Alec tilted his face towards the mid-morning sun streaming through the greenhouse windows. He'd never really appreciated sunlight properly before, he thought. Warmth, safety, the way it made Magnus's coffee colored skin seem to glow from within and his cat eyes glimmer...The cat eyes that were looking right back at Alec in wry amusement. Alec blanched. Dammit. He was a Shadowhunter, not a second tier romance novelist. Magnus waggled his eyebrows; Alec cursed himself. "Suave" would never be an adjective people associated with him.

This whole "love" thing could be more than a little impractical and undignified: no matter where Alec was or what he was doing, Magnus was never too far from the forefront of his consciousness. Like right now: the Institute had fallen to vampires and soon he and Magnus would likely find themselves on the Council's Most Wanted list. Yet here he was, thinking about Magnus's eyes. In some ways, life had been easier when he hadn't allowed himself to fully embrace his relationship.

Alec closed his eyes and forced himself to focus on Isabelle, who was talking a mile a minute in that way she did when she was agitated. "So I found Meliorn. Who was apparently on Council business in Idris when the Seelie Court was drained. And he got me an audience with the Seelie Queen. Even though there was only a faerie maiden, a pixie, and that waitress from Taki's at the Court - which, by the way, is even creepier now that it's basically abandoned - the Queen said she wouldn't "interfere in the affairs of the Nephilim." I mean, what *is* that? Since when is spite preferable to helping people who are interested defeating someone who just ate your Court for lunch?"

"To be fair," broke in Jace, "This isn't entirely unexpected. She was pretty pissed at us earlier. And faeries have been known to be… What's a polite way to say "dicks?""

Magnus gave Jace an acid stare. "Also, to be fair, this is exactly how the Shadowhunters reacted to the news that the Hotel du Mort burned down. The Nephilim do not "interfere in the affairs of vampires," as I recollect. So what *is* a polite way to say "dicks?""

"You sound like Simon," said Isabelle, quietly, sounding chastened, as she studied her feet. Jace also seemed to find studying his boots preferable to making eye contact with Magnus.

Alec coughed into the silence. "Well, regardless, we're still on our own." He turned his gaze on Viola. He was very relieved to see her alive. One less dead Shadowhunter was always a good thing, and it was somehow comforting to know that, at least, he hadn't managed to get the Clave's foremost rune expert killed. Besides, maybe Viola and her expertise could provide substantive help. Though so far, to Alec's increasing exasperation, she had been very quiet. She had vaguely mentioned the possibility of checking a few more werewolf bars in the hopes of finding allies, but otherwise she simply stood there looking circumspect.

"Are there any runes that might help here, Viola?" prodded Alec. "Are there runes that have helped re-set wards or re-take Shadowhunter strongholds in the past?" Viola furrowed her brow and opened her mouth to answer.

Before she could, Jace abruptly tensed: the sunlight that had been streaming through the greenhouse windows was now dappled with shadows. Someone was coming. Alec's hand went to his weapons belt as he spun around to see familiar figures approach.

First came a small woman with long, curly, red hair and a determined stride. Jace drew in a breath and seemed to buoy up, but just as quickly deflated, disappointment apparent in his features. Jocelyn strode into view, flanked by Luke and, to Isabelle's obvious annoyance, Maia. The group in the greenhouse stared at the newcomers as they walked in through the door, bathed in sunlight.

Alec opened and closed his eyes a few times in an effort to make sure they weren't playing tricks on him. They'd spent the early morning hours desperately searching out allies and, miraculously, here some came. Incredulity tempered Alec's initial was rarely that convenient. How had they known to come here?

"Oh thank God! How did you find us?" asked a wide eyed Isabelle.

"It's possible we didn't do a good job creating a secret headquarters," reflected Jace, glancing pointedly at the greenhouse's glass walls.

"Glad to see you too," smiled Luke. "We're here because we followed Isabelle after seeing her leave the Seelie Court in Central Park."

"Have you considered changing your name to Isabelle "Stealth" Lightwood?" asked Jace. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a look of frustration passed over his face. "Sorry, Izzy. I'm… tense, I guess." Alec raised his eyebrows.

Isabelle's mouth fell open as she, along with everyone else, stared back at Jace. "Wait… You're apologizing? For snark? Jace, are you feeling all right?" Alec wondered the same thing. Good Lord, was Jace… was he actually blushing?

Jace mumbled, "Oh shut up! You take your emotions out on other people, you get flack. You apologize for it, you get flack. I'm starting to think the Silent Brothers were really onto something with the whole "silent" thing." Everyone continued to stare at Jace for a long moment.

"Anyway..." said Maia. "We didn't just see Isabelle. We saw you, Jace, and your new friend," she nodded his head toward Viola, "in front of the Institute, and Alec and Magnus in front of Magnus's apartment." Luke and Jocelyn gave Maia an exasperated look.

"How?" asked Alec, his voice flat.

Looking a bit sheepish, Luke adopted soothing tones. "Pull up a…" he cast his eyes around, "a barrel of compost." This couldn't be a good a sign.

Alec propped himself up on a potting bench and raised his eyebrows expectantly. He liked and trusted Luke. He did not, however, like the idea that Luke somehow knew where all of them had been that morning despite the fact that Luke and Jocelyn were supposed to have been on vacation in Idris for the month.

Luke sighed. "As you know, werewolves and vampires have never been famous for getting along. And the Clave has never been famous for paying attention to the warnings of Downworlders. I was hoping that would change with granting each of the four groups of Downworlders a seat on the Council but," he shrugged, "the new Council has only been in place for a few months, so maybe everyone just needs time to adjust to the new normal."

"It's adorable how you use "adjusting to the new normal" as code for "Shadowhunters still treat Downworlders like second class citizens,"" drawled Magnus.

Luke looked at Magnus levelly and continued. "Given the general climate of distrust, the packs have a "fail safe" bunker and emergency plan in place in the event of a catastrophe. And, theoretically, that worst case scenario could have involved anything - a massive demonic invasion, an earthquake - or, in this instance, a vampire revolt." He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I wanted to wait until things on the Council had calmed down before telling you this…"

"The werewolves are *that* organized?" said Jace.

"That attitude is exactly why we didn't keep the Clave abreast of our internal affairs. But, yes. We are. In the event of something catastrophic, the packs come together in a safe house. We look after our own, sit tight, and watch."

"So you said. But what exactly do you mean by "watch?"" pressed Alec.

"We have an informant, a camera, or a tracking spell on every major Downworld and Shadowhunter residence or meeting place," said Luke as if he were ripping off a band aid. Jace looked like someone had just punched him in the stomach.

Luke, reflected Alec, could have had an impressive career in diplomacy. He wondered how much of the wolf packs newly apparent disaster preparedness could be credited directly back to Luke's presence as leader of the Manhattan pack. Setting up this level of surveillance, let alone keeping it secret, surely took all kinds of connections and influence in both mundane and Downworld circles. Nonetheless, this development was profoundly unsettling.

"And the bunker's so top secret even I didn't know about it," broke in Maia, adopting what Alec presumed she meant to be a reassuring expression. "I couldn't figure out where so much of the pack went until Freaky Pete came and got me. They brought the packs in gradually so it'd be less conspicuous. But all this cloak and dagger stuff only comes into play in case of emergency. So don't worry!"

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Riiiiiiight…There's nothing at all creepy about a giant network of spies, so I definitely won't worry."

To Alec's complete lack of surprise, Jace's desire to apologize for his snark had evaporated as soon as he'd learned the extent to which they were all being watched. Once, when they had been learning about stealth and tracking in their training, Alec had taken it upon himself to stalk Jace for the day to practice his skills. That exercise had lasted about ten minutes, before Jace had sensed he was being followed and, not knowing it was Alec, rounded on his assailant with such blind ferocity that Alec had received one of the worst concussions of his life. Jace had been very apologetic afterwards, but the message was clear: follow Jace at your own peril.

Jace looked at Jocelyn and Luke with a mixture of aggression and amusement, "So you two weren't in Idris, you were holed up in a surveillance van? Wow. Casanova should takes tips from you, Luke." His tone could have cut glass. Luke's eyes narrowed as Jace's expression changed abruptly. "So if you were watching everyone, you must know if Clary's still in Idris. She would have been on your radar. Is she safe?"

Jocelyn had been standing quietly in between Luke and Maia, calmly watching the exchange, since they'd arrived at the greenhouse. She was now staring daggers at Jace. Alec could see why. Jocelyn must be confident that Clary was safe or he couldn't see her, or Luke for that matter, failing to mention Clary's whereabouts. The same thought must have dawned on Jace because he looked embarrassed and seemed to relax.

"We haven't seen or heard of any portal activity," said Luke in measured tones.

"Clary's in Idris on a meditation retreat right now, getting in touch with her visceral response to runic language. If we haven't even gotten word to the Clave about the Institute's take over, I don't see them arbitrarily hauling her back to New York without informing me," said an exasperated Viola before rounding on Jace, "Which I have already told you on numerous occasions."

Jace held up his hands in surrender, as if to say, "Ok, ok. Point taken."

Viola threw him a look before turning to Jocelyn. "Hello, I'm Viola Branwell, your daughter's tutor." Alec noticed a strange expression pass across Viola's face. Nerves? Embarrassment? Maybe she felt she should have met Clary's mother sooner.

Jocelyn broke the tension by extending her hand to Viola. "Your reputation precedes you, Mrs. Branwell. I'm Jocelyn Fairchild." Alec was sure Valentine Morgenstern's Mortal Cup snatching wife's reputation preceded her, too, and was thankful Viola opted not to mention that.

Jocelyn and Luke exchanged some more niceties with Viola, but Alec wasn't listening to them any more. The werewolves were somehow monitoring Downworlder and Shadowhunter residences and meeting places. Luke was confident Clary hadn't returned to New York from Idris. Maybe they'd also seen who'd taken over the Institute. Maybe they could help get it back.

"So who did it? Who took over the Institute?" asked Alec. "It couldn't have just been that one idiot vampire. She couldn't have stripped the wards by herself. She had to have help."

Luke nodded. "I'd wager it's Liliya."

"That crazy vampire who feng shuied half of China with exsanguinated corpses a couple hundred years ago?" asked Isabelle, alarmed.

"That's the one," said Maia grimly. "I saw her at Pandemonium. Plus she's been spotted near the Institute, as well as most major vampire hot spots - including the Hotel du Mort right before it burned down. She's got to be involved."

Viola sucked in her breath. Alec felt his blood run cold. A ruthless vampire, famous for killing without regard for secrecy was a major player in this debacle. There was no way you could spin that as a good thing. But that still didn't explain the wards. "Who's she working with, though?" asked Alec. "There's still no way a vampire could strip those wards. A warlock and a Shadowhunter have to be involved."

Luke looked solemn "We've obviously seen plenty of Shadowhunters coming and going from the Institute since the du Mort burned down. We haven't really seen any warlocks in the vicinity."

"Except, of course, for me, Grand High Warlock of Brooklyn and known ward stripping expert," said Magnus in a mock cheerful tone.

"Except for you," agreed Luke, apologetically.

This was getting ridiculous. "Magnus didn't do it," protested Alec. "And we won't be handing him over to the Clave."

"I never said he did and I never said we should," agreed Luke.

"Well then," Jace said, "I'm sure you'll be more than happy to show us your wolfy little surveillance van." It was less of a question and more of a demand.

Luke raised an eyebrow. "While our surveillance is "wolfy," I wouldn't describe it as "little" and it's definitely not a in van. But yes. We'll show you. We came here in the hope that you'd join us."

"So did Simon find you guys?" Isabelle asked, looking directly at Maia. "One moment we're scouring the city because he can't find you and the next Simon's gone."

"No," said Maia, concern visible in her eyes. "No, we thought he'd be with you…" Everyone exchanged a look.

Jocelyn cleared her throat. "Luke and I should go tell the Council what's happened. The portal to the Gard is busy, but with Magnus's help, we should be able to get through eventually." Magnus gave a curt nod of assent. Jocelyn glanced over at Jace, "I'll check that Clary's still there."

Jace gave her a weak smile before turning a hardened glance at Luke. "And I suppose the news of a massive Downworlder spying program will go over better if it's revealed by the spying Council member in question under circumstances where it can at least prove useful."

Luke's expression hardened. "I suppose so." He gestured towards Maia, "You up for taking them to the bunker?"

Maia nodded, "Ladies, gentleman, Jace" she bowed, her corkscrew girls bobbing up and down, "Follow me."