Chapter Twenty-Four: A Family torn
Catherine hated being hounded by reporters, and she wondered on a constant basis how the "real" Catherine had managed to put up with such an offensive intrusion on her person, as she was a human with patience that didn't even come close to rival the Terminator's own. Catherine continuously pushed the reporters out of the way, and put up with each and every one of them shouting her name, or begging for her to answer their pathetic, redundant questions. She finally reached the podium where she intended to address the crowd, and she stared into the sea of waiting faces. A few she recognized as Matthew Murch, Her assistant, Police Officers, and no doubt there were Government operatives hiding somewhere.
As everyone expected, she addressed them in her brash, deadpan tone. "Thank you all for your warm welcome. It brings joy to my heart to see my return seen over by my employees and good friends, Matthew, and my assistant Alice." Catherine gestured to the two people in the audience, and they gave a nervous smile before Catherine continued speaking. "My capture by the Connors has been a very traumatic experience for me, but I will try my best to answer any questions you may have." she added.
A young man immediately raised his hand noticeably quicker than the others, and Catherine instinctively pointed to him. The man took a quick look at his notepad before speaking. "Ms. Weaver, did the Connors ever make their reasons to why they kidnapped you clear?" he asked.
Catherine looked at him, a simple question. "Yes, as most you have probably guessed, the Connors fear technology. They want to see it all destroyed in a futile quest of paranoid delusion. It would only make sense to them that they kidnap or kill the most powerful technology zealots in the state." she answered. "Next question." she added before pointing to a female reporter a row down.
The reporter cleared her throat before speaking. "Ms. Weaver. What was the aircraft that crashed into the tower? Was it a piece of technology you were working on? Or was it of... other origins that may be unknown to us?" she asked.
Catherine couldn't help but grin, humans were so prone to jumping to any conclusion. "If you're implying the aircraft is of Extraterrestrial design, then I'm afraid I'd have to say that is not the case. If it was, it would be a poor example of first contact on their part would it not?"
The entire crowed chuckled mildly, and Catherine grinned to herself as she always had when she had made someone look like a fool. In this case, the nosy blonde reporter who stuck her idiotic nose where it did not belong. She continued, "Regardless, I cannot speak on the matter more. But I assure you... we are not being invaded by Aliens."
John walked in on Cameron staring out the window of the house they were in; well... Ellison called it a two-story cabin, but John called it by it's real name... a house. Regardless, John approached the machine, whom was no doubt aware of his presence anyway. He wrapped his arms around the her waist, bringing them to rest in front of her stomach. He snaked his lips onto her neck, and pressed them gently onto her skin. "You okay?" he asked her.
Cameron smiled, her sensors going crazy over the feedback she was receiving. "I'm fine. I'm just doing what I was programmed to do. Guard." She deadpanned.
John rolled his eyes, and chuckled at the naive machine. "You know, since you're self-aware, you don't have to guard all the time! You can afford to chill out a little bit." he argued. He noticed the Terminator pull away, and turn around to face him with a dumbstruck look. He was confused for a moment, before his brain finally caught up to him.
"Oh, right... Derek and Mom."
Cameron nodded. She noticed John's previously joyous expression turn sullen, and she felt something she had taken to addressing as guilt. With a chirpy smile, she spoke.
"I have all of our conversations on record, as well as my origin and Catherine's. We can bring this up to your mother and Derek, and hope they are willing to hear us out?" she offered.
John reluctantly shook his head. "No. Mom would go nuts, but... Derek would probably still hate you." he argued.
Cameron narrowed her eyes at the teenager. "But they would know I'm self-aware."
John nodded. "Yeah, but... do you really think that's an argument for your case? Them knowing you're self-aware would probably send them over the edge." John took a step closer to Cameron, and placed both of his hands on her slender shoulders. "You being self-aware isn't the problem. It's them being terrified of your potential."
Cameron tilted her head at him. "They know Catherine is self-aware."
John chuckled. "Yeah, but, I'm not in a relationship with Catherine, and I feel pity for the John who lives in a timeline where he is; if there is one." he joked. He drew himself closer to her, and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "But... we can wait. We trust to time, and when it's right... we'll tell them." Seeing Cameron look so unsure of herself made John sad. So he looked deep into her organic and machine eyes when he spoke again. "You have to trust me, okay?"
Cameron took a step forward, and kissed John deeply. Surprising the both of them, albeit delightfully. "I trust you." she said.
John smiled. "Great." his expression retreated into one of confliction, which concerned Cameron slightly. "Look, I hate to kill the mood; but the news was on again about another murder here in L.A. Ellen Carter. Does that name ring a bell?" he asked.
Cameron was silent for a moment, going through every one of her records. Sometimes, she felt like a living encyclopedia rather than a powerful Machine Assassin.
SCAN COMPLETE, RESULTS WILL BE PRESENTED AS FOLLOWS...
ELLEN JOSEPHINE CARTER: RESISTANCE CAS PILOT
ELLEN AUGUST CARTER: RESISTANCE MEDICAL DOCTOR (KIA JANUARY 5TH, 2026)
ELLEN MARIE CARTER: RESISTANCE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
"I have found matches. It's easy to narrow down as one of them is KIA, the other is a pilot, and the final one is a Research and Development specialist. It's most likely the final result, as it has the most important role in Tech-Com." Cameron answered.
John sighed, but nodded in agreement. "Yeah, probably. Anything else on her that I should know? Might help us locate the next target."
Cameron suddenly looked impossibly serious. "It won't help us find the next Resistance target, but you should know; Ellen Carter helped you reprogram the first Terminator."
John gazed at her in amazement, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. He found the words to respond once his mind caught up to him. "Really? How? When?"
Cameron tilted her head at John. "From what you told me, the first Terminator you reprogrammed in the original future was a T-500 you named 'Joe'." she replied.
John frowned, and scratched the back of his neck, quite unsure how to respond. "Does that mean we can't reprogram Terminator's in the future?" he asked.
Cameron shook her head, a social quirk she had acquired. "Unlikely. Even if you lacked the knowledge, I have detailed files on the process, as does John Henry and Catherine." she replied.
John nodded. He smiled at his companion, leaning into her close and taking her hand. He gently caressed the skin, and looked deep into her eyes, even the naked one that showed Cameron's true nature beneath. "How are you heeling up?" he asked her, taking care not to strike a nerve with her appearance.
Cameron smiled at him, if she were human, her cheeks most likely would have turned red. "My scans indicate it will take a further ninety hours before healing is complete." The machine went silent for a moment, and her expression fell. John feared he may have done something wrong, but Cameron spoke before he could say anything himself. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this, John. I have a similar distaste for my appearance." she added.
Her words hit John hard. He hated seeing Cameron like this, not to mention it felt a teeny bit awkward that he hadn't ever noticed it before. His soothing hand jumped to her left cheek, and he caressed the metal that lined it. "Hey! I don't have a problem with what you look like, Cameron. You're always going to be Cameron to me, not a Terminator... Cameron."
The machine looked unsure of herself at first, but when her eyes met John's, her smile returned, and she passionately hugged him. John held Cameron tighter than he had ever held her before; he was never a fan of all that mushy romance stuff that he saw in movies, but he began to understand it's appeal. He had truly never felt this way about anyone before. The fact that he had fallen in love with a machine was possibly the greatest unknown irony in the history of mankind; a machine designed to kill him, has fallen in love with him.
They released each other, and Cameron's eyes showed signs of tears, yet none were present on her face. Regardless, Cameron's smile brought joy to John's heart. "Thank you." she struggled to say.
John smiled back at her. "You don't need to thank me, Cameron." he leaned in, and kissed her passionately. "I love you." he said quietly after they had finished. He looked out the window to the darkened sky, the night creeping up on the Californian landscape. "You want some company?" he asked her.
Cameron suddenly looked unsure. "What if Derek or James walks in? What about Savannah?" she asked with concern.
John shrugged. "Well, they can't say anything if they don't catch us all over each other now can they?"
John led Cameron onto one of the wooden chairs nearby, and they both sat down, although the foundations of the furniture creaked quietly under the weight of Cameron. Once they had settled, John spoke. "By the way... what happened to Joe? Did he live?"
Cameron tilted her head at John's question, knowing he wouldn't like the answer she was about to give him. "No." she stated. "He was disabled while evacuating refugees from a police department on a rescue mission in San Diego." the machine finished.
John frowned, knowing that the primitive T-500 felt nothing, but gave it's existence for Tech-Com, made John feel guilty. "Let's just... we'll be fine." he replied, seemingly pushing the subject offside.
Cameron was about to protest, but she'd have to sit here all night, and the thought of John's company was one she favored. Thus, she decided to remain silent. The two gave each other a simple smile that didn't need the company of words, but still spoke a thousand volumes.
Some time later...
Derek and James were awoken from their quiet conversation at the dinner table when the doorbell to James' house rang. The two men exchanged mutual concerned glances. Derek gestured for James to check on Savannah, and the FBI agent complied as Derek drew his sidearm. The older man couldn't help but wonder whom was on the other side, and shook his head when he remembered the machine was supposed to be keeping watch. "Yeah, A lot 'o' good she's doing..." he quipped to himself. He saw James return from Savannah's room, nodding his approval that she was okay. Derek gave him the thumbs up, and gestured for cover.
Ellison juked behind the door frame, and Derek peeked through the eye hole. To his surprise, he saw Sarah and what he assumed to be Tarissa Dyson and her daughter. The women looked weathered and nervous, but the Resistance fighter nodded to Ellison anyway, signifying everything was okay. He opened the door and stood in the frame, impeding Sarah's attempts to walk-by.
"You guys are early. I thought you said you wouldn't be back until tomorrow?" he asked, suspicion there, but not noticeable in his tone.
Sarah brushed past the muscular man. "Yeah, well Tarissa met me halfway because a Terminator was on her ass." she replied bluntly.
Hearing this, James and Derek's eyes widened. "What!" they both said simultaneously. The unison was comical to Sarah, but she knew Derek was about to chew her out regardless. "There was a machine following her?" he said alarmed.
Either he didn't notice or didn't care about Blythe's fear, as her mother had instinctively shielded herself in front of the teenager in response to Derek Reese's yelling. Sarah in turn angrily yelled back. "Keep your tone in check, Reese! We will discuss this upstairs." Sarah ordered.
Derek shook his head as Sarah lead the way. "Damn right we will." he said under his breath. Even though James wasn't invited, he followed them too, as did Tarissa and Blythe.
Cameron heard the rhythm of foot steps coming up the stairs, and she urgently woke up John who was sleeping beside her. "John, wake up!" she said as she nudged his shoulder. John woke with a startle, absorbing his surroundings and remembered what he was doing previously. He looked beside him, and saw Cameron's gentle smile. His ears finally adjusted, and he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He and Cameron stood quickly, pretending as if they were looking out the window.
The footsteps revealed themselves to be Sarah, James, Derek, and... Tarissa? John blinked in confusion, before his brain registered Tarissa's presence as legitimate. On her side, she didn't even seem to notice John. As soon as she glimpsed Cameron, she covered her mouth in fear, and jumped back.
"Oh my god!" she cried.
John took action quickly. He held his hands up, trying to calm her down. "Hey, hey, hey! She's on our side."
Recovering from her fears, she finally noticed John, and stood silently in awe at the boy. The both of them exchanging shocked expressions, but it was Tarissa who spoke first. "How you doing, John?" she asked quietly.
John hesitated for a moment, before finally seizing the words he meant to speak. "F-fine. You?"
It was this moment Tarissa finally let out a smile, with her eyes shining from tears. "Y'know, could be better." she joked. She and John shared a smile, and neither of them noticed Sarah and Derek's eyes darting quickly between the two, observing the exchange.
It was Sarah who broke the silence. "Alright, Derek, we're going to discuss this matter privately, in the guest room. Now." Sarah ordered her unknowing brother-in-law with a tone of voice that indicated she held no chance of argument from the Resistance fighter. Sarah heard another pair of footsteps trotting up the stairs, and turned around to see James Ellison. He had dazed look that indicated he was trying to make sense of the situation.
"You two wait out here." Sarah ordered to James and Tarissa. The two nodded in compliance, and Sarah opened the door, letting Derek in followed immediately by herself. When Sarah was sure they were out of earshot, she spoke.
"Alright, we've got privacy, you can speak your mind now." Sarah said, words she immediately regretted.
Derek's eyes lit up. "Oh, okay, sure. WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU THINKING?!"
Sarah groaned inwardly, she hated arguing with the old Derek, and despite how sadistic it made her seem, that was one thing she didn't miss about him. "Small world. Or big? I don't know. Fuck it." she thought to herself.
Derek continued when Sarah didn't respond, although he took note of her dazed expression. "You led them back here? While Metal was on her ass?" he asked comically.
Sarah raised her voice when she spoke. "She needed help, Derek!"
Derek scoffed. "Tough fucking luck! So do seven billion other people!" he argued. "Look, I don't believe in any of this 'chosen one' bullshit, but know this..." Derek pointed at the door for emphasis, indicating John's room. "On the off-chance that I'm wrong, and that kid is as important as you say he is, then you led that damn thing right here!" he said angrily.
Sarah couldn't take it anymore, and her anger exploded. "Shut up, Derek! Just shut up! Listen to me!" Sarah screamed. She was sure Tarissa and the others heard, but she didn't care. When she was pissed, truly pissed, it was like she couldn't control herself. Unsurprisingly, Derek looked like he had just seen Sarah rip the head off a Terminator with her bare hands. He was completely quiet.
"...And you listen good. This is our fight, and I'm not an amateur, I've been doing this since you've been in fucking diapers. I know what I'm doing, and I need you to keep your head straight. There is no machine in pursuit, Tarissa told me she lost it when we met up, and I was looking over my shoulder the entire drive here." when her rant was over, the look on Derek's face solidified her suspicions she had made her point. All vessels of protest were drained from the man.
Derek raised his hands in surrender. "Fine." he put them down, but spoke again with an aggressive tone. "But this is on you, Sarah! I'm not going to be babysitting any more people." he barked. Sarah stared at him in disdain, but the soldier didn't care. Safe in the knowledge that he had spoken his peace, he turned around and left the room. Sarah followed quickly, barely catching the door as Derek intended to slam it behind him.
When Sarah stood in the hallway, she was greeted with shocked expressions of everyone present.
"Coffee?" Sarah asked. Tarissa sat across from her at the table, and she nodded reluctantly. Derek sat quietly on the couch in the living room, sipping his beer right next to Ellison, whom was watching the news, both of them trying to ignore the racket of Blythe and Savannah playing the piano upstairs, apparently Tarissa's daughter had a natural talent of it herself. John and Cameron stood next to Sarah.
Sarah took a seat, watching the woman intently. "Tarissa, there's no non-awkward way to start this conversation, so I'm just gonna come out with it... what happened to Danny?" she asked.
Tarissa sipped her coffee again, and placed the mug down on the table. "Shit... well, can't say it's easy for me to start from the beginning, but where else, right?" she said with a fake smile. After seeing Sarah offering no expression in return, the woman began her story.
When she spoke, her voice was laced with pain and unease. "It started a five months ago. Danny had graduated College, and I was so happy for him. Never been so proud of him in my life. He was planning on following in his father's footsteps, becoming some technology person. One day, he showed up to our house with a girl. Her name was Jade." Tarissa explained. "She was a pretty little thing, although pretty tall, towering over Danny and myself for sure. Far as I know they'd been dating for about three weeks before Danny introduced her to me. After we met, Danny started coming home a lot less. He would always go hang out with her."
Tarissa sipped her coffee again, clearing her throat before continuing. "I started to really hate that chick, but I pushed it off as Jealousy, because that's what happens when all of us moms start seeing their boys date, right?" she joked. She shared a smile with Sarah, not realizing the glance John gave Cameron when she had made the comment.
Suddenly, all humor was devoid from Tarissa's face as she spoke again. "But... over time he grew distant... he wouldn't answer my calls, and he wouldn't even talk to Blythe anymore. Suddenly, he just dropped off the damn map. I only heard from him a couple days ago, he told me he couldn't keep in contact, said it was for my own safety!" She wiped the tears from her eyes, her voice becoming choked as emotion persevered. "Can you believe that?"
Sarah gaze dropped to the table, although nobody around her could seem to read her. Tarissa continued... "I know it was because of her! That... bitch!" she barked, as hurt turned to anger. She wiped away another tear, sniffling slightly. "I don't know what she is, Sarah... but I know what my gut tells me... she's..." Tarissa eyed Cameron. "One of them."
Sarah turned around slowly, facing Cameron. The machine herself looked somewhat intimidated, but she kept it to herself. Sarah took note of Cameron's lack of response, and faced Tarissa again. "You think she turned him away? Against you?"
Tarissa retracted her gaze, this time ignoring the tears rolling down her eyes. "You should know, Sarah... Danny never spoke against you. Not once. Not until she showed up. But once she did... he suddenly hated you. Blamed you for everything."
Hearing her words, Sarah sighed deeply. "Well... he's not wrong." she replied.
She didn't expect any protest from Tarissa, and that's exactly what happened. Tarissa had nothing more to say, so she looked over to the wall, avoiding Sarah's gaze completely. "You should get some sleep. You're probably tired."
Tarissa nodded in agreement. "Yeah... yeah sleep sounds good." she paused, taking another drink of her coffee. "I'll uh, get Blythe." Without another word, the woman stood up from the table, and walked upstairs to retrieve her daughter.
An awkward silence fell upon the entire house. Ellison pretended he hadn't heard a word, and it surprised no one that Derek spoke first. "So... this machine manipulated the kid with her good looks into doing what she wanted." he glared at Cameron with seething contempt. "Isn't that a neat little tale."
While John intended to defend the Cyborg, he nearly stumbled under the weight of his own surprise when Sarah took that mantle for herself. "We don't know if she's a machine, Derek. She could just be some dumb sorority girl Danny spilled his whole life story on while he was drunk one night or something."
Derek shrugged. "Oh, I don't know, Sarah... that'd be one hell of a coincidence..." he quipped.
This time, John was the one who came to Cameron's defense. "She's right, Derek!" he said in a raised tone. "We don't know anything about what's going on."
Not in the mood for argument, the Resistance fighter just shook his head in disgust. "Whatever." he said, going back to watching the news. Suddenly, everyone jumped when they heard the name "Catherine Weaver" carry over their ears. All of them loaning their attention to the Television. There was a young, neatly dressed news reporter standing in front of Zeira Corporation, surrounded by seemingly hundreds of people.
"That's right ladies and Gentlemen! Catherine Weaver, the CEO of Zeira Corporation, a Los Angeles based technology company, has returned safely into the hands of the law as she claims to have convinced infamous fugitive and Terrorist Sarah Connor to let her go. She has not yet given a time-frame, but has confirmed that Sarah is still accompanied by her son, John Connor, and an unknown female accomplice."
The reporter struggled to speak louder than the crowd around him, as his cameraman tracked Catherine and her escort making their way towards her car. John and the others watched as she mouthed something to her bodyguards, before both of them turned around and returned to the crowd. She got in her car, and sped off.
The reporter faced the Camera again. "Well, it seems Ms. Weaver won't be giving us a closing statement. Thanks for tuning in tonight, this is Caleb Luman with-"
Derek cut off the TV before anymore could be said. "Not very creative is she? She couldn't have told the news you guys were dead or something? Maybe throw these boy scouts off our trail?" he complained.
John shook his head. "They wouldn't have bought it. You expect them to believe some innocent CEO killed off three highly trained 'terrorists' by herself?"
James chipped in. "I don't know, Catherine's pretty cold. I worked for her for a few months after all. Thought she was gonna tear my damn arm off when I forgot to grab Savannah's apple juice from the break room one day." he commented.
Sarah sighed, staring at the black screen of the TV that was powered off. "Alright, we wait for Catherine to come home, and then we all plan what our next move is." Sarah said. She expected a protest from someone, especially Derek or James, but none of them said a word.
She smiled to herself. "It's settled then."
Almost everyone in the room made haste to leave, Derek gulped down the last of his beer, before getting up and tossing it in the trash. John retreated upstairs, while Cameron knew better than to follow him, she made her own way to front door.
"I'm going to patrol the streets." she stated.
Sarah nodded her approval, and Cameron left the house. When the door shut, Ellison spoke. "Sarah, I hate to kill this whole 'reunion' thing you have going on here... but there's too many people in the house. A few of us has got to go." he said.
Sarah frowned. "I assume you mean Tarissa and her daughter?"
Ellison nodded. "Yeah. Look, I got plenty of room for them, but all of us in one place? Not a great game plan. Now I don't have any other places-"
"Catherine will have a place." Sarah interrupted.
Ellison paused momentarily. "Ah... ok."
An awkward silence fell between the two, so much so that Ellison scratched the back of his neck. "I better get some sleep."
"Yeah! Me too!" Sarah responded quickly.
Both of them made the move to get by, bumping into each other repeatedly, before they both agreed mentally that Sarah go left and Ellison right. Barely able to mutter goodnight as they parted.
Danny peered inside the mail slot of the apartment he and Jade had rented. His hands quested for anything, before his fingers came into contact with a small rectangular object laying on the bottom. He pulled the object out, revealing itself to be a letter. Danny felt his chest become cold, knowing there was only one person in the world who ever sent him letters. He decided to spare himself the burden of reading it before he got back into the apartment.
After trotting up the stairs and opening the door, he took a seat next to Jade on the couch. He looked over to her, taking note of the sadistic smile that she possessed. He sighed nervously before tearing open the paper, and retrieving the note within. With another sigh of unease, he opened the letter and began to read...
"Daniel Dyson.
When I heard that Americans were incompetent, I figured it was just an unfair stereotype; but your efforts, or lack thereof, have proven otherwise. I tasked you with one thing, eliminate any threats that are presented to my company branch in the United States. Now, you have the gall to tell me that not only have you failed, but that "she" is working with the Connors themselves? You are lucky I don't have Jade tear you apart. Now, you insisted I give you a week to gather a report on the situation; first of all, you do not decide the deadlines for assignments, I do. But I am feeling generous, so I will comply with your request. You have seven days to fix the mess you've allowed to spread. Send me another letter when the job is complete.
If you fail to meet this deadline, I will have no use for your bleeding corpse... well, what is left of it. Jade prefers to be very thorough."
- Edvard Harp.
Danny's eyes widened at the contents of the letter, and he gulped in fear. He made the move to look at Jade through the corner of his eye, seeing her watching something on the television was not the disturbing thing about her, it was the fact that her sweet and beautiful exterior hid the monster beneath. A destroyer, an unforgiving taker of life.
A Terminator.
