Chapter 30: Forgotten memories
John held the door open for Cameron as both of them entered James Ellison's house. The Cyborg gave him a smile, appreciating his courtesy as she walked by. John spotted his sleeping mother in the bedroom, it brought him relief to know she was finally resting, letting her wound heal. He sat down onto the couch and decided to turn on the TV. After scrolling through numerous different channels until he finally found the news channel. It was the usual stuff - politics, both abroad and internal. The news anchor then began speaking about something that greatly intrigued John.
The footage that showed on the screen was of an Air Force Base, Nellis, and two fighter jets stood idle on the runway until their engines rumbled to life and they made their way down the runway to take off to perform some unknown task.
"In other news, a squadron of F-18 fighters were scrambled today for an unknown reason, the Air Force has continuously stated that it's a training exercise, but we have received numerous reports of an object flying over Las Vegas last night at approximately 8:15 p.m., eyewitnesses state the object made it's way past the city before disappearing out of sight. Neither the U.S. Air Force or Department of Defense have issued an official statement, and insist that the event is a hoax; although they did warn the F-18's training might drive them westward towards California."
The news anchor sat up straight and addressed the camera in a tone much more charismatic. "UFO? Government experiment? Or Hoax? Stay tuned."
John shook his head and barely fought off the urge to roll his eyes. He wasn't a big fan of the news because of their tendency to overdramatize events, but they were a good beacon of information that would point he and the Connors in the direction of Skynet activity. The thought of another Skynet H-K being built here in 2009 was unpleasant, and he made a mental note of letting his mother know when she awoke.
Zeira Corp.
Agent Aldridge walked up to the admission desk, he approached a bored-looking secretary while she sat in her chair. She looked up at the man and gave him a dry smile.
"How can I help you, sir?" she asked with artificial enthusiasm.
Aldridge, accompanied by two black-suited companions, held up his badge, followed by his company.
"FBI, ma'am. We need to see James Ellison; is he available?" Aldridge asked.
The Secretary's expression softened to be much more submissive. She looked around for a moment as if she expected the requested Ellison to be sitting down next to her. She clasped her hands together as a gesture of attention.
"Um... no sir. He's on the fifth floor in a security meeting. They usually last about half-an-hour, and it started fifteen minutes ago. You're welcome to wait for him if you want." she said.
Aldridge replied with a sarcastic grin. "Thanks hon." He gestured his companions onward, they walked past the admission desk, flashing their badge at the security guard who attempted to halt them. The guard looked at their badges, before stepping aside and letting them pass. The Secretary watched with slightly disturbed intrigue as the suited men faded into the distance.
"So in conclusion, I want tighter patrols and more men stationed on the basement levels. This has been requested by Miss Weaver specifically. Do NOT, and I can't stress this enough - do NOT access the high access wing under any circumstances. I don't care if there's a fire, an earthquake, or you need a safe place to plan your little communist conspiracies; the high access wing in the basement level is off-limits to everyone but key personnel. Are we clear?" James Ellison told his security staff.
The twelve men that sat around the oval-shaped table all shook their head in unison, none of them having questions of James.
Ellison smiled to his team. "Good. You're all dismissed."
The room began to empty quickly as Ellison ended the meeting. The man shuffled the papers he had prepared for himself, stood up from his seat and followed his security staff out of the room with the material in hand. As he set foot into the hallway, he was stopped by a man. Ellison directed his attention at his newfound company and groaned quietly when he saw who it was.
"Elliot." James greeted dryly.
Aldridge was accompanied by two other FBI agents, and they followed him as he approached Ellison. The Agent gave James Ellison a self-absorbed smile as he stepped in front of him.
Ellison placed the pile of papers under his arm. "You following me now?" he asked with irritation.
Aldridge sighed. "Come on, James. You know this is how we operate; and as I said, you're a hard man to find."
"You ever wonder if that's the way I like it?" Ellison shot back. "What do you want, Elliot?"
Aldridge's smile retreated for a moment, he turned around and nodded at one of the suit-clothed men behind him. Without a word, the man handed Aldridge a folder that was sealed. The Agent, in turn, handed the folder to James Ellison, giving the object a questioning look.
"Open it." Aldridge insisted.
James opened the folder and found a picture inside. As soon as he realized what it was, his heart sank momentarily before it rose again and began to pound. He eyed Aldridge, seeing no mercy in the expression of his adversary.
"Checkmate." Aldridge thought.
Jade stepped out of the car she had driven from Palmdale. She found herself at a warehouse located in the port of Los Angeles. The warehouse was owned and operated by Kaliba, masquerading as a shipping company. As she approached the building, she noticed two men standing at the main entrance holding Heckler & Koch MP5's were standing guard. As she came into their sight, the two men looked at each other and began walking towards her.
Jade stopped as they approached; each of them regarding each other for a brief moment.
"Code?" One of the guards asked.
Jade looked at the man with a blank expression as she replied. "Gryphon."
The guard nodded. He clicked the comms button on his radio.
"Be advised, the code has been received by the visitor. Authorization: Jade, Kaliba unit 0-11. Access granted."
The two guards turned around and gestured for Jade to follow them. "Ma'am, if you'll just follow me."
The group made their way from the parking lot of the warehouse into the building. The entrance room had a dock built inside it in order to keep up its appearance as a simple port for boats. There were dockworkers, contractors and the lot. But the real operation was underneath the warehouse. Jade and her companions reached a door marked "Personnel Only", it was out of sight from the other workers that had been employed there.
The two guards punched in a code in a keypad that was next to the door. After a moment, Jade heard a beep and the door opened automatically.
"Miguel, can you take it from here?" the talkative guard asked his shorter counterpart.
The guard named Miguel nodded, and the other guard took his leave of them; Jade assumed it was to report back to his post at the main gate.
"Follow me." Miguel ordered.
The door opened to a stairwell that led down into the sub-basement of the Warehouse. Miguel and Jade journeyed down the stairs, the task taking about a minute with none of them saying a single word to each other. They eventually found themselves in a large, well-cleaned stretch of a room that was occupied by guards and engineers, and Jade was fairly certain a few high-grade investors of the company.
Miguel pointed toward a corridor near the northern end of the room.
"Go down there, you'll take a left when you reach the end of that hallway. You'll then see a door at the end of the following hallway, that's where you'll need to go." the man deadpanned.
Jade didn't bother to thank him before she followed his instructions. Along the way, she took note of the tasks the occupants of the room were performing, she saw two engineers working on a small drone that was based on the chassis of an Aerial Hunter Killer, on the adjacent end were a group of scientists experimenting with a canister full of Mimetic Pollyalloy. There were many experiments being done here, but she had to focus on the task at hand.
It was finally Noon, John realized this as he looked up at the clock that was hanging above Ash's room. With his attention elsewhere, he accidentally bumped into Peter as the man strolled outside of the bathroom where his temporary quarters were.
"Oh, sorry, Pete. The clock had my attention." John apologized.
Peter laughed. "Ah, no worries man. Just be glad you didn't bump into Derek, he probably would have torn you a new one with the mood he's in today."
John frowned. "Yeah, about that - where exactly is he? I didn't see him when Cameron and I got back."
Pete gestured with his thumb downstairs. "Oh, he went to town. Said he needed to get out of the house and clear his head. What's with that guy anyway? It's like he's always pissed off at someone or something."
John smirked. "When you spend your life being chased by homicidal robots, it tends to deafen your mood a little bit. Don't worry, you'll get used to him - all of us have." John explained.
Peter cocked his eyebrows and sighed. "Yeah... I hope."
Before either of them could speak, John heard the faint sound of his name being called from somewhere downstairs.
"John? John are you here?" it asked. The voice belonged to Sarah Connor.
John gestured with his thumb downstairs. "Sounds like Mom's awake. Better check on her." he said.
Peter and himself shared a departing nod before John walked down the stairs and into his mother's room. Sarah Connor gave her son a warm smile as he approached her and he sat down next to her on the bed. He clasped her hands with his own and rubbed her knuckles lightly with his fingers.
"You okay?" he asked.
Sarah nodded, her smile still present. "Yeah, getting shot isn't fun but at least it's healing quickly." she looked up at her son. "Did you reprogram the machine?"
John pursed his lips. "No, Ash said she's more advanced than he thought. He told he'd hope to make some progress by tonight, I can go back up there tomorrow morning and see if he can show me the ropes on how to start the reprogramming process." he explained.
"You be careful." Sarah said adamantly.
John sighed in annoyance. "I know, mom."
There was an awkward silence between the two, none of them having anything on their mind to say - that was until John remembered the news report about the two Air Force F-18 Hornets being scrambled at Nellis earlier this morning.
"When Cameron and I got back I decided to switch on the news, see what was going on, you know? There was a UFO spotted over Las Vegas last night. There might be military involvement." John explained.
Sarah's eyes widened, clearly uncomfortable from hearing the news. "You think it's another H-K built here in the present?" she asked.
John shrugged. "Maybe... but didn't Catherine destroy that Canyon heat and air place? You think they have another facility?"
Before Sarah could reply, a Scottish voice devoid of any concern or emotion cut through the air. "Desert Canyon Heat and Air was simply a subsidiary of the Kaliba Group. There are more assets that tie with it, so there is no doubt they may have multiple companies capable of manufacturing drones."
John and his mother looked up to see Catherine Weaver was standing in the doorway of Sarah's room, the pair quickly realized that she wasn't alone, she had Savannah in tow in her right hand. The young girl gave John and his mother a shy smile, receiving one in turn from the Teenager.
"Hey, Savannah. How was school?" John asked.
"Good!" she chirped.
Catherine leaned down and looked at her "daughter". "Savannah, why don't you go watch television, I will be there in a moment, then we can watch that talking red dog show you enjoy."
Savannah was hesitant at first, evident by the fact that she glanced at John and Sarah briefly, obviously wanting to spend time with them as she hadn't spoken to nor seen them in a while. But on the other hand... she did like children's cartoons. She looked at her mother and nodded. Catherine smiled and kissed Savannah on the forehead before the young girl skipped playfully away.
The T-1001 stepped inside Sarah's room and closed the door, finally achieving privacy.
John raised a brow. "You like Clifford?"
Catherine adjusted her posture slightly, her back aligning with her neck perfectly. "I do not. I find the program insufferable." she deadpanned.
John chuckled briefly before aligning himself back to the main matter at hand. "Do you know what other companies Kaliba might have in their pocket? If they have any more then we have to do something about it, right?"
"If there are more companies that have allegiance to Kaliba, then they must be eliminated, yes. However - finding the names of these companies is a different matter entirely. It's obvious Kaliba has a base of operations somewhere here in California, possibly even here in Los Angeles. If we want to find them, then I suppose the matter lies solely on where to start." Catherine explained.
John nodded. "Two Air Force jets were scrambled today after something flew over Las Vegas. I'm not saying it was a Kaliba drone, just that the Department of Defense is playing their cards pretty close to their chest."
Catherine tilted her head. "Do you believe the United States Government might be involved with Skynet?"
John frowned and shook his head. "Not what I meant, I'm just saying that if they did see something, they're not letting anyone know." he stood up from the side of the bed he was sitting on and turned his entire body to face Catherine. "I think if we want to find a good place to start, then maybe I should do some digging on some technology companies that surround Nevada, and see if they have a chain here in California." John finished.
Catherine looked between Sarah and John briefly. "A sound idea." she faced John now, her stoic stare building a home in his eyes. "Do you have an update on Daniel Dyson?"
John glanced at his mother briefly, for some reason expecting her to give an answer. His mother shook her head, disappointment clear on her face.
"No, not since Tarissa was here." she answered.
Catherine upgraded her posture to be more dominant, looking down at Sarah. "If Skynet wanted Daniel Dyson dead, then he would be dead. Your pursuit of his whereabouts is folly." the T-1001 insisted.
At first, anger boiled quickly in Sarah, the woman wondered how the liquid-metal bitch could dare question her motives for finding the boy. But the more she thought about it, the more she considered the possibility that Catherine might be right.
Seeing the uncertainty on Sarah's face, Catherine rewarded herself with a smug grin. "I believe I have made my point." she turned around and walked out of the room. "Good luck in your search Connor; please update me when you have made progress." the machine insisted as she exited view - leaving two very upset Connors in her wake.
Jade buzzed the pad on the front door of the office she was standing in front of. After a few moments, she heard the voice of a middle-aged man call out... "Come in!"
The door slid open and Jade stepped inside, the person behind the desk in the middle of the room was an overweight man with a bald spot at the top of his head, he was dressed in a traditional business suit with a black tie and pants, complete with formal loafers.
"Herbert Gary?" Jade asked.
The man gave Jade a toothy grin and waved for her to come forward; when she complied, the man gestured for her to sit down, which she also did. She folded her left leg over her right and clasped her hands together - a very human way to sit.
"Yes, I'm Herbert Gary, I'm the team lead for the California branch of Kaliba. YOU must be Jade, or Kaliba unit 0-11, right?" the man said.
Jade's neutral expression evolved into a glare. "I am. But, do not call me by my unit designation. It's not wise in such a public facility." she hissed.
Herbert grinned. "Well Miss Jade, I can assure you that we don't have any moles or spies in this buildin-"
"No, you can't. The entire purpose of a mole or a spy is to operate with subterfuge until their task is complete and beyond. Therefore, there is no way to 'assure' me of anything." Jade insisted.
Herbert's expression suddenly dropped and he nodded meekly. "Right... well, Miss Jade - what can I do for you?"
Jade leaned closer as she spoke. "Are you aware of Cameron Phillips?"
Herbert's chuckle almost sounded like an incredulous scoff. "Well, of course, I know her, she's John Connor's guardian, right? The entire West-Coast branch of Kaliba knows her!" he replied.
"Good, then I need all the information you have on her." Jade deadpanned.
Herbert looked unsure of himself momentarily before nodding and gesturing at a large mechanical object sitting on the desk behind her. "Yeah... if you'll do me a favor and flick that on..."
Jade turned around and studied the object briefly before realizing it was a screen projector that was hooked up to his computer set that was on his desk. She glanced at Herbert before complying with his instructions and pressing a red button on the side of the machine. She watched as Herbert input a few key-commands into his computer. After a few seconds, he gestured for Jade to direct her attention to what was on the screen.
A few photographs of Cameron, Sarah, and John sighted in various areas around the country displayed on the screen. Jade had seen all of these before, as they were in the Police database, and some had even been released to the media or common websites.
"...We don't know her exact whereabouts but we do know she and the Connors are operating somewhere in California. Take a look at this..." Herbert pressed a key on his keyboard and it switched to an image of a dark-haired girl and a woman in a blonde wig standing in a park, they appeared to be talking with someone.
"She had us fooled at first, but our guys were able to figure out that this was Cameron and Sarah Connor in disguise." he pressed another button, and the image zoomed in to a picture of a man. "We're still working on who this guy is, but check this out..." once more, Herbert pressed a button and the image on screen switched to a video. The footage showed Cameron and Sarah becoming suddenly alert as they spoke to the man. The footage showed Cameron saying something inaudible to the man and Jade watched as he retreated into Sarah and Cameron's car.
Suddenly, Cameron opened fire on something with the same shotgun that she had used during their brawl at Zeira Corp., but Jade couldn't see what. Cameron stopped firing before falling back into the car. The footage ended as soon as the car sped away from the scene.
Herbert dismissed the image and turned to Jade. "That footage was taken at Griffith Park a few days ago." He cleared his throat before speaking again. "I wish I could help you directly, Miss Jade - I really do. But, if you want a place to start, I'd say Griffith Park is a decent bet." Herbert suggested.
Jade stared at this still footage of the car driving away for a long while, seemingly lost in her own world. Many a moment had passed by before she finally returned eye contact with Herbert.
"Very well, Mister Gary. Thank you for your help." she said. She noticed that Herbert was about to thank her, but she had no time for such pleasantries, she excused herself from his presence, finding relief that her next destination was solid enough for the time being.
Aldridge took another step closer to Ellison, like a Lion backing its prey into a corner. He placed his hand on James' shoulder, he had just handed James Ellison a photograph of himself walking with Sarah Connor out of Zeira Corporation. The two of them retreating after John had left for the future after Cameron.
"This is solid, James. This evidence is enough to get the Agency on your back. You and I both know they don't play things clean, either."
For the first time, Ellison was speechless. All he could do was stare, and try to fumble with his brain for a retort, but nothing came up. Finally, he gulped silently and spoke.
"How do you know someone didn't alter this for incrimination? It could be a fake."
Without warning, Aldridge yanked the photographs from Ellison's hands. "We don't. Yet. But we both know how this is gonna end, James. It's over."
Ellison glared at him, wanting nothing more than to punch him in his smug face. He sucked in his anger, barely holding himself back from performing the action. "I have work to attend to." he brushed past Aldridge, shoving his shoulder aside with little regard for his person.
As James Ellison's figure faded away the farther he got from the three FBI agents, one of them approached Aldridge as they watched.
"Did you plant it?" he asked.
Aldridge grinned. "Yeah, right shoulder. Let's hope he doesn't find it."
Later that night...
The crickets were chirping, Peter and Sarah were asleep, and John was preparing for bed, he was planning on saying goodnight to Cameron until he noticed the back porch-light on. He moved closer to investigate, and noticed a tall figure standing against the railing that overlooked the forest behind Ellison's house. John raised a brow in confusion before his vision focused and he realized it was Derek. He remembered how Cameron had informed him about how upset his Uncle was about something that morning, and it looked like he was still sulking. John figured now would be a better time than never in order to get some answers, and cautiously made his way to the back door.
John opened the screen door, failing to initiate a response from Derek. John looked down and noticed that Derek was holding a bottle of Corona in his hand, he stared out into the dark abyss of the forest, taking in the sound of chirping insects and cool wind.
"Derek?" he started.
There was a brief moment of silence, Derek sipped his Corona and continued not to speak. John began to think he may not have heard him until Derek finally replied.
"Beautiful spot." he stated coldly.
John looked around, getting a bearing of his surroundings, he had never actually admired the wilderness around James Ellison's house before, and he felt he had to agree with his Uncle.
"Yeah... what are you doing out here?"
Derek turned his head, but not feeling the need to turn his entire body to face his nephew.
"I could ask you the same thing."
John felt taken aback mildly. "What... are you talking about?"
This time, Derek turned his body to face John completely, his dark shirt making him look like a talking head due to the darkness of the night. He pointed a finger at John, not an accusatory one, but a curious one, as if he had just realized something and felt John was the piece of a missing puzzle he had been trying for so long to solve.
"I knew... I knew I knew you! At first... I just thought you had one of those common faces but I KNEW I had seen you before... at some point."
John turned his gaze away from Derek, he had known for so long that this moment would come, but he wanted to put it off for as long as possible. "You're talking about the park, right?" John asked quietly.
Derek lowered his hand when he spoke again, his voice possessed the same Venom that John had become familiar with. "Kyle and I were playing Baseball... you and..." Derek paused, he looked away, observing the wooden finish of the platform that formed the porch of Ellison's backyard. "...me."
The Resistance fighters eyes fell as realization dawned upon him. He looked up at John, who still refused to face him.
"...You were with me..." Derek stated. "...How was I with..." he trailed off, his mind unsure how to process his question.
Silence once again served as filler for their conversation, it was a long, painful one before John finally decided to speak again. He turned his head back up, finally finding the courage to once again face his Uncle.
"That was a different you." John said simply.
Derek took a deep breath. "From... another time?"
John nodded, surprised his Uncle grasped the concept so easily. "Yeah... you were sent to Rendezvous with Resistance members who were sent back in time. They were all killed... you were the only one who survived; you stayed with us until..."
Derek took a step closer. "Until what?!" he barked.
A lone tear journeyed down John's right cheek. "Until you died." he answered weakly, his voice cracking at the end.
Derek's breathing became faster, and he looked around as if attempting to find the answer to all life's questions surrounding him. It took him a moment to regain his composure before finally summoning the faith to prod further.
"How did I go?"
Once again, a moment of silence.
"Triple-Eight." John answered finally.
Derek suddenly felt as if the whole world had closed in around him, like the vice grip of fate had nestled around his throat and wanted to squeeze the air out of his body, and then leave him for dead in a shallow grave in the middle of nowhere.
"...and Kyle?" Derek asked further.
John shook his head. "I sent him on a different mission. You were separated." John replied, once again, weakly.
"What different mission!" Derek sneered.
John opened his mouth once to speak, but nothing came out. He was luckier on his second try; he wiped away another tear that spilled out before he spoke. "To protect my mother... before I was born."
Incredulity seemed like a feeble word for the expression and feelings that Derek had achieved, he stared at John with a mixture of Horror, Anger, and Confusion. It seemed he awaited further input, but deep down, he knew John's answer...
"Derek... Kyle Reese was my father."
The man stared at John in horror, his ears lost all sense of hearing, evident by the fact that he dropped his Corona on the porch and it shattered into dozens of pieces; sending a piercing, sharp sound throughout the area that surrounded them and paying it no heed. More and more tears began their trek down John's face as he refused to face his Uncle. The look of utter disgust on Derek's face was something John couldn't bring himself to see.
Without another word spoken by either, Derek fiercely brushed past John and back into the house. As the footsteps faded away, the more John's resolve began to fade, and when the footsteps no longer sounded, John completely broke down.
Hello everyone. Once again, I am sorry for the long wait! I know I haven't uploaded a chapter since the late Cretaceous Period, but I am back with fresh new ideas and a cured writer's block. Thanks for sticking with me, take it easy friends!
