Chapter 1257
Now What Have You Done
Al and Ed knew there was someone in front of them. Who it was, was anyone's guess. It should be Cammy and Cam since the options were limited. They still needed to worry about a potential enemy. It could be anything at this point.
Cam heard two figures approach her position. She was backed into a feeder pipe. She was ready to fire her Taser. It would take down humans or Terminators. It would most likely not work on a Liquid Metal Terminator. She figured a Liquid Metal Terminator would assume the shape of a serpent to move through the pipes and not walk. It would actually be a more efficient way to move through them, especially as they narrowed.
She listened as the two figures slowed down and stopped. They were right outside of her concealed location. Now she needed to worry about whether they would throw a Thermite grenade in the pipe she was in. Savannah did something similar earlier in the day. The pipe she was in sloped downward. She would try to deflect the Thermite grenade and send it back out into the main pipe. They could also stick their hand into the opening and shoot at her. It was the way Savannah was attacked.
Cam decided to chance it. She pulled out a Thermite grenade herself. If anyone shot at her, she was going to give them a Thermite shower. She didn't want to get ahead of herself. She issued a low decibel challenge.
"Aqua." Cam said very silently.
The reply was instant.
"Bison." A voice said just as silently.
Cam saw one of the figures move past the opening. It would split her fire. They weren't taking any chances with her. She was ready to pull the pin on the Thermite grenade.
A face appeared in front of her. It was Ed.
She scurried out of the narrow pipe.
Cam quickly went over what she'd found out so far. She told them of the pried open grate. Cammy may or may not have done it. There was still the last drainage pipe to check where she'd heard additional noise. She knew Cammy couldn't be in two places at once.
They formed up and moved out. Al and Ed would exit from the opening with the pried off cover. She would check the last narrow pipe before she exited behind them.
Cam watched them start up towards the opening. She moved forward up the narrow pipe. There was a whimpering noise of some kind. Whatever it was, it wasn't a Terminator.
She moved further up the narrow pipe. There was a small chamber at the end of it. She advanced with her Taser at the ready. She poked her head into the chamber with her Taser in front of her. She was dumbfounded by what she'd found.
Steve and Tom approached the target area. They were ready for anything. They neared a drainage grate by where the thermal image was observed. They were right up next to the building almost.
Tom could see the metal grate appeared bent. It started to move as he looked at it. He went down prone and motioned for Steve to do the same. There was someone or some thing moving it. What the thing was, still needed to be determined.
Steve saw Tom point and go down for cover. He understood the warning. Whatever it was apparently hadn't spotted them. It was either going into or coming out of the grate. They would know in a few seconds.
The grate lifted and was set off to the side. Whatever was in there was about to come out. The sound of a drone approaching them grew louder. There was a drone right above them off to the side. It looked like it was to lend close support with the minigun. If it fired its missiles this close to them, they were in jeopardy. They didn't have a clue what its true mission was. It hadn't attacked them. It surely must be one of theirs.
Young Allison and Anna watched the footage from 'Cherry Bomb' and a drone at higher altitude. It showed the whole area including 'Cherry Bomb', Steve and Tom.
Anna could see the drone was too low.
"The drone has moved in too close." Anna said.
The drone carried out Young Allison's 'request'.
"It's 'Cherry Bomb'." Young Allison said. "It's moved down to follow my request if Steve and Tom encounter a Liquid Metal Terminator."
Anna was unsure what was happening. Young Allison communicated directly with CamNet and the drone, they'd bypassed her. She now began to worry what the true nature of the 'request' was.
"What exactly was your 'request'?" Anna asked.
Young Allison laid out what her plan for the drone was.
"'Cherry Bomb' volunteered to carry out the mission to protect Savannah if necessary." Young Allison said. "It was given a choice."
Anna knew a 'request' was the same as an 'order' if it came from one of the 'Chosen Ones'. The machines all knew what the girls wanted when they 'asked' for something. She wanted to remind Young Allison.
"There's no choice if Savannah or you seek something. Every Terminator and machine will comply." Anna said. "You already know this."
Young Allison felt differently. She didn't want any misgivings.
"A choice was offered in this case." Young Allison said. "I made it clear."
Anna began to calculate what choices were open to Young Allison and the drone if a Liquid Metal Terminator was encountered. It appeared it would be something catastrophic.
"Now what have you done?" Anna asked.
Young Allison held firm. Decisive action may become necessary.
"I've taken measures to stop a hostile Liquid Metal Terminator if one is encountered in the scenario playing out below." Young Allison said. "I plan to stop it."
Anna thought about what she'd observed and Young Allison's words. There was only one way to insure 'Cherry Bomb' could destroy a Liquid Metal Terminator.
"You've sent 'Cherry Bomb' to overload its power cell." Anna said. "It's on a suicide mission for you."
Young Allison was sure she'd covered all the bases for the Terminators and drone which would be affected. They would all exist again.
"It has a large power cell." Young Allison said. "If Steve and Tom start to lose a battle with a Liquid Metal Terminator, 'Cherry Bomb' will engage it with all its weapons and then slam into it as its power cell ruptures. The drones which accompanied Cameron and Savannah, in Cameron's future, all did the same thing against standard Terminators and Grays. It's in the reports. Their sacrifice ensured Cameron was able to complete her mission and destroy Skynet."
Anna could see it was a sound plan to stop a hostile Liquid Metal Terminator. It would also be very destructive.
"When the power cell explodes it will seriously damage if not destroy the Liquid Metal Terminator. Steve and Tom will also be destroyed. Their power cells will most likely rupture too and explode." Anna said. "This technique could only be employed in a semi isolated area like this. Most of the building will also be destroyed. You didn't consult me."
Young Allison bypassed Anna to take full responsibility for what was about to happen. The drone also asked for something in return. It was a noble request. It showed 'all' machines still could think of others and their well being.
"It's my sole responsibility. What may happen here, is to remain in the room with us." Young Allison said. "It was a request from 'Cherry Bomb'. It doesn't want to set a precedent for the future destruction of its brethren. This was a volunteer mission. If this mission goes critical, it will be recorded 'Cherry Bomb' provided close air support and was hit by ground fire. The events which follow afterwards will be because of this 'incident'."
It was clear to Anna that Cameron's influence radiated from Young Allison right now. It would clearly be a 'cover up' to what actually occurred. She didn't think it was the wisest choice. She looked at where Savannah's SUV was.
"Savannah may be in too close." Anna said.
Young Allison tried to cover it as well.
"CamNet was to tell her to hold and seek cover." Young Allison said.
Anna spotted movement from the drone camera.
"There's something moving down there." Anna said.
Young Allison was unable to see it.
"You can see it a lot better than I can." Young Allison said.
Anna was a little surprised to see two of their Terminators on the ground.
"Steve and Tom are both down." Anna said.
Young Allison hoped she had all of the bases covered. She really didn't know.
"'Cherry Bomb' will not fail." Young Allison said.
Savannah wanted to go down to assist Steve and Tom. Now CamNet told her she needed to stay where she was and seek cover. It went against every instinct in her body.
It was clear to her what Young Allison was going to do. 'Cherry Bomb' had been sent on a suicide mission. Cammy and Cam were down there too somewhere. What about them? Would they be buried alive or incinerated when the large power cell exploded? What about Steve and Tom?.
Savannah was the one who made sure what happened in Cameron's future was accurately reported. Now she wished she'd listened to Cameron and selectively left some information out. It was obvious it was where Young Allison learned to use the tactic. Cameron told her sometimes all the details don't need to be told if the overall report is accurate. She understood why now. Every extreme action taken would encourage others to act the same way if it was successful.
The time she'd saved the small child from drowning was one report she wanted squelched. She didn't want everyone complementing her for her actions. She'd save the life of a small child. She didn't want praise for doing what needed to be done. She felt anyone would have done the same thing. Cameron, CamNet and John Henry followed her wishes. They covered up her involvement.
Now she may be seconds away from a massive explosion. CamNet warned her the building would most likely be destroyed as well. Savannah could see it was a very large structure. She would need to find better cover.
She was worried about the six Terminators down there. She was worried about Cammy. She made up her mind. She wasn't going to let Cammy or the others be destroyed. The time for cowering was over. It was time to fight.
Savannah collected her weapons. She'd readied them earlier. She headed down to assist Steve and Tom. They were all going to fight. From there they would find the others and Cammy.
Savannah sent out a transmission. She hoped it would make everyone listen.
"Be advised, I'm going down there to help them. I'm leaving now." Savannah said. "Make sure 'Cherry Bomb' knows I'm coming."
Savannah looked around. There was no time bubble. She hoped it was a good thing. She proceeded to run as fast as she could to get to the target area. She wasn't about to leave anyone behind. She wasn't about to allow them to be vaporized either.
Allison and Vanna were with John Henry in the Command Center.
"I've lost track of exactly what's happening right now." Allison said. "It looks like we have lost contact with four Terminators underground and maybe two more are down on the surface."
It seemed like a straightforward assessment to John Henry.
"You're correct." John Henry said.
Vanna spotted Savannah on the move on the satellite overlay map.
"Look at the tracking." Vanna said. "Savannah's on her way down to assist them."
Allison understood her motivation.
"She's going after Cammy." Allison said.
John Henry believed it was more than that. It wasn't just for Cammy. He'd watched Savannah operate under similar circumstances previously.
"She's going after all of them." John Henry said.
Vanna was very worried about Cam at this point.
"Cam is down there too somewhere." Vanna said. "I'm as worried as Savannah is."
Allison could see a drone was down very low.
"Why's one drone so low?" Allison asked.
John Henry was unsure. Young Allison was in control of the specific drone. It was currently operating autonomously.
"CamNet hasn't released the information." John Henry said.
Allison knew who was behind it.
"It means it's Allison's doing." Allison said. "It must be why they told Savannah to stand down."
Vanna developed a sick feeling inside her.
"There could only be one reason for it and everything we're witnessing right now." Vanna said.
John Henry already reached the same conclusion.
"I'm afraid you're correct." John Henry said. "I've deduced the same thing as well."
Allison was confused.
"I need some help understanding." Allison said. "What's about to happen?"
Vanna gripped Allison's arm.
"It won't be anything good." Vanna said. "Allison, call Young Allison and make sure she knows Savannah is going down to help them. Call her right now, hurry."
Vanna could picture what was about to unfold.
Earlier:
Sheila was just about to exit her small room when Ally arrived.
"Are you OK?" Ally asked. "I've been looking for you."
Sheila pointed to a small bag.
"Yes." Sheila said. "I needed to pick up a few items."
Ally was afraid Sheila was going to have sex with the two girls they'd encountered earlier.
"Are you going to be with those girls we met?" Ally asked.
Sheila wanted to be with them. She was also conflicted.
"I don't know." Sheila said. "To be honest with you, I want to try someone different now. I've experienced a 'taste' for different things now. I want more."
Ally always followed Cameron's rules about sexual partners.
"I don't know about taking things to extremes." Ally said. "We've avoided all others outside our group so far. I have anyway."
Sheila followed the rules too.
"I have too." Sheila said. "It was really hard for Cammy and I in the past."
Ally would have like to known more about the temporal excursion. Sheila would never talk about their endeavor. She always said the files were blocked.
"I thought you didn't remember much." Ally said.
Sheila could remember how lonely Cammy was without Savannah.
"I don't." Sheila said. "I remember being with Cammy and how lonely she was."
She also knew she would have been able to help a lot of females find their true sexuality. Things were very repressed in the past. She was sure she could have saved a lot of broken lives going forward.
Sheila picked up her small bag. She'd already taken some items out of it.
Ally wondered what Sheila was up to now.
"What's in the bag?" Ally asked.
Sheila smiled at Ally. She opened the bag for Ally to look at.
"Don't you trust me?" Sheila asked.
Ally felt a bigger worry for Sheila if she messed up.
"I don't want you to get into trouble." Ally said. "I don't want Cameron to have an excuse to deactivate you so she can have unlimited use of your chassis."
Sheila was willing to give Cameron control of her chassis anytime. If Cameron used the tether, it wasn't a problem for her. She was able to experience everything anyway. She could get more out of it than if she did a chip swap. She doubted Cameron would allow her to use her chassis for sex with others.
"I'll allow Cameron to do it anytime the same way she takes control of my chassis now, to do the same things we've already done." Sheila said. "You need to try it one time."
Sheila would allow Ally to use her chassis.
Ally still didn't like the idea of Cameron being so selfish.
"You want me to give my virginity to Cameron, so she can be the one to 'lose it'?" Ally asked. "Then I'll be like Allison. It will be taken from me."
Sheila saw it a little differently. She felt more like Jesse now.
"We have the 'Neural Interface' files from the girls. It allows us to be more like them without the violence, pain or suffering." Sheila said. "I'm like Jesse now."
Ally didn't think it was quite the same thing, even if the result was the same. She was aware of the guilt Allison felt for what happened to her.
"What about the guilt?" Ally asked. "Allison always felt guilty, she blamed herself. She still does."
Sheila understood it.
"So does Jesse." Sheila said. "She always blamed herself and she became the things they called her and said she was. She became like them to make the guilt and pain stop. It didn't work. It made it worse."
It made Ally wonder what Sheila was really trying to accomplish.
"What are you doing?" Ally asked.
Sheila didn't regret her choice. She would do it again the same way in an instant.
"I'm sharing something beautiful I can't have any other way." Sheila said. "This is the only way I'll ever be allowed to share the love of Cameron and John. Cameron gets to use my chassis and I get the file."
Sheila went into the private area. Ally followed her. They headed for the Control Center.
"Let me go see where those girls are at." Sheila said.
Ally wondered what Sheila was actually going to do.
"Are you really going to install your second set of rings on the one girl?" Ally asked. "I saw they were in the bag."
Sheila wanted to share the beauty.
"I'll do it if she'll allow me to." Sheila said.
Ally looked a little worried. She didn't want Sheila to get carried away.
"You won't try to 'modify' anything else on her will you?" Ally asked. "Things won't regenerate on them."
Sheila knew what Ally meant. She would help out any female who wanted to look better. She could save them thousands of dollars.
"Not in this setting I won't." Sheila said. "Off the ship I would. I have a lot of practice."
Ally frowned at Sheila.
"I know." Ally said. "I'm still upset about it."
Ally wondered when Cameron was going to get wind of things and put a stop to it.
They entered the Control Center.
"I was just about to get you." Jim said.
Ally was a little confused.
"Who?" Ally asked.
Jim looked indifferent.
"Sheila." Jim said.
Sheila wondered what for.
"I haven't done anything yet." Sheila said.
Ally worried about Sheila's safety. She didn't want things to turn ugly.
"Don't give Cameron an excuse to deactivate you." Ally said. "I'm warning you."
Sheila felt the 'Chosen Ones' would prevent her termination by Cameron.
"Young Allison or Savannah won't allow anything to be permanent." Sheila said. "I've touched both of them in personal ways, even if they were in different ways."
Jim wondered why Sheila wasn't concerned. There was a new issue to deal with.
"Sheila, you'd better take a look at this." Jim said. "It's Cameron and Jesse being confronted by those two females you interacted with in the casino. They evidently think they're Ally and you."
Ally didn't think things were going to end well.
"Oh, brother, I tried to warn her." Ally said.
Sheila wanted to hear what they said.
"Let's hear the audio." Sheila said.
Cameron was worried about what Sheila and Ally may have done. She went back and checked on everyone in the rear lounge. She asked Jesse and Claire to keep John entertained and to dance with him for a while. The Metal girls present were all on board as well to keep him occupied.
She contacted Jim and wanted to know more about what may have occurred.
He didn't mention Sheila's foray to the Medical Center for her after hours visit. It was probably some other issue which would rear its head soon enough.
Cameron headed back to the Control Center. She was going to find out what was going on. She wanted to give the Metal girls more sexual freedom but not if she planned on using their chassis as 'her own chassis'.
She wasn't angry at Sheila, at least not yet. She knew it was probably her fault for using Sheila's chassis in the first place. Sheila was probably experiencing a lot of different emotions right now. It was a pretty good bet they weren't all good.
Cameron would have to cut Sheila some slack. After all, Sheila did allow her the ability to lose her virginity for her. She smiled as she thought about it.
'Everyone sacrifices for John Connor.' Cameron thought as she walked.
She really hoped all the other Metal girls understood the same thing. It didn't really matter. She planned to make all of them 'sacrifice' for John Connor. She would benefit as well.
Jim took the call from Cameron through the server. He wanted Sheila and Ally to have a 'heads up'.
"Cameron is on her way here now." Jim said.
Ally felt the smart thing was to get away from there before Cameron arrived.
"We'd better take off." Ally said.
Jim thought Ally wanted to get away.
"Where are you going to go?" Jim asked. "You're on a ship at sea."
Sheila felt she hadn't done anything inappropriate, yet.
"I'm not the one who's done anything 'wrong'." Sheila said.
It was clearly a 'jab' at what Cameron had done.
Ally agreed with Sheila's statement. It was Cameron who'd done what was 'wrong'.
"If anything, you were the one who was wronged." Ally said.
Sheila touched Ally's cheek. It was something special to her. It wasn't evil or sinister.
"I don't see it that way, Ally." Sheila said. "It was beautiful."
Ally was worried for Sheila.
"If Cameron tries to deactivate you, I'll offer her the use of my chassis if she doesn't crush your chip." Ally said.
The show of solidarity made Sheila feel good about Ally.
"You would sacrifice for me?" Sheila asked. "I know how you feel about it."
Ally would do whatever she could to protect Sheila.
"Sacrifice is the true test of love." Ally said.
Ally hoped it wasn't tested. If it was, it was. Sometimes there were things people needed to stand up for.
John looked around and wondered where Cameron went.
Jesse thought now was a good time to get closer to John. She was going to do what Cameron asked her. She might as well set the mood. She could see Claire wanted in on the action too. She was well aware Claire suffered from 'Sausage Sickness'. She'd already received a guarantee from Cameron she could be with John. She would let Claire take a crack at John to see where it went. She wanted to be chosen. She would see who John chose.
Claire saw it as her chance to get closer to John. She looked over at Jesse and Jesse nodded. She smiled at Jesse. She didn't want any problems. She was unaware Cameron already drafted Jesse. She approached John on her own.
"Will you ask me to dance?" Claire asked.
John looked up at Claire. She looked so beautiful in her dress.
"I'm not a good dancer." John said.
Claire's eyes never left his.
"I think we can work something out." Claire whispered. "I'm a dance and music instructor."
John smiled at Claire. It seemed to him to be a pretty good way to learn. He was sure Claire could teach him a few things in bed too.
"I guess you are." John said.
John looked around and wondered where Cameron was at.
Claire reached down and took John's hand.
He hesitated at first but followed her when it became clear she wasn't going to release him.
John placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Your hand doesn't go there." Claire whispered.
John was unsure where it went.
"I'm sorry." John said.
John went to withdraw his hand.
Claire reached up and took it. She held it and looked into his eyes.
"I'll show you where it goes." Claire said.
Claire continued to look into John's eyes. She took his hand and slowly but firmly ran it over her left breast, pausing momentarily to make a point as to where his hand was. She then continued along the curve of the side of her figure to her hip.
John held her gaze the entire time.
"Are there any questions?" Claire asked.
John swallowed hard.
"Can you show me again?" John asked.
Claire smiled at John.
"Let's try the other side." Claire said.
Claire and John inched closer to each other.
It would soon be as if they were making love but still clothed as they held each other.
John really liked what Claire had to offer. It seemed she offered a lot. He looked around for Cameron but didn't spot her. He figured she was close by.
Hank and Larry soon picked up their loose pursuit of the female Fanatic. They were aware now their operation started to overlap the Resistance operation.
"I think we should better coordinate our efforts with the Resistance operation." Hank said.
Larry didn't want to cause any waves.
"When CamNet determines it's appropriate, it will be so." Larry said.
CamNet listened to their conversation. She knew both Savannah and Young Allison wanted to deal with the anti-Metal faction on their own and keep Cameron out of it. She wished to keep both of the girls out of it as well. It was an unnecessary risk to both of them. There were already enough things going on they needed to deal with. Some of those were rather questionable at this point.
She needed to protect Savannah out in the field right now. Nobody needed any unnecessary distractions.
She would have Hank and Larry continue to deal with the female Fanatic and whatever else she uncovered.
The female Fanatic went back to her vehicle and headed towards the next target location. It was clear there were still a few players on the field. She thought it looked like some of them were on her team. She didn't know it was a SkyMaster group who'd been obliterated by the tanker truck.
She was tempted to drive by the front of the location she'd just attacked. So far she hadn't heard any emergency response. She turned in the opposite direction and started to drive away. Something nagged at her. She wasn't sure what it was. She decided to go by the location anyway. She would do it from the opposite side of the street. She made a left hand turn and went down four blocks. She made another left turn and went up to the main street. She paused at the main street to see if there was any unusual activity.
There were no cars stopped on the street. She could see the building burning off to her left. She checked both directions one more time and made another left. She approached the burning building at one third the posted speed limit. She was only going about fifteen miles an hour. She constantly checked around her and her mirrors.
Much to her surprise there was a man staggering around in front of the burning building. Alarm bells begin to go off in her head. It appeared the armless man wasn't the only survivor of the blast. The man staggering around looked burnt and bloody. He appeared to have all of his limbs. She was going to need to take some type of action.
Hank and Larry waited for the female Fanatic to make her next move. It appeared she was going to leave the area. They were a little surprised when she started on a roundabout route to go back to the burning building.
"Why is she going back there?" Hank asked.
Larry went over the drone images.
"We saw one man escape out the back." Larry said. "He didn't go far."
Hank pulled over and parked.
"There's one more survivor." Hank said.
Larry looked at the zoomed in drone image.
"He appears to be severely burnt." Larry said.
They watched the female Fanatic approach the location.
"I wonder how she knew to go back." Hank said.
Larry understood human intuition. It was something that didn't exist in reality. Somehow it seemed to have played a role in more than one operation with humans involved.
"We know she's been very lucky in all of her endeavors." Larry said. "She probably had a 'feeling' something wasn't right."
They watch the female Fanatic's vehicle head towards the burnt man.
The female Fanatics first instinct was to run the man down with her vehicle. She didn't want to damage it since she'd just acquired it. She could see headlights in the distance now in both directions. She was going to need to act fast.
She turned off her headlights. She pulled up to the curb. She was headed the wrong way on the street.
The staggering man spotted the vehicle on the street.
"Help me." The man gasped.
The female Fanatic had her pistol in her hand. She raised it and pointed it at the man.
The man stopped in his tracks. There was a look of resignation on his face.
The female took aim at the man.
"SkyMaster sends its regards." The female Fanatic said.
She pulled the trigger three times. The man fell. She looked around and pulled back to the proper side of the road. She turned her headlights back on. She left the area at normal speed. The headlights in front of her would pass her in a few seconds. She hoped it wasn't a police cruiser. The headlights behind her were still behind her. They didn't appear to be on an intercept course.
There was a flash of light behind her. She heard the sound of an explosion almost at the same time. It appeared another bomb or explosives detonated inside of the building. She was glad she wasn't parked in front of it when it happened.
The car that approached her was a sports car. It was probably someone on their way back from a bar. They slowed when they saw the explosion and turned off and went down one of the side streets. It looked like they didn't want to get involved. They probably had a drink or two too many and didn't want to get pulled over and questioned when the police showed up. She checked her rear view mirror again. The car behind her was gone. It must have turned off as well.
She didn't know there wouldn't be any emergency response.
CamNet wanted as much as possible destroyed by the fire. She wanted the female Fanatic terminated. It could wait a little bit. Currently, the female Fanatic did what needed to be done as far as the Resistance was concerned. She was worried about Savannah at the old newspaper plant. The more things the female Fanatic destroyed along with Hank and Larry. The less Savannah would need to become involved with them later on.
The female Fanatic turned off of the main street once she was satisfied there were no vehicles around her. She needed to look carefully to make sure no one followed her without their lights on. They didn't. She took several side streets before she entered another main street.
It appeared she'd come across some type of 'hit list' from the Grays. It took her thirty minutes to reach the next location. When she neared it, she took as many side streets as possible.
She drove past the location. It was a storefront located along a row of other stores. They all appeared to share a common wall with each other. The front windows were covered and there was a 'For Lease' sign on the door. There was no light visible. She was unsure what the nature of the building was. There was nothing obvious.
A little more investigation would be necessary. She drove down two blocks and made a right. She made another right at the first street and then another right. She came up on the street that bordered the storefronts. There was an alley that ran in the back. She turned off her lights and turned into the alley. The storefront what's three stores from the west end. She counted off the back of the stores as she moved through the alley in darkness. There were no lights at all in the alley. There was enough Moonlight for her to see what was there but not in detail.
She passed by the back of the store. There was no light visible anywhere. She continued at the same slow pace and exited the alley. She made a left turn onto the side street and drove off. She thought about parking and getting some rest. She didn't think rest was what she needed right now. She needed to find some more targets. She wanted to look through the boxes she'd taken from the one building. There were several fast food establishments along the next main street. She looked for the one with the brightest parking lot lights. She turned in. She went through the drive thru and ordered a combo meal. She pulled around and parked.
She quickly consumed the food. She looked through the first box as she did. There were several documents with more addresses. It appeared someone worked on a target list. She took the second box and began to look through it as well.
Hank and Larry watched the female Fanatic drive by the store fronts from drone footage They didn't know what her objective was. They watched her take the roundabout route and return through the alley. They were currently a quarter of a mile away. As soon as she drove away they arrived at the row of storefronts.
"One of these buildings is her target." Hank said.
Larry looked over the storefronts as they passed.
"Three of the eight appear to be unoccupied." Larry said. "Only one of them had the front windows covered."
Hank wanted a closer look.
"I think the one with the covered windows is the target." Hank said.
He made a right at the end of the block and turned into the alley. He drove through without spotting anything unusual on any of the establishments.
Larry watched the drone images as the female Fanatic pulled into a fast food restaurant and ordered some food. She parked in the parking lot of the establishment. He received a zoomed in drone image.
"It looks like she's going through the boxes now." Larry said.
Hank looked back at the hard drives they'd taken from her.
"She's going to notice something is missing." Hank said.
Larry didn't think she could do much about it.
"She may think she left them in the van." Larry said. "It's not like she can go back and look."
Hank thought the female Fanatic was going to be tied up for a while.
"Why don't we go back and check out the three storefronts for lease." Hank said.
Larry knew where they should start.
"Let's check the one with the blocked windows first." Larry said.
The female Fanatic finished her food and the rest of her drink. She soon finished going through the second box. She came up with a few leads but nothing concrete. She looked towards the fast food establishment. She hadn't wanted to go in earlier. She thought maybe she should use the restroom. She didn't know when she would have the opportunity again.
She headed inside the establishment through the side door. She hoped the restrooms wouldn't be locked. They were at a lot of locations. She tried the door marked for 'females'. It was locked. She looked around and tried the door marked for 'males'. It opened. She opened the door slowly and looked inside. It was currently unoccupied. She hadn't seen anyone else go inside since she'd parked. Only two cars had used the drive thru since she'd been there. Both of them drove away. She decided to use the restroom there anyway.
Something nagged in the back of her head as she sat on the toilet. What was it? What troubled her?
Wait!
Where were the hard drives? She knew she'd put two hard drives in one of the boxes. She didn't see them in either box when she'd looked through them. She didn't think they could have fallen out. If they fell out into the back of the van, she hadn't noticed them. If they were in the van they were gone. She finished up in the stall and flushed the toilet. She was about to open the door of the stall when she heard the bathroom door open. She reached down and touched her pistol. She peeked through the gap in the door and saw it was one of the employees. They used the urinal and left. She noted they didn't wash their hands before they went out. It made her think about the meal she'd just eaten. She was sure she'd faced a lot worse in the future. She washed her hands and exited. She started to walk away. She went back to check the door to the female restroom. It was still locked. She headed back out to her vehicle.
She opened the rear door and looked around. The only thing there was her long gun and the magazines. There was no sign of the hard drives. She sat back in the driver's seat and quickly looked through both boxes again. She knew they weren't there but she looked anyway.
She began to wonder if there was someone who was able to track her again. She'd thought the same thing at the park when she was accosted by the police. She knew someone else had been in the hillside complex since she was in it. Now the hard drives were gone. She was sure she had them in the van. Someone must have been in the van and taken them. Maybe it was why she'd checked her bomb to make sure it was still armed. It had been disarmed at one point. Someone was in her van then as well. It appeared she'd encountered a 'shadow force' at least three different times. For some reason they hadn't engaged her. They probably could have killed her each of the three times she'd run across them. She wondered why she was still alive. She wondered which group it was. She'd never been followed as far as she knew. There must be a tracker on her person. There's no other way they could have tracked her otherwise.
Wait.
What if there was an HK drone?
Why hadn't they taken her out? An HK drone could attack her at any time.
Wait.
Maybe she was reading more into the story than there was.
The female Fanatic decided to look through both boxes again and see if there was anything anyone could track. She didn't think there was.
Hank and Larry decided they would see what was inside of the storefront with the blocked windows. They would go in the front door and the back door at the same time.
"I'll take the back." Hank said.
Larry wanted to make sure of a few things.
"I'll go in the front." Larry said. "Are we going to go in hard?"
Hank knew there were three potential storefronts they needed to check. It could actually be more than those three. All they knew is the row of storefronts held some type of interest for the female Fanatic. They didn't even know what they were looking for.
"Maybe we should try a soft entry." Hank said. "We're unsure of our target. We don't want to alert anyone else unnecessarily."
Hank and Larry took up their positions in the front and back of the storefront. They carefully opened the front and rear door. No alarm sounded as the doors were opened. They entered the building.
Now What Have You Done
Two may be enthralled
They seek a little fun
They never even consider
It's just another rerun
Things can hit the rocks
Before it's even begun
They've already lost
When they think they've won
The sum of one and one
Often will equal none
It can leave a mind in tatters
As one will soon shun
The first instinct
Is always to bail and run
It only upsets them further
The way the tale is spun
Think about everyone
They're not just anyone
Your actions weigh a ton
Now what have you done
Nobody