"I did say if," Gordon points out with something that might almost be a smile. "Fury'd kill me if he found out I deliberately separated from somebody who wound up in my world by mistake. Not to mention Valerie's reaction."

That being said, he starts picking his way down the mineshaft. The ladder is... let's just say it's a typical former Iron Curtain country's idea of a sop to safety regulations, neglected for many years, so the trip down is slow going. There's a raised platform- no, a raised walkway- directly under the shaft's far end... which is probably just as well, since Dinah will start hearing and seeing pretty soon that the floor of the tunnel is alive with headcrabs.