Chapter 858

Pinker Than Normal

Dan, Frank, and Sheila were in the process of trying to track the unknown man who used excessive caution with all of his movements. He was now in the parking structure behind the casino. It was clear the man posed some type of threat. Exactly what the threat was, remained unknown.

Sheila was already in the parking structure waiting for him. She previously moved one level higher to the fourth level than he exited the elevator at. She moved down to the third level of the parking garage. She wanted to try and tag the man's vehicle. She exited the stairwell and saw the man get into a blue sedan. She sent the information to John Henry.

She moved rapidly between cars and trucks to stay behind the man's forward or side vision area of observation. There were a few other cars looking for parking spots and a few leaving. A horn blew every now and then. Sometimes there were angry voices. They were usually answered the same way.

The man continued to use a cautious approach. He looked around the area. It delayed Sheila's approach towards him and his vehicle. If she wanted to remain undetected, she needed to use extreme caution. The man finally got into the vehicle. She was almost to the blue sedan when it backed away. She was unable to get the tracker placed on it before it pulled out of its parking spot.

Another car pulled into the parking space immediately and almost hit her. Normally she would have stayed to have a 'conversation' with the driver of the car, but she needed to move out and get down to Frank's vehicle so they could follow the blue car.

They would have to track him the hard way now.

She would try to get the tracker placed on the vehicle as it's made its way down through the parking structure. It seemed it would be a long shot.

Frank waited on the second level. He was in an SUV. He planned to trail the unknown man once he pulled out of the parking structure. The vehicle the man was in would need to pass by him to exit from the parking structure.

Sheila took one look back before she started down the stairwell. Her desire to terminate him increased exponentially.

"The blue sedan just pulled away from me." Sheila said. "I didn't get the tracker on him."

Frank was aware he would have to pull out soon. He didn't want to be behind the blue sedan. He wanted to stay in front of the blue sedan. He was sure the man would watch what was happening behind him, rather than what was in front of him. He wanted Sheila to join them.

"Come down to the ground level and we'll pick you up." Frank said. "I already have Dan."

Sheila calculated her chances of being able to get close to the man's car again as he went down through the various levels of the parking structure. The rate of his descent through the parking structure would be determined by other vehicles which would attempt to pull out, or those which waited for a parking spot.

She was at every level below before the blue sedan was. She needed to remain concealed as she looked for an attempt to place the tracker on the blue sedan when it went by. The man always checked over in the direction of the stairway and the elevators as he passed. It forced her to remain concealed and unable to make a move and place the device on the vehicle.

Since the vehicle was always moving, it would be hard for her to approach it anyway. She hoped a car would back out in front of him and block his forward progress. She might be able to get the tracker on then. So far it didn't happen on the other levels. She could see it was going to cause a bigger problem now.

"He just made the turn for the ramp to go down one level." Sheila said. "Stay in front of him. I'll catch up to you or acquire new transportation. Don't worry about me."

Frank waited a little longer until he saw the blue sedan make its turn to come down the ramp. Time was up. They needed to act.

"I see him on the ramp." Frank said. "We're pulling out."

The Terminators were sure the man would check behind him for a tail. They doubted he would check in front for one. They already were aware what his destination was based on his conversation with the man still on the tram. It was unless everything Cameron heard was just a ploy or spoken in some type of code only the two men knew what it actually meant.

It seemed with the two unknown men anything was possible. Who were they? What group from the future did they represent? What were they actually up to? What were they capable of? There were always more questions than answers.

Seconds ago:

Based upon the man's conversation with the other man, he was supposed to get off at the tram station they were now stopped at. Savannah would try to get ahead of him. Cameron would remain on the tram car and exit after he did.

Cameron watched Savannah pass by the open tram door. Savannah didn't look in her direction. She moved with a group of other people. She blended in with them and didn't attract any unnecessary attention. The man was still seated. She waited for him to make his move. So far he just sat there. The time continued to advance.

She began to wonder if he was going to get off or not. As each second passed, it seemed more and more as if he was going to stay on the tram. After the initial group moved away from the tram car, those waiting began to enter the tram cars. It wasn't long before the platform was clear of both departing and arriving passengers. Maybe his conversation with the other man was some type of ploy. It would fit right in with everything else they did so far.

The door started to beep and then close. The man jumped up and ran out just before the door closed. Cameron never looked up from her casino brochure. It was too late for her to follow him and not be 'made'. It appeared she was just played again.

The door closed and the man looked back along the length of the tram cars to see if anyone else followed him. He was the last one on the platform.

He was satisfied no one else would get off. He headed for the escalator.

Cameron already planned for a contingency in the event something like what just happened was to occur. It just did. She entered some commands into her phone and the door against the wall on the opposite side opened. Some other patrons watched as she stepped out to where there was no platform. She stepped down to the track level as the door closed. The few passengers who saw what happened didn't try to stop her or say anything. They just watched it all happen. It only took about five seconds from start to finish anyway.

If anyone would have challenged her or said anything, she would have told them she experienced 'motion sickness'. She didn't think any of them really understood what just occurred.

The tram sped away from the platform.

She remained below the level of the platform to make sure the man was out of view. If she couldn't see him, he couldn't see her. It was clear. She quickly crossed over the tracks. She got back up on the platform and headed for the end of it. She went down in the elevator. It just discharged an elderly man with a cane.

Cameron wanted to let Savannah know she was off of the tram along with the man. She didn't want to get too explicit as to how she needed to get off of the tram. She did want to let her know the man tried to pull some more of his tricks.

"Savannah, the man's out. I'm off the tram and in the elevator." Cameron said. "Watch him closely. He tried to pull a fast one. I was ready for it this time. He thought he made it away clean from the tram cars. He thought wrong."

Whoever the men were, they seemed to be overly cautious and full of 'fast ones'. They continuously tried to make any tail show themselves. It seemed highly irregular they would act in this manner. All the secrecy did was increase her desire to find out who the people were and what they were up to. She did have to admit under normal circumstances all of the caution they used was an effective strategy to avoid being tailed.

It was only because there were five Resistance personnel and two supercomputers to assist them they were able to not lose track of the men. Under any other circumstances, they would have been spotted as tracking the men more than a few times.

Seconds ago:

Savannah became alarmed as she started down the escalator and the man hadn't followed. She heard the beeping of the doors about to close when she lost sight of what happened.

She thought about hopping to the other side of the escalator to go back up.

There was a group of Asian tourists on their way up the escalator on the opposite side and currently they were in her way to do it. She would either need to wait for their group to pass, or jump the escalator into the middle of their group as it went up. She was sure it would cause them quite a bit of confusion and alarm. If they didn't speak English she couldn't give them any type of explanation and it would probably increase their anxiety level even more. She could also turn around and try to go back up the escalator and move around the other patrons who were on it coming down.

Savannah received Cameron's message the man was off of the tram. She finished the short ride to the bottom. She headed for the side entrance. She didn't look back. She was glad now the tourists blocked her path to go back up. If she would have crossed over to the other side of the escalator, she would have passed the man face to face as he came down on the other side. He would have been able to get a good look at her. It would have raised a red flag when he spotted her again behind him at some point.

John Henry sent her the information as to where the man was. He turned in her direction, but he entered the casino instead of following her. She wasn't as surprised as she would have been when the man entered the casino because the other man who Sheila tracked did exactly the same thing. She believed he did it for two reasons. One of them what's to kill some time and the other one was to see if anybody paid any attention to him as he did some casual gambling and looked around. He could keep moving as he gambled and not stay in one place.

Savannah entered the casino as well. She figured the man would look for a tail as the other man did. Based on the last report she received, the blue sedan which would pick him up was still in the parking structure of the last casino. It was on its way down.

She knew she would have about ten minutes to kill. She really didn't like being on the casino floor. The mass of people irritated her almost as much as the noisy machines did. There was never even one second of quiet. All the different machines made a multitude of noises. Every now and then one could be heard to 'pay off'. Someone was always happy if they just got back some of the money they spent. They didn't actually think about how they just lost ninety percent of their money. It was the same way all around her. People seemed happy to lose as long as they got a few scraps back. If it wasn't a form of mental illness, what was?

She took out one of the hundred dollar bills from the stack of money Sheila handed her earlier. She slid it into an electronic poker game. She could see the man was now at a Blackjack table. She started to make five dollar bets. She also started winning. She thought it was John Henry or CamNet who 'helped' her. She didn't really know or care. She didn't want the machine to pay off a large amount.

"Let the machine operate as it normally does." Savannah said to John Henry. "I don't want to have to fool with the money. I need to be ready to move."

Savannah figured the 'game' would soon take all her money. A quick look around at the splendor and opulence of the surroundings reaffirmed her beliefs.

She looked around for Cameron but didn't spot her. She didn't want to lose track of the illusive man. She couldn't stare at him continuously and not have him notice at some point. She wanted some assistance from John Henry. She didn't want to stand out by her actions, or lack of them.

"If it even looks like he's going to move, tell me." Savannah said to John Henry. "Try to give me a direction as soon as he starts to move. I want to try to stay in front of him. I know he keeps checking behind him."

John was able to watch Savannah from several of the security cameras inside of the casino. He wanted to reassure her everything was under control and Cameron was nearby. As long as the man stuck to his own plan, they knew the approximate location he would go to next.

"Everything's good, Savannah." John said. "Cameron has eyes on him as well. We know where he's going. John Henry is monitoring everything."

Savannah watched the original hundred dollars, which John Henry manipulated into three hundred dollars. It soon dwindled down to nothing in a few minutes of play. There was always the occasional 'win' to keep the typical sucker hooked until they were broke. Few people ever took their winnings and left. They all still believe they were going to hit the 'big one' and leave a millionaire.

The 'game' worked as Savannah figured it would. If you play the game, you lose your money. She thought it was really no different than some type of video game. People put the money in and were allowed to play for a certain amount of time, usually until the game beat them. It always did in the end. The gambling machines were no different. They were just more expensive 'video games'.

The money issue was soon a debate whether she wanted to waste anymore of the cash Sheila gave her. She already thought about how much baby formula or diapers could have been purchased at the shelter for battered women with the hundred dollars she just wasted.

She spent a moment to look around the casino floor at all of the 'zombie like' people who were there. She really didn't understand what they thought they were doing and where it would take them. Did they all really think they were going to hit the big one?

The more she looked at them, the more it made her wonder. She came to the conclusion they all did think they were going to win and win big. It reaffirmed her belief gambling was a 'mental disorder'. People were addicted to the concept of something for nothing. It just didn't exist. Everything came with a price, even if it wasn't evident at first. Nothing was free.

Young Allison watched Savannah, Cameron, and the unknown man. She didn't like the fast one the man pulled when he exited the tram, and the unsafe procedure Cameron needed to use to get off of the tram before it pulled out of the station. She was made aware of what Cameron would need to do if the man waited until the last second to get off. She wanted John Henry to remind Cameron to watch out for the electrified 'third rail' the tram used for its power source. It would definitely knock Cameron offline if she were to come into contact with it.

It was clear to Young Allison that Savannah felt very uncomfortable inside a casino. Her body language radiated she didn't want to be there. It probably also showed a certain amount of apprehension for the unknown man and whatever he was up to.

Cameron and Sarah stressed as the girls grew up, they should lead simple uncomplicated lives based on the necessity to survive. It was stressed material things were a cumbersome luxury which would interfere with survival. Material possessions were a liability, not an asset. The girls needed to be able to move and move fast and not worry about anything they were forced to leave behind.

Sarah was forced to leave everything behind on more than one occasion. When someone needed to run for their life, they often needed to leave everything behind to do it. It was the same thing Allison and the girls from the future told her. When the enemy arrived, they needed to be gone and not go back. She was still troubled at the way Savannah looked.

"I can tell Savannah feels uncomfortable." Young Allison said. "She doesn't like being in the casino."

Anna thought it looked like a challenge. She could see the desire Sheila expressed to beat the 'game', it didn't matter which 'game' it was. Maybe it was to beat the 'game' the way it was presented and played by the house.

"It looks like fun." Anna said.

Young Allison almost laughed. She thought about it for a few moments. Maybe it did look like fun. How long was it fun for, before it actually became a drawn out process as a person began to realize all of their money would soon be gone? Right down to the moment when they gambled the last penny away, they still believed they were going to win and hit the 'big one'. It was quite evident gambling was a 'mental disorder'.

"Do most of those people playing those games actually look like they're having fun?" Young Allison asked. "Look at them. Look at their faces most of the time. They look like zombies."

Anna was able to look at a multitude of security cameras on the casino floor. She did notice when everyone first arrived in the casino the people looked very happy and excited. She did note the enthusiasm soon started to waver as time went on and the money grew shorter.

She noted two basic types of behavior. When someone's money started to run low, they either bet bigger because they thought they were going to win it all back in a bigger bet, or they made smaller bets because they thought they were going to win it all back if they played longer. It didn't appear either camp understood they were going to lose all their money the longer they played. Gambling wasn't about winning. It was about losing so somebody else could win.

She was pretty sure when anyone ever did win big, it was probably some relative of one of the people in charge of the casino. It was just a way to launder some of the ill-gotten gains to a relative which wouldn't raise any eyebrows. It was much the same way the 'Scratcher' lottery winners were able to win. They were told where to purchase the ticket and when by someone they knew in the lottery organization. There would always be money channeled back to the individual which told them where to purchase the winning ticket.

"When they win they look happy." Anna said. "Very few ever leave with more than they arrived with. I've been watching them. None of them stop while they're ahead. I guess it's greed."

Young Allison thought the people who gambled looked like freshly activated Terminators at times. There was no emotion or feeling. There was only a blank look upon their faces as their money dwindled away.

"Look at their faces." Young Allison said. "They all look like Terminators except for the few times they win. They win just enough to string them along to keep them in the game so they continue to spend as much money as possible."

Anna didn't want to get caught up in what was obviously some form of 'mental illness' which afflicted people who gambled and thought they were all going to win the big one. It was time to move on.

"We have other developments as well." Anna said.

Young Allison was still displeased the rest of the teams were strung out.

"We need to find out more about Cammy and Gail." Young Allison said. "Ally is on her own and Sheila is about to be left behind."

Once they found out what Cammy just did, they were both very concerned. Much of what the Grays said prior to Cammy's decision to enter the building was blocked from Young Allison. Most of it was done at the previous request of Savannah so she wouldn't be exposed to some types of violence which were more graphic than others. Anything held back from her was something she could watch by turning on the television and basically see everything in detail over and over on dozens of television shows and hundreds of movies.

Sex, drugs, and violence seemed to be some things the entertainment industry thrived on. Strangely enough many of those involved tried to act like they were against those very things, even if they made millions propagating them and giving people ideas on what to do and act out on. She thought they were all hypocrites.

Maybe it was more because Savannah didn't want her to see members of the Resistance indulge in some of the violence. When they dealt with the enemy, it always ended rather gruesome for them, especially with Cameron's 'off the books' operations.

Young Allison was able to read between the lines when things were kept from her. She would often ask CamNet to show her things she 'missed' later on when she was alone. CamNet always reminded her those were restricted items and she wasn't supposed to see them or listen to them. She always reminded CamNet she knew she was still going to do it anyway. She did.

Earlier:

Cammy listened to the Grays inside the building talk. She was highly agitated by what they said. When one started talking about abusing a redhead, she snapped.

She wanted to kill the Gray. She ran towards the rear door and slammed into it. She knocked it off its hinges and it went flying. She didn't even draw nor need her weapons for human targets. She was a Terminator and she was designed to terminate humans. She could only think about what if the 'redhead' was 'Savannah' they referred to. She knew it wasn't, but the hair color is what made her snap. It could have been in 'a future'. It was a fact in Vanna's future. She never wanted it to happen to Savannah.

She did look at the HK Track and could see it wasn't activated yet. If it was turned on, it wasn't currently functional. Her arrival might trip something and bring it out of standby. So far there was no indication it would become active. It allowed her to concentrate on the men.

The two Grays were surprised and stunned as the rear door exploded inward. The Grays weren't even able to draw their pistols before Cammy was upon them. She grabbed both of them and slammed them together. They were both stunned. One of them appeared to be out but coming around.

She relieved them of their weapons and choked both of them out. She held one in each hand several inches off the floor as they thrashed around wildly before they fell silent. She didn't want them to die yet. She wasn't done yet. In fact, she hadn't even started.

Gail followed Cammy in with her Taser and pistol out. She looked at the HK Track to make sure it wasn't activated. It didn't appear so. She turned her attention to the Grays. It was clear Cammy was in control of the two men.

Cammy didn't want any surprises behind her.

"Check the HK Track, make sure it won't come online." Cammy said. "Check the building too. I want to make sure no one is hiding anywhere. Remember, there's a Terminator associated with the Grays."

Gail went and checked the HK Track to make sure it was shut down and disabled for now. She only glanced at Cammy as she dealt with the two Grays.

She did a quick search of the premises. She was very displeased with what she found in one room. It was what they knew would be in there, but it was still very troubling to find. She briefly looked over the deceased female. She knew Jesse was right in their search for individuals who committed crimes like this in the present. They were people who weren't back from the future. They were the evil and demented people which existed now. The survivors after J-Day would be Scavengers. Jesse and her made sure the herd was continuously thinned prior to J-Day. She returned to the area where Cammy was.

"Only the deceased female is here." Gail said.

Cammy understood it to mean the Grays controlled her fate for a period of time.

Gail could see Cammy's eyes glowed red. She was on the verge of losing all control. She moved to assist Cammy.

Cammy was still upset with what one Gray indicated occurred in the future. She brushed Gail off. She wanted to deal with the situation herself. It was very personal to her.

"I have it." Cammy said. "You heard what they said."

Gail didn't feel she was any less upset than Cammy. She was a little bit better in control of her 'emotions'. It was probably because her 'emotional program' wasn't as advanced as Cammy's was.

"I did hear them." Gail said. "I'd like one for myself. I feel what you do. I know how to deal with individuals like these. I know these two are Grays and there are certain 'rules' we're supposed to adhere to. I also know the nature of their grievous infraction. Their own actions put them outside the scope of the rules. In this instance we know who the specific perpetrators are, and what they are responsible for by their own admission. The 'evidence' is in another room. One of them bragged about what he did."

The anger in Gail built up as well. Her eyes too glowed red.

Cammy knew Gail was in love with Savannah. It bothered her to a certain extent but not too much. She knew it would give Savannah better protection going forward with someone else looking out for her. She also knew whatever happened next would stay between both of them. They were both about to act for the deceased female and for 'Savannah'. It was really for the 'redhead' in the future, the one Gray boasted about abusing.

It was going to be an act of revenge and retribution. There was a reckoning coming. Both Cammy and Gail's eyes glowed red. It was very intense right now.

They both knew what happened next would simply be left out of any report. The rest of the report would be accurate, but there would be a few details omitted. It wasn't a new concept and was a time honored practice which went on throughout time. People always needed to do things they weren't necessarily proud of. It didn't matter. They still needed to be done to rectify a situation.

It could always be viewed as 'lies of omission'. It could also be viewed as some things were simply overlooked because they were 'forgotten'. If someone's memory was specifically jogged, it was possible they could remember a little more.

The box truck which deposited the HK Track in the building Cammy and Gail were now in was on its way to a new destination. The goal was to find out what the destination was. No matter what it actually held was irrelevant. If it was associated with the Grays, it was a target.

Ally went after the box truck on her own in Cammy's SUV. She didn't have any immediate backup. John Henry fed her the information on where it was. She stayed on a parallel street, three blocks over.

She didn't want to be too close or be spotted this early in the operation. She would stand out like a sore thumb if she were to appear behind the vehicle moments after it left the location.

"Can you control the signals to make sure he doesn't get away from me?" Ally asked. "I don't want them to spot me."

John Henry didn't have as much control in that regard as he would have in the city.

"I can control some of them, but if they move out away from town, most of those aren't wired into a central system there." John Henry said. "They operate under a set of controls inside the specific traffic box on the street. I'll lose any control very quickly."

Ally was a little upset with the response. She would have liked for a better answer.

"Am I talking to you or your server?" Ally asked.

The response she received didn't tell her much.

"Does it matter?" John Henry asked. "We're one in the same."

Based on her observations, Ally was pretty sure CamNet and Cameron weren't the same, at least not anymore. They seemed to be two separate entities and each one was as devious as the other one. At this point in time they both seemed to have different agendas going forward.

"OK, whatever you say." Ally said. "Fill me in on the other operations as you feed me directions."

John Henry didn't want her to only concentrate on the target in front of her.

"I'll also inform you if I spot a tail on you." John Henry said.

Ally realized she developed target fixation with his statement and wasn't paying attention around her, or in back of her. It could prove to have a terminal effect. Now she was worried. She quickly checked her mirrors.

"Do I have a tail?" Ally asked.

John Henry tracked her as he tracked the box truck.

"Not yet." John Henry said.

Ally was still upset she was caught off guard and out in the open at the location where the Grays were at.

"I don't like the fact they spotted me earlier." Ally said.

Gail and her weren't expecting the box truck to arrive before and she was caught off guard and 'made'.

John didn't care for the tone of the conversation. He didn't think there was any reason to mull over what was already done and over with.

"Ally, you're doing great." John said. "Don't get too close and stay alert. We have more teams of Terminators who will arrive soon. If you identify a location I want you to sit tight until more help arrives."

Ally wanted some payback for being stalked earlier. They'd tried to get the jump on her previously.

"I'll keep you informed." Ally said.

Ally actually didn't think it would be too big of a problem if they moved away from the city. She already knew what the truck looked like so it wouldn't be too hard to track. The main thing was to make sure they didn't spot her and she didn't pick up a tail.

Vanna told Allison there was a surprise waiting for her.

Allison wondered what the surprise was.

Vanna moved close to Allison and helped her finish stripping.

Allison could see the much larger breasts Vanna developed. It made her think of being with Savannah when she looked like she did. She remembered some other changes on Savannah during the same time. She took a close look at Vanna. She was identical to what Savannah experienced.

"Not only are you 'bigger', you're 'pinker' than normal too." Allison said.

Vanna kissed Allison and moved her to the waiting bed.

"Don't worry, everything still works the same." Vanna said. "There's also been an upgrade."

Allison returned the kisses and started down Vanna's neck. She moved to Vanna's breasts and kissed them. She took things a little further. All of a sudden Allison's head snapped up and she looked at Vanna.

"You're lactating!" Allison said with a giant smile on her face. "It's a little sweet, like Savannah's was."

Vanna knew what was necessary to stimulate production. There was a very good chance she might need to assist Riley with Precious.

"You can help me produce more." Vanna said.

Allison already started….

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Perfect

With each and every wound
To both your body and mind
Only makes you more special
Double when they're combined

You have taken the beatings
Survived the hurting strain
Endured severe mental torture
Been a victor over its pain

Demons can only haunt you
For you have beaten them in Hell
May you find the path to happiness
Forever in Heaven may you dwell

Every injury flaw and shortcoming
Each defect and all that is imperfect
Make you a stronger and better person
You are as close as possible to perfect

Nobody