Chapter 505

Cat And Mouse

Cameron was in the storm drain system. She was after a 'Metal Bitch' that escaped from the building they took down. There was a good chance the hostile Terminator took something with her.

She glided along swiftly in the darkness. She moved soundlessly. She was sure some of their Terminators would follow her. At each junction of the underground maze she left a marker of some type. She only hoped she was on the correct path….

Maybe this was the journey to nowhere. Maybe this was where she was terminated. Everything was an unknown.

Savannah was in the Command Center. She was alarmed that Cameron went after the target alone. She was in the darkness chasing an elusive foe through a maze.

"John, we need to send Cameron help." Savannah said. "She can't go into and after the unknown alone. She'll take too many chances."

John Henry desperately searched for a map or diagram of the drainage system that Cameron was in. So far one had eluded him. Even if he found one, they didn't have a clue where she was at.

"We don't know where she will end up." John Henry said.

Savannah knew the exit for the 'Metal Bitch' would actually be one of the drain openings or a manhole. They didn't have a clue where that would be.

"Make calculated guesses based on what is at the beginning or start of each drainage tunnel." Savannah said. "They all come from somewhere."

Kyle spent a lot of time in those systems in the future. None of them were even close to where Cameron was at now.

He thought back to an encounter in his future. They'd experienced a lot of trouble with supplies that disappeared. Someone needed to have taken them. They set a trap to see how it was being done. He'd waited with Derek in the darkness. They heard the scrape of metal. The brothers looked at each other in the gloom. Whoever it was was there now.

They moved around the crates and spotted a shadow that moved. It was gone in an instant. They saw that there was an opening in the floor.

Derek pointed down at the opening and Kyle nodded.

Kyle dropped into the opening and saw it was part of the drainage system. There was no water. The system was most likely busted up in a dozen places. This was probably an isolated segment. It was dark so he needed to use a light. He was afraid it made him a target. He began to search the area and was soon lost. He'd ended up in a larger segment at some point. There were a dozen openings he'd come across. They would all put him in 'Indian' country if he exited during the day. He needed to wait until night to make his way back to the bunker. They never found the thief but they did seal the metal cover.

"There will be dozens if not scores of openings." Kyle said. "It can get real tricky down there."

Sarah silently squeezed Kyle's hand when she saw he looked a little disturbed.

John was done with the Gray compound. He wanted all the troops deployed to search for Cameron and the 'Metal Bitch'. They'd gathered as much intel from there as they were going to get. All the terminated Grays were thrown back inside the burning building.

"I want all our Terminators that were at the compound redirected to the storm drain entrances." John said.

Savannah wanted some specific action.

"Cammy, I want you to go after Cameron." Savannah said. "Take the Metal girls as well."

Cammy and Hanna currently searched one segment of the main flood control channel. They hadn't found anything yet. They didn't find any homeless either. They were ready for a more useful assignment.

"OK, Savannah, we'll do it." Cammy said. "Cameron should mark her trail in some way, we'll follow her."

Savannah was still upset she wasn't with Cameron. She should have stayed with her.

"Cameron knows help will come." Savannah said. "She knows I will come for her, if no one else does. I will always come for her…."

John gave Savannah a reassuring hug. He knew Savannah hadn't ever 'given up' on Cameron, even when everyone else did before, including him. Her faith in Cameron was unwavering, pure and true. He realized it was love like no other. It was love that proved stronger than his. There were times he'd given up on Cameron as being 'gone'. Savannah always told him that Cameron would return. She always reminded him that Cameron was invincible and eternal. Savannah always helped him through the darkest days with her faith.

"She'll be OK, Savannah." John said.

Savannah wasn't going to chance it if things went bad. She would 'change' that herself.

"We'll find her or we'll go back in time for her." Savannah said. "I will."

John Henry looked over. That statement reminded him a lot of Cameron. He was sure she'd done plenty to change or 'fix' things. He thought it was a bad idea.

John didn't doubt Savannah. Things seemed clearer now to him.

"She knows you'll be there for her, Savannah. I know you'll be." John said. "I understand now."

John and Savannah looked at each other. There was a lot they 'understood' now. It was clear where they were headed. It just seemed to be a matter of time now.

Kyle and Sarah exchanged glances but didn't comment. They saw everything 'change' before their eyes but nothing was 'different'. It was there all along from the beginning. Only Cameron understood and Savannah.

"Cameron's wedding dress is going to be a tight fit around Savannah's current bust line." Sarah whispered to Kyle.

John Henry turned and looked at them. He was the only other one who heard them. Strangely enough, he'd thought the same thing….

It seemed the future was calling.

Cameron was a little frustrated. This seemed to be a game of cat and mouse. She was the cat but the mouse was elusive. She needed to turn around and go back several times. In some tunnels there was fine silt on the bottom that was undisturbed. That meant she took the wrong branch. Each branch seemed to get smaller. The system seemed dry for the most part. That made her job to track the 'Metal Bitch' harder.

She knew it was only a matter of time until she ended up at a curb opening in the street with nowhere else to go but out. She came to the conclusion she was tracking more than a single 'Metal Bitch' by the disturbed silt in some of the branches. It appeared there were at least two sets of tracks. She didn't know who the other ones belonged to. That raised new questions about what she would face if she caught up to them. They seemed to know where they were headed. For her it was hit and miss.

If the 'Metal Bitch' was leading someone, who were they? Was it someone important from the future or someone who would be important in the future? It seemed more like a Gray than a second Terminator. Did they have Skynet with them - a Skynet?

Cameron viewed the workings of what appeared to be a 'Clean Room' but it wasn't complete yet. She didn't want it completed at a different location either.

If there was a Gray with the 'Metal Bitch' it must be a high value target. It might also be someone here now to start working on a biological weapon to unleash on or before Judgment Day. She knew whoever it was that they needed to be terminated. She planned to terminate both of them as soon as she found them.

Cameron moved on through the ever shrinking drainage pipes. She began to wonder if the 'Metal Bitch' and her high value target were already out somewhere. It was at that moment that she heard it. It was a scuffing sound. There was someone ahead of her. They were much closer than she'd imagined. She'd closed up on them even with the wrong turns. She knew there was someone else there besides a Terminator. They'd slowed the 'Metal Bitch' down. It must be a Gray as she'd suspected. She slowed and used even more caution….

Cameron was aware, that if 'Metal Bitch' knew she was being pursued, she would attack. That is what she would do if she was the one being pursued. She wasn't sure what the attack would be. There was no room to fight hand to hand at this point.

Cammy and Hanna returned to where Cameron went into the inlet tunnel. They'd searched for anyone else in the other inlets. Ally and Sheila went the other direction. They hadn't returned.

John Henry followed the drone images. The drones searched for the 'Metal Bitch' or Cameron. Ally and Sheila were quiet for some time now. He decided to recall them too.

"Ally, you and Sheila need to return." John Henry said.

Ally was sure they'd found someone. She didn't want to give up the chase.

"We have contact." Ally reported. "Cammy and Hanna can follow Cameron. We're on the trail of someone."

Cammy didn't want to waste any more time. She didn't want Savannah to become involved. She needed to act now.

"OK, I'm headed in with Hanna." Cammy said. "I'll lose communication shortly. Don't send anyone else in after us. I want to assume anyone behind us is the enemy."

John Henry was disturbed by Ally's report. He'd sent Cam off with the other drones to search the streets for any movement.

"Roger, Cammy." John Henry responded. "Ally, I'm redirecting Cam back to your location."

Ally didn't think that was prudent right now. They were on to something Skynet related.

"Keep her distant for now. They may have another 'Stinger'." Ally said. "I don't think we are on the trail of any 'homeless' people."

John Henry knew they hadn't spotted them yet. He wasn't sure how she could make that determination without visual contact.

"How do you know?" John Henry asked.

Sheila only could go by the footprints they picked up. The soft silt left good imprints.

"The footprints we have come across are new boots and they're military grade." Sheila said. "Someone has a limp or is dragging their foot every now and then. They may be hurt."

Ally was worried it could be something more sinister.

"Or they're carrying something heavy like a 'Stinger'." Ally said. "It's not the lightest thing to tote around."

Cam was glad they hadn't used it earlier. That raised a few question.

"Why haven't they used it yet?" Cam asked. "They've been presented the chance several times."

Ally thought about that herself. It appeared to her that the Grays decided to run and not fight.

"Unknown." Ally said. "Maybe if they use it before they 'have to' it will pinpoint their location. I think they are trying to escape, not fight."

John Henry knew none of this was planned out by the Resistance. They'd simply reacted to events that happened to them. Someone attacked them out of the blue.

"We don't know everything we are up against here tonight." John Henry said. "We stumbled across something or more accurately they did."

John Henry tried to reach Cammy and Hanna but they were already inside the inlet tunnel. Cameron still wasn't back in communication range either….

Savannah watched and listened. None of this set well with her. She knew she should have gone with Cameron. She wondered if Cameron knew John and her would grow closer at this time, both of them were together now and worried about her. The more she thought about it, the more impossible it seemed that even Cameron could orchestrate all of this. What happened with John and her was REAL.

Savannah and John both traded quick glances.

John didn't know where any of this was headed or how it would play out. It seemed there was more going on than there should be. He was pleased that Savannah was in the Command Center with him.

Ally and Sheila moved silently and swiftly. They knew they were closing in on someone. The foot prints indicated two people. They went up a side branch of the flood control channel. They passed through a much shallower branch. It was only a few feet below the level of the surrounding ground and open on the top.

John Henry looked at the past satellite images. He could see where the Metal girls were going.

"Based on the direction you're headed, it's a more rural area." John Henry said. "The cement will turn into dirt soon and you will be able to see above the ground level. That means that someone can see you as well."

Sheila didn't think they'd been too aggressive yet in their pursuit. They figured the enemy was armed and antsy.

"We've used caution." Sheila said quietly.

Ally and Sheila continued on. They expected to make contact soon. They hoped to do that before the targets figured out they were being tracked. They might leave a booby trap behind. The girls checked for that anyway as the continued their pursuit.

Ally was on point. She suddenly slowed and then stopped.

"Sheila, up ahead." Ally whispered. "I see them."

Cameron was close to her targets now. She could hear the struggled breathing of the Gray. Someone was having a hard time ahead of her. She was afraid if she'd gotten this close she might be detected.

She heard a metallic click and seconds later a semi round object rolled towards her.

It was a grenade.

There was no where for her to go. She couldn't run from it. There was only one thing to do.

Cameron quickly slung it behind her. She accelerated its forward motion past her before it exploded. It was a few yards behind her when it did. It was a little closer than she would have preferred. She felt lucky that only a few pieces of shrapnel hit her. She'd gambled the grenade would get further away from her if she kept the direction it was going the same.

Now she needed to pause a moment. She expected another grenade. Maybe they didn't have another one. Maybe it would be gunfire instead.

Cameron could hear some metal scraping and rapid movement. She determined it was a manhole cover being moved. They were at the escape point. That was a good thing because the pipe was much smaller at this juncture. It was time for her to act. She decided to return the favor in kind. She didn't have a fragmentation grenade. She carried something better.

She armed a Thermite grenade. She waited until the last second and flung it forward. She didn't want it directed back at her. It exploded a second later. There were some horrible screams as someone was showered in Thermite and now burning. The Gray was hit if nothing else. The burning Thermite could not be easily extinguished.

Cameron moved cautiously but quickly forward.

The screams intensified and then subsided.

Cameron noted a tunnel intersection. It most likely went to the opposite side of the street by passing under it. She hurried through it.

She came up across the street from where she'd thrown the Thermite grenade. What she saw somewhat surprised her.

The 'Metal Bitch' was out from the manhole but both of her legs were missing. Her back was still burning in places. She pushed a box in front of her. She used only her hands to propel herself. It was a slow process but it was the only way for her to move.

There was a burning body half in and half out of the manhole. It was human. It no longer moved. It continued to burn. The screams ceased as she'd gone under the street.

From the other side of the street, Cameron pushed the manhole cover open in the sidewalk and sprung from the drain. She ran toward the 'Metal Bitch'. She wanted to get the box away from her before she could destroy it.

The 'Metal Bitch' saw Cameron emerge and head straight for her. She tried to draw her sidearm.

Cameron was on her in a second and fired her Taser. The 'Metal Bitch' was down. She ripped the burning shirt off of her back. She looked around. There was a panel truck parked near by. Nothing else was around there. The panel truck seemed out of place for the surroundings. This was an area that was under development still. She looked back and could see the burning building in the distance. She was quite a ways distant from it.

She kept an eye on the panel truck. She looked at what the 'Metal Bitch' pushed along as she removed her chip. It was what she'd suspected. It was an infant version of Skynet. She was sure of it.

Cameron rolled the 'Metal Bitch' over and ripped the rest of her shirt off. The front section of the sheath was undamaged. The small medium sized breasts were complete and undamaged as was the abdominal section. She smiled. She would be able to fix her deactivated Terminator with 'parts' off this ruined chassis. She would also Resequence and reprogram the other chassis Sheila deactivated earlier. This would give her two more Metal females to 'play with'.

She always liked it when everything fell into place. It looked like she'd scored a bonus with this one and the version of Skynet that was captured.

Cameron thought of a few ideas and possibilities….

She needed to refocus. There was still the panel truck to deal with.

Cat And Mouse

Few things in life
Are cut and dried
One finds out soon enough
When something new is tried

Everything that is worthwhile
Takes some effort and time
It usually makes the journey
A drawn out uphill climb

It seems that there is always
Some type of push and pull
One can always be assured
That there will be a lot of 'bull'

Everything comes down to
Some form of give and take
Sometimes is hard to tell
What is real and what is fake

Life itself becomes the game
Expect to meet many a louse
One could even end up a spouse
Everyone plays cat and mouse

Nobody