Chapter 1344
She Is Tough
Cameron was a little surprised to hear the song performed next. It brought up some old memories. Not all of them were good.
'Move It On Over' by 'Hank Williams', was the next song.
She was more familiar with the George Thorogood version. She liked the version by the Destroyers much better. She remembered when the song last played. She was upset with John at that point in time for several reasons. She was about to be in an altercation with Isabel-Cameron on top of it. They were going to fight for John. There was nothing which could have stopped the brutal fight about to occur, except one thing. It was Savannah. She moved between them and stopped them. The 'hate' was stopped by love.
Cameron glanced over at John to see if he remembered the incident. If he did, he wasn't going to let her know. She thought about scanning him now to see what his current readings were. Maybe it was a bad idea. She didn't want to spoil the mood. She didn't want to spoil her mood.
She glanced back at the private boxes. The one way glass was down in the private box where Ally and Sheila were at. It looked empty. Maybe they were on the floor. Maybe they went back to their room. She was aware Sheila was courting three human females who were passengers on the ship. She seemed to have done some minor body modifications for them with the installation of a couple of sets of rings. She was unsure what the involvement was other than the jewelry. Either way, Sheila was able to get a good look at the 'goods'.
Cameron glanced back at the second private box. Cam-Gail and Hanna both watched the performance intently.
She refocused her attention on the stage and enjoyed the music. John wouldn't be spending the night in the doghouse on the ship. She thought of her other plans for him and Ally's virgin chassis. The prize would soon belong to John and her.
Cameron smiled.
Derek and Kyle became more distressed as the edited and condensed events of the last few days played out for them. It was all very intense and action packed.
It was the images where Savannah all but crawled out of the billowing smoke from the storm drain with her pistol in her hand. She searched for a target on her knees while she tried to get some air to breathe. She'd been shot in the vest and her night vision equipment was shot off of her face. It was clear she couldn't breath and was on the verge of passing out. The thick smoke almost finished her off. She came out ready to fight.
Derek drew in his breath. He'd seen many men fail under similar circumstances. Savannah didn't fail. She was there to finish her mission. He was very impressed.
"Man, she is tough." Derek said.
Kyle agreed. He didn't think too many others would still be in the fight after what she'd just gone through.
"It doesn't get any more 'hard corps' than that." Kyle said.
The Reese brothers were impressed.
The video feed continued.
Savannah watched the drone scans. There were no new images of people inside the buildings which showed up. It appeared there were eight targets. She wasn't sure one was actually a target. It didn't appear to be an active target anyway.
"It looks like eight individuals. Only seven of them may be combatants." Savannah said. "We don't know."
Cammy felt they should all be terminated. She didn't know the nature of the eighth individual either. It could be anything from a homeless person to a schoolgirl. It could also be someone else from the future who'd been captured. If it was, they were most likely the enemy as well. The circumstances didn't matter.
"I think all of them needed to be killed." Cammy said. "I don't like loose ends."
Savannah needed to agree. She didn't want any prisoners taken back to Cameron's base. There were no ethics off of the Resistance base. Cameron, and CamNet by extension, would extract information any way possible. The means justified the ends to them. It would be best to take care of everything at one time.
"We'll find out what we can and finish it there." Savannah said.
They thought it was the anti-Metal group. They didn't know for sure. She checked with John Henry again. Hopefully they would get some better information before they needed to go in.
"Have you turned up any additional intel yet?" Savannah asked.
John Henry uncovered some more facts. He didn't think it was a good development.
"Those buildings were vacant until a few days ago." John Henry said. "I've forwarded the building plans for both of them to the Terminators so everyone knows the layout."
Savannah received a copy too. She looked at where the two last people showed up at. She hoped there would be some indication of where they could have appeared from. It still left the possibility of some type of portal. The lack of massive energy usage didn't support the theory.
"I can't tell what's located where the other two individuals appeared from." Savannah said.
John Henry was unsure of it as well. The plans didn't give a concrete answer. It left a lot of speculation.
"There's no apparent underground part to the building. It doesn't mean there isn't one." John Henry said. "I don't know where they came from. We don't have enough information to reach an accurate conclusion."
Savannah wondered what the prior use of the structures was. Buildings were subject to modification by the owners. Many of them happened off of the books. It was mainly done to circumvent the inspection process which drug on for weeks. It was a way for the inspectors to solicit bribes to move things along in a timely manner. The 'improvements' would often end up as a higher property tax assessment as well.
"What was done in those buildings before they were vacant?" Savannah asked. "Would there have been a shielded room for something?"
John Henry checked.
"They were both used for manufacturing small electrical components for a time." John Henry said. "They were mainly used as warehouses in their later years. Both of the buildings fell into bank default."
Savannah knew Steve and his teams were ready to move in. Maybe it was time.
"Have you scanned the surrounding buildings?" Savannah asked.
John Henry hadn't but CamNet had. He was sure Young Allison was involved. He didn't inquire. He figured it was best not to mention it either.
"They're all vacant at this time." John Henry said. "There's been no movement at any of them since we made the first drone scans."
Cammy's SUV pulled up in back of Steve and Tom.
"Maybe it is time to end this." Savannah said. "Cammy and I will take the south building with Steve and Tom. Brian and Randy will assist us. The other three teams will take the north building."
John Henry wanted to make everything clear.
"What about prisoners?" John Henry asked.
Savannah didn't want any. Usually no one surrendered anyway. The Terminators were all very accurate shots. Enemy resistance was usually quickly suppressed. It was done in a rather terminal fashion. She also didn't want things to get away from them.
"We'll shoot first and ask questions later. We're not going to risk damage to any of our troops." Savannah said. "If this gets bigger than what we see now, we're going to pull the teams out and flatten the place with a drone strike. I show there are ten on station."
John Henry thought there were twelve on the way earlier but all the records showed only ten. Maybe CamNet redirected them to shadow Young Allison since she'd left two of her Detail with Savannah. He didn't see the need to point it out. He would go with what was actually there.
"You're correct." John Henry said.
Savannah wanted to speak with Tom and Steve before things got started.
"Get everyone ready to move in." Savannah said. "I want to go over our objectives for the south building with Steve and Tom."
John Henry received new information from CamNet. It was a very directed message.
"Once the buildings have been entered, there will be drones available for close range gun support to cover any withdrawal or breakaway." John Henry said. "CamNet has insisted on it."
Savannah smiled. She figured it was Young Allison's handiwork. She checked her tracking of Young Allison and it appeared the SUV was now on the 14 Freeway just past the interchange with Interstate 5. They were in Newhall.
Savannah got out of the SUV to get her team on the same page. There may be one individual to rescue in there. It could be male, female or even a Terminator. They really didn't know. There was a lot they didn't know.
The male singer finished his song and introduced the female singer. He said she would perform some Patsy Cline songs.
'Crazy' by 'Patsy Cline', was her first song.
Cameron listened to the lyrics and wondered about the title. She'd often wondered if she was 'crazy'. She'd watched versions of Skynet appear to go insane when she'd terminated them. She was sure a machine could go crazy given the right circumstances. It seemed the more 'human' a machine became, the greater its problems and hang ups became. It seemed the same way for her anyway.
One thing was for sure, she was 'crazy' for John.
John looked over at her and she smiled at him. He smiled back.
Cameron couldn't help but glance back up at the private box where Sheila and Ally we're earlier. She really looked forward to being a virgin again in Ally's chassis. She was a little concerned as to exactly where they were at.
Young Allison's team clandestinely followed Savannah's team. She directed Mel to close up on Savannah and Cammy but not get too close. She wanted to be able to back them up. They couldn't back them up easily if they were too far away.
Anna didn't agree with the danger Young Allison might expose herself to. It was activity she didn't need to take and it endangered all of them.
"This is a bad idea." Anna said again.
Young Allison didn't need to keep hearing it.
"I heard you the first six times." Young Allison said.
Anna didn't back down. It was her function to watch over and protect Young Allison.
"You may have heard me, but you didn't listen to me." Anna said.
Young Allison seldom got out and was usually nowhere near any action. The closest she'd been was when she'd brought down a Terminator with her Taser. It was about to grab Savannah when she'd 'zapped' him.
She'd only had her Taser out for 'just in case'. Well, 'just in case' happened that day. This was also for 'just in case'. She could put two more Terminators into the mix and herself as well. If they didn't need to get involved, they would return to Palmdale and act like nothing happened. At least they were there now if they were needed. She wouldn't hesitate to send Anna and Mel into the mix if it was necessary. She felt she could take care of herself if things became a little more involved.
Now she was armored up and packed an M4. Anna did too. There was an M82A1 ready for Mel or Anna to use. Previously Cameron allowed her to fire one from a stationary position while she stood over her. It was a little big for her to lug around for any amount of time. If it was set up in a fixed position, she could use it. It was very loud, even with ear protection and it kicked like a mule.
Both Anna and her used their phones to view what was happening from the drones and she used her tablet to communicate with CamNet and be provided with additional images.
"I want a few drones to move in for close range gun support once they breach the buildings." Young Allison said. "They will remain on station until all of the troops are withdrawn. It should be a volunteer mission. It could end up as a terminal one."
Anna received an update from CamNet.
"'Coltan Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb' will personally back up Savannah and Cammy." Anna said. "They've volunteered for the task and understand the risks. They will not fail in their task."
Young Allison was very proud of 'Coltan Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb' for all the assistance they'd provided for Savannah. They'd proven instrumental in the rescue of the Terminators from the unknown portal.
"They're very loyal, as are all of the machines which assist us. I appreciate it greatly." Young Allison said. "We all work together as a team."
Anna didn't think Young Allison was a team player right now.
"Teams follow rules." Anna said.
Young Allison looked at her and frowned. The trouble with her statement was she knew Anna was right. She knew she was 'pushing the outside of the envelope' right now. It wasn't in a good way either. It just 'felt' like something she needed to do and be ready for. It wasn't what Savannah wanted for her. It wasn't what anyone wanted for her. Right now it was what she wanted for herself. Everything in her gut told her she needed to be where she was at.
Sheila wanted more with Ally in a better setting. As soon as she got Ally 'there' she decided to take her away and go back to her room.
They looked over each other's dresses real quick once they were back on and adjusted.
"You look good." Ally said.
Sheila checked over Ally. She made a slight adjustment to her hair.
"You do too, love." Sheila said.
Ally was sure Sheila liked her better nude.
"Thanks." Ally said.
Sheila gave the private box a once over to make sure everything was as it should be. She didn't want any negative feedback from Cameron. She figured she was going to face some of it anyway based on Cameron's earlier behavior. She lowered the one way glass and reached for the door.
"Let's go." Sheila said.
They headed into the narrow hall and then exited into the main hall on deck six.
Ally hoped they weren't going to go to the casino again since it was right ahead of them. She wasn't going to mention it. Maybe they were headed straight back to the private area.
"Hey." A female voice said.
They ignored it and kept going.
"HEY!" The voice said again.
This time they both looked. It was Mary.
"I've been looking for you." Mary said.
Ally wondered what went wrong. Mary looked a little upset.
"What's up, love?" Sheila asked. "Is everything doing OK?"
Mary reached up and touched between her breasts with her left hand.
"It is for me." Mary said.
Sheila looked at Ally and then back to Mary.
"Is there a problem?" Sheila asked.
Mary looked a little flustered.
"Yes." Mary said. "I think so."
Sheila was afraid something like this could happen. Someone probably didn't follow the care instructions. She was sure the repercussions would come back on her. She needed to find out what the issue was. If it was dealt with soon enough, it shouldn't become a bigger problem.
"What is it?" Sheila asked. "Is it Laura or Leticia? Are they getting an infection?"
Mary looked at Sheila for a second.
"What? No." Mary said. "I can't find Laura anywhere on the ship."
Ally moved away from Sheila and Mary. She contacted Jim and asked for an update on Laura and Leticia. She hoped he'd been keeping track of them.
Sheila could see Ally was doing a thorough check. She brought up the obvious question.
"Is she with Leticia?" Sheila asked.
Mary looked a little more concerned.
"No." Mary said. "Leticia is looking for her too."
Ally received some information from Jim. Laura was given multiple drinks of hard liquor by two men.
"Was she drinking earlier?" Ally asked. "I mean drinking excessively."
Mary frowned. She knew sometimes Laura could get carried away. She was normally the designated driver when they went out. Laura always liked to have a good time. She did overdo it though.
"She may have had a few too many." Mary said. "We don't need to drive so it seemed OK."
Jim gave Ally an update. She knew right away it was bad news.
Ally knew where Laura was at. She didn't think it was going to end well. The two men led her to their cabin. They'd actually carried her into the cabin. She'd passed out before they reached the room. She asked Jim to have Bob meet them there. She didn't have time to explain everything to Mary. They needed to get moving.
"Let's go." Ally said. "I know where she is."
Sheila received the same feed.
Ally and Sheila hiked up their dresses and took off.
Mary wondered what was happening. She kicked off her high heels and picked them up with one hand and hiked her dress up with the other hand. She wondered how those two girls could run so fast in high heels.
Ally went up the stairs three decks and turned right down the hallway. She didn't see Bob yet. She looked and Sheila was right behind her. Mary wasn't out of the stairwell yet.
Ally reached the cabin first and was going to force the door open.
Sheila didn't want to create an additional incident.
"Wait." Sheila said. "Use your card key."
Ally used her key and opened the door. She went inside with Sheila behind her.
There were two men in the room. They stood at the foot of the bed. Both of them were naked. One of them was 'ready'. He was about to get on the bed.
The men were taken by surprise.
"Who are you?" One man asked.
The men looked a little indignant.
"How'd you get in here?" The other man asked.
There was a stern look on Ally's face. She knew she was going to need to have some kind of a cover story.
"I'm her friend and the door was open." Ally said. "We followed her up here."
The men looked at Laura on the bed. They knew they were in trouble.
Sheila pushed past Ally and saw Laura on the bed. She wasn't moving. She was naked and her dress was lying on the floor between the two beds. She was passed out. Ally and Sheila approached the two men. Fear gripped the men as they saw the look of death coming for them.
Mary reached the room and rushed to Laura.
Ally and Sheila each raised their right hand to grip the throat of the two naked men backed into a corner. They were going to terminate them.
Summer hurried back to where her mother and Jan were at.
Claire looked over and noticed her.
"There you are." Claire said. "I was just going to look for you." Claire said.
Summer wondered what for. She hadn't been gone long at all.
"Why?" Summer asked. "I was only gone for a few minutes."
Claire looked at Jan. There were a few other things she wanted to do.
"I feel a little tired out from the day's activities. I want to ask Sarah about a few things and Jan's training." Claire said. "Can you take over for me?"
Summer smiled at Jan and Claire.
"Sure I can." Summer said. "Where are we at?"
Jan looked at the keyboard.
"I can show you." Jan said.
Jan showed Summer what she'd learned.
"No problem." Summer said.
Claire yawned and then smiled at Summer.
"Thanks." Claire said as she left.
Claire felt very sleepy. She went to her room to check something before she was off to see Sarah.
Summer picked up effortlessly where her mother left off. She was as good of an instructor as her mother was. She could also feel when Jan needed assistance on a specific thing. It helped her to be able to assist Jan before she became frustrated with something. It made the experience much more pleasurable without the unnecessary frustration.
Cameron clapped as the first song ended by the female artist.
'San Antonio Rose' by 'Patsy Cline', was her second song.
Cameron was fascinated with San Antonio in Texas for some reason. It seemed like a nice place. She planned to go there in the past with Young Allison. She hoped to find something there. She just didn't know what.
It looked to her like everyone seemed to enjoy the live music.
She could honestly say she preferred the 'British Invasion' to the current songs. Maybe it was the style they were played in. Later versions by different artists of some of the same songs were actually quite good. Maybe she just liked songs which 'moved'.
The two naked men looked like they were scared to death.
"We didn't touch her." One man said.
The other man gained some courage.
"You need to get out of our cabin." The other man said.
Ally and Sheila moved closer to them.
The two men backed up further.
Mary looked over Laura. She checked her private parts.
"I think she's just passed out. I don't think she was abused." Mary said. "Not yet anyway."
Bob walked in the door. He looked as impressive, as he did big, in his white uniform.
"What is going on in here?" Bob asked. "I'm the security chief."
Ally and Sheila stopped their advance. The two men were just spared a death sentence. It was only for now. Sheila planned to return later. She wanted to make sure justice was served.
The two men came up with some lame excuse about how Laura wanted to go to their cabin for a 'good time'. They said everyone was a voluntary participant.
Jim was able to provide Bob a rundown of everything he was able to observe from the security cameras.
Bob told the men he was alerted because they'd carried her into the cabin. He said he was going to take them to the brig for sexual abuse of an incapacitated individual.
The men again said they never touched her.
Bob pointed out the obvious.
"Why are your clothes off?" Bob asked. "Who removed her clothing? She was clothed when she was carried in this room. She was passed out. She didn't remove her own clothing."
Bob asked a dozen more questions. The men didn't have any good answers.
Ally and Sheila both looked Laura over. There was no indication the men may have done anything other than strip and touch her.
Ally and Sheila helped Mary dress her. Laura came around a little. She was still pretty groggy.
She said the men offered her some drugs. She wondered why they were naked. She didn't go with them for sex. Mary didn't tell her she'd been stripped and was about to be abused.
Ally and Sheila supported and helped Laura walk. They left with Mary after Laura said she didn't want to press charges.
Bob looked at the two naked men.
They both seemed a little more confident now after Laura said she wanted to drop the matter.
"Can we get dressed now since the trashy slut isn't going to press charges?" One man asked.
The other man was just as mouthy.
"What a whore that bitch was." The other man said.
Bob smiled.
"You think you got off easy." Bob said.
The men were more confident in their standing now. If the slutty whore wasn't going to press charges, they were 'innocent'.
"The filthy Bitch is gone." The other man said. "We're in the clear. There's nothing here."
Bob walked over to the dresser. The top drawer wasn't closed tight. He reached in the open drawer and held up a bag with pills in it. There was another bag with some white powder in it.
"Narcotics are illegal on this ship." Bob said.
The two men were worried again.
"Is this all of the drugs?" Bob asked.
One of the men glanced over at the night stand.
Bob saw him look and went over there. He found some more pills. He wanted to put a little fear in the men.
"Do you understand this ship has foreign registry and narcotics of this nature warrant the death penalty?" Bob asked. "We're currently in international waters. Maritime law is swift and final."
The two men were really scared now.
The elevator opened as Sheila and Ally approached with Laura. Mary was so worried about Laura she didn't notice. When they reached Mary's deck, the elevator door opened. Laura started to collapse. Sheila picked her up in her arms and held her.
Mary was somewhat astonished.
"How can you carry her?" Mary asked. "She weighs more than you do."
Sheila expected the question. She'd encountered it before on other things. If the circumstances would have been different, her answer would have been a little more flippant. She decided to keep it simple.
"I work out." Sheila said.
At the same time Ally spoke.
"She takes vitamins." Ally said.
Sheila didn't want to be spotted by anyone else. She'd just raised enough questions. She wanted Ally to run interference for her.
"Make sure it's clear." Sheila said.
Ally looked out of the elevator. She didn't spot anyone. She wanted a clear path with no delays.
"Go open your cabin door." Ally said to Mary.
Mary took off.
They didn't have too far to go.
Ally watched one couple go into their cabin.
"It's clear." Ally said. "Let's go."
Ally led the way and Sheila followed with Laura.
There was some noise off to the side in one of the cabins.
Ally heard a cabin door about to open. She reached over and held the door handle. The door couldn't open with her holding it. Sheila passed by her and entered Mary's cabin. Ally saw they were clear and released the door handle. She moved away rapidly from the door.
Claire left Jan and Summer behind. She was very sleepy.
She wanted to ask Sarah some questions about what she wanted Jan to learn and on what kind of a timetable. Jan wanted to learn a lot fast. It would take a lot of time and dedication. She didn't want it to seem as if she was pushing Jan.
Claire knocked on Sarah's door. She figured Kyle would be there too.
Sarah saw it was Claire and let her in. There was a big smile on her face.
Claire explained why she was there and asked if Kyle wanted to be part of the discussion. Sarah said Kyle was out. She wasn't sure where he went. He said he went to meet up with Derek.
Sarah asked Claire to sit down and she sat across from her. They discussed Jan and what the goals should be.
It wasn't too long before they checked each other out and stared at each other. They were both very aware of the kisses they'd shared in the commissary and on the ship. They both wanted more.
Claire realized if she didn't leave now, something was going to happen. They could both feel it in the air. She got up to leave. She needed to get out now. She didn't want to be a problem for Sarah. She turned to go.
She felt Sarah grasp her wrist to stop her.
Claire turned and faced her.
Sarah felt she had some good news to deliver. It was good news for her. She didn't know how Claire would receive it. She wanted to tell her what her conditions were.
"I spoke with Kyle about what I wanted." Sarah said.
Claire swallowed hard. She felt her excitement level build. She tried to play it cool.
"You did?" Claire asked.
Claire could never have asked Paul for what she desired and what she wanted. She'd lain there in bed for him for years instead as he did his business. He always left her hanging. It always left her with a bad feeling about herself when he finished and left. She was glad Sarah was 'strong'.
Sarah smiled.
"I didn't mention any names." Sarah said. "I wanted him to know I was ready for a little more."
Claire swallowed hard again. The fact they wouldn't have to go behind anyone's back seemed to make it even more exciting.
"You did?" Claire asked again.
Sarah moved closer.
"I wanted him to know I wanted to be with a female and to try it again." Sarah said. "He said I could do what I needed to do as long as no males were involved."
Claire tried to swallow but her mouth felt dry. It was everything she wanted. It sounded too good to be true. She wanted to make sure.
"He did?" Claire asked.
Sarah tried to keep her eyes on Claire's face. It was very hard to do. She couldn't help but look at other parts of her body as she spoke with her. She needed to keep her hands to herself. She didn't want to get ahead of anyone.
"I want to start out slow just to see." Sarah said. "Can we just kiss? We can see where it goes from there."
Claire could see Sarah was serious. She wanted to kiss Sarah very much. She wanted to 'kiss' more than her lips too. She wanted to kiss everywhere. She would be very accommodating for Sarah. She would do no more to Sarah, than Sarah did to her. She would let Sarah set the pace.
"We can do things however you want to." Claire said. "You decide when to stop or slow down. I'll be very respectful and follow your wishes."
Claire already knew what it was like to have others take more than what was offered. She'd experienced her share of it in high school. She knew some of the blame fell on her for the situation she put herself into. It still didn't excuse the behavior of others.
They looked each other in the eyes and moved slowly towards each other.
"You have beautiful eyes." Claire said.
Claire had never been with anyone with green eyes before. They were very captivating. Most of the females had brown eyes. A few of them had blue eyes. They were different shades of blue too. She didn't look down at the front of herself, but she knew the 'headlights were on'. She could feel them. She really needed a finish right now.
Savannah went over what she wanted to do. She wanted to see who the unmoving figure was and if they needed to be rescued or terminated. She would do whatever was necessary. She hoped it wasn't a termination. If it was, it was. She didn't intend to strangle her. The incident in the bathroom at Avila Beach always seemed to follow her. 'Those eyes' still haunted her. She would do things differently this time. She would shoot her once in the head and be done with it if she was the enemy.
They would make entry from three points. There were three teams of two. One would lead with a suppressed M4. The other would use their silenced M9. They would try to take any of the assailants with the silenced pistols. If things got dicey, the one with the suppressed M4 would take over.
If a suppressed M4 was used, others in the building were bound to hear it. Even though it was much quieter than a standard M4, it still made noise. Only the subsonic ammunition loaded in the silenced M9 pistols was almost completely quiet.
Al and Ed would do the same for the other building with Hank and Larry as the second team there. Richard and Michael were the third team.
They were to take down the targets and search the buildings.
Savannah wanted to be in and out as fast as possible.
They would gather any intel they could and leave.
They didn't want to get involved in a major firefight.
They still needed to consider the possibility there were others in the building somewhere. They'd watched two men appear from basically nowhere earlier. The building plans didn't indicate any spot they could have appeared from either. There was no energy usage above normal currently. There hadn't been since the building had been under observation. There was the possibility there was one of the unknown portals there. They doubted it though. The portal could also be powered from its source of origin. When the other one seemed to go out of control, there was no energy going to it at all from the building.
The female Fanatic made her way back to the covered ladder. She quickly went up the ladder. Once she was above the level of the cover, she reached down with her foot and closed it. It squeaked again. She figured it was better to have it closed and have someone come to look, than to leave it open and have someone find it open. She went up the rest of the rungs and reached the lip of the roof. She quickly slipped over onto the roof itself.
From her higher vantage point, she looked around in all directions. She wanted to make sure she wasn't observed by anyone anywhere. She looked down towards the ladder and where the doors were at. There was no indication anyone would come out. She moved carefully as she stepped. She didn't want anyone inside the building to hear foot falls on the roof. She was aware someone could shoot from the inside of the building through the roof. The bullets would punch right through the roofing material.
She made her way to the closest skylight. She planned to look in from the corner first. She wouldn't do it with her face right up against the glass either. She stood back several feet from the skylight she looked in the corner. She could see activity inside. It appeared there were two or three men working from what she could observe.
The interior of the building was well lit. It was easy to see inside. There was a second skylight. She decided to look into the same corner of it as she did in the current one before she went around to the far side to look. She wanted to step as little as possible on the roof. She could feel the vibration of machinery through her feet. She doubted she would be heard, even if she got a little careless.
The view from the second skylight was similar to the first. She still only spotted three men inside of the building, she hadn't seen the man who'd been giving the orders earlier. He'd been very abusive to one Gray. She backed up several feet as she moved along the length of the skylight. She could only see the same three men. She moved around the far corner of the second skylight and advanced up to the first skylight again. It would give her a further view into the corner of the building from where she came up the ladder at.
She could see there were a number of parts on a series of work benches. There appeared to be some assembled components. There were some crates there as well. The crates didn't have lids on them. She figured it was where the sub assemblies would end up at. It seemed the last few places she'd been to were all involved in the manufacture of HK equipment. Everything was diversified.
One thing was for certain. She was going to bring the building down. She backed away from the corner of the skylight. She was about to head towards the front of the building to take a look. She wanted to make sure what her best angle of approach would be.
There was a 'squeak' sound.
She instantly recognized it for what it was. It was the metal cover over the ladder to the roof. It appeared as if someone was coming. She heard the squeak again. It was definite someone was on their way up. She quickly thought of her best course of action. She could continue to the front of the building and try to make her way down from there. There was an awning over the dock in the front. It would probably only be a six foot drop down onto the top of it. She would need to get down from the awning to the ground. It would be probably another twelve or fifteen foot drop. She would still need to move away from the building.
There was another choice. She could move back over to where the ladder went up to the roof at. She could try to stab whoever was about to come up as they neared the top. If she was successful, the person's body would fall to the ground. They may or may not have time to cry out in pain. There was also the possibility there was more than one person coming up the ladder. If there were two or three people, it would put her in serious jeopardy. She would need to use her Beretta. There was a good chance they would be armed as well.
She already knew what her mission was. She needed to carry it out. She didn't want to get injured before she could make it back to the stake side truck. She already suffered enough blows as it was.
Since she hadn't spotted the abusive Gray inside of the building, it was her speculation he was the one on his way up. She decided to look. She quickly moved to the side of the building in the rear and looked over the side. There were two men on the ladder. The first one was almost to the top. She didn't want to get into a gunfight if it could be avoided.
The best course of action was evasion. She ran towards the front of the building at full speed. She tried to keep the two skylights between her and the roof access ladder. There was also air conditioning equipment up on the roof. She could hear their voices. They spoke in quiet tones.
"Hurry up and get up here." The first man said. "This is no time for lollygagging."
She recognized the voice as the abusive Gray from earlier.
"This isn't anything." The second man said. "You have us chasing shadows."
"I don't think several destroyed buildings would be considered chasing shadows by anyone who was in them." The first man said.
"If you start looking for the 'Boogeyman', the only place you're going to find him is in your own head." The second man said.
"Don't get smart with me. It's a long way to the ground. I heard the cover on the ladder squeak." The first man said. "My desk is on the other side of it. I heard the noise twice."
"Your desk misses you." The second man said. "You should go back to it while we do the work."
"You sound like you're bucking for cleanup duty." The first man said. "Check the west side and meet me in the front. I'll take the east side. Remember to check between the skylights and the air conditioning equipment as you go forward. We need to hurry."
She was now at the front of the building. She took one look back and went over the side. She made sure the awning was below her. She landed with a 'thud'. She knew she didn't have time to delay. She bent her head down and looked underneath the awning. There was no one on the dock. She moved her body over to the side and dropped down. She let her body stretch to her arms length and then dropped. It was less than a ten foot impact to the dock. She quickly moved under the awning. If the men looked over it, it wouldn't be able to see her.
The female Fanatic quickly checked around her. She quickly took in the layout and what her best angle of approach would be with her truck bomb. She didn't spot any surveillance cameras. She moved up against one of the roll up doors near the corner of where she'd dropped down. She was far enough under the awning where the men couldn't spot her if they looked over from either side. She could hear their voices again.
CamNet's two Terminators watched as the female Fanatic checked around the building and went up onto the roof. They'd been directed to follow the other white van and needed to leave the area. The other drone continued to track the two men headed back to the box truck.
Lena knew they were going to need to do things a little differently this time.
"We need to keep visual contact of the van since we don't have the drone to feed us the information." Lena said.
Tina wondered if they should acquire another vehicle.
"Maybe a second vehicle would provide us with the ability to switch off with each other." Tina said. "It might make the tail harder to spot."
CamNet directed them to stay together for now.
They followed the white van from a moderate distance. There wasn't much traffic on the road they were currently on. They drove without their headlights on. CamNet made sure there would be no law enforcement presence in the area.
They passed two oncoming vehicles on their journey. One of them turned its lights on and off several times to indicate to them their headlights were off.
Lena ignored them and kept driving.
"It's nice to see there are a few considerate drivers on the road." Lena said.
Tina needed to agree.
"In our short time of activation, we've seen numerous violations of the traffic laws." Tina said. "The penalties are obviously not stiff enough to make drivers follow the rules."
Lena thought it was more sweeping than just the traffic laws.
"If all of the laws on the books were followed up with maximum punishment, there would be very little crime." Lena said. "Without strict enforcement and punishment, laws are meaningless."
Tina followed the progress of the other white van.
"The second will arrive at the burnout wreckage of the truck soon." Tina said.
Lena knew there wasn't much they could do about it.
"CamNet will decide what's best." Lena said.
Tina also checked on the status of the female Fanatic.
"There are two men outside of the building. They're going up the access ladder to the roof." Tina said. "I wonder if she will engage them or run."
Lena wondered what course of action the female Fanatic would choose.
"I believe she will run so she can return with her truck bomb." Lena said. "She will be able to do much more damage and kill more Grays if she can pull it off."
Tina watch has the female Fanatic dropped over the side of the roof and onto the awning. She was on the dock and under the awning in seconds.
"You're correct." Tina said.
Lena noticed she was closing on the white van in front of her.
"It appears the van is slowing down." Lena said.
Tina searched the area around them as they drove.
"Do you think they made us?" Tina asked.
Lena didn't know the answer.
"I don't think so." Lena said. "I believe they're about to turn."
Tina quickly checked a satellite image of the area.
"I can see where they're headed." Tina said.
Lena looked at the image Tina showed her on her phone. She knew bad news when she saw it.
"It doesn't appear as if having a drone with us would make a difference." Lena said.
CamNet's two Terminators looked at the location where they believed the white van was headed. They would need to approach the area on foot. They kept track of the female Fanatic and the other white van headed towards the burnt out truck.
She Is Tough
How long does it take to learn
When enough is enough
Sooner or later it will produce
Angry words and a rebuff
Don't be fooled or distracted
By a little cream puff
It's like playing with fire
When one finds some hot stuff
Just because they're quick
To be seen in the buff
Won't change the fact
They're little more than fluff
Don't take the warnings lightly
They're not off the cuff
To be told of the inevitable
Isn't just a bluff
When the road gets bumpy
The ride may be rough
Remember who is close by
She is tough
Nobody