Chapter 1423
It Meant Death
Savannah became increasingly worried as to where the dirt road would lead them. It was the road the green sedan took for its 'escape'. It was either to flee from them, or to lead them into a second ambush if they somehow survived the first one. Since the dirt road was even more remote and isolated than the last one. It seemed like a pretty good bet they were being set up again. It really seemed like the enemy expected a bigger force at the last ambush site.
Cammy rebooted and was updated by John Henry.
"The junction of the first turnoff is one mile from here." Cammy said.
Savannah asked for drone scans in front of them.
"Has anything been detected yet?" Savannah asked. "It seems something should show up soon."
Cammy was aware nothing was 'detected' at the first ambush site. The drones were all moved to a safer distance and altitude to prevent them from being brought down by an EMP. It was the 'recon by fire' activity which sprung the ambush early when the command section of the enemy unit was hit. The enemy ambush was disjointed and fell apart fast afterwards. She didn't have anything new to add.
"No." Cammy said. "Nothing's been detected."
Savannah needed to rethink their driving options. Driving with the lights on so she could see was one option. Driving with her night vision on was another option. Once she was off of a road, the uneven terrain could mess with her perspective. The last choice was to have one of the Terminators drive. They may be affected by an EMP blast which could take out the SUV as well. She needed to think about the safety of the Terminators.
"I'm going to switch to my night vision for now." Savannah said. "Keep up with the standby schedule so you're all protected."
Savannah decided they could take a trail off the dirt road. It would take her around the junction of the first two dirt roads off the main dirt road. The trail was just a trail. It wasn't even a dirt road. The trail itself was a risky move. It seemed an even riskier move would be to stay on the dirt road to the junction.
John Henry was worried about Savannah switching to a trail off of the main dirt road. It would be much rougher going and harder on the SUV. He glanced over at Summer.
"What do you suggest for Savannah?" John Henry asked.
Summer thought of a few ideas. She would need to take some risks to do it. She wasn't sure how the idea would go over. She hoped to provoke the enemy.
"We could have a drone to fly low to the ground to see if we can spook any of the ambushers." Summer said. "There needs to be a couple more drones which would need to ride shotgun on it. They would need to remain above the elevation the biggest EMP blast we've experienced from this group which would affect them."
John Henry knew it was a risk Savannah wouldn't want to take. Savannah was the one on the ground. She was the one the decisions needed to be made by. He wanted Summer to understand the way Savannah operated. He believed there were other dangers to consider as well.
"I doubt Savannah will go for it." John Henry said. "If we find their base, they may have a bigger EMP. They could have one with a five mile diameter range or larger. If they switch to an air burst It will greatly increase the range of its effect."
Summer didn't want to make life or death decisions for people or machines. She knew at some point she would need to. She wanted John Henry to understand her reasoning. She believed it was sound, especially in the situation Savannah currently was in.
"In combat there are always risks." Summer said. "You don't win battles by hunkering down in a base. You need to bring the fight to the enemy."
John Henry could see Summer's thinking was different than Savannah's. It was much more extreme than Young Allison's even. He wanted to see how far she would go.
"What about the use of more powerful weapons?" John Henry asked. "When should they be used?"
Summer didn't like the question. She did have an answer. She believed they would need to go 'all the way' if the conditions of the situation warranted it.
"You use whatever weapons you have to win the battle." Summer said. "You don't gain victories by losing. If you don't win, you lose."
John Henry received a warning from CamNet to back off on Summer. He felt he needed to point something out.
"It was the philosophy of Skynet." John Henry said.
Summer was aware Skynet never defeated the Resistance. She didn't think they should repeat Skynet's mistakes if there were other options available.
"Skynet obviously didn't hit hard enough and long enough then did they?" Summer asked. "The Resistance hit back harder and longer."
John Henry received information from CamNet. One drone volunteered to fly low down the dirt road to see what response was triggered and make sure the path was clear for Savannah's team.
He was sure his conversation with Summer sparked the response. Maybe it was the point Summer wanted to make, without actually making it. He could see it was an effective strategy.
It was clear Summer knew how to 'play the game'. She'd basically given a 'command' to CamNet without actually giving one at all. He could see it was going to be risky for the drone. It would also give Savannah the best chance to avoid a direct ambush.
He looked over at Summer. She looked back at him for a moment. He expected to see her wink at him or something. She didn't. He figured he better not pursue it any further.
Cammy rebooted and was informed of what was going to happen so they could stay on the dirt road. She felt the trail was a bad idea anyway.
"Don't go off the road." Cammy said. "The trail isn't a good choice for the SUV."
Savannah didn't want to trigger another EMP ambush.
"I want to play it safe." Savannah said.
Cammy filled her in on the actions to be taken by three drones. The rest of the drone strike force was ready to back them up from altitude and the far sides of the operation.
Savannah didn't like the risk to the drones. She could survive an EMP attack. The machines couldn't. They would become disabled and defenseless. The low flying drone would more than likely crash. She wanted to express her disapproval.
"I don't agree with it." Savannah said.
Cammy thought it was the most expedient method to get to the objective. She also believed it would benefit them to have the enemy play its hand first, before they actually arrived.
"It's an effective strategy." Cammy said.
Savannah wanted to deal the enemy a knockout blow.
"What's detected at the location we're going to?" Savannah asked.
Cammy was displeased with what the high altitude drone recon showed.
"Nothing, there's no activity detected." Cammy said.
Savannah wondered about it. She actually wondered about a few things. The ratio of females associated with the anti-Metal group was always much higher than it was with Skynet forces. She wasn't sure what the ratio was for SkyMaster forces.
"Maybe most of the anti-Metal group was at the ambush we took down." Savannah said. "How many of them were female?"
Cammy personally checked.
"There were three for sure." Cammy said. "One of the two who was burnt with the Thermite may have been a female based on the screams."
Savannah pictured the screams she'd heard again. She was responsible for them. In the ambush, the enemy came to them. All she did was respond.
"They attacked us." Savannah said. "How isolated is it where we're going?"
It wasn't isolated enough for Cammy.
"There are other structures in the vicinity." Cammy said. "The attack wouldn't go unnoticed."
Savannah decided to act. She didn't want it to sound like an attack where there was prolonged activity.
"Have the drones over the target area fire their missiles with a controlled burn to get them on the target and coast in." Savannah said. "I want everything there targeted and all hit at the same time so it seems like one massive explosion."
Cammy was pleased at Savannah's willingness to use decisive action. It sounded like a knockout blow would be delivered. There was still one thing which bothered her.
"It's a wise move." Cammy said. "What about the drone traveling along on the dirt road acting as bait?"
Savannah still didn't like it. She knew it would be 'Coltan Overcast'. She knew there were several options available to her. She would use whichever one was necessary for a complete restoration.
"Inform the drones involved their backup programs will be installed in a new drone chassis if necessary." Savannah said. "I'll do it personally along with the updated information as to why it was necessary. This isn't my action. I'll take the responsibility to rectify it."
Savannah heard a drone approach low over the SUV and saw it wag back and forth a few times as it continued down the road at low altitude in front of her. Anyone from the future would know what it was and meant once they heard the drone.
It meant death.
Cameron was very troubled by the actions both Savannah and Young Allison were willing to take. She was even more surprised with Summer's direct involvement to have Young Allison 'check' herself. She thought it was done in a very professional manner.
She was glad Savannah was going to strike first. It was the smart move to make if the group was going to face additional EMP weapons. Savannah would be alone and would try to protect the Terminators in her squad. She'd seen Savannah do it before. Savannah did it for her before, more than once. Savannah never backed down or abandoned anyone. She always held her ground or took the fight to the enemy, even when she was alone.
Sheila entered the Control Center. It didn't look like Cameron was off to a good start. Vanna was next to her trying to keep her calm. Because they were on the ship, there was nothing they could do directly themselves with the operations.
Cam came over and quietly filled her in.
Now she wondered if maybe she should have stayed with Leticia.
Young Allison backed off. She knew she was getting ahead of herself. She'd never expected to have Summer remind her to follow her training. It was the very training she'd taught to Summer herself. It was a justified reminder. If she blew this, Savannah would never let her out again.
Anna rebooted and was updated.
"I'm going to stay active for now." Anna said. "I'll go back into standby at the first hint we are about to be hit"
Young Allison needed better information.
"I need you to keep me informed about what's happening specifically around us." Young Allison said.
Anna felt John Henry was doing it already.
"I'll see what I can add to what you're already receiving." Anna said. "I know how you think."
The drone footage showed the truck pass through the shopping center but it didn't stop. If it did, and anyone got out, there would be a drone gun attack. It would most likely provoke an EMP attack if anyone survived.
Anna quickly deduced what the blue truck was up to. It was an effective strategy.
"It looks like the truck will pass through the open and empty parking lot and come out almost where we are." Anna said. "It will give them the chance to see if anyone who was behind them turns around or follows them."
Young Allison quickly turned into a gas station and went behind the building. She could see the danger of the maneuver and what possibly could happen. She was glad she backed off with Summer's reminder. She should have stayed out of visual range all together. There were other dangers to consider as well.
"It also puts them right on our doorstep if they blow an EMP." Young Allison said. "They'll be right here on top of us."
Young Allison was ready to fight if it's what it came to. She was ready to take the fight to the enemy.
Summer quickly established drone firing grids around where Young Allison was. There would be drones at high altitude and some at a lower altitude. It was doubtful there was a large EMP in the truck.
'Cherry Bomb' elected to stay within direct gunfire range of the truck. It should be out of the blast effect of an EMP grenade. It would be affected by anything larger than an EMP grenade.
The area around where Young Allison waited was targeted three different ways by drones. She was protected, but anything could happen.
Savannah increased her speed down the dirt road. Nothing showed up on any of the low altitude drone scans. She passed the junction of the first two dirt roads without incident. The last and third junction was just a few miles ahead.
Savannah wanted Cammy protected.
"I think you all need to go back into standby." Savannah said. "If anything is going to happen, it will most likely be where we need to turn."
Cammy, Richard and Michael were all in standby. They would reboot at different times as scheduled among themselves.
Savannah slowed and moved off the road. She could hear the drone pass overhead every so often. She was a mile from the junction. She figured if she was going to ambush someone, she would do it before the junction.
The more she thought about it, she would do it after the second junction which was several miles behind her. It brought up a new worry. Maybe she was already boxed in.
"John Henry, what's behind me?" Savannah asked.
John Henry and Summer watched Savannah slow and move off the road. Summer immediately established grid coordinates around the SUV.
"John Henry, what's behind me?" Savannah asked.
John Henry checked.
"I don't see anything." John Henry said.
Savannah thought about the earlier method used at the first ambush. The 'recon by fire' method proved very effective to trigger the ambush early. She was concerned something was going to happen behind her. She wanted to take some preemptive action.
"I want you to recon the area with gunfire along the road past the second junction." Savannah said. "Have 'Coltan Overcast' get some altitude and distance before you do."
There was a short pause as John Henry made the arrangements.
"Everything is ready." John Henry said.
Savannah watched around her. She felt very uneasy. She turned her night vision off. She shut the SUV off as well. She turned off her com and made sure her phone was off. She got out of the SUV with her M4.
There was a brilliant flash behind her in the distance. She was sure it was another EMP blast. She wasn't sure of its yield or the area affected.
She dropped down to the ground when it happened.
She waited a few seconds and tried her com. There was a lot of static. It may be damaged. She 'low crawled' to a small knoll and looked ahead to where the SUV should be on the road. It was the most likely spot for an ambush to her.
She knew Cammy would reboot in a short time.
In the Command Center they watched Savannah park the SUV off the road and get out of it. They weren't sure what she was about to do.
John Henry arranged the gravity fire support mission as Savannah requested. It was conducted along the sides of the road behind her where she'd already passed by.
They observed a bright flash.
"Something just went off." John Henry said.
Summer looked at the images.
"I wonder if it was set after they passed." Summer said. "It would have blocked their retreat."
They watched Savannah drop down and move forward.
John Henry couldn't reach her.
Summer spotted danger immediately.
"There are targets moving." Summer said.
John Henry looked. He didn't see anything.
"Where are they?" John Henry asked.
Summer spotted something briefly.
"I saw a light in the rocks on the hillside." Summer said. "Can I fire a missile?"
John Henry didn't even need to think about it.
"Do it." John Henry said.
Summer sent the information to CamNet.
John Henry went back and reviewed the screens Summer was viewing. He spotted what she saw this time.
There was an explosion three seconds later at the same location. The missile was right on target.
Savannah waited as she looked over the knoll. There was an explosion off to her left near the road. She knew John Henry could see her from the high altitude drones, even if she was out of communication right now.
There was a long scream as the fireball dissipated.
There was a snap in the brush off to her right on the other side. It was away from the explosion. She rolled over in the direction of the sound. She turned her night vision on. It still worked. She spotted something move in the rocks off to the side.
She turned off her night vision again. She fired an HE round out of her M203.
Cammy rebooted in time to see the explosion off to the left and hear the scream. Savannah wasn't there. She got out of the SUV. She spotted Savannah ahead by the knoll and down on the ground. She dropped down too. There must be targets. There was the snap in the brush and she watched Savannah fire an M203 round.
She moved toward Savannah's position. She didn't know if she was hurt or not. She began to hear ricochets and see sparks over where the HE round exploded. It was a high altitude gravity shot. There was another pattern of deadly 'metal hail' where the explosion on the other side was. There must be targets on both sides of them. It looked like they'd triggered another ambush early.
Savannah could see they were in the middle of something but she wasn't sure what it was. She did see Cammy was out of the SUV.
"Cammy, go back into standby for forty seconds." Savannah said.
Cammy continued to move up to Savannah. She wanted to make sure she wasn't hurt.
Savannah expected another EMP. She didn't want Cammy to delay. She knew Cammy was worried about her safety and condition.
"Do it NOW." Savannah said. "I'm uninjured."
Cammy put her M4 under her and went into standby.
There were more gravity shots on both sides of where Savannah and Cammy were.
There was another flash of light. It looked like an EMP grenade. It wasn't very large.
Savannah saw Michael exit the SUV.
"Over here." Savannah said.
Michael looked over and spotted Cammy down and Savannah near her. She was down too.
"Go into standby for one minute." Savannah said. "I'm uninjured."
Michael lay on the other side away from Cammy and Savannah.
There was another flash of light.
"It was close." Savannah said.
Savannah turned her night vision on. She tried her com. It was dead. There was something new now. There was a Skynet jamming field in place.
What was she in the middle of?
John Henry selected targets and Summer did too. It worked well for the first minute. There was a second bright flash.
They suddenly lost all coverage where Savannah and her team were at.
"There's a Skynet type jamming field that's just been enacted." John Henry said. "We can't see anything."
Summer continued to give grid coordinates to CamNet. She still continued the gravity shots.
John Henry wondered what she was doing. They were blind right now.
"What are you shooting at?" John Henry asked.
Summer relied on the information she gleaned when she'd looked at the earlier satellite photos. She made deductions based upon the topography. The grids were already laid out ahead of time.
"The enemy is being targeted." Summer said. "I've calculated their movements. I've anticipated where they'll be and where they'll go."
Summer still looked at the previous images before the jamming field went into effect. She continued to provide CamNet coordinates.
John Henry began to receive drone footage from off to the sides looking in.
Dan and Frank were on their way to where Young Allison was at. It was going to take some time for them to get there. There wasn't much else they could do but speed. CamNet informed them there would be no law enforcement personnel on their route.
Ken and Lou piloted the Blackhawk over the Pacific. They'd just dumped the SUV full of bodies in the water. They'd use the new technique Savannah suggested and used earlier. The SUV disappeared quickly into the deep blue.
Hank, Larry and Mel were with them. They were to fly to where Young Allison was at and back up her operation. It was going to take a little while. They hugged the wave tops to stay off of everyone's radar, both electronic and otherwise.
Steve's team with Tom, Al and Ed was still a mile away from where Young Allison was. They were on a rotating standby schedule in preparation of an EMP blast.
They were aware the truck with the anti-Metal duo might come back their way. They were backed in alongside a strip mall and planned to pull out ahead of the blue truck if it came back their way. They hoped to spot an ambush being set up before Young Allison would get jammed up in it if she went in pursuit of the blue truck. Everyone knew she would go after it.
Young Allison and Anna received word Savannah was in the middle of a battle again. There was now something similar to a Skynet jamming field in place there. It made it even worse. It meant Savannah's team was cut off. There'd been at least three separate EMP explosions before the jamming field was activated. It was clear to her now why Savannah gave her the assignment she did. So far it was the less risky of the two choices which had been available.
"I know why Savannah sent us after the prisoner." Young Allison said.
Anna did too. She wanted to know what Young Allison's opinion was of the decision.
"Was it a wise choice on her part?" Anna asked.
Young Allison thought so.
"She has much more field experience than I do. I still would have liked to have been with her." Young Allison said. "She anticipated getting ambushed. She wanted to take the risk herself."
Anna was aware it was the reason Young Allison was sent after the 'soft' target.
"It seems she's in a second ambush. It was triggered even more prematurely than the first one was." Anna said.
They were out of direct view where the blue truck would reenter the main street. It could go back the way it came from, continue along the way it was going before the detour, or pull into the gas station, blow an EMP and engage them in combat.
They watched the drone footage to see what was going to happen with the blue truck.
The blue truck stopped on the main street in front of the gas station.
Young Allison knew what was going to happen before it happened. It was what she would do.
"They're going to come in here." Young Allison said.
Young Allison started the SUV.
Anna readied her weapons.
"I hope they come in from the east side or we may have to fight." Anna said.
Young Allison planned evasive action. She would try to drive around the gas station as the blue truck drove into it, and then around the back of it. She expected to make at least one full circle.
"If they see us, I need you to go into standby instantly." Young Allison said as she touched Anna's leg. "They may have an EMP grenade."
Anna looked at the phone image from a drone overhead.
"They're moving." Anna said. "Wait, they're turning in from the east side. You're headed in the right direction. Start moving slowly."
It was a relief to Young Allison. She would have backed around the gas station if she needed to. It was unnecessary with the way the enemy now approached them.
Anna watched the image and calculated both vehicle's' speed.
"Speed up a little." Anna said. "Pick it up a little more and come back around to where we were."
Young Allison successfully circled around the gas station and kept the building between them and the blue truck. It looked like they'd eluded them.
Wait.
Maybe they didn't.
"They've stopped." Anna said.
They both wondered what the truck was waiting for.
"They seem to really be looking for anything which could be a tail." Young Allison said.
The blue truck waited a little longer and pulled back out onto the main highway and started back in the direction they'd come from, it backtracked their original route.
Anna was sure a little more was in store for them.
"I think the next thing we'll find is an ambush." Anna said.
It was Young Allison's belief as well.
"I think you're right." Young Allison said. "I think they're used to doing this with Grays or Fanatics. They don't seem to have all the resources we do."
Young Allison knew most of their Terminators and all the HK equipment was captured from Skynet or its affiliates. They'd made modifications and upgrades as time went along. It was unknown to anyone what Cameron specifically did with all the captured production equipment. Nobody knew if there were some assembly lines set up.
Anna wanted to suggest some other alternatives.
"We can have a drone incapacitate their vehicle with minimal gunfire." Anna said. "There are several drones which have them locked up for a missile strike too."
Young Allison believed everything they'd done so far would be for nothing if they used the drone option now. She wanted Steve's team to get moving.
"Have Steve's team pull out now and be in front of them." Young Allison said. "We're going to follow them to wherever they're going."
It still worried Anna. They didn't know what the enemy was up to.
"Even if it's to an ambush for us they're going to?" Anna asked.
Young Allison knew she needed to find the enemy to kill them.
"It will give us more targets to terminate." Young Allison said.
Savannah knew they were cut off from all direct contact with John Henry. He knew where they were and could drop missiles down from above them as gravity bombs and rain down 'metal hail' from minigun gravity shots. It appeared to be what was occurring right now.
Richard was out of the SUV now too.
"Watch the rear and get ready to go into standby in thirty seconds when Cammy reboots." Savannah said. "There have been three EMP blasts. There was one medium sized one behind us somewhere and two EMP grenades on our sides. I don't know their range. I'm uninjured."
Richard was surprised at the amount of activity which already occurred.
"Affirmative…." Richard said.
Richard moved to the back of the SUV.
Savannah spotted no movement, even though there was 'metal hail' in different areas. She could hear it hit and ricochet on the rocks. There'd been a few muted screams at times. There was an occasional explosion. It seemed whoever targeted the enemy, did a good job of keeping them pinned down or killed them.
Cammy rebooted and rolled over with her M4 ready. There were no targets.
Savannah filled her in with what she knew. It wasn't much.
"Watch the east side." Savannah said. "This is what I know so far…."
Savannah was aware Michael would reboot soon. She needed to think of the best course of action based upon the current conditions.
John Henry watched what he could. It wasn't much from off to the sides. Summer was still giving CamNet grids to attack with minigun fire or an occasional missile.
"How do you know what you're hitting?" John Henry asked.
Summer was aware of the time interval from when they'd lost visual and audio contact with Savannah's team.
"I don't." Summer said. "Based on where we spotted movement and where Savannah fired on, I've calculated some possible movements of the enemy. It will need to cease. There are too many variables now."
Summer knew she was using the drones which were to attack the possible enemy stronghold to shield Savannah's team. She'd already thought of several other options to compensate for it.
John Henry was worried about the ordinance already used by the drones on station.
"Have you asked CamNet for additional drones?" John Henry asked. "We still have another target to attack."
Summer wanted to use other resources under CamNet's 'control'. She thought bigger than a drone strike. It was quite a step beyond anything they'd ever used before. She planned to use military resources.
"I'm going to ask CamNet to conduct a 'live fire drill' from several Navy ships at sea." Summer said. "Once the cruise missiles are launched, she will redirect them and mask where they are really going. False tracking will be sent as the 'phantom missiles' strike the 'target range' for the Navy."
John Henry was worried by the idea. It was as extreme as it was bold. Even Cameron never seriously considered using such an extreme level of force with 'borrowed' resources. He wondered how far she was willing to go.
"Are they all going to have conventional warheads?" John Henry asked.
Summer didn't look at him.
"They will for now." Summer said.
John Henry wasn't sure what Cameron 'created' with Summer. Wait. Summer was Young Allison's creation. She was going to use every resource CamNet could provide in any engagement she was involved in. Maybe it was the training from Young Allison which made her bold and cold. Maybe she was going to out think all of them, including CamNet and him. It was clear if she played, she played to win and win big.
Cameron sent Sheila to check on John.
John was still asleep.
Sheila thought about cashing in her 'one time' chip with John right now. She could crawl in bed right next to him…. She could try to pass herself off as Young Jesse if she removed her jewelry. She didn't like the idea. If she was with John, she wanted it to be as herself. She would want John to know it was her and she could be who she was.
She reluctantly left and reported back to Cameron. She then left the Control Center and went back out into the private area. She thought if Allison was finished, she would make a better companion for Cameron, along with Vanna, for the current situation.
Sheila went and checked in on Mary and Laura. They were both still asleep. So was Leticia. She headed for the Honeymoon Suite.
She entered the Honeymoon Suite. She could hear the Metal girls in the spare room. She looked in the main bedroom. Allison and Young Jesse were only talking at this point.
"Can you send Vanna when you go back?" Young Jesse asked.
"I will." Allison said.
Sheila watched them share a long slow kiss. She knew it was a loving kiss. It was something the human girls could all do very well. They could do it with feeling. She thought she'd done a pretty good job with Leticia and learned everything Leticia could offer.
She saw Allison come out of the bedroom.
She told her where Vanna was at and she was going to be busy for a while. Allison said she would go there at once. It sounded like Cameron needed her too.
Holly appeared when she filled Allison in. She listened in. She left with Allison.
Camille and Gail wanted to know what they could do.
Sheila suggested they keep Mary, Laura or Leticia company since there was nothing they could do elsewhere while they were on the ship.
She then went into Young Jesse's room.
"Vanna is going to be delayed a little while." Sheila said.
Young Jesse looked a little disappointed.
Sheila slipped off her robe and walked up to the bed.
"I'm available." Sheila said.
Young Jesse instantly touched Sheila's nipple rings.
"I can't wait to get a set." Young Jesse said. "I want to look just like you."
Sheila held her close and kissed her as she scanned her. Right away She picked up something different. She double checked her scans and did a longer one.
"You're going to need to wait nine months." Sheila said.
Young Jesse backed away from her and looked at her intently. She didn't think she was joking. It could only mean one thing. It wasn't something to take lightly either. She looked at Sheila with all seriousness.
"Really?" Young Jesse asked.
Sheila smiled at her.
"Yes." Sheila said. "Congratulations, Jesse is going to be a mother!"
The white van neared the location of the lab.
"This place looks pretty deserted." The first man said.
The second man thought there was a good reason.
"It's pretty late." The second man said.
The first man looked at the surrounding area.
"I mean this location." The first man said. "It looks abandoned."
The second man didn't really think it mattered.
"So was the last place we went to." The second man said. "We almost got jammed up there."
The first man still wondered about what happened.
"We need to be on the lookout for those guys." The first man said.
The second man was on the lookout for any threat.
"Maybe they're already here." The second man said.
The first man became even more nervous.
"They don't pay me enough to take chances like this." The first man said.
The second man laughed.
"They don't pay us at all." The second man said. "Well, at least not with money."
The first man parked down the street from the lab.
"I don't like the looks of the alley there." The first man said.
The second man didn't think it mattered.
"You're the one who parked here, not me." The second man said.
The two men exited the van and moved towards the lab. They stopped at the wall by the opening into the parking lot. They looked around the corner of the wall. They could see large sections of graffiti painted on the building.
"This place looks like it's been hit by vandals." The first man said.
The second man held his pistol in his hand.
"We need to check it out anyway." The second man said. "This place is still standing. It's not blown up are burnt down like most of the other ones have been."
The reason why the building was still there was because there was only one individual who'd been dealing with the Skynet group involved with the 'Liquid Metal project'. The individual saw the girl who'd been taken captive and did nothing to aid her. He illegally traded with the Grays for drug money. He was overdosed on his own drugs and terminated.
The resulting investigation by the authorities caused the company to go broke and shut down. It simply ceased to exist. Some of the equipment was sold off. The building fell into disrepair. It wasn't long before the vandals arrived and left their mark.
The men each carry a powerful flashlight along with their pistol. They cautiously made their way towards the building and entered through a missing door. It was the same door which was unlocked when the Metal girls entered the building during the operation.
They looked around the interior.
"This place is wasted." The first man said.
The second man looked around at everything. He could see it was going to take a lot of work to get the building reusable again at some point in the future.
"I'm surprised there's still some equipment left in here." The second man said. "I would have thought it would have been carried off by now and sold for scrap."
The first man thought about what he said.
"You're right." The first man said. "This place should be completely stripped."
The second man became more nervous.
"The only way it wouldn't be was if someone was watching over it." The second man said.
The first man clearly got his drift.
"Do you mean like the Mob showing up whenever somebody showed up here?" The first man asked.
The second man made his way back towards the doorway.
"It's exactly what I mean." The second man said. "We've seen enough here. It's time to blow."
The two men were about to go out the doorway when they could hear the screech of tires.
The first man turned off his flashlight and put it away.
"I hope it's not the police." The first man said.
The second man turned off his flashlight and put it away. He held his pistol with both hands.
"I actually hoped it would be." The second man said. "I think we're about to have a bigger problem."
The two men watched as a black sedan drove through the open gate and pulled up outside the door. It was clear they were going to need to mix it up with the Mob soldiers.
Lena and Tina continued their loose pursuit of the van. It arrived at the location of the lab and the men entered it. The drone widened its orbit to look for any suspicious vehicles approaching. The drone passed by the possible locations which could be affiliated with the Syndicate as well.
It wasn't long before two contacts were identified. They were coming from different directions.
They were directed to intercept the closest one to them. The other one would arrive at the lab where the two men were already inside.
CamNet instructed them to wait to see what the target was of the closest sedan. If it looked like it was going to be them, the drone would take decisive action. The black sedan didn't turn in their direction. It was clear its target was the lab.
They were to intercept the black sedan and terminate the occupants. The other sedan would be allowed to reach the lab. The two men inside would need to fend for themselves.
Tina looked off to the side.
"Here it comes." Tina said.
Lena wanted to position the SUV for an optimal shot.
"I think everything should be lined up." Lena said.
Tina held her silenced M9. She fired it two times. The black sedan immediately swerved out of control. Its excessive speed caused it to roll when it got sideways. The black sedan rolled over twice before it impacted into a power pole. Its forward momentum was stopped. The occupants of the vehicle weren't as lucky. Their forward momentum continued. Both of the thugs were catapulted through the front windshield. They landed on the street in front of the sedan as it began to smoke. There were no flames yet.
Lena and Tina walked up to the two men on the ground. It didn't look like they would be able to question either of them. They were both near termination.
"Should we finish them off?" Tina asked.
Lena pointed to the fluid running from the back of the sedan. It soon reached both of the men on the ground.
"It looks like things are about to take care of themselves." Lena said.
Lena prodded one of the men in the side with her foot. He didn't move. She relieved him of his phone and firearm.
Tina did the same thing with the other man.
CamNet's Terminators turned around and walked away from the two thugs. They both checked the drone images around them and at the lab as they headed back towards their SUV.
The female Fanatic continued to watch her side mirrors for any sign of the approaching headlights. It wasn't long before she saw them pass the third big rig. She knew they would close up on the second one and move to pass it next. She was sure they were going to be surprised to see her vehicle between the two big rigs. She decided to move as far to the right as possible to make her vehicle harder to spot when the pass was made.
She was actually a little more surprised to see the truck fall back. She moved to the left side of the lane as the pickup truck pulled over to the right side. She wasn't sure if it was going to remain there or not. She watched the third truck pass it by in her side view mirror.
She didn't believe they'd spotted her vehicle in front of the second big rig. When they passed the third big rig all they could see were the other two big rigs and nothing in front of them. She figured they thought they'd missed them. She expected to see them make a U-turn. They didn't. They turned off their lights instead. She wasn't quite sure what was going on.
Jill woke up. She was a little surprised to see there was a big rig in front of them and in back of them.
"What happened?" Jill asked.
The female Fanatic gave her a brief rundown of what occurred.
Jill was a little concerned about why the men stopped.
"Do you think they stopped to wait for us?" Jill asked
The female Fanatic wasn't sure. She doubted it.
"They don't know where we went." The female Fanatic said. "It's not our problem."
Jill thought about it for a moment. She believed it was.
"They must be waiting for someone else then." Jill said. "We should stop them before they hurt anyone else. You know what it's like to be abused."
The female Fanatic was a little concerned since their vehicle had clearly been seen by two of the big rigs. Things played out differently than she thought they were going to. She didn't care for Scavengers in any timeline.
The men weren't her only worry right now. She'd noticed the temperature gauge continued to climb on the vehicle she drove.
"Did you have any overheating issues earlier?" The female Fanatic asked.
Jill hadn't really paid any attention. She hadn't seen any red lights on the dashboard. Maybe the car didn't have any. It was old.
"I wasn't aware of any issues." Jill said.
The female Fanatic reached up and tapped her finger against the gauge. It's still continued to climb.
"I was afraid you were going to say that." The female Fanatic said. "I think this car is going to quit on us very soon."
The female Fanatic knew she needed to slow down. She did. The first truck pulled away from them. The second truck closed up behind them.
The big rig behind them moved over into the oncoming lane and passed them.
The one behind it soon did as well.
Jill thought about what Jackie said earlier.
"You said we could get a vehicle upgrade from the two men with the truck if they tried anything." Jill said.
The female Fanatic slowed down. She made sure there was no oncoming traffic. There was no one behind them. She turned off her lights and made a U-turn. Once the turn was completed, she left them off. She didn't think the big trucks would get too far ahead of them.
"We only need to go back a few miles." The female Fanatic said.
Jill wasn't sure of the time frame.
"Do you think they'll still be there?" Jill asked.
The female Fanatic knew how Scavengers operated. It didn't matter what the time period was.
"I don't think they would have gone too far if they've moved." The female Fanatic said.
The female Fanatic started back towards location where they'd last seen the truck. She wanted to take their truck as much as she did to confront them for their Scavenger like behavior.
Earlier:
The pickup truck increased its speed slightly. The two men were both on the lookout for tail lights in front of them. If they found the big rigs first, the two females might not be in front of them after all.
It wasn't long before they could see some tail lights up ahead.
The first man was a little disappointed.
"Those lights look like they belong to a big rig." The first man said.
The second man was just as disappointed.
"Let's go around it and see what's in front of it." The second man said.
As the pickup truck got closer to the big rig, their headlights clearly illuminated the rear door. There was no mistaking the blue stripe on it.
"It's the trailer you were in." The first man said.
The second man still felt uneasy about the encounter.
"I'm not going to open the back of it again." The second man said. "There was nothing of value in there we could take."
The first man continued to close on the big rig.
"You sure got out of the back of it fast." The first man said.
The second man didn't like the insinuation.
"I watched you jump back when whatever it was inside of it hit the rear door after I pulled it down." The second man said. "You were as startled as I was."
The first man hadn't expected there to be anything inside.
"Relax." The first man said. "I was just having a little fun."
The second man didn't like it anyway
"Don't have it at my expense." The second man said. "What would have happened if whatever it was would have got me?"
The second man was sure if whatever animal was in the back of the big rig would have got a hold of him, it would have killed him.
The pickup truck caught up to the big rig. It moved into the oncoming lane to pass it. They were still a ways behind the next truck and the one in front of it.
"I don't see anything ahead but the two big rigs." The first man said.
They completed their pass. They were now between the third truck and the second truck.
They approached the second truck. The pickup truck drifted over to the side to look ahead.
"I don't see anything in front of the first big rig." The second man said.
The first man was a little disappointed.
"Let's just pull over and wait for the couple to arrive." The first man said.
The men and the pickup pulled over to the shoulder. Before they'd even stopped, the big rig with the blue stripe on the back of it passed them.
The second man wondered how things were going to play out.
"Are we going to make the husband watch before we kill him?" The second man asked.
The first man laughed.
"It's what we usually do." The first man said. "Remember, I get to go first."
The second man was a little disappointed.
"You always get to go first." The second man said.
The first man watched the trucks disappear into the distance in front of them. He looked for the headlights to appear behind them.
"When we flip her over, you can go first then." The first man said.
The two men in the pickup waited along the side of the road for the portly couple to appear. They'd already made plans about what they were going to do. It was the same thing they always did.
It Meant Death
Everything runs its course
All good things come to an end
What is the real message
Thoughts like those send
Sooner rather than later
The feelings may go extinct
When compared to others
Were they really distinct
One can always look back
Before the love was slain
When everything collapsed and fell apart
Was it actually what caused the pain
To know it was real
Made it something to cherish
To exist in the aftermath
Makes one want to perish
Each day become drawn out and harder
So does every breath
There was no new freedom
Instead it meant death
Nobody