Only after the jump, did John understand Cathleen's concern. The jump had sapped his energy, leaving him to feel as if he'd just run a marathon. It was dark when John opened his eyes. He looked around; Art was walking away.

It was the Art of the minivan, not the sedan, judging by his clothes. John watched him walk away before he sat up. If Art had looked back, he'd have assumed John's jump into the pond had failed. As it was, his 'flicker and fade into time' assured John that the older version was indeed, the target.

John untied himself from the cinder-blocks and peered through the darkness, trying to see the man they were hunting. God, please help! I'm so tired; please, show the team where he is, please!

Patience, My son. I know exactly where he is; he'll be here soon enough.

Reassured, John resumed his search. A flicker at the side of the road caught John's attention. Knowing that Daniel's attention was on John for confirmation, John pointed a little and nodded. Since Daniel had night-vision glasses on, John was confident that the team would be able to apprehend Art easily, that Daniel had used his handheld to signal Cathleen and Matt.

Daniel stood up in the darkness and started moving closer. John was impressed by his noiseless approach. Cathleen and Matt stood a short distance away, waiting but appearing as if they were deep in conversation.

Matt was amused to watch the drama unfold, as Art crept up on Matt and Cathleen while Daniel sneaked up on Art. His amusement faded rapidly as Art leveled a gun at Matt and stopped walking, clearly intent on murdering both agents.

"Art, no!" John yelled as he scrambled to his feet.

Art's gun swung around, finding a new target in John. Fearless as ever, Cathleen took a flying leap and tackled Art. Matt piled on as well, and Art lost control of his weapon in the melee. Casually, Daniel picked up the gun, but watched his wife with an appreciative expression rather than assisting.

John was surprised by Daniel's attitude. Rather than defend his wife, Daniel was unloading Art's gun. He dropped the ammunition into his satchel and winked at John. "I leave that to the professionals," he quipped, indicating the struggle.

"Matt, he's got more nanites! Keep them off his skin," warned Cathleen, then grunted in pain when Art's elbow connected with her solar plexus.

In response to Cathleen's warning, Daniel pulled a device free of his satchel, aimed it at the general scuffle and pressed a button. The satchel dropped off his shoulder and to the ground at his feet but Daniel ignored it, intent on stopping Art. There was a whine and a sizzle. Art cussed and grabbed for his neck briefly before resuming his fight.

"I got it, Honey," Daniel told his wife as she struggled with Art. "You're going to need a new handheld though. Even the DTD cases can't withstand that strong of a pulse."

"What did you do?" cried out Art in accusation as his own device fell dark. Matt took advantage of Art's distraction to secure his wrists behind his back. John winced at the ugly burn on Art's neck, from where the nanites had exploded just under his skin.

Underneath Art, Cathleen grinned up at Daniel. "I knew I could count on you, Honey! Looks like I get that upgrade after all."

Matt chuckled. "I don't recommend this as a permanent loophole around warrantee issues in the future, but it works for now." He stood up and hauled Art to his feet. "Archibald Landry, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent . . ."

While Matt recited Art's legal protections, Daniel offered his wife a hand-up, and then a firm kiss. "You constantly amaze me," John was embarrassed to hear. "What a woman I married!"

Cathleen grinned cheekily up at her husband. "We both have good taste in marriage partners."

"As soon as the lovebirds are done canoodling . . ." Matt started to tease, but was interrupted by his handcuffs hitting him in the face. Art sprang away, grabbing the satchel before running into the darkness. "I forgot he had a key," groaned Matt.

Everyone started running after the fugitive, but in the dark, they soon lost sight of him. The team started to fan out. John dropped back to a walk. "Wait!" he called to them.

Immediately, Matt stopped running. "What?" he asked as John approached.

"He's heading into town; no sense risking getting hurt, running in the dark," John replied quietly after Matt was close enough to hear him. "Without any vehicle, he's not going far."

Matt nodded and pulled out his handheld. It didn't work. Cathleen joined them and dropped into a walk as well. "That second EMP burst fried mine," she reminded Matt, "so odds are, it fried yours, too."

"It's the cloned phone," he told her. "Mine is with Daniel's, in the Faraday cage. As soon as he gets back, we'll be able to communicate if we stick to partnerships."

"But not if we have to fan out," pointed out Cathleen as Daniel joined the group.

In the dark, John couldn't be sure, but Daniel seemed pale to him. "Matt, Archie has the satchel. His gun, ammo and the Faraday cage are in it. I still have the EMP generator though. I'm sorry, Sir."

"My fault for losing him, Daniel; the blame's on me. As long as he doesn't recognize the Faraday cage for what it is and open it, we have a chance of stopping him."

"Thank God you still have the EMP generator," Cathleen added quietly. "We may need it." Together, the four of them started walking toward town.

Remembering exactly what was in his pack, John grinned. "I know how we can communicate," he told them. "We just have to wait for the Dollar Store to open."

Matt and Cathleen shook their heads. "Leave this to us, John," Matt ordered. "It's what we're trained to do."

"Do you have the correct currency?" challenged John, knowing they didn't. He didn't wait for them to confirm it. "I do, and this is the day after I was in the store for a quart of oil with Rev James so I saw exactly what we need in there. Trust me, okay? I may not be trained like you, but I've played enough games- both real and in VR- to know how to get this done." He offered a grin that failed, awkwardly. "Besides, you don't know the time period like I do."

Daniel agreed, surprising John. "If your handheld is dead, so is Archie's. What do we have to lose?"

Promptly at nine o'clock, John led the way into the store and straight to the toy aisle. A pair of children's two-way radios and batteries later, the four of them had communication. "They only go about a block, and the batteries will only last a day or so," John warned as Daniel and Matt programmed their handhelds to send and receive the same signal as the toys. Everyone nodded, understanding that with John's funds depleted, they only had one chance to apprehend Art.

"Now, the question begs," Cathleen remarked, "where is he hiding?"

"It would have to be somewhere he can try repairing his handheld," Daniel offered. "A repair shop, or . . ."

"The school!" John burst out, interrupting. "He'd just have to get tools from the technology lab and an unattended computer to steal parts from."

Cathleen started to jog back toward the school. "Let's go get him, then," she suggested over her shoulder.

"Cath, wait!" Matt ordered. "We need a plan." Reluctantly, she returned.

"Summer school means there's kids in there," John told the team. "There's a protocol to this. You can't just go busting in and scare everyone!" John started walking toward the school, slower than Cathleen would have liked. "There's only one way in, but several ways out." He winked at Daniel. "I know how to keep him in one place, though." The team discussed their plan as they approached the school. Boldly, they approached the main entrance. John pressed the call button.

"Can I help you?" asked a musical voice.

"Yes, Ma'am, we're here with the DHS. Has a man dressed in yellow shirt, black tie, and khaki slacks been admitted to this building?"

"Hold on, I'll ask." A moment later, the magnetic lock clicked off, so John opened it, even as the lady invited him to 'come on in'.

Matt, Daniel and Cathleen flashed their badges as John started speaking. "It's imperative that we find this man, Ma'am. He's a known terrorist and a danger to the children. Has he been admitted into this school?"

She turned pale. "He said he was the tech guy, here to fix our Promethean board, so he was admitted through the elementary door."

"Place the school on lockdown," John ordered, "Clear the hallways and get the kids under cover, now!"

Shaking, the secretary obeyed. "The resource officer has keys?" John inquired more gently. She nodded. "We'll need the custodian, your principle, and resource officer. Matt, Daniel, Cathleen, team up with a school employee and fan out. I'll watch the doors. Call when you locate him; don't be a hero." John had seen enough cop movies to know the lines.

Judging by his smirk, Matt knew exactly what John was doing. "Yessir," the lead agent agreed as the resource officer arrived. Appearing very pale, the principal emerged through a door behind the secretary's kiosk to join the teams.

After a few minutes, a custodian came into the office. John wasn't surprised to see the sidearm he was wearing. After enough school shootings, some schools were allowing volunteers to remain armed on school grounds, just in case. By his bearing, John could tell the man was a veteran, and probably well-acquainted with his weapon.

After a quick rundown, the three pairs of searchers fanned out, looking for the intruder. With the two main entrances directly across from each other, John took up a position where he could see both sets of entrances. A tense half-hour later, the walkie-talkie crackled to life.

"Target acquired." Matt's voice was tinny through the toy's speaker.

Cathleen replied immediately. "Copy; location?"

"John's guess."

Standing with him, the secretary raised a brow. "Where's the tech shop?" he asked her.

"That's not a government-issue radio," she warned, edging toward her office.

John shrugged and strove for a casual tone as he explained. "Dollar store. EMP got our gear, earlier this morning. We couldn't take the time to go get new." She took a few more steps toward the office, clearly unconvinced. "Besides, these aren't able to be tracked by any scanner the subject might have. The team got him, so I guess it worked."

She nodded unwillingly. "Up the stairs two floors, down the hall, first left."

John controlled a relieved sigh as he took off. Thanks, Lord! He arrived behind Cathleen to find the custodian hovering at the far end of the hall behind Daniel, and the principal nowhere to be found. Matt and the resource officer flanked the door. Already, the officer held his key in the door, waiting for Matt's nod.

Cathleen went to speak softly into John's ear. "Don't let him get past you if possible, but fall back a little bit, out of the line of fire. I'll move up. Daniel and Charlie have the other corridor." She moved forward after John started to retreat a little bit. Everyone drew weapons and stood at the ready, nodding at Matt to show their readiness.

Matt nodded at the resource officer. The officer turned his key and pulled the door open in one smooth motion. He propped the door open with his foot and drew his service weapon while Matt took a quick look around the door-frame before he entered the room. John prayed silently. "It's over, Arch! Hands up!" Matt's voice came from inside the tech lab.

John heard the soft 'pop' of a gun going off. Matt cried out as Art burst through the door and headed toward Daniel. The officer and custodian both leveled weapons at Art, but Cathleen exploded into action. For a second time that day, she tackled Art. The two of them slid down the waxed floor and halted at Daniel's feet.

John ran for the room, ignoring Art entirely. "Matt!"