Read Crossing the Line for Free Online Page B

her straight, perfect light-brown hair swinging behind her. When she was gone, the only sound was the hum of the radiator.
    I suddenly realized just how many people were in the room. There had to be about sixty to seventy agents, all positioned in various places around the facility. Some were training with one another while others worked agility courses and punching bags. Or at least that’s what they had been doing. Now everyone was staring at me. Scorpion turned back to me with a triumphant look, then he walked off to the corner, toward Cody and a dark-haired girl I didn’t know. I rolled my shoulders back and refused to worry about anyone else. It was the only survival tactic I had, and it had kept me alive so far. According to my schedule, this was agents-only gym time. The facility was shared between active agents and academy students. This was the one time of the day that only active agents were allowed in.
    I moved past the faces, heading toward the punching bags in the back of the room. I had to pass my trusted guide and his friends to get there. Cody had been talking to Scorpion, but the closer I got, the more he focused on me, his stance got more and more defensive. His head was clearly still back in the cafeteria. “You’re one crazy bitch,you know that?” he said. “I don’t care what agency you’re from. You don’t get to pull that kind of shit here.”
    He stood half a step in front of Scorpion with his arms crossed. Just as protective as he had been earlier. He was either his brother or a really good friend. I shrugged a shoulder casually. “You asked for a demonstration.”
    He laughed harshly, with an edge of disbelief. “Right. Like it would have mattered. You would have found another reason.” I crossed my arms and squared myself, waiting as he stepped closer. “You think we all don’t know
everything
about you? You’re one of KATO’s best cold killers. The damage you’ve done is jaw-dropping.”
    I’d heard the term “cold killer” before and it made my blood turn to ice. It was for spies who killed innocents to prove a point. KATO was famous for it and I was their best. I did it to survive. And to get high, which seemed like the same thing most of the time. I fought all of this off and smiled. “That’s funny. I still don’t have the faintest idea who you are—I guess you’re not too impressive around here.”
    He tensed. “You
fucking
—” He took a step toward me, but Scorpion pulled him back.
    â€œCody, don’t. Simmonds will have you out of the field for a year.” He glared at me. “Besides, I think Rachel got the point across.”
    I crossed my arms and held my ground, determined. No one here had the power they thought they did.
    â€œWe may have to put up with you,” Cody said through gritted teeth, “but the less time you spend around us, the better off we all are.”
    â€œThen stop talking to me, and leave me alone.”
    Cody still wanted to fight, but Scorpion, who hadn’t let go of hisarm, tugged him back.
    He refocused his group into their normal routine, trying to save them all from getting in trouble because of me. There was still one girl from their group who hadn’t come after me yet, but I figured that was just a matter of time. I found a corner with a punching bag off to the side, and spent the gym time working to get myself back in shape. But the one thing that wasn’t lost on me was the attention I was getting from Scorpion. Even though he was yards away and wrapped up in his own training, he never stopped scrutinizing. He was just waiting for me to start something. I shut the rest of the gym out. I had too much on the line. It would be a while before I was anywhere near ready to go after KATO, but I was determined to be prepared when the time came.

Chapter Five
   FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
    S corpion dropped me off for