De acordo com a novela oficial do filme , os terroristas vinham seguindo o Doc. por vários dias e estavam bem conscientes de seus prováveis movimentos:
We’ll kill him tonight,” Sam continued. “Headquarters has decided it’s not worth it to bring him in for questioning. You two tail him for the rest of the day. Chances are he’ll end up at the garage he uses for an office or at Twin Pines Mall. He’s been spending a lot of time there recently, usually late at night.