Chapter 188
Attacked
There was flaming wreckage everywhere and a smoking crater where the flipped SUV - used to be.
Bob picked up another LAW rocket from off of the ground and looked around in the sky. He did not know if there was an additional threat. HK drones sometimes attacked in pairs.
Holly looked at the debris field scattered around the area. There were little things on fire burning all around them.
"Where is Cameron?" Holly asked in panic.
Bob looked down from the sky and scanned the area.
"I don't see her." Bob said.
Holly looked at a smoking hole in the ground.
"Where's the SUV?" Holly asked.
"It's gone." Bob said.
"Where did it go?" Holly asked.
"It's just gone." Bob said.
Holly moved towards the crater.
"If she was still in the SUV…." Holly started.
She was barely able to get the words out.
"Maybe she was thrown clear." Bob said but doubted it.
Holly wondered if the burning bits of debris were what was left of Cameron.
"I scan nothing, NOTHING." Holly said. "Was the explosion her power cell?"
Bob was not sure if the blast was large enough to be a power cell. He'd personally looked at the crater where the Duplicate versions Vanna and Allison perished along with her baby. He went to the crater where Jesse died. They seemed much more severe in magnitude. He wondered too if that depended how much energy was left in the power cell too. Cameron's may have been depleted more than the Skynet Terminators were.
"I do not know." Bob said. "It may have been the drone payload or armament."
Holly thought this was a total disaster as she looked around.
She knew that human's dreamed. She really hoped this was one. With the damage to her sheath it seemed pretty real.
Gail looked at the developments on the ground. She could see that it was nothing good that just happened. She wanted to take control of the helicopter and look over the area herself.
Gail looked at the copilot.
"Get out." She commanded.
He hesitated. Gail's eyes flashed red and then stayed red. He got up quick and transferred his headset to her. He wasn't about to argue with her. He had standing orders to cooperate.
'What the Hell?' He thought. 'Is that some kind of built in night vision?'
The copilot was unsure what he'd just witnessed. He knew the group they were associated with was some 'secret government agency'. That is all he knew. The pay was ten times any other job he would ever find. He was told not to ask question and do as he was instructed. He also knew sometimes he might have to 'look the other way'. He was not sure if this was one of those times. Maybe based on the explosions below them that whatever was down there would be one of those times.
Gail looked over at the pilot once she was strapped in.
"Let me take it." Gail commanded the pilot.
The pilot took one look at her eyes and relinquished the controls. He thought the same things that the copilot did. The pay was top notch. Follow orders and don't ask questions.
"You got it?" The pilot asked.
"I got it." Gail said as she took control.
Gail put the helicopter into a series of tight turns as she scanned the ground for any sign of Cameron. She failed to spot her. She set the copter down and shut it off. It did not look like they'd be able to leave for awhile. There were a lot of things to pick up. Some of them might be what was left of Cameron.
Holly and Bob came up to the Blackhawk as the rotors spun down.
Sarah led the group out
"What's the report?" Sarah asked.
Holly slowly looked over the scattered mess on the ground.
"We can't find Cameron." Holly said. "She's gone…."
"Gone where?" Sarah asked.
"She's just gone." Holly sobbed.
Sarah understood that to mean what it sounded like.
"I want the Term…, I mean Bob, Holly and Gail to check the burning pieces. I need the rest of you to gather up everything else. Make two plies, one pile for weapons and ordnance and one pile for all other debris. Be careful, some of them were burning a minute ago.
She saw the helicopter crew look out at them.
"Tend to the copter and don't concern yourself with this." Sarah said. "Whatever happened here never happened."
The crew disappeared from view. The female that spoke to them looked as hard as nails. They knew she was the group commander.
Bob, Holly and Gail all looked over at where the HK drone went down. There was some noise.
Bob noticed movement behind the flaming wreckage. He raised his weapon.
A figure appeared and walked around the flames of the burning drone wreckage.
It was Cameron!
"It's Cameron!" Bob shouted.
Every head turned.
It was Cameron and she carried someone. They appeared terminated.
Bob and Holly felt such relief. Cameron was alive.
Bob rushed to help her.
Cameron carried a Latin featured female.
Bob took her from Cameron. He knew it was a Terminator instantly. He saw her chip port was cut open and the chip was missing.
"Be careful." Cameron said. "I need her body."
Cameron let her hand linger of the female Terminator's face for a few seconds.
Bob nodded in understanding.
"Get to the chopper." Bob said.
Holly was by Cameron's side instantly.
The two Terminators hugged and checked each other for damage. Both of them would need cosmetic repair.
Holly felt such relief, it was overwhelming…. Cameron made it. She was alive.
She was sure Cameron was terminated. The feelings that overcame her were horrendous. She could understand Cameron better now. She knew that so many things made Cameron feel this same way.
Allison, Jesse, Riley and Derek all collected any ordnance they could find that was thrown from the SUV. Sarah and Vanna tended to the three Terminators who'd been in the crash. Bob was damaged as well.
Cameron explained she rebooted in a ditch and the Terminator landed next to her when the drone impacted the hill. She must have been the pilot or they'd been transporting her on it or in it. By their nature, drones were not usually manned. It could have been more than a drone too. It was a burning pile of junk right now.
Cameron examined the female Terminator's sheath. She was beautiful. She examined her closely. She opened her top. The Terminator was shapelier than her with larger and more prominent breasts. She liked the way she looked and thought John would too.
She would ask John if he would prefer her in this sheath when she transferred her chip. It could be a fresh start for her. She could leave the past behind and start over with John. This way Holly would not have to sacrifice herself for her earlier stupidity.
Cameron actually felt sorry for whatever Terminator got her Resequenced body, the one she'd 'ruined'. What was she THINKING? No really, what was she thinking?
Holly saw Cameron unhook the Terminator's pants. She realized what she was about to inspect next. She made sure everyone gave Cameron privacy. It was understandable to wonder what you would look like down there. Sometimes there was a lot going on down there. She glanced back once and liked what she saw.
John was worried sick about Cameron. They still did not have any facts yet one way or the other. It did no good to guess or speculate.
He needed to worry about what his team was about to engage. It seemed anything but straight forward.
John and his team approached the airport. The helicopter was parked. The drone was nowhere to be seen. Where did it go? The tracker still showed it was right here. There were no personnel to be seen. They thought they may need to do battle with some Grays.
"Watch out for an ambush." John warned.
This looked like a set up for sure.
John received a report from John Henry before they started their advance. He was informed Cameron was OK. So were Holly and Bob but all of them were cosmetically damaged. He knew they'd captured another Terminator as well. He was relieved to hear it was a female. He was unsure of her condition. He was aware that Cameron might be able to 'transplant' various areas from one sheath to another. The thought that Cameron could still be the same but 'different' intrigued him.
Dan and Three scanned the area around them through several vision spectrums.
"There is no sign of anyone around here." Three reported back.
John looked at the helicopter in the darkness.
"Get to the chopper." John said. "Check it out and use caution. It could be booby trapped. This is too easy."
Dan went to the helicopter and returned with their tracker.
"This was sitting on the skid." Dan said. "This is not the same helicopter either. It is not even the same color."
John and John Henry deduced that whoever came for the drone knew or suspected there was a tracker and found it. That is why they flew so slow to pull off this switch and Cameron was the real target.
He was more than a little upset. Now they didn't have anything. The drone was gone. The helicopter was gone. The pilots were gone.
What made it worse was that they'd almost lost three Terminators. They'd suspected a sucker play of some kind. It was more elaborate than they'd imagined. The only good thing was they gained the new female Terminator. John knew Cameron would be happy. That was the only positive. He ordered everyone to return to base.
He would have Dan pick up a box truck so they could collect the wreckage of the drone and anything else of value or relevance from the area.
The clean up went well at the attack site.
Everything was ready for transport. They were informed a box truck was on the way. Three and Dan would be able load everything. They'd used some of the fire fighting equipment at the station next to the fire fighting helicopter to extinguish the small fires.
Cameron was back in form and in control again. Everyone liked to see her this way. She double checked everything. She planned to wait with the wreckage for John's team and assist them with loading all of it.
Allison was not about to put up with any of that.
"Cameron, you are going back with us." Allison said.
Vanna and Jesse joined her.
"That's right." Jesse said. "You are done for the night, love."
Vanna made a point of looking at the damage to Cameron's sheath.
"I want to get started on the repairs." Vanna said. "The three of you all need some work."
Cameron looked over at the female Terminator.
"You mean the four of us all need some work." Cameron said. "That is my new chassis."
The three girls looked at the female Terminator in detail now.
"She is beautiful." Allison said.
"I will make sure the sheath is perfect." Vanna said.
Jesse liked that the female Terminator's shirt was open and she could see her firm perky breasts.
"She is a 'looker' for sure." Jesse said.
The helicopter was loaded. It was time to go.
Cameron asked the pilot if she could fly and he relinquished control. Those were his standing instructions. If any of the 'contractors' needed to fly the helicopter, they could. He'd seen the skill the female with the red eyes displayed.
"How long have you been flying?" The pilot asked Gail.
"This was my first time." Gail told him.
The pilot wasn't sure if she was joking but he was not about to ask again. There was a very stern look to her. She looked like she could rip his head off if she wanted to.
Cameron climbed up and took the controls. She looked back at the pilot.
"This will be my first time too, in a helicopter." Cameron said.
The helicopter crew exchanged glances.
The pilot and copilot both climbed in the back. They looked at the collection of women there. They saw they were all pretty Hot looking, even in combat gear. Holly did not like the way they looked at the girls. Holly leaned forward; her eyes glowed red as she faced the men.
Cameron lifted the copter off and was away. She did one quick look around the area they were about to leave behind. Everything looked good. John and his team would be there in thirty minutes.
"Don't even think about it." Holly said to the crew. "Don't even talk to them."
The red eyes were unnerving. They looked at the unmoving female laying on the floor. There was a section of her scalp cut open. There was an empty receptacle socket visible inside her skull.
The crew wondered if all the females here sported the 'red' eyes. They could see the small patches of exposed bloody metal on Bob and Holly as well as Cameron. They knew when not to ask questions. There were some serious people - real serious.
"It is a good thing we get paid like we do and are patriotic." The pilot said to the copilot and crew chief.
"Yes, because none of this ever happened." The copilot said.
"None of what ever happened?" the crew chief asked.
All three of the men grinned at each other.
Cameron opened the Blackhawk up and neared the redline.
She really pushed the outside of the envelope as she piloted the Blackhawk home.
The pilots were impressed.
"Damn, she can FLY." The copilot said to the pilot.
The pilot nodded. They liked working for this 'top secret government agency' that they were told they worked for….
Bob spoke to Allison when he spotted her player.
Allison was ready.
'Long Tall Sally' by 'Little Richard', was queued up ready to play on the helicopter ride home.
It was a request from Bob. A smile beamed across his face.
Tick Tock Tick Tock
The mind can reach across space and time
Thoughts may go wherever you wish
To caress your mind so wounded and hurt
Is where I want to hunt and fish
Share the thoughts of anger and pain
May I help you break the chain
For also I can not forever torture my brain
Escape calls out to end the strain
I am a person just like you too
You tried to fit in and run with the pack
I ran away, withdrew, retreated and hid, a coward
There is no future forward, nowhere to go back
I am so ashamed about all I am not
A failure, nothing, worthless, not good enough
I no longer know right from wrong, nor care
I can not accept I will never have the right stuff
Tick tock tick tock each second goes by
As the agony of each new day gives me breath
I see not a new day to live and enjoy its fruits
But simply one more day, closer to death
Nobody