August 16, 0417h

	One of the doctors drew open the curtain wall, and at a word, a group of 
five of them began wheeling toward the cart, keeping gurney and respirator and 
EKG and other monitoring equipment moving forward at a briskly uniform pace.  
Suddenly one of them yelled, "Whoa, whoa whoa!  Kid!  Whoa!"
	The entire team ground to a halt, frozen mid-motion by the little boy who 
had dashed among them.   "Spud!" a voice cried, but if he heard, he gave no 
sign.  His eyes were focused on the pale face of the man on the gurney, his hand 
knotted in the thin sheet that covered the mangled body.
	The expressions of the doctors around the gurney varied from deep sympathy 
to irritation bordering on anger, but all managed to hold their tongues as 
Leslie Thompkins swiftly stepped in and knelt down next to Spud.  She whispered 
to him for a moment, drawing only nods from him in response.  Then she rested 
her hand on his shoulder and steered him - not away from the gurney, but to the 
other side of it.  The other doctors stared at her, and she met their gazes with 
calm challenge in her eyes.
	At a little squeeze on his shoulder, Spud reached out and wrapped his hand 
around three of the fingers of Dick's exposed right hand.  
	"Okay," Leslie said.  "Go ahead."
	One of the doctors opened his mouth as if to protest, and Leslie fixed him 
with a hard look.  "Deal," she said succinctly, stepping back to let them 
continue toward the cart..
	She stood and watched as they moved equipment onto the cart, then managed 
to get the gurney loaded without disrupting Spud's hold on his father's hand.  
"Leslie?" Babs puzzled, wheeling up to the older woman.
	Leslie glanced at her.  "There are different kinds of lifelines," she 
explained.  "If it's in his power to hold him here, he will."
	The two women watched as Spud settled in among the other equipment and two 
of the doctors took up positions to monitor their patient on his ride through 
the tunnels.  Dinah, still in the driver's seat of the cart, watched this 
activity then turned expectantly toward Babs. 
	"Go on," Leslie urged.  "Someone needs to get them set up at the other 
end.  I'll get everyone cleared out of here."
	Babs nodded, her eyes still fixed on her husband and son, and then wheeled 
to the cart.  There was a moment's confusion as they realized that there was no 
space for Babs' chair, then with a simple gesture, the problem was dismissed, 
the chair abandoned, and the cart on its platform began to sink through the 
floor to the tunnel beneath.  
	Leslie watched until the floor closed up again, leaving no sign of the escape route below, and sighed.