Chapter 966

Ambush Them

Claire listened outside of the Command Center. She'd heard Gail receive some targets from John Henry. She was worried Gail was going to be reckless if she went out on her own, alone. She knew Gail wanted to do it to protect Savannah.

She wanted to find some of the Metal girls. She wanted them to go with her. She ran to Ally's room and hoped the Metal girls were in it, they weren't. She headed for Holly's room. She ran around the corner and slammed into what felt like a brick wall but it moved back as she bumped into it. It was only a gentle bump.

It was Bob.

Bob looked around for a threat, especially from behind the direction where Claire came from. He didn't spot anything.

"What's wrong?" Bob asked.

Claire felt flustered. There was a look of extreme frustration on her face.

"I don't know what to do." Claire said.

Bob was able to ascertain there was some type of a problem. He wanted to know what it was in detail. It didn't seem to be an immediate threat. He hadn't received any alerts or warnings.

"Start from the beginning." Bob said. "Tell me everything."

Claire told him what she heard and her concerns for Gail.

Bob quickly understood the seriousness of the situation.

"Follow me." Bob said.

Bob headed back to the Command Center. He found out what he needed from John Henry. He looked down at Claire.

"I'll assist her." Bob said as he removed his hand from her neck. "I don't want you to worry about this."

Claire's eyes widened with fear. She felt she'd just put Bob in danger now.

"Are you going to go alone?" Claire asked.

There was some movement at the door to the Command Center. Three individuals walked in.

"We're going with him." Three voices said at the same time.

Ally, Hanna and Sheila were now in the Command Center.

Two more figures appeared at the door to the Command Center.

"So are we." Two more voices said at the same time.

Cam and Holly were there now as well.

"I think they have it covered." John Henry said as he looked at the Metal girls. "Who notified you?"

The Metal girls all received the same notification at the same time. It was all hands on deck for the female Terminators.

"CamNet…." They all said at the same time.

They all wondered who notified CamNet.

At this point, they all figured it was most likely Savannah or Young Allison.

There was also the possibility that CamNet noticed Claire's concern and decided to act on it as well. There could be other players involved as well. Time would tell.

Young Allison was never one to back away from a challenge, especially if she was the one to create it. She wanted Cammy and Savannah as one team and Anna and her as the other team. There was a rock formation at the park. That would be the objective. The terrain was familiar to Young Allison and Anna. They'd done a lot of hiking on the trails around there and climbed around on the rocks. It should give them an advantage.

Young Allison wanted to see which 'team' could get to the rock formation in the park first. There were two different routes to reach it.

Anna thought the challenge was unnecessary and that they should all stay together. They were stronger as a four member team. It would be easier for them to reinforce each other if some problem developed.

Young Allison decided to push it.

"We have a better team." Young Allison said.

Savannah saw the challenge for what it was. Maybe a lesson could be taught here. Maybe one would be learned. Either way, the challenge needed to be answered.

"We can defeat you." Savannah said.

Cammy didn't think this was a good idea. This was an unnecessary engagement that produced no benefit for either team. She believed like Anna that they should remain together in case some type of altercation occurred. They would be better able to reinforce each other in that situation. Anna or her could engage the threat while the other one removed the girls from the danger zone. That apparently wasn't to be the case in this situation.

The two teams took off on the different routes.

Young Allison wanted to 'win'. It was time for some quick thinking. She needed to gain the advantage and hold it.

"Pick me up and run as fast as you can." Young Allison said to Anna.

Anna saw right away that Young Allison was going to bend the rules, even if none were established. It wasn't quite deceitful since there were no rules. If nothing else it was thinking outside of the box from the start.

"That's cheating." Anna said as she picked Young Allison up and started to run.

Young Allison didn't see how it could be considered cheating. Both teams were evenly matched. Both teams possessed a human and a Terminator. They should be able to use their resources to the fullest. She saw it all differently. She wanted to make sure that Anna understood how she saw it.

"It's called winning." Young Allison said. "I like to 'win'."

She was sure that the other team would come up with some innovative actions as well. She would just have to wait to see what they were.

The cards would need to play out one by one.

Savannah figured Young Allison would try to rig the game in some way. It was time to counteract the ploy and devise a winning strategy. She was sure that there would be some trickery involved with Young Allison's play. It was time for her to think outside of the box and use a little battlefield strategy.

"Cammy, run as fast as you can to the rocks, they're going to cheat." Savannah said. "We will ambush them. Go now. Run there now."

Cammy started out. She didn't like to leave Savannah behind but the area seemed secure for now.

Savannah already devised her own plan. She planned to outmaneuver them.

"I'm going to follow them on their trail." Savannah said as she called out after Cammy.

Savannah started down the trail after Young Allison and Anna. She hoped they wouldn't expect that. She wanted to get Anna and Young Allison trapped between them.

It was a risky strategy but seemed to offer the best hope to defeat the other team.

She knew this was about 'winning' and she liked to 'win'.

She doubted wither team would have a 'clean' win.

Allison was more than a little disturbed about the entire situation that involved Samantha and her request to be Resequenced with her mother's DNA. She wanted to discuss the issue with her mother. She truly understood her mother's concern and anguish. The overall implications as to why it would be necessary were very unsettling to her.

"I need to find my mom and talk to her." Allison said.

Vanna took Allison's hand.

"I think we know where to look." Vanna said. "I'll check."

Allison was glad Vanna was always there when she needed her. That's how it always had been since they were together.

"Thanks." Allison said.

The long time lovers headed out.

They checked the Metal girl's rooms and nobody was in any of them. They called Claire but she didn't answer. They looked at each other and thought that she must be busy somewhere. They wanted to find out where.

Vanna and Allison headed for the Command Center. They immediately entered as soon as they arrived.

"Hi, John Henry." Allison said. "Where's my mom at?"

John Henry observed Vanna and Alison check a number of rooms on the way to the Command Center. He'd anticipated what they were looking for. He didn't know if they were going to like the answer.

"She was with Bob and the Metal girls." John Henry said.

Vanna thought the Command Center looked a little understaffed.

"Where's John?" Vanna asked.

John Henry knew exactly where John was at. He was pretty sure he knew what was happening as well.

"He's 'busy'." John Henry said. "Leave it at that."

Vanna and Allison looked at each other.

"I understand." Vanna said.

Allison began to wonder now about her mother being with the Metal girls. None of them were around. She began to get a 'sick' feeling inside of her.

"Where did the Metal girls go?" Allison asked. "Are they out on a mission?"

John Henry knew this is where the wording would get tricky.

"Yes." John Henry said. "The Metal girls went to back up Gail."

The sick feeling was still inside Allison's gut. She'd hoped for a better answer than that.

"Did my mother go with them?" Allison asked.

John Henry was worried they would get into a game of semantics. He wanted to cut to the chase.

"She went with Bob." John Henry said.

That was no better.

Allison was extremely frustrated by the turn of events. Somehow it made sense to her about her mother's request to have Samantha use her DNA to Resequence herself.

"I can't believe this." Allison said. "She has minimal training. She's going to get hurt. No wonder she wants a Terminator version of herself."

Vanna could see how much this meant to Allison. She wanted to help out.

"I'm going to help her." Vanna said. "You go and check on Summer."

The sick feeling in Allison's gut just got bigger.

"No, Vanna." Allison said. "We'll both go."

Vanna wasn't about to let Allison endanger herself. That wasn't going to happen on her watch.

"You're pregnant." Vanna said. "I'm not. You will stay."

Vanna didn't want Allison to risk herself. She would take the heat instead.

John Henry watched everything unfold. He could see that the situation escalated from the moment that Gail decided to run the mission by herself. It reminded him much of the 'Day Of Loss' as everybody was soon drug into it.

Young Allison hoped to gain the advantage in the challenge.

Anna stopped and set Young Allison down and motioned for her to remain quiet. They hadn't reached the objective yet. Something must be wrong.

"What is it?" Young Allison whispered.

Anna stayed low and indicated the rock formation ahead.

"They're already there." Anna whispered.

Young Allison knew right away that they'd been played.

"They cheated." Young Allison whispered.

Young Allison thought she would pull a 'fast one'. It seemed Cammy and Savannah pulled a 'faster one'. They must have done the same thing.

Anna wanted Young Allison to know that victory wasn't easy.

"You mean they 'won'." Anna whispered.

The game wasn't over yet. They would need to outsmart Cammy and Savannah and retake the position. She planned to lure them into a trap. She figured she would need to devise a sucker play.

"Let's try to ambush them." Young Allison whispered.

Anna looked over at the position Cammy and Savannah occupied. She'd only spotted Cammy so far but assumed that Savannah was with her.

"That will be hard to do." Anna whispered. "They're already there."

Young Allison didn't mind to hit below the belt. The 'enemy' needed to be dealt a fatal blow, not coddled. It was her goal to get them to leave their position on their own. It appeared that method was going to take quite a bit of deception. It was time for a dirty trick.

"I'll call for help to draw them out." Young Allison whispered. "They'll think that I'm injured or hurt."

Anna saw that this was a new low, even for Young Allison. She wanted to point that out.

"That's not ethical." Anna whispered. "It violates the spirit of the game."

There were no rules in dealing with Skynet. They never took prisoners. Not for long anyway.

"We can still win." Young Allison whispered. "It isn't over until I win. It isn't over until we win."

Anna hoped Young Allison wasn't about to make a mistake. It sure seemed like it.

"You need to remember how the game is played to win." Anna whispered.

Young Allison felt as long as they were still in the fight, the game was on. The battlefield was fluid and things rapidly changed at times. It was time to improvise, adapt and overcome.

"We're changing the rules." Young Allison whispered.

Anna warned Young Allison again.

"They can too." Anna whispered.

Young Allison heard her but thought her plan of deception was a good one.

"Get ready to move off behind those rocks." Young Allison whispered. "Follow my lead."

Young Allison went forward with her plan.

Anna was sure Young Allison was about to learn a lesson, not teach one.

She figured this was a good time for Young Allison to learn any negative lessons. This wasn't a real battlefield and there were no real weapons. Everything about the situation was unpredictable from the start. There were no rules for either team. She wasn't sure if Young Allison understood that. They would find out soon enough what awaited them.

Samantha concluded the meeting with Derek and Riley. She was now in standby. She sat in the corner of the room with the crib. Precious was in it.

Derek glanced over at Samantha. She was just sitting there with her eyes closed. She was the help that Riley seemed to need to stop disrupting everyone's lives. He was aware that everyone was more than willing to help. He appreciated that help but he also understood that everybody had their own life to live. He knew the help would be there as long as it was needed. He didn't want to abuse that help.

He walked over to Riley and faced her. He wanted to make his position clear.

"I want you to have help." Derek said. "You need some help. You need more than I can do."

Riley felt as insecure as she did embarrassed. She felt like a failure, not only as a mother but as a person. It wasn't a good feeling.

"I want that too." Riley said. "I don't know why this is so hard for me."

Derek didn't want personal pride or his past to get in the way of the future. The future was Precious. She needed to come first before everything. He needed to try new things to make it work. He was willing to do that.

"Precious comes before any feelings or misgivings I have." Derek said. "I want to be the best parent. We have people and machines here who want to help us."

Precious started to cry in her crib.

Riley got up but didn't go to Precious. She stopped on the way there. She went no further. She began to sob.

It became clear Riley wasn't going to go to Precious.

Derek looked at Riley and went himself.

Samantha was already up and tending to Precious when he arrived.

She glanced at Derek and explained what she was doing. Samantha explained she possessed all the knowledge of the children that were raised by the Resistance in this timeline and the other futures Cameron visited. She also contained an extensive pediatric database.

Derek knew if Samantha was able to nurse Precious, she would make a very good mother. That was one function she was incapable of.

Riley collected herself and came in and asked to take over from Samantha.

Samantha started to explain things to Riley.

Riley cut her off in mid-sentence and told Samantha she was in control and she could go back into standby.

Samantha cleaned up and went back into standby.

Derek was unsure why Riley acted that way. It seemed rude and hurtful. There must be some other issue here that he missed. Now he wondered if he'd caused it. He wanted to get to the bottom of the problem. He wanted to get all of it fixed.

"Riley, work with her. She can help you and assist you with everything." Derek said.

Riley saw the way Derek looked at Samantha, she was beautiful. She felt she wasn't. She felt like a mess before and after she gave birth. Now she felt jealous.

"Maybe we should leave her on all the time." Riley said. "Maybe she could help you with a few 'other things' too. She won't ever be tired or have a headache and will be available every day of the month for you. She can do all the things you like and want. She won't have aches and pains or any other little problems. She'll be good to go until her power cell runs out."

Derek saw the jealousy for what it was. Maybe he'd checked Samantha out a little too much. There was a deeper issue here that needed to be addressed. This was about Precious. He didn't want to get into an argument with Riley about this. He wanted Riley to get past her tunnel vision and look at the overall picture.

"Stop this." Derek said. "Cameron's trying to help you. She's trying to help us. She wants what's best for Precious like we both do. I don't want you to feel bad about yourself. I don't want you to disrespect Samantha and Cameron by extension."

Riley felt like she was trapped. There was nowhere to go and everything was overwhelming. She wanted to scream but wasn't quite sure why. She spoke rashly.

"I want to give Precious away." Riley said. "If Cameron won't take her, Vanna will. If she won't, Jesse will. I can't deal with any of this anymore. I don't know what to do. I really don't know what to do."

Derek could tell Riley was about to snap. In fact she may already have. It sure sounded like it. He didn't agree with her at all. He didn't want to chastise her or argue with her about it. He wanted her to hear herself.

"Riley, listen to yourself." Derek said. "This is a miracle baby we have. It is OUR daughter that YOU gave birth to."

Riley felt defeated. Her whole body slumped.

"I don't know what to do." Riley said.

Derek went to Riley and held her. He wanted to comfort and reassure her.

"Samantha will HELP you." Derek said. "I'll help you. Cameron will help you. Vanna will help you. They all will help you. Help is a good thing. Sometimes it's nice to have help."

Riley heard everything that Derek said. She knew it was all true. She still couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by it all. She didn't understand why it was also hard for her. It didn't seem this hard for any of the other females. They all knew what to do and how to do it.

Cammy watched Anna and Young Allison. She'd arrived at the objective only seconds ago. The other team was almost there. She beat them but she was only half of the team. It wasn't a victory yet until Savannah joined her.

Anna spotted Cammy as she ducked down.

Cammy moved to a new position and saw Young Allison was alone. She looked around. She figured Anna would try to flank her.

She searched for Anna around and behind her. Young Allison still openly approached her.

Young Allison let out a loud gasp and fell to the ground.

Cammy figured this was a ploy but if it wasn't, Young Allison could be injured. Anna was away from Young Allison and probably moving in behind her position.

She didn't like the way any of this played out. There was no way to tell what was real and what wasn't.

Cammy calculated the time. She would make a direct approach on Young Allison's position to draw attention or hostile fire if there was any in a real scenario.

"Allison." Cammy called as she approached. "I'm coming."

Anna was nowhere to be seen.

Cammy approached Young Allison.

Young Allison quickly rolled over.

"Zap." Young Allison said. "You're deactivated."

Cammy used this same tactic at the old helicopter base. She should have seen that coming. She was aware Young Allison studied every report, incident and battle.

Cammy lay down on the ground. He was dissatisfied about the recent turn of events but needed to follow the rules. Had it been a real scenario, she would have been Tasered and deactivated.

'Where is Savannah?' Young Allison wondered as she looked at the rocks.

Young Allison simulated removing Cammy's chip.

Cammy watched her but said nothing. She needed to play the part.

"Anna." Young Allison said. "I got Cammy. Let's go get Savannah."

Anna didn't come.

Young Allison looked worried as she looked around.

She looked behind some rocks and Anna was lying there. She looked a little confused at first.

Anna could see that Young Allison didn't get it yet.

"I'm deactivated." Anna said.

Young Allison was about to respond when a new voice interrupted her thoughts.

"And you're dead." Savannah said.

Young Allison spun around.

"You got me." Young Allison said.

Savannah walked up and hugged her.

Cammy and Anna got up off the ground and joined them.

Young Allison didn't like the 'counter punch'.

"Tell me where I went wrong." Young Allison said.

She would listen and make changes for the next time.

Savannah wanted to make clear what the root problem was.

"You went wrong by starting an unnecessary action." Savannah said. "It served no purpose and didn't accomplish anything."

Cammy thought the entire operation was misguided and lacked proper direction.

"You didn't have enough intel as to what the hostile forces were up to and where they were located." Cammy said. "You walked into an ambush."

Anna felt that everything went bad from the moment when Young Allison cheated.

"You were overconfident and didn't listen." Anna said. "I warned you they could change the rules too."

Young Allison wondered if Anna could have given her a better warning.

"Did you know this would happen?" Young Allison asked. "I mean happen the way it did."

Anna didn't foresee this situation. She didn't expect to be 'surrounded'.

"I didn't anticipate this scenario." Anna said. "The battlefield is fluid. I was careless and hadn't made plans to deal with the enemy behind us."

Young Allison still held a few cards. It was time to play one. She planned ahead for just such an eventuality.

"What about the Mike Force?" Young Allison asked. "They are two of our Detail from the house. The ones that have us covered right now. You were all ambushed. We still win."

Savannah wanted to smile but didn't.

There was a lesson to be taught and learned here.

Savannah played one of her cards.

"Were we?" Savannah asked. "I need you to show yourselves now."

Two of the Detail emerged from the bushes.

"Is that your Mike Force?" Savannah asked.

Young Allison didn't like the way things played out. Those weren't the two from her Detail that she'd drafted into service. It appeared that Savannah had done the same thing.

"No." Young Allison said.

One of the Detail spoke. He wanted Young Allison to know what the fate of her Mike force was

"They were terminated." One said. "Savannah's team is the victor."

The other two members of the Detail emerged. They'd been ambushed by the other two in the Detail without warning. They didn't know that Savannah drafted the other two after Young Allison drafted them.

"I'm sorry, we were terminated." The other said.

It was a sobering thought for Young Allison to see everything on the ground play out the way that it did.

"I still have much 'on the ground' experience to learn." Young Allison said. "I'm glad I didn't make these mistakes over the last few days."

Young Allison saw that Cammy and Savannah apparently played all of their cards. Savannah anticipated her every move and counteracted it. From the moment of the challenge, Savannah played her.

Savannah was aware that Young Allison didn't make these mistakes when it actually mattered.

"So am I." Savannah said. "I would be dead otherwise. You'll learn. We'll all teach you. Help is a good thing. Sometimes it's nice to have help."

Savannah didn't think Young Allison looked too upset about the way things played out. That bothered her a little too. She was aware how everything on the ground played out. She would have to review everything from the start to the finish again.

You Can't Kill Me

I know you have thought of it
By my choice without any guarantee
I've given you the opportunity
You can't kill me

It would kill you to kill me
To make me leave or go
I've had the chance to end you too
I gave that idea a veto

One can no longer exist
Without the other one
It has become a symbiotic relationship
Through time itself it can't be undone

My feelings and your feelings
Are now what control our destiny
What will be the price to pay
What will be the inevitable penalty

We know there won't be a termination
There's one thing we both can agree
I can't kill you
You can't kill me

Nobody