An R in the month

"But I keep telling you, my name is Taylor Herbert." The dark-haired girl stared at him, blinking under the interrogation room lights.

"We know your name. Both of them," Director Tagg said with satisfaction. This was going to be quite the feather in his cap, catching the notorious warlord Skitter so soon into his tenure. "That is why you are here."

"But I haven't done anything," she protested, tears in her eyes just visible behind glasses that were nearly opaque in the brightness. They reminded him eerily of yellow lenses.

"Haven't done anything?" The gall of the statement left him nearly speechless. The bank robbery, the heists, seceding from the United States government for god's sake! "You know exactly what you did." He barked at her and she flinched as if she was going to be hit. Bad home life? That could be leverage.

"Okay, okay, it was just a little weed." He simmered down, made a note on the pad in front of him.

"Did you have any on you?"

"Yeah. In my bag." He knew that, they had found it during the search, tucked into her school books. "Just a little bit, for me and my friends."

"You intended to supply people?" Tagg asked. If she had a network at the school, they'd have to take it down.

"I share, so what?"

"So you've been funding your operations from drugs?" If it was just weed, he was a member of the Slaughterhouse Nine. The P.R.T. would have to investigate possible Merchant connections, or whether she'd moved in on their networks after running them out of town.

"What operations?" He glared at her and she cringed, twisting long dark braids between her fingers. "Okay, there was the one on my arm, and when I got burned, but those were the insurance."

"Insurance against what? Being discovered?" She looked blank, and stalled.

"They performed...I think its called discovery? I don't..."

"To insure against your identity being revealed."

"My identity? What-" His patience snapped. He slammed his hands on the table, standing up as she yelped and jerked backwards.

"We know you're Skitter. Admit it!" She shook her head, speechless and terrified. Good. He had the upper hand for once. There was a knock at the door, and he answered it. It was a good time to let her stew, wondering just how much they knew about her little criminal empire. He shut the door, moving to the one-way glass to watch her as she twined her fingers nervously.

"Yes, trooper?"

"Sir, Dragon and Defiant have reached the school." He nodded. He had ordered that he be informed immediately, no matter what he was doing. The heroes must not have been notified he had brought the target in before she ever reached the school. An communications failure he would have to correct.

"Notify them it is unnecessary. I have the subject here and am proceeding with the interrogation."

"Sir, Dragon further states that the target is Taylor Hebert, not Taylor Herbert." He froze, scowling at the trooper. Looking back into the room, the girl was leaning forward, biting her lip as tears ran down her face. Well damn...

"Trooper, NDA her, book her for weed possession, and get her out of here."