Chapter 859

Stay Focused

Savannah asked for John Henry to keep her informed on what the unknown man might do next. She wanted the possible choices. She didn't want to look at the man directly. John Henry could do that for her and determine what his next actions might be, based on where the unknown man looked. She also wanted to make sure that the man didn't make any move towards her or Cameron that might be threatening.

John Henry and his server both kept careful track of where the man was in relation to Savannah. He wasn't as worried about what the other Terminators were doing because they were built for combat. Savannah wasn't. The human body was designed to reproduce, not to be in combat. He planned to look out for Savannah extra special.

"Savannah, he's about to move." John Henry said.

Savannah looked up from the machine where she sat. She didn't look directly at where the man was but viewed him through her peripheral vision.

"I see him." Savannah said. "I'm still between him and the side door."

Savannah looked around for Cameron. She didn't see her.

John Henry noticed Savannah look around. He figured she wanted to see where Cameron was at.

"Cameron is near you." John Henry said. "Don't worry."

Savannah was concerned with the other operations and not just what she was involved with.

"I am worried." Savannah said. "There are other members of our team out as well. I don't even know everything that's happening right now. I'm worried about all of them."

John hoped to give Savannah some reassurance. None of the other Terminators that were out were in imminent danger. The situations that they were in could always turn dangerous but none of them were currently threatened.

"We have it covered, Savannah. There are no problems anywhere." John said. "Stay focused."

Savannah watched as the man moved across the room. He was now near the video poker game that she'd played earlier. The fact that he did that disturbed her some. She was glad that she blew all the money into the machine and didn't leave it with a positive balance sitting on it. She'd considered doing that at one point. She wondered if he was trying to get closer to her without seeming to do so. Maybe he was trying to move further away from Cameron.

She was directly in back of him, over one row and two machines. He was close enough to her now that she could hear him speak when he used his phone.

Savannah watched him talk into his phone and listened.

"Where are you?" The man asked.

There was a pause.

"I want to go." The man said.

There was a pause.

"Hurry up." The man said.

There was a pause.

"I don't care." The man said.

There was a pause.

"Just do it." The man said.

There was a pause.

"Are you sure?" The man asked.

There was a pause.

"Just hurry up." The man said.

There was a pause.

"I need to get back." The man said. "Goodbye."

The man put his phone away with a disgusted look on his face.

Savannah figured John Henry monitored both sides of the call.

There was just something about this man that made Savannah feel uneasy. She was unsure if it was the behavior or the look, maybe it was both. He was definitely an individual that she wouldn't want to be alone with under any circumstances. The fact that he was so near to her right now caused her a great amount of concern. She determined that if he made any move to get closer to her that she would use her Taser on him.

Cameron carefully watched the unknown man. She didn't like that he moved closer to Savannah. He was too close to Savannah for her comfort. She thought she'd witnessed enough. He was a threat to Savannah this close in to her. It was time to act. She decided she was going to snap his neck. She didn't care if they were in the casino or not. His earlier behavior irritated her and his current behavior threatened Savannah. That was enough. It was time to bring him down.

"I'm going to take him out." Cameron said.

John watched all the security feeds of the man. He was surprised by Cameron's comment.

"What?" John asked. "Why?"

Cameron looked around to make sure there weren't any additional threats. She was aware that the man may try and draw attention to himself to see who else paid attention to him. There could be others in the casino who specifically watched for that. She didn't want to get caught in a sucker play.

"He's too close to Savannah." Cameron said. "He's a threat."

John tried to look at the bigger picture. He wanted Cameron to think it through before she acted. The location where she was at wasn't the place to take action from.

"Don't make a scene inside the casino. There are too many witnesses." John said. "You'll start a stampede and people will get hurt. It will lead to some big investigation. You need to use discretion."

John remembered the 'casino incident' that Cameron went through before. They didn't need a repeat of that. John Henry was able to quash most of that investigation. The main reason why that investigation didn't go anywhere was because all the surveillance footage was blank. The same thing would happen here but there were a lot more people inside of the Las Vegas casino than there were in the other one.

Cameron wasn't worried about the other people. They were gamblers. That made them a lower class of people to her. She felt Savannah's life was more important and valuable than theirs.

"I need to protect Savannah." Cameron said.

Cameron moved closer to Savannah and the man.

John Henry felt he needed to point out something important to Cameron.

"Remember, he's seen you." John Henry reminded Cameron. "He last saw you on the tram after he exited from it as the door closed behind him. You were still inside the tram car. He watched the tram depart with an empty platform.

Cameron wasn't worried about details. She wanted to protect Savannah. The man was a threat.

"He will be the one to remember my face as he dies then." Cameron said.

John didn't want Cameron to terminate the man inside of the casino.

"Look, don't blow this. We already have compromised one of the aspects of the mission." John said.

Cameron didn't see it as a big deal. If someone was in combat as often as she was, they would know that things just happen sometimes. Not everything could be helped or prevented.

"It happens." Cameron said. "Deal with it. That's what I do."

Sheila saw the blue sedan speed away and make the turn to go down to the ground level and exit the casino parking lot. She was a little miffed she was unable to tag the car before it pulled out.

She hurried down from the third level to the ground level in the stairwell. She thought she could make better time in the stairwell than she could try and run down the ramp in the parking structure. To go down one level took two circuits of the parking structure the way it was constructed. She wanted to meet up with Frank and Dan before the blue sedan made the turn onto the first level.

In the stairwell Sheila hurried down the flights of stairs, a few steps at a time. There were other people in the stairwell so she needed to play it cool. She was to the bottom in a short while. It took longer than she'd anticipated. She burst out of the stairwell door and was headed for Frank and Dan.

The blue car was almost to where Frank and Dan were. She was too late. They needed to leave now. There is only one choice to make. She needed to send them on their way immediately.

"Go, Frank." Sheila said. "He'll see me now if I get in. I don't want to be a distraction and get noticed or the SUV 'made'."

Sheila watched Frank pull out ahead of the blue sedan. There were three cars between them at this point.

Sheila moved back towards the parking structure to acquire another vehicle. She was going to take a motorcycle but figured Cameron and Savannah would need a lift as well.

She looked back out to the street and saw Frank and Dan turn left, with another car in between them and the blue sedan. The blue sedan followed them after a long pause before he turned when the light turned red. It was clear that the blue sedan wanted to make sure that no one followed him out of the parking lot. That was why he purposely waited until the signal turned red before he made his turn even after a long pause.

Sheila looked for a nice ride….

She thought about going back and selecting the vehicle that almost hit her. That was when it pulled into the slot the blue sedan vacated. There would be some poetic justice to that. If she had more time, she would tear the hood open and rip everything off of the engine except the block, the heads and the manifold.

She figured that was one way to make a statement.

Seconds ago:

Frank and Dan received Sheila's message to go without her. They saw the blue sedan approach from behind and pulled out in front of it. There were several vehicles between them. They looked over and spotted Sheila by the stairwell. She told them to go and why. They watched her retreat back inside of the parking structure.

They already knew the direction he was going to go and moved into the left hand turn lane. Two cars behind them turned right. One other car was left between them and the blue sedan. They turned with the green arrow as did the car behind them. The blue sedan didn't turn. That caused a little concern.

"He's not turning." Frank said.

Dan looked back and saw the blue car turn after the light turned red. That way no one behind him could follow him. If they did, they would stand out. He thought that was some very unsafe driving practice. Some of the vehicles that traveled straight started to move since the light turned green for them before he was fully out of the way. It almost caused an accident.

"These people are paranoid about being followed." Dan said.

Frank tilted his head slightly. He thought it was a justifiable concern.

"They should be." Frank said. "We're following them. They just don't know it yet."

Dan looked at Frank and nodded his head.

"Affirmative…." Dan said.

Gail and Cammy were inside the building.

Cammy previously forcefully subdued the two Grays. She'd hurt them some but not enough to kill them.

Gail and Cammy were going to terminate the two Grays. That was a given. It was simply a matter of how at this point.

Cammy was still very upset about what the Gray said about the 'young redhead' that he abused in the future

"I want them to suffer." Cammy said.

Cammy was still in a rage. It wasn't Savannah that the Gray referred to but it could have been.

Gail was as enraged as Cammy was.

"I heard what they said." Gail said "I want them to suffer as well. I found the dead girl too. I saw what they did to her."

Cammy watched Sheila 'operate' on more than one excursion. She didn't relish and enjoy what needed to be done. To her it was justice. It didn't sexually stimulate her like it did Sheila. It really made her wonder sometimes how messed up Jesse must have been at one point.

"Maybe we've been around Sheila too much." Cammy said. "I don't partake in her 'excitement'. I see it as part of the job, not as sexual stimulation."

Gail was aware that Sheila was much more extreme than Jesse was. Jesse would still hand out 'punishment' but she was much more subdued in the way it was done. Usually death was good enough for her at this point in time. There were still times when they'd witnessed something so severe that a more thorough punishment was needed before termination.

"I haven't been with Sheila enough." Gail said.

Cammy wanted justice and she wanted to make a statement.

"Here's what we're going to do…." Cammy said.

The Metal girls knew that 'payback' was a Bitch and right now there were two of them.

Ally tailed the box truck. She was still several streets over. She didn't like tailing them without being able to see them. There was no tracker on the truck. The roads thinned out the farther they went from the city. Soon there would be only one road if they kept going.

Ally felt that she should be closer.

"I feel like I'm going to lose them." Ally said.

John Henry didn't see anything as a problem. They clearly had the situation under control And were able to avoid detection more than once.

"You're doing fine." John Henry said. "They've doubled back twice to look for a tail. If we weren't doing it this way, they would've spotted you…."

Ally was still upset that she was spotted at the location where the Grays went to.

"I know that you want to say it." Ally said. "I was too close earlier."

John didn't see it as a big deal. Everything worked out OK. No one was terminated or captured. No one was even shot at.

"It all worked out." John said. "Don't worry about it, Ally."

Ally hoped that they'd been able to determine a destination by now. It seemed like if they checked the satellite maps they might be able to tell where the truck was headed. It was clear that the area was becoming much more rural and would be desert and rocks very soon.

"Can you tell where they're headed?" Ally asked. "The roads are starting to thin out. I'm going to be in back of them sooner rather than later the way things are going."

"It looks like they are headed out into the desert." John Henry said.

Ally wasn't so sure that she liked a destination like that. It put her out in the middle of nowhere. She would be alone and by herself. As far as she knew, they would lead her into an ambush.

"Then where?" Ally asked. "There are a lot of old silver mines here. Is that some place we really want to go?"

John sat up in his chair at the mention of a mine. He didn't want Cameron or Savannah anywhere near a mine. He didn't want any of his troops anywhere near a mine. He wanted to make that clear from the beginning.

"We're not doing any mines." John said. "Nobody is."

Ally didn't want to seem too sarcastic but she felt she needed to say something to clue John in on it. If Cameron knew that there was a version of Skynet inside of a mine, she was going in after it.

"Good luck with that." Ally said.

Ally was aware that Skynet liked to be buried deep to avoid 'bunker buster' bombs. Cameron was able to get around that problem by bringing a nuke down to Skynet. She'd done that twice. One of them was done by Duplicate Cameron. Because it was two different versions of Cameron that did the same thing, there was a pretty good guarantee that Cameron wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

She wondered if John was the only one who thought that she wouldn't. She was aware Savannah or Young Allison could stop her but she didn't think that they would. Savannah elected to stay with Cameron in her future when it looked like Cameron was trapped with Skynet and a nuclear weapon about to explode. Savannah chose to stay with Cameron. She didn't think anything would be different if the events were repeated again. Nobody thought that they would.

John was worried and frustrated by what Ally pointed out. He thought maybe it was time to take a little bit more drastic action. Maybe they needed a little more firepower in the area. It was still daytime but he wanted to act.

"I want some of our drones up." John said.

John Henry looked over at John. He didn't think that that was the right decision at the current time.

"I'll have to keep them at altitude." John Henry said.

Two things currently ate away at John as he thought about them. He was ready to change the rules. He wanted his people protected.

"Change whatever air traffic you need to change and do it." John said. "I don't like Ally out by herself in the desert with so many unknowns. I also don't want Cameron near any mines."

Cameron being in a mine again wasn't what John wanted to see. The events always seemed to end badly.

John Henry didn't think that John would have much control over Cameron if she found Skynet. She would do whatever was necessary to terminate it.

"If she thinks Skynet is in one, she'll go." John Henry said. "I think that you have to know that by now."

John did know that. He also didn't feel that he'd be able to do much to change it or prevent it either. He would need to have it destroyed before she could enter it.

"That's why I'm risking the drones for a daylight raid." John said. "I want to hit any suspected site first."

John Henry didn't believe John could hide anything from Cameron. especially with CamNet feeding Cameron information continuously.

"Cameron will find out." John Henry said.

John still hoped to be able to launch a drone strike before Cameron could arrive at the location.

"Then all she'll find will be a pile of rubble." John said. "I forbid Cameron to enter a mine to go after Skynet."

John Henry didn't want to argue the point with John. He could only offer him some advice.

"Good luck." John Henry said.

John Henry was aware that John wouldn't be able to stop Cameron if that is where she wanted to go. The main trouble with that was, Savannah would be with her. An even worse idea crossed his mind. It might be Young Allison as well.

Allison was excited with what Vanna and her were doing. She'd done the same thing with Savannah. It was one of the things that made her love Savannah even more.

Vanna was on her back still. Allison lifted her head from Vanna's left breast and looked up at her face.

"There's no more." Allison said. "It stopped."

Vanna was aware that that is how it started out. Cam already told her that there would be more each time they did it.

"There will be." Vanna said. "Jesse is just starting too."

Allison looked over towards the door of the room. She remembered where her mother was.

"I'm sure my mom will be thrilled." Allison said.

Vanna didn't like how Allison looked down on her mother for seeking comfort and companionship. She didn't think that there was anything wrong with that. If they were still in the future it wouldn't be a big deal or an issue at all. It would just be the way that things were.

"I'm older than your mother…." Vanna said. "She's not much older than you. Everyone needs someone, some comfort and a friend."

Allison didn't mean to sound sarcastic. She did understand that her mother was a person and deserved comfort too. It was no longer an issue with her.

"I didn't mean it like that." Allison said. "I know they do. It's just 'different' for me because she is my mother."

Vanna didn't want to dwell on that issue. She felt that she made herself clear. She wanted Allison to know that she didn't feel worthless anymore. She felt she actually had a purpose in life now. Her body belonged to her now. It wasn't just for other people to use for their own sexual gratification. Her body could now sustain life.

"I want my body to be able to help Precious." Vanna said. "For once some of my female parts can do what they were designed for. Even if I can't have a child, I can still nurture one. This is really special to me."

Allison knew this meant a lot to Vanna.

"That's beautiful, Vanna." Allison said.

Vanna looked Allison in the eyes. She reached out and she touched her lower belly.

"I can help you too." Vanna said. "I want to help you."

Allison felt fear. She didn't think it was going to work.

"I don't know…." Allison said.

Allison was sure she would lose the baby. Every other attempt failed. Her only baby was the one her mother delivered for Future Allison in Cameron's future. That baby was supposed to be for her. It was from her body. Cameron made her mother give it to Future Allison instead of her. That was why she wanted to go to Cameron's future so she could be with her baby.

Vanna could see Allison's apprehension. She understood the issues that bothered her.

"I want us to move back in together." Vanna said. "It can be the three of us…."

Allison didn't think there would be three of them. The baby wasn't going to happen. She knew that being around Vanna made her feel happy. She also knew being around Savannah made her happier…. She looked at Vanna and looked away.

They'd been together long enough to know what the other one was thinking.

The look of joy on Vanna's face began to fade away.

"I AM her." Vanna said. "I was her first."

Allison felt a little guilty but not much.

"I didn't say anything." Allison said.

Vanna wanted Allison to remember the past.

"I KNOW you." Vanna said. "WE belong together."

Allison felt they'd been down that street too many times.

"We've talked about this before…." Allison said.

Vanna looked a little desperate.

"You can still be with whoever you want." Vanna said. "I want to wake up to your beautiful face every morning again. You can have as much 'dessert' as you desire. I know you need more. I understand. I've always accepted that. We love each other. Our relationship has always been open. We have always been there for each other at the end of the day or any fling."

Allison knew that the past wasn't the future anymore. It was the present.

"I know we love each other." Allison said. "So much has changed."

The look in Vanna's eyes pleaded with Allison.

"WE belong together." Vanna said.

Allison shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"I know, Vanna, I know…." Allison said.

Young Allison watched the monitors.

Anna felt that Young Allison did enough for today.

"You need to study." Anna said.

Young Allison looked away from the monitors and at Anna. She wondered if she was serious.

"I can't right now." Young Allison said. "There is too much happening."

Anna could see that Young Allison grew increasingly frustrated. She didn't think that was a good thing for her.

"You're upset that some things are being blocked from you." Anna said.

Young Allison didn't see what the big deal was. It wasn't too hard to put it together.

"I'm pretty sure I know what's happening." Young Allison said.

Anna wanted Young Allison to understand why things were the way they were.

"Savannah asked for this for you." Anna said. "She wants to protect you."

Young Allison frowned and slowly let out a long breath.

"I know." Young Allison said. "I know what's occurring anyway."

Anna could see that there were other issues.

"You look more worried than usual." Anna said.

Young Allison was concerned for Savannah's well being.

"It's been a long day and Savannah is still out in it." Young Allison said. "Cameron is pushing her too hard. She was supposed to go flying today. Look at everything that's happened so far. It doesn't look like it's anywhere near done either. "

Anna wanted to know what Young Allison would do about it.

"Will you say something to Cameron?" Anna asked.

Young Allison felt she had a little bit more leeway than anybody else to raise an issue.

"I will." Young Allison said. "She won't deactivate me."

Young Allison thought about it for a minute.

"Will she?" Young Allison asked.

If You Don't

Sometimes we say we will
And then we won't
Sometimes we say we do
And then we don't

Life is full of promises
Many are left unfulfilled
Fallacious, empty and hollow
Leaving a warm heart chilled

Who will say what they mean
Who will mean what they say
Are they not just worthless words
As meaningless as a donkey's bray

Do not one's actions
Speak louder than words
Or is it all noise and chatter
Fodder for the birds

I want the truth not lies
Don't say you won't
I'll know
If you don't

Nobody