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

Chapter Eighteen

"Finally. I was wondering what was taking you both so bloody long. Stopped to compare gun sizes? Boast whose handcuffs gets the job done?" Ragnor took a puff of a cigarette just as Alec and Magnus stepped into the alleyway where he waited. "Escaped unscathed, I see. No boo boos?"

"Shut up. Why are we out here and not inside?" Alec coughed and waved away the smoke that floated in the air.

"Can't smoke in there. Figured it was better out here than in there. Plus the lads in there don't really fancy me after causing a ruckus a few years back when they arrested me for....what's the term? Inappropriate nudity? Is there an appropriate nudity I can go by?"

Magnus snatched the cigarette out of Ragnor's hand and tossed it. "Look. If you have more information, spit it out. We don't have all day."

A horn honked, making Ragnor jump. "Catarina was injured during the shooting last night. She would've came here to share this nice little tidbit of information, so she sent me instead to tell you."

"Is she okay? How badly injured is she?" Alec asked.

Ragnor shook his head. "It's not good but it's not bad either. Her shoulder is pretty busted. Nothing our people can't handle-"

"Your people aren't qualified to help with such an injury like that, Ragnor. Give me the location of where she is and I'll call for an ambulance. I'll even pay her hospital bill," Alec took out his phone, but Ragnor's hand on his wrist stopped him from dialling. "Ragnor....please. Let me help."

"I appreciate the gesture, Alec. You're a sweet boy. But this is Downworlder affairs and I highly doubt any of your fellow officers in that big, bad building of yours will lend a hand to over a hundred homeless people who are in Valentine's crosshairs."

Alec said nothing. He wanted to help. He wanted to help so bad and it was going against every fiber in his body to move out of Ragnor's grasp and call for help....but not knowing where Catarina was didn't help the situation. There were a million places for the Downworlders to hide in Brooklyn, New York and the surrounding areas. They'd be searching for months. Months is something that the injured Downworlders more than likely didn't have.

"Okay. If you say she's alright, then I believe you. But I can't let you leave here without giving us more information," Alec crossed his arms over his chest. "So spill. What's so important that you couldn't tell us inside?"

Ragnor smiled, revealing stained teeth. "I told you. I can't smoke inside-"

He yelped as Magnus grabbed him the front of his shirt and pinned him against the chain link fence. "Listen," Magnus hissed. "I'm having a very bad day. My hair wouldn't go the way I wanted it this morning. The coffee tastes like shit today AND I have a hole in my favorite pants and I didn't bring my damn sewing kit with me. So don't piss me off."

Ragnor was breathing heavily when Magnus finished speaking. "Alright. Calm down. I'll tell you something extremely important but you have to do something for me in return."

Alec sighed. "Fine. What is it?"

"I'm out of booze."

Magnus snorted. "Of course you are. Isn't booze what got you on the streets in the first place?"

"No," Ragnor's voice grew serious. "You know what got me on the streets, Bane. Or who got me on the streets. Alcohol had nothing to do with it in this case. So do you want to know what information I have for you or not? Or am I wasting my bloody time standing here talking to you dumb sods?"

Alec and Magnus looked at each other. Alec spoke first. "We're listening."

Ragnor leaned in closer to them. The smell of liquor and cigarette smoke nearly made them vomit in disgust. "You've got a mole in your precinct."