streethound:
Over time, Gem had come to understand Ricardo’s habits better. He was stuck in a hellish situation where being treated with basic decency was something you needed to work for. Though he had worked hard years after becoming plagued with the parasite, it never appeared to Gem as though anyone treated him better than a worm.
Seeing Ricardo work himself to the bone for awhile now was not something the woman enjoyed. Days like this were why she tried to have the man pace himself, as every cough created a small splatter of blood on his desk.
“Choked up? Ric, you’ve been hacking all day and you look ready to pass out!” Seeing him raise up yet another energy drink made her grab for his arm. She’d seen him chugging the drinks all day, if there wasn’t coffee in his hand, there was another energy drink. At this point it was making her worry deeply.
“How many of those have you had? I know you got your uh, little friend, but you’ve been hacking all day and I… I see the blood Ric! Something ain’t right here. When was the last time you slept?” Her face was laced with concern as she held his arm tight, not letting him ignore her.
In his line of work seniority meant nothing. His old “pal” Wagner was just a fledgling compared to him and that man had been getting the star treatment until he’d come down with a bug himself. Ricardo hadn’t seen the bastard leave the laboratories since. As a result even with the businessman shouldering the Texan’s work on top of his own it meant little to the corporation. They’d acquired a fresh-faced dealer straight out of college and had been slowly getting his feet wet in the bio-weapons dealing. Ricardo gave the man six months, if that.
Even with blurry vision and shaking extremities, Ricardo was still doing what he could to go over the details of a few upcoming deals. He’d be damned if there was interference or meddling and, yes, he’d eventually be sending the newbie in his stead. This excess work made him feel alive, made him feel normal, but by god was it killing him. He gave another loud cough and this time he could practically hear the blood hitting the papers on his desk. The parasite was pissed and wanted its host to take a good twenty-four hour nap. Unfortunately for it, its host was as stubborn as they come.
“I’ve just hit the wall, Gem,” Ricardo said, “All I’ve gotta do is climb ovah it. You can’t get shit finished when you’re countin’ sheep an’ this shithole of a corporation can’t expect the newbie ta know the foist thing about handlin’ this sort of job. You need an--” He wheezed again. “--an expert!”
He’d started to pop the lid on the energy drink when Gem grabbed his arm. He gave her a bloodshot glare but didn’t take a sip. “I’ve..uh..I’ve had about three not countin’ the five cups of coffee I had,” Ricardo told her. “I would have four if you’d let go of me!” When Gem mentioned the blood and sleep he gave a dismissive hand wave with his free hand. “Once I’ve got this deadline beat I’ll sleep like a baby. Until then you an’ it will have ta let me woik. Maybe then Head Honcho will eventually realize I’m more valuable than Wagnah evah was or evah will be..”