Chapter 292

Shell Game

John Henry came up with a list of targets for John to either do a recon, or to hit. He was sure it was a bad idea for any of the choices.

"Here are your targets." John Henry said.

John looked at the selection. He was ready to go.

"Perfect." John said. "I'll notify Bob and Jim."

John Henry wanted to make sure John took several Terminators with him. He personally decided to make arrangements so there would be some Terminators available. He was a little surprised to find out Bob and Jim were both available and waiting. He didn't know Savannah already acted earlier to make sure John was protected.

"Bob and Jim are ready to go." John Henry said.

John was a little surprised they were already waiting. He also noticed something about the potential targets. They were all 'soft' targets. He wasn't about to go on a 'milk run' if there were other targets available. He wanted to find out a little more.

"Are there only Grays on this list and no Terminators?" John asked.

John Henry knew if John got into a scrape with a Terminator, and Cameron wasn't along, it would turn into a major problem for him. It always seemed to anyway. Besides, it wasn't like they knew where there were enemy Terminators at just lounging around. Cameron would have dealt with them personally if they knew about any.

"As far as I can tell, you shouldn't run into a Terminator." John Henry said.

John figured Cameron was going to know about what he wanted to do. More than likely John Henry told her. He understood it was how Cameron operated. She wanted to have total control of everything.

"Did you notify Cameron?" John asked.

John Henry didn't think it was a big deal. He wanted to cover himself too in case something went wrong. Cameron would come down on him. He was actually a little surprised at the additional help John would receive.

"Yes, I did. She said she made other plans for tonight and would send Hanna or Sheila to assist you." John Henry said. "I believe both of them would be the best idea."

John looked forward to working with the Metal girls. They were amusing to be around. He liked the way they did things. They were a lot like the human girls they were patterned after. It also raised the issue as to what Cameron was up to. It seemed to him it must be pretty important if she didn't want to 'personally supervise' him as she normally did. Cameron wasn't the only one off of the radar.

"What are Cameron and Ally doing?" John asked.

John Henry asked the same question and it went unanswered.

"I really don't know." John Henry said. "I didn't receive a response when I inquired earlier. Perhaps you would want to take up the issue further on a more personal level."

John knew Cameron would be doing something she probably shouldn't be doing. She did a lot of it anyway. It seemed she spent a lot of time with Vanna lately. She didn't spend too much time with him. He figured whatever it was, was something important to Cameron for her to make the choice she did.

"I'm afraid I don't want to know." John said. "Perhaps it's best if we just drop it. I think it's time to get moving."

John Henry nodded. He was sure John would be displeased with whatever it was and it would create some additional difficulties.

"Indeed." John Henry said.

John collected his gear and headed out to the car pool. He spotted Jim and Bob standing by an SUV.

"I've been waiting for you." Bob said.

John smiled.

"Let's go." John said.

Bob and Jim both nodded.

"Affirmative…." Both Terminators replied simultaneously.

Vanna worked alone in the lab. It seemed she did a lot of things alone anymore. She was afraid she did some of them too often. She needed to work on a few things for John Henry. The more she could become absorbed in her work, the less she tended to dwell on her personal life. She was there to help the Resistance.

She wondered if she could move to Cameron's base. She knew it was an all Terminator operation. It would give her a chance to get away from it all. Maybe the change would do her some good. Maybe it would make things worse.

Vanna looked over at the server Cameron was 'in' when she first 'met' her. It seemed it was so long ago. Maybe it was in reality. The server was still there, but Cameron was long gone from it. It still made her feel sad to think about it. The ones she loved were all 'gone'.

She didn't want to go 'there' with those thoughts. They weren't a healthy place to dwell. She finished up early and went back to her room. She decided to take a shower before Cameron stopped by with the news. It would be about the direction her life would turn. She was upset her life stopped moving forward. It seemed to be stalled or even moving in reverse. It was times like now when she felt her life served no purpose. She figured when her life stopped moving, backwards even, at that point it was time to 'go'. She really didn't wonder anymore why Cameron felt the way she did at times, she was aware she felt the same way too.

Vanna stripped down. She looked at herself in the mirror. She knew she was getting a little older. She felt she was still pretty nice to look at. She touched herself as she looked in the mirror. She placed both her hands on her breasts. They were soft but firm to the touch. There was no sag or droop to her breasts. She looked and touched a little lower. She was as smooth as could be. The only hair on her body was on her head. She thought it was the best thing about the past, the present.

She felt she looked presentable until she remembered her scar. She put her hand over it to hide it. She was aware it ruined the perfect appearance of her body. It was forever marred. It was a mark of shame and dishonor the way she viewed it. There was also another thought which would pop into her mind when she viewed it at times.

'It was 'Allison's fault'.' Vanna thought for a second.

No. She was the one who agreed to take the mark. She would do it again. Maybe it's why she still carried it. Cameron offered many times to take her to a plastic surgeon and have it removed. As much as she wanted to, she just couldn't do it. The mark was what saved her life when Allison spotted it and drug her out of the burn pile for the dead. They dumped her there when she was still alive, even if she was barely alive. She WAS still alive. Allison took care of her. Allison nursed her back to health and gave her life back to her. She remembered they told Allison they couldn't provide food for the 'dead'. Allison gave up all of her food for her. Allison went hungry so she could be nourished back to life. Allison never gave up on her.

The thought of Allison, and everything they shared together, weighed heavily upon her. She looked over at her phone. She wanted to call Allison. She NEEDED Allison right now. She missed her dearly. She looked away from the phone. Who was she fooling? It was over. It was time to move on or 'go'. She headed for the shower. Maybe she could find release in herself, again. It seemed she sure did a lot of it. There were those moments when she could get away from it all.

Vanna stepped into the warm water and let it wash away the pains of the day. She reflected on what may or may not happen. She was lost deep in thought. She reflected on her lost love and the direction her life was headed. She wasn't happy. It seemed she didn't have a lot to be happy about. She was about to redirect the water flow to pleasure herself. She seemed to let the water do it a lot lately too.

She was lost deep in thought.

The shower door opened.

Vanna felt her heart skip a beat.

Standing before Vanna was her dream come true.

Vanna looked intently at her. Her first impression was it might be Allison. Who else would be so bold to enter her shower unannounced or uninvited. She really thought it would be beautiful if Allison did. It would show there was still something there between them. She knew there was even if neither one of them wanted to admit it.

"Allison?" Vanna asked.

There was no answer.

Maybe it was Ally. She wasn't usually around any more.

"Ally?" Vanna asked.

There was no answer.

There were a few other choices.

"…Cammy…?" Vanna asked.

There was no answer.

"…Cam…?" Vanna asked.

There was no answer.

Vanna really felt her heart flutter….

There was a razor in her hand. There was only one choice left.

"Cameron…." Vanna stated as she reached out.

There was a shy look on the new arrival's face as she spoke.

"Teach me…. I'm ready…. I want to know…."

Vanna swallowed hard. She was a good teacher for females.

"Come and learn to dance…." Vanna said.

Earlier:

Cameron asked the Metal girls to help her out. There was another 'drug' operation she wanted dealt with. There was always so much which needed to be done. There just wasn't time to deal with everything herself.

Hanna looked around. She thought they could use some additional assistance.

"Isn't Ally coming?" Hanna asked.

Sheila liked to play around.

"Maybe it's why she isn't here." Sheila said.

Hanna knew Sheila and Ally were 'sweet' on each other. It was something they always downplayed. When they did, it only seemed to make it more obvious. The only ones they fooled were themselves.

"You wish you were the one who'd get to make her do it." Hanna said.

Sheila held up her fist. She liked to display her dominance.

"I've got what she needs right here." Sheila said. "I don't mean to bounce off the side of her head either."

Hanna was aware with what Sheila could do with her fist.

"I can assure you it's not a pleasant experience." Hanna said. "Neither one of the prospects are."

Sheila shrugged her shoulders. She liked to be in control. She didn't mind getting physical with anyone, especially another Metal girl. She didn't think she pushed things too far, even if she knew she did. It wasn't like it was all the time or anything. Maybe now wasn't the time to discuss the issue.

"I get a little carried away sometimes." Sheila said. "Let's go deal with these 'whackers'."

Hanna and Sheila left. They were on a strict timeline since they were supposed to 'baby sit' John later on. He insisted on going on a mission with Bob and Jim. All he would do was prevent Bob and Jim from doing their jobs efficiently. Cameron wanted them to keep him in check and out of the way.

The Metal girls arrived four blocks away from the target location.

Hanna wondered why Sheila stopped so far away. She figured she must have wanted to do something else or something additional. It usually wasn't a good idea.

"Let's drive up there and be done with this." Hanna said. "We're here to do a job. We don't have time for you to fool around."

Sheila was a little offended. She didn't like anyone to question her motives, even if it was in jest.

"I never fool around." Sheila said. "It's called 'justice'. You should know better than anyone there needs to be 'personal accountability' for what people do to others. I'm here to make sure it happens."

Hanna did know. The 'Neural Interface' with Vanna gave her plenty of insight into the brutality of others. The difference between Sheila and her, was Jesse, unlike Vanna, dished out the same brutality later on and enjoyed it. It was why Sheila enjoyed it too. She didn't. She really didn't think there was much she could do about it. There really wasn't much she wanted to do about it either.

"Whatever." Hanna said. "You're going to do what you're going to do anyway."

Sheila smiled. She enjoyed her work, especially when it was on a personal level.

"Damn straight." Sheila said.

The two Metal girls closed on the target location on foot. They only carried sidearms. They left their Tasers in the SUV. No one would only be 'stunned' in their current endeavor. They would be terminated. This was non Skynet related so there wouldn't be any Terminators involved.

Hanna checked around them as they approached. She spotted a target.

"There's the dealer." Hanna said.

Sheila smiled. She thought about the poison he peddled. She wanted to make him suffer the same way he made others suffer.

"I want to OD him." Sheila said. "I want him to know what he's made others suffer."

Hanna didn't see the need to delay the outcome. There didn't need to be any additional drama for the way things were going to end. The individual was going to be terminated.

"Let's just snap his neck." Hanna said. "You know how easy they break."

Sheila was well aware human necks broke as easy as rotten twigs. She wanted to make her motivation clear to Hanna.

"I want him to die from the poison he peddles." Sheila said. "The same way many of his customers do."

Sheila headed straight for him. There was no reason to wait for anything else.

Hanna looked around. She thought they should have scooped out the area a little better.

"There's going to be some muscle around." Hanna said. "We need to make sure we don't get shot at."

Sheila closed on the target.

"It's what I have 'Hannafor'." Sheila said.

Hanna looked at Sheila and tilted her head slightly.

"What's a 'Hannafor'?" Hanna asked.

Sheila didn't answer.

The drug dealer spotted Sheila and Hanna coming.

A smile blossomed on his face.

"I hope you two sluts are here to 'trade' instead of just buy." The dealer said. "It would make my day. You're the two finest looking sluts I've seen in a long time. Show me some skin and we can work something out."

Sheila didn't care for the way they were addressed. It upset her and made her angry. She grabbed him and slammed him down on the ground hard.

There was the sound of bones breaking. The dealer was stunned. He currently didn't move.

There was a van parked nearby. The side door opened and two burly men got out of it and headed for Hanna and Sheila. They both carried bats. They most likely carried guns too, but they were able to handle most of the problems with brute force. They weren't sure what happened, but two scantily clad bimbos didn't look like much of a threat to them. They planned to drag them back to the van for some 'fun' before they beat them to death with their fists. It wouldn't hurt to bust them up a little bit first with the bats, just to send a message. The message would be, it wouldn't do any good to resist what was to follow.

Sheila saw the dealer she slammed down was unconscious right now. She was aware of the new threat. Since they didn't pull their weapons and flaunted the bats, it was clear they wanted to make things personal. She figured it was something she could do as well.

"It looks like they want to play ball." Sheila said.

Hanna didn't want to wait to get shot at. One of the thugs was bound to go for his firearm before things went too far along.

"Let's just shoot them." Hanna said.

Sheila liked the personal challenge. It was clear the thugs wanted to use brute force against what appeared to be two smaller and weaker females. She was ready to give them a rude awakening. If it was the game they wanted to play, she was up for it.

"No." Sheila said. "I want to play ball."

Sheila and Hanna moved a few feet apart and stood there as the men approached.

The men saw it was going to be easy. The stupid broads didn't even try to run. What a couple of 'airheads'. They both raised their bats to knock the girls unconscious. They'd be easier to abuse without offering any resistance in the van. They could see the dealer started to move around. He looked like he'd make it. They wouldn't have been too disappointed if he didn't.

Right now the men knew what they wanted and how they were going to get it. The men swung the bats.

The bats stopped in mid air and were pulled from their hands. As it began to register, they were lifted off the ground as their wind pipes were crushed. They couldn't even scream when they tried.

The one thug watched as the Asian female slammed his friend into the brick wall behind them. He slid to a sitting position. She took the bat she now held and swung it into the side of his head. The bat went half way through his skull before it broke. He saw the eye on the other side of his friend's head pop out from the socket and hang loose on his cheek.

The next thing he knew was he hit the same brick wall hard and went down. He saw the Asian chick take the bat from the redhead. He was sure the Asian chick laughed as she swung the bat. He knew for sure she smiled. It was the last thing he knew or saw. His world went black. His troubles were over.

The dealer managed to get up on one elbow. He was dazed but he saw what happened to his 'protection'. They were both dead. He reached for his gun but it was gone. The two females approached him.

The redhead held a gun. It was the nickel plated revolver one of his bodyguards carried. Both of their bodies were slumped over side by side. One now rested on top of the other.

The Asian girl approached him. There was a crushing blow to his windpipe. It stunned him. There was a sharp pain in his right arm and in both of his legs. He felt his left sleeve ripped off. The Asian girl was there with several of his syringes. He tried to move his arm away as she injected him with them. There was another sharp pain in his left arm. He tried to scream through everything but couldn't. He also realized he couldn't breathe. Everything happened so fast.

Hanna kept a lookout with a gun from one of the deceased body guards. She watched Sheila crush the dealer's windpipe and break one arm and both of his legs. She pumped him full of his own 'poison' and broke his other arm.

Sheila stood. He was very pleased with her work. She only gave back the same 'medicine', or punishment, as was directed at others.

"We're all done here." Sheila said.

A shot rang out from across the street. There were several more. Hanna raised the revolver and fired once. A man who was headed towards them and shooting went down.

Sheila was pleased they were both undamaged. She looked at Hanna and smiled.

"That's what I have 'Hanna for'." Sheila said. "Let's go."

Hanna looked back at all the carnage. She realized what 'Hannafor' meant. It was her, and it was what she was there for. She could see how pleased Sheila was as she looked back too. They headed off for their babysitting job.

"I understand what your deranged reference was." Hanna said.

Sheila tilted her head slightly.

"Which one?" Sheila asked. "It seems like there's a lot of them. They're not deranged either. It's all a matter of perspective."

Once they finished their earlier assignment, Sheila and Hanna hooked up with John and his team near the target. They were right on time.

John looked them over. They looked like Jesse and Vanna to him.

Sheila wanted to make sure John understood the rules.

"We'll accompany you at all times." Sheila said. "This way Bob and Jim may operate at their fullest and do what they're best at, being Terminators."

Bob and Jim grinned at each other. They were going to 'have some fun tonight'. They could operate totally unrestricted as they did when on proficiency missions with Cameron. Bob knew from experience Sheila and Hanna were just as skilled and deadly as they were. They would protect John and could fight with extreme skill.

It was fine with John. Maybe he could learn something from the two girls about Cameron. He'd like to know more about her base and operation. Then again, they would be briefed on such an attempt. Maybe it was best to concentrate on the target and get the job done. The less he thought about Cameron or other things, the better he felt inside. Thinking of Cameron on a mission could be a death sentence if his mind wandered. He thought it would be ironic if it was how he died. Cameron could still 'kill' him, even if she wasn't there.

They arrived at the location of the target. The target lived alone. They staked out the area. No others appeared to be around. There was no sign or indication of a hostile Terminator. It was always the fear when taking down a Gray or future Gray. Skynet may try to protect its asset. It was the same way Terminators were sent back to protect John. It was what they did to protect the Reese family and the Young family.

Bob and Jim moved out and headed for the target location. They did what Terminators do best. They went straight in the front door.

Terminators liked to get the job done and accomplish the mission.

Bob slammed the door open and advanced on the target. Jim was right behind him.

The target was a smallish man. He was in his underwear. He held a sandwich with one bite out of it in one hand, and a can of soda in the other hand. Both fell from his hands as he looked on in horror at the big brute of a man who approached him. He didn't have any idea who they were or what it was about.

His crimes were committed in the future. Now it was time for his sentence, in the past, the present. The sentence was termination.

Bob moved forward and grabbed his neck and squeezed it in this hand. The scream died in the man's lungs as his spine was crushed.

Jim moved swiftly through the house to make sure no one else was hiding. They would be terminated as well.

Bob and Jim prepared to exit.

They both heard some bad news over their coms.

"Trouble." Hanna said. "I hear an HK drone approaching. It's not one of ours…. I double checked with John Henry."

Vanna finished up with the razor. She smiled at her handy work. She hadn't done it for a long time, not since she last did it for Allison. She was always pleased with the results.

"It's really smooth. I can't wait to feel it on my cheeks. It will take you some getting used to at first. We can make it 'permanent' if you want." Vanna said. "I would recommend it. I'd like it if you did."

Vanna stood next to her as they looked in the mirror. It made her think about what she saw whenever she went out. She saw the girls all try to dress 'older' than they were with all of their makeup and everything.

"When girls younger, they all want to grow up. Then when they do, they spend all their time trying to look like their younger selves again. This is one way. Now both of us are the same." Vanna said. "Go figure."

Vanna still couldn't believe it was really happening.

She wasn't the only one.

"I've wanted to do this for so long, Vanna. I wanted it to be with you. We were so close before…."

Vanna moved up and gently kissed her. The kiss was returned slowly and deeply.

"My programming is off. It's just you and me."

Vanna was gently lifted off her feet and carried to the bed….

It was an act which said a lot without a word being spoken. The act made her feel very special and wanted.

'Wooly Bully' by 'Sam the Sham And The Pharaohs', filled the room.

"It's not 'wooly' any more." Vanna joked.

Both girls giggled.

"If it's what you like and want, it never will be again either…."

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Shell Game

As one moves forward in life
They must sometimes take a chance
Often around the real or hard issues
They will hedge, dodge and dance

Is the grass really greener
On the hill's other side
Or is it only another way
To retreat, cower and hide

Some things in life we can take
Others we can only borrow
What will provide happiness
What will create more sorrow

At what point is anything enough
It's the decision that is always tough
Things are seldom smooth but rough
Does anyone ever really have the right stuff

We move around all the pieces
Yet it stays pretty much the same
Everything is right in front of us
But always one off in life's shell game

Nobody