Chapter 877

Tumble Weed

Ally was about to make her move. She thought back on the events she faced earlier in the day. She'd never been backed up like that before. There were three drones for direct fire support and one on recon. In addition to that, Steve and Al were there to assist her. Someone really looked out for her. Normally she might have needed to have faced the bikers alone. The way it worked out, she didn't get a scratch. If that was CamNet on her own, she owed CamNet one. If CamNet was prompted by someone, she owed them one. She was pretty sure there was someone behind the scene on this one. She was pretty sure who it was.

She moved her position. She continued along the gully which was much shallower now. She brought the north side of the building under direct observation as well as being able to keep the west side of the structure in view. She looked for some security cameras but didn't spot any. She thought there should be more security than the perimeter fence that was in disrepair. The operation was sloppy or over confidant.

"I'm looking at the north side as well as the west side the building." Ally said. "I don't see anything. There's no security equipment that I can detect."

The lack of any security devices made Ally wonder why. They must have something else that they relied on for security. It couldn't be anything good for the Resistance.

Al and Steve kept a watch on the south and east side.

Since their return from assisting Ally there hadn't been much activity at all that they've been able to spot. It appeared that it was about to change.

"It looks like the box truck is being loaded." Steve said.

John sat up a little straighter in his chair in the casino Command Center. He'd grown a little bored due to the inactivity. Now it looked like they might have something.

"What can you see?" John asked. "Can you tell what is being put inside of it?"

Steve and Al could only see that the box truck was backed up to a loading bay. There was no actual dock that was outside of the building where they could see things being moved around.

"The box truck is bouncing around slightly." Al said. "It's backed up to a loading dock in the wall."

John did a quick check to see where Cameron's team was. They were still a little ways out yet.

"Great." John said. "We don't even have all of our people in play yet."

The latest turn of events didn't tell them anything. They didn't know if it was some scheduled event or a reaction to something that they may have done. Specifically with this operation they'd taken down two Grays in a building and captured an HK Track. There were also two Grays in a pick up truck who were terminated. At some point someone was going to miss those four individuals. There were also the four Fanatics that they'd dealt with. As far as they knew, one of them could have been a spy for the Grays. That wouldn't be uncommon based on past experience.

None of that really mattered in the end because they still didn't know what was going on with the box truck or inside the building. They didn't know what type of force they would face when they needed to enter the building.

John Henry wasn't so sure the truck was being loaded. Maybe all that Steve and Al could determine from their location was something was happening in the back of the box truck.

"John, we don't know if they are loading it or unloading it." John Henry said. "All we know for sure is they unloaded one HK Track at the other location. Maybe there are more inside of the truck."

John would have figured that the truck would have been unloaded as soon as it was parked at the loading bay.

"What else would they have done all this time?" John asked. "If they were unloading it, they should have done it several hours ago."

John Henry saw that as a two way street. He didn't want to point out that humans were quite illogical and rather unpredictable.

"Wouldn't that apply to loading it as well?" John Henry asked. "Anything they would load into the truck was already there in the building."

John thought about it for a few moments. One thought for the delay popped into his head but he wasn't sure if he wanted to mention it yet.

"Have you picked up any communications coming to or going from that location?" John asked.

John Henry had taken a 'hands off' approach to the location until all of their teams were in place.

"I haven't been able to detect anything." John Henry said. "I haven't blocked anything yet to tip our hand either."

John would have hoped that they would have been able to glean some information by this point in time. That wasn't the case.

"None of this makes sense." John said.

John Henry thought that it was prudent to point out one of his observations. He actually thought that John would have said something about it by now but he hadn't. He felt he needed to address the issue.

"It seldom seems to anymore." John Henry said. "There was a deceased female at the other location. They may have one or more females here as well, live ones that is."

John frowned at the thought of John Henry's suggestion. It was what he'd thought of a few moments ago himself. It was something that he would rather not have to think about. He would try to skirt the issue for now.

"That would explain the delay." John said. "Either way…."

John sure hoped there wasn't another female captive in there. If there was, she would have been abused repeatedly at this point. She could be dead now too.

The Grays that were in this time period, treated females the same way they were treated in the future. He hoped Cameron didn't make this same connection about a possible female captive. It was one of the reasons why he chose not to address the issue directly himself earlier.

CamNet sent Cameron a priority update and new information. She detected a conversation between John Henry and John that she thought was important enough to relay the message to Cameron.

Cameron listened to John and John Henry through CamNet. She glanced at Savannah before she spoke. The new information troubled her.

"We need to hurry." Cameron said.

Savannah looked around. She wondered what changed. She was unable to detect anything different.

"Why?" Savannah asked. "What's happening? Is something different now?"

Savannah was at a loss for what may have changed. She didn't know about John and John Henry's conversation about a possible female captive.

Cammy didn't care for the sudden change in events either. She wondered what impulsive thought must have come into Cameron's mind. She hadn't received the same information that Cameron did from CamNet.

"What's changed?" Cammy asked.

Cameron was worried about a possible female hostage. The thought of what must have happened to her bothered her greatly. She felt that they needed to speed things up and step the operation up. She didn't feel she needed to explain her actions to anyone.

"My disposition Is what's changed." Cameron said. "I want Sheila with us, now. We're going to attack."

Savannah still didn't have the same information that Cameron just received. The sudden change to step up the attack made her feel a little uneasy. She felt that they didn't possess enough information yet as to what was inside of the target.

"We don't know what they have inside there yet." Savannah said. "We need more intel. We can't go in blind."

Cameron thought of a possible female captive and suppressed a glitch impulse. She wanted to deal with the issue immediately. She needed to know Gail's condition.

"Gail, what's your current rate of function at?" Cameron asked.

Savannah looked at Gail and smiled faintly. She wanted to give her some reassurance.

"Give it to her straight." Savannah said as she gently squeezed Gail's hand. "I need to know as well."

Gail finished another internal diagnostic only a few minutes ago.

"I'm currently operating at ninety eight percent." Gail said. "I'm fine."

Cameron felt that was well within operational limits. She'd gone into combat at far less than that operational capability before. She really didn't want to think about those times.

"That is close enough." Cameron said. "You're with us."

Savannah decided she'd better keep an eye on Gail and make sure she didn't develop any 'problems'. The damage done to Gail would have been done to her if Gail hadn't shielded her with her body. That jagged piece of metal she pulled from Gail's back would have killed her. She knew the nature of a Terminator would allow them to enter combat at far less than their full capability. If they could still function at all, they were going to attempt to carry out the mission regardless of what it was.

Sheila wanted to carve the fanatical Gray up. She'd already pulled all of his crushed fingers off. His hands were bloody nubs. She'd tied tunicates around both of his wrists before she started. She was dissatisfied with the results so far. It was time to start on the methods that always produced answers.

She received the request from Cameron to join her immediately. That's not what she wanted to hear right now. She was about to start on the part that always excited her. It didn't matter how many times she'd done the same thing. It was simply the fact that she was about to do it again that drove her excitement level up. She knew that it was the 'dark Jesse' inside of her but she didn't care. She'd learned to embrace the feeling and cultivate it. She wanted to see if she could buy at least a few more minutes.

"I was just about to get started." Sheila said. "The Fanatic won't talk unless I start cutting on him."

Cameron didn't want any further delays. If there was a hostage to be rescued, they needed to move now.

"We don't have time for games." Cameron said.

Sheila was a little taken aback by Cameron's comment. Maybe she did view current interrogations as games. They actually were games to her. She also needed to remember Savannah was nearby with Cameron. Maybe it was time to just clean things up.

"Do you want him terminated?" Sheila asked.

Cameron already started to formulate a plan

"No." Cameron said. "This is what I want Dan and Frank to do…."

Cameron laid out a plan that was very far reaching. It deepened a lot on the direction the Grays turned if they left the facility in the box truck. Either way it was time to stir the hornet's nest and see what they could uncover.

Ally wanted to get a closer look at the warehouse. Since there were no external security devices detected, she decided to advance on the structure herself. She moved forward toward the warehouse. The northwest corner was a blind corner for the Grays inside. There were no windows on either the north or the west side.

She was close enough to the building now to hear what she didn't need to hear. It was the sound of metal tracks on concrete. She needed to get this out to the others. It was bad news.

"I can hear a tracked vehicle moving inside." Ally said. "I can't tell what it is yet."

John quickly looked over at John Henry. Ally's report was bad news no matter how it was looked at. With the threat of active HK Tracks or HK Treads, they couldn't take any chances.

"Are you in danger?" John asked. "If you are, pull out. Don't try to face it alone if it comes out."

Ally hadn't heard the sounds of any doors opening that she could detect. She thought that that was a good thing. Currently she couldn't see the north side of the building from her present location. The north side of the building did have a large roll up door on it. So far what she heard sounded like an internal movement. The area looked clear and no current threat was detected. She decided to continue her trek and see what she could uncover. She thought it was important to know what the team was going to need to face. She just hoped that she wasn't discovered and needed to face it alone first.

"I'm good." Ally said. "I'm almost to the building."

John Henry focused one of the drones on Ally's position.

"We're watching you." John said.

"Who watches the watchers?" Ally asked.

John quickly glanced over at John Henry. He thought that CamNet fit the bill but then again, who watched over CamNet? He wanted to let Ally know that they were going to act if necessary.

"There's a drone ready to respond to back you up if it becomes necessary. If we tell you to get down, you need to do so immediately." John said.

Ally couldn't help but to turn her response into a sexual innuendo.

"If you tell me to get down, you won't need to ask twice." Ally said. "I get down every chance I can get. I have to say that I usually get off when I get down. I think you know the drill."

John and John Henry briefly glanced at each other but neither one of them commented. They both felt it was best not to address or acknowledge the comment. It would only lead to more. They hoped that no one else would pick up the ball and run with it. The response came a little quicker than they'd expected.

"If anyone wants to get down or off, I'm your huckleberry." Sheila said.

John and John Henry watched Ally carefully make her way closer to the building. She'd just updated them on the tracked vehicle inside that she could hear moving around.

John Henry contemplated Ally's earlier question.

"I think she is talking about us." John Henry said.

John was pretty sure he knew which one John Henry meant. His first thought was that it was CamNet but he thought it was best not to say that out loud.

"Who watches the watchers?" John asked.

Much to their surprise and in apparent response to John's repetition of Ally's question they received an answer.

'I DO.' Popped up all of a suddenly on both of their screens.

John Henry tilted his head slightly to the side.

"I guess CamNet does." John Henry said.

John already arrived at that same conclusion. He'd already thought of a response on his own. He tried not to say it but it slipped out anyway.

"Who watches CamNet?" John asked.

Their screens instantly showed a new message.

'NOBODY.' The response was quick.

John and John Henry looked at each other again. That was a reminder they could have done without. It seemed best not to respond any further to the comments. It was enough to think about.

John I did wonder about it though. He knew that Cameron viewed herself as 'Nobody'. He wasn't sure if the response indicated that it was Cameron who watched over CamNet or that there was no one that watched over CamNet. He wasn't so sure about that. He knew that they may not know all the details or the thousands of things that can happen in the background but he was pretty sure that if there was some 'corrective action' needed that the 'Chosen Ones' were the ones who would 'watch over the watchers'. He further understood the role Savannah and Young Allison would play going forward into the future. He realized it was a much larger role than just to assist and help him.

John wanted to get back to the operation.

John Henry spotted a new development.

"I see Steve is moving as well." John Henry said.

Steve and Al had the building under observation on the east and south sides. Once they heard that Ally started to move in on the building so she could get a better look and hear what was happening inside, it was decided that one of them would attempt to do the same thing from their sector. Steve was the first to volunteer for the task. He set out on his own.

"Steve is moving in along the railroad siding. There's a drainage ditch and a lot of tumble weeds." Al said. "I have one LAW rocket. I can use it on the truck if it leaves."

John didn't want to tip their hand too early to the pending breach of the building. He would like to do a more clandestine entry if possible rather than a full on assault.

"Not yet." John said. "We'll use a drone strike for that if it's needed. Tell us if it looks like they are even thinking about driving the truck away. I want you to save the LAW rocket for a more threatening target if one arises."

Al wondered if he would need to use the LAW against the HK Track that was moving around inside the building. It could be an HK Tread too. That was even worse.

"Affirmative…." Al said.

Ally quickly and carefully made her way to the west side of the building. She still hadn't spotted any surveillance cameras on her journey.

"I'm up against the building. I'm touching it." Ally said. "I can feel the vibration and hear the tracked vehicle moving. It sounds like an HK Track. I don't think it is an HK Tread."

John Henry was very concerned about the latest development. It appeared that they would need to face a bigger threat than he'd anticipated.

"Is there more than one?" John Henry asked.

Ally paused and listened again.

"I don't know." Ally said. "Can you get any thermal imagery?"

John Henry tried a lower level drone scan earlier to see if he could obtain that information. He ran into an obstacle.

"The roof has reflection panels on it to deflect the sun and heat." John Henry said. "I couldn't obtain any conclusive data."

That wasn't the answer that Ally hoped for. There were two doors available to her. She would have liked to have had a less risky choice to make as to which one to breach.

"I have a roll up door on the north side and a regular door on the west side." Ally said. "I'll try to get a look inside from the regular door on the west side."

John wasn't so sure that was a good idea at this point in time, especially with an HK Track driving around inside. It might actually be on patrol. It could be a sentry for the building.

"The door may be wired for an alarm or someone will hear you force it open." John said. "Remember there are Terminators involved with this group. The HK Track may confront you."

John Henry wanted to point out that there were two other options available as possible ways to enter the building.

"The railroad siding is on the east side and the loading dock is on the south side." John Henry said. "If there's no surveillance in those locations, we need to see if there are other alternatives to make an entry."

Ally still believed she had the best proposition.

"I'll try the west side door." Ally said. "You never know."

John looked over the drone images and the images sent to him by Steve and Al.

"If it's locked, I want you to move to the south side." John said. "There are a number of doors there."

Ally was sure she was going from the frying pan into the fire. Maybe facing the twenty bikers alone would have proved to be less dangerous than this looked like it was going to turn out. She could still hear the HK Track moving around inside of the building.

Al heard John's latest plan for Ally. He needed to issue a warning.

"There are security cameras on the south side." Al said. "They seem to cover the area where the trucks need to back up to the loading bays."

Ally was sure of her earlier observation. She wanted to reaffirm it.

"There are none on the west or north side." Ally said.

John Henry was worried about Steve's current movement through the drainage ditch alongside the railroad siding.

"What about where Steve is headed?" John Henry asked.

Al was pretty confident in their earlier recon of the building.

"None were spotted on the east side." Al said. "Wait, I see one of the regular doors opening on the loading dock side. Two men have exited. They're headed for the box truck."

John was aware of a plan that Cameron informed him about. She hadn't given him all the details but said it all depended upon which direction the truck turned when it left the building.

"When they reach the main road, tell us which direction they're going to go." John said. "We hope it is south."

Al watched the two men walk to the truck. They didn't look at anything or check anything. They just got into it. The truck started with a puff of exhaust at the rear and started to move.

"They've entered the truck and have started to pull out." Al said.

John wondered about the rear door of the truck.

"Do they need to stop to close the rear door?" John asked.

Al wondered about that himself. He hoped to be able to get a look inside of the building as the truck pulled away.

Ally moved her position up to the corner of the west wall and the south side of the building. She was able to see the truck drive away.

"No. It was a roll up door. They could close it at the loading bay." Ally said. "The west door was locked."

John wanted to know what Al could see from his position now that the truck was away from the loading bay.

"Al, can you see anything inside the building from the open dock door?" John asked.

Al was a little disappointed when the truck pulled away. He'd hoped to be able to do that.

"It's closed." Al said. "It was probably closed after the roll up door on the truck was pulled down."

John wondered if they were ever going to catch a break on this one.

"Typical…." John said.

Al watched the progress of the truck as it exited towards the street.

"The truck has crossed the railroad tracks for the rail siding." Al said. "Steve is in the ditch that runs along the outside of the rail siding. He's moved a large tumble weed in back of him so they wouldn't see him. In fact I can't see him now. The truck is at the main road now it's getting ready to turn."

John waited in anticipation for the next answer.

"Turn south…." John said as he hoped they would. "Head back to civilization."

Al watched the truck pause at the main road before it finally made its turn.

"They just made a right hand turn. They're headed south." Al said.

John thought maybe they just did catch their first lucky break.

"Excellent…." John said.

What he didn't know was if they'd just gone from the frying pan into the fire.

Minutes ago:

The two men exited a door on the dock area and headed to the truck. They climbed in and started it and drove off.

They pulled away from the dock and headed south on the highway after they crossed the railroad siding.

"It looks like we drew the short straw again." One Gray said.

"I can hardly see anything." The other Gray said.

"These old dim headlights suck." One Gray said. "They barely light up the road."

"Maybe you should slow down. Just don't hit anything and mess the truck up." The other Gray said. "We'll have the 'Bucket Head' all over us."

"Why's the 'Metal Moron' in charge anyway?" One Gray asked. "One of us should be and 'Circuit Brain' should work for us."

"You've been out of the future too long." The other Gray said.

"What's that?" One Gray asked as he looked up.

"It's a shooting star." The other Gray said as he looked up too.

"WATCH OUT!" One Gray yelled.

Before the other Gray could even apply the brakes, they hit something. The truck bounced as it ran over it. There were two distinct bumps with the front and rear tires.

"Damn, what was that?" The other Gray asked as he slowed down. "Do you think it was a coyote?"

"It looked like a person." One Gray said. "We better stop and check the truck for damage."

"I'll call it in." The other Gray said.

"Wait." One Gray said. "Let's see if there is any damage first. If not, we will drag the stiff off the road and never report this. Who'd be out here anyway but some hobo or an illegal waiting to catch a train? Nobody will miss them. It's not like they're real people anyway."

"Yeah, I don't want to 'go out back' and 'disappear' like some people have." The other Gray said. "'The Tin Can' doesn't allow more than one screw up."

"I know what you mean." One Gray said.

They stopped the truck and went out to check it for damage. If the truck was damaged, the Terminator would find out about it the first time he looked at the truck. It would be their fault, even if it wasn't.

They used their phones to light up the fender and bumper area. There were no dents in either one. Nothing was leaking out from under the truck either. Both men looked a little relieved that they wouldn't need to try to explain what happened to the Terminator in charge.

"It looks like we lucked out." One Gray said.

"I only see some blood on the bumper." The other Gray said.

"That's what the bumper is for, it's not for looks." One Gray said. "It did its job."

They saw the outline in the moonlight of a figure in the road behind the truck. It was clear that it wasn't a coyote. It had a human shape.

"It looks like it was a person." One Gray said. "It was their own fault. They shouldn't have been in the road."

"I'll drag them into the bushes." The other Gray said.

"Hey, if it is a chick and she is still warm…." One Gray said.

"We don't have time for that." The other Gray said. "Maybe they have some cash on them."

"I'll go with you." One Gray said.

"What's wrong, don't you trust me?" The other Gray asked.

"Not really, you just ran over someone and killed them and don't seem too worried about it." One Gray said.

"It was your fault. You made me look up." The other Gray said.

One Gray hoped they'd find money. The other Gray hoped they'd find a female. If she was already dead it didn't matter.

The Plan Changed

Even the best laid plans
Seldom seen to come to fruition
What was once a clear path
Is now divided by a partition

You were being directed
In a safe and secure direction
Everything looked very good
For your best future and protection

Suddenly between us
A wedge was smugly driven
Events soon out of control occurred
Which will never be forgiven

Once the train
Was off the tracks
It leaves everyone open
To an onslaught of attacks

Everything was set in motion
It was already prearranged
Then you became estranged
The plan changed

Nobody