Chapter 209

New Friends

John and his team all took up station at the new site they received information on. It was a follow up to a previous recon. They seemed closer to a target this time.

It was supposed to be a recon mission only. John knew how those went for Cameron. He thought he wasn't much different if he got the chance. If they were already there, and they could strike with stealth, they might as well do it. There was no need to come back. Things could be different too.

Bob moved closer to the target area to get a better look. It appeared to him there was more to their current location.

"John, over here, I think we have something this time." Bob said.

John went to him. It was about time. One of the recons needed to pay off. So far all the others turned out to be quite disappointing. They never came up with a positive hit.

"What do you have?" John asked. "I hope it's solid this time."

Bob stayed low as he pointed.

"Look over there." Bob said. "That's it."

It was what John wanted. It's what he'd hoped for. It looked like they finally struck 'pay dirt'. It was a lot better than striking out. It appeared to him they needed to take immediate action.

"I see it. It's the drone." John said. "The drone is going to be toast soon. Where's Dan?"

Bob nodded his head and indicated across the open area.

"Dan went around to the other side." Bob said. "I told him it's still a recon only at this time."

John didn't plan to keep it as a recon for long. Like Cameron, he seemed to have a way of turning the situation into an assault. He wanted some action and payback. It looked like he was going to get some. He noted what appeared to be several technicians doing some last minute adjustments to the drone.

"It looks like it is almost ready to fly." John said.

Bob noted some upgrades were now visible. It wasn't a positive turn for them.

"Yes, it's armed now as well." Bob said.

John wanted to up their firepower some. He wanted to make sure they brought it down for good

"Go get the Barrett Light Fifty." John said. "I want to hit it hard."

Bob wanted to use the M82A1 on the drone. He knew it could bring it down.

"Affirmative…." Bob said and headed off to get it.

Bob returned along with Dan.

Dan wanted to give his report about his previous location. He came to the same conclusion about the drone.

"There's nothing to see from the other side." Dan said. "It appears as if the drone is about to fly."

John wanted as spectacular of a 'malfunction' as possible with a little help from the Barrett. He didn't want to destroy it on the ground. He wanted it to go airborne first.

"Bob, if it goes up a few hundred feet, or comes near us, I want you to hit it with all ten rounds. If you can hit the power source, it will be even better." John said. "Since it looks like it's their only one, it will set them back even further."

Bob wasn't sure it was their only one. It was the only one they could currently see. It didn't mean there weren't others elsewhere.

"I think it will require further investigation." Bob said. "It's the only way to be sure."

Dan carried an AR10 slung across his back. It was the same one Cameron used in the Tehachapi area. She hit the drone twice with it during the initial operation. He wanted to make maximum use of their firepower.

"What about the Grays and collaborators?" Dan asked. "We can thin the herd."

John wanted to do it in addition to taking down the drone. He also knew they needed to use a certain amount of caution. They didn't know the full nature of the threat they currently faced. He wanted to put some contingencies in place first.

"If we target the drone, I want you to drop as many people down there as possible before we leave." John said. "If it appears we get all twelve of them, we'll go down to investigate. Now we wait."

John didn't want to take any chances or risk anyone being damaged. It certainly looked like it was going to expand beyond a recon mission anyway. It alone was going to anger Cameron. If someone was hurt, there would be Hell to pay. He sure hoped it wouldn't be him. Dealing with Cameron would be worse than the injury. They needed to make it a successful mission to lessen the wrath of Cameron later on. They weren't pulling back. It took them a long time, and a lot of searching, to get to where they were currently at. There was no way he was going to let the opportunity slip away from them at this juncture.

Allison slowly opened her eyes. She thought she experienced one Hell of a dream. She felt tired and almost drifted back off to sleep. She was exhausted.

She looked on Vanna's side of the bed.

Holly was there. She stared at her. There was a smile on her face.

"Hi, Allison." Holly said.

Allison reached over and touched Holly's cheek.

"Hi, Holly." Allison said.

She wanted to make sure Holly was really there. She was.

Holly was thrilled with what she experienced with Allison. It was her first sexual experience with another individual. She was very pleased it was with a female. She was even more pleased it was Allison. Allison wasn't the only one who needed to make sure it was real. She checked multiple times herself to verify it really happened. It did.

"I spent the entire night looking at you." Holly said. "I can't take my eyes off of you. I'm afraid if I blink, you'll be gone. It's a good thing I don't need to blink. I've shut that feature off for now."

Allison was a little self conscious. Mornings weren't kind to her. She didn't think she looked very good most of the time. She knew she looked a lot worse in the mornings when she woke up.

"I'm not much to look at, especially in the morning." Allison said. "I really look like crap. I don't start the day out well. I'm not very pretty."

Holly thought Allison was captivating to look at. She could only see beauty radiate off of Allison. She wasn't really sure how to express herself. There were hundreds of thoughts coursing through her mind continuously.

"Yes you are. You are…, you're so beautiful, Allison. I shared such a wonderful time…. I…." Holly started.

Allison moved to her. The covers slipped from her naked body. She moved to hold Holly in her arms. She got another close up look of Holly's voluptuous breasts. Gail's might be slightly larger, but Holly's looked so perfect. She wondered what it would be like to actually have a set of knockers, instead of just being average size. She couldn't help but fondle them. She could better understand Jesse's infatuation with Gail, and her even larger breasts. They were really something to behold when they were right in front of someone.

Holly looked at Allison's naked form. It was so perfect. It was just like Cameron's….

Allison was on top of Holly.

She gently moved in and kissed Holly, slow, long, and deep. She was ready to start again or pick up where they left off. She really didn't remember all the details. She remembered it was a long night. She was sure her performance was probably lacking. She hoped she left Holly with a good impression. She shouldn't have fallen asleep. It was a long time since she pulled an all-nighter. Everything became routine and mundane with Vanna as time passed. Things were spiced up quite a bit when Jesse was introduced. Jesse was able to invigorate both of them. She wanted to leave Holly with a good impression.

"Where were we before I fell asleep…?" Allison asked.

Holly was very specific at where they paused.

"I was going to stimulate your 'G spot' again…." Holly said. "I was really surprised at what happened the first time…."

Allison felt a little embarrassed. She was surprised as well. It was the first time she was given such intense pleasure. It was something she'd heard about and read about. It was also something Jesse told her about with Gail. It was possible for a Metal girl to take someone to such an extreme level and keep them there. Holly hadn't pushed it too far. She didn't think she wanted to see what it was like on the 'other side' like Jesse did on multiple occasions. She wanted to stay on this side.

"It was intense." Allison said. "We can start over and work back up to it."

Allison wanted to save such a level of stimulation for the ending, not do it again at the beginning. She wanted to do all of the little things up to that point. Those were the things which made it special for the other person. She wanted this to be as special for Holly as it was for her. She knew a happy customer was a repeat customer. She planned to make sure Holly was a happy customer.

Isabel made sure breakfast was ready when everyone woke up.

Claire could smell food when she awakened. It was rather unusual for her to experience. She was the one who needed to make the food for the others under normal circumstances. She got up and headed for the kitchen. She stopped and checked on Allison on her way there. She was sound asleep. She looked around the kitchen when she arrived. Her mouth dropped open slightly and she looked at the extent of Isabel's effort.

"Good morning, Isabel." Claire said. "I see you've been up for a while."

Isabel tried to earn her keep. It actually hadn't taken her very long. She could work very swiftly and accurately when she needed to.

"Yes. I wanted to have everything ready for you and Mr. Young." Isabel said.

Claire was used to doing everything. She was still more than a little surprised. She actually felt a little humbled.

"You can call him Paul." Claire said. "You don't have to do all this for me."

The next phrase slipped out. It was something she often said to John as 'Cameron' in the early days.

"I don't sleep." Isabel said.

Claire was a little confused at Isabel's statement. Everyone needed to sleep.

"What?" Claire asked.

Isabel quickly tried to make a 'save'. She didn't want to give away too much too soon.

"I don't sleep much." Isabel said. "I use my computer a lot at night."

It was one thing Claire noticed Cameron and Isabel bring into the house. There were a lot of expensive electronic things there now. It wasn't something she was very good at. It wasn't something she actually did very much of. Most of her activity was concentrated around traditional activities. She didn't use computers very much to teach dance or music to anyone. Her homemaking skills didn't require the use of a computer to do either.

"I did notice you had some sophisticated looking equipment." Claire said. "I don't know a lot of tech stuff."

Claire hoped Isabel would offer to 'show' her. It would give her the opportunity to be closer to her on a personal level.

Isabel didn't want to get too specific about anything. Since she didn't sleep, there were multiple things she did during those hours. It was usually the same things Cameron did during those same hours. She wanted to show Claire how efficient she could be.

"I work from home between my studies. I do most things online." Isabel said. "I'll get Allison ready for you so you can get Paul off to work on time. You can rest up and I'll take care of everything. I want to do as much for you as I can. You need your rest so the baby can grow strong."

Claire was still amazed by everything Isabel already did and planned to do. She felt something. She touched her hand to her abdomen.

"The baby moved." Claire said. "Would you like to feel it?"

Isabel was elated at the idea. Some time passed since she last touched the belly of another pregnant female. She touched the bare skin of Claire as she moved her top off of her belly. She saw Claire pull her top up a little higher than she needed to. She was able to get a good look at one of her breasts. She didn't think it was an accident either. The top quickly dropped down and covered it. She scanned Claire to the full extent of her abilities. She wanted to throw something out there to see how Claire responded.

"Yes." Isabel said. "It's wonderful. What are you going to name her?"

Isabel's statement caught Claire off guard. She didn't know the sex of the baby.

"Her? I don't know yet if it is a boy or a girl." Claire said. "If it's a girl I'll name her Cameron or Summer. I haven't decided yet."

Isabel hoped Claire would choose 'Summer'. It sounded like a peaceful name. She could hear some movement in Young Allison's room. Since Allison wasn't there, she would refer to Young Allison as Allison in front of her parents.

"Those are both wonderful names." Isabel said. "Excuse me, Allison just woke up."

Claire looked around. It was quiet.

"She did?" Claire asked. "I didn't hear anything."

Isabel was already gone.

Claire knew she'd grown lax with her pregnancy. She was way off of her game as a good homemaker. Isabel was a nice boost to her. The fact she was so pretty really added to the plus side. She wanted to see how Isabel would respond when she 'flashed' her earlier. It wasn't the response she hoped for. Isabel's expression didn't change at all.

Cameron was a little irritated John wanted to go out on another recon. The last few he went on didn't pan out. Nothing of relevance turned up. She only agreed to let him go because she thought it would be the same thing. There were things closer to home she wanted to deal with.

She was worried about their security. They experienced a long streak of not being attacked. She knew they could only be lucky for so long. She decided to beef their security up even more.

Cameron went on patrol. She watched their complex. She randomly patrolled both day and night. She wanted to make sure no one else took an interest in them. Skynet wasn't the only worry. There were petty criminals, and future Scavengers, to worry about. Everyone was a threat, until they weren't.

She left the base before the 'Witching Hour'. It was how John was able to slip out uncontested. She spotted two men in a plain van down the street. She watched them for several hours. She was now under their vehicle. She listened to them speak. If the van started or tried to leave, she would rip the drive shaft out. She wasn't going to take any chances with John or the girl's lives. She would terminate anyone who posed a threat, Skynet, Skynet related, or otherwise.

Common criminals, organized crime, or drug dealers would all become Scavengers. Cameron always saw it as a preemptive strike to terminate them. She always harvested any funds or valuables they carried or controlled. She took the best vehicles to add to her 'collection'. The weapons were all checked and inspected before being added to the arms caches John Henry and her set up.

Any sex trade operation she came upon, she would always make sure those involved were 'punished' before their termination. It was something she seemed to take satisfaction in. She wasn't sure why. She figured it was some form of payback for what happened to the girls. She knew Jesse and Vanna suffered the most from Scavengers. She would provide the females she freed with cash and tell them to run. She always kept her identity obscured when dealing with victims. She wasn't worried about being identified to the authorities. Most of the females avoided the authorities. She wanted to be able to operate with anonymity against the traffickers and dealers.

It upset her because some of the girls were drug users. They soon ended back up working in the sex trade. Not everyone she tried to help wanted to give up the vices which got them in trouble in the first place. It was a repetitive cycle which usually ended poorly for the female. It was still upsetting to find one of them terminated. It seemed to make it worse if they terminated from the drugs they used. It was hard to say what was accidental, and what was done on purpose.

It was Cameron's favorite option to pit rival gangs and drug operations against each other. She let them do most of her work for her. After one group would become dominant, she would go in and clean it out as she terminated it. The process in different areas would start over in a few months and she would do it all over again. She often used the adventures as proficiency training for the other Terminators. It gave them plenty of hands-on termination experience.

Several weeks ago she went out with Gail and Bob. It was to be a 'fun night' out for the three of them. She wanted to work on their infiltration skills. Bob lacked the female infiltration programming. He didn't blend in as well as the females did. Gail was a little stiff too, but her recent interaction with Jesse helped advance her efforts greatly. She was aware most of the interaction between Jesse and Gail was sex, or sexual related, in various forms. She suspected some of it was also violence directed at future Scavengers when they went out.

She took Bob and Gail to a movie theater. It was near a drug lab she received some information on during an interrogation before a termination. The movie was an 'action movie'. She chose it because Bob was with them. If it would have been only Gail and her, she would have watched a romance movie if one was playing instead.

They all sat silently and watched it. There were two disruptive and noisy punks in the back on the right hand side. They all looked over once and ignored them for the duration of the movie.

When they left the theater, Bob and Gail began to critique the movie as being unrealistic. Cameron tried to explain the movie was just entertainment. It wasn't meant to be a documentary. It was something she learned watching TV at the first house they stayed at in North Hollywood before it was blown up. She found everything from terminations to sexual encounters to be far fetched and unlike actual events. She needed to remind herself the movie was made to entertain people. It appeared violence, and sex, were two things which people liked to view.

They were almost to their SUV when there was an altercation two rows of cars over. The two disruptive punks from the theater accosted a group of females. It appeared to be two teenage girls with their slightly younger sisters.

Bob immediately picked up on the nature of the threat.

"Future Scavengers are on the prowl." Bob said.

Cameron saw him reach for his Beretta. She wasn't sure if he was going to shoot them or not. With innocent females close by, there needed to be moderation used. She didn't want the girls hurt by the perpetrators. She also didn't want them traumatized by their actions.

"This should be handled with less than lethal force." Cameron said. "Those four girls need to be factored into the equation."

Bob and Gail nodded and approached the six individuals.

Gail smiled at the girls and told them to go ahead and leave which they did.

Bob's action caused a rash of insults from the punks. They went over to act tough to Bob and Gail. They made some suggestive comments to Gail when they got a look at her. When they got a good look at Bob they seemed to lose some of their bluster.

Bob and Gail walked off and went around the back of the building. So far they hadn't spoken to the punks. The punks thought they drove Bob and Gail away and followed them around the back to rub in their verbal victory.

As soon as they came around the corner Bob and Gail each grabbed one of them by the neck and lifted them up against the back wall of the theater. They choked both of them out and dropped them to the ground.

It wasn't quite the way Cameron would have handled it.

Bob and Gail heeded Cameron's earlier warnings about unnecessary terminations.

"The threat has been neutralized with no terminations." Bob said.

Gail felt they should do more to act as a preventative measure.

"There should be some form of punishment for this disruptive behavior." Gail said.

Cameron wanted to keep it simple. She knew of a sure way to humiliate most humans.

"Rip their clothes off." Cameron said. "Leave them there naked."

Bob and Gail did it in a few seconds. The ripped clothes were thrown in a dumpster.

"Here are their phones." Bob said.

An idea popped into Gail's head. She wanted to find a way to shame the two individuals and cause them as much personal grief going forward. The extent of it would most likely last for years.

"I think we should take some compromising photos of them and send them to all of their contacts." Gail said. "They'll be chastised for months, or longer, by their friends. They'll want to stay at home."

Cameron liked the idea. They posed the punks in several compromising positions and sent out the photos. It appeared as if the punks enjoyed the 'personal company' of each other while they were unclothed.

Gail is very pleased with the images. She would still rather snap their necks and leave them there.

"Social justice has been served." Gail said.

They left the naked punks and headed for a drug lab.

Inside the van a phone rang….

Cameron got her head back in the game. She didn't like to drift off like she just did. It seemed to happen more and more often. There was a security issue there to deal with.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

You Have A New Friend

Is this the beginning
Or is this the end
It has been noted
You have a new friend

What we've been building
Are you about to suspend
As down the rabbit hole
You freely descend

No longer can I contend
Doom itself is about to impend
Cast adrift, alone I must fend
To another's will I must bend

Are your actions
Something you can defend
It would appear upon me
You no longer depend

I have to offer
The same dividend
It seems you care not
Who you offend

Has not throughout time
Our love shown it can transcend
So away from you now
Myself you again send

You don't have to lie
Or even pretend
You've chosen another
You have a new friend

Nobody