Never Judge

Cedric and his friends had made it a point to wear something more casual to blend in with the rest of the locals and tourists.

Of course, they still somehow stood out, they were clearly tourists as they walked into the quaint little cafe that the old nurse had frequented.

"Mae said that he always has his breakfast here without fail, even when Mae couldn't join him." Ian said as Cedric took a sip of his coffee. 

They were seated at the back of the coffee shop in an area that the nurse couldn't easily spot. Cedric didn't want to risk the off chance that the nurse knew how they looked and would be able to recognize them even when they were dressed down.

"What time does he normally arrive?" Miguel asked Ian. 

Mae had given Ian all of her notes on the old nurse and his daily habits. 

"He usually goes to have breakfast at 9am till around 10am, then he goes home to rest. He then has lunch at home or at a local restaurant, then goes to a mall to do some shopping." Ian said as he read through Mae's notes. "Wow, this man follows a really strict schedule." 

"Why?" Eric asked as he tried to look over Ian's shoulder to read from the piece of paper he was reading from. 

Cedric pushed Eric down back onto his seat and rolled his eyes.

"Dude, seriously?" Cedric complained. "Have you forgotten that people recognize you here? You did that hit movie that was shown all over Asia. You even have a fans club here, and it's not small."

"Sorry, I just want to see what Ian means." Eric said with a frown.

"Well, according to Mae's notes the nurse follows his schedule every single day, barely changing anything." Ian told them as he showed them the piece of paper.

True enough there was a note from Mae, it seemed that according to the old nurse he liked having a schedule and a habit. He would even get temperamental if Mae was even a few minutes late.

"What time is it?" Miguel asked as he took out his phone to check the time.

"It's already five past ten." Miguel said as he looked around, searching for the old nurse. "Where does he usually sit?" The miracle doctor asked.

"According to Mae's notes he likes to sit at that table by the window. The staff have it reserved for him every morning, sending away anyone who tries to take it. Look!" Ian said as he pointed at a couple being asked not to sit at the table he was referring to.

"Then why is he so late?" Miguel asked with a frown.

"You are acting like a child, Miguel." Eric scolded as he looked at his brother. "He might have had an emergency or he could just be running late."

"Ian just told us that the man does not do late." Miguel said as he rolled his eyes at his brother.

"Let's wait at least an hour before going into a panic over him not being here." Cedric said in a calm tone as he took out a laptop from his bag.

"Are you seriously working?" Eric asked with a raised eyebrow as Cedric powered on his laptop.

"Yes." Cedric said with a  shrug. "If I can find time to work while we are here, then I will work. It's not like we will miss the man. There are four of us here, and he won't just vanish into thin air as soon as one of you spots him."

"Fine." Eric said, rolling his eyes.

At first, ten minutes passed and the old nurse still hadn't shown up. Eric and Miguel were getting impatient and worried.

"What if he found out about us showing up?" Miguel asked Cedric. "What if Mae avoiding him alerted the nurse to our visit?"

"Mae didn't do as I asked." Cedric groaned, making Ian laugh at his reaction.

"Mae is a stubborn girl, she knew what was at risk if she avoided the old nurse, so she still had breakfast and dinner with him." Ian explained with a shrug. "I'm texting her now to see if he sent her any messages." Ian told the others as he typed away on his phone.

"It's just been ten minutes guys." Cedric commented without lifting his head. "Both of you had made us wait longer."

"Yeah, but -" Miguel began to argue when Cedric raised a hand at him, telling him to keep quiet.

"If you keep complaining we will attract people's attention and we don't want that." Cedric said in a stern tone. "We are trying to be as low profile as possible, being noisy in a coffee shop is not being low profile."

"Sorry." Miguel said with a frown as he took out his phone and began to scroll through social media.

"It's funny that no one saw us at the airport earlier." Eric said as he messaged his girlfriend.

"We came through the VIP entrance, and we didn't bring that much security. People probably thought it was just some other businessman." Cedric said with a shrug as he continued to reply to emails on his laptop.

"Mae, said that he replied this morning when she told him she would be meeting him for breakfast." Ian said as he looked at Cedric. 

Cedric momentarily stopped typing and pinched the space between his eyes as he thought of what could be going on. 

"Do you think he is watching? Waiting for Mae to arrive?" Cedric asked Ian.

"I doubt it." Ian said as he shook his head. "Mae said he didn't suspect a thing, plus she never really lied to him." 

"Get some of the security personnel outside to discreetly check every place that has a view of this coffee shop." Cedric instructed. "I want to be sure that he isn't just waiting for Mae to show up. If he is, then we are wasting our time just sitting here."

Ian nodded at Cedric's instructions and quickly typed a message to the men who were disguised outside. 

Cedric barely noticed his security team as they searched for the man in all the possible hiding spots that had a vantage of the coffee shop.

After twenty minutes, Ian's phone buzzed as several messages arrived. He frowned as he read them.

"What's wrong?" Cedric asked.

"He isn't outside." Ian reported. 

"Thirty minutes late." Eric said slowly as he drummed his fingers on the table and leaned back on his seat. "If this man was always on the dot this is something completely off."

"Have Mae send him a message asking him where he is." Cedric told Ian as he watched some of the waiters whispering among themselves as they pointed at the nurse's reserved table.

Cedric sighed and got up, he walked over to the waiters.

"By any chance, can my friends and I have that table?" Cedric asked as he pointed at the table reserved for the nurse.

The waiters looked at each other, unsure of what to tell Cedric.

"He isn't arriving." One waiter said. "Just give the table up." 

"But he always has breakfast here, remember the last time we gave his table away? He caused such a scene." The other waiter explained.

"Yes, but he is never late." The first waiter argued back.

"You know what, I think my friends are fine where we are, can I have a few coffees to go?" Cedric asked. 

The waiter promptly nodded as he took Cedric's order down. The other walked towards the reserved table and took the sign away. 

After paying and claiming his orders, Cedric walked back to his friends who were now frowning.

"What happened?" Cedric asked as he gave them a confused look.

"The nurse isn't replying." Ian said with a sigh. "Mae is on her way to his home now." 

"In that case, we should go." Cedric said with a nod as he packed up his laptop.

"Are you sure?" Miguel asked with a worried look on his face. "What if he arrives after we leave?" 

"I'll leave someone to wait for him in case." Cedric said as he carried his bag. "Let's go."

With that, all four of them left the coffee shop, wondering what happened to the nurse.