"Okay, we're picking up Garcia at eight o'clock, so we need to finish getting ready." Reid grabbed his clothes.

"Come on, I am practically ready." Elijah rolled off the bed.

"No you're not. You're still asleep." He chuckled.

"Why do these things have to start so early?" Elijah rubbed his eyes.

"Because they like us to have plenty of time at them."

Elijah sighed as he got up, grabbing his own clothes,"I still don't know why I couldn't dress as Leela."

"She's practically naked." He pointed.

"So? I could pull it off."

"You could, however... I wouldn't recommend it."

"That was one of my better ideas."

"I like your costume now." He smiled.

"You better, I put a lot of effort into it." Elijah pointed.

"I know." He hummed.

"Now shoo, go get dressed."

"You wouldn't rather me get dressed here?"

Elijah stayed quiet before he shrugged, starting to get dressed. Reid smiled and got dressed too, grabbing his scarf he had knitted.

"Well, do I look like a robot dog?" Elijah turned around.

"You look like a human robot dog." Reid hummed.

"Good, that's what I'm going for." He nodded.

"You're not going in your knees, are you?"

"Reid, there is no chance." Elijah shook his head.

"You could wear your heels." He chuckled.

"Don't tempt me."

"Okay, come here. I need to do your face paint."

"Coming." Elijah walked over to him.

"Stay still." Reid pointed.

"I'll do my best, love." Elijah sighed.

*********************************

Garcia, Reid and Elijah walked outside of the comic con, dressed as the Doctors from Dr Who, 4th and 11th, and K9.

"Okay, the TV movie is at Hall H at 9:00. Can we go to that?" Garcia asked.

"Absolutely." Reid nodded,"Do you think we can make it to the Captains of the Enterprise panel at 11:00?"

"Obvs! Thank you two for coming with me." Garcia hummed.

"Of course." Elijah hummed,"You know, he's been knitting that scarf for weeks."

That's when Kevin and another woman walked by, also in Doctor Who outfits. The pair hadn't spoken since Kevin's failed proposal and him breaking things off with Garcia.

"Penelope." Kevin blinked.

"Kevin, hi. You came.. And you brought a friend." Garcia looked over at the woman,"CSU technician Sharp, how are you?"

"Fine. You?" Sharp nodded.

"I am also fine." Garcia grabbed Reid's arm,"Okay, well, see ya."

"You're not gonna go in?" Kevin asked.

"No. Actually, we just went in and it's super lame so we're lesving." She began walking.

"Nice costume." Kevin nodded to them all.

"Yeah, you too." Garcia nodded, Elijah flipping Kevin off once he turned his back on the trio.

"That was awkward." Reid admitted.

"Oh my god. We used to come every year. I can't believe he brought someone else." Garcia sighed.

"Well, you brought someone else. You brought two of us." Reid shrugged.

"Yeah, someone I couldn't possibly be sexually attracted to and the gayest man we know." Garcia pointed.

"You're welcome?" Elijah blinked.

Once they walked down the steps they saw... Rossi?

"Woah, Rossi!" Reid gasped.

Rossi turned and looked between them all,"Why doesn't this surprise me?"

"Are you here for the convention?" Reid smiled.

"Who schedules a cigar aficionado event back to back with this?" Rossi asked.

"I know, right? Its the greatest party ever." Elijah grinned, but his smile faltered,"Well, it was gonna be."

"Unless it involves Gentlemen Jack and pre-embargo Cuban cigars, I find that statement to be highly dubious." Rossi shook his head.

"Kevin brought another woman." Garcia pointed,"I'm plotting revenge, do you want to help?"

"No. Now, you know I love all three of you, but this is Saturday and it is my day off, so I'd prefer to love you from afar. So, have fun. It's my bedtime." Rossi began walking off..

"It's 9:00am." Reid furrowed his brow.

"You're judging me?" He hummed, getting into his car.

Elijah sighed, looking off to the side and seeing.. Strauss? She was leaving a hotel nearby, fixing her hair. What was she doing here?

*********************************

Fleur, Morgan and Emily left an apartment that Emily had a viewing in. Although she had looked at loads and still she couldn't find a good place to call home.

"I don't know." Emily shook her head.

"Emily, what's not to know? It's a beautiful place." Morgan sighed.

"There are cracks in the foundation." She turned to them.

"Cracks can be fixed." Fleur hummed.

"No, they can only be hidden. They're still there."

"What, are you afraid the place is gonna fall down?" Morgan chuckled.

"I'm afraid it's never gonna be as strong as it was." Emily told him.

"Somebody's heart is not into it. What's going on?" Morgan asked her.

"I don't know. When I first came here, I felt like I was home and now, its just an uphill battle." Emily sighed,"People kill for opportunities like this.. Am I crazy to walk away?"

"You gotta do what's best for you." Fleur nodded,"Follow your gut. What's it trying to tell you?"

Emily sighed, shaking her head as she crossed her arms.

*********************************

The team pulled up outside a bank where a robbery and hostage situation was currently taking place.

"Are you okay?" JJ ran up to Will, hugging him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He hugged back, before looking at the bank,"It's definitely them. I only saw the King and the Jack but I figure the Queen's in there too."

"The media's calling them the Face Cards. Seven Bank robberies in seven months. They've killed one person at each robbery." Hotch explained.

"MO?" Rossi asked.

"Single gunshot wound. Each of the victims have bled out."

"Serial killers with a thirty day cooling-off period, and we're only just hearing about this now?" Emily raised a brow.

"Well, headquarters has always characterised them robbers first and killers second." Hotch sighed.

"No one kills seven people without serious psychopathic tendencies." Reid shook his head.

"I disagreed with the original assessment." Hotch told them,"I was overruled."

"So why are we here now?" Elijah asked.

"Because crisis negotiation is overseas." Hotch sighed.

"What more do we know about them?" JJ questioned.

"They're organised, they're efficient. Each strike lasts about two minutes." Hotch began to walk.

"They gotta be scouting the banks in advance." Morgan nodded,"Why haven't we been able to ID them off of surveillance footage?"

"They hack the security feed and turn off the cameras, both during the initial canvass and during the robbery, until the masks come back on, and then we're allowed to watch." Hotch explained.

*********************************

"They're using the hostages as human shields." Rossi shook his head as the watched the footage.

"This is the first time they've been intercepted. What went wrong?" Fleur sighed.

"It's a big bank. It's possible they weren't able to round everybody up before someone triggered an alarm." Emily suggested.

"Why haven't they cut the feed now that they've been cornered?" Morgan raised a brow.

"Yeah, letting us see inside gives up a tactical advantage. They have to know that." Elijah crossed his arms.

"They don't seem to care." Hotch shrugged.

"They're overconfident. Arrogant, even." JJ nodded.

"Face card masks add to their narcissism. Their personas are the royalty of poker." Reid explained.

"JJ, Reid and Prentiss, look at past robberies. That's gonna be our victimology. Pull another analyst if you need to. Dave, I want you and Deans to handle negotiations. And Morgan and Howards, strategise tactical options with MPD." Hotch instructed.

As everyone, aside from Hotch, Rossi and Elijah, left the trailer.. Strauss walked in.

"Chief Strauss?" Hotch turned to the door.

"The director ordered me to supervise your operation." Strauss told them.

"Puts you right in the spotlight." Rossi nodded.

"Well, you've got gunmen with hostages in the capital." Strauss sighed,"And the hill's concerned."

"We're about to open lines of communication." Hotch explained.

"What about a tactical assault?" She asked.

"I don't think it's a good idea." Hotch sighed,"There's hostages in front of the doors and windows."

"What's your negotiation strategy?"

"The Jack's bleeding out. They'll ask for medical attention." Elijah nodded.

"The female UnSub may have something to say about that." Hotch looked at the security footage,"Look at her body language."

Elijah tilted his head,"She's cold and detached. The Jing seems genuinely concerned about his partner's welfare. But she couldn't give a damn."

"The men probably know each other, Garcia?"

"Yes. Shuffling my technofabulous deck of databases, sir." Garcia typed.

*********************************

Rossi and Elijah picked up the phone and began to call the bank, one of the men, the King, answering.

"Who the hell is this?"

"My name is Elijah Deans, and I'm here with David Rossi. We're with the FBI. To whom am I speaking?" Elijah asked.

"Alright, I want a doctor sent in, and then I want out of here." King ordered.

"Well, we can certainly discuss that. Let the hostages go and we'll give you all the medical help you need." Elijah hummed.

"I can't do that. I need the leverage." King shrugged.

"How about a sign of good faith?" Rossi suggested.

"Send out the women and children and we'll see what we can do." Elijah added.

There was nothing for a minute they heard a young girl shout and the Queen talking to the King, although they couldn't make much out.

"Either we get what we want or everyone in this room dies." They heard her say.

"Do that and you get nothing." Rossi warned.

There was then more voices.. And then a gunshot.

"You better send in some help or more people are gonna die." The King hummed, hanging up the phone.

"What a lovely exchange." Elijah sighed.

"We're sending in a medic." Strauss told them as she walked over.

"That's just gonna give them another Hostage." Hotch blinked.

"If they stop shooting people, it's worth it." She pointed.

"If we give in to one demand, we'll have to give into them all." Rossi sighed.

"The director disagrees." Strauss crossed her arms.

"Well, the director can-" Elijah stopped himself, shaking his head,"At least make it an agent with medical training. That way he can take advantage of an opportunity if it comes."

"Fine." Strauss sighed, walking odd.

"The brass thinks they'll act rationally, but there's no evidence of that." Rossi looked at the other two.

"This is personal for the men. The King could have run after the initial gunfight, but he didn't. Instead, he pulled the partner inside, out of harms way." Hotch explained.

"And stayed with him, while the woman searched the bank, presumably for a way out." Elijah added.

"He's more worried about the partner than he is about her running away.. Garcia, narrow your search. I think the male UnSubs might even be related." Hotch realised, speaking into his comm.

"Roger that." Garcia nodded.

*********************************

"Sir? I found a thing. See, I took height and weight measurements and I crossed with known related offenders who specialise in bank jobs and home burglaries-" Garcia ranted.

"Alright, show me." Hotch nodded.

"These are brothers Chris and Oliver Stratton. They are petty thieves from Philly, turned bank robbers in Jersey. They were put in jail for two years after an attempted heist went sour, and they were released two months before the first Face Card robbery, and their measurements are a match." Garcia explained.

"Why didn't the NCIC Database connect them?" Strauss questioned.

"Because the brothers have never used a third partner, and shooting people is not part of their MO." Garcia sighed.

"It looks like they weren't very successful criminals." Elijah pointed out.

"Maybe adding a woman to their team improved their game." Strauss sighed.

*********************************

"Tactical's been deployed, snipers are moving into position." Hotch nodded.

They'd sent in Agent Green as the medics but when he attempted to take the robbers by surprise, he was shot dead.

"The directors ordered a full tactical assault." Strauss crossed her arms.

"His last orders cost us an agent." Elijah reminded her.

"SWAT's getting itchy fingers." Will sighed.

"Well, you remind SWAT that bank robberies are federal jurisdiction. No one fires until they're ordered to." Hotch pointed.

"Right." Will walked off with Morgan and Fleur.

"Alright, when the crossfire starts, what's gonna happen to the hostages caught in the middle?" Rossi asked her.

"That's the wrong call Erin, and you know it." Rossi crossed his arms.

"It's not my call." Strauss shook her head.

"You're here and you're in charge." Hotch told her.

"So you want me to disobey the director?" She turned to him.

"Yes." Rossi sighed.

"No, I just want you to buy us a little time. Don't be quite so efficient." Elijah told her.

"Whatever you're gonna do, do it fast." Strauss walked off.

"Alright." Elijah nodded.

"Reasoning with them is still our best option." Hotch sighed.

"That'll be difficult. Chris just lost his brother and murdered someone in retaliation. We're working with two killers now." Rossi shook his head.

"We have problem, sirs." Garcia ran up,"Outside nefarious sources have hacked into the surveillance feeds. I'm trying to ID them now. At least a couple of outside media outlets."

"Can we block them?" Hotch asked.

"No, not without blocking ourselves too, sir." She told him.

*********************************

"These guys were too good to get caught, so why did they?" Rossi raised a brow.

"911 recieved a call alerting them to a robbery in progress." Will sighed.

"Actually, it was a text." Garcia corrected,"D.C added messaging after the Virginia Tech students' texts went unanswered during a massacre."

"Can you trace it, Garcia?" Hotch asked.

"Yeah. That message was sent from a cell phone that is currently inside the bank and is registered to a Larry Phillips Jr." She nodded.

"Why does that name sound familiar?" Will wondered.

"That's the name of one of the gunmen from the '97 north Hollywood Bank shooting in California." Rossi recalled.

"So this an homage?" Fleur blinked.

"Guys, that text was sent thirty seconds before they blacked out the security feeds for entry." Garcia added.

"How is that possible?" Strauss asked.

"It didn't come from a hostage. It came from one of the robbers." Morgan realised.

"She wanted us here." Hotch sighed.

*********************************

"There's no clear line of sight to the vault." Will shook his head.

"No, but if we come in, that's where they'll go. We have to be ready for them." Morgan sighed.

"Garcia caught us up. Why instigate a hostage situation?" Emily asked as she walked over.

"What's a narcissist without attention? She thrives on it." Fleur leaned against the car.

"She must have something bigger in mind." JJ nodded.

"We need to separate Chris and the female to find out what that is." Emily crossed her arms.

"It's not going to be hard. They're already on edge." Morgan shook his head.

SWAT had began to surround the bank, the face cards had asked for Will, although no one would let that happen. They needed to think of a plan. As they were discussing, Will walked around the side of the car and began walking towards the bank without saying a word.

"Will? No- No!" JJ went to chase after him.

But Morgan held her back,"JJ, no!"

"Morgan? Let me go!"

"I can't do that."

"Please! Will!" JJ shouted.

But despite her pleading, Will entered the bank with his hands raised. After a minute, they saw a woman and two children run out, running towards the SWAT members.. Then three gunshots.

*********************************

The team were sat in the trailer, in silence as they tried to make sense of what happened.

"Did you see where he was shot?" JJ looked up at Garcia,"Is he alive or dead, Garcia?"

"I don't know." Garcia answered.

"He was wearing a vest. He might be okay." Emily told her.

"Might be." JJ sighed.

"They're not answering." Elijah shook his head as he and Rossi walked in.

"Okay- We need to get inside." JJ got up.

"JJ, it's too risky." Morgan pointed,"We don't have eyes in there anymore."

"Aaron.." JJ looked at him.

"Let's go in." Hotch nodded.

Soon enough, they were all heading into the building with SWAT. Rossi staying outside with Garcia and Strauss, Reid was on call with Garcia as he was at the BAU with Kevin, looking at the blueprints. As they headed towards the building, all they heard was Rossi shouting 'Abort!' but there was no time to react before... The bank exploded.