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Chapter 02 Sarah and Ellison
Chapter 2
Sarah and Ellison
2009, Day 1
The room was crackling with energy. The time bubble was expanding and enveloping both her son John and the terminator that called herself Weaver. Sarah stepped backed.
“Mom?” John looked at her earnestly. Sarah thought, This wasn’t her fight. She stepped back some more.
“I’m sorry John.” Her fight was here and now. “I’ll stop it. I’ll stop it.” Her back was against the wall
The bubble had finished expanding. Weaver and John were fully enclosed. Lightning was crackling around the room. Sarah was looking at her son, John Connor, the future savior of mankind. He looked afraid and so young, but he was brave and strong. She loved her son.
Recent events flashed through her mind. Suddenly she remembered, in the lobby, just before they went upstairs, John told her he loved her. It had been so long since her son told her this. With just moments to spare as the bubble began to wink out of existence, she shouted, “I love you, too.”
Then with a crackle and a flash of light the bubble was gone. Energy still crackled about the room. She stood there for what felt like an eternity looking at the spot where her son had stood just a moment before. She felt numb all over. She didn’t know if it was from the electrical discharge or the loss of her son.
She was shocked back to reality when Ellison grabbed her arm. “Come on Sarah. We have to get you out of here before the authorities arrive.”
“The computer, the Turk, we have to destroy it.” cried Sarah.
“There’s no problem. I think that . . . that energy bubble fried it. Look.” Said Ellison gesturing at the computers. The computer servers looked like they had received a heavy charge. There were scorch marks around the screws. Monitors were flickering and flashing. Sarah realized she was so blinded by the loss of her son that she hadn’t noticed the room around her. None of the computers were operating.
Sarah looked at Cameron’s body. It was right in the middle of the time bubble, but there it still sat. She suddenly remembered that metal couldn’t go through, and with part of her endoskeleton exposed, Cameron still sat there.
“We will have to get her out of here.” shouted Sarah. “And destroy the security tapes.”
“Security tapes are no problem. They were stored digitally on John Henry’s computer, and that is torched by all appearances.”
“Well then, stop gabbing and help me with Cameron.” Sarah said, as she tried to hoist Cameron out of her chair. She may have looked like a skinny teenage girl, but she felt as heavy as a linebacker from any football team.
Despite Ellison’s size and strength, even he had a hard time carrying her to his car. Sarah collected the knife and any other bits of evidence she could spot and ran after him.
She caught up with Ellison just as he was approaching the door to the car park. Sarah peered out through the window of the door, then slowly opened it taking a quick glance around. “It’s clear.”
“We ‘re lucky I’m parked on this level.” He grunted, as he struggled with Cameron’s body.
They got to his car and Sarah held Cameron while Ellison unlocked the trunk. He then took Cameron’s body from Sarah and shoved it into the trunk of his car.
Sarah hesitated. Who was this man that she should place her trust in him? In what seemed like another life, he had pursued her all over the country, convinced she was a psychotic terrorist. Then when she and John, and Cameron had traveled eight years into the future, she thought she had lost him for good. But it seemed like no matter where she went, no matter what she did in her fight against SkyNet, there he was. He betrayed them once. He stole Cromartie’s body and gave it to Weaver. It may operate under a different name now, but it was still a machine. And it was Ellison’s fault.
She looked at this man that was now trying to help her. “How do I know I can trust you?”
“Sarah, as much as I would like to take the time to reassure you right now, we haven’t got the time.” Ellison could just begin to hear alarms sounding from approaching emergency vehicles. “Just get in the car. We can discuss this later.”
Almost reluctantly Sarah got in his car. She didn’t have much choice. Without his help she would certainly get caught and have this mess blamed on her. When they started to approach the exit, she scrunched down to avoid being seen by anyone.
Ellison was grateful the entrance to the parking garage was on the opposite side of the building. Less likely to be noticed by people or stopped by cops who would be around front where the drone flew into the building. The security guard who was supposed to be at the gate was gone. He probably ran around front to see what was happening, thought Ellison. As head of security, he would normally be mad, but for once he was grateful.
He had driven about two blocks before Sarah pulled herself up into the seat. “Where are we going?” asked Sarah as she buckled her seat belt.
“I am taking you someplace safe, and nearby, and then I’m going to pick up Savannah from her class.” Ellison paused while he maneuvered his car through the stream of traffic.
“I don’t like using the girl this way, but if asked she will be my reason for leaving Zeira Corp.”
“What will you tell her?”
“I don’t know. But I can’t tell her the truth. Not yet, anyways”
Ellison and Sarah didn’t talk much from there on. Driving quickly but safely through the streets of Los Angeles, Ellison pulled up outside an apartment building in North Hollywood. There was a sign out front saying closed for remodeling.
“What’s this place?” asked Sarah, looking around.
“This is where that machine posing as George Lazlo killed an entire swat team when the FBI attempted to arrest him. After the shoot-out, the owners closed the apartment building while the investigation was underway, and it has remained closed pending remodeling by the owners.”
He continued to drive around back where the service entrance to the interior court was located. “This is the closest I can get us in the car. No one should see us go in from here.”
Ellison got out of the car and began dragging Cameron’s body out of the trunk. “The place still has electric and water, but it is completely empty for the next few weeks.”
Sarah picked up Cameron’s legs and they struggled to carry her through the gate and up the stairs to the second level. Stopping outside a door, Ellison spoke, “This is the apartment where he stayed. It is the only one that isn’t locked but it has an FBI seal on the door.”
Sarah put down Cameron’s legs and pulled the knife from her pocket. Carefully, she sliced through the tape following the gap between the door and the jamb. They dragged Cameron inside and laid her on the sofa.
“No one should find you here.” Ellison said as he looked around. He could still barely grasp the awful damage done by one of those machines in this very room. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. In the mean time stay here out of sight.”
Ellison made his way back out to his car and drove away. He still had no idea what to tell the little girl when he picked her up.
* * *
Sarah assessed her location. Bullet holes pocked marked most of the walls and there was still the slight tang of tear gas in the air. It took her five minutes to explore the apartment. No TV, no phone, one door, three windows, one bathroom, one bedroom, and one kitchen with little food, of which most was spoiled.
She went into the bedroom, looking for some clean clothes. Digging through the closet she found a few items that could fit her. She glanced at the mirror on the back of the closet door. She had been through a lot the last several years. Through it all she could rely on her son, but now she was alone.
Suddenly, Sarah was rocked to the core with a sudden rush of grief. Sobbing she sat on the bed. The tears just flowed. John was gone. She missed him terribly. She was all alone now. Derek was dead. Charley was dead. Cameron was disabled. Now John was gone, on his own, somewhere in the future with that terminator bitch, who called itself Weaver.
Looking up, she could see Cameron on the sofa where Ellison had placed her. She would have to burn the body. No, she couldn’t, not if John got back with her chip. This set her crying again. She laid on the bed crying until the tears stopped flowing.
It was three days before she saw Ellison again.
* * *
Ellison was very busy after the attack on Zeira Corp, and the sudden disappearance of its CEO, Catherine Weaver.
He didn’t know if Sarah would fully trust him, but he hoped she would stay put until he could organize a means to get her out of L. A. County. But his biggest worry was what to tell Savannah when he picked her up. She was so innocent, that revelations about her mom and John Henry could hurt her deeply. As he drove up to the building where Savannah had her gymnastics class, he decided she couldn’t know the real truth, not yet, she should believe the perceived truth. This meant he would have to lie to the girl and to the authorities, again.
It didn’t take long him to get to the location where Savannah had her gymnastics class. Ellison walked into the building and straight to the reception window. “Hello, I’m James Ellison. Mrs. Weaver sent me to pick up her daughter, Savannah, from her class.”
“Oh yes, good afternoon Mr. Ellison. I see on the computer that Mrs. Weaver has you down as someone who would be picking up or dropping off her daughter from time to time. Do you have some I.D. you could show me?”
Ellison reached into his pocket and pulled out his Zeira Corp I.D. badge. “Will this be sufficient or would you need my drivers license as well?”
“Oh no Mr. Ellison, that will be fine.” said the receptionist as she glanced over his badge. “The girls are just finishing and Savannah will be out soon. You may wait here or in the break room next door.”
“Thank you, but I’ll wait here.” He placed his badge back in his pocket, picked up a magazine and sat down in a chair where he could keep an eye on what was happening outside, and see the receptionist. If there was to be another attempt on Savannah, this was where an attack could come from.
He needn’t of worried too much. Not a minute had gone by when Savannah came bounding out of the gymnasium, all smiles and full of energy with her little back pack on her shoulders. “Uncle James,” she cried running up to him giving him a hug. “Where’s mommy? She was supposed to be here today.”
“Your mom had a late meeting that went long,” Ellison said as he held her in his arms. “She asked me to come and get you.” He said with a smile.
He carried her out to his car. When he got to it, he set her down and opened the back door. Savannah scrambled up into the backseat and put her seatbelt on. Ellison closed the door and walked around the car to the drivers door and got in, looking all around as he did so.
“Uncle James?” He turned to look at her. “Can we stop for ice cream on the way?”
“Sure Savannah.” Ellison was relieved. This would give him some time to think. Savannah pulled her stuffed giraffe out of her back pack and played with it and talked with it. She never went anywhere without it.
He pulled out into traffic and drove off. He never saw the man in gray overalls across the street. He looked liked any number of uniformed contractors or deliverymen throughout the city.
They stopped at a drug store where Ellison bought her an ice cream on a stick. He allowed Savannah to eat it in the car as it was unlikely he would ever have the privilege of driving this car again. He drove toward Zeira Corp as he normally would.
They were halfway there when he had to stop suddenly for traffic backing up on the street. This startled Savannah who had started to doze off. “Uncle James! What’s that?”
“What is what Savannah?” he asked looking at her in the rear view mirror.
“Over there! Mommy’s building?” She was pointing out to his left. He turned and looked. Damn! He thought. There in direct line of sight you could see fully the Zeira Corp Tower. Smoke and flames were pouring out of the upper floors. That plane did more damage than he thought.
“Don’t worry Savannah. I’m sure your mom is okay.” He pulled out his cell. What happened next would either seal his fate, or shoulder him with a new responsibility. He wasn’t entirely sure which he’d prefer. He offered up a quick prayer and began dialing.
* * *
Ellison was seated in an interrogation room. This was the second time in the last two days. At least, here in the FBI he was treated with some respect. He got little respect from that detective on the police force.
Mr. Auldridge stepped in carrying a cup of coffee and a folder. “We meet again Mr. Ellison. I didn’t think we’d be seeing each other so soon.”
“Neither did I.” Said Ellison as he straightened his coat and tie.
“I thought you’d might like a cup of coffee, after all you’ve been through.” Auldridge set the coffee down in front of Ellison. “Mabel at reception said you like it black.”
“Thank you.”
“First let me tell you that Savannah is doing fine . She is just down the hall with a woman from child services.” Auldridge glanced at his notes. “Savannah says she was with you when you both discovered that Zeira Corp was on fire. Can you tell me why she was with you?”
Ellison sat up, “Mrs. Weaver called me to her office. It was the middle of the afternoon. She told me she was having a late meeting with some clients and would I pick up her daughter.”
“What time was this?”
“I believe it was almost 4 PM.”
“Did you see these clients she would be having the meeting with?”
“No. I had assumed it would be by teleconference from her office.
“What makes you think that?”
“She had released her staff early in the day as a holiday in celebration of the return of her daughter.” Ellison explained. “Everyone from secretaries to the heads of department were given the afternoon off. Only myself and a few security guards were still on duty. There would be no support staff or department heads available for a standard meeting. So I naturally assumed it would be a teleconference meeting.”
“Do you have any idea what happened at Zeira Corp, after you left?”
“No, I haven’t got a clue.” Ellison hoped that Auldridge couldn’t tell he was lying. “I was on my way back to work with Savannah when we saw the building on fire.”
“At 4:20 PM, a plane flew into the Zeira Corp Tower. To be precise, the exact location of Mrs Weavers office. There are numerous witnesses on the ground who saw the plane.” Auldridge studied Ellison’s face for a moment. “Nearly twenty floors were consumed with fire. The explosions were heard as far away as six blocks. Did you hear or see anything?”
“No. After Mrs. Weaver asked me to collect her daughter, I thought it best to leave right away because of afternoon traffic. I didn’t want to be late to pick Savannah up. She’s been very shook up since her abduction and likes familiar people around.”
“I find it highly unusual you didn’t hear the impact and explosion of the airplane.”
“Like I said, I left early.”
“Your meeting with Mrs. Weaver took place in her office, Yes?”
Ellison nodded.
“Her office is twenty stories above ground. Your parking space is three stories below ground. Are you saying you were able to get from her office to the lower levels of the parking garage and drive out of there in under twenty minutes?”
“What can I say? The elevators are fast when there is no one else clamoring for a ride. Now if you don’t have any more questions, I’d like to see Savannah before I go home.”
“Just a couple of more. What was Zeira Corp’s business?”
“I understood they are a high tech computer research firm developing cutting edge technologies.”
“Do you know what exactly?”
“One computer looks pretty much like another to me. You’d have to ask one of the tech guys.”
“We’re planning to.”
“Just one more thing Mr. Ellison.” Auldridge closed his folder and clipped his pen to it before continuing. “This interview has been just a formality. Believe me when I say, that if it wasn’t for the fact you were once with the FBI, this interview would have gone a lot differently.”
Ellison gave him a look. Auldridge took a quick look at the two way mirror, hoping no-one was behind it. He lowered his voice and said, “Mr. Ellison, I for one do not believe you had anything to do with the attack on Zeira Corp or with the abduction of Savannah Weaver. I do believe that something bad is happening and somehow you’ve been drawn into its epicenter.” He paused before continuing, “Please believe me when I tell you that I’m your friend. I want to help you . . . and Sarah. I know she’s telling the truth.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about. May I leave now.” Ellison stood up and pulled his jacket closed.
“Yes, of course.” said Auldridge, also standing. “ Be careful, the police won’t be as lenient as us Mr. Ellison. You can expect them to question you a lot harder.” He looked down at the table. “You didn’t drink your coffee.”
“I don’t like black coffee.” said Ellison dropping the cup in the trash can. “I don’t know who this Mabel is, but she must have me confused with some one else.”
“Hmm” said Auldridge, glancing at the cup in the trash can. “Savannah is in the room at the end of this hall on your left, you can take a few minutes to speak with her.”
Neither of them notice the capsule still dissolving at the bottom of the cup as the coffee spilled out into the trash can.
* * *
In the room next door stood two men who were looking through the mirror. One was dressed in a gray suit the other was in shadow.
The one in shadow spoke first, “He didn’t drink the coffee! You said he would drink the coffee and our troubles would end.”
Gray suit said, “You can’t always rely on humans. Either this Mabel was wrong or Ellison suspected something.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“I’ll make sure the Police turn the heat up on Mr. Ellison. Make sure he stays as far away from our project as possible. He’ll learn soon enough that getting involved will only cause him more personal pain. But right now we have a more important problem.”
“What is that?”
“Mr. Auldridge suspects the truth. I’ll need to give him something else to do. Let him ask his questions and gather data for now. He’ll soon find there are not enough facts to support his suspicions, then I’ll see to it the case gets reassigned, and then shelved.”
“You are not going to kill him?”
“Not now, but if he sticks his nose in too far, he may find it cut off. You just find Sarah Connor.”
“I’m working on it, but there are difficulties.”
“Then it may not be so bad that Ellison didn’t drink the coffee. I’ll have some of our associates follow Ellison. If you fail, he’s our only other link to Sarah Connor.”
* * *
Ellison walked into the room Agent Auldridge directed him to and was just about pounced on by Savannah.
“Uncle James, What’s happening? Where’s my mommy?”
Ellison heart sank, he couldn’t tell her the truth, yet; but he could try and reassure the girl. “Savannah, your mom is missing, but the police and FBI are doing their best to find her.”
“But where did she go?” Tears were streaming from her eyes.
“I don’t know Savannah. I will do my best to help find her.” Another lie he thought.
The girl clung to him and cried as he held her. The social worker looked at them, and said quietly, “I’ll be right outside.”
Ellison sat down in a chair and got Savannah comfortable in his lap while the lady swung the door to. He noticed she didn’t shut it tight, so he would still have to guard his tongue.
“Savannah,” Ellison was stroking her head, “I know you are scared right now. I would be too.”
“Are you scared, Uncle James?”
Ellison thought a moment, “Yes, Savannah I’m scared too. But you know what, we can be strong for each other. We can help each other to be less scared.”
Savannah held on tightly to her giraffe, and looked at him for a little bit. “Uncle James, how can you be scared? You’re big.”
“Honey, my world has been turned upside down too, and that scares me. But I know if I have you to rely on I can be strong. And you can rely on me to help you be strong. Okay?”
“Okay,” she says in a quiet voice.
“Do you feel better now?”
“A little bit.”
“Good.” Ellison paused for a moment before telling Savannah something heart wrenching. “Savannah, you know that lady that was just in here?”
“That’s Ms. Williams. She was telling me a funny story before you came in the room.”
“Do you like Ms. Williams?”
“Yeah, she’s nice.”
“Well she is going to look after you for the next few days, until your mommy returns.”
“But I want to stay with you Uncle James!” Savannah cried out as she hugged him tight.
“Savannah, remember what I told you about being strong when you are scared. This is one of those times.”
“But how can I be strong if you’re not with me?”
“Savannah, I am going to be helping the police look for your mom. I don’t know how long it will take but it will be a couple of days before I will be able to see you again.”
Savannah was scared, and she didn’t want him to leave but she understood what Uncle James was trying to tell her. “Okay. Can I call you if I’m scared?”
“Yes hon, anytime. Is my number on your cell?”
“Yeah, mom put your number in the phone right after hers.”
“Okay, I need to go now but I will see you soon all right.”
“Byyyee.” Savannah was still sniffling when he stepped through the door.
“That was very good what you told her. Are you a parent Mr Ellison?” Ms. Williams asked him in the hallway.
“No, but I wanted to be.” Ellison paused a moment then asked, “What’s going to happen to her?”
“We will look after her until her next of kin can be notified. Do you know if she has any other family in the states?”
“No I don’t. Her father died sometime ago. Mrs. Weaver did mention having a brother working for NTSB, but I don’t know his name.”
“Well, don’t worry we usually have no problem in locating relatives.” She reached into pocket. “Here’s my business card, my cell phone is on the back. Give me a call if you learn anything.”
“I’ll do that.”
“You know, that little girl has bonded with you, and its clear you care for her too. I could arrange it for you to look after her until her family could be found.”
“I’d like that very much.” Ellison smiled.
“Good.” Ms. Williams smiled. “It will only take a day or two for the paperwork and background check. It’s standard with all child placement, but I’m sure there will be no problem with you being a former agent and the fact Mrs. Weaver trusted you with her child.”
“Thank you. You can reach me at home or on my cell.” He pulled out his Zeira Corp business card and quickly jotted down his phone numbers on the back.
Ellison waved goodbye to Savannah and left. He made his way to the front of the building, near reception. He stopped and took a sip of water from the fountain. While there a shadow came up beside him.
A female voice whispered, “Did you get the coffee?”
“Yes I did.” He whispered back while simulating drinking from the fountain.
“You didn’t drink it did you?”
“No I didn’t. I took it as the warning it was meant to be, and that seemed the only potential threat in the room.”
“It was and it wasn’t, Mr. Ellison.” Mabel looked quickly around. “Something funny is happening around here lately. You and Mr. Auldridge weren’t the only ones in that room. Two men were next door monitoring your conversation.”
“That is usually standard.”
“I know Mr. Ellison, but one of them isn’t FBI. He doesn’t belong to any law enforcement agency, state or Federal. I don’t know who he is, but he spends an awful lot of time with the director.”
“Thanks for telling me. Is there anything else I should know?”
“Yes. They were going to try and poison you with the coffee!”
Ellison’s throat suddenly went dry. “How do you know?”
“I empty the trash cans on Wednesdays. When I emptied the one from the interrogation room I found this in your coffee cup.” She handed him something wrapped in a handkerchief, and he slipped it into his pocket.
Mabel turned and walked quickly back to reception and Ellison walked out to his car. When he closed the car door, he unwrapped the handkerchief. Inside was a partially dissolved covering from a capsule. A partial number was visible on the side. Not much, but a start. He started his car and drove home. He didn’t see the plain gray van five cars behind him. His mind was on other things.
* * *
Sarah had fallen asleep. She woke with a start. She quickly looked around wondering where she was and how she got here. Her memories slowly returned and she slowly calmed down from her brief panic attack. “It won’t do. I can’t let this get to me.” she said out loud.
It was starting to get dark. Sarah had no idea when Ellison would be back, but there were some things she needed to do first. She bathed and redressed into her own clothes. She found a baseball cap that was too big for her on the shelf. She put it in on and tucked her hair up inside. As soon as it was dark she went out.
She walked back to where John had parked their vehicle. They had parked two blocks away from Zeira Corp in alley serving a closed Sushi Bar that was up for sale. She quickly examined the vehicle for any tampering. The outside and the undercarriage of the SUV was clear. She opened the front door. She could see what looked like a piece of string on the floor mat. It was shaped like an arrow pointing under the drivers seat. Reaching under the front seat, she pulled out a small package wrapped in tape. Inside, was $10,000 in cash, and a driver’s license and a passport made out to Sarah Gayle, and a note.
Sarah trembled slightly as she read the note.
Dear Mom,
Please don’t worry about me. I am doing fine. I didn’t know what was going to happen when
we went to see Weaver, but I felt things wouldn’t be the same again.
The passport will only be good for forty-eight hours after being used. It will take that long before the authorities realize it is fake. The drivers license should last a long time, provided you don’t get pulled over too often for traffic violations. The cash is a gift. Thank you for your gift.
Love, John
P.S.
The cops will be making a security sweep through the area at 10:15. Leave now.
Sarah looked at her watch. It was 10:05 PM. How the hell did he know, she thought. Without thinking about it anymore, she turned the ignition, put the vehicle in gear and drove as quickly as she could to the warehouse where they had been hiding with the little girl. It was a risk. Savannah might have been able to tell the cops where it was, but the rest of their belongings were there, and Sarah had to remove as much of their stuff as possible. What gift is he talking about? she wondered.
She approached the industrial park very carefully. If Savannah was able to lead the cops here, then this would be the perfect place to try and recapture her. Stopping on an access road, she pulled a pair of night-vision binoculars out of the glove box, then quickly ran across the road and climbed up the fire escape on the back of an old tenement house. Sarah stood there for an hour surveying the industrial park, all the approaches and all potential hiding places. Nothing was moving other than a few wild animals who lived and hunted amongst the refuse of humanity. Sarah quickly got down off the fire escape and drove around to the warehouse.
She grabbed everything and placed it in the SUV. It was a shame she had to leave behind Derek’s truck, but she only needed one vehicle. Sarah suddenly had an idea. Pulling a pair of work gloves from John’s bag, she grabbed a shirt belonging to Derek and wiped down every surface inside and outside the truck. She also took the time to remove everything that wasn’t nailed down, whether or not it could identify her, John or Derek. When she was done she drove the vehicle to the edge of the industrial area. When they rescued Savannah, she saw some young Latino men hanging around there, and she was sure they would like a new truck. She parked the truck left the keys in the ignition and walked back to her SUV.
She drove in the general direction of the apartment building and found a long term parking garage. Luckily it had a night attendant. Keeping her face in shadow, she bought a two week parking permit under her new name and paid in cash. She didn’t need to show an ID using cash. She drove into the parking garage, found her space and parked. Hanging her tag on the rear view mirror, she grabbed her backpack, locked the vehicle and walked away.
She made her way back across town to the apartment building. It wasn’t easy. Every time she saw a cop car she made sure to get out of sight. When there wasn’t cover, she walked along like she had nothing to fear, relying on her clothing and the night to disguise her features.
When she got back to the apartment, it was almost four in the morning. Sarah took her time staying to the shadows as much as possible, and when crossing through lighted areas, she kept her head down to keep her face in the shadow of the cap. She slipped through the gate and quickly climbed the stairs. The court below was well lit but the balcony was in full shadow. She quickly walked along and slipped into George Lazlo’s room. Sarah didn’t turn on any lights as that would give away her presence.
A pale light entered the apartment from the lights in the inner court. She waited a moment for her eyes to adjust. She glanced at Cameron’s body laying there on the sofa. When Cameron first came to them, all Sarah could see was that she was a machine. Cameron came across so intelligent and almost seemed a real person when they first started this new adventure together. But after the time jump of eight years, something seemed to change in her, Cameron had more trouble fitting in socially. According to what John told her of when he first met Cameron, he had no idea she was metal until she took out Cromartie with a pickup. Was there something inherently wrong with her? Why was it, there were times she could be almost human in her actions, but other times so obviously a machine?
After the explosion damaged her and she pursued them through L. A., she behaved differently again. As John began to remove her chip, Cameron pleaded, almost sounding like she was crying. She begged him not to do it. She then professed love for John. Was it possible that these machines could somehow have emotions? She heard her, but didn’t believe her and never trusted her again. Yet John was able to fix her. Cameron seemed to respond to John more than her. Sarah could swear that Cameron almost seemed jealous of Riley. If she had feelings, was that how John was able to convince Cameron to rescue her from prison. Cameron knew her primary mission was to protect John, yet she was willing to risk so much for him. Did this machine have feelings?
Sarah had pretended not to notice, but she saw the look on John’s face when he saw the damage done to Cameron in her rescue of his mom. He looked absolutely sickened, like he did the absolute worse thing to Cameron. Despite his excellent driving, he had kept making quick glances in the rear view mirror. Sarah felt certain it wasn’t at traffic. She saw him swallow a few times and saw the moisture in his eyes.
Sarah’s thoughts returned to the present. She noticed that while she was out, Cameron’s hand had slipped down off her chest and was laying on the carpet. Sarah carefully raised Cameron’s arm and laid her hand back down on her chest. Sarah was closer to her now and could see the damage up close. She had seen some of the most severe wounds heal on this girl, but had never seen damage like this before. John may get her chip back, but would she function again?
There was nothing she could do to help her now, but there was still something she could do for John and for Cameron, but it would have to wait until night as dawn was coming. She hoped she could get it done before Ellison returned for her.
Sarah slipped out of her clothes and crawled into bed. She fell asleep almost immediately, but she didn’t sleep well. Her sleep was filled with dreams, about John and Cameron. In every dream she was looking for John and couldn’t find him, and by her side through it all, Cameron was there guiding her, leading her, still looking like she did now. Every time she thought she was getting close to John, a Terminator without flesh would show up and there would be a major fight until Cameron yanked its chip out. After every fight Cameron would look worse and worse until eventually only her endoskeleton showed. Then just when she had found John, a Terminator shot him dead. Cameron then turned and faced her and said in her quiet girl’s voice, “It’s his destiny. You cannot change it.” She then tilted her head and said, “Aren’t you suppose to be dead?” Then shot her. Sarah woke up screaming.
2009, Day 2
Ellison was brought in for questioning by the police as warned. But the questioning was lot more gentle than expected. The detective was somebody new. It wasn’t the same hard nose that had treated him with such suspicion before when Savannah was abducted, nor was it the professional but firm detective who questioned him about that murder his double had committed.
“Hello, Mr Ellison. I’m Detective Macklin. I appreciate your coming down today and helping us with this case.”
“I’m glad to help.” Ellison was slightly taken aback by the detectives genial manner. He wasn’t expecting that. “Where are the detectives I’ve met before?”
“They are busy with other cases. I’ve been assigned this case.”
“Alright. What can I do to help?”
“Are you free for the rest of the day? I’d like you take me on a walk through of Zeira Corp.”
“I’d be glad to.” Ellison was feeling slightly relieved.
“I hope you’re feeling fit. The elevators aren’t working.”
Ellison spent the day with Detective Macklin at Zeira Corp. They walked through all of the damaged floors. Making their way from floor to floor by way of the stairs.
Ellison gave him as many details as he knew about each floor. They finally made their way to the floor where Weaver had her office. Ellison could hardly believe the level of damage. The fire created by the airplane crash consumed everything. A cold wind blew in through the shattered windows. Ellison did his best to point out where walls and furniture were in Weavers office, but there was little left to go on.
Macklin spoke after what seemed like a long interval. “You know, we have absolutely no clue as to what exactly happened. All we know is that an aircraft flew into this floor where Weaver had her office. After that a huge fire consumed everything on this floor, the aircraft and nearly ten floors above and below.”
Macklin turned towards Ellison. “You last spoke to Weaver at 4PM. Did anything seem amiss at the time?
“No, not all.”
“She let everyone off for the afternoon, but I take it you and the rest of security remained on duty?”
“That’s right. But some members of security were allowed to go home. Only the minimum necessary to guard entrances and the secured levels had to stay.”
“Do you know who she was meeting with that afternoon?”
“No I didn’t. I had assumed she was going to have a teleconference call with some clients.” Said Ellison looking through the shattered windows. “It wasn’t unheard of for her to have private meetings.”
“Is it possible she could have been meeting someone in person?”
“Yes that is possible, but I haven’t got a clue who it would be.”
“Hmm.” Detective Macklin looked thoughtful for a moment. “I noticed security cameras in the lobby. Were there any on this floor or the elevators?”
“Yes, there is or rather there was.” said Ellison gesturing at the damage. He wasn’t liking where this line of questions was going.
“Where do you keep the security tapes?”
“Well there isn’t any security tapes. It is all stored digitally on servers in the basement.”
“The basement! Damn! That means we have to take the stairs all the way back down.”
“We’re going to need to call in one of the IT guys to access the video files.”
Detective Macklin and Mr Ellison started down the stairs. Ellison pulled out his cell phone and pulled up the list of Zeira Corp Employees. He quickly found Mr. Murch’s number.
“Come on, come on, answer your phone.” Ellison huffed as they made their way down the stairs.
“Maybe he isn’t home” Macklin offered.
“I’ll try his cell.” Ellison punched in the number for Murch’s cell phone and waited.
“Hello, you’ve reached the home of the recently unemployed Mr. Murch. How Can I help you?”
“Murch, this Ellison”
“Oh, hello Mr. Ellison. Sorry about that, uh, what can I do for you?”
“I’m presently at Zeira Corp helping the police in their investigations. I could use your help accessing the server’s where the security videos are recorded.”
“Ummm, Sure Mr. Ellison.” Then he added quietly, though only Ellison could hear him, “Are you sure that’s a good idea, you know what is in the basement.”
“Mr. Murch we only need access to the security videos. Just meet me and Detective Macklin in the security room and you can access the videos through their data terminal.”
“All right. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“No need hurry, it will take us twice as long as that just to get down these stairs.”
Ellison was taking a huge gamble. Right now no one knew the truth of what had happened here. No one knew what Weaver really was, and who Weaver was meeting in secret on the day she gave everyone the day off. Ellison prayed that all of the videos were destroyed and Murch would not be able to access them. But he had to play along. Let them think he was a cooperative ex-agent. But if just one clip survived that showed Sarah and John in the building or worse showed them with Weaver and himself, he knew his goose was cooked and that he would never be able to help Sarah or Savannah ever. He offered up another prayer to God to look after Sarah and Savannah until he could help them.
* * *
Sarah Connor was hungry and tired. She was unable to get to sleep after her nightmare and she could not go out during the day because the police would be looking for her. Sarah eventually got up and got dressed and did a search of the kitchen and found a box of crackers and a tin of sardines. She really didn’t care for sardines, but it was protein. Filling a glass with water from the tap, she sat on the counter and ate her meal. She took her time, savoring each mouthful. She thought that when she went out tonight, she would have to get some groceries.
When she was done, she pulled out the letter from John. She read through it again and again. How could he have known that the police were going to do a security sweep? As she had driven away, she had seen the cop cars approaching the area. If she had remained any longer she would have been found. And what was this gift he claimed she had given him. His birthday was months ago, and unfortunately he didn’t get any gifts that day, and there hadn’t been anything but tragedy in his life after that.
John had traveled to the future. Was it possible he had sent someone back with this message, the money, and the ID’s? It had to be the only answer. John may not be here, but he was still looking after her. She smiled. John Connor, leading mankind in its fight against SkyNet, and he is still worried about his mother. But what was this gift he said she had given him?
She was finally feeling sleepy. Brushing the crumbs off her pants she went in the bedroom and laid down on the bed fully clothed. She felt at peace. She knew her son was fine. He had told her. She slipped into a restful sleep, and for once, she didn’t have any nightmares.
* * *
Forty-five minutes later Mr. Ellison and Det. Macklin were resting in the Security Guards room drinking water from bottles and waiting for Mr. Murch to arrive.
“You know, nearly the entire upper half of the building was consumed by fire before the fire crews had put the fire out. And, when the fire was put out and the investigators arrived, there was no sign of any aircraft. We know there was an aircraft. We have nearly twenty witnesses on the ground who saw it.”
Ellison replied, “But what happened to it afterwards? I mean, I was just up there with you and there was no sign of any aircraft other than a big hole in the wall where it came in.”
“The Fire Marshall believes it was consumed by the fire it had created.”
“And what about Mrs. Weaver, is there any clue as to what happened to her?”
“Well the Fire Marshall is undertaking the assumption that she died in the fire, pending the results of the forensic tests.”
“And what do you think happened.?”
“Well, I’m trying to keep an open mind, but I have a couple of theories. One, she saw what was about to happen upstairs and left of her own accord. And fearing for her life she went into hiding. Two, her car is still in the parking garage, and no one saw her leave the building. Therefore, I think it is possible that she was abducted. Perhaps by the same people who previously took her daughter.”
“And the airplane crash?”
“A diversion, to hide the fact she was abducted.”
Just then Mr. Murch came in the room.
“Ahh, Mr. Murch, this is Detective Macklin.” Ellison made the introductions.
“Hi.”
“Hello.”
“We’d like you to pull up the security videos from yesterday afternoon.” Det. Macklin said.
“Ok, but I’d have an easier time from my own data terminal upstairs.”
Ellison shook his head. “I’m sorry Mr. Murch. But the water damage from the fire hoses destroyed all the computers as the water cascaded from above onto the floors below. The only equipment not affected is down here, in the basement.”
Mr. Murch looked pale. “You mean all of our work, our research is gone?”
“I’m afraid so Mr. Murch. The only things that have survived are down here.” Mr. Ellison patted his shoulder then guided him to a chair. “Just see what you can do from here.”
Mr. Murch got to work logging on to the computer then searching through the data logs for yesterdays’ entries. “I’m sorry, according to the computer, the video recorded from yesterday afternoon was dumped to the server around 4:15 PM yesterday afternoon.”
“Why is that?” asked the detective.
“Well each of these terminals have limited data storage. Approximately every four hours, all videos are dumped to the server where they are automatically edited and compressed.”
“What do you mean edited?” asked Ellison.
“The software we have automatically removes any and all empty frames. No activity, no video. It takes up less space. Then the files are compressed, so they will take up even less space on the hard drive.” Mr. Murch looked almost proud. “We have almost 100 Terabyte’s of storage dedicated to security videos alone. With our current method of video storage, that is almost infinite space.”
“All right, I’m tired from hiking up and down the stairs in this damn building.” Grunted the Detective. “Where do we find the video’s now?”
“Well I’m trying to pull them from the server now, but its not responding to my requests. I’m going to have to go down the hall to the server itself and try and access them from there.”
“We’ll go with you.” said Det. Macklin, as he got up from his chair.
“I’m sorry detective, but no one is allowed in that room unless you have signed a non-disclosure agreement with the company. My head would roll if I let anyone in there.”
Det. Macklin didn’t look happy. “I’ll wait here with Mr. Ellison then. You do know how to access the files once he finds them?” He directed this question at Ellison.
“No problem.” Said Ellison as he took the chair recently vacated by Mr. Murch. His heart was racing. Any moment now they should hear something.
“MR. ELLISON! MR. ELLISON!” The shouts reverberated up the hall and back.
Det. Macklin and Mr. Ellison ran from the guards room down the hall to the server room.
The sight before them was terrible. The damage they were looking at was nothing like what Ellison had witnessed the previous day. Yesterday, the computers looked slightly scorched or overheated, today it looked like Katrina had hit.
Ellison thought, "Some one’s been here since yesterday and did more damage."
* * *
Mr. Ellison and Mr. Murch spent the rest of the day at the precinct talking with the police. The authorities couldn’t figure out how the millions of dollars worth of computer equipment and research data in the basement was destroyed. There was no connection found between it and the crash and fire on the upper floors. Nor did water from the fire hoses reach this level. Mr. Murch could tell them what computer equipment was in the room, but he couldn’t tell them what was being done in the basement due to the non-disclosure agreement in his contract. He could only tell them that it was a “secure” location for data storage and top secret research. The police told Mr. Murch, that they didn’t think it was all that secure, then let him go home.
Ellison had previously faced heavy scrutiny for his possible link to Sarah Connor and her 'kidnapping' of Savannah Weaver. Within 36 hours of Sarah Connor’s arrest, she and about 100 inmates had broken out of the county lock-up. Then within four hours of her escape, Zeira Corp had suffered one of the worst domestic terrorist attacks since Timothy McVeigh blew up the federal building in 1995.
The prison guards said that some teen age girl had marched in and began shooting up the county jail. Some of the guards and a few of the prisoners that were recaptured claimed she had a partially robotic face. The guards claimed she was impervious to all gun fire. The police put it down to body armor and facial protection. The police wanted to know who she was.
“I’m sorry, but I haven’t got a clue.” Ellison lied. “Without a detailed description or photo, I couldn’t venture a guess.”
“Do you think it could be the girl that was with Sarah Connor when she blew up the bank?”
“Anything is possible, but without facts, I don’t know.” Ellison kept his face as impassive as possible. He had learned to do that a lot in the last few years.
“How did Sarah and the other prisoners escape?” Ellison ventured a question.
“We’ve got no idea as to how the cell doors had opened. We are assuming an accomplice from the outside had hacked the system.” The Detective looked directly at Mr. Ellison. “Do you know how to use a computer Mr. Ellison?”
Det. Macklin spoke up. “I was with Mr. Ellison this morning. If we hadn’t called in Mr. Murch, we never would have been able to get access to the computer system.”
The other Detective started yelling, “You do realize we have no security videos or computer logs that even verify Sarah Connor was in jail. Let alone how she escaped. The computers at the jail were wiped clean of all video and data accumulated over the last 48 hours! There is no record that Sarah Connor was ever in that jail nor how she and hundreds of inmates had escaped!”
He paused for a breath. When he resumed talking, his voice was low but quickly raised in volume again. “Right now, Mr. Ellison is our only link to Sarah Connor and Zeira Corp. I don’t think it is a coincidence that he is linked to both! And it doesn’t help my investigation with you playing defense for him.”
“Your investigation?! I’m assigned the task of investigating Zeira Corp!” shouted Macklin.
“I guess you haven’t heard. The investigation into the terrorist attack on Zeira Corp has been reassigned to me. I’ve got more years as a detective and more experience investigating terrorist activity. And, I outrank you.” He glared at Macklin. “Return to your desk and turn over all notes and evidence related to this case to me.”
Macklin marched out of the room. He was steaming.
Ellison was grilled for hours by this new detective. He eventually learned his name, Detective Wicker.
Wicker was determined to prove Sarah Connor was responsible for the apparent terrorist attack on Zeira Corp, which took place within four hours of her escape from jail. It had all the earmarks of being a Sarah Connor job but for the fact that there was no evidence linking her to the damage in the office or the basement. This the authorities put down to the fire which destroyed everything on the upper floors. The destruction of the computer equipment in the basement seemed to be the cause of a massive electrical discharge. This contradicted Sarah’s usual method of explosives. They had no idea where the aircraft came from as there was nothing on the radar logs from area airports indicating any aircraft within city limits at the time of the attack.
Detective Wicker kept going over and over the facts as he knew them trying to twist theories around to get Ellison to reveal something about Sarah Connor’s whereabouts, the destruction at Zeira Corp, what happened to Catherine Weaver, and what his connection was with all three.
Ellison told Detective Wicker the same thing he had told the FBI. The last time he spoke with Catherine Weaver was in her office when she asked him to pick up her daughter from gymnastics. Ellison said he left early as he didn’t want to get caught in traffic. No, he didn’t witness the aircraft impact, nor hear it as he was below ground level heading to the car park. He picked Savannah up promptly at 5:30 PM, then made his way back through cross town traffic. He said he was five blocks away when he spotted the smoke pouring out of the upper floors. Making sure the child was occupied in the back seat, he tried calling the office but there was no answer. He then tried Weaver’s cell, with no success. Then not wanting to bring the child directly to the company where she could be frightened by everything, he called the FBI and arranged to meet someone there. He had no idea what happened to Weaver or what took place in the basement after he left. He also told them he hadn’t seen nor spoken with Sarah Connor after he spoke with her in the jail the previous day.
He stuck with that story, and with no evidence to prove otherwise, the police were forced to let him go. They would have questioned the girl, but her mom’s sudden disappearance, her young age, and the fact she could verify most of Ellison’s story had put a hold on that.
Ellison was exhausted. He had spent half the day climbing up and down twenty stories worth of stairways, then spent the other half being grilled by the police. He wanted to check in on Sarah, but feared he may be under surveillance. Instead, he called Savannah and spoke with her until she went to bed.
Mr. Ellison was under surveillance, but not by the police. Two houses down from his home sat a gray van with no markings. Inside were two men in gray uniforms keeping watch on him.
* * *
Night had come, and Sarah was on the move. She had slipped quickly and quietly out of the apartment and walked as swiftly as she dared through town, trying not to draw attention to herself. Sarah made her way back to the parking garage, taking a different route then the one she had used the night before. She got in her SUV and drove to a store that sold hardware that she had spotted the night before.
She went inside and made her way quickly through the aisles. Sarah had given that note from John a lot of thought, and she thinks she now knows what the gift is he was referring to. It had taken her quite awhile before she suddenly realized he was referring to what she was planning on doing all along.
She grabbed a roll of 4 mil. plastic sheeting in a 10 ft x 25 ft long roll, and two rolls of duct tape. On her way to the front she spotted some hand trucks that were on sale. That’ll be easier than pinching a shopping cart, she thought. She grabbed one and went to the checkout.
The checkout clerk was slightly chatty. “Good evening Ma’am. Did you find everything you were looking for?”
“Yes”
“That’s one roll of plastic sheeting, $12.95; two rolls of duct tape ... hey they’re on sale ... two for $3; and one hand truck $59.95. That comes to $75.90.”
“I’ll have a package of those D batteries too.”
“Ok, new total is $78.69. Will that be cash or credit?”
“Cash.” Sarah started counting out her money, then she saw a cop car drive through the lot outside.
“Here’s $80. Keep the change.” Sarah grabbed her purchases and quickly left the store.
She made sure her hat was pulled down as she made her way quickly to her vehicle. Sarah stowed the bag and hand truck in the back of the SUV and went around front and got inside. Her heart was racing. She knew better than this. She would give herself away if she didn’t remain calm. This was taking too long. She decided not to risk stopping for groceries.
She drove directly to the apartment. Easier to get the supplies to the apartment and less likely to be noticed then if I had carried them through the streets, she thought. Before heading inside, she rooted around inside John’s bag until she found the protein bars he had hidden away. She stuffed them into her shirt pocket and carried her items inside.
It was quiet as always in the place. Sarah pulled a lamp out of her pack and replaced the batteries with the new ones she just bought. She turned the lamp on low and set it on the floor, lighting the area in front of the sofa.
Pulling out her knife, she cut open the package of plastic sheeting and roughly measured off a piece slightly longer than the length of Cameron’s body and cut if off. She laid the plastic on the floor in front of the sofa. She then slid her arms under Cameron’s shoulders and legs and as gently as she could, she slid her body off the sofa and onto the plastic sheeting. Her body hit with a hard thunk, but Sarah also heard several small objects hit the plastic sheeting. Sarah brought the lamp closer and saw several spent bullets laying on the floor.
Sarah collected them and found she had about twelve bullets. She unbuttoned Cameron’s jacket and several more fell out from in front as well. Sarah’s curiosity got a hold of her. Despite Cameron’s weight she managed to maneuver her so she was on her side facing the sofa. Sarah pulled her shirt up and found that where the bullets had penetrated her flesh, the wounds were healing. She found several places where the flesh was still in the process of expelling the bullets. Grabbing her knife, Sarah used it to finish pulling bullets out of Cameron’s flesh. She then turned her over and did the same to the front of her torso and her arms and legs. When Sarah was done, she had twenty six spent bullets, all with flattened heads. She had found several flesh wounds that were nearly healed, and several more bullet wounds that had gone too deep for her to extract the bullets with her knife.
Sarah rearranged Cameron’s clothing and laid her back down on the plastic sheet. She reached down and pulled the end of the plastic sheet up over her body. As she got to Cameron’s head, she paused, then turned Cameron’s head towards her so she could see where the flesh had been stripped from her face and scalp. Bringing the lamp up close, she saw that even here, her flesh was regrowing. Smaller wounds had closed up and she could swear the metal wasn’t as exposed as it was before.
She couldn’t waste any more time on this and quickly pulled the plastic over her head and wrapped it tightly with duct tape to seal it up. Sarah then cut off another length of plastic and wrapped her body again using more of the duct tape to hold it fast. Sarah brought the hand truck over and lowered it until it was laying beside Cameron’s body. She then slid, pushed and pulled until Cameron was laying on the hand truck. She took some more duct tape and used it to fasten Cameron to the hand truck.
Sarah took a moment to breathe. She grabbed her lamp and brought it into the kitchen. Yesterday, she had found paper and envelopes in a kitchen drawer. She pulled some out now and sat at the kitchen table. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was almost 1 AM. She began to write.
Dear John,
I worry about you. You are my son. I will always worry about you.
You have an important job to do now. Please, don’t worry about me.
I am giving you something you left behind. It is safer with you than with me.
I know you will take care of it. Your gift has been very helpful.
Thank you for the warning about the cops making a security sweep at 10:15 PM.
I got out of there just in time.
Love always,
Mom
Sarah was crying as she folded the letter. She pulled something some out of her backpack and placed both it and the letter in the envelope. She brought it over to Cameron’s body, cut a slit in the plastic, and placed the envelope inside. Sarah duct taped the slit, turned off the lamp, and rolled Cameron’s body out to her truck. She struggled a bit getting her inside the back but she managed in the end with brute force and determination. She moved their belongings so they were on top of Cameron’s body to hide it. Not wasting any time, she got inside and drove back to the parking garage.
“Please God, just grant me one more night, that is all I need to finish this task for my son.” Sarah offered a short prayer. It was something she seldom did anymore, but this one time she hoped he was listening.
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Latest page update: made by The1Russter
, Jun 7 2009, 4:03 PM EDT
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Updated 06-07-2009
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