Read In Too Deep for Free Online Page B

without considering the other. Meaning it’s impossible to view a country’s religious beliefs, political system, or economy apart from one another. They are all connected. She asks the class what to do when you are faced with a complex problem consisting of many entangled pieces.
    I think about how I approach the computer programming problems I solve. “You pick one main objective. And then you break the problem into as many small pieces as you can.” I speak without raising my hand, as the others have been doing. “And work backwards, solving for each small piece one at a time.”
    “Very good, Taylor.”    
    Simplifying and breaking down complex problems were things I understood. Maybe I could keep up here by applying the things I knew from computer programming, hacking – a side of myself I’d always had to keep hidden in my old life. It was strange to be able to embrace it for the first time.
    My dad’s a computer programmer, and from the time I was little, I worked alongside him writing code, helping him to test and debug software. I liked it so much that he taught me other computer languages, like Python, Lisp, and Java. I was well on my way to becoming a skilled computer programmer by age thirteen. And then I taught myself Unix. And because most of the Internet runs on Unix, it opened up a whole new world to me – Internet hacking. I never set out to do anything malicious, I enjoyed the challenge of reading the code, modifying it, building things, learning to break into things. It was fun testing the limits and doing things no one else could. And now that I’m here, it’s strange that all that will actually be encouraged. I still haven’t wrapped my head around it.
    When Tate dismisses us, Logan walks me to my next class, leading me upstairs. With the tiny number of students here, even in between classes, the halls are deserted.
    Through my conversation with Logan, I discover that my scholarship is a farce. Everyone here receives a scholarship. You can’t apply to Wilbrook. We were all hand-selected from across the country, with one thing in common – we each had a talent Wil-Tech wanted.
    I head inside the computer lab, where McAllister is waiting for me, the light from a monitor casting an eerie glow on his face.
    “How’s your first day going?” he says without looking up.
    He’s trying to make small talk, to be polite, but on him it se ems so out of character that I’m not sure how to answer. “It’s been fine.” I sit down at the table beside him.
    He nods once, his mouth pressed into a hard line and meets my eyes. “I’ll be directly overseeing your independent study.”
    I wait for him to explain.
    “I will provide you your assignments. They are to stay between you and me. Understand?”
    I nod.
    “Each will be different. They may take one day, they make take several weeks. You’ll supply me with a report when you complete the assignment, before you receive your next one.”
    “Okay.”  I continue to study him. He looks older than he probably is. There are soft lines edging his eyes and forehead, like he’s spent many years dealing with the stress of running this company and academ y. I take stock of his posture. It’s too stiff, his dark hair threaded with gray strands at the temples, no wedding ring. But he’s attractive and commanding in his own way. He also scares the living daylights out of me for some unknown reason.
    “You’ll begin by gathering intelligence. The assignments I’ll give you are actual cases that we are actively working on at Wil-Tech. The work you do will aid our agents.”
    I’m surprised at how much confidence he has in me. He slides a manila folder across the table toward me. 
    “This is the information we’ve gathered so far.”             
    I flip open the folder and a grainy black and white photo of a man with slicked back hair and dark eyes stares back at me.
    “Ivan Kazcyk is a known assassin.”
    A chill runs up my spine