Chapter 1591


Appears That Way


Bob and Jim headed for the back of the building to replace Kyle and Derek.

"We'll take the front." Kyle said.

Derek followed him.

Bob and Jim watched their phones as they checked their weapons. The drone images showed them where the van was at.

"I think they're coming here." Jim said.

Bob didn't like the new development.

"It appears they are." Bob said.

They both knew it wasn't a good thing.

Kyle and Derek were in the front of the building now.

"We have movement." Kyle said.

Derek spotted it too. It appeared to be some type of reaction to what just transpired.

"I bet the slow moving van triggered the response." Derek said.

A car exited from the side of the building across the street. It headed in the direction the van went. The main problem now was, the van was in the alley. It was headed towards the Resistance team. It still moved slowly. In fact, it was even slower now. The van looked for a place to stop.

Jim and Bob watched what was happening. They didn't want the building they were in to be a target. They might end up in a crossfire between the building across the street, and the van and car in the back alley headed towards them.


John Henry and Summer could see the operation was about to go hot.

Summer didn't want the van to stop in back where the team was.

She sent instructions to CamNet to respond. A special series of gravity shots were set up for both the van and the car.

Summer looked over at John Henry.

"I'm going to provoke a reaction from the two vehicles." Summer said.

She quickly explained to John Henry what was about to go down.

John Henry was used to Summer acting on her own. He didn't have a problem with it. She was always correct in her actions. She acted more boldly than he would most of the time. She even used nuclear weapons in an underground complex before.

"It sounds like a good plan." John Henry said.

Summer didn't like to play softball. If she played, it was hardball.

"I don't think either vehicle will stop." Summer said.

John Henry informed the team what was about to happen.


CamNet was disturbed by everything which unfolded in the Young bunker. She blocked the latest development from the Young bunker about Bob's team. John Henry, Summer, and her were all over it already. They could handle it.

She'd received a request from Summer. It was as good as an 'order' for her. She quickly set up and started a series of gravity shots once the van and car were both in the alley.

They were sure at least one of the two groups were the Fanatics. She didn't want them around the team with Derek and Kyle in the mix. It always ended explosively with the Fanatics. They never wanted to be taken alive, by anyone.


The white van was in the alley. It was going to stop at the building across the street from the building the suspected Fanatics were in.

There were four men in the van. They were Grays. They lost contact with all of the other members and locations with their group. They were the last four left. Things seemed to get worse, not better.

"I know those Fanatics are behind all of this." The first Gray said.

The other three Grays just wanted to run.

"Maybe it's best if we write everything off." The second Gray said.

The third Gray was concerned about the repercussions. There were bound to be some. They would be severe.

"If we do, we'll have a 'Tin Can' on our rear end when the next group arrives." The third Gray said. "You know they don't let anything slide."

The fourth Gray believed they could pull it off.

"We just need to hide better." The fourth Gray said.

The first Gray looked in the side view mirror.

"Great, we have a tail." The first Gray said.

The other three Grays looked back.

"Don't stop now." The third Gray said.

One second later there was a loud metallic 'Thwack' sound.

The men were startled.

"What was it?" The second Gray asked.

Before anyone could answer, there were more of the same.

'Thwack', 'Thwack', pause 'Thwack'

One of the men screamed.

"I'm hit." The fourth Gray said.

The third Gray came to the obvious conclusion.

"They're shooting at us." The third Gray said.

"Let's make a run for it." The driver said.

The driver of the van punched it.

Two of the Grays began to return fire.


A short time ago:

There were two Fanatics in the car which left the building. They'd been on the lookout for any surveillance. The actions of white van set off their alarm.

"It's those Skynet morons." The first Fanatic said.

The second Fanatic wasn't sure.

"It might be the anti-Metal group too." The second Fanatic said. "They're all a bunch of psychopaths. They can't accept the future. The future belongs to SkyMaster. Skynet is old news."

The sedan pulled out onto the street and observed the van turn the corner. They hurried to catch up. They made it to the corner and the van was gone. There was a driveway behind the building on the corner.

"Check the alley." The second Fanatic said.

They pulled up and looked down the alley.

"There they are." The first Fanatic said.

The sedan pulled into the alley.

'Thwack'

"What was that?" The first Fanatic asked.

'Thwack', pause 'Thwack', 'Thwack'

The second Fanatic grabbed his leg.

"I'm hit. It's not bad." The second Fanatic said. "They're shooting at us."

Both men drew weapons and began to shoot at the van.


Anna went upstairs to run the shower.

Young Allison carried on a conversation with CamNet after Anna left.

Some very personal intimate things were discussed.

Young Allison kissed the touch screen again and excused herself. She was very pleased with her decision. She wanted to be with Savannah first. Savannah would need to 'take it easy'.

Anna was in the bathroom. She started the water. She was surprised at what Young Allison did with her Detail. She did understand Young Allison was pleased with all of their assistance, even if things were a little abrasive at times. She didn't like Young Allison's personal communication with CamNet. She didn't know what it was specifically but it would be sexual in nature. She knew it was a 'story' which wasn't finished yet.

Young Allison looked toward the bathroom as she entered her room. The water was running.

She stripped off her clothes and tossed them in the hamper. She felt 'dirty'. It wasn't just from being out. It was from what she'd done. It was her 'practice' of her combat skills on the dead man.

Anna walked out of the bathroom fully clothed.

"Your water is ready." Anna said.

Young Allison didn't want to push things.

"Thank you." Young Allison said. "You may join me if you want. I'd like it."

Anna tried to look indifferent. She knew things were close to going 'out of control'.

"You can clean up." Anna said. "I'll use my own room. I didn't bring any fresh clothes with me."

Anna's room was the one Hanna and her kept their clothes in. No one ever slept there.

Young Allison was disappointed. She smiled at Anna and passed by her.

She entered the shower and was glad the warm water masked the tears which streamed down her face.

Anna left the room and wiped her cheeks off as she headed for her room. She was glad Young Allison didn't see her tears.


CamNet's Terminator was actually close enough to easily shoot both of the men with his silenced M9. The drone could rain down 'metal hail' as well. He was a little surprised one of the men attempted to go inside of the collapsed opening. He didn't think he would get very far. He knew he wouldn't find anything.

He could see one man remained on guard outside.

It was his desire to take both men down with the Taser and question them. He wanted to find out who they were. He ran the idea by CamNet.

CamNet wanted to know where the men would go next. The Terminator could stop them at any point and interrogate them. She knew he could beat the information out of them as to where they came from. She wasn't sure what other locations they would visit.

The Terminator moved up beyond the men. He kept a careful watch around him. It had been a few days since the activity occurred where they were at.


Sarah was currently in Claire's room.

They didn't know John just spied on them.

Claire really hoped one day to do a three way with John and Sarah. She thought about mentioning it but decided not to. If it happened, it happened.

They were about to get wild when there was a soft knock at the door.

'Cameron' walked in.

Sarah felt a rush of exhilaration. She was already about half way 'there' with excitement already.

Camille-Hanna approached the bed. She could see the look of anticipation on Sarah's face. She didn't want to mislead her as she did with John earlier. She wondered if maybe she took things a little too far. She didn't think so. He did need to work on his housekeeping before Cameron returned. She already assisted him with it. More than likely, it would need to be done again. Right now, she didn't want any further confusion.

"I'm not who you think." Camille-Hanna said.

Sarah and Claire looked at each other.

They wondered if it was Cam, Cammy, or Camille. It didn't look like Ally. It looked like 'Cameron'.

Sarah wanted her to know she was easily confused.

"I'm more than a little embarrassed to say, I can't ever tell you four apart." Sarah said. "I really don't know how the girls do it."

Camille-Hanna figured they were in for a bigger surprise still.

"Our chassis and sheaths are identical." Camille Hanna said.

Sarah knew they all ran a modified version of Cameron's program too.

Camille-Hanna stripped in front of them.

"I checked on Jan and Summer. They're both fine and doing their work." Camille-Hanna said.

Sarah and Claire exchanged a quick glance. They knew they were both a little lax on it lately.

Camille-Hanna stood naked next to the bed on Sarah's side.

Sarah took in the unflawed beauty.

"I wish I looked like you." Sarah said.

Camille-Hanna thought Sarah was Hot. The 'Vanna' in her craved Sarah from the first time she met her so many years ago. The circumstances could have been better.

"I'd like to look like you." Camille-Hanna said. "You're very pretty too."

Sarah blushed a little. She liked to hear it. She didn't hear it much anymore from Kyle. Maybe it was why she was there. It was part of it anyway. She felt she needed to point out the obvious.

"I'm getting older." Sarah said.

Claire knew it was the fate of all the humans.

"It doesn't make you any less beautiful, or desirable." Claire said.

Sarah looked at Claire and saw she'd meant it. It touched her deeply.

Camille-Hanna climbed into bed between them. They all kissed. She directed Claire to 'head south', while she motioned for Sarah to move up. There was a knee on each side of her head two seconds later. She liked the view.

Sarah looked down at Camille-Hanna. She still didn't know which one it was. Her head arched back as soon as Camille-Hanna started it. She moved forward a little more. The Metal girls were great.

Claire started in on Camille-Hanna. She quickly realized why she was directed to start where she was at. It was clear Camille-Hanna was with John recently. She smiled to herself. Sarah would never know by the time it was her turn.

Neither Claire nor Sarah knew it was Hanna in Camille's chassis. It didn't really matter right now to any of them. It was just the three of them and they were all on a personal journey of pleasure.


John almost got busted snooping on Claire and his mother. It was a close one.

He made a hasty retreat back the way he came. He wasn't sure who almost caught him. He was just glad they were speaking to someone in the room still. Maybe it was Jan or Summer.

He wanted to go to the Command Center. He would go back the way he came from.

He didn't know if he'd run into any of the girls as he passed their rooms. He knew he needed to get back to work. He hadn't done much in the Command Center for a while. He also hoped he would find someone available. He really didn't care who. In reality, it didn't matter. One warm body was as good as the next. He really couldn't decide which one he liked the best. They all had different attributes, even if everything was the same. He thought it would take a little more 'research' before he could make a proper determination. He planned to do a lot of research.


Holly traded chassis with Cam earlier. She was with Allison in her room.

Summer contacted Cam-Holly through her com. She was given an 'assignment'. Either Allison or her could take it. They both could if they wanted to.

This could be a test. Cam-Holly knew her chassis was better for sex with a female, both human and Terminator. She would try this one out with a male and see how it compared. If the result was the same, or even close, she would make a permanent trade with Ally. Ally's chassis and neural network was identical to Cam's. Both of theirs were inferior to her Restorator chassis with a female.

Cam-Holly quickly ran everything by Allison.

Allison wanted to be with John again. She wanted Holly to remember her chassis was better for sexual relations.

"Let me check on Precious and you two can get started." Allison said.

Summer fed Cam-Holly more information.

"Open the door now." Cam-Holly said. "John is right outside."

Allison picked up a robe, but hadn't put it on. She quickly opened the door and looked out.

"Going my way, sailor?" Allison asked. "I mean if you're not busy."

John looked a little surprised. It thrilled him to see Allison was naked.

"I'd like to." John said. "Are you alone?"

Allison looked at Cam-Holly. She looked back at John and smiled.

"Come in." Allison said.

John entered the room.

He saw 'Cameron' on the bed.

He looked quickly back at Allison.

She put the robe on and started to close the door as she walked out.

"I'll be back." Allison said as the door closed.

John swallowed hard. It was 'Cameron'.

"Hi." John said. "I didn't know you were back."

It appeared she was just with Allison.


Tricia was with Young Jesse as 'Leticia'.

Young Jesse detected there was something 'off'. She used a ploy to get to her weapons.

Tricia realized she'd been 'made'.

Young Jesse stood naked away from the bed with her Taser and M9 pointed at Tricia.

"Don't move at all. Who are you?" Young Jesse asked. "You're not Leticia."

Tricia held up her hands.

"Relax." Tricia said. "I'm a cyborg of Leticia. CamNet sent me."

Young Jesse's Taser and M9 remained pointed at Tricia.

Cammy entered the suite. She was armed the same way.


Moments ago:

Cammy was with Mary in the Master Suite. She detected trouble in the next suite.

"Excuse me." Cammy said. "Stay here and stay quiet. Don't make a sound."

Cammy hopped out of bed and came up with a Taser and M9 and headed for the pass door between the two suites.

Mary knew something must be wrong.

Cammy entered the Executive Suite and saw Young Jesse standing there naked with her M9 and Taser pointed at 'Leticia'.

Tricia held up her hands.

"Relax." Tricia said. "I'm a cyborg of Leticia. CamNet sent me."

Cammy didn't want any trouble. She was unaware any such event occurred. She wanted Young Jesse protected. She looked at Tricia with her weapons raised.

"Jesse, move in back of me." Cammy said. "Let's hear it."

Young Jesse moved back. She stayed off to the side so she could use her weapons if necessary.

Mary peeked her head in the door. Young Jesse waved her off.

Tricia spilled most of the story. She left out a lot of details. She didn't mention the new male Terminator 'Ronny', who Savannah renamed 'Jameron' because of his appearance. He possessed John's body and Cameron's face.

CamNet contacted the Metal girls on the plane and Young Jesse now with more details.

Mary looked on without any of the specifics. She thought about where she was earlier.

"Do you mean it's not Leticia?" Mary asked. "I was just with her."

Young Jesse didn't want to explain all of it.

"It's Tricia." Young Jesse said. "She's an infiltration unit, I mean operative."

Hanna-Camille was there in a few seconds too to check on Young Jesse.


Moments ago:

Hanna-Camille was with Ally, Laura, and Holly-Cam. She received the com message from CamNet. She excused herself and ran to the Executive Suite.

Laura was just about to finish.

"What's wrong?" Laura asked as her finish slipped away.

Ally didn't want any problems.

"It's nothing to worry about." Ally said.

Ally started back in on Laura

Holly-Cam followed Hanna-Camille.


Sheila and Leticia were at a police uniform store. They went into the large dressing room. Leticia received a ballistic vest like the police used under their uniforms and some Kevlar infused clothing.

Sheila was ready to advance Leticia's training. Las Vegas actually had a lot to offer in that regard.

"Let's go." Sheila said. "It's time for firearms training."

Leticia was excited.

Sheila drove to an indoor shooting range right off of the Strip behind a casino. It looked like a big circus tent. There was a lot of pink and white paint. They left it behind them as they crossed the street and pulled into the parking area. It looked more like a military staging area than a parking area.

Leticia saw there were military vehicles and even a few tanks there.

"Is this place for real?" Leticia asked. "It's right in back of one of the biggest casinos."

Sheila pulled into the parking lot.

"You tell me." Sheila said.

They went inside. There was a large selection of firearms on display. Sheila wanted to make it clear as to what was available, it was everything.

"We can shoot any kind of firearm that's here." Sheila said. "They have a private lane for VIPs, that's us."

Leticia looked at the weapons available.

"There are a lot of machine guns here." Leticia asked. "Is it legal?"

Sheila laughed. The legality of things wasn't one of their concerns. Achieving the objective is what it was all about.

"Legal doesn't matter to us." Sheila said. "This is Nevada and anything goes. Some counties here even have legal brothels. It's amazing what the Syndicate can pull off."

Sheila walked up to the manager's desk.

"I'm here from the 'Cindy-Kate' foundation." Sheila said.

She moved just right. A breast with a nipple ring popped out and was on display. She took her time to tuck it back into her top which only highlighted further what happened.

The manager's eyes were as wide as saucers.

"Hello, I'm Bill." The manager said.

He told them the private room was all ready. There were assistants if they were needed.

Sheila told him she could handle everything herself. They would be under video surveillance as part of the standard procedure. CamNet was ready to deal with any issues. There was a substantial payment made in advance to the company, manager, and everyone involved. The assistants would only bring ammunition and weapons as needed. It was all under lock and key.

Leticia was still somewhat in awe a place like it existed and was legal. It was actually a tourist destination in Las Vegas. People from all around the world came there to legally shoot machine guns.

"This place is a real - battlefield in Vegas." Leticia said.


Samantha excused herself as Gail and Vanna arrived in Riley's bedroom.

Riley looked at Gail.

"Take me." Riley said.

It was exactly what Gail did.

Vanna watched with anticipation. She slipped back out of the room to see what Samantha was up to.

Riley and Gail were hungry for each other.

Gail's main motivation was because Jesse and Riley were a pair at one point. She wanted to see how Riley was. She was just like all the other girls.


Samantha joined Jesse in the nursery.

Vanna found them there a short time later.

They were heavily involved.

Precious stirred in her crib.

Vanna took Precious back into the main part of Riley's room.

Both sets of girls continued on.

Vanna liked how Precious smiled at her and reached out with her hand.

"Maaaa!" Precious said.

Vanna smiled back as Precious touched her cheek.

"I'm Aunt Vanna." Vanna said. "I'm your wet nurse."

Precious smiled at her and reached up again.

"Maaaa!" Precious said.

Vanna felt very good about herself right now. It wasn't usually the case.

Samantha and Jesse were off to a good start.

Vanna returned after they finished a few times. She left Precious with Jesse and returned to Riley's room with Samantha. It was time for a 'four way'.

Jesse was content to watch over Precious.

"Maaaa!" Precious said.

Precious reached up and touched Jesse.

A tear slid down Jesse's cheek.

"I wish I was, love." Jesse said. "I'm Aunt Jesse."


Cameron and Savannah shared a playful shower and dried each other off. They returned back to the main part of the suite.

Savannah spotted something right away. She was sure what it was. It was in a box. The picture on the box was quite descriptive.

"What's that?" Savannah asked.

Cameron was a little surprised to see what it was. She understood why it was there. It was to complete the 'bonding' process for Savannah and her.

"It's marital aid." Cameron said. "Some might see it as a sex toy."

Savannah saw items like it used on the internet. It was usually between two females. Sometimes a female used one on a male.

She wanted to laugh but couldn't. It was something new.

Cameron and Savannah were still naked.

"I want you to share it with me." Cameron said.

Cameron planned to firewall all her 'first' experiences with John and have this become her 'first' experience with Savannah instead.

Savannah was just as thrilled with the idea as she was wary about it.

Cameron took it out of the box and opened the sealed plastic. She washed it and cleaned it with some alcohol.

Savannah wanted to make a joke at first, but Cameron was dead serious.

She watched as Cameron held it.

"Oh my, that's a big one. I think I liked your chassis swap better." Savannah said. "At least you could get some feedback and finish too."

Cameron faced Savannah. The implication was clear.

"This is how it looks." Cameron said.

Savannah looked at Cameron and her new 'addition'.

"Since you're all set, why don't you try it with me first." Savannah said.

Cameron smiled.

"Let's give it a go." Cameron said.

They kissed and moved to the bed.

Cameron went to work on Savannah to warm her up. She was warmed up already. Everything looked like it was good to go.

Savannah watched as Cameron made sure everything would be smooth sailing.

Cameron moved over the top of Savannah. They kissed as she made her move.

Savannah wasn't as ready as she thought she would be.

"Go slow. Go slow." Savannah said. "It's larger."

Cameron backed off a little, but slowly continued. There was no 'feedback' as there was in Jameron's chassis. The difference was, it was Savannah and Her. In a few seconds Savannah was fine.

"I guess size does matter." Savannah whispered as Cameron went to work.

The kisses were slow and tender as Cameron delivered Savannah the first of several finishes.

Cameron finished too as Savannah kissed and touched her. It was a new and exciting experience for her.


Jameron steered the boat. CamNet made him aware of what Young Allison said. Further sexual activity on his own was to be curtailed.

CamNet wanted her first experience in a male chassis with a female, to be with Young Allison on her first experience with a male. It should be better than the experience Cameron robbed her of with Jameron-Cameron's first experience with Savannah.


The Metal girls knew what the men's plan was. It appeared as if Lena was alone in the SUV. They headed for the underpass. They wanted to look like a 'mark'.

The two men parked the white van under the overpass. It was directly across from where they'd parked before where the homeless man was at. There was no sign of him. They were sure they were being played by another group. They thought they would be able to play them. It's not how events turned out.

The two men were ready to act.

"What about the long guns?" The first man asked.

The second man just wanted to get away from the area. They could always acquire more weapons.

"If we're going to try to stop some bimbo, I don't think holding weapons is going to make her want to stop." The second man said. "We still have our pistols. The main goal is to get away from this area as soon as possible. I still think we're being played."

The first man was all for getting away from the area. There was something else he wanted to take advantage of as well.

"Don't forget the extra curricular activity we'll be able to do in the back seat." The second man said.

The first man wanted the second man to focus.

"We're talking about survival right now." The first man said. "Don't let the little head do the thinking for the big one. Once we're out of the area, we can think about having a little fun."

The first man left the keys in the ignition when he turned it off. He made sure both windows were down. He hoped some other gang member picked it up again. It was probably identified as being at the scene of two gang shootings at this point anyway.

They quickly disassembled the two long guns. They pulled the bolt assemblies out of both of them. They didn't want them used against them by any other gang members, or some homeless freaks. They dropped them in the gutter when they got out.

They were ready to commandeer a vehicle.

There was a line of cars which went by. They were all moving too fast. They weren't going to try to hitchhike.

The first man spotted an SUV without any traffic in front of it, or in back of it. It wasn't moving very fast.

"Here comes one with a lone driver." The first man said.

The second man looked over.

"It's even better." The second man said. "It's a chick too."

The first man was ready to make his move.

"I'll come out on the front side of the van and wave my hands back and forth like a giant 'X'." The first man said. "When she stops, come around the back of the van and join me. If the doors are open, just get in."

Lena and Tina knew exactly what the two men were going to do. They were ready for them. One man stepped out from in front of the van to flag their SUV down. He physically blocked the road.


XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Temporal Mission:

Past Timeline:

November 26 1963

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX


Cameron waited at the signal to make a right hand turn. Her eye caught something which pulled into the left turn lane on Prairie Avenue headed towards them. It was about to make a left turn onto West 120th street. They would both be headed in the same direction.

Young Allison looked over at where Cameron looked.

"The Stingray over there looks new." Young Allison said. "Is it the one with the split rear window or is it a 1964 model year? I know they always release them a few months early."

Cameron zoomed in on the Corvette. She saw it as her first real challenge.

"It's a 1963 with the split rear window." Cameron said. "It also happens to be the Z06 model with the L84 engine package."

Young Allison wasn't sure exactly what it meant. She only wanted to know one thing.

"I don't know tech stuff." Young Allison said. "Can you beat it?"

Cameron knew it was going to be tough.

"If Cammy and Sheila hadn't gone through the vehicle to get every horsepower out of the engine possible, I don't think I could." Cameron said. "I think the high octane avgas is going to make the difference."

Young Allison watched the cross traffic go by. She could see the light would change soon. Cameron had an opportunity to make a right, but she didn't. She remained pointed northbound on Prairie avenue. It was clear she was going to wait for the Stingray to make its turn before she did.

They could both hear the other driver rev the engine of the Stingray up several times. If he wanted to catch their attention, he did.

"What size engine does it have, and how much horsepower does it make?" Young Allison asked. "I know it's lighter because of its all fiberglass construction."

"The L84 engine is 326.7 cubic inches, it's referred to as a 327. It's fuel injected and capable of producing 360 horsepower." Cameron said. "Our actual displacement is 425 cubic inches. The engine in this vehicle is capable of producing easily 100 horsepower more than the fuel injected 327 can produce. The Stingray does have the weight advantage though. If the car was made out of aluminum like the Cobra is, there would be nothing which could touch it."

Young Allison wondered about the Cobra.

"What's the best available horsepower out of the Cobra in 1963?" Young Allison asked.

Cameron was aware there were several options available. Young Allison asked for the best.

"It's the high performance 288.5 cubic inch engine." Cameron said. "It's referred to as a HIPO 289. It's rated at 271 horsepower. The Cobra is just about a thousand pounds lighter than the Z06 Stingray. The performance of the two vehicles is nearly identical. When the Mark III Cobra comes out with the 427, it's unbeatable. In a race, the driver would literally be able to take it out of gear and coast to the line because the Stingrays and Jags would be so far behind. Right now my hands are going to be full. I can still pull more RPMs than the Stingray, or the current Cobra for that matter. Remember, if I can stay with the other vehicle through first gear, I can beat it."

Young Allison saw the light for the cross traffic turn yellow. Cameron turned the corner and stopped. She looked back and saw the Stingray wait to make its left hand turn. It came around the corner slowly. He moved up on Cameron's left side. It was clear the driver understood his challenge was accepted.

Cameron wanted to put a qualification out there.

"Remember, we heard him rev his engine first to get our attention." Cameron said. "I think he knows this has a 427 in it. I don't think he knows it's a Lightweight and it's putting out maximum horsepower. We're running on avgas now."

Young Allison looked over as the Corvette pulled up alongside of them. She thought the 1963 model looked much better than the previous C1 generation. The 1963 model was the first of the C2 generation. Her preference was for the C3 generation. It looked the best to her. She checked behind them. The light held any traffic which would come up behind them.

A short time ago:

The driver of the Stingray spotted the Galaxie sitting at the corner. He could tell by the way it looked it was one of the 'high performance' models. He figured it had a 390 PI in it. It might even have the new engine everyone was talking about, the 427.

Since he picked up his Z06 model Corvette earlier in the year, he was able to beat every vehicle he raced except one. It was a tie. It was one of the high performance Cobras. He didn't have any trouble with a Cobra with the 260 or the stock 289. The HIPO 289 was another story. He was aware Chevrolet had a 427 in the works. He knew it was only a matter of time until it would be installed in the Corvette. It would have at least 75 more horsepower than his fuel injected 327 put out. He thought 360 horsepower out of 327 cubic inches was a pretty good showing. The lightweight construction of the Corvette helped a lot. He was sure if someone worked on the Chevrolet 427, they could probably squeeze 100 more horsepower out of it. He also knew it would be only a matter of time until the Ford 427 was put into a Cobra. It was clear the 427 Cobra would always be faster based on the weight of the vehicle alone. It all came down to horsepower to weight. It was a major difference.

The driver of the Stingray could see there were two people in the Galaxie. He knew he had the weight advantage on the Ford. He didn't think he had the horsepower advantage. It was time to find out what he could do.

He watched as the light turned green. He saw the Galaxie roll around the corner and stop. It was clear they heard him revving his engine up. He pulled around the corner and pulled up next to the Galaxie. He was a little surprised to see it was two females. They looked like twins. They were both really pretty.

"Are you ready?" The driver asked.

Cameron looked over and smiled.

"I'm always ready." Cameron said.

He revved up his engine. He was a little surprised when he heard the thunderous roar from the Galaxie. The girl smiled at him again.

"When the light turns green on Crenshaw we'll start." The driver said. "Just past the first street on the left is a quarter mile. It's just over a half a mile to the tower. There won't be any cross traffic. I have the fuel injected 327. What are you running?"

Cameron thought the driver seemed civil. She wanted to let him know exactly what he faced. She wanted her win to be clean.

"I think you know what it is." Cameron said. "It's a 427. This is a 1963 1/2 Galaxie Lightweight."

The Stingray driver wanted to see how he would do.

"The light will change any second." The driver said.

Cameron already observed the signal at the far end of the runway. She knew exactly when it would change. She could easily beat the Stingray off of the line. She wanted a clean win. She would wait for his reaction time before she started. She acknowledged the other driver and looked at Young Allison.

"I got it." Cameron said. "Get ready."

Young Allison nodded. She could feel the adrenaline pump into her system. She took a quick look behind them. There was no traffic. She looked ahead down the length of a mile to the next signal. The light turned green.

She heard both of the vehicles rev up and burn out. They were side by side as they started out. She felt herself pushed back into the seat. She knew Cameron was going to push it all the way to the 'red line'.

Cameron reacted to the reaction time of the other driver when the light turned green. She didn't use the timing she knew when it would change.

It was clear to her the Stingray was a powerful vehicle. It remained even with the Galaxie until the driver needed to shift at 6000 rpm. It was his 'red line' She heard the Corvette get rubber into second. She began to pull away from the Stingray. She pushed the Lightweight another 1000 RPM. She shifted at 7,000 RPM and got rubber. The Stingray hung in right behind her left rear quarter panel. He needed to shift again at 6,000 RPM into third. She was pretty sure he pushed it a couple hundred extra RPM. He needed to watch it, or he was going to damage his engine. It didn't make a difference. She pulled further ahead. She was still in second until she hit 7,000 RPM. She shifted into third and got rubber again. The Stingray was a full car length and a half behind her at this point. She was pulling away from it, even if it was slowly.

The driver of the Stingray could see he was in trouble. He thought he would be able to take her in first gear. It didn't happen. He was amazed the larger car could keep up with him. He figured he'd take them at the shift. When he shifted, he watched the Galaxie pull away from him. They were still in first gear! He wondered how many RPM they were pulling. His red line was 6,000 RPM. He'd only ever needed to redline it with the one Cobra he'd raced. He knew if his engine would have been in the Cobra, it would have walked away from him. He had nearly a hundred horsepower advantage over it. He didn't know how much horsepower advantage the Galaxie had over him, but he figured it was at least a hundred. they certainly had the revs. He'd heard the Ford 427 had cross bolted four bolt mains. It's what gave it all of the bottom end.

He decided to push it a little beyond the red line. He pushed it up to 6,200 RPM before he needed to shift into third. The Galaxie was still in second and pulling away! He heard them get rubber into third. He never heard anyone shift so fast before. They were at least a full car length and a half ahead of him and pulling away. They were soon three car lengths ahead of him. By the time he made it into fourth, they were half a dozen car lengths ahead of him and still accelerating. He could see they were almost to the quarter mile. He would try to stay on the gas and reach his top speed of 117 MPH. He thought he could do it against the Cobra to beat it. He was wrong. The Cobra was good to 140 MPH. He was soon at his 'top end'. They were nearly a half a mile now. The 427 was still pulling away! He didn't know, but it was good to nearly 140 as well in stock form. They were more than a dozen car lengths ahead and still pulling away!

He saw the brake lights flash for a second. He knew the girl indicated it was the end of the race. They needed to slow down before they reached Crenshaw. They were really moving. He wasn't even going to ask for a second race. It was clear even if the Galaxie would have experienced a bad start, it would have been able to overtake him. The girl didn't have a bad start and she made every shift flawlessly. There's one thing he knew for sure. When they put a 427 into a Cobra, it was going to be King Of The Road.

Young Allison was thrilled by the entire event. She was glad there was no cross traffic. She glanced over at the runway as they were moving alongside it. She saw the Cessna which refueled when they arrived, taking off. They literally passed it like it was parked. She could see the Stingray was more of a challenge than the 409 or the 413. She was a little surprised when Cameron didn't let off the gas when they reached the quarter mile mark. They clearly smoked the Corvette. She was just glad she didn't get to take a close up look at the split rear window. She could see the driver of the Stingray was still on the gas as well. He thought he could catch them at the top end. If anything, the Galaxie was still pulling away.

Cameron used all of her Terminator abilities to push the Lightweight to near its maximum performance level. It was clear the avgas gave her some extra horsepower. She could feel the difference over the previous encounters with the 409 and the 413. She could tell the fuel injected 327 was formidable. It just wasn't formidable enough. There was no replacement for displacement. There was no substitute for cubic inches. It was evident with a larger engine producing more horsepower, the Stingray would be faster than it currently was. It was still 1963. Nobody was faster.

She signaled the driver of the Corvette the race was over with a flash of her lights. It was clear she was the victor in both the quarter mile and in top speed. She noticed the Cessna on takeoff. It almost looked like it was parked. She tried to keep her attention on the other vehicle as well as what was in front of her.

Young Allison could feel her heart pounding. She wasn't even behind the wheel.

"Wow!" Young Allison said. "It was totally awesome."

She knew it was one thing to watch from the sidelines, or on a video, of a high performance vehicle as it operated. It was another thing to be in it, and not only hear the whine of a screaming machine, but feel it as well. It was amazing to think how many revolutions per minute were turned by the engine right in front of them. 7,000 RPM was a number not to take lightly when it came to performance. She knew the engine could even rev higher if the 'red line' was pushed.

Cameron slowed down and expected the other driver to come up alongside her. He didn't. She made it through the light at Crenshaw on the yellow. The Stingray got caught in the red. He made a right turn. She didn't see any law enforcement vehicles anywhere. She didn't think anybody would call it in anyway. Street races were common during the time period.

She discussed everything about the race with Young Allison in detail.


Appears That Way

Few are able to go through life
With their own personal valet
Before one can reach tomorrow
They need to get through today

The journey to the top takes time
Even if there's a stairway
If one is side tracked
Things can turn into a melee

There are many different appetizers
Before one is served an entrée
Not all of them are good
Few could be considered gourmet

Plans and ideas come and go
Some are hard to convey
Few will lead to happiness
Many will leave one feeling some dismay

It doesn't take long to figure out
Who will support and who will betray
Does it all fall back to one
It appears that way

Nobody