"There," pronounced the sinister leader, putting down the knife.
Jack inspected the watermelon chunk and his heart sank. The leader done a horrendous job, effectively butchering the small piece of fruit. Two clumsy lateral cuts had been made, trisecting the chunk in slightly the wrong places. The tiny, eye-like holes in the top section had effectively collapsed as a result of the man's carelessness, rendering them useless. The white tray ran with a small amount of red juice, the pitiful aftermath of a botched surgery.
"I really wish you would have let me make the cut. This is...this is, just..." Jack struggled to keep his emotions in check. Around him in the cooler, the leader's lackeys stood, generally disengaged or going about their own affairs. The man was obviously incompetent, but because of his position Jack was powerless to oppose him, and it had cost this watermelon chunk its life.
At Jack's veiled accusation, the man narrowed his eyes briefly, as if to reassert his dominance. Jack dropped his gaze and the man nodded, then left the cooler.
Jack returned his attention to the watermelon chunk. He separated the top section from the other two, revealing the inner face. Juice trickled and gurgled from several tiny indentations in the fruit's flesh, like a small creature struggling to respirate. Someone would have to put this small piece of watermelon out of its misery. Jack's heart broke.
