Chapter 1239

Skunk

Steve heard the scuffle in the storm drain pipe in front of him. He moved forward with his M9 and Taser out. He knew it was his team and the enemy. There was at least one of the enemy. There could have been more of them down there already. This could be a route to their lair, or even an ambush. It was all happening below ground so the transmission of events wouldn't get out. The only way anyone would know what happened was if the team got out, or someone came in to find them deactivated. He knew if they were all incapacitated someone would come looking for them. It would be Savannah.

He spotted the two figures locked in combat in a feeder pipe from the street. There was another figure moving towards him past where the two in combat were at. He still needed to deal with the two struggling figures from the feeder pipe. He knew one of them was on his team.

They were all in complete darkness and needed to rely on several of their vision spectrums. He used thermal now to track the targets.

He thought about using his Taser and taking down all three targets. He could sort it out later. There could be additional threats he hadn't identified yet as well. Maybe he should have checked behind him one more time before he came this far. He was in too big of a hurry to get to where he currently was. It was too late to look away from the action there now.

Tom saw the struggle in front of him. There were three figures. He was sure two of them were on his team. He wasn't sure which two. He was concerned if they were all incapacitated, someone would need to come looking for them. He knew who the someone would be. It would be Savannah.

It made him think back to the mine. He knew there wasn't any risk Savannah wouldn't take to reach them. He watched her leave all of her safety gear behind to go after Cameron as well as protect the team at various times. He needed to prevent it from happening. He didn't want Savannah to be in peril.

He held his Taser and M9. He decided to fire on all the targets with his Taser and sort it out later. There could be additional threats he hadn't identified yet as well. Maybe he should have checked behind him one more time before he came this far. He was in too big of a hurry to get to where he was. It was too late to look away from the action there now.

Cammy was locked in a struggle with the unknown Terminator. It wasn't what she expected. It was probably why she was in her current situation now.

There seemed to be more movement and at least two more figures approached from either side. There could be additional threats she hadn't identified yet as well. Perhaps this was all an elaborate ambush. If it was just to sucker them down below ground to be ambushed, it seemed to be quite successful so far. Maybe she should have checked behind her one more time before she came this far. She was in too big of a hurry to catch up to whoever continued to elude her. She originally thought it was a Gray, but evidently it was a Skynet Terminator. It was too late to look away from the action there now.

Cam thought her ambush was a good idea. It should have been a quick and easy take down. Now it seemed otherwise. She thought she would have the upper hand. She didn't expect to get Tasered. There was no room to move where they were.

What she planned should have been fast. As to why she was jumped so quickly, she wasn't sure. She was sure it was another Terminator she currently battled. They seemed very aggressive. It actually reminded her of herself.

Wait.

Her olfactory receptor sensors detected a very faint known perfume scent. It was the scent of Savannah.

Wait.

It wasn't Savannah who held her. It was a cyborg. There was one Terminator who was in contact the most with Savannah on an intimate level.

Wait.

"Cammy?" Cam asked

The struggle stopped.

"Cam?" Cammy asked.

The two Metal girls were as relieved as they were embarrassed.

"Yes." Cam said. "We zapped each other."

They both knew it could have been worse.

"There's someone behind us in the main pipe." Cammy said.

Steve could now tell the two struggling figures were Cam and Cammy. He issued the challenge to see who was who.

"Skunk." Steve said.

The response was instantaneous.

"Black." Three voices answered.

It left one big unanswered question. Where did the Gray go? He shouldn't have been able to get past the four of them.

Cammy was further alarmed.

"Where's the target?" Cammy asked.

It appeared somehow the target was able to elude all of them. It seemed almost impossible at this point. They were several streets ahead and behind his last known position.

Maybe there was some secret passage within the drainage system they hadn't noticed. It seemed highly improbable none of the four Terminators would have detected it.

"I should have been in front of him." Tom said. "I was beyond where Cam went in. I was behind her as she moved towards you. I never saw him."

Steve brought up the rear and no one passed him. There hadn't been any movement behind him.

"He didn't pass me." Steve said. "I was behind Cammy."

He took a moment to turn around and look behind him to make sure no one else was coming. If there was, it didn't necessarily mean it would be the enemy either.

Cam thought she was right on top of him.

"I didn't see him pass me." Cam said.

There was only one option left. Cammy didn't like it.

"He must have slipped by before you all entered." Cammy said.

A sense of great concern passed among them. They all knew what it meant.

"It means we are all here and…." Tom said.

Cammy and Cam started to move.

"Savannah…." Cam and Cammy said.

Tom felt an impulse shoot through his left hand. He knew Savannah was in jeopardy. He remembered her actions inside the mine, and later on inside of the steel tubing where they were trapped. He needed to find her. He needed to get to her before she encountered the enemy. He knew she wasn't going to back down when the fighting started. He knew she would attack.

"We need to get to Savannah." Tom said.

It meant Savannah was alone by herself about to face an enemy who eluded all of them. There was 'blood' so they were sure he was hit. Maybe it was a cyborg.

They all hoped it wasn't Liquid Metal. Maybe it turned into a serpent of some type and quickly moved through the storm drain tunnels to get away from all of them. Sooner or later it would end up on the surface where Savannah was at. There was no guarantee Savannah was still on the surface either.

Gail led Jesse and Claire into the main theater.

Claire was surprised the moment they went through the fancy doorway.

The level of luxury was something Jesse seldom saw, even now. She went over and touched one of the seats. She liked how plush it felt. She could see all the seats were the same way.

"Wow!" Jesse said. "This place is nice."

Claire was impressed at the size of the theater as she looked around.

"Oh my, it's a big one." Claire said.

Gail hadn't even shown them the best part yet.

"We have private boxes on the side over there." Gail said as she pointed.

Claire looked over to see where they were. She didn't see them. She only noticed what looked like some mirrors.

"Really?" Claire asked. "I can't tell there's even anything there."

Jesse looked in the direction as well. She figured there was one explanation.

"I take it those mirrors are actually one way glass." Jesse said.

Gail was happy about the next part she told them about.

"Yes." Gail said. "There's plenty of room to touch, kiss, and fool around in the boxes."

The physical contact part got Jesse's attention. It was an option which was always nice to have. It seemed a lot of people didn't 'get it'. They were easily offended by a little touching and kissing. She was all for it. She noticed it seemed to be a hang up in the present with a lot of people. They were so worried about other people they didn't worry about themselves. If they concentrated on their own lives and behavior, they would have a lot fewer problems.

Jesse was aware the Metal girls could get a little carried away at times. She knew Sheila was there with them.

"Did you do it last night?" Jesse asked.

Gail thought they acted within reason. Things may have gone a little further than they should have. They didn't do to anything outlandish. She mainly wanted to watch the performance. She thought it was outstanding. Many of the songs made her think about Savannah and Jesse.

"There was just some kissing and touching." Gail said. "No one wanted to upset Cameron and John. The stage performance was excellent and worth watching. I wanted to watch all of it. I tried not to get sidetracked. I can't say the same for Sheila and Ally."

Gail hoped Jesse and Claire could see it before they got off. It was scheduled to occur twice during the voyage.

Claire and Jesse wanted to see more.

They walked down the center stairway towards the stage.

Jesse looked at the stage when they reached it. She turned back around and looked at all the seats. There were hundreds of seats. It could even be a couple of thousand of them. She pictured herself making love to one of the girls on stage and all those people watching her. She could picture all of them wanting to be up there with her. It was a wonderful thought.

"Someone could put on quite a show for a crowd here." Jesse said.

Gail wasn't surprised by what Jesse said. It reminded her of what someone else mentioned as well.

"Sheila thought the same thing." Gail said.

Claire could understand it. Jesse and Sheila shared a lot in common. They both shared the 'Neural Interface' with each other.

"I guess the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree." Claire said as she looked at Jesse.

Jesse frowned a little and shrugged her shoulders. She didn't like the 'bad' things she passed along to Sheila. It was all part of the package. She felt she did her part ahead of time to warn them.

"I told her before the 'Neural Interface' there was a lot of baggage." Jesse said. "Sometimes I think there was more bad than good in the transfer. It is what it is. They were all warned."

Claire touched Jesse's cheek. She thought Jesse was beautiful both inside and out. At least the Jesse she knew was. The past was behind her.

"It's all good now." Claire said. "You're special to me. There's nothing to be warned about anymore."

Jesse really appreciated Claire's comforting words. She knew they were more than just words from Claire. She felt she was able to reform herself on several levels. She knew it didn't take too much to revert back to past practices. It was actually quite easy to do.

"I'm trying." Jesse said. "I haven't 'collected' anything since I've been in the past, the present."

Gail remembered some of the things Sheila did to others. Some of them were to some of the Metal girls too. From her experience, all of the Metal girls were back to normal.

"Sheila has." Gail said. "Savannah is working with her to help Sheila improve herself."

Claire wasn't sure what it all involved. It seemed all of the Terminators needed someone to 'work' with them.

"Savannah's the greatest." Claire said. "I hear Savannah has 'worked' with you."

Gail didn't want to get into it. Savannah was to be treated with the highest respect. There would be no gossip, hearsay, or speculation about Savannah.

"I don't wish to discuss it unless Savannah is present." Gail said. "She'll decide what's best."

Claire and Jesse both shared with Savannah.

They understood Gail also experienced the same beautiful pleasure.

Claire would really like a 'three way' with Jesse and Savannah. Some 'one on one' time would be good too. It was the best part about going to Cameron's future. The living conditions were harsh. Because Savannah shared with her, it made the adventure a little more tolerable. They were both pregnant at the time so they really understood each other. Come to think of it, they were both pregnant again with someone else's child. She hoped when they were in the past together, they could share. Young Allison would be with them in the past. She was sure it would be a 'problem'. It wasn't for Future Allison. She smiled at the thought. It was a whole other story in itself.

"I hope Savannah comes on board the ship." Claire said.

Jesse liked the idea.

"We all do." Jesse said.

Gail didn't think it was going to happen. She didn't want Cameron to pressure Savannah to do anything she really didn't want to do. She understood the original intent of what Savannah and Young Allison wanted for Cameron and John. It was sort of out the window right now with whatever occurred with Sheila. She knew Cameron wanted to borrow all of their chassis. She wasn't opposed to the idea. She viewed it as a rare opportunity. It didn't seem like the proper time to discuss it.

Claire looked up at the three private boxes. They could see them better from the stage.

"Are those ours?" Claire asked.

Gail could see where Claire looked. She noticed the one way glass was open in all three of them. She was sure either Jim or CamNet was behind it. It was probably so Jesse and Claire could get a better idea of what the view would be.

"Yes." Gail said.

Since Claire could see into them now, she thought the people on the stage could as well. Maybe they weren't so private after all.

"The performers can see us can't they?" Claire asked. "They should be able to see us from the stage like we can see the private boxes now."

Gail knew there were a few things to give them privacy.

"There are numerous lights of all different colors shining in the performer's faces." Gail said. "The one way glass can cover the opening as well. It's why it looked like a mirror earlier. It can be part way up, or all the way up."

As they looked at the three luxury boxes, they could see the glass go up a quarter of the way in one, a half of the way in another, and three quarters of the way in the third one. The one way glass then closed and all three of them looked like a mirror again.

Claire liked the privacy options available. She also looked at the front row of seats next to the stage. She thought for a live performance it might be nice to sit in the front row. She would think about it a little bit more as for the best spot to view something. She understood having a private box, well, besides the obvious one. She felt a private viewing box for the performance was an honor.

"It's a neat trick." Claire said.

Jesse developed an urge to be with one of the girls on the stage even without an audience. She never minded an audience when she was in a sexual encounter as long as it was consensual. She thought it was time to see a little more of the ship.

"Unless one of you wants to get up here and use the stage with me, I think we can move on." Jesse said. "Sarah said something about another theater in the back."

Claire didn't think a sexual encounter on stage was a good idea, at least not at this time. Maybe during the 'Witching Hour' something like it could be pulled off. All the passengers should be asleep. She wasn't sure she was quite so daring. Maybe if Jesse and Sheila wanted to hit it off, she would want a front row seat to watch it. Gail and Jesse might be the pair as well. She just didn't know if she could bring herself to be a participant in such a wide open area, even if Nobody was there.

Gail didn't want to go directly to the rear theater yet. There were some other locations she could show them along the way.

"There are a few things we can see first. We can see the casino on deck six, which is where we are now. We can go a deck lower to the base of the atrium on deck five." Gail said. "There's a specialty coffee shop and pastries there, as well as a pizzeria, a lounge with a bar, the internet café and the library. Everything is in close proximity to each other from our current location."

It sounded exciting to Jesse.

"Let's scout out the casino and then we can drop down a deck and check all the other stuff out." Jesse said.

Claire wanted to see all of it too. She thought they were on deck seven but saw they went down what looked like more than two decks. It was a long way up to where they entered from on deck seven. The ramp sloped up the exit on deck six near the front of the stage.

"Lead the way, Gail." Claire said.

Gail headed up the ramp.

"We are actually part way down into deck five." Gail said. "It's why we need to go up the ramp."

Claire and Jesse playfully followed her. They felt like schoolgirls again as they were caught up in the excitement of it all.

Many of the things were new to Jesse because she didn't normally go out to any special venues when she went out with Gail.

Claire may have seen some of the things over the years here and there, but never everything all at one time in the same immediate area. She looked up at their private boxes as they went up the ramp to go up to deck six. She looked back at the stage and at the front row. She really wasn't sure which would be the best for a live performance. She looked at Jesse and Gail. Well, actually she knew the front row would definitely be a better spot for a live performance with Jesse and whoever.

Derek was a little apprehensive about what was going to happen in the bedroom. He didn't know Riley was going to be quite so demanding. He wasn't sure he would be able to keep up.

Right now Riley was in control.

Derek was along for the ride.

Riley finished up a second time and was ready to rotate around and face Derek this time. She was really giving her lady parts a workout. She hadn't given them this much action since Derek and her first hooked up. She was pretty sure she would feel it some tomorrow. Right now she didn't care. It was what she wanted and who she wanted it from. She felt very exhilarated.

"I feel so alive again, Derek." Riley said.

Derek wished he did. He didn't think he could perform again. Not only was he out of practice, he felt he was out of shape. The vast amount of food he consumed in the last twenty - four hours didn't seem to help anything either.

Riley looked down at Derek. He looked very deflated. She looked very disappointed. The words just slipped out of her mouth.

"That's it?" Riley asked.

Derek didn't know what to say. He felt embarrassed. There needed to be a certain amount of refractory time under normal circumstances. These were beyond normal circumstances. He hadn't had much activity the last few months. He was really out of shape and nowhere near able to keep up with this much action. He felt more than a little inadequate. He didn't think there was anything to do about it. He didn't want to say his poor performance was Riley's fault, but it sort of was.

"For now it is." Derek said. "I'm sorry."

Riley looked disappointed. She still needed a little more.

"I'm not done yet." Riley said. "I'm not finished."

Derek knew he better switch tactics. There were other things he could do.

"Here, scoot up higher." Derek said. "I can work on you a different way."

The thought excited Riley.

"I'd like it." Riley said.

Derek remembered Riley once told him the girls all did 'it' better. Jesse previously told him the same thing. He remembered Jesse would always choose a female over a male when she was presented with a choice. He was lucky they went as far as they did.

Riley was about to move up to higher on Derek's. She needed to think about what just happened a few moments ago.

She didn't think Derek wanted to 'experience' some things. She didn't want to create any negative feelings.

"Let me clean up some first." Riley said. "I'm not quite as fresh as I normally am…."

Derek thought it sounded like a good idea, at least the clean up.

"No, you can freshen up some." Derek said. "I'd like it."

Riley grabbed a few tissues and got up. She felt more than a little self conscious. She really pushed Derek a lot.

"I won't take too long." Riley said.

Derek hoped Riley would hit the bathroom. He didn't want to say anything since he left her hanging.

He was glad to see her go in the direction of the bathroom. He didn't know if she was going to use the shower or not. He hoped it would give him a little extra time.

Derek quickly looked for the bottle with the blue pills in it. It took him longer than he anticipated to retrieve it. He hid it earlier so Riley wouldn't find it. He wasn't sure how he would be able to explain it if she did.

He found it. He took the lid off and looked back towards the bathroom. He saw Riley was already out and headed back. The bottle slipped out of his hand and fell to the floor. He glanced down at the rug. The blue pills were everywhere on the floor on his side of the bed.

"I'm back." Riley said.

Derek looked at the mess of pills on the floor. He didn't want Riley to see it. He needed to think quickly and take control.

"Here, lie here, lay back." Derek said. "Close your eyes and relax. I'll do the rest."

Riley really wanted the special attention. She felt a little chilled from her visit to the sink. She should have let the water warm a little first. It wasn't warm right away like it was in the Honeymoon Suite. She figured there were other things which could take her mind off of it. The sooner Derek got started, the quicker it would be.

"Send me to heaven again." Riley said. "I like when you send me there."

Derek pushed the blanket over the side of the bed and covered the pills.

"I'm glad you do." Derek said.

Derek thought it was all he was going to be able to do pretty soon anyway…. He was always thankful she used the laser. It just made everything so much better. He liked when the only hair on a female was on her head.

Sarah, Kyle, and Hanna were almost done with their miniature golf session.

They soon finished the last hole on the miniature golf course.

Sarah was very happy with her performance.

"The game went by fast." Sarah said. "We can do it again."

Kyle felt he been humiliated enough.

"I think we're good for now." Kyle said. "I'm done here."

Hanna collected the equipment from them.

"I'll put everything back." Hanna said.

Sarah looked pleased and happy.

"It was fun." Sarah said.

Kyle thought it wasn't as fun as if he would have 'won'. It was clear he came in at last place. The high score wasn't the one to want in golf, miniature or otherwise.

"I lost." Kyle said. "You creamed me."

Hanna didn't want any tension.

"I'll return everything now. Remember, we played for fun this time." Hanna said. "We didn't keep score. There are no winners or losers. It was a time of closeness and sharing for all of us in a non-sexual way."

Kyle quickly looked at Sarah with Hanna's statement.

Sarah didn't like how dejected Kyle looked. She thought of something to cheer him up. She moved up close to him. She liked Hanna's idea about what things could be in a sexual manner.

"How would you like to have some fun and 'score'?" Sarah whispered in Kyle's ear. "Then you can 'cream' me."

Kyle looked over at Hanna. She was headed down the stairs.

"It sounds interesting." Kyle said.

Sarah was in a playful mood.

"She went to return the putters and balls." Sarah said. "You still have a set."

Kyle was already cheered up some.

"I guess I do." Kyle said. "Let's go."

Sarah moved her hand across the front of her pants.

"I can guarantee you'll get a 'hole in one' on your first try." Sarah said. "It will be as many times as you can handle."

The action didn't go unnoticed by Kyle.

"It's better than I did here." Kyle said. "I'm in."

Sarah gave Kyle a kiss and winked at him.

"It's the plan." Sarah said. "You will be. You're always a winner in my book."

Sarah felt like a schoolgirl again. She planned to act like one too.

Kyle could see Sarah didn't want to make a big deal about the game. He needed to think about what Hanna said. It was just a game. It was just for fun. Other than the fact he needed a lot more strokes than Sarah, he thought it was kind of fun. He was always happy when the ball finally went into the hole. Now there would be something else to be happy about once they returned to their suite.

He wasn't really sure he would want to play anyone else on the miniature golf course. He didn't think Derek would have much better luck than he did. He wasn't about to find out what any of the females could do. He already looked bad enough as it was.

Savannah looked in the direction the figure came from. She didn't see anyone else. She started in pursuit of them. They were headed for the opening in the curb or to lift the manhole cover. They may turn and come back in her direction once they spied her SUV. She didn't have clear identification on the target and hoped it wasn't Tom or Steve. She would need to be careful before she acted. If she issued a challenge and it was the enemy, they would know it was her and their enemy. The challenge would most likely be met with gunfire. There was nowhere for her to seek cover. She didn't spot something promising ahead.

She saw them pass the connector pipe from the other side of the street. She was glad they didn't turn into it. They could have used it for cover and fired at her. She would try to get up to it before they spotted her. It would give her some cover. She was unsure if she would make it in time. She hurried to close the distance. She held her silenced M9 in front of her.

She made it to the connector pipe right as the figure reached the curb opening. She ducked into the feeder pipe and saw him turn back to look. It was the Gray she saw before. He put something up to his eyes to look back. It must be some type of night vision device. He must have needed to remove it to look out the curb opening and not be blinded by the brilliancy of the daylight.

Savannah hoped she moved quickly enough. She wasn't sure. He could move up to the connector pipe and stick a pistol around the side of it and fire on her position. He would only need to expose his gun hand. She would be a sitting duck in the connector pipe with nowhere to go. Her vest would stop some of the bullets but her legs and head could be hit too.

She pulled a Thermite grenade as she backed up. If she didn't hear the metal sound of the manhole cover being moved in three seconds she was going to throw the grenade into the pipe she just was in and head for the opening on the other side of the street. It should prevent him from retreating the way they both came. The inside of the pipe would be coated with burning Thermite. He wouldn't be able to get back to the main part of the system.

Savannah pulled the pin after two seconds and released the spoon after three seconds. She waited two more seconds and rolled the grenade forward into the pipe the man was in. She backed up further.

She watched the grenade roll and hit the side of the pipe and disappeared downhill the way she came.

Damn!

Gravity took it down the incline a few feet before it exploded. She hoped It would remain at the junction when it exploded and prevent the man from following her or retreating.

She immediately pulled her second Thermite grenade out and pulled the pin. She only tossed it a few feet forward to keep it in the pipe she was in. She moved as fast as she could toward the other side of the street. She hoped to make the turn before her second grenade exploded.

There was gunfire behind her. Something slammed into her back. She kept moving. Her head was jerked around right afterwards. She wasn't sure what happened. The second Thermite grenade exploded. There was a loud shrill scream. She knew it wasn't from her. There was no doubt about it now, it was a Gray and not a Terminator.

She needed to make the turn. Nothing else hit her. There was still a withering cry from where she was. It was clear the Gray was showered with at least some burning Thermite. He shouldn't be able to follow her or retreat back the way he came. Both of those sections of pipe were coated with burning Thermite.

Savannah knew she was shot. It didn't hurt like it did the time her vest took three rounds in the side before. It must have hit the 'chicken plate' dead center. It looked like it did its job and absorbed, as well as distributed, the impact of the projectile.

She must have lost her night vision somewhere in all the excitement. It was no longer in front of her eyes. She didn't even know when she lost it. She could see the opening in the curb in front of her.

She moved up to the opening and brought her M9 up and searched for a target through the curb opening to the one across the street. The manhole cover was already off and the Gray was out.

Damn!

Her field of view was very restricted for some reason. The opening seemed very narrow. It was about a third smaller than the one she entered the system through. She took aim and fired fourteen shots at him. She saw him go down. It left one in the chamber. She dropped the empty magazine and put a fresh one in. She would now have sixteen shots available.

She went to fire again when he crawled out of her field of view. She looked at the curbside opening where she was at and could see it was damaged. It must have been hit by a car, or a big truck didn't make the turn properly and drove up on the sidewalk and cracked the concrete and pushed it down some. She wouldn't be able to get out through it. She stuck her hand out and fired all sixteen rounds in the direction the Gray crawled.

She was rewarded with a muffled scream.

Savannah wondered why she didn't pick anything up on her com. It was gone too. There was a lot of smoke around her. She felt a little disoriented as her oxygen supply became contaminated. It was hard to see now with all the thick dark smoke around her.

There was dark smoke coming out of the opening across the street. It came out her side as well. She needed to get out of the storm drain. The manhole cover was over her. She was in a three foot high chamber. She pushed up on it with her arms and it barely moved. The smoke grew thicker. It was very hard to breathe now. Something began to run into the corner of the drain opening from the outside. She hoped it wasn't gasoline from her SUV…. She was afraid she hit it when she fired blindly at the fleeing Gray.

Once the gasoline fumes reached the burning Thermite, she was going to be fried in the confined space as the gasoline vapor exploded. Something began to spark and bounce on the street. It looked like some type of 'metal hail'.

What the Hell?

She ducked down as she realized it was a high altitude minigun gravity shot. They must be firing on the Gray. He still must be in the fight. Maybe she didn't take him down. She couldn't remember right now there was a time lag from when the shots were fired to when they reached ground. The liquid still ran in and seemed to increase now. She expected it to be ignited any second. She couldn't see it or smell it through the thick smoke. She could only hear it.

One of the ricochet projectiles flew into the opening and hit the back of the chamber she was in. It seemed to hit one or two other sides of the chamber. She felt it hit her leg. It stung, but didn't hurt too bad. She was unsure how many times she was hit at this point. She finished reloading her M9 and hit the slide release. She reached down with her left hand and touched her leg. There was no blood or a hole in her pants. She stayed low below the level of the curb opening and hoped there wasn't a second burst. The smoke billowed up in back of her, and the liquid continued to run in.

Savannah coughed. It was hard to breathe. She couldn't see. She needed to get out of there fast. There was no way she could go back the way she came. Time was running out and she was stuck right now. The thick smoke deprived her of the oxygen she needed to stay alive. She was on her own and she was trapped.

Her prospect of survival looked very remote at this point in time. She was either going to die from smoke inhalation or the gasoline vapor was going to ignite and she would be incinerated within the confines of the small chamber she was in.

She was aware most people died in a house fire from smoke inhalation rather than from actually being burnt alive. She hoped it would be the same with her if she couldn't get out of the chamber before the gasoline vapor ignited. Burning to death seemed like it would be a horrible way to die. It wouldn't be quick. She knew what she was going to have to do if she caught on fire.

Her M9 gave her reassurance. There would be no need to suffer needlessly.

Hank and Larry exited the room with the explosives and continued toward the room with the talking. They hoped to identify the individual the last two Grays they terminated indicated was the 'boss'. They moved up to the doorway of the room and listened.

"What's taking those clowns so long?" The first voice asked.

"I don't know." The second voice said.

"There's not much we can do without power." The third voice said.

"This location was good enough for what we needed to do here." The fourth voice said. "I don't see why we need to move this operation."

"I'm not happy about it either." The first voice said. "I've lost all my good people to the new operation."

"Hey, what about us?" The third voice asked.

"I guess we don't count." The second voice said.

"You know what I mean." The first voice said.

"I think this place is pretty bunker buster proof." The fourth voice said.

"The 'Bucket Head' claimed we weren't deep enough to survive a nuclear attack." The second voice said.

"Maybe if it was a direct hit." The third voice said. "Most of the nukes were detonated above ground when Skynet took over originally. It spread the radiation further and faster."

"This is taking too long." The first voice said. "I can't get a hold of anyone else either downstairs. I want one of you to go check on the clean room and the other two to go find out where everybody else is at."

"Maybe we're under attack." The second voice said.

The sound of three men laughing came out of the room. It was clear they didn't take what he said seriously. It seemed quite humorous to them.

"We creamed out those nut jobs last night." The first voice said. "How would they even get in here? Have you heard any shootings or explosions yet? I haven't."

"It was a legitimate question." The second voice said. "What happens if we didn't wipe everyone out? Maybe they were able to pull some kind of a fast one. Maybe someone here let them in. There is more than one way into this location."

"It's what you're all going to find out." The first voice said. "If you see anything which looks off, or doesn't look right, hit the alarm. Report back here in ten minutes otherwise. Don't be late either."

Hank and Larry quickly backed up to where the two men were at who they'd shot previously. It should be a good ambush point for three unsuspecting individuals.

The female Fanatic felt their original building needed a further inspection. She wasn't going to do it from the front. She made a right turn at the next street. She drove down two more streets and made another right. She pulled up at a building. There were a few other vehicles parked in front of it. She would leave the van there and take off on foot.

She thought the van would blend in better if it was parked near other cars, rather than if it was all by itself. She didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to it. First of all, it was a stolen vehicle. Second of all, it carried a precious cargo. It carried a bomb intended for use against a Skynet target.

Three people came out of the building she was parked near. She watched them through the mirror on the side of the van. She thought they were going to get into vehicles and leave. They didn't. They walked in her direction.

She quickly moved between the front seats of the van into the cargo compartment. She waited a few moments and they passed by the van without looking at it. She thought maybe they were going out for a little exercise on their break or lunch time. She wasn't sure what they were actually doing. She didn't think she was 'made' in any way. It appeared to be more of a coincidence than anything else.

If they were going to walk around the block, maybe she should fall in behind them. It would allow her to blend in better. She wanted to move up to the next street so she could enter one of the businesses to get a look at the back of where their original location was at. The fact the gate was open indicated to her someone was either there now or was there earlier.

She let the people get several hundred feet ahead of her. She opened the side door of the van and stepped out. She made sure all the doors were locked and walked along after them. She only carried her sidearm concealed on her along with two extra magazines.

The three people in front of her walked at a brisk pace. They were clearly out for a little exercise. They moved around the corner and continued along. She wasn't sure if they would pause at the corner and come back the way they came. If they would have, they would have passed by her. She would have moved to the other side of the street in the event they would have.

She followed them around the corner and crossed to the other side of the road. She counted the number of businesses she passed along the way. Some of them had vehicles parked at them, some of them didn't. Economic times always seemed to be in flux.

The three people slowly pulled away from her as she slowed. She wanted them to go around the next corner before she made her move. She found the business she wanted to go through the property of to get to the rear of it. The three people went around the corner. She made her move and went along the side of the property.

Since it was daylight, she didn't try to hide her movements. She figured it would only attract more attention if she did. She found the best way to avoid scrutiny was to act like she belonged where she was at, even if she didn't. Suspicious behavior always drew more attention than bold behavior.

She took a casual look around to see if anyone paid her any extra attention or appeared to follow her in any way. It didn't look like it. She wouldn't hesitate to shoot her way out of a jam if it occurred.

She passed alongside the building and quickly moved into the back area.

Hank and Larry waited for the three men to come around the corner. They didn't know If they would all be together or if they would be openly armed. Most of the men they encountered so far hadn't carried weapons on them. A few of them did, but most of them didn't.

"It sounds like the 'boss' is going to remain in the control area." Hank said.

Larry held his silenced M9. Since none of the other men they questioned seemed to know very much, it was possible the 'boss' may know more than they did.

"Let's see if we can drop the next three Gray's without the alarm going off." Larry said. "We can stop by and pay the 'boss' a visit. He seems like he likes to throw a lot of words around. I think he won't mind telling us a few things."

Hank took a position in the room with the explosives.

Larry took up position in the storeroom where the two dead men were moved to.

They waited for the Grays to arrive.

The female Fanatic passed alongside the building and quickly moved into the back area. She moved to the very rear of the property. There was no alley between the property she was in and her old building.

There were two outbuildings on the property she was on. Her old location on the other side of the fence didn't have any outbuildings in the rear of it. She carefully moved up along the side of one of the outbuildings and went to look over the fence. She wasn't quite tall enough to look over unless she were to jump up and pull herself up. She would do it if she needed to. She looked around for something to stand on. She would rather move her head up slowly to look over the fence instead of jumping and having her hands hang on to the top of the fence.

The female Fanatic spotted several old wooden pallets. She carefully moved two of them over and placed one on top of the other. She stepped up on top of the pallets and slowly lifted her head over the back of the wall. She didn't like what she saw.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Skunk

When something is off
Can others always tell
Maybe it depends upon
The lies one tries to sell

Some people have a 'tell'
When they fib or lie
They try to brush it off
As being sly or wry

The truth is the truth
What isn't the truth
Isn't hard to figure it out
It doesn't take a sleuth

Everyone lies at times
It's the nature of the beast
It includes everyone from a child
To an ordained priest

Then there's the 'smell' test
Which most people will flunk
When they don't 'smell' right
It's not because they're a skunk

Nobody