"Hotch has been missing for over nine months now, do you truly think there is any chance of getting him back?" Garcia wailed to the conference room at large. "Do you really think that there is a chance that Boss Man is still out there?"

The team was between cases and had gathered in the conference room for a quick meeting to review Hotch's case.

"Don't sound like that, Kitten," Rossi told her. "There is always hope and no one here has given up hope."

"But what have we found?" Garcia demanded. "I tried tracing that boat via satellite imaging but it got lost under the heavy cloud cover. Jack thought he had located some new abductions in the Caribbean and they did kind of fit the profile with a missing mother and daughter along with a missing father and son. And then, when it turned out that the mother in question was a drug addict and that the missing father was under investigation for suspicion of fleecing tourists, they really did seem to match the profiles of the other kidnap victims. However, we couldn't trace when or where they had been taken. There were no fingerprints of any kind in the areas where we know these guys were and no clear pictures of them either. We have nothing!"

"We have a solid profile," Lewis declared. "And every time these marauders make a move, it gets solider. We Are Going To Get Them!"

"I try to believe that," Garcia replied tearfully. "But, somehow I have trouble with it. I need to be doing something – Something constructive."

"You are doing something," JJ gently pointed out. "You have your computers set up to find anything out of the ordinary. And, something will turn up - I just know it will!"

"These people are overdue to make a mistake," Morgan added. "And, when they do, we will be right there to catch them."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

It was several months, however, before the team got what appeared to be the break they had been waiting for. It was mid-morning on a late spring day when JJ's cell phone rang.

"Jareau," she answered it after noticing that there was a strange phone number on the screen.

"Agent Jareau – The pretty blond lady I spoke with in Baltimore about a year ago?" the man's voice asked.

"That may be me," JJ replied cautiously. "To whom am I speaking?"

"You probably don't remember me," the voice told her. "My name is John Smith and about a year ago we spoke on my boat in the marina in Baltimore."

"I do remember you, Captain," JJ smiled at the memory. "What can I help you with?"

"Remember you told me to call you if I ever saw that boat again?" the captain replied. "Well, I saw it – This morning."

"Just a minute," JJ stood up and began frantically gesturing to the other members of the team to join her as she headed towards the conference room. "Do you mind if I put this on speaker?"

"Sure thing!" the man assured her with a chuckle. "I always wanted to be a broadcaster!"

"Okay, Captain," JJ, followed by the rest of the team, had reached the conference room. She clicked the speaker button on her phone as she laid it on the table. "Go ahead."

"I decided to take a trip up the Atlantic coast to take advantage of the spring weather", the captain told everyone. "And last night I laid over at Bray's Island in North Carolina. When I woke up this morning, there was another boat docked in the overnight slips. I recognized it as being the same boat you are looking for. But, before I could do anything, it backed out of the slip and took off."

"I tried to follow it," he continued. "But it had too big of a head start. So, I called the Coast Guard and told them that the FBI was interested in that particular boat, but I got the impression they didn't take me seriously. Then I called you."

"And we are glad you did," Morgan spoke up.

"What can you tell us about the boat?" Rossi asked. "Any changes since the last time you saw it?"

"Not that I could see," the captain replied. "Of course, I didn't get a really good look at it, it being early morning and all."

"I'm calling the Coast Guard," Garcia announced as she took out one of her cell phones. "I can make them see sense. Where did you say you were?"

"Bray's Island, North Carolina," was the reply. "And the boat took off in a northeasterly direction."

"I also need to get with Monty!" Garcia exclaimed excitedly. "Cloud cover or no cloud cover we should be able to use satellite imaging to track that boat!"

"Let me talk with the Coast Guard," Rossi appropriated her cell phone. "You get started with Monty."

"And I need to call the North Carolina State Police," Morgan added as he took out his cell phone. "They need to check for missing persons in that area."

"Do you need anything further from me?" the voice came from the speaker on JJ's phone.

"Oh – Oh – Sorry about that, Captain," JJ immediately apologized. "Once we get brainstorming we tend to get a little carried away."

"Thank you Captain John Smith," Rossi boomed. "You have been a big help."

"My pleasure," the man replied. "And, if you can, will you let me know how this turns out?"

"Definitely," Morgan assured him. "You'll be the first to know."

~~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Rossi had to invoke a few choice words, but it wasn't long before the Coast Guard was headed towards Bray's Island.

"We are a ways away," the captain of the Coast Guard vessel told Rossi. "But, if that boat is in that area, we will find it!"

"They have evaded capture thus far," Rossi pointed out. "These pirates are very good at this."

In the meantime, Reid had inserted another pin in his geologic profile map and was standing back studying it.

"What?" JJ asked. "I know you are looking at something."

"They were at an island this time," Reid replied thoughtfully. "And, as far as we know, this is the first time they have visited an actual island."

"They were at Long Island," Lewis pointed out. "But, I suppose that that really doesn't count."

"We profiled that they were keeping their captives on an island," JJ said slowly. "Although that particular one is far too well trafficked to provide the privacy they need. What if they are using another, more secluded island, in the area?"

"Well, in that case," Garcia said looking up from her computer screen. "If Monty and I can't find the boat we may just have to run an island-by-island search. If we can locate an island that is supposed to be deserted and isn't, we'll know we have the right place."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Unfortunately, circumstances still seemed to be conspiring against the BAU team. The Coast Guard arrived on the scene too late to track The Tagalong and when their helicopter went looking they were unable to locate a likely candidate for the marauders' main ship. The dense cloud cover accompanying an incoming tropical storm obscured the satellite imaging that Garcia and Monty accessed, resulting in their being unable to locate either of the boats. However, with Morgan's information, the South Carolina State Police were able to connect several disappearances on Bray's Island.

"If it weren't for you, we probably would have written Murray Warner's disappearance off as another drunk taking his boat out for spin and not coming back," the detective in charge told Morgan. "Now, we know enough to keep looking for him."

"Good idea," Morgan replied. "However, somehow I don't think you'll find him."