Special thanks to ancientmaverick for beta reading. All remaining mistakes are my own.

Thank you for reading and reviews.


CHAPTER THREE

"... and there is the star constellation Hunter."

Colby's suggestion to fight Larry's queasiness by stargazing had worked quite well.

"I remember." Colby refused to move his arms out of the little warmth Larry's jacket provided. "I can even find the North Star."

"You know stars?" The professor had never thought about whom else would have taken interested in stars and constellations. Of course, after he had met Megan and her ability to share joy with him, he should have adapted his prejudices.

"Sure. Basic survival training in the Army. LandNav by stars and landmarks. On dry land I can use them to find my way to the nearest unit, the target, or if all else fails: home."

Larry nodded. Stars were always his home or his guide to his home in astrophysics. He didn't share the need for a place, but he could share the way with Colby. "Did you know that stars were the main source of navigation for centuries? Before maps and GPS and satellites. These helpful tools took away a basic way to communicate with our surrounding cosmos."

Colby laughed. "I'd be more interested in finding out where we are right now. I'd need a map and a compass for navigation on land. Without landmarks, I'm lost."

"Oh, I can take an educated guess. Not through navigation, but through knowledge of which stars and constellations are visible anywhere on the planet at any given time. Would this be helpful?"

Colby shots upwards. "Helpful? This would be great. What do you need?"

Slowly sitting up, Larry rubbed at his forehead. "I need the date and time. And then some time to think. Do you have a precise time?"

The agent laughed. "I wear my watch on my left wrist. I still have it." He gave Larry time and date, sending silent appreciation to his mother for the gift. She had always loved his sense of adventure. Her birthday presents had reflected this. Now he was glad that he had light on his watch.

A strange yearning returned to his chest as he and Larry lay back down.

When was the last time he had called his mother or talked to her? Had he brushed her off? True, her problems paled in comparison to his own, but she was his mother.

Shaking off his dark thoughts about missed opportunities and hurtful behaviors, Colby tackled his most serious problem. "So? Where are we?"

Larry took a long time to answer. Then he scratched his chin. The sound was unnaturally loud despite the sounds of the ocean.

Checking and rechecking their position, he always came to the same conclusion. "We are several miles away from the nearest shore."

"Then we need to paddle-"

Larry shook his head and patted Colby's good arm. "This would be a futile effort even with two healthy arms. The current and prevailing winds out here are just too strong."

Colby bit his lip and swallowed the first response that came to mind. "I'd rather do something than wait."

Turning his head so that their noses were almost touching, Larry responded with an unusual conviction. "We are doing something. We are saving strength. Sometimes we need to wait and not run to reach the goal."

Colby was the first to look away. They wouldn't be having this argument if the professor had just done what he'd been told. "You should have run."

"I was sure they would have killed you."

Laughing bitterly, Colby couldn't stop himself: "And now? Now they've left both of us to die."

"But we are still alive. Not everything is lost. Everything is never lost as long as we continue to value human life."

"It's my job to die if necessary."

Larry nodded. "This is true. But this time it wasn't necessary. They could have killed me right after you. Or they could have abducted me, and now I would be alone out here, and you would be dead."

These were all possibilities, but Colby also knew the other options. He could have gotten help, he could have informed the team when he noticed something wrong, or maybe their attackers would have done something to attract attention. A lot of things could have happened but didn't, and thinking about it wouldn't help them now.

He closed his eyes trying to force the pain and frustration from his mind.

But Larry wasn't finished.

"The human life should not be discounted. Valuing one life above another is always going to be the downfall of a society."

"Big words. They just don't matter on the front line." Colby had seen firsthand the calculation about casualties and the casual words that marked them like 'collateral damage'.

"Which is the problem of today, will be the problem of tomorrow, and has been the problem of yesterday."

"Maybe. But you still should have run, then Don and David would be already informed and searching for me."

"I am sure that our absence has already been noticed. I was on my way to Megan."

"Really? That's great." Megan on the search for her lover that stood her up - he should expect her to be right around the corner. Except the sea had no corners for Megan to be around. "Do you think they are asking Charlie to help searching for us?"

"Of course."

Colby relaxed again. "So how long is it going to take?"

"Charles has a remarkable mind. But trying to find a little boat on the ocean is going to be difficult." Larry was tempted to say impossible, but he had heard the sharp intake of breaths that marked the returning pain. He should not remove every hope so early in their fight.

"It can't be that hard. I'm sure he knows people with satellites. He'll come up with a formula and then whoosh! They're here." Colby smiled sadly. He knew this would never happen, but he could hope. Trying to image his rescue was lifting his spirits better than trying to imagine his death.

"A boat this size will all but impossible to spot with satellites," Larry cautioned.

Colby knew this, of course. He had worked with enough satellite photos to know - trying to spot a terrorist hideout on satellite photos was endlessly tiring.

He knew the truth: it was not all but impossible. It was impossible.

He sighed.

They were in for the long haul.


Charlie stood nervously at the door to the conference room. He opened and closed his hands in a helpless gesture while sending silent pleas for help to Amita and his brother.

He didn't know how to deal with this Megan.

"Can't you just develop an algorithm to find them?" Megan asked. She hadn't taken it well when he had told his brother that he didn't have enough data.

Don pushed off the central table and took a step in direction between his agent and his brother. "Megan..."

But Megan ignored him by sending Charlie an accusing glare. "You did it for me."

"That was a limited area with limited exits and a definable time frame," Charlie argued. "If your information is correct, and Larry and Colby were left at sea, then I need more data. If you maybe find the boat that left them, I might be able to calculate the fuel consumption to estimate a possible travel distance. But that isn't accurate enough to develop a search pattern. And if they used wind or solar, it's all but impossible."

"Charlie," Don grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to an over-sized map at the wall. "We can get the Coast Guard and every police boat out there, but we need a place to start looking. Something that won't get me laughed out of the room."

Knowing it was a long shot, he'd already contacted the Coast Guard, but without more data, no one was going to use resources in a wild goose chase. Until then, they were relying on the radio to inform other boats to be on the look out for anything unusual.

Charlie shook his head. "Without a starting point, I can't help. Wind, current, size of the boat, speed, weight – there are a dozen variables we don't have. I am sorry. It's Larry. I am trying but I can't use data that isn't there."

Don sighed and let go of his brother, patting him on the shoulder. "It's okay."

He directed his brother to the door.

"No it's not okay," Megan interrupted blocking Charlie's path. "I thought Larry was your friend. We need -"

"He is my friend!" Charlie talked right over Megan. It was an implied accusation Megan shouldn't have made. But the stress was getting to everybody.

Pulling out the boss-card, Don stopped the confrontation before it could spiral out of control. Sleep hadn't happened in a while, and the worry about their case and Colby had already taken a lot of energy. He issued an order. "Go home, Megan. I'll call the moment we have something."

She forced herself to relax. "I want to stay. I need to stay."

Don bit his lip. He knew what he would do in her shoes was counter to what he was saying. "Go home. Eat something, get clothes that don't smell like weed, and then come back. Think about who would or could target Larry. We need a suspect and a new lead."

He pointed his finger at his brother. "Same goes for you. Go home, eat and sleep or do math, but think about why Larry could be targeted. If you think of any reason, call me. "

Hopefully, sending both home for a while would restore some peace. He watched them leave, and then Don went over to David.

They all needed sleep. He hoped that Larry and Colby were okay enough to wait for them. They were coming. They just needed a little more time.


"So where are we drifting to?" Colby asked at dawn. He enjoyed the first light on the horizon that promised him warmth and sight, despite knowing that it also would bring heat and a glaring sun.

He waited, but didn't receive an answer.

"Larry?"

Glancing to his right, Colby found his friend awake and alive. He was just taking his time to answer.

"Going by my limited tools to precisely calculate our location, I am comfortable with estimating that we are drifting out to the open sea."

Colby snorted. "We determined that. But where exactly? I don't want to end up in China."

Larry's long pauses were not good for Colby's nerves. "That is highly unlikely."

The relieved sigh was clearly genuine. "Good."

The professor frowned as he tried to think of a reason for the obvious relief. Agent Granger had never seemed afraid of boats or the ocean. But, well, China…

"You don't have good memories about boats traveling to China, do you?"

Colby squashed the memories of his last extended stay on the ocean. For years, he had enjoyed the gentle swaying of the water as it had reminded him of home. But now… Now he could only see the face of his torturer, the waves doing nothing to quell his nausea. He could almost feel the stifling heat from that day.

He regretted bringing China up as a possibility. But he owed the professor an answer. "I died on that boat. If not there, I would have died in China. So no. I don't really care to end up there."

Larry, to his credit, didn't offer any empty platitudes.

Instead, he allowed a moment of silence until Colby had enough control back over his voice and expression to risk turning to face Larry.

He found him looking right back. Giving him a small smile, he reminded him of the most important part of this journey. "And you were saved by your friends who believed in you."

Colby turned away. Apparently he didn't quite have complete control of his emotions, yet. Or his voice wouldn't sound so rough. "There is that."

Colby was glad to face the dawn as Larry added his last piece of wisdom.

"You were worth their effort."


"I have a lead."

Megan hurried from the elevator to Don's desk.

"Didn't I send you home?" Rubbing at his tired eyes, he looked up to Megan. After reading several times the files of their kidnappers Marc Samuelson and Ronny Shawn, he still hadn't found a new lead. They were petty criminals who somehow had gotten entangled in a mess they couldn't really explain.

They couldn't even remember which harbor and which pier they had used. Just that their employer had left precise instruction what they were supposed to do. But they couldn't agree what these instructions had entailed.

Unfortunately, their memories didn't contain useful hints about their employer They had found him on the internet. And he had paid them in cash. But they couldn't remember anything else. No amount of pressure had helped their memories.

It surprised him that they had found back to their house. The only useful thing they had to add was that they had drugged Colby and Larry. At least they were positive that the two were still alive when they'd abandoned them.

It was a small consolation, but Don would take it.

If Megan had a lead, it would be their first real chance after identifying the car and plates.

She gave him a chipper smile. Her new clothes proved she had been home and changed.

"You did, and I thank you." She held up several papers. "I went home. Sometimes Larry uses my address as his mailing address if he doesn't want to use his box at CalSci. Guess what I've found in the mailbox."

Don was suddenly wide awake. "A ransom note?"

"No, letters." She pointed to the conference room.

"Megan," Don started, but Megan was already gone. "Letters are normal."

He staggered to his feet. He needed more coffee. After a visit in the break room, Don felt fit enough to enter the conference room.

Megan had already used every available space to spread letters and notes.

"I found letters dating back months, increasing in frequency and escalating in tone asking, demanding, pleading with Larry to sell his car. "

Don slowly walked from starting point to the last one, glancing down at the letters. "And?"

"They are all from the same man. He wants the car. Badly."

"Badly enough to kidnap Larry? For a car?" He looked up to verify that he was talking to Megan the profiler and not Megan the girlfriend.

He found an agent on a mission.

They shared a small smile. They had a lead. "Let's find this guy."


Larry shifted for the hundredth time in the last half an hour.

Colby held back a sigh. It wouldn't do anybody any good.

Suddenly Larry spoke up: "Do we have a bottle or anything else to catch ..."

Frowning in confusion, Colby couldn't follow Larry's thoughts. "What?"

"I need to go and don't want to waste -"

Then he got it. He relaxed again thanking the Army for this training. He hadn't ever thought that he would need it seeing as, well, he was most decidedly not in the Navy. But he still he had to learn it, and learn it he did.

"Professor, you don't drink urine in any situation where water supply is limited."

"But we should at least -" Embarrassment pinked the bridge of his nose and gave him the look of a little lost school boy.

"If you drink urine, you take in so many minerals that your body needs more water to clean it up again. It is actually harmful and worsens your situation."

"Oh,…" Larry scratched his head. "Where did you obtains this useful information?"

"Army Survival Manual. Required reading material." Colby rolled to his left taking the jacket with him.

The professor was confused until he understood that he had been given some privacy to relieve himself.

Colby talked as if they were sharing a normal breakfast. "We can try to fish. The water around their eyes is usually suitable for hydration. We have a pocket knife, and I can maybe improvise a fishing line."

Larry washed his hands in the ocean water. He knew that he should never drink it, but after a few hours it already looked appealing.

Maybe the fish was a good idea. "Your Army Survival Manual is certainly an interesting read. What else do you know?"


"Okay. Our two guys, Marc Samuelson and Ronny Shawn, are not the brightest."

David entered the conference room briskly. The little sleep he had gotten was now paying off enormously.

"We did catch them. On tape," Don pointed out.

"Yeah, but this is even better." He grinned and held up a file. "One of their receipts they had lying around was for payment of their rent. They paid it with a credit card that was not their own. They had stolen it. We wouldn't have known about it without the receipt. Guess what else they have bought with it?"

"Sleeping pills?" Don guessed.

David nodded. "They bought enough to put a rhinoceros down. But that's not the best part."

Megan laid down her profile about the letters, putting down her glasses. "What is the best part?"

"They confessed to stealing the card," David paused for effect, "from their mysterious employer." He held up his file again. "And the card belongs to Richard Dumont."

Don straightened in his chair, but Megan leaped from hers entirely. "That's the guy who wants Larry's car."

On David's nod, Don also got to his feet. "Okay. Let's bring him in. Megan, you stay here and find out what else he's been buying. Maybe even a boat."

He grabbed his phone, thinking about which DA to call this early in the morning to ask for a warrant. His thumb hovered over Nadine's number as he felt Megan's stare.

"Don-" she started.

"No." He lowered his cell, already knowing he would call Robin. She would know what he needed, and she would stop him if he was wrong.

Sometimes you needed people to stop you from making a mistake.

He lowered his voice, trying to convey his sympathy. "There are a lot of good reasons to destroy your career. Richard Dumont isn't one of them."

Megan stared at him for a moment longer. Then she nodded.

David and Don hurried from the room. He would call Robin en route.

They had no time to lose.


TBC