Mallory waited silently as Paige briefed Trevor on the tagging that had been going on around the city. In truth, they had few leads on the exact nature of the red X’s. But they were indeed something. When the Northgate security team got a lead, they acted on it. That was the only way arrests could be made. As she listened, she stood still. Completely and totally still. Paige, of course, would be used to Mallory’s almost robotic nature, but it may be unnerving to those who didn’t know her quite so well. 

“Mallory,” she answered in response to Trevor’s question. “I make a point of not using my last name.”

Paige and Trevor proceeded to begin to discuss the code. The encrypted notes that were left at each of the sites of the X’s. [i] "The code completely flew by my head. But like I mentioned, I've been cross-checking cameras, trying to follow this Sprayer in particular, but I always lose her. Mallory?"[/i]

She proceeded to elaborate on the code. “We’ve been trying to break the code since it started showing up,” Mallory told Trevor. “It’s not quite as simple as it seems. We have enough convicts in the Northgate prison that we [i]should[/i] be able to interrogate them on it and have them decipher it. But the language shifts every few weeks, it seems. Even as we discover the meaning of a word, it becomes obsolete.”

She gave a slight shrug, clearly annoyed with the fact that the code was too much of a challenge for her team, or for herself. “It’s essentially gibberish.”

“As for tracking the one responsible for the X’s…well, like Paige said. We keep losing her. But it’s clear the something is happening. For the next few nights, we’ll be keeping constant watch on the surveillance footage. I’m likely going to assemble a security force to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice tonight, should anything come up,” she continued. “If you’re interested in working in the field, Agent Westbrook, I can add you to the security detail. I don’t need to ask to know that Paige will be interested. And I’ll be on the team myself, of course.” 

As it was still the middle of the day, Mallory was suggesting that it would be a very long night. She was used to giving up sleep for her work. In fact, it was questionable when she ever managed to get enough sleep, with the hours she put in. Undoubtedly, the lower-ranking interns who would be joining the security detail would have a few glaring looks for their superior at the prospect of overnight work.