"I can't fucking believe this," Callum said, "Dealing arms? All this time when I thought he was out for business trips.. he was in Russia fucking selling guns to the mafia!"
"Cal," Tucker sighed, "Babe. You need to calm down."
"How can I be calm after this?" Callum shook his head, "You know when you hated me in the start? When you hated me because of my family—"
"I didn't know you and you're not your family."
"—I just wanted to prove you wrong and tell you that hey! Not all rich people are assholes. My family hasn't done anything criminal. We pay taxes. We pay our employees. I wanted to so badly show you this but little did I know." Callum let out a short bitter laugh.
"That's not relevant, Cal. Your father's actions are not yours." Tucker justified.
"Tucker he not only stole money and fucked over so many fucking people, he also fucking sold weapons. Weapons that have been used to kill god knows how many people." Callum pinched his forehead, massaging it as he felt a migraine coming.
"And he'll answer for his crimes." Tucker kept his arm on Callum's shoulder.
"CeCe said the FBI dragged him out of the house.." Callum said lowly, "And the lawyer he.. What do you think? What's going to happen? Tell me as an attorney."
"With all the charges that he's facing.. And if they have the proof to find him guilty then he's going in for life. His only hope would be pleading guilty and working out some sort of a deal. I'm sure a man like him has more than enough dirt to take down a lot of people." Tucker answered thoughtfully.
"Would you be his lawyer?" Callum asked impulsively, and regretted it almost instantly as Tucker froze.
"Cal.. Cal, I can't."
"I know, I'm sorry!" Callum said quickly, "I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. You prosecute people like him, not protect them. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be." Tucker wrapped his arm around Callum and pulled him closer.
Tucker couldn't help but feel really guilty. He tried to justify it in his head by reminding himself that he absolutely couldn't tell Callum, and that if he could, then he would. Plus, it's not like it would've made anything better had Tucker told him earlier. Maybe it would've given Callum some time to come to terms with it, but nothing more.
There's also the fact that the older Kaufman probably knew that he was going to be arrested soon. Tucker had seen enough criminals to know that the way Callum described his father's suspicious actions the past few months, especially his rush to get his affairs in order, was a dead giveaway of a man that knew what kind of trouble he was in.
If Callum's father didn't want to tell his son about the deep shit that he was in, then who was Tucker to do so? But Tucker also knew that no matter how much he tried to justify it to himself, the guilt would remain in his conscience. And it would continue to weigh him down.
"What's prison like?" Callum asked after a while of silence.
"It's not a nice place. I don't think you want to know, Cal." Tucker sighed.
"What are the chances of him ending up in a white collar prison?" Callum questioned again.
"If there are criminal charges against him, especially grave ones like selling weapons to the mafia then that's very unlikely," Tucker pursed his lips slightly, "If I were his lawyer, I'd really push for a plea deal. That's his only hope."
"And if you were his persecutor?" Callum turned to his side to look at the attorney, "Would you let him off with a deal?"
"If there are bigger fish to fry and he gives me enough to catch them, then yes." Tucker nodded.
"I'll talk to the lawyers," Callum said, "I need to call his wife too. She's freaking out because they freezed all of their assets."
"Yeah, do that. If you need any advice then I'm here too." Tucker offered and Callum passed him a small but grateful smile. Callum knew Tucker was least likely to help someone like his father, so the gesture meant a lot to me.
"I just can't believe this is happening," Callum said once more, "How could I have not seen this? How could I be so blind? So many.. so many of his actions and disappearances make sense now and I knew! I knew something was up!"
Tucker knew he had to tell Callum. Tucker believed that no matter what, the truth always comes out. But that's not why he wanted to tell Callum. It was not because he was afraid Callum would find out and be angry. Rather, it was because Tucker absolutely hated that he had to keep this from his boyfriend. So he had decided a few weeks back itself that he would come clean to Callum once the news was out.
Tucker was terrified. This could potentially harm their relationship beyond repair, and just the thought of that was more than enough to send panic throughout his body and mind. He had struggled so much in the beginning to accept his feelings for Callum, and now the fact that he may lose it all was petrifying.
For a moment, Tucker thought to maybe just keep it all to himself. Maybe both him and Callum would be better off that way. But he also knew the weight of this secret would never leave him, and he could never have anything serious with Callum with this on his conscience.
"I need to tell you something." Tucker said, making Callum look at him with a questioning look.
"What is it?" Callum asked.
"I, uh, I knew," Tucker gulped as Callum rose a brow, motioning him to go on, "I knew that the FBI was looking into your father. And that sooner or later he would be arrested."
"How.. how did you know?" Callum asked, staying so calm that it almost freaked Tucker out.
"Joe told me. When he got to know that you and I were together, he, uh, well he wanted to look out for me. So, he did a little digging and found out." Tucker replied.
"So you've known since..?" Callum questioned.
"He told me a few days after he met you outside the courtroom. After the Garner case." Tucker answered.
"That was months ago," Callum mumbled, and Tucker nodded, "Why? Why would he tell you about my father he if he was looking out for you? You're dating me, not my father."
"I told him the same thing," Tucker immediately said, "That I'm dating you. And that you're not responsible for your father's crimes. You didn't even know."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Callum asked, his voice low.
"I couldn't, it was confidential and if the word got out then that could've fucked everything up," Tucker sighed, "I hope you know that it wasn't because I don't trust you, because I do, and I wanted to tell you so badly but I just.. I just couldn't."
"Boundaries between personal and professional life, huh?" Callum let out a dry chuckle, "Why are you telling me now? You could've just kept it to yourself. Seems like you're good at that."
"Callum," Tucker paused, he was slightly offended at what Callum said but he could understand where the man was coming from. He just got hit by an overload of information so this was normal, "I don't want to keep any secrets from you. If I could tell you, then I would've. And this.. the fact that I knew, this is something that would've been a secret had I not told you. I want to be honest with you, Cal, always."
"Okay." Callum said.
"Are you mad at me?" Tucker asked.
"I'm not.. I'm not mad. Atleast I don't think so. This is too much to take in." Callum ran a hand through his hair as he leaned back on the couch.
"I was expecting you to yell at me and I don't know if the calm, silent treatment is better or worse," Tucker paused, "You have every right to be upset with me. But I want you to know that I'm here for you, yeah? You don't have to go through this alone."
Tucker extended his arm to hold Callum's hand, but as soon as he touched him Callum retreated like he had been touched by fire. Tucker flinched, as he slid back, distancing himself slightly from his boyfriend.
"Can you leave?" Callum asked, still not looking at Tucker, "I think I'm going to go to CeCe and meet and lawyer and see what's going on."
"I could come with—" Tucker was cut off by Callum
"No," Callum said sternly, "I need to do this alone."
"Then I can wait here?" Tucker asked hopefully.
"Tucker, please just leave."
***