It had also been recently occupied, Connor noted as the group began unloading and sorting their equipment. Briefly, he wondered what the chances were that the former inhabitants might return and try to reclaim the place. That could be awkward, not to mention noisy.
But aside from that, the place was ideal. It was unobtrusive, it had a back door they could use in an emergency, and it was only four blocks from the Skynet staging area.
“Is this your headquarters?” one of the new people, Leon Iliaki, asked as he gave the place a dubious look.
“No, it’s just a temporary base,” Connor assured him. “We’ll be moving to better quarters in a couple of days.”
“Once we’re there, we’ll start your combat training,” Tunney added as he walked past with an ammo box under each arm.
One of the other newcomers, Callahan, stirred.
“Why wait?” he asked.
Connor eyed him. Usually new recruits needed a day or two to get their bearings. “You want to get started now?” he asked.
“What else are you going to do with us?” Callahan countered. “I mean, unless you’ve got some other work we can do.” He hunched his shoulders uncomfortably. “I don’t like the idea of eating someone else’s food without working for it.”
“Very commendable,” Connor complimented him. “There’s certainly enough work back at our main base. Unfortunately, we’ve got a mission coming up soon, and I can’t spare anyone to escort you back there just now.”
“Is it a mission in this neighborhood?” Leon Iliaki asked.
“The general neighborhood, yes,” Connor confirmed.
Callahan hunched his shoulders again. “Then all the more reason for us to learn as much about fighting as we can,” he said, his voice quavering a little. “This is where our friends are. We need to do whatever we can to help them.”
“Unless you can’t spare anyone for that, either,” Carol Iliaki offered hesitantly. “You seem awfully busy.”
“We are, a bit,” Connor confirmed. “But we’re never too busy to teach people who are ready to learn.”
Callahan glanced at Leon Iliaki, then at Zac, then back at Connor.
“In that case, I guess we’re ready,” he said.
“I am, too,” Carol Iliaki said.
Her husband looked at her in surprise.
“You’re not here to fight,” he protested. “You’re here to sew.”
“I doubt the Terminators will care where I stand in the table of organization,” she reminded him, her eyes on Connor. “Am I correct, Mr. Connor?”
“Your husband’s right about your primary duty,” Connor replied. “But you’re also right in that everyone needs to know at least the basics of combat. Tunney? Over to you.”
“Got it,” Tunney said. “Let me stow these boxes, and I’ll be right with you.”
“He’ll take you in hand,” Connor told the recruits. “Learn well.”
“We will,” Callahan promised. “Thank you.”
Connor nodded and moved off, long experience allowing him to cut through the apparent chaos swirling around him and assess each person and task with a single glance.
Some of the men and women had already completed their work, and while a few of them were taking a moment to rest or grab a quick bite, most were gathering around the table where Tunney had laid out the maps Connor and David had made of the Skynet staging area. Connor’s eyes flicked across that group, then shifted over to the corner where Kate was organizing her medical supplies.
He frowned, studying her more closely. A dark and serious look had settled onto his wife’s face, a look that couldn’t be wholly explained by the magnitude of the task facing them.
Interestingly enough, as Connor again glanced around the room he noted that Barnes had an almost identical look on
Which, of course, made it obvious.
Connor waited until Barnes happened to glance in his direction. Then, crooking his finger to the man, Connor headed toward Kate.
She looked up as the two men approached.
“Everything set?” she asked.
“Still working out a few details,” Connor told her. “How about you?”
“I’ve just started, really.” She waved a hand toward the bandages, antiseptics, and painkillers laid neatly out around her. “Since we’re going for speed and maneuverability, I thought I’d try consolidating most of the supplies into one bag per squad, with only small personal packs for each individual soldier.”
“Freeing up more carrying capacity for ammo and munitions,” Connor said, nodding. “I assume you’ll be giving the big bags to the people with the best medical training?”
Kate nodded. “I was thinking Vincennes, Sung, one of the Tantillo brothers—probably Tony—
and Simmons. And of course, I’ll be here as backup.”
“Sounds good,” Connor said. “Now, you want to tell me what has you and Barnes so bothered?”
Kate threw a slightly furtive look at Barnes.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” she hedged.
Which was more or less the answer Connor had expected. Kate never liked questioning his orders or decisions, especially not in front of the others.
“How about you?” Connor asked, turning to Barnes.
Barnes, fortunately or unfortunately, had little of Kate’s reticence and none of her diplomacy.
“I don’t like using all these civilians as bait,” he said flatly. “Especially the people in that last place—Orozco’s group.”
“Is that what you think I’m doing?” Connor asked.
“We’re going to wait until all the T-600s leave and start shooting up the neighborhood before we move in, right?” Barnes countered.
“Would you rather we attack the warehouse with the T-600s still inside?” Connor asked.
Barnes scowled. “No,” he muttered. “But I still don’t like it.”
“There are a lot of children in there,” Kate added quietly.
Connor raised his eyebrows. “Did you offer everyone the chance to come with us?”
Kate sighed. “Yes,” she said. “You saw how many accepted.”
“So we made an offer, and were mostly refused,” Connor said. “We also found them a potential escape route, the drainage tunnel you went in through, which they can use if they want to.”
“Except that Grimaldi’s probably already welded it shut,” Barnes said with a sniff.
“Again, their choice,” Connor said. “There’s really not much else we can do for them.”
“Yeah, but Grimaldi’s the one making all the decisions,” Barnes protested. “The people aren’t.”
“The people made the decision to accept him as their leader,” Connor reminded him.
“I suppose,” Kate said.
Connor looked at Barnes. He grimaced, but gave a reluctant nod.
“Yeah,” he seconded.
“Then let’s get back to work,” Connor said, looking back and forth between them. “Barnes, Tunney’s starting basic with our new recruits. As soon as you’ve finished stowing your gear, I’d like you to give him a hand.”
“Sure,” Barnes said. Nodding to Kate, he headed back across the room.
Connor looked at Kate. “You okay?”
“As okay as I am with anything these days,” she said, her voice a mixture of tension and sadness. “I’m sorry, John—I don’t mean to be questioning your decisions. It was just—all those children—”
“I know,” Connor said quietly. “But you have to try to put them out of your mind, along with all the rest of the misery and injustice that’s out there.” He touched her shoulder. “Focus on the fact that our primary job is to survive long enough to destroy Skynet, so that people won’t ever have to die this way again.”
