Crossing the Line (16 page)

Our earbuds crackled again. “Team Alpha has confirmation. Beta clear to move in.”

There was no way I was letting KATO get those weapons. I pressed my comm. “Team Beta is a go.”

Scorpion's eyes widened. “What are you doing?”

“The mission is the same. We don't need a new plan, we just need to be faster.” I jumped off the ground and charged the warehouse.

“Raven, stand down!” Scorpion hissed. But I didn't listen. We didn't have time. The mission had to come first.

I kicked down the door and shot the two guys closest to me, who had both pulled their guns. I was careful not to kill them. Scorpion was right behind me. We split up the remaining five guards. I took on the three closest to the seller, while Scorpion handled the other two. The seller was a balding man in a suit and the first thing he did was pull out a phone. I landed a kick to his head, forcing him to stagger
and drop the phone before he could make a call. Then I crushed it with my foot.

I turned my attention back to the three guards. I jumped and scissor-kicked the guns out of the hands of the two closest to me, then pulled one of the disarmed guards toward me, shielding me from the third. I shoved him at the last guard, who swayed. I took the opportunity to disarm him, but he did the same to me. The guard I threw down was just starting to get up. I kicked the heel of my boot into the base of his neck—which knocked him out—and focused on the last guard. I swallowed hard, trying to catch my breath, but I was struggling. Despite this, I knew I'd find a way to win. After everything I'd been through, I wasn't about to give KATO the upper hand.

A quick glance behind told me Scorpion was busy with his two guards, so I was on my own. I sparred with the guard closest to me. I got a punch to his head, and he went at my side. I kept moving fast and throwing punches. I was right about to take him down when he pulled a knife at the last minute. I wasn't prepared. He slashed wildly and the blade caught the curve of my neck. It stung and I knew he'd cut fairly deep. I just hoped it didn't tear any muscle. I refused to let myself feel the pain. I grabbed the hand holding the knife and twisted it behind the guy's back, snapping his arm in half. He struggled as I lowered him to the ground. I kicked behind his knees, pressing him down. Then, once he was hurt enough, I took the knife out of his hand and knocked him out.

Scorpion was finishing off his men, and I turned back to the seller, who was still on the ground. I pointed the knife at him and he froze. I looked him in the eye, reveling in the fact that I didn't have to kill him. I leaned closer, then raised the knife, using the hilt to knock him
unconscious. Once I was sure everyone was down I leaned over and put my hands on my knees, panting, breathing so hard it hurt. I could feel the blood from my neck spreading through my shirt. But in that moment, none of that mattered. I won. Mission accomplished. I had done my part to keep weapons out of KATO's hands, and it was my first mission for the IDA that wasn't considered a test.

I felt my heart rate slowing down and I gave Scorpion a small smile, but he didn't return it. He just stared at me, his stance stiff and face tight. If I was reading him right, there was an anger behind his eyes that I didn't understand.

He pushed his comm. “Beta team confirmed. Gamma team clear.”

He still didn't take his eyes off me. I straightened up and opened my mouth to ask what was wrong, but he didn't give me the chance.

“We need to move.” His voice had a strained edge and he turned without waiting for a reaction, leaving me to follow him out.

S
corpion strutted across the desert, making sure to stay a yard in front of me. When we got in the car he reached into the backseat, grabbed a white towel, and threw it at my shoulder. It was so harsh that the impact made my gash ache even more. I pressed the towel into the curve of my neck, trying not to cringe.

Scorpion's mood didn't change the whole ride, and he didn't even glance in my direction. His grip on the steering wheel kept tightening and shifting, and the drive—which was probably only a few minutes—felt as if it were at least an hour. I jumped out of the car when Scorpion stopped in front of the safe house. The adrenaline rush was wearing off and I was starting to feel the craving trigger kicking in. I was prepared for it. I breathed hard through my nose and pushed it aside. I was determined not to let it get to me this time. The number of other things I had to distract myself with would help.

The safe house was compact and blended in perfectly with the surrounding structures. Inside, there was a couch, a table, a small kitchen, and a door that probably led to a bedroom. The whole place was a little run-down, but it was still nicer than any of the houses KATO had put me up in. Scorpion was right behind me with the bag from the backseat of the car over his shoulder. He dropped it on the floor the second we crossed the threshold and slammed the door so
hard I jumped.

I looked up at his face, and the fury I had seen festering just below the surface now couldn't be more apparent. When he spoke, it was with enough hostility to scare a lion. “Don't you
ever
fucking do that again!”

“What are you talking about?” I had no idea he was angry because of something
I
did.

“What do you think I'm talking about? You charged into that warehouse without thinking twice. I told you we needed a new plan, and you just
decided
we didn't. You put both of our lives in danger.” His arms flailed in big, pointed gestures. “How could you be so reckless? We talked about being on the same page, and looking out for each other. And you did
everything
but that!”

“‘Reckless'?” I yelled back, pressing the towel harder into my neck. “I did what I needed to do to pull off the mission. You wanted to stand around and talk about it. What was I supposed to do? We had a job!”

“You
never
attempt to execute a mission at the expense of an agent,” he fired back. “You could have gotten us both killed, and you nearly
did
kill yourself!”

“This isn't about me. It's about the mission.”

If he wasn't angry enough, I had just sent him over the edge. The vein in his neck throbbed and his face started to turn red. “Of
course
it's about you.” His voice got louder. “You can't help the agency if you're dead! Agent safety always matters!”

“Well, KATO never worked that way!” He opened his mouth, but then what I said hit him and seemed to quiet him. My voice dropped. “That's not—I don't know any other way. And this was too
important.” I could feel my hands starting to shake, craving the Gerex. I swallowed hard, refusing to give in. The impulse softened.

Scorpion clamped his jaw shut. He was still furious, but he seemed to be trying to control it. “Nearly
every
other agency puts its agents first. Nothing is more important than that.”

I looked at the ground, completely at a loss.

Scorpion let out a long, exasperated sigh, and I looked up. “All right,” he said, forcing himself calm. “Let me see your neck. If you need stitches, which I'm guessing you do, you won't be able to wait until we get back to base.”

He stepped forward, and I backed away. “It's okay,” I said.

His muscles tightened. “I'm
trying
to show you how to be a partner. Would you just work with me?”

I didn't answer, but I stopped moving. He came toward me, slowly, until he was right behind me. He peeled the towel off my shoulder. The threads got stuck in the blood and pulled at the wound. I hissed but he didn't apologize.

“Sit down,” he said, before turning to get the bag by the door.

“Why?” I shifted away. “What are you going to do?”

He put his bag at my feet. “Like I said, you need stitches.” I opened my mouth to argue, but he shook his head. “I'm not asking.” His voice was stern. “Sit down.” He stared at me until I caved and lowered myself onto the couch I'd been standing in front of.

He sat down behind me and started riffling through the bag. He came up with sutures and pills. “Here.” He held out the pills. “Take these. I don't have anything else to numb the area.”

I shook my head. I had been successfully fighting off the craving,
and I wasn't about to jeopardize that. “I'll be fine. Just stitch me up.”

He rolled his eyes. “You don't have to prove anything to me.”

I shook my head. “I don't need them. Just do it.”

“I'm not threading a needle through you without a painkiller.” I could hear the irritation building in his voice. “You're not going to gain anything by suffering.”

“I said I don't need it!” I was sharp and insistent. The more he pushed, the harder it was to hold back.

“Jesus Christ!” he said. “Why does everything have to be so difficult with you? You don't need to be a hero.”

I spun around. “I'm a fucking drug addict, okay?” His face dropped. I'd stunned him. “Get. Them. Away from me.”

He studied my face, and I knew he was trying to see if I was playing him. “You're serious.”

Now I was the one getting angry. “
Yes.
”

He dropped his head to put the pills back in the bag, and when he straightened up, he wouldn't look me in the eye. “I'll stitch it up cold. As long as you can handle it.”

I turned back around so he could get to work. “Don't worry, Scorpion. I'll be fine.”

He pulled my ponytail out of the way, his fingers brushing against my burn scar. I bit my lip as the needle broke my skin, trying to avoid associating it too closely with an injection. I exhaled evenly to keep myself steady.

“I'm sorry.” He wasn't talking about the stitches.

“I didn't choose to be like this,” I said.

“You don't need to tell me.”

“I do.” I wanted to. I was trying to be a partner. He paused and I could see him glance up at me out the corner of my eye. I closed my eyes for a moment, preparing myself. “KATO engineered this drug called Gerex. According to Dr. March it's one of the most painfully addictive drugs she's ever seen. The first time they shot me up I was ten. I was addicted after one hit.”

“That's how they kept you in line, wasn't it?” Scorpion asked.

“Yeah,” I said, grimacing as he threaded another stitch through my skin. “I could only get the drug from them. Anything I bought on the street would take the edge off, but it wouldn't get the job done.”

“They put you in a position to need them.” The poison in his voice surprised me.

“They used it for everything. Every time we sparred each other in training, we were fighting for Gerex. Every time we didn't complete a mission to their liking, they would keep it from us.” I swallowed. “Going without it—” I shook my head. “I don't know what they put in it, but going without it is painful. It's like your insides are on fire and it's all you can do to keep from burning from the inside out. Every muscle aches, and every nerve screams. It goes away, eventually, but until it does—”

Scorpion stopped stitching right as a shiver shot through me. He put a hand on my back to steady me. “You're all done,” he said, rubbing some antibiotic cream on the sutures and covering them with a bandage. I twisted so I could sink back into the couch. “How did you finally get off it?”

I closed my eyes briefly. Now that I was talking, answering his questions seemed easier. “Dr. March.”

Realization dawned on Scorpion's face. “
That's
why you were here a month before anyone knew about you.”

I nodded. “If living in KATO for ten years was hell, the month of detox was just as bad. The drug was so powerful and so specifically designed, March was afraid to give me anything to help with the process.”

His face got even more serious. “So, you're telling me you had a cold detox from a drug more powerful than heroin.”

I nodded.

“Jesus.”

My arms twitched and I pulled them across my chest to control it before it spread to the rest of my body. I exhaled slowly and looked back to Scorpion. He was inspecting me and I saw the question in his eyes. “I get cravings sometimes. When I'm stressed or when certain—
events
trigger the familiarity. I'm getting better with it.”

“Which is this?” he asked.

I bit my lip, trying to keep myself under control, and told him what things were like at the end of the mission. I looked him in the eye. “If this had been a KATO mission, I'd be extracted and high by now.”

Scorpion kept his expression even, but his control seemed forced. “So you're basically programmed to want it now that the job is done?”

I nodded and looked at the table in front of us. I couldn't handle his reaction.

“You worked for one of the most careless agencies in the world. And you killed for them so easily. I never thought it was because you didn't have a choice.” He laughed a little and shook his head
disbelievingly. “You were fighting for your life, every time. I never stood a chance.”

I pulled a smirk across my lips. “You never would have stood a chance anyway.”

He didn't smile, and his expression had evolved to one of disbelief. “No one should be controlled liked that.” He shook his head. “This life—it's bad enough when I
have
to kill someone, but it's part of the job, and I chose to do it. You never had a choice.”

I shrugged. “It doesn't matter.” I shifted uncomfortably, suddenly regretting everything I'd said.

“Yes.” He was deadly serious. “It does.
No one
should have been forced into that, let alone at the age you were when you started.” His jaw locked. “The things you did—”

“That's why it was so important to stop that sale today,” I said. “They couldn't get those weapons. The damage KATO would do—”

“Well, we made sure they didn't.” He tilted his head to the side. “Though we're definitely going to have to talk about a new approach.”

I smiled lightly. It felt so strange to be talking with him like this. Something about the moment reminded me of a conversation I'd had with Nikki. I glanced up at Scorpion. “Do I scare you?”

He looked surprised by the question. “What makes you think that?”

“I just a thought I might.” I watched him, waiting, but he struggled to find the words. “Because you scare me.”

He was ready to say something, but before he could a sharp chirp interrupted us. The phone in the pack was ringing. He held my gaze for another moment, then leaned back to get the phone. I pulled my arms to my chest and gripped my biceps. The call took only a few
seconds.

“We need to move,” he said when he hung up. “There's a field half a block away. Our extraction chopper is picking us up in ten minutes. They're taking us to an air force base to get a plane home.”

We both stood up, and I followed him out the door, leaving the conversation behind. We had to run between buildings to get to the field, which put me back in mission mode. We waited on the edge of the field, not speaking. We were there a minute before we heard the chopper. We jogged toward it before it landed. I jumped through the open door, with Scorpion following. We were back in the air in under thirty seconds.

When we were safely on board, I made a beeline to the back corner. I did the same thing when we transferred to the plane. I needed to be alone if I had any hope of keeping it together until I got to Dr. March.

No one bothered me.