As promised, here's CH18! I know I promised to update yesterday, but I fell asleep and didn't have time to do it until now, so apologies for that. Anyway, I don't want to say much about the chapter, but I really hope you like it. The next chapter will be up this Friday night or Saturday morning, but I seriously can't wait for you to read it!

Anyway, thanks for reading and don't forget to let me know your thoughts, and/or favorite and follow the story 3

See you soon!

Chapter 18

After finishing his conversation with Alec, Magnus hung up the phone and continued walking through the city, getting as far away from that building as possible. He would have loved to stay and see how things turned out in the end, and be there when Alec finally put that man behind bars, but given his connection to the place and his involvement in the fraud with the bonds, he figured it was safer for everyone if he just stayed away from there.

He walked and walked, observing in detail all the sights of the city—the Empire State building, the Flatiron, the Washington Square Arch...the World Trade Center. It had been so long since the last time he'd allowed himself to fully appreciate and enjoy the city he loved so much that he almost felt like a tourist, experiencing New York City for the very first time. The city was so beautiful, so radiant...that even in broad daylight, it managed to take Magnus's breath away.

He walked to the City Hall Park in Lower Manhattan and stayed there, sitting on an old bench and using that time to think about what he had done and how he felt about it. This was the first time he had trusted the system and had used it for his own benefit and, although a large part of him felt good about it, there was this small part in the most hidden depths of his being that couldn't help but feel a bit guilty too.

"You did the right thing." He tried to reassure himself.

Everyone who knew his story and what he had gone through thanks to that man would agree with him, but even so, he couldn't help feeling a little remorse for what he had done. After all, he had betrayed the man who, under false pretenses or not, had helped him when he had been all alone.

Magnus sighed, shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts. He had to stop being so sentimental and see things as they were—that man had hurt him and used him for years to do terrible things, jail was the least he deserved.

"Get a grip, Magnus." He murmured to himself, standing up to finally head home and making his way to the Brooklyn Bridge, smiling at the sight of the beautiful structure.

He'd always loved that bridge, that had been one of the reasons why he'd bought a loft with a beautiful view of it, but he couldn't deny that now he loved it even more. As cliche as it might sound, this bridge was now part of his and Alec's story. The last time they had been there, they had had a conversation that had completely changed their relationship, so now that iconic landmark had an even more special place in Magnus's heart.

He passed next to the spot where they had kissed and smiled fondly. If he closed his eyes and concentrated enough, he could almost feel the heat and wetness of Alec's mouth against his own, he could feel that jolt of electricity he felt every time he kissed Alec. Because kissing Alec was a dangerous and intoxicating experience in itself. The agent's kisses were sweet and tender, but also hungry and passionate, they were paradise and hell, salvation and damnation; that handsome man possessed in his mouth the most powerful and lethal weapon known to mankind.

Magnus smiled. He had no idea, why he was fantasizing in the middle of a bridge and with thousands of people walking around him, but he quickly shook his head and resumed his walking, this time heading straight home.

By the time he arrived to his building that tiny speck of remorse he had felt before had completely dissipated and, although he still had a whirlwind of emotions within him, he was at peace with himself.

He opened the door of his loft and smiled at the two people waiting for him there. He hadn't been expecting them, but he wasn't surprised that they were there either. His two friends had learned of his plan a few days ago and had expressed their concern that something bad could happen, so it was only natural that they were there to check on him.

"Magnus!" Raphael exclaimed. "Gracias a Dios que estás bien!" He said.

Raphael very rarely called Magnus by his name, since they had met his friend had called him Bane just because he knew how much Magnus hated that, so the fact that he had used his pile name when he had seen him come in, was just a reflection of how worried he had been for him mere seconds ago.

"Awwww...you were worried about me." Magnus said, smiling teasingly at his friend. "I knew your apparent lack of concern for my well-being was just an act to keep up appearances."

Raphael just rolled his eyes.

"And well?" Ragnor said. "How did it go? Did you do it?" He asked, looking expectantly at Magnus.

"I did." Magnus confirmed. "I'm sure Alexander is imprisoning him as we speak." He added, hanging his coat by the door and taking out the contract he had stashed in one of the pockets.

"Is that the-?" Ragnor and Raphael asked at the same time, eyeing the envelope Magnus had pulled from his coat in disbelief.

"It is." Magnus said, giving his friends the document so that they could see it for themselves. They had talked about it so many times in the past that he was sure they were very intrigued by it.

"So it's official." Raphael said, when he finished scanning the five pages long contract. "You're a free man."

"I am."

"Well, I have to say it, I wasn't completely sure you'd be able to pull that off, Bane," Raphael said sincerely, "the idea seemed crazy from the beginning, but, well, you just proved me wrong and turned over a criminal to the FBI, and not just any criminal, you turned over your-"

"He deserved it." Magnus said, interrupting his friend mid-sentence.

"I agree, but still," Raphael said, "you have to admit that the chances of this plan actually working were very few, if not nil."

"I know."

"Are you sure this was the right thing to do, though?" Ragnor asked. "I mean, yeah, now that man's going to spend the rest of his days locked up in a cell and that's great and all, but, well...for that to happen you had to expose that stupid message that you left for the fed and the address of one of our security buildings, have you considered that maybe thanks to that the FBI could connect the bonds to you...to us?"

"How?" Magnus questioned. "The building is still under Axel's name and Santiago here made sure that the transaction with the bonds was clean, there's no way for them to connect that score to any of us. And yes, I know they got the address of the building thanks to the postcards I left for Alexander, but they know criminals hold quarrels against each other all the time, I'm sure the always very-wise FBI will come up with some stupid theory to justify that man's presence there without having to connect it to me. Besides, the place was spotless, remember that I got rid of any evidence of our presence there, plus, I gave him the rest of the bonds and even the original, and he grabbed them without gloves, so don't worry, he's the one who's going to end up in prison for that crime."

"You know your fed is going to realize that you made those bonds, right?" Raphael said.

"I don't think so…"

"Él no es estúpido."

"I never said he was, but there's no way of knowing that I made them. I didn't sign those bonds, it's the first work I haven't signed in years."

"And yet it's your best work." Ragnor chimed in.

"That doesn't matter anymore, what matters is that for the first time in more than two decades, my dear friends, I am free!" Magnus said, feeling those words finally sinking in. "And this time is for good."

Raphael and Ragnor looked at each other and finally allowed themselves to smile.

"Then I guess this calls for a little celebration." Ragnor said, already walking to Magnus's fridge and taking out a bottle of champagne.

"You bought champagne?" Magnus asked in surprise.

"Of course!" Ragnor exclaimed. "I was worried that something might go wrong, of course, but also very confident that you would succeed." He said, opening the bottle and pouring three glasses, passing them around so they could make a toast. "So here's to...to…" he hesitated, "to...fulfilled debts."

"To perfect scores." Raphael added.

"And to freedom." Magnus said.

"To freedom." They all repeated, clinking their glasses in the air.

o-o-o-o-o

Alec was in his office filling in the reports about the criminal he had captured early that day. As soon as he had returned to the Bureau and presented Asmodeus to the authorities, the Interpol had sent him a statement informing him that the criminal was now in their custody and that they would be transferring him to their facilities in Lyon, France, in the next few days, so now Alec was just finishing up the reports that he had to deliver not only to Lydia, who had been pressuring him since they had returned, but to his boss and father as well.

There was a lot of paperwork to do and even more loose ends to solve, he had to not only list all the evidence found at the crime scene and wrap up the case about the Spanish Victory Bonds, but he had to make sure that Magnus's name stayed clean and out of the final records. Because yes, Asmodeus Brown had been caught in one of Magnus's secret lairs, but that didn't mean that both criminals were colluded, and although Alec still had to ask Magnus a lot of questions, including why he had turned over that man and what was his involvement in the elaboration of those bonds, he wasn't going to let the Bureau link him to another criminal who clearly had nothing to do with him.

"Alec...can I come in?" His father said, poking his head through the door.

"Of course, I'm almost done with the reports." He said, just in case his father was there to pressure him about them too.

"Okay, yeah, but I'm not here for that, I'm here to ask you a couple of questions that have been bothering me since you came back from capturing that man."

"Okay..."

"Don't you think that the timing of you figuring out that message and Asmodeus getting trapped in that building was too perfect to be just a coincidence?" Robert asked, taking a seat in one of the chairs. "I mean, Bane stopped sending you those postcards months ago, right? We know for sure that Asmodeus exchanged those bonds last week...then, why was he there today of all days? It was a great coincidence, don't you think? The day that you discovered that message was the same day that one of the most wanted criminals ended up locked in the same place. I'm sorry, but this sounds too good to be true."

"Well, I thought about that, too," Alec lied, trying to stay calm, "but coincidences do happen, dad, I know it's weird, but they happen and we were lucky that it happened to us."

"I know," Robert said, "but I still find it strange." He said, and Alec tried not to panic. This had been the part he had been dreading since he had called the office to inform them that he had captured Asmodeus Brown in one of Magnus's secret lairs: the moment someone began to ask the right questions.

"Was there any evidence of Bane's presence there?" Robert asked.

"Nothing," Alec informed him, "just fingerprints and evidence against Brown. The only connection Bane has with all this mess are the postcards, but nothing more."

"So just a lucky coincidence?"

"It seems so, yes." Alec said.

"What about the money from the bonds? I heard that you only found a percentage of the profits that this criminal got."

"Well, we're assuming that Brown has the rest hidden somewhere else or used it to pay his accomplices, but ultimately that's not our concern anymore, remember that the Interpol has him in their custody now, so as far as the Bureau is concerned, that's no longer our problem. They'll have to figure out what happened to the rest of the money all by themselves."

"Well, hmmm...make sure to include this information in the reports, okay? I'm certain I'm not the only one who's wondering about this."

"It's already there, dad."

"Okay, fine. Hmmm, I'll go back to my office and wait for your final report." Robert said, awkwardly standing up and heading for the door. "You did well today, Alec, I'm-I'm proud of you." He said, and walked out of the office without even giving Alec a chance to say anything else.

Alec stood there looking at the closed door and not knowing what to do. Robert wasn't the kind of father who went around saying that sort of thing, in fact, this was the second time in his life that Alec had heard him say those words to him. The first time had been when Alec had graduated with honors from the Academy, but even then he had felt that his father's words had been a bit forced given the circumstances, however, this time he had felt that his father had been sincere, as if he had really meant what he had said, and Alec didn't know what to do with that. It was so unexpected and disconcerting that he-

"Alec, I'm sorry to bother you." Izzy said, entering his office and snapping him out of his thoughts. "But they want you in the interrogation room."

"Why?" Alec asked confused. "I thought the Interpol had taken care of that. Wasn't the agent who would be interrogating him supposed to have arrived an hour ago?"

"Yes, Agent Dieudonne arrived on time and after he did all the paperwork, he tried to interrogate him, but the criminal requested to speak with you first."

"With me? Why?"

"I don't know, I wasn't there when he asked him, I just know he told Agent Dieudonne that he would cooperate if and only if he could talk to you first. I guess he just wants to see the man who captured him before opening his mouth and spending the rest of his life in a cell."

Alec frowned. "Okay, well, I'll be there right away, could you finish the reports for me? I just need to add the statement from the National Archives and that's it."

"Sure, don't worry."

Alec stood from his desk and headed for the interrogation room. The area had been cleared, probably following the usual protocol they had when handling dangerous criminals and international affairs, so there were only two guards by the door and the Interpol agent.

"Agent Lightwood?" The agent asked.

"Yes, Alec Lightwood, nice to meet you." He said, extending his hand to the other agent in a polite way.

"Malachi Dieudonne," the agent said, shaking hands with him, "I know this is unusual." He added, pointing to the door behind which Alec assumed Asmodeus was waiting for him. "But he refused to cooperate unless I granted him a meeting with you."

"No problem." Alec said. "He's in there, I presume?"

Malachi nodded. "He asked for a conversation off the records with you, so I'll clear the room so you two can have some privacy. Don't worry, he's handcuffed to the desk so he won't give you any problems, however, if you need something, the guards and I will be waiting in the hallway." He said, taking the guards with him and leaving Alec alone with just a door separating him from the criminal.

Alec took a deep breath to prepare himself for what awaited him inside and opened the door. And there, handcuffed to the desk just as Agent Dieudonne had told him, was Asmodeus Brown. He was smiling broadly, as if he found this situation extremely entertaining.

"I'm glad to see you again, Agent Lightwood, please feel right at home." He pointed to the empty chair in front of him. "I apologize for being such a bad host and having nothing to offer you, but as you can see, there's little I can do with these things on my wrists." He said, showing him the handcuffs.

Alec frowned—this man was very weird. "Why did you ask to see me?" He asked, approaching the desk, but not sitting down.

"Because I wanted to see the man who finally managed to capture me," Asmodeus said, "well, at least the man who's taking credit for it, because we both know you didn't work alone, agent."

"I don't have time for this." Alec said, walking toward the door. He had a hunch that if he stayed there, this conversation would not end well for anyone.

"Did you really think I wasn't aware that you and my son were working together?" The man asked.

Alec stopped dead in his tracks. "Your-your son?" He asked, not quite believing what he had just heard.

"Oh, he didn't tell you!" Asmodeus exclaimed amused. "I can't say I blame him, I haven't been the best father in the world, but I'm sure even you can see the resemblance."

Alec turned around and looked at the criminal, noting with horror that what this man had just said was true. The resemblance was striking. Magnus did look a lot like his father—same olive skin, same dark hair and same intense brown eyes. They were very, very similar and that vision made him feel sick for a moment.

"What does it feel like to capture your boyfriend's father?"

"Magnus isn't my boyfriend." Alec said immediately.

"And yet, you know who I'm talking about." The man said with a grin.

Alec cursed under his breath. He had been stupid for a minute and fallen right into this man's trap. Asmodeus hadn't mentioned Magnus's name, not even once, and now Alec had given him what he had wanted to hear—that it was true and they had worked together. He'd have to be more careful from now on, he was just realizing that, just like Magnus, this man knew how to play with people's minds.

"What do you want?" Alec asked.

"Just to chat with you for a bit," Asmodeus said, "I've been wanting to meet you for some weeks now, you intrigue me, agent." The man added, watching him closely.

Alec could feel those oddly familiar eyes scanning him from head to toe, and although he felt insecure and really exposed, he kept his head straight and held his gaze.

"I followed my son one day, you know?" Asmodeus continued. "To keep an eye on him and see what he was up to. I was in the city on business and decided to stop by his place, but unfortunately, he was on his way out. That's not strange, though, he's always on the move, planning new heists and driving you all insane, but he was dressed too smart to go to work, so instead of greeting him and telling him I was in town, I decided to follow him, and do you know what happened?"

Alec shook his head, he didn't dare to speak.

"He went to you apartment, agent." Asmodeus said with a smile.

Alec tried not to show his sudden panic, but it was hard to contain. This man knew about them and not just that, he knew where he lived!

"At first I didn't know it was your apartment, of course. I had no clue who you were, I thought you were just one of those one-night stands he tends to have from time to time, but a few days later I realized that he kept coming back to you...every, single, day." Asmodeus said, taking his time to utter those last three words and give them a more dramatic emphasis. "So that really piqued my curiosity and I had no choice but to do some research on you, agent. I asked around to see who you were and to my surprise, I discovered that my son had involved himself with a federal agent, and not with any federal agent, but with the one who had been trying to catch him for years."

Alec took deep breaths—his worst nightmare was coming true.

"Don't worry, agent, I won't tell anyone here what I know."

"Wh-why?"

"It's none of my business what you two do with each other."

"Then why are you telling me all this?"

Asmodeus shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I just wanted to see your reaction and learn to know you better."

Alec frowned.

"My son has a past, agent, and so far all his previous lovers have shared the same characteristic: they were with him not because he was someone they thought was worth it, but because they wanted to get something out of him—money, jewelry, prestige. So that made me wonder what a renewed federal agent such as yourself could possibly want from someone like him, but I didn't find the answer."

"I don't want anything from him."

"I know, I can see that now." Asmodeus said with a smile. "It's curious, you know? I didn't know what he saw in you, but now I kind of do. You're handsome, more handsome than the last men he's been with and much more interesting than any other girl he's ever dated, but that's not what has him following you around like a lost puppy, no, it's something else...something that's always managed to get him into trouble."

Alec clenched his jaw. He was dying to ask what, but he wasn't sure it was the best idea. This man already knew too much about them and he certainly didn't need to know that Alec was very intrigued to know what Magnus liked about him, he knew it could be counterproductive for everyone.

"Is that all you have to say?" Alec said instead. He figured that pretending to be unaffected by this man's words was the best strategy to deal with this strange and somewhat creepy conversation.

"Aren't you wondering why Magnus turned over his own father to the authorities?"

"No, he must have his reasons." Alec said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"You aren't a very good liar, agent."

"Think whatever you want."

"Would you believe me if I told you that technically he's been working for me all these years?" Asmodeus asked.

Alec wanted to shake his head and tell this man that that couldn't possibly be true, but for some reason he couldn't.

"Well, he has."

"You're lying."

"I'm not. Why would I need to lie to you, agent? We're practically family with you dating my son and everything. Families don't do that to each other, they don't lie to one another."

"We're not family, we will never be, but if what you're saying is true, then I'm sure you forced him to do it somehow."

"You have too much faith in him, agent, does he know how much you believe in his innocence? I have to admit it, your naivete is kind of adorable." Asmodeus said smiling. "But well, I have to give you this one, agent, I did force him. Do you want to know how?"

Alec shook his head and walked to the door. He had had enough of this man's nonsense, he wasn't going to stay there any longer to hear him making fun of them or trying to tell him some twisted story about Magnus.

"Are you quite sure, agent?" Asmodeus asked when Alec was already by the door. "Because it's a pretty good story, in fact, I'm sure that you of all people will appreciate it...it's about a boy, his sick mother and his father."

Alec would have loved to have the strength to just walk out of that room and stop listening to this man, but curiosity overcame him and he stood there, looking at the doorknob, but not daring to grab it.

"Maybe you'll want to sit down for this one." Asmodeus said.

Alec could hear the triumph in his voice, so just to make very clear who was in command here, he turned around and stood near the desk, crossing his arms in front of him and just waiting for whatever this man had to say.

"I like you, agent, I really do." Asmodeus said, smiling approvingly at him. "But anyway, back to the story...a long time ago, there was a boy whose mother was very sick. They were very poor and had many debts, so the boy couldn't take her to the doctor. Desperate and not knowing what to do, the boy went to see his father and asked him for help. The father, out of the kindness of his heart, gave his son some money and that's how their story began."

"Are you being serious right now?" Alec asked when he noticed that Asmodeus was telling the story as some sort of bad bedtime story.

"Yes, now stop interrupting or I won't finish it and you'll have to go ask my son for an explanation and never know if he told you the truth." Asmodeus said. "As I was saying, with the money his generous father gave him, the boy took his mother to the doctor, but soon he found himself in need of more money. His mother's health was just getting worse and there wasn't time to lose, so the father, seeing the potential of his son and the situation in which he was, offered him a deal—an unlimited amount of money to pay for whatever treatment his mother might need in exchange for some assistance in his hmmm...illegal jobs."

Alec gasped, he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"So, of course, the boy said yes. Despite how she had treated him, he couldn't see his mother suffer, so he agreed, and father and son began to work together. Over the years, the expenses of the boy's mother started to increase and since money doesn't grow on trees, both father and son had to come to a new agreement to make things work for both of them. The boy wanted to stop working for the father, but the father needed some kind of assurance that his son would still pay him the debt he had acquired with him, so he had him sign a contract."

Alec's eyes widened.

"Long story short," Asmodeus continued, "the boy's mother died anyway and the father made sure that his son spent years and years paying him for every penny he had used to try to save her life. When the son finally managed to pay his debt, the bastard betrayed his own father and set him up, so that he ended up being arrested and charged for a crime he didn't commit. The end."

Alec was silent for a moment. He knew that perhaps nothing of what this man had said was true, but somehow it made sense. Magnus had mentioned a debt once, he had said something about buying time, and although he didn't have all the details about that part of Magnus's life, it kind of fit with what this man had said. He could see a young Magnus asking his father for money to save his mother—he could see it clearly.

"Why did you share this story with me? It doesn't make sense, you should be trying to make me hate him, not-" Alec bit his tongue before saying something that he wasn't ready to say out loud yet.

Asmodeus smiled. "Why would I want you to hate my son?"

"I don't know, so that I do what I have to do and put him behind bars?" Alec asked confused. This conversation made no sense at all.

"He's a very good asset, it would be a shame if he ended up in jail so soon. Besides, if I wanted him behind bars, I would just have to open my mouth and say that I had nothing to do with the bonds. I'm sure he didn't sign them, he's too smart for that, but you know that every artist has its own unique style, I'm sure you have enough material in your possession to match any of his previous works with the bonds and prove that he did them, but we want to protect him, so you're not going to do that and I'm not going to open my mouth either."

"So you're willing to pay for a crime you did not commit?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

Alec frowned, he didn't know what to say.

"Look, agent, we all have our reasons, okay? You protect him because you care about him and believe he's not the bad guy you've been chasing for years, I do it because it's convenient for me at the moment."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Asmodeus said, "so just take this conversation and what I told you about him as a gift for the future."

Alec frowned again.

"My son only makes sacrifices for the people he truly loves, all the rest? He just uses them and then disposes of them like garbage. It's in his nature, so when you two are at that point and have to prove your loyalties to each other, remember this story."

"Why?"

"Because only then you'll know what he really feels for you and if what you've been doing for him was worth it. You've been protecting him for months, and we know you'll keep protecting him because you have feelings for him, but is he worthy of that sacrifice on your part? You're risking too much for him, agent, is he doing the same for you?" He asked. "Don't answer that, I don't need to know, but remember my words, okay? We all have our weaknesses, don't let him be yours. Because it doesn't matter if you want to believe it or not, he's a criminal, he isn't a good person."

"You don't know him." Alec said, walking toward the door.

"Oh, but I do...I do. After all, I made him who he is."

Alec rolled his eyes and opened the door.

"I'll see you soon, agent."

Alec ignored him and just closed the door behind him. This encounter had left him all kinds of confused and with a lot of questions, and there was only one person who could give him the answers.

o-o-o-o-o

Magnus was putting the glasses and dishes away after the celebration dinner he had had with his friends when his doorbell rang, startling him a little.

"Alexander, what a pleasant surprise!" Magnus said when he opened the door and found the agent standing there. He usually called or texted before arriving, as Magnus did when it was the other way around, but apparently today they had ignored all their rules. "I wasn't expecting you, it's not that I'm not glad to see you, of course, you know you're always welcome in my home, but what are you doing here? I thought you'd be celebrating."

"Why did you give me that man?" Alec asked, entering the loft.

"Well, because you're a federal agent and he's a criminal. As far as I know that's your job, right? To stop and put criminals behind bars. Besides, I thought you'd like to catch a big fish while we find Valentine. Is the FBI going to give you a medal or something?"

"No." Alec said simply.

Magnus looked at him closely. The agent was acting strange. Usually he was very effusive when they met after a long day of work, but tonight he hadn't even kissed him when he had come in. Not that it was some sort of obligation, but usually, they were very affectionate with each other and the fact that Alec looked so uncomfortable standing there, was starting to worry him.

"Are you okay? You're acting a bit weird." Magnus said.

Alec took a deep breath before answering. "I'm not sure...I-I-I want to-I...there's something I need to ask you, but I want you to be completely honest with me, okay?"

"Okay...what is it?" Magnus asked hesitantly. He didn't know what to expect from this conversation. When he had pictured how it would be like the next time he saw Alec after giving him Asmodeus, he hadn't pictured this serious and quite uncomfortable scenario.

"The bonds that Asmodeus Brown had with him...you did them, didn't you? They weren't signed, but I saw them, I've seen what you can do."

Magnus felt trapped for a second, he had seriously underestimated Alec's observation skills. He had hoped that with the lack of signature and the prints on the bonds, Alec thought that that man had been behind the fraud all along, but apparently he had been wrong.

"Please tell me the truth." Alec begged him.

Magnus took a deep breath. A few weeks ago he would have lied to him right on the spot and without thinking twice, but so much had changed between them since then that now he couldn't do it anymore.

"I did." He said.

"Why?" Alec asked. He sounded a bit hurt, so Magnus just shrugged in response. He knew there was nothing he could say that would make Alec feel better about this.

"Did you redeem the bonds too?" Alec continued asking, even though he seemed very conflicted with all this.

"Alec…"

"Please tell me."

"I did."

"Okay, so help me understand. You redeemed more than a thousand bonds," the agent said, "but the money found in that building was only a percentage, did you keep the rest?"

"No." Magnus said sincerely. He wished he could tell him the whole truth, he wished he could be honest for once in his life and tell him why he had done what he had done, but he couldn't. "You know I don't work alone." He said instead.

"Did you keep any money from that score?" Alec asked.

"No."

"That man had in his possession exactly 45% of the total amount generated by the fraud. The money we found there, that percentage, was it yours?"

"Yes and no."

"Explain."

"I can't."

"Why?"

Magnus didn't answer.

Alec took a deep breath. "You were paying a debt to that man, weren't you? You told me about a debt once." He said.

Magnus just nodded.

"A debt to your father." Alec added.

Magnus let off a hard gasp as all the air in his lungs escaped from his body. What was he supposed to say? For starters, Alec shouldn't know that information. He had made sure there were no traces of his blood connection to that man. He had avoided telling anyone but his friends who that man was. First, because he wasn't proud of the blood running through his veins, and second, because his father, though not as violent as Valentine, was also a very, very dangerous man.

"How do you know that?" Magnus asked.

"He told me." Alec said.

"Well, now you know…" Magnus exhaled, "that man is my father."

"Is that why you became a criminal? Did you want to be like him?"

"He told you that?" Magnus asked, appalled. He couldn't believe that man had dared to say that. "No, Alexander, I didn't want to be like him, on the contrary, that was my greatest fear, to end up being like him."

"Then why did you become a criminal?"

"Because I had to!" Magnus exclaimed. He wasn't sure when, but this conversation had turned into some kind of interrogation, and he wasn't liking that.

"To help your mother?" Alec inquired.

Magnus opened his mouth in surprise. He knew that Alec knew way more than he was sharing, but he never imagined he knew that much.

"He told me that too." Alec added.

"Then you already know all there is to know, there's nothing else to talk about." Magnus said, turning around and heading for the kitchen. He didn't want to have a disagreement with Alec over this. It wasn't his fault that Magnus's father had shared information with him, but they couldn't have this conversation, not now, not ever.

"No, wait!" Alec said, grabbing his arm to stop him. "I want to hear it from you."

"That can't happen, you already know way more than you should. What I did in my past, what I did not so long ago, wasn't exactly legal and I don't want to add more charges to my sentence. That's why we agreed to never have this conversation, Alexander. I know you want to know, but I can't tell you anything. Especially not after seeing how conflicted you are with how little you already know about me, so please, do us both a favor and stop asking what you clearly don't want to hear."

Alec took a deep breath and released him.

Magnus thought that that would be the end of the discussion, but the agent reached inside his jacket and pulled out his gun, making Magnus to panic for a second. He knew they had a truce and that Alec had agreed not to arrest him while they worked together, but God knew what his father had told him and if any of that had made Alec change his mind. "What are you doing?" He asked hesitantly.

"Giving you immunity for the next ten hours." The agent said, putting his gun and badge on the table.

"What!?" Magnus asked confused.

"What you heard, for the next ten hours, or until I have to go back to the office, you can tell me everything you've ever done and I won't be able to add anything to your file. That man said a lot of stuff about you, your mother and that debt you had with him, and I don't want to keep asking you things and not getting answers. I understand that in your life you've done a lot of illegal stuff, but I'm willing to listen and not judge if you're willing to share."

"Are you serious?" Magnus asked, not quite believing this man.

"I wouldn't be doing it if I weren't serious." Alec said, now taking off his jacket and tossing it on the couch.

"You could hear things you probably won't like." Magnus warned him.

"I know."

"You could end up hating me."

"I don't think that's ever going to happen. You already told me that you haven't killed anyone, so whatever you've done can't be that bad."

Magnus sighed. "Why do you want to hear it from me? It's not very different from what you already know."

"I don't know, I just need to hear this from you."

"But, why?"

"Because I need to! Please?" Alec said, and Magnus finally understood the meaning behind that conflicted expression on the agent's face. Alec wasn't conflicted because he knew some bad things about Magnus's past, he was conflicted because he thought Magnus didn't trust him.

"You think I don't trust you." Magnus said aloud. "How can you even think that, huh, Alexander? You're the person I trust the most in the world! If I haven't shared my life with you it's because I was trying to protect you, I didn't want to put you in this situation."

"And you didn't, I did." Alec said.

"Okay, fine." Magnus said resigned. "If this is what you really want, then let's go sit down. This is going to be a very long night, so it's better if we're comfortable."