Gadgets wiped the sweat off his hands and checked the canvas tape holding down the Uzi's grip safety. "Ready to bop," he said.

Looking forward to the driver, Lyons felt the van vibrate as the high-performance engine roared into life. The DEA man called back: "I heard it."

Under the huge, striped awning of the inspection shed, other undercover DEA men got into an assortment of cars and pickup trucks.

Gadgets keyed the DEA frequency radio. All the radios had been tested in the morning, but Gadgets called another test.

"Mr. Wizard to the Apprentices. Roll call before we roll."

"Unit one, ready."

"Unit two, warming up."

"Numero tres. Todos es preparado."

"Four here. Ready and willing."

"Supercool, dudes," Gadgets said, and then signed off. "We're gonna do it," he muttered to Lyons.

Lyons laughed. "If we see that doper abandon his truck, we know he had the frequency."

"Calculated risk," Gadgets admitted. "Some day, the Agency will get hep. Spend money on good stuff." He tapped the NSA-designed hand radio in the pocket of his sports coat.

Able Team did not fear the interception of their radio transmissions. They used hand radios designed and manufactured to the specifications of the National Security Agency. Micro electronic circuits coded and decoded every transmission. Without one of the three radios Able Team carried, a technician scanning the bands would intercept only bursts of static.

Blancanales checked in. "We're ready to go. Loading up a tear-gas round."

Lyons took Gadgets's radio. "What's his car look like?"

"Red Chevrolet pickup with a white camper shell. I didn't see the license plate, but the vehicle's exactly as the informer indicated."

"The Agency seems to have got it's money worth. We'll know for sure in about..."

Gadgets interrupted the talk. "Red Chevy!"

"Get ready, Politico." Lyons clicked off and passed the radio back to Gadgets.