re: Timeline
Yeah, let's have the Secret Service clear the hospital cafeteria to make it secure for the VP. That won't hamper any of the hospital activities, will it.
Nobody knows jack shit about exactly what Cheney did, what he said to his friend, his friend's family, why they may not have wanted the Vice President and his security entourage to stay at the hospital, why he decided to eat at a place that had already been secured, or anything else. But by all means, keep rolling with it.