Never Judge

Cedric and Aiden collapsed simultaneously, one had a bullet through his chest, while the other, on his shoulder.

"Cedric!" Miguel shouted as he came rushing in.

"It's fine, just a lot of blood." Cedric said as he pressed down on his wound.

"Idiot, let me patch you up." Miguel scolded as he called one of his nurses over to help lift Cedric.

"My arm is injured, not my legs! I can fucking walk!" Cedric shouted. "Go help Aiden." 

"Aiden is dead." Benedict said as tears dropped from his eyes. He couldn't help but cry as he cradled his brother's lifeless body.

"Benedict. . ." Camilla said as she hugged her brother.

"It's alright." Benedict said as he struggled to speak. "It's his own fault. I saw him pull the trigger first, Cedric only shot in reaction to him."

"Benedict, he was still our brother. You can cry, you can be hurt." Camilla said as she hugged him.

Benedict turned and sobbed in his sister's arms. 

Cedric and the other's couldn't help but feel awkward about the situation. It was normal for people to hurt when someone they loved died, but Aiden was no friend to many of them.

Cedric closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Benedict's sob's pierced through his heart. He couldn't help but feel guilty for taking a life.

"Take Cedric to the field hospital." Camilla told Miguel as she lifted her head. "I'll deal with Benedict. I'll also ask someone to move our brother's body. The Ortiz crypt is not far from here, we can put him to rest there."

"Yes, it's not far." Benedict said, agreeing with his sister.

"Benedict." Cedric suddenly said as he stopped next to Aiden's body.

"Yes?" Benedict asked as he looked at Cedric. His eyes clearly filled with pain, but not anger. Cedric was relieved that there was no anger in Benedict's eyes.

"I didn't mean to kill him, I acted on reflex." Cedric said with a frown. He really had no intentions of killing Aiden. He simply wanted to capture the man.

"I know Cedric." Benedict said with a nod. "You were only protecting yourself. It was my brother's fault, not yours." Benedict said, shaking his head.

"Cedric, go get that shoulder patched up." Camilla scolded him. 

"Alright." Cedric said as he started to walk away. "If you need anything, find me." Cedric instructed as he walked out of the command center.

Outside, Cedric spotted two bloody patches. 

"They aren't dead." Miguel told Cedric. "The guards that were stationed here, they didn't die. They lost a lot of blood, but we managed to save them."

"Aiden did this?" Cedric asked.

"Yes, he and ten of his men." Miguel said with a nod as they continued to walk out of the school that had served as their command center.

The nurse quickly ran up to a vehicle and opened the door for Cedric. He also helped Cedric in, making sure that his injuries wouldn't be made worse by his movements.

"It's a good thing Aiden didn't notice that you left the radio on." Miguel commented as their vehicle pulled away from the school.

"Benedict and Camilla kept him distracted." Cedric said. "I was really hoping that I didn't have to use the gun."

"He must have been quite distracted to not notice that you had gotten hold of one." Miguel said as he thought of the situation.

"It was a pretty heated discussion." Cedric said, shaking his head. "He refused to believe that Camilla was his sister. He had a thing for her."

"That's disturbing." Miguel said, with a disgusted look on his face.

"Do you know how many we lost today?" Cedric asked Miguel as they pulled up to the makeshift hospital. 

"So far, we've only lost one." Miguel said with a frown. It might have been just one life, but a life was still a life.

"And from Aiden's men?" Cedric asked.

"So far, the reports say at least twenty. Well, twenty one now if you count Aiden." Miguel said with a shrug.

"Did he just hire them, or were they his followers?" Cedric asked.

"You should rest." Miguel said, shaking his head. "Ray hasn't had the time to have them questioned, he had to rush Alexi to the field hospital while Ian made sure that none of Aiden's men escaped.

"We both know I've had worse injuries." Cedric said with a laugh. 

"Yes, but I still need to clean it and stitch you back up." Miguel said, shaking his head. "As your doctor, I am advising you rest."

"We both know that isn't going to happen." Cedric said with a laugh.

Cedric was soon helped out of their vehicle and brought to an operating room. As soon as he was patched up, Miguel insisted on having him sent to an actual hospital where he could be properly monitored.

Merrick, who had come out uninjured, assigned several men to guard Cedric while he was at the hospital. 

Cedric argued with his head of security, with Aiden dead there was no one gunning for him anymore. He would be safe.

"Sir, with all due respect, Aiden isn't the only person that would want you dead." Merrick said, reminding Cedric of the harsh reality he had to live with. 

"Fine." Cedric said, allowing six men to follow him to the hospital and guard his hospital room.

Thankfully he had his phone on him and he was able to get regular updates from Merrick, Ian, and Ray. 

They had found several men hiding in the area surrounding the school and the convent.

From these men they learned what had happened from the other side. Sister Emilia did not betray them, rather, it was one of the vagrants that the nuns had taken in.

One woman had fallen in love with one of Aiden's mercenaries, the moment she realized that something was wrong, she phoned back and warned Aiden and his men.

They only had five minutes to move, but it was enough to get everyone out of the convent and foil Cedric's otherwise perfect plan.

Aiden had noticed that there were people at the school, he took ten men with him to investigate while he left the rest to fight off Alexi and Ray.

Of the sixty men that Aiden had brought with him, twenty five perished at the encounter. Most of them had been working for Aiden for years. He had chosen to take only his most loyal, leaving behind those that he had simply hired.

Cedric had just finished reading all of the reports, when someone knocked on his hospital room door.

"Come in." Cedric called out, expecting a nurse of a doctor to come and check on him.

"Sir?" Camilla asked as she stuck her head in.

"Camilla, come in." Cedric said, waving with his uninjured arm.

"Can Benedict come in with me?" Camilla asked nervously. 

Cedric gave her a confused look as she waited for his answer.

"Of course, why not?" Cedric asked, still confused as to why Camilla would ask if Benedict was allowed inside the room.

"Well, he is a threat." Camilla explained. "Based on our rules neither Benedict nor I should be allowed in the hospital room."

"If it makes you feel any better you can ask two guards to come in as well." Cedric said as he tried to ease her worry.

Camilla nodded and called two guards to accompany them inside.

"So what can I do for you?" Cedric asked as he sat up.