Bruce Wayne

Chapter 28: Initial Progress

The motor of the portable generator sputtered a few times before engaging.  When it roared to life, the noise reflected off the stone walls of the cave with the efficiency of an echo chamber. The connected lights switched on the instant power flowed through the cables already in place. The cave was illuminated in the immediate area, the gray stone looking almost white under the touch of the lights. The gloom deeper into the cave system seemed to intensify as the brightness close to Bruce affected his vision and prevented him from seeing as far into the dark.

"Generator is running," Bruce reported to Alfred. "I'm going to start hanging lights in here, so it will be some time before I need the next load."

"Understood, Master Bruce," Alfred replied. "I'll get a lawn chair and something to read. Let me know when you're ready."

Although he and Alfred had planned to use a scaffold for some of the construction work, the locations for the lights he needed to place were too far away for him to safely reach from the scaffold, forcing him to take a more direct approach.

Digging into the equipment he'd set aside earlier, Bruce pulled out a fully stuffed backpack and put it on backwards so it resided over his chest. He used an additional strap to hold the bag in place as it hadn't been designed for such a purpose and it was the only way to keep it from sliding off. He double checked his safety line, making certain it would support his weight if he lost his grip on the rock.

Taking a firm hold on the stone wall, Bruce began climbing. Hanging from one hand, he used the other to dig into the pack on his chest and remove a spring loaded camming device. Made entirely of metal, the component used by mountain climbers had four separate cams around a central handle. The vertical plates of the cams were fan shaped with the widest part facing either to the top or bottom of the device.

When Bruce squeezed the handle, the cams retracted, pulling in tight near the handle and allowing him to wedge the device into a crack in the stone wall. Pulling the handle out caused the cams to expand, putting pressure on the upper and lower halves of the crack. Hooking on with a sling and carabiner, Bruce ensured a secure climb. If he slipped from his perch on the rock, the sling and carabiner attached to him would pull tight on the spring loaded camming device, and the downward force would be translated into pressure against the sides of the crack as the cams tried to expand further.

The extreme hardness of the stone made it unlikely to fracture under his weight, so he assumed he'd be anchored safely to the rock. Bruce placed several of the cams as he climbed, wanting backups in case he was mistaken in his estimation of the resiliency of the stone.  Not having extra measures in place had gotten Bruce into trouble before, and he didn't want it to happen again.

Nearing the ceiling in the initial part of the cave, Bruce paused his climb and pulled a battery powered drill from his pack. The tool had already been fitted with the proper bit for drilling into the stone, but it was still a challenge to hang on with one hand while trying to drill a hole in the hard rock with the other. Bruce's determination and training proved sufficient to the task, and he made the holes needed for the mounted light.

Taking a tube of adhesive from the pack, he gripped the cap in his teeth to open it. Squeezing out a small amount of the glue onto the stone, Bruce capped the tube and returned it to his pack before taking out the palm sized light he wanted to affix to the cavern ceiling. He knew the adhesive wasn't made for stone, but it would hold long enough for his purposes. Pressing the flat baseplate of the light into the puddle of glue, Bruce held it motionless for a few seconds. He let go of the light and dug a trio of long bolts out from the pack, inserting them through the holes in the baseplate and the corresponding holes he'd drilled in the stone. Using a different drill, fitted with a socket of the appropriate size, Bruce tightened down the bolts and secured the light in place. Attaching a power cord to the unit, he dropped the electrical line to the cavern floor. Bruce climbed down, picked up the loose end of the power cable, and connected it to the generator. A cone of light pierced the darkness of the cave, shining down brightly on his position.