Chapter 26

Fully Functional

Allison was thrilled to be out with Cameron on one of her operations. She was sober about the fact the mission was dangerous. They were all dangerous. This was an opportunity to take the fight to the enemy on their terms. Not to react to a Skynet attack.

Cameron explained many of the targets she sought didn't have a clue about Skynet, or what their future held. They were being brought to justice before they committed their crimes against mankind, again. It was their actions in the future which determined their fate. Cameron said she only administered the sentence the people gave themselves, by their own future deeds. She wasn't the judge. She was merely the executioner.

Allison was pleased Cameron let her drive. Cameron didn't yell at her like Vanna and Sarah did when she made mistakes. A few times Cameron quickly looked over at her, and she realized what her mistake was. She was happy she'd only run through one stoplight, at least the one she noticed as she passed through the intersection.

Cameron was aware of Allison's driving habits before they started out. She'd previously followed Allison on several different outings of driving practice with Vanna and Sarah. She didn't necessarily think Allison's driving was as much the problem, as it was the other unskilled motorist on the road. It was clear the other drivers lacked the awareness, as to what was happening around them, as they drove.

She understood Allison's desire to improve herself. Most of the targets she was after, on a mission of this nature, were unaware of what was coming. Sometimes Skynet sought to protect a future asset. It usually wasn't the case. It still occurred from time to time.

"We're nearing the location." Cameron said. "Turn right at the next street. Go past two small streets and park alongside the curb."

Cameron and Allison arrived at the location Cameron selected to leave the vehicle.

Allison parked the SUV. She'd bumped up on the curb with the right front tire when she pulled over to park. It created some unnecessary noise as the tire rode up and then down off of the curb. She quickly looked over at Cameron.

Cameron wanted to give Allison some positive reinforcement.

"Don't worry about it. You'll get the hang of it soon enough." Cameron said.

Allison was shown some satellite images before they left the Resistance base. It was to give her an overview of the target, and the area around the target. She looked around where they were currently at. She thought they were still about a mile away from the selected target.

"Why did we park so far away from the objective?" Allison asked.

Cameron liked to play it safe and arrive unannounced and unnoticed. There was no vehicle present, near the target location, to draw attention or scrutiny. No one would see her get in or out of the vehicle. In this instance, no one would have heard the SUV ride up on the curb, and the 'squeal' it made as it did so.

"I like to walk in and do recon as I move in." Cameron said. "I don't like surprises."

Allison tried to liven the mood some.

"So, no surprise birthday party then?" Allison asked.

Cameron tilted her head slightly. It reminded her of a question she'd asked John before on the subject. The events surrounding the day were best left unremembered. She decided to stick to the facts.

"I wasn't born." Cameron said.

Allison saw it a little differently based on how Cameron's chip was returned to the past, the present. She tried to make a joke about it.

"It sure felt like it." Allison said. "So, no surprise - 'builtday' party then?"

Cameron seemed indifferent. She was focused on the operation.

"No." Cameron said. "I don't like surprises."

Allison thought maybe she should get serious.

They moved along through several back alleys.

Allison saw a large dog look at them and run away. It left a trail of urine as it ran. It wasn't the reaction dogs expressed towards Terminators in her future. The behavior was usually very violent on the part of the animal.

"Why didn't the dog bark at you?" Allison asked. "It ran off, scared."

Cameron tried out something new the last few weeks, in response to the issue with different animals, especially canines.

"Vanna worked out some synthetic pheromones which mask my mechanical construction and energy field." Cameron said. "Animals sense a 'predator', and back off accordingly. Once when I took Savannah on survival training, a bear came into our camp. I stood up and faced it. The bear did the same thing. I advanced towards the bear. It ran away. I thought I would have to terminate it. I'm glad it ran off. It might have upset Savannah if further action would have been necessary."

Cameron hadn't indicated she held a weapon.

"Did you mean you would've needed to shoot the bear?" Allison asked.

Cameron was a weapon.

"No. I would have terminated it with my hands." Cameron said. "It wouldn't have been a problem. It would have been an honorable termination for the bear to die in combat."

Allison thought about everything she'd just heard. She was told Savannah had gone 'camping' with Cameron. She quickly realized it would have been more fun for Savannah to know she was going 'camping', instead of conducting 'survival training'.

They moved along through a back alley. Cameron scanned the surroundings as they progressed. A feline stalked some type of rodent. The cat ran off too as they approached, so did the rodent. The rodent actually ran in the direction the cat did to further distance itself from Cameron as quickly as possible. The perceived threat, was greater than the actual threat to the rodent.

Allison couldn't help but let her mind wander. There were some questions which nagged her. There were some events which occurred in the future she figured she would need to answer to. So far none of them had been asked.

"What would have happened if John, or myself, never came back?" Allison asked.

It was an easy answer for Cameron.

"I would have gone to look for him, like I did, as soon as I was mobile." Cameron said.

Allison knew some people just disappeared in the Wastelands. Maybe they were killed or captured by Skynet forces. Maybe Scavengers got a hold of them. A lot of things could happen.

"What if you hadn't found him?" Allison asked.

It would have been Cameron's sole mission for the rest of her existence.

"I would have searched for John until my power cell ran out, or I was terminated." Cameron said.

It sounded like real determination to Allison. She took a moment to think about what Cameron actually said.

"It's very romantic, without sounding very romantic." Allison said.

Cameron thought about her origin.

"I was built for John." Cameron said.

Allison knew the story began a little differently.

"I think it's more like you were built to terminate John." Allison replied.

Cameron glanced over at Allison.

"I'm ashamed of it, Allison." Cameron said.

Allison thought she may have overstepped.

"I'm sorry." Allison said.

Allison noticed there was a definite frown on Cameron's face in the moonlight.

"I'm even more ashamed about when I was damaged." Cameron said. "I reverted back to my core programming. I couldn't help myself. I was in the process of fixing myself, even as I acted out to try and terminate John.

Allison could see the grief it caused Cameron.

"I'm sorry." Allison said.

Cameron felt a sense of frustration.

"I ruined John's birthday." Cameron said.

Sadness filled Cameron's mind as she remembered.

"I was able to fix myself. John and Sarah didn't believe me." Cameron said. "They deactivated me. They were going to burn me with Thermite. I was seconds away from being destroyed."

Allison touched Cameron's arm. She could tell how painful it was for Cameron to relive.

"I'm sorry to bring it up, Cameron." Allison said. "Let's just drop it."

Cameron would like to. There was also a reality she needed to face.

"It happened." Cameron said.

Allison wanted to ask without asking.

"It seems inevitable John and you will take the relationship a little further." Allison said. "If you're able to do so, I don't know what your limitations are."

Cameron wondered if Allison was going to ask to be a surrogate in her relationship with John.

"I'm fully functional. I'm programmed in multiple techniques and a broad variety of pleasure." Cameron responded.

Allison wondered what all it entailed, maybe she would ask another time. She might get a few new 'ideas' for Vanna. She was pretty sure they'd tried just about everything possible. Vanna told her a little about Cameron. She wanted to hear a little more.

"I understand you're a special model of Terminator." Allison said.

Cameron understood the details of her construction and programming.

"Yes, I am. I'm a 'Terminator Class TOK715 Infiltration Unit'." Cameron said.

It sounded heavy to Allison.

"I don't know tech stuff." Allison said.

They moved in silence for a few hundred yards more.

"We're approaching the objective." Cameron said.

Cameron looked around as she scanned the area. She needed to remind Allison what the rules of engagement were.

"I need you to follow my lead and respond as I instruct you." Cameron said. "If you see something developing, or about to happen I may have missed, you need to take appropriate action. At no time do I want you to take an unnecessary risk. You may always withdraw from the area, until you can return with an advantage."

Allison felt her experience from the future would guide her.

"I've done this before." Allison said. "I'll be careful."

Cameron wanted it quick and clean.

"This is a simple in and out termination." Cameron said.

Allison wondered what the crime was the individual committed in the future.

"Who is this guy?" Allison asked. "What did he do for Skynet?"

Allison was mildly surprised at what was revealed next.

"It's a woman." Cameron said. "She's a chemist. She becomes a Skynet technician who works to develop a biological weapon. Mrs. Weaver terminated her in the future. We're going to terminate her in the present."

Allison could see it would be a clean sweep. She understood the possibility of J-Day was very real, even with the efforts of the Resistance in the past, the present.

"There's nothing like covering all the bases." Allison said.

Cameron believed every termination she conducted, saved countless thousands of human lives in any future.

"I like to win." Cameron said. "If we can't stop Skynet, we have to lessen its impact."

Allison nodded.

"I agree." Allison said.

Cameron was able to witness two futures. There was a distinct difference. She believed it revolved around one individual.

"Without John, your future was worse than my future for humans." Cameron said.

Cameron tilted her head slightly. She held her hand up.

Allison picked up on Cameron's action. She stopped.

Cameron tilted her head slightly in the other direction.

"Something's wrong here." Cameron said.

Cameron looked at the surrounding buildings. She didn't like what she observed. She instantly understood the implications. She pointed up.

"I can see movement in those two buildings. It's on the top floor windows." Cameron said. "Someone is expecting us."

Allison became instant alert. She understood it for what it was.

"It's an ambush." Allison said.

Cameron quickly formulated a plan.

"I'll take the building on the right. You'll take the one on the left." Cameron said.

Allison checked her weapons and headed out.

Cameron watched her go.

Allison moved with stealth. She entered the building through a first floor window. She advanced soundless up the stairs. She slowed as she neared the top floor. She noticed the glow of a cigarette ahead.

Cameron provided Allison with a silenced .22 pistol. Cameron brought it along specifically for her. She moved forward in a crouched position. She closed in on the target. She took aim in the near darkness and fired. The figure slumped to the floor. She quickly advanced on him. She fired an additional round into an eye socket as she passed by him.

Allison went to the end of the corridor. There was someone up ahead. They looked out a window to where Cameron should have passed to reach her target.

"Hey, Dave, get in here and help me spot. They say the bitch is Metal." A figure spoke. "I haven't spotted anything yet. You know the 'circuit brains' operate like clockwork."

Allison quietly walked up in back of him.

"Dave's not here." Allison said.

She fired three rounds into the back of the man's neck. He went down instantly. His head impacted the floor. It sounded like someone hit a brick wall with a baseball bat. She put an additional round in his eye socket.

Allison went to the window and looked down. Cameron emerged from a shadow and gave her a 'thumbs up'. Allison was surprised Cameron was already finished with her targets. She thought she'd moved swiftly. Cameron evidently moved even more swiftly.

Cameron saw the man in the window slump from Allison's attack. She'd already dispatched her sniper targets. She then entered the building with the primary target.

Allison moved out of the building with caution. She wanted to rejoin with Cameron at the rendezvous point. She would need to search for any additional threats since an ambush had already been set.

She checked a side street. She stayed in the shadows.

There was a van parked on the street with two people in the front. Allison saw they wore the same color, and type of overalls, as the two dead men in the sniper's nest. She figured more were in the back of the van. It was most likely some type of quick reaction team. She took a C-4 charge and quietly affixed it to the rear doors. She knew when they opened the rear doors to come out, they would have a 'surprise'. She moved back the way she'd come from.

Allison moved up to cover Cameron's exit. She heard gunfire inside the building. There was some screaming, several single shots, and a burst of automatic fire.

A few seconds later an explosion sounded on the side street. The van exploded.

Cameron exited the building. No one pursued her.

It looked like there was some blood on her.

"Are you OK?" Allison asked.

Cameron glanced down at her clothing.

"Yes. Most of it isn't my blood." Cameron said.

It sounded a little open ended to Allison. She wanted a little better clarification. If a team member was injured, she needed to know.

"Most of it?" Allison asked. "Have you been shot?"

Cameron wanted to keep it simple. Similar things happened to her a lot. It wasn't a big deal.

"I have taken a few hits." Cameron said. "I terminated two men in the sniper's nest in the building across the street, four in this building, and the primary target."

Allison wanted Cameron to know about the additional threat.

"I booby trapped a van parked around the corner." Allison said. "There must have been at least three men in it. I think there were more, but I don't know for sure."

Cameron nodded. She'd been unaware of the threat. It clearly would have produced further complications to what she'd already experienced. Allison's actions most likely prevented her from additional damage.

"I heard it explode, good job." Cameron said. "Let's go back. This building is about to detonate as well."

Twenty seconds later the building exploded.

Allison glanced back after the explosion. She looked up at the two buildings where the snipers were taken out.

"Is this what you do every night?" Allison asked.

Cameron tried to stay active. The enemy needed to be located and terminated.

"Sometimes." Cameron said. "I don't sleep."

Allison thought about the level of danger.

"Nice." Allison said.

Cameron didn't like the ambush which was set for them. She would need to use even more caution going forward.

"I've been after single targets mostly." Cameron said. "Someone figured out I was coming here. I need to figure out how or why."

Allison was sure Cameron must have killed a lot of people doing the same type of work.

"How many people have you terminated, Cameron?" Allison asked.

Cameron frowned slightly. She was constructed as a Terminator.

"It's not important. I'm not proud of it. Let's say between Grays, Skynet operatives, Scavengers, and Terminators, it's more than you want to know." Cameron said. "It's what I do."

A siren approached from somewhere in the distance.

They hurried back to the SUV.

Allison offered the keys to Cameron.

Cameron smiled and pointed at the driver's store. She wanted Allison to get some more driving experience on their way back to the base.

Allison started the SUV. They drove away.

Cameron's mood was noticeably different.

"You seem a little upset, Cameron." Allison said. "Did I do something wrong?"

Cameron paused before she answered.

"No." Cameron said. "I'll need to clean the blood spots out of my jeans when we get back."

Allison wanted to help a little more.

"I can do it for you." Allison said.

Cameron responded quickly.

"No! Thank You. I don't sleep." Cameron said. "You need to sleep."

Allison was sure something else bothered Cameron, and it wasn't laundry.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Found

When all seems lost
Every door slammed closed
We soon realize it was
Our own feelings we superimposed

For every path in
There's a path out
We're always unsure
Filled with shame and doubt

Each wound cuts deep
To the bone it goes far
Our bodies and minds will heal
Often leaving a reminding scar

When the damage is severe
In others we must seek aid
For ourselves we may not
But for others we have prayed

We are never alone
Even if no one is around
From out of nowhere
Nobody can be found

Nobody