Professor Arc

Chapter 28

"And that is what happened last night, ladies and gentlemen." The Headmaster said, leaning forward on his desk, fingers interlocked. Arranged across the desk and opposite him were Peter, Bart, Cinder and Jaune, while the esteemed master of Beacon had Glynda and General Ironwood on either side of him. Jaune hadn't felt particularly pleased to see the scary man once more, though he'd remembered not to shake his hand this time. He'd learned his lesson alright, the man had a grip of iron. No way he was going to be put through that again.

"Sir, if I may?" Cinder asked, breaking the silence as all eyes were drawn to her. If she was responsible for what had happened the previous night, then she hid it well. Face a mask of nothing but curious concern. "We just arrive in your office thirty seconds ago... all you've said is 'and that is what happened'... we don't actually know what you're talking about."

"Ozpin..." Glynda's face fell into the palm of one hand. With the coming of the new day she was now out of the beautiful dress from the previous night, looking utterly unruffled in her usual outfit.

"There was an attack on the CCT last night," the General spoke, clearly not trusting Ozpin to. "Several of my men were incapacitated and some unknown virus was uploaded into the mainframe. Thanks to the fortunate interference of a student, not much damage was able to be done – but this still shows a complete breach in Beacon's security."

"Last night?" Peter gasped, eyes wide. "No doubt they thought to sneak by while we were all busy with the dance!"

"Yes, Mr Port," the General rolled his eyes. "I think we had all come to that conclusion. Regardless, such a failure in security is nothing to laugh at and represents complete negligence on the part of the Academy."

"Didn't you say it was your men who were knocked out?" Cinder asked, one hand covering her lips but insinuation clear. Peter and Bart couldn't quite contain their smiles, nor could Ozpin judging from how the man's hands suspiciously moved to cover the lower half of his face.

"That is immaterial!" the tall man growled. "We've called you here today to discuss what is going to be done about this. Mr Arc, Miss Fall... might I ask where the two of you were during this?"

"James," Glynda warned.

"We were at the dance." Cinder answered for the two of them. And while he would normally have been less than willing to let her handle things on his behalf, there was no denying she was the better talker. The General of Atlas was not someone he wanted looking into him, in any regard.

"How convenient..."

"Is it?" She raised one brow. "We were instructed by Ozpin to be at the dance. Where else would you expect us to be? Either way, I'm sure there are plenty of people who can attest to our presence... certainly they could not have missed Jaune and Glynda's little showing." Said blondes both coughed, Jaune glancing away slightly while the Deputy hid any embarrassment in the act of adjusting her glasses. Ironwood's teeth seemed to grind together, not at all pleased with the insinuation – or Jaune escaping his clutches.

"And you, Mr Arc, can attest for Miss Fall's presence?"

"I can," Jaune agreed. How nice it would have been to play dumb, but Cinder would just have them pull up the security feed, or just ask Yang and Blake to act as proof. It wasn't worth the questions of why he'd lied to them.

"There you have it James," Ozpin interrupted, "Now if we can step away from accusing one another and focus on the task at hand. I believe you wish to see to updating our apparently lax security, while I'm sure my Professors wish to prepare for their missions?"

"The student was Ruby Rose, wasn't it?" Jaune asked, drawing all eyes to him. Ironwood's were again filled with suspicion. "She mentioned something about it when I saw her, though I didn't get a chance to talk with her – is she okay?"