It was a lapse whose consequences had become terribly clear to Cody's team in the past several minutes.

Jezoirski was looking closely at the hedgehog's video transmissions. "Felix is at the warehouse... about thirty feet down the corridor it'll bear left, take another elevator down to the storage bay...."

"You said that means, what, another minute until it's actually on that catwalk?"

Jezoirski nodded. "That's my estimate, yeah."

"Thibodeau might not last that long," Delure said. "I'm telling you, Cody, he needs our help right now."

"Our orders are to sit tight."

"But we can't just sit here and watch them kill him."

"Listen to me, goddamn it!" Cody snapped. He was sweating profusely now, the moisture dripping down over his lips. "We'd never make it to the warehouse before the 'hog and the backup team. You want to help Thibodeau, keep your eyes on those screens, and be ready to tell that robot what to do when it reaches him!"

Kuhl crouched behind his vehicle, the sounds of gunfire surrounding him, helicopters whirring overhead. His expression was rigid with thought, almost brooding, as if he were oblivious to it all.

In fact he was keenly attuned to his situation, his mind distilling and evaluating its every aspect. Up until now the mission had been a success. His men had met almost every objective set out for them, and in some cases done better than expected. But the stage at which events could be orchestrated was past, and sustaining further losses was unacceptable. It was necessary to recognize that the balance had shifted toward his opposition. If he continued, his force might be so badly weakened it would be unable to retreat. And he was not one to bait chance.

He turned to his driver, who was huddled beside him. "We're pulling out," he said, and motioned toward the jeep. "Radio the others to let them know."

Manuel was sitting on the ground nearby, leaning back against the door of the vehicle. His untreated wound had sapped him and he was breathing in short, labored gasps.

"We can't." He nodded toward the interior of the compound. "Yellow Team is still in there."

"They knew the risks," Kuhl said. "We've waited as long as we can."

Manuel slid himself up along the side of the door, wincing with the effort.

"They haven't had enough time," he croaked.

"I've given my order. You can stay behind, if you wish." There was anger in Kuhl's eyes. "Decide quickly."

Manuel looked at him for a long moment, bent his head to stare at the ground, then slowly looked back at him with resignation.

"I'll need some help getting into the jeep," he said at last.

Outside the warehouse complex, a group of ten Sword ops raced on foot toward the service door through which Thibodeau had pursued the invaders. The team was composed of men who had been pulled from dispositions around the compound's residential and office buildings.

They came to where the murdered guard lay on the ground, stopped, gazed down at him. The knife wound in his back was still bleeding out.