Chapter Three
Dani struggled to keep her composure as all-too-recent memories assailed her. She could only think of another maid who’d died … thanks to her.
During what she now thought of as her “employee orientation,” she and Ben had wound up in a desolate realm known as the Gutters; they’d been accompanied by several others, including a maid named Patty and a rather disturbing creature that called itself a gnash. Dani had convinced the gnash to guide them to a safe haven in exchange for its life. Along the way, though, she’d momentarily left the beast unsupervised, at which point it had turned Patty into a final meal.
Despite Ben’s assurances that Patty’s death hadn’t been Dani’s fault, the guilt still gnawed at her. This death tore the emotional scab wide again.
Shaking herself from the memory, she recalled that Sherri wasn’t the only one hurt here. She ran to the other maid who lay motionless in a pool of blood.
Dani sighed in relief to find the maid still alive despite the mess. The maid rasped shallow breaths and had gone ashen. She whimpered as Dani probed the wounds, trying to recall what college studies she’d taken in preparation for med school.
Deep lacerations, possibly a punctured lung. No major arteries hit, it looked like, otherwise she probably would’ve already bled out. But internal bleeding would still be an issue.
She looked up to see Ben and Vern hurrying toward a newcomer—a thin, older gentleman who’d just entered the room.
She called out. “Ben, this woman’s got to get to an emergency room. She could need surgery if she’s going to make it.”
He raised a finger, urging patience. “I’ll do you one better.”
The men exchanged a quick greeting, then Vern slipped out while Ben thumbed Dani’s way. She moved aside as the newcomer hurried over and took her place by the injured maid.
While clothed in the same zippered jumpsuit nearly every Cleaner wore, the man moved with a professional and precise air that set him apart from most. The name on his uniform read: Lopez.
Lopez checked the maid over with measuring and probing techniques Dani recognized from medical texts she’d pored over. However, after the initial inspection, his procedure became anything but textbook.
He shifted around to kneel by the maid’s head and clasped it between his hands. Then he began to sway from side to side while humming and chanting words just below Dani’s threshold of comprehension. While his eyes remained closed, a green glow seeped out from between his eyelids, and a faint verdant aura lit the air around his hands and the maid’s body.
Dani realized Ben had come up beside her, and she leaned over to whisper.
“What’s he doing?”
“Lopez is a handyman,” Ben said. “They’re the finest you’re ever gonna find at fixin’ things—and people—if they ain’t too far gone.”
“A handyman? Isn’t that what … you know …”
“What Sydney was before goin’ Scumwise?”
She grimaced at his naming the entropy mage. Not only had Sydney been a flamboyant flirt and deceptive scoundrel with boundary issues, he’d also tried to hand her over to a cult. Not to mention she still owed him a date—a bargain she would’ve wholly regretted, except for the fact it had kept him from claiming an innocent life.
Ben nodded. “Yup. Handymen are almost as rare talents as you Catalysts, but there’s more of ’em ’round ’cause they don’t tend to blow themselves up before we get to ’em.”
Dani sighed. “Lucky them.”
“Even then,” Ben said, “it’s hard to find one as strong as Lopez here. He’s got a real knack for the work. Been at it almost since he was a bouncin’ babe.”
Lopez smiled softly at hearing his name, but didn’t pause in tending to the injured maid. Keeping one hand on her head, he tugged a small cloth out a pocket with the other and began patting it over her. Blood soaked into it without leaving a stain.
Not for the first time, Dani questioned the wisdom of the Cleaners keeping so much power contained within the company alone. What hospital couldn’t benefit from magical rags to keep people and areas free from infection? How many more lives might be saved if handymen applied their abilities in disaster relief areas, rather than remaining hidden behind the scenes?
She closed her eyes and reached out with her power, trying to get a sense of what he was doing. The power snaked out of her, questing along to form an internal vision of the surrounding area, along with detecting any Pure or Corrupt magic at work. She sensed the earth beneath the floor, the recycled air, the electricity coursing through the lights and wires in the walls.
An emerald light suffused Lopez’s form, making Dani think of a luminescent creature from the ocean depths. This light flowed along the maid’s bones and veins until it bathed her entire body.
Suddenly, the light flared, and Dani grunted as her senses were shoved back into her body. She opened her eyes to find Lopez staring at her. Power dripped from his eyes like green tears and fell onto the maid’s face, which looked a bit calmer, the skin a shade healthier.
Lopez shook his head slightly, as if Dani had intruded on an intimate moment. Then his eyes closed again, and he resumed his chanting.
Ben glanced at her. “Tried to take a peek, didja? Shoulda warned you. It’s touchy work, and some handymen can get their knickers twisted pretty tight if you stick your nose in. Like bumpin’ the elbow of a doc holdin’ a scalpel while doin’ brain surgery.”
“Oh.” Dani held hands out to the handyman to show she’d meant no harm. “Sorry. I didn’t know.”
Lopez’s expression didn’t change.
Ben cleared his throat. “Wouldn’t recommend tryin’ to chat ’em up while they’re workin’, either.”
Embarrassed, she shuffled away and Ben followed.
“Handymen, huh?” she asked. “Don’t any women get this kind of power? Seems a bit sexist if the Pantheon only imbues men with healing abilities.”
“’Course ladyfolks can get the same powers,” he said. “But you gotta admit, handyperson just ain’t got the same ring to it.”
“Hmph. Glad to see we’re still living in the twentieth century.”
As Ben opened his mouth to reply, a voice echoed through the room.
“I’ve received reports of a disturbance.”
Dani jumped as one of the walls shimmered and turned glassy, revealing a marble-tiled office with a steel desk at the center. The man behind the desk wore a white three-piece suit in sharp contrast to his ebony skin and dark eyes. A white fedora hung on a nearby hat rack.
Francis, the current Chairman of the Board, frowned at the scene, his gaze almost as cutting as his chin and cheekbones. He leaned forward, larger-than-life, and propped his head on a fist.
“Anyone wish to explain what I’m seeing?”
Ben stepped up. “If we had an explanation, mebbe so.” He tilted his head toward the corpse. “This maid here—Sherri, I think—went full-on, bone-chewin’ ballistic. Mebbe thought the color scheme here needed a little more red to liven up the joint.”
Francis sighed. “As always, Janitor Benjamin, your humor is ill-placed.”
“Naw, it ain’t. I always know right where it is.”
“It’s really all we know,” Dani said. “One minute, things are totally normal …” She thought for a second. “As normal as this place ever gets, that is. But the next second, we’re fighting for our lives. Even after we subdued Sherri, it was like she went into some epileptic fit that pushed her over the edge. She died before we could do anything.”
Francis’ scowl deepened and he took notes with a golden pen as they related the details of the fight.
“Handyman Lopez? Do you have any insights?”
Dani hesitated, wondering if she should warn the Chairman against talking during the healing process. Then a voice spoke behind her.
“No, Chairman.”
Dani jumped, not realizing Lopez had finished with the maid and now stood by her. He brushed silvery hair off his brow and gazed at Francis with gentle brown eyes as he spoke softly, his voice dusted by a slight Hispanic accent. “Chairman, this other maid will live, though I urge that she be transferred to Maintenance for at least a couple days. She has suffered intense trauma—not all of it physical—and needs ongoing care.”
“Make sure to file the proper benefits paperwork. Do you have any idea as to what might’ve caused this violent outburst?”
Lopez raised his hands in a helpless gesture. “I’ve not had a chance for anything beyond a cursory examination, but detect no sign of physical or mental Corruption in the injured. I will have to perform a full plumbing before I can provide any real analysis of the dead.”
Francis nodded. “See to it.”
As Lopez left to deal with the patient and body, Dani stepped forward.
“I’d like to volunteer to help.”
Francis fixed on her. “Help with what, precisely, Janitor Danielle? I’m not sure how your particular skill set would aid the handyman, unless you’ve found a way to resurrect the dead via conjured lightning storms. While I understand you might wish to put your schooling to use, that isn’t as applicable here.”
“Not that,” she said. “I want to help figure out why this happened. Why Sherri went loco all of a sudden. You’re planning on doing more than just a magical autopsy,” she glanced over at the handyman, “or whatever plumbing is, right?”
Francis checked a paper on his desk. “I believe you’ve been assigned to tools training for the next week. I have many others able to handle an internal employee investigation.”
“Sir, I feel strongly about this. I can do more if you let me.”
She fought to not squirm under his gaze, always disliking how the Chairman could make it feel like she was trying to use the situation for personal gain at the company’s expense. He considered her for a long moment before leaning back in his chair.
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with the loss of Maid Patricia in the Gutters, would it?”
Dani looked aside, wishing he hadn’t homed in on her motives so easily. Was she that transparent?
“Partly,” she admitted. “I just want to feel like I’m contributing something. I can help, really.”
“I’m sorry. There are others trained specifically for this situation. Perhaps in the future.” His focus shifted. “Janitor Benjamin.”
Ben’s face lit up, and Dani fought down a rush of jealousy. Why should he get picked over her? He didn’t even have his powers anymore. She kept herself from voicing the complaint, though, knowing it wasn’t fair to the janitor and that it wouldn’t do her any good. Once Francis set his mind, it took an act of God—or at least the Board—to change it.
“Yup?” Ben asked.
“Prepare a report of the confrontation and have it on my desk by this evening. I’d like your unique perspective on the events and it will give you something to do in your consultant role. In the meantime, I’ll be assigning Ascendant Jackson a team to look into this further. That’s all.”
“Ah. Sure …” At Francis’ look, Ben chopped a salute. “Sir, yes, Chairman, sah!”
Francis faded from view and the wall returned to whitewashed cinder blocks. Dani and Ben sighed simultaneously and then looked at each other in mutual annoyance.
“Looks like we’re both gettin’ tossed the table scraps,” he said.
“You’d think after what we did for him, he’d give us a little leeway.” She turned toward the exit, but Ben caught her shoulder.
“Dani, Francis is just—”
“Doing his job,” she said, more harshly than intended. “Just like everyone else around here is supposed to, including me.” She faced him, fists planted on hips. “I’d really hoped when you announced me as a full-time employee that I’d actually be able to, you know, use my abilities out in the field versus puttering around here all day.”
“Putterin’? It’s the same old trainin’ every Cleaner goes through when they’re brought in.”
“Well, maybe there should be some new training procedures,” she said. “Plus some new gender neutral job titles.”
“And at least you’re gettin’ paid for all this so-called putterin’ now.” His hand slipped off her shoulder. “I know you wanna be all go-go hero girl. Trust me, I get how that feels. But you still gotta be certified with the equipment before you can be assigned any major field work.”
“Bull.”
Ben blinked. Then he grinned. “Oh, look at you, princess. Slippin’ past the foul-filter all sneaky like. I shoulda thought of that.”
Dani waved the trick aside. “When I first got recruited, you were all about shoving me out into the field to get first-hand experience. Why are you so eager to keep me locked up, learning how to hold a stick properly?”
“Don’t be blamin’ me for that first bit. That was Destin’s doin’, remember? He figured stickin’ you with me might getcha exposed to the Ravishing. Make your abilities more controllable-like with his Chairman powers.”
“But that’s not why you’re taking this tack now, is it?” She leaned in, forcing him to meet her eyes. “Is it because you can’t go out there with me?” Her anger flared as he shifted guiltily. “That’s it, isn’t it? You feel responsible for me, and you think if I go out without you by my side, I’m not going to be able to handle things.”
He stiffened and glared at her. “It’s nothin’ like that. I’m worried for you, sure as shootin’, but don’t think I’d ever hold you back just ’cause I ain’t able to do the work I want, either.”
“Well that’s what I am thinking,” she said. “Honestly, Ben, despite what we’ve gone through, it’s like you still think I’m a little girl and you have to be my grandfather, mostly minus the old man smell.”
“Dani, I—” One eye twitched. “What do you mean, mostly?”
She started to chuckle, but jolted at a sudden thought. ⊗≈∏♦! I totally forgot I promised Jared I’d drop by today. I have to go, otherwise I’ll miss visiting hours. Want to join me?”
He looked ready to force the issue, but then pressed his lips tight. “I gotta write that report, and you know how much Francis loves his paperwork. The longer the better.”
“Lucky you. Death by a thousand paper cuts.”
“Say hiya to the kiddo for me.”
She left the training room and headed for her quarters to clean up before going to the hospital. She strode along, joining the foot traffic of janitors, plumbers, maids, and the occasional white-suited Ascendant who deigned to mingle with the common sanitation workers.
After she’d been inducted into the Cleaner ranks, she’d asked for a map of HQ, having gotten lost more than a few times in the seemingly endless stretch of halls, storage rooms, and employee facilities. Ben had just laughed and told her about the team that had, a century before, set out to chart the whole of HQ—and hadn’t been seen since. Rumors had it they still wandered the compound. A few of the more superstitious Cleaners occasionally held vigils with propane fueled torches, lighting rarely-traveled halls in hopes of bringing the waywards home.
And this was only the stateside operational center, not to mention the European and Asian headquarters. HQ, she’d learned early on, wasn’t a terribly cohesive structure, as much as they tried to suggest this through company organizational charts—some of which would make an Escher painting the perfect semblance of sanity by comparison.
This branch was anchored in Denver, Colorado. Ben had tried to explain it once, saying the main portion existed “someplace a bit sideways to normal reality. I submitted a suggestion to officially call it wonkified space, but I’m pretty sure the Employee Suggestion box is just a disguised incinerator.”
“You just get used to it,” he’d said, waving vaguely. “Sooner or later. Hopefully. Or mebbe you’ll find that lost survey team and bring ’em home, yeah? Focus on where you want to end up, and you’ll get there like gravy goin’ downhill.”
As she walked, she reviewed the disturbing events in the training facility and tried to imagine what would turn someone so vicious. Had there been bad blood between the two maids? A quarrel over a man? Maybe a lovers’ spat gone nasty? Those explanations seemed too simplistic for Sherri’s savagery, plus her unexplained death.
Hopefully Lopez would be able to uncover an explanation while getting the other maid back on her feet. Maybe if Dani asked real nice, the handyman would let her watch over his shoulder when she had time off. She wouldn’t use her abilities, of course. Totally mundane observation. Did handymen employ nurses or orderlies?
She let the thoughts fade into the background as another turn brought her into a familiar stretch of employee quarters. The doors all looked the same but she recognized hers by the pink smiley face sticker she’d placed on it.
She entered the sparsely furnished room she’d been assigned. Besides a bed and nightstand with a few tattered paperback novels, the main piece of decoration was the terrarium on the dresser, where an orange and red lizard lounged on a heat rock.
Tetris, her pet bearded dragon, cocked an eye her way in his usual inquisitive manner. Some girls wanted to own a pony. Some girls wanted to be a princess. Dani, however, had wanted to prove to her parents she could overcome her germophobic ways and deal with normal life enough to get through med school. Tetris had been her compromise, the one thing she’d learned to care about beyond her hygiene routines and gallons of sani-gel. Funny how a lizard could become a mental and emotional anchor—and funny how much she feared losing that anchor now that normal life involved maids going mad and buildings without blueprints.
A little voice rose in the back of her mind, listing various reptilian diseases that might claim Tetris’ life: Herpesvirus. Septicemia. Adenovirus …
Shutting down that old habit hard, she reminded herself that so long as she kept her pet within HQ, no infections could threaten him. Her work here protected him. The work helped her as well, giving her the ability to fight back against the filthy germs that once held her captive in terror. In turn, she could help others more directly with her Catalyst abilities. A circle of sanitized life.
The lizard scuttled off his rock to claw at the glass, stubby tongue licking the pane.
Ignoring his immediate pleas for attention—or food, more likely—Dani slipped into the bathroom. After showering, she shrugged back into her uniform, which always smelled fresh after she took it off for a few minutes. After putting on thick gloves, she dropped a handful of mealworms into Tetris’ cage and watched as the lizard chased them down. She tickled him under the chin once he finished the last one.
“Need anything while I’m out?”
He gently bit the end of her thumb.
“You know I can’t afford to get you a lady friend right now. Maybe once I get a raise; so figure somewhere between the next five and fifty years, ’kay?”
Once his water bowl was refilled, she stripped off the gloves, grabbed a fresh bottle of sani-gel, and slathered it on her hands for a full minute to satisfy the urge that’d been building ever since the maid incident. A knot of tension loosed in her gut as she breathed the fumes deep.
Sure. Rationally, she knew her new identity as a Cleaner combined with the suit shielded her from mundane contamination plus a range of Corrupt influence—but some things in life just refused to be rational. The gel remained a concession to this, a compulsion she might never leave behind her whole life.
With new gloves secured, she left the room and walked until she reached a hallway which dead-ended in a full-length mirror. She reached out and tapped the glass, letting a bit of Pure energy trickle from her to activate the portal. The glassways not only provided external access from various locations around the city, but also acted as portals between divisions such as Supplies, Maintenance, and the Recycling Center, where they kept imprisoned Scum and other nasties.
The glass shimmered and bulged, forming a translucent, feminine face. Glittering eyes focused on her.
“Destination?” the window-watcher asked.
“Saint Joseph Hospital,” she said. “Containment ward.”
“Employee authorization required.”
Dani placed her palm on the glass. A chime sounded, and she shivered as a scan coursed through her. The chilly wave washed over her scalp, across her shoulder blades, and out the soles of her feet as the window-watcher inspected her down to bone and neuron for any sign of contamination. It left a tingling sensation in its wake, along with a metallic aftertaste which made Dani feel like she’d French-kissed a battery.
“Pass through.” The face smoothed out, leaving the mirror featureless once more.
She took a deep breath to brace herself. She had yet to get used to traveling through the glassways. It wasn’t just the brief discomfort. It was also the sensation of traveling much farther than the single step it took to go from one side to the other; a hop, a skip, and a jump over an empty space the size of the Grand Canyon, somehow landing on the far edge rather than tumbling into a bottomless pit. She’d woken a couple nights in a cold sweat, having relived the sensation in her dreams, but with messier results.
Stop being a wuss, she told herself. Nobody else complains about this. Besides, it’s better than driving across town. I hate having to file reimbursements for fuel.
She plunged into the glassy surface. The frigid border swept over her, and for an instant she glimpsed an infinite corridor, with countless reflections of herself along the sides, each frozen in mid-step.
The other end of the corridor snapped her way. The space between contracted and the alternate versions of herself began to vanish. Dani braced to complete the step, as her momentum would propel her forward when she emerged.
As the opposing end of the glassway closed the gap, the nearest reflection on Dani’s right reached out and grabbed her arm, which burst into flame.