Arrested (Book 1 of the Arrested Trilogy) {malec au}

Chapter Eighteen

Alec stared at him. "How the hell do you know that?"

"I just do. Info's been leaking out from your precinct for months now. This stuff is highly classified, highly personal and highly pricey. Someone in there is making more than their fair share of yearly wages for a cop."

"Wouldn't someone notice that info was getting leaked?" Alec asked.

"I dunno. You're the detective. You tell me," Ragnor lit another cigarette. "Find the leak and you'll find the mole. That's all I can really say."

"How do we know the mole isn't you?" Magnus pinned him to the fence again. His blood was boiling at this point in the conversation. They weren't getting anywhere.

Ragnor laughed. "Me? The mole? That's a good one. First off, I'd either have to work there or be arrested 24/7 to actually be able to get decent intel and leak it. I'm rarely in there these days. You can call me a month clean if you'd like."

Magnus shook his head. "You wish. Secondly?"

"Secondly, why would I be a mole for Valentine when he's the one who put me on the streets in the first place? Seems a bit rash, don't you think?"

He had a point. Ragnor had nothing to gain by giving Valentine classified police information. Aside from the fact that Ragnor was an obvious alcoholic, Valentine didn't strike them as the type to take back trash he threw out on the curb. He was smarter than that.

"This mole....hypothetically speaking. How much time do we have to catch them?" Alec asked.

"Hypothetically? I can't give you an estimate, but I doubt you've got very long until this pesky little mole will sniff out exactly what it is they're looking for." Ragnor threw the rest of his cigarette on the ground, stepping on it. "I'd call the exterminators if I were you. Flush them out while you can. Best of luck to you boys."

Whistling a jolly tune, Ragnor left Alec and Magnus alone in the alley with his words fresh on their minds.

"What do we do now?" Magnus kicked a cigarette stub with the tip of his shoe. "I'm not familiar with moles from this side of things. It's a whole different perspective."

Alec sighed heavily. His mind was filled with questions and he had no idea where to go from here. "Let's just keep focusing on the case for now. Whatever pops up, we'll handle one at a time. No sense in getting stressed over nothing."

"Oh, I can't handle stress well. Makes my complexion all weird...." Magnus pat his face with a hand. "I don't know how you do it. Coming here everyday knowing that you could get hurt or have to see some really rough shit."

Alec shrugged. "I don't think about it much. I do it because I love it and I love helping people. Protecting them. Stress is a part of the job. It's what I signed up for."

Magnus clicked his tongue against his teeth. "Why couldn't you be a pizza delivery boy? Or a hairdresser?"

"And give into the whole 'all gays are hairdressers' stereotype? No thanks. I'm good," Alec kicked a garbage bin as he walked by it. "I can be gay and be a cop at the same time. There's no rule against it."

"Didn't say there was, Pretty Boy. Shouldn't affect the way you work anyway. A cop is a cop-" Magnus froze in place, staring ahead. "Who else has access to that extended database at your place?"

Alec stopped to look back at him. "Uh....just me. And Izzy of course. She's the one who-" Alec frowned. "You're not saying....you're not accusing my sister of being the mole, are you? She'd never do something like this. She's one of the good guys!"

"Relax! Jesus, don't give yourself a hernia. I'm not saying she is the mole. I'm saying she could be. At this point, everyone in this damn building is a suspect. Even us."