Infernal Academia

Chapter 36 - Grunt Work

When Cobalt plugged the code into Alison's front door, he was feeling a strange mix of exhaustion and irritation roiling within him.  The first week of school had kept his mind off things, but now that the weekend had rolled around, he couldn't keep ignoring what she did.  With the shock collar stuffed into his bag, he marched down into the main laboratory.

"I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so fucking sorry, bluebell."

Cobalt watched with an unimpressed look in his eye, frowning as Alison prostrated herself on the floor in front of him.

"Just answer me this..." he sighed, reaching into his satchel.

Producing the disabled shock collar, he dropped it in front of the human scientist.

"... why are you making things for criminals?"

Taking it up in her gloved hands, Alison ran a thumb across the two prongs that had previously been jabbed into the back of his neck, electrocuting him at the whims of Lorenzo Suyas.

"Ah, this..." she sighed, getting to her feet.

Stepping over to one of her workbenches, she switched on a lamp and teased the casing apart. As she pulled at wires and circuitry, she took a pair of forceps and gently pulled a tiny microchip from the collar.

"I need money for research materials, and selling my services to the Sulfur Bloods was the best way to accrue the funds," she explained, raising the chip to the light.

With a grin, she winked at Cobalt.

"But with this little recording chip, I got plenty of audio files I can sell off to law enforcement! So I'm karmically neutral, if you think about it!"

"That thing was recording me?!"

"Look, I didn't know it was going to be used on you! I- I'll edit out all the sappy talk!"

Cobalt narrowed his eyes.

"How do you know there was sappy talk?" he hissed, folding his arms.

Alison froze, like she had just been caught out. She swallowed hard and slowly tracked her gaze over to her desk, where a set of headphones lay, still plugged into her computer setup.

"Oh for- you were listening the entire time?! I'm trying to start the new year on a fresh note, here, and I've already got the entire student body talking about me!" cried Cobalt, completely outraged.

The scientist raised her hands in front of her face.

"L- Look, I was surprised enough when I heard your voice! I only listened in to make sure you stayed safe!"

"Lorenzo Suyas bloody shot me that night!"

"I know!  I cried a little!"

The Incubus buried his face in his hands.

"Why, in the name of all that burns, would you possibly need to personally listen in on all of that?!"

She made a series of rapid gestures.

"I'm desperate for a bargaining chip!  Look, the Sulfur Bloods kinda got me by the hypothetical balls here!"

Rubbing his eyes, the Incubus sighed and collapsed into a nearby office chair, already feeling drained from speaking with the scientist.

"So you got into be with a notorious crime family, and wound up getting trapped.  What a surprise," he murmured dryly, folding his arms.

"Yeah, that's about the long and short of it.  Goddammit, I should have seen it coming..." she sighed, prodding the broken collar.