Chapter 1064

Every Door Leads Somewhere

Cameron didn't like all the fuss about something that wasn't a big deal so far. She just wanted to check out a lead on the Fanatics. The group was dangerous. They presented a threat even more so than regular Skynet Grays did. Any version of Skynet dealt in death. Termination could come in various forms and ways. It didn't really matter when or how it occurred, because the end result was always the same.

Sheila and Ally were with her now. Steve and Tom were near. Cammy and Savannah were on the way.

Ally looked around the location.

"What is this place?" Ally asked.

Cameron was still a little upset that so much help had been sent for a simple recon.

"You got here nineteen seconds after I did." Cameron said. "You tell me."

Sheila had hurried to catch up to Cameron so she didn't go in alone. Past experience indicated there was no such thing as a simple recon for Cameron. They assumed she knew where she was going and what her target was.

"That's because we were following you." Sheila said. "We thought you knew."

The fact that Savannah was on the way with Cammy bothered Cameron. She didn't like Savannah entering the danger zone with the Fanatics, especially since they'd previously identified her or someone who looked like Savannah as the 'Redheaded Witch' and 'The Evil One'. She still didn't believe that it was Savannah who they thought was either of those things.

She wanted to try to determine what the threat was and eliminate it as soon as possible.

"Let's see if we can get this wrapped up before Cammy and Savannah get here." Cameron said.

Ally and Sheila looked at each other. They'd all just arrived. They'd been there less than thirty seconds. What were they supposed to get wrapped up?

They thought that maybe they should have tried to find out a little more before they arrived at where they were now.

It appeared that Cameron was going to go in blind to try to hurry things along.

Young Allison asked to have two drones cover Cameron and Savannah earlier. She didn't know at the time they were in two separate locations. There were now four drones about to arrive over each of the individuals she'd originally asked to be covered.

"We have drone footage." John Henry said. "One drone is over Cameron and one is on wide reconnaissance. Two more are approaching with Savannah and Cammy."

John checked the time. He didn't want them to get ahead of themselves.

"It's still not dark enough yet." John said.

Anna asked to keep the drones at high altitude when she'd requested them from CamNet.

"They can't be seen from fifty thousand feet and are above all normal air traffic." Anna said.

John Henry used a standard procedure around the target location. It was something they did with every operation as long as they had advance knowledge of where they'd be.

"CamNet and I have directed any air traffic away from and around our operation." John Henry said.

John wanted the drones in closer as soon as it was dark enough. He didn't feel comfortable doing it before then.

"With the modifications we made to make the engines quieter, we can bring the drones in lower once it's dark." John said.

Young Allison wanted the drones to be lower too. She wanted action to help protect Cameron and Savannah. She wanted to be able to use them to their full ability as soon as they could.

"I want thermal scans and scans in all the spectrums when the drones are lower." Young Allison said. "If anything is shielded from the scans, that's our target."

John Henry knew of the one structure north of Las Vegas that was shielded like that. That was where Young Allison directed CamNet to send drones inside of the building. That technique was used again, near the port to a limited extent. It was extremely effective if there was room. Not all buildings were as spacious. He thought it must be totally intimidating to the occupants of a building to see a drone moving around inside a building as it selected targets and engaged them.

John looked at a satellite image of the area where Cameron was at. The drone footage would add any updates to what they currently viewed.

"We need to know what else is around our suspected target location." John said.

Anna wanted to reassure John that was already being taken care of

"John Henry and CamNet should be compiling reports on that now." Anna said.

John watched Young Allison work with Anna. He liked what he saw. He also liked her confidence in operating.

John thought that soon Young Allison would look like Future Allison. If Cameron tried to force her on him, he was going to take it. He really regretted not being with Future Allison when she'd visited. She'd been all over him like there was no tomorrow. Since she needed to return to the Future, there really was no tomorrow for them to be together again. She was one HOT ticket and she was willing and ready.

He couldn't help but look at Anna as well. He remembered when Savannah looked just like that. She'd worn plenty of revealing outfits when she looked like that. He actually thought the ones that she wore now were less revealing. He compared Anna to Young Allison. He decided if he could only have one of them it would be Young Allison. He wanted the real deal. He needed to refocus before he started to think about Future Riley.

It was clear that Cammy was uneasy but tried not to show it. That only seemed to make it more obvious.

Savannah felt Cammy wanted to ask her about what happened. The unspoken question created a lot of tension. She wanted things to move forward and not get mired in past events.

She knew how little things could eat away at a Terminator. The event grew and grew and caused bigger and bigger problems with them. She felt it was a personal issue and wanted to address it as such.

Savannah broke the silence.

"Cammy, I don't ask you." Savannah said.

Cammy quickly looked at Savannah.

"I didn't say anything." Cammy said.

Savannah looked at Cammy and frowned. She didn't like the fact that Cammy was waiting for her to 'finish' up. She'd specifically asked another Terminator to bring her to Cameron base just so it wouldn't be Cameron or Cammy.

"How long were you waiting there?" Savannah asked.

Cammy didn't think she'd done anything wrong.

"It wasn't that long." Cammy said. "Ally and Sheila let me off."

Savannah thought since Cameron was about to enter a danger zone and Cammy was there waiting for her that it meant they could have left to help Cameron sooner.

"You should have called me." Savannah said.

Cammy didn't tell her that she did call earlier and CamNet blocked her call. There was already enough tension in the SUV.

"I thought you were 'busy'." Cammy said. "I wanted you to have privacy and find some pleasure or happiness. I respected your private time. I was actually on the way to Cameron's base with Sheila and Ally when we received the notification where Cameron was headed. We weren't at the Resistance base, we were almost at Cameron's base."

Savannah thought that was a nice thought but Cameron's well being came first.

"You know I worry about Cameron." Savannah said. "Some things are more important."

Cammy felt that CamNet should have alerted Savannah at the beginning of the threat.

"Did CamNet tell you right away?" Cammy asked.

Savannah knew why CamNet didn't tell her right away. CamNet was still trying to decide how to make love to her.

"No." Savannah said. "I'll have to address that issue."

Cammy was sure that Young Allison intervened on her behalf as well as was the one who was behind sending the additional help to Cameron in the first place. She thought that the two girls should communicate first before further action was taken.

"Young Allison may have made a few suggestions about some of that. You should speak with her first." Cammy said. "I think that's something important."

That was another thing that bothered Savannah. She wasn't sure why though.

"Why is she working in the Command Center?" Savannah asked.

Cammy knew since Young Allison was away from her bunker that she still wanted to operate as if she were in it. The easiest way to do that was from the Command Center.

"It was so Anna could plug in and hook up directly with CamNet and John Henry's server." Cammy said.

Savannah didn't want any additional stress put on Young Allison.

"Is Young Allison comfortable with that?" Savannah asked.

Cammy wasn't there to observe her. She didn't know why she wouldn't be comfortable. It was the same thing that she always did. The only difference was the location.

"I don't know." Cammy said.

Savannah was afraid Young Allison would act and react differently in the presence of John.

"I don't think she's comfortable." Savannah said.

Cammy felt it was a good opportunity for Young Allison. She thought it would do her good to get more 'hands on' interaction in a larger working environment.

"She needs the experience." Cammy said.

Savannah wondered if somehow Cameron was behind the whole thing to get John and Young Allison to work together and to split her away from CamNet before anything major happened.

She decided to find out where the leads on the Fanatics came from and the timing of their release.

Wait.

Savannah needed to ask herself what she was doing. She was jealous of Young Allison and John working together. She did the same thing when she thought Young Allison and John may have 'done something'.

She couldn't decide if she was jealous of what Young Allison did or John did. She just knew she was jealous of someone or something. She needed to get it together and refocus.

"We all need to work as a team and not let minor or unimportant things get in our way." Savannah said. "I especially mean the things that don't really matter."

Cammy was informed that the drones arrived over them. One trailed them slightly. The other one did recon in front of them.

"We have two drones with us now." Cammy said. "They both just arrived."

Savannah realized that they'd just left Cameron base and now they had drone coverage. She knew that took some time to happen. It was clear that someone wanted to make sure she was protected.

"That's Young Allison watching over us." Savannah said.

She was aware that John didn't like to use drones in the daylight. Drone usage in the daylight was something that Young Allison was willing to do. As long as they were at altitude, they couldn't be spotted from the ground. All air traffic was directed away from them. Now she felt even guiltier about questioning Young Allison's actions. She was only trying to help. She was trying to protect Cameron and her.

Savannah wondered what was wrong with her. She shouldn't feel jealous of anyone. Her future was already determined. She wanted to concentrate on what was about to happen. That was what mattered.

"What's our ETA?" Savannah asked.

Cammy hurried towards the location.

"We're still twenty one minutes out." Cammy said.

Savannah didn't like the time delay. That put Cameron in greater danger. She felt it was her doing.

"This is my fault." Savannah said. "I should have stayed at the Resistance base."

Cammy didn't think anyone should live in a shell.

"Life moves on." Cammy said. "You need to do other things. You have to be who you are as well."

Savannah didn't feel she had time enough to take care of everyone as well as take care of her business. There were things that she needed to do around the Resistance base as well. She needed to help Vanna in the lab. She needed to be ready to go out on an operation. She wanted to spend time with others too. That always seemed to end up on the back burner.

"There are always other things." Savannah said.

Cammy wondered about doing the 'Neural Interface' with Young Allison. She was going to say something but decided not to. She knew it caused a problem when Ally did that with Future Allison. Cameron removed those files from Ally. Maybe she could find those files instead.

"Life offers many surprises." Cammy said.

Savannah knew that Cameron didn't like surprises. She sure hoped the Fanatics didn't have one waiting for her.

"Let's hope Cameron doesn't find any today." Savannah said.

Savannah checked the time and worried. They were still twenty minutes out.

Gail wanted to make sure Savannah was safe but she also wanted to be with Jesse tonight. Jesse told her Savannah got the heart for her and arranged the photos in it. In fact, Gail was there when Savannah picked it up. She didn't know it at the time. She'd been there to help watch over Savannah. She didn't want to feel like some type of stalker or shadow. With the situation that developed with Cammy and the puppy, it appeared that she'd been needed. That wasn't actually the case with how it all played out.

She touched below her left breast as she drove. She touched her heart. She could feel it underneath her sheath. In a way, it was really like Savannah gave her the heart, HER heart. She knew Savannah didn't want to mess anything up with Jesse and her. It was clear Savannah also reminded her of her priorities in life, her place.

Gail checked in with John Henry and CamNet both for any updates. She knew she needed to be there for Savannah. CamNet trusted HER to watch over Savannah. That said something. She wasn't sure what but it said something.

She checked her time. She was still twenty two minutes away from intercepting Savannah. She would have liked to have received the call earlier. Then again, if she would have left earlier, she would have been unable to please Jesse as many times.

Everything in life was a trade off.

John wanted some answers. There should be some by now. There were different types of records to check to see what they could find out about the location.

"What have you uncovered?" John asked.

John Henry checked everything three times. He came up empty.

"I have zero on this location." John Henry said.

John didn't see what the trigger was that sent Cameron to that location.

"Why did it show as a hit then?" John asked.

John Henry was provided that information by CamNet.

"That's the information we were given." John Henry said. "There was something from one of the recovered hard drives from the Fanatics. It could have been anything from a location they wanted to watch or it was one of their own. It may have been a location that they'd simply visited.

If they identified a clean target, Young Allison wanted to hit it.

"It may be hidden deeper or only be a part of it." Young Allison said. "What's really there may not be apparent. That is why Cameron and her team need to check it out."

John wondered if they should raise the threat level. It reminded him of the target list that was written on the wall of the basement at the last house they lived in. Everything was there for a reason, even if they didn't know what that reason was. Each of the names indicated something important. They didn't know if it was a target or something that needed protection. This appeared to be something similar.

"We don't know where this is headed." John said.

Young Allison felt that was the whole point of the recon. They needed to determine what it was. It would either be something or it would be nothing. They didn't know until they checked.

"Every door leads somewhere, even if it's nowhere." Young Allison said.

Now John really wondered about it. As soon as it was dark he was going to get some more drones up. Maybe even the manned drone. He didn't want to overreact. He also didn't want to be caught flat footed. Young Allison was here and he needed to do his job. He welcomed her assistance. He was also aware that she was a major distraction to him. The more he tried not to look at her, the more he seemed to do that. It appeared to him that she knew that as well. She usually caught him when he glanced in her direction. Maybe that was because she wanted to check him out as well.

He knew they were going to be together at some point in the future. He really wondered why the future couldn't be now. Wait. Where did that thought come from? He usually only had that thought that in the mornings when he woke up after he'd spent time with Cameron during the night. He always thought it was because he'd been with Cameron previously. He did reflect that he'd been with Cameron a short time ago. He did drift off once or twice. Cameron's face was right next to his when he woke up. She'd immediately started to kiss him.

John stole another glance at Young Allison. She looked up at him and smiled.

He looked down at his groin area and decided he better not stand up for a few minutes.

Cameron questioned the location once she arrived. It was an auto body repair shop. That was different. There was nothing about it visually that should raise any type of alarm. Maybe that was the whole point.

"This location is off." Cameron said. "I don't like it. It's out of place."

Sheila saw it a little deeper. They'd been in plenty of machine shops before that they'd taken down. They were all marked and identified as machine shops. Maybe this was a new twist.

"They have access to tools and machinery here." Sheila said. "They fix damaged vehicles at this location. They would need to have deliveries of different types to fix the various vehicles. No one would question any traffic that came in and out of this location. It's actually a very good cover if its Skynet related.

Ally looked around. She understood everything Sheila indicated. There was a red flag for her, especially after what Sheila said.

"There are only a few cars here." Ally said. "It doesn't look like there's been much activity either."

Cameron looked around further. She became even more concerned.

"Ally's right. Every auto body shop has a lot of cars waiting for repairs because they need to obtain the parts." Cameron said. "The few cars that are here appear to have been here for a long time. They are all covered with layers of dust."

Sheila looked around the repair shop and where they were at.

"I don't see anyone or even hear anyone." Sheila said.

Ally remembered the previous group of Fanatics.

"The last group of Fanatics we stumbled on were in an old day care center." Ally said.

They all knew how close to disaster that nearly was. It was only because Savannah 'order' them out of the structure when she did that saved them all from serious damage.

"I think they've cleared out." Cameron said.

Ally was aware all of the Fanatics were at computer terminals when they launched the attack on the old daycare center. One of the Fanatics may have been able to send out a warning that they were under attack before they attempted to delete and erase everything on their hard drives.

"They may have left when the last group was wiped out." Ally said. "If they were in contact with them or a message got out before we stopped them, they could have hidden deeper."

The entire area gave Cameron a bad feeling.

"Let's check everything around here first." Cameron said.

Cameron was very suspicious of this area. She wanted to get things resolved before Savannah arrived. She didn't have a whole lot of time before that was going to happen. It was very soon. She didn't want to rush her inspection too quickly but she did want to get things taken care of as soon as possible.

CamNet provided Savannah with the verbal exchange between Cameron, Sheila and Ally.

Savannah listened to the conversation with Cameron. She decided to issue her own warning.

"Cameron, the place may be booby trapped like the last one was." Savannah said.

Cameron already considered that possibility. The layout of the area didn't look right to her. There was no apparent activity.

"If they're not there, I think you're right. It will be booby trapped." Cameron said.

Savannah wondered if it was a place the Fanatics were able to get their hands on easily or if they needed a body shop to do something specific.

"It was booby trapped with them inside it before." Savannah said. "Remember these are Fanatics. Death is an honor to them for their cause. They are able to reach 'ascension' by dying for Skynet - SkyMaster."

Cameron planned to grant as many wishes as possible for the Fanatics. She would like to help them all with 'ascension'.

"I want them all to have that honor then." Cameron said. "I'll terminate all of them."

Savannah wanted to make sure there were as many Terminators in place to assist Cameron, Sheila and Ally. She knew that Steve and Tom were on the way as well.

"I need you to wait before you act." Savannah said. "Cammy and I will be there shortly. Check the surrounding area. It is almost totally dark and everything around there should be closed."

The location reeked of being a set up in some way to Savannah. She couldn't help but think about her last experience with the Fanatics. It was just a few days ago. She remembered how the bullet impacted into the wall next to her face. A few more inches in her direction and it would have been her head. That was a pretty close one. The gigantic bomb blast that followed only a few seconds later was another close one. If Gail hadn't been behind her, the piece of metal that was stuck in Gail's back would have been in her back and that would have killed her.

Savannah looked over at Cammy and knew they were about to enter the danger zone again. It didn't do any good to dwell on the past, it was done and over with. Life moved forward not backwards.

Young Allison waited for John or John Henry to act. They still hadn't done anything further. She decided to act on her own if they didn't.

"I want to drop one drone down for a closer look and to do some scans." Young Allison said. "I'd do this myself right now if I was in my bunker. I'm here with you now. I'm running it by you first."

John didn't like to take chances. He didn't want the drones spotted. He wouldn't have dropped them at all yet if he'd been alone with John Henry in the Command Center. He could see that Young Allison wanted to push it. He needed to think about what was getting ready to happen. Cameron was about to make a move. She needed as much information as she could get before she did.

"Maybe we can but not too low." John said.

John Henry was a little surprised to see that a drone was on its way down already.

"It's already happening." John Henry said.

John looked at Young Allison. He didn't see her do anything since she spoke to him. In fact she was still looking at him. He was sure she didn't do anything.

"Nobody gave the command to do that yet." John said.

Anna thought she needed to explain it to John.

"CamNet works off of what Allison says." Anna said. "In these situations CamNet is like an extension of her thinking, converted into action. It saves on the response time."

John Henry tilted his head slightly.

"It's an effective strategy." John Henry said.

Young Allison didn't see it as a big deal. CamNet was another version of Cameron. She felt that anything Cameron would do, CamNet would also do.

"CamNet will act on her own if I ask her to." Young Allison said. "If I ask her for help, she will do what's necessary."

John saw a deeper implication to that type of activity. It reminded him a little too much of another advanced AI that felt threatened and acted on its own.

"That's a lot like what Skynet did when it decided to destroy the world." John said.

Young Allison didn't think John was far thinking enough. He based his decisions on things that happened in the past or that happened in specific futures. That wasn't the way to see anything. Everything in the present was fluid and changeable. Nothing was set in stone, even if it was.

"That's what's necessary to combat Skynet." Young Allison said. "Cameron always fears she will become Skynet. She won't. CamNet will do that if necessary, not Cameron."

John thought about that for a few seconds. Cameron was the one who created CamNet from her program. He didn't think there was a lot of difference.

"It's the same thing in reality." John said.

Young Allison had dealt extensively with both Cameron and CamNet. There were many similarities but at this point in time they were two distinct entities.

"No, it's not." Young Allison said. "Cameron has built safeguards into the system."

John didn't think any safeguards were possible for a supercomputer that could control most of the computers in the world. If there were any safeguards, it would know how to work around them.

"What safeguards?" John asked. "How do we know that they'll work?"

John Henry was unsure why John seemed confused.

"Savannah and Allison are the safeguards." John Henry said.

John didn't think that was a good enough answer. Any advanced AI could operate without them and still destroy the world when it felt like it.

"How do they control the most powerful computer system in the world?" John asked. "Skynet went off on its own."

John Henry looked over at Young Allison and then back at John.

"They'll control it with love." John Henry said.

John wasn't so sure about that. He didn't want to create an argument over it. He was unaware of the extent that CamNet loved Savannah and Young Allison.

There were new drone images. It looked like Cameron, Ally and Sheila were on the move.

"What are they doing now?" John asked as he looked at drone footage.

John Henry had watched them for a short while before John noticed them and ascertained exactly what they were up to.

"They're looking for any surveillance equipment." John Henry said.

John felt they were rushing it.

"They're going to go inside before Savannah and Cammy get there." John said.

John Henry head searched all of the public records as well as those of the utilities.

"I don't think anyone is there." John Henry said.

John hadn't been able to make that determination for sure himself. He didn't see how anyone else could.

"Based on what?" John asked.

John Henry double checked his earlier findings.

"There has been minimal power and water usage based on the DWP records." John Henry said.

Anna didn't think that was always a good indicator. There were ways around paying the bills or using large amounts of electricity. That normally drew the attention of the authorities for a clandestine drug operation.

"They may have an illegal tap on both." Anna said. "We've seen that before."

CamNet brought the drone in low enough to conduct scans. It was sooner and lower than John or John Henry would have done on their own accord.

"The drone is scanning now." John Henry said. "There are no human heat signatures inside. There are only a few vague ones. They're not moving."

John still felt everyone was getting ahead of themselves. There were other serious threats that could be inside that building or nearby in other buildings. Everything didn't need to be in one location, they'd encountered that before.

"What about any hostile Terminators in standby or an HK Track inside?" John asked. "We know they were stalking the Grays on the Las Vegas operation. They may have put the grab on something."

It was a sobering thought.

Every Door Leads Somewhere

There are many burdens
One must often bear
When they open up
And their heart they bare

They take a chance
They take a dare
Why they do it
Is because they care

There may be times
When one will stare
Those turn out better
Than whey they glare

They are some
Who like to compare
Those are the one
That everyone should beware

The rules must be the same
No one wants to be treated unfair
It doesn't take long for them
To want to be elsewhere

When things are good
Don't be afraid to share
One must always remember
Every door leads somewhere

Nobody