Pentagon Thief

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

Overview
The thief appears somewhat as a "mad scientist" covered in a red aura of numbers - a reference to the campaign. 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 several people), and can be killed. It is very difficult to kill him without the use of Wonder Weapons. He will teleport around and eventually leave the map, once it has stolen a gun off of each player.

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 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.

If the thief is killed before he steals any player's weapon, he then drops a Max Ammo power up and an unusual pack-a-punch power up, Bonfire Sale.

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

The best way to kill him and get the trophy is to do single player and buy quick revive when he comes cook a granade when you get down fire your mustang and sally at him and he will die

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, 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 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, 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.

Another easy way is to attempt it on single player. If the player has access to the quick revive perk, he/she is equipped with two pack-a-punch pistols. The player should find a secluded spot when the round starts. Upon starting, the player should cook a hand grenade and deliberately down themselves. Fully unloading the pack-a-punch pistols will quickly bring it down and earn you the achievement/trophy.

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 and 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 you 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 you 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.
 * This may also shed light on the alternate name "Pentagon Tech", as in Pentagon Technician.
 * This "Pentagon Tech" may be the one who worked on the Winter's Howl, as one is seen on a table in "Five".
 * 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 math equations and images, including the Eye of Providence.
 * When the "thief round" starts, the same tune plays as if a hell hound round has started, being an ominous guitar note with a rumble of thunder. A voice will then say "Warning, breach detected on level three, initiate security protocol 115" referring to Element 115. The atmosphere also gains a pale blue tint. The elevators are deactivated and shutters close over all the windows in the lower levels.
 * Once the thief is defeated it will say "I have failed" in a zombie-like manner.
 * If the Thief goes undefeated, the intercom will inform players that the issue has been "contained"
 * The thief seems to be based off a real-life scientist, Erwin Schrödinger.
 * Note that no thief rounds occur unless the player activates the teleporter system/power.
 * Death Machine makes it easier to kill the thief (if the player is lucky).
 * If the player is able to get an Insta-kill power-up, they can kill the thief in a matter of seconds. However if this happens the thief only drops a max ammo and no fire sale or bonfire sale.
 * The thief is the only enemy in the zombie mode that can't hurt the player directly.
 * It is possible to kill the thief with a crossbow before he notices you at the start of the round.
 * When playing with friends, the thief will be invisible until it targets the player.
 * The thief will only start running after its target shoots it. In multiplayer, this allows teammates to fire at the thief without it running, though it will start running after a certain amount of time.
 * The thief may become slightly faster after stealing a players weapon.(confirmed on PS3 multiplayer)
 * The red glow emitted by the thief is made up of the same code (numbers) as in the single player campaign.
 * If you only have one weapon and the thief happens to steal it, you will be left with no weapons to use other than your knife to kill him.
 * If there's multiple players the thief will only target one at the time (the other players are left alone). 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 player which is targeted should just run around on the upper part of the "DEFCON Room" (one elevator ride down) while the others stand where they want and shoot him.
 * The Winter's Howl (as well as it's upgraded version Winter's Fury) can be very useful in killing the thief, as it will greatly slow the thief. But, the player should be careful doing this, as if one gets too far ahead of the thief, he may turn around and come from the opposite direction.
 * The Ballistic Knife is an instant kill on the thief during low rounds (confirmed on Xbox 360).
 * If you can't see the thief (fog only), then he is not targeting you (multiplayer only).
 * If you kill the Thief using an Insta-Kill power-up, he will only drop a Max Ammo regardless of whether he should have dropped a Fire Sale or Bonfire Sale (confirmed on PS3, Xbox 360).
 * There is a glitch on the PC version that if the thief steals your "weapon" while your cracking your 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.
 * If you are able to see the Thief if you look closely you can see it has normal skin like a human (confirmed on PS3, Xbox 360)
 * Whenever the Thief steals a gun from everyone he will roam around downstairs in the lab area and stay there. So it is best advised that every one goes down there if he manages to steal everyone's gun.
 * Following the Thief through a teleporter does not necessarily mean you will teleport into the room he goes to. So if you are in the current situation stated above, it may be best to not risk teleporting into a different room and losing precious time.
 * Unless you're sure of killing the Pentagon Thief before he steals your weapon, never set it to 'DEFCON 5' immediately or it'll just leave you stranded in the Pack-A-Punch Room while he escapes in the Labs (if you hunt him down via following him into the teleporters).
 * If the player is lucky enough to use a nuke during the tech round it will kill him but not drop the fire sale.
 * There is sometimes a glitch where the thief is stuck in a constant grabbing animation right after a player teleports into his "grabbing zone." The player is able to kill the thief without having a weapon stolen.
 * If you look (very) closely at the picture at the top of the page, you can see the thief's eyes, that are, in fact, not glowing but regular blue eyes.
 * On the strap of the thief's bag, there is Illuminati code that reads "living dead", meaning the thief probably went crazy during the zombie outbreak and wrote it.
 * Sometimes, the Thief will get stuck in a teleporter.
 * It is even possible at up to Round 25 (verified), to run around with an M1911 pistol or other high mobility weapon and outrun him to make him change direction.
 * If the player kills the thief before he starts running (only possible with the Mustang & Sally), it will not drop a Bonfire Sale (only proven on Xbox 360)
 * There are rumors that the Pentagon Thief could be Dr Maxis as both of them are Scientist, and that when you kill him in 'Five' he shouts 'I have failed', possible referring to his daughter that he had failed her.
 * Even if the player doesn't have a weapon (from a previous thief encounter), the thief will still chase after the player, and when he catches up, it will show him going through the motion of stealing the weapon, and then the player will be teleported with him to The Lab.