Chapter 668
Three Cabins
Cammy led her team towards the location where the old cabins were. There were patches of snow in many places. She tried to avoid them so they didn't leave obvious footprints. The team reached a clearing in the tree line. She slowed the team as they approached. She stopped them behind some cover.
The team paused for a short while to take in everything before them and around them. They wanted a general look around at the layout of the area and how things currently were.
Cammy pointed at dilapidated structures that still existed.
"There are the remains of three cabins still standing." Cammy said.
There were also what looked like seven crumbling foundations. They were most likely from the other cabins that burnt long ago.
Savannah couldn't see anything that looked useful around where they were at.
"I don't see anyone." Savannah said. "This location seems to have no value or purpose. The cabins are collapsing. They look unsafe to inhabit."
From experience in her future, Jesse knew that not everything was located above ground that was of value. In fact things that were hidden under rubble and debris were where the real locations were often at.
"Maybe they hide an underground entrance to something." Jesse said. "It was a common practice in the future."
Gail continued to scan the area non stop. Her diligence paid off.
"I've detected movement." Gail said. "It's at the three o'clock position from the closest cabin on our right."
Cammy looked and spotted some type of feline.
"I see it." Cammy said.
Jesse saw it a second later.
"It's a big pussycat with a very short tail." Jesse said. "It's a big cat anyway."
Savannah was familiar with the wildlife of the area. She'd checked it on her phone on the drive there with Bob during the long period of silence. It helped keep her mind off of other things.
"It's a 'bobcat'." Savannah said. "It's stalking something."
Cammy picked up a stone and threw it. It landed in back of the bobcat. It paused and looked back. It then ran off when the second stone landed near it.
Gail would've preferred if Cammy killed it. Wild animals were a threat to the girls.
"It could injure one of you if we get too close to it." Gail said.
Jesse thought dealing with Grays would be risky enough. Now she wondered what other threats that there would be from the wildlife that was native to the area. She was a little concerned for everyone's safety at this point.
"Are there any bears up here?" Jesse asked.
Cammy knew that there was a bigger threat to them than a bear would be around the area they were located.
"There are mountain lions." Cammy said.
Jesse knew that mountain lions were big. An amusing thought crossed her mind. She thought she'd like to lighten the atmosphere some by sharing her vision with the others.
"That's just what I need, a two hundred pound pussy that can eat me." Jesse said.
Savannah tried not to laugh. She did find Jesse's statement somewhat amusing, especially considering the source.
Gail and Cammy looked at each other. They weren't sure if Jesse made a joke or was serious. The smile that soon cracked across Jesse's face gave it away. It was a joke. Cammy and Savannah both smiled but made no comment. Gail's face remained unchanged.
Gail moved up and touched Jesse and Savannah to reassure them. She planned to protect both of her lovers no matter what the threat was.
"No harm will come to either of you." Gail said.
Jesse was sure that Gail didn't get her joke. She would explain it to her later. A little visual reinforcement would help…. She already anticipated the event.
Cammy wanted to do a close in recon of the three remaining cabins. She thought it would be better if she went in alone.
"Gail, you stay here with the girls." Cammy said. "I'm going in for a closer look."
Savannah looked at the lay of the land. It was wide open for anyone to approach the remaining cabins. There was no cover at all.
"No." Savannah said. "It's too open. You'll be totally exposed."
Cammy didn't believe she would appear to be a threat on her own. That's if whoever was there, if they were even there, posted a look out.
"That's only if they're looking." Cammy said.
Jesse was pretty sure that if the Grays expected things to go hot that they would post some type of sentry.
"If they already killed someone, they'll be looking." Jesse said. "They'll have to assume the man they killed may also have some accomplices. Maybe they're waiting to see if they show up."
Savannah took in the scene. There was a lot of snow on the ground around the cabins. She only saw the footprints of the bobcat. She thought it looked like the perfect location to ambush somebody when they moved out into the open area.
"Look at the snow. Do you see their tracks anywhere?" Savannah asked. "I can't. Would that bobcat have been so close if they were people in there? This may be an ambush for us."
Cammy brought up her M4 from inside of her coat. Savannah's observation sounded like a workable plan for the Grays.
"Both of you get down, now." Cammy said. "Gail, check our six."
Gail was gone in an instant, her M4 was out as well. Gail searched for any targets that might try to come in from behind them.
They all knew this was going from bad to worse.
Maybe they weren't stalking anyone but being stalked themselves.
This whole operation was in constant flux.
Cameron drove to near where Cam reported seeing the dirt bikes go. There were several large cone shaped mounds of eroded earth against the rocks in several spots in the canyon. They were tailings. There must have been some mining here at some point years ago. A glitch impulse shot through Cameron's left hand at the thought of another mine.
"John Henry, what do you have at these coordinates?" Cameron asked as she gave him the numbers.
John Henry's search turned up nothing of any current relevance.
"Nothing…." John Henry said. "It is public land."
That wasn't the answer that Cameron wanted to hear. Perhaps he needed to look back further in time.
"Check back further, maybe historically." Cameron said.
There was a long pause. Cameron knew John was now involved. She was correct.
"Cameron, you're NOT to go near there." John said.
Cameron knew they'd discovered it was a mine of some type or at least used to be. She couldn't let past fears get in the way of the current mission.
"I'll go where the mission leads me." Cameron said. "We all know it's necessary."
John wanted to convey his belief that if they were dealing with the anti-Metal group currently that it wasn't a Skynet faction.
"If that's an anti-Metal hide away, it won't be 'Skynet's' hiding place." John said. "You're to disengage for now. The mine isn't going anywhere. We have more immediate threats to deal with. Savannah will need your assistance on the mountain. We can deal with this new development later."
Cameron thought about what John said. If she went up to the mountain now, she would probably return with Savannah later on. She didn't want Savannah to go into a mine again.
"As soon as it is dark and if the mission goes hot, I want a drone to hit any openings." Cameron said. "That's after we've concluded our other operations."
John Henry was made aware by CamNet that additional Terminators were dispatched to the area. He thought that was good foresight and he could use their assistants for the new developments in the current operation. At John's urging, he wanted to keep Cameron's focus away from the mine and back to where the Grays currently were at.
"I've dispatched a team of Terminators to cover that area." John Henry said. "We need to concentrate on the Grays first. That's the immediate threat to our personnel."
Cameron wanted to back Savannah up. She would deal with this area later on. She could see it was a box canyon. She wanted to make it a 'dead end' canyon. She wanted to make sure her guidelines were followed.
"Anyone that leaves this area I want terminated." Cameron said. "If they go in there, I don't care. They won't come out alive. They will be in their tomb."
Cameron was in no hurry to enter another mine at this point. She noted her hand started to glitch as she thought about the danger Savannah was put in at the last mine and the one before that. She knew she wanted to be where Savannah was at. She was sure that's why John mentioned it. It was to prompt her to leave there. She would've done it on her own anyway.
John Henry wanted to reassure Cameron that the situation would soon be covered.
"I've diverted a team of Terminators to that location, you may go." John Henry said.
Cameron wanted to link up with Savannah. She would lead the team forward to eradicate the Grays from the face of the earth.
"I'm headed for the mountain…." Cameron said. "I'll reinforce the teams there and prepare to lead an assault as soon as it is dark."
John wanted all of the Terminators in place before Cameron acted.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." John said. "We have a Metal Strike Team approaching the mountain top from the rear. They need some additional time to reach the objective."
Cameron was already at a run to get to her SUV and head for the cable car.
The prospect of the anti-Metal faction always angered her. She was going to come back there and personally kill every one of them herself. Someone needed to pay for what was done to her - twice.
Minutes Earlier:
John and John Henry received Cameron's report.
John Henry showed John the satellite imagery from both straight down and the ones at an angle where more detail could be seen. It was clear the location was once a mine.
John understood the significance of what John Henry showed him.
"There's no way I'll let Cameron go in there." John said.
John Henry was aware that CamNet sent additional personnel to assist with the operation. He didn't know that Young Allison was the one who asked for additional help.
"I'll try to talk her down and divert additional Terminators to cover the operation." John Henry said.
John was glad Cameron was able to have been 'talked' out of pursuing her latest find.
John Henry received the report from Cammy about the situation by the three cabins.
"It appears Cammy's team may be in danger." John Henry reported.
John went over the information John Henry gave him.
"How soon will it be until the Metal Strike Team reaches that area?" John asked.
John Henry double checked the timeline based upon the team's current position.
"They're still more than an hour out." John Henry said. "I can have Sheila back in the air in minutes and retrieve them to bring them in now. I can do the same with Cam. She can have the rest of the Metal Strike Team there at about the same time."
John thought that their operation hadn't been discovered by the Grays yet.
"Then everyone will know we're there and on to them." John said. "We need to wait and see how this plays out."
John Henry reminded John about the additional firepower that was at the temporary desert base.
"The two drones can be there in minutes if we need to use them." John Henry said.
John thought carefully about the use of the drones. There was one situation where he would use them in daylight. He felt the ends justify the means.
"I don't want to use them, unless we really need to use them, during daylight." John said. "If Jesse and Savannah come under attack, we will. I don't want any hesitation. We will spin something later about it to cover it up."
John Henry made sure both helicopters and the drones were on the highest alert. He was worried about everyone as well.
"Both drones are ready to go." John Henry said. "Cam and Sheila only need to flip a few switches to fire their turbines…."
John still felt they were in the dark as to what was actually going on up on the mountain.
"We still don't even know what this is yet." John said.
John Henry saw it the same way that Cameron did.
"It's Skynet in some form." John Henry said. "That's all we need to know."
They all knew anything Skynet related was bad news. Destruction and death followed it around. There always seems to be plenty of it.
Savannah went down to the ground as she brought her M4 out. She moved to lie in front of Jesse. She wanted to cover Cammy and shield Jesse.
Jesse held both her silenced pistol and Taser at the ready behind Savannah. She kept a watch behind them and to each side. She was aware Savannah used her body to shield her. That bothered her somewhat. She felt she was expendable and that Savannah wasn't.
Cammy advanced toward the structures. She moved behind a snowy rock for cover and concealment.
From the direction Gail went there were some thrashing sounds and a few muted screams. The disturbance was followed by silence.
Gail returned from between the trees but off to one side from the route they'd made their approach on. She held up three fingers as she approached.
"Scratch three…." Gail said. "They'd doubled back and were on our trail. They probably went back to better conceal the dead man and saw he was gone."
Gail handed Jesse a silenced MP5 and two extra magazines.
Jesse looked over the new weapon. She thought it would work well in the current situation.
"This is a cute little sucker." Jesse said.
Gail knew that the MP5 only fired a pistol round.
"It will work well against Grays." Gail said. "It won't work as well against Terminators."
Jesse kept her Taser handy. She flashed it at Gail.
"Noted…." Jesse said. "I have something for everyone."
Gail covered their rear while Jesse and Savannah covered Cammy. She'd gone down to check out the cabins.
Cammy returned several minutes later.
"There's nothing there but rodents and rot." Cammy said. "I disturbed the bobcat's meal for nothing."
Savannah wanted to inspect the Grays that Gail terminated. They might have some additional intelligence on them.
"Let's go back and check on the three Grays and see what else they have." Savannah said.
The four girls went to the site of the fallen doomed Grays.
They collected their phones and some more weapons.
The men were now laid out in a row. They looked like they were sleeping.
Cammy was worried about tipping their hand if any Grays or someone from the anti-Metal faction found them.
"If anyone comes looking for them, they'll know a Terminator did this." Cammy said.
Jesse pulled out her knife and moved towards the men.
Savannah reached out and stopped her. She wasn't sure what Jesse was about to do. She didn't want Jesse to do this.
Jesse was no stranger to using her knife against humans. This was different. She want to give their group cover.
"They are already dead, love." Jesse said. "We need to make it look like a human killed them, not a Terminator. It will look like they died the same way as the man they killed."
Gail wanted to protect Jesse as well. She looked at Savannah and Savannah nodded.
"Gail will take care of this." Savannah said.
Gail felt that Jesse dirty her hands enough when they went out. She didn't need to do it now. She didn't want Savannah to watch Jesse do it.
"You three move out. I'll finish up here." Gail said. "I'll cover your six as we move up to join Bob and Steve."
Cammy and Jesse moved out.
Savannah hung back and kissed Gail's cheek. She wanted to give her some reassurance and show that she had total confidence in her. She was sure that Gail still questioned herself at times about what happened previously.
"You did excellent." Savannah said. "You're back at one hundred percent."
Gail was touched by Savannah's words. She believed that she owed her existence to Savannah. She would never forget that.
"Thanks to you, Savannah." Gail said.
Savannah wanted to take things a little further with Gail when she thought she was ready. It seemed that time was closer. She looked forward to it.
"We still have much to share." Savannah said.
Savannah's hand lingered on Gail's cheek. She didn't want Gail to develop what Sheila seemed to develop by using a knife against humans. She didn't want Gail to keep a record of what she'd done there either.
"Erase your files of whatever you do here as soon as it is done. You must never take pleasure from this." Savannah said. "Promise me."
Gail understood Savannah's concern.
"I promise, Savannah." Gail said.
Savannah's hand slowly moved along Gail's cheek and she disappeared after Jesse and Cammy. She didn't want Cammy to move too fast towards the Gray's bunker.
"Cammy, go slow." Savannah said. "I want Gail to be able to catch up easier."
Gail saw, heard and felt Savannah's concern for her. Everything that Savannah did seem to make her think about her more.
"Savannah is truly the 'Chosen One'." Gail said softly as she staged the scene.
Gail was even more in love with Savannah now than ever. She made the three Gray's deaths look like they'd been killed in a knife attack. She cleaned off her knife and put it away. She did as Savannah asked and erased the files of what she'd just done. As she hurried to catch up with the rest of the team, she wondered why she'd lagged behind.
Out Of Our Lives
Out of our lives
One can cast another
Do they secretly laugh
As a life they wantonly smother
What we once had
Soon becomes meaningless
Making me feel hopeless
Leaving me with nothingness
I understand how it works
People don't think before they act
Can you feel the painful impact
As my love you uncaringly extract
It's not about right now
You need think of tomorrow
When the future collapses
Whose strength can we borrow
That's the way life works
Our back collects the knives
We flush what we no longer want
Out of our lives
Nobody