The jet landed and the team headed straight for the precinct. As they parked and got out of the cars, Joey checked her watch. It was 3:37 a.m. Remembering Hotch's ominous prediction, they headed inside.

Sure enough, they were greeted by a detective with a grim look on his face. "A fourth boy has been reported missing." He skipped all the formalities and cut straight to the chase, walking and talking. "Kyle Williams. Seven years old, his mom just called saying she received a phone call with her son's voice saying only 'mommy' before hanging up. She went to check on Kyle and found his bed empty."

"All the other parents had received a call right before they found their son missing, as well?" Joey asked, recalling something she'd read on the report.

The detective nodded grimly. "That's right. All four phone calls lasted no more than three seconds. We couldn't trace anything. But all the parents confirm that it's their son speaking."

Hotch nodded. He turned to address his team. "Morgan and Prentiss, go to the Williams' house and speak with the parents, and then the Laurent's when you're done there. I'll go to the Philips'. JJ, you and Joey go to the Smith's house. Reid, I want you to stay here and work with Garcia. Try to see if you can pull anything out of the recordings the parents received."

Joey and JJ nodded at each other and headed straight back out the door they came in. They were quiet as they pulled out of the precinct and headed toward the Smith's house. Joey watched as streetlights flew past her window. Morgan was right, it was going to be a long case.

An hour later, most of the team had reassembled at the police station. As Joey and JJ entered the conference room, Joey sought out Reid. "Any more boys missing?" She asked nervously.

Reid shook his head. "None that have been reported."

JJ looked up in surprise. "So he stopped? Why? We were nowhere near catching him, so why stop taking boys?"

Reid shrugged and rubbed a hand over his face.

Hotch entered the room then. "What did you guys find out?"

JJ approached the map Reid had established of the abduction areas. "Michael Smith walked home from school every day, which was three block total." She traced the route the boy usually took with her finger. "But he always walked with friends and his older brother. His parents said he's a shy boy, so he wouldn't talk to strangers if they approached him."

"He also took piano lessons." Joey added. "And we're having Garcia check out the instructor now."

Hotch nodded. "James Phillips' parents didn't have much, but they enrolled him in a private school, and he rode the bus home every day. There was always a babysitter waiting for him at either house when he got home, both check out. I'm having Garcia look at everyone who works at the school." He sighed heavily. "But I doubt she'll find anything."

Morgan and Prentiss appeared at the door. Prentiss shook her head. "Tyler Laurent and Kyle Williams live two completely different lives. None of the parents have noticed the boys acting weird lately or anyone who the boys have mentioned being out of the ordinary."

Hotch took out his phone. "Garcia."

"Yes, sir."

"Have you found anywhere where the boys' lives intersect?" Hotch asked as the rest of the team exchanged apprehensive looks.

"Not yet." Came the disappointing response. "Not even grocery stores or laundry mats. These boys have literally never seen each other before. And I'm still running background checks on everyone from James Phillips' school, but no one strikes out yet."

"Thanks Garcia." Hotch replied, failing to keep the weariness out of his voice.

Joey felt anxious. She was hyper conscious of the quickly passing time. If they didn't find the UnSub soon, it wasn't going to end well for the boys. The team sat around the conference table to observe the files as minute after minute passed in silence. Finally, Reid spoke.

"Guys," He began. "Maybe the four boys are surrogates." Everyone looked at him for an explanation so he continued. "He stopped after four boys, but we were nowhere close to catching him, so why stop? Four is a pretty specific number. And we already know the boys cross racial and socioeconomic lines, and the geographical profile is whack."

"So these boys represent someone, or multiple someones for him." JJ continued, catching on to Reid's trail.

"That makes sense." Morgan agreed. "But that still doesn't explain how he found all four of the boys if their lives don't intersect at all."

The team all fell back into silence as they considered the problem Morgan raised.

Prentiss approached the map with Reid. After a moment of observing, she said, "Maybe the UnSub works two jobs?"

"What do you mean?" Morgan asked, looking up from the reports.

Prentiss indicated on the map. "Tyler Laurent and James Phillips both live relatively close to each other compared to the other two boys. And Kyle Williams and Michael Smith are closer to each other, too. So maybe all four of the boys' lives don't intersect, but maybe two and two of them do?"

JJ, Morgan, and Reid peered at the map thoughtfully while Hotch pulled his phone again to call Garcia.

"Sir, I still haven't finished the background checks on James Phillips' acquaintances and I'm just starting on Tyler Laurent's teachers. I'm working as fast as I can."

"I know, Garcia, but I want you to check something else really fast. We know the four boys don't overlap, but do any of the two overlap? Specifically Tyler and James, and Kyle and Michael in those pairs?"

The team waited with bated breath as Garcia typed away. "Uh…yes!" Everyone exchanged glances as she continued. "It looks like the Laurent's and the Phillips' shopped at the same grocery store…and the Williams and the Smiths visited the same doctor."

"Okay Garica," Prentiss piped up. "Can you check to see if anyone works at both places? Look for a part-time job."

There was more typing. "Okay, okay! A man named Adam Springer works as a stock boy for the grocery store, and he's a janitor in the evenings for the doctor's office. It looks like his house was evicted two weeks ago, and the addresses on his files haven't been updated, but the work addresses have been sent to your phones!"

"Okay, thanks Garcia." Hotch replied. "And let us know if you find anything about his background."

"Wait Garcia!" Joey called before Hotch could hang up. "Look for crimes in the area around thirty or forty years ago that involve four boys."

"Four boys?" Garcia repeated. "That's not much to go off."

"That's all we've got for now." Hotch said. "Let us know what you find. He hung up and the team stood to break up when Detective Riley appeared in the doorway, a somber look on his face.

"A body has been found."

The shock rippled around the room. Morgan closed his eyes in a grimace. JJ and Prentis exchanged horrified looks, as did Reid and Joey. Hotch's face was set. "Take us there."

The team split up into two SUVs. Hotch, JJ, and Joey climbed into one while Morgan, Prentiss, and Reid piled in the other. They made a caravan behind Detective Riley as some local officers followed from the back.

They had barely pulled out of the station when Hotch's phone rang. "You're all patched in." Garcia said as soon as Hotch answered over bluetooth. She launched into what she had found.

"So I looked and I couldn't find any crimes reported in the last fifty years involving four boys in the area, at least none in the age range of the boys who have been kidnapped. But I did find a news report from 1964. Five boys were playing near a river close to Billings. It was January and the river had partially frozen over. One of the boys went out on the ice, but it broke and he fell in."

"What happened?" JJ asked, exchanging dark looks with Hotch and Joey.

"He died." Garcia said sadly. "He got swept away and the other boys couldn't reach him. But here's the thing. The boy didn't die of drowning. In the report, the parents said he was a good swimmer, and it seems like it because he made it pretty far down the river, and there wasn't a lot of water in his lungs. He died of hypothermia."

Joey and JJ exchanged curious looks as Hotch asked "How does Adam Springer relate to this?"

"He was the boy's older brother."

"It's him." Morgan's voice came over the speaker from the other car. "He blames the other boys who were with his brother for the death."

"But they were just little boys." Garcia protested with a sorrowful voice. "It looks like you're headed toward the river where he died."

Joey grimaced and rubbed her temples, trying to banish her headache, as Hotch thanked Garcia and hung up. Joey coughed heavily in the back. The winter weather of Montana was not helping her feel any better. Hotch gave her a look through the rearview mirror, but didn't have a chance to say anything as JJ looked out the window.

"How far out are we?"

Joey glanced out the window, too. The cityscape had disappeared and thick trees dusted with snow flew past them on either side.

Detective Riley finally slowed to a stop several miles outside of Billings. Hotch and Morgan both pulled up behind him and the team emerged from the SUVs. "Who reported the body?" Morgan asked, gazing at the dense forest surrounding them.

"A hunter." Detective Riley replied, leading them away from the road. "He was heading back to his car, there's a storm coming in later today, and he came across it on the river bank."

The team walked up on several local officers already taping off a section of the woods near the river. Joey noticed how similar it looked to Garcia's description of the river the day the Springer boy died. The water near the bank was frozen over, but the center still flowed heartily.

Tyler Laurent's body lay under a tree that was mere feet from the thin ice covering the water. If it weren't for his blue-tinged lips and pale skin, he could have been sleeping. The team stood for a moment, as if too afraid to wake the resting boy, refusing to believe he was dead.

Prentiss was the first to approach. "He's wearing shorts and a t-shirt." She observed soberly.

Reid joined her now that the spell had been broken. "First look says he died from hypothermia. Blue lips, translucent skin, frozen eyelashes." He looked mournfully down at the boy. "It would have been quite peaceful, actually. He would have just drifted off to sleep…"

"He's clothed and positioned like he's asleep." Morgan stated. "Remorse?"

JJ snorted cynically. "I'm sure that will give the parents plenty of comfort. He died peacefully and his killer felt bad about it afterward." Hotch and Joey exchanged a look, but Joey broke it as she leaned over to give another wracking cough.

"It's just past six in the morning." Prentiss stated. "Does that mean he'll keep every boy for six hours? Will we only have another hour before another body shows up?"

"No," Joey pointed at Reid. "How long does it take for hypothermia to set in?"

Reid shrugged. "It's different for every person so—." But Joey cut him off.

"Exactly. He may have planned to keep Tyler for only six hours, but that doesn't mean another hour will pass before the next body shows up. If he's already started to freeze the other boy, we don't have much time."

Hotch shook his head and looked around hopelessly at the desolate area. "This dump site is miles away from the city and any of the abduction sites." A cold wind passed through the trees. "We have no way of finding him."

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! I know not a whole lot happened this chapter, but the next update should be coming soon so stay tuned! Thanks for sticking with my first CM fic for so long, and I appreciate all of you Favoriters/Followers/Reviewers immensely!