The final showdown is approaching inevitably. There are some things that have to be discussed, some actions that have to be taken before the battle, and this and next chapter are so to say the calm before the storm, preparations for the fight. There's no action in this chapter, but it's necessary for the next chapters, so I hope you'll be patient with me.
The story slowly nears its end too. After this one there will probably be another four chapters and an epilogue. And with that, this series will be definitely and ultimately finished. As I started writing Wintertale as a stand-alone story I never expected that it would become just one part of the series. But it turned out differently and this is the fourth part of it, making it the biggest project I ever started (and which I'll hopefully also finish).
Chapter 9
Catherine Weaver stared at Danny Dyson with clear interest in her eyes, even though her face was as expressionless as always. The young man had just begun explaining what he knew about the location of Kaliba Group research facility, in which the AI which would later mutate into Skynet, had been developed.
"However, I have to warn you that it had been the central facility while I still worked for them. They might have moved it to some new location since then." Danny turned to John, silently accepting his leading role in this matter and waiting for his reaction.
John thought for a moment and then looked at Cameron questioningly: "What do you think? Would they move the facility to a new location?"
Cameron tilted her head slightly before answering, causing John to smile at her lovingly. He still couldn't believe how endearing he found this Cameron's gesture and how annoyed he was when someone else, for instance, Catherine, used it. Even after being together with her for quite a few months, even after marrying her, she still easily managed to render him speechless by a simple gesture or a phrase. But his train of thoughts was interrupted by Cameron's words: "I don't think they would relocate. After all, they have no idea that Danny is still alive. At least that's what I think would be the most logical solution. It's how I would do it. If there's no imminent danger, I'd stay put.."
"I believe I can help in confirming or rejecting this theory." John Henry chimed in with his soft voice.
"How?" John's voice was clearly conveying his disbelief.
"Since Danny told us the location of the facility, I can try to hack into it and find out as much as I can."
"Wouldn't that reveal us to them? I've done some hacking myself and I know that it's not exactly easy to cover all your tracks. Sometimes it's almost impossible." John sounded slightly doubtful.
John Henry smiled gently: "I can cover my tracks, John. I'll use some military satellites, bounce my signal a few times and if they, despite my expectations and beliefs, manage to notice my intrusion, they'll be clueless as from where it came."
"But even if they don't find out your location, however, they DO notice the intrusion, they might relocate immediately, don't you think so?" John objected John Henry's plan.
"Well in that case, I'll have to make sure they don't notice my hacking at all, don't you agree?" John Henry smiled smugly and waited for John's reaction.
John knew that he would have difficulties convincing John Henry not to do what he decided to do, so he looked towards Cameron as if he'd be looking for her support. But he met her blank face and serious eyes, gazing at him unwavering. "Cameron?"
"I believe that John Henry is right, John. He can mask his intrusion very well and it's the best chance we have to get more information about them." Her voice was flat, like it used to be before she admitted to her feelings and no emotions were visible on her beautiful face. Then she added quietly, with a hint of reassurance in her soft voice: "But we will do whatever you decide John."
John shook his head and hung it for a second. Everyone else looked at him expectantly, waiting for his decision. Even Sarah and Derek, who were normally very insistent and vocal in making their opinions clear, remained silent and waited like the others. Shit! It's not easy to be a leader, especially not a leader of joint humans and machines. But … here we are.
After few seconds, John lifted his eyes to look into his wife's brown pools, who were gazing at him lovingly, telling him that she would accept any decision he would make. He sighed quietly and looked into the round resolutely. His eyes settled on John Henry: "OK, John Henry, do it. But make sure that you don't get caught!"
John Henry nodded and smiled at John: "Absolutely." He stood up and went to the glass wall behind him. The door opened and admitted him entrance into the neighboring room, full of computer equipment. He reached for a cable and connected it to his port.
"Are you sure that he's safe? I wouldn't want to risk him just to get some more information." John leaned over to Cameron and whispered in her ear. "Maybe you should control the transfer?"
Cameron whispered back: "I cannot be absolutely sure, but it's a good calculated risk. There's only a slight chance of him failing. And I believe that Weaver is going to watch over him." She tilted her head slightly into the direction where Catherine Weaver just got up and hurried to John Henry's side.
"She's very protective of him, right?" John grinned slightly while his eyes followed the action of the two machines in the neighboring room.
"I believe she sees him as her own creation and is proud that he developed as he did." Cameron stated dryly, causing John to look at her a bit surprised. She gave him a slightly annoyed and questioning look. "What? Am I not allowed to dislike someone?"
John's face lit up in recognition and he smiled at his wife: "Of course, my dear. It's just unexpected that you dislike someone that openly, especially a machine."
"Everyone who's a potential threat to you makes it on my dislike list." Cameron deadpanned and looked at John with big eyes.
Their short conversation went almost unnoticed by the others. Everyone was curiously looking at John Henry and Catherine Weaver, who were now standing rigidly like two stone statues. It was obvious that John Henry was already penetrating the Kaliba network, searching for necessary information.
After few minutes in which no one spoke, John Henry reached for the cable and disconnected it from his port. He and Catherine turned and joined the others at the table.
"Well, did you get any useful information?" John was patiently waiting until John Henry took his seat again.
John Henry nodded: "Yes. I have good news and bad news. Good news is that the AI is still not fully operational. It's still limited to its internal network. It seems that the meltdown of the former version had even more aggravating consequences than I suspected. This AI is much less developed and much less dangerous than the one who tried to kill me. It controls the internal systems, but cannot yet attack. However, it seems that it's just a matter of days when it will be fully operational and able to begin its take-over of the military systems."
John nodded thoughtfully, but before he could say anything, his mother cut in: "If that's the truth, we should attack immediately. We don't want it to spread across the world, for if it does, we won't be able to stop it at all. It's just like cancer spreading all over the organism." Her face showed how distasteful she found the information that the Skynet might be only a short way before acquiring the world supremacy.
Derek nodded as to confirm Sarah's words, but otherwise remained silent. Even Danny this time chose not to comment.
"OK, and what's the other news? The bad one?" John kept his voice calm and flat, even though he didn't feel like that at all. He actually felt how his heart slightly fluttered in anticipation.
John Henry continued with same gentle, flat voice: "The bad news is that the facility is heavily guarded and protected. I could find information that there are five machines, two 800 and three 888 series; besides them there are also thirty mercenaries and an unknown number of greys at the facility. They also have a state of the art technical surveillance and automated weapons systems. They are not yet controlled by the AI, but I believe they can be as much effective even in their present configuration."
After John Henry finished, Derek groaned and rolled his eyes: "Five terminators! As if one was not enough. And did they really have to have the 800? They're almost indestructible!"
"Derek's right." Cameron nodded and confirmed his words. "The triple eight series is faster, more agile and more intelligent but less armored and less resilient than the old 800 series. They are like the tanks and nothing short of the rocket can destroy them."
"Nice!" John commented sarcastically. "If I remember how much troubles we had with Cromartie and if you say that he would be the easy one … well, no matter what, we'll have to find a way to get them down."
"There's the worst news too, John." John Henry interrupted the discussion.
"What? You mean that there's even something worse than what you just told us?" John's voice showed his feelings. He was more than just little angry, frightened, worried.
"Yes, there is." John Henry nodded unaffected by John's voice and continued: "They still have one important piece of puzzle missing. The AI might have already taken over almost all internal systems, but, the key component of its programming structure is missing. And for that…" He made a theatrical pause and looked at John and Cameron before continuing. "For completing its structure, they need Cameron's chip!" He dropped the bomb.
After he finished, a deadly silence fell over all the present. Only Catherine Weaver looked at John with a mixed expression on her face. She was curious how he would react to the news.
John hung his head again and sighed heavily: "Is there anyone that isn't after Cameron's chip?" Then he lifted his eyes and looked at Cameron with a pained smile. "I never thought that I'd marry the most wanted woman in the USA. Not wanted by the police, FBI … but by my archenemy, Skynet."
"I believe that it's not as bad as it seems. I'm pretty sure that I can handle myself without being captured." Cameron offered reassuringly.
John looked horrified at the thought and shook his head vigorously: "Absolutely not, Cameron! You're not going in there. I'm not allowing you to risk yourself, knowing that they're just waiting to capture you and kill you! No way!"
"John, you're not being logical. Catherine Weaver and I are the only ones who can fight the machines, guarding the facility. Humans are not a match for them, no matter how trained and experienced they might be." Cameron spoke softly, but resolutely.
"I agree with your wife, John Connor." Catherine Weaver added with cold, emotionless voice. "We can disable the machines and you, humans will have more than enough work to eliminate the rest of the mercenaries and others. Even so, you'll probably be outmatched and will have a lot of fighting to do."
John knew deep down that they were both right, but every fiber of his body fought against accepting the inevitable truth. Cameron would be in danger and he knew that there was nothing he could do to change that fact. So he looked at her slightly helplessly. "I know. I'm just afraid that something might happen to you."
"We live dangerous lives, John. There's no guarantee that we'll make it until the next day. But I'll be very careful not to expose myself to unnecessary dangers. I have too much to expect." Cameron smiled at him, knowing that, even though John still thought it a bad idea, she already won the argument. Her husband was wise beyond his actual age and he would realize that she was needed in there. Actually, she knew that she would expose herself to grave danger, but she decided she'd really try not to expose herself too much.
"Cameron's right, John. We need her. Her and Weaver." Sarah added her five cents, sounding a little forced. She knew how John felt about leaving Cameron in such an open combat and she also liked her daughter in law. Going into the hornet's nest, knowing that they were after you was a calculable risk, a very high risk. But there simply was no other way. Fighting against five terminators was a job for terminators and not humans.
John nodded without saying anything. Suddenly he got an idea, but in the next moment he already almost discarded it. But Cameron noticed a slight change in his face and knew that he got an idea, but disliked it at the same time. "John?"
John ignored her and turned to Catherine: "Do you have something like an EMP weapon? To disable the terminators until you could remove their chips?"
Catherine Weaver beamed at him and nodded: "as a matter of fact, we do. It's still in a test phase, but until now all the tests confirmed its effectiveness. It works! We could take the machines down with it and remove and destroy their chips."
"There's just one problem." John stopped the enthusiasm before it would get out of the frame. "Cameron and you! How can we make sure that you're not affected by the weapon?"
Catherine thought for a second before answering: "I'm immune to such discharges, but as for Cameron … well, we could make some adjustments to her capacitors, exchange them for the heavy duty ones and make her literally immune to any electric or electromagnetic discharge."
John's face lit up, but in a matter of a split second fell again: "Does that mean you'd have to cut in her?" He strongly disliked the idea of cutting into Cameron's flesh and it almost made him shudder. He knew that she didn't feel the pain like a human, but it still didn't appeal to him. Especially if the one cutting into her would be someone whom he didn't trust completely. And besides … it would also mean playing with Cameron's systems and the possibilities for sabotage were almost limitless. She could be taken away from him without even being aware of it.
"It's OK, John. I can control the pain of cutting of my organic sheath. I've taken bullets quite often in the past." Cameron gently put her hand on John's and spoke reassuringly. She liked the idea of being resistant against such attacks. If she'd have such abilities before, it would have made her abduction in the mountains few months ago, impossible. Catherine Weaver's suggestion was actually the fulfillment of her intentions. Even then, she decided to do something about her vulnerability to electric and electromagnetic shocks and this was her chance to even improve her abilities as John's protector.
"It's not only that, Cameron. I don't trust anyone else fiddling with your systems!" John blurted out angrily. It was almost too much. They would not only face formidable forces in their attack, he would even have to trust a LMT to play with Cameron's systems. "Besides … do we even know if it would work at all?"
"I'm reasonably sure it will work." John Henry explained in his trademark soft voice. "I've developed the procedure myself, tested it on this body and found the results more than satisfactory. There's no known weapon that could disable me with such method. I don't see any reasons that it wouldn't work with Cameron's systems too."
"'Reasonably' isn't exactly overwhelming." John was still slightly reluctant, even though the idea appealed to him every second better. It would make Cameron even more unique, even more powerful and it was something he wanted all the time.
"I know I don't have a say in this matter, but I'm sure that it could only be beneficiary if she could withstand such attacks." Danny couldn't understand John's reservations and his reluctance. If someone would offer me to upgrade my wife, I'd jump for it and accept it with both hands open. Then he noticed the dubious look, John gave Catherine Weaver and it suddenly clicked in his mind. He doesn't trust her! And he understood why. It was just few days ago as this machine, according to information he got from his friends, requested Cameron's chip to be handed to it and John was still distrustful.
John remained silent for few seconds before he looked into Catherine Weaver's eyes resolutely. "OK, I agree with you that it's a wise solution and you should do it. It's really the best possible way to protect her from being abducted again. But I'll be with her all the time you're working on her. And so will Derek and Edward. That's my condition and it's non-negotiable." He turned to Cameron and she could see that he made up his mind. He wouldn't budge from this decision.
"I have absolutely no problems with that, Mr. Connor." Catherine nodded.
Cameron smiled at her husband: "And I can only be happy to have you by my side."
"When are you going to do it?" John turned to Catherine Weaver.
"I have to prepare everything and it will take me few hours. I'd say that we should do it tomorrow. Is that acceptable?" Catherine's voice was all business.
"Quite. We'll be here on time." John retorted and then straightened up. "Now, as for the plan… we have quite a lot facts that needed to be considered."
"If I may suggest," Catherine sounded a bit reluctant, far from her usual arrogant tone. "We should split into two groups. One will take care of the machines and part of the mercenaries, the other will have to spear through the facility with the only goal to find the AI and destroy it. John Henry will be in the central in your safe house and will assist both groups by hacking into their systems."
John thought for a second and nodded: "I guess that it makes sense. John Henry could blind them; he could cut them off from the outside world and take care that no one could mobilize some additional forces. He could also guide us through the facility.
"I suggest that you, Cameron, Edward, William and me build the first group, the rest of our team could be then the second one, trying to reach the AI and effectively destroy it. We could clear the path for you."
"I disagree with you in one point, Mr. Connor." Catherine had no inhibitions whatsoever to tell John that she disagreed with him. "You are needed in the second group. I believe that myself, Cameron, Edward and one additional resistance fighter will be more than sufficient for the first group. You and Danny are needed in the second one to take out the Skynet."
"It will be all right, John," Cameron whispered to him as she saw that he already opened the mouth to object. She knew that he wasn't irritated that Catherine opposed him. He didn't want to leave her alone in the company of the liquid metal machine, without him around. He feared that the five machines, which they would have to fight, could overpower her and take away what they wanted – her chip, her very soul.
Even though he knew that his desire to be with Cameron all the time was a little irrational, John still couldn't help himself but feel displeasured by the fact that he wouldn't be around to protect his wife. No matter how impossible it might prove to be, he still felt the urge to do anything in his power to keep her safe. No matter how small his chances of withstanding an attacking machine might be, he still felt responsible for his wife. But he also knew that in this operation he would have to suppress his emotions and find the best possible solution, the one who would give them the best chances to win. His feelings, his love for the beautiful cyborg may not influence the course of action and his decisions. So he turned to Catherine: "I guess that you're right. My chances in a fight against a machine wouldn't be exactly high, right?"
"No." Catherine sensed that this was not the moment to reprimand him more than she already did. She knew that the rest of the group was listening carefully and it was vital for the operation that they accepted John Connor as the undisputed leader and responsible for the whole thing. Undermining his authority wouldn't bring any good in fact, it would jeopardize everything.
"Right." John sighed, feeling defeated, but hiding it very well from the others. Actually, the expression 'defeated' was not exactly the right one. It was more that he had to accept the facts and useful suggestions, even though they clashed with his emotional desires. But he knew that Catherine and Cameron, especially if she'd get the upgrades, Weaver talked about before, would make a formidable team and he had no doubts that they would be up to the task, especially with assistance of two experienced resistance fighters.
"The first group will then be Catherine, Cameron, William and Edward." Then he remembered something and turned to Catherine: "About these EMP weapons. Can they be used by anyone?"
Catherine shook her head: "No. As I said, they're more or less still in prototype phase. They're working, but are way too heavy for a human to handle."
"I was afraid of that." John sighed. "It makes then only you and Cameron capable of using it. William and Edward will have to take care of the human targets."
"I can carry EMP weapon and a conventional gun at the same time." Cameron chimed in sounding a little put off that John underestimated her physical abilities.
"I know you can Cameron. But you'll have to remove the chips from the machines once you hit and disable them. And any additional weapon would only be in your way. Besides … while you'll be removing their chips, you'll be vulnerable to other attacks, may it be from other machines or mercenaries. That's why I want Edward and William to act as your protectors from the very first moment you enter that facility." John smiled slightly at Cameron.
"Oh!" Cameron looked slightly surprised that the reason for his decision was something she hadn't thought about. It only underlined how much he cared for her and she silently promised to herself to be extra careful not to hurt her John by taking too extensive damage. "Thank you for explaining." She deliberately used the phrase, knowing how much John liked hearing it. She didn't miss the rolling of Sarah's eyes and her exasperated sigh as she used them.
"You're really welcome, Cameron." John smiled. Then he got serious again: "OK, that's settled then. As for the second group; I, my mom, Isabel, Derek and Lesley will act as the protectors, Danny and Chris will be the ones to destroy the AI; I'll help them too, of course, but they're more into computer business than me." He looked at Danny and noticed how the young man seemed to puff out his chest a little, having received the praise from the great John Connor.
"John Henry, I suggest that you try to develop a virus that will destroy the AI. We could simply blow it up, but I still prefer to make it more thoroughly. Blowing things up is sometimes fine, but not always the best possible solution. If we could wipe the disks and THEN blow everything up there'd be very little chances that they could rebuild everything again." He sighed wearily: "At least I hope so."
"I could do that." John Henry nodded. "It's a good idea. Even after explosion, there are still chances that they could restore something, but if you wipe every single disk clean, they wouldn't have a starting point at all. I'll design a virus to destroy every single byte of information."
"How long will it take before you're done?" John knew that developing such a virus wasn't the simplest task.
"Oh, I'll have it in ten minutes. Give or take one." John Henry grinned at him slyly.
John already opened his mouth to express his astonishment but reconsidered and simply answered: "Great!" He looked at Cameron first and then at every person, sitting at the table: "We have the basics for our operation. Tomorrow we will have to upgrade Cameron and the day after tomorrow we should start the operation. And now I suggest that we all go home and enjoy the rest of the day. Who knows what the future will bring."
Everyone nodded and rose from their seats. Catherine Weaver waited until everyone left the room and then turned to John: "You could bring Cameron tomorrow at 8 am and we'll be then finished in two to three hours."
"OK, we'll be here on time." John confirmed, but suddenly remembered something and smiled slyly at Catherine: "By the way… you should tell your receptionist that she has nothing to fear from Cameron."
Catherine looked at him clearly not understanding what he wanted to say, but before she could ask, John grinned wider: "Oh, forget it. It's just a joke. Cameron seems to find specific satisfaction in intimidating her and the poor lady almost shakes like a leaf when she sees my wife entering the building. And seeing her again tomorrow … she just might be a little upset."
"I only looked at her!" Cameron objected and even pouted a little. Everyone but Catherine, John and herself were already out of the room and she decided to put up a little show for her husband. "I would never do anything to harm her."
"Sure, you just looked at her by giving her that death stare of yours. You can intimidate anyone, even me by that look." John chuckled a little.
"I can't help, but that's the way I am." Cameron played a slightly insulted girl a little more, before cracking a smile at John. "OK, I admit it! I like it when she squirms under my gaze."
Catherine smiled: "Well, it seems that your wife has developed a specific sense of humor, Mr. Connor. Something I never expected from such a model."
"And you're excellent in praising and insulting someone in the same sentence." John answered sharply, sensing that Catherine Weaver still considered Cameron less developed than herself.
"I can't help, but that's the way I am." Catherine repeated Cameron's words from just few seconds ago.
Cameron rolled her eyes very convincingly before responding with ice cold voice: "I don't like it when someone steals my lines. I definitely don't like it!"
TBC