Chapter 993

Fill Me In

Cameron felt their entry into the building was rather uneventful. The three drones engaged all of the targets when they entered. So far there hadn't been any organized opposition directed towards them at all. She didn't think there was any gunfire directed at the drones either. All it would have done was zeroed their position, and made it even easier for the drones to terminate them.

They were only in the building for sixteen seconds before it looked like all of the threats were neutralized. She decided to send Cam's team to check the front of the building along with the loading dock. Holly and Hanna were there now as well. She wanted them to check the office area. She released the third drone. It clearly wasn't needed inside of the building. She let the other two drones remain, just in case she encountered a Terminator. She wasn't really worried about a standard endoskeleton Terminator either. She figured if a Liquid Metal Terminator were to confront her, the drones could distract it with a lot of firepower so she could mount an effective response with Thermite and acid. It wasn't her main concern. Something else more important was. She wanted to find the female.

Cameron and Gail separated from the others.

"We have a father and daughter to find." Cameron said.

Gail wondered if they were among the terminated.

"The section of the building we're headed towards isn't too badly damaged at all." Gail said. "It's most likely where non-combatants would be detained."

The two drones were behind them ready to give them direct fire support if a target was encountered.

There were various types of equipment they passed. It appeared there was a small machine shop inside the building. There wasn't much the machines seemed to be used for. None of the metal or bar stock around the machines was Coltan. Hopefully it was an indication there wasn't a supply of Coltan which arrived at the port facility. It could be shipped elsewhere once it arrived.

They would come back after the initial search to better determine what was there and what exactly was being done in the machine shop section. They would see if there was any machinery or materials they wanted to remove at a later date to keep for themselves.

It would be beneficial for their operation to be able to have complete assembly lines set up to manufacture HK Treads, HK Tracks, HK drones, and Terminators. So far Cameron was able to obtain all of the equipment to construct the first three. They hadn't come across a Terminator assembly line in the present, yet. She planned to take everything involved in their manufacture and construction when she found one. She actually hoped she wouldn't find one. It would create a lot of trouble for the resistance if there was one.

Cameron led Gail toward a cold storage unit, the 'cold room'. It was heavily insulated. It was much like the unit at the old supermarket. This one appeared to be much newer and a little more sophisticated. There was only so much one could do to improve a 'walk in' freezer unit.

It was possible there could be some version of Skynet located inside the 'cold room'. It might be used as a 'clean room'. There was no version of Skynet at the old supermarket. It was unlikely there would be a version of Skynet at the current location. It was always a possibility. She would like to encounter it if there was so she could personally terminate it. There was probably only computer gear associated with the projects they currently worked on. They would take the hard drives with them when they left. They would inspect them at a secure location to see exactly what they were working on, and how they were doing it.

There were a few suppressed shots fired in the front, and a few more toward the office area. They all sounded like they were from their teams. There was no return fire. She wasn't sure if those were active threats or simply mop up activity. Whatever it was didn't actually matter. The enemy would be dealt with and terminated wherever they were found. Was doubtful any of the individuals who were still alive would have survived very long anyway.

Cameron told Gail to check the side and back of the 'cold room' while she checked the other side. There was only one door. It was closed. If there was anyone in there, there was only one way in and one way out. Everything was clear so far.

She was about to make entry into the 'cold room' when she spotted a stairway. She saw the stairway led to a second floor area which extended over the office and 'cold room'. It wasn't on the plans of the building when it was constructed. It didn't look like a recent addition either. She sent out an update to alert the rest of the personnel of the new discovery. It was possible there were other additions as well. She checked to see if anyone spotted the female.

The reports came back somewhat discouraging. The female or her father hadn't been spotted by any of the teams yet. The only positive thing about it was everyone the teams encountered was now terminated. There were only two places left they could be if they were even still there. There was the 'cold room', and wherever the stairs led.

Cameron called for Sheila to come and back up Gail at the 'cold room'. She was going to take the stairs up and see what was up there. Hanna and Holly were to follow her up once the office area was clear. Cam and Ally were to make sure the front was clear. They could take a look at some of the equipment inside the building once they determined there were no threats left in their sector. The drones would alert them to any incoming vehicles. They would actually be dealt with as soon as they attempted to let anyone out of them.

The two drones still covered the workroom floor from the far side as they hovered. It was the location the boxcars would be spotted for loading and unloading. The drones currently covered the door to the 'cold room'. If any threat exited from the door, the two drones would deal with it as the Metal girls sought cover, and mounted a response.

She received word there was no additional threat from outside the compound or any which seemed imminent. Everything was good with Cammy and Savannah in the back and along the side.

Cameron moved swiftly up the stairs. With two steps to go she was hit with a shotgun blast. It hit her in her vest right in front of her right breast. 'Not again' she thought. She knew the vest did its job, everything was still there and undamaged. It seemed to be the one spot on her sheath which was damaged the most times, in the most horrific way. The current sheath material on the front of her torso was all from Ginger. It was all Resequenced back to her standard DNA appearance. She did like the way everyone looked at her plump breasts before they Resequenced. Those thoughts came and went in a fraction of a millisecond. There was a threat to deal with.

She saw the target and hit him with two rounds from her suppressed M4. She moved past two rooms which were both empty except for the Gray she shot. He was lying on the floor in one room. The right side of his face was missing.

It left one door. The rooms up there looked like sleeping quarters. If the girl was there, she was most likely behind the last door. She moved swiftly towards it. She was unsure what was behind the last door. She hoped she didn't find the girl tied to a bed or worse. She knew the girl might already be dead. It was possible she wasn't even there any longer. She would rather not find her, than find her terminated.

Earlier:

Holly and Hanna moved in back of Cam's team and headed for the office area. There were only a few dead they passed along the way. There were some sounds of movement, activity, and moaning coming from the target area where they were headed. They swiftly entered the office area.

There was one Gray who attempted to set fire to the computers which were all offline. He tried to destroy the hard drives. There was a pistol in his belt. He was focused on his current task as he tried to get a fire started. He was surprised to see Holly and Hanna enter the office area. He reached for his pistol.

Holly shot him once, the suppressed round struck his head. The pistol he tried to pull flew from his hand and landed next to another Gray whose legs were shredded from minigun fire. He seemed to suffer greatly. Based on the blood trail on the floor, it looked like he crawled in from the door on the loading dock. He was on the verge of passing out from blood loss. He made a feeble attempt to reach for the pistol which landed in front of him. Hanna fired one suppressed round into his head. His suffering was over.

The office was clear. They quickly extinguished the small fire the Gray started. The girl wasn't there in the office area. They received word to back up Cameron on the side near the 'cold room'. They both headed towards it. Having viewed plans of the building beforehand made moving around the structure easier and faster, even in near darkness. They were directed to go around the back of the 'cold room' to a set of stairs they were previously unaware of. The building plans were good to have, but things could change. Cameron let them know what to expect.

Earlier:

Cam's team moved toward the front of the building. There were only a few dying Grays left. Everyone was hit with minigun fire they encountered. The dying survivors were all terminated.

She checked the loading dock. The Grays who exited to fight the attacking force were all dead. There was no movement from the two burning shattered hulks in the parking lot. The refrigerator truck was purposely not targeted and seemed in operational order still. It only received a few ricochets and shrapnel strikes.

Cameron called Sheila to assist Gail. Sheila made one last check and headed for the location Cameron told her to go. Cam and Ally started to look around at what else was being done in the building.

The two drones were still on station inside the building as they searched for targets. The new quieter power plants made far less noise. It was still very noisy in the confined space.

Savannah and Cammy waited outside the building. They were to keep the exit point open and make sure no hostile forces approached from the rear or the side.

Savannah heard the single shotgun blast and KNEW it was fired at Cameron.

"Cameron…." Savannah said.

Cammy could see Savannah was anxious and wanted to go to Cameron. It wasn't their assignment. She wanted to give Savannah a little reassurance.

"Hold your position." Cammy said. "She'll be fine."

Savannah understood she needed to hold their position. It still caused her a lot of anxiety. She didn't want Cameron to take any unnecessary chances. She knew she was going to anyway. Cameron wanted to get to the female. She wasn't so sure what Cameron was going to find when she found the female. If she was still there, along with her father, they wouldn't be able to abuse her, at least to the same extent they would someone else, to keep his cooperation.

"I know, Cammy." Savannah said. "I still worry."

They could hear the whine of the drones inside the building. They knew there was still the potential for action inside, or they would have been released.

They both received updates from John Henry about what was happening. They were only two minutes into the operation.

Savannah wore her night vision equipment. She looked at the back of the building. There was a door midway across the back. She wanted to know where the door went or what was inside of it.

"Cammy, I want you to check the door on the backside." Savannah said. "It's possible someone could hide inside of it, if it goes into the inside."

Cammy looked over at where Savannah pointed. She did notice the door herself. She didn't know what was inside of it or what could come out of it either.

"I don't want to leave you undefended." Cammy said.

Savannah glanced upward to the sky. She didn't believe she would be alone or undefended. She knew 'Coltan Overcast' was above her. The drone made a point to indicate it. There was no verbal communication, but it was obvious what the drone indicated.

"I'll be fine." Savannah said. "I have a personal drone guardian on this mission. 'Coltan Overcast' is above me."

Cammy glanced up into the sky. She frowned a little bit. She knew if the drone personally watched over Savannah it was a good thing. She just didn't like the interaction between them. She needed to concentrate on the mission at hand. She wanted to know what was inside the door as well. They didn't need any surprises popping up later on.

Savannah didn't want any surprises either. There was a good chance the door opened into the building. If it was some type of storage area there could be someone hidden in there right now.

"I don't want you to worry about me right now." Savannah said. "I want to make sure there's no threat we'll need to face later on inside of the door. I don't want them to spring an ambush on the girls inside either. You will need to use extreme caution so you don't get ambushed either."

Cammy didn't want to argue with Savannah. She quickly moved toward the new objective. She went across the railroad tracks. She glanced inside the building and saw both drones still hovering inside the building. One turned slightly in her direction as she passed the opening. She was glad she wore her vest which squawked their transponder code. She kept an eye on Savannah as she headed to the door.

She tried the handle. The door was unlocked.

Cammy carefully opened the door and looked inside.

It was the electrical room for the building. It was larger than she expected. She looked around. There was no door which led into the interior of the building, or anywhere else from the electrical room. There was a large electrical control panel. It contained all the breakers for the various circuits in the building. There was a master power on and off switch that looked like it could control the entire building. She could see where the wires entered the wall in several spots. There was also an access panel low on the wall where the main power conduit entered the wall. She didn't see any threat. She decided to return to Savannah.

She went outside again. There was a pass door next to the large doors over the rail siding entrance into the building. She knew Cameron's team could have used it to enter the building. Cameron wanted the drone support and it's why two large doors over the rail siding were knocked off. She moved over to the rail siding and looked inside of the building. The closest drone turned completely in her direction this time. She saw the minigun track her. She hoped the drone wasn't 'trigger happy'. If it was, she was going to have a really bad day. She examined the doors for the rail siding which now lay on the ground. It looked to her as if they could be straightened by a couple of Terminators and lifted back up into place. They wouldn't function as doors, but they would be able to seal the entrance more or less.

Cammy thought about entering the building to see what all was going on in there. She remembered her duty. It was to help protect Savannah. She looked around the rear of the building one more time for any threats and went to rejoin Savannah.

Young Allison felt there was more in play at the location than they knew. She really wanted to know what it was. She was sure they triggered the assault on the port complex to happen before it was planned to happen. It was when Cameron's team was spotted by the observer, who also apparently was a sniper. They still didn't know if it was one or two individuals. It would probably be hard to determine at this point since a missile hit directly where the sniper fire came from. There were more than likely burnt chunks of human flesh and bone which littered the area. A small fire burnt at the location currently. It hadn't spread much and seemed very localized. It must be something specific. There was a chance it could spread and soon engulf the entire building. There was something in the works which could deal with it in a very short while.

"I want the drones on recon to search for any containers on trucks similar to the ones at the compound. The unknown force was waiting for something. It wasn't our group." Young Allison said. "Maybe CamNet can do a back search on those containers from traffic and security cameras in the area. I still want to know what ship they came in on."

CamNet informed Anna the procedure was already underway.

"The procedure has been initiated." Anna said. "Every other container like the ones at the port facility will be investigated."

Young Allison wanted to make use of all the Terminators at the port complex. The Metal girls weren't the only ones who were there. She wanted to get her hands on whatever the assault force must have been waiting for.

"The two teams of Cameron's Terminators who were with the brown sedan and truck need to be ready to intercept them if any containers arrive." Young Allison said. "We don't want them to avoid the compound because of a missed check-in time, or they spot something amiss. We don't know if there's some type of procedure the truck might go through before it arrives. We want what's in those containers."

Anna checked the satellite overlay map of the port complex and the surrounding area. She verified the location of the two teams of Cameron's Terminators.

"They're both holding at four blocks out on opposite sides of the compound where you directed them." Anna said. "They each have a 'Stinger' ready as well."

Young Allison wanted to prevent anyone else from entering the port complex while the Metal girls were inside the building. She wanted Cameron to find the female and get her out first before any more fighting occurred at the location. So far the female wasn't spotted, nor was her father. The Terminators who checked the inside of the building didn't report finding their bodies either.

"I don't want anyone else to get near the compound at this time." Young Allison said. "They were positioned to make sure it didn't happen. If we spot anything which even looks like it's headed for the compound, I want it intercepted."

Anna wanted to subtly remind Young Allison they needed to work in conjunction with the Command Center.

"CamNet is running everything through John Henry." Anna said.

Young Allison wanted John to be included in all of her decisions. She still wanted her decisions to be as if they were CamNet's decisions.

"John can make any modifications as necessary." Young Allison said. "If I see an issue or problem with one of them, I will make some additional suggestions. I don't want a problem to develop in the background and expand to something bigger."

Anna was over everything which occurred so far. They were still less than four minutes into the operation.

"So far it seems everything is going smoothly." Anna said.

Young Allison didn't agree with her statement. She believed it was more than a matter of perspective as well.

"You mean except for Cameron being shot." Young Allison said. "She was about to make entry into the last room."

Young Allison knew if the female wasn't behind the last door, or in the cold room, she wasn't at the port facility. The fact Cameron was now in the sleeping quarter's area of the building bothered her greatly. If the female was in the last room, she was more than likely tied to a bed. She just hoped she was alive at this point.

The thought of what could happen to a female detainee didn't sit well with her. She briefly tried to imagine what it would be like. She knew whatever she imagined, it would be a million times worse when it was for real. She heard the stories from Allison and Vanna. She heard a few things from Jesse. They were all things she would rather not think about. People were very cruel and uncaring, especially when they didn't see a future or even a path forward. It seemed as if the animal instincts took over, and it's what some reverted to.

Anna watched Young Allison go over all the information repeatedly. She noticed her pause and absentmindedly touch both of her wrists with her hands. It seems to be something she did without thinking about it. She wasn't sure why she did it. Maybe it was from using the keyboard repeatedly.

Seconds ago:

John saw the bright flash from Cameron's body cam and heard the report of the weapon.

"Damn." John said. "Cameron was just shot."

John Henry tried to calculate the trajectory of the projectile. It sounded to him as if it was a shotgun. At close range, the shot wouldn't have been able to disperse much.

"It hit her vest from what I can tell from her body cam." John Henry said. "Most likely it was buckshot or a solid slug."

John wasn't sure if it was any form of consolation. It didn't really sound like it. There was some evidence which might actually back up John Henry's claim.

"Is it your determination because her body cam is no longer working?" John asked. "Was it blown off?"

John Henry received a brief update from Cameron. He figured it was for the benefit of John and Savannah.

"Yes." John Henry said. "She reports no sheath damage. Her vest did its job as intended."

John felt it was a good thing, but it was still a close one. He wasn't sure what they were going to find behind the last door at this point. Without Cameron's body cam functioning, all they would know is what she told them. It was at least until any additional Terminators arrived. He needed to worry about what else might happen at the port complex and around it.

"What about the containers CamNet informed us about?" John asked.

John Henry still hadn't registered any hits. If there was something else headed for the port complex He was unaware of what it was. There was very little truck traffic around the entire area where the complex was located. None of it appeared headed to the target location.

"There's nothing so far." John Henry said. "The unknown force was waiting for something. It may not have been another truck. It could have been a vehicle with someone specific in it. It's possible they were waiting for more reinforcements. I haven't detected any if there were."

John wondered what they were waiting for. It was the presence of the Resistance forces which seemed to cause them to attack when they did. He noted drone footage of a helicopter as it approached the target area. He hoped it wasn't the police helicopter. He hoped there would be a zoomed in image of a helicopter. There was.

It was their helicopter, the Blackhawk.

John didn't know the Blackhawk was dispatched. For it to arrive now, it needed to be sent before the attack started. It was probably on its way before Cameron and her teams actually arrived.

"I see our Blackhawk approaching." John said. "Did you send for it?"

John Henry was updated by CamNet when John asked his question.

"CamNet dispatched it as the girls neared the port. It's set up as a firing fighting helicopter currently. It's going to make a water drop on the two burning vehicles and where the sniper was." John Henry said. "It is also bringing additional Terminators to aid in the clean up. It was the MIKE Force in case the girls needed reinforcement. The attack was launched a little earlier than anticipated. The goal was to have the MIKE Force in place to be able to reinforce Cameron's teams when they started their assault. It's only been just over four minutes since the attack commenced."

John needed to think about everything else which occurred in the background. They received a lot of assistance from CamNet recently. He was sure most of the assistance originated from the Young bunker. He didn't feel there was someone 'stepping on his toes'. More than anything, it prompted him to up his game a little. He needed to expand his thinking and anticipate what may happen. He wanted to address the issue.

"CamNet has been all over the operation." John said.

John Henry was kept up to date by CamNet. He may not know of everything when it was initiated, but he knew of it before it actually happened, even if the time period was of a limited stature. Sometimes it was only a few seconds before it happened so he wouldn't be surprised when it did. He was actually surprised when he heard what was about to happen on most of the occasions. He was glad to know about it before it actually did occur. He wanted to let John know everything was being done through the proper channels, even if the time period was a little tight at times.

"CamNet has informed me of everything being done." John Henry said. "If anything would have seemed too extreme, I would have informed you and you could have changed it."

John thought about it. A lot of things happened in the last few hours.

"Everything seems a little extreme on this one." John said.

John Henry felt the results spoke for themselves. So far their teams on the ground hadn't received any damage. As far as they knew, the only one to actually be hit by gunfire was Cameron.

"With anything less, the Metal girls may have received heavy damage." John Henry said. "You need to remember Cameron or Savannah could have been hit by the sniper at the start of the operation. It was a very close one for both of them. Savannah put herself in extreme danger to shove Cameron out of the way. Luckily the missile strike from the drone eliminated the possibility of any other shots being directed at the girls."

John really didn't need to think about who produced those positive results.

"I can see CamNet hits hard and keeps hitting." John said.

They both knew who worked with CamNet.

John Henry didn't think they should dance around the real issue. They both knew there was a person behind CamNet's actions as they revolved around the operations. He thought some recognition was in order. They both knew it was Young Allison who acted. She acted either through Anna, or through CamNet.

"It's what Cameron has trained her for her entire life." John Henry said. "Everything she's been involved with these last few weeks has protected our troops from more damage or certain termination. Many of those actions she initiated on her own were actions which normally wouldn't have been taken or used in the Command Center."

John understood the comment to mean him specifically. He couldn't disagree with his assessment. If he would have used the methods or techniques, someone else wouldn't have needed to do it instead. He was glad they were initiated to protect the Resistance team.

"Life is a continual learning process for everyone." John said.

They watched the Blackhawk move to extinguish the fires. It flew over the fire in the area where the missile struck the building earlier. It just started to spread in size. The water drop extinguished it immediately. The Blackhawk swung around and came over the two burning vehicles in the parking lot. The rest of the water was dropped on them. Both of the fires went out.

The Blackhawk touched down to let off more Terminators. John thought it would stay there and maybe bring some of the Metal girls back. It didn't. As soon as the Terminators were off of the helicopter, it immediately took off.

"Where's the Blackhawk going now?" John asked.

John Henry was updated by CamNet.

"It is headed to its secondary mission." John Henry said.

It was clear to John he was still a step behind. He wondered what the secondary mission was.

"Fill me in…." John said.

John Henry needed to wait until he received the details so he could relay them to John. He didn't know yet either. He could speculate on some of the other events in play from earlier.

"I don't have all the information yet." John Henry said. "It most likely involves some of the other locations the team is at earlier today. The main focus was to bring the MIKE Force to the port location first. It could have been used to transport any of our team who was injured or damaged away from the area for medical assistance, or back to the base for repairs."

It was a grim reminder John could have done without.

Cameron could hear someone else behind her on the steps from where she came up. It should be Holly and Hanna.

She approached the last door. If the female was still there, she was going to be behind this door, or in the 'cold room'.

Cameron slammed through the door.

A burst of automatic fire from an MP5 impacted her. The vest did its job and prevented any projectiles from reaching her sheath. Her M4 coughed twice and ended the attack. There was one Gray left and the girl. She was still alive. The Gray held a gun to the female's head. He held the female in front of him as a human shield. She struggled as she tried to break free. She didn't have a clean shot from her angle.

The Gray felt emboldened as he held the struggling female in front of him. He pushed his pistol forcefully into the side of her head. It was clear he was willing to kill her.

"Drop it or I'll kill this slut." The Gray said.

Cameron didn't like the negative reference to the female. She wondered how a captive could be viewed as a promiscuous female. She wanted to point out the limited options available to the Gray.

"There's nowhere for you to go." Cameron said. "If you shoot her, you'll be dead before she hits the ground."

Cameron moved away from the door over to the man with the MP5 she shot. The Gray followed her with his eyes. The girl sobbed as she struggled.

Cameron kept her M4 pointed at the Gray. She didn't have a clean shot as the female continued to struggle.

She heard Holly and Hanna in the hallway behind her. She would try to give them a shot and moved out of the way of the door as she spoke and pointed.

Cameron decided to play an old trick.

"What's that?" Cameron asked as she pointed at the roof in the far corner. "How did it get there?"

The Gray looked over and up to see what she pointed at. He quickly realized his mistake, but it was too late to recover from.

There was a single suppressed shot.

Holly or Hanna scored a hit from the stairway at the end of the hall.

Cameron was already moving and scooped up the female in her arms.

"I'm here to help." Cameron said to the female.

Holly and Hanna were there in seconds.

"I'll take her outside." Hanna said.

Hanna gently took the female from Cameron. She could feel a lot of empathy from her files of Vanna she possessed through the 'Neural Interface'.

Cameron wanted her away from the area. She wanted her with someone who she felt could best comfort her.

"Take her outside to Savannah and Cammy." Cameron said. "Find out what she knows and exactly what happened. I want you to take Cammy's SUV and go."

Cameron wanted to take the female outside herself. There was a more pressing matter. It was the 'cold room'. She was unsure what awaited her there. Since it was Skynet related, it wouldn't be anything good.

Cameron quickly checked all of the rooms on the upper level one last time before she headed down. She didn't spot the female's father. If he was still there, there was only one place he could be. She was headed there now.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Fill Me In

The one who is first
Is the last to know
Things are hidden well
But soon began to show

It's always the little things
That start to give it away
They pick up little clues
With what the other will say

The brain doesn't register
It tries the body to protect
The mind begins to overflow
As reality it tries to reject

The heart still pounds
It now beats with sorrow
It has fading hope
For a better tomorrow

No one wants to be a has been
Nor see one's silly grin
At what point in time
Were you going to fill me in

Nobody