(Perspective has changed to the third point of view.)
Ethan had sent Gillian an emergency investment draft detail earlier that night. The German mark was now under attack. The force had operated a raid right before the EUR replaced the mark, and they were after the Central Bank’s coffer. Gillian was amazed by their bold actions as he could never even imagine targeting the government.
The offensive forces plunged the mark by 2.25 percent within just an hour, and the foreign exchange market fluctuated to a great extent. Gillian thought the trend had changed.
It was essential to start with a small amount of money when using a new investment strategy. One had to send an advance team to understand the market’s flow and increase the fund at the right timing. That was how Gillian jumped into this situation. He felt guilty about attacking Germany as they were in the same economic zone as where he lived, but he couldn’t give up the opportunity to easily earn money. Nothing mattered in front of money since only simple logic was applied in a cold-blooded world of winning and losing.
That’s the world of competition!
Gillian thought the market flow had become favorable to his side, but not that many forces joined the offensive line. In 1997, everyone jumped in desperately when Asia was attacked. Although he had lost to Jonathan at that time, powerful speculators around the world were united for the same goal. The market moved based on where the money flocked.
Moreover, everyone knew LTCM was taking the lead in the attack as things happened right after LTCM, which was under Jonathan Investment, posted a report on their website that predicted a plunge in the mark. Nevertheless, only a few capitals joined since no one could guarantee the result, and Jonathan Investment’s attack wasn’t that aggressive.
Gillian then received a call.
<Jessica: Gillian, it’s me, Jessica. Have you been knocking on the door, too?>
<Gillian: Yes. Are you talking about the fifty million dollars worth of contract that I had just canceled?>
<Jessica: Yes, it’s from us. Umm… If this is LTCM’s independent action without the Jonathan Group’s leadership, shouldn’t we step aside? We won’t get much profit.>
<Gillian: But we are so close.>
<Jessica: We have two choices. One is joining the offensive line at the point when Jonathan’s Group devotes the most money to attack the mark, under the hypothesis that they are controlling LTCM. But there won’t be much for us to eat Another option is that you and I become the vanguards and kick Jonathan out.>
<Gillian: Provoking me with that name doesn’t work. If you want, you can go in first.>
<Jessica: Why are you being so timid? You should take the lead since your group is much larger than us. Jonathan started this, but it’s okay. The two of us can…>
<Gillian: It’s no use.>
<Jessica: I miss our time in Russia.>
<Gillian: I have to go now.>
<Jessica: Wait, why don’t you tell me?>
<Gillian: What?>
<Jessica: That the atmosphere is weird. You must be aware of it. There’s something you haven’t taught me yet, Gillian. Just a few capitals are joining the attack line. What the hell is this? What is moving behind all of this?>
Gillian knitted his brows and looked out the window. People from the Karjan family occupied the VIP room, and it was a different world there. Powerful men in the European economy, including the vice president of Germany’s Central Bank and the chairman of The City Financial and Economic Union, were having a heated conversation. The group’s directors disapproved of the recent attacks, and the Karjans were demanding that they confidently join in defending.
They’re making fun of our world of competition.
Rage surged up within him but there was no way that the Karjans would compensate for his group’s loss.
<Jessica: Uh…huh? Something is following up. Did you put in an additional order?>
<Gillian: Of course not.>
<Jessica: Then, do you think it’s Jonathan? The funds in the attack line are still increasing. Whether or not it’s Jonathan, this is the time. We should corner them now, Gillian. Let’s not be stingy.>
<Gillian: Things are going to be a full-scale war. It’s beyond the level where we can attack and leave. Can you bear that?>
<Jessica: The opponent should bear with everything if we attack at once. We won’t even need to think of leaving the war.>
Gillian looked at the Karjans again, and he could crush that confidence with one finger right now. He wondered if they would be able to maintain those faces even when the family became in danger of going bankrupt. The only reason he hesitated until the end was because he couldn’t guarantee his victory. He could make them go through extreme hardship, but a single movement of his finger could lead to himself bleeding and leaving in regret. Gillian made a decision.
<Gillian: Jessica.>
<Jessica: Oh, I like how you are determined.>
<Gillian: If you betray me…>
<Jessica: When you were my boss, you said betrayal should be considered ‘strategic liquidation.’>
<Gillian: It’s going to be a long fight, and it will end with either the German Central Bank or us collapsing.>
<Jessica: The market is changing, and we have more advantages. It would be embarrassing if we lose such an opportunity. I’m ready, so just drop the order, boss.>
<Gillian: Stop joking around. I’m not your boss.>
<Jessica: …>
<Gillian: When our group’s capital gets wiped out, our career will end. Our reputation and position in society could be removed in the blink of an eye because of this war.>
<Jessica: So, we’re jumping in, right?>
<Gillian: Yes.>
Then, Gillian’s office phone rang.
<Seon-Hu: Clear all positions and stop everything.>
***
Gillian was exasperated in the beginning, but realized it was rather fortunate after he calmed down. It was smart to follow the strategy he had planned first. He had intended to join the forces that attacked the mark instead of leading the flow. He thought of causing a war only because he became upset by the Karjan people who exercised pressure in his office. Gillian was unbearably ashamed of what he had done.
Why did I do that… Is my mentality that weak..?
He didn’t look for alcohol. Instead, he put up all kinds of charts on six monitors and stared at them. Just before Ethan ordered them to withdraw, the market fluctuated massively. It was either because the Jonathan Group had increased the scale of the attack or funds had seceded from the Karjan family’s pressure.
The problem was the early trading as the pressure from the Karjan family was evident. A legitimate financial order had been crushed by just one family, and it was not supposed to happen in a capitalist society. Gillian was aware of the existence of gray eminences[1] of the financial world as people who were a part of a gray eminence family and their friends were listed in his messaging apps. The Karjan family was one of them.
However, it was his very first time witnessing the real power of the gray eminences… They had the power to reverse the financial order, meaning that they truly existed in reality.
He swore, “Damn it.”
What would have happened if Ethan didn’t order me to stop? Did the directing department find this war difficult?
It was a tenable assumption as the funds assumed to be the Jonathan Group’s only made a loss and stepped out.
Did we all succumb to the Karjan family…
Gillian got busy and calculated the funds that were freely movable within his group. When investors entrusted their money to an operator, it meant that they had renounced the right to manage them. How to use the money was entirely up to the operator, and investors simply received profits. Therefore, hundreds of billions of dollars in oil money that steadily flowed in was also the group’s power.
The financial world was ruthless. In early trading, there were many signs of giving in to the Karjan family, but the funds that seceded from their pressure joined the offensive line later.
We could have crushed the Karjan family and the market’s movement would have been favorable to us if we did our best. Why the hell did the directing department make such a decision… Did they not trust me? Because it was so sudden?’
Then, Gillian giggled as he thought the real owners of the group could also be one of the gray eminences. Therefore, the sudden order to stop the attack may have been due to negotiations between these two parties.
“Gray eminences, gray eminences, gray eminences!”
Gillian exploded in anger and soon realized that he planned to cause a war only because he had lost his temper. He didn’t want to admit it, but it was due to his sense of inferiority. Although he was about to become the world’s largest asset manager, he had felt alienation in The City. He was in a position that could tremendously impact the financial world with a single word from him, but he had been suffering from the unpleasant feeling of exclusion.
The phrase ‘skies beyond this sky’[2] popped up in Gillian’s mind. It meant that there was always someone out there that was better than you, which was why he felt alienated and uncomfortable. He buried his face in his hands, then took out his phone as he was desperate to contact Jessica. However, his phone rang first before pressing the button.
<Gillian: Jessica?>
<Hello, Mr. Gillian Taylor.>
The man said in a grave voice.
<Gillian: Who’s this?>
<Sorry for contacting you without giving notice. A letter will be sent to you soon, and I’m calling you to let you know about it.>
<Gillian: I’m not in a situation to joke around, so you should reveal your identity first. This is my first and last warning. Keep in mind that there’s a way for me to find out who you are, so answer carefully.>
<I’m Aldo, and I’m just a messenger.>
<Gillian: This is rude. I’ll send back the letter, so tell your employer to go through the proper process and come to my office if it’s an important matter.>
This wasn’t the first time he had gotten a call like this. It actually happened often as billionaires wanted to get acquainted with Gillian to make him prioritize their money. He snorted as he thought there would likely be a check with many zeros in that letter as that is always what they did.
<Please read the letter. Also, congratulations in advance, Mr. Gillian Taylor.>
<Gillian: Hey! If you ignore my warning…>
The line cut off, and Gillian changed his mind. He now wanted to check the letter to see who the rude guy was. Soon, a man came to Gillian’s mansion, and Gillian greeted him himself instead having either his housekeepers or bodyguards do it.
“Your employer used the worst way and date to contact me,” Gillian said while snatching the envelope from the man’s hand. The guy slightly lowered his head and returned to his vehicle instead of replying. Gillian stared at the vehicle slipping away and saw the license plate in the back. It was a British government plate, and he opened the envelope. An invitation letter fell out.
「Date: May 30, 2002.
Location: Westfields Marriott Hotel, Virginia, USA.」
It was an ordinary invitation up to that point. But…
「Host: Bilderberg Club」
There were many names to call them, such as the Invisible Hand that Controlled the World, the World’s Government in the Shadow, and the Greatest among the Gray Eminences. Gillian stared blankly at the letter and smiled. He had been selected as one of the people to control the world.
Finally…
Gillian was preoccupied with the letter in his hand. Of course, he would join the club, but he was debating whether or not to tell the group’s owner about this. After a few minutes, he took out his phone.
<Gillian: Ethan, I have something to tell you.>
1. People who wield significant power, authority or influence secretively or anonymously ☜
2. Part of a Chinese idiom loosely translated as: “There are people beyond (this) person, and skies beyond (this) sky” ☜