Chapter 1241
Play It Cool
Savannah needed to get out of the storm drain. The Gray appeared to be down. He'd disappeared out of her line of sight earlier. She really hoped he wasn't waiting for her. The volume of smoke seemed to increase. It was almost impossible to breathe. She knew the smoke affected her movement and judgment at this point.
She pushed hard with her back and legs against the manhole cover. It popped loose and lifted enough to slide off to the side. She tried to angle it away from the curb opening. It slid onto the sidewalk with a loud metallic 'scrape'. She pushed hard a second time. There was now enough room for her to climb out. The smoke poured out around her like a chimney. She stood and was able to pull herself out. She coughed as she crawled away from the smoke. She pulled her M9 out as she crawled. It was in her right hand as she stood and staggered towards the fallen Gray.
Savannah searched around her for any additional threats. None were spotted. She noticed a stream of blood running from the Gray's body and into the storm drain. It must have been the liquid she'd heard. Maybe it was some of his other bodily fluids as well. With all the smoke, she could only hear the liquid running inside the storm drain. It caused her some fear and a lot of concern. She was relieved to know it wasn't gasoline.
She checked the Gray and he was dead. There were multiple bullet wounds in his body. She was about to search him. There was the sound of footsteps running towards her very fast.
The coughing stopped at this point. She started to bring her M9 up. She was relieved to see it was Steve and Tom. There was a loud 'thump' sound behind her. Cam and Cammy jumped over a wall in back of her and ran towards her location. They would be there in a few seconds.
Savannah gave her report to Steve and Tom. She coughed a few times as she gave it.
"The Gray is down." Savannah said. "I haven't searched him yet. I'm not sure what else is around me. I'm not a hundred percent right now."
Savannah broke out into some more coughing. She staggered a little bit.
Tom went to steady Savannah. She still looked a little wobbly.
"We'll handle this." Tom said. "You've done your part. You've done enough."
Tom noticed the silencer on Savannah's M9 was damaged. He took his out and traded with her.
Cammy was headed straight for Savannah.
"Savannah!" Cammy said as she rushed towards her.
Savannah wanted to make sure the Terminators were undamaged.
"I'm fine." Savannah said. "Are all of you OK?"
Cam could hardly believe the way Savannah looked. She was covered in grime from the smoke.
"We are." Cam said. "What about you?"
Cammy gave Savannah a hug as soon as she reached her. She then began to physically inspect her as she scanned her.
Savannah was glad she'd made it out alive and the Gray was dead. She didn't want to make a big deal about it.
"I'm good, Cammy." Savannah said. "I don't need this."
Tom didn't want any issues. Savannah needed to be physically checked for damage after an engagement of this nature.
"There was gunfire and several explosions. You must be checked for physical damage." Tom said. "You know the rules. Sometimes someone can be damaged worse than they think. Your silencer was damaged. You may be too. It will give us all peace of mind."
Cammy did a more thorough inspection of Savannah after she saw the damaged silencer. She found a bullet strike in her back.
"Oh, no!" Cammy said. "Savannah's been shot."
Cam was there immediately.
Savannah thought Cammy referred to whatever hit her leg. She didn't want to make a big deal about it.
"It's nothing." Savannah said. "It was a ricochet."
It didn't look like a ricochet to Cammy.
"Your vest stopped the bullet." Cammy said.
Savannah felt her mind was still a little cloudy. She'd thought about the ricochet when it hit her leg earlier. It was the most recent event. The impact she'd felt on her back seemed like a long time ago.
Cam looked Savannah over too and noticed there was equipment missing. Savannah looked like she'd been in a major battle.
"What happened to your com and night vision?" Cam asked.
It was right after the bullet struck her back when she'd lost her night vision. She remembered her head jerked at the time. She didn't know where her com was lost at. Maybe it was then.
"I don't know." Savannah said. "I think I lost both of them when I was shot at."
The smoke no longer billowed out of the manholes from both sides of the street. The Thermite must have burnt itself out.
Cam wanted to know more about what occurred below the street. She wanted a first hand look to see exactly what happened.
"I'll check it out." Cam said.
Cam entered the manhole Savannah came out of.
Savannah coughed a few more times.
Cammy scanned her again.
Savannah didn't like all the attention.
"I'm fine, Cammy." Savannah said. "I can hack it."
Cammy felt the only 'hacking' was Savannah's terrible cough.
Savannah felt her mind clear up a little bit. She looked around the area. She noticed the Gray's left hand. It was charred black in spots with some bone showing. The burning Thermite must have showered his hand as he stuck it around the corner to shoot at her. It burnt the flesh away where it landed on his skin. It was a good thing she'd used her second Thermite grenade when she did. She may have taken more rounds if she hadn't.
She didn't want to think she could be lying in the drainage pipe under the street right now. It most likely would be Cam and Cammy together who found her. She quickly pushed the thought from her mind. She looked at the body of the dead Gray. She was in a fight. She'd won and he'd lost. What else was there to know?
"Let's collect this stiff or dump him back in the storm drain. We need to roll as soon as Cam returns." Savannah said.
Cammy wanted to get Savannah away from the carnage. She wanted her to sit down. She turned to Steve and Tom.
"We'll wait in the SUV." Cammy said. "You two finish up here."
Cammy led Savannah away. She wanted Savannah to know the severity of what almost happened.
"It wasn't a ricochet that hit your back." Cammy said as they walked. "It was a direct hit."
Savannah was no longer confused now with the fresh air back in her system. The events were a little clearer now.
"I meant the ricochet. It hit my leg." Savannah said.
Cammy dropped down instantly and quickly checked both of Savannah's legs. She'd missed it earlier.
"I only see a small bruise where it hit." Cammy said.
Savannah felt almost as good as new. Her back hurt some now. She wasn't sure if it was from the bullet strike or pushing the manhole cover off. Maybe it hurt from both of those things. There was no need to dwell on it. What was done was done. The direction was forward. It was the direction she wanted to go. She wanted to move on.
"I'm fine." Savannah said.
Cammy asked Savannah to sit in the front passenger seat of the SUV.
Steve left to get his SUV.
John Henry didn't think they should leave the body of the Gray there. It might be discovered with multiple gunshot wounds at some later date. It would spark some type of investigation.
Cammy gave a report to John Henry with Savannah. The other Terminators all did as well.
They saw Cam exit the manhole and replace the cover. She held something in her hand.
"Here comes Cam." Savannah said.
Cammy could see Cam was agitated.
"She doesn't look pleased." Cammy said. "Something must be wrong."
Cam approached the SUV.
"I found both of them." Cam said.
Cam handed Savannah her com.
Savannah tried it. It still worked.
Cam reached over and handed Savannah's night vision equipment to Cammy.
Cammy looked at it. She felt a glitch impulse shoot through her left hand. She looked at Cam and then at Savannah.
"Savannah, you were almost shot in the head." Cammy said.
Cammy showed Savannah the goggles. There was a bullet hole in the side of them. They must have been torn off her head when they were struck by the projectile. They were destroyed.
Cam realized Savannah was probably only an inch away from death at the moment of impact.
"It was a close one." Cam said. "It appears the second Thermite grenade may have saved your life."
Tom searched the Gray and reported he was killed by Savannah before he was struck by the projectiles from the drone. The Gray's phone was also destroyed from gunfire.
Savannah didn't want them to dwell on her. There were other facets of the operation which needed to be followed up on.
"We need to see what other action needs to be done regarding the two groups which were involved here." Savannah said. "We need to follow up on the truck too."
Cammy wanted to get Savannah out of there and back to the base.
"I think you're done here for today." Cammy said.
Savannah thought she was back at a hundred percent. Well maybe ninety-eight percent. It was close enough. She coughed a couple more times.
"I'm fine." Savannah said.
Cammy didn't think Savannah was fine at all. She didn't want to argue with her over it. She thought maybe seeing would be believing. She reached over and flipped down the sun visor on Savannah's side and popped open the little mirror.
Savannah looked at herself. She could see her face was streaked with soot. It was in her hair too. She looked down at her clothes and they were similarly adorned. She thought she looked like a homeless person.
Steve approached with his SUV.
Savannah could see she looked awful but she was back to 'normal'. She felt fine. She was just a little dirty. She wanted to complete the operation. She didn't see the need to turn the operation over to anyone else as long as they were still there. She wanted to make her position clear.
"We'll follow through on the operation we started." Savannah said. "We aren't done here."
Cam, Cammy and Tom all looked at each other. Savannah was hard to keep down. She wanted to stay on the operation with them.
It was clear to all of the Terminators about what happened. Savannah almost died several times over in the last few minutes. She'd also found the Gray, engaged him and then terminated him. She'd survived the gunfire and was able to get herself out of the danger zone. She was standing over the fallen Gray with her M9 in her hand as the rest of them arrived.
Tom once again saw Savannah in action close up. He was more than impressed by her actions. She never buckled and always remained in the fight. He would try extra hard to make sure he backed her up whenever he could. He thought her actions should be an inspiration to all of them.
Savannah's performance touched all of the Terminators.
Cammy drove away from the area with Savannah. It was a mini caravan. They followed Steve and Tom. Cam brought up the rear.
Savannah looked at herself in the little mirror again. She thought about trying to clean herself up a little bit. She didn't know how successful she would be.
Cammy now wished Savannah would have gone on the cruise and was in John's bed. She would rather have her there and be in a safer place. She was very worried about Savannah's 'near miss' today, all three of them.
She didn't like the idea of Savannah in John's bed. It seemed to be the lesser of two evils. If it would make life safer for Savannah, then it must be so. She would personally speak to Cameron about it. Once Savannah had Vanna's baby, she should have one of her own. It should help keep her out of the fight.
Cammy knew love was about sacrifice. She was ready to sacrifice to keep Savannah out of harm's way and off of death's door. She would willingly yield to John and Cameron if it protected Savannah better.
She glanced over at Savannah again as she drove. She lowered her left hand down along the side of her as it glitched wildly. Savannah almost died. It almost happened again. This time she couldn't blame Cameron either. Cameron was on a cruise ship. She was the one who was there with Savannah. She was the one who'd failed. Savannah almost died because of her. She moved her left hand back a little further.
Allison was relieved Savannah was OK. She saw her crawl out of the manhole and draw her M9 as she searched for a target. It was clear she was suffering. She did her job until the others arrived.
The news Savannah was 'shot' three times bothered her greatly. None of the bullets found her flesh. She was spared this time. She knew Savannah was lucky. It was more luck than anything when the bullets started landing around someone and they didn't get hit. She'd been there more than a few times in the past, the future.
Allison looked at John Henry.
"You don't seem very bothered by any of this." Allison said.
John Henry was worried. He'd seen Savannah in similar situations before. They all bothered him greatly. He worried about Savannah but he also needed to worry about everyone else. There were Terminators out in the field all of the time as well.
"I'm deeply bothered." John Henry said. "I deal with this twenty four hours a day. Things like this happen often enough."
Allison didn't think this was fair to Savannah. Savannah took the risk more often than anyone else.
"It just isn't right." Allison said. "Savannah faces too much danger."
John Henry knew Savannah put herself in the forefront of the operations.
"She does her job." John Henry said.
Allison didn't want to get angry at John Henry. He was just doing his job. Now she wondered what her job was. She was from an alternate timeline. Did she have a job? Did she even belong there? Did she belong anywhere?
Vanna, Jesse and her were all aberrations to time. They were aberrations to this timeline anyway. There were two sets of Duplicates of the three of them as well. The Duplicates were in different timelines too. How was it going to play out and mess things up more? There were three of her and three of Vanna and Jesse. None of them were where they actually 'belonged' or came from.
Allison felt her hands start to shake. She tried to hide it from John Henry. The more she thought about what she'd just witnessed with Savannah the more it made her start to feel sick. She wanted to get away.
"It looks like everything is under control here." Allison said.
She needed to find Vanna to comfort her. She was very troubled about what almost happened again.
John Henry could see Allison was extremely emotional right now. He didn't want to do anything to make the situation worse.
"I can call you if there are any new developments." John Henry said.
Allison tried to hold it together. She was very pleased at his offer. She was even more pleased he didn't ask her a bunch of questions, especially how she was doing.
"I want you to do it." Allison said. "Thank you."
Allison left to find Vanna. She didn't want to see any more of the people she cared about hurt or killed. She didn't want to get emotional. She needed the comfort of Vanna right now. She just needed Vanna to hold her if nothing else.
The information, reports and drone footage showed what Savannah had been through. They weren't received well in the Young bunker.
Young Allison was very upset at how close to death Savannah actually was. She wanted some payback. The attack on Savannah wouldn't go unpunished. She wanted to make her intentions clear from the start. She also wanted CamNet to hear them come directly from her.
"When we find anything else about either of these two groups, we're going to hit them hard." Young Allison said.
Anna wanted to get as much information as possible beforehand. She didn't want Young Allison to jump the gun.
"Don't you want to see what intel we can get first?" Anna asked.
Young Allison knew what they needed to do. She still wanted retribution.
"We'll do it and then we're going to hit them." Young Allison said. "I want a 'maximum effort' response."
Anna knew it could be every drone CamNet could muster. She wanted Young Allison to 'check' herself. There needed to be some control and moderation.
"Are you making an emotional proclamation?" Anna asked. "You need to temper your response to the situation when it develops."
Young Allison would seek the same response for anyone on their team who experienced what Savannah did. It was only Savannah who always faced this kind of danger.
"I'd do it for any of our team members who went through what Savannah's been through." Young Allison said. "When we encounter a problem, we need to deal with it with 'extreme prejudice'."
Anna wondered if Young Allison would call Savannah. It didn't look like she was going to. Young Allison adhered to protocol. She knew it must be very hard on Young Allison right now. Young Allison did her job just like Savannah did hers.
It was time to move on. There were still multiple issues they needed to deal with.
"Where are you going to direct the teams now?" Anna asked.
Young Allison wanted to deal with the big rig Cam acquired earlier. She felt it was something personal because of the two girls involved.
"Where's the truck at?" Young Allison asked.
One of their drones remained with the truck when Cam needed to break off to come to assist the rest of the team.
Anna quickly gave her the information. She didn't think it was going to go over very well.
"He's headed to the vicinity of one of the homeless camps." Anna said.
Young Allison knew he was going after another female to 'use and abuse'. It was time for some decisive action and direct involvement.
"I want Cam to return to his location." Young Allison said. "If he picks up anyone, he needs to be terminated after he's questioned. I want her to act before the female is abused if possible."
Anna noted he didn't attempt to make contact yet.
"He hasn't stopped yet." Anna said.
Anna wondered if he had a specific purpose. Maybe if he drove by the encampment several times it would attract someone's attention. When he pulled up to stop, someone might approach the truck because they thought they could score some money or drugs. He may also be looking for a repeat client. She really didn't know what he was going to do.
Talk of the truck made Young Allison wonder about the two females again.
"What's the story on the two girls?" Young Allison asked.
Anna checked with CamNet.
"They're following all the rules set by the facility and us." Anna said.
What the girls did earlier made Young Allison feel a little sick.
"I think their story was mostly true." Young Allison said. "I can't believe they would trade their bodies for drugs."
Young Allison cringed at the thought of it. It wasn't so much at what was done. It was because it didn't really seem to matter to the girls. The lifestyle they came out of made everything they did seem 'normal' or 'no big deal' to them. It was 'normal' for them to survive in the way they'd learned.
Anna didn't agree with the lifestyle choices either. She thought they should give the girls some benefit of the doubt based upon all of the circumstances.
"Sometimes it was for food." Anna said. "They were captives of the sex traffickers first. They did what they did to survive. They didn't see any of the alternatives available to them as being any better."
The whole thing disgusted Young Allison. She wanted some resolution now too. Based on the personnel at her disposal and other recent conditions, she quickly formulated a plan. It would quickly prove what thing were, one way or the other.
"I have an idea for dealing with the trucker." Young Allison said.
Anna figured it would be terminal for the trucker.
"Am I going to like it?" Anna asked.
There was fire in Young Allison's eyes. She wanted payback.
"No." Young Allison said. "He's going to like it even less."
Gail led Jesse and Claire away from deck five. They took the elevator up to deck seven.
Claire was very pleased when the elevator door opened as they approached it. She didn't know who was watching over them. She did appreciate it.
They moved along the Promenade deck.
There were little shops and stores. Most of them were closed while they were in port.
They spotted Bob in the distance.
Claire was a little more than surprised. She'd wanted to talk to him earlier when they'd boarded the ship. Jesse told her they needed to play it cool and act like regular passengers.
"There's Bob." Claire said.
Jesse noted the way Claire reacted. She'd noticed the way Claire looked at the male Terminators. It was clear to her Claire wanted to 'try' one. Claire told her no male was ever able to satisfy her. It was only natural Claire would want to see if a male Terminator could. It seemed to her, Bob, Jim and John Henry were all on Claire's 'target list'. She'd thought about trying a male Terminator often herself. It wasn't something Cameron wanted her to do. It appeared the only male Cameron wanted her to be with was John. She tried to follow Cameron's guidelines as much as possible. She didn't want to cause trouble. She wanted to make sure Claire didn't blow Bob's cover.
"Play it cool." Jesse said.
Claire quickly looked over at Jesse and nodded.
Gail was informed by Jim Bob was there for a purpose.
"We're going to meet with Bob in a few moments." Gail said.
Bob motioned for them to enter 'Tony's'. It was an Italian 'specialty restaurant'. It was currently closed. He watched all of them enter. He looked around before he followed them in. He closed the door behind them.
They were alone and all greeted each other.
Bob was there to make sure an important function was taken care of. He looked at Gail.
"I want you to go over their muster station and evacuation procedure." Bob said. "I've asked Holly to do it as well for Jan and Summer."
Gail took their safety seriously.
"I've explained everything to them." Gail said.
Bob was glad they were now at the actual location for evacuation if necessary.
"Now they're here to see it." Bob said.
Bob spoke with them for a few minutes and left. He was glad the procedure was taken care of before the ship departed.
Gail took Claire and Jesse out to where they would board the lifeboat if necessary.
Jesse looked around the area. She made some quick conclusions.
"It looks like we'd be the first ones to board a lifeboat." Jesse said.
Gail knew the human Resistance members would all be on a lifeboat if necessary.
"You will be. It will happen one way or another." Gail said.
Claire didn't want to be selfish. She felt everyone mattered.
"We need to help the other passengers too once Summer and Jan are on board a lifeboat." Claire said. "You need to think about other people as well, especially if they have children."
Jesse didn't want to think about it.
"Let's not worry about it for now." Jesse said. "The ship won't sink while we're on it."
Claire knew there was always a chance.
"You don't know for sure." Claire said. "Things can happen."
Jesse did know the Terminators would do whatever was necessary to protect them.
"I know our Terminators." Jesse said. "They're always looking out for us."
Gail took them to the rear theater.
Claire looked a little disappointed as she looked around.
"This is a lot smaller than the one in the front." Claire said.
Jesse looked around at what was actually in there. There was a small stage. There was a dance floor and musical instruments over towards one corner.
"It looks like they can do some good entertainment in here anyway." Jesse said.
Gail took them down to the main dining room. As soon as they exited the rear theater, the elevator door opened on the closest elevator. They entered and the door closed behind them. Their floor was already selected.
Jesse and Claire were both impressed as soon as they stepped out of the elevator.
"I know fancy when I see it." Jesse said. "I know we're just on the outside too."
They entered through the door Bob instructed them to use. He'd previously informed the workers some VIP guests would pass through.
Once they entered the main dining room, Jesse and Claire were further impressed.
"Wow! Look at this place." Claire said.
Jesse knew she was a long way from the Wastelands as she looked around.
"It makes me feel out of place." Jesse said.
Claire noted the two levels.
"Do we get to sit on the upper level?" Claire asked.
Gail didn't think any seat would be a problem for them.
"Cameron will get you whatever seat you want." Gail said as she pointed. "They used the table in the corner last night."
Jesse actually liked the location of the table.
"It has a good view out the side and in back of the ship." Jesse said.
The table didn't look big enough for everyone.
"Are there enough seats for all of us?" Claire asked.
Gail knew as far as the Terminators went; only one of them would be at the table.
"Cameron's the only Terminator who needs to be at the table with you." Gail said. "We don't eat."
Claire didn't think it was fair to the Metal girls to be excluded.
"I don't like it." Claire said. "You should join us."
Gail didn't want to create any problems.
"We don't eat." Gail said again. "A group of females not eating will be noticed."
Jesse could see it mattered to Claire. She wanted to give her some inspiration.
"We can talk it over with Cameron." Jesse said.
Gail was ready to move on.
"Where do you want to go next?" Gail asked.
Claire and Jesse looked at each other.
"We could always go back to the room." Claire said.
Jesse liked the idea. She just couldn't resist the opportunity to make a pun.
"Then there would be something Gail could 'eat'." Jesse said.
Gail looked at both of them and smiled.
It seemed to make Claire happy too.
Earlier:
Hanna hurried into the Control Center and was updated by Jim and Ally. They watched the operation play out and the Terminators depart with Savannah.
"It was really a close one." Hanna said.
They watched Gail show Jesse and Claire around the ship on the security monitors.
Hanna didn't like the way Claire responded to the male Terminators. She'd spotted it again with the latest interaction with Bob.
Ally noticed too. She thought she could sum it up
"Claire has 'sausage sickness'." Ally said.
Hanna knew the reason.
"I think so." Hanna said. "She wants to know if a 'male' can ever satisfy her. She's looking at the male Terminators since a human male can't."
Jim listened but didn't comment. He would try to make himself available more often to Claire. He would first make sure it was OK with Cameron so he wouldn't be deactivated if anything happened.
Hanna glanced over at the Owner's Suite.
"What's happening with Sheila?" Hanna asked.
Jim thought her location spoke for itself.
"The overall endeavor seems obvious." Jim said. "The details are unknown."
Ally just shook her head. She knew Sheila was there by choice. She really couldn't understand it. It made even less sense the way it was done and what Sheila actually gave up.
"I tried to stop her." Ally said. "It's what she wanted to do."
Hanna wondered about it. If Sheila wanted to do 'it' so much, and even went back for seconds, maybe she should experience it once. It would be a good reference point as to male and females. What could it hurt?
"I may want to try it also." Hanna said. "This might be our only chance to be with John and not be deactivated. Cameron has placed it in our programming. We're to 'accommodate' him if asked."
Ally wondered if Hanna would give her virginity to Cameron to give away like Sheila did.
"Will you try it on your own first or let Cameron have the first experience in your chassis?" Ally asked.
Hanna wanted to try it. She didn't want to create any problems. Maybe it would be easier if Cameron just did it for her.
"To allow John what he wants, I'll allow Cameron to have what she wants." Hanna said. "She'll have control. My chassis will be her chassis at that point. She'll share the file with me."
Ally already figured as much. She rolled her eyes.
"Oh, brother, everyone's been brainwashed." Ally said.
Jim thought they should see things a little deeper.
"Everyone sacrifices for John Connor." Jim said.
Ally looked at Jim with some disgust.
"Remember that when it's your turn." Ally said.
Jim said nothing further.
Allison was upset about what she'd witnessed with Savannah.
She sought the comfort of Vanna. She knew there was a pretty good chance Samantha and Vanna were sharing.
She went to Riley's room and decided to start there.
She listened at the 'nursery' first to see what she could hear.
It sounded quiet.
She was about to move on when she heard something.
"Stop!" Vanna said. "Stop!"
It sounded like Vanna was in distress.
Allison quickly opened the door and saw that Samantha was heavily stimulating Vanna.
Samantha glanced back but didn't stop what she was doing with Vanna.
Vanna experienced a grand finish.
Allison knew it was what Vanna wanted sometimes. It seemed only a Metal girl could make it happen. It was true for both of them.
Vanna looked up at Allison as she walked over to the bed.
"Check on Precious for me." Vanna gasped.
Allison went and checked. Precious was fine.
"Everything looks good." Allison said when she returned.
It took Vanna a moment to catch her breath.
"Tag yourself in." Vanna said. "I need to rest."
Samantha glanced at the bed.
"I can change the sheets." Samantha said.
Allison stripped.
"Don't bother." Allison said. "Do to me, what you just did to her. Stay with it until the same thing happens. You'll only need to change the sheets once…."
Allison looked forward to the 'escape' which was sure to follow. Everything would soon be forgotten as the animal feelings devoured her.
Her body would take her mind elsewhere for now. Anywhere was better than what Savannah just went through. She needed the moment to escape. She expected to have a grand moment along the way.
Larry looked over the electrical equipment. He started to collect the hard drives.
Hank began to interrogate the Gray, Terminator Style.
"I'll never tell you anything." The Gray gasped.
Hank looked at the man with an expressionless face.
"Wrong, you'll tell me everything." Hank said.
The interrogation continued.
Larry collected all the electrical gear they're going to take with them. He left it by the door. He communicated with Hank at a decibel level only another Terminator could hear.
"I'm going to set some explosives on the lower level." Larry said silently.
Hank continued his interrogation of the Gray. It was uninterrupted by his conversation with Larry.
"As soon as I get some more information from the prisoner, I'll set some charges on the upper level." Hank said silently.
Larry hoped Hank could come up with a better location. It was clear there were more targets to hit. It sounded as if the next target might be more substantial.
He moved back to the room with the explosives. He looked at the chemicals available for making nitroglycerin. He decided not to fool with it. He thought it was too unstable of a chemical to work with. He decided to stick with conventional explosives. He took as much C-4 with him as he could carry.
Larry went down the stairway to the 'clean room'. He wanted to make sure it was totally destroyed along with the passageway there. He didn't want it to end back up as a temporary home for Skynet as it appeared it currently was.
He entered the 'clean room' and quickly looked over all of the computer gear again. It didn't appear they'd missed anything the first time. He set the charges along with a timer. He moved out and went back in the direction he'd last come. He kept a watch out for any more Grays that may have appeared out of the woodwork. So far none had been encountered. He didn't find the female Fanatic anywhere either. It seemed she was able to escape.
He would need to make at least one more trip to adequately place enough charges to collapse the entire complex. He returned back upstairs to check on Hank's progress with the Gray.
Hank glanced up when he heard someone about to enter the room. He held the Gray by the throat with his left hand to keep him from making any sound as he drew his silence M9.
Larry carefully issued a challenge code at a low decibel level. Hank answered as he approached the control area. He quickly filled Hank in on his progress in the same low level.
Hank informed him of his progress with the Gray. It was less than they'd hoped for. The Gray didn't appear he would survive much longer before he terminated.
Larry departed and made another explosive's run.
Hank resumed his interrogation, 'Terminator style'.
The female Fanatic held her pistol ready as she pushed the door open. She searched for a target as she entered the building. She didn't spot anyone as she came through the doorway. She was pretty sure there was still at least one person in there if not more. She wanted to know what they were up to.
She made her way along the side of the interior. There were more places for her to hide with better concealment as she did.
So far everything in the main part of the building looked identical.
What worried her were the vehicles parked inside. There were three of them. There was room for several more. She quickly moved over to where the vehicles were parked. She passed by the front of each of them. The radiators didn't give off any heat. They'd been parked there for a while. Two of them were SUVs, the other one was a van. It reminded her a lot of the vehicles they'd used with her SkyMaster cell.
She needed to remind herself she didn't know who was in the building. As far as she knew, it could be a drug lab about to be set up. She didn't see any chemicals to make drugs or any raw products to be cut for distribution. She was aware it was one of the tactics to raise funds in the past to finance their clandestine operations.
She moved along the back of the two SUVs. Both of them had heavily tinted windows. She couldn't see anything inside. She was going to need to open a door to see what was inside. The van was a cargo van. It was much like the one she drove. She peered through the front window. She couldn't tell what was in the back. There was a crude curtain put up behind the two front seats.
There was a sound from somewhere near the front of the building. She figured she'd better see what else was in the building before she started opening vehicle doors.
Larry made his second trip with explosives. He was satisfied with his work so far. He would still need one more trip to get everything ready to collapse. He wanted it right up to the location they'd entered in from.
On his way back to check on Hank, he thought he'd heard something. He moved up clandestinely to the area he thought the noise emanated from. There wasn't anything there. He thought maybe it was some type of animal. There could be anything from a rodent to a feline to catch rodents.
He went up the stairway to the upper level. He immediately headed for the room where Hank was at. He issued the challenge as he approached at the low decibel level. There was nothing in response. His threat assessment level immediately went up. He wasn't sure exactly why Hank didn't respond.
Larry carefully entered the control area. The Gray that Hank questioned, known as the 'boss', was there. He was now terminated.
He wondered if the earlier noise he heard may have been Hank doing something on the lower level. He didn't think it was. He went back and did a complete sweep of the upper level. He looked in every room. There was no sign of Hank.
The female Fanatic moved towards the front of the building. There was someone there. They were close.
"I don't like the others going out and leaving us here alone." The first man said.
"It's not like they don't do it all the time." The second man said. "You know they're probably going out to get some 'trim'."
"Why don't we get to go?" The first man asked.
"You should know by now it's the way things work when you don't 'brown nose'." The second man said.
"I've got a better idea." The first man said. "You can stay here and watch over everything. I'll go out and score us some 'skirt'. We'll all be able to get some comfort."
"I really don't think you should push your luck." The second man said. "You're on pretty thin ice as it is."
"It's only because I don't know all of the rules." The first man said.
"You better learn them fast or you're going to end up dead." The second man said.
The female Fanatic tried to move closer to where the voices were. She wasn't sure who the individuals were or exactly what it is they were up to.
Play It Cool
It's easy for some
To be mean and cruel
They think they're smart
They're just a fool
The one someone cares about
Should be viewed as a jewel
They should be respected
Not treated like a mule
It shouldn't take a lesson
From the 'hard knocks' school
To learn about compassion
As love's golden rule
When two share together
It becomes life's fuel
It will lift them out of
The daily cesspool
Don't act like a tool
Don't live a life dual
Appreciate what is there
Learn to play it cool
Nobody