we can do is put you in a well-guarded site with rapid-response military backup. How does that sound?'
'It would have to be attractive to our staff,' Charles said. 'They might not want to move from California.'
'Well, we can make the place pretty nice to work in, but there's not much more we can do about your staff from our end. You'll have to deal with them yourselves.'
As Jack spoke, Oscar figured that the only person he really needed to worry about was Rosanna. He'd sound her out as soon as he had a minute alone with her. Everyone else could be replaced.
'Of course, there'll be some financial details to work out,' Jack said. 'But you can house all your military research there. We're confident the deal will be attractive to you.' He glanced at the woman from Washington, Jones. 'We'd better not record the next bit.'
'I agree, Jack,' she said.
'Okay. We think we can help resolve some of your other problems, like the police investigation and the attitude of your insurers. I know you want the Connors found. Otherwise, I assume you'd like the loose ends tied up, so you can get on with things. That make sense?'
'You'd better tell us a bit more,' Oscar said.
'Well, for example, it might be useful to you and us if we could get Dyson's widow out of your hair—see that she's paid her company life insurance, but that no one probes her too far. We'll watch her carefully in the future, just in case, but we don't want her opening any cans of worms. And maybe we could find a way to get the insurance settlement on your building expedited. All those kinds of things.'
'That could be very useful,' Charles said.
'Get your attorney to call me. I think a lot of it can be sorted out.'
Charles nodded in Oscar's direction. 'I'll let you deal with that'
'Sure, Charles.' Oscar made a mental to call Fiona Black from the airport.
'Good,' Charles said. 'Now, Jack, if we take up your offer on the Colorado site, I'll need approval from the Board of Directors. We can't give you any commitments today.'
'Of course you can't. Will you get their approval?'
'Write down the financial details for us. If they're reasonable, I can deliver the Board.'
'I'll send you a fax, then. It'll be waiting for you back in LA.'
'Very good.' Charles got to his feet. 'It's been a pleasant meeting—and very useful.'
'Yeah, it's been a practical one. I guess that's about all we needed to discuss. Thanks for coming, gentlemen. Nice to meet you, Dr. Monk.'
Outside in the sunshine, Rosanna took Oscar's arm. 'This is all pretty creepy,' she said. Charles walked a few steps ahead of them, head bowed in thought. He was never one for small talk.
'Which bit?' Oscar said.
'Well, the arm apparatus in particular... and all of it in general.'
'Yeah... It is strange. Is it bothering you?'
'Of course it's bothering me,' she said, almost hissing the words.
'What do you want to do?' he said carefully.
'Put it this way, Oscar-just look after me. All right? I can do weird science for you, and I'll go to Colorado if you want. Just don't get me blown up in the line of duty.'
Oscar breathed a sigh of relief. Strange as it all was, that was what he wanted to hear. Rosanna was very capable, and a lot of their problems might be over if Jack and his people could pull off what he claimed. 'You'll be fine,' Oscar said. 'You'll be a great Director of Special Projects. Congratulations.'
But she gripped his arm harder, digging in with her nails. 'Yeah, that's cool. Just make sure Mr. Reed keeps me alive.' Then she released him and laughed. 'You do that, and I'll promise to enjoy myself in Colorado. It's not like I have a lot of friends back in L.A. A happy Dr. Frankenstein is a productive one. Right? I just don't want to be a dead one, not like poor Miles. Is that a deal, Oscar?'
'Yeah, Rosanna. If that's all you want.' He shrugged. 'It's a deal. Word of honor.'
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
AUGUST, 2001
'Hey, you still with us, partner?' Sarah said, wandering back to see what he was doing.
John realized he must have been drifting away. 'What, Mom? Sorry...'
'I said, are you still with us? You looked lost in thought.'
'I was thinking about Cyberdyne, and Judgment Day.'
Sarah nodded at the computer terminal. 'Was there anything new?' These days, she was always tense when she asked that.
'No, not tonight'
'Well, that's a pleasant change.'
'I know. I wish we'd finished Cyberdyne off completely.'
'You're not the only one, partner. Let's give up for the night. Tomorrow's another day.'
The trouble was, he often did find stuff, and not just about Cyberdyne, though there was plenty of that He also kept up with more general developments in artificial ' intelligence, with what U.S. Defense was doing about research into new weaponry, with ideas about enhancing the NORAD system—anything that might be relevant. Not a day went by without some important development in the AI field, or someone reputable speculating about new kinds of computer hardware, or something else, completely out of left field, that just might be relevant to Judgment Day.
His main worry was still Cyberdyne. It was going from strength to strength, and lifting its public profile. When Bill Joy, the cyber guru, had expressed his fears about AI and nanotechnology in Wired magazine, Oscar Cruz, the President of Cyberdyne, had responded all over the Internet, reassuring everyone and getting as much free publicity as he could. That was over a year ago, now, but it still seemed like you couldn't avoid Cruz's name, not if you spent any time on the Net. It seemed to be spreading like wildfire. If you typed 'Oscar Cruz' into the Google search engine, it came back with about a million hits. Some of Cruz's research scientists, like Rosanna Monk, were almost as famous.
When they'd left Raoul and Gabriela's estancia, they hadn't expected Cyberdyne to haunt them, and it hadn't at first, but now it was getting to them. Sarah had been growing more like her old, intense self. Maybe they needed to change something about their lives. The cyber cafe was a nice business, but the name and the decor ought to change. If Judgment Day might still be coming, the big Last Judgment painting overarching the room was out of place. It was like they'd crowed too soon. Skynet would have the last laugh.
'Let's tidy everything up for the night,' John said, standing and stepping around the desk.
'I've finished most of that,' Sarah said. 'We can do a final scour of the place, if you like, then call it quits.'
'Excellent.'
They spent ten minutes getting the place spic-and-span: throwing out wrappers and drink cans that the customers had left behind; cleaning surfaces; washing dishes and cutlery in the kitchen out the back.
'I don't like the way things are heading, John. I'm starting to get nightmares again.'
'I know. Me, too.'
'Are you?' she said, looking at him with fear in her eyes.
'Uh-huh. Dreams about the missiles... and the explosions.'
'Oh, God, I thought that was my cross to bear.' Suddenly, she reached out and hugged him close to her. He was now taller than his mother, and she seemed somehow vulnerable when he embraced her, though they still trained each day and he knew how tough she was.
'Come on, Mom, maybe it'll all be okay.'
'Sometimes I dream about the missiles,' she said, as they let each other go. 'Other times, we're back in L.A. and the T-1000 is still after us. We can't find a way to destroy it.'
'It's all right. I have that dream, too. We were lucky, weren't we?'
'I wonder whether we should move,' Sarah said, closing a drawer full of cutlery. 'Leave Mexico City. It's so
