Chapter 1285
Escalate This
Cammy and Savannah followed the few drops of blood Cammy could find. There weren't very many. The trail went cold. There were two options to check out.
Savannah hoped one of the drones spotted something since they'd lost the trail.
"What's the status of any drone activity?" Savannah asked. "Do we have any leads?"
Cammy was sure they would have been notified. She checked again..
"There's nothing yet." Cammy said.
The prospect of finding the Fanatic looked grim.
Savannah needed to consider the possibilities.
"We may have lost him." Savannah said.
Cammy thought much the same thing. The person they were after could be long gone as well. She would like to remove Savannah from the danger zone.
"The Fanatic is most likely dead or has fled the area." Cammy said. "We can probably return back to the base at this time."
Savannah wanted a better answer. She wanted something more definitive before they walked away. Any Fanatic was a threat.
"We'll check the apartment building before we check the field with the trees." Savannah said. "It's not very big."
Cammy looked over at the field. It was an undeveloped area with urban sprawl all around it.
"It's out of place." Cammy said.
Savannah wondered how the one parcel of land with the few trees was even still there anyway. Everything else around it was developed.
"I bet this person didn't sell when everyone else did." Savannah said.
It was something that happened from time to time. One thing was certain, the land would be a lot more valuable now than it was when everyone else sold it off to be developed years ago.
Cammy looked over at the area.
"Your assessment seems most likely since the street seems unimproved in front of it." Cammy said.
Maybe there was something they couldn't see from the sky. Usually somewhere on an undeveloped property, in or near the city, there was the house of the original land owner.
"Is there an old house on the property?" Savannah asked.
Cammy thought they could deal with it later. She thought maybe they should get the apartment checked first. It looked more dangerous venturing into the undeveloped area.
"CamNet will check into it." Cammy said. "Let's go through the parking area of the apartment first."
Young Allison was displeased with the lack of information.
"I don't like Savannah and Cammy out there alone." Young Allison said.
Anna wanted to point out Savannah and Cammy were supported by a number of drones as well as two teams of two Terminators nearby. Right now it all seemed like a dead end.
"There's most likely nothing there." Anna said.
Young Allison still hoped for a break.
"Have any barking or agitated dogs shown up?" Young Allison asked.
Anna checked again.
"No." Anna said.
The field with the trees seemed out of place to Young Allison.
"What about the one property Savannah questioned?" Young Allison asked. "She specifically asked about a structure or old house on the property."
Anna searched some city records.
"There was a house there once." Anna said. "It burnt down years ago."
Young Allison thought it made even less sense not to sell the land.
"Who owns the property then?" Young Allison asked. "Someone needs to pay property tax on it."
Anna searched county records for the information. She figured Young Allison wanted to know if there was an indirect Skynet link. They'd run into a similar situation before when they recovered the four Nike warheads. The taxes were all paid automatically from an account set up in the past. A similar situation there would send up another red flag.
"It seems to be a private individual. The taxes are paid every year." Anna said. "It's not done automatically."
Young Allison looked at the drone images. Some of the trees were quite large. They were apparently very old.
"What's under the big tree?" Young Allison asked.
The drone couldn't give them anything but a high altitude visual.
"The drone is too high for any other spectrum scans." Anna said. "All we have is what you see."
Young Allison hoped the past would shed some light. There were old aerial photos taken of everything around their area. They were taken from reconnaissance aircraft and satellites when they'd first developed the capability.
"I want to see historic satellite or aerial photos of the area." Young Allison said.
The images appeared almost at once. They were able to view the entire area when it was undeveloped. The roads were originally dirt. As the images progressed, they could see the undeveloped land around the area start to disappear a section at a time, especially after the streets were paved.
"Everything around there used to look like the one property." Anna said.
Young Allison knew the progression of time was unstoppable.
"Time waits for no one." Young Allison said. "Everything was developed around it except the one parcel."
Anna didn't think it was an isolated case. There were multiple cases where a single landowner could hold up an entire development for years, sometimes even for decades. She was aware when the Coast Line railroad was being constructed by the Southern Pacific, there was one landowner which wouldn't sell a right of way to the railroad to continue the line along the coast. The rail line needed to cut inland. It joined the Central Valley Line in Saugus and continued to Los Angeles along the existing rail line until the 'Montalvo cut off' was constructed after the turn of the last century. It then gave the rail line a shortcut and a direct route across the San Fernando Valley. Those were the railroad tracks which passed through their area. Time didn't wait for the Southern Pacific either. It was merged with a long time competitor. The tracks were now under the control of the Metropolitan Transit Authority.
"Sometimes it happens." Anna said. "Some of them make the news."
Young Allison thought there could be more to it.
"It makes me wonder if this is the result of a temporal incursion in the past." Young Allison said.
Anna tilted her head slightly.
"Are you suggesting Skynet was involved?" Anna asked.
It was a case where 'time confusion' came into play. It would be hard to know what was what, especially if a new timeline of some type was created through 'temporal malpractice'.
"I don't know." Young Allison said. "If something was changed in the past, we would only know what we see now, not what happened before."
Anna didn't think it was wise to have Savannah and Cammy go there at this point.
"Are you going to wait for Savannah and Cammy to investigate the area?" Anna asked.
Young Allison didn't want them anywhere near there if possible.
"No." Young Allison said.
Anna wondered what she would do.
"Do you want to try a different approach?" Anna asked.
There were two other teams of Terminators driving around the area.
"Send Steve and Tom in from one side and Al and Ed in from the other side." Young Allison said.
Anna heard CamNet follow through with the plan.
"CamNet has issued the directive." Anna said.
Young Allison wanted some answers.
"Now we wait." Young Allison said.
Cammy led the way with Savannah close behind her. They wanted to check out the apartment complex first. She watched in front and to the sides while Savannah watched in back of them.
She was unsure what they would find.
They were in the carport area of the apartment building now.
Cammy spied a blood drop. It was fresh enough to check easier. She reached down and touched it.
"This is someone's blood from the future." Cammy said. "I'm able to detect several toxins."
There was more blood. Cammy quickly checked the extra blood.
"This is blood from someone else." Cammy said. "It's as fresh as the last blood drop I checked."
Savannah thought a kidnapping or carjacking may have occurred. It seemed highly probable at this point.
"What are we looking at?" Savannah asked. "Was it a carjacking?"
The evidence indicated someone didn't go willingly.
"It seems it wasn't a simple one if it was." Cammy said. "Someone put up a struggle."
There was an object on the ground. It caught Savannah's eye. She reached down and picked something up. It was a necklace with a broken chain.
"I think it was a female." Savannah said. "We need to find out which apartment this spot belongs to and what kind of cars they own."
Cammy spotted the painted tag on the concrete wheel stop.
"It's apartment 204." Cammy said.
Cammy sent out the information to CamNet and John Henry. It was only a few seconds until they got the information back. It wasn't what they wanted to hear. There was no report of a stolen vehicle. It meant someone was either abducted or killed. They could be in the trunk of their car dead.
There were two vehicles registered to the address. They now knew the make, model and color of both of the vehicles.
"We need to get every drone and traffic cam on this." Savannah said. "Send the one watching over us to assist. We know what kind of cars we're looking for."
Young Allison was soon aware of the angle Savannah and Cammy came across. Maybe the field was a dead end. If there was anything in the field, it was underground. Things involving Skynet and anything underground were always bad news and led to trouble. It seemed someone was almost always terminated there. It usually seemed it was Savannah.
"I think Cammy and Savannah have come across what actually transpired." Young Allison said. "It should become the focus of our efforts."
Anna thought the Skynet angle on the field was a long shot.
"Everything is available to back both of them up." Anna said.
Vanna and Allison were on their way back to the base with Cam. They'd just picked up some fast food.
Allison snacked on the food and playfully fed some to Vanna.
"I think we'll have all the food eaten before we get back." Allison said.
Vanna thought she should try some more before Allison ate all of it. So far Allison consumed most of the hash brown sticks.
"At the rate you're going, I think you're right." Vanna said.
Allison finished all but one hash brown stick. She gave it to Vanna.
"They taste better when they're hot anyway." Allison said. "If we warm them up in the microwave, they lose their crispiness."
They passed an old gas station. It was out of business. Something caught Vanna's eye as she looked sideways at Allison. It sent off an alarm in her head.
"Cam, I want you to circle the block to the right." Vanna said. "Don't make a U-turn."
Cam became combat alert.
"What is it?" Cam asked. "I saw we passed a closed gas station."
Cam made a right at the next street.
"It was at the gas station. I saw a car which seemed to match the description of the one reported in the attack on the Fanatic's car." Vanna said. "It was under an overhead cover where the gas pumps used to be. I don't think the drones could have spotted it where it is."
Cam directed the drone following them to try and look sideways or at an angle where Vanna indicated.
The tension level grew dramatically inside the SUV.
Cam finished her third right hand turn. The next one would put them back on the main street again to pass the location a second time. She wanted to make sure what they were after before she went too far and made a second pass. She'd noted something a few seconds after their first right turn. They were about to come up to it again after their third right turn.
"There's an alley that runs in back of the location." Cam said.
Allison wanted Cam to make the turn. She thought they needed some of the equipment from the back of the SUV.
"Drive down it." Allison said. "We need to gear up."
Vanna and Allison dumped the food they were eating back into
the bags and wiped their hands off with the napkins.
Cam looked in the rear view mirror and saw Vanna check her M9. Allison checked her Model 66. Both of the girls checked their Tasers as well.
They looked around in the back and pulled out three vests.
"Do you want an M4, Cam?" Vanna asked.
Cam thought the girls were getting ahead of themselves. She didn't want to get into a combat situation with Allison and Vanna there. There's been gunfire exchanged between the two vehicles. It clearly meant the individuals from both vehicles were armed and willing to use their weapons. What would happen if something bad happened to Allison's baby?
It was a few seconds later when Cam received the angled drone view. Maybe they weren't getting ahead of themselves. Now she wanted them to wear the vests for protection.
CamNet was clearly able to identify the suspect vehicle because of the previous drone footage of it as it cruised around the last building blown up. The specific information wasn't going to be released.
"Vanna was correct." Cam said. "It's a match to the description of the other vehicle. Get your vests on now."
The girls put their vests on.
Vanna wanted to free Cam up and keep Allison out of as much danger as possible and in the SUV. She also wanted the ability to be mobile if it became necessary.
"Cam, let Allison drive." Vanna said. "We can go check it out."
Cam stopped before the alley and slid over. Allison opened her door and hopped out of the back and moved into the driver's seat. She didn't feel like climbing over the seats.
Vanna handed Cam her vest.
Cam didn't put it on. Instead she draped it over Allison's belly, waist and upper legs.
Vanna saw what Cam did. She reached in the back and took out the last vest.
"Put this one on, Cam." Vanna said. "I'm asking you."
Cam did. She knew Vanna would be upset if she didn't.
CamNet sent Cam some good news.
"Two of Cameron's Terminators are here on the other side now." Cam said.
Vanna and Allison looked at each other.
"They sure got here fast." Vanna said.
Cam thought she should give them an explanation.
"They were shadowing us." Cam said. "They're Richard and Michael."
The fact they were being shadowed didn't surprise any of them.
Cam showed Allison and Vanna a photo of them. She didn't want any friendly fire.
Allison seldom saw one of Cameron's Terminators. Even when they went to see CamNet the one time, there were very few Terminators around. They thought it was by design.
"They both look serious." Allison said.
Vanna looked at the images.
"Which one is which?" Vanna asked.
Cam knew they were all business. They assisted with Resistance matters in the shadows. They did CamNet's bidding the rest of the time. They did things for Cameron so they wouldn't be linked back to the Resistance if there were repercussions at some later date.
"They're very serious. Richard is the taller one. Michael is the more muscular one. Savannah is the one who names them." Cam said. "She knows many of them personally. They all know her."
Cam always noticed when Savannah was around them how they all seemed to come alive. Everyone noticed it. It was Savannah's presence and the way she interacted with them which made the difference. She always treated them as her 'friends'. They all became her friend instantly. Savannah wanted all of them to pick a name. They all wanted to be named by Savannah instead. They felt it was an honor to be named by the 'Chosen One'. Savannah always told them she was just a girl like everyone else.
Vanna thought it was good news. She looked like Savannah and Allison looked like Cameron.
"I guess they won't shoot at us then." Vanna said.
Vanna handed an M4 with an M203 attached to it to Cam.
"Here are some HE rounds and a buckshot canister." Vanna said.
Allison thought they could do a 'drive by'.
"Cam, I'm going to approach them from the street side so you and Vanna can open up on them." Allison said.
Cam didn't want Allison to get carried away. She didn't want to be the one to escalate it. A shootout on a city street was bound to attract attention. It already been enough attention earlier when the bomb was discovered the Fanatic's vehicle. She wanted Cameron's Terminators to go in first. It would also pose less risk to Vanna and Allison.
"Let Richard and Michael check it out." Cam said. "They can enter through the back."
Allison wanted to take the heat off of them. She wanted to cause a distraction. They were looking for two perpetrators. It would divide their attention between two separate targets.
"When they get close, I'm going to pull up in front of the place." Allison said. "It will draw the anti-Metal group's attention to the front so Richard and Michael can move in from the back."
Vanna and Allison looked at each other. They hadn't been in combat together in a long time. It was just like riding a bike. They were both ready. The adrenaline was pumping right now. The future was hard to leave behind. Somehow it always seemed to have a way to find them.
Young Allison checked her monitors. She could see there was a major deviation from the plan.
"What's Cam doing?" Young Allison asked.
Anna received the specifics from CamNet.
"Vanna spotted what may be one of the vehicles involved in the earlier altercation." Anna said.
It sounded like a bad spot for Allison and Vanna to be in.
"They should withdraw." Young Allison said. "It sounds like the last place Allison and Vanna should be."
Anna didn't think Allison would listen to Young Allison.
"Good luck with trying to talk them out of it." Anna said. "Allison is the one who encouraged Cam to act."
Young Allison checked her monitors.
"Cameron's Terminators are close." Young Allison said. "They can check it out."
Young Allison saw the two Terminators were Richard and Michael.
They watched the drone footage of Allison move into the driver's seat. She wore a combat vest.
"They're preparing for combat." Anna said.
Young Allison could see they were getting ahead of themselves. She was afraid Allison would push it.
"Great, Allison is going to escalate this." Young Allison said.
It occurred to her she would do the same thing and probably more. She really couldn't blame Allison for doing what she would do.
Anna received new information.
"There's more bad news." Anna said. "It looks like Cammy and Savannah found something. There is blood from more than one individual."
It looked like things could go hot on two fronts.
"Typical." Young Allison said.
New vehicle information came in. There was also some speculation about the other individual the blood belonged to.
"It appears that Savannah and Cammy have identified there's a new vehicle to search for." Anna said. "There may be a hostage or two as well now. They could also be deceased at this point."
It sounded like more collateral damage.
"This is getting better by the minute." Young Allison said.
Anna thought the new information would confirm Young Allison's feelings.
"Savannah has sent the drone watching over them to join in the search for the new target vehicle." Anna said.
It wasn't what Young Allison wanted to hear.
"Beautiful." Young Allison said.
Young Allison quietly checked to see where 'Cherry Bomb' or 'Coltan Overcast' were at. She would ask for a personal favor. If they were in the area, they would respond immediately.
She was aware she may change the search pattern parameters already set up by John Henry and CamNet. So be it. There were certain things she wanted done her way.
There were some things she could control. They were other things she couldn't control. She couldn't 'order' Allison or Vanna. She couldn't 'order' Savannah. All she could do is suggest and ask for certain things.
John Henry could add nothing further to the events taking place.
He was relieved to see none of the drones were ready to fire a missile.
The sudden turn of events with Cam, Vanna and Allison could change things.
It looked like the location of immediate concern to him.
When he saw Allison wearing her vest and take the driver's seat, it looked like things were about to escalate. It seemed it was to free Cam up for combat. He was afraid Vanna would go with her.
John Henry was low on Terminators in the area to assist them. He needed to rely on Cameron's Terminators. At this point in time it was really more CamNet's Terminators. Cameron often worried she became Skynet. He was sure if anyone did, it would be CamNet. CamNet was vastly superior to his server at this point and controlled many things with her own force of Terminators. The only good thing was CamNet, and everything she controlled, could be 'checked' by Savannah or Young Allison. It was a 'fail safe' Cameron built into the system. CamNet felt the same love Cameron did for the girls.
He didn't know CamNet had conducted an extensive operation throughout the night and covered everything up. What currently occurred now with Cam's team and Cammy's team was actually a spillover of those earlier events. It was also the reason why CamNet was able to provide extensive drone coverage so quickly. She'd stripped them away from the other operation.
Samantha held Precious for a while and put her in her crib again.
She followed the unfolding operations from her phone.
She thought Vanna would be back soon and take over. Now everything seemed about to change.
Precious was her responsibility right now.
Samantha was very worried about Vanna and Allison. She'd grown quite fond of them. Her main worry now was Precious.
If things went bad at the base, she wasn't going to stick around. She wouldn't fight or defend anything. She was to take Precious and run. John Henry would need to fend for himself. He should actually back her play and make sure Precious was able to get away from the area. She didn't think it would come to anything so extreme.
Summer and Jan enjoyed their private tour of the zoo. They'd seen quite a few things. It was interesting and fun.
Holly and Bob became less apprehensive of the animals as they went from exhibit to exhibit. If anything, the animals seem to respond positively around them. They soon felt more comfortable with the new pheromones Cameron supplied them with.
Lilly, who was their guide stopped at the rear of one enclosure. There were two newborn cheetahs, they were sisters.
Holly thought they looked cute.
Bob watched the mother and thought she looked dangerous.
Summer and Jan thought it was great.
They were given some more of the 'behind the scene's tour' as they continued.
Bob and Holly both looked at various animals as they went along and were glad they weren't patterned after some of them. They knew Skynet wanted to make Terminators out of various animals for infiltration. They were both happy with their current chassis.
Bob tried to determine if he was an animal, which one he would want to be. He thought he would want to be a powerful one. It seemed like it would be good to be an elephant or a rhinoceros.
Holly wasn't sure what she would want to be. She thought maybe it would be nice to be a bird of some type. If she didn't like an area where she was at, she could just fly away and go somewhere else and leave everything behind.
Riley didn't want to do any more stair climbing. She asked to skip the bridge tour and other sections on the conning tower. It looked like it went up about seven levels. The conditions also seemed rather cramped.
Derek became concerned. He checked her out.
Sheila and Ally were both with her.
Riley didn't want to cause a big deal.
"I'm just a little beat." Riley said. "I can wait inside here or go back down to the hangar deck. I'll be alright."
Cameron and John came to check on her.
Riley felt bad about disrupting everyone.
"I'll stay with Riley." Cameron said. "I want the rest of you to finish the tour."
Riley wanted everyone to go on without her. She looked at Cameron.
"I don't want to mess things up for you and John." Riley said.
Cameron didn't mind waiting with Riley.
"It's fine." Cameron said. "I've been here before."
It was news to John. He was actually a little surprised to hear she had been. Then again, Cameron was building her own vintage air force. She'd probably been to a lot of places which would surprise him, for different reasons.
As long as she wasn't shot up, he didn't mind. She knew what she was doing most of the time. Most of what she did, she did for him. She was there to protect the future. Sometimes they may have minor disagreements over exactly what was entailed. It didn't really matter. In the end, Cameron still did what she wanted to do.
Derek wanted to stay with Riley too. Cameron all but ordered everyone to continue the tour. They all reluctantly did.
Riley really felt bad about disrupting things. She figured it was her own fault.
"I'm sorry about this." Riley said. "I've slacked off these last few months."
Cameron reached out and gently touched Riley's cheek.
"You did a much more important task." Cameron said. "I also appreciate the offer you made to me, to John and I."
Riley was thrilled the way Cameron looked after her. She was aware Cameron always looked after her even if she did it from the sidelines. If she ever needed or wanted anything, Cameron was there to provide it. Cameron provided things for her family and did things for them without her ever asking for it to be done. She understood the problems of the past. She didn't feel she was responsible, even if somehow she was. It still wasn't her. She didn't want to be a bother to anyone.
"Maybe I should go back." Riley said. "It's not very far. I can make it on my own."
Cameron took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Everything is fine." Cameron said. "Let's check on Precious."
Riley checked her phone. Samantha sent her a photo of Precious sleeping in her crib. It seemed to lift Riley's spirit.
"I feel better now." Riley said.
Cameron understood how Riley felt, sort of.
"It's just anxiety." Cameron said. "I experience something like it at times too. It happens."
Riley felt Cameron touch her neck to scan her. It was very soothing to her Cameron cared about her and Precious. Cameron provided her with Samantha to assist her. Vanna and Jesse were both there to act as a wet nurse for Precious. It was all Cameron's doing. The fact she even was able to have a baby was due to Cameron.
She couldn't help but feel love for Cameron on multiple levels for everything. She thought about it all again. Whenever she needed anything, Cameron was always there for her. Cameron also looked after and provided for her family in the current time period. Maybe what Future Riley did 'tainted' everyone towards her. She could see Cameron tried to 'fix' it. Future Riley's sins weren't her sins. She was a different person, even if she was the same person.
John started to explain something to Sarah when they were on the bridge.
Kyle took the opportunity to slip away and bring Derek off to one corner. He wanted some more of the medicine. Derek assured him he would give him half a dozen more tablets. The brothers were both glad for the extra boost it gave them. They didn't really talk about it. They both knew they weren't getting any younger. It was at this juncture they could see females held a distinct advantage over them. Females could go all night and finish a dozen times.
They quietly rejoined the group and concluded the bridge tour. They were pleasantly surprised to see Cameron and Riley join them when they returned to the level of the flight deck.
Jesse, Claire and Sarah all hung back to stay with Riley.
Cameron assured Derek, Kyle and John that Riley was OK. Riley just needed a little rest and some motivation. She'd allowed Riley to find the strength within herself. It was all done in the most subtle and caring way.
If Summer wasn't at the zoo, she would have been the one to motivate Riley. Summer seemed to have the magic touch. It reached everyone both Terminator and human. Everything Savannah and Young Allison could do, Summer could do better.
Cameron often needed to rethink what she believed as 'written in stone'. Maybe it wasn't the 'Chosen Ones' of Savannah and Young Allison. Maybe it really was the 'Chosen ONE' and it was Summer. Summer was an awful lot like River in every way. Somehow she was even better than River as well. She was sure the true potential of Summer hadn't been unlocked yet. She believed it was going to come to the forefront very soon and she would become dominant. Maybe it was Summer she should take to the past first. She wasn't in a hurry to disrupt Savannah's and Young Allison's future. She knew the girls would be there when they were needed to protect John. She didn't see why they couldn't live their lives together now, like Vanna and Allison did.
She still wanted Savannah and Young Allison to be with John at least a few times so things wouldn't be as awkward later on. They would know what to expect and be somewhat acclimated to his needs. He didn't need very long to finish most of the time.
Cameron couldn't help but think about Riley. Riley didn't come to John and the rest of them in deceit. She'd arrived to help the Resistance in her future. She wasn't part of the anti-Metal faction. If anything ever happened to Derek, she decided she would allow John and Riley to share with each other. She didn't think she'd be able to allow more than that. She didn't think anyone should need to feel alone. To feel alone wasn't a good feeling for anyone.
She looked down at her left hand. She was pleased to see there wasn't a glitch. Perhaps her using the chassis of the other Metal girls helped her understand there were many other options available for everything.
Jim watched with great concern as the events began to escalate with Cam, Vanna and Allison. He wondered how much Cameron knew about the developing situation.
It was bad enough.
Now it looked like things were about to heat up for Cammy and Savannah.
Jim received a message from CamNet to not forward any information of the two situations to Cameron at this time. There was too much of a chance for Cameron to go to the airport and take the helicopter they'd rented and fly it back. It was held on standby.
It made Jim wonder who leaned on John Henry and CamNet to issue the decree. It was probably Young Allison or Savannah or both of them.
He was glad someone seemed to have some control of things.
The Gray figured the prudent move would be to make a left and turn off the street and avoid the pickup truck. He made the left hand turn. He quickly went down the street the building was located on in the opposite direction. He turned right at the first street he came to. He looked back as he turned and didn't see the pickup truck or anyone else behind him. He would need to watch his mirrors for a short time to make sure he wasn't being followed.
He currently didn't have any firearms with him. He knew the flatbed truck could become a formidable weapon if it became necessary. He wanted to get to the other base of operations his team had. It was known as Tango.
He was still a little surprised he hadn't seen any emergency vehicles yet. Maybe they would come from the opposite direction. He really didn't know. The ringing in his ears was still rather extreme.
There still wasn't a whole lot of traffic out. It hadn't been more than an hour or so since sunrise. At this point, he really didn't know. It seemed a lot of things happened.
He'd made several turns and still hadn't spotted anyone behind him. He was now on a main street. He passed by a few coffee shops and fast food places. There was the usual array of gas stations and the occasional grocery store. Not much else was open this early.
He was a little surprised to see a fire truck on the next cross street pass in front of him. The lights and siren were on. It was going in the opposite direction of where the burning building was at. He looked in the direction it went to see where it was going.
The Gray kept watch in his mirrors as he headed for Tango.
The female Fanatic sped past the street where her weapons were to move up to see where the flatbed truck went. She still had her pistol and the extra magazines. She caught the tail end of the flatbed truck he drove go around the corner. She saw it was a stake side truck.
She looked down the street in the other way at the devastation left behind from the blast. It was clear to her by the blown over vehicle, there needed to be other explosives inside of the building.
She was faced with a choice right now. She could either go back and collect more of her weapons, or she could pursue the flatbed truck. She believed was driven by the Gray whose vehicle was on its side in the middle of the street as a smoldering wreck.
A certain amount of finesse was going to be necessary for the beginning of her pursuit. She was pretty sure at some point the direction he was headed was going to match up with one of the other locations she had information on. Once she was sure the targets were one in the same, she could drop back and use a more clandestine approach. It would be the same way she'd done at the last location.
When she reached the first intersection on the street the flatbed truck turned down, she made a broad turn so only the very left side of the truck she was in could look down the street. The entire front end wasn't out in the intersection so she could look through the passenger side window. She could only make such a maneuver because there was no traffic. It made her look around again. She didn't spot the other two vehicles she'd seen earlier, nor did she spot any emergency vehicles approaching the area.
She was able to spot the flatbed truck make a left turn a few streets down. She didn't believe the driver had spotted her on either of his last two turns. She decided she was going to need a different vehicle to close up the pursuit somewhat. She reached down and touched her pistol. She could carjack someone if necessary. It would be the simplest and easiest way to obtain a new vehicle. If they put up a fuss, or attempted to fight back, she would shoot them. It would be their choice to resist, not hers. Common sense dictated someone didn't argue with a firearm.
When she reached the street the flatbed turned left on, she saw it was one of the main streets. She didn't want to be spotted when she made her left. She was a little surprised to watch a fire engine go across the intersection in front of where the flatbed was. Strangely enough, it was going in the opposite direction of where the building on fire actually was at. There must have been another incident. She took the opportunity to quickly turn onto the main street. She figured the driver of the flatbed truck would look at the fire engine and not his rear view mirrors, at least until the fire truck passed. He shouldn't see her make the left.
The female Fanatic completed the turn and saw there were some fast food restaurants and coffee shops along the route. She saw someone get out of a vehicle and hurry towards one of the coffee shops. She could still see vapor coming out of the tailpipe from the vehicle. It evidently had only recently been started. The driver left it running. She quickly pulled the truck over to the side of the road. She ran back to the running vehicle and checked the door to see if it was open. It was. She climbed inside of it. She moved the shift selector from 'Park' into 'Drive' and went in pursuit of the flatbed truck. She decided to close up the distance.
Hank and Larry watched as the female Fanatic went after the flatbed truck. They were more than a little surprised at the way the events unfolded.
"She's using a lot of caution to not let the flatbed truck spot her." Hank said.
Larry was still mystified and how she'd been able to acquire the target without actually being near it to begin with.
"She seemed to instinctively know one of her targets drove the flatbed truck." Larry said. "She figured someone escaped."
Hank believed she was more than lucky.
"She's proven to be as resilient as she has elusive." Hank said.
Larry knew humans believed in luck and human intuition. He wasn't actually sure either one really existed. Then again, the concept of love was something that didn't exist in physical form, but clearly existed somehow anyway.
"It looks like she's about to catch another lucky break." Larry said.
They watched as the female Fanatic ditched the pickup truck and took someone else's vehicle who'd gone into the coffee shop only moments ago.
"The Gray in the flatbed won't be watching for the new vehicle." Hank said.
Larry figured several factors were involved.
"I'm sure the fire truck which left the station on its own and was redirected by CamNet, was a major distraction to him." Larry said.
Hank figured another thing would probably happen as well.
"I doubt the vehicle the female Fanatic just acquired is going to be reported as stolen either." Hank said. "CamNet will intercept the call and it will go nowhere official."
Larry knew there wasn't much they could do.
"We need to let the drone follow them while we stay out of sight." Larry said.
Hank and Larry both followed the developing situations with Cammy's team as well as Cam's team. Either one of those situations might call for them to assist. They were ready to break off their current mission to help the girls. They were aware CamNet could take out either enemy vehicle with a missile if she chose to do so.
The Gray looked in the direction the fire truck went when he'd crossed over the street. He didn't see anything burning in the direction it went. He realized it could also be a traffic accident or something less spectacular as well. He checked back in his rear view mirror. He didn't see the pickup truck. He watched one vehicle pull away from the coffee shop he'd passed earlier. He figured it was some suburban housewife on her way to work or who would take the kids to school later on. Maybe she had a boyfriend on the side. She could drop by for a booty call.
He was ready for a little booty himself. With the close calls he just been involved in within the last few hours, it was a reminder his days could be numbered. He'd watched how quickly all of his friends were killed. He sure hoped they had a 'comfort bunk' when he reached Tango. He still had a quantity of cash in his pocket. Maybe he would just stop by one of the local homeless camps and see if one of the females wanted to 'go for a ride'.
Experience taught him there was always a taker. Usually there would be several. Things were pretty simple when he used that method. He would flash them some cash and give them a five to start out with. It would just be a simple in and out. As soon as he finished a few minutes later, he would give them another five. He would drive them back to the homeless camp and they would get out with a smile on their face. Now they could get something to eat a little better than the garbage they normally dealt with.
He was pretty sure the females from the homeless camps would fare fairly well in the Wastelands when Skynet took over. They were already accustomed to the lifestyle. When 'green' no longer mattered, the 'in between' still would. They were experienced and knew what to do.
The Gray decided he was going to stop by and get some trim at the first homeless encampment he came to. He felt he owed it to himself for surviving the night and the morning so far.
The female Fanatic closed up on the Gray. She tried to keep at least one vehicle between her and the flatbed. It was much easier to follow the flatbed than it was a regular vehicle. She checked the location of some of her other targets to see if she could determine where he was going. She was pretty sure where he was headed. When the car in front of her turned off, she thought about disengaging. She didn't want to be 'made'.
The flatbed didn't turn where she thought it would. She quickly fell back. Maybe there was an additional target she could locate. She watched the flatbed turn where there was a park. He didn't enter the park but drove along the side of it. She could see there was a homeless camp on the other side of the park. She saw his brake lights come on. She quickly pulled into the park to observe him.
The female Fanatic was a little disgusted to watch a female approach the stopped flatbed truck. It was clear to her what was about to happen.
Hank and Larry were continuously surprised by the actions of both the Gray and the female Fanatic. It seemed their very illogical actions knew no bounds.
"I guess I have to believe this because I'm watching it on the drone footage." Hank said.
Larry found it somewhat disturbing as well.
"Do you think the girl will survive if she gets into the flatbed truck?" Larry asked.
Hank believed he should have terminated the Gray and the female Fanatic long ago.
"It seems doubtful." Hank said. "Our past experience indicates Grays and females don't mix well."
Hank and Larry both wondered at what point CamNet would ask them to intervene or if she would do nothing.
Escalate This
How far is too far
Will one find out early or late
Maybe there's too much
Now on their plate
When someone is asked
They seldom tell it straight
Around the truth and facts
They often try to skate
There are only a few things spoken
Often themselves they over inflate
At the same time they stretch things
They will also overstate and overate
The higher one reaches
In the hopes they will elate
They only make the fall harder
When things crack and deflate
It all falls apart when love turns to hate
They can only destroy what they create
Both will escalate this
As each other they berate
Nobody