Hello! I'm sorry this is a bit late again, but with the holidays and my relatives breathing down my neck, getting this posted was a tall order. Anyway, I know that not all of you celebrate Thanksgiving, and that's okay, but I just wanted you to know that I'm grateful for each and every one of you who with your support and constant encouragement make me want to keep bringing stories to life and be a better writer. I couldn't do any of this without you guys, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Anyway, back to the fic. As per usual, I don't have much to say, since I really don't want to spoil anything, but have fun reading and don't forget to share your thoughts with the class, I love reading them all!

Have a great weekend! I'll see you all next week!

Chapter 9

Alec was at home doing what he used to do every weekend—paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. Usually, at the end of every week he had a pile of unsolved cases, reports, and other office stuff to go through and, although it was not his favorite part of the job, he never complained. This task, as menial as it was, always helped him to distract himself, but especially to appreciate the opportunity he had to be in the field. Not many agents had the same luck, most of them were confined to their desks and offices, and some even to the basement of the building, where they never saw beyond the thousands of files they had and the most exciting thing that happened during the day was when the printer stopped working. So yeah, he was one of the lucky ones. Spending a few hours of his life doing a little office work was really nothing.

Alec was so lost in the task that when his phone started ringing somewhere in the living room, he jumped scared, almost spilling his coffee on the table.

He rushed to get his phone and when he noticed that the call came from an unknown number, he quickly ran the digits through the database on his laptop before answering. He already knew who this was, Magnus Bane, and, although technically they were in some sort of truce that prevented Alec from arresting him, he still wanted to know everything he could about the criminal. Finding information about Magnus while they worked together had been one of the reason why he had agreed to this madness in the first place.

"I bet you just ran this number through some of your databases, you're so predictable, Alexander." The criminal said the moment Alec accepted the call.

"No, I didn't." Alec said, suddenly feeling very exposed. Was he really that predictable?

"I think we have already established how a terrible liar you are, dear."

"Okay, fine, I did." Alec said, rolling his eyes in defeat.

"And?" Magnus inquired. "Did you have better luck this time?"

"No." Alec sighed. This had been the twelfth number that Magnus had used to communicate with him, and so far, Alec hadn't found a single thing that could be useful to determine where the criminal was or from where he was calling.

"Well, I cannot say I'm disappointed, you know I don't like it when you stick your nose into my business, but do not despair, Alexander, maybe the thirteenth will be the charm."

Alec chuckled. Since they had agreed to work together almost two weeks ago, they had been communicating non-stop almost on a daily basis. First, trying to find some sort of connection between the first two cases—the bank and the boutique—and this week, trying to solve the new case. A few days ago fake-Magnus had decided to attack a museum in Queens. He had stolen a sculpture from a contemporary collection valued at around $100 million dollars. As expected, the criminal had left a trail of glitter, automatically making Magnus the prime suspect in the robbery. Alec knew that it hadn't really been Magnus, because when the attack had taken place, the man had been actually on the phone with him, but the Bureau didn't know that and with the glitter and the similarity between their MOs, Alec had had a really difficult week trying to convince them all that they were, once again, facing the criminal's impostor and not the real Magnus Bane.

"So...any leads so far?" Magnus asked.

"None. I'm trying to find security footage of the cameras on the streets." Alec shared. "I want to see if his complexion matches with the one we got from the other attack."

"Will you ever let me see that security footage you claim to have?" Magnus asked.

Alec had just shared that information with the criminal a few days ago when they had been talking about how slick this criminal could be. Alec had told him that no one was perfect since thanks to a video they had obtained from the security cameras on the streets, they had been able to determine certain aspects of his physiognomy that had led them to believe that this man couldn't be Magnus.

"Maybe..."

"I confronted the man, you know?" Magnus said.

"You, what!?" Alec exclaimed surprised with that small piece of information. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I don't know, it slipped my mind."

"Were you testing me?"

"No...well, maybe."

"I thought we had agreed not to hold back any information."

"You told me about the footage you have of him three days ago."

"Fair enough." Alec admitted. "Hmmm, if you saw the security footage, do you think you could identify him?"

"Well, I'm not sure how good your material is, but I saw him face-to-face, I even made a quick sketch of his features, but it was very dark, so I'm not sure."

"Wait, very dark?" Alec questioned.

"Yeah, when that bastard went after the Hope Diamond I was there."

"You were there!?"

"Yes, but not inside the store if that's what you're implying with that tone of surprise, Alexander." Magnus said, sounding almost offended. "I was across the street, hoping to catch him before he entered the store, but he was already inside. I saw him leaving, though, and I decided to follow him."

"Of course, you're the guy who chased him through Central Park and dragged him into the woods."

"Yes...wait, how do you know I did all that?"

"The footage," Alec said, "the footage I told you about is from that day. We have a few tapes from outside the boutique and the park. We saw him running down 79th street. At first, we thought it was because he wanted to get away from the boutique as fast as possible, but then we noticed that someone was chasing him and we assumed it was the same person who later in the video drags him into some part of the woods after he stumbled, but all that's irrelevant right now, if you were there, why did you let him escape?"

"First of all, I didn't let him escape, he attacked me with glitter, and then escaped. And while I appreciate the irony of that, it wasn't pleasant, it hurt—a lot. And second of all, did you catch me on camera and you didn't recognize me? I'm very disappointed, Alexander. I thought you knew me well."

Alec rolled his eyes. "It was very dark, we could barely make out the shape of another person, we didn't know if it was a man or a woman."

"It was a man, and it was me."

"I need you to tell me what happened there."

"I pushed him against a tree and demanded an explanation, but the bastard attacked me and ran away. The only useful information I got that day was that he wasn't working alone, and, well, thanks to that we were able to find out that the real man behind the curtains was none other than our dear Valentine Morgenstern—the dead man who wasn't so dead after all."

"You know what?" Alec said. "We have to find a way for this alliance to actually work. So far we've just been playing pretend, but this can't go on like this. What you just shared about that day could be important—key—for the investigation, so we will have to make a few changes if we want this to work. For starters, I need a way to contact you at any time of the day, so either you give me a phone number that you aren't going to burn in the next five minutes after hanging up with me, or you get us a pair of walkie-talkies so we can talk. We can't keep things from each other, it's important that we are in touch and well informed. If we want Valentine to go down, we really have to team up."

"Okay, fine, you've made a valid point, I'll see what I can do, and as per usual, I'll be in touch."

"Busy Saturday?" Alec asked, sensing that this conversation was coming to an end.

"Something like that."

"Are you planning some new heist?"

"Alexander…" Magnus said, and Alec could hear in his tone that the criminal was actually smiling, "we made a truce, remember? You don't ask, I don't ask. What you don't know won't hurt you."

"You're planning something, aren't you?"

"As the Anglo-Irish poet Oliver Goldsmith once said, 'ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no fibs.'"

"Right, well...just for the sake of leaving everything clear again, know that my part in this agreement doesn't give you immunity. If you do something and I learn about it, make sure I'll catch you."

"Yeah, keep dreaming about that, pretty boy." Magnus said.

Alec rolled his eyes again, but smiled in spite of himself.

"Well, even though you know I love talking to you, I really have to go." Magnus continued.

"Okay."

"Talk to you later, Alexander."

"Yeah, bye, Bane."

"When are you going to start calling me by my name, huh? I think we've reached that point, don't you agree? After all, it's not as if we've just met, we've come a long way together."

"I don't feel comfortable doing it." Alec confessed. He called the criminal by his name all the time back in the office and in his mind, but he hadn't uttered his name once in all the times they had spoken either in person or on the phone.

"Well, someday you will, and I'll make sure to record it so I can make sure you don't forget it." Magnus said laughing, and Alec laughed too. "But until then, goodbye, Alexander."

"Bye..."

Alec hung up and almost dropped his phone when he saw Jace standing there in front of him. Alec had been so distracted that he hadn't even noticed that his brother had entered his home without even knocking. Alec usually left the door locked, but sometimes he forgot to put the latch on and that was when his siblings seized the opportunity to enter his home and either steal his food or almost kill him from a heart attack.

"Who was that?" Jace asked, raising an eyebrow in a playful way.

Alec panicked, but tried to keep his emotions at bay. "The old man from the library." He lied. "Have you been here long?" He asked, trying to figure out how much of his conversation with Magnus his nosy brother had heard.

"No, I just entered. Quick question, do you always laugh and smile like that when you talk to him?"

"I...me? No, I...I...no, I wasn't smiling."

"Yes, you were, and you laughed too, please tell me you're not into old dudes."

"I'm not, he just said something funny about me not returning the books on time." Alec said, turning around to hide his flushed cheeks and pretending to take his now cold cup of coffee to the sink. "That's why I laughed."

Jace just shrugged, but didn't ask any further. Alec took a deep breath to compose himself and joined him back in the living room. "And...what happened? Why are you here, anyway? Don't you usually spend the weekends with Clary exploring the city or whatever you two do?"

"Yes, but, well, I'm actually here because of her." Jace said.

"You guys had a fight again?"

"No, I think things are finally changing for the better, I'm actually here because I need to ask you a favor."

"I'm not going to lend you money again so you can take her to see some art exhibition on the other side of the country."

"It's not that, I just need you to come with me to this party."

Alec frowned.

"Clary invited me," Jace continued, "she wants me to meet her family, but it's going to be at some formal event. Her mom just got engaged to her boyfriend, so they're going to celebrate with a family lunch at this fancy place in Lower Manhattan and I really don't want to go alone. She said it was okay if I asked you to come with me."

"Why don't you ask Izzy? You know she's better at socializing than I am." Alec said, quickly trying to find someone who could go instead of him. He wasn't very good at parties or family events.

"She's already going as Simon's plus one and you know what that means, she's going to ignore me all day, that's why I'm asking you, please, Alec! Come with me!"

"Jace, you know I'm not very good at large gatherings or just gatherings for that matter."

"Please? Just this time?" Jace begged. "I'm really freaking out, Alec. I don't want to go through this alone."

Alec looked at his brother. He really looked scared and that was so weird. Jace was generally very confident and sure of himself, it was strange to see him so nervous about something as simple as meeting his girlfriend's family, but apparently, his brother was more afraid to meet his mother-in-law than to catch criminals.

"Please?" Jace asked.

"Okay, fine, but I won't stay there all day, okay? I have laundry and paperwork to do."

"I'll do both for you if you go with me."

Alec smiled. "I'm holding you to that."

o-o-o-o-o

"Who were you talking to?" Ragnor asked, entering Magnus's loft and taking a seat on the only couch available at the moment. Magnus had rearranged the space to make room for the oven he was using to age the bonds he'd finished forging the night before.

"Alexander." Magnus said, throwing the disposable phone he had used into the oven and watching it melt. "I was catching up with the investigation, but there's nothing new. Well, he told me about the footage again, and now I know it's from the night that bastard took the Hope Diamond."

"We were caught on camera?" Ragnor asked alarmed.

Magnus shook his head. "Just me, but he still couldn't recognize me." He said. "He told me they could barely make out the shape of a second person, so we're safe."

"Did you tell him it was you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"He deserved to know."

"Did he ask you what happened?"

"Yes."

"Did you tell him?"

"Yes." Magnus said simply.

He knew that Ragnor wasn't very happy with his new alliance with the FBI, so it was better not to elaborate too much. Ever since he had shared the idea with him and Raphael, his two friends had expressed their concerns and opinions about the plan, but Magnus hadn't listened to them. Well, he had, but he had ignored their warnings. He had a good hunch about this.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing concrete, he just wants us to have a better way of communicating." Magnus said. "I told him I would see what I could do."

Ragnor just sighed and remained silent. Magnus knew what his friend was thinking, that Magnus was holding back information, but he wasn't. Alexander hadn't told him anything concrete yet.

"How much longer?" Ragnor asked after a while, pointing to the oven.

"They are ready." Magnus said, taking out the two identical bonds he had been 'baking' for the past few hours from the oven. Aging paper to make it look like it had existed for decades instead of days was a very exhausting process, since it required extra-careful attention throughout the process. Paper, especially parchment, was very sensitive to heat, so the baking had to be slow and in stages—it couldn't be done in a single take. Matching the age of the original bonds with the forgeries wasn't as easy as it sounded.

"And now what?"

"Now we let them cool while I change clothes and then we go to the National Archives to make the switch." Magnus said.

As he had told Alec, today was a very busy day for him. He had to go to the National Archives before they closed for the day and switch the original Spanish Victory Bond with one of his own. Today, he would finally be taking a substantial step towards his next big score and that would bring him closer to his longed freedom. He wasn't there yet, since he still had to print the bonds he would redeem to get the money and find a way to make the transaction without attaching his name to it, but he could worry about that part later, now he could just enjoy the moment and celebrate this small victory.

"Do I really have to go?" Ragnor asked.

"Of course, you're my assistant, remember? What's an academic professor from an Ivy League University without his assistant?"

"An assistant-less professor?" Ragnor joked.

"Very funny, but seriously, you can't leave me on my own, I need you there to help me. Switching them isn't going to be easy, there are cameras everywhere, we'll have to cause a distraction to get away with this."

"I was afraid you would say that, and I suppose that's why you need me there, don't you? I'm the distraction, that's my job, isn't it?"

Magnus smiled. "You're the best actor of the two of us, you can pull this off, my friend."

"When has boosting my ego ever helped you win a discussion?"

"Is this a discussion?"

"It could be…" Ragnor said, "why do I always have to be the distraction?"

"Because you're talented."

Ragnor rolled his eyes. "This is going to cost you something extra...how about one of those bottles of Le Grand Vin from Château Latour that you've been saving all these years?"

Magnus sighed. "Fine, help yourself."

Ragnor smiled and ran to Magnus's cellar to get a bottle and pour himself a glass of that expensive wine. "Go change, meanwhile, I'll meditate what we should do, I was thinking that maybe we could try with a Blind Chicken."

Magnus shook his head. "Impossible, my friend, there are too many people."

"What about a Cannonball?" Ragnor said, naming another of their patented distraction techniques.

Magnus shook his head again. "We can't have the sprinkler system running, Ragnor, this is the National Archives we're talking about."

"What about an Audrey Hepburn?"

"Wait Until Dark?"

"No, I was thinking more about a Breakfast at Tiffany's."

"I like that one," Magnus grinned, "well thinking, my friend. Now just let me change real quick and we'll be on our ways in less than five minutes, okay?"

Ragnor nodded and just as Magnus had promised, in less than five minutes they were on their way to the National Archives. It wasn't really that far from Magnus's place, only three stations away, so they got there in literally no time.

"Ready?" Magnus asked, before they made their way in. As in the last time, they were disguised as academic guys, with serious clothing and exaggerated accessories—glasses, berets, scarves...briefcases.

"Ready." Ragnor said.

They casually entered the building and quickly requested the document in question, making small talk with the lady at the reception desk and later with Liam, the old man in charge of that section of the Archives. When they were left alone with the original Spanish bond, they both looked at it and smiled broadly.

The copy that Magnus had forged and which, incidentally, was hidden under a false lid in Magnus's briefcase, was virtually identical to the original. The seals and details had been recreated to perfection. The work was impeccable, completely out of this world.

"You've outdone yourself this time, my friend," Ragnor said, "I can't believe what I'm seeing."

"Thank you." Magnus smiled, quite proud of the work he had done. It was a shame they couldn't put the two copies side by side to compare them because it was clear that Magnus's forgery was as good as the original.

"Such a beautiful, beautiful work that somehow you managed to recreate." Ragnor said.

"I missed some details, but nothing too obvious, just in the brushing, so I don't think anyone will notice."

"No, you didn't...you're just being modest." Ragnor added. "But anyway, we don't have much time, so just tell me when you're ready and I'll put our plan in motion." Ragnor said.

Magnus nodded and took a deep breath. Once Ragnor created the distraction he would have less than twenty seconds to switch the bonds before some employee from the Archives approached them and asked Ragnor to either lower his voice or leave the premises. It was a risky move and if something went wrong both would have to use a contingency plan to get out of the building in one piece, but it was worth it.

"Okay, I'm ready." Magnus said, pretending to make some annotations in a notebook he'd just grabbed from his briefcase.

Ragnor nodded and, as planned, put the 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' distraction move in motion. It was a silly plan that included a scene from Audrey's famous film, to be more specific the last one. It worked best when it was made live with another person playing the actress's acclaimed role, since it helped amp up the drama factor and draw more attention, but they had done it a couple of times faking a phone call and it had worked so far.

"Hello, honey, how's your day going?" Ragnor said, pretending to take a call from his wife/girlfriend/husband/boyfriend, it changed depending on Ragnor's mood, and speaking loudly enough to make himself be noticed.

"Really? What's that so important you want to talk to me about? I'll be home next week, can it wait?" His friend continued, showing with how well he was acting the fake call why he was always the best choice for this kind of stuff. "I'm listening...you, what!?

Magnus took a deep breath. That was the line before hell broke loose, and Magnus's cue to get ready. Once his friend started yelling and pacing around the room, pretending to fight with his significant other, Magnus would have very little time to make the switch.

"Lucy." Ragnor said.

Magnus could recreate the dialogue in his mind. This was the part where 'Lucy' had to say she wasn't going to let him do that.

"You're not going to let me?" Ragnor asked, raising his voice an octave. "Lucy, I'm in love with you."

So what? Magnus thought in his mind, following the dialogue.

"So what!? So plenty!" Ragnor shouted. "I love you, you belong to me!"

Magnus took a deep breath. He had always agreed with the answer to that part—people didn't belong to people.

"Of course they do!" Ragnor said.

"Nobody's going to put me in a cage." Magnus mouthed to himself as he pretended to ignore his friend and examine the bond.

"I want to love you, and don't you dare say it's the same thing because it's not! It's not, Lucy!" Ragnor exclaimed, and that did the trick because in that moment Magnus felt all eyes around them fixing on his friend, so he took advantage of the chaos that was starting to form and as discreetly as he could, switched the bonds.

"Sir?" A guard approached Ragnor. "Could you please lower your voice?"

Ragnor ignored him and just kept yelling. "You now what's wrong with you!?"

"Richard." Magnus said, calling his friend by the fake name they had chosen for the operation. "Lower your voice, please."

Ragnor ignored him too. "No, you listen! Do you know what's wrong with you miss whoever-you-are? You're a chicken! You got no guts! You're afraid to say, okay, life's a fact, people do fall in love, people do belong to each other, because that's the only chance anybody's got for real happiness; you call yourself a free spirit, a wild thing and you're terrified somebody's going to stick you in a cage, well, baby, I got news for you, you're already in that cage! You built it yourself!"

"Sir!" The guard said again. "If you don't lower your voice I'll have to ask you to leave the building."

"Richard…" Magnus said, pretending to be terribly ashamed of his assistant's behavior.

"Sir!" The guard insisted, but when Ragnor continued to ignore him, the man had no choice but to take him by the arm and not so kindly, escort him to the door.

Ragnor, still on his role, kept the act going, yelling and saying nonsense until Magnus could no longer hear him.

"I'm terribly sorry for what just happened." Magnus told Liam, who, like the rest of the people there, had come over to see what was happening. "Usually, he's very calm and reasonable, but he's been having trouble with his wife for a while now and that has had him under a lot of pressure. I really don't understand them, they fight and then make up...it's a never-ending game."

"Married life." Liam said with a sympathetic smile. "Are you done with that?" He asked, pointing to the bond.

"I am." Magnus said, giving Liam the bond back and trying not to show his nervousness when the old man, following the usual protocol, examined it before putting it back in its glass case.

"I guess I won't see you around here anymore?" Liam asked, storing the forged bond as if it were the original. Magnus had told him when they had arrived that they would be returning to Connecticut this weekend. "It was a real pleasure meeting you, I can't wait to read that book you're writing."

"Likewise, Liam, and don't worry, I'll send you a copy as soon as I have it." Magnus lied, putting on his best poker face. He was a conman, so this part was relatively easy.

"I'll be looking forward to it."

Magnus gave the man a warm smile and after another round of goodbyes, walked out of the building. Ragnor was waiting for him outside, sitting on a bench.

"So?"

"It's done." Magnus said, slightly touching the false lid of his briefcase. "Now ours is the only bond in existence, by the way...you did great back there!"

"They cut me off before I could start yelling about the cat, I love that part, especially when we're doing it over the phone. People usually freak out because they really think my ruthless wife is throwing our nameless cat out on the street."

Magnus laughed not only because his friend was funny, but because, as incredible as it sounded, they had done it. They had successfully switched the bonds and now it was just a matter of time before they could finish this score and get as much money as they wanted.

"And now what?" Ragnor asked.

"Now we hail a cab and head for East Harlem." Magnus said.

"Are we going to see Raphael?" Ragnor inquired. "What for?"

"We need to start getting all the parts for the printer, my friend. The sooner Santiago starts looking for them, the sooner we can start printing the other bonds and finish this job. Besides, I need two untraceable but not disposables phones."

"You already have one of those, why do you want two more?"

"Alexander asked me for a better way to communicate."

"Right...so this means you're really going full force with your alliance with...hmmm, them?"

"Yes, but stop saying it like it's a bad thing."

"But it is."

"Well, maybe, but it's done, Ragnor, get over it, okay?"

"I can't...I'm worried. What if he betrays you and you end up in jail?"

Magnus sighed. He knew it could happen, of course. He had thought about it more often than not, but, well, after they had sealed their agreement with a handshake during their second date, the agent hadn't tried to catch him, that was a good sign of his willingness for this to work, right? Besides, Magnus couldn't let paranoia get the best of him, if he allowed it, this would end up badly for everyone.

"What are you going to do if that happens, huh?"

"Assume my mistake and hire a good lawyer." Magnus joked.

"I mean it, you idiot! That could happen and you know it, what's the plan if things go wrong?"

"There's no plan, Ragnor, if that happens, then that's it, I'm ruined for life, so you'll have to visit me from time to time and take care of my cat."

"You're risking a lot, Magnus, are you sure it's worth it?"

"I know, and it is. I can't let Valentine keep doing what he's been doing, and the only way to stop him is if we put him...well, where he belongs." Magnus said. "And since neither of us are qualified to do that, I don't see how to do it without a little help from someone who is."

"Do you trust him not to betray you?"

Magnus meditated, did he? Alec had proved himself to be a man of his word but, would he be able to keep their truce intact? After all, Magnus was one of the most wanted criminals in the city and putting him behind bars was his job. So the real question was, what was more valuable to the agent, Valentine's head or Magnus's? And somehow Magnus already knew the answer to that—Valentine's. Alec was a good man, noble and fair, the death of all those innocent people would not go unpunished even if that meant sealing a pact with devil himself. That was how Alexander Lightwood worked, always thinking of the greater good.

"I think I do…" Magnus whispered, "I think I do."

o-o-o-o-o

Alec had been at Clary's mom's engagement party for nearly two hours and he couldn't exactly say that he wasn't, at the very least, having a good time. The food had been great and the company hadn't been that bad once he'd gotten to know them a bit better. All in all, they all seemed like very good people. Simon and Clary, he already knew, but all the others gathered there were complete strangers to him. Clary's mom, Jocelyn, was sweet and affectionate, as most mothers were, Luke, her fiance, was kind, gentle, and very calm, one of those men whose presence automatically made you feel safe; Dot, Jocelyn's best friend, was very funny though a bit eccentric, Amatis, one of Luke's sister was noisy but still adorable. The only person Alec hadn't liked that much from the small group had been Clary's older brother, Sebastian.

He seemed nice, plus Alec couldn't deny that he was also very handsome with his platinum blond hair and captivating green eyes, but there was something about him that made Alec felt a bit uneasy in his presence. Maybe it was the fact that he tried to please people so much that it seemed a little fake, but for some reason, he felt as if he couldn't trust him.

Unfortunately, he seemed to be the only one who thought that because Jace seemed genuinely happy to have finally met him and had been talking to him non-stop since Clary had made the awkward introduction. At first, Sebastian had given Alec's brother the 'don't you dare hurt my little sister' speech, but after that, the two had become almost inseparable, sharing stories about their lives and their common interest: Clary. Alec had stayed with them for some time, trying to join the conversation, but ultimately had decided that he couldn't be there anymore and had excused himself saying that he would go get another drink.

And that was how he had ended up in some corner of the small deck, just watching them all from afar, trying to make his own opinion about all these people.

Sebastian's laughter echoed in the room and Alec frowned, not quite understanding why this man had the need to overact everything, even something so simple as laughing. What could be so damn funny that required such a performance? That didn't make him look cool or interesting, on the contrary, it made him look suspicious. Was he hiding something under that cool guy facade? He wondered, but immediately shook his head. He had to stop thinking like a federal agent all the damn time—not everyone was hiding things, not everyone was a bad guy.

"He isn't that bad once you get to know him." A man said, startling Alec. It was Luke, Jocelyn's fiance.

"Who?" Alec said, feigning innocence. He didn't want this man to think that he had been criticizing his future stepson this whole time.

"Sebastian," Luke said, "he's a nice kid."

"Oh, no, I…I...I wasn't." Alec stuttered, but decided not to lie. It was clear that this man already knew what he had been doing these past few minutes. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it."

Luke laughed warmly. "Don't worry, I understand. You're a federal agent, you wouldn't be a good one if you weren't good at reading people. Sebastian is different from the others, he's hard to read, that's why most people either love him or don't like him at all."

"How do you know that?" Alec asked. "About reading people and stuff?"

"Once, I was a federal agent too." Luke admitted.

"What!?" Alec exclaimed because he hadn't seen that one coming.

"I was a CD agent."

"Counterintelligence Division?" Alec asked in surprise.

Luke nodded.

"Why aren't you there anymore? Or, are you? I thought you mentioned working at a bookstore or something."

"It's a long story," Luke said, "but, well, we had this case, it was a good one, the kind that every agent wants to have on its resume. We were after this dangerous group of terrorists, we had been studying them for months, following every step they took, you know how that is. The day we were going to take them down, we discovered that someone had warned them about our attack and we had to move ahead of schedule. During the confrontation, I was shot in the back. The bullet injured my spine and, although I'm lucky to be alive and still able to walk, I could never go back to be a field agent again."

"I'm sorry to hear that, it must have been really hard for you, but why quit entirely? You could have stayed in the force, you were a CD agent, your brain was more useful than any physical disability."

"It wasn't by choice." Luke said.

"No? What happened?"

"My partner." Luke said, and Alec could see that although this seemed to have happened a long time ago there was still sadness in those warm brown eyes. "I can't tell you much, but he made the wrong decisions during that case and when they discovered that, I was sent away to witness protection."

"The Marshals." Alec assumed. They always had the last word when something like that happened. Having a partner meant committing to that person and its actions for life, if they did something wrong and someone discovered them, you either ended up in jail with them or the Marshals sent you away for your own protection.

Luke nodded. "Since then, I've been having a modest life, selling books and raising these kids." He added, pointing to both Clary and Sebastian. "I can't complain, I'm happy with my new life and the family I got with it."

"You never thought about coming back?"

"At first, but I knew I couldn't."

"It must have been very hard."

"It was, but Jocelyn was there to help me get through it."

"You guys have been together a long time?"

"Officially? Almost two years," Luke said, "but we've been in love for a very long time. We met when we were young and we were always very good friends. I always loved her, but she married someone else, and although that made us go separate ways for a while, life always managed to bring us back together. We tried to fight what we felt, you know? For years I was just the best friend who was there for her, but when the kids started to grow we realized that one day we'd just have each other and that's when we decided to give it a try. At first we didn't tell anyone, we met in secret and pretended to be the same old friends in front of the kids, but one day, Clary discovered us and when we saw that she was okay with it, we decided to tell Sebastian too, and then the rest of our family and friends."

"And now you're engaged."

"We are." Luke smiled, and Alec realized how happy that thought made this man feel. He was practically glowing, as Jace had been since they had arrived there. He wondered if that was what love did to a person, made them glow and look like the happiest version of themselves.

"Your brother told me you're in charge of a specialized team of agents in the White-Collar division, you must have done pretty well back in Quantico to get that title at such young age."

Alec blushed. He always had a hard time receiving compliments. "I wasn't that bad."

"Who was your teacher there? Did you do the Hogan's Alley simulation?" Luke asked. "They opened that facility when I was about to graduate, so I never got the chance to experience it."

"I did." Alec smiled, and with that he spent the rest of his time there talking with Luke, sharing stories about their time at the academy and what it was like to be an agent in the real world. Alec shared some details about the cases he was trying to solve at the moment and took with gratitude all the tips and advices that this man so kindly offered him.

When the day started to turn into night, Alec said his goodbyes and after receiving a bone-crushing hug from his brother as a thank you for going with him, Alec went home.

He entered his apartment and, after dropping his keys and getting rid of his jacket, he proceeded to take his wallet and badge out of his pocket. He was about to put his gun down on the small table in front of him, when a strange sensation sent shivers all over his body. He had lived alone long enough to know when he wasn't exactly alone.

He was certain there was someone standing somewhere behind him. He couldn't see it since he hadn't turned on the lights yet, but he could feel it, so careful not to alert the intruder, Alec grabbed his gun from the holster on his shoulder and turned around as fast as he could so as not to lose the element of surprise. "Freeze! Don't move!" He exclaimed, cocking his gun.

"Don't go all Law & Order on me, Alexander, you know I'm never armed."

"Magnus."