Charlie nervously chewed on a fingernail and tapped his foot as he watched Megan talk on the phone. They had spent the better part of the night tracking down Sherri Riverston. Finding her phone number and address had been easy enough, but they had been dismayed to discover that she was currently on vacation with her family. Charlie and his brother's team members had logged hours of research last night, and finally – just before six in the morning – discovered where Mrs. Riverston was vacationing. Megan was currently on the phone with Riverston, alternating between apologizing and pushing for information.

From the end of the conversation he could hear, Charlie had deduced that the woman was not happy about being called this early in the morning, and that she didn't think it was any of the FBI's business if she'd received a deed to a cabin from Jackie Reiner or not. Megan had maintained a calm, professional tone and manner up until the point that she realized that Riverston thought her friend was innocent. Megan had switched tactics then, promising her that if Reiner was located in or anywhere near the cabin and Agent Eppes was found dead, she would be spending a long time in prison. Charlie smiled at the expression on Megan's face as she jotted down some notes and hung up the phone.

"Apparently they're good friends," Megan groaned as she rolled her eyes. "But not prison friends." She led Charlie into the conference room where several agents were waiting, geared up and anxious to go rescue their comrade. "Okay," she announced to them in a no-nonsense voice. "We've got the location of the cabin. As you know I've grouped you into five teams of three. We're going to all make our way to the cabin, at which time two teams will move in and three will secure the exits. I have to repeat this – we are not certain that this is where Agent Eppes is being held, but it is the most likely location." She hesitated and glanced sympathetically at Charlie before turning her focus back to the room. "But time is running out, and this is the best lead we have. Remember, securing Don is the top priority – everything else is second. Got it?" She thankfully smiled as she saw countless heads bobbing in agreement. "There will also be two ambulances and a life-saver helicopter on stand-by, so if you find him, radio in as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence." More nods and Megan felt pride in her fellow agents swell in her heart. She cast a sideways glance at Charlie and saw the same emotion on his face. "Alright guys, let's get rolling." As she was moving toward the door, Charlie stepped in her path, mouth open to speak. "I know," she cut him off as she grabbed his arm. "You're coming with us."

He whispered his thanks as he grabbed his laptop and dashed out the door after her.

--

Don's mind was so consumed by pain that he was barely aware of the two people moving beside him. He felt the ropes wrapped around his torso tighten and rub back and forth, irritating the scrapes on his back and the rope burn on his chest. He weakly moaned into the gag before being silenced with a slap across his face. He forced himself to remain quiet, trying to focus on breathing against the increased pressure around his chest. Suddenly the pressure was gone and he found himself falling to his side, grunting as he landed hard on the ground. The sudden change in position made the world start spinning and Don closed his eyes as he felt sick. He couldn't hold it back though, and began dry heaving for what seemed like an eternity, while his captors made small talk in the background. He finally managed to control his nausea, and attempted to catch his breath. He thought breathing would be easier without the ropes around him, but was distraught to find that he could still only manage small, shallow pants of air.

Part of his mind was screaming at him to get up and run, but he knew there was no way he could stand, much less run. Instead he lay there, listening to the Reiners as they moved around him, making various clicking and rustling sounds. He felt a pair of hands shove him onto his stomach, before yanking his arms behind him. At that, Don let out a piercing scream – his arms had been bound in front of him for so long, the muscles could hardly flex the other way.

"Shut up!" John growled in his ear, deliberately digging his knee into Don's lower back to emphasize his demand as he fastened a pair of plastic flexi cuffs around his wrists.

Don choked back another scream so that it came out as a quiet whimper. He felt Reiner lifting his upper body and dragging him away from the tree, dropping him onto a hard, metal frame. Don winced and fought back another wave of sickness as he brutally landed on his bound arms. He felt nylon straps being fastened over him, pinning him to the frame. He cracked his eyes open and found himself staring into Jackie's evil glare. She smirked as she gave a firm tug on the restraint across his abdomen to elicit another groan of pain. She disappeared from his line of sight, leaving him to stare up at the morning sky, pondering why it appeared to be devoid of color. A glance to either side of him confirmed that everything seemed to be duller than usual. Why do I have a feeling it's not the sky that's making everything look so dim?

His musings were interrupted as the frame was hoisted upward and slid along some sort of metal. The sky and trees disappeared as a roof of some sort blocked his view. He heard two slamming noises – car doors? – and his world went pitch black. Two more slamming noises, muffled and farther away, and the sound of an engine starting. As it rumbled to life and began to move, the roughness of the terrain sent it jostling along the road. Don bit down on the gag as another bout of nausea and dry heaves washed over him. His head was reeling, and he was just as glad he couldn't see, certain that the world around him must be spinning at ten times the normal speed.

As he felt darkness reaching up to claim him, he made one desperate, last ditch effort to reach out for help – silently screaming the name of the one person that he thought might still be able to save him: Charlie!

--

Six agents stealthily approached the cabin, eyes and ears open for any signs of Don or his captors. Megan and her team were approaching from the front and left; David's from the rear and right. Charlie was safely ensconced behind a stand of trees, close enough that he could dart into the cabin at a moment's notice, but far enough to be out of harm's way. The other three teams were keeping an eye on the main road a few hundred yards away from the cabin.

Megan and David reached the front and back doors at the same time and – on Megan's signal – stormed inside, quickly clearing the two room dwelling. Megan radioed to Charlie to come inside, and moments later he appeared, his eyes instantly scanning the main room for clues.

"Check around the perimeter," Megan ordered David and the other agents on her team. She glanced around the room, her eyes landing on a dining table covered with papers. She moved closer and donned a pair of latex gloves as she thumbed through them. There were mostly newspapers mixed with a few hiking pamphlets handed out by the Forestry Service – How to Camp in the Cold, How to Avoid Dehydration, and a list of local forest fire advisories. Just like any camper might have, she mused. Maybe they weren't onto something after all.

"Megan!" Charlie's excited voice called to her from across the room. She walked over to him, looking at a newspaper he was pointing out – 'Fires in Frazier Park Rage Out of Control'. Next to it, there was a map of Frazier Park, with certain areas circled in red. "It looks like they were trying to map out the exact location of the fire."

"Yes," she agreed. "Frazier Park is what, about an hour and a half from here?"

Charlie nodded. "I don't see why they would be tracking the fires so closely." He looked expectantly at Megan.

"Unless they were planning on going there," she finished.

"Megan!" David's alarmed voice called over her radio.

"Go ahead."

"We found something out back. Better come take a look."

Megan and Charlie exited the cabin, crossing through the woods in the back to the David's location. As they grew nearer she heard Charlie gasp, "No!"

The other agents were gathered around a large tree, staring in shock at the bloody mess around it. There were several coils of rope stained rusty brown with what looked like dried blood, and more of the stain coating the lower part of the trunk. There was also a small pool of blood in the dirt next to the tree. Megan's shocked mind began conjuring up images of what might have happened here, and she quickly forced them away so she could better focus on the evidence. She knelt and bent closer to examine the trunk. She saw a few dark hairs and blood dried at eye level, just where Don's head would have been if he'd been sitting.

"Th- that's a lot of blood..." Charlie's faint voice spoke behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, having forgotten for a moment that Charlie was with them. She gestured at David to call in a crime scene team while she went to Charlie's side.

"I know it looks like a lot of blood-"

"It is a lot of blood," he insisted. "Too much, especially if he's dehydrated."

Crap, she thought. He had seen those pamphlets, too. "We're getting closer, though. We know we're on the right track." She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "We will find him, Charlie. I promise."

He looked met her gaze and saw the conviction in her eyes. "I know you will," he whispered. "But will it be soon enough?"

She had no answer for that, and they stood in an awkward silence until an agent called to them. "I found tire tracks!"

She and David trotted to the agent's side, and studied the impressions in the dirt. "Large tires," she observed out loud. "Wide base, off-road pattern." She looked up at David. "A van or an SUV?"

He nodded. "But there's no such vehicle registered to the Reiners," he reminded her. "Stolen?"

"Could be. That's going to be hard to track down, though."

"California City," Charlie chimed in. As the two agents looked up questioningly, he continued, "The Reiners went through all the trouble to frame Davies. They probably doubted we'd ever make it this far, but – in case we did – they would want this evidence to point to him as well."

Megan smiled. "I think you're right. David, call up the locals there and ask about any stolen vehicles."

"On it," David answered as he started dialing.

"Where do you think they went?" Megan asked the young professor. "The fires?"

"It makes sense. That's a good place to get rid of evidence and a bod-" he stopped short and his face drained of color. He couldn't believe he'd just spoken about Don like that. He felt Megan's hand on his back, rubbing small circles.

"I think that's where we should look," she spoke quietly. She was beginning to think that they were too late and quickly forced positive thought into her head – for Charlie's sake.

"There was a blue Econoline van reported stolen at a used car lot," David informed them triumphantly. "I've got the plate number and I've put out a BOLO to all local agencies within one hundred miles."

"Good job." Megan returned to the cabin as she radioed down to the three teams watching the main road. "Granger?"

"Yeah," he answered.

"We think they've taken Don to Frazier Park, in the vicinity of the forest fires. You and the other two teams start heading that way, and take the ambulances with you. David, Charlie, and I will be right behind you." She picked up the map. "We'll be calling ahead with directions as soon as we can narrow anything down." She handed the map to Charlie as the three of them ran to her SUV. "See what you come up with," she told him as she gunned the engine and raced to the main road.

--

Don moaned as the vehicle came to a sudden stop, jarring him roughly against his restraints. He heard car doors slamming and then doors opening as light flooded around him. He was slid back across the metal surface, and dropped onto the ground. He opened his eyes, and squinted against the sun overhead. He saw the outlines of the two Reiners as they worked around him. He felt one of them removing the straps holding him to the frame, and heard John's voice as he instructed his wife, "Make sure you've got the equipment." His hands were freed of the restraints, only to be bound again in front of him.

His world spun wildly as he was lifted up and hoisted over John's shoulder in a fireman's carry. He closed his eyes, fighting the ever-present nausea, as Reiner began carrying him away from the road, Jackie trailing behind him. He clenched his eyes shut and tried to focus on anything other than the constant jostling and shooting pains in his body. The only other thought that came to mind was that they were preparing him for the 'coup de grace' as promised a few days ago. He would have given anything to slip into darkness and escape his situation, but the pain and the last stores of adrenaline in his body wouldn't even allow him that small comfort.

Eventually Reiner's pace slowed and he unceremoniously dropped Don into a boneless heap on the ground. He bent over and lifted him to an upright position, slamming his injured back against a tree. Not again, Don groaned inwardly. His fears were confirmed as Jackie and John set about wrapping the coils of rope around his body, making sure to tug them tight and chuckling as he winced in pain. The constriction around his chest was uncomfortable, but his breathing was not adversely affected as he had long ago ceased being able to take anything more than shallow puffs of air. As they worked, he became aware of something new – a smell of some sort. He concentrated as it tickled under his nose, trying to figure out what it was. He weakly tried to lift his head to see, but his head was too heavy. What was that smell? It wasn't something unpleasant necessarily – just familiar. His thoughts were interrupted as someone grabbed his hair and yanked his head up.

"Hey, Donny-boy – you still with us?" John's smiling face was pressed close to his. Seeing the agent's open and somewhat lucid eyes, he smiled. "Oh good. I was afraid you had checked out early." He smiled at Jackie who knelt next to him, staring hatefully at Don. "It's time for you to pay for what you did to us – destroying our family and reputation, making my wife live in squalor for a year. It's time for you to die Agent Eppes." He wrenched Don's head to the side and both Reiners savored the look of panic on his face.

Don knew what that smell was now – a fire. A very large fire. A forest fire maybe? Oh God, that's not how I want to die – slowly burned to death. He slid his eyes to the side to rest on his captors, looking for any signs of mercy or humanity in them. He saw only hatred in their soulless stares.

"Like I said before, we won't be able to watch you die, but that look of fear was enough for me." Reiner released his grip on Don's hair, watching as his head sagged back onto his chest. He ruffled the agent's hair once more as Jackie piled all of the evidence – Don's shirt, wallet, ID, everything – next to the agent to be incinerated along with him in the approaching inferno. "It's been fun, Eppes. I'll enjoy this memory for many years to come. You take care now."

Don heard the two leave and desperately tried to summon enough strength to work on the restraints. He had none left though, and only succeeded in making himself short of breath. As he sagged in his bonds panting, he heard the telltale popping of burning wood as the heat intensified. The smell grew stronger, and he found himself coughing as the smoke drifted closer. The strain was too much for him in his weakened state, and he felt his vision graying and his senses dulling as he fought for oxygen.

Certain he was dying, he though first of his father, and then of Charlie. I know you tried, Charlie. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to make it. With that last thought, he slipped into a darkness where he was no longer in pain, could no longer feel the heat of the flames as they crept closer to his body.