Hotch looked over the crew gathered to pull off the heist and gently pulled Alex aside. "I will need to contact Garcia to look out for what they could be stealing, but I will need a distraction to put in the call."
"Understood," Alex nodded and started to think about what she could do. Just then a high-powered motor rumbled as a white Jaguar F-Type came toward the group and parked alongside the van.
"It looks like we just found our distraction," Alex announced.
Murmurs and speculation grew among the crowd as to who the expensive car could belong to. The driver's side opened, and a black boot stepped out.
"Jannon?" Alex mumbled to herself.
"Now, that is a sweet ride," Morgan stated in awe.
"Go tell him," Alex nudged.
Morgan turned back to her with a questioning look. "Go tell him what?"
"We need our distraction so Aaron can make that phone call. So, go over there and talk to him about his car, and make sure to get all of them involved in it too," she instructed.
"Got it," he started toward Jannon.
"Oh, and Eugene... play it up," she advised.
"Got it," he replied. He rushed toward the sports car with a bounce in his step and made himself a bit more 'street' than usual. "Damn, check out those wheels!" He made sure to draw the attention of the other thugs that were in the group so Hotch could make the call without the possibility of onlookers.
"Got it," Garcia replied. "These magic fingers will work their magic. I will hit you back as soon as I know anything."
"Thank you," Hotch stated before he hung up his phone. He then took a few steps back toward Alex.
Morgan looked to see that Alex and Hotch were waiting for him and backed off smothering Jannon and the crowd started to disperse.
Jannon walked away from the mob of men towards Alex. "Hey sweetie," he reached down and hugged her. "You and your guys ready to get this thing started?"
"You know it," she replied with a smug attitude.
"Great, Dougal said he will contact you when he is ready to meet up. You know where you need to be, right?" Jannon double checked.
"Absolutely. Don't worry; we got this," she reassured.
"Alright then, I will see you all when this is done. I am heading off to check with Colm and Nixer and provide them cover. Party at the warehouse in an hour! Jannon smirked and headed back to his car, then peeled out as quickly as he arrived.
Alex turned back toward the group of roustabouts. "Alright guys, let's get to work."
Rossi leaned in closer toward Garcia as she was feverishly typing away at her computer. He looked over her shoulder to see the countless windows popping up on her screen. "Have you found anything yet?"
Garcia's fingers stopped then lifted from her keys. "I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but I actually work a lot better without someone hovering over me."
Rossi moved from her. "Sorry, I will try and help over here." He then made his way to the table where Inspector O'Donnell was working with the rest of the team.
"Don't mind her," JJ looked to Rossi. "She's in her zone," she attempted to justify with a smirk.
"Do we have any leads?" Rossi asked.
"Nothing definitive," JJ replied.
"If only we had more information on what we were looking for, we might be able to narrow it down," Prentiss added.
"I brought reports of any antiquities stolen, items of high value, reports of robberies at museums, and so forth, but nothing looks like it would be worth a major heist," O'Donnell explained. The group worked together at the table to see if there was any connection between the items scattered in front of them.
"Okay, I found something," Garcia announced, sparking everyone's interest. "It isn't X marks the spot or anything, but it is something." The group gathered close to her so she could show them what she had discovered. "I am giving you fair warning that I might be grasping at straws here, but it's the only thing I've come up with so far."
"Just go with it," JJ encouraged.
"Since I did an extensive search and didn't find what was any kind of red flag as to what we would be looking for, I expanded my search into the dark web. I noticed that someone was in the market for 'The Six Prayers.'"
"I've never heard of that," O'Donnell shared.
"That's because that's not the real name of what he is referring to," she informed. "After a lot more digging, I realized that he was actually talking about the six remaining statues of the apostles."
"Wait, I thought those were lost in that terrorist explosion," Rossi questioned.
"Someone will need to catch me up," the Inspector stared at the group.
Rossi leaned back against the table with his hands in his pockets. "There were originally twelve statues of the first apostles rumored to be hidden somewhere in the middle east. They were eventually discovered, but only six of them were intact. They were left there undisturbed until a couple of years ago when that location was blown up by terrorists who wanted to wipe out sacred symbols of all Christians."
"So, the report of these six are fake?" He questioned.
"Well," Rossi pushed himself forward from the table. "There were rumors that the statues were removed first then the bomb was set since archeologists weren't able to categorically prove that any of the fragments found were those of the apostles."
"Wait, wait," Prentiss raised her hand. "Are we thinking that this Irish mob is stealing the six apostles that were rumored to be blown up? What's the point? Are their Catholic sensibilities that strong?"
"If we are dealing with these statues, then they would be priceless. Everyone from all corners of religious and historical acumen would be eager to return them to where they belong. We aren't just dealing with a big score for drugs or money; this could potentially be the biggest recovery in history if we can pull this off," Rossi explained.
"But first we need confirmation from someone that we are dealing with these statues," JJ reminded.
"And how do we get that?" Garcia asked. "You know that they won't be able to just pick up the phone."
"I'm sure they will find a way," Rossi patted her on the shoulder.
"Has anything ever looked so beautiful?" Colm asked of Reid as he climbed into the container. He stood among boxes that overflowed with baby dolls, and he laughed.
"Umm, are you sure we are in the right container?" Reid questioned.
"Of course, you dolt," Colm moved past the boxes to the large crates behind them. He picked up the crowbar left for him and pried off the front of the wooden crate labeled: 'China tea set'."
Reid helped him with the plank of wood and leaned it against the wall, then looked as Colm moved his hands through the straw that was packed inside and he slowly uncovered a face which was carved from stone. Colm turned back to his cohort. "This my friend, is the motherload."
