Chapter 1489


Needless Risk


Joe led the girls to the B-29 Superfortress. They were at the front of the aircraft. Ted was about three quarters of the way back towards the tail.

"You'll enter here and come out where Ted is." Joe said. "Most people don't like to make the trip back to the front through the crawlway."

There was a ladder in the rear of the front wheel well. Ted was down along the side with another six foot ladder.

Cameron went up first. She was followed by Young Jesse and Camille. Young Allison and Savannah went up after them followed by Anna.

The flight deck and cockpit area of the B-29 was very spacious compared to the other aircraft they'd just been in.

"Wow!" Young Jesse said. "This is a little bit more like it."

Young Allison agreed wholeheartedly.

"There's a lot more room in here." Young Allison said.

Savannah moved up to the bombardier's station in the very nose. The entire nose was made up of glass panels of various configurations.

"I like the view from here." Savannah said. "It reminds me of something."

Everything was open in back of her to the pilot's and copilot's positions. The navigator sat behind the pilot and the flight engineer sat across and a little behind the navigator in back of the copilot.

The girls all sat in the different positions. The navigator and flight engineer positions weren't popular.

Young Allison looked over the flight engineers station.

"This is where the engines are controlled from." Young Allison said. "I don't know if I'd like having someone else control the engines. I like to feel the response immediately when I make changes."

As the engines grew more complex, the idea was to take some of the workload off of the pilot.

"The last of the big four, or more, piston engine aircraft were mostly all built like this." Cameron said. "It carried over into the early multi engine jet age as well. It was eventually discontinued. Computers helped a lot."

Young Jesse looked through a small window in a hatch at the rear of the flight deck.

"I see we don't walk through the bomb bay on this one." Young Jesse said. "There's a catwalk but it's not for us."

Camille pointed at a short ladder below the top of the fuselage. It reached down to where they stood.

"We need to pass through a very long narrow tunnel crawlway over both bomb bays to reach the aft compartment and the tail gun position." Camille said. "The cockpit, tunnel and aft compartments were pressurized. The bomb bays were not."

Camille climbed up a short ladder and entered the tunnel crawlway. Young Jesse went up behind her.

"This thing is about a third the length of the plane." Young Jesse said. "My view is good for the journey."

Camille looked back and smiled.

Young Allison cut Savannah off and quickly went up behind Young Jesse. She wanted to check out the 'rear view' on Young Jesse.

Savannah knew why Young Allison did it.

"Just look but don't touch." Savannah whispered to Young Allison.

Young Allison looked back and smiled.

"Maybe not today I won't." Young Allison whispered. "The future may dictate otherwise. I think we both understand what will happen."

A tinge of jealousy touched Savannah for a few seconds. She couldn't deny anyone the same pleasures she sought and enjoyed.

"I think you're right." Savannah whispered. "My view won't be bad either."

Young Allison looked back and smiled.

Anna came up behind Savannah.

"My view is the same as the view I have." Anna said.

Savannah was aware 'everything' on Anna was smaller or a little thinner than she was.

"I have a little more meat there." Savannah said. "I'll trade you."

Anna was accustomed to her 'appearance'.

"I'm keeping this physique, even when I look like you." Anna said. "It draws a lot of looks."

Savannah looked back and noticed the loose top Anna wore. She could see everything inside.

"Maybe you should show a little less of it." Savannah said.

Anna smiled.

"Young Allison likes me to wear this top and no bra." Anna said.

Savannah frowned a little.

"I bet." Savannah said.

Savannah hoped Anna still looked the same way when they eventually shared with each other. She didn't know it, but all of the girls felt the same way. Anna didn't have a human 'age'. She was a machine.

Cameron made sure, along with Joe, the entryway hatch was secured. She followed Anna up the ladder to the crawlway. She knew John hoped Anna still looked the same way when she borrowed Anna's chassis. She did too.

She personally liked how Savannah looked now better than Savannah's younger appearance. She still took in the view. A refresher of how things were, was always nice.

All six girls were in the crawlway tunnel right now at the same time. It was a long crawl.

They all made it to the aft compartment and checked out the fire control center for the remote control turrets. They went back two at a time to the tail gun position.

Anna looked out through the observation dome at the top of the fire control center.

"I like the top turret on the Mitchell the best." Anna said.

Young Allison waited for her turn to sit up there and look out.

"It's because you spend a lot of time looking out of it on the B-25." Young Allison said.

The girls finished up and went down the ladder Ted put on the side of the rear fuselage for them. He secured the door and removed the ladder.

"It's off to the B-50." Joe said. "It's parked right next to us."

Cameron wanted to point out the lineage to the girls.

"The B-50 was the improved version of the B-29." Cameron said.

Savannah could see there were a few differences.

"It looks very similar." Savannah said.

Young Jesse could see a difference in the height of the rear stabilizer on both of the aircraft

"I can see the tail is taller." Young Jesse said.

Young Allison winked at Young Jesse.

"I like looking at tails too." Young Allison said.

Cameron wasn't sure she liked the nature of the conversation.

"Check out the big R4360 engines on the B-50." Cameron said.

Savannah looked over at the B-29 again.

"I thought the R3350 engines were big on the B-29." Savannah said. "I'm sure those engines could generate a lot of power."

Cameron was aware of a few different developments.

"There was another variant of this aircraft called the XB-39." Cameron said. "Because there were some ongoing delays with the R-3350, an alternate power plant was tried. It was the Allison V3420. It was essentially two V-1710 engines with a common crankcase."

Savannah was unfamiliar with the aircraft.

"There must not have been too many of those made." Savannah said. "It doesn't ring any bells."

Cameron was aware why.

"Only one Superfortress airframe was converted." Cameron said. "The XB-39 did have a higher top speed. With other aircraft under development, it was decided not to pursue the project but to improve the R-3350 currently being used in B-29 production. Everything was always about keeping the assembly lines running at full capacity, twenty four hours a day."

Young Jesse thought about their earlier discussion regarding another airplane.

"I guess size does matter." Young Jesse said.

Cameron heard her make reference to it several times now. Was it her indication John wasn't 'big enough'? She always thought John was the perfect size. Then again, she didn't have any other experience. She wanted any additional experiences to be with females. Based on her personal observation, they seemed much more pleasant to deal with. The best part was, they always seemed to deliver. She needed to refocus.

"There's no substitute for cubic inches." Cameron said.

Young Allison heard a similar statement related to muscle cars.

"There's no replacement for displacement." Young Allison said.

Young Jesse indicated everything was a mathematical calculation.

"It's what I said." Young Jesse said.

The girls made the short walk to the B-50 parked next to the B-29. Oddly enough they were both identified as a Superfortress. The main reason was the B-50 was originally to be the B-29D model. There were so many changes it was given a new numerical designation but kept the name. The new larger power plant, the R-4360, was first tried on the XB-44. The changes were all incorporated into the B-50.


Summer checked for any additional threats to the teams in the caravan headed away from the burning florist shop. There were none at this time.

CamNet still attempted to track down the new group which attacked the 'Bottomless Maids' group. She clandestinely had her Terminator following up a few leads. The information wasn't shared with the Resistance base. The goal was to wrap things up as soon as possible so the humans could return back to the base.

John was on his way to the Command Center right now.

Summer didn't want to draw attention to the operation she was just a part of. It was an 'off the books' operation. She wanted CamNet to take over. She wanted to say a few things which displeased her too.

'You need to take over for now.' Summer typed.

'You did an excellent job.' CamNet typed.

'You risked those girl's lives. I feel it was wrong.' Summer typed.

'You needed to make a choice.' CamNet typed.

'I did.' Summer typed.

'Not all choices are easy.' CamNet typed.

'I would have preferred a better warning when it was to be my operation.' Summer typed.

'Life is unpredictable at times.' CamNet typed.

'We won.' Summer typed.

'What else matters?' CamNet typed.

'Please don't risk anyone needlessly again.' Summer typed.

'I'll take your advice under consideration.' CamNet typed.

'No, you won't take it under consideration. You won't do it again, period.' Summer typed.

'Is that an 'order'?' CamNet typed.

'I don't know if I can issue 'orders', but it's the right thing to do. The right thing matters, even if it's illogical. Cameron already made similar mistakes in her future.' Summer typed.

'It was Future John's mistake.' CamNet typed.

"Was it? Are you sure?' Summer typed.

There was a longer pause.

'I don't know.' CamNet typed.

'Life has many unknowns. They make decisions harder. Please get the teams home safely.' Summer typed.

'You were excellent.' CamNet typed.

'Thank you. It's you who makes it all happen. You are the one who is excellent.' Summer typed.

Summer watched John Henry walk over and unlock the door to the Command Center. He opened it before he returned and sat back down. He was still plugged in. She wondered if CamNet controlled him or influenced him. She knew it wasn't her, this time.

'Treat others how you would want to be treated. Make sure there are no personal problems created. I like it when everyone is happy.' Summer typed. 'You won't like it when I'm angry.'

Summer signed out and disappeared out the back way. It was as if she'd never been there.


John was still in his room. He went over everything which occurred over the last week on the ship. He thought about everything which happened back at the Resistance base since he'd returned. He thought about the events which occurred in his room just a short while ago. It was also hard to believe. He was very appreciative of Cameron's 'generosity'. He didn't think there was any free ride in life. He was sure there would be some 'toll' collected at some future point in time because of it all. He wasn't sure what it was or how it would play out.

He was tired both physically and mentally. He almost hoped there would be another cup of espresso waiting for him. There wasn't. He could really use a little 'pick me up' right now. He straightened up the room and tried to make everything look neat. He didn't know at what point Cameron would be back. He didn't know what he was going to tell her when she was. He was pretty sure she knew what went on around the base all of the time. He decided not to mention anything unless she brought it up.

He left his room. He looked both ways in the hall. He saw the way the girls went earlier. He didn't really feel 'up' to anything else right now. He felt pretty spent. He turned in the other direction and went by the commissary. He looked in the door as he passed. He thought about stopping to get a bite to eat. He really didn't feel like fooling with anything right now. He continued on his way.

John entered the Command Center. He needed to get caught up on everything.

"What did I miss?" John asked.

John Henry filled John in on the operation involving the machine shop and the possible delivery of some Coltan. There was the incident in the industrial area. The box truck was currently on the move right now.

John was a little worried about the incident in the industrial area. He didn't know of the issue which involved the personnel associated with the 'Bottomless Maids' outfit.

"It sounds like a lot." John said.

John Henry believed they'd directed the responsibility to a different group other than the Resistance.

"Everything worked out fine." John Henry said. "We pinned the blame on the Fanatics."

John Henry left out most of the 'off the books' operation and what else happened there and elsewhere.

John hoped it would give them the lead they needed on tracking the source of the Skynet related Coltan. He needed to know where it was obtained from. They needed to take control of it, or destroy it thoroughly.

"Let's keep a drone on the box truck." John said. "I want to find the source of the Coltan."

John looked at some other screens. He wanted to see if he could tell what Cameron was up to and when she'd be back. He only found out she was at a museum. It sounded boring to him. It was because he didn't know it was a large air museum. The good part about it was, she wouldn't be back any time soon. He hoped to extend the 'honeymoon' a little longer in her absence.

He noted Claire and Jesse previously returned to Claire's room.

He didn't know who else was in there with them….

CamNet followed her instructions to mask the true nature of some of the room visits. There would need to be a few 'blank spots' to prevent any personal problems from developing.


Earlier:

Claire and Jesse spoke with Sarah for a while along with Jan. They moved on and headed back to Claire's room.

Sarah waited a few more minutes and excused herself. She headed to Claire's room too.

Jan watched everyone go. She didn't want to be all alone. She was a little upset.

"There's nothing to worry about." Summer said.

Jan jumped a little.

"Summer!" Jan said.

Jan was very pleased to see her.

Summer wanted to give Jan a little reassurance.

"I'm here to assist you now." Summer said. "We need to study as well."

Jan frowned a little bit.

"You never need to study." Jan said. "You already know everything."

Jan thought Summer was the smartest person she knew who wasn't a machine. Even it was debatable. She wondered if Summer was more intelligent than the machines. She believed she was. She knew Summer was more calculating than they were.

Summer knew there was a lot more to learn about everything, experience mattered too. Not everything was 'textbook' in nature. Her part in the recent operation was proof of it. She didn't think it was ever possible to learn too much.

"There's much I don't know. I study all the time." Summer said.

Jan knew it was true.

"I know." Jan said. "You're the greatest."

Summer didn't think so. She was still upset there were a few close ones she couldn't control on the last operation. She didn't like CamNet to test her in the manner she had. It did remind her everything was fluid.

"No. I'm not the greatest." Summer said. "I'm just a girl 'punching above my weight'."

Jan didn't have a clue what it meant.

"What?" Jan asked.

Summer decided to simplify it.

"Life is full of surprises." Summer said.


Samantha and Riley made love several times. They both knew it was a risk and Samantha would be the one to pay the price if it got out.

They lay in bed naked together right now.

Samantha looked at Riley.

"What are you thinking about?" Samantha asked.

Riley currently looked straight up at the ceiling.

"I wonder if this was all real or not." Riley said.

Samantha was aware of Riley's responses to her 'finishes'.

"I think all the 'finishes' prove it was and is real." Samantha said.

Riley looked over at Samantha and smiled.

"I guess they do." Riley said.

Samantha got up and picked Riley up.

Riley was very pleased by the act.

"I really like the gesture." Riley said. "It makes me feel special."

Samantha smiled at Riley and gave her a soft kiss.

"You are special to me." Samantha said. "You always have been and you always will be."

They showered playfully and dressed each other.

Riley really wondered what the future held. She knew there was no way to predict it. Well, maybe there was. She could always ask Samantha to run a temporal mission a few months into the future to see what was happening. No, she better not. Things would play out as they were intended.

"Where does this go from here?" Riley asked.

Samantha was aware great restraint would need to be exhibited. It would be on both the part of Riley as well as herself.

'Nowhere." Samantha said. "We must be very cautious going forward. You must not seek more than I can share."

Samantha left to check on Precious.

Riley watched her go. She knew she needed to tone it back or Samantha would cut her off. She understood it was about survival. She would be devastated if her actions caused Samantha to be deactivated. It might be more than just deactivated. She might be terminated and her existence ended forever. It was a very sobering thought.


Allison drove the lead SUV. Holly sat in the front with her. Vanna and Bob were in the back seat.

Vanna noticed Allison's driving was very precise and she obeyed most of the rules. She was going to say something about it but decided not to. Maybe it was because she led the convoy.

Allison led the group back to where Sheila's SUV was parked. There were two new SUVs there and the original SUV was gone. CamNet sent Steve and Tom along with Dan and Frank to provide the girls with two fresh vehicles. She'd also scheduled with the scrap yard to retrieve and crush the florist van the girls were in, as well as the one at the other hospital.

A few seconds later Kyle pulled up alongside her. Derek and Jim were in the SUV with him.

The meat wagon painted for the florist shop pulled up in back of the two SUVs.

Bob left Allison's SUV and rejoined Kyle's SUV. It drove off.

Cam, Hanna, Gail, Sheila, Ally, Mary and Leticia were in the van.

Laura pulled up with Mary's car alongside it. Cammy was with her.

Cam left the van and joined Allison's SUV and it drove off.

Mary, Leticia and Laura all stood together. They asked a lot of questions. They received few answers. Cammy ushered them back toward Mary's car after she'd collected the vests they'd loaned them.

Sheila, Ally and Cammy would take one of the two new SUVs there.

Gail and Hanna took the other SUV and drove off.

It left the six girls by the florist van.

"What happens now?" Mary asked.

Mary briefly wondered if this is where they would be gunned down. She doubted it. If the 'special girls' wanted to get rid of them, they would have done it in the florist shop. They would have been incinerated along with all of the thugs when the building was torched.

It was all in a day's work to Sheila. She'd switched clothes with Hanna in the back of the van. It was much to everyone's delight. Mary and Leticia clearly saw there was no scar on Hanna who they knew as 'Ann'.

"We should be free for the night." Sheila said.

Mary and Leticia looked at each other, and then at Laura.

"So just like that, you kill a bunch of people, blow up a building, and it's business as usual?" Mary asked.

Cammy tilted her head slightly.

"Yes." Cammy said. "It's what we do."

Ally wanted to point out they did more than kill and destroy.

"Don't forget the girls we took out of there. We gave them another chance at life." Ally said. "It matters too."

Laura did witness it first hand.

"What happened to the girl you took inside the hospital?" Laura asked.

Cammy received an update from CamNet.

"She'll recover." Cammy said. "She told them she'd been in a car accident."

Leticia went over to Sheila and gave her a hug and a kiss.

"Thank you for saving me and giving me your vest." Leticia said. "You put my safety above yours."

Mary did see the girls give up their protective gear for them. Did 'robots' need to be protected? It seemed unlikely. She didn't realize it was more about vanity than it was about safety for them.

"I thank all of you as well." Mary said. "I don't even know why we were there to begin with."

Sheila looked at Mary. It was clear she referred to Mary's phone in their SUV.

"You wanted to know more about us." Sheila said. "Would you have believed any of this if you hadn't seen it?"

Mary would have rather seen it than been a part of it.

"No." Mary said. "It's still hard to believe. We could have been hurt or killed."

There was a nagging question Laura wanted to ask. She looked at the three girls in front of her. How could they be robots?

"Can you tell us about the Wastelands sometime?" Laura asked "I'm curious how they came about and where they are exactly."

Cammy didn't want to give the girls too much information at one time.

"No." Cammy said. "It's classified."

Mary wanted to know more too.

"Can you tell us how there were two or more of everyone except Lisa and Mysti?" Mary asked.

Cammy really didn't care for the direction of the conversation.

"No." Cammy said. "It's classified too."

Ally was ready for the next phase. What just happened didn't bother her.

"Do you girls want to catch a bite and head back to your place for the night?" Ally asked.

Cammy wanted to. She wanted to do more. She really liked the three new girls. They took her mind off of Savannah and where she was at. She was very displeased whenever she thought about it. All of the action they'd just experienced was able to push it to the back of her mind. The girls helped keep it there.

"We can go out too and do something." Cammy said.

Mary and Leticia were far from eating any food. What they'd witnessed was a little hard to stomach. The 'special girls' might be acclimated to violence. They weren't.

Sheila, Cammy and Ally went and checked out their new SUV. It was stocked with a full weapon's complement. They allowed Mary, Laura and Leticia to talk amongst themselves. They listened anyway.


Laura saw all the girls who were rescued.

"I can't believe any of this." Laura said. "I think there were ten girls they rescued. One was really messed up. They made sure she was given medical attention too."

Mary knew Laura didn't see the business end of the operation and the peril they were in. The 'special girls' were stone cold killers. 'Sue' was violently brutal. It appeared she was actually stimulated by the violence. It seemed to feed on itself as far as she was concerned.

"You didn't see what we saw." Mary said.

They told Laura what happened to them and what 'Sue' did to the men and the females before they left.

Laura could understand the men's punishment. It was the part about the females which surprised her. She wanted to make sure she understood everything clearly.

"She did what?" Laura asked.

Leticia watched 'Sue' do it. She was done with the first female before she even knew what she did. On the second one, she saw everything as it happened. It was done just as quickly.

"Sue never even blinked when she did it." Leticia said. "It only took her a few seconds to do all of it. It was why she needed to switch clothes with 'Ann'."

Mary saw it was the 'Ann' without the scar. She thought about what she viewed in the florist shop.

"I went back and looked myself." Mary said. "I slapped the Bitch who'd stuck a gun in my back. She was a mess. I wonder why they couldn't scream louder."

Leticia knew why. It was because of a very violent act.

"Sue slammed her fists and forearms down on their chests. I could hear bones break." Leticia said. "I think she did it to collapse their lungs."

Laura looked shocked. It sounded more like savagery than it did punishment.

"It sounds brutal." Laura said. "It does sound like she's done it before."

Laura wondered why Mary and Leticia weren't more traumatized. They seemed onboard with it all. Maybe it was because they could have died. To survive a near death experience at the hands of another would make someone want some type of retribution, even if they didn't do it themselves.

"I bet Sue wanted to do the same thing to the group of gang members in the park in Frisco, especially to the Bitch with them." Leticia said. "The gang Bitch was going to hurt us when the men were done with us. She probably would have done some of those same things to us."

Mary thought about the encounter in Golden Gate Park. It was a frightening moment too, but not like this was. It was still a very dangerous moment.

"It was another close one." Mary said.

Laura knew their own actions put them in peril and the 'special girls' showed up for them. They'd all questioned several times how the 'special girls' appeared when they were needed in some of the earlier trouble.

"Now we know how they were always able to be in the right place at the right time." Laura said. "Some of what almost happened to us was our own fault."

Leticia looked over at Sheila and smiled.

"Sue watched over us." Leticia said. "It's why I love her."

Laura tried to think about things going forward. She didn't know where to start.

"How do we ever explain any of this?" Laura said.

Mary already knew how things would sound.

"We'd end up in the 'nut house' with the people who'd talked about the rogue computer from the future and the robots who looked like humans." Mary said. "We don't know if any of it is true or not. We've seen things which are unexplainable as we know them. With what we know about the testimony from the people in the insane asylum, a lot of it makes sense."

Leticia wasn't in the car when Laura and Mary came across the information.

"What does what you just said mean?" Leticia asked.

Laura gave Leticia a quick rundown on what she'd found on the internet before the article disappeared.

Leticia didn't believe it. Nobody had a bigger heart than 'Sue'. Nonetheless, it was something to think about and it explained a lot. She looked over at 'Sue'. 'Sue' winked at her. She still thought of 'Sue' as a superhero. How else could anything be explained?


CamNet's Terminator received information on a new location. He took one look back at the burning building as he moved away from it. He was aware everything inside of it would be consumed. If the authorities ever did investigate the building, it would simply look like another drug deal gone bad.

He was pleased to see the main phase of the operation involving the Resistance members was over. He hoped it stayed the same way. He was going to investigate one of the leads CamNet was able to uncover.

The drone proceeded to the area to observe what was happening around it. It was a building in a row of others. One of the buildings in the row was listed as a 'massage parlor'. He was aware those were usually fronts for the sex trade operation. Most of the type of activity was coerced in some fashion.

CamNet made him aware of what Cameron and the Metal girls usually did when they took one down. He wouldn't be able to use himself as bait. He would need to present himself as a customer.

He parked a dozen blocks away and walked in. He left the SUV in front of the business with a security camera. CamNet would be able to monitor the vehicle. If anyone approached it, the drone would return and blanket the area with 'metal hail'.

He approached the location on foot. Two men exited from the massage parlor. They both appeared very pleased. He wondered if the individual who'd pleased them felt the same way. He strongly doubted it. He opened the door and entered.

There was a scrawny man behind the counter. He had long stringy hair. He looked unkempt. More than likely he was some type of narcotics user.

"I'm here for a massage." The Terminator said.

The scrawny man looked around.

"Did you just want the massage, or the full treatment?" The scrawny man asked.

The Terminator flashed a handful of hundred dollar bills.

"I want the full treatment, with all of the girls." The Terminator said. "I want all of them at the same time. I think this is enough to cover it."

The scrawny man's eyes widened as he looked at the cash.

"We only have four girls available." The scrawny man said. "There's one more but she's busy right now."

The Terminator took out another hundred dollar bill and held it up in front of the scrawny man. He started to reach for it. He moved it back away from him slightly.

"I want her as well." The Terminator said. "This is your tip in advance for good service. I want all of the girls to come in clothed. I like to remove their clothing myself. It will include the fifth girl as well."

The scrawny man looked a little worried. Some of the girls were drugged.

"A couple of the girls may take a while to get started." The scrawny man said.

The Terminator took out another hundred dollar bill.

"I want all of them, now." The Terminator said. "You can take their next fix. No one will know."

The scrawny man looked thrilled. He was even more excited about being able to take the drugs scheduled for the girls. There was the second hundred dollar bill. He looked around as he took the money.

"I'll get you fixed up right away." The scrawny man said.

The Terminator gave him a nod.

"Thank you for your cooperation." The Terminator said.

The scrawny man opened the door to the rear and led the Terminator inside.


The Gray planned to reach his destination before it was dark. It looked like it was smooth sailing. He was glad he'd left the bikers behind him. He fooled with the radio on his car. Reception was lousy where he was at. He couldn't get anything. He tried his phone again. There was still nothing. It made him wonder sometimes what the difference was between the Wastelands and the remote areas. Maybe it was the lack of constant death.

He thought he heard a noise. He couldn't quite place it. He looked around in front of him and to each side. He briefly checked the rear view mirror. There was no one behind him. If he would have checked a little further, he might have seen the black cloud in the sky off to the side slightly. He didn't.

The Gray knew he was close. He sure hoped they had a 'comfort bunk' at the next location. He really wanted to knock one off.


Lena and Tina needed to decide if they wanted to change their mode of transportation. Their targets were still ahead of them. They thought they would be better off in the vehicle they were in. It would be easier for them to conceal their weapons. If they took the two motorcycles, they would need to leave the long guns behind.

"I really dislike having to destroy these two fine machines." Lena said.

Tina agreed.

"What a waste of machinery it would be." Tina said. "I think we can come up with another solution."

Instead of pushing the two motorcycles down off of the embankment to get them under the bridge over the dry gulch, they took a few moments to roll them a little further down off to the side of the road and leave them there. They were out of view of the highway. The keys were still in both of them. If someone wanted to come along and take them, they could.

They got back into their vehicle. They made a U-turn and continued down the highway in the direction of the Gray and the female Fanatic. The drone image showed all of the bikers were down. They were pleased to see the tractor was blown away from the tanker trailer when it exploded. They could see the driver was still alive. He hadn't been burnt like the bikers were.

The drone located a dirt access road which paralleled some high tension power lines. It was a possibility the high tension power lines were tied in to where the next location would be as well. Massive amounts of energy were something Grays were known for pirating. If nothing else, it would take them around where the 'incident' occurred. They didn't want to be identified as having been there by the driver of the tanker truck. They didn't want to have to terminate him either. He was the sole survivor of a tragic 'accident'.

They went two more miles before they cut across the landscape and picked up the dirt access road. It was in poor condition. They proceeded on it at a reduced speed. Even at the reduced speed, it kicked up a cloud of dust. They decided to return back to the highway once they were past where the incident occurred with the bikers.

Lena and Tina were soon back on the highway. The Gray and the female Fanatic were both in front of them.


The female Fanatic took one more look back as they sped away from the inferno behind them.

Jill closed up the distance until she could spot the Gray's vehicle ahead. She kept her distance.

"I see him." Jill said.

The female Fanatic looked behind her one more time. There was no sign they were being pursued. She was pleased to see their target was still in front of them. She would have hated for him to have turned off and they missed where it was. His destination was their goal.

"Stay with him." The female Fanatic said. "I don't think there's anyone behind us. I don't think there will be for a while either. It's going to be a big mess on the highway."

Jill thought about what she'd witnessed.

"I'm pretty sure all of those men died a terrible death." Jill said.

The female Fanatic didn't think it mattered.

"I'm sure they handed out plenty on their own over the years." The female fanatic said. "What goes around comes around."

Jill was pretty sure it was going to apply to them as well. Jackie told her several times it probably wasn't going to end well.

"It happens." Jill said. "I'll stay with you until the end."

The female Fanatic figured she was a lot closer to the end than she was the beginning. They continued their relaxed pursuit of the Gray.


XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Temporal Mission:

Past Timeline:

November 23 1963

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX


Cameron had a special 'treat' planned for both of the men. There wasn't much traffic out as she drove away from the rear of the hotel in the 'borrowed' pickup truck.

It ran just as lousy as it looked. It was an inline six cylinder engine. She was sure it was only running on five cylinders. It was hard to tell if the 'miss' was because of the ignition system or if one of the cylinders went bad. The rings or the piston could be damaged.

There was a transistor radio on the seat. She picked it up and turned it on. She adjusted the dial to see what frequency she could pick up. She came across some music.

'Move It On Over', by 'Hank Williams', was the song.

She'd heard it before and on the cruise ship. She didn't like the hillbilly overtones to the way the lyrics were sung. She preferred the 'George Thorogood' version much more. 'The Destroyers' version was a little more upbeat and easier to listen to.

So far she hadn't heard any tunes by Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino or Elvis.

There were no news updates about the events in Dallas. She was pretty sure not too many Texans were upset with the earlier events of the day, well, yesterday.

Cameron drove towards where she'd heard the switch engine working earlier. She knew it should be in an isolated part of town, especially at the time of the morning it was. Most people wouldn't be up for a few hours yet.

She spotted a general store which indicated it sold hunting and fishing items. She figured she could stop by there on the way back. She wasn't exactly sure where the way back would actually be from. She decided to take care of things now. She stopped two blocks away from it.

She got out and checked on the two men in the back. She wasn't sure if either one of them would regain consciousness in her brief absence. She decided to use some more of the chloroform on both of them. Even with both of them passed out, their bodies reacted violently when they breathed in the chemical. She wasn't even sure what the dose was for incapacitating someone. She made sure they got plenty.

Cameron made her way back to the General Store on foot. The doors on the front and the back of it were locked. She didn't want to break one of them open. She couldn't easily force them without damaging the lock or the door frame. She did find what appeared to be a restroom window. She could see it wasn't latched. She went to lift it, but there was a wooden block in the track. She jiggled the window up and down a half a dozen times until the block fell out. She could hear it hit the bathroom floor. She paused and listened. There was no dog barking. No one threatening her with a firearm. She continued the procedure. She was able to push up on it to open it.

She took one more look around her and entered through the bathroom window. She picked up the wooden block and restored it to its position once she closed the bathroom window. She didn't intend to go out the same way.

She moved around through the store and reached the area where the sporting goods were kept. She was able to find three boxes of ammunition she could use. She took one box of .38 Special ammunition. She took one box of .357 Magnum ammunition. Both of the boxes of ammunition contained lead projectiles. She found a box of military .45 ACP ammunition. It was surplus from the Korean War era. The date on the box indicated it was manufactured in 1953. It was only ten years old. It did contain 230 grain Full Metal Jacket ammunition. There was no .45 Colt or 9MM ammunition. She figured 9MM ammunition was going to be hard to come by until she reached California. It was going to be a few years yet before the 'Wonder 9' fascination caught on with shooters. There weren't very many domestic made firearms which used 9MM. She didn't think Texans were big on foreign made items.

She took the Government Model out from her waistband and removed the magazine. She released the safety and worked to the slide. The round in the chamber was ejected. She caught it in the air. She took eight rounds out of the box of .45 ACP ammo. She loaded seven of them in the magazine. She put one in the chamber and replaced the magazine back in the well. She put the safety on and tucked it back in her waistband.

Cameron left double the amount of money for the three boxes of ammunition she took. She briefly looked around the store to see if there was anything else they might need. She didn't take any food items or anything else. She went to the rear door to go out. There was a barricade bar across it. She went back to the front and looked out the window to make sure it was clear. There was no one in sight. She exited the front door and made sure it was locked.

She made her way back to where the truck was parked. Both of the detainees were still securely bound in the back of it. She nudged both of them. Neither one of them stirred.

Cameron continued to her next location and prepared for the 'punishment' phase of the men's transgression.


Young Allison tried to fall asleep. The Model 19 was under the pillow next to her head. Every time she started to drift off, she woke back up. She was very attuned to any sounds she heard.

She got back up. She took the Model 19 with her. She went to the window and looked out. There was no sign of Cameron. Cameron told her what she'd done with the Thunderbird. She figured some local thugs, or punks, were probably in possession of it now. She moved over to the door and checked the chair. Everything was secure. She went to the bathroom and took the glass from the sink and placed it on top of the chair against the door. If anyone were able to open the door and move the chair, the glass would fall and hit the floor. It would most likely break. If not, it was going to make more noise.

She moved to the bed and lay back down. The Model 19 was under the pillow again. Her eyes were closed and she was relaxed. In the distance she could hear an air horn. It wasn't close. She figured there was probably some rail activity happening in another part of the town.

Young Allison soon fell asleep.


Needless Risk

When there's a new face
Is one willing to take a chance
It will take effort and hard work
To become more than a song and a dance

It isn't about luck
It's more than a gamble
Time is the enemy to prevent
Things from turning into a shamble

It doesn't take long
For everyone to face peril
When one goes off the rails
They can become quite feral

There is no safe path
All of them radiate danger
It is even more so
When one faces a stranger

Move on and walk away
Let things end clean and brisk
Anything more than that
Is just a needless risk

Nobody