Warning: Dodge Glass

Eastern Capital: Water’s Flow Bank Headquarters

An imposing obelisk towered over the southern district. Sliding automatic doors opened quietly. A cool ocean breeze followed Darius. He wore a clean blue jump suit with a matching flat top cap while pushing a cleaning cart. Soapy water sloshed in a steel bucket.

The mop hung across his back attached to his belt.

The high ceiling of the lobby loomed over  intimidating emptiness in a city lacking standing room. He approached a sleek front desk. Behind it the locked elevator waited. His key card hung from his lanyard.

A dragoness in a business skirt and jacket stood from behind her desk. She adjusted glasses over snout, narrowed her eyes, and gave a slight burst of flame from her nostrils. Whiskers curled derisively. The lapel below her shoulder read: Gladys Infield.

“You there! What do you think you’re doing?”

Darius froze. He felt a warmth from the glowing mop. He reached for the handle. The threatening aura calmed at his touch. It dissipated slowly into the fabric. He pulled the mop free to hold it crosswise.

“Ah, what do you mean?” A drop of sweat fell between Darius’s eyes.

“I don’t recognize you,” Gladys said, “Not that I would. Is this your first day?”

Darius swung his mop around, “Yep, first day. Pretty good gig, am I right? I’m temporary maintenance staff. I registered online for the floor fourteen cleanup. I was told to come at night.”

Gladys sighed, sat down, and returned to typing, “The lobby is off limits to maintenance staff for regular traffic. Use the back entrance. And heed my advice. Don’t end up like the last guy who tried to get a regular spot. Stay out of management's way. They prefer to not be reminded you exist.”

Darius shrugged with a chuckle, “Yeah alright, you got it. Would you be interested in-”

“Take it further and I’ll report you for harassment.”

Darius put his hands up. The mop slid back in the carrying binds. He turned the cart without so much as another glance.

A side alley contained several car paths to underground parking lots. A pedestrian path outlined in blue led to the maintenance entrance. An inconspicuous metal door with a key card slot. It opened to a storage room with cleaning supplies. A chart on the wall matched names with floors, rooms, and offices.

A fat supervisor coughed in his dirty back office that smelt like stale cigarette smoke and moldy rice, “Hey, who are you? How did you get in here? Explain yourself before I call the police buddy!”

Fortune favored the bold so Darius stepped into the office, “I got a call to come in today sir. The key worked.”

The dragon rolled about the desk. Scales pushed at his blue-collar shirt. Beady eyes peered from thick glasses. Three large cigarettes hung from nicotine-stained scales. The dragon huffed a large breath through each smoke in turn.

“I didn’t hire anybody recently. I don’t have any new files or any notice of someone new. Who are you kid? What’s your name?”

“Wide Goldfield. I was hired online. I think it was for a temporary assignment. I mostly do gig work. Maybe you didn’t get the record? Floor fourteen ring a bell?”

The overweight dragon slammed a piece of paper on his desk. He looked sullen as his fangs bit down along his snout, “Floor fourteen special clean-up. Yeah, that’s probably it. Fine, you go do your thing. You got until sunrise. I want that suite spotless like nothing ever happened and you won’t say anything to anyone about what you had to clean, got it?”

Darius stood straight and saluted, “I’m on the job. I’m sure it won’t be that bad.”

The fat dragon hefted his weight across the desk and laughed. Smoke poured out his maw, “He’s sure it won’t be that bad. You’re a fire brand aren’t you! HA! HA! Do a good job and I’ll put you in for a bonus and a chance at a permanent spot on the team. Now let me update your key card.”

Darius gulped, claws shook slightly as he handed the card to the overweight dragon.

“This doesn’t look standard, from another job?” He ran it through the system, “Hmm, well, it updated just fine. Make sure to get your ID and tax papers sorted here when you're done if you want paid.”

The keycard returned to Darius, who tucked it back in the plastic case of his lanyard. He received a small note with the floor and room number, then bowed politely.

The cart pushed into the hall. Darius sighed once the door shut. He took out the sticky note labeled: Floor 14 Section H Suite 10. The note crumpled into a tiny ball between claws before dropping into a trash can.

The elevator took him to the lowest basement. A drainage pipe gurgled from behind the wall. The window to the first office was a security checkpoint where officers monitored camera footage. He walked quietly past the metal detector without triggering the alarm. Tension firmed his back.

He walked narrow halls until he entered a large room with a huge vault. Rounded steel doors barred the way. A black suited dragon wearing a headset stood to the left of the entrance. He approached the cart. Claw hovered over his holster. The headset buzzed.

Darius pushed his hat down. He pulled the mop from his back and dipped it in the bucket. Water sloshed as the fabric circled it into a swirl.

“Hey, you. What are you doing down here? There’s no scheduled cleaning today. Who gave you access to this level?”

The mop pulled out of the bucket with a trail of water following absorbent threads. Liquid strands wrapped the guard's neck. The headset fizzled with a spark. The back of his head slammed into steel. Gun slid from his holster to be tossed aside by a watery tendril.

Nobody dead. The mop used water to manipulate objects deftly. Darius smiled.

But the alarm sounded anyway. It echoed off cement walls. Red lights swirled. Darius jumped startled and glanced back to see guards taking aim behind him. He raised the mop with the handle clutched in six claws. His eyes glowed a brilliant green as he swung it before plated steel doors.

-----

A quake shook the southern district of Eastern Capital. The imposing black windowed obelisk shuddered. Ground rumbled. Dark glass shimmering in the dim moon vibrated musically. It burst outward. Shards exploded from the first floor followed by rushing water. The second floor bulged out and burst. Shattering cascaded to the top floor until no unbroken glass remained.

Papers, folder, computers, desks, and employees shot like cannon fodder into the surrounding streets. A full oak desk burst through the window of an apartment building. A dragon in a soaked business suit rolled into a stone municipal office.

The water spout shot upward at twice the height of the building. A rain of plastic, wood, and glass shards crashed over the surroundings.

The name lapel of Gladys Infield clutched torn dress fabric. Manicured claws scraped at the cement, just short of reaching it. Another upsurge laced with shards pushed it into the drainage gully.

Sirens wailed throughout Eastern Capital.