"Thanks. We'll do our best to keep him off," Duvall said.

The rookie looked at the others. "Five minutes? We should…"

"SHUT UP!!" the others said in unison.

The big, bright red dot was superimposed over their position on the map.

"He's here," Duvall said.

Everyone froze. Only their eyes jumped from monitor to monitor, looking for movement. There was a sound at the front of the vehicle. When they turned to look they saw the bottom of Nevindoss's shoes as he walked flat-footed up the windshield to the roof. They heard footsteps moving slowly and carelessly above their heads. When the footsteps stopped, they held their breath.

Nevindoss, tall, thin and dressed entirely in black, grabbed the barrel to the gel cap launcher and bent it to a ninety-degree angle. Then he walked over to the flamethrower and bent it as well. He pulled a glass bottle full of a highly corrosive acid from his coat pocket and knelt down. He poured the acid in a circle on the roof, then smiled and waited.

The officers inside the vehicle were still waiting anxiously for something to happen. Nervous sweat ran down their faces as they stared at the roof, their eyes glued to the last place they heard Nevindoss's footsteps. The sizzling sound of acid eating through metal let them know that the show was about to start. They watched as a circle of the thick metal skin above their heads dripped away. Flanagan stepped

15