Disclaimer: This story is about POLITICS. Has been, will be. It has moved away from the original Scandal to centre on normal human behaviour, just as the original Scandal has descended into a hellish celebration of abnormal psychopathy and depravity. IMO.

Quote from a real-life woman leader:

'Peace is a battle. Peace is never given freely, never acquired. Its conquest is the result of courage and of respect for others. It demands awareness and commitment from everyone. Peace is not the law imposed by the mighty, but that which is founded on equality and dignity of all peoples – Chandrika Kumaratunga, Sri Lanka's first female President, 1994-2005 and daughter of Sri Lanka's pioneering female Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, first elected in 1960

World News…

"If you thought the United States Presidential Elections had reached peak bizarre, you would be mistaken. The Federal Bureau of Prisons has just issued a statement declaring the candidacy of Mrs Olivia Pope-Grant. She's the wife of former President Fitzgerald Grant, who quit the race and the Presidency because of family obligations. No Third Party candidate has won the Presidency since Abraham Lincoln won in 1860 on an anti-slavery platform. What Mrs Grant stands for is a mystery, but we are reliably told that she has a reputation as a fixer. Whether than reputation alone is enough to win any votes remains to be seen, one of the primary obstacles in her race to the Presidency as an independent candidate is that her name isn't even on the ballot. As for her chances of winning the Presidency, the Haymarket bookies have her odds at 10,000 to one. Not exactly impossible but highly improbable…

"For more on this bizarre announcement we have the man of the hour, James Novak. "Mr Novak, I understand you played a pivotal role in the hostage drama that culminated in Mrs Grant's candidacy?"

"Yes. I was taken hostage by Hollis Doyle and the other inmates, and my release was conditional on Olivia declaring her candidacy."

"It worked."

"Only after negotiations that would have done a World Summit proud. Olivia never intended to run but I guess the standard of our current candidates made her change her mind."

"You're on a first name basis with Mrs Grant, and the couple are godparents to your adoptive daughter. Have you discussed frankly the chances she has of winning? I mean, would Fitzgerald Grant be a better choice as he's still on the electoral ballot; and is Mrs Grant's hopes of getting a decent number of votes in this election all pie in the sky, since she's not on the ballot?"

"Olivia can still be a write-n candidate."

"Would you care to explain to our viewers – what exactly is a write in candidate?"

"In America, we have an election policy of allowing voters to write-in the names of candidates who have not been able to get their name on the electoral ballot either because of they missed the deadline, or because they are ineligible."

"Or because they've decided not to run."

"Yes."

"So people are just going to write-in Olivia Pope-Grant's name on the ballot, are they?"

"That's the idea."

"Honestly, as a friend and an experienced journalist, what do you think of her chances of winning."

"I don't know, but I can say I will be voting for Olivia. I worked with her, and I know she'd make a great President."

"But your husband is an enemy of the state. He's the reason Olivia's husband was almost impeached. Do you still think it's wise to support this woman?"

"I think under the circumstances, even though we are talking about my husband, justice was done. Olivia's input ensured that justice, not revenge was the outcome of that situation. That's why Olivia is, and should be, the people's choice."

"But isn't it true that Mrs Grant is the prisoners' choice? Surely the incarcerated, who cannot vote, are not representative of the entire United States population?"

"The prisoners are the reason that Olivia agreed to run, but there were already several grass-roots campaigns across the country – organised by people who know and respect Olivia – to try and convince her to run. I think this will be the first time in our history that 'we the people' have chosen a Presidential candidate. Normally they are selected through a bizarre crony-approval process that involves a lot of money. This is a historic moment for all us, Olivia likes a challenge and once we present her with a mandate – that of fixing this country – she is sure to run with it."

The Morning News on local TV station…

"You wouldn't know it from the major news networks, but we have a new candidate in the race to be America's Next President, and students from a local high school say they helped make it happen. To tell us more about this surprising claim is our junior correspondent from Andover High School. Chester, what's happening over there at your school?"

"The principal just told us that Mrs Olivia Pope Grant is running for President, and the guys went crazy," Chester said with a breathless grin, as if he'd just finished a bout of yelling himself.

"I believe you've got a couple of students who helped organise the petition to convince Mrs Grant to run for President."

"Oh. Yeah." [Two students moved awkwardly into the camera frame.]

"I understand the two of you started the petition to nominate Mrs Grant as a Presidential Candidate after her husband, former President Grant, endorsed her during the recent, controversial debate."

"Yeah."

'[Long pause... then] "We'll have to change the petition to get her name on the election ballot."

"But aren't you too young to vote? Why do you want Mrs Grant to be President.

"Because Olivia would make a kickass President."

"Do you know Mrs Grant personally?"

"We were her clients at the school. And she didn't charge us or nothing. Said she'd do it pro bono."

"What scandal you were involved in? Skipping school? Not doing your homework?"

"We had a bully in school. His dad was some guy in the government. And this kid thought he could get away with anything and he pretty much did. Until Jerry, that's Jerry Grant, called his mom, only she wasn't his Mom at the time, but she came and fixed the guy."

"She... fixed... the guy? What did she do?"

"She got him expelled, and she made his parents put him in a program for troubled kids. Then she gave us her card and told us to call her if we had a problem like that again. But we didn't. She's cool."

Update…

"The Andover High School petition for Mrs Olivia Pope-Grant to get ballot access has gone viral. Hundreds of schools and college across the country have started their own petitions …"

News from the MidWest region

"This picture of local Appaloosa horse-trainer Hank Guildford and his wife Virginia stuck in traffic, in a horse and buggy, advertising the banner 'Olivia4President, is going viral on the Internet. "

"We Skyped with the Guildfords this evening, and this is what they had to say about their fame."

"Thank you for inviting us on your show, every little bit of publicity will certainly help Olivia's cause." Hank smiled into the camera.

"So you support Mrs Grant's impossible bid for the Presidency as an independent third party candidate?"

"We're hoping to make it less of an impossibility. That picture that got us here, shows me and Ginny on our way to petition the Board of election commissioners to accept Olivia's formal declaration of intent as a write-in candidate."

"You realise that has to be done in every single county in the state?"

"Oh, we roped a few of our friends in for this venture. They, like me, were going to sit out this election. We felt we'd be giving democracy a bad name voting for two criminal co-conspirators. It felt better to simply abstain from the vote. But now we don't have to. We've got a candidate we can believe in. Olivia Pope, she'll make one heckuva President, if she's given the chance."

His wife, Virginia Guildford, a well known gun-control activisit had this to say: "Hank and I have been campaigning for Fitzgerald Grant, we've raised money for the Grant campaign, we went door-knocking for the man, and when he quit we were devastated. But having Olivia Pope run for President. Well, that's just woken up every progressive bone in my body. Her husband is right, Olivia Pope would make a kick ass President. And boy do we need someone to kick some asses around here."

Talk on the Hill

"I mean it's crazy how this thing has taken off. Look, look at this. Someone sent us an Instagram of a bumper sticker that's been appearing on vehicles all over town – it says 'Olivia, fix America!'. I did a bit of digging around, and one of the people behind the sticker is a Mrs Sameera Hussein . She's the lawyer who represented Olivia Pope in the Alienation of Affection lawsuit in North Carolina last year. Olivia Pope won the case, brought against her by the first Mrs Grant, and now Ms Pope's lawyer wants her to win the Presidency..."

Politics at Five

"...Just to give you an idea how far this idea has gone, even the local churches are getting in on the act. Last I heard, congregations in the African Episcopalian churches have begun fund-raising for Olivia's election campaign. They tell me they've collected four million in two days. That's insane.

"You think that's insane. Let me tell you, I heard there are judges, members of Congress, ex-cons, and mafia dons sending cheques for the Olivia Pope for President fund."

"Where are they sending the cheques to?"

"To the office of her crisis management team. The cheques are from her ex-clients."

"...It's understandable that she'd get support from happy clients. But she's even got support from the guys she brought off the street. Those guys are door knocking in DC trying to get enough signatures to support her statement of candidacy..."

"...We have confirmation from the Mothers for Justice petitioning the Electoral Boards in every state to include Olivia Pope as a candidate on the ballot paper. Last I heard they've collected at least 100,000 signatures in every state, and they only started yesterday..."

Two Men in A Club

"Should we panic?"

"No. She'll never be President."

"Because there are rules?"

"Damn straight. And guess who made those rules? We did."

"But her presence could dilute what little we'll get of the popular vote."

[There was silent chomping on a cigar for several minutes]

"We've got two lame ducks."

"We need to decide on one."

"We already have."

"We'll have to make it official."

FBI Director makes an announcement…

… We have decided to drop the charges against Mr Edison Davis. We have looked at the evidence provided by the Department of Justice, and feel at this stage that there is insufficient evidence to proceed with an indictment. That is the decision of this organisation at this present time. Should any further evidence be uncovered at some point in the future, the FBI will investigate the matter further…

"We gave him the smoking gun, what else does he need?" Fitz demanded.

"His job." Zeke's weary sigh was audible over the phone. "The guys who really run this country have decided that they want Edison and the FBI Director wants to keep his job with the next administration."

"That attacks on Karen are escalating. They are focusing on my kid because the FBI doesn't have the guts to do its job."

"We've got Edward Snowden living in Russia because Americans hate the messenger."

"Karen can't live in Russia."

Olivia who'd been listening silently to the conversation, stroked a hand over her husband's back. "It's time for me to face the media."

Fitz looked at her, then shook his head. "They won't let you speak, Liv. They've totally ignored your candidacy. It's the international media, local stations and alternative web sites that are on fire with the news."

Zeke interjected. "There's one place Liv can speak that they can't ignore. The White House Press Briefing Room."

"No," Olivia said firmly. "I'll talk to James. I don't want to speak to the people who've been demonising my child. If they want a piece of the action, they can pay James to get it."

"But, Liv, the majority of people who actually vote still turn to mass media."

"Zeke, even the mainstream media admit they aren't trusted or seen as relevant by their audiences. I trust James and the people who want change trust their peers more than the corporate news. So let me speak to those who want to listen."

James Interviews Olivia via webchat…

"I am very disappointed in the FBI's decision not to investigate this matter further – we gave them a dead man's confession. We had corroboration from Mrs Sally Langston, and two other witnesses. We even had an audio tape where Mr Edison Davis was talking to Samuel Reston about the plot to kill my husband Fitzgerald Grant."

"They wanted to kill you too."

"Yes, while I was pregnant with Gracie."

"The corporate media is running with the narrative there is no foundation for the allegation. They are maintaining that it was either Karen's PTSD from the hostage situation at her school earlier this year, or a childishly active imagination that prompted your daughter to accuse Edison Davis of attempted murder."

"Karen does not have a hyperactive imagination. She has a level of rational understanding that is rare in a lot of adults. She told the truth – Edison Davis was involved in a plot to kill us. We have the proof, we presented the proof to the FBI, they have chosen to bury it and kill off the investigation."

"Another angle of defence that the corporate media is running with is that the speakers in the audio of the Kill Plot didn't identify themselves. Even if they had, they've got a spectrum of experts - ranging from Hollywood technicians to criminologists - saying how easy it is to manipulate or doctor another person's voice with skill or technology. Or Both."

"It disturbs me, it really does, how great the burden of proof has become for victims, rather than the perpetrators of crime. We've seen cops strangle a man to death on video and yet the grand jury felt there was insufficient evidence for an indictment. Innocence is not an opinion on whether you like the person enough, or if he represents your interests enough to get away with murder – it is the evidence of a crime. And I stand by the evidence we presented through the Department of Justice, which was passed on to the FBI."

"What do you have to say about accusations that you are collaborating with Republican Sally Langston to bring down the Democratic candidate?"

"I'm surprised they haven't accused me of colluding with the Russians, or Chinese. No, I am not colluding with Sally Langston. I am grateful that Sally and Hollis Davis saved the lives of my husband, my child and myself, but Sally Langston was colluding with Edison Davis to impeach my husband in a terrorist plot she hatched with Samuel Reston. People may not want to believe their candidate could be capable of plotting murder or treason. But they are. And anyone who gets away with it once, without any sign of remorse, will try again."

The Coshes have a meeting with 'like minds'.

The room was dense with smoke and old men who had at least three heart transplants each, but could afford more.

"This Grant woman, she's something else."

"I like the other one."

"He didn't."

"That's why I liked her. He hated his life. And his wife. Now he's in love and it's giving me heartburn."

"You need a pill? I got mine here somewhere…"

"No! I don't need a pill! I need Grant gone."

"We tried that. It didn't work."

"Amateurs."

"We wanted to have something to hold over Reston like the sword of Damocles."

"Well the guy committed harakiri and Grant's still a problem. I've been telling you guys, you want something done right, you need to hire the guys who know how to get it done."

"Do you realise the Grant woman takes care of the racial divide."

"And the glass ceiling."

"There must be something else we can do."

Corporate Media introduces a 'narrative'

… George W Bush sources say the former Republican President will be voting for Democrat Edison Davis because 'he likes the guy'.

… Colin Powell endorses Edison Davis at a luncheon on Long Island; says it's time for bipartisan politics to be set aside in the best interests of the nation...

… Henry Kissinger and Edison Davis share a joke at a Rockerfeller event. The former Secretary of State under the Nixon Administration is the latest high-profile Republican seen in the company of the Democratic Nominee for President…

Social Media reacts

... WTF is wrong with the Democrats? Whose running the Davis' election campaign - some undercover Republican spy?...

... They've got Republican War Criminals endorsing a Democrat - are they trying to nuke what little chance he has of winning?...

... Even if the Democrats have a better record of LGBT rights, and we know that Sally Langston will legalize conversion therapy, we're talking about men who committed the worst crimes in human history telling us they stand with Edison…

Corporate Media changes the 'narrative'

... Saturday Nite Live relives the 21 days of Sally Langston's presidency and says their comedy sketch was actually a documentary with Sally as The Dictator...

... Hollywood actors release memes and appear on talk shows to tell of their fears living in a Sally Langston world of religious intolerance and martial law...

... Famous LGBT singers invite Edison on stage as a 'surprise guest' to remind their audiences of what a Langston anti-gay agenda would mean for the gay, lesbian and transgender communities...

Social Media's response

#Olivia4President trends

Four Men in a Club

"We don't have time to be foolin' around," Chuck Cosh grunted as he ordered a refill – 'hold the ice'.

"We're not fooling around," bristled the man on his left.

"Arrest the protesters."

"The ones old enough to vote?" said the man on his right. "You do want people to go through the charade of voting, or did we decide to do away with that pretence this year?"

"Dammit, we can't let these Commmie bastards get away with creating a new world order!"

"It's not the Russians that's the problem, it's the 99%," Doug told his brother patiently.

"We need to confuse the bastards."

"We need attack ads!"

"We can't attack the Grants – they are not the usual loon who run for office. People actually like the couple."

"Yeah, loons would be easier to handle."

"We need attack ads that don't look like they are attack ads."

"Operation Mockingbird."

[Silence]

Then one of the men said cautiously, "You're talking about a resurrection of the CIA's Operation Mockingbird - the one George Bush senior officially ended when he became CIA director in 1976?"

"'Officially' is the operative word."

"So we are going to spread lies and propaganda through the mass media."

"Who in Sam's Hell reads the Majors these days? All these millennial brats with their brains wired to their phones are on that FacePalm shit."

"Facebook."

"Yeah, some damned fool name like that. My grand-daughter's on it 24/7."

"Ruthie just likes telling people what she ate for breakfast, but there's people doing real damage out there, changing the official narrative. That's who we need to target."

"With a two-pronged attack - Republican and Democrat - that way we'll cover every debt-ridden putz with a college degree and every redneck respecting the flag on his underpants."

Operation Mockingbird – the millennial version

The Social Media agenda

Dozens of fake 'blogs', created with legions of bot followers, begin their commentary:

"Olivia Pope slept with a married man, she broke up a happy family and she put out a hit on the first Mrs Grant. Olivia Pope can't be trusted with your man, the economy, our nation…"

"Olivia Pope is a member of the Russian mafia; Russian Mob Boss endorses her for President – link to StraightOutLies-dot-com."

"Olivia Pope; the StepMom from Hell. Kids spill the beans on why they hate the woman who destroyed their parents' marriage. [Clickbait links to 'diet pills' and 'how to earn $$$$ working from home']…"

Olivia stepped into the corridor from the nursery, where she'd tried rocking Gracie to sleep, but the baby remained stubbornly awake. Olivia was about to pace the corridor, when saw the light under Jerry's bedroom door.

"Jerry?" she knocked on the door. "Is everything okay...?"

Getting no response, she opened the door.

Jerry was hunched over his desk, typing furiously on his laptop.

Shaking her head, Olivia walked up to him, placing her hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

Startled, Jerry swung round, his face was wet with tears, looking just like Fitz when he was upset.

"Jerry," Olivia murmured, her hand tightening on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

The words tumbled out, "They're writing lies about you, Mom. It's everywhere. I'm setting them straight. I'm telling them it's all made up shit."

Olivia read a few words on the screen, over Jerry's shoulder, then she looked at him. "Turn it off."

"But, Mom—"

"Turn your computer off, Jer, and let's talk."

Olivia sat down on the edge of his bed, and patted a space beside her. After a long pause, Jerry left his desk and shuffled over.

Olivia waited, pretending not to notice when Jerry dashed away fresh tears that spilled onto his cheek, then she said softly, "Would you like to hold your sister? She's refusing to sleep."

"What? Oh… " Jerry took Gracie from Olivia and cradled her against his chest.

The baby looked up at him and cooed.

"Hey, Bubby," Jerry gave a watery chuckle, reaching out to tickle her cheek. "Why aren't you asleep?" Then he looked over at Olivia when she stroked a gentle hand over his hair.

"I could ask you the same thing, Jer. Why aren't you asleep?"

"I couldn't, Mom, not after I read what they were saying about you, about all of us…"

"Jer, do you want me to stay in this race?"

Jerry almost responded. Then he paused, shut his mouth, and sat staring at Olivia with a slight frown.

"Okay, let me put it this way, Jer - do you want Edison or Sally to have a clear run for President?"

"No."

"Then you need to know there'll be people who'll say nasty things just to push me out of this race. We can't stop them. It's the way the game is played."

"But it's not a game, Mom. They are saying mean things about you, and I don't want people believing those lies."

"People will believe what they want to believe. You can't lose sleep trying to thought-police every troll on this planet."

"Mom, if you're asking me to let them get away with talking shit about about you, it's not going to happen."

Olivia looked at Jerry's stubborn jaw and smiled. "You are so like your dad."

"Yeah, wait 'til I tell Dad about the shit they're saying. He'll be pissed as hell."

"We're not going to tell your Dad."

"You can't hide it, Mom. It's everywhere. Do you want Gracie growing up to read the crap they've written about you?"

Olivia glanced at Gracie, to find her giving 'the look' – judging and not in a good way. At least that's what Olivia had told Fitz, who'd laughed and said Gracie was just a baby, incapable of giving 'judgemental' looks. But here was Gracie, doing just that.

Olivia sighed. "Okay, how about we make a deal?"

"What kind of deal?"

"You leave the trolls alone. Instead, you start up an official campaign page to let anyone who wants to know, why you think they should vote for me."

Jerry straightened his slouching pose. "You want me to create the official Oliva4President website?"

"Yep." Olivia nodded, mentally keeping her fingers crossed that Jerry wouldn't take them to the brink of war with North Korea again. "But I'd like you to involve Karen and Dad, and Felicia if she's open to the idea."

"Cool," Jerry grinned. "Cool," he repeated to Gracie, who kicked her enthusiasm with a chirp of approval.

"Looks like Gracie wants to be on the editorial board." Olivia smiled.

"She's in."

"Now go to sleep, Jer. You can take on the world tomorrow, after breakfast."

Jerry nodded, handing Gracie back to Olivia. He watched her leave, smiling when she blew him a kiss before shutting the door. He waited a few more minutes, before he tiptoed across the room and checked if the corridor was clear. Then he tiptoed back to his desk, picked up his phone and dialled a number.

"Huck? You asleep? No, I didn't think so. Do you know how to make a bot? Or how we can sabotage one? The Internet trolls have declared war on Mom, and I need help fighting back…"

Four Men in a Club…

"You sure these figures are legit?" One of the men put down his Cuban cigar and lifted his reading glasses to stare at the paper with his naked eye.

"Yeah, these figures are the real deal – from a cross section of the population." Doug Cosh muttered. "The ones we're releasing to the public are from an over-sampling of Democrat voters, to make it look like Edison has a chance of winning."

"According to this, he's going to crash by a landslide."

"Doug had the bright idea of over-sampling Democrats in the surveys. And tailoring the questions so the answers were positive for Davis." Chuck wheezed a laugh, reaching for his glass. "Everyone loves a winner, nobody wants to be caught placing their bets on a loser." He coughed. "Votes, I mean, votes, not bets."

"But people aren't buying it – that's what these figures are telling us."

Chuck sobered. "Yes."

"So what do we do now?"

The Mass Media Agenda

Liberal Media

" The wife of former President Grant, Olivia Pope, has announced her entry into the Presidential Race, and to discuss what that means for democracy in America, we speak to our experts…

''…The truth of the matter is that Independents don't win. It's a fact. I mean name one President who has."

"George Washington."

"Besides him."

"…Olivia Pope isn't even on the ballot, but having an independent in the mix means the progressive vote gets diluted because Democrats now have a choice between two candidates with a centre left agenda."

"…That's right, the Grant entry means that Sally Langston will be America's next President. Do we really need reminding of what that means - Langston is a conservative, Christian antigay female who brought guns into our schools and churches during her 21 days as President…"

"…Before we fly off the deep end, let's remember that only 7 states automatically count write-in candidates. Thirty-five require prior registration, and Olivia Pope has missed the deadline, and eight won't have a bar of it..."

'…It's obvious, this is a conspiracy by the Republicans to get Langston back in the White House operating on disaster mode. If Langston wins we'll have three terms of Republicans, including the current President who, rumour has it, has asked the Department of Justice to stall on an indictment of treason for Sally Langston…"

Conservative Media

"…The Liberal Pundits are losing their mind at the Prospect that a Grant is back in the Presidential Race. They are predicting Armageddon…

"…They've been scaring voters with the idea that we'll be living the American version of North Korea because this will guarantee a win for Langston."

"…If anything, Mrs Grant is causing a headache for the Conservatives. Her husband used to be a Republican and a lot of voters out there just vote for the brand. Right now the brand is crowded with one too many choices…"

"…Langston was already lagging in this race because she's a woman. It's no secret that black men got the vote before white women. And let me call it as I see it, we'd rather see a black man as President than a white woman. Explains why a woman has yet to break the Presidential glass ceiling in her own right…"

"…And there's the double whammy that Olivia Pope is a woman and she's black, which means Langston loses out on both demographics. Her positions on Christian ethics and her support for the Second Amendment won't be enough to get her over the finish line."

"…In 2000, when Al Gore lost to George W Bush by 547 votes in Florida, the Democrats blamed Ralph Nader. This year when Sally Langston loses to Edison Davis, we can blame Olivia Pope for making him Commander-in-Chief…"

In the OPA building...

The associates got a call from the reception desk. "You're 9am appointment is here."

Quinn looked at their 9AM appointment sitting across from her at the conference table - a CEO who'd been caught embezzling - and then turned to Abby. "We've got another job waiting for us downstairs."

"I'll go," Huck said abruptly, leaving the room.

A little while later, Abby and Quinn saw him return with a group wearing Guy Fawkes masks.

"Isn't it too early for Halloween?" The CEO frowned.

"Oh, it's never too early for trick or treating," Quinn grinned. "I've got candy in my office."

Abby stared after her, and then turned to the CEO. "They don't make Interns like they used to."

In the corridor, Quinn asked, "Trick or treat?"

"We're a group of hacktivists," a voice said behind the mask. "Can we go somewhere and talk?"

"About what?"

"Electronic voting machines."

Olivia's phone rang.

Fitz picked it up just as she stepped out of the bathroom, glowing from the shower. He stared at her, until she came over with a sly smile and took the ringing phone from his hand.

Smiling, Fitz slipped his arms around her waist, as Olivia gave a husky greeting to the caller.

"Olivia, I've got a group of guys in the office. They've got something that I think you should hear. You and Fitz. It's about electronic voting machines."

Olivia's flirty smile for Fitz, vanished under a frown as she put the phone on speaker and shuffled Fitz further away from Gracie's cot.

There was a pause, then a young-sounding male spoke. "Hi, Mrs Grant, we thought should know - there's an official hack taking place on voting machines. They're going rig the machines so that no matter who you vote for in any state, the popular vote goes to the electors for Edison Davis."

Fitz who'd shifted his stance, and now had his arm around Olivia's shoulders, frowned slightly. "Who are they?"

"Senior members of the DNC are colluding with companies that manage the machines."

The frown deepened. "Do I know you? You sound familiar... wait, is this TJ?"

There was a shocked silence, then a sigh, before TJ Broadhurst said diffidently. "Yes, sir. I didn't think you'd recognise me. It's been awhile since I worked as your intern."

"You were one of my best interns, TJ. I thought you were working for Wall Street."

"That's my day job, sir."

"And you've taken up spying as a hobby?"

"Not spying exactly, sir, hacking with a group of guys who want to fix things, just like Mrs Olivia Grant. But my Dad doesn't know about my… hobby."

"I won't mention this conversation."

"And I don't want Mrs Langston or Mr Davis in charge of the country, I remember what they were like in the White House."

"How did you hear about the election machines?" Olivia asked.

"One of our group, a guy who lives in Romania, hacked into the DNC server. He sent us about 30,000 emails to sort through, to check if there was anything worth releasing to the public. When we came across a couple of emails discussing vote tampering, we thought of a better idea - our group reckons we can code the data to flip the votes in Mrs Grant's favour."

"We're not doing another Defiance," Olivia murmured to Fitz.

"Sorry, ma'am, I didn't hear you."

"I don't want you to flip the votes, TJ, we can't fix the system by joining the crooks."

There was a murmur of voices at the other end, then TJ said, "Ron's suggested disabling the machines so nothing gets recorded. They'll be forced to use paper ballots. There'd be a paper trail which the machines don't have. "

"Paper ballots can be lost or misplaced."

"We can't not do anything with what we've got, ma'am."

"I agree, but I think you should go with your Romanian friend's suggestion and leak what you know. Inform the public - let the public decide what they want to do with that knowledge."

Wikileaks releases 1000s of emails on DNC senior members planning ways to rig the election

- Democrat senior members caught in rigging fiasco resign; are offered jobs to work on Edison's election campaign

- Law firms begin accepting claims from progressive litigants outraged that their vote would be rigged

- Mass media ignores Wikileaks; Ecuadorian Embassy in London cuts off Julian Assange's Internet access

In the OPA Building

Reception called to say their 2pm appointment had arrived.

"We didn't have a two pm appointment!" Quinn mumbled through a mouthful of burger.

"I'll go." Abby packed up the remains of her garden salad and tossed the container in the bin on her way out.

She returned several minutes later, accompanied by Nancy Drake and an elderly man, gripping his cap in his hands.

"You remember Nancy Drake?" Abby said by way of an introduction.

"Of course, I remember Nancy Drake." Quinn shoved the rest of her burger back in the box and stood hastily, brushing crumbs from her skirt. "Mrs Drake, it's nice to see you again." Quinn held out her hand, then seeing a bit of lettuce stuck to her skin, she quickly snatched her hand back.

Nancy Drake smiled pleasantly. "You've kept Olivia's name on the business."

"She's the boss. In spirit." Quinn gave a nervous little laugh. "And we get more business this way."

Abby glanced at the silent man at Nancy's side. "You've brought a client?"

"Not exactly. This is Colvin Smithers. He has some information," Nancy paused, "Is there somewhere we can talk in private?"

Abby led the way to her office, and once they were all seated, Nancy turned to Colvin and said, "Tell them what you told me."

"I don't want to lose my job, Ms Nancy. There aren't that many to be found for a man of my age."

"Colvin, I promise you I will find another one, even if I have to create it myself."

Abby and Quinn exchanged a look, then they turned their attention to Colvin who cleared his throat and began speaking, "I work as a janitor. The only place that still employs me is the Republican National Committee headquarters in DC. I was just doing my job, minding my own business when I heard these two gentlemen talking about the Presidential election. I won't say who they were, but they said there'd be a repeat of Florida in 2000. That was the year, Florida stopped blacks and Latinos from voting - by making out we were criminals, when we hadn't even been arrested. Only this time, they won't just mess with voter registration in Florida, they are planning on getting us blacks and Latinos struck off in as many other red states as they can."

Nancy Drake added grimly, "Fraudulently purging voters from the electoral rolls is not the only disgraceful stunt they pulled off in Florida; Haitian immigrants were given pre-punched voter cards in Miami-Dade all favouring George W Bush."

"Those that did vote, had their vote trashed," Colvin said wearily.

Nancy gave a wry grimace. "They invalidated nearly a third of the black vote saying there had been errors, but the only error most people had made was voting for Al Gore."

"So this time around they want to trash Edison's vote to give Sally Langston the Presidency?" Quinn frowned in confusion.

"No, ma'am," Colvin shook his head. "They want Mr Edison Davis to become President, and just about everyone I know wants to vote for Mrs Olivia Grant. It's our vote they want out of the final count."

"But Florida requires prior registration for write-in candidates, and groups are still fighting to get Olivia's paperwork accepted."

"We're not holding our breath on that," Colvin straightened in his seat. "There's a campaign in my neighbourhood to get people to vote for Mr Grant. His name is still on the ballot."

Nancy nodded. "Fitzgerald Grant may have suspended his campaign but he's still got the delegates he's acquired. Since he endorsed his wife on national TV, we are asking his delegates to honour his choice of candidate."

"You think they'll do it?" Quinn still had her frown.

Nancy looked at her gravely. "With all the vote rigging taking place, it won't make a difference. Even if Fitzgerald's delegates did vote for Olivia, Edison Davis will be America's next President."

"We have to tell Olivia," Quinn glared at Abby.

"We're not going to tell Liv because she's not in this to win. She doesn't want to be President anymore than Fitzgerald does."

"But she's in whether she likes it or not."

"Whether, she likes it or not, we want her to be the next President, and we need to make it happen."

"By rigging votes?"

"By getting as down and dirty as the state of play requires."

A/N: Rant Warning!

Wiser minds than mine cautioned against writing this rant. But I have never taken the safer path to hell, so here's a shoutout to the multi-ethnic Joshua Jonathan Joneses on my review board – some of whose comments ranged from selfish to ridiculous [apparently I am all powerful enough to cause a Trump win, sitting on my privileged ass, armed with only a plastic keyboard in a country that has no voting rights in America. BTW, what privilege would that be – surviving a terrorist-led war, and sharing my experiences. That's so true. It is a privilege not many have and it's not a privilege I'd ever encourage anyone to get].

Still others mistook me for their pet slave – 'quit yapping your jaw, and get back to work [writing your story the way I tell you to]!' Let me advise these Colonial Throwbacks, I write because I love writing. I also like sharing what I learn with others. I'm not interested in winning followers for the sake of numbers or being popular among people loosely associated with humanity. So, readers, what you choose to do with your free time is entirely up to you. Of course you have the freedom to insult me, advertise your depraved indifference, stop reading this story, campaign to get others to stop reading this story and generally tell me to shut up. You have EVERY RIGHT to do all that and more, but you don't have the right TO EXPECT that I will obey you. For I too have freedoms and I will exercise them as I see fit. As the freedom of speech is NOT A UNIQUELY AMERICAN RIGHT, I will not respect your arrogance to the point that I will silence my pain when sharing what has made me who I am – as a person and as a writer. And I will CONTINUE to speak and write through the lens of my experiences, and my values. You do not get to take me to task like I didn't deliver your restaurant meal just the way you ordered. I didn't start writing this story at YOUR invitation, but my own volition. Therefore, you [in general] don't get to set the parameters of my expression, either in fiction or re: my real life experiences.

I could go on in this vein, but sadly, because my family, culture and religion have failed me by encouraging compassion for people who share a REPULSIVE belief that only AMERICAN LIVES MATTER, and JJJs trying to impress with their ignorance of how their government actually works [obvious even to a confused foreigner like me], I will make another confession. Honestly, I don't blame anyone hating me for trying to shatter their delusions.

When I first started writing a Presidential Divorce three years ago, I had a crush on Obama. Then I started researching the Obama Administration's politics FOR THIS STORY (Ironic that I started writing Fitz, based on Obama), and what horrors I discovered.

For a long time, I couldn't believe what they had done – the Kill List, the Drone Wars, the Regime Changes, the terrorist financing and weaponizing, the killing of sovereign leaders, the deportations, the jailing of whistleblowers, the criminalizing of the Occupy Wall Street movement, the Monsanto protections, the trade agreements to transition semi-democracies to full corporate control – all of that took time to absorb, and now I cannot believe people like this are put in charge of government, instead of being put in therapy. Or in prison.

At least George W Bush's monumental stupidity was apparent every time he opened his mouth. Dick Cheney didn't bother to hide his virulent psychopathy; such is his arrogance. But these Democrat mental deviants said the right words, while doing the wrong things.

BTW, Black Barack Obama killing and destroying black and brown Muslims in at least 7 countries – has garnered a staggering lack of censure from Liberal Whites and American blacks, except for Ajamu Baraka of the Green Party, and his mates at the Black Agenda Report.

BTW #2, I wonder how many Joshua Jonathan Jones' trolls have written to any American President, their Congressional representatives, or even their local newspapers asking their government to stop its unceasing WARS OF BOMBS - either by proxy or direct engagement - because too many of you are triggered by a WAR OF WORDS from just ONE victim of American imperialism?

How many of you said #NotMyPresident when Barack Obama dropped 22,000 bombs in Syria and Iraq JUST LAST YEAR [Total 23,144 – including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. Source: Council of Foreign Relations, 7 January 2016)? How many of you said #IamNOTwithHer when Hillary Clinton laughed after hearing Libyan President Muammar Gaddhafi had been sodomised to death with a bayonet (Clinton on Qaddafi: We came, we saw, he died – CBS News, 20 Oct 2011)? Or did you do a Hitler Youth impersonation and blindly embrace evil while pretending you did not know of their very real psychopathy in this age of information?

Barack Obama was the black face of imperialism – a change of colour without a difference. He tried to hand off the controls to Hillary Clinton, who got six million votes less than he did, and lost - Glen Ford, None of Them Have Ever Been My President, Black Agenda Report

Hillary lacks judgement and will push the United States into endless, stupid wars which spread terrorism. Her personality combined with her poor policy decisions have directly contributed to the rise of ISIS. She's a war hawk with bad judgement who gets an unseemly emotional rush out of killing people – Julian Assange, A vote today for Hillary Clinton is a vote for endless, stupid war, Wikileaks

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor – Desmond Tutu

Also to the lovely CereseHelena from Brazil, I know you mean well [just like the wonderful Clio1792 and empathetic LadyMDSmalls]. But here's something I discovered that you need to understand – American presidents have MORE POWER ON FOREIGN POLICY THAN DOMESTIC. So the election of American Presidents is more important to those in the 65 non-US countries who've read this story, than the Americans freaking out.

When you have the time please read – 35 Countries where the US has supported fascists, drug lords and terrorists, Salon 8 Mar 2014 – Brazil is on the list. Also this article was written before CORRUPT! Wall Street's coup d'Etat involving the "corrupt!" Dilma Rousseff this year.

America has never respected anyone's sovereignty – you may be too polite to shove that reality down impervious American throats – but I have no such problems. Refer also: Overthrowing Other People's Governments: The Master List, William Blum, Feb 2013 (For those reading in Australia – 1973 refers to the overthrow of the truly awesome Whitlam Government. Read Australian journalist John Pilger's – the British-American coup that ended Australian Independence, the Guardian, 23 Oct 2014] and Mapped: the 7 Governments the US has overthrown (Foreign Policy, 20 August 2013).

Note: American governments overthrow mostly GOOD GOVERNMENTS AND VISIONARY LEADERS WHO ACTUALLY UPLIFT SOCIETY, in favour of despots, tyrants and villains. That should tell you what kind of vile bastards Americans have been voting for. But why has America been scraping the bottom of the barrel for these psycho leaders? Why does America always end up with a choice of Lesser or Greater Evil represented by two diseased minds to wreak havoc far away from their self-indulgent shores? Ignorance? Well, education will set you free – education, not propaganda.

'We've all been quite content to demean government, drop civics and in general conspire to produce an unaware and compliant citizenry. The unawareness remains strong but the compliance is obviously fading rapidly' - Bill Ivey, chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts under Bill Clinton writes to John Podesta. [Wikileaks – Podesta Emails – 3599]

BTW, it is Congress [barely mentioned in this story or author's notes] that is supposed to be more powerful domestically than the President. How did both houses of Congress become a Republican den – did Hillary's goons even vote? So yeah, I would be concerned about the Congress you've ended up with and the precedents that Obama has set for the President – e.g when he bombed Libya and Syria WITHOUT Congressional approval (see Washington Post - Obama is defying the Constitution on war, 17 Sep 2014) and when he said it's okay for a US President to kill a US citizen by drone (US cited controversial law in decision to kill American citizen by drone, the Guardian, 24 June 2014) than my hatred for Hillary.

Obama's Veto powers were also overridden by Congress in recent months, when he vetoed a bill that allows 9/11 families to sue Saudi Arabia. Congress overrode that veto and passed the bill after a delaying tactic of 6months to 'indefinitely' were introduced. I.e. those provisions make the bill as good as useless (see The truth about the Saudi bill, Al Jazeera, 30 September 2016). Amazing how in-sync the President and Congress can be at times in their actions, if not words.

I encourage American readers to examine the mechanics of a British Punch and Judy show – the puppets are different, while the puppeteer remains the same.

Anyway, I don't know what kind of President Trump will be. I do know what kind of President Obama has been, and I do know that Obama signed off on record military 'aid' packages for Israel and Saudi Arabia to conduct US proxy wars, and Obama was preparing for World War 3 with Russia to handover to Hillary Clinton. I also know that the Republican establishment, including the Bush Branded Mafia, Corporate-controlled mass media, and the military-industrial-complex-financed Hollywood were mainly behind Hillary Clinton, not Donald Trump. The Republicans are now acting like Donald Trump is 'their guy'. Since peer-pressure and group think are big in America, I don't know if Trump the Chump will have the brains to remember their hypocrisy and act accordingly. Probably not.

But to remind you again, the reason that Trump is there giving American liberals nightmares, is because Hillary's cronies wanted to win so badly they crushed the popular resistance behind Bernie Sanders and elevated Trump to be demonised and Hitler personified as the Greater Evil. He – the ultimate moron (still less than George Dubya Bush) – went along with this chosen narrative.

Right now I see a lot of Americans following another chosen narrative, which asks you to be fearful of your future. The problem with fear is that it leaves no space for you to think, to use your brain and to see what's really happening around you.

Reminder: racism was invented in America by the rich to divide the poor – black and white. Whites have embraced this narrative to the detriment of their own welfare. Now everyone who has drunk the 'Liberal Koolaid' is being asked to divide along Republican and Democratic lines – poor, poorly-educated, racist rednecks vs getting poorer, better educated with a ton of debt, and better at hiding their racism liberals. This race-based ideological war is preventing you from seeing that you are all on the losing side of a class war.

But it's up to you, who you choose to make your enemy – each other, me or the people who put you in this precarious position. You are all in possession of individual brains, it's up to you how and if you use it. It's also clear that the freedom to be an idiot is about the only freedom American governments actively encourage. Convenient for them, but sad for you – because you apparently cannot see that YOUR LEADERS hate you as much as they hate the rest of humanity. The contempt they have for you, your welfare, your education, your health, your intelligence, your survival on this planet is rife in the policies they have passed throughout your history. Flint, Black Lives Matter, North Dakota all prove this.

So for those trying to silence my POLITICS and imploring me to go back to JUST writing my story.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

My ENTIRE STORY IS A PLATFORM FOR MY POLITICS as I have warned several times throughout my two stories.

But I do have a question for the one reader who is aware of this, yet wanted me to change the entire concept to be 'authentic' – do you want me to copy the Shondaland Scandal which celebrates depravity and psychopathy under the guise of 'human flaws'? There's a cartoon I came across on Cagle-dot-com about Barack Obama saying 'Abuse of human rights, corruption of democracies, overthrow of sovereign states, conspiracy to install tyrants, assassination, death squads, torture, bribery – maybe! But America draws the line at Adultery!' (CIA adultery, 14 November 2012)

Funny how that mirrors Scandal... after Judy Smith [the real Olivia Pope who once worked for Republican President George Bush snr] was cold-shouldered off the show.

Hmm...

That's another conspiracy theory for you. For free. In the meantime, I intend to follow the advice of the late great Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam :

"Maintain your rage and enthusiasm."

Ab-so-bloody-lute-ly.