Executive Orders

Episode 2: CH 04 | It's Officially Unofficial

CHAPTER 04

"It's supposed to be very unofficial." Fitz said. It was another late night being spent in the Oval while Olivia was across town in her apartment, curled up in her bed with a final glass of wine.

She'd been working hard as well, dividing the evening between her Communication Director duties and reviewing the preliminary casework of OPA's possibly newest client.

Somehow, this case was already looking like it was going to be more complicated than she'd thought. A meeting with Peter Campbell had confirmed her first gut feeling - that and the expensive bottle of wine that had come her way.

It was however, a very excellent expensive bottle of wine. Olivia took another slow sip and smiled as she savored the rich flavor. Peter had urged her to not save it for a special occasion, promising that he'd make sure she had even finer wines waiting for her at the end of their case. He hadn't given her any particulars just yet - in his words, he was "hoping that OPA services wouldn't be needed, but he wanted them on reserve just in case" - and was willing to pay a retainer fee in the meanwhile. She'd found no reason to say no to that - at least not yet.

"So official that you weren't even supposed to know what the subject of the meeting with Frank Garner was about." She said, agreeing with him. The meeting with Peter had had unexpected dividends. Through him, Olivia had discovered that the Ranking Member - the highest Republican member - of the Judiciary Committee had requested a private meeting with the president.

The plan was - Peter had confided in her - that Garner had been instructed by his [unofficial] superior, Thomas Tillman. Tillman led the Republican dominated House - and he had made it clear to his peers that he intended to 'guide' Fitz on his upcoming choices concerning the judiciary appointments during his next term.

"But now we do." Fitz said. He didn't bother to hide the satisfaction in his voice.

"Now we do." Olivia agreed and he can hear the same thought in hers. "We also aren't supposed to know why this is happening at this particular time. There's some very quiet, very underground rumblings about a certain Justice who may be possibly be contemplating resigning from his seat - citing personal reasons."

She already had Huck on finding out what those reasons were. "I have some ideas -"

" -I may have a few of my own." Fitz said.

"I can't wait to hear them."

They smiled. In sync.

XXX

As Francis Garner was announced, Fitz made a point of coming from behind his desk to shake his hand. He motioned to one of the chairs that faced his desk before resuming his seat. Another time, he might have offered him the more comfortable seating on the pair of couches that flanked the fireplace, but Fitz's mindset led him not to.

Garner was dressed in the Republican uniform, as Olivia often had called it, black suit, red tie along with his signature grandfatherly smile firmly in place. Unfortunately for Garner, that false smile reminded Fitz too much of Big Gerry, who had used this particular front far too often.

Another time he also might have offered the other man coffee, but even before the conversation between he and Olivia, Fitz had found that he didn't like the feeling of being handled - at least not by his so-called fellow Republicans.

That dislike was underscored and magnified before the conversation had gone on for very long. It was obvious that was what Garner had come to do. His smile was too wide, his handshake too obvious. Too something else - too sure of himself and over confident. As the most powerful Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Fitz knew that the other man wielded a certain amount of influence, but Olivia's report told him that he also tended to behave as though his association with Tillman had made him immune to any opposition. It would please Fitz to prove him wrong.