Thanks for all the reviews and favorites! The characters aren't mine
If Magnus was being entirely honest with himself, he didn't have to check out at the store. He could've ditched his cart and chased after Lex and Max. He could've cuffed Lex in the store, in front of a crowd so he couldn't escape. He could've pretended he hadn't seen the two, so he wouldn't have to make excuses as to why he didn't bring Lex in.
But damn. The way Lex had looked at his little brother had made him hesitate, and the way Lex had looked at him made him stop altogether.
He was letting his feelings get in the way.
"Ragnor, why do you think he's running a drug cartel? I mean, what kind of situation would he have to be in to turn to this?"
Ragnor looked up with a raised eyebrow. "Allegedly running a drug cartel. We have no real proof."
Magnus wasn't so sure about that. The way Max had said it, so sure of himself-We import it from Colombia-said otherwise. They were definitely running a cartel. This was much more than a teenage troublemaker dealing cocaine on the streets for some extra cash. He was in deeper than that.
So why didn't Magnus take him in for questioning? Why? There was no reason, besides Magnus' incompetence.
"I've got to go home," Magnus said. He was sick of staring at pictures that looked exactly like Lex. He was sick of Ragnor asking questions (Where does he get enough drugs to deal to all of New York? He's been in so many deals, Mags! He has to be working for someone!) that he knew the answer to.
"Make sure you stop by the hospital later," Ragnor said, taking a deep chug of his coffee. "Cat wants to talk to you."
Magnus nodded and walked out of their office. He clocked out at the station and drove to the hospital. It was closer than his home, so he figured he'd stop their first.
He walked into the hospital, making sure to leave his gun in the car, and talked to the receptionist. Caterina was in the hallway to his left, giving a patient chemotherapy. Magnus found a free chair next to a young lady, waiting outside the room the receptionist said Caterina was in.
"Hello," Magnus said, taking in the tired teen next to him. She was stunning, with thick black hair and delicate features, with big brown eyes that belonged on a doll. But there was a fierceness to her when she looked at him, a sort of stubborn look that reminded him of Lex.
"Hey," she answered. "You here for someone?"
"The nurse," he answered. "I'm taking to her on her break. You?"
The young lady glanced at the door to the room. "My little brother."
Magnus nodded. "I'm sorry to hear that."
The lady shrugged. "It's okay. It used to be a lot worse, back before he was even getting treatment. Now everything is looking up." She smiled a little and held out her hand. "I'm Izzy."
He shook her hand. "Magnus."
She smiled. "Nice to meet you. You're a cop?" She looked at his uniform with a little bit on uncertainty.
He got that from time to time. With recent unjust shootings that proved a number of cops to be anything but lawful, Magnus got a lot of skeptical, if not disgusted, looks.
"Yeah."
Izzy's eyes zeroed in on his name tag. It read BANE. "Ah. Cool. Must be a tough job." She chose her words carefully.
"It is. Dangerous, too, but I love it." Magnus thought of the gun pressed to his head. Maybe he didn't quite love it all the time.
"Isabelle?"
Magnus looked up to see a hospital intern, with firetruck red hair and a dusting of freckles on her cheeks and nose. She smiled at Izzy like they shared a secret. "I need you to come fill in some papers."
Izzy smiled right back. "Okay." She got up and smiled at Magnus. "Nice talking to you, Bane."
"You too."
Magnus sat there for less than a minute when the door opened. He turned, expecting Caterina and some random patient.
He wasn't expecting Max.
"You're sister is filling out some papers," Caterina was telling the kid, "so you can grab a chair and wait till she gets back. You did great today, Max. Don't forget to grab a lollipop from Amanda at the front desk."
"Oh, I won't," Max answered with a toothy grin.
Caterina caught sight of a shocked Magnus. "Hey, Mags. Gimme a second, I need to clean up the room. You can keep Max company for a minute, right?"
Magnus nodded and Caterina went back into her room.
"Hi, Bane," Max said, grin not faltering.
"Uh, you can just call me Magnus," Magnus said uncertainly.
Max nodded. "Okay. So why are you here? Do you have a disease too?"
Magnus was stunned into silence.
"It's okay if you're embarrassed," Max said, patting Magnus' knee. "I used to be, too. But Jace told me I was overcoming a challenge, like Batman! So now I feel better."
"I'm not sick, but Jace is right." Magnus didn't know who Jace was, but he seemed nice. "You are brave."
Max smiled that contagious grin again. "Thanks! And you are, too. You're a cop, right? That's brave, I think."
How odd, coming from a kid who just this morning was talking about shipping cocaine from Colombia.
"Thanks," Magnus said. "But shouldn't you dislike cops?"
Max shook his head. "Nope. You guys are pretty tough, going against my family. I wouldn't stand up to them like you do! I'd totally loose."
He talked about it like it was a Pokémon battle.
"Well, I have to. You're brother is breaking the law."
Max nodded and laughed. "Yeah. He's pretty brave, too."
Magnus had never thought of that.
"Maxxie!"
Magnus and Max looked up and saw Izzy walk up to them. Max jumped up and wrapped her in a hug.
How many people had she harmed? How many deals had she completed? Was Izzy a criminal just like her brother?
"Look at you, tough guy!" Izzy rubbed the top of Max's head, probably a habit from when he used to have hair to ruffle. "Ready to go to Friendly's for dinner?"
"We can't! We bought tortellini for dinner!"
"Goofball, we can eat tortellini tomorrow. Tonight, we're spoiling you rotten. Dinner and ice cream!" Izzy laughed when Max jumped excitedly and clapped his hands.
Max grabbed his sister's hand and waved as they started to leave. "Bye, Magnus!"
"Bye, kiddo," Magnus said, mustering up a smile.
The second they were out of sight, Magnus walked into Caterina's room and caught her cleaning up the hospital paper on the chair.
"Who were they?" Magnus asked.
Caterina glanced up with a smile. "Oh, that's Izzy and Max. They live with their older brothers."
"What's their last name?"
Caterina gave him a skeptical look. "I'm not allowed to give out personal information."
"Cat, trust me. This connects to the Light case. As long as I have the evidence, the courts don't care how I got it."
Cat narrowed her eyes. "Fine, but only because I trust you. You can't go around telling anyone. Only Ragnor."
Magnus nodded.
"I know that Isabelle and Max's last name is Wayland. It's not a family name; they don't know their biological parents. That's all I can tell you, Magnus."
"Thanks, Cat. Seriously, you're the best."
In the comfort of his home, a glass of scotch in his hand, Magnus searched the system for the name Wayland. But it didn't come up.
There was no information. Whatever sort of papers they had supplied the hospital, proof of their last name, it was forged. Fake. They really knew how to cover their tracks.