Chapter 922
That Is Risky
John and John Henry watched it all come to a head at the Syndicate casino from the Command Center. It looked like it was going to be a little more involved and violent than they first thought.
"The Syndicate thugs are going to try to stop 'The Enforcer' from leaving." John said. "I can see everyone is posturing."
John Henry could tell why. It was because all of their cash was in the back of the armored car.
"They think they're being robbed again." John Henry said.
'The Enforcer' directed the Grays to keep collecting the cash and load it in the armored car.
"I think it's exactly what's happening." John said.
As they watched the security feed, several of the Syndicate thugs pulled weapons. It looked as if they were going to have a shootout inside the lower level of the casino.
There were four Grays with 'The Enforcer'. He moved forward and slammed two of the Syndicate thugs into the ground. They didn't get back up.
Another thug shot at 'The Enforcer'. There was no apparent effect.
'The Enforcer' pulled a suppressed MAC 10 from behind his back and opened up on the Syndicate thugs. The three still standing all fell. None of the Grays appeared to be injured. It all happened in seconds.
The Skynet force seemed undamaged. The Syndicate force of thugs appeared terminated. One thing was for certain, there would be more of them at some point. They could be in other parts of the casino or even hotel area. The shooting might not be over before the Skynet group left with the Syndicate funds. He really hoped the violence didn't spread to the casino floor at some point.
"They should just take the money and go." John said.
One of the Grays pulled a pistol and went from thug to thug. He shot them each once in the head, except for one. He pulled out a knife on one of the thugs the Terminator slammed into the ground. It looked like he was still alive, even if he was busted up. 'The Enforcer' stopped him and indicated they needed to finish up and get in the armored transport. The Gray kicked the last thug in the side of the face and then shot him in the head as well. He then rejoined the work party loading the money into the armored car.
The rest of the money was rounded up unchallenged.
There were no other Syndicate forces dispatched to engage them before they collected everything and left.
They quickly loaded up the last of the money and piled into the armored car. The rear door of the armored car closed. It was followed momentarily by a puff of black smoke from the exhaust as the armored car started up.
The armored car drove away from the casino loading dock area.
A Gray drove the armored car down the side streets at first. They didn't pull onto the main highway. It appeared they may have thought they were being followed.
John Henry knew everything was about to break loose on their end.
"They're on the move." John Henry said. "The girls are all getting the same feeds we saw."
John could see the Skynet crew used a lot of caution. That would make their job a little tougher. They needed a direction so they could turn the girls loose after them. The only thing they were sure of at this point was they wouldn't return to the Syndicate casino.
"We'll track them and see where they go." John said. "They seem wary of picking up a tail. The girls need to be careful and not get overconfident."
John Henry had access to two drones. Once it was determined 'The Enforcer' was inside of the Syndicate casino, they were directed to watch over the girls. They previously were there where the girls waited at the airport. He redirected both of them to follow the armored car.
"I already have one drone locked up on the armored car." John Henry said. "The second drone is running recon and searching for any other targets."
John wondered if maybe a drone strike on the armored car might not be the best approach. It would be the safest for Savannah. Maybe he should take a page from Young Allison's playbook.
"Do you think we need more drones?" John asked.
There was only one target for John Henry to track currently. If the Skynet group were to unload some of the items from the armored car, then maybe they would need more drones. It didn't appear they were going to unload the armored car anywhere.
"At the present time I would say 'no'." John Henry said. "Then again, we've been receiving direct assistance from CamNet."
John was sure the statement needed a little qualification. Even though it hadn't been declared, it was fairly evident what actually occurred behind the scenes. He was sure the assistance all originated in the Young bunker specifically with Young Allison. He wanted to make his observation known, even if it wasn't specific.
"I'm pleased with whoever CamNet is being promoted to act by." John said. "I appreciate all of the help we've received."
John Henry was sure they knew the answer to it. He didn't have a problem with it.
"They were all 'good calls', John." John Henry said. "Cameron and Savannah, as well as the others were all undamaged because of them."
John knew it was true. He also knew the Young bunker stepped up because John Henry and him weren't in the Command Center at the Resistance base. They were in the Control Center established in the Honeymoon Suite of the casino hotel in Las Vegas. He specifically tried to make progress with Cammy, before Cameron arrived and things happened with her. He wasn't sure he would have made any of the same calls Young Allison did even if he was in the Command Center where he should have been. He didn't want to lag behind again. He wanted to make sure the girls were protected.
It was time to get the ball rolling.
"Cameron, your target is on the move." John said. "They took some evasive action, but seem to be headed in one direction at this time. It's still possible they may go in another direction. It's hard to determine exactly what they're up to."
John still didn't want Cameron to make a direct assault on the armored car. It wasn't a soft target by design. There was a Terminator inside along with a group of Grays. They were all armed. He felt it was risky to her, and risky for Savannah and all the others.
He needed to wonder how they were at this point. So many things happened since the two boxcars were detected in the desert headed for Las Vegas. Now they were involved with several Skynet related targets. There were the Fanatics and the Syndicate to contend with as well. They most likely weren't done with either of those groups yet.
The worst part was they simply didn't have a clue where things were headed or what could happen next. No one saw everything coming which developed so far. No one was under the illusion anything was going to be easy going forward. They would most likely need to deal with multiple groups again before they were done. They didn't even know what 'done' would look like. The finish line was elusive.
Cameron started the SUV and was already headed out before the armored car even pulled out of the casino parking lot. Gail and Cam both followed her. They left the airport behind.
"Cameron, your target is on the move." John said.
Cameron wanted to be on the road before the armored car made it to one of the major streets. If anyone was watching the traffic, she didn't want them detected if they started to move after the armored car passed by them, if it were the case. If they were already on the road, no one should think anything of it, even if they fell in behind the armored car.
"We saw, John." Cameron said. "We're rolling."
John thought it was a little premature for them to be on the move. He wondered what they were up to. He wondered if they knew what they were up to.
"What's your plan?" John asked.
Cameron did have a plan. It wasn't a detailed plan. It was only a general plan. It was the same plan as always. Once the enemy was identified it was time to move in and take action. The enemy was now identified.
"We'll stop the armored car and terminate 'The Enforcer' and Grays." Cameron said. "We'll also take the money."
John was about to respond it wasn't a plan at all. Savannah spoke before he could.
Savannah could see Cameron's plan seemed a little vague. She wanted to put a little spin on it herself. She also hoped to interject a little control and restraint. She thought they should learn a little more if they could. There must be a destination in mind where they were headed with the armored car. So far there was no effort to switch anything to other vehicles.
"John, it will depend on where the armored car goes." Savannah said. "It may lead us to a bigger fish. They most likely have a lot of money on board and are headed to a specific destination. We don't know what yet, but it could be something bigger. We previously identified and took down several of their locations. It's possible they could return to one of those if they think they regained control of it. My guess would be, they will go to a different location than we already know about."
John didn't think the Skynet group would return to one of the locations already taken down. They would need to assume they were being watched by some type of surveillance. They would be correct in their assumption. All of the locations they knew about were being watched. He agreed as well the armored car must have a specific destination, maybe there would be a bigger target like Savannah suggested.
"It might." John said. "I think you're right about it, Savannah."
There was an additional worry in the back of Savannah's mind. She knew the earlier incident at the Syndicate casino's vault wasn't reported to the authorities. Both the Syndicate and Skynet knew someone took their money. It was clear they planned to get it back one way or another. As to exactly how they would do it, it was undetermined as of yet. She felt they would need to use a fair amount of caution in everything they did.
"We also need to consider it is all a set up to lure us out into the open." Savannah said. "I'm advising we all use caution. The Skynet group knows whoever hit the casino vault earlier is still out there. They know it wasn't them even if they suspected The Syndicate. The Syndicate would suspect the Skynet group based on what just occurred in the vault of the Syndicate casino."
Cameron didn't want to lose sight of the target. There was no need to deal with 'what ifs' currently. There was a clear cut target. It was what mattered right now.
"Knocking off the armored car should be easy." Cameron said.
John Henry was more than a little worried Cameron wanted to conduct another robbery. There was a serious Skynet threat associated with the armored car. It was mainly in the form of 'The Enforcer'. There was some speculation as to whether he was Liquid Metal or not. Based upon the actions they saw him take at the casino vault just a few minutes ago, they appeared to be the actions of a standard endoskeleton Terminator. He wanted to make sure the idea was out there which indicated there were other options available, other than a direct assault. He thought the different options might be based upon where the armored transport actually went.
"You have the option of a drone strike once they're clear of traffic or preferably out of the city." John Henry said.
Cameron didn't want any second guessing from the Command Center. She was the one on the ground. She would make the determination as to how the target was engaged. She hoped John backed off a little and didn't create an argument
"I'll think about it." Cameron said. "I'm better able to assess the situation from our current location than you are in the Command Center."
Cameron felt a drone attack would be messy. It may destroy the Terminator and probably the cash. They would lose two valuable assets with a missile strike.
John really hoped the armored car would drive away from the city. He knew there was a good possibility they could go to another casino. If it did, there was a chance they would lose 'The Enforcer' if he got out.
"Let's play it by ear for now." John said.
Cameron wanted a better plan and she wanted to be in control of it. She wondered if either of her girls would come up with a workable solution at the same time she formulated one. She hoped they did so they could compare them. She wanted to prompt both of them.
"We'll see what other plans we can come up with in the next few minutes." Cameron said. "We might come up with some type of plan once we know more about where the armored car is going. I hope we can come up with more than a few options."
Savannah was concerned the armored car might pick up an escort vehicle, or a chase vehicle. It could even be both.
"We need to be wary of any other vehicles associated with them." Savannah said. "We haven't detected any yet, it doesn't mean they're not out there."
There was always the possibility one of the other groups involved in the Las Vegas area might know more as well and determine the armored car was a valid target .
Moments ago:
Gail's team received the information.
Ally didn't care for what she heard. She went down the same road before.
"I hope it isn't a drone strike." Ally said. "It will be a hassle to clean up."
She pictured picking pieces of Coltan and other debris from the Terminator out of the sand and dirt surrounding the road where the missile strike would take place.
Gail wanted to use the option which posed the least amount of a threat to the team.
"It will be safest for Savannah if a missile is used." Gail said. "We will face armed opposition from the armored car if we approach it on foot."
Sheila was in agreement with Ally on this one. She was on more than one of the cleanup expeditions after a drone strike at some of the locations they dealt with.
"We need to worry about collateral damage with a missile strike. It shouldn't happen in the city if it can be avoided." Sheila said. "If we have to blow the armed transport up, it will still be a hassle to collect all the Terminator parts."
Gail looked at both of them with more than a little irritation.
"I'll do it myself." Gail said. "You two can do whatever you want. Savannah shouldn't be exposed to an unnecessary risk."
Sheila knew what she was going to do while Gail cleaned up the mess. She wanted to rib Gail a little bit about it.
"Gail has it real bad." Sheila said.
Ally was more than willing to jump on the bandwagon and rag on Gail.
"Yup…." Ally said.
Gail glared at both of them. She wanted to make her discord clear.
"Shut up." Gail said. "I mean both of you."
Ally and Sheila were only trying to have some fun. They could both tell they'd hit a 'nerve'.
Gail wasn't in a joking mood; she never was, unless she was around Savannah. At those times, Savannah encouraged her to see what was really being said, instead of the sum of what the words were. Sometimes when the words were taken at face value, they might actually seem insulting when it wasn't the intention.
What she didn't need right now was any backtalk from Ally or Sheila.
Cam didn't like to play 'follow the leader' unless she was the leader. The 'Cameron' in her didn't like to play 'second fiddle'. She wanted some better planning if there was any time to do it.
"Once we determine which way the armored car is headed, one of us needs to get in front of it." Cam said.
Hanna was ready for some preemptive action.
"Maybe we should do it." Hanna said.
Holly thought they should all work together as a team and not try to branch out and do things independently of each other. She wasn't usually out on operations, but she thought they should follow some operational framework of some type.
"I think we should run it by Cameron and John first." Holly said.
Cam reconsidered her earlier thought. She didn't want to end up working at cross purposes with the rest of the team.
"Maybe we all should be on the same page." Cam said. "I'll contact Cameron first."
Cam called Cameron and ran the idea by her. She would have just as soon taken direct action. She would try and follow protocol and be a team player. There were three teams after all.
Cameron put the call from Cam on speaker phone. They listen to the proposal.
"It's what I planned with a twist, Cam." Cameron said. "We have Samantha with us. I think they will stop to pick her up if they see her."
Cam was pretty sure the sight of Samantha would send up a few red flags at this point in time since she was missing for more than a few hours. There was no guarantee the reaction would be to pull over for her.
"Or they might run her down." Cam said. "It also must be considered. She's been out of contact with everyone since she headed for our casino hotel. It doesn't seem like there's any story she'd be able to tell which would hold up to scrutiny. The main one would be why she didn't contact anyone for so long."
Savannah could see the danger any operation like it would pose for Samantha. She would be totally exposed and out in the open. There were some unpleasant ways the situation might play out in the back of the armored transport.
"That is risky for Samantha." Savannah said. "We don't know what could happen. Even if they didn't run her down, they might stop. When she approached the armored car, they could Taser her and capture her. 'The Enforcer' could pull her chip and turn her chassis over to the Grays to use as they continued their journey. It would become a bigger problem for us to stop the armored car then without doing additional damage to her before she could be rescued."
Samantha didn't like the prospect of being captured at all. She was very pleased Savannah showed and voiced concern for her. It was clear to Cameron, she was little more than an expendable asset. The possibility of what could happen to her chassis did bother her immensely in Savannah's scenario. She smiled at Savannah.
"Thank you, Savannah." Samantha said. "I'm glad one person cares about me, even if my time is limited."
Cammy gave Samantha a dirty look. She didn't think Samantha's time was limited enough. She still reminded her too much of the last version of Isabel. Cameron terminated her because she didn't like all the little things she did. She was sure the main one was the way Isabel ignored Cameron most of the time.
John was glad Savannah shot down Cameron's idea on how to deploy Samantha. He thought it was a bad idea as well. He was sure if he would have indicated it himself, Cameron would have decided to use it anyway. The armored car was on the move and it must have a destination.
"Maybe we need to wait a little and see where they lead us." John said. "They have to be going somewhere."
Savannah was a little worried they didn't know the exact size of the force they would face. There were only a limited amount of facts to work with.
"There are five of them we saw." Savannah said. "There could have been more waiting inside the armored car, or more Grays could meet them. There could be additional Terminators or Grays setting up an ambush for them to pass through, and for us to trigger."
John understood the severity of Savannah's warning. Right now there were too many unknowns and not enough answers.
"I want everyone to hang back and the drone will follow them." John said. "We don't want to get caught in a sucker play."
Cameron understood the importance of finding another target wherever the armored car ended up at. She wanted to deal with the known threat as soon as they could because it was the most serious threat to them at this point.
"I think we should take the armored car down first." Cameron said. "I want 'The Enforcer' deactivated. It's the immediate threat. He was already able to elude us for far longer than he should have. I don't want any chance of him getting away."
John Henry was sure there was a more serious undertone. He already was targeted once in the Control Center at their casino hotel.
"Cameron, they may lead us to Skynet, a Skynet." John Henry said. "The 'Metal Bi…', I mean Samantha, was told to check out where we were staying at the hotel. She was even given the proper floor. I never detected anyone watching me. It disrupted our operations. There must be something out there we haven't found yet. They found me earlier. I'd like to find them and return the favor."
Cameron thought about it. The attack by the 'Metal Bitch' spoiled the consummation of John and Savannah's relationship. If 'a Skynet' mainframe was behind it, it needed to pay for the transgression. The event was a serious disruption in the establishment of the 'Natural Order'. She needed to weigh in all of the factors, but still be ready to respond to whatever developed.
"OK, we will follow them with the drone, but still stay within stinking distance." Cameron said. "I don't want 'The Enforcer' to get away. We might have a few Grays try and bail out along the way too. I don't want to lose track of them either. If anyone gets out of the armored transport I want to put the grab on them or terminate them."
Cameron was ready to act on her own if it looked like 'The Enforcer' was going to elude them or pull a fast one. It wouldn't be the first time she needed to deal with events by herself. It most likely wouldn't be the last time either.
Vanna was in charge of Precious. Allison assisted her. It was time to bring her back to her mother. They wanted to make sure Derek and Riley were 'finished' before they interrupted them. They were. They knocked on the door and Riley soon appeared.
Vanna and Allison returned Precious to Riley.
"Thank you so much." Riley said.
Vanna looked at the tiny infant in Riley's arms with love in her eyes.
"Thank you for allowing me to help in this way." Vanna said.
To Riley, and the other girls from the future, it was no big deal. All of the females helped each other out in any way they could. They seemed to be the only ones who watched over each other.
Vanna and Riley both thanked each other again.
Allison and Vanna left and headed back to Vanna's room.
Since all the activity and drama was over, it gave Allison some time to think. It wasn't necessarily a good thing. She began to worry about her cyborg lover. She felt the need to call her but hesitated. She knew her cyborg girlfriend wasn't the only one who was out in the field right now facing danger. She still wanted to express her concern to Vanna.
"I'm worried about Holly." Allison said. "I'm worried about all of them."
Vanna knew there were several options open to them. They could go to the lab and watch events unfold silently, or they could join John and John Henry in the Command Center, and find out more about what was going on with the planning of everything. They knew they needed to stay out of the way if they did.
"We can go by the Command Center first if you want. I'm worried about Cam." Vanna said. "I'm worried about all of them as well."
Allison felt guilty about her earlier thoughts. She was making plans and there was no guarantee any of them would play out. She didn't want to be reminded the only guarantee to life was death.
"Here we are dreaming of a future and they're out there trying to give us one." Allison said. "Savannah's the one who is out there with them. It isn't fair. We need to do more."
Vanna felt she was out of the action for too long. Now her body was able to provide new importance in another way. She felt the need to do more as well. The future shouldn't fall on Savannah's shoulders alone. She was well aware of some of the combat situations Savannah needed to endure, including near death on multiple occasions.
"We've gone soft." Vanna said. "I lose sleep over it sometimes."
Allison worried about it too. She worried about it for more than just herself. It seemed for the last few years Cameron wanted something else for them.
"I do too." Allison said. "Cameron wants us 'barefoot and pregnant'."
Vanna couldn't disagree with her assessment. She felt there was a little more to it as well.
"She wants to protect us." Vanna said. "She cares about us. You know you were in some tough situations with Cameron and Jesse a few times. She wants to prevent it from happening again to you and me."
Allison was appreciative of it, but it didn't include all of them.
"What about Savannah?" Allison asked.
Vanna didn't plan to let anything happen to Savannah. She would take matters into her own hands if she needed to.
"I'll use the TDE myself if anything ever happens to her." Vanna said. "I swear it."
Allison didn't think anyone would authorize it. They were always some who were worried about changing the timeline.
"I don't think we have too much 'pull'." Allison said.
Vanna considered the possibility as well. She also considered a 'workaround' to make it happen.
"Maybe not, but you know someone real well who does." Vanna said.
Allison knew Vanna referred to Young Allison. It was another contentious issue with her as well. She tried to put the brakes on it numerous times. It seemed to her there was no stopping it.
"She wants to fight alongside Savannah." Allison said. "It's like how we used to fight together alongside each other."
Vanna couldn't hope but think about where they were now, and where they once were.
"We're still alongside each other, even if we're not in combat." Vanna said. "It's how it's supposed to be."
Allison looked at Vanna with love in her eyes.
"It's OUR 'Natural Order'." Allison said.
There was no doubt by anyone anywhere what the 'Natural Order' of Savannah Weaver and Allison Young was and would always be. It didn't matter what the timeline was, where, or when.
Jesse pleasured Claire to the point past where Claire wanted her to stop. Instead, she intensified her actions and drove Claire a little further than she was before.
She hoped it wasn't too far. She decided to stop when Claire's eyes rolled back in her head and she was unable to speak. It took almost a minute for things to start to return to normal.
"Claire, how do you feel?" Jesse asked, a little worried.
There was no response. Now she was more than a little worried.
"Are you OK?" Jesse asked.
Claire's mouth moved a few times before any words came out.
"You're - - very - - satisfying." Claire said, as she caught her breath.
Jesse was relieved to see everything appeared to be normal. It made her think of when Gail took her 'all the way'. She wanted Gail to push it further and further. Gail was very hesitant to do so.
"Don't feel bad. I had a real rough go with Gail the first few times." Jesse said. "I could hardly see, speak, or move."
Claire's eyes widened with excitement. She knew what she just experienced was something similar, if not the same thing. What Jesse described sounded even more extreme. She wanted to know more.
"Was it even more intense?" Claire asked.
Claire thought what she just experienced with Jesse was very intense. She really wondered what it was like to be pushed farther in such a manner.
Jesse was aware Gail needed to bring her back more than a few times from the other side. She experienced such extreme pleasure her body 'quit' and left her in Heaven.
"Yes." Jesse said. "I made it all the way to Heaven."
Claire wanted more, she wanted to go further. She wondered what exactly was in Heaven.
"Tell me about it." Claire said. "I want to know more."
Jesse knew it was the most intense satisfying pleasure she ever experienced. If she would have 'gone out' permanently, she would have gone out happy. She couldn't help but think, 'what a way to go'.
"Gail was worried she damaged me and told Cameron. Evidently she did the same things to Duplicate Jesse with similar results. Cameron issued orders to all the Metal females not to take it as far with human females again." Jesse said. "Sheila told me Vanna asked her to do it anyway one time. She told her not to stop until she blacked out."
Claire was worried Vanna experienced the same thing.
"What happened?" Claire asked. "Was she OK?"
Jesse didn't want to know all the details. She knew what it was like 'to cross over'.
"I think so." Jesse said. "I'm not sure if it was Vanna or Duplicate Vanna. I asked her not to tell me more. Those moments are private."
Now Claire wondered what it would be like to be taken as far. None of the Metal girls she was with ever pushed her beyond what she could tolerate. She understood the reason now why, if Cameron ordered them not to push the human females too far.
She didn't know if she should speak to Vanna first, or seek out Sheila and tell her to do the same thing to her as she did with Vanna. She wanted to try it at least one time and see what it was like. It excited her greatly it would be the Terminator version of Jesse who would do it for her.
She heard stories about some of the terminations Sheila did. Some of them were very graphic and brutal as to how she handled both male and female terminations. It really made her wonder if Sheila ever purposely pleasured someone to death. She would look into it and see if it was the case. She wanted to make sure she wouldn't inadvertently be the first.
Earlier:
Anna wanted to warn Young Allison about the violence about to occur in the casino. Young Allison asked Anna and CamNet both to allow her to witness everything unfiltered with what was about to unfold. She knew she needed to be acclimated to the violence of the future. If she watched the evening news, there was plenty of violence all around her anyway.
Young Allison didn't think the gunfight at the casino was a big deal. She did see the Gray with the knife and knew what he intended to do. She thought the Syndicate thug may have been still alive at the time. She knew it would be very traumatic for someone to face unnecessary abuse, even as they were in the process of terminating. If anything, they should have sped up the termination process, in her opinion.
"The violence was no worse than expected." Young Allison said.
Anna didn't feel any remorse for the Syndicate thugs. She wanted the Skynet group to be terminated as well.
"Cameron will take them down." Anna said.
Young Allison listened to the conversations between Cameron's group and the Command Center.
"Why does Cameron always want to push it?" Young Allison asked.
Anna thought the answer was rather straightforward.
"She's a Terminator." Anna said. "It's what WE do."
Young Allison disagreed with it. The other Terminators didn't act the same way. She believed Anna's answer was heavily tainted since she ran a version of Cameron's program.
"You know what I mean." Young Allison said.
Anna did know what Young Allison meant and she knew what her real concern was.
"I do." Anna said. "You're really worried about Savannah."
Young Allison was more than worried about it. She saw it play out numerous times.
"I am." Young Allison said. "I know she won't back away from the danger so she can protect Cameron."
Anna wasn't sure what the problem was.
"Isn't it what we all want?" Anna asked.
There was a 'far off look' in Young Allison's eyes.
"It is." Young Allison said.
Anna picked up on the 'far off look'.
"I can see you're thinking." Anna said. "What is it?"
Young Allison wanted some better answers.
"I don't like them following the unknown." Young Allison said.
Anna tilted her head slightly.
"Everything is unknown until it's known." Anna said.
Young Allison frowned slightly.
"I'm not so sure about it." Young Allison said. "There are some things we can figure out before we know."
Anna tilted her head slightly in the other direction.
Closing monologue by Cameron:
That Is Risky
There's only one constant in life
It's not taxes, it's death
For some it may occur
Before their last breath
Life is always in flux
Many things are a gamble
To pick up the broken pieces
Many must hurry and scramble
When two first meet
Where will things go
It probably all depends
If they go fast or slow
Each one must decide
How far to open the door
Do they call it quits
Or seek out a little more
Some may want too much
They become more than frisky
To continue the association
That is risky
Nobody