Chapter 255

Fragile Looking

John wanted to get a team to the site of where the battle took place at a Skynet related location they previously took down. The surveillance equipment there indicated there was a battle between two groups of Terminators. They suspected one group was Cameron, and the Metal girls, operating out of her base. He wanted to find her base.

It took some time to get all the preparations made to get a strike force assembled and the helicopter ready to bring them to the location quicker. It would have taken much more time if they drove.

The Blackhawk was fired up and ready to fly.

John's team was armored up and ready to go.

"I think we're ready." John said.

Bob looked over John's gear. Everything looked in order.

"Get to the chopper." Bob said.

John and his strike force boarded the helicopter and were now en route.

John Henry dispatched three drones to the battle location to determine what was happening there. The drones were there. They were too late. The battle was over, not much was left.

He looked for something very specific. He couldn't spot it.

"John, the drones only located three dead humans burning in the rubble of the facility." John Henry said. "There's no sign of any Terminators."

It wasn't what John wanted to hear. He hoped to find Cameron there. He was sure there should have been some clues about her, or anyone else.

"There's no sign of Cameron or whoever it was?" John asked.

John Henry looked over the drone footage from all three of the drones which were dispatched there. There was nothing additional.

"No." John Henry said. "Everyone is gone except for the dead."

John believed it was Cameron. He still wanted to track her.

"Leave the first drone there and have the other two drones scout around the area." John said. "I want to find her. I know it was her. I know Cameron did this."

John wasn't sure what Cameron was up to, but he knew she was risking herself to insulate him and the others from danger. He was aware Cameron saw herself fighting the war 'alone' as a way to protect him. He didn't feel he needed protection. He wanted to face the same dangers everyone else in the Resistance needed to face. He didn't think he was above anyone else. He certainly didn't want anyone to indicate he was, especially in a negative manner. He didn't need to worry about those currently in the Resistance. It would be those in the future who became the problem. It would be more than just the anti-Metal faction he needed to worry about.

The Blackhawk was en route with John and his team. They didn't expect to find much when they arrived at the location at this point. It was probably wasted effort, but what if the battle turned out differently? What if they needed to back up or rescue Cameron? More of the enemy could have arrived. He would have liked for her to use at least one of the drones if nothing else. He didn't condone her operating alone or with a small force of Terminators. The Resistance was more than just one individual as either the General or a fighter. It was made up of a group of people and machines battling oppression for a common goal.

He didn't like Cameron to fight on her own, but she should at least allow them to back her up. There were a lot of things which could go wrong at any given point. He would prefer to be at the battle site ten minutes into the battle, rather than an nearly hour after it ended.

Sometimes he wondered if Cameron took her directives from Future John too literally. Did Future John really want 'Savannah Weaver' and 'Allison Young' in his bed at this point in life? He thought it was more of a guideline than an absolute. Future John couldn't have known about a 'Savannah Weaver' and 'Allison Young' from the alternate timeline. Could he?

Wait.

Could Mrs. Weaver be involved?

They didn't know where she was. They didn't know what happened to her. All they knew she was 'in some future' with a force of Terminators, well, Restorators.

It made him wonder if Mrs. Weaver was the one who arranged the 'association' of Future Allison and Future Savannah with Future John. Did she push the girls on Future John so they would be better protected? The future was a dangerous place. Any future was a dangerous place.

He shook his head to clear it. Where did those thoughts come from? It was all purely speculation which just popped into his head right now. There was no indication whatsoever Mrs. Weaver was involved with anything related to Future John's decisions.

John took a moment to look over the team.

The Blackhawk thundered on towards its destination.

John knew once Cameron learned he was out in the field, she would be upset even more. She probably wouldn't show up for another week or two. When she did she would probably 'punish' him further. It seemed to be standard fare. Then again, maybe she was shot up at those times. Nobody knew.

He tended to her damage before. He didn't know why it became such an issue later on for him not to see her when she was damaged. She told him some of the damage was horrific. He wouldn't have loved her any less no matter what the damage was.

What John didn't understand was Cameron now believed he only loved her for her 'appearance', not who she was or what her program was. It was the reason she always tried to look perfect when she was around him. She didn't want him to reject her because she didn't look 'good enough'.

Ally drove an SUV away from the battle site with the two deactivated Terminators in it. Hanna drove one of the captured vehicles. It was a Jeep one of the Terminators arrived in. They needed to leave two vehicles behind. One was the SUV Sheila and Hanna arrived in. It was previously used at several locations where drug operations were taken down. It might be a little 'hot' right now. It could use a rest or a repaint.

Cameron figured John would learn of the attack and send a crew to check it out. They could take the remaining vehicles for themselves. She never passed up the opportunity to add to her 'collection' of acquired equipment.

She never knew when she would need to abandon one after a night's 'work'. Such activity seemed to be quite frequent. She would leave a 'used' vehicle on the East side, or South side, of town with the keys in it and the windows down. The goal was to allow some gang members to steal it. She often left a weapon used during a combat operation in the vehicle.

When the gang member was picked up by the police, the gang got blamed for whatever she did which involved the vehicle and weapon. It helped thin the herd of more potential Scavengers. Since it appeared whenever incidents she was involved in were actually gang related, there was little investigation further into them. There was little incentive for the authorities to investigate gang activity since the district attorney didn't allow many prosecutions.

Cameron drove a delivery van. Sheila began the interrogation in the back. They were going to take three different routes back to her base. She warned them to watch for the Resistance drones. She knew John would try to track her.

Sheila was excited at the task of conducting the interrogation. Jesse warned her there was a lot of 'darkness' in her and a lot of 'bad' things she was responsible for. They were all 'picked up' and transferred during the 'Neural Interface'. The trouble now was there was no moral compass involved with any of the activities Sheila might conduct. None of what she did would bother her in the slightest.

The fact Sheila could now actually do them herself, thrilled her. She was unsure why, it just did. She wondered how Jesse could give it up. The anticipation was 'exciting'. There were dozens of things she could do to the captured Gray to get him to 'talk'. She also realized there were dozens of things she could do to the Gray just because she could. They would be done just to hurt him. As she thought about them, the feeling was almost sexual the way it touched her inside.

Sheila was worried about some negative feedback from Cameron. It would have been better for her if Ally or Hanna could have driven the van. She would need to use a little restraint this time. She wanted to skip to the 'ending'. She looked forward to it. She knew how some of the things excited Jesse when she did them. It was time to move the 'discussion' along.

"OK, love, this is the way it works. You tell me what I want to know and you get to keep all your body parts." Sheila said. "If you don't, I'll add them to my collection. The choice is all up to you. You already know how things will play out."

Sheila planned to start a 'collection'. She found in her files Jesse actually did have a small 'collection' of body parts she 'acquired' from both male and female 'subjects' in her future. She noted Jesse only kept the ones which were removed from live 'donors'. They were people Jesse wanted to continue to live with what she did to them.

She needed to concentrate on her current subject. She started asking questions. The man swore at her. She broke one of his fingers. Each time he cursed she broke another one. She figured she could break each finger many times in different places and then crush it. When there was nothing left to break or crush she decided she would rip it off. It seemed like a long boring drawn out process. There needed to be a way to speed things up.

"This is going nowhere, love." Sheila said.

She produced a knife. She moved lower. She looked things over. She took a moment to look the Gray in the face. She wanted to make sure he understood exactly what was going to happen next if she didn't get the information she wanted. She wasn't going to waste time through some convoluted process.

"I can see some things are rather fragile looking. No wonder I have no use for them." Sheila said as she brandished her knife. "The way the conversation is going, I don't think you'll be much of a 'family man' soon."

The Gray could see she was serious. He could endure the other 'torture', but he wasn't ready for this. He only owed Skynet so much. He felt he already paid his dues. There were some things he would rather not lose.

Soon the man told Cameron and Sheila all they wanted to know….

Sheila noted Jesse was right. The 'subjects' did become quite talkative when faced with the final 'option'.

Hanna kept watch around her. Cameron warned her John would try to track them. She checked the sky. She soon spotted some bad news. She reported to Cameron there was a drone following her. She wouldn't be headed back to Cameron's base in the vehicle she was in. It was now a liability.

Cameron wasn't happy about the new development. It was exactly what she figured John would pull.

She called John Henry. She wasn't in the mood for games.

"Disengage the drone. Don't make me bring it down." Cameron said. "I will."

John Henry felt there was some justification to his actions.

"We were unsure of who attacked who." John Henry said. "It was prudent we establish what happened for sure. You know it was a sound decision. You could have contacted us sooner with an explanation, rather than let it remain a mystery."

Cameron was aware there was some logic in it. She didn't want any of her team to be followed.

"Well, now you know." Cameron said. "Send both of the drones you have looking for us back to where John will be. I want it to include the one flying with the helicopter, and the one on recon over the target site."

John Henry was surprised Cameron knew the location of all four Resistance drones.

"You're tracking the drones?" John Henry asked.

Cameron wanted to make it clear to him.

"I'm everywhere." Cameron said.

It reminded John Henry of another force like it in the future.

"Just like Skynet." John Henry said.

Cameron understood the inference.

"Just like Skynet…." Cameron said. "Never forget it."

Cameron liked to know what everyone's cards were before she played 'the game'. It made winning so much easier. She knew she could have prevented some of the drama by contacting the Command Center earlier. She felt she would better make her point the way she just did. It took all of the guesswork out of it. She didn't like surprises either.

John and the team arrived at the strike location. There wasn't a whole lot left at this point. The three burning bodies were consumed. It appeared a little Thermite was involved as well.

They searched the two vehicles which remained there. They would be sent back with drivers. Cameron indicated to John Henry one would need to be repainted or dumped.

John could hear a drone. He thought it should be higher. Then he heard another drone, and another one, and another. He noticed all four of the Resistance drones were in the area. It wasn't the plan. Why were they so low? He needed to contact John Henry. Maybe there was some additional threat there he didn't know about yet. He thought he should have received some type of warning if there was.

"Why are all the drones here?" John asked. "I wanted them to track Cameron. Is there something else here we need to know or worry about? I don't want anyone to get hurt."

John Henry didn't know what to say other than what Cameron said. He felt right now he was doing the right thing. If John wanted to change the situation, it would be up to him.

"Cameron detected them. She said she would bring them down if we didn't comply with her demands to have them disengage." John Henry said. "She said she didn't want to do it but she would."

John knew Cameron outplayed him. It was why they were in a low orbit so she could rub it in his face. She wanted him to know for sure all four drones were over him. He wouldn't put it past her to do exactly as she said, just to make a point.

"It was really thoughtful of her not to destroy the Resistance equipment." John said disgustedly. "I find it hard to believe how low she will stoop at times."

It actually was really thoughtful of Cameron. What John didn't know was Cameron also wanted him protected while he was out in the field. The four drones returned to conduct a combat patrol over him. If any additional Grays or Terminators showed up to check on their missing members, the Resistance drones could engage them before they could attack him. It better protected him and the troops with him.

John Henry quickly deduced what Cameron actually did by redirecting the Resistance drones. Maybe he would explain it to John at a later date. He knew now wouldn't be a good time. He decided to drop it for now. He just went with some of the information the drones gleaned before their 'reassignment'.

"I have a description of one of the vehicles." John Henry said.

John wondered if it was the one Cameron was in.

"Who was driving it?" John asked.

The red hair was unmistakable in the drone image.

"Hanna was." John Henry said.

It wasn't what he wanted to hear, but it was still a lead. Maybe there would be some traffic cameras which could pick it up and give them a general direction to look. He really wanted to know where Cameron's base was at. He wanted to know what was going on there.

"Can we track it?" John asked.

John Henry knew it would produce additional negative results if they did. He doubted they would have the opportunity to do so. He informed John of the most likely scenario.

"I'm sure it's already abandoned." John Henry said.

It was. Hanna was on her way back to the base with Ally. Cameron told John Henry where John's troops could pick the Jeep up at on his way back. There was no need to let a potential 'drop' vehicle go to waste. It already served its purpose for her.

Earlier:

Cameron drove the van back towards her base. She heard the man cry out in pain as Sheila 'worked' on him as she questioned him. Sheila would laugh and taunt him as she did. It was very 'un-Terminator like'. She heard enough. Sheila shouldn't be 'enjoying' what she was doing. It was clear she was.

"Terminate him." Cameron said. "His whimpering irritates me. We have all the information we need."

Sheila hesitated. She wasn't done yet. She was aroused much like Jesse was when she did the same thing. There was a desire and urge inside of her which was hard to control. She wanted a little more. She acted on an impulse. It produced an agonizing scream.

Cameron looked back angrily. She didn't like what Sheila was doing. She liked it even less because she enjoyed what she was doing. It wasn't how she wanted anyone to act. It didn't matter if they were human or a machine.

"Terminate him." Cameron said again. "NOW."

Sheila reached out and snapped the Gray's neck like a rotten twig. She felt justified at the results of the interrogation. She didn't see why Cameron needed to be so upset. The Gray was going to be terminated at the end of the interrogation anyway. She would have liked things to play out a little longer.

"We got all the intel out of him, plus we now have the 'secret' hard drives they recovered." Sheila said. "They were in a hidden vault, is what he said."

Cameron thought the intel was good. The method of the interrogation and ending were troublesome. She was well aware she didn't always perform at one hundred percent. Maybe Sheila wasn't at one hundred percent now. She needed to find out.

"What did you do to him?" Cameron asked. "Are you malfunctioning?"

Sheila tilted her head slightly. Why would Cameron even ask her such a question? If anything, she wanted more. She was sorry they hadn't taken all of the Gray's alive. She would have done the same thing to all of them. It would have been one after another, not all at the same time. The terror level would have been much higher with the Grays.

"No, I just felt compelled to do it…. I wanted some answers. We still don't know from which timeline they're from." Sheila said. "I wanted to get more information out of him. I enjoyed my 'work'. You made me end it too quickly."

Cameron didn't want such behavior propagated. It shouldn't happen again. She didn't want it to happen to John if he were captured. He wouldn't be able to have any descendants if he lived. Future John made it out of more than one Skynet Work Camp. She expected John to be able to escape if he were captured as well. She didn't want Sheila's behavior to be a bad reflection on Jesse either.

"You won't do it again." Cameron said. "We may find out where and when they're from when we go through the chips of the Terminators. I need to know what their mission was. I hope they're not from my future."

Sheila was really disappointed she couldn't finish the interrogation her way.

"What if they are from your future?" Sheila asked. "I could have gotten more information if you didn't want me to end it so soon."

It would mean there was new trouble in Cameron's future if they were.

"If they're from my future, it's bad news for Future John." Cameron said. "I may need to go back there and make sure everything is OK."

Sheila wanted to make sure exactly what Cameron indicated.

"Go back where?" Sheila asked.

Cameron glanced back at Sheila.

"Back to the future." Cameron said.

Sheila felt Cameron was getting ahead of herself. There was no reason for such speculation on Cameron's part based on the information she got out of the Gray.

"He didn't recognize you or Hanna or me as our human selves." Sheila said.

Cameron didn't believe it offered anything conclusive.

"It could be good or bad." Cameron said.

There were several things Sheila questioned him on at different times and in different ways.

"He had no knowledge of Mrs. Weaver, or her army of Terminators." Sheila said.

Cameron didn't think it proved anything.

"It could be good or bad." Cameron said.

Sheila decided to drop it. She looked at the captured inactive female Terminator. She hadn't been able to get a good look at her in detail. It was something she planned to rectify now. With the Gray terminated, she didn't have anything else to do.

"She is a real looker isn't she? She's beautiful." Sheila said.

Sheila hands ran over all the curves of the female Terminator's sheath. She removed the female Terminator's top for a better look. She thoroughly touched everything.

Cameron noted the new behavior from Sheila. It bothered her as well.

The captured female Terminator was the 'Isabel' model.

"Yes, I found her quite attractive myself." Cameron said. "I still can't see why John didn't want the same version of me. Look at her, she's Hot."

Sheila continued her examination of the female Terminator. She knew why John didn't accept her.

"The reason was because she WASN'T you." Sheila said. "She's Hot too. We'll have to Resequence her before we can use her."

Cameron didn't think the sheath or chassis should have mattered to John. She was her program.

"It was MY program. It's the same thing." Cameron said. "I plan to make her a clone of myself after she's Resequenced."

Sheila came to the same conclusion Ally came to.

"Doesn't it always end badly?" Sheila asked.

Cameron frowned slightly as she drove.

"Yes." Cameron said. "I get jealous and so does my copy, my clone. We start arguing and don't get along."

Sheila tilted her head slightly.

"So what will be different this time?" Sheila asked.

Sheila thought maybe Cameron didn't know what a Bitch she could be sometimes….

Cameron contemplated Sheila's question. It was the same thing she asked herself multiple times. She didn't have a good answer.

"I don't know." Cameron said. "It just will be."

Sheila doubted it, but remained silent. She didn't want Cameron to deactivate her. She enjoyed fondling the deactivated female Terminator as they drove…. Now it was time to slip her pants off and make sure there was no damage they failed to detect anywhere else. She glanced at Cameron as she started to remove 'Isabel's' pants.

'Fly Like An Eagle' by the 'Steve Miller Band', played in the background.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

I Believe

I believe in what I BELIEVE
I believe in what I FEEL
I believe in what I KNOW
I believe to make it REAL

Few want happiness
Most only write Life bad checks
Few are willing to give
Most just take meaningless sex

I believe in what I BELIEVE
I believe in what I FEEL
I believe in what I KNOW
I believe to make it REAL

How animals exist and propagate
Isn't how people have developed
Animals know not love only instinct
Emotion and feelings have people enveloped

I believe in what I BELIEVE
I believe in what I FEEL
I believe in what I KNOW
I believe to make it REAL

Trapped in a shrinking cage
People can't survive
It seems only pain and sorrow
Let us know we're alive

I believe in what I BELIEVE
I believe in what I FEEL
I believe in what I KNOW
I believe to make it REAL

Nobody