Chapter 981
Is That Wise Or Safe
John didn't care for the recent turn of events. He was worried that Hanna and Holly might have a tail. He was also worried about the current destination of the truck. He wanted some firm answers.
"What have you found out about that cryogenic lab?" John asked. "It sounds like bad news."
John Henry was a little surprised at what he'd uncovered so far.
"It's been around for a few years." John Henry said. "At one point they were going to store human brains and heads there."
John didn't say anything at first. That sounded pretty strange to him. It sounded like something that Skynet would do. The fact it could have been going on for years was even more worrisome.
"What would they do that for?" John asked. "Was this place legit? What's really going on?"
John Henry knew there were some prominent people who died that did that very thing or at least looked into it. It was more common than he would have thought.
"It was for people who thought they could be brought back to life in the future." John Henry said. "Some died from an illness that they hoped to find a cure for later on."
John didn't think there was a cure for Skynet.
Maybe Cameron was the cure.
"I guess with Skynet that it didn't happen." John said. "The power grid would have been taken down."
John Henry noticed that there were several instances where things went wrong that prevented them ever getting started in that field. It made him wonder if there was anyone else involved that may have been responsible for that. He wasn't sure if there was some 'temporal manipulation' or 'temporal malpractice' involved.
"It never happened at all." John Henry said. "They experienced a system failure before they ever got started. There are a few places that actually are doing that. This isn't one of them."
John felt the operation reeked of temporal opportunity by Skynet. He wondered if Skynet tried to get a hold of the brains of some prominent scientists from the past. Perhaps with some type of 'Neural Interface' like Cameron developed, they would be able to glean and harvest information from the decedent's brains. He needed to know more.
"Are we looking at a recent change in ownership here?" John asked.
It reminded John Henry of some of the other things Skynet previously did. It reminded him a lot of what happened to Savannah's parents.
"Yes." John Henry said. "The firm's owners were killed in a traffic accident and the assets were recently sold."
John wasn't sure if that would be a good thing or a bad thing. If it was something recent, it probably meant Skynet didn't have its fingerprints all over it for that long of a period of time. The less time Skynet had control of anything, the better it was for them.
"Don't tell me, this all happened in the last few weeks or months." John said.
John Henry knew that meant he was supposed to tell John anyway. It took him some time to figure that out previously, even after John told him. The information he uncovered also gave him more to work with to search for other things.
"Yes." John Henry said. "I'm checking to see if they own anything else at the port."
John remembered the last time they dealt with Skynet and some Coltan at the port. It made him wonder if anything like that happened again. If Skynet tried something once, they were more than likely to try it again.
"See if they have any links to the old supermarket." John said. "They're doing something. If they have anything at the port, they may be bringing Coltan in from some source we don't know about."
It was a major concern the Resistance held about a few things. It was if something that was discovered or found in the future, that Skynet sent operatives back in time to obtain or alter in the present. If they were unaware of it, they didn't know where to look or for what. It appeared that Skynet being able to attain Coltan still, was one of those things. The fact they'd come across plenty of Skynet equipment over the years, seemed to prove Skynet obtained a secret source of Coltan from somewhere.
"Cameron indicated that there may be deposits of Coltan that were discovered in the future that she doesn't know about now." John Henry said. "Skynet may be mining them and keeping it off the books."
John wanted to stay away from 'what ifs' right now.
"I don't want to get side tracked here." John said. "This is the immediate threat. The Terminator at the old supermarket is a threat. The car that may be tailing Hanna and Holly is a threat."
The new vehicle in the mix was the unknown threat.
John Henry continued to monitor its progress. It was currently locked up with a drone for a missile strike. That wasn't an option they wanted to use in the city because more than likely there would be collateral damage.
"The brown car is still on Hanna and Holly." John Henry said.
John didn't know if they'd been made and that's why the car appeared to follow Hanna and Holly. If this operation was already blown, he wanted to hit the old supermarket and prevent them from getting ready to repulse an attack. The longer they waited once they were discovered would allow the Skynet forces to set up booby traps or ambush points for their teams.
"I want Cameron to be ready." John said. "If Holly and Hanna turn off and the car follows them. I want Cameron's team to hit the old supermarket. We're going to take the two in the car down first."
John Henry felt there was an additional objective.
"What about the cryogenics lab?" John Henry asked.
John felt that the immediate threat was to Hanna and Holly.
"Let's see what the car does first." John said. "Get everyone on the same page."
They still didn't know if the car that tailed Hanna and Holly was actually after them or was some type of chase vehicle for the truck. As far as they knew it could be additional muscle in case the truck ran into a scrape. It could serve both functions or neither. They didn't know yet.
Cameron and Savannah received the reports from John Henry. They were instructed to be ready to assault the old supermarket.
Savannah didn't like the fact they weren't going to wait until dark. Darkness provided them with cover to wear body armor and openly carry weapons, especially long guns. It also gave them better concealment unless the enemy wore night vision. Since they knew that there was a Terminator at the location, it wouldn't matter as much. They would be spotted anyway.
"It isn't dark yet." Savannah said. "I think we need to wait a little bit and let this play out some. We don't need to rush this."
Cameron didn't want to wait. Maybe there was a captive female in there. It was time for action. Cameron wanted to try a new method for entry. She understood Savannah's hesitation to act before it was dark.
"I'm going to try a different approach." Cameron said.
Savannah didn't think Cameron would take safety into consideration. She was a little apprehensive if Cameron came up with a new scheme. She wanted to evaluate it herself before it was put into effect.
"What are you planning?" Savannah asked.
The intel from Susan and the three male homeless men indicated there was some 'bad blood' between the homeless community and the Grays. The Grays didn't like people going through their trash and trying to set up a homeless encampment in back of the old supermarket.
Cameron thought she came up with a plausible plan based on those facts. She would see what Savannah thought.
"I will go back to where we hid the Ogre and his two associates. Sheila can meet me there." Cameron said. "We will put the clothing of the two men whose necks were snapped on over our clothes. We will start digging in their trash and make a lot of noise. Maybe we will make it look like we're setting up a homeless camp there."
Savannah felt that would get the rear door open to the old supermarket. She could see that was an effective strategy rather than attempting to breach the door by blowing it open. The downside was it would also bring out a hostile force that included a Terminator.
"You think someone will come out to chase you away." Savannah said. "They may come out to terminate you instead."
Cameron wasn't sure what would happen. She believed that since the Grays hadn't actually terminated any of the homeless people that they were aware of, they may still be hesitant to do so. If bodies began to pile up around one location, it was bound to get the attention of the authorities, even if the decedent's were homeless people. She felt that they would be sufficiently protected and armed.
"We'll have our Tasers and pistols." Cameron said. "The clothes should be bulky enough to hide our vests and a few Thermite grenades. Cam and Gail are there to back us up. It should get them to open the barricaded door and save us a lot of effort. That will also prevent a lot of noise that would attract attention otherwise. We should be able to terminate any Grays or even the Terminator silently. They won't be expecting a force of Resistance Terminators to engage them."
Savannah could see that the plan was workable. It was clear to her they would otherwise need to blast the door off or a wall open to get inside where the Grays were. This could give them some surprise against the target too.
"It sounds risky." Savannah said. "If you think they will open the door for you and we don't need to blast or shoot our way in, it may have merit. It seems there would be less damage to our personnel that way."
Cameron wanted to lead the assault herself. She didn't want to leave Savannah unprotected.
"I'm going to have Cam come here to be with you." Cameron said.
Savannah could take care of herself. She didn't want to pull help away from Cameron. It would be Cameron in the entry team who faced the threat. It wasn't out in front of the building.
"If we think everything is in the back, I should be fine here in the front." Savannah said. "I can cover the front by myself. That will allow you four to enter the building once you get them to open the door. You still don't know what you're going to face once you're inside. The enemy is most likely going to try to fight."
Cameron was worried about Savannah's safety.
"I don't want to leave you unprotected." Cameron said.
It was clear to Savannah that there was always some danger in every operation, this was no different. In a Skynet future she would more than likely need to face plenty of danger on her own.
"Then let me go with you. Cam or Sheila can come to cover the front." Savannah said. "There has to be a certain amount of risk involved in what we do. I'm going to be alone at some point in the future."
Cameron didn't want to place Savannah in even greater danger.
"Let me think about it." Cameron said.
Savannah didn't want Cameron to get ahead of the rest of the operation.
"It all depends on what the car that may be following Hanna and Holly does." Savannah said.
There were always other unknowns that seemed to pop up from out of nowhere.
Cameron knew once they were inside the building they still didn't know what they would find and face. The prospect of anything Liquid Metal was a sobering factor.
She didn't think she would fare well in a one on one encounter with a Liquid Metal Terminator. She'd witnessed Mrs. Weaver in action in two different futures. She was aware there were some vulnerabilities for a Liquid Metal Terminator. In order for those to be effective they needed to be prepared in advance. There was no such preparation where they were at.
Cammy was able to close up on the target vehicle, the brown sedan. She was ready for the action to start.
"We have the brown sedan within striking distance." Cammy said. "Hanna can make her move and we will see what happens."
Everything was dependent if the brown sedan would continue to follow Hanna and Holly.
Hanna was ready to act. She didn't like being targeted. They would lead the brown sedan into an ambush. Everything was all set up and waiting. Cammy and Ally would be behind the target vehicle and make sure that there was no escape for them. Their only escape would be the nothingness of termination.
"Everyone look alive." Hanna said. "We're turning off now."
Hanna swung her SUV off onto the street leading to the storage locker facility. Cameron's Terminators were waiting for them with an ambush.
The brown sedan passed the street and kept going. Maybe Hanna and Holly weren't their target. Maybe they were a chase vehicle for the truck. Maybe this was something else.
John watched it unfold from the drone footage. In this case it didn't unfold. He wanted Cammy to put some more space between the brown sedan and her vehicle. It appeared there was a little more at play here than they'd anticipated.
"Cammy, I want you to fall back." John said. "They look like they are still headed to the cryogenic lab. I don't want them to make you as a tail or a threat."
Cammy was able to move close enough that they were able to view the occupants of the brown sedan.
"We're dropping back." Cammy said. "They didn't even appear to look in the direction Hanna turned."
John was more than a little relieved they didn't need to trigger an ambush on a city street. The location they'd selected was remote but still not far from where the rest of the traffic was at.
"OK, at least we are trying to keep everyone as safe as possible." John said. "I want everyone to take a divergent route to the cryogenics lab and set up for a strike when it's dark."
They didn't know if the brown sedan was part of the Skynet team or something else. They knew that they were other groups in play when it came to Skynet. There were other versions of Skynet to worry about. The Fanatics in the anti-Metal group also both posed a serious threat.
Savannah voiced her concern to John about taking down the cryogenics lab with the truck still there. They still needed to know its destination. It seemed to her that everyone wanted to strike too quickly. There was more intel they could gain by waiting a little longer.
"What about the truck and it going back to the port?" Savannah asked. "That's important too, John. We don't need to rush any of this."
John wondered what he was thinking. It was probably because of his association with Cameron. She didn't like to wait when there was a clear target. Right now they had three clear targets.
"You're right, Savannah." John said. "Maybe we're rushing things."
John Henry was a little surprised at the next turn of events. It wasn't what they'd expected but it also wasn't unexpected.
"Drone footage shows the brown sedan has stopped two blocks away from the truck at the lab." John Henry said.
That revelation indicated that they weren't the only one who followed the truck and watched it. It was clear that someone else did too. Most likely it was another 'player in the game'.
Cameron knew there weren't any other drones in the sky other than theirs. The brown sedan hadn't been in visual contact with the truck for quite some time. That indicated that they either knew where it was going to go or they had some other way to track it. It was probably both. The two groups that she most likely suspected were both troublesome to her.
"I think this is another group." Cameron said. "It's either the Fanatics or the anti-Metal group. I bet they have a tracker on that truck."
John Henry decided he needed to look for something specific in the way of a signal from a tracking device.
"I'm checking now for anything we missed." John Henry said.
John watched the drone image of the parked sedan. No one made a move to get out of it or go check on the truck that was parked at the cryogenics lab.
"It looks like they're waiting for the truck to leave." John said.
Cammy wanted to stick with the truck when it left. She was sure wherever the truck ended up was probably their prime target.
"I'm going to follow the truck." Cammy said.
John Henry informed John earlier that some more of Cameron's Terminators were about to arrive to help back up the operation. There were already two there who set up the ambush for the brown sedan if it would have followed Hanna and Holly.
John wanted to keep the Metal girls in the same area for now. There were other Terminators who could take over the chase.
"CamNet's Terminators will follow the truck back to the port." John said. "You and Ally will stay and assist Holly and Hanna when they enter the cryogenics lab."
Cammy wanted to hedge their bet. She wanted to try to get a tracker on both the truck and the brown sedan. There would be a drone with each of them as they continued their journey to the port area.
"If they get out of the sedan, I want to put a tracker on it." Cammy said. "If you can find the tracker they have on the truck, that is even better."
John Henry didn't think that that would be necessary with the drone support. If they could find what they suspected was already there on the truck, that would save them the trouble of attempting to tag it.
"I'm still searching." John Henry said.
Young Allison and Anna monitored all of all of the events as they unfolded from the Young bunker.
"How do you read the new developments?" Anna asked.
Young Allison felt the brown sedan representing an unknown threat. The truck and the old supermarket were obviously Skynet related. It was clear that there was someone, if not the entire business, associated with the cryogenic lab that was also involved with Skynet.
"The brown sedan represents an unknown threat." Young Allison said.
Anna believed that the unknown was always a threat.
"It does." Anna said.
Young Allison understood that if the brown sedan represented a second group of players that needed to be identified and dealt with as well. The brown sedan came from somewhere. Wherever that somewhere was, there was a threat to the Resistance and the future.
"One team needs to stay with the sedan." Young Allison said. "We need to get a tracker on it."
Anna didn't want to risk anyone having to approach the vehicle. It was still a possibility that the unknown vehicle might be driven by Fanatics. If it was, it was more than likely rigged to explode.
"We can use one of the drones." Anna said. "No one needs to approach either vehicle."
Young Allison understood there would be plenty of drone coverage. She still would like to get a tracker or any of the vehicles they could. There was always the chance they could enter a mall parking lot or some other covered parking structure and disappear. At least the occupants of the vehicles could disappear.
"We have one drone that's on the truck, one with each team of girls and one over Cameron's team." Young Allison said. "If the girls join up, that will free up one drone. There should be more on the way."
Anna knew Young Allison would act on her own.
"Did you request them?" Anna asked.
Young Allison glanced at the security monitor.
"This conversation should have initiated a response." Young Allison said.
Anna wasn't so sure that having CamNet operate or act on Young Allison's 'thoughts or ideas' was a good thing without confirmation as to the intent and result.
"Do you want CamNet to act on what you're 'thinking'?" Anna asked.
Young Allison felt that CamNet already did act on what she'd anticipated.
CamNet tried to act as an extension of Young Allison and her plans.
Young Allison did realize that CamNet couldn't know for sure what she always thought about or what she always wanted. She could see a potential problem. So far there hadn't been one.
"We'll work hand in hand." Young Allison said. "I see on my screen there are more drones ready for launch. Send the information to John Henry."
Anna saw this as an opportunity for Young Allison to work closer with the Command Center and specifically John.
"Do you wish to communicate with them directly?" Anna asked.
Young Allison would do that if it was necessary. She didn't believe that it was necessary yet. She preferred to act through the normal channels that she acted through currently.
"No." Young Allison said. "You know why. My input will be taken more seriously if things are forwarded through you and CamNet."
Anna believed that was a moot point. It should be obvious to anyone in the Command Center that when CamNet acted or made suggestions, they were most likely directly from Young Allison.
"They will still know they're coming from you." Anna said.
Young Allison wanted to keep things the way they currently were. It made her feel more comfortable if nothing else.
"That's fine." Young Allison said. "I don't want to step on people's toes."
Anna didn't think Young Allison would hesitate to do that again.
"You have acted alone before." Anna said.
Young Allison knew they were times when she needed to act. She didn't want to get tied down in discussions or have someone else shoot down her idea when she knew it was sound. When she saw that something needed to be done she made sure that it was done and taken care of. It was just that simple.
"I needed to protect Savannah and Cameron." Young Allison said. "I want to be part of the team, not a team of my own."
Anna could see Young Allison wanted to do the right thing, even if she always didn't.
"You're very thoughtful." Anna said.
Young Allison didn't want any praise. If there is any praise to be given, it belonged to those who mentored her.
"I have thoughtful teachers who I'm relying on to make sure I don't make a mistake and do the wrong things." Young Allison said. "That includes CamNet, all of the Terminators and you."
Anna was a little concerned with what could occur at the old supermarket.
"What about Savannah?" Anna asked.
Young Allison understood what Anna referred to. It was a concern of hers as well.
"Do you mean about Savannah being alone for a short while?" Young Allison asked.
Anna listened to the choice that Savannah gave Cameron earlier.
"Yes." Anna said. "What's your read on what will happen?"
Young Allison doubted Cameron would want Savannah to enter the building with her. She also doubted that Savannah was going to remain in the SUV. She believed that Savannah would take pre-emptive action.
"I believe that Savannah will enter the front of the old supermarket when Cameron and Sheila unleash their ploy at the back." Young Allison said. "She'll want to make sure no one escapes that way."
Anna wasn't so sure that was a good idea. She wondered if Young Allison would intervene.
"Is that wise or safe?" Anna asked. "She's not a Terminator."
Young Allison didn't think it was wise or safe. She wanted a better solution.
"I'm working on that." Young Allison said.
Anna watched Young Allison act and bypass her.
"I see you've bypassed everyone, including me." Anna said as she checked her screens.
Young Allison didn't want to seem offensive or disrespectful. She also wanted action and results.
"I'm sorry. I was doing a little planning ahead." Young Allison said.
Anna reminded Young Allison of her earlier statement.
"What about being part of the team?" Anna asked.
Young Allison shrugged her shoulders slightly.
"I like to cover all the bases." Young Allison said.
Anna believed that was something Young Allison was willing to do every instance.
"I think you have it covered." Anna said.
Young Allison quickly looked at Anna.
"It's never covered." Young Allison said. "It's never safe."
Is That Wise Or Safe
There are times when one
From out of the blue
Seems to find another
Who is different and new
The new person is really
Just another stranger
With the unknown
There's always danger
Is the new person
Someone that one can trust
Will one be treated fair
Will they be treated unjust
When things are made to be broken
Can anything ever last
Maybe some questions
Are in the forecast
The new person soon
At the soul will chafe
Question should be asked
Is that wise or safe
Nobody