Chapter 899

Four Free

Earlier:

Ally and Sheila lost contact with John Henry right before they split up to enter the structure. They lost contact with Cameron's team too. It was probably bad news. They figured it was the jamming field from the Skynet controlled casino. It must have been restarted. They were outside of its range. They could still communicate with CamNet and John Henry's server. Neither one of them could offer any additional information. They were both blinded as well.

They were still a 'go' on their operation. John Henry's server gave them a rundown on everything it knew about the operation. They knew the last position of Cameron's team, and where the 'Metal Bitch' was at. They were too far away to make a difference or help at their casino. With Cameron, Cammy, Gail, and John Henry there, they should be able to handle the 'Metal Bitch'.

There was no report of Grays or any Syndicate personnel who went to help the 'Metal Bitch', but it could change. They needed to worry about John and Savannah. They figured John and Savannah should be able to assist if needed. They should be 'finished' with whatever was supposed to happen. There was no way for them to know exactly what was going on, If anything.

Sheila and Ally went over the plan for their location again. CamNet provided them with blueprints of the house so they knew the layout. It could be different now, but it was doubtful. There were usually only so many changes which could be made to a small structure without requiring significant structural support changes.

Ally soundlessly approached the back door. She noted the windows were barred from the outside. They appeared to have plywood installed on the inside of the windows. It was painted black. It was probably screwed into place from the interior to keep the females from breaking the glass and trying to escape or call for help. They encountered places like it before. They were like dark prisons. They were dark prisons.

The room basically became a cell. It was a prison cell since the females would be locked inside of it. They didn't have any personal freedom. There was something which made it more sinister than a prison cell, even if the same types of behavior happened there as they did in a real prison cell. The occupants held inside the makeshift prison cell weren't guilty of any crime. They were there for only one reason, it was because they were female. There were those who simply saw them as a source of income to provide them with money. A few didn't add up to much in the terms of funds. When there were dozens, or even hundreds, it became a source of wealth.

She listened to see what she could hear. It was quiet. Often faint sobbing could be heard from some of the females. It was usually the new arrivals. Once the females realized they were beaten less, and abused less for obeying, they usually did. The drugs soon took hold. The girls would do 'anything' for the next fix. The narcotics made the hurt go away and the pain stop. Once the drugs became their new master, their life expectancy dropped sharply. There was nothing they wouldn't do, or allow to be done to them, to get their next fix.

It didn't really matter what group the female's handlers belonged to. They all operated in the same way. They were all cruel, sadistic and violent. The females didn't mean anything to them. They didn't listen to their cries or care to hear any of their 'stories'. The females were a commodity to them. The females equaled cash. It was as if they weren't even real people. They were just 'things' to use. If they couldn't generate revenue, there was no need for them to be alive. Chronic troublemakers or complainers didn't last long. They usually ended up dumped in a gully somewhere in the desert after they turned up dead in the room of some 'mark' at the Syndicate casino hotel.

If a new recruit was a continual 'problem', she was often made an example of. She was usually killed in front of the other new recruits. Once the females saw with their own eyes what the price of disobedience was, they were more compliant. The dead female's body was usually left there for a day or two to give everyone else a good look as to what would happen to them if they didn't do what they were told, when they were told to do it.

Ally looked at the rear door as she approached. She didn't spot any type of surveillance equipment. Evidently the occupants felt secure in whatever it was they were up to. She reached for the rear door. It was locked. It wouldn't slow her down at all. They already came up with a plan and knew exactly what they would do. She would act at the same time Sheila did.

Sheila was in the front and would act in twelve seconds.

Earlier:

Sheila moved towards the structure with Ally. they separated by pre-arrangement. Ally headed towards the back. Her target would be the front door. She was very dissatisfied with her earlier interaction with the three men who followed them. She would like to have terminated more of the staff at the casino when they made the 'forced withdrawal' of funds. It wasn't so much of a robbery as it would be of a redistribution of the funds. They didn't need the money. They didn't want the money because it was dirty money, they wanted the money to teach the Syndicate and their Skynet overlords a lesson. They took the only thing of value to them.

Past practice with local drug and sex trafficking operations showed the individuals involved were all very slow learners. When one group was terminated, another group stepped up to take their place. It didn't matter how many times the process was repeated, there were always individuals who wanted to take advantage of others.

The current mission was to deal with a group of sexual predators. It didn't matter who they worked for. It was their personal actions which spoke for them. It was their personal actions which they would now answer for. Everything came with a price. They were there to collect the toll.

Sheila moved along a wall to get to the front. It started to get lighter as it neared sunrise. She didn't want to be seen out in the front by anyone. There was no one around, but one never knew. It was still very early for most people.

She saw the barred and barricaded windows as well. It was nothing new. It was typical of the 'holding pens'. Often the females would be chained to a bed by one of their ankles. They would have a bucket by their bed for any of their waste products, often it needed to be shared with other girls. The living conditions were very crude, primitive, and barbaric. Any complaints were usually met with additional abuse. The goal was total compliance without any hesitation when instructions were given.

Sheila was on a pre-arranged timetable with Ally. She stood before the front door and tried it. It was locked. She checked her time and gave the front door a kick. It ripped part of the door frame away. It was barricaded from the inside. It was no match for a Terminator, especially an angry one.

She moved in over the wreckage of the door. She heard similar results at the back door. Ally was in as well. They planned to kill everyone between them until they met up. They didn't want anyone to slip away.

Sheila held her silenced pistol in one hand and her Taser in the other. They didn't expect to encounter any Terminators, but the operation was Skynet related. They weren't about to take any chances. It was already known at least two Skynet Terminators were involved in the operation. They would most likely encounter Syndicate thugs or Grays inside. There really wasn't much difference between them anyway. They both served a false master.

There were two rooms on her right. There were two females in the first room, and two empty beds. Both of the females were chained and dazed. The noise of the shattered door awoke them. They hardly stirred as she passed them. One of them lifted her head to look. The second room held another female who appeared as if she was about to be abused. She was bound and gagged. She was probably a new arrival. She seemed fully awake. She would have to come back to her. She still searched for targets.

The next door was a bathroom. It was closed, but there was light coming from the bottom of the door. She shoved it open. She found a naked man using the toilet. Her silenced pistol coughed once. She moved on. There were two more silenced rounds fired from the rear of the house.

Sheila headed for the back.

Moments ago:

Ally came in the back door. It was only secured with a deadbolt. It was probably the only door they used. She heard the wood splinter in the front, she knew it was Sheila. With the amount of noise it created, it sounded like a barricaded door coming down. The front door was probably never used. More than likely the handlers didn't want anyone to be seen going to or from the location by the wandering eyes of neighbors. There was a filthy kitchen area she entered into. There were insects crawling on the counters and floor in the kitchen.

There was a room right next to it. She entered and saw two men standing over a female on a bed. She was gagged. Her hands and feet were tied. There were three other empty beds. Ally fired twice as she passed. She heard another silenced round fired from the front after another door was smashed open. The second door sounded like an inside door. They never put up much resistance at all.

She met Sheila in the hall when she exited the room.

They went over what they encountered. They were in the house for eight seconds before they met in the hall. They conducted similar operations before. It was a standard 'smash and grab' assault for them. They looked around for any cash, weapons, or valuables. They didn't expect to find any cash and they didn't. Each of the deceased men carried a pistol. Only one Skynet barcode was found on the three men. It was just another sign of how far the Skynet infiltration was with the Syndicate.

Ally freed the females one by one. She didn't like what she found. It turned out the first female she encountered was in the process of being 'house broken'. The other gagged female was next in line for the 'process'. The other two females were already 'house broken' and drugged. One was really strung out.

Sheila decided to bring the delivery van right up to the house. They needed to get the females away from there. They wanted to get away themselves. There was still one Skynet Terminator unaccounted for. They weren't sure what was happening with the other one who was accounted for. Cameron, Cammy, and Gail were already in the process of dealing with her.

Sheila hurried away from the house. She needed to go over two blocks to retrieve the delivery van. She saw the sun was about to rise and hoped the females would try to make the most of a new day in their lives. They were lucky to even be able to ever see the daylight again. They normally would be transported at night to keep them from prying eyes. Most of the new activity they would do, occurred during the hours of darkness. The rest of the time they would be in some type of holding pen. It wouldn't be too much different than the way an animal in captivity was treated.

She kept a low profile as she approached the delivery van. She spotted something amiss right away. There was a black sedan. It was parked directly in back of the delivery van.

Sheila looked around for the occupants of the sedan. She didn't spot them right away. She figured they probably tried to get a look inside of the delivery van. She quickly moved up in back of the sedan. She verified there was no one in it. She moved around towards the passenger side of the sedan as she crouched down. She spotted someone fooling with the side door on the delivery van. He tried to use his phone, but he couldn't get it to work. It was because JH established a jamming field for a ten block radius around the target location where the females were held.

She took out her silenced M9 and was about to take a shot at the man when he moved around the front of the van. She was pretty sure he was a Syndicate thug. She didn't know for sure. She figured he was probably on his way to the house they just took down when he spotted the delivery van. He was most likely sent there to assist the 'Metal Bitch' when she let the new girls off. He probably wanted the first 'crack' at them.

The new recruits were always a little 'fresher' than those involved in the 'break-in' process. Things could get pretty messy until the female 'gave up' and submitted. There is no doubt what their new 'job' was going to be, and what it was going to be like.

Sheila quickly moved from her position behind the thug's sedan and went after him. She moved along the passenger side of the delivery van and across the front of it as the man tried the driver's door. It was open. They didn't have any keys so they could lock all the doors but one. She didn't want him to enter the delivery van. He would find the cash from the casino as well as some of the blood from the casino manager.

"The vehicle is private property, love." Sheila said.

The thug jumped about a foot when she spoke.

He started to turn around to see who spoke to him. He was too slow.

Sheila was on him in an instant. She rabbit punched him in the back of the neck and snapped his spine. His lifeless body slumped into the open driver's door of the delivery van. She grabbed his belt and tossed him all the way inside. She looked around outside to see if anyone noticed anything. She didn't spot anyone. She climbed inside of the delivery van. She started it and drove off. She wasn't sure if the delivery van was already a target, or if the thug spotted the delivery van and thought it was out of place. He may have also been provided with a description of the delivery van used when they relieved the casino of their ill gotten gains. It was possible the van was seen either arriving or departing the area at the time the incident occurred.

She called Ally and filled her in on the new development. Ally told her she would move the females to the side room while they unloaded the stiff and then they would go.

Moments ago:

Three of the females asked a lot of questions. Ally gave them very few answers. She told them to get dressed. There was a pile of clothes next to the washing machine. One of the females experienced a lot of trouble getting dressed. Another one of the females helped her. It was the female who was in the same room with her. They were there the longest, which was only a few days.

Sheila called her and said she was on her way with the delivery van. She gave her a brief rundown of what happened near the delivery van. They would have one more stiff to add to the three already in the house.

Ally ushered the four females to the side room by the front door. She didn't want to traumatize them anymore. She didn't think they needed to see another dead body being unloaded out of the vehicle they were going to leave in. It seemed like it would give off a very negative connotation.

Sheila backed the delivery van up across the dead lawn, right up to the front door.

Ally opened the back and pulled out the deceased man and carried him to the back room.

Sheila followed Ally and the stiff out. She collected the females and ushered them into the back of the delivery van. Ally joined them with the items they collected from around the house. She climbed in the back. She needed to help the one female who was the most drugged. She knew she wasn't going to do well. There was a good chance she would never get off the drugs they injected her with. Depending upon how hooked she was at this point, would determine her future.

The females were all a little overwhelmed about what happened and they now were soon to be free.

One of the two females who wasn't drugged watched how everything went down. It was only a matter of seconds.

"It's like 'Mission Impossible'." One of the girls said.

Sheila tilted her head slightly at the reference. She thought the way the TV show, and even the movies were portrayed, was a little different than the way they did things. It was more of a 'smash and grab' type of affair, than it was setting someone up to take the fall. She thought they were on a lot of impossible missions. Somehow they pulled them off and kept moving forward. This one was no different. It wasn't over yet. It seemed like they were never over.

"It feels like it sometimes." Sheila said as she drove away.

Ally found out four other girls were taken away two days ago and never heard from or seen again. They didn't know any of them before and none of them were related. Those four girls were already there when any of them arrived. They were all compliant and offered no resistance when they were taken away. All of them were 'house broken'.

The females said they were all lured there by a pretty female who was nice to them. She offered them work at a local casino. She told them she needed to make a quick stop to see her uncle. They were all a little concerned at the shabby condition of the house as they approached. The three men were waiting for them when they arrived.

The 'Metal Bitch' was evidently bringing the replacements for the other four females when she was forced to act because of the 'events' at the casino. Maybe it would bring 'The Enforcer' back as well. The Metal girls all looked forward to taking both of the Skynet Terminators down.

The females said they were all forced to be photographed. Close ups were taken of specific areas. They were told it was part of the selection process for their new 'jobs'. It was soon clear what those 'jobs' were going to be. They might be working for a 'casino', but it wouldn't be in any type of way proper. Their new job was to earn money, not get paid.

Ally and Sheila still couldn't reach John Henry in the hotel, or Cameron's team. They were in contact with John Henry's server and CamNet. Neither could provide information on what was happening inside the jamming field. Anything could be happening there at this point.

They needed to get the females away from there so they could get back to the hotel casino where the rest of the team was at. There was a good chance they may need to return to the Syndicate casino again. It wouldn't be to confiscate additional funds. If they did, they may need to hit it a little harder. They would most likely go after Syndicate personnel who came out to confront them. There were sure to be Grays among them.

Sheila spotted a parked passenger van up ahead as they headed back to the hotel. Two of the girls said they could drive. She pulled over in back of it.

Ally got out and looked around. It was clear. She started the van for the females. She told them because they were previously photographed, if they stayed in Nevada they would be tracked down again and most likely killed. She said they would be picked up on casino and hotel surveillance within seconds of entering one of those establishments. None of the females wanted to go to the police or a hospital. All of them were runaways. Most were wanted for minor offenses. None of them wanted to be subjected to the same type of abuse again either. Most of them already went through several rough incidents already. None of them were an organized and repeated affair like they just experienced.

Ally gave three of the females the three snub nosed revolvers they took from the three thugs who followed them from the casino. Those three thugs ended up in dumpsters. It was where trash belonged. The firearms the men at the 'training house' carried were all auto loaders. They were much more difficult to instruct a novice to use in a few minutes. Revolvers were simple.

The girls were a little apprehensive as they looked at the firearms. One of them spoke up.

"How does it work?" One girl asked. "I don't want to shoot myself or one of the other girls by accident."

Ally didn't think it got much simpler than a revolver. The snub nose revolvers were very compact with an extremely short barrel. They weren't very powerful as far as firearms went, but they could do the job. They were meant to be used up close and could be very deadly in close quarters. No one needed to be a marksman if the target was only a few feet away.

"It's really simple." Ally told them. "Point the gun and pull the trigger. It will fire. It will be loud and kick a lot. There's nothing else to it. Let me give you a quick demonstration."

Ally unloaded one and showed them how to use it. They said it seemed simple enough. She reloaded the gun and gave it back to the female who asked. She paused and took it back from the female and opened the cylinder. She ejected the cartridges into her hand, closed the cylinder and handed the girl back the firearm. She then handed her the cartridges.

"Show me what you need to do to make it work." Ally said.

The female fumbled with the cylinder latch for a few seconds before she was able to push it forward and release the cylinder. Once the cylinder was open, the female carefully loaded the cartridges into the cylinder. She went to close the cylinder but held the revolver so it was level to do so. Several of the cartridges begin to slide out of the cylinder and bound up against the side of the revolver. It prevented the female from closing the cylinder.

The other two girls who were given revolvers watched what she did. One of them spoke up. She could see the problem was gravity.

"You need to keep it pointed at a slight downward angle so the bullets don't slide back out when you close it." The other girl said.

The first female immediately tipped the revolver downward and the cartridges slid back into the cylinder. She was able to close it successfully.

"OK, I get it now." The first female said.

Sheila looked back as she drove.

"Have all of them give it a try." Sheila said. "I don't want anyone to put the grab on them again. I don't think they want it either. They shouldn't let anyone try to put the grab on them, no matter who they are."

All three females unloaded and then reloaded their revolvers. Ally instructed them to unload them again. They were given the chance to 'dry fire' the revolvers to see what the trigger pull was like. It was a lot more effort through double action than any of them thought it would be. She briefly showed them the single action feature. It was where the hammer was cocked, the cylinder rotated, and very little force was needed to pull the trigger. She recommended they didn't use it because they might end up with an accidental discharge since they were untrained. She reminded them if they did need to use the firearm, they would probably be pumped full of adrenaline to avoid capture. The females reloaded the revolvers. They were all set.

Ally was satisfied the females wouldn't accidentally shoot themselves or each other. She went to one of the gunny sacks and took out some money. She gave them all some cash. She made sure it wasn't too much. If any of the girls carried too much cash, one of them may flash some of it around which would draw attention. It would probably also put a target on her back from someone else who wanted the cash. She told them to dump the van at a mall and find other transportation. They could stay together for support of each other, or split up. Bus or rail travel wouldn't require any identification. She recommended if it was possible they return home and attempt to restart their lives. She knew the situation at home sometimes wasn't much better than what they just experienced, especially if a grabby stepfather was involved, or any others living in the household who might have abusive thoughts.

Sheila didn't like to have to be so abrupt with the females, but there was another calling they needed to attend to. They freed the girls, gave them some cash, a vehicle and the means to defend themselves. Now it was time for some advice.

"Watch your speed and don't get pulled over." Sheila said. "If the authorities get you, they won't believe your stories. If you get sent to prison it won't be much better than where you were. The same things will happen to you in there with the other prisoners. It won't matter if they're all female either. The female 'lifers' will be just as ruthless as those men were. There will be fights over you because you're young and new. You will be most likely 'marked' by cutting or branding to show 'ownership' in prison. I hope you like females, because it's what you will have to service every night for the length of your prison term. There will be male prison guards who will often be very abusive as well."

None of the four girls looked like they wanted to go to prison. They weren't so sure it would be as bad as the ordeal they just went through, but it sounded bad enough. They most likely wouldn't be involved with any males by choice anytime soon.

"Who are you people?" One girl asked. "I don't think you're law enforcement, even if you represent justice."

Ally wanted to keep it simple. Not only would it take too long to explain to the girls exactly who they were, but they most likely wouldn't be believed anyway. Who would ever believe they were very scary robots from the future? They certainly didn't feel like cutting through her sheath down to her Coltan endoskeleton to show them what was inside.

"We're the good guys." Ally said as she glanced at the sacks full of cash. "Most of the time…."

The sacks contained millions of dollars. They didn't give the females too much cash earlier. They were given their freedom and a second chance. The sacks of money were headed elsewhere. The females would need to learn to stand on their own two feet if they ever wanted to make it in life.

The females all heard Sheila's accent and knew she wasn't a local.

"Are you part of some international organization?" Another girl asked.

Sheila glanced at Ally before she spoke. She knew there was only so much they could say. No one would believe them anyway if they told them the truth.

"We're something like that." Sheila said. "We are a little ahead of our time."

The females were all glad they were free and the abuse was done.

"I thank you for rescuing me and all of us." A third girl said.

Sheila wanted them to get on their way so they could finish their task.

"You four need to go and keep going. Don't stop until you are across the state border and never look back." Sheila said. "Never come back to this state."

Ally wanted to repeat some of her parting advice as well. Based on past experience the majority of those who could return home did much better than those who couldn't.

"I strongly recommend each of you return home if you can and stay there." Ally said. "I know some of you may have left an abusive situation at home. There are groups everywhere who will help abused females."

The females thanked them again and drove off.

Sheila started the delivery van and headed back out towards the casino. They would need to pick up their SUV along the way.

Ally moved up to the front so she could speak with Sheila easier and look out the front window.

"I'm worried about them." Ally said. "One of them is really hooked on drugs. I didn't give her a firearm. I didn't think it was safe for her to have one. I was also worried she may use it later on to try to get more drugs, or to get money to purchase more drugs."

Sheila couldn't disagree with her assessment. She saw the same way. She also didn't give them very good prospects going forward. She was pretty sure if any of the females didn't return home, they would probably be rounded up again somewhere else. There were several occasions where they freed some females two or three times from different sex trafficking operations when they raided them. It was very evident each time they freed them, the girls were even more 'used up' than they were previously. She heard the expression, 'you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink', before. When they encountered the same female in multiple 'stables', it seemed to prove the statement.

"You know most of them will end up back in a similar place again." Sheila said. "We've seen it."

Ally didn't need to hear it again. She was well aware how things played out. There were times when they found a body near one of the locations they raided. Sometimes it was a female they freed elsewhere, usually more than once.

"I know. If one of them doesn't get captured, then we helped. Their lives are very short once they are in this type of captivity. This one being Skynet affiliated, only makes it worse." Ally said. "The operation we did here was about denying resources to Skynet and their schemes to blackmail people."

The sun was just about to come up over the mountains.

"Let's get the Escalade and head for the hotel." Sheila said. "We'll pass right by it. I'm sick of this tub and all it represents now."

Ally silently gathered everything in the back of the delivery van. The Escalade would be full of cash, a lot of it. She tried to contact John Henry and Cameron's team again several times to no avail. JH and CamNet couldn't tell her much more.

"How do you think Cameron's team is doing?" Ally asked.

Sheila was worried about all of them as well. She didn't know what the specifics were but she did know how the ending eventually would be. It was just a matter of when it actually would occur.

"I'm going to bet it's better than the 'Metal Bitch' is going to do." Sheila said.

Ally thought about the four females they just sent on their way. She thought about the four other ones who were taken away from the location earlier. There were four free and four who were not. They didn't know their fate, but they knew it wouldn't be anything good. She thought about the four girls who were picked up by the 'Metal Bitch' but released. Maybe they were the luckiest of any of them. She strongly doubted their luck would hold out for long. She was more than a little depressed. She saw the delivery van was equipped with a radio. Maybe some tunes would perk things up a little.

"Turn the radio on." Ally said. "We needed something to liven the mood right now."

'Draggin' The Line' by 'Tommy James', sounded through the delivery van.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

While You Were Gone

Many doors in life
Can open or close
Most are the result
Of things we once chose

Sometimes we can act
Before we think it through
We can all bite off
More than we can chew

When you know what's in a heart
And you still choose to play
Your actions sum it up
Leaving little to say

You can hurt one very much
But not endlessly forever
When you seek them back
The answer is never

What would you feel
If I were to move on
It could have happened
While you were gone

Nobody