Chapter 1559
They're Clear
Six Million Words
Cam didn't like to split up from Samantha. The Grays who'd just appeared required a closer look. She needed to know if there were more of them. They didn't want Grays in front and in back of them. She went up the branch of the tunnel which appeared to lead deeper into the hillside.
So far everything she'd seen was on one level. It was unlike the mine she was in earlier in the evening. She looked down at her clothes with the thought. She was reminded how filthy they were. Gail, Bob and Jim were just as filthy.
Cam approached a series of turns in the tunnel. They ended at another metal door. She tried to communicate with Samantha where she was at. There was no reception. She worked the combination and unlocked the door. She also changed the combination to what Gail used earlier.
It did make her wonder if Skynet or 'Sky-whatever' was able to track them. There were no cameras visible. She'd been extra vigilant since Samantha brought the issue up earlier.
She opened the door an inch. Bright light flooded in. She listened. It was quiet. She opened the door more and poked her head around. No projectiles slammed into her face. It was a good thing. She passed into the area on the other side of the door. It was more like the area they'd passed when they went by the living quarters. The tunnel turned back into a passageway of a larger size.
Cam made her way forward. Her M4 was in front of her. The M203 mounted below it was loaded with a 'sticky shocker' round again. She figured it would work as well against a Terminator, as it would an HK Track. She hoped she didn't encounter either. She was ready if she did. It was the nature of their business.
Samantha stayed behind the four Grays. She listened to them talk. They all seemed like a very disgruntled group.
The Grays were as upset as they were disorganized.
"Do we even know where this tunnel goes?" The first Gray asked.
The second Gray thought they should stick to their assignment. They weren't supposed to second guess it.
"All we know is it parallels the road and the ravine on the other side of the road." The second Gray said. "We're supposed to make sure it's clear."
The third Gray was disgusted he was even out there in the first place.
"We're not even combat trained." The third Gray said.
The second Gray didn't want any excuses. It didn't seem like it was too hard to figure out.
"It's real simple." The second Gray said. "Point your rifle and pull the trigger."
The third Gray pointed his rifle near the others as a joke.
The fourth Gray wasn't impressed since the rifle was closest to him.
"Don't point it at me, stupid." The fourth Gray said.
The third Gray didn't like being referred to as stupid. He didn't think anyone should mess with him.
"I wasn't." The third Gray said. "Don't call me stupid, or maybe I will next time."
The second Gray was tired of the amateurish and childish behavior. He didn't think the others took everything seriously.
"Enough." The second Gray said. "If we were up against the Resistance, you would all be dead."
The fourth Gray scoffed at the idea.
"Skynet eliminated the Resistance in the past decades ago." The fourth Gray said.
The first Gray would like to have a few better answers.
"What are we up against?" The first Gray asked. "Does anyone even know?"
The second Gray tried to use logic. He wasn't sure it was any better than speculation.
"It must be another group of Grays." The second Gray said. "Robby was concerned after the distress call from the mine's computer when everything here went on the 'fritz'. Something locked up the computers here big time. He said it was a code or virus they couldn't crack. It was why he wanted the 'Metal Bitch' to assist him."
The third Gray could think of a few other things he'd rather do with the 'Metal Bitch'. None of them were Skynet related.
"We should have her here so she could assist us." The third Gray said.
The fourth Gray agreed with the third Gray. He could think of a few things.
"It wouldn't be with a stupid code either." The fourth Gray said. "It would be with her on her back instead."
There was a round of jeers and cat calls.
The second Gray was sure the rest of his group was going to get all of them killed with their unprofessionalism.
"Enough." The second Gray said. "If you morons don't get it together, I'm going to smoke all of you myself."
The third Gray was about to tell the second Gray he had something else he could smoke instead. He didn't want to push his luck. The second Gray could be a hot head at times.
The Grays moved along silently for a while.
Samantha lost sight of them. She paused where she was at. She'd moved right along the side of the tunnel and ducked below each red light as she'd passed.
She figured they were at another one of the ninety degree bends. She moved up closer.
"Hey, look." The first Gray said. "There's a junction up ahead."
The second Gray wanted two of the men to check it out.
"OK." The second Gray said. "You and Carter go down and make sure it's clear. It should open up near the road. Don't go out. Hurry back to where we are. We'll wait for you at the next bend."
The first Gray didn't like dividing the team up. He felt they should have more people. There was only one problem, there weren't enough people to go around any longer.
"Why don't we all go check it out?" The first Gray asked.
The second Gray didn't want to disrupt the integrity of their mission. It was very specific.
"We're supposed to make sure the tunnel is clear. We don't want anyone in behind us." The second Gray said. "That's why."
Samantha moved up and paused at the final bend on the turns and peered around the corner. Two Grays, of the four up ahead, disappeared off to the left side and the other two continued on straight. She hurried to the junction and paused. The other two Grays were headed down towards the end of the branch. She went after them. She didn't want anyone behind her either. She would take them down and come back after the other two. It would also give her an opportunity to see what else what's down there.
Hanna and Ally followed the HK Tracks to where Cammy was at. They were able to slip in behind them and move off to the side. They paused as the HK Tracks stopped and faced each other. They hurried up along the side of the chamber behind some crates until they heard the HK Tracks move again.
They paused and carefully looked out to see what happened.
The HK Tracks appeared to have taken up guard duty in front of a hoist. It went down to a lower area. They seemed focused on the entrance to the chamber. They were already inside the chamber so they needed to move carefully.
They could still communicate with Cammy. They knew she was up ahead of them. They weren't exactly sure where.
Cammy was aware Ally and Hanna were in the chamber she was in. They could move up along the side she was on. She decided to disable the HK Track closest to her. It should give Ally and Hanna some better cover.
She armed her 'sticky shocker' and tossed it at the closest HK Track. It made contact with a dull 'thunk' sound and stuck. Since the HK Track wasn't moving, she could only assume it worked. She would have liked to have known for sure.
"Get up here where I'm at." Cammy said. "I've disabled the closest HK Track."
Ally and Hanna hurried forward and joined her.
"What's the story?" Ally asked.
Cammy moved back further into the chamber with Ally and Hanna behind her.
"As far as I know there are two Terminators at the bottom of the shaft with some version of Skynet." Cammy said. "I don't know how many Grays there are with them."
They moved around until they were completely behind the second HK Track.
"I'm going to try and take it with my Taser." Cammy said.
It sounded like a risky idea to Hanna. She also wanted to know what Cammy actually planned.
"Wait." Hanna said. "How were you going to make entry into the area below us?"
Cammy already considered her options. There was only one choice.
"I thought about going down the cable itself." Cammy said. "If I call the hoist up, it will alert everyone below."
Ally looked over at the cable.
"It looks greasy." Ally said. "You might slip."
Hanna looked over against the far wall. It seemed there was more of the area to explore.
"Maybe we should see what's behind or inside the metal door first." Hanna said.
Cammy wanted to remain where she was at.
"You two go check it out." Cammy said.
Hanna and Ally continued to move in the direction of the door.
Cammy moved towards the rear of the still active HK Track.
Young Allison and Anna watched as the damaged HK drone left the area. It righted itself to only a thirty degree list. The starboard power plant was severely damaged and continued to smoke. There was probably some friction in it from the damage. It most likely would continue to worsen.
Anna was updated by CamNet.
"CamNet hasn't spotted any other hostile HK drones at any altitude within thirty miles." Anna said.
Young Allison knew the surveillance perimeter was increased to fifty miles.
"There are still drones further out which need to report." Young Allison said.
She didn't want to make any assumptions without all of the information first.
John Henry and Summer followed the drone situation and the loading of the trucks.
Summer was aware where her mother was currently at. Holly placed her in John's room to keep her from checking to see where she was at. It was blocked from John Henry by CamNet as it was done. It was actually her suggestion. She knew everyone was influenced by all things sexual. It was a vice they'd all succumbed to. It appeared to be something they all enjoyed and sought, even if it was distracting. She knew her sister was headed down the same road too.
It would probably happen to her soon enough as her hormones began to change and new ones were produced. Maybe she should ask CamNet for some drugs to suppress her hormones. She was aware logic and intelligence would only take her so far. The nature of the beast would rear its head at some point. All animals were susceptible to it. She could tell Jan was already affected to a certain degree. Nature didn't wait for anyone. It moved along on its own. Just thinking about it was distracting enough. She needed to refocus her attention.
"It looks like the trucks are almost ready to roll." Summer said.
John Henry knew it would happen soon. He was a little concerned about the personnel needed.
"They're two drivers short for the loaded trucks." John Henry said. "There are several other vehicles they want to take as well."
Summer didn't want anyone around the area any longer than they needed to be.
"They'll have additional drivers soon enough." Summer said.
John Henry was unaware of any new development.
"Where will they come from?" John Henry asked. "The girls are all still inside the hill."
Summer previously contacted CamNet and set some things into play.
"Hank and Larry will join them soon as well as Steve's team." Summer said. "Ken and Lou are on the way back with the Iroquois. They picked up Steve's team when they stashed the other trucks."
John Henry knew it would give them eight additional drivers if they left the UH-1 parked outside of the hangar of the third building.
'Coltan Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb' would watch the UH-1 and keep the back door open for the girls.
"You've been a busy girl." John Henry said.
Summer smiled. She hoped to keep her youthful appearance as long as possible. She believed it was an asset which would allow everyone to misjudge her. It seemed to be the case so far, except for those who were around her all of the time. Most of them figured out she was always several steps ahead of them.
Samantha followed the two Grays into the branch. She found their constant complaining irritating. It alone was enough reason to terminate them. It didn't matter if they were Grays and served Skynet.
The fourth Gray looked in back of them. He couldn't see anything.
"I say we just keep going." The fourth Gray said.
The first Gray actually liked the idea. He also knew there would be severe repercussions if the situation became stable.
"I hear you, bro." The first Gray said. "If we do it, and this all blows over, you know the 'Bucket Heads' are going to be all over us."
The fourth gray cringed a little at the thought. He'd seen first hand evidence of what it looked like when someone ran.
"Yeah, I heard they tracked down Domingo for running out." The fourth Gray said. "They brought him back."
The first Gray wished he could forget what he'd viewed. He couldn't. It was something the 'circuit brains' wanted everyone to see.
"You mean they brought his head back." The first Gray said. "I saw it. It was ripped off while he was still alive. We all saw what was in his mouth."
The fourth Gray swallowed hard in the near darkness. It was a gruesome thought.
"It wasn't his tongue either." The fourth Gray said.
The first Gray figured Domingo probably mouthed off to the Terminators when they'd apprehended him.
"It was ripped out too." The first Gray said.
The Grays slowed up.
"Hey, I think we're here." The fourth Gray said.
The first Gray looked at the metal door. He didn't think there was anything else to see. There was no one else inside of the passageway.
"It looks like it's clear to me." The first Gray said. "Let's go back."
The fourth Gray still toyed with the idea of running. He at least wanted to know what was going on outside of the passageway system.
"Let's open the door and see what's out there." The fourth Gray said.
Samantha closed up on the two Grays. They'd only looked behind them once. She quickly prepared a 'burst transmission'.
The first Gray was sure it was a bad idea.
"I don't know about this, bro." The first Gray said.
The fourth Gray didn't think it was a problem.
"It will only take a second." The fourth Gray said.
There was a 'squeak' noise as they opened the door a few inches.
There was the unmistakable sound of HK drones outside.
Samantha was able to make contact with John Henry and fill him in with a low decibel burst transmission.
The first Gray quickly realized the situation.
"Quick, close it, man." The first Gray said. "None of our drones were operational here."
The heavy door squeaked closed and was secured.
The fourth Gray didn't think it was a big deal. There were more of their operations scattered throughout the area.
"Maybe they're from another one of the outposts." The fourth Gray said.
The first Gray doubted it.
"What if they're not?" The first Gray asked.
It gave both of the Grays something to think about as they made sure the door was secure.
Cam moved along the well lit passageway. She didn't know at what point she would face Terminators or Grays.
She passed by a few rooms which were empty. They looked recently built. It appeared they would house electrical gear of some type.
She came to another metal door and opened it.
Cam heard Cammy speak to Ally and Hanna. They were right outside the metal door.
"Cammy what's going on?" Cam asked.
Cammy told her to hold at the metal door she'd encountered. It opened into the area where she was at with Ally and Hanna.
"There is an HK Track facing to your right when you enter the chamber". Cammy said. "I'm about to take it down with my Taser."
Cam possessed something a little less risky.
"I have a 'sticky shocker' loaded in my M203 right now." Cam said. "Let me take a shot at it."
Cam quickly filled them in on where Samantha was at. She leaned around the door frame and fired the 'sticky shocker'. It hit the HK Track.
Cammy rushed up to it and checked both of them out. She deactivated them and removed the 'sticky shockers'.
"They're both nonfunctional right now." Cammy said.
Cam looked at Ally and Hanna. She wanted to make more productive use of the HK Tracks.
"I need both of you to get these things reprogrammed properly." Cam said. "Send them to block open both of the blast doors for now. They can act as a relay for us too so we can get communications back."
Cammy headed for the hoist cable.
"Where are you going?" Cam asked.
Cammy pointed down.
"To meet Skynet and deal with a couple of Terminators." Cammy said. "There may be Grays down there as well."
Cam didn't want her to go alone.
"Let me go with you." Cam said.
Cammy remembered her report.
"I thought you needed to link back up with Samantha." Cammy said.
Cam frowned.
"I do." Cam said.
Hanna thought she could get both of the HK Tracks programmed herself.
"I can take care of this. Ally can go meet Samantha." Hanna said. "I know 'Cameron' likes to deal with Skynet personally. Right now there are two of 'Cameron' here."
Cam and Cammy looked at each other.
Ally showed Hanna what she'd done so far on her HK Track.
"I'll go." Ally said and left.
Cammy looked at Hanna.
"You make sure this area stays open for us." Cammy said. "I'll send the elevator or bucket up as soon as I can."
Cammy and Cam each slung their M4 on their back. They made sure their Tasers were available for a quick one handed grab. Cammy handed Cam the 'sticky shocker' she'd fired from her M203. They looked over the side of the shaft into the darkness.
"Let's go." Cammy said and jumped over to the cable and caught it.
She started down, hand over hand.
Cam waited ten seconds and did the same thing.
Down into the rabbit hole they went. They didn't have a clue what awaited them.
Hanna looked back once and resumed work on the HK Tracks. She needed to keep track of everything happening around her. She didn't want any surprises.
Ally moved rapidly through the passageway and into the tunnel. Cam told her what to expect. She hurried to make the rendezvous with Samantha.
The Grays closed the heavy door. It squeaked closed and was secured.
The fourth Gray still hope the HK drones could be friendly
"Maybe they're from another one of the outposts." The fourth Gray said.
It seemed like a risky assumption to the first Gray.
"What if they're not?" The first Gray asked.
The fourth Gray felt there were too many unanswered questions.
"I don't know." The fourth Gray said. "This whole thing sucks."
The first Gray felt they accomplished the task they'd been assigned. They hadn't encountered any enemy troops inside of the passageway system.
"Let's go back." The first Gray said. "Everything inside of here is clear."
The two Grays turned around and were surprised to see two red orbs in front of them. Before they could speak or do anything, they were both grabbed and slammed together. They were both out cold.
Samantha snapped their necks and quickly checked them for any intel. She turned and ran back towards the rendezvous point.
She slowed as she neared the junction. She thought she heard some movement.
"Pink." Samantha said in a low decibel level.
Ally was close by.
"Flamingo." Ally answered.
Samantha went around the corner and was surprised to see Ally.
Ally gave Samantha a quick explanation.
"Cam and Cammy went down into 'The Hole'." Ally said.
Ally gave her an update as to what they'd done so far.
Samantha told Ally there were at least two Grays between them and Young Jesse's team. They quickly set off in pursuit.
Sheila and Camille wondered what the hold up for the Grays was. There could only be one explanation. They spoke at a decibel level only another Terminator could hear.
"They're waiting for more Grays." Camille said.
Sheila held her silenced M9 up. She was still prone on the ground.
"I can pop one for sure." Sheila said.
Camille held her M4 ready. She didn't want to delay any longer.
"Go ahead and do it. I'll rush the other ones." Camille said. "I'll continue on and take any more behind him."
Young Jesse could see Camille was about to make some kind of an assault. She didn't want to be JAFO.
"Let's go." Young Jesse said.
Young Jesse brought her M4 up and quickly moved past Gail, Hank and Larry. They were taken by surprise at her quick action. It was clear she was a 'go getter'.
Camille looked back and saw Young Jesse was almost to her position at a run. She moved out and headed for the corner.
"Shoot." Camille whispered as she passed by Sheila.
Sheila fired once and was up on her feet in a second. Camille already started to go before she'd even fired. She started after her. Much to her surprise, Young Jesse was right next to her.
Hank and Larry were right behind her. Gail covered the rear.
Camille was surprised the second Gray tumbled into view and landed on the ground in front of her.
Young Jesse watched it happen as well. She could think of only one reason.
"Black." Young Jesse said loudly.
"Panther." Was the reply.
Moments ago:
Samantha and Ally closed up on the next set of turns in the tunnel.
Samantha signaled for Ally to slow. She moved up and peeked around the corner. There was one Gray mostly around the corner and one mostly in back of it. She raised her silenced M9 to shoot. Right before she pulled the trigger the first Gray fell. She squeezed the trigger and the second Gray fell.
"Black." Young Jesse said loudly.
"Panther." Samantha said.
The Grays were shoved out of the way and the two teams formed into one.
They quickly went back the way Samantha and Ally came from.
Camille took Young Jesse aside as they hurried along. The other Terminators gave them plenty of space.
"What were you going to do?" Camille asked Young Jesse.
Young Jesse didn't like the rebuke.
"Back you up." Young Jesse said. "It was the right choice."
Camille didn't like the risk to Young Jesse.
"There were others to do it." Camille said.
Young Jesse pointed out the obvious.
"Is there always going to be?" Young Jesse asked. "It's not how you trained me. You trained me to act. Not hide. Skynet needs to know humans and machines are working together to insure its defeat."
Camille was proud of Young Jesse. She did do everything like she was trained. They'd been holding her back too much.
"I'm sorry." Camille said. "You're right."
Sheila and Ally took the lead.
Samantha fell back to talk to Hank and Larry.
"They need more drivers." Samantha said. "John Henry requested both of you."
When they went to the junction where Samantha killed the two Grays, they ran down it at full speed. Samantha went with them. They passed the two deceased Grays and opened the door.
"Hank and Larry are about to go outside." Samantha said.
She didn't want any 'friendly fire' incidents.
John Henry wanted to give everyone a little reassurance.
"We have your location on drone footage." John Henry said. "They're clear."
Hank and Larry went out and Samantha secured the door and ran back. Young Jesse and Camille were there looking down the tunnel as she approached. They started out at a run to catch up to Sheila, Ally and Gail.
Thirty seconds later the team was together again. They headed for the spot where Ally left Cammy, Cam and Hanna.
John was asleep. Claire was in his bed naked. They both were. She was thrilled to be in his bed again.
She didn't want to move or wake him. She wanted to see how he would respond to her. She hoped it would be in a favorable manner.
She'd already touched herself several times to try a quell some of her excitement. She actually only made it more intense. She was very aroused right now.
Maybe she should just go down a little lower and 'start him up'.
Claire looked for a clock. She didn't even know what time it was. It was already the next day, but she didn't know by how much.
She needed some release right now. She began to repeat her earlier actions.
John opened his eyes. There was a slight rhythmic motion to the bed. He thought it may be a mild earthquake at first. He was about to sit up when he heard a muffled gasp next to him. He looked over and Claire or Samantha was next to him. The sheet was pushed down to her waist. Her arm disappeared under the sheet which still covered the lower part of her body. There was some motion going on there. He heard her stifle another gasp. It was clear what she was doing. He quickly understood what was available. It was all the 'boost' he needed. He was instantly ready. He knew what was coming next.
He carefully pushed down the sheet. He was ready as he watched Claire. He knew it was her by her breathing. He watched her at work. She moaned again.
Claire felt a rush of pleasure. She knew she was pretty loud the last time. She opened her eyes and looked over at John. His eyes looked into hers. She saw the sheet was down, John was ready.
She rolled over on top of him and kissed him deeply. She let out a slight expression of joy as she found what she wanted. She broke the kiss and moved to a more upright position. She liked to have control of what happened.
John was always happy to go along for the ride.
He wondered when Claire arrived in his room. It didn't matter right now.
The Terminator could see the two men were trouble.
"Wrong…." The Terminator said.
Both men attempted to attack the Terminator. The man with the knife made a lunge forward with it. The man with the tire iron reared his arm in back of him to deliver a more powerful blow. Not only did it slow his response, it 'telegraphed' it.
The Terminator grabbed the man with the knife as he came at him. He accelerated his body forward at the same time he reversed the direction of his neck. His head snapped straight back. It fractured his spine. His body fell to the ground as the second man brought down the tire iron. He continued the downward motion of the man's arm and swung it all the way back around. He could hear several bones in the arm break. The man's motion carried him forward. He punched the man in the back of the neck as he fell in front of him. He impacted the ground on top of the first man. They were both terminated.
He took one quick look around him. He didn't see any others. It didn't mean they weren't there. He quickly opened the boxcar door and tossed both men inside. He closed the door and secured it.
The Terminator spotted the headlights of the locomotives as they approached. He quickly moved up along the siding to the switch. He could feel the ground vibrate and shake as the locomotives neared. They passed by the switch slowly and stopped. He quickly threw the switch. The locomotives reversed direction and started towards him. They took the curve of the siding to head for the boxcars. He moved up on to the lowest step of the locomotive as it moved along. He quickly called out the distance through his com to CamNet.
As the locomotives neared the boxcars, he hopped off of the step and moved ahead of the locomotive. The coupler on the locomotive was already in the open position so he didn't need to reposition it to couple. He'd already done so on the boxcar. He gave CamNet some last minute instructions and the locomotive slowed to a crawl as the connection was made. The boxcar barely moved. He released the handbrake on the boxcar and connected the airline to the locomotives. It only took a few seconds for the air to be pumped up in the two boxcars. He gave CamNet instructions to reverse direction and go back onto the main line.
He watched as the locomotives began to pull the two box cars forward. He watched the first boxcar go by as then the second one approached. He grabbed the ladder on the rear side of the second boxcar as it neared him. He rode it around the curve back onto the main line. As they neared the switch he dropped off. He threw the switch back for the position to the main line. The locomotives picked up speed and accelerated away. CamNet said she would deal with the contents later on. Right now she wanted to move them further away from where they'd been appropriated.
The Terminator went back to the gate over the siding which entered the compound. He closed it and bent the metal to secure it. He headed back towards his SUV along the railroad tracks.
The security chief unslung the RPG and made sure it was ready to fire. It was. He took a step back. There were two females moving towards the rear of the HK Track.
He was about to take a shot at them when the HK Track pivoted in his direction. He quickly ducked back down. It went by him and went over to where the water mains were located. It was where he'd last seen the two shadowy figures.
He wasn't sure if the two females spotted him or not. He didn't think so. He waited for them to pass by so he could take a shot at them with the RPG. He was sure they were Terminators. His pistol would do nothing to stop them. The Taser he currently had might be able to stop one of them. He didn't think he would be able to stop both of them. If he could destroy or disabled one of them with the RPG, he would attempt to take the other one with the Taser in the confusion. The smoke was very thick in the air now, it was very hard to see. Even with the brightness of the ever closing flames increasing, the volume of smoke seemed to negate its visibility effect.
He spotted the two females near the HK Track. He pulled the trigger on the rocket launcher. Nothing happened. He quickly checked to make sure the rocket was properly seated. It wasn't. Before he could get it lined up on any of the three targets, the rocket fired on its own.
The security chief watched as the rocket went wild.
The female Fanatic decided they needed to move away from where the damage HK Track currently was at above them. It was a target for the HK drone outside of the building, as well as the man with the RPG.
"We need to get moving." The female Fanatic whispered.
They began to move through the trench. They moved away from where the HK Track currently sat on top of the grate. They soon began to lose any of the effects of lighting from the burning building. They needed to use some of the captured phones to give themselves visibility once the trench went under the floor of the structure.
He could hear an explosion behind them.
"Was it the HK Track?" Jill asked.
The female Fanatic didn't think it was loud enough, nor was there enough concussive force felt by them.
"I believe it was an RPG only." The female Fanatic said.
Just a few seconds after the blast, they could hear something moving in the trench behind them.
The female Fanatic and Jill were surprised at what happened next.
So far Lena and Tina hadn't felt any negative effects from the spatial portal. They could still hear it making noise towards where the front of the building once was. Their current goal was to capture the HK Track. They wanted to direct it towards the spatial portal and have it overload its power cell.
They tried to maneuver to be in back of it as it moved towards several water manifolds. There had been a noise over in the area a short time ago. It abruptly pivoted to the side at one point before it continued its journey.
They were about to make their move on it when they heard the sound of an RPG fire behind them. They both immediately ducked down. They thought the rocket was directed at the HK Track. It was already damaged from a previous rocket strike.
The rocket exploded. They could hear hissing and gushing noise from the area where the rocket impacted. The HK Track spun around and searched for a target behind it. It didn't locate one. It moved back in the direction it had come from. It passed very close by where they were concealed. It didn't detect them.
They moved out after it. They kept a lookout for whoever fired the RPG and anyone else they could spot. The hissing noise behind them continued to grow in volume.
Lena felt she was in a good position to make her move. She made a lunge for the back of the HK Track. She brought her Taser up and fired into one of the joints. The first shot deflected. She fired a second time. The barbs jammed into the joint. She sent a jolt of electricity through the HK Track and it stopped moving.
Tina kept a careful watch around them for whoever fired the RPG. She couldn't allow them to get another shot off while they were in the vicinity of the HK Track.
Lena began to reprogram the HK Track. She gave it information to only respond to their transponder code as a 'friendly'. Any other codes which were in there, she deleted.
Tina spotted some movement off to their side. She indicated to Lena where she was going. She moved forward and found the RPG launcher. It had been discarded by whoever fired it earlier. There was another rocket lying next to it. She inspected the launcher and saw it had been damaged by a few ricochets from the 'metal hail' fired at the position where it's previous owner had been at one point. She needed to bend the metal a little bit to get it back into shape. She was able to load the rocket into the launcher. She didn't spot who'd abandon it. She knew they were around there somewhere.
Lena finished up with the HK Track as she saw Tina approach with the rocket launcher.
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Temporal Mission:
Past Timeline:
November 25 1963
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Cameron sat in the bathtub full of bubbles. She thought the water seemed a little on the warm side. It wasn't warm for her, but it must have been for Young Allison. She decided to lean her head back and try not to think about too many things. It was hard for her to do. She wanted to get away from it all for a while.
Young Allison decided to put the record away when it finished playing. She carefully put it back in its sleeve and then put it back in its cover. She didn't want to play anymore tonight. She went to lay down in bed. She paused and listened. It seemed awfully quiet. She carefully crept forward towards the bathroom to look in the open door.
She spotted Cameron in the tub. Only her head was out of the bubbles. Somehow it seemed there were even more bubbles than there were when she was in there. She hadn't heard any more water run. She wasn't sure exactly what happened. Maybe Cameron whipped them up somehow.
"I'm fine." Cameron said. "I just wanted to get away from it all for a few minutes."
Young Allison didn't think she was spying, maybe she was. She spied on Allison and her mother a lot when they were in Palmdale. She liked to know what was going on around the house.
"I didn't mean to disturb you." Young Allison said. "I just wondered if you were going to go out again."
Cameron opened one of her eyes and looked over towards Young Allison.
"I don't sleep." Cameron said. "All of the television channels usually go off the air between midnight and two. There's nothing but 'snow' after the test pattern goes off. It becomes boring to watch after a few hours."
Young Allison thought it would become boring after two seconds.
"I'm going to go to bed." Young Allison said. "Good night and stay safe."
Cameron closed her eye and tilted her head back upright.
"Good night, remember it's all normal behavior." Cameron said.
'Oh, brother….' Young Allison thought.
It seemed best not to comment.
Young Allison quickly retreated from the bathroom back to the bedroom. She decided she would wait until Cameron left before she did any 'normal behavior' at bedtime.
She turned off the light and climbed into bed. She left the door to the bedroom open. She didn't think there was any point in closing it. Cameron always knew everything that happened when she was there anyway.
Young Allison was asleep in no time.
Cameron opened the drain on the tub and got out. She made sure no bubbles clung to her sheath. She dried herself off. She hung up the towel. She listened for a few moments to hear what was going on in Young Allison's room. It didn't sound like anything. She carefully moved up to the door and looked in. It appeared Young Allison was asleep.
She made her way back to her room and dressed in a little more rugged clothing. She decided she was going to hike all the way up to the Fire Control Center of LA-88. She wanted to see if she could breach the defenses. She believed the only guard dogs were actually at the missile launch location.
She slipped out of the house and made sure it was locked behind her. She moved to the rear of the property and exited the same way she'd done the previous night. She decided to take a different route up towards the Fire Control Center. She believed she'd remain undetected yesterday night. There was no need to chance it and run into an ambush and get tagged as a Soviet spy. She could converse in Russian quite fluently now.
Wait.
What if she actually did run into a Soviet spy? Should she terminate them? It seemed it was best to elude everyone instead. Remaining undetected would be the bigger challenge. She liked a challenge.
She took a different horse trail than the last time. She headed over slightly east and picked up Browns Canyon Creek. She didn't take the road. There was seldom more than a trickle of water in the wash other than when it rained. She made good time. When Browns Canyon Creek angled to the west, she stayed with the wash into one of its tributaries and went straight up the side of the hill. She passed just under a half of a mile east from the missile launch site. There were some oil fields off further to the east side from where she was at. She didn't intend to go into those on this excursion. She continued up the hill until she picked up the Palo Sola Truck Road. The Fire Control Center was actually surrounded by the road as it divided and went around it. She crossed over it to the east.
Cameron would approach LA-88C from the north side.
Earlier:
Young Allison waited a few minutes until after Cameron left. She got up and looked around the house. Everything was as it was when she went to bed. She moved over to each of the windows and looked out. There wasn't much she could see in the darkness. She did turn on the TV for a few minutes. There was still news coverage of the President's funeral. She quickly turned it off.
She thought about taking one of the vehicles and going for a drive. She knew it would cause Cameron a lot of apprehension and worry if she did. She wouldn't do it tonight. She went back to bed instead. She thought about knocking one off but didn't feel like it after seeing scenes from the funeral procession. It didn't seem like the right thing to do. She probably would once the images weren't fresh in her mind. It would help her relax.
She was a little irritated when someone bumped into her.
"Pay attention." The first man said.
She was even more irritated they'd said something about it. He'd bumped into her. She didn't bump into him.
"I am paying attention." Young Allison said. "It's the rest of you who are on edge."
There was some movement on the other side of her.
"The President will be here any minute." The second man said.
President?
Young Allison wondered what they were talking about.
Where was she anyway?
She could see there were a lot of people in military uniforms as well as civilians scattered throughout the area. They were all lined up along the street. She could hear the distinct 'clop clop clop' of horse hooves.
The man on her right side seemed to stand straighter.
"At least they got the guy who did this." The first man said.
The man on her left side scoffed.
"Yeah, right." The second man said. "If you believe that, I've got some land in Florida for sale. You can see it at low tide."
Young Allison felt a twinge of guilt. She wasn't going to admit it was her who delivered the head shot. How was she where she was at anyway?
She saw everybody else in the row was wearing a military uniform. There were all different branches of the military represented in various groups. She looked down at her clothes. She was wearing a custodian's outfit. She quickly looked around to see if anyone noticed. She stood out like a sore thumb.
Young Allison knew she wanted to be anywhere else other than where she was right now. The 'clop clop clop' of the horses drew nearer.
They're Clear
There are many things
Which one can hold dear
There are even many more
Which may cause fear
When things start to go wrong
One hopes they would disappear
But like a jack in the box
They always seem to reappear
More often than not
Some will shed more than a tear
The real question is if
They're actually sincere
Some will only take a look
Others gawk, sneer and leer
Their ultimate goal seems to be
So they may bully and domineer
No one wants to be used
Or end up as a souvenir
When they decided to break away
They need to be sure they're clear
Nobody