Never Judge

"There was a sighting." Ram told Ray as his friend entered the room. They had turned his private room at Hype Bar into their new HQ. "Will you tell them?" Ram asked as he looked up at his friend.

"I don\'t want to get their hopes up." Ray said, shaking his head.

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He waved at a waiter to follow him to bring food and drinks to his friends. He knew that the others had been there for hours. They had all put aside as much time as possible into finding Cedric.

"This one looks real." Alexi said as he pointed at the screen. 

Ray zoomed the image in, he could see a man that resembled Cedric, he had the same build, the same looks, and wore the same kind of clothes Cedric used to when he was under poverty training.

"It could be a decoy." Ray said as he refused to believe quickly. "Cedric clearly used a decoy last time. I think he would change his look, make it as far away from his own as possible."

"How is he even funding this run of his?" Miguel asked as he grabbed a bottle of beer. "We know he didn\'t take any cards and his accounts haven\'t been touched. He barely had any cash on him when he left. So how is he surviving and staying hidden?"

"It\'s Cedric. If there is anything he knows how to do, it\'s to survive and keep a low profile." Eric said with a shrug. "He probably has a job and stays at a place that accepts cash."

"He lived in the real world Miguel." Ian said, shaking his head. "He knows what it\'s like to be poor, to work for everything."

"Is that a fucking attack on us Ian?" Miguel asked angrily. "We didn\'t get handed everything in life either! So don\'t play the fucking poor boy."

"If it weren\'t true you wouldn\'t be so hurt!" Ian answered back.

"Calm down!" Ray said, shaking his head. "You guys are exhausted and you need to take a break. Have either of you even gone home?"

Both Ian and Miguel refused to answer Ray. They simply looked away and took their seats. 

"We know that Cedric wouldn\'t have a hard time surviving out there, he knows how to make ends meet. That\'s not new information to us." Ray said as he looked at his friends. "I think Cedric would go where we would look the least."

"Where wouldn\'t we look?" Ram asked the group as he began to think.

"The Reyes Group." Alexi suddenly said, surprising everyone. "We didn\'t check the employees."

"He won\'t be there." Ian said, shaking his head. "The Reyes Group does an extensive background check. Cedric would have stood out immediately."

Alexi sighed and slouched on his seat, Ray had to admit, it was a smart idea, just not smart enough.

"Does the Reyes Group do an extensive check on it\'s auxiliary staff?" Eric suddenly asked, lifting his head.

"Auxiliary staff?" Ian asked, tiling his head in confusion. 

"Support staff, janitors, cooks, waiters, receptionists." Eric explained.

"Some, but not all. Cooks and receptionists are direct hires of the company, so they get the same background check as everyone else." Ian said as he recalled the company\'s structure. "But janitors, waiters, drivers, and some other staff are hired from other companies. They don\'t get scrutinized." 

"Then we can check there." Eric said with a grin. "Alexi was right, the last place I would look for him is in his own company. It\'s a move that Cedric would make."

"I\'ll have Dave check everyone." Ian said as he quickly tapped on Dave\'s name in his contact list.

"We can\'t just stop there." Ray said. "I\'ve had my men comb through the slums, Cedric has to be living somewhere."

"Try apartments that lease out on a daily basis. I don\'t think Cedric would have gone to a place that would tie him down for a month." Alexi suggested. "He would need a place where he can just leave at any moment."

"I\'ll have places like those added to the list." Ray said with a nod. 

"How long do you guys think he will keep hiding?" Miguel asked with a worried look on his face. Adrianna had come by the hospital multiple times in the past week. She was sick, and Miguel felt that her sickness was more emotional than physical.

"Till he realizes he is being stupid." Alexi scoffed. "He left his wife and kid, he left his father and sister who are also grieving. Sooner or later Cedric will realize that running from his problems is not the solution."

"Don\'t you think his pride will get in the way?" Ram asked. If it were him, he would be too ashamed to come home. 

"Not Cedric." Ray said, shaking his head. "He is the most mature among us, and don\'t deny it. We all act like man childs sometimes."

"Speak for yourself." Eric said, rolling his eyes at Ray.

"Really Eric?" Alexi asked with a laugh. "How long did it take you to tell my sister that you loved her? Manchild."

"Fine, he is quite mature." Eric admitted, making everyone laugh. "But he will also have his moments, and this is one of them."

"Dave said he can get the results by tonight." Ian happily announced after dropping the call. "I hope we are right, and Cedric has just been hiding under our noses this whole time."

"He could have still outsmarted us." Ram said with a shrug. Cedric had always been smarter than him, and Cedric\'s schemes usually had plans within his plans.

"He is not smarter than me." Miguel boasted. "I have a higher IQ." The young doctor said with a grin.

"Yeah, you are book smart, outside medicine and the academe you are just like us." Alxi scoffed. "Do you even know how to get out of a speeding ticket?"

"Yes, of course." Miguel boasted.

"How?" Alexi asked, daring him to answer.

"Call you." Miguel said with a shrug, making everyone else laugh.

"You might be smart Miguel, but Cedric is street smart, scheming smart, business smart." Ray said, rolling his eyes at his friend.

"I -" Miguel started to say in an attempt to counter Ray, but nothing came out of his mouth, making everyone laugh.

"We should all go home and rest now." Ram suggested. "It\'s been a long day and there is nothing we can do but wait."

"Wait and hope for the best." Ray said with a nod.