She closed her eyes and sighed heavily. "What I'm saying is, sometimes I'll let you lead and sometimes I'll ask you to follow. Those times might come up unpredictably. Can you make the jump between them?"
"Yes," he said with certainty. "I'm with you. I recognize that you're more
experienced with this… situation than I am. I'm not such an egotist that I won't let you tell me what to do, Sarah. All I ask is that you respect my opinion."
He'd never shared leadership before, but if she was willing to be flexible, so was he.
"All right," she said. Sarah settled herself more comfortably. "So, our goal, I think we can all agree," she looked at John, who gave her a brief smile, "is to get to the U.S. and stop Cyberdyne." She turned to Dieter. "So what have you got for us?"
Dieter shook out a map.
"We drive to Sao Paulo in Brazil," he said. "I have a contact there who can make us forged documents. Then we fly to Colombia and from there to Grand Cayman."
"Cool!" John said eagerly. He hadn't seen the ocean in what felt like a lifetime.
Sarah looked at von Rossbach, puzzled. "Okay," she said, "why the Caymans?"
"Hack in and trace Cyberdyne's financial records to find their remote sites," John said, surprising them both. "The ones that are used as off-site data storage for Cyberdyne's most sensitive material. Eliminate those and go for the main facility!" He and Dieter did a high five.
"But that will alert them," Sarah objected. "Whoever Skynet sent back will know immediately what we're up to. And while we can only strike these places one at a time, they must have the resources to cover all of them, as well as beefing up
security at the main site. I say go for Cyberdyne immediately, then we can pick off the storage sites at our leisure."
"Surely, when the Terminator doesn't return, whoever sent it will be alerted that you're coming, yes?" Dieter asked. At her reluctant nod he continued, "So they'll be waiting for you. But they might not be protecting these storage dumps. Hit a few of those and they might begin to spread their forces thin enough to give us a better chance at the main facility. Also we can perhaps learn more about that facility from these same storage dumps, and the more we learn about that the greater the possibility of success."
Sarah leaned her chin on her fists and thought.
"Yes," she said at last. "That makes sense. Especially since the cards seem to be stacked against us this time." She sat up straight, a rueful expression on her face.
"A buried facility on an army base. That'll be a pretty tough nut to crack."
"It will," von Rossbach agreed. "But let's take it one step at a time. Maybe we can hack into their system and do some damage that way, too. We'll see what we can do. I have friends in strange places, Sarah. You'll see; you'll be glad you let me tag along."
Sarah gave him a noncommittal smile and thought, I had better be or I'll take you down in a white flash. You won't even see it coming. She sensed a disturbing lack of conviction behind the thought. .Trouble is, I like this man. He wasn't like the flakes, nuts, and murderous eccentrics she'd associated with in her wilder days. In fact, he was as close to being a solid citizen as a trained killer could get.
And I suspect he likes me.
"All right," she said aloud. "I concede that it might be a good idea to eliminate these remote sites Cyberdyne probably has. Although, I'll say it now, touching Cyberdyne's computer system could lead them right to us." Sarah looked Dieter in the eye.
"But we can hack in from anywhere with a phone line. So, I repeat, why the Caymans?"
"Because I think we'll find those sites by studying Cyberdyne's financial records," Dieter explained. "Grand Cayman has over five hundred banks from all over the world. One of those is sure to handle Cyberdyne's business. Being inspected from there might be less conspicuous."
Sarah looked doubtful.
"Trust me on this, Sarah," he said.
She looked at him, considering.
"Hey guys, it's a long drive to the coast," John suddenly pointed out. "I suggest we all turn in and get some sleep. Leaving before dawn would probably be a good idea."
Sarah smiled and got up. "I'll be back," she said, and headed out toward the lean-to.
John and Dieter looked at each other.
"Don't sell my mother short, Dieter," John said. "She knows a lot about this end
of things. She kept us both alive and out of jail… well, mostly out of jail… for a long time."
Von Rossbach nodded. "I know she has her own resources, John." He smiled.
"This is going to be a learning experience for me."
"Not too painful, I hope," John said with a grin.
Dieter smiled slowly. "I think that will depend on your mother."
BRAZIL, ON THE ROAD: THE PRESENT
It was exhausting—over twelve hundred miles over some very rough road to Sao Paulo, without stopping for anything but bathroom breaks and an occasional meal. Sarah insisted that they push themselves. As far as she was concerned they were already playing catch-up.
They could see the smudge of polluted air that announced the city's presence from miles away across the pastures and coffee fields. Sao Paulo was an enormous city, bigger than New York, in fact, with a dirty collar of poverty around its outer edge. But when they saw its towers rising above the horizon they couldn't help but smile.
Once they entered the bustling city they searched for a mid-price hotel with parking and crashed for twelve hours straight.
Next day they shopped for business-type clothing and resort wear— nothing they would ordinarily put on—and went to visit an old acquaintance of Dieter's in the older section of town. Quiet low-slung buildings in the pastels and wrought iron
that Brazilians had used to announce prosperity in the balmy days of the first coffee boom a hundred and twenty years ago.
"Gilberto," Dieter said, when a maid had shown them into a room dim and cluttered and cool, "meet my friends Suzanne and John. John, Suzanne, this is Gilberto Salbidrez, one of the best forgers in South America."
"You're too kind," Gilberto said, smiling around his cigarette. He was almost von Rossbach's height, but rail thin and wrinkled beyond his sixty years. "Come in, sit down, tell me what you need."
"What makes you think we need something?" Dieter asked, grinning.
" Hombre!" Gilberto said, giving von Rossbach's cheap, conservative tie a contemptuous flip. "You come to me in this ridiculous outfit and I'm supposed to think this is a social call?" He gave Sarah a wink. "Besides, the senora and I have done business before."
Sarah grinned at Dieter's well-hidden surprise.
"Hello, Senor Salbidrez," she said, holding out her hand.
"You come with a friend," he said. Taking her hand, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You can call me Gilberto." He turned back to von Rossbach. "So?"
"We need passports that will get us into the United States, and health certificates that say we've had all our shots—"
"And you want them the day before yesterday," Gilberto said with a weary wave
of one tobacco-stained hand. "So, are you a family?"
"Better not," Sarah said. "We might need the flexibility of being strangers or business partners."
Salbidrez tugged down the corners of his mouth and shrugged. "Up to mischief, then," he said. "Okay, let's get started. I can have them for you in twenty-four hours."
"Good," von Rossbach said. "I also need someplace safe to stow my car."
Gilberto grimaced.
"Okay. I have a friend who owns a parking garage. He'll let you park it there and it will be safe." He looked up at Dieter. "But it will cost you," he warned.
Dieter snorted. "Everything costs," he said. "How much?"