Chapter 1536

Serious Look

The elevator in the mine shaft rose with the team inside. They were on their way up and out. The clock kept on ticking. They were up against a hard deadline.

Toto stood on one of the deactivated Terminators chest and look at their face. It moved over to the next one and did the same. It moved to the female last and stared the longest. It appeared that someone else wanted a good look at the deactivated Terminators.

Cam was glad they were headed up to the surface. They would be out soon. They were down to the last ten minutes before the explosions would start. Based on the weakened condition of the mine, she wanted to be as far away from it as possible.

Bob knew there may be some more combat when they reached the surface. He checked his M4.

"There might be some action when this thing stops." Bob said.

They all heard the reports of the two helicopters that currently approached the mine head.

Gail checked her equipment and readied her M4.

"I think it will be over first before we reach the top but I'm ready." Gail said.

Jim wiped some of the dust off of his M4.

"I'm good to go." Jim said.

Cam looked at her crew. She was very pleased with the good job they'd all done. They were no longer in darkness. One of the lights still worked inside the elevator. The other two were broken or knocked loose from the two body impacts on the top of the elevator that caved in the roof some.

She thought they all looked terrible. They were all covered from head to toe with the same color of dust. All of their equipment was covered as well. They looked like 'dirt people' or some sort of total 'dirt camouflage' set up.

"I want to say everyone did an outstanding job." Cam said.

They all did it to keep Savannah out of another mine. They figured that would have been Cameron and Savannah in there when they returned if they hadn't done it.

"We did what we needed to do, when we needed to do it." Gail said.

Bob and Jim also did it as an extension of the earlier operation that they went on with Derek and Kyle. It was all related. That was one operation they still needed to bring down, especially after this.

The elevator slowed some.

"You will be to the surface in two minutes." John Henry said. "The electric motor has started to near the red zone for heat build up. You're still ascending at twice the normal speed even though you've slowed."

Cam was worried about the aerial contact.

"What about the two helicopters?" Cam asked.

There was a slight pause.

"One looks like it is about to set down." John Henry said. "The other one is orbiting the area around the mine head."

Bob didn't want the hoist damaged. They still needed almost two minutes before they were clear.

"Bring it down as soon as it is away from the Main Shaft." Bob said.

Jim wanted that too.

"I don't want a broken cable." Jim said. "The tower is short but the fall is long."

Young Allison didn't like how things turned out. Her plan didn't play out as anticipated. There was some recognition signal that they didn't know that alerted the helicopters that there may be a problem. It seemed to be a back up to show the LZ was clear. There hadn't been any hostile fire directed at them.

"The one helicopter has stopped over the Main Shaft." Young Allison said. "It's hovering there."

Anna knew Young Allison blamed herself for that.

"We didn't know about the recognition signal." Anna said.

Young Allison needed something to make the helicopter move away from the Main Shaft so they could bring it down. She needed to make sure the team made it out.

It was time to make a hard choice. She contacted CamNet and asked for a private channel with 'Coltan Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb'. It was time to have a back up plan in place.

Anna looked over and didn't know what Young Allison was up to but there was a very serious look on her face. Whatever she was up to seemed to trouble her greatly.

Young Allison was troubled. Life was about choices and she'd just made one. The cards would land where they fell at this point.

Young Jesse knew they needed to get the team out. The helicopter hovering directly over the Main Shaft was a problem. She dropped down to the deck and moved closer to the mine head. She picked up speed. She needed to time things perfectly.

Samantha was confused about the sudden loss of altitude and the speed increase. She was ready to man the door gun on either side.

"What are you doing?" Samantha asked.

Young Jesse knew what the situation was on the ground.

"I'm going to draw off the hovering helicopter." Young Jesse said. "Stand ready. CamNet, I need the drone to break off and move off to my port side by a half mile. It needs to be ready to shoot at the other helicopter when it moves away from the Main Shaft."

The drone moved away instantly.

"What are you going to do?" CamNet asked.

Young Jesse knew there was a risk but the Blackhawk was still painted as a firefighting helicopter. That would cause a moment of hesitation for a hostile door gunner. At least she hopped it would. They weren't in a combat zone and firefighting helicopters were a regular sight in the Southland.

"I'm going to offer the mouse some cheese." Young Jesse said.

Samantha wanted to know a little more. To be the 'cheese' didn't sound good.

"The mouse eats cheese." Samantha said.

Young Jesse checked all her instruments. Everything was good.

"Not when the cat catches the mouse first." Young Jesse said. "Close the port door and man the starboard 'pig'. Get ready to be a pussycat."

Samantha pulled the port door closed. She readied the M60 on the starboard side.

Young Jesse flipped on the all lights, including the landing lights. The Blackhawk was lit up like a Christmas tree. That was what she wanted. She didn't want to seem to be a threat and she wanted to advertise what kind of a helicopter they were on the port side. The starboard side was a different story.

"I'm going to let them see my port side. They will see it's a firefighting helicopter. When they start to follow I'm going to side slip and give you a clear shot at them on the starboard side. Once they're clear of crashing back into the mine head, light them up."

Samantha understood now. It was a sucker play with a 'Sunday Punch'.

John Henry didn't like the plan that Young Jesse put forth. It was all done in the last minute.

"Negative." John Henry said. "It's too risky. Jesse."

Young Jesse wanted the team out of immediate danger.

"Sorry, love, I'm already on my run." Young Jesse said. "Cross your fingers and hope it's not my final run."

Summer thought the plan displayed merit.

"It will work." Summer said. "We need to get the team out. The other helicopter is a threat."

They watched as the first helicopter was about to set down.

The Blackhawk approached at an angle so it wouldn't appear to be a threat. It would pass in front of the hovering helicopter.

The first helicopter touched down.

Young Jesse overflew that one from front to back and in front of the second helicopter.

Eight armed men rushed out of the first helicopter.

Young Jesse cut the lights and made an evasive maneuver. She firewalled the throttles. The hovering helicopter dipped it noise to follow them. They move away from over the top of the Main Shaft.

"They're clear." Young Jesse said.

Young Jesse 'crossed the 'T'' of the approaching helicopter. She turned to present Samantha's M60 to the front of the other helicopter.

"Smoke 'em." Young Jesse said. "I'm going to climb hard."

Samantha got a clear view of the helicopter and opened up on it with the pig. She hit the pilots first and then the turbine. She shredded the rotor assembly next. The only direction that helicopter was going now was down.

Young Jesse climbed sharply to be out of the way of the flaming wreck. Its momentum would carry it towards them still but in a downward arc.

"Scratch one." Young Jesse said.

She came around hard to give Samantha a clear field of fire on the other helicopter and its occupants.

Young Allison watched it all from the drone over the top of the Main Shaft that provided the communications link. She was impressed with Young Jesse's plan and flying. She knew she needed to up her flight time. She really needed to get in some rotor time.

"Look at that!" Young Allison said.

Anna watched as a drone fired on the pursuing helicopter with its mini gun as well. The helicopter was already hit but it was really hit now.

"Now it's up to the team on the ground." Anna said.

Seconds ago:

Al already designated his troops on the ground to do certain things in advance. Their targets would be based on their concealed locations.

Ed would take the door gunner first and then the pilots. The goal was to take them each with a single shot. They wanted to salvage the helicopter if they could. It was an UH-1 Iroquois.

Ken would engage ground targets on the port side of the helicopter and Lou would engage them on the starboard side.

Al would pick off any stragglers or anyone else left in the rear of the helicopter.

The first helicopter set down. Almost immediately the Blackhawk overflew it with its lights on and then cut the lights. The helicopter over the Main Shaft dipped its nose and followed the Blackhawk.

Al's team engaged the targets on the ground as soon as the other helicopter was away from the Main Shaft. The Grays all fell in the first second. The Blackhawk opened up on the other helicopter. A drone did as well with its minigun. It was on fire and headed for the ground. It would impact the ground behind the communications building. It was well away from the Main Shaft.

What surprised the Terminators on the ground were two drones flying side by side at their maximum speed that passed over the top of the Main Shaft a second later. They were so close they almost touched each other. They were at the same altitude as the helicopter that was there just a few seconds ago. It was clear that they were going to ram the helicopter and knock it out of the way if it hadn't moved away from over the Main Shaft. Their momentum would have scattered the wreckage away from the Main Shaft. It was a suicide mission. They both fired at the flaming wreck and climbed into the night sky.

Ken and Lou approached the helicopter sitting on the ground. It sat there with the rotor turning at a slow idle. Everyone in the helicopter and on the ground was dead.

Ed rejoined Al as the elevator neared the top of the Main Shaft. He looked in the direction of the two drones that just did a low flyby, side by side.

"What was that about?" Ed asked.

Al thought he knew.

"That was someone covering all the bases." Al said.

Ed understood now.

"They were going to knock the helicopter out of the way." Ed said. "They were going to ram it. Everything would have crashed away from the Main Shaft that way. That was a good back up plan even if would have been terminal for those two drones."

The elevator reached the top.

Al opened the outer door and Cam opened the inner door. The crew inside emerged with their weapons ready.

"All current threats have been neutralized." Al said.

The other helicopter was a smoking hole in the ground on the far side of one of the buildings.

Much to everyone's surprise the Blackhawk did a water drop on top of it and extinguished the flames. It set down a few hundred feet away from the sill idling Iroquois.

Cam reached down and grabbed one of the deactivated Terminators.

"Let's get these stiffs and go." Cam said. "We'll use the Huey."

Bob and Jim each grabbed one. Gail followed with Toto at her side.

Al raised the elevator up four feet so there was empty space below it. The open and exposed Main Shaft would serve as a tomb for the Grays that were terminated on the surface. They all set out to collect the bodies.

Ken and Lou passed Cam's team with the deactivated Terminators as they headed for the Iroquois. They each carried two dead Grays.

Al and Ed ran and each grabbed two more.

"Load up the Iroquois." Ken said. "It's still good to fly. Lou and I will fly it to a remote location and go through everything."

Gail took the pilot and the door gunner and Samantha grabbed the copilot. They hurried to the Main Shaft with them.

The Grays all ended up in a one way trip down into the void.

"We have three minutes until this area collapses." Cam said. "We should be airborne and get some distance before then."

Cam led her team to the Blackhawk. Samantha rejoined them.

Ken and Lou piloted the Iroquois and Al and Ed went with them and the deactivated Terminators.

Toto stood outside the Blackhawk.

"You need to go with them." Cam said. "You need to be inspected and sanitized."

Toto ran over and jumped in the Iroquois. It lifted off.

The Blackhawk followed it. They climbed as they departed.

Everyone put headsets on. Samantha returned to the pilot's seat. Young Jesse still piloted the Blackhawk.

"It's Showtime." Cam said.

The two helicopters were half a mile away at three thousand feet. They watched as the ground appeared to lift up some and then collapse inward with a massive dust cloud. There was very little noise other than what escaped out of the Main Shaft before it collapsed. The hoist structure collapsed on top of the crumbling earth.

"I bet that's going to register on a few Richter Scales." Young Jesse said.

John Henry was ready for the blast. He would make it so the epicenter of the blast would appear miles away from where it actually was.

"If anyone goes to check, they will be on the wrong side of the mountain." Summer said.

Summer was aware they done the same thing not very long ago.

"At least this one wasn't as big as the nuclear blasts were." John Henry said.

Summer knew she'd played a part in one of those before. She already had a contingency temporal plan ready with CamNet.

"It happens." Summer said. "I was ready to make it happen again if necessary." Summer said. "I just wanted you to know that."

John Henry nodded.

"I figured as much." John Henry said.

Summer knew to hit hard if she was going to hit.

"If you don't win, you lose." Summer said.

Young Allison and Anna watched the ground collapse some and the dust rise.

"Have a drone go check where the team entered the mine from through the airshaft location." Young Allison said. "I don't want any hikers or backpackers coming across that entryway later on and going down there. I'm sure it's collapsed as well."

Anna contacted CamNet. A drone verified the location was obliterated. She wanted to ask Young Allison about something else she saw earlier.

"Did you order 'Coltan Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb' to conduct that suicide mission?" Anna asked.

Young Allison knew she took a risk.

"I didn't order them." Young Allison said. "I told them what would need to be done to clear the airspace directly over the Main Shaft to get the team out. They said they understood and would do what was necessary."

Anna wondered about that.

"They could have changed direction or climbed before they passed over where the helicopter moved from once it was gone. They still overflew the location at the ramming altitude. They let everyone see what they would have done. Was that your doing as well?"

Young Allison didn't think so.

"I did nothing more than point out what needed to be done." Young Allison said. "I believe they wanted everyone to know how far they were willing to go on their own to protect the team."

Anna frowned a little. The machines would back the girls without question. So would she if it ever came down to that.

"There are enough risks taken around here as it is." Anna said. "We don't need to advertise them. It was a very effective strategy though. I will say that."

Young Allison smiled to herself. She felt they all led by example.

Young Jesse moved up and paralleled the Iroquois.

"Do we need to go to the remote location with them?" Young Jesse asked.

Samantha looked back at Cam.

Cam understood it was up to her. She looked at her teammates. They were still mostly covered in dust. The rotor wash didn't blow much of it off when they were below the rotors of both helicopters.

"We can return to Van Nuys." Cam said. "Everyone involved did an outstanding job tonight."

Young Jesse looked back at Cam.

"The night is still young, even if it's late." Young Jesse said.

Cammy led the group to Fisherman's Wharf. She looked back once. She was satisfied the situation was under control. There were four Terminators on the ground and two more in SUVs right by them. There were two drones and both of them covered the punks on the ground.

John looked back once too.

"Where are Sheila and Camille at?" John asked.

Cammy smiled at John.

"They needed to take out some trash." Cammy said. "Everything's fine. They'll join us in a few minutes."

The girls decided they wanted to eat at the same restaurant they did before. They all liked the clam chowder in the sourdough bread bowls.

The manager greeted them as they entered. He addressed John and Cammy.

"Your table is ready and your soup will be out shortly." The manager said.

CamNet called ahead and prepaid for everything two times over in advance. The Manager was told he could keep what wasn't spent on food or from the gift shop as an additional tip. He was also given a thousand dollar tip to make sure there were no problems for the group. All of their needs were to be attended to instantly.

The manager personally showed them to the table. Drink orders were taken for the girls.

"We're going to use the restroom." Mary said. "I'd ask if you're going to join us but won't. I already know the answer."

John looked a little nervous when she said that. He understood the girls were around the Metal girls enough on the ship and afterwards to know that they didn't do certain things.

Cammy noticed John's concern. She reached down and slid her hand up his inner thigh.

"I don't care if it's before or after Leticia but I want 'Little Willie' before the night is done." Cammy whispered in his ear as she moved her hand further upward. "I see 'Little Willie' wants that too."

John swallowed hard. There was a serious look on his face. He forgot all about what Mary said twenty seconds ago. There were other things on his mind now.

Sheila and Camille led the four punks into the parking lot for the longshoreman's vehicles. There were some buildings at the far end. There was a large alcove where the punks could be dealt with out of sight. There were a few vehicles and some pedestrian traffic as well.

Steve and Tom followed behind the others. There would be no retreat for the punks. Their disrespect for Camille and Sheila sealed their fate.

Sheila and Camille entered the alcove. The four punks hurried after them. They came around the corner. The girls turned and faced them.

"It's a dead end." The first punk said. "You sluts are about to find out what real men are like."

The four punks all laughed.

Sheila looked around.

"Where are they?" Sheila asked. "There aren't here yet."

Another punk took out a knife and pointed it at Camille.

"You hurt our friends earlier." The second punk said. "Your face isn't going to be so pretty when were done with you."

Sheila looked over at Camille.

"I need to deal with this a lot." Sheila said. "The ignorance level is greater than you'd think."

Camille could see that some things didn't change wherever you were at.

"They don't know what going to happen to them." Camille said. "I need to deal with street trash Down Under too."

Sheila always liked that her 'street targets' didn't know what a Terminator was or capable of.

"They never do." Sheila said. "You'll see it in their eyes when they figure it out. That's right before their neck snaps. Sometimes I delay it a little just to see their eyes widen. It turns me on."

The four punks looked at each other. They all held knives now. They wondered what was wrong with these crazy bitches. It was like they weren't even there they way they were talking to each other. They weren't scared of them either.

"You two sluts must be high on something." The third punk said. "Do you know what's going to happen to both of your right now?"

Sheila turned and looked at him. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Actually I do." Sheila said. "We're going to body slam all four of you to the ground and break multiple bones. You are going to be stunned and the wind will be knocked out of you. We will then snap each of your necks before your brain can process everything. Your bodies will be loaded into the back of an SUV, probably that one coming now, and then dumped in the bay and go out to sea with the tide. It's on its way out now. While that last part happens, my friend and I will be sitting in a restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf playing footsies with our human girlfriends and thinking about how we will pleasure each other sexually on our return flight home."

The four punks looked at each other.

"You're insane." The fourth punk said. "I'm 'doing' you first. I'll show you some real sexual pleasure – for me."

Sheila looked at Camille.

"See what I mean." Sheila said. "They never get it."

The four punks moved closer with their knives extended.

"What was that crap about 'human girlfriends'?" The first punk asked. "What are you, aliens or something?"

Camille liked how Sheila played the game. The truth was more than the punks could handle.

"Actually we're cyborgs." Camille said. "You know, robots with living skin."

The four punks laughed.

"You're hopped up." The third punk said.

The four punks were infuriated by these nutty doped up sluts. It was time to teach them a 'street lesson'.

"Who cares? It's time to get some and then bust them up." The second punk said. "I'm doing the 'China Doll' first.

Camille wanted to make sure who he referred to.

"Is that her based on her physical appearance or me based on how nice my face looks?" Camille asked.

"That's it." The first punk said. "Let's grab them."