Another Miracle
South Central Los Angeles
1700 Hours
The thought among most of the street residents would probably be that it was yet another SWAT raid. But they intended to keep a low key and not be seen by the public. Mike Larson, the driver, maneuvered the old car slowly, leading the way in front of the Mercedes. The last thing the Connors and the TechCom fighters needed was to be discovered early. Smartly, they had all stored their rifles and armor in the trunk of the car, and most just had side arms. John, however, kept his short-barreled carbine on his lap. He was also wearing his military grade Personal Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT) vest. The standard issue body armor for U.S. troops until 2003 (when it was replaced by the Interceptor vest), it held multiple layers of Kevlar and removable hard armor plates. This vest could protect against just about any standard round used in modern combat. It would not stop the XM1009 round, but Sarah still insisted that John wear the armor, just to be safe.
"Have you ever fired a gun in combat?" Cameron asked John.
"No," he shook his head, "Just on the range and some shooting houses and stuff. You have faith in me, right?"
"'There's a first time for everything,' as the idiom goes," Cameron replied, "I'm here to protect you, though."
"I'll return the favor," he smiled at his guardian and love interest. Even now, before the mission, he kept thinking about how pretty he thought she was. He wasn't distracted, he was just trying to keep calm. He didn't want to think about the upcoming fight with the lethal, cyborg assassin, who was now armed with bullets that could just as easily kill Cameron as they could a human. He had just saved her; he was not going to lose her again. He wanted to think ahead of the mission; he wanted to plan out how he was going to make this work. But before he could get any in depth thoughts, Larson's voice came over the walkie-talkie.
"That's the apartment on the right," he said. John and the rest of the car's occupants looked over. "There's only about four or five other tenants on the lowest level. He should be on the third floor, first door down."
"I thought he fled, how'd we find him so quick?" Derek asked.
"I called Ellison this morning. Asked him to look up DeShaun Withers. Turns out this metal has been posing as a member of the Crips and has gotten himself arrested twice for petty theft. This is his last known location," Sarah explained as the car pulled into an ally.
"How do we know this is the right guy?" John said, "I mean, yeah, he doesn't sound like a model citizen, but I don't think it would be a good idea to just go in shooting."
"And why not?" Derek turned around and frowned at him.
"First, we've got terminators to deal with and as much as I don't exactly fear the Crips—especially because of Cameron—that's just another thing to deal with if we just take out one of their home boys. Plus, if they trace it back to us…you know the rest. Second, we can't just kill everyone who might be a terminator or architect of Skynet."
"It'll be pretty easy to tell if he's a metal or not," Derek rolled his eyes.
"Not necessarily," Cameron argued, "I remained undetected for two months until I voluntarily revealed my identity I am told."
"I knew what you were right away," Derek snarled.
"I still do not know how," Cameron replied, "You must be very perceptive."
"Can we focus, please?" Sarah groaned as she stopped the car, "John, we'll know pretty quickly if this guy is a terminator; don't you worry."
Larson parked his car and the Resistance fighters got out and joined the Connors, Derek, and Cameron.
"Okay, we gave the location. Move in twos, aim for the chest; we need that chip intact," Major Osborn ordered, "Larson, on me. Cameron: you breech. Sarah: On Cameron. Reese and Azadah: Provide rear security. John, you stay and cover Jenna…"
"Whoa! No!" John protested, "I'm with Cameron," he froze for a second. Don't let the cat out of the bag with Mom, he told himself, then covered with, "She's supposed to be my guardian. That's her program."
"We need her to take down Withers and there's absolutely no way I'm letting you go in on a breech," Sarah said firmly.
Osborn nodded, "Too much risk."
John's eyes narrowed, "Major Osborn, I order you to…"
"Before I left, you specifically told me that I would have command over you when I got here. So I'm telling you, I want you to be there to give me that order in the future. Stay here, and stay down unless you two are in danger, okay?"
John grimaced and nodded. "Alright, then." He was really worried about Cameron. Yes, she was guarding him, but for some reason, he felt like she was more likely to be the target now. God, if you're up there, keep her safe…you must have once, so if you can that again please…
"I'll be back," Cameron said.
John smiled as the six made for the building entrance, Terminators and their catch phases.
Though they were all dressed in street clothes (aside from the body armor that Sarah and Rick Osborn wore), the team's armament and fluid motion would have impressed even the elite LAPD SWAT team. Cameron, in the lead, inspected the chain-locked door before pulling it from the hinges, shattering the chain links like ice cubes. With guns up, they entered the building. John could only sit in the car and listen to the chatter over the radio.
Inside, the train of Resistance fighters were making their way up the stairwell to the third floor. The hard concrete room stank to high heaven. A couple bags of half eaten fast food were found on the first landing, as were a couple smoked remains of marijuana joints. There were obviously cats in here somewhere, because there was a distinct urine odor. The second landing found another fast food bag, this one filled with relatively fresh vomit that smelled like a mixture of grease and cheep beer. An old sock lay next to the bag, and a used, torn condom lay in the corner.
"…place obviously doubles as the city dump," Azadah murmured.
"I will likely need to shower after being here," Cameron said quietly.
"Shut it!" Derek hissed at her.
Rather than argue, Cameron complied as they continued on up the stairs with Sarah on her six. When the entire group reached the top, they stacked up outside the door. Azadah pulled the door open and allowed Cameron and Sarah to charge through, followed by Osborn and Larson, before she and Derek followed, keeping an eye on where they had just been in case Withers tried to mount a flank attack. Without incident, they made it to the target apartment and stacked up again. This time, since the door was locked, Cameron would do the honors. With barely an ounce of effort, Cameron kicked the door off its hinges as Sarah and Mike Larson charged in. Osborn and Cameron came next, covering the open fire zones, looking for any movement. There was nothing.
It was a studio apartment, crawling with roaches and covered in dust and grunge. Just inside the doorway to the left was the kitchen area with a rusty sink, stove with food caked on, and crumbs all over the counter. In the living room, if it could be called that, was a Hewitt Packard computer, circa 1998. Right next to this was an old army cot with a cheep mattress and no bed sheet. Sarah quickly looked around for any place that the terminator could hide. The bathroom door was open and the mildew-covered shower curtain was pulled back revealing…nothing. Meanwhile, Derek had made his way over to the computer and had begun checking through the files to see if they showed evidence of use by the terminator.
"Let's see…lacking porn or shopping history…no rap lyrics…and the headline 'Fugitive Believed Dead Appears Naked on LA Freeway.' We got the right place," he commented.
"Good, but not good enough," Osborn replied, "See if there's anything that might give us a clue where it went."
Derek did a further search, but he could find nothing. "Well, Major Osborn," he turned to the TechCom officer, a bit annoyed at the outcome of the mission, "what now?"
"Take it easy, Reese. It's not the end of the world…not yet at least," Osborn said calmly, "let's get what we can from this computer and see where it leads us."
Down in the alley, John was still inside the car, a bit angry at once again being coddled, or so he felt.
"This is bullshit," he grumbled to Jenna, who was busy typing away at her computer, getting schematics to the building.
"What is?" She asked, still typing.
"My friend is up there, being protected by two people I know hate her: Derek and Mom. They'd just as soon see her blown away than the guy we're after."
Jenna turned and smiled. John thought she was pretty cute. She was a tiny bit chubby, or rather, "Starting to lose her girlish figure" but she had pretty, kind looking blue-gray eyes and a genuine smile, as well as a nicely structured face. He could tell by the lines in her face that she was the type who smiled and laughed a lot, even in the dreary world of post-Judgment Day. "If you're worried about Cameron," she said calmly, "I'm sure Azadah will keep an eye on her. In the future, unless she's with you, Cameron's almost always hanging out with Azadah. I mean, Azadah is only one who is nice to any of the terminators…especially Cameron."
"Good to know…I guess," he shrugged.
"Jenna, you and John there?" Osborn's voice came over the radio. John took the call.
"No, we went for pizza," he remarked.
"Okay, well, get me a slice of onion and extra cheese," Osborn joked back.
"What'd you guys find?"
"He's here, or was here, but not now," came the reply, "we got on his computer but didn't really find anything when didn't already know. We'll have to regroup and find out where he's gone off to."
"Maybe we should stakeout," John suggested, "See if he comes back."
Everyone agreed, and they made their way back to the cars. For the next two hours, they watched people come and go, yet no one entered the building. The cars were getting hot and the occupants impatient.
"We gotta do more than this," Derek groaned, "Even if that computer is there, it doesn't mean anything. He could have just up and left."
"He would have erased the files," Cameron said. Derek, as usual, glared at her for daring to speak, Cameron quickly added, "That's would I would do."
"She's probably right," Sarah said.
They waited another thirty minutes before Derek once again had enough. "I've got an idea."
"That's not good," John muttered. Derek ignored him.
"Wait here," he said as he got out of the car and walked around the building to where Osborn and his crew were.
"I wonder what he has in mind," Cameron said.
"Whatever it is, it will be either brilliant or disastrous," Sarah replied. She waited a minute before Derek returned with Azadah and headed toward the building again. Sarah got out to meet with them.
"So what is the plan of which you speak?" she folded her arms and waited for a response.
"We just need to find out if Withers is even still here. We ask the landlord and if he is, we keep waiting. If he's gone, we move on," Derek explained.
Sarah inhaled through her teeth, "Okay. That was your 'plan?' I'm guessing you're not telling me everything."
"We're going to go act like loan sharks that Withers didn't pay off. We use a little muscle with the landlord, he'll talk, and he might even know where Withers is," Azadah replied.
Sarah shrugged, "Okay, that could work I guess. Just don't do anything stupid, Derek."
Derek nodded and he and Azadah walked toward the building. John watched the whole thing unfold. The two stepped through the door way and began making their way down the hall. Suddenly, there was a loud crash of brick and drywall, followed by a sickening thump.
"CONTACT!" Derek yelled as he rushed out of the building, Azadah crawling out after him, "He was in the walls! God knows how he got there but…"
The large, black terminator rushed through the doorway so fast he hit the frame, shattering it. Without a second thought, John flipped the safety off his rifle and took aim through the Aimpoint M68 red dot sight. Taking care not to shoot near the chip, he fired three quick shots at the terminator's chest. It was a decent group, about a three inch group, but the rounds exploded in small flashes when they hit. Withers convulsed with every hit, stunned that rifle rounds were doing such damage. Regardless, they did not do enough damage and the terminator regained balance and continued his attack on Azadah.
The young Iranian-American looked completely hopeless as Withers raised his fist to deliver a fatal blow to the head, but as the cyborg's fist came down, Azadah threw up a block which, rather than getting her arm cut off, succeeded in stopping the attack! She quickly shuffled to her side, drew back her left leg, and gave a brutal kick right into Withers' solar plexus, sending the coltan killer flying about ten feet into the brick wall of the building, causing it to buckle and crack.
"Son of a bitch, ANOTHER ONE?" Derek shouted. As he was yelling, Cameron jumped out of the car with her weapon at the ready. Withers, however, had already recovered and dove to safety. Cameron's armor piercing rounds went through the brick like paper. Had Withers been human, he would have been dead or badly wounded by the incoming rounds, but since the rounds had been slowed by the building, they did not retain enough energy to pierce the armored body of the terminator. With no regard for herself, Cameron marched forward.
"Cameron, move! Move!" John shouted, "You're in danger in the open! Shoot and scoot."
But before she could take cover, Withers popped out, firing a quick burst from his short, LR-300 assault rifle. Two of the rounds slammed into Cameron, creating a sickening sound of twisting metal. Cameron shrieked in surprise and fell to the ground.
"Shit!" John instinctively dove behind the Mercedes, popped up, and squeezed off a round. This shot was just above the terminator's head, so John adjusted his aim and fired again, this time hitting him in the center mass. The deadly round flashed as it detonated, blasting a large hole in the coltan and knocking the terminator back. Just as he did this, Azadah emerged again, this time with a piece of heavy railing she had torn free. Swinging it like it was a wiffle ball bat, she knocked Withers to the ground. Then, using all her might, shoved the pole through his abdomen, impaling the cyborg and destroying his primary power source.
"Somebody get me a knife!" she turned around and held out her hand. Derek, who was the closest, just stood and glared at her. Azadah knew what he was thinking, but that made no difference, "Reese! While we're young!"
Reluctantly, he removed his Leatherman from its scabbard and handed it over. Wasting no time, Azadah cut away Wither's scalp and popped off the top of the chip port. Then, using the pliers, she removed the chip, ensuring that Withers would never again rise.
"Clear!" she called, just as Jenna, Larson, and Osborn rounded the corner. They were ready to start shooting, but quickly noticed that they had come a little late. Osborn inspected the damage to the terminator, said something to Azadah, then turned back to John and Sarah, "nice shooting, Connor" he gave a thumbs up, "Dead center mass."
But John was too concerned with Cameron to take the complement. He rushed over to her, suddenly relieved as she rolled over and forced herself to her hands and knees.
"Oh, Shit!" he groaned, offering her his hand, "You okay, Cam?"
"Yes," she replied as she took his hand, hoisting herself off the trash covered ground, "the rounds that hit me penetrated only an inch into my endoskeleton. One detonated but failed to fragment, the other," she reached into the hole in her shirt just at the shoulder, and winced as she pulled the bullet out, "Failed to do more than penetrate and stick." She glanced down at the PASGT vest and noticed a bullet hole; one of Withers' rounds had hit its mark. She put her finger in the hole. "Are you wounded?" she asked, a look of great concern in her eyes.
John looked down. He did not remember feeling any impact. He quickly undid his vest, pulled up his shirt, and looked for a wound. But there was not even a bruise or swelling. He then removed the trauma plate, which should have been penetrated like paper by the deadly round, and found that there was only a tiny dent.
"John! What the hell? Oh shit! Shit! Shit!" Sarah ran over to her son, panic in her eyes. She began pawing at his chest, "does that hurt? Can you feel anything?"
"Mom!" John pushed her hands away, "I'm completely okay; not even a scratch."
"He must have had defective rounds," Cameron hypothesized, looking at her wounds.
"Not really," Jenna commented, "Look at the car door." She pointed to the Mercedes. Three large holes, at least eight inches in diameter, now decorated the passenger side front and rear doors. John looked down at his vest, then at Cameron, then the car, then the sky. He was never sure about what to believe in terms of God and religion, but this was weird. Maybe it could be explained away but he was getting the feeling that someone was indeed watching out for him…and Cameron. This was two miracles in less than five days.
"That will probably bring down the resale value quite a bit," Cameron commented about the car. John chuckled at her joke while everyone except stared in awe.
"We should probably get moving before the cops show up," Azadah recommended. She picked up Withers like a stuffed animal and began walking him back to their junk car. The other three TechCom fighters had begun to inspect the damage, and they did not notice Derek watching Azadah leave, a cold stare of hatred in his green eyes. It was only by pure chance that John looked over and saw him begin to follow her, his thumb flicking the safety of his M4 to full automatic.