The first man had not even got close enough to Pauline to throw a punch when she kicked him in the solar plexus dropping him instantly. The one that came for me adopted a more cautious approach in a classic unarmed defence pose but when he tried to chop me in the throat I hit him twice in quick succession and he staggered back.

By now I was cross so I did not follow up and put him down as I first wanted to hurt him a bit. When he came back at me I watched his eyes and saw that as he was about to throw a punch he would squint his eyes. Now I had him! I could move around and only had to defend myself just as he squinted, then I could counter punch him in all the sore places and so we fought on.

Out the corner of my eye I saw Pauline stagger back from a midriff punch the Lieutenant had landed. I actually felt sorry for him as by now I was sure that while these agents had received basic training none of them had any field experience, especially against dirty fighters.

I started to concentrate on my opponent and to add insult to his injury I would punch him then as he staggered back, slap him in the face! After the third or fourth slap he was so mad that he just came at me swinging and left the middle of his torso totally exposed to I hit him with the palm of my right hand right on his heart and he went down like a ton of bricks.

I turned just in time to see Pauline kick her opponent on the side of his head. As I watched him go down I felt a heavy thud on the back of my head which propelled me forwards and as I flew past Pauline, just before everything started going black, I saw the look on her face. Fortunately, as the blow landed on my head I had instinctively propelled myself forwards thus lessoning the blow and the blackness was only momentary.

I had hardly hit the floor before I rolled over to defend myself. I was very groggy but could still see and would have been able to defend myself. I watched as Pauline turned onto my assailant, who was the first agent she had put down, and after he parried two blows I watched as she stepped inside the third blow and then heard his collarbone snap as Pauline hit it with a classic side swipe, forcing his punch out past her head and then hitting him in the middle of the unguarded collarbone in a palm hit.

It immobilised his arm and he froze but before he could even cry out Pauline grabbed him and swung him around by that very arm. He screamed as the broken ends of his collarbone pierced through his skin and shirt and then he dropped as I lifted my foot and cracked the heel of my shoe into the side of his knee, popping that too.

All the parrying and swinging around of the poor man by Pauline was very calculated by her because by the time I had dropped him with the kick she was close enough to the lift doors to move swiftly towards them then step sideways to the shelf on the wall and grab two of the firearms the agents had laid on the shelf.

As she turned around to face the interior she threw one firearm to me. I was totally exposed out on the gym floor but as I caught the pistol I slid the slide back cycling a round into the chamber while I rolled over and moved in behind some gym equipment. At the same time Pauline cycled the action on the pistol she now held as well and then there was deathly silence - - - - .