[Janitors 04] Strike of the Sweepers (21 page)

Daisy asked what that was supposed to mean, but Spencer was ignoring them both. He clapped his hands together and rubbed them briskly. The friction activated the trace amounts of Glop in his saliva, and he felt a tingle in his palms. Suddenly, both hands ignited into orbs of golden light.

Dez drew back in surprise, the first and only indication that he was impressed by Spencer’s Auran abilities.

Spencer took a steadying breath and stretched out his right hand to touch the leaf blower lying in the grass. The moment his fingers made contact with it, he felt a connection.

It was as though a stream of Glop were flowing out of his fingers and into the leaf blower. He felt his power spread through the plastic and metal on an almost molecular level.

The blower was glowing now too. Spencer could sense its potential. He knew it could do so much more than a simple factory had designed it to do.

The magic did the work, using Spencer as little more than a conduit. The leaf blower grew stronger, the wind speed magnified and the airflow focused. The magic flowed and flowed until the blower was something altogether different.

It was no longer a simple tool in his right hand. It was an insanely powerful device, capable of blowing air at speeds previously unimaginable. Spencer knew he had succeeded, even before he let go. He knew the magic in his system had taken the leaf blower a hundred times beyond what Walter could do.

Then, all at once, it was over. The glowing Aura faded from his hands, and the leaf blower looked as ordinary as ever, lying on the grass in Daisy’s backyard.

Spencer stood up, his whole body trembling. He was proud of the work he’d done and more anxious than ever to rescue Marv so he could test it out.

Daisy’s eyes were wide and her mouth slightly agape. Dez had a similar shocked expression, but he snapped out of it as soon as Spencer caught him staring.

“I guess that was all right,” Dez muttered. “I bet it doesn’t even work.”

Spencer picked up the leaf blower. He wouldn’t test it here. Pointed in the wrong direction, it could blow a hole clear through Daisy’s house. No, Spencer was confident enough in his work that he would only test it when the time was right.

“You know,” Daisy finally said, “for some reason I thought that part would take longer. What’s next?”

Suddenly, the walkie-talkie on Spencer’s belt turned on. A familiar voice came through the speaker.

“Spencer? Spencer? Do you copy?”

Spencer lowered the leaf blower and unclipped the radio. “Min! Is that you?”

“Indeed,” Min said. “Who else would it be?”

“So the Thingamajunk found you?” Spencer said. “You got the book?”

“If by ‘Thingamajunk’ you mean ‘living humanoid garbage,’ then yes,” Min said.

“His name’s Bookworm,” Daisy said into the radio. “He’s my pet.”

“I was just finishing my homework when he came through my window,” Min said. “Now I have to think up an excuse that sounds more believable than the truth.”

“What happened?” Daisy asked.

“The garbage ate my homework,” Min replied.

“Sorry about that. I’m just glad he found you,” Spencer said. “You have the
Manualis Custodem
?”

“It’s in my hands as we speak,” said Min. “What would you like me to do with it?”

“We need you to start working on a translation,” answered Spencer. “It’s written in a made-up language called Gloppish. Like a mix of Latin and hieroglyphics. Think you can crack the code?”

“Most definitely,” Min said.

“Good,” Spencer answered. “But you have to keep it a secret. The BEM will be looking for it. You have to guard it with your life!”

“Please,” Min said. “Calm down. It’s unnecessary to shout into the walkie-talkie.”

“Sorry,” Spencer said, taking a deep, steadying breath. “I’m a little tired. It was a long night.”

“We went to Colorado, Massachusetts, and back to Colorado last night,” Daisy added.

“Hmm,” said Min. “It’s geographically impossible to make that journey in one night.”

“We’ve got Glopified squeegees now,” Spencer said. “As long as you have somebody in place, you can open a portal to connect two locations.”

“Do I have a deadline for the translation?” Min asked, getting back to business.

“As soon as you can,” answered Spencer. “Here’s the thing . . . Walter and the other Rebels have been captured. It’s just me, Daisy, and Dez over here.”

“Dez is with you now?” Spencer could imagine Min raising an eyebrow. “Your last report clearly stated that he was . . . how did you put it?
Filthy, treacherous scum.
”

“Hey!” Dez hit Spencer in the shoulder. “I am not scum.”

“My apologies, Spencer,” Min said. “I didn’t realize he was listening.”

“All right, Min,” Spencer said, getting them on topic once more. “The truth is, we might not survive this rescue mission, and we need you to carry on the Rebel work. The
Manualis Custodem
will tell you what to do.”

“I understand,” Min said.

“I’m going to explain the rest of the plan,” Spencer said. “I’m keeping you on the radio, Min. If our rescue plan goes bad, at least you’ll know what happened to us.”

Daisy leaned in. “And tell my dad that it was Dez who smashed the fence.”

Spencer didn’t tell her that if they all died, Mr. Gates wasn’t likely to care a bit about his broken fence.

“Okay,” Spencer said. “I’ve just Glopified a leaf blower with enough power to rip a hole in the atmosphere. We’ll use it to rescue Marv.”

“How do we do it?” Daisy asked. “One of us has to hold the Vortex while you blast it?”

“Not it!” Dez called. “I don’t want to get blown away.”

“That’s not how it’s going to work,” Spencer said. Carefully holding the talk button on the radio, he pulled out Olin’s note once more. “Walter already tried blasting the bag from the outside, but it didn’t work. Olin says the leaf blower must be detonated from
inside
the Vortex.”

“Whoa,” Daisy said. “Does that mean we have to . . . ?”

Spencer nodded. “We’ll have to enter the same way Marv did.”

Chapter 33

“Those are your biceps.”

This sounds like a terrible plan,” Dez muttered. “We’re going to get sucked into the vacuum-bag-of-no-return . . . on purpose?”

“Never thought I’d say this,” Daisy muttered, “but I think I’m with Dez on this one. We have no idea what it’s like in there!”

“We don’t,” Spencer agreed. “But Olin does. He’s been there before. Listen to this.” Spencer held out the Dark Auran’s note and began reading.
“The Vortex is a gateway to a place we call the Dustbin: an alternate dimension from which our world was created. That’s where your friend is trapped. And if you want to find him, you’ll have to go there. Inside the Dustbin, you can imagine and create familiar objects from ordinary dust. Only the strongest minds will succeed.”

Spencer stopped reading when Daisy cut in. “Maybe Dez shouldn’t come with us,” she said.

The bully fidgeted under their gaze. “What?” He ruffled his wings uncomfortably. “You think I don’t have a strong mind? Just look at this!” He flexed his arms.

“Umm,” Daisy said, “those are your biceps.”

“Whatever,” said Dez. “You should worry about yourselves in there. I’ll be fine.”

Spencer turned back to the letter from Olin and continued reading.

“Creating with your mind will be hard at first, but the longer you remain in the Dustbin, the easier it gets. The Instigators have been there for hundreds of years.”

“The alligators?” Dez said.

“The Instigators,” Spencer corrected. “I don’t know who they are. I’m just reading.”

“What else does it say?” Daisy asked.

Spencer read on.
“The Instigators are evil. You can never hope to match the strength of their creations. Long ago, Sach, Aryl, and I were their captives. The Founding Witches rescued us and helped us escape from the Dustbin. Do not attempt to find the Instigators. Get your friend and leave as quickly as possible.

“Firing the leaf blower from within the Dustbin will create a Rip back to our world. It’ll only work once, and you’ll have only about ten minutes before it closes. You better not get stuck in there. I’m counting on you to take this blasted Pan off my neck.

“Best of luck—Olin”

Spencer sighed deeply and tucked the note back into his pocket. “Well,” he said to his companions. “Any questions?”

“Yeah,” said Dez. “Can I have the garbage truck if I’m the only one who survives?”

“Let me make sure I got this right,” Daisy said. “We get sucked into the Vortex, find Marv, create a Rip that gives us only ten minutes to get out. Then the four of us drive to Massachusetts, maneuver our way back through the traps in the construction site, enter the Port-a-Potty, break into the BEM lab, rescue the others, steal Belzora and the nail from Mr. Clean, and escape?”

Spencer nodded wordlessly. Yep. That pretty much summed it up.

Daisy smiled weakly. “Okay. Just checking.”

Spencer lifted the radio to his face. “Did you get all that, Min?”

“Yes,” he answered. “I managed to hear your plan
and
your quarrelsome banter.”

“Is that your way of saying ‘good luck’?” Spencer asked.

“Your plan is too long,” Min said. “It will take much more time than you can afford. Every second wasted puts the captured Rebels in danger.”

“Do you have a better idea?” Dez taunted.

“Actually, I do,” said Min. “Leave a squeegee with your Thingamajunk in Welcher and take the other one with you into the Vortex. After the three of you get sucked into the vacuum bag, tell Bookworm to place the Vortex in his lunchbox head. As you spend time searching for Marv in the Dustbin, Bookworm will travel from trash to trash, arriving in Massachusetts much faster than you normally could. The Thingamajunk should easily be able to maneuver through the traps in the construction site, since he is made of nothing but Glopified garbage. He can deposit the Vortex inside the Port-a-Potty and return to Welcher. Meanwhile, you create the Rip inside the Vortex, and when you emerge with Marv, you will already be on your way into the heart of the enemy’s base, taking them by complete and utter surprise, with your return to Welcher secured by the squeegee there.”

Spencer was grinning by the time the boy finished his elaborate plot. “Genius, Min. Pure genius. That’s why we pay you the big bucks.”

“You haven’t paid me anything,” Min said over the radio. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m already late for my cello lesson.”

“Jell-O lesson?” Dez scoffed.

“He said
cello
,” corrected Daisy.

Dez shrugged. “What’s that?”

“A musical instrument,” she said.

“If it’s not the tuba, it’s lame.”

Spencer lifted the radio one last time. “Thanks, Min. Keep that book safe. The future of education is now resting on your shoulders.”

“I will not fail,” he said. And then, “Min, out.”

Spencer clipped the radio back onto his janitorial belt.

“We’re not really going to follow his plan, right?” Dez said. “It was way confusing, with like, the Vortex in the lunchbox in the Port-a-Potty. I never know what that kid’s saying.”

The pile of trash in the shed erupted, and Bookworm came loping toward them, his textbook mouth curved in a grin of success. He dropped down when he reached them, and Daisy scratched the side of the lunchbox as though he were a dog.

“Okay,” Spencer said. “Let’s fill in Bookworm and work through the details of Min’s plan. Squeegees.”

“Do we have a complete set?” asked Daisy.

Spencer nodded. He unclipped one squeegee and set it on the lawn. “This is the one Earl was using. It stays here in Welcher,” he said. He patted the second squeegee handle on his belt. “This is the one Agnes used to bring us over to Massachusetts. It goes with us.”

“We should probably do something with Big Bertha,” Daisy pointed out. “Plus it has Holga and the nail inside the glove compartment.”

“Nobody can get in when it’s locked,” Spencer pointed out. “So the hammer should be safe. We’ll leave the truck key with Bookworm. He can park it somewhere safe and out of the way.”

“Garbage driving the garbage truck?” Daisy said. She looked at her pet. “Do you know how to drive?”

In answer, he hacked up an old hubcap. It rolled across the grass, and Daisy nodded.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Reluctantly, Dez pulled out the bulky key chain and tossed it to the Thingamajunk.

“Now,” Spencer said, “we need to be somewhere enclosed when we puncture the Vortex.”

“What about the shed?” Dez pointed.

“The suction will be too strong,” Spencer answered. “It’ll rip the walls right out of the ground.”

“The back of Big Bertha?” Daisy suggested.

Spencer nodded. The vehicle was Glopified and reinforced. It should be able to withstand the suction. “That’ll work,” he said. “Once we disappear into the Vortex, Bookworm will pick us up and load the vacuum bag into his lunchbox.” Spencer turned to the Thingamajunk. “You got that, buddy?”

Bookworm gave a thumbs-up. This time, his thumb was a bent spoon.