Chapter 31
Screwed
John wanted to conduct an operation since Cameron was 'out of town' for a few days. He didn't like the way she tried to keep him out of combat. He felt it was part of his 'job' as the 'leader of the Resistance'.
John Henry came up with a solid lead. It was backed up by satellite photos and traffic cam footage.
John planned the operation with John Henry and went on the mission with Bob and Jim. It was a storage facility of some type. Something important seemed to be happening there based on all the truck traffic. Everything indicated it was a Skynet operation, or at least Skynet related. They could expect to find Grays there and possibly a Skynet Terminator.
They laid out a plan of attack. It was decided they would approach as clandestinely as possible. They wanted to make a successful attack, not fight a drawn out battle.
"We'll come in from the rear. There's a 'Forest Service' road which runs through the hills." John said. "We'll stay off the highway, and the flatlands to the north, for our final approach."
John looked at Bob and Jim. He knew he would be able to depend on both of them.
"You both have been briefed on what to do." John said.
Bob wanted to make one of the mission parameters clear. Even if Cameron wasn't there, they still had predetermined plans to follow.
"One of us is to accompany you at all times." Bob said.
John knew plans could change since the battlefield was fluid. They might need some operational flexibility.
"What if I order you to do something differently?" John asked. "Something may arise where you will be needed elsewhere."
Jim wanted John to be protected. He restated what Cameron's guidelines were.
"One of us is to accompany you at all times." Jim said.
John frowned. He could feel Cameron's influence, even when she wasn't around.
"Don't tell me, Cameron hard wired it into you." John said.
Bob needed to follow his programming.
"She said it's for your protection." Bob added.
John understood Cameron's concern.
"Behind every great man, there's a great woman…." John said.
Bob wasn't sure if the term 'woman' was the correct one to use. Cameron was a cyborg with female attributes. He understood what John meant.
"Affirmative…." Bob replied.
John tried not to smile. It always made him think back to 'Uncle Bob'.
"What did I tell you about using those types of terms?" John asked.
Bob shrugged his shoulders. It was the most logical and concise response.
"I'll learn and adapt as we go along." Bob said.
John looked at Bob for a moment. He wanted to test out what he'd indicated.
"I'm glad we got everything straightened out." John said.
Bob looked at John for a moment.
"Affirmative…." Bob said.
John didn't say anything for a moment. He then started to laugh.
John was glad to get out of the base. He also wanted to be behind the wheel. He looked around as they drove. He missed being out in the open. He needed to spend a lot of his life, as he got older, in seclusion. It wasn't his first choice. He knew he would always be hunted by Skynet. So far Cameron had done an outstanding job of keeping him off of Skynet's radar. He was appreciative she'd also kept his mother from becoming a target again as well.
The drive was a little longer than he thought it would be. The goal was to not attract any attention to them. So far they hadn't.
Jim knew they were getting close to the location where they would implement their plan.
"Our entry point is just up ahead." Jim said.
When they arrived at the turnoff for the 'Forest Service' road, there was a chain with a padlock which blocked their path.
Bob got out and snapped the chain. He didn't want to break the lock. If there was any type of patrol to check the area, they would see the lock was original and untampered with.
John drove through.
Bob picked the chain back up. He bent the link back together. He did it just enough to hold the chain up. It was done so it would snap easily if they had to hit it in a hurry on the way out with the vehicle.
They parked on the back side of the last rise before the factory. They were close, but not close enough to be seen. They covered the SUV with camouflage netting. It was backed into a small gully for additional concealment. Someone would almost have to specifically be looking for it to spot it.
Jim took a final look at the camouflaged vehicle.
"The vehicle is secure." Jim said.
John was satisfied with the location the vehicle was parked. It was time to head for the objective.
"Let's move out." John said.
John went to take the lead.
Bob moved up in front of him.
"I have point." Bob said as he passed John.
John wasn't going to argue about it. Bob would be able to spot trip wires, or surveillance equipment, better than he could. They slowed as they neared the last rise of the hill which overlooked the facility below.
Jim was behind John. He would watch their six to make sure they didn't pick up a tail.
They inched up to the top and scanned the facility from the crest of the hill. Everything looked clear. There weren't any Terminators spotted. It was a good start anyway.
They'd laid out a route of entry from the satellite photos.
John went over the plan again.
"We'll move down through the dry wash. We'll look for any surveillance equipment before we try to gain access to the building proper." John said. "We want to gather any intel we can before the shooting starts. If you see a threat, you're to neutralize it. If we see a Terminator and are detected, we'll plant the charges and pull out. We don't want to engage unless it becomes necessary."
Jim hoped to remain undetected as long as possible.
"Affirmative…. " Jim said.
Bob agreed it was an effective strategy.
"Affirmative…." Bob said.
John couldn't help but smile. He just shook his head in resignation.
"I need to be more involved in the reprogramming." John muttered.
Cameron was damaged. She wasn't going to let John go on the operation 'alone'. She would back him up clandestinely. It would be done with the help of Allison and Sarah. They would try to stay out of the operation as much as they could. If for some reason they needed to back up John's team, they would. The goal was to make sure John remained safe. They weren't there to baby-sit him. They were there to assist him.
They shared some small talk along the way. It was more of a somber mood. Sarah and Allison could tell how worried Cameron was about not being at John's side.
Cameron, Sarah and Allison arrived at the location Cameron knew John would use to gain access to the facility. They actually had his plan from John Henry. They knew it could change at any point.
"They'll go in the back way through the 'Forest Service' road." Cameron said. "Let me check the chain."
Cameron got out and looked at the chain. She barely pulled on it. It separated.
Sarah drove their SUV through.
Cameron reset the chain as it was when she'd found it. It was still set to snap easily if an SUV needed to ram it to get out in a hurry. There would be minimal damage to the SUV this way.
They moved up the road in darkness.
"I see their SUV." Cameron said. "Let's park over there on the opposite side."
Cameron exited the SUV and carefully moved up to peer over the crest of the hill.
Sarah backed the SUV into where Cameron wanted it.
They tried to remain just out of visual contact with John's team since they'd left the Resistance base. They'd followed behind John's team by only about five to ten minutes.
Cameron wanted to be close, but not be spotted. She'd been able to catch a glimpse of them as they made their final move towards the objective.
"They just went into the building." Cameron said. "All three of them are now inside."
Sarah and Allison moved up as well. They both took a look. There wasn't much for them to see.
It seemed to Allison they should do a little more.
"Do we wait to see what happens?" Allison asked.
Cameron didn't want to wait. She wanted to be close enough to deliver an effective response if it became necessary. She wanted Sarah and Allison to reinforce John's team.
"No. We'll move down. You and Sarah can back them up now. Remember, I'm not here." Cameron said. "If this goes sour, and I get separated, you're to go and leave without me. You're to protect John and watch out for yourselves. There were motorcycles and cars at the fast food store we drove past. I will procure transportation from there."
Allison remembered the store was back a ways.
"It was back like fifteen or twenty miles ago." Allison said.
Cameron didn't see it as a problem.
"It won't take me long to cover the distance. I can acquire new transportation if needed." Cameron said. "I've done it before on other operations."
Sarah hoped Cameron wouldn't get into a run-in with a group of bikers.
"If you take one of the motorcycles, make sure the rest are disabled." Sarah said.
Cameron understood the implication without it needing to be said. There's no need to worry Sarah needlessly. It was time to move the operation along.
"I'll take care of it." Cameron said. "Let's follow this gully down."
They moved in silence. Cameron led the way.
Cameron suddenly stopped and dropped down.
Sarah and Allison did the same.
Cameron spoke quietly to the two females. She wanted to switch to their backup plan. She wanted to make sure John's team could get out of the building.
"Stop." Cameron said quietly. "There's a group of men moving out between those two sets of rocks. It's most likely a tunnel entrance. They're all armed. I want you two to move back up and get the sniper rifle out. Use the Coltan rounds, just in case. Sarah can shoot. Allison will spot and provide security on her six."
Allison looked at Sarah. She could see she was a little uncomfortable.
"I'll shoot." Allison said.
Allison knew Sarah didn't want to kill, unless she needed to. She didn't have the same hang up. She'd killed people in her future many times. She knew the enemy. The enemy needed to be eradicated. The enemy was the enemy by choice.
Sarah nodded at Allison and looked at Cameron.
"What about you?" Sarah asked.
Cameron saw where the threat originated from. She figured there was probably an additional threat there. There was at least something there for the enemy team to have originated from.
"I'm going to see what's in the tunnel. I need you to hold your position and keep the vehicles secure. Don't move down the slope. Keep checking your flanks and six when the shooting starts. Text John and let him know you're here and what's happening." Cameron said. "Remember, I'm not here."
Cameron wanted John to know there was a hostile force on his six. They didn't appear to be aggressive yet. They would be easier targets for Allison as long as they thought they were on a routine patrol, where nothing ever happened. She was aware patrol and sentry duty became very boring when everything was always the same.
John felt his phone buzz.
'Now what?' John wondered.
He quickly looked at Bob and Jim.
John checked his phone. It was Allison. She sent the message about the patrol and their position. She also said what they were going to do about the patrol.
"Great, we're about to get screwed. Sarah and Allison have taken up a sniping position on the hill we came down. They followed us here. There's a small force of armed men closing our back door. They appear to have come out from a tunnel on the west side of this structure. They don't think any of them are Terminators. We need to plant the charges and get out now. We'll use the exit on the east side we saw on the plans. I'll let Allison know where we're coming out of the building at."
Bob went to make sure the exit was clear. He returned quickly.
"There is a Terminator by the exit." Bob said.
John let out a long breath. Another door was just closed in their face.
"Beautiful…." John said.
Bob and Jim both accessed files at John's last statement to determine the different context usage of the term 'beautiful'.
John figured they would need to exit the way they'd entered. He wanted to make sure they weren't trapped inside.
"Jim, go back to the door we came in at. When the sniping starts, I want you to 'fill in with the bass'." John said as he indicated the 'pig' Jim carried.
Jim checked the belt on his M60.
"Affirmative…." Jim said.
John notified Allison to have the sniping start from the rear, when the first man was twenty feet from the door. He informed her Jim would open up with the M60 on the group closest to the door. There shouldn't be anywhere for the enemy to run once the shooting started.
"Bob, when the shooting starts, the Terminator should come to investigate. He'll round the corner where you're at." John said. "When you hear me yell 'Hey', he should turn to look at me. Step out from this row of boxes, and open up on him. I'll be in the clear off to the side before he sees me."
Bob wasn't so sure about John using himself as bait. It was a workable plan nonetheless.
"Affirmative…." Bob said.
There was now a slight grin on John's face.
"Whatever…." John said as he shook his head.
It was always amusing to John, even if it was somewhat irritating.
Cameron worked her way to the top of the tunnel entrance. There were two men standing guard. She dropped down on top of one man. She crushed his skull with her feet. The second man turned to see what the noise was. She drove her fist into his chest. The aimed blow ruptured his heart. She scanned the area for any other guards. There were none apparent.
The first sniper round sounded, and then the M60 opened up. Cameron heard one more sniper round among the automatic fire and then it was quiet. None of the men in the patrol returned a shot.
Seconds later Cameron heard of a long burst of automatic fire from inside the building. It was quiet afterwards.
She entered the tunnel.
Seconds ago:
Inside the building, the Terminator ran towards the gunfire. He ran around the corner.
John was waiting to draw his attention.
"Hey." John said loudly.
The Terminator turned to look.
Bob stepped out and fired his M4. It was loaded with Coltan rounds. He fired into the Terminator's torso and legs.
The Terminator went down incapacitated.
John checked the area and moved forward. He saw no additional threats.
"Let's try to get his chip so we can see what his mission is and where he's been." John said. "I want to know who sent him."
Bob moved in and quickly removed the chip. The fallen Terminator never rebooted.
John wanted to set the explosive charges and move out. He wanted to bring the deactivated Terminator with them.
"Let's get out and blow this place." John said. "Bring his chassis. We may be able to fix and reprogram him. If not, we can use the Coltan for projectiles."
John checked with Allison.
Allison was glad to hear from them after the burst of automatic gunfire from inside the building. She told John it was clear to move back up the hill.
John's team was halfway up the hill when the building detonated.
The five of them joined up at the top.
Bob placed his 'cargo' in the back of their SUV.
John was a little concerned Sarah and Allison were there without a Terminator escort. He was unaware Cameron was with them.
"Jim, you're with Allison and Sarah." John said. "Bob stays with me."
John looked back at the burning building.
"Let's go." John said.
Allison and Sarah looked at each other anxiously. They knew they were about to leave Cameron behind.
Closing monologue by Cameron:
Screwed
There are many interpretations
Of what it means to be screwed
Most may think or wonder
If it's about something lewd
Everything depends on
How something is viewed
It may be bent or twisted
So its real meaning is skewed
One's thoughts to some
May seem abrasive or rude
Others may see them as
Unsophisticated and crude
There's no need to be angry
Or to get steamed or stewed
Take life at face value
There's no need be shrewd
Break the shackles and restraints
Let your very soul be nude
There's more to life
Don't end up a prude
Nobody