The Connors and their friends move to a new house, the one Catherine Weaver prepared for them. John and Cameron get a visit from friends. Question: should they be let in in the secret or not? Planning of the coup begins. I hope that you'll like the chapter.
A/N 2: There have obviously been some misinterpretations of my remark at the beginning of the last chapter, concerning the few reviews in this fandom. I have to stress it very clearly: I haven't been talking about the reviews for this story (or any other of my stories for that matter), I was trying to point out that ALL stories received less reviews in the last time. ALL, NOT just mine! Even stories that have been 'heavily' reviewed in the past suffer under this fact.
Now on to the story …
Chapter 8
"Not bad. Not bad at all!" John pursed his lips and nodded approvingly while his eyes darted around the room. He just finished a quick tour of their new safe house, located on the outskirts of the city, a little away from the rest of the houses in the area, well hidden behind a tall wall and additionally covered by trees and bushes.
"The house is safe, but I'm not sure if the surrounding is exactly the easiest to control. Someone could easily reach the wall without being seen." Cameron, who followed John through the house, didn't hesitate to express her reservations. She liked the layout of the house and found it easily defendable, while she definitely didn't like the fact that it was difficult to notice if someone was approaching the house. The wall and the trees hid the house from too inquisitive eyes, but also hindered the sight from within.
"Don't worry! The surveillance cameras cover every square inch of the ground outside the wall. If anyone tries to get to the wall, you'd know it on time." Catherine Weaver smiled slyly at Cameron.
Cameron let out a soft sigh, feeling that she would almost definitely have her problems to warm up to this LMT. The machine, calling itself Catherine Weaver never missed an opportunity to show her subtly that she was more advanced and capable than Cameron. And that was something Cameron really disliked. Admitting that another machine was in some, even though very rare aspects, superior to her was a hard nut. She noticed the surveillance cameras on the wall, but wasn't sure if they covered the whole area on the outer side of the wall.
Even though he didn't show it, John noticed the slight tension between Cameron and Catherine that built at their first meeting just hours ago in the Zeira Corporation building and decided to discuss it with Cameron in private. At the moment he only smiled at his wife: "I guess it will probably make your work easier. You won't have to patrol the perimeter constantly like you normally did before."
Cameron gave him an incredulous look: "John! Assuring your safety is my primary task. I can't simply lean back and pretend that everything's OK, just because someone said so."
"I guess that your primary task is to be with your husband, Cameron." John grinned at her boyishly and winked.
Cameron just sighed again, this time clearly audible and rolled her eyes exasperatedly, conveying a clear message to John that they'd have a little discussion about priorities later. John kept his foolish grin for a second and gazed at his wife for so long that she couldn't keep up her annoyed expression and her lips stretched into a beautiful smile.
Few seconds later Sarah joined them, accompanied by Derek, after she finished the inspection of the house too. She nodded towards Catherine: "Really nice house. I guess it must have cost a fortune to acquire and refurbish it."
"Money's not an issue, Sarah Connor. I have more than enough of it." Catherine smirked at her slightly arrogantly.
"Good to know. It could come handy in case of need." Derek murmured in his chin, knowing that Catherine and Cameron heard him. But neither of the both chose to comment.
Edward, accompanied by Lesley, William and Isabel also joined them. They all looked quite impressed by the house. After all, only few months ago they were living under completely different conditions, conditions unworthy of human beings.
"It looks like some of us could have our own rooms!" Isabel turned to Lesley with a gleeful look on her face. "I've never had my own room before. At least I don't remember ever having one."
As John heard her, ne cringed a little at the thought that she never knew how people used to live before the bombs fell. She had been just few years old at the time and she couldn't possibly remember anything. He suddenly felt the urge to do everything possible to prevent such future to come true and silently made an oath to himself to never give up his fight.
"Well, now that we've all seen the house," John started as he saw Chris and Danny joining them too, "it's time to assign the rooms. We have six bedrooms. Cameron and I will be together, mom and Isabel should have their own rooms each and the rest of you …" he turned towards Derek, Chris, Danny, Edward, William and Lesley, "will have to share rooms. I don't want to force you into pairs, so I suggest you chose your roommates alone."
While Isabel grinned happily and Sarah smiled satisfied at her son, the men exchanged the looks and after a second, Chris announced he'd share the room with Danny. Derek hurried to nod at Edward, who nodded back and that left William and Lesley to share the last remaining bedroom.
After they decided about the assigning of the bedrooms, they went to move in into their rooms. Catherine waited for the rest of the team to leave, leaving John and Cameron behind, before she spoke up: "I believe you'd like to see the surveillance room, Mr. Connor?"
John nodded and almost subconsciously reached for Cameron's hand as he started after Catherine, who was already at the door. Cameron followed him gladly and they soon caught up with Catherine, who was strolling resolutely towards the stairs to the basement.
After they descended the stairs, Catherine opened the heavy metal door at the end of the basement. As soon as they opened, John noticed that behind it there was a large room with various surveillance contraptions, one wall almost completely covered with monitors, showing different angles of the house and its surroundings. But what surprised John even more was the fact that John Henry sat on the chair and carefully watched the monitors.
As soon as he heard the small group entering the room, John Henry turned to them and a small, vulnerable smile appeared on his face. He's sometimes just like a little baby! Nothing like the previous owner of this body used to be. Shot thorough John's mind, before he nodded to the AI: "John Henry! I didn't know that you were here too?"
"Mrs. Weaver thought that it would be better to have a permanent staff in the control room and as you and your wife probably wouldn't be thrilled if she had to stay here all the time, we decided that I'll take over the job." John Henry's voice was soft as always and he continued smiling a little creepy at John.
"I appreciate your concern, Mrs. Weaver." John turned towards the liquid metal terminator. "But I'm not sure if it's necessary. We could divide us in shifts and cover the day."
Catherine shook her head slightly: "Sure you could have. But that would inevitably cause you to not be completely focused on the task ahead. Besides, it would cause that at least one of you would always be unavailable and that's not acceptable. If we want to succeed, we have to have enough fighters. And since John Henry is no fighter, he'll stay here." She paused for a second before continuing: "Besides, this is now going to be the center of all our communications and he'll guide us from here."
John nodded and turned to Cameron, to see her expression. He saw that she kept a slightly blank face, but as she looked into his eyes, she confirmed Catherine's words: "It is a sound decision, John. With John Henry covering this tasks, we will be able to focus entirely on our job."
"I didn't say that it wouldn't be a wise decision. I was just a little surprised to see that the central intelligence unit and communications center suddenly moved here too." John sounded slightly defensive.
Cameron noticed that her husband felt a bit uneasy that she as well as Catherine Weaver have both been lecturing him and thought that she should reassure him that no one was trying to undermine his authority. But with Catherine Weaver and John Henry in the same room, both looking at them like hawks, she didn't want to make it too obvious. So she just gently squeezed his hand and gave him a reassuring look.
John understood her subtle action and smiled. Then he turned to John Henry: "So, John Henry, would you please explain to me, what I am looking at?"
XXXXXXXXXX
Andrea gazed wide-eyed at the main entrance area of the house with clearly taken aback expression on her face: "This is fantastic!" She turned to Tim and John, standing by her side. "You really got an overwhelming house." Then she turned to Cameron: "May I see your room?"
Cameron smiled slightly. She really began to like the blonde girl, even though she couldn't understand how it was possible at all. In her memory, the first time they met, still seemed like it would have just happened. She remembered how she immediately noticed Andrea's slight resemblance to Riley and her initial aversion towards the young girl. But slowly she began to accept her and even like her. She was nothing like Riley had been and she proved to be a very intelligent girl, even though she didn't exactly show it to everyone.
"Sure. Let me take you there while John and Tim meet the others."
Andrea smiled wide and looked at her brother: "Will you be OK alone for a while, big brother?"
Tim snorted quietly and grinned: "I'll try to, Andrea, I'll try to."
After the girls left, John led Tim around the house to the terrace behind it. As soon as they rounded the corner, Tim noticed that there was someone on it. Someone was lying on the big deckchair and as they approached, he saw that it was Isabel, lounging on it, clad only in a tiny bikini, revealing her lithe, slender body. He could see a scar, running down her side, looking like something would have cut her deeply and he asked himself what might have caused it. She was obviously enjoying the sun and didn't even take notice of them while holding a book in her hands.
Tim gulped a little nervously and he tried to take his eyes off the petite woman, but failed miserably. He felt how his cheeks warmed up instantly, cursing under breath to react like a teenager.
John gave him a long look and grinned at the expression on his friend's face. It was more than obvious that Tim was mesmerized by the female resistance fighter. She does look good, I have to admit! As quickly as the thought crossed his mind, he also asked himself what was happening. Until now he didn't even notice her. But he didn't linger on it. Must be the resemblance to Cameron that makes me admire her. And at the thought of his beautiful wife, he felt how his heart sped a little. No matter how beautiful Isabel might be, there's only one woman that makes my heart beat faster. Only one woman can make me feel like that. Hell, everyone admires a beautiful woman, but you don't feel anything more but just admiration of something almost perfect.
Isabel now heard the steps and slowly turned her head to see who was coming. As she saw that it were John and Tim, she reached for the dark sunglasses on her nose and took them off, smiling at them both: "Well, well, well! If this isn't John's friend Tim! It's nice to see you again." She noticed how Tim blushed lightly and enjoyed the impact of her looks on him. She liked the young man. He was so different from anyone else she knew and it intrigued her.
Tim blushed even stronger as he saw her smile and heard her words. But after few seconds he got himself under control: "I'm happy to see you too, Isabel."
"What are you doing here?" Isabel now sat up on the lounger and crisscrossed her legs.
Tim gulped again and his eyes for a second subconsciously focused on her slender legs, before he looked into her eyes again. "We ran into John and Cameron in the city and they invited us to visit this house. I mean … me and Andrea. She's with Cameron somewhere." He asked himself if he sounded just as confused and lame as he felt.
According to Isabel's widening grin, he did. "I see. And what do you think of it?" She decided to tease him little more and cocked her head while giving him a wide eyed look.
Tim looked up at the façade of the house and swept his arm across is before answering: "It's awesome! Simply awesome! Even though I haven't seen the interiors yet, I can only say that it's really, really fantastic." Then he turned back to Isabel, who straightened her head and looked at him expectantly.
Before she could say anything, John interrupted them. He felt that the two might want to have a little chat in private, so he decided to give them some time: "I'll go and see what Cameron and Andrea are up to. They're in our room and there are some things that I'd like to keep away from prying eyes." He smiled sheepishly and in a second vanished through the back door in the house.
Tim looked after him for a second in surprise before he turned to Isabel: "Do you think that he's hiding something from his wife?"
Isabel giggled quietly about the denseness of this specific male specimen: "I don't think so. He just didn't want to play a matchmaker for us and he chose the dignified retreat."
Tim's jaw fell and his eyes widened: "Matchmaker? For us? But …" He trailed off, seeing a smug smile on Isabel's face. Few seconds ticked off before he managed to clamp shut his mouth and realization dawned on him. Looking into Isabel's smiling eyes, he began to grin sheepishly: "I guess I didn't present myself in the most intelligent edition, right?"
"Nope!" Isabel shook her head. "But you're still cute." Where did this come from? He's absolutely nothing I ever dreamed of! She was suddenly slightly embarrassed, but hid it almost perfectly.
Tim swallowed after he heard Isabel's words and tried to formulate a proper answer. However, it took him quite a long time before he got his thoughts right again. Sometimes it's better just to jump without asking before. He opened his mouth, gathered all remnants of his courage and asked: "I have to go to the mall to buy some stuff. Would you like to come with me?"
Isabel, who fought with her own boldness and just barely managed not to blush, suddenly perked up. Even though she had been in this time for quite a long time, she never went to the mall just for fun. Actually, almost all the shopping had been done by Edward or William and she only got to the mall once or twice, however, always being in a hurry and cautious not to run into a terminator. The idea to visit this wonder of the time before the Judgment day appealed to her. The fact that she had been invited by a guy, whom she found quite attractive, was just a bonus. So she didn't think about it for a long time. Like a big cat she jumped to her feet and grinned at Tim: "Of course I would. I'll get ready in no time. Just wait here."
Before Tim could react, she already grabbed the towel and the book she had been reading before and turned on her heel to run into the house. He managed just in time: "I should tell John and my sister that we're going."
"Don't worry about it. I'll inform them. You just wait here and don't go anywhere!" Isabel's voice reflected her excitement over the trip to the mall and she didn't even turn around to answer Tim before running into the house.
Tim remained there, shook his head in disbelief and sat on the lounger which Isabel just vacated. He grinned satisfied and in his thoughts he already tried to picture how this trip might look like. To be honest, he gained no high hopes that Isabel would accept his proposal and her enthusiasm definitely surprised him. But he wouldn't complain; after all, it was what he wanted all the time.
XXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, John reached the room he shared with Cameron, just to find Cameron and Andrea, sitting on the bed and chatting. He stopped and leaned against the doorframe, just to admire the picture he saw. Cameron, his Cameron, sat sideways on the bed, one leg curled under the other and seemed to be completely engrossed in explaining something to Andrea. Her face reflected her happiness, her eyes sparkled vividly and a small smile played around her lips. It's almost unimaginable that this is the same person that used to be so passive and emotionless just a year ago. She's alive, there's no doubt about it. She's light years away from any other machine I've ever met. Even her proverbial father, Skynet, probably wouldn't believe it.
Cameron, of course, noticed his arrival and after she finished talking to Andrea, she turned towards him and gave him a small smile: "What? Is something wrong?"
John finally straightened from his position, leant against the doorframe, and stepped towards the girls, smiling widely. "No, Cameron, everything is as it should be. Even better."
"Then why have you been watching us so strangely?"
"I simply can't believe what a lucky guy I am to have such a beautiful and vibrant wife."
Cameron suddenly blushed slightly and looked at the floor for a second, before lifting her gaze towards her husband and smiled at him shyly: "I believe I'm the lucky one."
John just shook his head and stepped to her, bowed and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
Andrea followed the exchange of tenderness between her friends with a smile, before she abruptly turned towards the door and asked curiously: "Where's Tim?"
"Oh, I believe he's in good hands. We ran into Isabel on the patio and I left him there. They are dancing around the fire and I don't want to pry." John grinned wide.
Andrea's eyes lit in sudden recognition. She noticed already in Canada that Tim looked at Isabel differently than he ever looked at some girl before. She nodded fiercely and bared her teeth: "Oh, I see! I can only hope he won't try his macho approach."
"Does he have such approach too?" Cameron looked surprised. She never thought that Tim would act like that. After initial tension he always seemed so calm and polite.
"He does. And it's awful! You should have seen it. The best way to chase any female away." Andrea laughed aloud.
John just opened his mouth to add his five cents to the conversation, as he heard quick, almost running steps approaching along the aisle. He turned to see who it could be, just in time to meet Isabel's shining face, appearing on the other side of the door. He looked at her questioningly.
"Tim just invited me to go to the mall with him. I just wanted to tell you that we're leaving immediately." Her voice was happier than John had ever heard it.
"OK, take good care of my big brother. Should I wait for him, or are you going to make it a lengthy trip?" Andrea seemed satisfied with the result of bonding between her brother and resistance fighter.
"Oh, we haven't given it a thought. But I guess he'll do the driving, so he'll have to return here to drop me off. You can simply wait here. Of course, if John and Cameron have nothing against such arrangement?" She looked questioningly in John's direction and her eyes quickly slipped over to Cameron.
"We have absolutely nothing against it." John answered for both of them. "Go and enjoy your trip."
"Thanks!" Isabel beamed at them and vanished in the direction of her own room.
After she disappeared, Andrea looked at John: "It looks as she would take a liking in Tim too. Maybe he played his cards well?"
"I guess he did. And I'd really find it nice if these two would come together." John sighed. He noticed Isabel's excitement and was happy for her. Maybe in this time she could find what she hadn't found in the future.
Cameron, who accepted Isabel as a reliable part of the team, after she had initially been a bit irritated with her, looked at John: "Do you think it would be wise? I know … Tim knows who and what she is…"
"You can't chose who you love, Cameron. We're the best proof for that. If they fell in love, I can only help them not to get off the road to happiness." John smiled at her a bit dreamily, while his hand caressed her silky hair. He felt how she leaned into his touch.
Suddenly Andrea got serious: "Is there something going on, John? Look, you've suddenly moved into a big house, there are people from the future living with you, you changed somehow, becoming … tougher, more determined."
Cameron and John exchanged glances. They told Andrea and Tim that their friends with exception of Chris and Danny came from the future, but nothing more than that. They didn't say a word about their plans. After a long second of looking into each other's eyes, Cameron nodded and gave John a sign he should do the talking. She accepted his role as a leader and would never even try to undermine his authority or question his decisions in public. In private, behind closed doors and out of hearing, she would always voice her concerns, but she would never do it in front of others.
John nodded back once and turned towards Andrea: "Look Andrea, there is something going on, something very big that could alter the future completely. We might have the best chance to stop Judgment day from coming, or at least to postpone it for a very long time. However, it will be a very dangerous action and some of us may not return. So, please, understand that we don't want you two getting involved in it. I, we, would like you to stay at home and not try to help us in any way. We'll tell you when everything's over. But until then … you'll have to satisfy yourselves with what I just told you."
Andrea thought about his words for a second, before she tilted her face up to look at him: "We said we'd help you in this fight John. And we'd like to be a part of it…"
Before she could continue, John shook his head vigorously: "No, Andrea, not this time! It's too dangerous. There'll most definitely be shooting and blowing things up involved and I don't want you two exposed to such dangers. Maybe we will need your assistance after the action as some kind of backup in case of emergency, a safe haven should we need one and therefore I'm asking you to be prepared in case we'd need you. As soon as we know more, I'll tell you everything. But until then … please, try to stay calm and leave everything to us."
Andrea looked a little paler than normally and remained silent for few moments. Even though she knew before that John and Cameron were involved in something big, it was still just a picture in her mind, nothing real. But now, after hearing that they will be going into some fight, that some of them might even not make it back home; now it all suddenly seemed very real, very true and in the hand's grasp. She knew that from now on she'll look at everything differently. The imaginary Judgment day, the day when all hell would break loose suddenly wasn't just some imagination in the future, it became a threatening reality, nearing very quickly.
Cameron sensed that her friend was struggling with the truth and gently laid her hand on her arm, lying helplessly in her lap: "Andrea, we'll be OK. I promise! I'll take good care that nothing happens to my John and my mother in law." She involuntarily grinned at the words 'mother in law', despite the seriousness of the situation. "But it's very important that you don't do anything foolish. I count on you to be prepared to help us should we need you. Can I?"
Andrea's eyes shot up to look into Cameron's brown pools, gazing at her reassuringly. She hesitated just for a second and nodded: "OK, I get it. I'll keep it for myself, I'll only tell Tim. And we'll be ready should you need us"
"I have nothing against if you tell Tim. Just make sure that no one else finds out anything. And that includes Brian too!" John nodded.
XXXXXXXXXX
The receptionist of Zeira Corporation looked at the group of visitors with suddenly pale face. Her blue eyes darted between them, however, returned every other second to the brown haired teenage girl, who stared at her like the first time they met; like she would be trying to freeze her with only a look. A visible one sided smirk played at the corner of the girl's lips.
John noticed that Cameron was again trying to intimidate Miss Delaney and had to grin in his thoughts at the scene. However, he didn't want to raise too much attention, so he gently reached for her arm, which she linked with his, stroke it down to her palm and then squeezed it lightly.
Cameron understood his intentions. She was expecting him to do it, but she enjoyed all too much seeing how the blue eyed secretary squirmed under her unwavering gaze. But she also understood that John didn't want her to overdo it, so she turned her eyes to her husband and the coldness and steely determination suddenly disappeared from her features and made place to a mixture of contentment, adoration and love.
Derek and Danny, who haven't been with them at their first visit, looked around, clearly impressed by what they saw. No one prepared them for the sight of the company's premises and they tried to take everything in as quickly as possible.
After initial shock of seeing that creepy girl again, Miss Delaney gathered her composure and looked at the group. Four of them were already known to her, but the big muscular man, signified by a three day's beard and hard face and the young black man were new, so she concentrated on them. The black youth especially looked kind and she decided to ignore the brow haired ice queen, who, unbelievably, looked at the leader of the group with softness, Miss Delaney couldn't believe to have seen, and concentrated on this young man.
Only a minute after they entered the building, James Ellison already came down to the lobby to escort the group to their destination. This time the office of Mrs. Weaver wasn't their final destination, they went directly to the John Henry's premises.
John asked himself why they had this meeting in the Zeira Corporation at all. John Henry had spent all his time in their mansion and, according to Catherine Weaver's words, the base of their operation was actually in their house and not here. It made little sense to gather here, but the liquid metal insisted on meeting them in the company.
Cameron looked very alert and her eyes scanned the surroundings relentlessly. She didn't like it here underground in the building that was clearly controlled by some rogue T-1001. She never liked the liquid terminators anyway and this one specifically didn't count to her favorites.
After they entered the room in which they first met John Henry, they noticed that now there was a large table and ten chairs around it. The small table, behind which John Henry sat as they laid their eyes upon him was in the corner, clearly used as some kind of a shelf. There were heaps of papers and books strewn across it, together with some of John Henry's toys. John Henry already sat at the table, greeting them smiling.
"Why was it necessary to meet here? You've said that the base of operations would be in our house? Or did I miss something?" John asked Catherine Weaver, who was pacing in front of a glass wall, behind which there were different computer appliances, at the first sight a very powerful server farm.
Catherine stopped in her tracks, turned to John and answered with her cold voice: "There are still some minor details that have to be taken care of in the house. It should be finished in two days, but in the meantime we should start preparing our actions and deciding the course of the operation. Besides, there are facilities in this house that do not even exist in your mansion and I'd like you to get acquainted with them so that you'll have a clear picture of what resources we have at our disposal."
John suspected that there were still some other issues to this strange decision, but decided to ignore them for the time being, so he just nodded sharply and pointed himself towards the seat at the head of the table, resolutely pulling Cameron with him. He wouldn't admit it openly, but Catherine's words about other facilities intrigued him
After they all sat down, John and Cameron at the head of the table flanked by John Henry and Catherine Weaver, John noticed that there were three machines by his side. He almost grinned at the thought, but caught his mother's look and just shook his head barely visible, before turning to Catherine: "We should start with the work. Do you have any new information about the Kaliba? Something that you hadn't shared with us yet?"
TBC