Never Judge

Al and his driver picked Tristan Lim, Arthur So, and Eric Chan.

Ray and Ian had agreed that the three boys were not only old enough, but they were also quite low key enough to enter the mafia and help with the mission.

Eric was the youngest being a few months younger than Al. But since Al was already involve, they knew that Eric wouldn't want to be left behind.

If his Aunt Katerina didn't travel so much they were certain that Eric and Al would have been best friends. But they all understood why she needed to leave the country so often, it seemed that everything reminded her of Eric's father.

"Dad said you have something to brief us on?" Tristan asked as he sat next to Al.

It was Arthur that took the seat next to the driver as he felt a little bit out of place with the others who were technically his nephews.

Al nodded as he did his best not to be nervous.

Unlike the members of the mafia, his friends and family could reject his proposal and he would need to search for replacements.

"There are people on the outside that want to take down the underworld. They want to take power from my dad and his people." Al said as he explained the situation. "We managed to find the main link, the person working the most on the inside and we struck a deal with him."

"Exciting." Eric said with a grin as he leaned forward to listen to Al. "What was the deal?"

"We protect his daughter, find a way to come out of this unscathed, we give them a second chance." Al plainly explained. "As a matter of fact, you'll be meeting his daughter later. Her name is Cara and she's my friend."

"So where do we come in?" Tristan asked as he carried a serious expression on his face.

Tristan looked more like his mother, he had her light complexion and they had the same eyes, his hair however he got from his father, they had the same black hair.

If Tristan wasn't the son of Ian Lim he could always find work as a model, but his heart lay in the same place as his father, working in the family company.

It had been thrown around that Aldrich should consider Tristan for the position as his right hand man just as Ray had taken on Ian.

But Tristan didn't have the same disposition as his father when it came to being second fiddle, and Al respected that.

He knew that his childhood friend would do better as a leader on his own rather than taking orders from Al.

"We've identified the traitors, but we need to know more. This has to be a well calculated move and nothing can be overlooked." Al explained as he looked the three other men in the eyes. "We will be surrounding them with people we can trust, but they will need targets, people they think they can use and manipulate."

"And you think we can be those people?" Arthur asked as he pointed at himself.

Al nodded as he tried to get more based on their body language.

"Well I'm in." Eric said proudly, not even thinking twice about volunteering for the mission.

"Wait a minute, you and Eric are minors, Al. What happened to your father's rule of not involving minors?" Tristan questioned.

He had grown up around the Underworld ruled by Raymond Laurence, he knew well enough that his uncle Ray never allowed minors to get involved.

"It's a special case, nothing too dangerous." Al said as plainly as he could.

Tristan frowned but didn't disagree.

If he had any doubts or concerns, he didn't tell Al, he simply accepted that Ray and all the main members of his core group had allowed minors to participate.

"I'm in then." Arthur said with a grin on his face. "We rarely get to do anything exciting, I'd like to finally be useful, cousin." Arthur winked, making Al smile and nod.

Tristan sighed and shook his head.

"You all know that it's never safe work with the Underworld, right?" Tristan asked as the cautiously looked at the other men in the car.

"We know, we'd be stupid to think it was an easy mission." Eric said, laughing and shaking his head.

Among their group he was the most easy going.

"Aren't my dad and yours worried that we will be recognized?" Tristan asked as he looked tentatively at Al.

"No, not really. We aren't out in the public as much as Damien or Christopher." Al said with a shrug. "We aren't the hottest piece of news like Emilio is. We will fly under the radar."

Tristan nodded as he considered the situation.

After a few minutes of silence, Tristan nodded.

"I'll do it." He said, smiling at Al. "We've grown up around the Mafia and the Gangs, it's time we actually got involved."

"I'm surprised you agreed." Al chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Just because I don't want to be second-in-command doesn't automatically mean I don't want to be involved." Tristan pointed out.

"I just thought you'd end up scolding me." Al said, rolling his eyes at the older man.

"I'm not that obnoxious." Tristan said as they neared the mall. 𝐟𝚛e𝐞𝙬𝗲𝒃𝓷𝒐𝘃e𝒍.c𝑜m

"So we get to meet this friend of yours?" Eric teased as he raised his eyebrow at Al.

"Yes, she was my target, I made the mistake of getting attached. She doesn't know the truth so you guys have to shut it." Al said as he noticed they weren't headed for the ordinary mall entrance.

He couldn't help but release an audible groan as they pulled up in the private entrance his family normally used.

When he stepped out of the car, they were greeted by Leon, the Reyes family's head of security.

"Mom and Auntie Adrianna are inside, aren't they?" Al asked as he sighed.

"Yes, with your cousins and aunts. The mall was closed so you can all shop." Leon answered as he gave Al a sympathetic look.

"Cara will be overwhelmed." He said, concerned about his friend.

"She looked like she was getting along quite well with your sister and Christina. Who knows, maybe she was born to be part of this family." Leon teased, annoying Al even more.

It was now or never, he knew Cara would have even more questions after she met the rest of his family.