8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8
Maia was shaky, but she was coherent. To cover all his bases, Alec insisted she take a breathalyzer test; nothing registered. It would damage the case if there was any question about her sobriety, regardless of her character, she was a bartender and some dipshit would bring it up. Jace was taking her statement, and the rest of them were huddled around the bar listening to her phone recording.
Lydia's face was about as serious as he'd ever seen it when she turned to Magnus, "is there anything you can tell us that will help us figure out what Camille is doing?"
Magnus shook his head. Alec had seen his face when he heard Camille essentially order his murder, and he didn't like how pale Magnus was. The recording linked Camille to Asmodeus definitively, so she was going to be facing some serious trouble. Alec didn't really give a shit about her, he was concerned with how to keep Magnus from suffering.
"I don't know that I'll be any help, but ask me whatever you want." Magnus offered with no hesitation.
Alec shook his head, "We need to bring Camille in. Finding her should be our first priority, we can question Magnus after she's brought in." He watched Lydia cross her arms and consider what he said.
"Okay you're right. We need to put Magnus somewhere safe, Camille is clearly looking for him." Alec nodded and pulled Magnus over to Jace and Clary.
"Jace, Magnus is going to stay with Izzy. Can you…"
Magnus jerked his arm out of Alec's hold and put his hands on his hips. With a fierce glower, he interrupted him, "Alexander, I'm not just going to…"
But Alec wasn't having it, and spoke over his boyfriend. "Magnus. Izzy will put a bullet in Camille if she so much steps foot on her property and you know it. She's your best friend. You're hanging out with her for the night, and we're doing boring cop stuff. Or did you want to hang out in the NYPD break room until this is over?" Alec raised his brow, but moved closer to Magnus to put his hands on his shoulders. Magnus glare dimmed somewhat.
"You promise you're not doing anything dangerous." Magnus leaned forward into Alec's space for a hug, "I don't think I could bear it if anything happened to you because of me."
Alec leaned down and kissed Magnus' forehead. "Hey, first off it wouldn't be because of you, it would be because of Camille. You're not responsible for her choices. Second, I'm always careful."
Jace clapped Alec on the back, "I'll get him to Iz, you go take care of his psycho ex."
With one last brief kiss, Alec reluctantly pushed away from Magnus and headed back towards Lydia.
8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8Magnus wasn't anywhere Hodge could find, which made him nervous as hell. He hadn't shown up at the club last night, and he wasn't home this morning. He'd called the club and hadn't got an answer, so he'd called Camille. When people veered so far out of their normal behaviors, something was up.
So he'd gone to the club to sit and wait, when the cavalry had literally arrived. Camille had left an hour or so before, and now the place had cops from all over the alphabet. What made Hodge want to turn his truck around and get out of dodge, was Magnus being led into the club by a very protective FBI agent.
It was a small detail, the way he angled his body around Magnus, but it was the little details that would jump up and bite you on the ass when you least expected it, if you didn't pay attention and take care of them. His instinct was battering against him to pay attention.
He called Camille again. She didn't answer. That was incredibly worrisome. On a long shot he called her house. She picked up on the second ring.
"Magnus isn't home." Hodge said.
"Hodge! Thank god!" Camille sounded, not hysterical, but on the verge of something.
"Listen, we're in trouble. We've got to get our stories straight, back each other up. Then we'll need to lie low for awhile."
"Trouble? What?" Hodge kept his voice mild, while he started shifting through his options.
"Maia, the bartender in the club, overheard our phone call this morning. It's only a matter of time before she goes to the cops."
Jesus, Hodge pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes. If Camille had just paid attention to her surroundings, instead of letting her arrogance let her believe she was invincible…
"How do you know?" His question was unnecessary, he knew damn well how she knew.
"She told Meliorn, and he was in my bed when I got home. The little dipshit waited until I got here to tell me, like it was some joke. I wouldn't have had enough time to get back to the club before the police."
"Well it's a good thing Magnus was hiding out, it would have been incredibly inconvenient if I had taken care of him this morning." Hodge said calmly.
"We can still fix this. We just need to get Magnus off the table." Camille said maniacally.
She couldn't actually be this stupid. Although, she hadn't watched Magnus walk into his club under the protective umbrella of a handful of law enforcement officers. He was most definitely giving a statement, and there was no telling what he actually knew.
This wasn't good. With her behavior like it was, Hodge had zero confidence that Camille was going to hold strong. If she got rattled, she'd fold like a cheap table.
Well that was out of the question.
"How good a cop is Alec?"
"Damn good. He has one of the highest close rates at the FBI. Why? What does Alec have to do with anything?" She asked.
"Tell you what," Hodge said. "Just sit tight, pretend nothing is going on, and you'll be just fine." Yeah right. "Nothing has happened, we haven't actually attempted to kill Magnus, so no crime. Alec might question you, but so what? Just say you were joking around."
"Good idea." She said, and Hodge wanted to groan.
"Don't speak to anyone. Let it blow over. We'll handle this shipment of kids, and Asmodeus will be happy as a clam and this will all go away." Hodge disconnected the call and watched as a blonde haired police officer walked Magnus out to a car.
What he had here was a major fuck up. If Alec was half the agent Camille said he was, he had Camille, Hodge and probably Valentine Id'd as accomplices. Magnus could have very well remembered and already told him what he'd seen.
There were times when the only move you could make was to cut your losses and do damage control. At most if they got him it'd be for conspiracy to commit, potentially obstruction, there wasn't enough evidence for anything else.
Calmly the way Hodge did everything. He stepped out of his vehicle and walked toward the entrance to the club. An on duty police officer stopped him.
"The club's not open for hours yet sir."
"I'd like to speak to Alec Lightwood. I have information on Camille Belcourt."
"The agent is busy." the officer said stubbornly.
"I think he'll make an exception, I'm Hodge Starkweather, and he's probably looking for me." The officer's eyes went wide and Hodge turned towards the door.
8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8Magnus opened his eyes and groaned. His head was on fire, and he could barely feel his hands as they were tied behind him very tightly. Meliorn had thrown him in the back seat of an SUV and Magnus could barely see anything in front of him. Cursing his own trusting nature, he wiggled around until he could find a somewhat comfortable position. Alec was going to lose his shit over this, and a part of Magnus, the vindictive part, was looking forward to the explosion.
He and Izzy had very dutifully sat at home, but when Meliorn had called him upset over the whole Camille thing and offered to bring them dinner, Magnus had easily accepted. Izzy had been a little concerned, but it was Meliorn . They had no reason to suspect he was working with Camille. They should have cleared it with Alec, but Magnus knew he'd say no, and comforting his employee overrode his sense of self preservation.
Now tied up in the back of Camille's SUV, Magnus had to wonder at his ability to read people. He had never suspected that Meliorn was sleeping with Camille, much less that she had enough of a hold on him to get him to kidnap someone.
"Hey you're awake." Meliorn said from the front drivers seat.
"No shit Sherlock." Magnus said nastily, he couldn't see Meliorn's face, but he hoped the kid knew exactly how pissed he was right now.
"Don't worry boss, she's not going to hurt you. Just with everything that Maia told the cops and stuff, she's worried about your dad." Meliorn turned off on a side street which jostled Magnus and he fell forward slightly. The SUV came to a slow stop. "Seriously, I wouldn't have done this if I thought she'd hurt you. She just wants a guarantee from your dad that nothing will happen to her, you know."
Magnus rolled his eyes. Camille couldn't possibly be that stupid. His father would agree to his safety, but turn around five minutes later and put a bullet in her. She had to have a better plan than just, "I'll give you your kid if you back off." Otherwise she was screwed, and Magnus was in a far more precarious position than he wanted to be at the moment. Meliorn didn't get out of the car, so Magnus figured he was waiting on Camille to join them and sure enough a short time later she opened the door.
She looked over the back seat and giggled, and Magnus realized at that moment that she had completely lost it. She had gone off the rails. Barely any sanity remained. Someone that was about to face down his father didn't giggle unless they had nothing to lose and nothing to fear.
"You could have at least sat him upright Mel."
Magnus watched Meliorn's shoulders raise in a shrug. "Didn't have that much time, the sister could have woken up any minute."
Camille patted his shoulder, "No matter, we have what we need. Asmodeus is waiting for us at the warehouse. Let's go."
"My cut. I want it before we talk to the boss." Magnus could hear the boys nerves, and tensed because he shouldn't have done that. With as unstable as Camille was, Meliorn had just poked a rattlesnake.
Camille sighed. "Of course, that's sensible." Magnus watched her lean down and figured she was grabbing a bag of some sort, but when she raised up she clearly had some weapon in her hand because a loud bang echoed in the vehicle. Meliorn screamed, but Camille wasted no time and reached over Meliorn's stiff body to open the door and push him out.
Magnus was suddenly scared, more scared than he could ever remember being in his life. He hoped Meliorn was okay, looking out the window he saw him moving around and breathed a sigh of relief. He could call for help. Magnus thanked god, Camille, unlike his father, was sloppy. Growing up with his father, he'd known just beyond a door in their home someone could be begging for their lives, but his father had kept him well away from any real danger. With that kind of trauma in his childhood, it had made it incredibly difficult for him to reach out to people. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to be wrapped in Alec's arms. If this night had done nothing else, it had driven home just how safe he felt in Alec's presence. He craved that feeling after living the life he'd had, and he'd never met anyone who'd made him feel a tenth of what Alec made him feel.
"Don't worry darling, he's not dead. There's a nice NYPD car not too far from here, they'll find him and fix him right up." Camille slid easily into the driver's seat and put her foot on the gas, Magnus couldn't keep the image of Cruella DeVille out of his head.
8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8Rage wasn't something that Alec was all that comfortable with. He didn't experience it enough or on a regular basis to be able to sort through the grip it had on his mind. Controlling himself had always been something he took a great deal of pride in. Jace was currently holding him back, but it was a struggle. Alec wanted desperately to barge into the warehouse and shoot everyone putting Magnus in danger. Hodge had given them the location of the buy for the kids, and then Izzy had called and told him what happened to Magnus. He'd very nearly crushed his phone in his hand. Lydia had convinced him to come to the warehouse rather than chase down Camille.
"Alec, man, take a deep breath." Jace was whispering in his ear. "You go charging in there and a stray bullet could kill him. We need to be cool about this."
Alec knew Jace was right. He knew that. But it didn't stop the overwhelming need in him to throw himself into the middle of everything to protect Magnus. He'd maybe come to the realization later than he should have, but he loved Magnus. Had loved him for a long time. Not in the way he loved him now, but he considered Magnus family. If Izzy had shown up on his doorstep and told him Magnus was in trouble, Alec wouldn't have hesitated before. Now that he imagined a future with Magnus, day dreamed about him, and wanted to spend the rest of his life with him, that feeling had intensified ten fold.
He took the breaths that Jace commanded him to and felt his heart rate settle back down. "I'm going to kill all of them." He said furiously checking his weapon and mentally going over everything Hodge had told them.
Jace nodded. "We'll take care of it and him. Settle down."
Alec nodded jerkily. "Yeah okay."
Lydia dropped down beside him. "They have enough audio to put them all away for years. The surveillance team said we could go in whenever we're ready. The kids are safe enough for now in one of the large shipping containers in the warehouse. The only risk right now is Magnus."
Jace groaned. "Not a good choice of words Lydia."
Her eyes went wide. "No, no, Alec wait." Jace had already grabbed his arm.
"What." He bit out. His anger rising to the surface again.
"WE risk him if we go in now. They think if it plays out, and Camille hands Magnus over, he'll be fine. Asmodeus is far less likely to put Magnus at risk. Camille will kill him if backed into a corner. So we let her hand him over and then we go in."
Alec's eyes went flinty, "So we use him as bait for Asmodeus."
Lydia's anger rose up, "No you ass. We mitigate the danger to him by putting him in his father's hands and then use his father's love of him to keep him safe. It's a reasonable strategy."
Alec frowned but nodded. "Fine. We try it your way. I will act if it looks like he's in danger." Alec knew his words sounded like a threat, but at this point he didn't much care. Hodge had given them the edge they needed, but he'd jeopardize the entire operation if it meant Magnus might be hurt. Damn them all.
8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8Alec had his weapon drawn and his hands were steady, shoulder to shoulder with Jace, they burst into the building. The NYPD and FBI were yelling at everyone to lower their weapons and surrender.
Magnus was standing with his father.
Everyone in the room was armed.
Alec's weapon was trained on Asmodeus, but he glanced at Camille and saw the crazed look in her eyes so he shifted his focus. She snapped. Bloodshot eyes and fear overwhelmed her to such a degree that Alec couldn't predict what she was going to do. Lydia had been right. Loosening his stance he observed her, watching the gun she held at her side carefully. Reports had come through that she'd shot Meliorn, so Alec knew she wasn't afraid of the weapon in her hands. Asmodeus was raising his hands, and commanding his men to back down. Alec could see the minute Camille's body tensed.
In barely a blink she raised her weapon, and Alec fired. All hell broke lose.
Going back over the events in his head, he couldn't really say he had any thought at all when it happened. He just pulled the trigger. Concern for Magnus obviously drove him, but he couldn't really say she was pointing her gun at Magnus, Asmodeus, or the cops surrounding her. All he knew was that she had a gun in her hand, her finger was on the trigger, and the look in her eyes was erratic. The FBI didn't give him too hard a time, enough witnesses had corroborated his actions that he wasn't grilled to within an inch of his life. For the FBI, they'd gone easy on him.
In the end, arresting Asmodeus was a little anticlimactic. Lydia had the cuffs on him with barely any argument. Magnus had fallen into Alec's embrace, trembling with relief and shock. Alec could barely control his own body's reaction to the events. Jace had been instrumental in both organizing and taking care of the scene. He'd ushered Magnus and Alec outside to the onsite medics, telling the both of them not to disappear.
8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8It was almost four o'clock in the morning when Alec pushed open his front door with a groan. It had been a hell of a day already. Hodge was at the office spilling his guts while the analysts at the FBI and the NYPD took copious notes. Alec had been part of several raids on warehouses containing stolen children, indentured slaves, and missing persons from more than a few countries. Hodge's intel checked out, but Luke had finally told him to take a few days. He was filthy, tired, and sore in places he hadn't been since rookie training.
Asmodeus was well and truly captured, Camille was dead, and Magnus was currently curled up in his bed like he belonged there. Izzy had told him that Magnus had struggled with his feelings for what happened to Camille, they'd spent most of the past few days coming to grips with everything that had happened. In a somewhat awkward turn of events, Camille had Magnus listed as her benefactor, and so all of the money she'd siphoned from the club was now under Magnus' control. Magnus had been so emotionally drained that he'd taken to passing out at Alec's, too exhausted to go home in the evenings. Alec smiled gently at the lump in his bed. They'd talked a little over the past few days, but they'd barely had a chance to just be together. Alec really wanted to crawl into his bed, but he needed to wash the sweat and god knows what off of himself before he did. Magnus stirred when he opened the bathroom door.
"Alec" came his sleepy query.
"I'm washing off, go back to sleep." Magnus of course did the exact opposite and slid out of the bed, pulling on the silk robe he'd thrown at the foot of the bed. Alec wanted to grab him and bury his face right there in the exposed crook of his shoulder, but he'd probably smack him for getting him dirty. Dear god he looked good, he couldn't help but think, with his sleep mussed hair and sleepy brown eyes. His skin looked soft, and the robe did nothing to hide the fact that all he wore to bed was a pair of teal boyshorts.
"Magnus, go back to bed, everything is wrapped up."
"I know darling, everyone called me. Everyone but you."
Alec cringed, but Magnus waved his hand in the air. "It's quite alright, I knew you were busy. Go take your shower and I'll make you some breakfast." Alec could have died and gone to heaven. He was already pulling off his clothes in anticipation of whatever Magnus was going to feed him. But a sudden sharp need overtook him and he turned before he jerked his pants down. Looking over his bare shoulder he raised his voice. "Magnus."
He paused at the bedroom door and turned, "Yes."
"I know things have been crazy, and this is really fast, and a bunch of other crap that I don't really care about right now, but…." Alec trailed off and turned fully around to face Magnus, putting his hands on his hips.
Magnus raised his brow but smiled softly, "What is it?"
"I love you. And I just…." Alec watched Magnus' face light up as he walked back toward the bathroom interrupting Alec.
"You wretched, wretched man." Magnus said, a shininess in his eyes when he shoved Alec's shoulders. Alec frowned. "No, no, no. You couldn't have told me after your shower." Magnus paused, then heaved his own sigh. "Ridiculous creature." Then despite the grime Alec knew was all over him, Magnus threw his arms around Alec's shoulders and squeezed him for all he was worth. Alec laughed, happy and corny, right in his ear. "I'm serious Alexander."
"I have no doubt you think I'm ridiculous. But. I had to say it. I've been trying so hard not to say it, but after everything, I just needed you to know." Alec doesn't really care about all the reasons he'd been holding back, he just lets it all go and basks in the feeling of having something to hold on to. The last couple of weeks had been nice, really nice. So nice in fact that Alec didn't want to lose it over something as stupid as his own insecurity.
Magnus wiped his eyes and pulled back leaving his hands on Alec's bare shoulders. "I love you too darling." Magnus said softly. Alec smiled and they both giggled a little.
"Shower?" Alec asks.
Magnus narrows his eyes. "You are banned from showertime activities. It's a rule."
Alec gaped. "Forever! I'm banned forever?!"
"Yes you absolute cretin. Forever. Good boyfriends don't throw their significant others into cold showers." Magnus crossed his arms over his chest, rustling the pretty robe he had on.
"Seriously?" Magnus nodded his head very firmly, seriously, and Alec pulled back a little from him. Alec wasn't about to let that stand.
"How do good boyfriends fix their terrible awful mistakes so that their wonderful boyfriend will get in the shower with them?" Alec smiled using what Izzy referred to as his puppy eyes.
Magnus turned his back, then glanced over his shoulder with his brow raised, "My darling, prepare to grovel." With every ounce of wickedness in his body, Magnus set Alec on fire. Five words. That was all it took, and Alec could barely breathe. It dawned on him, if he played his cards right, he could have this for the rest of his life.
8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8Epilogue:
"You guys have been together for over six months. Cut it out, the puppy love stage is well and truly passed." Isabelle said as she moved champagne glasses around on the table. Clary and Jace had said I do about 2 hours ago, so the reception was well under way. The wedding had been magical, thank god the best man speech was over, the dancing was alright, and now Alec really wanted to do what he'd come here to do tonight.
"Do hush Izzy, Alec and I haven't had a chance to see each other for hours. Best man duties kept him far too busy for my tastes." Magnus said as he fixed Alec's suit. He wasn't wrong. Alec hadn't seen Magnus alone in over 3 hours, they were surrounded on all sides by people. It was difficult, and to think he was preparing to….Alec shook his head.
"Gross." Izzy said as she slipped a cucumber sandwich in her mouth.
"You love it." Magnus said as he wrapped his arms around Alec's middle. Alec, finally fed up with it all, tugged Magnus out of the reception hall and down the back steps of the castle Jace and Clary had gotten married in. Jace's grandmother was loaded, and they used every one of her pennies wisely.
The wedding coordinator had assured him everything would be prepared, so Alec confidently led Magnus through the maze-like garden.
"Alexander, where are you taking me?" Magnus asked curiously.
"It's a surprise." Alec noted how the moonlight highlighted the silver liner on Magnus' eyes. He wore a beautiful black jacket with a solid black waistcoat and tight black pants. He'd gone for the all black look, but played with the textures. Silk here, velvet there, the rough texture of his tie, it was incredible. The only color he wore was on his face and in his hair, silver to match Clary's colors. Alec had felt his breath leave him when he'd first caught a glimpse of Magnus on the steps of the castle.
"Well darling, I do hope you know where we are, because there is absolutely no way I could get us back to the party." Magnus gripped his hand a little tighter.
"I know exactly where we are." Alec pulled Magnus up beside him and pointed to a wooden door in a hedge. He watched Magnus' eyes go wide.
"Are you seriously taking me to some sort of secret garden?"
Alec smiled, "Yup. The owners of the venue said it was off limits for the party, but I asked if I could show you. I knew you'd love it." Secret rooms and doors were one of Magnus' weaknesses. He loved them.
Eagerly he pushed open the door and Alec followed him through. The little cordoned off garden was lit up by several lamps hanging around the area, and fairy lights were sprinkled through the hedges. A fountain sat at the center, water flowing and making the night feel magical. It was small, a private garden not meant to fit more than ten people, but it was perfect. Alec let Magnus walk a little ways ahead and then took a deep fortifying breath.
Magnus stopped and Alec watched him tense up as he turned around to face Alec. "Alexander?" There was a little uncertainty in his tone.
Alec dropped to his knee, and watched Magnus raise a hand to his mouth. The moon illuminating the water in the fountain, the lanterns casting a warm glow on Magnus' beautiful face, and Alec had never felt so steady. He dipped a hand into his pocket and looked forward to the rest of his life.