Hello there! I know I'm a few hours late, but life got in the way and I couldn't update earlier. Anyway, I really hope you like this chapter. I know you're waiting for Magnus and Alec to meet again, but you'll have to be a bit patient. This is the longest fic I've ever written, so don't expect everything to happen in just a few chapters, we'll get there sooner rather than later, and I can promise it will be worth it.

Anyway, see you soon with a new chapter! Don't forget to share your thoughts or fave the story! I need to know if you're enjoying the fic ;)

Chapter 3

Alec was in the FBI conference room in yet another meeting about the bank robbery. It had been three days since allegedly Magnus Bane—renowned thief and forger—had walked out of the bank vault with three million dollars in cash and five deaths in his conscience, and they still didn't have any traces that could help them find the criminal or, in Alec's opinion, even connect him to the case.

Yes, they had found glitter all over the bank and that had pointed Bane as the prime suspect, but for Alec it wasn't enough. The theory that the Bureau had about the heist being some kind of audition for the criminal to join Valentine's circle had sounded convincing for about five minutes, but the more Alec listened to the series of inconsistencies and conjectures that his father and boss were doing, the more he convinced himself that they were wrong about this.

They were currently discussing for the umpteenth time how they thought Magnus had done the deed. The large plasma at the far end of the room was displaying a 3D model of the bank vault, highlighting all the security sensors and the potential system failures. They had analyzed all the information that they had managed to gather over and over again, but so far no one had been able to say with certainty how the crime had allegedly occurred. Everyone gave different versions of what they thought had really happened, and they all sounded as unbelievable as any other fictional story out there. It was clear that nobody had bothered to really try to understand what had happened that day.

"Alec." Hodge said.

Alec had noticed that his boss had lost his last ounce of patience after the last theory. Some agent from the Washington D.C. office had suggested that maybe Magnus had arrived to the bank using a helicopter and accessed through the roof—as if a helicopter arriving to a bank long before business hours didn't raise any suspicion.

"You asked me for a couple of days to try to analyze the case and give us your take on the matter," his boss continued, "I think it's time that you and your team share with us what you were able to conclude."

Alec took a deep breath. He had, indeed, asked for a couple of days to put together what he thought had happened. He couldn't exactly share the conclusion that he had about the case because he was sure they wouldn't believe him, at least not until he had enough evidence to back up his words, so he just went with the general information that he and his team had managed to collect these past days.

"Well, first, I think it's important for this investigation to take into account that all banks in Lower Manhattan have similar layouts and use the same security system." Alec said. "This bank in particular hasn't improved its security protocols in ten years."

Alec and his team had been investigating the security systems of all banks in Manhattan since the robbery, so when they found that detail, it took them less than five minutes to figure out why this criminal had chosen that bank to commit the crime.

"So if this criminal did his homework, as I'm sure he did," Alec continued, "he discovered that small flaw and that's why he decided to attack this bank. A quick test to the security system was more than enough for him to know its weaknesses and figure out how to break in."

All the agents gathered there turned around to look at each other with confusion. As Alec had already anticipated, it was clear that it hadn't crossed any of their minds that in order to solve this case they had to start investigating other banks as well.

"We think he entered using the basement access." Jace said, taking over the explanation and handing the rest of the agents copies of their investigation. "As you can see in the reconstruction we did yesterday, the lowest access to the building is not highly protected at that early hour, so it was relatively easy for him to bypass the metal detectors at the entrances. According to the first police report the robbery happened somewhere between 5:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., so not even the trash collection service had arrived."

"Then, disguised as someone from the maintenance staff," Izzy added, showing some visuals of the tampered footage that they had obtained from the bank, "he accessed to the security room and after killing the guard, he tampered the tape, erasing any trail of his presence there."

"After that, the robbery took him less than ten minutes." Alec concluded. "There was no personnel but the security guards to worry about, so he killed the second guard outside the elevator." He pointed to the marker on the blueprints displayed on the table. "Another before the access to authorized personnel, and the last two in the vault. According to our investigation, the pass codes to the vault and other areas of the bank were changed weekly before the attack, so he probably got it a couple of days before breaking in. We've been checking the security footage of the previous ten days to see if we can get any visual of him, but so far we haven't found anything to indicate that he was there before the day of the robbery."

"Or even that day." Alec thought to himself, but refrained himself from sharing his thoughts.

"Very good job, Alec." Hodge congratulated him. "You and your team seem to have come to a very good conclusion."

"So assuming Agent Lightwood is right." Alec's father said, standing up from his chair and pacing around the room, fidgeting with his hands as if he were thinking. Alec hated when he did that, there was no need to overact the scene, but he did it anyway. "How does this break fit into Bane's MO?"

"It doesn't." Alec couldn't help saying. "The robbery at the museum earlier this month is proof of that. Bane is cynical and smart, he studies his marks in such detail that he even has the audacity to get in and out using the front door. This case with the killings, the amount of money he took, and the lack of other elements that he usually leaves every time he strikes, doesn't fit into his profile."

"That's why we are inclined to believe that he's now working with Valentine, right?" Hodge added.

Alec, very reluctantly, nodded. He didn't believe that was true, but at the same time he didn't have much choice. That was the main theory of the Bureau and if his boss said it was true, then he had to support him. At least, until he could prove him wrong.

"Tell us more about the museum." Robert said. "What did he take exactly?"

"A painting worth around 60 million dollars in the black market." Alec said. "Izzy, could you please put the painting on the screen for me?"

Izzy nodded and put the Lucifer painting on the screen.

"This is Lucifer, one of Pollock's most famous paintings. We've been monitoring the black market since the robbery occurred, but our CIs haven't been able to find the painting yet. If it was sold in recent days, it was through some private buyer, if not, well, we'll find it sooner or later."

"What if he didn't sell it but gave it to Valentine as some kind of gift?" Robert suggested.

"That could be a good theory." Hodge agreed.

Alec frowned. His father and boss were reaching way too far. This was starting to look more like a witch hunt than a federal investigation. "Unless you guys know something I don't know, I don't think Magnus would ever give anyone a painting—or any of his scores for that matter."

"How do you know that?"

"We've tracked down all his scores and believe me, all the paintings, sculptures, and even the bonds, have ended up in the black market. I already told you, he's smart."

"All but this one." Robert said.

"Yet." Alec added.

"You really think it's going to emerge at some point?" Hodge asked.

"Yes." Alec said sure of himself. "They always do."

"Well, until then we are going to assume that he gave it to Valentine." Robert said.

Alec rolled his eyes but said no more. It was useless to argue with his father. It was clear what his position on this matter was. He and the Bureau were desperate to find Valentine and in their desperation they had the firm belief that Magnus Bane was going to take them to him.

"Has Bane robbed a bank before?" One of his father's agents asked.

"Not that I'm aware of." Alec admitted. "He's specialized in the theft and forgery of art pieces, sometimes bonds, and he was behind the robbery at the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas, but so far we have failed to link him to any bank robbery."

"Until now, of course." Hodge added.

"Of course."

"Well, it seems we'll have to go back and study all his crimes." Robert said. "Agent Lightwood..."

"Yes?" Alec, Jace, and Izzy responded at the same time. That was one of the drawbacks to call them by their last name since they all had the same and also shared the same profession.

Their father sighed and fixed his eyes on Alec.

"Yes, father?" Alec said. "I mean, Agent?"

"I need you to share with us whatever you have on Magnus Bane. We need to know everything there is to know about the man. If there's a chance to capture Valentine is going to be through him."

Alec refrained himself from laughing because his father was being either naive or stupid to think that Magnus was the answer to capture Valentine. Alec had been chasing the criminal for half a decade, and if he had learned something about the man was that he knew how to avoid them. If not so, Alec would have caught him a long time ago.

"Of course, Agent Jace will give you a copy of all the files later." Alec said, standing up from his chair and walking out of the conference room. It was obvious that there was nothing more to discuss, at least for today. "I'll be in my office if you need me." He said, closing the door behind him.

o-o-o-o-o

Magnus put down his brush and took a deep breath. He had been working on the bonds for ten hours straight and his back was starting to demand a break. Forging miniature paintings of one of the most important Romantic Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries was a difficult task. Not only he had to make an exact replica of the painting, but he had to match Goya's perfect strokes and somehow evoke that visual protest against violence that this artist seemed to be trying to reflect with this painting. It was a very physically and mentally demanding job.

"How are you doing with the ink?" Magnus asked Ragnor, who was making tests on the Spanish parchment Raphael had gotten for them.

"Not so good, I can't find the right tone. If we could get a sample of the real ink, I could recreate it, but just with these pictures? I think it's going to be more difficult than we believed."

"Let me see." Magnus said, grabbing the pictures they had taken and looking at them as close as possible. They were high-definition pictures and the details were visible to the naked eye. The ink had a soft and subtle greenish hue that got lost a little bit with the blues. It was hard to see, but noticeable. "Try adding a little yellow to make the ink more green." He suggested.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Magnus said, giving Ragnor back the pictures and walking to stretch his legs.

"Green...why is it always green? That color follows me everywhere." Ragnor muttered more to himself.

Magnus just laughed. Sometimes his friend didn't make much sense, but he loved him nonetheless. He was a quirky, prickly loner, but a loyal friend. They had been partners for a very long time, and no matter how difficult the situation they were facing was, Ragnor was always willing to help. He didn't complain, he didn't hesitate, he just helped Magnus and made sure they both got what they wanted.

"You were right about this score, though." Ragnor said. "Is going to take us a while."

"Perfection can't be rushed, mon amie."

"True, but maybe we should hurry. I don't want you-know-who paying us a visit again. If he finds out we're doing this he could ruin it and-"

"He won't come, don't worry. He's still spending the money of the painting. We won't hear from him in months."

"If you say so…"

They fell into a peaceful silence. Magnus stretching his arms and legs, and playing with the Chairman, and Ragnor still testing the inks. It was a good day in the big old city, and Magnus seized the moment to give some thought to the future. He was more like a seize-the-moment kind of guy since the future was always uncertain, but given his current situation, he knew that for the first time in many, many years, he was allowed to think past tomorrow. In a couple of weeks he could finally get rid of that debt that had been consuming him for years. He could do whatever the hell he wanted with his life and with his time. He wouldn't have to worry about anything and for the first time in over twenty-two years he was going to be a free man.

"After we finish this, I want us to take a long break." Magnus said out loud. "To regroup and see what we are going to do from now on."

"You're not really considering retirement, are you?"

"No." Magnus partially lied. He couldn't deny that the idea had crossed his mind more often than not, but after all he had done in his life, he couldn't exactly just retire. The life of a criminal never ended. Once you became one, it was highly unlikely to ever go back to having a 'normal' life. "I just need some time to think what I want to do after this, let's call it a vacation."

"Vacation? Who's going on vacation?" A voice asked.

It was Raphael, the man had just entered the loft. Magnus still didn't know why he even bothered to have a lock. His friends always forced their way in and made themselves at home.

"According to him, we are." Ragnor said. "After this score he wants us to take a break."

Raphael frowned. "Are you going to retire?"

"No." Magnus rolled his eyes. "I just want to take a break, it's very different. Anyway, what are you doing here, Santiago? Don't tell me you came here to help? We certainly could use another pair of hands."

"No, you know I don't like getting myself involved in these kinds of things, my job is to be as clean as possible so that if any of you gets in trouble I can help you. You make the mess, I clean it, remember?" Raphael said with a wink. "And I'm here because I have new information about your copycat."

"What happened?"

"Well, there's a lot of buzz at the moment. Some of our friends don't believe you're behind the bank robbery, they've known you for a long time so when they heard you had allegedly killed five guards, they immediately knew it hadn't been you, but people are worried. Everyone is very cautious because-" Raphael bit his tongue.

"Because, what?" Magnus asked desperately.

"Well, there's this rumor that the people behind what's happening could be the FBI."

"What?"

"Well, some people think the bank robbery was nothing but a smokescreen to discredit you."

"But it was not. I mean, it was real, people died." Magnus said. He, along with the entire city had seen the news. Five innocent guards had died that day.

"Did they really die?" Raphael questioned. "We weren't there, the FBI could be putting this whole circus together just to corner you, to force you to make a mistake."

"Well, that's actually a very good theory." Ragnor joined the conversation. "Feds play as dirty as we do. They claim to be the good guys, but we never know. They could be doing this to provoke you, to make you come out of hiding."

Magnus frowned. Yeah, he agreed that the FBI wasn't exactly the most honorable institution in the country, but this didn't sound like them. This was someone else's work, he was sure of it.

"And there's something else." Raphael added.

"What?"

"Well, rumor has it that you are after the Hope Diamond."

"The Hope Diamond? Is it here, in New York?" Magnus asked with surprise. "Wasn't it at the Washington's National Museum of Natural History?"

The Hope Diamond was one of the most famous jewels in the world, with ownership records dating back almost four centuries ago. It was believed that the jewel had originated in India, and was known to have been cut from the French Blue diamond, presented to King Louis XIV. It had acquired its name when it had appeared in the catalogue of a gem collection owned by a London banking family called Hope in 1839. Later it had been sold to some Washington socialite and since 1958, it had been on display at the Washington's National Museum of Natural History, and although many thieves and mercenaries had tried to steal it, so far no one had managed to get away with it.

"Yes, it's going to be part of some exhibition at Le Joyau Prieux."

"Really?" Magnus asked intrigued. Le Joyau Prieux was the most expensive clothing boutique in the city.

"Yes, and according to my sources you're going to steal it before opening night."

Magnus meditated that information. If he had known the whereabouts of such a valuable piece before today, he certainly would have tried to steal it, but since he had been a little busy preparing his next score, he hadn't had time to make a plan. Nevertheless, he was surprised to hear that this impostor was willing to do it. As he had already stated, stealing that jewel was a feat that nobody had achieved—at least not yet. "When am I going to steal it exactly?"

"This Friday." Raphael said.

"Well, then we will make sure that the real Magnus Bane is there."

"And if it's a trap?" Ragnor asked worriedly.

"We'll have to take the risk, my friend. I have no other choice. I need to know who's behind all this, and if it's the FBI? Well, they will regret having mess with someone like me."

o-o-o-o-o

Alec collected all the files he had on Bane and after making sure that his brother had copies to give to their father, he began to organize them again to resume his work. He knew he had to find something, anything, that could help him solve the case. He was still convinced that Valentine and Magnus weren't working together, so he was looking at his boards in search of clues that could lead him to find the forger. He had to prove that an alliance between them was impossible. How? He still wasn't sure, but he had to start somewhere, right?

He had three large boards with all the information he had collected about Bane: relevant data about the cases, blurred pictures of the criminal's face that they had managed to get from some security tapes, the sketch the Bureau had done after Alec had met him, the thirteen postcards, some leads about his whereabouts through the years, his alleged romantic relationships, personal information, etc.

He was looking at them when Jace entered his office and sat down in one of the chairs.

"Did you give dad the files?" Alec asked absentmindedly. His eyes were still fixed on the boards.

"Yeah, he's going to be quite entertained for a couple of days." Jace said. "He started to go through them the moment I walked into his temporary office, so that's good, he won't be breathing down our necks for some days. It's a little weird to have him here again, don't you think?"

"Just a little?" Alec retorted. "And I wouldn't count on him not breathing down our necks, you know him, but let us hope for it."

"Alec…"

"Yes?"

"Can we talk? It's not about work." Jace said, and it was only then that Alec finally detached his eyes from the boards and noticed how miserable his brother looked. Jace was usually very confident, sure of himself, but the man sitting across from him didn't resemble that Jace in the least. This Jace looked tired and worried, he had two large dark circles under his eyes and a sad expression plastered on his face. Alec wondered how he hadn't noticed it before.

"Yes, sure...what happened? Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not." Jace admitted.

"What happened?"

"It's about Clary." Jace exhaled.

Of course it was about Clary. Ever since Jace had met her, his life had turned into some big rom-com that apparently didn't have the happy ending that everybody always talked about. Every so often Izzy and Alec had to listen to their brother's endless complaints about relationships and how difficult it was to love someone.

"What happened this time?" Alec asked.

Jace chuckled. "This is starting to become some sort of habit, isn't it?"

"A bit, but it's okay, you know I don't mind. What did the little girl do this time?"

"Clary, Alec, her name is Clary." Jace said.

In Alec's defense, he had started calling her like that when she and his brother had started dating. If he was honest, at first he had had trouble remembering her name, so he had started calling her by the only thing he did remember about her—her lack of height...and it had stuck.

"And this time she didn't do anything, it was me the one who screwed everything up." Jace continued.

"Why? What did you do?"

"Do you remember what I told you about her?"

Alec nodded because of course he remembered. His brother had shared with him a few weeks ago that he felt excluded in certain aspects of their relationship. She was very private with some stuff and apparently kept a lot of things from Jace, including information about her family and even the address to her own home. Jace was really confused about that and didn't know what to do. He knew that the solution was to do a quick search using the Bureau's database to find out more about her, but he had resisted the temptation claiming that he wanted it to be her the one to tell him all that.

"Well," Jace continued, "I followed your advice and talked to her about my issues with all the privacy stuff."

"And?"

"Well, I thought we would have this real mature conversation, but it wasn't like that. Instead of actually communicating with me, she started to cry, Alec!"

"Really?" Alec raised an eyebrow. Girls sounded so complicated, he was thankful he didn't feel attracted to them in the least.

"Yes, one minute she was all, 'yeah, let's talk,' but the moment I told her what I really wanted to talk about, she became this crying mess and I panicked."

"And what did you do?"

"What do you think I did? I ran, of course."

"You ran!?"

"Yes, I panicked, okay? I don't know what to do when girls cry. You know I've always been like that. You remember when Izzy used to cry out of nowhere? I usually ran and let you handle the situation. I know it's pathetic and I shouldn't have done it, but it's done and now-"

"And now she's mad at you." Alec assumed.

"Very." Jace said. "She's not answering my calls, or text, or emails. I've tried everything, but she's ignoring me."

"Well, maybe she needs time. It wasn't very nice of you to leave her if she was crying. You should have stayed with her."

"I know! I know I screwed up! But her reaction took me by surprise, Alec. We've been together for six months, it's only natural that I want to meet her family, don't you think? She's met you all, it's only fair that I get to meet her family too. I don't see why asking that would trigger the crying."

"Maybe she's ashamed of them."

"No, she isn't, the few times she's talked about them she's said wonders about them. It's something else, Alec, I just wished I knew what. She's like this big unsolved puzzle that I would really love to put together, but how can I do that if I don't even have all the pieces, huh? She's always hermetic about certain things and I don't know what to think of that. She says she loves me and I believe her, I want to believe her, but sometimes when she's all secrets and mysteries with me, I really have a hard time buying her I love yous. I don't know, Alec, sometimes I just don't know what to do. Maybe I should just give up and move on."

Alec gave his brother a sympathetic smile. He couldn't say he understood what his brother was feeling because he didn't have enough experience to speak on the matter, but he could relate to the frustration he felt for not having all the pieces of the puzzle. That was what he felt every time he tried to go after Magnus. He felt as if he didn't have all the pieces, as if he were missing some crucial information, as if-

"The pieces." Alec whispered, when an idea came to mind. "The pieces, Jace!"

"What pieces?" Jace asked confused.

"The postcards."

Jace frowned again—he was not following him.

"I'm sorry," Alec quickly apologized. He understood that things with Clary weren't good at the moment and he really hoped his brother could fix them. He wanted to see him happy and he knew that Clary made him very happy, she just had to let him in and entrust him with whatever secrets she were keeping. But with the conversation they had just had, Jace had given Alec an idea that he couldn't not say out loud. "We'll go back to you and Clary in just a second, but you just gave me an idea to solve the case, Jace!"

"What idea?"

"The postcards are the pieces of this puzzle."

"The postcards?"

"Yes, Magnus's postcards. You remember the last one he wrote?" Alec asked, standing up and walking to the board to grab it. "He clearly said, 'this is my 13th postcard, did you know that the meaning of the number thirteen is the bonding of many into one?' Don't you see it? He left me a message! These postcards are the message!"

"Oh." Jace said, suddenly understanding what Alec meant. "You think he...?"

Alec shrugged. "I don't know, but it's worth the try, don't you think? Call Izzy, Jace, we have a message to decipher."

Jace nodded and stood to leave the office.

"Oh, and Jace?" Alec said before he left. "Don't give up on her just yet and just apologize. You know my experience in this field is practically nonexistent, so maybe I'm not the right person to give this advice, but if you really think she's the one for you, then be patient and give her some time, when she's ready, she'll open up to you."

"You really think that?"

Alec nodded. "I don't know her that well, we've barely talked, but I don't think she's lying when she says she loves you. I've seen the way she looks at you."

Jace smiled for the first time since they had started talking. "Thank you, Alec."

"Anytime, Jace. Anytime…"