Chapter 740

Wet Spot

John was worried about all the recent developments. It seemed a lot of things happened and there was no good explanation as to why. He was impressed with the way Savannah acted. She put his safety before her own. She was willing to use her own body to shield him. He felt it should have been the other way around. It wasn't.

He felt it really said something about her. A few seconds before, she was about to allow him to take her virginity, a few seconds later, she was going to give her life to protect him. How do you wrap your head around something like that? She was literally going to go all the way in whatever capacity she needed to do to serve him for his well being and survival.

John thought about the way the different Terminators who served with Savannah in combat came to him, individually on their own, and told him of Savannah's incredible bravery in the face of danger. He understood it meant enough to each of them to the point where they needed to say something. He wondered if it wasn't a way to tell him Savannah was in extreme danger by her actions. He saw it himself. Savannah cared deeply about those around her.

He needed to refocus.

It seemed whatever they were in the middle of, it wasn't an attack on them. At least not yet it wasn't. There was much more going on there than met the eye. It didn't mean they wouldn't get caught up in it. Since they responded to the events, they actually were caught up in it now, whether they wanted to be or not. It needed to be tied in to the enemy they sought currently, even if indirectly. It was all one in the same.

John didn't feel right about being on the receiving end of everyone else's protection. He didn't like to see Savannah and Gail need to protect him. He felt like he needed to do more. He was aware from Cameron's visits about the four Grays who were apprehended in a nearby room. There also appeared to be another male and female who were caught up in everything. Cameron wouldn't fill him in on the details. He decided it was time for action. He wanted to know a little bit more about what was going on.

"I'm going to check on what's happening in the other room, first hand." John said. "It's time I take a look."

Gail was troubled by what John just indicated. Cameron gave her specific orders to the contrary as to what John was allowed to do currently. She felt she needed to say something before he attempted to leave. She would need to prevent him from physically leaving the room. She took Cameron's instructions very seriously.

"Cameron instructed me you're to remain here." Gail said. "It's unsafe to move from this location at this time. We don't know the full extent of what's happening yet. There could be a follow up attack at any moment. If you leave the room before we know more, you'll be exposed."

John didn't like Cameron doting over his safety. He was supposed to be the leader. How could he lead if Cameron kept him safe all the time? He didn't like being told what he could do and couldn't do either. He wanted to make his status as the 'General' known.

"I want to see what's happening myself." John said. "I need to know. It's something I should be involved in so I can make the proper decisions."

Gail could see the situation was about to become a problem.

"You're to remain secure." Gail said. "Please, John. We need to know more about what is happening first. Cameron doesn't want you to become the target."

Savannah could see John was going to cause a problem for Gail if he tried to leave and go see what was happening. She didn't want any animosity or hard feelings on anyone's part over Cameron's orders. She knew Cameron's warning and Gail's enforcement of it was the correct thing for John currently. They simply didn't know enough. She would take the risk herself. She decided to act.

"John, you wait here." Savannah said. "I'll speak with Cameron and see what she wants to do. Gail is just doing her job. Don't cause a problem for her. We're all worried about your safety right now. We don't know what any of this is yet. I'm asking you to use a little common sense on this one right now. Let me see if I can get a better understanding of what's actually occurring and how safe it is for you to enter the target area."

She thought about telling John he could look at Gail's large breasts in her absence, but she didn't want to demean Gail in any way. She figured it was probably what he would do anyway. She really couldn't blame him, they were right there, and just about completely exposed.

John looked at Savannah and saw she tried to diffuse the situation. If this was only the start of something bigger, maybe he could wait a little while. If there was a team of Grays looking for them. They currently didn't know where he was at right now. Whoever was in charge of the group of Grays was going to know something went wrong fairly soon, if they didn't already. It was probably going to provoke a bigger response.

"I can wait a few minutes." John said as he nodded at Savannah. "I would like Cameron to contact me when she's available."

Gail continued her watch outside. She spoke with Cammy as well from time to time. They wanted to make sure there were no new threats which might develop. So far the situation outside hadn't changed very much. She was relieved Savannah intervened on her behalf. She knew it was done subtly so it wouldn't be a problem for anyone. She wanted to remind John of her situation.

"Thank you, John." Gail said. "I don't want to be deactivated."

John nodded at Gail when he saw she wasn't joking. He knew Terminators sometimes took things very seriously. What happened earlier appeared to be the case. Usually he encountered it with male Terminators. He needed to remember Gail was the most 'Terminator like' of the female Terminators. She wasn't even a Terminator. She actually was created as a Restorator by Mrs. Weaver. He didn't think Cameron would actually do it, but he did understand it could be a legitimate concern for the other Terminators. She did terminate other versions of 'herself'.

Savannah touched John's cheek and smiled at him.

'Thank you, John.' Was the feeling she conveyed.

She left their room and walked towards the other room. It was two doors down the row.

John watched her go. His hand touched the spot on his cheek where Savannah just touched. There was so much feeling in her touch. It said so much without a word being spoken. Savannah offered him everything, from herself to her life, in just a few seconds' time span. It was really something heavy to contemplate. He could see it was all done through love too.

He really wondered where all this would lead. Like so much they dealt with, there were many unknowns. He continued to listen to the com traffic which was rather sparse. No one picked up much of anything on the outside. Cammy was actually the only one who was still outside. He watched as Gail continued to monitor the front from their motel room window. He could see everyone was doing their job.

Ally kept watch out of the front of the motel room the Grays entered to attack. She checked to make sure no more Grays arrived and headed towards the room. It would be even worse if a hostile Terminator showed up. They needed some better answers.

She spotted Savannah approaching. She was a little concerned for her as she neared. It was only two motel room doors down from her position.

"Savannah's coming." Ally said.

Cameron looked at the four dead Grays. She terminated the last one as well. She grew tired of hearing him talk. He began to babble and ramble on incoherently. She was afraid Savannah would be upset or angry at her for what was already done. She hadn't expected Savannah to go to the other room.

There was another long muted scream from the bathroom.

Cameron wanted to terminate the female Gray before Savannah found her. She was still upset about what she believed was the earlier consummation of John and Savannah's long term passive relationship. She told herself it was what she wanted. She almost believed it now, almost. She tried to convince herself it was what was necessary. She knew she leaned on both John and Savannah for years to do what she believed was just done. She wondered if it was something they even would have wanted to do on their own if it hadn't been 'conditioned' into them for so long. Whatever happened, was her fault. She was the one who made it happen. She looked over at the terminated Grays. Whatever was there was her fault as well. She told Bob she wanted answers. She finally got some.

Ally opened the door to the room before Cameron made it to the bathroom. Savannah walked inside before she could tell Sheila to terminate the female Gray.

Savannah quickly looked around the room when she entered. It was obvious quite a bit went on in a relatively short amount of time. Then again, it's how things were done 'Terminator style'. She figured she better get straight to the point as to why she was there. If she wouldn't be there right now, John would be instead.

"Cameron, John wants to come down here and see what's happening first hand." Savannah said. "It was causing a problem for Gail. I told him I would come down here and check it out and make sure it was clear for him to come. He wants to see what's happening himself. He wants you to contact him when it's convenient for you. I see there are four dead."

Another muted scream came from the bathroom.

Savannah's head quickly turned in the direction of the sound. She reached for her weapons but didn't draw them. She noted none of the Terminators took a defensive posture when the scream was issued. Most likely it wasn't the first time. The more she thought about it, the more she realized it probably occurred many times.

"Who's in there?" Savannah asked.

Cameron was aware she just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She figured she might as well come clean and spill it. It was going to come out soon enough.

"Sheila is in there with a female Gray. She's being interrogated…." Cameron said.

Savannah started to go look. She wondered what Sheila was doing to her. It wasn't a pleasant thought. She thought she should check things out first hand herself. She was sure she was going to find a bloody mess. It didn't bother her so much. What she really feared she would find, was Sheila with a smile on her face, filled with a look of excitement.

Cameron knew Savannah tried to work with Sheila to tone down some of her interrogations, especially those against other females. She didn't want Sheila to take the rap for this one since she suggested Sheila do whatever she wanted to do to the female Gray. She was upset about what she believed occurred with John and Savannah in the other motel room. Maybe it was a way for her to deflect some of her feelings. Maybe she wanted someone to suffer.

"Savannah, don't." Cameron said. "I told Sheila to 'work' on her. I gave it my blessing. I wanted to find out how much danger John and you were actually in with whatever was going on here. The responsibility is mine. Don't take it out on Sheila."

It didn't take Savannah long to deduce Cameron's demeanor and why she probably okayed the enhanced interrogation.

"Is it because of John and me?" Savannah asked.

Savannah was sure Cameron wanted to hurt the Grays because she thought John and her were together.

Cameron thought about what Savannah said. It was true. It's why she allowed Sheila to go Scavenger on the female Gray. She actually encouraged it.

"Yes." Cameron said. "I wanted to hurt someone. I didn't know how to respond when the situation turned into what it turned into."

Savannah looked at the door to the bathroom and turned her attention back to the bed.

"What's the story with the guy on the bed?" Savannah asked.

Another muted scream came from the bathroom.

Savannah quickly looked in the direction again.

Cameron felt enough information was extracted from the property manager from the power plant. She believed his own fate was determined by his own actions. It was always the case.

"He's a collaborator, and dealing with the Grays. He got greedy and they came to kill him." Cameron said. "The female Gray used her body to keep him here until they could do whatever they were going to do. The female appears to work with the Grays on more of a 'contract basis'. Her motives are more monetary rather than ideological. She's still aware the Grays are up to 'no good', even if she doesn't know the full extent of what the 'no good' actually is. She knows people die when she's involved in detaining them. Sheila referred to her as a collaborator. I agreed. Sheila was to find out what other operations she was involved with related to the Grays."

Savannah looked at the man on the bed and turned her head back to the bathroom door before she faced Cameron. She understood anything dealing with the nuclear power plant was a serious situation. Skynet already attempted to sabotage it once.

"Do you have all the information?" Savannah asked.

Cameron didn't believe any of the men could tell her anymore, especially since four of them were dead.

"Yes." Cameron said.

Savannah looked at the condition of some of the four Grays who were against the wall in the room. She didn't like what she looked at. She understood terminations were necessary when dealing with Skynet forces. She thought how the termination occurred should actually be part of the equation.

"Then terminate him." Savannah said. "Do it quickly this time. Get it over with. If his actions have already determined his fate, carry out the sentence with efficiency."

Bob could tell Savannah was less than pleased about what occurred so far. He decided to act. He moved forward and snapped the property manager's neck.

"I'm responsible for the two men closest to the bathroom door." Bob said. "I needed to beat the information out of them. I did it when Cameron was busy elsewhere."

Savannah went towards the bathroom. She looked at the two men Bob indicated he terminated. They only appear to be beaten. The condition of the third man next to them was in much worse condition. She knew Cameron was responsible for the way he looked.

Cameron was a little concerned how Savannah looked at the two men she terminated. She didn't want Savannah to see what happened in the bathroom where Sheila was at. She was responsible for whatever happened in there as well.

"Savannah, don't look." Cameron said. "Please, don't look."

Savannah looked at Bob, Ally, and Cameron. It was time for her to make some decisions and add her input. She was pretty sure events would have been handled differently if she would have been at Cameron side for the last few minutes. It's where she should have been instead of in a bed with John.

"Tell John to come here and have Gail bring all our stuff, it's in the sheet." Savannah said. "Ally can help her and double check everything in the room. Make sure it's as safe as possible for John to make the move. Remember, this room still has a target painted on it."

Cameron could see where Savannah was headed. It didn't appear there's any way she was going to be able to stop her. She quickly communicated with Gail and sent Ally on her way to assist Gail and deliver John safely to the room.

Savannah paused at the bathroom door and composed herself. She decided she was going to assist Sheila. It was time to get her hand's 'dirty'. Sometimes they needed to find out what was going on to prevent worse things from happening. She didn't like it, but she understood.

She opened the bathroom door and prepared herself for the worst….

Moments ago:

John moved from his place of concealment on the floor behind the bed. He knew it upset Gail to expose himself more, but he felt he needed to do it. He moved to the window and watched Savannah depart to enter the room where all the activity occurred. Just a short time later he saw someone exit the room. He thought it was Cameron at first but looked a little harder before he spoke. He was glad he did.

"Ally's coming." John said. "Double check everything and bring it, let's move down to the other room."

Gail already received a communication from Cameron about what was going to happen. It bothered her about the earlier confrontation with John in regards to his safety. She felt she needed to address the situation.

"I'm sorry about earlier, John." Gail said. "I needed to carry out Cameron's instructions to help protect you."

John didn't want it to become an issue or a lingering problem.

"Don't worry about it." John said. "Cameron is looking after me, us. You are too. I understand there are certain precautions we need to go through when the situation is unknown. I would have to say this situation is about as unknown as it could be as to exactly what is going on. I know it's tied into whatever we were doing earlier, I don't know how."

Gail reflected on some of her conversations with Cameron. They were mainly in regards to Savannah. She felt the need to get Cameron's 'approval' before she expanded her relationship with Savannah. It didn't matter if all the other female Terminators already were with Savannah. She hadn't been. Cameron didn't discourage her from pursuing the relationship. Cameron told her she wanted all the love possible for Savannah. The unspoken part about the statement was it was all to be female love, except for John.

"Cameron is looking out for everyone." Gail said. "She loves both of you dearly."

John was still a little confused about what did or didn't happen earlier. He decided to go along with Savannah's plan to allow Cameron to believe something actually occurred when it didn't. He almost gave away the truth, but checked himself at the last moment.

"I know she does." John said. "We're trying to do what she believes she wants. I still don't think it is, but…."

Gail looked over at the bed. She was sure Savannah was now 'soiled'. She understood what Cameron wanted. She also believed Savannah should be allowed to make her own choices. She knew even if Savannah tried it, it didn't necessarily mean she would like it and go back for more. Then again maybe it would.

"It's too late now…." Gail said.

John looked over at the bed himself now. He was aware he was one second away from claiming Savannah's virginity, again. This time also ended in failure, as did the first time.

"Things happen." John said.

Ally came into the room.

John thought she really looked Hot wearing her skimpy bikini. It was very similar to the one Cameron wore. He actually thought it might be a little skimpier. He figured Ally may have done it so she could try to get some of the looks Cameron would get instead by showing a little more sheath material. He really wasn't sure how they could show much more and not be naked as it was.

Ally noticed both John and Gail looked like they were ready to leave. She looked over at the bed and the sheet full of clothes and weapons.

"Is everyone ready to move out?" Ally asked. "Is it all of our stuff?"

Gail was ready to leave the room.

"Yes. It's all of it." Gail said. "I double checked. Savannah missed nothing."

Ally figured out what was going on in the room with John and Savannah. She wanted to have some fun with John.

"Is it the top sheet or the bottom sheet?" Ally asked.

John looked over at the cache on the bed.

"It was the top sheet." John said. "Why?"

Ally looked at John with a straight face as she adjusted her bikini top, which momentarily exposed both of her breasts.

"The bottom one probably has a 'wet spot' on it." Ally said. "I just wondered. I didn't want any of our clothes to get messed up."

Gail was offended by what Ally said. It didn't matter if it was true or not. Savannah was a party to whatever occurred. She didn't want Savannah made fun of by anyone.

"Ally!" Gail said. "It's about Savannah as well. Stop it. I won't allow it."

Ally was a little indignant with the challenge and rebuke by Gail. She decided to have a little more fun. This time it was at Gail's expense.

"I forgot. You're in love with her too." Ally said.

Gail moved closer to Ally and took an aggressive stance. She would defend Savannah's honor.

John could see the situation was rapidly escalating into something it didn't need to be. It was even more so based on the fact they didn't even know what was happening yet.

"Both of you - STOP IT." John said. "Ally, take the stuff. Gail, check the bathroom and the room one last time"

John picked up the pillow as Ally picked up the sheet full of their things. John slid the pillow underneath it to the center of the bed. The move was intended to 'cover' what was not actually there. It was all part of the ploy to allow Cameron to believe he was with Savannah.

He knew Savannah was right about trying to take the pressure off of them. Making Cameron believe what she thought she wanted to happen would make her stop pushing so hard. Wait. He hoped it wouldn't make her push harder.

Ally headed out, followed by John. Gail would be right behind them after she checked the room one last time.

Savannah prepared herself for the worst as she stood outside of the bathroom. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

She opened the bathroom door.

Sheila's head snapped around. The smile on it slowly faded away.

"Savannah!" Sheila said quickly. "I needed to get some information."

Savannah looked at the scene. The woman was in the bathtub, she expected to see the woman covered in blood.

There was no blood. The female was only passed out currently.

Savannah reached out and hugged Sheila. She was pleased Sheila hadn't reverted to her earlier programming and allowed the 'Dark Jesse' to escape from inside of her. She was even more so pleased after Cameron earlier indicated it would be OK if she did.

"Thank you." Savannah said.

Sheila simulated her enhanced interrogation earlier with the female to make her believe it was what happened. The narrative, taunts and laughter all served to allow the female to believe she was being hurt worse than she was.

"I've tried to listen to you and improve myself. I want to be a better Terminator." Sheila said. "I want to please you and do the right thing, because it is the right thing."

Savannah wanted to take Sheila's statement one step further. She believed all the Terminators were individuals. She saw each one of them as a 'person', not as a machine. She never saw any of them as machines. If anything, she would consider them more as mechanical humans than as machines who looked like humans.

"You're a better 'Person'." Savannah said.

Cameron followed Savannah in and was as surprised as Savannah the woman hadn't been mutilated for information.

She was now ashamed she was the one to abuse someone. The Gray's insults hit home with her and she let the words get under her sheath. She was upset about what 'happened', even if it was what she wanted to happen. It was what needed to happen for the future. It was the 'Natural Order'.

Cameron was worried Savannah hadn't appeared to enjoy 'being with' John. She knew Savannah's preference was for females, not males. It was part of it. She would encourage them to do it more often and maybe Savannah would change her mind. She needed to talk to Vanna about it, or Future Savannah. Future Savannah would know better on how to 'guide' Savannah. From her time in her future, she knew Future Savannah was only with Future John about one out of every five times Future Allison was. It was clear it was something she would do. It was also clear it wasn't her first choice. Future Allison was, along with Duplicate Cameron.

Sheila noted Cameron appeared two seconds later after she saw Savannah.

"Cameron, I've extracted some information." Sheila said.

Cameron thought it was good news. She still wanted the female Gray terminated before Sheila did have a chance to go Scavenger on her since Savannah was there. If Sheila did it now, it would be for fun and amusement, rather than to gather intelligence and other information.

"She'll need to be terminated." Cameron said.

Savannah could see Cameron was anxious to terminate the female Gray. She could see the female was young and beautiful. She wondered if the intel was correct. It didn't seem like it. She certainly didn't appear to be anyone back from the future. Then again, Skynet didn't seem to have any trouble rounding up recruits locally. It was something Cameron reported on since they did their temporal jump into the future from 1999 to 2007.

"Is she really a Gray?" Savannah asked.

Sheila's interrogation revealed she was by practice if nothing else.

"She's a Gray. She knows she worked for people who were up to no good." Sheila said. "She knows they're from the future and she knows about Skynet. She was a 'street walker' who sought 'better employment'. She services all the Grays and stays with them. This was another 'assignment' outside of their hideout. She's a Gray and knows too much about all this. She's seen way too much since her involvement with the Grays and at their various hideouts."

It was one issue Cameron wanted to deal with personally. She also uncovered the location of a hideout.

"I already have the location of their hideout." Cameron said. "The last Gray gave it to me. He gave me a lot of information."

Savannah untied the woman's hands. She noticed irregularities on the female's arms

"What are those marks all over both her arms?" Savannah asked.

Sheila was able to scan the problem through the female before the female admitted to what else she was doing.

"They're needle tracks." Sheila said. "They have her strung out on drugs. She's a junkie."

Savannah began to wonder if the female was more of a victim than a participant. Either way, it still seemed she knew way too much.

"Did she do this by choice?" Savannah asked.

Cameron didn't want to have this discussion. She tried to change the direction it was headed.

"Once someone is addicted, they'll do ANYTHING for their next fix." Cameron said. "I've seen it in some of the girls I've freed from the sex trade. I've ended up freeing several of them two and three times. They turn right back around and do the same thing over again. I found more than a few of their bodies later on at different locations. It's how they died."

Sheila reached down and took the woman's head in her hands. She was going to snap her neck.

Savannah saw what was about to happen.

"Wait." Savannah said.

Cameron was worried about the hesitation by Savannah. She pointed out the obvious facts related to them. She wondered if Savannah would be open to a more 'peaceful' termination.

"She's seen our faces." Cameron said. "Find her 'kit' and I'll overdose her instead."

Sheila still wanted to snap her neck.

"She's complacent in all of this." Sheila said.

Cameron wanted to make the choice the female already made clear and remind everyone.

"She's the one who chose the lifestyle." Cameron said.

Savannah thought there could be dozens of variables involved. Maybe it bothered her because the female was young and beautiful.

"You don't know what happened in her past. What if she was abused and felt it was all she was good for, or if she was forced into the sex trade?" Savannah asked. "What if the drugs were the only way she could 'escape'?'

Sheila felt the writing was clearly on the wall. She dealt with dozens a female's in similar situations over the years. Some people didn't want to be reformed. They liked their chosen lifestyle. She knew where the lifestyle lived in the future. The 'Jesse files' in her system were proof of it.

"She'll never get off of drugs or change her source of employment. She's a Gray." Sheila said. "If she wasn't a Gray she would end up as a Scavenger after Judgment Day."

Savannah listened to Cameron and Sheila. She looked at the young beautiful female.

"This isn't right." Savannah said.

Sheila decided to introduce some alternatives which could be done to the female Gray to render her as a threat going forward less of a problem.

"I can bust her up." Sheila said. "I can blind and paralyze her."

Savannah wondered if it wouldn't be better to be dead, than all but completely useless. There was a difference from being alive, to being able to live.

"What kind of life would it be?" Savannah asked.

Cameron didn't want Savannah to forget what the future held. It was death and destruction from Skynet.

"Skynet and its operatives can be shown no mercy." Cameron said.

Savannah knew they were going to kill the female no matter what. She could order them to release her, but she wasn't going to do it. If they wanted the girl dead then she would take the responsibility herself.

"I'll do it." Savannah said.

Savannah reached for her Glock. She didn't want the gunshot to be heard. She hesitated and picked up the knife and moved closer to the woman. She was still hesitant.

Cameron wanted it to be a teachable moment for Savannah. Not all the choices in life were easy. Some were very hard.

"It is time for a hard choice, Savannah." Cameron said. "She's seen us and can describe and identify us. She can talk to the authorities. The Grays will find her and string her back out on drugs. She'll give us up for an armful of 'junk'. She's a Gray and she's a threat. None of us are safe going forward."

Savannah knew Cameron was right.

"I'll do it then." Savannah said. "Drag her out of the tub."

Sheila lifted her out and placed her on the floor.

Savannah moved over on top of her. She touched her face.

"Her blood will be on my hands. I think this is wrong, but I know you're right. I must protect John and the future." Savannah said. "I need to be reminded of the cost of holding Skynet in check on a personal level."

The woman's eyes opened and she stared at Savannah. She grabbed for her throat.

"I'll kill you first." The female said with crazed anger. "You redheaded Bitch."

Savannah knocked the woman's hands off her throat and grabbed her throat now instead. She moved forward and pinned her arms down with her knees.

Sheila held the woman in place. She couldn't struggle free or move from side to side. She was immobilized on the ground.

Savannah began to choke the woman to death with her hands.

"There can be no mercy for Skynet." Cameron said. "She would kill you if she could. She already tried."

Cameron put her hands over Savannah's hands.

Savannah felt the pressure of Cameron's hands over hers as the choking continued. The life slowly faded from the woman's eyes as the struggling stopped. Cameron held the pressure over Savannah's hands for a while longer. It was the only way to be sure.

Cameron released Savannah's hands.

Savannah released her hands from the woman's throat and touched the dead woman's cheek.

"I'm sorry." Savannah said as she stood and exited.

Cameron wanted to remind Savannah of the reality of the future.

"It was you or her." Cameron said. "She was going to kill you."

John watched from the other room but said nothing. He moved away before Savannah noticed he saw her. It was a grim reminder to him of the time he needed to do almost the same thing on his sixteenth birthday. It was all a time he wanted to forget, but never could.

He needed to kill two people that day. One of them was Cameron.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

I Won't Ask You Again

When down is now up
And up is down
What once was a smile
Soon becomes a frown

Few things in life
Turn out to be easy
Some make me queasy
Some are very sleazy

I know I'm not
What you first thought
More than you can ever learn
I've already forgot

I'm here to claim
What is rightfully mine
It matters not if it takes
Until the end of time

I've made it very clear
From when this all begin
If you reject me for them
I won't ask you again

Nobody