I quickly walked past the open doorway without slowing down -- counterfeit bricks fading behind me in the well-lit hallway. In my mind I knew that counter-intelligence, security and paranoia embraced each other in an ardent ménage de trois, but what, exactly, was I getting myself into?

The closed door facing me at the end of the hallway was no different than any of the others except for the small red light above it that winked out as I arrived.

I knocked, and a woman inside said, 'Enter.' Not, 'Come in,' or 'Who is it?' Funny how a single word can evoke memories. The last time I'd heard that command was in boot camp at Parris Island as I stood at attention outside my drill instructor's office door. Perhaps it was the ring of authority the woman's voice carried. Who knows? But I squared my shoulders and stiffened my upper lip as I opened the door.

Semper Fi, once a Marine, always a Marine.

"The admiral is expecting you," said the receptionist behind cool grey eyes. Her voice, and now her eyes told me that the attractive young woman sitting before me in the dark blue business suit was more than a secretary. I had been measured and catalogued in an instant. If I wasn't who I was supposed to be, her response would have been entirely different....smoothly competent in any situation. I wondered where she had been trained. The Farm in Virginia, perhaps? But for now she only smiled -- a reserved smile, but on her it looked good -- and waved me toward the inner office door.

As I reached for the admiral's brass doorknob, almost in a whisper she said, "Keep your eyes open, handsome." Then she gave me a quick wink before she turned back to shuffling the papers on her desk.

So, the coiled steel spring wasn't as cold as I'd thought.

With her wink bouncing around in my head like a stray atom caught inside a cyclotron, I opened the big, oak door....my piece in my hand long before the big cat standing before me finished licking her paws....into a lush, green jungle complete with vid, sounds, and smell.

I don't know how the old boy got such realism out of a holo-vid, but I just stood in the doorway, my eyes definitely wide open, taking it all in. The black panther looked up from licking her paws and saw me standing right in front of her. She yawned lazily, gave me a 'catch-you-later' grin, and loped away at right angles to the path that snaked away from the doorway until it lost itself between the mangroves. A crocodile, a big one from the sound of it, coughed somewhere ahead and off to my right. The pungent odor of decaying vegetation mixed with methane and fish -- nothing less than a tropical rain forest -- assaulted my senses. I wondered what the black dirt would turn into if I reached down to pick some up. I holstered my piece.

"Close the door, captain," she said behind me. Now, I could definitely hear the amusement in her voice. "You're in a secure area."

I smiled back at her and winked as I closed the door. Two could play this game. Then I took two steps forward onto the path and, smiling inwardly at my cleverness, I turned around.

The strangled sound in my throat was coming from me. The doorway was gone. I was standing alone on a path in the middle of a jungle. If this was a holo-vid, a startling breakthrough in technology had been achieved.

Another big cayman bellowed somewhere ahead and to my left. Instinctively, I checked my shoulder harness. Extra clip in the belt and one in my briefcase. Standard procedure....for urban operations.

I looked down, and my question about the dirt had been answered. It was mud, black and clinging to my leather street shoes. I was sweating beneath my navy blue business suit. My tie felt like a noose, and a swarm of tiny insects circled my head. Why hadn't I been briefed...?

Yeah, some briefing that would have been. Wear your guerrilla suit. Bring your survival gear and carry your M-20 carbine up the elevator to the sixteenth floor because it's a real jungle up there.

So, this must be some kind of test. I withdrew my 45 and clicked off the safety. Two could play at this game too. I loosened my collar and carefully advanced along the path.

Something very large, much larger than an elephant, crashed through the jungle about a quarter-click away on my right. I couldn't see it, but I didn't need to. I could hear it. Lucky it was heading in the other direction. I stared at my 45. Suddenly I felt out-gunned. It would take an awful lot of firepower to stop whatever it was that was snapping off large trees like twigs a half-click away.

I quickened my pace.