Metafire

"Never. You aren't the only ones in the world who can spot a DEC Alpha."

"I had one, John." Jill was adamant. "In fact, I had twenty before I came to work for you." She had been a software manager at an FBI facility.

"OK. Jack and Jill. You go off. You talk to no one except the designated agent. You will be accompanied by Marines. Furthermore, they will be told to shoot you if there is any kind of questionable situation. We can't let you get kidnapped. We don't know whether Metafire ever knew about Dr. Miller, but if they did, they may have found him like we did. Anything can happen."

"A deal." Jack didn't care. He held out his hand to John. Then Jill said, "a deal," and held out her hand. John said, "just get out'a here."

Their helicopter landed with a team of two Marines with rifles, as promised, and two Marines handling the GE Subterranean TV. In addition, each of the party had Geiger Counters attached to their shirts and on long sticks or the ends of the rifles. One Marine with a rifle, a Captain, said, "If you detect a pocket of radiation, run quickly through it. The radiation accumulates with time. The faster you move through it, the less dosage you receive. In any event, judging by the readings right here, we have no more than six hours on the ground."