Chapter 587

High And Low

John didn't like Derek being out of communication. He was currently inside the enemy building. The big rig was there now. There was probably a lot of activity inside the building where Derek was at. They didn't know. Bob was nearby outside. He was currently inside of a dumpster along with the custodian Derek took down with his Taser.

"I don't like this." John said. "We need to get Derek out."

John Henry didn't see it as a problem yet. He didn't want any rash moves which might spook the Grays inside of the building.

"He'll use caution. Bob's right outside." John Henry said. "Things need to play out a little more."

John now thought it would have been better to let Cameron go in. He knew he dissuaded her from doing what she wanted. Cameron was now off 'on her own' instead, as usual. It in itself seemed like the potential for a new problem.

Now he needed to worry about what she would stir up. What made it all worse was because Savannah was with her, so was Cammy. He was sure Cammy would have as much of a negative effect on Cameron if she wanted to act rashly, as Savannah would in an attempt to use caution. What Cameron did when she was off on her own, could affect the other operation.

"Do we know where Cameron and her team are at?" John asked.

John Henry received an update directly from Young Allison again. CamNet tracked them, even if he wasn't able to do so.

"At this point, I would say the location which was supposed to be inactive." John Henry said. "They're still off our grid."

John didn't like it at all. He figured CamNet knew more than they did. When Cameron was involved, it was normally the situation. He didn't like being 'odd man out'.

"But they're not off CamNet's grid?" John asked.

John Henry felt more comfortable releasing additional information.

"No." John Henry said. "CamNet says she has them covered."

John shook his head. He didn't have any control over Cameron or her actions.

"So I guess we will find out if something went wrong when they use the TDE again later on…." John said. "It's not the way an operation should be conducted. Our goal should be to prevent damage from occurring in the first place to anyone on the Resistance team.

John Henry didn't want to have the discussion, or deal with its implications. They were beyond his control. Cameron was going to do, what she was going to do. The cards would land where they fell. It was how it always was when it involved her. As far a retroactive attempt to fix things, time would tell.

"It seems it would be most likely." John Henry said.

John Henry was sure 'temporal management' was done at least twice in the past. Once it involved Holly, and the most recent one involved Cameron. He wasn't sure what they did, or if the timeline was now altered. He was unable to tell if it was. He knew not to ask or try and find out. It would bring both Cameron and CamNet down on him. Both were very unpleasant to deal with when they were displeased.

He did know John was worried about them, even if he seemed angry at times. He was worried about them as well. He could only hope Savannah would hold Cameron and Cammy in check.

Young Allison monitored the events as they unfolded from the Young bunker in Palmdale. It was set up to act as a secondary Command Center. It offered all of the same resources. She was concerned about Cameron's team being off the grid and out of communication. She felt it was personally based on personal issues between John and Cameron. She wanted it changed. If it was a Resistance operation, everyone should work in conjunction with each other.

"It's wrong for Cameron not to be in communication with John and John Henry." Young Allison said. "Any personal issues shouldn't matter."

Anna knew Cameron didn't like the 'feedback' she received from John. It irritated her. John tried to prevent her from doing her job. Her job was to destroy Skynet. Sometimes it involved a little more risk than other times.

"They don't always like the way Cameron does things." Anna said.

Young Allison frowned. She didn't think it was the actual reason, even if it was a contributing factor. She knew what the problem really was.

"It's because they don't understand her." Young Allison said. "I do."

Anna wondered where the conversation was going.

"Do you think you understand Cameron because she's done the 'Neural Interface' with Future Allison?" Anna asked. "You're not Future Allison, even if Future Allison was you."

Anna and Young Allison were aware Cameron, Cammy, and Savannah were in danger.

Young Allison didn't like the recent turn of events. She wanted more to be done.

"I know they're in trouble." Young Allison said. "I understand Future Allison has experienced and done more things than I have. The core principles which make her up, are the same ones which exist in me. They are in Cameron as well."

Anna wanted to see if Young Allison would step up. She already contacted John Henry twice. She decided to prompt her a little more.

"What should they do?" Anna asked.

Young Allison knew there were other Terminators and Resistance resources available. Maybe some of those should be used. She believed things should be prioritized.

"They should call for additional help." Young Allison said.

Anna knew sometimes Cameron was on her own. There was no one to call.

"Sometimes there's no additional personnel to help." Anna said. "Then what should they do?"

Young Allison knew there was only one choice at that point.

"They would need to fight their way out." Young Allison said. "They're up against HK Tracks now. There are probably Skynet Terminators on the way to attack them, maybe even HK drones. Skynet might attempt to destroy the building to terminate those inside of it"

Anna could see how it was worse. There always needed to be additional planning and solutions, even if they were done on the fly.

"If there are, then what?" Anna asked.

Young Allison knew there was only one thing to do at that point.

"Fight harder…." Young Allison said.

Young Allison knew what she needed to do now.

She still thought they should have used more help. There were other Terminators available. She was available too. How far should she push things? When was far, too far? When was far, not far enough?

Cameron determined there were three HK Tracks stalking them. The plan was to try to get up into the rafters. The initial goal was to avoid detection. The hope was to drop down on the back of an HK Track and disable it. If the HK Tracks were isolated from each other, it would make the job simpler. If they were within visual sight of each other, they could mutually support each other by attacking whoever was on the back of each HK Track.

At best it was a risky proposition. It would be very dangerous for everyone involved. If they didn't try to do something, they would be confronted and cornered very quickly.

Cameron and Cammy could do it with two of the HK Tracks with minimal risk to themselves. They could drop down fifteen feet with no problem. They would land on the back of the HK Track and start to disable it. It was the third HK Track which became the wild card. If they carried some rope, Savannah might be able to drop down on the third one. They didn't have any rope.

They needed to get moving now, or they were going to be caught on the ground level. They wouldn't last long if they were.

Cameron and Cammy climbed up the roof access ladder to reach the rafters. The clanking grew louder. Cameron looked back. Savannah wasn't below them.

"Where did Savannah go?" Cameron asked.

Cammy immediately started to go back down but stopped as one of the HK Tracks rumbled into the work space below. It was much closer than they figured on. It was clear if Savannah would have followed them up, she would have been caught out in the open. She must have sought refuge elsewhere.

Cameron and Cammy exchanged quick glances. The arrival of the HK track wasn't a good development.

Cammy silently finished her climb and moved toward it on top of the rafters.

There was clanking from the other side below them. The second HK Track rumbled into the work space. It came from a different direction. Cameron rapidly moved in the direction of the second HK Track across the rafters.

If they would have been at ground level, they would be trapped. Savannah was still down there.

The question was, where was Savannah, and how was she able to elude the HK Tracks?

Both Cameron and Cammy scanned for her. Savannah was gone. The HK Tracks would have done the same thing as they entered the room. It was clear they tried to trap them. It almost worked. They made calculations of when and where to drop down and attack the two HK Tracks. It would need to be done simultaneously for the best results.

Cameron knew they needed to eliminate the threat and find out what happened to Savannah. She was there somewhere. As the HK Tracks did a grid search of the room, they were bound to find her.

Cammy knew they needed to act as quickly as possible. She kept track of Cameron as well as both HK Tracks. Savannah was down there and she was going to be discovered very soon if they didn't act. She was going to need to do something. Just what it was, she didn't know yet.

Derek moved around the entire perimeter of the inside of the building. Nothing was spotted. So far no one challenged him. It didn't appear anyone even paid much attention to him, even if they were aware of him. It was impossible to tell what all the activity was about other than they were trying to get the big rig loaded. There wasn't much more he would be able to do. He wasn't going to get a look in the crates before they were loaded. He didn't think the truck would stick around very long once it was loaded either.

He took one more look around the area. He didn't spot any indication there was a lower level. He figured he better get back to Bob before the big rig finished loading as Bob would most likely want to take the big truck. It's what he would attempt to do if the opportunity presented itself.

Derek made his way back in the direction he came from. He decided it was best to torch the place. He didn't see anything worthwhile they could capture. He would link up with Bob and they would either try to take the truck or slip out. He knew they weren't going to wait for Jim to come back.

He saw the fork lift come out of the truck. The operator shut it off. He then climbed down off of it. It looked like they were done loading the truck. It didn't seem like they put much into it. There were still other crates left in the area. He didn't see any way he was going to be able to try to look into them. As far as he knew they were empty.

Derek pushed the trash collection cart towards the door he entered from. He wanted to get out before someone started to pay attention to him. Since the truck was finished loading, they might. It was no longer the focus of anyone's attention. A minute ago it was the focus of everyone's attention. Everyone would most likely return to whatever they were doing before the arrival of the truck.

Claire watched Young Allison in operation. She didn't like how events progressed for her. She knew it was only a matter of time before Cameron came after Summer. She didn't want to lose both of her daughters to the future.

"I can't let Cameron take Summer from me." Claire said. "I know she is going to take MY Allison."

Hanna wanted to offer Claire some options for the temporal mission Cameron would take Young Allison on.

"You can go with Allison if you choose." Hanna said.

Claire knew she was going to miss HER Allison growing up if Cameron did what she indicated. She knew it seemed perfectly 'normal' for Cameron to alter people's lives as she saw fit. Everything was about protecting the future and protecting John to Cameron.

"Why does she have to do this?" Claire asked.

Hanna didn't see it as a problem either. It seemed to be what everyone wanted, other than Claire.

"Young Allison has asked to be older. She wants to step up and take her place." Hanna said. "She will be better protected as well this way."

Claire wondered what ideas Cameron filled Her Allison's mind with. She did know the future. She saw it and lived it, even if it was for less than a year. She would remind Cameron SHE would be at John's side and in his bed. Cameron didn't need to take Her Allison from her to do it. Her body was just as warm and could provide just as much comfort. She needed to protect her daughters.

Wait.

It took a moment for what Hanna said to sink in.

"Allison asked who to be older?" Claire asked.

Hanna thought it should be self evident.

"She asked Cameron." Hanna said. "Cameron tries to give everyone what they ask her for."

Claire wondered if Cameron would allow her to keep her daughters. She hoped for at least one of them anyway. She would offer herself to John for everything and be at his side forever if Cameron promised not to take Summer from her. She was afraid she was going to lose everything. She wasn't even sure how she fit into the scope of everything since it was different from Cameron's future. She couldn't help but think how she was dead in Cameron's future. Not only was she dead, Summer didn't exist. They were all very heavy things to think about.

As Cameron and Cammy watched, the two HK Tracks faced each other. They then slowly spun around in opposite directions as they searched for their targets. The targets were them. They still didn't know where Savannah disappeared to. The HK Tracks should have picked her up by now. In fact it was only a matter of time until they started to search up as well where they were at. HK Tracks could engage aerial targets and they pretty much qualified as one right now.

With the use of hand signals, Cameron indicated when the two HK Tracks faced away from each other, they would make their move. They would each drop down on one and attempt to disable it. It was most likely the two HK Tracks would try to face each other again when it occurred. They would attempt to 'shoot off' whoever was on the other one. They would need to work fast.

Cameron and Cammy waited as the two HK Tracks slowly turned around. The third HK Track could be heard clanking around in the distance. It was unclear if it would go to the area where they were at or not. Once they made their move, and if any of the HK Tracks started shooting, it would definitely draw the third one there.

Where was Savannah?

Moments ago:

Savannah was about to follow Cameron and Cammy to go up the ladder. She was right behind them. They both started up the ladder rapidly. She could hear the HK Track approaching. It was very near her. She felt she was out of time. She couldn't go up the ladder with the same speed as Cameron and Cammy just did.

Next to one of the work benches was a trough in the cement floor. It was covered by a heavy metal grate. A section of the grate was lifted off to the side. It leaned against a work bench. Savannah headed for it. She tried to fit into the trough. She wasn't sure what the trough was for, She hoped toxic chemicals hadn't been dumped in it. It could have been for electrical conduits, water pipes or drainage pipes. It was empty now. It appeared it was part of the design of the original building. Over the years, buildings took on different purposes, for different owners. Evidently someone wanted to have access to whatever was in the trench without needing to rip up the floor to do it. There was no way to tell what the original purpose was for.

Savannah ran into a problem almost immediately. She couldn't fit. She needed to get out of the way as quickly as possible and where she thought she could go, there wasn't enough room. With her vest on, she couldn't continue underneath the metal grate if she needed to. She didn't want to take it off and expose herself to more danger. Then again, if a minigun opened up on her, the vest wasn't going to do much good anyway. There would be too many projectiles which would hit her. She saw the Grays who were hit with minigun fire before. They looked more like bloody hamburger. She couldn't help but wonder how long it would be until she looked the same way.

The HK Track rumbled past her on the other side of the bench. She was out of time and out of choices. She slipped her vest off. She was on her back ready to go under the metal grate. If the HK Track came around the bench, it should drive over her, on top of her. She sure hoped the metal grate was strong enough if it did. Most likely forklifts operated in there at one time. They were heavy. They needed to weigh at least twice as much as they could lift. If anyone exceeded the limit, the back of the forklift would tilt up.

She looked up. She couldn't see either Cameron or Cammy. It also meant they couldn't see her. She didn't know their exactly location and they didn't know hers. There wasn't any shooting yet. It was a good thing. She could also hear the third HK Track rumbling around nearby.

The two HK Tracks stopped. Savannah thought they would be facing each other as they searched for a target. She was below the level of the floor with solid concrete around her. She didn't know if it would shield her from detection. She also knew it was only a matter of time until the HK Tracks started to search above them.

Savannah knew Cameron and Cammy were in danger. She also knew she was in danger.

Right now all three of them were trapped and it didn't look like any help was on the way. Maybe they should have thought about things a little more before they went in. Maybe they shouldn't have stayed in when they first determined there were HK Tracks inside the building.

Sheila and Ally detained a man at a location used for sex trafficking. They wanted to know where the girls came from, and where they were taken. The building they were in was only a holding center. It might even be thought of as a distribution center. It was what they wanted to find out.

Ally heard another vehicle arrive out in the front. They thought some more thugs would arrive soon and maybe they just did.

"I think the muscle just got here." Ally said.

Ally moved towards the front. She wanted a better look. She wanted to know how many of them there were.

Sheila smiled.

"I'm going to get a lot of action today." Sheila said.

Sheila choked the man some more and followed Ally out.

They moved up to the entrance.

They could see two big men. It was the 'muscle'. One tried to use his phone and then the other one did too. They didn't function because CamNet blocked all the communications but their own.

Ally could see Sheila wanted to use her knife. She would rather keep things simple. The two men walking up were just thugs or enforcers. They already took the head guy into custody.

"I think we can drop these two clowns." Ally said. "The guy with the sports car is obviously the boss."

Sheila liked to have some 'fun' with the men who abused females. The only thing which excited her more was to get a hold of a female enabler who assisted with the capture and detention of the females trapped in the sex trade. As females, they knew better, but they still did it anyway. It was something Jesse craved for punishment, and she did too. It was an 'inherited' trait. She wanted her pound of flesh, quite literally.

"I haven't been able to 'communicate' with them yet." Sheila said.

Ally didn't want to play around. She knew the kind of mess Sheila could make in a very short time. When Sheila took her clothes off, it indicated it was going to be a very messy session. So far her clothes were still on.

"Let's just add them to the pile of bodies. You can concentrate on the other guy." Ally said. "We can wrap this up and move on to the next location. Remember, the goal is to find where the girls come from, and where the girls go. We want to get some of them back."

Sheila wanted to take the sports car too. She knew Cameron possesed a warehouse full of captured vehicles.

"Let's mess with them first." Sheila said.

Ally didn't want to do it.

"I don't want to get groped by one of them." Ally said.

Sheila remembered their earlier conversation. She was sure she was right about her assessment of Ally.

"It's because you're a prude." Sheila said.

Ally was instantly upset again.

"I am not." Ally said. "I put out as much as anyone. I'm with all the females. I have some dignity and self respect. You don't. You're insane."

Now Sheila was upset.

"I'm not insane." Sheila said. "You are."

Now both of the Metal girls were upset and angry.

Sheila stashed her weapons as the two men approached. She wasn't afraid of them.

Ally could see what she was going to do. It seemed like a bad idea to her. She tried to dissuade her.

"What are you doing, stupid?" Ally asked.

Sheila was still angry at her.

"I'm not stupid, you are." Sheila said. "I'm going to mess with them."

Ally wanted to make her point.

"Stupid is as stupid does." Ally said.

Sheila flipped Ally off and walked out in front of the two men.

"Nice day for a walk." Sheila said.

Seconds ago:

The two men were both fooling with their phones as they walked up towards the building. They were both unable to contact the boss.

"I can't get this piece of crap to work." The first thug said.

The second thug didn't do any better.

"I wish I still had my flip phone." The second thug said. "At least I knew how to use it."

The first thug looked at the sports car.

"Well, we know the boss is here." The first thug said.

The second thug laughed.

"If there's money involved, he can't help it." The second thug said.

Both thugs laughed.

"I can't wait for the new shipment of sluts to arrive." The first thug said.

The second thug reached down and adjusted his pants.

"Me too, the last batch was sweet." The second thug said. "I had me a good time."

The first thug lightly moistened his lips.

"I always do." The first thug said. "I never get to go first. Maybe I can be with one of them first this time."

The second thug laughed.

"It's because you're the low man on the 'totem pole'." The second thug said. "In your case, it's all poles."

Both men were surprised when a scantily clad young Asian female walked out in front of them.

"Nice day for a walk." Sheila said.

The two thugs looked at each other. They weren't sure what was going on.

"Who are you?" The first thug asked.

Sheila smiled and moved just right. Her left breast popped out of her top and both thugs could see the nipple ring before she tucked it back in.

"I was told I could find a good time around here." Sheila said.

The two thugs didn't know what to make of her.

Sheila walked right up in front of them. Her right breast popped out this time when she moved. She left it out.

Both of the thugs were transfixed on it when Sheila grabbed both of them and slammed them down to the ground. Bones could be heard breaking.

Ally ran out and was at her side. She looked upset.

"Which one is it who 'will have a good time'?" Ally asked.

Sheila held out her knife for Ally.

"He's the one there." Sheila said as she pointed at the second thug.

Ally stomped her foot down on the first thug's neck and crushed it flat. She didn't care if Sheila 'worked' on the other one now. She kicked the second thug hard in each leg. Both of them broke.

"You can make this one talk." Ally said.

Sheila smiled.

"See, I'm not so crazy after all." Sheila said. "Some people deserve what they get, or earn in this case. He's the one who did it to himself."

They drug the two thugs into the room with their boss.

Sheila went to work on the surviving thug as Ally made the boss watch.

It wasn't so much what Sheila did, as it was how she laughed and taunted the thug as she made him talk. It was clear she enjoyed her 'work', as much as she did enacting justice.

Ally didn't want to drag things out.

"Hurry up." Ally said.

Sheila looked at the withering and whimpering thug. She could see how much he hated to see some things 'go'. It still didn't do justice for the female's lives he ruined over the years, nor the personal abuse he dealt out.

"I had a good time." Sheila said in the thug's voice. "Payback's a bitch."

Sheila then laughed using the two men's voices.

Ally looked at the boss.

"You're next." Ally said.

Sheila faced the boss with her bloody knife.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way." Sheila said. "The choice is yours. As you can see, I prefer the hard way."

Closing monologue by Cameron:

I Remember

It is always little things
Over which people fight
If everyone is wrong
Then no one is right

My version of events
Are what actually occurred
I am telling it straight
Of that you can be assured

It is not I
Who is the one confused
One should think twice
Before leaving another bruised

It's not a game
Played tit for tat
If you think it is
You don't know where it's at

A worthless bitter argument
Leaves many a smoldering ember
Never forget everything that was said
I remember

Nobody