432 - Kamikaze - Dragon's Phoenix - Original

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

Title: Breakdown
Fandom: Original
Prompt: 432 - Kamikaze
Rating: PG (language)
Summary: They shouldn't have ignored him.
Note: Written for a prompt at Taming the Muse: Kamikaze
Note: I'm writing a second story for this prompt. My first one followed S7 of BtVS so closely I wasn't sure if it would count as my own story. Plus it gives me a chance to rant against my second-to-last job.
Word Count: 626

“Let's give this to James.” Mike sat there in silence as the word's behind Dan's cheery voice pierced his heart like a lance struck into flesh.

The team chattered on around him but Mike didn't notice until James himself spoke. “Mike, are you okay?”

Mike knew he must look furious, that it must be obvious to everyone, but he denied it. “Sure. No problem.” James didn't look convinced but nobody else seemed to care so his denial went unremarked until he and James were heading back to their offices inside the SCIF.

“I didn't ask for the assignment, man.”

Mike didn't reply. He didn't have a problem with James. It was Dan's sudden and inexplicable desire to give James all the interesting work that was the issue.

“I don't even know how to do this stuff,” James continued. “Circuit boards and micro-second timing? I don't even know why they think I can pull this off.”

Mike shrugged. He wasn't even sure it could be pulled off given the specs he'd seen for the chip. Maybe it was better that James be the one to fail at it.

Back at his office, Mike fixed a couple of simple bugs. It wasn't fair. James kept getting the good assignments. Fucking Dan seemed to think Mike was an idiot. There was no reason for it. Hell, he'd fixed enough of James' bugs. He knew he was a better programmer than James. Why the hell didn't anybody else?

Finally, fed up, he stormed into Dan's office. Dan looked up as Mike closed the door behind him. “I want to know why you gave that assignment to James.”

Dan picked up a pen and turned back to a paper on his desk. He didn't say a word.

“You keep giving all the plum assignments to James. I want to know why.”

Still no word. Mike wasn't sure what to do. Dan wouldn't even talk to him about it? He went back to his office and stared out his window the rest of the day.

“Let's give this to James.” Less than a week later. Another meeting. This time it was Sonetra saying the words. Dan sat there like a big, fucking lump and said nothing.

At the next meeting, Mike raised an issue. “I don't think the chip can support the timing requirements we want.” People talked around him as if they hadn't even heard.

Stephan raised Mike's issue again. “Are we sure the chip can support micro-second timing?”

Still, everyone ignoring the issue. Mike felt thankful that Stephan was trying to support him until Jack, the VP, called everyone back to track. “We need to talk about Stephan's issue.”

Stephan's issue? Mike felt his face go numb. My issue. I raised the issue. Nobody seemed to notice. The meeting flowed around him like water flowing around a rock. And then the inevitable words, from Stephan this time. “Let's give this to James.”

Mike, at home that evening, thought about the situation as he cleaned his grandfather's gun. When James created that fucked up GUI, a different waypoint on every page rather than the set in a list box, I fixed it and didn't say anything. When James couldn't get that JTIDS bus working, I fixed it and didn't say anything. I did everything they asked of me. I did what I was supposed to do. I was supposed to be rewarded. How come I didn't get rewarded? They won't even tell me why they're dumping me by the wayside. Well fuck that. If they won't reward the obedient son, they can just fucking deal with the kamikaze warrior.

The bullets felt cold in his hand, like the ice that had formed around his heart, as he clicked the bullets home.