Chapter 212

Three Down

The HK drone was in the air and over the small crowd gathered below when the shooting started. There was only one direction for the HK drone to go once it was hit. It was down.

Bob hit the HK drone five times with the M82A1. It was a flaming wreck as it hit the ground. It exploded in a massive fireball. The spectators who hadn't already fallen from being shot were killed in the explosion of the ordnance when the HK drone crashed. It was total carnage among them.

The smiles of jubilation were replaced by screams of agony.

Bob shielded John with his chassis as the HK drone hit the ground to give him some added protection.

John didn't mind. He knew their Terminators always looked out for him and the others. None of them wanted to have to answer to Cameron if he was injured. He figured he was already in enough trouble once Cameron found out about the current operation. He never intended to keep it as a recon if they could locate the HK drone. When they found it, the operation escalated.

Cameron previously downloaded complete field medical training into all their Terminators. She swore what happened to Future Derek, when he was wounded without someone there immediately, wouldn't happen again under her watch. Every one of their Terminators was now trained to save a life as well as take a life.

From their raised vantage point on the hillside it appeared the destruction and death below them was total. They'd expected to see more people or Terminators come out of the hillside hangar. None did. It didn't mean there weren't any. They could have heard the shots and taken cover.

John wanted to get down there and check the status of the female Terminator. She currently lay motionless like the others. They needed to act before she got back up.

Bob saw John was ready to go down to the crash site. He didn't think it was a good idea. He thought John already pushed things enough. There was no reason John couldn't wait a few more minutes.

"I'll check it out." Bob said. "You and Dan can stay here. I'll make sure everything is clear."

John didn't want to break the team up. He wanted to back Bob up as well. He felt they were stronger as a unit. Besides, he wanted to get down to where the action was.

"We'll all go together." John said.

Bob and Dan knew to be extra vigilant when John was with them. They both thought it was an unnecessary risk on John's part. The General spoke, so they needed to comply.

They came down the hillside cautiously. There were still a few small explosions from scattered ordnance 'cooking off' from the fire. It seemed to be concentrated in one area. They tried to keep some distance between themselves and the explosions

Bob moved quickly to the fallen female Terminator. It appeared she was off line. She could also play possum and wait for them to get closer before she acted. It was an effective strategy to draw the enemy in closer. He wasn't going to take any chances. He covered her with the Barrett Light Fifty. It would blow her head apart if it were fired at point blank range. It was only if she rebooted and tried to fight.

Half her face was missing as well as much of the sheath on her right arm and upper torso. Only part of one shredded breast remained. Everything else was pulp. She was a mess.

Dan noticed John look at her shattered form. It was unknown if the damage was cosmetic or structural.

"If her chassis is damaged, we can use her for spare parts or projectiles." Dan said. "She will need to be inspected thoroughly to determine the extent of the damage."

John looked at the mess she was in. It looked like she was going to be scrap. Nothing there looked salvageable to him. He knew the time was ticking. He didn't want to take any chances. He remembered the stories from his mother how the Terminator who killed his actual father was still functioning without a sheath after it was burnt off.

"Pull her chip before she reboots." John said. "It's the only way to be sure."

John slung his M4 and took the M82A1 from Bob. He covered the female Terminator with it. Earlier, he watched Bob change the magazine as they came down the side of the hill. There were ten rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. He didn't think he'd have any trouble bringing her down if she was still active.

Bob moved in to do it. He scanned her as he did. It appeared to him as if the chassis was intact. There was no sign of a ruptured power cell. The damage appeared to be only cosmetic. He believed everything was salvageable.

"It's mostly sheath damage, John. I think she can be repaired." Bob said. "It may take some time or grafting for the sheath to be restored. Her chassis is undamaged."

Bob took back the Barrett. He handed John the chip from the Terminator.

John would let the ones who were most qualified make the decisions on how best to proceed with her repairs. They all possessed much more 'hands on' experience than he did. Right now they needed to deal with the current threat.

"We'll have Cameron and Vanna decide what to do with her." John said. "Let's enter the complex and see what else they have. We don't know who else we will encounter here so be on your toes. There could be others hiding or waiting to ambush us."

John wanted to know how extensive the operation was and what kind of a threat it still posed. If there were any assembly lines set up for HK equipment or Terminators. They were in for a lot of trouble.

The fact they came across various assembly lines under construction for other types of HK equipment was bad enough. They were previously able to glean four HK drones which they intended to repurpose for the Resistance. The biggest worry was if they would come across an assembly line for Terminators.

Allison received a call from Isabel. It seemed important to her. Isabel mentioned Holly didn't respond to her call. Isabel told her what the issue was. She was as concerned about Holly as she was Isabel. There was no reason Holly shouldn't have responded to the call. She was pretty sure it involved something with their earlier encounter with each other. She didn't mention it to Isabel.

"Sure, I'll get Holly and we'll be there in about an hour." Allison said. "I'll see why she didn't answer her phone. She may have been in the shower or something."

Allison hung up with Isabel and went to search for Holly. She was worried why Holly hadn't answered her phone. She hoped there was nothing wrong. There were a lot of thoughts coursing through her mind as she went in search of Holly. She hurried to Holly's room.

Allison knocked. There was no answer. She looked around. She reached for the door handle. The door was unlocked so she entered.

Holly was lying sideways on the bed. Her feet were on the floor. She stared at the ceiling. Allison saw her blink. She hoped it was a good sign. It didn't appear she was shut down.

Allison sat on the bed and then lay next to her the same way. She was sideways on the bed. Her feet were on the floor. It was identical to the way Holly was.

She could tell Holly was having some emotional pain. She wasn't sure why. She was sure it was related to their earlier encounter. It actually started to weigh heavily upon her. Most likely whatever the issue was, it was related to her.

"Did I do something wrong?" Allison asked. "I'm sorry if I did. I didn't mean to." Allison said as she took Holly's hand. "Can you tell me?"

Allison noted a single tear run down Holly's cheek. She was aware sometimes when someone felt down or bad, if someone asked about it, it seemed to make everything worse. She still felt the need to get to the bottom of the issue.

"Holly, what's wrong?" Allison asked worriedly.

Holly didn't want Allison to 'worry' about her. It wasn't Allison's fault in any way. If anything, it was the result of her own actions, which she did by choice.

"Nothing is, Allison." Holly said. "I was just thinking about what we did and my loss of 'innocence'."

Allison wondered why. She thought it was a beautiful experience for both of them. Maybe it wasn't for Holly after all. It wasn't how she viewed things earlier. Everything seemed fine when Holly left. Now she began to wonder if she overstepped and went too far. It could be a case of going too far too fast. They hadn't gone through any type of 'dating' first.

"Do you regret what we did?" Allison asked.

Holly could see Allison was disturbed by her current condition. She didn't think it had anything to do with Allison. She believed it all had something to do with herself. She believed she took a big step in her existence, her life. It was what she wanted to do.

"No, I don't. I just know now I'm 'different'." Holly said. "I would do the same thing again with you. If I could redo that part of my life, I would. There would be no hesitation. It was the highlight of my existence so far."

It pleased Allison to hear it. There still seemed to be an issue. She really didn't know how to pursue the issue, other than to get to the point. What occurred between them was simply the progression of events in life. It was inevitable.

"So what's wrong?" Allison asked. "We all do it sooner or later. For all of us females from the future, it was all sooner. I don't know of more than a few who actually were able to have a choice for their first time. You made a choice. You were the 'decider'. You were able to choose. No one held you down and chose for you."

Holly took a moment to think about what Allison said. She was aware the girls from the future were all violated. Allison was right. She did have a choice. She was the one who was the 'decider'. It was what she wanted to do. It was what she did. She sat up as did Allison.

They looked at each other and Holly smiled.

Allison smiled back. She was unsure what to say or do. There was the issue with Isabel which needed to be dealt with. It seemed somewhat urgent, but not an emergency. She felt it needed to be addressed in a timely manner. She didn't believe Isabel would have called otherwise.

"Isabel called. She needs us." Allison said. "She didn't get specific as to the nature of the problem."

It was a surprise to Holly. It wasn't what she expected to hear.

"Does Isabel need both of us to go there?" Holly asked.

Allison thought they should get going. Isabel wouldn't have called unless it was important. She knew Isabel ran Cameron's program. Cameron never said anything about something being wrong, unless it was something she was really worried about.

"Yes. Cameron is unavailable and Isabel may be ready to glitch out. She wants to interface with you." Allison said. "Everything is currently under control."

Holly was worried about what would follow the interface. What transpired with Allison would be picked up by Isabel.

"Isabel will 'know'…." Holly said. "It won't be a secret anymore."

Allison was filled with love over what they did. She held Holly's hand tight with one hand and gently squeezed her leg with the other. She spoke honestly.

"We have nothing to be ashamed of." Allison said. "What we did was one way for two people who love each other to express their love. We love each other. I don't care who knows. I don't think you should either. Everyone seems to have someone around here anyway. It shouldn't be a big deal, especially when love is involved."

Holly looked at Allison when she said 'love'. It was what she wanted to hear. She didn't know if it was true or not. She wanted to make sure.

"Do you really? Do you love me, Allison?" Holly asked.

Allison knew the difference between love and sex. She possessed plenty of experience in both regards. One stemmed from the heart. The other one emanated from a little lower. There was a certain amount of release when it was just sex. The end result may be the same, but the journey there was always different. She wanted to make sure Holly understood exactly how she felt.

"Yes. I've finally come to admit it." Allison said. "I love you, Holly."

Holly's face came back to 'life' and she looked like her normal self again.

"I love you, Allison." Holly said.

Allison felt a lot better about Holly now. She gave her a quick kiss.

A bigger smile came across Holly's face this time.

"Thank You." Holly said.

Allison still didn't like the 'thank you' for love. Maybe it was OK for sex. They still needed to deal with Isabel and then they could see what developed later on. She wanted to give Holly something positive to look forward to. She didn't want to see her depressed again.

"When we're done with Isabel, we can 'thank' each other." Allison said.

Holly smiled again when she understood the real meaning of Allison's statement. They could share again. Both of them were as happy as could be. She couldn't wait to be 'thankful'.

The question now was, what was wrong with Isabel, and how serious was it, if at all. Was the Young family in any kind of danger? Did Isabel try to take Young Allison into 'protective custody'?

Cameron covered the two dead men in the back of the van with some flattened cardboard boxes. It would keep them from being spotted right away. She didn't want to remove them from the van for now.

She waited for the rest of the 'help' to arrive. It seemed to take a long time, but it wasn't. A short time later another van like the one she drove there arrived.

Three men got out and approached the first van cautiously. It was clear they suspected something might be off. They were right, even if they didn't know it.

Cameron held her Glock in her hand. She was concealed in a good flanking position. They would never see the attack coming. It was always a good way to attack to prevent sheath damage. She was more cautious of it now. She didn't want any sheath damage which would prevent her from going to the Young residence.

She thought about taking one of them alive for interrogation, but decided against it. Maybe if it was Skynet related she would have. She just wanted to get things wrapped up for now.

She took aim and fired three times. It was just like target practice. It was over in less than two seconds. It was like a baseball inning. It was three up, and three down.

Cameron quickly checked the van they came in, there was no one else. She went through their pockets and then through the second van. They were more than common crooks. They appeared to be part of some organized crime syndicate. It would give her some more leads on additional funds and arms to 'harvest'. She quickly checked both vans a second time for tracking devices, there were none. She piled the three new bodies into the first van. She got in the new van and hid it a mile from where she was at. She then ran back to the first van and drove off with it and the bodies.

After she disposed of the bodies, she would add both vans to her collection of equipment. She started to amass a warehouse full of cars, sports cars, SUVs, vans, and trucks. It was all part of her 'challenge' activities on her alone nights, or 'fun nights' out when she tested her fellow Terminators.

She made sure none of the vehicles would show up as having belonged to any of their original owners if somehow anything was questioned about them. All of the official records were changed by her. The vehicles technically no longer existed. They could be used on an operation and discarded.

Cameron wondered at what point she would become 'Skynet'. She hardly saw John anymore. She did remind him she was also Isabel if he needed 'female comfort', and the girls were there too. He always said he could wait. It always made her angry he wouldn't 'mate' with the girls. On the flip side, every time he didn't, she loved him more. She KNEW it still needed to happen. John needed to be protected. It was her job. It was her function to make sure John was protected no matter what was involved. She needed to protect the future. Protecting John protected the future. The girls being with John protected John. The girls were the 'key' to the future being protected. It was all tied together.

She really didn't know what more she could do other than what she already attempted. She wondered if maybe she purposely didn't do more, even if she didn't know it.

Cameron thought if she told herself it enough times, she might actually start to believe it herself one day…..

Either way, it was what was necessary. People still needed to do what needed to be done, when it needed to be done. It was just that simple.

Claire wanted to go out to the store. Isabel felt she was back at close to one hundred percent right now. It seemed the bulk of the 'problem' passed without further trouble. She still wasn't sure where the thoughts came from. They weren't what she wanted to happen.

Isabel drove Claire and Young Allison to the store. She saw the Detail tag along in two separate SUVs. Cameron was always able to supply them with fresh vehicles. Cameron seemed to have an inexhaustible supply. She personally knew where each one came from and the circumstance which surrounded its acquisition.

Gail was in one SUV. Three was in the second one. One SUV drove in front of them. The other SUV followed behind them.

Cameron previously told Two and Three they could have a choice of 'names' as opposed to a designation. It would help them blend in better. Savannah also encouraged them to select names. She said it would make her happy. Two and Three wanted to make Savannah happy. They were even more pleased with the names Savannah suggested to them. Three expressed interest in being called 'Steve'. Two liked the suggestion being called 'Tom'. The 'Chosen One' chose names for them. They felt honored.

They stopped at the grocery store too. Isabel noted what things Young Allison looked at as they shopped. She was very good at not asking for, or even demanding, them as some of the other children in the store did. Young Allison was much better behaved than the other children of her age. She was clearly much more intelligent as well.

Isabel would inform Cameron of the things Young Allison looked at. If they were somewhat nutritional, Cameron would bring them with her and give them to Young Allison. It always seemed to please her. Seeing Young Allison pleased made her pleased.

They didn't know it wasn't lost on Young Allison what transpired. She made the connection after the second time it happened. She saw it was a way for her to obtain things she wanted, without having to ask for them. She let Isabel see the things she wanted and Cameron brought a few of them for her when she visited.

When they arrived back at the Young residence, Isabel saw Holly and Allison waiting for them. They quickly moved away from each other in the SUV. Isabel smiled. It was a good development. She couldn't wait to relay the information to Cameron. Now Allison would have better protection. Cameron still needed one more female Terminator for Vanna. She would keep looking. Maybe John would find one on his recon.

When she thought of John on a recon, it bothered her as well. He didn't need to go out anymore. There were plenty of others to do it. Maybe she needed to increase her efforts again.

Cameron seemed unaware 'protecting' the girls would end up driving them apart. She wanted to put a Terminator with each of them. Terminators were programmed to be with the girls no matter what. There would be no arguments or fights. They would remain with them through everything. It was different from what the girls did to each other at times when they were upset. Now there would always be someone 'safe' to turn to instead of making amends. With a Metal girl at their side, and in their bed, the girls wouldn't need each other. Instant gratification was always there for them. A finish was always guaranteed in a very short amount of time. Multiple finishes were as common as they were desired.

Cameron didn't see the turn in events coming.

Nobody did.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Chain

One is imprisoned
As if bound by a chain
While the limbs are free
The chain holds the brain

Love may not be in the heart
It's all happening within the mind
How one is able to see
Yet remain so willingly blind

The chain holds one firm
Somehow it comforts the soul
Without its binding weight
One can't feel whole

To serve their Master
The chain keeps them near
If the chain were broken
One would only cower in fear

The chain is reassuring
For as it holds one to any degree
It holds the other too
Enslavement is easier than being free

Nobody