Never Judge

"What now?" Angelo asked Al as they sat in a room that they had converted into an office.

Al stood in front of a wall where they had pinned up all the information they had on Colin Jao and his organization.

"We take it one step at a time, a day at a time," Al told his companion. "Did your sister send anything new?"

"A message, that's it," Angelo said with a frown as he took out a sealed envelope and handed it over to Al.

Al nodded and didn't show the slightest reaction to there only being a message and not another package of information.

"Aren't you worried that the information is drying up, that we are hitting a dead end?" Angelo couldn't help question as he watched Al open the envelope.

Al didn't look up at Angelo but he continued speaking to the man.

"Why would I be worried when we just got a massive dump of information from Uncle Ming?" Al asked with a raised eyebrow as he took out the piece of paper containing the message. "I doubt we can even sort through all that information in the time we have. We need to go about it wisely."

"Right, right," Angelo said with a nod as he turned around to continue sorting the documents Guan Ming had given them.

Al wanted to be as prepared as possible for when he faced Ilya Pavlov, he wasn't going to waste an opportunity such as this.

Al sighed as he read the message.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before reaching for the lighter in his pocket.

It would be dangerous if a message such as this got out.

"What is it?" Angelo asked as he noticed the uncomfortable expression on Al's face.

Al clicked the lighter and burned the piece of paper together with the message written on it.

"Your sister, Sora, sent me an update," Al sighed.

"All is well?" Angelo questioned. He already knew the answer, but he felt the need to ask.

Al's unfiltered reaction told him everything.

"No." Al grimaced.

Al leaned back and closed his eyes, taking deep and steady breaths.

"My mother isn't taking it too well," Al confessed. "While Cara has been trying to get my father to allow her into the Mafia to avenge my death."

"Damn," Angelo whispered.

"That's only the tip of the iceberg. My brother is insistent on taking over as the next Prince of the Underworld, but Eric is doing his best to stop him." Al shook his head as he frowned.

This was not what he wanted to happen.

He expected them to mourn and go back to how things were, not try to take over the spots he had left behind.

"I need to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible." Al hissed as he recovered from his initial sadness. "Eric can try his best to delay things back at home, but things will only go back to normal after I return."

"Do you plan to go back after we finish matters here in China?" Angelo asked.

"No," Al said, shaking his head. "I will return when I have Colin Jao in my hands. China should speed things up drastically, don't worry."

Anelo nodded as he listened to his boss's words.

"After Ilya, I'm sure we will know where Colin is hiding," Al said as he looked at a photo of Colin on the wall.

"And what if Ilya can't provide us with that information?" Angelo asked, worried that his question would set Al off in anger.

Al simply shrugged and smiled.

"Then we continue," He said as he stood up and walked over to a map where they had pinned Colin's last known whereabouts over the years. "We continue to search for him until we find him."

Al reached out and touched a spot that was filled with red pins, signifying that it was the city that Colin was most frequently found to be in Capital City.

He sighed and shook his head.

With all the resources that the Lawerence Family had and all the resources that their allies and friends had, they still couldn't find Colin when he had been living in their own backyard.

"Do you think he is still in Capital City?" Angelo fared to ask.

"I do," Al replied with a nod. "Unfortunately we can't be certain without getting solid information. We also need to enter through a less stringent method. If we are from Capital City they will think we work for my father."

"From where will we join their ranks?" Angelo asked as Al slowly told him about his plan.

"I want to enter through Marina City, my Uncle Cedric has a friend there, someone I met a long time ago," Al said with a grin. "We will tear his organization from its core. I know he is Cara's brother, but all he has done is harm her."

Angelo nodded as he listened to Al's plan.

"Is there anything else you found on Ilya Pavlov?" Al asked as he shifted the topic back on their target.

He knew that he couldn't get too distracted now.

Al had personally planned in advance, but he knew well enough that new pieces of information would eventually pop up and it would change his plans.

So far nothing had affected it so drastically.

The biggest change had instead sped up the process and worked in their favor.

"A weakness," Angelo said with a grin as he took out a document from the file they had initially been given. "He has people he cares about that are caught in the crossfire. If my hunch is right, Ilya Pavlov doesn't even want to be involved in all of this."

"A family?" Al asked as he leaned forward.

"A child," Angelo said as he grinned from ear to ear. "It's not explicitly written in the information about him, but some of his actions line up."

Al nodded as he looked at the documents before him.

It was a list of his activities as well as different purchases over the years.

Based on what Al could see, it definitely could mean he had a secret child.

"Look into it, ask Yu Zimo for help," Al said as he gave Angelo to pursue the matter. "And I want it done by tomorrow."