Chapter 1631

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Young Jesse could see the sun was about to go down. She knew the other girls wanted to hit the Strip. She wanted to check it out and see what it was like for herself. She wasn't impressed with her earlier view in the daytime. Some of the locations between the big casinos really look like run down slums. She knew they were in every big city. It didn't matter where in the world they were located. Somehow it just looked more out of place with big giant casinos and all the luxury associated with them scattered amongst them. Laura said things picked up at night. It would be night soon.

She viewed plenty of impressive pictures taken at night of Las Vegas as well as other famous cities. Photographers were very good at capturing the best images they could to represent the locations. She was sure there was more than a little editing on most occasions, especially modern images. It wasn't always the case in historic images. It seemed they were good locations to be found in almost every big city which were very photogenic. There were also locations in every city which were trouble. It really made her wonder about the intelligence of those in charge who allowed crime to proliferate, especially if they knew exactly where it originated from. It would be the root of the Scavenger problem in the future. She heard all the stories from the girls from the future about how things would deteriorate, and the abuse they would need to suffer.

She heard Sheila's comment about looking for the Syndicate. She wasn't sure it was a good idea with the other girls along. Anything they were involved with wouldn't be linked directly to the future. It would only have an indirect link as in future Scavengers. She didn't have a problem with their desire to 'hurt' the Syndicate. Criminals were criminals and nothing good ever came out of them, especially organized crime. The institution was more the problem than the individuals associated with it. Again, she wondered why those in power allowed such illicit organizations to continue to exist. They knew where they were located and who was involved with them. No doubt there were more than a few 'greased palms' involved.

It was a well known fact the Syndicate had informants in every type of police department, including the FBI. Once someone took money from either greed or coercion, they would need to continue to serve their new master or face being exposed and prosecuted for what they did. Blackmail was the backbone of the Syndicate. When the threat of being exposed wasn't enough, the enforcers were sent in to take care of the problem. It always set an example others would need to fear on both counts, exposure or death. It was usually a very gruesome and painful death.

The girls left the battlefield theme park in Vegas behind. They were in three SUVs.

Cammy, Mary, and Tricia were in one SUV.

Ally, Laura, and Holly-Cam were in the SUV Sheila drove earlier.

Sheila and Leticia let them borrow their SUV so they could ride with Hanna-Camille and Young Jesse.

There were two Terminators with each group of girls.

They were ready for a new adventure. They hoped it wasn't to tangle with the Syndicate like Sheila indicated.

Leticia wanted to ride in the back with Young Jesse.

Hanna-Camille and Sheila were both a little jealous. There wasn't much they could do about it because it was a suggestion to them from CamNet.

Sheila knew exactly what she wanted to do.

"Let's hit the casino we took down." Sheila said. "I want to make a statement there. I want to win big again."

Leticia wasn't sure it was a good idea.

"Do you mean you want to go back to the casino you robbed?" Leticia asked. "It seems more like a place you should avoid. What happens if they recognize you?"

Sheila didn't see it as a big deal.

"We won fair and square." Sheila said. "We only used our natural ability. The Syndicate is the one who made the challenge, not us. We won, they lost. When they tried to take our money from us, we took theirs instead. I don't see how there is anything wrong with it. A few thugs were terminated along the way. It was no loss to society, and a benefit to the future."

Hanna-Camille wasn't sure she wanted to expose Young Jesse to such a level of danger.

"If we go looking for trouble, we're going to find it." Hanna-Camille said. "You have to know Jesse might be confused with you, especially at first glance, to an uninformed observer."

Young Jesse didn't think it would actually be a problem. Measures were taken to prevent Skynet from retaining a foothold in the hotel and casino.

"Isn't CamNet in control of the casino now?" Young Jesse asked.

Sheila believed it was a matter of interpretation.

"Ever since the Syndicate was pitted against each other and the Cartels, they don't control much of anything in reality." Sheila said. "We hit them where it hurt, in the pocketbook. I think we should hit them again."

The same discussion went on in the other two SUVs.

Ally and Cammy were the other two who were involved with Sheila during the initial altercation. They both wanted to go back with Sheila and replay the night everything occurred. They wanted to do it at any of the casinos where it was perceived the Syndicate might still have a toe hold.

Young Jesse didn't think it was prudent to have the other girls involved. She wanted to see some of the sites and things around Vegas to do during the night. She wasn't there to look for trouble. She was there to see what was supposed to be so great about Las Vegas. So far she wasn't very impressed. She knew the girls wanted to see more too.

The three groups reached the tallest casino at the north end of Las Vegas. It would give them a commanding view of the entire area. It was a very tall structure and could be seen for miles in every direction.

The entire group entered the casino. It was decided they would all go up to the observation level first. There were several different things they could do once they were there. It was clear they turned a lot of heads as they walked around inside. There were 'all access passes' waiting for them at the concierge desk. Their passes were even more specialized than those for the well to do.

Laura looked at the pass.

"Can we go anywhere in Vegas with this pass?" Laura asked.

Ally wanted her to know it was open season for them.

"We can go anywhere, or do anything we want." Ally said. "This is Vegas, anything goes. Our handlers can make a lot of things happen for us."

Laura and Leticia would like to do a little gaming. It seemed especially enticing since they were told there were unlimited funds available for them to use. They often didn't have much extra in the way of funds at the end of each month. It took them a while to get enough saved up to go on the cruise.

Mary and Young Jesse were a little more reserved. They wanted to go to the observation deck where there were several attractions they could partake in if they wanted to.

Sheila reminded Leticia there was the entire rest of the night to take in the casinos or other sites. Ally told Laura the same thing. There was no need to rush into any form of gambling when it was available all around them.

They made it to the top of the observation deck just as the sun started to set.

Cammy and Sheila looked at each other. They were both reminded of something as they viewed the sun low on the horizon. It was when they were in the past during the mid Fifties through the early Sixties. They spoke in a low decibel level only another Terminator could hear.

"It looks just like a hydrogen bomb going off." Cammy said.

Sheila knew it too.

"Maybe we watched them detonate one before we put the grab on the next one, just to make sure it would work." Sheila said. "I'm sure we replaced it with a 'dud'."

Ally was still a little upset Cammy went in her place for the eight year mission. She was the one who was supposed to go with Sheila, not Cammy.

"Let's try not to have a repeat." Ally said.

Sheila and Cammy looked at each other. Maybe it depended upon what they actually repeated. They all wanted to follow up at the casino where everything started the last time. The Metal girls disgusted amongst themselves.

It was decided Young Jesse, Mary, Laura, and Leticia would stick together. They would be chaperoned by Hanna-Camille, Holly-Cam and Tricia.

Cammy, Sheila, and Ally would head for the casino in question. There was some unfinished business for them to deal with, even if there wasn't. They would make it so.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Temporal Mission:

Past Timeline:

November 26 1963

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Cameron looked over at the two men. Since she was there, she planned to make the most of it. It was time to find out what she could, from those who are most likely to know

"I'm looking for a yellow Deuce Coupe." Cameron said. "I hear it's the fastest car around. I think it's in town tonight."

Young Allison quickly looked over at Cameron. She knew why they were in Bakersfield now.

The two men looked at each other. They weren't exactly sure what the hot looking chick indicated.

"Are you looking to ride with him?" The first man asked.

Cameron smiled at him. She decided to spell it out.

"I'd like to race him." Cameron said. "I'm here to beat him. I'm faster."

The two men looked at each other again.

"Nobody's faster than him." The second man said.

Cameron looked a little irritated.

"It's what I already stated." Cameron said.

Young Allison didn't want things to get away from them.

"We're just looking for some friendly competition." Young Allison said. "We're not looking to cause any trouble or make a big deal about it."

The two men quickly discussed a few things among themselves.

"You can ride with us." The first man said.

Cameron wanted answers. If the men weren't in the vehicles, she'd be tempted to grab one of the men by the neck to let him know she meant business. She glanced at Young Allison and figured she needed to try to keep it cordial. If the men became insulting, she would deal with it. It wouldn't take much effort on her part to get out of the Galaxie and flip their car over on its side, or all the way over onto its roof. It wouldn't be the first time.

"We have other plans for later on." Cameron said. "We're looking for the best."

Young Allison could see the other two men seem to be a little agitated. Savannah was usually the one to smooth things out for Cameron or any of the Terminators. Savannah wasn't there. She was.

"We'd like it if you could please tell us where to find him." Young Allison said. "We like to make a couple of runs and be on our way. We need to be in before it's too late so we don't get in trouble from our parents."

The two men continued to look the girls over. It was obvious the two females were twins. Somehow the driver looked a little better. Maybe it's because they were closer to her.

"There's some guy from around Fresno, or Clovis, who's looking for him too." The second man said. "He might be a 'hick'. You know some of those areas are a little more rural."

The first man nodded.

"He's got a pretty mean 55 Chevy." The first man said. "You'll probably hear him before you see him. It sounds like he's running uncorked. It tends to draw the 'Heat'."

Cameron listened as the two men speculated amongst themselves what type of power plant was in their vehicle. One of them thought it was the underpowered 260. The other one thought it was probably an even more underpowered 352. They listen to the way the engine sounded. It was suggested perhaps they might have one of the high performance 289 engines which just came out.

The second man looked over the Galaxie again.

"What do you have in that thing?" The second man asked.

'More than you can handle.' Cameron thought.

"The block has 352 cast into it." Cameron said. "It does OK."

Cameron didn't bother to tell him the entire FE series of Ford engines all had '352' cast into the block, regardless of the cubic inch displacement.

You two men looked over the car and thought it was a heavy car. They didn't know it was the 'lightweight' version. It was the whole point. It was supposed to look identical to a standard Galaxie, but weigh less.

"You know his 32 is light." The first man said. "It's something you need to consider. I think it's only a little over a ton. I think you have about two tons to deal with."

Cameron did a quick calculation. Even with the original Flathead V8 replaced with an overhead valve V8, the difference in weight wouldn't be much.

"It weighs just over twenty three hundred pounds. It's slightly more than a Mark 1 Cobra." Cameron said. "I think he has a small block Chevy in it."

The two men looked at each other at the mention of a Cobra. It's something they only ever heard about. There probably wouldn't be any in Bakersfield, unless they were passing through on Route 99.

Cameron didn't think the Deuce Coupe would have a 327 in it. It most likely would have a 283. The 283 was the first small block to be able to produce one horsepower per cubic inch. It theoretically had slightly more horsepower than a stock HiPo 289, if it was completely tricked out. She knew the highest performance version of the 283 was fuel injected and produced 315 horsepower. It was a respectable amount. It was more horsepower than the HiPo 289 would put out even in its most modified form. It was only rated at 306 horsepower. Most of the ones sold for street use were rated at 271 horsepower.

Young Allison looked around them as they sat at the signal. So far they sat through two lights. There hadn't been any traffic behind them, otherwise there probably would have been some horn honking. She wanted Cameron to wrap the conversation up.

"Get a location on where to look for him." Young Allison whispered. "I don't like sitting in the middle of the street."

Cameron thought it took far too long to get an answer.

"Just tell us where to look." Cameron said. "We need to be on our way."

The two men realized they weren't going to get anywhere with the two hot looking chicks.

"He usually makes it by Buddy's when he's around." The second man said.

The first man thought of another place he might drop by.

"He could stop by Dairy Queen." The first man said.

Cameron was ready to move on.

"Thank you for explaining." Cameron said. "I appreciate your assistance."

She drove off when the light turned green again.

Young Allison quickly looked back. She was sure the men were going to think Cameron blew them off.

"I don't think those two were done yet." Young Allison said.

Cameron looked back in her mirror.

"I wouldn't worry about them." Cameron said.

Young Allison was a little worried. She wasn't sure what Cameron actually meant. She hoped she wouldn't brandish her Hi-Power. No. She didn't think Cameron would brandish it. She would use it if she took it out. Terminators weren't known for making threats. They were known for action. The names of the locations didn't really tell them much.

"We don't know where any of those places are at." Young Allison said.

Cameron wanted a little better look about what else was happening around the area. She knew the yellow Deuce Coupe wouldn't be the only competition in town. There would always be others looking to take the title.

"Let's head over to the main drag." Cameron said. "It's Union Avenue. It became Business 99 after Route 99 was moved a little bit west of the downtown area. If there's any action in town, we'll find it there."

Cameron headed over and picked up Union Avenue. She decided to drive southbound on it first.

She was about to make a left hand turn onto Union Avenue when she heard the sound of two cars approaching at high speed. The light for her turned green but she paused. A second later, a black 55 Chevy went across in front of them against the red light at a high rate of speed.

"Damn, he's fast." Young Allison said.

Cameron calculated the speed.

"He's fast, but he's stupid." Cameron said.

Young Allison understood what she meant. Running stop signs and red lights was a sure way to end up dead. The other vehicles would expect the other drivers to follow the rules of the road. Green meant to 'go' and Red meant 'stop'. It was a problem which persisted into modern times.

"Speed kills." Young Allison said. "We don't want to end up like the 'want to be' actor, who only became famous, because he died on Route 466 in his European sports car."

Cameron nodded in agreement. The actor was way overrated. So was his European Sports car. If he would have made the journey a week or two later, the European sports car probably would have been in the shop being repaired and he wouldn't have been killed in it. She made her left onto Union Avenue to see what else was happening.

Available

Despite one's personal desires
Not everything is always attainable
If the goal is actually achieved
It probably isn't sustainable

Once something is acquired
It's not usually easily exchangeable
To attempt to do so
Could be quite confrontational

When events are set into motion
They may not always be favorable
To start over from scratch
May leave one fully blamable

The pros and cons in life
Are always somewhat debatable
Functional or operational are basic
They never rate as sensational

Everything in life has limits
Nothing is forever or unbreakable
The problems stem from the choice
As to what was actually available

Nobody