Chapter 1199
Tipping Point
Holly left the casino. She needed to check on Sheila for Cammy. She also wanted to check on her for herself. She made her way to the elevator and headed for the suite Jim told her Sheila, Gail and Ally went to. She wasn't sure how far things may have progressed or deteriorated. Whatever it was, it didn't sound good.
She thought about going to check in with Jim first. She didn't think she would gain any more information than she already possessed about the situation. Since the suite was located before the private area for the special suites, she decided to enter the smaller suite first. She didn't know if time would be critical.
As soon as she opened the door she could hear the ocean outside and feel the sea breeze. There was a rush of cool air past her into the hallway from the room. It grew quite strong. She figured the balcony door must be wide open. She wondered why. None of the Metal girls needed fresh air. She'd noted earlier when the balcony door was wide open and the room door was open, there was always a rush of air. Usually it came from the open balcony door. Sometimes it came from the hall and went out the open balcony door. It wasn't always consistent. It was always strong enough to notice in either direction.
Gail told her Sheila may think she was Jesse. Jesse would want to take in the fresh ocean breeze. Maybe it was the reason.
There was what looked like a towel lying on the floor in front of the bathroom door. Maybe one of them took a shower. She wondered why it was dark colored. She picked it up. It was a dress. It was Sheila's dress.
She now wondered if the girls were sharing with each other out on the balcony. She thought it would be very special. Maybe when Allison was on board they would try it if Allison was 'on board' with it, so to speak. It may or may not happen. She missed Allison. Cammy previously told her Allison was fine and asleep when she'd checked on Vanna and Precious. Everyone always worried about the ones they loved. She was no different.
A small frown touched Holly's face with the thought.
Allison was with her true mate. Her true mate was Vanna.
Holly was sure her days as a 'placeholder' were over.
It wasn't something she liked, but it was something she understood. It took awhile for her to understand it and even longer for her to accept it. It was something she'd witnessed with her own eyes all along. It just took a long time for reality to sink in.
There was some noise out on the balcony. It brought her back to now.
She spotted the three of them on the wide balcony.
Holly headed towards the balcony as she tried to take in the scene before her. It was one of the most bizarre things she'd ever personally witnessed.
Sheila stood on the balcony railing wearing only her high heels and jewelry. She was completely naked otherwise. It looked very dangerous. She wondered what was below Sheila besides the water if she fell overboard. It seemed like some type of malfunction as opposed to Sheila just trying to show off. If Sheila fell overboard and was sucked through the ship's propellers, she would be terminated.
Much to her disbelief, Sheila now tried to balance herself with only one high heel on the railing. It looked very unstable.
Ally and Gail both spoke to Sheila.
The ship moved up and down very gently. There was a little side to side motion.
Sheila put her other food down on the balcony railing. She widened her stance. It looked like she was about to offer Gail 'something'. Maybe it was Ally who would get the treat. It was probably both of them. Sheila didn't like half measures.
Holly headed for the balcony to try to see what she could do to help.
The ship hit a big swell or a small rogue wave. It caused a jolt.
There was enough motion from the force of impact to cause Sheila to lose her balance. Her body teetered back and forth a few times as her arms flayed wildly. She fell backwards off the railing.
Holly was sure she'd just witnessed Sheila's termination. She would be pulled into the vortex of the ship's screws and chopped to shreds. She hoped Sheila's power cell wouldn't rupture and blow the stern of the ship off. If the ship was damaged to that extent, it would sink rapidly.
Maybe she should send out a warning to all the team members to prepare to 'abandon ship'.
Steve suggested if they took action now against the group, they would have everything important in the vehicle. They would be able to take down the perpetrators and be able to search the building before any type of bomb a booby trap could be set.
Tom liked the idea.
"Let's go now." Tom said. "We can take care of everything at one time."
They didn't know what type of security the hostile group would have set up to detect their advance. It appeared the only way to reach the group from the street was between the two buildings they'd watched the vehicle go through from the drone images. They didn't plan to use the same approach.
Steve needed to consider what the destination was of the group that was about to leave the building. Was there an alternate location? Would they lead them to another group? They hadn't received any reports of phone activity. It seemed doubtful there was an additional location.
"There's a good chance these are the last survivors of this current group." Steve said.
They quickly exited their SUV and immediately went into the rear of the property where they were parked. They would need to pass through two businesses to reach the target location.
As soon as they were over the fence, they could hear the sound of a canine approaching. It abruptly stopped. It paused for a second and immediately turned around. It hadn't even barked. It must have detected their predator pheromones and retreated in fear. It was how all of the animals they'd encountered acted.
They quickly passed through the first property and went over the fence into the second property. They checked for any surveillance equipment as they moved along. So far none had been detected on either of the two properties they'd traversed.
Steve and Tom moved up to the fence of the target property. They checked the drone image to see what the current status of the occupants of the building was. It appeared the driver had entered the vehicle but not the other three occupants. They still made periodic trips to the vehicle from different parts of the building.
"I don't see any external surveillance." Tom said.
Steve checked as well. He even looked at the back of the two structures located in front of the target building.
"I think we're good to go as soon as the fourth individual appears they're about to get into the vehicle." Steve said.
Tom thought about it for a moment.
"I think we should go before that." Tom said. "The fourth individual may set some type of booby trap before they get into the vehicle if they're about to leave."
Steve nodded in agreement.
They went over the wall onto the target property. They moved up to the side of the building.
The drone image showed a second individual enter the vehicle. They sat in the front passenger seat.
They quickly discussed what they wanted to do based upon the images.
It was Showtime.
John and Derek were almost out of chips again. They were down to their last few pieces. It appeared they'd suffered the same fate as all gamblers, the reality of losing it all. The big win never happened. The draw of the game sucked them in and cleaned them out.
Derek looked over at John and frowned.
John looked around for Cameron. She was over with Sarah. He wanted to call to her but didn't want to interrupt her time with his mother. They seemed to have a very good relationship. It always seemed to get better as time went on. He could see things really came a long way over time. They were a far cry from their first house in North Hollywood. He didn't want to think about those times right now. He looked around to see where the rest of the group was at.
Hanna was on her phone.
Riley was at a video poker machine.
Derek looked around at everything else as well. He didn't see Kyle at first. He spotted him when he looked by the door. He was near some machine. It looked like he put coins into it. It didn't appear he did anything else other than put coins into it. He wasn't sure what the machine was from the angle he could see it. Kyle didn't look very happy. He looked back at John.
"I'm about ready to wrap this up." Derek said.
John looked at the few chips he still possessed. He wasn't even sure how many thousand dollars Cameron left for both Derek and him. Whatever it was, it was a substantial amount. Now it was down to nothing. Cameron told them not to worry about the money and they could always get more. Maybe it was just a convoluted way to move CamNet's money around. They certainly weren't going to leave with any the way things were going.
"I hear you." John said. "Cameron was right."
Derek knew John didn't like to admit it.
"She usually is." Derek said. "What was she right about this time?"
John caught the good natured dig.
"She was right about how gambling strings you along with a few wins every now and then until you're broke." John said. "It's like a slow motion death. You keep putting back in what you win until there's nothing."
Derek thought maybe it was time to pack it in.
"If Riley's done, maybe I should call it a night." Derek said.
Hanna kept watch over the entire group. She watched all of them slowly go through the funds they possessed. It didn't seem to take long for all of them to expend those funds in a fruitless effort to beat the house. She watched Cameron deal with Riley and then Sarah. She figured Cameron would go back to Riley again before she went to John and Derek. She decided to become involved in the operation. She came up behind John and Derek. She could tell neither one of them knew she approached them.
She put an arm around each of them. She felt both of them jump a little.
"Can I play a few hands?" Hanna asked. "I feel lucky."
John and Derek both believed salvation just arrived. It was the break they needed.
"Take mine." John and Derek both said.
It caused both of them to laugh.
John let Hanna play his remaining chips. There was soon a big pile of chips in front of her.
"I'm bored." Hanna said. "You two can take over."
Hanna smiled and winked at them.
"Thanks." John said.
John gave Derek half of the chips.
"This should last us another ten minutes." Derek said.
John saw there were a lot of chips. He was sure they could still pull it off. Maybe they just needed to up the stakes.
"If we go in big, we might win." John said.
It wasn't like it was real money to Derek. Money didn't have any value in the past, the future. There were millions of dollars in cash stacked up around the Resistance base. Any type of funds he needed to procure anything was instantly available to him.
"Go big or go home." Derek said.
John decided to go big and then go home or at least back to the suite. There was a sure 'payoff' waiting for him there.
"We'll wrap it up then." John said.
John glanced over at the slot machines. He figured there was more than one type of 'slot machine' to play. He smiled to himself and upped the ante.
They both thought they would be finished in a few minutes. They were right. The house always won.
Cameron was with Sarah. She saw John and Derek were almost broke. She thought about going over to them but was busy with Sarah. She didn't want to spoil her alone time with her.
She looked over in Hanna's direction and nodded towards John and Derek. She watched Hanna go over and help John and Derek out. She listened to their conversation. She wanted to let Sarah know the status of everyone.
"John and Derek will be finished in a few minutes." Cameron said.
Sarah looked at her winnings or what was left of them. It was nothing to write home about.
"I think I'll be done before then." Sarah said.
Sarah looked over at Kyle and he appeared to be down to a few coins.
"It doesn't look like I'll be the only one who's out soon." Sarah said.
Cameron looked over at Kyle. She wanted to win some for him.
"I'll see if I can provide him with another couple of minutes." Cameron said.
Gambling wasn't for Sarah. Life itself was a big enough gamble for her. It wasn't so much the case now, but previously it had been.
"No, that's OK." Sarah said. "We can head back to the room."
Sarah got up and headed over to Kyle.
Cameron followed her. He was down to his last three quarters. She took one quarter from Kyle.
Kyle put both of his in one coin at a time and nothing happened. The machine didn't pay off. He was broke.
Cameron smiled at Sarah and Kyle and put the last quarter in. She was rewarded with a massive payoff into the bucket at the bottom. The coins landed with a loud clang. All the heads close by in the casino turned to see what it was.
Both Kyle and Sarah looked thrilled, at least for the moment. She figured she would give them a tip. It would give them some togetherness if nothing else.
"You can play four at once if you play together." Cameron said. "Maybe you'll get lucky."
Sarah knew a way she could get lucky. It would be back in their suite in bed.
"We'll see what happens." Sarah said. "We'll be able to finish up and head back to our suite. I can guarantee a jackpot for Kyle once we're there."
Kyle and Sarah smiled at each other.
Cameron did as well.
Kyle wondered about one more thing.
"Are we going to hit the buffet when we go back?" Kyle asked.
Sarah would have expected that comment from Derek. She didn't want Kyle to delay or overeat 'food'. She decided to spell it out for Kyle.
"We're going to have 'dessert' in our room after this." Sarah said.
Cameron slipped away so they could continue their conversation in hushed tones. She headed for Riley.
Riley spotted Cameron as she approached. She was very frustrated.
"I always lose." Riley said.
Cameron tried to lighten Riley's mood.
"Someone needs to pay for all these fancy machines and the luxury around you." Cameron said. "Money doesn't grow on trees."
Riley looked around and smiled. She knew there was only one reason why she was still even in the game.
"Have CamNet stop helping me so I can finish up." Riley said.
Cameron nodded towards the blackjack tables.
"John and Derek will both be done soon." Cameron said. "They both lost."
Riley knew what she wanted next.
"I'm ready to hit the sheets." Riley said.
Cameron smiled. It sounded like a jackpot for Derek after all.
"I'm sure Derek is as well." Cameron said. "Have fun."
It seemed to Cameron things were just about wrapped up in the casino.
She thought things played out very nice so far for the evening.
They would all be heading back to their suites for a 'midnight snack'.
Claire watched 'Allison' go into Savannah's room. She wished she would have done it a little earlier herself. She hadn't been with Savannah in awhile. Allison and Young Allison both tried to prevent it. She didn't think it should be their concern. Savannah and her were able to sneak in a few times anyway. They'd developed a special bond in Cameron's future when they were both very pregnant. They shared with each other often. It was very beautiful.
She headed for Riley's room. Vanna should be alone now. It was always a special treat for her. It seemed to be something else Allison tried to prevent as much as possible. She did know Allison eased up recently. She told her she was free to do what she wanted. They were all almost the same age anyway. They all had similar desires and wants.
The next best thing to Savannah was waiting for her there. It meant Vanna was alone in Riley's room. She would really like to be with Vanna and Savannah at the same time. How Hot would that be? She thought Samantha would be there as well. They said she would be in standby. If she came back online, she could join them. It was OK with her too. She really liked Samantha's body. She seemed to like it as much as everyone seemed to like hers.
Claire knocked lightly once and entered. It was very dark inside. She looked in the small bedroom and it was empty. She headed for Riley's bedroom.
She spotted Samantha standing in the corner.
She looked over at the bed and saw the dark silhouette of 'Vanna' sleeping. She would surprise her. She looked in the crib and could just make out the form of Precious fast asleep.
Claire silently slipped into bed next to 'Vanna'.
She thought about how best to surprise her.
Claire decided to go straight for the gold. It was always a pleasant way for her to be woken up in the middle of the night. She would position herself so she could move over on top of 'Vanna' and 'Vanna' could reciprocate her actions once she awoke. It would be a win for both of them.
She carefully positioned 'Vanna' and was ready to go to work.
Maybe a little light would have changed what she was doing.
It would be a 'midnight snack' they would both remember.
Savannah was surprised to see Vanna come into her room. She was followed a short time later by Cam.
She was expecting Cammy. Maybe not this time, if she showed up, it was fine too.
Savannah sat up and then stood. She looked at Cam and then at Vanna and pulled her tee shirt off. Vanna faced her and pulled off her night shirt.
Cam watched with eager anticipation. She thought she would need to prompt the girls along. She ushered both of them to the bed.
Savannah could see Vanna was hesitant.
She gave her slow gentle kiss which Vanna returned.
Vanna looked at Cam.
"Are you going to join us?" Vanna asked. "Or just referee?"
Savannah didn't want to rush things.
"Relax." Savannah said.
Savannah moved her head down, she paused. She decided to make sure Precious would be covered first.
"Will Precious need to nurse soon?" Savannah asked.
Vanna thought Precious was good for at least four more hours.
"She just did not too long ago." Vanna said. "Samantha said Precious normally sleeps for a few hours at this time. Samantha and Allison are with her."
Savannah wanted to include Cam.
"Come on, Cam, we'll split it. There's one for each of us." Savannah said.
Cam smiled as she moved forward and joined them.
"There's one of several things for each of us." Cam said.
Steve and Tom quickly discussed what they wanted to do based upon the images. They thought it would be best to act now.
It was Showtime.
They moved along the front of the building. There were two doors with which they could gain entry. There was the roll up door which was still closed and a door into what appeared to be the office area.
"The roll up door may not be secured." Steve said. "If they planned to leave in a hurry, they probably only closed it."
Tom agreed with Steve's assessment. More than likely the office door was locked at this point. They were about to pass by it. They went by low in front of the window next to it.
They knew the two remaining men weren't by the office area. There could be some type of surveillance set up that looked out through the window. There was no external surveillance visible.
Tom carefully tried the door into the office area as they passed. It was locked. He wanted to make sure of their plan before they entered.
"I'll lift the roll up door." Tom said. "You take the two men in the vehicle. We'll check on the other two men right before we go in. I'll go after the one on the east side. You can take the one on the west side."
Steve nodded. He held his silenced M9 in his right hand. He held his Taser and his left hand. His M4, equipped with an M203, was slung across his back. They wanted to take the men as silently as possible. They would try to capture two of them alive.
Tom made sure both his Taser and silenced M9 were ready to go. He could grab them in an instant. He wanted to use both his hands on the roll up door in case it was secured. He wanted it all the way open as fast as possible for Steve. His M4 was on his back if he needed it.
They moved over to the roll up door.
They listened to hear what they could inside. It appeared the men were panicked about losing the rest of their team. The good news is they hadn't decided where they were going to go next. They wanted to clear out and re-establish their base at a different location. They took one last look at the drone image to know where the two men would be once they entered.
Tom grasped the roll up door with both hands. He looked over at Steve and nodded. He gave the door a powerful yank. He could hear the sound of metal snap. They must have thrown one of the bolts to secure it. It didn't do any good against a Terminator.
Steve was ready as soon as the door went up. He fired his silenced M9 twice. Both of the occupants in the front seat of the vehicle were terminated. He moved around to the passenger side of the car towards his target.
Tom pulled both his Taser and his silence M9 as soon as he yanked the door upward. He moved along the driver's side of the car in search of his target.
Steve continued along the passenger side of the vehicle. He moved directly towards his target. The man's back was to him when the roll up door was forced open. He'd bent down to pick something up. His head snapped around to see what happened. He dropped what appeared to be a monitor and scrambled for a firearm. It was tucked into his waistband. He wasn't fast enough.
Tom quickly passed the driver's side of the vehicle. His target carried a box. The man dropped the box as he approached him. When the box impacted the floor, several items spilled out of it. It appeared to be packages of food of various types. It did appear they were about to abandon the location for a new one.
The second man scrambled to pull his firearm as the box fell from his hands. He was fast, but he wasn't fast enough. Tom was on him in seconds. His hand was still behind his back in a futile attempt to draw his weapon.
Steve slammed into the first man and knocked him into the wall. There was a loud thud as his body impacted with it. He dropped to the floor unconscious. He glanced over at the man Tom was after. It looked like everything was under control. He quickly disarmed the man he'd brought down and searched him.
Tom was able to grab the second man by the neck before he could pull his firearm from behind him. Both of the man's hands came up in a futile attempt to free his hand from around his neck. He glanced over at Steve and saw his man was down and out. He choked the second man out. He carried him over to where Steve searched the first man. He unceremoniously dropped him on the floor next to the first man.
"Restrain both of them while I look around." Tom said.
Steve searched the second man and secured both of them with some electrical wire.
Tom took a quick look around the building to make sure there were no surprises they hadn't detected yet. He did a quick check of the office area. It was completely empty. Evidently the group wanted to make it look as if the building was unoccupied if anyone looked in one of the windows.
He found what appeared to be a sleeping area in one of the rooms off of the workroom floor. He looked to see if there were any rope sections attached to any of the makeshift beds. There wasn't. He hoped it meant they hadn't 'put the grab' on any females and abused them.
There was a small refrigerator and a hot plate near a sink. There were two bathrooms side by side next to the area. He noticed there was a pile of used paper plates and plastic silverware in an overflowing trash can. He noted there was no food left on any of the plates. It was an indication the men weren't too far out of the future. It was one thing they noticed about those who returned from the future. They never threw food away.
Once the men were secured, Steve checked the vehicle and the two deceased men inside of it. He opened the trunk to see what was inside of it. It was mostly computer gear. Whatever the men were up to would probably be on the hard drives.
Tom rejoined Steve after he did a quick search of the building. They told each other what they'd found so far. It wasn't much. The next step would be to question the men.
They wanted to make sure the drones around them hadn't detected any threats. So far they hadn't.
Cammy left the Command Center. She spotted Claire headed for Savannah's room. She didn't follow her. It would mean Jesse should be free. She returned to Claire's room. She listened to determine what was happening inside. It didn't sound like much. She opened the door and slipped inside.
She spotted Jesse asleep in the bed. She moved to the pass door and checked on Summer and Jan. They were both asleep and covered.
Cammy was aware they were going to have an early start tomorrow. She decided to let them rest. She was about to slip outside when there was some noise. She looked over at the bed. Jesse was up on one elbow as she looked around.
"You need a night light in here." Jesse said. "Come back to bed and you can give me a pressure reduction."
Cammy looked around and stripped as she approached the bed.
Jesse thought she was Claire in the darkness.
Cammy climbed in next to Jesse.
Jesse expected a verbal response.
"Cat got your tongue?" Jesse asked.
Jesse received a physical response instead.
Cammy kissed Jesse. She felt Jesse touch her body. It was clear she was trying to determine who it was in the darkness.
"Allison?" Jesse asked.
Cammy wanted Jesse to know it was her. She knew Jesse couldn't tell her or Cam apart. They both actually liked it. It always added a layer of mystery.
"It's me, Cammy." Cammy said. "I switched with Claire."
Jesse was surprised and happy.
"You came here to be with me?" Jesse asked.
Cammy gave Jesse another kiss.
"Of course I did." Cammy said. "It's just the two of us."
Jesse guided Cammy towards her breasts.
"It works for me." Jesse said.
Cammy saw no reason to let Jesse know she'd become a 'target of opportunity'. Jesse would be more excited if she thought she came just to see her. She liked it when everyone was happy.
John Henry followed all the movements around the base. He wasn't sure what was happening in Riley's room. Maybe Claire went to check on Precious. It is possible she sought out Samantha again. He wasn't sure how any of them were communicating other than just showing up at each other's rooms. There was nothing he could track from calls or texts. It seemed very random and a 'free for all'. The girls all shared freely with each other and any of the Metal girls. It was one big beautiful family.
He thought about stopping by and checking out each of the locations. It wasn't like he hadn't seen everything before. He just liked to see it again and again and again….
He was rudely brought back to the present.
CamNet contacted him with an urgent alert.
There were cameras which looked down both sides of the exterior of the ship. It was mostly in darkness but it looked like there was a figure standing on a balcony railing.
John Henry wondered why he was being shown the image.
'It's Sheila.' CamNet communicated.
It changed everything. She was about to fall into the Pacific Ocean.
'She's in jeopardy.' John Henry communicated.
'I can't help her.' CamNet communicated.
John Henry was unsure what he could do.
'Do you need to issue an alert?' John Henry communicated.
'All I can do is mark the GPS location.' CamNet communicated.
CamNet and John Henry both watched Sheila slip and fall off the balcony railing.
John Henry wondered how badly the ship would be damaged when Sheila's power cell exploded as she was shredded by the ship's propellers. It could sink rapidly. He wondered if CamNet would signal 'abandon ship' before the explosion and give everyone a few more seconds warning or wait until it happened.
Jim watched the same feed CamNet and John Henry watched.
He ran to the balcony door and opened it to look out.
He leaned over the side to look down several suites. He was there in time to see Sheila lose her balance with the big wave and fall off the balcony railing.
Gail was about to reach out and grab Sheila when the big wave hit. It caused Sheila to lose her balance.
Sheila fell backwards off the railing towards the ocean.
Gail made a desperate grab for her.
She was too slow. Sheila disappeared from her view.
Gail leaned out over the side and grabbed for Sheila's leg. Her hand slipped along her leg until she was able to grab her ankle.
The sudden jolt of Sheila being stopped by her ankle unbalanced Gail who was already halfway over the railing.
Gail was on the verge of going over the railing now herself. She felt Ally grab her. It stopped her forward motion but she was nearly at the tipping point. It was possible all three of them were headed for Davy Jones' Locker.
There was another pair of strong hands that grabbed her as well and pulled her back over the railing with Ally. She still held Sheila by the ankle. She glanced back and saw Holly was there now.
Gail lifted Sheila back up once her feet were on the deck again. Ally reached over and helped pull Sheila up. She appeared to be shut down currently.
Gail took Sheila inside and laid her down on the bed.
Ally hugged Gail. She knew if Gail hadn't grabbed Sheila when she did, Sheila would be headed for the bottom of the ocean floor right now. She thought Sheila was a 'goner'.
"Thank you, Gail." Ally said. "You saved her."
Gail thought she was a 'goner' herself. She wasn't going to let go of Sheila, even if she gone over the side with her. She would have done it because Sheila still thought she was Jesse at the time.
She also hoped the weight of both of them would carry them below the vortex of the ship's screws and avoid a power cell being detonated at the rear of the ship. She also considered the possibility both of them would be sucked through the screws and there would be an even bigger explosion which would probably sink the ship in a matter of minutes. Few people would have time to make it to the lifeboats. She estimated the casualty rate to be ninety percent. It would probably be about five thousand people with the passengers and crew who didn't make it. She kept Sheila from the ocean, but now something else was off.
"I saved her for now maybe but there's another issue." Gail said. "We need to see if she reboots or is incapacitated in some other way."
Holly looked around outside to see if anyone saw anything. She might have to terminate them if they caused a problem. She would immediately go to their cabin and throw them overboard. She didn't spot anyone. She returned inside and shut the balcony door and closed the drapes. She went to see how Sheila was.
She saw Ally sitting next to Sheila as she gently touched her cheek.
Gail looked at Holly and shrugged her shoulders.
It was anyone's guess what would happen next.
Holly thought how strange it looked for Sheila to be lying on the bed naked and still wearing her high heels. She did take in Sheila's jewelry. It was impossible not to. It made her think Allison would be excited to see her with similar jewelry. Hopefully it would keep Allison interested in her.
She was willing to offer anything Vanna couldn't to keep Allison close in her life. She did understand better now it was what Cammy, Cam and Gail faced on a daily basis for years. She'd heard a saying about people. Nobody ever really understood something until it happened to them.
Gail thought Hanna would also need to deal with the new reality. There was a lot more competition now. They couldn't compete with the human girls on an emotional level. They could perform on a physical level far beyond any human. It was the emotional sharing they lacked at the same level.
Cameron saw John and Derek leave the blackjack table. Sarah and Kyle fed the last of the coins back into the machine. Riley was headed in their direction.
"Did everyone have a good time?" Cameron asked. "This was supposed to be fun like playing a video game."
They all agreed it was fun to play, but not so fun to lose.
Cameron asked if anyone wanted to go back to the buffet for a midnight snack.
It seemed they all were ready for a different type of 'midnight snack'.
Cameron led the group to the elevator. Hanna followed behind. They were headed back to their suites.
As Anna erased her movements from the security logs, CamNet showed her what happened on the ship. It looked very 'touch and go' for a minute there. It almost looked like three of them were going over the side at one point.
When she went back to view the security logs. She noticed Young Allison was up again. She was in the kitchen right now.
Anna double checked her work and headed up out of the bunker to see what Young Allison was doing now.
She debated whether or not to show Young Allison what almost happened to Sheila. If Young Allison would have 'ordered' Cameron not to pursue her selfish quest, the event most likely wouldn't have happened. It was a lot to lay on someone. A decision of that nature should never have been placed on Young Allison's shoulders.
Tipping Point
How far can one go
Before it's too far
Maybe they should have
Stayed off of the radar
Everyone can only take so much
Before they will break
To push someone that far
Is more than a big mistake
Give and take
Push and shove
When is it more
Than just about love
When the love is there
One wants to hang on
They want it to last
Not to be gone
One wants to share
Not to disappoint
It falls apart once they're pushed
Beyond the tipping point
Nobody