Chapter 196

Dog House

Derek, Kyle, Jim, and Mel would need to see what developed with the Grays.

They watched the box truck make a left hand turn two streets ahead. It was a side street. It was possible the box truck was near its destination. It might only be a stop too. Either way, it would be a destination. It would be a possible target.

Jim didn't want to tip their hand.

"Turn at the street before the one they turned on." Jim said. "Let me out and drive down to the end of the block. You can approach from the other direction on the street the truck went down. I'll make sure they don't slip back out."

Mel made the turn. He pulled over to the curb and Jim got out.

"I'm going with Jim." Kyle said. "Two sets of eyes might be needed."

Kyle was out before anyone could protest.

Derek thought it was a good move. He wanted Mel to get moving.

"Let's get down to the end of the street and over to the next street." Derek said. "I don't want the Grays to slip away from us. Jim and Kyle can obtain additional transportation if it becomes necessary."

Mel could see the operation was going to expand beyond a simple recon. He knew Derek was right.

"Affirmative…." Mel said.

He quickly drove the SUV down the side street and turned right at the next street. He didn't see the box truck on the side street. He was sure it was still on the street it turned on.

Derek wanted to look.

"Wait here just in back of the corner." Derek said. "I'll go up and take a look."

Derek was out of the SUV before Mel could protest. He experienced plenty of similar situations before.

Moments ago:

Jim exited from the SUV. He was a little surprised to see Kyle follow him. The SUV drove off before he could tell Kyle to get back into it.

Kyle didn't want any delays. He knew Jim could move faster than he could.

"Get up to the street and take a look." Kyle said. "I'll be right behind you."

Jim took off at a fast run. He slowed as he reached the next corner. He glanced back and saw Kyle wasn't too far behind him. He looked around the corner and saw the box truck turn into a driveway three quarters of the way down the street.

Kyle caught up to Jim a few seconds later. He didn't see the truck.

"Did you see where the truck went?" Kyle asked.

Jim nodded.

"Affirmative…." Jim said

Derek hurried to the corner and looked around. He didn't see the truck. He was about to contact Kyle when he received a call.

"Do you have them?" Derek asked. "I'm at the northeast corner on the street it turned on."

"Jim said it was the building four from the end on the south side of the street." Kyle said. "It should be very near your position. I think you and Mel should hold where you're at. Jim and I can acquire another vehicle and do a drive by."

Derek wasn't sure a drive by was a good idea.

"If we know the building, we don't need to make our presence known." Derek said. "The second vehicle is a good idea depending upon which way they will turn out when they leave. They could go out where Mel and I are at, or go back the way they came past Jim and you. There's no need to give them a look at any of our vehicles unless we have to. We don't know what kind of surveillance they have set up."

Derek and Mel waited at one end of the street. Jim and Kyle waited at the other. They already scoped out several vehicles they could appropriate if necessary.

Cameron was upset at John now. She looked at Isabel-Cameron and it upset her even more. She felt Isabel was way Hotter looking than she was. To see Isabel-Cameron naked with her rings, HER nipple rings, made her even Hotter. She just knew John must have been 'hitting' it half a dozen times a day since her 'deactivation'. No wonder he didn't reactivate her. He didn't need her. He had something better to use for his pleasure. She wondered if he spent any more time with Isabel than he did with her. Usually he just did his business and he was done. She was normally left high and dry. Well, not so dry.

She faced Isabel-Cameron after giving Allison back her player. Her very presence and appearance offended and insulted her. The more she looked at Isabel-Cameron, the angrier she became.

It was all too much for her to deal with right now, but it needed to be dealt with.

Cameron tried to control herself but the pent up anger seeped out anyway. While she was in 'Sleeping Beauty' mode, John surely was sleeping with another beauty, Isabel-Cameron.

The words slipped out of her mouth. She couldn't stop them. It didn't matter if all the others were standing there. Her feelings got the best of her. She looked directly at Isabel-Cameron.

"Bitch Whore." Cameron said.

Isabel-Cameron wasn't happy to see Cameron back as 'Cameron'. It was HER. She was 'Cameron'. Now there were two of her and she was the copy. Cameron was the original. Everyone knew Cameron was a Bitch.

The two Metal girls eyed each other. They both were ready to fight. They both WANTED to fight. The winner would be the one to choose the chassis they wanted. At this point, it may come down to the chassis which was less damaged after the fight ended.

They moved closer to each other

They were going to fight.

It appeared to be a fight which would last until one of them was terminated. It was what they both wanted. It would be a fight until termination so there was only one of them left. The victor would take all. John was the prize.

Holly and Gail were both ready to intervene. It looked like things were going to get violent. Both of them expected to be damaged.

Allison, Vanna, and Jesse all moved behind Cameron. They all loved her. They all proved their loyalty to follow her blindly into the unknown. The Duplicate girls even followed Duplicate Cameron into death.

Isabel-Cameron didn't like what Cameron called her. She threw it right back at Cameron. She added what she knew bothered Cameron even more. She wanted to hurt her. She wanted to enrage her. She wanted to cloud her thinking.

"Bitch Whore - NOBODY." Isabel-Cameron said.

It was the final straw for Cameron. Nobody called her - Nobody.

Both of the combatants moved towards each other….

Cameron looked Perfect and Tight. It was even more so than she ever seemed to have looked.

Isabel-Cameron looked Perfect and HOT. She was unclad. Her nipple rings shined brightly on her firm and perky breasts.

It looked like all HELL was about to break loose.

It appeared no force in the verse was going to stop the altercation.

The two angry machines advanced on each other….

It was now a fight for John. It was a fight to the finish. One of them would be terminated. The other would probably be severely damaged. Both chassis would most likely need to be scrapped.

John Henry watched the new developments on his security feed. He was led to believe Cameron's chip was in Isabel-Cameron and Cameron's chassis contained the reprogrammed chip. It was supposed to be deactivated as it waited to be Resequenced. Isabel-Cameron made it clear she didn't want to see her former chassis or hear anything about it until she was ready. All indications were it would be, never.

He was amazed at what he witnessed. It appeared Cameron possessed no end of surprises and tricks. She was still able to win every battle and encounter. He learned cats were supposed to have 'nine lives'. He knew it was really their quick reflexes which provided them with extended longevity. It seemed Cameron lacked no shortage of lives either. There was programming in her which was masked and undetectable. It allowed her to take chances she shouldn't take and survive. Time after time she survived when she should have been terminated. Savannah always said Cameron was invincible and eternal, maybe she was right….

John Henry wondered if there were more 'Camerons' out there in the past, present, or future. As it was, there were the two sets he saw created from the TDE Incident. The event created Duplicate versions of Cameron and the girls. They weren't from an alternate timeline, but duplicated in the current timeline. The 'heart' in Duplicate Cameron proved it. Would Cameron come back from the future, some future, as a Liquid Metal Terminator? What would happen then?

He hurried toward Isabel-Cameron's room. He found Bob along the way. He was instructing Savannah on the advantages of various types of weapons. He knew Holly and Gail were already there. He was afraid the four of them were going to have to separate Cameron and Isabel-Cameron from a fight. He was very worried once a fight started, it would most likely end with the termination of one of the two combatants, and severe damage to the other one.

Savannah heard what was happening and followed along. She wanted to see Cameron again. She KNEW Cammy would be back. Once again, when everyone else thought Cameron was 'gone', she held firm and true Cameron would return. She believed Cameron, as 'Cameron', was eternal and invincible.

She made promises to keep. She planned to remind Cameron why. It made a difference for the future. It meant there needed to be a future.

The 'Nobody' reference was the last straw for Cameron.

"BITCH WHORE." Cameron said as she advanced on Isabel-Cameron.

Cameron possessed her original chip. She didn't have the calming effect of Holly in her as did Isabel-Cameron. It appeared it wasn't going to have any effect anyway as Isabel-Cameron faced Cameron down. Isabel-Cameron was unable to destroy Cameron before, but a fight may be a different story. This was a fight over John now. It was personal in every way.

Holly tried to get between Cameron and Isabel-Cameron. Gail moved to assist Holly. It only seemed to further enrage the combatants. They didn't want any outside interference. They wanted to get started and get it finished.

Cameron knew it was going to be violent and messy. She planned to rip Isabel's face off, and maybe one or both of her breasts. She wanted to tear her apart physically. She wanted to rip her to shreds. She wanted to get some of the innocents out of the way. She wanted John and the girls away from there.

"John, get everyone out of here - NOW." Cameron said.

Isabel-Cameron only wanted to destroy Cameron. She didn't wish to damage anyone else, or hurt one of the girls.

"DO IT." Isabel-Cameron said. "It looks like I need to throw the TRASH out - AGAIN."

Holly and Gail were between them at this point.

Cameron planned to settle the score. She didn't want anyone in the way.

"Both of you - GET OUT - NOW." Cameron commanded.

Isabel-Cameron wanted them out of the way so she could start in on Cameron. She planned to smash her face flat on the cement. She wouldn't stop until Cameron's skull was flat in the front. She wanted to see how cute Cameron thought she was then.

"DO IT. This is between the old and the new." Isabel-Cameron said to Cameron. "YOU were replaced - AGAIN."

The 'replaced' terminology caused Cameron's eyes to glow red as were Isabel-Cameron's eyes now too.

John urged everyone to leave the room as the two Terminators requested. There wasn't going to be anything to stop it. It seemed his presence made everything worse.

The two females now moved to fight.

They made a grab for each other, but each managed to dodge the other.

Cameron was very specific as to how she planned to destroy Isabel-Cameron.

"First I'm going to rip MY rings off your nipples. Then I'll tear each breast off. For the finally, I'm going to rip your 'BITCH WHORE' head off." Cameron said. "I'll have it mounted so everyone will be reminded of your failure. You will lose."

Isabel-Cameron didn't like the mouth on Cameron. She would rip a 'Glasgow Smile' into Cameron's face before she turned it into pulp. A permanent smile would help damper some of Cameron's normal glumness. If Cameron wasn't so high strung, she might have been able to actually enjoy life. Instead she was an impediment to it, and all of those around her.

"It's you who is headed for the scrap heap 'BITCH WHORE". I replaced you MYSELF." Isabel-Cameron said. "No one missed you while you were gone. No one will miss you again. No one ever missed Nobody."

Bob and John Henry arrived and saw what was about to happen as well now. It was out of control.

There was no stopping it.

Something brushed through the crowd. It moved like a leaf in the wind. It was Savannah.

She wasn't afraid for herself. She was only worried about Cameron and Isabel-Cameron. Savannah hurried her way through. The others tried to stop her but she dodged and sidestepped all of them.

The two angry machines came at each other again.

Just as the two Terminators were about to throw blows, or grab each other, Savannah was between them. She boldly faced both of them down.

"Stop." Savannah said.

The angry machines paused.

Savannah looked at both of them.

"STOP IT, for ME!" Savannah begged.

The combatants eyed each other and looked at Savannah. To injure her was the last thing either of them wanted to do. They would both submit to chip extraction before they ever would hurt Savannah.

Savannah could see she had both of their attention. The fight was paused, but she didn't know for how long. She knew she needed to use as much of her personal influence as possible.

"You're BOTH 'Cameron'. STOP IT." Savannah pleaded. "I love you both. You both love me. I won't allow this. You will both show some control. You will do it for me, if not for yourselves."

Isabel-Cameron backed up. The 'Holly' on her chip was a big factor.

Cameron did as well a few seconds later. Her love for Savannah was stronger than her hate for an 'imposter', or 'second stringer'.

Savannah could see she made a difference. She knew it was something the four Terminators, and the other humans there wouldn't have been able to prevent. She was the one who stopped them. She planned to put herself between them if she needed to. It looked like she made more than a dent.

She handed Isabel-Cameron a folded towel which was sitting on the dresser. She watched as Isabel-Cameron wrapped it around herself. She saw the extreme beauty of Isabel-Cameron as she stood there naked. She found the female body to be beautiful to look at. She did notice the jewelry. She found it fascinating. She would ask Cameron about it later since she heard Cameron say the jewelry was hers. She wanted the look for herself when she was a little older.

She wanted to make sure the trouble ended now and once and for all. She didn't want it to flare up again at a later date or another time. She understood how Cameron thought. She knew it didn't take much to set her off. Two of her would only make it worse.

"You are both Cameron inside. I KNOW it." Savannah said. "YOU both know I know it."

Isabel-Cameron loved Savannah. She was the sunshine in her life on bad days. It seemed to be most of them, especially when she needed to deal with John.

"I'm sorry, sweetie." Isabel-Cameron said.

Cameron loved Savannah. The future depended on her in more ways than one. She didn't want to disappoint Savannah. She wanted Savannah to know how important she was to her.

"There will be no more conflict, Savannah." Cameron said. "You have spoken."

Savannah wanted everything to be amicable. It was time for a redo. She urged the two former combatants together. This time it would be in a peaceful manner. She still stood between them.

"Start over and do it properly." Savannah said. "Everything is new from now. The past is gone. From this moment it starts over."

The two machines nodded. Savannah was right. They both believed Savannah knew what was best for them.

The 'Holly' on Isabel-Cameron's chip encouraged her to act.

"I'm Isabel. I'm pleased to meet you, Cameron." Isabel-Cameron said.

Cameron extended her hand to Isabel-Cameron. She took it and they shook.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you, Isabel." Cameron said.

Savannah put her hands around their hands.

"That's better." Savannah said. "If there's any more trouble, you will both need to deal with me."

Cameron and Isabel-Cameron looked at each other with Savannah's statement.

Savannah smiled at both of them and they both smiled back.

Cameron was pleased her sheath wasn't damaged. She knew things were out of control. She knew she was out of control.

"Thank you, Savannah, for being there for us." Cameron said. "I don't think we would have listened to anyone else."

No one there thought they would listen to anyone, period.

Savannah was special to Cameron and Isabel-Cameron. Savannah was the only one who NEVER gave up on her, or them.

Cameron and Isabel-Cameron both knew Savannah was the 'Chosen One'. Her intervention was further proof of it. One day she would be by John's side to help lead and guide the Resistance. Both humans and machines would follow her. They both knew Savannah would always make the right decision when it was time for it to be made.

Savannah gave them both a hug. She wasn't done yet. She wanted to make her position clear in more ways than one. It was very important to her. She planned to honor all of her promises to Cameron. She understood what they entailed now. She would still honor them. She wanted them to honor their promises to her. It would reinforce her promise to them.

"I plan to keep my promises to you." Savannah said. "Now PROMISE ME this is over forever."

Cameron and Isabel-Cameron both knew what those promises were and why Savannah made them. She made them out of her love for Cameron and her well being. She made them because she understood they were what would be needed going forward. They would be needed to protect John and the future.

"I promise, Savannah." Was what came out simultaneously from the two female Terminators.

It caused everyone to laugh.

Savannah was satisfied the tragic event was over. She knew she made a difference. She knew she prevented something terrible from happening.

"Thank You." Savannah said. "I thank both of you."

Savannah looked at Cameron before she left.

"I KNEW you would come back. You always come back. You're invincible, Cameron. You're eternal."

John Henry smiled to hear Savannah say it again. He knew she believed it. Even if it wasn't true, it didn't matter. Savannah believed it. Her belief made it true to her. He knew people died for beliefs.

Cameron wanted the crowd away for now. The show was over.

"Holly, can stay. I'd like everyone else to go away for now, please." Cameron said. "John, I may see you later. It depends on what Isabel has to confess…."

John tried to stay in the background. He knew he was what almost caused the fight. He didn't feel he did anything wrong. If anything, it was just the opposite. He didn't know how well he would be able to get it across to Cameron. Maybe Savannah could help him.

Wait. Why did he think Savannah should be the one to help him?

John thought it seemed like a good time to slip away from everyone. He didn't look forward to whatever the aftermath of the conversation was going to involve. It was most likely going to be very contentious.

The door closed.

'Lyin' Eyes' by 'The Eagles', was in Cameron's mind….

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Noble Failure

I try to give dignity
I try to act noble
I try to give feeling
But melt down like Chernobyl

I try to make you smile
I try to make your spirit feel gigantic
I try to make you happy
But sink like the Titanic

I try to let you know
We all can make a mistake
I try to let your mind really escape
But crumble like the San Francisco Earthquake

I try to show and give you light
I try to lead you from the dark
I try to give you caring warmth
But feel like Noah without the Ark

I try to soothe your mind
I try to touch your heart
I try to send and give you pure emotion
But fail like Napoleon Bonaparte

Nobody