The Future War

Far away in the Quebec wilderness, Snog rolled his eyes. The satellite link didn't convey quite the full smug self-confidence of it. 'No, I just thought it would be fun to tease you. Yeah, I'm sure! You must have received the same image I'm sending.'

'Hey, hey, simmer down.' Sheesh, I should know better than to question the maestro. 'I'm thrilled, honest. It's just so good, it's like it's too good to be true.'

'Unless Skynet has discovered our link, and there's no evidence of that, this is the real deal.'

John looked down at the schematic on his screen. This was one of the famous automated factories built in secret in wilderness areas; the drawing showed the loading zones, the microhydro station that powered it, the computer centrum…

That thing was not built with human beings in mind, he thought. All those conveyor belts, and the passages are just about big enough for a large dog. Probably have little repair

'bots scurrying around in 'em…

The resistance geeks had traced its whereabouts based on painstaking study of innumerable satellite photos. John had known that it had to be somewhere near the fake relocation camp, but even so, finding its exact whereabouts had been a herculean labor.

'Okay,' John said. 'Congratulations to you and your team.'

'Thank you, O Great Military Dickhead,' Snog intoned.

Connor chuckled; he'd told Snog his teenage nickname for the self he was growing toward… 'You're welcome, my son. Go forth and find me some more.'

' More? Connor wants more? God, you're such a taskmaster.

You sure your name isn't Legree?'

'Get used to it, bud. This goes on for a while. Take care out there in les boonies. Connor, out.'

John leaned back in his chair, his eyes gleaming. This would be their first big assault on Skynet. His blood sang at the thought. Finally, I get to strike first.

DOT LAKE, ALASKA

Ninel saw John through the cafe window and waved. He waved back, put down the kickstand, and took off his helmet.

Her heartbeat sped up and her mouth went dry at the thought of what she was about to do, but she needed to find out the truth about him. Was he the one Labane was looking for?

He didn't seem like a crazed killer. She watched him swing his leg over the bike as he dismounted. He had an easy grace about him that she admired. Actually there was a great deal about him that she admired. She so didn't want him to be the one they were looking for…

* * *

She's looking a little tense, John thought. He smiled at her even though he was feeling a bit stressed himself. Well, you're supposed to feel a bit tense on the first serious date. He went to the counter first, as the new custom dictated, and pulled out a small, half-empty tube of toothpaste. It rang on the counter with the resonance of a gold coin in happier days.

'Cuppa mint tea and a bowl of rabbit stew,' Ray, the owner, said.

John nodded; he thought he was being robbed, but the smell of the cooking meat and its wild-garlic accompaniment was making his mouth water. Besides, he was eager to talk to Ninel and didn't want to waste time dickering. He could feel her looking at him, her eyes burning holes in the back of his leather jacket. In seconds, the order was in front of him on a tray. Ray had added a side of bread and John nodded and grinned in appreciation. He hadn't had bread in weeks.

He put the tray down on the table between himself and the girl. 'Check this out,' he said, indicating the bread.

She smiled and nodded. 'I had just gotten in new supplies,'

she said. 'So I have quite a bit of flour. Enjoy.'

He did, savoring every mouthful.

'I keep thinking about that hamburger you offered me,' Ninel said. 'Never thought I'd want something so badly, y'know? It's like my teeth want to chew ground beef and nothing else will do.'

'I hear ya,' John said. 'I hadn't realized how much I miss bread. Butter would be nice,' he said philosophically. 'But this is great.'

She bit her lip and looked down, drawing a circle out of a spot of spilled tea. 'They weren't home,' she said, and glanced up at him through her lashes. She shrugged and sat back. 'I have no idea where they are, or when they'll be back. They do this, go away and come back with no explanation.'

He looked at her for a moment and she lowered her eyes uncomfortably. 'Was that why you looked so tense?' he asked.

'Did you think I'd be mad or something?'

Ninel sighed and looked down at her hands. 'I dunno. You Weren't specific, but you were implying some awful things.' She frowned and raised her eyes to his face. 'Now I don't know what to do.'

They looked at each other, both communicating distress, then mutually lowered their eyes.

'I can understand how you feel,' John said. 'They're friends, I guess, people you've trusted anyway, and now you can't even ask them questions.'

'Yes!' she said. 'That's it exactly. I'm supposed to organize another group day after tomorrow, but how can I under these circumstances? And, you know, they might not know anything more than I do.'

He nodded sympathetically. 'But you still want to do something.'

'Well, yuh.' She shook her head. 'Things aren't going to get better by themselves.'

He looked at her. Should he try to recruit her for the resistance?

She might already be in the enemy camp without realizing it

, he thought. Of course, so might her friends. But somehow he doubted it. It wasn't until recently that he'd realized that at least for a time Skynet needed, and would continue to need, human allies. Whether they realized that they were helping a homicidal machine was immaterial. Given what had happened in Missouri, at least some of Skynet's minions were willing, even eager, to kill for it.

If he could convince Ninel that these people were up to no good, or at least were being led to do no good, he might also be able to convince her to feed him reports about what they were up to. It would be a lot easier than trying to get one of his people to try infiltrating the group cold. Which might even be impossible.

'Look,' he said quietly, 'maybe we shouldn't get too deeply into this here.'

She looked around. It was just Ray and them, and though the proprietor seemed busy, he might be listening. With the loss of all radio signals, people's voices seemed to carry more. Ninel smiled. 'Okay,' she said. 'Why don't you come home with me for dinner.'

He blinked.

'I'll make French toast.'

'I'm there,' John said.

Even if she intended to shoot him, if there was the remotest chance that he'd get some French toast first, it was worth the risk.

* * *

He'd wondered how long it would take them to get to the place where he'd picked her up a few weeks ago, but once they hit the highway, she'd sped along at close to forty-five miles an hour. And once they left the road for the narrow track through the bush, he was definitely at a disadvantage.

Her cabin was small and half-buried, but looked snug and well made. A pair of elk antlers decorated the area above the doorframe. There were a few chickens pecking in the yard. Two dogs— huskies—sprang to attention, barking furiously at the motorcycle.

They must be well trained, he thought. They haven't eaten the chickens yet.

Ninel put her bike on its stand and went to them, speaking softly and mussing their ruffs. They greeted her with waving tails and hanging tongues but kept a weather eye on John.

'Spike and Jonze,' she said, pointing at one and then the next identical dog. John looked at her askance and