Billie Jean King moves quickly through the lobby of her Charlotte hotel -- the woman does everything very, very quickly -- and speaks earnestly into her cell phone Tuesday evening.

	After the United States took an extended break from Fed Cup play due to terrorist threats, captain Billie Jean King is working to get her team to bond.

"Yeah, the workout just got out," she says, digging out her plastic room key. "The ladies? They look great. Perfect. We just got back from hitting. Uh, huh. Listen, I'm about to walk into an elevator. Hey, if the phone goes out, I'll call you right back."

King, who always has seen the future well before it happens, is right again. She is chopped off in the middle of another breathless adjective. A few minutes later, she's back, talking up her United States Fed Cup team that will take on Austria in a first-round match on Saturday and Sunday at Olde Providence Racquet Club. She has about seven minutes before she has to run downstairs for a meeting that will be followed by a team-only dinner. Still, she managed to work in at least four historic references, three examples of injustice to women's sports, two self-deprecating comments and, oh, about a half-dozen exclamation points.

As the Fed Cup captain, King does a little politicking and a lot of public relations; schmoozing sponsors at cocktail parties is one of her thornier duties. Like Patrick McEnroe, her Davis Cup counterpart, she is suited to the job. King, winner of 39 Grand Slam titles (third all-time in women's tennis), took the job in 1995 and has held it ever since -- save for a one-year sabbatical in 1997. She also served the Olympic coaching job in 1996 and 2000. This year, however, feels a little different.

The United States was going for its third consecutive title in the international tournament when the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks intervened. As the defending champion, the United States got a direct route to the November final, in Madrid, Spain, as it turned out. But when the FBI told the United States Tennis Association there were terrorist cells in Spain and explained that the Fed Cup would be an ideal target, the USTA decided to pass.

"Two weeks after, there were actually a lot of problems," King said. "I don't know if you saw the capturing of the six men over there ... so I think it was the right decision for that moment. I was ready to go. Some of the women were already in Europe. Do we always want to go? I always want to take a team, but if I am told by my boss, USTA, and they get their information from sources in Washington, I mean, you have to listen."

Thus, the Fed Cup team hasn't been together since winning the title in late 2001.

"I feel like we're starting all over again," King said.

Well, not exactly. King was merely talking about the bonding process.

That might have to start again after Friday night, when on the eve of the matches King dismissed Jennifer Capriati from the team over a dispute concerning personal practices.

Still, the U.S. team is loaded. Monica Seles, the world's No. 26ranked player, will play singles Saturday. Participants in Sunday's singles matches and the lone doubles match will be determined after the first day's action. Chances are Meghann Shaughnessy (ranked No. 12) and Lisa Raymond (No. 24) will play doubles and, perhaps, a singles match if the score allows. King's decisions will be tempered with input from assistant coach Zina Garrison.

Austria does not inspire fear on the order of, say, Belgium, which features Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin. The listed lineup is led by Barbara Schwartz, who is ranked No. 75 in singles, and is backed by Evelyn Fauth, Marion Maruska and Daniela Kix.

One of the criticisms of Fed Cup is the ever-changing format. This year's event requires a three-week commitment by each of the four nations that reaches the semifinals. There are eight first-round matches this week, with the quarterfinalists meeting July 20-21. With a victory over Austria, the United States would play the winner of the Czech Republic-Croatia match. The semifinals and finals are scheduled for early November, the week after the WTA Tour's year-end championship in Germany.

"I think we do need to stick to whatever it might be," King said of the format. "This format, being three weeks, is tougher on the players because the demands on their time playing the WTA Tour as well as the majors, it's difficult for them. On the other hand, I prefer having them more often as a team because it does create a tighter, better bonding experience."

Conspicuous by their absence are the Williams sisters, who have played Fed Cup in the past. Venus is ranked No. 1 and Serena is currently No. 5, but neither committed to King for the first round.

"They passed," King said. "I think Venus said if we win, she'd play in July. That's good because Monica won't be able to play in July. The idea is to get five to six good players to commit to two of the three matches. Serena might play in July, but she was still trying to figure out her schedule the last time I talked to her."

Lindsay Davenport, who has been injured and seen her ranking slide to No. 7, is also a possibility later in the season.

King was asked if Fed Cup would ever generate the visibility -- such that it is -- of the men's Davis Cup event.

Characteristically, she laughed. "Listen," she said, "they've been in business for 63 years longer than us. We started in 1963, they started in 1900. So I think you're going to have to give us probably another good 40 to 50 years to ask that question. I won't be alive.

"Sorry, but now I really have to go. I've got to get downstairs and meet some people."

Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com