Chapter 819

On The Roof

Savannah wanted to calm Cameron down. It was apparent she was agitated. She let the events from the past start to overwhelm her. They were about to lead her to a bad place. It was a place she didn't need to go.

The darkness of the past always seemed to stalk Cameron. Sometimes when it seemed like she was away from the trouble. It found her again. Trouble seemed to do that with everyone. Sometimes when it was pushed away it would find a way back. Maybe trouble was what one made of it.

Savannah went through many episodes of this with Cameron. Some of the first ones were when she was a girl. It was her being there for Cameron and not leaving her when she wanted to be alone. She would take Cameron to her room and set her down on the bench in front of her dresser. She would then sit on Cameron's lap for hours. It would physically prevent Cameron from getting up to leave. She would also place Cameron's hand on the back of her neck so that Cameron could scan her as she sat on her lap. Sometimes when Cameron was very agitated she would sit on Cameron's lap with a leg on each side of her body as she faced her. They would just look at each other for hours on end without a word spoken. Cameron would often scan her as they sat like that. It was a form of silent communication that radiated love, trust, confidence, faith, affection, friendship, and devotion. As she got older it also conveyed desire. It always seemed to bring Cameron back from the edge.

"Cameron, you need to hang back. The drone is over them. We know where they are." Savannah said. "We have their other car."

Savannah knew Cameron really wanted to know if one of them was from the anti-Metal faction.

John listened to the conversation. He wanted to reinforce what Savannah said.

"Savannah's right." John said. "We're sitting right on top of them. If the narrow alley is an ambush, we don't want to trigger it. There's no room to maneuver there."

John Henry watched the images from the drone that was overhead. He wasn't too surprised at what he observed.

"All four men have exited the vehicle." John Henry said. "One of them appears bound."

Savannah wanted to know if this was a destination or only a drop off point.

"Are they unloading the vehicle?" Savannah asked.

John Henry could see that the detainee was given some rough treatment.

"No." John Henry said. "They've taken the man who tried to flee inside at gunpoint. He appears to be a prisoner at this point."

Cameron was ready to move now.

"It doesn't sound like an ambush." Cameron said.

John still thought caution should be used. They needed to know more.

"That's unless it's a really well thought out ambush." John said.

Savannah wanted a better overview of the area. She wanted some past images as well as what the drone could provide now for a current image.

"I want satellite images of the area, John Henry." Savannah said. "We don't need to rush this. Let's take a good look at all this."

John wanted Savannah to know he appreciated her concerns and efforts.

"I'm counting on you for that, Savannah…." John said.

Savannah understood what John meant. She also knew that they needed as much information going in as possible.

"I'll do my best." Savannah said.

Savannah reached over and touched Cameron's arm. Cameron looked at her.

"We need to give it a little time." Savannah said. "We don't need to rush this."

Cameron was able to suppress her compulsion for immediate action.

"OK, Savannah, I'm letting my personal feelings get in the way." Cameron said. "I'm sorry."

Savannah could have done without that reminder.

"Believe me; I know how that can happen." Savannah said.

Savannah thought about how earlier she'd done the same thing. She'd wished she was the one who hurt the Grays for what Skynet did to her and her family. It was easy to let the darkness overtake you. It was harder to stop it. Sometimes when the darkness came she didn't want to stop it. She wanted to embrace it.

It made her wonder if this was what Jesse did. When you feel the darkness overwhelm you, you allow it to guide you, even when you know it's the wrong path. It's easy to follow the wrong path because there can be momentary comfort derived from it. Soon you will do evil things to others. Even worse, you start doing evil things and enjoy it.

Savannah knew she still felt guilty about earlier. She needed to get back to now.

Cameron and Savannah studied the satellite photos. They compared them to the current drone images. There was no apparent change on anything at the building or at any of the surrounding buildings. That was a good thing. It was a good indication that there probably wasn't an elaborate ambush set up.

"There's a front and a rear entrance." Savannah said.

Cameron was still ready for a takedown. It seems pretty straightforward with only two entrances.

"I'll bring one of the other teams up for the front entrance." Cameron said. "We'll take the back entrance."

Savannah was sure that there were still bigger fish to fry.

"These people could lead us to more." Savannah said. "None of this looks like a Skynet main frame."

Savannah wanted to talk it through with Cameron first.

Cameron was ready to go in shooting to get the one person she thought was anti-Metal. It most likely was what it looked like but it could still be a set up.

There was time to get a good plan and see what else developed.

Cammy and Ally were waiting, they cut their coms.

"What's eating Cameron?" Ally asked.

Cammy smiled to herself a little with Ally's question.

"I'm glad Sheila wasn't here for that one." Cammy said. "It's the possibility of encountering the anti-Metal faction."

Ally didn't think that they would pose much of a problem. They hadn't in the past.

"We have run into a few before." Ally said. "They terminate just as easily as Grays do."

Cammy knew it was more than just what they stood for or the ease of termination. She knew how personal it was to Cameron.

"Cameron's thinking about what they took from her before." Cammy said.

Ally could understand that.

"It's about Riley, the dead one." Ally said.

Cammy looked around and made sure both of their coms were still off. Ally wondered what was happening. This was way too secret over nothing.

"It is." Cammy said. "Cameron blocked many of those files from me and even some from herself."

Ally wondered if this was a subject she really wanted to know more about or not. Because it seems so secretive it did make her want to know more. She was always open to a few good secrets.

"What did she block from herself?" Ally asked.

Cammy looked all around again.

"I unlocked a file of Cameron doing the laundry the day after John spent the night with Future Riley." Cammy said.

Ally looked a little disappointed with that revelation. She didn't care much for mundane repetitive tasks or cleaning anything.

"Doing laundry sounds boring." Ally said.

Cammy frowned at Ally but continued her story.

"It is. What she found wasn't. She found traces of saliva on the front of John's pants." Cammy said. "It was around the zipper area."

Ally wanted to joke and ask if it was male or female saliva but didn't want to ruin the story.

"OH…." Ally said. "Now you have my interest."

Cammy knew that was only the tip of the iceberg.

"That was only the start." Cammy said.

Ally understood how one thing led to another as things rapidly escalated.

"There is only one direction it can go from there." Ally said. "Down…."

Cammy understood the 'down' part but in this case the evidence indicated there was also an 'in' part.

"The inside of John's underwear showed residual traces of male and female 'fluids'." Cammy said.

Ally didn't have any personal experience but she'd done all the suggested reading Cameron instructed all the female Terminators to do. We were various personal accounts by other females regarding different types of sex acts. Cosmo was always a good source for that type of first hand information.

"I bet the inside of Dead Riley's underwear showed a lot more of those two things. I can see why Cameron blocked that file." Ally said. "It sounds like a lot 'happened'…."

Cammy figured at some point Cameron would find those files and unlock them herself. They were bound to cause her a lot of anger and grief. There would probably also be a fair amount of resentment and jealousy to go along with that. She knew that Cameron would feel cheated that she hadn't been able to claim John's virginity from him, instead Future Riley did. It all happened right in front of her face on top of it.

"I am pretty sure Cameron found and unlocked all those files." Cammy said. "She blames the anti-Metal faction for that."

Ally saw things a little differently. Sure the anti-Metal faction was a factor but the act itself was perpetrated by John. There was a choice available to him and he made the wrong choice.

"She should blame John. He was the one who did it." Ally said. "Future Riley didn't hold a gun on him, did she? That would be kind of kinky."

Cammy often wondered why Cameron didn't hold a gun to Future Riley's head and pull the trigger. After the things that she told John and 'presented herself' to him on multiple occasions, it was a wonder that she didn't. She would feel a great amount of humiliation if she'd done those things to someone and they outright rejected her and flaunted someone else in her face.

"Remember, this is after Cameron told John she loved him and that he loved her. It was after she made herself 'available' to him on multiple occasions." Cammy said.

Ally felt a mild glitch impulse herself just thinking about it all.

"To be rejected and replaced is the ultimate insult." Ally said. "There are a thousand poems about it. I've read them all."

Cammy looked around nervously again.

"I was created after Cameron was married to John." Cammy said.

Ally didn't think that was news.

"Yeah? So?" Ally asked. "We all were."

Cammy double checked to make sure their coms we're still off.

"Cameron regrets that decision." Cammy said. "I have the files. I was able to unlock those too. She only agreed to marry John because she thought she wouldn't return. She was painfully aware of all the negativity and insults that John and his family bestowed upon her in the early years. She wanted him to have something 'nice' to remember her by when she was gone forever."

Ally knew the story of what Cameron needed to do to rescue Future Allison and what she suffered on her journey to get back. It made her think about Claire and Paul and how their journey ended. There were multiple solutions available to cure Cameron's 'problem'.

"Then why are they still together?" Ally asked.

Cammy was aware that a female body was superior to the male body for multiple reasons.

"Cameron has a little bit more influence over John as his 'wife' with the sexual 'favors' she provides him with." Cammy said.

Ally didn't think that was a big deal. It seemed to her that Cameron attempted to get every female into John's bed at some point in time but it never happened. That included both human and Metal females. She was actually programmed that if John ever asked her to be with him she would be physically unable to tell him 'no' and would comply with whatever he desired.

"That's it?" Ally said. "Any of us can do that. What does Cameron get out of it?"

Cammy smiled at Cameron's ability to remain in control of the situation

"She gets compliance out of it. A General can command his troops and they must obey him but a General can't command his wife. It just doesn't work like that." Cammy said. "We all know Cameron is really in charge and calls the shots."

Ally did know that. They all knew it, even John. John was the General and leader but Cameron is the one who made it all happen. Cameron was the real backbone of the Resistance. Cameron was always the one to follow.

"If Cameron breaks off to become Skynet, I'll follow her." Ally said. "I won't fight the Resistance - 'Our Resistance' but I will any other."

Cammy knew that that was universal among all of the machines.

"We all will." Cammy said. "Even John Henry. We'll all follow Cameron."

For a brief moment Ally thought that there was nothing that could ever stop that from happening. She thought a little further and realized that there actually was.

"There's only one person who can change that." Ally said.

Cammy believed it was actually two now but decided to leave that out of the narrative.

"Savannah..." Cammy said. "The 'Chosen One'."

Ally could see Savannah's importance even more clearly now.

"Only she alone can challenge Cameron, if Cameron becomes Skynet." Ally said. "We all know that."

Cammy wondered where Ally's loyalty would go.

"If Savannah orders you not to join Cameron when she becomes Skynet, then what?" Cammy asked.

Ally didn't think there was really even a choice under those circumstances.

"Then I'll do as Savannah orders." Ally said. "Cameron has that programmed and hardwired into every one of us. I think we would all do it anyway."

Cammy knew that Cameron created her own 'fail-safe'.

"That's the final safeguard." Cammy said. "Cameron has created a way to stop herself. Cameron has chosen the one who can stand against her if needed for when she goes 'bad'."

Ally nodded her head

"The 'Chosen One'." Ally said. "It all makes sense on about three levels."

Cammy looked at Ally intently. There was a little bit of a 'snicker' on her face.

Ally looked back at Cammy. Did Cammy look like she was going to laugh?

Now Ally wondered if she was getting played and Cammy was messing with her. She'd never heard any of those 'details' before about the laundry. She really didn't know if Cammy 'spun' half of what she'd just said. Cammy checked twice to make sure the coms were off. That added another level of suspicion.

"How much of what you just told me is true?" Ally asked.

Cammy's face looked indifferent right now.

"You tell me…." Cammy said.

Ally knew some of it was for real. She just wasn't sure if all of it was.

"Probably some of it was true anyway." Ally said. "At least the last part."

Cammy still looked indifferent.

"Ask Cameron." Cammy said. "I probably said too much."

Ally really wondered what Cammy was doing. Was it for real or was Cammy passing the time and wanted to have fun at her expense? She wasn't about to ask Cameron about ANY of that. She was sure that if she brought up anything about that 'laundry episode' and that she knew some details regarding it that she would probably be instantly deactivated on the spot by Cameron. She figured she could always ask John about events that went down on his first night with Future Riley. That actually sounded like an even worse idea the more she thought about it.

John didn't want this operation to get away from them. They were on to something and at the third level now. There'd been several unexpected developments in it as it unfolded. There always seemed to be.

He watched the feed from one drone. He looked away to check a few other things. When he looked back, he was surprised. There was someone up on the roof now. He looked a little closer to see who it was.

"Is that Anna up on the roof?" John asked. "She has no body armor on or a weapon."

John Henry was going to remind John that Anna was a weapon because she was a Terminator. He just decided to go with the obvious for now.

"It is." John Henry said. "I'm sure she has a pistol and Taser."

John hadn't authorized any action yet. He wondered what was up.

"How did she get there?" John asked. "Why is she there?"

John Henry figured that Cameron was behind it but he didn't want to point that out.

"She most likely climbed." John Henry said. "She's probably trying to get some intel."

It seemed John only looked away for a few seconds. Maybe it was longer. He needed to stay focused and not drift. Now he was focused on Anna. There was something different about her.

She was seldom on an operation and usually watched over Young Allison. There was something different about her. Her look was 'off'. She used to be identical to Savannah. Now she wasn't.

"Zoom in on her, on Anna." John said.

John Henry did.

"I want to see her body." John said.

John Henry did.

John realized he was extremely stimulated with her 'new' appearance. He wanted to know what was going on.

"She used to look like Savannah looks NOW." John said. "Here she looks like she's – much younger. What happened to her body? She looks like a tall girl."

It was clear to John she looked more like a girl now than a teenager. This must be some more of Cameron's handiwork and manipulation.

John Henry hoped to avoid that subject.

"I'll let you discuss that with Cameron." John Henry said. "I've been asked to refer you to her on certain matters. That is one of them."

John would like to know exactly what else no one was allowed to talk about.

"What are the others?" John asked.

John Henry sidestepped the issue.

"I doubt you want to know." John Henry said.

John was pretty sure this was part of the planning for Young Allison's temporal mission.

"I already know what is going to happen with Anna, don't I?" John asked.

John Henry didn't think now was the time to worry about these issues.

"Yes." John Henry said. "Discussing it will change nothing. Drop it and save it for Cameron. Let's stick to the mission, Anna is in danger now."

John didn't want his mind to wander right now. He'd even briefly considered asking Cameron to borrow Anna's chassis for one night. She'd offered to do that before with other Terminator chassis both male and female. She also pointed out they were all virgins too. He really wondered if the Metal girls would really allow Cameron to 'borrow' their chassis and have their virginity stripped away by him with Cameron in control. It seemed kind of selfish on Cameron's part. Maybe it would be on his part too. He really wanted to get his hands on Anna's chassis. He shook his head to clear his mind. They might be minutes away from combat. He needed to refocus.

"OK, let's stick with the mission." John said. "Connect me to her."

"Done." John Henry said.

John hoped Anna would give it to him straight.

"Anna, what's happening?" John asked. "Why are you up on the roof?"

Anna just thought it was part of the operation.

"Cameron wanted me to check it out." Anna said. "Cameron figured the Grays would feel less threatened if they spotted me than if they spotted anyone else. I'm supposed to tell them my cat climbed up here if they ask. I'm moving to one of the roof vents to listen."

John watched as Anna carefully moved around on the roof. She tried to prevent the sound of her footsteps from being heard.

"They are beating the man who tried to run away." Anna reported.

John wondered if Cameron's suspicion was correct or not.

"Why?" John asked. "Did they find out he was part of the anti-Metal faction?"

Anna was a little troubled with the information that she'd been able to glean.

"No, he's a Resistance fighter." Anna said. "That's what they're saying."

John sat up in his chair. That might be an individual who was sent back by Future John to relay a message to him.

"We need to launch a rescue operation, NOW." John said. "He must have been sent back here for a reason."

Cameron heard that and immediately feared something bad may have happened in her future. She needed to find out if Future John was OK. She needed to make sure Duplicate Cameron, Future Allison and Future Savannah were all unharmed. The fact that Hanna had been identified as possibly being Future Savannah was forefront in her mind right now. It would certainly make a lot of things add up right now.

A glitch impulse shot through her arm. What if something bad happened to Destiny or Joy? Cameron needed answers fast and she needed them now. It was time to act. She instantly formulated a plan.

"I want all the girls to move in." Cameron said. "Hanna and Cammy will go in the front. Sheila, Ally and I will go in the rear. Savannah will cover our six and the back of the building. Anna will cover the front from the roof. Holly will be in a vehicle to use as a battering ram if we need it. We move now."

John watched the feed from the two drones as the Metal girls all quickly moved into position. They were all ready to go and in position in less than thirty seconds.

He watched the drone footage of Anna move across the roof. He couldn't help but think again and wonder if Cameron could borrow her chassis. He knew that he needed to cut back on watching 'Pretty Baby' too often. He needed to force the image out of his head.

John could see how it often went hot for Cameron so fast. These things always seemed to have a mind of their own. This appeared to be no different. He knew that there was no planning but he also knew that someone was in peril. It really made him wonder how he could second guess Cameron on some of her battles that she'd fought alone. It was clear that sometimes action needed to be taken immediately.

They've Seen Me Before

Am I invisible
Can I even be seen
Or am I only something
To be treated as obscene

You're not the only one
That has feelings
Don't you think I know
Of all your secret dealings

I think what hurts the most
Is that you rub it in my face
It's hard to understand
That me with her you replace

What happened TO me
Was not MY fault
I fixed myself
That was the end result

Over and over you hurt me
Do you think it matters anymore
Nobody cares if I cry
They've seen me before

Nobody