Chapter 704
Or Worse
The operation and clean up at the old newspaper plant wound down. It was just a matter of getting all the equipment out of there if they could. They knew they only were going to have a limited amount of time. Since they didn't know the full extent of the operation, they didn't know when the alarm would be sounded. They knew there could still be Grays out there who could stumble onto what they were doing at any time.
Cam was in charge at the old newspaper plant. She made a quick inspection of what remained.
"The last truck is loaded." Cam said. "There's still more machinery here, a bunch of bodies and the two HK Treads."
John was sure that they were working against the clock. He wanted to clear out as soon as possible.
"I want our people out." John said. "We need to torch that place."
Cam looked over the two HK Treads. They seemed to be the only problem that remained.
"We can load the HK Treads in the boxcars if we have to." Cam said. "We can move the boxcars outside the fence onto the main spur track before it crosses the small bridge over the wash."
John Henry already checked the availability of the giant helicopter.
"I have access to the S-64 Skycrane." John Henry said.
John was worried about attracting 'lookiloos'. The helicopter was very noisy. He thought perhaps they could do something with the boxcars and John Henry could take control of their destination.
"That thing is loud. There are too many people that could see what we were moving." John said. "You can redirect the destination of the two boxcars to a more remote location and we can retrieve the HK Treads there."
John Henry already made plans to that effect. He thought they should delay torching the building because the boxcars would still be parked outside the fence waiting for pick up the next day. They didn't want any officials sniffing around the boxcars to see what was inside of them at a burned out building.
"I've already done that." John Henry said. "Maybe we should wait a day before burning the building. We can set up surveillance and see who comes to check it out."
John questioned the success of them doing that. It never seemed to pay any dividends.
"No one ever has when we have done that previously." John said. "At least that we ever saw or detected anyway."
They never knew if that was because they'd eliminated all the Grays on that particular operation or the Grays cut their losses and wrote the location off. Whatever the reason was, no one ever showed back up.
They were pretty sure they were dealing with multiple versions of Skynet at times.
Cam anticipated the building being burned. That would have taken care of the bodies. Now they had a new problem.
"What about the bodies?" Cam said. "We normally burn them."
John could see how one problem created another. Maybe they needed to do some creative thinking.
"We can load them in one of the boxcars with an HK Tread." John said. "We can deal with them later."
Cam looked around the interior of the building. There was still a lot of machinery inside.
"Do you want the rest of the equipment out?" Cam asked.
John felt that they'd already overstayed their welcome. The longer they were there the more likely they were to run into Skynet forces of some type.
"No, I want our people out." John said. "We're pushing our luck."
Cam figured with all the machinery that was left behind that they should leave a little 'present' for any Grays that came snooping around to see what happened to their operation.
"Do you want any booby traps set?" Cam asked.
John thought about that for a few seconds. Since they were going to set up surveillance, maybe they could track somebody to another location that they'd missed.
"Negative." John said. "If anyone shows up, we want to try to track them."
Based on the size of the operation that they'd taken down so far and where Cameron was at, it was a pretty good bet that they were going to miss a few Grays and maybe a Terminator during this entire process. They wanted to find out where they went.
"We'll finish up and be out of here soon." Cam said.
Cam thought they should take more of the equipment from the assembly lines. She knew Cameron wanted that very much to start her own assembly lines. What they really needed was the ability to make more Terminators. They wanted total control over them from start to finish.
She briefly wondered what models Cameron would select for the sheaths if they had their own Terminator production line. She really hoped Cameron wouldn't keep making more copies of herself. That already seemed like a big enough problem as it was. She wasn't sure who the bigger Bitch was, Cameron or Cammy. She knew that she wasn't one.
Cameron moved down the gap between two buildings toward the HK Track. Anna remained at the far end of the buildings to watch for anyone approaching. Anna would warn her but there would not really be anywhere for her to go. They didn't want to get stuck between the HK Track and a patrol. Depending on where they may be forced to run to, the observation posts on the hillside in back of them could spot their movements. They really needed to operate within some tight parameters and pay attention to everything that was happening around them. It determined how they could move and when they could move.
She carried a 'sticky shocker' with her. It was in her hand as she approached the HK Track. It still faced out into the open area between the buildings. She was almost up to it when it started to pivot to face her. That wasn't what she wanted to see. She needed to act fast and she needed to act now.
Cameron moved quickly and tossed the 'stick shocker' onto the side of the HK Track as it continued to turn to face her. It took a jolt of electricity. It stopped moving. She moved around it and peeked around the corner. No one was in sight. She quickly opened an access panel and started to reprogram the HK Track. When she was done, the HK Track returned to the position it was previously in. If everything worked right, it was now on their team. It took a little longer than she'd anticipated. She looked towards Anna to get her attention.
"OK, Anna, it's done." Cameron said.
Anna nodded. She realized that they were falling behind schedule. She wanted to do something to speed up the procedure to check the buildings.
"Cameron, I'll check the building on the east side and you check the one on the west side." Anna said.
Anna headed over that way to try the door and it was latched like the others that they'd encountered. Only Cameron carried the screwdriver. There was what appeared to be a bathroom window but it was 'frosted' and she couldn't see inside. It was locked as well. She moved further along the side.
There was a raw unpainted piece of plywood that covered over what looked like a repair to the wall in one spot. She pulled gently on the plywood and it pried loose from the wall. Whoever put the plywood on used nails instead of screws. She was able to get down low and look inside the structure. It appeared a forklift at one time punctured the wall there. What she could see was only emptiness inside. She moved the plywood back over to where it was and pushed the nails back in with her thumb.
Anna's building was empty.
Cameron's was not.
With what Cameron just found, this operation appeared to be bigger than they'd thought.
Ally and Cam worked on the HK Treads. They knew they would move them soon.
Ally was a little bored. She wanted to spice things up a little bit.
"I'll race you." Ally said.
Cam didn't even look over at her. That wasn't part of her plan.
"Hardly…." Cam said.
Cam and Ally each climbed into their reprogrammed HK Tread. Ally took off and headed for the first boxcar and Cam headed for the second one. It was a noisy and impressive sight to see the two big killing machines follow each other.
Sheila was with Steve at the boxcars waiting for them. They could hear them clanking over towards them.
Sheila previously looked out the open door of the building at the closest boxcar. There was a box painted on the side of it that gave the specs and limits of the boxcar. She thought about the two HK Tracks and the pile of stacked bodies of all the terminated Grays.
"I think they both can fit in one boxcar." Sheila said. "It will not exceed the weight limit of the boxcar."
Steve quickly did the calculations as well. It seemed like a good idea. They could take care of two things at one time.
"We can leave the bodies of the Grays in the second one then." Steve said. "They will be 'ripe' in a few days."
The boxcar full of bodies would be sealed and soon start warming up from the sun the next day. The dead Grays inside would heat up. This would speed the decomposition process. It was bound to give off a foul odor. It would be detected at some point by someone. They hoped as long as the boxcar was moving that it wouldn't be a problem.
Sheila climbed up on Ally's HK Tread and told her the new plan. She went to Cam's HK Tread and did the same. Both HK Treads were soon loaded and secured into one boxcar. They were each parked over the truck assembly which contained the two axles and four wheels for each end of the boxcar. There was balanced and even weight distribution.
Cam looked at the boxcar with the two HK Treads in it. She didn't have a good feeling about leaving it at the scene of where it was captured. She wanted to say something to express her concern.
"Are we leaving anyone here tonight?" Cam asked. "What happens if a Gray or a Terminator penetrates our security and reprograms the HK Treads? Then we'll need to face them all over again."
John Henry knew that they were going to have to have personnel on the scene for the pickup tomorrow by the switcher. He didn't want to send up any red flags because something 'looked' different. He was aware that as long as things were routine that no one paid much attention to them. It was only when they were different that it made people start to question things.
"We'll need someone to open the gate tomorrow when the switcher comes." John Henry said. "If we want to have everything 'look' the same."
Steve felt the same concerns as Cam. He could stay and act as the 'night watchman' and make sure that the load stayed secure. He could also open the gate tomorrow when the switcher arrived.
"I can stay inside of the boxcar tonight." Steve said.
John began to second guess all of their recent decisions. What was to prevent Skynet from trying to cover up what actually went on in the building? They might decide to torch the building themselves and destroy everything associated with it.
"What if they send a drone or a fleet of drones?" John asked. "They might want to clean up their mess. They may attack the building and boxcars to cover up what they actually did there."
John Henry was a little surprised when he received a communication from CamNet. It appeared that someone did a little thinking 'outside of the box'.
"CamNet has informed me that there are two 'Wide Load' flatbed trucks available for us to use." John Henry said. "They're unloading the 'Earth Movers' that were on them now."
John could see the merit to that idea. It would give them better and direct control of the HK Treads. They could be taken directly for inspection and evaluation before they were added to the stockpiles of the captured Skynet equipment.
"It will be dark enough to load the HK Treads and cover them with tarps soon." John said. "I want our people away from there. What's their ETA?"
John Henry already made the calculations.
"Thirty minutes." John Henry said.
John wanted to get everything staged so it was ready to load. They would have to move the HK Treads to the west side of the structure.
"Get everything ready to move." John said. "Move the HK Treads to the truck loading dock on the other side of the building."
Steve looked at the boxcar that was full of terminated Grays.
"What about the bodies?" Steve asked. "They're all loaded in one boxcar."
John Henry already did some research as to where he wanted the destination to be. There was a lot of smuggling that came up from south of the border. Much of it was human trafficking. There's been more than one reported incident of dead bodies being found in freight cars of various types and truck trailers in northern Mexico.
"I can redirect that boxcar into Mexico." John Henry said. "Once it is in a yard there, I'll show it to have arrived from southern Mexico. There will be no trace of it having been in the USA for over a month. This will look like a battle between local drug lords. Mexico has many of those and they cover up most of them because of the bad publicity. They don't want it to damper any of the tourism. They hide the fact of how unsafe it really is there for tourists."
John remembered what it was like with his limited experience in Mexico and Central America. The entire region was unsafe for anyone but the strongest drug gang at the time. Often they would turn on their own members if they were suspected of thievery or conspiring with a rival drug gang. The person accused usually faced a violent and torturous death. There was seldom any evidence required to enact such a penalty. It just took an accusation from another drug gang member. Someone who looked too long at someone's girlfriend or won too often gambling could easily get a target painted on their back by a sore loser or jealous lover.
"Make it happen." John said.
John liked it when they could divert attention and blame as far away from them as possible. John Henry and CamNet were experts at it.
Allison was bored now that her operation wound down. She kept checking on Young Allison to see what was going on with her monitors.
"What's happening with Cameron?" Allison asked.
Young Allison glanced over at Allison. She didn't want her to get distracted until all of the personnel and equipment was away from the old newspaper plant. Until everyone was safely away and they made sure that no one was tailed, that operation wasn't over.
"Cameron's found something. I'll deal with it." Young Allison said. "Stay with your operation until it's concluded."
Allison checked the surveillance cameras that were been put into place in the body cams of the Terminators that were still there at the location.
"I am." Allison said. "Nothing's happening. They're loading two HK Treads onto some big flatbed trucks."
Young Allison didn't want to snap at Allison. She did want to inform her sternly to pay attention until everything was done.
"When 'nothing' is happening, that's when it does. Everyone's guard is down." Young Allison said. "Stay on it."
Young Allison was worried about Cameron. She knew Cameron was going to need more help.
When Anna went to check out her building, Cameron went to check out hers.
Cameron saw some windows in a second floor office area of the building she wanted to enter. She looked around and climbed up on the HK Track. She stood on top of the HK Track to reach an overhang and climbed up to the second level. She took a quick look around to make sure that no one spotted her or that an alarm was raised. Everything looked clear so far. She turned her attention to the windows.
She was able to force open a second story window in the old office section of the building she'd selected. She'd double checked it for alarms and found none.
The old office area was empty and very dusty. Cameron moved to an interior window that overlooked the workroom floor. The interior was dark. She used several of her different Terminator vision spectrums. She was a little concerned at what she viewed. There were rows of containers lined up. There were a lot of them.
"Anna, come up here and join me." Cameron said.
She gave Anna instructions on how to enter the way she'd done. She also warned her to take a good look around here before she made her move up on top of the HK Track.
Anna arrived a few minutes later and went to the lower floor where Cameron already descended to.
Anna looked around the cavernous space of the building.
"There are a lot of containers here." Anna said.
They spoke at a very low decibel level that only another Terminator could hear. They didn't know what or who else was inside the building with them yet. They knew it was going to make some noise as each container was opened. There was really no way around that.
"There's too many." Cameron said. "Let's make sure there's no one in here before we start to open the containers."
They swept the interior of the building and found no one.
They opened the first container and were surprised. They moved quickly down the row of containers. They found the same thing. This wasn't what Cameron expected.
Savannah was very worried about Cameron and Anna. She contacted the Command Center.
"John, it's dark enough to send some drones." Savannah said. "I have two on standby from CamNet ready to scramble."
John still thought it was a little early.
"Do we want them there yet?" John asked.
Savannah wondered if she should have just bypassed the Command Center and acted directly through CamNet.
"Cameron and Anna are in there alone." Savannah said. "I think John Henry should send a few more. It will take them a while to get here."
John wondered how the ones that Savannah had ready to go could get there sooner than the ones John Henry could send. It made him wonder if there'd been some daylight movement of the drones anyway. He thought that Savannah would use more restraint. He didn't think they would do the same from the Young bunker. Either way he knew that CamNet would back both Savannah or Young Allison's play without question.
"Where are the ones you have ready to go located at?" John asked.
Savannah quickly understood the real nature of John's question. She smiled to herself.
"Cameron left two staged at the desert base we used for the Palm Springs operation." Savannah said. "I only found out about them earlier from CamNet. Cameron sent a team to build a structure to hide them and she has one of her Terminators there as an attendant. She wasn't convinced that things we're completely wrapped up in the Palm Springs area."
John wasn't surprised but he was actually glad Cameron's foresight in this particular matter. That wasn't always the case.
"I'm sure Cameron has several things going on we don't know all the details of." John said. "I know she's trying to protect all of us."
Savannah didn't think John should worry too much about the details of what Cameron did. She was going to do them anyway. She knew that he could check their position but she wanted to update him anyway as to exactly where they were at.
"It's best not to worry about it. We're currently one mile from the entrance to where Cameron's at. We're parked between two buildings." Savannah said. "We can be there in less than two minutes. What's the status of more help?"
"I have eight Terminators about to board the Blackhawk." John said. "The other operation has concluded for now. They just left with two HK Treads for a secure location. Everyone has pulled out and we have left some surveillance behind."
Savannah knew they could use the extra help. She knew it was only a matter of time until the attack started. The question was now how soon could they be there?
"What's their ETA?" Savannah asked.
John Henry couldn't give her an exact time but only a close approximation.
"Fifty five to sixty minutes." John Henry said.
Savannah reflected on her earlier conversation with Cameron about additional help.
"I want to find out from Cameron where she wants them." Savannah said. "My guess will be on the backside of the hill from the old mill. They will be let off a few miles back and come in the back way over the top of the hills. We have the front covered. The Blackhawk can land next to the Huey at the local airport and one of the pilots can take over it for extraction. That will give us two helicopters if we need them."
John was a little disgusted at the way the operation was progressing. It was being done in typical 'Cameron Style' with no planning. Events usually happened minute by minute.
"There is no planning on this." John said. "Everything about this operation is just unfolding before us."
Savannah didn't think it should seem like a surprise to John nor should he dwell on it. Cameron was the one that was on the ground and she would call the shots as she saw they were necessary and when they were necessary.
"The battlefield is fluid to her. With Cameron, is there ever much planning?" Savannah asked.
John didn't want to seem like he was going to 'rag' on Savannah.
"Seldom…." John said.
Savannah was a little concerned with the time lag since she'd last communicated with Cameron.
"I'm still trying to reach her." Savannah said. "She hasn't responded for awhile now. She may still be 'dark'."
John couldn't help but point out another obvious outcome.
"Or worse…." John said.
Savannah didn't really care for John's comment.
"We haven't heard any shooting yet." Savannah said.
Savannah was worried more than ever now. She knew if anyone could pull this off, it was Cameron.
"Is there any other way Cameron can contact you?" John asked.
Savannah smiled to herself.
"She could always send up smoke signals." Savannah said.
John wasn't sure that he'd heard her correctly.
"What?" John asked.
I Have A Job Too
Life can offer one
Many a choice
The question is
Will one have a voice
There are some things
One would rather not do
The question is
What about you
Things can get messy
All life ends in death
The question is
Did one wisely use their breath
What goes up
Must come down
The question is
In what not to drown
When you think I'm cold
Why do I do what I do
The answer is
I have a job too
Nobody