CH 15

The memorial service for Catherine Weaver was just as much to show who was in charge now, as it was to pay final respects to Catherine herself. The parking lot to the large funeral home was full of limousines and expensive cars, busboys dressed in their best black suits and security strolling the grounds. The six entrance guards at the wrought iron gate had a list of invitees that were allowed to attend. In this high-end service, a plain blue van pulled up to the gate.

John saw the gate guards eye him as he drove up. He had the dark sunglasses on that Cameron had bought them all, as well as the tailored black suit, white shirt and back tie. Sarah and Cameron were also in well fitting black dresses and black hats with mesh veils. Although she didn't care for it, Cameron sat in the back with Savannah.

A guard came up to the window. "John, Sarah and Cameron Collins, and Savannah Weaver," John told the man.

The man frowned then actually found these people on the list. "Yes, Sir, please pull up to the front, your …. vehicle will be valeted for you."

"Thank you," John told him and drove around to the entrance.

As he did, he saw people in front watching him. One man whispered to another. They both laughed. They stopped laughing after John got out and held the door to help Cameron and Savannah out. Immediately, they and a few others rushed to open the doors and make a greeting line.

"Savannah, sweetie, you doing OK?" Cameron quietly asked her.

Savannah nodded and held a tight hold on Cameron's hand. Looking up at Cameron, Savannah asked, "John Henry said you're like him, right?"

"I am older, but yes, Savannah, that's right. I will ensure you are protected," Cameron assured her. She waited until John and Sarah were behind them, then walked into the funeral home.

Many greetings of sadness for Mrs. Weaver's demise met Cameron as she walked in. Few were genuine, most were offered to get close enough to see the new CEO. By the time Cameron got ten feet inside the door, she knew the name of every department head, and a few board members.

Cameron signed the guest register, then picked it up and held it low so Savannah could sign it. Looking at all the names, Savannah asked, "Cameron, I don't see John Henry here. Didn't he come?"

"I'm sorry, John Henry wasn't able to. He did tell me he will be watching," Cameron offered.

Again, Savannah gave a sad nod as she wrote her name in the book.

"How are you today, Savannah?" Mr. Ellison asked as he came up.

Savannah brightened up upon seeing him. "Hello Mr. Ellison! Cameron brought Mommy's book down so I can sign it!"

"I see that," he said all smiles. "That is a very pretty dress you have on."

Savannah nodded. "Cameron got this for me. She said we have to wear these dresses because we miss Mommy And Cameron is like John Henry. Mr. Ellison, if John Henry is my brother, is Cameron my sister?"

Mr. Ellison smiled at her comparison. He squatted down in front of her. "Savannah, Your mother wanted Cameron to take care of you so Cameron is going to be your new mother. That does not mean she is replacing your mother, but she will do her best to be a mother for you."

Savannah put a finger to her lip. "Ahh, if you say so, Mr. Ellison. That means my sister is going to be my Mommy?"

"It is complicated," John offered, "But that's ...close enough."

"Greetings, you must be Cameron Collins" a tall, dark haired man with gray temples said brightly as he came up.

Cameron turned to look at him and in a flat tone said, "That is correct."

He stuck out his hand. "I'm Dave Farnsworth. I own 25% pf Zeita."

To shake hands with him meant loosing track of Savannah, so Cameron didn't. "Good for you," she said.

He pulled his hand back. "I has been good for me," he agreed. "I must say though that now Mrs. Weaver is gone I am not the most confident of a girl your age running the company. There's a few others who agree. I hate to bring something like this up at such a time, but later today we'll be having a vote on who the new CEO will be. We just need someone with experience," he explained with a tight smile.

Unfazed, Cameron eyed him with her terminator stare and said, "I own 53 percent. Vote all you want, I will decide who runs the company. If you will excuse us, we are going to view Catherine's memorial. We will discuss business later."

Farnsworth held his composure as Cameron and her entourage walked away. With Weaver gone, he thought he'd seen the end of the iron-clad bitch. This one was young, but he had the idea she was going to be just as bad. Was there a foundry someplace that made these women?

.

The Memorial for Catherine Weaver was a well carved stone with angels bracketing a her name. Beside the stone were large vases of flowers, and directly above was a 10X 12 portrait of her. It was high enough that Savannah had a hard time seeing it, so Cameron picked her up so she could get a better view.

"Your Mommy was a great woman," Cameron told the little girl. "Not only good at business, never forget your Mommy was a hero that saved everyone."

"She did?" Savannah asked, wide eyed.

"Yes, she did,"Cameron said solemnly. "By the things she did, your mommy helped the Great general save everyone. I know your will miss her. We all will. Also be very proud of her."

"Amen to that," John agreed.

"Cameron," Savannah asked meekly, "Can we have a portrait like that of Mommy too?"

"Yes, we can."

.

Sarah walked along quietly, listening mostly to Cameron. With Savannah, Cameron was doing very well in taking on a motherly role. Although Sarah didn't agree with Cameron's high praise for the T-1001, she knew Cameron was doing it for Savannah. Cameron was also a bulldozer when it came to first Farnsworth, then other stockholders wanting to rattle her into giving up the CEO position. She had to smirk at the blank faces that thought Cameron was going to be a pushover. In whispered conversation behind them Sarah already heard the comment of 'iron maiden' from a pack of men. How little did they know how right they were.

Sarah thought it was going to be chaos and eaten limbs when they met at the Weaver house. To give Savannah something familiar to hold onto, they had decided that whoever was going to take care of Savannah had to stay in the house at least for the rest of the year. John and Cameron had gone ahead and upped security not only with a constant guard, but also with making a 'safe room' that Savannah could flee to in the basement. The door to the room was 2.5 inches of steel with an emergency exit.

Cameron had come out to the car to carry Savannah on her hip inside like she was a two year old.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked, seeing Cameron pick Savannah up.

"Savannah, do you like pets?" Cameron asked.

"Mommy said dogs are messy," Savannah told her.

"This isn't a dog. It's George," Cameron stated. She then asked, "Remember when that bad guy came to your house?"

"Un-huh. That was scary."

"Well, George is a special animal that keeps the bad guys away. George isn't for petting, but he will play. If a bad guy gets in the house, George will eat him."

Savannah's eyes grew wide. "He will?" she asked.

Cameron nodded. "He ate a burglar that tried to get into our house, and a big dog that tried to get in the trash," she explained. "The only ones George lets in the house is family, so I'm going to teach you how to growl like family so George will recognize you."

"Is George really big, like a bear?" Savannah asked, wide eyed and nervous.

"No, George is a little smaller that dog, and he's short, but George is tough," Cameron said. "I'm going to growl the family growl. Do it with me?" Cameron asked.

Sarah checked to be sure his pistol was loaded as Cameron and Savannah practiced the rattling growl.

Cameron went in still practicing the growl with Savannah. Unseen by Savannah, George came to follow Cameron over to the couch. As soon as she and Savannah sat down, George jumped up on Cameron's side and sniffed. Cameron growled, Savannah growled with her. George let out his soft growl and leaned over Cameron to nibble at Savannah's hair.

Savannah giggled, scrunched up and tried to hide behind Jeffery the Giraffe. Seeing Jeffery, George grabbed him and tugged him out of Savannah's hands. Jumping to the floor, George shook Jeffery violently making stuffing fly.

Savannah's mouth came open in shock as she wailed out, "Jeffery! NOOOOOO don't eat Jeffery!"

Oops.

Cameron watched George roll around and rip Jeffery in half. The last of his stuffing flew out. She frowned and said, "I'm sorry, Savannah, Jeffery's a goner." Jeffery wasn't made very well, his head and a leg went flying as George shook him.

Savannah burst out crying.

"Cameron will make sure Jeffery is fixed," Sarah said firmly, glowering at Cameron.

In the bits of toy giraffe scattered over the floor, George stopped and looked at Savannah miserably crying. He picked up a piece, the neck and head, and ambled over and got up to rest his front paws on her knees and drop the head in her lap. George growled softly and nosed the head towards her.

Gazing tearfully down on the decapitate head of Jeffery, Savannah picked it up and sniffled. "George is mean," she whined, and sniffled again.

"I'm sorry, he didn't know any better," Cameron explained.

Gazing up at Cameron with the saddest look she'd ever seen, Savannah said in a shuddering voice, "It wasn't Jeffery's fault he couldn't growl. George thought Jeffery was a bad guy?"

"I think so," Cameron agreed. "He is sorry, he brought Jefferey's head back," she offered.

.

Sarah was broken out of her thoughts by John bumping elbows with her. "Mom? You were kind of spacing out there."

Sarah nodded. "Just thinking," she offered. "I would have never imagined Cameron as a mother."

John chuckled as he looked over to see Cameron and Savannah talking to a couple men. "Yeah, she is capable of some amazing things. Make me proud of her."

A look of realization passed over Sarah's face. "Tin Miss truly is evolving," she said vacantly.

John laughed and said, "That's what I've been trying to tell you, Mom. She's finally realizing she is more than what she thought she was." In a lower tone, he added, "Those businessmen are quickly finding out she's more than what she seems also."

"I heard," Sarah said with a smirk. "Some are calling her the Iron Maiden. Very fitting, but they didn't sound happy about it."

"That's my girl," John said proudly.

.

The memorial service was filed with prayers and wisdom when dealing with a departed loved one. In true Scottish tradition, Amazing Grace was played on the bagpipes as a woman sang it. It sounded so beautiful, John was choked up by it. Cameron held Savannah as she cried.

.

After the service, Cameron called the board meeting in the viewing parlor, and had the doors shut. Looking over the investors with her terminator stare, she paused to look back at Catherine's memorial briefly, then turned to them to speak.

"Catherine Weaver was a hard business woman. That is how she managed to accomplish all the things she did in her life. We are having this meeting here to show her THAT is how we will continue. One thing Catherine insisted on, is her daughter Savannah being able to take over a healthy company when she cones of age. Ladies and gentlemen, that is exactly what I intend to do. I've heard some of you want to pick a new CEO. NO. I will decide who the CEO will be and I will hound that person to ensure the best performance of the company long and short term is being carried out. Catherine gave you all a status of the company a week ago. That hasn't changed. We will continue to strive to be the best, no holds bared. If you have doubts, then sell. I'll be happy to buy up your stock. If you see clear to stay and invest with us, that will be wise on your part."

Seeing Farnsworth looking like he had a question, Cameron asked, "Mr. Farnsworth?"

"So you do agree we need a new CEO?" he asked.

"We do, Mrs. Weaver died. I also told you that I will pick who it's going to be."

"What do we do until then?" he asked.

"I will fill the role until I find a suitable replacement," Cameron told him.

"I have plenty of experience. Much more that you do," he said pointedly.

Cameron tipped her head slightly. "You are also greedy. The type that watches out mostly for themselves, not the company as a whole. No." Cameron told him.

Turning red in the face, he glowered at her. "You really think you can run a big corporation at your age?"

"I am. You have your options if you don't like it. Say the word, and I'll buy you out," Cameron stated.

"You can't!"

"I can."

The older man beside Dave Farnsworth started clapping, "Bravo!" he cried. "I like your spirit, Mrs. Collins. Tell it like it is and screw who don't agree. If I may, I would suggest you start looking at resume's as soon as you can. There is some good people out there, and some not so good. I can point you to a few good people, if you like. Be advised, they won't come cheap."

"I will take that under consideration," Cameron told him. "You will all get updates as I have them available. Good day."

.

Cameron had been scanning for threats the whole time at the funeral home. Faces, postures, vitals, anything that would be tell tale signs of aggression. The security men had slightly elevated pulses, they were expecting trouble. Trouble didn't come, at least not yet. Had the seen the 'last gasp' of the original Skynet? She didn't dare believe so.

The valet men were not happy when Cameron didn't let anyone get in the van until she checked it out. She opened the hood, lay on the ground to look underneath and felt up under the bumpers. Nothing. If she was Skynet, she would not miss an opportunity to take out herself and Savannah it if she were after Zeita.

"Ahh, Cam, everything OK?" John asked as she got up and brushed her dress off.

"Yes, that's what worries me," she told him, and scanned around again.

"Want me to get another car?" he asked.

"No, this one's clean," she said.

Jon looked out the gate. "All right," he said slowly, "If you were wanting to do damage, to make sure the job was done, what would you do?"

Cameron looked out the gate as she said, "On the way out. We've been here a while, nothing happens, we feel safe. We are most vulnerable when we feel safe."

"Yes," John agreed. "So, if there is a trap, it's set for when we drive out. We drive out, we get whacked. Where would you set up?"

Cameron looked across the street. "The car dealer, other side of the garage," she said, looking at the only reasonable ambush spot.

John eyed it then pointed to the service entrance that had a chain across it. "Then drive us over there. We'll leave that way. IF someone is watching, they won't see us go."

.

Despite Cameron's nervousness, nothing happened when they left except a few odds looks from people who watched them leave. Her head on a swivel, Cameron scrutinized the traffic and scenery until they got back to the Weaver house. Cameron noted John was paying attention to her on the way back.

.

Going inside, John was glad the hard rubber balls worked. Two were in pieces on the floor, but nothing else was tipped over / shredded / scattered in pieces. On hearing them come in, George came over carrying most of a ball in his mouth. He dropped it in front of Savannah, made his play growls, and lunged at it, then backed off. He looked at Savannah, then the ball.

"Does he want to play?" Sarah asked.

"I think so," John said, not seeing this behavior from George before. He also noticed George had gotten bigger than the last time he noticed. About three feet long and a foot high, George was really beginning to get burly.

Savannah looked at Cameron. Cameron nodded. Carefully Savannah picked up the half ball. Not sure what to do, Savannah threw it in the air. George watched the ball land, looked back at Savannah, then ambled off down the hallway.

John chuckled and said, "I think you were suppose to attack the ball, Savannah."

Savannah looked at him. "You mean bite it like George does?"she asked as her face screwed up.

"I think so."

"George is treating Savannah like a child," Sarah said, understanding what just happened. "I'm surprised he'd do that."

A crash of shelves came from down the hall. The door to the linen closet was open, George was coming back, dragging a towel. A pile of previously folded towels and sheets lay on the floor.

"More stuff to fix," John grumbled, and went to clean up the mess.

George ambled over to Savannah and whipped his head to smack her in the legs with the towel. He stood motionless, but didn't let go of the towel.

"Savannah, grab the end and pull," Cameron coaxed.

Savannah did. Sarah was worried George was going to yank her off her feet. While he did pull back and growl, he didn't pull near as hard as Sarah knew he could. Savannah giggled, then growled and pulled back.

Sarah thought about telling Savannah to go change first, but seeing the girl smile as she growled and tugged at the other end of the towel with George, she decided it could wait.

.

On the other side of LA, a white van stopped under a bridge next to a gray van. The Chinese man got out of the white van, a scruffy looking man got out of the gray van.

"You have it?" The Chinese man asked.

"Yup. Latest defense technology, all yours. You got the five mil?"

The Chinese man nodded. They went to the back of their vehicles. Doors were opened, cash and goods were verified. The suitcase full of money went into the gray van. The core unit of the MK 1 Mod 3 Skynet Defense System went into the white van. They both drove away.

THE END