Scandal Exclusive: Mellie Really Wants Olivia to Kill Cyrus

Mellie (Bellamy Young) has found herself in an impossible position on Scandal and now she's turning to Olivia (Kerry Washington) for help.

In this exclusive sneak peek at tonight's episode, directed by Joe Morton and titled "People Like Me," the Commander in Chief asks her former Chief of Staff to kill Cyrus (Jeff Perry) -- the man who has framed her for an assassination attempt that he orchestrated himself. While Mellie is sure murder is the only viable option, Olivia isn't so quick to take out her former friend.

"You're not a killer, Mellie," Olivia says in the video.

But Mellie isn't one to back down. "I am Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. I kill every day. People die on my watch every day, all of them more innocent than Cyrus Rutherford Beene," she responds, determined to convince the former head of B613 to follow through with the dark mission.

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And while Olivia isn't so quick to jump back into the murder game, Mellie makes one final plea by framing her request as one for the good of the country.

"There is such a thing as a just war and we are in the middle of one," Mellie adds. "This is war. And he is the architect of this war. He is the villain. Olivia, where is your patriotism?"

The question is, were her words compelling enough? Will Olivia go through with killing Cyrus or will she try to find another way to save Mellie's reputation?

See how it all goes down when Scandal airs Thursday at 10/9c on ABC.