Chapter 36: Not Alone
Summary:
John has gone rogue in an attempt to rescue Cameron from the Warehouse, with Sarah and Derek in close pursuit. Agent Aldridge pays a visit to Catherine Weaver. Alicia finds herself in conflict with Kaliba.
You would think Sarah Connor would be sick of making Pancakes for breakfast every morning, but the truth was she enjoyed it. It reminded her of a simpler time, when she was a child waking up for school, how her mother had made them once a week for her if she performed well in her classes. Sarah missed her mother; she had been a waitress at a dining restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, much like Sarah was. After her father walked out on her, they both worked to keep the household afloat until her mother died three years prior to the arrival of Kyle Reese and The Terminator in 1984.
Just the memory of her was hard to bear. She had only told John about her probably as many times as she could count them on one hand, as John didn't bother asking very much. He was a child and had to focus on his leadership skills, as well as his combat training. There wasn't much room for family history to be discussed.
Sarah placed a pancake onto a plate, following up with another. She heard someone walking around from behind her, and turned around to see Peter. It was obvious he was anxious, as he was moving around erratically, and breathing in deeply as if he had just run a marathon.
"Mornin' Sarah." he greeted.
Sarah rose a brow, taken aback by his strange antics, but replied gently regardless. "Morning Peter. Something the matter?" she asked as she placed the third pancake onto the same plate.
Peter scratched the back of his head, "Uh..." he stuttered. "Well... you remember Ian?" he asked.
Sarah set the first plate of pancakes on the table starting the task of making two more. She decided to make five, equal to the number of people living inside the house, "Yeah..." she said quietly. "I know he was your cousin. He died when Penny was trying to get to you, right?" she asked.
Peter nodded, "Yeah..." he replied. "Thing is... my family's organizing his funeral, it's supposed to happen next week. I want to attend."
Sarah's confliction was apparent, and she didn't bother hiding it. She frowned as gently as she could, but she could tell the damage had already been done.
"No." Sarah started, shaking her head. Immediately Peter protested.
"Please! This is the last time I'll ever see him." he said. "Who knows when I'll visit his grave again..." he reasoned.
Sarah sighed to herself and picked up the plate of pancakes she had made. She carried the plate to the dining table and placed it in the middle. She paused briefly and let out an even deeper sigh. Fighting silently with herself, she turned and faced the anxious Peter.
"When is it?" she asked.
"June 21st." Peter answered.
Sarah crossed her arms and grimaced, her eyes surveyed the floor as if she expected to find a tactical advantage for a non-existent battle. In situations like this, she would usually refuse the request, but this time a somewhat annoying spark of conscience tugged at her conscience.
"We'll go if we can." she said as she picked up the syrup on the table and put it back inside the refrigerator.
Peter smiled appreciatively. "Thanks. That's all I'm asking." He then turned to walk away, but Sarah interrupted him.
"Hey, could you wake John? Let him know breakfast is ready?" Sarah requested politely.
Peter nodded. "Sure."
He marched up the stairwell and reached the second floor quickly. Since it was rather warm in the house, Peter took off his cheap leather jacket and placed it on the coat rack in the hall. Afterward, he walked to the room John was sleeping in and knocked on the door.
"Yo John? Sarah says breakfast is ready." he called.
No response came. Even though Peter had heard tales of the poor quality of Sarah's pancakes, he still knew John had to eat, he was human after all.
"Dude, if you don't get up, that old guy is gonna scarf all your pancakes up! Not kidding, have you seen the size of that guy?" Peter quipped.
Still no response.
"Right... bad joke." Peter said to himself quietly.
After another four seconds of silence, Peter knocked more adamantly. "John!" he called once more, failing to elicit a response from anybody on the other side of the door. Now bewildered, Peter reached down and gently turned the knob and opened the door quietly. He moved his head inside the room and saw no one inside. He did notice that the bed was unmade, with its quilt and covers thrown aside.
"Aw... crap."
The first thing Alicia felt was her head hurting and the fact that her eyelids protested her commands to open. It didn't help that her wounds still gave her trouble when she tried to move the limbs with which they were associated. Alicia groaned heavily as she attempted to stand up and she steadied herself on a metal crate to her right. Finally, her eyes responded to her will, and she saw that she was in a warehouse of some sort, maybe a garage? All she knew was that it was dark, hot, and the air was stuffy.
The wounded girl took a moment to get her bearings before looking around. She saw that she was surrounded by crates and in the corner was an old bicycle. Alicia moved her hand against one of the crates before she came across a small object, a piece of paper. She picked it up and held it close to her eyes, waiting for her vision to adjust so she could read it.
'Sorry for the sleep shot. A cellphone is in your pocket, I'm your only contact. The code to exit the storage unit is 7308. - Oleg.'
Alicia reached into her right pocket but felt nothing. She moved to her left and felt the small object in her grasp. She pulled the device out and navigated to the contacts menu. Sure enough, Oleg's contact was marked as "Ruskie". Alicia sighed in frustration. She pocketed the cellphone and made her way around the crates that were blocking her path. Her wounds ached mildly, but not enough to hinder her to an alarming degree.
She used the objects nearby to steady herself on and finally reached the keypad near the door. She punched in the numbers, 7-3-0-8, and the metal door moved upwards. Sunlight flooded the room, causing pain to her eyes that were already adjusted to the darkness.
"Mierda." Alicia swore as she covered her eyes with her hands.
The girl stepped outside, finding herself in a row of other storage units on the burning concrete. She knew the area, it was still Los Angeles, albeit far away from the Tiki Motel. She stepped into some shade nearby and took out the cellphone. She called Oleg and waited while the phone rang.
"Glad you're up." Oleg's familiar voice spoke.
"Listen asshole, next time you pull that shit on me I'll put you in the ground!" Alicia threatened angrily.
"I'm sorry, but Yuri and I needed a few hours to get some distance. We couldn't all be together after the heat you're drawing from Kaliba."
"What the fuck is Kaliba?"
"Allies of Skynet. Humans working for them to disrupt Resistance Operations in the past. They've put down a lot of good people, so we need to return the favor."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Just lay low for a while. You're on Kaliba's hit list, and they're not gonna stop sendin' metal until you're dead. Since you escaped I imagine they'll move onto the next target. I won't lie, Kaliba has eyes everywhere, it's not gonna be easy to evade them so I recommend getting back into contact with the Connors. I'll have Yuri pull some recon over LA and see if he can find them. I wish I could do more for you Lieutenant but as I said, I can't risk all of us being seen together. We've got our own mission and we can't afford to compromise it."
Alicia pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a frustrated sigh. "I'll keep my head down."
"Good. I'll contact you in twenty-four hours with an update. Good luck Lieutenant."
The call clicked as it ended, and Alicia slid the cellphone into her pocket. It was a hell of a lot of stuff that had just been dumped on her, but it sure beats feeding the fish at the bottom of a lake, or at least she hoped.
Compound India
Edvard's office wasn't as grand as the one he had in Europe. This one was dusty, dark, and it didn't have his favorite scented candles, which was the worst thing about it in his eyes. But it would have to do, it wasn't like he was spoiled for choice. He opened his notepad and flipped through the various tasks he had assigned himself before his trip to the United States. They were to visit the Observatory in Los Angeles, Scuba Dive off the coast, and personally commission the murder of several future Resistance Allies. Alicia Delgado had slipped through his fingers, but the same would NOT be said for the other targets.
Just as boredom began to take hold, a knock sounded from the door to his office.
"Come in." Edvard stated dryly.
When the door swung open, the muscular frame of Edvard's new enforcer - McKnight stepped inside. In his left hand, he held a file.
"Sir, Intel pinged a new target." McKnight said as he began walking toward Edvard's desk. He gently placed the file down and slid it to over.
Edvard eyed McKnight curiously before taking the file in his hands. He opened it with care and pulled out the paper inside. Edvard scratched his stubble lightly as he observed the picture.
"Morris Ortega?"
McKnight nodded. "Yes sir. Intel matches with a Resistance Engineer that reprograms Hunter-Killers in the future. According to Jade, he's responsible for quite a few losses on Skynet's end." he explained.
Edvard huffed and placed the file on the left side of his desk. He clasped his hands together, intertwining his fingers with one another, and rested his forehead against them.
"Just get it done." Edvard hissed.
McKnight nodded. "Yes sir."
Edvard listened as his subordinate walked away, opened and closed the door, and marched down the hallway. He closed his eyes and wiped away the sweat droplets from the anxiety of having to oversee a new task. Truly, only a single thing had gone wrong since he arrived in the US, with everything else going according to plan. The kidnapping of Cameron, no doubt sending the Connors spiraling into internal tension, the obvious financial and numbers edge that he had over his enemies, among other things. But he feared for John's guile, how he could outsmart him at every turn if backed into a corner like he was now.
An overdramatic and unlikely outcome, but a possible one nonetheless.
Zeira Corporation
There was something about the parking lot of a major corporation that gave Aldridge a cold feeling. He wasn't a conspiracy nut but the thought of laser weapons, spaceships, or even a super AI with murderous intent being built in the basement interested him greatly. His expensive aviator sunglasses and black suit actually fit the environment with all of these self-important business-executives getting in their cars to chat with other executives over Lunch at an equally pompous Restaurant. He scanned the parking lot for Catherine Weaver, his target of questioning.
After the ruin of James Ellison's house in the outskirts of LA, he figured the man to go into hiding, but no, he carried himself like he had any other day, performing his daily duties as the head of security at Zeira. His former FBI partner had blamed the destruction of his home on a "robbery gone wrong". Aldridge didn't believe it, of course, there was still a matter of the human-shaped indentation that was in the wall.
Finally, Aldridge spotted his Red-Haired Scottish target walking gracefully to her Luxury car, with her daughter in tow. The Agent began slowly walking toward her and stopped just behind the woman.
"Miss Weaver?" he greeted.
The woman turned around, quietly gesturing her daughter to get in the car, which she did.
"Yes?"
Aldridge held his badge in front of Catherine with his right hand. "Special Agent Elliot Aldridge - FBI. I need to ask you a few questions."
Catherine eyed the badge dismissively. "I see. Well Special Agent Aldridge, I have spoken to authorities from every branch of the United States and United Kingdom Governments. I have been offered protection by both the CIA and MI6, both of which I did not accept because privacy is a valuable and unfortunately rare commodity. I am afraid I do not have the will to speak on the matter of my disappearance further. Now if you please, I must attend lunch with my daughter."
"It'll only take a few moments." Aldridge pleaded.
Catherine opened the door to her car and sat in the driver's seat. She turned over the vehicle but turned her head to face Aldridge before she took her leave.
"Special Agent Aldridge, time in my world is precious, much more than you know. I do not have much to offer, so you have exactly sixty seconds to speak your peace, if I do not find your questions worthwhile, I will go and you will not harass me further. Is that understood?"
Aldridge sighed in frustration, organizing the words his brain provided into something resembling a coherent sentence. He had to admit, he knew of Catherine's patronizing personality and even expected it, but this was just absurd.
"I just want to know why you don't want to talk about your abduction. You don't seem... fazed... at all! Sarah and John Connor are domestic terrorists Miss Weaver. They're crazy! Loons! Messed up, whatever! I need ANY information you can give me. I understand you could be suffering from mental trauma Miss Weaver, but we're talking about National Security here." Aldridge said.
"There is no mental trauma, but there is also no more on the subject to speak of. I've already told the other agents what I know; I have no further information to give you." Catherine said. She leaned out of her seat slightly, looked Aldridge directly into his eyes, and blinked.
For a split second, Aldridge no longer saw the steel-grey iris that had been gifted by Catherine's parents, but a silver shimmer that obstructed both of her eyes. His jaw fell slightly down, his blood ran cold, and he found it slightly more difficult to breathe. As quickly as it appeared, it had gone, being replaced by the natural color from before.
"Good day." Catherine chirped. Her car began moving away and took a right turn to the main road.
Aldridge stood in silence, staring at the back of Catherine's car in horror. His eyes widened in fear as if he had seen a Devil rise from below. He stood there a few moments, watching Catherine's car lose it's shape as it gained distance. A hundred thoughts raced through his head, none of which had solutions. For the first time, Elliot Aldridge was frozen in place, held there by dismay.
John's eyes focused on the Warehouse to his front. He breathed in and out, steadily, heavily, and angrily. Kaliba had already caused too much pain in his life, and he intended to stop it here and now.
"You are in distress." Penny's soft voice commented to his right.
John glanced over and saw his companion's eyes directed to his right hand. He looked down and saw that it had been shaking, clenched into a tight fist. Not out of hesitation or fear, but of anger. He was nervous, his opponents knew of his arrival as he had informed them of it beforehand. He used a payphone to dial the number of the machine that had kidnapped Cameron, he told her of his intention to make contact, and she agreed to meet him here. It was an ambush of course, he knew it, Penny knew it, and his mother and uncle especially knew it; which was why he had to sneak away.
"Of course I'm in distress." John replied. "If this doesn't go one-hundred percent right then the Human Resistance is fucked. If I get killed we lose the war, I need to know I can count on you."
"You can." Penny confirmed.
John nodded and let out a deep, anxious breath. "Good. Good." he allowed himself another moment before looking at Penny. "Let's do this."
Both of them opened the door to the car they had taken and closed it simultaneously. Penny moved right into the jungle of buildings that would guard her approach and John walked left where he would be much more obvious. He moved down the grassy hill, almost stumbling as his foot caught onto a small rock. Once he was clear of the hill, he strolled forward onto the concrete that led to the Warehouse. Tower guards took notice of his presence and activated their shoulder Radios. There were two guards at the main entrance, both armed.
As he approached, one of the guards held out his arm and halted him.
"This is private property sir." The guard said.
"My name's John Connor. I'm expected."
The guard pressed a button on his Radio and leaned in to speak. "I've got a John Connor here saying he's expected. Orders?"
"Tell him to come in." A female voice replied.
"Yes ma'am." The guard loosened his grip on the radio. He moved in and patted John down, looking for a weapon and not finding one.
He nudged his head backward. "Go ahead."
John gulped slightly as the metal doors to the Warehouse squeaked as they opened. It was darker inside, there was a medium-sized maritime vessel docked, three or so guards holding Assault Rifles and Submachine Guns, but no workers. John cautiously walked forward, moving into the building with an aura of discretion about him. Upon closer inspection, he saw the guards bore the stylized 'K' of the Kaliba Corporation printed on their shirt.
He stopped next to the boat, with the eyes of all the Kaliba guards watching him closely, their fingers just an inch away from the trigger - ready to fire on command.
"So, you actually came." A feminine voice called to him from above.
John looked up and saw a Blonde-haired Terminator standing on the catwalk above him. She was tall, had an Athletic build, and just by her looks he could tell that this was the Machine that attacked Cameron at Zeira.
The boy nearly felt his hate overtake reason, but he pushed it down. "We had a deal. Where's Cameron?"
The female Terminator scowled. "Really? You thought you'd just stroll into your enemy's fortress and we'd just hand her over? This is only going to end one way, and if you can't see that, you're dumber than I thought."
"You're Liquid Metal aren't you?" John asked.
The machine leaned her hands against the railing of the catwalk and moved in to listen as if the conversation had suddenly piqued her interest.
"I am." she answered.
"What model?" John questioned.
The machine gave him a callous grin. "While I'm flattered you want to know so much about me, I know what you're doing. You're stalling aren't you?"
John shrugged. "No... I figure if I'm gonna die anyway, you might as well humor me."
The machine rolled her eyes. "Alright, I'll bite. Yeah, I'm liquid metal. T-1001 to be specific. I was created in the Los Angeles Mass Production Facility on May 18th, 2029. Of course, I was designed to infiltrate, to destroy your Resistance from within. Unfortunately... Future you was a tough nut to crack, he insisted on meeting all new members that made it to his base, behind the safety of a bulletproof room of course. He was able to sniff out Machines, no matter how good they played their role. So Skynet sent me back in time, to here."
"To kill me?" John guessed.
The machine briefly pointed in his direction, as if picking out a spectator in some game show contest.
"Well, that was the original plan at first. You were the endgame, but I needed something to lure you out. We also needed someone to help with Skynet's creation." she answered. She leaned into the railing, locking eyes with John, "You know who we picked?"
John shook his head. "No?"
"One Daniel Dyson."
John clenched his fist and glared at her.
"Bullshit." he sneered.
Once again, the machine leaned into the railing of the catwalk, with a prideful and shameless grin upon her.
"Is it?" she asked simply. "Tarissa never talked about me? Not once?"
Hearing her words, John recalled previous talks with Tarissa, trying to remember any mention of Daniel or an intimate partner of his. It took a while, but he did remember a discussion Tarissa had with his mother Sarah.
"One day, he showed up to our house with a girl. Her name was Jade. Pretty little thing, tall too. Far as I know they'd been dating for about three weeks before he introduced her to me."
Words of sorrow veiled in admiration. A woman in need, and with no hope in sight.
"You're Jade?" John asked contemptuously.
The machine nodded, still with that self-satisfied grin. "Ding Ding Ding" she deadpanned.
"It wasn't hard." Jade started. "A few promises of peace here, another assurance of revenge there... Dan was on board quick as a flash."
John's fists tightened heavily and he averted his eyes away from his adversary. He wanted to take action, to make her pay for her treachery, but how could he? The teenager was surrounded by three guards while others stood above on the catwalk opposite Jade.
"Poor John Connor." Jade taunted. She reached down her right hip and armed herself with a pistol, she aimed the weapon at John.
"You're alone. You'll always be alone. You've lived alone, and you will die alone."
"He is not alone." a familiar voice called behind the liquid metal machine.
Jade turned around to see who had spoken, but it was too late to counter the fist that struck her in the nose. The machine's weapon went off, firing a single round in a random direction.
John could see that the attacker was Penny. He realized the guards who were watching him now directed their attention to the brawl on the catwalk. Recognizing their distraction, John retreated backward behind a metal crate. He peaked over and saw that they had not noticed him yet. Two of the guards were firing at Penny, their bullets struck both her and Jade although neither machine was fazed by their gunfire. The third ran to flank left, hoping to get a better shot.
Penny wrestled the handgun from Jade. She spun her around and grappled her by the neck, holding her close and tight. Penny aimed for one of the guards on the catwalk who was firing at her. She let off a single round, killing him quickly. The other ran to the right in an attempt to find cover, but Penny ended him quickly with another round. Jade, using all of her strength, wrestled herself free. She spun around and punched Penny in the face twice. The second blow only briefly staggered Penny, and she counter-attacked with a punch of her own. She made sure to keep the battle on the catwalk and focused only on her.
"Find him! Find him!" John heard a male voice bark as he hid. No doubt the guards who had realized they let their target slip.
John tightened his eyes in unease. He hadn't brought a weapon with him, as he correctly assumed the guards would pat him down when he entered the Warehouse. He would have been shot as soon as they felt a gun hidden away.
He heard footsteps encroach closely to his position. His breathing started to lose its steady pace and fear began to grip him, but he had nowhere to run. Amidst the gunfire, it was hard to tell which direction the first guard was approaching from, but when he saw the shadow directly above him, he knew it was to his left. As the shadow grew closer, John felt his end near. He closed his eyes, waiting for the shot.
A shot came, but his death did not follow. Instead, the guard who had approached lie dead. A confused John jerked his head left and right to find his savior, and the outline of a small-framed woman came into view near the North Entrance.
"Mom?"
Another bout of gunfire came from their position, killing the second guard. A larger man stepped out from behind the woman.
"Derek?"
The pair darted toward the nearest set of shipping containers and hugged themselves tightly against it, taking cover.
Sarah glared at John from her post. She didn't speak clearly, but the words she mouthed could be read clear as day.
"Are you fucking kidding me!?"
A wide-eyed John didn't reply. He knew he was going to get it later if they survived, but he hadn't forgotten the purpose of his visit. He looked over the crate he was behind to make sure the coast was clear. All the guards in the Warehouse had been taken care of, and Jade and Penny still battled each other above. John scrambled from his cover and picked up one of the dead guards' MP5s.
Sarah looked in astonishment as her son moved away from the crate and trotted deeper into the warehouse. She glanced at the battle between Penny and a mystery woman, presumably another machine. She flashed a look at Derek, drawing a supportive nod from him. She moved out of cover and followed her son, with Derek close behind.
They caught up to John who was trying to open a secure door. He struggled greatly trying to open it, as there was no knob or valve.
"John." Sarah said, receiving her son's attention.
He looked at his mom and saw her gesture toward something on the wall. John looked back and saw a card reader bolted on near the door. In frustration, John pounded his fist against the object.
"SHIT!" he yelled angrily.
Above them, the battle continued between the two female Terminators. Penny had achieved the advantage against the T-1001 for most of the battle. She was more durable, and she hadn't even resorted to her built-in armament yet. A staggered Jade made an easy target for a powerful front kick, and the machine sailed back into an observation kiosk that had been built next to the catwalk. Jade's impact on the structure left a large hole in the sheet metal wall, and she glared at Penny before retreating out of sight.
Cautiously and with her fists raised, Penny approached the observation kiosk slowly. When she entered, she found herself in a large room with little to no appliances inside. There was no way in or out save for the gaping hole in the wall or the locked door that Jade couldn't have possibly escaped from given the time it took for Penny to close the distance between them. Just as she was about to search elsewhere, a slim pair of arms grabbed her around the neck and held on tightly. One of the hands loosened and moved itself behind, where it transformed into a blade and was impaled through her abdomen.
Penny wasn't fazed. She guessed the machine had tried to destroy her power cell, but Skynet had manufactured her differently than most machines. Her power cell wasn't located in her abdomen, but it was in her chest, a few inches to the right of her breast. Penny noticed her rival falter in confusion, loosening her grip briefly. Penny took the opportunity and exploited this newfound weakness. She lifted her left arm and pointed the hand directly into the T-1001's face. The fingers contorted inward, and the liquid metal that coated her arms shivered and rippled in a silver shimmer.
The nozzle of her personal flamethrower readied itself, and Penny fired a burst of flame into the face of her attacker. She heard the other machine grunt and loosen her grip completely. Penny then turned herself around and hastily switched to her Plasma Cannon.
PLASMA CANNON READY TO FIRE. Her Heads-Up Display informed her.
A blue plasma ball discharged from the weapon and tore into Jade with incredible force. It knocked her at least forty feet away and left her disabled. Penny moved in to confirm the kill. She saw that her opponent was unmoving, but did not know if she disabled her completely. If it was only temporary, Penny didn't know how long it would take a T-1001 to "reboot". They didn't have the same structural components as a solid Terminator, so they were completely Alien to her.
Realizing that she had to move fast, Penny jumped off of the catwalk and ran to Sarah and others.
"It won't budge!" John said to Penny as he watched her approach.
Penny moved next to John and looked at the door he was attempting to open.
STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF DOOR . . . 100%
RECOMMEND PLASMA CANNON FOR BREACHING MANEUVER.
"Stand back." Penny said as she raised her right arm to her front.
John and the others covered their eyes as a Plasma ball made quick work of the door, nearly bringing down the entire Warehouse in the process.
"Christ..." Derek commented as he blinked to recover his vision from the bright explosion.
"That'll come in handy..." John said as he observed the large hole where the door used to be.
Penny began walking, "Yes, but I must use it conservatively. Every time the Plasma Cannon is fired it drains thirty-seven percent of my power. I am currently operating on twenty-six percent power."
Sarah rushed up to the front of the group as they traveled down the hallway. "Is it permanent?" she asked.
"No, it takes approximately three and a half hours to recharge."
"Good." Sarah replied.
The group approached a large room that housed several mini-aerial HK's on experimentation tables. Sarah barely contained her rage upon seeing the sight.
"Son of a bitch." She profanely commented.
Derek picked up one of the deactivated HK's and studied it closely.
"We're blowin' this place after we find the metal." he looked at Sarah, "Right?"
"With a big damn smile on my face." Sarah replied as she walked around the room.
The group continued to go deeper inside the base that was under the Warehouse. They passed several rooms that had nothing of value in them, or only contained more experimental HKs within. Finally, they had reached the end of the hall, but there was a final door that awaited them.
"There is someone inside." Penny declared.
"How do you know?" Sarah asked.
"He is attempting to hide, but his feet are shuffling about due to the fear of being discovered. It's very easy to hear, can you not?"
Sarah rolled her eyes and pulled out her Sig Sauer. Derek followed and retrieved his Ruger, aiming down the hallway facing the door. Penny marched forward and reached the door in less than five seconds, she kicked it open and scanned the room, she spotted an obese man hiding in the corner. He whimpered fearfully before Penny grabbed him by his shirt collar and dragged him out. As he struggled the whole way, Penny paid no heed to his pleas to be released, and she threw him on his knees in front of John.
John raised him up and pushed him forcefully against the wall.
"Where's Cameron?" he asked sternly. "Talk!" he said again before pushing him lightly.
To the man's credit, he held onto his composure better than most victims of the Connors Interrogations, but John knew fear when he saw it. Even if it was hidden more tactfully.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I just work here kid." the man said.
"Either you talk to me, or you talk to her." John hissed as he nudged his head to Penny.
The man glanced up at Penny, who was staring daggers at him with no hint of emotion. Just a cold, callous look that signified that she held only indifference to his predicament. He gulped, accepting John's offer to speak to him as opposed to his machine.
"Look, my name's Herbert Gary. I'm in charge of mini-HK experiments and local LA recon for Kaliba. We don't keep prisoners here."
Sarah put a gentle hand on John's left shoulder. "We searched every room, John. She's not here." she said softly.
John didn't look at his mother. He knew the truth in her words, but his anger was boiling. He didn't notice his hands grip the man's shirt tight, causing his victim to sweat.
"Then where?" John sneered.
"I... I don't know. I'm just a desk jockey dude I-"
"THINK!" John demanded.
Herbert stuttered, struggling with his words. "I... I- I- maybe... Compound India? It's about sixteen miles from LA. It's the only place I know of where we might keep prisoners of interest. It's a big facility with a cellblock. That's all I know I swear!"
John released his grip and stood up. He let out a deep breath, regaining his composure. After a moment, he looked back at Herbert who had retreated to a more genuine, terrified look.
"If I find out you're lying to me I swear to god I will tie your fatass to a cement block and drop you in the Pacific."
"I'm not lying! I swear to god, I'm not!"
Sarah gently took hold of John's arm and tugged it lightly. "John, let's go. Derek's got explosive charges in the car, we need to level this place."
John looked at his mother, his eyes glistened. "I... I need her. I can't leave without her."
Sarah nodded in understanding. She embraced her son and held him tight. "We'll find her. I promise."
They held each other in silence for a few seconds, but the moment was broken when a gunshot sounded throughout the hallway. Sarah, John, and Derek raised themselves to alert when they saw a gaping wound in Herbert's forehead. Collectively, they looked to see the barrel of Penny's handgun smoking from use. Silently, she pocketed her weapon and gazed at the others.
"It's time to go. Cameron is not here. I suggest we move on Compound India as soon as we are able. I will attempt recon if you wish me to do so." The Terminator said. She strolled past her comrades, not bothering to look back as she did so.
John primed the final charge, placing it under one of the tables that were used to develop the Mini-HKs. He looked to Penny, who was priming her final one as well.
"Did you kill the other one?" he asked.
Penny glanced at John briefly, "I am unsure. I disabled her with the Plasma Cannon but I don't know if she is able to reboot."
"Go check on her." John ordered.
Penny nodded and she took her leave. John finished with his current demolition charge and trotted up the stairs.
"It's ready." he said to his waiting mother.
"Alright." She replied. "We've got five minutes to book it, get the metal."
John nodded in acknowledgment and moved to where Penny was standing. When he got there, he saw that she was staring at a pile of rubble in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
Penny continued staring at the pile as she replied, "She is gone. Security Cams showed she rebooted after two-hundred and ten seconds; she then retrieved a Kaliba utility truck and drove down the highway."
John cursed under his breath. "Let her go for now. We'll deal with her later."
"I'll stay behind for one hour and make sure you're not followed." she said.
"Thanks." John replied.
When they were outside the facility, safely in their cars, Derek pressed the button on his detonator. A loud explosion tore through the mundane sounds of breezing wind and chittering insects. The Warehouse went up in a massive explosion from the charges they had set. They were far down the road by then, passing by dozens of cars that pulled over to the side of the road, their occupants getting out and gaping at the event as it happened before them.
"That'll attract a lot of attention." Sarah said.
"Think they'll blame it on us?" Derek asked.
"Without a doubt." she replied.
John struggled to stay quiet. He learned the truth about Danny Dyson, and while it was surely going to be hard for her to hear, he felt his mother needed to hear it nonetheless. At least it would bring them both a sense of closure.
"Mom? We need to talk. Talk about Danny."
"No dude! Don't shoot me! Shoot the Alien! The one with the Hammer!" Morris scolded to his friend sitting next to him.
"But you're an Alien too." his friend Oscar replied.
"Dude, they switched sides in the last game." he argued.
Morris heard a knock from his door and sighed in annoyance. "Hang on bro." he said to Oscar.
He stood up and walked over to his door. He didn't bother peeking through the view-hole to see who it was. When he opened it, he saw a tall man sporting a mohawk wearing a Police Uniform. The man looked down at the small Morris with a serious look.
"Morris Ortega?"
G'day and happy September boys and girls.
I apologize for my absence. I moved to a new state recently and it's drained me both physically and mentally. It's been, what, six months since my last update to this story? Man, I'm losin' my edge. I'm going to work on my REDUX project for a while but stay tuned.
Remember, I make regular mini-updates on my profile. Check it every couple weeks or so to see if it's changed. Thank you all so much!
