All notes and disclaimers are in the previous fifteen parts. BTW, I've been
contacted by a few people asking me if they could archive this. It's fine
with me as long as you drop me an email telling me first.

**

"I need to talk to you." Josh came into Sam's office and closed the door. He
had just gotten back from his breakfast meeting with Mitchell and from the
expression on his face, things had not gone well.

Sam took one look at him and saw that something was wrong. "What's up?"

"Did you send a memo about the election reform bill while we were in Portland
saying that we wanted to abolish the electoral college?" Josh asked
seriously. He had been making the rounds, asking everyone the same question.

"Why would I do a crazy thing like that?" Sam asked. "We don't want to
abolish the electoral college. The electoral college is what got us here."

"Well, there was a memo sent to ten senators, the ones whose support we had
just managed to get at the time, saying that we planned to ban the electoral
college. That's why the bill never got through to the floor last time." Josh
said.

"Somebody sabotaged the bill?" Sam's head snapped back. "No way, Josh, who
around here would do something like that?"

"I didn't want to believe it myself, until I saw this." Josh handed Sam the
copy of the memo he had gotten from Mitchell and pointed at the initials at
the bottom of the page. "All the assistants initial everything they type, or
at least they would in a perfect world."

Sam glared at the initials, chewing his lip. "GM. Ginger Miller." he leaned
back in his seat. "Well, it does make sense. He was the only one who didn't
want the bill."

"I already asked him. He said he didn't." Josh rubbed his sore eyes with his
hands.

"Did you talk to Ginger?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. She said it was faxed from Air Force One while we were in Portland."

"Toby was in Portland with us." Sam said.

"It's all circumstancial evidence, Sam." Josh said quietly. "Someone could
have set him up."

"Or maybe he set us up." Sam got up and started pacing. "He's been screwing
up lately, you know that. The leadership breakfast, the drop-in---"

"Get over it, Sam." Josh commanded. "You didn't show the best judgment in
that whole affair either. And besides, this was months ago. It just didn't
bite us in the ass till now. We probably would have gotten wind of it sooner
if we hadn't been distracted by, you know, more important things."

"If he did do this," Sam began, fresh anger welling up in him, "then he's
been going behind all of our backs for months, at least since then."

"Circumstancial!" Josh reminded him. "Anyone could have faxed that memo from
the plane."

"Hey." Toby poked his head in the door. "Sam, I need to talk to you about
Ainsley Hayes. Hi, Josh."

"Toby, did you send any memoes from Air Force One while we were in Portland?"
Josh asked.

"For the second time, Josh, no." Toby replied. "Why, what's wrong?"

Sam handed him the memo.

Toby read it slowly, eyebrows slowly lifting in surprise at the subject. "Are
you guys crazy?" he asked. "Dropping the electoral college? That's the reason
we're here in the first place. No wonder it got killed last time."

"We didn't send that memo." Sam said. "Why don't you check the initials at
the bottom and tell us again you didn't send it to Ginger from the plane?"

"Sam." Josh shook his head warningly.

Toby looked at the initials, then at Sam, then back at the initials. "Ginger
typed this?"

"Yeah." Josh said. Seeing the soured turning angered expression on Toby's
face, he quickly went on, "Toby--"

"Sam, did you just call me a liar?" he asked quietly, a dangerous edge of
heat entering his voice.

"If the shoe fits." Sam shot back.

"Sam!" Josh said. "That's enough. Look, Toby--" he turned back to address
Toby, but the older man was gone. He turned back to Sam. "Don't we have
enough trouble around here without you adding to it?"

"Hey, I'm not the one who went behind everyone's backs and sent that
ridiculous memo." Sam defended himself.

"Well, maybe Toby did send the memo." Josh said. "But what if he didn't? I
wouldn't be surprised if he didn't speak to you for the rest of the week for
this. And for God's sake, get over the GDC already. You got what you want,
they got what they want, so you should all just shut up!" he stormed out of
the office in search of Toby.

Sam stared after him, thinking dark thoughts. Then another occurred to him.

'Dammit, we have to go to the Residence tonight and act like everything's
fine for dinner.'

**

"He said what?" Ginger demanded.

"He said, 'if the shoe fits.'" Toby replied.

"That son of a bitch!" Ginger exclaimed, outraged. "Where does he get off
calling you a liar based on the fact that I typed that stupid memo. I was
barely even paying attention when I typed it! When Peter brought it in and
told me it was faxed from Air Force One, I just started typing it."

"Wait a minute." Toby said. "You said that Peter brought it? You didn't get
it from the fax machine yourself?"

"I had a sprained ankle." Ginger said quietly, looking away from him. "And I
wasn't expecting anything."

"Who was Peter working for at the time?" Toby asked.

"Mandy Hampton." Ginger replied.

"Okay. Thank you." Toby said. At least he had solved the mystery now of where
the memo had originated. He couldn't say he was surprised.

"You think Mandy sent the memo?" Ginger asked, sitting on the desk.

"Are you going to dinner tonight?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"Yes." she replied. "And I had to speak with the President about getting my
boyfriend clearance to come. He'll be late, he has to work, but he'll be
there in time for dinner."

"Wonderful." Toby said. Ginger couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or
not. "Look, Ginger, I want to apologize for upsetting you a few days ago.
That wasn't what I was trying to do."

"I know." Ginger replied quickly. "Let's just forget about it. Are you okay?"

"I've never been called a liar before." he replied, obviously deep in
thought. "I've been called a number of other things, and rightfully so, but
no one's ever called me a liar."

"That might have something to do with the fact that you're not a liar."
Ginger observed as he got up, crossed the room, and leaned on the desk next
to her. "Sam just jumped to conclusions, that's all. We'll get Peter over
here this afternoon and straighten the whole mess out."

"Then I'd like to kick Mandy's ass to hell and back." Toby growled. "I may
not have liked the bill, but it was important to everyone else. What she did
disgusts me."

"And that in and of itself is why you couldn't have sent the memo." Ginger
slipped her arm through his. "Everything will work out. Sam and Josh will
figure out that you respect them too much to deliberately kill a bill that
they've been working so hard to pass."

"Thanks." Toby said, kissing her hair. "But if I keep listening to you, I
might end up with the biggest ego around here."

"Impossible." Ginger smiled. "If Leo keeps listening to Margaret, *he'll*
have the biggest ego. Besides, I tell it like I see it."

"I wish you could tell it like you see it in regards to yourself." he said
meaningfully, sitting back at the desk.

Unexpected tears clouded her vision as she backed up to the door. "I'll call
Peter and get him over here by lunch."

"Thanks."

"And, Toby?"

"Yes?"

"For what it's worth, not for one minute did I think you had sent that memo."

Toby smiled softly. "It's worth a lot to me, Ginger."

TBC

Part 17

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