Chapter 155: Taking The Beasts Out For A Ride
"Have they replied?"
"Yeah. Just now and they said that they will deliver the product in three days," the manager replied.
"Three days? That long?" Brian asked with a frown.
"Yeah. Disappointing. I know," the manager sighed.
"Well, I just hope the product is really up to the hype they are heaping on it. I will hate to be disappointed," Brian said, relaxing back into the sofa.
"Since the email came from a very reliable source and they used the normal encrypted channel, they will won’t disappoint," the manager said.
"I hope so. Because it’s coming from those people doesn’t mean that it will be real. I mean if that was so, why didn’t he release news about the product in an expo or in a keynote?" Brian asked.
"Who knows? Maybe they don’t want to publicise it like that. Their e-mail said that it’s a product that Applē, Metā and Gōōgle have been trying so hard to perfect," his manager said.
"That was another reason why I accepted to review the product. I really want to know what sort of product it was."
"I guess we have to no choice but to wait for three days then," his manager sighed, relaxing back into the sofa.
"Three days it is then," Brian sighed, picking up his phone.
"But what sort of product do you think it is?" His manager asked.
"My best guess? It’s just baseless hype. I would had said that it’s a smart glass but such is impossible to come from an unknown company," Brian replied.
His manager made a face that said, "oh well", and sighed.
***
Meanwhile, Liam was on the call with Daniel.
"Daniel, meet me at Hangar 14, Imperial Terminal, South Side of Los Angeles International Airport."
"Ok, sir. I will be there," Daniel replied.
Liam nodded and ended the call. He stood up from the bed and left his room, slowly walking down the stairs.
Today was the day was the day he finally takes a ride in the Cabriolet Imperium and fly in his fully customised Airbus A380.
Saying it like that feels like he’s bragging but who cares? It was finally time for him to take those beasts out, after collecting dust in the garage, and hangar for so long.
Actually, it has only been a few days. Barely five days since he received them but it felt like an eternity for him.
Liam had already called the flight captain Ave informed him that he will arriving soon. And he also asked Mason, and Nick to get the car ready, and they were waiting for him. There was something Liam noticed when he gave them the instructions. He has no idea if he has sensed wrong but it seems like they had no idea of the car until he told them about it.
He has no idea how that was possible. Nick and Mason should had gone in and out of the garage more than a couple of times over the last few days. Also, they drove him to the party and other places he went to.
Then how was it possible that they have no idea of the car? Was the system involved? Liam was curious but he didn’t read too much into it.
"Sir, the car’s waiting outside," Mason said, when he reached the end of the staircase.
"Thank you, Mason," Liam said, catching the mixed look of shock, confusion and disbelief in Mason’s eyes.
Though he tried to hide it but not so much from Liam.
Seems like he really had no idea. I wonder how the system did it, Liam smiled, as they both walked to the front door.
Mason opened the door and what came into Liam’s view was a masterpiece work of art that should be called beautiful in every language.
The car waited at the steps like a jewel carved from metal and light. The body stretched long and impossibly sleek, painted in a deep obsidian onyx black and platinum microflakes that seemed to drink in the sunlight.
The hood extended endlessly forward, a prow of elegance and power, while the narrow headlights glowed like molten slits of crystal. The Imperium badge shimmered on the grille — a radiant crown above the classic Maybach emblem.
The car looked like something between a luxury yacht and a futuristic grand tourer, impossibly long and sleek, with an elegance that made even the biggest luxury car brand seem ordinary.
Wow! So, this is the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 Cabriolet Imperium? It looks even more beautiful than in the picture. Thank you so much, system.
Liam took a deep breath, then walked to the car. Mason opened the backseat and he took his seat.
The first thing he noticed was that the interior was... otherworldly.
Liam let his palm run slowly along the edge of the seat. The leather wasn’t like the ordinary hides used in luxury sedans; this was something else entirely.
The surface was impossibly smooth, supple, like warm skin under his fingertips. It yielded slightly to pressure, then bounced back, exuding both comfort and resilience.
Mason slid into the passenger seat up front, though Liam noticed the way his eyes had roamed earlier — disbelief, curiosity, awe.
He still hadn’t processed the existence of this car, and the way his jaw tightened told Liam he was restraining the urge to ask a dozen questions.
Nick glanced back and asked, "Destination, sir?"
"Hangar Fourteen, Imperial Terminal, South side of LAX," Liam said casually.
"Yes, sir."
Nick’s hands settled on the steering wheel, which glowed faintly at his touch. The car stirred awake with a very low sound, like it was almost never there.
The Imperium glided forward, leaving Bellemere’s gates behind.
They rolled down the tree-lined nearly empty roads of Holmby Hills, the sunlight cutting between the branches overhead.
At the stop sign near the boulevard, a jogger reduced her pace, with her eyes widening as the car slid into view. She nearly tripped over her own feet, staring, before fumbling for her phone.
Liam gave a small smile when he saw this. He knew that he would also have the same reaction as the woman or even worse.
She wasn’t the only one looking, as everyone that sighted the car, already had their eyes pinned on it.