Chapter 565

Shopping

Cameron was with John and John Henry. She wanted to follow up on their recent operations.

John was concerned about one loose end from the recent operation. It was more than a few days ago. The shipment of HK Tracks that Cammy sabotaged didn't turn up at the other locations they'd taken down. He figured they would have by now. He looked at Cameron but asked John Henry. He knew Cameron wasn't always forthcoming with information.

"Did you ever detect the HK Tracks that Cammy sabotaged, 'do their thing'?" John asked. "It has been a week now."

John Henry hadn't detected an 'attack' anywhere. The HK Tracks were supposed to 'attack' as a group a half hour after they were unloaded. That was how Cammy said they were programmed.

"I'm not sure." John Henry said. "Maybe CamNet knows."

John and John Henry both looked at Cameron.

Cameron frowned. She would deal with the threat once it arose. It was unnecessary for John to worry about this.

"I have some possible information." Cameron said. "I'm looking into it."

John didn't like Cameron to go off on her own. It looked like that was what she intended to do with the operation once it was detected. That was if it hadn't been already dealt with. He didn't like Cameron to get shot up. He looked her over.

"I don't see you shot up again – yet." John said. "I take it you haven't personally followed up."

Cameron didn't like John's tone or attitude. She thought she'd been very accommodating with him for the last few days. Apparently he took the use of her chassis for granted.

"Since you've seen and touched 'everything' on my sheath for the last four days - apparently not." Cameron said. "You're essence in three separate orifices inside my sheath currently."

Cameron thought John should be a little more appreciative of her and her being with him, especially since she did most of the 'work'. That was except for one place. John did that one on his own. There were no pleasure receptors located there on her sheath in the area. She felt that maybe it was time for a 'cutback'. John needed to appreciate her more. Maybe a refresher with 'Rosie' would make him a little more appreciative.

John was sorry for his words as soon as he'd said them. He knew there would be some 'punishment' forthcoming. The girls were all around, maybe it was time…. It was what Cameron said she wanted for him. Cameron reminded him every time they were together that it could be one of the girls there with him instead of her.

Cameron was irritated now. She'd recently reminded all the Terminators that talking to Savannah was the same as talking to her or that anything Savannah said was as if came from her. It was the reversal of the role she and Future John shared. Savannah was 'her' and she was 'Future John'. It was the perfect arrangement. She didn't see why it was a problem for anyone in the future. She needed to refocus.

"You know I don't like loose ends." Cameron said. "When I have a firm target, it will be eliminated."

John was still a little sarcastic. He didn't always like the way Cameron did things.

"I'm sure it will." John said.

Cameron looked at John. She'd heard enough. It was clear he didn't appreciate her. She got up and walked out of the Command Center without saying another word.

John Henry could see there was going to be a problem later on for John.

"Perhaps you could've been more diplomatic." John Henry said.

John didn't want to be rude that way. It just seemed to happen. He was worried about Cameron and she never listened to him. The only one she listened to was Savannah.

"I know." John said. "Sometimes we say things we don't really mean or want to say. They just slip out."

John Henry studied that facet of human behavior. He thought humans said what they wanted to say.

"That may be because you really wanted to say them." John Henry said.

There was still so much he didn't know or understand.

"I don't know." John said. "I really don't."

Cameron left the Command Center.

She was upset now about what John said to her and how he said it. That wasn't how she talked to him. Maybe that was why she stopped telling him things. He always turned them into some type of personal argument.

It seemed most of the time all he did was use her chassis for his personal needs. She needed to do most of the work while he was the one who received all the enjoyment. It was like a 'job' to her now to be with John. It wasn't a shared relationship. Once he'd 'finished' he was done. It didn't take him long either.

Maybe she should just 'cut him off' altogether. There were plenty of other choices that she'd made available to him. It was apparent that he'd almost been successful several times. He failed twice she was aware of. She was glad about that but also angered. The longer he dodged his future, the more he hurt her. She liked order and obedience. John fell far short on both counts.

Cameron thought about the future and even her future. She wondered how good of a 'parent' she would make. Toddlers and small children could be hard to 'control'. They didn't always seem responsive to orders. Even the threat of punishment didn't seem to matter to them most of the time. They laughed at the threat of termination. She'd been successful with Jan, Young Allison and Summer. She hadn't terminated any of them. Then again, they all behaved differently around her than they did other people or even other machines. She wasn't sure why, it seemed everyone did. The only one she seemed to have trouble with was John. The person she was most comfortable with was Savannah. From a young girl Savannah always showed her kindness and love. It meant a great deal to her. Savannah never gave up on her. She was the only one.

Cameron looked for Savannah. They were supposed to go out shopping. She wanted Savannah to get a few new outfits. She always picked out the clothes she wanted Savannah to wear. She wanted John to notice her.

She did the same for Young Allison. Claire was a little worried about some of them and even the underwear that Cameron picked for Young Allison. Everything was very revealing. Cameron always reminded her that Anna was at her side now and no harm would befall her. Young Allison wouldn't be attending any drug or alcohol fueled parties. Claire was very grateful to hear that. She been passed around at more than a few of those. She didn't even know how many boys were with her even. The mess afterwards seemed to indicate it was a lot. She'd switched to female friends only after the seventh party.

Cameron found a nice little place she liked to get things from for herself. She always gave her 'old' clothes to Ally, Cam or Cammy but usually it was Ally. Ally said she didn't like to shop. The 'Allison' in her didn't have any desire for fancy clothes. The effects of the Wastelands were still felt. You could take the girl out of the Wastelands but you couldn't take the Wastelands out of the girl, even a Metal one. Allison only knew that bad things 'happened' when someone noticed her and her natural beauty. Her natural beauty was desired by all both male and female. She didn't like to fix herself up and Ally never did either.

Savannah went over the operations from last week with Cammy. She wanted to see what could have been done differently if they'd actually planned the attack first. She always went over every attack or raid. She tried to learn what to do and what not to do. She even did that for their 'activities' in both futures she'd visited.

It always impressed Cameron. Savannah always tried to better herself and improve. Savannah told her it could save lives of both people and machines to learn from their mistakes or how to be better.

That issue haunted Cameron some. She was accused of wasting human lives in her future. That was actually Future John that made those mistakes. She tried to help him not make them. They all blamed her anyway.

Cameron felt a glitch impulse as she thought of it. She was blamed for many things. She believed few of them were her fault. She spotted Savannah and she calmed herself. Being in the presence of Savannah always calmed her. Savannah radiated love. Savannah made her feel 'good'.

Savannah was almost finished with Cammy. She looked over and saw that Cameron was on her way over. She flashed Cameron a smile. It always pleased her to be around Cameron.

"Hello, Cameron." Savannah said.

Cameron forgot her earlier troubles with John. Savannah gave her peace and support.

"Hi. Are you ready?" Cameron asked.

Cameron knew she was ready for a lot of things, 'everything' in fact.

Savannah thought Cameron looked beautiful.

"Sure." Savannah said. "I just finished up with Cammy."

Cameron looked at Savannah and then at Cammy. She wanted to be amicable.

"Would you like to go with us too?" Cameron asked.

Cammy wanted to go but she wanted to avoid more tension between Cameron and her over Savannah. It seemed there'd been enough of that already. She understood Savannah wanted to be with Cameron.

"I have a few things to work on." Cammy said. "Thank You, anyway."

Cammy yielded to Cameron Prime.

Cameron nodded to her.

Savannah noted the exchange but didn't comment. She'd asked them to stop hurting her about their private animosity towards each other.

Cameron led Savannah away. They stopped at Cameron's room.

"I need to change real quick." Cameron said.

Savannah waited as Cameron stripped down. She saw Cameron touch the inside of her underwear and then take them off. She tossed them in the dirty clothes hamper. She wondered if that was the 'residue' from Cameron's last encounter with John. She knew things could get messy for the female afterwards. It wasn't something she looked forward to.

Cameron made a point for Savannah to see what being with a male was like. She put on a new outfit.

Savannah watched without watching.

Cameron exhibited without exhibiting.

It looked like Cameron was ready to go. Savannah noticed Cameron never put on a new pair of underwear. She could see a lot when Cameron bent over to pick up her shoes.

"That's a short skirt." Savannah said. "Are you going to wear underwear?"

Cameron already made two points with Savannah. She was ready for some social norms. She really didn't see why people couldn't go topless or naked if they wanted to. It seemed like a personal choice.

"No." Cameron said and then thought about it. "Maybe I better if I try on new clothes."

Cameron took out some purple underwear and slid them on. She made sure Savannah got a good look at what they barely covered.

Savannah knew Cammy was the same as Cameron. They were identical in fact yet somehow Cameron always looked better. Even her identical body looked better. Somehow Cameron was more beautiful. Cameron was always Hot, Sexy and Tight, even when naked. It was one of the ways she could tell them apart. She often wondered if Cameron programmed them to never be able to look as good as her. It wouldn't surprise her if that was the case.

She knew none of the 'Allisons' ever looked as good as Cameron either. She also would be willing to bet that Young Allison would be as Tight as Cameron when she was older. She knew Cameron's goal was to make Young Allison the 'human version' of herself. Young Allison wore some pretty skimpy outfits and even though there wasn't a lot to show on her, most of what was there did show.

They headed out. Cameron took out a set of keys. Savannah reached over and took them from her.

"I'll drive." Savannah said as she glanced at Cameron.

Cameron wondered if that statement contained some double meaning….

Savannah looked back and playfully smiled at Cameron.

Cameron was pretty sure it did. She looked forward to the time she would share with Savannah. Savannah was very experienced with females. She wanted that. She knew it would make her first experience with a female that much better. She looked over at the dirty clothes hamper and her soiled underwear from earlier with John. She frowned at it as they went out the door.

Cameron and Savannah made a few stops along the way. At one point they stopped for some ice cream. Cameron ate some too. She made a point of using her tongue to lick a furor in the ice cream. Savannah understood what Cameron indicated. She was well aware what a Metal girl could do with her tongue and mouth. There was really no other experience like it.

The day shaped up to be a fun and enjoyable time for both of them. Sometimes during days like this, Cameron seemed so much like Future Allison. She was like a human teenager and not a scary robot from the future.

Savannah always enjoyed Cameron's company, even before she love-loved her. She couldn't remember when she didn't love Cameron. She loved Cameron from the beginning. All the times Cameron made her promise to be there for John as his wife or lover, Savannah actually made those promises to Cameron, for Cameron, not John. She really promised to be Cameron's wife or lover. She never told Cameron the truth. At some point Cameron figured it out and knew….

Savannah parked the SUV in back of a row of shops. It seemed like an out of the way place with two exits out of the parking lot.

Cameron noted a van parked out of place. It wasn't parked in a lined spot and the engine was running. The man behind the wheel sweated as he gripped the wheel with both hands. He looked around nervously. She knew trouble when she saw it.

She'd noticed there was a bank on the corner across the side street. She put two and two together. She thought about asking Savannah to drive away. This wasn't her concern.

"Savannah, we can go to another place." Cameron said. "This one looks crowded."

Savannah looked at the nearly empty parking lot. She'd 'read' the situation already.

"Is this about the van?" Savannah asked.

Cameron smiled to herself. Savannah was on the ball like always.

"Yes." Cameron said.

Savannah touched her weapons. She'd checked them before they'd left the base.

"It looks like a 'get away' car." Savannah said. "There is a bank on the corner."

Cameron didn't want Savannah endangered. Criminals of this nature were most likely on drugs of some type. They were hard to bring down with weapons sometimes. She liked to bring them down Terminator style.

"We should move on." Cameron said.

Savannah smiled faintly. She knew that Cameron would say that. She also knew that Cameron would know what she was about to say next.

"No. There's a good chance these people will be Scavengers one day." Savannah said. "I can take the van if you take the bank. I know you don't have your vest on. I can drive away still."

Cameron thought about the people in the bank. The fact Savannah mentioned they would be future Scavengers didn't sit well with her either.

"It's too dangerous." Cameron said.

Cameron checked her weapons.

Savannah could see it was a 'go' for Cameron.

"Communicate with CamNet and have her stop all the security cameras around here and cut 911 communications." Savannah said.

Cameron noticed that Savannah bypassed John Henry. She communicated with CamNet. This was an 'off the books' operation now. Sheila and Alley were usually with her on those, not Savannah.

As they watched, three men entered the bank. They'd been off to the side. They probably got cold feet and one of the three threatened the other two.

Savannah worried about the bank patrons.

"Hurry, before someone gets hurt." Savannah said.

Cameron was hesitant to leave Savannah by herself. The man in the van would be armed and jumpy.

"I don't want to leave you alone." Cameron said.

Savannah was confidant help would arrive.

Another SUV pulled up. It was Cammy.

"You didn't think Cammy would follow us?" Savannah asked. "I knew she would."

Cameron didn't need a shadow but if she was Cammy she would've done the same thing. That's because Cammy was 'her'.

"I hoped she wouldn't but I am glad she did." Cameron said.

Cammy got out of her SUV and joined Cameron.

"CamNet already filled me in." Cammy said. "There are at least three thugs in the bank and one in the van."

Savannah worried about the bank patrons.

"Go now." Savannah said. "Hurry, I have the van."

Cameron didn't want to chance it.

"Cammy will take the van." Cameron said. "I have the bank."

Cameron hurried to the bank and went inside.

Once Cameron went inside, Savannah wanted Cammy to help her.

"Go back her up." Savannah said. "I want you to back her up."

Cammy was worried about Savannah. She knew the thug in the van was jumpy.

"What about you?" Cammy asked. "The driver is a threat."

Savannah knew that Cammy wasn't the only 'shadow' she'd picked up today.

"Gail will look after me." Savannah said.

Cammy was a little confused.

"Gail?" Cammy asked. "She's not here."

Savannah smiled.

"She followed ME too." Savannah said. "Look, she's over there."

Savannah motioned for Gail to come over.

Cammy wondered what that was all about. She didn't see Jesse anywhere.

"Go back up Cameron, now." Savannah said to Cammy.

Cammy took off as Gail came over to Savannah.

Savannah knew she needed to play this carefully. She knew why Gail was here but she was the only one other than Gail that did. Gail was indebted to her for saving her from Termination. It wasn't supposed to be like that.

"Thanks for looking out for me." Savannah said. "You know that's not necessary."

Gail didn't know what to say other than what she felt.

"I feel compelled to help watch over you." Gail said. "I'm sorry."

"Gail, forget it." Savannah said. "The man in the van is a threat to me. You can take care of him to protect me. We're even now."

Gail only existed now because Savannah saved her. Savannah faced off with two Terminators to rescue her.

Cammy entered the bank as they watched.

Savannah wanted to make Gail feel useful.

"You see what's happening here." Savannah said.

Gail was fed the information by CamNet as well. It appeared that CamNet looked out for Savannah too.

"I do." Gail said. "I will terminate him."

Savannah wanted to have a diversion ready for Cameron and Cammy if it was needed.

"Not yet. I want you to flip that van on its side if any shooting starts." Savannah said.

Gail wanted to terminate the driver immediately. He was a threat to Savannah.

"I can terminate the driver now." Gail said.

Savannah wasn't sure if the men in the bank were in communication with the driver visually. Once a shot was fired all bets were off. CamNet currently jammed all communications.

"Wait. Flip the van over first on the driver's side." Savannah said. "Then you can finish him. Wait for a shot to be fired first or if I tell you to act."

Gail knew that the 'Chosen One' knew what was best for all of them.

"Affirmative…." Gail said. "I mean - OK."

Savannah moved behind the SUV and checked the surrounding area. She looked for anything else out of place. She wanted to make sure they didn't have a second backup team. She checked her Glock and Taser.

There was about to be some action - Terminator style.

Forlorn

Sometimes I feel
That I'm still Young
I know I'm not old
Like those I live among

Disoriented and alone
Sometimes I have thought
I'm from the future
Maybe even a robot

But such silly ideas
Would seem un-cool
If I were to express them
I would seem like a fool

I have many memories
I'm confused by them all
Perhaps someone would understand
If I gave them a call

Now it all makes sense
That I feel so forlorn
It must be because
I'm yet to be born

Nobody