Never Judge

"Did none of you even look up his family?" Al asked with a raised eyebrow, he hadn't realized that it would be much simpler to break Ilya's trust in Colin.

Ilya hung his head, defeated by the thought that he had been manipulated by Colin. 

"Did he really tell you that he climbed his way up the ranks?" Al laughed maniacally. "Tell me, Ilya, what did he tell you about himself?"

Ilya looked away, ashamed that he had given up everything to follow and help a man that had done nothing but manipulate him and his people.

"I feel bad now." Al hummed as he kept his eyes on Ilya. 

"About what?" Yu Zimo asked playing his role perfectly helping Al manipulate Ilya into doing exactly as Al wanted.

Al didn't answer, instead, he stood up and made his way to Ilya's side. 

The other man noticed that Al had moved, he lifted his head and followed Al's movements with his eyes. 

Everyone in the room was shocked when Al stood next to Ilya and squatted on the floor. 

One of the Guan Family's men was quick to react, he moved behind Ilya and bound his wrists, making sure that Ilya didn't try to harm Al.

"It's fine." Al said, stunning everyone in the room. 

"Sir?" The man who had bound Ilya asked Yu Zimo in Mandarin.

Al continued to pretend that he couldn't understand him, it was another skill that his mother thought would best suit him. One of the many languages he had learned in his youth and continued to use with his Uncle Ian and Tristan until he left. 

"Do as he asks." Yu Zimo answered in Mandarin, undoubtedly wondering if Al could understand them or not. 

He was no stranger to the sheer number of skills Al had in his arsenal and he was certain that the so-called son of Mafia had a lot more hidden.

Al watched as Ilya's eyes flickered in recognition, clearly, he could understand Mandarin while Al pretended that he couldn't. 

The man hesitated but eventually did as Yu Zimo said and removed the bindings from Ilya's wrists. 

"Don't try anything stupid." The man threatened in Mandarin as Al continued to act as if he didn't understand. 

"I'm not stupid." Ilya hissed back in the same language.

"Sounds threatening." Al chuckled as he glanced at Yu Zimo, as if asking for a translation. 

Yu Zimo obliged, gave him a weak smile and spoke, "I hope you're not offended."

He was tentative in his answer as if he was worried that Al would actually take offense in them speaking another language in his presence. 

Even Yu Zimo struggled sometimes to remember that Al was the one that needed their help and not the other way around. 

Something about Al just made him stand out, made him seem more threatening than an entire underground organization combined.

"I'm not." Al answered as he looked back at Ilya.

Yu Zimo knew better than to not tell Al what had been said. "He told Ilya not to do anything stupid, and Ilya simply said he wasn't stupid in reply."

"I wouldn't be surprised if the great Aldrich Lawrence could understand what we said." Ilya scoffed. "We know a lot of things about you."

Al raised an eyebrow and stood up. 

"I'm younger than you, I can't be that skilled." Al simply replied with a shrug. 

"He spoke more about you than he did about himself." Ilya told Al.

"What did Colin tell you?" Al asked as he looked at Ilya with a fire burning in his eyes. 

"He told us about how spoiled you were, how your family had taken everything from him." Ilya told Al. 

Al couldn't help but laugh as this new information came to light.

"He lost everything because he sold his family out for power." Al hissed. "His family lived happily without his sister having to be involved in the underworld until he decided that he wanted to be King of the Underworld."

"He didn't want to be king!" Ilya shouted in Colin's defense. "He just wanted to even the playing field! He wanted one of his friends to be King!"

Al grinned as Ilya slipped and made a mistake. 

'So Colin isn't working alone.' Al thought to himself. 

Ilya froze, shocked by what he had said, and let slip. He didn't intend to let his emotions get the better of him, but something Al said and had triggered him. 

"Tell me, Mr. Pavlov," Al said as he he slowly got up and leaned forward. "Which of the men who have sworn allegiance to my own father has betrayed him for Colin Jao?"

Al knew exactly what Ilya would do next, he quickly moved to the side as Ilya spat at him, dodging the disgusting display of dirserspect towards him and his family. 

"You do understand that whoever Colin has allied himself with has also betrayed him, right?" Al asked as he moved back to his seat and sat down. "Whoever Colin decided to trust had kept vital information from him."

"What?" Ilya asked, confused by what Al had said.

"My face is no mystery to those small Lords of our Underworld." Al said as Ilya became more and more confused by his words. 

Al grinned as he enjoyed the confusion on Ilya's face. This was all part of his plan to break the man before him. 

He grew up around his father and uncles who, despite their kind hearts, were skilled when it came to manipulating and breaking people. 

"Colin Jao and I have one more connection that he doesn't know about, or maybe he does now." Al chuckled. 

Ilya still seemed like he hadn't realized what Al was referring to, telling Al that Colin didn't trust people enough to tell them about his sister.

"On my death, or rather fake death, Colin's sister mourned like a  widow." Al's eyes burned with an anger. It was different if Colin simply came after him, but Colin's plans hurt Cara as well and for that Al could never forgive him.