Chapter 59

The next day passed quickly, with Liam making additional preparations. He had to leave in the middle of the day, as the race would start in just a few hours, due to the time difference between Kamar Taj and Monaco.

He opened a portal behind the La Rocher Street, the entry point for the general admission audience. Upon arriving, he saw a massive crowd waiting in line to enter the stands.

'Naturally, I'm not going to be part of the general crowd,' Liam thought, walking to the left.

For the occasion, he had put on a suit and tie. Liam had gotten himself an expensive ticket by bribing some of the event organizers, allowing him access to the Hotel de Paris, where Tony Stark, Justin Hammer and other rich people would also be.

Having successfully invested in Stark Industries stocks twice, Liam had made quite the fortune. "And with money comes influence," he mused as he made his way to the hotel.

After a few minutes of walking, he arrived at the Hotel de Paris. At the entrance, two guards stood watch. Liam showed his pass and was let inside without issue.

Inside, the main reception area was still relatively empty. "That's to be expected since the event won't start for another two hours," Liam thought.

He greeted a few people who had also arrived early before heading upstairs to the rooftop.

The rooftop gave him a clear view of the racetrack. The hotel stood in the middle of the course: to the right was a long, almost straight section ending in a sharp corner, while to the left was a larger, sweeping curve.

"In the movies, Happy took a right turn and drove for a minute or two to reach Tony. Ivan appeared straight after a corner, so that narrows it down," Liam analyzed.

He noted the yellow gate Happy would drive through beneath the hotel and analyzed the location where Ivan Vanko might appear. "I'll assume it's at the first corner on the right. Once the race starts, I'll move closer to that spot," he decided.

Taking one final look around, Liam went back inside. By the time he descended the stairs, the crowd had grown significantly. The room was now filled with society's elite—wealthy, influential, and successful individuals.

Among them, Liam spotted his nightmare: reporters.

'Absolutely disgusting,' he thought, looking at the women, many of whom were slightly older than him. Wearing their professional but revealing outfits, they went from one elderly man to another, notepads and pens in hand.

Some slipped their phone numbers to the older men, while others followed them upstairs, likely conducting "personal interviews" in private hotel rooms.

Shaking his head, Liam walked over to the bar and took a seat. He glanced around the room before ordering a beer. "The legal drinking age in Monaco is 18, after all," he mused.

After a short wait, the bartender placed a cold, golden drink with a foamy white head in front of him. Liam took a sip, savoring the taste.

'Ahhh, I haven't had this in so long,' he thought.

His grandfather had been strict about drinking until he turned sixteen when he left the house, and after that, the chaos around him had never really left him any free time.

"Now that I think about it, I haven't taken a proper break like this in ages," Liam reflected, taking another sip.

He wasn't worried about getting drunk. Over the past few months, his body had grown stronger.

"A few beers shouldn't affect me," he reasoned, ordering another.

Thirty minutes and three beers later, Liam was about to order a fourth when a woman in a red dress with matching red hair interrupted him.

"I don't think you're old enough for that," she remarked.

'And I don't think that's any of your business,' Liam thought but replied aloud, "The legal drinking age here is 18, and since I'm almost 20, I think I'm allowed to have a drink."

"Why are you here?" Natasha asked bluntly.

"I'm just here to watch the Grand Prix. Why are you here?" Liam countered, despite already knowing the answer.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Natasha teased with a sly smile.

"No, not really," Liam replied, motioning for the bartender to bring him another beer.

Realizing Liam wasn't interested in continuing the conversation, Natasha turned and walked away.

A few minutes later, a commotion behind him drew Liam's attention. He turned to see Tony Stark enter the room.

'To be expected,' Liam thought, turning back to his beer.

Just as he was about to take a sip, someone tapped his shoulder.

Irritated, Liam turned to see one of the most obnoxious characters from the movies standing behind him.

"Hello, little guy. Would you mind moving so the lady and I can sit here?" Justin Hammer asked.

"No, thank you. I'm quite comfortable," Liam replied politely.

"I'm Justin Hammer, official partner of the United States military. What's your name?" Hammer continued, undeterred.

Liam, growing annoyed, decided to have some fun. He began speaking in Latin, introducing himself in the language.

Justin, who clearly didn't understand a word, frowned and muttered something about "foreign nobodies" as he walked away.

'Good riddance,' Liam thought. 'Never thought Latin would be useful for anything other than spells.'

Liam returned his attention to Tony, knowing he would soon leave to join the race. He downed his beer and stood as he saw Tony approach Justin Hammer.

'After this conversation, he'll leave,' Liam thought, heading toward the exit to wait for him.

Tony eventually slipped away from Pepper and the reporters, walking in Liam's direction.

"So you're just going to leave Pepper there? All alone?" Liam asked, knowing it would get Tony's attention.

Tony stopped and turned to him. "Who the hell are you, and why do you care what I do?"

"I'm no one important," Liam replied, only to be cut off.

"Okay, not interested. I've got somewhere to be," Tony dismissed him, assuming Liam was just some random rich kid living off his parents' money.

"Whatever suits you," Liam said as Tony walked away.

'The palladium poisoning makes him lash out like that, huh,' Liam noted, watching Tony leave.

Not wanting to waste time, Liam headed in the opposite direction toward an observation deck near the corner where the incident would likely happen.

Climbing the stairs, he arrived at a spot with a perfect view of the race.

"And now, all we need to do is wait," Liam said with a smile.