Chapter 1412

I Think You Would

Savannah and Young Allison talked with Julie. They wanted to help her out. Like everyone they tried to 'help', there was a lot of skepticism. Everyone was aware there was no free ride. Everything in life came with some type of price. It may not be evident initially. The tab would always be collected at some point.

Julie heard stories of girls who'd run away from the shelter and were soon rounded up by men in a van. No one ever saw any them again. She heard the girls were hooked on drugs and forced to work as sex slaves for more drugs. Some of the young males disappeared too. She felt she needed to express some concern and apprehension.

"I don't want to end up in a stable." Julie said. "I've heard about places like them before."

Young Allison didn't like the implication. It made it seem like they were out to do even more harm than what already happened. She looked directly at Julie.

"Do you think I would do that to you?" Young Allison asked. "I would come and get you out myself if it was the case."

Julie wanted to laugh at her words. The look on Young Allison's face was of total sincerity. She didn't know who any of the people she was with were. There was something about them which radiated strength and confidence. It seemed to come off of all four of them.

Last night she'd warned them about the danger near the end of the park. As she looked at them now, she didn't think they would face danger the way most other people did. She couldn't place exactly where the feeling came from.

"I think you would." Julie said. "I hope it never happens."

Young Allison smiled and offered Julie some more food. She wanted to make her position perfectly clear.

"My sisters, my friends, and I would come for you if it ever happened." Young Allison said. "That's a promise."

Savannah thought of the two girls they'd apprehended in the old newspaper plant. It was in a different area, but the same thing, more or less, happened to them. There was plenty of evil to go around. None of it needed to wait for the future either.

Julie looked back. She was a little concerned about going back to the park. It was a good source of food for her. The trash cans always seemed to have an abundance of food. What she didn't like were when the ants got there before her. It took a long time to make sure she got all of them off of something before she could eat it. There were things worse than ants to think about in the park.

"What about the man who was chasing me?" Julie asked.

Cammy looked back at Julie and smiled.

"I wouldn't worry about him." Cammy said. "You'll never see him again."

Julie wasn't quite as confident as the driver of the vehicle. There were other things to consider as well. She wasn't the only female out there trying to stay alive. She was worried about some of her street friends.

"If I go to rehab, I have some friends who might like to have some help too." Julie said.

Savannah didn't want to get ahead of themselves. She was sure some of Julie's street friends would be more of a hindrance to her recovery than an asset. It was more likely one of them would relapse and the other ones might do so as well.

"Why don't we start with you first, we can see how it goes for you." Savannah said. "You're our concern right now."

Julie didn't want to be forced to go back 'home'. It was a very unhealthy environment. In retrospect, she would have been better off to let 'things' happen at home. They ended up happening anyway. It was still hard for her to believe the first place she went to get help, turned out to be even worse than her home environment. She didn't even know what was going on back at home.

"When I finish rehab, then what happens?" Julie asked.

Savannah had been through this before. It depended upon a combination of a number of things. Maybe it all revolved around love. Everyone needed to get over the issues which caused the fracture. If it was caused by a third party, it was much harder to do.

"You may want to speak with your mother." Savannah said. "Things change at home. People change over time. If you don't like what you hear, there are other options."

Julie looked worried.

"Half of the street kids came out of 'foster care'." Julie said. "It can be as bad or worse than the homes they left behind."

Young Allison wanted there to be some incentive. She could see it would take a lot of personal effort and commitment on Julie's part to move her life ahead.

"You can try and make something of your life and further your education." Young Allison said. "You could make it your goal to become someone who has a position where they can assist others."

Savannah felt a little emotional. The talk about 'home' and 'family' were very personal issues to her. She tried not to think of them. Whenever she did, it was always a sad dark place to remember. She wanted to remember the good things about her parents. She wanted to remember the good things about Mrs. Weaver. Sometimes only the grief of the loss could be remembered. It was always very painful. She could share some of her emotional trauma without any specific details. It was always hard to talk about.

"I lost my parents when I was very young." Savannah said. "I was raised by a very caring and loving group. I'm here to try and help you because I was helped. I would be dead now if I hadn't received the help I did."

Savannah didn't think mentioning she'd been targeted for termination by a group from the future would help the situation any.

Julie looked at Savannah for a long moment. She didn't sense any danger from the girls she was with currently. She didn't sense any last night either. She'd learned how to 'read' the people she met on the street the longer she was out there. There was no negative vibe whatsoever from her present company.

"I think you're being honest with me." Julie said. "Why did you approach me last night?"

Young Allison wanted to answer her question. The images still bothered her. They bothered her from the first moment she actually saw it with her own eyes. She'd heard the stories from Allison and the other girls from the future. When she saw Julie eat the food from the trash can, it was almost as if Judgment Day already occurred and she was in the Wastelands.

"I saw you take food out of the trash to eat." Young Allison said. "My older self, I mean my sister, was forced to eat garbage when she was in a bad place. If she even found any garbage to eat, it was a 'good day'. Often there was nothing to eat and she needed to avoid the abuse. She wasn't always able to."

Julie looked at Cammy. The thought of something so vile happening to someone so beautiful actually upset her. Her experiences on the street didn't matter. She just couldn't imagine the abuse of such beauty.

"Was it her?" Julie asked.

Young Allison frowned. It was HER in a different timeline. Allison and Future Allison were different timeline versions of HER.

"It was my oldest sister." Young Allison said. "It wasn't her."

Julie could tell they were being honest with her. Honesty, honor, and integrity were something hard to find on the street. She didn't believe she still possessed any of those qualities herself either. She thought about the abuse she'd suffered during the night. Would the same things happen every night for the rest of her life? How long would her life be anyway? She didn't think it would last much longer. There were some things she'd managed to collect.

"I have a few possessions." Julie said.

Savannah and Young Allison quickly exchanged glances. They remembered the things Vanna and Allison told them about their future. Possessions meant death. They'd both told them they'd seen people die attempting to retrieve something they could have done without. Maybe sometimes it had sentimental value. Either way, their quest to retrieve it resulted in their capture and death.

Julie looked down at her clothes. She didn't think much about clothing anymore. She thought about staying warm on cold nights. Her underwear had been ripped off so many times, she no longer wore any, even if she could find them. She felt bad about her current appearance in front of the nice girls.

Savannah reached in the back. She'd brought some clothes Anna gave her. They were some of her older clothes. She'd given them to Anna. Cameron is the one who purchased them for her initially.

"I brought some clothes for you." Savannah said. "I was going to give them to you if I saw you again."

There was a neatly wrapped bundle of clothes.

Julie looked at the package and opened it. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open slightly.

"These are beautiful clothes." Julie said.

Savannah was still a little emotional. She wanted to stress they'd been her personal clothing at one point in time.

"I've worn some of them before but they're all clean." Savannah said. "Some of them are new, as is the underwear."

Julie touched the underwear. She hadn't worn any for over a year. The last pair she'd found and wore were ripped off of her during one of the gang abuses. It was a very violent assault. There'd been a severe beating to go with it. It still hurt inside in some of the places they'd kicked her repeatedly.

She hadn't experienced such personal kindness since she'd been on the street. It touched her deeply. None of the things were just scraps. They were real things.

"I can see these are your personal things." Julie said. "I can tell you meant well by all of this."

Julie was worried what would happen once rehab was complete. Would she end up back on the street again? Things would go worse for her then.

Young Allison could tell Julie's mind was conflicted. She hoped to give it some direction. It was personal to her. She wanted Julie to know it was personal.

"We want to help you." Young Allison said. "I want to help you."

Julie wondered why her. She wanted to know why.

"There are lots of people who need help." Julie said. "Why me would you help me?"

Young Allison spoke the truth. The truth was something she feared waited for her in the future. It had for every future version of herself she knew about.

"I want to help you because I saw you with my own eyes and it made me think of me - my sister." Young Allison said. "Not everyone has an angry man with a knife chasing them either."

Julie thought back on the event. What would have happened if he'd caught her? He said he was going to 'cut her face up' before he killed her. There were stories he'd done it to other girls before. It wasn't just their face he'd cut up either. She needed to push those thoughts from her mind. It was something she thought about as the man abused her several times during the darkness.

She was aware any type of medical treatment was very expensive. She'd only ever gone to the free clinic a couple of times. One of the times she'd tested as being pregnant. She'd been through a number of beatings before she'd been back at the free clinic. When she was tested again, she was no longer pregnant.

"Who pays for this?" Julie asked.

Young Allison smiled. She was very proud of what she was personally involved with to make it happen. She wasn't done with the two groups involved yet either.

"We have a grant from the 'Cyndi Kate' foundation." Young Allison said. "They cover all the expenses."

Savannah tried not to smile. She knew the 'Cyndi Kate' foundation was really the money CamNet took from the Syndicate. It was billions of dollars. They wanted to hurt the organization where it hurt the most. It was their pocketbook. All of their ill doings and greed stemmed from their desire to get as much money as possible.

Cammy looked back. She wanted Julie to make a choice about her future. Her next actions would determine how committed she would be going forward.

"Do you still want to get your things, or do you want a fresh start?" Cammy asked. "You have the opportunity to leave the past behind. Life moves forward, not backwards."

Julie looked at her new clothes. She didn't need any more old ones.

"Can you stop by a dumpster?" Julie asked. "I want to take these rags off and throw them away. I want a fresh start."

Julie wanted to throw the past away. She didn't know if it was possible. She would like to start over.

Cammy made a U-turn and pulled into a local motel chain.

"I can get you a room so you can get cleaned up too if you want." Cammy said. "You can take a hot shower."

Julie looked a little worried. She'd heard stories about girls being taken to a motel room. One of them told her there was a line of men out the door fifteen minutes after she arrived. She said it had been one after another for the entire night.

Savannah could see fear griped Julie. It wasn't the feeling she wanted to instill in her. She wanted her to know freedom awaited her, not servitude. She gently touched Julie's leg.

"No one will harm you while you're with us." Savannah said. "No one will touch you in an inappropriate manner. That's a promise."

Young Allison smiled at Julie. She wanted her to know their efforts were honest and sincere.

"I promise the same thing." Young Allison said. "Today is the first day in your new life."

Cammy didn't want Julie to feel scared.

"I can get a room close to the office if you want." Cammy said. "You tell me what you want and are comfortable with."

Julie looked at the motel rooms. They were right in front of her. It didn't appear there were too many guests. There were only a few other cars. She'd passed by the location a few times. She never saw the police there or anything which appeared to be trouble. She didn't see any men waiting around anywhere. Maybe a few minutes in a real bathroom wouldn't hurt.

"I want to take a hot shower." Julie said. "I haven't had one in a long time."

Cammy smiled.

"Wait here." Cammy said. "It will only take a minute."

Young Allison offered the last of the food to Julie. It was a little cool right now but she ate it anyway.

Julie was thankful for the food. There were no ants on it and it wasn't half eaten. She looked at Young Allison and Savannah. The two girls seemed like leaders to her. They radiated confidence, honesty and truth.

Cammy was on her way back.

Julie looked at Savannah and then at Young Allison.

"Nothing bad will happen to me?" Julie asked.

Savannah and Young Allison answered at the same time.

"No." They both said. "I swear it."

Maybe under other circumstances their reply would have been funny. The sincerity of it made it clear it was the truth.

"I trust you with my life if I go in there." Julie said.

Savannah didn't see it as a problem.

"I'll go with you." Savannah said. "We all will, if you want."

Young Allison pulled a brush out of her backpack.

"My sister can fix your hair for you." Young Allison said as she indicated Cammy.

It would give Cammy a chance to scan the girl.

Julie looked at the hairbrush.

"I haven't seen one of those in a long time." Julie said.

Young Allison smiled.

"I brought it just for you." Young Allison said.

If Julie still retained any doubts about the girls, they were gone. These two girls did personal things for her to 'help' her. It was more than just someone 'feeding the squirrels'. These were personal acts of caring.

"You can all come in with me." Julie said.

Julie didn't feel scared or any fear right now. She felt something she hadn't felt in a long time. She felt 'safe'.

Cameron wanted to be with John again. She decided she'd better check on the status of Young Jesse. She didn't want to deplete John's 'resources'. She'd already used quite a few.

She left John to rest and slipped into the Control Center. Hanna was in there with Jim. They were both plugged in. She found out where everyone was at. She was pleased to see the girls at the nude sunbathing area. If Cam-Gail wouldn't have been there, she might have gone herself. It never hurt to up the standards some.

It appeared Young Jesse and Holly-Camille were both in the Honeymoon Suite.

Cameron excused herself and exited the Control Center into the private area. She approached the Honeymoon Suite. She was about to knock but paused at the door instead.

John already indicated he wanted to be with Young Jesse. Today was her best day for conception. She was glad there weren't any issues or problems with John and Young Jesse.

The door to the Honeymoon Suite opened.

"How long are you going to stand out there?" Holly-Camille asked.

Cameron didn't think it was very long.

"I didn't want to disturb anything." Cameron said.

Holly-Camille motioned for Cameron to enter.

"You aren't." Holly-Camille said.

Cameron hesitated. She remained outside of the door.

"I don't like to impose." Cameron said. "I was just here to check on Young Jesse. I want to make sure everything is fine."

Holly-Camille knew what she wanted to know.

"You want to know if she's 'knocked up'." Holly-Camille said.

Cameron didn't like the terminology or the attitude.

"You don't need to worry." Cameron said. "No one is going to take anything away from you."

Holly-Camille smiled.

"I don't think I'm the one who needs to worry." Holly-Camille said.

Cameron ignored the jab. She understood how sensitive the nature of things could be. She wanted to know what the current situation was.

"Is she?" Cameron asked.

Holly-Camille frowned.

"No." Holly-Camille said.

Cameron was a little disappointed. It was time to move things along. She knew things didn't get done thinking about them.

"I'll send John over." Cameron said. "I want to make sure it's what she wants."

Holly-Camille wanted to make a different offer.

"I'll send her over instead." Holly-Camille said. "It will give you something to think about once she leaves."

Cameron understood her implication.

"Allison and Vanna stopped by earlier." Cameron said. "It's not a problem for me. I want John protected. The girls are going to help me. It includes Young Jesse if she's needed."

Cameron wanted the girls there at John's side. She wanted them to be there by their own choice. She wouldn't push any of them to do it unless it was something they really wanted to do. Maybe before it's something she would have done. She'd learned everyone matters.

Holly-Camille wanted to point something else out to Cameron. She believed it should give her something to really think about.

"Leticia may be in the window too." Holly-Camille said. "She's not on 'birth control'."

Cameron already planned on having her visit John.

"I'm aware of her status." Cameron said.

Holly-Camille looked at Cameron.

"I'm sure you are." Holly-Camille said. "It will give you the opportunity to steal someone else's baby for yourself."

Cameron didn't want any problems.

"Young Jesse will have one herself for me if I ask her." Cameron said. "Don't forget it."

Holly-Camille thought she may have been a little rude. It was clear Cameron knew everything and planned for every eventuality.

"I'll send Young Jesse over in a short while." Holly-Camille said.

Cameron nodded.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Cameron said.

Cameron turned and left. She understood why events could make others a little touchy. She looked down at her left hand, there was no glitch. She knew she needed to do whatever she needed to do, to make things happen.

Young Jesse stood around the corner and listened. She was completely naked. She didn't like how Camille was rude to Cameron. She thought it took a lot of courage for Cameron to come over herself and not just call.

Holly-Camille closed the door and went to go back to the bedroom of the suite. She was surprised to find Young Jesse standing there. She didn't look very happy.

"I think things could have been handled a little differently." Young Jesse said. "I want everyone to get along."

Holly-Camille didn't think Young Jesse heard her.

"I'm sorry." Holly-Camille said. "I was worried about you."

Young Jesse cared about Cameron and Camille. She wanted to go over the rules and the framework she believed in. She felt it was important to keep everyone on the same page.

"I know what needs to be done on every level." Young Jesse said. "Don't 'make' me choose between Cameron and you. I'll do what Cameron wants because it's what needs to be done. I understand my role and responsibilities. If I need to be at John's side, I will be. You know I love all of them."

Young Jesse really wanted to see Savannah now. She missed her most of all.

Holly-Camille could see she'd caused a problem.

"I let my feelings get in the way." Holly-Camille said. "I'm sorry for what happened."

Young Jesse smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

"We all do it at times, love." Young Jesse said. "We all still know what needs to be done at the end of the day."

Holly-Camille took a robe out of the closet.

"You can wear this." Holly-Camille said.

Young Jesse wanted it to be more elegant.

She took out a formal dress.

"I want to wear this." Young Jesse said. "I want to feel special."

Holly-Camille quickly put the robe away.

"You are special." Holly-Camille said.

Young Jesse looked at the clock.

"How long do I have?" Young Jesse asked.

Cameron wasn't specific. Based on what she'd heard 'coming' from the Owner's Suite earlier, she figured John would need a little while to recharge.

"I think we have plenty of time." Holly-Camille said.

Young Jesse glanced at the dress, then at the bed.

"Then let's make the most of it." Young Jesse said as she led Holly-Camille back to the bed.

Camille-Holly and Allison were in the Master Suite. She didn't feel they needed to be confined there. There were ways to avoid where the other 'look alike' girls were at.

"There are other places on the ship we can go." Camille-Holly said. "Hanna is next door in the Control Center too."

Allison didn't want to be a problem. She didn't want to be spotted in one place and then have the other girls spotted in a different place a minute or two later. They would be dressed differently. Currently, the girls in the nude sunbathing area were undressed.

"We can look out the balcony at the ocean for a while." Allison said.

Camille-Holly wasn't sure why. It always looked the same. She remembered how Summer showed her 'beauty' in simple things. She wanted to see the beauty Allison could see.

"We can do it." Camille-Holly said. "It will be beautiful."

Allison took Camille-Holly's hand and led her out onto the balcony. They were both naked.

Camille-Holly reached back and picked something up. She didn't want there to be any other problems.

"Do you want to wear one of these?" Camille-Holly asked.

She held up two bathrobes.

Allison took one. She knew if they were completely nude out on the balcony, it was possible for other passengers to look over towards their direction.

"Maybe we'd better." Allison said. "Let's enjoy the peaceful view for a while. Maybe we can go out later."

Camille-Holly smiled and took Allison's hand. They soon interlaced their fingers. It was a simple act which could say so much. Things didn't need to be complicated to be rewarding.

Steve did the 'drive by' along the two sides of the old newspaper plant they could get to easily. The east side was the rail siding. The south side was the main flood control channel. The mainline railroad tracks were on the far side of the channel.

Their surveillance picked them up. They knew the cameras hadn't been tampered with. The feeds weren't looped. Nothing else looked out of place.

It looked like everything was good. Steve was about to drive away.

"Wait." Derek said.

Kyle looked around. Maybe there was a problem.

"What is it?" Kyle asked.

Derek looked down the railroad siding from the street on the north side of the building.

Tom and Steve looked too. There was something out of place.

"I see it." Tom said. "It was a good spot."

Derek wondered about it. He bet they were going to take them back to the base and then return there alone.

Kyle looked further. He wasn't sure what it was yet.

"Is it the piece of cloth on the top of the fence?" Kyle asked.

Derek nodded.

"It looks like someone climbed over, but snagged their shirt." Derek said. "It's almost an invitation for us to check and see what happened or where they're at."

Tom checked in with John Henry again to see if any disruptions had been reported.

"I show nothing new." John Henry said.

Kyle didn't like it. His gut told him something was 'wrong'.

"Drive away now." Kyle said.

Steve immediately stepped on the gas and the SUV moved away. He knew not to question human intuition. As illogical as it was, it had proven beneficial on multiple occasions.

Derek wondered if he'd missed something else.

"What is it?" Derek asked.

The team looked all around them.

"I think it's a sucker play." Kyle said.

Derek hoped they could get some drone support. He was about to ask.

Tom received new information.

"I have footage from two drones which are now over us. They're checking for any movement around us and this area." Tom said. "I just received the link a few seconds ago."

Derek was surprised. It meant the drones were either on the way previously or already there.

"It was a fast response." Derek said.

Kyle wanted to play it safe. He was worried they were currently in an ambush corridor.

"If anything moves on either side of us until we reach the main street, it will be a hostile target." Kyle said.

They received some reassuring news.

"The drones will fire a missile if you're clear." John Henry said. "They're at fifty thousand feet. I'm having them drop down to twenty five thousand feet as I clear the airspace."

Steve and Tom couldn't identify any specific threat.

"What about the cluster of bushes up there?" Kyle asked.

Derek could see it was close to the main street.

"A drone is about to take a shot at it with its minigun." John Henry said. "Stay back in case there are ricochets."

Derek thought the drones were out of range. They were still five miles up in the air at twenty five thousand feet. He wondered if they'd dropped even lower.

"Are they really within gun range?" Derek asked.

John Henry quickly explained the 'metal hail' process. It was another 'gravity shot'.

After a few seconds, they could see some sparks in the road and the dirt around the bushes fly up. Leaves were torn off of the bushes too. They didn't hear a thing.

Much to their surprise, a bloodied man fell out onto the sidewalk. He didn't move. He was most likely dead.

"I sure hope it wasn't some homeless guy." Derek said.

Kyle called the shot. He'd take the heat. He didn't want to kill any innocent bystanders. He didn't believe the deceased man was an innocent bystander.

"If it is, it's on me." Kyle said. "I said anything around us was hostile. I think it was a valid target."

Steve pulled up near the fallen man.

Tom got out of the SUV and drug the man off of the sidewalk and back inside the bushes. He returned with several items.

He handed them to Derek and Kyle to look at.

There was a radio, a pistol, a cell phone and what looked like a detonator control.

The cell phone was damaged by a bullet strike. The radio was too. It looked like it still could function. The detonator was shattered as well.

The radio crackled.

"Is it them?" A voice asked. "We lost the feed."

Tom quickly took the radio back.

He made some static noises. He started the transmission.

Static….

"…jamming field…"

Static….

"…get me out…"

Static….

Steve immediately drove away from the area. It was clear they'd been made.

"This SUV has a bullseye on it." Derek said.

They hoped John Henry got a lock on the cell phone signal or radio transmission.

"Tell us you got something, John Henry." Kyle said.

Based on the radio, they figured whoever was on the other end was fairly close.

"Al and Ed will rendezvous with you four blocks from there." John Henry said. "A drone is en route to where the last radio transmission emanated from."

They received some magnified drone images of the location by the fence with the cloth stuck on it. There were two Claymore mines placed in the weeds along each side of the tracks.

Kyle really disliked what he looked at.

"The guy was just waiting for us to get out and check on the cloth." Kyle said.

Derek and Kyle knew the blast from two Claymore mines, in such close proximity to each other, would have been fatal to them.

They soon received a drone image of a van driving away from an industrial tract a quarter of a mile away. It was in the same section of buildings where the earlier underground activity occurred. It was where Savannah took down the Gray from inside the storm drain.

"The van is targeted." John Henry said.

They knew they could have the drone follow it. There was the risk whoever was in it, could get away, especially if it headed for a mall or large shopping center.

"Stop it now before it gets into traffic." A female voice said. "Fire 'metal hail' in front and in back of it to disable it."

Kyle was a little surprised. He tried to place the voice. It was very familiar.

"Is that Allison - Young Allison?" Kyle asked.

John Henry didn't want to get into it.

"Don't worry about it." John Henry said. "I'm attempting to stop it now."

The drone image showed a shower of sparks both in front of and behind the van. It slowed dramatically and stopped at a slight angle. There was fluid running out the front and the rear of it. One was radiator coolant. The other was most likely gasoline.

Seconds ago:

Summer and Jan both watched John Henry work. They knew most of the things happened inside the server where they couldn't see them.

John Henry became aware of the drones over the target location only a short time ago. He'd previously thought CamNet was up to something on her own. He was fairly certain of it now.

He quickly tried to meet the demands of the team in the field. CamNet turned all control over to him. He figured she'd been watching the operation at Young Allison's request. He didn't know she was conducting her own operation.

He tracked the radio transmission and the drone acquired the target. He was ready with a missile.

Summer didn't think a missile strike was necessary. More than likely the Terminators would like to 'interview' the driver of the van to find out a little more about the ambush which had been set up for them.

"Stop it now before it gets into traffic." Summer said. "Fire 'metal hail' in front and in back of it to disable it."

John Henry quickly made sure her transmissions couldn't be heard from the Command Center when Kyle asked who it was.

"Don't worry about it." John Henry said. "I'm attempting to stop it now."

They watched as the drone did a gravity shot in front and in back of the moving van. It was disabled and stopped.

John Henry watched as CamNet acted on Summer's suggestion. He was prepared to fire a missile.

"I'm sorry." Summer said. "My way gives you a better chance to catch the occupants of the van. There's nowhere for them to go now."

John Henry realized they could enter the storm drain system. He sure didn't want Kyle or Derek in there after them. The images of what Savannah went through a few days ago still troubled him.

Steve skipped the meet with Al and Ed. They headed straight for the spot where the disabled van was at. They wanted to try and get a 'live one'. They wanted to know a little more about the ambush which was set up for them.

Leticia and Sheila started in on each other right on a lounge chair in the nude sunbathing area. There was nothing over them but sky.

Vanna watched them.

"That's totally HOT." Vanna said.

Laura was right next to her, they'd been kissing.

"Leticia is always like that." Laura said.

Vanna didn't think anyone was more extreme than Sheila.

"So is She…- Sue." Vanna said.

Vanna almost said 'Sheila'. She knew she needed to watch herself.

Mary and Ally watched too.

"I hope no one walks in here." Mary said.

Ally was sure Jim or CamNet 'locked' the gate so it wouldn't open.

"I don't think they will." Ally said.

Gail-Cam and Cam-Gail were focused on each other since they were both in each other's chassis. Hearing Leticia and Sheila seemed to excite and 'drive' them.

"This looks like it is about to turn into a 'free for all'." Laura said.

Vanna took it all in.

"Let's hope so." Vanna said.

Soon the pairs of girls were all over each other. It was something they all wanted. Vanna hadn't done anything like this since they'd left the future. The girls they were with there sure didn't look like these girls did. She really wished Allison was there now.

Cammy went into the office of the motel. She returned with a room key.

"It's room four." Cammy said.

Savannah got out and took the bundle of clothes from Julie as she exited the SUV.

Young Allison got out on the other side and followed Cammy. She urged Julie to catch up to her. Savannah was right behind Julie. Anna locked the SUV and followed them to the room.

Cammy opened the door and held it. Young Allison walked in. Julie came up to the door and paused.

Young Allison could see Julie was very hesitant. She wanted to reassure her.

"It's just me." Young Allison said.

Julie looked around once and entered. Only Savannah and Anna were behind her.

"It's not the greatest room but it was the closest to the office." Cammy said. "I wanted to make you feel comfortable."

Julie walked around the room and looked in the bathroom and the closet. She was satisfied they were alone.

Savannah was a little troubled by Julie's hesitation and concern.

"We can wait here or wait in the car." Savannah said. "We aren't trying to impose. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Savannah handed Julie the bundle of clothes.

"Thanks." Julie said.

Julie took off her top without thinking. She tossed it in the trash can. She realized she was topless.

"You don't mind do you?" Julie asked. "There's not much privacy in the camps."

Young Allison looked at Julie's topless form. She wasn't excited. She was appalled. Her ribs were very prominent. There were bruises and sores on her skin. Her breasts were small and also covered with bruises and some small sores. She looked like someone right out of the future. Allison told her what everyone looked like.

Julie looked at herself in the mirror. She always thought her breasts would get a little larger. They never did. She found out it didn't matter on the street. Her abusers wanted something else instead.

"I used to look nicer." Julie said. "This is what two years on the street does to you. I guess I'm either lucky or unlucky."

Savannah saw people who looked like her before in the future and in homeless camps. She understood what Julie meant about being 'either lucky or unlucky'. Some people would be 'lucky' to still be alive. Other people would feel 'unlucky' they hadn't died and all their problems and suffering ended.

Julie went to take off her pants.

"It gets worse." Julie said. "Maybe I should do this in the bathroom."

Young Allison wanted to see more. It wasn't of a sexual nature either. She wanted to see the full extent of what the street did to someone. She knew it would be much the same in a Skynet future.

"No." Young Allison said. "I want to see. I want to see what I'm trying to help fix. I want to know I'm trying to do something good for someone."

Julie took off her pants and threw them away.

The insides of her thighs were black and blue as was her rear end.

"This was what 'the crew' did to me when they took me. I fought them hard the last time. I wanted it to stop." Julie said. "They got me good. Everything else looks like this too that you can't see. It's a real mess down there."

Cammy didn't like what she observed. She accessed her medical files Cameron downloaded into all of the Terminators. She could professionally treat what was visible on Julie. Any internal damage was another matter.

"I'm a trained paramedic." Cammy said. "Let me take a look to see if you need immediate medical attention."

Young Allison wanted to do more.

"We can take you to a hospital." Young Allison said. "It won't be any charge to you. Maybe I've been negligent and should have asked earlier based upon the abuse you suffered."

Julie thought about it. What happened in the last twelve hours was no different from what happened over the last couple of years.

"I don't want to go to the hospital. Let me clean up some first." Julie said. "There is a lot of crusty dried stuff down there."

Savannah didn't like what she saw. She was glad Young Allison left eight dead men behind because of the incident. It was probably nine by now. The man from the park with the knife should have been terminated as well at this point. Bryan and Randy would have made sure the man never abused or hurt anyone else again. She focused her attention on Julie.

"Let her help you clean up." Savannah said as she pointed at Cammy. "She's a professional."

Julie looked at Cammy. She didn't think anyone who looked like her would want anything to do with her on a sexual level like she looked now. She wanted to make sure.

"It's just to help clean me and look me over, nothing else." Julie said.

Cammy didn't intend to do anything but help.

"You have my word." Cammy said.

Young Allison wanted to reassure Julie herself.

"You have my word too." Young Allison said. "This is about helping you and nothing else."

Anna wanted to reduce the tension.

"Maybe we should wait in the car." Anna said. "I don't want to pressure anyone or make them feel uncomfortable."

Julie popped her head out from the bathroom. She didn't view any of her new friends as a threat. She wanted to reassure them.

"You can stay." Julie said. "I trust you."

Savannah looked at Young Allison and could see she was steamed. She knew she wanted retribution. She was pretty sure she wasn't going to care where it was obtained at either. She was sure she would send her Detail out at night to 'clean' the local streets up. She really couldn't blame her at this point. She wanted to come with Cammy and help too.

Sheila and Ally should be available as well. It was something they conducted on a regular basis with Cameron's 'off the books' operations. She better understood Sheila's actions now. People who abused others needed to atone for their actions. It didn't matter if it was for sexual gratification or for profit. She figured for most of them it was both. She really wondered why people weren't held accountable for their actions.

CamNet instructed her Terminators to hang back and wait. If there was something they hadn't previously discovered at the location of the unknown portal, they wanted to see if the men in the white van could find it.

They watched the drone image as the two men exited the white van. They could see them look around the surrounding area. They moved cautiously along the side of the remains of the building. They reached the rear of where the building was. They stood there for a moment and looked around them.

"It looks like they're looking for something, but don't know what." Lena said.

Tina came to the same conclusion.

"We still don't know what was there ourselves." Tina said.

Lena looked around them as they waited.

"Let's hope they don't turn on anything while they're there." Lena said.

Tina looked at the remains of the building.

"I don't think there's much of anything there." Tina said.

Lena watched as the drone zoomed in on the location where the portal had been.

"They knew to come here somehow." Lena said.

The two men entered the remains of the building and begin to look through the rubble.

"It looks like they have some type of electronic device." Tina said.

Lena could see one of the men held something and moved it around in front of him from side to side as he walked.

"I hope it's not a Geiger counter. " Lena said.

Tina understood the ramifications.

"The team checked for any radiation before they left." Tina said. "They wanted to make sure Savannah hadn't been 'crapped up'."

Lena felt it was time to take some decisive action.

"We should move up now and take them into custody when they return to the van." Lena said.

Tina didn't like the fact an incendiary device went off five minutes after the men left the other building.

"I didn't care for the reception they left us at the last place." Tina said.

CamNet instructed them to hold and see where else the men went to next.

Lena and Tina would both rather beat the information out of the two men.

The female Fanatic knew the truck was about to stop. The truck moved slowly and made a turn. She could feel it bounce up a little bit as it made the turn. She wondered if it was a tight corner. She didn't think it was a street corner. There was another jolt and the truck stopped. There was a hiss of air.

Everything was relatively quiet. She didn't hear any other vehicle noise. She didn't know if the driver would check the load or not. She was right by the roll up door in the back. She decided to wait for a few minutes to make sure things remained quiet around where she was.

The female Fanatic decided it was time to get out of the back of the truck. She pushed up a little on the roll up door. She took her knife out and moved it to where the latch was at. She hoped she could take enough tension out of the door to actuate the latch.

The truck driver spotted the other trucks as he approached the diner. He made the turn. He pulled in and parked next to them. He got out of the cab and looked everything over. He walked around the side of the trailer and checked his tires. He headed for the rear end of the truck.

Jill watched as the big rig parked near the other two in back of the diner. The pickup truck was parked directly in front of the diner. She gave the attendant some money and went out and started the gas pump.

She checked her surroundings as the gas started to flow. Since the truck was stopped behind the diner, she figured she had a little more time. Maybe even a half hour. She waited until the pump stopped. The tank was completely full. She given the attendant more money than she'd used in gasoline. She went back inside the gas station. The convenience store was very small. It didn't matter, she purchased a few bottles of water and a few things to snack on. She gave the attendant a few more dollars over what she'd already paid.

She went back out to the car and put the items she'd purchased inside of it. She decided to use the restroom. She walked towards the restroom door. She paused for a moment and walked towards the rear of the building. She peered around the corner at where the big rigs were parked across the street. She saw the driver get out and look around the front area of the truck. He then started to walk around the trailer as he inspected it.

She really wondered what was inside of the trailer. If they were terrorists, they could be driving around with truck bombs. She remembered her brother did a report in school about terrorists. There were several truck bombs used before. The initial attack on the World Trade Center in the Nineties was with a truck bomb. It didn't do much except kill a few people. There was another attack against a Federal building in Oklahoma. It was much more devastating. It took down the entire side of a building. She always wondered why the entire building didn't collapse.

Maybe she could go over and take a look in the back of one of them. She really didn't know what a bomb would look like. It could be some kind of explosive or it could be some kind of chemicals. She remembered the bomb in Oklahoma was made from fertilizer. It really made her wonder how fertilizer could be turned into a bomb. She figured anyone could buy fertilizer at anytime. Maybe it was a special type of fertilizer.

Jill reached back and touched the pistol tucked in behind her. She decided she was going to take a look in the back of at least one of them. Right now she needed to use the restroom.

Two men inside of the diner looked over towards the filling station.

"There's the car we saw last night." The first man said.

The second man looked over.

"You mean early this morning." The second man said.

The first man tried to get a look at the driver.

"It's some chick." The first man said.

The second man tried to see her better.

"She doesn't dress very well." The second man said.

The two men watched as the female went into the filling station and came back out and started the pump.

"I told you the car looked like it belonged to some homeless person." The first man said.

The second man thought of their previous intentions.

"We could have rolled her earlier." The second man said.

"It was dark." The first man said. "We didn't know what we'd find."

The second man looked over towards where the female was at.

"We know now." The second man said.

They watched her go back inside and purchase a few items. She put them in the car.

"It looks like she's headed for the restroom." The first man said.

The second man looked around them.

"What do you want to do?" The second man asked. "Do you want to 'put the grab on her'?"

The first man looked at his empty plate.

"A little dessert wouldn't hurt." The first man said.

I Think You Would

How far is a person
Willing to push or go
There's really no way
Anyone can ever know

Is anything ever predetermined
Is it all based on random chance
There's always more behind the scenes
Events can be driven by circumstance

One's buttons can be pushed
A response will be triggered
It may be much more
Than the other one figured

Things can get out of hand quickly
No one knows how far they'll bend
The results can be finial
It's all more than pretend

There are things one could do
It seems to be understood
Is it really what they should do
I think you would

Nobody