[Janitors 04] Strike of the Sweepers by Tyler Whitesides Page A

answered Penny. “I’ll hit her with the green spray and she won’t remember a thing about it when she wakes up.”
    “Why not take her out completely?” Bernard asked.
    “Mr. Clean can’t be far behind us,” she said. “If he shows up and all of his guards are blind and de-Glopified, he’ll know we beat him here.”
    “Green spray erases only recent memories,” Walter said. “That means you’ll have only a minute or two from the time she spots you. Anything beyond that might not get erased and she’ll wake up with a memory of the fight.”
    “I’ll be faster alone,” Dez said.
    “Absolutely not,” replied Walter. “You’re flying Penny up there.”
    Dez was shaking his head. “No can do. Penny’s too big. I don’t think I can carry her that high.”
    “Are you calling me fat?” Penny glared, hands on hips.
    “Use a plunger,” said Bernard. “She’ll be weightless.”
    Dez shrugged. “I don’t have one.”
    “Here,” Daisy said. She unclipped a Glopified toilet plunger and tossed it to him. Dez’s taloned hand closed around the handle, but it slipped through his grasp and landed on the dirt road. He bent over, his awkward hands making several attempts to grasp the wooden handle. At last he got it, but when he turned to face the Rebels, the plunger slipped through his fingers again.
    Penny raised an eyebrow. “I’m not flying anywhere with Butterfingers.”
    “It’s not my fault you weigh so much,” Dez said. He didn’t bother trying to pick up the plunger again. “I’ll just have to go alone.”
    “How’s that going to work if you can’t hold the green spray?” Bernard pointed out.
    Alan shook his head. “We’ll find another way.”
    “What about me?” Spencer said. “I’m probably the smallest in the group.” Technically, Daisy was, but Spencer wasn’t about to suggest that Dez take flight with her. He looked at Dez. “Can you carry me?” He said it like a challenge, knowing that would push the bully into agreeing faster.
    Dez scoffed. “Easy!” Before anyone could react, Dez threw his arms around Spencer and leapt into the air.

Chapter 19
    “Let’s just see what happens.”
     
    Dez’s Rubbish wings unfurled, bearing Spencer through the thinnest branches of the nearest tree and straight into the starry sky.
    When they were well above the treetops, Dez began attempting some aerial acrobatics. He started with a tight barrel roll, causing Spencer’s stomach to heave uncomfortably. Then he cut a wide loop-de-loop, soaring out over the construction site.
    “I’m the baddest person who ever lived!” Dez called.
    Spencer’s mouth was clamped shut in fear, but he managed to work out a sentence. “Shouldn’t we be more sneaky?”
    “Relax, dude.” Dez had leveled out now, and Spencer saw that they were high above the tip of the crane. “I had my eyes on that Rubbish lady the whole time. She was looking the other way.”
    Spencer hated knowing that, in this very moment, Dez Rylie was solely in charge of his fate. All the Sweeper kid had to do was open his arms and Spencer would plummet to his certain death. The thought of it caused Spencer’s hand to stray to his janitorial belt. He didn’t know what would save him in a fall, but it felt a little better just to touch a broom handle.
    Dez was gliding now, making a big circle above the crane like a vulture over carrion. Spencer could finally see the Rubbish Sweeper. She was a fat woman squatting at the very tip of the long, angled crane arm. She looked odd, balancing there with her wings tucked back. Spencer half expected her to topple at any moment.
    “How close can you get me before she spots us?” Spencer whispered. He wasn’t sure if his voice had carried in the wind until Dez responded.
    “You worry too much about the details.” Dez looked down at Spencer, a horrible look of mischief in his bloodshot eyes. “Let’s just see what happens.”
    Dez’s wings folded back and he went into a steep dive.