Never Judge

Among their circles, word had spread that the Rajas\' first target had been the Dean family. People who had been respected by both the Mafia Families and the Gangs over the years.

The Deans had always served as a bridge between the two warring underworld factions. As a matter of fact, the Deans were one of the first families that sided with the Laurences when they were uniting the underworld.

They were also the ones that insisted that they should have a ruler capable of being in the spotlight and out of it at the same time.

Cedric was the last to arrive at the meeting.

As soon as he entered the crowd silenced. He knew that after their last meeting the people of the underworld saw him in a different light. There was a new form of respect in their eyes.

Ray, who was seated at the head of the table, got up and sat to the right as he gestured for Cedric to take the now empty seat.

To those in the underworld, symbolisms such as these spoke volumes. By allowing Cedric to sit at the head meant that Ray was acknowledging him as someone more powerful.

It was rare for the King of the underworld to do such an act, and yet here they watched Ray give up his position of power and honor to Cedric.

"Are you sure?" Cedric asked as he glanced at Ray.

The man simply nodded.

"I\'ve discussed it with my people and they do agree that we need a united front against the Rajas, and who else to lead us but you?" Ray asked as he gave a quick glance to the leaders of the underworld.

At a loss for words, Cedric simply sat down and allowed the room to quiet down.

"I understand that this situation is quite unique to you all." Cedric said in a powerful voice as he looked the men and women in the eyes.

He appreciated how they all seemed serious and intent on listening to his words.

"The Rajas, as we all know, are a group of once powerful people that we thought had fallen. But it seems that they never gave up on their desire for power." As he spoke, the leaders nodded, acknowledging his words as truth.

"Just recently, we witnessed them make unexpected attacks not only on the Dean family, but on other gangs and mafia families as well." Cedric informed them as he recalled the reports he read. "Luckily, they could only focus their strength in one area."

Cedric noticed some of the leaders glance at Seth, his father, and his son.

The three men had remained silent and composed as they sat closest on Cedric\'s left with only Ian between him and them.

"The Rajas cannot be allowed to be a threat any longer." Ray said as he looked at the leaders. They respond with nods and cheers.

Cedric raised his hand, quieting down the room.

"We are working on a way to get rid of them completely, but for the meantime we must get the Dean headquarters back." Cedric announced.

"Seth, would you care to tell us what exactly happened the day of the attack and how the headquarters came into their hands?" Ray asked Seth who simply nodded and cleared his throat.

Cedric was actually quite eager to hear what had happened.

He never learned the details and never got the chance to speak to Seth the past few days.

Too much had been going on leaving him little time to investigate everything.

"The first thing you all need to know is that the Rajas came with every intent of taking over the Dean family." Seth said as he looked around the room. "They attacked with so many men and weapons that my father and son had no choice but to leave and retreat in order to avoid any casualties or to become bargaining chips themselves."

"A logical move." A man Cedric recognized to be the leader of the country\'s largest gang said as he nodded in agreement.

"That means the attack on the rest of us was just a distraction." Andres Rocci, co-head of the Rocci family said as he looked at this fellow leaders. "They had a target and they didn\'t want us finding out."

"The question is, why would they target the Dean family?" A small woman asked.

"Ah, Lea, I think I can give you an acceptable answer." Ian said with a grin. It seemed he was quite familiar with this female leader of one of the gangs.

"I hope your answer isn\'t a stupid one." Lea said as she glared at Ian.

Ian simply nodded and smiled.

"It\'s no secret that Seth once worked at the Reyes Group, nor is our friendship a secret." Ian explained.

"So you are saying, you are the reason why the Dean family was singled out?" Andres Rocci asked.

"One of many reasons." Seth said as he came to his friend\'s rescue. "Either way, there are many things that tie my family to the Reyeses and this made me seem to be the most likely ally to the Reyes family and their group."

The leaders seemed to accept Seth\'s explanation as they nodded and listened.

"Clearly the Rajas are trying to find a weak link in the underworld." Cedric announced. "And I hope you all agree with me when I say that we cannot allow them to do this."

The leaders all nodded in agreement.

"What\'s the plan?" One of them asked, to which Cedric responded by nodding at Ian.

"The plan is to have a leak." Ian grinned as the leaders carried baffled looks on their faces. That was clearly not what they had expected to hear.