Chapter 1356
Breathless
When the Gray behind them was shot in the head and went down, Derek and Kyle knew Savannah was still in the game. She'd killed the man behind them from her vantage point. It was clearly better than what theirs was. She'd obviously used her silenced M9 to do it. They realized she'd remained undetected in whatever she was doing inside the building. It was better than they'd done. They hoped they hadn't compromised whatever she'd been up to.
They believed Savannah was able to shoot whoever was behind them. They didn't know Young Allison was the one who fired the shot. They didn't even know Young Allison was there.
"Savannah is off to the left side somewhere." Derek said. "Now we know we can open up on anyone in front of us or off to the right side."
They began to take fire from four different locations now. They were pretty well pinned down.
Kyle noticed one man who popped out of a doorway wore a gas mask of some type. It looked like it might have its own oxygen supply even. Then he saw another one wearing the same thing. It was probably not going to be good for them.
"These guys have some kind of gas masks on." Kyle said. "They must be planning something. Maybe it's nerve gas."
It worried Derek. He knew how lethal 'nerve gas' was. He was sure it was something else.
"It's not nerve gas." Derek said. "All you need is a drop of it on your skin and you're cooked. They would need full protection suits."
Kyle worried they wanted to capture them.
"I think they want us alive." Kyle said. "It may be some type of knockout gas."
Derek didn't think it would end well for them if it was the case. They wondered if there would be some type of gas canisters deployed. He wondered when they were going to get hit.
"What are they waiting for?" Derek asked.
Young Allison popped her head around the side of a workbench. She didn't like what she saw.
"I caught a glimpse of one of the men shooting at our team with a gas mask of some type on." Young Allison said. "It can't be good. The guy I shot downstairs carried one in a pouch. I didn't take it. I didn't know what it was for."
Savannah didn't care for the news either.
"They may be trying to capture them alive." Savannah said. "It may be some gas to paralyze them or knock them out."
The implication was, it would do the same thing to both of them.
Savannah looked around the other side of the work bench. She spotted Derek.
"I saw Derek." Savannah said.
It sounded like there were two suppressed weapons.
"There are two people returning fire." Young Allison said. "Kyle is probably the other one."
Savannah knew it could be 'worse'.
"It could be Jesse or Sarah too." Savannah said.
Young Allison figured it would be Sarah before Jesse was involved at this level.
"Jesse needs to assist with Precious." Young Allison said. "She knows her priorities. The base will be on lock down now."
Savannah wanted the gas mask. It was still was downstairs. It looked like they were going to need it. She knew once the gas drifted to their location, they would both be affected. She wanted to do what she could to prevent it.
"I'm going back to get the gas mask." Savannah said. "It will keep one of us in the fight. Stay here and don't move."
Young Allison could hold her breath and swim underwater for a couple of minutes. It was something she'd worked on every time she went swimming.
"You know I can hold my breath for a long time." Young Allison said. "Don't take too long. We don't know what they're going to use to deploy the gas."
Savannah didn't want to leave Young Allison alone and she didn't want to get trapped downstairs.
"Keep the doorway clear for me." Savannah said. "I don't want anyone behind me when I go down to get it, or when I come back up."
Young Allison took another peek at where the firing was. It gave her a better idea of where the enemy was at. She was sure how they were about to deploy. There was an idea in the back of her mind.
"Let me have your Beretta." Young Allison said. "I want to remain undetected as long as possible. They can't hear the silenced rounds unless they're close. They can hear the suppressed rounds from my M4."
Young Allison knew if they were close enough to hear the silenced 9MM rounds, they would be dead.
They heard the first gas canister deployed.
"Great." Savannah said. "We don't have much time."
Savannah handed Young Allison her silenced M9.
"I'll be back." Savannah said.
Savannah bent low as she moved back to the doorway with the spiral staircase.
She took one last look at Young Allison. She held a silenced M9 in each hand. More gas was deployed in the distance. She slipped through the narrow gap and hurried down the spiral staircase.
Young Allison watched Savannah go. She turned her attention back to where Derek and Kyle were pinned down. She looked at the M9 she held in each hand. She took another look at how the Grays were currently deployed. She quickly ran a few mental calculations as to what was necessary.
Ally-Cameron was about to finish for the third time. John was able to please her greatly.
"Don't stop." Ally-Cameron said. "I'm almost there. Don't stop."
John didn't. He continued what he was doing. He felt her grasp him tightly as she made it.
John gave her a long soft deep kiss and rolled off the top of her.
He knew what he 'experienced' earlier with Allison was a dream. This was the real thing, even if it was synthetic, and it was great.
John needed to catch his breath.
Ally-Cameron looked at him with her big brown 'puppy dog' eyes.
"Can I try it on top one more time?" Ally-Cameron asked. "I know I need to wait a little bit."
She snuggled up to him and they kissed as he fondled her.
He checked to make sure she was still plugged in with the tether. She was.
'Man, the earlier dream was realistic.' John thought.
His dream was something he'd thought about hundreds of times. It hadn't taken long to fall in love with Allison in the future. He wanted to be with her but never was. It appeared he still hadn't been. He was sure of one thing. If the opportunity ever arose again to be with Allison, he was going to take advantage of the situation.
What could it hurt?
No really.
What could it hurt?
It's what everyone wanted.
Kyle and Derek were pinned down. They didn't think Savannah could get the right angle to take their attackers under direct fire. She would also give away her position at some point. She would become a target as well.
"I think I can get to the guy Savannah shot." Kyle said. "Maybe he has a gas mask. We can take turns using it."
Derek thought it was a good idea.
"Let's both fall back and do it." Derek said.
No sooner than he said it, a canister landed near them spewing some type of vapor.
"Let's move." Kyle said.
They both moved back as two more canisters landed around where they just were. They left behind a surprise of their own.
They were back about twenty feet from their previous position. They both held their fire so they didn't give away their new position.
They retrieved the gas mask from the man who was shot in the head. It was still in a pouch on his belt. They moved back a little further.
"It was some good marksmanship on Savannah's part." Derek said. "A head shot from distance is hard to do. She did it with her Beretta too."
The vapor began to drift towards where they were. They both began to take turns breathing through the gas mask, one at a time. They were aware each time they shared the mask, they picked up a little of the vapor. They exhaled as they were about to put it over their face to blow as much of the vapor out as possible. More canisters landed where they previously were. The vapor held low to the ground. It was about six feet in the air already. It drifted off to the sides as well.
They waited to return fire. They hoped the men would expose themselves more to come and check on them. The goal was to make the men think they were incapacitated.
Young Allison waited for Savannah to return. She didn't see her.
There was a vapor cloud drifting her way. The vapor drifted more sideways than it did up. It seemed to hug the ground. It was going to be to her in a very short while. She didn't think it was going to end well for Derek and Kyle. She was going to need to withdraw soon. She didn't plan to abandon Derek and Kyle if possible.
She checked to see if Savannah was on her way back yet. She didn't see her.
She could hear what sounded like someone moving.
She checked back again to see if Savannah was coming. She didn't see her.
Young Allison took a quick sideways look. There were three men that moved into the thickest part of the vapor. They were moving in on Kyle and Derek. She didn't know their status right now. They could both be down and incapacitated. They might be sitting ducks.
She checked back again to see if Savannah was coming. She didn't see her.
She thought there were five to seven shooters. It was impossible to tell for sure. Some of them used different caliber weapons. The reports were different.
She checked back again to see if Savannah was coming. She didn't see her.
She checked to make sure her vest was in order. She moved the Thermite grenade so it was in back of her. She moved her M4 so it was in front of her. It was 'ready to rock'.
She checked back again to see if Savannah was coming. She didn't see her.
There were targets on both sides of the aisle way by Derek and Kyle.
She added one round to the magazine of Savannah's M9 as well as her own. They both held sixteen shots right now including the one in each chamber.
She checked back again to see if Savannah was coming. She didn't see her.
The vapor was almost to her.
She checked back again to see if Savannah was coming. She didn't see her.
Young Allison was out of options.
She checked back again to see if Savannah was coming. She didn't see her.
"My turn…." Young Allison said.
She took several deep breaths and then a really big one.
She checked back again to see if Savannah was coming. She didn't see her.
Time was up. It was the moment for action.
She started forward in a low silent run with a silenced M9 in each hand. She would need to engage targets on each side of the aisle.
She'd previously trained to engage multiple targets on both sides of her. She didn't train to do it holding her breath as she ran. She hoped all those underwater laps in the pool paid off. She moved forward into the vapor cloud.
The M9 in each hand searched for a target. She hoped to catch them by surprise. They should all be looking at where Derek and Kyle were. They shouldn't be alerted by her shots until it was too late for them to comprehend what was actually occurring.
Death should find the aggressors silently.
Moments ago:
Savannah tossed the glow stick down to the ground before she started down the spiral staircase so it provided illumination. She didn't want to be a target holding it. She held her M4 in front of her.
She went down the spiral staircase. She needed to move with some caution in case anyone was in the passageway they'd used.
Savannah didn't spot any movement. She made it down and past the hoist. She retrieved the glow stick and tossed it around the corner. She didn't want to be 'back lit' when she entered the passageway.
She entered the passageway from the far side of the opening instead of the close side. There was no one in the passageway except the dead man. She retrieved the glow stick and tossed it back into the chamber with the hoist. She looked behind her in the passageway. It was dark.
Savannah retrieved the gas mask. She noted the man was shot in the neck and was shot point blank through his left eye. It meant Young Allison stood over him and fired the M9 at close range into his eye. It was a cold and calculated shot. She'd witnessed her do it in the south building. It was evident Cameron taught her to kill. She didn't 'shoot' the enemy, she 'killed' them.
She thought she 'knew' Young Allison pretty well. She didn't know this side of her. Cameron kept it hidden from her. She could see why. Cameron turned Young Allison into a stone cold killer. It was the only way Young Allison could be a true weapon. It was why none of the people killed because of her actions bothered her. She was responsible for thousands of deaths worldwide at this point in time. She always said they were the enemy. She was desensitized.
Savannah checked the chamber again and retrieved the glow stick. She hurried back up the stairs. She noticed the vapor starting to drift in the open door. She quickly put the mask on. She knew it couldn't be good for the rest of the team out on the workroom floor. She wondered what Young Allison did to escape the vapor.
Sarah was frustrated waiting where she was. Nothing was happening at this point. She was going to pull the bolt out of the Barrett and take it with her. She would leave the M82A1 there. It would be useless to anyone if it was missing a critical piece. It couldn't be used against her or their team.
She would move into the north building where Kyle and Derek were with her M4. There seemed to be a lot of shooting in there. What worried her now was the shooting slowed and then stopped. It couldn't be a good sign for someone. She hoped it was a bad sign for the enemy. There was no way to know without any communication.
It was why she needed to get there as soon as she could to find out.
Sheila could tell Allison was with Hanna and Cam-Gail in the Honeymoon Suite earlier. She'd hoped Allison had been with John, but she hadn't been. She already knew what it was like from the Metal girls. Everything was as it always was as she 'worked' on Allison.
She'd taken Allison to heaven twice while Gail-Cam got her there once.
"I need to rest." Allison gasped.
Gail-Cam and Sheila got up to leave.
Sheila turned back and looked at Allison. She wasn't sure if she knew about the room service procedure.
"Do you want room service for breakfast tomorrow?" Sheila asked. "It's part of my job actually. The others all wanted to watch the sunrise and have coffee or hot cocoa and a selection of pastries or breakfast food. It's something I take care of every morning. All of the Metal girls help out along with Jim. It gives us something productive to do. We don't sleep."
It sounded like the last thing Allison wanted to do was get up in a few hours. She did note in the past, Vanna enjoyed the sunrise when they were up early. It seldom happened anymore.
"I don't know." Allison said.
Sheila thought she would do like she did for the others.
"I'll bring the food in a cart and leave it. If you wake up, it will be there." Sheila said. "There is also the buffet and the main dining room. You can do all three if you want."
Allison would see how she was doing at the time.
"Wake us up about ten minutes before sunrise, if we're too tired to get up, we can go back to sleep." Allison said. "I'm sure Holly will carry Vanna back in here when they're done."
Allison knew the Metal girls were good at carrying them around when they were asleep. More than once she'd gone to sleep in one location and woken up in another location. It was usually with a different partner too. It was always nice. It got the day off to a fresh start.
They both gave Allison a kiss and left the bedroom. She was asleep before they exited the Master Suite.
Jim watched the girls move back and forth between the rooms from the Control Center. It seemed they'd all made the rounds.
He tried to find out more about the operation. There was no new information from CamNet or John Henry
He didn't know CamNet was trying to cover up the fact Young Allison joined the fight on her own. He didn't know there were several other operations going on as well in the background which CamNet didn't want anyone else to know about.
The group waited in Riley's room as the time grew later.
They waited for any updates where Kyle, Sarah and Derek went. There was little information.
Jan fell asleep and Samantha carried her to the bed in the nursery. Summer followed her and she lay down next to Jan. She made sure her com was on so she could hear any updates. CamNet would provide coms to her every now and then. They were delivered clandestinely by one of Cameron's Terminators so the others at her home didn't know.
Samantha went back to the main part of Riley's room.
She saw Riley was asleep and so were Claire and Jesse. They each rested their head on Riley's shoulder. Riley held each one of their hands.
Samantha thought they looked so peaceful. She went and checked on Precious in her crib. She came back and just stood there to watch the three females. They looked so content. She would check on Precious and Summer and Jan every few minutes. She also checked for any updates from John Henry. There were none.
She didn't like not knowing what was happening. She was very worried for the Resistance team who would need to fight the enemy. Any of them could be hurt, shot or killed. She began to review various surgical procedures again. They weren't pleasant thoughts.
John Henry followed what he could. There was nothing to see right now but Sarah out near the buildings all alone.
CamNet initiated the missile strike on the van and the six men who were outside near it. He saw four were killed in the two high altitude drone attacks. The missiles were used as gravity bombs since they thought the energy field would disrupt the missile's guidance systems. It caused a slight delay and two of the men were able to get back in the building. One was missing an arm.
From Anna's position, he received reports of gunfire inside the building. They were powerless to help at this point. He understood Sarah's desire to give up the sniping position and join the battle. He could see her frustration on the ground. She wanted to get inside the north building and lend a hand.
The drone footage of the south building showed an increase in energy activity. He wondered how long it was going to be until whatever was in there exploded. When it did, it could cause massive destruction around the area.
Cammy was with Anna and Mel. She was highly agitated about being unable to help Savannah and the others.
Anna was just as irritated as Cammy was. There was nothing they could do. She wanted to get to Young Allison as much as Cammy did to Savannah.
Mel could see the frustration the Metal girls felt. He was glad he wasn't an infiltration unit. It appeared to be an extremely unpleasant experience. He would reject the infiltration programming again when Cameron offered it to him. He could see why none of the male Terminators opted to receive the programming. They all knew of the difficulties Cameron experienced. It alone was enough to make them hesitant to receive the programming. It seemed there was more pain than reward involved with it.
He didn't understand the girls all felt the pain was worth the reward. It allowed the Metal girls to 'feed' off of their 'Neural Interface' programming and become more 'human like' in the process.
All the team there could do was listen and wait.
Steve and Tom were ready to breach the building they'd been assigned. They waited a few minutes because Richard and Michael were about to arrive. They would be able to hit the building from the front and the back.
It was the same deal for Al and Ed. They waited for Hank and Larry to arrive. They would also breach their structure from the front and the back.
Brian and Randy blew up several power pole transformers to create a diversion. It put them out of all the potential combat areas. They were headed back to assist whichever team picked the building where the enemy emanated from.
It was all about to go down soon.
Derek and Kyle waited for the men to come closer. They'd left a surprise for them. They would open up on them when it was triggered.
Through the thick vapor they saw the men begin to drop, one by one in rapid succession. The men were taking multiple hits each. There was no sound. They thought Savannah was close to them and firing her silenced M9. She must have gotten a gas mask.
In the gloom they saw 'Cameron' pass between the men. She was firing in all directions on both sides of her. She wasn't wearing a gas mask.
Wait.
It must be Cammy since Cameron was on the ship.
Wait.
Cammy couldn't function with the energy field.
Wait.
It must be Allison.
Wait.
Allison was on the ship too.
All six men went down with multiple hits.
They watched as she dropped the pistols and brought her M4 up. She disappeared into the thick vapor. They could hear the suppressed rounds as she fired it.
It hit them both at the same time like a sledge hammer.
It was Young Allison! She was in the middle of it without a gas mask as she engaged every target on her own.
It was incredible.
Derek had the gas mask on.
"Go help her." Kyle said. "Watch out for the booby trap."
Derek broke out into the open to go assist Young Allison. He could hear her M4 firing full auto right now. It couldn't be good.
He ripped the gas mask off the closest dead man and tossed it in Kyle's direction. He needed to get to where Young Allison was at.
Savannah exited the room with the spiral stairway and looked for Young Allison. She was gone and the vapor was everywhere. She thought maybe she'd retreated.
She caught some movement down the main aisle.
Savannah was shocked at what she saw.
It couldn't be, but it was.
Young Allison was running towards the enemy into the thick vapor without a gas mask. She fired both of the Berettas. There were targets on each side of her. The men fell as she passed them.
Savannah started after her. She brought her M4 up ready for action. So far there was no return fire. Young Allison must have taken them by surprise. It would be a surprise for her to show up in the middle of them. Death would have silently found them.
She couldn't catch her but she followed her. Man, was she fast. She knew Young Allison could hold her breath for a long time, but only for so long.
She lost sight of Young Allison in the thick vapor. A few seconds later she could hear suppressed shots being fired. They went full auto a few seconds later. It couldn't be good.
Moments ago:
Young Allison took a deep breath before the vapor cloud enveloped her. She bought both of the Berettas up. She planned to fire multiple times at each target since she expected to be firing on both sides of her at the same time as she ran. She would need to point shoot. She would fire the pistols until they locked open. She would drop them and switch to her M4. Every fraction of a second counted.
The first targets appeared on her right side. She spotted targets on her left side a fraction of a second later. She planned to hit each one multiple times in the center of mass. She hoped none of them were wearing body armor. The Coltan rounds should still pierce it.
She passed between the two rows of men as she fired. Six targets went down. The last two only started to look in her direction. They fell before they could act. The pistols locked open. She dropped them and brought up her M4 as she searched for additional targets. It was only thirty five seconds into her last breath. She should be good for another minute at least. It was unless she got shot and would end up taking an involuntary breath at that point. Maybe it would be her last. She advanced on the enemy anyway.
Derek went to back Young Allison up. He expected to see her collapse any second. He spotted movement off to his left side. It was another figure wearing a gas mask. He started to swing his M4 around. There was no mistaking the red hair. It was Savannah.
She caught sight of him and swung her M4 off of him. She already had him zeroed as a target.
He looked back. Kyle was up with the gas mask on. He would check the fallen and make sure they stayed fallen. 'Death' was busy tonight.
He moved forward in the direction Young Allison went. Savannah was right there with him.
Both of them still tried to process what they'd just witnessed.
It was a sight to behold.
The two Grays headed for the hillside location in the white van.
The second man planned to take a shortcut. He would follow the access road for the high tension power lines.
The first man didn't think they should waste time going to the hillside location. There might be more trouble.
"I do think we need to go there." The first man said.
The second man wanted to see for himself what was going on. Based upon the two buildings he just been at, it seemed like a more secure location would be a better place to operate out of.
"It won't take us long to get there." The second man said.
The van turned off of the paved road onto a dirt road when they reached the high tension power lines. There were two poles on either side of the dirt road with a chain between them.
The second man looked at the barrier for a moment and laughed.
"I hope they don't think that's going to stop anyone." The second man said.
The first man looked at the obstruction. He figured it looked good on paper somewhere.
"It doesn't seem like there was a whole lot of thinking behind it." The first man said.
The area was open and flat dirt on both sides of the two poles with the chain. The second man simply drove off to the side and around the poles and entered the dirt road. The road was a little bumpy. It wasn't too bad. It had recently been graded after the last rainy season. He was able to drive with his high beams on to help illuminate the road ahead of him. He looked behind him in the darkness.
"We're really kicking up a cloud of dust." The second man said.
The first man looked back. It was mostly all darkness behind them.
"I don't think too many people are going to notice at this time of the night." The first man said.
There was a big dip in the road. The van bounced over it.
The terrain began to get a little hillier.
There was something in the road up ahead. It was moving. It paused for a second and looked at them. They could see the gold eyes in the reflection of the high beams. It ran off.
"I think it was a coyote." The second man said.
The first man wasn't sure what it was.
"Whatever it was, don't run into it." The first man said. "I don't want to get stuck out here, especially in the middle of the night. It looked like it had a lot of teeth. There are probably more of them around."
The two men in the white van continued their trek. The condition of the road seemed to worsen a little as they went along.
The Gray continued on towards the mine in the white van. He continuously checked behind him for any telltale signs of a tail. He thought about finding a spot to pull off of the road. he would lay low and see if anyone showed up behind him.
Wait.
What if he did and they spotted him? They more than likely would attempt to kill him. They just killed everyone else at the other location. They certainly wouldn't hesitate to kill him. Did he want to be a sitting duck?
Maybe his imagination was playing tricks on him. He might be seeing shadows where there were none. It was dark out. If there were any shadows, he really couldn't see them. He still didn't see anyone behind him as he drove.
He was sure he would be able to spot anyone behind him once he turned on to the dirt road which led up to the stamp mill and the mine behind it.
It was almost time to make the turn off. He hoped to be able to do it without needing to step on the brakes. He didn't want to alert anyone as to what he was about to do. He thought about turning his headlights off but he was afraid he would miss it. He certainly didn't want to have to stop and back up.
He spotted a crooked tree which was near it. He slowed a little more. He could see where the dirt road was off to the side. He started to turn the wheel to make the turn. He was going too fast. He hit the brakes a little bit so he didn't slide in the dirt. He'd only needed to touch them for a few seconds. He was lined up with the dirt road now. He took one more look around behind him in the darkness. He couldn't see anything.
The Gray started up the dirt road towards the location. He didn't think he was going to get a warm welcome when he arrived with the latest information. He looked behind him again to see if he saw any headlights. There were none the way he'd come from.
Wait.
The Gray caught a flash of light in the distance. It appeared there was another vehicle headed in his direction. It seemed to be on the dirt road along the high tension power lines. There was no way for him to make out what type of vehicle it was. He was sure if he could see them, they could see him.
The first man spotted something in the distance.
"Did you see it?" The first man asked.
The second man looked a little irritated.
"Did I see what?" The second man asked. "What was it, another coyote?"
The first man pointed. His left index finger hit the windshield as he did.
"Up there, I saw a light." The first man said.
The second man looked up. He spotted the lights too.
"I think it's where we're headed." The second man said.
The first man was a little concerned.
"Do you think it's one of ours?" The first man asked.
The second man figured they'd find out soon enough, one way or the other.
"I'll let you know if there's an explosion or not." The second man said.
The first man didn't think it was something to joke about.
The two men in the white van continued along. They weren't sure what awaited them.
Minutes ago:
The female Fanatic dropped back even further. She needed to keep track of where the van was at in front of her. She didn't want to get ambushed. She was worried if she lost sight of it, the driver might pull over to the side of the road and wait for her.
She tried to give him as much distance as possible. She looked at images on the satellite map. She wasn't sure where he was headed.
Something ran across the road in front of her. It startled her a little bit. She almost hit the brakes. She figured the animals would learn to be more careful with the road nearby. The roads and automobiles weren't part of nature. They were a fact of life. Animals should learn to pay attention when they heard the sounds of one of them. Most of them had very good hearing. It didn't seem they were able to adapt very well. She didn't think it really mattered. Most of them were dead in the future anyway.
There was a bright flash of red light ahead. She realized she was a little closer to the van than she had been. The driver must have slowed again. He hit his brakes for some reason. The brightness of the brake lights was gone in a few seconds. In fact, all the light was gone.
She quickly let off the accelerator and downshifted. She didn't want to get ambushed. She proceeded at reduced speed.
There was something on the road up ahead. She could see what looked like 'fog' in front of her. It was only directly in front of her. It wasn't around her or above her. She quickly realized it was dust. The van must have turned onto a dirt road.
She reduced her speed even further. She crept along at idle speed. She held her Beretta in her right hand. She put the car in neutral and used the parking brake to slow it and then stop it. She left it running. She left the parking brake on.
She spotted some headlights on the hill next to her. There was a cloud of dust behind it. It appeared the van was on a dirt road and headed up the side of the hill. She took out the phone and looked at the satellite map again. She spotted what appeared to be a structure with the dirt road leading up to it. The resolution wasn't very good. Whatever it was appeared to be a dark brown color. She could see the dirt road ended at the location.
It was time to make a choice. She could park off to the side somewhere and wait. She didn't know what waiting would do other than allow her to fall asleep. It would be much harder to move around when it was daylight and not be spotted. It would be very difficult to move around in the darkness without a light to give away her position. She had several phones now. She could use the lights on those.
It appeared the road was only about a third of a mile long. Maybe her easiest course of action would simply be to walk up the dirt road in the darkness. If she saw headlights again, from either direction, she could move off of the dirt road.
She parked her sedan off to the side of the road. She was behind a group of bushes. She wanted to take a look at the hillside facility. If it was a new home for Skynet, she wanted to make it its tomb instead. She could see the headlights on the hillside. She started up on the dirt road when she reached it.
The female Fanatic continued up the dirt road. She caught a flash of light in the distance. She believed it was another vehicle. It was on a dirt road. She wondered if it was headed in her direction. She was unable to make out what type of vehicle it was. She watched the vehicle above her and the vehicle in the distance as she made her way upward.
Tina decided she wasn't going to take any chances. She moved over to the side of the rock wall as she proceeded. She used multiple different vision spectrums to scan what was on the other side of the wooden barrier. She didn't detect the Gray waiting on either side of the doorway to ambush her.
She moved to the doorway above the wooden barrier and opened it slightly. She could see the Gray about to exit the mine. She quickly passed through the opening. She continued to move along the rock wall as she approached him.
The Gray paused and looked around when he was on the outside of the mine. He looked over towards the stamp mill. He didn't spot any other vehicles other than their own.
She saw him raise his communication device.
"Where are you at, Alpha?" The Gray asked. "I don't see anyone."
Tina moved up behind him.
"I've been waiting for you, Omega." Tina said in the dead sentry's voice.
The Gray quickly spun around. His light shined on Tina. His eyes were as wide as saucers.
"Who are you?" The Gray asked.
Tina reached out and grabbed him by the neck.
"I'm your worst nightmare." Tina said in the dead sentry's voice.
Tina quickly searched the Gray after she'd disarmed him. She collected his phone and his communication device, which he'd dropped on the ground. She began to question him Terminator style.
Lena hoped to hear a little more from the two men before she acted.
"So let me get this straight." The third man said. "Once we get the siding down, there's supposed to be a passageway which leads to where the high tension power lines are located."
"That's what the boss man says." The fourth man said.
"Come on, man, I know you're just joshing me." The third man said.
There was laughter from inside the cavern.
"Dude, I have no idea what's on the other side of this rotted wood." The fourth man said.
Lena didn't want to go on and leave the two men behind her. She moved closer to the opening with her silenced M9. She listened to the interrogation between Tina and the first man on her com. So far he didn't seem to have too many answers. She doubted either of the two men in the cavern would have any.
She moved into the opening and fired twice. Both of the men went down. They're tools clattered to the ground at the same time they did. She remained where she was at and listened. She didn't hear anything.
She quickly moved over to the men and searched them. She took their phones and looked for anything else. She looked at the area where they'd been working. She didn't like what the one man indicated. Evidently he'd been joking, if he wasn't, it was a serious threat.
The old explosives in the cavern bothered her. It didn't seem like something anyone would have left behind. She figured the only reason someone would have left them behind, was if they planned to use them. She looked over the section of wood the men were removing. She would need to come back and look at what was really there. She wanted to make sure there was no one else in the mine first.
She went back out into the main passageway and continued down it. There was no indication anyone else was working anywhere. She listened to Tina interrogate the first man. He'd stated several times it was only the four of them currently inside of the mine. She'd scanned him as she questioned him. It didn't seem as if anyone else was there.
It was time to take a look at what the men had been working on. She returned back to the cavern. Both of the men were where she'd left them. She grabbed the wooden siding and began to rip it loose. In a few minutes she'd uncovered an opening. She ripped down more of the barrier.
She started to enter it. She paused for a moment. She went back and picked up one of the lanterns the men used to illuminate the area they'd worked in. She knew she didn't need to worry about being spotted by anyone at this point. She figured the extra light couldn't hurt. She made a few calculations based upon her current location.
The passageway she was about to enter was pointed in the direction of where the high tension power lines were at. She was sure it was just a coincidence. If it wasn't, it would indicate some type of knowledge someone possessed about the future when the mine was constructed. There were only two ways for it to happen. The first was to send back a Gray to become involved in the construction. The Gray would eventually grow old and die. The other option was to send back a Terminator. If a Terminator were sent back, it could still be in standby. It could be anywhere. She knew it also could have been destroyed in a blasting accident. The explosives of the time period weren't known for their stability.
It made her wonder about the explosives left in the cavern. Maybe the job was never finished because of an accident. Who sealed everything off? Why were the explosives left behind? Why was the cavern sealed off?
There seemed to be more questions now than when she'd started. She'd placed her last repeater when she started down the new passageway. She soon lost contact with Tina. Before she did, she gave her a brief rundown of what she was doing and what her speculation was. She could hear Tina start a new line of questioning with the Gray. It sounded like he was in bad shape. She knew he was going to be in worse shape.
Lena continued along the new passageway.
Tina interrogated the Gray, Terminator style. She'd already severely beaten him and broken a number of bones. She'd been a little concerned about Lena's new revelation. She worked on the Gray to find out more about it. He claimed to know nothing about what she asked him.
She noticed something in the distance along the high tension power lines. She could see a set of headlights. She zoomed in. There was a dust cloud behind it. It was a white van. It more than likely was the one which visited one, or both, of the destroyed locations from earlier. It should have two men in it.
There was some noise off to the side. It was where the road came up from the hillside. She could hear another vehicle approaching. She saw the headlights dance along the hillside for a fraction of a second. It was clear there was a second vehicle headed towards the mine. She didn't know if it was the female Fanatic or the other white van returning. She would find out soon enough.
CamNet was unable to give her any further information as to either of the vehicles approaching. CamNet's speculation was the same as hers. She decided if it was the female Fanatic, she was going to terminate her.
The Gray didn't seem to have any more useful information. She snapped his neck and carried his body over to the ravine where she'd dumped the sentry earlier. She tossed him down there on top of the other body. She moved over to where the parked vehicles were at.
Tina took up a position between the two vehicles and waited for the new arrivals. She'd been unable to contact Lena and tell her of the new development.
Breathless
To move forward with a relationship
Takes more than finesse
When moderation isn't just
Some things can cause distress
To share as equals
No one must try to possess
The direction seems to indicate
One has started to obsess
Stay away from what's wild
Avoid the extreme and excess
Sometimes love is about sacrifice
It's the only way to make progress
To know all the facts
Is better than to guess
No one wants a mess
When they would rather undress
It's not a game of chess
When it's time to impress
When two want to caress
It can leave both feeling breathless
Nobody