Scene 30 - October 24th

Interior MLED Compound, Morning

Susan Shepard

I sighed in displeasure as I looked at my schedule for the day. “Really, Henry? You put Legion’s interrogation as the first thing on my schedule?”

My deputy director shrugged. “I knew you would want to handle such a dangerous villain yourself,” he said, and I had to admit that the man was right. “And the rest of your day is already packed with other appointments. There was no other time, Susan.”

I pulled a face, knowing that I was being childish, but nodded. “Thank you, Henry. I’ll see you tonight.” My deputy director was a night owl and always had been - he was much happier as my deputy, taking the night shift, than he had been as director. To be fair, I was happier too - I didn’t mind the night shift, but they were boring more often than not. Although I complained to him - and he was the only one in the MLED that I allowed myself to be so informal with, and vice versa - I enjoyed having a full schedule, and night shifts tended to be slow. Most crimes happened during the day, contrary to what cop shows might claim, and so do job orientations, press conferences, interviews, and all the other things than an MLED Director had to accomplish.

Yes, I enjoyed my job. What would I fill my time with if I wasn’t here, after all?

Henry nodded to me and began wheeling himself out of the office we shared. I took a few minutes to skim his summary of the night once more - we had gone over it before he left, but I liked to keep things fresh in my mind - then brushed a bit of dog hair off the cuff of my suit jacket before I began making my way down to the cell where we held a copy of Penelope Page, better known as Legion.

I nodded to the trooper manning the checkpoint outside the cell block wing as he saluted me. “Morning, agent.”

“Ma’am,” he responded. He checked the badge that I held to him, then the itinerary on his tablet. He then gestured for me to step through the scanner. It beeped red as I did, detecting the pistol I wore beneath my jacket, but of course, as the director, I was cleared to take a weapon into the cells, and he made no protest. Instead, he unlocked the heavy metal door and waved me by.

I gestured for one of the two agents who manned this side of the cell block entrance to follow me, and she fell into step behind me without question, speeding her pace slightly after a moment to match my longer stride. Within a few moments, we were there.