"Who are you?" Sister Mary Theresa repeated, holding her head with one hand. It throbbed from the force of the blow. She could still feel his fingers against her check as she climbed back onto the chair and steadied herself.

"Told you, name's Jack. The group?" he continued, smiling cruelly down at the terrified nun. Jack's eyes narrowed as he inhaled sharply, his chest puffing out. "The Democratic Liberation Front."

Sister Mary Theresa racked her mind, trying to think where she'd heard that name before. Of all the off-beat terrorist groups crawling over this planet that one didn't strike a familiar note.

Her thoughts were interrupted by sharp laughter. It was the second gunman at the window, his face temporarily wrinkled up in laughter.

"Okay," Jack said, jerking his head toward the window. The gunman stopped laughing and went back to surveillance.

"Hey, two more of 'em coming down the street," Rick said.

"Christ, like roaches," Jack muttered. "Unlock the door."

"There's just four of us here, I swear," Sister Mary Theresa said in a quavering voice.

"Okay, back against the door," Jack whispered.

The men moved out of sight while the two nuns sat paralyzed with fear. In a moment it was all over. The door opened, two nuns stepped inside, stopping as they saw Sister Mary Theresa raise her hand in warning. A brief scuffle followed, marked by screams and slaps. Soon the two entering nuns were helpless. Jack told the terrified holy women to move out the rear entrance.

"We're goin' to your place. We been scoutin' it out all week. It's gonna be one hell of a hideout," Jack said as Rick moved cautiously into the alley and checked for police. He unlocked the rear door of the blue Chevy van when he felt it was safe.

"Inside!"

Sister Mary Theresa was first to climb in, screaming when she saw a large black and white German shepherd standing by the driver's seat.