Chapter 911

Does That Bother You

John Henry was relieved to be plugged back in. He almost felt like he was 'deaf and blind' not being plugged into his server for so long. There were millions of things to catch up on. The thing that worried him the most was if it was his actions that led the 'Metal Bitch' to their suites in the casino hotel. He didn't know how the Grays knew where to look or how they were able to communicate with the 'Metal Bitch'. Those two events happened nonetheless.

The casino hotel wasn't the most secure location to operate from. He'd been in constant contact with CamNet and his server when he was there. It was all very limited as to the overall scope of things.

Cameron called him and wanted to know the state of affairs at the target casino.

"What do you have on the casino or 'The Enforcer'?" Cameron asked.

John Henry was able to view the security cameras inside of the Syndicate casino. Both his server and CamNet took control of those systems when it became evident that the casino sent thugs after Sheila, Ally and Cammy.

"There isn't much on 'The Enforcer'." John Henry said. "From the surveillance cameras inside the casino, it appears the Grays and Syndicate personnel have already started some infighting."

Cameron wanted there to be in fighting but she wanted to be the one in control of it. That would be the whole purpose of sending the 'Metal Bitch' back into the casino.

"That's not what I wanted to hear." Cameron said. "It will disrupt my plans to use the 'Metal Bitch'. I wanted things done my way."

John Henry believed that the more the two groups thinned each other out, the easier it would be for Cameron's team to clean house.

"If the Syndicate eliminates any Grays, that's better for you." John said.

Cameron still believed everything hinged around 'The Enforcer'. It wouldn't matter if the Syndicate thugs killed every Gray that there was. When the male Terminator arrived and found out that his Skynet associates had been terminated, he would most likely go on a rampage and return the favor.

"If they run I need to know where." Cameron said. "When 'The Enforcer' returns he will eliminate every one of the Syndicate's men."

John Henry knew that there would be more Syndicate men to show up at some point. In the short run it would benefit Cameron.

"That saves you dangerous work as well." John said.

Cameron hoped to remain in the shadows with what they did. She didn't want to get on the radar of either Skynet or the Syndicate. Any incident that got out of control in the casino or hotel was bound to get out into the public at some point. There would be too many witnesses and way too many people to terminate. She needed to terminate 'The Enforcer'.

"That will attract a lot of attention." Cameron said. "Maybe we can intercept him in Reno."

John Henry was sure that too much had occurred for 'The Enforcer' not to have left Reno already and be on his way back.

"He most likely has left Reno." John Henry said.

Cameron didn't want him in the area where she would need to operate.

"Then we need for him to go back there." Cameron said.

John Henry didn't know if he drove or flew.

"That's a long drive." John said.

Cameron was willing to make the drive. She needed some more time until her plan was ready to be put into action.

"It is four hundred and thirty-six point six miles or six hours fifty-six minutes if we adhere to the speed limit." Cameron said. "I'll be there in four hours."

John Henry calculated that Cameron would need to travel at excessive speed for an extended amount of time. He thought there was a better option open to her if she wanted to make time.

"You can fly." John said. "You still have the Cessna there."

Cameron wanted to get things started.

"We won't all fit." Cameron said. "I want to think about this."

Cameron cut her com link.

John listened to the conversation but didn't participate. He was sure that would have caused a problem.

"That's different." John said. "What's there for Cameron to think about?"

John Henry pondered that same question ever since Cameron made that statement.

"I don't know." John Henry said.

John really wondered what Cameron was going to do and what she'd already planned. What they'd found was by chance. Chance was what Las Vegas was built on.

Cameron wanted action. She didn't like waiting for the unknown.

"Savannah, do you want to fly or drive to Reno?" Cameron asked.

Savannah wasn't really sure what Cameron was after.

"Either one is good with me." Savannah said. "I would like to drive some of the way if we take the SUV. I can use the practice. I could always use some additional flight time as well."

Savannah was sure Cameron thought she could intercept 'The Enforcer' on the road on his way back to Las Vegas. She wasn't sure how. The chance of that seems remotely impossible to her. There was more than one way to go from Reno back to the Las Vegas area as well.

Cammy felt Cameron's thought process was flawed. She decided to ask.

"What makes you think the Terminator will be on the road and not fly himself?" Cammy asked.

Cameron did have a method to her madness. She figured what route 'The Enforcer' would take to return to the Las Vegas area. She figured it was because of what they'd done earlier.

"I don't know for sure." Cameron said. "I believe it's because of the attack at the warehouse for one reason. I think that's the route he will take. He will want to see what was done to his operation."

Savannah thought the chances of picking 'The Enforcer' up on the road were almost impossible. If Cameron really believed he would go to the warehouse, it seemed the logical choice would be to go to the warehouse and wait for him. There were other areas around the warehouse where they could take up points of observation as well. They could also rely on the surveillance equipment that they left in place when they pulled out. There was always the chance he would be able to avoid that as well.

"Do you want to wait at the warehouse then?" Savannah asked.

Cammy didn't necessarily think that the Terminator would take the most direct route to go back to Las Vegas or the warehouse. If he thought there was some type of a problem or part of his operation was compromised he would most likely use some type of evasive action.

"If he drives, there are several routes he can take back to Las Vegas." Cammy said. "You have no idea what he will do or how he will do it. You don't know where he'll go first. It's all speculation on your part."

Savannah didn't want Cammy to lay into Cameron too hard. She didn't need to point out there were many options available to 'The Enforcer' on his return trip.

"He could also rent or 'borrow' a helicopter, a plane or a jet." Savannah said. "As far as we know, he's already back in Las Vegas. I would have to think that if he knows there's a problem he would want to surveil everything himself first to see who all the players were on the field."

Cammy helped set up the surveillance equipment at the warehouse, she figured there would have been a hit by now at that location if there was going to be one.

"If he wanted to check out the warehouse first, he should have been there by now." Cammy said. "There's been sufficient time for that to happen."

Cameron was a little concerned about that herself. She would have expected to hit on the surveillance by now as well.

"We set up surveillance and nothing has shown up so far." Cameron said. "I checked with CamNet."

Savannah thought about how she would play it if she was involved.

"I think if he suspected a takedown, he would use caution and expect surveillance or an ambush with people waiting for whoever showed up." Savannah said. "I would."

Cameron frowned. She would have expected something a little more definitive by now. Maybe it was the fact that they'd stumbled upon this whole operation last night. It added to the mystery.

"There are too many unknowns." Cameron said.

Cammy figured most of the male Terminators should be freed up by now. That included the large group that went with John when he was flown out of the area.

"Do you want more personnel?" Cammy asked.

Cameron wanted to know more about what they faced first. She needed to know how to plan ahead of time. Right now the only thing they knew for sure was the association of the Grays and the Syndicate at the casino.

"I don't know." Cameron said.

Savannah was pretty sure that the Fanatics they encountered weren't the only ones in town. They certainly weren't the only ones around.

"Don't forget about the Fanatical Grays." Savannah said. "They're out there still and they ARE insane."

The Fanatics were a threat to everyone. They were violent and extremely volatile. They preferred to die for what they believed in, a version of Skynet – SkyMaster.

Savannah knew there was another group that dogged both the Skynet forces and the Fanatics. It was the anti-Metal group. She doubted they were too far behind all of the activity that they'd uncovered in Nevada. She didn't want to mention it out loud but she was sure Cameron was aware of the threat that they posed. The thought of the group always caused Cameron a lot of personal grief.

Gail, Ally and Sheila were together in the SUV that followed Cameron's SUV.

Ally viewed a satellite image in her files of Nevada. She really didn't see how they could possibly locate 'The Enforcer' on the road.

"We need to split up to cover all the routes from Reno." Ally said.

Sheila wanted everybody to think about what other options were open to the male Terminator.

"If it was you, what would you do?" Sheila asked. "I would try to hide myself from surveillance along the way. I'd either disguise myself or force someone to drive me while I hid."

Sheila didn't bother to mention that if she forced someone to drive at gunpoint while she was in the back seat that she would probably 'rub' a few off to keep herself from getting bored on the journey.

Gail believed it was unnecessary to look for him. They knew where he would eventually show back up.

"Maybe we're all over thinking this." Gail said. "I think he will come back to the casino. We only need to wait there."

Ally needed to think about what Gail indicated.

"Are you suggesting we walk right into the casino as customers?" Ally asked.

That wasn't exactly what Gail meant but she saw that it would work.

"Yes." Gail said. "The earlier 'activity' was never on their security cameras. Everyone we encountered is dead. We could stay there too."

The last statement by Gail really got Sheila's attention. She was all for that.

"What?" Sheila asked. "Do you mean for us to get a room?"

Gail didn't see any reason that CamNet couldn't swing the same deal that she did at the other hotel casino across the street.

"We can rent the entire top floor." Gail said. "It will be just like what was done at the other casino hotel."

Sheila couldn't help but point out an obvious scenario since Gail was the one who suggested the idea.

"Are you sure you just don't want another 'crack' at Savannah?" Sheila asked.

Gail's eyes turned red as she spun around to face Sheila.

"SHUT UP." Gail yelled at Sheila.

Ally could see that Gail was really steamed. Sheila took it a little too far this time.

"Easy, Gail, relax." Ally said. "You know Sheila has a big mouth. I do too sometimes."

Sheila just wanted to have some fun with Gail. She didn't mean to set her off.

"I'm sorry, love." Sheila said. "We all love her too."

Gail didn't mean to be so snappy. She knew that she was totally infatuated with Savannah. It seemed the more that she tried not to think about her, the more that she did think about her.

"Savannah is all I can think about." Gail said.

Ally knew that they still faced a serious situation. She really didn't want any internal conflict between the team.

"I'm not trying to cause trouble." Ally said. "I can drive if you want."

Gail didn't want to seem like a slacker. There was serious work that they would have to do soon.

"I don't know." Gail said.

Ally understood the distress that Gail felt.

"We've all been there." Ally said.

Gail knew what she felt for Jesse and Duplicate Jesse. What she felt for Savannah wasn't the same.

"It's different." Gail said.

Sheila wasn't immune from personal feelings either. She felt very strongly about Ally and Cammy. The nature of the relationships was what was different. The feeling was the same.

"Love is love, love." Sheila said.

Gail couldn't contain it any longer. She needed to tell someone. She needed everyone to know.

"SHE SAVED ME!" Gail shouted. "Savannah saved my life. I was almost terminated."

Ally glanced over at Sheila. She knew this was something that they'd long suspected.

"How did it happen?" Ally asked. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Gail didn't want to talk about it but she felt that she needed to.

"I was fighting two Terminators. They cornered me." Gail said. "They were going to rip my head off. Savannah saved me. She took both of them down. She SAVED me."

Sheila didn't think she needed to remind Gail of some of Savannah's other activities. In this case she didn't think that it would hurt.

"She's saved Cameron too." Sheila said. "She's personally protected most of the individuals in our group."

Gail could only think of Savannah with prestige.

"She's the 'Chosen One'." Gail said. "She really is."

Ally remembered some of the stories that they were told when they asked about what happened at the old helicopter base previously.

"Savannah never said anything about it." Ally said. "She said you deactivated the two Terminators."

Gail remembered exactly what Savannah did and understood her reasoning behind it.

"Savannah asked me to remove their chips so I could say I 'deactivated' them." Gail said. "She gave me dignity and allowed me redemption. She stood with me and allowed me honor."

Sheila understood how dynamic Savannah truly was.

"We've seen some of the other things she's done." Sheila said. "When there's danger, she's at the front of the line to face it."

Gail was deeply troubled by the implications of it all. It all added up to something very unfair for Savannah.

"We're going to get her KILLED. She's a teenager. She should be going out and doing fun things. She should be hanging out with her friends and getting ready for the Prom." Gail said. "Not fighting Terminators and going into the future. She shouldn't HAVE to have children and GIVE them away. That's not how we're supposed to treat people. Her mates are picked for her and she needs to abide by other people's choices for her. She has little say in the direction of her life that everyone else has chosen for her."

Ally agreed with what Gail said but she also believed that Savannah embraced all of those ideas and concepts and was a willing participant by choice.

"Savannah has 'chosen' to do all those things herself." Ally said.

Gail wasn't so sure about that.

"Has she?" Gail asked. "She's been trained to do them and to sacrifice."

Sheila believed that some of the hard choices that Savannah made were clearly personal choices that she made on her own.

"Savannah chose to do those things." Sheila said. "She chose to stay and die with Cameron. She didn't have to do that. She could have left. There were other times where she chose to fight when she didn't need to."

Gail understood what actually drove and motivated Savannah. It was a feeling that was so powerful that it couldn't be controlled. The feeling is what controlled the individual.

"She didn't choose them." Gail said. "It's her love that drives her. Her love is stronger than all of ours put together. It always has been. She told all of us all along what she believed in and why. That was actually the depth of her love for Cameron."

Sheila understood why Cameron wanted to make sure Savannah was showered with love.

"We all know that." Sheila said. "Cameron has encouraged Savannah to share her love and to be loved in return. Savannah will never feel unloved or rejected or replaced. She's as desirable as Cameron is to everyone."

Gail felt there was an underlying issue that needed to be addressed. It needed to be addressed by Cameron for Savannah sake

"If Cameron won't TAKE her, Savannah is going to feel 'Not Good Enough'." Gail said.

Ally didn't think it was actually Cameron's fault. There were issues beyond her control in play with her programming.

"They'll eventually be together." Ally said. "Cameron isn't ready. Her programming has messed her up. It's holding her back. THAT is what will get Cameron and Savannah terminated."

Sheila felt Gail was headed down that same path.

"You need to let it go." Sheila said. "Obsessing over this is going to get you terminated too, Gail."

Gail didn't need to be reminded of what she already knew. She didn't want to snap at Ally or Sheila anymore. Maybe she took her frustrations out on them earlier. That was wrong too.

"Don't you think I know that?" Gail asked.

Gail did know that. She thought about it and everything else non stop. She needed to do more and she needed to make sure Savannah received better protection.

Cam worked carefully to remove information from the chip of the 'Metal Bitch' and needed to be careful not to pick up any Skynet programming. They didn't need for her to go rogue on them or 'go bad' and turn on them.

"I should have the chip ready soon." Cam said.

Claire looked at the bullet wounds in the 'Metal Bitch'. There was one in particular that seemed to bother her more than the others.

"She has fifteen wounds." Claire said. "One went through both breasts."

Claire touched both of the breasts of the 'Metal Bitch'. She liked the way that they felt, even if she didn't like the damage done to them.

Hanna looked over the bullet placement in the back of the 'Metal Bitch'.

"Most of them are in her back." Hanna said. "It appears she turned to face the threat."

Claire looked over the wounds.

"I want to ask if it hurts." Claire said. "But I know you can regulate the pain."

None of the Terminators mention that Cameron often didn't turn off her pain receptors when she was damaged. Cameron told them if she could feel pain, she knew she was 'alive'.

Holly decided to keep it simple.

"We can." Holly said.

Claire was repulsed at the damage. She thought working with it would help acclimate her to the future. She may need to treat humans with wounds like this one day. She needed to be able to do it and not get sick. She wanted to help and she wanted to start now.

"Show me how to repair her." Claire said.

Hanna wasn't so sure that was a good idea.

"You look ill." Hanna said. "You don't need to do this."

Claire needed to think about her daughters and the future.

"I want to." Claire said. "I want to be ready for the future."

Holly laid out some tools along with some sutures.

"If any of the bullets are still in her, we need to remove them and stitch up the wound. It will speed the regeneration process." Holly said.

Claire looked everything over and took a deep breath.

"Let's get started." Claire said.

Hanna rolled the 'Metal Bitch' face down.

"Let's start at the top." Hanna said. "I'll show you the procedure."

Hanna picked up a pair of long nose pliers. She spread the first wound slightly since it already started to heal. She inserted the pliers inside the wound until they touched the projectile. She pulled it out and set it on a tray. It landed with a slight metallic sound.

Hanna took a needle and suture thread and sewed up the wound.

It was now closed tightly with six stitches.

"That's it?" Claire asked.

Hanna knew if it was a human that it would be a totally different story.

"That's it." Hanna said. "If it was a human you would need to make sure everything was properly disinfected and there was no internal bleeding."

Claire already witnessed some of the few primitive conditions in the future that she'd visited.

"I would also have to deal with their pain, crying or maybe even screaming." Claire said.

Cam could think of a dozen other things that could go wrong.

"That's to only name a few of the things." Cam said.

Claire knew she could only do so much.

"I hope it never comes to that." Claire said.

The image of the bullet impacting next to Savannah's face was still in her mind. It seemed like it was a year ago but it was less than twenty four hours ago. She knew that if the bullet would have slammed into Savannah's face that there was no way to fix that. It would have killed her. She knew that was what the older version of her daughter faced and she knew that the younger version of her was ready to face the same things.

Claire took a deep breath and picked up the long nose pliers. She was aware that things didn't get done thinking about them. It was time to get to work.

Anna looked over a few reports sent to her by CamNet. She wasn't really sure how to run this by Young Allison and not seem offensive about it.

"CamNet and John Henry needed to suppress multiple 'UFO' sightings the last few days." Anna said. "That's from excessive use of the drones in daylight."

Young Allison understood the risk when she took it.

"That's my fault." Young Allison said. "I did what I thought was right to help protect our people."

Young Allison decided she would do it all again too. What she did, when she did and how she did it mattered and it made a difference.

Anna was aware that everything Young Allison did paid off and protected everyone.

"You did protect them." Anna said.

It was clear to Young Allison that they needed some better planning for operations like this in the future.

"We need to move some drones to more secluded places. They need to be where they are not spotted as they take off and climb to altitude." Young Allison said. "To have video images and missile support from fifty thousand feet is a good thing."

Anna could see that Young Allison was a little defensive.

"You don't need to justify it to me." Anna said. "I support you."

Young Allison felt a lot of frustration.

"I can't sit here and do 'nothing'." Young Allison said. "I need to be out helping them."

Anna believed that Young Allison needed to look a little deeper at her actions.

"You have helped them, right from here while sitting." Anna said. "Not all battles are won on the battlefield."

Young Allison wasn't sure that was what she wanted to hear.

"Are you saying I should be more like John, than Savannah?" Young Allison asked.

Anna couldn't predict what would happen going forward.

"I don't know what all the roles you will play are." Anna said.

Young Allison looked down at the front of her body.

"We know some of them." Young Allison said.

Anna was aware of them as well.

"Does that bother you?" Anna asked.

Young Allison was ready for the future. She didn't fear it.

"No, it's the 'Natural Order'." Young Allison said. "I know what needs to be done and with whom. I will not fail."

There was no need for Young Allison to worry about any of it. It was all going to happen. It existed already in Cameron's future. Future Allison told her exactly what she would need to do in detail. Some of the things she really didn't look forward to, others she did.

You Look Nervous

The heartbeat quickens
The eyes shift from side to side
Both are pretty good indications
That you've just lied

Don't think I won't know
Or that I can't tell
You're not slick enough
For a lie to me to sell

I can see the pupils move
Your hands give it away
You should really stop now
Try the truth to actually say

It's really about lust
You steal my trust
You soon will learn
As it all turns to dust

When you are not telling the truth
It's to yourself you do a disservice
Maybe you should be honest for once
You look nervous

Nobody