Crossing the Line Read Free Page B

yours was the most difficult and painful I’ve ever had to watch.”
    I sat up a little straighter. “You were there?” I didn’t remember seeing him.
    â€œI was.” He met my eyes. “And I can’t imagine a KATO agent who was truly brainwashed would put themselves through that. You hadto want it.”
    I gripped the arms of the chair, trying not to think of how good it felt to have the Gerex in my blood.
    â€œSo,” he said, bringing me back. “What can you tell me about KATO?”
    I moved to the edge of my seat, preparing myself. I didn’t waste time asking what he already knew. Instead I told him everything I could, starting with KATO’s original intentions. The organization was designed to be a division of North Korea’s intelligence agency with a special focus on utilizing the skills of younger agents. The program was so successful, it quickly became a priority to recruit potential agents as young as possible. The younger KATO could get their claws into someone, the more power and control they would have, which was why kids became their target.
    Some parents gave over their kids willingly, thinking they were giving a great service to their country, while others were blackmailed into the situation. They got the rest of their agents by taking advantage of easily manipulated orphans. As far as I knew, I was the only kid taken to send some kind of message.
    I also told Simmonds where their headquarters was, and how they operated. I told him about some of the things I had stolen and the people I’d killed, but I kept it limited to the bigger assignments. I’d done far too much damage on KATO’s behalf to list everything. The whole exchange took hours, and it was as equally freeing as it was terrifying.
    Simmonds listened attentively, and waited until I had finished to speak. “I can imagine they told you some tales about the IDA?”
    I nodded. “They spent the first four years drilling into me howmeddlesome, intrusive, and evil all of you were,” I said. “They did everything they could to make me hate you, but it never felt right.” I rubbed my palms anxiously on my knees. “When they thought they had me, they told me my parents were IDA spies. I didn’t believe them at first, but they had video and other evidence. It was supposed to motivate me against them and against the IDA even more. They wanted me to feel betrayed that my parents not only lied to me, but were working for the people I was supposed to hate. But ultimately, it made me feel like I had a way out.”
    Simmonds studied me momentarily, then shifted a little closer. “You should know that I’ve been trying to get you back since they took you. It was six years before they put you in the field, correct?”
    I nodded, my face tight and focused, unable to hide how much he had just surprised me.
    â€œOnce they did, you were so well trained that I couldn’t get to you,” he said. “And based on what we know now, it seems it would have been hard to persuade you to leave.” He shook his head. “I had hoped when you were finally retrieved you wouldn’t still be tied to them.”
    A small humorless laugh snuck out of me. “I’ll always be tied to them.” His expression didn’t change. “Did you work here when I was kidnapped?”
    â€œI did,” he said.
    â€œThen you knew my parents?”
    His eyes darkened a fraction. “I was very close with them.”
    I swallowed hard and ignored the weight that dropped in my stomach. “They’re dead, aren’t they?”
    He held my eyes, preparing me. But I was prepared. I’d beenprepared for years—since KATO first told me the truth. “Your mother is.”
    I sat up a little straighter. “And my—my father?”
    â€œHe’s alive,” Simmonds said with a small smile. “At least, as far as we know. He left the agency