Chapter 1014
Who Was That
Savannah felt comfortable now as she explored more of the capabilities of the B-25 Mitchell. It was all about the 'feel' to her and the response of the controls. She could become 'one' with the aircraft.
She noticed Cameron looked at her phone and then called Anna down from the top turret.
Savannah couldn't hear what was being said. She hoped they weren't planning any surprises for her. Cameron didn't like surprises, but she liked to give them.
She glanced back as Anna moved away from Cameron. She didn't have a good feeling. It seemed something was up, or off in some way. Cameron didn't raise any alarm and she didn't have any alerts on her phone from John Henry or CamNet, yet.
Savannah looked back now to see what Anna was doing. She was doing something behind them.
Cameron didn't want Savannah to be alarmed or to worry. She decided to deflect Savannah's attention.
"I see the park by the Resistance base coming up." Cameron said.
Savannah noted earlier the heading Cameron gave her would take them by the Resistance base.
"I see it." Savannah said. "We're a few miles out.
Cameron was aware some of the team were currently at the park.
"Sarah and Claire are there with Jan and Summer." Cameron said. "They're down below us now."
Savannah looked, but the details weren't clear at her altitude.
"Can you make them out?" Savannah asked.
Cameron could zoom in on the images
"Yes." Cameron said. "I can see all of them."
Savannah wanted to send a little signal. She wagged the wings a little. She wanted them to notice even if they didn't know it was them passing overhead.
Young Allison heard the conversation between Savannah and Cameron. She looked down at the park as well.
"I can see the figures." Young Allison said. "I can't see them clearly."
Anna came back up to speak to Cameron.
Savannah really wondered about what was happening.
Anna disappeared again. It looked like she was going into the nose this time.
A few seconds later Young Allison was in back of them.
"I want Allison to check out the top turret for now." Cameron said.
Young Allison plugged back into the com system. She looked around where she was at. She noticed right away something was different. She wasn't so sure it was a good thing, even if it was. The ammunition for the cheek guns was loaded.
"Why is there live ordnance loaded now?" Young Allison asked. "Is it why you wanted me to move? Are you getting ready to shoot at something"
Cameron looked back to where Anna worked a few minutes ago.
"We're going to do some live fire exercises when we get out past Catalina Island." Cameron said. "The projectiles will pass on either side of the nose."
Cameron wanted to make sure everyone was as safe as possible. She was anxious to be part of the live fire drill.
Savannah looked in back of her.
"Are both gun packs on the cheeks hot?" Savannah asked.
"They are." Cameron said. "It's what Anna did earlier. All four Fifties are ready to go."
The prospect of live fire excited Young Allison. She didn't know if she would get any wheel time or not. She would be happy to fire the weapons when it was time, if nothing else.
"This is so cool." Young Allison said.
Savannah wondered what it was going to be like. The gun barrels were below the sides of the cockpit. She figured it was going to be loud. Maybe she would need to have a set of earplugs, as well as the headphones.
Hanna, Sarah, Claire, and the girls all looked up. The plane was loud and anyone who was on the ground would look up.
"I'm pretty sure the plane moved its wings back and forth." Claire said.
Hanna clearly saw it do it.
"It did." Hanna said.
Hanna received information from CamNet. There was the strong possibility there was going to be a few more things involved with the flight. She wasn't going to share it with Claire and Sarah at this time. She was sure it would cause a problem later on.
Summer stood on the swing seat now. She held the two chains as she looked up.
The B-25 flew past them.
Claire looked down from the sky and noticed how Summer stood on the swing seat. It looked a little dangerous.
"Don't stand like that, honey." Claire said. "I want you to be safe."
Jan and Summer looked at Claire.
"It's never safe." They both said at the same time.
Claire and Sarah looked at each other.
Sarah remembered when she used to drill it into John's head. She also said it in front of Cameron, and then heard Cameron repeat it afterwards. Obviously Cameron passed it on to the girls at some point. She always told Jan the same thing, but she wasn't sure who told Summer. She didn't think it really mattered. The safety of the girls is what should always come first.
She watched the plane as it flew into the distance. She didn't know if it was just her perspective but she thought it might have dropped in altitude. She turned her attention back to Jan and Summer.
Sarah wondered about the future. She knew no one was safe and she learned females were especially unsafe after Judgment Day. She understood Cameron wanted to 'age' Young Allison in the past. She didn't agree with the idea at all. In fact, she thought it was a bad idea. She also worried about what would happen to the younger girls in a Skynet future if they ended up alone. It wasn't a pleasant thought. Vanna and Jesse both shared stories with her of what it was like growing up in the Wastelands. It didn't matter where the Wastelands were. There were Wastelands around every major city in the world. Skynet wasn't selective in who it killed.
Sarah looked in the direction the plane went. There was no sign of it now. She wondered what the chances were of the B-25 flying over their location when they were out and at the park. They all saw the wings wag. She really wondered if there was more going on than she knew.
She wondered if she was reading more into it than there was. Bob and Jim hadn't moved up to their position. Hanna didn't seem to be worried. There were no alerts on their phones. She was pretty sure right now would be a good time to be in the Command Center. It would give her a better idea of what was going on.
Derek wasn't sure how his little ploy was going to work out. He figured whoever it was tailing them would be upset they didn't take the bait and enter into their ambush. He looked behind them. The two sedans were in back of them again.
"It looks like they took the bait." Derek said.
John was still a little unsure about using Derek as live bait.
"Use caution." John said. "Don't run, but don't let them get too close."
Derek spotted the mock roadblock up ahead. It was set up to keep other cars out of the canyon and off the canyon road. He was notified it was in place for a while. There was plenty of time since the two sedans tried to lure him into an ambush. He was informed the canyon road was blocked for fifteen minutes already on both sides. Any vehicles traversing it should be well out of the way before they entered it. Unless someone stopped along the way for some unknown reason, they would be out of the canyon by the time they were into the center of it.
Derek passed through the cones which were moved for them to take the canyon road entrance. The two sedans followed as well. They seemed none the wiser. The Resistance tail car followed a minute later. The cones went back in place. The street was blocked off again.
There were only four vehicles on the canyon road now. Both sides of it were blocked.
Because the Syndicate thugs tried to set up an ambush for Derek's team, they allowed the Resistance time to perfect their own ambush.
Only those in the Resistance would leave the canyon alive.
Cameron looked back and checked everything. There were more than a few precautions she wanted to take. There was the possibility they could experience some difficulties in their upcoming live fire mission.
Savannah noted the level of concern seemed to go up considerably with Cameron.
"Is everything all right?" Savannah asked. "I can tell there's more tension. Do we need to do anything different?"
Anna previously followed Young Allison out of the nose and retrieved the other items they would need.
Cameron didn't want to cause any unnecessary alarm.
"We're going to armor up and switch places when we do." Cameron said. "Anna is going to take my place here for a few minutes."
Savannah and Young Allison looked at each other when Cameron said they were going to armor up. They thought it was precautionary for the live fire mission they were going to conduct somewhere out in the ocean.
Cameron unbuckled and prepared to switch with Anna.
Anna now took Cameron's place as she exited from the copilot's seat.
As soon as Anna was seated, Cameron motioned for Savannah to get up.
Savannah looked over at Anna.
"You got it?" Savannah asked.
Anna quickly checked over the instruments and nodded.
"I got it." Anna said.
Cameron now wore her body armor and handed Savannah hers.
She climbed into the pilot's seat and took control from Anna after she strapped in.
"You got it?" Anna asked.
Cameron quickly checked over the instruments and nodded.
"I got it." Cameron said.
Savannah put her body armor on and Anna got up from the copilot's seat.
Cameron was informed the Syndicate thugs took the bait. The practice mission for Savannah would need to be conducted later. She was about to witness the real thing. The mission was about to be live fire by the B-25 against a hostile target. It was one capable of shooting back.
Savannah could see there was a lot of communication between Cameron and CamNet. So far she wasn't privy to the conversation. It was clear something was up. She could tell Cameron was a little tenser than she was earlier. She didn't see any sign of a glitch and it was a good thing. She figured Cameron would tell her as soon as she was ready. There was no need to agitate her further by prompting her for an answer. She may not have all the necessary facts yet. Trying to force an answer would serve no purpose.
Cameron could see Savannah anticipated something was different. It looked like the mission was on. She wanted to let her know what was about to happen. She decided to spell it out for Savannah. She pointed at the copilot's position for Savannah to take a seat
Savannah sat down and strapped in. Anna checked her over. She plugged her headset in. She looked around and didn't see Young Allison. She wasn't sure if she had gone back into the nose or not. She doubted it. She wanted to make sure where everyone was at.
"Where's Allison?" Savannah asked.
Cameron wanted to afford Young Allison the best protection possible.
"Allison is in the aft fuselage." Cameron said. "The mission is going hot. Derek's team is being tailed by two car loads of Syndicate thugs. We're going to neutralize the threat."
Savannah heard what Cameron said. It took a few seconds for it to sink in. She could see Cameron wasn't joking.
"Is it why the weapons are already charged?" Savannah asked.
Cameron was about to take the B-25 into combat. She thought about the eight gun nose which sat on the floor in the Resistance hangar. It wasn't finished yet. She would have to make sure it was taken care of as soon as possible. She currently possessed four forward firing .50 caliber machine guns. With the eight gun nose on the plane, it would give her a total of twelve forward firing .50 caliber machine guns. It would be quite a punch on any target. It would severely damage any piece of HK equipment. Four .50 caliber machine guns would still do quite a number. She wanted to make sure Savannah understood exactly what was about to happen.
"It's why the weapons are currently hot. I'm going to push the plane to its fullest performance levels." Cameron said. "Watch me and I will narrate as I do everything. This is a live fire mission. I will need to tax the engines and airframe. It will be necessary because of the canyon we'll be in. We will need to operate within a very confined area. I know the aircraft is capable of performing the task, because I previously tested it, even though it wasn't under combat conditions."
Cameron continued to fill Savannah in with all of the details she knew. There actually weren't very many. The bottom line was Derek was in a jam, and they were going to get him out of it.
Savannah felt the Mitchell pick up speed as Cameron firewalled the throttles. There was a major increase in performance from the more sedate speed she maintained previously. It sent a surge of adrenaline through her body. She went over all the information she knew about a ground attack mission with the B-25.
"Now this is flying." Savannah said.
Cameron was aware of the multitude of missions assigned to different versions of the B-25.
"This is one of the missions the aircraft evolved into." Cameron said. "Ground attack, anti-armor, and anti-ship missions were all roles the aircraft adopted."
Savannah glanced over at Cameron's face. It now displayed the blank Terminator look. She didn't see Cameron with the look on her face much anymore. Maybe the only female Terminator who still had the 'look' most of the time was Gail. It was changing. She worked to help change it. She needed to remember Cameron was a machine constructed to kill. It's what she was about to do. It was clear Cameron was in her natural element. She was now a minister of death.
Earlier:
Anna asked Young Allison to move into the aft fuselage.
Young Allison sensed the change in atmosphere right away. She could tell there was more going on than she knew. She wanted to know what was up.
"What's happening?" Young Allison asked. "I want the whole story."
Anna was used to working with Young Allison in the Young bunker. There weren't many secrets between them as they worked together. She didn't think there should be any difference now. She gave it to her straight.
"The mission is going hot with live fire." Anna said. "Derek's team is being threatened by the Syndicate. Cameron intends to engage the threat. Unlike the target practice we all anticipated earlier, the current target is capable of returning fire. It is now the real deal. She wants you better protected under the current circumstances."
The mention of the Syndicate again irritated Young Allison. She made the decision to have her plan enacted by CamNet. Her plan was only partially put into effect. Anna urged her to use restraint. With the latest incursion by the Syndicate against Resistance forces, it was time to act. She wanted her displeasure known and what was coming.
"That's it for them, the Syndicate I mean." Young Allison said. "I'm having CamNet cripple them globally."
Anna thought Young Allison should confer with Cameron and Savannah. They should mention it to John too. She was unaware John was ready to take further action against the Syndicate once 'John Henry' came up with a workable plan. There was a lot more going on in the background than John realized. She believed it was prudent to make her concerns known nonetheless.
"You still need to confer with Savannah and Cameron." Anna said. "It is a decision you should include them in for courtesy, if not for protocol."
Young Allison already made up her mind. She would inform them what she was going to do, but she was going to do it anyway. It would take some strong convincing for her not to follow through with her plan. Once it was set in motion globally, there wouldn't be any turning back. She wanted to make her desire clear.
"I'm wiping them out." Young Allison said. "I've already notified Cameron. I'll wait until I tell Savannah, but I'm going to clean them out. I'm going to have CamNet act. I'm going to have her bring the full effort of the future down on the Syndicate now. I understand they will never be eliminated, the same way Skynet is never eliminated, but they are going to pay a price. There's a toll to be paid for the killing, the drugs, the sex trafficking, the shakedowns, the unfair gambling, and all the other crap they are involved in."
Young Allison paused for a second before she moved to the aft fuselage at Anna's urging. She looked at Savannah and Cameron. Her mind was made up. She went over the crawl way across the top of the bomb bay.
Steve was waiting for Young Allison.
"I've been waiting for you." Steve said.
He handed her some body armor.
Young Allison put it on.
"Thank you." Young Allison said. "I know things just took a more serious turn for our group."
Steve motioned to a seat.
"You will sit on this seat. It is armored." Steve said.
Young Allison looked at the seat. Tom sat in it. She wondered if Steve was joking or not. It was clear by the look on his face he wasn't. She thought Tom was what Steve meant about the seat being 'armored'. She wanted to make sure she understood everything clearly. She didn't want to make it look like it was some type of perverse sexual fantasy on her part.
"Am I going to sit on Tom's lap?" Young Allison asked.
Steve thought it was a good idea. He knew a Terminator chassis was very durable.
"Yes." Steve said. "You will be better protected."
Young Allison thought she would liven the mood some.
"He's not going to 'cop a feel' is he?" Young Allison asked with a smile.
Steve and Tom looked at each other.
Young Allison didn't think they understood her actual meaning.
"It was a joke." Young Allison said. "Besides, it wouldn't be a big deal. It's not really different than touching anywhere else, except in people's minds."
Young Allison wouldn't mind if it happened. She just didn't think it would have the same effect as if it was a human male, or even better, a human female. She checked her phone for any updates and to be able to view the drone footage. She was sure it was the Syndicate who currently tailed Derek's team. She tried to think of any other ways she could make the Syndicate suffer as it was punished. Everyone said there was a 'mean streak' in her. She wasn't really sure if she agreed with the definition. She did have a strong sense of justice and retribution. She wondered if they were one in the same.
Steve got Young Allison seated with her body armor on and strapped in on Tom's lap.
Tom was very pleased he was able to offer some additional protection to Young Allison. He felt it was the least he could do for the way Savannah acted and performed in the mine, and the level of protection she put out for the Terminators in there, even at great risk to herself. He couldn't do a lot to protect Savannah there from the danger. He could offer a little more protection to her mate here.
"We don't know what the situation will be for certain." Tom said. "It gives us a little more peace of mind to protect you as much as we can. I apologize if any of it seems uncomfortable to you, in more ways than one."
Tom really would have liked for it to be Savannah sitting on his lap. He wouldn't mind 'copping a feel' either if it was what Savannah wanted. He felt very attracted to her after the mine incident and how she nearly terminated in the pipe. He pushed those thoughts from his mind. He was responsible for someone else right now. He couldn't help but think how beautiful she was. He wanted to think she looked like Cameron but he knew it was just the opposite. Cameron looked like her.
He thought he should put his arms around Young Allison to give her additional protection. Maybe she would think he really was about to 'cop a feel'. It was actually something he would like to do under different conditions. Right now they were about to enter the danger zone with an enemy who could shoot back. He would protect Young Allison with his existence.
John Henry received confirmation from CamNet about what he thought would transpire. He figured it was time to notify John. He wasn't so sure if he should come out with all of the details yet. The attack by Cameron in the B-25 was something arranged through CamNet. He thought maybe he should just leave it alone. It was CamNet's attack on the two sedans at this point. Cameron and the B-25 were just the tools.
"I've been informed by CamNet the strike on the two sedans will happen shortly." John Henry said.
John made a quick check of where things were for the Resistance. He wondered if they were going to use a missile strike after all. Neither drone dropped into gun range yet. He wanted to verify what the nature of the attack would be.
"Both drones are still at altitude." John said. "Will it be a missile attack?"
John Henry was a little worried about what he would need to reveal next. He figured it would be bad enough when John found out Cameron was the pilot of the B-25. He figured it was going to get a lot worse when John found out that Savannah was the copilot and Young Allison was on board as well.
"There's another option which recently became available." John Henry said.
John wasn't sure what the option was. He hadn't been briefed on anything else so far. He did note the convoy of four vehicles was near the area where the sedans were supposed to be staged after they were disabled and the occupants terminated.
"It looks like it needs to be soon." John said.
John Henry wanted to be able to give Cameron the best targeting information available. For the optimum initial attack, everything would need to be timed just right.
"I need to calculate the speed and the location of where Derek's vehicle will be and the air speed of the aircraft. I need to get the timing right." John Henry said. "With everything available to us, I think it can be pulled off as intended."
John was a little confused as to what exactly John Henry meant or referred to. He began to wonder if there was something they hadn't told him. In a crucial operation like this, if there was something they hadn't told him, there was probably a pretty good reason why. It was doubtful the reason would be a good reason.
"I need to know exactly what's happening or about to happen." John said. "I may want to change the new plan once I find out what it actually is."
Savannah watched Cameron as she pushed the Mitchell.
"You're really a master at this." Savannah said.
Cameron felt it was more because of her natural Terminator ability. She knew the timing was of the essence. She didn't want to arrive at the specific location too early or too late. There were several reasons why she needed to attack the target in a certain area.
"I'm coordinating our position and speed with the location and speed of Derek's vehicle." Cameron said. "John Henry wants me to strike at a specific point on the canyon road."
Cameron went over the arming and firing procedure with the four guns. They then went over the aiming procedure.
It seemed to Savannah this wasn't the first time Cameron did live fire on a moving target.
"Have you done this before?" Savannah asked.
Cameron quickly glanced over at Savannah. She didn't want to get too specific with her answer. The main focus right now was on protecting Derek's team and taking down the enemy.
"Yes." Cameron said. "I would like to have talked you through it, but Derek is out there with his team and I want to do it in one pass. I'll teach you to do it afterwards over the ocean as we planned earlier. It won't quite be the same thing since you won't need to worry about the targets shooting back. As long as we maintain the element of surprise, I don't think anyone will shoot at us now either."
Anna popped up in back and between them. She gave Cameron a 'thumbs up'.
"Anna has all four guns ready. She will resupply the ammunition if necessary, or clear any jams, both events are unlikely to occur." Cameron said.
Savannah didn't expect any return fire since the attack should be a surprise. She wanted to verify Young Allison was as secure as she could be.
"I want to make sure Young Allison is as safe as possible." Savannah said.
Anna personally checked before she returned to the cockpit area.
"Young Allison is secured and protected with body armor and two Terminators in the aft fuselage." Anna said. "Her seat and backrest are both armored."
Cameron dipped the nose and dropped the altitude.
"It is important in attacking a ground target, you don't get 'target fixation' and fail to pull up in time." Cameron said. "Many pilots have flown into the ground through target fixation. Awareness of everything must be maintained at all times."
The B-25 entered into a sharp bank and leveled out.
Cameron spotted everything right where it was supposed to be. The timing was perfect. John Henry did an excellent job in coordinating everything.
"I see my targets ahead, they're approaching us." Cameron said. "I'll be firing at targets in back of Derek's truck, away from him. The projectiles will pass over him."
It was all happening fast.
Savannah finally saw the targets approaching. It was all going to happen very soon.
Cameron continued her narration of everything she needed to do.
Savannah could tell she was going to need to practice before she could attempt anything like this. She could only imagine what it was like for pilots to face the enemy. There would be return fire directed at their aircraft. The enemy would try to kill them as much as they tried to kill the enemy. It was an unsettling thought, but a reality of combat. It wasn't much different than when troops faced each other on the ground but this all happened at a much more rapid pace.
It also meant if things started to go wrong, they would go wrong very quickly.
She tried to pay attention to everything Cameron did as she narrated what she was doing. She could feel her heart pounding and was pumped full of adrenaline. She knew people were about to die in the next few seconds. As long as they weren't on her team, and were the perpetrators, they would get what they deserved.
John Henry gave Derek very specific instructions.
Derek understood what he was supposed to do. As far as his part it seemed simple enough.
"OK, I'm going to floor it as soon as I come out of the next turn." Derek said.
John Henry wanted to put as much distance between Derek and his pursuers as possible for the next part of the operation.
"Yes." John Henry said. "Stay on the gas and drive right on through. The aircraft will approach directly in front of you. It will fire over you and shoot into the targets behind you. Don't slow until the aircraft passes over you."
Derek was aware how devastating a low level drone attack could be. At least he thought it was what it was going to be. He wanted to make sure.
"Will it be a drone?" Derek asked.
John Henry wanted Derek to have all of the facts since he was on the ground. He didn't want him to be too surprised when the B-25 suddenly appeared over him. There wouldn't be much warning for him. He didn't want him to lose control of his vehicle at the sight of the Mitchell only yards above him.
"No. It's a manned aircraft." John Henry said.
John looked over at John Henry. He was a little surprised. This was his first indication it wouldn't be a drone attack. He understood now why the drones were still at altitude.
"Don't tell me…." John said.
John Henry learned when John said it he actually wanted to know. It was time to come clean. He hadn't actually known very long himself either.
"Cameron's flying." John Henry said. "I only found out a short time ago what was going to happen. It was unknown if she'd be able to get to the target location on time in the area desired. You didn't want to use a drone at low level in the daylight. This is an alternate solution."
The video footage from one of the drones widened to show the B-25 approaching.
John now began to wonder about all the timing on everything. He didn't see how any of this could have been planned ahead from the way things played out and currently happened. There was a delay from Derek originally entering the canyon by the two sedans attempting to set him up for an ambush.
"Was this planned in any way?" John asked.
He knew it was the plane he saw in the hangar at the airport in Van Nuys. It now sounded like a stunt Cameron would pull or orchestrate.
John Henry could tell what John was thinking. He wanted to clarify things as well as he knew them. Cameron wasn't gambling with anyone's life. The way things worked out, the two Syndicate sedans were a target of opportunity for Cameron.
"No, it wasn't." John Henry said. "Derek wasn't used as bait."
John thought maybe his statement was a little too harsh.
"I didn't mean it like that." John said. "Tell Derek what to expect so he is not distracted or surprised. Make sure he knows what you want him to do."
John didn't want any 'foul ups' on this one.
John Henry thought he already did that. He repeated everything again to clarify what exactly would happen. He didn't think it hurt to make sure everyone was on the same page.
Derek checked the rear view mirror. The sedans were starting to close. The tail car dropped out of sight. John Henry told him it would.
He came out of the corner already on the gas pedal. He saw a nice straight section ahead of him as he kept the pedal to the metal. The truck shot ahead on the straight section of the canyon road.
He glanced in the rear view mirror again and saw the two sedans were way behind him. When he looked back to the front, he saw the plane ahead of him in a shallow dive. It seemed to appear from nowhere.
It was a scene he'd experienced before in his past - the future.
John Henry told him what to expect specifically. He was more than surprised to hear it. He was still apprehensive about the two sedans of thugs behind him but he was elated by the way the attack would be carried out.
He would pass under the B-25 in a few seconds. He watched as flames appeared on each side of the fuselage. The thunderous roar of the engines increased, the bark of the four 'fifties' could be heard. There was a whiff of dark gray smoke.
The B-25 passed over him. It shook the truck. He looked back in the rear view mirror and saw the rounds tear into, and shred the two sedans. He saw some gray smoke as the engines went back to full power and the B-25 climbed out of the canyon.
John Henry watched zoomed images from one of the drones of the two sedans. It was clear the attack was carried out with precision and it was deadly.
"Both targets have been neutralized." John Henry reported.
Derek was more than impressed. Whatever apprehension he held about being followed by the Syndicate thugs, was replaced with the excitement of what he just witnessed.
"Who was that?" Derek asked. "It was some excellent shooting. It also showed a certain sense of style."
John looked over at John Henry and decided to answer the question himself.
"Cameron." John said.
Closing monologue by Cameron:
Who Was That
Some get confused
They soon lose their way
It makes them vulnerable
To be led astray
Some will stand firm
They'll do what's right
If it's necessary
They'll stay and fight
That's not the case
In most relationships
To avoid the apocalypse
They'd rather cash in their chips
Maybe it's best to expect nothing
Then there's nothing to disappoint
There won't be a throne
Or anyone to anoint
Try not to fall flat
Or become a doormat
One needs to be noticed
So they ask, who was that
Nobody