not just a man – Reiner. His mind slowly began to put the pieces together. He had been captured by Reiner and he was bound to a tree in the middle of the woods. Okay, good start, he thought to himself. And? And he's letting you die a very slow, painful death. Okay, I could have done without remembering that part.

As the memories returned, so did the pain. His hands, forearms, feet and lower legs were tingling, and his back was on fire. His chest ached as he shallowly panted for air, feeling his heart beating faster than usual. He felt light headed and nauseated, and knew that could be due to any number of causes. His stomach growled again, reminding him that his captives hadn't bothered to feed him during his stay. The last thing that hit home did so with a vengeance – an incredible thirst, unlike he had ever experienced before. The inside of his mouth was dry and covered with a thick mucous that made it hard to swallow. Whatever moisture he might have managed was quickly absorbed by the cloth rag stuffed into his mouth.

He was aware that John had gotten up to come stand next to him as he drank a glass of orange juice, and chased it down with a bottle of water. He delighted in the look of despair in Don's eyes as he teased him. He again tossed the empty bottle to lie next to the weakened agent and left him alone for the day.

--

Megan was reading through Reiner's case file for the fifth time when her phone rang. "Reeves."

"We got a positive ID on Jackie Reiner," David announced excitedly. "At the post office and the supply store up here, and at the post office in Lancaster. They remember her because her hands were bandaged – due to a cooking accident. The postal clerk up here says he remembers her talking about it because his aunt had once burned her hands cooking pasta, too."

"That's good," Megan agreed. "But I've been looking over the file, and I've had a couple of agents check out her last known residence – neither she nor husband has been seen there in the past two weeks. They've got a hideout somewhere."

"Is there anything to suggest a location?"

"No," Megan answered. "But based on the profile I've done on her and her husband – the attention to detail and planning – I'm certain that they're not anywhere near California City."

"We need a location fast," David said. "I don't know how much longer Don has, assuming he's..." He let the sentence trail off, not wanting to vocalize what they were both thinking.

"I know. Charlie mentioned something about their son, Jacob Alexander Reiner. He apparently dropped out of school and there's been no trace of him since. Charlie thinks he might somehow be involved or at least have some sort of useful information."

"I'm heading back to the office," David told her. "See what you and Charlie can dig up on him, and get Colby to help out. If Charlie's right – and if we can find the son – we're going to have to be ready to move quickly."

"Okay." They hung up and Megan called Charlie. "Charlie-"

"I think I found him!" Charlie cut her off.

"The son?"

"Yes," he exclaimed triumphantly. "I pulled his transcript from UCLA and ran it against similar course offerings in other colleges and universities in the area – assuming he'd still want to finish in the same field of study, his credits would have to transfer, right? And then I narrowed it down to smaller schools, because he'd want to stay out of the public eye-"

"Charlie!" Megan stopped him. "Where is he?"

Charlie took a brief second to catch his breath. "He's studying criminal justice at Valens University in Glendale, under the name of Jacob Alexander."

"He dropped the family name to escape all the publicity," Megan thought aloud. "Great work, Charlie. I'll head over there to interview him right now."

"I want to go with you," he quickly added.

"Charlie, time is of the essence."

"I know, but it's almost on the way." He paused. "Besides, he might be reluctant to talk. I can personalize this for him – make him see that Don's not the only one being hurt. Maybe get 'professor-student' vibes going. Please, Megan."

She couldn't ignore the pleading note in his voice. "Alright, but be ready to jump in the car as soon as I pull up."

Thirty minutes later Charlie was seated next to Megan and they were headed to Valens University. He nervously bounced his knee as he scrawled equations in a notebook on his lap. She knew it was his way of coping, and she was relieved that he hadn't retreated from reality as Don had once told her he tended to do in the face of tragedy. She smiled as she thought about how proud Don would be, no – will be – when he heard about this.

Once they reached the campus, they made short work of finding Jacob's dorm room. They knocked on the door, both praying that he was at home. After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened to reveal a young, dark haired man. He gave a cursory glance to Charlie before turning his gaze to Megan. He made a face as he studied her appearance. "FBI, right?" he sneered.

Megan opened her mouth to ask how he knew, and then thought that he'd probably seen plenty of agents in his day. "Yes," she answered politely. "We need to ask you some questions about your parents." He didn't respond, so she held up her hand. "May we come in?"

"Don't bother," he spat. "This isn't going to be a long conversation."

"I understand you're upset, but there has been an incident recently that we believe your parents might be involved in." He didn't flinch. "Special Agent Eppes, the man who investigated and testified against your father, had been receiving a series of threatening letters."

"Had been?"

Well, at least that got his attention. "Yes. He was abducted two days ago. The evidence points to your parents."

"Well, I didn't have anything to do with it," he insisted. "And I don't associate with my parents any longer. Haven't in a long time." He started to close the door.

"Wait!" Charlie cried as he forced his way past Alexander and into the dorm room.

"Hey!" he protested. "You have no right to come barging-"

"My name is Charlie Eppes," he introduced himself. "Agent Eppes is my brother."

Alexander sighed. "And I care, why?"

"Because I think you're a good person. You stayed away from the trial, changed your name, cut all ties to your parents..." Charlie paused as he stared intently at the young man. "Please, if you know anything that might help... He's my brother – I want him back alive and well."

"Have a seat," he relented as he gestured at his bed. He sank into the desk chair. "But I honestly don't think I know anything that will be of any use."

"I appreciate this," Charlie thanked him.

"Your mother was spotted in Lancaster and California City – two of the locations the threats were mailed from. Do you know of any ties – family, friends, real estate, anything – she, or your father, might have to those locations?"

He thought for a moment. "No, I'm sorry. We lived in Huntington Park when I was growing up. Never went out to the northern edges of the city."

"Are there any places at all that you can think of that might not be in their files? Did you ever have a vacation home or frequent a park or campground? Any little thing might help."

He thought long and hard, his face finally lighting up. "Wait a minute, there was something." He got up and rummaged through a box of keepsakes he pulled from a desk drawer. He finally pulled out a picture of him and his parents and handed it to Megan. "We went camping up there a couple of times when I was a kid – eleven years old in that picture."

"Do you know where it is?" Charlie asked as he held his breath.

"Let me see," Jacob thought aloud. "I think it was up near Castaic. I remember that it was very isolated – we had to take a four wheel drive vehicle up there, and even with that we still hiked about a half a mile to the cabin. I used to love it because it was cold enough to sit by the campfire at night, but warm enough to hike during the day."

"No neighboring cabins?" Megan inquired.

"Not back then. I don't know if it's grown in population, though."

"Wouldn't the FBI have seized the cabin as part of their assets during the trial?" Charlie asked Megan. She nodded.

"Oh that," Jacob laughed. "Mom had a friend – Sherri Riverston – that she signed over some of the property to when the investigation started getting close. I'll bet Sherri's still got the deed. She'll have to help you with finding it, too. It's been ten years and I don't have a clue as to how we got there."

"Thank you," Charlie said as he and Megan rose to leave. He scribbled his name and number onto a piece of paper and pressed it into Jacob's hand. "If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Professor Eppes," he read aloud. He looked up and smiled at Charlie. "I just might take you up on that, professor."

Charlie clapped him on the shoulder. "I'll look forward to your call."

As he followed Megan into the hallway, she was already on the phone with David. "You and Colby get a couple of teams on stand-by. We've got a possible location near Castaic. I'll call you once we have more information."

She hung up and they stepped outside into the fading afternoon light. She looked at Charlie as he walked next to her and saw the anguish on his face. She knew exactly what he was thinking – they were running out of time.

--

Don's head sagged forward onto his chest. The position caused an unbelievable amount of strain on his neck, but that sensation was lost in the sea of agony flowing through the rest of his body. He would have lifted his head to ease the tension, but couldn't find the strength. He heard the footsteps approaching, heard the laughter as his captors took in his condition. He wasn't even able to resist as Jackie again pinned his head back against the tree. He started shivering the instant the first drop of water touched his skin. Four buckets later and she let go of his head, chuckling as it dropped, his chin bouncing off his chest. She found it amusing enough that she lifted and dropped it again twice more, setting off another round of throbbing in his head.

"I think tomorrow's the day," she told her husband.

"I believe you're right." He put his fingers against Don's throat, checking his pulse. "Heartbeat's pretty rapid, but he should make it through tonight okay. We'll leave early tomorrow to make sure he's still lucid enough to enjoy the festivities."

Don heard them retreating back through the woods, leaving him alone in the cold darkness. His shivering seemed to be easing off, and he knew it wasn't because he wasn't cold – he was getting pretty close to the end. Charlie, I thought you were coming to get me...

He waited for an answer but heard only the sounds of the forest as nightfall descended. Charlie? He managed to roll his head to the side, trying to look at the spot where his brother's vision had previously appeared. Did you leave me?

Receiving only silence as his answer, he let his head fall back to his chest. His heart sank and – if he'd had any left – he was certain there would be tears leaking from his eyes. I'm sorry, Charlie, was his last thought before he slipped into darkness.