Chapter 548

It Is Doubtful

Cameron moved around to the other side of the building. She was away from the view of Bob and Savannah. There was no external dock for trucks. There were only the doors for loading directly into the side of the building. There was a big rig backed into a loading bay. There were eight loading bays in two groups of four. There was a bobtail truck at a loading bay in the second group. There was no one visible. There was no sign of a patrol. She didn't see any outside activity other than the guard at the gate, and the unknown female who left.

The closest truck to her was the bobtail. She continued around the side of the building and headed straight towards it. She came in on the closest side of it. She didn't see anyone in the cab. She checked the driver's door on the bobtail. It opened. She didn't expect any type of alarm. There wasn't any either. She took another look around and entered the cab. She checked around on the inside for any type of paperwork. There was none visible. She checked in the glove compartment. There was nothing useful there either. She was actually surprised to see a set of work gloves in there.

She slipped out of the cab of the truck and looked over towards the big rig. There was no external activity spotted. She moved along the side of truck to the rear where the door into the building was at. The door was closed into the building as was the door on the back of the truck. There was no easy way for her to be able to open up the rear door on the bobtail.

She went underneath the rear of the bobtail truck between the rear wheels and the loading dock wall. She took a careful look around. There was no movement in the surrounding area. From her current position, she could see the door into the building at the back of the truck was open. She couldn't tell if the rear door on the big rig was open or not.

She heard a forklift moving around inside. The trailer shook a little. It appeared they were loading something into it, or unloading it. She decided to head for the big rig. It offered the best protection to get in close to the building. She moved towards the trailer without incident.

Cameron was about to go under the trailer and try to look up into the building. The whine of an HK drone was suddenly heard. She quickly moved under the trailer of the big rig. She looked around. She wondered how one could sneak up on her so fast. Wait. The noise came from inside the building. They were testing an HK drone power plant. She now knew they were at the right place. The new development may change the whole nature of the recon. To her, it went from a recon to a target.

The trailer above Cameron shook even more as the forklift entered it. Cameron heard talking and looked around. There were two men about to come down a ramp off to her left side. She was worried they would spot her. She hid between the rear wheels. They didn't appear to be looking for her yet. The whine of the HK drone power plant reached its maximum after some fluctuation and then spooled down.

The HK drone power plant wasn't her current worry. The two men came down the ramp, and were headed in her direction. They didn't appear to be in a hurry. They didn't point in her direction. No weapons were visible. She knew it could change in an instant.

Savannah heard the whine of an HK drone. She looked for cover. There wasn't any.

Bob was alarmed too at first. He was able to quickly place the direction and location of the HK drone power plant. It came from the direction Cameron went. He wanted to put Savannah at ease.

"Relax. It is coming from inside the building." Bob said. "It fooled me at first too. It is probably a test."

Savannah felt a wave of relief and then fear. The recon was no longer a recon. They found a target. It was a hard target too.

"Now I'm really worried about Cameron." Savannah said. "She won't let this go with this new development."

Bob arrived at the same conclusion Savannah did.

"It's doubtful." Bob said. "Cameron doesn't like loose ends."

Savannah was still worried. There could be further action.

"Even if they're just testing the power plant, they might have completed HK drones in there as well." Savannah said. "They could send one out after us or Cameron if things pick up or go hot."

Bob looked at the building.

"I don't see anything on the roof which opens." Bob said. "There is nothing on the two sides of the building we can see which could open large enough to let one out."

Savannah was still worried. She thought there were other options which would be built into the building.

"The side Cameron is on must have the loading dock or loading bays." Savannah said. "Those are big enough. There's often a roll up door at ground level as well."

Bob hoped to hear from Cameron soon. She was very quiet recently.

Savannah scanned the surrounding area. She spotted something she could have done without. She watched in the distance as a big rig made a wide U-turn and started back in their direction.

"The big rig we saw passed by earlier is coming back." Savannah said. "It must have missed its turnoff."

Bob kept his eye on the big truck as well. Savannah's assessment appeared to be spot on.

"It's returning at a reduced speed." Bob said. "I don't think it's going to go past the complex this time."

Savannah felt they were somewhat blinded by their position.

"It's probably going to end up on the side of the building where Cameron is at." Savannah said. "It's possible there's activity around her if they're expecting a big rig."

The HK drone engine noise fluctuated and then dropped off to nothing.

The big rig stopped at the gate and checked in. It then proceeded to the side of the building away from them, the side Cameron was on.

Bob wondered where Cameron was at. He was sure she must be close to other people, or someone she suspected as a Terminator.

"This is getting better by the minute." Bob said.

Savannah knew things seldom played out in their favor. The rule seemed to be, if something could go wrong, it would.

"Doesn't it always?" Savannah asked.

Savannah wanted to change their position to see if they could spot Cameron. There was no way they could easily do it. The area on the other side of the structure was flat and open. They would need to pass by the entrance to the compound. If they stopped to look or turned around and came back it might trigger an alarm or a response of some type. The other option was to follow Cameron. They would need to go in the same way she went in.

Bob watched Savannah. He could tell she was worried about Cameron. He knew she wanted to go down and assist Cameron.

"We need to give it some time." Bob said as he tried to reassure her.

He was worried too. Maybe he tried to reassure himself as well.

Savannah wasn't so sure more time was going to do anything. With the discovery of HK equipment where Cameron was at, it seemed it would prompt her to act. She was sure Cameron already made up her mind.

"This isn't going to end well." Savannah said.

Bob knew it wouldn't end well for the Skynet forces. He knew there would be some type of Resistance response. It might all start and end with Cameron herself. She might want a different approach as well.

Savannah didn't like their options. There weren't many. The location was now a target. Cameron liked targets. There could be HK drones inside which could be launched to combat any outside activity. It was clear they needed a lot more resources and additional personnel.

The most important thing they could use was time. There was no way to get additional time before things would pick up. She could buy time by not acting too early herself. Once she started something, it would turn into a full blown battle. With HK equipment there, she would be at a distinct disadvantage.

John Henry was sure the HK drone sound they heard was a test. The power output fluctuated up and down some. It wasn't a normal operational parameter. He was able to ease John's fears some, as well as his own.

John and John Henry processed the information as it came in. The sound of the drone stopped. They lost contact with Cameron. It must mean someone was near.

John Henry was sure the 'someone' might be a Terminator and Cameron didn't even want to risk a low decibel transmission. He didn't want to alarm John further on speculation.

John was aware how Cameron operated. When she found a target, she took it down. The building they were at could be the assembly line or the storage facility. It didn't seem like the place to store anything. It was remote so the determination still needed to be made. Either way, the trucks Cameron reported came from somewhere and went to somewhere. They needed to find where 'somewhere' was at. He wanted to make sure they didn't get ahead of themselves. It was easy to do in a combat situation.

"Maybe if they're transporting the finished products in those trucks we can follow them and see where they go." John said. "It means we can't show our hand yet."

It was John Henry's conclusion as well. They still needed to deal with Cameron. She was the one on the ground and they would need to back her play. It was all tactical now.

"I've put a hold on the backup force and I'm holding our drones." John Henry said. "Cameron shouldn't go 'hot'."

John looked at John Henry. They both knew it probably would. Cameron wanted to terminate the enemy when she found them.

Cam returned to the Command Center. She received all the information through her com. She thought like they did about the trucks and their destinations.

"I heard everything." Cam said. "We need to be ready to strike at the location the truck ends up at."

John was worried they would act too early. They still didn't know anything yet. They needed Cameron's report.

"We still don't know if it's what they're doing, or if they're unloading components only." John said. "Until we hear from Cameron, it's all speculation."

Savannah and Bob listen to the discussion in the Command Center. They all waited to hear from Cameron. She was the key. They were concealed as best as they could be. An HK drone would still find their SUV and them soon afterwards, if one was sent out to search. Right now they needed to hear from Cameron. As more time passed, it seemed there was only one option open to them.

"John, if we don't hear from Cameron soon. I'm going down to investigate." Savannah said over her com. "She's going to need help."

John wanted to know more about Cameron first. If she was captured, Savannah most likely would be too.

"No. It's too risky." John said. "We need something concrete first."

John Henry thought they should give it some time.

"We need to know more before they act." John Henry said.

Bob didn't want Savannah to go either. He could fight his way into the building if it came down to it. If he could maintain the element of surprise, he should be able to make a big dent. He decided not to mention there was a copy of his program.

"I'll go." Bob said. "It will take a lot to stop me."

John knew Savannah would be at risk then.

"It would leave Savannah alone." John said.

Savannah thought she proved she could take care of herself.

"I know how to respond." Savannah said. "I'm a big girl now."

Savannah didn't think now was a good time to point out to John he already saw it with his own eyes…. They were one second away from making love. She could still almost feel 'Little Willie' bouncing around on the outside. She really wanted it to happen.

John Henry thought they should stick to the original plan for now. It was what they all agreed on previously. There was no need to rush things. A timetable was already established.

"Let's give it some time." John Henry said. "Cameron has only been down there for twenty-two minutes. You gave her an hour. If anyone acts too early, they could compromise whatever she currently was up to. It's a valid consideration."

Bob thought it was best to agree with the Command Center. There was no need to make waves, especially visible ones. What they actually did might be another story.

"Affirmative…." Bob said. "We will wait and place some more surveillance equipment."

Savannah looked at Bob and nodded. They were on the same 'frequency' when it came to Cameron. If they needed to act, they would. They would go down together to get Cameron out. They could always have CamNet quietly contact Cammy, Gail, and Jesse. They were the closest Resistance group. They would be able to respond in a very short time.

Cammy was at the other location. She was about to look inside the building when she thought she spotted a trap. There was also a tracked vehicle moving around somewhere inside the building. It may come outside to look for her if she was detected. She needed to consider if there was one, there most likely were others as well.

She quickly moved away from the drain pipe she was about to climb up on. It looked like a trap to her. The drain pipe appeared to be hooked to some electrical wires at the top. It was tempting bait. She almost took it. If it released a timed shock it could kill a human and it would incapacitate her. It wasn't worth the risk.

Cammy moved behind several piles of junk. It briefly crossed her mind it was how they referred to Cameron, to HER before, as a 'pile of junk', or 'scrap metal'. She could see what appeared to be partially completed parts and even a few which looked completed. She figured they were out of spec. There were also obviously items which were unusable. The sight of the twisted metal disgusted her. How could anyone love anything which appeared to be a jumble of nothing? The contents of the junk pile would end up at the smelter, or buried in a landfill. Maybe it would be her fate as well.

Those were some of the things people Cameron worked with said to her. They weren't the enemy. They were her allies. With 'friends' who thought along those lines, who needed enemies? It didn't seem there was really too much difference.

Cammy could hear the tracked vehicle moving around inside still. It sounded much closer now. She now wondered if it would come outside and stalk her. Maybe they saw her breach the wall….

She didn't want to face off with an HK Track, and especially not against an HK Tread. It would have been a good time to have a LAW rocket. It wouldn't do much to delay the inevitable. There would most likely be more than one of the tracked vehicles.

Cammy went over all the things she knew or suspected. She searched the sides of the building again and the area of the wall. She still hadn't located any surveillance cameras. The location was remote. There was a fence around the compound. There were probably Terminators inside. There were HK Tracks too. It sounded like one was about to exit the building.

She sent her report to the Command Center as well as Gail and Jesse. She wanted them to know what happened so far. If she faced HK Tracks and Terminators, there would be no need to look for her. She would be terminated.

Gail and Jesse waited from a surveillance location outside of the perimeter of the compound Cammy was in. They heard her assessment.

Jesse didn't like the message from Cammy. She made sure their coms were off.

"We go in after her if it hits the fan." Jesse said.

It sounded like a bad idea to Gail.

"We will be terminated as well." Gail said.

Jesse checked her weapons.

"How long do you want to live anyway?" Jesse asked.

Gail tilted her head slightly. Without Jesse, she didn't want to live at all. It was her desire when Duplicate Jesse was terminated. At least she thought she was terminated.

"It will be a more honorable termination than chip extraction and deactivation." Gail said.

Jesse heard the story of Gail before and everything involved with the 'Day Of Loss' episode.

"Love, I plan to do the terminating along with you against the enemy." Jesse said. "I want them to be the ones who die for their cause, not us."

Gail looked at the building. There were probably a lot of Grays or collaborators in there along with some Terminators.

"Sure, Jesse, we'll terminate all of them." Gail said.

Jesse smiled and nodded.

"That's just my speed." Jesse said.

They were both ready to move out. Should they go now? Wait for the hour to expire or move out when the shooting started?

Cameron shut her com off for now. It appeared one of the two 'men' she currently observed was actually a Terminator. She didn't want to chance him to hear her, or anything from her com.

She stayed behind the rear wheels and waited. She could hear another truck approaching. There were three more empty bays at the dock she was near, and three more down further which were open in the second section. The smaller bobtail truck she checked out earlier was backed into a fourth bay in the other area.

The big rig Cameron was under was in an end bay. The man and the Terminator moved next to her as the other rig backed into the slot one over from her.

The trailer above her shook as the forklift rumbled inside of it again. The man and the Terminator turned to look as the noise increased. She watched as the man went forward and climbed up into the tractor of the big rig she was under. The Terminator moved towards the rear of the truck where she was at and waited. He was four feet away from her. The two rows with double sets of tires was the only thing which blocked her from him.

She didn't think he was on to her. He might be. He might wait for her to make the first move or come out from between the rear wheels. Either way, she was going to be out in the open once things started.

The truck shook more. The forklift seemed to be directly over her. The forklift exited the truck. She could hear chains and straps being used to secure the load. The tractor of the big rig fired up. The Terminator slapped the side of the trailer two times. Cameron heard the air hiss as the brakes were released. She knew the big rig was about to move. If she stayed where she was and did nothing, she would be exposed in seconds.

She could see the Terminator's feet. They were just on the other side of the outer tire on the set of dual rear wheels. There was nowhere for her to go if the truck started to drive away. She was sure to be spotted. There was only one place to go.

Cameron quickly climbed up onto the area above the rear axles and waited. The rig pulled forward ten feet. The Terminator closed one rear door and then the other. He then moved off to the side and slapped the side of the trailer twice again. There was a small jolt and a couple of bounces as the big rig started to move. If the Terminator watched the truck depart, she knew he would see her….

There was no place for her to go.

She would be physically away from him, but he was probably armed. She could engage him in a gun battle. The outcome of it would be a draw. Her best bet would be to evade him and run. It wasn't in her nature. He would pursue her. There would be some type of alarm raised. If there were any functional HK drones inside, they would be launched. They would track her down in no time. She thought about Savannah and Bob. She decided she would head out into the open area and not go back to where they were at. If the Terminator and HK drones tracked her. Bob and Savannah would have time to get away.

Cam double checked everything again and then slipped out of the Command Center..

She wasn't going to wait for the MIKE Force. She wanted to take the manned drone up.

Cam didn't like how events developed.

She decided to act on her own and go assist Cameron and Cammy. It's what they would do for her.

She hoped CamNet would see her play and 'cover' for her. She thought about asking, but decided not to. She wanted to see how things would go.

Savannah waited to hear anything from Cameron. All they could hear was the sound of a truck. They couldn't see anything from their position. Much to their surprise they did see a truck head out.

"There's a truck coming around the side of the building." Savannah reported. "It's a different one from the one which just arrived."

Bob saw it right away too. He also noted how it rode on its suspension.

"It is loaded." Bob said. "The trailer's riding low."

Cameron felt she was away from the Terminator. He didn't spot her. She turned her com back on. There was nowhere for her to get off as the truck moved along. Either the guard or the Terminator was bound to spot her.

"I'm on a truck leaving the facility." Cameron came over the com.

Savannah didn't see her on top of it.

"Are you inside of it?" Savannah asked.

Cameron figured her location would cause a problem for the others. It was what it was.

"No. I'm underneath it." Cameron said.

Bob zoomed his vision in.

"Where?" Bob asked as he looked at it.

Cameron could only see below her and immediately in back of the truck.

"I'm over the rear axles on the trailer." Cameron said.

Savannah took Bob's arm. They needed to get back to their SUV.

"We'll begin pursuit of the big rig and pick you up if you can drop off at a stop." Savannah said. "I don't want you busted up if you drop off at speed."

Cameron wanted to know what was inside the truck. She was sure it was important.

"Negative on the pursuit." Cameron said. "I want to see where this thing goes. I don't know what's inside, but I think it is what we want. They used a forklift to load it. I think it's something big and heavy and there's more than one."

John Henry was just as worried as John was as he looked at him. Maybe there was some better intel.

"Did you get a look inside the building?" John Henry asked.

Cameron didn't have a clue what was inside the building. She did know the building wasn't going anywhere. The truck was.

"No. There was at least one Terminator and some kind of testing going on." Cameron said. "It may have been an accidental start of an HK drone engine too, or a test of one. It didn't sound quite right to me."

John wasn't going to take any chances. Cameron might fall off or be knocked off over rough road or if any obstacles or debris were kicked up from the rear wheels.

"Cameron, I want Savannah and Bob to follow you." John said.

Cameron already contemplated several scenarios which could play out. None of them were good for a chase vehicle.

"No, they may 'make' them." Cameron said. "The Terminator may follow us or they may have a checkpoint or ambush along the way."

Bob thought back to a time when Al and him needed to follow John and Cameron and they encountered a Terminator. One vehicle stayed in front of him. No one expects being tailed from in front of them. They always look for a tail behind them. It was an effective strategy.

"Jesse and Gail can 'follow' them from in front of them. The truck is headed their way." Bob said. "It would be the same way Cameron and John did on the coast route one time."

Bob was there for the episode. It ended up as a close one for John. He didn't want to bring it up.

Cameron didn't like to think about the episode Bob referred to. She felt her inattentiveness when they interdicted the enemy Terminator nearly led to John's termination. Al was able to end the threat with a bobtail truck which plowed into the damaged Terminator and knocked him over the side of the cliff. She could see there was a flaw to the plan.

"What about Cammy?" Cameron asked.

Savannah figured Bob and her could take over for Jesse and Gail. Cammy would only be on her own for a short time. She didn't plan to leave anyone behind.

"We can pick her up and follow later on." Savannah said. "I won't leave her."

Cam headed for the 'hangar' area. A figure moved up behind her.

"Where are you going?" Vanna asked.

Cam was surprised Vanna was there. She shouldn't have been. Vanna knew how she operated. She wanted to keep it simple.

"Out." Cam said.

Vanna knew it was a 'Cameron type stunt'. It was unsafe and unauthorized.

"You're going outside of the mission parameters." Vanna said. "You may compromise the mission."

Cam decided to tell it like it was and play it straight with Vanna.

"I think Cammy and Cameron may both need help." Cam said. "It will benefit them to have some nearby."

Vanna followed the operation too.

"There was a Terminator reported at one location." Vanna said. "They may hear you."

Cam knew it would limit her effectiveness unless she was about to carry out an attack. The possibility still seemed up in the air for now.

"OK, Vanna." Cam said. "I'll wait a little longer and then I'm going up. Remember, Savannah is out there as well…."

Cam didn't like waiting anymore than Cameron did.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

It Is Doubtful

The grass is always greener
On the other side of the hill
When one finally gets there
Do they really get their fill

Nothing is ever
What it may seem
More likely than not
It will make one scream

When things start to slip0
They try to hold on
The sad truth is
They can't hold what's gone

Look in the mirror
That's where the problem lies
The mirror has no sound
It can't echo one's cries

What was once beautiful
Started out wonderful
Will it remain fruitful
It is doubtful

Nobody