𝐝𝐞𝐣𝐚 𝐯𝐮, peter parker

xliii. backlogged secrets

chapter forty-three
backlogged secrets

     NINA WAS SUSPICIOUS. She had been confused when she saw Max one day at work and he was gone the next━no one knew who he was or even cared who he was. He had disappeared into thin air and perhaps Nina had been the only one who even took a moment to wonder where. And then he showed up in Times Square, electrified and with severe insecurities that had turned into severe anger issues that he could now express with yellow lightning strikes and destruction. Now, she was wasn't confused or concerned, she was very suspicious. 

     It was Gwen that made her take a step towards OSCORP for the reason. As she sat on her bed last night, trying to distract herself from her thoughts by performing a questionnaire to help Gwen study for her upcoming scholarship test for Oxford ... instead of answering one of her questions, Gwen Stacy stopped pacing in the middle of her room and let out with a hitched breath, "Max was an electrician ... he worked on the renewable OSCORP electricity scheme, I swear..."

    And just like that, Gwen yet again became the smartest person Nina knew. Her words struck an anxious chord with her and the next day, she didn't even stop to think as she missed her tutorial━it would help her very much in her upcoming assessment and lab work, of course, but Nina would have to face the consequences━and head straight towards OSCORP. 

    She was sure she'd be able to sneak in without her supervisor knowing. In such a big corporation, it was easy to get lost and be forgettable. When people weren't going out of their way to look for her; when it was a day she had off, Nina found it remarkably simple to get where she wanted to be. 

     Swiping her card against the security panel, Nina stepped inside the chemistry department. Without meeting anyone's gazes, she fixed her jumper and marched towards the computers, finding her desk and quickly sliding into her seat. She caught herself by her legs at the table before her chair rolled too far past her keyboard and shuffled closer, getting straight to work. 

     Nina fiddled with her hair momentarily, taking a quick glance over her shoulder to check whether anyone was close by or watching. She shuffled even closer to make her back hide her monitor from anyone's passing view. She knew she wouldn't have much time now that she was in, and logging onto her computer before someone in the department would question it. But she had to be sure━she had to test this variable.

     So with the start of a racing heart, Nina logged into the system. She immediately brought up the search directory━something she'd usually use if she was looking for someone in another department to work alongside for a project, but now, she searched for the name of the man she remembered from the elevator: Dillon, Max.

     The side tab of the screen lit up in a rapid search of identification photos━Nina narrowed her eyes, scanning them all as it did. Multiple rows showed, multiple departments━photos and photos and photos; flicking through ... hundreds of faces, and nothing seemed to be coming up. She frowned, leaning forward to see whether she could somehow narrow down the search━

      Suddenly, the photos dropped out. And Nina's concern turned into troubled dread to see: Name Not Found. 

     "What?" she whispered. 

     Nina knew that couldn't be right. She saw him in that elevator. He kept it open for her, with Max Dillon on his pass hanging from his loosely fitted shirt. He was real, she didn't just imagine him━and now he has shown up as a dangerous, potential villain and now he won't show up on his work's database?