Chapter 1552

Dead Reckoning

Summer and John Henry tried to piece it all back together. It appeared the team was tracked somehow. It presented a real threat to both teams that were currently operating there.

"There must be some kind of surveillance we missed." John Henry said.

It was time for a complete blackout of all radio, microwave and cell signals for the enemy.

John Henry didn't cut the power yet but he did cut all other forms of communication as well as any internet traffic. No communications would leave or reach that complex now. It was isolated.

Gail and Jesse were in the process of inspecting the vehicles and gathering any phones or other intelligence when he did that. If anyone was watching them, that's where they last would have seen them.

Cam and Samantha would have been spotted at the fourth building before things were cut.

After they were done with the vehicles, Young Jesse and Gail checked the ambush site at the old pump station behind them. The 'metal hail' and direct minigun fire tore every up as well as the bodies.

"Can you tell how many of these 'donks' I killed?" Young Jesse asked.

Gail wasn't sure.

"Based on where the first three bodies are at, I'd say you definitely took them down." Gail said. "'Coltan Overcast' fired at the same time you did but was much further away. The gravity shots arrived a few seconds later after that."

Jesse could see the Grays didn't have much of a chance. They took gunfire from three different sources.

Gail searched the men as Young Jesse kept watch around them. There were drones over them as well. All but a few were now much lower.

Young Jesse knew she was responsible for at least five deaths so far that night. She thought it would bother her more but it didn't. She'd been trained to kill the enemy. That's what she'd done. She didn't know who the new group was.

"Can you tell who any of them are?" Young Jesse asked. "You know what I mean."

Gail communicated with John Henry as she searched the fallen men. They were all armed and several carried Skynet barcodes.

"These people were connected to the future somehow." Gail said.

Young Jesse hoped none of them were from some branch of the Resistance unless they were the anti-Metal faction. Then she was glad they were dead. They were a threat to all of their Terminators.

"Let me go down and check the bottom of the cistern." Young Jesse said. "I have a feeling they weren't in there all this time."

Gail knew that was risky. If it was connected to a tunnel system there could be others waiting.

"I'll go first." Gail said. "Wait until I call you."

Gail went down a ladder. It was only for ten feet.

"I have an opening with a closed door on it." Gail said.

Young Jesse felt a little relief. That meant it was most likely part of the complex they were here to check out and take down. The dead men were all Grays.

"I'll be right behind you." Young Jesse said.

Young Jesse took another look around the area first. She didn't spot any additional movement.

Young Allison was worried more than ever about hostile HK drones showing up with the recent encounter. Someone sent those Grays to that specific spot to try and stop Gail and Young Jesse. They didn't quite make it in time.

"It's a pretty good bet someone knows the team is outside the buildings." Young Allison said. "Drop all but two drones down to just out of human hearing range."

Anna knew that was within effective range for all of their drone's weapons to bring direct fire on a target.

"All but two have already started to descend." Anna said. "'Coltan Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb' are in tight around Gail and Young Jesse."

Young Allison knew that was a close one for Young Jesse and Gail earlier. They'd almost been taken by surprise. They weren't.

"If the opening Gail found goes into the hillside we are going to lose contact with them." Young Allison said. "I doubt they have many repeaters. Gail probably still has a few."

Anna checked.

"She has three." Anna said. "That won't take them to the third building if any of those tunnels go there unless it's a straight line which is highly unlikely."

Anna felt if it was a connected tunnel system that it would have 'bends' built into it.

Gail worked on the hatch. She thought she might need to blow it open. That would advertise they were coming but it seemed someone already knew they were there.

Since the communications were cut, whoever sent them probably didn't know the outcome of the battle. All they knew was there were two people and they sent seven men after them. If they knew they were both female the men would have even been more confidant that they would be triumphant. They'd probably been discussing what they would do to them once they captured them or even after they'd shot and killed them.

Young Jesse searched the surrounding area for any additional signs of movement. She knew that most of the drones were lower now and that 'Coltan Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb' were in even closer.

It seemed she'd made the spot the same time two drones did earlier. 'Coltan Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb' were close enough now to do detailed scans of the surrounding area. There currently weren't any Grays standing around them.

She looked at the pile of dead men that Gail 'stacked' up after she'd searched them. Their bodies were actually placed like 'sandbags' around where she was. They were placed to give her additional cover. She was going to need to tell Camille about what happened at some point. She didn't think she would play the danger angle at all. There was no need to cause her worry. She'd gone out on her own.

Gail worked on the hatch. She thought it could only be opened from the inside at first. She was able to pry one corner loose and once she could get her hands on the lip of the door she was able to pry it open. She opened it carefully in case there were armed Grays behind it. There weren't. There weren't any booby traps detected either. It looked like the men arrived with extreme confidence that they would get the jump on them. Things worked out a little differently for them.

"We're in." Gail called up.

Young Jesse took one last look around up top and dropped down into the cistern. Gail was just inside the hatch. Once she was inside Gail closed the hatch and wedged the metal of the frame over the corner of it.

"If you need to come out this way you should be able to place your knife here and bend this up slightly." Gail said.

Young Jesse looked where she indicated.

"I got it." Young Jesse said.

The tunnel was dimly illuminated with red lights every fifty feet or so.

Young Jesse took off her night vision.

"This tunnel isn't more than a year old." Gail said. "The concrete is still very fresh."

They traveled several hundred feet and the tunnel split.

Gail placed a repeater at the junction.

"Dead reckoning says we head that way." Young Jesse said.

Gail nodded. That was the direction towards where building three was at.

With a connection to the passageway they were in, they could end up with Grays both in front of them and in back of them.

John Henry didn't like the new turn of events.

"I don't want to lose contact with them." John Henry said. "A firefight in that confined space will be very deadly."

Summer didn't want to lose contact either.

"Gail has the phones she took off of the Grays from the two cars and maybe one or two from the men around the pump house." Summer said. "She can remodulate them to act as repeaters as well. She can place them on the red lights."

John Henry sent a message to Gail.

Gail took an image of the lights at Summer's request. It was forwarded to CamNet. It was part of the plan.

Cam and Samantha were near the fourth building when Gail and Young Jesse encountered the newest problem. They'd just crossed the street but didn't stop. They moved around to the back of the building first.

"That doesn't sound like a random act." Samantha said.

Cam didn't think so either.

"They were targeted." Cam said. "That probably means we've been made as well."

Cam wondered if they'd tripped a sensor or maybe they'd been picked up from the moment they arrived. Maybe they should have parked further out.

Samantha knew that Gail and Young Jesse were already inside the hillside.

"We need to check this building and then take down the third building." Samantha said.

Cam agreed with that.

"We need some trucks and more people." Cam said. "Some close drone scans would be nice too."

John Henry heard the request. He was still short on resources. There was also a time lag involved in getting people there.

Summer was aware of the same limitations. She'd already started to work on a plan.

It was time to get creative.

Young Allison wasn't slack either. She contacted Summer directly and they both agreed on a plan.

Anna ran it by CamNet and Summer told John Henry what would happen. CamNet already set things in motion.

The truck at the welding shop was loaded. The welding shop was stripped of all the equipment they wanted. Jim joined the group in the machine shop along with Frank.

Bob was hard at work with the crew that was in the process of removing the equipment. He received some instructions from the Command Center.

"You four will need to finish up here." Bob said. "I need to leave with Jim, Al and Ed."

Bob quickly filled Steve, Tom, Dan and Frank in on the other operation.

They needed to act with some urgency.

Bob and the three others hurried out to his SUV. They took off with all haste. They would acquire some big trucks along the way.

Hank, Larry, Richard and Michael were all at Cameron's base earlier and ready for a temporal mission.

They just received one.

Hank and Larry stripped and entered the TDE pad. The arching and flashing started and the energy bubble enclose them.

They were gone in a flash.

Richard and Michael stripped and stepped up to the TDE pad and the process was repeated.

They were off to the same destination but would take different methods to get there.

In the ravine where the one Gray's car was on its side, a coyote silently approached the car. It sniffed the air and sensed its dinner was near. It stopped in its tracks and looked around. It put its tail between its legs and ran off. Dinner would need to wait.

The arching and flashing started.

An energy bubble appeared in the ravine.

Richard and Michael were in it.

The energy bubble dissipated.

Michael and Richard stood. They were twenty feet from the sideways car. They went to it and removed clothing from the three dead Grays inside. They also collected their weapons. They climbed out of the ravine and approached the second car that was stuck with one wheel in the mud. They removed the manager and passenger and obtained any additional clothing or weapons they needed. They tossed the dead men in the ravine with the other Grays.

They moved the car out of the mud and headed for where Cam and Samantha were at in it. They drove the manager's vehicle and it should be known. Even with the lack of communications, a known vehicle should be allowed to approach. The group that Young Jesse and the drones took down was sent to protect it. They should arrive within a few minutes.

Cam and Samantha were about to do the roof entry procedure when they were given a warning from a drone that heat signatures were detected. It looked like the lower drone scans paid off. They moved back to the door and waited.

The side door of the building opened and four Grays came out. They were all only a few feet apart.

Cam and Samantha both used their silenced M9 pistols. The four men fell. They waited and two more men came out. They silently fell as well.

John Henry notified them that Richard and Michael were on the way and would arrive in one of the Gray's cars in a few minutes. They quickly came up with a plan as Samantha and Cam searched the fourth building.

Young Allison and Gail were given the order to stop.

Young Jesse didn't like being in the passageway and not moving.

"Why?" Young Jesse asked.

Young Allison contacted them directly.

"You have help on the way." Young Allison said.

Gail and Young Jesse looked at each other.

"When did they get here?" Gail asked.

"Eleven years ago." Young Allison said. "Move back to the junction you just passed but stay at least thirty feet away for a few minutes."

Gail and Young Jesse started back to the junction. They hadn't gone far.

There were some chipping sounds and a hole appeared in the side of the tunnel wall. They moved closer as the hole got bigger.

Hank and Larry emerged. They were both armed. Larry carried a backpack nuke with him.

"We've been waiting for you." Hank said.

There was a whole assortment of items inside the 'vault' they were in. Since they knew the location of the tunnel once Gail and Young Jesse entered, CamNet sent them back in time. They arrived and constructed the vault before the tunnel system was built or Skynet even set this location up.

They acquired one backpack nuke and constructed more of the 'red lights' that were actually a redesigned Claymore mine. They were to be put up in pairs at any of the junctions they passed and set to go off with a motion detector that didn't squawk their transponder code. They could also act as a repeater.

They were informed that only Richard and Michael didn't have vests with a transponder like the rest of the team wore.

"When did Richard and Michael get here?" Gail asked.

Larry knew the plan was put into effect a few minutes ago but for their part they'd been there for years. Richard and Michael took a more direct approach.

"They should have arrived right after you entered the tunnel." Larry said. "That was the plan. They've gone to assist Cam and Samantha."

Ned and Wes received orders to collect some gear from the hanger. They both jumped down from the front door of the jet and set out to work. They loaded everything into the back of an SUV and drove it to the rear of the jet. The airstair was down when they arrived. Holly was on her way down the airstair with Claire.

Cammy, Sheila and Camille followed them down. They began to carry things up the airstair into the back of the 727. Holly and Claire left in the SUV once it was unloaded.

Jesse kept Mary, Laura and Leticia entertained in the Executive Suite as the team of Terminators prepared for a mission. They were going to use the jet to carry it out.

Earlier:

Vanna saw Precious was asleep so she took her back to her room. When she returned she watched as Hanna and Riley started in on each other. It was hot to watch. She remembered Hanna was with Riley years ago. She wondered if they'd secretly kept it up. It didn't matter. It was on right now.

She waited until they both made it. She slipped off her robe and went over to the bed.

Hanna looked up. She could see Vanna wanted in. It was clear Riley was game too.

Hanna wanted Riley and Vanna to share alone first before it became a three way. She knew Riley would want to 'compare' Vanna and her. It was something that everyone wanted to see at some point as to how 'identical' a Metal girl was to her human DNA donor. Everything was always the same.

"I'll let you two get acquainted." Hanna said.

Hanna picked a robe up off of the floor and put it on. She went to check on Precious.

Riley and Vanna looked at each other.

They moved forward and kissed. The kiss deepened. This was something that was a long time in the making.

"I've always wanted to be with you." Riley whispered.

That excited Vanna greatly.

"I wanted that too, Riley." Vanna said. "I'm sorry that 'things' got in the way. It was very complicated for a long time. We needed to walk a very fine line."

Riley knew that all was a result of Future Riley and what happened with John and how no one wanted to further 'upset' Cameron by being involved with her. She understood it all but always felt like a 'second class' person because of it. Those weren't her transgressions.

The two of them started in on each other. There were a lot of lost years to make up for. They didn't waste any time.

Derek opened his eyes. He could hear some kind of noise. He noticed Riley wasn't there. He got up to look.

He made his way Precious room but didn't look inside. His attention was focused elsewhere. He was about to look in the nursery. The door wasn't shut tight.

There was movement behind him.

"Precious is fine." Hanna said.

Derek spun around.

He thought it was Vanna. He noted right away her robe wasn't closed. He also noticed there wasn't a scar on her lower abdomen. He could see the entire front of her body clearly. He didn't think it was an accident.

"Hi, Hanna." Derek said. "I thought I heard something."

Hanna closed her robe up some but left one breast mostly exposed. She wanted to draw his attention and keep it. She leaned over to look back in Precious room and her breast popped all the way out. She left it like that.

"There's nothing to hear." Hanna said.

Just then there was clearly the sound of someone who just made it. It was followed a second later by someone else.

Derek started to look back towards the nursery.

"You can go back to bed." Hanna said. "It can be whatever you want it to be that way."

Derek started towards his room. He looked back once when he heard someone make it again. He was sure it was Riley.

He went to his room and closed the door. He didn't release the door handle and opened it back up silently. He watched Hanna slip off her robe as she entered the nursery. He also noted that she didn't close the door tight.

He left his room and snuck forward. He went past Precious room. He moved one eye around the corner to look into the nursery. Riley was on her back on the bed. Vanna was on her knees over Riley. It was clear Riley was hard at work, especially when Vanna's head arched back. Hanna worked on Riley and she did the same thing to her.

He wasn't sure which one was Vanna or Hanna from the angle he could see them. It didn't really matter because they switched once everyone made it.

He figured Riley was with Vanna before. He didn't know it wasn't Vanna that Riley was with at that time. This was actually their first time together.

He couldn't watch anymore or he was going to try and join in. He didn't think that would go over very well with the other girls. He backed away from the door and returned to his room. He needed some relief. He hadn't seen anything that hot in a long time with his own eyes.

He really was excited and he was more excited for Riley. He hoped this allowed her to find what she needed. He hoped that once she found what she desired that she would still desire him. Now it made him wonder if maybe all the times he was with Riley that he should've done a little more and lasted a little longer. The one thing he knew for sure was the girls always delivered. He couldn't say that he'd always done the same. 'Love' became 'sex' and things slacked off. Sometimes it only lasted long enough for him to make it. That seemed to be more often than not. It looked like 'this' was his fault for being inattentive and lazy.

He was pretty sure that was what most relationships devolved 's why the divorce rate was over fifty percent.

Allison and Ally talked about going to see John.

They shared a few more times and talked about it again.

Ally received a special alert tone on her phone.

She immediately lifted her head

"Don't stop." Allison moaned.

Ally sat up and checked her phone.

"I need to go." Ally said. "I just pulled a mission."

Hanna was almost there when she received a special alert on her com.

She immediately lifted her head.

"What's wrong?" Riley asked.

"I need to go." Hanna said. "Go back to your room for now."

Vanna was a little alarmed as well.

Vanna followed Hanna out of the nursery.

Allison followed Ally out of her room.

They both knew something was up.

"You two can go with us if you want." Hanna said. "We're going to the executive transport at Van Nuys."

Vanna was worried about someone else too.

"What about Precious?" Vanna asked.

Hanna didn't think it would be a problem.

"Riley is here. Holly and Claire are on the way back. They will be here soon after we leave." Hanna said. "Bring your clothes. We can dress on the way there."

This was all a little confusing to Allison. Everything was so sudden.

"What's going on?" Allison asked.

Ally wanted to give them something to look forward to.

"We need to do something and you two can watch over Mary, Laura and Leticia with Jesse." Ally said. "They're all on the jet right now at Van Nuys."

They headed out to one of the vans carrying their clothes in their hands. They only wore their bathrobes.

Hanna and Ally were able to fill them in on the way. They needed to get all the information themselves first. It was a running commentary on the way there.

It seemed there was a lot happening operationally and personally.

Vanna and Allison were sure they were in for more than 'babysitting'. They could both feel it.

You could take a girl out of the Wastelands but you could never take the Wastelands out of the girl.

They could both 'feel' there was going to be action. It wouldn't all be in the bedroom either.