Terminator: Return of the Fallen
Part XXIX
A few days after the assault on the warehouse, Catherine drives me back home. When I walk into the Safe House, Savannah actually ran up and gave me a hug. As her mother's boyfriend, I am the closest thing she has to a father. Allison was also overjoyed to see me alive and well. Reese actually shook my hand.
"Welcome back, Charley. Congratulations on your promotion".
"Thank you, Lieutenant. It's good to be back. By the way, stop calling me Charley; I outrank you now".
"Roger that, Captain".
"Thank you, Lieutenant". We hug each other. It is a demonstration of mutual respect and camaraderie. We both proved our worth during the warehouse assault, the difference was that I nearly died and he didn't. Cameron and Charlotte pick up the plasma rifles and head towards the door.
"Well, we're heading out. It's good to see you again, Captain Zacks".
"Wait, where are you going?" Cameron replies in her usual, monotonous tone that gives me the creeps.
"We might have a lead on the T-600s. We are going to investigate".
"I'll come with you". As I reach for my old M82, Catherine grabs my arm.
"No, you won't. You are in no condition for a fight".
"What the hell? They go into battle and I have to stay here?"
"With you temporarily out of action, the humans will have to start picking up the slack".
"Gee, that makes me feel so much better. Thank you, Catherine".
"You didn't let me finish! With the humans in the field, we will need more medical supplies to patch them up. Why don't you take Reese and....appropriate some medical supplies from the hospital".
"You want two soldiers to steal from a hospital? Does anyone else see a problem with this?" Reese taps me on the shoulder.
"Don't think of it as stealing. Think of it as....borrowing with the intention to keep".
"I do not like this".
"We need those supplies. Come on, Captain. Let's get whatever we can and get home before anyone knows we are there".
"I can order you to not do this, Reese". John walks over to me with a stern look on his face.
"In that case, I am ordering you to acquire those supplies. Now, Captain".
"As you wish, General". This seems wrong on so many levels.
Reese and I take one of the non armoured cars, to attract less attention. I can't even remember when we got this one. All of this stealing: stealing cars, stealing medical supplies, possibly even stealing a heart. Granted, that saved my life, but this is still not a soldier's work. Can`t we just pay one of the countless lowlifes in Los Angeles to steal this shit, and then break his arms if he tries to double cross us. Strong arming criminals is a lot more honourable than stealing from hospitals.
When we reach the hospital, we decide to try and sneak in through the morgue; less chance of being spotted that way. The door is locked, so I break it down. Fortunately, there is no one in sight but dead people, and they can not tell anyone that we are here. Unfortunately, I can hear the footsteps of the mortician, and he is coming this way. When he walks in, he sees us standing in front of what is left of the door.
"This is an outrage. Who are you? How dare you?" He sees me and he is furious. Then he sees Reese, and he turns white as a sheet. "YOU!" He looks as though he has seen a ghost.
"You know him?" The mortician starts to run.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"
"Wait!"
I leap over a table, surprising myself and the mortician. I cut him off at the doorway and block his escape route. He tries to get by me, and I grab him and push him into a wall. Grabbing him under his arms, I lift him as high as possible.
"Have you seen me on the news?"
"Yes".
"You know what I am capable of, right?"
"Yes".
"Then why the hell are you afraid of him".
"He's.....look in that file cabinet and you will see why". I drop the man and he falls flat on his ass.
"Show me".
He walks over to the cabinet and pulls out a file. After briefly flipping through it he hands it to me. Just as I begin to read the file, I notice that he is slowly slipping away towards the door. I grab him by the shoulder and throw him into a nearby chair. We go through the file together. It...it can't be. It's not possible. Is it? I look at Reese, then at the file.
"What is it?" How do I tell him? I have to lie.
"Nothing. Just some unfortunate stiff that got shot in the head. Nothing for you to worry about".
"If it is nothing, why do you keep looking at me like that?"
"Like what Reese?"
"Like that! What's in this file, anyway?" He grabs the file and begins to read it.
"REESE WAIT!" I stand by as the poor bastard reads the report on his own autopsy. Reese looks like he is going to collapse. I have never seen him this terrified before.
"I'm....I'm dead?" The mortician answers his question.
"Gun shot wound to the head. I am.....sorry?" I start to scream at the man.
"SHUT UP YOU INSENSITIVE PRICK!" Not my proudest moment. Poor Reese looks like he is going into shock.
"I can't believe Sarah didn't tell me".
"Maybe she didn't know".
"Of course she knew! She knew that I was going to die and she didn't tell me".
"That report was written months ago. You may have jumped right over it".
"If there was an autopsy, then there was a body. For there to be a body, I had to die. I am going to go back into the past, and I am going to die".
"To hell with that! As long as you are with me, you are not going to die. Is that understood, Lieutenant Reese?" Reese smiles at me.
"Understood, Captain Zacks".
"Do you have a lighter?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, you are obviously not deceased. If the dead guy isn't actually dead, then I don't see why he needs to have an autopsy. Do you?"Reese starts to laugh and pulls out his lighter, which greatly disturbs the mortician.
"You can't do that! Those are official documents!"
"What's this table made out of?"
"Steel. Why?" I put my fist through it.
"Any other objections?" The mortician smiles awkwardly and shuts up. Reese lights the file, and then hands it to me to dump in the trash. "We don't need no water, let the mother fucker burn".
"HEY!"
"No, I didn't mean it like.....this happened long before you started to......I should just pick a new song".
"Good idea. I have a better one: just stop singing".
"No problem, Lieutenant. Let's get the supplies we need". I turn to address the stunned mortician. "Now, you stay here and keep quite. Otherwise, I will do to you what I did to the table. Understood?" He doesn't say anything, he just nods. As we head out to find what we need, Reese taps me on the shoulder.
"Why are you being so nice to me?"
"I know what it is like to come back from the dead. The experience can be a little....jarring. Speaking of which, would you like to see if I can turn off someone's pacemaker?" I pull out my new cell phone and start dialling, which makes Reese laugh.
"Ok. Gag's over. Put that away before someone notices". Whoever picks up the phone sends the stupid recognition code, which they have still neglected to tell me.
"Oh for Christ's sake! Reese, what is the God damn recognition code?"
"Just push these buttons".
"Ok. Ok, I got it". Sarah's voice replies to the recognition code.
"Recognition code rejected. Please try again".
"Very funny Sarah".
"You do realize that using a cell phone in a hospital is a good way to attract attention".
"Not as much as bringing a dead guy who was autopsied in this hospital".
"Excuse me?"
"I saw the autopsy report on Reese. Did you know that he was dead?" It takes a few moments for her to formulate a response.
"God. He didn't see the report, did he?"
"He read the report. Since he was still alive, we burned the damn thing. Did you know he was dead or not?"
"Did she know?"
"I'm trying to find out. Please stop interrupting me".
"Oh God! I didn't want him to know".
"So you did know".
"I was there".
"You were there?"
"SHE WAS THERE? SHE WAS THERE WHEN I DIED AND SHE DIDN"T TELL ME?" I can hear Sarah crying.
"I didn't want him to know. God, I didn't even want to think about it". While she is talking, I switch to speakerphone so that Reese could also hear her. "John was there too, and so were Savannah and John Henry, to a certain extent. A triple eight was trying to kill Savannah, and Reese took one in the head. We've been so busy since then; we never got a chance to mourn for him. Then he came back, and....God why is everything so God damn complicated. I'm...I'm so sorry, but I am still trying to come to terms with his death".
"It's all right, Sarah. I forgive you".
"REESE? When did he hand the phone to you?"
"You're on speakerphone, Sarah. Everyone can hear you".
"Zacks you bastard!"
"That's Captain Bastard to you, civilian!" They both start laughing. "Even when we are discussing an autopsy, I've still got it".
"Zacks, excuse me, Captain Bastard, shut up! Reese, we will talk when you get back. Ok?"
"Ok. Goodbye Sarah, I love you". That is the first time he has said it in public. Both Sarah and I are in shock. After she has recovered, Sarah returns his sentiments.
"I love you too, Derrick. I'll see you when you get back. Goodbye". She hangs up and I shove the phone back into my pocket.
"I am so replaying this for the others".
"Shut up, Sir!"
"Ha ha! You got the list of what we need?"
"I've got it right here".
"Good". I break down another door. "Let's go shopping". As we fill our bags with medical supplies, we attract the attention of a displeased doctor.
"What the hell are you two doing in here?"
"What does it look like we are doing? We're stealing medicine".
"I'm calling security".
"Let me help you with that". I punch through a solid brick wall and rip the phone out of the next room. I then throw it at the stunned physician. As we turn to leave, the doctor just stands in the doorway with a stunned look on his face. "Move or the wall won't be the only thing with a fist sized hole in it".
The doctor moves out of our way and we begin to walk down the halls. A security guard grabs me by the shoulder, and I shove him into a wall knocking him unconscious. A second security guard pulls out his sidearm and shoots me twice in the head.
"You must have a death wish".
I walk towards the guard, imitating the movements of Terminators when they are about to kill someone. The guard flees in terror, but two more come out and start shooting me. They run away as soon as they realize that their weapons are useless.
"Reese, go get the car. I'll meet you with the supplies half way between here and the Safe House".
"Why should we split up?"
"I can hear police sirens outside".
"Good reason. I'll see you later. Good luck".
Reese doubles back to the morgue and gets our car. I leave through the front exit, and encounter a reception from the LAPD. They fire at me with pistols, rifles, and machine guns. I just continue to walk towards them, completely undamaged. When the police realize that their fire will not slow me down, they abandon their positions and run.
The police had set up a blockade of police cruisers, and I smash through them in a matter of seconds. Another police cruiser drives straight towards me; I punch through the hood and destroy its engine. After the two police officers have abandoned the vehicle, I flip over the cruiser and walk towards a truck. Tearing the door off of the driver's side of the vehicle, I ordered the driver to get out and give me the keys. He does without complaint. I then drive off to meet Reese.
"What happened back there?"
"I smashed three police cruisers and scared the hell out of a lot of people".
"Oh, so a normal day then". I start to laugh.
"Home, Reese".
