Chapter 1194

Main Event

Steve headed towards the target structure. He'd gone through two properties and over the fences of each one. He crossed one more small street and entered another property. He slowly moved up to the rear fence and looked over. There was an alley that separated him from the target property. He carefully checked for any surveillance cameras that would spot his next move. He would need to cross the alley and go over the fence to reach the target structure.

Tom was on the street the target structure faced. He was currently across the street. He carefully checked for any surveillance cameras which might pick up his next move. He noticed the building directly across from the target structure did have security cameras. They weren't pointed in the direction to pick up his movements as he approached the building. They were pointed across the street at the target structure. They were set to pick up anyone who actually approached the target structure. He checked behind him again at the last two structures he'd passed. There were no surveillance cameras on them that he could detect. So far he believed he'd remained undetected.

He contacted CamNet and let her know what the current situation was. CamNet was able to pick up the signal from the two security cameras and loop them with a continuous feed. He was instructed to continue his approach. Based upon the two surveillance cameras, it was clear they were at the right place.

Steve did an additional check around the alley area. He wanted to see if he'd missed anything. He didn't think so. He checked both directions and in front of him two more times. He moved to his position to the other side of the property he was currently in and checked again. He decided to check the utility poles in the alley. Normally those were controlled by a municipality or a private utility. It still wouldn't stop someone from installing a device on them. He zoomed in on the two utility poles on either side of the target structure. The second utility pole on the east side appeared to have a security camera. He forwarded the information to CamNet.

CamNet was unable to detect the camera. No signal could be picked up. Since it overlooked the rear of the property, it presented a major problem.

Holly walked towards the bank of elevators. The one closest to her opened without her touching anything. The rest of the group saw her enter the elevator. She held the elevator door for the rest of them to enter.

"Deck five please." Cameron said.

Holly looked at Cameron for a second. She wondered why she just didn't push the button herself. She started to reach for it when the button lit up by itself. The elevator doors started to close.

Before the elevator doors closed, they saw Gail appear and look over the railing down into the atrium where they were headed.

The elevator started on its way down.

They passed deck six.

The elevator doors opened one floor lower and they exited onto deck five.

Derek was surprised to see more food.

"There are more eating areas down here too?" Derek asked.

Riley spotted the food counters off to one side.

"It looks like a pastry shop and coffee shop too." Riley said.

There was a lounge, eating area and of course the obligatory bars. There seemed to be one or more on all the non cabin decks. There were two of them on opposite sides of the atrium. There were plenty of opportunities available for the passengers to partake in a little alcoholic refreshment.

Cameron wondered about the frequency of lounges with bars. She knew there weren't any on the passenger decks. She was pretty sure if a few interior cabins were converted into a lounge on each of those decks near the elevators, they would see plenty of business. If they were set up as 'bathrobe friendly' she thought they would do a lot of business with passengers who didn't want to get dressed and go to one of the other establishments.

She didn't condone the use of alcohol by anyone. She saw it as nothing more than another drug. She actually viewed it as a legal gateway drug to illegal drugs. Her observation was once people started on a journey of that nature, it never ended well. She was very surprised at the number of people who took the journey and thought they could control it. The majority of them couldn't. They all paid a price in the end. The price itself came in many different forms. She pushed those thoughts out of her mind and concentrated on her group.

Cameron wanted to give them some advice for tomorrow morning. There were several breakfast options available to them.

"If you don't do room service for breakfast, I recommend you start down here and get your specialty coffee and pastry." Cameron said. "You can then take them up to the buffet where there will be a selection of breakfast foods. After the buffet you can go to the main dining room for a luxury sit down style breakfast. It will be high quality food like you ate for dinner. The dress code is always casual for breakfast."

Derek added those new options to his plans. Things just seemed to get better every second. He planned to make the most of it. It sounded as if breakfast tomorrow would consist of four parts. There would be at least four different eating venues, including his suite.

"I think I'll do all of those after my room service breakfast." Derek said.

Riley felt embarrassed for Derek. She thought it seemed like an excessive amount of food. She didn't plan to eat at all of those places herself.

"Derek!" Riley said.

Derek looked over at Riley and shrugged his shoulders. He didn't think it was a big deal. It seemed like part of the experience to him. Why would they have so many options if they didn't want people to use them?

Kyle was going to chime in but Sarah stopped him. She didn't want any hard feelings, even in jest. Cameron provided them with a special treat with the trip. She was very thankful. It wasn't often when she could feel a little less on edge. She'd been in the fanciest restaurant ever for her. She'd been to and what amounted to two concerts. Both of them delivered excellent music. She wondered if the cruise could actually make her feel relaxed. It certainly had given her more than a few bright spots.

"This is all really nice, Cameron." Sarah said. "I really appreciate this. Our daughter will be here tomorrow. I think she'll like it too."

Cameron looked at Sarah and smiled. She thought Sarah would like it more tomorrow when Jan could be there with them.

She wanted to remind Sarah and Kyle there would be other things for Jan to do as well if they wanted some additional privacy.

"There will be plenty of things for Jan and Summer to do at all times of the day and night." Cameron said. "Holly and the others look forward to be able to watch over them and assist you."

John thought about everything he'd heard, seen and done since he arrived on the ship. He agreed with his mother. It wasn't something he often did. In this case he agreed with her one hundred percent. He remembered all the things Savannah told him about the cruise line itself. It was still a little hard for him to believe. There he was on the ship. He was in the fanciest suite it had to offer. He waved his hand around in a slow circle. He looked at Sarah.

"Cameron owns all of this." John said.

Cameron knew it wasn't actually correct. CamNet bought the cruise line with funds that were confiscated from the Syndicate and the Cartel. At this point it made her wonder what else CamNet acquired on her own and was now the owner of. It would be something she would need to look into after the cruise. She might need to clandestinely solicit Savannah's help to find out.

She was sure CamNet wouldn't lie to Savannah and pretty sure CamNet would lie to her. She didn't know it, but she suspected it. Maybe it was because she would lie to CamNet if she needed to and didn't want to get into a tiff with CamNet. She already knew what a Bitch she could be. Her experience so far indicated CamNet wasn't very different from her. It seemed to be another case where the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

Cameron wanted to set the record straight.

"CamNet owns it actually." Cameron said. "I didn't know about it until afterwards."

It was news Sarah could have done without. It seemed CamNet could become like Skynet without too much difficulty. Then again maybe it was what was needed to keep Skynet down. It seemed to have worked so far. She wondered if there was anyone who could actually control CamNet at this point if it decided to take a different path. It didn't seem like a good time to ask. She enjoyed where she currently was. She didn't want to create any waves.

Kyle heard where the money came from to buy it. He wanted to make sure. He thought it was a bold move.

"This was all bought with money CamNet took from the Syndicate and the Cartel." Kyle said. "I bet they're still trying to figure it out."

Cameron smiled. She didn't even know how many billions CamNet confiscated or erased from existence. Sometimes it was easier for CamNet just to make things disappear. She could always make them reappear when she wanted them back.

"Yes." Cameron said. "A very small portion of it I can say. She hit both of them where it hurt them the most, in their pocketbooks."

She didn't tell them it was Young Allison's idea to bring down the Syndicate because of the 'run in' the Metal girls experienced with the Syndicate casino in Las Vegas. They didn't need to know about the hundreds, if not thousands, of deaths associated with the Syndicate and the Cartels being pitted against each other. She didn't know Young Allison contacted CamNet directly and told her to finish both of them off. Young Allison wanted all their funds and holdings taken away. She also wanted hits on all the top figures within both organizations at every level. She'd once heard if you cut the head off of a chicken, the rest of it dies too. It seemed like there were a lot of heads to cut off.

Riley looked around and up to the top of the atrium to take in its full grandeur.

"Hey, Gail is up there looking down at us." Riley said.

She made sure she didn't point.

Kyle casually looked around and then glanced up. He noticed Gail was a deck lower now.

"It's not where she was a while ago." Kyle said.

Cameron decided on where they would go once they were done there. The casino was on deck six where Gail was at.

"She is on deck six now. That's where we'll go next." Cameron said.

Sarah spotted the library. There was sign over the door. She was actually a little surprised to see one.

"There's a library in the corner there." Sarah said as she pointed. "It looks closed now."

Cameron didn't think it was. It was only because no one was there.

"Your room key will open any door on the ship and grant you access anywhere." Cameron said. "All you have to do is show it and there are no questions asked."

Riley spotted some computers in another room by the library.

"I see a computer room." Riley said.

CamNet went through every data transaction on the ship before it left the ship for a satellite connection. It was to avoid any surprises or anyone tracking the team. Any photos someone tried to upload to social media or the cloud were all scanned and scrubbed if necessary. It hadn't proved necessary so far.

"That's the 'Internet Café'." Cameron said. "Passengers can use it or their own devices and go through the network to stay connected to the world. It wasn't quite so sophisticated a few years ago."

Cameron noted it was a complaint in some of the reviews. A few years back cell phones didn't work on cruise ships. People could actually disconnect from the world and not be tied to their phones like they normally were. They could experience what it was like to get away from it all and enjoy their vacation. Everything was different now. Technology caught up with the cruise industry.

Riley wondered about the casino. She'd never really been in one.

"After this are we going to the casino?" Riley asked.

Cameron thought she'd made it clear.

"Yes." Cameron said.

Holly moved back toward the elevator bank.

Derek looked over where Holly was and noticed something beyond her.

"Is that another restaurant back there past the elevators?" Derek asked.

Cameron looked to where he indicated.

"That's the 'anytime dining' dining room." Cameron said.

Derek wondered what it was. It seemed like 'anytime' to him right now. He wondered what was on their menu.

"How is it different from our dining room?" Derek asked.

Cameron thought it was a good dining arrangement for people who didn't want to adhere to a specific time. It actually gave them greater flexibility with their daily schedule as far as events went on the ship.

"It's for passengers without reservations like we have. They don't need to show up at a set time or sit at a specific table." Cameron said. "It's the same food we eat in a more relaxed atmosphere."

Cameron noticed John look at the glass cases full of pastries and light snacks. He headed over to them.

John went over and looked at some of the pastries. There was quite a selection. There were also salads, sandwiches and various dessert items. It was located right next to the coffee shop. He spotted something right away he wanted from the coffee shop.

"Does anyone want to split one of the pastries with me?" John asked. "I want to get a hot chocolate to drink with it too."

It sounded good to Kyle.

"I will." Kyle said.

Cameron wanted them to all share a bite.

"We can all get some." Cameron said. "You can each try a bite of the different ones. It will be more fun that way. You can see which ones you like the best. Many of them change every day. Some of them are the same type with a different filling or topping on them."

Riley spotted one she liked. She'd become fascinated with any cake, pastry or donuts with chocolate frosting. It was her most favorite thing after ice cream.

"Look at the chocolate icing on that one." Riley said as she pointed at a pastry. "I want that one."

Everyone started to pick out a pastry and order a drink from the coffee shop. The coffee shop was more of a counter. It ran a short distance. There was an area to sit down at the end of it.

Holly moved away from the elevators. It looked like they were going to be down there for a little while. She looked up to deck six and Gail was gone. She wondered where she was off to.

Steve was given instructions to avoid the rear of the target structure. There was no signal CamNet could find. The security camera may have a direct feed into the structure itself.

He went back out through the front of the property he was currently in. He quickly moved along the small street he was on. When he reached the intersection, he moved down the side street. He crossed over the alley and didn't look down it. He reached the street the target structure faced. He began his approach up against the buildings on the same side of the street where the target structure was located.

Tom watched Steve come around the corner. He would need to pass by three other buildings before he reached the target structure. He moved across the front of the building with the two redirected security cameras.

He checked the other two buildings on the other side of the building with the security cameras. No more security cameras were detected. He was now directly across from Steve on the other side of the street.

It appeared someone purposely left any surveillance cameras off of the building itself they wanted to investigate. It was clear they wanted someone to think there was no surveillance so they would approach the building.

Tom quickly crossed over the street and joined with Steve. They were now two buildings to the west side of the target structure.

Sheila still sported a far off 'excited look' of a schoolgirl who just found a new treasure in life.

"We all did it." Sheila said.

Ally checked her files.

"It sure seems like it." Ally said.

Sheila was able to build on Jesse's past experiences. She built on the positive experiences. There were only a few of those. Most of them were very negative.

"I used some of Jesse's memories of a love experience and overlaid John on them." Sheila said. "They're my memories now. I finished twice too. We did everything…."

Ally needed to work a little harder.

"I did the same thing." Ally said. "Mine were just Allison's breeding sex, not love. I needed to fix it with an overlay of Allison's love for Vanna."

Hanna's took even more effort.

"I needed to use what Claire told me about being with Paul. Vanna has no good memories of being touched by a male. None of them were by choice." Hanna said. "I used an encounter Vanna experienced through submission. I used Vanna's love for Allison. Mine still hurt at first. I think I'm still sore…."

Since Sheila created her own reality, she wanted more.

"I want to do it again." Sheila said. "Cameron doesn't deserve to hog John all to herself. Now that we've been with him, we should be with him more. Cameron can learn share a little."

Ally wanted them to use caution. She didn't want a false reality to become an actual reality. There was a big difference, even if it didn't seem like it.

"Be careful." Ally said. "Even though it seems real to all of us now, it wasn't. I don't think it was anyway, was it?"

The smile on Sheila's face said it all.

"Mine was real." Sheila said. "It was real to me."

Sheila looked like she was on 'cloud nine'.

Hanna was afraid Sheila was going to take it too far. She seemed to have a way of doing it with a lot of things. It didn't matter if it was pleasure or pain.

"She's going to do it for real." Hanna said. "Look at her."

Ally knew what all three of them did to cope with what Cameron wanted from them. It was a way for them to feel less trauma as Cameron took something special away from them. They wanted it to already have happened, even if it was only in their minds.

"This is all Cameron's fault." Ally said. "This is what Sheila's doing instead of glitching. She created her own reality. She really believes it now too."

Sheila looked at Ally and frowned. She didn't like Ally to doubt her.

"It was real." Sheila said.

Hanna was able to separate the truth from the fantasy.

"It was for all of us." Hanna said. "It 's what we needed to do to allow Cameron to abuse our chassis."

Sheila slipped further into her fantasy. It could become violent the longer she believed it.

"When Cameron comes for me tonight, I'm going to use my Taser on her and stick a shocker on her. I'm going in as 'Cameron' in my sheath and be with John tonight, again. It's going to be really me instead of her in MY chassis." Sheila said. "I may even claim John if he can do as good the second time as he did on the first time."

Hanna and Ally looked at each other. There wasn't a 'first time'. The 'first time' wasn't even real. It was all manufactured in Sheila's mind.

Sheila was out of control. She could unleash a lot of damage in a short time if she went bad.

What her actions were going to be next was anyone's guess.

Gail looked down over the others on deck five in the atrium from deck six. It appeared they were going to be busy for a while. There was a lot of noise behind her. It came from the casino. She moved through the casino and looked for any threats. None were spotted.

She would do a check of all the machines and see if any of them were rigged. She would also watch the dealers and make sure there was no bottom of the deck dealing. She didn't think CamNet would want the passengers to be cheated. She remembered what it was like in Las Vegas….

Las Vegas was where she'd first made love with Savannah…. The way she saw it, she was one of the few people who left Las Vegas a winner. She believed she'd hit the ultimate jackpot.

Gail used the pause in watching over the group to relive her adventures with Savannah. The culmination of which was them making love in Las Vegas. She believed it was her most treasured memory. It was at least equal to her first encounter with Duplicate Jesse, she was her first love.

She felt a twinge of sadness as she thought about Duplicate Jesse. She knew she was alive in River's future but it didn't really seem to matter. She wasn't there with her. It was like she was still dead, even if she wasn't. She remembered Cameron told her. She could live her life out there with Jesse and Savannah. Once they'd reached the end of their life span, she could go to River's future and live her life again with Duplicate Jesse. She could arrive minutes after Duplicate Jesse did. For Duplicate Jesse, it would literally be minutes after she'd last seen her in the past. She could reset her files and it would literally be the same amount of time for her. They could resume their relationship without even a bump in the road. It would just be five hundred years in the future. It was a very enticing prospect.

Savannah watched Cam and Cammy with each other. It was her favorite thing to watch. It started out with them kissing and quickly spread out from there. Even if she didn't participate, she could watch Cam and Cammy together all night. She would probably need to touch herself and then join them. She could only watch something so HOT for so long.

It always sparked a high level of arousal and excitement in Savannah.

"I can't take it anymore." Savannah said. "I'm tagging myself in."

Savannah climbed in between them.

Cammy rotated her position around one hundred eighty degrees so her head was back up by Cam's and Savannah's head.

Savannah was in the middle. They both started to work on her from each side. They did exactly the same things, the same way, at the same time on a different side.

It was always a thrill for Savannah. They were doing the total sensory experience like Cam performed earlier. This time there were two of them doing it. There were four hands and two mouths all at the same time. They could work many different parts of her body simultaneously.

It was heaven….

Samantha came out of a fifteen minute interval of standby. She was disappointed to see Vanna and Allison still asleep. Allison was curled up against Vanna now and the sheet covered most of both of them.

She verified they were both asleep before she fully opened her eyes. She checked on Precious. Everything was fine. She was sleeping soundly.

Samantha was about to go back into standby. She didn't want to disturb Vanna or Allison because they looked so peaceful resting. She thought about heading over to see if Savannah was available or Jesse and Claire. It was late. Maybe she'd better not.

She checked Precious again and moved the sheet a little higher on Vanna. Allison hogged a little more of it than she needed to.

Samantha ran over her options again. She really wanted to be with Savannah. She was about to leave to go search for her.

Precious stirred.

Her duty to serve Precious outweighed her desires. She couldn't 'forget' her function. Riley was counting on her. This was what she did every night anyway.

Samantha checked Precious again and then went back into standby.

John Henry checked all his monitors and updated with his server for anything else he may have missed. There was nothing. He didn't check with CamNet. She would be watching him soon enough.

He headed out. He decided to check on Claire and Jesse first. He approached their room and listened. It was quiet. They were sleeping. He was aware Jesse was usually with her partner several times in the night. Sometimes she would visit more than one room. There were times when he wondered how much sleep she was actually able to get during the night.

Claire and Jesse needed to rest up for tomorrow. It would be a long day for both of them. It would be several long days for both of them.

He moved away from the door and moved to Summer's room to listen. He wasn't sure what Cammy actually did in there earlier but figured he knew. He'd watched Cameron do it with Savannah for years. The other Metal girls helped her out when she was away or damaged.

It sounded very quiet in there. He could only detect one person sleeping by the sounds he could hear. Maybe one of them was using the restroom. He decided not to check. He didn't want to have to explain his presence in the room of two young ladies to anyone. He would hate to have to face Sarah and Claire as angry mothers. He moved on.

He approached the junction between turning towards Savannah's room or Riley's room. He decided to see if anything was happening in Riley's room first. He didn't want anyone to come out from Riley's room and find him at Savannah's door.

It was quiet inside Riley's room. He thought about checking on Precious again but decided not to. He didn't want to startle Vanna or Allison if they woke up and spotted him. He was pretty sure if either one of them had access to a firearm, they would open up on him. They'd both told him a lot of bad things happened at night with males.

It was time for the 'main event'.

He headed for Savannah's room.

He could hear them before he was even to the door. Cammy purposely left it open slightly. He moved one eye to the opening. Savannah's nude back was to him. She stood looking down at her bed. He couldn't see her hands. They were in front of her. Cammy and Cam were on the bed and with each other.

He concentrated on both of them. He tried to determine which one was which. They were in the same position but at a hundred and eighty degrees from each other. They both did the same exact things, the same way, at the same time.

"I can't take it anymore." Savannah said. "I'm tagging myself in."

John Henry backed up a little from the door in case he needed to flee.

Savannah joined Cammy and Cam. Cammy moved back from the reverse position she was in on top Cam. They both started in on Savannah.

John Henry hoped Savannah could spend more nights like this instead of being drug around by Cameron into constant danger. She deserved better than Cameron's endless battles.

He felt his 'proximity sensor' give a twinge. He quickly looked around. It was a new device he wanted to try out. There was no one there. He moved to the junction of the hallway and looked, it was clear. He looked towards Riley's room and it was quiet. He moved back to Savannah's room and watched some more. He realized the door was open slightly more than it seemed to be earlier. He wondered if he'd bumped it when he hurried to check around him earlier.

He thought he felt his 'proximity sensor' again. He spotted no one. He decided to return to his area in the Command Center and run a full diagnostic. The front of his pants were stretched enough as it was.

He decided to go back the other way. It was opposite from the direction he'd come.

He planned to scan for Liquid Metal when he plugged back in.

It seemed he'd encountered something, but nothing was there.

Steve and Tom talked over what they'd uncovered so far. They were pretty sure at this point the building was connected to the Fanatics. It appeared they wanted someone to approach the building and enter it. Past experience indicated there was usually some type of explosive device or booby trap associated with the buildings the Fanatics controlled.

They decided to enter the property next to the target structure. They moved along the side of the structure until they were halfway down. They looked for any additional security cameras. None were spotted

"I don't like the current situation." Steve said.

Tom didn't either.

"The approach to the building is too easy." Tom said.

They were sure at this point the Command Center would advise them on something different. If the Young bunker were involved, there would probably be a drone strike against the building. It would most likely consist of a missile being dropped on top of the building like a bomb. There was no feedback from the Command Center or the Young bunker. Neither one of them was part of the operation.

They were instructed to proceed to investigate the target structure. They would need to keep the building between them and the surveillance camera mounted on the utility pole. It would prevent them from going around to the rear of the structure or going up on the roof.

They weren't left with very many options at this point.

They decided to go over the wall and approach the target structure from the side. The building itself would block them from being picked up by the surveillance camera on the utility pole.

Young Allison drifted in and out of sleep. She was very troubled by what Cameron planned to do. Twice she'd dreamt Cameron tried to take control of her body. Both times she woke up and the room was empty. She was left with a very uneasy feeling about herself. Her Model 66 and Taser were in her hands both times. She kept them close. They were usually on the nightstand next to her bed. Sometimes one of them was under her pillow.

She decided to check around the house. She wondered what Anna was doing.

Anna lay completely motionless. She saw a foot come down in front of her. It was followed by a second one.

The feet moved away slowly and silently.

She listened to hear what was happening. She heard the door open very quietly.

Normally she would stay where she was during an interruption like this. This time was different. It appeared Young Allison went to search for something. She needed to move.

She carefully slid out from under the far side of Young Allison's bed. The room was empty. She quietly stood and headed for the door. She looked over at the night stand by Young Allison's bed. Her Taser and Model 66 were both gone. It meant Young Allison was armed and carrying them. Maybe she was searching for an active target. She now began to wonder if she'd missed something.

While Young Allison was dreaming, she'd heard her plead with Cameron not to take something from her. She said, 'It belongs to Savannah.' She wasn't sure what she was talking about. She was unaware Young Allison was in possession of anything of Savannah's.

It was the moment when Anna hit the floor and went under the bed. It was clear Young Allison was about to wake up then.

Anna was at the door now and listened. It was quiet and dark. She used her thermal vision to detect where Young Allison went. Waking up from a nightmare and armed, Young Allison would be jumpy.

She needed to slip back down into the bunker unobserved if she could. There were no heat signatures on the floor. She didn't see Young Allison put slippers on. She was unsure which direction she'd gone.

Suddenly, Anna felt she was being hunted. Maybe Young Allison spotted her. Maybe she didn't know it was her. What if she thought it was someone else? Now she needed to wonder if she would be shot or Tasered.

Maybe she should call out to Young Allison. Then again, it's what the enemy would do. If she tried to find Young Allison or avoid her, Young Allison would perceive both things as an 'attack'. Young Allison wasn't known for 'half measures'. She acted decisively and with maximum force.

If Young Allison couldn't find her, she may sound the alarm. How was she going to explain it to everyone?

Anna decided to try to reach the bunker and plug in. She at least needed to check the security monitors to see if she could spot Young Allison.

Wait.

Maybe it's what Young Allison was doing right now. Young Allison would see she'd gone into her room and come out after she had. Young Allison would know she must have been hiding in her room. She would want to know why.

It wasn't a good thought on any level.

Anna was very worried now.

She hoped CamNet would 'protect' her. Then again, CamNet was loyal to Young Allison. Anything could happen at this point.

Main Event

When there's resistance
Some seek to circumvent
Such actions may cause trouble
They may make another resent

It doesn't take much
To create a big dent
It hard to straighten things out
Once they're bent

It's easier said than done
For one to reform or repent
It's simpler in the first place
If the trouble they prevent

Think hard and fast
Before one's love is spent
The path it leads to
May be filled with torment

Try to fathom the extent
Of what everything has meant
Is there any way to augment
What plays out as the main event

Nobody