Chapter 693

Keep An Eye Out

Dan and Frank followed the other truck. They jumped at the chance to follow it in the hope they would see some action. They felt some disappointment at a double 'dip' in the road.

They watched the truck 'bounce' a little as it crossed over an intersection. They sent John their report.

"The truck we're tracking appears empty." Dan said.

They described what they'd witnessed.

John knew there was a lot they didn't know.

"Stay with it." John said. "I want to know where it goes. Tag it if you can. Don't get target fixation and keep your distance. Everything involved with this operation needs to be taken down."

"Affirmative…." Dan said.

John wasn't pleased with the latest turn of events or how things progressed. One truck was parked. One truck appeared to be empty. One truck contained Coltan in crates. One big rig seemed to be loaded and headed to parts unknown. Cameron, Savannah and Gail followed it.

He also was worried about Cam. She was underneath the ground in the drainage system at the old newspaper plant. She'd checked to see if there were any escape routes from the building into the drainage system. There hadn't been any contact for some time now. He was worried they may have 'made' her somehow. It was a grim thought that she could be down and deactivated, maybe a prisoner and her chip removed. Skynet could glean information off of her chip at this very moment. He knew he needed to stop his imagination from running away from him. It still made him more than a little antsy.

"Bob, do you see any activity in the area that Cam went to check out?" John asked.

Bob looked over the south side of the building towards the east side where the rail siding was at. They didn't appear to be any activity whatsoever along the south side.

"Negative…." Bob said. "Everything looks the same."

Jim looked over the footage from the cameras that Cam put into place. He could see some activity but it wouldn't be related to anything associated to Cam.

"The surveillance shows the boxcar closest to the camera is being loaded with something." Jim said. "I can't determine what."

John could only speculate as to the type of equipment that they might have inside the building.

"We know they have HK drones here, they may have HK Tracks as well." John said. "If they have them, they may use them."

Bob referenced a standard fifty foot boxcar's dimensions and made some calculations based on known equipment size.

"With those boxcars, they could get a couple of HK Treads in one easy." Bob said. "I think maybe even three of them or a combination of equipment."

John didn't know if Cam would be able to get a better angle to see inside the building when she made her way to the east side.

"Hopefully Cam can give us more info." John said.

Bob was a little surprised when he spotted some movement come around the corner from the east side across the south side of the building.

"I see a roving patrol coming around the east side of the boxcars. They're checking the gate now." Bob said.

John was surprised to hear that. He wondered why they weren't spotted earlier. If they hadn't been, was it a response to them having spotted some of the Resistance team or maybe even Cam herself?

"How are they armed?" John asked. "Why didn't we see them before?"

Bob checked his files and realized he'd seen them earlier. They weren't doing anything at the time but sitting on the dock. They didn't appear to have long guns.

"No weapons are visible." Bob said. "They're wearing loose clothing. They may only have pistols. They were smoking and kicking back in the shade earlier by the dock."

John didn't like this new development. It still sounded like a threat.

"The last group possessed more than one silenced MP5. They may be packing something similar." John said. "How many are there? Do any look like Terminators?"

Bob waited for anyone else to come around the corner but no one did.

"It's only two men." Bob said. "They're moving around the south side now. None appear to be Terminators."

John wanted to know if they could snipe at someone from a long distance if they needed to.

"What do you have in long range weaponry?" John asked.

Bob thought that he had sufficient weapons with him for any long range work.

"I have two LAW rockets and a Barrett Light Fifty." Bob said. "I can really 'reach out and touch someone' with the M82A1."

John didn't want Bob to become a target himself if he needed to use any of the heavy weapons.

"How exposed would you be?" John asked.

Bob was willing to take the risk if one of their team was in a jam and he could help them out.

"I can use them from where I'm concealed currently but my position is out in the open. I would be spotted in no time." Bob said. "If I see them going after Cam I'll use the Barrett and then follow it up with the LAW rockets."

Jim was aware that there was a report of an HK drone engine test a short time ago. That indicated the finished product may be there and available as well.

"Be advised if they are assembling HK drones there, they may try to use a few against you." Jim said.

Bob was confident that if they didn't launch more than two or three he would be able to handle them with the weapons he currently had with him.

"I have one Stinger and I can use the 'Light Fifty'." Bob said.

John would liked to have known more as to Cam's position. He wanted Bob to stay alert and be ready for anything.

"Stay on your toes." John said.

"Affirmative…." Bob said.

Bob watched Cameron doing ballet on her toes before. He was glad what John said was only a figure of speech. He didn't wish to be seen in the outfit Cameron wore for the performance and need to do the same thing.

Sheila and Ally followed the truck with the crates of Coltan in it. It arrived at a new location that they previously didn't have under surveillance or know about.

"Our target has entered a factory complex." Sheila reported.

John hoped that this would be a break and they'd be able to get something substantial out of this new location.

"Does it look like Coltan could be worked into HK parts of any type at this facility?" John asked.

Ally was a little surprised at what the building looked like.

"Yes." Ally said. "It appears to be a very small foundry."

John knew that the building wasn't going to go anywhere. Its location was a given. He still wanted them to stay with the truck once it left there.

"Keep it under observation for now." John said. "They may load parts to be used in a subassembly there onto that truck after it's unloaded. We know where this structure is, stay with the truck when it departs. Keep a low profile for now."

Sheila wanted to have a better look around the area.

"We're holding." Sheila said. "Ally may do some recon on foot."

John was worried enough about the teams being split up earlier. Cam and Bob were still separated now. He didn't want any other teams split up.

"I want you two to stay together." John said.

Sheila still wanted a better look around the area. She came up with a new solution.

"Ally will hold here and I'll do a 'drive around' then." Sheila said. "That way we'll have eyes on the truck."

John still didn't like the idea. He wanted them to remain in communication with each other at all times.

"Stay in constant contact with each other." John said.

Ally didn't think it was that big of a deal.

"We will." Ally said.

The Metal girls wanted to know more about what was happening around them. They knew this was going to develop into something. If the Grays were turning Coltan ingots into parts for HK equipment, this place needed to go down and stay down.

They decided that they would play it cool for now. But they planned to come back here and personally take care of this location on their own if they needed to. If they were lucky the truck wouldn't go anywhere. That meant they wouldn't have to leave.

Sheila really wanted to get her hands on some Grays.

Ally noticed a slight smile on Sheila's face as she touched her knife.

Cameron, Savannah and Gail tracked the big rig. It was now on the freeway headed to the south and east. This journey isn't what they'd expected but the truck was headed somewhere and they needed to find out where.

Cameron still wanted to know what was inside of it.

"The big rig is headed out of town." Cameron said.

John was aware that some of their operations we're getting further and further out of the local area where they've been concentrated in the past.

"Is it headed to where we encountered any of these groups before?" John asked.

Cameron couldn't make that determination yet. She was going to stay on the lookout for any of the areas or vehicles that they'd encountered before.

"It is too early to tell. That's the general direction." Cameron said. "If it heads towards the Palm Springs area, we'll see if it picks up any 'white vans' as escorts."

John was under the impression that those problems were solved.

"I thought we obliterated that group and the anti-Metal folks who were associated with it." John said.

Cameron knew that anything Skynet related was like a Jack In The Box.

"Nothing Skynet related is ever obliterated." Cameron said. "Even if I use a nuclear weapon against it, it always pops back up."

John could have done without the reminder of nuclear weapons being used. He knew Cameron still had four Nike warheads. Apparently only she knew the location of them. That still bothered him. He wanted to give her a firm reminder but he really didn't know how much good it would do.

"No 'nukes' on this mission." John said.

Savannah was with Cameron in her future the last time she used a nuclear weapon. She thought she was going to die that day. She didn't and they made it out OK but she really didn't want to go through that again.

"That won't happen while I'm here." Savannah said. "Been there, done that. I don't need an encore."

Savannah saw Cameron's hand start to glitch again. She knew Cameron thought how close they'd come to both of them being terminated. She knew it bothered Cameron deeply that she didn't leave when she could have and left Cameron to perish alone. She promised Cameron she would never leave her or abandon her. She kept her promise. That day it looked like they would both die together. They didn't and life went on. It was still a close one.

John didn't like Savannah out in the field where she could be in combat. He knew that Cameron always put Savannah in danger. He was however pleased that Savannah was with Cameron and she said that they wouldn't use nuclear weapons. He believed with Savannah there that they wouldn't. His biggest worry was if Cameron used one that wasn't underground.

"Stay with the truck, I want to know where it goes." John said. "Remember, they most likely have HK drones on board. They could become active and attack you."

Cameron was always ready to face off with Skynet, its operatives or its equipment.

"I'll be ready for them." Cameron said.

Cameron smiled at Savannah and showed her that her hand was steady.

The thought of combat always helped to calm Cameron. It was what she was built for. She was in her element to bring the fight to the enemy. She wasn't constructed to deal with personal problems or be someone's 'wife'. That last one still bothered her. What was she thinking? No really. What was she thinking? Was she a killing machine or a mechanical love doll?

Al and Steve staked out the old newspaper facility. They were aware of Bob's report that there were two Grays on patrol along the south side of the building. They should turn north and head along the west side momentarily. They did.

"We see the two guards on patrol headed our way. They're walking north now along the west side." Steve said. "There's been no new truck or vehicle activity."

Al looked over the area where the trucks would back up to the dock. There was a parking lot there and a parking lot on the north side with what looked like office space that wasn't in use. There didn't seem to be any private vehicles. He thought that that was somewhat unusual.

"There seem to be no vehicles associated with anything here." Al said. "I mean for the workers, the Grays."

John quickly looked over the surveillance footage. He wondered if that was to keep the building with an abandoned look as long as there weren't any trucks backed up to the dock. The boxcars remained out of sight on the east side concealed by the building itself. That's still left a few options available.

"Maybe they're inside the structure." John said. "It's very large."

Jim was afraid that that would pose a bigger problem going forward.

"That would indicate a bunker type complex." Jim said. "The possibility that they may have fortified the building is more than likely."

John looked over the satellite imagery of the surrounding area of the building. The old newspaper plant itself sat alone and was somewhat isolated. There were still other structures in the area.

"We want to avoid a full on shooting event if possible." John said. "There are other buildings around it, at least in the vicinity."

Al and Steve watched the security patrol make their rounds.

"The guards have come around across the north side and have gone back over to the spur track to the east side and are now out of view." Al said.

Steve thought that he could move in for a closer look.

"I can head over that way on foot and follow them." Steve said.

John didn't want anybody to get too ambitious at this stage of the game. He still needed to know where Cam was at.

"Stay put for now." John said. "There's nothing else on that side."

Steve wasn't so sure about that. He thought it was too early to make that determination without further observation.

"What if there is and we've missed it?" Steve asked. "That's the only side we haven't been able to get a good look at."

Jim knew that to be true. They still had one player out in the field that they hadn't heard from it for a while.

"Let's wait until we get a report from Cam." Jim said.

"Affirmative…." Steve said. "We'll hold and observe."

John Henry checked Riley out with assistance from both Jesse and Vanna.

Jesse didn't see anything new on Riley. John Henry and Vanna both did.

This was Vanna's first look at Riley's private parts.

It was John Henry's first look and physical contact with a real human female in every area imaginable. He was further impressed with female anatomy. He would definitely try to do a chip swap with one of the Metal girls. Of course it would be for research purposes only.

Riley checked out within all the normal parameters for a female at this stage of her pregnancy. She looked normal and healthy to him.

"I don't detect anything wrong." John Henry said.

Everyone was relieved to hear that information.

Riley was very pleased with one of the tests that John Henry instructed Vanna and Jesse to conduct on her. It was something she'd seen on TV.

"I could see the baby inside me." Riley said. "With the ultrasound, I could see it move."

Vanna and Jesse we're just as impressed as Riley.

"It was beautiful, Riley." Vanna said. "You could see the life within you, your child."

Jesse was a little awestruck by the whole experience. It wasn't something that she imagined she'd ever be a part of.

"It was very moving to see." Jesse said. "It is hard to imagine another human inside of you, even if we all know it's there. I guess 'seeing is believing'."

Jesse and Vanna looked at each other, neither of them said it but the both knew it. They were sterile. That would never be them where Riley was now with a child inside either of them. Cameron tried many times with both of them over the years. They all ended in failure.

Derek and Kyle waited in the next room.

Vanna went to get them.

"You two need to come and see this." Vanna said. "That's if you don't mind Kyle seeing, Derek."

There was no one that Derek trusted more than his brother Kyle. They'd been through Hell and back together and made it.

"Kyle's my brother, we can share anything." Derek said.

Jesse heard that and winked at Kyle, who quickly looked away when she did that.

Derek looked in amazement at the monitor.

"That's our baby?" Derek asked.

Riley still looked at the monitor with awe.

"Yes." Riley said. "It's the baby Cameron created and gave to us."

Derek was still amazed to see the life that grew inside of Riley. He wanted to see how she felt now about the baby.

"Do you still want to give it away?" Derek asked.

Riley's eyes widened as she turned to Derek.

"No, how could we now that we've seen it? Now it's really real." Riley said. "You're right; Cameron would never take this from us, even if we tried to give it to her. She understands all this better than any of us do."

John Henry believed that Riley's statement was true. He believed it was true because Cameron thought she'd been through this before.

"She may have done all this several times." John Henry said. "You all need to LISTEN to her."

Vanna needed to agree with that statement. She'd worked through many trials and tribulations with Cameron over the years. Even as convoluted as some things seemed at times, Cameron was usually correct.

"Yes." Vanna said. "Cameron does know what she's talking about."

Vanna reached up under her lab coat and felt her ever growing breasts. This was Cameron's doing. Cameron was getting her ready to be able to nurse an infant.

The question was, was this for Riley or for Allison or for herself? She felt goose bumps form on her skin with that last thought.

Vanna would need to speak with Savannah and ask her if she was pregnant again. She was willing to bet Claire was too with Allison's baby again. Cameron wasn't going to let them be childless. Cameron wasn't going to let them leave for the unknown. Cameron was going to 'trap' them here, the same way she'd 'trapped' all the Duplicates and other future versions of themselves. Cameron was going to keep everybody where they belonged.

"Jesse, have you spoken with Young Jesse lately?" Vanna asked.

As much as Jesse wanted to be around Young Jesse and even share with her, she didn't want to get too close to Young Jesse. She didn't want to be a negative pull on her. She never wanted Young Jesse to be her.

"No." Jesse said. "I don't want to be a bad influence on her. I don't want her to be like me."

Jesse was ashamed of much of what happened to her and the evil she'd dished out. She'd told enough to Young Jesse but not everything. She didn't think she ever could. She wanted Young Jesse to be better than her. Much like Vanna couldn't speak about some of the things that happened to her and she'd went through, Jesse could never speak about things that she'd done to others. Even now they made her shudder when she thought about them.

Vanna wanted to know if Young Jesse was pregnant again. She didn't want to ask it like that though or be that direct.

"Give her a call and see how she's - feeling." Vanna said.

Vanna noticed Jesse's breasts seemed a little 'fuller' earlier as well.

John Henry was satisfied that everything was in order and that he was done there.

"I think everyone can return to what they were doing earlier." John Henry said. "Call me if anything feels different than what you've already experienced."

They put everything away, cleaned up and left.

Vanna thought maybe she could examine Jesse's breasts and see if they really were getting bigger like hers. She knew part of the medical procedure that Cameron sent them for included hormone treatments. They were given injections and a regiment of pills to take.

Vanna did notice that Riley's breasts weren't getting much bigger, if any. They didn't seem any bigger than they were before her pregnancy. She would ask Cam to scan her and check for sure. All of the pregnant women and girls in the future all showed at least some breast enlargement during pregnancy. To her, Riley showed none. She looked down at her breasts again and thought that maybe Cameron knew something that they didn't. Upon further reflection she was pretty sure that the baby inside Riley would be nursed by Jesse and her. She thought she'd better cool it on asking Savannah or Young Jesse or Claire if any of them were pregnant. This might be a more serious issue yet to play out with Riley.

Ed was at the first facility the box truck left from.

"What do you have, Ed?" John Henry asked after he took back over from Jim.

"There's nothing new." Ed said.

John Henry reviewed the surveillance camera images.

"I don't see many cars around there." John Henry said.

Ed hadn't seen much of anything actually, other than the box truck.

"No, there never were." Ed said. "No one has arrived or left other than the box truck and it's back."

John thought about the report of the lack of vehicles at the old newspaper plant. So far all they've seen we're trucks moving from A to B and back to A again.

"I don't like it." John said. "These operations are too clean."

John Henry needed to agree with John's assessment.

"It's different from any other operation we have taken down." John Henry said.

John really began to wonder about the nature of what they'd stumbled upon. Maybe they didn't stumble onto anything at all. Maybe this was all a ruse to get them to do exactly what they were doing right now.

"Keep an eye out." John said. "These places may all be part of an elaborate trap."

"Affirmative…." Ed said.

John was worried maybe there was more here than met the eye.

Keep An Eye Out

Who watches the watchers
Who's really in control
Does whatever anyone tells you
Ever the heart and mind console

How far can anyone be trusted
Is it no further than one can see
Does this sound like others
Or does it sound like you and me

No one sees the knife coming
Until it's stuck firmly in their back
All one can do is wonder
Why they deserved this attack

Always keep in mind
Nobody can ever be trusted
It sounds sad but it rings true
They're bound to leave you disgusted

Don't ever take anyone at their word
It matters not how loud they shout
They're bound disappoint you
So always keep an eye out

Nobody