The Midnight Cleaning Company

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

We returned to the office to find our colleagues arguing again, each frantically gesticulating with the pages on which they had mapped out their plans clenched in their fists. They shouted over each other, cursing and threatening one another. All except George who said nothing at all, just paced back and forth across the room with an expression of fury mixed with panic. The barely suppressed rage was bubbling up inside him to a bursting point.

"You saw how many wannabes were in that club. They could recruit and motivate an army far faster than us!" shouted Charles.
"That is exactly why we should get a head start," said John through gritted teeth.

"I see your point John, but your proposal is too brash", said Michael. "If we turn a large number of recruits, there will be too many for us to control. We would be giving them immortality and then order them to immediately risk it suppressing those who give them a far more enticing offer", he continued.
"Enticing offer!" screamed John in response. "What is so enticing about exposing The Secret? For that is that they propose to do. Living like decadent fucking bohemians capitulating to every whim and desire. Do you think the Humans won't notice all the people that will go missing if a nightclub full of Rogues is allowed to feed and grow?"

"Grow is exactly what they will do in response if we start recruiting. Exponentially!" exclaimed Charles.

"You are all going round in circles", muttered George while he paced past them shaking his head. It was rare that he would join in these planning discussions, and they were all sick of each other's voices, so listened to his quiet contribution. John, Michael, and Charles all leaned back on their desks where they had previously been standing and shouting like a politician on a podium.

They were all suddenly contemplatively quiet. George collected his mug from his desk and brought it over to the fridge to fill it with pigs blood to calm himself.
"What is your take on this Fleming?" inquired Charles.

"I think tha.....", I was just starting to speak when I was interrupted to by loud ringing of the telephones on every desk.

Michael was closest to his and so answered the fastest. We all watched him as he listened and scrawled down a location onto a note pad. He hung up the phone without saying a word, stood up, and retrieved his jacket from the back of his chair. Abandoning the plans scribbled on paper, and still warm mugs, we all leapt into action and followed him down the spiral staircase to the vans.

"Case four scenario", Michael quickly advised out loud to those behind him. The experienced team members all nodded.

"What's goin' on?" Asked a confused Andre who followed the rest of us onto the ground floor.
"Your first cleaning", I responded while reaching the bottom of the steps and rushing to one of the metal lockers to retrieve two black hold-all bags to add to the already packed and ready van.
  
"Hurry up!" ordered Michael who was already getting into the driver's seat of one of the black vans. I threw the bags into the back of the other van and climbed in myself. Andre followed.
John jumped into the driver's seat of our van to follow Michael and George to the destination.
"What do I do?" asked Andre, he was slightly panicked at his inexperience in the face of our well drilled efficiency. There was no time to explain things, he was going to have to learn on the job.
"You will see when we get there", I replied.

The location was one of the more complicated yet frequent variety. It was one of the most expensive rooms of a five star London hotel on the very busy Regents Street.
Michael parked the first van down a narrow alleyway. The kind with cobble stones that is ignored in the modern city by motorists because of the tight squeeze and by pedestrians because of the lack of street lamps. John parked our van behind the other and we all piled out.