Never Judge

"The boss said–" Ilya began to stutter as he Al looked into his eyes with a burning intensity.

"He said I was dealt with." Al completed his sentence for him with a malicious grin on his lips. Of course, all that Colin knew was that Al was dead.

"It's interesting how little you actually know, Ilya." Yu Zimo clicked his tongue and shook his head, he leaned back and watched the other man, waiting for Ilya to react.

Ilya and his companions were silent for a while. 

No one moved, no one said a word. 

They just watched and waited for Al and his group to do something, to say something, but they knew that the other side had the advantage.

"What do you want?" Ilya finally asked as he accepted that there was no way he was walking out of this room alive without doing what Al wanted.

"Really, you'll give me everything I want?" Al asked with a raised eyebrow.

He knew that things were never these easy. It was obvious that Ilya planned to lie to them. 

"Of course." Ilya said with a confident nod. "We all know that you chose this location so that we have no other option."

"You have options. Everyone always has a choice." Angelo said as he grinned at Ilya's men. 

Most of them stood frozen as they tried to hide the fear in their eyes. They knew, they all knew that there was a chance that they wouldn't walk out of that meeting alive.

"Let my men leave and I'll give you everything you want." Ilya boldly declared. 

Al sat back down and scanned the room. Ilya had arrived with seven others, all important members of Colin's organization. 

He knew that it would be suspicious if none of them returned, but he already planned for that.

"Before any of you came here we already knew who you were and who you held close to your heart."Al said as he looked them in the eyes. "You will work for me, you will work for the Guan family or I will use what information against you."

The men quickly turned pale as they tried to maintain their composure. 

But slowly, one at a time they began to break. They nodded in understanding. 

It was either work for the Guan family and work for Aldrich Lawrence or lose everyone and everything they valued.

"Deal with them." Al said as he waved for Angelo and some of Guan Ming's men to take them to another room.

He was prepared. 

He spoke to his Uncle Ming while Yu Zimo and Angelo were out. These men would be valuable resources not just to Guan Ming, but to Al as well.

They would help keep them a step ahead of Colin and his organization, as well as those that supported him.

It didn't take long for the room to empty, the only people left were Al, Yu Zimo, Ilya, and a handful of guards that stood watch. 

"You won't ask for your son back?" Al was surprised that Ilya only bargained for his men's release. 

Ilya laughed and shook his head.

He looked like a madman. 

"I don't think I'll get my son back even if I wanted to." He glared at Yu Zimo. He knew exactly who would keep his son. 

"You won't." Yu Zimo plainly answered. "But you might just be able to walk out of here with your life."

Al smiled as he watched the interaction between the two men. 

He had planned for Yu Zimo to use whatever friendship they once had against Ilya. They were both aware that despite the calm demeanor that Ilya showed them, he was going crazy deep down.

"Will you really spare me?" Ilya asked as he raised an eyebrow. 

Al could see that the man didn't fear what fate lay before him. He was well aware that Al wouldn't let him leave. 

He had made peace with his death. The only question now was if Ilya would give them the information they needed or if he would lie and take his secrets to the grave.

"What does Colin have on you?" Al couldn't help but ask as he watched Ilya carefully. "What would make a man such as yourself so loyal to that bastard and the people who support him?"

"Maybe it's because he isn't like you." Ilya said with a shrug as he kept his silence, giving incomplete answers.

"Not like me?" Al asked in a cold and indifferent tone.

Suddenly Yu Zimo stood and slapped Ilya across his face, catching the man off guard. 

He knew that they would torture him, but not this soon. His plan to simply wait and play the long game was slightly rattled. 

It was obvious that Al and Yu Zimo was trying to get him to react, they were trying to get on his nerves so that he would break.

Ilya mocked them in his head, but Al already expected this. It was all part of his plan. 

Most would have used his son by now, but Al followed his father's rules, his family's rules. He would never use a child or harm a child to achieve what he needed. 

On top of that Al knew how much Nikolai mattered to Yu Zimo and Ren. 

He would never harm that child, he was innocent and Al wanted to protect that innocence for as long as possible. It would be foolish to think that Nikolai would not be part of this business in the future. 

"He isn't an entitled prick born with a silver spoon!" Ilya shouted as soon as he recovered from the slap Yu Zimo had given him. "He worked hard just like all of us!"

Ilya's statement made Al laugh.

He shook his head confusing Ilya.

"Is that what he told you?" He asked as a smirk played on his lips.

Ilya went pale at the realization that the man he had come to worship and was prepared to give his life to had lied to him.