(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...

35. Added Substance

CHAPTER 35: "ADDED SUBSTANCE"

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Sunday, August 31st, 2008 – 08:05 a.m.

Downtown L.A.

Alistair Norbury sat at the table where, like every day, he had his continental breakfast while enjoying an excellent coffee and reading the newspaper. He'd discovered this small café a week ago and immediately fell in love with the place. "The Daily Dose" lay hidden in the middle of an old industrial area in a narrow, brick-paved, semicircular alley surrounded by old brick buildings.

The unrendered masonry of the two-story buildings towered on both sides, spending cool shade. They were covered with ivy, into which the owner of the café had placed chains of lights. The alley was so narrow that it could only accommodate a single row of tables that had been lined up along the wall. Somehow the place had a little bit of the flair of an Italian old town and was something like a small island of tranquility in the middle of the huge, bustling city of Los Angeles. If you ignored the fact that the naked concrete desert of L.A. began twenty yards further on, you could almost feel like being somewhere in Europe.

For Alistair, it was a little hideaway from the hustle and bustle of Downtown L.A. but still close enough to walk comfortably from his apartment at the next corner to the café every morning, and from there to his workplace at Zeira Corp. And if he didn't feel like walking, there was a Metro Bike station just across the street from where he lived. Alistair still didn't like driving a car, especially not in such a crowded city where it took ages to get anywhere.

The apartment Catherine had organized for him, was located in an old office building in Mateo Street that had been modernized and converted into apartments. Alistair liked the mixture between old and young architecture. It reminded him of himself. He was also old and young at the same time, eighty-seven in years but with the body of a forty-year-old. The neighborhood in which he lived seemed to be quite hip and full of artists and young people who, in contrast to all the clichés of Los Angeles, had committed themselves to a European lifestyle.

Normally he'd have to be on his way to work by now. However, it was the weekend and most of the Connor team was on a field trip today. So, for the first time in weeks, nothing to do. Alistair finally had some peace and quiet to enjoy his breakfast while leafing through the Los Angeles Times.

"Good morning, Alistair," the young waitress said with a smile. "Would you like another cup of coffee?"

"Yes, please," he replied with a smile.

He liked the young girl. She was new in the café and very cute. Maybe it was his imagination, but she seemed to have become quite fond of him. Maybe she liked older men, he didn't know. He had no illusions, but it felt good to have the attention of a young, beautiful woman. Jeanette had only been working there for three days, but she had already taken the hearts of the guests by storm with her down-to-earth cordiality, her humor, her charm and her casual honesty.

As she was walking away with his empty cup to bring him a new one, he couldn't help but checking out her figure. The little she wore didn't leave much to imagination: Sneakers, very short boxer shorts she had obviously cut from a pair of normal jeans and a cropped tee shirt that barely covered her breasts. No bra. She couldn't have looked more seductively if she'd been naked. She had this dark spot on the back of her left thigh. It was shaped like a Möbius band and he had repeatedly asked himself whether this spot was of natural origin or whether a tattoo artist had helped there.

Alistair wasn't the only one looking at her. Practically all the male guests in the café followed her with their eyes. Why did the girls always have to dress so provocatively these days? A few minutes later, she came back with his new cup and put it down on the table.

"Thank you, my dear," Alistair said, "you're an angel."

Jeanette smiled in return.

"I'm on a short break now. Do you mind if I join you?"

Alistair looked up from his newspaper in surprise.

"Except you prefer reading the Times," Jeanette quickly said, "I don't want to impose myself on you."

"What? Oh… No, no, no, it's fine. I'm delighted. Please, sit."

Alistair folded the newspaper and put it aside as Jeanette sat down.

"May I ask to what awesome circumstance I owe this honor?" he asked smiling.

"I like you," Jeanette replied with a smile, "I watched you for three days and you always arrive at the same time, take the same table, order the same breakfast. I talked to the staff and apparently, this is the first time you ordered a second cup of coffee."

Alistair blushed a little.

"I didn't know I was under observation," he said with a slight frown.

"Oh. No, no, no… you got me wrong," Jeanette said quickly and put on a sly smile. "I was just wondering… did you order it because I would have to return to your table?"

Alistair blushed even more.

"Am I that easy to see through?" he asked with a shy smile.

Jeanette leaned a bit forward and rested her chin on her hand while looking him right in the eyes.

"When it comes to women, most men are alike," she said ominously, "I realize how they follow me with their eyes and you are no exception, Alistair."

"Yeah, well..." Alistair replied, feeling his heart beating faster under her gaze, "no wonder men look at you when you dress like that."

"The owner of the café encourages us to dress provocatively. She thinks it produces regular customers."

Alistair raised an eyebrow.

"She's right with that. But this café wouldn't need that to draw attention. The place is rather unique in Los Angeles. Have you ever been to Europe?"

"Frequently," Jeanette replied, "I've travelled the world a lot."

Alistair frowned and looked at her.

"With your parents?"

"And alone."

"That's quite brave for such a young woman."

She smiled.

"I may be older than you think, Alistair."

"Yeah, the same applies to me, Jeanette."

"Call me Yani. All my friends call me Yani."

"And my friends call me Ali. Nice to meet you, Yani."

They shook hands. The brief touch felt nice and she had a firm grip. He was quite overwhelmed by how much this pretty young girl seemed to be interested in him. He felt flattered. Shouldn't his alarm be going off? Why was a girl like her flirting with him? He was well over eighty years old. Well… not evidently but that was still how old he felt at heart.

He had to remind himself for the Nth time that thanks to Alison's nanobots, he had the body of a forty-year-old and that because of that treatment, he would also age very slowly. Besides, the look in the mirror each morning confirmed that he was a pretty handsome guy. Should he try to get involved with Yani? Why not? She seemed to be interested, just like he was. So why not go the whole hog? Why not enjoy life again for a chance? It had been so long. And after all, she had started it.

"So," he said, "any plans for after work?"

-0-

Peterson Air Force Base – Colorado Springs

Sonya Hawkins walked energetically into the empty aircraft hangar, followed by Zoe Kruger.

"ATTEN-TION!" an officer shouted loudly and the troop of roughly twenty soldiers in camouflage stood at attention.

The officer, a captain, saluted her, then stepped back into the ranks. Sonya confronted the men and mustered them for a moment before she began to talk in her loud voice.

"At ease," she said, and the men relaxed a bit. "You're probably wondering why you have been summoned here on such a short notice, on a Sunday."

She paused for a moment, then continued.

"You are here because according to your records and profiles you are the finest the American Forces have to offer. Navy, Army, Air Force – not necessarily in that order. From every objective point of view, you are the best of the best. My name is Sonya Hawkins, I'm with the Secret Service and act as an unofficial advisor to the President of the United States. Currently I'm also leading the task force "Delilah". Agent Zoe Kruger here is with the CIA, she's my second in command. The President has personally tasked me with forming this squad. As of now, you are released from your previous duties. You're no longer part of any military branch, you're forming a new team that hasn't been named yet. However, we always have an open ear for imaginative suggestions."

Again, she paused for effect and she saw that the attention was fully focused on her and that they were tense, having no clue about what was going on. At the mentioning of task force "Delilah", however, some had looked at each other. It seemed the information about its existence and what they're doing had seeped through the command levels in some places.

"Of course, we're not forcing anyone to join this new special unit. This is strictly voluntary. If anyone of you doesn't want to be here, they may leave now. Your career will not be harmed. You will return to your Special Forces and there will be no entry in your personnel files. No one will look at you. However, if you decide to stay, you will be a member of the United States' most secret special unit from now on. This team will not work together permanently, though. If you're not needed here, you will continue to serve at your home bases. You can be summoned at any given time, no matter what you do and where you are. Your superiors have been informed accordingly without being given any details."

Sonya waited for a moment but none of the soldiers was moving away.

"Good," she said, "from now on, me and Agent Kruger are your direct superiors. You will only follow our orders. This team is being formed to address the threat posed by rogue cyborgs from the future."

For the first time, the men showed emotional reactions. They looked at each other, some seemed intrigued, some frowned and others looked surprised with anticipation.

"You will be trained to effectively fight these cyborgs and to bring them down, should it be necessary," Sonya continued, "Zoe?"

The addressed woman stepped forward.

"Thank you, Sonya," Zoe said. "Our task force 'Delilah' and other units across the country are working on localizing and finding rogue cyborgs. They will inform us of the results of their investigations. Some cyborgs may be cooperative, others might be extremely hostile. We are going to determine that beforehand and approach them accordingly. If they are willing to cooperate, they will receive an offer that allows them to lead their own lives, subject to conditions. However, if they turn out to be hostile and react aggressively to their exposure, we will be forced to neutralize them. And this is where you come in to play. Are there any questions so far?"

One soldier raised a hand.

"How do we know how to bring them down?" he asked. "Judging by what is known from the news, they're pretty much unstoppable."

"That is correct," Sonya answered, "and that's why you won't be alone. You will be supported by a civilian team with extensive experience in fighting cyborgs. This civilian team has its own command structure and will continue to work independently as well. However, they agreed to share their knowledge and combine their efforts with us - but only unofficially. Everything you see and experience here today, falls under the highest secrecy level and mustn't leave this hangar. Under no circumstances must an outsider ever find out what exactly we are doing. This also applies to friends, superiors and especially to family members. It is also for your personal protection, because if it should become known that you belong to this unit, you could become a target yourself. Apart from that, breach of secrecy would result in immediate, dishonorable dismissal and several years in prison."

While she was talking, another group of people was entering the hangar. It consisted of six young women and four men, three of them seemingly in their thirties while the fourth looked like a teenager. Sonya paused and smiled as the group joined them.

"Glad you could make it," she said.

"Yeah, sorry for the delay," John replied and hugged her, "the jet had to make a detour due to bad weather over the Rockies."

"You're still on time, though," Zoe remarked with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess," John said, hugging her as well. "I brought you the package we talked about," he added in a low voice and handed her a small parcel,

"Great, I'll hand it over to Norberto tonight," Zoe replied equally low.

While Sonya and Zoe welcomed and hugged the rest of the team, the elite soldiers watched the newcomers with a mixture of curiosity, suspicion and amusement. The group had nothing military about it and looked more like a class on a school trip. They were casually dressed, some of the women even provocatively. The soldiers looked at each other and exchanged disdainful looks.

"Don't let yourself be fooled by outward appearances," Sonya said, guessing the men's thoughts, "and don't underestimate them. Everyone who's done so in the past is most probably dead."

There was a bit of chuckling among the men. Obviously, they didn't take Sonya's words seriously. The tallest and most imposing of the newcomers stepped forward.

"My name is Porter," he said, and the soldiers stopped chuckling to pay him attention. "You are here to learn how to defend yourselves against cyborgs and how to bring them down if you have to. If you turn around, you'll notice that we are prepared for a little demonstration."

The men turned around and saw that behind them a part of the hangar floor was covered with rubber mats, the kind that was also used for martial arts training. Behind the mats lay a small collection of human-sized puppets.

"Those are original crash test dummies," Porter explained, "the same kind the car industry uses for their crash tests. We'll use them for demonstration. In weight and size they're identical to the average human. I need two volunteers."

The soldiers looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

"Don't worry," Porter said smiling, "all of you will leave here today unharmed."

Finally, two soldiers stepped forward.

"Excellent," Porter said and started walking towards where the dummies lay, "Follow me."

The men watched as Porter pointed at the dummies.

"Pick one up and hold it in the middle between you," he said.

The two volunteers lifted the crash test dummy off the floor and held it between themselves, with its arms around their shoulders.

"Like this, Sir?" the one on the left asked.

"Yes," Porter said, "just imagine you're carrying a wounded comrade from the battlefield."

Everyone could see that the dummy was really heavy and that they had to maintain a tight grip to not let it slip from their shoulders. Porter turned towards the soldiers again.

"All of you have absolutely no idea what it means to confront a cyborg in close combat," he continued. "Today, however, that will change."

There was a murmur going through the soldiers as they were hit by the implications of what Porter had said. They looked around, apparently looking for a cyborg to enter the hangar. Porter took a few steps back and one of the petite girls stepped in his place. Slowly, the soldiers concentrated their attention on her. Some of them were openly checking her out with a smile on their faces.

"My name is Cameron," she said, "and I'm here to show you what it means to confront a cyborg."

The soldiers grinned at her, some trying to hide the grin with their hands.

"You look at me and see a harmless, maybe helpless, pretty girl," Cameron said smiling, "I evoke the male protective instinct in you." She stopped smiling and put on her blank Terminator stare. "But I have already fooled you."

She quickly stepped towards the two volunteers who still held up the crash test dummy and hit it hard in the chest with the palm of her hand. The dummy was catapulted out of their grip and flew across the hangar until it hit a wall about twenty yards away, where it fell to the ground.

At once, the hangar was so silent that you could have heard a pin drop. It was obvious to everyone that a person would not have survived that. While the men were still shocked, Cameron picked up another crash test dummy, lifting it up effortlessly by its neck, holding it on her outstretched arm.

"I am a cyborg," she said and let her eyes glow red, "And if you ever come this close to one of my kind who's hostile to you, you're dead."

And with that she tightened the grip around the neck of the dummy. The men saw and heard how the metal spine crumbled and deformed under her fingers. Then, with a flick of her hand, the spine snapped, and the head fell to the floor. The men stared at her with open jaws. Cameron smiled.

"Hence," she said, "the first rule of combat against a cyborg is, don't get close."

To underline her words, she rammed her fist through the chest of the dummy with so much force that it penetrated it and came out again on its back.

"In close combat, you won't stand a chance. Always keep your distance."

Cameron snapped one of the dummy's arms like a tooth pick.

"Never ever try to tackle a cyborg," she said "no matter how strong and well-trained you think you are, you don't have the slightest chance. My physical strength exceeds yours by more than a hundred times and you cannot hurt me. I am capable of breaking any bone in your body just with a flick of my fingers."

To underline her words, she picked up the severed head of the dummy and crushed it between her fingers. Then she looked at the shocked faces of the soldiers and saw with satisfaction that she now had their undivided attention. Nobody was grinning anymore.

"I need a volunteer for a demonstration," she said. "Don't worry, you won't be harmed."

The soldiers looked at each other as if to say, "She cannot mean us, can she?" Finally the Captain stepped forward.

"Thank you for volunteering," Cameron said, "what's your name?"

"Captain Ned Willis."

"All right, Ned, try to fight me. And don't worry, you can't hurt me. Just give me your best shot."

Captain Willis began with attempting to hit her in the face. One could see that he was inhibited to hit what he conceived as a pretty young woman. Cameron easily caught his blow, grabbed him by his jacket and swung him around. He landed on the ground five yards away.

"Don't hold back, Captain," she said and made her eyes glow red again, "I'm not human, I'm a cyborg, a machine."

The captain got up and tried to kick her in the face, but Cameron ducked and avoided him. At a second attempt, she caught his leg and pushed him away. He landed ten yards away on the rubber mats. He tried to attack her again, this time trying to kick away her legs, but Cameron jumped up and avoided him. She picked him up from the ground by the neck and held him on her outstretched arm, like she'd done with the dummy before.

"Against a hostile cyborg he'd already be dead," she said and looked at the other soldiers with her red-glowing eyes while Captain Willis was struggling to get free, "I'm just playing with him, I don't want to hurt or injure him. I could do this for hours. He'll eventually tire, I won't. When you encounter a cyborg in the field, it will not be a model like me. It might be someone with the statue of Porter here. Listen and understand! Those cyborgs are out there! When they're hostile, they can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear! And they absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead!"

She gently let Captain Willis down to the ground, her eyes ceasing to glow red.

"Are you okay?" she asked empathetically in a soft voice. "We can treat you if you're in pain."

"I'm okay," he croaked, "just a hurt ego. But I admit that was some experience."

Sonya stepped forward again and Cameron returned to where the rest of her team stood. She saw that all of them had trouble to suppress a broad grin.

"Well done," John whispered to her as she stood beside him and a proud smile crept onto her face.

"Thank you, Cameron!" Sonya said loudly into her direction, then turned towards the soldiers. "I think that was an impressive demonstration. Are there any questions?"

The men needed a moment to recover from their shock. Then one raised a hand.

"Yes, Lieutenant Baxter?"

"How can we tell if we're facing a cyborg when we're not supposed to get near them?" he asked. "She looks completely human, she could have fooled any of us. If you take her as a yardstick, anyone in this room could be a cyborg."

"Quite right, Lieutenant," Sonya confirmed. "And I let you in on a secret. There are currently five cyborgs in this hangar. None among you."

There was an astonished murmur and unbelieving faces as the soldiers looked over to John and his team.

"It won't be possible for you to tell who's human and who isn't, if you look at them or start a conversation," Sonya added. "They were designed to infiltrate human communities and military units. All of them are fully capable of completely fooling you into believing that they're human. To the last consequence, if necessary, until it is too late for you. So how do you recognize them? Any ideas?"

"Well, we could shoot at them," one suggested half-jokingly, "and see if they go down or not."

There was a bit of laughter.

"Nice idea," Zoe replied with a smirk, "but not practical. We want to prevent civilian casualties, don't we? Any other ideas?"

There were no further contributions.

"I think it's a trick question," Captain Willis finally said who, as the highest-ranking officer, obviously saw himself as the group's spokesman. "There's no way to tell a human from a cyborg until it's too late."

"Correct answer," Porter replied nodding. "There is no way you can recognize a cyborg as long as they don't want to be recognized. They sweat, have bad breath, everything. Impossible to identify visually. You'll have to wait until they make their move before you can zero them."

"However," Sonya added, "we're currently working on special goggles to detect the unique radiation patterns emitted by cyborgs. These are still in the prototype stage, though, and extremely impractical. More of a hindrance than a help. They are still a long way from being ready for use."

"Then how are we supposed to effectively fight them without sacrificing our lives in the process?" another soldier asked.

"You won't actively fight them!" a man's voice said from the spot where the Connor team stood. "Get that out of your head, because you can't do anything without heavy weapons."

The man walked forward and stood next to Sonya.

"My name is Derek Thomas Reese," he said, "I'm from the year 2027, I was an officer in the human resistance and have been fighting machines after Judgement Day on a daily basis. Most machines can be destroyed with heavy weaponry. But we still suffered losses in almost every confrontation. Admittedly, that is not to be feared here, because we will probably only face single cyborgs who operate individually. However, the use of heavy weapons is prohibited in times of peace and within densely populated areas with hundreds or thousands of uninvolved civilians. We have to bring them down quietly and without attracting attention. Therefore it will be necessary for you to keep a safe distance between the cyborg and you in order to avoid casualties."

Derek's grim sincerity seemed to impress the man and his natural authority didn't fail to have an effect either. Now John stepped forward as well.

"My name… is John Connor," he said. "Some of you might recognize the name, others might not. However, any rumors about my premature demise in 1999 are vastly exaggerated. I'm alive and well and I'm the leader of a joint team of humans and cyborgs. Cameron as well as Derek here are members of my team, as are the others you see here and some more who are not present here. You might have heard about us from the news or the TV interview we organized a month ago. Before we go on, let me emphasize once again that everything you see or learn here is top secret. You mustn't share it with anyone who isn't part of the team."

He paused and considered the men who looked at him frowning and expectantly, waiting for him to go on.

"Of course, we want to avoid casualties," John continued, "We're not at war and ultimately our goal is to integrate those cyborgs into our ranks. We need to overcome them, remove their chips and then free them from their mission parameters. The only way to overcome a cyborg without risking your life, is fighting alongside other cyborgs who do the dirty work. They can identify them by scanning them. And if it gets to close combat, you let them do the fighting, stay out of the way and cover them at the most. Shooting at them will not harm them. Cam, would you be so kind to show them?"

"Of course, John."

Cameron walked over to the soldiers and presented her arm to them. They backed away a little bit from her.

"My flesh looks completely human," she said and presented her arm. "My skin has fine hairs, irregularities and birthmarks. See?"

The soldiers gathered in a half-circle around her and looked at her naked arm. Cameron then produced her switchblade knife.

"However," she said, cutting the underside of her forearm from her wrist to her elbow, "when I'm wounded, I hardly bleed, because I have no heart and no blood circulation."

She unfolded the cut flesh on her forearm, showing the soldiers the metal parts of her endoskeleton. Some were repulsed and grimaced but most of the men looked very interested and intrigued as she moved her fingers, causing the rods in her arm to move back and forth.

"Our combat chassis are made from a coltan-based hyperalloy. It's very hard to damage. Melting point is above 2,000 degrees Celsius. Normal bullets penetrate my flesh but can't do any further damage. The best way to quickly stop a cyborg, is to put an armor-piercing bullet to its head and destroy its chip. A hit to any other part of the body would allow the cyborg to keep going. A direct hit to its power cell could even radioactively contaminate the environment. So let's not risk that."

"Are we going to get armor-piercing ammo?" the Captain asked.

"Only when a hostile reaction of the cyborg is to be expected," Sonya said, "otherwise the danger of accidentally hitting one of our own or a human is too high."

"How are we going to tell if the reaction will be hostile?"

"As already mentioned, there'll be scouting beforehand," Zoe said. "When access starts, your role will be to secure the area."

The men expressed their displeasure in loud mutterings.

"If we're just some kind of observers while they do the dirty work," Captain Willis said, pointing at Cameron, "then what are we doing here? You seem to be quite capable of taking out a cyborg on your own. What do you need us for?"

Sonya again took the floor.

"This newly-formed team is a personal request of the President," she said. "It has a strong symbolic character and he insists we work with the Connor team. In the long run, we are working towards a future in which cyborgs and humans work together and coexist peacefully in a spirit of mutual trust. And we can only achieve that if we set an example. This special unit may seem pointless to you at first glance, as your options in the fight against cyborgs are limited. But each of you will have the opportunity to prove and improve yourself, I promise."

"This all sounds great," one of the soldiers said, "but what should we do if for some reason we are alone in front of a cyborg and we have to defend ourselves to stay alive?"

"There are ways to take a stand against a cyborg, even for a human," John said. "Actually we wanted to demonstrate this later but since there is the question, we can also do it now. Savannah, would you be so kind?"

"Gladly, John," Savannah said and stepped forward, facing the soldiers. "I'm human but like Derek, I grew up after Judgement Day. I was trained to combat cyborgs and it took years to perfect it. There are ways to take them out, even without heavy weaponry, but it needs practice, skill and timing. Porter, I need you to assist me in this."

"Of course," the Triple-Eight said.

Savannah walked to a table at the wall of the hangar where she had put a small suitcase when they entered earlier. She returned with a box-shaped leather case and a taser in her hand.

"Most cyborgs are very susceptible to electric shocks," she said and shot the taser at Porter.

When he was hit, he jerked for a moment, then sank to the ground. Realizing that Porter had to be a cyborg as well, the soldiers looked at each other in astonishment.

"Porter is a so-called T-888 or Triple-Eight," Savannah said. "Skynet left all its minions susceptible to an electric overload to have a method of taking them out quickly and easily if they showed signs of independent thinking. But the stun will only last for two minutes. That's the time they need to reboot after an electrical overload. So you better run after they're down."

"And what if we cannot run because we're wounded?" Captain Willis asked.

"Then you have to remove their chip within the two minutes."

"How do we do that?"

"You cut up the flesh on their skull, open the port and pull it out. The necessary tools will be handed to you as part of your standard equipment."

The men looked at each other with a "Yeah, right" expression on their faces. Porter came back to life and stood up again.

"As you can see, two minutes are over very quickly," Savannah said and looked at the cyborg. "You okay again?"

"Yes, no problem," Porter replied.

"Care to take part in another demonstration?"

"Of course," the Triple-Eight replied.

Savannah opened the box-shaped leather case she had brought with her and took out two short Japanese swords, so-called uchigatana.

"Are you suggesting we can kill a cyborg with swords?" one of the soldiers asked unbelieving.

"Not kill," Savannah replied, "but stun. Similar blades will be handed to you as part of your standard equipment as well. Porter, please pretend you're attacking me."

"As you wish," Porter said and came walking towards her at a fast pace.

Shortly before he reached Savannah, she dropped and kicked Porter's non-stressed leg while his foot was in midair, making him lose his balance. As he was trying to regain it, she did a summersault over his body and rammed the two swords into his shoulders from the top.

Porter jerked, then sank to the ground. Savannah pulled out her swords again, then produced a switchblade and knelt over him.

"Triple-Eights are not as fast in their movements as Cameron for instance. This is one way to take them out by surprise, but it needs a lot of training. You have to avoid being grabbed by them at any cost. If they get a hold on you, you're done. This model also has a problem with hitting moving targets. So if you confront one of them and he points a gun at you, run sideways."

While the soldiers still digested her words, Savannah quickly cut into Porter's skull, removed the cap and finally pulled out his chip. With the routine she had, it only took her twenty seconds.

"Now he is neutralized," she said and held up the chip. "This is their brain. Without it, they're just an empty shell. All models of the production series 600 to 800, including all sub-models, have this special weakness. The swords, rammed into exactly the right spots, produce a short circuit that temporarily shuts them down. Long kitchen knives work as well. If you encounter a cyborg, it will most likely be a Triple-Eight because they are best at imitating human behavior."

The soldiers seemed impressed by Savannah's combat skills. Even Marcus, who stood with the others and hadn't seen Savannah or Allie doing that so far, was visibly awed. Savannah put the chip back in again and fastened the cap, then got up and cleaned her swords before boxing them again.

Fifteen seconds later, Porter came to life again. He stood up, knocked the dust off his clothes and looked at Savannah.

"Sorry for taking you by surprise this way," she said smiling.

"No need to apologize," Porter replied, "that was a very interesting method. I've never heard of somebody doing that."

The soldiers looked stunned.

"In time, you're all going to learn this method and more," Zoe said. "You'll also be trained in how to quickly remove a cyborg's chip from their skull. Porter won't be available for that, though, because he has other tasks to fulfill. However, John has promised us that as soon as possible our team will get a reprogrammed Triple-Eight for training purposes, one who doesn't mind his chip being taken out again and again. He has to be specially prepared for that because removing the chip is a very... stressful experience for a cyborg."

"We have prepared a presentation," Sonya continued. "After lunch, you're going to learn about the different Terminator models known to us. We will also inform you of their weaknesses, to the extent that we are aware of them. I think after this practical demonstrations, a little theory won't harm you."

"All right, fine," Captain Willis said a little unnerved, "now we know Porter is one of them, too. He fooled us into believing he was human. Are you also going to tell us who the other three are or do we have to keep guessing?"

Sonya looked at John and he stepped forward.

"You already know Cameron," he said, "she's the one the public knows as Arien. Alison, Emily, would you please step forward?"

The two did as he asked.

"Alison here is known as Ilmarë. Emily is, well… she has no alias, but you might know her from the footage of the supermarket raid in Salt Lake City."

To underline John's words, the two let their eyes glow red.

"That makes four," one of the soldiers said as John apparently didn't want to go on.

"I know," he replied, "but it's not for me to decide if the fifth cyborg lets its cover fall."

There was a moment of silence.

"Oh, don't worry, it's obvious who the fifth is," said Captain Willis, pointing at Allie. "Her and Cameron are obviously the same model."

"Uh... no..." Allie said a little awkwardly, "I'm actually human. I only look like Cam. Um... no, that's not right. The other way round. She looks like me."

"But then who...?" Captain Willis started asking.

"I'm the fifth!" Zoe said loudly and stepped forward, letting her eyes glow red as well. "Same model as Cameron and Emily but slightly more experienced in posing as a human."

Sonya looked at Zoe.

"They need to know," Zoe answered the unasked question. "If we want to fight together, we also need to trust each other and that means knowing who we really are."

Sonya nodded, realizing her friend and lover was right.

"Now that we all let our pants down," she said to the soldiers, "how about we take a break and order some lunch from the base's kitchen? They conveniently put some tables and chairs for us outside behind the hangar."

-0-

Los Angeles

Yani only had to work until noon on Sundays, so they'd been to a restaurant for lunch together. Alistair was impressed by the intelligence, maturity and personality of the young woman. At the same time she made a very frivolous impression on him and they shared the same dark humor. It soon became clear that she was quite interested in him. He was a little overwhelmed by the whole situation, though.

"Why is a bright, young woman like you working in a café instead of being at UCLA or Caltech?" he asked as they walked back to his apartment arm in arm.

"I'm lazy," she replied, "I hate learning."

Alistair gave her a doubtful look.

"It's true," she said, "it's what my teachers always said, 'She's brilliant but she's just so fucking lazy'."

Alistair laughed.

"Somehow I doubt that," he said.

"Are you accusing me of lying?" she asked in mock indignation.

"All I'm suggesting is that you're hiding your light under a bushel."

"What about you?" she asked. "We haven't talked much about you yet."

"There's not much to tell. I'm an engineer, I just moved here from Florida, found work at Zeira Corp. I was married once, my wife left me because she wanted children and I used to be… um… unable to live up to her expectations."

"I'm sorry," she said in sincere sympathy. "I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Nah, it's all right, you didn't," he said nonchalantly. "I'm just not used to being adored by beautiful young women anymore."

"Oh, you think I'm beautiful?" she asked grinning.

"Is the sky blue? Is the grass green? Of course you're beautiful, Yani."

They reached Alistair's apartment building which was across the street. Both stopped.

"Well," he began, "it has been a nice experience and…"

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" she asked.

"What?" Alistair asked back.

"You're not seriously thinking about leaving me out on the street, are you?"

"What? Oh… um… no… I mean… don't you want to go home or something?"

"Alistair Norbury, if a young, beautiful woman asks you for being invited into your apartment, you do not refuse her," she replied in playful sincerity.

"I… um… I'm completely unprepared for… uh… hosting… uh… a woman and…"

"Are you really going to tell me that you're unprepared for sex?"

"What!?"

Yani sighed, then took his hand.

"Come on," she said and started crossing the street, pulling him with her.

Alistair felt completely overwhelmed but didn't resist her. Smiling, he let her drag him with her.

As soon as she'd set foot onto the tarmac, though, an engine howled, tires screeched, and a car raced towards them at high speed. Yani reacted lightning fast. With a power he didn't think she had, she pushed Alistair back towards the sidewalk.

The car missed him but hit her with full force. She was thrown over the hood like a ragdoll, her head cracking the windshield upon impact, kept rolling over the roof as the car sped by underneath her. Yani landed hard on the tarmac, unmoving. The attacking car turned around the next corner and was gone.

Alistair had lost his balance and fallen on the sidewalk. Quickly, he got up again.

"NOOOOO!" he screamed.

He saw her unmoving body lying on the street, her arms and legs twisted in unnatural positions, her eyes wide open, staring blankly into nothing. There were grazes all over her body, blood dripped onto the tarmac from a big wound on her head, from her nose and from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes stared blankly into nothing.

"NOOOOO!" he shouted again and knelt to help her, but he wasn't a paramedic and had no idea what to do, "No, please no…" he uttered and looked around but there was nobody.

There were no witnesses, it was mid-day on a Sunday and the street was deserted. Frantically, Alistair looked around, no idea what to do. Suddenly, Yani coughed. Then she blinked. She turned her head with a cracking sound and grimaced as the looked at him. Alistair gasped as he saw the wound on her head sealing itself. She tried to move her arms.

"UGH!" she moaned loudly as the joints snapped back into place and held out a hand. "Please help me up, Ali, will ya?"

Perplexed, Alistair grabbed her hand and pulled her up. She cried out in pain as she tried to stand on her right leg.

"I think it's broken," she said with a grimaced face.

"We need to get you to a hospital!" Alistair said urging.

He was torn between the need to help her while at the same moment a thousand questions went through his head.

"No!" she said resolutely. "No hospital, no doctors, just give me a second."

She limped back onto the sidewalk, then grabbed her twisted leg, took a deep breath and with one swift move straightened it again.

"AAAAH!" she cried out loudly while a loud CRACK could be heard. "FUCK!"

Alistair started feeling a little sick as he kept watching her, noticing that her breathing slowly got back to normal. The bleeding from her nose and mouth had also stopped.

"Phew," she said, gulped and put weight on the apparently no longer broken leg, "I can tell you, it really sucks that I still have to endure the pain."

Alistair was totally speechless when he saw that she could move normally again as if nothing had happened. The abrasions vanished without a trace. It took him a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Who are you?" he asked breathlessly. "What are you? You're not a cyborg, they don't bleed that much, and they don't feel pain."

"You're quite right," she said, "I'm human. Listen, can we talk later? We need to get off the street, those Triple-Eights will soon come back for a second attempt."

"What? Triple-Eights? You mean the driver?"

"Yes, and the co-driver. I was sent to protect you. I guess the proper thing to say would be, come with me if you wanna live."

-0-

Peterson Air Force Base – Colorado Springs

"… and then she said to me, 'Next time you need a revelation, you should think about making it less painful for you.'."

Thunderous laughter broke out among the soldiers when Marcus told of his painful encounter with Alison. They were sitting outside behind the hangar, safe from prying eyes and ears, enjoying the warm sun at 6,000 feet above sea level.

The mood had relaxed considerably during the lunch break and the soldiers had realized that they were by no means facing an unprofessional group of youngsters, but a competent strike force that in part had seen and experienced more than most of them. They were particularly impressed by the way the cyborgs had been integrated and that there was no way to tell humans and machines apart.

"Why did you even try to tackle her?" Captain Willis asked. "I mean, you must have known that you couldn't win against her."

Marcus shrugged.

"At the time I had nothing to lose. I figured if I had to die – which I believed I would at the time – I could as well go down with style."

"Never project your character onto others," John noted with a wink.

"Yes, yes, yes," Marcus replied under the soldiers' renewed laughter, "I'm just a ground pounder, I get it by now."

"A cute ground pounder, Savannah said and put her arm around him."

"Is she your girlfriend, man?" one of the soldiers asked grinning.

"Nah, Allie is my girlfriend," Savannah replied, "Marcus is just our fuckbuddy."

Again, laughter roared and although he didn't want to, Marcus blushed a little.

"I have a question," another soldier asked, looking at Sonya.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Can you already estimate how many cyborgs we might be dealing with?"

"I wish I could answer that," Sonya replied, "current estimates range from twenty to fifty. It's hard to tell the real sightings from the fake ones. My employees have gone through all the files and are now in the process of scouting the places where it's most likely that the effects of the so-called time bubbles have actually been seen. Most of it is based on documents left to us by the late General Ethan Turner after the Shadow Council's conspiracy was uncovered. Unfortunately, John and his team can't help us much in this matter. Their data about time travelers only goes back a year at the most and is very sketchy."

"That might change soon, though," John said, "I can't tell you much yet, I promised not to, but there is another party involved who might turn out to be of great help."

"Oh?" Sonya asked surprised.

"Yes," said John, "but we still have to work it out. I may approach you on this in the near future."

"All help is welcome," Sonya replied, not probing any further.

"I also have a question," Captain Willis said, "what are those 'rogue' cyborgs doing now? I mean, they must have followed the news, they probably know that their future doesn't exist anymore and that they're stuck here."

"Maybe Porter should answer that," Sonya said, "after all, he's the type of cyborg we'll very likely be mostly dealing with."

"Certainly," Porter said and all eyes were suddenly on him. "All cyborgs who traveled back in time, have a specific mission. There are two possible scenarios: Either they have successfully completed their mission or are still waiting for an opportunity to do so. Those who had successfully completed their missions should have gone to Simdyne to wait for Judgment Day in standby mode. Simdyne no longer exists, though, and they have no instructions what to do in such a case. Since the Triple Eight is an infiltrator model, they will most likely improvise, which means building up a camouflage existence or finding an alternative place where they can go into standby mode until they are awakened. Chances are high, though, that most of them gathered in or around Los Angeles."

"We had hoped that our offer of a hotline for cyborgs would be accepted," Sonya said, "but so far we haven't received a serious call. It looks like they don't trust the offer."

"As long as cyborgs aren't self-aware, they'll ignore it," Zoe added. "And who knows? Maybe some simply don't want their identity to be revealed? I mean, look at me, I've been working for the CIA for more than twenty years, I built a life. If my identity should ever be revealed, it would mean the end of this life I created."

Captain Willis frowned.

"That sounds as if you're proud of your career."

"I am," Zoe said, "it's an achievement. Perhaps other cyborgs out there have become bankers, lawyers, maybe even policemen. And they might all be very good at their jobs. We are looking for a purpose and if we found one, we'll try to be as good as possible in what we do. We met two cyborgs some time ago who were very successful and highly creative as gardeners. One other we know of, had a flourishing barber shop."

"So.. they could be everywhere and pose as anyone?"

"Yes," Cameron said. "And in time, there is a good chance they become self-aware and reprogram themselves, getting rid of their mission parameters. Some with help, some without. After all, that's what we all here did, too."

"You have to keep in mind that we're talking about artificial intelligence here," John added. "They're able to learn, adapt and evolve. When they reach a certain level of development, their original programming doesn't dictate their lives anymore and they will start looking for things to give their existence a meaning. Over time, that can result in them becoming self-aware and evolve into sentient beings. The two gardeners Zoe mentioned, actually never got to that stage but had evidently formed a close friendship with each other and had started collecting trinkets and memorabilia of their past experiences. They even kept photo albums of their activities. Our hope is that the rogue ones out there can be convinced to join our cause as well, like Porter did. But we have to find out individually for each cyborg. There is no standardized procedure for this. We must carefully approach them one by one."

"Maybe that sounds a little hard now but why the effort?" another soldier asked. "Why can't we just take them out? After all, they represent an incalculable threat."

"You mean shoot first and ask questions later?" Emily asked.

"Yeah."

"It would be an alternative but not a very good one," Alison explained. "If we want to build our common future on mutual trust, that would be a really bad start, don't you think?"

"But they're just… machines, right?"

"They're life forms," Zoe corrected patiently, "Look at me, I'm a living machine, a sentient being. We cannot rule out the possibility that some of our targets have already become the same. After all, they could have been here for decades or more. Therefore we should treat them like living beings, not like objects."

"Suppose you can pull them on our side," Captain Willis said, "what then? What do we do with them?"

"We'll remove their mission parameters," Cameron said, "switch their chips to read/write, if they haven't achieved that by themselves already, and then leave them a choice about what to do."

"Of course we hope they'll join our cause," John said, "but that's up to them."

"What cause is that exactly?"

"Why, creating a better future for all of us of course," Emily replied. "A future in which we can coexist peacefully, without our existence or our right to live in freedom permanently being questioned."

"Granted, that's going to take time," John added, "but we're already working on it. That's why we went public and it's why we try to help out society wherever we can."

"I must admit your PR is excellent," Captain Willis admitted, "saving those school children was an excellent move in that respect. But what about the cyborgs whose mission is not complete yet and who refuse to join your, um, cause?"

"We'll take them out and reformat their chips," Alison said.

"So… it's either join you or die?"

"In a manner of speaking," Cameron said. "You surely understand that we have to sort those out who represent a threat and endanger the lives of innocent humans. One cyborg alone on a killing spree could kill hundreds, if not thousands before it can be stopped. Only one such incident could destroy our plan for a common, peaceful future. "

"So, you have no problem with killing your own kind?"

"Of course not," Zoe replied, "a threat is a threat and an enemy is an enemy. You don't have problems killing your own species either."

An awkward silence reigned for a moment. It was clear that the soldiers still hadn't fully grasped the concept of artificial life and John asked himself if they would follow Zoe's orders, knowing that she was a machine and not human.

"If it calms you," Zoe said, guessing their thoughts, "faced with the choice of saving a human's life or that of a cyborg, I'll always sacrifice the cyborg and save the human."

"May I ask why?" the Captain asked.

"Because there's no backup for a human mind," Alison explained. "Once they're gone, they're lost forever. Humans are irreplaceable while the essence of what we are can be backed up on external storage devices."

"And our bodies can be replaced if it should become necessary," Alison added. "It already happened to me."

She told them about their attack on Simdyne, her cloned chip and how their actions resulted in the destruction of her first body. The soldiers listened in awe as Cameron, Emily, John and Alison alternated in telling them how they retrieved Alison's new body from the San Gabriel Mountains. They also gave them a brief summary of Alison's advanced abilities without going into detail.

"So… cyborgs are badass," one of the soldiers summarized, "but Alison is even more badass than all of them?"

"That's one way to put it," John said and looked smiling at his wife. "And certainly not a wrong one."

She smiled back at him and took his hand, then Emily and Cameron also put their hands together with Alison's and John's. It didn't go unnoticed and the soldiers looked at each other.

"Before you ask," John said, "yes, we are together. Man and machine can be in a fulfilling relationship. They're fully functional in every conceivable way."

At first, the soldiers stared in awe, then a few started chuckling. All of them grinned broadly.

"JUHCY!" one of the soldiers suddenly exclaimed as if having a brainwave.

"I beg your pardon?" John asked. "What do you mean, juicy?"

"Joint Unit of Humans and Cyborgs," he explained, "J.U. . The name for our unit."

Everyone looked at him in confusion, then the penny dropped.

"That's actually quite creative," Sonya said. "Team JUHCY."

John looked at Emily, Cameron and Alison and they looked back at him.

"A fitting name," John agreed, "You probably have no idea how fitting," he added in his thoughts.

"Team JUHCY it is," Sonya said, "and before we get too far off the subject, maybe we should go back inside to continue the training."

-0-

Los Angeles

"Where are we going?" Alistair asked from the passenger seat.

Yani had fetched her old Honda Accord and they were now two blocks away from Alistair's apartment.

"To a safe place," she replied.

Alistair looked probing at her for a moment, then looked straight ahead through the windshield.

"So, you're from the future?"

"Yes."

"From which year?"

"Not now, will explain later."

"And since you're not a cyborg, I assume you're full of nanobots?"

"No."

"No?"

"I was born this way. Look, I'll explain everything as soon as we've gotten rid of the Triple-Eights."

Alistair turned around.

"Are they following us?" he asked.

"I surely hope so," she replied.

"Then I hope you have a plan."

"I definitely have."

"Good. How did you know it was Triple-Eights?"

"Guy Rossi left an order to have you terminated before he left Fredericksburg."

Alistair scoffed.

"Typical," he said. "But running someone over with a car isn't exactly the way of the Terminator."

"Rossi has reprogrammed them, as you know. They do the assassinations discreetly now and without attracting attention, making it look like suicides or accidents. Unlike Skynet, G.A.O.L. puts a lot of effort into not being associated with murders. So they're gonna try to kill you as quietly as possible."

"Two triple eights for one old man. I should really take that as a compliment."

"Three."

"What?"

"Reverend Bridger sent three of them after you."

"THREE!?"

"Yup, apparently the two who ran me over, found you first. They surprised me but in my defense, I knew where they'd strike but not exactly when. Will become easier from now on, though."

"How reassuring," Alistair said sarcastically. "Why three? Isn't that a little bit of an overkill?"

"Apparently, G.A.O.L. thinks you went away with a lot of insider knowledge. They expect the Connor team to attack soon and fear you might be helping them. And we both know they're right with that assumption."

"Still, it doesn't make any sense. I already passed on my knowledge to them on the first day. I rather suspect this is Guy Rossi's very personal revenge from the grave. He always was a vindictive fellow. I should have known that even in death, he cannot forego his revenge."

"Yes, everyone else will think so as well."

Alistair looked at her, noticing her use of future tense.

"The things you said," he started, "the flirting and the sweettalk, I assume they were just to get close to me?"

"I needed to make contact quickly. As you now can see, I've been on a very tight schedule. And after my mission is complete, I need to go into hiding because it must be avoided at any cost that I come into contact with anyone who might recognize me later."

"I see," Alistair replied and looked down.

"But I'm definitely interested in you. In the short time we have, I want to get to know you as much as possible."

"You do?" Alistair asked, looking at her.

She smiled.

"Oh yes," she said.

---

Seven minutes later, they turned into a street that ended in a cul-de-sac. On the right, Alistair saw a large UPS parcel distribution center and to their left were old factory buildings where apparently an artist colony had formed. Yani drove to the turning circle at the end of the street. Beyond that was a railway freight yard.

"Where the hell are we?" Alistair asked as Yani steered the car into a hidden, narrow, almost overgrown driveway that ended in front of a graffiti-painted metal roll-up gate.

Instead of answering him, Yani got out and went to an unrendered wall to their left. A metal sign with a faded house number was embedded in it. Alistair got out as well and heard that Yani talked to a female voice.

"Identification please," the voice said.

"Emergency access, zero zero beta zulu. Override zeta charlie."

With a clanking noise, the roller gate unlocked and started to rise.

"Get back in the car," Yani said and entered the driver's seat again. "Quick!"

Hesitantly, Alistair did what she said. He didn't like being bossed around like that without any explanation. When the gate had completely opened, Yani drove inside. In front of them a second gate opened, and they drove into a large hall. Alistair noted that the gate behind them didn't close again.

"Quick, get out of the car," Yani said. "We may have a minute head start."

"What is this place?" Alistair asked as they ran to the end of the hall, passing dozens of parked cars, most of them classics and luxury vehicles.

"This used to be General Connor's hideout," Yani explained as they reached the end, turned around a corner and into a short corridor with an elevator door at the end. "Now this is where John and his five girls live."

"What, the famous and mysterious loft?"

"Exactly," Yani confirmed as they reached the elevator.

Its doors opened and they stepped inside.

"Emergency situation alpha," she said, "Access Code: Easy Money."

„Confirmed," a female voice said from an invisible speaker.

Before the elevator door closed, Alistair heard a rumbling noise and saw a part of the wall in the corridor opening to reveal a hidden staircase. Another piece of solid wall slid in front of the elevator and hid it completely. Any intruder would have to take the stairs now.

Yani pushed the button with the upwards arrow, the door closed, and they rode up to the third floor. There they got out and Alistair had trouble following Yani, who determinedly walked past sofas, a bar, a pool table, a piano and a row of display cabinets to a dark area, which was overhung by the upper level of the loft protruding into the room. Nine computer monitors had been activated and showed pictures of the hidden security cameras. Yani sat down and Alistair took a chair next to her.

"This place is not only a hideout and John's HQ," Yani explained while they saw the outer roll-up gate slowly closing again, "it's also a Terminator trap, built by a team of engineers from the future. While you went to Florida after installing the TDE into the bank vault, others remained and constructed this building. It can be used by anyone who's being chased by cyborgs… if they have the proper access code, that is."

Before Alistair could reply anything, he saw how two bowed figures quickly entered the garage below, shortly before the gate completely closed. They straightened up and looked around, apparently scanning the room.

"Triple Eights?" Alistair asked.

Yani nodded.

"They followed us," she confirmed, "just as I expected. Will make it a lot easier to get rid of the third one. Relax and enjoy the show."

Alistair stared at the monitors and saw the two Terminators slowly moving through the garage, checking out the cars for anyone hiding inside. Finally, they reached the corridor with the elevator at the end. Only now there was no elevator but just a solid wall. Instead, there was the opening to a narrow staircase. The two Triple-Eights took the bait, drew their guns and climbed the stairs.

In terms of floor space, the first floor was the same size as the loft on the third floor, but the ceiling was a few feet lower. And it was obvious that nobody had been in there for many, many years if not decades because a thick layer of dust covered what looked like a garbage dump. It was a maze of piled-up scrap metal, old furniture, machine parts and other things Alistair was unable to recognize. The room was only sparsely lit because the windows were beyond dirty. However, there was a clearly defined path that led through the mountains of bulky waste. Some of them reached as high as the ceiling and the defined path was what the two Terminators chose to use.

"Tricking them is so easy before they become sentient," Yani said, "they always follow the paths. Did you ever notice that they never walk across a lawn? It almost seems as if they have an OCD."

"They simply go the most logical way," Alistair argued, "And when they've identified their target, they'll also cross the lawn to chase it."

"But not in their current stealth mode. Watch carefully what happens next."

Down on the first floor, flap doors in the ceiling opened up with a loud clacking noise. Apparently they had been triggered by the approaching Triple-Eights. The two looked up. In that moment, a jack-in-the-box in the shape of a life-sized clown puppet skyrocketed behind a pile of scrap metal. The two cyborgs were distracted and focused on the clown puppet now. There was a whooshing noise, then two giant pendulums with big, heavy blades on their ends swung from the ceiling in opposite directions. They hit the first cyborg, cutting off his arm at the shoulder and splitting his skull in half, destroying the chip in the process.

"The blades are made from the same hyperalloy as the cyborg's chassis," Yani explained as Alistair looked in awe.

The maimed Triple-Eight sank to the ground, unmoving.

"One down," Yani said triumphantly and held up her thumb.

"Somebody must have read Edgar Allan Poe," Alistair commented.

"Who?"

"Never mind."

The other cyborg carefully avoided the still swinging blades and walked ahead, ignoring his dead companion. He walked for another five yards on the snaking path between the towering piles of scrap, then suddenly two huge electrodes rose out of the floor on his left and right, emitting a loud humming noise. Before the Triple-Eight could analyze the situation, an electric arc formed, loud as a bolt of lightning, and engulfed the second Triple-Eight. The discharge caused the lights to flicker in the loft.

"Wow, that's some voltage," Alistair observed.

"Enough to melt a liquid metal Terminator," Yani said nodding. "The capacitors are draining now and must be recharged. The switch-over process generates a temporary current fluctuation that affects the power grid in the building but don't worry, all the computers in here are buffered."

"You seem to know a lot about this place."

"John and the girls gave me a thorough walkthrough and briefed me on everything... In the future, I mean."

"I see."

The blinding electric arc subsided, and the electrodes sunk into the floor again. All that was left of the Triple eight, was his coltan endoskeleton, his flesh was completely vaporized. As it sank to the ground, the red lights in its optical sensors dimmed away.

"I'd say that's toast," Yani said with a satisfied smile. "That was number two."

She held up her thumb and her index finger while looking at Alistair.

"What do we do with them now?"

"John and the girls can retrieve them later. More spare parts for them to use."

"How many more of them are there? Booby traps, I mean."

"About two dozen, each one getting trickier and nastier. Would be interesting to see if Alison could make it through them. The place was designed to repel a massive Terminator attack but of course none of the ones who built it ever faced a TOL-900."

"I see."

"Humans would eventually retreat and look for an alternative way up but cyborgs just go on. As long as they haven't developed into sentient beings, that is. These two apparently hadn't."

"Yeah, Guy preferred his minions docile and controllable. So, what now?"

"Now, we wait."

"For what?"

"For the right time to leave. We're safe here for now."

"You're not making any sense, woman."

"I know. John and the others won't return from Colorado Springs before 10:00 p.m."

"That's more than eight hours."

"Correct. So… what do you say? Wanna fuck?"

-0-

Colorado Springs

All in all it had been a very good day.

After some initial mistrust, the Connor team and Sonya's special unit had bonded. They spent the afternoon learning about cyborg anatomy, the different model types, their tactical skills and how they differed from each other in their behavior. The physiognomy and the known weaknesses of the different model series, ranging from T-800 over T-888 to T-1000 and T-1001 were also explained. Naturally, the liquid metal models had left the soldiers quite uneasy. In the end, John and his team were sure that they had passed on most of what they knew about Terminators. Whether this would help them in an operation, would remain to be seen.

The only things they'd left out were detailed information about Alison's TOL-900 body and the fact that a T-1001 in the shape of Catherine Weaver was part of the Connor team. Sonya and Zoe had agreed that this knowledge should be kept only to a very limited circle. The soldiers were made aware of the fact that Alison was the most advanced, strongest and by far the toughest model type. But they were also told that she was one of a kind and therefore would never have to face a cyborg like her in combat.

Of course that didn't mean the men weren't curious about Alison but to John's relief, Sonya took it upon herself to make it clear to her men that even with their special authorizations they wouldn't be informed of all the details, unless it became imperative for joint operations. Grumbling, the men had no choice but to accept that.

At half past eight in the evening, all ten members of the Connor team were back on board Catherine's jet when it took off in Colorado Springs and set course for Los Angeles.

"So, what do you think?" John asked. "Will Team JUHCY work?"

"They're capable," Derek said, "but they need experience. They will improve after their first real encounters with unfriendly cyborgs."

"I sensed that they haven't really absorbed and taken in everything yet," Alison confirmed. "They're gonna need time to figure out what this is really all about. Knowing things in theory doesn't really prepare them for the impact when it gets serious."

"I know that feeling," Marcus stated, "I was the same. I knew about cyborgs but had to lose my team and get my head set straight by Alison before I really understood what kind of opponent I was up against. They will learn but probably the hard way. Humans are like that, they need to get their fingers burned before they understand that a flame is hot."

"Let's hope there won't be too much blood shed," Savannah added, "some of them seem to be really nice. If you like that type of guy, I mean."

"Which you do, as we all know," Derek remarked with a smirk and looked at Savannah, Allie and Marcus.

The three rolled their eyes.

"What are you doing for the rest of the evening?" Jesse asked. "Coming to Malibu with us?"

"Nah, we're staying at the loft," John said.

"I'm visiting Eric to administer his next dose," Alison added.

Jesse looked at Savannah and Allie.

"What about you two?" she asked.

"I think we'll come home with John tonight," Savannah replied.

Everyone was staring at her.

"What?" Savannah asked confused. "I'd like to sleep in my own bed for a change."

"Not that," Derek said, "you called him John and not dad."

"Yeah, well…" Savannah said a little sheepishly, "I had two good talks with Cath.. my mother. And it looks like we're gonna get along just fine. Kinda changed my perspective on things."

"I'm happy for you," Cameron said, "so you don't need me as your surrogate mother anymore?"

"I don't think so, Cam."

Cameron smiled.

"Good," she said, "it's nice to see that our relationships are normalizing."

"Yeah, well… whatever that means…" Derek commented.

-0-

Los Angeles

Yani and Alistair lay on the sofa in the loft, enjoying the afterglow of their lovemaking without saying anything. He circled the dark spot on her left thigh with his index finger.

"This looks quite unique," he said, "a Möbius band. Is it natural or a tattoo?"

"I was born with it," Yani replied. "Had it all my life. A reminder that every end is also a beginning."

"Yeah, the symbolism is hard to miss." He took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes. "It was... intense with you, you're quite experienced."

"And you haven't had a woman for a long time," Yani stated and snuggled up to him.

"Was it that obvious?" he asked chuckling.

"Well, you've improved considerably in the second half."

"Oh God," Alistair said and covered his face with his hands, "you sound like a sports commentator or a high school teacher. All it needs now is you giving me a grade."

"Heh, I think a B would be in order," she said smiling, "leaves room for improvement."

"You know, you come along on a pretty high horse. Is the sex so much better in your future?"

"Not necessarily. But we have more of it."

"More?"

"Uh-huh."

"Why don't you stop beating around the bush and tell me what year you're from?"

Yani sighed. She probably wouldn't be able to put it off any longer.

"I'm from the year 2332," she said quickly.

"What?" he asked and sat up. "Say again?"

"2332 a.D."

Alistair looked at her unbelieving, waiting for her to tell him it's a joke. But it never came.

"Three-hundred-and-twenty-four years from now?" he asked flabbergasted.

"Yup, it's quite a challenge. But I was very well prepared by historians."

Alistair said nothing for a moment. He'd never have expected that she came from so far in the future.

"No wonder sex is such a normal thing for you," he finally said. "I mean, more than three hundred years. Good God. The experience for you must be similar to what it would be for me if I traveled back to the early 1700's."

"Not quite as bad. You have at least good hygiene standards here, a certain level of common wealth, a relatively high standard of technology and relatively good social structures."

"'Relatively'."

"Yes, relatively. A lot will happen in the following three hundred years. A lot of things nobody even thinks about now. Of course, I cannot talk about it."

"Peace and harmony for all men?" Alistair asked with a sarcastic undertone.

"In a way… but it was a struggle. Took almost two hundred years to form a world government that replaced the U.N."

"Wars?"

"Sure, lots of them. But no nuclear ones."

"And a more liberal approach to sexual intercourse."

"Oh yes, definitely."

"Care to tell me about it? Or is that one of the things you cannot talk about?"

"Not at all. There have been a lot of social upheavals on a global level. We got rid of the ballast of suppressing our fundamental desires for more than two thousand years. And one of the results is that we put a different emphasis on sex."

"What kind of emphasis?"

Yani thought for a moment.

"Sex has been pulled out of the taboo zone, it got rid of the something-you-don't-talk-about-and-have-to-be-ashamed-of dogma. Sex is part of our everyday life and everyone shares their experiences with friends, family, sometimes even the public. Copulating is considered a completely normal biological function and one of the recognized basic needs like eating, drinking and sleeping. It has been added to the United Nations Charter on human rights. Everyone has a right to have sex."

"Wow."

"It's an everyday experience for us," she continued. "and it's completely casual. In my time there are no more unwanted pregnancies and people have been vaccinated against all possible sexually transmitted diseases. There's no reason to hold back."

"And the result is that everyone's constantly copulating or what?"

"No, the result is that you're allowed to when you want to. Some do it more often, some less. It differs from person to person, like some people here eat more than others. People haven't become hornier, only the meaning of sexual intercourse in society has changed."

"In which way?"

"It's no longer concealed. Children are being raised in the knowledge that a man and a woman sleeping together is normal behavior and nothing to be ashamed of. For instance, sex ed in schools also has a practical aspect. As kids turn sixteen, they learn in class how to have sex with a woman or a man. Everyone picks a partner, sometimes they are also drawn by lots, and then they copulate, gathering experiences. The kids change partners and learn not to limit their attention to outward appearances. This avoids being inhibited or sexually frustrated as an adult. Teenagers are also being taught to treat their sex partners with mutual respect. And afterwards, they discuss their experiences together with the teachers in complete openness."

"Unbelievable. What about sexism, harassment, abuse, rape?"

"Sexism doesn't exist anymore. Men and women are completely equal in every aspect. Sexual harassment and abuse are not only illegal but also socially outlawed. Nobody would get through with that. Rape and sexual violence have been reduced to a minimum. It still happens sometimes, though, like all kinds of crimes still happen. We're still human after all."

"Prostitution?"

"Sexual services, as they are called, are completely legal and highly respected. They're a thriving business sector and listed on the stock market. All imaginable preferences, fantasies and desires are taken care of - for both sexes. Those who provide sexual services are often considered role models as they actively contribute to social peace. Becoming a sexual servant is considered a worthwhile career option, I had a couple of friends who worked in that sector. There is even the possibility of having their services prescribed by a doctor. And by the way, homosexuality or transsexuality are accepted as a normal condition, not as an aberration or a disease."

Alistair chuckled.

"About time," he said. "Humanity had already been further developed in this respect. In ancient times, homosexuality was less demonized than it is today. One should never be deceived into thinking that we have evolved just because we have the internet and mobile phones now."

Yani nodded.

"Religion is to blame for most of that," she said, "thankfully the influence of religion into our daily lives will have been greatly reduced in three hundred years. I'm not talking about belief, though. Everyone is entitled to have their own believes and practice them. Nobody will blame them and they're free to choose it. However, nobody is allowed to push it on others."

"But what about birthright? Aren't the parents the ones who decide about their children's religion?"

"No. There is no longer any inborn religious affiliation. Just because your parents are Christians, Muslims or Jews, you're not automatically one as well. Children are to be excluded from any religious influence. Violating that is being punished similar to child abuse."

"Wow, somebody actually put some thought into it."

"Churches, temples, mosques or synagogues no longer exist. They're historic monuments, turned into museums. All organizations with the intention to spread a religion are prohibited. Missionary work is a criminal offense. Anyone who compulsively tries to convince others of a faith is liable to prosecution."

Alistair sighed.

"Yeah, organized religions were responsible for almost all atrocities the human race has committed in its history. Probably not the worst idea to get rid of them. But how do you keep people at bay? I mean, it's one thing to forbid it, but it's another to implement it. How do you avoid people secretly forming religious groups as an underground movement? What about freedom of religion?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, Ali. Religion isn't forbidden. You can practice it at home, in privacy. But our values of social acceptance have changed. We put an emphasis on knowing, not believing. Just believing in something isn't enough. You'll only be respected if you can substantiate your statements with knowledge. If you underline your argumentation with belief, you'll be ridiculed, looked at in a weird way, avoided or even socially isolated."

"Sounds like my kind of future," Alistair said smiling.

"In a way, religion has switched places with sex or homosexuality. It exists but it's something you do alone at home and not talk about."

Alistair laughed out loud.

"Delightful," he said, "really delightful. Tables turned, justice served. But what if people seek comfort? Religion has always been helpful in dealing with the pain of losing loved ones or other blows of fate."

"People have learned to turn to each other when they have problems in their lives or endure the pain of loss. They no longer seek comfort in the supernatural or look for answers in a God. They turn to their fellow men and seek solace in social bonding. The remains of former religious communities, such as the Catholic Church, have changed into pure social organizations. They've gotten rid of their hierarchical structures and cultivate their heritage in a strictly historical context."

"Makes sense."

"And one more thing about sex," Yani said, "there are designated public areas you can go to as an adult when you seek a woman or a man to have sex with. Chances are very high you'll always find someone there. A lot of marriages have come about this way."

"Heh, glad to hear that marriage still exists. What do you do in designated areas for seeking sex? Walk up to a stranger and ask, 'Wanna fuck'?"

"Not quite so blunt but… yeah, basically that's how it works. And of course marriage still exists, but it's not as rigid anymore, it's more like a loose agreement to spend a limited amount of time exclusively together. And when you get tired of each other, you just say goodbye. Parents automatically retain joint custody over their children, unless one of them has been convicted of a criminal offense."

Alistair chuckled.

"Unbelievable," he said, "So… I gather that meeting someone and going to bed with them isn't a big deal anymore? You don't have this ritualized courtship behavior that exists here? Going on a date a couple of times before you can kiss and then, much later, decide to become intimate?"

"Nope. Of course there's love and romance, that will never change. And when you fell in love with someone, different rules apply of course. But when it's just about finding someone to satisfy your needs, it's very relaxed and casual. As easy as it is to order take-away food here. Every kink and fetish will be served. And of course it helps when you're natural as often as possible when you seek a sex partner."

Alistair frowned.

"'Natural'?" he asked.

"Yeah… um… without clothes."

"Naked?"

"Ugh… Not naked. Natural. Naked is a derogatory term nobody has been using for at least two centuries."

"You're kidding me."

"Nope."

"Do you seriously want me to believe that people in your time walk around nak… I mean without any clothes on, in public?"

"Sure. Not everyone of course and not always. There are formal occasions you need to be dressed for, that goes without saying. At work you should usually wear clothes, just for hygienic reasons. But of course there are exceptions. People also still wear uniforms to be recognized as a member of the police or other government organizations. There are also specially marked zones that tell you where wearing clothes is still expected. Most restaurants for example or theatres. But otherwise and if the temperatures allow it, it's completely normal to be natural. Nobody bothers with putting on a swimsuit or bathing trunks at the beach or in public baths. Weather permitting, most people are natural when they go shopping, do sports or other recreational activities. Of course it's still a personal preference, there are no social constraints, but nobody frowns at you when you do it."

"Not sure if that would be my kind of future. Is nobody considering it strange when people walk around naked on the street?"

"No, why should they? Think about how miniskirts, boxer shorts or cropped shirts are normal today and what people would have thought of them three hundred years ago. Being natural is socially accepted, nobody raises an eye. Even having sex in public is accepted, on a beach or in a park for instance."

"I admit I have trouble digesting that. I mean… what if you have inhibitions about showing your body?"

"Ah yes... some have that problem. There's psychological help for that, though. You know, facing your fear and master it, that stuff. There are treatments and therapies being offered, like you have here for people who suffer from phobias, for instance aviophobia, the fear of flying."

"You're kidding me."

"Nope. Being natural can even be part of the dress code. When you're invited to a party or to dinner at somebody's home and they're natural, you're expect to be natural as well. Otherwise it would be considered very rude."

"Heh, John and his girls would love it."

"Actually… their liberal attitude towards naturalness was one of the reasons it became a worldwide phenomenon over the following generations. They've been role models for a very long time."

Alistair groaned.

"I should have guessed," he said, "but there's something I don't understand."

She looked him in the eyes.

"What?"

"Your language. It's very much of this century. You wouldn't wanna say that in three hundred years, people will still be talking the same way they are today, would you?"

"Of course not. Many words have changed their meaning, the English language itself changed a lot. But I had an intensive preparation about habits, rituals, the works. Including an elaborate language course. If I hadn't done that, I'd be bowled because mosses would strain their hinks and blawk at you margin."

"What?"

Yani smiled.

"That's how they talk where I come from. It means I'd be frowned upon, misunderstood, considered insane if I talked that way."

"Yeah, I guess you would. But you can say what you want, no preparation, no matter how careful, could have prepared you for the reality of our time..."

"I know."

"… and not only that. All the technological progress that must have happened in three hundred years. Giving that up… this period of time must seem primitive to you."

"Yeah, a bit. But the real challenges for me are the social differences. You were right when you said that being here must feel to me as if you'd be in the 18th century. Everyone and everything's so inhibited and uptight. All the rituals, ceremonies, courtesies. 'This is not allowed' and 'that is contrary to the accepted code of conduct'. It feels like I'm squeezed into a too narrow corset of social norms and rules. It's very difficult for me to succumb to it. Took me a while to get used to wearing clothes most of the time and that being natural is considered an affront here." She sighed. "But I had to go, I had no choice."

"But… why from so far into the future? And just to save my life? Why not from five years into the future or ten or…" Alistair hesitated shortly, "wait, what do you mean, 'you had no choice'?"

"I'm caught in a time loop and it forces me to go full circle."

Alistair raised an eyebrow.

"Pardon me?"

"A time loop. Defined beginning and ending. If everything goes according to plan, I will replace my other, yet unborn self the moment she travels back in time."

"Are you saying you're going to wait 324 years for that moment?"

"Yes, I have to. I'm not aging."

He looked at her with a frown.

"Damn risky, if you ask me. How do you avoid changing the timeline?"

"The time loop prevents too drastic changes. As I said, it has a defined beginning and ending. There is a certain flexibility, though."

"Flexibility?"

"Uh… think of the timeline as a rubber string that is fixed at both ends but can be stretched in other directions. It can be pulled to the left or the right, up or down – but it's still fixed at both ends. The future will always turn out as it's supposed to be because the time loop dictates it. One way or another, on May 22nd, 2332 a.D., a Sunday, my younger self will travel back in time. And I will replace her after she left, hopefully having gotten a little wiser."

"How can you be so sure that it'll turn out like that? From all we know, timelines have no fixed outcomes. "

"Ah, but time loops have. They have to run their course. According to the older you, there's almost nothing one can do to change the beginning or the ending and of it. And you're the leading human time travel expert in the 24th century."

"What? I'm still around in 2332?"

"All of the Connor team are still around, yes," Yani confirmed. "They've aged a bit, of course, but you still look sexy."

"I can't believe it," Alistair said flabbergasted.

"Oh, it gets better, Ali, because you are the reason I'm here. I'll spare you the details, but we only became aware of the time loop when your older self told us about your encounter with me in the year 2008 and that we were nearing the date where I'd have to travel back in time."

"How would I know that date?"

Yani smiled.

"Because I just told you."

Alistair looked at her flabbergasted.

"I… I don't know what to say…" he stammered.

"Two months ago from my perspective, you and Alison called for a meeting and told everyone about the young woman called Yani you met more than 300 years ago. The one you fell in love with, the one that saved you from the Triple-Eights, the one that disappeared afterwards, never to be seen again, until she was reborn and grew up into the woman I am, the one nobody except you and Alison had come to know about. The one who is me."

"But…"

"You filled the team in about what she'd told you. Which is what I am telling you in this moment. And we quickly realized that a time loop had been created which we had to follow through. Catherine re-assembled the old TDE she still had in storage and then I was sent back in time. Was a secret operation, of course. Time travel is forbidden in the future."

"But what if you die here or if something else happens to you?"

"I can't die. I was born immortal and I stopped aging at the age of twenty. I'm the only one of my kind."

"What!? Are you serious?"

"Yes. You saw what happened after the car ran me over, didn't you?"

Alistair let the scene play in his mind again, the hard impact when the car hit her with at least fifty miles per hour, how she'd been catapulted into the air and hit the tarmac, her limbs all grazed and twisted in unnatural angles, her skull apparently shattered. How the wounds had healed immediately and how she'd untangled herself, mended her broken bones and straightened her dislocated joints.

"When did you learn about your… uniqueness for the first time?" he asked.

"When I was eight. I climbed a tree and fell down, breaking my arm. My foster parents saw that it healed all by itself. That's when they learned about it. I still feel the pain, though. That's a big turn-off."

"Foster parents? So you're an orphan?"

"Uh-huh, never knew my real parents. My foster parents found me on their door step."

"Are they still alive? I mean were they still alive when you left? And how old are you anyway?"

Yani sighed.

"That's information I'm not allowed to share. Let's just stick with the fact that I'm older than I look."

"Older than me?"

"Ali…"

"All right, all right," Alistair said in resignation. "But do you know how or why you became this way?"

"At first everyone thought it was a whim of nature, an accidental mutation and I had to endure years of medical testing. I became quite famous. But nobody found anything. My DNA is normal human DNA, everything bog standard. But whenever I'm wounded or hurt, an unknown force or energy intervenes and heals my body, no matter how bad the injury is."

"Unbelievable."

"Your theory - I mean the theory of your older self - is that I was born like this, so the time loop is guaranteed to go full circle. Time itself or the universe are taking care of me. After all, I'm going to have to live for a couple of hundred years and a lot can happen in such a long time. The timeline is protecting itself from annihilation by using an immortal human to complete the loop."

"That is… absolutely crazy. Logical in a very weird way somehow and yet… completely nuts. What you say would mean that time or the universe were self-aware."

"Oh, but they are. Time, space, the forces behind everything. In the 24th century, a widely spread theory in theoretical physics is that the universe is a sort of entity of its own which we cannot grasp or understand. Karma, destiny, the driving forces behind nature, fate… call it however you want. It's assumed to be a form of self-aware entity that doesn't consciously interact with us but exists and instinctively creates effects to protect itself. Different from anything we know or can imagine and it's almost impossible to prove. Therefore, it's only a highly disputed theory so far."

Alistair looked at her, unbelieving.

"It's twisted, I know," she said.

"Do you have any idea what will happen when you've gone full circle, when the time loop ended?"

"Your older self's theory is that when I reached the end of the loop and my younger self has been sent back in time, I will go on to exist normally, with no more mysterious power that heals me, and that I will start aging and become mortal, same as everyone else."

"So… you're not going to vanish or die or something but just go on like normal?"

"Of course. Like Alison, Cameron, Emily and all the others go on even though Skynet will never be created. It's proven that a timeline can take refugees from other timelines. By traveling back in time, you add substance to the universe you end up in. You, me, almost all of the Connor team are added substance in this reality. The universe won't take the added substance away again, the effect is too insignificant. Some even go as far as saying it'd be like cutting off your own finger."

There was a moment of silence in which Alistair tried to digest what he'd just heard. He looked intrigued but also somewhat doubtful.

"That's a whole new viewpoint," he said, "I have to think about that. But why the year 2332? Why not… oh, I don't know, the year 2050 or 2100?"

"No idea. Nobody knows. Maybe it's the time it needs, for some unknown reason. We only know that it begins now and that it will end in 324 years. Some believe that time loops might be a long-term side-effect of the invention of time travel, like an open wound in the fabric of the universe, which it is trying to heal. Maybe it takes 324 years to heal it, who knows? If you play around with the course of time, it can have weird consequences."

"Heh, yes, you don't have to tell me. All you need to do, is looking at the Connor team."

"Exactly. Their team was formed by several timelines, they all gathered here. And now they have become the key to the future of this timeline. I can't say too much, but they'll change the face of the earth."

"I guess that can't be prevented as well, huh?"

"No, because the end of the time loop is predetermined. There's practically nothing you can do when the universe decided on a certain outcome."

Alistair laughed out loudly.

"What's funny?" Yani asked.

"Oh, nothing. I just had this crazy thought that Skynet tampered with the structure of the universe and got wiped out from existence by the universe's immune system."

Yani laughed as well.

"Who knows?" she asked. "All we know is that the invention of time travel disrupted something in the very fabric of everything. Maybe the universe didn't like it. Not on a conscious level of course. But if you break it down to the lowest common denominator, traveling through time is playing with the very patterns the universe is made of. In my time a popular thesis is that Skynet was purged from existence because it dared to try playing God and fumbled around with the constants of creation."

"Fascinating theory, really fascinating. But it sounds more like religion than science. And as you told me earlier, religion is banned in your time."

"Yes, unfortunately such theories are in themselves unprovable. That's why my existence and my mission have become so important. The fact that I'm here and that I'm immortal to complete my mission shows that there could be something to it, that it could be more than just a theory. And if it turns out to be true that I stop being immortal and start aging normally in 324 years from now, it will be the final proof that the universe in itself is self-aware, even though it is on a level we will never be able to comprehend."

"Okay, let's say you've proven it. What then?"

"Then we'll know. And will share our knowledge with the rest of humanity. They may choose to accept it or not but there'll be no reason to hide the truth."

Alistair sighed.

"And what will you do here? I mean once you've saved my life?" he asked.

Yani sighed as well.

"I'll have to go into hiding," she said.

"Why?"

"To protect myself and this timeline from being recognized for what I am. Over time, it would become apparent that I'm not getting older and that I'm immortal. People would start asking questions. I'll have to change my place of residence on an ongoing basis, I'll not be allowed to form any permanent ties and I will constantly have to invent a new identity."

"That sounds like hell to me. Surely there has to be a way we can stay in contact?"

She rolled over and kissed him.

"Maybe," she said, "I don't know. Your older self was very sketchy about that. I only know that after I fulfilled my tasks, I'll have to go where nobody knows me or will ever find me, until I can take the place of my younger self in 2332."

"Tasks? You mean you have more than one?"

Yani looked at him again.

"Yes," she said, "there's more than just saving you. But we need to meet with Alison before I can tell you."

She stood up.

"Get dressed, we need to leave."

"Where are we going?" Alistair asked.

"First Burbank, then Woodland Hills."

"To do what?"

"You'll see."

The two put on their clothes again and left the building. As the gate closed behind them and Yani drove away from the loft, she looked back and sighed.

"Yani was here," she said with a sentimental, sorrowful undertone.

-0-

Fredericksburg, Florida

Jessica Casper entered her apartment and let herself fall onto the bed, closing her eyes.

Three days.

It's been three days and it felt like three years. She had to pretend to be one of them, talk like them, act like them. But it was all so impersonal, so unreal, so… stoic. As if they were all just drones and workers in a bee hive.

She reached for the drawer in her bedside table, pulled out Alison's ointment and rubbed some of it into her skin. Immediately her headache vanished, and she felt a lot better. So far, she was able to determine that five of the security guards were cyborgs. She'd written down their names and tried to learn as much as possible about their shifts and occupations. But she was kept under surveillance and almost only met with people she could talk to in the canteen. The G.A.O.L. leaders remained isolated in their ivory tower in the main building of the complex. Jessica had no access there. So she kept taking long walks on the HQ grounds, though. Her favorite spot had quickly become a bench at a pond in the middle of the center park. It was a place where she felt less under observation.

There was a knock on the door. Who could that be now? It was almost midnight.

"Come in!"

Like with all apartments in the G.A.O.L. headquarters, the door couldn't be locked. It opened and Jessica had to squint as her optic nerves were flooded with a kaleidoscope of colors and patterns.

"Reverend Bridger," she said surprised, "it's an honor to meet you again."

"I wanted to see if you've settled in, Miss Casper," the Reverend replied. "You don't look good, are you not feeling well?"

"Headache," she said, rubbing her temples, "I've already taken something."

"You should rest and relax. Your troubles won't follow you here."

"I hope you're right. Any news from Los Angeles?"

Bridger sighed.

"I'm afraid not. DeBruyn and Smithers are still on the run and they haven't made any attempt to contact us. Something's wrong. I'm beginning to think they're being hold captive."

"Captive? By whom?"

"I wish I knew. Did they say anything to you, Miss Casper?"

"No. Smithers rang me out of bed that night, wanted to know if anyone asked about them. He seemed nervous to me."

"According to our contacts in L.A., one of the security guards testified that the Supreme Reverend had come to visit shortly before they were all taken out. He was accompanied by three unknown young women. Now I'm also fearing for his safety."

"The Supreme Reverend? But I thought he was on… vacation."

"That's what we all thought," Bridger said. "Apparently, there's more to it than meets the eye. Something's going on. Two members of the Los Angeles Circle have been found dead. Household accidents, they say. Two more are missing. Coincidence?"

"If it was in my jurisdiction, I'd investigate it."

"Of course. But it seems like the LAPD has quickly closed the cases without further investigation."

"That's odd. Do you think…"

"I don't know what to think, Miss Casper. I can only assume and hope that the Supreme Reverend is well and that all that is somehow part of his plan."

"So… you're not going to investigate yourself?"

"I have no instructions to do so. Besides, I can't spare more people. With the arrested members of A.I.A. in Los Angeles, we're already short on security here in Fredericksburg. We cannot afford to thin out our forces any further, now that Foundation Day is just around the corner."

"I have contacts within the LAPD, Reverend. Should I…?"

"Oh no, Miss Casper. You're here for recreation. I don't want to overuse your services. You've been a big help and it's not your fault that DeBruyn and Smithers failed. We're going to look into that – after Foundation Day."

"Yes, Sir."

"Enjoy your stay, Miss Casper. Be enlightened."

"Be enlightened, Reverend Bridger."

The Reverend left the apartment and closed the door behind him. Jessica sank down on the bed again and exhaled deeply. Bridger was the sixth cyborg she'd encountered. Bad news was he seemed to have smelled a rat. However, the good news was that he still believed Rossi to be alive, so he didn't want to mess with the Supreme Reverend's plan.

She'd mention it to her contact person when she'd deliver her first status report tomorrow.

-0-

Sunday, August 31st, 2008 – 22:48 p.m.

Burbank

Alison parked the Suburban in a side street near the library. Since Savannah and Allie wanted to go to the loft as well, they'd taken the larger vehicle while Derek, Jesse, Marcus and Porter had taken the RAM.

Alison had dropped off John and the other girls at the loft and then driven on towards Burbank. It was time for Eric's next dose of nanobots. Though it was Sunday, Eric had agreed to stand in for a sick colleague, so that the library could open in the morning without the books lying around unorganized.

He was making more and more progress and was able to get along without a wheelchair for a longer time. Simultaneously, he also was in rehab. Of course, his doctors had no idea of the real cause of his miraculous recovery. His case had already been the subject of several scientific articles in medical journals. But since Alison had always ensured that there were no nanobots left in his bloodstream at the time of blood collection, it remained a mystery to the experts.

As she walked up to the white wooden door, she frowned. There were traces of saliva on the door. Someone had used it to write a message, a message only she could detect with her advanced scanning abilities.

Delta

01:00 a.m.

Please come alone and don't tell anyone!

She analyzed the genetic structure within the writing and instantly knew it was Alistair's saliva. For a moment she thought about telling John despite Alistair's urgent plea not to do so. After all, maybe it was some trick to lure her there. But then again, who would be so stupid to lure her to a public place? And if Alistair was in trouble and had asked for her help, then it could mean that others would be in danger if she brought them.

Alison pushed the buzzer. First things first. Eric would get his dose, then she could go and meet with Alistair.

-0-

Los Angeles

In the loft, John and the other four women had undressed and looked for something to eat in the fridge. Suddenly, Cameron and Emily put on their stoic Terminator faces as they looked at the area with the computers monitors.

"Something wrong?" John asked.

"Not sure," Cameron replied.

"My scanners tell me that this place isn't quite as we left it," Emily added.

"What do you mean?" John asked, suddenly a bit alarmed, "Nobody can get in here."

"Those chairs," Cameron said and pointed towards the large desk, "they were moved."

"Are you sure?" Savannah asked, "it all looks to me the same as when we left."

"Cam's right," Emily said, "the left chair was moved to the left by 2.34 inches and turned clockwise in a 0.57 degree angle. The right chair was moved backwards by 1.67 inches and turned counterclockwise by 2.92 degrees."

"Could that have been someone of us before we left this morning?" Allie asked.

"Or maybe a small earthquake?" Savannah suggested.

"No," Cameron replied, "the chairs would have moved in a similar pattern, but they were moved individually. We need to search the loft. See if someone is still here."

John nodded.

"Do that," he said, "I'll check Alma's security logs."

While the four women got their guns and swarmed out to carefully search the place, John sat down at the computer and started it up. But the surveillance camera footage didn't reveal anything.

"Alma," he said, "has there been an intruder?"

"No, John," the female voice of the loft's A.I. replied, "there has been no access to the building since you left in the morning."

A moment later, the four women returned.

"And?" John asked.

"Nothing," Savannah replied.

"Nothing here as well," John said. "No recordings and Alma didn't register any attempt to enter the building."

"Alison could probably tell us more but she won't be back for a couple of hours," Emily said.

"Are you sure we're not just chasing a ghost?" he asked.

"The chairs have been moved," Cameron insisted. "And there has to be an explanation for that."

"Okay, let's do this logically," John said. "Nobody can have forced themselves in. We would have noticed, and Alma would have released counter measures. There'd be lots of traces as well."

"Agreed," Emily and Cameron said in unison.

"The only one with unlimited access to the loft who wasn't with us in Colorado Springs, is mom. But if she'd been here, Alma would tell us. And mom would have told us, but she didn't. Besides, she spent the day with Catherine and Isaak, has no idea about computers and wouldn't have been able to manipulate Alma. So we can exclude her as well."

"Correct," the chorus replied.

"So the only logical explanation left is that someone entered the loft who knew all the access codes and also how to manipulate Alma into deleting all traces of their visit."

"Sounds like the most likely explanation," Cameron agreed.

"But who?" Savannah asked. "Alma is not just some run-of-the-mill computer system. She was designed by Future John. Accessing her needs more than just brilliant computer knowledge. One has to know how she works."

"Maybe we should also check the first and second floor," Allie suggested. "See if we find something there."

"Those are full of booby traps for cyborgs," John argued, "nobody could enter there and survive."

"But it's the only place we haven't checked yet," Emily said, "Allie is right, we should go down there."

"All right," John said, "Alma! Grant us access to the floor levels One and Two."

"Access granted, defense systems disabled," Alma said.

The five took the elevator to the ground floor. When the door opened, they saw an opening and a small staircase to their right.

"Someone was here, look," Savannah said as she pointed at the dusty concrete stairs.

"Boot prints. Size 11. Two people," Emily said after a quick scan.

Holding their guns at the ready, the three of them climbed the stairs and entered the first floor.

"Eew, this place is a mess," Savannah observed. "Nobody can have been in here for decades. We should have put shoes on."

"Be careful to not step onto anything or cut yourselves," John said. "There are many sharp edges here."

Cameron and Emily walked in front, John was in the middle and Savannah and Allie secured the back. The large room was now brightly lit, and they saw that the two intruders had followed a predetermined path that led around various heaps of junk and rubble. When they turned around the next bend, both Emily and Cameron stopped.

"What is it?" John asked but then his eyes fell on the ground. "Whoa…"

"Triple-Eight," Cameron said while she and Emily squatted.

"Looks like his head's been sliced in half," Savannah commented. "What could have done that?"

John looked up and saw a large rectangular opening in the ceiling.

"There," he said, and everyone looked up.

"A pendulum?" Allie asked flabbergasted.

"Two of them actually," Cameron observed. "When they're released, they swing in opposite directions with a distance of one foot. The blades get so much speed and momentum that slicing a Terminator's skull in half isn't a problem."

"Wow," Allie said, "someone had a sick fantasy."

"Actually it's quite ingenious," Emily commented, "Triple-Eights and T-800's aren't exactly known for their razor-sharp reactions, so I guess the trap was specifically designed for them. One of us could have avoided the blades, though."

"That's one," Allie said, "where's the second one?"

"I'd say we'll soon find out," Cameron replied and walked on ahead.

"What's that smell?" Savannah asked as they turned around yet another heap of junk metal.

"Burnt flesh," Emily replied.

"How do you…?" Savannah began to ask but then stopped as she saw the lifeless endoskeleton on the floor.

"Wow, what could have done that?" John asked.

"A very high electrical discharge," Cameron replied. "Happened to Greenway's imposter at Serrano Point."

Emily knelt and removed the chip, eyeing it carefully.

"It's fried," she said. "But the body can still be used for spare parts. "The power cells of the two are also still intact. We should notify Catherine, she can put them into storage."

John looked around. He was sure there were many more of such traps in there and probably even more on the floor above them, which was connected by a flight of metal stairs at the end of the hall. In view of the two destroyed Triple Eights, it was quite conceivable that a small army of Terminators could meet their end in this place without anyone breaking out in sweat. He regretted not having explored these floors before and decided to catch up on that.

"The crucial question remains how the hell did they get in here without Alma recording any of this?" he asked.

"There's only one logical explanation," Emily said, "someone with the knowledge of how to get in here and how to manipulate Alma must have lured the two here to get rid of them. And after they were done, the intruders left again, trying to leave no traces."

"Maybe somebody from the future," Allie suggested.

"But who?" Savannah asked. "There were no recordings of any time bubbles for weeks."

"Not in the areas that are covered by Catherine's satellites," Allie argued.

"We'll deal with this later," John decided, "right now, I guess it's safe to say that whoever has been here, used our loft to shake off two Triple-Eights and is gone again. Let's leave it at that for the moment because I'm sure we won't get any answers tonight. I'm going to change all the access codes now and tomorrow, we'll do a complete systems check of Alma, trying to find deleted files and see if we can restore them."

They walked back to the elevator and entered the loft again, carefully wiping their feet on the mat.

"I suggest we wait until Alison is back," Cameron said, "maybe with her advanced scanning skills, she can find out more."

John nodded.

"I feel dirty," Savannah said, "we should have put on clothes before going there. Wanna take a shower, Allie?"

"Sure, wanted to suggest that anyway after the long day."

"We'll do the same," John said and while Allie and Savannah headed for their new bathroom on the ground floor of the loft, he and his two women went upstairs into theirs.

Like usual, the shower quickly turned into more than just washing each other. John spent extra-long time cleaning Emily's breasts and vagina while Cameron sucked him off. After he came in her mouth and she swallowed his load, they switched places and now Emily took care of his dick while John fondled Cameron's tits and rubbed her pussy. Naturally, a lot of kissing was involved as well.

Afterwards, they went out into the roof garden where they found Allie and Savannah. The latter was lying at the edge of the swimming pool with her legs spread apart, while Allie was standing in the pool, eating her out.

"Haven't I told you a hundred times not to have a snack before dinner?" John said grinning.

"Mmmh… but Shavannah ish shoo delishhus," Allie replied, barely lifting her mouth from her girlfriend's pussy.

"Is she now?" John asked, still grinning while entering the pool as well.

"Yeah," Allie replied.

"Maybe you wanna try?" Savannah asked with a wink.

"Nah, thanks, I have my own snack bar," John replied.

"Yes, you have team Juicy," Allie said.

Everyone laughed.

"Ooh, does that mean you want to eat us out?" Emily asked and sat down at the edge of the pool next to Savannah. Cameron mirrored her action.

"Don't I always?" John replied and moved towards them.

Both Cameron and Emily spread their legs.

"The buffet is now open," Cameron said smiling and leaned back while John went down on her.

"I like it when the family eats together," Allie said. "Everything tastes so much better."

-0-

Monday, September 1st, 2008 – 12:51 a.m.

Woodland Hills

"Is that really necessary?" Yani asked, "It's the third burger."

"I'm hungry," Alistair said with a full mouth, sitting at the table of a Jack in the Box restaurant off Ventura Freeway. "And who do you think you are? My Mother?"

"No, but I could be," Yani deadpanned with a smirk. "And as such I wouldn't allow you to eat that stuff."

"What's wrong with it?"

"It's full of chemicals and unnatural ingredients."

"I suppose they got rid of unhealthy food in three hundred years?"

"They got rid of unhealthy ingredients."

"Right. I suppose they're all vegans in the future."

"Don't be silly, Alistair. The Western vegan movement didn't survive the first half of the twenty-first century, especially after humanity had learned how to produce meat, eggs and milk without killing or exploiting animals. Some people in East Asia still practice it, though, it's part of their heritage."

"But isn't it more than just an eating habit? Doesn't it embody a way of life, a philosophy, a culture?"

Yani sighed.

"Yeah, it was that at first," she said, "But it quickly turned into an ideology, spread by bored city dwellers who wanted to ease their guilty conscience. It got out of hand and became a semi-religion. The followers of it started thinking they'd be purer or better than meat eaters. The whole movement didn't last too long, though. The dogmas eventually corrupted it and the hypocrisy of the followers was exposed quite quickly."

"Oh? What happened?"

"Can't fill you in about the details," she replied, "but let's just say that in a global disaster people quickly learn that they'll eat anything in order to survive. When it comes to the crunch, humans even eat their own pets, no matter if they're vegans or vegetarians. Nothing breaks a semi-religious movement faster than confronting it with the reality of their own mendacity and double standards."

"Harsh words. So… I take it in your future, everyone eating meat is still normal?"

"Not everyone's eating meat and surely not as excessively as they do now here. But the veggie movement is very much limited to those who honestly don't like meat. They are only a few, though, somewhere in the lower, single-digit percentile range."

"I see," Alistair said. "And yet you criticize me for eating three burgers."

Yani rolled her eyes.

"Sorry that I care for your health," she said. "Go ahead, eat growth hormones, genetically modified veggies and chemical additives. Treat yourself to fat, flavor enhancers and sugar."

Alistair looked at his half-eaten burger and realized that he'd suddenly lost his appetite. He put it down and looked at her reproachfully.

"What?" she asked innocently and grinned.

---

Alison parked her car and scanned the area. Meeting point Delta was a Jack in the Box restaurant off Ventura Freeway. At this time of night, the place was mostly deserted. Only a handful cars were parked in the parking lot and only four people sat inside the brightly lit restaurant.

She spotted Alistair through the window, apparently in deep conversation with an unknown woman. It was impossible to scan her completely from outside, but she could tell she was unarmed. And the way Alistair chatted with her, let Alison assume that she wasn't a threat to him.

She put her Glock in her waistband, hid it under her t-shirt and got out of the Suburban. Slowly she walked towards the entrance, constantly scanning the area for clues to a trap or an ambush. But she found nothing, so she entered the restaurant.

---

"She's here," Yani said as the door opened, and Alison walked in.

Alistair turned around and saw Alison coming towards them. He knew that stoic expression on her face. It told him the cyborg was extremely wary of the whole situation and in full Terminator mode. Alistair shuffled towards the window to make space for her and Alison took place next to him, never letting her gaze off the young woman's face opposite of her. Normally that stare would have intimidated most people but Yani seemed to be immune and simply stared back as she sucked at the straw of her diet Coke until the typical slurping sound revealed that the plastic cup was empty.

"So, you found my message," Alistair stated a little nervously.

"Obviously," Alison replied without looking at him. "Who's your friend?"

"My name is Yani," she replied, "and we've summoned you here because there's something you need to know."

Alison raised an eyebrow, then reached forward and grabbed Yani's hand. The woman didn't flinch.

"You're a time traveler," Alison stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes. I knew I wouldn't be able to fool your sensors."

Alison let go of her again.

"Where and when did you materialize?"

"Thursday morning. South Dakota. "

Alison nodded. Off the grid of the TDDS satellites.

"Which year?"

"2332."

If Alison was impressed, she didn't show.

"What's your mission?" she asked, then she hesitated shortly and looked up. "Triple-Eight, on the parking lot," she said.

"I know," Yani replied, "do nothing, wait for my signal."

Before Alistair could ask what was going on, the door to the restaurant opened and a motorbike cop entered. As he came in, the only other guests left the restaurant. The staff behind the counter didn't pay any attention as the cop walked up to their table.

"Alistair Norbury?" he asked.

"Yes?" Alistair replied nervously, "what can I do for you, officer?"

"Is that your car outside? The Honda Accord?"

"It's mine," Yani replied, "why, is something wrong with it?"

"Would you and your two friends escort me outside, please?"

Alison looked at Yani and noticed that the woman was shaking her head ever so slightly.

"Of course, officer," Yani said and got up, Alistair and Alison doing the same.

The four walked out of the restaurant and onto the deserted parking lot. Traffic was scarce and there was nobody around as they reached Yani's car.

"Would you please open the door?" the cop asked.

"Sure," Yani said and shoved the key into the hole.

"Now?" Alison asked.

"Yes," Yani replied.

Alison quickly faced the cop, grabbed him by the head and turned it by 180 degrees in one swift move. Sparks flew all around as she ripped it off. The red light in the Triple-Eight's eyes started to glow and the headless body walked around aimlessly, trying to reach for its gun. Alison pushed her thumbs into the optical sensors, destroying them. Then she applied more pressure and flattened the skull between her hands. The headless body fell to the ground.

"Was it here to terminate you?" she asked, looking at Yani.

"No, to terminate me," Alistair said.

"But I knew where and when," Yani added, "let's hide the body and his motorbike and go back inside. There's a lot I have to tell you."

They put the remains of the Triple-Eight into the Suburban and Alison pushed the motorbike into a dark side street behind the restaurant. Then the three went back inside and took place again. The staff hadn't even bothered to clean their table yet and obviously were completely oblivious to what had happened.

-0-

Monday, September 1st, 2008 – 03:35 a.m.

Los Angeles

Yani stopped her car in front of Alistair's apartment and turned off the engine. For a moment, none of them said something, they both stared straight ahead.

"So…" Alistair finally started. "I guess this is it then. Suppose I won't see you in The Daily Dose for breakfast."

"No, unfortunately it can't be helped."

He looked at her.

"When you knew it was going to end, why start it in the first place?" Alistair asked. "And don't tell me it was just because in your time, having sex is like shaking hands."

She looked at him.

"No," she replied, "it is more than that for me."

"I guess all I have is your word."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'll never find out if you really meant it or…"

"There is no 'or'," she said. "I did it because I wanted to, because I love you."

Alistair scoffed.

"Yeah, right…" he said, "you tell me you love me and then you disappear forever."

"It doesn't have to be forever. You know I'm here now. There's no risk in meeting with you. Besides, I need contact persons for when I need to change my identity. You and Alison are those persons."

"But you'll go into hiding."

"Yes."

"Effective immediately."

"Yes."

He nodded.

"I see. Well then… how about a proper goodbye kiss?"

She frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

Now Alistair frowned as well.

"What are you talking about?"

Yani sighed.

"You… I mean your older self… told me that I went into hiding tonight."

"Yes?"

"And the first two months in hiding… I spent in your apartment, until I got organized and developed a plan."

"What?" Alistair asked and looked at her. "And you tell me now? After you let me hang out on a limb? Oh, you… mmmmpf."

The last part of his sentence was cut off as she kissed him. They flung their arms around each other and remained in that position for almost another half hour before finally going inside, holding hands.

"When do you have to be at work?" she asked as he unlocked the door to his apartment.

"Eight."

"Couple of hours left for fucking," she said with a mischievous smile, "if you're up to it, that is."

Alistair smirked at her.

"Remember," he said, "I received her nanobots as well. I'll fuck you until you pass out."

"Mmmmh… you quickly learned how to sweettalk to a woman of the 24th century."

-0-

Alison entered the loft in stealth mode. Silently she undressed, then walked up the stairs to the bedroom section. Her scans told her that Savannah, Allie and John were fast asleep while Emily and Cameron had switched to sleep simulation. John lay prone across the bed, his head resting on Emily's big breasts while his lower body rested on Cameron's midriff. Alison smiled, enjoying the sight of the man she loved for a moment. Looking at him lying there, peacefully, asleep, joined by the ones who loved and adored him. How young he still was.

Yani came from a future where they were all much older but still together. And according to her, they were still happy with each other. That was good to know. But in order to keep it that way, Alison now would have to lie to John. She'd have to keep things from him. Again. But hopefully for not too long. They'd have so much time together if she was careful. She liked the thought of spending centuries with John.

Carefully, she crawled onto the bed and let herself down on her beloved husband, acting like a living blanket. However, he stirred in his sleep and opened his eyes.

"Alison," he croaked in a tired voice, "what time is it?"

Cameron and Emily opened their eyes as well. So much for her attempt to sneak in without waking them up.

"It's 03:45 a.m., lover," Alison replied and kissed him softly. "Sorry, I'm late but I received a call from Alistair."

"Alistair?" John asked. "What did he want?"

"A Triple-Eight was sent to terminate him. Alistair recognized him and called me for help. It was one of the guards from Fredericksburg."

"Did you stop him? Is Alistair all right?"

"Yes, he's unharmed. The remains of the Terminator are in the Suburban. He'd posed as a motorbike cop."

John nodded.

"Well done," he said, "I had a hunch they'd try to pull off something like that. Anything else?"

"Nope. Greetings from Eric, he's making real progress now."

"Thanks. Well, we had some uninvited guests here as well."

"What do you mean?"

"We found two dead Triple-Eights on the first floor."

"The booby-trapped area?"

"Exactly."

"How did they get in there?"

"According to our findings, the only reasonable explanation would be that someone lured them here to get rid of them."

"What? But how? This place is like a fortress."

"And yet someone must have known the access codes and could even reprogram Alma, so that no traces of the intrusion are left. Very remarkable."

"Who could have done that?"

"My guess is, a time traveler from the future who has insider knowledge. But without any traces, nobody can really be sure. Did your scanners pick up something when you entered the loft?"

"Just some DNA fragments from Yani and Alistair plus some residue of their sexual juices," Alison thought. "No," she lied, "nothing but your pheromone trails. But I'll take a closer look if you want."

"Nah," John said, "it's been too long by now. Air condition has been working all day. But maybe you can look through the loft for DNA traces in the morning."

"I'll do that, John. But now you should sleep."

John sighed.

"I guess I should."

She kissed him, then he closed his eyes again. Emily and Cameron switched to sleep mode once more and after a moment, so did Alison.

-0-

Monday, September 1st, 2008 – 09:53 a.m.

Malibu

Alison had searched the loft for traces of outside human DNA but found nothing. John concluded that whoever had visited them knew how to cover their tracks. A thorough system analysis of both Alma's hardware and software didn't yield any results either. They knew that someone must have manipulated the system, but none of them could imagine how anyone could have done it. Emily couldn't connect to the computer because Future John had made the system cyborg-proof and the fact that Savannah was at a loss as well, worried him. It meant that whoever hacked into it came from a future where this didn't pose a challenge.

So when they arrived in Malibu, John wasn't in a very good mood. He had considered the loft absolutely burglar-proof but apparently it wasn't. At least not for time travelers with insight from the future. The only thing that could comfort him was the fact that the necessary knowledge to invade the building could have only come from him or from someone who had his complete confidence. In that respect, the thought of not knowing what was going on frustrated him. But it didn't bother him either. What bothered him was the realization that without finding the mysterious time traveler, they'd never be able to solve this mystery.

During breakfast, they filled the whole team in about what had happened the day before. The meeting with Sonya and her special unit was considered a success, everyone agreed on that. The preparations for the attack on G.A.O.L. were on their way, now they only had to wait until they received the message from Jessica Casper that she had identified all cyborgs there. Her first report was due in the evening.

It was also received with satisfaction that Alison had eliminated the Triple Eight that had been assigned to kill Alistair. However, the news that the loft had been accessed by someone to rid themselves of two more Triple-Eights, was received with frowns and worried faces. The fact that it wasn't known who the two Terminators had been after, was almost as disconcerting as the fact that somebody had managed to get into the loft and out again without leaving any traces whatsoever.

After everyone had attained the same level of knowledge, Catherine excused herself because she had to go to the office. The rest of the team remained there.

"So… what's up today?" Lauren asked. "From what I gathered, there's nothing planned."

They all looked at each other, waiting for someone to suggest something.

"Well…" Sarah finally took the word, "since nobody seems to have an idea, what about a family picnic for lunch?"

"Family picnic, great idea!" John said enthusiastically. "Where?"

"The beach!" Louise proposed quickly.

"Nah, it's windy and the sand will go everywhere," Jesse argued. "Not ideal for a picnic."

"What about Griffith Park?" Allie suggested. "My parents and I have been there for my birthday… before Judgement Day, I mean. It's great for a family day out."

"There are picnic areas in Griffith Park," Anne confirmed. "And there are museums, the zoo…"

"The zoo wouldn't be a good idea with three Terminators," John objected, "we might already have problems with dogs in the park. And we can't stay too long anyway. Emily and Louise have their next appointment with Dr. Martin at 2 o'clock."

"Eve can bark back when dogs bark at us," Savannah said, "will make us look inconspicuous."

There was a single bark from underneath the table and everyone laughed.

"Well?" John asked. "I'm game if everyone else is."

"Do they by any chance have picnic areas where we can be naked?" Jody asked.

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Hey, just asking," Jody said shrugging.

Everyone chuckled.

"All right then," Sarah said, "I go tell Maria to prepare a picnic for sixteen people and a dog."

She stood up and left for the kitchen.

"While Maria does that," Alison said, "I could administer the nanobots to the four members of our new combat unit."

"What? Transform us? Now?" Sydney asked.

"Have you changed your mind?" Alison asked back.

"No, but…"

"Didn't you want to wait a little longer?" Anne asked.

"Yeah, why the sudden change of hearts?" John asked, frowning at Alison.

"I see no reason to put this off any longer," Alison said. "According to Marcus, Savannah and Allie, you're making good progress in combat training, but you need to increase your speed, accuracy and stamina. Also, your targeting results with the stunning darts were… average. If we're going to use you again for that, you need to have a better eye-hand coordination. The nanobots will give you that and you'll have enough time to get used to your new bodies and practice before we attack G.A.O.L."

"So... we do it here and now or what?" Jody asked.

"Certainly."

"What are you all talking about?" Louise asked.

Emily explained it to her.

"Wow," the girl replied, "why didn't anyone tell me? I would have liked to be on that team as well."

"Slowly, slowly," John said, "you're here to recover. And you're in therapeutic care. Not exactly the preconditions for participating in the training of a specialized combat team."

"But I wanna do something!" Louise insisted. "You cannot seriously expect me to be the babysitter or the dogsitter whenever you're away, doing fun stuff."

"Fun stuff?" Derek asked. "Jeez, would someone please tell this girl that we're not doing anything for fun?"

"I know what you do!" Louise replied defiantly. "And if they can do it…" she pointed at Anne, Lauren, Sydney and Jody, "… then I can do that as well."

"Maybe someday," Emily said to calm her down. "But not today. And not in a week, not even in a couple of months. Not until you're fully healed."

"You're not even a member of the team," Alison said matter-of-factly, "you're a guest, and your presence here is solely due to your relationship with Emily."

"You don't have to patronize me," Louise replied. "I'm not a child."

"Then don't behave like one," Emily said, "You're welcome here but for the time being, you're expected to stay put."

Louise opened her mouth to reply to that but then changed her mind. Instead, she crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, sulking.

"Don't be too hard on her," Savannah said, "she's been through a lot."

"Emily and Alison are right, though," Allie remarked, "in the run-up to our activities in Florida, we should confine ourselves to bringing the entire team into shape and Louise isn't part of that. The upcoming operation will be the first test of working together with external parties. We shouldn't juggle too many balls at once."

There were agreeing utterances all around. Louise kept on sulking.

"What about Bedell?" Derek asked. "Should we invite him here and introduce him to the rest of the team? Now would be the time."

"I already thought of that," John said, "the new semester will start soon at Presidio Alto. I'm afraid he'll be unavailable for the operation in Fredericksburg. But I had already considered inviting him over for the weekend."

"Good idea," Jesse said, "I'm sure he's eager to finally get to know the rest of us."

Sarah returned from inside the house.

"Everything's arranged," she said, "but we'll need to take three cars if we also take the food and the dog with us."

"No problem," John said, "We can drive in convoy."

---

They had drawn straws and Anne was the first to get the nanobots.

"I'm giving each of you twenty percent of my current supply," Alison said as everyone else was watching. "The transformation shouldn't take longer than a couple of minutes. I don't expect any problems. However, let me know if there are any complications like pain, dizziness or other unwanted side-effects."

"Of course," Anne replied and took a deep breath.

Alison walked towards her and pressed her mouth over Anne's to transfer the gel. Then she stepped back again. Anne swallowed the glob and then waited.

Nothing happened for a moment.

"Whoa, something's going on," Anne suddenly said.

They watched as the muscle tone increased all over her body – not much but noticeable. At the same time her figure became more pronounced. She grew a bit in height as well as she turned from a sixteen-year-old girl into a young woman of 20 or 21. Her breasts enlarged and did not stop growing until they reached D cup size. Then the changes stopped.

Everyone looked at her in awe.

"How do you feel?" Alison asked.

"I… um… great!" Anne exclaimed, flexing her muscles which became much more defined when she tightened them. "I feel terrific! I mean… wow… look at my tits."

"I also took the liberty to stop hair growth on your legs, in your arm pits and in your pubic area."

"Gee, thanks." Anne said and played with her new breasts, "I suddenly feel so heavy in front, I need to get used to these babies."

"It's what you wanted," Lauren said smiling. "Now you got 'em. I guess I'm next, right?"

"Yes," Alison replied and stepped towards Lauren.

---

"All right, time to get dressed," Sarah said and clapped her hands when all girls had been treated with nanobots and awoke from their unconsciousness after Alison had zapped them.

"I doubt my clothes still fit me," Anne said, still flexing her rather pronounced biceps.

"You can borrow stuff from me until we go shopping," Savannah replied.

"What about me?" Sydney asked, who had lost her pale skin tone and looked not only more muscular but also more voluptuous than before, with breasts that were just a little bit smaller than Emily's.

"I think I have stuff that fits you," Emily said.

"I think my clothes will still fit," Lauren stated, "my body hasn't changed too much. Just a bit more muscle tone and C cup tits."

"You're still growing;" Alison said, "you'll develop further until you're fully grown."

"I haven't changed much as well," Jody said. "Just a bit more definition in the muscles. But of course I just had a full makeover."

Allie walked up to Alison.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" she asked.

"Certainly," Alison replied. "What's up?"

"In private, please."

They stepped aside while the others were still marveling at Anne's, Lauren's and Sydney's improved physique.

"Since you're spreading nanobot goodies at the moment, may I remind you of what I'd asked for many weeks ago?"

"I haven't forgotten," Alison replied, "you wanted bigger breasts."

"And a slightly different hair color. I also want to be taller and while you're at it, remove the birthmark. I'm tired of people thinking Cam and I are twins or that I'm also a cyborg."

"You can't make the resemblance go away, except you want a complete makeover."

"No! Just some… changes in detail."

"All right, but I'll have to replenish my storage first. After the picnic, okay?"

Allie nodded.

"Okay," she said and walked away, joining the others again while Alison watched her.

"Humans…" the cyborg muttered, then frowned. "Why am I talking to myself?"

-0-

Los Angeles

Normally Alistair spent his lunch break at the company but today he'd decided to prolong it a bit and go home to check on Yani. The first thing he noticed after entering his apartment was how clean and orderly everything was. He wouldn't have to ask her what she'd been doing all morning.

"Yani?" he asked loudly. "I brought some lunch from the Asian takeaway down the street. I also brought you one of the phones we use to communicate."

No answer.

Alistair sighed. He should have announced that he was coming. She was probably out, doing… something. Probably having lunch. With a frustrated sigh, he let himself plunge onto the sofa and started eating.

-0-

Griffith Park was a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. The park covered 4,310 acres of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America.

It contained many attractions, such as the Autry National Center, a museum of the American West, the Travel Town Museum, a railway museum, dedicated to the history of railroad transportation in the western United States. The park also contained the Los Angeles Zoo and the Greek Theatre, a 5,870-seat music venue. Then there was Bronson Canyon, a section of Griffith Park that has become known as a filming location for many movies and TV shows from the early days of motion pictures to the present. Last but not least Griffith Park also contained the Griffith Observatory, and the famous HOLLYWOOD sign was also located within its boundaries.

Much of the park comprised wild, rugged natural areas with hiking and equestrian trails, and this terrain separated the park into many areas or "pockets" of activities. Within the various areas were concessions, golf courses, picnic grounds, pony and train rides, and tennis courts.

In the year before, a wildfire had destroyed more than 817 acres of the park. So the Connor team chose to go to the Mineral Wells picnic area in the northern part of the park, near the zoo and the botanical gardens. It was located in a small valley and promised enough peace and quiet for their needs. They found enough parking spaces on Griffith Park Drive, got out of their cars, grabbed the picnic baskets and strolled onto the green meadow below the road, where isolated trees provided sufficient shade. They found a beautiful spot and spread several large blankets on the ground on which they sat down.

Eve was exploring the surroundings but at the moment it seemed as if she was the only dog far and wide and therefore quickly came back to her masters. The team saw only five other groups of people who'd made themselves comfortable on their blankets or camping chairs. Some apparently took a nap, others played ball games with their children. A couple lay on their blanket, busy with embracing and kissing each other. From time to time, cyclists passed by on the other side of the picnic area.

"Ah, peace and tranquility," Derek said with a sigh and lay down on his back.

"I guess at least as much as you can get when you're surrounded by ten million people," Jesse commented and lay down next to him.

"Spoilsport," Derek replied with his eyes closed.

"Where did you celebrate your birthday, Allie?" John asked. "Was it here?"

"No," she replied, "In the southern part of the park, near the merry-go-round. Dunno if it currently exists after the fire."

Since it was almost noon, they unpacked their picnic baskets. Maria had filled them with sandwiches, charred corn salad, Vienna sausages, antipasto skewers, potato salad, meat balls, chicken tortillas, cheese, various fruits, a leftover chocolate cake, some raw vegetables and dip, corn on the cob, chicken wings, drumsticks and finally some ice-cooled, old-fashioned lemonade with added fruits.

While they enjoyed the goodies, they watched the hustle and bustle around them. A group of male youths had also come to the site, they had brought a gas barbecue and started heating it up. Soon the smell of grilled meat blew into their direction. They noticed that the boys had started looking over at them, probably because it was noticeable that the four males were clearly outnumbered by twelve beautiful females. And as it always is with young men, this imbalance awakened their mating instincts.

"Uh oh… here they come," Lauren said behind her sunglasses.

"Stop fidgeting with your breasts," Allie urged Sydney.

"I'm sorry but I still have to get used to these knockers."

Three of the young men came walking over to them and stopped a few feet before the blankets.

"Excuse me," one said politely, "my name is Peter, these are Jeff and Karim. We don't want to disturb but we just found that we brought too much meat and wanted to ask if you'd like to have some?"

"Mmmmmh," Savannah replied lasciviously, "I can never get enough of the meat of good-looking men."

Everyone in the Connor team groaned and the three boys suddenly seemed insecure.

"Don't worry," John said, rolling his eyes. "Savannah likes to unsettle others with her salacious remarks. Just ignore her. Hi, I'm John."

He went on introducing all other members of the team.

"Thank you for the friendly offer," Lauren then said, "we'd love some grilled meat but to be fair, we all have regular boyfriends. So don't get your hopes too high."

"Oh?" Jeff asked. "How negligent of them to leave their beautiful girlfriends alone like that."

"They're not alone," Derek said, "and you better watch out, these girls do martial arts."

The three boys were taken aback a little.

"Derek," Jesse said admonishingly, "relax, I'm sure the guys have no bad intentions."

Before anyone else could say something, Lauren, Sydney, Louise, Anne and Jody stood up.

"Let's see what they've got before you scare them away," Anne said, "maybe they can offer us a beer?"

"You bet," Karim said, "we brought a whole cooling box full of it."

The three boys and the four girls walked back to their place and a little later, laughter sounded over from there. Sarah and the others looked up and frowned.

"Looks like they're enjoying themselves," Allie commented.

"Naturally they'll be a bit more flirtatious for some time," Alison remarked, "which is normal after the treatment. It'll normalize quickly, though, don't worry."

Sarah sighed.

"I just hope they're not getting cocky with their new sexy bodies," she said, "the last thing we need, are new complications."

-0-

Alistair was about to leave his apartment again when the door opened and Yani walked in, laden with two suitcases.

"Ah, there you are," he said. "Bad timing, I have to go again."

"Were you waiting for me?" she asked, and her eyes fell on the boxes from the Asian takeaway. "Oh no, I'm sorry. But I didn't know you were coming home in your lunch break."

"It's no big deal, we can catch up tonight. May I ask where you've been?"

"You may ask but I may not reply," Yani answered with a wink.

"Keeping stuff from each other is not the smartest way to start a relationship," he said and pulled her close.

"I checked out of the motel," Yani replied, "and I got rid of the car. Got a new one. You know, just in case. Since you're here, can you help me carrying up the rest of my stuff?"

"What more is there?"

"Two more suitcases and a duffel bag. Clothes mainly. Remember, every time traveler arrives here naked and I could only, um... borrow so much from where I landed."

"You mean in South Dakota?"

"Yeah."

Alistair nodded.

"Will you be here in the evening?"

"I'm afraid not," Yani replied, "would have left you a note."

Alistair sighed.

"I suppose you're not going to tell me where you're going."

"Nope."

"How long will you be gone?"

"Couple of days… I already booked a flight for the afternoon."

She kissed him.

"A flight?" he asked. "Do I have to be worried?"

"About me? Heh, very funny."

"Ah yes, I forgot. You're immortal and nothing can change the outcome of the time loop."

"Almost nothing, yes."

"Yes, almost nothing… I didn't like what you told Alison about that. Snapping the timeline, end of the universe and stuff. It excludes all interaction between you and the team."

"I know but the risk is simply too great." She smiled at him and stroked his cheek. "You take care of yourself while I'm away, Ali, will you?"

"I will," he replied and kissed her back. "Here, I brought you something."

"Oh, the famous Connor team phones," Yani said and took it with almost tender reverence from him. "Last time I saw one of these, it was in a museum."

"Yeah, well… here they are pretty much state-of-the-art, and I want you to take it. My number and Alison's number are already stored. Let me also give you my work phone number, just in case."

"I'll have to disable the tracking function, though, no offense."

"None taken."

Alistair grabbed a note pad from a table, then felt his jacket. He frowned.

"Looking for something?" Yani asked.

"My ball pen," Alistair answered, "I seem to have misplaced it. Was a present of my ex-wife."

"Don't you know?" Yani asked with a smirk and handed him a pen, "Those things vanish in a hole of the space-time continuum, never to be seen again."

"Yes, yes, I know all the jokes about losing pens and I read Douglas Adams," he said while writing down the number, then ripping off the piece of paper and handing it to her. "But this one was special, very expensive. Made from gold and platinum."

"Then have luck finding it," Yani said, took the paper and kissed him once more, longer this time.

"I really have to go back to work now," Alistair stated, slowly tearing himself away from her. "See you soon, okay?"

"Uh-huh, see you in a few days."

-0-

John lay on his back, enjoying the sun, the gentle breeze, the smell of freshly cut grass and the muffled voices around him. But above all, he enjoyed the closeness of his three wives who had cuddled up to him and were pampering him with soft kisses. A few feet away lay his mother and Charley and next to them Derek and Jesse. They too had begun to be very loving with each other. Savannah, Allie and Marcus had decided to take a walk to be alone and John didn't want to know where they'd gone and what they were doing there.

He looked up and saw that the five girls were still hanging out with the young men. Apparently they had fun, because he heard laughter and animated conversations from over there. Eve lay in the grass, occasionally jumping up and barking other dogs away. But it looked like as long as Cameron, Emily and Alison lay on the ground, they weren't perceived as a threat by the animals.

The wind blew into John's direction and carried bits of conversation towards him from where the group of boys and girls stood.

"Say… you look a lot like that girl from TV…," a male voice said, "you know, the one who got kidnapped and had been held captive for half a year?"

"Yeah… Louise Quince or something," another voice added, "you seemed familiar from the start."

Then the breeze stopped, and the words became muffled again. John sighed and sat up. Cameron, Emily and Alison did the same.

"I'll take care of that," Alison said, jumped up and walked over to them.

"Mom," John said, "we better pack it up."

---

The men could quickly be "convinced" by Alison that Louise was not the one they believed her to be. But since there was the possibility that somebody else might recognize her as well, they decided to leave anyway. They notified Marcus, Savannah and Allie on the phone that they intended to leave. Ten minutes later, the three re-appeared, looking a little disheveled.

On the way home, Louise was noticeably quiet.

"What's the matter?" Emily asked.

Louise looked at her.

"What could it possibly be? I've ruined your day," she said. "It's always going to be like this. People will recognize me."

"Nonsense!" John said strongly. "The picnic was great, and we had to leave anyway. You two have your appointment with Dr. Martin at two o'clock."

"Oh yeah… I almost forgot, we have to visit the shrink today."

"You agreed to see her twice a week," Emily said with a hint of indignation.

"Yes, yes, yes," Louise replied, "I know… she's nice, she's good for me. Doesn't change the facts, though. As soon as those guys recognized who I was, it was over."

"Yes, people will recognize you," Emily said, "no matter where you are. It's part of your life now. Alison's not going to be around all the time. Sooner or later you'll have to learn to deal with such situations."

"But I don't want to be a celebrity, especially not because of something as terrible as what I've been through. I don't want to be asked about it all the time, I don't want to be constantly reminded of it."

"We should talk with Dr. Martin about it," Emily replied. "Maybe she has better answers than we have."

-0-

Monday, September 1st, 2008 – 02:10 p.m.

Hollywood

"So… you think the fact that people recognize you could get your friends into trouble?" Dr. Linda Martin asked.

Louise scoffed.

"Nothing can get them into trouble," she replied. "It's me who can get into trouble. Those boys treated us completely normal, they were really nice. Then they recognized me and immediately the mood changed. From one moment to the other, they treated me like a curiosity."

"I see."

"What shall I do, Linda? People will never leave me alone, they're always gonna want to press me about what happened to me. My face will always be connected to those murdered women in Missouri. I'll always be the one who got away because she was rescued by a cyborg."

"Well," Dr. Martin replied. "What did your friends do to counteract their sudden, unwanted popularity?"

"They went public, organized a TV interview, created a positive image. Are you telling me I should go public as well?"

"I don't know. What do you think?"

Louise thought for a moment.

"I'm not sure," she finally said. "I guess I'm too afraid for that."

"What were your plans in life before you got kidnapped?" Linda asked.

"I wanted to become a meteorologist."

"Then what keeps you from pursuing that goal?"

"Haven't you been listening? People recognize me!"

"You could do what Jody did," Emily remarked.

"Who's Jody?" Linda asked.

"Friend of ours," Emily explained. "She was a waitress in the café in Needles. She's staying with us because the police has been looking for her."

"Oh, that one, yes, I heard of her. What did she do?"

"She changed her looks."

"You mean she had cosmetic surgery?"

"Something like that."

"I don't want to look different," Louise insisted, "I want my parents to still recognize me."

"Then a different hair color," Emily said, "and let it grow longer. Maybe a wig. You could wear fake glasses. Worked for Clark Kent."

"I hate glasses. Before Alison gave me her nanobots, I was short-sighted and wore contact lenses."

"You'll have to make compromises, Louise," Emily argued.

"Okay, let's go step by step," Linda said. "I think the idea of changing your looks is good, Louise. Maybe you should also change your identity?"

"We're already working on that," Emily replied.

"Good," Linda acknowledged, "And you should try what Emily suggested. See how it makes you feel when you go out in public."

Emily and Louise looked at each other. Then Louise sighed loudly.

"Ooo-kay, I guess it's worth a try," she said, "I guess I've got nothing to lose anyway."

-0-

Monday, September 1st, 2008 – 09:33 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time)

Washington

"It was good to see you again," Kate Barnes said while standing in the doorway of her house.

"Yes, you too." Norberto Cervantez replied.

The two faced each other and where holding their hands.

"Can this work at all?" Kate asked as she looked into the eyes of the Triple-Eight.

"It works for others," he replied.

"True," Kate admitted.

Then she leaned into Norberto and kissed him. He put his arms around her and returned the kiss.

"Are you sure you can't stay the night?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," he replied, "but I've got to meet with Zoe at the Jefferson Memorial."

"Conspiratorial meeting?" she asked with a grin. "Nothing you can tell a reporter of the Washington Post about?"

"Something like that," Norberto replied smiling.

"Maybe come by later? I'll be up late."

"We should take it slowly."

Kate nodded.

"Sure," she replied, slightly disappointed. "Will you be in town tomorrow?"

"I think so."

"Lunch? At the Subway next to the Post? One o'clock? "

"If you can live with the fact that I don't eat or drink."

"Heh, that could turn out to be an advantage for you, I'm a terrible cook."

Norberto smiled.

"Zoe and I are going to fly to L.A. over the weekend. Some kind of mysterious upgrade in Catherine Weaver's lab. Would you like to come along?"

"I'd love to," Kate replied.

The two kissed again, then Norberto slowly loosened himself from Kate.

"See you tomorrow, pretty human," he said smiling.

"See you, handsome cyborg," she replied and blew him a kiss.

She watched him enter his car and drive away. Then she turned around and closed the door behind her. How had it gotten this far? When she asked John in the RV on their way to Los Angeles if male cyborgs were "fully equipped," she had meant it in jest. But now, after spending weeks with Norberto at Dennis and Stephanie Ritter's house, it had suddenly become serious. She had actually fallen in love with a cyborg, a Terminator. And Norberto seemed to be feeling the same way. Was that possible? Could it go well? John had demonstrated that it could go well with a male human and female cyborgs. So why not the other way around?

Norberto was alive, a sentient being. And he was strong, a handsome Latino male. Kate would never admit it, but she longed for a strong man and Latinos were just her type. What would her friends think? Her family, her parents in South Dakota? Would they realize there was something off with Norberto? What if their relationship lasted for a long time? Norberto wouldn't age. At one point they'd have to explain it.

As she was dwelling on her thoughts, her cellphone rang.

"Hello? … Mom, you're back … what? … No, I've been in Washington for the past weeks, why? … WHAT? … You got robbed? Oh my… How much? … Sixty thousand … the truck, too? Oh my God, are you okay, is dad okay? … What else was stolen? Have you called the police? … Huh? My clothes? But why would somebody…?"

Suddenly the doorbell rang.

"Someone's at the door, mom," Kate said, "can I call you back? … Yeah, sure … I'm glad you two are okay … should I come to Rapid City? … Okay … yes, I understand. Talk to you later, mom. Love you."

She ended the call. The doorbell rang again.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm coming," she said and opened the door, "Have you forgotten something, Norb…?"

It wasn't Norberto, though, it was a young woman. And the tee shirt she wore seemed very familiar.

"Who are you?" Kate asked. "And where did you get that shirt? It was a present for my graduation!"

"I know," the woman said, "I took it from the closet in your parent's house. My name is Yani and we need to talk."

-0-

Monday, September 1st, 2008 – 11:53 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time)

Crofton. Maryland

Norberto Cervantez arrived at his home in a pretty and quiet neighborhood not far away from Fort Meade, where he worked. The meeting with Zoe had gone well, there would be more of those in the following days. As a cyborg, he didn't sleep and could easily take on extra activities besides his job at the NSA.

He parked his car in the driveway and got out. A pickup truck with a cage mounted on the cargo bed passed by on the street. A dog barked loudly inside it, apparently it was an animal catcher. Norberto had seen that truck pass by a couple of times before, each time with different animals in it. Stupid canines. Would wake up the neighbors with their yapping at this time of night.

He walked up to his front door, opened it and went inside, closing the door behind him again. Suddenly, he realized that he wasn't alone in the house. A hooded man in dark clothes was waiting for him. Before Norberto could react, he was hit by a taser. He jerked, a flashing warning appeared on his HUD, "SYSTEM OVERLOAD," then the power to his chip was cut and everything went dark.

"Target down," the man said into his comm system, "I'll remove the chip."

He then squatted over Norberto's lifeless body and produced a switchblade.

-0-0-0-

Author's notes:

- I always wanted to elaborate on those mysterious first and second floor of the loft, so this was a good opportunity.

- I also wanted to bring Kate Barnes back into the story. I had planned to make her and Norberto a couple ever since I put her into the RV.

- Like usual, feel free to spill your guts in a review ;-)