Chapter 813

I Was Warned

Cameron was very worried about the new developments. She was sure if someone was after Allison, it was her fault. She'd wanted to bring the fight to Skynet as herself. She wanted the focus off of John and Sarah. Maybe that worked and now Skynet was after Allison. She felt responsible if Skynet was after Allison. This could also be the anti-Metal faction and they may know who she is or have Allison tagged as a 'Metal lover'. Either way or whatever it was didn't matter. It was still her fault. She feared most for Young Allison.

"This may be my fault." Cameron said. "I was warned about making sure Skynet knew it was me that kept terminating it. That's made Allison a target."

Sheila wasn't sure about that but she did feel Cameron followed her programming to protect John in the present.

"You tried to protect John." Sheila said. "You've succeeded so far. That's your function. It's all our duty and all our function too."

Savannah was at Cameron's side several times when she'd carried out her primary function to destroy Skynet. Cameron was never identified as 'Allison Young'. It was possible that someone made the connection at some point in time or even inadvertently.

"I was there for a few of those terminations of different Skynets." Savannah said. "I received a report from Anna saying that the clerk was interested in Hanna and her as well as Holly and Claire."

Savannah wondered if the real focus was on 'Savannah Weaver'. That was a very strong possibility because of her presence with Cameron on several of those occasions. The Fanatics seemed to have identified her specifically as well. She knew Cameron was aware of that too. She didn't want to address it unless Cameron did.

Cameron looked very worried right now.

"I did what I thought was necessary." Cameron said.

They didn't know if this was Skynet related or the anti-Metal faction.

Savannah wanted to see if anyone would recognize 'Jesse' if Sheila were to enter. She could pose as Future Jesse and see where that led before the termination of the people. It would put Sheila at some risk but not as big a risk as it would be for the perpetrators. If it was the anti-Metal faction and they thought Sheila was Future Jesse, they certainly wouldn't expect a Terminator. It was time to take action and get Allison away from that location.

"I'll go with Cameron." Savannah said. "Sheila, you can walk in on your own and see if anyone 'recognizes' you as 'Jesse'. Remember, it could be from one of several different futures."

Sheila felt confident enough that she could pull it off. She knew that there were other ways to refocus someone's attention instantly if it became necessary. The sudden appearance of a nipple ring and what it was attached to always drew the 'marks' attention. That procedure had never failed, not even one time. It seemed that people really didn't know what to do at that particular point in time except look.

"I'm game, love." Sheila said. "Let's get Allison out of there. Once Allison is clear, I can deal with these blokes myself. We can have a real good chat together before they won't be able to chat anymore."

Cameron was most worried about Allison right now. She contacted Holly.

"Holly, I want you to give it to me straight." Cameron said. "What's your current situation? Are you in imminent danger?"

Holly quickly looked around where Allison and her we're at. Everything was still the same.

"We're holding and not under a direct threat, at least not yet." Holly said. "Nothing has actually happened yet to present a threat to Allison."

Allison didn't want anybody to jump the gun.

"Cameron, we're good for now." Allison said.

Cameron knew that things could change in the blink of an eye.

"They could be the anti-Metal faction." Cameron said. "They may have made Holly or Hanna as Metal. We'll be there in one minute."

Sheila asked Allison and Hanna where they were located specifically. Holly gave her instructions and where to approach from.

Cameron pulled into the parking lot. She wanted to get Sheila into the building as soon as possible.

"Sheila, I'm going to let you out next to that big truck." Cameron said. "Go inside and walk by the clerk and see what happens. Holly and Allison will have you under observation."

Sheila wanted to know specifically what Cameron wanted her to do. She wouldn't think twice about a termination. It was only how exposed the individual would be at the time of the termination that would matter to her. If she could get them alone and isolated she would enjoy the termination much more as she watched the individual realize they were about to be terminated.

"What do I do if the clerk calls me over?" Sheila asked. "What if they think I'm 'Jesse', the 'bad one'?"

Cameron believed that she was the target. She was sure that was why the focus was on Allison currently.

"Play along." Cameron said. "I think it's 'me' they're after."

Sheila wanted to remind Cameron that there were still a lot of unknowns. They didn't know how big or small whatever they were about to confront actually was.

"We don't know that." Sheila said.

Cameron really didn't know anything other than what Allison was able to speculate on.

"There's a lot we don't know." Cameron said.

It seemed to Savannah that was pretty much par for the course.

"What else is new?" Savannah asked.

Sheila hopped out of the SUV and headed into a side entrance at the mall. She wasn't worried about anything other than to make sure Allison made it out of that mall undamaged.

Savannah and Cameron watched her go.

"We don't know how deep this is about to get or even what it's about." Savannah said.

Cameron once again found herself and the group being thrown into a rapidly developing situation. Like most of the other situations it showed up without any warning. All of a sudden it was there and affected them. There was no time to prepare or plan. All they could do is act. If they were lucky, it would be their group that drew first blood.

"It's about something that raised an 'alarm' in Allison." Cameron said. "That's all I need to know."

Cameron and Savannah went over the plan that they'd devised with Sheila.

Savannah thought it might be a little bit over dramatic but it would certainly hold everyone's attention.

John wondered how these events all seemed to just happen. They just did. It seemed they all happened without warning. It always upset him that Cameron seemed to act without any forethought or planning much of the time. She told him multiple times there was no time to plan. There was only time to act. The last few rapid fire encounters that they've been through recently seemed to prove her point. Whatever this was appeared to be another one. He looked over at John Henry. He hoped that he would have a few answers.

"What have you been able to pick up so far?" John asked.

John Henry hadn't picked up anything of relevance. That might be a good thing.

"I have control of all of the cameras." John Henry said. "I've picked up no tail of the Young group which has left and would appear to have gotten away clean."

John wanted the younger girls and Claire to get away from the area. He was aware that Young Allison was now with her mother and Summer.

"I want those girls protected." John said. "Don't say it, BOTH of them."

John Henry knew it was his duty to propagate and push the 'Natural Order'.

"I wasn't going to ask about your future mate." John Henry said. "Cameron has reported Young Allison and Summer will both scan back as 'viable'."

John wanted to see a little more himself. He wanted to see what his 'read' on everything was.

"That's nice to know but information I could've done without." John said. "Get me the mall video feed while you keep an eye on the girls. I want them and their mother back home safe."

John was able to watch Sheila walk through the mall. He could see Holly and Allison.

Sheila wore her loose top. John didn't have any doubt what would soon happen when she confronted the clerk. She would have a 'nip slip' and show off one of her nipple rings. That always threw the target off guard if they weren't Metal. Jesse and Sheila both deployed that strategy all the time quite effectively. It was almost part of the greeting anymore when he saw them.

For anyone not expecting it, a firm breast with a nipple ring suddenly in their face redirected their attention. It was clear from past experience when they saw the nipple ring that it always held their attention a little longer. They all seemed to want a second look at it. It didn't matter if they were male or female.

Sheila thought that it worked so well that all the female Terminators should be required to get a set of nipple rings.

Cameron was all for that as well, especially if it meant that all of them would need to wear loose tops to make the newly acquired jewelry instantly visible. She was very disappointed when she ran it by the Command Center and specifically John. He wasn't in favor of it. He thought that that should be a personal choice for each of the individual Terminators. She wanted to remind him she knew what was best for everyone. She wasn't sure why that always seemed to start some type of an argument with John.

Sheila took the target area under observation. She noted all possible threats and all avenues of escape. She planned to pass by Holly and Allison. Anyone focused on them, would surely spot her. She wanted to redirect attention away from them so they could slip out unnoticed.

She was well aware that once she was able to get someone to look at her, they didn't want to look away. Maybe it was time to show some skin or specifically a gold ring.

Sheila passed by Holly and Allison without looking at them or in their direction. Holly and Allison in turn didn't look at her. She moved towards the clerk but kept off to the side. He would have to glance in her direction to notice her.

She moved in back of him but off to the other side. She looked at some items on a rack over there. She dropped one and it made a loud noise when it hit the floor. It was the distraction that she wanted to happen.

"Oops!" Sheila said.

The clerk looked over.

"I'm sorry, love." Sheila said.

The clerk looked at her a little harder as he studied her.

Sheila wanted his attention and she'd received it. It was time to let this play out and see where the cards fell. She took the dropped item to the register.

She stopped a few feet away and acted like she received a phone call.

The clerk immediately looked at his phone and then put it away in disgust. His phone still didn't work. He didn't know why. It was fine earlier.

Sheila played out the mock call.

"Sure, love, I can come over." Sheila said into her phone.

Pause.

"Of course we can do that. You know it's my favorite position."

Pause.

"You know I never wear those. It doesn't matter if they're skimpy or sexy either. I would rather skinny dip."

Pause.

"They're too confining."

Pause.

"I like to let the 'girls' out."

Pause.

"Sure we can do that."

Pause.

"I enjoy the feel of your smooth inner thighs on either side of my head, especially when you start to squirm when you make it."

Pause.

"See you soon, love."

The clerk's eyes were glued to her.

Sheila walked up to the register.

"I'm sorry to bother you. I dropped this." Sheila said. "I think I broke it, see right here."

Sheila pointed at the 'damage'. As she did, her right breast 'slipped out' of her top. The nipple ring was on clear display inches away from where she pointed. She might as well have been pointing at it for where the clerk now looked.

Sheila now made a point to let the clerk know that she'd caught him staring at her exposed breast.

"I'm sorry." Sheila said, almost tucking her breast back in her top, almost. "That happens every now and then. It's no big deal where I'm from. Everyone has them. Mine just have a little addition to them."

The clerk's eyes were transfixed on what he'd just witnessed. If he knew of a 'Jesse', he made no indication of it.

Sheila wanted to further keep the clerk off guard.

"I'm up here." Sheila said.

The clerk looked up at Sheila's face. He looked more than a little uneasy.

"I'm sorry." The clerk said. "You're not from around here."

He didn't look embarrassed. Maybe he was from the future.

"Nope…." Sheila said. "I come from a place that's far away from here. It takes a long time to get there."

The clerk seemed to think about what Sheila just said before he spoke.

"You're beautiful." The clerk said.

He didn't take the bait.

Sheila wanted to keep him off guard.

"You saw mine, now can I see yours?" Sheila asked.

The clerk paused again before he spoke. He seemed genuinely surprised.

"What?" The clerk asked.

Sheila decided to gamble and push the issue.

"I mean your tattoo on your forearm." Sheila said. "It looks unusual. I haven't seen one like that before."

The clerk quickly touched his forearm through his long sleeve shirt.

"I don't have a tattoo." The clerk said.

Sheila backed off a little. She'd made her point

"That's my mistake. I probably still have some jet lag." Sheila said. "How much do I need to pay for the damage I caused?"

Sheila moved the other way and the breast on the other side popped out.

The clerk now looked intently at that. He figured he should say something to ease the tension.

"You should be a model." The clerk said.

Sheila carefully centered the bead on her nipple ring before she returned most of the breast inside her top. She knew where the clerk's eyes were currently glued. She reached over and lifted his chin with her index finger so that he could look at her face now.

"What would I model?" Sheila asked. "I'm just a simple girl. There's nothing fancy about me. Do I remind you of someone?"

The clerk paused again before he spoke. He didn't take the bait.

"You have a familiar face." The clerk said.

Sheila looked past the clerk and smiled.

"Here comes one of my girlfriends." Sheila said.

Savannah walked up.

Sheila drew her in and gave her a long deep kiss.

Savannah was a little surprised because that wasn't part of the plan. She did figure it was going to make the next part more convincing when Cameron arrived.

"Stop…." Savannah said shyly. "I'm here with one of my new 'friends'. You two don't get along."

The clerk looked at Savannah for a long moment.

"Weren't you here earlier?" The clerk asked as he looked around.

Holly and Allison were gone.

They'd been able to slip away unnoticed.

When he looked back, Cameron stood there in front of him.

The clerk did a double take. He looked over again where Allison and Holly had been just a short time ago. He looked at Cameron and Savannah one more time.

"Both of you were here earlier." The clerk said. "Did you change?"

Cameron thought of an answer that she'd used several times regarding her clothing.

"It's hot out." Cameron said.

Cameron made a show to forcefully pull Savannah away from Sheila. The stunt was pre arranged. It was designed to maximize attention on them.

"Keep your hands off of her. She belongs to me now." Cameron said. "Bitch…."

Sheila noticed there was another arrival at the counter.

"I think you have another customer." Sheila said as she pointed at another man who'd been just as captivated as the clerk was. "I need to work things out here first with these two fine girls."

The clerk helped the other customer. He glanced back every few seconds.

The clerk looked back at the sound of a struggle.

Sheila pulled Savannah back away from Cameron.

The clerk looked at the customer for a while and glanced back again. He was unsure what was unfolding. It might turn into a scuffle.

Cameron pulled Savannah away from Sheila.

The clerk finished up and went back over to the impending 'cat-fight'.

"Everyone needs to mellow out, man." The clerk said.

Savannah broke away from both Sheila and Cameron and took out her phone.

"Excuse me." Savannah said.

The clerk looked at Cameron and Sheila and then quickly looked at his phone.

Cameron noticed the clerk looked very uneasy.

"Is there something wrong?" Cameron asked.

The clerk continued to fool with his phone with a look of total disgust on his face.

"My phone stopped working." The clerk said.

Cameron saw this as an opportunity to get her hands on the clerk's phone

"Let me see it for a second." Cameron said. "I'm an electrical repair technician. I can fix it."

Cameron glanced toward one of the security cameras.

She took the phone and went through the pictures. There were photos of everyone who was there in their group on it. She was actually troubled by the number of pictures there were of Summer. That transgression alone sealed his fate as far as she was concerned, regardless of anything else.

"Your battery is the problem." Cameron said. "It's ruptured and is overheating. This phone will probably be on fire before too long."

The clerk looked at his phone with total surprise. He'd seen on TV about some phones catching on fire before. He remembered a few of those were even on airplanes that were in flight.

"Really?" The clerk asked.

Cameron pointed up to the ceiling to make her point.

"I would take this outside if I were you." Cameron said. "Or take it to the bathroom. You don't want the fire sprinklers to go off and this to come back to you. I don't think the management would be impressed. "

Cameron handed the phone back. It was obvious to her John Henry already started the overload procedure.

"It does feel kind of hot." The clerk said.

Cameron wanted to act and get the clerk to go someplace where he would be alone. She was going to personally terminate him. All the pictures he'd taken of Summer sealed his fate as far as she was concerned.

"It's a common problem with that phone." Cameron said.

John Henry gave the girls in the store the news they wanted to hear.

"Allison and Holly are clear." John Henry came through their coms. "They're out of the area."

Cameron was pleased to hear that from John Henry. She wanted to know if there were any additional threats.

"Do you have any friends nearby?" Cameron asked the clerk, she really 'asked' John Henry. "You need to take care of that now. It's going to catch on fire and explode."

John Henry detected a group of men that caught his attention in a negative way.

"There's a 'crew' of four that's entered through a service entrance." John Henry said. "They look like trouble."

John looked at his monitor and what John Henry indicated.

"That's probably a crew that was sent to nab Allison." John said.

Cameron could see that the clerk was hesitant to leave from where he was at. She figured that was because he waited for the crew to arrive. She decided to take control of the situation.

"Here, I'll take it outside for you." Cameron said.

Cameron forcefully took the phone from the clerk's hand. He'd tried very hard to hold on to it and used a lot of strength. She still took it easily from his grasp.

"Hey!" The clerk said.

Sheila wanted to keep the clerk off guard.

"She's a real Bitch." Sheila said.

Cameron paused and looked back at Sheila.

"So are you." Cameron said. "You're the Bitch of Bitches."

The phone started to smoke.

Cameron wanted to make her move now.

"Unless you want the fire alarm to go off, I need to get this outside now." Cameron said. "You can follow me."

The clerk entered a code on the register and quickly followed after Cameron. He really wasn't sure what was going on but he did see that the phone did start to smoke.

They went down a different service hallway and headed outside. It was away from where the 'crew' decided to enter the building. That was done by design.

Sheila lingered a few seconds at the service entrance doorway. Cameron and the clerk were already through it.

John Henry kept them apprised as to where the crew was at.

"The 'crew' is about to come around the corner." John Henry said.

Sheila went through the door, Savannah lingered a few seconds longer so the 'crew' could spot her. If they were looking for a redhead, she'd just given them the opportunity to spot one. She wanted to draw them in.

Sheila peeked out of the little window in the door.

"They've spotted you and are following." Sheila said. "They took the bait. You need to get moving now."

Savannah was now in the service passageway. She drew her Taser.

Sheila was still near her. Cameron and the clerk we're ahead of them.

John watched it all unfold from the Command Center.

"This looks like it's as serious as Allison suspected." John said.

John Henry was actually a little surprised Allison put everything together so quickly early on. It reminded him that you can take a girl out of the Wastelands but you could never take the Wastelands out of the girl. When he thought of Sheila, he thought of Jesse. In her case you could take someone away from Scavengers but you could never take the Scavenger from them.

"I believe it's all going to go down in the next few seconds." John Henry said.

You Can't See Them

You can't see them
If you look around
Words that speak
Without a sound

It seems to be
The scars that hurt the most
You can't see them
As a heart they roast

You can't see them
Because it's what you all choose
You pick who will win
You pick who will lose

Standing before you
You see what you want
You can't see them
Words to me that affront

You're as blind as the rest
From where all my troubles stem
They surround me daily
You can't see them

Nobody