Chapter 729

All Your Fault

Sheila and Ally entered the structure through the roof. They were in the rafters now. They looked down into the work space below.

"That's different." Ally said.

Sheila pointed at something.

"So is that…." Sheila said.

There were four people lying on the floor. One of them was partially obscured. They were lined up in a row. They all appeared to be deceased. There was another one off to the side. They would need a closer look to see why.

Ally wasn't sure what they came across. It was a massacre of some type. Perhaps someone wanted to tie up some loose ends. Death seemed to have a way to do it.

"It looks like Grays have been here." Ally said.

Sheila could tell they weren't random killings. She couldn't help but think about a phrase she once heard in reference to pirates. When the treasure was buried, those who buried it were terminated, so only the pirate Captain knew where the treasure was.

"Dead men tell no tales." Sheila said. "Those people were executed."

Ally was worried about their safety. She was very pleased they hadn't come in the front door. She was certain there was a 'surprise' waiting for them.

"We better be careful and check for motion detectors." Ally said. "This place is probably wired for more than an alarm."

Cameron wasn't sure what they came across other than a group of dead people. She needed to know more about what they saw inside the building. They indicated there were five terminated individuals. Why?

"What else can you see?" Cameron asked. "What was done there?"

Ally could see somebody cleaned the place out, except for the bodies they left behind.

"Whatever it was is gone. There are five bodies. All of them look like they were executed." Ally said. "One is off to the side away from the others."

Cameron suspected the location they were at was a front for Skynet activity. Most likely the decedents didn't know what they were involved with until they were executed. Recently they came across Skynet's use of 'patsies' to do their bidding. A lot of the help was 'hired help' of various forms. Some of the individuals knew what their overlords were up to, at least to a certain extent. Others may not have known exactly what they were involved with. She was sure they would be able to figure out in a relatively short amount of time it wasn't anything good. Money tended to put blinders on most individuals. The more money offered, the blinder the individual became.

"The Grays must not have a Terminator with them." Cameron said. "Is there any sign there were computers there?"

Sheila could see the place was stripped clean. Anything which appeared to have any value to anyone was gone.

"There are a lot of wires." Sheila said. "The equipment is gone. They didn't just take the hard drives or towers, they took the monitors and keyboards as well."

Cameron was worried they hadn't received the information soon enough. It appeared another group of Grays slipped through their fingers. They tried to cover their tracks by eliminating the 'contract employees'. What was worse than a patsy? A room full of terminated patsies.

She glanced over at Savannah. Maybe it was a good thing Ally and Sheila were the ones to handle it instead of Savannah and her. Savannah was already exposed to more than enough violence.

"How long does it look like they've been there?" Cameron asked. "I mean the dead people."

From their vantage point above the workroom floor, it was hard to make out what was what. Ally didn't see anyone in an advanced state of decomposition.

"I don't think it was too long ago." Ally said. "We're still up in the rafters. We're a little wary about venturing down to the workroom floor. We need to make sure there are no motion detectors directed to where we would need to go. We're sure the building is wired, even though we haven't spotted the explosives yet."

Cameron figured they were probably indirectly responsible for the untimely deaths of the individuals inside the building. She knew it did really make a difference because they probably would have needed to terminate them anyway themselves. If they knew too much about the future, or things involving the future, they were a threat. Evidently the Skynet forces came to the same conclusion.

"It sounds like when we started looking for the hack, the Grays tied up any loose ends on their part." Cameron said. "What was it Sheila saw?"

Sheila was glad at this point she hadn't forced the door open.

"The place is wired to explode." Sheila said. "I'm glad Ally stopped me earlier and suggested another way to enter."

Cameron didn't see them with much weaponry.

"What do you have with you?" Cameron asked.

The Metal girls couldn't carry too much with them since they walked down the street. There was no need to attract unnecessary attention to them by visibly carrying weapons or wearing body armor. Technically they were still on a recon, not a combat assault.

"We only have our pistols and Tasers." Ally said. "It's still daylight. We didn't want to cause a ruckus with any of the locals in case they might have spotted us. We tried to stay out of sight of everyone anyway. There's no way to know if the Grays have eyes on this location or not."

Gail carried a selection of armaments in the van.

"I have explosives." Gail said. "I have some C-4 with timers. I can bring it to them. We can ensure we bring the building down so no one else is involved."

Cameron wanted to rig the place to explode, but not tip their hand yet. It was possible there was something the enemy missed or overlooked in their haste to terminate the patsies and get out.

"Send some up to them." Cameron said. "We'll set them to detonate tomorrow. I don't want to fool with anything else there. I want to remain in the shadows for as long as we can."

Gail wanted to have an extra option. They didn't know who else would show up at the location.

"I'll use a command detonator as well as the timer. It's in case we're still watching the place and someone comes back to check on it." Gail said. "We can say, 'Hello'."

Cameron was ready to move on to the next location. There was nothing of value where they currently were.

"Rig it up and pull out." Cameron said. "It's a dead end, in more ways than one."

Sheila moved around the rafters to get a look at the fifth body. It was a female.

There was dried blood on and around her.

Ally joined Sheila. She didn't like what she looked at. They witnessed things like this before.

"I think she was abused." Ally said.

Ally was able to get a different view of the row of dead people. She pointed at something specific.

"I didn't see his condition before either." Ally said.

One of the males was in bad shape too.

Sheila could tell there was some very deviant behavior. She knew if she thought it was. It was. What she saw there were some of the things Jesse did to others in the future. She knew Jesse was troubled by some of the things she did. She did all those same things too. All of the people she 'worked on' deserved what they got. Most of them were involved in the sex trade. She wasn't troubled by any of them.

She was only troubled by Savannah not approving of some of the things she did. Some individuals needed to atone for their crimes. Even if they're punishment was short lived before their termination, they still received it. She always made sure they got a good look at the things which were no longer attached to their body.

Sheila knew 'payback was a Bitch'. She was a Bitch and she was going to get some payback. What she viewed there indicated there would need to be some punishment before terminations with those involved with what she witnessed.

She already decided what she was going to do to this group of Grays once they caught them. She could hardly wait. This operation seemed to have a lot to offer. She believed one fought fire with fire. It was just her speed.

Ally could see Sheila was going to take things a step further than necessary when they were able to get their hands on the Grays involved with what they witnessed. She didn't agree with the amount of pleasure Sheila derived from administering justice. There was plenty she saw in the sex trade which warranted the type of punishment Sheila dished out.

John Henry went over all the information Ally and Sheila provided to him as well as Cameron's input. It was clear they were at the right location and it was involved with what they suspected. He would need to pass the information along to John.

John received a report from John Henry.

"Cameron's team has turned up a dead end, but it looks like some of the computer activity was done there." John Henry said. "The only thing left in the building related to Skynet, are the wires which hooked the computer gear together. There were also five terminated individuals. More than likely, they were 'contract employees'."

John Henry gave John a sanitized version of what Ally and Sheila found. He left out the grizzly details of what was done to both the male and the female.

It was obvious to John they rattled somebody's cage. It appeared the Grays attempted to clean up after themselves to prevent more of their operation from being discovered. He looked forward to investigating the lead he was given. It didn't look like they were chasing phantoms, even if they were chasing ghosts.

"The leads are paying off." John said. "Maybe ours will have more to offer."

Al already knew the drill. It was their duty to make sure John remained as safe as possible.

"Dan and I can take a look around." Al said. "We're already parked."

John was a little apprehensive based upon the description of the location Cameron's team took down.

"I want you to use extreme caution." John said. "You heard the other place was wired. Look for any surveillance equipment, as well as any explosives or booby traps."

Cameron was very worried about John at this point. She wanted to reconstitute the Terminators who came with him back into one team. The dead inside of the cyber structure, along with the booby trap located there, indicated the danger level was very high.

"John, I want the other two teams who came with you to rejoin you." Cameron said. "It's clear the Grays are willing to kill indiscriminately as well as leave explosives and booby traps behind."

John liked the idea of having three teams at his disposal. It would allow them to cover more of the target locations quicker. He didn't think any consolidation was necessary.

"It will cut down on our recon ability." John said.

Cameron was aware she was a little harsh when she thought Ally and Sheila took too long to get into the building. Once the bomb was discovered, Savannah looked at her but didn't say anything. She didn't have to. She knew she was wrong by wanting to rush the operation. Now with John safety a factor, she wanted to use extreme caution going forward.

"It will also increase the safety factor." Cameron said. "Whoever was here already left one booby trap. They know someone is searching for them. They're willing to kill so there's no one left to talk. They want to tie up all loose ends. We all need to be extra careful."

John knew it meant he was supposed to be extra careful. He was more concerned about something else.

It was the nuclear power plant which worried John. It was something very critical, now and in the future. In the future it would be a target to be controlled or destroyed by both sides. He wondered if anyone possessed some information they hadn't released yet about it. He hoped Cameron would give him a little insight.

"What's the tie in with the nuclear power plant?" John asked. "I can't imagine there isn't one, based on the location alone."

Cameron was concerned about the lead as soon as she found out the location everything was at. So far nothing turned up. She was sure it meant they hadn't found it yet. The location of the nuclear power plant was too coincidental not to be involved somehow. More than likely it was bound to play some role before the adventure was finished. It probably wouldn't be a good role either.

There was a lot of danger associated with the power plant for the radiation it could spread over much of the state, if there were to be some type of catastrophic failure. Depending upon what was done to it in an intentional manner would determine how severe the spread of radiation could be. It could make the one in an Eastern European country look like a Sunday School Picnic if the catastrophe was properly engineered. Skynet would be properly able to engineer it if it chose to do so. Right now there weren't any facts.

"It's unknown at this time, but I'm working on it." Cameron said. "I already know my way around there if I need to go back."

John would prefer Cameron not return there. He thought there might be some other possibilities they could substitute instead. There were a few copies of Cameron's program out there.

"Does Cammy know it as well?" John asked.

Cammy spoke up before Cameron could answer. It appeared she wanted to make her own point about several things.

"Yes, I know everything Cameron knows and then some." Cammy said. "I have experience she can only dream about. I'm superior to her in every way."

John and Bob looked at each other. It sounded like a jab at Cameron in reference to Savannah. They weren't aware what a point of contention it could be at times, even if they could speculate.

Cameron didn't care for Cammy's outburst. She wanted to provide John with extra personnel to protect him anyway. She figured if Cammy wanted to 'mouth off', she could do it with the General.

"John, Cammy will join your team as well." Cameron said. "It will be just like having me along for the ride. In her opinion, it will even be better. Feel free to treat her like me in every way. I mean every way. You can be the judge. She'll soon find out it's not all fun and games as your subordinate."

John knew Cammy was being 'punished' for taking a verbal swing at Cameron. He wouldn't mind following Cameron's advice. Cammy already indicated she was ready for more. So was he. He was sure Cammy would be the 'happy version' of Cameron if nothing else.

It looked like another day at the office….

Cameron was still uneasy about having upset Savannah earlier. There was enough trouble with CamNet and the related issues with Young Allison and Anna, now Cammy took a 'shot' at her. It seemed everything which could go wrong, did go wrong. John being there only added to it. She often heard of the 'perfect storm'. It made her wonder if she experienced something similar.

Savannah could see Cameron was highly agitated right now. She knew it wasn't her place to say anything yet. She was going to if Cameron resorted to any more extreme measures against any of the Metal girls, especially Cammy. She was aware Ally made the right call earlier about using caution to enter the building. It would have been the wrong call to barge in the front door like Cameron wanted them to do.

Cameron's phone rang in the ominous tone of 'trouble'. She already needed to deal with enough problems, she didn't need any more. She looked at the message on her phone. It was about the last thing she wanted to see.

Savannah looked over at Cameron as she received the information. She saw Cameron send a message. She could see Cameron was highly agitated.

'THIS IS YOUR FAULT.' Cameron typed.

It looked as if Cameron was on the verge of having a breakdown.

Savannah went to ask Cameron what was wrong, but Cameron stopped her.

Cameron knew life was about choices. She needed to make a choice. She made it. If John wanted to be the 'General', he was more than welcome to run the operation. There were things more important to her she needed to deal with right now. She didn't think any of the leads were any longer hot anyway.

"John, you're in charge of this operation and all personal." Cameron said. "Savannah and I are withdrawing from it."

John looked over at Bob.

Bob shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know any more than John did.

John wondered if he could get any more information out of Cameron. It was obvious she encountered another issue of some type. It seemed like a big one. It didn't seem like it was any information related to the current operation either. He didn't know.

"Have you uncovered any new leads?" John asked. "Is there a problem?"

Cameron wasn't about to discuss the latest issue with anyone other than Savannah.

"When isn't there?" Cameron asked.

Savannah waited for Cameron to fill her in on the latest problem. She could only speculate what it was about. She was sure it revolved around the Young residence in Palmdale.

Cameron wanted to make sure the Metal girls were all taken care of. She would need to give Cammy a reprieve from her earlier insolence.

"Sheila and Ally will take over this vehicle. Cammy and Gail will stay together." Cameron said. "You will all need to support each other and any of the other teams if anything around here actually does develop."

Savannah watched as Cameron attempted to calm herself.

Cameron shut off both of their coms.

Savannah wasn't sure what it was going to be about, but it sure looked serious.

Cameron looked at Savannah with the deepest concern on her face.

Savannah was worried something very bad may have occurred. She wondered if Allison 'lost' the baby again.

Cameron wasn't sure where to start so she just went ahead and said it.

"Young Allison is - gone." Cameron said.

Savannah was taken by surprise. She was instantly enveloped with a 'sick feeling'. She was aware Cameron's words could mean several things. One of them could be catastrophic. She would try for one with a little less finality first.

"Gone?" Savannah asked. "Gone where? Where did she go?"

Cameron didn't have any answers.

"She's just gone." Cameron said.

Savannah wondered if Young Allison was abducted. How could this happen with Terminators all around her?

"When was this?" Savannah asked. "How long has it been? Is Skynet involved?"

Cameron didn't have much information to go on.

"It was approximately one hour ago. Young Allison sent CamNet an automatic message to turn the security back on and unloop the feeds." Cameron said. "When everything was reset, it was evident Young Allison was nowhere in or below the Young residence."

Savannah thought it sounded like Young Allison 'ran away'. It was better than being snatched. She quickly pushed the last terminology out of her mind. It seemed inappropriate if she was kidnapped. Even if she left on her own, it didn't put her in any less danger wherever she was at. She was sure there should be some additional information. CamNet was everywhere.

"Are you saying Young Allison has outsmarted the smartest computer in the world?" Savannah asked.

Cameron knew it was something they needed to act on as soon as possible.

"Apparently…." Cameron said. "She's gone and there is no trace of her. She left on her own. CamNet is still trying to find out how she did it and where she's at."

Savannah wanted to verify her earlier speculation.

"Are you saying she 'ran away from home'?" Savannah asked.

It was one scenario Cameron hadn't planned for.

"Yes." Cameron said. "We've trained her how to do this very thing, to escape and elude Terminators and avoid Skynet. This isn't a test of her abilities. It appears to be the real thing."

Savannah didn't think Claire was going to take the news very well.

"Does Claire know yet?" Savannah asked.

Cameron looked a little disgusted.

"No. It's only the three of us so far." Cameron said.

Savannah understood the third 'person' was CamNet. It seemed to her as if there should be more people involved.

"Shouldn't we tell everyone?" Savannah asked. "We need to get everyone in on this."

Cameron didn't want to disrupt the current operation or any of the other ones which were ongoing. She still thought it could be contained. She couldn't help but think of when Allison did something similar. Allison soon came to her senses when she realized what a burden she placed on others who searched for her. She hoped Young Allison would come to the same conclusion sooner, rather than later. She knew where the blame rested. It wasn't with Young Allison either.

"I don't know." Cameron said. "This is all CamNet's fault."

Savannah was sure Young Allison would realize the error of her ways very quickly.

"I don't think she'll go far." Savannah said. "She'll realize she's created a disturbance. We all feel this way at times. You have, I have."

Cameron thought the best course of action was for Savannah and her to return to the Palmdale area. It was more important to her to see Young Allison returned home than anything else at this current time. CamNet made the necessary arrangements to provide them with fast transportation. She couldn't blame Young Allison for any of her shortcomings. She knew hers were all a lot much worse.

"I know we all falter at times. As soon as Sheila and Ally are clear, we need to go to the airport." Cameron said. "We'll have transportation waiting for us."

Savannah was ready for another flight. She would have preferred different circumstances under which to have done it.

"What kind is it?" Savannah asked. "Is it a fixed wing or rotor?"

Cameron hadn't been provided the information yet.

"It will be whatever CamNet can get, and have ready and waiting for us. We'll know when we get there." Cameron said.

Savannah was aware the Antelope Valley was a very large area. They were under the assumption Young Allison may have an hour's head start. It could actually be longer than they thought. The hour time frame could have been engineered to further throw them off of her trail. She didn't think the news was going to go over very well with Claire.

"Where do we start from to look for her?" Savannah asked. "We need to tell her mother. She is going to be worried to death when she finds out."

Cameron was aware it was going to be hard on Claire. She decided to have one of the cyborgs there take care of the notification. It should probably be the one closest to her on a personal level. The negative reaction would probably be a little less severe. She was sure if she delivered the news, there would be fire in Claire's eyes. She knew Claire would blame her. CamNet was the one responsible.

"I don't know where to look." Cameron said. "I'll have Hanna inform her mother."

Savannah felt the responsibility should fall to her to notify Claire. Young Allison and her were slated to spend their future together.

"I'll do it." Savannah said. "Young Allison is MY responsibility."

Cameron quickly looked over at Savannah. She could see the seriousness on her face. She wanted to ease her burden slightly. She knew where the real responsibility fell. It was her.

"Not yet she isn't." Cameron said. "She's my responsibility until you 'bond'."

Savannah saw differently. She wanted to tap more resources.

"She'll be MY responsibility. I need to look out for her." Savannah said. "I'll make the call to Claire. Get John Henry in on this too."

Cameron figured the call was going to be a tough one no matter who made it.

"Thanks." Cameron said. "This is one problem I didn't need."

Cameron continued to check with CamNet and John Henry.

Savannah felt very powerless as she watched Cameron check for any information.

"Has anyone found anything?" Savannah asked.

Cameron was as dismayed as she was proud of Young Allison's actions.

"Neither one of them has anything." Cameron said. "Young Allison has eluded them all."

Savannah was worried about Young Allison's safety. She knew she would come back sooner rather than later. It's what she hoped anyway. She didn't believe Skynet or Grays were currently the biggest threat to Young Allison. She believed it was sexual predators and sex traffickers. She was aware Young Allison would be highly prized by both groups. She would bring top dollar in any of those arenas. She did know one thing, there were going to be a lot of dead people before they got their hands on Young Allison.

It was clear to Young Allison she could pull her 'vanishing act' off. If a Terminator hadn't intercepted her yet, she believed they didn't know where to look. It was time to make her next move. The commuter train was already boarding. It would pull away from the station within a minute. It was time to move.

Young Allison was ready to board the commuter train. She stopped before she entered the door. She knew once she boarded the train, and it reached its destination, she would be able to 'disappear'. Something nagged at her from deep inside of her being.

It began to weigh on her as to what she did and the problems it would cause. It would cause everyone to worry and put a drain on the Resistance resources. She knew they would ALL come to look for her, every one of them. Cameron and Savannah as well as John were on an operation and she would draw away people at a critical time. It weighed heavily on her because she currently endangered John and Savannah right now.

She now began to realize it was all a big mistake. She moved off the platform and headed for a pay phone. She chose the number to call she believed would produce the least negative feedback towards her. She made a call to a 'drop number'. It was John Henry. She told him to stand everyone down and she would be home in a little while.

John Henry was surprised to receive the call. He instantly knew the location. He was only notified about the incident seconds ago by CamNet. It was all quite a surprise to him, including the phone call he just received. There was still no visual indication Young Allison was there.

"I know where you're calling from, but we haven't detected how you got there." John Henry said. "I'll have someone pick you up."

Young Allison didn't plan to be a bigger burden than she already was. She really didn't want to face anyone right now. She also wanted to give him one more thing to think about as well as the others.

"Are you sure you know where I am, or where I want you to think I am? I'll get home on my own." Young Allison said as she prepared to cut the connection. "I'll be back soon enough."

John Henry needed to think about her statement. Did she actually use some type of telephone repeater? If she did, he didn't have any indication of it. He also didn't have any positive hits of her in the vicinity of where the call came from. It was something he would need to look into further.

Young Allison made her way back to the bus stop and got on. She entered the same way she did last time. She still wanted to avoid detection and see how close she could get to her house. Savannah made it all the way into the house with Cameron acting as a distraction. Now it was her turn. The event could be turned into a test and learning experience for all of them. She believed the first part of the test was successful on her part.

She was sure she eluded everyone.

John Henry patched the call through to Cameron.

Cameron looked over and saw Savannah with her phone in her hand. She didn't want her to continue.

"Don't call Claire yet." Cameron said. "Young Alison is on her way back home."

Savannah was still concerned. She wanted to make a point.

"Is Young Allison home yet?" Savannah asked.

Cameron knew she wasn't. She understood Savannah indicated it wasn't over until it was over. She believed she knew what Young Allison would attempt to do next.

"No, but she's still avoiding detection." Cameron said. "I think she is going to try to infiltrate back into the house."

Savannah thought of her earlier escapade where she made it inside the house before she was stopped by a very naked Hanna with a Glock and Taser in her hands.

"Are you going to alert them?" Savannah asked.

Cameron hoped to turn it into a training exercise for everyone.

"No." Cameron said. "This will only add to her training, skill, and ability. She's obviously been quite successful so far."

Savannah was still worried because Young Allison didn't have Terminator protection.

"What about her safety?" Savannah asked.

Cameron didn't believe Young Allison was the one who would need to worry.

"I pity the fool who stands in her way." Cameron said. "Let's see what she can do."

Savannah didn't like to leave Young Allison vulnerable.

"I don't like it." Savannah said.

Cameron always felt a sense of pride with Young Allison.

"She's only just started to become who she will be." Cameron said. "She will be as close to River and me as humanly possible without any physical modifications. I would like to have been more directly involved when she did this. I would see it as a personal challenge. I would want her to defeat me. I know there are certain things River can defeat me at, they don't always need to be physical either."

Savannah could have done without some of the implications in the statement by Cameron. It was clear Cameron set some very high standards for Young Allison.

"Then I have some work to do to catch up." Savannah said.

Cameron felt a great sense of relief. She looked over at Savannah and smiled.

"You're perfect the way you are." Cameron said. "You're the 'Chosen One'."

Savannah didn't want to go there. She wondered if they would return to the operation.

"I don't know about it." Savannah said. "Is our flight canceled?"

Cameron hoped so. She would still try to get Savannah some additional flight time.

"For now it is." Cameron said. "We'll fly home when we're done here."

Savannah knew Young Allison would be better at her in everything if she wasn't already. She at least hoped her flying ability was still superior.

"It's one area I must still be better in than Young Allison." Savannah said.

Cameron flashed Savannah her sly smile.

"Are you sure?" Cameron asked.

Savannah's eyes widened.

"Oh - come on…!" Savannah said.

Cameron laughed.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

This Is Your Fault

It spreads like and infection
Through the mind it goes viral
The upward lift turns
Into a downward spiral

What was once grand
Magnificent and full of splendor
Becomes a shapeless mass
Run through life's blender

We grasp and we cling
There is nothing to grab
You can't adhere to emptiness
Only feel its endless stab

Rejecting what's before you
Leaving me befuddled
I try to make sense of it all
My thoughts bunched and huddled

See what you have done
Look at the result
You broke my heart
This is your fault

Nobody