Penny sat forward, a scheming look in her eye. “If we can find out what the Aurans use to destroy the Glop, then we might be able to use the same method to destroy the source.”
“I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Bernard said. “We’ve got to find the map to the dump first.”
“Which is why we have this.” Alan hefted the cylinder and took a deep breath. “Let’s find out what’s inside.”
His thumb flipped the clasp, and the black lid sprang open.
Chapter 18
“It’s all right here.”
Alan upturned the cylinder and dumped the contents onto the table. There was a quiet stupor as they all stared blankly at the item.
Finally, Bernard threw his hands in the air. “You gotta be kidding me!”
“That’s a little disappointing.” Penny raised an eyebrow.
“It’s a . . .” Spencer stammered. “A . . .”
“It’s a roll of paper towels!” Bernard shouted.
“But without the paper towels,” added Daisy.
And that was exactly what it was: a brown cardboard tube, about eight inches long, slightly wrinkled at both ends.
“There’s something inside it,” Walter said, bending close to the table.
Alan picked it up and peered through it. Carefully, he reached his fingers into the end of the roll and pinched out a scrap of old newspaper, stuffed tightly, as if to hold something in. Alan tossed the paper into the trash can and grabbed a second wrinkled scrap from the other end of the tube. This time, something fell from the cardboard roll and landed with a tinkle on the table.
It was a tiny silver key, maybe half the size of Spencer’s thumb. He’d never seen one quite like it before. Alan dropped the scrap of paper and the cardboard tube in the trash and bent over to inspect the key.
“Why’s it so . . . small?” Daisy asked.
“It’s the economy,” Bernard said. “Everyone’s downsizing.”
“It’s small,” Walter said, “because the lock is small.” He reached across the table and picked up the key. “Anyone who’s spent time as a janitor ought to know exactly what this key is for.” He pinched it between his fingers for all to see.
The garbologist and the biology teacher shrugged. Spencer and Daisy had both spent time as janitors, but they didn’t have keys to the school. It was Penny who finally answered: “It opens a paper-towel dispenser.”
Walter nodded. “Every paper-towel dispenser has a tiny keyhole, usually on the side or the top. That’s how the janitor opens the dispenser to put in a fresh roll of paper.”
“Then the map to the Auran landfill must be hidden inside a dispenser somewhere!” Alan said.
“How many paper-towel dispensers do you think there are in the United States?” Penny asked. “Millions? Billions?” She shook her head. “Where do we even start looking?”
“I just have to point this out,” Daisy cut in, holding up a finger. “Has anyone else noticed that the word dispenser sounds a lot like, you know, Spencer?”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Spencer said.
Daisy shrugged. “Just an interesting coincidence.”
“Did the twelfth clue give you any direction on where we could find this dispenser?” Walter asked.
“No, I don’t think so.” Alan rubbed a hand through his beard. “But that was more than two years ago. I could be wrong.”
“We’ve got to find a way to narrow down the search,” Penny said.
“I might start by searching Alsbury High School.” Everyone turned to Bernard. The garbologist was rocked back on his chair, yellow boots resting on the edge of the table. He was holding a newspaper in front of his face, as though casually reading at the breakfast table.
“Would you get your nose out of the trash and start taking things more seriously?” Penny snapped at him.
Bernard lowered the wrinkled newspaper just enough to peer over the top. “One man’s trash is another man’s reading material. Very interesting report about the janitor at Alsbury High School. Looks like the article continues on page A3.”
He dropped his boots to the floor and reached into the trash can for the second scrap of newspaper that Alan had plucked from the tube. Carefully, Bernard unfolded the page and smoothed it against the tabletop.
“Yup!” Bernard said. “Sure as shooting. It’s page A3.”
The whole team was staring at the garbologist, waiting for an explanation of what was written on the newspaper.
“It’s all right here.” Bernard hoisted the trash can onto the table. “You were all so worked up about the tiny key that you didn’t think twice about throwing away the real clue.”
He lifted the cardboard tube out of the trash and waved it around. “This tells you that the key belongs to a papertowel dispenser.” Bernard set down the tube and lifted the newspaper. “And this tells you that the paper-towel dispenser belongs to Alsbury High School. Are you following me?”
Walter sighed. “Just read the article, Bern.”
“Ahem.” Bernard cleared his throat and straightened his duct-tape tie. “Police are investigating the death of Alsbury High School’s night janitor, Rico Chavez.”
“Wait!” Walter held out his hand.
Bernard flinched. “I haven’t even gotten to the tragic part yet.”
“What’s the date on the paper?” the warlock asked.
Bernard squinted at the corner of the page. “Let’s see . . . Friday, January 13, 1993.”
Daisy did some quick math on her fingers. “That newspaper’s more than twenty years old!”
“It’s a warning,” Walter said. “I remember the Rico Chavez incident in ’93. The Bureau wasn’t happy about it going public.”
“What happened to Rico?” Spencer asked.
“It isn’t pretty, kid,” Bernard said. “Says here he was found—”
Walter held up his hand again, cutting off Bernard before he could share the gruesome details. “The press found Rico before the BEM could cover it up. The news reporters couldn’t fathom what got him. There were even outrageous theories about wild animals in the school. But every janitor knew without a doubt. Rico Chavez was killed by Toxites.”
“How could that be?” Penny asked. “Toxites don’t live in high schools.”
“Toxites feed on active brain waves,” Walter said. “High school air is too rotten for them. They’d feel relocated and would do anything to escape.”
“Okay,” Alan said. “Let’s suppose the Toxites were trapped in the high school, getting angry. Rico must have accidentally released them, and before he knew it, the creatures got him.”
“Right,” said Penny. “I’m still wondering how a swarm of angry Toxites ended up trapped in a high school.”
“They must have been planted there,” Alan said. “I bet the Aurans put them there to guard the final clue.”
Walter picked up the small key. “If the paper-towel dispenser is at Alsbury High School, then Rico Chavez might have given his life to pave the way for us.”
“Don’t take anything for granted,” Alan said. “Just because Rico sprang the first trap doesn’t mean there won’t be others. I’m guessing we can still expect to run into danger.”
“I don’t think any of you know this,” Bernard said, fishing around in the trash can again, “but my middle name is actually Danger.”
“Dr. Bernard Danger Weizmann.” Daisy said it softly to hear what it sounded like.
“It’s got a nice ring to it!” Bernard found what he was digging for and produced a half-empty bottle of Dr. Pepper from the trash can. He unscrewed the lid and took a swig. The garbologist smacked his lips. “It’s a bit flat.”
Spencer gagged.
Chapter 19
“Woke us all up.”
It was still dark outside when Spencer felt a hand shaking his shoulder. He blinked a few times before his eyes could focus on Penny’s face. The young woman was wearing a huge grin.
“I talked him i
nto it,” Penny whispered.
“Huh?” Spencer glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s six o’clock in the morning. Why are you waking me up?”
“Shh!” Penny pulled him up from the couch. The team had slept in the teacher’s lounge at Woodbury Elementary. There were enough couches and armchairs for everyone except Walter and Penny, who’d volunteered to stay down in the janitor’s closet with the Glopified gear.
Penny led Spencer into the hallway, silently shutting the door to the teacher’s lounge. “What about the others?” Spencer asked. “Where are we going?”
“I thought you should be here for this,” Penny said. “Operation Vortex. I talked Uncle Walter into using the leaf blower!”
Spencer paused in the hallway, his feet suddenly too numb to move. Operation Vortex! Spencer was fully awake now. Walter was about to rescue Marv!
Penny grabbed his arm, infusing Spencer with anticipation as they continued down the hallway.
“I convinced Uncle Walter that we needed one more janitor on this mission,” Penny explained. “Marv’s the best Toxite fighter I’ve ever met. I’d feel a lot better with him by our side.”
Spencer could barely contain his excitement. He’d been waiting months for this day. It was Spencer’s fault that Marv was trapped in the vacuum bag. A few months ago, they’d learned for sure that Marv was alive. Penny had captured an audio clip from inside the Vortex. It was Marv’s voice booming out, “Haha! Gutter ball!” So, not only was the big janitor alive, but Marv seemed to think he was bowling inside the vacuum bag.
Walter turned as Penny and Spencer entered the janitor’s closet. The Glopified leaf blower was on the table and the overcharged Vortex vacuum bag was resting in the crook of Walter’s arm.
“Penny?” He made a disapproving face.
She shrugged. “Come on, Uncle. You know Spencer should be here for this.”
“I make no guarantees,” Walter said. “I have no idea if this will work.”
“Of course it will,” said Penny. “Now get in there before the others wake up.”
Walter lifted the leaf blower from the table and crossed the room. He opened a small door, and Spencer saw that the area beyond was a tight concrete chamber. Everything had been removed, leaving the walls and ceiling bare.
“I’ll give you two minutes to tape me in,” Walter said. “When you hear the leaf blower start, you’ll know I’m about to begin.”
“Hold on tight.” Penny closed her uncle into the small, dark room. She lifted a roll of duct tape from a nearby shelf. Tearing off long strips, she taped along the seam of the door.
“Glopified tape will keep the door from imploding,” Penny said. Spencer was familiar with the tape. It was fingerprint sensitive and unbreakable. The only fingers authorized to peel it off would be the same ones that taped it down.
Penny stepped away from the door, a huge X crisscrossing the frame. No sooner had she finished than the leaf blower’s motor roared to life on the other side of the door. The sound that followed was a hundred times louder as Walter pierced a hole into the Vortex vacuum bag.
Spencer clamped his hands over his ears as the janitor’s closet filled with deafening suction. The walls shook and the shelves rattled. Even through the taped door, Spencer could feel the pull. He looked down to see his shoelaces standing straight out, stretching toward the door. Spencer leaned back, bracing himself against Penny.
In a moment, it was over. And the silence that followed seemed almost deafening in its own way. Penny raced forward, ripping strips of duct tape from the door. She crumpled the tape together and cast it aside, a silvery wad of stickiness.
Spencer hung back, his throat so tight with anxiety that it seemed he’d never be able to swallow again. Penny jerked open the door, and Walter Jamison collapsed into her arms. Spencer noticed the papery Vortex bag in his hand as she lowered him to the floor.
Unable to resist, Spencer leapt through the doorway and into the small concrete room. It was dark and, if possible, even barer than before. Spencer felt the smooth walls, noticing how chips of concrete had been stripped away by the suction force.
The room was empty. There was not even a speck of dust, let alone a big, burly janitor.
“I’m sorry,” Walter whispered.
“What happened?” asked Penny. “Why didn’t it work?”
“The leaf blower was ripped from my hand,” he said. “The Vortex sucked the air out of it before I could take aim. The blower wasn’t strong enough.”
But the leaf blower was powerful! Spencer had seen it blast the jaw off a giant Filth. Why hadn’t it worked?
“Nothing can match the Vortex,” Walter muttered, as close to despair as Spencer had ever seen him.
Footsteps in the janitor’s closet brought Penny and Walter to their feet.
“There you are!” Alan said, rushing to Spencer. The rest of the team was filing in behind him, still rubbing sleep from their eyes.
“Did you feel the earthquake?” Daisy asked. “Woke us all up!” Spencer decided he could tell her about Operation Vortex later. For now, he let her think the shaking was an earthquake.
“I woke up and you were gone,” Alan said. “What are you doing down here?”
The boy stared at his dad. Spencer had done his own thing for so long, why should he have to report to his dad now?
“He was helping us,” Penny answered for him. “We’re getting the gear together. Thought we should do a little training with the new equipment before we head into the danger zone.”
“Make it quick,” Alan said. “We should get on the road.” After finally opening that mysterious package, he was anxious to find Alsbury High School.
“Hold your horses!” Bernard said. “We’re not going anywhere till I make some repairs on the garbage truck. That Extension Grime shattered my window and ripped off the back hopper cover. It’ll be several hours at best.”
“Let’s just take the truck as it is,” Alan said. “It’s still drivable.”
“It doesn’t meet regulations,” said Bernard. “I’m not gonna risk getting pulled over. My extended cab is meant to hold four people. We’re going to be packing six. We don’t have seat belts for everybody.”
“We can duct tape ourselves down,” Daisy said.
“Duct tape, really?” Bernard tugged on the flaps of his aviator cap in frustration.
“Forget it, Bernie,” Alan said. “The truck is fine. We leave within the hour.”
The garbologist sighed in defeat. He opened his tweed coat to reveal an assortment of vending machine treats tucked into his overalls. “Can’t we at least have breakfast first?”
Chapter 20
“Vanilla scented.”
Penny was so excited to explain the weaponry that she didn’t even join in the breakfast of cookies and candy bars. She waited until everyone was seated at the table before taking a janitorial belt from a hook on the wall.
“Everybody gets a belt,” she said. “Ultra lightweight, one size fits all.” She strapped it around her waist.
“No offense,” Bernard said through a mouthful of Snickers. “But shouldn’t the warlock explain the gear?”
“Penny’s my weapons specialist,” Walter said. “Whenever I Glopify something new, I give it to her. She learns how to use it and gives me feedback on how to improve.”
“I’m the guinea pig,” Penny said. Then she was back to the training.
She pointed to a pouch near the buckle. “On this side, you’ve got vacuum dust. The back pouches have a latex glove, chalkboard erasers, and duct tape. This other pouch has a razorblade.” She pulled the little blade from the belt. “Flip the button and you’ve got a sword.”
Daisy jumped as the razorblade extended. Penny held it out for everyone to see before closing the blade and dropping it back into the pouch. “If you’ve got a sword, you’ll need a shield.”
Penny reached for one of the U clips on the belt. The clips held anything with a handle, making it invisible and intangibl
e while it was on the belt. Penny unclipped a short handle, and a dustpan shimmered into view. With a twist of the handle, the pan fanned out, metal pieces clicking together and expanding to form a circular shield. Penny thumped her fist against the dustpan shield.
“Nearly indestructible,” Penny said. “Good for picking up dust, too.”
She twisted the handle again, and the shield reverted to an ordinary dustpan. When she snapped the handle into the U clip, the dustpan disappeared. “These other U clips are for the usual gear.” Penny pointed at the handles in her belt. “Broom, mop, pushbroom, and toilet plunger.”
“And all of it’s Glopified?” Spencer asked, remembering how he and Daisy had stuck a regular toilet plunger to Walter’s back.
“Of course,” Penny said. She turned so everyone could see the other side of the belt. There were several nylon loops with plastic spray bottles dangling from their triggers.
“Orange one heals practically any injury,” Penny said. “I remember that one,” remarked Bernard.
“Green one causes deep sleep and erases your recent memory of the person who sprayed you.”
“I don’t remember that one,” Walter said.
Penny unclipped a bottle of blue spray and held it out for demonstration.
“Looks like Windex,” Daisy said.
“You’re right,” said Penny. “But what does magic Windex do?”
She aimed the spray bottle at the table and gave a few shots. The blue solution hit the wooden tabletop and shimmered briefly with an azure light. Spencer leaned forward, anxious to see the effect it would have.
The wet area of the tabletop changed almost instantly to glass! Spencer could see straight through to the floor.
“We believe this is the spray that was used to rescue Director Garcia from the dumpster,” Walter said. “Mr. Clean developed the Glop formula. He sprayed the side of the dumpster, it turned to glass, and he shattered it to free his warlock partner.”
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