Chapter 756

Hold Your Fire

Savannah was even more alert than she previously was. There was a real threat now. It was at least the unknown.

Cammy indicated someone was coming. It could be their team. It could be Grays. Maybe this was the moment of truth. They would know in seconds. It was clear one drone was now in gun range to back them up.

The area outside of the bunker was quiet. There was a gentle breeze from the sea. It was several miles to the west. The moonlight was bright. Every now and then a cloud would drift in front of the Moon and reduce the level of light considerably. There was the faint glow of light from the breach in the corner of the bunker from inside.

Cammy and Savannah were behind the bodies of the dead Grays. They use their bodies like sandbags for cover. They were there to stop bullets if it became necessary. The seconds ticked by as they waited. They held their weapons trained on the opening the team created in the corner of the bunker. They already agreed to let whoever it was come out first so they could shoot more of them. If they shot the first person who started to come out, no one else would venture out. If the first person made it out, the others would follow behind them.

There were faint images starting to appear in the moonlight.

Cammy could see Savannah was keyed up. She was able to do visual recognition scans. Her level of anticipation went down considerably.

"Hold your fire, Savannah." Cammy said. "It's our team. They are on the way out."

Savannah stuck with protocol

"Chartreuse…." Savannah called out.

There was no pause or delay in the response.

"Bison…." Was the answer back.

Savannah and Cammy still held their weapons ready. They weren't taking any chances.

Frank led the team out. He wanted to deliver Cameron's order.

"We're withdrawing." Ken said. "You two are to leave the area immediately."

Savannah looked around. She didn't see Cameron. She didn't see Tom either. She took it as both a good and a bad sign. Tom did as she asked. It also meant he was still with Cameron, wherever she was at. She sensed there was a problem. Why would they need to leave immediately?

"What's wrong?" Savannah asked. "Where's Cameron?"

Ken didn't want a problem. It was his duty to relay the message. He wanted to make it clear.

"Cameron remained inside, she ordered everyone to withdraw." Ken said. "Cammy and you are to leave immediately. Those were her specific instructions."

Savannah was a little worried because he only mentioned Cameron's name. The fact Tom wasn't there said a lot based on the assignment she gave him. She was more than a little concerned.

"Where's Tom?" Savannah asked.

Ken was worried things were going to get touchy.

"He said he received orders not to leave Cameron unattended." Ken said. "He said they were from you."

Savannah wanted to make herself clear. It wasn't an actual order. It was more of a personal request.

"He was not to leave Cameron alone." Savannah said. "I asked him to stay with her at all times. He is free to leave if he chose to do so. I made it clear to him."

Cammy listened to Savannah. She knew every Terminator would follow Savannah's 'request' as if it was an 'order'. When the 'Chosen One' spoke, every machine listened. All of them wanted to do the things she requested. They all believed they were very important, otherwise the 'Chosen One' wouldn't have mentioned them.

Savannah saw the Terminators begin to gather up the dead Grays and toss them inside the bunker. It was good to get them out of the way. Doing it however indicated they expected something to happen to the bunker. It must be something catastrophic. She needed some more information. She wondered if Cameron asked for one of her Nike warheads to be delivered. She indicated she was in possession of additional nuclear weapons, both smaller and larger.

"What's Cameron doing?" Savannah asked. "Has she asked for any additional weapons, or explosive devices?"

Ken could only tell her what little he knew.

"She's looking for the source of the heat and any version of Skynet." Ken said. "Neither were located before we were instructed to leave."

A 'sick' feeling grabbed Savannah's gut. She remembered the heat build up inside of the mine. She believed it was her fault for cutting off the power to the mine. She knew what the end result was. She needed to know more immediately.

"What heat?" Savannah asked.

She knew the answer before she asked the question.

Ken wanted to get Savannah away from there. He felt it was his responsibility since Cameron specifically told him to make sure it happened.

"There's a massive heat build up. It increased the lower we went inside of the bunker." Ken said. "It's why we were ordered to withdraw. You and Cammy must leave the area."

Savannah gritted her teeth some. She promised to never abandon Cameron. She wasn't about to start now. She didn't plan to go anywhere. She wanted everyone to understand exactly what her position was.

"I'm not leaving unless Cameron is here." Savannah said. "Nobody is going to make me leave either. I need to make sure you all understand how it's going to be. I will not leave this location unless Cameron is with me. I'm worried about Tom as well."

Cammy could see there was going to be a problem with Savannah's and Cameron's instructions. She tried to stay out of the conversation. She took the satchel of phones from Frank and attempted to see if one would work. They were all of the phones collected earlier. She tried to see if anything worked since all their communication gear was fried. Nothing worked outright. She wanted to try a different idea.

"I think I can make one of these phones work off our drones, like a repeater." Cammy said as she tried to make it work.

Savannah was worried about Cameron. She knew it was a repeat of the mine episode about to unfold. She knew how it ended. She wasn't about to let Cameron stay inside and end up getting terminated inside there. She wanted Cammy to know too.

"Cammy, this is like the mine we were in." Savannah said. "It's going to end the same way. I need to go after Cameron. We can't delay. We need to be able to reach her and get back out. There's no way for us to communicate with her other than to physically go there. I'm going to do it myself."

Cammy felt a glitch impulse. She could see Savannah was clearly upset because Cameron was still inside. If it was going to end like the mine episode, she wanted Savannah as far away from there as possible. She decided she would go in alone so Savannah could get to safety. She was in the mine too, she knew how it ended. She suppressed another glitch impulse. This location would probably be no different. What she wanted to be the same, was for them to be out of it and away from it, when whatever was inside of it reached its critical stage and exploded. She looked at Savannah in the moonlight.

"I'll go after her. I won't stop until I find her and deliver your message to her." Cammy said. "You must withdraw."

Savannah appreciated Cammy's offer. She didn't want Cammy to sacrifice herself for her. It didn't matter. She was going after Cameron herself. She wasn't sure Cameron would listen to anyone else, even if they relayed her instructions to her.

"I'll go alone." Savannah said. "I won't leave Cameron in there to die. I won't allow you to sacrifice yourself either."

Cammy hoped Savannah listened to herself. She didn't want her dead either.

The Terminators tossed the last of the dead Grays inside. They collected all the serviceable weapons. The damaged ones were tossed inside of the bunker. The only thing left outside of the bunker was blood soaked into the dirt, parts of human skulls, and the matter once contained within them. The wild animals would take care of those remains.

Cammy still fooled with one of the phones. She made some progress.

"I have one phone working." Cammy said as she put it on speaker phone.

They were able to reach the Resistance base.

John Henry already reviewed the drone images.

"Where's Cameron?" John Henry asked. "I haven't spotted Cameron or Tom."

Cammy kept things simple.

"She's still inside, with Tom." Cammy said. "She hasn't completed her mission yet. There are a few more things she needed to check on before she withdraws. Everyone else should be able to depart the area."

Savannah remained out of the conversation as Cammy updated John Henry with all of his specific questions. There was one thing she wanted to do. She wanted to personally update John. No. It wasn't wanted, it was needed.

"Where's John?" Savannah asked. "I need to speak with him."

John Henry didn't think now was a good time. He was worried John would become distracted. He didn't want to disregard Savannah's request. He did want to inform her what the current situation was with John first. If she insisted, he would make the connection.

"John's on an operation which is about to go hot. They have one of the big rigs we were tracking under surveillance." John Henry said. "They're in pursuit of it. They just took out an ambush set up for them. They're worried about any others which may already be in place. They're about to make their move."

Savannah felt it was important. There were some things she needed to discuss.

"See if he is available." Savannah said. "I'd like to talk with him. I feel it is important."

John Henry contacted John and quickly filled him in.

John was a little concerned about the situation with Cameron. He felt whatever Savannah needed to say was directly related.

"Let me speak with Savannah." John said.

A few seconds later John responded.

"What is it, Savannah?" John asked.

Savannah wanted to keep it simple.

"It's Cameron. She's deep inside the bunker and going deeper. There's a massive heat build up." Savannah said. "I'm going after her. I'm not going to leave her there. I can't leave her there. I won't leave her there."

John didn't know much. He did know a bad idea when he heard one. He wanted to remain diplomatic.

"You need to worry about yourself too." John said. "The heat may adversely affect you. Cyborgs are designed to operate under more extreme conditions than humans are capable of. It's something you need to remember. I don't think it's a good idea."

Savannah knew what she needed to do. Nothing was going to change her mind. Nobody could stop her.

"What is a good idea anymore?" Savannah asked. "You know I'm still going to do it anyway."

Savannah was done with her conversation with John.

Cammy took the phone and filled John and John Henry in on all the details she was aware of after speaking with the Terminators who just exited. The more they heard, the less they seemed to like what she told them.

While Cammy was still on the phone, Savannah told the rest of the Terminators to return the bulldozer and withdraw as Cameron ordered them to do. She asked them to inspect the bulldozer for any damage. She wanted them to fix anything damaged once it was returned to wherever they found it. She planned to ask CamNet to procure a new one if it was severely damaged.

The Terminators looked hesitant. They didn't want to leave Savannah. They knew Cameron wanted her taken to safety. They didn't want to leave her either.

"What about you?" Ken asked.

Savannah felt a little resigned.

"You all know what I need to do." Savannah said.

Frank wanted to point out alternatives.

"We can do it." Frank said.

Savannah didn't want to be rude. There were still several grim possibilities to think about.

"Can you?" Savannah asked. "Will she listen to you? She won't listen to anyone else but me. Maybe she won't listen to me one day. Maybe it's today. I really don't know. I do know what I need to do. I know I'm the only one who can do it. We all do."

Cammy handed the phone back to Savannah, she looked less than thrilled.

"The General would like to converse with you further." Cammy said.

Savannah smiled at Cammy as she took the phone. She knew Cammy was upset because John wanted to speak with her again. It would probably be a little more private this time. She turned her back to her.

"John…." Savannah started.

John understood what Savannah felt. He did as well. He wasn't there to argue with her. He already made his protest earlier. He knew how things worked once someone already made up their mind. He was guilty of the same thing himself on multiple occasions. He decided to keep it short and sweet.

"I know, Savannah. I do too…." John said. "Go get OUR mate."

Savannah was glad no explanation was necessary. It didn't seem at this point there needed to be one. It was all going to happen sooner or later. There wasn't going to be a missing piece to the 'Natural Order'. She didn't plan to take anyone's Duplicate Cameron from them either. Cameron was going to be there with them.

"I know you understand." Savannah said.

John did understand. Maybe it's what made it worse. There were certain things an individual needed to do regardless of how everyone else thought or felt about them. They weren't necessarily always right either. It was still what the person needed to do.

"I do." John said.

Savannah wondered if his statement contained a double meaning. She wanted hers to have one.

"I do - too." Savannah said.

The call ended.

Cammy and Savannah watched as the bulldozer was moved away. One of their Terminators tossed the burnt dead Gray who was half under the tread inside before they left. They watched the bulldozer clank away with Terminators in front and in back of it. They disappeared from view. The rest of the team was gone.

Savannah wanted everyone protected including the drones. She was concerned for all of the machines.

"Have one drone go with them." Savannah said. "The other two which remain here with us, need to move to a wider sweep and higher altitude, just in case. They should be able to record whatever happens, even if they're forced back into an autonomous mode from some other type of energy discharge. We still don't know what the first one was."

They still needed to worry about Grays coming out in a different place and closing the door on their exit. More reinforcements could arrive at any time or hostile HK drones could make an appearance. There was a lot going on and it could all end badly.

Savannah knew all those things. They didn't matter. She needed to get Cameron out. It was the only thing which mattered. Without Cameron, there was no future.

"I'll mention again, you don't need to go, Cammy." Savannah said.

Cammy was aware of the fact Savannah didn't order her to leave. She wanted to get started before Savannah did.

"Are you ready?" Cammy asked. "It's time to go."

Savannah looked around and waited a few seconds longer.

No energy bubbles appeared.

"Let's go." Savannah said.

It gave Savannah a little more confidence they might not be terminated going into the bunker since there were no energy bubbles. There was still no guarantee they made it. As far as they knew whatever happened, or whatever they did, could trigger Judgment Day. Everything would be different if it occurred.

Everything was in flux and fluid. Into the bunker they went without hesitation.

Down the rabbit hole they went.

Bob heard everything John set up. He didn't agree with all of it. He didn't say anything during the actual conversation. He felt it was appropriate to say something anyway, once the call was ended.

"It's risky for both of them." Bob said.

John thought it was risky. He didn't want Savannah to do it. He also knew there was no stopping it. There was no need to make a big deal about it. Nothing was going to change.

"It's going to happen anyway." John said. "It doesn't matter what I disapprove of."

Bob still felt John was willing to short cut for his personal benefit. He believed it was important John saw what he really wanted.

"You want Cameron back." Bob said. "You're willing to risk Savannah to do it."

John knew it was true to a certain extent. He saw it all differently. He wasn't willing to sacrifice Savannah at all. He knew what Cameron was after. Reports from the Terminators who came out of the bunker made it clear. She wanted whatever version of Skynet was there. She wanted to know if there was a giant power cell, or the new version of some TDE. He knew Cameron was very goal oriented.

"Savannah will use caution and good judgment." John said. "She's the best person for the job. Nobody else there can get Cameron out. I think it's safe to say it's something we can all agree on, even if we don't agree about anything else happening there."

The situation where they were with the big rig continued to develop.

Steve could see two vehicles behind him.

"John, I can see your team closing on me." Steve said.

Bob made the spot at the same time.

"I see him up ahead." Bob said.

John wanted to come up with a plan.

"Steve, I want you to pass them and get ahead of them." John said. "I want your vehicle in front of the big rig before we make our move. There may be more than one way to stop it when the time is right."

John Henry knew everything in front of them.

"There will be a few turns in the road coming up." John Henry said. "The area is only farmland."

The Metal girls came up with their own plan. They wanted to show John they could pull things off too. They didn't want him to 'baby' them because of their female attributes. They viewed them as assets, not liabilities. It wouldn't be too hard to document the female body was superior for everything sexually related than the male body was with its limited ability and low endurance rate. It applied to a human female. They were female cyborgs, which made them even more superior.

"Let us get ahead of big truck." Ally said. "We'll make sure they see it's a couple of females. They'll feel less threatened. I'm sure we can make them think something different than whatever they thought before they realized it was just a couple of 'girls'. They will become very distracted."

John Henry thought the plan might work. He already could think of several possibilities to move the operation forward.

"Their idea has merit, John." John Henry said.

John was willing to give it a try.

"Do it, Ally." John said. "Steve, we're with you now. The girls will take the lead."

Steve looked over at Al. They weren't sure where things were headed. The Metal girls could operate quite illogically at times. It's what made them blend in better with humans.

"Affirmative…." Steve said.

The Metal girls formulated a plan. They knew what worked well among sex traffickers and drug dealers. Grays would respond accordingly. All males wanted the same thing. The little head would always do the thinking for the big head when the situation presented itself.

"I know how to make them feel less threatened." Sheila said.

Sheila started to remove her gear.

Gail seldom went on Cameron's 'off the books' operations. The main reason was to keep Jesse from going on them with her. They dealt with enough of their preemptive future Scavenger activity on their own. She didn't think now was the time for Sheila to fool around.

"What are you doing?" Gail asked. "We need to be combat ready."

Sheila would be combat ready, even if she didn't look like it.

"I'm taking my top back off." Sheila said. "They'd never expect a Terminator, or the Resistance, to act in such a manner. They'll think we're a couple of local girls who probably drank a little too much earlier on. They'll be thinking about how it would be possible to get a little bit more of what they currently viewed."

Ally knew how Sheila rolled. She could distract anyone, even other Terminators. She didn't mind taking a little jab at Sheila in the process.

"She has a point there." Ally said. "Only crazy people act like her. It's why they lock them up in the 'nut house'."

Sheila didn't see it as 'crazy'. She saw it as inventive.

"Hey…." Sheila said. "I always make it happen. Everyone buckles in my presence when I want them to. Sometimes I need to push it a little further."

Gail moved over to pass alongside Bob's SUV.

"I'm going to pass John." Gail said.

Sheila gently tugged on her nipple rings.

"How do I look?" Sheila asked.

Ally thought she looked Hot. She still wanted to rib her a little.

"You look like you should be arrested." Ally said. "Maybe even be put into a mental institution. A padded cell would be best."

Sheila looked at Ally with a stern look.

"I'm going to remember what you said." Sheila said.

Ally didn't want Sheila to get flustered.

"Relax." Ally said. "You know you look like dynamite. I'm just a little firecracker next to you."

Sheila smiled at Ally. She liked to be seen and noticed.

"We'll let Bob and John decide." Sheila said.

Ally didn't think so.

"Don't overdo it." Ally said.

Gail pulled alongside of Bob and John.

Sheila rolled down the window and leaned out as she blew them a kiss.

John was a little surprised when he first viewed her. He understood it would be quite a distraction for anyone. He gave her a 'thumbs up'.

Gail moved in front of Bob and John.

Ally spotted what Steve's vehicle was. It gave her a new idea.

"Steve has a pick up truck." Ally said. "I'll jump in the back of it from the sliding door of the van. Catch up to him and pull up alongside of him. I'll surprise him."

Gail looked back at Ally. Maybe Sheila wasn't the only one who belonged in a mental institution. She wasn't sure a mental institution would be able to hold either one of them.

"Why would you need to do it?" Gail asked.

Ally was aware Cameron used a similar plan before.

"When Sheila flashes the driver of the truck, I'll have Steve close up on the back of the truck. I'll climb on top of it from Steve's hood."

John thought it was risky but knew Cameron did it before. It was a smaller truck, but the principal was the same. He wanted to make sure the size of the big rig wouldn't become a problem.

"Can you do it safely?" John asked.

Sheila tried to sound surprised.

"I didn't know you were still there." Sheila said.

Sheila knew he was.

Ally was acquainted with the procedure.

"I bet." Ally said. "I can do it, John. It won't be the first big truck I've done this on. I took a load of drones before. I was inside the back of it. I'll just need to make a little jump onto this one first, and then be in the same situation."

John was aware Ally did do it before. So did Cameron. He wanted her to have a little insurance. He would like to take the load intact, rather than have the big rig 'jack knife' in the process.

"OK." John said. "I'll have Al go with you. You can each take a side."

Ally felt she didn't need help.

"I can do it alone." Ally said.

John wanted to have things go smoothly.

"I know you can, but Al will still accompany you." John said. "It will make things happen faster."

Bob wanted to give all of their egos a reminder.

"Sometimes it's nice to have help." Bob said.

Ally knew Bob was right. She didn't want to cause John any extra grief.

"OK, John." Ally said. "Al can give me a boost. I'll give him a hand."

John and Bob watched as Gail pulled up next to Steve. Al was already in the back of the pick-up truck waiting for Ally. She opened the sliding door and leaped over into the back of the truck. Al was there to grab her.

Ally was in Al's arms.

"You can 'cop a feel' if you want." Ally said.

Al looked at her, but didn't.

John heard everything in the exchange.

"The Metal girls really are something else." John said.

Bob spent a lot of time around the human females at the Resistance base.

"They're like the human girls, but without morals or scruples." Bob said. "They would make excellent lovers for a human. They have no inhibitions and are open to 'anything'. They are extremely well adapted to their environment in every respect."

John nodded in the darkness. He knew all he needed to do was 'ask', and all of the Metal girls would willingly comply with his desires.

"I think Claire found it out with Hanna." John said.

He was sure Claire explored everything possible with a female body with Hanna. He didn't know Holly switched with Hanna two nights a week, and the other Metal girls all visited Claire as well. So did Vanna and Jesse. He didn't know Claire was the most preferred person to be with.

John still wondered about it. He was sure Cameron used female Terminators to control everyone through sex. He thought maybe even him. Maybe it was in their programming. Maybe it was an effective strategy and an efficient use of their assets. It would be hard for anyone to turn them down without a good reason. He only was able to turn them down because he didn't want to hurt Cameron. His stint with Future Riley put the brakes on everything else going forward, even if it's what everyone wanted to happen, including Cameron.

Sheila already moved to the back of the van. She closed the sliding door of the van as soon as Ally jumped to the back of the pick-up truck. She then returned to her position in the passenger's seat.

Gail continued passing the pick-up truck. She moved in front of it.

The van was now in front of Steve's truck. It effectively blocked what was happening with the truck. Ally and Al scrambled over the cab and were now perched on the hood. Steve closed up on the van to keep Ally and Al hidden from view. The pick-up was inches behind the van.

The van closed on the big rig. Steve's truck was right behind the van. This way they hoped the Terminators on the hood wouldn't be seen by the occupants of the big rig. They all took a risk.

When they were less than a car length from the rear of the big rig, Gail moved to pass it. It allowed Steve's truck to move up directly in back of the big rig, unseen. He was now inches behind it. There was no way they could be seen from the cab or the side mirrors.

Gail pulled alongside the big rig's cab and Sheila looked up and tugged on her nipple rings for the driver to see. The passenger soon leaned over to see as well. It was clear neither occupant of the big rig looked back, or in their mirrors. Their thoughts were clearly elsewhere now.

Gail relayed the message. It was a go.

Ally prepared to go first.

Al felt it was his responsibility.

"I'll go first." Al said.

Ally was about to protest.

Al thought of the appropriate response.

"It will be easier for me to 'cop a feel' this way." Al said.

Ally smiled and laughed. She waived her hand for Al to go first

Al jumped off the hood of Steve's truck and caught the back of the trailer and pulled himself up. He rotated around and laid flat on the roof. When Ally jumped up he grabbed her hand and swung her on top next to him.

John Henry watched it all go down from the drone footage.

"They're on." John Henry said. "They made it look like they do it everyday."

Ally heard what he said.

"Just don't say we look like circus performers." Ally said.

Steve didn't want to be spotted.

"I'm going to stay right behind the truck." Steve said. "He can't see me this close."

From John's position it appeared they were touching.

"How close are you?" John asked.

Steve didn't see it as a problem.

"I'm one foot from the back of the trailer, I can match his speed." Steve said. "I can make any correction to stay this distance. It would only be if he impacted something, and rapidly slowed or stopped, where I would have trouble compensating for it."

Sheila waved 'bye' to the truck driver and Gail sped ahead with the van.

Gail didn't want to get too far ahead of the big rig, or tip their hand.

"How long will it be until we can set up a stop?" Gail asked.

John hoped to take it on the move.

"If everything goes as planned, the big rig may not need to stop." John said. "That's until we can find a secluded place to go through it."

All the pieces were in play to commandeer the big rig. For once it looked like everything worked out smoothly, at least on this operation. They should have control of the first of the trucks soon.

Bob was still worried it was all one big ruse.

"What happens if it is empty?" Bob asked.

The thought hadn't occurred to John for a long time. He was sure they were on to a solid target.

"I don't know." John said. "I thought we were following a good lead. Maybe the Grays already unloaded the cargo and this is another decoy."

John wished Bob would have said something about this sooner, or not at all. He felt very deflated right now. Now he felt even less sure about Cameron's operation. She was off in the unknown, and Savannah would soon be with her.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

It'll Always Be There

Like water in the ocean
Or a mountain of stone
Against all odds
I will stand alone

What is meant to be
Can never change
Coming from me
Is it really so strange

When a ship hits a rock
It's going to sink
When it comes to me
You know you need rethink

I'll take the blows
I'll take the stabs
Hit me with your best shot
I can take all the jabs

The love you tried to ignore
The love I want to share
No matter what happens
It'll always be there

Nobody