Chapter Text
Walking into the well lit office building in downtown Los Angeles to meet a new potential client, Evan Buckley feels his nerves begin to ratchet up. Since he’d been summoned by name to the nondescript building in the center of LA’s Financial District he’s been wracking his brain as to what Sal “The Kid” Deluca could want with him.
Deluca was the closest thing to royalty in Los Angeles and his gang The Black Keys had been running the southern half of the state for years. Buck knew that The Black Keys had a tendency of making people disappear that got in their way or refused to bow down to them. If he was being honest he was afraid of what was about to happen to him if he didn’t bend to The Kid’s will.
Entering an empty elevator car in an equally empty building, he tries to practice the breathing exercises, his best friend and therapist Eddie had taught him. There was no use in panicking as he walked into the lions den. By the time, the car stops he’s feeling relatively calm and is ready to face one of the scariest men in the world. When he knocks on the door of the only office on the floor he takes one more deep breath and waits.
“Come in,” a deep voice says and when he opens the door he’s met with by grim smile of one of the nicest looking men he’s ever seen. “You must be Mr. Buckley. Come in and close the door behind you please.”
He doesn’t answer until he’s sat across the desk, “Evan Buckley, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise. Now Mr. Buckley you were probably wondering why I requested your services.”
“It’s Buck. You can call me Buck like all my friends do.”
“Alright Buck,” Sal says putting emphasis on his name before continuing, “I’m requesting your services for a personal matter not for Black Keys business. My partner was arrested last night on suspicion of money laundering and suspicion of murder charges. The thing is Tommy’s probably the most straight laced person in my life so I know he’s innocent. I need you to help him and me out by association. If you do I’ll make sure you’re paid handsomely.”
“So let me get this straight you want me to get your boyfriend out of jail? Don’t you have some high powered attorney or a judge or something that could help you out? Why me?”
“He’s my partner not boyfriend. Thomas doesn’t like labels,” Sal corrects with a laugh. “You are the best of the best Buck. I saw how you got my associate Hale off last year when he was facing his own murder charges. And you are exactly what Tommy needs at the moment.”
“Alright I’ll see what I can do to help your partner. Now do you have any ideas of who could be trying to frame Tommy or the Black Keys? Anybody that might be interested in taking you out or might be holding some sort of grudge?”
“Vincent Gerrard.”
“You mean the old bastard that seems to have every judge, cop and politician in his pocket,” Buck growls out rolling his eyes. “If so I’m well aware of who he is.”
“Good you know who he is then. I don’t have to explain why I believe he’s involved do I?”
“No I’ve encountered him before. Numerous times in fact. The last time I saw him he tried to pay me to represent an old friend and help her beat her supposedly trumped up murder charges. Problem was there was enough evidence to prove her guilt that it was an open and shut case. When I refused to help he threatened to get me blacklisted and when that didn’t work he threatened my family.”
“Well Tommy’s charges are trumped up though. Listen Buck I’ll understand if you decide to not help me but at least give it some thought. Tommy’s a good guy and he wouldn’t even be sitting behind bars right now if he wasn’t involved with me.”
He should probably take a minute to think about it but he can’t help but think of an innocent man sitting in prison. “I’ll do it.”
“Great what do you need me to do? Anything and everything you need tell me and I’ll make sure you get it,” Sal says sounding serious before his voice cracks. “My boys sitting in a jail cell scared out of his mind and it’s killing me to think that something could happen to him.”
“Which jail did they take him to? I’ll get it arranged for me to go see him this afternoon and I’ll make sure he’s good.
“Minton. My best enforcer Hen followed them last night to keep an eye on things and make sure at the very least the cops were on the up and up. She came back early this morning and told me she’d kept an eye on Tommy for as long as she could.”
“Minton? They sent him to the worst jail this side of the country. The jail that He Who Shall Not Be Named owns,” Buck questions shuddering. “Look Deluca I ain’t promising anything but I’m gonna do my best to bring Tommy home to you. Even if I have to break him out I’ll make sure he comes home no worse for wear. Now do you have a recent photo of Mr. Kinard so I know that’s exactly who I’m talking to later.
“Thank you Buck. Call me after you see him, okay? Just tell Tommy I love him. Remind him I’ve got the best in the business on the case,” Sal answers pulling a picture frame from his drawer to show him.
“I will. Now you got anything you want me to give him?”
“Just that I love him.”
“Well then I’ll be off then and I’ll call you later.”
“Thank you Mr. Buckley.”
“Buck,” he reminds him with a laugh as he heads towards the door.
“God Tommy I’m so sorry baby. If I’d known that Gerrard would go after you to get back at me for taking over the Black Keys I never woulda challenged him.”
He’s already halfway through the door when he hears the mumbles and he swears that one way or another he’s gonna make sure that Tommy Kinard is back in his own bed tonight. Even if he’s got to stage an escape after dark he’s not gonna let Deluca be without his beloved any longer than necessary.
He knows his next move is to make sure that Tommy’s case is heard in a relatively decent court room by a judge who isn’t in Gerrard’s pocket. So getting in his car he begins to game plan how he’s going to get Tommy out of this mess. He heads back towards Nash, Grant & Buckley and hopes Bobby and Michael can help to get Tommy transferred from Minton or maybe even released into his custody.
If he can get Judge Jason Mehta convinced his clients presence at Minton is a conflict of interest given the fact Gerrard’s been going after the Black Keys for years he feels confident that he can make true on his promise to Deluca.
Having made a quick to call to his firm partners on the way he’s greeted at the door by both of his firm partners and Judge Mehta, who’d been there for lunch and immediately begins explaining the situation as he leads the other three men into his office.
“Buckley, you go to Minton and Mr. Kinard’s been harmed in any way, shape or form call me and I’ll expedite the prisoner transfer to your custody,” Mehta says sitting his laptop down and opening up a new document to begin typing on. “I always knew Vincent Gerrard was a rat bastard but I didn’t realize how vindictive he was until now.”
“Bobby, Maddie and I will start tracing every one of Gerrard’s moves along with starting to piece together the alibis of the Black Keys,” Michael assures getting up to get started.
“Be careful Buck,” Bobby says “Gerrard’s a dangerous unpredictable man and he won’t hesitate to cause you trouble.”
“I will Bobby, I promise. Now I’m gonna get some stuff gathered up and go check in on my new client. Wish me luck that I don’t wind up sharing a jail cell with Tommy.”
****
Pulling up to Minton, Buck’s greeted by Vincent Gerrard himself standing in the doorway.
“What can I do for you, sir?”
“I’m Evan Buckley and I’m here to meet my client Thomas Kinard,” Buck answers climbing the stairs up to the front door of the jail finally standing nose to nose with the old man trying to intimidate him.
“Kinard’s here on some pretty serious charges but I suppose as his lawyer you’re entitled to talk to him,” Gerrard sighs moving aside. “I’ll show you to a room where you can talk to him and then I’ll go personally retrieve your client a s soon as you prove to me that you’re unarmed. Can’t have anyone coming in here with guns or knives trying to break someone out.”
Buck allows the Minton guards to pat him down before he follows Vincent to a little conference room and starts to unload his briefcase to wait for Tommy to arrive. Once he has everything ready to go upon Tommy’s arrival he checks every inch of the room to make sure it’s not bugged.
The man who walks into the room 20 minutes later looks nothing like the young man in the photo he’d been shown earlier. This version has lacerations criss crossing his face and a hell of a black eye coming on. There’s blood still oozing out of what looks to Buck to be a freshly fractured nose and he hates it.
“Mr. Kinard, I’m Evan Buckley and I’ve been hired by someone very dear to you to defend you against these charges,” Buck introduces himself holding out a hand to shake Tommy’s.
“Call me Tommy please,” Tommy requests shaking Buck’s hand before he sits down. “Sal hired you didn’t he?”
“Yes he did and just wants to protect you I promise. Now if you’ll give me a moment I have to send a quick email and then we can talk,” Buck says quickly texting Bobby and hitting send on a message to Mehta.