CH 8
Warning, a bit of gore here!
Cameron found George following her after she left the house. She scanned the street for a gray van, then scanned each driveway for cars that were not usually there. She patrolled the opposite direction, heading for town first. George followed, keeping quiet and close by.
Cameron scrutinized every structure, tree and bush, searching for anyone who might be watching or hiding in ambush. Moving down to the stream she found something unusual. A wire cage animal trap was set. Before George could investigate, she walked forward and stomped on it, crushing the entrance.
She ripped it open and let George have the bait and threw the trap into the stream.
Trap her George? Not happening.
A short ways farther she found a trail camera taped to a tree up ahead. Walking around it, she kept out of it's range. Cameron did approach it from the side. It was from the Pasadena zoo. Great, someone had seen George or his tracks. No more stream for George.
The rest of the patrol went without indecent. Returning to the house, Cameron made sure George was in their room eating his meat and bone dinner. John was packed and ready. Cameron warned him about the trail cams, then kissed him and cautioned, "Don't come back until you see us."
"Right, be careful," John told her.
.
The van was at the motel right where Sarah had seen it last. Cameron had Sarah drop her off half a block away. Cameron waked off the sidewalk and onto the motel grounds out of the line of sight of the rooms. Having only one floor, it was safe to assume the people in the van were in the rooms close to the van itself.
Walking up to the building, Cameron listened closely as she strode towards the van. She heard televisions from most of the rooms. Sarah had mentioned these men knew she was metal. She slowed as she came to the rooms near the van. Another television. The in room next to the van she heard men talking.
" … we can do this quick and easy. How about proof? The boss will want proof."
"Let him hear it on the news."
"Charlie is coming isn't he?"
"Should be here any time."
Cameron pulled her gun, turned away from the door and knocked. The instant she head the door start to open, she turned and kicked it open. Raising her gun, she strode in. The man by the door was knocked back to fall, the two around the table stared at her. They slowly raised their hands.
"Money's in the top left drawer," one said, glancing at the dresser.
"Who's paying you?" Cameron asked.
"Bitch," the one on the floor hissed. He got up and reached behind his back.
Cameron shot him in the forehead. She turned back to the seated men before he hit the floor dead. "Who's paying you?" she asked again.
"Fuck you," the one closest to her snapped.
Cameron shot him. She eyed the last man. "This is the last time I will ask. Who is paying you?"
The man stared back at her. "Go ahead, kill me you metal traitor! If I tell, I'm dead anyway."
Cameron shut the door. She put her pistol away, grabbed him and forced him onto the bed. Holding him by his throat, she wore her terminator face as she said, "There are many ways to die. You will tell me before I terminate you. Decide now how much pain you want to experience." Crushing down in his throat so he couldn't breathe, she reached over and snapped a finger.
.
Sarah watched the motel. About an hour after Cameron went in, a man came to knock on the door. The door opened and Cameron pulled him in. She came out right after and hung a tag on the door. When Cameron returned, Sarah noted blood splotched on her hands.
"Richard Pate, Sixteen oh four, Palm tree drive," Cameron stated.
"What's on the door?"
"Do not disturb."
.
While Sarah and Cameron took care of the motel squad, another man cased out their house. Sneaking around the side, he went to the back door and tried it. Locked.
At the clearing, John took a look in his binoculars and saw the man creeping around the house. He put the rifle on the tripod and zero'ed in on him. The man walked around to the side and came to his bedroom window. The man jimmied the lock and slid the window open to climb in.
John had him in the cross hairs and was about to pull the trigger when then man recoiled out with a face full of George. Pawing and screaming, the man fell trying to get George off him. John could hear George growling from here as he bit and ripped at the man's face. Rolling around and flailing away, the man managed to toss George to the side and tried to get up. George landed and ran back to him before the man got to his feet, grabbing the man by the back of his leg. George bit deep and kicked with his back feet, shredding pant leg and flesh. The man wailed out in agony and upon grabbing at George, George bit his hand and shook hard.
Failing his arm around, the man again flung George to the side. He limped away as fast as he could go, trailing blood. George chased him a few yards past the house. The man hobbled down the driveway leaving a blood trail. Another couple yards and the man collapsed.
"Better get down there," John mussed. He looked for George. George came back around the side of the house and tried to climb to get back in the window.
It was late enough that luckily, no one was out. John put the rifle away and quickly covered it with the dirt covered lid, then returned to the house. John growled softly as he approached the house. He did not want George to think he was another burglar. He saw what happened to burglars. George growled softly back. It took John a moment to find George. George came around the corner towards him. Going inside, John noticed there was blood in George's fur, his head was all but dripping with blood.
"Sorry buddy, I'm not cleaning you off," John told him. George only let out his rattling growl and headed for the bedroom. John let him back in the bedroom and closed the window. George got back up on the bed and laid down in the depression he'd made in the pillows. Note to self - wash the bedding.
Going back outside to try and clean up the mess, John found two fingers and most of a nose in the yard, as well as lots of blood and bits of flesh. The burglar's trail was easy to follow, he'd been bleeding heavily. John got a look at him and turned quickly away. George had destroyed the man's face so bad the left side showed skull and only a bloody hole where his eye had been. Part of his hand was missing and the back of the leg George had attacked was nothing but raw meat. John had to fight the urge to throw up.
Composing himself, John went into the garage to get something to wrap the man up in and a hose to try and wash away all the blood. He was in the garage when headlights shown, coming up the driveway. The vehicle stopped.
"John?" a frantic Cameron called.
John stepped out of the garage."Here! That guy tried to get in. George stopped him," he told her.
Sarah shown a light on the man, turned and puked in the grass.
.
Sarah and John sat at the kitchen table as Cameron was outside, getting rid of the body and doing her best to clean up all the blood.
"Your little beast destroyed that guy," Sarah said weakly. "What happens if he comes after you?"
"He won't, Mom," John said evenly. "The way it was explained to me, George see us as family. We belong here. That guy didn't. Our bed's near the window, George was sleeping on it when that guy tried to get in. He probably scared George, and George defended his den."
Looking at nothing, Sarah said, "That animal is what? Maybe ten pounds? He did that much damage to a full grown man?"
John shrugged and said, "I watched a nature video that was suppose to be about wolves. Ten wolves downed this small deer. They just started feeding and this wolverine charged in and fought them for it. Two wolves ran off yelping. The others stayed clear until the wolverine was done eating and left. If a wolverine can do that, then yeah, whatever comes into his den that doesn't belong there ends up as dog meat."
"That thing scares me," Sarah said.
Seeing Sarah clench her beer, John said, "Mom, George accepts you as being part of the family. The next time he grabs the towel, pull back. Play with him and try to do that low rattling growl of his. Show him you are one of us."
Sarah looked at John. "I'm going to have more nightmares after tonight," she grumbled.
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Cameron came in with the man's wallet. And dropped it on the table. "His name was Eric Petersen who lived in LA. By the money and drugs I found on him, he was a criminal type."
John frowned and thought aloud, "If his attempted entry into the house was just a random burglary or Skynet related, we'll never know for sure."
"Seeing how those other men had planned to kill John, we must assume it was related," Cameron added.
"We need to move," Sarah said.
John looked at Cameron who nodded. John tipped his head slightly. "That's what we usually do. It's our normal pattern. If Skynet is behind all this, then that is what it will expect us to do."
"John, Skynet will send someone to check and see if we are still here," Cameron told him.
John thought that if Skynet knew their address, those men from the motel wouldn't have bothered with a drive by shooting, but come straight here. Then again they did know what school he went to. Looking at Sarah, he said, "School is a bad idea. That is how Skynet keeps finding us."
"You need an education, John." Sarah said firmly.
John shook his head."It's too dangerous, Mom. I'm sixteen, almost seventeen. I'm going to quit school. I can still go for a GED, or just fake a diploma later. Tomorrow, we go in with a note saying we're moving, and won't be coming any more. We give some school system in LA as where we'll be moving to, then stay here. If Skynet is looking at records, then LA is where it will be looking for us," he explained.
"What if you're wrong, John?" Cameron asked as she stared at him. "Skynet does cover every known possibility."
"And short of sending a terminator, which it would have done if it was able to, it relies on computers for information and Grays to act,"John countered. "Also, IF Skynet is active, and we really don't know for sure yet, I am sure it is busy avoiding John Henry, which will slow it down. Let's at least find this guy Pate to find out where he got his orders from before we flee."
Cameron got up. "I have to clean the driveway with muratic acid to get the blood off. If Skynet is behind Petersen's attempted break in tonight, we must move," she stated.
John watched Cameron leave, then turned to his mother. "Mom. Can you write the note? I'll find an LA school to go to. I also want to see what I can find out about this Pate guy."
.
John sat at his laptop searching for information on Richard Pate when Cameron came in. "John, you should get some sleep," she said as she came over to rub his shoulders.
"I got Pate's phone number," John told her. "Can you duplicate the voice of the one who sent him?"
Behind him, a man's voice said, "Yeah, so what's the deal?"
John smirked. In his best gangster voice, he replied, "Tell yer boss we nailed him and we want our dough."
Over on the bed, George let out a heavy growl. John turned to see he was wide awake now, eyeing them. A soft grow from Cameron and George curled back up and went to sleep.
"On my side,"John noted unhappily. "I still need to Google Pate's place anyway."
.
Cameron went to school with Sarah's note alone, just in case there were more men laying in ambush for John. Passing the motel, she was the van was there and police tape was around it and the door to the room. A few cop cars sat nearby as did a news van. Calling Pate to tell him of success was not an option now.
Cameron parked and went in as buses were unloading. Going to the office, Cameron gave the secretary the note and explained her and John's mother had to move to LA to get the job she was after. John didn't come in because he was helping to pack.
On her way out, she met Kaylee and Cindy coming in.
"Hey, Cam,did you hear the news?" Cindy asked. "Last night, four men were killed in the motel just down the road!"
"Yeah, the news said they think it was gang related," Kaylee added.
Cameron was hoping to avoid seeing them. "That is possible," she agreed. She walked to go by them. Cindy asked, "Where are you going? Homeroom is this way."
"John and I are moving to LA," Cameron told them.
"WHAT! When?"
"Today. It has been nice meeting you," Cameron offered as she walked away.
"Wow, that was fast," Kaylee said as they watched Cameron leave.
Thoughtfully, Cindy said, "And right after that motel killing..."
Kaylee slapped Cindy on the shoulder. "Stop it! You can't think they had anything to do with that."
"Well, Cam is..."
"Don't EVEN say it," Kaylee warned.
.
Richard Pate sat in a lounge chair on his patio overlooking the pool. Talking on the phone, he asked, "Who'd I send those boys after? They all got whacked before they even made an attempt!"
The flat toned voice replied. "That was their mistake. We are depending on you to erase the target. You received all the information needed to perform the task. Find more men and get it done."
"If it's so dangerous, maybe I don't want your money," he said heavily.
"Immaterial. If your men failed upon the attempt, then the target will be coming for you. You will not survive the encounter."
Pate laughed, "You're telling me anyone can get through my security? I hope they try! That will make my job much easier. We got tazers to drop that cyborg, and heavy guns."
"Call when the job is done." the voice said, and hung up.
Pate tossed his phone down on the table beside him. If the job wasn't worth so much, he's say screw it. Good help was hard to find, but for ten million, he'd just recruit more. He wished this John Connor would come to him, then he wouldn't have to shell out another mil to pay dead men their half to go on the job.
.
After she left school, Cameron went to Petersen's place. It was an apartment building in one of the seedier parts of town. Having his keys, she went into the foyer to see the bushy haired man behind the desk eye her. He didn't say anything so neither did she. She went up the stairs to and found the apartment.
Going in, Cameron found a man-cave. Pictures of scantily clad and naked women here and there, beer cans and a full ashtray on the small round coffee table. Things she'd expect from someone like Derek.
In what used to be a breakfast nook was a computer and papers. Looking through the papers, she found many were drawings of houses with notes. Some were circled. One address had notes of : no outside cameras / no dogs / Fri, no car.
This man had been a thief. In the mess, she looked for anything that could be Skynet related. The computer was a small desktop. Not finding anything related to Skynet, or of Skynet's facilities or Pate, she left, locking the door behind her.
Cameron's next stop was one block from Pate's residence in a well to do neighborhood. The tall walls around his place didn't allow a ground level view of what was inside. From John's Google search, she knew there was one large, two story main building and three smaller out buildings. What they couldn't see was what the security was like, other than the fortress like wall around the place.
Walking to the corner, Cameron zoomed in on one of the decorative bell shaped towers that were at each corner of the wall. Within the bell were cameras. By the angle of the cameras, they were covering the outside of the walls as well as inside the compound. Anyone trying to get in over the walls or through the gate would be seen. She needed to get an overhead view.
Going to a hobby store, Cameron bought a camera equipped plane and returned to the neighborhood. She flew the drone up and over Pate's residence. She noted the four door garage that was part of the house, the pool shed, then flew over the house to see one outbuilding was a garden shed. The other had a couple men talking outside. This building was bigger, and looked like a small guest house. Or guard house. On her next pass, she noted one man point up at her.
Busted.
She flew the plane away, then at the back of the house. People in the pool noticed, as did a portly man and a woman sitting in lounge chairs. Flying away again, she set the plane to fly level, away from her. She soon lost the signal. Cameron got back in her van and drove away. On the way home she tossed the remote out the window. She now had data on what was inside.
.
John noted George was now following him around. Sarah had gone out to give Weaver their latest updates and find out if she or John Henry had discovered any possible activity from Skynet. Once he made sure the doors and Sarah's door was shut, he figured it would be safe to let George roam the house with him. John watched the news while George crunched down on a bone under the couch. The motel men had been found, but the police had yet to find any suspects. That was the only piece of news he was interested in.
Getting hungry, John went to the kitchen. He got the bread out and grabbed the peanut butter from the cupboard. He grabbed a soda and the jelly from the fridge. As he made his sandwich, George came out and watching him from in front of the refrigerator.
"Want some?" John asked, and let out a soft growl.
George growled back, but didn't move.
"Suit yourself," John said and reached for the refrigerator door. George let out a harsh growl, lunged and snapped at him.
"Whoa!" John exclaimed and stepped back. "What the hell?" he asked.
Letting out a soft growl, George backed up by the refrigerator.
John tried to reach for the door again, and again George snapped at him. For some reason, George didn't want him near the refrigerator. "Well fine then, you put the jelly away," John told him, and went back in the living room.
George followed.
.
Sarah sat by Catherine Weaver in Weaver's office as they looked at the monitor showing John Henry.
John Henry offered his creepy smile and said, "Hello, Mrs. Weaver, Mrs. Connor."
"Hello, John Henry. Mrs, Connor here has told be about some men coming after John. Have you detected any indications that the former Sky net is active?"
John Henry cocked his head slightly. "I have not seen any activity on military channels. General Larch asked me to isolate the military net from the rest of the internet. That was a very smart move on his part. It greatly reduces the chance of infiltration." John Henry looked to the side and added, "I do believe Cameron has the capability to search the internet with the proper software. Is it possible that Skynet's minions do not know it is gone, and are still acting in it's interests?"
"Very possible," Weaver agreed.
"So, Skynet is gone, but it's helpers remain," Sarah said in a mussing tone.
"Correct," Weaver said. "Which means they also may try to bring the original Skynet back. The fight isn't over yet. I have disabled some of the facilities Skynet had. I will provide you a list of the ones remaining to give to John."
Sarah cast Weaver a scowl and said, "You're putting this on John."
Weaver eyed her and said, "You son has the ability to find unique solutions to problems. I will help if my assistance is required. Other than that, I am leaving the job to the expert."
"That is the most efficient way, Mrs, Connor," John Henry agreed. "Cameron may call me to get the software she needs."
Sarah offered him a smile, "Thank you, John Henry."
"Friends help friends," John Henry said and cast her his creepy smile. Then the connection cut.
"At least we know," Sarah said in a huff as she got up.
Mrs. Weaver shot up and looked back at her door. "Sarah, get down!" she snapped.
Two men burst through the door and opened up with automatic weapons. Weaver shot her silver arms out and skewered them through their brains . As they fell, a third stepped into the doorway with a flamethrower.
From the floor where she'd dove, Sarah shot him. Luckily, no fire benched out when he fell. "How did they get up here?" Sarah asked.
"That is what I intend to find out," Weaver said in a hard tone and strode out of the room.
.
Sarah went with Weaver to the security center. The men in the security monitoring room were all dead, Weaver also found a side door had been opened with an alarm bypass.
Weaver held her hand out to Sarah. "Give me your gun."
"Why?"
"You shot that man. The police will want the weapon."
Sarah pulled her gun and handed it over. "You're calling the police?"
"Yes, right after I shoot the other two with this gun. The police will want it for ballistics testing. The camera system is off, leave through the front door. Tell the lobby guard you heard shooting," Weaver told her.
"And Sarah," Weaver called as Sarah went to leave. "Be careful."
Sarah nodded and took the stairs down.
.
An hour later, Catherine Weaver sat on one side of a conference table, two men, a detective and an FBI agent sat on the other. The bagged gun sat by the detective.
"You are an amazing marksman, Mrs. Weaver," the detective said. Three men burst into your office, two with automatic weapons and a third with a flamethrower. You kill all three with a single shot and don't take a scratch yourself."
"Before he died, my husband insisted I learn how to shoot properly," she replied.
"You say they burst in, yet you drew up on them before they could shoot?"
"Incorrect. First of all, they were not exactly quiet. Second, they did shoot, as I'm sure your team is finding out. I believe the term is, 'spray and pray'. They were not accurate. I was," Weaver said firmly.
"Do you know who could be behind this attack?"
"I cannot say. I was hoping you will gather that information."
The FBI agent asked, "Was anyone with you when this happened?"
"A client of mine had left moments before. I doubt and one living saw those men. They did kill four of my employees on their way here."
"You employ an ex-FBI agent named Mr. Ellison?" the FBI man asked.
"I do. Thankfully, Mr. Ellison is visiting another of my buildings today and was not in harm's way."
The detective pointed at the bagged gun and asked, "Do you have a permit for that?"
"If there is a permit, it would be under my husband's name. He insisted I keep it in my office, Sir," Mrs. Weaver told him.
"So, you don't have one?" the detective stated.
"Myself, no."
The detective rubbed his head. "Mrs. Weaver," he said firmly. "Without a permit, I have to confiscate this gun after the lab is done with it. There will be a fine involved also. You have been forthcoming with me, that will go on my report. You cannot have this gun back until you get a permit for it."
"I understand, Sir. I shall work to correct my discrepancy as soon as possible."
Catherine answered their questions then politely told them she needed to pick up her daughter from school. They let her go.
Today did show one thing to Catherine, Skynet's leftover forces at least were on the move. Savannah needed to be moved to a safe place to be.
.
The next day, Catherine was called down to the police station. She announced herself and sat waiting for the detective to see her. A officer guided her into an office where the detective and two other policemen were waiting.
'Good day, gentlemen," Weaver said politely. "What can I do for you today?"
The detective asked in an even tone, "The gun you had, Mrs. Weaver. Where did you get it?"
"I told you, my husband got it and insisted I keep it in my office."
"Where did he get it?" another detective asked.
Catherine shrugged in a human way and said, "I don't know."
The first asked in a harder tone, "Can you tell us why Sarah Connor's fingerprints were on it? Fresh fingerprints."
Catherine cast him a surprised look. "That is not possible. Wasn't Sarah Connor arrested and put in prison?"
The third man nodded. "She was, and died in prison," he agreed. "Which leaves us with a very serious problem. How can a dead, convicted felon leave fingerprints on a gun that by your own words, has been in your office all this time?"
