Mallory listened to Trevor speak. When he made a joke about not being able to run people down with his truck, her expression didn’t so much as flicker. The joke itself wasn’t lost on her, she understood it just fine. But any aspect of humour went over her head. She didn’t bother with jokes very often. 

Instead, she simply listened intently as he spoke, trying to get a feel for how he would function as a partner. He seemed to be decent enough. His attire, a hooded sweater, certainly got a stamp of disapproval from Mallory, who stood before him in sleek black pants and an impossibly-white shirt. But he seemed driven to do the work. He would do. 

“I’ve heard a lot about the Northgate system being implemented in other cities,” she acknowledged. “As for catching graffiti artists breaking other laws…that should be a problem.”

She turned, clearly indicating for Trevor to follow her as she headed towards the elevator. Though she usually opted for the stairs, she wouldn’t force five flights of stairs on Trevor. “They call themselves ‘Sprayers’, and their culture is similar to that of graffiti artists in other cities. They’re a combination of anarchists, hippies, and artists,” she explained, hitting the button on the elevator when he was inside. “You’ll get drug busts for the hippies, and weapons charges for the anarchists. Paige, I’ll introduce you in just a moment, has caught a few video clips of someone carrying what looks like Molotov cocktails.”

The elevator stopped on the floor where she and Paige worked. Mallory walked out, heading towards Paige’s desk. She continued to speak as she did so. “As for leads…we have found something.” 

She reached Paige’s desk, and stopped there. Nodding to the girl, a year younger even than Mallory herself, she introduced the two of them. “Agent Westbrook, this is Paige Waters. She’s an intern here, but her work surpasses most of the veteran members of our surveillance team. Paige, this is Trevor Westbrook.” The slightest smile, icy cold as always, crossed Mallory’s features. “Do you want to tell him about the X’s?”