A Cat and Mouse Game
Alec's first day in the field was not what he expected. Fresh out of the Police Academy, he was expecting to go on a few raids before facing a real-life robbery if he faced one at all. Especially a real-life robbery of this magnitude.
Reinforcing the security of the National Museum on the first night of the exhibition of some great 14th century necklace should have been an easy enough job. That seemed like a boring affair; standing up all night watching rich people parade theirs extravagant outfits while admiring jewelry from even richer people still.
Alec was only one of the fifty cops designated to guard the necklace, all of them much more experienced than him. But Alec was excited to prove his worth, if not for his parents, for himself. He had chosen the career of law enforcement instead of following his mother's law firm. He wanted to truly make the world better, and not make money on the powerless that suffered under the system.
Now it was his first shot, and Alec was mildly annoyed that he was spending it in a heavily fortified museum that no sane thief would dare to try to steal from.
But then again, the infamous Prince of Hell was not known for his sanity.
Alec's orders were to stay put and let the more experienced men catch the criminal. But those orders were total bullshit, since the more experienced men were running to the complete wrong direction. From his position, Alec could see the entire trap unfolding. A cloud of smoke broke at the third floor, in the room directly above the one where the necklace was being exposed. As the visitors scattered away in panic, a slim figure expertly escaped through the window. The window no one was monitoring because they were running to the third floor to tend the confusion.
So that's why Alec ignored his orders and ran. Because if he didn't, the oh-so-important necklace would slip through their fingers right there and then. It was his chance.
Long legs and the intense training made Alec quicker than most. He wasn't afraid of using his surroundings either, so he jumped from staircase to staircase and got to the ground floor just a second after the thief landed gracefully on the gardens.
Alec had heard all about the Prince of Hell. They said he was a legend, a ghost. He always left a mark, always let the police get close enough to touch him, just to slip through their fingers every time. He'd stolen it all, from jewelry to art, but never money. The weird pattern intrigued Alec's boss, Deputy Garroway, and he had spent years trying to stop him, and he passed on his feelings to his team. Everyone wanted to be the one to catch him and everyone talked about him.
No one told Alec the man was gorgeous, though. But he was and Alec was momentarily stunned when the thief looked over the shoulder and smirked at him. His gold and green eyes were all that Alec noticed.
That, and that the man had a gun hanging at his hip.
Instinct took over and Alec charged forward. His younger brother Jace had always been the better fighter, but Alec was fast and smart. He didn't fight to win, like Jace did. He fought to end it.
Alec didn't hesitate for a second. He went for the gun, hitting an accurate kick that sent it spinning away. The Prince, however, was no amateur. He aimed to hit Alec right between the eyes and it would have make him stagger, but Alec was stronger and more disciplined. He restrained the thief's arms and propelled them both to the ground, landing over him.
"You are under arrest!" Alec shouted, pulling all his weight into immobilizing the man. "You have the right-…" The man almost managed to get a hand free, but Alec held him tighter. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be used against you and-"
The thief interrupted him with amusement clear in his silky voice, rendering Alec speechless. "Not that I don't enjoy being held down by a pretty boy such as yourself, believe me, I do, but you might want to look up, darling."
Alec frowned, confused and, frankly, a little embarrassed. The click of a gun drew his attention and he looked up. There was another man standing just a few feet away from them. His young-looking face was twisted in an angry scowl as he pointed a gun to Alec's head.
"Oh." Alec dialed down his strength a notch. "I thought…" He looked down on the Prince. "I didn't know you had a partner."
The man chuckled and smiled sweetly at him. "It's 'bring your friend to work' day, sweet-cheeks. Did you not get the memo?"
"Move," the friend ordered and his heavy Latino accent left no room for arguments.
Alec was in the middle of putting his hands up in the air when the Prince of Hell grabbed him by the shoulders and rolled their bodies over the grass, landing on top of Alec and sitting comfortably on his lap as he held Alec's arms above his head.
"On second thought," the man smiled with just the edge of his lips and his eyes shone dangerously. "Stay still, pretty boy. I see you've heard about me. Be a good boy and tell me more. I'd love to hear about my miraculous deeds from those delicious lips."
"What?" Alec frowned. By all means, he should've been terrified. He was helplessly being captive by the Prince of Hell himself and his accomplice, with a gun pointed at his face. But, in all honesty, he was just angry. The flirting aside, and that was already too weird and he had decided not to think too much about it, this whole scene was definitely not what he had in mind to his first day. "Get off me."
"But, darling, you were the one coming on to me in the first place." The Prince had the nerve to pout, but he lifted his hips. He was still on top of Alec, but their bodies weren't touching anymore. Alec could still feel the thief's warmth, though. "There's no need for that frown, hot as it is," he purred and looked at the tag on Alec's uniform, "Officer Lightwood. My colleague and I are going now. We'd appreciate it if you stayed quiet until we had, let me see, a two-hour head start? Pinky promise not to blow up your gorgeous face if you do. What do you say?"
Alec arched an eyebrow at him, not impressed at all. "Sure. Any way you would leave the jewelry behind?"
The man frowned, but a laugh lightened his beautiful face. He looked like an angel and it wasn't fair. "I like you, Officer Lightwood. But I don't remember seeing you before."
"First day," Alec admitted begrudgingly.
"Oh," the thief covered his mouth theatrically with one hand. Alec was so stunned with the whole scene that he didn't even thought of using his now freed hand to attack.
"In that case," the Prince purred again and before Alec could do anything, he locked their lips together in a kiss. Alec barely had time to register what happened, before the man pulled back. "Happy first day, Officer."
The Prince of Hell stood up in a swift jump and adjusted his perfectly cut black jacket. Alec leaned on his elbows, still too confused to speak, but he saw when the Prince nodded to his accomplice and something moved behind him. A soundless blow hit Alec at the back of his head and the world went black.
Two hours later, when the other cops found him, Alec woke up with a hellish headache, the 14th century necklace in his hands, and a hard on.
The second time Alec met the Prince of Hell was in his third year working as a cop. He had been doing standard surveillance when the alarm of a nearby building was set off and Jace didn't think twice before running inside.
Alec followed his partner, gun in hand. Jace climbed up the stairs as soon as he heard noises on the second floor, but Alec stayed back, to cover the building's entrance.
The Prince of Hell walked out of a shadow in the corner, his lips curved up in a smirk. "Good evening, officer Lightwood." He looked every bit as stunning as the last time they saw each other, but this time his hair was styled with blue highlights that matched his shoes.
"Evening," Alec said, pointing the gun at him. "Stay back."
"Oh," the Prince said with amusement. "Are you going to shoot an unarmed man?"
Alec unclipped the safe switch. During the last three years, he had inherited Deputy Garroway's obsession. He tracked the Prince's every step, linked together all of his crimes or crimes related to him, but never got close enough to get a mere glimpse of him. And now they met by chance. Alec couldn't believe his luck. "I can see the gun in your pocket."
"Maybe I'm just happy to see you." The Prince winked at him and raised both hands to the air. "I see your little brother has joined you in the most honored profession of a policeman."
Frowning, Alec wondered if he should be surprised. The Prince of Hell was notorious for handling all kinds of information; it was one of the things he stole and sold. Not that Jace becoming a cop was a big secret, but it was definitely not important enough to draw the attention of New York City's most famous criminal.
"You must've been even prouder when your little sister got into Med School, though. That is quite an accomplishment, so, please, send her my congratulations. Will you, Alexander?"
Anger snapped Alec into action. It was one thing for him to show inappropriate attention to Alec, and even know about Jace becoming a cop, but talk about Isabelle crossed the line. As entrancing as the Prince was, he was still a dangerous criminal. Alec pressed the trigger and watched as the bullet hit just above the Prince's left ear. "Stay away from my family, or the next one will end between your eyes," he promised without a hint of mercy in his voice.
Alec was a perfect shot. If he wanted the bullet in the Prince's brain, he could put it there.
The Prince just smiled, though, and there was fondness in his eyes. "No need to concern yourself. I'd never harm them. This I promise you, my dear."
"How do you even know about them?" Alec barked, gun steady in his hand. He didn't know why, but something on the man's tone had reassured him, soothing the anger running through his veins.
The Prince was about to answer when Jace cried Alec's name from the second floor. His brother's head appeared on the top of the stairs and it only took him one second to comprehend the scene and started rushing down.
Alec shouted for him to stay put, but it was too late. The Prince used the moment of distraction to move, squirming safely away from Alec's range. He was too fast to keep track, and a second later, the man was standing right in front of Alec, touching his face tenderly.
"I like to know everything there is to know about you," he whispered, before closing the distance between their lips once again.
As sweet as the Prince's lips were, the sting of pain on his wrist that came afterwards, making him drop his weapon, was what actually rendered Alec speechless, once again.
The Prince was gone before Jace could get to Alec. "You okay?!" He asked in distress.
Alec narrowed his eyes to the door and kneeled to get his gun back. "I'm fine."
The next time they met, Alec was ready for him. His team had trapped the Prince of Hell inside an abandoned church and he was completely surrounded. The men and women exchanged smiles, looking up to their young Chief of the Department without a single doubt in their minds that he had laid out the plan that would actually capture the criminal.
But Alec couldn't care less about that.
The only reason he was able to even find the Prince of Hell was because he made his location known by murdering the man who had attacked Alec's family.
The attack had happened just a few weeks after Alec's celebrated promotion, after the commotion had died down and everything seemed to have fall back into normalcy. Alec had appeared on television for being the youngest man ever appointed to the job. Everyone he knew was congratulating him and Alec had never seen his parent's look so proud. His life was perfect.
And then Sebastian Morgenstern exploded his house, as retribution for arresting his father for the crimes of fraud, bribery, money laundering, identity theft, and forgery. The very reason why Alec got his promotion was also what killed his parents and left his little brother Max fighting for his life on a hospital bed.
When Alec heard about it, shock overcame him. In the middle of the celebrations, he found himself feeling utterly alone in a dark pit. It was all his fault. His stubbornness got his parents killed; got his baby brother hurt. If he had just stayed in the path that had been chosen for him, none of that would have happened. They would all be alive and safe.
He couldn't bring them back or cure Max, but he could make Sebastian pay. He could meet the emptiness in his chest with Sebastian's blood.
Alec was still trembling when he grabbed his gun and entered his car, heading to the Morgenstern manor. It was Jace who had radioed to tell him the Prince of Hell was spotted in that very location, shooting Sebastian in the head three times.
His phone buzzed and the screen lighted up with an email from his bank. The amount of twenty million had just been transferred to his account.
Tracking the transference wasn't difficult, nor was sending men to chase the Prince into that abandoned church. The difficult part was going to be arresting the man that had avenged him and paid for Max's medical care in a single blow.
Catching the Prince now felt pointless. What does it matter if Sebastian was dead, if his parents were gone, if his brother was still in the hospital and if the Prince would be locked up not for his crimes, but for serving justice?
"This is Chief Lightwood, of the NYPD. Can you hear me?" Alec spoke into the megaphone. His voice sounded void, almost mechanical, and it matched how he felt.
The Prince's voice came back from one of the broken windows. "Good evening, Chief Lightwood."
"Evening," Alec answered automatically. "You are surrounded. There is no escape route. Give yourself up and-…"
"Okay."
Alec blinked, disconcerted. "Okay?"
"Come and fetch me, dear. I'll surrender, but to you. Only you."
"Alec, no." Jace grabbed his brother's arm in a firm grip. "It's a trick. You can't go in there alone."
Lydia Branwell, Alec's second in command, nodded along. "He's too dangerous."
They were right. The Prince of Hell had just murdered the heir to the city's biggest company in cold blood. He had evaded the law for years, more than willing to live a life stealing and cheating. The NYPD has been chasing him for over a decade now, without any success. He was the most dangerous man Alec knew.
And because he knew him, Alec put down his megaphone and ordered everyone to stay put as he entered the church alone.
The church had been great once, Alec thought, but now it looked old and forgotten. The walls were cracked, the ceiling was half gone and any hint of its former glory was long gone. It was still beautiful, though, in a decadent sort of way.
The Prince was sitting on the altar's stairs, casually waiting with a bible in his hands. He did not move as Alec crossed the aisle and stopped in front of him.
"I'm here," Alec announced solemnly.
"And so am I," the Prince said with enough melancholy that it made Alec's heart ache. "Do you think we can talk a little before you lock me up for good?"
Alec swallowed hard. He looked at the man, taking in every detail that the moonlight highlighted on that cloudless night. He was still gorgeous, but the melancholy on the Prince's face made him look haunting, as if he was a magical somehow. It was fitting for the scenario; the last reminiscent of the place's grandeur. A ghost of past and fabulous times.
The Prince was tall, though not as tall as Alec. His lean body was curled up and his long, defined legs were stretched carelessly on the steps. He was dressed entirely in black, though his intriguing eyes were framed with a thousand sparkles that shone as he looked up. He looked very, very real.
"Yeah," Alec finally said, and sat beside him. "I meant to thank you. For the money."
The Prince shook his head, not looking at Alec but staring at the gloomy door instead. "How is your brother doing?"
Alec closed his eyes and tried hard not to let the pain show in his voice. Now that his anger had soothed, all he wanted was to take Jace and join Isabelle in the hospital. He wanted to be with his siblings, his family. He wanted for that night to end. "Last news I got, he was out of his second surgery. The doctor said he'll live if he makes it through the night."
"He's a brave boy," the Prince said quietly, and something in his tone was too close to hopefulness to be true. "And doctor Loss is highly competent so he's in good hands. She's brought me back from the dead more times that I can count."
Alec looked at him with a frown, but somehow he was not surprised. Humming, he decided to stay quiet.
It was peaceful, he realized, to just sit there with the other man. They've only met a few times, but since that night in the museum, Alec felt like they shared a connection. He had spent so many years searching and learning about the Prince of Hell that his presence felt as familiar as the one of a friend.
"Why did you kill Morgenstern?" Alec asked eventually, breaking the comfortable silence.
The Prince frowned and turned to him, surprise written all over his beautiful face. "He hurt your family," he said in exasperation, as if it was explanation enough.
Alec narrowed his eyes. "And why do you care?"
"I've told you already. I'd never harm your family. And I will not let anyone do that either. Nor get away with trying."
Alec shook his head. He did not understand. "Why?"
The Prince smiled fondly. "Because of those pretty eyes of yours, of course. And that amazing ass." He chuckled as Alec arched his eyebrows at him, unimpressed. "No. It's because you're a good man. You are kind and dutiful, and you don't do any of this for glory. Because in all these years I've seen you giving your all to make this city safe, without ever letting the police oppress anyone while doing it. Because you went after the big fish, when you could have laid low and just kept arresting the poor kids or the desperate ones who sell their lives for scraps. Because I admire you, Alexander."
Alec looked down, at the cuffs he had brought with him. The man at his side was an enigma he had been trying to crack up for years. He stolen from the richest and the foulest, but never hurt anyone who did not deserve it on his way. He had an intricate net of contacts, and all of them were willing to die without revealing a single thing about him. There are few people who inspire such loyalty.
He was kind too, far kinder than Alec if he was willing to pay for a Max's health care, a boy who he didn't even know. He was trusting, if he was willing to tell Alec that his brother's doctor knew him. He was just; Sebastian's death was the punishment for his crimes, not his father's.
Alec felt like he already knew the Prince of Hell, but yet, there was so much he wanted to learn.
"Can I ask you something?" He waited for the Prince to nod. "What's your real name? I know you're around thirty-six years old and that you own a bunch of houses all over the States and a few in Europe, though none is in a real name. I know that you came from somewhere in East Asia. I know that you have a cat. But I don't know your name."
The Prince snorted. "How do you know that I have a cat?"
"Hm, there was…" Alec felt more than a little ridiculous explaining. "There was cat hair in one of your crime scenes. And since you had just robbed a bank and the scene was inside a vault that had been locked up for years, I figured… Well, I figured that either a cat had entered and left the vault while you were in there, or the hair came from you."
"I do have a cat," the Prince admitted with giggle. "Promise me you'll take care of him while I'm rotting in some disgusting, unsanitary cell?"
"I promise," Alec said and nodded seriously.
"Thank you," the man smiled brightly and he seemed to really appreciate Alec's reassurance. "My name is Magnus Bane."
Alec arched an eyebrow at him. "That's very obnoxious."
"Excuse you, Alexander Gideon Lightwood." Magnus pointed at him with a flourish. "One has to take a deep breath before pronouncing your bible of a name."
Alec huffed and crossed his arms. "You could just call me Alec, like everybody else." He rolled his eyes when Magnus giggled. It was a nice sound, pure and carefree. "You have a nice name, though."
Magnus winked at him. "If you like that, you should hear my phone number."
Before Alec could dignify that with an answer – and he was going to, blushing aside -, Jace's voice sounded from the radio attached to Alec's belt, asking if everything was alright. Alec reassured his brother that he was fine and turned to Magnus. "I have to arrest you now." For some reason, he sounded almost apologetic.
Magnus sighed and looked around. "You know, the last time I dreamed of us in a church, we were getting married. Reality sucks." He offered both wrists, palms up.
Alec frowned, but an amused smile formed on his lips. "You've dreamed about us?" He closed the cuffs around Magnus' wrists carefully, making sure they didn't hurt him.
"Oh, many times, but usually when we get to the handcuffing part, all clothes are off. Pretty sure there is a bed involved." Magnus beamed at him and accepted Alec's hand to stand up.
Alec snorted and pulled him gently to the church's door. "Is that part before or after we get married?"
Magnus chuckled and shrugged. "Before, after, during. We're in a church already, we should just get this over with."
"Hm" Alec stopped them before he opened the door. It was only a few feet away, but he knew that once they stepped outside, whatever they shared was going to be over. Magnus was going to be locked away and their little cat and mouse game was over.
He turned to the thief and pulled him close by his shirt, smashing their lips together. He snorted at Magnus' gasp of surprise, but when he pushed his tongue inside Alec's mouth, Alec let him. Magnus' cuffed hands found their way to Alec's face and he pulled him closer, touching and exploring as they tasted each other.
When they parted away, both men were panting.
Magnus smiled, his eyes sparkling with desire. "What was that for?"
"Tradition," Alec said in a grunt, and opened the door before he lost what little self-control he had left and pulled Magnus in for another kiss.
Three hours later, when Lydia burst into Alec's office to tell him that the Prince of Hell had escaped while they expected his lawyer to arrive, Alec nodded and issued an arrest warrant as his fingers fidgeted with the empty keychain attached to his belt.
Max was out of the hospital two weeks later. He still had a few burns, but he was out of danger and only needed to rest. Alec and Jace drove him from the hospital as Isabelle set up a room for him in Alec's new apartment. All four siblings were sharing it as their childhood home was rebuilt, but Alec was more than happy to have them there, as crowded as they made the place.
Max went straight to the couch, jumping on it unceremoniously. "I demand pizza and a Star Wars marathon."
"Be careful." Alec frowned, carrying his brother's bags inside. "The doctor said-"
Isabelle rolled her eyes at him and joined their baby brother at the couch. "I'm a doctor too, Alec. Which means, I can allow Max to do whatever he wants tonight. But just for tonight." She tickled him, to make her point.
Jace bumped his shoulder into Alec's and gestured for him to follow. When they were alone in the room Max was going to stay, Jace crossed his arms against his chest and gave Alec a poignant look. "Are you going to be able to relax now? Max is home, we are all fine. There's nothing else you can do to make our family safe."
In the chaos of the last fifteen days, Alec had buried himself in work. He had spent more than he had to move to a place where they could all stay, with better security and non-stop surveillance. He had Isabelle start a self-defense course and prohibited Jace to go on chasings.
He had completely ceased any and all searches for the Prince of Hell. None one had ever found him if he didn't want to be found, and Alec channeled the city's police to solve crimes that truly mattered, instead of wasting men and resources chasing a ghost.
And no matter how much his heart ached and how worried he got, Alec was not going to look for him. He was not.
"I'll… I'll try." Alec sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I just… I can't lose you guys. Not anyone else."
Jace nodded, looking through the window. "You won't. We are all here." He looked back at his brother, his face dead serious. "Max needs us to welcome him back to his regular life. It won't be his regular life if you keep acting like we are going to break at any time."
Breathing in sharply, Alec closed his eyes. Jace was right, of course. Max needed to get back to a healthy, caring environment. Not a suffocating bubble. "Okay. I'll do better."
"No. You have to do less." Jace punched Alec's lightly on the shoulder. "Now let's get in there, before those two nerds actually put on Star Wars and we get stuck with jedis for the rest of the night."
Alec snorted and they joined their younger siblings on the couch. Alec slept during the second half of The Empire Strikes Back, his head bumping down until Isabelle nestled against his arm, her head under his.
"Alec… Alec," she called, poking at his nose. Only when he turned to face her and opened his eyes that Isabelle stopped. "How are you?" She whispered.
"Sleepy," he answered, annoyed.
Isabelle just rolled his eyes. "But did you catch the guy?"
"What guy, Izzy?" Alec closed his eyes, not really interested. His sister was always wondering about his dating life, which was non-existent, and those questions usually came in the worse possible times.
"The Prince of Hell. Did he show up again?"
Oh. Oh. Alec blinked and cleared his throat. "Not yet."
Isabelle sighed and took his brother's hand in hers, turning her attention back to the movie. "Just promise not to be alone with a dangerous lunatic ever again. He'll show up eventually and then you'll catch him for good."
Alec just swallowed hard and nodded. He hadn't told anyone about what had happened in the church, and he had no intention to do so. Even if he couldn't stop thinking about it.
Max shushed them with an angry "that's the best part, you guys" and Alec took it as a blessing. Everyone ended up falling asleep somewhere during the third movie and Alec carried his little brother to his bed, even if Max wasn't so little anymore. He shooed Isabelle and Jace to their rooms and collapsed on his own bed after he gathered the trash and turned off the TV.
Alec was tired, emotionally and physically, but when a shadow moved at the corner of his eyes, he was up in a jump, ready to fight.
Magnus chuckled fondly and stepped into the light. "Good evening, Alexander."
"Evening," Alec whispered as his hands fell to the side of his body. It was a ghost materializing right in front of him, coming directly out of his dreams. As if his most secret prayers had been answered.
There were a million questions running through his mind, but Alec just frowned and looked at the door. Understanding his meaning, Magnus closed it and leaned on it, hips popped to the side. "I came to make sure your brother was okay. And to thank you."
Alec stood up straight. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Magnus smiled slyly and shrugged, putting both hands in the air with a twirl of his fingers. "Oh well, I guess that key just magically appeared in my pocket, then. Silly me."
"If you came to accuse me of aiding a dangerous criminal to escape his lawful punishment," Alec said, not feeling half of the annoyance he was trying and failing to infuse in his voice, "then I suggest you stop right there, for I'd never do such thing. I'm a guardian of the law."
Magnus full on laughed. "Oh well, Officer Lightwood," he purred, and somehow fabricated a pair of handcuffs, spinning it with one finger. "I'm ready for my punishment."
Alec smiled, stepping closer to him. His heart was beating fast, bumping hard against his chest. He could feel his lips going dry and even licking them wasn't helping. "It's not a punishment if you're looking forward to it."
Magnus shrugged and crossed his arms over Alec's shoulders, closing off the distance between them. "That's just too bad. I guess I'm getting away with it one more time."
"I guess you are," Alec muttered, hugging him by the waist. His warmth alone was enough to make Alec shiver, but he wanted more.
And so did Magnus, as it didn't take long for their lips to meet and the handcuffs to be completely forgotten. Until they were not.