lover/fighter - Finnick Odair

Chapter 44 - Neptune in 4th house

"So, you work full-time in your own practice and in your free time you somehow continue to work the whole time, just in a different practice, do I understand that correctly?"

Rhea smiles and glances in the rear-view mirror at Finnick, who is sitting in the back seat of her car as they make their way to the southern part of the city. As the three of them set off, Tarek beat him to it with a loud "I'll sit in the front!" as soon as the car was in sight, so he had to make do with the seat in the back. Rhea couldn't help but grin with amusement. During the drive, she and Tarek used the time to explain to him what exactly there was to do.

The biggest problem with providing medical care to people who are absolutely poor is that the materials have to come from somewhere, without there being a lot of money available. In theory, this is a very difficult problem to solve if you haven't just won the lottery. In practice, however, Rhea has found a solution, which ironically results precisely from the wasteful behavior of the upper class.

What some people lack, others have too much of, and it's no different in the Capitol's doctors' offices and clinics. Everything is always bought in surplus so that you never find yourself in a situation where something is not immediately available. However, this also means that there is always material left over, which is then regularly sorted out. When the new delivery arrives, the old stuff goes in the bin, even if it can still be used without any concerns for quite a while. Even things that are still months away from their expiration date are thrown away.

Rhea now knows quite a few people in her profession and most of them are more than happy to leave all this stuff with her, as it saves them the effort and expense of disposing of it themselves. Various practices in the area regularly bring her all the things that are no longer needed, and she collects them in an unused room in her practice until the resources in the southern district need to be replenished.

When the time comes, she usually organizes a big transport operation and gets some help for it. An acquaintance from her neighborhood who has a small transport business does her a favor a few times a year and picks up the items at the practice. Elaine keeps an inventory list and helps her to pre-sort everything. Tarek and Oliver usually help her unload all the stuff again and carry the heavy boxes up the damn narrow stairs to her second workplace and put them away.

This time everything is a bit chaotic, because without Tarek she wouldn't have thought of it at all. The appointment was actually scheduled for Sunday, but then she felt so bad that she couldn't bring herself to get out of the apartment. She had hoped that it would be better after a few days, but only thanks to Finnick is she actually able to manage the big rearrangement today, even if she is bloody late.

"She's a workaholic, it's like an addiction for her. Others go out for dinner, to party or whatever, but she never does. Some people think she's not even a real human being," replies Tarek next to her.

"Who says such nonsense?" she asks, a little offended.

"Everyone, actually," laughs Tarek. "Everyone thinks you're either an artificial labor engine or a saint. So, what's hiding behind your forehead? Cables and wires or a halo?" he adds, amused. "What are you thinking back there in the cheap seats?" he then asks, turning to Finnick with a cheeky grin.

Rhea isn't sure how she feels about the whole situation, especially the unexpected encounter between Finnick and Tarek. On the other hand, it's the perfect opportunity to put into practice what she discussed with Linus. Letting Finnick in on her other work is a good way to keep Snow interested in her without making herself vulnerable in any way. None of what she's doing is illegal, but it's bound to come as a surprise to someone like him.

So far so good, but now she has the problem of having nosy Tarek on her back. He's been acting so pushy and annoying the whole time, probably because he's like a sniffer dog and senses that there's something going on that she's not telling him about. He's damn clever and always notices when you're keeping secrets from him. This could be problematic as she can't tell him exactly what's going on with her and Finnick. But if she lets him make things up for himself, which he is probably already doing, it will also end in chaos. She'll have to think carefully about what she tells him later, if it does any good at all after Finnick's blatant answer.