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?"
"Tomorrow's Sunday, should be a fairly easy day. How about six?"
"I'll bring the beer," Dieter said.
"Outstanding!" Ferri said. "See ya."
"Tomorrow," von Rossbach agreed.
He hung up and looked at Sarah. She seemed to be all eyes. He gave her a reassuring smile.
"We're on," he said.
ROUTE FIVE, JUST OUTSIDE L.A.: THE PRESENT
"Major Ferri, I'll be at the base in twenty minutes. That's seven-fifteen. Would you please meet me at the main gate?" Jordan asked, steering one-handed through the insane Southern California drivers.
Ferri sighed. "Sure," he said. "See you in twenty."
"Thanks Ralph. I owe you."
"You do," the Major agreed.
Ferri hung up, chuckling. He really did like having people owe him favors.
Especially for things that weren't going to inconvenience him in any way. As for meeting Dyson at the gate, well, he was looking forward to a full rundown on this situation anyway and this would be the quickest way to get one.
Ferri never had taken to the Burns woman. She was a looker all right, too gorgeous to be real; you kept expecting to see some guy with an airbrush pop out
of the bushes and give her a touch-up.
But the base dogs couldn't stand her and showed it, growling and showing their teeth. Ferri had been a dog handler early in his career, and knew that if the well-trained MP dogs couldn't keep discipline around that woman it had to mean something. What that might be he didn't know—yet. Maybe Dyson would be able to give him some insight.
Meanwhile, until he knew what was wrong with her, putting one over on that corporate snob was going to be absolutely delicious. And if it worked out that he could in some way embarrass Burns, or if fortune allowed, get her fired, well, that would just be the icing on the cake.
He glanced at the clock. It would take ten minutes to walk to the gate if he hurried, so he might as well start now and take it easy. This promised to be interesting, maybe even fun.
Jordan glanced in his rearview mirror at the boy. He looked a little more pale than he had when they started out, but not frighteningly so. He appeared to be asleep. Should I wake him up? he wondered. Head wounds were supposed to be kept awake, weren't they?
Whatever! He was an investigator, not a doctor. Hey, he's breathing. And in twenty minutes he'll be in the base hospital getting transfusions. He tried not to think of how he'd react if it was Danny bearing those wounds. Of course, Danny wouldn't get himself into a situation like this, he decided with certainty.