Just after midnight the top end of the city was practically deserted. A white cleaner's van pulled up in front of the ten storey Mantel building and parked right outside the entrance.
The two cleaners dressed alike, white overalls with a black company logo on the back. Somehow the matching outfits made their physical differences all the more obvious. One was tall, lanky, and red haired and the other was short and chubby with long blond hair. As they approached the door slid open automatically. The v-key app loaded in the first cleaner's visor ensured quick access to all their customers for the night. Walking through the door they nodded to each other and split up. The taller cleaner had a backpack vacuum and mop; the other went round cleaning desks and kitchen areas.
Littered with past procedures, old stationary, and other fading print-outs stood fields of desk partitions. Possible, likely even, that many people had worked next to each other for months separated by these thin walls and never exchanged more than a nod. A facet of each occupant’s personality could sometimes be gleaned from objects around the cubicles. A sense of knowing could be found in a few photographs or a collection of restaurant toys. Occasionally a rigourous new clean desk policy would temporarily remove the personal touch, but never for very long.
While it wasn’t obvious to a casual inspection the beige desks throughout the office where always covered in a light layer of dust. A damp cloth circled round and round wiping desks and avoiding personal possessions. The cloth was dipped quickly in and out of the cleaning bucket. The cleaner occasionally wondered if it was worth pocketing some seemingly discarded items. But fear of discovery and the trouble of losing the job quickly dispelled the idea. Handsets where lifted, cleaned, and replaced.
The cleaning felt relaxing. The constant movements allowed the mind to wander where it liked. A sudden tap on the shoulder snapped back reality. Brushing the headphones off allowed the sound of his partner’s frantic yelling to be heard ‘Brett, quick come and look at this.’
‘Hold on, hold on’, he grabbed his bucket and followed his colleague across the hall to an office on the corner of the building. Once the door opened he could see a man slumped over his desk.
‘What the hell?
‘He’s dead!!’
‘Shit, call the cops man.’
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