Chapter 1532
Boss Of Nothing
John Henry hoped to be able to trace some of the locations where the Skynet 'warning' was sent out to. It appeared they went to another smaller mainframe. It wasn't a wide spread operation, even if it was significant. It was a wait and see approach as to what would turn up and what would be shut down on its own from the transferred encryption.
"We don't know what will be revealed." John Henry said.
Summer didn't think it was a problem. She was very pleased with her accomplishment.
"The Skynet system wasn't even close to anything we have." Summer said. "I'd consider it a child. It was a challenge to keep it in the 'fight'."
John Henry knew he started out slow when he was created.
"Children grow." John Henry said.
Summer smiled. She looked down at the front of herself. It was clear she was growing. She wasn't in as big of a hurry to 'grow up' as her sister was. She was sure it was because of the pressure from the future. She didn't face the same events. She wasn't in the future.
"I guess they do." Summer said. "It's true for everything. Time waits for no one."
They watched the drone footage of the 'rescue' party head down into the Main Shaft on the hoist elevator. There were only two men left at the mine head.
John Henry took control of the equipment. There was no Skynet active to fight back, or even warn anyone they were under attack. The Grays still didn't know it wasn't an accident.
He allowed the elevator to go right below Level Two and stop. The elevator would go no further. Communications were cut off from the surface and the mine. The group of men was stuck in the elevator.
Summer watched Toto's feed. It alternated between thermal imagery and night vision. All of the Terminator's body cams did the same.
Toto slowed once it was near the tram where Cam recently killed the two Grays.
Summer checked on Gail. Gail moved behind Toto as she looked for any stragglers. Gail also needed to make sure the Terminator who stalked Cam didn't make it past the group, if they decided to head for the clean room or Level Five.
All the imagery Summer could see alternated between thermal and night vision.
John Henry watched their team on the ground, from the Blackhawk, approach the mine head. They were already over the fence which surrounded the outlying buildings. He sent the drone on patrol lower for a scan of the surrounding buildings. There were four more drones on the way.
Jim was able to spot the target who stalked Cam. He didn't see any night vision equipment on them. He was sure it was a Terminator. He watched the figure stop and check the two men Cam shot.
When he stood back up, there was a pistol in his hand. It was clear he knew the nature of the threat. He started in pursuit of Cam. He tried to contact others in the mine as well as the surface. There was no response. John Henry blocked everything.
Cam was able to see most of what Jim did from his vantage point. She didn't see everything. She used several vision spectrums to see what was around her. She was pleased with her choice to shoot the two Grays instead of terminating them 'Terminator style'. The Terminator would think he faced a human target. It should give her an advantage.
She knew where Jim was at and headed towards him. She wanted to pull off a 'sucker play'.
The Terminator began to follow in the direction she went. He suddenly stopped and went back. It looked like he was going to head for the clean room to check on Skynet.
Cam saw him turn around. She made some noise to get his attention.
He stopped and looked back in her direction. She decided to 'play' him.
"My goggles stopped working." Cam whispered. "I can't see."
Cam changed her voice modulation.
"Follow me." Cam whispered in a male voice. "Let's get out of here."
Cam switched back to her voice.
"I thought there was someone else following us." Cam whispered.
She moved to a different spot back closer to the tram. She moved closer to the Terminator. She wanted to give him some bait. She wanted the Terminator to come closer to her and not go back towards the clean room.
"There's no light." Cam whispered in a male voice. "We're good."
The Terminator needed to make a choice. He could go after what appeared to be two human targets, or go check the well being of his master, Skynet.
He decided Skynet could wait a few minutes. Humans were easy targets. It didn't take much to terminate one. There were two here. He'd only seen the female so far. Maybe he would keep her alive and turn her over to the Grays. Maybe he'd 'try' her first, just to see why the Grays liked to do it so much. He would do it. He went after the two voices he heard. He planned to take the female alive.
Bob moved out of the back passageway. A hostile Terminator was a threat to the team. He spotted them across the main passageway. Jim was still further back and moving forward. He could see Toto was already there by the first parked tram. Gail was further back on the main passageway.
He heard some noise and saw a light behind him. Someone was in the back passageway he'd just left. He thought Gail, Jim and Cam could handle the Terminator. He needed to stop whoever was in back of him. They could sound the alarm or trigger an explosion.
Young Allison and Anna listened to the different conversations and reports.
"I think the team needs to get out now and stop looking around." Young Allison said. "When the mine collapses, it will take care of everyone inside of it."
Anna knew it was true. Grays, or another Terminator, may be able to disrupt or deactivate some of the bombs they'd rigged. The nitro on Level Five would bring the 'off to the side' section down. The large power cells rigged to explode, with the Terminators power cells and C-4, should bring the main part of the mine down.
"What do you suggest as an alternative or a distraction?" Anna asked.
Young Allison felt the choices were limited and they were potentially deadly.
"They could explode the fuel drums, the Skynet mainframe, the old explosives, or the explosives in the electrical room from the surface." Young Allison said. "None of those alone would do significant damage to collapse the rest of the mine."
Anna sent out a message to the team underground.
"CamNet has notified them if they need a distraction." Anna said.
Young Allison hoped they didn't need one. She worried about a boulder falling into the pool of nitro Cam set to mix. She figured it would still be explosive, even if it hadn't achieved the full explosive value nitroglycerin.
Samantha lifted the Blackhawk above the trees and flew back the way Young Jesse flew in.
Young Jesse felt it was good practice to take a divergent route instead of the one used to fly in on.
"Take a different way out." Young Jesse said. "We don't know if we passed an LP somewhere, even though it's doubtful in this situation. There was no apparent warning to the Grays on the surface."
Samantha immediately changed course. She was impressed at how well trained Young Jesse was. It was a sound tactic.
"Affirmative…." Samantha said. "You've received good training."
Young Jesse felt a little restricted at times. She did train a lot. Camille always told her there could never be enough training and practice. She felt it was somewhat wasted if it couldn't be put to practical use. What she currently did, was a practical use. She might not be in the danger zone herself, but she was a part of the operation right now.
"All I do is train." Young Jesse said. "I practice flying a lot too."
She'd been able to improve all of her skills over the years. Some of them were about to be tested.
Al, Ed, Ken and Lou headed for the Main Shaft and the surface operations. They reached the perimeter fence in just under four minutes from leaving the Blackhawk. They were over the fence and near the first of the buildings.
Drone scans indicated there were heat signatures in three of the buildings and several individuals over by the electrical equipment at the mine head.
Three Terminators each selected a building. The fourth would head for the Main Shaft. They would terminate any targets and meet at the mine head.
"There are six more drones on station." John Henry said. "There's one for each of you, one on patrol and one acting as the base station for the repeaters in the mine."
Al thought the Blackhawk should have one drone for protection.
"Send my drone to protect the helicopter." Al said.
John Henry was aware of the situation.
"Negative." John Henry said. "Young Jesse sent all of them to back up your team. They were originally sent to protect the helicopter. More will arrive soon. You've been urged to use caution by Young Allison. Summer stated, 'The cat is out of the bag' at this point'. Your targets are finite. We will know if more help is sent."
Al noted the concern for his team. The human girls, in three different locations, looked after the Terminators. It wasn't lost on any of them.
"Affirmative…." Al said. "All of my team is ready to engage. We will use the drone support as necessary."
The Grays in the elevator wondered why it stopped before it was even half way down. They were in total darkness when it did.
"That's great, man." The first Gray said. "That's just great."
The second Gray looked at the first one with disgust. He was aware the guy was a perpetual complainer. No matter what occurred, he always had something negative to say about it.
"Shut up, Hudson." The second Gray said. "You complain about everything."
The men talked among themselves. No one could contact the interior of the mine or the surface. They were currently cut off from any type of communication.
The Grays griped for three minutes. They'd already turned on a couple of the lantern's they carried. None of them liked being in the dark. Right now they were in the dark, in more ways than one.
The third Gray held one of the lanterns up towards the top of the elevator.
"Boost me up." The third Gray said. "There's some kind of a hatch on the top of this thing."
Two of the Grays lifted him up. He was able to open the hatch and climb onto the top of the elevator.
The first Gray shook his head in amazement.
"What are we going to do?" The first Gray asked. "Are we supposed to climb up the greasy cable back to the top? It's like several hundred feet, at least."
The second Gray didn't want any flak right now. Some of their group was in need. It was their responsibility to get down to them and help them.
"Shut up, Hudson." The second Gray said. "Let's see what Vinnie can see first."
The third Gray could see the boarded up entrance to Level Two. It was only about three feet above the top of the elevator. It didn't look like it would be a problem to reach it. They would need to remove the blockage first.
"I think we caught a lucky break." The third Gray said. "We can get into Level Two from here. It's a few feet above the top of the elevator. We need to pry off a couple of boards."
The second Gray was surprised.
"I didn't even know that section was still accessible." The second Gray said. "We have plenty of tools."
The first Gray thought it was a mistake. They knew where they were at now. They knew where they wanted to go. Going into a different part of the mine was an unknown.
"We don't know what's inside of there, man." The first Gray said. "We could run into anything."
The second man shook his head with disgust. They couldn't just stand around and do nothing.
"Shut up, Hudson. Grow a pair. It won't be the Boogie Man." The second Gray said. "Let's get a light and some tools up to Vinnie."
Three more men went up on top of the elevator. They were able to pry open the bottom of the opening to Level Two.
"It's an open passageway." The third Gray said. "We should be able to get down to the lower levels."
The men scrambled up until the first Gray was the only one left inside of the elevator.
"Hey, man, what about me?" The first Gray asked. "Someone needs to help me up."
The other Grays didn't care for Hudson. He was a chronic crybaby.
"Shut up, Hudson." The second Gray said. "You can stay in the elevator for now in case it moves again. Someone needs to tell the others where we went. They can send the elevator back up. We don't have any communications."
The first Gray looked around the empty elevator.
"That's just great, man." The first Gray said. "Now what am I supposed to do?"
The second Gray wanted to get started.
"Shut up, Hudson." The second Gray said. "You're in charge of the elevator. You're the boss now."
The first Gray looked around the dark elevator interior. The light was gone from above in a few seconds.
"Beautiful…." The first Gray said. "Now I'm in charge. I'm the boss of nothing…."
In the next moment, the elevator started back down.
The first Gray couldn't quite believe what just happened. The others were all on Level Two except him. Now the elevator was gone. They couldn't even get back on it, so they could get into it.
"Typical…." The first Gray said. "This is getting better by the minute."
The elevator stopped a hundred feet from the bottom of Level Four.
The first Gray was surprised when the elevator started to move and then stop again. He looked up at the opening where the other men had gone out of. There wasn't time for them to get back on the elevator. He wasn't sure how far down the elevator had gone. Whatever it was, it wasn't far enough.
"Beautiful…." The first Gray said. "Now what am I supposed to do?"
John and Camille rode the California Line cable car downhill on California Street. They would ride it from one end of the line to the other. It wasn't very long. It went downhill for a while, and then back up a small incline. In a short time, they neared the other cable car line. They watched a cable car pass by in both directions in front of them.
"That's so cool." John said.
Their large cable car clanged its gong bell and crossed over the other two sets of cable car tracks. John looked at the street to see how all the connections were made for the crossover. He couldn't see anything. He still didn't understand how it all worked and didn't get tangled up.
They started downhill again. In the distance, they could see a large building and the Bay Bridge in front of them.
"The building in front of us sure looks big." John said.
Cam knew exactly what the structure was.
"It's the Ferry Building." Camille said.
John looked around at a few people on the street.
"It seems it's in the right place." John said.
Camille tilted her head slightly.
They continued their downhill journey.
Cammy wanted to do something to pick the girls' spirits up. It wasn't everyday when they watched, or participated in, some 'street justice'.
It was decided they would head over and ride the cable car from the start at Powell Street and Market Street. They were only a couple of miles away. Everything was close in San Francisco.
Ally wondered about the girl's personal needs.
"Do you want to grab a bite to eat or some coffee?" Ally asked.
Laura needed something stronger than coffee. She'd witnessed a lot of violence first hand. It was different from the way it happened on TV and in the movies.
"I could use a stiff drink." Laura said.
Mary quickly glanced at Laura to see if she made a joke or not. It didn't look like it.
"Maybe it wasn't the best choice of words." Mary said.
Laura shrugged her shoulders. There were certainly a few things she didn't want to handle.
"I don't want any hot dogs or sausages either." Laura said.
There was some uneasy laughter.
The destination seemed obvious.
"To Fisherman's Wharf it is." Cammy said. "We can ride the cable car to there."
They would ride the Powell and Mason line. It was only a short walk from the terminus straight down to Fisherman's Wharf.
CamNet contacted Cammy with new information.
"There will be a surprise for us along the way." Cammy said.
Laura wasn't sure if she was ready for any more surprises. She hoped to get a heads up.
"What kind of a surprise is it?" Laura asked.
Cammy tilted her head slightly. She didn't want to spoil the surprise.
"It's why they call it a surprise." Cammy said. "You need to wait for it."
Dan and Frank went and picked up Tom. They would need to deal with four SUVs. Each of the Terminators would soon drive one.
Steve stayed in back of John and Camille. He still needed to deliver a package to John.
John and Camille completed their journey down to the end of the line. There was another cable car parked there.
"We need to switch cable cars." Camille said.
John wasn't sure why. They could have waited and stayed on the one they were on. He wouldn't have minded the wait. He hoped to have his hand invited back inside of Camille's coat. He'd like to resume where he left off earlier.
"OK." John said.
He got off with Camille. He was surprised to see Steve standing there with a large bag. He handed it to Camille and whispered something in her ear. He nodded at John and left.
John looked at the large bag.
"What's in the bag?" John asked.
Camille didn't look inside of it. Steve already clued her in. She wanted to keep the information to herself for now.
"It's a surprise for later on." Camille said.
They boarded the cable car.
The cable car pulled away from the stop with a mild jolt. It started up the hill. The first part wasn't steep at all.
Cammy drove the girls down Market Street. They stopped across from the cable car terminus. They all got out of the SUVs. Dan, Frank and Tom pulled up behind them.
Several vintage trolleys passed them by in both directions.
Leticia could tell they were old just by looking at them. Everything was in good condition though.
"Can we ride one of those?" Leticia asked.
Sheila smiled.
"We can do anything you want." Sheila said.
Leticia liked the way Sheila looked after her.
"Now you know why you're my Super Hero." Leticia said. "You're the greatest."
The girls crossed the street.
Mary wondered if they're going to leave the vehicles parked on the street.
"What about the SUVs?" Mary asked.
Hanna looked back.
"What SUVs?" Hanna asked.
All the girls turned and looked. The SUVs were already gone.
Laura knew they only got out of them about a half a minute ago.
"That was fast." Laura said.
Cammy smiled.
"It's how we roll." Cammy said. "I think it worked out well so far for an unplanned operation."
Mary found it hard to believe, but the 'special girls' seemed to work wonders.
"You really are like Super Heroes." Mary said.
Laura thought they should have a nickname.
"Let's call them 'The Defenders'." Laura said.
Sheila felt she was more offensive.
"I like the name 'The Offenders' better." Sheila said.
The girls all laughed.
They neared the cable car stop. There were two cable cars ready to leave. When Cammy approached the kiosk, it began to spew tickets out.
Mary could see no one touched anything. It all happened when Cammy approached the machine.
"That's not a surprise either." Mary said.
The front cable car clanged its gong bell.
Laura watched the waiting group get on.
"If we hurry, we can get on the cable car." Laura said. "It's about to leave."
Cammy checked her phone.
"Hardly…." Cammy said. "It's for commoners."
Laura wondered if they were going to have a private cable car again.
"Is one just for us?" Laura asked. "It was so cool the last time."
Leticia looked around. She'd hoped to see someone else waiting for them. They weren't.
"Where's Tony at?" Leticia asked. "I want him to ride with us again."
Laura watched the way 'Tony' looked at Camille earlier.
"I think he was busy with Camille." Laura said.
Leticia was a little disappointed. She moved close to Sheila.
"Will I still get to be with Tony on the flight back?" Leticia whispered.
Sheila smiled.
"You will." Sheila whispered.
Leticia wanted to make it even more special.
"Can we make it a three way?" Leticia whispered.
Sheila wanted her 'one time' with John. She didn't know Camille already had hers.
"I really don't know, love." Sheila whispered.
The full cable car left. They got on the next one.
Cammy spoke to the operator and handed him something. His eyes widened as he looked at the stack of hundred dollar bills.
"Wow! That's a thousand bucks." The operator said. "California Street it is, no stops along the way."
Cammy wanted to get moving. She provided him with a little additional information.
"You won't get stopped at any lights along the way either." Cammy said. "We'll pick up two passengers at California street."
Some people ran to catch their cable car.
"This is a special." The operator said as he waved them off. "You'll need to catch the next one."
They started up the hill with a jolt.
Sarah opened her eyes. She'd drifted off. She looked over at Kyle and smiled. She touched her rings. They were a little tender. It excited her some anyway. It was the thrill of having done it which fueled her.
Kyle began to snore. She was about to elbow him. She decided to let him sleep. She threw on her bathrobe and started to head out. She paused and looked in Jan's room. She was asleep in her bed. She hadn't heard her come in. It made her wonder what Kyle and her were actually doing when she'd arrived. Jan was sure to have heard them. She was a big girl now. Everyone knew what everyone else did anyway. There were no secrets at the Resistance base.
Sarah headed out into the hall. She thought about going to see what was happening in the Command Center. She decided to stop by Riley's room instead. She wanted to check on Precious.
She arrived at the nursery and knocked softly. She opened the door and went in. Allison was holding Precious, who was asleep. Vanna and Holly watched her. They all wore bathrobes too.
Sarah let her robe open some so the girls could see her.
Holly took Precious from Allison.
Allison's eyes widened some as she looked at Sarah. She wanted to see more.
"That looks so Hot." Allison said. "May I?"
Sarah looked at Vanna who nodded slightly. She then opened her robe up all the way. Everything was visible. She was very happy with her new look.
"Go ahead." Sarah said. "Touch them."
Allison looked back at Vanna who smiled, Holly nodded.
Vanna didn't want to miss out on anything.
"I'm next." Vanna said.
Allison smiled and touched Sarah's rings. It soon expanded to what they were attached to…. She also took in everything from her thighs up. It was a rare opportunity to see Sarah this unclothed and to actually touch her. It was something she thought would never happen. She'd indicated to Sarah over the years she was available for more.
"It's really beautiful. You're really beautiful." Allison said. "I've wanted to do it since Cameron first showed me hers one time." Allison said. "I knew I could look just like her."
Sarah was highly aroused at this point.
"Let me have a before and after look." Sarah said.
Allison immediately opened her robe.
"Here is the before look." Allison said.
Sarah was reminded of Cameron stretched out on the work bench the day she'd brought her to the Resistance base. She'd seen Cameron and her clones topless and nude plenty of times. There was just something special about seeing Allison though. She'd seen her in the halls with the other girls before when they 'room hopped'. She always envied their ability to share. It seemed she was in a catch up phase. She was ready for some more.
"Are all you girls going to be busy?" Sarah asked.
Vanna and Allison looked at each other quickly. Was it an offer?
Precious woke up.
Vanna opened her robe and took Precious from Holly. She didn't see why things couldn't get started without her.
"I'm going to be a bit longer." Vanna said. "Allison is free right now."
Sarah wondered about Holly. She looked at her.
Holly felt an obligation currently. Samantha asked her to take her place until she returned. She intended to fulfill the request. It was something she wanted to do as well.
"I'm needed here to watch over Precious until Samantha returns." Holly said. "I may be by later."
Sarah looked around. She thought it was odd Samantha was away.
"Where'd she go?" Sarah asked.
Vanna shrugged her shoulders. She believed it was some type of a hookup.
"We don't know." Vanna said. "Sometimes it's best not to ask…."
Sarah nodded.
"All girls need a few secrets." Sarah said.
The girls all giggled.
Allison was ready to make a few.
"I'm going to go back to my room." Allison said.
She looked at Sarah and left.
Sarah lightly moistened her lips. She was ready for a new adventure.
"I'll leave you two to tend to Precious." Sarah said.
Vanna winked at her. Holly nodded slightly.
Sarah smiled at them and left.
As soon as the door closed, Vanna sat down on the bed. Precious was done almost instantly and fell back asleep.
Holly took Precious and placed her back in her crib. She expected Vanna to be gone when she returned to the nursery.
She saw Vanna's robe on the floor and Vanna naked on the bed.
"It looks like everyone gets to have some fun." Vanna said.
Holly looked back at the door and made sure it wasn't closed tight. She didn't want to miss Precious if she woke up or cried. She slipped off her robe.
Vanna liked Holly's new look.
"It's absolutely beautiful, Holly." Vanna said as she fondled her.
Holly liked how Vanna looked too. She'd watched Hanna many times, and Anna too when she could.
"Right now it's all for you." Holly said.
Vanna couldn't help but think size did matter, especially when it was high and tight. Holly was 'built' in more ways than one. Right now, she was pleased she could handle more than a handful.
The Terminator awaited the arrival of the four men. The other four men were still on their way to their target. If some type of attack occurred with the second group of men, it would thin the herd on both sides. It was possible one group would terminate the other. It didn't really matter. Whichever group was victorious, would need to deal with him. Their win would only be temporary.
The drone over the returning thugs made a wider sweep. It showed the vehicle with the individuals he freed was out of the danger zone. Whatever happened to them now, was on them. There was only so much they could do. It didn't appear as if they would contact the authorities.
CamNet blocked all of the men's phones earlier. It was the reason why one vehicle was on its way back. He watched the vehicle stop a block away. One individual got out of it. The vehicle turned up the side street and drove in back of the location. Another individual got out of it. The vehicle continued back around to the street the front of the building was on. A third individual exited the vehicle. The vehicle waited where it was.
The three men who were out, started towards the building. The two men in the front started before the man in the rear. There was no way for them to communicate with each other. He thought they must have come up with a prearranged timetable.
The drone image overhead showed the man in the rear made the quickest progress. He had the shortest distance to go. He came over the rear wall and moved along the east side fence. He didn't move through the properties on either side. He continued his direct approach along the east wall. He was soon at the corner of the building.
The other two men, who came from each side of the building, were still a few buildings away. The Terminator moved towards the rear door. He figured it was where the man would attempt to enter from.
The drone image showed the man in the rear fool with his phone. It didn't do any good. Everything was jammed.
He made his way up onto the dock. There was a pistol in his hand. He headed straight for the door the Terminator forced open earlier. He went to turn the handle on the door. The door wasn't shut tight. He cautiously opened the door a few inches and looked in. He could hear two of the men talking. He recognized their voices.
"I don't know why nothing's working." The first voice said.
"Maybe it's not adjusted right." The second voice said.
"What's there to adjust?" The first voice asked.
"At least we still have power." The second voice said.
"I guess it's one thing." The first voice said.
"I'll sure be glad when the others get back." The second voice said.
The first man was relieved to hear two of the men talking. He cautiously moved up to where the sounds of their voices were. He still held his pistol out in front of him. He wasn't sure why the door hadn't been closed tight.
The Terminator waited just inside the door from the workroom area. He'd emulated the voices of the two men in the front he'd terminated earlier. He'd heard what both of them sounded like.
"Get back to your post." The first voice said. "I gotta take a leak."
The first man moved up to the door and listened. It was quiet now. He still wondered why the men would have left the door open. Because the door was open, he didn't realize it had been forced open earlier. He just assumed it wasn't closed tight.
The Terminator waited behind the door. He watched the man's hand with the firearm in it come through the opening first. He reached over and grabbed it. It caused the man to let out a cry of pain as he pulled him through the doorway. He immediately snapped his neck. He moved his body to the first room and dumped it.
He checked the drone image of where the other two men were at. They were both on the outside of the property. They used hand signals to indicate they were going to move forward. One man was going to come along the east side of the building. the other man would go down the driveway on the west side of the building. He didn't know if they would try the front or not. It was a possibility.
The man on the east side paused when he reached the front of the building. He looked around and then moved towards the front door. The man on the west side hurried to reach the rear of the building.
The man in the front tried the door. It was locked.
The man in the rear tried the door closest to the driveway to see if it was open. It wasn't. He moved to the roll up door next to it. It was locked as well. He climbed up onto the dock and tried the other roll up door. It was locked. He moved over towards the pass door and tried it. It wouldn't budge. He didn't know there was a heavy workbench up against it now. He looked at the cars in the back. He noticed one of them was missing. He went down off the dock and looked along the east side to see if he could spot the other man he couldn't.
The man in the front tried several keys. None of them worked. He took one more look in the window, and then moved back to the east side. He climbed over the gate and saw the other man standing at the far end of the building.
The two men joined up in the rear. The man in the vehicle still remained down the street. The Terminator watched what they did from the drone image.
The first man went to where the two technicians were at. He thought more power sounded like a bad idea. He was afraid the portal would open more.
"I recommend you don't do it." The first man said. "It looks like we have a big enough problem right now. There's no need to make it worse."
The spatial portal continued to make noise. They couldn't tell what the noise actually was. The opening squared itself up on its own. It slowly expanded back to the size of a doorway.
The Terminator still lay on the ground near the spatial portal.
One of the technicians looked behind them.
"Look out." The first technician said.
The other two men started to turn around.
The female Fanatic held her Beretta in her left hand. She held the bloody knife in her right hand. She took a quick look in the direction Jill indicated. The surviving truck driver would be there any second.
She wanted to try to take him silently. Once the gunfire started, everyone in the building would be alerted. She spotted he carried a weapon earlier. It wasn't in his hand as he approached.
"What's going on?" The truck driver asked. "I don't know where you went."
Jill watched the truck driver as he approached. She felt contempt for him. He was one of the men who'd abused her multiple times. She really didn't know why they needed to be so mean to her as they abused her. She was tied down. She couldn't resist or fight back. They still slapped her around and hit her.
She heard the man speak. He was almost to where Jackie was at. He paused and looked like he was about to turn around. They could still shoot him, but it was going to make a lot of noise. She wanted to bring him past Jackie.
"I fell." Jill said in a gruff voice.
The truck driver immediately turned around and went towards the sound of the voice. He spotted the feet of the other man and started to bend down.
The female Fanatic was on him in an instant. She jammed the knife into his back half a dozen times. He collapsed on the floor.
Jill checked around them to see if anyone else was near. She didn't spot anyone. She quickly moved up to where the man who groaned in agony on the floor was at.
The female Fanatic saw Jill was there. She decided to let Jill finish him off.
"He's all yours." The female Fanatic said. "Do whatever you want."
There was plenty Jill wanted to do to the man. It was the same thing she wanted to do to all of them. The circumstances weren't right. She jammed her knife into the side of the man's neck the same way Jackie had done earlier. The man's head tilted towards her. She could see his left eye. She could see it widened as he looked at her. It was his last view as he died. She felt justice had been served.
The female Fanatic knew they were on a time clock. They moved both truck drivers out of the way as they could. They knew they were more targets by the entry door.
Lena and Tina move towards the Terminator, the first man, and the two technicians. They needed to stop whatever they were doing.
They weren't sure if there would be any residual effect from the electrical discharge. Lena decided she would move forward first. Tina was to hang back and see if anything happened to her.
Lena approached the three men. One of the technicians issued a warning. She decided to use her silenced to M9. She shot him once. His body fell halfway into the opening. She fired again and hit the second technician. He dropped over the legs of the first one. The first man glanced behind him and saw what was coming. He bolted through the spatial portal and disappeared.
Lena emptied her magazine into the opening. She resisted the urge to enter it. She grabbed the Terminator's foot and pulled him off to the side. She didn't know if the man who'd entered the opening would be able to shoot at her or not.
Tina watched everything which happened. She saw Lena wasn't affected by the energy field. She moved towards her.
Lena and Tina weren't sure what to expect next. They could hear additional voices. They weren't the females either.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Temporal Mission:
Past Timeline:
November 25 1963
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Cameron could see the sign near the southeast corner of the Fallbrook Square parking lot. She smiled at the idea.
"Are you sure you want to go there first?" Cameron asked. "You can look around first if you want."
Young Allison didn't know how much she wanted to interact with the people from the past. If she was inside of a big store, she would be one of many faces. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to look around a little bit first.
"It only looks like the big stores are open." Young Allison said. "The Sears looks like it's two stories. Penny's looks like it's three stories."
Cameron had been in both buildings later on. They were both under different ownership at the time. The Sears store was split into two different stores. A clothing store operated out of the basement.
"The Sears store has a large basement." Cameron said. "It's a three story store for all practical purposes as well. There's also an internal mall section which is open to the air between the big stores."
Young Allison spotted a couple other large buildings.
"I noticed the Market Basket on the north side. It looked like a grocery store. I saw shopping carts with paper bags." Young Allison said. "We can stop by some other store on the way home."
Cameron didn't know how long they would operate out of their current safe house. They hadn't even been there twenty four hours yet. There were other places she wanted to visit as well. She needed to go by the bank, which opened in 1963, and check on the status of everything there. She wanted Young Allison to have a good time.
"We can hit the place on the corner first." Cameron said. "I've never been to a Foster's Freeze before."
Young Allison had only ever been to small ones. They were usually attached to some other type of store or even a gas station. She'd never been to a stand alone one.
"We can split a cone." Young Allison said. "I know you'll only try a few licks. They have something which isn't found very often elsewhere."
Cameron hoped Young Allison didn't make some veiled reference to the earlier dairy location they'd passed. She thought she'd been clear on the pronunciation. She quickly refocused.
"You know I like to try ice cream." Cameron said. "Order what you want and I'll just have a taste. It looks like they have other types of food as well, even if it is somewhat limited."
Cameron liked to try a taste of all the different foods the humans consumed. Generally the more warnings which they set off in her HUD, the more the humans liked to consume them. It seemed like a slow motion version of self termination to her. It made her wonder how many humans actually succumbed to various things which were their own fault, in one way or another. She was sure it was a lot. Even if it didn't terminate them directly, it more than likely sped up the process. With the threat of Skynet always looming over them, she didn't think there was any need to worry about it now. The end could come soon enough, no matter how much they tried to prevent it. It seemed doubtful a few years shaved off the back side of one's life mattered. everyone terminated sooner or later.
Snap.
Snap.
Cameron blinked her eyes. She noticed Young Allison's hand was near her head.
Young Allison could see Cameron 'drifted' a little. She snapped her fingers a few times by her head to get her attention.
"I don't want you to get stuck on any negative tangents." Young Allison said.
Young Allison entered the parking lot and drove a short distance to the back side of the Foster's Freeze. There were only a few cars parked there. She was going to park next to them, but drove closer to the Sears store. She figured there was no need to move the vehicle an extra time. They exited and walked towards the window. She figured it wouldn't hurt to burn a few extra calories while she was at it.
Cameron looked at the location and the area around it. She didn't detect any threats.
Young Allison ordered a soft serve cone. It was dipped in liquid chocolate to create a coating, or shell, over the ice cream.
Cameron gave the clerk some money.
He handed the cone to Young Allison.
"Thank you." Young Allison said.
He tried to give Cameron back her change.
"Here you go." The clerk said.
Cameron smiled at him
"You can keep it as a tip." Cameron said. "I appreciate good service. Thank you."
The clerk was more than surprised. Few people ever gave him a tip. If they did, it was only a quarter or less. The pretty girls both told him 'thank you'. It was something he seldom heard as well. He looked around. There were only two other people inside with him. They were both in the back.
"I can give you a double dip of chocolate if you want." The clerk said.
Cameron smiled at him.
"Thank you, we'll do it next time." Cameron said.
Young Allison moved over to the side of the structure where there were a couple of tables.
"What you did was really nice." Young Allison said.
Cameron smiled.
"I like it when everyone's happy." Cameron said. "Happy people don't cause problems. I don't like problems."
Young Allison held the ice cream out for Cameron.
"Go ahead. You can have the first bite." Young Allison said.
Cameron started to reach for the cone. Her hand paused.
"The first bite belongs to you." Cameron said.
Young Allison wanted to start on the cone before it started to melt. There was already a little bit starting to run out the side of the chocolate where it touched the cone. She started on the top after she licked the side and took a few bites. She held it out for Cameron.
Cameron tried the ice cream along the chocolate coating. Several warnings immediately went off in her HUD. She knew it meant it was 'good'. She knew what to say.
"It's good." Cameron said.
Young Allison smiled.
The girls finished up the ice cream. Young Allison tossed the napkin in the trash can and they headed for the Sears store.
Cameron kept an eye on the parking lot to make sure there were no troublemakers around. None were spotted. She was aware there was documentation of troublemakers all the way back to Biblical times. It seemed to be another natural human behavior.
Young Allison and Cameron headed to the door on the south entrance.
"I would think there should be more people around." Young Allison said.
She reached for the boor to open it for Cameron.
Boss Of Nothing
Perception can be deceptive at times
As to what one is seeing
To have it all in front of them
Won't always leave them believing
Everyone assumes when there's thunder
There must have been lightning
As to what it actually was
May leave one's head spinning
When a net is thrown out
For what is one actually fishing
When they finally catch something
It might not be for what they were wishing
It's easy to become lost
When one doesn't know where they're heading
The same thing is true
When it comes to who they're holding
They want to be in charge
They try to control the setting
Even when they think they're the boss
They're still the boss of nothing
Nobody