John sat down across from his uncle and unwrapped the tastiest looking gyro he'd ever seen. "God bless you real food," he said, before picking it up and taking a too large bite.

Derek chuckled. "How did you survive a week of grounding? I think your mother made pancakes twice a day on purpose."

"Cameron kept me supplied with Cheetos and taquitos. She'd go to Wal-Mart and 7-11 at night when she got bored."

He was nearly moaning with pleasure every bite he took. "I should thank you by the way, for convincing her to let me out on probation."

Derek shrugged. "Yeah, well, we need to get back to business, and there's some things we needed to talk about… without her around to go all spastic."

"Like what? You're not going to try to give me some strange talk about the birds and the bees with cybernetic organisms are you?"

Derek laughed and nearly choked. He set his burger down and took a long sip of his Coke. He looked at John and suddenly felt a bit nervous. If he was anything like he was in the future, there was a 50/50 chance his temper would explode. "John, when I told you why I was sent here, I didn't quite tell you the whole truth."

John put down his gyro and stared at his uncle for a long moment until he was visibly squirming. Cool, I have an intimidating stare. I'll have to remember that. Finally he let his uncle off the hook. "Yeah, I kind of figured. I know Cameron well enough to know she wouldn't just send you back to be a pain in the ass."

Derek grinned and scratched his head. "Yeah, it's been fun though."

They shared a laugh and ate for a few more minutes in companionable silence.

"So… what is your secret agent mission?"

Derek swallowed his mouthful and looked interestedly at a woman reading a book at a nearby table. "Like I told your mom the other day, I'm not the only resistance soldier you have here."

John shrugged. "Well that wasn't a surprise. We seem to run into them every now and again. Or… they run into us."

"Yeah, well," Derek bit another fry. "I doubt those soldiers were T-1001s."

John lowered his gyro that was halfway to his mouth. "Excuse me?"

Derek found something interesting in the pattern on the table and focused on it. "It was pretty much decided that the future was going to have to change drastically. It took a very long time to get to the point we were at in defeating Skynet, and by then, most of the commanding soldiers had died... including you. The resistance was being run by young, inexperienced soldiers. Granted they grew up in the future, but that didn't give them the knowledge or experience they needed to continue on. Cameron sacrificed herself to bring a final end to Skynet, but that didn't end the war. The world was dead. It was going to take an awful lot to rebuild and renew." Derek shook his head and took another drink. "When you grow up in the tunnels, John, you don't exactly get to learn how to farm, build houses, or even know what plants are actually edible. They didn't know how to read or write… Christ, most of them couldn't even multiply or divide."

"Cavemen really didn't either, did they?" John said thoughtfully.

"No, I suppose not. I'm not saying that humanity wouldn't have survived. Just that it would take an obnoxious amount of time… maybe too long for the survival of some."

"I don't know, Derek. Maybe that's what the world needs. Time to start over. We've pretty much destroyed it enough ourselves, without Skynet's help."

Derek shook his head. "Stop thinking like a tree hugger and think practically. History repeats itself. Think of all the wars that happened throughout history. All the 'evil' rulers there have been. All the jackasses that ruled even this country over the past 200 years. Seriously John, do you really think that's what humanity needs again? They need elders to learn from. They need to learn from what we already know. Humanity needs to move on from the war, not start over and repeat all of its mistakes."

John conceded. Derek was right. Thousands of years from now, if humanity wasn't too dumb to survive, they'd be right back where they were, fighting the same exact wars, not unlike they were now.

"So what does this have to do with T-1001s?"

Derek finished his fries and the last of his Coke. "Well… that T1001 you all call Catherine is pretty much the leader of them all. I guess in some sort of alternate future you had asked her to join you or something… I don't know, this different future crap drives me crazy. Anyway, in my future she gathered up the rest of her model, and most decided it was a good idea to fight Skynet. Don't ask me how or why, I'm not a machine; I don't understand terminator logic. But evidently, they thought it was a grand idea. I just knew nobody was going to argue with you, or them for that matter, when the alliance was created. We needed all the help we could get. Anyway… one evening Cameron called me into a meeting with her and Catherine. They realized that we had a better chance against Skynet if you were able to take control of the resistance earlier on."

Derek sat up and leaned against the table before continuing. "You see, it takes a good ten years for you to rise up in command after J-Day. What's left of the US military is largely in control, and it takes a long time, and a couple blown up submarines, for you to take charge. That's a whole decade of time wasted, don't you think? They thought so. So they decided to send some T-1001s back to infiltrate military command in key places that survive. So when Judgment Day rolls around… guess who's not going to have any difficulty convincing the military commanding officers this time?"

Derek regarded his nephew, who looked like he'd lost his appetite. He felt bad for the kid. He couldn't imagine being 17 and learning about his future so definitely. He couldn't imagine growing up knowing he'd have to lead humanity against an army of killer robots.

"So what exactly are you here for?"

Derek sat back and stretched out his legs. "Well you had it pretty much right the first time. I'm here mostly to be a pain in the ass."

John rolled his eyes and took a sip of his Dr. Pepper. "Figures."

Derek laughed and shrugged. "Who else was going to tell you about the master plan? There weren't any carrier pigeons left to bubble back." Derek sobered and looked at his nephew seriously. "I also know of a few other resistance soldiers she sent back."

John's attention was refocused on his uncle. "Where?"

"All over. Reprogrammed and self-aware machines aren't your only protectors, you know."

"So, what, they just roam around, watching me from the shadows, waiting to jump in and save the day if a terminator shows up?" John looked around suspiciously, actually expecting to see dark figures peeking around the corner.

"Actually…" a female voice said behind him. "Most of us don't hide in shadows."

The woman who had been reading the book had suddenly appeared next to their table and pulled out a chair between John and Derek.

John jumped as a hand rested on his shoulder and he heard the telltale click of a gun. "You have five seconds…" Cameron said in her low, I'm-a-scary-robot voice.

"Whoa, relax Cameron. She's with us. Put that away before someone sees it for crying out loud." Derek looked at John pleadingly. Cameron wouldn't listen to him, and he knew it.

"Cam, it's all right, put it away." John said. He reached up and covered her hand on his shoulder with his own, and watched as she reached behind her and tucked the gun back in her waistband, not taking her eyes off the stranger. It was almost creepy the way she could appear out of nowhere. She'd left them alone for their "guy time" when they arrived, claiming there were supplies they were low on. John glanced down. Curiously, she had no bags. Must've just been lurking in the shadows watching like a hawk. He turned back to the woman.

"She gave you 5 seconds, I'm not going to give you any more," John said.

The woman nodded and opened her mouth to speak, but Derek interrupted. "John, this is Captain Danielle Martin of Tech-Com… from the Connor Camp."

She held out her hand. "General… nice to meet you again."

John winced, as Cameron's grip on his shoulder got tighter. "Nice to meet you Captain Martin," he said, shaking the woman's hand.

"Please, call me Dani. Everyone does," she smiled politely. Maybe a little too politely.

"Then call me John. Everyone does," he said, hesitantly returning the smile. John nearly yelped when he felt his shoulder being crushed under Cameron's grip. "Cam… please… sit DOWN," he managed whimper.

Cameron seemed to suddenly notice her grip, and let go immediately. Without taking her eyes off Dani, she took the last seat next to John and nonchalantly picked up his Dr. Pepper.

John looked back and forth between the two. Obviously, Cameron didn't like this Dani. John regarded the new woman curiously. She had long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, and as John watched, she brushed her bangs away from her green eyes. She was attractive, he'd give her that. John glanced back at Cameron, who had a jealous streak a mile wide… Hmm.

He pushed the other half of his gyro towards her. "You want it? I'm not hungry anymore."

"It's just a waste of food," Dani said snidely. "She doesn't even need to eat."

"Dani!" Derek warned.

Cameron, purely out of spite, picked up the messy flatbread sandwich and took a bite.

"Why is she here, anyway?" Dani huffed. "I thought she did us all a favor and blew herself up into pieces."

John suddenly stood up, silencing the table. He gave his uncle a long, seething look, and gathered up his trash. Walking around the table, he patted Cameron's shoulder letting her know she should stay where she was at.

"You've upset John," Cameron accused.

Before she could respond, Derek grabbed Dani's arm. "Remember with whom you are speaking." He gave her a cold stare until she looked away and he let go of her arm, leaving light finger marks on her skin.

John reappeared carrying an orange-ish colored smoothie. He noticed everyone at the table found somewhere else to look at… except Cameron. He was her sole focus. He took his seat again and handed her the beverage.

Cameron took a sip and smiled. "Peach is my favorite."

"I know, that's why I got it," he said, returning the smile.

John turned back to the others, not missing the disgusted look on Dani's face. "So are we all just going to sit here and chit chat, or is someone going to explain who she is and what she's doing here?"

"I'm here to help," Dani said, more than a little annoyed.

"Well," John sat back in his chair, and rested his folded hands on his stomach. "I wasn't aware I needed anymore help. But okay, whatever. What I really meant was, why are you here, in this town, at this café, today?"

"She's my liaison with the others," Derek explained. "Or, at least that's the excuse she's using. While I'm living with you, I can't exactly keep in touch very well. She keeps in contact with everyone else for me… for us." Derek noticed the doubtful look on John's face.

"I don't trust her," Cameron stated bluntly.

"I don't trust you either," Dani retorted.

John bit off a grin and held up his hand. "Cameron… why don't you and Captain Martin take a walk?

Cameron felt a little… put out, was it? But she understood that John needed to talk to Derek alone. At least, away from Dani.

"I don't need a babysitter," Dani spat.

"Then go in opposite directions…" John said impatiently.

He waited for them to disappear around the corner before turning to Derek. "I should probably kill you, you know."

Derek cringed. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, she wasn't my first choice. She's necessary… but definitely not my first pick. She wasn't Cameron's either, which I'm sure you could tell. But Warren got shot shortly before we were to leave, and she volunteered. We didn't have much choice. I wasn't at all happy, but Savannah was in charge. I think she agreed just because she couldn't stand her, and it was an excuse to get rid of her. Don't get me wrong, she does her job well… it's just that her attitude leaves a lot to be desired." He idly played with the straw in his empty cup.

"Yeah, no kidding," John said, taking a sip of the smoothie Cameron left on the table. He could taste a faint hint of her strawberry lip-gloss on the straw, and it made him wish he could taste it at the source. "She and Cameron seem to have some serious issues with each other, which is odd, considering they come from two different futures."

Derek shrugged. "Not everyone in the future likes her. You're best asking Cameron her side of the story, before I divulge any of my own speculation from our future."

"Fair enough. But why now? Why didn't you tell me about her before?

Derek shifted in his seat, visibly uncomfortable. "Well, it never came up before now. I didn't actually set this up… she just 'conveniently' happened to be here. I was just looking for some good food, and a good opportunity to tell you the T-1001 business."

Derek got up and threw his own trash away, and took a seat closer to John.

"Look, I'll be honest. I don't trust her either. Like I said, she wasn't Cameron's choice to come here. There was a group of us that Cameron chose before she died. Apart from me, they were all young soldiers who had been born after Judgment day, so they have no records here. Dani was definitely not among them, for obvious reasons… and I told you what happened there. Anyway, when we bubbled here, we were all sent out to our designated locations Cameron had given us. I, of course, was supposed to find you. Dani followed me around until I found you, then she was on her own. It seemed to work at first, until I saw her the other day when we were out. Yeah, I had to tell her the general area in which to meet me if she needed me. She's the liaison after all, so I didn't think much of it. But for her to be here today... it's not exactly protocol. She's getting too close. I'm not comfortable with it, and I'm not quite sure what to do, I guess."

"What exactly is making you uncomfortable about it?" John asked. "She's supposed to be pretty much looking out for us, isn't she? You afraid she's got ulterior motives?"

"I'm not saying she's a gray or anything like that, if that's what you're asking," Derek stammered. "She just… well, let's just say she'll do just about anything to get what she wants. She didn't make Captain in your camp for no reason."

John narrowed his eyes.

"No, no… nothing like that." Derek corrected quickly. "She's smart, and she's good at what she does. I'm not saying she didn't earn her title… just that… she's a huge ass suck up to you, and it grates on everyone's nerves, especially Cameron's."

"I see. So you think she's hanging around for a reason then. Maybe even volunteered to come back… for more than just the obvious perks of pre-judgment day?"

"Yeah… I do. She'll definitely try to get to you. I think she thought that if she came back, she'd be about your age, not 20 years younger…"

"Oh God, we so don't need to go through another Riley."

"Who?" Derek had never heard of her.

"Never mind.

"Right… I don't think she's truly interested in you for those kinds of reasonsanyway… yeah she's going to play you for it, but more for the potential to move up in the world."

"Hmm. She sounds like a pleasant human being. Oh, here they come… and all in one piece, too."

The girls sauntered back to the table, walking a good three feet apart. Dani took Cameron's seat on the other side of John, leaving only Derek's old seat across from him. Cameron didn't sit; instead she chose to remain standing and stared at Dani.

"Is there a problem?" Dani looked up at her innocently.

Cameron looked as if she was about to reach out and snap her neck, but John spoke up before she could.

"No," John reached out his hand to Cameron. "There's no problem at all."

Cameron took his hand and allowed him to guide her down to sit on his lap. She made sure to balance her weight, so as not to completely crush his leg.

John wrapped his arm around Cameron's waist and handed her the smoothie. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Derek bite his lip trying not to grin. He could imagine the look on Dani's face, but purposely avoided looking so as not to make it seem he was doing it all on purpose... which, of course he was.

"I have an idea, babe." John had never used the endearment before for anyone. He had consciously added it in, but after saying it, he was actually surprised at how natural it sounded. "I promised you a trip to the mall when mom let me out of the cage."

Cameron turned slightly and wrapped her arm around John's neck. There was a twinkle in her eyes and a hint of a grin on her face. She was picking up on the game. "Yes, you did. Can we go now?"

"I'm game. What do you think Derek? I'm sure there's an arcade there or something." John glanced at his uncle. It was the closest, most intimate position he and Cameron had ever been in front of anyone. If his mother were there, she'd probably have swallowed her tongue. Derek didn't seem to even notice.

"I don't care. It's either the mall, or hang out with your mom." He pretended to weigh the two choices on his hands like a scale. "Gee, let me think…"

"I've never been to a mall…" Dani sounded genuinely curious. "May I come?"

"No," Cameron said immediately.

John poked her in the side and whispered, "Be nice." He looked at Derek and shrugged. It was up to him.

Derek wasn't far from agreeing with Cameron, but he also didn't want to be the third wheel. Maybe he could get some answers out of her. "Fine." He gave her a warning look that spoke a thousand volumes. "Let's go then."

**********************

John was absolutely thrilled to finally be alone with Cameron. Derek had politely led Dani in the opposite direction when they arrived, and John made a mental note to thank his uncle later on.

"It's very crowded here. It could be dangerous" Cameron observed.

John looked around. "It's Friday night. It's not like this is a major metropolitan area. There's probably not much else to do." The place was jam-packed with kids of all ages; there were hardly any adults. They probably avoided the place at all cost. "Is there any store in particular you wanted to go to?"

"No."

"Well then… I guess we'll just walk around until we find something." John snaked his arm around her waist and guided her down the crowded corridor. It was slow progress, but John didn't care. He was just enjoying having Cameron beside him. He'd never had a real girlfriend to go to the mall with. Even when he went with Riley, it was just as friends. He usually despised malls, but everything always seemed a lot better with Cameron. Well, that's an incredibly mushy thing to think. How disgustingly sappy.

Cameron was doing her best to monitor John's safety. It didn't seem like there were any threats, but there didn't seem to be any the last time a T-888 showed up at the mall either. She was also observing the teenagers' behavior around her, particularly the couples.

She didn't really know how a teenage couple acted around each other. She took most of her cues from John, but she knew females behaved differently than males. She wanted them to appear like a normal couple, and she wanted to be as normal a girlfriend to John as possible.

Some of the younger teenagers seemed to be overly flirtatious. Cameron didn't want to be giggly like some of those girls; she knew she'd look like a freak. She spotted another couple about 10 feet ahead of them. She estimated them to be about John's age. She watched them through the crowd of people, making note of everything they did. She recognized some of the covert looks and smiles they shared as looks John had given her many of times. Her head tilted to the right as she watched the girl reach around and slide her hand into her boyfriend's back pocket. She analyzed the action, and her HUD displayed it as an acceptable behavior.

Cameron moved closer to John and reached around his back, sliding her hand into the left back pocked of his jeans.

John nearly tripped over his own feet. He had been focused on a sale sign at Hot Topic when he felt Cameron's hand on his butt. He quickly glanced at her, but she was seemingly paying no attention to him, or her hand, whatsoever. He grinned. "Feeling a little frisky, are we?"

Cameron finally looked at him. "Is it not an appropriate behavior to demonstrate between couples?"

John's face fell, and he looked back ahead to where they were walking. "Right. Of course it is." Note to self: Never ask a terminator the reason for her actions. It's a serious mood killer.

Seeing the look on John's face, Cameron realized her answer wasn't exactly appropriate. She tried to come up with something to say to fix it, but nothing came up on her HUD to respond. She would just have to make it up to him.

Cameron scanned the corridor, spotting a brilliant pink store ahead. She knew what it was; every mall had one. As the got closer, Cameron angled them towards the entrance. When John realized the destination of her course, he stopped.

"Uhh… I'll just go wait in Game Stop over there." He tried to sneak away, but Cameron grabbed his hand and held fast.

"It is a romantic endeavor for couples to choose lingerie together in Victoria's Secret."

"Didn't I tell you to stop reading those magazines?" John whined. He was not going in there. No way, no how, not even, and no.

"Please?" Cameron batted her eyelashes, and smiled.

John groaned. Sonofafreakingbitch. Sometimes, he reckoned it was much easier before she learned how to perform those most annoying yet sickeningly endearing female behaviors. "Nobody ever… EVER finds out about this. Do you understand?"

"Promise." Cameron took his hand and led him into what he was sure was ultimate doom.

John felt so out of place in the store. Lace, satin, silk, cotton, hot pink, purple, black fishnet stockings… wait. He blinked. Was she seriously getting those?

Cameron sauntered over to him and started looking through a clearance rack. She pulled out a black satin… something. John tilted his head.

"If my mother found that, she'd burn you alive… then castrate me."

Cameron surprised him by laughing. "I was only joking. Here…" She pulled out a gray pair of yoga pants with PINK written across the butt. "If I get these, I can give you yours back."

John grabbed the pants from her and started digging through the rack. "I'll buy you ten pairs if I can have mine back."

She rolled her eyes (John decided she really needed to stop practicing in mirrors) and took his hand, heading over to the largest panty selection he had ever seen.

"What am I supposed to do here?" He didn't even know what the hell the difference between styles was, except more fabric and less fabric. Less was definitely good.

"You're supposed to at least show some sort of interest in helping me choose lingerie."

"Did those damn magazines ever mention that perhaps I might enjoy the fact that Victoria keeps her secrets?"

She ignored him, and held up a lacy thong. "Which color do you like best?"

Oh, my God.

"Do you like blue, purple, or pink?" She held each one up one by one, a near-evil grin on her face.

John reckoned life was a lot easier before she started smiling that goddamn sexy smile so much. "Um. Color?" He was trying to imagine her in each color, but color didn't really matter…

"I'll get all three, how's that?"

"Sure," John squeaked. He cleared his throat. "That works."

The line at the register seemed to take forever and a day. Evidently it was rocket science to ring up a few bras and stick them in a damn bag. John meandered over to a rack with perfumes and lotions. He read the names on the labels, and picked up a tester bottle and sniffed. Huh. "Hey Cam…" He took the bottle over to her. "Hold out your arm."

She did as requested, and watched John spray her wrist. She didn't bother smelling it. "Is it a pleasing scent to you?"

John sniffed her arm. It was a sweet scent, with a hint of… He glanced at the bottle. Sandalwood. He never smelled anything like it before. "Yeah, it's definitely you." He put the bottle back and grabbed an unopened box.

They finally reached the register, and John pulled out his wallet. Everything still came from the Bank of Catherine Weaver... or whatever she was going by these days. They kept what was left of the diamonds for emergencies, such as compromised identities, and used the bankcards she supplied them with. He asked once where it all came from, and had essentially been told that between Zeira Corp and the Weaver's assets, money wouldn't be an issue for a decade.

Of course, the world wouldn't really be around as they knew it for a whole decade, so it became a moot point.

*****************

They got back home well after dark, pulling up the driveway and parking behind a dark colored minivan. John jumped out of the SUV and stared at the monster of a vehicle. They had dropped Sarah and Savannah off at the car dealership before heading out to lunch, his mother having finally decided one vehicle was simply not working. She was picky about cars though, and tended to sit in every vehicle on the lot before making a decision. Nobody wanted to join her. John even felt a little bad leaving Savannah with her.

"What the hell is this?" John asked incredulously.

Derek was standing beside him, a similar look on his own face.

"It's a minivan," Cameron supplied.

"Yes, I KNOW what it is… but why would she buy a minivan? What was she thinking?"

"It's a spacious, convenient family vehicle, with 5 star safety ratings, removable middle seats, fold down back seats, and extra cup holders."

Derek and John slowly turned their heads to her.

"I bet it was the extra cup holders," Derek said.

*****************************************

Cameron walked down the street, analyzing everything that moved in the shadows. It was a quiet night, as it was going to start raining. All the animals had taken shelter.

It was well after midnight, and Cameron was doing her nightly rounds. She wasn't grounded anymore of course, but safety and protection was still her job. She made her way back up to their house and stood on the front porch, watching out over the street like a guard. Nobody was awake in the neighborhood to see her, and she was hidden by shadows anyway. She'd wait fifteen more minutes before going back in.

If John was a sleep, he would probably wake up as he usually did when she finally made her way downstairs, no matter how quiet she was. Sometimes he would go right back to sleep; sometimes they would talk quietly. Other times were spent making love, which was actually improving, as they both grew more confident in what they were doing.

Tonight would probably be spent in conversation. In fact, he was probably still awake, waiting to bombard her with questions. There was a lot of stuff she knew he wanted to ask, and a lot of stuff she needed to tell him, but they hadn't had the chance yet that evening to talk alone. Sarah was up late, and Cameron went out early to get her rounds over and done with.

She caught movement across the street in the neighbor's driveway, and watched the spot for a minute and a half. When no further movement came, she moved her eyes on.

The sound of a breaking twig brought her eyes back to the spot, and her gun was quickly drawn. She switched to a night vision setting she didn't often use, and made her way across the street.

There was nothing there.

She crouched down low and waited. All of her cybernetic senses were on high. Someone was there, and that someone could be a threat to John Connor. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Sarah. She waited for her to groggily pick up, and punched in only three numbers. She heard her curse on the other end and hang up. Twenty three seconds later, lights started turning on in the house.

Derek was out of the house less than three minutes later, gun at the ready.

"Human or metal?"

"Has to be human."

"Which direction?"

Cameron pointed southeast.

Derek nodded, and disappeared into the shadows, grateful one of the streetlights had burned out.

Sarah appeared on the porch moments later, her favorite shotgun in hand.

"John has the back. I'll stay here. You go find it."

Cameron nodded and headed around the house. She did a check of the immediate perimeter before heading in the direction she sent Derek.

*****************

************

Derek walked for several blocks before sitting down at an old bus stop. He waited a few minutes, reading the graffiti etched in the walls before finally calling out.

"I know you're out there, you better come out now before she finds you first."

Several moments passed before he heard the sound of sneakers on pavement.

"How did you know it was me? It could have been anyone."

"Metal wouldn't have run, and a regular idiot wouldn't know how to evade metal that well. Plus, well, you're an idiot. What the hell were you doing?"

Dani Martin shrugged, and sat down next to him on the bench. "I don't know. I was just curious, I guess."

"How did you find us?"

Dani snorted. "It wasn't that difficult. Just compare old ads to new ads, and figure out which house for rent wasn't anymore."

Derek had to admit it was clever. She may be an idiot, but she was an intelligent idiot. Hence her position in the Connor camp.

"So you decided to stalk us? Hang out at night and watch the house? Did you forget about the guard dog?"

"No, I just… I just needed to talk to you. We didn't get a chance to talk before. I didn't expect her to be creeping around the neighborhood in the middle of the night."

Derek shook his head. "What the hell were you planning on doing, throw stones at my window? You'd probably end up waking Sarah and getting your head blown off."

Dani threw up her arms in frustration. "Look, I don't know! I just had to tell you that I've lost contact, all right?"

Derek fell quiet. "Lost contact with who?"

"Everyone! All four of them Walker, Edwards, Stahl, and Miller."

"When was the last time you had contact?"

"Two weeks ago. I've been trying to contact them since, but I'm afraid there's no point. That's why I've been hanging around this area. I've been waiting for a chance to talk to you alone, but you're always with one of them."

"And what the hell is the problem with talking to me in front of John Connor, the goddamn General for crying out loud? You have me thinking you're up to no good sneaking around like that!"

"Well, I didn't know. He's still just a kid. "

"And so are you! Jesus Christ you have no freaking clue. She should've never have sent you."

"Whatever Derek. I'm here. Deal with it. We need to figure out what to do. We have a big problem here."

"Well, I am going to go home and go back to bed. You're going to get your happy ass out of this town and start hunting down some soldiers."

"They're dead, Derek."

"We don't know that."

"Yes, we do." Dani reached into her back pocket and pulled out a handful of newspaper clippings. She handed them to Derek.

"All unidentified males; absolutely no records. One had a barcode tattoo on his arm. Go figure."

Derek sighed. That would be Miller. "There's only three, though. What about the fourth."

Dani shrugged. "Hiding, probably. But that's not the worst of it."

"Oh great, please, tell me more," he said sarcastically.

"I have more. More newspapers. There are more people dead, Derek. Some of Connor's higher up people, the elite group… they're being targeted. It has to be metal."

"How many?"

"Three."

"How far apart were the killings?"

"A good few weeks. I've looked through older obituaries, but that seems to be it so far."

Derek exhaled in relief. "That means it's either more than one, or one very slow one, probably triple eight."

"You make that sound like it's a good thing." Dani folded up the papers and put them back in her pocket.

"It is," a hidden voice said. "Compared to what it could… or will be."

Both Derek and Dani jumped. Cameron suddenly appeared around the front of the small shelter.

"How long have you been there?" Dani asked accusingly.

"Long enough. You need to come with us now."

"Excuse me?"

"You will come with us," she repeated. "You know who and where it's killed already. We must track it down. Find out where it's going next. We have to stop it before it can get to anyone else." She glanced at Derek. "It would be just one, not several."

Derek groaned. This was not going to be fun. To prove his point, it started to rain.

"Fine. I'm not going to be the one to tell Sarah, though."

********************************