Chapter 593

Evaporated Smile

Cammy drove as Savannah slept with her head on Cameron's lap. Cameron took in Savannah's beauty as she slept.

'Sleeping Beauty….' Cameron thought.

Cameron knew Savannah pushed hard and took risks she shouldn't. It was obvious that those risks protected her while they endangered Savannah. She knew she shouldn't be protected by Savannah. That shouldn't happen. It was supposed to be the other way around. She knew she would've been terminated several times over now if it wasn't for Savannah. Savannah's love for her was what drove her.

Now they were headed for a troubled situation again. It most likely would end in some gunfire. There were other members of the team to assist them. That's unless they were called off to a different phase or development of the operation. She was very aware that these things fell apart fast or escalated very quickly.

Cameron and her team neared the scene. The truck was stopped. The van and SUV were still with it. Cameron received all the latest information. She called in additional Terminators from her base. They were still a ways out.

The Resistance teams split up to cover the four sides of where the truck was at. If it started to move again, it would have to pass near one of the SUVs of their group.

Jim moved up on foot to observe the area. He was between two buildings and not easily spotted. He watched the trio of vehicles. They just sat there. Nothing happened.

"They're all sitting there." Jim said. "No one is doing anything."

John didn't understand the new development or what it actually meant. The enemy could call in reinforcements or have Terminators seek out their forces while they waited.

"I think they know we're watching them and don't want to lead us to where they want to go." John said. "Jim, fallback now to Derek's SUV and reinforce him."

Cameron spoke to wake Savannah.

Savannah opened her eyes and smiled at Cameron as she sat up. Cammy filled her in on the recent developments as Cameron communicated with the rest of the group.

Cameron didn't like the inactivity either. Why would they just stop and sit there? It didn't make any sense.

"I don't want anyone to do anything yet." Cameron said. "John Henry, is there anything in the air that shouldn't be there?"

John Henry was on every radar system to check for that threat.

"No drones have been detected yet." John Henry said. "Ours are not up. I want to keep them out of the city, especially during daylight."

John thought that was a positive even if it would be a negative.

"OK. If anyone detects a drone, it's not ours." John said.

Cameron thought about her last encounter. Skynet set them up to be ambushed by HK Tracks.

"The last location we were at, Skynet kept a few HK Tracks waiting for us." Cameron said. "They may be setting up a similar 'reception committee' for us."

Derek thought the general area where they were all contained now was a pretty good place to engage them.

"Why don't we just take them now?" Derek asked.

John thought about it. He only saw it as one thing.

"I think that's what they're trying to do. They want to draw us out." John said.

Cammy approached the area with Cameron and Savannah. They did a wide sweep of the area before they moved in closer. They hadn't spotted anything out of the ordinary.

Cameron was now at the location. Savannah and Cammy were on the alert.

Savannah went over all the information and looked around at everything.

"Cameron, this isn't right." Savannah said. "I can feel it."

Cameron learned to trust the 'instincts' of the humans when they said it didn't 'feel' right. They were usually correct. She also knew to trust Savannah. Savannah was able to 'see' things she couldn't. Things like this that didn't exist but were 'felt'.

They were new on the scene in their SUV. The other teams that were there all drove around the area as they were led around in circles earlier. It was possible all four of their SUVs were 'made'.

"I want everyone who was part of the tail teams to pull out." Cameron said. "Dump the vehicles and acquire fresh transportation. Try to do it unseen. CamNet and John Henry will loop any video feeds where you go."

There was silence.

John knew that was a big step.

"What do you have, see or know?" John asked. "This sounds bad."

Cameron didn't know what to make of it either other than what it appeared to be. Someone wanted them all stopped. That could only mean one thing. They were targets.

"I don't know." Cameron said. "By the way they're behaving it seems that they're trying to draw us out. The four vehicles we've followed them with have already most likely been identified and maybe even targeted."

They'd used similar tactics on Grays in the past. They didn't want to get caught in one of their own traps.

The four vehicles all left. They headed for parking structures or malls. They all let one team member off to appropriate new wheels while the other went to ditch the vehicle. Cameron gave them specific instructions to follow.

That left Cameron, Cammy and Savannah alone.

John saw it for what it now was. Cameron was there to take the risk herself. Savannah and Cammy were with her. He wasn't sure if this was what she wanted or not.

"Cameron, this is unacceptable." John said. "You can't face them alone."

Savannah reached over and gave Cameron's hand a gentle squeeze.

"I'm not alone." Cameron said as she looked at Savannah. "We're going dark now."

Cameron never felt alone when Savannah was with her.

Young Allison asked CamNet to feed her all the information on where Cameron, Cammy and Savannah were at. She also viewed the information from John Henry.

Anna watched Young Allison process the information. Anna helped her as needed and answered questions for her. She prompted her to ask questions.

Young Allison finally got around to saying what was on her mind.

"Anna, you know what needs to happen." Young Allison said. "It's what I want."

Anna didn't think now was the time for this conversation.

"I do know." Anna said. "You know it's not going to happen, not yet anyway."

Young Allison didn't want to argue with Anna about it. She knew it would be Cameron's decision. She went back to the task at hand.

She didn't like that Cameron's team was all alone.

"Savannah and Cameron need more help." Young Allison said.

Anna wanted Young Allison to think.

"Do they?" Anna asked. "Maybe this is where Cameron does her best work."

Young Allison thought that might apply to Cameron on her own mission. This wasn't a solo mission.

"Savannah is with her." Young Allison said. "She's not a Terminator"

Anna felt Savannah was well protected. She felt Savannah would moderate Cameron's response.

"Cameron is with her, Cammy is too." Anna said. "Cammy is - 'Cameron'."

Young Allison saw it a little deeper. They didn't need personal Terminators when humans were out in the field.

"So are you." Young Allison said. "You should be there with them. All the Metal girls should be. That's where the fight is."

Anna was to serve a different purpose. All of the Metal girls were to do so. Her personal functions weren't all in play yet.

"My function is to guide and protect you." Anna said. "Cameron has all the help she needs."

Young Allison wasn't convinced.

"The Metal girls can still share their love." Young Allison said. "They don't need to do it twenty-four-seven."

Anna didn't want Young Allison to underestimate Cameron.

"You should know by now, Cameron ALWAYS has another card to play." Anna said. "Let's see how it unfolds."

Young Allison watched. She wanted the team to have more support. If she were doing it, she would want more help.

Gail was deeply in love with Savannah. She'd started to follow her around to make sure she had extra protection. Savannah told her that was unnecessary because she was usually with Cameron or Cammy.

She didn't like the earlier operation that Cameron took Savannah on. She would have gone there herself if they hadn't gone off of the grid. She was very upset to know the extreme danger they all faced, especially Savannah. She was very proud that Savannah took down and captured an HK Track on her own. That was better than Cameron and Cammy did.

Gail followed the current operation through her com. As soon as she heard Cameron was about to bring Savannah into the danger zone, she decided to act. She wasn't going to sit this one out. She knew where they were all at.

Gail suddenly lifted her head.

"I need to go out." Gail said abruptly.

Jesse was just about to finish again. She was surprised Gail stopped so abruptly. She went up on one elbow and looked down the valley of her breasts and across her flat stomach at Gail's face.

"Where are you going, love?" Jesse asked.

Gail got up and started to dress.

"I need to do something." Gail said.

Jesse became concerned. She could tell something was off. Gail never left her hanging like this. She was only ten seconds away too. Gail would have known that. She could see something triggered Gail. She didn't want her to go out alone. She was aware that Gail was never the same since that one assault she'd gone on. She was 'different'.

"Let me go with you." Jesse said.

Gail feared for Jesse's safety. She'd lost Duplicate Jesse once. She didn't want it to happen again.

"NO." Gail said. "You MUST remain here."

Jesse took it as an 'order'. It was unlike Gail to act this way.

Gail left the room. She was still putting her clothes on.

Earlier:

Ally returned inside the building. She drug the dead men into the room where the the others were.

She went through the building and looked for any other information. She found a pile of female clothing. She took them and dumped it in the room Sheila and Patty were in.

She could see things were wrapped up.

It seemed Patty was very upset about what was done to her. She'd only been with two boyfriends and she felt she was 'ruined' now. That was why she was so revenge driven. To her, her life was over.

Ally looked at the papers in the strong box. They contained names and dates. There were a few phone numbers but no addresses. She saved all the files to her system. They would track all of them down.

She could hear Sheila say something.

Sheila entered the office area.

"I have the information on where the girls were taken." Sheila said.

"Patty wanted to do more." Sheila said. "She may be unstable."

Ally was about to say that was how she felt about her.

Patty walked into the room.

"Here is some money from the strong box." Ally said.

Patty looked at it.

"Thanks." Patty said. "Can I have some more guns?"

Sheila looked at Ally.

"What for?" Sheila asked.

Patty didn't seem bothered by the fact she'd killed three men.

"My life is ruined." Patty said. "I can never be with anyone again, not after this. I'm going to clean up the trash."

The Metal girls could see that was a bad idea.

Sheila was reminded of Jesse.

"You can recover from this." Sheila said. "I know some girls who went through this for a decade and it was ten times worse than this. They were able to recover."

Sheila and Ally were unable to make any headway with Patty. They fixed her up with some weapons that the thugs carried and the cash. They found the keys to a van in the back and gave her that too.

Ally retrieved their SUV. She returned to the building with several Thermite grenades.

Patty noticed them.

"Are you going to blow this place up?" Patty asked.

Sheila needed to explain they were going to burn it down.

"What about Molly?" Patty asked.

When Patty found out they were going to burn Molly too she asked if they could help load Molly in her van.

They took some better clothes and dressed Molly. Sheila carried her out to the van. Patty would bury her in the foothills.

"You're jacked." Patty said.

Sheila smiled.

"I work out." Sheila said. "It's helpful in this business."

They watched Patty drive away.

"I don't know about her." Ally said.

Sheila was a little worried too.

"I think she's a loose cannon." Sheila said. "She heard everything about where the rest of the operation was located."

Ally frowned.

'I think she is going to find a lot of trouble for herself." Ally said.

Sheila could only think about Jesse. It made her think about herself. She knew Savannah wanted her to be better.

"Sometimes the darkness grabs them and it won't let go." Sheila said. "It's always there waiting to come out. It isn't pretty when it does either."

Ally looked at Sheila and wondered if she referred to Jesse or herself.

Sheila's phone rang.

"It's Gail." Sheila said.

Sheila put it on speaker phone.

Gail told them about Savannah, Cammy and Cameron. She wanted their help.

"We're on our way." Ally said.

They tossed a few Thermite grenades inside and left.

The captured girls would have to wait.

Savannah came first.

Jesse immediately called Vanna.

"Something's bothering Gail." Jesse said. "She just left. I'm worried about her. She's not acting normal or as 'normal' as she can act."

Vanna followed the operation from the lab. There was an extensive set up of computer gear there.

"There is an operation going on." Vanna said. "Cameron has Savannah with her and is expecting an ambush."

Jesse could see that for the danger it was. No wonder Gail left half dressed. She was going to assist them.

"Is it just the two of them?" Jesse asked. "That's bad news."

Vanna knew there was a little help.

"Cammy is with them." Vanna said. "Come to the Command Center. I'm going there too."

Jesse tried to call Sheila and Ally but they didn't answer. That was more bad news. Sheila always answered her calls.

She slid on a pair of shorts and grabbed a top. She ran from her room.

Riley was about to exit her room when she spotted Jesse running topless down the hall. She was about to ask her what was up but she ran past her. Jesse was still fooling with her top. It was tangled up.

Jesse arrived in the Command Center.

"What's the status, love?" Jesse asked.

They all watched as she took a moment to put her top on. They all checked out her nipple rings.

John and Vanna filled her in.

Jesse added what she knew about Gail.

John wondered where the other Metal girls were at. They'd been off the grid for awhile now.

"John Henry, where are Gail, Ally and Sheila at?" John asked.

John Henry was surprised when Ally and Sheila suddenly appeared on his monitor.

"I'm tracking all of them. It looks like the three of them are going to rendezvous." John Henry said. "They're not blocking me from doing so or from knowing where they are."

Vanna felt a little sick feeling inside.

"I know why." Vanna said.

Jesse and John looked at each other. They knew too.

"So we know where to send a 'time bubble' if they're terminated…." John said.

Jesse's phone rang, it was Sheila. She excused herself stepped out of the Command Center to take the call.

"Sorry for the delay, love." Sheila said. "I was 'armoring up'."

Jesse moved away from the room and out of earshot.

"It's OK." Jesse said. "Are you with Gail yet?"

Sheila was surprised when CamNet put Gail through to her earlier. They were off the grid at the time. They knew it was something important for that to happen.

"No, she asked us to come with her." Sheila said. "Cameron and Savannah may need our help."

Jesse was worried for the teams out in the fields and she was worried about Gail.

"I need you to watch over Gail too." Jesse said. "I want both Ally and you to watch out for her. She's been acting strangely on and off. She's deeply troubled by something. She says it's nothing and that it's been resolved but I know nothing is ever resolved for any of the Terminators. It lingers and stalks them forever."

Sheila was aware of that. She was still upset Cameron took away some of her things.

"It does." Sheila said. "It is how we function and exist. Everything that was there is always still there."

Jesse knew this was a deeper and personal issue with Gail. It was something that would make her take more chances and be careless about it.

"Gail's in love with Savannah." Jesse said.

Sheila didn't think that was news. They all wanted some of that whenever they could get it.

"We all are, love, even you." Sheila said.

Jesse knew it was way deeper than that. It was more than that too.

"No, Gail has it 'bad' and there's something else driving it as well." Jesse said. "Her judgment isn't going to be one hundred percent."

Sheila was worried. This sounded like a problem that Cameron would have.

"Is she malfunctioning?" Sheila asked.

Jesse saw it as a deep personal problem. The problem was in her mind and it would be in her heart if Gail actually had one.

"Not any more than the rest of us do when we fall deeply in love." Jesse said.

Sheila wanted to know more.

"Have they 'bonded'?" Sheila asked.

Jesse knew it happened in a convoluted way with Vanna as 'Savannah'.

"In Gail's mind with Vanna as 'Savannah' she has." Jesse said. "I don't think it has actually happened with Savannah yet. I really don't know. I didn't ask. We're all in open relationships. Gail's really hung up about it."

Jesse could hear Ally in the background say she knows what that's like. Everyone viewed her as 'Cameron' at some point when they shared. That was everyone except Savannah.

Neither Jesse nor Sheila said anything about that as they'd both done that same thing many times. They would still do so going forward.

"I'm counting on you. Go to them now." Jesse said. "Please, watch over Cameron, Gail and Savannah for all of us."

As Jesse hung up, she heard Ally say she'd forgot to mention her.

Jesse smiled at that. The smile evaporated almost as soon as it formed when she returned to the Command Center.

There was an ominous feeling that seemed to hang over everyone.

Sweet Sorrow

It has been said
Parting is such sweet sorrow
For without you
There is no tomorrow
You provide me with
Strength I can borrow

I do not want to go
To leave you behind
Any other such as you
No one can ever find
My heart with yours
Has aligned and intertwined

So when I must go
I hope to return
That your true feelings
And love I can earn
In my absence remember
It is for you I yearn

Nobody