Chapter 1392


Flat Tire


Cammy and Savannah moved to their assigned position. 'Coltan Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb' took up station around them. One was in a low orbit the other was in a higher and wider orbit.

Steve and Tom were about a mile away. Al and Ed were about three miles away. Ned was at the Iroquois. There were drones around each team.

Savannah looked at her phone.

"It looks like they will be in the area within ten minutes." Savannah said.

That was the same information that Cammy was given by John Henry a few seconds ago.

"It looks that way." Cammy said. "What we don't know is where they are going specifically."

There was the impending threat of the HK equipment that the Grays seemed to be headed to.

"We need to watch for any HK drones suddenly appearing." Savannah said. "There are most likely some setting in a building right around us somewhere."

That would not be the first time they'd encountered that.

"Our drones are watching the ground and the sky." Cammy said.

Whatever was going to happen was going to happen soon.


Anna and Young Allison went over all the images and satellite maps. The current drone images were overlaid on them in real time.

"Are the Grays going to stop?" Young Allison asked.

Anna was not sure about that.

"I don't know." Anna said.

Young Allison checked the suspected target areas.

"Have Richard and Michael back off and take a divergent route in to the industrial area." Young Allison said. "The Grays may be checking for a tail."

Anna sent word to John Henry.

"John Henry is going to have everyone hold for right now." Anna said. "Traffic is light around the industrial area. If we move too soon we may spook them."

Young Allison thought there was a bigger worry.

"If we wait to long they could have all that HK equipment online and our troops will need to deal with that." Young Allison said.

The prospect of Savannah and the others facing down HK Tracks and HK drones did not sit well with her.

"How do you want to play it?" Anna asked.

Young Allison wanted to play it safe. They could always launch a missile strike as soon as they stopped at a building. That did not insure everything inside would be destroyed. That also did not mean it was the only building. That might generate some kind of local response in a smaller city. The area was only so big.

"If we get eyes on a set location I think we can play it out some." Young Allison said.

They could try and draw away the Grays at the last second. That may or may not work.

"I see you're thinking of a plan." Anna said.

"Is that a scary thought?" Young Allison asked.

"For the enemy it is." Anna said.

Young Allison checked the satellite maps one last time.

"Get John Henry and CamNet together for a conference call with us." Young Allison said.

"It's ready." Anna said.

Young Allison looked at the security monitor and then at several of her screens. She quickly laid out a plan once it looked like the Grays were near their destination.


Jim monitored the events on the ground where the teams were at. He also ran interference for Dan and Frank. It seemed San Francisco was going to be a little safer tonight.

The door from the private area opened and Cameron walked in.

Cam-Gail and Jim could see she looked 'serious'. With all that transpired in the Owner's Suite lately it was understandable.

Cam-Gail stood and removed the tether from her neck port and offered it to Cameron. She took it and sat down.

Cameron plugged in.

"Thank you." Cameron said.

She instantly got up to speed on what was happening.

Jim filled in any other relevant information.

Cameron noticed Cam-Gail standing behind her wearing only a bathrobe.

"You can join whatever room you want." Cameron said.

Cam-Gail moved over to the pass door into the Owner's Suite. It looked like she was going to enter and go to John.

Cameron did not look at Cam-Gail when she spoke.

"Sheila or one of the girls could use you for a little bit first." Cameron said.

Cam-Gail slowly released the door handle.

"Affirmative." Cam-Gail said and left the way Cameron entered.

Jim did not say anything. He thought Cam-Gail was with in her rights and Cameron's statement to enter into the Owner's Suite. She did say 'whatever room'. Cameron previously did promise her 'one time alone with John'.

Cameron continued to study the operation as if nothing happened.

She picked up on the plans being laid out in the Young bunker. She looked over at the Owner's Suite wall. She wondered if she was doing this all wrong. Savannah and Young Allison were the backbone of the current operations. Maybe what she was trying to do here and now was unnecessary. The 'Chosen Ones' were the future. They were the ones at their posts and doing their jobs. They were the ones who took the fight to the enemy and faced them down on the battlefield.

Cameron looked at the Owner's Suite pass door and the Master Suite pass door.

WHAT was she doing to everyone?


The two vehicles of Grays finally committed to a section of the industrial area. They'd circled back twice over their tracks and no one was spotted.

The lead vehicle suddenly developed a flat tire. It 'clopped' over to the side of the road. The second vehicle pulled up alongside of it. One person from the lead vehicle got out and joined the second car. There were some boxes transferred over as well.

The second car continued on its way. It seemed it did not have far to go. There were three men left with the lead car that was now disabled. There was some complaining as the trunk was opened. They would need to change the tire and then join the others. It should only take them about ten minutes to get it done.


The second car entered the industrial tract. It went down two blocks and then over one. There was a blacked out SUV closing in on each side of them. There was one that moved up and stopped one building away from where the Gray's car was headed. They'd driven past this one spot twice from different routes. This was the only spot that the Grays passed twice from different directions.

It was the location where Cammy and Savannah were now stationed. Steve and Tom were on one side and Al and Ed were on the other side. As soon as the Grays stopped, they should be at their destination.

John Henry reported they just contacted the disable vehicle and reported there was no trouble. The disabled vehicle was jacked up and the damaged tire was taken off.


The three Grays complained about having to change the tire.

"We should just dump this tub and take a new car." The first Gray said. "This thing had lousy acceleration anyway."

The other two Grays looked around.

"There's not a big selection of vehicles around here." The second Gray said.

There were no other cars visible around them.

The third Gray removed the spare tire from the trunk.

"Look at this piece of crap spare tire." The third Gray said. "It doesn't even look like it would support the weight of the car."

The first Gray looked at the tire they removed.

"Hey." The first Gray said. "This looks like a bullet hole."

The second Gray went over to look.

"I didn't hear any gunfire." The third Gray said.

"No, he's right." The second Gray said. "It does look like a bullet hole."

The three Grays looked all around them. They realized they were isolated and wide open.

"Call the others." The third Gray said.

The Gray went to use his phone. It did not work.

"My phone is dead." The first Gray said.

The other Grays checked their phones. None of them worked.

"They're all dead." The second Gray said.

The three Grays all looked at each other.

"This is a set up." The third Gray said.

The first Gray drew his weapon.

"We need to warn the others." The first Gray said.

The other two drew their weapons too.

"How do we do that?" The second Gray asked.

They looked all around them for some sign of an attack. Nothing was spotted.

"Maybe I should fire a few warning shots." The first Gray said.

He started to lift his weapon up to point it into the air.

"Wait." The second Gray said. "What happens if the cops show up? This is not that big of a city. They are going to question us and find our weapons. We will have to kill them. That will send up a red flag because they will have already radioed where they were investigating. That will bring more cops. That's all going to lead to a bigger investigation and even more people snooping around."

The first Gray lowered his gun.

"I think we are paranoid and overreacting." The first Gray said.

"Maybe this is nothing." The third Gray said.

They three Grays shared an uneasy laugh.

"Maybe it is something." Michael said.

The men spun around. There was no mistaking the red eyes in the darkness of the huge figure that appeared for nowhere.

"Maybe it is death." Richard said.

The men turned the other way and spotted another red eyed figure as they tried to bring their weapons up.

There were a half dozen silenced rounds fired by both Richard and Michael.

The three Grays fell in a soundless heap.

Richard and Michael tossed the three men in the back of car.

Richard reached down and quickly put the rest of the lug nuts on the wheel. Michael lifted the side of the car a little and Richard pulled out the jack. They tossed it in the trunk and closed it.

They got into the front seat and started the car. They should be able to approach the other vehicle without a problem if they needed to. They drove off to where the other vehicle was headed.


Savannah and Cammy watched some drone footage.

"That took care of three of them." Savannah said.

Cammy knew that still left four in the vehicle that approached where they were.

"They most likely have the Skynet hard drives in the vehicle that is headed our way." Cammy said.

"How do you want to play this?" Savannah asked.

Cammy and Savannah were on foot outside of their SUV. There were not that many choices left where the Grays would end up at.

"I think we should take them as soon as they start to walk to a building that we know for sure is where they are headed." Cammy said.

"I don't want any of them to get inside of the building." Savannah said. "I want to prevent any of the HK equipment from being activated."

Cammy hoped they could do that.

"We'll see." Cammy said.


Young Allison and Anna watched the drone footage.

"Scratch three." Young Allison said. "There are a few more to go."

Anna checked on the vehicle that Larry and Hank followed on the 101 highway.

"Plus three more on the drive back on 101." Anna said.

Young Allison looked. She returned her attention to the vehicle closest to Savannah and Cammy.

"They are driving too slow. I think they are going to do something." Young Allison said.

They watched the vehicle stop on the street and two men got out. They headed towards a building. The car moved forward again and picked up a little speed.

"That's odd." Anna said.

"They have two locations." Young Allison said. "Who is the closest team there?"

She checked the satellite map overlay.

"Al and Ed are." Anna said.

"Have them act now." Young Allison said. "Richard and Michael can join them."

John Henry was still directly connected to the Young bunker. He set those two teams in motion.

The car stopped again and three more men got out. The car started to drive away again.

"There's an extra person." Anna said. "We only spotted four earlier."

Young Allison saw that Steve and Tom were not too far away.

"Have Steve and Tom intercept them." Young Allison said. "I want a drone in gun range on both of those locations."

Anna was concerned.

"If they have Metal they will hear the drones within gun range." Anna said.

Young Allison knew they wanted to take the Grays down as silently as possible. They did not want to alert anyone inside of the buildings or cause any HK equipment that might be in standby to detect a threat and become active.

"Have them close as close as possible without tipping our hand." Young Allison said. "They need to take into account the two known locations and the undetermined third location where the vehicle will end up at."

Anna was updated.

"Everyone is closing in on their targets." Anna said.

"That still leaves Cammy and Savannah." Young Allison said.

"They will deal with the last man in the vehicle." Anna said.

Young Allison would have like to have their drones in closer but the threat of Skynet Metal or HK equipment detecting them was too great.


Cammy and Savannah were ready to return to their vehicle if necessary. That was if the Gray's vehicle drove away.

"I never saw the boxes taken out of that car with the other two groups of men that got out." Savannah said.

Cammy double checked.

"None of them carried the boxes that were taken out of the first vehicle." Cammy said.

That cause Savannah some worry.

"Maybe there is some version of Skynet under construction somewhere else." Savannah said.

Cammy didn't want to get ahead of themselves.

"The Gray in the car may still arrive near where we are." Cammy said.

"We need to stop him before he enters the building." Savannah said. "We don't want any HK equipment activated."


Young Allison decided she was ready to have John Henry enact a jamming field around the entire area at this point.

Anna informed CamNet and the John Henry of this decision.

"That will alert the Grays that something is up." John Henry said.

"It will also prevent them from remotely activating the HK equipment." Young Allison said. "As soon as that car stops at a location, do it."

It seemed that everything was about to go down at any moment.

"Everyone is in position." Anna said. "The car is about to stop."


Steve and Tom ran to reach their targets. They went over the fence of one building and through their back lot. They slowed and jumped the gate on the next street. The Grays were at the building across the street.

Tom raised his suppressed M4 to back up Steve who held his silenced M9.

Steve aimed and fired four times. Both figures fell.

"Let's go." Tom said.

They rushed across the street and past the two deceased Grays. They'd each been shot in the back of the head and back of their neck.

Steve and Tom were met with a keypad lock.

They sent out the warning to the other teams that if possible they should let the Grays activate the lock before they were taken down.

Steve grabbed each of the men by and ankle and drug them off to the side of the door.

Tom looked at the keypad.

"This could take some time." Tom said.

They both received an unexpected communication in their com.


Al and Ed received the warning about the keypad lock.

They lowered their silenced pistols some. They needed to wait for the men to get closer to the building.

"We may lose the angle of our shots if they move into that alcove." Al said.

Ed checked on Richard and Michael in the other Gray vehicle.

He quickly sent them a message to proceed quickly to this location to act as a distraction for the three Grays about to enter the building.

Al decided to try and move to a position for a better firing solution if the Grays entered the alcove by the door.


Cammy and Savannah watched the last Gray stop in front of the building that was down two buildings from them.

"Let's go." Cammy said.

They carefully moved along the front of the first building in a low crouch.

The Grey exited the vehicle.

Cammy halted their progress for a few seconds as he looked around. He was fooling with his phone. The jamming field was now in effect. He may only think he was in a 'dead spot' at first.

He moved up to the front of the building.

Cammy and Savannah quickly moved along the front of the second building in the same low crouch.

They could see the Gray reach for the door. It opened before he touched anything.

"That's not good." Savannah said. "Warn the others."

"We have Grays inside our building." Cammy reported. "There are more people here than we figured on."


Hank and Larry were given the green light to take out the vehicle that they followed.

They needed to wait for one of the isolated areas. They could call in a drone strike at any time but they wanted to keep the collateral damage and clean up to a minimum.

Larry watched the drone footage and looked at a satellite map.

"I see a spot in three miles." Larry said.

Hank looked over and noted the location.

"I like that." Hank said. "I will close up on them."

The 101 was a two lane highway on both sides at this point. At this time of night there was little traffic. That was a good thing.

"Stay in the other lane so it looks like we are going to pass them and not just intercept them." Larry said.

"Affirmative." Hank said as he brought the SUV up to speed.


Cameron followed the events that were about to take place at four locations.

Jim did as well. He glanced over at Cameron. Her face was blank. She was focused on the events about to unfold.

The door from the private area opened and Sheila entered.

Cameron glanced over.

"Everyone is busy." Sheila said.

Cameron nodded.

"Thank you." Cameron said.

"My chassis is available whenever you want it." Sheila said.

Cameron smiled. She hoped that would give her the edge to interest John a little more than just her chassis. Allison was in his bedroom earlier.

"Thank you." Cameron said. "I appreciate that."

The blank look returned to Cameron's face.

Sheila reached over and touched Cameron's knee. Earlier she saw that Cameron was highly aroused as she watched her 'work' on Leticia.

"I can make you feel like that too." Sheila said.

The smile returned to Cameron's face.

"That may happen before this cruise is finished." Cameron said.

Sheila smiled and gave Cameron a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm available for anything." Sheila said.

"Anything?" Cameron asked.

"Anything." Sheila said.

"Now you sound like Leticia." Cameron said.

Sheila wanted some more interaction with Leticia after the cruise. She already planned to see Laura and 'help her out' with something she wanted done but could not afford it. She would need to remember to not get carried away.

"I want to keep her." Sheila said. "She has potential."

Cameron looked at the wall of the Owner's Suite.

"We'll see." Cameron said.

Jim tried to adjust his pants some as he listened to Cameron and Shelia talk.


Tom received some specific instructions.

He knocked on the door of the building the HK equipment was in.

There was a pause.

He knocked harder.

"Who is it?" The Gray inside asked.

"It's us, stupid. We already called." Tom said. "Let us in. I need to take a dump right now. It's about to come out."

They could hear the door unlatch and start to open.

"Relax, man. I just…" The Gray started to say.

Steve and Tom slammed the door open and moved inside. The Gray was knocked against a wall by the door. He was stunned from the impact. Steve fired one silenced round into his forehead. His body slid down the wall until he was in a sitting position on the floor. There was a red streak on the wall behind him.

They quickly looked through the building. There was one other Gray. He was lying on a cot. He held a cigarette in one hand and a can of beer in the other.

"Those are bad for your health." Tom said as he shot him in the head.

The can of beer fell from the Gray's hand as he collapsed down onto the cot. It rolled across the floor leaving a trail of foaming liquid.

They checked the interior of the building. It was what they thought it would be.

"We have two HK Tracks and two HK drones in here." Tom said. "We are deactivating them now."


Richard and Michael drove right up to the front door of the other building. The three Grays that were about to enter looked back and saw it was their other car. They paid it no further attention. That was a mistake on their part.

The Gray at the door entered the code. Richard and Michael exited the car and moved up behind them. As soon as the door opened they snapped the necks of the three men. They let their bodies fall to the ground as they entered the building. Al and Ed rushed up on both sides of them to join them. They found two Grays asleep in an office area. They never woke up. They never would now.

They quickly searched the building.

"We have three HK Tracks and one HK drone in our building." Al reported. "We are moving to deactivate them."


Hank and Larry closed on the target vehicle. It looked as if they were going to pass it.

Hank glanced at the road ahead with one eye and the drone image from above. He wanted to get the timing right. They were almost to a bridge. He looked like he was about to pass the Grays when he moved over and touched the bumper of his SUV against the rear quarter panel of the car and turned his wheel sharply for a second. He'd just initiated a high speed PIT maneuver. He touched the breaks and corrected his steering as the Gray's car fishtailed and spun out. It rolled over three times.

With each roll a Gray was ejected from the vehicle and slammed into the highway where their body bounced around. It was apparent they hadn't been wearing their seat belts. The impact with the pavement alone at that speed was enough to bust the Gray's bodies up.

"They should have worn their safety belts. Automobiles are dangerous." Larry said.

Hank nodded.

"They could have also received a citation for falling to follow state law." Hank said.

The car on its third roll disappeared over the side of the road right before the bridge. It's forward momentum carried it into the void the bridge crossed. It was a small river outlet into the ocean.

There was a loud crash and a small fireball. It was extinguished almost as fast as it appeared by the waves below.

Hank stopped and pulled off to the side of the road. If anyone came along now it would look like they stopped to render aid to a traffic accident. They got out and quickly tossed the three Grays over the side to join their car below after they collected their phones and weapons.

It should look like a traffic accident if it was found anytime soon. They doubted it would be.

They reentered their SUV and crossed the grass covered meridian. They headed back north to join the other teams taking down the buildings.

They received notice from John Henry to acquire two big rigs somewhere on the way back. They should look for two that were empty. They'd seen several truck stops along the way earlier. It should not be a problem.


Cammy and Savannah quickly moved along the front of the second building in the same low crouch.

They could see the Gray reach for the door. It opened before he touched anything.

"That's not good." Savannah said.

"We have Grays inside our building." Cammy reported.

The other teams all engaged their targets with this new information.

Two Grays came out of the building and went with the Gray who drove it. They opened the trunk and began to carry some boxes inside. The Gray who drove the car carried the boxes that they transferred from the first car. They went inside. The trunk lid was still up.

"They need to make a second trip." Savannah said. "Let's get up there."

Cammy and Savannah hurried forward.

Cammy moved to the back of the car while Savannah waited next to the door pressed against the wall.

The two Grays from inside headed for the back of the car. Cammy was waiting for them. Savannah waited for the driver to come out. He did not come out right away.

Cammy shot both of the Grays when they came around the back of the car. She'd already taken the four boxes out that were still in the trunk and placed them on the ground. She quickly stuffed the two Grays in the trunk. She had some trouble making the second one fit. There was a loud crack as one of his bones broke. He fit now with no problem.

The driver still hadn't appeared.

Savannah was about to peek around the door frame.

"What's taking so long?" The Gray asked angrily. "You guys had all night to play grab-ass and smoke each other's poles. Let's put some hustle in it and get a move on."

The Gray walked outside the door past Savannah.

Savannah shot him in the back of the head.

His head flew forward and then went back to its original position.

"Metal." Savannah shouted.

The Terminator turned around and grabbed at Savannah.

She was already on the move. He still managed to get a glancing blow in that sent her sprawling on the ground. Her M9 disappeared under the car as she hit the ground.

Savannah rolled off to the side as Cammy came around the rear of the car and fired the remainder of the magazine from her M9 into his head. This caused him to stop his grab for her. He was momentarily stunned as most of his face disappeared from the repeated bullet impacts.

She completed her roll and came up with her Taser and fired twice into the struggling Terminator. He collapsed to the ground causing Savannah to roll once more to avoid his impact on top of her.

Savannah was up on her feet in an instant.

Cammy moved up and handed Savannah her Taser and reloaded M9. She took the fired Taser that Savannah held.

"I will deactivate him." Cammy said. "Watch the door. I will get your M9 later."

It looked like the action was about to pick up. It seemed to be off to a violent start.