"Do you know him?" Ninel asked. It was clear she'd noted Balewitch's surprise.
"No, but Ron does," Dog said. "And I don't think he likes him."
Balewitch threw him a warning glance, which Ninel saw.
"What did he say?" she asked, sinking slowly into one of the kitchen chairs.
"That he was dangerous and that he was trouble and that we should stop him now before he recruits too many followers." Dog grimaced into his cup of mint tea. "Christ, I wish I had a beer."
Balewitch rolled her eyes in disgust and Ninel looked from one to the other. "Is this the right John Connor?" she asked. "I've never seen him with anyone else." Her eyes took on a distant look for a moment. "When he used to hang out at the Klondike, he was the kind who just wanted to shoot pool and have a laugh. I never heard him talking politics or anything like it."
"Ron thinks he is," Dog said, still looking into his tea.
Balewitch glared at him. "Still, both John and Connor are common names. And the guy Ron was talking about was seen in Canada."
"In Canada?" Ninel said. Nervously she brushed her bright hair back from her face.
Dog and Balewitch exchanged glances.
"Yeah," Balewitch said, at her most grandmotherly. "We didn't want to tell you, but… There was an attack on the last convoy." She lowered her eyes and pursed her lips. "A lot of people were killed and we still haven't found the survivors." She looked up at Ninel. "A young man on a motorcycle was one of the shooters; dark hair, sunglasses. But Ron is sure that it's this John Connor."
The younger woman's mouth opened slightly and she hunched forward as though struck by a sudden pain. She blinked rapidly, then looked at the concerned faces of her two friends and comrades. "It does sound like him," she said quietly. "What do you want me to do?"
"Get close to him," Dog said, leaning forward avidly. "Find out what he's up to."
Ninel blinked at him, then frowned. "Don't you think we should tell the authorities?"
"Ye-ah," Balewitch said, her tone of voice implying that she was asking Dog just what he was thinking.
"Why?" Dog asked. "They'll want proof and all we've got is suspicions. But! If we can get him to commit to some course of action and then catch him in the act, we'll have him dead to rights." His eyes told Balewitch he was intending to lean heavily on the dead part.
"Humph," Balewitch said thoughtfully. "I see your point." She looked at their young recruit. "Are you game?"
Ninel frowned uncertainly. "I don't know," she said. "I'm not one of those glib people who can make people trust them."
Balewitch stared at the pretty young thing, her chin cupped in her hand. If I had her looks, I could convince the average man that he had a purple ass and tentacles on his head.
It wasn't modesty, she knew, it was too unselfconscious for that. This was pure innocence, and if she couldn't work it into a shape she could use, she'd change her name to Turkey-girl.
She patted the girl's hand. "Don't worry about it. Just try and spend more time with him. Tell him we weren't at home and you couldn't find us. Invite him to your house for dinner to make it up to him. After that, let nature take its course. Just remember, the less said the better. That way you can't trip yourself up and you'll have less to remember if he asks you questions."
"Don't worry," Dog said, giving Ninel a comradely slap on the back that was meant to sting. "You can do it! And remember, it's for the cause."
Ninel's expression went from thoughtful to determined at that, and the two Luddites grinned at each other over her head.
NEAR FAIRBANKS
"You're sure about this?" John said, scratching distractedly.
Wish we had more soap. God, if typhus gets started…
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."