The Things People Will Do for An Oval Office
Chapter 13
A/N - I know, I know, it has been a month of Sundays and then some since I last updated this story. I'm trying to figure a way to wrap it up. I had only intended for the story to be ten chapters at the most - well that obviously didn't happen. LOL
Thank you for sticking with this story and for asking for updates. Both reviewers and readers are such a source of encouragement. I appreciate each and every of you immensely.
Disclaimer – I do not own the Scandal characters. I just like to write about them.
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"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, we are about to live with Lorna Ghardt who is at the scene of a major structural fire." The switch over from the station newscaster is out of sync and Lorna Ghart is already speaking when the audio resumes.
"If you are just joining us, we're outside the building that houses the offices of Washington DC's premiere fixer, Olivia Pope and Associates." Fire trucks, firefighters and police officers stringing yellow crime scene tape are seen in the background.
"Earlier this evening the building was consumed by a four-alarm-fire. Here are the details of what we know so far. Approximately nine hours ago, Ms. Pope and several individuals assumed to be members of staff entered the building. Around midnight two individuals were seen departing the building and hailing a cab. Thirty minutes later the building exploded engulfing everything in flames." The camera pans to show the charred smoldering remains of the five-story building. The redheaded reporter holds up her hand to pause her report.
"Hold on Jim; the fire department is about to give us an update." The camera remains on the reporter a few more seconds before cutting to the makeshift command center across the street.
"Good morning, I am Captain Ben Ramsey of the Washington DC Fire Department. My statement will be brief as this is an ongoing investigation. At 12:38 am this morning a 911 call came in reporting an explosion at 1840 State Street. Initial attempts to douse the fire were unsuccessful. It appears possibly an incendiary device was used to ignite highly flammable fuel. The intensity of the fire was extreme and burned everything within the brick structure beyond recognition. We have yet to determine if there were any fatalities. Knowledge of who was in the building has come from individual eyewitness accounts from neighboring businesses and delivery drivers. We are currently unable to confirm whether Ms. Pope or anyone else was in the building at the time of the explosion. I have no further remarks at this time."
"Captain Ramsey, Captain Ramsey, please one question. " A cub reporter from the DC Times shouts. Ramsey is hesitant to field questions, speaking extemporaneously is not his long suit.
"Alright I'll answer a few questions, provided it does not compromise this active on-going investigation."
"You mentioned the possibility that an incendiary device was used to ignite highly flammable fuel. What leads you to such a conclusion?"
"The intensity of the fire and the fire's resistance to conventional water suppression methods point to the presence of a non-conventional incendiary. We had to apply flame retardant and chemical foam to extinguish the fire."
"Captain Ramsey, Captain Ramsey, another reporter shouts. When will you know whether anyone was in the building?"
"No one will be able to enter the building for at least another hour. However, we hope members of OPA will contact us and let us if they are safe and accounted for. If we do not hear from Ms. Pope or her associates we can only assume the worst."
"Captain, have the police been brought in yet?"
"Our arson team will work in partnership with DC CSI to gather evidence in determining who is responsible for this tragedy. Homeland security will also be launching its own independent investigation due to the roster of OPA clients."
"Captain when can we expect the next update?"
"Once we have something to report we will inform the press. Until then we ask that you give us time to investigate this case thoroughly."
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Harold turns off the television in the limo; he is smiling from ear to ear. "This should be a short board meeting. Fitz will be too distraught to fan the flames of change, pardon the pun, given his sudden loss. Balance has been restored to my universe. Unfortunately, recovering from his misguided foray into manhood is going to cost me major political capital but the retribution I will extract from Fitz for crossing me will be worth the price. If he thought his life was a prison before, after day I plan to make those prior years look like a vacation. Fitz you are going to be my cellblock bitch, prepare to bend over son." Harold muses happily as thoughts of revenge fill his mind.
Phelps sits across from Harold disgusted by his employer's flippant attitude. How could he have not seen the depths of Harold's moral depravity? Harold is truly one sick bastard. He really believes he controls the universe. Phelps cannot wait for the hammer of justice to drop on Harold's head like an anvil. Granted his hands are by no means pure or clean but he would prefer think he would never stoop to the level of degeneracy Harold seems to revel in. Thank god today is the last day he will have to suffer Harold's presence. Today is the day he and his beautiful Josette would have celebrated 15 years of marriage; but Josette is dead, dead because of the man sitting across from him. So today instead of celebrating an anniversary he will celebrate the downfall and arrest of his wife's murderer. Harold Grant the liar, the manipulator, the dictator, the embodiment of evil will see his chickens come home to roost today. The karma he has so painstakingly kept at bay will overtake him today in the form of unrelenting vengeance. Harold is right, balance will be restored to the universe today.
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"We have arrived Mr. Grant the limo driver announces." Harold puts on his coat, gloves, and scarf and grabs his briefcase. Phelps exits the car first and holds the door open for Harold. Imposter Fitzgerald Grant steps out of the car he looks up at the skyscraper serving as Grant Industries corporate offices. He buttons his overcoat and inhales the crisp fall air. "Mr. Grant do you wish me to wait or return at a later time?" Jimmie the limo driver asks.
"Wait for me Jimmie, this won't take long."
"As you wish Sir. I will wait for your call."
Jimmy gets back into the limo and drives to the parking garage.
Harold and Phelps bulldoze past the mob of reporters and news media blocking the entrance to the building.
"Mr. Grant, Mr. Grant, how do you feel about the GI board calling for your resignation?" A female reporter from the back shouts.
"Mr. Grant have you officially been charged with election rigging?" Is it true the California senate is voting to expunge your years as governor from the official state record?"
"Olivia Pope is suing you for $487 million dollars, alleging among other things that you conspired to murder her unborn child. Do you have any comments on the lawsuit?"
Harold decides to throw the reporters a bone. "Ms. Pope's lawsuit is frivolous and is born out of grief and an irrational hatred of me stemming from some misunderstanding from long ago. I do not think this lawsuit will see the inside of a court room." Harold flashes his trademark devilish smile and is about to resume his march to the entrance when he is blindsided by question from a reporter standing near him.
"Mr. Grant, do you still eat bacon?"
A chorus of laughter makes its rounds through the crowd. Harold not used to being the butt of a joke, swiftly turns around and glares at the young journalist who posed the question.
Phelps directs Harold through the lobby of the building to the awaiting executives' only bank of elevators. Irritated and somewhat fazed by the last question, Harold takes a moment to regain his composure.
"Phelps find out who that little prick is and have someone show him the error of his ways."
"Yes, Mr. Grant."
As he gets off the elevator the first thing Harold sees is members of the board milling around chatting and laughing. It hardly seems as though anyone is taking the call for his resignation seriously. He takes this as a good sign. Daniel Jones a prominent board member walks over to Harold to greet him. Phelps continues down the hallway and takes a seat outside the boardroom.
"Fitzgerald I wish we were coming together under more pleasant circumstances but you understand the board's position here. You've become a liability. Your personal issues are having a detrimental effect on Grant Industries and the shareholders are nervous. The board believes it is in the best interest of all concerned that you step down as CEO and let Fitz take the reins until your legal issues are resolved. As long as you are the face of Grant Industries our stock will continue to lose ground and before we know it Grant Industries will be a shell and vulnerable to hostile takeover. I'm sure you would agree with me that this is not what we want for the company."
"Daniel I have no intention of stepping down as CEO. I've built Grant Industries into what it is today. My legal issues aside I will continue to do what is best for GI; and what is best for Grant Industries is for me to remain at the helm." Harold's attitude is defiant and preachy and not at all the stance Daniel was expecting him to take.
"Fitzgerald please be reasonable your issues cannot be synonymous with Grant Industries. You need to think about the company and let your ego take the backseat. Clouding the issue with memories of past glory will not benefit anyone. Fitz is perfectly capable of handling Grant Industries. Face it Harold most of the company's growth in the last five years has been due to Fitz. He's already saved us from a cyber attack and poised us to be a major player in the next generation of technology advancement. He has fresh ideas, is handsome and should be the new unblemished face of Grant Industries if we expect any of our remaining subsidiaries to survive."
"Look Daniel I know my son and he's not ready to take the reins of GI let alone is own life. My legal problems will be resolved soon; this fiasco is a small bump in the road. A year from now no one will remember anything about lawsuits, elections or pigs."
"Fitzgerald you are personally being sued for $487 million, GI cannot afford to be caught up in the wake of such a high profile lawsuit. Especially a lawsuit that will pit father against son and daughter-in-law."
"I don't think Olivia Pope will be a factor in my life for much longer."
"How so Fitzgerald?"
"As I said early, the lawsuit is without merit."
"Okay if you say so. Anyway, as soon as Fitz arrives we'll convene the meeting."
"I don't think Fitz will be attending the meeting today." Harold smirks. No sooner had Harold uttered those words, Fitz appears behind he and Daniel.
"Why would I not be here today Harold?"
"What are you doing here Fitz?" Harold asks genuinely surprised.
Daniel looks at Harold and Fitz with a perplexing stare. Did he just him Harold?
"Uh, I'll leave you two alone. I am going to call the board meeting to order. Please join us so that we can discuss all the issues and put everything to a vote."
"Fitz I don't know what you hope to accomplish here today but mark my words you will not gain control of Grant Industries. I will get my brother back and I will put him somewhere out of state or out of the country where you will never find him. You will return to being a sniveling drone and comply with my ever command. We will regroup, find you a new blueblood to marry and get back on track to the road to the White House."
"Harold I have no intention of running for office, not now, not ever."
"We'll see about that."
"Harold why don't you go on into the board meeting I'll join you shortly." Fitz gives Harold a dismissive wave.
"Fitz I don't know what trick you think you have up your sleeve but no one is going to vote me out and I will not resign."
"Harold after today I could care less about what you think especially in regards to my future or the future of Grant Industries."
"You have always been weak and without your precious Olivia to prop you up you'll be pliable clay in my hands.
It took everything in Fitz's power not to strangle Harold. "Harold Olivia and I are fine."
"Fitz when was the last time you spoke with Olivia?" Harold waits with baited breath for Fitz's response. He can hardly contain his excitement at being able to be the bearer of bad news.
Fitz is about to speak when a sultry female voice answers Harold's question. "He just saw me 10 minutes ago." Olivia saunters over to the two men and pecks Fitz on the cheek.
Harold looks at Olivia as if he is seeing a ghost. "How? There is no way! Impossible!" Harold stumbles over his words. He cannot believe Olivia Pope is alive.
"Hello Harold," Olivia says with a light and playful tone.
"You…alive…your building there was an explosion." Harold clearly flustered by Olivia's appearance continues to ask questions. Questions that serve no purpose other than to incriminate him in the explosion.
Fitz lifts the lapel of his suit jacket and speaks into the hidden microphone. "Do you have enough now?" Within seconds out of nowhere, state and federal agents appear to take Harold into custody.
"Harold Putnam Grant you are under arrest for violations of both federal and state RICO statutes including; extortion, embezzlement, bribery, kidnapping, racketeering, money laundering and murder for hire. You are also being charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, murder, and conspiracy to commit murder, unlawful imprisonment, fraud, election rigging, voter fraud and blackmail." FBI Agent Sam Washington reads the arrest warrant to a stunned Harold. The Board members hearing the commotion outside of the boardroom exit in time to hear Harold being Mirandized.
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me? Mr. Grant do you understand your rights? Mr. Grant, Mr. Grant, do you understand what I am saying to you?" Harold is angry, embarrassed, confused and in shock all at the same time. His throat is constricting, he cannot speak only nod at the agent's questions.
"Mr. Grant I need you to respond verbally in the affirmative or the negative."
Harold chokes out a weak, "I understand."
Two other agents step forward and frisk Harold. "Sir please place you hands behind your back." Harold complies slowly as the agents handcuff him. He looks over at Olivia and Fitz who are staring at him with smug satisfaction. Three people coming down the hallway greet the beaming couple. A female redhead who seems strangely familiar, a tall African American male who also looks vaguely familiar and the real Fitzgerald Thomas Grant.
Fitzgerald walks over to his brother. "In the end was it worth it Harold? You gave up your own life to steal mine. For what? You have no family, no friends, no legacy or reputation, and no money."
"Oh brother I have money, don't you worry about me." Harold spat.
"Harold, Fitz has taken control of your off-shore accounts, the feds have frozen your person accounts and the IRS is about to seize the remainder of your assets. You have noth-thing."
"I have the satisfaction of knowing I took you, the apple of father's eye, away from him." He's cuffed so he can't point his finger at Fitzgerald, so he juts he head forward instead.
"I will go to my grave happily with the memory of watching the life drain from our father's grief stricken body and the pained expression on his face thinking you had died by my hand. I married the love of your life and she died not knowing whom she was really married to. I am the only father your son has ever known. I will always be the unwelcome guest at every gathering, every monumental event and every quiet moment. I may lose my place in history but I will never be forgotten by this family."
"Harold after today your name will never be spoken of again. Every picture, every item you bought or own, everything you have ever touched is being sold, donated or destroyed. Your evil presence will have no foothold in MY family." Fitzgerald feels emboldened with every word he speaks.
"Harold you may have stolen the first part of my life but God promises my latter days will be greater than my former ones. Every day I will tell my son how much I love him and how much he means to me. I will erase every vestige of your hateful speak from his heart and mind. I will run after my grandchildren on warm summer days, carve the turkey at Thanksgiving and spend quiet moments with my son giving him advice. Our joy as a family will grow by leaps and bounds every day because we truly understand the importance of living each day to the fullest. You are nothing to us now but I do thank you for being the challenge that confirms the power of faith, the endurance of love and surety of justice." Harold hisses an obscenity as Fitzgerald walks back to the group.
Olivia looks Fitz in the eyes silently seeking permission to drive one more stake through Harold's black heart. He nods okay and Olivia grabs Abby by the arm and walks over to Harold.
"What do you want Pope? Come to gloat? This is far from over sweetheart. I may be down but I am not out."
"I want to introduce you to one of my, what did you call them; oh yes "misfits". You may have seen her recently reporting on an explosion in Washington DC." Harold looks at Abby again, the recognition clicks in, she is the news reporter.
"Amazing what you can do with green screen these days," Abby comments. It takes a second for it to register with Harold that he has been had. The look on his face once the realization settles in is priceless. There was no explosion and there was no fire. OPA is still intact. The newscast was a fabrication. Olivia and Abby smile at Harold; "see you in court Harold" they say in unison, then take their leave.
Olivia, Fitz and Fitzgerald watch the FBI agents take Harold away. Harold looks back and witnesses Fitzgerald leading his family in a group hug. In the distance he can hear faint "I love yous" and "free at lasts" coming from the jubilant little family. For a split second he ponders what his life could have been had he not chosen to be a skeever.
Phelps joins the group after Harold is lead away. Phelps' relocation causes Harold to stop in his tracks. He starts yelling at the top of his lungs- "you, you're the Judas!" He breaks free from the agents and starts running toward Phelps. The agents sprint after him, tackling well before he reaches Phelps."You are a dead man Phelps, I am going to kill you with my bare hands. I am going to gut you like a fish! No one crosses me and gets away with it! You're a dead man you piece of shit! I'm glad I kept your wife out of the drug trial; that's the price of disloyalty!" Harold continues his malicious rant all the while struggling on the floor with the FBI agents. Finally the agents give up trying to subdue him and shoot him with a taser. Harold convulses, then goes limp.
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A/N- Well, well, Harold is on his way to the big house. He has lost everything as promised. To the end Harold is going to be unrepentant and arrogant.
Love how Fitzgerald let Harold know he had not won a thing but actually lost everything that is important. The good things on the horizon will blot out the very memory of Harold. He will spend the rest of his life as an unborn-nonexistent.
Can anyone guess where the name Lorna Ghardt came from?
Only one chapter left.
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