"Oh god. You're with Valentine. Aren't you? He's finally come to finish me off?" Hodge cried as he backed up into his room.
"We're not with Valentine. I'm a cop. He's.....whatever he is," Alec said as Magnus gave him a subtle shrug.
Hodge breathed out. "Shit. Really? Am I being put under protection?"
"Protection? For what?" Alec closed the door behind him. The room was clean aside for a bottle of tequila on the bedside table and a glass half filled with the amber liquid. "Why are you hiding from Valentine?"
Hodge sat down on the queen size bed. "I have my reasons. Besides, if I told you and anyone finds out....I'm definitely a dead man."
"We can keep a secret. Valentine or his nutjobs won't know you said a thing. Plus Alec here can get the protection you need. Right Alec?" Magnus looked at Alec, raising an eyebrow. He obviously didn't mean what he said.
"Right. Definitely. I'll make sure you're well protected from Valentine's men. We just need you to answer a few questions that we have first."
Hodge nodded. "Sure. Okay. I'll answer them."
Magnus and Alec took a seat at the table across from the bed. Magnus even poured himself up some tequila and put his feet up on the bed. "My partner here will ask the questions. I'll observe and let him know if you're telling the truth or not. I'm Magnus, by the way. Magnus Bane."
"The nightclub owner? Pandemonium?"
"That's the one," Magnus winked, taking a sip of his drink.
"You're not a cop too?" Hodge asked.
"Nope. I'm his consultant. An expert in catching people in a lie," Magnus took another sip of tequila. "Let's begin, shall we?"
Alec cleared his throat, shooting Magnus a glare. "Why is Valentine so active lately? Nobody's heard from him in over a year. Why now?"
Hodge sighed. "He's searching for something. I've heard the name a few times from the other guys. He's looking for the cup."
"The cup," Alec repeated. "He's looking for a cup?"
"Not just any ordinary cup. It's an abbreviation. Centralized something something. It's huge. It's supposed to give you complete control of the city and everything in it. He's been sniffing it out for a while. Luckily someone is hiding it very well." Hodge poured himself up a glass of tequila. "It's a device that can be sold for a lot of money on the black market. But we all know he's not selling it."
"He wants to use it." Alec whispered. "But why are you hiding from him? What did you do?"
"I...." Hodge rubbed the back of his neck. "I wanted out. I couldn't take it anymore. He was making us do all these kinds of crazy jobs. Like the other day, he made me go into a clothing store and warn the people inside that he ran this city."
The hair on Alec's arms and neck rose as the bullet wound on his side throbbed with the memory. "That was you?!"
"That-what? Were you there?!" Hodge's voice went up an octave.
"Of course I was there. You fucking shot me! My own sister had to take the bullet out of me! My little sister!" Alec grabbed Hodge by the collar of the shirt, hauled him to his feet and slammed him against the wall. "I could shoot you right here. Right now. Give you a taste of your own medicine-"
"Please don't hurt me! Please! I have information! Valuable information!" Hodge began to sob. "I can help you! Point you in the right direction!"
Magnus stood up and laid a gentle hand on Alec's shoulder. "You're scaring him, Alexander. Maybe he can be of some use, but he's no good to us if he's in the hospital. Or dead."
Alec felt his stiffened muscles loosen under Magnus' touch. He released Hodge who was rubbing his shoulder in pain from being pinned to the wall. "Fine. You'll tell us everything you know. If Magnus sees that you're lying, I'm arresting you for injuring an officer and for wielding an unregistered weapon in a public place. Now spill, Starkweather."
Magnus felt goosebumps rise on his arms as Alec used his authority voice. He was so ridiculously hot right now. If it was only the two of them in the room, he'd have Alec stripped naked and kissed him everywhere his lips would allow him.
Hodge nodded. "You know about the CUP, obviously. What you don't know is that Valentine has people spying on him from the outside. He has a mole."
"A mole? Seriously? And he's not aware of this?"
"Nope. Bastard's ego is too big to see what's right in front of him. Info has been leaking out for two or so years now. Very important info. Highly classified."
Alec crossed his arms over his chest. "And no one went to the police with this?"
"And say what? 'Hi I'm undercover at Valentine's and I have information for you about a cup'? That's real smart for someone who wants to have themselves and everyone around them killed. Real smart indeed." Hodge leaned forward, lowering his voice as he did so. "If you want real info that you won't get anywhere else, you'll need to talk to the Downworlders. They have eyes and ears everywhere."
"Downworlders. They're a gang, aren't they? They hang around the old church in Brooklyn. That's their territory. Downworld," Alec explained to Magnus. "They're pretty dangerous. Druggies, high school dropouts, criminals galore-"
Magnus raised a hand. "Oh you don't need to tell me who they are. I've seen them on the news more than once. One of them scalped a man. It was disgusting. How can we contact the Downworlders?"
Hodge shook his head. "You don't contact them. They contact you. I'll send word that you're looking to speak with them and you'll hear from them once they approve your request. In fact, I'll do it right now....." He took out a phone and tapped a few times on the screen. "There. Done. You'll hear from someone soon."
Alec shrugged. "Fair enough. Was he lying, Magnus?"
"No. He's telling the truth."
"Excellent. Hodge Starkweather.....you're under arrest for shooting an officer as well as several other charges that will be pressed against you in the court of law. Anything you say or do can and may be used against you, so I highly advise you keep your mouth shut if you want to get out of this in the quickest way possible."
Hodge yelped as Alec turned him around against the wall, cuffing him. "What the fuck? I said I'd help you in exchange for protection!"
"And I stayed true to my word. Where you're going, you'll have lots of protection. Just behind bars," Alec gripped Hodge by the shoulder. "After you, Mr. Starkweather."
Hodge began to sob. "They'll kill me. HE WILL KILL ME!"
Magnus' eyes were the size of saucers when Alec cuffed Hodge and dragged him out to the elevator. "Alec! I didn't think you were going to arrest him anyway! Why?"
Alec sighed as he tapped the DOWN button. "He shot me, Magnus. And he scared an entire store by waving a gun around. This is justice."
"But you promised him protection-"
"The law is hard, but it is the law."
Magnus sighed heavily. The doors to the elevator opened and the three men stepped inside. "I trust you, Alec. And I hope you know what you're doing."
"So do I, Magnus. So do I."
**********
Hodge was now inside the interrogation room being questioned by Jace. Alec was in the control room listening in on the conversation alongside Magnus.
"Jace doesn't seem to be asking the right questions...." Magnus whispered.
"No one can hear us in here, Magnus. You don't have to whisper," Alec pointed out.
"Sorry. I didn't know. But you agree with what I said, right? Jace isn't-"
"Jace is doing his best. I can't ask the questions. I can't show my face to the cameras. Too many questions will be asked. Plus I can't ask the questions. People are going to want to know how I got this information."
Magnus pressed his forehead to the glass. "Alec, people want to know how you even got this guy in the first place. I mean.....you went to his freakin' hotel room to get information. Information that's probably impossible to get unless you went into the beehive itself."
Alec stroked his chin. When he had brought Hodge in a half hour ago, his fellow cops gave him a strange look. They weren't looking at Hodge. They were looking at his swollen and bruised face. Nobody asked questions, thankfully. Nobody even stopped him to ask what happened or to see if he was okay. He was used to this by now. Four years in law enforcement never changed a bit.
"Stay here. I'm going to question him too," Alec said as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.
Magnus frowned. "But I thought-"
"Just stay here. I mean it. Don't come in that room or I'll arrest you too."
Jace looked over his shoulder as Alec came in. "Ah. You've met my partner Alec. He's the brains of the operation here. He usually does the questioning but he likes to throw a curveball every now and then. Wanna have a go?"
Alec grabbed Hodge by the collar and slammed him into the table. "Tell us where Valentine is."
"Dude! What the fuck!" Jace yelled.
Hodge held his bleeding nose and began to cry again. "I don't know! I was always blindfolded when they brought me to wherever he was! I swear to god I don't know anything!"
Alec scoffed. "I don't believe you. I think you're hiding something."
"I'm not!" Hodge's voice cracked. "I swear to fucking god I don't know! Hardly anybody knew anything!"
"So you're saying somebody knew something?"
Hodge shrugged. "I don't know! Maybe? I was the lowest of the low when it came to the whole hierarchy. I was the bottom of the pyramid. I was practically scraping gum of their shoes!"
Alec looked at Jace, who was looking right back at him, his eyes seeming to say 'let me handle this, Alec' and Alec released Hodge from his grip immediately. "You better answer my partner truthfully. Every question. If I find you lied once-"
"I won't lie. I swear on the Bible. I'll answer every question truthfully," Hodge raised his hand, giving ale what looked like the number three with his fingers. "Scouts honour."
Alec scowled but said nothing as he left the room. Magnus was waiting in the hallway when he came out, fiddling with his jacket and mumbling. His expression changed almost immediately when he saw Alec approach.
"So? How did it go? Did you scare the bejesus out of him like you do with everyone else?"
"I don't scare the bejesus out of everyone, Magnus."
"That sounds like something only a person who scares the bejesus out of everyone says."
Alec rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Look, let's get out of here before we get stopped by anyone-"
"Alec. Do you have a moment?" A deep voice said. Alec knew this demanding voice. It belonged to his father. When he turned around, Robert was standing outside his office door. "It's important."
Alec nodded. "Of course, commissioner. Right away."
"Bring the con man too. I need to speak with him as well," Robert said before heading back inside his office.
Magnus beamed. "I feel so important right now. The commissioner wants to speak with me!"
Alec shook his head as he reached for the handle to his father's office. "Don't get too excited. When you're called into the commmisioner's office, it's usually never anything good."
Robert was seated behind his desk as they went inside. "Ah. Alexander. Mr. Bane. Please take a seat. I have something I need to discuss with you."
Alec took a seat. "Dad, whatever it is, I'm sorry. I'm supposed to be a leader. When I screw up, I expect to be punished-"
"Whoa. Slow down there, bud. You're not in trouble. That's not what I called you both in here for. Although I do want to know why your face is the color of the rainbow....." Robert eyed Alec's face carefully. "But first things first. Your mother is cooking a turkey dinner tonight and asked me to invite you both."
Alec's mouth went dry. This was exactly the sort of thing he wanted to avoid that involved Magnus. "Uh.....I-I don't....m-maybe.....I-"
"We would be most honored, Mr. Lightwood. Most honored indeed. Shall I bring along a dessert for after the meal?" Magnus spoke up, giving Alec's knee a slight squeeze from below the desk where Robert couldn't see.
"That would be perfect. What kind of dessert? My wife can't eat anything high in fat. She's on one of those weird diets or another. I don't pay much attention," Robert rolled his eyes which made Magnus grin. He could see where Alec got it from.
"I know a delicious recipe for a low fat, low sugar blueberry pie with a coconut glaze and a hint of lemon. My grandmother used to make it for me all the time when I was a kid. It's quite delicious."
Robert beamed. "It does, to be honest. It really does. I can't remember the last time I had a homemade pie. Maryse usually just buys the pre made ones at the store but that's not the same thing as something fresh out of the oven. It tastes so much better that way."
"I couldn't agree more, sir. Freshly cooked meals are the best served hot."
Robert and Magnus chuckled together, leaving Alec wondering what the hell was going on and what universe he stepped into when he came into the office. "Uh, we should get going. Magnus has to pick up ingredients if he wants to make that pie for later. I don't have any at home."
"Yes, Alec. That's true. It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Lightwood-"
"Please. Call me Robert."
"Robert. Excellent. It was a pleasure, indeed. I can see where Alec gets his mannerisms and I mean that in the nicest way possible. And please. Call me Magnus.
Robert laughed. "I underestimated you, Magnus. You're not at all what I thought you'd be. Not one bit."
Magnus smiled. "That means a lot, sir. It really does. Well I look forward to tonight and meeting the rest of the family. From what Alec told me, they sound quite amazing."
Robert turned pink around the ears. "My family is amazing. Thank you. And I look forward to learning more about you. Alec barely ever talks about work with me. He barely talks to me at all."
Alec sighed. "Commissioner, now is not the time or the place to be discussing our feelings. We'll talk later after dinner. Come on, Magnus. We have to get stuff for a pie."
Magnus waved as he was dragged along by the sleeve. "Bye Mr. Lightwood! I look forward to dinner!"
"Shut up! Jesus, you're making a racket! Everyone's staring at us!" Alec pulled Magnus around a corner and sighed. "What....the actual living hell was that back there?"
Magnus feigned surprise. "I'm not sure what you mean, dear Alexander. Please explain."
"You-you charmed my dad?! Right in front of me! Why didn't you just tell him that his son is gay and that he kissed you? Twice?!"
Magnus turned serious, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. "Because it's not my place to say. His son needs to say that for himself when he's ready."
A deep breath escaped Alec's lungs as he sighed heavily. "I'm sorry. For getting angry. You don't....my mother only calls family dinners when she has something to say about one of us. She makes a huge ordeal out of it. A spectacle, if you will."
Magnus placed a kind hand on Alec's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I'll charm her too if it has to come to that," he winked, pleased that Alec smiled at his attempt to cheer him up. "Now come on. Let's go pick up stuff for a pie. This has to be the best pie I've ever made if I want to impress your family."
"Have you ever made a pie before?"
"No. Never. You think your father will be able to tell the difference between a store bought one and a freshly baked one?"