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                                                                    Exhibit 10.4

                                PROMISSORY NOTE

$100,000.00                                     New York, New York
                                                December 7, 1995

GUARDIAN TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, INC., a Virginia corporation (the
"Borrower"), for value received, hereby promises to pay to the order of
Creditanstalt Corporate Finance, Inc. ("CCFI"), at its office located at 245
Park Avenue, New York, New York  10167 or such other office as CCFI may
otherwise direct on the earlier of (i) the Termination Date, or (ii) such
earlier date when the amounts outstanding hereunder shall become due and
payable pursuant to the terms hereof, the aggregate unpaid principal amount of
all loans (each, a "Loan") made to the Borrower pursuant to the Agreement
referred to below.  Each such payment shall be made prior to 1:00 P.M. (New
York City time) on the date due, and shall be made without set-off or
counterclaim in lawful money of the United States of America and in same day
funds.

Unless otherwise specifically defined herein, all capitalized terms used herein
shall be used with the meaning ascribed to them in the Agreement dated December
7, 1995 of CCFI and the Borrower (the "Agreement").

The Borrower promises also to pay interest on the unpaid principal amount of
each Loan In U.S. Dollars and same day funds at said office, or such other
office as CCFI may otherwise direct, at the rates and on the dates set forth in
the Agreement.

Interest shall be computed on the number of days actually elapsed on the basis
of a 360-day year.

If the date for any payment due hereunder would otherwise fall on a day which
is not a Business Day, such payment date shall be extended to the next
following Business Day with additional interest on the principal payable at the
applicable rate specified herein during such extension.

The Borrower shall not use the proceeds of any Loan to "purchase" or "carry"
any "Margin Stock" as such terms are used in Regulations G, T, U or X of the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

The Borrower (i) waives presentment, demand, protest or notice of any kind in
connection with this Note and (ii) agrees to pay to the holder hereof, on
demand, all costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) incurred in
connection with the execution, delivery, administration, modification,
enforcement and collection of this Note.

On the date of each Loan, the Borrower represents and warrants that (i) all
acts, filings, conditions and things required to be done and performed and to
have happened (including, without limitation, the obtaining of necessary
governmental approvals) precedent to the issuance of this note to constitute
this Note the duly authorized, legal, valid and binding obligation of the
Borrower, enforceable in accordance with its terms have been done, performed
and have happened in due and strict compliance with all applicable laws, (ii)
the issuance and performance of this Note will not 

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violate any law, rule, regulation, order, decree, permit, agreement or
instrument to which the Borrower is a party or is subject, or result in the
imposition of any lien upon any of the Borrower's assets, (iii) all
Representation and Warranties contained in the Agreement are true and correct on
the date of each Loan as if made on such date, and (iv) the Conditions to each
Extension of Credit set forth in Section 7 of the Agreement shall have been
satisfied to CCFI's satisfaction in its reasonable discretion.

This promissory note is the Note referred to in the Agreement and is entitled
to the benefits thereof.

CCFI is hereby authorized to endorse on the schedule attached hereto the dates
and amounts of the Loan, of repayments thereof, provided however, that failure
by CCFI to make such recordation shall not affect the Borrower's obligations
hereunder and under the Agreement, CCFI is authorized to debit the account of
the Borrower with CCFI for all amounts payable hereunder.

Any Loan may be voluntarily repaid or prepaid on any day without penalty
provided that written notice of such prepayment shall have delivered to CCFI on
or prior to such date, and shall become payable on any date upon written demand
by CCFI or automatically as a result of the occurrence and continuance of an
Event of Mandatory Repayment, all as provided in the Agreement.

Any suit, action or proceeding against the Borrower with respect to this
promissory note or any judgment entered by any court in respect thereof may be
brought in the Courts of the State of New York sitting in New York City or in
the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York as CCFI in its
sole discretion may elect, and, by execution and delivery hereof, the Borrower
accepts and consents to, for itself and in respect to its property, generally
and unconditionally, the jurisdiction of the aforesaid courts and agrees that
such jurisdiction shall be exclusive, unless waived by CCFI in writing, with
respect to any action or proceeding brought by it against CCFI and any
questions relating to usury.  The Borrower hereby further irrevocably consents
to the service of process in any suit, action or proceeding in said courts by
the mailing thereof by CCFI by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid,
to the Borrower at its address specified below, such service to become
effective five days after such mailing.  In addition, the Borrower hereby
irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any objection which
it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any suit, action or
proceeding arising out of or relating to this Note brought in the courts of the
State of New York, or the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New
York, and hereby further irrevocably waives any claim that any such suit,
action or proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an
inconvenient forum.

AFTER REVIEWING THIS PROVISION SPECIFICALLY WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE COUNSEL THE
BORROWER AND CCFI HEREBY KNOWINGLY, VOLUNTARILY, AND INTENTIONALLY WAIVE ANY
RIGHTS THEY MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT OF ANY LITIGATION BASED
HEREON, OR ARISING OUT OF, UNDER, OR IN CONNECTION WITH, THIS NOTE OR ANY OTHER
DOCUMENT DELIVERED IN CONNECTION HEREWITH, OR ANY COURSE OF CONDUCT, COURSE OF
DEALING, STATEMENTS (WHETHER VERBAL OR WRITTEN), OR ACTIONS OF CCFI OR THE


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BORROWER RELATING HERETO.  THIS PROVISION IS A MATERIAL INDUCEMENT FOR CCFI'S
MAKING THE LOAN.

This Note shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the
State of New York, without regard to its conflict of law principles.


                                     GUARDIAN TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, INC.

                                     By   /s/ Oliver L. North
                                        -------------------------------
                                          Name: Oliver L. North
                                          Title:  Chief Executive Officer

                                     By   /s/ Joseph F. Fernandez
                                        -------------------------------
                                          Name: Joseph F. Fernandez
                                          Title:  President



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