Chapter 1237
I'll Go Last
Cam moved through the storm drain under the street. The Gray should be headed right towards her. She closed in on the target. It was her plan to head him off. She hoped to trap the Gray between Cammy and her. The Gray tried to move quietly but she could hear him.
She held her Taser ready. She wanted to capture the Gray alive. There was still the risk they were after a Terminator and not a Gray. The Taser would work well on either one of them.
There was a passageway up to the curbside drain opening. She decided to back in there and wait. It would put her out of any direct gunfire. She would zap them as they passed by or grab them if they looked into her opening. Either way, they were going down.
Cammy closed in on the Gray. She spotted some movement ahead. It was just a brief blur. The Gray disappeared into a feeder tube from the street. It was clear she would be able to get him now. She was unsure about one thing. She didn't know if it was really a Terminator she was after. She traded her silenced M9 for her Taser. She was going to zap him with her Taser just to be safe. She checked her Taser and her knife to remove his chip after she brought him down. She was ready.
She silently moved up to the opening he'd disappeared into. She held her Taser in front of her and entered the opening. She wanted to get him before he made it up to the curbside opening and out its manhole cover. She was surprised he was right there waiting for her. He'd tricked her by not running as she'd suspected he would do. She didn't have time to do anything before she heard a Taser fire. She fired her Taser at the same time. She knew she was hit and the lights went out.
Cam waited for the Gray or Terminator from her place of concealment. It surprised her they'd arrived so quickly. They'd been able to approach soundlessly. She only could fire her Taser in self defense at this point. They were right in the opening and turned to reach for her. At the same time she fired her Taser she heard another Taser fire. She knew she was hit and the lights went out.
Young Allison didn't like the wait. It seemed too long. Something must have happened.
"I think we should have heard from Cammy or Cam by now." Young Allison said. "Something is wrong."
Anna came to the same conclusion.
"I think so too." Anna said.
Young Allison didn't want to leave Savannah alone but action needed to be taken. The rest of the team mattered and may be in peril.
"Have CamNet send Steve and Tom into the system." Young Allison said. "Alert them they may be facing a Terminator."
Anna worried about Savannah.
"It will leave Savannah by herself." Anna said.
Young Allison considered the possibilities before she'd made her decision.
"There are two drones over her." Young Allison said. "Plus the other ones in the area are all right there."
They watched the drone footage as Steve and Tom, who were now two streets apart, lifted the manhole cover in their section and entered the storm drain system. One of them should have entered from behind where Cammy was at. The other one should have entered from behind where Cam was at. They should each be able to back up one of the Metal girls. They should also be able to block the person they were after from either retreating or advancing further into the system.
Anna informed Savannah all the Terminators were in the drainage system at this time. Her only support was now high altitude drone support.
"Savannah's been alerted." Anna said.
Young Allison wanted to make it less risky for Savannah.
"I wish she would go back to her SUV." Young Allison said.
Anna doubted Savannah would withdraw. She was more likely to advance.
"She won't leave our Terminators unprotected." Anna said.
Young Allison would have the drones do what they could.
"As long as she doesn't enter the storm drain system, the drones will give her missile support." Young Allison said.
Anna didn't think it was a good idea. The prospect of shrapnel damage seemed very probable to her.
"She might be too close for a missile strike." Anna said.
Young Allison would have preferred it was night so she could get a drone down into gun range for direct fire support. She tried to think what options were available to Savannah at this particular point in time. She didn't like any of the ones she could think of. The thought of a new plan crossed her mind.
"Have one of the drones zoom in on her and see if she has her night vision equipment with her." Young Allison said.
Anna thought it would be easier to use the com.
"We can ask her." Anna said.
Young Allison wanted to know. She didn't want her curiosity to be looked at the wrong way. She didn't want to seem like they were suggesting something to Savannah without saying it.
"Negative, don't make the call. I don't want to give her any ideas." Young Allison said. "I'm worried enough now as it is."
Anna looked at the zoomed in image of Savannah. It looked like all her gear was with her.
"I can see the pouch for her night vision on her vest." Anna said.
It was what Young Allison worried about. She was sure Savannah would enter the drainage system soon if they didn't hear from their Terminators.
"If our other Terminators don't reemerge soon, Savannah's going in after them." Young Allison said. "I can't allow it to happen."
Anna thought it was the right tactical decision. Their troops may require assistance. If their Terminators were in trouble, Savannah would need to back them up. She wanted Young Allison to base her decision on a tactical solution for the current problem.
"They may need help." Anna said. "Savannah will help them. It's not about Savannah. It's about the team."
Young Allison didn't want to make an emotional decision. It seemed no matter how hard she tried not to let her emotions creep in, they still managed to do so. She knew she wasn't supposed to show Savannah any favoritism or special consideration. She believed the reality on the ground dictated it was exactly what she should do. The rest of the team there were all Terminators. Savannah was the only human. She was at a major disadvantage for operating underground in the dark. It didn't matter if she had night vision or not. It didn't seem to her there would be very many places to seek cover when the shooting started. Terminators could absorb a lot more punishment than Savannah could, even with her vest on.
The seconds seemed to go by very slowly.
"Something should have happened by now." Young Allison said. "Time is going too slow."
Anna tilted her head slightly. She checked her internal chronometer. The passage of time took the same as it always did. She didn't want Young Allison to rush things.
"We need to give them more time." Anna said.
They waited and waited. Still nothing happened.
Young Allison couldn't understand why there was no communication. It only indicated to her something catastrophic must have happened. She needed to think about what they were up against. They started out in pursuit of one individual who they believed was either a Gray or a Fanatic. They also wondered if they could be a Terminator. They didn't know exactly what was in the storm drain system. There could be other things happening inside there as well. There could be something that connected to one of the buildings. Maybe there wasn't one individual they were after, maybe there were a dozen. If there were a group of them, they might be able to overpower their Terminators using electronic weapons.
She needed to think about ways to take down a group of Terminators. It was possible they could have sent a lot of water through one of the drainage pipes. At that point, it could be electrified. It would bring all of the Terminators down. A similar tactic had been used against Cameron one time at a water facility.
"Something must have gone terribly wrong inside the storm drain system." Young Allison said.
Anna felt the same way too. Maybe there was more going on down there than they knew. What if it was all an elaborate ambush? Everything about the individual's movement from the moment they'd picked them up, until they disappeared inside of the storm drain inlet, had been incredibly suspicious and out in the open to draw them in.
"Apparently…." Anna said. "I'd say there's more than meets the eye. We can't see anything, so we don't know anything."
They both knew Savannah wasn't going to wait much longer before she went in after them. It was the right thing to do.
Savannah listened to the reports. There seemed to be an excessive time delay in hearing any news from Cam or Cammy. Now Steve and Tom were instructed to enter the storm drain system. It left her outside all alone. It wasn't a problem. She knew she was backed up by two drones directly and the other drones in the area.
Her biggest concern was Young Allison would send one drone down into gun range to be able to give her direct fire support and cover her advance or retreat. It might be spotted by someone if she did.
Whatever was happening inside the storm drain system below ground, was where the current unknown problem was.
Savannah debated what to do next. The drones could cover anything that happened above ground at this point. They could do it better than she could. Cammy was inside the system with Cam, Steve and Tom. There was no contact with any of them. It seemed one of them should make some type of a report.
She still hadn't heard any gunfire yet. All she heard before were ricochets. There had been nothing but silence since then. She would have to be much closer to hear the crackle of Taser fire if it was happening. She certainly wasn't going to hear it from the surface. She didn't think there were very many options left at this point. It appeared the team needed help. She was the only one there. There was nothing to think about. There weren't any decisions to be made. It was time to set things in motion.
Savannah moved to the first drain in the system. She looked at the massive circular steel manhole cover. There was a small hole on the rim of it to put in a pry bar. She didn't have a pry bar with her. The manhole cover was too heavy for her to move on her own without some leverage. She could go back to the SUV and obtain the tire iron from the rear of it. It was still very short. She doubted it would be able to give her the leverage she needed. She figured if she was underneath the manhole cover, she could use her back and legs to move it. Here from the outside, she didn't possess the physical strength.
The time for self debate and indecisiveness was past due.
It was time for action. Something was wrong.
"I'm going in." Savannah said.
John Henry instantly responded.
"Negative…." John Henry said. "I think it's too soon to enter the system."
Savannah offered no further explanation or comment.
It was evident she couldn't lift the manhole cover. She was only left with two choices to enter the system. She would need to go back to where Cammy and the Gray went in. It would take additional time. She wanted to get into the system now. She looked at the actual opening into the storm drain. She might be able to squeeze through the curbside opening. She was glad she wasn't further along in her pregnancy with Vanna's baby. She looked around one last time and went to squeeze inside the curbside opening. It was a very tight fit. She couldn't make it with all her gear on. She needed to take her vest off and leave it on the outside to fit through the opening.
To watch Savannah enter the drainage system was the last thing Young Allison wanted to see. She felt her heart sink as Savannah disappeared into the curb opening. It just got worse when she'd slipped her vest off to do it.
"Savannah, NO!" Young Allison said.
Young Allison couldn't believe her eyes.
The only good thing was Savannah's vest disappeared inside the opening after she was inside the drain. She'd pulled it in after her.
Young Allison felt a little better but not much.
Anna could tell Young Allison was stressed out. She was worried for Savannah as well.
"It's too late." Anna said. "She's gone under the sidewalk. She'll be under the street next."
Young Allison hated operating blind.
"We have no idea what is happening down there." Young Allison said. "How soon will it be until more of our troops get there?"
Anna checked the satellite map overlay.
"It will be awhile." Anna said. "Al is on his way from the rehab facility. Mel is coming too. He was on a scouting mission."
Young Allison wanted everyone in the area.
"What about Cameron's Terminators?" Young Allison asked.
Anna received information from CamNet. More Terminators suddenly appeared on the satellite map.
"There's a group of three headed there from the airport." Anna said. "They were working in Cameron's hanger."
Young Allison knew more than met the eye went on in the hanger.
"I know they do other things in there as well." Young Allison said.
Anna was aware they did.
"They do." Anna said.
Anna didn't elaborate further.
Allison didn't like what she saw happen.
John Henry tried to stop Savannah but she went anyway. She didn't argue or even say anything. She'd just gone into the unknown where four Terminators disappeared at. She went by herself and alone.
Allison saw it was a gutsy move. It was a bold move and very dangerous.
"Can't you stop her?" Allison asked.
John Henry knew Savannah didn't retreat if there were others who needed assistance. She ran toward the fight, not away from it. There was more than one time when Savannah was the last one standing. She'd remained behind to protect any Terminators when they were down or incapacitated. She always did what was necessary. Her personal safety always came last.
"I can only advise her not to do it." John Henry said. "She won't back off from the fight. Cammy and the others are down there. She won't abandon them."
Allison thought back to her time in the future. She was always the first one to volunteer when there was a mission, especially if it was a rescue mission. She knew everyone else hesitated slightly. She'd also learned as soon as she volunteered, everyone else would as well. She knew it always increased the risk to her, but she felt it was a bigger risk for the person who needed to be rescued.
She watched Savannah's vest disappear inside the curb opening. She hoped she would be able to wear it in the tight confines of the drainage pipes.
"She's braver than I am." Allison said.
John Henry watched Allison fight in her future. He knew she always did her job and never backed away from danger.
"Is she?" John Henry asked.
Allison was afraid she'd gone soft.
"It seems like it." Allison said.
John Henry thought being pregnant may have given Allison more pause for caution. She'd fought hard in her future. He wanted her to remember it. He thought it was important.
"You faced danger in your future." John Henry said.
Allison didn't really want to think about the future. There was very little good to think about in it. She was almost killed several times and nearly abused by Scavengers more than once. She did what needed to be done, when it needed to be done.
"I guess I did." Allison said.
John Henry felt any of the girls would have gone in, even Young Allison. She probably would have been the first.
He remembered the time on an operation when Cameron was down. Jesse was with her. Jesse chose to try and drag Cameron out rather than abandon her to the flames. Jesse stayed past the point where she would be able to escape on her own because of smoke inhalation. She still didn't abandon Cameron to save herself. Allison entered the burning building to look for both of them. When she'd found them, she needed to drag both of them towards the exit until Terminators arrived to assist her. It was a close one for the three of them. He knew Allison possessed what it took.
"I think you would have done the same thing if you were there instead of Savannah." John Henry said. "I think you would have done what she just did."
Allison wondered if it was physically not being there which increased her fear and worry. Being a part of it, she needed to act. She always had when she needed to. It was something she just did. She didn't even think about it. When it was time to make the 'hard choice', there was really no choice. There was what needed to be done. She didn't think about it. She just did it.
"Maybe it's different when you can watch it instead of participate." Allison said. "When everything is happening around you, you need to react. You just do what needs to be done."
John Henry sent two more Terminators and CamNet sent three.
"There are five more Terminators headed there." John Henry said.
Allison wanted them there now.
"Will they get there in time?" Allison asked.
John Henry didn't have an answer for her.
"It's unknown." John Henry said. "You can see everything I can. You know as much as I do."
Allison looked at the monitors and frowned.
"It's not much." Allison said.
John Henry could see and track things which happened all over the country and even the world. He couldn't see or track what was happening underground right in front of him.
"No. It's not much." John Henry said. "It is like that more often than not."
There were a lot of times when the team went after Skynet specifically. They needed to enter into the bowels of the earth. They were usually cut off when it occurred.
Sarah looked out from the buffet. She tried to remember exactly where the miniature golf area was located.
"I think we need to go forward and up a deck." Sarah said.
Kyle didn't want to feel excluded.
"I saw it earlier at some point." Kyle said.
Hanna knew exactly where it was at.
"I can take you there." Hanna said.
Kyle and Sarah both walked along with Hanna.
"I'm sure you know where everything is at." Kyle said.
Hanna felt she possessed several advantages when it came to knowing where things were.
"I know the deck plans. I walked through the entire ship last night. All of the Terminators did, even if we knew where everything was at." Hanna said. "I also know the construction plans of the ship."
Kyle thought it seemed like a little overkill.
"Why would you need to know the construction plans of the ship?" Kyle asked.
Hanna was about to tell him what Cameron told the other Terminators and her. Cameron wanted them to know any parts of the hull they might need to breach in case the ship capsized. Since their daughter was on board now she figured she should moderate her explanation.
"It was just so we knew where everything was at and why it was there." Hanna said. "Remember, we don't sleep."
Hanna took them up a deck next to the pool.
Sarah noticed there were a few scantily clad females around the pool as they went up the stairs. She noticed Kyle looked over at them, but he didn't stare.
Kyle couldn't help but look at some of the females around the pool as they went up the stairs. He tried not to stare at them. He didn't want to cause an issue with Sarah.
Hanna noticed both Sarah and Kyle look at the females around the pool. Their bikinis were very revealing. She was going to remind them about the nude sunbathing area but decided she wouldn't say anything unless they asked or it seemed appropriate. Right now it didn't seem appropriate. She didn't want to create any friction between any of the couples.
They went up another set of stairs as they got closer to the front of the ship.
"We're here." Hanna said.
Kyle was at the miniature golf course with Sarah and Hanna.
He looked at the golf club. He wasn't impressed. It seemed to have a curve or bend in it.
"This golf club looks really cheap." Kyle said.
Sarah wanted to tease Kyle some.
"I think it is called a putter." Sarah said.
Hanna looked over the miniature golf course. It was very crude and basic and not well maintained. She would need to report the issue to Cameron. She would let Cameron raise the issue with CamNet.
"There are nine holes and twenty three obstacles." Hanna said.
Kyle figured Hanna could beat them with her eyes closed. He knew it really wouldn't be like her eyes were closed even if they were. She would be able to use other vision spectrums and look right through her eyelids.
"Like it would matter to you." Kyle said.
Hanna pointed out additional difficulties.
"The course is uneven. The putters are plastic, the balls are beat up and the ship is moving both up and down and side to side." Hanna said. "There will be challenges to anyone who plays."
Sarah detected no movement on the ship.
"We're tied up at the dock." Sarah said.
Hanna could detect motion even if it was slight.
"The ship is still moving." Hanna said.
Kyle could only imagine trying to play in rougher waters.
"This looks hard enough sitting in port." Kyle said. "It must be a real hassle at sea."
Hanna noted there were a few other activities available.
"The difficulty level would go up." Hanna said. "We can always switch to shuffleboard or basketball."
Kyle figured they were already there. They might as well give it a go. He didn't want to wait until the conditions were even harder.
"Let's try this first." Kyle said. "If I can drag Derek up here, we'll try some basketball."
Hanna doubted it was likely based on her observation of Riley and the way she looked at Derek before they'd left. She made no comment. She was sure they were involved in sexual activity. She didn't think the miniature golf course was the only area where someone would get a 'hole in one'.
Sarah placed her ball on the ripped spot that served as a 'tee'. She would have preferred a little smoother surface.
"The green carpet that serves as 'grass' has wrinkles in it." Sarah said. "I think it will add swings or strokes or whatever they call it."
Hanna offered a less competitive solution. She remembered some of the things Summer told her about how to do things when they went out.
"I recommend we just play and have fun." Hanna said. "There's no need to keep score."
Kyle thought he could gain an advantage over Sarah if Hanna went before they did.
"Maybe we should let her go first so we know how to hit the ball for the best shot." Kyle said.
Sarah picked up her ball and took Kyle's ball from him and placed it on the ripped spot which served as the 'tee'. It briefly reminded her of the toothbrush incident with Future Derek. She really didn't want to think about Future Derek right now.
"You'll go first." Sarah said.
Kyle looked more than a little flabbergasted.
"Me?" Kyle asked.
Sarah smiled and stepped away from him.
"You…." Sarah said.
Hanna felt the air was a little tenser than it needed to be. She didn't want anyone to get over competitive. She wanted to stay out of the way.
"I'll go last." Hanna said.
Kyle looked at the ball and where the hole was at.
"Here goes nothing." Kyle said.
Kyle hit the ball and it immediately went to the side of the 'green' and stopped. It was going to take a few more strokes to get it to the hole.
Sarah stifled her laugh. She didn't know if she would be able to do any better. She could see it was going to be harder than it looked.
"Good luck on par three." Sarah said.
Kyle was about to tell her they were only playing for fun. He felt a little defensive again.
"I'll be sure to remind you when it's your turn." Kyle said.
Hanna looked at both of them and shrugged her shoulders.
Ally followed Derek and Riley to their suite.
"I don't think you need me for anything else right now." Ally said. "I'll come back later and make up the room for you."
Riley felt bad about Ally needing to look after them.
"Are you going to help Sheila and Jim out all the time?" Riley asked. "We can take care of our own room."
Derek was bothered too by someone cleaning up for them.
"I feel bad about other people having to pick up after me." Derek said.
Riley playful punched Derek in the arm.
"It doesn't seem to bother you at home." Riley said. "I'll remember that. You can help out a little more. Your beer will still be there waiting for you to return."
Ally wanted to give Riley some support.
"Maybe Derek doesn't like us to see what he can or can't do on the sheets…." Ally said.
Riley looked at Derek then back to Ally and giggled.
"I can do just fine." Derek said.
Riley pulled Derek into the suite.
"Prove it." Riley said.
Ally watched them disappear into their suite and the door closed.
She went to the door of the private area. She stood outside and reflected on everything. She put her card key in and opened the door. She entered the private area. There was a lot on her mind and not all of it was good.
Gail was ready to start her tour of the ship with Jesse and Claire.
"What part do you want to see first?" Gail asked.
Claire wanted to see everything that was different and exciting.
"I'd say all the parts that aren't cabins." Claire said.
Gail thought she should give Jesse and Claire a slight tease.
"We can go by the pool area and then head to the spa and gym." Gail said.
Jesse liked the idea.
"Are you going to show us all the hot female bodies first?" Jesse asked.
Claire wanted to complement Gail.
"Gail will show us her body if we want to see any hot females." Claire said.
Gail smiled at Claire. She liked her better every second. She figured they didn't need to just look at scantily clad females by the pool. There was a place where they could see it all.
"There's a topless sunbathing area." Gail said. "Bottoms are optional and nothing is enforced."
The idea of being naked in front of other females excited Jesse. There would be no hassle or condemnation. It really sounded enticing. She was ready to see some new nude females. 'Fresh meat' was always enticing, even if it was only on display.
"I'd like to go there." Jesse said.
Claire wondered what her intent was.
"Do you want to go there to look or show off?" Claire asked.
Claire hoped it wasn't for Jesse to look for 'fresh meat'.
Jesse wanted to show off her larger breasts.
"I think it's for both." Jesse said. "I've got more than 'norks' now."
Jesse reached up and cupped her breasts. She gave them a couple of bounces.
Gail knew what Jesse wanted.
"She wants to 'look'." Gail said.
Jesse got a little defensive. She didn't want to offend or upset Claire either. There were certain rules Cameron laid down, even if they weren't written in stone.
"I always stay within Cameron's guidelines." Jesse said. "You know that."
Gail informed them of Cameron's new ship borne policy.
"Cameron said any female on the ship can be pursued." Gail said. "She said what happens on the ship, stays on the ship."
The new guidelines got Claire's attention. She just wanted to verify one thing.
"No males?" Claire asked.
Gail didn't see the appeal.
"Cameron doesn't want any 'contamination'." Gail said.
Claire briefly thought about all of her failed encounters with males. Not one of them had ever been able to deliver for her. If she was going to have an encounter with someone, she expected a finish out of it. It was pretty much a guarantee whenever she was with a female.
They passed by a pool and two hot tubs. There were a few scantily clad young females in bikinis in the pool or on the lounge chairs around it.
"I see a fine selection already." Jesse said.
Claire looked a little disappointed at Jesse.
Jesse saw it upset Claire so she refined her statement.
"It's a fine selection with you and Gail." Jesse quickly added.
Claire liked to see some variety. She always looked too.
"It's fine." Claire said. "I know we all hunger for some 'fresh meat' at times. It never hurts to look. It's not like we've never done it before."
Gail led them inside and up one deck.
"This is the spa." Gail said. "They can do all kinds of things for you in here."
Gail showed them a list of services.
Some of them were things Claire always wanted to try but never had.
"I'm going to do some of these and both of you are going to do them with me." Claire said.
Gail looked a little uncomfortable.
Claire picked up on her trepidation right away.
"Gail, I know you think you don't need any of them. It's not the point. They'll be fun." Claire said. "They'll make you feel good."
Gail was about to reply it was unnecessary for her to feel good because she was a machine. She could see both Jesse and Claire looked excited about some of the services.
"I want to do it with both of you then." Gail said. "I want to feel good and have fun."
Gail knew she would be better able to watch over both of them if they were all together. The threat level was minimal but it never hurt to be prepared.
There was some metallic noise beyond them.
"What's that 'clanging' sound?" Claire asked.
Gail knew exactly what it was.
"It's the gym." Gail said. "They have all types of workout equipment in there."
The information made Jesse think a little.
"Is there anything in there you can't do?" Jesse asked.
Gail tilted her head slightly. She'd looked around the gym previously. She knew exactly what all the equipment was in there.
"No." Gail said. "I can do everything in there until my power cell runs out or I'm terminated."
Claire didn't want to see things get carried away.
"I think moderation is they key." Claire said.
Jesse got a few other ideas.
"Maybe we can make some bets." Jesse said. "Gail can outperform anyone."
Claire heard about some of the events.
"I guess you could say we have a 'stacked deck'." Claire said.
Gail looked down the front of her sheath and then back at Claire and smiled.
"Speaking of stacked decks, she can clean up in the casino too." Jesse said.
Gail wasn't sure it was a good idea.
"Sheila already caused a problem there." Gail said. "Bob needed to fix it."
Jesse didn't care. She wanted to see Gail clean up.
"Let's go down there and check it out." Jesse said.
Gail knew it wasn't in operation while they were in port.
"The casino won't open until we're out at sea." Gail said.
Claire decided to rephrase it for Gail.
"We can do recon and gather intel before the 'opposition' arrives." Claire said.
Gail wanted to do a recon.
"It sounds like fun." Gail said.
It made Jesse wonder about the miniature golf area.
"Speaking of fun, should we stop by and see how Sarah, Kyle and Hanna are doing?" Jesse asked.
Gail knew it wouldn't take them long to get there.
"We could, it's up above this deck." Gail said. "We're very close to it."
They passed through the gym.
Claire was a little surprised at how engaged some of the people were with their workout.
"These people look like they're tired." Claire said. "Some of them are really sweating."
Gail understood people were there for various reasons. She was sure some of them were just to show off. She wanted to move the girls along.
"This place is full in the morning." Gail said. "We must go up this way to get to the miniature golf area."
Jesse and Claire took everything in and followed Gail.
Hank and Larry both moved up to the door.
They were ready to enter. They each held their silenced M9 and Taser ready. They both listened for a few seconds to determine how many of the enemy would be inside.
Hank slowly opened the door.
"There's no one in here." Hank said.
Larry stepped back outside the door and pulled the Gray inside.
"Now there's one." Larry said.
Larry quickly moved his body off to the side so it wouldn't be noticed right away if someone else entered the room.
Hank looked around for any surveillance equipment inside of the room. It was obviously a 'clean room' of some type.
"It doesn't look like much is going on in here." Hank said.
Larry looked around at some of the computer equipment.
"It almost looks as if some of the equipment has been removed." Larry said.
Hank looked over what was there.
"This is still probably some version of Skynet". Hank said. "If it's not, it will be a backup version of it anyway."
Hank quickly moved and disconnected the power source.
Larry looked around the room for any smoke detectors. None were spotted.
"Cameron wants to be the one who destroys every version of Skynet." Larry said.
Hank pointed out the obvious.
"Cameron's unavailable." Hank said. "We'll take 'Skynet' back with us."
Hank and Larry begin to remove the hard drives from the various computers in the room.
They were just about to set off two Thermite grenades to make sure everything was thoroughly destroyed. There was some noise at the door.
Hank and Larry each took cover on different sides of the room.
Larry reached over and pulled the deceased Gray back a little further out of view.
The door opened.
"I don't know where everyone is at." The first man said.
"They sent us down here to check it out." The second man said.
The two men paused when they entered the room. The door closed behind them.
"What the hell?" The first man asked. "Everything is shut down."
The two men began to look around.
"Someone's been in here." The second man said. "Everything isn't shut down, it's gone."
"Maybe they took everything to the new place." The first man said. "You know they wanted all the best components for the new setup."
"I think they already took them." The second man said.
"We better get back to the boss and let him know someone jumped the gun." The first man said. "I know they were supposed to leave the system in here operational. Let's get back upstairs."
Hank and Larry heard enough. It was clear the two men were about to raise some type of alarm. It's time for them to make their move. They each grabbed a man.
There was a look of astonishment on the men's faces as they were taken into custody by two Terminators.
Larry moved his man away from the other one.
"Tell me about the boss and upstairs." Larry said.
Hank moved his man away from the other one.
"Tell me about the new place." Hank Said.
Hank and Larry took the two men to opposite corners of the room and began to question them. There were muted screams and grunts along with cries of pain as the questioning began. It only intensified as the questioning continued.
The female Fanatic decided the first order of business was for her to arm the bomb. If she was going to go out, she wanted to go out with a bang. She would drive by the old location afterwards.
She saw there were two buildings with no cars parked around them. She went down the driveway between them. She was going to stop there where she wouldn't easily be in view. She could see she could drive all the way around to the back of the building. It was much like the building she'd left earlier when she was the sole survivor. She didn't want to think about it right now.
She pulled around to the back of the building. She turned the van around for a fast exit and stopped. She looked all around her before she climbed into the back of the van. She went between the front seats. She left the van running and in 'Park'. If a quick getaway was necessary, she thought every second might count.
The bomb was still a little bit of a concern to her. She knew it had been deactivated. She didn't know what other tampering may have been done with it. It appeared to her as if only the detonators had been pulled out of the plastic explosive.
There were two detonators. She carefully inspected each one and reinserted them back into the C-4 explosive. The bomb could be activated three different ways. There was a remote control. There was a timer. There was a manual detonation procedure. When it came time to use the bomb, she was willing to use any of the three methods to make sure it delivered its payload.
The female Fanatic moved back into the front seat of the van. She buckled her safety belt and stepped on the break. She moved the shift selector from 'Park' into 'Drive' and drove away. She put the remote detonator for the bomb in her pocket. She was going to drive by their first base of operations when they'd arrived in the past, the present.
I'll Go Last
People come and go
Here one minute, gone the next
When the bottom is reached
It's not the apex
Some will push their way
To the front of the line
It's their own actions
That label and define
Who is anyone to say
They know what's best
It's more than likely
They'll become a pest
Each person must be
Their own boss or master
When they're not
Things end in disaster
Have a good time
Play loose and fast
When you grow up
I'll go last
Nobody