Chapter 747

Battering Ram

John Henry received good news from the field. One of the teams searching for the big rigs appeared to have made contact. It was a solid lead anyway. He quickly notified John.

John rode with Bob in an SUV. They were headed in the direction where the last contact was for one of the big trucks that they were searching for. His head began to nod as the night grew longer. He was started awake with a com transmission from John Henry.

"John, I think Steve is onto something." John Henry said. "It looks like we got our first solid hit."

John was elated to hear the news. He needed to get his mind to refocus.

"Finally, it's about time." John said. "Where is it and when was this?"

John Henry was aware it was near where they'd searched earlier.

"It's located near Stockton." John Henry said.

John was done fooling around. It was time to act if they came across an opportunity.

"Have them take it out." John said. "As soon as it's clear and safe to move, I want them to take it down. What else has been identified with it?"

John Henry already directed a second team to back up Steve's team.

"We have two teams on it." John Henry said. "The Grays have an SUV with them for muscle. I've sent several drones that way. They may take a little longer to get there."

John wanted to give them immediate additional support.

"Divert the drones that are backing up my team." John said.

John Henry wasn't sure that was a good idea. If Cameron's operation remained unfruitful, he might be able to use those drones.

"I still have two with Cameron's team." John Henry said.

Cameron's operation slipped from his mind as he began to doze off. He wondered what the current status of that was. He didn't want to leave them high and dry until he knew more.

"Leave them for now until she's away from there." John said. "Has anything changed at her location?"

John Henry was only able to determine that the SUV was damaged by its abuse over a mostly nonexistent road that had all but reverted back into the landscape.

"No. Cammy and Savannah have joined her." John Henry said. "Their vehicle may have suffered damage on the back road. It is operable but it's lost the brakes."

John wanted Cameron's team to have a way out if they needed it. It was time to send in some additional troops.

"Have the team of Terminators on the outskirts move in to reinforce Cameron's team." John said. "Keep me posted on Steve's team."

John Henry set everything up with the drones.

"As soon as the drones arrive at their location, I'll tell them it's a go." John Henry said. "Are you still going to go there?"

John looked over at Bob.

Bob held up two fingers.

"Yes. We're headed in that direction now." John said. "We're a couple of hours away."

John wondered if it would be over by then with the big rig. He hoped to be there for the take down but they were not to wait. He didn't want there to be a big firefight but he wasn't about to lose that truck load of equipment. The question was, what was in the truck? He sure hoped that it wasn't empty. That was an all too real possibility.

He didn't like Cameron being out in the middle of nowhere with a vehicle that wasn't in good mechanical condition. Then again, maybe a vehicle without brakes was suitable for Cameron to drive; she seemed to seldom use them.

He was less concerned about Cameron because she was used to doing this activity. Cammy was with her and was 'Cameron' since she ran the same program. Savannah was there to make sure good judgment was used. He was aware that Cameron and Cammy butted heads often but he didn't think it would be an issue with Savannah with them. More than once he'd heard both Cammy and Cameron refer to each other as a Bitch and that they were glad that they weren't like the other one. He found that somewhat absurd since they both ran the same program. In other words, they thought that they were each a Bitch but it only applied to the other one and not themselves.

He wondered about this whole operation. They were being run all over the state. Two states were involved so far and maybe a third one soon if one of the big rigs went to Nevada or Oregon.

They still didn't have any idea how big this operation was or where they'd obtained the Coltan from. Maybe that was the bigger question. Was there some stockpile somewhere they didn't know about? The Skynet forces needed to obtain some from somewhere in order to construct the HK equipment that they had so far.

Cameron moved along swiftly. The clouds were gone from the sky. There was enough moonlight so that Savannah could see well enough without her night vision equipment. She could always put it on again if the situation warranted it. They closed up on the entrance to the structure.

She motioned for Cammy and Savannah to hang back a little.

Cameron looked around for any surveillance cameras. She didn't spot any as she came to the door of the main structure. It was locked. Cameron pushed on it but it didn't move. The reinforced door worried her a little. She was going to need assistance.

"Cammy." Cameron called. "Help me try to open this. It appears we will need to use maximum force."

Cammy moved up to assist Cameron. Savannah fell back further. She watched their rear.

Both Cammy and Cameron pushed on the door. They both exerted their maximum strength to no avail. It didn't move.

Cameron was irritated that they couldn't force the door open. That left her with several options on how to open it. They could blow it open which would make quite a noise or she could try to use the SUV as a battering ram. She didn't want to leave them without any transportation. She double checked with John Henry as to the availability of any outside assistance.

"John Henry said we have a team of Terminators, ready to reinforce us. They're still a ways out." Cameron said. "I'm going to use our SUV and try and knock down this door. I believe it is barricaded from the inside. If it is, that means there are Grays or Terminators inside of there."

Cammy was a little worried that if they disabled the SUV completely and needed to move quickly that it would be tough on Savannah.

"If we have to move away on foot, that will put Savannah at a disadvantage." Cammy said.

Cameron would normally stay and fight. She looked at Savannah and made a different decision. She figured her chassis could also act as armor for Savannah.

"I'll carry her if it is necessary to withdraw." Cameron said. "I'll make sure that she gets to safety."

Savannah was to the rear of them. As she watched their six she began to look at the construction of the side of the structure from the corner. She really wasn't sold on an idea that there was only one way in.

"This is a concrete building." Savannah said. "What other way into it would there be? There is most likely another exit and the ventilation system somewhere. There are no windows here."

Cameron could see the logic in what Savannah said. She couldn't imagine that there was only one way out and there was probably a ventilation system somewhere.

"Cammy, check all four sides and return here." Cameron said.

Cammy returned in just over a minute.

"All the sides are solid concrete." Cammy said. "There are no openings of any kind or size."

Savannah pointed up.

"Try the roof." Savannah said.

Cammy hadn't spotted any roof access during her recon.

"There's no ladder." Cammy said.

Savannah knew that the Metal girls could get creative when they needed to be. Their superior strength and agility give them a lot of options.

"Cameron can jump while you hold her waist and toss her up at the same time." Savannah said. "It can be a sort of slingshot effect."

Cammy looked up at the side of the structure.

"I think it's too high." Cammy said.

Cameron didn't think she would be damaged if she was unable to make the grab. She'd fallen much further before when fighting another Terminator.

"We can try it." Cameron said. "I have fallen from an upper story window before. It was several floors up."

Savannah thought that sounded a little extreme.

"Were you damaged?" Savannah asked.

Cameron remembered that she'd taken several strong blows that day. The worst part of it all was the hostile Terminator was able to escape.

"No. I was hit by a car soon after that. I only suffered minor sheath damage from both events." Cameron said.

Savannah read about that incident. She was glad Cameron was very durable. She needed to remind Cameron sometimes that even if she was durable, she wasn't indestructible. She hoped John Henry may have come up with some better satellite or drone photos by now.

"John Henry, what imagery do the drones show for any other possible entrances to this area?" Savannah asked. "What about the roof of the main structure?"

John Henry was unable to see anything that would help them. He did have other good news though. The backup team was very near them.

"Both look like a negative." John Henry said. "The other team of our Terminators has breached the outer perimeter of the access road and is moving up now. Their ETA is seven minutes. They'll be arriving from a different direction than your team did. They are on the actual dirt road that leads to your location. It appears to be a firefighting access road."

Cameron was immediately upset with that news. Who would send in another team when they didn't even know what they were dealing with? She didn't need any outside interference.

"Have them hold for now." Cameron said. "I didn't call for them yet."

John Henry felt he needed to justify who sent the additional help.

"John did, he was worried about your team including Savannah." John Henry said.

Cameron could understand his reasoning but that didn't change the fact that she was the one who is in charge of the current operation.

"John isn't here." Cameron said. "I am."

John Henry quickly relayed the message for the other team to pause.

"They're holding." John Henry said.

Now that Cameron knew there was an additional team nearby she could go ahead and sacrifice the SUV and use it to knock down the door. If that didn't work she was willing to take more drastic measures.

"I'm going to use our SUV as a battering ram." Cameron said. "If that can't breach the door, I'm calling for a missile strike on the door itself."

John Henry was aware a drone strike was going to be very destructive.

"That sounds risky. There will probably be a lot of shrapnel and flying debris." John Henry said. "Do you have cover?"

Cameron previously scoped out the area upon her arrival earlier. She found something that should give them sufficient cover for what she believed would be a much bigger explosion other than the drone strike.

"There's a drainage ditch along the perimeter with several concrete culverts." Cameron said. "We will take refuge there if the missile strike is necessary. There may be a massive secondary explosion."

John Henry wondered if Cameron knew how large the second explosion would be. He didn't think there was any way to calculate that.

"Will everyone be protected?" John Henry asked.

Cameron felt that only one of them needed to be protected. Both Cammy and her could sustain some sheath damage if necessary.

"Savannah will be protected." Cameron said.

Cameron directed Cammy and Savannah to go to the drainage ditch.

Savannah saw a red flag right away. She wanted Cameron protected as well.

"Is this necessary?" Savannah asked. "What about you? How will you be protected?"

Cameron attempted to calculate all the variables necessary as she set everything into motion. She figured it was going to be a close one to reach the drainage ditch. She didn't think that she could make it into one of the cement culverts.

"I need to make sure the SUV is lined up and accelerating." Cameron said. "I'll get out before impact once everything is aligned. I'll try to make it to the drainage ditch."

Cameron went to the first shed that she'd checked earlier and returned with a battered shovel. She'd seen it there when she checked before.

"I'll break the handle off to the proper length and jam the accelerator with it." Cameron said. "Hopefully that will buy me a few additional seconds to move away."

Savannah wasn't sold on the idea. She'd been around some previous events that seemed a lot like this one was turning out to be. She wasn't sure if Cameron took all the factors into consideration. She worried about a couple of things that would damage not only their Terminators but also their drones.

"What if the impact triggers a massive secondary explosion?" Savannah asked. "What about the high voltage power lines? There could be a massive energy surge that might incapacitate all mechanical equipment for miles around."

Cameron felt a glitch impulse. She'd already given thought to what she was about to say and the reasoning behind it. She still believed John and Savannah mated earlier. It was what she wanted to happen to protect John and the future. Cammy wasn't constructed with two chip ports by accident. She planned ahead for an eventuality much like what could happen now.

"You have my spare chip and Cammy has two ports." Cameron said. "After today's 'events' and what is sure to follow, I can merge Cammy's program with mine and I will be Cameron Prime in Cammy's chassis."

That wasn't what Savannah wanted to hear. It sounded more like Cameron already planned her own destruction. She wondered if maybe she should tell Cameron the truth about what actually didn't happen.

Cammy would rather have her program merged with Cameron's than to submit to chip extraction and be deactivated.

"I want that as well, Savannah." Cammy said. "I want to be one with Cameron."

Savannah wanted to hear that even less.

"I don't." Savannah said.

Savannah didn't want Cammy 'deleted' or merged. That would alter Cameron as well. She decided she was going to prevent that from happening. She didn't need to worry about this right now. They may be in combat soon. They may all be blown up before it was over.

Cammy hoped Savannah would keep her program 'alive'. There was no guarantee. Either way she was willing to move forward to be able to exist however she could. Right now she wanted to get Savannah secured and protected. It was clear that Cameron was going to go through with her plan.

"We'll discuss this later." Cammy said. "Let's get into the ditch."

Cammy and Savannah went into the ditch. Cammy made Savannah enter a cement culvert that fed into the ditch and blocked her in with her chassis. It seemed to her that Savannah would be well protected.

Savannah was a little hesitant to enter the culvert. It reminded her of another tight space she recently been in. Even though she was far enough up the culvert to be protected, Cammy was right at the entrance. There was no more room.

"I'm protected but you're still exposed some and there is no room for Cameron." Savannah said. "This is too big of a risk."

Cammy believed the ditch alone would offer sufficient protection. The cement culvert was just an added bonus.

"I'm like a door now." Cammy said. "Cameron will be shielded by the ditch from any blast."

Savannah wondered what would happen if the hillside came down and covered over the area they were in. She would be buried alive again. She didn't like the idea of that. It still bothered her how close to termination they all were. She was afraid being in this closed space again would make her feel claustrophobic but so far it hadn't. She was sure that was because of her concern for Cameron's safety.

"This reminds me of what happened in the mine." Savannah said. "Nobody knows we are here and there isn't any breathing apparatus."

Cammy felt John Henry could send the backup team of Terminators to dig them out if that actually happened. She calculated that there were several hours of oxygen within the length of the culvert piping for Savannah if it became necessary. She wanted to get this over with. If the Grays were gone they could go ahead and leave. Depending upon how extensive the complex was would determine if Cameron returned with one of her nuclear warheads later on. That wouldn't happen tonight with Savannah there.

"We should be fine." Cammy said. "Cameron, we're ready."

Cameron retrieved the SUV and lined it up about one hundred and fifty feet back from the bunker door. She ripped a section of material out of the rear seat to make a crude 'rope' to tie the steering wheel on both sides. She wanted to make sure it stayed straight on its short but violent journey. She calculated the length the shovel handle needed to be to go between the seat and the accelerator pedal and broke it off.

She double checked everything again. She placed the transmission into 'Neutral'. She jammed the handle between the seat and the accelerator. The engine immediately screamed to full throttle. She moved the shift selector into 'Drive'. A 'rooster tail' of dirt shot up behind her as the SUV surged forward. She checked her aim and rolled out of the moving SUV. It already accelerated to twenty three miles an hour as she exited.

She hit the ground and rolled. She came up on her feet and headed for the drainage ditch. She ran at full speed and could see she wasn't going to make it into the ditch in time before the impact of the SUV and the outer bunker door. The SUV accelerated faster than she'd calculated.

There was a loud crash as the SUV impacted the door. Cameron dove for the ground. The ditch was too far away. She hoped lying flat on the ground would minimize the sheath damage to her back but there was no guarantee.

Cameron waited prone on the ground. She wondered what being vaporized would feel like….

John's team was headed for Stockton with the Metal girls. The drones that were with his team departed to back up Steve's team. John wanted to check with Cameron but couldn't reach her.

This instantly worried him. He contacted John Henry to find out what was happening.

"John Henry, what's Cameron doing?" John asked.

John Henry looked at the drone footage.

"Cameron is down." John Henry said.

John sat up in his seat. This sounded worse than he'd first thought.

"What do you mean down?" John asked. "Is she damaged?"

John Henry really didn't have much to elaborate on as far as the situation was.

"She used the SUV as a battering ram against the door of the complex she's trying to breech." John Henry said. "She tried to make a run for it but was unable to make it to the drainage ditch where Savannah and Cammy are."

John was worried about Savannah. Cameron was down, what would have happened to her and Cammy?

"Are Savannah and Cammy OK?" John asked. "Can you tell how injured or damaged anyone is?"

John Henry lost all contact with Cameron's team.

"That information is currently unknown." John Henry said. "I've lost communications with all of them."

John figured that John Henry must still have some overhead images if he knew Cameron was down.

"Do you still have drone footage?" John asked

The last thing John Henry saw from the drone footage was Cameron attempt to take shelter on the ground in the prone position after she realized she couldn't make it to the ditch. What happened after that he didn't know.

"Negative." John Henry said. "I've lost it as well. The last thing I saw was Cameron attempt to take shelter on the ground."

John wasn't sure what exactly was going on here.

"Is this one of those Skynet dampening fields?" John asked.

John Henry didn't know all the details.

"It seems different." John Henry said. "I believe the impact of the SUV triggered something."

John tried to think of some of the other things that could bring a Terminator down.

"Was it some kind of EMP?" John asked.

John Henry noted that none of the drones hand gone down.

"That's currently unknown." John Henry said.

John hoped that the reinforcements could get there soon to render aid.

"Is the other team of Metal there yet?" John asked.

John Henry was aware that Cameron changed John's earlier order.

"No, Cameron asked them to hold away from the area." John Henry said. "She wanted to find out more before they moved up."

That wasn't the information that John wanted to hear. He'd ask them to go up there for a specific reason. It was to be able to back up Cameron's team.

"Get them up there now." John said.

John Henry appeared to have lost contact with them.

"I've tried, they're non responsive as well." John Henry said.

Bob listened to the conversation.

"This is getting better by the minute." Bob said.

John looked over at Bob. He couldn't agree with him more right now. It sounded like they needed to take action on their own.

"Recall one of the drones that went to help Steve. Send it to the area where Cameron is. Have it go in at high altitude. Have it look in from the side if there is a dampening field." John said. "We're turning around."

Bob turned around and headed back the way they'd come.

John expected to see the van with the Metal girls as they turned around.

"Where are the girls?" John asked.

"They turned around as soon as John Henry said Cameron was down." Bob said.

John now second guessed his earlier decision not to let them go to assist Cameron when they requested to go. Based upon what happened that should have been the plan that he followed.

"I should've let them go earlier when they wanted to. They knew something like this would happen." John said.

Bob knew everything was in flux. There is no guarantee anything was going to go one way or another. If there was a good way or a bad way things could go it most likely would go the bad way. This newest development appeared to be a case in point.

"That seems to be the way these things unfold." Bob said.

It's Not Brain Surgery

You think I don't know
That I can't comprehend
I'm not the one
That needs to pretend

Look where your love goes
With whom time you spend
Leaving me to communicate
With these words I've penned

The growing rift between us
You allow it to distend
Think not, I don't know
What actions you intend

With every lost kiss
It's me you offend
With every part untouched
Our love you suspend

It's not hard to figure out
Who has committed the perjury
Look at your face in the mirror
It's not brain surgery

Nobody