A/N:Sorry that I haven't uploaded in a while. Life just gets in the way. Unfortunately I know how scary our world is- the self-defence tips I have used are real, and if need be try to remember them. It could save your, or someone else's, life. They apply to men and women.
Hope you enjoy.
Chapter 14: Conversations with Dead People
He didn't know what had brought this on; all he knew was that she had been pacing the kitchen since five o'clock in the morning, and she showed no signs of slowing down three hours later- Alec, Magnus and Isabelle had all gone to the precinct to gather what they could on Starkweather, and Jace was stuck at Izzy's kitchen table, watching helplessly and trying to talk to the agitated red head.
"Clary, please just talk to me- what are you doing?"
Clary continued to pace and slipped her hands into her hair, tugging hard.
"Stop! Come on, you're scaring me." Jace stood up and grabbed her arms, intercepting her attempt at ripping out her hair and forced her to look at him; her green eyes were dull and lifeless, surrounded by purple bags and pale skin. She looked like death.
"What's going on?" Jace asked gently. Clary looked away from him and cautiously blew a hair from her face; the nightmares had latched onto her again, and the grip of fear that she thought she had shaken was engulfing her once more.
"What are we doing, Jace?" Clary said sadly, scanning his face. Jace frowned in confusion.
"What do you mean?" He replied.
"I mean, why are we pretending everything is fine? Why are we playing 'happy families', all living together when it doesn't matter? None of it matters! I'm going to die Jace, do you get that? I'm going to die at the hands of Sebastian, or my father, or one of his crazy lackeys. Why don't we just give up." Clary pulled her arms free from Jace and slumped down defeated in a chair. Jace stood silently for a moment, watching her lay her head in her arms.
His broken little red head.
"Clary." He spoke gently, and locked eyes with her as she looked up. "We are going to get through this. You are going to get through this. I would give up my life before I ever let anything happen to you, and you've got the best team in the city to help you get rid of these guys once and for all. For the life of me I have no idea why, but the universe has handed you the short straw for your entire life, and that's gonna stop. I promise."
Clary gazed at him, analysing everything he said as she searched his face. He was so sincere it nearly broke her apart.
"How are you not afraid?" She whispered carefully. Jace's face tightened.
"Let's just say I'm fuelled by a vengeance." Clary looked at him curiously and he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"He killed my parents, you know that. Valentine killed them, and that day, I died too." Clary leaned forward, listening intently. Jace swallowed hard.
"I became obsessed with solving the case, I cleaned up my act, became a cop because of it. I didn't know it was Valentine and a few years ago I stopped looking, left another team to investigate my cold case whilst I tackled live ones. I would've worked myself to death otherwise."
Jace closed his eyes and felt Clary squeeze his hand.
"I just needed to, to justify it. To catch the person that murdered my family. To bring them peace, finally."
He looked into Clary's eyes, the pain in them obvious.
"That's why I'm not afraid. He took my parents; I won't give him my fear, my life as well."
Clary sniffed, and wiped her eyes. She was like a drooping flower in her skinny jeans and band t shirt; face smeared with tears, but to Jace she still looked like the most beautiful person he had ever met. Why did the most spectacular people end up in the most spectacularly horrible situations?
"Tell me about them." Clary spoke softly. Jace cleared his head.
"About who?" he replied.
"Your parents." Clary smiled carefully, and Jace was distracted momentarily- he hadn't spoken about them properly to anyone; his adoptive family knew about them, but no details Jace had given them. He cleared his throat before starting, letting the memories wash over him as the words spilled out.
"They were the most amazing people ever- in my eyes any way. My father- my dad- was my hero. He was a lawyer, a business man- a superhero in my eyes. He always had time for me, no matter how stressed or busy he was. He would drop it all for me. He taught me how to ride a bike, how to play piano, he took me to my first boxing class and soccer game. He was always there. And my mother- oh Clary, you would've loved her."
He looked at his red head to see her smiling sadly, her eyes wet.
"The most beautiful woman in the world- that's what my dad would call her. Celine Herondale, turning heads. She had this, this golden hair that she would always have long and free. One of my first memories is of her hair- the smell of camomile and honey. It made me feel safe. I have the same eyes as her- gold. She was a golden girl for sure. And she sang all the time- every moment she could. It was my favourite sound"
"They sound amazing." Clary breathed.
Jace took a deep breath and stopped talking. He could almost see his mother, her heart shaped face swimming into his vision. He choked as he felt a set of small, soft arms wrap around him, and opened his eyes to the sight of Clary practically sitting on him, her head against his chest.
"I'm sorry." She whispered. Jace sighed.
"Clary, I've told you, none of this is your fault. Don't apologise."
Clary looked up into his eyes, her lashes glistening.
"No. I'm sorry you're so sad. I wish you weren't. You hide it well, but I always know- I can always see people's pain and you are full of it. You don't deserve this Jace." She rested a hand on his face and Jace caught his breath at how close they were. He could smell her sweet shampoo; see every line of her face.
This girl was driving him crazy.
And they were both so messed up.
After what felt like hours of staring at each other, Clary shuffled and stood up, leaving Jace cold and slightly confused by the emotions he felt; he followed suit and rose to his feet.
/
Jordan sighed and tugged at his hair- he had been analysing interviews with Alec and Magnus for the past three hours, and they had come up with no discernible evidence that could lead them to Valentine. Nor Sebastian for that matter. He glanced up to the break room and saw Maia and Isabelle talking together and felt is anger, hatred even, for Verlac bubble inside of him. If a man had ever laid a finger on his Maia like that, he would've killed them. Well, she would probably try and kill them first.
But Clary. Clary Fray, the woman in the middle of this entire situation, didn't stand a chance against another abusive figure, especially after being raised by a criminal with a sick mind. Now she was in danger, Jace was enamoured by her, and they had no leads. He scrunched his fists together.
He calmed himself down as he saw Magnus and Alec approach him. Alec was one of the best detectives in the city and Magnus was, well, Magnus- Jordan glad they had a team like this to search for one of the most malevolent killers since the Son of Sam.
"Kyle, we think we've got something." Alec started, perching himself on Jace's desk- which was opposite Jordan's- while Magnus sat in Jace's seat and began to tap into the computer.
"Raphael was a known associate of a woman named Camille Belcourt- typical mob bosses wife, took over Mortmain Cocaine Empire when her husband 'mysteriously' disappeared. Never charged for anything, but here's the thing; according to Jace, Valentine was close with these two. Along with Samuel Blackthorn and Emil Pangborn these guys were the big league of criminal activity."
Jordan listened carefully, waiting for the punchline.
"Well?" He questioned impatiently. Magnus made a triumphant noise and continued talking where Alec had left off.
"Well, my dear, we know that the fearsome threesome went into prison together, and we now have Raphael in holding. So, if there is something bug going down with these sons of bitches, where's Belcourt?" The exuberant man continued to tap out on the keyboard.
"So you think she's involved?" Jordan questioned, seeing where this was going.
"No." Magnus said, cat eyes locking with Alec's in barely contained glee. "I know she is."
He turned the screen toward Jordan to show a camera's image of a well-kept Camille, blond hair slicked into an elegant up do, entering the prison's visitation suite.
"That's circumstantial Mags." Jordan sighed.
"Uh uh, that's not all. Three occasions she visited the prison, all three times with Valentine Morgenstern. Looking into financials, we can prove that she recently purchased a set of sophisticated security hacking equipment from a foreign dealer. This set can be linked back to Starkweather- Hugin- along with a surmountable sum- presumably pay off. And- thanks to yours truly- now have the codes that prove Starkweather contributed the tech needed for the prison break." He took a large breath, before excitedly continuing.
"And, the icing on the cake, bank records show the offshore account accessed by Morgenstern's own account on multiple occasions sixteen years ago made multiple transfers to Belcourt's account very recently- proving, my sweethearts, that Camille Belcourt is the final associate, responsible for the prison break."
Magnus high fived a slightly shell shocked Alec, and Jordan attempted to wrap his head around what he just said.
"So, this means Camille most likely knows where Valentine and his boys are hiding out?" Jordan said.
"You betcha, biscuit. Alec already has officers tracking her down using the money trail. Hopefully this is their slip up you've been looking for."
Jordan sighed in relief. Hopefully.
/
"We became close when I came out of the hospital." Clary said, swirling a spoon around her cup of coffee. "I mean I knew him before, because his dumb band used to play at the café my brother worked at, but a couple months after the accident, when I had to go back to school, he was there for me. We were just- fast friends. We used to be so close."
Jace listened intently as she talked, and it was nice to forget about her life for a while.
"He's still in that band you know." Jace chuckled. Clary laughed and widened her eyes.
"He is not!" She replied in disbelief.
"Yup, it still sounds like a teenage garage band though, so I wish he wasn't. Izzy makes us come to his gigs- it's torture, I'm telling you. They can never decide on a name either- pretty sure their called The Daylighter and the Fugitives at the minute."
Clary laughed again, and Jace joined in.
He hadn't laughed like this in a long time. He voiced his thoughts, and Clary looked at him sincerely.
"Me neither." She said softly.
She remembered all of the times he had kissed her. Secretly she wished he would again; Jace was the polar opposite of Sebastian and she hadn't felt this safe in a long time. She was shaken from her reverie by Jace's talking.
"So, I was thinking… I don't want you to be scared, but…"
"Go on…" Clary replied.
"I want to give you self defence lessons. Only the basics, but I know as well as anyone that we are definitely not going to be safe forever and everywhere. Just in case we are ever separated I want you to be able to fight someone off." He looked at her carefully, and smirked at her grin. Clary was thrilled.
"Definitely. I absolutely want to learn how to kick some ass." Jace laughed at this, and made his way to Isabelle's spacious living room. They moved any fragile objects into the kitchen before pushing the couches to the edge of the room, leaving a wide space in the centre of the room. Jace chucked a few cushions to the edge of the walls to soften any mishaps, but deemed the expensive carpet soft enough for a floor mat.
"Okay, I'm going to come at you, and you do as I say to get me off." Jace said, taking hold of Clary's arms and moving her to the centre of the room facing away from him. "And remember- don't hold back."
Clary concentrated directly in front of her, and tensed as she heard Jace approach. All of a sudden one of his arms was around her waist, gripping tight, and the other was across the top of her chest. She took in a breath, and heard Jace in her ear, calming her rising panic.
"Someone can easily grab you like this whilst your back is turned. First, keep calm. Your arms are free, so you are going to use them to get me to loosen up, and then you're going to handicap me. First, elbow me in the face as hard as possible, then scrape your heel down my shin and stomp on my foot, hard as hell, okay?" Clary nodded. "Alright, whenever you're ready Red."
Jace held on tight and waited for her to make a move. He could hear her laboured breathing, and he was worried she was panicking and was preparing to release her when her elbow came flying into his face, smashing his nose, before he felt the fiery friction of her heel on his leg. Involuntarily he moved his arms to cover his face and doubled over.
Clary twisted from his grip triumphantly and turned to see a grinning Jace gripping his nose.
"Oh God! Are you okay?" She asked quickly, only to hear him chuckle and slap her on the back.
"Never better- that was perfect Clary." She beamed at him, and Jace was distracted momentarily by her smile. He quickly composed himself and started again, this time instructing her on how to keep off a face on attacker.
He told her to aim for either his eyes on nose if she was close enough with her arms free.
"Either gouge or push my eyes- I say today we just pretend. But put as much force onto your attacker's eyes as possible- this will hurt them, and temporarily blind them so you can run. Also aim for the nose with the heel of your hand. Put all of your body weight behind you, and push his nose upward as with as much force as you can and then run. Hopefully you'll break his nose, but if not you'll still hurt him a fair bit. Avoid trying to punch and slap- a strong attacker could just catch the throw. If you do have to hit out though, keep your hand straight and hard like a blade, and aim for the neck."
Clary nodded along as he continued to relay instructions, the two of them sparring for hours. Aiming for the knees and legs, avoiding torsos, bending arms back; Clary had never felt stronger.
"Alright, last one." Jace said. They were both dripping with sweat, and Jace had lost his shirt some time ago.
"This one's kind of hard, but it's the best way to get someone who is strong and won't release your wrist to back off. Okay, first I'm going to grab your wrist." He began to complete the actions he was speaking.
"What you need to do now, is with the hand that is captive, grip your other wrist." Clary raised her eyebrows, but followed the instructions.
"Okay. Now, with that hand, grip my wrist."
Clary was really confused now, but she did as she was asked. Their hands were now in a triangle- Jace gripping her left wrist, her left hand gripping her right wrist and her right hand gripping his wrist.
"Okay, this is something you have to think quickly for because the attacker will be confused- the second they start pulling you, you let your arm go with them. Then you lift your arm above their shoulders behind their back- using their strength and both your arms to twist their arm behind their back. If at first this doesn't make them let go, you now are behind them- bend them even more and kick them hard in the knees or back. They will most definitely let go, and you can escape. If your arms aren't free, do the opposite; scrape the shin, elbow the face." He grinned, and Clary gave herself a moment to process everything he had said. Then she nodded.
"Ready…" Jace quickly pulled, and Clary allowed herself to be tugged closer to him. She stepped inward and raised her arm over Jace's shoulder just as her memories of Sebastian flooded over her- anger fuelled her adrenaline and she pulled Jace's arm tightly behind her back with both arms- he still didn't release her, so she kicked his knees out from under him.
And she was free.
Breathing in a sigh of relief she was brought to her senses by the golden man know lying on the floor. He rolled onto his back and held out a hand to Clary, who presumed he wanted her to pull him up. Grabbing his strong hand, she gasped as she was pulled downward, a long golden arm rising up and snaking around her waist as she fell flush against him. Jace grinned, searching her eyes, their faces centimetres apart.
"That was perfect." He said, delighting in the blush that spread across her cheeks. His voice lowered. "You're perfect."
Clary closed her eyes as he captured her lips with his own, rolling them so that she was trapped in his warm embrace, back against the carpet. She reached up and tangled her hands into his hair, pulling him closer; she wanted him closer.
Jace accepted her greedily and ran a hand down her body gently. She wasn't like all the other girls who he wanted to strip of their clothes. He wanted every part of Clary- mind and body and soul.
He was shocked as he heard Clary whimper as she clutched him tighter and deepened the kiss- he pressed against her before eventually letting up and coming up for a breath.
"I really like you Clary." He whispered. She smiled softly before replying.
"I really like you too." He showed her a toothy grin, chipped tooth and all, before leaning in again.
/
"Alec. No one's called in yet- what if they're in danger." Jordan said agitatedly, tapping his fingers against the desk.
"Kyle, give them time. Mags said the location was pretty far out of town, besides there is a team of fifteen out there to find one woman- plus all of the lads we have. We'll find her."
Jordan was just opening his mouth to respond irately when a loud crash was heard from the doors to the precinct. Three cops came walking in with a smug look on their faces before Jordan caught sight of a tall statuesque woman with curled blonde hair entering the room, flanked by nearly a dozen men.
Camille Belcourt.
Jordan and Alec jumped to their feet as she was escorted to interrogation room one, and Jordan instructed Alec to make sure that Ms Belcourt knew her rights whilst Jordan called Jace.
"Herondale." A smooth voice answered, slightly breathlessly. Jordan smirked.
"Look, man, it's Jordan. Sorry to interrupt whatever you were doing, but we've got the biggest lead so far sitting in our interrogation room. How quick can you get here?"
He heard murmurs on the other end and what sounded like a door closing before a reply came.
"Give us fifteen minutes. We're on our way."
Jordan heard the disconnection and put down the phone, rushing to his computer and hitting print on the documents he had been making before approaching the break room where Maia and Isabelle were sat.
"Hey." He said, opening the door.
"Hey yourself." Maia replied, getting up and wrapping her arms around him. He squeezed her, savouring the calm before the storm, before letting her go.
"Listen, Jace is going to be here in a minute, and I'm ninety nine point nine percent positive Clary will be here too. Are you guys alright hanging out with her?"
Both of the girls nodded.
"And listen- don't let her near the interrogation room unless someone specifically asks for her, okay? I don't know how or if she knows our suspect, but if she does I don't want things going south on either end of that exchange."
"Of course Kyle, listen is Clary okay?" Isabelle asked, wringing her hands together. Jordan frowned.
"I honestly don't know; they'll be here soon though." The ebony haired girl nodded, and Maia gave Jordan a quick kiss before patting his arm, telling him to go and catch some bad guys. He intended to.
Ten minutes later Jordan, Alec and Magnus were all going over their notes when a whirlwind on gold and red came through the doors; Jace practically ran to his desk, grey coat swirling behind him, and Clary followed, her hand clutched in Jace's as he dragged her through the office. He came to a halt next to his team, and stood expectantly in front of them.
Clary was slightly shell shocked from her high speed journey to the precinct, and with the fast cars and armed guards, she felt like throwing up a little bit.
"So what do we have?" Jace asked, still holding onto Clary- Alec and Magnus shared a look, however Jordan remained oblivious as he handed Jace his stuff with his eyes glued to a piece of paper.
"Camille Belcourt, 48, Drug Empire heiress of the late Mortmain Inc. We have solid evidence that she is behind the jailbreak, banks link her to Starkweather who we now also have evidence enough to put away, and she has been caught on video visiting Valentine in prison. Known associate of Mr. Morgenstern, we suspect she knows where he is. DA has already been informed, they are ready and waiting to take her into custody, no chance of appeal, but we get a crack at her first. Doc states here that she is mentally unstable and, quote, "is in a destructively stupid relationship with a Raphael Santiago." I reckon we can get her to talk, bit of bargaining, mention Santiago. What do you say, Herondale?"
Jace blinked, and then put on his game face. Shrugging off his jacket and winking at Clary, he motioned for Jordan to follow him.
"I say let's do this."
He watched carefully as Magnus led her to the break room where she was eagerly greeted by Isabelle, before turning and entering interrogation room one.
/
"Good afternoon Ms. Belcourt. My name is detective Herondale, you've been brought here under permission of the city and have been read your rights- correct?" Jace addressed the woman firmly whilst he and his partner took seats.
Camille looked up haughtily.
"That is correct."
"For the records, is it also correct that you have refused your right to an attorney."
"Yes it is. Me and lawyers don't exactly mix well." She chuckled, before adjusting her handcuffed wrists.
"Do you know why you are here Ms…-" Jordan was cut off.
"Call me Camille!" She hissed impatiently, her façade of calmness slipping.
"Very well, do you know why you are here, Camille?" The blonde composed herself.
"I presume this is about the girl."
"Could you be more specific?" Jace took the lead, questioning their only key to the investigation.
"Valentine's little red head- Seraphina." She dragged out the last syllable of the name, eeriness slipping around her.
"You mean Clarissa?" Jace responded.
"No, you uneducated boy. Valentine called her Seraphina. It was the whiny bitch and the boy that called her Clarissa."
Jordan took down notes furiously, and Jace became impatient.
"Okay, well Camille we are actually here to talk about a prison break. One we believe you orchestrated."
Camille raised a pencilled brow and Jace saw the ghost of a respected, a feared woman. Then she began to talk.
"Well your beliefs would be correct. Though you can't really call it a prison break; it was child's play."
Jace raised his eyebrows this time, and Jordan had to hold back his laugh. They had no idea what was going on.
"Camille, do you know you just admitted to a crime. Is that a confession?" Camille shot him a withering look.
"Of course it's a confession you idiot- I know as well as anyone I'm going on the inside, but it's my time anyway. I'm fed up with the boring people out here. Now, since that is sorted- can I talk to the girl?"
Jace froze for a moment before swallowing carefully, attempting to sound normal.
"What girl would that be?" Camille grimaced, looking unimpressed at his demeanour- he wasn't fooling anyone, and Jordan wrote that down and passed it to him- he also said he was willing to get Clary in here.
Jace wasn't sure if he was. Rising from his seat he excused himself, exiting the room with Jordan.
"Why does she want Clary in there?" Jace asked, frustrated. Jordan shrugged.
"I don't now man, but if she will talk to Clary, maybe she'll tell Clary something valuable."
Jace could sense Jordan's desperation; they had Camille, but she had confessed- they had no leverage.
"Alright. Let's bring her in."
Jace rushed over to the break room where Clary, Isabelle and Maia were all laughing at something on Isabelle's phone. Clary looked up when Jace entered and beamed at him, eyes lighting up.
"What's up Jace?" Isabelle asked when he entered the room. He sighed.
"Look, Clary, I know you've been going through a lot, but we need your help. Camille wants to talk to you. I know it's a big thing to ask, but we think she has information on Valentine."
Clary sucked in a breath, her heart pounding. She hadn't seen that woman since she was a child; she was one of the monsters in her nightmares, always watching whilst Valentine was cruel. She felt herself begin to panic, but she knew that Jace needed help, so she opened her mouth to reply when she heard Isabelle reply angrily.
"No way Jace. Don't be an idiot, you know this is dumb. You don't know how this is gonna turn out. You're guessing, just guessing she knows anything!" Isabelle was standing up now, arm around Clary. Clary was touched by her out cry, and even though she wanted to stay in Izzy's grip, she wanted answers more.
"Iz, it's okay. I've got this. I have to face up to it some time." Isabelle looked surprised at this, but nodded her head and wrapped the small girl in a hug.
"Be careful Clary." Clary nodded, and then followed Jace into the interrogation room, Jordan following behind.
"Don't let her shake you, okay." Jace muttered to Clary. She nodded in acknowledgement, but she was already going through a game plan in her head. She had seen Raphael already, and now she was going into the belly of the beast.
Camille sat, watching the three enter with calculating eyes. She still looked the same to Clary.
Clary took a seat in front of her and folded her arms. Jace sat down next to her, and Jordan stood next to the door, leaning against it.
Camille grinned.
"Seraphina." She said. Clary's head snapped up and her expression hardened. There was no way that she would let this woman terrorise her all over again.
"Don't call me that. Listen, Camille. Don't think I've forgotten everything that you did; I'm not alone anymore. I'll crush you. Just say what you have to say." Clary snapped. Jace raised his eyebrows, but nothing could match the look of pure delight on Camille's face.
"Your father would love that fire. I respect you. But I want you to know something." She leaned in closer to Clary. "He's close. You can't hide- Clarissa, he is coming. Do everyone a favour and just go to him- it'll make everyone safer."
She was whispering to Clary now, a slightly manic look on her face. Clary attempted to remain calm and tried not to scream; she grabbed hold of Jace's hand under the table and looked into her beady blue eyes.
"Tell me where he is then." She said calmly. Camille just laughed in her face.
"It doesn't work like that, he'll find you dear. Just you wait." She suddenly launched herself into Clary's face, who flinched backward so far she toppled out of the chair; Jordan caught a hold of her and brought her out of the room and Jace attempted to restrain Camille's struggling when, to his shock, a monster of a man in officer's uniform barrelled into the room; Jace looked up in surprise, only to be thrown backward by the force of a blow. He watched the man unlock Camille's bonds and run from the room with her- it was as if he was watching a dream. He struggled to get up from the ground and ran out of the room after them- the precinct was in chaos,
Alec was blocking the break room where Isabelle and Maia were attempting to get out; Jordan was wrangling large man with another officer. Jace gripped a wall and rounded the corner, following the trail of blonde hair that flashed in his vision. He continued to stumble when he saw Magnus tackle the large man, followed by another officer- they continued to grapple whilst Camille slipped to the floor, beginning to crawl away from the scene.
This is when a flash of red came flying in, pushing Camille back to the ground. An officer came behind her and snapped the cuffs onto Camille's wrists- she was screaming bloody murder as she was dragged down to lock up.
Jace sighed in relief as he felt his vision clear- Clary was talking at him worriedly, approaching him from a few yards away.
Then another giant came up behind her.
Clary caught her breath as she felt someone grab her waist; she let out a gasp and began to struggle as she was pulled backwards, dragging her feet along the floor. She flailed her arms and tried to tumble forward, but her captor held her chest tightly to him. Feeling the panic rise inside of her she tried to find Jace, but her eyes were swimming with tears as the chaos ensuing in the station obstructed her view She gasped again and realised she was being pulled toward the door- desperately trying to think up a plan of action, she remembered the lessons with Jace.
Going limp in his arms, she felt her kidnapper grunt in satisfaction. She took this opportunity to throw her entire weight behind her arm and drive her elbow into his nose. Not stopping as he bellowed in pain, she thrust her heel down onto his foot and fell forward in relief as he released her and screamed out in pain, blood pouring from his face. Clary backed away on the floor, and turned to get up- she felt his hand grab her again and let out a scream of panic when he was wrenched away from her; she turned to see Jace cuffing the enormous black haired man.
She sighed triumphantly and rose from the ground, adrenaline coursing through her veins.
Jace looked over to see if she was okay, catching her grin. He passed the trespasser onto an officer, and moved to approach the girl in front of him.
The girl who had just fought off a man three times her size.
Who had stopped a criminal escape; faced her fear.
Who he was in love with.
And then everything went black.