Happy Buildday - Chapter II
Sep. 30th, 2013 02:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
4kennedyTitle: Happy Buildday
Authors:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
red_hope1 and 4kennedy
Fandom: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Pairing: Cameron/Sarah
Rating: PG 13
Summary: It is Cameron's second year since she was first built. Sarah and John decide to celebrate it the traditional way in the Connor family. Together, they pull practical jokes on Cameron for the day until the final celebration that evening.
Disclaimer: I unfortunately don’t own them; they belong to FOX television and Warner Brothers.
A/N:red_hope1 had asked me over 4 years ago if I wanted to write a story with her and I was excited and felt honored, because Red Hope is such an amazing writer. If you haven’t read anything from her yet you definitely should check her stories out immediately. We started this little, light-hearted story and we had a lot of fun. But then we lost touch, I disappeared from the internet. As red_hope1 couldn’t reach me via email she finished our story by herself as it already was as good as finished. I’m glad that she did. It was something I always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to finish this project. So here it finally is…
Chapter 2
John and Cameron were sitting at the dining table in the living room; a big map of Los Angeles was spread out in front of them as well as satellite images and other papers. He had done his homework and was somewhat proud that he had planned and timed everything to the last detail. Yet, they really hadn't had any other choice if they wanted their mission to be a success. Otherwise, Cameron would see right through the plan if there were any loopholes in it.
Though it was hard for John to contain his amusement and occasionally a short laugh broke free, which earned him a stern look from Cameron. As he had suspected the red stain on the terminator's face had not come off directly and would take at least one more day until it would disappear, much to Cameron's dislike.
"Your behavior is counterproductive," the terminator stated flatly. "You said you would inform me about today's mission after breakfast, which is now." Cameron sat bolt upright and with her forearms parallel to each other flatly on the table. But, a slight furrow creased her forehead, showing her annoyance with John's inability to focus on the subject.
"Yes, sorry, you're right," John said and tried putting on a straight face. He needed Cameron to buy the story. By now, she had probably figured out the connection between the current date and the jokes that they had already played on her. So, he had to be convincing and serious in order to get Cameron going on the mission at all.
Cameron said nothing in return and just gave John one of her blank stares, silently prompting him to continue and tell her, what she needed to know.
John shoved one specific map into the center of the table. "This is a position plan of the port; it shows how the storage containers are arranged." He pointed at one particular quadrant. "Storage facility number 83492. That's where you're going."
Nodding once for confirmation, Cameron scanned the map and filed the image into her database.
John put another picture in front of the terminator. It was a photo of a middle aged man with a full head of gray hair, a mustache and glasses.
"His name is Gregory O'Hagan; he was a computer engineer at ChipTech Inc. The company specializes in electro-mechanical systems. A couple of weeks ago Gregory was fired for stealing, but we do not know what he stole precisely. It could be valuable data or electro-mechanical parts. However, two weeks ago he rented a storage container at the port."
Cameron also scanned the photo of the man in case she might encounter him. Then she brought up the map of the harbor and located Gregory O'Hagan's container. "It is possible that he hides whatever he has stolen from ChipTech in the container," she pointed out.
"Exactly," John acknowledged and bit down another smile. So far, Cameron was buying the fake background story he had come up with very well. "And we need to know what it is, just in case. He might continue his work secretly."
Sarah came into the living room, her hair still somewhat wet from the shower. "Better be safe than sorry," she mentioned, passing by behind Cameron and slightly touching her chair in the process. It was something she did more and more often. Sarah had noticed the odd habit, but could not or did not want to explain it. She sat down at the table as well and satisfactorily nodded at the work John had put into this.
"So, this is all I've got on him." John indicated with a motion of his hand at the papers on the table. The main details like the company and Gregory O'Hagan were real; he simply adjusted them a little so that they would fit to their story. John further added, "I've also hacked into the computer network of the port and filed your name on the list of persons with permitted access to this specific storage container area. It won't be a problem for you to get in."
Sarah bent over the table with her upper body, propping herself with her arms on it and biting down on her bottom lip. Her poker face was firmly in place. She had been on enough under cover missions to know how to play her cards, and she even had rehearsed this little scene in her head. "Just try to be inconspicuous and get it over with quickly, Tin Miss. You go in, scan the interior and see if there's anything with the potential of becoming Skynet or at least a part of its development. Don't leave any traces and don't take anything with you. If there is anything suspicious in it, we will go back there tonight and destroy it. Got it?"
After considering the human for a moment, Cameron concluded that the mission might indeed be real. Up to now, she had calculated a very high possibility that it would turn out to be another practical joke played on her, but Sarah's tense features and pose as well as the seriousness of her words made the terminator re-evaluate it.
"The parameters of the mission are definite," Cameron confirmed and contemplated touching Sarah's wrist briefly, which rested not too far from her own hand on the table. This way she could make a quick analyze of her vital signs and could asses if she was lying.
John saw the hesitant movement of Cameron's finger towards his mother's wrist and cleared his throat loudly. He knew exactly what the terminator was up to and as good as his mother's performance had been, her vital signs would probably give her away. "Alright, I guess that's it. Are you good to go?"
When Sarah had heard John clearing his throat she had instantly noticed Cameron's attempt to touch her and knew the purpose behind it. She pulled her arms back and clasped her hands in her lap instead, shooting the girl a warning look.
It surprisingly bothered Cameron that Sarah had withdrawn her hands as if she was about to get burned when they would touch. However, sometimes she herself experienced a hot, tingling sensation of her skin when they touched accidentally or not, so maybe Sarah was having the same experiences.
"If Gregory O'Hagan is there, can I kill him?" the terminator wanted to know as if she were asking for a glass of water, her eyes shifting expectantly from John to his mother.
Sarah gripped the edge of the table until her knuckles stood out white. "What? No!" A wave of rage flooded through her, but it ebbed as soon as she reminded herself that this was not a real mission and that there was no chance Gregory would be at the harbor. "No one gets killed. Are we clear?"
"Yes," Cameron simply confirmed, returning Sarah's intensive stare without blinking.
John watched his mother and Cameron staring at each other challenging; the tension between them was obvious, and it unsettled him a little. "Okay, now that we've clarified that I'm off to meeting Riley."
He stood up and went over to his mother, giving her a kiss on the head. "Play nice, mom," he whispered, even though the terminator could hear him anyways. John looked over at Cameron, who had her eyes still on Sarah. "Good luck."
When John had left house the terminator finally broke the eye contact with the human, focusing her view again on the papers on the table and making sure she had all the necessary information. "You can accompany me if you want to," she offered.
Sarah tried not to feel flattered by the suggestion as if the terminator actually cared whether she would go with her or not. "No, girlie, this is your mission. You're going alone. I have… stuff to take care of." Her spirits lifted again when she pictured Cameron finding out the true nature of the mission, everything was playing out very nicely.
"I will be back soon," Cameron promised and got up. When she had reached the door, she turned around and regarded the human, who had turned in the chair towards Cameron.
"Be careful. You never know what you might find," Sarah pointed out and grinned inwardly. This day would definitely become one of her favorites to remember.
The port of Los Angeles was located at San Pedro Bay. It was a complex that occupied 7,500 acres of land and water along forty-three miles and featured twenty-seven cargo terminals. It was the busiest container port in the United States and almost like a city of its own.
When Cameron parked the Jeep right outside the West Basin Container Terminal, the area where Gregory O'Hagan's storage container was located, she retrieved the data about the port. There were indeed many humans walking around, two of the guards were stationed at the entrance, one in a box office and one at the gate.
The terminator didn't worry about them or the Los Angeles Port Police. John had gotten her name on the permitted visitors list, so there was no need for her to find another way in.
Later she or John would hack again into the computer network of the port, delete her name as well as the video footage of the surveillance cameras. This was her contribution to the plot. The whole operation was well planned, she liked thought-out plans, and she smiled faintly at that.
When Cameron approached the visitor's entry, she initiated her infiltration program and let the smile spread fully on her lips. She did not like it when the infiltration program was activated though, it always evoked an odd sensation in her chest, it just wasn't her when she pretended to be a careless, fun-loving teenage girl.
Therefore, Cameron wished that Sarah had come with her. Then she could let the other woman run the show while she could have stood silent beside her. It would not matter if they thought she was a weird girl or not.
"Hello there!" a young guard greeted her as soon as she had reached the little box he occupied. There was only enough room for a small office table, with a telephone, on old computer on it, and a chair. He lifted his cap in greeting, which had the logo of the port stitched on the front. "What can I do for you?"
"I'm Cameron Baum. I need to get something out of my uncle's storage container," the terminator easily lied, having used the drive to the port to come up with a convincing background story for herself. "Storage container is number 83492. My name should be on the list."
The guard returned the smile to the beautiful girl on the other side of the glass window. "Give me a minute and let me check," he said and started to type on the keyboard. It only took a moment. "I need to see your ID card please."
Cameron fished out her driver's license from the back pocket of her jeans and handed it over to him without any comment.
The guard, Matthew, looked at her picture, typed again something into the computer and gave her the card back, though he held a little bit longer than necessary. "I could bring you to the container. The place is damn big; I don't want a pretty girl like you to get lost." He smiled at her, charmingly.
"No thank you," Cameron replied and tucked her license back into the pocket. "I'll be fine."
"You're sure?" the guard pressed.
Cameron became slightly annoyed. "Positive," she confirmed and turned away from the box, taking the first steps to the gate, when she heard the guard getting out of his small office.
"It's actually policy. I can't let you wander around by yourself," he lied as soon as he had caught up with her, giving the girl a wink.
Cameron merely regarded him but continued her way into the depths of the facility.
Five minutes later, they were only a couple of containers away from their destination.
At first, Matthew had tried to make small-talk with Cameron, asking her questions and obviously thinking he was charming. However, Cameron only gave him single word answers, if she answered at all.
He started telling her things about himself even though Cameron had not asked him to. Still he rambled currently about being a part-time guard to pay for his studies and that he was studying at UCLA and so on and so on.
The question, Cameron had to ask herself, was why her infiltration program was not working? There must have been something wrong with it because otherwise she would have been politer to the young guy, maybe even flirted with him. But she showed no interest at all in him as if he weren't even there and had kept hoping that Sarah was there with her instead of Matthew. The raven-haired woman would have gotten rid of him; she would've made sure that he hadn't accompanied them in the first place. This thought briefly made Cameron consider why Sarah Connor would be so prone to chasing off a young man, when he was no threat. He was obnoxious and unfortunately, Cameron had affirmed to Sarah that no one got killed.
"Here we are," Matthew stated and pointed towards one orange storage container in a line of many. He, like Cameron, read the numbers that denoted it as the correct one.
"Thank you. It was very nice of you to bring me here," Cameron forced herself to reply friendly. "I can take it from here."
Matthew was a bit disappointed that the pretty girl wanted to continue without him. "Oh… okay." He took of his cap and fanned himself with it. "Then I'll just wait here for you and bring you back to the parking area when you're done."
Cameron suppressed the urge to sigh, nodded in agreement instead and went to storage container 83492. A lock held an iron chain around the rods. It would be easy for her to crush the lock to dust, but then Gregory would know that someone had broken into his container. Besides the fact that Matthew would most likely see it.
They had not thought of this hurdle, at all.
The terminator turned towards Matthew and gave him her best innocent, helpless girl expression she had filed in her system. "I've forgotten the key, stupid me," she laughed falsely. "You don't have by any chance a universal key, do you?"
"Nope, sorry. There's no such thing," Matthew said, scratching the back of his head before he placed the cap back on it. "So, we came here for nothing. This was a total waste of time." He mumbled the last part more to himself.
Of course, Cameron heard him anyways and turned towards the container again, her right hand twitching first and then clenching into a fist. She would not go home empty handed, and she surely would not want to tell Sarah that her mission had been a failure.
Therefore, the terminator took the lock and held it in her open palm, blocking the view with her body so that Matthew would not catch what she was doing. "Found the key!" she exclaimed, pretending that she retrieved a key from the front pocket of her jeans.
Calculating the exact amount of force she could use to crack the lock without actually breaking it too obviously, Cameron closed her hand around it and slowly applied pressure until it clicked open with a squeak. She could close the lock when she was finished without leaving any traces. "Got it!" A tiny victorious smile appeared on the terminator's lips.
Cameron removed the chain from the iron rubs and started pulling at them. Before she had pulled them apart enough to slip into the container, she registered a noise from inside. It was only a small click and when she cross-referenced it with noises stored in her database and was unable to find a match. She opened the huge, metal doors a bit further and slipped into the darkness of the container.
After another click, a shot was fired directly at her.
But there was no impact, no bullet that ripped through her shirt and into her skin. Cameron blinked in confusion until she switched to her night vision. She focused on what had been the source of the bang.
The container was filled with helium balloons of all colors and a small canon on the other end of it. She concluded it been the cause of the bang, but instead of a bullet or a cannonball it had fired a huge load of confetti at her.
"Cameron!" Matthew yelled from outside. "Are you okay? I heard a bang like a gun shot." He came running around the slightly ajar doors. He stopped abruptly when he saw the state of the container as well as of Cameron, who was covered in confetti from head to toe. "What the Hell?!"
"It is merely a surprise," the terminator explained, telling the truth, because what else was she supposed to tell him? "Today is my birthday. In my family, we play practical jokes on each other on their birthdays. It's a tradition." She reached up and plucked a few pieces of colorful confetti from her hair.
Matthew developed a wry grin and lightly teased, "Well, happy birthday then."
Cameron softly sighed. "Thank you." She now brushed out the confetti from her hair then off her front side.
The guard briefly watched her, and he had a slyer grin at watching the beauty. He approached her and swept his hand over her chest. "You missed one."
The terminator wearily eyed the young human and barely resisted from reacting in such a way that she would harm him, permanently.
"So how old are you?" the guard prompted after he stepped back.
Cameron turned on her boot heels and studied the inside of the container. She switched back to night vision in took in the contents much better. She noted one balloon read "Happy 2nd Birthday!" on it. For the first time ever, she rolled her eyes but twisted her head back to Matthew. "I just turned seventeen."
The guard went slightly rosy around the cheeks once he realized the girl was jailbait. He cleared his throat and mentioned, "You got a pretty cool family if they went to all this trouble."
The terminator slightly canted her head but considered his, for once, useful opinion. "Yes... they are tight." She now exited the container's entrance and started closing it.
"You're not gonna take any of it home?"
Cameron had the squeaky doors sealed shut. "No, it is too much trouble." Nor was she a sentimental human, just a logical terminator.
Matthew shrugged it off and now took the girl's side on the walk back to the gates. "Your family always does that huh?"
"It is tradition," Cameron firmed again. She hated to repeat herself.
"I wish my fam did somethin' that cool." Matthew considered his prior birthdays, which struck up another long, boring monolog from him.
Cameron did her very best to tone him out because his annoying voice was wreaking havoc on her systems. The five-minute walk back to the gates was far more grueling than the plundered streets in the future Los Angeles. Once she saw the gates, her pace went faster than normal.
The guard tapered off from his last story about an older birthday as they came near the gates. He followed Cameron through the pedestrian opening and stopped by his gatehouse. He slipped his hands into his pockets. "So, can I call you some time?" He thought it was worth a shot.
The terminator had miscalculated on getting away free. She studied the Jeep parked only a few yards away, but she quickly turned with a fake smile plastered on her face. She offered a giggle then shyly explained, "I can give you my house number. I don't have a cell phone."
Matthew was dumbfounded by such news. "No cell phone?"
Cameron shrugged and slipped her hands into her pockets. "My mom is super protective. She answers the house phone first too. I'm not allowed to. She's also super religious."
"Oh." The guard took a step back, closer to his guardhouse. "Well, maybe that's alright." He flashed a smile.
Cameron pretended to be disappointed like any teen. "Are you sure? Like she'll only ask you twenty-one questions or somethin'... blood sample too." She threw in a silly laugh for good measure. Now she was finally having fun with him.
"No, that's alright." The guard stood in the doorframe, but he waved and wished, "Happy birthday again." He disappeared into his guardhouse.
Cameron shrugged, spun on her heels, and headed to the Jeep. On the way, she pulled out her cell phone in the guard's clear view. She instantly called John first but received no answer, which did not worry her because he was probably busy with Riley. She then attempted Sarah's number once she was inside the SUV.
"How'd it go?" Sarah prompted. There was a silent hint of amusement in her tone.
"Funny," the terminator flatly replied in her monotone. She revived the engine then reversed from the parking spot.
"It's a mission, not a party," Sarah argued, mirth bright in her eyes.
Cameron was driving past the guardhouse, and she could not help but wave her cell phone quickly at Matthew before she disappeared from sight. She held down her chuckle at his wide-eye expression. She focused on her driving and phone conversation.
"Did you find anything related to Skynet in there?"
The terminator involuntarily rolled her eyes, again. "Not unless my buildday is related to Skynet."
"It's possible," Sarah taunted.
Cameron could hear the grin in Sarah's voice. "I'm leaving the port now."
"Don't forget to stop at the weapons drop too," Sarah reminded.
"I do not forget," Cameron stated. She pulled out onto the port's main street so she could head to home.
"Just do it," Sarah ordered. But her tone wasn't harsh. "And get back home."
"I will," the terminator promised.
"See you then." Cameron was about the hang up but Sarah's voice halted her. "And, Cameron?"
The terminator had almost closed her cell phone. "Yes?"
"Happy buildday," Sarah gently offered. She then hung up.
Cameron closed her cell phone and a thin smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She never expected anybody to recall the day she was built much less celebrate it, especially by the humans that fought the hardest against Skynet. She was supposed to be their enemy, not matter what, but instead the Connors were welcoming her into their family. She knew they had gone to a lot of trouble to rent and setup the container for the surprise then make up a pretend mission that Cameron would fully believe. Now her smile grew wider.
About thirty minutes later, Cameron made it to the weapons drop that was located fifteen minutes from the house. She collected the weapons and supplies from the Jeep then headed to the metal door. She hesitated at the locked door, her key in the lock, and she debated whether there would be another surprise on the other side of the door. She mentally braced her systems then pushed open the door. However, to her amazement there was nothing but silence and stillness.
The terminator cautiously entered and scanned her surroundings. Once she was satisfied nothing was out of place, she flicked on the overhead light and turned off her night vision. She brought in the black duffel bag and filled gas can into the secret cache. She tucked away the gasoline can then started putting away the supplies from the bag. Cameron pulled up short when she was about to set down a handful of bullet magazines. She was drawn to the small, square box sitting on a shelf at eye level.
The perfect gift was in a sapphire blue wrapping and bore a white ribbon. There was a tag attached to it that had Cameron's name on the top. Once Cameron turned over the tag, she made out Sarah's distinct handwriting. It merely said, 'Bring me home to open up.' Cameron carefully held the gift in her hands and turned it over. Her interests were clearly peeked by the tiny, blue box that was carefully wrapped, most likely by Sarah.
The terminator hastened finishing up then left the weapons drop. She jumped back in the Jeep after the rid of the duffel bag. However, she carefully set her gift down in the passenger seat. She studied it for a second but drove off to get home. She realized that she was filled with some excitement after her unexpected but fun day. She never understood the point behind practical jokes, yet she thought they were not so bad. She now calculated how much time Sarah and John spent on preparing them all just because it was her buildday. Regardless of the total time, it was a minute more than Cameron had ever expected from the humans.
To be continued
Feeling:
tired
Authors:
red_hope1 and 4kennedyFandom: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Pairing: Cameron/Sarah
Rating: PG 13
Summary: It is Cameron's second year since she was first built. Sarah and John decide to celebrate it the traditional way in the Connor family. Together, they pull practical jokes on Cameron for the day until the final celebration that evening.
Disclaimer: I unfortunately don’t own them; they belong to FOX television and Warner Brothers.
A/N:
red_hope1 had asked me over 4 years ago if I wanted to write a story with her and I was excited and felt honored, because Red Hope is such an amazing writer. If you haven’t read anything from her yet you definitely should check her stories out immediately. We started this little, light-hearted story and we had a lot of fun. But then we lost touch, I disappeared from the internet. As red_hope1 couldn’t reach me via email she finished our story by herself as it already was as good as finished. I’m glad that she did. It was something I always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to finish this project. So here it finally is…Chapter 2
John and Cameron were sitting at the dining table in the living room; a big map of Los Angeles was spread out in front of them as well as satellite images and other papers. He had done his homework and was somewhat proud that he had planned and timed everything to the last detail. Yet, they really hadn't had any other choice if they wanted their mission to be a success. Otherwise, Cameron would see right through the plan if there were any loopholes in it.
Though it was hard for John to contain his amusement and occasionally a short laugh broke free, which earned him a stern look from Cameron. As he had suspected the red stain on the terminator's face had not come off directly and would take at least one more day until it would disappear, much to Cameron's dislike.
"Your behavior is counterproductive," the terminator stated flatly. "You said you would inform me about today's mission after breakfast, which is now." Cameron sat bolt upright and with her forearms parallel to each other flatly on the table. But, a slight furrow creased her forehead, showing her annoyance with John's inability to focus on the subject.
"Yes, sorry, you're right," John said and tried putting on a straight face. He needed Cameron to buy the story. By now, she had probably figured out the connection between the current date and the jokes that they had already played on her. So, he had to be convincing and serious in order to get Cameron going on the mission at all.
Cameron said nothing in return and just gave John one of her blank stares, silently prompting him to continue and tell her, what she needed to know.
John shoved one specific map into the center of the table. "This is a position plan of the port; it shows how the storage containers are arranged." He pointed at one particular quadrant. "Storage facility number 83492. That's where you're going."
Nodding once for confirmation, Cameron scanned the map and filed the image into her database.
John put another picture in front of the terminator. It was a photo of a middle aged man with a full head of gray hair, a mustache and glasses.
"His name is Gregory O'Hagan; he was a computer engineer at ChipTech Inc. The company specializes in electro-mechanical systems. A couple of weeks ago Gregory was fired for stealing, but we do not know what he stole precisely. It could be valuable data or electro-mechanical parts. However, two weeks ago he rented a storage container at the port."
Cameron also scanned the photo of the man in case she might encounter him. Then she brought up the map of the harbor and located Gregory O'Hagan's container. "It is possible that he hides whatever he has stolen from ChipTech in the container," she pointed out.
"Exactly," John acknowledged and bit down another smile. So far, Cameron was buying the fake background story he had come up with very well. "And we need to know what it is, just in case. He might continue his work secretly."
Sarah came into the living room, her hair still somewhat wet from the shower. "Better be safe than sorry," she mentioned, passing by behind Cameron and slightly touching her chair in the process. It was something she did more and more often. Sarah had noticed the odd habit, but could not or did not want to explain it. She sat down at the table as well and satisfactorily nodded at the work John had put into this.
"So, this is all I've got on him." John indicated with a motion of his hand at the papers on the table. The main details like the company and Gregory O'Hagan were real; he simply adjusted them a little so that they would fit to their story. John further added, "I've also hacked into the computer network of the port and filed your name on the list of persons with permitted access to this specific storage container area. It won't be a problem for you to get in."
Sarah bent over the table with her upper body, propping herself with her arms on it and biting down on her bottom lip. Her poker face was firmly in place. She had been on enough under cover missions to know how to play her cards, and she even had rehearsed this little scene in her head. "Just try to be inconspicuous and get it over with quickly, Tin Miss. You go in, scan the interior and see if there's anything with the potential of becoming Skynet or at least a part of its development. Don't leave any traces and don't take anything with you. If there is anything suspicious in it, we will go back there tonight and destroy it. Got it?"
After considering the human for a moment, Cameron concluded that the mission might indeed be real. Up to now, she had calculated a very high possibility that it would turn out to be another practical joke played on her, but Sarah's tense features and pose as well as the seriousness of her words made the terminator re-evaluate it.
"The parameters of the mission are definite," Cameron confirmed and contemplated touching Sarah's wrist briefly, which rested not too far from her own hand on the table. This way she could make a quick analyze of her vital signs and could asses if she was lying.
John saw the hesitant movement of Cameron's finger towards his mother's wrist and cleared his throat loudly. He knew exactly what the terminator was up to and as good as his mother's performance had been, her vital signs would probably give her away. "Alright, I guess that's it. Are you good to go?"
When Sarah had heard John clearing his throat she had instantly noticed Cameron's attempt to touch her and knew the purpose behind it. She pulled her arms back and clasped her hands in her lap instead, shooting the girl a warning look.
It surprisingly bothered Cameron that Sarah had withdrawn her hands as if she was about to get burned when they would touch. However, sometimes she herself experienced a hot, tingling sensation of her skin when they touched accidentally or not, so maybe Sarah was having the same experiences.
"If Gregory O'Hagan is there, can I kill him?" the terminator wanted to know as if she were asking for a glass of water, her eyes shifting expectantly from John to his mother.
Sarah gripped the edge of the table until her knuckles stood out white. "What? No!" A wave of rage flooded through her, but it ebbed as soon as she reminded herself that this was not a real mission and that there was no chance Gregory would be at the harbor. "No one gets killed. Are we clear?"
"Yes," Cameron simply confirmed, returning Sarah's intensive stare without blinking.
John watched his mother and Cameron staring at each other challenging; the tension between them was obvious, and it unsettled him a little. "Okay, now that we've clarified that I'm off to meeting Riley."
He stood up and went over to his mother, giving her a kiss on the head. "Play nice, mom," he whispered, even though the terminator could hear him anyways. John looked over at Cameron, who had her eyes still on Sarah. "Good luck."
When John had left house the terminator finally broke the eye contact with the human, focusing her view again on the papers on the table and making sure she had all the necessary information. "You can accompany me if you want to," she offered.
Sarah tried not to feel flattered by the suggestion as if the terminator actually cared whether she would go with her or not. "No, girlie, this is your mission. You're going alone. I have… stuff to take care of." Her spirits lifted again when she pictured Cameron finding out the true nature of the mission, everything was playing out very nicely.
"I will be back soon," Cameron promised and got up. When she had reached the door, she turned around and regarded the human, who had turned in the chair towards Cameron.
"Be careful. You never know what you might find," Sarah pointed out and grinned inwardly. This day would definitely become one of her favorites to remember.
The port of Los Angeles was located at San Pedro Bay. It was a complex that occupied 7,500 acres of land and water along forty-three miles and featured twenty-seven cargo terminals. It was the busiest container port in the United States and almost like a city of its own.
When Cameron parked the Jeep right outside the West Basin Container Terminal, the area where Gregory O'Hagan's storage container was located, she retrieved the data about the port. There were indeed many humans walking around, two of the guards were stationed at the entrance, one in a box office and one at the gate.
The terminator didn't worry about them or the Los Angeles Port Police. John had gotten her name on the permitted visitors list, so there was no need for her to find another way in.
Later she or John would hack again into the computer network of the port, delete her name as well as the video footage of the surveillance cameras. This was her contribution to the plot. The whole operation was well planned, she liked thought-out plans, and she smiled faintly at that.
When Cameron approached the visitor's entry, she initiated her infiltration program and let the smile spread fully on her lips. She did not like it when the infiltration program was activated though, it always evoked an odd sensation in her chest, it just wasn't her when she pretended to be a careless, fun-loving teenage girl.
Therefore, Cameron wished that Sarah had come with her. Then she could let the other woman run the show while she could have stood silent beside her. It would not matter if they thought she was a weird girl or not.
"Hello there!" a young guard greeted her as soon as she had reached the little box he occupied. There was only enough room for a small office table, with a telephone, on old computer on it, and a chair. He lifted his cap in greeting, which had the logo of the port stitched on the front. "What can I do for you?"
"I'm Cameron Baum. I need to get something out of my uncle's storage container," the terminator easily lied, having used the drive to the port to come up with a convincing background story for herself. "Storage container is number 83492. My name should be on the list."
The guard returned the smile to the beautiful girl on the other side of the glass window. "Give me a minute and let me check," he said and started to type on the keyboard. It only took a moment. "I need to see your ID card please."
Cameron fished out her driver's license from the back pocket of her jeans and handed it over to him without any comment.
The guard, Matthew, looked at her picture, typed again something into the computer and gave her the card back, though he held a little bit longer than necessary. "I could bring you to the container. The place is damn big; I don't want a pretty girl like you to get lost." He smiled at her, charmingly.
"No thank you," Cameron replied and tucked her license back into the pocket. "I'll be fine."
"You're sure?" the guard pressed.
Cameron became slightly annoyed. "Positive," she confirmed and turned away from the box, taking the first steps to the gate, when she heard the guard getting out of his small office.
"It's actually policy. I can't let you wander around by yourself," he lied as soon as he had caught up with her, giving the girl a wink.
Cameron merely regarded him but continued her way into the depths of the facility.
Five minutes later, they were only a couple of containers away from their destination.
At first, Matthew had tried to make small-talk with Cameron, asking her questions and obviously thinking he was charming. However, Cameron only gave him single word answers, if she answered at all.
He started telling her things about himself even though Cameron had not asked him to. Still he rambled currently about being a part-time guard to pay for his studies and that he was studying at UCLA and so on and so on.
The question, Cameron had to ask herself, was why her infiltration program was not working? There must have been something wrong with it because otherwise she would have been politer to the young guy, maybe even flirted with him. But she showed no interest at all in him as if he weren't even there and had kept hoping that Sarah was there with her instead of Matthew. The raven-haired woman would have gotten rid of him; she would've made sure that he hadn't accompanied them in the first place. This thought briefly made Cameron consider why Sarah Connor would be so prone to chasing off a young man, when he was no threat. He was obnoxious and unfortunately, Cameron had affirmed to Sarah that no one got killed.
"Here we are," Matthew stated and pointed towards one orange storage container in a line of many. He, like Cameron, read the numbers that denoted it as the correct one.
"Thank you. It was very nice of you to bring me here," Cameron forced herself to reply friendly. "I can take it from here."
Matthew was a bit disappointed that the pretty girl wanted to continue without him. "Oh… okay." He took of his cap and fanned himself with it. "Then I'll just wait here for you and bring you back to the parking area when you're done."
Cameron suppressed the urge to sigh, nodded in agreement instead and went to storage container 83492. A lock held an iron chain around the rods. It would be easy for her to crush the lock to dust, but then Gregory would know that someone had broken into his container. Besides the fact that Matthew would most likely see it.
They had not thought of this hurdle, at all.
The terminator turned towards Matthew and gave him her best innocent, helpless girl expression she had filed in her system. "I've forgotten the key, stupid me," she laughed falsely. "You don't have by any chance a universal key, do you?"
"Nope, sorry. There's no such thing," Matthew said, scratching the back of his head before he placed the cap back on it. "So, we came here for nothing. This was a total waste of time." He mumbled the last part more to himself.
Of course, Cameron heard him anyways and turned towards the container again, her right hand twitching first and then clenching into a fist. She would not go home empty handed, and she surely would not want to tell Sarah that her mission had been a failure.
Therefore, the terminator took the lock and held it in her open palm, blocking the view with her body so that Matthew would not catch what she was doing. "Found the key!" she exclaimed, pretending that she retrieved a key from the front pocket of her jeans.
Calculating the exact amount of force she could use to crack the lock without actually breaking it too obviously, Cameron closed her hand around it and slowly applied pressure until it clicked open with a squeak. She could close the lock when she was finished without leaving any traces. "Got it!" A tiny victorious smile appeared on the terminator's lips.
Cameron removed the chain from the iron rubs and started pulling at them. Before she had pulled them apart enough to slip into the container, she registered a noise from inside. It was only a small click and when she cross-referenced it with noises stored in her database and was unable to find a match. She opened the huge, metal doors a bit further and slipped into the darkness of the container.
After another click, a shot was fired directly at her.
But there was no impact, no bullet that ripped through her shirt and into her skin. Cameron blinked in confusion until she switched to her night vision. She focused on what had been the source of the bang.
The container was filled with helium balloons of all colors and a small canon on the other end of it. She concluded it been the cause of the bang, but instead of a bullet or a cannonball it had fired a huge load of confetti at her.
"Cameron!" Matthew yelled from outside. "Are you okay? I heard a bang like a gun shot." He came running around the slightly ajar doors. He stopped abruptly when he saw the state of the container as well as of Cameron, who was covered in confetti from head to toe. "What the Hell?!"
"It is merely a surprise," the terminator explained, telling the truth, because what else was she supposed to tell him? "Today is my birthday. In my family, we play practical jokes on each other on their birthdays. It's a tradition." She reached up and plucked a few pieces of colorful confetti from her hair.
Matthew developed a wry grin and lightly teased, "Well, happy birthday then."
Cameron softly sighed. "Thank you." She now brushed out the confetti from her hair then off her front side.
The guard briefly watched her, and he had a slyer grin at watching the beauty. He approached her and swept his hand over her chest. "You missed one."
The terminator wearily eyed the young human and barely resisted from reacting in such a way that she would harm him, permanently.
"So how old are you?" the guard prompted after he stepped back.
Cameron turned on her boot heels and studied the inside of the container. She switched back to night vision in took in the contents much better. She noted one balloon read "Happy 2nd Birthday!" on it. For the first time ever, she rolled her eyes but twisted her head back to Matthew. "I just turned seventeen."
The guard went slightly rosy around the cheeks once he realized the girl was jailbait. He cleared his throat and mentioned, "You got a pretty cool family if they went to all this trouble."
The terminator slightly canted her head but considered his, for once, useful opinion. "Yes... they are tight." She now exited the container's entrance and started closing it.
"You're not gonna take any of it home?"
Cameron had the squeaky doors sealed shut. "No, it is too much trouble." Nor was she a sentimental human, just a logical terminator.
Matthew shrugged it off and now took the girl's side on the walk back to the gates. "Your family always does that huh?"
"It is tradition," Cameron firmed again. She hated to repeat herself.
"I wish my fam did somethin' that cool." Matthew considered his prior birthdays, which struck up another long, boring monolog from him.
Cameron did her very best to tone him out because his annoying voice was wreaking havoc on her systems. The five-minute walk back to the gates was far more grueling than the plundered streets in the future Los Angeles. Once she saw the gates, her pace went faster than normal.
The guard tapered off from his last story about an older birthday as they came near the gates. He followed Cameron through the pedestrian opening and stopped by his gatehouse. He slipped his hands into his pockets. "So, can I call you some time?" He thought it was worth a shot.
The terminator had miscalculated on getting away free. She studied the Jeep parked only a few yards away, but she quickly turned with a fake smile plastered on her face. She offered a giggle then shyly explained, "I can give you my house number. I don't have a cell phone."
Matthew was dumbfounded by such news. "No cell phone?"
Cameron shrugged and slipped her hands into her pockets. "My mom is super protective. She answers the house phone first too. I'm not allowed to. She's also super religious."
"Oh." The guard took a step back, closer to his guardhouse. "Well, maybe that's alright." He flashed a smile.
Cameron pretended to be disappointed like any teen. "Are you sure? Like she'll only ask you twenty-one questions or somethin'... blood sample too." She threw in a silly laugh for good measure. Now she was finally having fun with him.
"No, that's alright." The guard stood in the doorframe, but he waved and wished, "Happy birthday again." He disappeared into his guardhouse.
Cameron shrugged, spun on her heels, and headed to the Jeep. On the way, she pulled out her cell phone in the guard's clear view. She instantly called John first but received no answer, which did not worry her because he was probably busy with Riley. She then attempted Sarah's number once she was inside the SUV.
"How'd it go?" Sarah prompted. There was a silent hint of amusement in her tone.
"Funny," the terminator flatly replied in her monotone. She revived the engine then reversed from the parking spot.
"It's a mission, not a party," Sarah argued, mirth bright in her eyes.
Cameron was driving past the guardhouse, and she could not help but wave her cell phone quickly at Matthew before she disappeared from sight. She held down her chuckle at his wide-eye expression. She focused on her driving and phone conversation.
"Did you find anything related to Skynet in there?"
The terminator involuntarily rolled her eyes, again. "Not unless my buildday is related to Skynet."
"It's possible," Sarah taunted.
Cameron could hear the grin in Sarah's voice. "I'm leaving the port now."
"Don't forget to stop at the weapons drop too," Sarah reminded.
"I do not forget," Cameron stated. She pulled out onto the port's main street so she could head to home.
"Just do it," Sarah ordered. But her tone wasn't harsh. "And get back home."
"I will," the terminator promised.
"See you then." Cameron was about the hang up but Sarah's voice halted her. "And, Cameron?"
The terminator had almost closed her cell phone. "Yes?"
"Happy buildday," Sarah gently offered. She then hung up.
Cameron closed her cell phone and a thin smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She never expected anybody to recall the day she was built much less celebrate it, especially by the humans that fought the hardest against Skynet. She was supposed to be their enemy, not matter what, but instead the Connors were welcoming her into their family. She knew they had gone to a lot of trouble to rent and setup the container for the surprise then make up a pretend mission that Cameron would fully believe. Now her smile grew wider.
About thirty minutes later, Cameron made it to the weapons drop that was located fifteen minutes from the house. She collected the weapons and supplies from the Jeep then headed to the metal door. She hesitated at the locked door, her key in the lock, and she debated whether there would be another surprise on the other side of the door. She mentally braced her systems then pushed open the door. However, to her amazement there was nothing but silence and stillness.
The terminator cautiously entered and scanned her surroundings. Once she was satisfied nothing was out of place, she flicked on the overhead light and turned off her night vision. She brought in the black duffel bag and filled gas can into the secret cache. She tucked away the gasoline can then started putting away the supplies from the bag. Cameron pulled up short when she was about to set down a handful of bullet magazines. She was drawn to the small, square box sitting on a shelf at eye level.
The perfect gift was in a sapphire blue wrapping and bore a white ribbon. There was a tag attached to it that had Cameron's name on the top. Once Cameron turned over the tag, she made out Sarah's distinct handwriting. It merely said, 'Bring me home to open up.' Cameron carefully held the gift in her hands and turned it over. Her interests were clearly peeked by the tiny, blue box that was carefully wrapped, most likely by Sarah.
The terminator hastened finishing up then left the weapons drop. She jumped back in the Jeep after the rid of the duffel bag. However, she carefully set her gift down in the passenger seat. She studied it for a second but drove off to get home. She realized that she was filled with some excitement after her unexpected but fun day. She never understood the point behind practical jokes, yet she thought they were not so bad. She now calculated how much time Sarah and John spent on preparing them all just because it was her buildday. Regardless of the total time, it was a minute more than Cameron had ever expected from the humans.
To be continued
Feeling:
tired
