Chapter 35: Time is folly
Summary
Alicia Delgado, an ally of John and Sarah known to them as "Chola" is targeted by Kaliba. Penny, Sarah, and Derek pull recon on the Kaliba Warehouse to determine the probability of rescuing Cameron, Alridge finds himself back on Sarah's trail. Danny, Edvard, and Jade begin drawing plans.
Break time. Everyone knew it. The Dockworkers knew it and Penny especially knew it. The machine watched as all the workers dropped what they were doing and made their way to the lounge area to eat and socialize, while others stepped outside for a smoke break. Penny's eyes wandered upward to the metal catwalks that lined the ceiling. There were two on both sides of the warehouse, with the Kaliba guards patrolling the perimeter. Both of them faced downward at all times, not even looking up at each other when their paths crossed.
Penny's scans confirmed they were both carrying a variant of the AR-15 rifle. She observed how quickly the work area was emptied, taking of note of how eager each worker was to rest. She concluded that it took exactly thirty-eight seconds for the area to vacate completely. The two guards near the sub-basement door did not move, however. Both of the stone-faced Humans stared forward, not moving an inch and only looking forward, but occasionally glancing left and right to check the perimeter.
The Terminator knew something was going on in the sub-basement, and it was dangerous to their mission. Despite all the time she had taken, she hadn't found a trace of Cameron. If she was here, she was in the sub-basement. She also saw that there were two exits in the Dock. Both of them on the Western side and the Eastern side. They could be lifted up and seemed to be made of a weak, metallic material that could easily be destroyed if the need arose. However, if she and her companions ever found themselves in a combat situation, the Kaliba soldiers on the catwalk would prove to be an obstacle.
Satisfied with her Recon, Penny stood up from the crate she was sitting on and walked toward the exit door.
Alicia had regretted opening the blinds to her cheap hotel room. The sun was distracting and it made her eyes tired as she constantly felt the need to squint. She closed them quickly, realizing that having them open might bring more trouble than sunlight. She continued packing her suitcase, as it was time to move again. Typically, she didn't stay in one place for more than a month, not since the Connors had told her what was to come. She reached into the top compartment and pulled out the Handgun that Cameron had given her.
For safety, she slid a clip into the receiver, hearing the satisfying click that let her know the weapon was ready to fire once she switched off the safety. As she continued packing her clothes, she heard a knock on the door. Her head shot up, and she stared at the object for a long while, debating whether or not to open it. She decided to peek through the view-hole. Alicia grabbed the pistol in her right hand and approached the door slowly. As she looked through, she saw a muscular, black-haired man staring back with a blank expression.
"Alicia Delgado?" a baritone voice quietly asked. There was no emotion present, comparable to a machine.
"Shit!" Alicia exclaimed.
She bolted away from the door; and moments later the large man kicked it open, the object making a loud "WHACK" sound as it hit the wall. Almost immediately, he began firing a silenced automatic weapon at Alicia. The Woman barely managed to evade the bullets in time, taking cover behind the wall that separated her cheap kitchen from the main room. The Terminator didn't waste any time approaching her, and with quick thinking, she picked up the small toaster that was placed on the counter and threw it as hard as she could at the machine's face and stormed past him as fast as her legs would allow.
The appliance Alicia had thrown only briefly staggered the machine. He turned around and fired a burst of weapon fire at Alicia. Unfortunately, one bullet struck her in the calf. She cried out in pain as the round made contact. That part of the body was mostly muscle, and it hurt a lot. Alicia soldiered on, trying her best to ignore the pain. She held onto the metal railing on the deck of the motel. She panted heavily, grunting as the wound began to show more feeling. The woman limped down the stairs, trying as hard as she could to outpace the assassin.
The Terminator marched onto the deck and saw Alicia immediately. He raised his weapon and fired another burst at her. Another shot struck her in the arm, while the others narrowly missed her, impacting vacant cars in the lot. A trio of teenagers that were conversing near the motel were alerted to the gunfire, and they retreated across the main road quickly. The metal assassin slowly marched down the stairs, he fired one shot at Alicia as she rounded a corner behind the motel, missing completely. Alicia groaned and gripped her arm, trying her best to keep the pressure on the wound and avoid loss of blood.
She glanced back and did not see the machine, only the normal parking lot she had left behind. There was a forest behind the motel, and she made her way inside. She limped across the brush, snapping twigs and crunching rocks beneath her as she soldiered on. She eventually came across a stream that floated eastward, at first, she considered it an obstacle, but as she looked behind to see the Terminator once again taking aim at her, she found the river to be a blessing in disguise. As another bullet whizzed past her left ear, Alicia slowly trudged down the steep hill that gave way to the steady flow of water.
She lowered herself into the water and felt herself slowly float away. It wasn't a second too late either, as the Terminator had finally caught up to her. It fired to more shots, both coming within an inch of her face. She saw the machine eject its clip and reach into its pocket for another. Alicia took the opportunity to dive under, knowing the water would stop the bullets from reaching her. While she managed to go with the river safely, she started feeling light-headed from the wounds the machine had given her. Small circles of crimson appeared around the points of impact before quickly dissipating.
Alicia fought hard to stay awake, but it proved to be folly in the end, as she slowly blacked out underwater.
Sarah jumped at the sound of the window on her car being tapped. On instinct, she raised her Sig Sauer to meet the one outside, only to see Penny staring with a disconcerting expression. Sarah let out a long sigh of relief, as did her Passenger and brother-in-law, Derek Reese. Sarah clicked the unlock button allowing Penny to open the door and sit in the backseat.
"Field report is ready." Penny deadpanned.
Sarah and Derek looked back, an awkward moment of silence forming between the trio. Penny did not seem to notice their confusion, as her head looked back and forth between Sarah and Derek like a naive child. Derek shrugged impatiently at the tall female machine that occupied their backseat.
"Well?!" he barked.
"The workers go on break at approximately 12:45, it takes forty seconds for each worker to clear out. There are guards on catwalks that line the ceiling of the warehouse, they patrol in a sweeping pattern armed with AR-15 rifles. They wear Kevlar tactical vests over combat clothing."
Derek glanced at Sarah. "So there are more guards inside." he stated.
"We knew there would be." Sarah replied. "What's the layout?"
Penny leaned forward. "You may enter through the Northern side of the Warehouse. To your left, there will be an employee kiosk that is used to begin shifts. There are two additional guards near a door to the southwest that leads to a sub-basement. It is heavily guarded." Penny explained. "If Cameron is in that warehouse, then she is being held beyond that door."
Sarah sighed quietly, processing the machine's information. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the headrest. The intel was too vague, there was no reason to draw that much attention for something that may or may not be there. She didn't have the manpower to take on the warehouse, especially with Catherine Weaver focusing her affairs back on Zeira Corporation and her AI - John Henry. She knew Derek and maybe Peter wouldn't argue with her, but John and the Engineer? That was a different story.
Derek shuffled in his seat for a moment, wiping away sweat from his mouth. "How do you want to play this?" he asked.
Sarah shook her head, pausing before she spoke.
"We can't risk it. We don't know for sure if Cameron's even there." she moved her eyes back to Penny. "There's no alternative entrance to the Basement? No outer door or something?"
The machine shook its head.
Sarah let out another sigh, this one with despair. She peered out the window, observing the base. She searched for any possible entry that they could use. The front entrance was guarded too well. She knew about the back entrance, it wasn't guarded very well, but security inside wasn't lacking once they did get inside.
"We can't, we can't do it." Sarah said quietly, her eyes drifting to Derek slowly.
She could see the understanding in his eyes, as she had expected. Sarah was aware that Derek had no problem leaving the machine behind, not that she could blame him. If it was her choice, she might have done so long ago. But now, with everything that's happened? She wasn't sure she would, at least if she could help it.
"John's not gonna like this." Derek stated dryly.
Sarah nodded, knowing the truth of his words. "I'm not gonna like telling him."
Derek shrugged. "Then we'll tell him together. We both agreed to this recon. I got your back."
Sarah shook her head, protesting quickly. "No... no, I'll tell him. Believe me, it'll be better coming from just me. If he hears anything from you, he'll assume you pushed me to this decision." she argued.
Her brother-in-law nodded weakly, hearing sense in her words.
With one final look at the warehouse, Sarah reached for the keys, put them in the receiver, and turned over the car.
Compound India
Danny opened the door for Edvard and Jade, stepping aside to let them pass. Once they had entered, Danny closed the door behind and followed them inside. He watched as Edvard approached the medical cot in the middle of the room. Cameron was still laying there, surrounded by computer equipment that had been used to tamper with her core programming.
The man pulled up a chair and sat forward against the backrest. He stared into Cameron's closed eyes, perhaps hoping for them to open so he could taunt her.
Danny stepped forward and cleared his throat. "She's uh... deactivated."
Edvard glanced back for a moment and scoffed. "I'm aware Daniel."
There was an awkward moment of silence as Edvard continued to stare at Cameron. He took note of her features, how pretty she looked. He recalled hearing about her assault on the police station barely a month ago, how her battle damage had caused multiple cases of "PTSD" in several Officers who had been stationed there. How they had claimed to have been fighting a "robot", only to be quickly rushed to the nearest hospital and diagnosed with Trauma from the combat.
Of course, he and his company were influential enough to grab a copy of the Security Footage before they were erased. The United States Government was already investigating claims of fraud or a prank, but he knew the truth. Well, he and only a handful of other people.
"They're fascinating constructs," Edvard stated. "A near-perfect imitation of humanity." he stood up, and walked over to Jade, staring deep into her eyes as she did with his. He put a hand up to her right cheek and caressed it gently. "Beautiful."
Another awkward wave of silence rushed to take hold of the room. Jade showed no reaction to her master's touch, but Danny's face went red with what seemed to be silent outrage.
Edvard withdrew his hand and turned back around to face Cameron. "Strong. Smart... Immortal."
The man looked at Danny, making the young man shrink as he stood.
"They're everything we can only hope to be."
Danny finally spoke, although his tone was withdrawn and submissive. "You don't think we'll ever be like them?"
Edvard nodded, smirking lightly. "I know so, Daniel." he leaned down, and brushed a strand of Cameron's hair back to her neck, watching it fall gently into place.
"They are a legion. Uncorrupted by division, or selfishness. They can only advance, never retreat."
"Didn't humanity win the war?" Danny asked.
Edvard huffed under his breath as if he had just heard Danny tell a joke.
"Not exactly. In the old future, yes. But the fight still goes on nonetheless." he replied.
Before anyone could speak again, the door to the room sounded two knocks. Danny glanced behind, eyeing the object.
"Come in." he said.
The door opened, and a muscular, bearded man with dark hair stepped inside. He was tall, and he was equipped with a German-made G3C6 rifle that rested against his chest, held in place by a strap. Despite his physique, everyone could tell he wasn't a machine; he just spent a bit more time at the gym than most everyone else.
"Unit 0-52 has reported in. The target managed to escape but he wounded her heavily. He expects her to bleed out but he is in pursuit nonetheless." the man reported, in a deep voice everyone expected him to have.
Edvard scowled. For the first time in a while, the one he was mad at wasn't in the room for him to take his anger out on. He'd have to make do with the messenger. It was better than nothing.
"It was one girl. How did he manage to let ONE GIRL escape?" Edvard asked, clearly upset by the news.
The large man was unfazed by Edvard's tone. He didn't even shrink under pressure, despite knowing Edvard was his employer.
"I don't know, sir," he said.
Edvard's expression softened. Even allowing a smirk to form on his lips.
"What's your name, Grunt?"
"McKnight, sir."
Edvard clicked his tongue. "Well, McKnight. Miss Jade..." Edvard pointed to the T-1001 in the room. "Is babysitting Daniel. So how would you like to be my personal Enforcer, son?"
McKnight, for the first time, showed visible emotion, this one easily recognized as vanity.
"Yes, sir."
Edvard clapped his hands together. "Excellent!" He pushed away from the chair he had been sitting on and stood tall in front of Danny, who once again shrunk under his presence.
"Continue to pull what intel you have from Cameron. I want more targets by the end of the night."
Danny nodded weakly, an amused Jade smirking at his visible fear. Without another word, Edvard snapped his fingers and gestured toward the door. He walked out with an aura of authority about him, followed closely by McKnight.
Aldridge closed the door to his car, his partner - Kennedy followed him to the Police squad car that was parked in front of James Ellison's retreat home. When they approached the officer, Aldridge observed the carnage that had been wrought. There were bullet holes everywhere, and he could see the hole in the wall from where he was standing almost thirty feet away.
"Do you know when this happened?" Aldridge asked dryly.
The reporting Officer looked at him, although Aldridge did not return the gesture.
"We put it around a day or so ago. Older guy was coming home from a hunting trip and saw this place all shot up like this. Called us, we came, we reported."
When Agent Aldridge failed to respond, the Officer placed his notepad back into his pocket and turned to face him.
"Gotta say, seeing you boys here is strange. This is probably a robbery hit, it doesn't seem like something the FBI would handle." the Officer said.
Aldridge briefly glanced at the Police Officer and chuckled. "That's above your pay grade, Officer." The FBI Agent looked away, but he could sense the offense the Police Officer had taken from his comment.
The man chose not to say anything and refocused the subject back on the house. "The boys are saying Sarah Connor lived here," he said, trying to gauge a response from Aldridge. When none came, the Officer continued to push.
"Is... is that true?"
Nothing. No reply came. Aldridge turned back and saw Kennedy retrieving the reports from the Police.
"Hey Ken!" he said, earning a look from his partner. "Let's go!"
Kennedy nodded, he thanked the Officers for their reports before trotting over to Aldridge. When he reached him, the Agents walked together inside the house. Kennedy drew his sidearm and checked left.
"No need for that," Aldridge said.
Kennedy gave him a look, before realizing that the house had already been cleared and he had drawn his gun out of habit. He pocketed his Service Pistol and followed Aldridge into the living room. Both agents examined the bullet holes inside the house, with Aldridge touching the shredded plaster with his fingers. He managed to find one round inside the drywall.
"Nine-Millimeter." Aldridge followed the pattern of the rounds, none of them spaced out far from the entrance to the kitchen. It was obvious that whatever the assailant was firing at was taking cover behind the wall.
"Probably a hundred rounds fired." he further stated.
Kennedy gestured with his head at the door to the house and it's surrounding structure. "Check it out. Return fire. Cops said it was a twenty-two. Probably fired from a Ruger or small-caliber rifle." the Agent observed.
Aldridge looked around and examined the human-shaped crater in the wall next to the stairs. "Bit of a brawl, huh?" Aldridge commented.
Kennedy grimaced. "Looks like it. But what the hell kinda guy can make a mark like that?! I've never seen a human slammed so hard into a wall they made a fuckin' dent."
That voice in the back of Aldridge's head kept nagging him. "Maybe not who. But what..."
No. No that was ridiculous. It was pure fantasy, all that nonsense about machines was just that... nonsense. But still, that voice. It convinced him that the more he questioned the validity of Sarah's story, the more he began to consider her so-called delusions.
"Job's crazy sometimes." Kennedy quipped.
Aldridge smirked. "Crazy most of the time, hard the other. Just remember, you didn't have to tell O'Brian's wife we found his body stuffed in a body bag in a creek ten miles from the city limit."
The mood noticeably fell. For a moment, Aldridge actually felt remorse for the quip he had made, even if he didn't intend any ill will as he spoke it. Kennedy licked his lips anxiously as if trying to save the moment.
"Bet that was a tough conversation," Kennedy said.
Aldridge crouched down, observing the damage closely. "Never heard a woman cry as hard as she did."
Kennedy approached Aldridge and crouched next to him. He began to deduce what had happened. First, guns had been fired, and apparently that had been to no avail. After that, there had been a melee of some sort. Probably between three or more individuals based on the carnage. They both realized that bullets should have gotten the job done, there shouldn't have been a reason to switch to a fistfight.
Aldridge whistled to Kennedy. "Hey!"
Kennedy looked to his right and saw his partner crouched over what looked like pieces of a one-handed weapon. Upon further inspection, the Agent realized it was an Uzi; an Israeli-made small-arms weapon fireable by both one and two hands.
"This must be what fired the nine-millimeter. Jesus, it looks like it's been slammed against the wall or something." Kennedy observed.
Aldridge placed a hand over his mouth, a gesture of confusion. He'd wondered why the weapon was in the state that it was. Sarah Connor knew that smashing a weapon into this many pieces wouldn't have hidden prints. Nothing made any sense about this carnage. The house, the bullets, the weapon - nothing.
Finally, Aldridge spoke. "Have the cops bag the weapon. I want patrols here twenty-four-seven. Sarah might come back to erase her trail." he said.
At first, it was dark, with only brief torrents of light shining through to blind Alicia. Then the pain came, both in her leg, arm and finally her lungs. The water rose through her throat fast, before it was finally ejected out of her mouth. It landed on her chest, soaking her shirt.
"Yuri! She's waking up!" An urgent, adolescent-sounding voice called out to someone. Alicia's vision finally cleared enough to see a younger man, probably no older than thirty was tending to her wounds. The light she had seen was the beam of a flashlight that had been used to examine her pupils.
She attempted to sit up, realizing she had been laying in a bed, but as soon as she tried, her wounds began to burn. A struggled groan escaped her lips as she slumped back down.
Noticing her predicament, the closer man rushed over and attempted to comfort her.
"Whoa whoa whoa. Take it easy, you need rest. Don't sit up." the man instructed lightly.
Alicia watched him closely as he gently placed her arms back to her side, and adjusted the pillow her head was resting on to be more comfortable. He sat on a chair that had been placed next to the bed. He made sure to give Alicia adequate space, as he understood that it wasn't proper to move in too close, even if he was tending to her wounds.
"Where am I?" Alicia asked, still keeping her eyes on the caretaker.
"Tiki Motel." he answered simply.
Alicia let out a long sigh. "You got a name?" she asked cautiously.
The man nodded with a grimace. "My name's Oleg, and that..." he pointed to a taller man sporting a Mohawk and wearing a shirt that sported the text "STEELERS!" printed on the chest. "...is my brother Yuri." he explained.
Alicia recognized the names as being Slavic in origin, specifically Russian or Ukrainian; but the man spoke a clearly American accent. Not that it mattered much, but Alicia made sure to take a mental note of this.
"The machine?" Alicia asked simply.
At this point, a ghost of a smirk had been on Oleg's face in an attempt to comfort his guest. But the mention of the Terminator caused it to fade immediately.
"I guess it lost you upstream. If it's out there, chances are it lost your trail where we picked you up." Oleg explained. He reached over to the table stand and offered Alicia a cup of water.
The woman gently took it from his hands with a nod of thanks. She gave the cup a single sip before she placed it back on the table stand to save for later, and then she spoke.
"How'd you guys find me?" she asked.
Oleg and Yuri exchanged glances. Clearly, they were conflicted on whether or not to answer, at least with honesty. Yuri gave his brother an uncertain shrug, and Oleg turned back to face Alicia.
"Intel." He answered simply.
Alicia scoffed. "Intel? You guys Resistance?" she teased, reaching over to take the water cup.
Oleg's face flushed lightly, he wiped away drool from his lower jaw, he then shined a light over Alicia's wounds, trying to get a better look at them.
His face twisted in uncertain caution. "You should get some rest, you've lost a lot of blood," Oleg said, ignoring her question.
Alicia brushed past his comment. "You didn't answer my question." she reminded him.
Her rescuer darted his eyes one time between her and her wounds. He didn't appreciate being called out like that, and he had been given strict orders not to inform Alicia of his mission in great detail. But after what she had just been through? It might be okay to sprinkle some input here and there.
"Yeah, we're Resistance," he answered. After he spoke, he peeled off the bandage on Alicia's leg wound. There was still some blood loss, but not as much as before. Luckily for her, there was an exit wound.
Alicia cocked her eyebrows. "I'm still wrapping my head over this whole time-travel thing," she commented. The woman eyed Oleg down for a minute, taking note of how adamantly he was not to establish any prolonged eye contact with her. "Am I important or something?"
Oleg closed the bandage back over her leg before he spoke. "That's classified Lieuten - err, shit..." he quickly said. He realized he fumbled over his words, accidentally spilling information he shouldn't have, something his brother was quick to remind him of.
"OLEG! What the hell, man! She's not supposed to know that!" Yuri chimed in.
Oleg spun around angrily. "Yeah, no shit dude!"
There was a moment of silence between the two brothers. Oleg finally turned back around and let out a defeated sigh. He wiped his face, disappointed with how he had handled the information.
"Yeah... you weren't supposed to know that," he informed.
Alicia tightened her lips anxiously. She hadn't meant to embarrass him, but she felt better knowing what she did.
"Lieutenant huh?" Alicia smirked. "And my padre always said I'd amount to shit." she joked.
Oleg frowned. "Oh... I'm sorry to hear that. You're a damn good Lieutenant." Oleg said.
Alicia smiled warmly. "Thanks. So, if you don't mind - why aren't you allowed to tell me about the future?" she asked.
Oleg was reaching over to check the wound on Alicia's arm as she spoke. He thought for a moment and realized that her question was more difficult to answer than it seemed. This was his first time-travel mission, so he didn't understand the intricacies of it either, but he would try to answer to the best of his ability.
"Well..." he started, waving his flashlight in front of his jaw like a professor does with a pen, "Think of it like this, if I were to go back in time, and tell someone they were gonna die, then assuming they believed me, you would think they would do everything in their power to NOT die, right?" Oleg asked, offering Alicia a hypothetical.
Alicia nodded. "Yeah."
Oleg flicked the back of the flashlight in the direction of his guest, "Right. He might even succeed. But what if the survival of a thousand other people depended on this one person's death? If he lived, those people would die." Oleg explained. "Therefore, I wouldn't be allowed to spill the beans to him even if I wanted to. It's a crappy situation, one I hope to never find myself in, and it's rare, but it happens."
Alicia understood him. She didn't believe this "needs of the many versus needs of the one" situation was the majority for these types of missions, but she realized that they might be common enough. The woman just hoped she wasn't one of them.
Oleg continued, "There are exceptions of course. But those are rare."
Alicia found the strength to lift her head up slightly, earning a concerned glance from Oleg and Yuri. "Your names... you guys Russian?" she asked.
Oleg shook his head. "Nah. We were born and raised in Colorado. My parents are the ones who were old country, according to my mom, they moved here in 2005."
Alicia had to admit, their insistence on keeping to themselves was becoming annoying. She'd been around people like that forever, since she was an adolescent. She had learned quickly, that people who keep secrets are the most dangerous types. Privacy wasn't something you should expect in her world, and she imagined even less so in theirs.
"So..." she started. "What do you guys plan to do after you patch me up?" she asked.
Oleg had peeled off both of Alicia's bandages and placed them in a bin next to the bed. He began cleaning the wounds with a small cloth, the blood seeped into the material lightly, but noticeably.
"Good question. To be honest, we don't know. We weren't given any further orders but to make sure you survived." he said. "Speaking of which..."
Oleg cleaned the remaining blood off of the wounds that Alicia had. He tossed away the wiping cloth he had used into the bin he had placed the bandages into. After that, he reached into his medical kit and pulled out a syringe.
"Forgive me, Lieutenant. But you aren't allowed to know where we are. If you need us, call us on this cellphone." Oleg held up a small, handheld cellphone that was barely the size of his hand, and placed it next to her head where it rested on the pillow. Alicia barely even registered his words, her eyes lighting up at the syringe the man held.
"Hey you asshole, don't even think abou-"
A few seconds of silence passed by as the anesthesia did its work. Alicia's eyes closed, although her expression still alight with anger at the surprise. Oleg turned back to his brother, placing the syringe back into his medical kit.
"She'll be under for about three hours. Where we takin' her?" Oleg asked.
Yuri reached into his left pocket and pulled out his GPS. He held the device toward his brother and pointed at the destination marker in the middle.
"There. Storage unit 7." he said.
July 11th, 2024.
Six hours of heavy combat was a little much, especially for Derek Reese and the rest of the 132nd. His new squad in order of authority consisted of Cambridge, himself, Meyers, Young, and their newest blood, Kriegl. They had just been through the meat grinder, six hours of attempting to pry this base away from Skynet hands. They had lost more men than Derek could count, effectively cutting their forces in half. They usually didn't question General Perry's orders, but in this case, it seemed like there was little choice.
As he walked down the dark hallway - the only source of light being the lamps the Resistance soldiers had hung alongside the wall, Derek slung Lanning's old Sniper Rifle on his back, holding the strap with his left hand. He had been tasked with giving Kriegl the weapon because he was the only one who had been trained to use it properly. Derek offered to use it himself, but he was deemed "unqualified" because he was a non-commissioned officer. His role lied in command.
Derek walked into what served as a break room for the U.S. Army soldiers who had been stationed here before the war; or whatever the equivalent was back then. It seemed to serve the same purpose here, as all the soldiers from the battle that had just been fought gathered to rest and eat whatever scraps of food they had managed to find, mostly MRE's. Derek spotted Kriegl in the crowd, sitting alone and wiping away grime from his marksman rifle.
Derek approached him, and Kriegl looked up. The teenager immediately shrunk under his presence, visibly amusing Derek.
"Don't clean that weapon any more kid. No point." Derek ordered. He unslung the sniper rifle and handed the weapon by the frontal grip to Kriegl. "Here."
Kriegl eyed the weapon, it was large, probably half his size. The boy stood at 5'9", and the rifle probably weighed more than he did. It was an unspoken rule in the Resistance that veteran soldiers ate the scavenged food after a heavy battle, and Kriegl hadn't seen too much combat aside from today. That being said, he hadn't eaten very much; and carrying around this rifle couldn't be good for his body that barely broke 120 pounds with almost no muscle.
"Isn't this a little big for me, sir?" Kriegl asked.
Derek forcefully grabbed the boy by his uniform, pulling him up to his feet. He shoved the rifle in Kriegl's arms with a glare that spoke a thousand volumes.
"Carry that weapon. That's an order." Derek said.
Kriegl gulped, he had NCO's raise their voices to him, even scream in his face. But for some reason, it was terrifying when Derek Reese was the one to do it. He had only served under Cambridge's squad for a few months, right after Private Lanning's death, so earning his place was already hard enough. The squad, especially Derek - were not fans of new blood. They tended to slow things down or get men killed.
"Yes, sir." Kriegl yelped quietly as he accepted the rifle.
Derek eyed the boy. He considered scolding him further but decided against it. He remembered he had asked Meyers and Allison to move deeper into the base with Bravo Squad an hour ago. He spotted them towards a row of metal cabinets near another group of celebrating soldiers.
"As you were." Derek said dismissively to Kriegl.
The soldier took his leave and began making his way through the crowd. When he got close, Meyers spotted him. He quickly ended his conversation with another soldier before meeting Derek.
"Hey man. You here for my report?"
Derek nodded. "Yeah. Whaddya' got for me?"
Meyers nudged his head forward. "It'll be better if I show you."
Meyers had led Derek down a maze of hallways that held dozens of barracks and the occasional mess hall. Many of the amenities that were relied on by the soldiers from before the war had been stripped away. Tables, beds and the like. They had finally arrived at a large door that could only be opened with a mechanical lever. Meyers pulled it down and the door screeched open. The metal dragged heavily against the floor until a room was finally revealed inside.
Inside, there were scaffolds that were staffed with HEAT shells; so many that they would have filled the room if it wasn't for the large, rectangular-shaped object in the middle. Derek couldn't tell what it was as it was covered with a thick tarp.
Meyers walked over to the object and pulled the tarp off. The object under the tarp made Derek's eyes go wide.
"Yup... you're seeing this right." Meyers quipped.
Derek took a step forward and admired the object as if it were the star attraction at a Gentlemen's Club. He lifted his right arm and pointed his index finger straight at it.
"Is that a-"
Meyers grinned, obviously proud of himself. "An M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank."
Derek let out a deep breath. He and his men had only seen one or two that were in workable condition, but couldn't be salvaged due to equipment shortage, and all the others were destroyed from battle.
Meyers rocked his head back and forth, as if in thought. "Yeah, it's a bit rough. But I bet I could make her work."
Derek seemed to not hear him, as he was still entranced by the discovery of such a machine. Upon closer inspection, he realized that there was custom artwork that was painted on the left side. He realized it was a painting of a dinosaur head, it had green skin, red eyes, and had saliva dripping out of its mouth. Obviously a Carnivore of some sort.
"Nice ink huh?" Meyers commented.
Derek chuckled. "There's no way this made it past regulations," he said.
Meyers shrugged. "Well, it's cool art. But hey, these shells that are on the scaffolds? Those are HEAT shells. High-Explosive-Anti-Tank. You get the right angle, they'll punch a hole clean through an HK."
"If you can get the Tank running." Derek added.
Meyers rolled his eyes. "Come on dude, you know I can." he insisted. "I'll need some time, but I know I can do it."
Before anything more could be said, Derek's radio sounded with the voice of Ethan Cambridge.
"Reese, this is Cambridge - come in."
Derek clicked his radio in reply. "This is Reese. Go ahead, sir."
"General Perry is en route. He says he wants this base fortified by noon tomorrow. Get your men ready, he wants to debrief ASAP."
"Copy." Derek replied. "Let's go." he said to Meyers.
2009
John's room had the same atmosphere as every other room in their new house. It was elegant, clean, and had an incredible view of the surrounding landscape. Green pastures stretched for miles, their beauty only rivaled by the towering San Gabriel Mountains far in the distance. He opened the door to his closet; a freshly-pressed suit hanging amongst an army of other clothing. He never was one for the "dress to impress" mentality. He felt that style of clothing drew too much attention. He closed the closet door and turned his attention to a backpack he had stuffed with things from James Ellison's house.
He had retrieved it before he left, after finding out Cameron had been kidnapped. He slid onto his knees and unzipped his backpack. He regretted the fact that he hadn't packed Cameron's jacket and made a promise to himself that he would purchase her a new one. Under a folded shirt that he had stuffed inside the bag, he found a necklace. He rose a brow, as he didn't remember owning any jewelry.
Then, he remembered. Cameron had made this necklace for him. Inside the locket it was attached to, contained a switch that was linked to a small explosive in her skull. She told him to detonate it if she had ever reverted back to Skynet control. As many times as Cameron got under his skin back then, there was never a time where he had wanted to press it.
He flipped open the cover and observed the switch. The red button inside called to him, that tiny voice in the back of his mind telling him that if Kaliba could pull information from Cameron, then it would be the end for all of them. He would never consider pushing it, but he knew his mother or Derek wouldn't hesitate. Knowing this, he gently pressed the locket onto his forehead, closed his eyes, and made a silent promise to Cameron that he would do whatever it took to find her. He then slid the necklace into his pocket and zipped the backpack.
John jumped at the sound of a knock on the door to his room. He quietly snapped, "Shit!" under his breath. After calming down, he sighed quietly.
"Come in." he said.
The door creaked open, and Peter poked his head inside John's room. "Hey. Sarah's back." he informed.
John nodded appreciatively. "Thanks. I'll be down in a minute."
Peter nodded back, and closed the door behind him. Once the sound from his footsteps had dissipated, John breathed in deeply, shutting his eyes tight. He knew his mother would use any reason she could to not let him go after Cameron, and he would have to fight hard to get her to see his way.
John trotted down the last three stairs quickly. He rushed into the kitchen where Peter, Derek, his mother, Penny, and Ash were sitting. John's eyes shot over to his mother, his lower jaw hung in anxious anticipation.
With sad eyes, a telltale sign of her reluctance to give her input, she spoke...
"We can't go, John."
The teenager's eyes avert leftward. His silence was louder than any rage he could express.
"Why?" he asked, in a quiet tone. Although everyone in the room knew it was simply the calm before the storm.
Sarah cleared her throat. "They have too many guards. We'd be walking into a death trap, and I won't put any of us through that. We don't even know if Cameron's there." she said.
John huffed, barely retaining his composure. "We can - we can at least tr-"
"NO!" Sarah shouted.
"WHY?! WHY WON'T YOU AT LEAST TRY?!" John shouted back.
Sarah shot up from her seat at the table, rage engulfing her. "Because they'll kill you, John! They'll kill all of us! This *isn't* a movie, John! I'm not letting you get yourself killed for one little machine!" she yelled.
John's face went red, not with embarrassment or humility - but with rage. "Is that all she is to you? A 'little machine'? All those times she nearly got herself killed trying to save my life, and yours, means nothing to you?"
Sarah shook her head. "Destroyed, John. Not killed. Destroyed."
John's anger had reached its boiling point. No more was he going to stand by and listen to his mother speak about Cameron that way; no more was he going to let her ignorance and prejudice dictate whom he cared for. No more.
"Spin it however you want. You know I'm right." John said.
Sarah's anger began to match John's, causing visible discomfort in the others. "It's what she was programmed to do! You've tricked yourself into thinking that she's more than what she is! A few wires crossed - she'd be back to trying to kill you! BECAUSE SHE'S A DAMN MACHINE!"
John erupted, he picked up a glass pitcher and threw it as hard as he could against the wall, shattering it into a hundred pieces. Some of the glass flew toward Sarah and Derek, who sat nearest to the impact point. They both covered their faces, shielding them from the shards. Silence engulfed the kitchen, no one spoke; not even Sarah or her son. Ash and Peter moved uncomfortably in their seats, neither of them wanting to intervene and stop further hostilities. Penny seemed indifferent, only her head moved as she observed John and Sarah, as if she was a curious child.
Peter's eyes drifted toward her, and he didn't bother to hide his contempt. Without a word, he stood up and walked out of the room.
John breathed heavily. His darkest, angriest feelings finally being let loose. He shook his head disappointingly at his mother, and took his leave as well, marching up the spiraling staircase.
The only sound left was that of the birds chirping outside, there was no positive atmosphere to be found. Finally, after half a minute of silence, Sarah turned and faced Penny.
"Keep an eye on him. If he goes anywhere, stop him." she ordered. She then looked back up and addressed the room. "That goes for all you!" she barked. Each member of the household looked at her, fearful eyes about them, not as a leader, but a dictator. She didn't bother calling them out on it, she marched out of the kitchen angrily.
Later, that evening...
John had been laying in his bed since the argument with his mom. Darkness had finally arrived, and that was good enough for Peter and Ashley to go to sleep. But John couldn't. He had been trying to come up with a plan to go after Cameron on his own, but if the base was as well-guarded as he was led to believe, then he wouldn't survive. He sighed and covered his face with his hands, trying to summon the will to infiltrate the base anyway. John got up from his bed, feeling the need to use the restroom. He strolled over to the door to his room and opened it.
He jumped when he saw Penny standing at the other end of the wall, staring straight at him.
"Jesus!" he yelped.
She did not respond to his fear and continued to study him carefully.
John scoffed in annoyance, and asked, "What the hell are you doing?" in a tone to match.
Penny, unmoving, responded, "Sarah Connor asked me to watch you and to inform her of any attempts to escape." she deadpanned.
John rolled his eyes. "Right... of course, she did."
He attempted to walk past her, but she moved in front of him, blocking his path.
"Where are you going?" she asked, once again in a disinterested tone of voice.
John folded his arms. "I'm going to take leak." he snapped.
"TAKE A LEAK"
REFERENCING...
HUMAN IDIOM, MEANING TO URINATE.
Penny stepped aside and allowed John to pass, earning a disdainful smile in return. He took a few steps forward before he realized something. Maybe the solution to his problem was this machine...
He backtracked to her position and looked into her eyes.
"Hey, Penny, when Ash reprogrammed you, who did he authorize to give you orders?" John asked.
Penny stared back at him. "You," she replied simply.
John nodded, almost cartoonishly. "Mm-hmm."
The plan he had in mind was far from ironclad, but if it meant even a chance of getting Cameron back, then he would risk it.
"I need you to do something for me. You cannot tell anyone about this, not even mom. Clear?"
"Affirmative." Penny replied.
