A/N- They finally meet...

Disclaimer: Sadly the characters still belong to Cassandra Clare.

5th August 2018

Alec watched the other visitors as he stood in line in front of the security officers. It was easy to see who had been here before and who had turned up for their first visit. The regulars often seemed unbothered by the searches, hardly seemed to blink as their pockets were emptied and a small flashlight was shined into their mouths. The new guests never seemed completely at ease, always walking away a little too quickly once they were cleared to enter. The searches didn't bother Alec anymore; he had had to go through them so many times in his career that it was just mechanical for him now; enter the building, head towards the check in, state his reason for being here, go to the security desk, place his briefcase on the conveyer belt and empty his pockets, allow the prison guard to pat him down and open his mouth. To be honest, he never really thought about what was going on; instead he was more concerned about the conversation that he was about to have.

He was certain that by the end of his visit he would know whether Mr Bane was telling him the truth. He'd asked the prison governor to arrange a private room for them to meet in away from the other guests; partly because of confidentiality and he didn't want someone overhearing sensitive information, but also because he really didn't want anyone to know about this meeting until he was sure that there was something to Magnus' claims. He really didn't want to have to deal with a media shit-storm until a miscarriage of justice was at stake.

Once he arrived outside of their designated meeting room he dragged himself out of his thoughts and forced himself to focus. He was there to do a job and he could only do so if he threw himself into it 100%. He took a second to compose himself, nodding to the guard outside the door as he opened the heavy slab of metal and closed it securely behind him. Sat at one side of a small table in the middle of the room was Magnus Bane, surprise clearly evident in his bright green eyes.

Alec took a minute to observe him. He was thin (Alec presumed he was naturally so, although probably further emphasised by the prison diet) but not dangerously so. He could tell that while he was not overly muscled, his muscles were at least in good condition. His black hair was kept long, just brushing his shoulders and was threaded through with strands of grey; more than he should have at his age. But what struck Alec the most were his eyes; not just for how bright the colour was, but also for how dull they were. Dull, almost to the point of lifelessness. He hadn't seen eyes like that in a long time.

"There's nothing you can do for me Alec".

Alec cleared his throat as he stepped towards the table. "Mr Bane", he called out in greeting as he offered a handshake.

"Mr Lightwood". Magnus' grip was firm as the two shook hands. "I am so grateful that you decided to come."

"Honestly, I almost didn't."

Alec was ashamed to admit it out loud, but he had long believed that if he expected his clients to be completely honest with him, he should be completely honest with them. "But you were right; I should at least hear what you have to say. I can't exactly say I seek justice if I turn you down without giving you a chance."

"Nonetheless, I am grateful all the same."

Alec watched as Mr Bane gave him a small smile, watched how the dullness in his eyes disappeared for just a fraction of a second. When it did, Alec was struck with just how attractive the other man really was.

Now is really not the time for this Lightwood, pull yourself together.

"So", Alec began, drawing the word out a little as he pulled various documents out of the briefcase and forced himself to focus on the task at hand and not the man in front of him. "Tell me a bit about yourself Mr Bane."

"Magnus please; Mr Bane is too formal and only ever seems to be used when someone's putting me in a jail cell. I don't know what to tell you; I told you how long I've been here and what they've accused me of."

"No, no Mr B- Magnus", Alec hastily interjected. "You were right in your assumption; I am more than familiar with your case. I want to know a bit about you, before all this started".

Alec saw the surprise on Magnus' face, but the other man decided not to say anything. "Well, in that case Mr Lightwood..."

"Alec, please", he couldn't help interjecting with a disgruntled look. "My father's Mr Lightwood. It's weird"

"Alec", Magnus acknowledged with a nod of his head. "I've loved art all my life. I studied history of art at Oxford before moving to Cambridge to do further studies in the history of art and architecture. I always wanted to work with priceless pieces, work that needed protecting and work that had already been stolen and should have been returned. That kind of bit me in the ass, in the end."

"How so?"

"I think it's what made Camille (she was my girlfriend at the time) hate me. Art is incredibly important to me and when I found out that her father was willingly dealing with forgeries and culturally important items that had been stolen, well I told the police. To cut a long story short, her father lost everything he had, she lost the glamorous life she was used to and I guess she blamed me for all of it."

Alec felt his eyebrows rise; this had just gotten very interesting. Alec's first rule of practice was always that the case against your client probably started far earlier than the individual offence. It was because of this that he always believed it crucial to know your client beyond the perimeter of the alleged crime. And this, this was a prime example of why this was important.

"I assume this is the same Camille you claimed to have met the same night Etta and her family died?"

"Yes, only she denied everything."

"Did the club- Pandemonium I think- have any CCTV cameras?"

"It had two; one at the front door and another in the main dance area."

Alec was confused, if Magnus said he was there, surely the whole case would have easily been solved by what the CCTV footage revealed. "And did anyone use the footage in constructing their case?"

Magnus let out a humourless laugh. "Isn't it just my luck that the owner claimed it wasn't working that night; which is why they had no film. What a coincidence."

"I don't believe in coincidence Magnus. Why don't you tell me everything that happened that night?"

"I can't remember most of it", Magnus groaned in frustration. "Do you have any idea how many times I wished I could? It would save me so much trouble."

"Okay", Alec replied sympathetically. "Just tell me everything you can remember. I need to know this so I know where to start looking through things."

"So you believe me?" The hope in his voice was almost painful.

"Not quite yet". Alec hated the way the hope in his eyes died a little, but honesty was the best way to go. "But more than I did last night, bearing in mind I have close to no information to go on."

Magnus nodded his head as if he understood. "That makes sense I guess. Well," he paused as he thought, his eyebrows drawing together as he stared at the table. "I was walking back from the local coffee shop and bumped into Camille on the road next to mine. Bear in mind I had no idea that she hated me at that point; or that she even knew it was me who reported her father. So when she asked if I wanted to go out with her that night I agreed".

Alec had to hand it to this Camille; she clearly knew what she was doing if she was asking him face to face; no phones means nothing for Magnus to use in a defence.

"Did anyone see the two of you have this conversation?"

"No", Magnus answered sadly. "I lived in a quiet part of London at that time. She wanted to meet at the club at 2, I took a cab but since I didn't book it and paid in cash, there was no proof I went there. I got there about 2AM, she arrived not long after. We spent the time drinking and dancing, and the next thing I know, I'm waking up in my bed, fully dressed."

"In your life, how many times would you say you got back home completely drunk? Let's say, to the point of not being able to walk or talk properly?"

"Please Alec, I was a student; probably at least two dozen."

"And of those, how many times did you forget what happened, or wake up completely dressed?"

"None. I always took my clothes off because I refused to go to bed wearing makeup, and I guess doing one always reminded me to do the other."

Alec paused as he digested the information he was given, strands of possible arguments beginning to float through his mind as he tried to piece everything together.

"They arrested you the evening of the murder, correct?"

"Yes; I must say it was quite difficult for my inebriated mind to understand what was happening."

"They checked your alcohol levels?"

"One of the first things they did".

"Did they do a drugs test on you?"

"No. They asked me if I had taken anything, which I hadn't, and then once the questions were done I was taken to a cell and they let me sleep for 8 hours before they started questioning me."

"And when they questioned you, you mentioned that you couldn't remember anything?"

"Of course," Magnus replied confusedly, straightening in his seat as he more closely followed what Alec was saying.

"Did they bother asking you if that was usual behaviour for you?"

"No".

Magnus grew surer of himself as he answered, almost as if he could see where Alec's line of questioning was going. For his part, Alec was beginning to grow uncomfortable; these were basic mistakes that were being made, and Alec was not too happy that no one had looked into it before.

"They should have done that Magnus, they should have done a blood test. Many of the drugs commonly used to spike drinks stay in the system for 72 hours, and the officers should have known that. Given the fact that some of these drugs are known to cause memory loss, it should have been one of the first things they did once you said you couldn't remember."

Alec could hear that he was getting excited, but he couldn't help himself. For him, there was nothing better than seeing the beginning of an argument form before your very eyes. Of course, it always broke his heart knowing how much innocent people had to suffer because of other people's mistakes, but knowing he was the reason people paid for those mistakes was one of the reasons he does his job. His happiness was short lived, however when he saw the panic that began to show on Magus' face; perhaps he should've been more careful in the way he phrased things. He had a fairly good idea of what Magnus might have started to worry about.

"Whoa, Magnus calm down. Those drugs can be used for things other than sexual assault, okay? Finding traces of it in your blood, doesn't necessarily mean that anyone attacked you like that. It could (and I can't prove it was so this is purely speculative) have just been used to get you to the state where you wouldn't remember the night, precisely so it could be made to look like you had done it. Did you speak to anyone else at the bar that night?"

"Um... only the owner; Malachi, I think his name was, not too sure about his surname. But he denied it, just as Camille did. Two against one, and well, here I am". His voice had developed a bitter edge at the end of his speech.

"Okay", Alec started, nodding as he tried to order his thoughts. "I think I have enough information for now. Tomorrow, I'll go to speak to Terry Johnson, see what he can remember from when he represented you originally. Then I'll see where I have to go from there, though from what you were saying, I think the club is probably our best bet".

"So you are going to help me?"

"No Alec. There's no one who can fight for me now."

Alec pushed past the memory. "Yes, from what you've told me it seems like something went very wrong with the original investigation. At the moment, we at least have the possibility of them failing to follow every line of inquiry. It's something I can work on."

"You believe me". Magnus didn't even bother trying to halt the tears that gathered in his eyes and fell slowly down his cheeks as he stared at the other man across from him.

"I do".

"Why?"

A sad smile.

"I think there's more to what happened than originally came to light. Someone somewhere didn't do their job properly and I intend to find out who". The conviction in his voice startled even Alec.

"Thank you".

"You can fight for others."

"Don't thank me. Not yet. It's going to be difficult; many of the avenues that would have been available to us are closed now. I can't guarantee I can get anything done, and if I do, we're going to have to bring in other people. I've got a feeling that this is going to take time Magnus. I don't know if you were expecting a quick release, but I can't give you that."

"Alec I have been here for 17 years, do you think I care if it takes you a month? Or a year? Hell, it could take you a decade and that would be better than what I'm currently facing. I don't care how long it takes. I think the better question is whether you are still willing to take on my case knowing that I can't afford to pay you anything."

"I have done pro-bono work before Magnus; I'm perfectly content to do it now".

There was a slight pause, and Alec was surprised when Magnus started fidgeting with his hands, as if he was nervous. "I just feel bad."

Alec was not expecting that response. "Why?"

Magnus shrugged his shoulders slightly. "It's your first case as a QC, you could be earning so much money in the time you would be helping me. I know you need to live and that contrary to popular opinion, life as a criminal barrister is not that glamorous to begin with".

"Yes Magnus, to begin with". Alec felt bad when he saw Magnus flinch at his harsh tone, but damn it, he was not in this job for the money. "I've been a defence barrister for 15 years, I've been earning close to £70,000 for the last 5 years of that. And yes you're right, my income has just steeply risen, but as a friend of mine rightly reminded me yesterday, more wages means more pro-bono. Besides, if we succeed in this, the amount of publicity your case will get me will more than pay for my services, trust me. I just need you to know I'm not in this job for the money".

"Oh that, I figured out", Magnus interrupted. "I told you I saw integrity in that photograph of you, and I stand by that now I have met you in person. You truly care, Alec Lightwood, and I am honoured that you have agreed to help me. Please don't berate yourself if you can't get anywhere; I am painfully aware of the shocking lack of evidence on my side. I'm just pleased you're trying".

There was another lull in the conversation as neither of them knew where the conversation would go next. Alec was just about to make his excuses, when he suddenly picked up on what Magnus said to him earlier.

"How did you know I'm a QC? It literally only happened a couple of days ago, and I know that the article you read must've been from before I took silk".

Magnus' answering laughter just made him more confused.

"Mr Lightwood", he spoke ignoring the annoyed glare Alec gave him. "Do you think I would seek to hire someone without properly researching them? You read law at Cambridge, graduated top of your class with several first places in major mooting competitions. You were called to the bar at 23, made a QC at 38, making you one of the youngest silks in our country. It seems that you are every bit as intelligent as you are handsome."

Handsome?

Alec could feel the blush building on his cheeks. He had no idea what he was supposed to say now. He opened and closed his mouth several times, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't form a sentence. Magnus smirking at him didn't help.

"Well", he cleared his throat, standing as he did so. "I best be off, after all, I do have a case to start preparing. I will come to see you once I have something more concrete. In the meantime", Alec dug around in his briefcase until he found his business card, "here's my mobile and my personal office phone and my room number in the building so you can send any correspondence straight to me and not to nosy receptionists who will interrogate me the second I step foot in the building."

"Goodbye Alec", Magnus chuckled as he offered a hand to Alec. "I'm glad you came."

"Goodbye Magnus, look after yourself."

There was a heavy pause, Alec looking as if he had something more he wanted to say. But he didn't. Instead, he took one last look around the table to make sure he had all his papers with him and made his way out of the prison, saying goodbye to the guards as he went. He knew this case would be hard work, but as he settled into his work desk at home, he fully believed that if he uncovered the truth, it would be worth it.