Bruce Wayne

Chapter 31: Phase Two

Even with the elevator, it still took Bruce and Alfred several more days to complete the finishing touches on the cave before it was functional. Bruce installed thin metal plates over every area where he was going to put something in order to keep the bats from perching above it.

Alfred brought in several wheeled cabinets, placing them where they could be used for the collection and storage of evidence before being handed over to the police. Additional cabinets were installed to hold the makeup and costumes Bruce needed for his disguises, such as the maintenance worker he'd impersonated to infiltrate the police station. Although the cabinets were mostly empty, Bruce fully intended to expand his collection of disguises as they became needed.

Bruce helped Alfred run all the necessary cables before they moved the computers to the cave and set them up to continue intercepting all information coming in and out of the GCPD. He knew he would eventually need to build a better computer to filter the information and eliminate all nonessential data, but for the time being, the basic setup was sufficient.

Shelves, with a cover and folding doors to keep the bats off, were installed to hold the equipment Bruce used for surveillance. The cameras and microphones were stacked and organized, and additional space was left over in case Bruce desired to expand his arsenal of tools.

The study in Wayne Manor was covered over by plaster on the outside, concealing the door behind a swiveling bookcase. Once the elevator room was completely hidden, Alfred called in the professional workers to install the natural gas power generator for the house. When the workers finished their task and departed, Bruce and Alfred ran the electrical lines from the generator to the cave, providing a steady supply of power for the lights and computers.

Metal support frames were brought down and assembled across the cavern floors. When gratings, similar to a more rigid chain link fence, were placed over the frames, a flooring system for the cave was established. The constructed floor countered the natural slope of the rock in some places and granted access to different areas previously cut off by fissures and sheer drops to the lower depths of the cavern.

Bruce and Alfred had discussed the cave at length, and they knew what they had built was only a starting point. As Bruce expanded his crime fighting operations, new additions to the cave would be required, but they had the minimum of what they needed to get started.

"You've done a tremendous job, Master Bruce," Alfred commended as he stood with Bruce in the cave, looking over their accomplishment.

"We both have," Bruce added, opening a cooler on the floor and pulling out two glass bottles of water. He opened them up and handed one to Alfred. "Nice work."

Alfred accepted the water and the praise from Bruce, inclining his glass bottle toward Bruce's and clinking them together in salute.

"Where to from here, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked after taking a swallow of the cold water.

"You already gave me the idea for using Wayne Enterprises to finance my work," Bruce replied, sipping from his own bottle. "I need to visit the company my family built, look things over, see what's going on, and find some way I can get involved."

"Your father, Thomas, inherited the company from his father," Alfred explained. "Thomas was a gifted surgeon, caring more for helping people than for running a massive corporation. He instituted a program for training young executives, picking the best one to run Wayne Enterprises while Thomas was at the hospital. The young man he selected was a very gifted fellow named Lucius Fox. Mr. Fox has been running things quite successfully for many years."

"I'm not looking to displace anyone who's doing a good job," Bruce assured him. "Besides, I plan to be fighting crime and won't have much available time to sit through board meetings and corporate lectures. If Fox likes running the company, he's welcome to continue doing so. I just need a way to tap the company resources without drawing suspicion; having a job there will do the trick."