Chapter 593

Evaporated Smile

Cammy drove as Savannah lay with her head on Cameron's lap.

Cameron took in Savannah's beauty as she slept.

'Sleeping Beauty….' Cameron thought.

Cameron felt Savannah pushed hard and took risks she shouldn't. It was obvious those risks protected her while they endangered Savannah. She knew she shouldn't be protected by Savannah. It shouldn't happen. It was supposed to be the other way around. She was aware she would have been terminated several times over now if it wasn't for Savannah. Savannah's love for her was what drove her.

She was worried Savannah's love kept writing checks her body wouldn't always be able to cash.

Now they were headed for a troubled situation again. It most likely would end in some gunfire. There were other members of the team to assist them, unless they were called off to a different phase or development of the operation. She was very aware these things fell apart fast or escalated very quickly.

Cameron and her team neared the scene. The truck was stopped. The van and SUV were still with it. She received all the latest information. It looked like a 'setup' of some type. She wanted even more help. She called in additional Terminators from her base. They were still a ways out.

The Resistance teams split up to cover the four sides of where the truck was at. If it started to move again, it would have to pass near one of the SUVs of their group.

Jim moved up on foot to observe the area. He was between two buildings and not easily spotted. He made sure there were no surveillance cameras either. There was no way to know if where the truck was now was some type of pre-arranged event. He watched the trio of vehicles. They just sat there. Nothing happened.

"They're all sitting there." Jim said. "No one is doing anything."

John didn't understand the new development or what it actually meant. The enemy could call in reinforcements or have Terminators seek out their forces while they waited. Not only was the enemy a 'sitting duck', all of their forces were as well while they waited for the big rig to do something. It presented a new layer of danger to the Resistance forces. He didn't see any need to force the issue.

"I think they know we're watching them and don't want to lead us to where they want to go." John said. "Jim, fallback now to Derek's SUV and reinforce him."

Cameron spoke to wake Savannah.

"We'll be near the target area soon." Cameron said softly.

Savannah opened her eyes and smiled at Cameron as she sat up. Cammy filled her in on the recent developments as Cameron communicated with the rest of the group.

Cameron didn't like the inactivity either. Why would they just stop and sit there? It didn't make any sense. It sounded like trouble. There needed to be more than met the eye. What they could actually see wasn't the only worry. They needed to worry about what they couldn't see. They knew the group was connected with different types of HK equipment. She battled three HK Tracks earlier in the day, along with Savannah and Cammy.

"I don't want anyone to do anything yet." Cameron said. "John Henry, is there anything in the air which shouldn't be there?"

John Henry was on every radar system to check for any threat.

"No drones have been detected yet." John Henry said. "Ours are not up. I want to keep them out of the city, especially during daylight."

John thought it was a positive, even if it would be a negative. At least it made one thing simple.

"OK. If anyone detects a drone, it's not ours." John said. "Treat it accordingly. I'm sure there are a few Stingers out there among our troops."

Cameron thought about her last encounter. Skynet set them up to be ambushed by HK Tracks.

"The last location we were at, Skynet kept a few HK Tracks waiting for us." Cameron said. "They may be setting up a similar 'reception committee' for us."

Derek thought the general area where they were all contained now was a pretty good place to engage them. It wouldn't take too much to light them up.

"Why don't we just take them down now?" Derek asked.

John thought about it. He only saw it as one thing.

"I think it's what they're trying to do. They want to draw us out." John said. "It's possible they're already in an ambush position. The cheese is there, just waiting for the mouse to come and take it."

Cammy approached the area with Cameron and Savannah. They did a wide sweep of the area before they moved in closer. Their vehicle was new to the area and shouldn't trip any type of recognition software if there was some type of surveillance. They hadn't spotted anything out of the ordinary.

Cameron was now at the location. Savannah and Cammy were alert.

Savannah went over all the information and looked around at everything. It gave her a bad vibe. She didn't have anything other than a 'feeling' things weren't as they seemed.

"Cameron, this isn't right." Savannah said. "I can feel it."

Cameron learned to trust the 'instincts' of the humans when they said it didn't 'feel' right. They were usually correct. She also knew to trust Savannah. Savannah was able to 'see' things she couldn't. Things like this which didn't exist, but were 'felt'.

They were new on the scene in their SUV. The other teams already there, all drove around the area as they were led around in circles earlier. It was possible all four of their SUVs were 'made'. They could all be targets at this point.

Cameron was very dissatisfied with the way things were and all of the implications.

"I want everyone who was part of the surveillance teams to pull out." Cameron said. "Dump the vehicles and acquire fresh transportation. Try to do it unseen. CamNet and John Henry will loop any video feeds where you go. They can use traffic management to make sure you're not followed. Anyone who goes through a red light to stay with you is a target."

Savannah wasn't sure if she should amend Cameron's last statement or not. Red lights were often run in the city. No. She would let it stand. Red light runners were a danger to everyone on the road. If a team of Terminators felt they were a threat. They needed to be dealt with accordingly.

John Henry looked at John with Cameron's proclamation.

There was silence.

John knew it was a big step. He thought there should be a little bit more to it.

"What do you have, see, or know?" John asked. "What you indicated sounds bad. Is there anything else?"

Cameron didn't know what to make of it either, other than what it appeared to be. Someone wanted them all stopped. It could only mean one thing. They were targets.

"I don't know." Cameron said. "By the way they're behaving, it seems they're trying to draw us out. The four vehicles we've followed them with, have already most likely been identified and maybe even targeted."

They used similar tactics on Grays in the past. They didn't want to get caught in one of their own traps. Skynet was always able to adapt and adjust. It was always able to learn.

The four vehicles all left. They headed for parking structures or malls. They all let one team member off to appropriate new wheels, while the other went to ditch the vehicle. Cameron gave them specific instructions to follow.

It left Cameron, Cammy and Savannah alone.

John saw it for what it now was. Cameron was there to take the risk herself. Savannah and Cammy were with her. He wasn't sure if this was what she wanted or not. Even if it wasn't planned, it was what it was.

"Cameron, this is unacceptable." John said. "You can't face them alone."

Savannah reached over and gave Cameron's hand a gentle squeeze. It was to affirm her support for Cameron.

"I'm not alone." Cameron said as she looked at Savannah. "We're going dark now."

Cameron never felt alone when Savannah was with her.

Young Allison asked CamNet to feed her all the information on where Cameron, Cammy, and Savannah were at. She also viewed the information from John Henry.

Anna watched Young Allison process the information. Anna helped her as needed and answered questions for her. She prompted her to ask questions.

Young Allison finally got around to saying what was on her mind. The time she spent in her mother's room earlier with Cameron and Savannah weighed on her.

"Anna, you know what needs to happen." Young Allison said. "It's what I want."

Anna didn't think now was the time for this conversation. The 'Savannah' in her didn't think it would ever be time for this conversation.

"I do know." Anna said. "You know it's not going to happen, not yet anyway."

Young Allison didn't want to argue with Anna about it. She knew it would be Cameron's decision. Other than to have Anna speak on her behalf, there was no reason to continue to badger her about it. She went back to the task at hand.

She didn't like the fact Cameron's team was all alone. She thought something should be done about it.

"Savannah and Cameron need more help." Young Allison said.

Anna wanted Young Allison to think. What was Cameron's normal operating formula?

"Do they?" Anna asked. "Maybe this is where Cameron does her best work."

Young Allison thought it might apply to Cameron on her own mission. This wasn't a solo mission. Cameron might be able to take a lot of punishment, not everyone with her could.

"Savannah is with her." Young Allison said. "She's not a Terminator."

Anna felt Savannah was well protected. She felt Savannah would moderate Cameron's response.

"Cameron is with her, Cammy is too." Anna said. "Cammy is 'Cameron'."

Young Allison saw it a little deeper. They didn't need personal Terminators when humans were out in the field.

"So are you." Young Allison said. "You should be there with them. All the Metal girls should be. It's where the fight is."

Anna was to serve a different purpose. All of the Metal girls were to do so. Her personal functions weren't all in play yet. She believed they would be soon enough. Savannah would need to act first.

"My function is to guide and protect you." Anna said. "Cameron has all the help she needs."

Young Allison wasn't convinced. She didn't think so. She didn't like anyone being short staffed on an operation.

"The Metal girls can still share their love." Young Allison said. "They don't need to do it twenty-four-seven. They should render more support to Cameron when she needs to go on an operation."

Anna didn't want Young Allison to underestimate Cameron.

"You should know by now, Cameron ALWAYS has another card to play." Anna said. "Let's see how it unfolds."

Young Allison watched. She wanted the team to have more support. If she were doing it, she would want more help. It was a policy she thought should be adopted. She would run it by Savannah the next time they were alone. If Savannah agreed, both of them would make a proposal directly to Cameron. She thought it might be a good idea to run it by CamNet as well.

She glanced up at the security camera for a moment. She smiled and brushed the hair behind her right ear before she turned her attention back to the monitors.

Gail was deeply in love with Savannah. She started to follow her around to make sure she had extra protection. Savannah told her it was unnecessary because she was usually with Cameron or Cammy. She didn't think it was enough protection, especially for some of the situations Savannah was involved with.

She didn't like the earlier operation Cameron took Savannah on. She would have gone there herself if they hadn't gone off of the grid. She was very upset to know the extreme danger they all faced, especially Savannah. She was very proud Savannah took down and captured an HK Track on her own. It was better than Cameron and Cammy did. Both of the ones they set out to disable were severely damaged.

Gail followed the current operation through her com. As soon as she heard Cameron was about to bring Savannah into the danger zone, she decided to act. She wasn't going to sit this one out. She knew where they were all at.

Gail suddenly lifted her head. She was currently multitasking.

"I need to go out." Gail said abruptly.

Jesse was just about to finish again. She was surprised Gail stopped so abruptly. She went up on one elbow and looked down the valley of her breasts and across her flat stomach at Gail's face. It was something highly unusual and different than normal. Normally Gail would continue to deliver finishes until she started to slip over to the other side. Something important must have happened.

"Where are you going, love?" Jesse asked.

Gail got up and started to dress.

"I need to do something." Gail said.

Jesse became concerned. She could tell something was off. Gail never left her hanging like this. She was only ten seconds away too. Gail would have known it. She could see something triggered Gail. She didn't want her to go out alone. She was aware Gail was never the same since the one assault she went on at the old helicopter base. She was 'different'. She couldn't place her finger on it specifically. She didn't know why.

She was very worried about Gail. She decided she better keep an eye on her. She didn't want her to have a problem like Cameron did at times. She felt she would be able to moderate it, if it occurred. She also knew maybe she couldn't. She wanted to try anyway.

"Let me go with you." Jesse said. "It will just take a minute for me to throw my clothes on. All I need are my pants and a top. I like to travel light."

Gail feared for Jesse's safety. She lost Duplicate Jesse once. She didn't want it to happen again. She wasn't about to lose Jesse.

"NO." Gail said. "You MUST remain here."

Jesse took it as an 'order'. It was unlike Gail to act this way.

Gail left the room. She was still putting her clothes on. It was clear she was in a hurry.

Where was she hurrying off to? Something was up.

Earlier:

Ally returned inside the building. She drug the dead men from outside, and in the front, into the room where the other terminated men were.

She went through the building and looked for any other information. She found a pile of female clothing. She took them and dumped it in the room Sheila and the short female were in. She learned from the other two females who left in the sports car her name was Patty. She was abducted by the sex traffickers off of the street when she went to the store.

She could see things were wrapped up.

It seemed Patty was very upset about what was done to her. She only was with two boyfriends. She felt she was 'ruined' now. It was why she was so revenge driven. To her, her life was over. There were over a hundred men with her in the week she was in custody of the sex slavers. She probably was already infected with half a dozen different diseases. She would never be able to have a boyfriend again and tell him what happened, and how many men were with her. She wouldn't touch any male who told her the same thing either. Why would they want her now?

Sheila was a little surprised at the viciousness Patty carried out what she told her to do to the men when they were slow to respond to answering a question. She would normally do it herself. When they lied to her, the punishment was even more severe. Both men were terminated now. They both bled out from their injuries.

Ally looked at the papers in the strong box. They contained names and dates. There were a few phone numbers, but no addresses. She saved all the files to her system. They would track all of them down.

She could hear Sheila say something to Patty.

Sheila entered the office area.

"I have the information on where the girls were taken." Sheila said.

Ally thought it was a good thing. She was able to collect some information on her own. She noticed Sheila was alone.

"I've got a few things as well. I have names and numbers." Ally said. "Where's Patty at?"

Sheila looked back at the doorway she entered from. She spoke in a decibel level only another Terminator could hear. People didn't normally concern her with their actions. From what she witnessed, Patty's actions concerned her.

"Patty wanted to do more." Sheila said quietly. "She may be unstable."

Ally was about to say it was how she felt about her. It also sunk in as to how severe it might actually be. If Sheila was worried about it, it must be bad.

Patty walked into the room. She currently wore some clothes. They were some of the ones she put in the room.

Ally looked at Sheila, then turned her attention to Patty.

"Here is some money from the strong box." Ally said. "It was divided evenly among the three of you. The other females left."

Patty looked at it. At first she was going to say she didn't want it. Upon further reflection, she thought it could be put to good use. She noticed there were several firearms on the table near the money.

"Thanks." Patty said. "Can I have some more guns? I'll take the ones on the table if you don't mind."

Sheila looked at Ally. Her earlier fears were confirmed.

"What for?" Sheila asked.

Patty didn't seem bothered by the fact she killed three men. One was with a firearm, the other two were with a knife.

"My life is ruined. I can never face anyone I ever knew again." Patty said. "I can never be with anyone again, not after this. I'm going to clean up the trash."

The Metal girls could see it was a bad idea. She would most likely be captured or terminated within two days if she tried.

Sheila was reminded of Jesse. She saw the same vengeance in Patty. She knew it wasn't a good road to go down. There usually wasn't a way back.

"You can recover from this." Sheila said. "I know some females who went through the same thing for a decade. It was ten times worse than this. They were able to recover. You can too if you don't give in to the darkness."

Sheila and Ally both tried to talk her down. It was pointless. They were unable to make any headway with Patty. They fixed her up with some weapons the thugs carried and the cash. They found the keys to a van in the back and gave it to her.

Ally retrieved their SUV. She returned into the building with several Thermite grenades.

Patty noticed the grenades.

"Are you going to blow this place up?" Patty asked.

Sheila needed to explain they were going to burn it down.

Patty looked back at the door down the hall.

"What about Molly?" Patty asked.

Ally and Sheila looked at each other. They figured it was the name of the female who was terminated when they arrived.

When Patty found out they were going to burn Molly too, she asked if they could help load Molly in her van.

Sheila understood the dignity Patty wanted to provide for Molly.

They took some of the better clothes and dressed Molly.

Patty was very appreciative how they treated Molly with dignity.

Sheila carried her out to the van.

Patty would bury her in the foothills. She wondered how the Asian female was so strong.

"You're jacked." Patty said.

Sheila smiled. She knew the standard answer to give if someone ever mentioned or questioned their strength.

"I work out." Sheila said. "It's helpful in this business."

Ally watched Patty get in the van and start it. She wanted to give her some advice for burying someone.

"Stop by a hardware store and purchase a shovel, along with a good set of gloves to protect your hands." Ally said. "You need to dig down as deep as you can."

Sheila wondered if they should go with her.

"If you're going to go after the people who did this to you, You need to ambush them, and take down one or two of them and immediately leave the area." Sheila said. "Don't get into a shooting war with them. Wait for another time and ambush them again i if there is only one or two."

Ally was worried about Patty.

"We can provide you with medical care and counseling if you want it." Ally said

Patty smiled at them.

"I'm good." Patty said. "Thanks for everything."

They watched Patty drive away.

"I don't know about her." Ally said.

Sheila was a little worried too. It was Patty's actions, at her direction, which produced the results from the two men.

"I think she's a loose cannon." Sheila said. "She heard everything about where the rest of the operation was located."

Ally frowned.

"I think she is going to find a lot of trouble for herself." Ally said.

Sheila could only think about Jesse. It made her think about herself. She knew Savannah wanted her to be better.

"Sometimes the darkness grabs them and it won't let go." Sheila said. "It's always there waiting to come out. It isn't pretty when it does either."

Ally looked at Sheila and wondered if she referred to Jesse or herself. She figured it was probably both.

Sheila's phone rang.

"It's Gail." Sheila said. "She said it's important."

Sheila put it on speaker phone.

Gail told them about Savannah, Cammy, and Cameron. She wanted their help.

Ally and Sheila were both ready to go.

"We're on our way." Ally said.

They tossed a few Thermite grenades inside and left.

The captured females they wanted to free would have to wait.

Savannah came first.

Jesse immediately called Vanna as soon as Gail was away from her room.

"Something's bothering Gail." Jesse said. "She just left. I'm worried about her. She's not acting normal, or as 'normal' as she can act. There must be something happening."

Vanna followed the operation from the lab. There was an extensive set up of computer gear there.

"There is an operation going on." Vanna said. "Cameron has Savannah with her and is expecting an ambush. The rest of the Terminators needed to withdraw for now because their vehicles may be targeted."

Jesse could see it for the danger it was. No wonder Gail left half dressed. She was going to assist them.

"Is it just the two of them?" Jesse asked. "It's bad news."

Vanna knew there was a little help. She wanted to get to the heart of the matter.

"Cammy is with them. Cameron, Cammy, and Savannah just arrived. Their vehicle shouldn't be targeted, yet." Vanna said. "Come to the Command Center. I'm going there too."

Jesse tried to call Sheila and Ally, but they didn't answer. It was more bad news. Sheila always answered her calls.

She slid on a pair of shorts and grabbed a top. She ran from her room.

Riley was about to exit her room when she spotted Jesse running topless down the hall. She liked the small bounce of Sheila's breasts with the rings when she ran. She was about to ask her what was up, but she ran past her. Jesse was still fooling with her top. It was tangled up.

Jesse arrived in the Command Center. Vanna was already there. She must have run as well.

"What's the status, love?" Jesse asked.

They all watched as she took a moment to put her top on. They all checked out her nipple rings.

John Henry watched as well. He made sure he took still images as well as video files. He zoomed in for a few close ups while he was at it.

John and Vanna filled her in.

Jesse added what she knew about Gail.

John wondered where the other Metal girls were at. They were off the grid for a while now.

"John Henry, where are Gail, Ally, and Sheila at?" John asked.

John Henry was surprised when Ally and Sheila suddenly appeared on his monitor.

"I'm tracking all of them. It looks like the three of them are going to rendezvous." John Henry said. "They're not blocking me from doing so, or from knowing where they are."

Vanna felt a little sick feeling inside.

"I know why." Vanna said.

Jesse and John looked at each other. They knew too.

"So we know where to send an 'energy bubble' if they're terminated…." John said.

Jesse's phone rang, it was Sheila. She excused herself. She stepped out of the Command Center to take the call.

"Sorry for the delay, love." Sheila said. "I was 'armoring up'. It looks like there might be some action where we're headed."

Jesse moved away from the room and out of earshot. She wanted to let Sheila know her concern about Gail.

"It's OK." Jesse said. "Are you with Gail yet?"

Sheila was surprised when CamNet put Gail through to her earlier. They were off the grid at the time. They knew it was something important for it to happen.

"No, she asked us to come with her." Sheila said. "Cameron and Savannah may need our help."

Jesse was worried for the teams out in the fields and she was worried about Gail. She wanted to ask a personal favor.

"I need you to watch over Gail too." Jesse said. "I want both Ally and you to watch out for her. She's been acting strangely on and off. She's deeply troubled by something. She says it's nothing and it's been resolved, but I know nothing is ever resolved for any of the Terminators. It lingers and stalks them forever."

Sheila was aware of it. She was still upset because Cameron took away some of her 'things'. They were 'souvenirs' she picked up on some of Cameron's off the books operations.

"It does." Sheila said. "It is how we function and exist. Everything ever there, is always still there."

Jesse knew this was a deeper and personal issue with Gail. It was something which would make her take more chances and be careless about it.

"Gail's in love with Savannah." Jesse said.

Sheila didn't think it was news. They all wanted some alone time with Savannah whenever they could get it.

"We all are, love, even you." Sheila said.

Jesse knew it was way deeper than love. It was more than sex too.

"No, Gail has it 'bad', There's something else driving it as well." Jesse said. "Her judgment isn't going to be one hundred percent."

Sheila was worried. It sounded like a problem Cameron would have.

"Is she malfunctioning?" Sheila asked.

Jesse saw it as a deep personal problem. The problem was in her mind and it would be in her heart if Gail actually possessed one.

"Not any more than the rest of us do when we fall deeply in love." Jesse said.

Sheila wanted to know more.

"Have they 'bonded'?" Sheila asked. "You don't need to say if you don't want to."

Jesse knew it happened in a convoluted way with Vanna as 'Savannah'.

"In Gail's mind with Vanna as 'Savannah' she has." Jesse said. "I don't think it has actually happened with Savannah yet. I really don't know. I didn't ask. We're all in open relationships. Gail's really hung up about it."

Jesse could hear Ally in the background say she knows what it's like. Everyone viewed her as 'Cameron' at some point when they shared. It was everyone except Savannah.

Neither Jesse nor Sheila said anything about it as they both did the same thing many times. They would still do so going forward. It didn't hurt anything.

"I'm counting on you. Go to them now." Jesse said. "Please, watch over Cameron, Gail and Savannah for all of us."

As Jesse hung up, she heard Ally say she forgot to mention her.

Jesse smiled at Ally's statement. The smile evaporated almost as soon as it formed when she returned to the Command Center.

There was an ominous feeling which seemed to hang over everyone.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Sweet Sorrow

It has been said
Parting is such sweet sorrow
For without you
There is no tomorrow
You provide me with
Strength I can borrow

I do not want to go
To leave you behind
Any other such as you
No one can ever find
My heart with yours
Has aligned and intertwined

So when I must go
I hope to return
That your true feelings
And love I can earn
In my absence remember
It is for you I yearn

Nobody