Enter the Janitor (The Cleaners) (Volume 1) (19 page)

Chapter Twenty-eight

Dani stared as Ben continued undoing Sydney’s prison. Where he touched the metal, blue glyphs flashed and then faded. After he freed the legs and torso, Sydney’s arms remained in the bars as Ben tugged the bag off the man’s head.

She saw it then, and was pissed that Ben had to point it out to her. Sydney and Destin sported the same blond hair, the same fine-boned features, the same self-assured look to the eyes, though Sydney radiated cockiness in place of Destin’s managerial authority. If the two men had stood side-by-side, or if Sydney had worn a white suit, she’d have noticed earlier.

The mage beamed at the two. “I wondered how long I’d have to languish here. You took your time.”

She slapped him hard enough her palm stung. His head snapped to the side, and a red mark painted his cheek. She wiped her hand off on her jumpsuit and knew it’d take several bottles of gel before it’d feel clean again.
Worth it. Totally worth it.

“Not quite the welcome I was hoping for.” He worked his jaw. “But from you, a slap is practically a kiss.” He looked her over. “By the missing hair and smell of smoke, I take it the ceremony didn’t go as planned. Don’t worry. I can appreciate the sensuality of a bald scalp as much as flowing curls.”

Ben stepped in, forcing Dani back as he glared down at Sydney.

“Right, then,” said the mage. “To business?”

“Pleasure first.”

Ben’s fist cracked across Sydney’s opposite cheek. The mage slumped with a groan.

“That’s for makin’ it personal earlier,” the janitor said. “Mess with my past again, and you’ll get worse comin’, hear?”

Sydney coughed a chuckle, and his words came out slurred, “Roger. Loud and clear. Over.”

“Now, we’ve all made nice, so listen up, pretty boy.” Ben scratched at his right arm. “Your big brother is dippin’ his toes into a deep muck pond. I know there ain’t nothin’ more you’d love to see than him drown, but we both know he’s got an annoyin’ habit of spinnin’ these situations to his advantage. Now, we either get your help stoppin’ him, or you can rot here. What’s it gonna be?”

Sydney stretched, arching his back as much as his arm-bindings allowed. “It’s worse than you think. Destin never did learn the value of humility, and being appointed Chairman of the Board only exacerbated things. He thinks he has to control everything. If a single element goes beyond his authority, he fears his world will come tumbling down. Now that he’s alerted to the existence of the fledgling, my guess is he’ll take it as opportunity to elevate his power all the more.”

“What’cha mean?” Ben asked.

“I realized, in the many quiet hours of contemplation this place allowed me, that until a place is found for the newborn within either Pantheon, it remains exposed to outside manipulation. It has no realm to fall back to for strength, no sense of identity or purpose within the balance. It will be searching for some way to anchor itself. Destin might well offer himself and leash its power in the process.”

“Is that possible?” Dani asked.

Ben scowled, not taking his eyes off the mage. “Destin’s got a little trick where he can make others submit to him,” he said. “A little perk as Chairman. With some, he can totally take ’em over. You felt a touch of it when you met him, ’member? He gets his hands on the hybrid, and he might well twist it ’round his pinky finger. I don’t wanna imagine Destin with a demigod on his payroll.”

Dani shuddered, remembering Destin’s touch, how worthless and unclean she’d felt, ready to do anything to raise herself in his estimation.

“Oh, I’ve given lots of thought to it,” Sydney said. “Which is why I’m now determined to destroy it before anyone can sway it to their bidding. Some things shouldn’t exist.”

Ben rubbed his hands together. “A’ight. We gotta get up to Destin’s office. Hopefully find somethin’ that’ll give us a bead on where he and Francis are headed. Then we’re gonna do everythin’ we can to stop ’em.”

Sydney nodded. “Agreed. It’s refreshing to see a spark of intelligence left in you, old man. I suggest we hurry.”

Ben spat a wad of water into his hand. He drew this into a cord between both forefingers and thumbs and then strung it around Sydney’s neck, where it tightened into a wire-thin collar.

Sydney’s nostrils flared. He kept a mask of joviality on, but his eyes hardened.

Ben crouched to meet his glare. “Before I let’cha go, lemme explain somethin’. You’re along for the ride, but only so long as you behave. That means there ain’t gonna be any killin’. You’re gonna get us out of here with as little fuss as possible. You so much as scratch someone and you’re gonna be lookin’ up at what’s left of yourself, wonderin’ where your head got to.” He raised a finger. “Oh, and if you’re thinkin’ about trying to dissolve the collar, get a hand within an inch of it and Carl will decapitate you faster than you can sneeze.”

“Executed by a water sprite named Carl.” Sydney sighed. “How mundane
that
would be. But you’ve made your point. You have my word, however far you trust it. I’ll stand the indignity, if only to see my brother thwarted.”

Ben swiftly removed the remaining clamps. Dani’s breath caught as Sydney stood and rubbed his bruised arms, but he made no aggressive moves. The mage and janitor eyed each other, until Ben nodded.

“Let’s get going.”

He took the lead, leaving Dani to jog alongside Sydney as they left the cell.

“How’d you get caught?” she asked as they re-entered the hall.

He turned his head enough for her to see an inflamed bump, like a mosquito bite, just below his ear.

“Soporific dart,” he said. “Fear not. I only allowed it to touch me because I knew my capture would reunite me with you. Otherwise their efforts would’ve been useless. Over the years I’ve learned to be …” he winked, “… very talented with my hands.”

She rolled her eyes. “Men. No matter how fancy your vocabularies are, you always resort to sex jokes.”

They rounded the first corner into a larger, empty room, and then stopped. A barrier of janitorial carts blockaded the entrance to the adjoining hall. Five Cleaners stood in front of the barrier, all in orange jumpsuits. Mops. Brooms. Squeegees. They spun and hefted the tools like barbarians preparing to launch themselves onto a battlefield to fight for their independence.

Ben took point, nodding at them in turn. “Lucy. Gabe. Raoul. Tim. Aaliyah. Good to see y’all.”

Lucy, a heavyset Hispanic brunette with a plain face and serious eyes, shook her head at them.

“Ben, your little stunt got us pulled off our coffee breaks.”

Ben winced. “Ooh. Sorry ’bout that. You can head on back.” He looked over their shoulders. “Where’s the team that brought us in? I figured they’d be here by now.”

“Still cleaning up the mess you left by the elevator,” Lucy said. “You let a
gorgrum
loose, you know.”

Ben’s eyes widened. “I thought all of them were in the eastern facility.”

The Cleaners glowered at the would-be-escapees.

“C’mon.” Ben spread his hands. “Be smart about this. Trot on back to your coffee while it’s still warm.”

Lucy held a mop over one shoulder, though Dani noted the woman’s white-knuckled grip.

“Reports are you’ve been Corrupted,” she said. “And you’ve freed an entropy mage. You know the rules. We can’t believe a word you say. Even if you’re telling the truth, you’d do the same in our position.”

Ben shrugged. “Eh. Probably. So, the hard way?”

“You could surrender and save us the trouble.”

“Naw. I gotta stop Destin before he enslaves a demigod.”

Lucy sighed. “And here I was, hoping you’d at least try to pretend to be sane.” The mop swung off her shoulder, and she planted it in front of her, both hands on the pole.

The smell of ammonia stung Dani’s nose, making her gasp. Her eyes watered as the opposing janitors drew spray bottles in unison and triggered them. Watery missiles, spears, and whips soared across the room.

Sydney stepped forward, hands raised. As each attack struck, no matter the angle or speed, he touched it in midair. The water vanished as soon as it hit his fingers. His arms blurred as he spun, ducked, and jumped in an intricate dance that had Dani staring in grudging admiration. He moved gracefully, always balanced, nearly precognizant of where the next attack would come from. She and Ben stood a few feet away, but remained untouched by a single drop.

After half a minute of the barrage, the janitors tossed the bottles aside, their reservoirs depleted. A few exchanged worried glances, but none retreated.

“Shall we continue with this tiresome game?” Sydney asked.

A janitor wielding dual squeegees sprinted at the mage, weapons raised. He slashed down. Sydney dodged and snapped a kick into the man’s near elbow. The janitor cried out, and the squeegee flew from his hand and spun past Dani’s ear. She turned and her heart hiccupped as the edge sliced into the wall and stuck there.

Why didn’t anyone warn her about this sort of thing?

The janitor recovered and struck out again. Sydney swiveled on a heel and snatched the remaining tool from his attacker. The squeegee crumbled into black dust.

Sydney grabbed the man’s collar as he staggered off balance. The jumpsuit puffed away and left him standing in nothing but his boots. His eyes widened and he hunched to cover himself. Sydney smiled in apology before laying the man out with an uppercut.

Dani almost clapped, impressed despite herself. As if sensing her approval, however, Sydney glanced back and grinned, which cooled her enthusiasm immediately.

Ben put a hand on Sydney’s shoulder and drew him back.

“C’mon, Lu,” he said. “It don’t gotta be like this.”

The woman shuffled forward, mop raised. “Ascendants will be here soon.”

“So stop wastin’ our time. Just stand aside and no one gets hurt.”

She yelled and motioned for the others to attack as she did. Ben lunged to intercept. He caught the striking mop on a raised arm. The cloth tendrils of the mop coiled around his forearm and tightened. However, he braced and used the connection to yank Lucy his way. The woman stumbled into his arms. She started to rear back, but Ben grabbed her around the back and hugged her to him. As her face rose, he kissed her hard.

Dani stood dumbstruck. The other charging Cleaners all stopped as well to stare at the lip-locked janitors.

When Ben released her, Lucy clutched at her throat, face pale and strained. She sank to her knees. Gurgling noises bubbled out of her wide mouth and froth spotted her lips. Her chest heaved. Her eyes rolled up in their sockets and she slumped over.

A watery blob flowed out of her lips and back over to Ben. It crawled up to his left hand, where it reformed into a transparent glove.

They looked at the remaining janitors, who drew back after seeing two of their number dropped so quickly.

Ben glanced her way. “Dani? Showtime.”

Dani showed off her meanest, most sadistic grin as she strode forward. The janitors stumbled over their own carts in their haste to escape.

She pouted at their scramble. “I don’t know whether to be relieved or insulted.”

“They was just delayin’ us,” Ben said. “The real fight’s waitin’.”

“How many should we expect?” Sydney asked.

Ben grabbed the nearest cart and shoved it ahead as they left the room. As Dani snagged a pair of gloves off the cart, she noticed he winced with each step and favored his right arm.

“Except for our escort back here,” he said, “Destin and Francis took most of the local Ascendants along for the fun. Even if they got the message out, reinforcements are gonna take time to arrive.”

They ran into the main hall leading up to the elevator. Dani paused in the process of tugging the gloves on.

“Uh … Ben? There’s nobody here.”

Ben’s eyes narrowed. The mess he’d made by releasing the imprisoned creatures had been cleaned up except for a few scorch marks along one wall and an inky blotch dripping from the ceiling. The elevator stood open, inviting them in.

“Up we go, then.”

“Tally-ho,” Sydney murmured. “The windmills await.”

Dani shot him a glare, but received a charming smile in return.

They rode the elevator in silence, each tensed for what waited above. As the doors opened, Dani took in the scene in a glance.

The white-tiled hall stretched out wide before them. The glass panels on either side had frosted over, blocking sight of the cells and cages on the lower levels. Halfway down, another blockade had been set up, consisting of plastic yellow Wet Floor signs strung together by red-hot bands of crackling energy that Dani guessed weren’t healthy to touch. Cleaners crouched behind this barrier, spray bottles, pressure hoses, and soap dispensers readied like a firing squad.

The four Ascendants who’d brought them to the Recycling Center stood in front. They were battered, their formerly spotless suits now torn and stained, their faces bruised, and one sported a bloody nose. However, they looked determined as their bright auras cast the hall into stark relief. The janitors Dani had sent running had joined with ten other Cleaners, all of whom wielded the usual array of tools. She got the impression of a mob with torches and pitchforks preparing to storm the castle—though in this case, the roles were somewhat reversed.

“Impressive,” Sydney said. “I’ll never fault this company its efficiency. But all in vain, as I said before.”

He knelt and punched the floor. Cracks raced out from his fist and, before any Cleaners could react, four of them dropped through pits that opened beneath them. Their yells cut off with clatters, bangs, and groans.

The path of Corruption, however, diverted around where the Ascendants stood.

Ben put a hand out before Dani could move by him. “Get back. Let Sydney and me handle this, eh?”

“Like h—” she started to say.

“Zip it,” he said. “You’re strong, but you ain’t trained for this. I don’t want any deaths on your conscience.” With that, he stalked forward, attention locked on his coworkers.

“He’s right,” Sydney said. “Let us keep you an unsullied flower for now, shall we?”

Dani snarled as the mage left her behind as well. She hated to admit that Ben might be right. While her power didn’t threaten to take over her mind and body anymore, she didn’t know how far she could trust it. The very nature of natural disasters, minor or large scale, assumed plenty of violence and chaos would be involved. So she fumed as the men engaged the line.