Chapter 535

You Won

Savannah, Cameron and their team were ready for the strike at the foundry.

Savannah communicated with Cammy. Her team was ready at the machine shop. They were ready to go. They awaited the word to move in.

Everything was in place, everyone was ready.

The strike was a 'go'.

John Henry cut all power and communications to the two facilities and the surrounding areas. There were two drones on station at each facility. They'd lost use of the manned drone for now as Holly went off to conduct a 'mission' to locate Allison and make sure she was returned safely to the Young residence.

Savannah moved forward with Cameron. The rest of the Terminators took up their assigned locations.

John Henry communicated with everyone and viewed their body cam footage as well as other video inputs from the drones and some surveillance cameras they'd installed during the earlier recon mission.

Savannah carried a silenced pistol along with her M4. Most of the male Terminators carried an M249, others carried an M60. The females all carried an M4. All the weapons were loaded with Coltan projectiles. They all carried Thermite grenades.

Cameron moved swiftly with Savannah as she searched around her. She checked and scanned for threats. She used all of her Terminator abilities.

The two guards at the gate were surprised to see Savannah and Cameron. They seemed to appear from thin air in front of them. It was the last thing they saw. Savannah shot one of them in the face and again in the head when they were down. Cameron snapped the neck of the other one and reported that both threats were neutralized.

The Resistance Terminators started to make their way inside the perimeter. They'd started the assault. There was no opposition so far.

Savannah checked with Cammy and everything happened the same way at her location, the machine shop. They'd also started the assault. Once the gate guards were down. They faced no opposition yet either.

It appeared that both the small foundry and machine shop were taken by surprise.

John went over everything from both locations. Everything started out smoothly. He knew that could change fast and often did.

"There's no opposition yet." John said.

John Henry thought it was a smooth start. That often could be misleading. The nature of the 'business' itself was deceptive.

"I'm monitoring everything." John Henry said. "Remember they were trying to hide the Skynet related operation in plain sight and act like a legitimate company."

John picked up on a communication from Savannah. It caused him some worry. He didn't see any need for them at this point.

"I see Savannah's alerted the Blackhawk and its team." John said. "She must be expecting trouble."

John Henry hadn't detected any threat. It was still early. Savannah wanted to have the 'MIKE Force' ready to go for either or both locations. She didn't want to take any chances or push it.

"She's being cautious." John Henry said. "You're used to Cameron being reckless."

John could have done without that reminder. Cameron caused him enough grief when she was out in the field. It only made him worry more about Savannah now. Cameron could get her injured or killed.

"If we even know about it when Cameron is out." John said. "I know she means well. We have no way of being able to watch over her. I really hope she thinks about Savannah now on this one."

John Henry didn't know how to say it other than just to say it.

"John, she's a Terminator." John Henry said. "It's what she does. It's what we do. She'll watch over Savannah and Savannah will watch over her."

John did know that and it didn't make any of it any easier. There were just other ways to do some things that weren't as dangerous. He noticed everyone was inside the perimeters.

"Both teams are going inside." John said. "It should go hot soon if there are Terminators there."

John Henry watched all the video footage that was sent back for any hostile activity.

"It seems that's most likely." John Henry said.

He began to wonder why there was no opposition yet as well. He understood Savannah's concern.

Earlier:

Allison snuck out of the house when everyone was occupied. She's looked in her mother's room. Hanna and her mother were really going at it. She would have liked to been where her mother was right now. That would need to be another time. She saw that Anna was busy with Young Allison and Summer.

She went to the back door and retrieved a stone she'd hidden alongside the step before. She went back inside the door. From inside the house she tossed the stone to the far corner of the yard of the Detail house. She knew it would trip a sensor or two. They would go to investigate. She slipped out the front and ran down two houses away from the Detail house. She stayed right up along the houses. She went into the yard of the third house. She knew they worked nights and they didn't have a dog.

Allison figured the Detail would figure out they'd been duped and move to the front. She went over the fence and into the property in the back but over one more house and came out on the next street over. She didn't see anyone in pursuit yet.

She made it over three more streets and waited in a gas station, along the side of it. When she saw the city bus approach she ran out and flagged it down. She stayed on it until she neared the mall. She planned to lose anyone who may have tracked her inside of the mall and boost a car from the parking lot. She was pretty sure the Detail was on to her at this point. They wouldn't be for long.

Holly was up and already over Palmdale. She approached the area where Allison was last reported.

Allison entered a mall and lost the Detail that followed her. She exited out on the other side of the mall and disappeared….

Cameron taught her early on how to avoid Grays or Terminators that tried to follow her. Every minute she could buy was one additional minute she would get to live. It gave her time to defend herself or go on the offensive. Help couldn't be expected in most circumstances. She decided to turn her phone on.

Holly called Allison again.

Allison looked at her phone. She realized she should have ditched it somewhere. She saw it was Holly again. She felt a little guilty. She'd been ready to boost a car. She'd watched a family enter the mall. They were going to shop, eat and watch a superhero movie.. They wouldn't know their car was gone for a few hours. She would be in another one by then.

This time Allison answered her phone. What was she doing?

"Hello." Allison said.

Holly wanted to keep Allison talking so she could be apprehended. They could pinpoint her current location. The Detail was to physically restrain her and bring her back to the Young residence if she refused to comply. Everything spilled out of her all at one time.

"Allison, I want you to stop. Where are you going? I'm sorry if I upset you." Holly said. "You must think of the baby, OUR baby. THAT is the most important thing."

As they spoke John Henry tracked her phone and relaying the information to the Detail that was after her. Holly was over Allison's location at this point. The drone was high and undetectable to the human ear.

Allison was overwhelmed by many different things. There were many things she didn't like about her life and even herself. The failed pregnancies didn't help any either. Each failure seemed to make things worse.

"I don't know what I want any more." Allison said. "I don't even know who I am either."

Holly received word that the Detail was about to close in on her. That was good news.

"Allison, the Terminators from the Detail are near you. They want you to go with them and go back home." Holly said. "Will you do this for me, for us?"

Allison looked around. Where was she going to go? What would she do? Where would she hide? They would track her down sooner or later anyway. She'd just end up hurting the ones she loved by causing them needless worry. There was one thing she wanted to do.

"OK, Holly. I'm sorry. I don't even know where I could go anyway." Allison said. "If I lose this baby, I'm going to Cameron's future to be with my baby there. Future Allison will share with me or she can come here in my place. If you won't send me I'll ask River next time she 'visits' us to send me there. You know she will. She'll feel my need to be with MY baby."

Holly didn't want to take that discussion further. She knew now why Cameron trapped Future Allison in the future with Destiny, her baby. That needed to happen here with the girls to make sure they stayed here with their own babies. She could see how important that was now.

"Do you see our Terminators?" Holly asked.

Allison looked around. There they were. They'd found her. She briefly touched her Taser. She looked for Holly.

"Yes, you're not with them." Allison said. "I don't see you."

Holly knew this was going to get tricky. She needed to choose her words carefully.

"I'll return shortly." Holly said. "I'm working with Savannah and Cameron."

Allison was troubled by that statement. Then it hit her. Cameron was out on a mission.

"They both called me." Allison said. "I didn't answer. Wait…. Cameron went on a mission. Are you in combat?"

Holly wanted to come clean. She was out of danger now. She was no longer part of the mission.

"No. I was supposed to be but Savannah diverted me from the assault to help find you." Holly said.

Allison sucked in her breath. She didn't want Holly shot up. Something else nagged at her with the talk of combat. The future died hard inside of someone. There was a higher calling now. It was a sense of duty.

"I don't want you in combat." Allison said. "If they expected you to assist them and now you're looking for me that means I'm endangering the others by pulling you away. This is on me now."

Allison knew she was going to have to apologize to Cameron and Savannah for endangering the mission. She also knew the entire Detail unit was out tracking her. That left Young Allison, Summer and her mother vulnerable.

Holly could see where Allison was headed with her thinking. It wasn't a good place. She wanted to put Allison at ease.

"Savannah released me to look for you." Holly said. "She understands…."

Allison needed to rectify the situation at once. Holly was needed elsewhere. This was all on her now.

"OK, I'm going back. It looks like I screwed up even more. You go back and help Cameron and Savannah like you were supposed to." Allison said. "I'm sorry my actions have now endangered the others."

Once Holly saw Allison with the Detail, she left…. The glitch in her hand subsided slowly. Now she needed to refocus and get ready for combat. The two teams were already on the move.

John Henry filled her in as she powered the manned drone up. It hadn't been determined which location she needed to support first.

Anna was in a tunnel in the bunker system below the Young residence and the Detail house next door. She decided to use the time to conduct a drill with Young Allison and Summer. She currently followed Young Allison and Summer. They'd reached a junction in the escape tunnel. One branch led to the surface, the other to the side of an inlet tunnel for a flood control channel. They'd added it after the recent encounter with Skynet Metal that used a similar tactic. It offered one more option for evasion and escape. It was a long narrow tunnel.

She wanted to complicate the test. She previously indicated their house and Detail house were both under attack and presumed destroyed. That meant no help was coming any time soon. Young Allison's survival would depend on her own decisions from this point. The whereabouts of her mother and Allison were unknown to her. Young Allison sealed the bunker behind her. In this scenario her mother and Allison didn't make it.

Anna sent a message to Young Allison that Terminators breached the bunker and were in pursuit.

Young Allison moved to a control panel and entered a code. A selection of controls were now activated. She could choose which exit to blow open as well as collapse the tunnel behind her.

Anna sent a message to Young Allison that the Terminators were closing and were within 'hearing distance'. That would mean they would be terminated shortly unless she collapsed the escape tunnel behind her.

Young Allison simulated to blow the tunnel closed behind them in two places and exit into the flood control inlet tunnel.

Anna walked up to her. The test was a success.

Summer wanted to know if they won.

Anna wanted them to feel the joy of victory. Some hard choices needed to be made to get to where they were.

"Yes you did. You won. You both made the right choices and did what you needed to do to escape. Remember both of you are important to the future." Anna said. "Both of you are important to Cameron."

Young Allison wasn't sold on it being a real victory. Not everyone made it. She chose to save Summer and not wait any longer for her mother or Allison. They all would have been lost if she'd delayed any longer.

"What about my mother and Allison? What became of them?" Young Allison asked. "I needed to leave them behind. It wasn't a sweet victory."

Anna knew it was part of Allison's nightly 'conditioning' that the future was a vile and violent place. Things didn't always end well for everyone.

"There's a war coming, Allison." Anna said. "Not everyone is going to make it."

Summer thought about the discussion.

"Allison is a trained Resistance fighter." Summer said. "She may have fought her way out and escaped. Mommy is training too. They both could have made it."

Anna and Young Allison looked at each other for a long moment. It was clear Summer grasped the reality of the situation.

Young Allison was still bothered by the decision. A test was one thing. Real life was another.

"I don't know if I could make those same choices if I didn't know this was a drill." Young Allison said.

Anna knew that Young Allison would. She'd been trained and 'conditioned' to do what was necessary.

"You'll make the right choice, the hard choice, when you have too." Anna said. "You know your importance to the future. Protecting the future is your primary function."

The words popped into Young Allison mouth without the need to think of them. It was part of her nightly 'conditioning'. It was part of her training.

"I'll protect John Connor and Savannah Weaver. I'll join them at their side to defeat Skynet." Young Allison said. "I promise."

Anna was pleased with the drill. Everything went as planned. She hoped that drill never needed to be a real event. Who knew what the future would bring?

"Let's go back. I'll bring Summer." Anna said. "You won this time. You both survived to fight another day."

Anna knew as long as they lived and stayed alive that they were winning.

Holly informed Savannah she was about to return to the combat area. She received all the current and updated information from John Henry. It was Savannah's choice as to which target she wanted Holly to reinforce.

Savannah saw this as an opportunity to do a wide recon of both areas. There could be something they'd missed. Maybe a convoy was on the way.

"Do a wide recon around both targets." Savannah said. "Things have progressed well here. Look for anything we've missed."

Savannah was worried it almost seemed like it was too easy at this point.

Savannah expressed her concerns to John and John Henry. There'd been limited opposition so far.

Her assessment worried John. He could see it too now. Their troops were the ones inside and in control of the perimeters now.

"Are we missing something?" John asked.

John Henry could see the concern of Savannah and now John. Maybe they were onto something. He knew that human intuition saved team members before.

"It's possible." John Henry said. "I don't know what it is yet if we have."

John wasn't about to take any chances now. He was really worried.

"I want all units to look for anything out of place." John said.

Savannah checked in again.

"Something is off here." Savannah said. "I can feel it."

John Henry was very worried now.

"Savannah has good instincts." John Henry said.

John looked over everything again. It was too easy. There should have been more opposition.

"That's what worries me." John said. "She's expecting trouble."

John Henry thought he knew what was troubling John. He didn't realize it was much more than that.

"Cameron will protect Savannah and Savannah will protect Cameron." John Henry said again.

John tried to lighten the mood somewhat.

"Who will protect me from both of them?" John asked.

"Nobody." John Henry said.

You Won

If one doesn't win
That means they lost
The nature of the contest
Will determine the actual cost

Some may be simple
They don't mean a thing
Others are more involved
The loss can really sting

Does it matter the method
If the goal is only to win
There are shortcuts and cheating
Some are full of treachery and sin

Maybe it takes character
On how the contest is played
Those who follow the rules
Are more likely to be slayed

When the smoke clears
The results may some stun
There are those who will shun
If you're still alive that means you won

Nobody