Exton

"Okay, everyone gather round and listen up. This is important if you want to survive." That gets attention. People gather around the tiny woman, intent on her next words. "After our people go through the Gate, I'm going to activate this." She points to a curved metal box placed maybe twenty feet from the Gate.

"This is an M18A1 Claymore mine. Anyone anywhere in front of this baby when it goes off is going to be very very unhappy. Therefore, do not run straight out of the Gate; do a dog-leg maybe twenty yards to the right or left. I'll wait till everyone's clear to fire it, and you'll oblige me by moving your ass with some alacrity. This little beauty fires steel ball bearings in a 60-degree arc." She shows us the shape with her hands. "Effective range is maybe fifty, fifty-five yards in front of the mine, and six and a half feet straight up; but it can spray up to two hundred and sixty yards, so don't get in front of it." Her grin is chilling. " You might think of it as the world's biggest sawed-off shotgun. I guarantee you, anything that doesn't like Cold Iron is going to have a Very Bad Day."