[Janitors 04] Strike of the Sweepers by Tyler Whitesides

parked on the piles of excavated dirt and broken chunks of concrete. Splintery wooden pallets were tossed next to a heap of loose bricks.
    But at the center of the construction area, clearly visible in the floodlights, stood a single Port-a-Potty.
    There was nothing extraordinary about the way it looked. It was a Port-a-Potty, and Spencer had seen plenty of them in his lifetime. The plastic sides were fire-engine red, with a domed top and a small ventilation pipe rising from one corner. Spencer’s instincts had always been to stay away from germ-infested Port-a-Pottys. It seemed strange now to risk his life to get inside one.
    “There is something else I should tell you,” Agnes whispered. “It has come to my attention that Mr. Clean has found a way to Glopify the chain-link fence. You won’t be able to climb it.”
    “We have brooms,” Penny said. “Why would we climb it when we can just fly over?”
    “That’s the problem, you see,” said Agnes. “Imagine a force field lying flat across the top of the fence, covering the entire construction site like a blanket. Anything that touches the force field from above or below will be destroyed.”
    “What about the crane?” Alan asked. It was clearly rising high above the twelve-foot fence.
    “The crane has been reinforced,” said Agnes. “The force field is sealed around it. The only opening is that gate.”
    She took a deep breath through her nose. “This is where I leave you,” Agnes whispered. She handed her Glopified squeegee to Alan, who clipped it into his janitorial belt.
    “Sure you don’t want to join us?” Bernard asked. “I bet there’s plenty of room in the john.”
    Agnes didn’t even crack a smile. She clasped Walter firmly on the shoulder, gave him a businesslike nod, and retreated into the darkness.
    “What now?” Daisy asked. Spencer could tell she was a bit shaken by the fact that Agnes had revealed the dangers of the Glopified fence and then left.
    “Looks like those two Sweeper guards have Glopified walkie-talkies,” Penny said. “We’ll need to take them out fast, before they can radio in for help.”
    “You guys handle those two,” Dez said, pointing down to the gate. “I’ll take out the third one.”
    Spencer looked at him, annoyed by the fact that he wasn’t even crouching down. “Third one?”
    “Yeah.” Dez pointed. “There’s a Rubbish Sweeper perched on top of the crane.”
    The tip of the crane was high above the construction site and well out of the glow of the floodlights. Spencer squinted, but he couldn’t make out a figure anywhere.
    “You’re lying,” Spencer said. “You’re just looking for an excuse to test your wings.”
    “I don’t see anything either,” Daisy said.
    “Duh,” said Dez. “That’s ’cause I have eagle eyes. I can see pretty good in the dark now. When I turned into a Sweeper, my eyesight got entranced.”
    “ Enhanced, ” Spencer corrected.
    “Whatever,” said Dez. “There’s a Sweeper lady up there.” He squinted. “I think she’s got a walkie-talkie too.”
    “If Dez’s Rubbish eyes can see her,” Walter said, “then her Rubbish eyes will spot us long before we make it to the fence.”
    “Let me take her out!” Dez insisted.
    Spencer rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. You’ve been a Sweeper for maybe twenty minutes. She’ll eat you alive.”
    “She’ll never see me coming.”
    “Dez has a point,” Walter said. Spencer threw his hands up in the air. Why did they continue to side with Dez? He always got them into trouble!
    “That crane is too high for even the strongest broom to carry someone up,” Walter continued. “That Rubbish Sweeper probably feels quite secure up there.”
    “An aerial attack would give us the benefit of surprise,” Penny said. “But I don’t think Dez should handle this alone.”
    “What are you saying?” Dez asked.
    “I’m saying that you’re going to fly me up there and drop me right down on top of that Sweeper lady,”