Billionaire in Kingsman with a Marvel System

Wearing a robe, William walked out of the bedroom and saw Gareth sitting by the bar, sipping whiskey. Upon seeing the bottle on the bar, William couldn't help but curse, "Damn it! You bastard, you opened a bottle of Macallan 1926 without inviting me?"

Gareth chuckled, lifting the bottle to pour William a glass. "You warned me earlier not to wake you up, or you'd kick me out, so I had no choice but to drink it myself," he said with a grin, shaking the bottle. "But look, I'm a good friend—I left you more than half the bottle."

William took a satisfied sip, exhaling contentedly. "This whiskey is excellent. Thanks, man. I'll remember to call you whenever I open a good bottle in the future."

"Ha ha, it's a deal. Cheers!" Gareth raised his glass, clinking it with William's before downing his drink. He poured himself another generous glass. "Let's have another before I head back to work."

Just as William lifted his glass, the butler, who had been standing nearby, stammered, "S-sir, there's something I need to tell you. This bottle of Macallan 1926 was specially prepared by the hotel according to your usual drinking habits. It's priced at $55,000, and Mr. Mallory here opened it on his own while you were resting, and... and..."

"Wait a minute," Gareth interrupted before William could respond, "Did you just say $55,000? I didn't hear wrong, did I? Do you have any more of this? I'll buy a bottle from you for $55,000."

"What's this about?" William looked at Gareth in confusion. Did he drink too much and get tipsy? No, William quickly realized what was going on and asked the butler, "How much does this bottle sell for on the market?"

The butler had been waiting for William to ask this, so he shot a grateful look at Gareth and explained with a smile, "Sir, this bottle fetched $55,000 at auction last year. It was specially provided by one of our hotel's directors; otherwise, we could only offer Macallan 1939 or Macallan 55."

"Do you have any more? One bottle isn't enough. If you have a Macallan 1946, that would work too."

William, being sharp, knew that the director who provided the whiskey must have wanted something from him. But if they thought they could gain access to William with just one bottle of whiskey, that would be too low a price. So, he directly asked for a rare Macallan 1946, which is as rare as a panda.

"God, you're asking too much, William. There were only 40 bottles of the Macallan 1926 when they were re-bottled in the 1980s. As for the 1946, there's no record of it ever being auctioned. Just enjoy the one in front of you."

Seeing Gareth take a big sip, William sighed and waved the butler away, dismissing whatever request that hotel director might have had. He didn't have the time to bother with it.

Holding the bottle, William sighed inwardly. He didn't care about the $55,000; he just regretted not being able to add it to his collection. Now that the bottle was open, scolding Gareth would be a waste of breath, so he decided to let him enjoy it.

Gareth, who had been discreetly watching William's expression, relaxed when he saw that William wasn't upset. Although Gareth knew William wouldn't care about a few thousand dollars, he had still been a bit worried.

As they drank and snacked together, about half an hour later, William, noticing Gareth was slightly tipsy, smiled and said, "I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

"Drinking whiskey this good, of course, I want the good news first," Gareth replied casually.

"The good news is that my people have secretly contacted Silva's mistress. If you still want to pursue what we discussed in the castle forest, you should have Craig meet her. If you've abandoned that plan, I can find out where Silva is right now."

"The castle forest?" Gareth put down his glass, recalling their previous conversation, and realized William was referring to whether or not to eliminate M.

Seeing William's calm expression, Gareth's initially racing heart slowly steadied, and he said coolly, "It's only been a few days, and you've already found Silva's mistress and turned her. William, how did you manage that?"

William brought his fingers together, mimicking the action of counting money. "And that's the bad news. It cost $10 million and a new identity. You guys should cover this expense, right?"

"My friend, are you joking?" Gareth smirked, a hint of schadenfreude in his tone. "You really are a capitalist. But let me tell you, give up on that idea. Even if I agreed now, you wouldn't get the money. I'm not like you; I don't control the budget. The Security Committee's funds are allocated by the Treasury. You might have some luck with others, but the Treasury Secretary is still furious with you for the few billion you managed to exempt from taxes. He'd love to see you dead, and now you want to squeeze money from him? Are you dreaming, or just drunk?"

Realizing his scheme wouldn't work on this old fox, William quickly pivoted. "Then you need to help me push the equipment Bond is using right now. Otherwise, I'll take a huge loss—just buying Silva's intel cost $10 million..."

"Hold on, William. You might fool others who don't know you, but not me. If you spent more than $1 million on intel, I'll immediately approve the purchase of 10 sets of your 1.0 gear. But if you didn't, how about giving me five sets for free?"

"FKU! I'm already losing money helping you out, and now you're dragging your feet when I ask you to help me sell some equipment. Don't expect me to fully support you in the future," William fumed, taking a large gulp of his drink.

Having gotten to know William well, Gareth understood his personality. William had little concern for national interests and focused entirely on his own benefits. Though tempted to ignore him, Gareth knew that denying William any benefits might lead to trouble down the road.

"Alright, after this is over, I'll lead the testing of the equipment you mentioned. Whether the lower ranks decide to procure it depends on your skills. Now, I've got to get back to work."

Gareth downed the remaining whiskey in his glass. As he reached the door, he turned back to William and said, "Some things, once decided, need to be followed through to the end. If you plan to send her to meet her maker, then do it—keep your word, right, William?"

William turned around, raised his glass in a toast, and said, "I have no problems on my end. Just make sure you're clear on what you want."

After Gareth left, William instructed Sunday to transfer the money to Sévérine, extend Bond's use of the equipment, and began planning how to market the new gear.

Upon receiving the $500,000 deposit, Sévérine, thinking about the recording Christmas had of her talking in her sleep about killing Silva, realized she had no way out. After Christmas assured her that they would secretly protect her, she didn't hesitate long before revealing Silva's hideout. They agreed on a signal, and she calmly returned to the Golden Dragon Hotel to wait for Bond to show up.

With Sévérine as an inside agent, everything proceeded as planned. Bond boarded the boat to meet Silva, while the Expendables took advantage of the timing. Caesar and Road drove a speedboat to drop off Barney, Christmas, Gunner, and Yin Yang on the island.

From a distance, the four of them, clad in diving gear, quietly landed on the island under cover of night. Caesar and Road returned to their base in Malaysia, ready to fly to the island in a Mil Mi-24 helicopter to extract the team once they received the signal.

After landing, Barney and the others, worried that Silva might have an emergency escape route or might not even be on the island, didn't rush to search the island. Instead, they set up an ambush, waiting for Silva to show himself.

___________________

Read Ahead

[email protected]/Mutter