Chapter 590

Shadowing

Derek and his team returned the trash truck back to where they 'borrowed' it from. There was no indication anyone noticed it was gone. The only difference was the body of the Gray in the back of it covered with rubbish. They currently shadowed the big rig.

John wanted to keep everyone as safe as possible.

"Derek, we have two teams of our Terminators following you." John said.

Derek hoped they could trade off vehicles along the way so they weren't 'made'. If the truck made a couple of turns, and they were still behind it, it would be easy to spot them.

"Roger." Derek said. "We can start a 'leapfrog' process."

John Henry looked at John. He blocked their coms for a few moments. He was concerned about Derek's safety.

"I think a Terminator team should be the lead group following the truck, not Derek's team." John Henry said. "It's in case there's an ambush or some other problem. We don't know what the enemy has planned or set up."

John liked the idea. He nodded as John Henry restored their coms. Derek already suggested the 'leapfrog' process himself. It wouldn't look like anyone was being sidelined to initiate it.

"Derek, I want Dan's team to lead for now." John said. "Al's team will follow you. We'll switch off on an irregular basis."

It was Derek's plan anyway, but he understood what John's motivation was. It was for his safety.

"We're falling back. Dan will take over the shadowing operation for now." Derek said. "I understand, thanks."

Dan moved his team up. He was worried about the van which went with the big rig. He passed Derek's team. He felt they were too close. It wasn't a problem for a Terminator to keep an eye on the target from a greater distance.

"We've moved into position." Dan said. "We're going to need to drop back more or we are going to be spotted as a tail."

Steve was at the compound with another team. They took it under direct observation along with the surveillance cameras. They could see some action outside the rear door of the building near the dock.

"There's another SUV about to leave the compound." Steve reported. "They seem to be in a hurry."

John Henry was worried about it. He was sure the janitor was going to be noticed as AWOL at some point. It was bound to cause some type of reaction. If they couldn't find him in the compound, it would indicate he left. Since the only way in and out was through the gate with the guard, it would mean he left in one of the vehicles. They would know it wasn't any of their vehicles. The only other vehicle was the trash truck. It was in the compound twice. The janitor's cart was by the dumpsters, with no janitor.

"It is possible they've 'missed' the janitor." John Henry said. "They may be sending reinforcements to protect the truck."

John saw it for the threat it was. All of their troops were in danger on several levels. He wanted to give everyone a reminder about some of the things they already knew.

"Everyone be advised, the Grays may know we're following them or suspect it anyway." John said. "We know this group has been associated with HK Tracks and HK drones. There are most likely Terminators working with them as well."

John Henry thought the best course of action was to 'tag' the big rig and fallback completely. It was too early in the day to use a drone for such a populated area. He didn't like the threat the group posed.

"We need to get a tracker on the truck and everyone can fallback." John Henry said. "I don't want to send a drone as long as they're in the city."

John didn't want it either. They needed to spin enough stories about things they did. Most of the drone sightings were spun as UFO sightings which caused the person reporting it to lose all credibility. Anyone who reported a UFO was pegged as a nut job.

He was also worried about collateral damage to non combatants. He knew Cameron and the other Terminators didn't share this concern. The Resistance Terminators did at least think about it somewhat. Skynet Terminators didn't think of it at all. They went after their objective.

Cameron's team turned the facility they breached over to her Terminators. They would set up additional surveillance at the location and see if anyone else showed up to check on it. The three HK Tracks would be taken away. One was undamaged. The other two were shot up. One of them was pretty bad. It was the one Cameron needed to take cover behind. They would be stripped of usable components and the rest turned into projectiles.

Savannah wanted to thank Young Allison for watching over them. She also wanted to remind Anna and Cameron about something specific. Young Allison wasn't to go on any 'field exercises'. She was adamant about it. She wouldn't allow it under any circumstances other than Judgment Day. She knew Young Allison was itching to get into the fight and see some action. It wasn't going to happen if she could prevent it. She thought it might be nice to go back and see Young Allison again. Their earlier visit was interrupted. They were much 'closer' too. She wasn't going to 'push' it, but at some point their 'relationship' was bound to expand. Right now she was the one holding Young Allison back.

She knew it wasn't all fun and games. The more one needed to do, along with additional responsibilities, seemed to complicate everything. She also understood the need for personal companionship. She felt a little guilty too. She was with other versions of Allison Young, three of them in fact. She was with the cyborg version of her, plus all of the other female cyborgs. She was with Young Jesse and two versions of Jesse. She was with two older versions of herself as well as Claire. Who was she to hold Young Allison back? She wasn't even sure why all these thoughts were in her mind right now. It's not where her mind should be.

"Cameron, unless you want to join Derek's team following the truck, I'd like to go see Young Allison." Savannah said. "I was about to brush her hair when we needed to leave. It was always special when you brushed my hair. I like to do it for her."

Cammy touched her torso where Young Allison fired her Model 66 into her. It was done as part of a live fire drill.

"Do you want her to shoot me again too?" Cammy asked.

Cammy thought about when she allowed Young Allison to shoot her. She was already damaged so it didn't matter. A few more wouldn't either. Maybe she would ask her to use the M9 this time. She could do a 'double tap'.

Savannah remembered the hot brass landing on her and around her. The damage to the two HK Tracks was fresh in her mind. She didn't want there to be any more shooting if it could be avoided. She didn't want any more damage to Cammy either.

"No, we've experienced enough close ones already today. You've been shot at too much already." Savannah said. "Things could have been a lot worse."

Cameron knew Cammy and her were lucky. Savannah prevented them from being chopped up with minigun fire. She remembered what the work bench looked like where Savannah was at as she moved into the service trough. Savannah didn't need to face more danger. Palmdale seemed like a much safer choice.

"Sure, Savannah, we can go there." Cameron said. "I think I want to spend some more time with Summer."

Cameron hadn't said much since they left. She took the latest encounter as 'personal'. Savannah, Cammy and her were all almost hurt or worse. She was most concerned about Savannah. She knew things could have ended quite differently.

Cammy noticed Cameron seemed a little out of it. She wondered if she was going to have some kind of a problem, again. She would need to make sure Savannah was protected and unaffected if she did.

"You sure are quiet." Cammy said to Cameron.

There was a lot on Cameron's mind. It was more about the repercussions of what her actions would produce which troubled her.

"I need to do some things." Cameron said. "I'm thinking about them. I'm unsure what to do."

Savannah was pretty sure what those 'things' were. They were the things which seemed to keep Cameron in a constant state of internal turmoil.

She felt Cameron's indecision should be a good indication as to what the nature of what she wanted to do would yield as its final result. If one played with fire, they eventually were burnt.

"If you're unsure about them, Cameron, you probably shouldn't do them." Savannah said. "It's not always about winning. Some things don't need to have a forced 'win'. They will 'win' on their own when the time is right."

Savannah and Cammy both felt the SUV swerve slightly and saw Cameron withdraw her left hand from the steering wheel. They both knew Cameron now started to glitch.

Savannah wanted to take control of the situation before it worsened. Now was the time to do it.

"I want Cammy to drive so we can sit in the back together, Cameron." Savannah said.

To everyone's surprise, Cameron pulled over and everyone switched places. Cameron didn't normally yield as easily or so fast. She must be deeply conflicted.

Savannah sat on Cameron's left side in the second row of seats and took her left hand. The glitch stopped.

Cameron thought Savannah was going to lay her head on her lap, instead, Savannah gently pulled her over and laid her head on her lap.

It was a new experience for both of them.

Cameron lay there as she looked up at Savannah. Their eyes were locked.

Savannah looked down on Cameron. She looked into the big brown puppy dog eyes of Cameron. She gently stroked her face and hair. She tried to calm her and reassure Cameron. She always liked when Cameron allowed her to lay her head on her lap

Cameron felt a little overwhelmed about everything. She needed to try to explain things to Savannah. She didn't want Savannah to question her when they started.

"There is so much I have to do and time is running out." Cameron said, almost pleading. "I don't know what to do anymore."

Savannah smiled at her and gently stroked her cheek.

"I know, Cameron." Savannah said. "I know."

It seemed Cameron needed to talk about what troubled her the most.

"I'm worried about Allison." Cameron said. "I know what else I want to do, but I don't want to hurt Claire…."

Savannah knew Cameron referred to Young Allison too.

Cammy watched in the rear view mirror. HER Savannah calmed Cameron as no one else could. She wanted to feel jealous, but she knew Savannah and Cameron belonged together. It was part of the 'Natural Order'. They NEEDED each other. At least Cameron needed Savannah.

Cameron seemed almost 'happy' when they reached the Young residence.

Savannah hoped it was enough for Cameron to keep from getting worse.

She really wondered what it would be like to be alone with Cameron when she 'zoned out' and thought she was 'Allison'. John told her the one time he saw Cameron like that. He said she was happy, smiling, and laughing…. She did everything like a real teenager. It's what Cameron believed she was too until John spoiled it. He told her she was a robot from the future, and it all soon fell apart.

Savannah wondered if Cameron could program herself to 'not know' she was a Terminator. It might only go so far as she would need to consume food or expel waste products. Maybe it could be programmed around as well. She could 'think' she did all those things. The sad part was it wasn't really Cameron who experienced those things, but Cameron as 'Future Allison' who did.

She really wanted to see Cameron 'happy' as 'Cameron', not as any version of 'Allison'.

Sheila and Ally saw someone run from them. They already dropped two thugs at the holding facility they just arrived at. Things took a little turn for the worse almost as soon as they arrived.

They checked the rooms as they ran. They didn't want any thugs behind them.

They were going to lose too much time if they checked all the rooms together.

"I'll check the rooms." Ally said. "You get the clown who ran away. We don't want him to call for help."

Sheila ran after the thug. It was what she would rather do anyway. It gave her a clear target to follow. It also gave her someone to 'work on'. She knew if she didn't need to terminate him outright, she could probably bust him up first. She would make sure he knew it was for all the females he allowed to be abused, and abused himself.

Ally checked two rooms. She didn't like what she found in the third room. There was a female on a bed. She didn't move or even look over. She left her for now and moved on. She found several females who were shackled to beds in another room.

"He's behind the door." One female said.

Ally shoved hard on the door. She slammed it into a thug behind it. He collapsed to the ground and dropped his pistol.

She moved to the bed and freed the three girls. She broke their metal shackles.

"How'd you do that?" Another female asked.

Ally didn't have time for any of this. She indicated the man on the floor.

"With style…." Ally said. "Do what you want to him. Go check on the female in the next room to the left. Stay there until I come back. If any of these people see you, they will kill you."

Ally made sure the gun was loaded and ready to fire. She handed it to one larger female. She looked like she would be best suited to handle it.

"Point this at anyone who's not female and pull the trigger." Ally said. "Shoot them two or three times, it's the only way to be sure."

The thug on the ground began to stir.

A short female took the gun and pointed at the thug on the ground. It was clear she was about to shoot him.

"Cover your ears." Ally said. "Gunshots are loud in an enclosed space."

She pulled the trigger twice. He stopped moving.

"Yeah, it's just that simple." Ally said and moved on. "If you don't see a female, shoot."

Ally didn't know if they would follow her instructions or not. It didn't really matter if they were able to escape. She would like to have a little control over it.

Sheila left Ally behind and closed up on the man who fled. He ran to a vehicle parked in the back and got inside. She went right up to it and ripped the door off and tossed it aside. He tried to bring a gun up. She crushed his forearm and the pistol fell from his useless hand. He screamed in agony. She drug him out of the car and back inside. She choked him out along the way to stifle his screams.

She heard the gunshots from inside. Ally informed her everything was under control. She checked around her to make sure there were no witnesses. She didn't see any. If anyone looked like they were trouble, she would need to deal with them on a Terminator basis. She moved him through the rear door back into the building. She closed the door and dropped a barricade bar down to secure it. It wouldn't be opened from the outside easily.

Ally checked two more rooms. She found another thug hiding behind a desk. She grabbed him and threw him through the wall into the hall when he pointed a gun at her.

There were only four females at this location. She expected to find more.

Sheila drug the man with the ruined arm by his foot. His head bounced along the pavement. He was face down. She did it on purpose. She was a little surprised to see a thug fly through the wall in front of her. He didn't move, but he was still alive. She made sure he was face down. She grabbed his foot and pulled both of the thugs.

Ally came out through the door.

"There are only four females. One may be deceased." Ally said. "We missed the rest of them."

Sheila pulled both of the men into the room where the three females were chained to their beds previously.

"Let's get these blokes secured and then get some answers." Sheila said. "I want to get the other females back. I don't want them to be dispersed, or worse."

Sheila already knew the abuse they would have needed to endure. It would have been frequent and violent. Someone was going to need to atone for what occurred.

Ally hadn't seen any female clothes. She didn't see any clothes.

"We may need their clothes for the females." Ally said.

Sheila and Ally could pull the thug's clothes off. They knew they wouldn't need them once they were done with them. They wouldn't need anything. They would be terminated before they left.

Ally went to check on the females.

The three females stood next to the female who was tied to the bed. She was untied now. One of them touched her cheek, another one of them held her hand. The short female still held the pistol.

"She didn't make it." The short female said. "Did you catch the rest of the men?"

Ally nodded. She needed some information.

"There are two in the room you were in." Ally said. "How many more were there? How many females were there?"

The tall female touched the deceased female's cheek one last time.

"There were only five men left." The tall female said. "I was abused by all of them. We all were."

The blonde female released the hand of the deceased female after she carefully laid it alongside her body.

"There were seven other females." The blonde female said. "They were all young. Most of them were undocumented. They nabbed them outside of stores."

Ally told the females they were free to go.

"None of you need to remain here." Ally said. "You're free to leave. You need to make sure no one puts the grab on you again."

The tall female looked at the two Metal girls.

"Who are you?" The tall female asked.

Ally wanted to say the 'good guys', but she didn't feel they were right now.

"We're just a couple of individuals who want justice." Ally said. "Do you still have clothes?"

The females didn't know where their clothes were. They were naked for over a week. They were all abused numerous times.

"I know where some are at." Ally said. "Follow me."

Cameron's team arrived in Palmdale.

Cameron and Savannah started to walk up the sidewalk. Cammy tagged along behind.

The front door opened. Young Allison rushed out and hugged both Savannah and Cameron.

Savannah noted Anna stood in the doorway and watched them.

Young Allison took a hand from both Cameron and Savannah and led them into the house.

Cammy followed behind. She paused to talk with Anna.

"Maybe I should let her shoot me again." Cammy said. "I feel left out."

Anna looked Cammy over. She was a 'Cameron clone'.

"You will never be 'Cameron'." Anna said.

Cammy didn't care for the reminder. She wanted to give Anna one as well.

"You'll never be 'Savannah'." Cammy responded.

Anna looked around.

"I could try." Anna said.

Cammy doubted Anna would go too far. It wasn't part of her mission. She was for Young Allison at some point.

"THAT is the 'Savannah' in you talking." Cammy said. "What does the 'Cameron' in you say?"

Anna still wanted to joke about it.

"Who would know better than you?" Anna asked. "She's saying, 'What are WE waiting for'?"

Cammy looked around.

"I think a room." Cammy said.

Both Cammy and Anna laughed.

Young Allison took Savannah down to the bunker to go over some of her past operations and the most current one as well. She wanted to know how they defeated the HK Tracks.

Cameron looked at Cammy and Anna. She frowned.

Cammy and Anna didn't want to go 'there'.

Cameron sought out Claire. They needed to talk.

Hanna didn't care for Cameron to be around. She didn't like the way Claire responded to her. It was clear Claire was totally in love with Cameron.

She noticed Cameron was about to look for Claire. She decided to intercept her. It was probably a mistake but she did it anyway.

"I know why you're here." Hanna said.

Cameron could see the 'challenge'. It irritated her. Everyone was supposed to assist her, not confront her. Their own selfish personal interests didn't matter. She was the one who needed to sacrifice, they could as well. Everyone needed to sacrifice for John Connor.

"Good, it should make everything go smoother." Cameron said. "IF you've been doing your JOB."

Hanna loved Claire. She didn't like Cameron's plans for Claire. She didn't feel any of them were in Claire's best interests. She wanted to say something, even if she couldn't say too much. She was sure anything she said would be a problem.

"You're demanding too much." Hanna said.

Cameron didn't see it the same way at all. Sure some 'conditioning' at night might make someone more pliable to her wishes, but it was always still their personal choice in the end. It didn't matter if the ideas were what she planted in their heads in the first place. They could either accept them or reject them. Maybe they were predisposed to accept them. They still didn't need to.

"I never demand anything." Cameron said. "I facilitate anyone to make the choices they want to make. I only provide guidance for them."

Cameron knew 'her choices' were the 'right choices'.

Hanna didn't want to argue with Cameron. It was impossible. She didn't think guidance, choices, or demands were all too different for Cameron.

"There's no stopping you on this, is there?" Hanna asked.

Cameron knew what was best for everyone. Some of them took a little longer to see it her way. They all eventually came around. She always liked it when a plan came together.

"There's no stopping me on anything." Cameron said. "I do what's necessary to protect the future."

Hanna thought Cameron should have said HER future.

"And John…." Cameron added as an afterthought.

Cameron walked away to find Claire.

Hanna watched her go. She didn't want to be deactivated or punished by Cameron if she said too much. She felt she said enough. She made her point as well as her displeasure clear. It seemed more about selfishness to her on Cameron's part.

Holly knew Cameron, Cammy, and Savannah were in the house now. She stayed in Allison's room with her. Allison still didn't feel well.

She was pretty sure things weren't going to end well for Allison.

Holly decided to slip out and talk with Cameron. She hoped it wouldn't turn into a problem. It seemed to be the case whenever someone spoke with her.

Cameron was about to enter Claire's room.

Holly caught her first.

"Cameron." Holly said. "We need to talk."

Cameron didn't need to hear any more problems right now. There were already enough of them.

"We can discuss it later." Cameron said.

Holly knew what Cameron was about to do. She believed what she wanted to say mattered in such a regard.

"It needs to be NOW…." Holly said. "What I have to say changes what you want."

Cameron stopped and looked at Holly, she knew what was coming.

Holly gave Cameron news she didn't want to hear. It determined what she needed to say to Claire. It wasn't what she thought of thirty seconds ago. It was a reminder some things were more important than others.

Derek knew they needed to track the big truck and not raise suspicions with the van following it, or the second vehicle on the way, the SUV.

It looked like the truck was headed for the freeway.

Bob spotted something up ahead. An idea came to him to assist with what they needed to do. It would allow them to drop out of the view of the big rig, the van, and the SUV approaching.

"I see something up ahead." Bob said. "Let me take the motorcycle. I can ride up alongside the truck and tag it at a signal."

Derek thought it might work. Motorcycles liked to 'white line' in traffic. It always irritated him because it was so dangerous. He watched one biker scrape the sides of two vehicles as he passed through too narrow of a gap. When one of the drivers yelled at him, the biker simply looked back and said, 'Hey man, this is LA', and rode off.

"Let's do it." Derek said.

They let Bob off and he proceeded to start the motorcycle and drive off. There was a helmet on it as well so Bob wore it to hide his identity.

The van which followed the truck was right behind it as they sat at a signal. Being so close, they couldn't observe both sides of the truck at the same time. Bob was able to ride up on the passenger's side of the truck and place the tracker on it. He placed it on the trailer in case it was parked anywhere. The tractor might go to a different location.

No alarms were raised and Bob returned the motorcycle back to where he borrowed it from along with the helmet.

The three Resistance SUVs now could track and follow the big truck without being spotted or worse, ambushed.

It was decided one of their tracking SUVs would drop back even further. The other two would parallel the big rig on other streets. John Henry could assist them with traffic management if it became necessary.

They didn't want to be 'made' or ambushed.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Sad Truth

Pressure crack snap break
How much punishment can we take
Through my lifeless living heart ache
Pound the dull jagged infested stake

Withhold and starve
Laugh as I wither
Is it really THAT close
From here to thither

It is useless
To beg or plead
For in all actuality
It makes your soul bleed

What was is it like
To feel a loving touch
NO - wait - STOP
Is THAT but a crutch

Is the glass half empty
Or half full and tall
I must sadly admit
I see no glass at all

Nobody