"Could we put in braces around the perimeter of where we're going to cut into the floor joists?" Alfred suggested as he looked over the construction. "We might also consider adding bricks between the joists and the foundation to add support and relieve the load from the part we intend to cut away."

"It sounds good," Bruce agreed cautiously. "But, I'm not a structural engineer. I have no idea what effect cutting into the floor might have or how to counter it. Let me do some looking online, and we'll tackle this problem in the morning."

"As you wish, Master Bruce," Alfred agreed.

                                                                                             ***

Bruce searched the Internet, but most of the information he found relating to replacing floor joists were incidents where the joists only spanned one room. Apparently, the study had originally been a part of the forward parlor, or the other way around, and the wall between them had been added later. The floor had been built as a single unit.

Ultimately, he decided Alfred's suggestions were the best. Placing bricks between the joists and the foundation would keep them supported and allow Bruce to cut away the floor in the study without the house falling in on them. He further decided to err on the side of caution in case he was incorrect in his assumptions. Bruce intended to place additional beams around the perimeter of the study, hooking them into the existing joists of the other rooms to provide further support. Considering a collapse or weakening of the floor in any of the rooms around the study could expose the existence of his secret elevator, Bruce wanted extra precautions against failure.  In the back of his mind was a further concern in regard to the entire house falling in on him.

Closing his laptop, Bruce shut down for the night. He stifled a yawn, covering his mouth with a fist. He and Alfred would finish this later.

Bruce went to his room and collapsed on the bed, kicking off his shoes almost as an afterthought. Remodeling the house was slowing down progress on the cave, but the necessity of an elevator for faster transit made it mandatory. In all his plans to fight crime in Gotham, Bruce had never expected he would need to know anything about carpentry.

                                                                                              ***

After visiting a supply store for bricks, mortar, and an assortment of appropriate tools, Bruce and Alfred spent the majority of the following day working in the study. The floorboards were set back in place without being nailed down simply to allow the two of them to move around without falling through.

Once they had a sturdy walking space, Bruce and Alfred removed the books, then the bookshelves. Furniture was taken out, and the rug, already rolled up and set aside from earlier when Bruce dismantled the center of the floor, was hauled into a different room. When everything in the study had been cleared away, Bruce picked up the floor for a second time, stacking the wood planks near the edge of the room where they would be out of the way.

Bruce dropped into the crawlspace between the stone foundation and the old wooden joists of the floor structure. Alfred sat on one of the beams and handed Bruce the first of several jacks; Bruce placed each of the mechanical lifts one at a time under the joists beyond the borders of the floor he was about to cut away. Working the lever of each jack, Bruce raised them up to carry the weight of the surrounding structure.

"I can help you more with this next part, Master Bruce," Alfred told him. "At one time, my father had a job as a bricklayer, and he taught me a few things about it before I left for college."

Under Alfred's patient instruction, Bruce was able to assist him in bringing in and setting up footings of bricks beside each of the jacks, ready to take the weight of the floor as soon as the mortar hardened.  While waiting, Bruce took a quick visit to the cave, moving the lights on tripods into position near where he would need them.

Bruce examined the cavern pocket while setting up the lights, and he got an idea. The elevator was going to be suspended from cables, but there was nothing to keep if from swinging side to side like the pendulum of a clock. Slamming into a wall at high speeds could kill anyone inside the elevator, but Bruce hand an idea, and it worked for both the digging of the shaft and the stabilization of the elevator itself.  He planned to put in four columns of metal, one at each corner of the elevator. Secondary beams installed horizontally and diagonally between the posts would grant supplementary structural support. The elevator car would travel inside the framework, and the cage would keep the elevator from swinging off course. Additionally, if he built some of it now, he could use it to stand on while carving out the ceiling, adding additional sections as work on the shaft progressed ever higher.

Having a good idea on how to get started, Bruce left the cave and climbed the exterior rope to reach the surface. He used a brisk pace heading back toward the house as he eagerly wanted to discuss his idea with Alfred.

                                                                                           ***

"It sounds good," Alfred agreed after Bruce had fully explained his idea. "I have something I wanted to suggest to you."

"What is it?" Bruce asked.

"The emergency generator powering the lights down below is fueled by gasoline," Alfred began. "Even with the installation of the elevator, carrying gasoline down there to refuel it will be a hassle and inefficient. What about a natural gas generator? It would ensure a steady flow of fuel without needing to be constantly attended."

"I don't know anything about running gas lines," Bruce replied. "Unless you know something about it, we're liable to blow the place up tinkering around with natural gas."

"We wouldn't need to do the work ourselves," Alfred countered. "We could hire professionals to install a backup generator for the entire house. Once they're gone, we run electrical lines from the generator down to the cave."

"I like it," Bruce agreed. "We'll probably want to wait until we finish the remodel inside the house since I don't know where they would need to go to install the wiring, and we wouldn't want them seeing torn up floorboards or a partially constructed elevator shaft."

"Of course, Master Bruce," Alfred accepted.

                                                                                                 ***

The next four days were filled with intensive work. Alfred helped Bruce lower down into the cave all the equipment and supplies he needed for building the structure of the elevator shaft and carving out the stone in the way.

Bruce assembled the surrounding frame for the elevator shaft before starting work removing the stone overhead to clear a pathway for the next part of the metal structure. He forced himself every day to push through exhaustion and keep going. At night, Bruce would watch the television news broadcasts, and the programs would tell of the lawlessness continuing unabated in Gotham, the innocents turned victims, and the criminals escaping the reach of justice. The infuriating situation provided Bruce with renewed determination, fueling his drive to complete the cave and move on to the next phase of his plans.

While Bruce busied himself down below, Alfred used his time to put together the actual elevator car, the cables, and the four wheels needed for guiding the cables. Rather than securing the wheels to the ceiling beams of the study, Alfred put together a metal skeleton around the perimeter of the room, lining every wall and corner of the study with metal and bracing it heavily to prevent any movement. After bolting a pair of sturdy beams across the top of the structure he'd put together, Alfred attached the wheels to the underside of the beams. He wanted no chance the safety of the elevator might be compromised by the aged timbers of the old house. The metal he'd lined the room with would keep the elevator secure, and the only possibility of failure was if the entire study fell through the floor.

                                                                                                ***

"Are you ready?" Bruce asked from his position at the bottom of the completed elevator shaft.

It had been days since Bruce and Alfred had started work on the conveyance between the cave and Wayne Manor. Both were exhausted and sore, but they were moments away from testing their project to see if their efforts had been worthwhile.

"Ready here, Master Bruce," Alfred replied from the study they'd converted into an elevator room.

"I'm switching on the winch," Bruce stated before activating the machine.

As the winch began its operation, it let out four different lines of strong cable from individual spools. The velocity was gradual at first as the elevator cleared the house. Once cocooned in stone, the elevator picked up speed, almost entering a free fall. As the metal cage plummeted down the shaft, Bruce wondered if he'd be able to survive if the elevator malfunctioned and crashed in front of him. His concerns were unnecessary as the winch slowed the release of the cables and eased the elevator to a stop before it reached the bottom. The elevator car arrived, gently bumping against the stone floor as it halted entirely.

"It works," Bruce told Alfred through the mic clipped on his collar.

"I should hope so," Master Bruce," Alfred replied, his voice coming through strong in Bruce's earpiece. "We put too much effort into this project to have it fail."

"I know," Bruce agreed. "I'm heading up. Be there in a few seconds."

Bruce opened the metal door on the cage serving as the elevator car. The steel box was wide enough to accommodate two people in addition to some of the supplies they'd need to transport down to the cave. Switching on the remote control, Bruce had to hang on as the winch engaged and the elevator rocketed upward. Wind screamed past his face, and Bruce had to rely on his focusing techniques to keep calm on the adrenaline inducing ride.

The elevator slowed when it neared the ground floor of Wayne Manor. The metal cage ascended through the hole in the foundation and flooring, stopping in front of Alfred.

Bruce opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind him. "I may have to slow that thing down some. It doesn't need to be quite so fast."

"You seem to be in one piece, Master Bruce," Alfred observed. "With the completion of the elevator, might I assume, you will be wanting to finish work on the cave and begin your freelance police work."

"You'd be right, Alfred," Bruce confirmed. "I've been watching the news. Crime is out of control in Gotham. Some of the bad guys are operating practically in the open because they don't fear anyone stopping them. It's about time someone did."