None of the terrorists tried to return fire. They were tasting terror instead of dispensing it. They dropped their wounded and retreated back inside the building. The last one in slammed the door and then looked in horror at the string tied to the door handle. On the end of the string was a grenade pin. In the hush, all nine survivors heard the spoon fall with a clatter. Three were killed by the blast, two more were severely injured.

When Jishin found her first contingent of terrorists, the ones she had entered the building with, they were grouped in the reception area, ignoring the wounded at their feet. They were all crouched and waving weapons around, terrified, unable to find anything to shoot at.

After much bullying and commanding, Aya Jishin got the nine quaking terrorists to move and join the group in the computer room. They arrived at the double glass windows and looked into the soundproofed area just in time to see two grenades go off. The defensive grenades threw wire throughout the room, killing six and injuring several more, but the blast did not destroy the tempered glass of the viewing windows.

A close-up view of their companions being lacerated with thousands of pieces of wire was too much for the already cowering terrorists. They dropped their weapons and ran for the nearest door.

The group that had encountered the high concentrations of ammonia gas had cleared their eyes. It had taken much sponging and washing, but they were ready to continue their conquest of Elwood Electronics.

Then suddenly an M-16 started to chatter, spraying bullets into their ranks. The terrorists dived for whatever cover they could find and brought their own weapons up. They were all set when their fleeing companions charged through the room on their way to the door. All nine were cut down before the terrorists realized they were shooting their own people.

When the terrified goons began to stampede, Jishin went after them. She saw the M-16 that provoked the firing. It had poked out above one of the sound-suppressing ceiling tiles.

"The enemy is above you!" Jishin yelled. "Watch the ceiling."

They responded immediately, chopping the tiles over their heads with .223 tumblers. Then they leaped on anything available, ready to establish a beachhead in the new war zone.

The sound of a low-flying jet boomed overhead. Jishin's battle instincts flared. A quick count told her that eighteen able-bodied troops were after the sniper or snipers in the crawl space. That was more than enough. Aya Jishin took off to find the other terrorists and move them outside to meet a new threat.

Lao Ti and Deborah Devine had had a busy afternoon. They had kept machines running, freshened coffee in cups, lit cigarettes and left them in ashtrays, coming back later to butt them and mess the ashes, and done many other small things to make the building look as if it was in use. Ti knew their survival required a psychological edge.

They also booby-trapped files and planned their own movements and routes to pick off the stragglers without exposing themselves to counterattack.

When the terrorists finally arrived, Deborah and Ti found themselves working like a well-trained team.

Ti waited in the crawl space for some of the traps to cause confusion. Deborah slipped outside, jogged over to the buses and easily took out the two amateur guards. After that, it took very little persuading to convince the bus drivers that they should leave.

Deborah then picked up the guards' M-16s and spare clips. Able Team had left weapons as well as grenades and explosives behind, but Deborah and Ti both preferred the psychological effect of using the enemy's own weapons against them.

Deborah delivered one weapon to Ti and then returned to the parking lot and waited for the wounded to be delivered to the buses, which were no longer there.

Ti heard the file drawers blow up. She was already in position over the storerooms. When someone hit a trip wire and the shelves collapsed on top of the goons, she dropped the bottles of ammonia where they would do the most damage.

She then had managed to slip into the reception room and rig the grenade booby trap while the wounded were being carried to the parking lot.

Ti had also dropped the two grenades into the computer room, timing the blasts to occur just as the frightened terrorists arrived from the office area. She then had to scramble into position to start the shooting war between the two groups of terrorists. She had not counted on one side being so frightened that they dropped their weapons. Her psychological war was more effective than she had imagined.

When Ti heard Jishin shouting that the enemy was above, she knew she had lost more than her psychological edge.

Deborah Devine was outside the building. She witnessed the breathtaking stall of the black jet and the parachute exit of Able Team. Her rapt attention was broken by the sudden charge of terrorists out the loading doors of the building.

She quickly faded from sight. She had only one full clip of ammunition for the M-16 in her hands. The terrorists were already spreading around the perimeter of the parking lot, preparing a trap for the parachuting fighters.

Able Team was drifting on a beautifully controlled descent, headed straight for the largest open space in the parking lot.

Deborah could not wait while they dropped into the trap. She charged, determined to wipe out as large a circle of killers as she could. At the least, the gunfire would attract the attention of the jumpers.

Two terrorists were crouching in long grass. When Able Team was on the ground, the two killers would have a choice field of fire. Deborah emptied the clip from her M-16 into the pair. She stopped and snatched up the dead men's assault rifles.

Two more terrorists were crouched behind a parked car. Half a clip of tumblers taught them to dance before dying.

Deborah continued at a dead run, not daring to stop.

Three terrorists had their guns pointed at her. She dived into a ditch with tumblers crackling over her head. Jishin and three more killers were there, waiting.

Deborah reacted immediately. She swung her rifle butt into the face of the first terrorist, knocking him backward into one of his companions. Jishin was on her like a flash, plucking the rifle from her grip. Jishin then caught the wrist that was still outstretched and did a circular twist, levering the arm behind Deborah's back.

A sudden shove and Deborah Devine found herself staggering into the exposed area of the parking lot with no cover and no shelter.

Bullets riddled her body.

As soon as Jishin had shouted, Lao Ti sprinted for another area of the crawl space. She flipped a ceiling tile out of place and found herself over an empty office. She carefully lowered herself and hung by one hand while she replaced the tile. The shooting had stopped. The goons would be cautiously poking into the attic at this point.

Ti had left the empty weapon behind. She moved quickly, knowing she had to either find a weapon or stay out of sight. She could hear the shouts of the terrorists, muffled sounds through the ceiling tiles.

Suddenly a ceiling tile was thrown aside in the hall she was traveling. A head poked down six feet ahead of her. "There's our target!"

Ti was off like a flash. Two quick steps and a leap and her small fist grabbed the open jaw. Then the weight came down, dragging the terrorist from the ceiling. The man crashed at Ti's feet, his M-16 still over his shoulder. A quick stomp of the foot into the bent neck gave the goon a lesson in permanent relaxation. Ti took his weapon and ran down the hall, bullets smacking the tile behind her feet.

Being inside the building was not safe now that the terrorists controlled the crawl space. Ti took off for the nearest exit.