𝑶𝑭 𝑩𝑳𝑶𝑶𝑫 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑩𝑬𝑻𝑹𝑨𝒀𝑨𝑳

ᏘᏊᏘKᏋ, ᏘRIᎦᏋ ᎧR ᏰᏋ FᎧRᏋᏤᏋR FᏘLLᏋᏁ

"Oh my God, Max," Clary said, worried for the little boy.

"We should send him to Idris. See what they can do." Alec said.

"You heard the medic, Alec. He won't be able to survive the transfer in his condition." Alyssa said, just as Jace and Sebastian entered the room. For once, she paid no attention to the blond British, more concerned for Max at that moment.

"Max." Jace looked just as worried as his adoptive siblings. "We checked the Institute's security camera footage. Whoever attacked him is somehow covering their tracks."

"Did you check the ones in the office?" Alyssa asked. "That's where the blood trail started."

"We did, we still have nothing." Jace replied, making his wife sigh.

"Has he been able to talk?" Sebastian asked.

"Not yet. He's unconscious." Izzy answered.

"As you can well see," Alyssa added sarcastically.

"I don't understand. Who would want to hurt him?" Clary said.

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out." Alec said, determinedly, sharing a look with Alyssa which had her nodding at him.

"Hey, I'll get Robert and Maryse here. The rest of us will find out who did this." Jace said.

"Yeah, I'll stay with Max. If he regains consciousness, perhaps he can ID his attacker." Sebastian offered.

"No," Alyssa said, shaking her head. "Izzy will stay here with him. You're coming with us." Sebastian rolled his eyes at her.

"Will you just trust..."

"No, she's right, Sebastian." Alec said, cutting the blond off. "We need all hands on deck. Let's go."

All of them left the infirmary, leaving Izzy with Max. Before they could go far, Alyssa pulled Antonio back and had the others go ahead.

"Tony, I need you to do something for me." Antonio nodded. "Go to the office. See if you can tell what happened and if we can possibly ID the attacker. Alec and I found a pool of blood behind Alec's desk. The trail was what led us to Izzy's room. See what you can find and report whatever you get to me, only me. Okay?" She told him in a low voice.

"You got it, Allie." Antonio said then went to do as she asked while Alyssa went to join the rest.

Izzy's Room

Jace, Alyssa, and Clary were in the room, trying to see if they could find any clues.
"From the traces of blood outside the door, it seems that Max was attacked somewhere else." Jace said.

"He was." Alyssa said, drawing Jace and Clary's attention to her. "Alec and I were in the office talking when I smelled blood behind the desk. We found a pool of Max's blood there, then I tracked his scent here."

"He was probably looking for help." Clary said, looking around.

Jace crouched down in front of the bed, where Max had been lying earlier. Overwhelmed with emotion and unable to deal with the fact that his adoptive little brother's life was now hanging in the balance.

Alyssa crouched beside him and placed a hand on his back, rubbing it up and down to comfort him. She did a double take as something under the bed caught her eye.

"Babe..." Jace looked at her and she nodded towards the bed, then reached under to pull out what she'd seen. "Clary..." It was the box that had contained Jonathan's baby items.

Ops Center

Alec and Sebastian met the three of them at a table, and Clary placed the box on it.