Chapter 778

A Way Out

Bob, Cammy and Sheila were headed to where John Henry directed them. They would be at the location soon. The girls still 'worked' on each other. Bob enjoyed the 'show' but wanted everyone ready when they needed to be.

They didn't know what they were going to find and they were long overdue to run into more Terminators with this operation. He watched Cammy and Sheila for a few more minutes. He felt he needed to say something. He didn't want to be caught with his pants down so to speak, even though that analogy applied more to Sheila and Cammy at this point.

"I don't mean to interrupt you." Bob said. "You two need to get ready soon."

Sheila was aware of the time and their location. She felt she was able to multitask as she shared with Cammy.

"We heard it, when he said it." Sheila said.

Cammy didn't want Sheila to snap at Bob.

"Relax." Cammy said. "Everything is good on our end."

Sheila wanted to mess with Bob a little bit.

"Maybe Cammy should drive, so you can come back here with me." Sheila said. "I could 'calm' you down. I could get that swelling down for you so you don't need to keep adjusting the front of your pants. That thing knows where it wants to go even if you don't."

Bob was aware of Cameron's rules. They were very strict and explicit. Any violation of them was terminal.

"That's forbidden." Bob said. "Cameron will not allow that. It would result in instant chip extraction and permanent deactivation, for both of us."

Cammy didn't care to hear about Cameron's rules. Cameron thought that she was a Queen but she wasn't. She was just another Terminator who was in bed with the boss. It was the age old story of female manipulation as had happened throughout history. Plenty of world leaders throughout time we're heavily influenced by the 'pillow talk' of scheming females.

"What a stiff." Cammy said.

Sheila looked into the front seat and at Bob's groin area.

"It doesn't sound like it." Sheila said.

Cammy and Sheila both giggled.

Bob didn't want them to make a big deal about this. There were many things that were different between male and female Terminators.

"Your programming is different from mine." Bob said.

Sheila saw that as a plus for the female Terminators. She wanted to give credit where it was due even if the creator wasn't worthy of credit for anything.

"I guess that's one thing Skynet got right." Sheila said.

Bob wasn't so sure the mouthy talk was actually a plus for anyone.

"That's debatable." Bob said.

Sheila and Cammy didn't think so.

Cammy went over all the details from John Henry with Bob again. She repeated everything that John and John Henry said as well as every detail from Dan's report.

"How's that for paying attention?" Cammy asked.

Bob could see that she got everything correct down to the smallest detail. Perhaps he was a little too harsh in his criticism. It was clear that the female Terminators were superior to male Terminators. They were certainly able to influence both males and females without the need for brute force over the male Terminators.

"That's correct." Bob said.

Cammy wanted to make her point.

"You didn't think we were listening." Cammy said.

Bob needed to really concentrate on his driving as he watched the girls in action. He figured if he was that distracted they must be even more distracted as they 'serviced' each other. He could see there were times when they reached extreme levels of pleasure. They seem to be 'lost' in those moments. He was still amazed at how they could have a multitude of those in a row, one after another.

"It seemed you were a little 'preoccupied'." Bob said.

Sheila thought John Henry could use a little re-education and perhaps a little motivation. She figured a little live action of what he witnessed on the body cam would help bring him around. It was one thing to watch it live on a video. It was another thing to watch it live when it happened six inches in front of someone's face.

"I think they're sidelining us." Sheila said. "I need to work on John Henry some. I can bring him around. He can get us hooked up with the good assignments then."

Cammy was in no hurry to get shot up. Like John said earlier, they'd already done a lot on this operation.

"We've done enough." Cammy said. "There are others out there who can run with the ball as well."

Bob was aware that Cammy was very involved in operations recently.

"You've seen quite a bit of action in the last few days." Bob said.

Cammy didn't want to make a big deal about it. She was just glad that Savannah was able to get some time off. She really hated the way that Cameron ran Savannah around like she was a Terminator.

"Everyone has." Cammy said. "I'm glad Savannah is out of it for now. Cameron is pushing her too hard, especially now. She was in a few close calls because of Cameron on this operation."

Bob was able to witness some of Savannah's exploits as they actually happened. He thought she'd exhibited extreme skill and ability as well as bravery.

"Savannah will be a better leader because of it." Bob said. "We've all seen it. She is like no other."

Cammy saw it a little differently. She was aware that Savannah could only do so much. She was also aware that she could only be lucky for so long until events caught up with her. That was bound to happen at some point. When it did, it would be Cameron's fault. Just like everything else that didn't work out for the Resistance was Cameron's fault.

"Until Cameron gets her hurt or killed." Cammy said.

Bob pointed out the obvious.

"That's a risk we all face." Bob said.

Cammy wanted to make her point.

"It would seem, some more than others." Cammy said.

Sheila and Cammy were soon combat ready.

Bob checked their current position against the satellite image that he had on file in his system.

"We will be at the first location shortly." Bob said.

Sheila still believed they were being sidelined.

"I can hardly wait." Sheila said sarcastically.

Bob didn't like Sheila's disposition.

"Destroying or depriving Skynet of resources is an important function." Bob said.

Sheila knew that Bob took everything seriously. It seemed that all the male Terminators did.

"You're right, love." Sheila said. "I'm sorry about that. Everything we can do to protect the ones we care about matters. This is all Skynet's doing and not our fault. We're the ones that are tasked to clean it up."

Bob cruised down some side streets. The three of them checked everything around them and on both sides. It was basically a triple check of the area. No one spotted anything.

"I don't see anything here." Cammy said.

Bob was aware it was the same situation at the last location and others that they'd taken down in the past. Skynet and its evildoers attempted to remain hidden as much as possible. They'd seemed to learn that when they didn't, they soon encountered the 'Metal Bitch'. When that event happened to them, they were all terminated.

"Maybe that's the point." Bob said. "They don't want to get burned."

Bob contacted John Henry and went over everything with him again. He hoped for a better update. It was decided they would check some of the buildings on foot. If things were hidden from plain sight, they would have to search for them the hard way.

Cammy and Sheila exited after removing their vests. They didn't want to stand out and become targets before they could even approach a building. This way it just looked like a couple of hot teenage girls who were probably lost, that approach worked surprisingly well at the last location that they'd infiltrated and taken down. The Grays there never really knew what hit them, until it was too late.

Cammy looked down at the front of her sheath. She hoped she wouldn't receive any damage.

"I feel naked without my vest." Cammy said.

Sheila looked over at Cammy and smiled.

"You were naked a short time ago." Sheila said.

The girls picked locations to search and headed off in opposite directions. Bob would continue to cruise the streets and alleys around them in the SUV. If there was anything in this location one of them should be able to spot something that was off or gave them a clue.

They hoped to spot something out of place or that struck them as Skynet related. If the leads pointed here, they wanted to find them. They'd been through the phones of the Grays that were terminated. There was enough evidence that something happened here at one point. That didn't necessarily mean it was still there. Now it was time to find out what it was.

The initial reports were to follow up on some of the boxcars. This didn't look like the area for anything like that. From the buildings they'd observed it seemed to find a truck would be more likely. The rail siding was no longer in use here. The rails were rusted and the switch off of the mainline was spiked closed. The boxcar angle appeared to be a dead end.

Cameron seriously wondered about the issues that Young Allison brought up. She wanted to make it clear that she never wanted to do anything to ever purposely hurt Savannah or Young Allison.

"I would never do anything to hurt you like that." Cameron said.

Young Allison actually gave these subjects a lot of thought. It usually happened after she went to bed. Sometimes her mind would wander and she would question things that she didn't think others questioned. To calm and relax her mind, she usually would begin to pleasure herself and then she would fall asleep soon after that. She was aware that there were a multitude of variables that could be at play.

"Maybe something happened or will happen in the future." Young Allison said. "That has to be a strong possibility based upon the nature of what we do around here."

Young Allison knew she could have been severely wounded or even killed in the future. Maybe Cameron was able to harvest something from her damaged or dead body. It was just a thought that popped into her head. It was a morbid thought too. Now she wondered why she even thought that. She knew that no one her age thought about dying or being killed. It was just another thing that proved age was only a number in regards to her life.

Cameron still felt a little defensive in her responses. It was because she knew that she would cut corners if she thought that was the proper path forward or in this case backward.

"I'd ask your permission first before I did anything like that." Cameron said. "You won't be old enough until we get back from the past. If I did this I would want to make sure that your genetics stock was at its prime."

Cameron knew it would be unwise to harvest genetic material before then.

Young Allison briefly wondered if maybe Cameron should do that anyway when they returned from the past. It might be a wise move to put some of her genetic material into cryogenic freeze to preserve it. It would be in its prime and it would be unaffected by the toxins that Skynet would release into the future if it was able to take control. Maybe she would end up like the girls from the future and sterile.

"I want you to talk to Savannah and me before you do anything like that." Young Allison said. "Allison and Vanna don't know what you've done this time with Savannah and my mother, do they?"

Cameron suppressed a glitch impulse with that revelation. There were several reasons for her to do things the way that she currently did them. She knew that they didn't always like the way she did things. She still did what she thought was the right thing for the situation.

"No." Cameron said. "They wouldn't approve of it. I'm trying to help them. I don't want Allison to leave. Vanna and Jesse want to go with her. I want to provide her with an alternative to that option."

Young Allison already knew what the next option Cameron would use if the current one failed using the girls from the future's own genetic stock.

"If for some reason, Savannah or my mother has 'trouble' with Vanna or Allison's genetic material. You're going to use Savannah's and mine to do the same thing." Young Allison said. "I don't think that you will tell them what you've actually done at that point. I understand why too."

Cameron was more than a little concerned with the subject matter that Young Allison currently discussed with her. She didn't believe that any of this was something that Young Allison needed to worry about at this point in her life. It was clear that Young Allison would be willing to assist her in any of her endeavors going forward. In other words they would back each other's play. She wanted to stay honest with Young Allison.

"Yes." Cameron said. "I've thought of this. I want to help Vanna and Allison. Why are you asking this?"

Cameron was now worried she may have missed something.

Young Allison was a little confused by some of the methodology.

"It seems a lot doesn't 'add up' to me." Young Allison said.

Cameron felt another glitch impulse. There were many times when she felt that things didn't turn out the way they should be. She did want to make one thing clear.

"I will never on my own purposely hurt John, Savannah or you." Cameron said. "I would rather face termination first."

Young Allison was aware of some of Cameron's past incidents when either she went 'bad' or believed she was someone else other than a scary robot from the future. On some of those occasions she believed that she was Future Allison. If she thought about it, at that point Cameron actually thought she was her.

"You can't guarantee you will always be in control of yourself." Young Allison said.

Young Allison thought about what transpired after the explosion in the Jeep. She also knew that Cameron was able to repair herself before John deactivated her. He still did it anyway, even after she told him she loved him. She couldn't imagine Savannah doing something like that to her. No wonder Cameron was so messed up at times. She knew about Future Riley but she didn't know all the specific details. If she did know ALL of them, that would be her first temporal mission to prevent that from ever happening. It would create a new timeline. She was pretty sure that if Cameron actually relived her life over like she thought that she did, that there were some of those lives where she 'took care' of that 'problem' probably in various ways. It was most likely that all of them would be a negative experience for Future Riley. She did wonder what Cameron would do with Future Jesse though. She didn't believe Cameron would terminate her without trying to rehabilitate her. It was an interesting prospect to think there could be another Jesse that was part of the group. She figured Future Jesse would be the one that ended up with Derek instead of Riley. That made her wonder what would happen to Riley at that point. It certainly wouldn't be anything good. She needed to refocus and stop this speculation.

Cameron often thought of herself as a failure. She believed that it was something that was deep rooted inside of her. It was something that couldn't be fixed no matter what was done. it made her feel 'not good enough'.

"No, I've failed many times." Cameron said. "I'm defective."

Young Allison believed Cameron's statement needed some qualification. She felt that was something everyone experienced to some extent.

"We're all defective at times." Young Allison said. "I've dreamt about something like this happening. It seems real until I wake up."

Cameron often wondered how humans knew when a dream was a dream and not real. John told her that sometimes they didn't know until they actually woke up. Even when they woke up, sometimes it still seemed that what they'd experienced was real even if they knew that it wasn't.

"I have experienced something like nightmares before." Cameron said. "They seemed real until the next one started. It was terrible. They went on for months. I couldn't stop them. I was very ashamed of some of them."

Cameron was still ashamed at the filth her mind produced.

Young Allison knew that not everything that was a nightmare was a dream.

"We all fear the nightmare we won't wake up from." Young Allison said.

Cameron still believed what she'd experienced were actual events from her previous lives, if she was living her life over.

"I think mine were real and happened in different timelines." Cameron said. "CamNet will come back online in thirty seconds."

Young Allison wondered about that.

"Do you think CamNet was really off?" Young Allison asked.

Cameron believed every Terminator and machine would do as the girls asked.

"Yes, if you asked her, she would listen and obey." Cameron said. "CamNet will always listen to Savannah and you. You're both the 'Chosen Ones."

The computer screens flashed twice and came back on ten seconds later.

Young Allison wanted to make a point with both Cameron and CamNet that she was far more advanced than any of them actually understood.

"I know and understand more than you both think." Young Allison said as she looked at Cameron and the security camera. "I know everything."

Cameron thought about her 'Neural Interface' and what that really meant.

"You're in both of us." Cameron said. "You're in both CamNet and me."

Young Allison thought that needed some specificity.

"Future Allison is." Young Allison said.

Cameron understood everything still went back to the original source.

"Future Allison IS you." Cameron said. "Even if you're not her, it is still you in my programming. They all started from you, every Allison. You're the basis for my existence."

The more Young Allison thought about things, the more jumbled they all became. If everything was given more thought there was less clarity and more confusion.

"It's all very mind boggling." Young Allison said. "I still wonder about Summer."

There was some movement on the stairs down into the bunker.

"Perhaps she is gifted." Savannah said.

Cameron hoped to redirect that line of thinking.

"You both are, Allison and you." Cameron said. "I know it's been a lot of hard work. You're both very special. Nobody has ever tried harder than either of you to better themselves."

Savannah thought Cameron and Young Allison seemed 'serious'. Maybe she should leave for a little bit. It didn't look like they were done yet.

"Am I intruding?" Savannah asked as she contemplated the serious mood.

Young Allison felt the three of their lives were intertwined. In her case they always had been.

"We can never intrude on each other." Young Allison said. "You have both been in my life for as long as I can remember."

Cameron was ready to move things along. That wasn't going to happen in the bunker.

"Let's go back up." Cameron said.

The three of them headed up.

"I spoke with Allison." Young Allison said. "I understand better now. I know there's 'more' to the future than just me."

Savannah believed it also depended on where a person was at in any particular point in time.

"It becomes complicated at times." Savannah said. "The futures I've seen are even more complicated."

They left the bunker and headed upstairs. Young Allison missed where Cameron went. She was right in front of them and then she was gone.

"Where did Cameron go?" Young Allison asked.

Savannah caught a glimpse of Cameron as she rapidly moved away. She seemed very focused on where she wanted to go.

"She went into the kitchen." Savannah said. "Your mother's in there with Summer…."

Young Allison figured that was probably her fault. Cameron probably went to scan her mother and Summer. She would probably do another DNA check as well.

Some of the Terminator teams were on the outskirts of some larger communities now. Everything they did would have to be measured as to the response. John Henry always directed city police and county sheriff patrols away from their operations.

The drones were sent to a remote location and 'watched' over each other. They would wait until nightfall to reactivate them, unless an emergency developed. Then John Henry would suppress the news generated by any of their actions.

Cammy moved from building to building. The spider webs on the doors indicated they hadn't been used in awhile. Then again, there could be a Terminator in 'standby' waiting for their time of reactivation. Cameron ran into one that was in 'standby' for decades. It could be on 'guard duty' as well.

She noted fresh tire tracks in the silt that'd built up from some rain runoff. The rest of the runoff dirt was baked into hard thin mud. There was one set of tire tracks that led into the building. Either something was previously inside the building and came out or something was taken inside the building and was still there. It was a solid lead.

"I may have something." Cammy said.

Bob hoped that was the case. His patrol of the area in the SUV turned up nothing.

"Which building is it?" Bob asked.

Cammy was sure this was a solid lead.

"It's the third one from the second alley." Cammy said. "The building is a faded white color with peeling paint. It looks as if the building once displayed a blue stripe painted around the top. I have evidence that something went one way out of that location. It either left the building or is now inside the building."

Sheila picked up on Cammy's transmission and headed in her direction. She hadn't found anything in her search area.

"I see it." Sheila said. "I've come across a homeless encampment. I'm one block over from you to the east."

John listened to the reports come in. They sounded promising. He hoped to keep collateral damage to a minimum if shooting broke out.

"What is the status of the homeless folks?" John asked. "Will they be in the line of fire if this goes hot?"

Sheila wanted to obtain some information from one of the homeless individuals. They usually knew a lot about what was going on around them, even if they acted like they didn't.

"There is a large building between them and Cammy's location." Sheila said. "I want to question one of them."

John didn't want Sheila to use any extreme measures when she questioned a homeless individual.

"Only verbally if you do." John said. "There will be nothing else."

Sheila wanted to give John some reassurance, even if it wasn't what he actually wanted to hear.

"Don't worry, love." Sheila said. "I will save that for the Grays."

Bob brought the SUV around closer to the building in question.

"I've moved the SUV near Cammy's position." Bob said.

Cammy didn't want to raise any suspicion.

"I see you at the end of the alley, Bob." Cammy said. "There's one firm still in operation near you. Park the SUV near there and come join me. It shouldn't raise any suspicions that way or seem out of place."

Sheila attempted to close up on the homeless individual she wanted to question.

"I'm following one of the homeless." Sheila said. "It appears to be a female. She slipped out of the camp. She's holding her pants in her hand. Wait. She's made an attempt to run now."

John Henry was worried for the homeless female. It sounded like she attempted to flee an abusive situation.

"Use tact." John Henry said. "She probably has suffered enough in her life. It sounds like she was just assaulted."

Sheila knew that 'escape' could be achieved in more than one way.

"I can give her 'a way out'." Sheila said.

John was worried what Sheila would do to the homeless female.

"There will be no needless terminations." John said.

Sheila dealt with some of the abused homeless females before.

"I thought about buying a bus ticket out of the area for her." Sheila said. "Not everything is fun and games. I've helped Cameron and Savannah before with these people."

John thought he may have jumped the gun a little.

"I'm sorry." John said.

Sheila spotted a new problem.

"Two men from the homeless camp are looking around. I think they want the female back." Sheila said. "It looks like a rough lot."

John wanted to keep their operation going and avoid any trouble.

"Are any of them headed toward Cammy?" John asked.

Sheila watched as the bad news got worse.

"The female tried to run but appears hurt." Sheila said. "She's changed directions and is now headed for the building Cammy is watching."

Bob didn't like the new developments.

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

John shook his head from side to side in the Command Center.

"Doesn't it always?" John asked.

I'm Fixed

You think it's me
That's the one that's broke
You don't get it
That's the joke

It's your own doing
That set events in motion
By abandoning me
You killed the devotion

So look around you now
This is what you get
There's the exit
Pack up and quit

I've opened the door
There are those who waited
Events happen belated
As if time had slated

Cast aside as rubbish
My fate betwixt
I saved myself
I'm fixed

Nobody