Lucky followed Raymundo into the butcher’s shop. The first thing Lucky laid eyes on was a long display case full of various things. Most things were a bright red, or in the case of the chicken section, a whitish pink. There was a certain smell in the air, some would call the mixture of blood and cleaning supplies an omen of death, but Lucky smelled life.
The lifeblood of these animals would feed another life form. Human, bacteria, maggots, vultures, so many possibilities floated through Lucky’s mind. They didn’t stay behind for long. Almost immediately they had their face up against the glass, marveling at the bounty.
Raymundo approached more slowly, his gaze sweeping past not only the display case, but the chalkboard above listing sales for the day. Trying not to go broke while on a secret mission wasn’t easy.
“Hi, what can I get for you?” A broad woman with arms the diameter of a fire hose stepped up to the cash register. Their hairnet was stretched over their bushy hair and their visor stretched taunt across their forehead. Their black apron was tied neatly around them, and they swiped their damp hands across the front of it.
“Uh,” Raymundo glanced at Lucky.
“Beef!” They pointed to the middle of the section they were in. “Rib eye?”
Ray didn’t need to look at the board to know that rib eye was going to be outside his budget. “Er,” He did scan the board again for something within his budget. “I think today we are going to have to go with aitchbone cuts.”
“How many?” The butcher tilted her head.
“Er…”
“Five.” Lucky grinned.
“We don’t need that many.” Raymundo rubbed his temples. “Two cuts.”
“Coming right up.” She plopped two cuts onto the scale and gave Raymundo the cost.
Raymundo reached for his wallet while Lucky wandered over to a smaller display case along the wall. Through the glass doors the metal knives shone brightly. She didn’t need weapons in her plan, but Raymundo hoped she wouldn't get any ideas looking at the knives.
“Thanks for choosing Mall’s Meats!” She beamed as she held out the paper wrapped cuts of beef. A few crumpled bills exchanged hands.
“Thanks.” Raymundo took the tightly wrapped package of meat before grabbing Lucky’s arm. “Time to go.”
“Can we come back after we finish our mission?”
“We’ll see.” Raymundo nodded to the butcher before pushing the door open.
Word count: 406
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