Chapter 618
Hoist
Cammy noted several large wooden crates and many smaller ones located in the cavern. It looked as if they were all being moved to the lover level. If there was a version Skynet at some lower level or a Skynet in the process of being constructed it was a threat. It reminded her of the Skynet that Cameron faced in her future and the one Duplicate Cameron faced. Cameron made all those files available to her clones. Those encounters almost didn't end well for Cameron. They ended a lot worse for Skynet.
She went to the hoist. It didn't appear to have a power source. As she neared it, it started to move. Someone worked it manually. It could only mean one thing. There must be a Terminator on the other end of it. The whole set up looked very heavy.
Cammy pulled her Taser and waited behind several crates. When the cage appeared, it was empty. Cammy considered getting in the cage herself but she would be spotted before she reached the bottom. She didn't even know how far down it went. There could be more than one level as well. She didn't want to get trapped in the cage either.
She looked around and saw there were two crates near the hoist. They were probably the next ones that were supposed to go down. She pushed the smaller of the two crates into the cage. She remembered hearing a double tap metallic noise earlier. She tapped loudly twice on the metal of the cage with the barrel of her M4. The cage started to move down.
Cammy carefully pried the top off the larger crate. It was full of electrical hardware and appeared to look like a component in a mainframe computer system. It was part of Skynet, a Skynet in the making. It was the same type of equipment that they recently intercepted and appropriated. That whole previous affair turned into a major gun battle on the outskirts of the city.
Al returned.
Cammy indicated that they communicate silently.
"Frank will be back shortly." Al whispered. "He went to help Tom with some deactivated Terminators."
Cammy hoped there wasn't a major problem. She hadn't heard any shooting.
"How many of them are there?" Cammy whispered.
Cammy silently indicated what she wanted Al to assist her with.
"There were three." Al whispered. "One is a 'Metal Bitch'."
Cammy nodded.
They quickly emptied the crate.
"I'm going to go down to the lower level inside of this crate." Cammy whispered. "There's a Terminator at the bottom. There may be more than one. I don't know what I'll encounter."
Cammy shoved another crate over. She wanted to make it look like everything was 'normal'.
"Send this one down next if the cage comes up again after I'm sent down. I'll try to listen to see how many there are." Cammy whispered.
The last thing Cammy wanted was a direct confrontation with half a dozen Terminators or even Grays. Then again, they wouldn't expect her to pop put of the box. They also might detect she was inside the box before she could act. She'd observed that the Terminator that Cameron took down earlier carried a Taser. That showed they were worried about encountering a hostile Terminator. It appeared this group was aware of the rouge 'Metal Bitch' that stalked them.
Al handed her his Taser.
"This is for 'just in case'." Al whispered.
Cammy could think a dozen things that could go wrong. They would need to face them one at a time as they happened.
"Thanks. If shooting starts elsewhere in this mine complex, I think the Terminator may try to climb out." Cammy whispered.
Al patted his M4.
"He won't go far." Al whispered.
The cable started moving again.
"Quickly, put the top back on." Cammy whispered.
Al picked up the wooden top.
"Good luck." Al whispered softly.
Cammy flashed her Taser.
"I make my own luck." Cammy whispered.
Cammy squeezed inside the crate and Al re-affixed the top to it. It looked like it did before. It didn't look tampered with.
Al crouched behind the other crates with his M4. The cage was empty. He moved over and shoved the crate Cammy was in into the cage.
Al followed her instructions and tapped the barrel of his M4 twice to the metal of the cage.
The cage with Cammy in the crate started to move.
Cammy disappeared down the 'Rabbit Hole'.
Savannah moved along behind Cameron and Tom. She wanted to be able to back them up. She knew there was a lot Cameron couldn't see until she actually entered the chamber.
She heard both of their Tasers fire. There seemed to be a lot of firing. There only should have been four targets.
She held her Taser in one hand and her pistol in the other hand. She moved around behind Cameron but off to her side. Tom moved off on Cameron's other side. She searched for a target and watched their six as well.
She watched Tom use his Taser on both of the Grays, they were down.
She saw Cameron Taser both of the Terminators. It took several shots. The 'Metal Bitch' tried to attack her.
So far that was the plan, four up and four down.
Cameron now dodged out of the way as a third Terminator made a lunge for her. She sidestepped and he missed. She tripped him and he went down.
The Terminator made a wild grab for Cameron from the ground.
Savannah fired her Taser and hit him. He was out.
Cameron, Savannah and Tom all looked for additional threats. There were none apparent. They also knew that didn't mean there weren't any.
Savannah moved over to the two Grays that Tom took down.
"I'll cover these two." Savannah said to Tom. "Help Cameron deactivated the Terminators."
Tom moved forward with his knife out.
Savannah held her Glock on the Grays with one hand and her Taser with the other hand.
Cameron already started to remove the chip from the 'Metal Bitch'.
They quickly finished removing the chips before any of the Terminators rebooted.
Cameron and Tom bound and gagged the two Grays.
"Take these two Grays to Ed first." Cameron said. "Come back for the Terminators."
Cameron and Savannah looked around at everything. There was a lot of equipment here.
"What do these machines do?" Savannah asked.
Cameron could only speculate.
"I think it's a new advanced TDE." Cameron said.
Cameron wanted to know more about it. She could either try to take it or...
Savannah could see Cameron calculating. She knew where the thought was headed.
"I know what you're thinking…." Savannah said.
Savannah knew Cameron looked for a location where she could place one of her Nike warheads at. She knew Cameron wanted to do what Duplicate Cameron did.
Cameron saw Skynet for the threat it was and the bigger threat it could be. She needed to know more about the entire scope of the current operation.
"It is the only way to be sure…." Cameron said. "If there's a lower level, I will detonate one there."
Savannah didn't want Cameron to take one in alone herself. There was a chance Cameron would stay with it until it exploded.
"No, Cameron." Savannah said. "I don't want an earthquake this close to the city."
Cameron knew a Nike warhead was a compact nuclear bomb. It would destroy the mine complex and the earthquake would be mild.
"It's a small weapon." Cameron said.
Savannah knew that the earthquake wasn't the only thing to worry about. There was no guarantee that Cameron could make sure everything was contained.
"I don't want any higher radiation levels either." Savannah said.
Savannah made a point to touch her abdomen. It was to remind Cameron of her reproductive tract. She didn't want to end up like the girls from the future.
Cameron noticed and switched topics. She didn't want to start to glitch about it.
"Maybe we can take some of this equipment with us and try to figure out how it works." Cameron said. "I think we might be able to do more with it."
Savannah could see the potential as Cameron explained it to her. She could also see danger in what could do as well. They might end up with a big surprise.
"What happens if we turn it on and a Skynet from the future or even the past starts to send stuff through?" Savannah asked. "It could be a mass of Terminators, an HK Track or HK drone or even a nuclear bomb that explodes one second after it arrives."
Cameron didn't like that last prospect. She would like to deliver a nuclear bomb that way, right back at this location. She was sure there was more to find where they were.
"I don't know…." Cameron said. "I'll check for a lower level…."
Tom returned with Frank. Cameron helped them carry the three Terminators to where Ed was. Savannah followed after them.
As the three deactivated Terminators were dumped on the floor, the five captured Grays looked very nervous. The very Terminators they expected to protect them were already deactivated.
Cameron wanted the five captives to rethink their position in life when she started to question them.
"All the rest of your friends, both Metal and human, have been terminated." Cameron said.
It was a bluff but it seemed like a good place to start.
Cameron told Frank to rejoin Al and Cammy.
She would have liked to have Sheila there with them. The interrogations were Sheila's favorite part of a raid. She wasn't there. She looked at Ed.
"Start interrogating them." Cameron said.
Ed reached down and picked one up by the neck and stood him on his feet.
"Walk or die." Ed said and led him away.
They would question the men independently of each other.
Cameron addressed the remaining four Grays.
"I want you four to understand the rules." Cameron said. "You move - you die. You look around – you die. You talk - you die. You lie – you die. I hope everything is clear."
Savannah held her Taser in one hand and her Glock in the other.
Cameron whispered to Savannah that she wanted to look around the chamber that they'd been in.
Savannah wasn't so sure that was a good idea. She looked at the prisoners that she now guarded. She wanted to go with Cameron but couldn't.
"I don't want you to go anywhere else." Savannah whispered back.
Cameron started to walk away. Savannah stopped her. She wanted an acknowledgement from Cameron. She needed to watch out for Cameron but she needed to guard the prisoners.
"I need an answer from you." Savannah whispered.
Cameron nodded and disappeared back towards the chamber.
Savannah didn't want Cameron to find a lower level. She also reflected that it may be too late as Cammy apparently already found one. There was someone in that lower level and Savannah knew Cammy would go down to investigate. She was probably looking for the best spot to place one of the Nike warheads herself.
She noted that Cameron hadn't started to question the men herself. She knew they would have to go 'Skynet' on them, to get all the answers. She would make a point to tell Cameron to do what she needed to do for their safety. She understood now that she'd been too hard on Cameron before. They needed answers. Answers saved lives. The prisoners were all going to die anyway.
Savannah looked in the direction Frank went. She hoped Cammy was OK.
Cammy attempted to calculate how far down she would go. The rate of descent wasn't steady but erratic. It was hard to make an accurate calculation. She did know that the deeper it was, the better it would be for the placement of a Nike warhead.
There was a final thud and the she felt the crate being pushed. It bumped up against another one. It wasn't too hard and it stopped. She heard the hoist being raised again. There was no other movement she could detect or any talking. There was only the sound of the hoist moving.
Cammy held her Taser in one hand and her M4 in the other. She pressed her back against the crate lid and was ready to push and stand. She didn't want to wait for another crate to be stacked on top of hers. As soon as she heard the double clank from Al on the cage being loaded, she would spring out of the crate. She thought she would look like some type of a 'Jack In The Box'.
She figured that since these Grays and Terminators were aware of a rouge 'Metal Bitch' that it would be more like a surprise 'Bitch In The Box'.
She also needed to consider that the Terminator noticed there was a difference in the weight of the crate and suspected something. There could be a Taser waiting for her as well.
Cameron went back and looked over what the Grays and Terminators were building. She would share the information with CamNet and John Henry and they would see what they could determine it was.
She hoped it was a way to send or receive non organic covered material. She would return to her future if it was and construct one there. She could begin to send supplies to the girls there and then the Resistance in general.
Cameron was worried about HER children in her future. She'd already begun to stockpile supplies for Future Savannah, Future Allison and for the babies. There should be plenty to share with the other Resistance fighters as well.
She stockpiled construction equipment and building materials for them to use in her future. She told Future Allison where to look when she returned. There would be a detailed list that indicated what was where. They were all locations she knew that survived into the future as per her most recent visit.
If the device the Grays were constructing was a 'receiver' of some kind. She would start sending more materials and goods as soon as she could construct one in her future. Then again, what if it was something else? She might open a doorway they couldn't close. Maybe that would require the placement of another one of the Nike warheads. She was sure detonating the warhead would 'close' any door.
Cameron noticed it was even hotter now in the chamber. Everything was there was shut off. There was no electricity in there. Maybe there'd been something they were cooling.
She hoped it wasn't like the large power cell she'd encountered in her future. If it was and it exploded, she wouldn't need to use a nuke there. It would do the job itself.
Cameron started to look around a little quicker….
What she worried about wasn't where she was at right now but there were still other sections of the mine to explore.
The entire place could go ballistic without warning.
Savannah was in danger.
Sheila and Ally were back at their SUV. They checked it to make sure no one tampered with it. They didn't know how much the Grays knew or if there were Terminators with them.
They'd just rigged the building with a booby trap. They were satisfied than no one did the same with their SUV. It could often be a game of 'tit for tat'.
"Let's hope that CamNet was able to track that white van." Ally said.
Sheila wasn't so sure.
"This is a fairly remote area." Sheila said. "We should have tagged the van."
Ally didn't think it was their fault. The last four places they'd checked were empty.
"We didn't have time to do a whole lot." Ally said. "This was all last minute information."
CamNet did provide them with some directions. She also informed them that she would have Terminator collect all the hard drives and phones that they'd collected so far. She wanted the information rather than have it go to John Henry.
They weren't going to question the decision. They expected to get more leads. If they didn't, they would go after some more of the drug and sex trafficking operations. It didn't look like they were needed at the mine. That seemed to be under control for now.
They soon got a hit on the van. It was near a homeless camp
"It looks like the Grays are in for a little female companionship." Sheila said.
Ally didn't like the cordial terminology.
"Call it what it is. " Ally said. "Some poor female down on her luck is about to be abused in the worst ways and then killed."
Sheila thought about it some more.
"If there was a Terminator with them before, I don't think they still are." Sheila said. "That's why the Grays are trying to put the grab on a female now."
Ally thought that was the case.
"We need to find out where the Terminator or Terminators went." Ally said. "They knew enough to get away from the white van and left the Grays to get pinched instead."
They sent out a warning to CamNet about their suspicions.
"Let's get over there and have a talk with them." Sheila said.
They got into the SUV and took off. CamNet would have her Terminator head that way as well.
Ally thought about when they first arrived at the last location.
"We should have gone straight in." Ally said. "None of this would've happened now."
Sheila knew Ally was upset about the homeless female that was probably being abused right now.
"We didn't." Sheila said. "If there were Terminators there we would be fighting them still."
Ally knew it was a possibility.
"Maybe they just picked up one of the girls that would 'put out' for some 'food money'." Ally said. "We've seen that enough."
Sheila knew that was true. They'd run across plenty of females that put 'nature's treasury' to work to get by.
"Remember, there wasn't a 'comfort bunk' at that last location." Sheila said.
Ally made a face.
"Whatever…." Ally said.
They drove in silence. CamNet was able to update them. The white van didn't head back to the location it left from.
"I think they are on a big circle route." Sheila said.
CamNet directed her Terminator back to where the homeless female was picked up at.
Sheila and Ally headed there too.
"I think this may be a case of 'cash for gash'." Ally said.
Sheila nodded.
"If the price is right, someone is always willing to buy what someone else is willing to sell." Sheila said.
They both knew for the homeless female that the price was survival.
Hurt Too Much
I am in agony
I am in pain
I have been HURT too much
Now it destroys my brain
For a long time
I have been honorable
Served and been loyal
Now inside I only feel terrible
I am in agony
I am in pain
I have been HURT too much
Now it destroys my brain
Lack of trust and truthfulness
Is the death of any relationship
Anger and uncertainty
Ends any partnership
I am in agony
I am in pain
I have been HURT too much
Now it destroys my brain
If one only takes
If one only uses
It is inevitably the other
That ALWAYS loses
I am in agony
I am in pain
I have been HURT too much
Now it destroys my brain
Nobody