The Marvels

Ep. 26 | A Voldemort Situation

She took off into the air with the box in hand, careful not to let anything fall. People didn't like getting hit by things, even if they were cookies. When she got to the dome, David was sitting outside. He was working on some wiring sticking out of a panel next to the door, tools scattered around him. He had his mask on, maybe out of paranoia that someone would catch him off guard outside.

"Hi!" Vidya said cheerfully, landing behind him.

David flinched and twisted around, and after seeing who it was, he laughed. "Hi. What's that?"

"Cookies. Aisha said I could bring them over. Is she inside?"

"Yeah."

Vidya made for the door when David suddenly scrambled to his feet and got in her way.

"I'm fixing up security on this place," he said, gesturing to the panel, "and putting in a scanner as the new lock. It's safer than a key." He shrugged. "And I was thinking, since you're around so much, why don't you add your print?"

"Seriously?"

"I mean..." David laughed nervously, taken aback by her surprise. "If you want to. You don't have to."

She grinned. "I'd love to."

He held out a tablet, and she put her hand on it. As Vidya watched a green line scan her handprint, she couldn't help but smile. This place wasn't just a hangout: David lived here, and giving her access meant that he and Aisha trusted her—more than that, they genuinely liked her. If she weren't holding the box, she would've hugged him and squeezed all the air out of his lungs.

When Vidya walked in, Aisha was licking her thumb, running it across the adhesive strip of an envelope, and pressing it closed. "Chocolate chip?" she asked hopefully.

"And Hershey's kisses," Vidya said, setting the box down on the coffee table.

Aisha took a cookie and, while chewing it, packed the envelope into a bigger manila envelope. David came inside and started working on security from this side of the door, taking off his mask. Vidya folded her legs underneath her on the couch and simply watched them, cupping her face with both hands.

"Any plans for tonight?" she asked.

It wasn't a serious question, because if they weren't doing anything, it wasn't as if she would insist they do something just because she was bored, but Aisha squealed and jumped to her feet.

"I was hoping you'd ask that!" she exclaimed.

David glanced over his shoulder, looking a little wary.

This should be good.

"I had something lined up for tonight," Aisha said, letting the envelope drop onto the table. "A sort of peek into Speed's death."

Vidya's eyes just about popped out of her head. That was a far, far cry from their usual escapades. "What do you mean?"

"I have a source willing to give me some information," Aisha said. Upon seeing Vidya's confused face, she added, "We're not going to do anything with it—nothing we do can ever match the investigation the police and Celestro are conducting, and they already have this information. I just want to see it because I'm curious."

Vidya nodded slowly, digesting the plan. "I'm in."

David whirled around in shock. He came over to the table, taking a Hershey cookie. "I don't know, Vidya," he mumbled. "Won't someone at Celestro get mad at you?"