Infiltrator

original timestream. Once again she had slipped through their fingers.

Her own fingers squeezed the arms of her chair, making deep indentations in the hard rubbery material. Serena forced them to relax and she started the meditation process over again. A deep initial breath—

'Ms. Burns.' Mrs. Duprey said, her apologetic voice interrupted Serena's solitude like a gunshot. 'I know you asked not to be disturbed, but… Mr. Warren is here to see you.'

I don't have time for this! Serena thought, irritation spiking. But one didn't send the president of the company away with a flea in his ear. 'By all means send him in, Mrs. Duprey,' she said mellifluously.

Serena stood as Warren entered the room, shutting the door behind him. 'I'm sorry to interrupt you,' he said, sounding subdued.

Is he still regretting the loss of that bitch? she wondered. 'Not at all,' she said aloud. 'I have a slight headache and was taking a break.'

'Oh, I'm sorry to hear that,' he said. He looked for a moment as if he'd caught her with her shirt off. 'It's just… this memo you sent around. I'd like an explanation, if you don't mind.'

He'd surprised her. Serena thought of Warren as a nonentity, regarding Colvin as the real power at Cyberdyne, the one to work around. But the CEO was on a business trip to Dallas and wasn't expected back until Tuesday. She had hoped to have everything settled by then.

Serena smiled at the president and gestured him to a seat on the sofa. He sat and she sat beside him, her arm along the back of the couch. 'I imagine the scientists are up in arms,' she said, grinning.

'I've had a few calls,' Warren said dryly.

'I wouldn't ask for this if I didn't think it was absolutely necessary,' Serena said, turning serious. 'We received some information—which turned out to be all too accurate—that Sarah Connor was gunning for us again.'

The president grew visibly paler. Visibly to someone like Serena, that is.

'She's back?' he almost whispered. He put a hand to his forehead. Then he turned to Serena. 'Tell me.'

'She's made an attack on our Sacramento storage facility. I sent Mr. Dyson up there to take care of it and he gave me some good news and some bad news. The good news is that they stopped Connor from actually bombing the place. The bad news is that the system probably has a worm and/or a virus in it, and will

have to be cleansed. It will probably be best to simply wipe the system completely and then reinstall everything. They cut a bunch of cables, too.'

'That's actually pretty good,' Warren said, looking shell-shocked, 'considering what happened the last time she tangled with us.'

'Further bad news,' Serena said, looking regretful, 'is that she and one of her associates got away.'

Warren's lips tightened and he looked grim.

'I would have expected better from a former FBI agent,' he said.

Serena leaned closer, smiling. 'The good news,' she said confidentially, 'is that we have Connor's son.'

Warren brightened, then his expression dropped.

'We have him, or the police do?'

The T-950 cocked her head to one side, smiling with satisfaction.

'We have him,' she said. 'I told Mr. Dyson to bring him here. But I don't expect him for a couple of hours yet.' Serena gave Warren a level gaze. 'That's why I sent the memo around. I don't want anyone getting hurt. Especially not these people; they're too valuable.'

'Yes,' Warren said thoughtfully. 'I see what you mean.' He put his hands on his knees and stared into space for a moment. At last he nodded decisively. 'All right,' he said. 'At five tonight everybody goes home and stays there. Except for

the security guards, of course,' he turned, smiling, to Serena.

She nodded encouragingly.

'Um. How long do you think we'll have to stay closed?' he asked nervously.

'Not long,' she assured him. 'Mr. Dyson told me that the boy was wounded slightly. So I think his mother will come looking for him posthaste. Perhaps tonight, definitely by tomorrow. This nightmare should be over by the end of the week.'

Paul Warren let out a deep sigh. 'You have no idea how glad I am to hear that,'

he said. 'I'm sure Roger will be too when I call him tonight.'

'Do you think you should?' the T-950 asked, frowning. 'This Dallas meeting is pretty important, isn't it? Mr. Colvin will probably want to come back and there's absolutely nothing he can do to help. And if he decides to stay down there he'll be very, and understandably, distracted.' Serena tipped her head prettily. 'Your call, of course,' she said and smiled.

'I see your point,' he agreed uneasily. Dallas was important. But he didn't like keeping his partner out of the loop like this. By the same token the whole thing might well be over, for good or ill, by the time Colvin could get back. And the Dallas meeting had taken months to set up.

'I'll take care of it,' he said, rising. 'Thank you, Ms. Burns. You have my complete cooperation on this. And'—he looked into her eyes—'good luck.'

Serena looked up at him with a subtly moonstruck expression. After a moment

he sort of shuffled his feet and nodded, leaving without a backward glance.

The T-950 rated her performance. I did well, she thought.

Now to more important matters. She would order the company doctor and nurse to stay after everyone else had left. By then the Terminators would be back and she could replace three of the six security guards with them. She would put Seven, the most conservative looking, at the front desk; the other two she would station near the boy. She'd tell the doctor that one of them was a trained nurse.

Then she'd let the doctor and nurse go home.

And then I will sit back and wait for Sarah Connor to come to me.

This time, she wouldn't get away.

THE CHAMBERLAINS' CABIN: THE PRESENT

'Heeeeyyy! Ralph!' Dieter said heartily. 'How's it going, buddy?'

Sarah watched him from across the room, her arms and legs crossed. A lot depended on this conversation.

'Dieter? Dieter! Whoa! What happened buddy? Cows getting dull?'

Major Ralph Ferri settled back in his chair, looking forward to an interesting conversation. He'd had the pleasure of working with the Sector agent earlier in his career, when he was a lot more active himself—Delta force, black-ops shit.

They'd stayed friendly over the years, even though they rarely saw each other.

'You have no idea,' Dieter answered. 'All they do is chew. Even the bulls.

They're all pretty boring compared to Srebrenica.'

'So where are ya calling from?' Ferri asked. 'Sounds like you're next door.'

'Practically,' von Rossbach lied. 'I'm in L.A. I was wondering; can we get together?'

Sarah's heart gave a single bound, as though the Major were suddenly in the room with them and able to see the lies as they came out of von Rossbach's mouth. And how could he miss them? It sounded so completely false to her, staged, and insincere. So much depended on this conversation. John's life depended on this conversation. Please, God, make him want to have dinner with Dieter!

'Aw, man! I'm kinda tied up here. I don't think I'll be able to get away from the base for a couple of days, man.'

'I could come see you there,' Dieter suggested. 'I'm not above eating in the commissary. I'd hate to be this close and not get to say hello. Unless you're too busy, that is.'

'Oh, I think I can squeeze you in.' Ferri chuckled. 'We can eat in my quarters. I make a great Kung Pao chicken. After the way you carried me out of that place with enough jacketed lead in me to start a factory, I owe you a dinner. At least.'

'Anything but beef!' von Rossbach said with feeling. 'When should I show up?'