Writers beware: there’s a new crew in town and they’ve got beef with you. In September, NYC Transit quietly assembled a group of ex-cops and marines into Eagle Team to help catch graffiti writers. They’re focused on the yards and layups where subway cars are often hit to catch writers in the act.

Vandals engrossed in the graffiti subculture will spend hours, sometimes days, scouting a yard before striking, watching the patterns of police and transit workers and searching for vulnerabilities to exploit. They plan in advance how they will enter, escape and flee if suddenly interrupted.

“Every ‘i’ is dotted, every ‘t’ is crossed,” Barrow said. “It’s almost like ‘Mission: Impossible’ for them.”

After one vandal raid, authorities found a grappling hook and rope dangling to the ground on the outside of a 20-foot-high perimeter wall.

It has yet to catch its first vandal, spray-paint can in hand, tagging a train, but the teams are out there every night, talking to train cleaners, dispatchers, track workers and others who could alert them to security breaches.

While one member of ‘Eagle Team’ calls it a game of “cat and mouse,” the Daily News mixes up their metaphors and calls it “cat and eagle.” Considering how crafty writers are, it seems like a telling mistake. Either way, this new vandal squad has their work cut out.

Photos by DelMundo for Daily News.