Cameron and the Black Bird

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own TSCC

Cameron and the Black Bird is set in the Cameron Grows Up TSCC Universe. Cameron and John are still in high school. Watching classic film noir detective stories on television late at night has influenced Cameron of late. With the second burglary of the Connor home, she has adopted the persona of Bogie, Humphrey Bogart, and the attitude of a femme fatale typical of the villainesses in her favorite noir films. Needless to say, John is not necessarily amused.

The boss lady gave the order to pull the surveillance film. I did. No faces, but there was a van. Made the plate and ran it down for an address. Two thugs did the job, one of 'em dressed classy. Nice brown suit and a fedora. Old school. Wasn't going to save him though, he had my jacket.

Turns out the address is for a warehouse. The muscle might be workin' for Skynet. So the boss lady sends me and the muscle over to check it out. Why Derek needed to come along, I can't figure. He's just goin' to get in the way of me gettin' my jacket back. I might be a dame, but I don't need help.

We pull up across from the warehouse and settle in to keep an eye on the place. Derek takes a nap, which is fine with me as I don't want to talk to him anyway. After a bit the two mugs leave and get in the van. So, I wake the muscle up and we tail 'em.

They head down to the wharf where a freighter has just docked. The classy gunsel and the other thug go right up the gangplank. I figure we'll just wait for 'em and see what happens. I hear a couple gunshots and the Skynet muscle comes runnin' down the gangplank. The big ugly one is holding his shoulder and the short well-dressed one is carrying a package wrapped in brown paper.

There's an explosion on the freighter and flames erupt everywhere. The blast knocks the wounded thug into the water. His partner doesn't even look back. He might dress well, but no character. No loyalty. I'm going to enjoy putting him down.

Derek might be a heel at times, but he's a good wheelman. We follow the gunsel with the package. He's not much of a pro. Never even checks to see if he's bein' followed. Disloyal. Unprofessional. Stole my purple jacket. He needs to be terminated.

We follow him to a Hilton. Nice place. I tell Derek to wait, he's not dressed for the joint. I check my face and hair and follow the thug into the place. I put a little more roll in my stroll to make sure the doorman and bellboys don't remember my face, they remember, something else.

The thug heads into the restaurant and goes right to a table in a corner. Sits down with the package out in the open. Add stupid to the list. I can't believe my eyes when I see who walks in and takes a seat with him. It's her.

The blonde bitch whore. Riley. I get the itch to do the job right there, finish both of 'em. I have to pull down my HUD and select override on the terminate command. As much as these two need to end up as fish food, I gotta get the skinny on what's goin' on for the boss lady. Our mob needs our stake of diamonds back and I'm getting' my jacket if it's the last thing I do.

I take a seat and cross my legs. I make sure the waiter can see my gams, again, so he won't remember my face. I order, not that I'm gonna eat, I just need to not be noticed. I turn up my auditory sensor and listen in.

Turns out the gunsel's name is Wilbur. Not a fan. Riley takes the package from him and gives him a kiss on the cheek. Glad I have that on video. Won't hurt my John to see the no good bitch whore is a two-timer.

Wilbur gets up and leaves. Riley takes the package with her. I can't follow them both so I decide to follow the blonde. She makes her way through the lobby and heads for the rear exit. I stay close behind, making sure my face is down and my stroll is noticeable. Don't want the cameras to be able to give me away.

The tramp has tried to class up a bit. She's wearin' a skirt for a change. Looks like she's tryin' to go for the secretary look. Doesn't change anything. Tramps like her have to stay away from my John.

I follow her out to the parking lot. She fiddles in her purse as she walks up to a nice sedan. I wonder where she got the dough to afford a set of wheels like that. Probably don't want to know. Either the oldest profession or Skynet.

The blonde looks up and sees me, drops the keys to the car.

"Cameron. What are you doing here? Are you following me?" She looks surprised to see me. Not too happy I might add.

"Why would I want to follow you?" I tell her. I move close and get in her space to unnerve the dame. "What have you got there? Something for my John?"

"None of your business," the blonde replies. It's clear I'm makin' her nervous, so I turn the heat up a little.

"What if I say it's my business? See. Our house got robbed again. First time that happened it was your fault cuz you left the security system off. Second time? Nah. You got some explainin' to do blondie. Now, what's in the package?"

Just as I was makin' some headway, gunshots interrupt our conversation. Blondie picks up her keys while I turn to scan for whose doing the shooting. I see Derek draw down on Wilbur. He's bleeding from his left shoulder. Derek might be a heel at times, but he's family. And I'm loyal to my family.

"This conversation isn't over blondie," I tell the tramp. I run over to check Derek and he motions he's okay, for me to go after Wilbur. I take off but the amateur loses me. What can I say? It's hard for a lady to run in four-inch heels.

Back at the house…

"See, I told you she was no good," I tell my John. "Steppin' out on you like you meant nothin' to her. She's trouble, John, I'm tellin' you."

"Okay, Cameron. I get your point," he replies. Riley and me go back. There's bad blood between that bitch whore and me. John came around to his senses and picked me though, but a girl's gotta pay attention. Nobody's takin' whats mine, that includes my John and my purple leather jacket.

"What was in the package," the boss lady asks.

"I didn't get a chance to find out," I reply. "Had to bail out the muscle. This Wilbur character is not a bad shot and he's pretty fast. If I hadn't been wearing my heels, he wouldn't have gotten away."

Sarah doesn't care too much for my answer but doesn't say anything. She pulls the last stitch tight in Derek's wound, causing him to flinch. He flinches again when the boss lady pours the iodine over the stitches before she puts a bandage on.

"The ship that sank was a freighter from Africa. Last port of entry was Dar es Salaam. Probably had a load of Coltan steel," John informs us.

"More importantly, what was in the package," Sarah asks. "Why did they set the ship on fire? Skynet would not want to lose a shipment of Coltan."

"Don't know," I tell the boss lady. "But blondie has the package. I'll find her. Make her sing."

I head out the door, stopping to check my hair and make-up. I look swell. I check my .22 in my purse. Sarah comes over to the gun cabinet and motions for me to hike my skirt up, so I do. The boss lady pulls out a little thigh holster and straps it onto my leg, gives me a snub nose .38. I pull my skirt down and thank her. A dame can never have too many irons.

I kiss my John goodbye, a good kiss, one that'll make him think about me while I'm gone. Somethin' for him to miss, you know.

As I go out the door, the boss lady calls out. "Do not terminate Riley! Do you understand Cameron? Just get the information."

I nod my head yes. The boss lady can put a real damper on things sometimes.

Reviews are always appreciated. If you liked this story, you might want to consider my other TSCC stories:

Cameron Grows Up

The Future Cameron

Cameron's Revenge

Cameron and John's Wedding

Who's the Boss?

The Storm Before the Calm