Chapter 899

Four Free

Earlier:

Ally and Sheila lost contact with John Henry right before they split up to enter the structure. They lost contact with Cameron's team too. That was probably bad news. They figured it was the jamming field from the Skynet controlled casino. It must have been restarted. They were outside of its range. They could still communicate with CamNet and John Henry's server.

They were still a 'go' on their operation. John Henry's server gave them a rundown on everything that it knew about this operation. What the last known position of Cameron's team was and the 'Metal Bitch'. They were too far away to make a difference or help at their casino. With Cameron, Cammy, Gail and John Henry there, they should be able to handle the 'Metal Bitch'.

There was no report of Grays or any Syndicate personnel who went to assist her but that could change. They needed to worry about John and Savannah. They figured they should be able to assist if needed. They should be 'finished' with whatever was supposed to happen.

Sheila and Ally went over the plan again. CamNet provided them with blueprints of the house so they knew the layout. It could be different now but it was doubtful.

Ally soundlessly approached the back door. She noted the windows were barred from the outside. They appeared to have plywood that was painted black installed on the inside of the windows. It was probably screwed into place from the interior to keep the girls from breaking the glass and trying to escape or call for help. They'd encountered places like this before. They were like dark prisons. They were dark prisons.

She listened to see what she could hear. It was quiet. Often faint sobbing could be heard from some of the girls. It was usually the new arrivals. Once the girls realized they were beaten less and assaulted less for obeying, they usually did. The drugs soon took hold and the girls would do 'anything' for the next fix. It made the hurt go away and the pain stop. At that point, their life expectancy dropped sharply.

It didn't really matter what group the girl's handlers belonged to. They all operated in the same way. They were all cruel, sadistic and violent. The girls didn't mean anything to them. They didn't listen to their cries or care to hear any of their 'stories'. The girls were a commodity to them. The girls equaled cash. If they couldn't generate revenue there was no need for them to be alive. Chronic troublemakers or complainers didn't last long. They usually ended up dumped in a gully somewhere in the desert after they turned up dead in the room of some 'mark' at the Syndicate casino hotel.

If a girl was a continual 'problem' she was often made an example of. She was usually killed in front of the other girls. Once the girls saw with their own eyes what the price of disobedience was, they were more compliant. The dead girl's body was usually left there for a day or two to give everyone else a good look as to what would happen to them if they didn't do what they were told, when they were told to do it.

Ally reached for the rear door. It was locked. It wouldn't slow her down at all. Sheila was in the front and should act in twelve seconds.

Sheila moved along a wall to get to the front. It started to get lighter and she didn't want to be seen out in the front by anyone. There was no one around but one never knew. It was still very early for most people.

She saw the barred and barricaded windows as well. This was nothing new. It was typical of the 'holding pens'. Often the girls would be chained to a bed by one of their ankles. They would have a bucket by their bed for any of their waste products, often it needed to be shared with other girls. The living conditions were very crude, primitive and barbaric. Any complaints were usually met with abuse.

Sheila stood before the front door and tried it. It was locked. She checked her time and gave the front door a kick. It ripped part of the door frame away. It was barricaded from the inside. It was no match for a Terminator, especially an angry one.

She moved in over the wreckage of the door. She heard similar results at the back door. Ally was in as well. They planned to kill everyone between them until they met up.

Sheila held her silenced pistol in one hand and her Taser in the other. They didn't expect to encounter any Terminators but this operation was Skynet related. They weren't about to take any chances. It was already known that at least two Skynet Terminators were involved in this operation. They would most likely encounter Syndicate thugs or Grays inside. There really wasn't much difference between them anyway.

There were two rooms on her right. There were two girls in the first room and two empty beds. Both of the females were chained and dazed. The noise of the shattered door awoke them. They hardly stirred as she passed them. The second room held another female who appeared as if she was about to be abused. She was bound and gagged. She was probably a new arrival. She seemed fully awake. She would have to come back to her. She still searched for targets.

The next door was a bathroom. It was closed but there was light coming from the bottom of the door. She shoved it open, she found a naked man using the toilet. Her silenced pistol coughed once. She moved on. There were two more silenced rounds fired from the rear of the house.

Sheila headed for the back.

Moments ago:

Ally came in the back door. It was only secured with a deadbolt. It was probably the only door they used. She heard the wood splinter in the front, she knew that was Sheila. That sounded like a barricaded door coming down. That door was probably never used. There was a filthy kitchen area that she entered into. There were insects crawling on the counters and floor in the kitchen.

There was a room right next to it, she entered and saw two men standing over one of the girls on a bed. She was gagged and her hands and feet were tied. There were three other empty beds. Ally fired twice as she passed and heard another silenced round fired from the front after another door was smashed open. That door sounded like an inside door.

She met Sheila in the hall when she exited the room.

They went over what they'd encountered. They'd been in the house for eight seconds before they met in the hall. They'd done this before. It was a standard 'smash and grab' assault for them. They looked around for any cash, weapons or valuables. They didn't expect to find any cash and they didn't. Each of the deceased men carried a pistol. Only one Skynet barcode was found on the three men.

Ally freed the girls one by one. She didn't like what she found. It turned out the first female that she'd encountered was in the process of being 'house broken'. The gagged female was next in line for the 'process'. The other two females were already 'house broken' and drugged. One was really strung out.

Sheila hurried away to bring up the delivery van. She saw the sun was about to rise and hoped the girls would try to make the most of a new day in their lives. They were lucky to even be able to ever see the daylight again. They normally would be transported at night to keep them from prying eyes.

She kept a low profile as she approached the delivery van. She spotted something that was amiss right away. There was a black sedan. It was parked directly in back of the delivery van.

Sheila looked around for the occupants of the sedan and didn't spot them right away. She figured they probably tried to get a look inside of the delivery van. She quickly moved up in back of the sedan and saw that there was no one in it. She moved around towards the passenger side of the sedan as she crouched down. She spotted someone fooling with the side door on the delivery van. He tried to use his phone but he couldn't get it to work. That was because JH established a jamming field for a ten block radius around the target location where the girls were held.

She took out her silenced M9 and was about to take a shot at the man when he moved around the front of the van. She was pretty sure he was a Syndicate thug. She didn't know for sure. She figured that he was probably on his way to the house that they'd just taken down when he spotted the delivery van. He was probably sent there to assist the 'Metal Bitch' when she let the new girls off. He probably wanted first 'crack' at them.

Sheila quickly moved from her position behind the thug's sedan and went after him. She moved along the passenger side of the delivery van and across the front of it as the man tried the driver's door. It was open.

"That's private property, love." Sheila said.

The thug jumped about a foot when she spoke.

He started to turn around to see who spoke to him. He was too slow.

Sheila was on him in an instant. She rabbit punched him in the back of the neck and snapped his spine. His lifeless body slumped into the open driver's door of the delivery van. She grabbed his belt and tossed him all the way inside. She looked around outside to see if anyone noticed anything. She didn't spot anyone. She climbed inside of the delivery van. She started it and drove off. She wasn't sure if the delivery van was already a target or if the thug spotted the delivery van and thought that it was out of place. He may have also had a description of the delivery van that was used when they relieved the casino of their ill gotten gains.

She called Ally and filled her in on the new development. Ally told her she would move the girls to the side room while they unloaded the stiff and then they would go.

Moments ago:

Three of the girls asked a lot of questions. Ally gave them very few answers. She told them to get dressed. There was a pile of clothes next to the washing machine. One of the girls had trouble getting dressed. Another girl helped her. It was the girl that was in the same room with her. They'd been there the longest, which was only a few days.

Sheila called her and said she was on her way with the delivery van. She gave her a brief rundown of what happened near the delivery van. They would have one more stiff to add to the three that were already in the house.

Ally ushered the four girls to the side room by the front door. She didn't want to traumatize them anymore.

Sheila backed the delivery van up across the dead lawn right up to the front door.

Ally opened the back and pulled out the deceased man and carried him to the back room.

Sheila followed Ally and the stiff out. She collected the girls and ushered them into the back of the delivery van. Ally joined them with the items they'd collected from around the house. She climbed in the back. She needed to help the one girl that was the most drugged. She knew that girl wasn't going to do well.

The girls were all a little overwhelmed about what happened and that they now were soon to be free.

"This is like 'Mission Impossible'." One of the girls said.

Sheila thought that they'd been on a lot of impossible missions. Somehow they pulled them off and kept moving forward. This one was no different. It wasn't over yet.

"It seems that way sometimes." Sheila said as she drove away.

Ally found out four other girls were taken away two days ago and never heard from or seen again. They didn't know any of them before and none of them were related. Those four girls were already there when any of them arrived. They were all compliant and offered no resistance when they were taken away.

They said they were all lured there by a pretty female who was nice to them and offered them work at a local casino. She told them she needed to make a quick stop to see her uncle. The three men were waiting for them when they arrived.

The 'Metal Bitch' was evidently bringing the replacements for the other four girls when she was forced to act because of the 'events' at the casino. Maybe that would bring 'The Enforcer' back as well. The Metal girls all looked forward to taking both of the Skynet Terminators down.

The girls said they were all forced to be photographed. Close ups were taken. They were told it was part of the selection process for their new 'jobs'. It was soon clear what those 'jobs' were going to be.

Ally and Sheila still couldn't reach John Henry in the hotel or Cameron's team but they were in contact with John Henry's server and CamNet. Neither could provide information on what was happening inside the jamming field. Anything could be happening in there at this point.

They needed to get these girls away from there so they could get back to the hotel casino where the rest of the team was at. There was a good chance they may need to hit the Syndicate casino again. If they did, it may need to be a little harder.

Sheila spotted a parked passenger van up ahead as they headed back to the hotel. Two of the girls said they could drive. She pulled over in back of it.

Ally got out and looked around. It was clear so she started the van for the girls. She told them because they were previously photographed that if they stayed in Nevada they would be tracked down again and most likely killed. She said they would be picked up on casino and hotel surveillance within seconds of entering one of those establishments. None of the girls wanted to go to the police or a hospital. All of them were runaways. Most were wanted for minor offenses. None of them wanted to be subjected to the same type of abuse again either.

Ally gave three of the girls the three snub nosed revolvers that they'd taken from the thugs that followed them from the casino. Those three thugs ended up in dumpsters.

The girls were a little apprehensive as they looked at the firearms. One of them spoke up.

"How does it work?" One girl asked. "I don't want to shoot myself or one of these other girls by accident."

Ally didn't think it got much simpler than a revolver. The snub nose revolvers were very compact with an extremely short barrel. They weren't that powerful as far as firearms went but they could do the job. They were meant to be used up close and could be very deadly in close quarters. No one needed to be a marksman if the target was only a few feet away.

"It's really simple." Ally told them. "Point the gun and pull the trigger. It will fire. It will be loud and kick a lot."

Ally unloaded one and showed them how to use it. They said it seemed simple enough. She reloaded the gun and gave it back to the girl that asked. She paused and took it back from the girl and opened the cylinder. She ejected the cartridges into her hand, closed the cylinder and handed the girl back the firearm. She then handed her the cartridges.

"Show me what you need to do to make it work." Ally said.

The girl fumbled with the cylinder latch for a few seconds before she was able to push it forward and release the cylinder. Once the cylinder was open, the girl carefully loaded the cartridges into the cylinder. She went to close the cylinder but turned the revolver so it was level to do so. Several of the cartridges begin to slide out of the cylinders and bound up against the side of the revolver. It prevented the girl from closing the cylinder.

The other two girls that were given revolvers watched what she did. One of them spoke up.

"You need to keep it pointed at a slight downward angle so the bullets don't slide back out when you close it." The other girl said.

The first girl immediately tipped the revolver downward and the cartridges slid back into the cylinder. She was able to close it successfully.

"OK, I get it now." The first girl said.

Sheila looked back as she drove.

"Have all of them give it a try." Sheila said. "I don't want anyone to put the grab on them again. I don't think that they want that either."

All three girls unloaded and then reloaded their revolvers. They were given the chance to 'dry fire' the revolvers to see what the trigger pull was like. It was a lot more effort through double action than any of the girls thought it would be.

Ally was satisfied that the girls wouldn't accidentally shoot themselves or each other. She went to one of the gunny sacks and took out some money. She gave them all some cash. She made sure that it wasn't too much. If any of the girls had too much cash, one of them may flash some of it around which would draw attention. It would probably also put a target on her back from someone else who wanted that cash. She told them to dump the van at a mall and find other transportation. They could stay together for support of each other or split up. Bus or rail travel wouldn't require any identification.

Sheila didn't like to have to be so abrupt with the girls but they had another calling to attend to. They freed the girls, gave them some cash, a vehicle and the means to defend themselves. Now it was time for some advice.

"Watch your speed and don't get pulled over." Sheila said. "If the authorities get you, they won't believe your stories. If you get sent to prison it won't be much better than where you were. The same things will happen to you in there with the other prisoners. It won't matter that they are all female either. The female 'lifers' will be just as ruthless as those men were. There will be fights over you because you are young and new. You will be most likely 'marked' by cutting or branding to show 'ownership' in prison. I hope you like females because that's what you will have to service every night for the length of your prison term."

None of the four girls looked like they wanted to go to prison. They weren't so sure it would be as bad as the ordeal they just went through but it sounded bad enough.

"Who are you people?" One girl asked. "I don't think you're law enforcement, even if you represent justice."

Ally wanted to keep it simple. Not only would it take too long to explain to the girls exactly who they were but they most likely wouldn't be believed anyway. Who would ever believe that they were very scary robots from the future?

"We're the good guys." Ally said as she glanced at the sacks full of cash. "Most of the time…."

The sacks contained millions of dollars. They didn't give the girls too much cash earlier. They've been given their freedom and a second chance. The sacks of money were headed elsewhere.

The girls all heard Sheila's accent and knew that she wasn't a local.

"Are you part of some international organization?" Another girl asked.

Sheila glanced at Ally before she spoke. She knew that there was only so much that they could say. No one would believe them anyway if they told them the truth.

"We're something like that." Sheila said. "We are a little ahead of our time."

The girls were all glad that they were free and that the assaults were done.

"I thank you for rescuing me and all of us." A third girl said.

Sheila wanted them to get on their way so they could finish their task.

"You four need to go and keep going. Don't stop until you are across the state border and never look back." Sheila said. "Never come back to this state."

Ally wanted to give them some parting advice as well.

"I strongly recommend that each of you return home if you can and stay there." Ally said. "I know that some of you may have left an abusive situation at home. There are groups everywhere that will help abused females."

The girls thanked them again and drove off.

Sheila started the delivery van and headed back out towards the casino. They would need to pick up their SUV along the way.

Ally moved up to the front so she could speak with Sheila easier and look out the front window.

"I'm worried about them." Ally said. "One of them is really hooked on drugs. I didn't give her a firearm. I didn't think that it was safe for her to have one. I was also worried that she may use it later on to try to get more drugs or to get money to purchase more drugs."

Sheila couldn't disagree with that assessment. She saw the same way. She also didn't give them very good prospects going forward. She was pretty sure that if any of the girls didn't return home that they would probably be rounded up again somewhere else. There'd been several occasions where they freed some girls two or three times from different sex trafficking operations when they raided them. It was very evident that each time they freed them; the girls were even more used up than they'd been previously. She'd heard the expression, 'you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink' before. When they encountered the same girl in multiple 'stables', it seemed to prove that statement

"You know most of them will end back up in a place like that again." Sheila said. "We've seen it."

Ally didn't need to hear it again. She was well aware how things played out.

"I know. If one of them doesn't, then we helped. Their lives are very short once they are in this type of captivity. This one being Skynet affiliated, only makes it worse." Ally said. "This operation that we did here was about denying resources to Skynet and their schemes to blackmail people."

The sun was just about to come up over the mountains.

"Let's get the Escalade and head for the hotel." Sheila said. "We'll pass right by it. I'm sick of this tub and all it represents now."

Ally silently gathered everything in the back of the delivery van. The Escalade would be full of cash, a lot of it. She tried to contact John Henry and Cameron's team again several times to no avail. JH and CamNet couldn't tell her much more.

"How do you think Cameron's team is doing?" Ally asked.

Sheila was worried about all of them as well. She didn't know what the specifics were but she did know how the ending eventually would be. It was just a matter of when that actually would occur.

"I'm going to bet it's better than the 'Metal Bitch' is going to do." Sheila said.

Ally thought about the four girls that they just sent on their way. She thought about the four other ones that were taken away from that location earlier. There were four free and four who were not. They didn't know their fate but they knew it wouldn't be anything good. She thought about the four girls that were picked up by the 'Metal Bitch' but released. Maybe they were the luckiest of any of them. She strongly doubted their luck would hold out for long. She was more than a little depressed. She saw that the delivery van contained a radio. Maybe some tunes would perk things up a little.

"Turn the radio on." Ally said. "We needed something to liven the mood right now."

'Draggin' The Line' by 'Tommy James', sounded through the delivery van.

While You Were Gone

Many doors in life
Can open or close
Most are the result
Of things we have chose

Sometimes we can act
Before we think it through
We can all bite off
More than we can chew

When you know what's in a heart
And you still choose to play
Your actions sum it up
Leaving little to say

You can hurt one very much
But not endlessly forever
When you seek them back
The answer is never

What would you feel
If I were to move on
It could have happened
While you were gone

Nobody