The lofty pine is oftenest shaken by the winds; High towers fall with a heavier crash; And the lightning strikes the highest mountain.
-Horace

***

The room was too bright. It hurt her eyes and she couldn't understand how her father endured it, or any of these men and women for that matter. It was like needles to the eye-sockets and she felt them itching. Maybe she was allergic to something. No, the sound was also there. She could hear the soft but permanent buzzing, always present. It was like a swarm of flies, not quite right next to her ear but somewhere in the distance. 

With shaking hands she yanked the paper from the pad, examining the names more up close. Mayweather, Sky, Lark, Pierce. The lines were slightly blurred now and she blinked, many times in a row. The voice, it wouldn't stop. Now it was just whispering, like soft wind from ear to ear. She squinted at the white paper, feeling the burn. Michaelson, Denver, Lindsen, Hawk. The sudden, piercing sound invaded her mind like a drill to the skull. She gasped, letting the paper fall back onto the table as she grabbed the sides of it, bracing herself. 

"Morgenstern? Did you get the names?" a sharp voice floated to her and she looked up, seeing the shape of a tall man. She blinked twice and breathed in, straightening up. Her hands clutched the gun that was tucked into the holster. "I'm doing it, Casey. At least someone is doing their job, unlike some. Where are those blueprints?" she barked back, feeling a headache coming on. Something moved in the corner of her eye and she turned. "Whatever. Valentine sent me to get you." the man, Casey, said. His black hair were tied in a bun on the top of his head, military looking clothes in the heat making him sweat - Clary could see the beads of them running down his forehead. She smiled coldly. "I'm his daughter. He can wait. And I can find him on my own, you're dismissed." she snapped and the man's eyes narrowed. Clary knew he wanted to bark back, but knew better.

Mumbling something, he turned, the gun in his hands pointed to the ground. She breathed out and opened a drawer with a white bottle inside. She took off the cap, hands shaking. Damn it. Biting her lip, she looked around. Everyone was engrossed in their own work. She took out two pills and found the water bottle on the floor beneath the desk, where she'd forgotten it earlier. She swallowed the pills, closing her eyes for a moment. 

The pain didn't subside but the buzzing in her head did fall more quiet than before. She looked up towards her father's room. Or office, whatever you wanted to call it. This place was an old storage place, with enough room for their technology, cars, weapons and other gear. She went towards the metal stairs, grabbing the railing, knuckles white. She breathed in again. Nothing, it was nothing. Just your imagination. Her heart was beating faster and louder when a flash made its way into her mind and in front of her eyes - a girl, brown eyes, raven hair, tied in a long ponytail, laughing, covering her mouth with a hand that had red nails gleaming in the sunlight. She shook her head. 

Taking the stairs she felt better, the farther she got. She didn't knock, she went straight in and Valentine raised his head from his desk, next to where another man was standing. Blonde hair, blue eyes, sharp features. He looked handsome, Clary had to admit. But his personality didn't really match - way too cocky and arrogant and Clary knew he was trying to get the praise of Valentine. She smiled to her father.

"You 'summoned' me." she said, quite sarcastic. Valentine smiled back, gesturing for her to be seated and she took to the chair. "Always such a clever girl. But snarky. You know it was a request, not a command." he said gently and Clary subsided. Leaning back to the chair, she nodded. Her father was right. She might have to tone it back a little, but the presence of Liam irritated her. Raising an eyebrow at him, Liam coughed. "Will that be all?" he asked from Valentine, who nodded, eyes now on Clary. Liam almost bowed (Clary had to suppress laugh) and made his way out, sparing an irritated glance at the redhead. She gave him her best smile, bright and arrogant.

The door closed and Valentine was observing her. She let her hands rest on the chair, fingers slightly twitching. It was nothing, nothing. "How is the plan coming along, my sweet Clarissa?" he asked and she tried not to flinch. Instead, she scoffed. "Please don't call me that. It's so old-fashioned." she said, glaring at him and Valentine huffed a laugh. "They are... almost done. I just need to secure the codes and then we are set. And I have to finish the list, I almost have it memorized. Remind me again, who are they?" she asked and heard the piercing sound in her brain again. She forced it quiet. Leave me alone, she thought.

Valentine leaned back, all smiles. "I told you, the people who betrayed me and your mother. With their help, we can get what we were after the last time." he said and Clary tilted her head. "The chip? But will they have to die in order for us to get it?" she asked and there was a maniacal laugh in her head. A female one. She blinked. Valentine gave her a cool and calculated look. "Would you be able to accept that, if it were true?" he asked and Clary realized the laugh was her own. She forced her mouth into a hard line. After some seconds, she gave curt nod. "Most of them, if they collaborate, won't be hurt. You know, that this chip is the most important thing. Nothing can come between us and that information, held on that piece of metal. So small, yet it holds so many keys to so many doors." Valentine continued, standing up now and looking out the window.

Clary closed her eyes. The girl was there again, almost like she was beside her. Go away. Valentine was speaking again. "With the help of this chip, we can stop them." he said quietly and Clary nodded. Yes, them. Valentine turned, coming towards her and smiled down to Clary, coming down to meet her eyes. "Clary, you and I, we can help so many people. It's better to take this power and change it's purpose, but to let people like our government to use it." he said and Clary smiled down on him. The girl in her mind, she was gone. She didn't even remember her name, let alone what she looked like. Good riddance. "I know. We're almost ready, dad. You can count on me." she said, her voice distant to herself. Like she was in a bubble. Even Valentine's voice was now muffled. She only felt his hand moving strands of her from her face as he leaned to kiss her forehead. "I know, my baby girl. I know." he said and Clary smiled again. 

She waved her hand as she exited the room. These flies, they just wouldn't stop buzzing. Where were those pills?

***

Simon wasn't a fan of planes, to be honest. They made him uncomfortable, to say the least. He fidgeted with his phone, eyes on Carter. "I want to make a phone call." he said then and the agent raised an eyebrow. He gestured towards the whole of the plane in the air. "We're in the sky. Ever heard of airplane mode?" he asked sarcastically and Simon glared at him. "I mean," he said, clenching his fist around the phone to calm himself ", once on the ground. I want to call my friends. They need to know that we're safe." he stated and felt Jace's eyes on him. 

Carter shook his head. "Absolutely not. This mission will not be compromised." he said and Jace rolled his eyes. "Listen, you can trace the call and record it, right? Simon's not going to say anything to compromise your little 'mission', he wants to find Clary as much as you want to find Valentine. He deserves to get in touch with his friends and family. They are worried and as long as I have known them, I know for a fact that if Simon doesn't call, they will assemble and army themselves and come looking for him." Jace said, eyes on Carter as he spoke. Simon felt his heart clench as he observed the blonde. Jace's voice was protective and fond at the same time, as if the thought of Simon's friends was a good and distant memory.

Carter rolled his eyes. "I don't care. Your little friends will only be a distraction and a problem. It's bad enough I have to deal with you - don't think for one second I have forgotten Colorado." he said and Simon eyed Jace, who scoffed, but there was amusement in his eyes, glinting mischeviously. "That... was an accident." he said and Carter barked a joyless laugh. "Yeah, right. I was perfectly clear on my orders and you went and ignored them, just because you couldn't keep it in your pants. I suppose whoring around has always been your trademark move-" Carter didn't get to finish his sentence, because he yelped in pain when Simon punched him, square in the face.

A lot of things happened at once. Three men were there in an instant, two restrained Simon and one had his gun raised. Jace was up on his feet, gun pointed at the other one and Carter was holding his bleeding nose. "Easy, easy! Put them down." he mumbled through his hand and the agents slowly backed off. Simon grasped himself free. "You ever talk about my boyfriend like that again, you won't just have a broken nose." Simon said, hearing his voice the most threatening it ever had been. Jace was lowering his own gun, eyes wide as he stared at Simon. His lips twitched. "And I though you couldn't get any hotter." he said and Simon rolled his eyes, holding back his smile. Instead, he pointed a finger at the blonde. "Don't think were done with this. Some things you've not mentioned to me, Jace?" he asked and the blonde's smile fell.

It was almost comical, how his demeanor changed. "Babe, come on. That was like, way in the past. I don't fret about your past relationships." he said, voice pleading while Carter groaned. "I could just get you arrested right now." he said and Simon turned from Jace to Carter. "You could, but then again, who would do your dirty work for you?" he snapped and unclenched his fists. He turned, going a little further from them and sat down on another chair. He saw that the agents were studying him warily and he almost laughed. It's not like he was going to shoot anyone. Well, he would've liked to shoot Carter, but that was blood he did not want on his hands. Punching him felt good, though.

"You okay?" Jace asked as he sat down opposite to him. Simon studied him for a moment. Jace looked exhausted, just like himself, but there was still the soft and gentle voice he used on Simon, the glow in his eyes when he tried to decipher his feelings. Simon smiled. "Perfect, you're here." he stated and Jace laughed. "Feeling better, now that you got to punch the asshole?" Jace enquiered and Simon nodded happily. "Yup." he said and Jace snorted. The he stopped, staring at Simon. "You don't have to protect me, you know. It should be the other way around." he said and Simon leaned back, putting his feet up on Jace's lap. Tilting his head, he let out a breath. "But I do. Sometime, you don't protect yourself, because you're so busy protecting me. So, I'm doing it for you. It's a mutual thing, you see." he mused and Jace laughed, letting his hands fall to Simon's ankles. 

"I guess your right." he said and then Simon put the phone on the table next to them. "So, what did he mean by that remark?" Simon asked and Jace groaned, covering his face. "Babe. Come on." he whined and Simon laughed, shaking his head. "No, don't you 'come on' me. If this is the case where you're going to have a mean and a psycho ex wherever we go in the US, I want to know about it." Simon said, sounding too serious even to his own ears and he tried not to laugh. Jace gave him a sly look. "Not just the US." he said and Simon took a pillow, throwing it at his head. "You're an idiot." he said, now entirely serious. He went to remove his legs but Jace grasped them, not letting him do that. He smiled. "I'm kidding. And I'm your idiot, remember?" he asked and Simon rolled his eyes. "I'm regretting my life choices already." he replied and the blonde had a hurt look on his face.

"It pains me to hear you say that." he stated and Simon clicked his tongue. "Get used to it." he said and Jace shook his head in disbelief. He let go of Simon's legs as the brunette stood up, but grabbed him as soon as he moved past him. Simon fell onto his lap with a surprised yelp and Jace's arms locked him in. "I'm so used to you, we could get married." Jace said, his voice muffled when he pressed his face to Simon's chest. The brunette tensed a little but quickly relaxed, laughing. Jace must've sensed it though, because he looked up at him with hesitation in his eyes. "I'm just kidding, you know." he said and Simon blinked. Then, he felt something deflate in him.

"Unless..." Jace drawled, leaning in to press a kiss to Simon's collarbone. "...Unless you want that? In which case, I meant it with all my heart." Jace continued and kissed Simon's neck softly. The brunette sighed. His heart pounded in his chest. In the midst of everything that had happened, the chaos and excitement, the problems and the travels, he never thought about the fact that they would have a normal life, once again. Now that it was a possibility, it scared him. No, not the thought of being with Jace, for the rest of his life. He could almost picture him in their home, a big house with a huge kitchen, waving a spatula on a Sunday morning, when Simon would wake up late and come downstairs to the smell on pancakes and coffee, a baby on the high chair, playing with toys and waiting for food... Did Simon want a family with Jace? Some day, he was sure of it. He was just scared that if that ever happened, there'd be some much more to lose. He was scared that whenever they'd find happiness, it would get taken from them.

He felt Jace's mouth against his skin and the doubts weren't there anymore. More images of them floated in his mind - them on their honeymoon, them having a barbeque with their friends in the back yard, Jace coming home after work to a surprise date by Simon, having to look for a babysitter and just settling for Magnus and Alec, because they would've been best for the job... Yes, he wanted all of that and more. "Simon? Baby?" Jace's voice cut through his thoughts. It was soft but also, slightly scared, even. He put his hands on Jace's cheeks and stared into his eyes. "Yes, I want that. I want it so much." he whispered and leaned in to kiss Jace, feeling the blonde's lips curl against his own.

He was comfortable on his laps, both legs sprawled over him as he sat sideways and Jace's arms around him, holding him tightly and Simon felt secure. He inhaled Jace's shampoo, he smelled like a rainforest. It was so good. The happiness bubbled in his chest when he pulled back, seeing Jace's flushed face and his happy smile. His eyes were sparkling with joy. "I guess I'll have to make a better proposal than that?" he asked and Simon slapped his shoulder playfully. "Damn straight." he said and Jace raised an eyebrow. "Nothing about you is straight, babe." he joked and Simon laughed, his head falling back. "You're impossible." he stated and Jace leaned in to kiss him again. "Hmm, you love it." he hummed, kissing him again, short and sweet kisses. Simon felt his insides twist with pleasure.

"I do." he said and Jace held him in place, when he kissed him breathless, not letting them stop for a good eternity. Then, someone coughed. "Hate to break this up- No, actually, I don't, since you punched me. We're here." Carter said, very displeased and his nose now bandaged up. Simon came up for air and gave the man a smile. "You're just jealous." he stated and Jace laughed, when Carter flipped them off and walked away. Jace touched his forehead to Simon's. "You make me crazy, Simon Lewis." he whispered and Simon laughed softly, his hands moving to stroke Jace's cheek. He couldn't stop the grin even when they landed and departed the death trap that was the plane.

***

San Francisco was hot. Simon could literally feel the sweat sliding down his skin and it made him feel beyond gross. He needed a shower, badly. Carter had made them pile into a car and they were now taking the traffic on the busy streets. Jace was leaning his head against Simon's shoulder, softly snoring. Simon smiled. Jace had taken a painkiller right before they landed and now he was a bit drowsy, hence the spontaneous nap. It also gave Simon time to think.

By the looks of things, Clary had gotten into something that was more than just shady. Valentine was a dangerous criminal, but there was something Carter wasn't telling them, Simon was sure of it. Whenever they talked, he'd get this weird expression, when Simon asked too much about Valentine. Then there were the phone calls, that he got quite often. In a hushed voice, he tried to hide them from Simon and Jace, but the brunette had caught Clary's name more than once. Something was off. He intended to find out what.

Carter was riding shotgun, next to another agent and he was scowling straight ahead. His nose was swollen and he was more than just displeased. Simon felt very content. "I'll have you back for this, no need to look so smug." Carter said suddenly, noticing Simon smirking from the back. Simon just kept on sporting his grin, tilting his head slightly, to touch Jace's and leaned on him. "Whatever you say, big guy." he said and saw Carter roll his eyes.

When they finally arrived, Simon was met with a big white building, with so many windows it was blinding him. Looked like a normal office building. He nudged Jace slightly, trying to wake him gently. "Angel, wake up. We're here." he said softly and Jace stirred, blinking sleepily. He looked adorable. "Hphm?" he said and Simon chuckled, softly moving a few strands of hair from his face. He kissed his cheek and Jace smiled happily. They climbed out, following Carter. At the door, the agent showed his badge and the mean-looking guys on either side, nodded. Once inside, it was a whole procedure. Security checks (4 of them), a lot of doors opened by Carter with ID's, scanners and magnetic cards. Simon counted the rooms and floors which they passed with the elevator, but lost his count when they appeared in a room full of people rushing around, all in suits.

"This way." Carter said, moving to another office, away from all the computers and prying eyes that stared at them. Carter let them in first and Simon saw a woman sitting behind a desk. Her dirty blond hair were up in a tight bun, her skirt and suit jacket were both gray, the blouse underneath white, making her appearance pretty bland, along with the black, round glasses she was wearing. She had red-painted lips, tightly set in a line, but other than that, she wore no make-up. Her round face was pale, but the eyes were a stunning green, staring at them in disapproval. Simon sensed this woman was in charge of something, and that they wouldn't get along very well. 

"Sit." Carter said, almost pushing them onto a sofa. Their bags fell to the ground and Jace gave a disapproving noise. Carter ignored it, motioning towards the woman who stood up and leaned onto her desk, observing them. "Emily Mayweather. The head of the FBI branch in San Francisco, Captain of my team and senior agent. She's the one who is leading the whole operation." Carter introduced her and she gave them a tight-lipped smile. It wasn't a sincere one. It was the one that said 'I'm superior, therefore you will listen to me'. Her aura was packed with authority, nonetheless.

"Boys. You've been busy. I'm glad you decided to join us." she said, her voice was more high-pitched than Simon would've thought. "Pleasure all ours. Not that you gave us much of a choice." Jace said, leaning back on the sofa, arm going around Simon protectively. She raised an eyebrow. "Now, now. We did let you make your own terms, didn't we? I think us granting you your freedom is something you should be very grateful for." she said, her voice like ice. Jace's eyes didn't look away. "You haven't granted it just yet." he said, clear voiced and she tilted her head to the side. Then, she smiled. "That is true. But since I am in charge, the papers that you have signed, have my signature. If you do your job and I fail to grant you what was agreed, I might as well resign now. So rest assured, you do what you set out to, and I'll hold my end of the bargain." she said, a sharpness to her tone, almost as if challenging them to argue with her. 

Jace didn't say anything, just nodded and Simon stood still. Emily spared Carter a glance and frowned. "What happened to you?" she asked and Simon raised a hand, before Carter could answer. "That would've been me." he said, his tone light and Emily raised an eyebrow. "He snuck up on you?" she asked and Simon laughed. "Not exactly." he said, making Emily avert her eyes to him again. "I just don't like his face." he stated and Carter growled. He wanted to step forward, but Emily reached out a hand. "Please, control yourself. He is clearly just trying to irritate you. Take a walk." she said coldly and Carter grumbled something, before he headed out. 

Emily smile, looking amused. "I suppose it serves him right. He's got a running mouth." she said bluntly, surprising both of them. Simon gave her a suspicious glance but Jace laughed. "Yeah, so does this one." he nodded at Simon, who fake-gasped. "How dare you?" he asked and Jace laughed again. Emily shook her head, eyes now on Jace. "Agent Herondale. Or should I say, former. Lot of talk going on about you. Not all true, I imagine. Most probably is, though." she stated and Simon felt Jace tense for a moment. He set a hand on his knee, just in case. Emily saw the gesture and smirked. "But that's not what were here for. No, you are here to help capture Valentine Morgenstern and his daughter, Clarissa Morgenstern." she said.

"Clary Fray. And you're not capturing her." Simon cut in quickly and Emily stilled. "Ah yes, you wanted to 'talk to her' first. You're lucky we even allowed it. Judging by the looks of things, she deserves jail-time as much as her father." she said and Simon felt a cold shiver run down his spine. "You're not telling us something." he said clearly and Emily's smile disappeared. "I suppose now that you are here, we need to fill you in anyways. Follow me, gentlemen." she said sternly and clicked her way out in her heels, making Jace and Simon stand up and rushing after her.

She was taking corners and stairs whilst talking. "We have been keeping an eye on Valentine, for years, just in case there are some followers who would want to pursue the mission he failed to accomplish. You see, there was a little piece of technology designed by our engineers and scientist, that our government has been keeping a secret, so as to avoid anyone trying to steal it. This technology is a weapon, sort of." she said, making her way up another flight of stairs, reaching a white corridor, with agents standing on each side of a big glass door. Simon could see tens of computers and other weird looking machines behind it.

"What kind of weapon?" he asked and Emily swiped a clearance card, opening the door. "Not a very good kind." she said glumly and gestured for them to step in. There were people in lab coats running around and talking, clipboards in hand and some even had goggles on. Emily manouvered them between the beeping machines. "At first we saw it as a gift. It had the possibility to detect the slightest viruses, slightest intrusion in the internet. So, if a hostile group, let's say a cyber-terrorist, entered our software, we'd know instantly and it would fry it, causing their systems to shut down. But there were other features that we deemed to dangerous. You see, with this chip, it could be possible to overrun any server, anything electrical just by sticking it into a laptop. Of course, you'd have to have an intelligent person behind the computer, to know how to run it. In the wrong hand, it could bring destruction." she said, reaching a table where a small woman was working with what looked like copper wires and tweezers. 

"Daisy." she said and the woman startled. She looked young, probably not even 20 yet, and her big, brown eyes were staring at them in shock. "Oh, Ms. Mayweather, I mean, ma'am, I din't see you there." she stammered, putting away the things in her hand and stood up, almost knocking over a lamp. Emily rolled her eyes. "I told you, don't call me that. My name is Agent Mayweather. Gentlemen, this is Daisy, one of our best engineers and specialist in anything involving computers." she introduced them and she smiled at them shyly. Jace leaned down to kiss the back of her hand. "Pleased to meet you, Daisy." he said, flashing her a smile and the poor girl turned red instantly. Simon suppressed a laugh. "Give it a rest, babe, she'll have a heart-attack." he snorted and Jace wiggled his eyebrows. "Still got it." he said and Simon rolled his eyes.

Daisy seemed very shocked for a moment but then noticed their intertwined hands. Her mouth made an O-shape and then she turned even redder. Emily seemed unamused my their shenanigans. "Daisy knows a lot about the chip." she said curtly and again, Emily seemed extremely shy. "Show them the room and the design." Emily said and Daisy nodded, scurrying to another room with a big computer screen. She clicked on it and then let her fingers slide over the keyboard, lightning fast. "So, basically, the chip can do anything. Say you'd have an elevator in Germany, that was holding a group of very important people, the prime minister, for example. With a few clicks, you could make it plummet several floors, killing every one inside. Or you could open all the prison cell doors in New York. Or make a nuclear bomb go off in Russia. Not that we know where they store those..." Daisy said, now looking very determined.

A small picture came up on the screen, a chip, turning slowly. "This is it." she said, gesturing to it weakly. Simon examined it. "This design look very complicated. What about overheating? And networks overload? With that much information, it must have a backup system?" he asked and Daisy's eyes lit up. "Oh, you know about engineering?" she asked, now excited. Simon heard Jace chuckle. "A little." he said and Daisy smiled brightly. "Well, there's no need for a cooling system, precisely because it doesn't require a huge set of software to run it, a small laptop would do. And yes, it does have a back up system, but it's very complicated. To get access to it, you'd have to overrun it, but after that you should get it from a moderately sized software. Like these computers here, for example." she said and waved around. Simon hummed. "That's genius. You'd have to hack it's own system, with it's own system. Is that even doable?" he asked and Daisy blushed.

"Well, we believe it is." Daisy said carefully and Simon eyed the screen. "How do you know all this?" Jace asked and Daisy coughed. "I designed it. Well most of it." she said, her voice small. Simon whistled. "Seriously? You look like 18." he said and Daisy blushed, once again. Fiddling with her jacket, her smile fell. "I'm 19." she said, looking at Emily. She had a stern look on her face. "What?" Simon asked, eyeing them and Emily sighed. "We believe Valentine is after it again. He was last time, and he didn't succeed. But we have some substantial evidence that he'll try again. And he won't use it for good, that's for sure. He could kill so many." she said and now Simon understood Daisy's behavor. He smiled at her gently. "It's not your fault." he said but Daisy had an apprehensive look on her face.

"I wanted to do good, to help this country. I never meant for it to have so much power, but this piece of technology was far more advanced than I thought. It almost wrote itself." she said, helplessly and Jace approached her, taking her hands. "Hey, don't worry. He hasn't got it yet." he encouraged her and Emily coughed from her corner.

"We have to find Valentine, before he gets to the chip." she said and Simon eyed her. "And where is the chip?" he asked and the woman's face was cold and immobile. "That's classified." she said and Jace made a disapproving noise. "Bullshit. You want our help? Tell us where it is, so we can figure out Valentine's next move, and what he would want with Clary." he said and Emily sighed, looking up at the ceiling.

"I'm so getting fired." she mumbled and then stared back at them. Her face looked tired suddenly and Simon wondered how many sleepless night she might have had over this. "Alcatraz." she said, her voice clear and loud in the room.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I actually have no idea what I have been writing about, it's not like I'm an expert in computers and stuff, so don't call me out please xddd Alright, I hope you enjoyed this one, although it might have been a little confusing with all the tech talk, but anyways, NOW YOU KNOW WHAT'S UPPP. Vote and comment, and also, I love u guysss xxx