Operation- Sleepy Kid

Chapter 4- The Janitor

(events here happened prior to Chapter 3)

Out of all the secrets hidden within the Toi Mirai foundation, the life of the seclusive janitor remains one of the most mysterious. His job was to keep the place as sterile as possible, to which he does without fail nor breaks. He very rarely spoke to anyone, only muttering a quick, quiet "Morning" or "Evening" every now and again if someone greets him prior. From the deep tone within his voice and the dark, silvery hair reaching just below his shoulders, they could say he had just crossed that middle age- Late 40s or early 50s at least. Yet he was still agile and flexible enough to do a backbend if need be. "Sightings" of the janitor committing suspicious or questionable acts were deemed as nothing but mere rumours or stories made to entertain the hungry crowd.

Even his employment day remained a mystery to all. Noone truly knew when he started working at the foundation nor how long he had been working for. Each and every scientist, researcher, admin, receptionist, doctor, professor and every single other person had a file documenting their details. Details like their name, date of birth, qualifications, profession, social life and many others are linked to both the foundation and the employees' lives. The janitor's file was never found, not even once. Some say it is hidden at the very back of the huge filing cabinet, concealed away while others simply believe it was lost or misplaced ages ago and not found since. He liked it that way. That sense that he was just a meer shadow of intrigue. The chances that his details were to be shouted out were rare. It gave him his own peace. Instead of people barking his name for attention, they would throw idle phrases like "You there" or "Excuse me", all of which he could easily ignore or pretend they were speaking to someone else.

"Harvey...?"

Of course, there always had to be one. The only person in the facility with details about the janitor. How and where he got them from was unknown but he's had them for a while. A long while. Luckily, this person knew how to keep his mouth shut about these things around other people. Harvey respected him for that. Other people would just spread the news and gossip around like cold butter on freshly made toast. Hearing his name being mentioned did startle the cleaner a little until they turned around, their gaze greeting Matamura's with a questioning aura hanging in the air around them. Either that or it was the smell of the cleaning solution he was using for the floors.

"Hey uh...listen Harvey...I uh...I'm gonna need your help"

Itsuki stammered out towards the man leaning upon the handle of his broom while waiting for him to push the sentence out from between his teeth. People tend to react to being put on the spot or under pressure in different ways. Some embrace the spotlight and treat it as their own personal sun while others prefer to stay vampires and step as further away from that sun as possible. Suppose you could say, Itsuki would definitely be a vampire. Putting him under pressure was like placing a shot glass underneath a hydraulic press. It shattered him from the inside out. Confidence when speaking up was something Itsuki lacked and he was far from proud of that. It would be made even worse from the fact he often suffered with a nervous stutter. The most confident Itsuki ever feels is when he is alone and focused. Things seemed to move quicker that way and he didn't need his own voice to be projected over a million others.

"Well. What with?"

Those short sentences spoken by Harvey took Itsuki by sheer surprise. It wasn't the words, nor the context itself. It was the way his voice sounded. Asides the occasional grumbled greetings, Matamura had never heard the janitor's voice up close before. You can say he was astonished when Harvey sounded nothing like the middle aged man he looked like. In fact, he had the voice of a boy who had just finished puberty. Deep yet youthful. It was as if his body sped up time itself without alerting the rest of him. The exact opposite of one of the many factors Itsuki had been studying. Nonetheless, he cannot stop and wonder at the possibilities of the illusive facility cleaner no longer. The sooner he explains the whole plan, the sooner he can finally end the trauma of hundreds of innocents.

Just as the leader of the resistance predicted, Harvey listened closely to the plan and agreed without a second thought. Itsuki gave a sigh of relief, thankful that his constant stuttering didn't get in the way of communicating the operation. The janitor knew the layout of the building like the back of his hand. Every room, cupboard and corner. A large range of pathways and escape routes he could direct you to if asked. No wonder Itsuki was asked to seek his assistance. His knowledge about the whole facility was beyond extraordinary. Extra-extraordinary if you are willing to call it that. Unhuman almost. Like he was from a different place from the earth they are currently residing upon.

In all honesty, Harvey agreed to the plan due to the annoyingness of a certain apprentice within the area. If this was a pre-school, then Jensin would be classed as that kid who thought he was better than everyone else and could get away with anything due to being the teacher's son. Harvey knew his father was one of the more higher up scientists within the foundation yet never saw the reason why he has to act the way he does. Harvey especially hated Jensin in his drunk moments. Every Friday, he would open a small air vent in the breakroom where his precious tequila was concealed before indulging in a toilet cubicle. It made the whole bathroom smell of foul drink.

What Harvey despised the most however was the fact he knew exactly what he was doing, yet only continued to annoy the cleaner. It was a poor job anyway, absolutely useless. What kind of unqualified person would want to take such a lowly position? Jensin often teased the janitor for not partaking in the conversation he was trying to engage him in. Once to the point of kicking the guy down to the ground and leaving him to pick up his things and carry on where he left off. Recently, his actions had been mainly comitted to getting in the way of his job- tipping trashcans over, placing items in the wrong place and genrally just being a nuisance in any way. All of this just to get him to snap and yell at him to stop his antics. Either that or get him fired and replaced with much faster cleaning machines.

Speaking of a certain apprentice, both men turned around at the end of their conversation upon hearing the familiar sound of his leather shoes clicking against the cold floor. Itsuki gulped before realising what he had just conversed with Harvey was about to become a reality so soon. He gave the janitor a quick nod before disappearing into the broom cupboard, leaving the person outside to act natural and close the door, pretending to have placed something away. Jensin seemed to be in a good mood this morning, gliding across the floor with a cup of coffee in his hand. As per usual, he launched the other in the completely wrong bin and splattered the wall behind it in brown-ish stains. This annoyed Harvey but he knew that his sense of pride wouldn't be met with a fall very soon. As planned, Itsuki emerged from the broom cupboard just as Haydes walked past both men. A silver pistol within his hand, loaded with a paralyptic fluid filled dart. Itsuki Matamura took a deep breath...aimed...and fired.

Thud...