Last chapter =D Just enjoy,

Lilly

Chapter Twenty-Six: What the world doesn't need is you, Valentine Morgenstern

Jordan switched the light on and made way for Clary to enter. She tried to smile at him but the knot in her stomach wouldn't let her. She was too tired and too scared to keep up appearances. How could she ever smile when Jace was about to face Valentine and Jonathan? The dangling light bulb on the ceiling cast shadows on the floor and against the four walls. The room was small and empty of all furniture and without any windows, and the cracking pale blue-ish paint had started turning yellow. There was only one other door which she assumed was the bathroom.

"I know it's not very glamorous but at least it's safe," Jordan assured her, gently patting her back before he set the bags down.

"Safe," she quietly repeated. The words didn't mean anything to her anymore. She took a deep breath, repressing tears she had been holding back for days.

"Jace is going to be okay," Jordan said. "He's the best at what he does."

At the mention of Jace, Clary instinctively brought her fingers to her lips, where he had kissed her before Jules had ordered Jordan to take her away. She hadn't had time to tell him she loved him, to ask him to come home, to come back to her. She had just stared with teary eyes as she was pulled away. What if he didn't make it back?

"Clary!"

She shook her head and her eyes focused on Jordan who was unfolding an air mattress in one corner.

"Sorry," she apologized. "What did you say?"

"I just asked what you wanted to do, you know, to pass the time," Jordan smiled.

She felt her cheeks flushed, and smiled at the memory of Jace asking her the exact question a few times, although her usual answer wouldn't fit the situation.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "What do you propose?"

"For starters, you could move away from the door," Jordan suggested.

"I'm not sure I can move at all," Clary confessed, feeling as if two anchors had been tied to her feet and thrown right under her.

Jordan stood up and held Clary by the shoulders.

"Clary, listen to me very carefully, okay?"

She didn't answer and continued staring at the floor.

"Clary, look at me," Jordan asked. He lifted her chin and gazed up at him through thick lashes. "Jace will be just fine. He has Alec and the whole DPD to back him up. I want you to say it."

"I can't."

"Come on, I've been told that you're a lot stronger than you look."

"Jace," she began, her lips trembling. "Jace will be fine?"

"Now say it like you mean it."

Clary took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She realized that if so many people believed in him, she should too. Hell, she was his wife; she should be the first to believe in him. And without an ounce of hesitation she said: "Jace is going to be just fine."

xXx

"Clary! Wake up! Clary!"

She bolted upright, her eyes flickering open. The light was even worse than before and she squinted to see past the shadows. After a few seconds, the image of a stranger came into focus. She sprang back, standing flat against the wall. She looked hectically around for Jordan, but he was nowhere to be found. Instead, a man was crouched at her bedside, looking at her with an unreadable expression on his face. He was short and almost bald, with small narrowed eyes and thin lips. She was certain she had never seen him before.

"Who are you?" She cried. "Don't come any closer."

"My name is Archibald Aldertree. I work with your husband." He flashed her his badge.

"How can I know you're not lying?"

"There is no time!"

"Where's Jordan? I want to speak to him!" Clary said.

"Jace is in the hospital," Aldertree said.

Clary froze. "What? Is he okay? What happened?"

"I'll answer all your questions on the way to St Benjamin's, let's go!" He urged her.

Clary grabbed her shoes and followed the short man in the long corridors of the building. She wondered what time it was and how long she had dozed off after Jordan had let her win every card game they'd played, but the overwhelming feeling of relief she was experiencing, seemed to have drowned her brain in an sweet euphoria. Jace was alive. It was finally over. Nothing else mattered. Certainly not the time. Once they were out, Aldertree rushed her into the backseat of a black car and climbed on the passenger side.

"What "

"Hello Clary."

Clary's blood turned into ice in her veins as she watched Jonathan Morgenstern climbed on the seat next to her, slamming the car door shut behind him.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head in terror as she reached for the handle of the car which was already locked.

He grabbed her by the arms and pulled her closer to him. She tried to squirm away but he was too strong. He pressed his lips against her mouth and she bit him, which only made his smile widen.

"To the warehouse," he ordered the driver, his arm wrapped around Clary's shoulder as if they were a couple on their way to a nice restaurant as the engine roared to life and the driver pulled the car into New York City's traffic.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To say goodbye to your husband," Jonathan said with a weary smile. "For good."

xXx

Jace wasn't easily frightened and he didn't respond well to threats. His training made torturing information out of him futile, and although he was incredibly impulsive and impatient, he could sweet-talk his way out of every situation.

But when his eyes met Valentine's, he knew that he had no other choice but choose. If he called in the cavalry, Valentine would kill them both. If he tried to stop him, Valentine would kill them both. If he didn't choose, Valentine would kill them both.

And at that moment, Jace realized that he wasn't that special. He was like any other agent. Find his weakness and I'll make him dance.

"Tic tac Jace," Valentine pressed.

"I can't," Jace whispered so low that he wasn't sure Valentine could hear him at all.

"What was that?" He asked, a smiled growing even wider on his lips.

"I can't choose," Jace repeated.

"If you don't, I'll have to kill them both, obviously," he answered with a pout.

His eyes met Alec and his brother shook his head slightly. Jace would never forgive himself if he lost him. On the other hand, he knew he wouldn't forgive himself if he lost Clary. It was like being pulled on both sides.

"Take me instead," Jace pleaded. "I'll do-"

"I'm not interested in bargaining with you," Valentine interrupted, dismissing Jace's unfinished offer with a wave of the hand. "Now I'm going to give you a minute to decide. If you don't…"

Jace looked at Clary. She was standing straight, her eyes closed and her arms wrapped around herself. He frowned but when she opened her eyes, he could see that she was ready.

"Thirty seconds."

Ready to die for him. She wasn't shaking, or crying, or begging. She was strong.

"Twenty."

Their eyes met. Her lips parted and he could read as they slowly mouthed an I love you. He knew that look. She was going to do something stupid.

"Ten. Nine. Eight. Sev-"

"Jace," Alec warned him.

"Five. Four. Three."

"It's okay," Clary gently whispered.

"Two."

"Dad," Jonathan said, uncertain whether his dad was bluffing or not.

"One."

"Stop!" Jace shouted.

Valentine smiled. "I'm listening."

Jace took one last breath. "I choose "

"No!"

Out of nowhere, Reyna threw herself on Valentine, tackling him to the ground, dragging Alec, who could barely stand on his good leg, down with him. He lost his grip on one of the guns, and it slid at Clary's feet. She looked at it and picked it up. Jace blinked quickly but Jonathan was already running toward him. He dodged him and walked to Valentine. He was fighting off Reyna, a large cut bleeding all over his forehead, and Alec had kicked the other gun away from them. Jace pushed Reyna, and grabbed Valentine by his graying hair. His knee met Valentine's nose in a sickening crack that echoed through the warehouse, with his screams. Clary hurried next to Reyna and helped her up, dragging her outside of the warehouse before rushing back inside. Valentine was on Jace pushing a knife toward his chest. There was a cut on Jace's cheek. She looked around bewildered. Alec was on the floor, probably unconscious from the blood lost. Her eyes met Jonathan's and as he got back on his feet she saw him smile. She quickly turned back to Jace and Valentine, lifting the gun up and toward them. Her hand was shaking and she steadied it with the other aiming as best as she could as her husband's attacker. Slowly she pulled the security off and took a few deep breaths. She was about to pull the trigger when she was tackled to the ground.

"Clary! No!" Jace screamed.

He was silenced by a shot. Valentine's head snapped up and Jace took the opportunity to reverse the knife and plunged it into his chest. Valentine cried out and fell on his back. Jace jumped on his feet and for a few seconds he was frozen with fear. It had a grip on his heart and wouldn't let go.

Jonathan was lying on top of her, motionless. Clary, too, wasn't moving and a pool of blood was starting to form on the ground next to them, making it impossible to see whom it belonged to.

"Clary," he whispered, and finding strength, he walked up to them and pushed Jonathan off of her. He quickly looked at Jonathan's body and sighed in relief when he saw the whole in his stomach. Jace then kneeled next to Clary's body. She was lying still, her hands firmly clenched around the gun, her clothes covered in Jonathan's blood. Jace took her pulse and closed his eyes for a brief moment. He cleaned up the blood on her face, and settled her head on his knees.

"Sweetie, wake up," Jace gently asked. "Come on."

Her chest was rising and falling unevenly and Clary gasped as if life had been blown back into her body, fidgeting her hands in the air as she fought an invisible assailant.

"No! Don't hurt me!" she cried.

"Clary, honey, it's me," Jace said, catching her hands. "It's okay. Look, it's me."

She looked up. "Jace," she softly whispered, freeing one of her hands so she could touch his face.

"It's over n " he said.

"I love you," she blurted out and he smiled his crooked smile her favorite.

"I love you too," he said and kissed her forehead. Her fingertips rested on the fresh cut on his cheek. "Don't worry, it'll go away."

She nodded. He helped her up and she looked at Jonathan, lying dead on the floor with his black eyes open, watching her. She buried her face in Jace's shoulder.

"He can't hurt you anymore," Jace said.

"I killed him," she murmured.

"I'm sorry you had to do that but believe me it's for the best."

"I know," Clary said.

"Can you stand?" Jace asked. "I need to see if Alec's ok "

Before he could finish, Valentine, finding the little amount of strength he had left, stood up and charged toward chest.

"JONATHAN!" he shouted, his face red with blood and rage.

Jace gently pushed Clary aside, and when Valentine entered his range, threw him a roundhouse kick right into the knife he had already planted into his chest. Valentine staggered back, both hands around the knife and collapsed on his knees.

"Clary, go check on Alec!" Jace ordered.

"O Okay," Clary stuttered.

Jace bent down to Valentine's eye level and whispered in his ear: "You lose." He twisted to knife and took a step sideways letting Valentine fall on the ground. Jace took a deep breath. That was it. Valentine was dead.

"Alec needs to go a hospital!" Clary shouted. "He lost a lot of blood."

Jace rushed up to them. Alec was breathing heavily and could barely keep his blue eyes open.

"We did it," Jace said with a smile and Alec smiled back at him. "Valentine and Jonathan Morgenstern are dead. It's over."

Hey!

I hope you liked it! I just wanted to say thank you to you all for your reviews and all the followers of Catching Fire, who stuck with me and this story to the end!

Don't worry there is still the Epilogue which I'll post before the end of the week.

For the last time: read, review, and fav!

Xo Lilly