Chapter 1133

Put A Lid On It

Seconds ago:

John waited for the building to really explode after the missile strike. All that happened after it was hit was a fire that started somewhere inside of the structure. The massive explosion never occurred. He started to question the results of their actions. Maybe this was an unrelated target. Perhaps they'd acted too soon. Maybe Young Allison made a 'bad call'.

He saw a figure emerge from the burning building. A moment later there was a massive explosion. The figure disappeared. They seemed to be swallowed by the fireball.

John Henry was impressed that Young Allison predicted the outcome again.

"It looks like Young Allison called it." John Henry said.

John wasn't convinced even as he viewed the spectacular results. He wasn't sure why he questioned her or even himself.

"Maybe she did." John said. "She also may have gotten lucky."

John Henry saw it differently. The results spoke for themselves. He wasn't sure what else John needed to be convinced. They also needed to 'cover up' what really occurred there.

"Her call was correct." John Henry said. "I'll have to spin this as another natural gas explosion or a drug lab."

That seemed to be standard fare most of the time for their actions. There were enough natural gas or methane explosions on the evening news that no one bothered to question it. If they did, they would meet up with CamNet. It never ended well for them.

Another tactic that they would often use was the manufacture of illegal drugs. There was always the risk of an explosion when the chemicals were mixed to create methamphetamines or other narcotics. If they had time to salt the scene with any illegal drugs or cash from a previous drug operation that Cameron took down with one of her 'off the books' operations, they would do that as well. They always liked to direct the blame toward a group that deserved it. It was the same as many of their vehicles that were 'borrowed' or appropriated and left on the south side or east side of town. Gangs all but controlled those areas anyway.

John was satisfied the building was gone, now the car was the issue. It was obviously connected and it was a threat.

"What do we do about the car?" John asked.

John Henry didn't think they should do anything yet. He wanted to see what the occupants of the car did first. They might be able to learn a little bit more if they went somewhere else.

"We can always wait." John Henry said. "They may go back to the scene of the explosion or they may go to an alternate location."

John was sure the car was going to be a problem. The car could be rigged to blow up as well as any of the individuals that were inside of it. If there were multiple occupants, one or more of them may try to exit the vehicle and make a run for it.

"At some point they're going to know what happened." John said. "How many do you make in the car?"

John Henry checked the drone footage. It was something that he'd checked on multiple times. He could only spot two occupants in the front seat of the vehicle. It appeared the rear seat was empty.

"I've only been able to detect two so far." John Henry said. "Both of them appear to be males."

John figured they would bolt as soon as they saw the destruction. He expressed his earlier concern to John Henry.

"I think they are going to split up once they find out the building is now a smoking hole in the ground." John said.

Thanks to Young Allison, they possessed good drone coverage.

"I have two drones on them." John Henry said. "There's one for each of them."

John figured there were always options open to the Fanatics.

"That's until they head into a mall or subway station." John said.

John Henry pointed out the ever present danger.

"It's a risk." John Henry said. "The car may explode if we try to stop it. You know Fanatics like bombs and don't want to be captured."

John didn't care if the Fanatics chose 'ascension' as long as none of their team was close by. He would hope that they would use poison before an explosive if any of the team encountered them. There was no way to know for sure what they would do. The only thing they could count on was for the Fanatics to punch their own ticket.

Now he needed to think how he wanted to handle the situation. There were several ways that it could be done. The quickest and safest method for the Resistance team was to take a page out of Young Allison's playbook. That would be to use a drone to conduct a missile strike. They were aware of where the vehicle originated from so it was obviously connected in some manner. The main factor to be considered would be any collateral damage.

"I want to avoid our people getting too close to them." John said. "If they're isolated or take an alley, I want a missile strike."

So far the occupants in the car hadn't done anything different.

John Henry wondered if the occupants of the vehicle knew what happened and attempted to come up with a solution to save themselves.

"So far they've done neither." John Henry said.

John was still apprehensive due to Young Allison's earlier observation. Once he became aware of the driving pattern it bothered him as well. It seemed too much like they wanted to identify any vehicle that tracked their vehicle. That most likely would indicate a fixed location that they would visit more than once or there was another vehicle involved already that they didn't know about.

"Can we identify anything that might be an ambush?" John asked.

John Henry attempted to identify anything that might indicate an ambush or another vehicle. So far nothing stuck out.

"I have the drones searching." John Henry said.

John didn't want to chance it, especially since there was good drone coverage. The risk to his troops was too high.

"I want the tailing vehicles to back off." John said.

John Henry checked the satellite overlay map. He could see where each of the three vehicles currently was in relation to the target vehicle.

"Cam already has." John Henry said. "Jim is still the closest. Sheila and Ally are still closing."

John could see trouble ahead for the teams in the field. The more he thought about it, the more all of it worried him. It made him wonder even more why he questioned Young Allison's decision earlier. She was clearly correct in everything. Why didn't he see that?

"I smell a rat." John said. "Let's keep our people safe."

John Henry called each of the teams. He didn't want any team to go off on their own at this point. Maybe he would need to reiterate to Sheila's team that there was no female present in the vehicle.

Jim closed in on the target vehicle. He'd acquired new transportation after he'd dumped the van the sex traffickers used.

He was in a 4X4 pick up truck.

"Jim, John wants everyone to back off." John Henry said.

Jim took that as welcome news.

"Affirmative…." Jim said. "I started to wonder about it."

John wanted everyone to find new transportation. He didn't want to chance any vehicle already having been identified. The thoughts of the blown in half SUV were fresh in his mind.

"Fallback and dump the wheels." John said.

Jim liked the new truck he was driving. He didn't think he would like being blown up. He didn't want to take any chances, especially since these people seemed like the Fanatics.

"Roger." Jim said.

Jim looked around for a place where he could dump the truck and acquire new transportation. Maybe he would look for another one. No, he'd better pick a different type of vehicle.

John Henry spoke with Sheila and Ally. He wasn't sure exactly what they were up to. He wanted to make sure that they understood there was no female in the vehicle without being overly obvious. He was aware Sheila was upset she couldn't get her hands on the blonde Bitch earlier.

"You two already heard." John Henry said. "I've only been able to identify two males in the vehicle."

Ally had been ready to fall back earlier. It was Sheila that pressed on.

"We understand everything." Ally said.

Sheila wanted to say 'Hello'. If she couldn't collect any souvenirs, she wanted a little blood instead. Well, a little more blood than she would have had.

"I want to bring them down." Sheila said. "Does anyone have a LAW rocket?"

John Henry wanted them to wait. He didn't want them to get ahead of themselves or take any unnecessary chances either.

"No." John Henry said. "John wants you to fall back for now. At least until we can see if the Fanatics are setting up an ambush."

Sheila thought about the SUV that was blown in half. She didn't want to run into an ambush like that. They still might be able to try something a little later on. The night was still young.

"You got it, love." Sheila said.

Savannah flew the B-25 back towards the mainland. They flew over five more of the Channel Islands. She couldn't see Santa Barbara Island very clearly because of its very small size. It wasn't even three quarters of a square mile in size. She was able to view Anacapa Island, Santa Cruz Island, Santa Rosa Island and San Miguel Island. she pointed all those out to both Derek and Kyle. They were silhouetted by the moonlight and the ocean water.

The lights on shore were right in front of them. Moving vehicles could be identified.

Cammy had been able to view everything clearly by zooming in her vision at any point in time. She wanted to make sure Kyle and Derek knew what was coming up. She knew Savannah could see everything since she was the pilot.

"We're coming up on the coast." Cammy said.

Savannah spotted the coastal traffic.

"I see the cars on PCH." Savannah said.

Cameron looked at Savannah. It made her think of a couple of events that occurred along the California coast. It made her think about the time that she went with Riley to Santa Monica Pier and then skinny dipping a little further south along the coast from where they were at now. She experienced an altercation with a group of surfers. They came back on Sunset Boulevard and she'd 'assisted' one of the street racers who crashed when he came around a corner too fast. She'd actually up righted his burning car and removed him from the flaming wreckage. She was glad she tried to reach out to Riley whenever she could. She was pleased most of all that she's been able to assist Riley with being able to have a child.

There was also another event with John that occurred along the California coast. It was kind of ironic based upon where she was going to go tomorrow. She hoped the cruise tomorrow played out for the entire week and wasn't interrupted like her first honeymoon was. She moved her head up between Cammy and Savannah. She looked at Savannah when she spoke.

"I went with John on a trip up PCH, Pacific Coast Highway, before." Cameron said. "That was going to be our honeymoon. You were very young then. It was cut short."

Cameron thought that was one of the first promises that she'd received from Savannah back then. It was on her wedding day when she'd made Savannah promise to marry John too. She'd made Savannah promise her over and over as the years went by. She'd made Savannah and later Young Allison promise a lot of things, including their children. Actually she didn't make them do anything. She'd allowed them to make the promises because they knew what she wanted from them. They really did it on their own. It was still manipulation. She thought she should feel more guilty about it than she did. She didn't. She told both of them more than once that she released them from any promises they'd made to her. She did that after Savannah had to leave Hope 'in some future'. She saw how deeply it hurt Savannah to need to do that. She watched her do it again with Joy in her future. Those thoughts did bother her. She's suppressed a glitch impulse in her hand.

Savannah knew the trip Cameron spoke of. It was many years ago.

"I remember everything." Savannah said. "It's all so clear."

Cameron knew she did, she'd played Savannah's own words back to her thousands of times as she slept. Cameron knew if it wasn't for the fact that Savannah didn't want to 'hurt' her, she would have been with John hundreds of times by now. It reminded her that she was in the way. She was always a threat to John when the anti-Metal faction would come looking for him. Savannah and Young Allison wouldn't be.

Derek was familiar with the surrounding area where Savannah would cross over from the ocean to the land. He was aware that the Naval Air Station Point Mugu was located directly off on their left side. It was later merged with nearby Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme to form Naval Base Ventura County. He'd gone to a few air shows there before Judgment Day. There was always a selection of Warbirds and military aircraft at the Point Mugu Air Show. They always drove by Camarillo Airport to get there. They had an air show usually every year as well. It was mostly populated by Warbirds. He was aware they were very near that location currently.

"Are we going to land at Camarillo?" Derek asked.

Savannah knew there were some Warbirds kept at Camarillo airport.

"I hadn't planned to, we can if you want." Savannah said.

Derek thought maybe it was too dark now.

"No, I'm good." Derek said.

Cammy came up with another option they could try.

"You can do a 'touch and go' if you want." Cammy said.

Savannah planned to do it when they returned to home.

"I was going to do that at Van Nuys." Savannah said. "I could do one here."

Cammy went to set it up for Camarillo. CamNet took over and issued some special FAA directives to the tower for Savannah to make the 'touch and go'.

Savannah made her approach and did one 'touch and go'.

US Highway 101 paralleled the Camarillo airport in that section.

Savannah climbed out of her 'touch and go'. She climbed to three thousand feet.

"Are you going to follow the 101 into the San Fernando Valley?" Cammy asked.

Savannah decided on a different route.

"I'm going to follow State Route 118 through Moorpark and Simi." Savannah said. "I'll come into the Valley that way over Santa Susana pass and then turn south past Balboa Boulevard. I'll be lined up with One Six Right at that point."

Cameron was a little worried about the long day of flying for Savannah.

"Are you getting tired, Savannah?" Cameron asked.

Savannah looked back at Cameron and smiled. It had been a long day of flying for her. She was tired. She wasn't about to admit that. She didn't need to be scanned by both Cameron and Cammy right now.

"It's been a long day." Savannah said. "I'm good."

Savannah cut over a few miles to the north and picked up the 118. She decided to pick up a thousand more feet of elevation as they overflew Simi Valley. She wanted to make sure there was plenty of sky between them and the Simi Hills, sometimes they were referred to by residents of the Valley as the Chatsworth Hills. She was aware that they were the location for many 'Western' films that made during the Fifties and Sixties for both movies and television. Wildfires burnt most of the locations out during the Seventies.

They were on the home stretch to get back to Van Nuys. She was tired. It didn't matter so far she'd kept Cameron undamaged. That was her goal.

In the Young bunker things weren't going smoothly.

Young Allison was dissatisfied with several things.

Anna wasn't sure exactly what troubled Young Alison but she could tell it was something.

"You seem upset." Anna said.

Young Allison wanted to end the threat before Cameron returned. She monitored the flight of the Mitchell. It was clear they were going to set down at Van Nuys in a very short while. She needed to make a decision about what to do and thought she would need to do it on her own.

"I think I'm going to hit the vehicle while we have it targeted." Young Allison said.

Anna didn't see what the problem was. There was absolutely nothing to stop her. She believed she wanted to bypass the Command Center. She wanted to find out a little more.

"You can order CamNet to strike it at any time." Anna said. "I can notify John Henry and John."

Young Allison briefly looked over at Anna when she mentioned John and John Henry. That wasn't her concern in this case. It was something different. It was something she knew she needed to think about going forward when she made decisions. She was worried about the surroundings of the vehicle.

"I'm aware of that." Young Allison said. "I also need to worry about collateral damage on a city street."

Anna felt Young Allison acted on previous occasions. She hadn't noticed any problem then.

"You haven't hesitated to act before." Anna said.

Young Allison didn't need to worry about other things then.

"Most of those endeavors were in rural or very isolated areas." Young Allison said.

Anna wanted to give Young Allison additional options to act on. It was the 'Cameron' in her that made her think about it. It definitely wasn't the 'Savannah' in her.

"Maybe you need to rethink the nature of the strike." Anna said. "There are various options to consider. There are groups of individuals out there who dislike each other."

Young Allison already considered that possibility. It was a path that led to a slippery slope.

"I have." Young Allison said. "We have the Cartel and the Syndicate battling each other. There are drug and street gangs out there. I want to use them. We can manipulate them to do our 'dirty work' for us."

Anna knew of the 'option'. They also needed to be careful. There could still be a lot of collateral damage with the use of 'contractors'. The bottom line was each of those groups only worked for themselves, even if they were set up or manipulated into doing their dirty work. There was no control over them.

"You want to use them as unknowing 'contract' hit men." Anna said.

Young Allison was aware Cameron 'played' the gangs before. She believed it was only against each other. If there were any Skynet related targets, she knew that Cameron liked to deal with those herself.

"Cameron has used some of those tactics before." Young Allison said. "I thought about exploiting them for matters like this that arise."

Anna wanted Young Allison to think her decision through.

"That's a risky game to play." Anna said. "I need to remind you that Cameron doesn't use the non-Resistance matters with Resistance matters. She specifically keeps those endeavors separate. She prefers to deal with those each on their own."

Young Allison didn't like the threat the Fanatics posed.

"Against the Fanatics, nothing is too risky." Young Allison said. "I want to use them against the sex traffickers too. Our people don't need to be involved in that."

Anna wasn't so sure about the last one. Cameron often freed girls and young women from the slavery of the sex trade. Another gang might take the females and use them themselves. They might kill them just as easily as well. She believed Young Allison should get some additional input before she acted. She didn't think there was anything wrong for Young Allison to ask for advice when she was unsure of something. In fact she believed it was something she should do. She wanted to probe the issue a little deeper. She wanted Young Allison to think about what she wanted to do.

"Are you going to run this by Cameron or Savannah first?" Anna asked.

Young Allison wanted to act as soon as possible. She thought the quicker the issue was dealt with, the quicker it would be over with. That's what she tried to tell herself anyway. She really knew it was something else.

"I might later on." Young Allison said. "I want to act now against the Fanatics. I know that car is going to blow up when it gets stopped or approached."

Anna wanted to issue a warning. She could tell Young Allison wanted to act without discussing it with anyone.

"Some may think it's unethical to send people to their deaths in this manner." Anna said.

Young Allison didn't think the elimination of a few future Scavengers was a problem. She did believe maybe it was better to play it close. She was aware Cameron tried to keep much of what she did outside of Resistance matters quiet. She believed they could keep everything under wraps.

"Then we need to put a lid on it." Young Allison said. "It stays in this bunker and with CamNet only."

Anna again offered some ethical advice. She really wanted Young Allison to think this decision through and not view it as a way to take shortcuts going forward. She wanted to point out what was obvious to her and should be obvious to Young Allison as well.

"Unless you're willing to discuss this with Savannah or inform Cameron, you know it's 'wrong'." Anna said.

Young Allison felt no guilt or remorse. Their team came first and Cameron was almost back. She didn't want Cameron involved. She needed to make sure that Cameron was undamaged so she could go on her cruise tomorrow with John. She would bring it up to Savannah at a later date. Right now it was decision time. She looked directly at the security monitor and then at Anna.

"You know I'm still going to do it anyway." Young Allison said.

Jesse and Claire 'finished' up.

They left the nursery behind.

"That was quite a performance." Claire said.

Jesse was thrilled about everything that occurred. She was pretty sure she gave Samantha more than a few things to think about. Hopefully, one of them was 'to be with' her.

"Tell me about it." Jesse said. "I love to have an audience."

It wasn't something Claire would normally do. She saw how it made Jesse a little wilder. She kind of liked it herself. She was sure if Samantha didn't have 'restrictions' that she would have joined in. She wondered a little about Jesse's past experiences with an audience.

"Is that something you acquired a taste for on your own?" Claire asked.

Jesse thought back to when she was still a girl.

"No." Jesse said. "You know about my early 'experiences'. They were all forced and involved multiple assailants. Everyone watched and then participated. They all took their turn, usually several times over."

Jesse remembered back how sore everything was after the abuse. They really worked her over. They didn't miss any spots on her body either.

Claire didn't want Jesse to relive those experiences.

"You don't need to go over that." Claire said.

Jesse was past the future. She tried to tell herself that anyway. There was a reason why she'd developed that preference on her own.

"It was later on when I was in control and people could watch me but not touch me. It gave me 'power'." Jesse said. "I could make them do what I wanted without needing to 'put out' right away."

Jesse knew that very 'power' led her down a dark path and her eventual brutalization of other humans. It was never anything she wanted Young Jesse to know about or experience, any of it. She'd told Cameron everything about herself before. Cameron told her some things must never be known by others. Cameron kissed her on the cheek and told her the past was the past. Life moved forwards, not backwards. Cameron gave her a new direction and a new life. She would never forget that.

Claire didn't want Jesse's mind to go down a dark path right now. It just didn't need to happen. Sometimes the past crept back up on her as well. It was best never to dwell there.

"Let's go see what else is happening." Claire said. "I need to check up on Summer."

Jesse didn't think it was a problem.

"John Henry will find something for her to do if Sarah and Jan are finished with her for the evening." Jesse said. "He always found challenging things for Savannah to do."

What they didn't know is that John Henry wanted to try to find a game or an activity that he could actually beat Summer at. She was able to defeat him in all of those. He wasn't sure how. He found the challenge very rewarding and wanted more. There'd only ever been one other individual who'd been able to beat him over and over. It was River. They both did it with a smile on their face and a shrug of their shoulders. It wasn't a big deal to them. It was just how they played the games. It was their natural ability.

Young Allison laid out what she wanted done. She was ready to go ahead with her plan. She was aware she was going to cross a line but it wouldn't be the first time that she dipped her hand into the muddy waters of the underworld. She was involved with the operation that targeted the Metal girls just a few hours ago. There were individuals in the parks that she'd dealt with as well. Those are all done indirectly and not specifically by her. She was supposed to defeat Skynet and help protect the future. She believed she was about to do both of those things.

Anna issued another firm suggestion to Young Allison. She wasn't going to stop her. She wanted her to reconsider.

"I recommend you seek advice from Savannah or Cameron about this." Anna said.

Young Allison offered an excuse. She didn't want to do that.

"Cameron and Savannah are flying now." Young Allison said. "I don't want to be a distraction for them."

Anna offered a solution.

"They'll be on the ground soon." Anna said.

Young Allison didn't want Cameron to end up in combat. That is why she wanted to resolve this herself first. She didn't want to dance around the issue anymore.

"I don't want Cameron involved." Young Allison said. "That's not going to happen tonight or tomorrow before she gets on the cruise ship. I'm going to prevent that if I can. I'll do whatever I have to do to make sure that she isn't damaged. I'll go myself first before I allow that to happen."

Anna thought otherwise.

"That's Cameron's function." Anna said.

Young Allison looked at Anna and frowned. Cameron needed to remain undamaged for John and their honeymoon.

"She has a more important function coming up tomorrow." Young Allison said.

Anna didn't let up.

"The battle against Skynet comes first." Anna said.

Young Allison saw a bigger picture than that.

"So does protecting the future." Young Allison said. "I'm doing both of those things. It's my function as well. Don't forget that. Don't ever forget that."

Young Allison could see Anna checked her computer and received information from CamNet.

Anna looked at Young Allison for a few long moments before she spoke. She wanted to make her disapproval of the action clear without having to say it again.

"CamNet has informed me she has made the appropriate arrangements to set the stage." Anna said. "She is ready to act on your command. What you want can be ready to be done in a very short time. One gang will think they're acting against another gang encroaching on their turf."

Young Allison felt no pride or satisfaction in that. She wanted to keep Cameron and Savannah by extension, safe. That was at least as safe as they could be under the circumstances. The future needed to be protected and she was going to use all the tools at her disposal.

"I'll give the command and take responsibility." Young Allison said.

Anna was sure at that moment that Young Allison wouldn't hesitate to use a nuclear weapon against Skynet if she thought it was appropriate to do so. She really hoped Young Allison thought about the collateral damage that could be involved with that. What worried her the most about it wasn't the use of the weapon itself but the manner in which it would be used. Cameron and Duplicate Cameron both were willing to detonate a nuclear weapon as they stood next to it and faced Skynet. She didn't for a second doubt that Young Allison would do the same thing. It wasn't a pleasant thought.

Cameron followed everything with John Henry and CamNet. She was displeased with what Young Allison planned. She didn't mind pitting the gangs against each other to thin the herd. She didn't want them getting involved with what the Resistance was doing. It may end up as something that would 'dog' them like the Syndicate did.

It was the Syndicate that was involved with Grays and Terminators in Las Vegas that drifted into their orbit. It was only by starting a 'war' between the Cartel and Syndicate that the 'problem' was solved. There were hundreds dead because of it, if not thousands by now worldwide. It was a given that all those people were future Scavengers or Grays so it was no loss. It was still a lot of people fighting. They were out of their hair now. That was all that mattered in the end.

Savannah glanced back to watch Cameron as she flew. She could tell Cameron was bothered by something. She was sure it involved the operation that was going on most of the day. They would be down on the ground in about twelve minutes. They should be taxied and parked less than twenty minutes from now. It didn't look like it could wait that long.

Cameron noticed Savannah check her out. She leaned down and touched Savannah's shoulder.

"I'm fine." Cameron said.

Savannah wanted whatever was about to happen put on ice until they were landed and parked. She would be able to look into it and make an assessment of it. She wanted to know what was going on personally.

"Have whatever it is put on hold for twenty minutes." Savannah said. "If it's something that can't be delayed, don't delay it. If it can be delayed, I want to look into it personally."

Cameron looked at her and frowned.

"I don't know if I can." Cameron said.

Cammy was now worried that something was happening.

Savannah figured it involved Young Allison and her actions.

"Do I need to speak with CamNet?" Savannah asked. "Is it Young Allison?"

"Yes and yes." Cameron said.

Savannah didn't want to take any chances. It was time to turn the plane over to Cammy. In the darkness, too many things could go wrong if she was inattentive or distracted. It sounded like something she needed to address and maybe fix. Anything that involved Young Allison was of the highest priority as it was with anything that dealt with Cameron or John. She wasn't afraid to ask for assistance if she needed it. It looked like she needed it right now.

"Cammy, I need you to take over." Savannah said.

Cammy looked over.

"You got it?" Savannah asked.

Cammy nodded.

"I got it." Cammy said.

Savannah turned over control of the plane to Cammy. If she'd been flying with a human copilot she would have stayed with the plane until it landed and then dealt with whatever she would have needed to deal with.

Cameron quickly explained to Savannah what was happening.

Savannah thought it needed some input. She spoke with CamNet and then called Young Allison. She understood that each group of individuals needed to be dealt with. She believed that they should be dealt with separately. She too was reminded of the recent trouble with the Syndicate and how they inadvertently were pulled into their sphere and ended up like gum on their shoe on a hot day.

Anna knew Young Allison was going to enact her plan. She felt that she'd made enough indirect protests as well as overt protests that it would get someone's attention. It appeared that was the case. She was surprised to see who it was, especially at this time.

"Savannah is calling." Anna said.

Young Allison wasn't too surprised. It did surprise her that it happened this quickly. The Mitchell hadn't even landed at Van Nuys yet. She figured she was in for an earful.

"It happened sooner than I thought it would." Young Allison said.

Anna knew nothing was set in stone, not even death in their world.

"Many things are unpredictable." Anna said. "I want you to answer it."

Young Allison looked at Anna and took the call.

"Hello." Young Allison said.

Savannah went straight to the point.

"Hi, Allison." Savannah said. "I want you to tell me what you're planning. I don't know many of the details. I understand the current situation and I'm willing to listen. Hopefully I'll be able to keep an open mind."

Young Allison wondered who else knew. It was only supposed to be CamNet, Anna and her. Cameron probably monitored everything.

"Does Cameron know?" Young Allison asked.

Savannah figured Cameron knew everything as she always did.

"She's very worried about something." Savannah said. "She said it involved you. That was all I needed to hear. I turned the plane over to Cammy so I could deal with it."

Young Allison knew they were almost back to the airport. That made her feel bad she'd disrupted the flight. A landing in the dark was crucial.

"You're about to land." Young Allison said. "I'm sorry about this."

Savannah almost said that Cammy could land the plane with her eyes closed but didn't say it out loud. She didn't want Cammy to actually try it. That wasn't the issue. She was worried about Young Allison.

"Some things are more important." Savannah said. "You're one of them."

Young Allison knew Savannah's concern was genuine. She decided to put her plans on hold. She still believed her plan had merit but didn't want to get into an argument with Savannah about it until the plane was landed.

"I won't do anything until after you've landed." Young Allison said. "John and John Henry are still running lead. There's only one suspected Fanatic vehicle in play with two occupants. It can wait or they can deal with it themselves. I haven't done anything in that regard yet."

Savannah was sure it was bigger than that.

"Knowing the Fanatics and Grays, I'm sure there is more in play." Savannah said. "We haven't yet found out what it is. If something needs to be done immediately, make sure it gets done."

Young Allison wanted to justify her actions. She still felt she was doing the right thing.

"I wanted to end this before Cameron decided to get involved." Young Allison said.

Savannah understood where Young Allison was coming from. It all made sense now.

"I agree with you and I understand your reasoning." Savannah said. "You need to be careful with shortcuts."

Young Allison remembered Anna's warnings.

"I understand that." Young Allison said. "Anna tried to warn me. I should have listened better."

Savannah didn't see it as a big deal. They all made mistakes. Nobody was perfect.

"We all do things that could have been done differently at times." Savannah said.

Young Allison appreciated Savannah's coolness and tact. She would need to remember that going forward. Sometimes she got a little steamed quicker than she should have.

"That sounds like a diplomatic way of saying we all make mistakes." Young Allison said.

Savannah hoped they never made the same mistake twice.

"We all do. I have as well." Savannah said. "Nobody is perfect."

Savannah knew enough to know that it was problematic. Whether it was actually a mistake or not under the current conditions is something she would need to think about. Not everyone knows when they make a mistake until later on at times. Perhaps a mistake that was known may not turn out to be a mistake when enacted. There were multiple issues to think about based upon the current situation.

Put A Lid On It

Whatever is in a mind
Can be like a can of worms
The more that's known
Will increase their squirms

Everyone says to open up
Few ever really do actually
They'd rather not have things
Exposed and come out factually

They don't want others to know
Who it is they really are
If the truth were known
Things wouldn't go far

When people hide who they are
Who do they actually hide from
It really is from themselves they hide
They hide from where their thoughts come

Who they really are will repel
The truth they will never admit
When it comes time to own up
They put a lid on it

Nobody