Chapter 1596
I'll Try It Once
John Henry and Summer watched the events unfold from the Command Center.
The Gray ran inside the building.
The Fanatics arrived and retrieved more weapons from the van.
"This is what I expected to see happen." Summer said. "It was all part of my plan."
Summer already called CamNet for a 'fire' mission.
Bob drove the SUV between the two buildings and paused before either enemy vehicle could see them. They watched the drone footage of where the enemies were at.
"They're boxed in." Kyle said. "They have nowhere to go."
They were surprised by the next voice.
"Wait fifteen seconds." Summer said.
The team all looked at each other. They knew something was about to happen.
The Fanatics now both carried a pistol and a long gun.
They moved away from the van and their car towards the door the Gray went into.
The Fanatics advanced on the building
They figured if the Gray was going to take a shot at them, he would have by now.
The Gray was inside the building. It was in disarray and a mess. He wasn't sure if there were others living in there. It was what it looked like. He moved back to the door and peeked out.
The two Fanatics retrieved weapons from his van. He should have stayed and fought. They were short on weapons. He didn't know it until now. There was a good chance if he remained in the open, he would have been hit. Even if they were short on ammunition, all they needed was one bullet to hit him.
He was more than a little surprised at what he witnessed next. Even as he watched it, it was a little hard to comprehend. Sparks began to fly up around the two Fanatics and both of them fell. They both suffered wounds. There was no sound of gunfire.
It sounded like 'metal hail' to him. He wasn't sure what just happened. It appeared Skynet just helped him. He wasn't exactly sure how it was done.
Maybe he wrote Skynet off too soon.
There was some movement behind him.
"This is our building." A voice said.
The Gray didn't turn around yet, but knew he faced a new threat - Scavengers.
Bob's team waited the fifteen seconds. They were a little surprised at what happened.
They watched the drone images as sparks began to fly up right around the two Fanatics. They both fell instantly. It was clear they were dead.
Kyle wanted to confirm what just happened.
"Did Summer do that?" Kyle asked.
Bob liked Summer the best. He didn't want them to think badly of her. He was aware of who was directly responsible.
"CamNet did it." Bob said. "Summer may have suggested it."
Derek and Kyle looked at each other. It was clear Bob didn't want to go there. They didn't really want to either.
It was something they noticed about the girls. Savannah, Young Allison, and Summer, were held in reverence by all of the Terminators. It was clear they all shared a special connection. Maybe it was because none of them ever hated Terminators. They grew up with friendly, and protective, Terminators around them. For some of them, it was for all of their lives. It was clear the Terminators were more than just Guardians to them. Savannah often described the Terminators as 'mechanical humans'.
Kyle wondered if maybe he shouldn't have let Cameron do more with Jan like she wanted to do. Sarah wouldn't have it. He wanted her better protected in the future. He really would like her to have a personal Guardian. He didn't know if it would be better for the Terminator to be male or female. He understood the ways of the future.
He didn't know Summer began to train Jan on her own in secret. It was the same thing Young Allison did with Summer. He also didn't know the extent of the 'bond' between Jan and Summer. It was most likely their future would be intertwined on various levels, as well as various degrees.
Jim wanted to go after the Gray. The Fanatics were out of the way now. The threat of them being able to use a bomb on the team was greatly diminished. The bodies would still need to be checked. Since termination was swift, they more than likely didn't have time to arm any device if they carried it on them. There hadn't been any explosions. Hopefully there wouldn't be either.
"Let's get up there." Jim said.
Bob hit the gas and headed right for the door the Gray went into.
"Affirmative…." Bob said.
Jim looked back at Derek and Kyle. He wanted to establish a few hard rules going in. They were supposed to be on a recon and it was about to expand beyond it.
"You two must hang back while Bob and I take the lead." Jim said.
Derek and Kyle nodded. They didn't plan to hang back too much. Everything was subject to interpretation as well as application.
Bob slowed and pulled up silently off to the side of where the Gray entered. The four of them exited the vehicle.
Bob and Jim took the lead. They all wore vests and carried an M4. Both Bob and Jim were equipped with a M203 grenade launcher mounted below the barrel of their M4.
Jim replaced his HE round with a buckshot round as they moved forward. He figured it would do better in close quarters. The grenade needed to travel a certain distance before it armed.
Just as Bob reached for the door, gunfire broke out inside of the building.
Sarah was in the Command Center.
She watched as two armed men approached a building, while the SUV Kyle was in remained out of sight.
Sarah knew the Fanatics were dangerous.
"Are they a threat to Kyle?" Sarah asked.
Summer smiled.
"I wouldn't worry about them." Summer said.
A few seconds later both Fanatics fell as sparks erupted around them.
Sarah realized Summer just killed them, or orchestrated their deaths by John Henry. She didn't know it was CamNet.
Bob's team pulled up a few seconds later and made for the door the Gray went into.
Sarah was glad to see Derek and Kyle hung back. She wasn't pleased to hear gunfire through their body cam footage. It looked like an ambush.
CamNet's Terminator waited until he couldn't hear the men in front of him anymore. He didn't want to lose contact with them. He entered the collapsed opening and started forward.
"I thought this was a bad idea before." The second man said. "Now I know it is."
The first man looked back towards the other side of the passageway. It was collapsed.
"We're not going the other way." The first man said.
The two men continued through the passageway. It was in relatively good condition. There were only a few cracks as they went along.
"It would be nice to know where we're going." The second man said.
The first man looked back.
"We're going to wherever this takes us." The first man said.
The Terminator didn't want to lose track of the men. He didn't think he would in the confined space. He moved through the rubble of the collapsed escape route. It appeared to be in extremely poor condition to him. He didn't think it was wise to be in there.
He moved through the darkness. He needed to watch his footing so he didn't make any excess noise. There was a lot of rubble in the first part of the passageway. He made his way cautiously up to the zigzag. He didn't want to get ambushed.
He went through the zigzag and paused. He could look up and see a faint moving source of light. It appeared the men were at some type of junction. He paused at the zigzag. He would remain there until they moved further along. It sounded as if one side of the passageway was collapsed.
The two men moved along the passageway which only showed minor damage.
"I told you it wasn't so bad." The first man said.
The second man needed to laugh.
"You didn't go past the intersection." The second man said. "You don't know what we're walking into now."
The first man shrugged it off. He wasn't a sissy. He wanted to see where it went. Someone went to a lot of work to construct it. He also needed to remind himself someone went to a lot of effort to destroy it as well. He paused and shined his light forward.
"I see a door off to the side." The first man whispered.
The second man was sure anyone who was waiting would have seen their light coming. He really didn't think whispering was in order. He wasn't looking to cause any trouble.
"Let's see if there are any survivors." The second man whispered.
He was sure if there were any, they would have made their way out through the escape tunnel they just entered through.
The first man moved up to the door. He shined his light down the length of the passageway they hadn't traversed yet. It looked like it ended right up ahead. He would need to take a closer look. It could be another zigzag as well. Their purpose was to prevent blast damage from explosions.
He started to reach for the door handle. He paused
"I'm going to open it." The first man said.
The second man wondered what he was waiting for. Maybe it was time to be a little more aggressive. He turned on his light and brought his pistol up. He held both of them up in front of him. He moved up next to the first man.
"Push it open and get down low." The second man whispered. "I'll stay high and cover the left. You cover the right. I'm not looking to get 'smoked' any more than you are."
Both men were a little leery of what they were about to find. The first man turned the handle and pushed the door inward. He went low while the second man remained high.
CamNet's Terminator watched the light fade away. He moved up from the zigzag to the intersection. He carefully peered around the corner. He could see the men in the distance. He looked at the passageway and the other direction. It was completely collapsed. It wasn't a reassuring sight. He questioned the stability of the remains of the complex he was currently in. It didn't look promising.
Anna, Young Allison, and the Detail were in the LJ40.
Young Allison was thrilled as Anna rocketed down the runway. They were airborne in no time. Anna didn't make too aggressive of a climb, but she was near the limits of the plane's capabilities.
"This is so cool." Young Allison said.
CamNet already cleared the airspace for them.
Anna took the jet up to twenty thousand feet. She flattened the climb some. She glanced over at Young Allison.
"You got it?" Anna asked.
Young Allison made sure her belts were tight.
"I've got." Young Allison said. "Stay with me."
Young Allison liked the feel of the LJ40. The speed was nice too. It didn't seem to her they were actually going as fast as they were. Everything felt a little different behind the controls of a Warbird. Their very presence radiated raw power.
"This is smooth and clean." Young Allison said.
Anna thought the engines at the rear of the fuselage were a contributing factor.
She received a heading from CamNet. She relayed it to Young Allison.
Young Allison continued her climb after she made the adjustment. She looked at her map. She was more than a little surprised at where the heading would take her. It was restricted airspace. In fact, it was some of the most restricted airspace anywhere in the world.
"We're going to overfly Area 51." Young Allison said.
Anna was about to double check everything when she was updated by CamNet.
"We're cleared." Anna said. "There won't be any fighter interception or missiles fired. We're cleared for a lower altitude flyby as well."
Young Allison really wondered what was going on at this point. She wondered if there was something special to see. She was aware all of the satellites in space were tracked. Their orbits were known. Some of the orbits were changeable, most of them were not. If there was anything special at the facility, it would be covered or moved indoors long before a satellite arrived overhead.
The adversarial nations lacked any type of efficient spy planes. They were never able to successfully copy any of the U-2 family, or the Blackbird family of reconnaissance and spy aircraft.
Strangely enough, one of the rogue nations used a giant balloon. It was sent across the Pacific Ocean to overfly various sensitive locations in Canada and the United States. The Administration at the time failed to act on the threat. After much criticism about the weakness of the President, the White House finally acted and destroyed the target. It was obvious to everyone they were a day late and a dollar short.
She was tempted to have CamNet send a drone and fire a few rounds from the minigun to puncture the balloon so it would lose the helium it was most likely filled with. It would bring it down. Since the military was intently watching the balloon, she decided not to. She didn't want one of the drones to be inadvertently discovered. So far any drone which was reported was always written off as a 'UFO'. The more UFO sightings which were reported by the same individual, only made them look like they were a nut job.
Young Allison still thought their flight path was highly unusual. She was sure there was more than met the eye.
"Is there something we should know?" Young Allison asked.
Anna took the map from Young Allison. She wanted to verify what else was in the path of their flight.
"We will overfly the Nevada National Security Site. It's also known as the Nevada Test Site." Anna said.
Young Allison wasn't sure what it was either. It seemed to her there was more in play than they were aware of.
"What are we really doing?" Young Allison asked.
Anna didn't know. She could only state the obvious.
"We're following CamNet's instructions." Anna said.
Young Allison stayed on the heading and continued the descent to a lower altitude. She was told to expect a surprise. So far there already were more than a couple surprises. She briefly wondered if they were actually going to land there. There was a very long runway at Area 51 which extended out onto Groom Lake. Groom Lake was now a dried salt flat.
"This all is really a surprise so far." Young Allison said.
The mystery about everything was quite a surprise in itself.
CamNet contacted Camille-Hanna. She didn't want Summer disturbed. She wanted Claire to remain occupied.
"Yes." Camille-Hanna said. "Lay back and enjoy the ride. We'll go there slower this time. It will give you even more pleasure."
In seconds Claire didn't care about anyone or anything. The current 'ride' was even better than the last one. She liked the slower approach much better. It seemed to heighten every sensation.
Camille-Hanna was more than willing to comply with CamNet's instructions. She figured Summer must be involved in an operation and couldn't be disturbed. When Claire left her room, it was where she would go first. It would be to check on Summer.
It was now her 'job' to make sure Claire stayed with her in her room until CamNet gave the all clear. It was fine with her. She enjoyed how Claire responded to her. There was no hurry now.
John was with Holly. Her chip was in Cam's chassis. They were in Vanna and Allison's room.
"Lay back and relax." Cam-Holly said. "My turn…."
John watched Cam-Holly go to work. She was on top of him. The pleasure was intense. Right now she was 'Cameron' to him.
Cam-Holly started in. Cam's neural network was inferior to hers. She set off on her personal journey. She really questioned a permanent chassis swap at this point.
John was sure he was about to black out from the intense pleasure. Cam-Holly really went to town on him. He didn't think he could last much longer. He didn't.
Cam-Holly could tell John was spent. She 'forced' a finish for herself. It was just in time. She bent down and kissed John. There was something she wanted an honest answer about.
"Tell me the truth." Cam-Holly whispered. "Do you like me like this, or in my own chassis? I really need to know."
John wasn't sure how he was supposed to answer. If Cameron was the one who would have asked, it would have been a 'loaded question'. He felt Cam-Holly touch the back of his neck. He knew he would be scanned when he answered. He looked her straight in her eyes. He told her what he honestly believed.
"I like your sheath better." John said. "I think it's beautiful. I always have."
John also liked it because it was 'one of a kind'. It was unique.
Cam-Holly smiled. It was what she wanted to hear. John just helped her with her personal decision. She could tell he spoke the truth. It pleased her even more because John always liked it. She decided to give him a 'blank check'. She wanted him to understand 'everything' was available for whatever he wanted it for.
"When I get it back, you may share it as much as you want." Cam-Holly said. "I don't care if it's just for a quickie for you only. You may also fondle me whenever you see me. I know what you like about it. I like it too. Thank you for being honest. I really needed to know."
John felt a little embarrassed.
Cam-Holly gave him another kiss. It was long, slow, deep, and loving.
John wasn't sure what just happened, but it seemed Cam-Holly really wanted her chassis back. He couldn't blame her.
He wanted to get cleaned up and check on operations. He really needed to get back into the swing of things. Holly's offer was incredibly enticing to him. He could picture passing her in the hall and fondling her briefly for a few seconds. He knew there would be a big smile on her face. He didn't see any reason why he couldn't brighten someone's day whenever he passed them. He would need to worry about Cameron though. She usually seemed irritated when he fondled her in passing.
Sheila handed the M4A1 to Leticia.
Leticia fired it both semi-auto and fully automatic.
"I like this one too." Leticia said.
Sheila was pleased. It was what the Resistance most often used for long guns.
"The XM – whatever, was lighter though. I'd like to try it with the silen… - suppressor on it." Leticia said.
Sheila reached down and held the hot barrel and removed the silencer and switched it with the moderator on the XM177E2.
The attendants watched, but didn't say anything. The Hot Asian chick from Down Under really knew her stuff. They knew the barrel was hot and tools were usually necessary for what she just did. They knew not to question her.
Leticia fired several more magazines with the suppressor on the XM177E2.
It was time for a couple of bigger weapons.
The attendant brought out an M60 and an M249.
Sheila could see right away she was going to need a lot more ammunition.
"Go fetch up a few more belts of ammo will you, love?" Sheila asked. "For both calibers while you're at it."
She let a breast with a nipple ring pop out. She currently held the M249. She looked at the attendant she just asked to bring more ammunition. She didn't think it would hurt to give him a little additional incentive.
"Would you tuck it back in for me?" Sheila asked. "I don't want hot brass to bounce off of it."
The attendant looked around and did. She smiled at him.
"I'll be right back with the ammunition." The attendant said with a smile on his face.
Leticia understood how Sheila used her assets to influence people. She could see the attendant was more than thrilled to go lug a bunch more ammunition for them. She would need to do it as well when she wasn't wearing a ballistic vest.
Sheila fired the M249 hand held. She went through an entire belt on full auto and kept everything within the bullseye.
She assisted Leticia when she tried it. There was a pedestal mount in the next booth over. She attached the M249 to it for Leticia to use with the next belt. She wanted to give her some advice on targeting.
"Shoot in short aimed bursts." Sheila said. "Shoot at the other targets on both sides of the one in front of you. If you were on a battlefield, it's how you would shoot. You would save the sustained fully automatic fire for when the enemy advanced on you to overrun your position."
Leticia wondered if it would happen. It didn't sound like a good thing about being 'overrun'. There seemed to be a certain finality to it. She was worried about where she would need to be in the first place to be 'overrun'.
"Will I be on a battlefield?" Leticia asked.
Sheila hoped not. She wanted to give Leticia a simple reminder about how things were.
"Life's a battlefield, love." Sheila said. "This is a battlefield, Vegas style."
Young Jesse and Hanna-Camille quietly slipped out. There was an SUV waiting for them.
They drove the full length of the Strip, and then to Downtown.
Young Jesse didn't think Las Vegas was as grand as everyone made it out to be. It just looked tacky.
"A lot of this place looks like a dump." Young Jesse said.
Hanna-Camille thought it suffered from the same plight as many of the bigger cities.
"Liberal policies are soft on crime and big on giveaways." Hanna-Camille said. "Every liberal run inner city is little more than a glorified slum. They are also the most dangerous areas of any city. Crime is a way of life. Females are grandmothers at twenty-five years old."
Young Jesse wondered if some of the cities in Australia were much better. There were times when it didn't seem like it. She wanted to have a better look around some of the casinos. It seemed like a hassle to have to drive from one to another. There was a tram system they could use to go to several of the different casinos. She just wanted to look around.
They decided to ride one of the trams which passed through several of the casinos.
Cammy drove past a clown themed casino with all the pink and white. They spotted the military vehicles and tanks in the parking lot. It was the next street over in back of it.
The girls entered the facility. They were amazed at all the weapons and related military gear inside. The manager approached them. He' was briefed on their arrival by CamNet and another even more generous tip.
"You must be the girls from the 'Cindy-Kate' foundation." The manager said. "We've been expecting you."
The girls were all outfitted with ear and eye protection.
They went over to the private area and looked through the glass. There were half a dozen attendants in there laying out weapons as Leticia and Sheila used an M249.
Mary could see they used some heavy equipment.
"That's really a machine gun." Mary said.
They watched as Sheila was given an M60. She held the weapon in her hands. She capped off the entire hundred round belt. All of them were in the bullseye circle.
Laura was impressed with what she saw.
"Sheila looks like Rambo." Laura said.
Ally looked over. She tilted her head slightly. She could see one of Sheila's breasts popped out of her top.
"Rambo didn't have nipple rings." Ally said.
Riley wanted to cry at times when she saw how much everyone shared with her now. She realized they wanted to do it all along. She knew it was all Future Riley's fault.
Samantha, Gail, and Vanna were all with her.
"Let me check on Precious." Samantha said.
Vanna wanted to tell her Precious was in good hands. She decided to follow Samantha out.
Samantha headed for the nursery.
Jesse was pleased Claire and her were a pair. She wanted to expand the relationship. She concentrated on Allison and sent her to heaven and kept her there.
Allison's mind soon clouded with pleasure.
"I want a three way with Claire and you." Jesse whispered.
Allison was flooded with extreme pleasure. Her mind was in a far off place, but she didn't care. Right now she would do anything for Jesse. No human female could take her as far as Jesse could.
"OK." Allison gasped.
Jesse intensified her efforts.
She was able to pleasure Allison immensely. He looked up and saw Samantha enter. Vanna was behind her. Jesse figured Vanna came to 'collect' Allison. She didn't want any trouble. Samantha whispered in her ear. She was surprised at what Samantha said.
Jesse looked at Vanna.
"I'll let you take over." Jesse said. "She's all warmed up right now."
Vanna could see it would be a hard act to follow.
Jesse leaned down to Allison's ear.
"Remember what I said." Jesse whispered.
Jesse put her ear to Allison's lips.
"If you make me feel like this, I'll try it once for you." Allison faintly whispered. "I'll try anything for you."
Jesse kissed her and stood up. She picked up her robe and headed for the door. She needed to see John and Cam-Holly right now.
Samantha checked on Precious.
Vanna wanted to take Allison with her to Riley's room.
Cameron and Savannah were in the hot tub on the rear of the houseboat. They were both naked.
"This is the best day ever." Savannah said.
Cameron looked at Savannah.
"It is for me too." Cameron said.
Savannah didn't want to dwell on it. She wanted to be with Young Allison. Maybe when the time came, she should yield to Cameron. No. It should be Young Allison's choice in whatever she did or didn't do. She wasn't going to allow anyone to make Young Allison do anything she wasn't ready for. It included herself as well. She also understood there may be things she didn't agree with. It made her think about some of the restrictions she placed on CamNet. She thought it was something she should rethink. Who was she to determine who anyone else could be with, if they wanted to share with each other?
The boat began to pick up speed. There was a rough swell at one point and some water from the hot tub splashed out.
Savannah wasn't sure what the hurry was.
"It looks like we're making good time." Savannah said.
Cameron wondered what for. It was like it was earlier before they slowed. There was nothing on her com to indicate any change.
The two girls stayed in the hot tub until they were a few miles out from the cabin suite.
They exited the hot tub and slipped on their robes. They went inside and took a quick shower. They held each other naked one more time.
Savannah wondered where things went from there. She wanted to find out what her apparel should consist of.
"Should I dress or just wear my robe?" Savannah asked.
Cameron wanted Savannah to stay naked. She knew it wasn't prudent.
"You can dress." Cameron said. "I laid out your clothes."
Savannah looked over them. They weren't the clothes she wore earlier. She held up the matching underwear and bra.
"These are pretty fancy." Savannah said.
Cameron thought so too.
"You will look even more beautiful." Cameron said. "Let's fix each other up."
Cameron proceeded to brush Savannah's hair for her. It was a loving touch and a reminder of the past. It was something they both enjoyed.
They were soon dressed and picture perfect. They stood in front of the mirror.
"Look at us." Savannah said.
Cameron smiled and saved the image. It would go well with the earlier images she saved, especially the ones with Savannah naked. The close ups were her favorites.
"We're a couple made in heaven." Cameron said.
Savannah looked over at Cameron. It wasn't what she expected to hear.
The boat slowed.
"It looks like we are about to dock." Savannah said.
Cameron quickly spoke with Jameron and went down to the main deck with Savannah. They would help tie up the boat.
Earlier:
Jameron continued to spy on Cameron and Savannah. He understood the nature of their conversation. It was what CamNet set into motion.
He followed CamNet directives. They were all the same ones he'd make.
The ride was smooth except for once when another boat cut across their path. He considered asking CamNet to call in a 'gravity shot' and sink the boat with 'metal hail' once it was near the center of the lake.
He now neared the cabin suite. Cameron told him she would secure the ropes.
He brought the boat smoothly in. It was next to the dock. He watched Cameron brace her feet and pull the boat a few inches over with the rope for a secured mooring.
Everything was shut down. He got off and passed through the cabin suite. He took the keys for the Jeep and left without speaking to Cameron or Savannah.
Cameron saw Jameron hurry off. She noted he took his parachute with him, along with the marital aid. She planned to keep it. She could always acquire another one. She knew Sheila possessed a collection of such items.
Savannah was worried about the clean up of the boat. She decided to straighten things up. Cameron helped her and everything was changed and back to perfect condition. There was a bin for the used towels. Savannah put the sheets in there too.
They left the boat and started up the ramp back to the cabin suite. They paused and looked back.
Savannah was very pleased at how she became a woman.
Cameron was very pleased with her sexual expansion.
No. Not expansion, it was her sexual liberation.
She was free, free at last.
Tina waited in the SUV with the two men. Both of them started to come around again. She repeated the previous procedure. They were both unconscious again.
Lena was inside of the building. She just entered the main part of it from the hallway. She could hear some sound off to the side. The room was very dimly lit from the boarded over windows. She didn't need the light, but apparently someone else did.
"Who's there?" The first voice asked.
"It's probably Alfonso." The second voice said.
Lena moved behind a counter. She wasn't sure yet if she was dealing with gang members or the homeless. There was a good chance either one of them would be armed, especially the former.
"I have contact." Lena said in a very low decibel level.
Tina monitored the com system. She knew her response would only be heard by Lena.
"You can either terminate them, or withdraw." Tina said.
Lena needed some more information before she could make a determination.
She could hear the rodents off to the side. There was some type of squeaking noise. It appeared as if they'd found something and were fighting over it.
"I think it's just the rats." The first voice said. "They are always busy."
"We've tried to get rid of them before." The second voice said. "It seems like every time we kill one of them, there are two more to replace it."
"There are times I wish we had a gun." The first voice said. "Sometimes at night they crawl over me. I'm afraid one of them is going to bite me."
"It might sink its teeth into an earlobe, or one of your nostrils." The second voice said. "It will go for something which looks like it can grab and run off with. It won't know it's attached to you until it can't leave with it.
Lena determined the men were homeless. They didn't sound like gang members. More than likely they would be armed and wouldn't be sleeping there. She decided to withdraw. She informed Tina of her decision.
She believed they should be terminated to prevent them from becoming future Scavengers. Savannah previously asked for none of the homeless people to be terminated unless they showed some type of aggressive behavior. Cameron and Savannah were able to help a number of people get back up on their feet, especially females. She started to carefully make her way back out.
Tina received the message. Lena would be out shortly. One of the men started to come around. She secured his blindfold even tighter. She wanted to start to question him. She decided to use a male voice to do it.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Temporal Mission:
Past Timeline:
November 26 1963
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Cameron pulled up alongside the Cobra and XKE. They were three abreast. The other two drivers looked a little surprised.
Young Allison was a little concerned. She wasn't sure three a breast was a good idea for a street race.
"It could get dangerous if the road narrows." Young Allison said. "I know this segment looks like a freeway in our timeline. This isn't our timeline. Well, you know what I mean."
Cameron decided to let the Cobra and the XKE race on their own at first. She would race the victor later on. She communicated with the two men. She would start the first race with the honk of her horn.
Young Allison looked around them. There was some traffic coming up behind them. There was nothing on the road in front of them.
Cameron saw it was clear. She looked over at the two men. They both indicated they were ready. They both turned their attention straight ahead. She could hear their engines rev up. The Cobra sounded very throaty. It was clearly running some type of liberated exhaust. She honked her horn and they took off. The Cobra immediately pulled away from the XKE.
She waited a moment and took off after them. She didn't burn rubber when she took off. She stepped on the gas and got some rubber anyway. There was a lot of torque. She wanted to stay behind them. She saw the Jag make a little progress on the Cobra, but not much. She started to close up on both of them. She shifted at 6,000 RPM. She didn't want to push it yet. She knew the Cobra was only good to 6,000 RPM, even with a HiPo 289.
Young Allison looked behind them. The traffic was far behind.
The Cobra was able to maintain his lead over the XKE for the first quarter mile. The Jag was able to close up at the half mile point. It was the end of their race. It was nearly a tie. The Cobra was just a half a car length ahead.
Cameron was right behind them. They probably hadn't been looking in their rear view mirrors. They would have been watching each other.
The cars slowed down. They both were a little surprised to see her right in back of them as the race finished. Cameron pulled up alongside them. The two cars wanted to race again. There would be another half mile race. It would still leave one mile for the final race with her and whoever the victor was.
Young Allison looked in back of them. The traffic wasn't visible because of a slight curve they went around. The road appeared clear in front of them.
Cameron made sure they were ready again. Both drivers looked ahead as they revved their engines. She honked her horn and they took off.
This time the XKE got a better start. She could hear the driver of the Cobra push it all the way up to 6,000 rpm. The HiPo 289 was rated at 271 horsepower. Depending upon what additions or changes were done in the engine, it was possible to get as much as 306 horsepower. It was still a far cry from the 360 horsepower the fuel injected 327 could make. The Cobra was nearly a thousand pounds lighter than the Stingray. It's what made it competitive. The Jaguar XKE was a different story. It was running with dated technology. It was fast for a European sports car. Most of them lacked any type of high performance. The Cobra Mark II, the fuel injected Stingray, and the XKE, were about the three fastest sports cars available anywhere in the United States in 1963.
Cameron knew when they put the 427 into the Falcon, it was going to perform very well. The Falcon weighed in only a couple hundred pounds more than the Mark I Cobra did. There would be an additional weight penalty with the big FE block over the Windsor small block. There would need to be some additional bracing and strengthening needed as the shock towers and rear end were reworked. The FE block was a 'Y' block with a ninety degree angle on the cylinders from the crank. The Windsor was only at a sixty degree angle between the cylinders and the crank. It allowed the engine to be narrower.
The FE block in the Cobra called for a redesign of the vehicle. It was why the Mark III sported a more robust appearance. There was also a weight penalty involved with it. The horsepower the 427 was able to make, more than made up for it. It was designed as a racing engine and it proved itself as such in every category of racing it was allowed to compete in, until the rules were changed to ban it. It was the only way the competition could compete against it.
Cameron started out after the two vehicles. She stayed behind them again. She didn't think either one of them could beat her.
The Jag was ahead at the quarter mile point but the Cobra was right next to it. There was less than a half a car length between them. They continued on. She could hear the driver of the Cobra push it all the way. He slowly moved ahead of the Jag. At the half mile point, the Cobra was the victor again.
The drivers of the both cars appeared to be friends of some sort. They were very amicable towards each other. The driver of the XKE said he would probably have won if they would have raced for an entire mile. The driver of the Cobra wasn't ready to concede he would be.
It was time for Cameron to take on the victor. She pulled up next to the Cobra. She identified the vehicle for what it was. Both of the drivers were a little surprised. It was something they heard about but never saw before. They knew it was new and a very limited production run.
The driver of the XKE honked his horn.
The Cobra and the Galaxie Lightweight took off. The two cars were neck and neck.
Cameron watched the road and listened to the engine. She also listened to the engine of the Cobra. She heard him shift. She knew he pushed it past 6,000 RPM by at least a couple hundred revs. It didn't matter. She pushed the big FE up to 7,000 RPM before she needed to shift into second. She was ahead and pulling away slowly. At the high RPM range, the 427 engine produced nothing but horsepower.
The Cobra needed to shift into third as he hit the red line again. She still pushed the 427 up to its maximum revs. She was ahead of the Cobra and pulling away. She shifted into third. A few seconds later the Cobra was in fourth gear. He would need to push his engine all the way to the red line in fourth gear in hopes he could keep up. It was clear he wouldn't be able to pass her. She beat him at the quarter mile mark.
Cameron was the victor at the end of the half mile as well. She was pretty sure in the half mile race, the Cobra might have been able to take the Stingray. She wasn't sure the XKE would be able to beat either one of them. It would be a race for them to sort out.
Young Allison was pumped full of adrenaline from all the activity. She glanced over at Cameron.
"There's no replacement for displacement." Young Allison said.
Cameron smiled.
"FORD - First On Race Day." Cameron said.
The race played out much the same as it had with the Stingray. She was sure the Cobra, Stingray, and the XKE were all very closely matched with each other, even with different engine sizes, as well as the varied weight of the vehicles. The FE engine would be the game changer for the Cobra. It would soundly put it ahead of both the Stingray and the Jag. Even when the Stingray was able to receive the larger engine, it still weighed more than the Cobra did. It usually came down to horsepower to weight for the win. Right now they were king of the horsepower race with the R Code 427 in the 1963 1/2 Galaxie Lightweight.
Young Allison spotted the 'Oilfield Mansion' up on the hill when they were nearly through the hills. She really wondered why it was there. She was also amazed at the number of oil pumping stations on both sides of the hills, especially the west side. She remembered La Brea was just on the other side of the hill to the east. It was clear where the La Brea Tar Pits got their 'tar' from.
Cameron glanced at the 'Oilfield Mansion' as well when she passed it. She felt a slight glitch impulse with her left hand. It didn't affect her steering. There was always something very familiar about it whenever she saw it.
She bid the driver's farewell. It appeared they were going to race back the other direction for a mile the next time.
Young Allison was a little relieved they were done with the racing for now. They were traveling at very high speeds for quite a while. The sound of an engine at 7,000 RPM was very intimidating.
"I can say it was all rather quite exhilarating." Young Allison said. "What else exciting is happening around here?"
Cameron glanced over to her right side, the east side.
"The Baldwin Hills Dam is right on the other side of the hill there." Cameron said. "It's going to break in nineteen days. It will flood the area below it. It's a man made reservoir with three earth filled sides."
Young Allison thought Cameron was joking at first. She quickly remembered reading about the incident. Earth filled dams were always a recipe for disaster.
"How many people are going to be killed?" Young Allison asked. "Maybe we can do something to help them."
Cameron didn't want to get involved.
"Five people will be terminated." Cameron said. "Nearly three hundred homes will be destroyed. hundreds more will be damaged. It needs to happen like it happened."
Young Allison knew Cameron was right. The loss of life wasn't too extreme.
"I guess it could have been worse." Young Allison said.
She noted Cameron's sly smile on her face. It made her wonder if Cameron already put something in motion to prevent a bigger disaster, if what she knew happened, it was what Cameron changed. It could have been Cammy and Sheila as well. She decided not to pursue the issue. She hoped whoever certified the dam would be held accountable. It was 1963 so she doubted it. She thought about making a 'suggestion' about it.
Cameron indicated the area around them she pointed over to her left.
"This is the McManus district of Culver City. Alexander Hamilton High School is a little further to the north and the west." Cameron said. "Those areas weren't afflicted by the failure of the dam."
Young Allison looked around as they started through Culver City.
"Where's the Hughes Airport at?" Young Allison asked. "I know it's in Culver City."
Cameron looked over to the west.
"We actually passed by it earlier. It's situated right between the Santa Monica Airport and LAX just west of the 405." Cameron said. "They just extended the runway in 1962. It's one of the longest paved private runways in the world. All of the hangers are still in place, including the large wooden framed one where the H-4 Hercules was constructed."
Young Allison remembered reading the hanger was one of the largest wooden frame structures ever built. Somehow it seemed fitting for the aircraft constructed inside of it.
"It must have been a total hassle to take the thing apart and move it to Long Beach and reassemble it for the flight." Young Allison said.
She could understand why some people referred to it as the 'Birch Bitch' because of it.
Cameron didn't think too much was impossible if someone set their mind to it.
"We can go there if you want." Cameron said.
Young Allison figured they could make a trip to all of the local airports later on. There were a lot of them in 1963. She didn't think Cameron would have too much trouble obtaining avgas for the Galaxie Lightweight if she wore her micro skirt along with her Go-Go boots.
The lack of underwear seemed to be what made it happen. Everyone wanted to see more. She still couldn't help but think whatever they saw on Cameron, was the same as her, even if she was clothed.
"Maybe we can some other time." Young Allison said. "I'm sure our vehicle has been reported at the scene of numerous street races throughout the area."
Cameron knew it wouldn't be a problem.
"With so many different jurisdictions, and the lack of any modern computers, I really don't think we need to worry about it." Cameron said. "It's another reason why a single unified police force for the area would be much more efficient."
Young Allison thought Skynet took it a step further.
"I think Skynet thought along those same lines, just on a bigger scale." Young Allison said.
Cameron tilted her head slightly.
Young Allison still had a few more questions about Howard Hughes and some of the events associated with him.
I'll Try It Once
Most people try to seek
Some form of acceptance
To be able to do so
Usually requires some form of compliance
Sometimes one must gamble
They reach out and take a chance
When things go out of kilter
It's hard to maintain balance
To achieve the goal
Takes hard work and persistence
To maintain the status quo
Will require dedication and diligence
It does one little good
To attempt any form of resistance
It's only a matter of time
Before things turn into tolerance
When things don't play out
They can make one look like a dunce
It may lead them to question
When they said, I'll try it once
Nobody
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WOW!
I think we all need to take a brief moment to think about it.
Eight Million Words (8,000,000) in only seven years.
I appreciate the time and effort everyone has spent to share the story. A lot has happened.
Thank you for your continued support.
Nobody
PS: The journey continues….
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