Chapter 868

Hard Way

John didn't like the way things looked in the desert for Ally. She needed to wait for others in the Resistance to be freed up from what they were doing. They could then investigate the warehouse and take down whatever operation was inside of it. Now there was a new problem that developed. There was a large group of bikers about to pass her location.

Duplicate Cameron and the Duplicate girls experienced a run in with a group of bikers when they returned from the future before. It was River's future and she was with them as well. Duplicate Cameron and River were away from the Duplicate girls when the bikers cornered Duplicate Allison and Duplicate Vanna. Duplicate Jesse was in the rafters overhead. Things looked like they were about to turn bad for Duplicate Allison and Duplicate Vanna when River found two machetes on some of the motorcycles parked outside of the building and went to 'work'. Duplicate Cameron arrived seconds after River killed all of the bikers. It was at that point that Duplicate Cameron knew what River was. River was a weapon.

John was aware that bikers were about one step behind Scavengers based on their past behavior.

"Ally, I want you to be careful." John said.

John Henry zoomed in on the group of motorcycles that approached Ally's position behind the building.

"It looks like a problem." John Henry said.

John looked at the bikers from the drone footage overhead. It was obvious that they could use the drone against the bikers. It was going to leave a lot of questions later on as to what happened to the group of bikers once they were found.

"I want to give Ally some options." John said.

John Henry wasn't sure that there were too many options available to them. They all looked like bad options in the long run. They could protect Ally however and that's what it would come down to in the end. He was a little surprised when he received some information from CamNet.

"It appears I'm about to receive some new options." John Henry said.

John could think of only one source that they'd be from.

"Are they from CamNet?" John asked.

John Henry knew that the source of his information was CamNet. As to whether they were from her or not he doubted it. There was always another source at work in the background. The Young bunker was always hard at work. He decided to keep his answer simple.

"Yes." John Henry said.

Anna and Young Allison followed both of the operations from the bunker at the Young residence.

There was a drone orbiting around Ally that searched for signs of danger. It wasn't long until they found some. What they found wasn't Skynet related.

Young Allison spotted the group of bikers and alerted Anna to the danger they posed for Ally. She'd gone over the reports by Duplicate Cameron and the Duplicate girls about everything that happened in their encounter with bikers before. She was determined that there wouldn't be a repeat of that incident. She was aware that Duplicate Allison and Duplicate Vanna were in real danger. If River hadn't acted when she did, the Duplicate girls would have been savaged viciously by the biker gang. The end result would have been the same as if they'd been taken into a Scavenger camp in the future. That wasn't going to happen on her watch. She didn't know what the casino Command Center was going to do but she did know what she was going to do. CamNet would back her play.

"We need to assist Ally." Young Allison said.

Anna could tell that Young Allison wanted a fight. She thought that was the wrong position to take. They should let things play out peacefully and not become involved. The bikers weren't a Resistance matter.

"The bikers should ride on by and not bother her." Anna said.

Young Allison thought that might occur if none of the bikers spotted Ally. If some of them did and were able to get a good look at her, the situation was obviously going to deteriorate.

"I read the report on the last 'biker incident'." Young Allison said. "I don't want anyone to risk it."

Anna felt Ally could defend herself easily against a group of thugs.

"Ally will be able to handle all of them herself." Anna said.

Young Allison was shown images by Cameron of what she looked like after she broke Sarah out of jail. Cameron told her that it was what John did to her. She was obviously still upset by the incident. She would do whatever she could to prevent any other Terminator from looking like that again.

"That may be true but I don't want her damaged." Young Allison said. "Remember, she was created in MY image. I don't like to see 'myself' damaged."

Anna didn't want Young Allison to kill needlessly.

"I don't think this will be a problem." Anna said. "Ally has everything under control."

Young Allison looked over some satellite images and some topographical maps that she asked CamNet to provide to her. If her plan needed to be used, whatever happened would be on the bikers for being in that location when she acted. The choice was theirs. They could ride on and not bother Ally or they could get a taste of the future. Either way it was their choice.

"Here's what I want, just in case." Young Allison said. "It's dark enough now and there are few people out on that road."

Young Allison laid out a plan with Anna's help and they presented it to CamNet.

CamNet then informed John Henry what was going to happen.

Some images appeared on John's monitor. He didn't know what it was. He really wished that he was in the Command Center at the Resistance base so he had more monitors available to him. A single laptop didn't cut it. He needed to rely heavily on John Henry to provide him with the images that were most relevant at that particular point in time.

"What am I looking at?" John asked.

John Henry didn't know a whole lot more than John did. He was fed the information and was able to verify anything that he wanted to. CamNet provided him the opportunity to make suggestions and give any input that he thought was relevant. That was a little unusual.

"It appears to be an old excavation site of some type. There was mining activity there too at one time." John Henry said. "It's three miles from Ally's current location."

John Henry filled Ally in on the plan if she needed it. It was dark enough now for what CamNet suggested.

John understood the threat of Scavengers in the future. He realized all biker gangs would all be Scavengers in the future. He knew Cameron and the Metal girls dealt with future Scavengers all of the time on 'off the books' operations through Cameron's base. He too was aware that if the bikers attempted to accost Ally and pursued her, then whatever happened to them was now their own fault. Their own actions would dictate their own demise. It was just that simple. If someone wanted to play with fire, they shouldn't be surprised when they eventually got burnt.

"That area is also very isolated." John said as he thought about it. "If they take the bait, I'll approve it."

John wasn't sure if this was something they needed to fool with. He was still upset with what the Grays planned to do with a new girl they wanted to capture earlier. Gail reported what they'd already done to one female they captured and killed. That threat was now over. Those Grays were terminated.

John Henry was a little apprehensive about becoming involved. He was aware what happened the last time some in their group experienced a 'run in' with bikers. Maybe a few less Scavengers in the future wasn't such a bad idea.

He hoped the bikers passed and went about their business. If they stopped to accost Ally, they needed to learn what 'her gang' was capable of.

The 'Resistance Gang' could deliver quite a punch.

Savannah talked and interacted with Cameron in the SUV. It seemed that things improved greatly for Cameron during that time period.

Cameron felt her earlier 'problem' was over.

"I want to move in on the target with you." Cameron said. "I'm fine now. Everything is perfect."

Savannah watched as Cameron's demeanor changed and returned to normal. It actually happened rather quickly. She hoped that that was because she'd intervened early in the process.

"You seem better now." Savannah said. "You were sort of out of it for a while."

Savannah held Cameron's hand and talked to her for almost an hour. After about half an hour, Cameron was herself again. She still talked with her. She finally released Cameron's hand.

Cameron looked at Savannah and smiled.

Savannah gently touched Cameron's cheek.

Cameron brought her hand up and pressed Savannah's hand to her cheek.

"Thank You." Cameron said. "I wanted to hurt them myself before, now I'm ready."

Savannah never liked to see Cameron when she wasn't at one hundred percent. It wasn't so much that she thought of it as a 'mental illness' on Cameron's part but in a way when she experienced episodes like that, it sort of was, even if it wasn't.

"You made me a little worried." Savannah said.

Cameron was still bothered by the incidents of the past. She still felt very cheated by what occurred and how it was done.

"I'm sorry." Cameron said. "They made me feel things; I didn't want to feel again."

Savannah still wasn't sold on the idea that they were the anti-Metal group. There was no concrete proof as to who they were.

"Cameron, we don't even know who they are yet." Savannah said.

Sheila was kept informed by John Henry as to what other events occurred elsewhere.

"Cammy and Gail are three miles out." Sheila said. "They'll arrive very soon.

Savannah was pleased at the reinforcements that were about to arrive.

"Sheila, I want you and Cammy to lead." Savannah said. "Gail will hang back with Cameron."

Sheila didn't have a problem with that.

"Where will you be, love?" Sheila asked.

Savannah felt her place should be in the front.

"I'll be right between Cammy and you." Savannah said.

Sheila looked at Savannah and smiled.

"Now you're just teasing me…." Sheila said.

Cameron tilted her head slightly.

"It sounds like a love sandwich." Cameron said.

Sheila ran her eyes over Savannah's figure. She looked at Cameron as well since she was identical to Cammy. It was a solid visual for her. The thought excited her greatly.

"That's one sandwich I would like to take a bite out of." Sheila said.

Cameron's eyes were on Savannah. She lightly moistened her lips.

"I would too." Cameron said.

Frank and Dan were at opposite corners of the building. They were able to watch all four sides of the structure. It seemed somewhat strange there were no apparent lights on inside. Maybe that was because the current occupants were 'squatting' there and they didn't want anyone to know. Maybe they were just paranoid about everyone and wanted to remain unseen. The group so far exhibited a lot of unusual and strange activity.

"There's been no movement since the one man returned inside the house. It seemed very dark inside the house." Dan said. "I don't know what he did in the shed. Maybe I should go and take a look."

John didn't want anyone to get ahead of themselves. He wanted to make sure that all the players were on the field and ready to act before things went hot. If Dan were spotted before everyone was ready that might trigger the battle at that point.

"Hold for now." John said.

Frank monitored the other two sides of the structure. Everything was dark that he could see as well. It did seem highly unusual.

"I don't have anything either." Frank said. "I don't see any lights on from my angle."

John needed to contemplate that information for a moment. It was possible that the team may have been detected and the men inside waited for them to approach.

"That doesn't sound good." John said. "Do you think they 'made' you?"

Dan didn't think he'd given anything away.

"It's doubtful." Dan said. "I'm well concealed."

Frank looked around his position of concealment.

"I am too." Frank said.

Dan was the one who initially followed the men when they left the rail yard. Frank was with him. He'd noticed from the beginning that their actions were very strange.

"Their behavior was very paranoid when they left the warehouse by the rail yard." Dan said. "They were very cautious. Something looked off from the moment they left the rail yard."

Savannah didn't like the fact that the building was dark. She hoped that they weren't being set up. That was always a possibility. All of them concentrated on viewing the structure. They needed to remember what else was around them as well.

"I want both of you to check behind you and around you in detail." Savannah said. "Look for anything that seems out of place."

Frank immediately but carefully searched everything on both sides and in back of him.

"I don't see anything different." Frank said.

Dan carefully looked as well. He was glad he received the reminder from Savannah. He spotted a surface contact.

"I do." Dan said. "I spotted movement off to my side. I may have to go dark."

Savannah was immediately alarmed. It appeared what she feared may be about to go into play. She didn't want to take any chances.

"Dan, I want you to pull out now." Savannah said.

Savannah was with Cameron and Sheila near the SUV.

This new development was a problem. It was an unknown threat that seemed to have suddenly appeared.

"Sheila, I want you to reinforce the area where Dan is at." Savannah said. "What do our drones show?"

John Henry was a little surprised at what was spotted. It hadn't been there just a minute ago.

"I have detected two figures moving near a house, two houses away from Dan to the east on the street in back of them." John Henry said.

Savannah wasn't sure how someone was able to get near their area of operation unobserved. Whatever it was, it was some kind of trouble.

"Where did they come from?" Savannah asked. "Are they armed?"

Savannah was very worried that since they'd been watching the house for a while that maybe they were 'made'. The occupants seemed overly paranoid to begin with and may have called in reinforcements. They might have an escape tunnel too. They could have sent some operatives out of it to attack them.

This could also be an attack by the group of Grays that Cammy and Gail recently took down. Maybe their associates couldn't reach anyone at their location or the two men who died in the truck on the bridge. That might have set off an alarm. Maybe this was a retaliatory strike. It seemed probable that if one group knew about the other, that the other group may know about them as well.

Savannah looked around again.

Whatever it was, they were in the middle of it.

John Henry was able to determine that the two individuals didn't carry long guns. If they did, they were concealed and they didn't hold them.

"They're not carrying rifles." John Henry said.

Cameron quickly contemplated some of the other scenarios that she'd encountered dealing with the groups from the future as well as the drug and sex trade. There were a lot of options when things were unknown.

"They could be more of this group, Grays, Fanatics or anti-Metal." Cameron said. "They may be common crooks or burglars."

Savannah was aware that Gail and Cammy we're almost there. She redirected Cammy and Gail to come in behind the men and trap them between Dan and Sheila.

Cameron watched the house that the men they followed were in.

Savannah quickly realized Cameron was going to move on her own if shooting broke out. She wanted to let Cameron know they'd be together and that Cameron wouldn't act alone.

"Cameron, if there is any shooting, we may need to assault the house." Savannah said.

Cameron planned to do that anyway.

"I'm ready." Cameron said.

Savannah wanted to make sure the assault team for the house was ready. They would now operate with fewer personnel than originally planned if they needed to move now.

"Frank, be ready to move. If the rest of our team needs to start shooting, we will need to move on the house." Savannah said.

Frank checked around his area again and turned his attention back to the structure.

"I'm ready to move." Frank said.

Savannah felt that Cameron was ready to resume command. She didn't want to overstep her bounds or be disrespectful to Cameron.

"Cameron, do you want to take over again?" Savannah asked.

Cameron had been back up to speed for quite some time. She wanted to let Savannah make some decisions on her own. She was very pleased with all of them. She felt that Savannah operated very much in the same manner that she would.

"OK. You did all the things I would have." Cameron said. "I'm ready to move now."

Savannah thought about what Cameron said in regards to common crooks. She really hoped it was that simple. With all the groups and play it probably wasn't.

"If it's more than common crooks, this whole area could be compromised." Savannah said.

Savannah and Cameron rechecked their vests and weapons. They were ready to move in if things got hot, well, hotter at this point.

Savannah still felt it was the right decision for them to wait till darkness before they made their move. They would be able to use all of their weapons at this point and wear their body armor. She had a feeling they were going to need it.

Derek didn't want to press the issue. Holly was there and ready to accompany him.

He gave Riley a kiss and left with Holly. He left the girls all alone. That was all going to be a discussion he really didn't need to hear. He would have liked to have heard it for future reference but he didn't want to embarrass anyone or prevent them from talking freely.

Riley watched as Jesse switched breasts as she nursed Precious.

She'd witnessed a lot of different looks on Jesse's face over the years. The look she saw now was one she'd never seen before. It seemed to be a look of contentment and fulfillment. There seemed to be a joy or happiness that was released from somewhere deep inside Jesse.

"I never thought I'd ever do this." Jesse said. "It's very special. My body can actually help someone for once."

Jesse actually felt proud of herself for a change. Maybe she felt complete. Maybe complete wasn't the right word. She certainly didn't feel worthless or like a sex object anymore.

Vanna understood exactly what Jesse meant.

"I feel the same way." Vanna said. "It is a special feeling. It's more special than special."

Riley was thankful for the help and that Precious could have plenty of nourishment now.

"I want to thank both of you." Riley said. "Everything slowly began to overwhelm me. I felt I needed to ask too much from Sarah. I shamefully felt it was to the point where I disrupted her life. I don't want to disrupt yours either."

Allison ran the proposal to have them take turns in the spare bedroom or the idea of installing a door to one or both of the rooms next door on either side.

Riley liked both ideas but thought Derek might want to have the doors installed instead. He didn't wear a lot of clothes sometimes. She thought it would be better if there was a separate area for the girls to be when they nursed Precious.

Jesse actually didn't think it was a big deal. It certainly wasn't anything new.

"Look, love, we have all seen Derek naked before." Jesse said.

Claire looked around a little nervously.

"I haven't." Claire said.

The girls all laughed.

"You haven't missed much." Riley said.

The girls all laughed again.

Claire decided to go check on Summer. Hanna went with her.

Riley worked out a schedule with Vanna and Jesse.

Allison didn't want the entire burden to fall on the other girls.

"I can't nurse but I can help." Allison said.

Cam didn't sleep.

"I can take over any other night time duties except feeding." Cam said.

Jesse knew Gail didn't sleep either. Gail wasn't there to ask but she thought that she would assist as well especially when she was there with Precious.

"Gail might help as well." Jesse said.

Riley felt that she'd disrupted some of the Resistance operations previously.

"Savannah and Cammy have tried to assist me too but it seems they are always out and busy." Riley said. "They're able to help whenever they're around."

Vanna could have done without that reminder about Savannah.

"Savannah is in high demand for everything." Vanna said. "Cameron is pushing her too hard."

Allison felt she'd slacked off far too long. She didn't like Savannah to take all the heat.

"Cam, I want you to let Cameron know I want to do more." Allison said. "I want to share some of the burden that Savannah faces daily."

Vanna wanted to be useful elsewhere too.

"I do as well." Vanna said.

Jesse felt a new sense of commitment about everything.

"Me too…." Jesse said.

Riley felt a little guilty about all of it. She actually wondered if combat wouldn't be easier than taking care of Precious.

"I would try as well but now I need to help Precious." Riley said. "I haven't been able to do much the last few months."

Cam was very pleased to hear that all the girls were still in the game.

"I'll let Cameron know." Cam said.

Cam knew Cameron wanted to keep the girls out of harm's way. Cameron was content to keep them barefoot and pregnant and out of any unnecessary danger. She knew that both Vanna and Allison were going to be mothers, sooner than they knew.

She would also mention to Cameron that Jesse seemed as if she were ready to progress to being provided with a child as well. She saw Jesse's instincts come alive as she nurtured Precious. She thought about it a little bit further and realized it wasn't just Jesse's motherly instincts that came alive. It was Jesse herself that came alive.

Claire left the 'girls' behind and went in search of the real girls.

Claire found Jan and Summer being entertained by Bob.

Bob made animal sounds for them for all the animals they could think of.

Jan came up with two creatures that Bob experienced some difficulty with.

"Why can't you do a dragon or a unicorn?" Jan asked.

Claire walked into the room. She thought that she had a good answer for them.

"That's because they're magical." Claire said. "You can only hear them, when you see one in person."

Summer already told Jan earlier what the real story was. She mentioned it again.

"They're 'make believe'." Summer said. "They aren't real."

Everyone looked at Summer and then at Hanna.

Hanna and the Metal girls at the Young residence were instructed by Cameron to make sure the girls there always knew the truth about things. At least the things that Cameron didn't alter.

"What?" Hanna asked. "Cameron wants all the girls to know the truth about everything. That's the way it needs to be."

Claire felt a little differently about children.

"Little girls sometimes need to be a Princess and the Princess needs to have a Prince." Claire said.

Hanna was aware what the destiny was for all of the girls.

"The girls ARE all Princesses and John is their Prince." Hanna said.

Jan giggled.

"John is my brother, silly." Jan said. "He can't be a Prince. He's the King and Cameron is the Queen."

They could all agree that Cameron was the Queen.

Cameron was the Queen Of Hearts….

Ally was behind an old building when she heard the thunder of the motorcycle gang. There were only fifteen bikes in this group and twenty riders. If they continued on their way, there would be no problem. Ally would let them pass and forget about them. She doubted that would happen. The desert biker gangs were known for a lifestyle of drugs and crime. She was aware that some of the bikers were doubled up so that if they encountered any motorists along the way in one of their vehicles, they would be able to terminate the motorist and take their vehicle. It could be sent to a chop shop and stripped and provide money for the gang. Any females would be savagely assaulted before their termination. Some were sold below the boarder.

Ally watched as the first part of the biker group rode on by. Maybe they would all pass and everything would be OK. She tried to remain as concealed as possible given the limited options.

The last five bikes slowed and turned in. Ally saw the other ten bikes slow and turn around.

It looked like it was going to be the hard way.

This isn't what Ally wanted but if they brought the fight to her, she was ready to fight back.

She was on board with the plan that was put into place if this eventuality occurred.

Tell Me The Truth

I know I'm not a whole lot
There's much left to desire
Deep down inside of you
You know there burns a fire

What has happened
Wasn't entirely my fault
Everyone knows what could
Have been the tragic end result

I know you're angry
I'm not the only one to blame
Is this just to hurt me
Or for real and not a game

I can see what's happening
You're doing it in my face
You're hurting me deeply
Making me feel such disgrace

I've seen you alone together
Driven by the hunger of youth
Are you ever going
To tell me the truth

Nobody