Chapter 7: Preparations
"So you think he left?" Faye asked, looking at the clock on the wall. It had been fifteen minutes since John had walked out of the room and he hadn't come back yet.
"Maybe he thought he could do it better alone." Spike said.
"Doubt it." Jet said. "We're the only friends he has right now, and he doesn't look like the kind of person to just run from a problem."
"Well he's not here now." Faye said in an annoyed tone.
"So why don't you go find him." Spike replied, just as annoyed.
"Why me?"
"Because you're the one who seems to be so worried that he deserted us." Jet said. "He's probably still in the hotel somewhere. When you do find him tell him we need to work out a plan." Faye was about to protest but Jet cut her off. "You're not helping here and you won't if you're all steamed up." Faye said nothing and stalked out of the room, slamming the door as she left.
"I wouldn't want to be in John's shoes right now." Spike said as Faye's footsteps slowly faded out. Finding John turned out to be easy. He was sitting at the deserted bar, a place Faye had planned to go anyway. He was nursing a drink in a large shot glass and was half listening to a radio. His back was to her and he didn't see her approach so she walked right up and slapped him over the head. Out of reflex he turned around and his hand went to his holster and the replacement gun he had been given.
"Oh it's you." He said when he recognized her. Angry but amused at the same time Faye was able to resist punching the guy and instead just hit him over the head again. "What's the big deal?!?!"
"I came to see if you decided to actually stick around. We were beginning to think you were off in a corner hiding." Faye responded sarcastically.
"I'm not a coward." John growled.
"You said that you were just going to find some aspirin." Faye pointed out.
"And I found some, the best kind to." He lifted the shot glass he had. "One hundred proof."
"Hoping that if you get drunk enough the problem will go away?" Faye asked but sat down. "Whatever he's having." She told the bartender who nodded and poured her drink.
"I'm not trying to get drunk." John said. Faye gave him a skeptical glance. "Unlike you this is new to me." He waited until the bartender was out of earshot. "Talking computers, aliens, robots, you might be used to this but my nerves are a bit shaky, I'm just trying to calm them down." He finished his drink. "Fighting something like that Terminator wasn't really covered at the academy. It's not something you can just take in stride."
"I already know that." Faye answered then downed her entire drink in one gulp. She called for another one.
"That's right." He said after the bartender walked off. "Jet said you had a run in with our metal friend, but didn't say what." Instead of answering Faye downed her second shot. "How can you do that?"
"Shot nerves let you do amazing things." Faye responded. "To answer your first question I was one that shot off part of that thing's face before you ran into it."
"Wait a minute. You were at that bar where the first shootout was?" Fay nodded. "They told us there weren't any survivors."
"Guess you can't believe everything you hear." Faye said. John snarled and turned away. The betrayal by ISSP still stung, now especially since he found out his commanding officer was part of the organization that had created the Terminator that had killed so many of his fellow officers and nearly killed him. "So were you scared?"
"What?" The question caught John off guard.
"During the shootout. Were you scared?" John was quiet for a moment.
"The part I was awake for yeah. I guess what scared me the worst was when he looked at me with that red eye of his, that's when you realized that you're facing something inhuman."
"If it's any consolation I don't think I could ever be more scared than I was last night. The only thing I could do was shoot and run."
"Really?" John asked. "From the way you've been acting you didn't seem all that shaken." Faye didn't respond and John realized he said the wrong thing. "Sorry. I didn't mean to…"
"It's all right." Faye said. "It's not something that's easy to forget, but I can't let it control my life either." John smirked at the remark.
"Funny, you didn't strike me as the type to admit your feelings."
"Consider yourself lucky. I don't normally tell people much of anything."
"But since you know someone with a traumatic experience similar to yours you find it safe to open up to them, knowing they'll understand." John put in, sounding like he was giving a lecture. Faye gave him an inquiring look. "I took a half semester psychology course back at the academy. Thought it would impress the higher ups." Faye gave him a slight smile. "Don't worry, I won't tell the others how you poured your heart out to an almost complete stranger."
"Thanks, and I guess I won't tell them how you were planning to get piss drunk then run off to some dark corner." Both laughed at the comment. They were silent for several minutes when the bartender approached.
"You folks finished? I'd like to close up."
"Yeah we're done." Faye responded. "He'll be paying."
"Me!?!"
"Hey, opening up to someone doesn't come cheap. Besides, it was your bright idea to come down here." John grumbled something but paid the bartender. ISSP had returned all his personal belongings to him at the hospital including his wallet but not his gun.
"Thanks." The bartender said as he put the money into his pockets. "Do me a favor and turn off the radio when you leave would ya?"
"Sure." John answered and the bartender left. He reached for the radio's switch.
"And in a related story the police are still searching for the lone survivor of the deadly shootout that claimed the lives of thirty-six ISSP officers." John pulled his hand back and listened. "Lieutenant John Connor, a rising star in the ISSP ranks, escaped this morning from the hospital where he was receiving treatment for wounds suffered in the battle. Without warning he attacked several hospital staff, overpowered them and escaped into the streets. Hospital sources said that there had been a steady decline in officer Connor's mental health, most likely a combination of witnessing the attack and a severe head injury suffered during the incident. In the hours before his escape he had begun to suffer delusions and became aggressive towards hospital personal, going off into incomprehensible rants. He was scheduled to be transferred to Pescadero mental hospital but escaped just minutes before the transfer was to take place. Earlier today the head of ISSP Mars released a statement that read 'Now the shootout has become a complete loss. Thirty-six men lost their lives, another has now apparently lost his grip on reality. His family is being consoled and the search continues for him as we speak. We harbor no hatred for Lieutenant Connor, his actions are not his doing and we are making sure he will get the best treatment possible. Even so he is now in a dangerous state of mind and considered dangerous. If you spot him do not approach, such an action might lead to a violent response." John flicked off the radio, took the badge off his uniform and looked at it.
"I guess there's no going back now is there?" He asked, mostly to himself.
"No there isn't." Faye answered. She wasn't about to lie to him. With all the shit they were putting out about him she knew this was something he couldn't escape. John looked up and addressed Faye directly.
"Would you believe I've only been with ISSP three years?"
"You do seem kind of young." Faye said, unsure of what to make of the question. Instead of being insulted John laughed.
"You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard that, but yes you're right. Right after I graduated high school I joined. Actually had to wait almost a year to get in, too young they said. After I did get in I learned the ropes quickly. Unfortunately that included learning the depths of corruption by the syndicates."
"Is that how you got such a high rank?" Faye asked. This time John was insulted but that anger quickly passed.
"I can see how it looks that way but no. I had an uncle that was in ISSP and he taught me everything he knew about being a cop. I used what he taught me and made lieutenant when most guys who joined up at the same time weren't even close to making sergeant. Like they said, I was a rising star." He looked back down at his badge. "I guess I still am. Number one with a bullet."
"So what are you going to do about it?" Faye asked. John took one last hard look at his badge.
"Nothing." He replied and tossed the badge into a trashcan. "What they've said has killed any chance of clearing myself and I can't change the past. Besides, I don't want to be part of any organization that'll doublecross you at the drop of a hat."
"So you think our little group was the best choice?" Faye asked as they walked back to the room.
"Best choice?" John snorted. "Between you guys and prison I'm beginning to think I'd be better off in the loony bin." Faye didn't respond verbally and jammed her elbow into John's ribs. "OW!"
"Very funny." She said dryly. She opened the door and saw Spike and Jet watching Ed work on Tomato. Both noticed John clutching his ribs.
"Decided to go easy on him Faye?" Jet asked. Faye said nothing and sat down.
"We were starting to wonder what happened to you two." Spike said. Faye and John glared at him.
"We were finding out that I'm about to be put on a wanted poster and that they have a straight jacket and padded cell waiting for me." John responded.
"We know that." Jet said. "You don't have a bounty on your head yet but you're still wanted."
"Go figure." John grumbled. "So do we have a plan?"
"Not yet." Jet admitted. "Ed's managed to hack into the computer system at Cyberdyne's headquarters but there's no information about the Terminators. They either have the information on a closed system or at another location. We basically have two choices now. Go to Cyberdyne and try to get some answers out of them and maybe shut the Terminator down at its source. Or take our chances at destroying this thing ourselves."
"I say we go after the Terminator." John volunteered. "We don't know how many of those T-800s they might have crawling around there."
"He's right." Spike agreed. "If we don't know how to destroy just one there's no way we can handle how many might be there."
"What about you Faye?" Jet asked.
"The sooner we get that son of a bitch the better." She answered. Jet nodded.
"I guess we're all in agreement. The first thing we need to do is try and get enough firepower to take this thing out. I have a few contacts but for hardware like we're going to need they're going to want top dollar for it, and right now all our funds are just a little higher then zero."
"I can help with that." John spoke up. Everyone turned in his direction. "I know the guy in charge of our armory. We've been friends since the academy days. He despises the syndicates and he's not going to buy that crap they're saying about me."
"You willing to bet your life on that?" Spike asked. "Because that's just what it might come down to, and you've already seen how deep the syndicate's control runs."
"We can trust him." John answered confidently.
"It's your call." Spike responded with a shrug.
"There any other objections to that?" Jet asked the group. No one spoke. "All right. John, how far away is this armory?"
"About a mile from here. Maybe two." John answered. "Well within walking distance."
"Then we'll walk. Does your friend work the night shift?" John nodded. "Good. We can wait until nightfall, there's less of a chance we'll be spotted. Ed, Ein, you two are coming with us. We can't risk that Terminator finding this place and leaving you two unguarded. We've got a few hours until it gets dark, in the meantime I suggest we all try to get some sleep. It's going to be a long night."
While they waited Terminator was still prowling the streets. He had gone to every known airfield and docking area that would be able to handle the three craft he was looking for. His search was long but he carried it out with the infinite patience that only a machine could have. He finally found the craft in one of the low maintenance docking areas. Using his ISSP alias he gained access to the manager's computer and printed out pictures of the three targets he was tracking. There was a high probability that someone in the immediate area had seen them so he set out questioning the general population. Some had not seen them but others did and had told him where they had seen them. The information he was receiving caused him to return to the same areas several times. The humans did not appear to be deceiving him but their information was inconclusive. True to his programming he continued to follow all possible leads, even if they led nowhere.
As Terminator continued to go in circles John lead the others through the back streets towards the ISSP armory. Ed and Ein kept up with the group with no problem, despite the fact that Ed had Tomato balanced on her head, insisting that it was to important to leave behind.
"Just out of curiosity how do you know the streets so well?" Faye asked.
"What, did you think I started out as a lieutenant?" John responded. "I started out just like every other cop did, on patrol duty. Everyone had to learn the shortcuts fleeing suspects might try to go through or hide in. Never thought I'd be using them myself though."
As they came closer to their objective Terminator came closer to his. Instead of a general direction he received a location. As he entered the hotel the manager looked up from his desk.
"Can I help you?" The manager asked. Terminator walked over and put all three pictures on his desk.
"Have seen any of these people?" He asked in his neutral voice
"Kind of blunt aren't you pal?" Terminator's only response was a blank stare. "Right." He picked up the pictures and examined every one of them. "Nope haven't seen them." As the manager spoke Terminator analyzed the stress of his voice, heart rate, respiration, even the motion of his eyes. All led him to conclude one thing.
"You are lying." Terminator stated. The manager's face remained impassive but his heart rate began to rapidly increase.
"Look, I already gave you my answer."
"I don't think you have." Terminator interrupted, showing him the fake badge.
"I don't care if you are a cop! You've got to the count of three to get out of here or else!!!"
"Or else what?" Terminator asked. He had asked that question so he could formulate an appropriate counter measure if need be. The manager, however, took it as an insult and a challenge.
"Or else I'll throw you out of here myself!!! ONE!! TWO!!!!" Terminator didn't move. "THREE!!" Terminator remained impassive. The manager was so angry that he temporarily forgot that the other guy was over half a foot taller then he was and stormed around his desk to confront him. "Ok wise-ass you asked for it!!" He shoved the other man with all his might but Terminator didn't budge. Surprised the manager tried again and got the same results. Out of frustration the manager wound up and punched Terminator in the jaw as hard as he could. There was a sickening crunch as the manager's knuckles collided with Terminators metal jaw followed by the manager's screams of pain. As he looked at his now mangled hand Terminator grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
"Where are they?" Terminator asked.
"I'm telling ya I don't know!!!" The manager yelled. Terminator tightened his grip and the manager started to make choking sounds as he fought for air.
"Where are they?" Terminator asked again.
"Rooms seventeen and eighteen!!" The manager screamed. After computing the manager was telling the truth Terminator snapped the man's neck then stuffed the body under his desk. Drawing his Desert Eagle he searched out room seventeen and after he found it kicked the door in with no warning. Sweeping the gun from side to side he found no sign of any occupants. He quickly searched the bathroom and closest then ransacked the room for anything that might reveal their whereabouts. Finding nothing he repeated the process with room eighteen but his search again came up empty. The most likely place they would be is in the eating and drinking areas of the building. The dining area had very few people in it and none of them were his targets. Turning on the lights of the drinking area he saw it was empty and began to leave when he heard a crash. Quickly drawing his gun he pointed it in the area the noise had come from and saw a trashcan overturned and something rooting around inside it. His CPU identified it as a rat seeking food and he put his gun away. His optics caught the glint of metal off an oddly shaped object. Determining it not to be a normal item of refuse he walked over and picked it up, ignoring the angry squeaks of the rat as it ran off. It was an ISSP badge, number 721. Visual examination confirmed its authenticity and he ran a search of the officer that the badge was issued. The information was found in less then a second.
Connor, John
Age: 22
Rank: Lieutenant
Planet of Origin: Mars
Criminal Record : None
A quick check told Terminator that John Connor had no affiliation with any syndicate. While he could not compute why the badge had been left here he estimated a 75% probability that his targets had contacted Connor in the hopes they could receive help from ISSP. The most likely action they would have taken is to go to the nearest ISSP location. As he left the hotel he took out his communicator and activated it.
"This is agent 001" He spoke.
"Go ahead." Said the voice from the other end.
"I have a lead on the targets. They have made contact with an officer at ISSP and may attempt to receive assistance."
"What are their current locations?" The voice asked.
"Unknown." Terminator answered. "There is a high probability they will make contact with the ISSP. They must be intercepted."
"What's the officer's name?" The voice asked.
"John Connor."
"Wait a minute. Lieutenant John Connor?"
"Affirmative."
"I think you need to keep up with the news more." The voice told him.
"Why?" Terminator asked, not recognizing the sarcasm.
"John Connor managed to survive that little fireworks display you put on last night. We tried to silence him but he managed to escape, with help. We've managed to convince everyone that he's gone insane and orders are to arrest him on sight." Terminator knew it was his current targets that had helped Connor escape, there was a hundred percent probability of it. Now there was another human that knew his identity and must be terminated. "He won't go back to ISSP help, that's for sure." Terminator wasn't so certain. Connor was not associated with any known syndicate and could have allies within the force.
"Have our agents in ISSP be on alert. They may attempt contact despite the risks. Contact me if they do."
"Roger that." The voice answered. Terminator turned off the radio and brought up a map of the city. He located all buildings used by ISSP in the area and found the one closest to his current location. The probability was high that contact would be attempted at that building so he headed towards it.
The group had finally made it to the armory and walked up to the front door, the only access it had to the outside.
"You sure there's nobody else here except your friend?" Jet asked.
"Shouldn't be." John answered. "He's the only one on duty and most of the units that need specific weapons would have gotten them already." He opened the door and they walked in.
"Great security." Spike joked as they walked in. "Let anybody and everybody in."
"Anyone can get in here." John replied. "Getting to the weapons," He pointed to what appeared to be blast door. "that's something else." They walked up to a window that looked like a bank teller's window. Only this one was made out of almost a foot of bulletproof glass with only a small slit to slip weapons requests and receipts back and forth. Inside the office behind the glass an ISSP guard, wearing body armor and the three stripes of a sergeant, sat in front of several monitors reading a magazine.
"No dogs allowed." The guard said without looking up.
"Well if you're guarding the place you need as much help as you can." John shot back. The guard let out a short laugh and looked up.
"More like you need all the help you can get." The guard said. "Do you know I'm breaking the law just by talking to you?"
"Do you really believe that?" John asked.
"Hell no!" The guard answered. "Give me a second and I'll buzz you in, but you do have to leave that dog outside. Visitors are ok but if someone shows up and catches an animal in here people are going to ask questions." Ein gave an angry growl.
"Calm down Ein." Jet told him. "It'd be better if you kept watch outside anyway." Ein looked from Jet back to the guard, gave an annoyed growl and headed for the door, pushed it open and went outside. There was a loud buzz and the blast door opened. Going through it they walked into a long hallway with similar doors on both sides. A smaller but just as solidly built door hissed opened and the guard invited them into the office. They walked in and saw how the guard knew they were coming. One of the monitors showed the outside of the front door and they saw Ein yawn and lie down.
"So John who exactly is this weird posse you got with you?" The guard asked.
"I guess introductions are in order. This group is the crew of a ship called the Bebop. This is Spike Spiegel, Faye Valentine, Jet Black,"
"The Jet Black?" The guard interrupted.
"The Black Dog himself." John confirmed.
"No kidding? I thought he was dead." Jet growled at the remark while Spike and Faye started to smirk.
"I wouldn't make anymore jokes like that if I were you." John warned. The guard nodded in acknowledgment. John pointed to Ed. "And the little one with the computer on her head is …."
"Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky the fourth! Pleased to meet you." Ed interrupted.
"Very…, interesting name." The guard said.
"You like that?" Ed asked. "Ed made it up." The guard gave John a confused look and John responded with a shrug. "What's your name?" She asked the guard.
"Curious little thing isn't she?" The guard said to John.
"Very." John replied. "Guys, I'd like you to meet Kyle Reese." Kyle shook hands with each of them, except for Ed who was examining his terminal.
"So what's the deal John?" Kyle asked, skipping formalities. "I know you didn't come down here just to show me your strange choice of friends." He looked over at Ed, who had set Tomato down and began to hook it up.
"We're in a real fix here Kyle and we could really use your help."
"Your problem I know about." He told John. "But what stake does this bunch have in it?"
"A big one." Faye answered. "The same thing that's after John is after us to."
"And what would that be?" Kyle asked. John looked at the rest of the group.
"Should we?" He asked. The others were silent.
"If he's going to help us he might as well know the score." Spike spoke up. After a second of thought Jet nodded.
"Show him Ed." Jet told her.
"Roger Jet person." Ed responded and began typing. Kyle looked over at Tomato's screen and started when a picture of a Terminator endoskeleton appeared, complete with technical data.
"What the hell is that thing?" Kyle asked.
"That," Jet responded. "Is what's after us. It's called a Terminator, a robot designed to look like a person, and programmed only to kill and destroy."
"Hold it!" Kyle spoke up. "You're starting to sound like one of those B movies. John you can't take this garbage seriously."
"It's all true." John responded flatly. Kyle sighed and shook his head.
"John, you're starting to sound like the things they're saying are right about you. I don't know what you guys did to make him believe this but,"
"What we did!?!?!" Faye shouted. Kyle nodded.
"There's no way John would believe any of this bullshit." He looked Faye up and down. "Although looking like that you could tell someone anything and they wouldn't ask questions." Everyone but Ed knew what the joke was and Faye started to lunge at him but Jet and Spike grabbed her arms.
"Calm down Faye!" Jet yelled. "Killing him isn't going to help."
"Let's find out about that!" Faye yelled and again tried to lunge but Jet and Spike held fast.
"Better explain quick before she breaks loose." Spike said.
"What's her problem?" Kyle asked.
"She's been though a lot lately and so have I. So listen up and listen well sergeant." John answered. Now he had Kyle listening but he had a suspicious look on his face. "Look Kyle, we've been friends since the academy. You know I don't mess around when something is serious, right?"
"I guess so."
"Then you've got to believe me, this thing is real. It's real, it's tough and it doesn't give a rats ass about anything but what it's told." As Kyle listened he kept an eye on the still struggling Faye, the whole time with a skeptical look on his face. "It nearly killed her last night and it killed all those guys in the shootout." Now he had Kyle's complete attention. Seeing that he was finally taking this seriously Faye calmed down. "That's right, the person who shot up our guys was one of those." He pointed to the screen. "A quarter inch deeper and he would have killed me to." He pointed to the cut on his head. Kyle shook his head again.
"Then where did it come from? Who made it? And how can one do all that?" Kyle asked, trying to prove that what he was hearing was false.
"We don't have time to give you all the details." Jet answered. "But we can tell you that it's built to be almost indestructible." Kyle gave him a skeptical look. "Think about it. In the shootout, how many rounds did ISSP fire."
"Latest report is over a thousand." Kyle answered.
"And how many bodies did they find on the other side."
"None." Kyle responded, beginning to understand but not liking it.
"That's because this thing is designed to absorb an almost unheard amount of punishment." Jet continued. "It knows who Faye is and who she's associates with, both her and John know what that Terminator really is and the people who built it don't want that known. Take our word for it, this thing won't stop until we're all dead, and if it finds out about you you'll be next. If it can find us it can find you. We have to destroy that thing and John said you could help. Are you going to or not?" Kyle rubbed the bridge of his nose and sat down.
"All right." He said quietly. "It's going to cost me my job but I'll help." He looked over at John. "You're positive all this is on the level." John nodded. "I guess you've got a new recruit. But first I need to know…" He was interrupted by loud barking coming from one of the monitors. On it they saw Ein standing, ears back and looking like he was ready to pounce. His barking was loud and fast, it didn't even seem like he was stopping for breath. "What's his problem?"
"Don't know." Jet said.
"Edward will find out!" Ed yelled and hit a button on Tomato. The buzzer sounded and both the office and blast door opened. Ed ran out before any of them could do anything.
"WHAT THE….!?!?!?!" Everyone looked at Kyle who was looking at the door controls he hadn't touched. "That little…!!! She hacked into the system!! Right under my nose!!!!" The others started smiling.
"I am looking for these people. I am also looking for John Connor have you seen him?" A deep and emotionless voice came from the monitor. All of them turned towards it. Kyle heard Faye gasp and when he turned saw she had gone sheet white. John was looking a little on the pale side to. Jet and Spike didn't have quite a dramatic reaction but they tensed up at the sight they were witnessing. On the monitor, towering over Ed, was the Terminator they had tried so hard to avoid.