Chapter Text
Hen made her way to the front door that following morning once the doorbell rang. They were fourteen days away from mediation and everyone was pretty on edge right now. Things at work had been rough. Even though she had switched to a different shift, everyone was clearly in the know about what was going on with Buck and Chimney. They all knew she was against Buck. At least that’s how they saw it. She wasn’t against him, she was just trying to do what was right for her best friend. Chimney was being framed and he needed to be protected. If Buck hadn’t been the one making the claims, the LAPD would have taken longer to investigate before they had decided that Buck was telling the truth. They would have waited until there was hard evidence against Chimney and not just taken the word of someone. Especially when that person had a skull fracture. She had to protect Chimney and she knew that nothing would realistically happen to Buck.
Yes, the lawyers had mentioned that Buck could be charged, but she knew that couldn’t happen until it was proven that Chimney was innocent. And even if he was arrested, Buck could have easily just lied and said he was confused and used his skull fracture as a defense. Nothing would happen to Buck, aside from him seeing that his own actions had consequences and he needed to live with them. And if there was a chance that Buck was lying to frame Chimney for some personal reason, then he deserved to be charged and face whatever prison time he was sentenced to, just like everyone expected for Chimney to be doing. Buck had a whole army fighting behind him and Chimney didn’t have anyone. She had even reached out to Albert to try and get him to help, but he was staying out of it. He had offered to help with Jee when she was found. He still wanted to be in his niece’s life and he was hoping for the best in this scenario, but he was not picking sides. He didn’t want to get involved legally. He liked both Buck and Chimney and he was playing Switzerland.
It frustrated Hen that even Chimney’s own brother wasn’t going to fight for him. You could like Buck, hell she loved him, but also still fight for what was right. It seemed like everyone was too afraid to go against the golden child to do what was right. Hen opened the door and saw that no one was there, but there was a white shipping package sticking out of her mailbox. She pulled it out and headed back inside as she opened it. She looked inside and saw a black flip phone in it with a charger. She pulled it out and she noticed there was a note also in the mailer. She pulled it out and instantly recognized Chimney’s handwriting.
They could be monitoring your phone. I programed my number in already.
-Chim
Hen quickly put the note and phone back into the package and went and hid it in the closet as she heard Karen coming down the hallway. Hen then headed into the kitchen as Karen came around the corner.
“Who was at the door?”
“Jehovah witnesses. I got rid of them real quick.” Hen said with an easy smile.
Karen grimaced as she spoke. “Last time I had two here, it took me twenty minutes to get rid of them.”
“Ya, I kinda just say no and close the door on them.” Hen said with a small smile.
“That’s smart.” Karen said with a soft chuckle. “Denny is getting ready for school. I will drop him off on my way.”
“And I will have dinner all ready to go for when you guys get home. I have to leave at three to get to my shift.”
“God, I hate that you are on a different shift.” Karen groaned.
“I know, me too, but it’s only temporary. Once Chimney has been cleared he will be back at the 118 and I will go back to A-Shift. We just need to hold on for a little while longer.”
“Ya, except we don’t know that. Chimney needs to come back before this whole mess can be sorted out. Hopefully he had an alibi that can be verified and this whole mess can be put to bed. He hasn’t reached out to you at all? You haven’t been able to get a hold of him? I know you were calling him a bunch when this first started, I was too, but I couldn’t ever get him to pick up.”
“No, I never did. And now the phone goes straight to voicemail, so I stopped calling.” Hen lied.
“Ok, good. Not good that he is still out there, but it’s good you haven’t spoken to him. I was reading up the other night about accessory after the fact and aiding and abetting charges and what classifies as which. Any contact with Chimney after forty-eight hours from the warrant could result in charges being pressed against you. So it’s really important that you don’t speak to him. If he calls, then you should record it so you can prove you didn’t tell him anything about the case. Just that you told him to come back.”
“That’s good to know. I will do that. I have a feeling he won’t call me.”
Hen was not about to tell Karen about the phone or her phone call with Chimney. She also wasn’t going to be telling her what Chimney’s lawyer said about keeping Chimney away before this could be resolved. It would only make her worry and they had enough to worry about. They already had the new CPS worker, Mrs. Catherine Miller, came by yesterday to do a home visit. She was really nice and both Hen and Karen thought it went well.
“Mom, Mama!” Denny called, as he came into the kitchen with his phone. “You need to see this.” Denny said, as he handed his phone over to Karen.
Hen moved closer so she could look over and see what Denny was so worked up about. Both Hen and Karen saw it was a news article on one of those tabloid websites.
Hero Firefighter, Evan Buckley, Investigated for Drug Use. Connected To Multiple Meth Labs
“Oh my god.” Karen said, just horrified.
There was a massive picture of Buck taken from at some point in the tsunami. Someone must have taken his photo after he arrived at the VA’s hospital. He looked like he had just been through hell. The article went on to say that Buck had been injured in a meth lab explosion. That he was the only one in the house and it was suspected that he was cooking it to help feed his meth addiction. It even went on to say that he had used his Fire Marshal status to clear meth labs and known drug dens to keep them operating.
“Is it true?” Denny asked.
“No.” Both Hen and Karen instantly said.
“But then why would someone make an article about it?” Denny asked, confused.
“It’s slander. Someone is trying to dirty up Buck’s name because of everything that is going on. This website is for fake news. People write articles with nothing but lies in it just to try and get clicks and make money off of it. Someone at the hospital probably noticed Buck’s name after he was attacked and wanted to make some money off of it.” Karen explained.
“There will probably be more articles. It’s best if you don’t read them. It’s all going to be fake. I know it’s going to be hard, especially at school, but just try and ignore it.” Hen added.
She knew that Chimney’s and their lawyer were going to be trying to discredit Buck. She had no idea that they were going to have these types of articles written. The fact that they were with cheesy websites, no one was going to take them seriously, at least not in an official capacity. But it would help to muddy the water for a jury and in the public eye. She hated that Buck was going to be in the spotlight like this, but he also brought it on himself. If the LAPD wanted to back Buck up, then Hen would make sure the city had Chimney’s back. She also knew the LAFD was backing up Buck, so she had to try and give them enough reasonable doubt that Buck was the one they needed to cut contact with. Chimney had more qualifications and had been there longer. He was the one that deserved their loyalty and not Buck.
“But why are they doing this? Uncle Buck was attacked, he’s the victim of a violent crime you said. Why would someone want to make up lies about him?” Denny asked, confused.
“Because unfortunately, people will do anything to make a buck. Even if that means putting an innocent man through more pain.” Karen softly explained.
“It’s a very complicated situation right now Denny. As news about Buck’s attack starts to get out, people are going to be coming out of the woodwork with stories about him, good and bad. The best thing you can do is ignore what the press have to say. Just remember that Buck loves you.” Hen added.
She hated that Denny would get mixed up in all of this. That all of the kids would. But it needed to be done to ensure Chimney didn’t get put in prison for the rest of his life. It wouldn’t be right for Chimney to be punished. For any innocent man to be punished.
“Does this have to do with Jee coming to stay here?” Denny asked.
They hadn’t told Denny about Chimney being the one accused and wanted for the attack on Buck. Karen knew that all of the children, except for May, were being kept in the dark about that. It was something everyone had agreed on pretty early and separately that it would be best for them to not know. At least until they had no choice but to tell them. Denny just knew that Chinney went to look for Maddie and soon Jee would be coming to stay with them so he could focus on finding Maddie and getting her help.
“No. Those are two separate things.” Hen confirmed.
“I know it’s hard, but everything will be ok. It’s just going to take some time. For now, you need to finish getting ready for school.” Karen said with a warm smile.
She wished she could have made all of this better, but there was just no way for her to. Everyone was going to be caught up in this fight until a jury either found Chimney guilty or innocent. They were all in for a long road and she was hoping that they would be able to keep the children out of it. Denny gave a nod and took his cell phone back and headed off to finish getting ready. The second they were alone Karen turned her attention to Hen.
“Did you know about this?”
Karen wasn’t stupid. She knew that Hen had been trying to find some type of dirt that could be used against Buck. She wished she could have been there for the meeting with their lawyer, but she had to work and she couldn’t take it off. They were both already going to be down days with having to take time off for CPS home visits and the court hearings. They needed to bank as much time as they could. Especially once Jee arrived, because they would have to try and balance both of them being home with her while still working. Hen had been hoping that the LAFD would give her some paid time off, but right now it wasn’t looking like it. Her request had been denied and she had to call her union rep to try and get it all worked out. It seemed like no one was interested in helping them take Jee away from Buck.
Karen understood that it was natural for people to take sides in cases, especially one that involved two people that everyone cared about. But she had been hoping the LAFD would stay neutral. It seemed like they had already made their decision that Chimney was guilty and they were washing their hands of it. Karen was worried that they would do the same with Hen if she kept trying to get custody of Jee. The thing was, Karen agreed that it would be best for Jee to be with them. If Buck had been healthy, she wouldn’t have really put up much of a fight for Jee. Buck was her biological family, it made sense. But he was injured and there was no telling how long he would stay that way. Plus with everything that would happen with the criminal case, it made a lot more sense for Jee to be in a neutral party’s home while Chimney and Buck duked it out in court. Yes, you could argue that Hen wasn’t neutral, but neither her nor Hen had any skin in this game. The end result of the court wouldn’t change their lives. It would potentially be devastating, but they weren’t the ones facing jail time. So in that sense, they were neutral and Jee wouldn’t have to feel that animosity in the air. And in the long rong, if Chimney did go to prison and Maddie never came back. It would be better for Jee to be in a stable two parent household. Buck could still be Uncle Buck and come and visit and hang out with her, but he wouldn’t have the responsibility of raising a child.
“No. I swear. I know our lawyer said we needed to try and find dirt on Buck. Anything that would prove he wasn’t responsible and had questionable motives. But we never talked about a smear campaign against him. Someone at the hospital must have done this. Or maybe someone within the LAFD. I mean that place is a gossip mill across every station. Someone could have decided to get back at Buck for one reason or another. That’s for Buck’s lawyer to figure out.”
“I just don’t want all of this to get dirty. I just want to do what is best for Jee. I want all of the adults to be civil and act like adults in this. We have children blended into this family and the children don’t deserve to feel like they have to choose sides or go without. Regardless of what happens with Jee or Chimney, we all still need to be able to be a family for these kids.”
“I completely agree. And we can make sure Buck understands that we had nothing to do with this article or whatever else might come out. We can make it clear in mediation that we just want what is best for Jee. I think right now he is emotional after the attack and Eddie, Bobby and Athena are probably in his ear trying to get him to do this. He might not even want to have Jee. He could feel obligated to take her. The next two weeks will hopefully give him some time to recover and he will be able to stand up for what he wants and he can see that you and I having Jee is best for her.”
“I hope you’re right. Because the last thing I want to do is to destroy this family completely. And you best remember. If our lawyer is trying to find dirt on Buck, then you can bet your ass that his lawyer is trying to find dirt on us. So we need to meet with the lawyer and make sure he is ready for whatever they could dig up.” Karen warned.
“I will make that appointment and make sure there are no surprises.” Hen promised.
“Good. Now, I need to finish getting ready for work.” Karen said, as she went and kissed Hen before she moved back down the hall to finish up.
Hen went and pulled out her cell phone and searched Buck’s name. The first thing that came up was the article. It had been reposted to multiple websites. She clicked on a few of the links and scrolled to read the comments. There were a few that were calling out the article as being fake. Some saying that he looked like that after saving them from the tsunami. That it was obviously fake. The bulk of the comments though were people up in arms about the article and that they wanted Buck charged and fired. It was definitely seventy/thirty against Buck and it gave Hen some hope. They just might be able to turn the city against Buck after all.
XXX
Eddie made his way into the conference room at the DA’s office. He was the last to arrive and he saw Athena, Bobby, Mr. Turner and District Attorney Donovan are all there ready and waiting for him.
“Sorry, I had to wait for Carla to get to the house. Tommy got called in.” Eddie said, as he went and took a seat.
“It’s ok Mr. Diaz, we weren’t waiting long.You had asked to meet all of us to discuss this redacted file.” Donovan asked. He had been worried about the file because everything was going to be used against Buck in this case and this was a huge red flag.
“I was able to speak to Buck and he was able to confirm that he was with the SEALS for the four years that are falsified on his employment history. The SEAL team he was on was for Black Ops, a ghost unit, it’s why so much is falsified and redacted.”
“Alright, the Navy would have some form of document that would at least state he was in the Navy for x-amount of years, correct?” Donovan asked.
“I would imagine there is something that would work to cover up the missing years. If nothing else we should be able to get them to release something that is redacted outside of the enlistment date.” Eddie answered.
“Would that work?” Athena asked.
“It would. If we can get the enlistment date, then that proves he was employed by the Navy. If anyone asks about the false information on his employment history, we can just say that it was done for classified reasons. His time in the Navy is really the least of our concerns. It’s the redacted file that does not paint him in the best of light.” Donovan answered.
“It’s connected to his time in the Navy though.” Bobby started.
“It’s not.” Eddie admitted.
“What do you mean?” Athena asked.
“I can’t talk about it. It’s highly classified, I shouldn’t even know but Buck had to tell someone. But it’s not connected to him being in the SEALS. He was a civilian when that case happened. He had been out for two months. The CIA was supposed to have it redacted and buried permanently. There had to have been a breach somewhere for Athena to even find it.”
“What can you tell us?” Mr. Turner asked.
“Buck was one of hundreds of victims by a cartel. He was brought in as a victim when a raid went down by federal agents. He can’t talk about it, because it’s been classified.”
“That’s not what any of us had been expecting. This is going to be a problem in both cases if we can’t get the truth out.” Mr. Turner said, as he sat back in his chair.
“Can’t we just say what we know? That the CIA classified the intel to protect Buck?” Athena asked.
“In family court, you could get away with it. You could easily play it off as if Buck was working for the CIA when it happened. There’s no dates in this file. You don’t have to lie, just say what you do know. Buck was a SEAL working for the CIA before he joined the LAFD. None of that is a lie.” Donovan started.
“Buck has no criminal record so for the custody battle, we can play it vague.” Mr. Turner agreed.
“Criminal is another issue. I will have to do some fancy footwork to try and get this file thrown out. It is classified and redacted. There’s no way we will be able to get it unclassified. The judge should be willing to throw it out because no one can be questioned on it. Buck has the right to defend himself against any accusations, but he wouldn’t be able to. I’m more concerned about someone trying to leak it to the press. We will need to try and get a gag order on this.” Donovan said.
“The press is a whole other issue. I am assuming everyone saw the articles being posted this morning.” Athena said not impressed.
“Thankfully Buck hasn’t yet. He can’t look at a phone or computer screen yet. It didn’t stop the very long conversation I had to have with Christopher on the way to school today. I told him to ignore whatever people are saying about Buck. That it’s all lies.”
Eddie was pissed that Hen’s lawyer was playing this way. It was obviously done to try and slander someone. They used an old photo from when Buck was in the tsunami with a random house on fire. Buck had never even been to a meth lab as a Fire Marshal. He did commercial buildings and apartment buildings. And there was no way in the world that Buck would ever let a meth lab just go unreported. It was going to trigger more bullsh*t articles though as random people wanted their fifteen minutes of fame.
“Someone is starting a smear campaign. Either Mr. Hunt or Mrs. Wilson did get Mr. Han a lawyer and he is laying the groundwork. It’s not good for the criminal case. Every article will influence the jury. It doesn’t matter if it is all proven to be false. The thoughts are still there. And a defence attorney could bring it up in court. They could argue it goes towards the credibility of the plaintiff. The problem will be if a judge allows for the redacted file to stay in play, because Buck can’t answer questions and Mr. Han’s lawyer could try and treat him as a hostile witness, allowing him to testify instead of asking questions. He could spin the story and that will be the fresh one in the jury’s head. Buck not being able to answer won’t go well at a trial.” Donovan explained.
“We need it thrown out. Can that happen before Chimney is found?” Athena asked.
“No. Everything for the criminal case is put on hold until the accused can be arraigned. I can have all of the paperwork in order to start filing for a motion to dismiss the redacted file from evidence. We really need to find Mr. Han.” Donovan said, because until they do find Chimney, they wouldn’t be able to proceed at all.
“LAPD is working on it. We have his photo and information everywhere. Even The Buckley’s have hired a PI to try and find him and Maddie. We’re coming up blank so far.” Athena said, sounding completely frustrated.
“What did he read spy novels in his spare time?” Donovan asked, because typically a civilian wasn’t able to be this good at evading arrest.
“No, but he is obsessed with true crime shows. And Maddie most likely has told him about what she did to go undetected from Doug when she crossed the country. He’s not stupid.” Bobby answered, and he wasn’t impressed at all. He wanted Chimney caught. He wanted to be able to get this whole thing started so they could put it behind them.
“Great. I’ll do what I can until he is detained. For now, you need to focus on the custody battle.” Donovan said.
It was a battle they all would have felt more confident going into if they didn’t have the redacted file and this slander campaign now hanging over their heads. They had been confident that Buck would win, but now they were all feeling a hell of a lot less confident and that put all of them on edge.
