Chapter 535

You Won

Savannah, Cameron, and their team were ready for the strike at the foundry.

Everything looked like it was set.

Savannah communicated with Cammy. Her team was ready at the machine shop. They were ready too. They awaited the word to move in.

Everything was in place, everyone was ready.

The strike was a 'go'.

Savannah moved forward with Cameron. The rest of the Terminators took up their assigned locations.

John Henry communicated with everyone and viewed their body cam footage, as well as other video inputs from the drones and some surveillance cameras they installed during the earlier recon mission.

Savannah carried a silenced pistol along with her M4. Most of the male Terminators carried an M249, others carried an M60. The females all carried an M4. All the weapons were loaded with Coltan projectiles. They all carried Thermite grenades.

Cameron moved swiftly with Savannah as she searched around her. She checked and scanned for threats. She used all of her Terminator abilities. She didn't proceed quite as rapidly as she normally would. Their initial target was the two guards at the front gate.

One guard looked down at the phone in his hands. He never looked up or around. It was a common occurrence Cameron ran into on both Skynet and non Skynet operations. The most common distraction seemed to be online pornography. There never was a shortage of it. The next most common thing was someone texting another individual. It was more common on the non Skynet related operations.

The second guard seemed to be barely awake. His head would nod every few seconds, and then pop back up. The most likely cause was lack of sleep. Drug use was also another common cause, especially in the non Skynet operations.

The two guards at the gate were surprised to see Savannah and Cameron. They seemed to appear from thin air in front of them. It was the last thing they saw. Savannah shot one of them in the face, and again in the side of the head when they were down. Cameron snapped the neck of the other one. She reported both threats were neutralized.

John Henry cut all power and communications to the two facilities and the surrounding areas. There were two drones on station at each facility. They lost use of the manned drone for now as Holly went off to conduct a 'mission' to locate Allison and make sure she was returned safely to the Young residence.

The Resistance Terminators started to make their way inside the perimeter. They started the assault. They were all at preselected locations to start out with. There was no opposition so far.

Savannah checked with Cammy. They also started the assault. Everything happened the same way at her location, the machine shop. Once the gate guards were down, they faced no opposition yet either.

It appeared both the small foundry and machine shop were taken by surprise. It was what they hoped for.

John went over everything from both locations. Everything started out smoothly. He knew it could change fast and often did. He wasn't too surprised to see the inattentiveness of the gate guards at both locations. It seemed to be something the majority of locations they took down all had in common. Guard duty was very boring. It was the same thing day after day over and over. Nothing ever happened so the guards became sloppy. Most of them fooled with their phones, some of them fell asleep. The current operation was no different.

"There's no opposition yet." John said. "Things have started out normal."

John Henry thought it was a smooth start. It often could be misleading. The nature of the 'business' itself was deceptive. It usually didn't take very long for things to change.

"I'm monitoring everything." John Henry said. "Remember, they were trying to hide the Skynet related operation in plain sight. They tried to look and act like a legitimate company."

John picked up on a communication from Savannah. It caused him some worry. He didn't see any need for them at this point. He didn't think he missed anything.

"I see Savannah's alerted the Blackhawk and its team." John said. "She must be expecting trouble."

John Henry hadn't detected any threat. It was still early. Savannah wanted to have the 'MIKE Force' ready to go for either or both locations. She didn't want to take any chances or push it. He was sure it was a matter of perception on John's part, based upon 'normal' circumstances.

"She's being cautious." John Henry said. "You're used to Cameron being reckless."

John could have done without the reminder. Cameron caused him enough grief when she was out in the field. It only made him worry more about Savannah now. Cameron could get her injured or killed. Cameron usually kept most of her activity related to Skynet to herself.

"You mean if we even know about an operation when Cameron is out." John said. "I know she means well. We have no way of being able to watch over her. I really hope she thinks about Savannah now on this one."

John Henry didn't know how to say it, other than just to say it. He believed it was a worse scenario for Savannah than it was for Cameron.

"John, she's a Terminator." John Henry said. "It's what she does. It's what we do. She'll watch over Savannah. Savannah will watch over her."

John did know it and it didn't make any of it any easier. There were just other ways to do some things which weren't as dangerous. He noticed everyone was inside the perimeters. So far there was no resistance.

"Both teams are going inside." John said. "It should go hot soon if there are Terminators there."

John Henry watched all the video footage which was sent back for any hostile activity.

"It seems most likely." John Henry said.

He began to wonder why there was no opposition yet as well. He understood Savannah's concern. Were the teams about to walk into some type of ambush? Were they already in a Killing Zone?

Earlier:

Allison snuck out of the house when everyone was occupied. She carefully looked in her mother's room. Hanna and her mother were really going at it. She would like to be where her mother was right now. It would need to be another time. It was a place she was at multiple times with Hanna. It was usually at least two nights a week when Hanna and Holly would switch. It seemed to be mutually beneficial for all the parties involved. She looked for the next group who she needed to avoid. She saw Anna was busy with Young Allison and Summer.

She was no stranger to clandestine activity. It was one thing she learned from her past, the future. She went to the back door and retrieved a stone she hid alongside the step before. She went back inside the door. From inside the house, she tossed the stone to the far corner of the yard of the Detail house. She knew it would trip a sensor or two. They would go out to investigate. She slipped out the front and ran down two houses away from the Detail house. She stayed right up alongside the houses. She went into the yard of the third house. She knew they worked nights and they didn't have a dog.

Allison figured the Detail would figure out they were duped and move to the front. She went over the fence and into the property in the back. She went over one more house and came out on the next street over. She didn't see anyone in pursuit yet. It looked like she was able to pull off a clean getaway.

She made it over three more streets and waited in a gas station, along the side of it. When she saw the city bus approach, she ran out and flagged it down at the last second. She dropped the appropriate number of coins into the collection slot. She wore a loose hooded sweatshirt to conceal her features. She stayed on the bus until she neared the mall. She planned to lose anyone who may have tracked her inside of the mall, and boost a car from the parking lot. She was pretty sure the Detail was on to her at this point. They wouldn't be for long. It was what she hoped anyway.

Holly was in the manned drone. She was to remain in reserve in case she was needed for either operation. She could also respond to any unidentified aircraft which appeared in the target area. They most likely would be HK drones. Savannah freed her from the current operation to see if she could spot Allison. She was up and already over Palmdale. She approached the area where Allison was last reported.

Cameron taught Allison early on how to avoid Grays or Terminators who tried to follow her. There were plenty of places to hide in the present, as there were in the Wastelands of the future. Every minute she could buy was one additional minute she would get to live. It gave her time to defend herself, or go on the offensive. Help couldn't be expected in most circumstances.

Allison entered a mall and lost the Detail who followed her. She exited out on the other side of the mall and went into a parking structure.

She looked for a car to boost. She saw a likely prospect. She spotted one of the Terminators from the Detail exit from the mall. She didn't expect to see him so soon. She made her way to the stairway and went up one level to avoid him.

She just exited the stairwell when she spotted another Terminator from the Detail come out from the second floor opening of the mall and walk across the bridge to the parking structure.

Allison wasn't sure how they found her so quickly. She hid behind a vehicle when he passed by the stairwell. The elevator door opened. A female exited pushing a stroller. She passed by the Terminator and entered the bridge to go into the second floor of the mall.

The Terminator looked into the stairwell. Allison made her move and went across the bridge. She moved past the woman with the stroller and held the door open for her to go in. The woman thanked her and moved on. She made her way back to the side of the mall she originally entered from. She took the stairway down and exited out into the parking lot. There was no parking structure where she was now.

She decided to turn her phone on.

Allison looked at her phone. She realized she should have ditched it somewhere. She saw it was Holly. She felt a little guilty. She was ready to boost a car. She spotted a car arrive by where she was at. She was on the other side of the van next to where it parked. Once they were out of the car she heard them discuss their plans. She watched the family enter the mall. They were going to shop, eat, and watch a superhero movie. They wouldn't know their car was gone for a few hours. She would be in another one by then. It might even be more than one.

Holly called Allison again.

This time Allison answered her phone. What was she doing?

"Hello." Allison said.

Holly wanted to keep Allison talking so she could be apprehended. They could pinpoint her current location. The Detail was to physically restrain her and bring her back to the Young residence if she refused to comply. Everything spilled out of her all at one time.

"Allison, I want you to stop. Where are you going? I'm sorry if I upset you." Holly said. "You must think of the baby, OUR baby. It is the most important thing."

As they spoke, John Henry tracked her phone and relayed the information to the Detail who was after her. Holly was over Allison's location at this point. The drone was high and undetectable to the human ear.

Allison was overwhelmed by many different things. There were many things she didn't like about her life and even herself. The failed pregnancies didn't help any either. Each failure seemed to make things worse. It made her feel it was all her fault. It was never a good feeling. It made her question the value and worth of everything, including her own life. None of it seemed to add up to very much when she thought about it.

"I don't know what I want any more." Allison said. "I don't even know who I am either."

Holly received word the Detail was about to close in on her. They needed to move from the other side of the mall. It was good news. Once they were able to get a visual sighting on her, she wouldn't be able to avoid them. They would be able to catch her in no time. It was what a Terminator was constructed for. It was to hunt down humans and terminate them.

"Allison, the Terminators from the Detail are near you. They want you to go with them and go back home." Holly said. "Will you do it for me, for us?"

Allison looked around. Where was she going to go? What would she do? Where would she hide? They would track her down sooner or later anyway. She would just end up hurting the ones she loved by causing them needless worry. There was one thing she wanted to do.

"OK, Holly. I'm sorry. I don't even know where I could go anyway." Allison said. "If I lose this baby, I'm going to Cameron's future to be with my baby there. Future Allison will share with me or she can come here in my place. If you won't send me, I'll ask River next time she 'visits' us to send me there. You know she will. She'll feel my need to be with MY baby. I know she won't deny me what is rightfully mine."

Holly didn't want to take the discussion further. She knew now why Cameron trapped Future Allison in the future with Destiny, her baby. It needed to happen there with the females from the future to make sure they stayed there with their own children. She could see how important it was now. A child would be something they couldn't abandon. It would be unsafe for it to use the TDE as well. She could see Cameron's thinking was multiple steps ahead of hers in ways to 'control' the females.

She was very pleased to see the Terminators from the Detail near Allison. She wouldn't be able to get away now, even if she ran.

"Do you see our Terminators?" Holly asked. "They are very near you."

Allison looked around. There they were. They found her. She briefly touched her Taser. She looked for Holly. She thought she was with them. She didn't spot her.

"Yes, you're not with them." Allison said. "I don't see you."

Holly knew it was going to get tricky. She needed to choose her words carefully.

"I'll return shortly." Holly said. "I'm working with Savannah and Cameron."

Allison was troubled by her statement. Then it hit her. Cameron was out on a mission.

"They both called me." Allison said. "I didn't answer. Wait…. Cameron went on a mission. Are you in combat?"

Holly wanted to come clean. She was out of danger now. She was no longer part of the mission. She would be unable to assist in a timely manner if it was required for her to do so.

"No. I was supposed to be, but Savannah diverted me from the assault to help find you." Holly said. "I found you."

Allison sucked in her breath. She didn't want Holly shot up. Something else nagged at her with the talk of combat. The future died hard inside of someone. There was a higher calling now. It was the worry of an operation. There were her personal feelings, and there was her sense of duty.

"I don't want you in combat. It's not the issue." Allison said. "If they expected you to assist them, and now you're looking for me, it means I'm endangering the others by pulling you away. Any problems it will create are now on me."

Allison knew she was going to have to apologize to Cameron and Savannah for endangering the mission. She also knew the entire Detail unit was out tracking her. It left Young Allison, Summer, and her mother vulnerable. She knew whenever there was an attack, there could be a counter-attack in response. It could happen anywhere.

Holly could see where Allison was headed with her thinking. It wasn't a good place. She wanted to put Allison at ease. She wasn't AWOL.

"Savannah released me to look for you." Holly said. "She understands…."

Allison needed to rectify the situation at once. Holly was needed elsewhere. She didn't want any problems because of her foolish actions.

"OK, I'm going back. It looks like I screwed up even more. You go back and help Cameron and Savannah like you were supposed to." Allison said. "I'm sorry my actions have now endangered the others. I don't want anyone hurt or damaged because of me and what I did. Leave now and go."

Allison saw the Detail exit from the mall and head in her direction. She knew they would find her in seconds. She wanted to give them something to think about. She looked through the side window of the van and saw they were going to come around each side of the van to where she was at. She dropped down and rolled underneath the van and came out on the other side as they came around the front and the rear to the side where she was at seconds ago. She quickly scrambled to her feet and moved around the rear of the van with her Taser out.

"Zap - Zap" Allison said with a smile on her face. "Be careful what you're looking for. It might find you."

Allison put her Taser away. She gave each of the Terminators a hug.

"Thank you for coming for me." Allison said. "Let's go."

Holly waited until the Detail reached Allison. She watched the little ploy. Once she saw Allison go with the Detail, she left. The glitch in her hand subsided slowly. Now she needed to refocus and get ready for combat. The two teams were already on the move.

John Henry filled her in as she headed towards the two target locations. It hadn't been determined which location she needed to support first.

Anna was in a tunnel in the bunker system below the Young residence and the Detail house next door. She decided to use the time to conduct a drill with Young Allison and Summer. She currently followed Young Allison and Summer. They reached a junction in the escape tunnel. One branch led to the surface, the other to the side of an inlet tunnel for a flood control channel. They added it after the recent encounter with a Skynet Terminator who used a similar tactic. It offered one more option for evasion and escape. It was a long narrow tunnel.

She wanted to complicate the test. She previously indicated their house and Detail house were both under attack and presumed destroyed. It meant no help was coming any time soon. Young Allison's survival would depend on her own decisions from this point. The whereabouts of her mother and Allison were unknown to her. Young Allison sealed the bunker behind her. In this scenario, her mother and Allison didn't make it.

Anna sent a message to Young Allison there were Terminators who breached the bunker and were in pursuit.

Young Allison moved to a control panel and entered a code. A selection of controls was now activated. She could choose which exit to blow open as well as collapse the tunnel behind her.

Anna sent a message to Young Allison the Terminators were closing and were within 'hearing distance'. It would mean they would be terminated shortly unless she collapsed the escape tunnel behind her.

Young Allison simulated blowing the tunnel closed behind them in two places. She also simulated blowing open the exit into the flood control inlet tunnel. It was where Summer and her would make their escape from the area.

Anna walked up to her. The test was a success.

Summer wanted to know if they won.

Anna wanted them to feel the joy of victory. Some hard choices needed to be made to get to where they were. To ensure their survival, they prevented anyone else from following them in their house.

"Yes you did. You won. You both made the right choices and did what you needed to do to escape. Remember both of you are important to the future." Anna said. "Both of you are important to Cameron."

Young Allison wasn't sold on it being a real victory. Not everyone made it. She chose to save Summer, and not wait any longer for her mother or Allison. They all would have been lost if she delayed any longer. She felt she needed to say something.

"What about my mother and Allison? What became of them?" Young Allison asked. "I needed to leave them behind. It wasn't a sweet victory."

Anna knew it was part of Allison's nightly 'conditioning'. The future was a vile and violent place. Things didn't always end well for everyone. She couldn't do much other than remind Young Allison of the truth. The horrors of the future were the truth.

"There's a war coming, Allison." Anna said. "Not everyone is going to make it."

Summer thought about the discussion. She knew it was a drill, but she didn't really care for it. There were always variables and unknowns.

"Allison is a trained Resistance fighter." Summer said. "She may have fought her way out and escaped. Mom is training too. They both could have made it."

Anna and Young Allison looked at each other for a long moment. It was clear Summer grasped the reality of the situation. Summer was right. There was a possibility they both could have made it. There was always the possibility neither of them would have made it. It was a hypothetical so there was no answer.

Young Allison was still bothered by the decision. A test was one thing. Real life was another. There was a lot for her to think about. The more she thought about it, the more it bothered her.

"I don't know if I could make the same choices if I didn't know this was a drill." Young Allison said.

Anna knew Young Allison would. She was trained and 'conditioned' to do what was necessary.

"Life is about choices. You'll make the right choice, the hard choice, when you have too." Anna said. "You know your importance to the future. Protecting the future is your primary function."

The words popped into Young Allison's mouth without the need to think of them. It was part of her nightly 'conditioning'. It was part of her training.

"I'll protect John Connor and Savannah Weaver. I'll join them at their side to defeat Skynet." Young Allison said. "I promise."

Anna was pleased with the drill. Everything went as planned. She hoped the drill never needed to be a real event. Who knew what the future would bring?

"Let's go back. I'll bring Summer." Anna said. "You won this time. You both survived to fight another day."

Anna knew as long as they lived and stayed alive, they were winning.

Holly informed Savannah she was about to return to the combat area. She received all the current and updated information from John Henry.

It was Savannah's choice as to which target she wanted Holly to reinforce. She saw this as an opportunity to do a larger search of both areas. There could be something they overlooked. Maybe a convoy was on the way.

"Do a wide recon around both targets." Savannah said. "Things have progressed well here. Look for anything we've missed."

Savannah was worried it almost seemed like it was too easy at this point.

Savannah expressed her concerns to John and John Henry. There was limited opposition so far.

Her assessment worried John. He could see it too now. Their troops were the ones inside and in control of the perimeters now.

"Are we missing something?" John asked.

John Henry could see the concern of Savannah and now John. Maybe they were onto something. He knew human intuition saved team members before.

"It's possible." John Henry said. "I don't know what it is yet if we have."

John wasn't about to take any chances now. He was really worried.

"I want all units to look for anything out of place." John said. "Look for anything which looks too perfect as well. Someone may have camouflaged an ambush point."

Savannah checked in again. She didn't like the 'vibe' she received from the location.

"Something is off here." Savannah said. "I can feel it."

John Henry was very worried now. Savannah wouldn't mention it several times if it wasn't an issue.

"Savannah has good instincts." John Henry said. "Things might start to fall apart."

John looked over everything again. It was too easy. There should have been more opposition.

"It's what worries me." John said. "She's expecting trouble."

John Henry thought he knew what was troubling John. He didn't realize it was much more than one thing.

"Cameron will protect Savannah, and Savannah will protect Cameron." John Henry said again.

John tried to lighten the mood somewhat.

"Who will protect me from both of them?" John asked.

John Henry tilted his head slightly.

"Nobody…." John Henry said.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

You Won

If one doesn't win
It means they lost
The nature of the contest
Will determine the actual cost

Some may be simple
They don't mean a thing
Others are more involved
The loss can really sting

Does it matter the method
If the goal is only to win
There are shortcuts and cheating
Some are full of treachery and sin

Maybe it takes character
On how the contest is played
Those who follow the rules
Are more likely to be slayed

When the smoke clears
The results may some stun
There are those who will shun
If you're still alive it means you won

Nobody