Carol hugged her knees and laughed skeptically. "That thing?"
"There's a recessed deactivation switch in its lower section. All I have to do is get my hand on it."
"And all it has to do," she retorted dubiously, "is get one of its fifty-pound vises on you."
She seized his hand and, through two layers of rubberized material, he sensed the unsteadiness of her grip. "Do be careful, Dave."
He was impressed. It wasn't often she allowed her more serious nature to show through candidly.
She rose suddenly and turned to face a distant mountain range.
Randall tensed. "Yes, Carol—what is it?"
Profuse light from the primary etched lines of concern on her brow. "I'm sensing electronic spill-off from somewhere up in those peaks—perhaps beyond."
Randall's breath rasped in the earphones. But he only said, "Spurious stuff. Reflections caused by a dense magnetic field can throw you off like that, you know."
She nodded—not enthusiastically, however.