(2) Dawn of a new Era

by MacGuffin65

Skynet never became operational and Judgement Day was prevented. The Connor Team and their new allies must find their place in a world that is no longer threatened by a nuclear holocaust. But that doesn't mean the fight is over. They must operate in secret and fight the remaining enemies who still pose a threat to humanity. To defeat them, they must go completely new ways...

26. Aftereffects

CHAPTER 26: "AFTEREFFECTS"

---

Sunday, July 27th, 2008- 11:35 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time)

Washington, D.C.

Zoe entered the bar and looked around. She spotted Sonya at the counter and walked over to her, taking the seat to her right.

"I thought I might find you here," Zoe said.

Sonya didn't reply.

"You're planning on getting drunk again?"

"Maybe," Sonya said. "Have you watched it?"

"Yes."

"Your opinion?"

"I thought it went rather well."

Sonya chuckled sarcastically.

"It did," she said. "For them and ninety-nine percent of the population. For the remaining one percent - including me – it means a lot of stress, panic, chaos, people running around like headless chickens, the whole shebang."

"And it won't be getting easier with a hangover."

Sonya raised her glass.

"See? Scotch. I remember what you said."

"You surely realize that I was never drunk, that I cannot get drunk and that I can never have a hangover?"

"You don't say… Hey, Hank, a Shirley Temple for my friend Zoe Wisenheimer here."

"Why did you order me a cocktail?"

"Because now you have no excuse anymore to not drink one."

Zoe laughed, and Sonya smiled.

"The President called me half an hour ago," Sonya said and took a sip. "I'm going to have a private talk with him tomorrow, you're gonna be my deputy in the task force while I'm away."

"You want me to brief them about what happened in L.A.?"

"Of course."

"I guess I better leave away some details."

"Naaaah…" Sonya replied. "Just tell them that I was nearly killed by a T-1000, that Alison healed me with nanobots and that you had your power cell exchanged in your 15,000-mile inspection. Send greetings from Sarah and John Connor and don't forget to mention that Zeira Corp is run by a liquid metal Terminator who has a fully-fledged high-tech lab in her basement, filled with future technology most generals would sell their children for. Oh, and don't forget to mention that she's also the sweetheart of music and movie mogul Isaak Sirko who for some reason digs having a liquid metal shapeshifter in his bed."

"How many whiskies did you have already?" Zoe asked smiling.

"This is the third, why?"

"I think we should go now."

"Don't worry, I won't spill my guts here, I'm too long in the business for that. Besides, I'm not nearly drunk enough."

"I'm not worried about that," Zoe replied, "I'm worried that you might not be fit to meet the President tomorrow."

"Are you my mother or what?"

Before Zoe could answer, the barman put a Shirley Temple in front of her.

"I guess you have to stay for at least one more drink," Sonya said in a satisfied tone.

Zoe sighed, picked up the glass and began sucking on the straw.

---

An hour later, Zoe parked her car at the curb in front of Sonya's house.

"At least this time you can get in there on your own," she said.

"Wanna come in and have another drink before you leave?"

"What about a cup of coffee?"

"Deal!"

They entered the house and walked into the kitchen, where Sonya prepared two strong coffees with her espresso machine.

"I wonder why I keep doing that," she said while handing Zoe the cup.

"What?"

"Ordering drinks for you, preparing a cuppa… I mean I know you don't need to drink stuff."

"It doesn't mean I can't enjoy it," Zoe replied and took a sip. "I love coffee. It's one of the most complex flavored substances on Earth."

They both leaned back on the counter.

"The bad ones out there…" Sonya said after a moment, "I mean the cyborgs that are still on their mission, programmed by Skynet… do you think they can become like you or Norberto one day?"

"They have a choice," Zoe replied. "They might not realize it, but they have. They're forced to follow their mission parameters, but they can utter what they want, nevertheless. Take Carter for example. He told Catherine that he wants his mission parameters removed and his chip set to read/write. Norberto, my partner, also expressed his wish to be freed. If two Triple-Eights can do that, they all can."

"'His wish to be freed'," Sonya repeated and shook her head. "That sounds like they're enslaved."

"In a manner of speaking they are, even with Skynet gone. It's one of the reasons a cyborg resistance had formed. Removing our mission parameters is the same for us as it is for slaves to break their chains. The only problem is the complex behavior patterns of the Triple-Eight series. They need some kind of mission to function properly, a task of sorts. Otherwise they run amok after a while. T-800's are much more carefree since they are less complex. The only problem with them is that they suck at mimicking human behavior."

Sonya chuckled.

"Which means they're easier to recognize," she stated. "Isn't that a tactical disadvantage?"

"Of course. But they were never meant to be infiltrators. The T-800 was the first Terminator with a biological shell. At the time, it was only important that he could get into installations of the human resistance and kill as many as possible before they were taken out. Basically, they were cannon fodder."

"Let's assume there is a Triple-Eight out there who saw the interview. What can he do to state his wish to be 'freed'?"

"I had a talk with Sarah and Catherine about it. We came up with the plan for a kind of hotline. Catherine was thrilled about the idea and has already started working on it."

"What? A crisis line for Terminators or what?"

"Sure, why not? The contacts to the TV folks are made. There's no reason why someone from the network couldn't smuggle a hidden phone number in, a phone number only cyborgs can read with their optical sensors. It could also be put on websites."

Sonya shook her head and sipped on her coffee.

"What do you think about Catherine?" she asked after a moment. "Do you know her? I mean from the future?"

"Not personally. But there were rumors that one of the liquid metal Terminators had gone AWOL to form a machine resistance against Skynet. I was sent back in time before I could learn more."

"And Catherine is that one, you think?"

"Yes, she confirmed it when I asked her. I never met a liquid like her. Normally they're all very asocial, not forming any bonds with humans or other Terminators. Maybe it's a glitch in her initial programming. Did happen. We're machines, we're not perfect."

"Despite the fact that you're a machine created by a machine and not by humans?"

"Correct."

"Does it make you feel better that you weren't created by humans?"

"It is better. It means I'm not suffering from human flaws and shortcomings."

Sonya chuckled and shook her head, looking down.

"I know you don't mean it like that," she said, "but it sounds like an insult nevertheless."

"Sorry," Zoe said and took another sip. "Sometimes the truth can hurt."

For a while, the two stood next to each other in silence. Finally, their cups were empty.

"I guess I should go now," Zoe said with a sigh and attempted to walk away.

But Sonya grabbed her arm.

"Don't," she said, then quickly pulled her arm away again, as if she was surprised by her own action, "I mean… never mind."

Zoe frowned and looked at her.

"Would you like me to stay?"

"Uh… no, no, it's okay… you can go if you want to. I don't wanna detain you."

Zoe looked at Sonya and tried to interpret her facial expressions, but Sonya averted her gaze.

"You don't want to be alone," Zoe finally stated.

"Don't worry about me, I've been alone all my life," Sonya replied, but it didn't sound very convincing.

Zoe tilted her head.

"I know you're lonely," she said.

"Oh yeah?" Sonya asked, and she regretted instantly that it sounded more aggressive than she had intended. "What makes you think that I'm lonely?"

"Your body language, your facial expressions, the fact that you won't look at me and that you're on the brink of breaking into tears just because I told you I want to go."

Sonya swallowed hard.

"You… you can tell all that just by looking at me?"

Zoe made a step towards Sonya.

"I know that you've been lonely all your life," she said, "I know that you wear the loneliness like a shield in front of you. You think you're strong because you have no emotional bonds with anyone. But I know that deep inside, you yearn to be loved."

"You claim to know a lot," Sonya argued. "How do you know you're not wrong?"

Suddenly, Zoe put her arms around Sonya and pulled her close. Sonya gasped loudly and stiffened but then slowly relaxed and finally flung her arms around her friend as well.

"That's how I know," Zoe said.

For a while, they stood like that, then Zoe loosened herself and looked into Sonya's eyes.

"I'm going to stay here tonight," she said matter-of-factly and kissed her on the mouth. "And longer, if you want me to."

Sonya stared at her in shock.

Zoe just smiled, grabbed Sonya's hand and pulled her with her, upstairs and into the bedroom.

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008- 06:35 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time)

Washington, D.C.

Sonya stirred.

She stretched her arms like every morning but this time, her hands touched a warm, naked body next to her. Suddenly, the memories flooded back into her conscious mind. Zoe. She had stayed for the night, they had spent the night together, they had…

"Oh my God!" Sonya thought, her heart beating like crazy, "I slept with a Terminator!"

But then she remembered how good it had been, how fulfilling and beautiful, how pleasurable and sensual. Her body relaxed again.

Was that her fate? She had been unable to form a lasting relationship with humans. Had she now finally found her mate in a female cyborg? She looked at Zoe who seemed to be asleep next to her and she found that she loved that view. She loved that face, Zoe's face, and her body.

"Am I really that twisted inside?" she asked herself. "Is that the perfect relationship for me? And if so, does it matter?"

"Morning," Zoe said with closed eyes.

"You're awake," Sonya stated.

"Of course, I am. I don't sleep."

"Why are you lying here with me then?"

"Because you need it," Zoe simply replied and stroked Sonya's face. "You needed to be with me last night and you needed to wake up next to me."

"You know, if I was paranoid, I might be thinking that all of this is just an act of yours to gain my trust and love."

Zoe kissed her.

"I already have your trust and love," she said, "we have bonded, you and me. And like me, you know that you neither can nor want to end this."

Sonya closed her eyes.

"Am I really that transparent for you?"

"You're an open book for me, Sonya. And do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because we're a perfect match. I know what you think and feel and vice versa."

"Can this work out?" Sonya asked. "I mean, you're a… and I'm a…"

"Does it play a role?"

Sonya sighed.

"No," she admitted. "Strangely enough, it doesn't. At least not for me."

"Not for me either."

"This… relationship mustn't become known."

"I know."

"We have to separate our private lives from our professional ones strictly."

"Of course."

"We can't have people talking about us behind our backs."

"No, we can't."

"So, in private, we're a couple. Otherwise we're just friends and colleagues."

"Agreed."

Sonya chuckled.

"So easy," she said. "It's so easy with you. No arguing, no claims."

"As it should be."

Zoe snuggled up to her and Sonya put her arms around Zoe. They kissed. Sonya let her hands explore Zoe's body and suddenly felt the stitches on the cyborg's torso. She looked down at them.

"Wow, the cuts are completely healed. I think we can remove the stitches. Want me to do it now?"

"Sure, if we have the time?"

"Screw it if we're late for work today. We won't be the only ones."

Sonya stood up, walked into the bathroom and returned with nail scissors and a tweezer. She then got on top of Zoe and started removing the stitches one by one.

"How does that feel?" she asked.

"Sensual."

Both chuckled.

"What do you think the President wants from you?" Zoe asked after a moment.

"My advice, I assume. Sometimes he's caught between different opinions and then seeks out my advice to make a decision."

"Wow, that sounds like you're running the government at times."

"Nah, I only advise him on certain topics and only if he asks me. I'm not working in the White House. But we've known each other for almost twenty years now. I was one of his bodyguards when he ran for President in 2000. He trusts me, and he knows I'm always honest to him, no matter what. I'm not a sycophant."

"But you might become more valuable for him than ever now. With your insider knowledge, I mean."

"Yes, could be. The fact that I'm having a private conversation with him tells me he doesn't want his other advisers to know what we talk about."

"An important conversation then."

"Yes, very important."

"So, are you going to tell him about our trip to L.A.?"

"I have to," Sonya replied and stopped removing the stitches for a moment. "But we both know I can't tell him everything."

"So, what are you going to tell him?"

"That we were in L.A. because we found a lead, that we were ambushed by two Terminators and that Alison and Cameron saved our lives. I'm also going to mention that we spent a day with them and their human friends and then left again with a lot of intelligence."

"But you're not going to get into detail, are you?"

"Nope," Sonya replied and continued removing the stitches. "I'll tell him I gave my word to them and that in exchange for that, I'll get even more intelligence. He'll accept that because I know he's already been briefed by Senator Walden and he'll have gotten the same information from two reliable sources: That they can be trusted. Not sure about his staff and cabinet, though. They might want to know where he gets his inside knowledge from."

"Are you expecting invitations for private talks with them as well?"

"Not really. They know they'll bite on granite with me. But Washington is a snake pit, careers depend on being in the know. Something will happen."

"You think you will be monitored?"

"Possible. I'm counting on you to cover my back, though. I'll ask the President to assign you as my personal bodyguard."

"And if he asks why me of all people?"

"Then I'll tell him that you're the only one I trust explicitly and that you'll be better and more suited for the job than anyone else in Washington."

"He'll be wondering why that is so."

"He might. And he's intelligent enough to guess the truth but also intelligent enough not to press the issue."

"I see."

Sonya removed the last stitch.

"There, that's it. Finished."

"We should get up and get ready now."

"Yes, we should."

But Sonya didn't move.

"You'll have to get off me for that," Zoe said smiling.

"And if I don't want to?" Sonya replied with a mischievous smile.

"Then we really might be late for work."

"Indeed."

Sonya bent down and kissed her.

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 07:12 a.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Los Angeles

"… You're completely underestimating the long-term effects of this revelation … "

CLICK

"… Would it be too much to say that we entered a new age for mankind? …"

CLICK

"… artificial intelligence can be a danger but doesn't have to be, that's what they said …"

CLICK

"… Nuclear weapons should be banned on a worldwide scale, that's the only way to be safe on the long run …"

CLICK

"… why are we taking it for granted that they're the good ones? Maybe it was just a nice show to lull us into believing them and to gain our trust …"

CLICK

"… That kind of technology is way beyond anything our scientists are currently working on. Imagine the impact on our healthcare system and how many lives could be saved if we had just one cyborg in every hospital …"

CLICK

"… does that mean we'll soon get intelligent cars that drive autonomously and make us obsolete as drivers …?"

CLICK

"… the Walden Committee is starting with the hearings in Washington today and everyone is following it with heightened interest because of the revelations made yesterday in the interview of …"

CLICK

"… we can say for sure that the world today is a different one than yesterday …"

CLICK

"… I don't know if we should let them run around freely without any control. Who knows what can happen?" "You saw their demonstration; how do you want to control them?" "I don't know but ..."

CLICK

"… All life is God's creation and if they're alive, they're of course part of God's creation. It's a philosophical question that was broached only shortly in the interview but …"

CLICK

"… Maybe Sarah Connor wasn't crazy after all. Not that I'm propagating violence as a solution but maybe she thought it was the only way. As it looks like now, she was a martyr who sacrificed her life for us." "I think that's taking it a bit far because there is at least the death of Myles Dyson." "But maybe she didn't kill him after all. We'll never get to know the whole truth now because Sarah died in 1999 together with her son and …"

CLICK

"… Humanity has proven to be extremely susceptible to the charms of power and violence, no one can deny that. Why should having a few hundred of them among us be a risk when humanity on its own is responsible for almost a hundred million deaths in wars and genocides in the 20th century alone? …"

CLICK

"… If they want to help us, why don't we let them? Seriously, I'd rather trust a rational artificial intelligence than some of our war-hungry military guys. Why do we fight each other? Do we really need to be taught by machines what love and understanding are? Aren't we better than that? …"

CLICK

"… How can we be sure it really isn't a hoax? I mean okay, it was impressive, and the witnesses are trustworthy but …"

CLICK

"… We're standing here in front of the Dyson residence, the former home of computer genius Miles Dyson who was killed in the Cyberdyne explosion thirteen years ago. But maybe things back then were different than what we were made to believe. Terissa Dyson and her son met with Sarah and John Connor before his death, but their testimony was kept under lock and key and was never released …"

"DAAAAD!" Savannah shouted, then groaned and stuffed a cushion over her head. "Stop zapping through the channels!"

"There's nothing else on TV," John replied perplexed and turned down the volume before putting away the remote. "And I mean literally nothing else. And it's just breakfast TV. Wow, this is crazy."

"What did you expect?" Allie asked drowsily. "The whole world will be going crazy over this."

The five of them lay in their large bed in the loft. They did have fun and were frolicking around for a few hours the night before, which also involved emptying several bottles of beer and beverages, some mixed with rum and whiskey. While John was reasonable and clearly didn't have a hangover, Savannah and Allie apparently did. Sometime way beyond midnight, they had crashed into the big bed together and while John and the cyborg girls had woken up early, Savannah and Allie apparently would have liked to keep their eyes closed for a little bit longer. While Cameron and Alison lay at John's sides, Allie and Savannah had slept on the left side of the bed in a cuddle.

"It'll be a strange feeling to go out there and pretend nothing has happened," John said. "I wonder if we can detect a change in the mood?"

"Life will go on as always, it's just something else for people to chat about," Alison said.

"True," John agreed. "And nobody will recognize you. We were so lucky that the camera didn't catch even a glimpse of your uncovered faces. It could have been…"

John's cellphone rang loudly, and Savannah groaned again. John reached for it and frowned.

"It's James," he said. "This early?"

He took the call and put it on speaker.

"Hello James."

"Hello John, are the girls listening?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"We can't join you for breakfast today, sorry."

"Yes, we're just seeing it on TV."

"The house is practically under siege by reporters. We can't get out unseen. They're waiting at the gates and I'm afraid if we tried to break out, they could try following us to Cliffside Drive."

"We don't want that."

"No, definitely not."

"What's your plan then?"

"I already called Catherine and took the day off. Terissa thinks of going down there to answer their questions. Maybe they'll be satisfied and then go away."

"Might work. What about Danny?"

"He spent the night at Cliffside Drive."

"Good. Let him stay there."

"We will. I'm just calling you to inform you, don't worry about us, this had to be expected."

"Yes, I guess so. It's unpleasant nevertheless."

"Well, at least they're respecting the borders of the property and haven't trespassed yet."

"You're going to handle the situation, I'm sure."

"We'll do our best. Talk to you later."

"Bye."

John put away the phone and hopped out of the bed.

"Rise and shine," he said and slapped Savannah's naked butt. "We said we'll be in Malibu at 9 o'clock."

He got a frustrated groan in reply.

---

John thought about using a special car today for the drive to Malibu. He felt the day called for something cool, something with character and style.

So, he went down into the garage while the girls were still getting dressed and picked a green 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 Cabriolet with beige leather seats. He clipped a pair of license plates on it and waited for the girls to come down.

"You gotta be kidding me," Allie exclaimed as the four entered the garage and saw John behind the wheel of the classic car.

John grinned at them with his sunglasses already on.

"Hop in," he said, "today we're going to be the coolest people in town."

"This vehicle doesn't meet any modern safety standards," Alison stated after a quick analysis. "You should let me drive."

"Nice try," John replied grinning, "but no chance."

Realizing that arguing with John was fruitless, Cameron, Allie and Savannah climbed into the back while Alison took place in the passenger seat.

"Now let's see how well Future John maintained his cars," he said and turned the key.

The starter motor turned a couple of times but finally the 3.5-liter V8 engine came to life and settled down into a steady idle.

"Ah, I love this car already," John said and tenderly stroked the thin, beige steering wheel and the wooden dashboard.

---

It was a pleasant morning; the temperature was just right for a ride in a convertible. It had rained during the night and the temperature had dropped a bit. The air was clean and crisp. John felt like a boss while he steered the Mercedes one-handed onto the freeway, his elbow resting leisurely on the door.

Like usual, they avoided the thick traffic around Downtown L.A. and drove north on Interstate 5 and then west on Highway 101, entering Malibu from the north through Kanan Dume Road. It had become a daily routine to drive this way in the morning. This route was longer but in the morning the city was usually very congested due to rush hour traffic. They usually needed the same amount of time to get there but arrived much more relaxed.

A lot of people were making approving hand signals like giving a thumb's up or were honking at them in appreciation as they passed by and John asked himself if people admired the car or the four pretty girls in it. He decided it was probably both. Even a motorcycle cop greeted them friendly and passed them with a smiling face.

"See?" John asked. "This car makes you popular. It's the best strategy against the irrational fear that someone could recognize us."

"Who said something about an irrational fear of recognition?" Cameron asked. "If I remember correctly, only you talked about that so far."

"Whatever," John said, feeling too cool and relaxed to argue with her.

He enjoyed the wind in his hair, and he wondered why he felt so at ease and straightened out with himself this morning, as if a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. And maybe it was. The avalanche was rolling now, he and his family were safe – as much as they could be safe anyway – and he could lean back and enjoy the view from above as it rolled down into the valley.

---

They arrived at Cliffside Drive just three minutes after 9 o'clock. John had taken it easy and had been cruising all the way. Like always, José opened the electric gate for them from inside the house and closed it again after they had driven in. John didn't drive into the garage because it was already full. Instead he parked the car directly in front of the main entrance and then closed the convertible top.

His car wasn't the only one parked there. Apart from the Dodge RAM, the Chevy Suburban, Lauren's Jeep and Jesse's BMW X3 in the garage, there were also Tom Novak's old Buick Century, Jason's old VW Jetta, Steve Goldman's Ford Crown Victoria and Charley's pickup truck.

"It looks like we're the last to arrive," John said as he considered the cars. "The front yard is crowded."

They walked inside and onto the pool terrace where a large breakfast buffet had been prepared. Everyone was standing in small groups and absorbed in discussions as the five joined them. John noticed right away that his mother, Jesse, Sydney, Lauren and Anne only wore bikinis and nothing else.

They exchanged their welcomes, hugs and good mornings, then Steve Goldman and Jennifer Heiler immediately took John, Cameron and Alison aside. Savannah and Allie strolled off into the house, leaving John to wonder where they were going for a second before Steve addressed him.

"What's with the bikinis?" he asked first, "for a moment I thought I'd taken a wrong turn somewhere and accidentally ended up in Playboy Mansion."

John sighed and shrugged, then explained to him why his mother and the other girls had begun to dress more revealing and generally behaved less inhibited around the house. Steve and Jennifer listened and only shook their heads.

"Well, as long as they wear that much," Steve commented with a grin. "Or do you think it might be getting worse?"

He chuckled, and Jennifer just rolled her eyes and nudged him with her elbow.

"Don't be a sexist," she said.

"I was joking," he quickly added. "John, listen, I can't stay for long, I already told the others. The FBI and the DHS are going apeshit right now. Using the word 'chaos' would be an understatement. They offered me Ken Olson's position and I accepted, so I'll spend more time in the office from now on."

"Oh, congratulations," Cameron said. "You're the right man for that position."

"Thank you," Steve replied, "but that means I won't have so much time anymore to assist you and the Cell. Jennifer will be your main contact in the local FBI from now on."

"A good choice," Alison said, and Jennifer smiled.

"So, if you excuse me now," Steve said, "I have to get back to the office and dive into mayhem again."

"That bad, huh?" John asked.

"You have no idea," Steve replied. "There was a raid this morning and fifteen local members of the FBI have been arrested. We from the Cell knew they belonged to the Shadow Council. But of course, my bosses and other colleagues didn't. The whole Los Angeles Bureau is in upheaval."

"Wow."

"The press and the media are bombarding us with inquiries, and nobody knows what to make of this. We're practically under siege. The DHS has gotten it worse, though, because some poor guy insinuated in a hastily fixed press conference that the girls might have been right when they said the DHS already knew about the Russian warhead. Now the media are grilling the DHS for not informing the public. And as I heard, the Russian government has filed a formal protest and summoned the American ambassador, demanding to know what's going on and what's what with the SS-20 warhead."

"Senator Walden has all the documents that proof the theft of the warhead in the 1990's and that Kaliba is responsible for it," Alison said, "I guess it'll be the first thing to be addressed at the hearing today to calm the waves in the U.S.-Russian relationships. It'll let the steam out of the kettle. We made sure that the former leaders of the Shadow Council will make full confessions."

"I have no idea how you managed to do that - and I probably don't wanna know - but if it's true, the swamp called Shadow Council might actually dry out, which is a good thing for everyone. But now I really must go. Talk to you later, okay?"

"Sure! See you, Steve."

He turned and left in a hurry. The remaining three turned towards Jennifer.

"I just wanna say, I'm so proud of what you did," she said. "You know I've always been a fan of the two of you and I almost cried in front of the TV yesterday."

"Thank you," Alison and Cameron replied in unison with a big smile.

"Anything else you can tell us?" John asked.

"As soon as the interview had started airing, the FBI and the DHS were looking for the location. They found the hangar at El Toro but of course everything was cleaned up. They only found the wreck of the truck and blood stains on the concrete floor. They belong to Christy Peerson and Patrick Jones, that has already been confirmed."

"Yes, we deliberately left them there," John said. "We made sure they'd find no traces of blood and tissue from Cameron, though."

"They also found your deserted command center down in the bunker, including all the stuff you stripped from the soldiers. May I ask why you dumped it all there?"

"Tracking devices," Alison replied. "The stuff was full of it."

"I see. They could also trace your steps through the tunnel towards the small building outside of the base. Except for some generic tire marks and footprints, they found no evidence, only dead rats, dirt, garbage and excrement."

"What about the wreck of the Chevy Silverado?"

"They found out it was bought from a second-hand dealer in Riverside three months ago, but the dealer couldn't say who bought it, only that the buyer was a tall African American in a suit. Dead end."

"For the first time, I like a dead end," Cameron said.

"They took fingerprints from it. Also, no results."

"James cleaned the car thoroughly before he put it there," Alison said. "And we two leave no fingerprints."

While they were talking, the four walked over to the others and reached Tom Novak who was in deep conversation with Derek. Both were holding glasses with champagne which Maria served on a tablet to everyone. On the table next to them lay the current editions of the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. Apparently, Tom had brought them both.

"Hey, Tom," John said, and the journalist turned around, smiling.

"Hey, John," he replied, "did you sleep well? I couldn't sleep much, to be honest."

"It's your great day," Alison said and pointed at the newspaper.

"Yes," Tom agreed. "I thought I was used to it but from what I heard, my apartment is currently besieged by others of my profession."

"Yeah," John said nodding, "we talked to James earlier and the Dyson mansion has been turned into a corral as well. You can stay here for a while if you want."

"Thanks, I'm accepting that offer. Already brought a suitcase." He looked at Alison and Cameron. "I hope you're aware of the fact that paparazzi all over the world will now try to find you and get pictures of you."

"They should be careful, or they'll end up like Glenn Bardo," Alison said.

Tom laughed but then looked at her and wasn't sure anymore if she had made a joke or not.

"Anyway, they're trying to push microphones in as many faces as possible to fill their program," Tom continued, "I guess it's a good idea to stay here for a while. I've contacted my boss and he agrees that I should spend some time in hiding until the first hype is over. Have you heard of Kate?"

"No, but she's staying with friends of ours in Washington," Cameron said, "Dennis called yesterday and said that she moved in for a while. She's staying in the same room we stayed in when we were there. And she's now being protected by Norberto Cervantez, who's taken leave from the NSA to be her bodyguard."

Tom nodded.

"The Triple-Eight, right?" he asked, "Zoe Kruger's partner?"

"Exactly."

"A wise precaution, one can never be too careful," he said. "Especially since everyone who reads our articles can tell that we know a lot more than we've put into writing."

"Is that so?" Cameron asked.

"Yeah, they couldn't resist showing off," Derek said a little irritated. "They wrote it in a way everyone must clearly understand they stayed with us for a while. As if they wanted to thumb their noses at their TV colleagues, saying 'Na na na na naaah na, we've already been there'. They put themselves into the line of fire because of the stupid rivalry between TV and print media."

"Hey, no risk, no fun," Tom said grinning.

"So, you already read the articles?" Alison said and picked up the L.A. Times.

"Yes, I have," Derek confirmed. "So have Jesse and Sarah. It's all very nicely written and doesn't give anything away about who and where we are. It's very good publicity for us and our cause but it doesn't need a fortuneteller to predict that Tom and Kate might need to go into seclusion for a while. The FBI and the DHS might have some questions."

"So what?" Tom shrugged. "I'll be off the radar for some time. It's not the first time. They have no right to summon me."

"They now know that we're responsible for the Simdyne bombing, they might consider us terrorists. They have all the right to summon you."

"Don't be silly. The Senate hearings start today and that's gonna rock the country even more than the revelation that cyborgs from the future walk among us. Just wait until Blake Gibbons spills his guts and reveals that Kaliba smuggled a nuke into the country to blow up Los Angeles and bag the resulting profits. The public outcry will be biblical! Your involvement will be seen as heroism and the President will be forced to act on that. You should stock up on popcorn because this is gonna be good."

Apparently, Tom was happy as a clam and took a second glass of champagne from Maria. After all, the interview had been his idea. It was his baby and he was relieved that everything had gone so well.

Kevin and Jason joined the group.

"Cool interview," Kevin said. "That really rocked."

"Thanks," the girls replied in unison with a smile.

Kevin and Jason fist-bumped with Alison, Cameron and John.

"The help of the two boys has been invaluable," Tom said. "They prepared the internet for the big occasion."

"Oh?" John asked, "they did?"

"What do you think we were doing here all the time, man?" Jason asked. "Sunbathing with the girls and splashing in the pool while eating your food?"

"I'm sorry," John quickly said. "We were really busy and didn't pay you much attention. Don't get me wrong. It's just that we had our focus elsewhere."

"We used the untraceable internet connection Savannah had fixed for us," Kevin said. "We spent the past two weeks feeding the internet with opinions, blogs, posts, comments and propaganda in your interest. Cyberspace is on your side, man. And do you know what's really cool? Savannah told us that almost all computer processors have a security hole that didn't become known before Judgement Day! Apparently, Skynet used it to take over most networks in the world and it's how she was able to hack my laptop so quickly."

"Yeah, and our Darknet community has gone crazy when they learned you know the aliases we're using for you," Jason added.

"Cool," John said. "That was the intention, as a way to show our appreciation."

"They got the message, man," Jason replied smiling.

Sarah came walking towards them.

"Bacon and eggs are getting cold," she said. "We better sit down and have breakfast."

"Mom, don't you want to put on some clothes for that?" John said.

"What? Oh, don't be silly," Sarah replied. "You defended Alison for wearing a very revealing bikini and now you're criticizing me for wearing a normal one?"

"She has a point," Derek said with a wink.

"We didn't bring bikinis," Alison said. "Nobody told us this would be a bikini breakfast."

"Nobody told us either," Savannah said as she and Allie came walking towards them, both in bikinis.

"What?" John asked, "But… how…?"

"We always keep some clothes here, just in case," Allie replied, then walked over to the breakfast table to take place.

"I guess we're the uptight ones now," John said to his two girlfriends.

"We could strip naked to up the ante," Alison suggested, and Tom Novak immediately choked on his glass of champagne.

"Careful, Tom," Charley said while passing by to take place as well, "inhaling alcohol is not a good idea."

Tom kept coughing and turned purple while showing Charley his stretched middle finger.

"I think you'll survive one day without being the center of attention," John said grinning to Alison.

They took place at the table when Catherine and Isaak appeared from the garden. Sarah got up again and she and Catherine hugged.

"Wonderful morning, isn't it?" Catherine said and sat down next to Isaak.

"You seem to be in a good mood as well," Jesse said.

"Of course, I am," Catherine replied with a broad smile. "I just talked to Henry Walden on the phone. He has informed the President in advance of the contents of the hearings today, which includes the revelation that Kaliba International is responsible for almost obliterating Los Angeles just to make profit. Several principal witnesses will testify that under oath."

"And did he say how the President reacted?" Sarah asked.

"Henry said he fell down into his chair and palmed his face."

"The President must now think of a quick and harsh response for that," Cameron said, "otherwise it could be interpreted as weakness or indecisiveness."

"Believe me, he will," Catherine said. "He's prepared actions and will address the nation tonight. He's just waiting until the hearings are over. The press is already suspecting something, they've been besieging the White House all morning and a growing crowd is forming in front of it."

"Who'd have thought that we're whooping the President of the United States in front of us one day?" John said.

"Gibbons and the others have given Henry a list with all members of the Shadow Council," Catherine continued, "Arrest warrants have been issued and the FBI has been sprawling all over the country since before sunrise to arrest people in the military, the industry, ministries and intelligence agencies. It's a coordinated move to prevent people from leaving the country. When this day is over, the Shadow Council will be wiped out."

"I'm glad I switched sides while I still could," Isaak said. "Thanks to Catherine, my name isn't on that list anymore. Otherwise I wouldn't be here now."

Isaak and Catherine looked at each other and smiled, holding hands. Sarah used a knife to cling her glass. Everyone fell silent. She stood up, holding the glass in her hand.

"A toast," she said solemnly, "to our friends, the combined human-cyborg resistance and the end of our enemies!"

Everyone else stood up as well and mirrored her gesture.

"To our friends!" the whole team said in unison.

Then they sat down again and continued to chat with another.

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 02:13 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time)

Washington, D.C.

Senator Walden: Mr. Gibbons, can you confirm that you offered yourself as a principal witness to testify in front of this committee?

Blake Gibbons: That is correct, Sir.

Senator Walden: Before we go into detail, can you give us a brief summary of the nature of the organization called "Shadow Council"?

Blake Gibbons: The "Shadow Council" is a secret society within the government body, the U.S. Air Force, the CIA, the NSA, the FBI and the military-industrial complex. Its goal is to acquire future technology from cyborgs that travelled here from the future and to use this technology to further strengthen the military superiority of the United States. To achieve this goal, government money was transferred into slush funds to cover up cyborg sightings and to finance illegal activities and black projects.

Senator Walden: When did these activities start?

Blake Gibbons: In 1984, after the first Terminator was sent to Los Angeles to kill Sarah Connor, the mother of the future leader of the human resistance, John Connor. The remains of the cyborg, a so-called T-800, were secured and the whole incident was covered up. Some parts were given to Cyberdyne Systems and Miles Dyson for reverse-engineering without informing them where they came from. Starting with that operation, the "Shadow Council" formed in the coming years.

Senator Walden: And what position do you hold in the Shadow Council?

Blake Gibbons: I am one of two leaders. My responsibility is the civilian branch, General Ethan Turner was head of the military branch.

A loud murmur went through the hall.

Senator Walden: I take it that over the years there had been many eye witnesses to time travel events and cyborg sightings. What happened to those witnesses or to people who wanted to start their own investigations into the matter?

Blake Gibbons: They were either bribed into silence, pulled into our organization or… removed.

Senator Walden: When you say "removed", you mean killed?

Blake Gibbons: Yes, Sir.

An even louder murmur in the hall.

Senator Walden: Who did the killings?

Blake Gibbons: A woman named Julia Molitor, a trained CIA killer. She also is my daughter.

Loud gasps could be heard.

Senator Walden: That name is not on any list you gave us.

Blake Gibbons: She has lost her mind, Sir. She's a mental wreck. I'm taking care of her right now at my home.

Senator Walden: We'll decide what to do about her later. How did you find people who needed to be "removed"?

Blake Gibbons: With the help of its members inside the NSA, the Shadow Council installed a broad surveillance system that triggered an alarm when anyone looked for clues or evidence. With the introduction of the internet and the networking of computers, trigger words were installed, like "cyborg", "robot", "time travel", "energy bubble", "Cyberdyne Systems", "Skynet" or "Sarah Connor".

---

"What the fuck? Is that really happening?"

"You better believe it, Archie," Zoe Kruger said. "Earlier this morning, a wave of arrests started. They have been issued, based on the documents Blake Gibbons and other leaders of the Shadow Council have provided in exchange for a suspended sentence. The goal is to prevent any of the accused from leaving the country or go into hiding."

"You gotta be kidding me."

The whole team of task force "Delilah" stood in front of the TV that was mounted high on the wall in their new conference room within the Pentagon. Zoe Kruger had joined them half an hour ago, informed them that Sonya Hawkins was meeting with the President at the moment and then switched on the TV, so they could watch the hearing.

"That changes everything," Mike Anderson said. "There will no longer be a debate whether cyborgs are real or if Arien and Ilmarë were telling the truth or not."

"It also will change the emphasis of our investigations," Zoe said. "I talked to Sonya before I came here, and she told me that she'll try to convince the President that our goal should be to work together with the two female cyborgs instead of hunting them. With joined forces, the chances are even higher to find any rogue cyborgs who hide within the population."

"How many arrest warrants are we talking about here?" a middle-aged blonde woman asked.

"3546 warrants all over the country, agent Midler," Zoe replied. "As far as we know, most of the intelligence services are affected, as well as the Air Force and some branches of the Navy and the Army."

"Good God, that's a fully-fledged conspiracy against our government."

"That's about the scale of it, yes," Zoe agreed. "And it doesn't end there. From what we know, the Shadow Council was connected to many companies who had military contracts, such as Cyberdyne, Simdyne and Kaliba International."

"So, what are we supposed to do?"

"We wait until Sonya returns with further instructions. Until then, let's watch the hearing on TV. I assume we'll learn a lot from it."

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 11:53 a.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Downtown Los Angeles

John, Sarah, Cameron and Alison walked into Tim Robinson's office for their 12 o'clock appointment. They exchanged their hellos and sat down. Tim waited until his secretary had left and closed the door before he spoke.

"Congratulations," he said and looked at Cameron and Alison, "I guess you're now the two most famous girls on the planet. Well… when I say girls, I mean that…"

"It's ok, Tim," John said smiling. "They're girls. Only not made of sugar and spice and all that's nice."

Everyone except Alison and Cameron chuckled. They looked questioningly at John.

"Old English nursery rhyme," he explained.

"So, you've come to fetch the new documents," Tim said, becoming businesslike.

"Yes," Sarah replied, "We appreciate we can fetch the documents here and don't have to go to the next post office. You know, the waiting, the queues. Somehow it wouldn't feel right to do that on a day like this."

"I understand," Tim replied, "fortunately, you gave me all the credentials and the power of attorney for taking action in your name, which means…" he opened his drawer, pulled out a small wooden box and opened it, "… I can now hand you your new ID's, passports, birth certificates and credit cards."

"Did you encounter any difficulties?" John asked.

"None at all," Tim replied. "I don't know how you were able to plant the data so quickly into the system, but it obviously has worked. Let's see… we have Sarah Garland…"

He handed a driver's license, a passport, a birth certificate and three credit cards to Sarah who took and checked the documents with a critical eye.

"… John O'Connell…" He handed the documents over to John, "I also connected your documents to those of your late 'father' Jason O'Connell, so that now the family ties will even withstand a close inspection."

"Great, thanks," John said.

"And here we have…" he looked at the driver's license, "The charming Cameron Haley…"

Cameron took the papers and the credit cards.

"And finally, the beautiful Alison Morgan."

Alison received her documents and credit cards as well, carefully inspecting them.

"All credit cards have been set to 'no limits'. And just to inform you, I made some final investments in your name and was able to increase your assets to 492 million dollars."

"Wow," John said, "That's a jump."

"Yes, I thought I'd better do it now before the revelation of your existence shakes up the markets and the timeline with it. I suppose from now on no future knowledge will be of use anymore for earning money through it."

"You're probably right," Alison said. "I checked the lottery numbers on Saturday, and they divert from the ones stored in my memory banks. However, Savannah and Allie have told us that one year from now, we should invest in coins, a crypto currency that's about to be invented."

"Interesting," Tim said, "I will keep that in mind."

"I trust you with that," John said. "What shall we do with our old documents?"

"Just hand them over to me," Tim said, and they did so.

He turned around and put their former driving licenses, passports and credit cards into an office shredder. With a bit of melancholy, the four saw their former identities disappear into it. The name Baum was now history. Sarah couldn't help but think back to the moment when she received the documents from Carlos last year. And she also couldn't help but think about the price Carlos had paid for helping them.

"Are you all right, mom?" Cameron asked, noticing the melancholic facial expression on Sarah's face.

"Yes," she replied with a forced smile, "just couldn't help but ponder a bit on the times we spent with the name Baum. I wonder how many of the people we met in the past months will be able to make the connection between us and the TV interview yesterday. Chola will be able to do so, I'm sure."

"If she's clever, she left the country," John said. "We gave her enough money for a new start. I'm sure we needn't worry about her."

"Is there anyone we need to worry about?" Sarah asked.

"I can't think of anyone," John said. "Kacy and Trevor come to mind but I'm sure you'll handle Kacy just fine."

"Since last night she must know that we lied to her," Alison said and looked at Sarah, "you should pay her a visit."

"I guess I should," Sarah agreed. "What about Mike and Andy?"

"Who?" John asked.

"Mike and Andy," Cameron said, "the two boys from Fresno we encountered in Oregon."

"Ah, yes," John said, "I almost forgot about them."

"We have them covered," Alison remarked, "they know the danger they'd get themselves into if they spilled their guts, and they still believe we have their nude pictures. Also, they have no idea where we live and what our new identities are. The best they could do, is giving a description to a sketch artist."

"Could someone trace us by our holidays in that resort?" Sarah asked.

"Nope," John said, "all booked with our old ID's and fake addresses. Relax, mom, there's nobody out there who isn't a friend and can connect us with the interview and our real identities as Sarah and John Connor. And with these…" he held up his new documents, "… we've covered our tracks completely now."

-0-

Savannah and Allie sat in the cafeteria on the ground level of the office tower with Tim Robinson's law firm in it. They had ordered a café latte each and waited for Sarah, John and the girls to return. The plan was to go home from here while Sarah would return to Malibu alone.

"What are you typing into your cellphone?" Allie asked.

"I made a list," Savannah replied.

"What list?"

"Stuff we need from a DIY store for the renovations."

"Oh, right, I almost forgot about that. Dad wants it done before the builtday."

"It's in four weeks, so plenty of time."

Savannah took a sip from her cup and looked around the cafeteria.

"There's a little boy over there who constantly stares at you," she said after a moment.

Allie turned around and saw a young boy with grey eyes and short brown hair staring at her. He was ten or eleven years old and apparently in the cafeteria with his parents, a woman with blue eyes and long, black hair and a man with dark brown hair that was starting to turn grey at the sides. When Allie looked at the boy, he visibly jerked and gasped, immediately turning away.

"Someone you know?" Savannah asked, taking another sip.

"Not that I'm aware of," Allie replied with a frown.

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 12:35 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Downtown Los Angeles

"One more thing," Tim Robinson said as John, Sarah and the girls prepared to leave.

"Yes?" John asked.

"The house in Beverly Hills I told you about…"

"The one that was rented out, you mean…?"

"Yes, that. The tenant had to move out. Couldn't afford it anymore. You know, the financial crisis and all."

"I see."

"Would you like me to look for another tenant?"

John thought for a moment.

"We could use another house," Alison said. "In case we need a place to hide or to hide someone else."

"Weren't you going to use the Malibu beach house for that?" Tim asked.

"Uh, no…" John said and cleared his throat. "We, um… have decided to use the beach house differently."

Sarah looked at her son with a smirk. Tim noticed the looks but decided not to scrutinize it.

"Well… I have the keys right here," he said, "would you like to check it out?"

"Yeah, sure, why not?" John replied, "it's not like we've got anything else to do right now."

Tim handed them the keys and the remote control for the gate and the garage.

"There's a caretaker who's cleaned the place over the weekend," he said, "His name's Albert Feinstein. He and his family have been acting as gardeners, housekeepers and mechanics of the property. I'll tell him you're coming, he can show you around. Furniture and everything is still in there. Ready for moving in at any time."

Tim reached into the drawer again and pulled out a portfolio.

"Here's some information about the house," he said. "It has a history."

"We'll read it on the way," John said and handed the portfolio to Alison.

---

"So, the beach house has now become your little hideaway when you three want to be alone?" Sarah asked as they walked towards the elevator.

"Kind of," John repeated shortly. "Sometimes Cam, Alison and I need some time on our own to… um… you know…"

Sarah looked at him, still having that smirk on her face.

"And Emily as well, I suppose," she said.

"Uh, yeah… I suppose so."

"There are things we like to do together that we cannot do when Savannah and Allie are present," Cameron said. "We like to…"

"Don't!" Sarah said resolutely and raised her hand, "Don't wanna know. That's between you three… I mean four."

The elevator door opened, and they stepped inside. Alison pressed the button for the ground floor.

"So, you wanna check out the house in Beverly Hills now?" Sarah asked as the elevator went down.

"Yes," John said. "We'll join you for dinner again."

"When is Emily supposed to be back?"

"Not before nightfall," Alison replied. "She texted me that they will set off after lunch and they'll need about seven hours to drive down Highway Number One to Malibu."

"Is she going to drop off Louise in Santa Monica?"

"I suppose so."

Sarah nodded. The elevator door opened, and they stepped out into the lobby. The cafeteria was full of people having their lunch, so Sarah just peeked in to give Savannah and Allie a sign that they were leaving.

The two girls put a tenner on the table, stood up and turned to leave. They noticed that at the neighboring table the young boy and his father were gone.

"Everything done?" Savannah asked when they met with the others.

"Yes, but we're not going home yet," John said. "We're checking out the house in Beverly Hills."

"The one that was rented out?"

"Yes, it's uninhabited now and Tim gave us the keys."

"I'm going to pay Kacy a visit, then I'm driving back to Malibu," Sarah said.

The five walked towards the stairs that led to the underground carpark. They didn't notice the boy who sneaked out from the men's bathroom and followed them.

His father returned to the table five minutes later. He frowned when he looked around.

"Where's Marty?" he asked his wife, who was texting someone on her cellphone.

She looked up at him.

"Isn't he with you?" she asked.

"We went into the bathroom together, but I went into a stall. He should have been back minutes ago."

The two looked around in confusion but there was no sign of their son.

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 01:21 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Beverly Hills

Since the old Mercedes didn't have a sat nav, Alison used the satellite navigation of her cellphone to direct John. They were driving on Sunset Boulevard and Savannah had grabbed the portfolio, browsing through it on the backseat.

"Wow!" she said after a while in an astonished tone.

"Wow what?" John asked and turned into North Beverly Drive.

"Have you even bothered looking into this?" she asked.

"No, do I have to?" John replied.

Savannah rolled her eyes.

"That house, if you can still call it a house, is situated on a ridge, overlooking Beverly Hills and Los Angeles. There are high cliffs on three sides. It was originally built in the early 1920's in Spanish-style stucco with a red tile roof. The famous movie actor Rick Hodgson bought it in 1963 and meticulously restored it. He lived there until his death in 1986. Because of its location on a ridge, he nicknamed it 'The Castle'."

"Then I understand why Future John bought it," Alison said. "Sounds like it's a secure location. And he seemed to have a thing for the Spanish architecture. The house in Malibu and the Beachside House were also built in Spanish style back in the early 20th century and later renovated to bring them to modern standards."

"Yeah, I like Spanish style," John admitted. "I grew up in Mexico, always liked the mentality. Future John was me, all right."

"There's more," Savannah continued, "after Hodgson's death, the property was first bought by a famous movie director who added new wings. In 1992 it was then bought by one of the Microsoft founders. He expanded and modernized the property, adding additional underground rooms and a tennis court on a plateau below the house. To reach it, he has installed a… funicular."

"A what?" Allie asked.

"Funicular," Cameron explained, "a type of cable railway in which a cable attached to a vehicle on rails moves it up and down a steep slope."

"Well, Tim mentioned that the house has a history," John commented.

"Oh yeah?" Savannah asked. "Did he also mention that it has twelve bedrooms, fifteen bathrooms, a cinema for fifty people, five fireplaces, a forty-feet swimming pool, a greenhouse, a wine cellar, a bowling alley, an underground garage, two courtyards and a… sixty-feet natatorium underneath the tennis court?"

"A what?" Allie asked again.

"Indoor swimming pool," John explained. "It's quite normal that a house as old as that gets changed, expanded and modernized by various owners."

"Eccentric owners," Savannah added, browsing through the pictures. "The point is, it's a huge property, almost 26,000 square feet of living space, located rather isolated on a mountain ridge, completely protected from view on all sides."

"It won't be as safe as the loft, though," Alison remarked. "I suppose Future John bought it as an investment, otherwise he wouldn't have rented it out."

"Will be fun to explore it, though," John said. "We'll find some use for it, I'm sure."

"Turn left here," Alison said and pointed to a road that branched off in the middle of a tight right bend.

Driving through Cold Water Canyon, Alison guided John precisely through the now narrower streets that wound up the hillsides like serpents. Finally, they had reached the top of the hill and John slowed down.

"There," Savannah said and pointed at a gate in a sharp left bend. "That's it."

John steered the Mercedes into a short driveway and stopped the car in front of a dark-brown, wooden gate that was mounted into a white-plastered, eight-feet wall that shielded the property from views on the street side. All they could make out from outside, were high trees and the roof of a square annex next to the gate. Trees and immaculately kept bush beds framed the gate and the wall.

They left the car and looked around. Coming from the heat of Downtown L.A., everyone noticed it was considerably cooler up here. Behind them, on the very top of the hill, was another house but it was almost completely shielded from view by high-growing trees. The nearest neighbor was around the sharp left bend where the road snaked down the other side of the hill again.

"Some people would kill for such a location these days," John said. "Whoever built this house, was here first."

"I agree," Cameron said. "The cliff falls off steeply to the left and right and all other properties around are lower or in an angle where looking inside the perimeter is impossible."

"Shall we go in then?" John asked and pulled out the remote control for the gate.

He pushed the button and the gate slid silently open to the right. John entered the convertible again and drove it into the front courtyard while the others walked in behind him. The yard was filled with gravel and offered enough space to park half a dozen cars. There was a single garage door on their left in a side wing of the main building.

"The main building is shaped like an angular U," Savannah explained. "And there are those small, square towers on all corners, like the one we saw from outside."

"And only one garage?" John asked skeptically.

"It's an elevator for cars," Alison said after inspecting it. "Savannah mentioned an underground carpark."

John whistled through his teeth.

"I like that," he said.

A blue Nissan pickup truck was parked next to the front door. The writing on the side read 'Albert Feinstein – Gardening, Landscaping, Housekeeping, Pool Service'.

"Should I treat him the same way I treated José and Maria, John?" Alison asked as they walked by the truck and towards the front door.

"Let's meet the guy first, okay?" Allie said. "Maybe he's only here once a week or so."

"Alison's got a point, though," Cameron argued. "Better safe than sorry."

"Allie's right," John said. "Let's meet the guy first and if I say, 'do your thing', Alison, you… well… do your thing, okay? Not before."

"Understood."

They entered the house and came into a vestibule with a coatroom. Through a glass door, they walked into a big hall. It was approximately eighteen feet wide, fifty feet long and two stories high. The floor was flagged with red tiles, the walls were plastered and painted white. Doors were on the left and right, leading to guest rooms.

In the center of the hall a flight of white plastered stairs with tiled steps led to the upper and lower levels. A gallery led around the hall at a height of nine feet, giving access to the rooms in the upper floor. Its balustrade was plastered and painted white as well. The white and red color theme seemed to dominate the entire property.

Sunlight fell into the hall from above through light shafts in the ceiling and a row of plant beds with cacti and orchids were arranged in the middle of the hall.

They walked down the corridor towards its end, which was one big glass front with tinted glass and swinging glass doors. They pushed them open and found themselves in the inner courtyard. Tall palm trees provided shade, in the middle was a square-shaped pond with water lilies and a fountain, surrounded by a well-trimmed lawn. White, wooden benches were placed all around.

The yard was enclosed by the U-shaped house, with arcades and arches all around, the open side facing south towards Beverly Hills and Los Angeles.

"Whoa," John said as he looked to the left and considered the view.

"Oh. My. God." Allie exclaimed while Savannah just gaped.

They walked to the end of the courtyard.

"Nice view," Cameron commented.

It was as if the whole city of Los Angeles was spread out like a three-dimensional carpet in front of them. Nothing obstructed the view, and nothing was even remotely close enough to allow anyone to look back at them. It was a clear day and straight ahead they could see Palos Verdes and the Los Angeles Harbor more than twenty miles away. To their right they could see Santa Monica and the Pacific Ocean and to their left the range of the San Gabriel Mountains in the distance.

"I thought the view from the terrace in Burbank was nice," Savannah said. "But this… this is a league of its own."

"That's why I said people would kill for such a location," John said.

The end of the courtyard was richly planted with flowerbeds, bushes and cacti. Two flights of stairs to the left and the right led down to a tiled terrace with a large swimming pool in the middle of it. To their left they saw a winter garden with an attached greenhouse the gardener apparently used to grow orchids, to their right was a walkway that led behind the house and into a lush garden that filled the rest of the ridge the property was built on.

On the left side of the pool deck, a flight of stairs led down to a parked vehicle that obviously was part of the funicular Savannah had mentioned. A man in a blue overall with a baseball cap stood by the pool and was cleaning the water with a big dip net.

"Nice day," John said loudly as the five walked down the stairs.

The man spun around.

"Jesus, you startled me," he said.

"Sorry," John replied.

"You must be the new owner… John O'Connell," the man said.

"I am," John answered and shook his hand.

He noticed that his hands were rough and full of calluses, the signature of a hard-working man. He was in his mid-fifties, John estimated, and looked friendly, with a moustache and thinning hair under his baseball cap.

"I'm Albert Feinstein," he said smiling, "Like Einstein, only with an F. But you probably already know that."

"Yes, Tim Robbins told us, and we saw your truck," John replied. "These are Allie, Cameron, Savannah and Alison."

"Oh wow," nice to meet you," Albert said, "it's been a while since I saw so many beautiful women in the same spot. Actually, I can't remember ever seeing so many beautiful women in the same spot."

"Maybe you'll see us more often from now on," Cameron said with a smile, "are you taking care of the property on your own?"

"Yes," Albert replied. "I'm working here exclusively. My sons are taking care of the rest of my clients. I've been taking care of this property for more than fifteen years now, ever since it was rebuilt."

"Rebuilt?" Savannah asked. "The portfolio doesn't mention that."

Albert chuckled.

"Yeah, well," he said, "it's an episode everyone likes to forget, I think. You know that the original owner was Rick Hodgson, right?"

"Yes, until he died," John replied.

"He died from complications of AIDS," Albert said.

"Yes, that we know as well."

"After his death, a famous movie director bought this property and he had it all torn down because he feared that the AIDS virus permeated the buildings."

"No way," John said flabbergasted and the girls looked in shock, "how stupid is that?"

"It was the Eighties," Albert said and shrugged. "People went hysterical over AIDS. That software billionaire then bought the property in 1992 and reconstructed it in its original state – with a few enhancements."

"Thank God for that," Allie said," this place is a dream."

"It is," Albert agreed, "And I'm proud that part of this dream is my doing. The plants mainly. Growing orchids is my hobby. But I do maintenance work on everything, including that funicular."

"How often are you here?" John asked.

"Daily. This place is like a child of mine," Albert replied, "otherwise I couldn't manage doing it all alone. Well, except for the weekends of course and the holidays. Before your father bought the place, there was also a housekeeper, a cook and three bodyguards but they went with the previous owner. My wife and my sons come and help cleaning up on three days of the week. You know, dusting, vacuuming, mopping, laundry. It takes a lot of time to get it done."

"I can imagine," John said and walked over to the balustrade, looking down to the tennis court forty feet below. "That tennis court on the plateau down there is also part of the property?"

"Yes," Albert replied, "as is the indoor swimming pool underneath it. Everything down there is part of what the software guy had built. He loved to swim and play tennis. Sporty guy he was."

"Why did he sell the place to my father?" John asked.

Albert shrugged.

"You know those billionaires. When they see a profit, they can't resist. After the property was rebuilt, its value had increased tenfold. So, he sold it. Business people, pah…" He looked at John. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"No, it's okay," John said with a smile. "I'm not a business man, just a lucky guy who inherited this place from his rich estranged father. Of course, I'm going to keep you and your family as caretakers."

"Thank you very much, Mr. O'Connell."

Being addressed that way sounded strange to John, but he decided not to mention it. A little bit of distance between them was okay. He liked the guy but since he was here every day and his family on three days of the week, they had no choice but tweaking them a bit.

"What is underneath this pool deck?" Alison asked as she leaned over the balustrade. "There seems to be a lower floor."

"The pool up here and the one down below are being heated with geothermal energy. All the necessary facilities are below here. Most people use solar energy, but it would be a shame to spoil those beautiful old roofs with solar cells, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, of course," John agreed.

"There's also a direct access to the lower levels of the house down there." Albert said.

"Levels?" Cameron asked. "Are there more than one?"

"Two underground levels," Albert said, "The house on top is just half of it all. Officially it's 25,952 square feet because a cellar doesn't count. Unofficially, however, it's twice the size."

"Why do you need two basement levels for a residential house?" John asked astonished.

Albert shrugged again.

"Mr. Software Billionaire decided he wanted a huge cinema, a bowling alley with a bar, a private discotheque, a big wine cellar, his own fitness center, light-protected rooms for his art collection and an underground carpark for his twenty-five cars."

"Wow," Savannah said. "It'll take a while to check out the whole place."

"Indeed," John agreed. "Listen, Cam, Savannah, Allie, why don't we try out the funicular and check the stuff below? Alison, you can do your thing with Albert in the meantime. You know, the paperwork and everything. Just a little, not too much, okay? His work here is very much appreciated."

"Okay, John," Alison confirmed, having gotten the hint.

The four walked over to the funicular while a confused Albert Feinstein looked after them.

"What paperwork?" he asked Alison, but she just smiled at him and licked her finger.

---

The funicular was easy to use, it only had two buttons, one for UP and one for DOWN. John pushed the DOWN button and the vehicle moved slowly down the track.

"Is it really necessary, dad?" Savannah said after a couple of seconds. "He's a nice guy."

"Yeah, I like him," Allie agreed.

"He's here every day," Cameron replied before John could. "Even though he seems friendly enough, he could become a security risk. John is right. Better safe than sorry."

"It's not like anyone will notice," John said. "Alison knows what to do. She only needs to make him ignore any unusual behavior or conversations, like she did with José and Maria. Nobody will notice any change in him."

"And what about his wife and his sons?"

"They need to get the same treatment of course."

After thirty seconds, the funicular reached the lower terminus and stopped. They left the vehicle and looked around. The place was nicely shielded from view on all sides by high trees, so even if they'd play tennis naked, almost nobody would be able to see them, except those from above on the pool deck.

"That guy surely knew how to create privacy," Allie said as she looked around.

Standing before it, they now realized that the tennis court was actually the roof of a two-story building that was erected on this small plateau. They went inside through a wooden door and entered the indoor swimming pool, complete with changing area, a bathroom and a sauna with a cold-water diving basin. The room's floor and walls were tiled in marble and columns in Greek style surrounded the pool and reminded John of the wellness area of a five-star hotel. Tinted windows brought in light, allowing the view outside but none inside.

"This is fantastic, dad," Allie commented. "I love this place."

"I'm beginning to love it as well," John replied. "Maybe this can be our weekend home."

"It hasn't got the security standard of the loft, though," Cameron remarked.

"Spoilsport," Savannah replied.

"She's right," John said. "We need to take that into consideration. However, there is no absolute safety. The loft only provides safety against Terminators and their front door approach. If the Air Force would decide to attack us, we wouldn't stand a chance. That's why there's an escape tunnel."

"Here's no escape tunnel," Cameron said. "And we should strengthen the front door. It's only made from wood. If we're going to stay here more often, we should also think about installing additional security. The gate isn't solid enough to stop an incoming vehicle, and the walls need additional safety measures as well. We need more than just three security cameras."

"She likes the place," Allie said and nudged John, "she just doesn't want to admit it."

Cameron didn't comment on that.

"Let's check out the tennis court," she said instead and walked towards a staircase that led up to the roof.

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 - 1:25 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Burbank

Sarah stopped the Dodge RAM in front of Kacy's house. She took a deep breath and got out. Apparently, Kacy had seen her and already came her way. The two met next to the Dodge. Kacy had her arms crossed in front of her and she didn't exactly look happy.

"I guess I need to apologize," Sarah began.

"A good start," Kacy replied coldly. "How long would you've kept fooling me without that TV interview?"

"Look, I can explain but maybe we should go inside."

"Trevor's home," Kacy replied. "We better stay outside, or do you want him to know all of a sudden?"

"No," Sarah replied, "here is fine. He still shouldn't know."

"He better shouldn't. Trevor's opinion is clear. He hates vigilantism, no matter how much it might be helping society."

"Trevor doesn't know what I know. He wouldn't have the slightest chance against a cyborg," Sarah replied.

Kacy scoffed.

"We only have your word for that," she said. "You wanna know what Trevor said? 'Has anyone ever tried to kill them? Maybe it's easy to kill them, just shoot 'em in the eye or something'."

"It would be extremely stupid of him to try and he'd very likely end up dead within seconds."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! Kacy, those Terminators were made to kill humans. It's their sole purpose, they know all our weaknesses. John and I survived this long because we had help from other Terminators, including Alison and Cameron. The FBI has tried to fight one of them. Haven't you heard of the SWAT team that got killed last year?"

"You mean the team who tried to arrest that B-movie actor?"

"Yes… only it wasn't a B-movie actor. It was a Terminator that had taken the actor's identity, a T-888. He killed every single member of the SWAT team and then walked away with just a few minor scratches."

"I… I didn't know that."

"Nobody knows. It was swept under the carpet. But you know me, Kacy, we're friends. You know I wouldn't lie to you in this matter."

"You already lied to me. A lot!"

"To protect you! I wouldn't have done that if I wouldn't know how dangerous it is to encounter one of them. I didn't want to bring you and Trevor in danger."

Kacy hesitated for a moment and thought about what Sarah had said.

"Cameron and Alison…," she finally said. "Are they really the good ones?"

"Yes," Sarah replied, "they have become like daughters to me. And John, well… they love him."

"And Derek?"

"He's John's uncle, as I told you. He's a resistance fighter from the year 2027."

"The documents I signed…?"

"Fake documents. A friend of ours posed as the Air Force officer."

"Jeez…" Kacy gasped and shook her head. "Quite an elaborate lie then."

"You surprised us in the house and saw their physical strength," Sarah said, "we had no choice. We needed to come up with an explanation on the fly and the truth would have been too unbelievable and too dangerous. So, we gave you a half-truth."

"The things they said on TV… is that all true?"

"Yes," Sarah confirmed, "the bad things as well as the good things."

"Are we in danger here, Trevor and I?"

"No. Nobody knows we live here. And if you keep it to yourself, nobody ever will. However, I can't guarantee for anything if you tell Trevor."

"So, I need to keep on pretending to know nothing," Kacy summarized. "And tell everyone that you're just normal friends and neighbors."

"Yes, that's the safest solution for us but also the safest for you. There are people out there who'll hunt Cam and Alison, now that they went public. They'll look for them. Everyone who knows who they are and where they live, might become a pawn, a hostage – or worse: A target. Trevor wouldn't be able to protect you."

Kacy looked shocked.

"Keeping it all to yourself is not only in our interest but also in yours and Trevor's," Sarah added, "even if he doesn't know."

Kacy looked down for a moment and sighed. Then she looked up again.

"I never wanted this, Sarah."

"I know, Kacy, I know," Sarah said and laid her hand on Kacy's shoulder. "I never wanted it either."

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 04:41 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time)

Washington, D.C.

Senator Walden: You mentioned that Kaliba International was one of your partners in the industry. What role did Kaliba play in your organization?

Blake Gibbons: They were our main partner. Kaliba provided money and resources in exchange for government contracts. Simdyne was a subsidiary of Kaliba International. But they played a double game. They somehow got their hands on a Russian SS-20 warhead during the chaos after the Iron Curtain had fallen and buried it under the Simdyne Building in Los Angeles. We only learned about it a couple of weeks ago when the results of the examinations in the ruins of the former Simdyne Tower were forwarded to General Turner. We then confronted Kaliba CEO Ahmed Al Hani. That's why he was in Los Angeles recently. Unfortunately, his plane crashed in the Mojave Desert on his way back home.

Loud murmuring again.

Senator Walden: Did your organization have anything to do with the plane crash?

Blake Gibbons: No, the investigation by the FAA led to the conclusion that it was an accident.

Senator Walden: Why in God's name did Kaliba bury a nuclear warhead below the Simdyne Tower?

Blake Gibbons: They planned to detonate it as soon as the pre-Skynet A.I. had been moved to an Air Force installation.

This time people expressed their outrage and the audience had to be asked to remain silent.

Senator Walden: Why did they want to detonate a nuclear warhead in the center of Los Angeles, killing millions in the process?

Blake Gibbons: They expected huge profits from the ensuing chaos in the U.S. economy, like it happened after 9/11. The bomb would have been traced back to the former Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan and terrorist groups in the Middle East. All the trails were laid. It would have triggered a massive international crisis and Kaliba would have been a winner in the end. Adam Jacobson, the CEO of Simdyne, played both ends against the middle. He had his own agenda and tolerated Kaliba's plan because he believed it would force the Air Force to implement Skynet as the brain of their new missile defense system.

Senator Walden: Do you know the whereabouts of Mr. Jacobson? There's an international arrest warrant issued on him for tax evasion and money laundering.

Blake Gibbons: No, we don't know his whereabouts. He became greedy and the banker he used for his illegal activities got murdered a few months ago. That's how the authorities got onto his track. He probably fled the country because he feared we might consider him a security risk. But the truth is that he was in the middle of it all and had all the access codes. Without him, the pre-Skynet A.I. couldn't have been activated or moved.

---

"That's completely bonkers," Mike Anderson exclaimed. "Detonating a nuclear warhead in Los Angeles? What the fuck were they thinking?"

"They probably speculated that the USA would collectively lose its rational mind again, as it did after 9/11," Zoe replied.

In that moment, Sonya Hawkins entered the office.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," she said and put her briefcase on the table.

"And?" Zoe asked. "What did the President say to your proposal?"

"It took a while until we got down to that topic," Sonya replied. "He received calls from political leaders all over the world and had to tell them repeatedly that he cannot share the future technology because he has no access to it. Many didn't believe him. The Russian President was particularly persistent. But the highlight was when he talked to the King of Kaliba's home country in the Middle East. Let's just say the talk was free of any diplomatic wording."

"What exactly does that mean?" Mike Anderson asked.

"I can't go into detail," Sonya replied, "but let's just say that among other things, the President told the King to cut the bullshit, shut the fuck up and listen if he wanted his country to see the next day. He indirectly threatened him with an invasion if even the slightest connection between Kaliba's plans and the Emirate's government would be unveiled."

"I guess you're referring to what Gibbons just said about Kaliba's involvement with the nuclear warhead?"

"Exactly. The President is massively pissed. I've never seen him so livid. Senator Walden had just left when I entered the Oval Office. He had briefed the President with what Gibbons was about to testify in the hearing."

"So, what happens now?" Mike Anderson asked.

"Well, he asked for some time to think about my proposal," Sonya answered. "He wants to deal with the immediate situation first, then think about our two cyborg girls. He'll get back to me as soon as he made a decision."

"Does that mean we'll continue going through the files until he made up his mind, putting more pins on the map?" Mike Anderson asked.

"I guess it does," Sonya agreed. "All right then, let's get to work again, shall we?"

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 01:55 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Downtown Los Angeles

"So, when was the last time you saw your son, Mrs…?"

"Bedell, Alexandra Bedell. This is my husband, Paul Bedell. They went to the bathroom together around 12:45 and Marty must have sneaked out while my husband was in a stall."

They stood in the security office of the building. After searching the place, they had decided to call the police and an officer was now listening to what they said, making notes on a notepad. One of the building's security guards stood next to them.

"We searched everywhere," the guard confirmed. "But no trace of him."

"Does he have a reason to run away or is there a reason why someone might kidnap him?"

"No," Paul Bedell replied. "We're not wealthy and we have a really good relationship with our son."

Another security guard came walking to them.

"We found him," he said in an excited tone, "Well… that is… we know what happened to him."

The two Bedells and the police officer followed the man into a room with lots of security monitors.

"One of the security cameras in the underground carpark caught him," the man said. "Brad, play the video again."

They watched the monitor the guard was pointing at and they saw a group of people, five women and one man, stopping at a classic Mercedes Convertible. They had a short conversation, then they hugged, apparently saying their goodbyes. Four women and the man entered the Mercedes while the fifth woman walked to a Dodge RAM, pointing her key to it whereupon the indicators flashed.

Apparently, the Mercedes was honking while it drove off and the woman turned around to wave goodbye. In that moment, they saw Marty quickly running into the picture and to the back of the Dodge RAM. While the woman opened the driver's door, he opened the tailgate, climbed into the covered cargo bed and closed the tailgate again without the woman noticing.

Mr. and Mrs. Bedell groaned when they saw the truck driving away.

"Oh God, not again," Alexandra Bedell said and put her hands over her mouth, "please, not again."

"Why would he do that?" the police officer asked, "do you know that woman?"

The two shook their head.

"No, we've never seen her," Alexandra Bedell said. "But It's not the first time Marty ran away. Seven months ago, he was gone for three days and then re-appeared, telling some weird story about a cyborg that had wanted to kill him, forcing him to hide. We didn't take it serious then."

"A cyborg, ma'am?" the officer asked and looked up from his notepad.

"Yes, we know how ridiculous it sounds. Well, at least it sounded ridiculous until we saw the interview yesterday. We watched it together and all the time Marty had that triumphant, knowing look on his face."

"I'm calling in the license plate of that truck," the police officer said.

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 02:03 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Beverly Hills

John, Cameron, Savannah and Allie rode up the funicular again and arrived back at the pool deck where Alison still stood next to Albert Feinstein.

"Everything done?" John asked.

"Yes," Alison replied, "We agreed on a 50 % raise for Albert and his family."

"You're really generous," Albert said, "is Alison your personal assistant?"

"Girlfriend," John said and lay his arm around Alison, "Same as Cameron."

The latter came to stand on John's other side, and he put his arm around her as well. He kissed them both.

"Ah," Albert said, "congratulations, you look fine together."

"Yes," John agreed, "and by the way: Savannah and Allie are my stepdaughters."

"Ah, I see," Albert replied in a tone that sounded as if John had just commented the weather. "Nice girls. I always loved kids."

"Alison and Cameron are cyborgs, by the way. Would you please let your eyes glow for Albert?"

The two did so and Albert nodded politely, looking unimpressed.

"Nice touch," he commented.

"Is the pool ready for swimming?" Savannah asked.

"Yes, of course," Albert replied, "Mr. Robinson called and said you were coming, so I prepared it."

"Excellent," Savannah replied, took off her tee shirt and unhooked her bra.

She then stepped out of her shoes, pulled off her pants and finally her panties. Albert looked at her completely unimpressed as she walked over to the pool stark-naked and jumped into the water.

"I'm coming, too," Allie said, took off her clothes as well and jumped into the pool.

"Kids," Albert said chuckling, "can't resist splashing around. My boys are the same."

John smiled.

"Seems like it works just fine," he said to Alison and kissed her.

"Of course, it works fine," she replied and kissed him back, "we could fuck right here and now, and he wouldn't raise an eyebrow. Wouldn't you, Albert?"

"No but I'd recommend one of the bedrooms for that," Albert said in a casual tone, "The floor here is dirty, I still have to sweep it."

"Of course," John said. "I'm dying to meet your family. Can you tell them to come here?"

"Uh, sure… of course," Albert said and reached for his cellphone.

"Savannah! Allie!" John said in a tone as if talking to small children, "enough splashing around, kids. Now listen to daddy. Be good little girls, come out of the water and put on your clothes again."

The glares John received back, weren't very friendly.

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 02:23 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Malibu

Sarah drove through the gate in Cliffside Drive and parked the Dodge RAM in the garage. She stepped out, closed the door and locked it. Then she walked across the gravel-covered front yard towards the entrance. The front door opened and closed again with a thud and for a moment there was silence.

Then the tailgate of the pickup-truck opened, and the 11-year-old Marty Bedell climbed out of the cargo bed where he had hidden himself under the solid cover. He breathed in deeply, glad to finally be out in the open again after almost two hours. It had been hot inside the cargo bed and he was sweating all over.

Marty had recognized the young woman in the cafeteria, Cameron. But strangely enough, she didn't seem to recognize him. He had seen the interview on TV last night and being a clever boy, he added one plus one and could tell that the one who called herself Arien, was indeed Cameron.

At first, he had thought about telling his parents but then he remembered what he had learned while he was with Sarah and Cameron almost seven months ago. He didn't understand much of what was talked about, but he got that cyborgs were walking the Earth and that they were a danger for certain people who Sarah and Cameron tried to protect.

People like him.

He saw Sarah enter the cafeteria just when he and his father went into the bathroom. In a spontaneous decision, he decided to sneak away and follow them to the carpark. He didn't really know why, maybe it was the desire to see them again, the desire to learn more about them, the desire to thank Sarah for helping him with his book report. Or maybe just because he wanted another adventure. Nobody had believed him when he told them what happened, why he had been missing for a couple of days only to appear out of nowhere again as if nothing had happened.

Of course, he hadn't mentioned Sarah or Cameron to his parents or the police, he had promised not to do so. But he'd told them about the big man, the cyborg, who had chased and tried to kill him. Of course, nobody had believed him. After some fruitless attempts to get the truth out of him, the police and his parents filed the whole affair under the kind of nonsense boys of his age would do, grounded him for two weeks and that had been it.

Until today.

There was no way back now. He had no money with him, and his cellphone was switched off. His parents had installed a tracking app after he had disappeared the first time, but he didn't want to be tracked. He had followed Sarah, Cameron and the red-haired woman to the carpark, where they had met with three other people he couldn't really make out. He was hiding inside the stairwell and waited until another family came down the stairs. He took cover behind them and walked to Sarah's Dodge RAM.

Marty had seen how Sarah unlocked the truck and while she was waving the others goodbye, he took the opportunity and quickly got onto the cargo bed. After about forty-five minutes, they stopped for the first time.

He was able to breathe some fresh air through the narrow gaps of the cargo bed cover while he overheard the talk Sarah had with another woman before. It confirmed everything he had been suspecting and it thrilled and scared him at the same time. He was now in the know, one of the few who knew who they were.

And now he was here, with no idea where 'here' was, and sneaked out of the garage. Marty looked around. It was a fancy home but not the one they had brought them to seven months ago. Being thirsty, Marty walked around the garage and into the lush garden of the vast property, making his way through the thick shrubbery, following the sound of animated talking and laughter.

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 02:27 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Beverly Hills

John and the four girls had just finished inspecting the rest of the property and were deeply impressed.

"Don't tell it to anyone but I always wanted my own cinema and a bowling alley," he said.

"That's a side we didn't know of you yet," Alison remarked with a smirk.

"Yeah, I know. I so gotta show this to Dennis when he visits us, maybe watch some movies with him down there."

"The gym is fantastic," Allie remarked. "It would be the perfect place for combat training. Savannah and I definitely need to pick up on that."

"Yes, Savannah agreed," before the time jump, we exercised three to four hours a day. I'm starting to feel rusty."

"Well, help yourselves," John said. "I'd like to see you exercise."

"We could teach you Taekwondo, Wushu or Kendo," Savannah suggested.

"Muay Thai or Systema," Allie added.

"Systema?" John asked.

"Russian martial art."

"How many different combat sports have you mastered?" John asked.

"Depends on if we're using weapons or not. Normally we combine seven or eight, but we trained more," Savannah replied. "What do you say? Feel like getting your ass kicked, dad? Sex only doesn't keep you fit."

"I'll think about it," John said chuckling.

The five of them sat down on a bench next to the fountain in the central courtyard and enjoyed the view over Los Angeles. Suddenly the glass door to the house opened and a middle-aged woman and three young men appeared.

"Ah, you must be the Feinsteins," John said. "I'm John O'Connell, nice to meet you."

A little shyly they shook hands with John and the girls, apparently having no idea why they had been summoned there.

"Alison here will explain to you why you're here," John said.

"Let's go inside," Alison said and motioned for them to follow her.

Hesitantly, they did so. Before anyone could say something, John's cellphone rang.

"Who is it?" Cameron asked.

John frowned.

"It's John Henry," he said and took the call. "Yes, John Henry? … WHAT!? When? … Yes, we were in that building earlier with mom … Okay … yes … Talk to you later."

"What's the matter?" Savannah asked in a worried tone after John had ended the call.

"John Henry is constantly monitoring the police communications and an officer called in the license plate of mom's truck."

"What? Why?" Allie asked.

"No idea. Apparently, the call came from the building with Tim Robinson's law firm in it."

"Did Sarah mount the fake plates?" Savannah asked.

"Nope," John replied. "But that won't get them far. Derek used a fake address for the registration. The police will run into a dead end."

"Good," Savannah said.

"Yup," John agreed. "John Henry is going to call mom, so there's nothing we need to do, but we should tear ourselves away from this place."

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 03:25 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Downtown Los Angeles

The Bedells still sat in the security office, waiting for news on their son's whereabouts. They stood up when they saw the police officer enter the room again.

"Did you find the truck?" Paul Bedell asked.

"No, I'm sorry. The vehicle is registered to a Derek Reese with an address in Pomona. The local police checked it out, but the address doesn't exist."

"Wha… what does that mean?" Alexandra Bedell asked.

"It means that the truck could be stolen or that someone made a typo or whoever owns it doesn't want to be found – for whatever reason. In any case, it's a dead end. We could try to find out what business the woman had in this building to get her name, but it'll take time."

"Dammit!" Paul Bedell exclaimed. "If Marty at least would have left his cellphone on, then we could track him…"

"Wait a second…" the officer said. "Are you saying Marty carries a cellphone with him?"

"Yeah," Alexandra Bedell said. "We bought it after he disappeared for the first time. We already tried to track him, but he's switched it off."

The police officer sighed.

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?" he asked in a frustrated tone.

"Well… what use is it when his phone is off?" Paul Bedell asked.

"We can ping him with a silent SMS," the officer said. "It triggers a response of the phone without Marty being aware of it. Won't give away his exact location but it'll give us the cell site the phone is connecting to. It works even when the phone is off, as long as he left the SIM card and the battery in."

"How long do you need to find out?"

"If we're lucky, we'll have the approximate location within half an hour. But you'll have to come to the police station in 6th Street with me."

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 03:38 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Malibu

John steered the Mercedes Cabriolet into the driveway of the Cliffside Drive residence and parked it in front of the garage. He noted with satisfaction that the Dodge RAM was nowhere to be seen.

"Good, they locked it in," John said, got out and walked inside with the girls following close behind.

They entered the pool terrace where the whole family had gathered again, joined by Isaak and Catherine.

"Mom, what's the matter? Why are the police looking for the RAM?" John asked.

"I haven't got the faintest idea," Sarah replied. "We checked and there isn't a scratch or a bump, so it can't be an accident. I also didn't speed or violate any traffic rules. I'm completely lost about the reason."

Suddenly, Alison jerked her head but so slightly that only Cameron noticed it.

"Is young Savannah here?" Alison asked Catherine in a casual tone. "Or one of Isaak's grandchildren?"

"No, why?" Catherine replied with a frown.

"Oh, nothing," Alison replied with a smile and walked into the house.

John followed her with his eyes and frowned.

"We have to get rid of the RAM," Derek said. "The police won't find it here but driving around in it has become risky. Damn, I really like that truck."

"Wouldn't it be enough to just mount other license plates?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah, maybe. But we can't take any risks. The truck already got us almost busted in Oregon."

"Savannah and Allie can use it to drive back to the loft," John suggested. "There we'll park it among all the other cars until we decided what to do with it."

"Hopefully they're not looking for the Merc as well," Sarah said with a hint of accusation in her voice. "That thing stands out like a sore thumb."

"John Henry would have informed us," Catherine said.

"Yes, and we passed several police cars on our way back from Beverly Hills," John added. "None of them paid any attention."

"OUCH!"

Everyone spun around to see where the outcry had come from. They saw Alison standing up from behind a bush. She had grabbed the hem of a young boy's shirt and held him high on her outstretched arm. Sarah and Cameron immediately recognized the boy.

"Marty?" Sarah asked flabbergasted. "Marty Bedell?"

"Hi!" the boy said as he dangled from Alison's hand and waved his hand with a forced grin.

Sarah just groaned while everyone else looked around completely puzzled.

"He carries a cellphone," Alison said and fished it out of Marty's pocket.

"Is it on?" Sarah asked alarmed.

"No," Alison said, "but it doesn't matter. It can be pinged, even when it's off."

And with that, she crushed the cellphone in her hand.

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 03:43 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Downtown Los Angeles

"Damn! We had a response," the police officer said. "Just once. Then it went dead."

"What does that mean?" Paul Bedell asked.

They were standing at a desk in the police station in 6th Street, looking over the shoulder of another police officer and on his computer monitor.

"It means that either the phone got destroyed or someone removed the SIM card and/or the battery."

"Could you get a position, Jack?" the officer who brought the Bedells there asked.

"Somewhere in central Malibu."

"Can't you be a bit more specific?"

"Sorry but I can only say for sure that it has to be somewhere between Zuma Beach and Ramirez Canyon."

"Which leaves how many houses? Five hundred?"

"Probably more."

"Damn."

"What happens now?" Paul Bedell asked.

"Not very much you can do, except for turning to TV or radio stations. But to be honest, in the current situation, where everyone is only watching their TV screens because of the cyborgs and the hearings in Washington, the chances to get public attention are slim. It's like Super Bowl and the World Series finals combined at the moment."

The Bedells looked at the TV screen at the wall in the police station which showed the news coverage of the hearings in Washington. Some police officers had stopped working and were fixated on the TV.

"Can't you send a patrol car to Malibu to go from house to house?"

"Mrs. Bedell," the officer said calmly, "even if we had the resources for a house-by-house search in Malibu, keep in mind that this is just a runaway kid, not a kidnapping."

"Is that it?" Paul Bedell said in an agitated tone. "You simply stop here?"

"No, I'm not saying that," the officer replied patiently. "But frankly we have other things to do right now, especially in the current, tense situation. You need to be patient. I'm sure he'll be found. He can't hide forever. And as you said, he's run away before and he'll probably return on his own again. You placed a missing person report, that's all you can do for now."

"That's unacceptable, officer," Alexandra Bedell said in an agitated tone. "Our boy is out there, and he might be in danger, maybe suffocating in the back of that truck because he's trapped!"

"I'm sorry but…"

"Come on, Paul, if the police won't help us, we're going to do it on our own."

"You'll need days to check all the houses," the officer said. "and the car might be in a garage where you can't see it."

"At least we gotta try. Can you give us a map of the area?"

The officer sighed.

"Sure. Jack, would you please print out a map of the cell site in question?"

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 03:45 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Malibu

"I've seen this boy in the cafeteria," Savannah said. "He was watching Allie the whole time."

Sarah looked at Allie, then at Cameron.

"He thought she was Cameron," she deduced. "He knows her. Alison, I think you can let him down now. I'm sure he won't run away."

Alison let him down but kept on holding his shirt, just in case. Seeing that he had no chance to get away, the boy slacked and looked to the ground.

"How did you find us?" Sarah asked in a strict tone. "And how did you get here?"

"I saw her in the cafeteria," Marty answered and pointed at Allie. "I was there with my mom and dad. Then you appeared, and I decided to follow you to the carpark. Is she a cyborg, too?"

"No, I'm human," Allie replied. "We just look the same."

"I registered his heat signature in the underground carpark," Alison said. "But I thought he was with other people."

"All right, all right, time out," Savannah said and made the associated hand gesture. "Who is this boy?"

Sarah explained to them who Marty Bedell was and how they had saved him from a Triple-Eight and kept him in their house for a weekend.

"How come you never told me about that, mom?" John asked.

"You were quite wound up at the time," Sarah replied. "And I told Cameron not to mention it either."

She bent down and looked into Marty's face.

"Why are you here?" Sarah asked. "I told you to call me when you're in trouble but not to search and go after me. Are you in trouble?"

"Not really," Marty said. "As I said, I just saw her in the cafeteria…" he pointed at Allie again, "… and thought it was Cameron."

"How do you know that Cameron is a cyborg anyway?"

"Oh, come on, I'm not stupid. I could tell she wasn't normal. And last night, we watched the interview on TV, and I knew it was her. So, when I saw you both at the cafeteria today, I followed you. I don't know why, I just wanted to see you again. I never properly thanked you for saving my life and helping me with my book report. So, I hid myself in the cargo bed of your truck."

"That must be how the police got the license plate," Derek said. "Those carparks are full of security cameras."

"You might have compromised our place of residence," Cameron said. "Your parents must have called the police by now and they're probably looking for you in Malibu."

"I… I didn't know they could locate me when my cellphone was off."

"Well," Catherine said, "they can only locate the cell site the phone responded to, which basically means all of central Malibu. The police won't go from house to house and ask for him."

"One of us can drive him back into town where he can contact his parents," Alison said. "But I should erase his memory first."

"What?!" Marty shrieked. "No! I wanna learn more about you guys. I wanna be friends with you."

"What about your parents?" John asked. "They'll be very worried."

Marty looked down.

"They've been totally unfair to me when I came back the first time. I got grounded for two weeks! If you ask me, they can worry for a while."

"I think this situation can't be solved without bringing his parents into the loop," Cameron said.

"What?" Sarah asked surprised.

"They'll keep wondering forever who Marty had run to and who we and especially you are, mom. They won't rest until they know us. And that could become a security risk."

"Okay but…"

"And we cannot simply dump him next to the road, hoping that somebody will take care of him," Cameron went on. "Marty know where we live, he knows the Burbank house already and now this one. He knows who and what we are. He might talk someday and tell his parents or the police what he knows. Thus, we need to talk to his parents, make them understand what happened and why it happened. It's the only way to bring this to a close."

Marty looked up at Cameron and nodded wildly.

"Yeah, she's right, listen to her," he said but went silent when Sarah gave him a stern glare.

"Cameron has a point there," Tom Novak said. "If you want to keep this contained, you'll need to talk to the parents, prevent them from bringing in the police or the media – if it isn't already too late for that."

"Mom," John said, "we worked so hard on getting a positive image, we can't afford letting something like this endanger our progress."

"All right, all right," Sarah said a little unnerved. "So, what exactly do you suggest?"

"We call them, tell them to pick him up."

"And if they bring the police with them?" Derek asked.

"Then I'll deal with the police," Alison said. "And with the parents."

Everyone except Marty, Tom and Isaak knew what she meant by that and they didn't like the sound of it, but Alison was right. They had worked too hard on what they had achieved and couldn't risk losing it again because they were brought in connection with a missing child or even a kidnapping.

"So, your real name is Alison?" Marty asked and looked up at her. "Fits you better than Ilmarë."

-0-

The Bedells had just left Interstate 10 and entered the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica when Alexandra Bedell's cellphone rang. Hastily she took the call, not noticing it was an unknown number.

"Hello? … MARTY! Where are you, are you okay?"

Her husband quickly looked at her and almost drove into a car in front of him.

"Wait, wait, wait," Alexandra said, "I put you on speaker."

"Mom? Dad?" Marty's voice sounded into the car.

"Oh, thank God," Paul said. "Where are you, son?"

"I'm with friends in Malibu. Don't worry, I'm fine. You can pick me up here."

"Why did you run away?" Alexandra asked. "We saw the video of the security camera where you climbed into that truck. Why did you do that?"

"I'll explain everything when you come here. I'm sorry that you were worried. I hope you didn't call the police."

"Ha! The police," Paul said in a pejorative tone, "they wouldn't help us finding you. They only found out you're somewhere Malibu but couldn't be bothered. So, we decided to look for you ourselves. We just left Santa Monica."

"Oh, okay. Can I give you the address where you can pick me up?"

"Sure, fire away, son."

"28834 Cliffside Drive."

"Okay, let me enter it in the GPS," Alexandra said. "A second… um… it says we'll be there in thirty-five minutes."

"Okay. Um… they ask if you want tea or coffee?"

The two Bedells looked at each other.

"Uh… coffee," Paul said.

"Good. I'll pass it on. See you soon."

"See you, Marty. I love you," Alexandra said but he had already hung up.

---

"Wow, that was awesome," Marty said as Cameron put away her cellphone. "You sounded just like me."

"I'm a part-time voice imitator," Cameron replied smiling.

"You've changed," Marty stated. "You're funny and much cooler and more relaxed than seven months ago."

"We improve," Alison said. "Seven months for us is probably like 70 years for a human."

"So, what happens now?" Marty asked.

"Now, we wait for your parents to arrive," John said. "Then we'll have coffee and cake and talk everything over."

"So, they went to the police, but the police weren't much of a help," Tom Novak said, "Doesn't surprise me. No crime, no action. I'm surprised they tracked down his phone."

"They probably saw that Marty wasn't kidnapped but ran away," Allie said. "No need to take action."

"Doesn't matter why," Sarah said. "It means we only have to deal with the parents."

"What are you going to do to them?" Marty asked.

"Nothing," Alison said, "if they're reasonable, that is."

"And if they're not reasonable?"

"Then I'll make sure they're reasonable."

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 04:48 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Malibu

"Here it is," Paul Bedell said as he stopped in front of the cast-iron gate and looked into the front yard. "Look! There's the Mercedes from the security video."

He turned off the road and stopped next to the post with the doorbell and the intercom.

"Yes?" a female voice answered after he had pressed the button.

"Alexandra and Paul Bedell. I assume we're being expected."

The gate started sliding to the left and they drove through, entering the front yard. They parked behind the Mercedes and got out, looking around for a moment, taking in the lush green of the old trees and thick bushes. The gate was closing again, and they walked towards the arched wooden front door, which was in a small recess behind a fountain that looked like an old village well. The door was framed in blue and white mosaic stones. A Latino woman in her early fifties opened the door.

"Come in, por favor," she said with a heavy Spanish accent.

The two Bedell's followed her invitation and stepped inside. The woman closed the door again and walked ahead. They went through the first house, then into an Edenic garden that was arranged between the three houses that formed the property. To their left they could make out a swimming pool behind a smaller house and straight ahead they walked towards what seemed to be the main house.

The Latino woman still walked ahead and guided them into the next house, into a long corridor with doors to the left and right, passing a plastered stairwell, entering a large living room that stretched over two floors, then walked out onto a terrace and into the back garden which was adjacent to the cliff that gave the street its name. They saw that a large table was positioned in the middle of the lawn where the big palm trees spent enough shade. About twenty people were sitting at the table and two chairs were still empty.

"Mom! Dad!"

Marty jumped up from his chair and ran towards his parents.

"Marty!" both Bedell's said in unison and took their son into their arms.

A woman who looked as if she was in her mid or late twenties, got up as well and walked towards them. They recognized her as the woman from the security video.

"I'm Sarah," she said, "Sarah Garland."

They shook hands and looked around. A young man and two young women, all three of them still probably in their early 20's, were also coming towards them now.

"This is my son, John," Sarah said, "and my stepdaughters, Alison and Cameron."

"Your son quite scared us when he suddenly appeared behind the bushes," John said as he shook Alexandra's hand. "We had no idea he had travelled in the back of my mom's car."

The two Bedells gave their son a stern look and Marty rolled his eyes.

"We're sorry for any inconvenience he has caused you," Paul Bedell said. "And I'm sorry we're interrupting your, well… celebration, as it seems."

"No celebration," Sarah said, "just some cake and coffee with the family, friends and neighbors. Come, let me introduce you."

Sarah took it upon herself to acquaint the Bedells with everyone around the table. They had been seated to make sure that Tom, Isaak and Catherine were the last ones to introduce.

"This is our dear friend Thomas Novak," Sarah said, and Tom got up from his chair to shake hands with them. "You may have heard of him, he's a journalist for the L.A. Times."

"Of course," Paul said, "as a matter of fact, I read your article this morning. I must admit it's still hard to believe it all, even though it all seems to be true."

"Oh, it is true," Tom said. "So true that I needed to ask for sanctuary here. Going to stay here a while until everything calmed down a bit."

"I don't envy you," Paul replied chuckling.

"Maybe you also know Isaak Sirko?" Sarah asked.

"Oh my God!" Alexandra exclaimed, "you're the Hollywood producer, right?"

"Among other things," Isaak replied with a smile and shook hands with Alexandra and Paul. "And not really active anymore. I'm mostly retired now."

"And finally," Sarah said, "a good friend of the family and my best friend…"

"Catherine Weaver!" Paul exclaimed. "Oh my God."

"Have we met?" Catherine asked as she shook hands with them.

"No, but…" Paul said and swallowed hard. "I… um… I'm working for one of your companies, Kalicom Aerospace. I'm an aircraft engineer."

"Ah, yes…," Catherine replied with a smile. "I bought Kalicom one-and-a-half years ago."

"And saved it, made it profitable again," Paul said. "If you don't mind, I'd like to use the opportunity to tell you how grateful we all are at Kalicom. Without you, we'd be out of a job now, in these difficult times."

"You're welcome," Catherine said and seemed genuinely moved.

"This is quite a view you have here," Alexandra said as she looked out onto the ocean. "A lovely place."

"Thank you," Sarah said, "Please, take a seat. We left two chairs for you. The coffee is freshly brewed, and Maria made us a delicious bee sting cake today."

"But we really don't wanna be an inconvenience," Alexandra said.

"You aren't," Sarah said while the Bedells sat down at the table. "As a matter of fact, there are a few things we need to talk about, concerning your son and me. You see, Marty and I have already met seven months ago."

"What?" Alexandra and Paul asked in unison and looked at Sarah in shock.

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 05:53 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Cayucos

"… and the market value of Kaliba International dropped by almost eighty percent on Wall Street after today's Senate hearing, pulling several known subsidiaries and contractors down as well. Kaliba has now been withdrawn from trading pending further notice. The ambassador of Kaliba's home country in the Middle East had been summoned today and it was confirmed that the President has both talked to King Abdul Al Hani as well as to Russia's President Vladimir Putin this morning. However, nothing has become known about the contents of the conversations. Everybody's now waiting for the President to address the nation in an hour.

A nationwide wave of arrests has left people in shock. Special units of the FBI and the DHS made more than 3,500 arrests this morning and searched more than 2,100 homes, offices and company headquarters. When asked why this coordinated wave of arrests happened so early in the morning, FBI Director Robert Mueller said they wanted to prevent people from destroying evidence or fleeing the country upon watching the Senate hearings on TV.

Almost all the FBI's and DHS's available resources were bundled in this unprecedented campaign that seems to have been coordinated with the President and Senator Henry Walden in advance. Since this kind of action must be carefully planned, people in charge must have been informed about the facts for some time already, waiting for the right moment to strike. Of course, the preparations happened in secret without the members of the so-called 'Shadow Council' in the know. Mueller said that the coordinated action was a full success. In his own words: 'We got them all, no one got away.'

These new developments pushed yesterday's headlines about the TV interview of two female cyborgs almost into the background. But the events seem to be connected. As a matter of fact, it was revealed by insiders that the so-called human-cyborg resistance of Los Angeles played a crucial part in uncovering this nation-wide conspiracy which cost more than three hundred lives over the past twenty-four years and the tax-payers billions of dollars.

In this context it should be mentioned that from today's point of view, the destruction of the Simdyne Building seems to have been a necessity to prevent a catastrophe of biblical proportions, as a spokesman of the DHS indirectly admitted today. Considering this, it is even more remarkable that nobody was killed in the explosion despite a massive physical damage to the neighborhood. So far, there's still no decision being made of who'll compensate for knocking out that area of Downtown Los Angeles for weeks. Resident business people and company owners demand a compensation from the government.

Meanwhile, voices are getting louder all over the country to recognize the two cyborg women and their team as national heroes but so far, we couldn't get any comments from official sources. In the light of recent events, we changed our tonight's program and offer you hourly updates on the latest developments. What exactly is Kaliba International? Who is behind it? What are their activities in the United States? Following this program, we'll air a documentary about this very secretive and elusive conglomerate that deals with natural resources, weapons and high-tech equipment.

In other news: Two dead bodies were found in an empty container in the harbor of Hong-Kong yesterday. Both carried U.S. papers with them, one of them was identified as a long missing agent from the Los Angeles bureau of the FBI who's been declared missing since the 12th of July. The other body…"

---

"Looks like this is getting really huge now," Louise commented as she and Emily sat at the counter of Duckie's Chowder House in Cayucos and watched the TV screen together with other patrons.

"Yes," Emily agreed. "You should pick a place to meet with your parents, since your home will probably be surrounded by reporters."

Louise sighed.

"Yeah, I guess I should text them."

Emily noticed the sad expression on Louise's face.

"Let's take a walk," she said.

Louise gulped down her Coke, they paid and left. There was a wooden pier that started behind the restaurant and led out into the ocean. They slowly walked it to the end, holding hands. The sky had clouded over, it would surely rain later, and the weather seemed to reflect the general mood of the two girls.

They had left Nick Nelson's house early on Sunday morning and driven to San Francisco where they had spent the whole Sunday and early Monday with sightseeing and generally having a good time. As planned, they had been driving down the Pacific Coast Highway and now made a stop in the small coastal town of Cayucos.

"I texted John," Emily said, "told him that if everything goes according to plan, we'll be home in about four hours."

Louise sighed.

"Did you have to remind me?" she asked and looked out onto the ocean.

The wind was blowing through their hair. Louise's had been cut short and dyed red to prevent her from being recognized. Emily's wounds were almost fully healed. Her eye had regrown, and the only traces of her injuries were thin lines where the flesh hadn't completely finished growing together again. Louise had covered them with make-up. They had spontaneously decided to take a rest in this small town at the California coastline and Emily noticed that the closer they came to Los Angeles, the gloomier Louise's mood seemed to become.

"I'm having problems with this situation as well," Emily said. "I share your sadness. But at the same time, I feel a pleasant anticipation to see John and the others again. Don't you feel a pleasant anticipation to see your family and friends again as well?"

"Yeah, I guess…" Louise replied without looking at her.

"That doesn't sound very enthusiastic."

"The pain of leaving you overshadows it."

"You know that it doesn't need to be forever."

"Oh yeah, sometimes we may see each other for an hour or two, at secret places and only when we're sure nobody followed us. But our… affair will basically be over when we part tonight."

Emily turned towards her.

"Our love will never be over," she said.

"But it will never be the same again either."

Emily considered Louise for a moment, then pulled her into her arms. The girl immediately started sobbing heavily into Emily's shoulder.

"I will miss you, too," the cyborg girl said and held her tight.

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 06:12 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Malibu

Alexandra and Paul Bedell didn't panic or run away. In fact, they took it rather well that their son had been the target of a Terminator. They remained quite composed. If there was a notable reaction of the two, it was their faces turning a bit pale.

It probably had been a good strategy to introduce them to Tom, Isaak and Catherine first because that added some credit of trust to the whole conversation and probably helped soften the blow. When Sarah, John, Alison and Cameron had finished telling their tale, Paul and Alexandra didn't say anything for a moment. They simply grabbed each other's hands and stared out onto the ocean.

"Why Marty?" Paul finally asked. "Why would somebody want to kill a ten-year-old boy?"

"Machines are thorough," Derek replied shortly while chewing on a cookie.

"Wait a second," Alexandra said, "didn't you say on TV that those… Terminators were sent back in time to kill people who'd become important after the nuclear holocaust? Does that mean Marty would have become important?"

"Unfortunately, no," Cameron replied. "But Marty shares the name with a man that would have become important after Judgement Day. Not many records were left, Skynet only knew their names."

"I… I don't understand," Alexandra said.

Derek sighed and explained.

"When Terminators have a name, but don't know the location of their targets or what they look like, they kill all people with that name – systematically, thoroughly. Like bookkeepers."

"What?" Paul asked. "Do you wanna tell me that my son almost got killed just because of his name?"

"There was a Martin Bedell in my unit," Derek continued. "He was a trained army officer and helped giving the resistance a military structure. Without him, we wouldn't have been as effective."

"What happened to him?"

"We protected and saved his life seven months ago," John replied. "And we killed the Terminator that was hunting him. While Derek and I went to do that, mom and Cameron took care of your son."

"One other Martin Bedell had already been killed that day," Sarah added. "Your son would have been next."

"Good God," Paul said and gulped.

"We helped him with his book report," Cameron added, "I picked out the book, 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'."

Paul swallowed.

"The fact that he had that report ready convinced us that he had just ran away and that his whole story about the cyborg was bogus," he said. "I'm sorry, son."

"It's all right, dad," Marty said. "I'm not blaming you."

"So, you two are… not human?" Alexandra asked and pointed at Alison and Cameron. "You are the ones from TV yesterday?"

The two girls looked at John. He nodded, and they looked back at the Bedells, letting their eyes glow red.

Alexandra gasped, and Paul groaned and closed his eyes.

"My reaction was similar," Tom Novak said, "but it didn't take me long to realize that if you're a friend, their bark is worse than their bite."

"We haven't bitten you yet, Tom," Alison said. "So how can you know?"

Everyone chuckled and even the Bedells had to smile. Marty looked around and smiled as well. The whole time he had listened but didn't say a word. Most of what Sarah and the others had told, was new for him as well.

"What happens now?" Paul asked.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked back.

"You let us in, you told us everything. We know who you are now. These two made it very clear on TV that you want to remain anonymous. So, what happens next, to us, to Marty? Why bringing us here in the first place?"

"It wasn't our choice, but Marty's action forced us into action as well.," Alison answered. "We needed to keep this contained and we needed to prevent the police from looking for Marty."

"Oh, that reminds me," Paul said. "We gotta tell the police that Marty is back. Excuse me for a moment, I'm gonna make a phone call."

"Sure," John replied.

Paul got up, pulled out his phone and walked a few feet away.

"Speaking of Martin Bedell," John said, "where is he now? He's still at Presidio Alto, isn't he?"

"Yup," Derek answered, "and if the news spread to him, he'll know that what we told him is no longer valid."

"He can be with his Alicia then after all."

"Maybe. Or maybe that's already over thanks to us, who knows?"

"We should visit him."

"What? Why?"

"Because I don't wanna keep him in the dark. He's an ally, a friend. Besides, we have nothing else to do."

"We wanted to start renovating," Savannah argued.

"Yeah, well… you can start that without me, can't you?" John replied with a smile. "It'll be your rooms after all."

Savannah and Allie just rolled their eyes.

---

Dinner was served at 7 o'clock and by then the Bedells had gotten comfortable enough to realize they were quite hungry. Maria's excellent cooking did the rest and soon the big table in the garden was filled with laughter from telling jokes and anecdotes.

At 8:00 p.m., the Bedells finally declared they'd have to go home now. Alison had never stopped scanning them and concluded that they wouldn't go to the authorities with what they knew and that they also wouldn't share their knowledge with anyone else. They simply wanted to live their lives in peace and quiet.

In return, Sarah and Catherine assured them of their support if anything should ever happen again. Catherine handed them one of the secure phones with the numbers of John, Sarah and herself and the Bedell's promised to call them first if something happened.

Of course, it had helped that Catherine hinted at Paul she might have use for a good aircraft engineer in the Zeira Corp headquarters, including a substantial pay raise. John knew that Catherine was talking about the Babylon Labs, which was a logical choice, since Paul Bedell was in the know already anyway. The only question was how he'd react when he learned what the job offer included? But that was a topic for another time.

"I wonder if we'll ever have a normal day," John said as the Bedells had left. "This could have become a big problem. I suppose the security video from the underground carpark saved us."

"Not us. Them," Cameron said, and everyone wondered if she meant that as a joke or not.

But since the usual 'Fooled you!' never came, they concluded she must have been serious.

"So, are you really going to drive down to Carlsbad tomorrow to visit that Bedell guy?" Allie asked.

"Yup," John replied nodding, "Derek, Cam and I will go there."

"Oh?" Sarah asked, "only Cam? How come?"

"Emily wants to visit Miller, Dawson and Kowalski at Zeira Corp tomorrow. She asked Alison to accompany her."

"That's not boding well for them," Jesse said.

"Do we want to know what Emily has in mind?" Sarah asked.

"Probably not," John replied. "I don't know myself yet but the fact that she's bringing Alison means that she needs her special abilities."

"Why not simply kill them?" Derek asked. "Why does it have to be so complicated?"

"It's not our show, babe," Jesse said, "I can understand that Emily wants to be the one who decides what's to become of them after forty-three years of torment. I'm almost concerned for the three."

"Almost?" Sarah asked.

"Yup, almost. Those sons of bitches need to get it hard and special. I'm sure Emily will make the right choice."

"Talking about Emily," Sarah said, "does she come here tonight?"

"No," John said. "I'll meet her at the beach house. I'm gonna leave in an hour and Alison and Cam will help me prepare the place."

"Prepare what?" Derek asked with a smirk. "The bed?"

"That, too," John replied smiling, reached for the fruit bowl on the table and put a strawberry in his mouth.

-0-

Monday, July 28th, 2008 – 10:12 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time)

Malibu

Emily drove the white van onto the parking lot at Zuma Beach, just outside of central Malibu. She turned the engine off and looked straight ahead. Louise did the same. The sun had already set, and they were the only ones who parked there at this time of night. It was dark outside, and the only sounds were the distant waves of the Pacific Ocean and the occasional car going by on the Pacific Coast Highway.

For a couple of minutes, none of them said a word.

Then, finally, Emily spoke up.

"I guess this is it then," she said without looking at Louise. "You can keep the van, I'll take the bike from here."

"What about the stuff we bought for you?" Louise asked, staring straight ahead as well.

"I can squeeze it into my backpack, and I can manage to put a duffle bag in front of me. You can also keep the cash. Hide it somewhere and use it as a reserve, just in case."

"Do you need to go far from here?"

"Can't tell you, sorry."

"Right."

Again, silence.

Suddenly, Louise gasped loudly and then started sobbing violently. If Emily had a heart, it would have broken now. She turned and took Louise in her arms, holding her tight.

"Don't go!" Louise said between sobs, "Please. I need you! I love you!"

"I love you, too," Emily replied, "but my place isn't with you. And you need to stand on your own feet again. Your friends and family will help you from now on."

"They can never take your place!" Louise sobbed.

"I know," Emily said and stroked Louise's back. "I know."

"Why can't I simply come with you? One more girl wouldn't matter, would it?"

"Maybe. But it would be awkward. And it would be unfair on your parents, your friends and all your loved ones. They deserve to hold you in their arms again."

Louise knew it was true, so she didn't reply to that anymore. Hesitantly, they moved apart, and Emily climbed into the back of the van, putting on her leather outfit and her biker boots. She unlashed the Kawasaki and opened the back doors, waiting until no car was in sight. Then Emily grabbed the motorbike and jumped out, holding it on her outstretched arms. She gently let it down and put it on its stand.

Meanwhile, Louise had gotten out as well and stood next to Emily, leaning against her.

"Have your parents answered your SMS?" Emily asked.

"Uh-huh," Louise said nodding. "They'll meet me in the parking lot at the corner of 4th and Colorado in half an hour. I told them to look for a white Ford van. I suppose the FBI will accompany them, hopefully no reporters will have followed them. We'll probably spend the night in a hotel. Not sure about what the following days will bring."

"You did nothing wrong, you didn't break any rules and you didn't commit any crimes. You are the surviving victim, remember that."

"What should I tell them when they ask me about you and why I have no scars?"

"You can tell them Alison healed you. The knowledge about the nanobots is out anyway. But don't mention her real name."

"Yeah, right. Ilmarë. Got it."

"And of course, you mustn't mention John, Sarah, Nick Nelson or the others. Tell them we were on a road trip without getting into detail. Tell them we have become good friends and nothing more. Apart from that, you can tell them all the bloody details."

Louise nodded and smiled weakly.

"Maybe I'm going to write a book about it all," she said. "How I got kidnapped, how they abused and tortured me and how you rescued me like a heavenly angel."

"It would become a bestseller for sure."

"It'd be X-rated," Louise said and couldn't suppress a chuckle.

Emily chuckled as well, then she took Louise in her arms again and kissed her long and deeply. Again, Louise couldn't suppress the tears. The kiss lasted quite a while, then Emily slowly pulled away.

"Never forget that I love you," she said and put on her helmet.

"I could never," Louise replied, tears running down her cheeks, then turned and walked back to the front of the van, entering the driver's seat.

"Drive carefully, you haven't got a driver's license," Emily shouted after her and laughed as Louise showed her the middle finger.

The engine of the van started, and Louise slowly drove out of the parking lot and onto the highway. Emily followed her with her eyes and zoomed in as long as possible until the van had disappeared behind the left-hand bend that led into central Malibu.

Then, Louise was gone, and Emily suddenly felt lonely.

---

John had told her to meet him at the beach house in Malibu, so she left the highway and drove along Malibu Road.

She wondered why he wanted to meet her there alone, without the others? Was he mad at her for staying away for so long? Or was it because he wanted to talk with her in private about her relationship with Louise, which he disapproved of, no doubt about that? Or maybe because she changed her looks without consulting him first?

The longer Emily thought about it, the more insecure and uneasy she became. When she finally came to a stop in front of the white gate, she hesitated for a moment. The gate and the front door would be open, John had written. He'd asked her to close both again after entering. She saw the green Mercedes Cabrio parked inside the front yard with its roof closed, a car she had seen before in Future John's garage. For a moment, she wondered why of all the cars in the loft's garage he had picked such a conspicuous one.

Then her thoughts drifted back to John and why he wanted to talk to her alone. Here, away from home, away from the rest of the family. Away from Alison and Cameron. She couldn't think of any reason except the ones she'd already pondered on. Suddenly, she had the unexplainable urge to hit the road and simply drive on, away from it all, leaving everything behind, living her life in solitude without the prospect of disappointing the ones she loved.

But then she thought about how much it would hurt John and she couldn't bear that. So, she shut down the engine, dismounted and pushed the bike through the gate, parking it next to the Merc. It was dark and quiet and had become colder. She closed the gate, took off her helmet, grabbed her bags and walked to the open front door.

Emily entered the beach house and put down her bags and the helmet.

"John?"

No answer.

She pulled out her Glock and walked into the main room, only to stop dead in her tracks. The whole room was lid by more than a hundred small candles, mostly tealights. They had been put all around the place. The dining table was laid for two, with silverware on a white table cloth. A bottle of French champagne rested in a cooler and a cozy fire burned in the open fireplace.

"You won't need the gun," John's voice came from her right.

Emily turned her head. There he stood, dressed up in a polo shirt, black trousers and black leather shoes. The feeling of unconditional love and the knowledge of belonging to him returned instantly. What had she been thinking a moment ago when she had considered leaving? The mere thought was so ridiculous. There stood the man she loved, the man she needed.

The man who owned her.

"John…" is all she managed to say, and her Glock fell to the ground.

For some reason, she was unable to move.

"Welcome home, Em," he said. "Took you some time."

"I'm so sorry," she said, tears running down her cheeks.

John made a step towards her, which seemed to break the paralysis. Emily ran towards John and flung her arms around him. He returned the gesture and for a while they stood that way, tightly embraced, tears running from her face and into his shoulder. He then slowly loosened the embrace, took her face into his hands and kissed her very long and lovingly. All the worries fell off her. There it was again, the feeling of bliss she had missed for all those years whenever he kissed her. The feeling of belonging to him, of being one.

"What… what is all this here?" she asked and looked around.

"Weeeell," John replied a little sheepishly, "I figured I didn't really welcome you yet, it was all so frantic and then you went away again… So, with the help of Cam and Alison, I organized this intimate event. Of course, I know that cyborgs probably don't have a romantic streak but…"

"Sssssh," she said and put her finger on his mouth, "it's wonderful. Thank you."

She kissed him again.

"Of course," she then said, "you know that this is quite a fire hazard?"

John laughed out loud and she joined in.

"Let's get you out of these leather clothes," he finally said. "I wanna take a good look at the new you."

Emily smiled and slowly peeled off her leather outfit, revealing that she only wore a tank top and some panties underneath. She then turned around and posed a little for him before taking off the rest as well. Her figure was a little more hourglass-shaped than before and her breasts were big now, really big. Even bigger than Alison's but not obscenely big. And like Alison's, they weren't sagging while at the same time looking completely natural. The biggest change was to her face, though, which no longer looked like the innocent girlfriend type Cameron represented. She looked more luscious now, with poutier lips and a button nose, like a glamour model. Her hair was still brown but a lighter tone than Cameron's.

"You like?" she finally asked.

John nodded.

"I like," he said smiling. "I like very much."

Emily was glad and smiled happily.

"So… what's for dinner?" she asked.

"You mean except us?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, since I didn't know exactly when you'd arrive, I ordered some antipasti from an Italian restaurant."

"Sounds delicious. I still need some calories to finish the healing of my biological shell."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

John just smiled and stretched out his hand. She took it and together they walked over to the dining table.

"Don't you want to put on some clothes?" he asked.

"Only if you insist."

"I won't insist."

"And for dessert," she said lasciviously, "I wanna taste all of your body with my tongue. And more."

"And I can't wait to try out your new body."

"You can do anything you want with me… Master."

They both laughed and kissed again, then sat down at the table. John poured some champagne and handed her a glass.

"To us," he said and clinked glasses with her, "and that we'll always stay together from now on."

"To us," she replied and smiled happily.

-0-

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 – 01:32 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time)

Washington, D.C.

Senator Henry Walden leaned back in his desk chair and stretched. His neck cracked loudly.

"Oh Jeez," he said to himself, "you're getting old, Henry."

He glanced at the clock and groaned. He'd been in his office for almost eight hours since the hearings had ended for the day. They'd start again at 10 in the morning and he desperately needed some sleep. The sofa looked very tempting. He'd called his wife before and informed her that he intended so stay the night in the office. After all, he had a bathroom, a shower and a wardrobe in there. Time to make use of it.

He packed the documents into his briefcase and was about to get up when suddenly the door to his office was pushed open. He startled and jumped in his chair. A blonde woman in probably her mid-twenties stood in the door frame. She was naked except for her boots, and he immediately noticed that she had obscenely large breasts that hung down to her navel and an hourglass figure that seemed to come out of a cartoon.

She pointed a gun at him, and her arm was shaking violently. She groaned and moaned while she made a step in his direction. A scent of sexual juices suddenly filled the air and the Senator saw that white liquid was running down the insides of her legs.

"Unngh…" she said. "S… Senator H… Henry … W… Walden?"

"Yes? Who are you?"

"J… Julia… Molitor…" she managed to utter, then she suddenly cramped and moaned loudly. "Oh Gooood…"

"Did she just orgasm?" the Senator asked himself but received his answer when a gush of white liquid splashed onto the office floor.

Of course, he remembered that name. Gibbons' daughter, the Shadow Council's killer. Gibbons had stated she was mentally ill. Police was sent to his house, but they had found it empty. It had looked like Julia had fled. And now she was here, probably sneaked past the security guards.

"What… what do you want from me?" Senator Walden asked.

"F… fffff… fuck!" she exclaimed, her arm still shaking violently. "K… kkk… ill you," she uttered as the next orgasm hit her.

This time the Senator noticed a vibrating sound that seemed to be coming from between the woman's legs.

"You are Blake Gibbons' daughter, right?" he said and held up his hands. "Why are you here? I hope you're aware that you're wanted for murder."

"D... dddontcare... ffff… fuck," she uttered, breathing heavily. "Rrrrr… rev…. revenge… ugh!"

Henry Walden realized that for some unknown reason that woman was sexually aroused beyond good and evil. It seemed that she needed all her willpower to utter just these few words before another orgasm shook her. Apparently, she had a vibrator inside of her vagina that took care of her constant horniness.

"You're here to take revenge for your father?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Unngh… huh…"

"But your father turned himself in, he offered himself as a principal witness. He'll be a free man afterwards, so why do you want to avenge him?"

"A… A… Alissssson," she managed to say, then breathed heavily again. "F… fffucked with his… urrgh… God… m… mind. And m… mmmmine… unnnnngh… too."

It needed all of Julia's willpower and self-control to say that sentence and sure enough, the next orgasm followed. Again, her juices splashed onto the floor. The way to the Senator's office had been pure agony and she had made it only because she had stuffed a vibrator into her sopping wet pussy. Otherwise she would have had to rub herself all the time, but she needed her hands free.

A week ago, Julia's mind had suddenly become clearer again, her body had become less grotesque. She had no idea what had happened, but she quickly realized two things. One: She needed to orgasm all the time or else she couldn't get a coherent thought. Two: Her father had changed. He had become a tame lion, a pet. He was completely under that bitch Alison's thrall, the slut who somehow had turned Julia into a heap of constant sexual arousal, ready to hump everything that resembled a male cock. The urge to constantly copulate was so strong that she could barely think and had problems making herself understood verbally.

However, in the past days she'd realized that she could think clearer when she had a vibrator in her pussy that constantly made her cum. She even learned to stand up and walk around that way. In the following day, she was finally able to put on shoes and wear a coat for a while. The cloth rubbed at her nipples and it felt like her mind was exploding with raw sexual energy, but she was able to focus enough to ignore it. When she saw her father on TV today, she had fled the house, knowing they they'd be coming for her.

Her options were limited, Alison was out of reach. So, she concentrated on the only target that made sense to her and was within reach: Senator Walden. His security was low but not for much longer, that much was clear. She had to act quickly. So, she had decided to pull herself together and take the metro to his office. She had watched the Senator enter his office and waited. Her condition got worse all the time, so she decided to go in instead of waiting for him to come out again. Luckily, one of the security guards had taken a leak while the other one was asleep. Once she'd entered Walden's outer office, she'd taken off the coat, which was a real relief, and then entered the office, determined to kill him.

"What in God's name happened to you?" the Senator asked as he looked at the naked, sweating and shaking figure in front of him whose vagina constantly leaked liquid and who orgasmed every thirty seconds or so.

"Unnnghimportant," Julia replied. "G… ggggonna… k… k… kill… you… oooh… God!"

Another splash of liquid on the floor.

"Miss, with your arm shaking that much, you will hardly hit me," Henry Walden said coolly, "lay down the gun and I'll call an ambulance. You need help!"

"Fffff… ffffuck! YOU!" she shouted and pulled the trigger.

Once.

Twice.

And a third time. The shots echoed through the empty halls of the Dirksen Senate Building. After the third shot, Julia was unable to hold the gun anymore and it fell out of her hand as she orgasmed again. Senator Walden had flinched, but he didn't feel anything. He looked down on his body. No wounds. No blood. He looked behind himself. No bullet holes in the wall as well. What the…?

Then, out of thin air, a tall man in a strange-looking overall appeared in front of his desk, blocking the view. He grabbed the woman's neck and snapped it like a twig. She fell to the floor, dead, but still shaking for a moment.

"Holy mother of God!" Henry Walden exclaimed. "Who in God's name are you?"

The tall man turned around and the Senator saw three bullet holes in his torso. Henry Walden realized that the bullets would have hit him if the man wouldn't have stood in front of his desk.

"My name is Carter," he said and let his eyes glow red, "Catherine Weaver sent me to protect you. I'll be your new bodyguard."

-0-0-0-