Chapter 664

I Need Her

John was worried the situation was growing in size faster than they could get resources up to where Cammy and Steve were at. He needed to have more troops closer to support the operation, especially since Cameron and Savannah were up headed there soon. He was ready to take a little preemptive action on his own.

"How close can we fly the Metal Strike Team in and not be spotted?" John asked as he looked at the satellite map.

John Henry looked at various satellite images as well as topographical maps of the surrounding area. He wanted to find a spot that was secluded and wouldn't be detected easily by anyone.

"It would have to be on the backside of this ridge here." John Henry said as he pointed.

John could see that the distance to remain clandestine and reach the objective was quite significant. It all boiled down to time.

"That would take them several hours to reach the objective." John said. "Even at a Terminator's pace."

John Henry knew there was a quicker way to get a Mike Force up to Cammy and Steve. That's if John didn't want to wait for the Metal Strike Team to get into place. It all came down to what would advertise their presence or would remain in the shadows.

"We can fly them there in five minutes right up to the communications array. The only problem is that everyone will know they are there." John Henry said. " I think stealth would be better at this point of the operation."

John didn't want to take any additional chances. It was clear that this operation was going to go ballistic, probably sooner rather than later. He wanted more Terminators up on the mountain to backup the operation.

"Fly half the Metal Strike Team there now to the alternate site and get them moving. They'll need to hike in on foot." John said. "Unless this goes hot in the next few hours, it should give us an advantage."

John Henry quickly made the arrangements. He received some disturbing news. It could throw the whole operation into jeopardy. It was quite an unexpected turn of events. It hadn't ever happened to them before but there was always a first time for everything.

"I have some bad news." John Henry said.

Bad news wasn't new to John but the way that John Henry said it seemed to indicate that it would be worse than normal

"What's gone wrong now?" John asked.

John Henry double checked the severity of the situation. It was as he'd first thought.

"The Blackhawk has experienced a small electrical fire." John Henry said. "It's inoperable as of now."

John saw that for the bad news that it was. Now their teams up on the mountain were really isolated.

"It just malfunctioned right now?" John asked. "This isn't a good time."

John Henry could see that it wasn't a good time. He didn't think anytime was a good time for that to happen. They didn't have a lot of control over what actually just happened.

"It's better to happen now than if it was in flight when it happened." John Henry said.

John knew that there was a vast amount of financial resources available to them. He wanted to use some of them and take some precautionary action as soon as possible.

"Procure another helicopter immediately." John said.

John received a surprise communication.

"We're near the Van Nuys airport." Sheila said. "Ally is with me."

That was a surprise to John on more than one level. He wondered about the timing of everything.

"What are you doing there?" John asked.

Ally butted into the conversation and seemed a little indignant.

"We were looking at helicopter rentals." Ally said. "Leave it at that."

John Henry whispered to John.

"They must be on a mission for Cameron for something." John Henry said.

John didn't want to waste any time to worry about the current circumstances as to why they were there or what they were doing.

"Ally, get one now." John said. "You have unlimited funds available."

Ally knew that funds were never a problem for them anyway. They were always able to find new 'donors' to their cause to stamp out Scavengers.

"We have plenty of cash too." Ally said. "It was a donation."

John looked at John Henry.

"They must have been on some kind of drug or crime raid…." John Henry whispered.

They both knew Cameron conducted operations outside the scope of their normal Resistance operations. It always kept them stocked with vehicles and plenty of cash to help fund everything. They knew a side result was a reduction in future Scavengers.

"I want both of you to work with John Henry and get it done." John said. "I want that helicopter in play as soon as possible. Our people on the mountain are short staffed."

CamNet already informed the Metal girls what would be available when they arrived at the airport.

"The biggest one here, other than a Skycrane, is an Iroquois." Sheila said. "The Skycrane is currently configured for firefighting duties. It would be of limited use to us."

Ally wanted to know what they could do to assist with the repair of the Blackhawk.

"What about spare parts for the Blackhawk?" Ally asked.

John Henry didn't know what the availability of any spare parts would be for any specific aircraft. Maybe they could jury-rig something.

"Get whatever you can as quick as you can." John Henry said.

John wanted another helicopter there ASAP.

"I want you to hurry." John said.

Sheila could tell that John seemed a little on edge.

"Relax, love." Sheila said. "We're on it."

John Henry went to work and made the calls or transfers necessary to have the funds available for the transactions. He spun the story that they were a small film production company and they needed some aerial work done ASAP. All the necessary paperwork was fabricated and put into play.

Young Allison knew this was a problem. She wanted to make sure Savannah and Cameron were properly backed up. She wanted to take some local action on her own. She knew that they were options open to them and they were close by.

"There are helicopters at the local airport." Young Allison said. "I saw them there when I was there. There were a few of them. Let's go get one."

Young Allison stood up. She motioned for Anna to come with her.

Anna wasn't about to let Young Allison stick her neck out. She wanted to make the rules clear from the beginning.

"You're not going." Anna said. "I can go but you're not."

Cam appeared at the bunker door and looked down at Anna and Young Allison.

"I can go." Cam said.

Young Allison believed that she made herself clear previously. It was time for the Metal girls to earn their keep.

"Somebody needs to go." Young Allison said. "They'll need two smaller helicopters to make up for the Blackhawk being down. It will also give them better versatility."

Anna could see that the plan had merit. Technically Cam was 'extra' because she was there with Vanna. She didn't want to do an 'end run' around John or the Command Center.

"Let me clear this with John." Anna said.

Young Allison didn't wait around for the wheels of bureaucracy to get moving. She'd contacted CamNet directly.

"CamNet already has 'cleared' it." Young Allison said as she looked up from her monitor. "She's making all the arrangements now."

Cam and Anna looked at each other. They both thought that Young Allison was pretty close to overstepping her bounds.

Young Allison didn't want them to delay any longer. She wanted them to get moving.

"Both of you go." Young Allison said.

Hanna listened to what was going on and put everything into perspective by the priorities that Cameron previously established. Young Allison's protection and training came first. Anna should remain with her.

"I'll go with Cam." Hanna said. "Anna will remain here with you. Holly will remain with the other girls."

Young Allison looked at Anna and then nodded to the other two Metal girls.

Cam and Hanna left.

Anna was sure that Young Allison just did all of that on her own.

"Did you ask CamNet to do that?" Anna asked.

Young Allison thought about bending the truth some. There was no need to.

"I was going to but CamNet asked me." Young Allison said. "All I needed to do was say 'yes'."

Anna saw that Young Alison went back to work on her keyboard.

"What are you doing now?" Anna asked.

Young Allison was pleased with the action. She wanted Savannah, Cameron and the rest of the team protected.

"I'm about to tell CamNet 'Thank You'." Young Allison said.

Anna looked at the response.

'You're welcome.' CamNet typed.

Anna wasn't sure how Cameron was going to like this development. The threat to them was low. Cam and Hanna could obtain the helicopter and head out. This showed Young Allison was willing to act on her own and completely bypass John and John Henry. It also showed she was willing to send her protection away to assist Savannah and Cameron.

There was another small alarm bell that went off in the back of her head. It seemed that CamNet and Young Allison developed a type of 'closeness' that was more than a 'working' relationship. She'd noticed it before on some of their other interactions. She wasn't sure what she should say to Cameron about it. She looked up at one of the security monitors. She was pretty sure that whatever she said should be done when they were alone and in private, preferably in a secluded location.

CamNet and Young Allison both viewed themselves as 'isolated and alone'.

It was possible that they'd all missed the warning signs of what was about to happen.

Cameron left the area of the packing sheds. She sped to get to the aerial tramway. What was there now was more important to her than her previous mission.

John Henry tracked where all of the Resistance forces currently were at. He also tracked where all the white vans were at that were tagged. There was a new development that needed to be checked out

"Cameron, one of the white vans that left earlier is near you and stopped." John Henry said.

Cameron was someone irritated to hear that news. Her mindset was currently focused elsewhere.

"Where are they and what are they doing?" Cameron asked.

John thought the implications of what needed to be done were clear. He decided to spell them out for Cameron.

"That's what you need to find out." John said. "You're the closest one."

Cameron didn't care for his attitude or the interruption in her plans.

"I'm busy." Cameron said.

Cameron's tracking disappeared off of their maps.

John and John Henry quickly looked at each other. John indicated that he wanted a private line to Cameron.

John Henry gave John a secure line to Cameron.

John wanted Cameron to know that his concern was as deep as hers for Savannah. There were others who could help her sooner and they were almost there.

"Gail and Jesse will be there for Savannah." John said. "Cameron, I'm worried about her too. She's more than capable of operating on her own. We both know this. Everybody knows it."

Cameron still felt a sense of frustration.

"She must be protected. You need her." Cameron said. "YOU NEED HER."

John didn't want to get into that discussion again, especially not now.

"Cameron…." John said.

Cameron felt a lot of tension inside of her. Her next words just blurted out of her mouth.

"I need her." Cameron said. "I NEED HER."

John could feel the 'pain' in Cameron. He wanted to reassure her. Maybe he wanted to reassure himself too.

"She's not in immediate danger now." John said. "She will be later on. Check out the van first. We need to know what they're doing. We don't want to have a bigger problem later on that we could've prevented now."

Cameron's tracker showed back up on the map.

She received the information from John Henry and headed off to check on the Grays. She was worried about Savannah and now she needed to deal with this. She was highly agitated now. Someone was going to have to 'pay' because they'd made her feel like this….

Savannah watched Bob board and leave on the next cable car. He made sure she possessed a set of keys for their SUV. She'd already procured the items for Gail and Jesse as he'd watched her.

As soon as Bob's cable car left the station, she headed outside. She would wait in the SUV. She could watch the parking lot and the base station both from that location. It also gave her the option to drive away if she needed to.

Savannah put the keys in the ignition and held her Taser in her hand. She could start the SUV immediately if she needed to flee or use it as a two ton weapon.

It wasn't often Savannah was alone without others nearby somewhere. She started to think about her life. Was it her life? Was it ever really her life? Sarah tried to give her some of the things a girl should have growing up but there were more than a few times when she missed her mother. First her father was taken and then her mother. Then her Metal mother was gone. She'd lost everything. A feeling of grief began to overwhelm her. She knew she needed to fight it. This wasn't the place have feelings at least not feelings like that

Her mind drifted to her life and how she grew up. Vanna would never allow any boys or males around her when they went out, if they went swimming or if they went to the park. When she was younger she never understood why Vanna was so protective of her. She knew of the hardships of the future but never really understood the pain and terror Vanna endured. In reality it was what she'd endured at the hands of others. She later found out that they were mostly men and some were women. When Vanna told her of the things done to her and the things she'd witnessed with her own eyes. She ended up throwing up. Vanna told her she would but she wanted Savannah to know the truth. She tearfully told her of things that she'd never even told Allison. That was a future without John Connor. Even though it wasn't Vanna's intention, it served to reinforce her position in the future and how she was to protect it and protect John Connor. It would mainly be with the use of her body. She understood from a young age that her body wasn't her own. It belonged to John Connor and it belonged to Cameron. Cameron would determine how her body was used, where and when.

Savannah knew this life with its restrictions was better than the life Vanna endured. She asked Future Savannah about her life growing up and she too was assaulted but only a few times, not like what Vanna endured. It was clear in the future that all females were fair game. Some of them even suffered at the hands of the Resistance.

Now Vanna's baby grew inside of her. It was 'her' baby too. She was Vanna and Vanna was her. Now, the thoughts of Vanna's baby made her think of her two children. In reality they weren't even alive yet because they were both born in the future. One was 'in some future' and one was in Cameron's future. The tears began to stream down her cheeks now. How could Cameron take her children from her? No, Cameron didn't do that to her. It was her decision to make sure her 'other selves' could have children. The children Skynet stole from them. That Skynet stole from HER in reality. It only seemed to reaffirm that her body didn't belong to her at all.

Savannah quickly wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve and gripped her Taser. Her sense of inner danger went off as someone suspicious moved around the parking lot. It wasn't Metal behavior but one never knew. She was ready to start the SUV or use the Taser. Her pistol was handy as well.

It was time for her to get back to reality, at least the insane reality that was her life, her future and her destiny. There was a new threat. Danger was never far, no matter where she was at. She wasn't about to be a victim to anyone. Cameron trained her whole life to prevent that from ever happening. She could see that love and caring came in many different forms.

Bob watched the base station grow smaller and smaller as the cable car rose. He was even able to see Savannah head to their SUV. She looked up at him or at least at his cable car and put her hand to her mouth and then held it out flat and blew. He knew Savannah just blew him a kiss!

Cameron previously warned all male Terminators that the females were off limits. Even if one of the girls 'tried something', they weren't allowed to do 'anything'. She said it would end in their immediate termination by her hand. First they would be disfigured and mutilated in front of the other male terminators. They would be made an example of. Their chassis and chip would both be destroyed and their existence would be erased from any computer that held a copy of their program. Every trace of them would be eradicated.

Bob always knew Savannah was 'special'. Cameron always treated her differently than she did anyone else, even the other girls. The only other person she treated like that was Young Allison. Both of them were her future mates. The future mates he'd seen with his own eyes in Cameron's future. He understood why Cameron called them the 'Chosen Ones'. He wasn't sure if it was Cameron that chose them are that it was they that chose her.

He replayed the files of Savannah he contained in his files as he rode up in the cable car. He was oblivious to anything else. The beauty of the cable car ride itself was lost to him. To review Savannah in action was beauty to him.

There was a jolt and slight bounce as the cable car docked at the header station.

It was time to return back to reality.

Bob headed out. He looked around the lodge, eating area and shops. The Grays weren't there. That left the trail to the summit. He took one final look around. The beauty of the view there was also lost to him. There was work to do.

I NEED HER

Some are driven by want
Some are guided by desire
Some are overpowered by lust
There are many ways to light a fire

Who is to say
Which way is most correct
What another's true feelings are
Are impossible to detect

Who will be worthy
Who will be a fool
More likely than not
It will be the one that plays it cool

As the morning sun rises
The day's events remain unknown
Even though one is surrounded by many
They're likely to feel all alone

With joy often comes hurt
The heart and mind may soon concur
When others have been rejected
The soul will say - I need her

Nobody