Chapter 1377
Open The Door
Savannah and Cammy made their way to the front of the tech firm. They were going in as the 'property management team' for a review of the facility. They were supposed to observe the condition of the building, address any potential maintenance issues, and do a safety inspection. It was their 'official cover'.
All indications were things started out as a legitimate company. It was taken over by Grays. It appeared it was the result of someone in upper management being involved with the Syndicate hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Something 'happened' in their hotel room and the Syndicate 'took care' of it for them. It was usually being 'caught' with a male or female who was 'underage', a dead 'escort' or dead 'call girl', in their bed. It was all being done behind the scenes. Most of the employees were with the firm prior to the takeover. They didn't have a clue they were doing Skynet's dirty work. In fact, none of them even knew what Skynet was.
They were about halfway through the inspection. The representative was away right now on another issue. It was really John Henry who'd called to distract them. He observed them and listened to everything as it happened.
Savannah hadn't spotted anything out of the ordinary. She wondered if Cammy had.
"Have you seen any Grays or Terminators?" Savannah asked.
Cammy was on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary. So far nothing had struck a chord.
"No." Cammy said. "I haven't noticed anyone have an adverse reaction to you or me either."
Savannah knew the reaction Fanatics seemed to have to her. She thought the term 'adverse' was on the mild side. Encountering any Fanatics at the location was her biggest worry.
"It must be a good thing. I don't think any Fanatics are here." Savannah said. "Maybe we don't need to worry about the building blowing up."
Cammy hoped not. She wanted to check a specific area.
"I need to get into their 'clean room'." Cammy said. "If there are any Grays, they'll most likely be in there with the main computers."
Savannah wondered if there was a version of Skynet here. They'd encountered a version of SkyMaster in the basement of the old newspaper plant the other day.
"Do you think there's a Skynet mainframe?" Savannah asked.
John Henry checked the energy usage there for the last year. There was an increase in the power being used in the last few months. He didn't think it qualified as a supercomputer by the energy consumption. It was possible things hadn't progressed far enough yet.
"There's a possibility one is under development." Cammy said. "I think there may be several locations which will work in conjunction with each other so everything isn't located in one place. There are other locations associated with this business."
Savannah glanced at some of the computer screens. She didn't see any red flags.
"Do you see anything Skynet related in what they're doing?" Savannah asked.
Cammy watched what some of the programmers worked on.
"No. Nothing has stuck out so far. I think this is the legitimate part of the business." Cammy said. "It gives cover to the rest of what goes on in here."
Near where they were at, a female got up from a cubicle. They watched her walk toward the bathroom. She'd left her computer on.
Cammy looked around and sat down at her station. She was quickly in the system under the ID of the regular user. It was a welcome break for them.
Savannah spotted the representative on the way back. She moved to intercept them before they spotted Cammy at the computer terminal in the cubical. She looked at her clipboard and walked away from where Cammy was.
"Where's your partner?" The representative asked.
Savannah wanted to deflect his attention.
"She's using the restroom." Savannah said. "She'll also inspect it as she does. Actual conditions always give the best analysis."
The representative looked towards the restroom.
Savannah knew they'd better get away from where the representative could see the restroom door. She looked back at Cammy who saw what she was doing and heard what she said.
"I need to see the loading dock." Savannah said.
The representative looked at the back of the building.
"Follow me." The representative said.
They were away from the restroom and where Cammy was in the cubicle at. Now all Cammy needed to do was finish up before the other female returned.
Young Allison didn't like Savannah and Cammy in close proximity to potential Grays. They weren't armored up and they weren't packing much firepower.
They'd watched the cruise ship pass under the Golden Gate Bridge a short time ago without incident.
Anna thought about her earlier experience in the B-25.
"I think it was a little more dramatic when you flew under it in the Mitchell." Anna said.
Young Allison liked everything which happened on that day. She felt she'd been a little too pushy. She knew Savannah didn't want to take things as far as they did. She also knew Savannah wanted to make her happy. She hoped she hadn't taken advantage of Savannah's good will.
"I think I pushed it a little too much on that outing." Young Allison said. "I know Savannah was uncomfortable with what I did on several levels on that day."
Anna thought she knew why.
"You wanted to show Savannah you were capable of everything." Anna said. "It's understandable."
Young Allison thought she still pushed it. She was overly aggressive when she didn't need to be. Everyone accommodated her and her desires. It was best not to dwell on it.
"I don't know." Young Allison said. "It's in the past now."
They watched the internal security cameras in the building where Cammy and Savannah were currently at. They could see what happened and what Savannah needed to do to give Cammy time and space to 'work'.
"Savannah and Cammy are split up right now." Anna said.
Young Allison disliked it. There was still a lot they couldn't see.
"Why can't we see what's happening in the clean room?" Young Allison asked. "I'm sure as soon as Cammy is done on the computer; it's where they're going to go for the conclusion of their inspection."
Anna checked for any updates from John Henry and CamNet.
"They can't find the feed if there's one in the 'clean room'." Anna said. "John Henry reported Cammy has him in the system now. There were a few Skynet firewalls she needed to bypass."
Young Allison spotted a new problem.
"Great, the female is out of the bathroom and headed back to her cubicle." Young Allison said.
John Henry sent Cammy an advisory.
"Cammy has been alerted." Anna said. "She'll be gone by the time the worker returns."
As they watched, Cammy slipped out of the cubicle and went in the opposite direction the female returned from. She knew where Savannah was and headed in her direction.
Savannah was on the dock and inspected the trash compactor and the dock lift. It appeared to be a recent addition. It wasn't hard wired in.
"What about this overhead electrical wire?" Savannah asked. "It looks like an addition which isn't on the plans. We don't want any circuit overloads. It looks like a shifting load could rip the wire loose. The shower of sparks from the electrical cord could start a fire or shock someone. Electrical shocks can be fatal."
The representative could see she was correct.
Cammy was back with them now. She wanted to get things concluded.
"We need to check the 'clean room' now." Cammy said.
The representative looked nervous.
"The area is off limits except for authorized personnel." The representative said.
Cammy smiled. She'd already anticipated as much.
"It's good news then. I'm authorizing myself." Cammy said. "We need to check the wiring. We don't want any circuit overloads. We need to pay for the building's insurance A circuit overload, and the resulting damage, could jump our premium by thousands of dollars. Do you have any idea what a fire would do to the premiums?"
The representative looked at the hanging electrical cord Savannah pointed out just a minute earlier. He could see someone took a shortcut when they shouldn't have.
Cammy headed over towards the 'clean room' door.
Savannah showed the representative a piece of paper. It was the building lease. John Henry created it earlier in the day. They walked to where Cammy waited.
"It says right here, we can inspect any part of the building at any time in the case of a suspected fire code violation." Savannah said. "Safety comes first. The lives and well being of your employees should be top priority. Open the door."
The representative hesitated.
The Terminator in Cammy started to show.
"Do it - NOW." Cammy said.
The representative tried to use their phone but it didn't work. They went to a nearby desk and tried a phone there. It worked, but the call didn't connect. It just rang on the other end.
"I'm checking." The representative said.
She moved up to the keypad.
"I'll do it myself." Cammy said.
The representative hurried back and stopped her from touching it.
"I'll need to go in first." The representative said.
Cammy moved back. She indicated for Savannah to wait outside.
Savannah saw Cammy touch her Taser and M9. She checked her weapons too.
The representative opened the door. He went inside. He looked back.
"Wait here." The representative said.
Cammy reached up and caught the door before it closed.
She followed the representative inside.
"You can't be in here." The representative said.
Cammy smiled and pushed past him.
"Did you really think we're going to let you cover up safety violations?" Cammy asked. "I've conducted these inspections for a number of years. We know what people try to hide."
Savannah quickly moved up to the door as soon as Cammy went in. She slipped her clipboard in the gap between the door and the frame. It looked like the door was closed but it wasn't. She could get in and Cammy could get out, depending on the situation.
Cammy noted there were three technicians in the 'clean room'. They all looked over at the intrusion. They seemed surprised and upset.
Cammy spotted what looked like part of a Skynet main frame.
"You can't be in here." One technician said.
She moved to the back of the large electrical cabinet.
"I'm checking for electrical wiring violations." Cammy said. "I can see there are several infractions right here."
The three technicians became alarmed. They looked at the representative who'd let Cammy in. They were clearly upset and angry.
"I tried to keep her out." The representative said. "None of you answered your phones. I came in to see what happened. She followed me in on her own."
Cammy thought the technicians were Grays. She'd seen enough. She didn't want to push it with Savannah so close. She wanted to seem amicable.
"I won't report it this time. Get the wiring in order and spread out the circuit load. If there's a fire, it's on you people." Cammy said.
Cammy turned to leave.
The technicians were unsure what to do. One of them started to move towards her. It looked like he was going to restrain Cammy.
The representative saw what was about to happen.
"Her associate is outside." The representative said quickly. "They've already interacted with a number of employees. Everyone is watching them."
Cammy was aware of the threat. She turned back and faced them.
"Remember, safety is our number one priority." Cammy said.
She quickly exited the room.
The three angry technicians faced the representative.
"What the Hell was that?" One technician asked. "You know no one is allowed in here. It includes you."
The representative was a little worried. The three technicians were a rough lot. He didn't want any trouble for the inspectors or for himself.
"She only looked at the electrical hookups, not at what you were doing." The representative said.
The Grays were clearly dissatisfied with the current situation. They thought the female inspector saw too much. It was inexcusable. They believed stricter action was necessary.
"Get them to the storage containers out in the back." A second technician said. "We will deal with them out there. We don't want anyone to see."
The representative didn't like their idea. He exited the 'clean room'.
Cammy and Savannah were gone.
He looked back at the 'clean room' door and swallowed hard. It was going to mean trouble. He wondered if he would be the next one they would 'deal with'.
John Henry warned Cammy and Savannah off. He'd received the same message from CamNet and the Young bunker.
Cammy placed a listening device in the 'clean room'. He heard the Gray's plans to get them to an isolated area for further 'questioning'. The best thing was for Cammy and Savannah to withdraw at this point so none of the employees were injured or killed in the crossfire. It was sure to follow if they'd stayed.
Anna and Young Allison listened to everything as it went down.
Young Allison could see there were several considerations.
"The situation is going to go hot." Young Allison said. "Savannah and Cammy can handle three Grays. There might be a lot of collateral damage in the crowded environment."
Anna agreed with her assessment. She wanted Young Allison to make a decision.
"What should they do?" Anna asked.
Young Allison didn't like to 'run'. There was more at stake here.
"In this case, they need to withdraw." Young Allison said. "We can find out more now by what actions the Grays take to deal with it. Pull them out and prepare to have Richard and Michael back up their withdrawal if they're followed."
The representative exited the 'clean room' and looked around. There was no sign of Cammy or Savannah.
He looked down both halls on either side.
One of the technicians came out of the 'clean room'.
"Where are they?" The first technician asked.
The representative looked around.
"They're gone." The representative said.
"Where'd they go?" The first technician asked.
"They're just gone." The representative said.
The first technician looked worried. He went back into the 'clean room'.
"Those inspectors left." The technician said.
The leader of the trio didn't look happy.
"Find out where they went and we'll deal with them." The leader said.
The first technician mulled over what some of their options would be. He didn't think they needed to track down the female inspector. He was sure she would return to them. It would make their job much simpler. It was bound to create less of a scene.
"Maybe we should just drop it." The first technician said. "She said she wouldn't report the violations if we fixed them. It means she should be back to check in a day or two. We can put the grab on her then if we need to. Her bosses know she's here now. If she disappears they'll know where she was when it happened. There was an assistant with her as well."
The leader didn't look pleased. He planned on some 'personal time' with the female inspector once they took her into custody.
"I don't like it." The leader said. "I think we've been made. All our other operations have been taken down previously. I think we're next."
The technicians knew those were all violent take downs.
"We're not under attack." The second technician said.
"Not yet. It might change." The first technician said.
The leader took out his phone.
"I'd better call the boss." The leader said.
The three Grays figured they were in for a heap of trouble one way or another at this point.
John Henry monitored the conversation and was ready to trace the call to the 'boss'.
Hank and Larry could deal with wherever the call went. He'd kept them on standby.
He made sure Savannah and Cammy were clear.
Michael and Richard followed them out as they drove away. There was no tail.
Moments ago:
Cammy exited the 'clean room'. She knew the trio was steamed. She headed for Savannah. She hoped to get Savannah out of the danger zone.
"Let's move." Cammy said. "They're going to come after me."
They received a transmission which indicated the same thing from John Henry as they headed for an exit. He'd heard the Gray's plans from the bug Cammy left behind.
Savannah and Cammy picked up their pace and hurried out of the building.
Cammy tossed Savannah the keys.
"You drive." Cammy said. "I need to download the images of the Grays and what I saw to John Henry and CamNet.
They got in the car and drove away.
Cammy plugged in a tether from her neck port into a laptop computer. She sent all the information off as they drove and listened.
She listened to the conversation in the 'clean room' with Savannah from the 'bug' she'd left behind. She gave a complete rundown as to what she observed in the 'clean room'.
"We need to dump this ride. I'm sure it has a target on it." Savannah said. "If they come out, they'll look for it."
Cammy planned to pay them a visit later on tonight since she left without saying 'goodbye'. She didn't want to seem 'rude'.
"Once the people go home, I need to go back there." Cammy said.
Savannah already figured on it. It didn't look like they'd be able to follow up with Steve and Tom later on.
"If they're Grays, and there's some version of Skynet there, we need to bring it all down." Savannah said. "What is the lead on the 'Boss'?"
Cammy didn't know.
"John Henry will have to track the call." Cammy said. "We'll deal with them too."
Savannah wondered where things were headed. She knew everything would be destroyed or confiscated. She didn't know what else would happen.
"Let's hope there are plenty of drones to go around for all of this." Savannah said. "We need to sit tight for a while."
She knew her statement would prompt the Young bunker and CamNet to make sure everything was covered.
Young Allison and Anna received the images from Cammy and the transmissions from the 'clean room'. They heard Cammy's and Savannah's conversation too.
"I want three drones to be available to follow those Grays if they leave." Young Allison said. "We know what they look like now."
Anna checked.
"CamNet has plenty of drones on station or enroute." Anna said. "Everything is covered including our teams."
Young Allison wasn't sure where this would go before the night was done. She was sure fireworks would follow.
Cameron led John and the others. They exited from the rear elevator on the Promenade deck and headed forward. There weren't many people on the upper decks. A lot of people were getting off the ship.
Vanna noticed the lines of people which started to form.
"Are all those people getting off now?" Vanna asked.
Cameron could see a lot of passengers were anxious to look around the city after spending a day at sea.
"Yes." Cameron said. "None of the dining rooms will be full tonight."
Allison wondered why the people would get off to go somewhere to eat since all their meals were included.
"They should eat first and then get off." Allison said.
John knew some people wanted to try some of the San Francisco eateries. There were quite a few of them. Some of them were very famous.
"I'd like to hit Fisherman's Wharf for some fresh seafood." John said.
The group was now in front of Tony's
"Do you mean for dinner?" Vanna asked.
John didn't want to mess anything up.
"We can still eat dinner here." John said. "I thought maybe we could eat at Fisherman's Wharf tomorrow for lunch. We might still be out. It's a thought anyway."
Cameron thought the girls would want to ride the cable car too.
"One of the cable car lines has a terminus right by Fisherman's Wharf." Cameron said. "We can do a city tour and ride the cable car line which goes there."
It sounded exciting to Vanna and Allison. It was something they'd only seen on TV or in the movies. It always looked like it would be fun to do. Whenever it was portrayed on the big screen or television, it always seemed somewhat glamorous.
"I'm in." Vanna said.
Allison wondered about the entertainment tonight on the ship.
"Is there singing in the main theater again tonight?" Allison asked.
Cameron knew the entertainment would be kept simple tonight. There wouldn't be any large crowds on the ship.
"There's a comedian." Cameron said. "We can spend some time out on the town at night if you want."
Allison didn't like to go out at night. Bad things always happened at night in the future to females.
"Is it safe?" Allison asked.
Vanna and Allison looked a little worried.
"It's never safe." Cameron said.
Vanna and Allison looked even more concerned.
John looked at Cameron, Holly and Gail-Cam. He could see Vanna and Allison were worried. He wanted to calm their fears.
"I think you'll be protected." John said.
It was still a worry to Vanna on several levels.
"I read there's a really bad homeless problem here." Vanna said. "The article said there was a lot of human waste and used needles lying around on the sidewalks."
Cameron didn't want to point out it was the result of bad city management and not enforcing the existing laws already on the books. For some reason the local authorities didn't think people who committed crimes should be prosecuted. They weren't even held in jail. They were released without bail. It made no sense to her. What did they think the people were going to go back and do once the police released them? It would be the same things.
She was aware many of the homeless would become Scavengers in the future or preyed upon by Scavengers. Most would be dead in a few years after Judgment Day. Very few would join the Resistance. She didn't want the girls to needlessly worry.
"We'll avoid those areas." Cameron said. "In fact, we can do a helicopter tour tonight. Not only can we do San Francisco, we can do the whole Bay Area."
John knew the Blackhawk was at Catalina when they'd left there.
"Is our Blackhawk here now?" John asked.
Cameron smiled.
"As a matter of fact it is." Cameron said. "We also have the van here if you want to drive over the bridges. We can do it later on after most of the traffic is gone."
Allison would prefer the seclusion of just their group. There was one thing she knew they would need to intermix with other people. It was still something she wanted to try.
"It sounds better than a bus tour." Allison said. "We already have our own wheels, and a helicopter to use. I still want to ride the cable car tomorrow. It sounds like fun."
John wanted to give them all some options. He looked at Allison and Vanna.
"We can do any of those things in any order you two want." John said. "Just tell Cameron anything you want to do. I don't think it will be a problem.
Cameron looked at the girls and smiled.
"I aim to please." Cameron said.
Vanna looked towards a window. It was heavily tinted.
"Will it still be light when we finish dinner if we eat here?" Vanna asked.
Cameron previously arranged all their dinner times to coincide with sunset.
"It will be twilight." Cameron said. "The sun sets during our dinnertime."
Vanna went over to the side and looked out a window.
"The streets looked jammed with traffic and there's a mass of people getting off the ship right now." Vanna said. "It looks like hundreds, if not thousands of them."
Vanna came over and spoke with Allison. They'd looked at some of the brochures in the suite. They went over some of the things they wanted to do.
"We can eat dinner here now at Tony's like we planned." Vanna said. "When we're done, we can see how the traffic is. We can ride the van over the bridges if the traffic has eased or take the helicopter and fly above the traffic."
Cameron was pleased to hear it.
"We can do any of it again in the daytime too." Cameron said. "The ship arrived early. We can always leave late tomorrow. The ship can make good time if it is pushed a little. We'll have the current at our back so the ride will be smoother at top speed."
John didn't like to push things too much.
"Let's worry about it tomorrow." John said. "I just want to make sure everyone is good and we're all on the same page."
Allison smiled. She agreed with Vanna's desires. She repeated them again.
"We'll eat here now." Allison said. "After we're done, we can either ride in the van and cross the bridges, or take a helicopter flight. We can do both one after the other and do it again tomorrow."
Vanna wanted to get it all in.
"We can ride the cable cars tomorrow and end up at Fisherman's Wharf tomorrow for lunch." Vanna said.
Holly thought of some other attractions. She thought the girls and John could be adequately protected.
"There's also the Alcatraz tour and several rail lines to ride. There's BART, the Muni and the commuter rail line." Holly said.
Vanna saw a streetcar pass by when she looked out the window.
"I spotted a few vintage looking streetcars on the street outside." Vanna said. "Is it just a tourist attraction or part of the transportation system?"
Cameron thought it was one good thing about San Francisco.
"It's actually both." Cameron said. "I spotted a PCC streetcar painted for 'Pacific Electric' earlier."
John remembered the 'Pacific Electric' streetcar they saw when they'd left from San Pedro. Too bad Kyle wasn't here. He knew a lot of railroad related things.
"Did the 'Pacific Electric' come here to Frisco?" John asked. "You said they had over a thousand miles of track."
Cameron looked into some more specifics on the 'Pacific Electric' earlier.
"No, the 'Pacific Electric' was mostly in the 'greater Los Angeles area' and surrounding communities. There were plans at one time to build as far north as Santa Barbara. It never happened." Cameron said. "Currently in San Francisco, they have streetcars from other cities or some painted to look like other city's streetcars here in San Francisco. It's like a historical fleet. They still hold regular passengers as well."
Gail-Cam didn't want them to get sidetracked.
"It's time for our reservation." Gail-Cam said.
Cameron led the group to the front desk of Tony's. As soon as she showed her card, they were taken to the table with the best view. The view wasn't very good since they were tied up to the dock.
They were provided with the menus from Tony's and the steak house restaurant next to them as a courtesy.
"It looks like we can order a steak as well as Italian food." John said.
Cameron smiled.
"You have three extra people to order things for any of you." Cameron said. "We can also order something from the main dining room if you want."
Allison was pleased at the level of service and selection.
"This sure beats eating garbage for dinner." Allison said.
Vanna didn't want to think back on the past, the future. Some thoughts crept into her mind anyway.
"I'll say." Vanna said. "It's sad to remember garbage was better than nothing."
They decided to order from the menu at Tony's to keep it simple for the staff. There were plenty of choices and there was a steak too.
It looked like it was going to be a good dinner.
Cameron reminded them they could always 'try' new things and they didn't need to finish everything. They were still uneasy with the concept of allowing good food to be wasted.
Mary, Laura and Leticia talked about what to do once the ship began to dock. They didn't want to watch the procedure. It looked boring to them.
They decided they would go out and hit the town.
Mary looked at Leticia.
"Remember, you're not using our credit cards." Mary said.
Leticia looked a little upset.
"I did everything for the 'crazy Bitch'." Leticia said. "She owed me something. She couldn't even 'ring my bell'. I got her off like four times. It looked like the 'Grand Canyon' too."
Laura noticed a few people turn around with the revelation by Leticia.
"Relax." Laura said. "People are looking."
Leticia touched her cheek. The memory was still fresh.
"I'm sorry." Leticia said. "She almost cut my face open."
Mary wanted Leticia to use discretion and caution.
"She probably doesn't remember a thing, or thinks it was a dream if she does." Mary said. "Just stay away from her. You can't expect 'Sue' to be there every time you need her."
Mary still had the cash 'Peggy' won for her, or showed her how to win actually.
"How did 'Sue' know to save you?" Mary asked.
Leticia wondered about how events played out herself. The more she thought about it, the more she thought 'Sue' and 'Peggy' went to where they did to set up the 'crazy Bitch' so they could deliver a 'personal message' to her. She got caught up in it by following the 'crazy Bitch'. She didn't doubt for a minute 'Sue' would have done what she'd indicated she was going to do. It was clear to her 'Sue' had done it before and liked to do it. She tried to keep her answer simple.
"She was just there." Leticia said. "She's like Supergirl."
Laura was glad for their intervention as well.
"They were there for me too." Laura said.
Mary still wondered how they knew exactly where to go to rescue Laura. She also remembered her time in the casino later on.
"They helped me out too." Mary said.
Mary and Laura were aware 'Peggy' and 'Ann' provided them with some of the best sex they'd ever experienced. They didn't have a clue what it would be like with one of the Metal girls. It was something which might change soon enough.
Leticia couldn't help but think about what she'd witnessed on several levels. It also appeared the big security chief seemed to show up whenever 'Sue' and 'Peggy' started to act. She didn't believe he was there to assist them, but to hold them back from whatever they intended to actually do. It was all very strange. Maybe it was just her feeling.
Sheila looked at Ally, Cam-Gail and Hanna.
"What do you girls want to do tonight?" Sheila asked.
Cam-Gail thought the team should come first.
"We should find out what John, Vanna and Allison are doing so we can reinforce them." Cam-Gail said.
Ally felt it was covered.
"They have plenty of protection." Ally said. "Dan and Frank are in town and will shadow them if they go out. Jim and Bob may go out as well."
The Metal girls listened to what Mary, Laura and Leticia were going to do.
Sheila hoped for a little more action, or at least interaction.
"Let's follow them." Sheila said as she pointed at them.
Ally nodded.
"They look like they know where to find the action." Ally said.
Sheila was ready for some action. She would prefer some sexual action. If not, she would take any other action thrown their way.
"'Action' is my middle name." Sheila said.
Cam-Gail tilted her head slightly. It seemed Sheila had a lot of middle names.
The female Fanatic neared the building on the corner. She was a little dismayed to see all of the other cars were gone except for hers. She was worried the truck driver may have noticed it when he turned down the street earlier. It didn't matter.
She took one last look behind her to make sure neither one of the trucks were on their way down the street. They weren't. She moved over to the car and briefly inspected it. Everything appeared to be as she'd left it. She started it. She was very pleased with her decision to fill the tank earlier. Her destination was unknown.
She wasn't sure of what happened at the location where she'd left the three dead occupants of the car. More than likely, they'd been discovered by now. She still didn't know the status of their car. It may have been purchased by one of them and never registered or it may be a stolen vehicle. There was a set of keys, so it didn't indicate it was stolen. She realized it could have been carjacked as well.
It seemed like a good idea to move the vehicle from where it was currently parked. Right now it sat alone in a parking lot. If the truck driver hadn't noticed it previously, he was more than likely going to notice it when he made his turn onto the main street. He would either need to make a left or a right hand turn. She wasn't sure which way he would go.
The car started easily. The fuel gauge showed the tank was still almost completely full. She figured she had about a three hundred mile driving range based upon the size of the fuel tank and the fuel consumption. If they ended up on a freeway, she would get a little bit better mileage.
She drove the car out of the parking lot. She crossed over the street to see if there was any sign of either of the trucks. There wasn't. She looked down at her two new acquisitions. She had the satchel charge and the block of C-4 along with a timer and a detonator. The satchel charge made it all one neat package. It didn't really matter. Both of them would explode when they were supposed to. She currently had a few buildings to bring down right now. She was going to need a little bigger punch for both of them.
She drove a little further north down the street and pulled into another parking lot with vehicles. She parked so she had a good view of the side street the trucks would need to turn off of. Right now she needed to wait. She took a few more of the anti drowsy tablets and drank an energy drink. She followed it with a protein drink. She was glad she was able to use the restroom before she'd left her last location.
The one thing she wanted to avoid more than anything was drifting off and falling asleep again. Her dreams had been little more than nightmares. They were terrible. She didn't want to dream about the future, she'd already lived it.
CamNet's Terminators waited for events to play out. They needed to keep track of the two trucks as well as the female Fanatic.
They followed the operation Cammy and Savannah were on. They were a little concerned about their hasty retreat from the building they'd been inside of. They volunteered to reinforce their operation. They were told everything was under control. They were advised if more drones were needed elsewhere, they would lose drone coverage again.
It made them wonder how things were going to play out. If they did lose drone coverage, they would need to follow the female Fanatic so they didn't lose her. They were sure she was going to follow the big rig.
What they didn't know was if she'd left a bomb behind in the building she'd just vacated. It was clear to them she left with a satchel charge. More than likely there were others there as well.
After a short time CamNet informed them there were more drones in the theater. They wouldn't lose drone coverage after all. In fact, they may even be able to receive additional drones if they weren't needed for the other operations.
They wanted to do a little more than just sit around and wait.
"I'd like to enter the building and take a look myself as to what's there." Lena said. "The fact it has an interior rail siding concerns me."
It sounded like a good idea to Tina.
"We need to be mindful of a booby trap if we do." Tina said.
They believed they were the ones who should bring down the buildings instead of the female Fanatic. If there was anything which needed to be confiscated, it was easier to do when the building was still standing.
They were currently to the south and east of the target building. They could make their approach the same way the female Fanatic had done but from the opposite direction. They ran their plan by CamNet.
CamNet wanted to know what else was in the building. She gave them the 'go ahead'. They were to wait until the big rig actually left before they entered the building. She wanted it to go to its destination. She wanted to know where it was. She wanted to know what else was inside of it.
They parked the SUV near a business with surveillance cameras. CamNet would be able to monitor it to make sure no one tampered with it. The south side of the tracks usually wasn't the best side of the tracks.
They were advised they might have some company as they made their trek.
The drone over them detected the four men who the female Fanatic encountered earlier. They'd moved eastward down the tracks. They hadn't gone very far. It was clear they wanted to go back. They probably needed to leave things behind when they'd left in such a hurry.
"What happens to them will be of their choosing." Lena said.
Tina wouldn't hesitate to terminate them.
"We'll give them one warning." Tina said.
They moved rapidly down the dirt access road along the side of the railroad tracks.
Two of the men appeared from the bushes on the far side of the track. They crossed over the tracks and stood in front of them.
Lena glanced behind them. The other two men appeared from the bushes behind them. They'd crossed over the tracks as well. There were two men in front of them and two men in back of them.
"It looks like we'll have to do this the hard way." Lena said.
They continued along at the same speed. The men closed up in front of them and in back of them.
Tina spotted something off to the side. There was always a lot of debris along the railroad tracks.
The men were about twenty feet in front of them and in back of them.
"We're not looking for any trouble." Tina said. "Do you know what this is and how much it weighs?"
Tina pointed to a section of rail in a pile of tie plates and spikes off to the side. It was typical of railroad debris scattered along the tracks. Vandals would often pile debris on the tracks in an attempt to derail the train. The big pilot plow on the front of a locomotive would just knock it out of the way.
She walked over to it and picked it up with one hand. It was just under four feet long. It weighed approximately one hundred and fifty pounds. She reached over with her other hand and bent it into a 'U shape'. She tossed it on the ground in front of the two men in front of them. They both took a step back.
One of the men reached forward to pick it up. He could tell right away how much it weighed.
"Can you straighten it out?" Lena asked.
The two men knew they couldn't.
"I can." Lena said. "Take a few steps back so I won't have to hurt you."
The two men cautiously backed up. The two men behind them hadn't advanced.
Lena walked up to the rail and straightened it. She looked at the men. She tossed it with one hand back onto the pile Tina had picked it up from. It was about fifteen feet away.
"What are you?" One of the men asked.
Lena and Tina let their eyes glow red for two seconds.
"We're your worst nightmare." Tina said.
Lena didn't want to deal with the bodies.
"Take off and leave this place." Lena said. "You're never to return. You won't be warned again."
The two men in front of them held their arms out to the sides as they crossed over the railroad tracks and cautiously passed by them.
"Run and don't stop running." Tina said. "We have eyes on you. You saw what happened to the piece of sheet metal earlier. Your bodies can look the same way. Here's a little reminder.
The drone over them did a high altitude gravity shot. Metal hail would soon hit the ground.
A few seconds later the dirt began to fly up in back of the men. There were a few tie plates on the ground. Metal could be heard hitting metal with a few ricochets. There were a lot of sparks.
The four men took off running. They planned to hop the next train and never come back. No one argued this time.
Lena and Tina continued along. They originally were going to follow the path of the female Fanatic. They decided to take a different route. They continued along to the next siding. It was the one which would turn and go into the building.
They moved along the south side of the target building. They didn't spot any surveillance equipment at all. They could see shiny spots on the rusted rails. They were pretty sure there'd been a couple of boxcars on the tracks recently. It was why they'd suspected the big rig was there.
They knew the location the female Fanatic exited from. It was where they moved to. They were just about to make entry when they were informed the big rig was about to pull away from the dock. They figured they needed to move quickly. The men should be worried about closing the door after the big rig pulled away.
They were able to jimmy the door and slip inside. The door wasn't wired or booby trapped. The big rig passed by on the street just to the north of them a few seconds later.
They didn't know how many men they would face or what was inside of the building. They didn't know if the female Fanatic left a bomb behind on a timer or not. They quickly looked around the office area and didn't spot anyone.
The female Fanatic started to feel drowsy. She didn't want to fall asleep again. She sat up straighter in the seat and took a few deep breaths. She could hear what sounded like a big rig coming. She didn't know if it was the truck she'd spotted at the target location, or if it was the truck she'd spotted earlier on the next street down.
There was a hiss of air. The truck briefly stopped at the main street. It was the truck from the target location. She knew there were four HK Tracks in the back of it. She watched to see which way it would turn. It turned right. It was headed in her direction. She ducked down a little bit. There were other cars parked around her. She carefully looked over the dashboard as the big rig went by. The truck driver never looked in her direction.
She immediately started her vehicle. She waited a moment to see if the box truck would come out and follow it. She didn't see it. She moved out of the parking lot and paused for an additional moment to see if anything else developed. It didn't.
The female Fanatic pulled out onto the main street and began to follow the big rig. She left plenty of distance and kept a careful watch behind her. She didn't want any surprises, even if she liked to deliver them.
CamNet's Terminators were inside of the building. So far they hadn't encountered anyone. If they did, they would terminate them. They hoped to be able to look around the building and avoid a confrontation if possible. It was a large warehouse type building. They wanted to know what was in it. They exited out of the office area and could see the various boxes, crates and containers inside of the building. They also spotted something on the far side of the building. From where they were at, they could see there was at least one boxcar inside of the building.
They could hear two men talking. They seemed to be close. They quickly moved between two crates and waited.
"I think we should wait and get confirmation before we load up the other HK Track." The first man said.
"It's what Jones is dealing with right now." The second man said. "He likes to let everyone know he's in charge."
"Let him drive it." The first man said.
From somewhere on the north side of the building, they could hear the sound of a roll up door closing.
CamNet informed them the box truck was still backed up to the dock.
They knew there were at least three men inside of the building. They didn't know how many men total were in there. There were enough bunks in two of the rooms for over a dozen men. They'd also noted the 'comfort bunk' in the corner of one of the rooms.
CamNet's Terminators listen to the two men talk. They looked over at all of the items inside of the building. They hadn't been able to inspect anything yet. They did know one thing for sure. They were going to need a bigger truck.
Open The Door
Some may believe true love exists
It will be great and filled with splendor
It will be plentiful and boundless
The rewards are sweet and galore
Maybe it is because
They've never been there before
They look the other way
The reality they shun and ignore
The truth often dictates
They will not soar
They will end up bruised and battered
They will be left scared and sore
Even when things go bad
One is ready for an encore
They are ready to explore
With the one they adore
Until one reaches out
They don't know what's in store
They may be rewarded
When they open the door
Nobody