Chapter 1566
Looks Could Be Deceiving
John Henry directed the operation from the Command Center.
Summer thought it would be better if John Henry dealt directly with the girls at this juncture. She was still there, but she would take a back seat
Jesse followed the instructions in her com. She led the group deeper into the hangar. She passed by the shredded Gray. It looked like one of the drones, or an HK Track, took him down. She was aware they always made quick work of humans. She made sure Leticia stayed on her six. She didn't want her to drift off or be sickened by the dead Gray, she wasn't. She didn't know the extent of the violence and death Sheila already subjected Leticia to. She was unaware of Sheila's personal vendetta with a San Francisco street gang.
Leticia followed Jesse. She saw the man they passed was literally torn up. She wasn't sure if one of the 'special girls' did it or not. She still remembered what the shark looked like. Maybe it was just a lot of bullet holes. There sure were a lot of them. She could see Jesse was primed to kill. She almost felt like she was behind Sheila. She didn't know Sheila 'inherited' her cruelty and aggressive behavior from Jesse through the 'Neural Interface'. Sheila also 'inherited' her sexual desire and hunger from her as well.
The girls all carried night vision equipment in their vests. Right now it wasn't needed. There was dim lighting from some emergency lights. The drones also lit up the area around them. They all were equipped with an intense 'midnight sun' spotlight.
Jesse neared two large outer blast doors. There was another drone there between them. It tracked them with its minigun. Once it scanned all of them, it pivoted the minigun away from them. It was satisfied they weren't targets. It also lit up the area with its light.
Allison and Mary were behind Jesse and Leticia.
They took in the shredded Gray. Allison could see Mary was a little disturbed at what she viewed. She wanted to give her a brief explanation.
"It's what the minigun on a HK drone or HK Track does to a human in a couple of seconds." Allison said. "They can pump out as many as six thousand rounds a minute. It's about one hundred projectiles per second. Think about it."
Mary did think about it. It was un-survivable. She wondered what an HK Track was. The man looked very dead.
"I'll try and keep my vest on." Mary said. "My clothes are probably going to be trashed already."
Vanna and Laura passed by the Gray next.
"I don't think our vests will help much against an attack like that." Laura said.
Vanna was aware they were given a few cards to play.
"Our Command Center informed us our transponders are squawking both the friendly and enemy code." Vanna said. "Only someone without a recognition code is in for a bad day from the HK equipment."
The girls went through the zigzag. They came across the inner blast doors and another HK drone lit the area. It also tracked them with its minigun.
Leticia thought drones flew. They seemed pretty deadly as sentries sitting on the ground.
"I can see the drones are vigilant." Leticia said.
They entered a larger open area. They could hear an engine running at high RPMs. It wasn't smooth, but it worked hard.
There was light from another drone over by the running engine. There were two HK Tracks parked there as well.
Jesse spotted a welcome sight. Her Metal lover was there.
"Gail." Jesse shouted.
Gail was mostly recovered from the residual effects of the tail end of the big energy blast she'd caught. She'd heard the running footsteps and spotted the shapes of six figures running towards her. She initially looked for a weapon but the need for it was alleviated almost as soon as the threat was detected. A voice familiar to her ears called to her.
"Gail." Jesse shouted.
Gail was thrilled to hear Jesse. She needed to make sure.
"Brown…." Gail called out.
Jesse was glad John Henry updated them on what the recognition codes were for today. They'd only had the ones from yesterday on the plane. They were well into the next day at this point.
"Raccoon…." Jesse said.
Jesse reached Gail in just a few more seconds. She passed by the two HK Tracks and 'Cherry Bomb'. Camille was still sprawled on the ground.
They all wondered why Gail was so filthy. She looked like she was made out of dirt.
Jesse wanted to make sure the girls knew who she was. It was hard to tell from her current appearance.
"This is Gail." Jesse said. "You met her on the ship."
Gail was surprised to see the new 'recruits'. She didn't know if they would recognize her as filthy as she was. She decided to remind them of her 'ship name'.
"You knew me as 'Lisa'." Gail said. "You'll need to forgive my current appearance. I was deep inside a mine earlier. It was another operation we took down."
Leticia saw Camille sprawled on the ground. She was alarmed.
"Is that Barbara?" Leticia asked.
Vanna moved up next to them.
"It's Camille." Vanna said. "It's a common error. She was with us earlier."
Laura looked more than a little worried.
"Is she dead?" Laura asked.
Mary moved away from Allison and looked too.
"We were just with her a few hours ago!" Mary said.
Gail didn't want the new girls alarmed.
"No." Gail said. "She's just off... - stunned."
Allison took a look around the immediate area. There were no threats detected.
"Stay with me, Mary." Allison said. "Things happen fast. We're in a kill zone."
Gail filled them in where they were at right now. She was almost back to one hundred percent.
Camille rebooted as Vanna looked her over. She made a rapid recovery. She crawled to the shaft and looked down. She felt it would give her a little more stability than standing right now. The last electrical blast hit her hard. She didn't want to look over the edge and end up on top of the elevator car without the benefit of a restraint of some type. She was very pleased at what she spotted.
"I can see the elevator." Camille said.
Gail inspected the struggling forklift. It was about to overheat. Smoke poured out of the engine compartment, as did thick gray exhaust from the engine. It was burning oil. Something inside was about to 'let go'.
The girls all kept watch around them as the forklift continued to produce the electricity needed for the hoist. They all hoped it would hold out a little longer before it quit.
Young Jesse worried as the elevator slowly rose. The only good thing was the Metal girls were all active, even if they were sluggish. It didn't seem they could stand for long unless they held onto something. The pulsating energy field affected all of them.
She looked up through the open hatch. She could see a dim square of light! It was good news. They were near the top! She wasn't sure of the exact time any longer. She figured they must only have about fifteen or sixteen minutes left until the detonation. They still needed to get away from the area once they were at the top.
Cammy looked up. She could see it was still a few more minutes until they reached the top.
Summer wanted to buy the girls some time. They needed the helicopters to function to get away from the area the fastest.
"They're going to need to close the blast doors to slow down the effects of the energy pulses." Summer said. "The pulses may still be strong enough to affect the helicopters."
John Henry didn't think there was any power left to do it. He felt he was at a major disadvantage.
"There's no auxiliary power functional there." John Henry said. "I can't close them from here."
They'd established communications again with the group at the head of the shaft. They knew the elevator was almost to the top of the shaft.
Summer believed the tools were already there to accomplish the task. It was going to require some sacrifice.
"They can use the HK Tracks to push the doors closed." Summer said. "They need to close one of the outer and inner doors now. There will be room for 'Cherry Bomb' to pass. The HK Tracks can be moved to the second door in each set. They can close each in turn as the group passes. The HK Tracks are going to need to stay behind."
John Henry sent word out to Gail and Camille. They checked the forklift one last time and each left with an HK Track. They should have one door closed on each set and be ready to close the other door as the girls passed through.
Young Allison followed the events in the hillside. She communicated to CamNet the Metal girls might be in bad shape. She suggested 'Coltan Overcast' join 'Cherry Bomb'. They could carry some of the Metal girls if the energy surges didn't worsen.
Anna noticed what Young Allison was up to.
"The drones can get trapped in there too." Anna said.
Young Allison knew they would do their duty. She didn't want any of the Resistance equipment to feel obligated to face termination.
"You may give them the option to pull out now." Young Allison said. "Only the two HK Tracks need to be sacrificed."
The drones all received the update directly from CamNet including the option to 'pull out'. The adult versions of Savannah and Young Allison were inside. There was no option for them. They would stay until the end. The older girls were the same girls. The drones would face termination before dishonor.
'Coltan Overcast' was aware the drones between the doors would need to move. It signaled for one of them to come and take its place. The one at the outer blast door flew out and assumed it.
'Coltan Overcast' powered up and flew towards the opening. It passed through the outer blast door and went through the zigzag. It flew over the top of the second drone at the inner blast door. The drone took off as it passed and followed it in. They passed Camille and Gail each with an HK Track in tow.
They both set down on either side of 'Cherry Bomb' and powered down.
The girls were a little worried as the HK Tracks clanked away behind Gail and Camille. They could hear a whine which grew louder by the second.
Laura was a little unnerved by the ominous sound.
"What's that noise?" Laura asked.
Allison learned to dread the sound.
"It's more of the drones." Allison said.
Mary remembered the shredded Gray.
"They aren't coming after us are they?" Mary asked.
The Resistance girls wore their coms and were all updated from the Command Center.
"No." Jesse said. "They're our drones."
They watched as two drones entered the area and flew past the two HK Tracks. They were low to the ground. It was an ominous sight to see them move so low to the ground. It looked like they were stalking them.
The Resistance girls all made sure the other girls put in their earplugs. They were for gunfire, but they worked well for this application too.
Mary, Laura and Leticia all looked over the drones as they landed. They could read the 'names' on two of them. The third one was unmarked.
"Why is one called 'Cherry Bomb' and the other one called 'Coltan Overcast'?" Mary asked.
Jesse and Allison looked down into the shaft.
Vanna looked at the struggling forklift.
"They were personally named by two of our other - associates." Vanna said. "Those two drones helped them out with a few special projects."
Laura wondered what else they could do.
"Can they talk?" Laura asked.
Vanna smiled. She was sure Cameron would give them the option at some point, if she already hadn't.
"They can communicate and operate on their own." Vanna said. "All the machines have advanced AI."
Leticia understood it for what it was.
"You mean they can all hunt and kill on their own." Leticia said.
Allison looked back from the shaft at the girls.
"It's what the 'HK' means in an HK drone, HK Track or HK Tread." Allison said. "They're good at it too."
Mary was sure they'd seen the same thing with the 'special girls'.
"I think we all know it." Mary said. "We've seen the evidence firsthand."
Allison could see the elevator. It was almost up. She wasn't sure what they would find.
"The elevator is almost here." Allison said.
Jesse could see it too. John Henry told her what to expect. She wanted everyone to be ready.
"Everyone needs to look alive." Jesse said. "We have seven girls coming. Six of them might need help."
The fact wasn't lost on the girls there were six of them there right now. They were all last minute additions to the operation. It seemed more like luck than any planning.
Leticia was worried about Sheila and the other girls. She was worried why they might need assistance.
"Have they been shot?" Leticia asked.
Jesse thought it was the least of their worries.
"I don't know." Jesse said. "HQ only reports they may have been exposed to some kind of an energy pulse."
Mary wondered what it was.
"Is it a weapon?" Mary asked.
Vanna studied the effects of an energy pulse on the Metal girls before.
"It's massive amounts of energy which is produced from some electrical type equipment. It malfunctions and eventually explodes with catastrophic effects as its deterioration worsens." Vanna said. "Camille was affected by it earlier. Gail was - away from the shaft when it happened."
Laura remembered how Camille looked dead when they arrived. It seemed like something which would be better to avoid.
"Will it happen to us?" Laura asked.
Vanna knew enough energy could kill humans. Savannah made it through her ordeal at Serrano Point. CamNet was able to get her out before it became fatal. There was no way to know the actual answer.
"I don't know." Vanna said. "Death is part of everything we do."
Mary was worried about the part where it 'explodes with catastrophic effects'.
"Will it blow up?" Mary asked.
Jesse figured it wasn't their biggest worry.
"I think something will." Jesse said. "If it's not the energy source, it will be the backpack nuke."
Laura knew being around an exploding nuclear weapon was bad no matter how one looked at it.
"Are we going to die?" Laura asked.
Allison knew the other girls didn't need to be there. It was wrong to 'make' them stay.
"We don't know." Allison said. "If we die, we die. You can always leave. One of the helicopters can take you away. This isn't your fight, not yet anyway."
Leticia planned to wait for Sheila. She wasn't leaving without her.
"I'm staying." Leticia said. "I want to help Sheila and the other girls."
The top of the elevator came into view.
The ground began to rumble and shake.
The lights on the three drones went off as they went into standby. The area was cast almost into total darkness. There was a brilliant flash of light and a blast noise.
The forklift sputtered and died. The elevator was almost at the top when it stopped. It was only about eighteen inches short from being fully up. It was close enough to get everyone out of it.
Young Jesse jumped out right before it stopped. She was surprised to see six girls standing there. She was even more surprised to see the three girls from the ship were part of the group. There was no sign of Gail or Camille.
Jesse was very worried about Young Jesse's escapade at the bottom of the shaft.
"Are you alright, Jesse?" Jesse asked.
Mary, Laura and Leticia all knew Young Jesse as 'Stephany'. Somehow it made sense she actually had the same name as Jesse. They looked identical except one was younger. Sheila looked just like them too.
"I am, but the Met… girls are all in standby." Young Jesse said. "We need to be away from here in just over ten minutes. The 'package' is armed and the clock is ticking. I armed it myself."
The girls from the ship were a little surprised to hear it. A teenager was about to set off a nuclear weapon. It was already set in motion.
Young Jesse filled them in on everything she knew. She figured the Metal girls would all be back online in a very short time.
"The girls will reboot soon." Young Jesse said. "Help me with the two Terminators we captured. Cam brought them down. I deactivated them."
Mary and Laura remembered what they'd read. There was one report the cyborgs were referred to as 'Terminators'. The name seemed to speak for itself.
Vanna looked over and the lights on the drones were back on.
"We can load them on the drones." Vanna said.
The Metal girls began to stir.
Sheila was surprised to see Leticia there when her eyes opened.
"I think I'm in heaven." Sheila said.
Leticia gave her a kiss.
"Not yet." Leticia said. "It will happen later on."
Cammy heard what Vanna said about the Terminators.
"Get those two loaded first. We'll be fine" Cammy said.
The human girls went to work. The girls grabbed the female Terminator first since she was on top of the male Terminator. They came back and collected the male Terminator as well.
Mary could see the scalp was cut open on both of them. There was an empty socket which was visible when a flap of the scalp, with hair on it, hung down for a moment.
"What are these things?" Mary asked. "They're not people are they?"
Young Jesse wanted them to get moving. She didn't know how much they knew. She figured it was probably a lot already.
"No." Young Jesse said. "They're cyborgs."
The Metal girls were all on their feet and began to exit the elevator. They all looked shaky.
The two deactivated Terminators were loaded onto 'Coltan Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb'.
Cammy wanted to have them loaded onto the helicopters before the girls exited the hill. She looked at 'Colton Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb'.
"You two leave now." Cammy said to them. "Cover your ears girls."
'Coltan Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb' powered up and headed out.
The girls all started away from the shaft.
The human girls each assisted a Metal girl. It was Leticia with Sheila, Mary with Ally, Laura with Hanna, Vanna with Cam, Allison with Samantha and Jesse with Cammy. Gail and Camille should be at the blast doors with the two HK Tracks.
Young Jesse brought up the rear. She looked at the drone still there.
"Come on, love." Young Jesse said. "No one gets left behind. You're with me."
The drone powered up.
Young Jesse saw the names on the two drones which left. The drone there was unmarked. She wanted to give it a name. It seemed like one close to 'home' would be a good choice.
"I'll call you 'Dingo'." Young Jesse said.
The drone wagged back and forth. It lit the path for all of the girls to see.
Young Jesse spotted a permanent marking pen on top of one of the tables. She went over and retrieved it. She wrote the name 'Dingo' on both sides of it, along with a heart and her initials in it. They needed to get moving.
They passed the inner blast door. One door was closed. The one open door began to close as they passed.
Camille came from the side and Young Jesse assisted her.
They went through the zigzags.
They neared the second blast door. It began to close as well. Gail came up alongside of it. The two HK Tracks were left behind to close the blast doors. It seemed to work as intended.
Cammy wanted Jesse to assist Gail. They were lovers.
"I'm fine." Cammy said. "You can help Gail."
Young Jesse had her hands full with Camille. She reached out and took Cammy as well. She propped her up on the drone which followed them.
"It's what 'Dingo' here is for." Young Jesse said "You can lean on it or ride on it."
The girls all made it outside the one remaining open outer blast door. It slowly closed behind them.
Bob and Jim were there. They'd left their trucks and hitched a ride back to the hangar on a couple of their drones. They'd been apprised as to the timeline and how critical it was.
"Get to the chopper." Bob said.
The girls were a little surprised to see Bob and Jim there.
The girls from the ship all recognized Bob.
"He's the security chief from the ship." Mary said.
It was clear they recognized Jim as well.
"It's the suite steward too." Laura said.
Allison didn't want a lot of questions.
"We're all just one big happy family." Allison said.
Leticia looked at Sheila as she assisted her.
"I think the family just got a little bigger." Leticia said.
The Metal girls were all much better once the inner blast door closed. They could all walk on their own now. The outer blast door was almost closed. Bob and Jim pushed on it from the outside to help it close faster. Once it was closed, everyone returned back to 'normal'.
They rushed to the two helicopters.
Cammy wanted to remind everyone about the timeline they were on.
"We need to be away from this place and on the ground away from here in less than six minutes with everything shut down." Cammy said.
Ned and Wes already loaded the two Terminators into the Iroquois. Both of the helicopters were 'burning and turning'.
The girls all boarded the Blackhawk. There was room for all of them. Wes climbed into the pilot's seat.
Ned was ready in the Iroquois. Bob and Jim were now there as well.
The drone flew out of the hangar. Young Jesse was the last to board the Blackhawk. She touched 'Dingo' before she did.
"Thanks, love." Young Jesse said. "You're my drone now."
'Dingo' took off along with 'Coltan Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb'.
The Iroquois took off. Young Jesse climbed into the copilot's seat and strapped in on the Blackhawk. She wanted to get out of the area. She was sure the blast would be contained within the hill because of the depth it would explode at.
"Hit it." Young Jesse said. "Let's get some distance from us and this place. We've only got a few minutes."
Ned took the Blackhawk to full power and followed after the Iroquois. It quickly overtook it. They went about four miles out and set down behind a hill and shut both helicopters down. 'Dingo', 'Coltan Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb' landed next to them and shut down as well. They formed a defensive perimeter around them.
The girls all talked among themselves.
Everyone waited. The helicopter blades slowly spun down.
Mary wanted to know a little more about what to expect.
"What's going to happen?" Mary asked.
Laura was just as concerned about the timing.
"When's it going to happen?" Laura asked.
Cammy wasn't sure. She didn't have an exact time on when Young Jesse set the timer.
"It may feel like an earthquake. It should be any time soon." Cammy said. "There shouldn't be a 'blowout' or a mushroom cloud. The radiation will be minimal without either of those."
Leticia had been through a few earthquakes.
"Will it be big or small?" Leticia asked.
Before anyone could answer, the Metal Girls all went into standby. They detected the 'P-Waves'. So did the rest of the Terminators.
The ground began to shake. It started with a violent jolt. The duration wasn't long at all.
Allison was sure it was over. She at least hoped it was. There was always the possibility it could trigger a larger earthquake.
"It will feel about like that." Allison said.
Leticia noticed Sheila was inactive. She tried to rouse her.
Jesse noticed.
"Relax, love." Jesse said. "She needs a short rest right now. They all do."
Twenty seconds later the Metal girls all rebooted.
Sheila looked around.
"Did we miss much?" Sheila asked.
Leticia smiled and gave Sheila a kiss.
"Nope…." Leticia said.
Young Jesse checked with John Henry and he told them they should be good to go.
Wes and Ned re-fired the helicopters and they took off. The drones waited until they were airborne and then headed for the sky. They needed to get some altitude since the sun was up. There were going to be a lot of people up now as well. Anyone who'd been asleep, more than likely was just woken up in the surrounding area.
The UH-1 left to take Bob and Jim back to their trucks and then head for a secure location so the two Terminators could be processed. They soon picked up and followed Randy and Brian with the HK drone beneath their Huey. The trucks would all arrive at the location soon enough as well.
Wes looked over at Young Jesse. She smiled and nodded.
"You got it?" Wes asked.
Young Jesse took control.
"I got it." Young Jesse said. "Tell me where."
She looked at a map and Wes pointed where to go.
Young Jesse gained some altitude. She took it up to five thousand feet. They all looked at the hill complex in the distance. There was a large cloud of dust. There was no mushroom cloud. The side of the hill was collapsed inward. The buildings around it were as well. It appeared everything was destroyed.
Mary was still a little concerned about the after effects.
"Is there radiation?" Mary asked.
John Henry had the last drone out of the hangar make a flyby. He reported the radiation levels were safe. The blast was contained within the hill. He let the girls know.
Cammy was pleased to relay the information.
"No." Cammy said. "A drone just checked the area. This will be reported and another Southland earthquake of medium magnitude and of short duration."
Leticia could see Young Jesse flew the helicopter now.
"You can fly too?" Leticia asked Young Jesse.
Young Jesse looked back.
"I can fake it pretty good." Young Jesse said. "I think at least most of the time."
The Blackhawk headed for the airport where Wes indicated. It landed near the 727. The girls all got out. They left most of the gear behind. Wes took off in the Blackhawk. He would return it to Van Nuys. He would get everything in order for the next mission.
It looked like things were winding down.
Then again, looks could be deceiving.
The two men continued their circuitous route back to their base. They'd been driving for a half hour as they continuously checked for a tail.
The first man looked at the passenger side mirror.
"I haven't seen anyone." The first man said.
The second man checked the driver's side mirror.
"I haven't either." The second man said. "I don't think we were followed."
The first man thought about the truck driver they'd left behind.
"I haven't spotted any sign of the other guy either." The first man said.
The second man doubted they would.
"He'll probably be back to the base before we are." The second man said. "He could have cut out as well. I really couldn't blame him. If he does, he'll need to deal with Ajax."
The first man was already worried they would need to deal with Ajax.
"We're going to need to do so too." The first man said.
The second man didn't think they'd done anything wrong.
"Everything was gone when we arrived." The second man said. "The others were already dead. I don't believe there's anything else we could have done at the location."
The first man was a little worried there was one more thing they could have done.
"I'm sure if we stuck around any longer, we would have been killed as well." The first man said.
It gave both of them something to think about. There'd been a lot of death and destruction in the future. Somehow it seemed to follow them into the past. It was always a sobering thought. It seemed death was always just around the corner, no matter where they were at.
The box truck circled back on its route one final time before they approached the building.
They backed the box truck up to the dock. They got out and went around to the door to enter. They were about to enter the code into the door when it opened. It was what they didn't want to see. It was Ajax. He didn't look very happy either. Then again, he never did. He either looked indifferent or somewhat irritated.
They were all told Terminators didn't have feelings or show emotion. Experience taught them otherwise. Some things seemed to 'set them off' more than others. One time they'd even witnessed Ajax give someone a shove when they questioned something he'd done in a store. They were pretty sure if they wouldn't have been in a public setting, Ajax would have terminated them.
The two men gave their report about what they'd found to Ajax. He was visibly angered by the news. He told them to put the building on alert. He wanted to make sure nobody used their phone either. He headed for one of the computer terminals and started to search to see when the boxcars were collected and where they went.
The two men quietly told the other Grays inside the building what they'd observed. Everyone in the building armed themselves. It was clear there was another group close by. It appeared there was a Terminator with them.
CamNet's Terminator followed the truck as the drone tracked it. It was now backed up to a loading dock on an industrial building.
The female Fanatic and Jill could feel the ground begin to vibrate. It reminded both of them of a mild earthquake. The rumble from the locomotives working at full throttle was very loud and throaty as well. It was clear the locomotives had a heavy load. As the train approached, they could see there were four locomotives on the point. They were all General Electric built units. The train appeared to be a mixed merchandise train.
Jill wasn't sure how fast the train was moving. It seemed to be traveling at least at a jogging speed or greater. She was more than a little concerned.
"Will we be able to get on?" Jill asked.
The female Fanatic didn't think the speed was too great. They needed to have a place to go before they got on.
"I think so." The female Fanatic said. "I'd like to find a boxcar with an open door. It will shield us from the view of anyone."
The female Fanatic was sure at least one of the drones which attacked the complex, would return to check the status of the vehicle they'd left behind, as well as search for any additional stragglers. More than likely, they would be wounded if they were still in the area.
Jill looked at the rail cars as they approached. So far all of the boxcar doors were closed. She didn't know what all the different types of cars were called. She did see flat cars. Some of them had tall ends on them. She spotted a name on one of them as they passed. It said 'bulkhead flat car' on it. It contained what looked like finished lumber. It was all neatly cut and stacked. Most of it was covered with some type of plastic. There were some other cars which were only about a third of the height of a boxcar. They appeared to be open without a top. They had an end and sides. She didn't know they were referred to as gondola cars. There was some type of large circular pieces of metal in them. Some of them looked as if they'd started to rust.
She saw what appeared to be another group of boxcars. She could hear an engine type noise as they passed.
"How come those have engines?" Jill asked.
The female Fanatic spotted them as well. She would like to have found an open door on one of them. They would be much cleaner inside.
"Those are refrigerator cars." the female Fanatic said. "They're powered with their own little generating system. It's to keep the interior of the car cold. They're hauling some type of perishables."
There was a group of tank cars mixed in.
Jill thought they would carry oil, gasoline or some other type of chemical. She was a little surprised at what was marked on them.
"It says they're carrying corn syrup." Jill said.
The female Fanatic noticed it as well.
"It's used to make various food products." The female Fanatic said. "It's like a type of sugar in a semi liquid form."
The train seemed to have slowed a little more as it continued up the grade. They both spotted a boxcar coming with the door open all the way. It appeared to be about ten feet wide.
They moved up the embankment next to the moving cars. The cars seemed to make a lot of noise as they move down the track. There was a slight rocking motion to them as well. It was very noticeable when they were right next to them.
The female Fanatic was ready to make her move.
"I want you to wait here." The female Fanatic said. "When you see me get on, you need to start to run. I'll help you get inside."
The female Fanatic quickly moved back in the direction the train was coming. She'd move back approximately fifty feet when she turned around and started to run. The boxcar came up alongside of her. She made a grab for it and was able to pull herself in the door. She looked out the open door and could see Jill was almost up to her. Jill was able to match the speed of the moving boxcar. She helped her get inside.
It took both of them a moment to catch their breath. They both let out some nervous laughter because they'd made it. They would soon be far away from the zone of destruction. They didn't know what their destination was or how long they'd be able to ride on the boxcar. It would need to slow at some point to enter a yard. When it did, they would be able to get off, or choose to remain on board.
There was some noise behind them. They both quickly turned around. They were a little surprised at what they saw. There were three men there. All of them appeared to be from Latin America. They spoke in a foreign language. It sounded like what they knew as Spanish.
The three men laughed. Two of them pulled out knives.
"Parece que el día solo mejoró." The third man said.
All three of the men laughed again. They started to walk towards them. The third man started to unhook his pants.
Lena and Tina continued their trek. They would be at the location soon enough where they would deposit the trucks. Someone would be dispatched later on to go through them.
After a few hours they reached the location where CamNet wanted them to go. There were already several trucks parked there. They confirmed the location again with CamNet. They were informed there was already an operation underway from some previously captured equipment by the Resistance elsewhere. Once the trucks were backed up to the dock, they were to take the box truck on the furthest end and leave with it. When they reached a more populated area, they were to dump it and acquire additional transportation.
They did as they were instructed and left the area. They didn't have any communication with anyone inside of the building. They could hear some type of activity occurring in there. They were sure since they'd been activated by CamNet, she didn't want any of Cameron's Terminators to know they were activated. It was bound to cause some contention once Cameron found out about it.
They soon began to receive reports about the various locations they'd visited. There was only activity spotted at two of them. One appeared to be some type of lookie-loo. It was most likely someone there to see what they could steal. There was a white van at the other location. It was near the warehouse at the end of a dirt road.
The location where they'd conducted the latest operation showed no signs of activity. Both of the vehicles they left were still parked at the same spot. It appeared there were no survivors.
Lena and Tina headed for the warehouse at the end of a dirt road.
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Temporal Mission:
Past Timeline:
November 26 1963
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Earlier:
Tiny spoke with Gladys about what the problem was. She thought she was suffering from some type of food poisoning from the previous night. She hadn't been able to sleep and felt drained.
Cameron was there when they'd discussed what they were going to do. She said she would pose as Gladys, who in turn would pose as the actress, for the filming.
Tiny assured Gladys no one would know there'd been a switch. It wouldn't affect her future stunt work as long as the stunt was pulled off successfully. He didn't know much about 'Cindy', but he could see she was incredibly capable in everything she did. The fact Black Magic respected her and liked her, meant a lot to him.
The stunt was performed without a problem. Tiny was very pleased with the results. He assured Gladys again nobody would know.
Cameron mentioned to him she would like to see how she stacked up with some of the other stunt men for a 'quick draw' contest when they took a break. She also informed him she was a very good shot.
The rest of the filming progressed as intended. They switched to a secondary location which was more enclosed with rocks around the location. There was no shortage of rock. Everything around them was rock. The distinctiveness of the rocks was evident in all of the filming done around the area. The other area of a similar appearance, which made it into the movies, was Vasquez Rocks. It was in a more isolated location and required an additional drive to reach it. It was near Acton.
Tiny called over a couple of his fellow stunt men. They went into an isolated area where there were rocks on three sides of them. No one could see where they were at. He introduced Cameron and Young Allison as his cousins. He said their names were 'Cindy' and 'Emily'. He told them she wanted to see them do some 'quick draw' stunts. She felt her reflexes were very good and would like to try. The men were a little skeptical about her ability. They didn't mind showing off what they could do.
Cameron and Young Allison watched them compete with each other for a quick draw and dry fire of the weapon. They didn't use blanks because they figured it would draw others over to where they were at.
The first man looked at Cameron.
"Do you want to give it a try?" The first man asked.
Cameron flashed them all her beautiful smile.
"How hard can it be?" Cameron asked.
The stunt men looked at each other.
"It's plenty hard, sweetheart." The second man said.
Cameron took the holster out of the backpack. She put it on. She took out the Single Action Army. She'd already ejected the live rounds from it. She showed them it was empty.
The men hadn't expected her to show up with her own holster and firearm.
The third man looked at Young Allison.
"Do you want to give it a try?" The third man asked.
Young Allison knew all of the men would be able to beat her. She could clearly see none of them would be able to match Cameron.
"You're all faster than me." Young Allison said. "My sister is faster than all of you."
The men all smiled at the thought. They didn't think so. They were experienced professionals.
Young Allison quietly told Cameron she needed to take it easy at first. She wanted her to be faster than the men, but not by very much. She didn't want her to use her full Terminator ability.
Cameron looked a little disappointed she wouldn't be able to use her 'natural ability'. She figured like all of the competitions she was involved in, things would escalate. She would continue increase her speed to outmatch the men.
Young Allison verified all of the weapons were unloaded.
The competition started one at a time.
Cameron beat all of them. She wanted to do a more traditional approach.
"Let's face each other like it's a real gun fight." Cameron said.
Everyone verified their firearm was unloaded again.
"Who do you want to face first?" Tiny asked.
Cameron looked over at Young Allison. She nodded back at her. It was what she'd wanted to see.
"All of you." Cameron said
The stunt men looked a little confused.
"I mean, who do you want to face first?" Tiny asked. "Which one of us to do you want to start with?"
Cameron wanted to make it clear.
"I'll take all four of you at the same time." Cameron said.
There were a few nervous laughs.
"It's impossible to beat all four of us at the same time." The first man said. "Nobody is faster than me."
Cameron was intrigued with the reference to 'Nobody'. She knew exactly who Nobody was. It was her.
"Come on, let's go." Cameron said. "Prove it."
They all lowered their right hand down towards they're firearm. Everyone waited for someone else to make the first move.
Cameron winked at them. It seemed to be what set them off.
They all started to draw.
Cameron pulled her 1873 Colt out and fanned the hammer four times in rapid succession. It was once in the direction of each of the men.
Tiny had his gun out of the holster. He'd just started to lift it to point it
The first man had his gun out of the holster and was in the process of lifting it as well.
The third and fourth man hadn't even cleared leather yet.
They watched as Cameron returned her firearm it back in her holster.
The four men all stood exactly where they were with their pistols in the same spot as they tried to comprehend it all. What they just witnessed was impossible. Nonetheless, they'd all seen it with their own eyes. They were impressed.
"Damn, she's fast." The first man said.
The second man felt he'd got off to a bad start.
"How about if we do the best two tries out of three?" The second man asked.
Cameron smiled
"I'm your huckleberry." Cameron said.
Young Allison suppressed a laugh. She understood the reference. She didn't think the men did. It was still a couple of decades away.
They proceeded to repeat the same event.
Everything played out the same. The second and third man did a little better.
Cameron wanted to up the competition. She wasn't done yet.
"I want you all to put your hand on your pistol to start out with." Cameron said.
The men were all confident they would be able to take her now.
It was decided Young Allison would flip a coin and let it hit one of the rocks. When the coin hit the rocks, they would all draw.
Young Allison flipped the coin. Cameron watched as it hit the rock. As soon as it did, she drew and fanned her pistol four times. She twirled her Colt around once and stuck it back in her holster.
None of the four men even cleared leather with their advantage.
The four men were over being angry, even if they still were a little bit upset about being beaten. They were amazed at the speed and skill Cameron just displayed. It was unlike anything they've ever seen before.
"I can say without a doubt, you're the fastest gun in the west." Tiny said.
Cameron was very pleased with her performance.
Young Allison was too.
"I told you she was." Young Allison said. "Looks could be deceiving."
Cameron didn't want to make a big deal about anything.
"Thank you." Cameron said.
Tiny was thoroughly impressed with 'Cindy's' abilities.
"What else can you do?" Tiny asked.
Cameron could think of a few things.
Looks Could Be Deceiving
For one to convince another
It often takes hearing and seeing
It still may take time
To actually create believing
When two decide to follow each other
Who is the one really leading
The slope can get slippery
It's hard to maintain one's footing
The fastest way to reach a goal
May not be by running
The results of improper effort
Will leave one's head spinning
Everything is more than meets the eye
Listen if there's a warning
There is bound to be a shock
It won't be from lightning
Dodge the trouble when necessary
Don't be the one left grieving
Remember the age old rule
Looks could be deceiving
Nobody