Chapter 1541
Quite Spectacular
Young Allison wanted to deal with one of the vehicles the Grays drove. She ran her plan by Anna who notified CamNet and John Henry.
"Your plan for the one vehicle has been approved." Anna said.
Anna wasn't sure if it made a difference or not with Young Allison. She was very focused on her plans.
Young Allison smiled when Anna told her. She'd planned to do it anyway. She wanted to be a team player as long as the team played her way. There was more than one threat.
"What about the other car?" Young Allison asked.
Anna checked with CamNet and John Henry.
"Summer has asked to deal with it." Anna said.
Young Allison wondered what her plan was. She wondered if it was more involved than her plan. It might even be more spectacular.
"Do you know what she's up to?" Young Allison asked.
Anna was informed by CamNet.
"I'm sure it will be just as creative as your plan is." Anna said.
Young Allison wasn't so sure her plan was creative. Well, maybe it was. It was certainly a different approach than they'd used before.
The Grays in the first car split off from the Grays in the second car. They were worried they were about to be played.
They were supposed to run through a designated location. It would trigger an ambush on their second pass. It would all happen automatically.
"Is all of this necessary?" The first Gray asked.
Based on what they'd witness so far, the second Gray thought it was.
"You tell me." The second Gray said.
The third Gray continued to fool with this phone.
"Hey, my phone is out again." The third Gray said.
The entire phone episode seemed a little fishy to the second Gray.
"Like I said, you tell me." The second Gray said.
The Grays were all a little on edge.
"We did lose a lot of people." The first Gray said.
The second Gray contemplated the magnitude of what actually occurred at the mine.
"The entire operation was wiped out." The second Gray said. "Years of time and effort were lost."
The third Gray thought everything was a little over hyped. They were using liquid nitro to speed things up in the mine. An accident was bound to happen again. The current episode was a little more catastrophic than the last one.
"Let's just go back." The third Gray said. "We don't know what happened."
The second Gray was troubled about the helicopters. Did they have a mid-air collision? It was possible in the dark. Someone could have drifted over. Perhaps they were there when the mine exploded and the blast or debris took them out. It didn't take much to bring a helicopter down, especially if the tail rotor was damaged. The torque would spin the helicopter around and cause it to go out of control almost instantly.
The driver was distracted somewhat from his driving by thoughts of pleasure in his free time. He hoped they nabbed another female soon. He would get to have some extra time with her with less people around. Those girls were usually busy twenty hours a day. The 'Metal Heads' didn't usually allow them more than one 'comfort girl' at a time to keep the authorities from snooping around. If they nabbed a homeless slut, it never even made the local news.
The jerks in the mine nabbed someone else. The authorities were all over it. There was a lot of unnecessary attention. It pretty much died down now. It really didn't matter at this point. Everything was nothing more than a big pile of rubble in a depression in the ground.
The vehicle neared a bridge over a dry gulch in a high and narrow canyon.
The first Gray looked around and saw where they were at now. He wondered why there was such a tall bridge over a dry riverbed through a canyon. There wasn't water in it for more than a few days a year. When there was though, there was a lot.
He thought some more about it. It was the thing around the Southland. There were all kinds of flood control channels which were all but empty most of the year. The LA River was the biggest one with nothing in it. Someone told him it was a result of floods in 1938 or so.
There hadn't been any floods since then because of all the wide flood control channels. It made him wonder why places where it flooded every other year didn't do the same thing and plan ahead. Was it really cheaper to fix and rebuild everything every few years? Where did the cost of lost lives figure in? It was no wonder Skynet wrote humans off as the threat. He wondered sometimes if it wasn't just because they were stupid.
The car approached the bridge and started out onto it. It was a fairly remote location.
"Watch out." The second Gray said.
The first Gray looked up further ahead. There was something in the road at the far end of the bridge. He'd picked up his speed a little too much in anticipation of wrapping things up.
The third Gray thought he heard something above and behind them.
There was an explosive blowout of the right front tire as they approached the center of the bridge.
The vehicle swerved to the right and impacted the side of the bridge railing.
The Grays in the car tried to process it all. As the tire blew out, and the car swerved to the right, they watched an HK drone rise up from the far end of the bridge. The noise above them, and now to the side was intense. A second HK drone performed a 'PIT maneuver' on their already swerving car.
"What's happening?" The first Gray screamed.
The car broke through the railing and tumbled out into the void of empty space and darkness as it plummeted towards the dry river bed.
The second Gray in the front passenger's seat tried to open his door to get out of the car as it crashed through the railing. He was too late. He made it out of the car but it was already over the side. The weight of the car pulled it away from his falling and flailing body.
The drone which performed the 'PIT maneuver', already headed back up into the sky.
The only thing which remained was the sound of a man screaming. There was the impact of the car on the rocks far below the top of the bridge and the explosion which followed.
The falling Gray screamed as he fell. He could see nothing in the darkness except a sudden fireball. It erupted a second after the car hit the rocks and exploded.
The Gray was consumed by the fireball right before his body impacted on top of the burning wreckage of the vehicle.
The scream was gone.
Only silence remained.
Young Allison and Anna watched everything from the cameras of three drones.
"It was rather impressive." Young Allison said.
Anna thought so.
"Is it what you planned?" Anna asked.
Young Allison was satisfied with the results. It should look like another traffic accident.
"I think so." Young Allison said. "The mission was accomplished without the use of gunfire or a missile."
Young Allison thought it would be a tough act to follow.
John was with Leticia. He worked on her until she made it. She urged him up.
She was ready for more. She liked the consideration 'Tony' showed her. None of the other men cared as much, or ever thought about her. She could tell he held back until she made it again.
John felt Leticia's hands grasp his back tightly. Her nails dug in a little bit. It didn't hurt. Before he could finish she rolled him over and was on top of him. He wasn't even sure how it happened so fast. She'd obviously done the same move before.
She bent down and kissed him as she took over. She could feel he was 'close' and stayed with it. She didn't slow or stop when he made it.
John squirmed wildly under Leticia as she held him in a deep kiss. She finished again twenty seconds later. She literally sucked the air out of his lungs. She gently collapsed tightly against him as the kiss slowed to a tender loving kiss. It was now soft and gentle.
Leticia could spend the rest of the night right where she was at, just like she was with 'Tony'. He was the one for her. If she wasn't already Sheila's submissive, she would ask to be 'Tony's' submissive. She'd only been the submissive for females most of her teen and adult life. The older females were almost as abusive as the males were. There were always those who would make her cry out in pain, no matter how hard she tried not to. Why did they need to hurt her? She did whatever they wanted.
They heard the three jet engines start since they were near the rear of the plane.
"I think we're about to take off in a few minutes." John said.
Leticia thought they'd already 'taken off' a few times. She wanted to know 'Tony's' real name. She wanted to know who he really was. Well, his first name anyway.
"Can you tell me your real name?" Leticia whispered in his ear.
John looked up into her big eyes and felt her scoot a little closer to him. Her body was soft but firm. It was nice and warm too. He wanted to be honest, at least about his name.
"It's John." John whispered.
Leticia actually liked 'Tony' better. A name was a name.
She lowered her head again. She wanted to give John everything.
"I love you, John." Leticia whispered. "I'm yours anytime you want me or for anything."
John swallowed hard. He thought he was a hit with all the females. He owed his success to Cameron. She'd 'trained' him to do all of these things the females liked. She'd 'trained' him to stay with it until they made it first in whatever he did. He didn't do it for Cameron initially. It left her very unsatisfied. It was why she'd 'trained' him for what she wanted. It was what was wanted by all females.
There was a knock at the door.
Leticia gave him one more long sweet kiss and rolled off of the top of him.
There was a very slight jolt and the jet began to roll. They must be headed for the taxiway.
Sheila and Cammy entered the room. They both wore a bathrobe.
There was a 'tone'. A little 'Fasten Seat Belt' sign came on.
"I'm here to make sure everyone is buckled in." Cammy said.
The jet turned and picked up some speed.
"We're three minutes until takeoff." Sheila said.
Cammy handed John a robe.
She ushered him over to the sofa. She helped him fasten his seat belt and sat next to him. Her robe was loose and hung open. He got a good look inside of it. Even though he'd see something identical to the 'same' view thousands of times, it never got old. Everything was just so perfect. The lack of sag or droop always pleased him.
He thought Sheila and Leticia would join him on the sofa and easy chair. There were actually seat belts for all of them. They were both still on the bed.
He watched as Sheila moved closer to Leticia. Sheila started in…. The jet bounced a little as it taxied. He wondered if they should buckle up. He looked at Cammy with a little concern.
"Is it safe for them?" John asked.
Cammy opened her robe a little more and smiled at John. She wanted to redirect his attention and keep it focused on her.
"We have expert pilots and a long runway." Cammy said. "They'll be fine. It will be our 'in flight entertainment' until we reach cruising altitude."
John figured it was better than a movie anyway.
The jet slowed and turned. It stopped and the engines ran up to full power for a short time. The power eased off and the jet moved smoothly down the runway as the engines slowly went back up to speed. They lifted off so smoothly, John didn't realize it at first. The climb was shallow and gentle. It was clear it was all prearranged.
Sheila and Leticia never missed a beat. He could see Leticia was already flying before the jet was.
The 'in flight entertainment' was very educational and stimulating. The Metal girls could really drive someone crazy with their intensity.
The 'Fasten Seat Belt' sign went off. Cammy unhooked his seat belt. She also opened her robe up completely and then slipped it off. She moved and sat on John's lap with a knee on each side of him.
"This may not be new to you, but it is to me." Cammy whispered in his ear. "My turn…."
John looked around the side of Cammy. Sheila and Leticia were gone. The bed was straightened out too. It sure happened fast.
Cammy stood and John stood with her. She was naked. She slipped off his robe and he was too. They faced each other naked.
He knew what would be next.
John scoped Cammy up in his arms.
"I'm heavier than I look." Cammy whispered.
John glanced at the bed behind her.
"I don't have far to go." John said.
It was only a few steps.
John set her down in front of the bed.
"All my programming is off, John." Cammy said. "This is just you and me now."
John couldn't believe it. It was the same thing Cameron said.
"Cam-my, I've waited so long for this moment." John said.
The look of love flooded Cammy's eyes.
"As have I, John." Cammy said. "I love you, John, and you love me."
John couldn't help himself. He was lost in the moment.
"I love you, Cam-my, and you love me." John said.
They kissed. It was very soft, slow and deep. It was a beautiful kiss.
John gently moved Cammy onto the bed.
She looked at him with her big brown eyes full of love.
"I'm ready, John, make me a woman." Cammy whispered.
John realized he was as excited as he was the first time with Cameron. This was the same thing all over again!
He worked on Cammy from the top to the bottom and back to the middle. When she finished, he moved up.
Cammy looked like a schoolgirl to him right now. She squirmed with anticipation.
"Go slow." Cammy whispered in his ear. "I've never done this before."
The statement always excited him greatly.
He felt her back arch some and her neck did too off to the side a little.
She looked back into his eyes as he picked up the pace. Her arms clasped him tightly. Their lips locked in a soft loving kiss as they embraced and slowly made love to each other.
John Henry, Summer and Jesse watched the earlier take down of the first car of Grays, by the Young bunker's actions with CamNet's assistance.
"It was quite spectacular." Jesse said.
Summer thought so too.
"It happens." Summer said.
John Henry knew Summer was about to deal with the second Gray vehicle. She'd been using traffic management on them. She'd also taken control of another system.
Jesse saw the earlier text conversation with one Gray in the car, and someone at their base. She knew what any captured female would go through. She didn't want it to happen to anyone else if they could prevent it. It didn't matter if they were homeless or not. The survivors in the Wastelands were all 'homeless'.
"You're going to stop them before they nab some homeless girl I hope." Jesse said. "It's not something I'd wish on anyone, even if I hated them."
Summer looked over at Jesse. She could feel her 'pain' and some of the things she remembered. They were terrible. She 'felt' what it was like to be 'taken'. She touched Jesse's arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. She didn't want Jesse to worry about it. The Grays weren't going to pick up a female.
"They will be taken down by any means necessary to prevent it." Summer said. "I swear it."
Jesse felt almost an 'electric' touch when Summer touched her. She did feel very calm and more relaxed now to know the street girls were safe for tonight in the area where the Grays were at.
Summer wanted her plan to look like a traffic accident, or more correctly, a traffic incident. The timing all fell into place. She banked on the Grays going to the homeless camp near the railroad tracks to try and nab a street girl to take with them back to their base. It was their own actions which sealed their fate.
"It's payback time." Summer said.
It was also Showtime.
The second Gray vehicle decided to pick up a homeless female for their amusement and pleasure.
The third Gray wanted to put the grab on a homeless girl. He'd pushed his agenda with the others. They were away from the 'Boss' in the other car. It gave them some more flexibility.
"If this all falls apart, you need to take the rap for it." The first Gray said. "I don't want a 'Metal Head' to snap my neck because of you."
The third Gray didn't think it was a big deal. It was something they'd done for the year he'd been back in the past. It was rather frequent.
"No one misses the street trash." The third Gray said. "It's no big deal. It's not like anyone cares about them or anything. It's almost like they're not even people."
The second Gray liked the warm bodies to use, but sometimes it did bother him. They'd done plenty of it in the future when a new load of prisoners was brought into the work camp. They'd cull out the females who weren't too sick and not too old, at least the ones which didn't look old. The Terminators would kill all the children and anyone over thirty. There weren't usually many of either.
The thought of it now, and in the future, was it was someone's daughter who they must have loved at one point. He really wondered where it all went wrong for them here in the past. Most likely it started out with a bad relationship and then a stint with alcohol which led to drugs. Pretty soon, it was only the drugs which mattered to them.
"I don't want anyone carving her up for the first few days." The second Gray said.
The third Gray didn't see why not.
"It's half the fun for me." The third Gray said.
The first Gray liked something else better.
"As long as I get to be a 'double veteran' with one every few months, I really don't care what happens to them." The first Gray said. "The past is Paradise for us."
The third Gray laughed. He'd done the same thing a couple of times.
"I don't like when they're out of it." The third Gray said. "I really miss the screams."
The second Gray didn't like it. He'd tried it a few times, but it was just too much for him to deal with. He didn't care for the screams either. He was content to give them a dose of drugs first. Passed out, warm and alive was better than still, cold and dead.
The second vehicle was now on the road next to the railroad tracks. They would cross over the tracks soon and then the homeless camp was just down the street by where the burnt out remains of the old station were at. He'd heard some homeless moron was cold and started a small fire on the floor of the old station a few years back. It was long abandoned but it was still there for 'preservation'. Fire and dried wood, which was over a hundred years old, didn't mix well. The station soon caught fire and burnt to the ground before the fire department could arrive. Six homeless people died in the blaze. They were too strung out to get out of the smoke filled building and succumbed to 'smoke inhalation'. They were dead before the flames found their bodies.
There was a train on the tracks next to them. It was double track. The train moved along slowly as they began to pass it.
"Hurry up and overtake the freight train." The third Gray said. "I don't want it to cut into my sack time with the bimbo we pick up."
The first Gray laughed.
"Knowing you, you'll already knock one off once you have her stripped and tied." The first Gray said.
The third Gray hadn't intended to do it, but he would now. It sounded like a good idea. All the talk aroused him some.
They could see a few vagrants on the train as they passed it. They were most likely from one of the rail gangs which previously overtook and eliminated the hobo population.
"I bet those guys are going to get off at the homeless camp." The second Gray said. "They'll do all the broads before the night is finished. They always do. They'll all be on another train by morning."
The third Gray checked his weapons.
"I think we can take care of a few local boys." The third Gray said.
The first Gray picked up some speed. He wanted to beat the train to the crossing. He planned to drive around the lowered gates to get ahead of the train if they were down already. He'd done it before just because he didn't want to wait.
The two locomotives throbbed out their muscle car sound as their vehicle passed them.
"We're ahead of them now." The first Gray said.
The second Gray was still a little cautious. He didn't think a few minutes was really going to matter one way or another.
"You know what happens if it's a tie, right?" The second Gray asked. "We lose."
The third Gray moved over behind the driver.
"It's on your side." The third Gray said.
The second Gray didn't want to chance it. They should speed up.
"Thanks." The second Gray said. "In that case, let's get some more space."
The first Gray increased his speed and pushed it a little.
He could see the crossing gates were down already. The lights on them flashed on and off.
Everyone in the car looked back at the train they'd just pulled ahead of. It looked like it was going to be close since they would have to slow down to negotiate around the lowered crossing gates.
"Stay with it." The third Gray said. "We've got him."
The first Gray pulled into the oncoming lane. There were no cars there because the traffic was light and the crossing gates were down. He would be better able to move around the crossing gates this way.
He could see they were about fifty yards ahead of the train they'd passed. It looked like they would have room to spare. All three of them looked back to watch the train.
The car slowed to make the 'S' curve around the lowered gates.
The locomotive horn was very loud. It seemed to echo from both sides of them. They kept their eyes on the train they'd passed. They were going to beat it.
"Nothing can stop us now." The first Gray said.
The Terminator parked a mile away from the location. He wore his vest. He carried his suppressed M4 as well as his silenced M9. There were two drones on station with him. One watched the compound. The other one orbited the area. It searched for any new arrivals.
The drones identified two security checkpoints. They were each manned by a single individual.
There were seven other men at the location when the two vehicles arrived with their six occupants.
The initial drone scans were unable to detect if anyone was being detained in any of the buildings. So far there was no conclusive proof there was. There was no way yet to know if there were any secured in some type of basement or underground room.
Terminator moved up from the side of the second checkpoint. He shot the individual once with his silenced M9. He moved up towards the first checkpoint and did the same thing. He'd eliminated the second checkpoint first, so there was less possibility of him being discovered. After he finished with the first checkpoint, he passed back by the second checkpoint.
Four of the men stayed with the two vehicles. One individual from the sedan in one from the van joined the seven men inside of the building. Within thirty seconds, four of the men inside left. Two went to each of the outbuildings. It left five men inside the building. More than likely only two or three of those were of importance. Anyone on the outside wasn't.
The Terminator approached the first out building. He could hear two men talking inside.
"It sounds more like to me someone got careless." The first thug said.
"Well, there's not much we can do about it." The second thug said.
"I think it was a mistake to pack up and leave." The first thug said.
"This does seem like a pretty secure location." The second thug said. "It's not easy for anyone to approach it unnoticed."
The Terminator carefully looked in the door the men hadn't closed. There were dozens of plastic wrapped boxes. He didn't know what was in them. He figured it was most likely drugs. He slipped inside of the building and moved closer to the men as they looked at the different boxes.
"I don't see what the big deal is." The first thug said. "If we have a problem with one group, we should either eliminate them ourselves or make peace with them. There's a large market to sell our goods to. There's no shortage of buyers. It's hard to keep enough in stock."
"You would think with so many people on this stuff, they would just make it legal." The second man said. "It's not like any law stops them from obtaining it."
The Terminator moved up behind the two men. He put his silenced M9 away. He grabbed both of them by the back of the neck and slammed their heads together. The noise of the impact sounded like someone hit a home run with a baseball bat. Both men were terminated. He moved their bodies off to the side. He knew what both of them sounded like.
He made his way back to the doorway and looked out. He checked the drone image before he did. Everything was still the same. Four men remained by the vehicles, five men were in the main building and two men were in the other out building. He slipped out of the door and moved the second outbuilding.
The Terminator could hear the sound of a chain being moved.
"I think it's a waste to kill them." The first punk said.
"They said they 'cleaned house' at the other place." The second punk said. "I really don't want to be on the receiving end of a 'clean out'."
"I don't know how many of these people I trust anymore." The first punk said. "They seem a little too eager to tie up what they think are loose ends."
"I think we're loose ends." The second punk said.
There was the sound of a metal latch being thrown.
The Terminator slipped inside the building and approached the location of the metallic sounds.
He couldn't see the men. They'd gone down a stairway to a basement type area. He could see they were about to open a metal door. He used the voice of one of the thugs who he'd just terminated.
"I need both of you guys to get up here now." The Terminator said. "Hurry up, we have incoming."
"Now what is it?" The first punk asked. "Do we have to do everything ourselves?"
"It's probably a couple of local boys." The second punk said.
The Terminator used the voice of the second thug.
"Someone just came over the rear of the property." The Terminator said. "Where are the other guys at?"
The Terminator used the first thug's voice.
"They're down in the hole." The Terminator said. "Let's get outside."
The Terminator heard the two men on their way up the stairway. They didn't seem to be in too big of a hurry.
A few seconds later, they exited out of the doorway of the stairway. The Terminator grabbed both of them and terminated them. He moved their bodies off to the side. He covered them over with an old blanket.
The Terminator checked the drone image again. One of the men from inside of the building was now outside. He talked to the four men by the vehicles. It left the four men inside of the main building. He decided to leave whoever was in the basement there for now.
The security chief didn't think the HK Track could spot him if he remained where he was. He was pretty sure the shooter knew exactly where he was. It seemed his best course of action was to remain where he was at.
He watched as the HK Track drove up to where the spatial porthole formed. It stopped about ten feet away. He saw it attempted to back up almost immediately. It only moved a few feet and stopped. He was a little surprised when the minigun opened up and fired into the darkness of the opening. It was a long sustained burst. He watched the barrels spin around empty as smoke poured off of them for a second. He sure hoped the HK Track didn't fire one of its missiles while he was so close to it.
The security chief thought maybe it was a mistake to turn the power back on. It didn't look like he was going to be able to get back outside to turn it off either. He could either make his way back through the building to go out another exit, or he could attempt to deactivate the HK Track. He wasn't exactly sure how.
He took a quick glance around direction he thought the earlier gunfire may have come from. He thought he spotted some movement headed away from the area. It appeared whoever had shot the two men he'd been talking to, probably figured the same thing he did about the missiles on the HK Track.
It made him wonder about the energy noise which now pulsated from the spatial portal. He wondered if it was what incapacitated the HK Track. He'd thought whoever shot the two men was a Terminator. Maybe they were being affected as well by whatever energy field emanated from the spatial portal. Maybe he shouldn't attempt to turn the power off yet. It might give him an advantage if he needed to face them and they were incapacitated in some way.
The security chief headed for the back of the HK Track. He would see if he could at least shut it down.
The female Fanatic and Jill both headed towards target's attempting to reach the catwalk in different areas.
Jill needed to hurry to get to where they'd originally come up at. It was where the second man was climbing up. She knew Jackie would need to deal with the other man first. She needed to be close enough to make sure if the other man heard anything, she could engage him with at least her Beretta to prevent him from getting away.
The female Fanatic rapidly moved to where the ladder would come up alongside the catwalk. She could hear the man was almost to the top. It sounded like he was winded from the physical exertion of climbing the ladder. She figured he was out of shape. She hoped so. It should help slow his response.
She looked back and saw Jill was headed in the other direction. She figured she must have spotted an additional target. She couldn't see where it was if she did. She was going to have to trust her judgment on it.
The other HK Track was on the move. It seemed to be headed towards the front as well.
"Great." The man muttered to himself. "I'm almost out of the way and it's probably going to see me before I can make it."
The female Fanatic drew back her right hand with a knife in it. She took a quick glance down the opening to the ladder. She could see the man looked in the direction of the HK Track.
The man started to turn his head back to look at the catwalk. Instead he spotted a female with a knife headed right for him. He instinctively raised one hand to block the knife, as he attempted to back away from it. The maneuver caused him to lose his footing. His feet slipped off the ladder. He hung by one hand. He desperately attempted to regain the ladder with his other hand and feet. It attracted the attention of the HK Track.
The female Fanatic quickly moved back from the opening. She figured the HK Track was about to fire at the man. She looked over and checked Jill's position.
Lena and Tina decided to fall back. They'd stashed the deactivated Terminator between a few crates and covered him over. The electrical noise continued to grow in volume. They could feel the effects of it. It was very mild right now but they knew it would get worse. They needed to put some distance between them and the spatial portal.
They needed to keep track of where the other HK Track was at or any other Grey's moving throughout the building.
The drones could no longer provide them with any close scans. Since the two HK Tracks were active, well, at least one of them still was. The HK Track would be able to engage their drones. The drones could still do a gravity shot from altitude at the four men who remained at the outpost. Their drones could also fire a missile based on their verbal guidance.
Lena and Tina continued to move away from the spatial portal.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Temporal Mission:
Past Timeline:
November 25 1963
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Young Allison spotted another large store on the left hand side of the street. She noticed something very unique about the front of it.
"Wow!" Young Allison said. "Look at the size of that thing. It's red too."
Cameron didn't turn into the parking lot. She paused on the street near the curb.
"It's the 'Big A'." Cameron said.
As they sat and looked at it, the lights inside of the giant 'A', over the entrance of the 'Big A', came on and lit it up.
"I think it's about twice the size of the giant 'T' on Thriftimart." Young Allison said. "I thought it was big."
Cameron was aware Big A would fall to the wayside the same way White Front and Zodys did.
"Later on, this building will be used for a manufacturer of headers for automobiles." Cameron said. "Eventually it will be ripped out and a police station will be built here."
Young Allison knew what the police station looked like from her time period.
"I don't care for the architecture of the police station." Young Allison said. "It looks like a building that collapsed in an earthquake the way they have the front of it angled down. The policy of using natural vegetation makes it look like there's nothing but weeds in the front of it."
Cameron was aware most of the native vegetation in the area was weeds. The reason all of the trees were there now was because of the water which had been brought in from Owens Valley. She'd viewed photographs taken around the San Fernando Mission as far back as the 1870s. Other than the small group of olive and citrus trees planted next to the mission, the area around the mission itself looked very much like what the Antelope Valley looked like now. There wasn't very much there at all other than some scrub brush here and there.
"Some people want to push their personal agenda, as if somehow it is better than what the majority of the people want." Cameron said. "Everything is actually run by an elite minority. It's really not much different from Skynet."
Young Allison looked at the building directly in front of them. There was a large sign painted on the upper part of the building. It was faded and in disrepair.
"I can still read the sign on the side of the wall of the building across the railroad tracks." Young Allison said.
'Canoga Citrus Association' was painted in large letters along the side of the building.
"It's the local packing house which was established for the different citrus farms around this area. They used to receive refrigerator cars along the openings you see in the side of the building. It's why they are spaced out. They probably receive boxcars from time to time which contain the wood for the shipping crates. They would most likely be built on site."
Young Allison had already seen a number of dead orchards in their travels. Some of them were still alive but most of them were no longer tended.
"Everybody wants to make a quick buck." Young Allison said. "What they don't know is what they think they're getting a lot of money for now, will be worth many millions of dollars more later on."
Cameron could hear the gunfire again. It was coming from the building directly in front of them. She didn't think Young Allison could hear it yet.
"Let's cruise on over to where the Bear Pit is." Cameron said. "I want to check out what's happening inside of the building next to it."
After sampling all the ice cream, Young Allison wasn't very hungry.
"We can go there." Young Allison said. "I think I can smell the food from here."
Young Allison was aware the big building, and other buildings around it, some of which weren't built yet, would all become part of a large Salvation Army compound. It would include the location of the where the Bear Pit currently was located.
Cameron pulled off of Schoenborn Street and made a right onto Canoga Avenue. She made a left onto Roscoe Boulevard and crossed over the railroad tracks. She passed by the first group of buildings and turned left into the parking lot. She drove along the front of the Bear Pit and over to where there was a car parked near the old packing house. She turned off the panel truck.
Young Allison could hear the muffled gunshots now. It was clear they weren't from a large caliber weapon. They weren't very loud at all. She could barely make them out.
There was a small sign which indicated there was a target range.
"Let's check it out." Cameron said.
Young Allison reached in one of the bags she'd picked up at the sporting goods store. She took out a set of earplugs. She quickly put them in her ears as they walked.
The faint sound of gunfire died off as they headed for the building.
Young Allison and Cameron approached the south side of the building. They needed to go down a set of steps to reach the location. It was located in the basement of the old packing house.
Cameron opened the door and they went in. There were only two people inside.
They could see there was a middle aged man who put a .22 caliber rifle into a rifle sleeve. It looked like he was all done shooting.
"That's it for the day, Dave." The man said.
The other man looked over.
"Can I help you ladies?" Dave asked.
The first man said 'hello' to them and walked out.
"Hello." Cameron said. "What kind of a shooting range is this?"
Dave pointed to the sign.
"It's for small caliber weapons only." Dave said. "You can see it's only about a fifty foot area until the backstop.
Young Allison smiled at Dave.
"Would you mind if we fired an M1 Carbine in here?" Young Allison asked.
Dave scratched his head a little bit.
"I heard about those." Dave said. "I heard in Korea the bullets bounced off of the frozen clothes of the Chinese soldiers. Someone once told me a .22 is more powerful."
Cameron glanced over at Young Allison. She wanted to use the misinformation to her advantage, instead of correcting the worker.
"In that case, it shouldn't be a problem if we shoot one in here." Cameron said.
Dave looked up at the clock.
"I'm supposed to close in a few minutes." Dave said.
Cameron looked at the fee to use the facility. She took out a twenty dollar bill and laid it on the counter. It was many times what the hourly rate was.
"In that case, we'll pay a little extra for you to remain open for us." Cameron said. "It won't take us long. We'll be done in fifteen minutes."
Dave looked at the money. He still looked a little hesitant.
Cameron took out another twenty dollar bill and handed it to Dave.
"This will be your personal tip for accommodating us." Cameron said.
Dave now had a big smile on his face.
"Thanks." Dave said. "I can stay open in a few minutes longer."
Cameron flashed her million dollar smile.
"We really appreciate it." Cameron said. "We have the firearm right outside. You can put the 'Closed' sign up anyway. I'll be right back. You can talk to my sister for a few minutes."
Dave took in their beauty.
Cameron headed outside.
"What's your name?" Dave asked.
Young Allison smiled as she nodded towards the doorway.
"Her name is Cindy." Young Allison said. "My name is Emily."
Dave took a broom and swept the floor clean of any of the fired brass which was there. He didn't want anybody to trip on it.
Cameron returned very quickly. She carried the M1 Carbine still wrapped in the paper bags, along with the backpack full of ammunition and the magazines. She'd arranged it all when she loaded the magazines earlier.
Dave put the 'Closed' sign up on the door and locked it.
Cameron carefully removed the M1 Carbine from its paper wrapper as Young Allison removed the magazines from the backpack. Dave's eyes widened some, as he looked at it.
Quite Spectacular
Vision can be very narrow
When life is viewed thru a filter
Nothing is the same or identical
Even if they appear similar
Be wary of those who snoop
They are little more than a prowler
The thoughts and ideas of two
My turn out to be quite polar
To carry one's own feelings
One should not need to be a smuggler
Or speak in coded terms
Which are not vernacular
There's not much difference
Between a gambler and a hustler
It is really just the approach used
Even if it's unpopular
Go ahead and play it straight
It need not be stellar
It is about what's right
The results will be quite spectacular
Nobody