Never Judge

Ian was glad that he had made it in time for Nicole to deliver their second child. He proudly walked out of the delivery room after the baby had been cleaned and he had made sure that Nicole was fine.

In the waiting room, his friends and his family as well as Nicole's family were waiting eagerly for news.

"I'm a father, again!" He announced excitedly, making everyone laugh in the room. "It's a little baby boy and we've decided to name him Philip."

Everyone came over to congratulate Ian, the girls excitedly hugged him and asked how Nicole was and if they could see her.

Unfortunately she was still recovering and it would take a while, but he assured them that he would tell them as soon as possible.

When all the well wishing was done, Ian couldn't help but ask Cedric how the operation had gone.

"Did you get them out?" Ian asked as he pulled Cedric and Ray aside. The others knew better than to interfere.

"Ian, Nicole just gave birth, enjoy the moment. Tristan will be here soon as well with your sister." Cedric gave him a smile as he placed a hand on Ian's shoulder.

He looked exhausted, as if he hadn't slept. It was already six in the morning, Nicole had been in labor for a while.

Ian sighed and shook his head. Cedric thought he would drop the topic and return to his wife and son, but he was surprised by what Ian said next.

"Nicole is recovering, Philip is fine, we can see him in a bit, and Tristan won't be up for another few hours, that child sleeps like a log." He chuckled before his expression turned serious.

Cedric raised an eyebrow as he waited for Ian to continue speaking.

"I want to know what happened, I should have been with my wife when she went into labor. I should have been the one to rush her to the hospital, but it wasn't me because I was busy with the Rajas. I need to know that our chance was not wasted." Ian hissed as he tried to convince Cedric to give him an update.

"Fine." Cedric said as he rolled his eyes and looked around for a safe space to speak.

"This way." Ian said as he led them through the hall and into an empty office.

"No cameras?" Ray searched the room, making sure that no one could spy on them.

"None, I used to escape here to work. It's an ignored office that has been oddly placed." Ian crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "And?"

"They got them out." Cedric proudly announced with a grin on his face. "Unfortunately it wasn't bloodless, we had to kill the people guarding them.They wouldn't have gotten out otherwise."

"Any news from the Rajas?" Ray glanced at Ian, hopeful that they would have contacted him by now.

Ian shrugged as he took out his phone to check if he had any missed calls, to his surprise there were none.

"Based on their expressions when I left, I thought they would call me as soon as we took the hostages." Ian whispered in an exhausted tone.

"Are you sure they believe you?" Ray questioned as he sat down and leaned back, closing his eyes.

They were all tired, they had not only had to run the operation, but they had also waited in the hospital for Nicole to give birth. Everyone was exhausted and had no patience to wait for results.

"I'm sure." Ian said with a determined look on his face. "The people I met weren't the real minds of the Rajas, they were just puppets. I told them that if they wanted to work with me they would introduce me to the real people in charge."

"We should wait." Cedric spoke up. "We shouldn't suddenly jump into conclusions that they know Ian is working for us rather than against us."

"I think Ian might need to do something that will prove that he isn't with us, or at least to show that he is willing to cross us." Ray suggested.

"I already freed Belle, shouldn't that be enough to get them to believe me?" Ian questioned.

"But no one was blamed for her death. It's as if Cedric was just fine with a key asset dying." Ray pointed out. Ian could do nothing but nod, he did have a point.

"We need to question her companion." Cedric told the two other men in the room. "He will need to be searched if he has the same poison as her, it needs to look like we really believe that Belle committed suicide."

"Someone will also need to be fired for not watching over her properly." Ian added.

"Losing their job might turn one of our men against us." Cedric reminded Ian. "We can't have too many loose ends at this time."

"Send them to me." Ray suggested. "I'll let them know the reason and pay them more for their silence."

"Money will not buy you everything, Ray." Ian reminded the man.

"It might not, but it will do for the time being." Cedric nodded as he agreed with Ray's suggestion.

"Let me guess, you don't plan on telling this person in advance that they are going to get fired but there is nothing to worry about?" Ian raised an eyebrow as he questioned Cedric.

"It has to be believable, our people are not actors for a reason." Cedric said simply.

"I'll have someone waiting for whoever you choose. Best to catch them on their way out before things get worse." Ray told Cedric.

"Yeah, we can't have them running off to join the Rajas because they think Cedric jumped into conclusions, again." Ian chuckled as he teased his friend.

"I'll have Leon choose one person that would believe us." Cedric ignored Ian completely, making Ian laugh even more.

"You need to get some sleep." Cedric glanced at Ian, noticing that he was barely functioning on his feet. "We can't have you lacking sleep if the Rajas decide to contact you. We'll deal with everything else."

"Thanks." Ian said with a nod as he left the two men in the office and went in search of the VIP ward where Nicole would be later sent.