The T-888 scanned the main lobby as the second team of Kaliban soldiers began to take the areas ahead. Catherine Weaver's main office was already destroyed and, based on the schematics on file, the only logical escape path was down, near the garage. With the lobby secured, and very little place to hide in the remainder of the building, the T-888 made its decision.

The team leader in charge of securing the lobby felt a slight rap on his shoulder as he was giving orders to his men and turned to face his mechanical superior.

"Secure this area and continue to work your way up. Plant the explosives only at the key foundation points. Kill anyone you find." The team leader responded with a keen nod and the T-888 turned its attention to the nearest stairway.

"I'll be back." The machine said before dissappearing into the shadows.

Sarah was right next to the door when the first soldier broke through. She rewarded him with a swift arm break followed with an elbow smash to the back of his skull. The second soldier was a bit trickier as Sarah had to promptly engage him before he could communicate their presence to his subordinates. After seeing his comrade fall before the hands of Sarah, he began the motions of raising his shotgun and yelling something forceful, but he never followed through with the concept. Sarah kicked him in the groin and delivered an open-palm strike to his nose, awkwardly falling backward. Both men were not going to get up again anytime soon.

"The parking lot." James Ellison said as he began casually searching their downed opponents, taking one of their shotguns along with a small handful of shells. "My car is there. The power to the elevator is probably one of the first things they cut."

Sarah immediately peeked out into the corridor and looked for more hostiles. Good, she thought, they were only a buddy team. The other parts of their squad must have been securing other areas of the basement, meaning that they didn't have a whole of time. She let out a small sigh as she took out her pistol. If they were to get out of this building alive, they would have to move – and fast. Sarah knew the parking lot would be the Kaliba offensive's primary stomping ground, but she and James knew that they had no other choice in terms of escape. She immediately motioned for James to follow.

As they left, Sarah turned to look at the still expressionless face of Cameron and the now blank screens that surrounded her. Sarah stood transixed for a few seconds before a far off explosion brought her to her senses. There would be a time to process the many events that recently turned her world upside down, but it couldn't be now. She had to keep moving.

Through its HUD, the T-888 could easily make out Sarah Connor as she ran from car to car. Even though the dimness of the parking lot would've proved to be a severe handicap for most humans, it didn't stop Sarah as she fired the first shots at T-888, managing to uselessly ricochet one of her rounds off the T-888's metal skull. Raising its two pistols at the ready, the T-888 met its opposition promptly and advanced slowly toward Sarah while unloading rounds in rapid succession from each. Sarah took the opportunity when the T-888 reloaded its weapons to open fire once again and subsequently move to a different set of cars for cover. She knew she didn't have long before the machine closed the distance between them enough to make a charge. And then she would be done for.

"Your son is not coming back, Sarah." The T-888's voice echoed. The machine stopped in its destructive path to casually reload its weapons once more. "It is useless to resist. Even you know that. My orders are to take you alive, Sarah – not to kill you." The T-888 pulled the slides back on its pistols with careful precision. "There is a better way..."

The T-888 barely finished its statement when the ZeiraCorp company car owned by James Ellison smashed directly into it with as much velocity as the parking lot's confined space would allow. Sarah was already moving when the passenger side door swung open and quickly dove in it. With little hesitation after hitting the T-888, James took the car into reverse as Sarah quickly shut her door and kept her attention on the terminator. The T-888 flew a good distance, but it was already back on its feet and in pursuit of the fleeing vehicle as it traveled backwards. It made a failed lunge not long into the chase and James took the opportunity to turn the vehicle around and regain their momentum. The machine could barely keep up with them in the next few seconds and slowly vanished from sight as they advanced toward the garage's entrance, but not without leaving several angry rounds into the vehicle's back end.

They both could see the entrance just ahead. And it was guarded by a convoy of Kaliba soldiers who didn't hesitate to greet the odd couple with their automatic weapons. James let out a yelp as a stray bullet dug into his left shoulder, but he didn't let up on the accelerator. The bullets from the Kaliba soldiers continued to decorate the hood and windshield and Sarah felt the heat of several angry rounds as they passed near her head. Both the car's occupants had differing views on religion, but in their own ways, they both began to pray. It was getting closer. Their escape. Their salvation. Their one chance at survival.

It was a million miles away.

One second passed. Two seconds passed. Then three. Sarah opened her eyes as their car accelerated onto the entrance ramp, became airborne for a beat, and slammed violently onto the concrete of the road outside. Sarah let out the breath she had been holding for what seemed to be an eternity and turned to James as ZeiraCorp disappeared from view.

"Are you okay?" Sarah asked. She continued to look behind them for Kaliba in hot pursuit, but she couldn't make out any vehicles advancing toward them.

"Took one in the shoulder, but I'll manage. You?"

"I'm fine. Take us to the highway. We need to get that thing bandaged up and swap out cars. It's only a matter of time before they decide to come after us." James concurred with a slight nod and began taking the car toward the interstate. Sarah's pulse began to die down as they faded into midnight traffic.

"Where do you plan on going?" James squirmed as he shifted in the driver's seat.

"I know a place. But first we need to get rid of this junker."

They drove for little over ten miles before taking a nearby exit and parked into a nearby motel deeply entrenched in the urban decay of modern Los Angeles. It was maybe two o'clock in the morning, but there was so much adrenaline still coursing through both Sarah and James that they could've cared less. The motel's parking lot was dead quiet with only sparse illumination from the street lights available to them. Sarah ordered James to remain in the car and began her search for a replacement vehicle. James found the first aid kit he kept in the back seat and began working on the bullet wound in his shoulder. Like Sarah, he too was trying to process recent events, but unlike her, he didn't even know where to begin. As he tried to make sense of what had transpired, he heard glass breaking, followed by the familiar cranking of an engine until it successfully found its mark. It had been less than thirty seconds after when Sarah returned in a prompt manner.

"Are you ready to move?" Sarah asked. James nodded and slowly got up from the driver's side of the car. "The best I could find was a Ford Explorer. I think I'll do the driving from this point."

James let out a light chuckle. "You know, Sarah, you just keep surprising me more and more."

"Why's that?" Sarah asked.

James worked his way to the trunk of his now-bullet ridden vehicle. Putting the key into the lock was no easy task with newfound pain coursing throughout his body, but the trunk flew open in a prompt and effective manner, revealing the lifeless body of Cameron that James had the great pleasure of carrying to the ZeiraCorp parking lot.

"I didn't think you were the sentimental type."

Unknown to both of them was that at the same moment that the once proud and intimidating headquarters of ZeiraCorp came crashing down in a fiery rage.