Chapter 780

Crimson Halo

Sheila held her Taser in her hand ready to fire. It was aimed at the door behind Cammy's back. She was ready in case a Terminator opened the door. From the information they'd gleaned from the homeless woman, there was a pretty good indication that there was a Terminator inside this location.

Bob was on the side of the building ready to breach as well. They would hit the Grays from two fronts. Everyone was ready. It was a 'go'.

Cammy knocked at the back door.

There was a delay as they waited.

The door opened.

It was a Terminator that answered.

"Metal…." Cammy said as she ducked down.

Sheila fired her Taser over the top of Cammy's back.

The big Terminator went down with a thud. He didn't even have time to react.

Cammy drug the Metal brute outside and placed a shocker under his shirt to keep him from rebooting. She didn't want anyone to see it and try and remove it.

Cammy and Sheila entered with their Tasers and Glocks up and ready.

They heard a crash on the side Bob was on. They knew he was inside the building as well.

"I'm in." Bob said.

Cammy and Sheila split up as both of them searched for targets. They saw several Grays headed toward the direction where Bob entered into the building but no one seemed aware of what happened at the rear door.

The Grays were unsure of what happened and didn't even have weapons with them. They felt secure in the company of a Terminator. When they saw Bob, they came running back. Cammy was waiting.

Sheila came in from the side to flank them.

"Put your hands up." Cammy said. "Or die where you stand."

Two of the three Grays raised their hands. The third Gray made a suicide lunge for an AK47. Cammy and Sheila both fired a single round. The two bullets struck his head at the same time from two different angles. Most of his head vanished in a crimson halo from the simultaneous double impact of the two different trajectories.

Bob was behind the Grays now and physically held them. Cammy and Sheila continued to search the building.

"I don't see anyone else." Cammy said when she returned.

Sheila arrived a few seconds later.

"It's all clear on my side." Sheila said.

Cammy wanted Bob to tend to the Terminator in the back.

"Check the rear door." Cammy said to Bob. "You'll see what needs to be done. Check under his shirt on the left side, six inches down first."

Sheila took control of the two men. She searched the two men and bound their hands and feet.

Bob took off to do what Cammy said.

It looked like they scored 'pay dirt'. Sitting inside the building was the third truck.

Cammy went and opened the back of the truck. It was full of HK drones. She moved away from the two men so they couldn't hear her. She made her report to John.

"We have one hostile Terminator down and deactivated. There are two Gray prisoners, one deceased Gray and the third truck. It's full of HK drones." Cammy said. "There's no damage to our team."

John was thrilled with the news. This seemed even better than he'd imagined it would be. He was very pleased they'd been able to capture all the equipment that slipped through their fingers twice.

"That's excellent news." John said. "I'll inform the other teams."

John Henry thought that John was way too ahead of himself right now. They may have gotten the third truck but there was still an unknown number of boxcars out there that needed to be dealt with. It was going to be a long and slow process to track them all down. He wanted to give John a reminder before he became too celebratory.

"We still need to search for stored boxcars full of Skynet equipment or any on the move around the nation." John Henry said. "This is far from over."

Bob brought the downed Terminator inside and removed his chip. He rejoined Sheila and took over watching the men. Sheila moved them into opposite corners of a side room and told them if they spoke before being spoken to, they would be terminated.

Cammy was already in the back of the truck. She started to deactivate the drones. Sheila made a search of the truck for any trackers or GPS equipment. She found two trackers and the GPS device. She joined Cammy in the back of the truck and they started to reprogram the drones.

John understood the risk for every minute that the team spent in the building. Right now the Skynet forces knew exactly where the truck full of HK drones was.

"I want you out of there as soon as possible." John said. "I think you should leave immediately."

Earlier, Cammy searched the various buildings on two blocks as she looked for the location they ended up in. She'd come across a few prospects where they could move the truck for right now.

"I found an empty building on the next block that can fit the truck." Cammy said. "I'll move it there for now. I don't think they would think to look so close for it if anyone comes. All they will find are three dead Grays."

John wanted the truck moved away from where it was at. It took a second for what Cammy said about the prisoners to sink in.

"I thought you said that two were live prisoners." John said.

Cammy was aware that Sheila was about to interrogate them. She knew how those interrogations ended. She decided to keep her answer simple.

"They are for now." Cammy said. "They won't be for long."

Sheila loaded the deactivated Terminator into the back of the truck that was full of HK drones. She was ready for the next phase of the operation. Cammy and Bob needed to move the big truck away from its current location.

"The captured Terminator is in the back of the truck." Sheila said. "I'm going to question the men. Bob will open the roll up doors for you at both locations, Cammy."

Sheila went into the room and choked one man out. She moved to the other man and yanked him up and took him to where the dead man was. She wanted to taunt the Gray a little before she started in on him.

"Go ahead and say it." Sheila said. "I know you want to. It'll motivate me in my 'work'."

The Gray looked at Sheila with contempt. As soon as he got free he was going to show her a thing or two. He knew one thing that she was good for.

"I won't tell you anything." The man said. "You're a 'Metal Whore'. I have a few lessons to teach you."

She looked at him and smiled.

"I hoped you'd say that." Sheila said.

Sheila heard the roll up door open and the truck start and drive out. She heard the roll up door come back down and close. She knew Bob and Cammy were away with the truck.

Sheila started her interrogation. She paused once to choke the other man out again. He was still across the room.

She beat on the Gray and broke a few bones.

"I'll think about it." Sheila said. "Remember I'm just a 'Metal Whore' and everything that happens is up to you now. If I were you, I'd keep talking."

The first man she questioned soon told her all she wanted to know. She choked him out and went over to the other man.

The second Gray looked at his comrade who was dead and the figure of the other Gray. He started to come around again.

Sheila wanted to give him a few options.

"Your friend didn't want to talk." Sheila said.

The second Gray looked at Sheila held. She started to walk back towards the first Gray.

"Are you going to snap his neck?" The second Gray asked.

Sheila paused then looked back. Her full broad lips formed into a smile.

"I never do anything that humane to a traitor of humanity." Sheila said.

As the second Gray watched, Sheila went back to the other man.

Sheila thought he moved around too much and broke a few more bones to keep him in one spot.

She walked over and stood in front of the second Gray.

"You already know how this ends." Sheila said.

The second Gray tried to tough it out.

"I'll never talk, no matter what you do to me." The second Gray said.

Sheila expected as much. It seems to be the standard reply.

"That's what they all say before they tell me everything." Sheila said.

The second Gray looked away from her.

"I don't know anything." The second Gray said.

She tried to give him one more chance.

"Do you want to do this the hard way or the easy way?" Sheila asked.

The second Gray seemed resigned to his fate.

"I won't tell you anything." The second Gray said. "You're a 'Metal Whore'."

Sheila moved closer to the second Gray. Their faces were only inches apart.

"I hoped you would say that." Sheila said. "It makes the answers so much more enjoyable."

The last Gray looked at the other Gray who no longer moved.

The man let loose with a string of cuss words and insults. He finished up calling Sheila a 'Metal Whore' again.

Sheila smiled at him.

"Grays all seem to be slow learners." Sheila said.

Sheila's eyes glowed red as she laughed.

John was still jazzed that they were able to locate the third truck. He actually thought it was going to be in a different location. He really wondered if Sheila held back all the information that she'd gathered from the last location.

"I'm glad we got that last truck." John said.

John Henry knew that the team set out in search of some stored boxcars. That wasn't what they ended up with. He wasn't really sure what to attribute that to.

"It was a stroke of luck." John Henry said. "That's unless Sheila held back on some information."

John really didn't want to get into that issue. He was still worried about moving the truck such a short distance away from where it was just captured. He knew they were on the outskirts of a larger community and if Skynet went looking for the truck, they would probably find it in short order since it was still daylight.

"I'm not sure moving it only a block or two away is a good idea." John said.

John Henry was sure that to move it anywhere was a risk. He also thought it was a bigger risk to leave it where it was. Skynet knew that location. He thought that his options were limited right now as to what he could do and not inadvertently alert the enemy.

"There are a lot of traffic and surveillance cameras around there." John Henry said. "If any Grays are in the system, they'll see the truck moving. If I start shutting things down, that will alert them. I can loop the feeds but someone may notice, especially with the traffic cameras."

John could see that their options were limited. It appeared they would need to handle this truck the same way they did the other two.

"So we sit on the truck and wait until its dark and fly the HK drones out like we did with the other two trucks we took down." John said.

John Henry didn't think there are many other options available to them currently. He didn't think the big truck could get very far before it was spotted, based upon its current location. A battle for it was sure to follow. It would most likely be destroyed by one side or the other.

"That seems like the safest solution to our team." John Henry said.

John doubted they'd be able to keep a lid on everything until darkness.

"I have a feeling that some Grays or Terminators are going to find out before then what happened." John said.

That seemed pretty much inevitable at this stage of the game. What was unknown is what the Skynet response would be in its efforts to find the truck.

"It would seem most likely." John Henry said.

John was cut out of the loop of the interrogation when Sheila started in on the first Gray.

"How is the interrogation progressing?" John asked. "I see you've cut the feed to me."

John Henry didn't think John really needed to know anything but the results of the interrogation.

"If any information is gleaned, I'll let you know." John Henry said.

John didn't need to see or hear to know what was happening. He didn't approve of Sheila's methods. He should have asked Bob to stay and beat the information out of the men. It would be a normal Terminator interrogation that way. He didn't really think about how painful and torturous it was for someone to be beaten to death. Sheila usually included plenty of beatings in her interrogations as well.

He thought back on the T-1000 and how it tortured his mother to make her call for him. He knew Cameron tortured his mother to call for him too. Cameron could have done it herself and used his mother's voice. She didn't. She stepped on his mother's wounds to try and make her comply. Sheila seemed to have taken everything one step further. It really made him wonder what Jesse must have done to people for this behavior to be transferred through the 'Neural Interface' and become so dominant. Maybe it was their 'enjoyment' part of it that bothered him the most. He was unaware of the near sexual gratification that Sheila was able to achieve when she tortured someone, especially sexually.

"I don't like what's happening." John said.

John Henry felt that things were sort of out of their hands right now. They were both sitting comfortably in the Command Center while Sheila and the rest of the team were out in the field in the middle of Skynet territory all on their own.

"Do you want answers or not?" John Henry asked.

John Henry actually masked ninety percent of Sheila's interrogations from John. He didn't like them either. They were crude but effective. They didn't have a lot of time to question the men. They needed to get out as soon as possible.

John felt a little powerless right now. He was pleased that they got their hands on the third truck but now he began to wonder if they were going to be able to hang on to it.

"I want answers." John said. "I know it's very unnerving to listen to."

John Henry was aware there are other options that could be used if John really wanted to listen to or actually view the interrogation process.

"Sheila can set a body cam up, if you want to watch." John Henry said. "The people being questioned determine the extent of the 'interrogation'. They know they are going to die, some choose to stretch it out. I'm not really sure why."

John knew why. It was because they thought they might be able to get away if they are able to buy more time. There was always the chance that reinforcements would arrive to free them. It was because humans hung on to hope even when hope was impossible at times. He really thought it was more how the enhanced interrogation was conducted rather than the actual enhanced interrogation itself.

"I'll pass on the body cam. I think it's her laughing that does it. It's very unnerving. She actually enjoys it." John said. "Is all this from Jesse?"

John Henry wasn't really sure this was a subject he wanted to get into at this time. It was probably going to be borderline on what Cameron considered personal information.

"That's the base program for it." John Henry said.

John figured if this type of behavior came from the 'Neural Interface' then that must have meant Jesse did these exact same things previously. It would also indicate that she did them with the taunts and laughter as well.

"Has Jesse done this or things like this?" John asked.

John Henry was sure that this was shaky ground that they shouldn't explore.

"I think we can assume that." John Henry said.

John tried not to picture Jesse doing these things to other humans. The image still popped into his head.

"Remind me to never get her angry at me." John said.

John Henry hoped to put John's mind at ease somewhat. He was aware that drug users often reverted back to the drugs that they were able to kick at one point in time. He believed that this type of behavior was very much like a drug. That meant that the abuser could easily fall back on the use of that 'drug' at any time during a moment of weakness.

"I will." John Henry said. "River and later Savannah, have both worked with Jesse, she is reformed now. Savannah is also working with Sheila."

John remembered the rampage Cameron went on when she was damaged and went 'bad' for a short time.

"I hope Sheila never goes 'bad'." John said.

"I've seen files when I've checked things in Cameron's program before of Sheila 'working' on sex traffickers. If she has the time, things get really messy." John Henry said. "There were abused children involved in the operation Cameron took down. She asked Sheila to make the traffickers 'pay'. I didn't think that the human body could take such abuse while the person being abused remained alive."

John found that information quite disturbing. Not only did Cameron sanction the brutal behavior she appeared to encourage it.

"Cameron watched the whole thing?" John asked. "Did she just stand there and watch it all unfold?"

John Henry didn't want to get Cameron in any trouble. She wasn't an active participant. He thought the best way to describe it was that Cameron was nothing more than JAFO.

"Yes, she watched it all. No, she didn't participate. She only observed." John Henry said. "Cammy is about to return to where Sheila is."

Cammy and Bob were able to stash the big truck in the other building a block over.

Cammy returned to the building where Sheila was.

She looked around and frowned. She was very disappointed at what she witnessed.

"This is a real mess." Cammy said.

Sheila looked a little surprised at her comment. She didn't see anything wrong the events that just transpired.

"They needed some 'motivation'." Sheila said. "I helped them out a little."

The last Gray was now dead as well as his two comrades.

Cammy wanted to get away from the building before any more Grays or Terminators showed up.

"Bob is going to stay with the cargo." Cammy said. "We need to clear out."

She looked around at her 'work area'. She didn't want to leave the area how it currently looked. She didn't like to leave evidence of her atrocities behind. If they would have been sex traffickers, that was a different story. She liked them to know what was coming.

"What about these stiffs?" Sheila asked. "We need to burn them."

Cammy thought something should be done as well. She wanted to remind Sheila of the mess she'd created.

"You don't want your 'handy work' found?" Cammy asked.

Sheila looked over at the three dead men. She thought they got off easy, especially the one that was shot.

"No." Sheila said. "I actually went easy on them. I know we're pressed for time."

Cammy stopped back by their SUV after she left Bob in the big truck in the new building.

"We will use Thermite on them." Cammy said as she handed Sheila two Thermite grenades. "I got these out of our SUV."

Sheila figured she could rig a booby trap for now. It would go off sooner or later and take care of the problem. She hoped to add a few additional bodies to the count.

"Thanks." Sheila said. "I'll rig a booby trap with them in case anyone shows up. Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone."

Cammy thought that was a good idea. They wouldn't attract any unnecessary attention earlier than they needed to.

"Once we have the drones out of here. We will torch this place anyway." Cammy said.

The girls rigged everything up and departed the building. There was a 'bottled water' delivery truck at the facility Bob parked the SUV. Sheila quietly slipped the trackers onto it. The driver returned and drove off.

The girls took the SUV and waited at a different spot.

John wanted to make sure the cargo and Bob were both secure.

"Bob, I want you to double check everything on the big rig and HK drones again." John said. "Since we are sitting on everything for now, I don't want any slip ups or surprises."

Bob didn't want any surprises either. He actually already started on that procedure. He needed to kill some time so he thought he might as well make productive use out of it.

"Affirmative…." Bob said. "I'm doing that right now."

John didn't like the close proximity that everything still was to where they took the truck from.

"Pay attention to everything too." John said. "I have a feeling someone is going to find out what happened and start snooping around."

Bob hoped to have everything completed well before that happened.

"I'll be ready." Bob said. "This was a good catch for us."

This sure looked like another big win for the Resistance.

Maybe they were overconfident now.

John was well aware that when anyone became overconfident that they made more mistakes or were careless. He didn't want to fall into that trap.

I'm Sorry

Life can be filled with sorrow
Full of remorse and regret
You think we would learn a lesson
But it seems we always soon forget

We try to reach out
To touch each other within
But we never seem to get further
Than only touching the skin

What do we really want
What do we truly seek
Only the strong survive
Trampling the weak and the meek

We all say we want to be better
If we really did, we would
We're really what we want to be
Without being spoken it's understood

The ever changing life we live
Is like a violent wild safari
If my actions have inadvertently hurt you
I'm sorry

Nobody