Pentagon Thief

The Pentagon Thief  is an enemy who only appears on the Zombie map, "Five", and can be considered a replacement to the Hellhounds.

Overview
The thief's appearance is somewhat that of a stereotypical "mad scientist" covered in a red aura of numbers - a reference to the numbers sequence from the campaign. Because of this, some people have refered to him as "Red Mist." He is capable of teleporting onto the map on certain rounds, and will attempt to steal players' weapons. He approaches one target (if playing with four people), and can be killed. It is very difficult to kill him without the use of Wonder Weapons. He will appear from a teleporter so be very careful and look around.

If he is killed after stealing a player's weapon, he drops a Max Ammo Power-Up, Fire Sale, and gives players their stolen weapons back. If he didn't take any guns, the achievement Hands Off the Merchandise is unlocked, and he drops a Max ammo power up and a Bonfire Sale. If he is not killed, the Max Ammo is placed in the electricity room. If he steals a weapon, the player whose weapon has been robbed is teleported to the science laboratories.

Fighting the thief
thumb|300px|right|Tips for dealing with the thief

The best way to kill him and get the trophy/achievement is to do multi player and have someone buy quick revive; when he comes, cook a grenade. When you get downed, fire your mustang and sally at him and he will die. Be careful not to shoot the thief before the player downs him/herself with the grenade however, as he will take a weapon, regardless of player status (he won't take the player's pistols, but rather one of two weapons the player had in possession before being downed). If you manage to kill the thief by fully unloading the pack-a-punch pistols, the achievement/trophy, Hands Off the Merchandise, will be awarded if it hasn't already. However, the player can also get lucky by saving power ups, from the previous round to the thief round (like a nuke, Insta-kill, or a Death Machine).

When the thief arrives, it usually best to equip a bad, cheap, easily obtainable, or empty gun so that if he does steal from the user ( maybe keep a 1-5 round gun.), the impact is minimal. If players do not have a cheap gun, equip a gun that can be bought in the labs because that's where the Thief will take the player. When the thief first arrives, only the player he is chasing can see him but once the thief steals a players gun that player(s) can see him until he dies or leaves, and the others will just see the red numbers following him until it's their turn. When the thief is badly hurt and going to die, his speed is considerably slower and he hunches while jogging.

Dealing with the thief early on is very difficult, as most players will not have any Wonder Weapons. If this is the case the best strategy is to backpedal with your stronger weapon and switch to your weaker weapon when you run out of room or when he gets within 10 feet.

An easy way to kill the thief is to have one player with a Ray Gun,but watch out if he steals a wonder weapon like this, two players have light machine guns, and the last player to have a shotgun and the thief is taken down easier. The M72 LAW is useful to have against the thief. If he can be hit two to four times, he can be killed. However, if the player has the Death Machine equipped, the thief is easily downed in a couple of shots. A single player with Mustang & Sally can kill him with a volley of grenade-bullets in a matter of seconds. The weapon's high damage and rate of fire make this extremely easy to do so.

A harder, but very effective, way to kill the pentagon thief without four players (the player could theoretically do this solo) is to keep the starting M1911, then, save up enough to Pack-a-Punch it. The Pack-a-Punched M1911s (Mustang and Sally) takes down the Pentagon thief in two magazines from each Pack-a-Punched M1911, and even less if done with two people.

To stop the thief stealing the player's weapon in the first place, the player may have a weapon with a high mobility (Pistol, SMG, Sniper rifle), and run around in a large circle to avoid the thief. This method is effective, but unreliable.

Using claymores will make defeating the thief much easier, as the player the thief is chasing can use them while focusing on fleeing, as well as using a route which already has claymores deployed.

Killing the thief before it is able to steal any of the players weapons will trigger a Bonfire Sale. If the thief steals a players weapon and is killed it will only drop a Fire Sale. However if you do not kill the thief, a max ammo will be dropped at the central teleporter where the thief disappears. Note that it will drop a max ammo regardless of if it dies or not.

A strategy for killing the thief for two players only would be to stand on the upper platform in the control room (room after the first elevator). Players will stand on the platform opposite the elevator doors, one slightly left and one slightly right (not too close to the stairs). The thief will enter and run at his target. If he turns left, he is targeting the left player; if he runs right, he is targeting the right player. After he closes the gap a small amount, the player who is being targeted will run as fast as he can around the platform away from the thief, while the other player shoots the thief.

Another way to kill the thief is to have a Ballistic Knife (preferably upgraded) and a Bowie Knife. The Bowie Knife will cause huge damage and the Ballistic Knife speeds up the melee speed, making it very easy to kill the thief if you chase and stab him repeatedly.

If you are holding up in the room with the Pack-a-Punch Machine, the most practical way to get rid of the Thief (and probably the easiest) is to have everyone put Claymores in front of the teleporter. Every round put the two Claymores down in front of it and when he comes, they will all blow up and he will die before anyone can even see him leaving the Bonfire Sale and Max Ammo in the teleporter and giving everyone the achievement that didn't have it previously.

Try not to go through teleporters when the DEFCON level is 5 on a thief round as the player will go to the Pack-a -Punch room instead of where the thief goes.

Another way to kill the thief is to have all of players camp at the second elevator on the basement level, and put all of the claymores right in front of it. All the players should have a M16 and a MPL fully loaded. Shoot the thief as soon as possible. When you run out of ammo for your first weapon, use your secondary weapon. The more damage the thief takes, the slower he will move. Also, shoot for the head. Shooting him in the head will do more damage.

Arguably the most effective way, is to either clear out the lower level of the nerve center of barricades, and have the player he's chasing run in circles whilst having team-mates fire at the red mist (or scientist if previously been captured). This will not earn the player(s) the achievement/trophy however, as you actually have to be the one who kills him. If team-mates are unable to see him, you can still spray at the red mist, as when he is killed, he still drops max ammo.

Trivia

 * The Thief may actually be a Pentagon scientist who has gone insane due to overexposure to Element 115.
 * In the Winter Howl room in the only zombie spawn point in the room there is a pair of goggles and a small pool of blood. This might be where the technician "turned".
 * The Thief's body is covered in mathematical equations and images, including the Eye of Providence. This indicates that the thief may be somehow connected to the Illuminati.
 * Note that no thief rounds occur unless the player activates the teleporter system/power.
 * The thief is the only enemy in the zombie mode that can't hurt the player directly.
 * The red glow emitted by the thief is made up of the same code (numbers) as in the single player campaign.
 * The thief can be killed with a full Python wheel on single digit levels.(Tested and confirmed on Xbox 360)
 * The thief is only visible for the player which he's targeting, but the others are free to shoot him (even if he's just a fog).
 * The Ballistic Knife is an instant kill on the thief during low rounds (confirmed on Xbox 360).
 * There is a glitch on the PC and Xbox 360 versions that if the thief steals the player's "weapon" while cracking their knuckles(after inserting a weapon to the Pack-a-Punch Machine) the game will freeze with a black screen and the only way out is to open the Task Manager and close Black Ops.
 * On the strap of the thief's bag, there is Illuminati code that reads "living dead"
 * It is possible that the Thief may become 'stuck' in the teleporter in front of the elevator leading to the labs; allowing players to shoot at him until he dies. (confirmed on Xbox 360 and PS3)