Jailbreak
Riley looked out the balcony window of Magnus' loft. She turned to face everyone, "I know where the Cup is." she informed, smiling.
"Come again?" Jace questioned.
"Tarot cards." Riley answered. "My mom, she must have painted them years ago, but the Mortal Cup has to be hidden inside the Ace of Cups. The card looks exactly like it." she looked around at everyone. "Wait, why aren't you guys happy about this? All we have to do is find-"
"Dot." Diana cut off. "She would always keep the cards in her shop below Jocelyn's loft." she informed.
"If Dot had the cards when she was taken, we don't have much time." Jace reminded.
"If Valentine gets his hands on the Cup-" Riley stared.
"We know." Magnus interrupted. "If Valentine started creating Shadowhunters or gained control of demons, it'd be like Beyonce riding on a dinosaur through Times Square. People would notice."
"But he can control demons." Riley reminded. "I've seen it."
Delilah sighed, drinking a glass of wine. "Paying off a few demons is easy, especially since they rarely survive long enough to collect."
"Still waiting on Valentine's thank-you card." Jace chuckled.
"Opening the gates of hell, that's a little more tricky." Magnus noted.
"Valentine doesn't have the cards." Luke told them, walking into the living room. "I do. They're in my desk back at the precinct." he added. "When Clary went missing, I went to the loft and I cleared everything out, 'cause I didn't want the Circle to track her."
Riley rolled her eyes. "Lot of good that did since Valentine has her anyway." she muttered.
"This should be easy." Diana smiled.
"Hmm, that's what General Custer said." Magnus rebuked.
"Magnus is right." Luke agreed. "Valentine has spies everywhere, even in the NYPD. We have to be discreet."
"Discreet?" Ailiz repeated, raising an eyebrow.
Diana chuckled. "No offense Luke, but uh, you look like something out of The Mummy movie."
"We'll go in the morning." Luke suggested. "Werewolf healing, remember? This is nothing a couple of hours of beauty sleep can't fix."
"He does have a point." Ailiz agreed. "Besides, if we're gonna face opposition, we need our rest."
"Then it's settled." Delilah concluded.
Riley laid in the queen sized bed, sketching in her sketchbook as Ailiz was brushing her hair and pulling it into low pigtails.
"In whatever free time you have, you always have your nose in your sketchbook." Ailiz noted, climbing into bed next to Riley.
"Guess it runs in the family." Riley replied, shading in the dark brown hair of one of the two girls she sketched. Two girls stood back to back, their arms folded over their chests.
"Riley." Ailiz said, putting her hand on the other girl's knee, making the redhead look over at her. "Once we get the Cup, that's one step closer to getting your mom and sister back."
Riley nodded and shut the sketchbook. "I know." she sighed, setting the sketchbook on the nightstand. "But we still need to locate Valentine."
"One step at a time sweetie." Ailiz reminded. "Get some rest." she turned off the bedside lamp on the nightstand next to her.
"Night Ailiz." Riley said, turning off her lamp.
"Night Riley." Ailiz replied, drifting off.
Riley sighed and laid on her side, back facing Ailiz. Her eyes slowly closed.
[Riley's Dream]
Dressed in a dark purple tank top, dark denim jeans, knee-high black boots, and a black leather jacket with her red hair pulled in a ponytail, Riley ran through a long corridor with a glowing Seraph blade in hand.
"Clary!" she called. "Mom!" Riley looked around, and kept running.
"Riley." a man's voice spoke. Riley spun around and saw Valentine standing a few feet away from her, the Circle rune on his neck glowing. "My, my, you're certainly beautiful."
"Stay away from me!" Riley screamed, holding her blade ready to attack.
"It's alright sweetheart." Jocelyn's voice soothed. She stepped into the light, standing at Valentine's right. "It's all gonna be okay." the Circle rune glowed at the base of her neck.
"We're together now." another girl's voice said. Stepping up to Valentine's left was Riley's twin sister, Clary. "We can be a family again." she too had a Circle rune on her neck.
Riley shook her head and stepped back. "No." she muttered.
"We are family." Valentine reminded. "Family sticks together. We're stronger that way."
Riley passed by a mirror and saw her reflection; a Circle rune glowed at the base of her neck. Clary stood beside her and Valentine and Jocelyn stood behind them. "Together, the Morganstern family will rise to glory and power, and every Shadowhunter will bow to us."
[End Dream]
"No." Riley muttered, clutching the pillow.
"Riley." Ailiz called, shaking the girl. "Wake up, it's just a nightmare."
Riley shot up panting, clutching the blankets. Ailiz rubbed her shoulder, calming her down. "Must've been one hell of a nightmare." Ailiz noted.
"You have no idea." Riley agreed, leaning back into the pillows. "I saw Valentine with my mom and Clary. He was saying we're family; that he wanted the Morganstern family to rise to power."
Ailiz put her hands on Riley's shoulders, turning the redhead to face her. "Valentine may be your father, but you're nothing like him." she assured. "You're a good person."
Riley hugged Ailiz, sighing in relief. "Thanks Ailiz, I needed that." she replied, smiling. "I needed that."
Ailiz grinned. "Well, once we know where he's hiding, I'm gonna be there by your side. All the way." she promised.
Riley nodded. "Well, first thing's first," she threw the blankets off her body. "we have the Cup to find first."
Dressed in mundane fashion Luke led Riley, Jace, Diana, and Ailiz to the NYPD precinct he worked at.
"All right, the cards are on my desk." Luke told the four Shadowhunters. "It shouldn't take long."
"All right." Jace chuckled, starting to walk towards the building.
Luke halted him. "It'll be easier to avoid unnecessary attention if I do this alone." he added.
"We'll wait here." Riley promised.
Luke nodded and headed inside. Jace scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "It sounded boring anyway."
Ailiz and Diana just rolled their eyes and chuckled. "Oh Riley, I meant to give you this earlier." Jace remembered, pulling a silver bracelet from his jacket pocket. "When you were taken from the loft, I tried to track you using it."
"My bracelet." Riley gasped. "I thought I lost it."
Jace shook his head. "No, I just held onto it." he fastened it on her wrist. "There, where it rightfully belongs."
After a half-hour passed, the four were starting to get worried.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Riley sighed, pacing back and forth. "What is taking him so long?"
"I know a way we could find out." Jace threw out. "Just go in and see for ourselves."
"Luke told us to stay put, so that's what we're gonna do." Ailiz reminded.
Riley's cell began ringing. "That's probably him now." she guessed.
"I doubt it." Jace rebuked, once he saw Luke walk by the glass windows, escorted by two other men in suits.
Riley saw the caller ID was Simon and sighed, clicking off her phone, and followed Jace's line of vision. "Just so I'm clear, he did mention something about trying to avoid attention, right?" Jace questioned.
"From the looks of it, he's doing a terrible job." Ailiz noted.
"Circle members?" Riley guessed.
Jace focused his eyes, seeing badges on the other two men. "No, mundanes." he rebuked. "Internal Affairs officers."
"You can tell all that just by looking at them?" Riley asked.
"I can tell all that by reading their badges." Jace answered. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a rune on the underside of his arm. "Better than binoculars."
Ailiz sighed. "Luke had his chance." she noted. "Our turn."
"Yeah." Diana agreed.
"Let's go." Jace voted.
Riley sighed. "Okay."
Using the Invisibility rune, the four snuck inside and slipped into the interrogation room where Luke was being held. Luke noticed them and grabbed a tissue to cover his mouth as he warned them about the camera in the corner. Jace unplugged it so they could talk.
"Luke, what is going on?" Riley asked, leaning across from him.
"I think I'm about to be the prime suspect in a murder investigation." Luke answered.
Ailiz sighed. "What do we do now?" she leaned against the wall.
"Get the cards." Luke ordered. "In my desk, bottom drawer."
"All right." Jace agreed, his hand on the door handle.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Luke halted. "You can't glamour yourselves. I'm not the only Downworlder on the force, and we don't know who's working for Valentine. If anybody spots you-"
"We'd be leading them right to the Mortal Cup." Diana finished.
"Exactly." Luke confirmed. "Better to assume that everybody has the Sight than gamble that they don't."
The four nodded and slipped out of the interrogation room when the IA investigator walked back in.
"Okay, plan B." Diana sighed, opening a closet. "In here."
The four crowded into the small closet filled with stacked case files. "Really?" Jace questioned. "In here?"
"Why not?" Diana shrugged.
"There's got to be a better place, Di." Ailiz scoffed.
Diana rolled her eyes and destroyed her Glamour rune, appearing before mundane eyes. "There, now you guys." she said, slipping her Stele into her backpack, which also held her bow and quiver.
Jace and Ailiz deglamoured next, but Riley was having a bit more difficulty.
"You need help with that?" Jace asked, chuckling.
"I can deglamourize myself, Jace." Riley rebuked. She accidentally bumped into a couple of boxes.
Diana, Ailiz and Jace bit back laughter. "It's 'deglamour.'" Jace corrected.
"Whatever." Riley scoffed, destroyig the runes power. "Now, about the cards."
"How exactly are we gonna get them?" Ailiz asked.
"I doubt we can make it out of this closet without drawing attention, let alone Luke's desk." Jace pointed out. "Plus Riley is covered in runes."
"Not to mention the fact that she's been comatose for thirteen years." Ailiz added. "Do any of these people even know about her?"
Diana sighed. "Don't worry." she assured. "I've got a plan."
"A good plan this time?" Jace asked, raising an eyebrow.
"90%." she answered. "Just follow my lead, Jace." she patted his cheek. "Ailiz, you and Riley can wait outside."
"Fine." Ailiz sighed, opening the door. "Let's go Ri."
"Alright." Riley followed Ailiz out of the closet and they exited the police station, leaving Jace and Diana inside.
"Oh and Jace," Diana halted, grabbing his arm. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?" Jace asked.
Diana cracked a smile. "The other 10%." she answered. "Follow me."
Ailiz and Riley stood outside the station, tapping their feet on the concrete. "What do you suppose Diana has planned?" Riley asked.
Ailz shrugged. "Not really sure." she answered. "The only person who could really tell what she's thinking is Isabelle."
Riley nodded. "Right, the whole parabatai thing."
"I'm sure it's nothing we need to concern ourselves with." Ailiz assured.
Diana and Jace walked into the bull pen, which was filled with officers and detectives, as well as Captain Vargas. Diana turned on her heels, "You son of a bitch!" she screamed, slapping Jace right in the face. "Stop following me!"
Jace shook off the surprise slap and grabbed Diana's arm. "What happened to being discreet?" he whispered.
Diana pulled away, "Wait, what did you say?" she asked, raising her voice. "You cheated on me?"
Two officers stood between Jace and Diana. "I did not." Jace defended, chuckling lightly.
Diana walked to Luke's desk, opening the drawer he said the cards were in. "You will never see me at your crappy apartment again." she scoffed, digging through the drawer, which held nothing.
Jace held up his hands defensively. "That girl means nothing to me." he stated. "Nothing."
Diana sighed as Captain Vargas approached her. "Who's he?" she asked.
"Some guy I met at Dramatic Arts Camp last summer." Diana answered.
"Boyfriend?" Vargas questioned.
"Nope, not anymore." Diana corrected. "I'm dumping him. Where is all of Luke's stuff?"
"IA took everything." Vargas answered. "What are you looking for?"
Diana tucked her hair behind her ear. "Clary called me and said her mom was taking her on a surprise vacation completely off the grid." she lied. "And she wanted me to swing by the loft to make sure it was clean and such. I just came from there because I lost the key and Luke normally keeps a spare in his desk, so is there any way I can get it?"
Vargas shook her head. "Uh, not till he's cleared." she informed.
"Cleared?" Diana repeated. "Of what?"
"Oh, don't worry about it." Vargas assured. "We'll get it handled."
"Hey, Diana, I'm sorry." Jace apologized from across the room. "I apologize. I just want you to know it only happened, like, two or...It just happened a couple of times and I am totally-"
Diana held up her hand. "Shut up, J." she snapped. "I don't wanna hear any more excuses."
"Babe, come on." Jace defended.
"Listen, you don't get to call her 'babe', okay?" Vargas snapped. "In fact, you don't get to call her at all. Diana's done with you. You got it?" she motioned to the two officers. "Take him out."
"I have rights." Jace reminded as he was escorted out.
Diana sighed, flipping her hair back. "Thanks." she told the Captain.
Vargas gave her a smile, "Oh, matching tattoos." she noted, seeing part of a rune on Diana's neck. "Big red flag."
Diana covered the rune with her hand. "This, I burned myself with my flat iron this morning." she lied, chuckling.
"Don't worry about it. I get it." Vargas sympathized. "You always fall for the bad boys, right?" she chuckled. "Oh, is that just me?"
"Right." Diana agreed. "Uh, like I said, I need that key." she reminded.
"Sorry Diana." Vargas apologized. "IA has all of Luke's things in the evidence vault upstairs." she informed, which Diana took note of. "Maybe I can help you find the one you lost." she offered. "Did you check your bag?"
Diana reached into the front pocket and pulled out her key-ring, laughing. "Oh, my God! You're totally right." she chucked. "Thanks Captain. Bye." she sped-walked out of the station, sighing in relief.
The station doors opened, making Riley and Ailiz turn in that direction as Jace and Diana walked out.
"You know what? I'm gonna bring Alec with me next time." Jace told her. "I don't think he's ever slapped me in the face."
"I'm sorry, I panicked." Diana apologized.
"You slapped him?" Riley questioned, looking at a small red mark on Jace's cheek.
"And I missed it!" Ailiz laughed, running her fingers through her hair. "Oh man."
"It's not that funny." Jace reminded.
"Oh, it's hysterical to me." Ailiz took a deep breath and exhaled.
Diana rolled her eyes. "I sent Izzy a 911 text so her, Alec, Maksim, and Kirill should be here soon." she informed. "We need the entire team for this mission."
"Someone call for backup?" Isabelle questioned, joining the group with Alec, Maksim, and Kirill flanking her.
"What took you guys so long?" Jace asked.
"Funny, I was gonna ask you the same thing." Alec replied.
"It's complicated." Diana informed. "We found the Cup."
"The Cup?" Kirill repeated.
"Yeah, but then we lost it." Riley added. "We have to sneak back in the precinct to get it."
"This is a disaster." Alec sighed.
"Hey, demon pox is a disaster." Jace pointed out. "This is an inconvenience. We just need a plan. That's all."
"What about a glamour?" Maksim threw out.
"We tried that." Diana informed.
"Anyone working with Valentine will see right through it." Jace added.
"Can we ask Magnus to portal us inside?" Riley asked.
"No." Alec shot down.
"That'd be awkward." Isabelle muttered.
Diana sighed. "Magnus can only portal us to places he's been to before." she noted. "Now I possibly could, but it would take a lot of magic power and I can't guarantee we won't end up in a camera blind spot." her cell phone started ringing, the caller ID reading Simon. "Give me a second guys." she walked a couple steps away. "Simon, this is really not a good time."
"Diana, where are you?" Simon asked on the other line. "This is an emergency."
Diana blinked, slightly confused. "Simon, are you okay?" she asked, concerned.
"I'm not sure. I haven't been kidnapped yet today." Simon replied, panic in his voice.
"Simon, seriously, what's going on?" Diana pressed.
"I think I'm sick." Simon answered. "Like, really sick."
Diana sighed. "Simon, remember that time you thought you had the bird flu?" she reminded. "Okay, just stay off the Internet and you'll be fine."
"But this time it's different." Simon defended. "This time I'm really-"
Jace took Diana's phone and ended the call. "Simon's little problem can wait." he told her. "I've got a great plan."
"Oh, there's a first." Diana replied, snarky.
Jace rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, in my plan, no one gets slapped."
"I said I was sorry." Diana scoffed.
"Just follow my lead." Jace said to Riley.
"Hold it Wayland." Ailiz halted. "I know better than to leave you alone with her." she pointed to Riley. "Where she goes, I go." Ailiz wrapped her arm around Riley's shoulder.
Jace looked at Riley, who just shrugged. "I can safely say that Ailiz is my best friend." Riey defended. "She's coming." she headed back towards the building.
Ailiz winked as she walked right next to Riley. Jace sighed heavily before following the two girls.
The three stood in front of the elevator, waiting. "So, we were promised a great plan." Riley reminded, her and Ailiz looked at Jace.
"We'll head up towards the vault. Alec, Izzy, and Diana are handling the rest. Maksim and Kirill are standing guard." Jace informed. "All we have to do is wait for their signal and grab the Cup."
The elevator doors opened and Alaric was inside. The four ducked behind a wal and watched Alaric leave.
"He's on our side." Riley assured as the trio walked into the elevator.
"You sure?" Jace questioned. "Isn't that the line he used when he kidnapped you?"
"Good point." Riley shrugged.
Ailiz hit the button to automatically stop the elevator, the doors closed locking the three inside. Riley leaned against the wall. "What now?" she asked. "We're supposed to climb the elevator shaft and waltz in the vault unnoticed?"
Jace opened the emergency hatch. "Now, why didn't I think of that?" he chuckled sarcastically.
Riley laughed along. "Very funny." she chuckled. When taking note of Jace and Ailiz's serious looks, her jaw dropped. "Wait, you're serious?"
"Remember the binoculars?" Jace asked. Riley nodded in understanding. Jace pulled downt he collar of his shirt, exposing a rune on his chest. "This one's a Nyx rune. It's like night vision." he informed. "You can copy mine. Got it?"
Riley nodded and shrugged off her jacket. "Why do I need night vision?" she asked, looking for any exposed skin she could draw the rune on.
"You'll see." Ailiz answered.
Riley sighed, pulling her Stele from her pocket. She started drawing the rune on her right shoulder blade. She struggled to draw the whole rune.
"Feel free to ask for help." Jace offered.
Riley rolled her head. "Ailiz, care to help?" she asked.
"Certainly." Ailiz replied, leaning off the elevator wall. She took Riley's Stele and finished the rune. "There."
"Thanks." Riley took her Stele back and slipped it into her satchel.
Minutes passed. "I think you messed something up." Riley said, looking across the elevator at Jace.
"Really?" he accused. "No, I didn't."
"Then why isn't it working?" Riley asked.
"It is." Jace answered. The lights went out and the alarm went off. "That's the signal."
Riley's eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness. "Whoa, cool." she sighed.
"Right." Jace chuckled, opening the emergency hatch. "Going up."
Ailiz held up her hand. "Ladies first." she reminded, jumping through the hatch and pulling herself up. "Riley, you're up."
"Okay." Riley slung the satchel strap around her chest. Jace held out his hands and gave Riley the boost she needed and Ailiz pulled her out of the elevator. Jace joined them.
They opened a loose wall panel and slipped into the NYPD vault easily. "Okay so Diana said all Luke's things are in one of these evidence boxes." Riley informed, holding out a witchlight to illuminate their path.
"Like trying to find a needle in a haystack." Ailiz muttered.
The three scanned the shelves, skimming over the labels. "Found it." Riley informed, taking the box off the shelf. "In here." she set the witchlight off to the side. Riley sifted through the box, finding a photo of Luke and Jocelyn, with four year old Clary and Riley.
"This will take all day." Jace muttered.
Riley wiped the moisture from her eyes and shoved the photo into her satchel, before dumping the rest of the box's contents onto the table.
"Or she could just do that." Ailiz noted.
"Here they are, the Tarot Cards." Riley informed, flipping through the deck. When she found the Ace of Cups, she held it out for Ailiz and Jace to see.
"That looks exactly like the Mortal Cup." Jace noted.
"This is it. It has to be." Ailiz assured.
Riley went to grab it, but her palm just grazed the top of the card. She tried again and no such luck. "What's wrong?" Ailiz asked.
"I'm not sure." Riley stammered.
"You're not sure what's wrong or you're not sure where your mom hid the Cup?" Jace questioned.
Riley sighed and shoved the entire deck into her satchel.
"Let's get out of here." Ailiz voted.
She led the way as the trio exited the station.
"Did you get it?" Maksim asked as they all regrouped.
"Theoretically." Riley answered, catching her breath.
"Theoretically?" Kirill repeated.
"Yeah." Riey sighed. "I found the card. I just have to figure out how I reached into my notebook before. It's, not an exact science."
"Can't you just pull the Cup out?" Alec questioned.
"I can, theoretically. I just-" Riley stammered. "It's not as easy as it looks, Alec."
"Listen, you two can discuss theories as much as you want when we get back to the Institute." Jace cut in. "But right now, considering we just stole from the cops, I suggest we get home."
"Guys." Diana called, motioning to the glowing necklace Isabelle wore. "I think the mundanes might be the least of our worries."