Prologue

October 28, 1984 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Few stars were visible over the skyscrapers of downtown Pittsburgh. Below on the roads street lights lit the walkways where people idled as a car passed every few minutes. Car horns blared throughout the city, but otherwise the night was quiet and uneventful. On a dimly lit road a dingy conversion van sat parked directly before a tall building along the right-hand curb. The driver inside wore a mask featuring some animal. The driver turned a full head of afro hair to the building on the right as the ringing of alarms sounded from inside. Four people, with faces covered by masks like their driver, sped out from the buildings entrance and ran down the steps to the sidewalk.

"Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Move it!" ordered one of the masked men who sported a Mohawk haircut with his hair arranged in spikes.

A woman's voice shouted from behind her mask, "Let's get out of here!"

The masked people climbed into the side of the van, hearing police sirens quickly approaching. After they were all inside, the Mohawked man slid the door shut with a bang, the curtains in the van's windows jostling. The tires squealed in protest as the vehicle lurched forward and swung around so that they drove on the right of the road in the opposite direction.

A police car raced in from a neighboring street, made a hasty u-turn and followed the van at full speed, their emergency lights flashing blue across the parked cars and buildings. A car coming onto the street from an adjacent alley jerked to a stop and the cop car swerved around them.

Inside the cab the officer transmitted over his radio, "Headed down Poplar, toward Main."

The van took a sudden right which the officer copied immediately, struggling to keep the car steady as he picked up speed and dodged around other drivers.

In the van, the criminals each removed their masks, including the driver who grunted in agitation as she threw her mask to the floorboards and placed her hand back on the wheel. Each of them wore concerned expressions, some with blatant panic, but the young woman sitting beside the driver removed her mask calmly and stared steadily at the road before her.

"Get'em off of us, Mick!" the Mohawked man yelled to the driver.

"I'm working on it!" she shouted back, and with that statement she slammed her foot onto the gas pedal, flooring it. The engine whirred with force and the van sped up.

"The alley. To your right," said the young woman riding passenger beside Mick.

"Okay!" answered Mick and without question she spun the van around the corner to her right.

The squad car pursuing them made to follow, but the officer had to slam on his breaks as a civilian's car blocked his way.

"Shit!" he yelled out in frustration banging his fist on his steering wheel.

Mick faced her own difficulties with the sudden turn as she found herself staring down into the bright headlights of an oncoming car.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

She jerked the wheel to the right and drove on the sidewalk to avoid collision. The van hit a hugh pile of trash and one of the fugitives in the backseat cackled with excitement and adrenaline. They sped down the alley coming out onto a dark street where there were no cops in sight.

"Okay, okay," Mick whispered to herself as she exhaled in relief.

The Mohawked man turned to stare out the back windows in time to see several squad cars, with flashing blue lights and sirens wailing, speed onto their street from either corner.

"Son of a bitch!" he swore. "We got more!"

"Oh, shit!" screamed Mick.

In the cop car, the lead driver informed over the radio. "They're headed down seventh!"

"Do something, Kali! Do something!" the Mohawked man yelled at the girl sitting beside Mick.

"Next right." said Kali turning to Mick. "There's a tunnel. Take it."

Again Mick nodded without question and when they reached the street Kali had indicated, she made the turn. The police followed them, the driver announcing to his partner excitedly, "We got those bastards now!"

With that the officer slammed his foot onto the gas pedal forcing the car to speed up.

Mick drove straight down the road, nervously waiting for more instructions as they approached the tunnel. The passengers in the back of the van watched anxiously as the police drew nearer and nearer. Kali however, closed her eyes and brought her right hand up before her, forming a fist. Then, she muttered, "Boom."

The cop following them watched as the van drove straight into the tunnel and he kept his foot on the gas knowing they could never outrun his sleek cruiser. Without warning the tunnel suddenly collapsed right over where the van had just passed and the officer jerked the steering wheel and slammed his foot on the brake.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed.

His sudden stop to avoid the disaster caused a pile up as all the other officers in pursuit braked and swerved to miss him. His unit was rammed from behind and his body was propelled forward.

"Shit! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" he screamed.

The unit came to a rest and the sirens blared before dying out as the passenger side officer turned them off to assess what had just happened. He turned to his partner and shouted at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Adams? The hell are you doing?"

Officer Adams stared blankly at his partner, but there was a ringing in his ears, and he could not make sense of the words being shouted at him.

"Adams! Come on! What the hell? Why'd you stop?" the officer yelled at his dazed partner. "Adams! Adams! Adams, I'm talking to you!"

Adams struggled to reach for the handle of his car door. As it opened he stumbled onto the ground before pulling himself upright, his partner still calling him from the other side of the car. The young officer stood straight up, feeling wobbly on his feet, and stared at the collapsed tunnel before him. However, his incredulous eyes saw only a tunnel that stood whole and undamaged. It made no sense to him.

At the opposite end of the tunnel, the getaway van continued onto the open road before them. The passengers riding backseat clapped and cheered their victorious escape from the police. Beside Mick, Kali stared straight ahead. She did not cheer or clap nor did she smile or exhale in relief. Instead, she simply raised the back of her gloved hand and wiped away a stream of blood dripping from her nose. On the exposed skin of her wrist was a small tattoo of the number '008'.