Never Judge

Peter Jao was very cooperative.

He gave Ray a list of names, where in the Mafia and Gangs they worked and how to catch them. In total he gave up about twenty, which was much less than Al expected, but too much to rest peacefully.

When all the names were given, Al watched as his father nodded at a bodyguard.

The man quickly exited, probably to call on the heads of the different Mafias and Gangs.

"Are any of the leaders traitors?" Ray asked as he looked Peter in the eyes.

"I don\'t know." Peter confessed.

"Could there be someone that high up?" Ray asked as his tone calmed down for a bit.

"It\'s possible." Peter replied with a nod as he continued to look down at the floor.

"May could be jealous of your power as king." Al added as he joined in on the conversation. "I don\'t think it would be too much if we hid the source of our information."

Ray nodded as he accepted his son\'s advice.

"Take Mr. Jao to the safe room." Ray commanded as the bodyguards helped him up.

As they passed Ray, he raised up a hand, making them halt next to him.

"Don\'t think this is over, Mr. Jao." Ray hissed. "You are not done paying for your betrayal. I hate traitors and liars the most, it would do you good to remember this."

Peter meekly nodded as he showed that he understood Ray\'s words.

"Take him away." Ray hissed as the guards walked Peter away.

Al could see the confusion on their faces when Peter didn\'t even fight them. He came with them peacefully despite Ray\'s threat.

When Peter was secured, Ray turned to Al and sighed.

"The meeting could become dangerous." Ray warned his son as he looked Al over. "Some of the names that Peter gave were pretty high up in some groups. I want you to be ready."

As he spoke, Ray opened his drawer and handed his son a gun.

"Some may try to fight, I just want you to be prepared. Stand behind me if things get heated." Ray told his son as a knock came from the door.

"Enter." Ray called out as he nodded at Al, signaling for him to behave.

Ray had already asked all the leaders of the different Gangs and Mafias under his command to join him at the headquarters, so gathering them didn\'t take too long.

The most intimidating men in the country slowly entered the room, bowing in front of Ray and Al as they passed.

Al did his best to look as the future king of the underworld should. The men marching in would work for him in the future, if not them, then their heirs. So it was important that he had a respectable image in front of them.

In time they would also be intimidated by him as they were of Al\'s father.

The door slam shut behind them, with the bodyguards exiting the room to give the leaders some space.

They all remained standing as Ray\'s eyes scanned the group.

It was quite a mix of personalities.

There were some that stood elegantly like movie stars or businessmen, like Francesca Rocci\'s brother, Andres Rocci for whom Al\'s younger brother was named.

Then there were those like Seth Dean, who you wouldn\'t even notice if you were walking down the street.

He looked like any ordinary citizen, but in reality he controlled the largest Mafia in the country.

Of course there were others that truly looked the part.

One was a gang leader called T, interestingly his real name was John, quite plain for the leader of one of the biggest gangs within the Capital.

T was covered in tattoos and was quite buff, he had a dangerous aura about him as he scanned the room. He was probably assessing the other leaders around him.

T was the newest leader to join the group, their former gang leader had handed him the role after being it that spot for ten years, a long time considering that most Gang Leaders usually left or died by their fifth year in command.

He was the one Al need to watch out for, he could already see T giving his father a questioning glance, one that didn\'t settle well with Al.

Another man that managed to stand out was Fredrico, a leader of a mafia family. He was an older man compared to everyone in the room.

He was quite round and had a strong stench to him that Al attributed to whatever perfume he used.

Like most of the mafia leaders, he had inherited his role from his father.

The room remained silent as they waited for Ray to speak, no one even coughed as they were all clearly anxious.

"There has been an attempt to take down our organization as a whole." Ray declared as he looked at each of the leaders.

He didn\'t invite them to sit, instead they all remained standing as they listened to his news.

"Spies have been placed in most of the gangs and mafias." Ray declared as the leaders looked among themselves.

None dared to speak.

It was a very big blunder on their end to let someone untrustworthy to enter their organization.

"How bad is it, sir?" Andres Rocci asked as he addressed Ray formally.

"You may need to sit for this one." Ray said a knock came from the door.

While the leaders sat, one of Ray\'s secretaries, a man, entered the room with a stack of documents. He placed it on the desk before bowing to Ray and Al before leaving.

When the door closed behind the secretary, Ray spoke again.

"Based on our sources, and we have quite a reliable source, these people have infiltrated leadership roles in your organizations." Ray announced, much to everyone\'s surprise.

Al could tell that they were all anxious. He couldn\'t even figure out which leader had been aware of a traitor in their ranks and which ones were genuinely caught off guard.

"If I may speak, sir." Andres Rocci said as he waited for Ray to give him permission.

Ray nodded and gestured for him to talk.

"We have been investigating a few men, is there a way to find out if he is on the list?" Andres asked Ray.

To everyone\'s surprise, Ray laughed and shook his head.

"Not a he, Andres, she." Ray said with a frown. "It seems that many of you have underestimated what women are capable of finding out."