ISpy

Chapter 23

Alec:

Alec walked the halls of the Institute with a smile on his face. It was a regular day at the agency, with people rushing around from place to place trying to deliver information and prepare for missions. One man carrying a stack of papers ran straight into Alec, and his papers came flying out his hand.

Once he realized who Alec was, he immediately apologized, talking quickly and telling him it was an accident, he was sorry. Alec forgave him, and even helped picked up the papers. Another day, he might've threatened to get the guy fired, but what could he say, he was in a good mood.

So much so that when Clary approached Alec in the training room, Alec didn't immediately roll his eyes and walk the opposite direction. Instead, he stayed put and listened to what Clary had to say.

"You haven't seen Simon anywhere, have you?" She asked. She looked a little worried. "He's normally here by now, and I've tried texting him, but he's not responding."

Alec shook his head. "No, I haven't seen him."

"What about Jonah? I know they've been hanging out lately."

Alec didn't answer at first, he had forgotten who Jonah was.

"The Circle agent?" Clary said.

"Ohh, yeah, I haven't seen him either. But, if I see either one of them, I'll let you know."

"Thanks you, Alec. If he doesn't turn up soon, I'm calling Raphael. I don't want to bother him, but I'm starting to worry." She looked around, possibly for someone who may have seen Simon, then left.

Alec didn't think to much about this for the remainder of the day, and he had nearly forgotten about it, when Jace grabbed his arm and said, "Emergency meeting. Control room, now." Alec and Jace walked quickly to the control room, where agents were gathered around. His dad, Robert, was at the huge table in the center of the room that showed a view of New York. Clary was beside him, clutching her phone.

"Agents, we don't have much time. We have been informed that the Circle, alongside the Seelies, are launching an attack on the Downworlder agencies. If we are to assist them, we must decide now, or we might be too late. Does anyone object, and if so, state your reason why."

Alec's heart dropped. Magnus could be in danger. He might not ever see him again. The thought of this nearly drove Alec to leave right then and there. He tuned out whoever was speaking, and breathed in and out, trying not to hyperventilate.

"Alright, so since the majority of you seem to agree with aiding them, that's what we will do. We will divide into 3 groups, one for each agency. Alec and Jace, you will be heading one group. Which one will it be?"

"Warlocks." Alec said, without hesitation.

Jace looked at Alec strangely, then accepted. Robert picked the other people to head the missions, but again, Alec wasn't listening. He needed to get to Magnus. Robert dismissed them to get their groups ready to battle, and Alec tells Jace to address them. His speech is brief and encouraging, and gets the men and women fired up.

The Clave agents storm out of the Institute as one, then break off into different directions, all with a sense of purpose, Alec especially. He leads the charge at the Warlock agency with his brother alongside him, going through the place like an explorer in the jungle, cutting through vines and the like. He glanced around with urgency, looking at the fallen agents around him to see if one was Magnus.

He fought viciously and with no mercy; Jace had to grab his shoulders and say, "Alec, the Circle agents are falling back, we won. We won."

This shook Alec out of what felt like a trance; he looked at Jace and nodded. "Yeah, yeah." He said. He began to look around at the agents on the floor around him. "I have to go." Alec said, and rushed off before Jace could respond.

Alec had no idea where he was going, it was the drive of finding Magnus that kept him going. Alec found the infirmary, where the warlocks tended to their wounded. The beds were full, with people laying in every one, some alive, some dead.

Alec's eyes swept the room, and that's when he saw him. Magnus, beside the bed of another agent. He remembered her, she was at Magnus' party. She stuck out in his mind because of her skin color, which was blue. He had to physically stop himself from running to the bed, and instead walked over.

Magnus looked at him and his eyes immediately lit up. "Alec." He said.

Alec smiled wide. "Magnus."

Magnus looked in his eyes, not saying anything.

"I'm glad you're okay." Alec said. "I was worried about you."

"I was worried about you, too." Magnus said.

Alec looked at the agent. "How is she?"

"Cat? She's good. The doctors said there won't be any permanent damage."

"That's good. I know she's a close friend of yours."

"One of my closest friends. She's always been there for me, and I will always be there for her."

Magnus looked at Alec with a weird mix of sadness and frustration. Alec was gonna comment on it, when he saw Jace standing in the doorway of the infirmary. "I have to go." Alec said. "Bye, Magnus."

"Bye, Alec." Magnus looked at him with that same expression.

Alec walked away, a bit confused, to Jace, who still stood in the doorway.

"What were you doing here?" Jace asked.

"I got lost. I was asking for directions to the front." He

Jace frowned. "Are you okay?"

Alec nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"I don't know, you've been acting...out of character. Unlike yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"Alec, I've never seen you fight the way you did tonight. You'd probably still be chasing after Clave agents now if I hadn't stopped you. And then you just run off?"

Alec shrugged. "I want the Clave gone. They've caused enough chaos." Jace was still frowning at him; he didn't believe him.

"You should call Clary." Alec said, trying to change the subject.

"I should." He got out his phone and called her number.

"Hey, are you alright?"