Chapter 1230
Up High – Down Low
Cameron was aware it was Sheila and Ally who'd moved up behind them moments ago. She could hear them talking about where they expected to find John and her. It was at a decibel level so low only another Terminator could hear it. She communicated with them the same way. She told them to turn it into a 'training mission' for John and follow standard Resistance protocol. She also told one them to keep him where he was at.
Everything went according to plan. Sheila joined her moments later in the alley.
Cameron and Sheila swiftly walked down to where Dan and Frank held the two perpetrators. They quickly moved them out of plain view in the alley. They didn't want anyone to see what was going on. They would need a more secure location.
Frank gave his com to Cameron. She started to catch up on everything.
Sheila stepped forward with her knife in her hand and a smile on her face. She thought she was about to have a little 'fun' on her vacation. Well, a little more fun.
Cameron stopped her. She didn't want John to make a big deal about what was going to happen.
Dan and Frank moved the two detainees into a garage type shed in the alley. They were out of sight from the road now. No other cars passed by since Cameron and John entered the alley. There was little traffic on the side streets in the area where they were at.
Dan looked at the two men. It was time to take action.
"Do you want them terminated?" Dan asked.
He asked at an audio level only a Terminator could hear.
Cameron felt their location was secluded enough to get some answers. She wanted to know more about what exactly was going on and who the men were. She wanted to know if they 'worked' for anyone or group.
"Choke out the one you're holding." Cameron said to Frank. "Make it look like you terminated him but don't. I want to question the other one first."
She used the same low audio level to give her command.
Frank choked the man he was holding out and dropped him to the ground. His body landed with a 'thud'. He looked like a rag doll. He appeared dead. It was the effect Cameron wanted to create.
Cameron began to question the other man in 'Spanish'. She informed him unless he wanted to join his 'deceased' friend on the dirt; he'd better be forthcoming with answers. She wanted to know if they operated on behalf of the local drug Cartel.
He looked at his fallen comrade and became quite talkative. It turned out they were a couple of street punks who thought John and Cameron looked like easy 'marks'. It appeared to be something they did to tourists. It was done whether they were off a cruise ship or arrived by car. They only 'rolled' a few tourists a day. It gave them some extra spending money.
Cameron scanned him as he was questioned. When she saw his associate was about to wake up, she choked him out. She dropped him to the ground.
Frank picked up the other street punk as he came around.
Cameron questioned the second street punk as well while she scanned him. His story was much the same as the first street punk.
It looked like the only motive was robbery. If they would have intended to sexually abuse her, she would have let Sheila deal with them.
Sheila watched with disappointment. She wouldn't get to have the 'fun' she enjoyed. Maybe she shouldn't expect to have too much 'fun' on vacation. With the new experience Cameron provided her with, as she controlled her chassis, perhaps 'fun' could be looked at a little more like everyone else did.
She really wondered what it would be like to be hooked up to Cameron as they were before, and not have John use her chassis, but use Cameron's chassis. She could experience the same things she did before through Cameron's chassis itself. She wouldn't be an active participant, but simply along for the ride. She wondered if there would be a difference.
She would like Cameron to use her chassis again in the same way. Cameron promised her she would be allowed 'one time' with John on her own. She strongly doubted Cameron would honor her promise. She didn't want to think about it right now. There were two punks to deal with. She still hoped to have a little 'fun', her way. She kept her hand on her knife. She really hoped to be able to use it.
John didn't like Cameron and Sheila to face the danger without him. He wanted to do more. Ally still held his arm. It reminded him of the time at school when he wanted to help the cheerleader on the roof. Cameron held him the same way. He couldn't move then and he couldn't move now.
He remembered how angry he was at the time. He blamed Cameron for Jordon's death. It wasn't Cameron's fault. His mother even told him if someone wanted to take their own life, it was very hard to stop them. There were multitudes of ways to do it.
It took him a while to realize even if Cameron hadn't stopped him, he didn't have enough time to get up to the roof to prevent Jordon from going over the side. From the time Cameron grabbed his arm, to the time Jordon jumped, it was only about thirty seconds. It would have taken him at least a minute to get up to where she was at.
He'd apologized to Cameron later on about blaming her for what happened when he realized it was inevitable. He looked over at Ally right now and she reminded him exactly of Cameron back then.
John wanted to remain calm. He understood they were protecting him. He didn't want to give orders or become abusive.
"I want to go down and see what's happening." John said.
Ally did her job. Cameron told her to keep John there.
"I'm sorry about this, John." Ally said. "Let me speak with Cameron. Frank gave her his com. I think everything is just about resolved. "
John was worried about her statement.
"Did she kill them?" John asked.
Ally was able to follow everything through her com. She thought about giving it to John but decided against it. She figured it would only complicate matters.
"No." Ali said. "No one's been terminated, yet."
Ally checked with Cameron. It was clear to move John up.
John wanted to get to where they were at before anyone was killed.
Ally smiled at John and released his arm.
"Let's go." Ally said.
John felt an urge to reach down and take Ally's hand. He restrained himself. He was sure if it was Sheila, he would have. He wasn't really sure why. Maybe it was because he'd been in physical contact with both of them. It was under completely different circumstances. Normally he didn't touch any other females at all. Well, maybe he gave a hug every now and then. It wasn't very often.
Ally led John down to the shed where the others were at. He wasn't really sure what he was going to find. He knew all Terminators had a special beef with future Scavengers. They all wanted 'justice' for Vanna and Jesse. He couldn't blame them for feeling like they did.
John walked into the old garage to see two figures on the ground. They were both unmoving. Sheila still held her knife. There was no blood apparent on it. She may have wiped it off already.
"What happened here?" John asked.
John wondered if Sheila 'knifed them' or their necks were snapped. He figured Sheila would knife them to inflict greater pain and it would take them a little longer to die. He didn't see any blood on either one.
"Are they dead?" John asked.
Cameron smiled at John.
He always thought her smile was beautiful. It looked exactly like what Ally did a few seconds ago to him. It was quite strange.
Cameron glanced down at the two inanimate figures.
"Not yet." Cameron said.
Cameron explained the situation to John.
John understood it was only street punk activity. It wasn't a 'hit'. There didn't appear to be any Skynet involvement.
"So it was just a robbery?" John asked.
Cameron tilted her head slightly. She thought she'd already explained it.
"Apparently…." Cameron said.
John didn't want things to escalate. He didn't want them killed over a robbery which didn't happen.
"Let's go." John said.
It appeared John wanted to leave the two men there and take off.
Ally and Sheila looked at each other. They dealt with street trash like this all the time with Cameron. The men were surely future Scavengers. There was only one punishment for future Scavengers. It was death.
"They haven't been punished yet." Ally said.
John didn't want them executed.
"We weren't robbed." John said.
Sheila pushed the issue some. There was a statement to be made.
"Do you really think they wouldn't have tried to abuse Cameron at knife point?" Sheila asked. "What if it would have been Allison instead of Cameron or some hottie off the ship they would have accosted? It was purely a random chance it was Cameron and you."
Dan thought Sheila stated a valid point.
"They should be terminated." Dan said. "I'll do it."
Dan reached down to snap the neck of the closest assailant.
John didn't want things to get out of control.
"Wait." John said.
Ally didn't like mercy for these types of individuals.
"Wait for what?" Ally asked. "Wait for them to become Scavengers? How many girls are you going to sacrifice, John?"
John felt a little guilty with her statement. If one female was abused by them going forward, it would be his fault.
Sheila indicated her knife. The smile returned to her face. Maybe she could have some 'fun' after all.
"I can cure their problem for good." Sheila said.
Ally and Sheila moved closer, they high fived each other up high and then down low after the appropriate remark.
Cameron stated the obvious. She didn't want to involve the authorities. She wanted John to understand the issue.
"We can't turn them over to the authorities." Cameron said. "We would need to make some type of a report. It would become a big deal. You remember how it turned out the last time…."
John knew the reference Cameron referred to. It was when he checked into the 'Honeymoon Suite' with Riley – Future Riley in Mexico. Now he remembered the whole deal and everything involved with it. He'd thought about it briefly earlier but pushed the thoughts from his mind. Now they were back. He wondered why he couldn't see it all for the foolish mistake it was at the time.
Ally didn't think John fully understood how these people operated. What they did was their 'job'. They didn't work. They stole for money. Their crimes always escalated.
"As soon as we leave, they're going to do it to the next couple that drifts off the main track." Ally said.
Sheila pictured some poor female being brought back to the ship in an ambulance, crying….
She remembered what one Gray wanted to do to her when he thought she was homeless once. She'd taken her clothes off earlier. She used the hose to wash the blood off of herself from the other Grays she'd killed. The new group of Grays arrived and accosted her. One Gray was going to blind her as punishment for using the water. His day ended up a little worse than her day did.
Sheila came up with a compromise.
"I'll blind them." Sheila said. "They'll no longer be a threat. This will be their last crime."
Sheila stepped forward and brought her knife up. She was going to pop the right eye out of the first assailant's eye socket and then sever it. The other choice was death. It seemed quite merciful to her.
It was clear to John what Sheila was going to do. He could picture both assailants regaining consciousness with empty eye sockets. Maybe they wouldn't regain consciousness. He wasn't about to be a part of it.
"No." John said. "That's not happening."
Sheila stopped. She looked very disappointed. She thought she was going to have some 'fun' after all. It wasn't going to be the case.
"I know why we don't bring him along when we deal with sex traffickers and drug lords." Sheila said.
Once again Ally and Sheila showed their approval and high fived each other up high and then down low.
Ally wanted to give John another reminder as well as a qualifier.
"He's never needed to help the girls we've freed from those operations." Ally said. "He doesn't know what it is like to see what's been done to them."
Ally knew some of the girls could move on. A lot of them couldn't. Some of them were very broken. She doubted they could ever be fixed.
John knew the two punks were street criminals. He was sure they'd jump the next couple of tourists they ran across. He didn't want to maim them. The chances were good they would maim someone else in their 'career'.
Cameron didn't want them back out on the street to hurt others. Maybe she should make John decide what their punishment should be. She wanted to remind him what was bound to occur.
"OK, John." Cameron said. "What do you want done? They can't be let go as if nothing happened. What almost happened here will happen to the next couple they accost."
John didn't like the pressure Cameron put on him. He knew the only reason why the two punks were still alive was because he was there. He understood there needed to be some type of punishment. He wasn't sure if they were the ones who should administer it. He thought about it for a few seconds. Maybe they should see what the punks had already done.
"What was in their pockets?" John asked.
Dan and Frank showed John a collection of rings, watches and currency from several different countries including the USA, Germany and New Zealand.
John looked at the rings.
"Those are wedding rings." John said.
Cameron pointed to a couple of the rings.
"Some are engagement rings too." Cameron said.
Cameron didn't like the implication of a couple needing to face such trauma. It clearly wasn't one couple, it was multiple couples. It was probably dozens of them if not more. She'd seen enough. Maybe she would crush their hands. They wouldn't be able to steal much with amputated hands. She thought maybe Sheila's idea was better.
Ally looked at all the items they had on them. She figured there was probably ten times as much where they lived.
"It looks like a two man crime spree." Ally said.
Frank didn't know what they were waiting for. It was clear what sentence the two perpetrators had already given themselves.
"They should be terminated." Frank said. "This is a problem that won't solve itself."
John wanted to know what else the men possessed.
"Do they have drugs?" John asked.
Dan indicated some other items.
"Yes." Dan said.
If they were drug dealers it would make John's decision easier.
"Are they for sale or for use?" John asked.
The answer wasn't what John expected.
Frank looked at the small amount
"It appears for use." Frank said. "They may have even stolen them."
Frank gave his com to Cameron when she first approached earlier. She now looked worried.
"I've received disturbing news from Jim." Cameron said.
John wondered what else could go wrong. He wondered if the others made it back to the ship okay. Maybe some other incident occurred before they did.
"What now?" John asked.
It was something new.
"There is an HK drone headed our way at near supersonic speed." Cameron said. "It's very unusual."
John was unaware of any drones which were that fast. It did sound unusual.
"That's faster than normal, right?" John asked. "Maybe it's something else."
The Terminators wondered what else there was.
Cameron quickly checked both of the downed perpetrators for Skynet barcodes. They were clean.
John noticed what she checked for. He didn't see anything on their arms.
Cameron received some additional information from CamNet. She was a little upset she wasn't informed of a new program or class of drones.
"It's a specially modified drone sent by CamNet for quick response." Cameron said. "There are two other standard drones following it."
It was somewhat of a relief to John. He figured Young Allison was behind it.
"It sounds like good news, I think." John said.
The Terminators all felt more confident with drone support. They liked the fact someone was looking out for them. They all knew who the someone was. When Young Allison was involved in an operation, the response was always overwhelming.
Ally looked out of the shed down the alley. She'd been keeping watch in both directions. There was more trouble on the way.
"Here comes something that isn't good news." Ally said. "Cameron, you'd better take a look at this."
Cameron wanted to see what the new problem was. She quickly moved to the opening and looked out. She didn't like what she saw.
"No, that isn't good news." Cameron said.
John went to look. Sheila stopped him. She would keep him from the new threat.
"It's not all fun and games, love." Sheila whispered. "The real fun will be later…."
It was clear Cameron viewed what she spotted as a threat.
"We need the drone - NOW." Cameron said.
It definitely sounded like bad news to John.
Cam intercepted the big truck with her SUV. The two drones searching for it found it.
It appeared the driver made whatever delivery he'd set out to do and was on his way back.
John Henry ran all the information. It came back the truck was an independent trucker and not associated with any trucking company.
Cam wanted some more information before she initiated her stop.
"Do we know where he came from or went?" Cam asked. "I'm ready to stop him."
John Henry hoped they could learn more first.
"Hold off on the 'stop'." John Henry said. "Maybe we need to see where he goes."
Cam didn't like the delay. She was worried about what else could happen. He may assault another female. She would only hold back so much before she acted.
"If he stops at one of the homeless encampments, I'm going to take him out." Cam said. "He's already committed his last assault."
John Henry felt like he was dealing with 'Cameron'. He needed to remember the apple didn't fall far from the tree. It was something he encountered all of the time from Cammy as well. He still wanted to use some moderation.
"Let's see where he goes first." John Henry said.
Cam clarified it for John Henry. She wasn't going to fool around or take any chances.
"If he picks up a female, he's going to the morgue." Cam said.
John Henry didn't want to argue about it. He knew it wouldn't do any good anyway.
"Isn't that where he was headed anyway?" John Henry asked.
As far as Cam was concerned it was.
"Yes." Cam said.
He tried to get Cam to listen one more time.
"Then it won't hurt to wait a little bit." John Henry said. "His final destination is the same place anyway."
Cam wanted to know where the trucker acquired the girls earlier.
"Where were the girls at when he picked them up?" Cam asked.
John Henry repeated what they'd told Savannah and Cammy as to where they were picked up at.
"It was on the corner by a homeless camp." John Henry said.
John Henry gave her the location and a brief description of what was around the area.
Cam thought there was more to the story. If they were standing on a street corner, it usually indicated some type of 'barter' was about to occur.
"Were they soliciting?" Cam asked. "I missed out on all the details from earlier. They didn't appear to be healthy from what I observed. They looked like 'tunnel rats'."
Cam noticed when they showered and changed, they looked like females from out of the Wastelands of the future. There'd been some speculation they were Grays or part of the anti-Metal faction. Apparently they were freed in a raid by Cameron, Ally and Sheila before. The whole thing seemed highly coincidental.
"They said they wanted a ride and were abused. One of them was anyway. We think it was a 'sex for drugs' deal that went bad." John Henry said. "The girl didn't want to admit it."
It was all Cam needed to hear. She clarified her position for John Henry.
"If the goods bartered for weren't delivered and the girl 'paid' for them, then it becomes abuse at that point." Cam said. "It was a robbery really. I don't like what was 'stolen'."
John Henry tried again. He wanted her to show restraint and hold back a little bit.
"Follow him for now." John Henry said.
Cam heard all she needed to hear already.
"I'll wait for a little bit before I converse with him." Cam said. "I won't wait that long. The conversation will be short."
Cam planned to enact justice for what was done to the female. It was clear the man would be a Scavenger in the future. She planned to prevent it.
Gail and Hanna went down to disembark off the ship. They would meet the group about to return. They saw Bob waited in the security area by the gangway. They exited the ship and headed for the gift shop. They spotted Ken and Lou pull the van up in the parking lot behind it.
Sarah was still concerned about John and Cameron. She asked them a few more questions.
They both reassured her things were under control.
Hanna received a report from Jim before they came down which indicated the same thing.
"Everything is fine." Hanna said. "The perceived threat was resolved."
Ken wanted to get back to where John was at.
"We're going back to pick them up now." Ken said. "You need to go with Hanna and Gail and go back on the ship. We'll be back shortly."
Kyle didn't want to create an issue. He wanted them to get back to the ship as soon as possible.
"We'll do it." Kyle said. "Go back and get them."
Ken and Lou left with the van.
Derek would have liked to know a little bit more about what went on.
"It still doesn't seem legit to me." Derek said.
Gail tried to put them at ease. She simply laid out the facts.
"There are five Terminators with them and two more on the way." Gail said. "One of the seven is Cameron."
Sarah knew it was a force to be reckoned with if some incident, especially non Skynet related, happened. She knew Cameron always looked after John as well as all the other Terminators.
"OK." Sarah said. "I worry sometimes."
Sarah actually worried all of the time. There were a lot of things to worry about.
Gail led the group towards the ship. Hanna brought up the rear.
"I still want to get something in the gift shop." Riley said. "Can Gail or Hanna stay with me?"
Hanna knew Gail didn't care for shopping.
"I'll stay." Hanna said.
Hanna shared a single sexual experience with Riley before. It was the only Metal girl she was ever with. It was a special time for her. It was before Derek and her decided to partner full time. It was after her fling with Jesse before Cameron restricted Jesse's involvement with her.
Gail put Derek on point as they headed for the gangway. She brought up the rear.
Bob was ready for them.
"I've been waiting for you." Bob said.
Bob quickly ushered them through security.
Once they were out of earshot, Gail told Bob they weren't to exit the ship. She didn't want one or more of them to sneak off to go back to 'help' John.
Bob monitored the situation as well. He understood the original issue was dealt with. There was now a new issue to deal with.
"Affirmative…." Bob said. "None of them will leave the ship."
Gail went back to the gift shop to join Hanna and Riley. It wasn't something she normally did. Maybe it was part of the reason why she went back. It was to see what it was all about. Jesse never liked to go to a store and buy things. Duplicate Jesse didn't either. She would have liked Savannah to have been there with them.
She thought about Sheila and what happened earlier. No, she was glad Savannah wasn't on board. She'd already needed to be part of something Cameron almost made happen once. It never sat well with her the way it was done.
Derek, Kyle and Sarah watched Gail leave after they'd entered the elevator. Gail said she was going back to make sure Riley got on board OK. They didn't know if it was all that was going to happen.
None of them needed to touch any of the buttons on the elevator. It did everything on its own.
Sarah wanted to head to the Control Center to see what was really going on.
"I want to know more about what's happening." Sarah said. "I know the one place to go to find out too."
Derek and Kyle thought it was a bad idea. It sounded as if the matter was resolved.
They thought lunch in the buffet sounded like a better idea.
They decided to go back to their rooms and get cleaned up a little first.
Jim was waiting for them and opened the door to the private area for Sarah and Kyle. Derek entered his suite right outside the private area.
Sarah asked Jim about John and Cameron. He assured her everything was under control and any issues were resolved. He told her Jan and Summer were with Holly and having fun.
Sarah actually had put the girls out of her mind with her worry for John and Cameron. It gave her something pleasant to think about instead.
Jim opened the door to the Honeymoon Suite for them.
They told him they were going to get cleaned up and head out for lunch. Jim told them Jesse and Claire might want to go as well.
Sarah and Kyle quickly glanced at each other. They figured what they were probably doing.
Jim felt it gave him the excuse he needed to 'check' on Jesse and Claire. He was sure he'd liked to see two human girls together as opposed to two Metal girls or one of each. It was just different to watch. The encounters always seemed a little 'deeper'. It seemed the human girls could intensify their sharing at certain times.
It made him think about Gail's offer. If they did switch chassis, he would ask to be with one of the females. He would like to be with a Metal girl and a human one. He thought it would be OK if he was in the female chassis instead of his chassis.
He was aware Cameron lifted the restrictions. He didn't know if she would actually honor the new arrangement. He thought a good comparison would be Sheila and Jesse, Ally and Allison or Hanna and Vanna. Perhaps when Samantha's sheath finished Resequencing, Claire and her would be a good comparison as well.
Jesse and Claire finished up, again.
There was a soft knock at their door.
Jesse broke her deep kiss with Claire.
"I'll get it." Jesse said.
Jesse went to the door naked. She opened it.
"Come in." Jesse said and stepped back.
Claire thought it was Gail or Hanna returning. She sat up on the bed naked. She thought maybe they would all go another round. She was surprised to see it was Jim. She closed her legs and placed an arm over her breasts but made no further effort to cover up.
Jim explained what Sarah and Kyle were going to do. He said Riley would be up shortly with Gail and Hanna. Riley would join Derek then and they would all head up to the buffet. He told Claire that Summer and Jan were having fun with other young adults and Holly was near them at all times.
Jesse still stood there naked and listened. Claire lowered her arm from her breasts as Jim talked. She felt very comfortable in the company of Terminators, both male and female.
Jim noticed as he spoke with Claire and Jesse that Claire relaxed some as he explained everything. It excited him to see Claire naked. He'd seen Jesse and Sheila naked hundreds of times over the years. Their appearance was nothing 'new' to him even if it was exciting to view. He was surprised as Claire stood and came over to stand next to Jesse. He quickly scanned every inch of her as she walked. He noted that there were dozens of differences in details between them on every part of their body.
He finished his talk and excused himself. He needed to get outside and 'readjust' everything.
Claire watched him go. She really wondered how a male Terminator would be in bed. She was ready to find out with Bob, John Henry or Jim. She really wanted to be able to 'finish' for once with a male. So far only the females, human or Metal, were ever able to get her 'there'. A human male never could. She was really ready to find out if a male Terminator could. She thought of calling Jim back. She could find out right now. She didn't know how long it would take for him to get her there. She was willing to stay as long as was necessary. She really wanted to 'finish' one time with a male. She didn't care if it was a Terminator or not.
Jesse noticed Claire's seductive behavior.
"Were you hitting on Jim?" Jesse asked.
Claire didn't want to be obvious.
"I'm not sure." Claire said. "Was I?"
Jesse thought she was.
"You seemed to 'advertise'." Jesse said.
Claire didn't think it hurt anything to make her intentions known. It never hurt to look.
"I guess old habits are hard to break." Claire said.
Jesse knew the rules. She'd been down the same road before. It was a dead end.
"Cameron doesn't allow 'that'." Jesse said. "I mean a male Terminator with anyone."
Jesse was unaware that Cameron relaxed her restrictive policy on Terminator relationships. It included with each other, male and female Terminators and human female 'strangers' on the ship.
They were both aware Cameron was in control of Sheila's chassis earlier. Gail and Hanna told them about it. They were extremely surprised something like that actually occurred. It made both of them wish they could be in each other's body and share with each other as well.
Claire and Jesse decided to get dressed and meet up with the others. It was time to eat. It would be food this time.
She couldn't help but think about it the more she tried not to think about it. She just wanted to finish one time with a male.
Claire would ask Cameron for special permission to at least try it one time. She wondered what it would be like to be in total darkness and not know which one of them it was. Maybe it would be better that way. As long as she made it, she didn't care. What could it hurt? It was just sex.
Hank moved to check behind them to make sure no one else was coming.
Larry went to see what the man tried to get. He thought it was a weapon. It wasn't. There was some type of button he attempted to push. He figured it was probably an alarm.
He looked it over and saw it was connected to the computers. It must have been something designed to erase them. He quickly checked over the monitors to see what they'd been looking at. He came up with the location of several other buildings. He figured one of them was connected to the Fanatics. He didn't know for sure which one they talked about 'hitting' tonight.
Hank checked out in the passageway to see if he could hear anything. There was nothing he could detect. He was about to return to Larry when he heard a muffled scream from the direction of the passageway they hadn't gone to yet. It was the direction they thought the female Fanatic went.
He went back to check on Larry. He wanted to move on to the next target.
The female Fanatic peeked through the crack between the door in the wall. She didn't see anyone else outside of the room. She knew she needed to act now. One man was bent over the man on the floor. The other one stood behind him.
She made her move.
She stabbed the man in the back who was standing. He let out a scream. He tried to turn in her direction and hit her. She moved out of the way. His swing was wild and he toppled over against one of the bunks.
The other man who was bent over turned around to see what the commotion was. He was more than a little surprised to see a female standing there with a bloody knife in her hand. It quickly became apparent to him what happened to the man lying on the floor in front of him.
"You did this, Bitch." The first man said. "You're going to pay for it."
The female fanatic glanced at the bunk with the ropes on it.
"Like hell I am." The female fanatic said.
She lunged at the man with her knife.
The man tried to dodge out of the way. Because he was down on his knees, he was too slow. The knife found its mark into the side of his chest. He let out a grunt. There was a look of surprise on his face. He fell over on top of the man on the floor.
The female Fanatic wondered if she'd hit the man's heart. She thought she was going to be in a bigger jam, she was.
She started to turn away. Something grabbed her ankle and caused her to trip. She fell back hard onto her rear end. The knife clattered from her hand across the cement floor. It was the man she'd stabbed who fell against the bunk. He tried to hit her before and missed. He had her ankle now. It didn't look like he was going to let go either. There was a look of agony and pain on his face.
Hank saw Larry look over the computers when he returned to the room.
"What do you have?" Hank asked.
Larry wasn't sure what else was there.
"I have several more locations of potential targets." Larry said. "We need these hard drives."
Hank looked back towards the doorway.
"It's clear outside for now." Hank said. "There was one scream in the direction we thought the female Fanatic went."
Larry faintly heard the scream a few second ago.
"I heard it." Larry said. "It didn't sound like a female."
They smashed open the computers to get to the hard drives. They retrieved all of them in a short time.
There was another scream in the distance.
"That one was a female." Hank said.
Larry took one more look around the room.
"Let's go." Larry said. "Things may get hot around here."
The female Fanatic tried to pull her foot away from the man. She couldn't. The man gave her foot a yank and pulled her closer towards him. She saw it presented her with and opportunity.
She was close enough now where she could give him a hard kick. She bent her unrestrained leg back and shoved it forward hard into the man's head. He let out a grunt and twisted her leg as he fell back against the bunk.
The female Fanatic felt a sharp jab of pain as he fell back. She couldn't help but let out a slight scream. Both of her feet were free now. She quickly scrambled over to where the knife was at.
She briefly looked at the two men on top of each other. Neither one of them had moved since she'd stabbed them.
The man by the bunk rolled over onto his front side and tried to get up. It was clear he wasn't done yet. He was still in the fight.
Up High - Down Low
Can one move through life
As more than a shadow
Can they ever be more
Than just another domino
Some are content
With the status quo
Others tend to want
Everything quid pro quo
Is there any way
For each one to grow
Maybe what's there
Is all they'll ever show
Some will dull and tarnish
Some may shine and glow
Maybe the ones to follow
Are the ones with gusto
No one wants to owe
Or another to tow
Life at times will be
Up high – down low
Nobody