Chapter 378

Not To Me

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In Some Future:

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Cam was irritated because Snake wasn't at the rendezvous point at the scheduled meeting time. She was even more upset when she spotted him. She gave Jesse a warning.

Snake and the small group with him were openly armed as they approached the girls.

Jesse and Cam were about to be confronted with weapons. They weren't pointed at them yet, but they were in the hands of Snake's group. They could be at any second.

Cam decided she would terminate all of them.

"I knew I should've killed them." Cam said.

Jesse didn't want Cam to act prematurely. She wanted some answers before the group got too close.

"Snake, slow down some, right now." Jesse said. "What's with the hardware?"

Snake and his group slowed their approach. He wasn't happy about the recent turn of events. He ran into a lot of flak as suspicions arose which put him in danger. It was a danger more so than he faced already on a daily basis.

"Well 'hello' to you too. Ever since I started asking around about Grays, people have been 'edgy'." Snake said. "Now everyone is worried everyone else is a Gray and working as a spy for Skynet."

Cam decided to wait on the termination. Maybe she could get some answers first. She needed the information so she could terminate all the threats.

"Do you think any of them are?" Cam asked. "What have you discovered?"

Snake took his eyes off of Jesse and focused them on Cam. He checked her out from head to toe. He looked her up and down twice. It was clear he just imagined her without clothing.

Jesse noticed Cam stiffen as Snake ogled her.

Cam took a step forward. It was the final insult.

Jesse put her hand on Cam to stop her. She could tell Cam was going to terminate him. She wanted some answers before there were any terminations. She tried to diffuse the situation. She was able to get Cam to relax some. She focused her attention on Snake.

"Look, love, that's no way to look at a lady." Jesse said.

Snake's response only seemed to make things worse. He took his eyes off of Cam and returned them to Jesse He gave her another once over from head to toe and back again.

"I guess it's the case, I can look at you that way then." Snake said.

The further implication was Jesse wasn't worthy of being a 'lady' either.

Cam took another step towards Snake with his latest insult directed against Jesse.

Jesse knew she needed to do something before Cam killed all of them. She wanted to knock them off guard and bring them in closer.

"Sure, love, give me a kiss." Jesse said. "I'm game."

Snake smiled and moved forward to kiss Jesse. He wasn't about to let the opportunity slip past him. He hoped it would be the start of something a little bit more. He liked it when a female knew her place.

Jesse tripped him when he came closer. She knocked him to his knees. She drew her knife instantly. It now dug into his throat.

The other men with Snake started to raise their weapons. It was about to go from bad to worse.

"Call off your dogs, or you get an ear to ear grin." Jesse said.

In a fraction of second Cam moved in front of Jesse with a pistol in each hand. She covered the three other men. She could see Jesse was in control of Snake. She knew they needed the information as much as she wanted to terminate everyone.

"Stop…." Cam said. "You'll all be dead before you know you've even been shot."

They all stopped the motion to raise their weapons. They were taken by surprise. They thought the two females acted very quickly, especially the one with a pistol in each hand.

Cam wanted to give them the opportunity to resolve things in a less violent manner.

"Set your weapons down and no one gets hurt." Cam said. "It's just that simple."

Jesse didn't think the response was quick enough. She dug the knife in deeper. She wanted to let Snake know what was about to happen in case he hadn't figured it out.

"Call a truce." Jesse said. "Don't make it worse. She'll kill all of you."

Snake could feel what he was sure was blood run down his neck. It was evident the girls were about to kill him and his crew. They currently held the upper hand and we're going to carry out their threats in a matter of seconds. Things played out a little differently than he imagined they would on the current encounter. He also knew they could already be dead, but they weren't. The girls weren't there to kill them, but they would if they needed to.

"DO IT." Snake said. "Set everything down. We don't want any problems."

They reluctantly did. They set the weapons on the ground. They didn't really have much choice if they wanted to live.

Jesse didn't want Snake or the others to worry too much. They weren't there to hurt them. They were only there to talk.

"Snake will give them back to you when we leave." Jesse said. "No one needs to get hurt here. We're not here for trouble or to take your things. The others need to take off for now. we only want to speak with you. You'll get everything back. The rest of you, take off, now"

Cam raised both her weapons. She was ready to shoot.

"Now…." Cam said forcefully. "You won't be told again."

The men quickly hurried away.

Cam retrieved the weapons and set them on the ground in front of Snake. She could see Jesse wanted to continue the conversation. She would have preferred to have terminated all of them.

"We're just here to talk." Cam said.

Jesse let Snake stand up after she relieved him of his pistol. She added it to the pile of weapons on the ground.

"We didn't need to do things the way they just happened, you know." Jesse said. "We only came to talk, not to get hurt, or to hurt anyone. We're all on the same side I hope. We're not trying to cause trouble for anyone either, especially ourselves."

Cam pointed one of her pistols at Snake's head. She was still upset at the way Snake looked at her earlier. She was further upset about what he said to Jesse. It was very derogatory to her.

"Let me kill him." Cam said. "I didn't like how he looked at me. I don't like what he said either."

Snake saw death in her eyes. She wasn't fooling around. She was about to kill him.

"No. Wait." Snake said. "I have some information."

Cam lowered her pistol slightly.

Jesse wanted to give him something to think about.

"Spill it." Jesse said. "Or I'll walk away and leave you with her."

Cam started to raise her pistol again. She hoped Jesse would walk away. She didn't think she would.

Snake could see both of the females would do exactly what they said they would if he didn't play ball.

"Easy." Snake said. "We needed the heat for our protection."

Snake became talkative real fast. He filled them in on everything he found out. None of the people he associated with were Grays. They all believed like him about what Skynet would do if it needed people, they would use the Grays, and not think twice about it. The 'free ride' would probably only last so long.

"The people around here have no influence or say in anything. They're all just trying to get by." Snake said. "I think the place to look is the anti-Metal faction. It's where any talk I've ever heard leads. Can you think of a better place for a Gray spy to hide than in an anti-Metal faction?"

Jesse thought about it for a short time. The anti-Metal faction was always vocal and tried to gain as much influence as was possible with the Resistance leadership. Someone who worked for Skynet, or a Terminator, could denounce it on a daily basis. It did look like a good cover. It might even be the most vocal person in the anti-Metal group who denounced any type of Metal who would be the one to look at first. It could also be someone a little less vocal. They might not want to be at either extreme of the issue.

"I think he's onto something." Jesse said. "Let him go."

Cam's weapons disappeared as fast as they appeared. She retrieved the four weapons from the ground. She handed Snake's pistol to Jesse.

Jesse looked at the weapon. She then focused her attention on Snake as she handed it back to him. She looked him directly in the eye. She didn't know how far he could be trusted. She didn't think it was far, but she did think there was some trust. She was sure it was based on his personal interest in her. It was what she hoped for in the beginning.

Snake glanced over at Cam before he took the weapon. Hers were still put away. He didn't want to take the weapon and get shot as he did. He figured he better say something.

"Thanks…." Snake said.

Jesse wanted to diffuse the situation even more. She figured Snake would feel more confident with his pistol back.

"It wasn't what I wanted or intended to happen." Jesse said. "We wanted a friendly chat, not a fight. We need to worry about our well being as well."

Snake wanted to justify his actions. He was the one in danger. He felt things heated up quite a bit when he started to ask around.

"Everyone is on edge now." Snake said. "You can't trust anyone. No one is safe."

Jesse wanted Snake to make amends with Cam. If he didn't, she was sure Cam would come back tonight and kill him.

"I gave you back your weapon. I'm trusting you right now. You owe the lady here an apology." Jesse said as she indicated Cam. "She's a good girl."

Snake could see the two females were a different 'class' of people. He should have stepped up to them and acknowledged it instead of trying to knock them down. They didn't deserve his harsh words, especially for no reason. He focuses attention on Cam.

"I'm sorry I disrespected you earlier. It won't happen again." Snake said. "I apologize to both of you. I promise to make this up to you. I didn't want trouble either. I was worried about my safety. I should have been concerned for yours as well."

Cam looked at Jesse who nodded.

"I'll give you another chance." Cam said. "I'd rather make friends than enemies. Dead people are of no use…."

Snake tucked his pistol away. Cam gave Snake back the other three weapons. He tucked all of those away too.

Jesse wanted to make a few things clear and also make sure the other men were given their weapons back. She didn't want to create any real enemies by taking something personal away from the others.

"Please make sure your friends get their personal weapons back." Jesse said. "We want to do things differently here and around the base. Give us a chance to work on some things. I'd appreciate it if you would work with us. This can all be better than it is."

Jesse waved her hand to indicate the 'bad part of town'.

Snake wanted to hear more. He did think things could be a little better than they were. They were worse before. They improved somewhat after the General arrived with her group of Restorators. Some of the real troublemakers cleared out soon afterwards. He figured they didn't like the new rules going into effect. He also needed to keep a few 'friends' to help watch his back.

"I will." Snake said.

Jesse wanted to be as honest as she could right now.

"Look, Snake, we're two females out here alone." Jesse said. "We need to be careful and be protected too. We don't want anyone going 'Scavenger' on us. I've been in places like this before. No one needs to stay here forever. I know. I don't want any hard feelings. You seem like a decent bloke. We would like to try to make things better. If there's something specific we can do, we will try. There are always certain individuals who want to rule their own little world. I learned the hard way, there are no little worlds. There's just one big one and we're all in it together."

It was time to return.

Cam looked at Snake.

"I need you to keep an ear out for any new developments." Cam said. "I would appreciate it. I don't like to kill unless I need to."

They parted ways.

Snake knew he didn't want to be on the wrong side of the two females. He was pretty sure nobody wanted to be. He regretted his earlier rudeness. It wasn't something he did often. He couldn't even remember when the last time he did was. He was so used to the lifestyle he lived. It seemed the only thing which mattered was staying alive.

"I apologize again." Snake said. "You both deserve better."

Jesse and Snake both each eyed the other as they separated.

Cam watched them depart after Snake rejoined his compatriots. He gave them back their weapons. The other three men waved at them as they left. It was clear they didn't want to end up on the wrong side of them either.

"I'll return tonight and terminate all of them." Cam said. "I like them even less now since they threatened you."

Jesse touched Cam's arm. It wasn't time yet.

"No, I think Snake will still have some usefulness." Jesse said. "Things work differently in areas like this. I know how to read it. There's more to the story here. We just need to let things develop and play out a little more. Snake is going to help us again because he feels he owes us now."

Cam looked away from Jesse back to where the four men left from. She was still irritated about being ogled.

"He will be useful for what?" Cam asked. "I don't like the way he looked at you or ME."

Jesse didn't like the looks either. She was usually abused after anyone looked at her the same way. It happened plenty of times when she was younger. There also seemed to be more in play there than they could see. It was worth further investigation.

"I don't know yet." Jesse said. "I just feel it."

Cam took the anti-Metal warning seriously. She knew where Allison was headed today.

"I must go warn Allison and Cameron II." Cam said. "Let me get you back to Vanna and Cammy first. I need to know you're safe."

Jesse understood the threat for what it was. They didn't have any extra time to waste if Allison was in danger. It would present a larger fighting force if they stuck together.

"Sorry, love." Jesse said. "I'm coming with you. You know I love Allison too."

Cam and Jesse headed for where Allison went. They hurried as fast as Jesse could go. Jesse told Cam to go ahead and get to Allison. Cam reminded her Mrs. Weaver was with them. They both knew if anyone threatened Allison, there would be a blood bath. It wouldn't be any of their blood either.

Allison and Cameron II met with one of the leaders of the anti-Metal faction. Mrs. Weaver was there too as 'JH', a German Shepherd dog. They all needed to remember they were dealing with one individual now and not the entire group, even if he was their representative. What he personally thought wouldn't apply to all the individuals in the group. It was clear he was sweet on Allison.

Cameron II didn't like the situation. Something was off. She was on highest alert. This wasn't the meeting she expected and everything seemed like a 'show' to her. She knew she could handle any situation, but she needed to worry about Allison's safety. Mrs. Weaver as JH was an asset in this current situation.

She knew she should have come alone and posed as Allison. It was her original intent. Cameron was going to be upset at her if things went bad. True, she was 'Cameron' also, a Cameron clone, but each day apart, and her ever increasing 'experiences' with Allison, made her a separate Terminator.

Billy led them off to a different area. They were even more secluded now. Cameron II looked around. It was quiet. Maybe now was the time to strike and terminate the person who hated her because she was 'different'. She was hated because she was Metal. They didn't even know her. She didn't have any say in her creation as Cameron.

She couldn't understand these people not being able to differentiate between Skynet Terminators and the Resistance Restorators. One group helped them and kept them from being eradicated. The Skynet group was the enemy, not the Resistance group.

"I've spoken with some of the others." Billy said. "None of them like any kind of Metal."

Cameron II was further offended by his statement. It wasn't based on the actual situation.

"Without the Restorators fighting Skynet right now, where would you be?" Cameron II asked.

Billy didn't say anything at first.

Allison didn't like the delay to his answer. She decided to answer for him. She knew exactly what would happen to them.

"They'd all be dead, or in a Skynet work camp." Allison chimed in. "Some would be living as Scavengers."

Billy was aware it was a correct assessment for most of them. There was more to it.

"It may be true." Billy said. "But it was the machines which brought this on us. It was the machines who attacked humans."

Allison wasn't sure why he couldn't see the difference.

"I think we can work together and in harmony with the ones helping us." Allison said. "I know they're not all bad. Not all people are good either, look at the Grays and Scavengers. Is it how humanity should be judged?"

A small mouse ran from the area Billy was at earlier. JH lunged over and grabbed it. He seemed to swallow in an instant. It was actually a 'part' of Mrs. Weaver like the 'eel' in her office was. It was sent out to gather intelligence. It must have hit 'pay dirt'.

JH wagged his tail and ran to Allison.

Allison figured she would get bad news.

JH moved up close to Allison. He jumped up on her and licked her face and ear.

"Leave NOW." Allison heard in her ear.

Cameron II heard it as well. She knew there must be a new threat. It was time to fall back. The threat was unknown.

"We need to go." Cameron II said. "I don't feel good."

Allison looked for a threat but didn't see it yet. It was probably a bad thing. They must be in an ambush which hadn't been sprung yet. They needed to get out before it was.

"OK." Allison said. "You don't look so hot. Let me help you."

Bill didn't know what just happened. He was there in good faith.

"But you just got here." Billy said. "We're not done talking."

Cameron II wanted to use her chassis as a shield in front of Allison, and Mrs. Weaver as one behind them.

"Follow behind me." Cameron II whispered to Allison. "JH will tag along behind us."

Allison understood Cameron II planned to use herself to protect her. She wasn't sure what the nature of the threat was. It seemed to be very serious. She still wasn't able to identify it yet. She wanted to leave on good terms even if the situation seemed sketchy at best.

"We can talk again some other time." Allison said. "I need to get her back before she gets worse. She's been sick recently. I'm sorry."

Cameron II didn't know what the threat was either, but Mrs. Weaver indicated it was imminent.

"We need to hurry." Cameron II whispered.

JH started to growl. It was a warning for them to move faster.

Everything changed in an instant.

There was a new player on the field. It was the team captain.

Cameron boldly strode into the area. She didn't look happy.

"I've been looking for you two." Cameron said.

Billy thought Allison was beautiful. Now here was someone who not only looked like her, but several times better somehow. He was spellbound.

"Is she your sister?" Billy asked.

He hurried along after them.

Allison followed Cam.

"Yes." Allison said. "You can see we look alike, even if it's not identical. We need to go."

Two more players entered the 'field'.

"Allison!" It was Jesse and Cam.

Both Cam and Cameron II used their altered appearance to look like their former sheaths when they were in public.

Allison wanted to get Jesse away from the threat too. With Cam and Cameron II there along with Cameron and Mrs. Weaver, she felt a little more confident. If someone was looking for a fight, they were going to get it. It wasn't going to be what they expected, No matter what it was.

"Jesse, come with me. We need to leave now." Allison said. "Ronnie is sick…."

Jesse and Cam understood the threat.

Cameron assessed the situation. She felt the girls were protected. There should be more assistance on the way. She took a moment to glance at the dog, Mrs. Weaver.

"You four go on back." Cameron said. "JH and I will finish up here. It won't be a problem."

Cameron stopped and JH stood at her side. A low growl cut the silence.

Billy looked at the dog. It looked even bigger and even meaner now. He was sure the dog could kill him in seconds. He wasn't sure if he ever saw a more vicious looking animal.

Cameron knelt down and JH licked her face. She received all of the information Mrs. Weaver knew or uncovered so far. She stood and faced Billy.

"Well?" Cameron asked.

Billy still looked in the direction where Allison and her hot Asian friend went.

"Well what?" Billy asked, confused.

Cameron was aware it was an ambush of some type.

"You wanted me, us." Cameron said. "We're here. I wanted to mention if anyone has a problem with my sister, then they have a problem with me. I'm here and alone."

Billy looked around, nothing happened. He looked scared….

He was alone.

Unit 44 and Unit 69, Ginger and Sandy, met Jesse and Allison seconds after they left Cameron and Mrs. Weaver behind. They were heavily armed.

"Commander Connor said we're to look after you two." Ginger said. "She was afraid there was going to be a problem. We work with Commander Connor, Cameron, in the restoration unit. Your two friends should know about us from Cameron."

Jesse and Allison looked over the two female Restorators. They glanced at each other. It was clear they both thought the same thing. Ginger and Sandy were smoking hot. They wondered why Cameron hadn't introduced them earlier. They didn't know the back story behind either one of them. They were sure they would see more of them going forward.

Cameron kept her clones updated on her activities with the 'Special Unit' and restoration unit. They were aware of the Restorators Cameron brought under her influence.

Cameron II was very unhappy about the unknown threat. She wanted some resolution. There was an established hierarchy of how Cameron's clones would respond when they were together. Cameron II would take the lead. Cammy would be next, followed by Cam. It was arranged so there would be no infighting or confusion among them.

"Take them to Cammy at once." Cameron II said. "I'm going back to help Cameron. Cam, you stay with them too."

Cameron II and Allison quickly switched shirts. The Liquid Metal on her face changed to allow Cameron II to look identical to Allison.

Sandy handed Cameron II a plasma rifle.

Ginger and Sandy were no strangers to combat.

"We can go with you." Sandy said.

Cameron II wanted the girls protected. There were three Restorators with them.

"No." Cameron II said. "Stay with the girls and take them back to Cammy. This is personal…."

Allison knew Cameron II wanted to settle the score since she was in danger.

"Be careful, Cameron." Allison called.

Cameron II turned to hurry back to where Cameron was at.

"It's Cameron II." Cameron II said as she looked back over her shoulder as she departed.

Allison blew her a kiss.

"Not to me…." Allison whispered.

Allison was worried about Cameron and Cameron II. She was even worried about Mrs. Weaver. She witnessed all of them in action, it wasn't the problem. She just didn't want any of them to be damaged or hurt. She knew the other side was going to come out on the losing end of whatever happened. Whatever the situation was, someone just bit off more than they were going to be able to chew. It was most likely going to be jammed down their throat as well.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Not To Me

A person hears what they want to hear
It matters little if it is true or not
Their mind is closed and already made up
To try to change it is all for naught

A person sees what they want to see
For they are blinded by love
They can't even feel the push
When they are given a shove

A person thinks what they want to think
Fact and reason seem to mean little
As honesty and reality catch up to them
Away at their soul the truth will slowly whittle

A person can be what they want them to be
Even if they do things which one can't agree
Maybe it all comes down to a matter of degree
When it should matter we say - not to me

Nobody