He didn’t manage to approach the tree correctly with the machine the first time, which made Beast so apprehensive his stomach tied into knots, but on the second try, the two feed rollers grabbed the trunk in a secure grip. The vehicle dwarfed the demonic creation, and regardless of the smell the tree emitted and the ungodly dark color of both the bark and leaves, it seemed harmless in comparison to the horsepower of the giant piece of machinery.
“That’s it… you’re doing well,” Beast whispered with a frown.
Knight snorted. “That’s what you’ll look like during Marcel’s first school play.”
Jake laughed and had some more beer. “I bet Laurent will be one of those show parents, taking their kid to competitions and pageants.”
Beast scowled, though he could see that happening. Laurent was always very proud of his accomplishments and wanted to show them off. And what greater accomplishment was there than a well-raised kid?
Joker, who returned from the barbecue site with his paper plate full, grinned, not bothering to hide the pieces of food in his teeth. “He’s not denying it.”
With machine number one in place, Knight switched to the other console, moving one of the levers again and again without any effect. “Gimmie a sec. I don’t know how it could be out of juice, I checked the battery this morning.”
Jake let out a frustrated moan, his gaze fixed on the mayhem machine with a giant circular saw at the end of its arm. “No! I was looking forward to this.”
Knight grunted and walked off to check something in the cab when Beast was presented with a steak and potato salad.
“How long are we to wait?” Magpie moaned, checking his watch. He was one to talk—sprawled in his golden chair and fanned like royalty by poor Malachite, who wore his trademark suit and sweated so profusely his bald head could have been a pebble taken out of the water. And nobody even knew if he really was a bodyguard, since for all they knew he could as well be a sex slave and maid. Who knew with Magpie? Just because Beast now knew his name, didn’t mean they were ‘friends’.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Beast refused the plate and started walking toward the machine, which stood so unnaturally high it gave him a sense of mild vertigo. “You checked the sap sample against metal, right?” he asked Magpie.
“Yes, it won’t be affected.”
That was all Beast needed to know. It was about time they stopped dicking around and got on with the job. Since most of the other MC members had already had a beer or two, he took matters into his own hands. It did help that he’d learned how to use that monstrous thing along with Knight, and while manual precision wasn’t his strongest skill, he was positive the technique was straightforward enough. It wasn’t like he was supposed to take up knitting.
Knight sighed when Beast walked past him. “The console is on, and I put in new batteries. I don’t know what’s wrong.”
“It’s fine. My turn,” Beast said, eager to finish the job in time to pick Laurent up from work. The last thing he wanted was for his man to be upset with him again. He would be anyway, once he found out they’d hidden this operation from him, but Beast hoped he could kiss anger out of him.
He climbed the ladder leading to the cab and slammed the door behind him, not wanting to risk further damage to his skin if the sap did splash around, despite all the precautions they’d taken. It was only once he was seated inside the box atop the huge vehicle that stage fright tickled the back of his neck. He glanced at his friends, who were having the time of their lives out there over steak and beer, and even at Magpie’s regal presence, but this procrastination needed to stop.
He would deal with the tree and then take a few hours off. Maybe prepare a nice surprise for Laurent to celebrate them getting back together?
He did have to remind himself what some of the buttons were for but eventually started the engine and drove closer to the tree. He stopped and moved the lever that operated the arm downward, and watched the blade of the saw lower over the mossy ground.
“Take that, you fucker,” he whispered to himself, thinking back to all the mayhem Baal had caused in his life. The demon might have brought Laurent to Beast, but it hadn’t been out of good intentions. And if King hadn’t made a deal with Baal in the first place, Beast’s whole life could have looked different. His skin would have stayed smooth and beautiful, and he wouldn’t have recklessly hidden his face behind tattoos.
But even when he thought of all the pain and disappointment he’d lived through, his mind still circled back to the possibility that Laurent wouldn’t have been at his side if King hadn’t made that deal, so what would a handsome face have been for?