Crossing the Line (6 page)

Once I was in I started combing through the files. I didn't see any kind of easy search bar. These files were sorted as if this were a physical filing cabinet. I had to tab through the virtual drawers and folders to find what I was looking for. I slid closer to the screen, causing the chair to squeak slightly. I hadn't gotten far when the light flicked on. I whirled around to find Nikki standing at the door, her eyes wide as
she took in the scene. “What are you doing?” Her voice was far too calm for the look of livid disbelief she was wearing. “You sneak into our archives and we're supposed to believe you're not a spy?”

“I didn't sneak,” I said. “I used my code. Simmonds'll know all about this by morning.” And he'd given me every indication that he was trusting me as much as I was trusting him.

She relaxed slightly, her face turning curious. “What are you up to?”

I glanced up at her reluctantly. This wasn't something I ever planned on discussing with anyone. It was too personal. “It's none of your business.” I turned back to the screen and continued flipping through the folders.

“Simmonds may be okay with this, but what makes you think the rest of us will be?”

I spun on my chair to face her, a panic rising in my chest. “I'm not doing anything wrong,” I said, speaking through my teeth.

“Maybe not, but your history is just a little too sketchy for me to take you at your word.” She crossed her arms. “I said I'd give you a chance. Now you're going to give me one. If you tell me what you're up to and it's as innocent as you say it is, I'll keep your secret.”

I let out a deep breath. I didn't have a choice. “I was looking for my parents' files.”

Her eyes widened slightly. I'd surprised her. “Your parents? That's what this is about?” I looked away, feeling far more exposed than I was comfortable with. “No, it's good,” she said. “I just wasn't expecting that.” She came and sat at the computer next to me.

My defenses went up. “What are you doing?”

“Helping.” She smiled a small fraction as she logged into the
computer. “What clearance level are you? I need to set the computer so I don't give you anything above your clearance.” I answered her question, but I was stunned. It must have showed because her smile got a little wider. “Your parents had the same last name as you, right?”

I nodded, still trying to comprehend what was happening. Nikki got to work quickly, and a few seconds later she came up with two files side by side on her screen. She slid over so I could see and my breath caught when I read their names; Alexa and Christopher Steely.

She opened my father's file without another word and passed the mouse to me. I glanced at his picture, but couldn't bring myself to study his face too closely. I scanned the file, taking in the information quickly. “Most of this is blacked out,” I said, not looking at Nikki. She came a little closer and I didn't try to stop her. There wasn't anything too personal for her to see, just basic information—when he started, how long he worked there, and a handful of his more minor missions.

“It's probably above your classification level, which isn't too surprising.” She flipped back to the front of the file. “Yeah, look here.” She pointed at a small number next to one of the blacked-out sections. Seven. My mom's was the same. Nikki squinted at the number, seeming perplexed. “That's interesting.”

“There's something off about that?” I asked.

Nikki shrugged. “I don't know if there's something
off
, but it looks like your parents were involved in some pretty big things. Most files this old aren't above level four.”

I opened my mom's file. Her picture, I couldn't look away from it. We didn't look too much alike—her features were much more delicate than mine—but we had the same hair. It was crazy and curly and nearly impossible to manage. Her file was even more blacked out
than my dad's. The only details I could make out were what I already knew—her employment time, and that her body was found in South Korea. I closed the file quickly, angry that she was dead and that I couldn't get any more information about her.

“We can look into a few things,” Nikki said. “The IDA has other resources. We may be able to piece some things together.”

I snapped out of my trance and focused on Nikki. “What?”

Her forehead tightened in confusion. “There are a few other places we can check. Files may be level seven, but some reports and other articles aren't as high up. We may be able to find something more.”

“Okay.” I spoke slowly, trying to process this. I wanted to ask her why, but when I opened my mouth different questions came out. “How did you know I was in here? What are you even doing here this late?”

“I just got back from a mission and Simmonds asked me to drop the file off in the filing and processing room next door. I was on my way out when heard the chair squeak. Which probably wouldn't have seemed that weird if the light weren't off.” She tilted her head to the side. “If you want to look less suspicious, you should probably stop sneaking around in the dark.”

“Yeah.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Right.”

She let out a big yawn. “Anyway, I should get home before I fall over.” She logged off her computer. “I've got the day off tomorrow, but train with me when I get back. We'll work out a plan.”

I nodded and she headed for the door. “Nikki.” She turned back around, giving me a patient, expectant look. “Thank you.”

She smiled. “Don't stay here too late.”

I
stayed in the archives room poring over my parents' blacked-out files much later than I should have. I eventually managed my way back to my room to get some sleep. By the time I woke up I was able to tuck everything I learned to the back of my mind. I had something more important to do and I couldn't afford to be distracted.

I knew there had to be computers in the Academy Building even if I hadn't found them yet. I had the layout for each of the buildings down, save for a floor here and there. We had five minutes between each class, which was just long enough for me to get my message out to KATO. I spent the time in between my first and second classes finding the room, which turned out to be in the basement. I waited until in between my third and fourth class to actually make contact, and did my best to avoid drawing any more attention to myself than I did on a regular basis.

By the time I got downstairs, I had four minutes to pull this off and get back to Harper's class. It was the closest I'd come to a true field assignment in months. I sat at the computer trying to type while adrenaline rushed through me. I wasn't used to working after so much time off, or this sober. It was a simple assignment, but I found it so much more exhilarating than I normally would have.

It took me a beat longer than I would have liked to key in the firewall spoof correctly. Once I did, I entered the designated KATO weather website. Thirteen degrees Celsius. An odd number in the teens. I jumped over to the Dell computer technical support message board and followed KATO's directions. I found the fifth post that mentioned a keyboard problem and clicked.

I scanned the post and quickly decoded the message KATO had left. It was short, and didn't give me too much information, saying only that they were awaiting the details of the request they had previously assigned me. It also said I should check back as soon as possible to see the status of my report, which probably meant that I'd get more instruction the next time I logged on.

When I started typing, my heart picked up for a different reason. This post was my first true attempt to mislead KATO and the reality of that slammed into me. I felt the craving start to eat at my insides, and it threw me for a moment. But I pushed on, ignoring it.

I typed in the details of the intel that the IDA had on KATO to the letter, like Simmonds had said. My heart pounded furiously when I finally pushed the post button, as if I had just run for miles. But I had only thirty seconds to log out and get back upstairs to Agent Harper's room, and I refused to let something as stupid as a message board post put me back in Dr. March's office.

Sam gave me a questioning look when I slid into my seat. It was one of the few times I got to class after him.

“What were you up to?” he asked.

“Nothing.” I was breathless and I used that to hide the uneasy note in my voice. “I just got held up in the bathroom.”

He studied me for a moment, then nodded. I couldn't tell whether
he believed me or not, but either way he didn't feel the need to ask any more questions.

I couldn't stop fidgeting in my seat. I had no idea what Agent Harper was teaching, and I made no effort to figure it out. I was sure there were more than a few jabs at me, but right then I couldn't be bothered to care.

 • • • 

It took me a while to fall asleep that night, and then I found myself awake at five in the morning, sweating, shaking, and fighting the urge to throw up. I thought I had gotten it together. I thought I would be fine until my appointment with Dr. March later that day. But right then, I couldn't ignore how much I
needed
the drug.

I had to get to Dr. March.

I shook the whole time as I got dressed and crossed the courtyard to the Operations Building. I had never been more grateful for the elevator. I knocked on Dr. March's door, which was right next to the medical wing. She lived on campus and had told me that she was always on call.

“Jocelyn,” Dr. March said when she opened her door. She looked disheveled, but surprisingly alert. I didn't have to say anything. She grabbed my elbow and led me across the hall into the medical ward. She put me in a room and immediately began the acupuncture. I exhaled audibly when she left me to relax.

When she came back, she sat down on the bed. “You shouldn't have let it get that bad,” she said.

“I didn't know it was,” I said, glancing up at her.

She gave me a doubtful look. “There's no way you didn't feel this building.” I broke eye contact and she sighed. “Look, I get what you're
trying to do. But you're not going to beat this that way. Not with the kind of drugs you were on.”

“I thought I could do better,” I said, still unable to meet her eyes.

“You will.” She brushed a hand through my hair. “It's just going to take some time. You'll get stronger.” I bit my lip and stared at the ceiling. “Get some sleep. I'll wake you before the morning schedule starts.”

She left me before I could argue.

 • • • 

I woke up two hours later when the door banged open. “Why the hell can't you follow directions?” Scorpion yelled.

I sat up so fast I felt dizzy and blinked a few times to clear my head.

Dr. March was right behind him. “You can't just barge in here! This is a medical ward!”

Scorpion didn't even acknowledge her. “You have absolutely
no
business going anywhere on this campus at night!” He glared at me, his eyes livid. “Let's go. We're leaving!”

“No we're not,” I said, fighting to keep my voice controlled.

“I'm not asking.” He glared down at me, like he owned me. The same way my overbearing KATO handler used to.

I was too groggy to think fast enough to fight. I used to wake up sharp and alert. Another side effect of the Gerex. Now without it I needed time to get my brain moving. “Give me a minute.”

“You haven't
earned
—”

“I said I need a minute!” I could feel a headache building. I stared him down like he was a dog, determined not to be the one to blink first. “Get. Out.”

His fists were balled and his arms shook slightly like he was trying to get himself in check, yet he seemed more pissed off with each breath. When he finally got it together enough to try and argue, Dr. March took the opportunity to drag him out of the room. She shut the door behind her, and I let the quiet hang in the air, giving myself a moment to think. Then I pulled my hair into a side ponytail, splashed some water on my face, and met Scorpion in the hallway.

I was impressed to see that Dr. March had managed to get him all the way out of the medical wing. He was pacing in front of the door when I found him.

“You need to understand something, right now.” He was so far beyond angry that he had to work to keep his voice at a reasonable volume. “When I tell you to go
nowhere
without me, that means absolutely nowhere. Not to class, not the training room, and not the medical wing. It doesn't matter if you cut your arm off. You can bleed to death for all I care, but you
do not
leave your room without me.” He scanned me from head to toe. “I don't even see any bandages, so it couldn't have been that much of an emergency.”

I took three steps forward so that I was in his personal space. “I get that you
think
you're in charge of me, but you keep forgetting that
you
were the person who gave yourself that responsibility. So it means
nothing
to me. You don't know everything about the situation and you have no idea why I was here.”

He ground his teeth together, getting angrier. “Then fill me in. Put my mind at ease.”

“I can't tell you anything you don't already know. You need to do your job, which is what Simmonds tells you to do. He trusts me enough to move around here without a constant guard.” I was in his
face, glaring up at him, my eyes level with his pursed lips. I could practically see his mind searching for a comeback. “Now, are we going to train, or what?”

He glowered, then strutted down the hall without another word.

 • • • 

Scorpion didn't speak to me until we got into the gym. “You don't leave this room until I tell you to, okay?”

“When are you going to understand that you don't get a say in where I go?” I asked.

He attempted to reply, but Cody was next to him before he could get a word out. “Is this about the stunt she pulled this morning?” he asked Scorpion.

“I didn't pull a stunt.” My frustration level was growing. My tolerance for Cody was nearly shot, and after the last two days, I wasn't feeling particularly patient. “And no one asked you to get involved.”

Nikki and Rachel, who weren't standing too far away, came closer. “Don't you
dare
talk to him like that,” Rachel snapped.

I moved forward to meet Rachel head on, but Nikki stepped in my path.

“Let's go,” she said to me. “You promised me a workout today.”

“I'm not done here.” I glared at the others over her shoulder.

“
Everyone
is done here,” Nikki said, pushing me away. Scorpion, Cody, and Rachel were shooting me aggressive, agitated looks. She didn't so much as glance at them. “Come on.” She backed me into the corner, away from everyone.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked. “You keep involving yourself in my problems. And your friends hate you for talking to me.”

“I'm friends with Sidney,” she said. “They're used to this type of thing.”

I gaped at her. “You're
friends
with Agent
Harper
?” I couldn't picture how someone as good-natured as Nikki could be friends with
that
.

“Really?” she asked. “You're judging
me
? The only person on your side?”

I faltered, but recovered quickly. “He's an asshole,” I said. “And not just to me.”

“And you've done some pretty serious damage to my friends,” she pointed out. “Things involving guns. And knives.”

I swallowed, then nodded. “Okay, fine. That's fair.”

“I knew you'd see it my way.” She smirked and put her arms up in front of her. “We've got a lot to discuss. We might as well spar and get a workout in.”

I eyed her fists wearily. “I don't know if that's such a good idea.”

She tilted her head to the side, like I was being ridiculous. “Come on. If you keep it clean, I'll keep it clean. I'm on your side, remember?”

“What do you mean by ‘clean'?”

“No hits to the head, and nothing that's going to do any actual damage,” she explained. “We try to take each other down, but not hurt each other.”

Everything at KATO was a fight that counted. If you won, you got Gerex. If you lost, they kept it from you. I didn't know how to fight for “practice.” But I found myself nodding. Nikki had my back twice this week. She
was
on my side—and in a way no one ever had been before. I didn't want to lose that.

I put my hands up in front of me and bounced en garde, waiting
for her to make the first move. She swung at my side, which I blocked easily. My steps were hesitant at first, but I got the hang of it. After a few minutes, I hooked the back of her leg and brought her to the ground. I stood above her, waiting for her to pop up and launch herself at me.

But instead, she laughed. I furrowed my eyebrow, confused as she reached forward holding her hand out. It took me a moment to figure out she wanted me to help her up.

“You're good, I'll give you that,” she said as I pulled her to her feet. “Want to go again?”

“Sure,” I said, and I meant it.

She smiled and got ready to fight. “I haven't forgotten about your parents,” she said. “If you're okay with going late to the afternoon training, I can meet you after your classes and we can start our search.”

“That would be great.” I was a little stunned that she remembered.

She took a shot to my bicep. “We can go back to the archives room and see what mission files and medical reports we can get access to. Then we can figure out where to go from there.”

I was surprised at how excited the prospect made me. We may not have access to everything, but Nikki knew her way around the IDA's system better than I did. I had to believe I could use that to my advantage.

We kept sparring, and Nikki took the opportunity to start asking questions. “So, do you want to tell me what happened this morning?” I narrowed my eyes, making it pretty clear I didn't. Nikki just sighed. “Come on, what did we say about trust?”

I dodged her punch, feeling the desperate urge to keep my mouth
shut. But this was my chance to win her over. I couldn't blow it. “I had a medical emergency,” I said.

She considered me. “That's what Travis said. But he also said you didn't look that hurt.”

I swallowed. “It was a different kind of emergency.” She stopped fighting for a moment, giving me a searching look. “KATO didn't exactly give the best medical care. I'm behind on a lot of things.”

She nodded and raised her hands again. We dropped back into our dance. “Travis is pretty pissed about it.”

“I know.” It came out harsher than I meant, but I was irritated. “It's none of his business.”

“It takes a lot to get him worked up,” she said. “He's one of the most lighthearted people I know.”

This surprised me enough that I dropped my guard. Nikki's fist landed in my side. I grunted, but hid most of the pain as I was trained to.

Her eyes went wide and her face was tight and apologetic. “I'm sorry,” she said. I shook my head like it was nothing, but she didn't buy it. She grabbed my elbow and guided me over to the other side of the gym to a giant blue box. She lifted the top and I realized it was a water chest. She opened a bottle and handed it to me, then waited until I had a few sips before she said anything else.