Chapter 1464
Edge Of Their Seats
John watched everyone in the Command Center as the presentation played. He noticed one by one they leaned forward to look more intently and were literally sitting on the edge of their seats to watch. He'd done the same thing the first time. It happened without knowing it. In fact, he did in now as well.
He could see the girls were all a little emotional at times. It included his mother too. Even Derek and Kyle were 'touched' a few times. Vanna and Allison seemed the most affected. Maybe it was because they knew it was them they actually watched do all of it. It was literally the younger versions of them. They also played a part in everything a couple of times.
He actually thought Young Jesse watched it with the most composure. He figured she'd been through the same 'training' as Savannah and Young Allison. He could tell she wanted to be there with them.
It was a wish he would like to prevent from happening for as long as possible. He knew what it was like to be out there when the bullets were flying and the explosions were occurring. He would be out there more if Cameron would let him. He was going to insist on it going forward.
Summer kept track on how Jan held up. It was as well as she thought she'd do. She held Jan's hand for much of it to give her some emotional strength through a little physical contact. If there was a violent or bloody scene about to happen she would give Jan's hand a squeeze so she could look away or close her eyes if she wanted. Jan held tough and watched it all. Sarah Connor was her mother after all.
She could 'feel' Allison tense up. She shared a close bond with her sister, both versions of her. She tried to help calm her as best as she could. She sent pleasant thoughts her way.
It gave Summer some overview of the events. She was able to see her actions as they played out. She'd already run a dozen scenarios how everything could have been played differently. She always came back to the same conclusion. They should have hit harder sooner. It reinforced her belief to use the maximum amount of force in any altercation. The idea was to defeat the enemy. Defeat didn't necessarily mean 'fight'. It meant you hit them and hit them hard. You wiped them off the face of the map if possible. It was how wars were won.
A strange feeling came over her. What if it wasn't Young Allison who set up the use of the H-Bomb in Nevada but it was really her?
No.
She would have hit them harder.
Young Jesse read all the reports and viewed the drone footage and body cam footage. She'd already reviewed much of the operation before she'd arrived in San Francisco. There was time to review everything on the flight over. It was a seventeen hour flight after all. The presentation filled in a lot of the blanks as to what went on at the same time. She found it hard to watch, but she tried to keep it in perspective. She tried to put herself in Savannah's shoes. She fought with her in her mind.
She was deeply touched by what she witnessed. She was very proud of Savannah and Young Allison. It was clear to her by the end of the presentation that Savannah and Young Allison were the ones who belonged together. She could see their love for each other in their actions. She loved Savannah, but she always knew her place was second place in Savannah's heart. Well, maybe it was fourth. It was Cameron, Young Allison, John and then her.
She hoped when she was faced with decisions like the ones she's watched made there, she could do half of what Savannah and Young Allison did. It was simply incredible.
Her love for Savannah grew as well as her love for Young Allison. She glanced over at Allison and Vanna. She was really going to need to be with both of them later. Right now they both looked like wrecks.
She reached out and touched Vanna. It seemed to give her comfort. Vanna managed a faint smile.
She looked over to her other side and Riley was there. She could see the tears as they streamed down her cheeks. She reached out and took her hand. Riley looked over at her. It touched her deep inside. Riley looked desperate in a way. She wasn't sure about what. She looked around for Precious. Sarah tended to her. They caught each other's gaze. They each gave a slight nod. There was a very special secret between them. It was a secret they both wanted to share again.
Was all of this for real?
She knew it was.
Riley felt so bad for Savannah, and then Young Allison. They were in the thick of it. They fought without any Terminator support in a few instances. It was just Savannah alone and later Savannah and Young Allison at times. They never wavered or buckled. There was no retreat. They always carried the battle forward.
She hadn't done much fighting in her future, but she was involved with some. She was terrified and mostly moved behind others. She was never a leader or showed strength on the battlefield. She still went. It was her duty and she filled the obligation as best as she could.
She could see why Savannah's body was battered so badly with everything that went on. It seemed like there were a dozen times when she could have been killed or hurt worse. Young Allison went straight into the battle to help Savannah. She was alone. There were Resistance fighters her age. None of them ever acted like Young Allison. She moved ahead without knowing what the outcome would be. She made the outcome happen herself. Both of the girls did.
She felt the tears on her cheeks but she refused to wipe them away. She felt someone take her hand. She looked over and it was Young Jesse. She looked so beautiful and she radiated strength. Young Jesse gave her a smile. It helped strengthen her. It was what she needed right then. She would give anything to be with her.
Wait.
Where was Precious? She would never give her up. She looked around and remembered Sarah held her. She looked over and it was where she was. She wanted a better future for Precious.
She looked over at Young Jesse again and smiled. They both gently squeezed each other's hand. It was so reassuring to feel some human contact. It was made better because it was female human contact….
Sarah knew it was bad enough based on what she'd experienced for a few hours during part of one operation. Savannah was in every encounter at some point and then Young Allison too. It was the fight she'd tried to prepare John for. It wasn't John up there leading the fight, it was the girls. The reminder made her worry about Jan. Would it be Jan up there one day? She hoped not, but if it ever was, she hoped she would fight like the girls did. Now she wished she would have let Cameron train Jan more like she wanted to do. Jan wasn't much younger than Young Allison. It was clear Jan needed more training.
Her gaze shifted to Riley, Allison and then Vanna. She knew some of what they suffered as females. Is it what would be Jan's fate too? She hoped not.
Young Jesse and her caught each other's eye. They gave each other a slight nod. It made her wonder what Young Jesse's future would bring. If she stayed there, she would most likely be in John's bed and out in the fight with Savannah. Now she kept looking at her. She was so young and vibrant. Did it really happen earlier?
Hell yes.
She was ready for some more.
She wanted Jesse just as much now. They were the same person after all.
Vanna was very worried to see Savannah in action. Somehow it was her. It was a younger version of her. She honestly didn't think she could pull it off. It was why Savannah's body showed such abuse on it.
She was thankful Cammy was by Savannah's side often along the other Terminators too. There were still many times when Savannah was alone. She always went forward. She took the fight to the enemy.
She was even more surprised when Young Allison entered the fight on her own. It took some moxie. She glanced over at Allison. She could see Allison doing something similar. Allison used to go out on a lot of patrols. She was actually one of the most active females in the Resistance in her future. Whenever they needed to form a patrol, Allison was always the first one to volunteer. She could see it in Young Allison. She was also aware because Allison was the first to volunteer for a patrol, there were plenty of men to follow her example.
It did distress her some to watch things escalate. It saddened her greatly when it looked like Savannah was off on a 'one way ticket'. A soft hand took her free hand. She looked over and it was Young Jesse. She was filled with a 'rush' inside her. She'd really fallen for Young Jesse on the ship. She was sure they'd shared a special bond of some kind. It wasn't just the sex. They both hit deeper than sex. It was love.
Maybe Young Jesse 'belonged' to Savannah, but she was sure going to try and be with her as much as possible. Sure she was young, but it only heightened her beauty. Her body was so trim and tight. Every curve was smooth and distinct. It was like Jesse, but even better. Then again, she was Jesse after all.
Right now Vanna felt very comfortable with Allison on one side of her and Young Jesse on the other side of her. They each held one of her hands. It made watching the presentation a little less traumatic.
Allison watched with ever growing trepidation. She'd been active in the Resistance in her future and saw a lot of action. Most of it wasn't as isolated or singled out as Savannah faced. She'd seen fighters in the future like Savannah. Most of them were killed over time. It was a very sad affair. It made her feel sick inside to watch what Savannah went through. It stabbed her heart as much as it did her mind to watch it unfold.
Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, it did.
Young Allison entered the fight.
She felt the 'goose bumps' and chills flash over her skin. They were on her arms and legs both. They were on her cheeks and back. It was a feeling of doom and fear. Now she wished she wouldn't have eaten. She felt sick. If her mother saw what happened, she would flip. She would go berserk. What she viewed was just the start. It got more and more intense. So did the goose bumps. She was sure everyone felt them.
She was so thankful Vanna held her hand. If Vanna wasn't there, she might have needed to leave. It was HER doing those things. When it came time for the big finale, Young Allison used nuclear weapons! She didn't fool around. She aimed to kill and kill decisively. The fact she shot everyone in the head too, sort of bothered her. Young Allison made sure they were dead. None of it seemed to bother Young Allison. It bothered her and she wasn't even there!
She was no stranger to combat in her future. She understood the fear and trepidation everyone felt. She felt it as well. How could she not? There were times when they needed to get a patrol together to rescue someone or carry out a tough mission. She noticed volunteers were few and far between. It was when she decided her life was no more valuable than anyone else's. She always stood up and volunteered whenever one of those missions was called. She was pleased to see once she volunteered to go, so did all of the others. She was well aware nothing got done by thinking about it.
She'd been in more than one pinch in her future fighting Skynet. A few times she thought she was at the end of the line. Somehow they always pulled it out and won. A lot of people she knew died. She never forgot how Mrs. Weaver saved her from some brutal abuse about to happen at the hands of Scavengers. Mrs. Weaver watched over her more than a few times. She was really pleased at the reason why. It was because Mrs. Weaver wanted her to be returned with Vanna in the past.
Allison felt the bile rise in her throat. She suppressed it. She really thought she was going to need to leave when she felt something very calming touch her 'inside'.
It was still tough to watch. She wasn't sure if she liked to see Savannah ride on top of a drone at one point. Then again, Savannah evidently did it more than a few times in her exploits.
She was glad she played a small part in the middle and the end of the whole adventure. She only wished she was half the woman Young Allison was.
Allison felt her mother should be proud of Young Allison and Summer.
She was.
Kyle was very upset with everything he saw. Savannah's and Young Allison's exploits were amazing. They were also incredibly dangerous. Both of them, especially Savannah, could have been killed multiple times. Warriors such as this were hard to find in the future. Finding a female one was even harder.
He tried to see exactly where it was Derek and him went wrong and got in a pinch when they entered the fight. From the recreation, there was no doubt they were in it deep with dim prospects of getting out alive. The best they could have hoped for was to be taken prisoner. He didn't want to be in the hands of Grays again.
Then Young Allison came down the hall like a whirlwind without any protective gear, or a mask to breath through. The targets fell on both sides of her and she kept going. Her act of bravery got them out of the jam.
He wasn't sure near the end if it bothered him more because Young Allison and Savannah used nuclear weapons, or just the fact they were so readily available to them. He would have been worried more if he knew the arsenal which was available to the girls, if they asked CamNet for them.
He looked at Sarah a few times during the presentation. She seemed fairly well under control. Maybe it was because she held Precious. It only made him think of Jan. It didn't seem like it was very long ago when she was as small. Now look at her, she already knocked on the future's door, or did it knock on hers? In his future, every girl her age was already forced to become a woman. Every one of them!
He didn't want this life for her. He didn't want it to he her up there doing what Savannah and Young Allison were doing. He was ready to take her and run to the past. How could he protect her? He looked at Vanna, Allison and Riley. How could he protect her from what was done to them? HOW?
He turned his attention back to the presentation. He agreed with Derek earlier suggestion. The girls, Savannah and Young Allison, deserved recognition.
Nobody fights like they needed to.
Derek felt he was back in the future. It was the type of combat he'd been involved in with small units. It was just as intense and just as violent. They always needed replacements. The death toll was high.
He'd witnessed such bravery recognized before. It was usually posthumously. He felt both girls' actions needed to be praised. He didn't know the full extent of Savannah's past exploits in the present and the future. He would've been even more impressed, as he would have been appalled, at what she'd been through.
He too tried to see where and how Kyle and him got jammed up. They were in it deep. He would still do the same thing again to get the girls out if they were trapped or prisoners. It was the right thing to do. He was very impressed with Young Allison's actions. It may be because he witnessed them first hand and they saved him. Savannah was in it all way deeper and faced way too many close ones. She never missed a beat. She never took a break. She stayed right in it with the Terminators until she was the only one left standing. Even when she was down, she came out of the thick smoke which billowed out of the manhole on her hands and knees ready to fight. Her M9 was in her hand as she searched for a target with smoke swirling all around her as she fought for air to breathe.
He looked at Riley. He couldn't picture her in fights like those. She could hold her own, but he didn't know if she could take it to the enemy like Young Allison and Savannah did. It made him worry about Precious now. He looked at the baby carriage but it was empty. He looked over and Sarah held Precious. He looked at Vanna and Allison too.
Was this the life and future he wanted for his daughter? What kind of Hell was waiting for her?
Now here were Savannah and Young Allison using nuclear weapons against the enemy. He saw what almost happened there. Both of the girls were willing to sacrifice for the other one.
The tears flowed silently down his cheeks.
Both of those girls deserved recognition.
Jan was glad Summer held her hand. She wasn't frightened by what she saw, but it was disturbing. It was what she was supposed to do in a few years. She didn't know if she would be able to or not.
She was glad when Summer 'warned' her of the more violent parts. It helped her get through them. She wondered how Summer knew where they were. She didn't think she'd seen it before. Then again, she always seemed to know things like it somehow. She was very gifted and very intelligent.
She was also surprised at the big part Summer played. She did a lot of it without anyone knowing. She could see why her mom would be upset at her if she found out. She thought her mother would be proud of her if she's done anything Savannah, Young Allison or Summer did.
She was proud her mother, father and uncle all joined the fight at one point and went to help later on at the end.
She watched Summer, Savannah and Young Allison in the presentation. She would tell her mother and father she was ready to do more for the Resistance. She was sure they would understand.
John watched as the presentation ended. There were tears in everyone's eyes including his own. They all realized they were sitting on the edge of their seats. They scooted back. It was hard to relax.
He felt he needed to address the group. He wasn't sure where to start.
"I don't really know what to say." John said. "What we all witnessed says it all."
Young Jesse knew it was time for her to step up.
"I want to do more to help." Young Jesse said.
Allison thought about her time in the future. It was something she needed to return to. It was time to stand up and volunteer. It was what she used to do anyway. What was different now? Nothing was.
"I do as well." Allison said.
Vanna glanced at Allison and Young Jesse. They all needed to support each other.
"I will too." Vanna said.
Riley wanted to do more than she'd done for a long time.
"It goes for me also." Riley said.
Everyone was sort of surprised by all of it.
They all knew Derek and Kyle tried to do more.
"I think it's how we all feel." Sarah said.
John didn't want anyone to get ahead of themselves. What they'd all witnessed was very moving and very powerful.
"Let's all take a step back and think about everything for a while." John said. "The girls don't want anyone to make a big deal about this. Please don't make it one. Remember, Young Allison and Summer don't want their mother to know the extent of their involvement. You don't need to lie, just avoid or redirect the subject if possible."
They wrapped it up and headed out of the Command Center.
Earlier:
Cameron started the procedure for Young Allison. She showed Savannah how to operate the laser. Anna and Savannah took care of the most private area. Cameron and Cammy worked on the other areas.
"I think that's it for now." Cameron said.
Young Allison was more than ready to take a break. She wasn't sure what she expected, but it was a lot more than she expected it would be.
"I hope so." Young Allison said. "It was a little more intense than I thought."
Cameron reassured her throughout the process not to worry.
"You were in good hands." Cameron said.
Young Allison was very appreciative of the support.
"I want to thank everyone for assisting me." Young Allison said. "I want to be alone with Savannah for a few minutes."
Cammy, Anna and Cameron collected their things and left the lab. They weren't sure what was going to happen. They knew the girls would take care of each other whatever it was.
Savannah wondered what it was about.
Young Allison hadn't dressed yet. There was something she wanted to know. It was very personal. She wasn't sure how to say it.
"I want to know something. It's very private." Young Allison said.
Savannah was a little worried. There wasn't too much 'private' at this point. She'd seen and pretty much touched everything.
Young Allison whispered in Savannah's ear.
Savannah's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open slightly. It was the most personal thing she'd ever heard in her life.
"I can't do that." Savannah said. "I'm sure you're OK. It really doesn't matter."
Young Allison thought it did matter. It mattered if it could be given to someone.
"I need to know for sure." Young Allison said. "I can't see it."
Savannah thought it was more of a state of mind than a physical thing.
"Its nothing to worry about." Savannah said. "It doesn't make a difference to the actual reality. A person either has or hasn't. It should be about love, not the 'first time'."
"Please." Young Allison asked. "You've seen plenty exactly like it already. I hope mine still has one difference, at least for now."
Savannah could see it was important to Young Allison.
"I'm only going to look and not do anything else." Savannah said.
Savannah did what Young Allison asked for. She remembered when she'd been in a similar position with Young Jesse.
"It's still intact." Savannah said.
Young Allison smiled.
"With all the activity I've done, I was afraid it wasn't." Young Allison said. "I'm saving it for someone special."
Savannah really didn't know where to go with it. She thought Young Allison would want John to be the one. She did, but Young Jesse and two children took care of it. A lot happened down there since, except John.
"The day will come." Savannah said. "Please get dressed and we can go. We're still who we are at the end of the day."
Young Allison was still glad to know for sure. It was something which was important to her.
CamNet's male Terminator kept his distance. There were two vehicles to worry about. There was good drone coverage. One drone remained over the previous target where the white van was destroyed. One drone remained over the vehicle responsible for its destruction. One drone was now at the location where the attackers had gone to set up surveillance. The other drone was over him and tracked the second vehicle as well.
He kept his distance from both vehicles. He would only need to intercede if any of the individuals dumped their vehicle and took off on foot. It would be possible for them to try to get lost inside of a supermarket or a mall.
CamNet's male Terminator continued his loose pursuit.
The attacker looked behind him as he made another turn. He still didn't spot anyone. He made two more turns. He looked behind him each time before he made the turn. He'd crossed over several streets. He was currently on a main street. There were other vehicles on the road around him.
He took out his phone. He tried it again. It didn't work. It hadn't worked since they'd attacked the building and the white van. He wasn't sure if it was damaged or not. He didn't know there was a drone over him who made sure he couldn't communicate.
'Beep, beep.'
The car next to him blared its horn. He'd started to drift over into the other lane as he tried to use his phone. The phone of the man who was with him hadn't worked either. He wished he would have retrieved it before he'd left the area. He was still a little traumatized about the person right next to him taking a head shot. He was sure he saw a piece of his skull blown off. It was a little unnerving to know it could have been him just as easily.
He figured the operation they went to surveil was probably already packing up. Maybe he should make his way back and see if he could spot what they were up to. He reached down and touched his ankles again. His hand came up. It wasn't as bloody. It still hurt like Hell. He wiped his hand on his pants. He reached up and touched his neck. There was hardly any blood. He was sure it was just pieces of cement which were blown off the corner of the wall. He didn't think it was any bullet fragments.
The attacker waited until he pulled up to a signal before he tried his phone again. He really wanted some advice on what he should do next.
The driver of the other vehicle hurried down the street. He turned at the street where he thought he saw a car earlier. He was just in time to see a car make a left hand turn a few blocks ahead. He only caught the back of it again. He thought maybe it was a good thing. He'd been able to spot the car, but they hadn't been able to spot him. At least he didn't think so.
He slowed some as he approached the next intersection. When he turned there was no sign of the car.
"Damn." The driver said.
He hurried down the street. He figured the car would most likely make another right. It would keep taking it away from the direction of where the attack occurred.
There was nothing on the first street he came to. He hurried to the second street. He caught a glimpse of the car make another left. He decided to go straight. He could see there was a big street up ahead. He hurried to reach the main street. He crossed over one more street but didn't see the car. He didn't think it turned again. He pulled up to the main street and stopped.
There were only stop signs on the side streets onto the main street. He decided to make the turn. On the next street down he saw the car he was following, at least it was the same color. It was now directly in front of him. There was one car between them. He decided to fall back a little. He saw under the car getting ready to turn out of a parking lot. He slowed down. The car pulled out in front of him.
It irritated him a little. For some reason, when people made a turn onto the main street from either a parking lot or a side street, they went incredibly slow. It made him wonder sometimes if they knew which pedal to push. If it wasn't for the fact he wanted to put some distance between him and the car he pursued, he would move up next to them and 'communicate' with them in 'sign language'. If they were together at a light, he would extend his middle finger, but have his hand upside down. He would honk his horn until the person looked at him. When they looked, he would ask if they could hear his hand. They were usually confused. He would tell them, 'here, let me turn it up'. He would then turn his hand up right and give them the finger.
Sometimes when they irritated him enough, he would wait until he was behind them at an intersection. Once they started across, he would punch it and rear end them. He would then make a right at the intersection and quickly drive away. For some reason they usually always stopped where the incident occurred. Often it would create another one. There were times when he'd followed people home and sideswiped their vehicle parked in front of their house or apartment. He liked to send a message to people about their bad driving.
He needed to get his thoughts back where he was at. He tried to contact his base again and reported where he was and the type of vehicle he was following. He went to try to get some more information from them. There was nothing. He looked at his phone. It no longer functioned. He wondered what was going on. He wondered if the person in the car had some type of jamming device. No. He didn't think they did. If they did, they would have turned it on earlier.
The driver hung back and let another car move in front of him. Right now he was on his own.
The two men headed back towards the building. The other three men were waiting for them when they entered.
"We need to get rid of the stiff." The first man said.
The second man wanted to commend the sniper on his marksmanship.
"You shot the dude right in the head." The second man said. "It blew off the right quarter of his skull, well, at least part of it anyway."
The first man didn't tell them what he did with the piece of skull he'd tossed over to where the dog was at. He still remembered the 'bone crunching' sound a few seconds later after he did.
The sniper was displeased he was unable to bring down the second man.
"I almost had the other guy." The sniper said. "I'm sure I wounded him."
The first man knew the attacker was injured in some way
"He was bleeding when he went over the fence and got into a vehicle." The first man said. "I don't know if it was you or the dog or both. It was probably both."
They attempted to check in with the driver of the car to see if he'd spotted the other vehicle yet.
"I can't get a hold of him." The third man said.
The first man tried his phone. He'd been in communication with the driver earlier.
"We were just talking to him a couple of minutes ago." The first man said. "My phone doesn't work."
The other men tried their phones. They couldn't reach him either. In fact they couldn't reach anyone.
"None of our phones work." The third man said. "They must have done something."
The second man dumped everything out of the backpack they'd taken from the dead man.
"There's no jamming device in here." The second man said.
The sniper wanted to clear out before they were attacked. Wherever the men came from, there were more. Even if they caught the other person who'd escaped, someone else at their location knew where they were at.
"We need to clear out." The sniper said. "I never liked this dump anyway."
The fourth man thought it was more a matter of timing.
"You seemed to like it when the 'comfort bunk' was occupied." The fourth man said.
The fifth man nodded. The last female they'd picked up was pretty sweet. They'd nabbed her going through a trash can at the park. She now 'slept with the fishes'.
"Who didn't?" The fifth man asked. "I'm probably going to pull some 'wood' right now just thinking about it."
The other men all looked a little disgusted.
"TMI, dude…." The sniper said.
The five men decided to pack up and get out of the building. They'd only been in it less than a week. Most of their stuff was still packed up. They hadn't bothered to unpack it.
They went around and collected all of their stuff. They loaded it into the two vehicles still in the building. One of them was a van, the other one was an SUV.
The fourth and fifth man carried the mattress of the comfort bunk outside. They dropped it inside of a dumpster there. The sniper came out with some fuel and dumped it on the mattress. The fourth man lit it on fire. They closed one of the lids over the dumpster as the mattress burnt. They wanted to try to contain the smoke as best as they could.
The third man sent the other four men to carry back the stiff. They would dump him in the trash can on top of the burning mattress.
Four of the men headed over and collected the body. One of them carried a plastic bag with them. They put it around the dead man's head.
The sniper was pleased with his handiwork.
"I nailed him good." The sniper said. "Where's the piece of his skull at?"
The first man looked over where the dog was at. He was surprised it wasn't barking right now. No sooner that he'd thought about it, the dog started to bark. He still had a small piece of the energy bar left. He tossed it over the fence into the area of the building next to the one they were in back up. The dog stopped barking.
"I threw it over the fence to the dog." The first man said. "I could hear the bone crunching a few seconds later. The dog ate it."
The other men all looked a little wary at the first man. They didn't know if he was joking or not. It didn't look like it.
"No way…." The fourth man said.
The third man looked at how far they needed to carry the dead man.
"Why don't we toss this guy over and let Fido go at it." The third man said.
The second man thought he might have a good idea.
"It would probably start on his head since it's already blown open." The second man said. "It would probably crush more of his skull to get to everything inside of it."
The first man didn't want to.
"It will spark some kind of investigation." The first man said. "It's better we take care of it ourselves."
The four men picked up the dead man and started back towards the building. There was still a fair amount of smoke coming out of the trash can.
CamNet wasn't sure how many men were in the building. From the drone image over the location, she was able to identify three of them from when they were out earlier. The fourth man with them she hadn't spotted before. It made her think there weren't too many people inside of the building.
She currently blocked the communication of the building and the two vehicles which were out. She thought the best course of action was to take out the vehicle which pursued the attacker. The best way for her to do it was to have the Terminator, who'd loosely followed the car, move up and terminate the individual.
CamNet sent out the directive. She instructed the Terminator to take down the second car. She would deal with the men from the building. She wanted to know where the attacker was headed.
CamNet instructed Lena and Tina to turn around. They would 'follow' the two vehicles from in front of them. When they reached the crossroad junction, they would need to see which direction the vehicles went.
"It looks like we get to play second fiddle again." Lena said.
Tina tilted her head slightly. She quickly made the reference and understood what Lena meant.
"It seems the female Fanatic is doing the job we should be doing." Tina said.
Lena wondered about all the things the female Fanatic was able to pull off and survive. It didn't appear she'd been wounded in any of her endeavors.
"She's been as lucky as she's been resourceful." Lena said. "I think she's enhanced."
Tina still wanted to snap the female Fanatic's neck. She turned her attention elsewhere. She studied the zoomed in drone images of the crater where the building once was at.
"I think more than one power cell exploded there." Tina said.
Lena knew they weren't going to be able to check the debris anytime soon.
"CamNet needs to get a team in there as soon as possible to recover any Skynet related material." Lena said.
It wasn't a job Tina looked forward to.
"As long as we're following the Gray and the female Fanatic, it won't be us." Tina said.
Lena headed back towards the crossroad junction.
Tina monitored the drone image of the Gray's and the female Fanatic's cars as they headed back towards the crossroad junction.
The Gray looked behind him. He didn't spot any threats. He figured he'd better tank up at the crossroad junction. He tried to use his phone to make some calls. Nothing happened. He wasn't sure if it was damaged or not. He didn't think so, but maybe it was. He'd been knocked down by one of the blasts inside of the building. It was why he decided to cut and run. He told the other men there they needed to leave. He knew they couldn't fight the HK Track. The burning building with exploding chemicals didn't help any either.
He didn't feel he'd done anything wrong by leaving when he did. The other men could have chosen to withdraw as well. They didn't. He was sure no one survived based upon the explosion he'd seen in the distance.
The Gray continued his journey. He would be at the crossroad junction soon enough.
The female Fanatic and Jill shared a long look. They both reached over and took the other's hand. They gave it a gentle squeeze. It reminded both of them they were alive. The car with the Gray in it was up ahead.
They decided to switch drivers for now. The female Fanatic set the cruise control on the car. They were still traveling at a high rate of speed. She looked over at Jill.
"Reach over and take the wheel." The female Fanatic said. "I'm going to go into the back seat."
Jill leaned over and took the wheel as Jackie climbed into the back seat. She quickly slid over into the driver's seat. She decided to leave the cruise control on. She hadn't noticed it earlier.
"Everything's cool." Jill said. "Try to get a little shut eye in. I got more than you did earlier."
The female Fanatic took stock of their weapons. She still had two hand grenades, a satchel charge, the LAW rocket and the two assault rifles. They each carried two pistols and a knife.
They would still be able to do a lot of damage wherever they ended up. She was actually surprised she hadn't reached Ascension yet. She'd come very close numerous times in the last few days. She really wasn't sure how she'd been able to survive all of the encounters.
The drive back to the crossroad junction was going to take some time. She took out the phones she carried. She'd given half of them to Jill earlier. She still had several of them. She tried all of them. None of them worked. She didn't think it would do any good to bother Jill for hers. She tried to look for some information on any of them. She couldn't get anything. She looked at the burner phone she'd bought. The battery was almost dead on it. She still had several addresses on it. She wondered why it worked for just one function. Did someone want her to go there? She really wondered who else was on the playing field. She didn't think it was SkyMaster.
The female Fanatic tucked everything away. She made sure everything was where she could grab it in an instant. She stretched out on the rear seat with her legs bent. Her back didn't hurt as much in the position she was in. She took one more look at Jill as she drifted off.
Edge Of Their Seat
It's always more than a game
When two are ready to compete
Many a vulgar foul word
They both excrete as they bleat
When the going gets rough
It's time to turn up the heat
The only path is forward
There is no room for retreat
There are many out there
Who are willing to cheat
As long as the other
They can conquer and defeat
To win clean and fair
Makes the victory taste sweet
The rewards may be more
Than just looks and treats
Even when things settle down
It is never finished or complete
Where things will go next
Keeps everyone on the edge of their seat
Nobody