Never Judge

"Oh that's easy to explain." Alexi said as a waiter came in with food and drinks from him. 

The whole room went silent as they waited for the waiter to leave again. 

Cedric was puzzled by the silence, it seemed that whoever Mien's father was he was someone important.

So important that both Alexi and Ram chose not to speak about him around people they didn't trust. 

"Sorry about that awkward silence." Alexi said as he cut the steak in front of him and poured himself a glass of wine. "I haven't had lunch and I'm starving."

"Your assistant didn't fetch you food?" Cedric asked.

"Well, I had to fire my assistant and I am looking for a new one." Alexi explained. "Care to send one of yours over?" He teased Cedric.

"Of course not." Cedric said with a laugh. "Anyway, continue."

"Continue on what?" Alexi asked as he placed a piece of steak in his mouth. 

"You were going to tell us how Mien's father, Cheng, ended up working for you and Ray." Cedric said with a raised eyebrow. 

Cedric was starting to get quite frustrated with his friends. Alexi kept getting distracted and Ray was seemingly hesitant to talk about Mien's deceased father.

"Okay, okay, chill." Alexi teased. "Mien's father, Cheng, was born here. His name was Christian See, and he worked as a government spy." 

Mein's jaw dropped at the news, he had no idea how to process the revelation Alexi had just done.

Cedric on the other hand remained calm and composed, it was as if nothing was shocking enough for him anymore.

"So everything I know, everything I've ever known has been a lie?" Mien asked as he looked up at Alexi. The betrayal was evident in his eyes, the man he had considered to be his father had had another life aside from the one he had shown.

"Not really." Alexi said as he took a drink from his wine glass. "Cheng loved you and he wanted you to succeed in everything. The only difference is that his reason for being in Singapore was different from what you expected."

"Dad said our family had always been from Singapore, how could he lie?" Mien asked.

"He lied because that was the cover we had given him." Alexi explained. "Dad planted people all over Southeast Asia to see if any external forces were plotting against us, Cheng was one of those men."

"So his friendship with the police captain?" Mien asked.

"How do I explain this?" Alexi said to himself as he scratched his chin, thinking of the best way to word his explanation. "Ah, at first it wasn't a real friendship, your father, Cheng, was trying to get close to anyone and everyone in the government."

"That's why dad has so many friends in politics and in the military!" Mien said with a gasp.

"Yup, that's for sure." Alexi said with a laugh. "Cheng made friends for his mission, but Singapore was quickly removed from the list of countries that could wish us ill. So those connections he planned to spy on? Those became real friends."

"So why did we stay in Singapore if his mission was done?" Mien asked Alexi. "My dad and I still needed people in the country to keep their ears and eyes out. Plus your dad asked not to leave."

"Why?" Mien asked with a confused look on his face. 

"From what Cheng and my dad told me, it was because you were so happy in Singapore. Also because your father was trying to escape a painful past here as well." Alexi said with a frown.

"Do you know anything else about my dad and his past?" Mien asked as he was now eager to listen to Alexi.

"Honestly, I don't know much about his past, only his present, or what was his present." Alexi said with a frown as he remembered the man's death. "He did some missions for us both here and abroad. His position as a businessman allowed him to move freely without question."

"So how did he end up working for Ray?" Cedric asked as he pointed at his brother-in-law across the table. "Don't get me wrong but the jobs you need are the opposite sides of a coin."

Mien gave Cedric a confused look as Cedric realized that Mien had no idea that these two friends were what people saw as good and evil.

The government was good, protecting its people, following the law and enforcing it. While Ray and the rest of the Laurence family ruled the underbelly of the capital, overseeing all of the illegal business in the country.

It was a miracle that the two families could stay in the same room together, let alone continue to be friends. But it was a symbiotic relationship, the Sebastians benefited from the Laurences keeping the illegal activity in check. While the Laurences benefited from the Sebastians not letting people know the truth. 

It wasn't a perfect solution, but it was one that had managed to keep the peace in the city for almost three generations now.

Before Jose Sebasitan's father and Benedicto Laurence's father took their positions as their respective family's heads there was chaos all over the city.

The government had to fight against both the mafia and the gangs, two separate illegal groups that couldn't be controlled.

If it weren't for the Laurence Family the two groups would never have joined together. 

"What I needed was completely legal, he was our legal spy." Ray said with a smirk not wanting to let Mien know the dark side of his family.

"Do you know what he was doing here in the country, working for Fernando?" Cedric asked both Alexi and Ram.

"Fernando? As in the nurse you've been looking for?" Alexi asked.

"Yes, that same one." Cedric said with a nod.

"When he came here to the capital for the final time, he dropped by my office and said he needed to find someone." Ray explained.

"Do you have the details?" Cedric asked his brother-in-law.

"I don't but I send him to someone, I can call him over to find out." Ray suggested.

"Didn't you look into his death?" Cedric asked his two friends. 

"We did, but it was as if Cheng himself had erased any and all evidence of what he had been looking for." Alexi explained with a frown.

"We'll speak to your man in a week." Cedric told Ray. "We need to go somewhere for the next three days."

"Ayanna will be in charge again?" Ray groaned.

"Hey!" Ayanna said, slapping her husband on the arm. "It's just three days."

"Yeah, but you get extra stressed and I don't like it." Ray whined, making Ayanna roll his eyes at him.

"I'm sorry Mien, but it looks like you'll have to extend your stay." Cedric informed their guest with a frown. 

Cedric knew that Mien would never pass up the opportunity to find the reason behind his father's death. Add to that the fact that there were still many unanswered questions, Mien would definitely want to stay.

"Cedric, if you didn't tell me to stay, I would have insisted." Mien said in a stern tone.