Chapter 1104
Call Me
John was worried about Sheila's team. He knew any other time it would be Cameron out there alone. Cameron was always willing to take the risk herself to protect those she cared about. He asked Sheila a lot of questions. He didn't want anyone damaged if possible. He didn't want any of them to try and be 'Cameron'. It was usually Cam and especially Cammy who reverted back to being 'Cameron' in her absence. It was understandable since they were both clones of Cameron, except for the protocols and experiences related to him. Cammy tried to create her own 'experiences' with him more than once.
Sheila wanted to downplay it some until they knew more. They really didn't have much to go on anyway.
"It may be nothing." Sheila said.
John didn't want unnecessary chances.
"It seems like it may be developing." John said.
Sheila already spotted a potential target. She was aware of what she viewed already.
"It does look like more." Sheila said.
John wanted some specifics.
"Tell me more about what you have." John said.
Sheila saw it with her own eyes. There was no mistake what the target was.
"It's another motorcycle which looks a lot like the one we took the other rider down on." Sheila said.
John Henry did a comparison from some phone images.
"I've run the scans from the previous encounter." John Henry said. "Sheila's assessment appears to be spot on. The bikes are identical."
It was enough for John to hear. These were Fanatics. They liked bombs and they liked to use them. They also liked to self terminate if they were going to be captured. They believed they were able to reach 'Ascension' while serving SkyMaster. It made them very dangerous to deal with in any capacity.
"I want everyone to fall back." John said. "I don't want our personnel to engage any Fanatics. I don't want anyone to try to capture one, or take them prisoner."
Cameron observed everything. She didn't agree with John. The Fanatics needed to be dealt with. She should go there and take care of it herself. She should have already been out there. She could have taken action already. Pulling their troops back wasn't going to get the job done. She decided it was time to take care of business herself. It was a good time now too because Savannah was away. She would be able to operate at full Terminator capability.
When Savannah was with her, Savannah tried to prevent as much damage to her as possible. Often it was at great peril to Savannah. She disliked endangering Savannah. She didn't see endangering herself as a problem. It was what she was constructed for. It was her job to take the fight to the enemy. The enemy now was her creator. The enemy was Skynet, or any of the illegitimate offshoots it spawned. It included any nut jobs who worshiped some version of Skynet as a god. Skynet was wrong on every level and she was determined to keep it down in every timeline.
She would like to find out exactly what time period SkyMaster is from. She needed to know more about their future and what was going on there. There were references to Savannah which troubled her greatly. She wanted to find out more about them. She hoped to prevent any of the rest of the team from hearing more about some of the things related to SkyMaster.
It was time to act before Savannah returned.
"I'll go there myself." Cameron said. "I'll take care of everything. There's no need to endanger anyone else. It appears as if everything is contained in one area. It shouldn't be too much trouble to deal with."
John Henry and John looked at each other. It was something both of them hoped to avoid. It was almost time for Cameron's honeymoon cruise with John.
John didn't like the idea at all. He wanted to make his opposition known immediately.
"NO!" John said.
Cameron didn't like being rebuffed. She was there to do a job. She wanted to go and do it. Who was John to tell her what to do or not to do? They were there to fight Skynet, not coddle it. They didn't know what the group was up to. Even if she couldn't find out, she needed to destroy it. She wanted to make her dissatisfaction with John's response known.
"No?" Cameron asked.
It was why she liked to operate on her own. She became accustomed to Savannah accompanying her as well when she wasn't alone. Savannah didn't display all the negativity John did. There were times Savannah changed her decisions, but it was never done in a negative way. There was usually an alternate plan they could act on almost immediately to continue the operation to a successful conclusion.
John felt there were enough troops there. He made his position clear to Cameron. He was the one who was in charge. He was the General. Cameron needed to adhere to his decisions the same way everyone else was required to. He made his position clear again. He was just glad she wasn't already out in the field.
"No. You're not going to the location." John said. "I have other troops who are already working on it. We don't need more personnel yet. We need to find out more first. We need to find out what they are up to if we can."
Cameron knew sometimes it was nice to have help. She would lead them.
"I can assist them." Cameron said.
John Henry was presented with a new development.
"John, you'd better take a look at this." John Henry said.
They received drone imagery of the location. It was from two different drones.
John was a little surprised the drones were able to get there so quickly. He only just mentioned about dispatching some a very short time ago. He couldn't help but comment on how quickly things developed.
"That was fast." John said. "It should have taken longer…. Wait."
John figured Young Allison, through CamNet, was at work.
John Henry saw John quickly put it together. He already made the same deduction. It appeared Young Allison and CamNet were one step ahead of them, again.
"It's just what it looks like." John Henry said. "CamNet…."
John wanted to determine for sure which one initiated the drones. He felt it was something important personally to him. He needed to know the extent of Young Allison's involvement, especially since she wasn't in her bunker.
"I want to know if Young Allison set this up, or if this is CamNet acting herself." John said. "I would like to know when everything was initiated."
What John really wanted to know was how far ahead of him, whoever was responsible, actually was. They only just spotted the motorcycle a few minutes ago.
John Henry was sure he was going to cause a problem if John pushed the issue. It was bound to anger both Cameron and CamNet.
"I think it's more important to know they are there now." John Henry said.
John understood John Henry's caution. He looked over at Cameron. He wondered what she knew. He wondered why she didn't say anything if she did when they discussed it earlier. He looked at Cameron. He didn't want to seem accusatory or adversarial.
"What do you have to add?" John said.
Cameron was as surprised as John was. She didn't want the issue pursued. She didn't want any negative feedback directed at Young Allison.
"I'm plugged in and linked to CamNet." Cameron said. "This was already in the works before I plugged in. I was unaware of it until you were. I didn't know any more than you or John Henry did."
John realized there was a lot going on he didn't know about. He was aware CamNet didn't want to step on his toes. It was only when Cameron said she was going to go there when the drones on station were revealed. Someone seemed to be looking out for Cameron. He wanted to let the troops on the ground know of the additional support.
"Sheila, you have drone support." John said. "There are at least two of them."
It was a surprise to Sheila. It was nice to know there was some firepower if they needed it. She knew the Command Center didn't want to use the drones in the daylight. She also knew the Young bunker was a little less reserved or restricted in protecting the troops on the ground. Right now she was one of the troops on the ground. She did feel more protected to know a missile could be on target in a matter of seconds. She was curious as to who helped them out.
"You were able to get them very quickly." Sheila said. "Someone is on their toes. Who should we thank?"
At this point John Henry could see the recon could become an assault. He was sure it could become a lot of things. He didn't think surveillance was going to be one of them, at least not for very long anyway.
"CamNet is looking out for you." John Henry said. "We were only expecting the operation to be a simple recon. We need to find out more about what they're up to if we can. If we need some type of response, we have the option."
Sheila expected things to get more involved sooner or later. Since something was actually spotted, she expected the action to pick it up. She couldn't help but think about Cameron on operations and doing them alone.
"The operations seem to have a way of expanding at times." Sheila said.
John Henry wanted them to all have the drone images.
"I've sent footage to all of your phones." John Henry said.
Cameron witnessed enough. The drone footage confirmed all of her suspicions. She unplugged. The new development required action. There was a solid target. It was a clear and present danger.
"I'm going to go there." Cameron said.
John didn't want her to do it. It seemed like a bad idea to him. He needed to be firm.
"No, Cameron." John said. "I'm using other troops for this. I want you to remain here with us. I would like your assistance here. Please plug back in."
Cameron didn't like John trying to stifle her. She liked it even less when he told her to do something or not to do something. She wanted to make her displeasure known.
"I'll think about it, General." Cameron said.
There was now a lot of tension in the Command Center.
John didn't like Cameron's attitude. He did like Cameron to be less at risk. He didn't think he would be able to keep her corralled much longer.
Cameron was very displeased with John right now. She thought it would be nice to have Savannah there with her instead. She was always nice to her, and didn't treat her disrespectfully. She glared at John when he looked over in her direction.
Young Allison set up a challenge for Cammy in the pool. Cammy used a flotation device. A number of restrictions were placed on her to limit her 'natural ability' of being a cyborg. The contest was underway.
The action in the pool picked up. Cammy and Young Allison were neck and neck on the way back. Cammy experienced some trouble in her first turn. Young Allison waited for her to get situated for the return leg. She could have pulled away. Cammy would never be able to catch her. For all practical purposes the 'race' would have been over. Young Allison would have won.
Cammy noted the gesture on Young Allison's part. She just showed mercy to the 'enemy'. It was a mistake to do on the battlefield. If the enemy could be obliterated decisively, there was no reason not to do it. If the enemy was terminated, there was no need to ever face them again in a different battle. She would need to teach Young Allison the error of her ways. It might be a 'friendly competition', but it really wasn't. The stakes were very high.
They both reached the end and turned to go back for the final lap. Cammy did much better in the turn but still experienced some control issues. Young Allison waited for her again and down the length of the pool they went. When they reached the far side they turned together. This time Young Allison didn't slow. She cranked up her speed for the final segment home. She turned to look back. Cammy was right there with her.
Cammy was able to get the turn almost perfect this time. She was a Terminator after all and was quick to adapt to her new environment.
Young Allison was overconfident and didn't expect it. What happened next, she expected even less.
Cammy moved her arms and sent a 'wave' towards Young Allison which threw her stroke and breathing off. It was a large volume of water.
It almost swamped Young Allison. It struck with enough force to move her several inches over to the side and change her trajectory slightly.
Cammy gained on Young Allison.
Young Allison hadn't expected such aggressive action by Cammy. It was basically an 'attack'. It threw everything off. It was now a test in her ability to adapt and overcome obstacles. She met the challenge and new strength surged into her. She shot ahead of Cammy but Cammy matched her speed. Now Cammy would be able to swim at the same speed for the rest of the lap. Young Allison was going to tire and slow.
Savannah watched the action. She saw what Cammy did at the turn around point. She thought about calling a 'foul' to end the competition. She saw it threw Young Allison off and Cammy gained on her. She knew this was going to be a lesson for Young Allison. She showed her 'adversary' mercy for two turns and the reward was a 'foul' move after the last turn. Maybe she should have warned Young Allison 'Cameron' played to win, not be fair, or compete equally. Cammy was a clone of Cameron and it was on full display.
The move Cammy made was a very underhanded one. It didn't set well with Anna or Savannah.
"Cammy should be disqualified for cheating." Anna said. "The move was unfair and illegal. It was also immoral and unjust after the way she was treated by Young Allison in both corners."
Savannah needed to decide if she should call Cammy out on a 'foul'. She wanted to root for both of them, but Young Allison was her future mate. Young Allison was her future. It bothered her when Young Allison showed Cammy compassion, and she repaid it with an aggressive move.
If Cammy did it again, or initiated any time of physical contact, the competition would be over, and Cammy would be declared the loser regardless of the outcome. It upset her a little to know Cammy used their personal relationship to get away with something she shouldn't have done in the first place. Cammy also knew she wouldn't put up with it again.
She was in many combat situations. The battlefield was always fluid. What happened in the pool just now was a perfect example of it. Maybe there was a lesson to be learned there by everyone.
Young Allison quickly recovered and saw she was still ahead of Cammy with half the length of the pool to go. She saw Cammy matched her speed and stayed with her. She saw Savannah waiting for her. New strength surged into her and she pulled ahead some more from Cammy until Cammy matched her speed. She gave it everything she could dig up. It was going to be close. Savannah was her goal. Savannah belonged to her, she didn't belong to Cammy.
What Cammy wanted was promised to Savannah in Young Allison's heart. If it wasn't Savannah, she wanted it to be Anna. She didn't want to lose it on a bad bet. She had a choice to make. If Cammy was going to pass her and move in front of her, she could give Cammy a shove and it would swamp her. Cammy's race would be over at that point and she would win. She felt such a move was justified for Cammy's earlier attempt to swamp her. She looked at Savannah again and did the right thing. She dug in harder and found new strength. She didn't need to cheat to win a competition. Her strength and ability was all she needed.
Claire held Jesse as she talked and let some of her pain out. She wanted to hear what was 'inside' Jesse and made her who she was. They were in Jesse's darkest days now. Some things were very disturbing. There was a lot of purposeful cruelty involved. It was clear Jesse took pleasure in dealing out pain.
She listened to Jesse's latest revelation. This one involved a young woman. The rest so far were men, mostly captured Scavengers. They were savagely dealt with. Jesse felt she needed to atone for everything she saw when she was held captive in Scavenger camps. It may not be the same individuals, but it was people just like them who did horrific things to others, most of them were females. The only way she was able to escape the savagery was to become one. Once she made her escape, she was more than willing to employ what she witnessed and learned on those who initiated and inflicted it.
Jesse told Claire what she did to the young woman. It was something she regretted during the process. She still did it anyway. She wanted someone to suffer going forward for the rest of their life.
Claire needed to think about things a little bit. It was rather shocking.
"She was still alive?" Claire asked.
Jesse's face was very emotionless as she spoke. She didn't want to say these things, but she needed to say them. They burnt a hole in her heart and mind for years.
"Yes. Once I was finished, I let the others have her." Jesse said. "After the others were done with her, they were going to kill her. I watched it all and listened. They all used her in every way possible. They did other things to her as well."
Sometimes at night Jesse could still hear her. She could hear all of them.
It didn't seem to Claire like the young woman was killed.
"Why didn't they kill her?" Claire asked.
Jesse needed to confess.
"I let her go." Jesse said. "I felt bad about what I did. Not because I did it, but because I enjoyed doing it. It made my pain go away, at least for a while. She would suffer for the rest of her life, like I would do.
Claire thought it was brutal and sadistic. She did find the fact Jesse enjoyed doing it the most disturbing, rather than what was actually done.
"You said it was the first one." Claire said.
Jesse took a deep breath. She was about to find out how much Claire loved her. She remembered their faces when she showed them what she held in her hand.
"It got worse from there…." Jesse said.
Claire wondered how it got worse than what was described and inflicted on her for a woman. As she listened, it did. It got much worse.
She wondered if it would be much different for her with what she experienced from being with males before. Not one of them ever was able to satisfy her. She didn't want to think about it. She doubted any of the females lived much longer anyway. Life sounded pretty rough in the Wastelands. It seemed death and destruction was everywhere. She wondered if living under those conditions if it was actually worse to be alive. It sure sounded like it. Death sounded like a welcome escape. It was the only way to get away from it all.
Claire could see Jesse was remorseful about what she did at this point in her life. It was clear at the time she performed those acts of brutality and cruelty she wasn't. She heard stories about Sheila and better understood some of her actions now. They were the things Jesse did and enjoyed when she did them.
Sheila picked up those same sadistic traits through the 'Neural Interface'. All of the information was there for her to absorb. Morals and scruples weren't part of Terminator programming. Action and results were. She learned there were different ways to accomplish the goal and derive satisfaction along the way.
Jesse warned them there was a lot of 'darkness' before they did the procedure. It was done anyway. She was able to keep her dark side in check. It appeared Sheila was unable to do it. She was unable to do it because she didn't want to reign herself in. She enjoyed what she did to others, especially those involved in the sex trade. Maybe the only thing moralistic about it was she believed there needed to be some type of 'punishment' before termination for what they did to others.
Sheila let Ally and Hanna out of the SUV. She drove a little further away with Gail from where she let them off.
Gail was afraid they were compromised based on the nature of the observation they made and how easy it was. It wasn't something they should have been able to do in a matter of seconds. It reeked of being 'low hanging fruit'.
"It's possible this vehicle has been 'made'." Gail said.
Sheila thought it seemed a little more like a sucker play at this point.
"It does seem fishy the motorcycle was sitting right out in the open." Sheila said. "It's almost like they were expecting someone to show up and take a look. More than likely they expect someone to take a closer look when they do."
Gail wanted to be away from there. With a few drones operating at high altitude, they could watch everything with a little less risk. She was worried about the Metal girls they let off.
"I agree." Gail said. "We need to pick up Ally and Hanna and ditch this vehicle. I feel it has a target painted on it."
Sheila thought the same thing as Gail. It appeared someone wanted to draw them out and identify them. They wanted to target them. She didn't want to be a sitting duck or a target.
"I think so." Sheila said. "The drones have it covered, at least for now."
Sheila came the back way around the block to pick up Ally and Hanna. They both got back in.
Ally took a good look around the area. It reminded her too much of the previous location they were at which was apparently empty and exploded with some type of booby trap inside of it when a drone hit it.
"I smell a set up." Ally said. "Everything is too perfect."
They all saw it as the cheese in the mousetrap.
Gail wanted to make it clear to everyone.
"It's a trap." Gail said.
Sheila felt the same way too, but she wasn't convinced they were the target. It could be the Fanatics battling one of the other groups. They seemed to have already hit each other.
"It's a trap, but is it a trap for us?" Sheila asked.
Ally reached the same conclusion as Sheila. She felt they always arrived a little late at one of the locations. Normally one group already attacked the other. It was the case at the auto body shop for sure. Cameron and Cammy spotted dead bodies inside the building. Based upon the original observation alone, it was clear one group would want some type of payback. They still didn't know which group.
"Maybe it's whatever group the Fanatics are battling." Ally said. "It's either Grays or the anti-Metal folks. We're always on the tail end of what's happening with them."
They were often on the tail end of an operation because they tried to remain in the shadows as much as possible. Anything they did, they tried to blame on a different group from the future. The Resistance remained invisible. Cameron was the 'face' of the opposition for the three groups. She made it seem as if it was a 'machine uprising'. It was really exactly what Mrs. Weaver attempted to do.
The Metal girls decided they needed a new set of wheels and they needed it fast. They headed to the local mall and exchanged the SUV for another one of a different make and color. They left the windows down and the keys in the ignition of the SUV they dumped. John Henry blocked all surveillance cameras along several different routes, so no one could track them specifically.
Ally tried to liven up the mood with a wisecrack.
"I guess the beach is out for today." Ally said.
Gail wanted them to remain focused on the current operation. She didn't want to make a big deal about it yet. She would if they continued to get off of the track.
"Apparently…." Gail said. "We need to worry about ourselves right now. We can do the nude beach another time. I would prefer to have my sheath undamaged when we do."
Sheila still wanted to show off at the beach. She wanted to know for certain what drew the most looks. She wanted to know if it was giant knockers, or smaller than average norks with nipple rings. The pigmentation aspect would be another factor if Hanna was with them.
"I was looking forward to it." Sheila said. "We'll have to do it some other time. If we're dealing with the Fanatics, I want to make sure my chassis still has its sheath, if they blow something up."
John Henry was able to get additional help. He'd redirected the next closest group of Terminators to assist them.
"You're clear of the other SUV. I haven't detected anyone following you or paying any special interest to the abandoned SUV." John Henry said. "Steve and Tom are going to sit on the operation from a few blocks away."
John wanted an additional switch. He didn't like anything that dealt with the Fanatics. They were always trouble. Bombs seemed to be their weapon of choice, even against themselves.
"Jim is headed your way to pick you up. You can dump the new SUV you acquired." John said. "I'm not taking any chances with this."
Sheila didn't think they were just going to walk away. They clearly identified a target. Something needed to be done. It appeared the enemy left out some bait to catch someone. She thought they needed to initiate some type of response.
"Where do things go from here?" Sheila asked.
They were all surprised at the response.
Allison was in the nursery with Vanna as she tended to Precious.
Eventually there was a knock and Samantha appeared.
"Precious is sleeping." Vanna said softly.
Samantha didn't like to see the girls tied up needlessly. She felt she could handle anything at this point. The only part she couldn't do was already done.
"I can stay with her." Samantha said. "If you want to go, I mean."
Vanna looked at Allison.
"We're good." Allison said. "When Riley is ready she can get her."
Samantha left.
Vanna felt she neglected her work. There are always things to work on in the lab. There were others who ended up finishing some of the projects she started. It didn't leave her with a good feeling.
"I need to do my job." Vanna said. "I've been slacking off."
Allison wanted to help. It would keep her close to Vanna too.
"It's not a problem." Allison said. "I can help you with everything now. I want to help you with everything. I'm the one who has slacked off the last few years."
Allison was away from the Resistance operations for more than a few years now. It was actually a long time. She felt a little guilty at times she wasn't assisting the rest of the team. It seemed she was caught up in her own little world. She tried to tell herself she was helping protect Young Allison. She didn't know if it was true or not. She wanted to be with her family. They died in her future. She was all alone. She paid the price for being alone in the Wastelands more than once. It wasn't something anyone ever got used to. No one liked to feel sharp cold steel pressed against their throat, or a gun pushed into the side of their head. She just needed to lay there and take it. It was what all the females went through. She vowed it was never going to happen again. She was with her mother, her younger self and her younger sister. She would protect all of them to the end if she needed to.
Vanna thought family was more important. She was pleased Allison still had hers. It was a luxury time hadn't fixed for her. It did for the Reese brothers, Riley, and Jesse as well, but not for her. She still didn't have a family and neither did Savannah.
"Some things in life matter more than others." Vanna said. "I understand it."
Allison knew Vanna thought of her dead parents right now.
A few minutes later Riley entered. She thanked Vanna for helping her.
"Call me as needed." Vanna said. "We'll be in the lab for a while."
Riley hated to be a bother. She felt everybody already helped her too much. She thought it was her fault for having slacked off and not being a good mother when she needed to be.
"I can call Jesse, if you have things to do." Riley said. "I hate to be a pest."
Vanna wanted to tend to Precious herself. It was the high point of her day to be around Precious. Even if she could be with one of the girls, it didn't matter if they were a human girl or a Metal girl. She still liked to be with Precious.
"Call me." Vanna said quickly. "I have it covered for today."
Vanna glanced over at Allison.
Riley looked at both of them and took Precious away. She thanked them again.
Vanna left with Allison. On the way to the lab Allison took Vanna's hand.
It surprised Vanna.
Allison looked at Vanna and smiled.
"I would rather have it be Jesse than you with my mother." Allison said.
It was clear Allison knew where Jesse was.
It was also clear Allison knew where Vanna wanted to be. It wasn't where she was.
Vanna didn't really feel guilty about having those thoughts. Everyone was special and everyone had something different to offer. Perhaps those things changed over time or with time. It was hard to say. Things always changed, even if they remained the same. The only thing constant was change.
Right now Allison was there with her. She knew everything Allison could offer. Allison knew everything she could offer. It didn't mean it was time for them to move on. She was very comfortable to be with Allison for anything. It was just sometimes others provided her with a little bit more. She really didn't know if they could provide her with eternal love. She was positive Allison could. There were more things in life. The important ones were things which couldn't be seen. They didn't exist in physical form. They existed within one's heart and mind.
Vanna looked over at Allison and softly squeezed her hand. Who was she fooling? She wanted Allison more than anyone. She always had. She always would.
Young Allison never slowed and reached the side of the pool a half a second before Cammy. She was tired. Savannah reached down to help her. Cammy was next to her in the pool.
It was clear Savannah and Anna weren't happy about what occurred. Cammy clearly cheated to gain an advantage.
Young Allison recovered quickly.
"I'm fine." Young Allison said.
Savannah expected Young Allison to chew Cammy out for what she did. She was surprised when she didn't. She was even more surprised when Young Allison thanked Cammy.
"Thanks for pushing me, Cammy." Young Allison said. "I needed to work for the win. I wouldn't have tried as hard otherwise."
To Cammy, it was a test for Young Allison.
"Overconfidence or mercy on the battlefield can prove fatal." Cammy said. "You need to be ready for the unexpected and adapt. You did excellent."
Anna wanted to share a different perspective.
"It looked more like cheating on Cammy's part." Anna said. "It was clearly a foul and she should be disqualified. It doesn't matter if Cammy lost. Unsportsmanlike conduct needs to be punished."
Cammy still saw it differently.
"I allowed her to be all she could be." Cammy said. "You should both be doing the same. No one can slack off or take it easy in combat. She needs to be ready for anything. When things don't go right, she needs to be able to work around it and keep going. The difficulties can occur in the mind, or with the body. The battlefield is always fluid. Lives will be at stake, as well as the continued existence of machines. Maybe this test was a little overdue. Well, it isn't anymore."
Young Allison didn't want any animosity.
"Everyone chill out." Young Allison said. "I think I needed what Cammy reminded me of."
Anna looked at her phone. She didn't like what she saw.
"There may be a situation developing." Anna said.
Young Allison was out of the pool in a flash. She seemed instantly rejuvenated.
"What is it?" Young Allison asked.
Anna went over everything real quick.
Savannah noticed the drone footage. She was surprised to see them there. It wasn't normal for a recon in the daylight. She doubted John or John Henry were behind it. It could be CamNet, but she wasn't sure of it either. She looked over at Young Allison.
"Did you send drones there?" Savannah asked.
Young Allison didn't think it was a big deal. She took some pre-emptive action to help protect Cameron.
"I asked CamNet to cover any operation Cameron might be involved in." Young Allison said. "I don't want her cruise with John messed up by her being damaged. I wanted CamNet to assist me when I was away and cover all the bases. She acted on my wishes. It was just more of the same action we took previously at several different locations."
Cammy saw Savannah become anxious. She looked at Anna's phone. She wanted to give Savannah a little reassurance.
"Cameron is still in the Command Center." Cammy said.
Savannah knew how it could change fast.
"For now she might be." Savannah said. "I need to go back."
Young Allison wondered why. There were others there.
"John's there." Young Allison said.
Savannah figured it would actually make it worse.
"It's not enough." Savannah said. "I want to make sure she stays undamaged until she gets on the cruise ship with John."
Young Allison was a little worried. She hoped to be with Savannah soon. She didn't know if it was going to happen. She knew it wasn't her place to interfere, but it was still her desire. She wanted their bond firmly established first.
"Will you go with them?" Young Allison asked.
Savannah went over this same question with Cameron numerous times. She didn't want to get into it with Young Allison. She already made up her mind what was necessary. It wasn't about her. It was about Cameron and John. She looked directly at Young Allison.
"No." Savannah said. "I'm not going. It's about Cameron and John."
Young Allison smiled at Savannah. There were two things she hoped would happen. She hoped she would be with Savannah, before Savannah was with John. She hoped she would be with John before Savannah was. She would actually like to get 'popped' in the traditional manner. It didn't matter if it was only once. She wanted Savannah's focus to be on her. Right now they needed to deal with the current situation.
"It's time to go back." Young Allison said. "We can monitor and control everything better from my bunker."
Cammy looked at Young Allison.
"We need to get cleaned up." Cammy said.
Savannah was already heading back to the locker room with Anna. She was very worried about what Cameron might do.
Young Allison looked around to make sure they were sufficiently isolated from everyone else. She looked directly at Cammy.
"Do we still have a deal?" Young Allison quietly asked.
Cammy felt some excitement. She looked directly into Young Allison's eyes.
"Yes." Cammy said.
Young Allison swallowed hard.
"Is it still for everything?" Young Allison asked.
Cammy's eyes remain fixed on Young Allison's eyes.
"Yes." Cammy said. "You won the bet."
Young Allison quickly looked around again.
"I don't want anyone to know." Young Allison said.
Cammy still looked directly into Young Allison's eyes.
"It'll be our secret." Cammy said and winked.
Young Allison felt a rush of endorphins flood her body with Cammy's statement. She was highly aroused just thinking about it.
"You won't mind?" Young Allison asked.
Cammy felt everyone already saw her anyway. There was actually nothing different on her than there was on Young Allison. Well, except for the rings. They were as much of a lure as they were aesthetic.
"No." Cammy said. "Everything I show you will be what you will look like to others. As you see me, it will be how others see you."
Young Allison wondered about her 'victory'. It seemed to her Cammy would 'win', even if she lost. It looked like Cammy wanted to do what she agreed to if she lost on her own anyway. It just gave Cammy an excuse to do it now. She wanted to know if she really won.
"Could you have beaten me?" Young Allison asked.
Cammy felt she lost the challenge at the first corner when she needed to turn around to come back. When it occurred, Young Allison would forever be in front of her. It surprised her somewhat to see Young Allison wait for her to make the turn and then resume the race. It was something she would expect Savannah to do.
She was glad to see Savannah wasn't the only one who would treat the machines fairly. Once again, she was reminded both Savannah and Young Allison were the 'Chosen Ones'. As much as she disagreed with Cameron on many things, she knew Cameron was right in choosing both of the girls for John, and indirectly herself.
She knew they weren't under combat conditions and she appreciated Young Allison tried to make things as fair as possible. Very few things in life were fair. She wanted Young Allison to remember it.
"I don't believe it was possible under the conditions you set." Cammy said. "They were fair and any shortcomings were mine alone. I only wanted to remind you to always stay alert. I know you could have given me a push and swamped me with very little effort on your part. It would have put me behind as I tried to recover and continue the race."
Young Allison wondered how far Cammy would have gone to collect her bet if she won. She wanted a better answer.
"Would you have beaten me if you could have?" Young Allison asked.
Cammy hoped to at least have a tie. She didn't think she could win under the rules and conditions Young Allison set. Even though she lost, she didn't view it as a failure.
"I tried." Cammy said. "I would have, if I could have."
Young Allison felt she was fair.
"I gave you two chances." Young Allison said.
Cammy knew she pushed it beyond fairness.
"I gave myself a third one." Cammy said.
Young Allison didn't want to think about it. She needed a wake-up call and she received it. She gambled something which was irreplaceable.
"I'll remember it in the future." Young Allison said. "Would you have done it?"
Cammy planned to collect if she won.
"I would have done it too." Cammy said. "I just wanted you to know it. I would have been gentle about it, but I would have done it. Everything has a price. Some things are irreplaceable."
Young Allison was a little surprised at Cammy's words. They were almost identical to her own thoughts just moments ago. She needed to remember Cammy was a copy of Cameron's program. Cameron shared the 'Neural Interface' with Future Allison. She was Future Allison as well. Cammy contained part of her, even if somewhat indirectly.
"I'll remember it." Young Allison said.
Cammy wanted to give Young Allison a friendly reminder.
"Never bet what you're not willing to lose." Cammy said. "It applies to troops, both human and Terminator. It could also be your life."
It made Young Allison think back on the two teenage boys at the movie theater when she played the air hockey game and beat both of them. The one boy bet his father's pocket knife. She was under the impression his father was deceased. After she beat him soundly, he turned to go away in defeat. She stopped him and placed a pocket knife back in his hand. She told him much the same thing.
She learned a few lessons today. One of them was never to show mercy to the 'enemy'. They could turn on someone in a moment. It also showed her to not give up and fight the 'battle' to the end. It was how the race played out. Cammy could have used more aggressive action against her as well. When she waited for Cammy twice to make the turn, did it make Cammy's aggressive 'attack' later on less severe? There were numerous things Cammy could have done to beat her. It was never over until it was over. Was it ever over? The battle with Skynet seemed to be far from over in every arena.
Closing monologue by Cameron:
Call Me
One of the hardest things for people
Is real meaningful communication
Its absence will often lead to
Emotional stress and starvation
Without a real connection
It becomes easier to drift
Through one's own mind
They begin to sift
They find fragments
Of feelings once dead
There are a lot of things
That exist in one's head
For those who still care
They don't want to quit
They want to stay together
Even if they won't commit
Don't be afraid to reach out
They may agree to hear the plea
It doesn't hurt anything to care
All you need to do is call me
Nobody