Read Online The Land of the Free by TJ Tucker - Free Book Online Page B

his head
was anywhere near the hull of the ship.  He sat at his post, dutifully but
unenthusiastically, listening to a background of surface ships’ propellers,
with the occasional sound of a sea mammal punctuating the boredom.  In the
midst of a yawn, he heard something unusual.  In a split second his attitude
changed to alarm when he made out the high pitched whirring sound, quickly
building in its intensity.  He had heard this before, in training, but never in
the field.  It was a torpedo, and it was closing in.  His mind raced for a way
to alert the crew, but it was too late.  The explosion came just a few seconds
later and he was killed instantly.  The rest of the crew joined him over the
next few minutes as the frigate exploded and sank to the bottom.
    The South Koreans issued angry
diplomatic statements, accusing the North of murder, and the Chinese did the
same, privately.  Fragments of the torpedo that were recovered by the Americans
promptly disappeared into classified archives.  All that was ever issued was a
brief communiqué stating that “markings on the torpedo match those known to be
used by the North.”  The media picked up the comment as fact and there was
immediate international outrage at the North.  There was no coverage given to
the North’s protest that they lacked the technology to penetrate the defensive
zone around the American and South Korean fleet with their antiquated
submarines. 
    …
South
China Sea, USS Ronald Reagan
    Having recently arrived in the
South China Sea on short notice, the officers of the aircraft carrier USS
Ronald Reagan began to organize their battle group to create a defensive
perimeter.  China had been modernizing their submarine fleet, so they had to
take that danger into account, ensuring that they would detect any intrusion
into the secure waters occupied by the battle group.  Only after assuring their
own security could they effectively serve as a deterrent to any actions towards
Taiwan.  As they sat down at the Captain’s conference table, the mood was
light.  The weather was much nicer offshore than on the mainland at this time
of year, where the monsoon was in full swing. 
    As the meeting began, they were
taken aback when an alert from the sonar technician rang.  The Captain had to
pause the meeting to take the call. “You’re kidding,” he said.  “I’ll sound
general quarters immediately.”
    “Gentlemen we’ve been pinged
several times, as have a half dozen other ships in the fleet.  I’m sounding
general quarters.”
    The pings stopped as quickly as
they had begun, but the fleet was now aware that it was vulnerable.  Submarines
could not have infiltrated their position without being heard, so they must
have been waiting for them since before they arrived.
    …
New
York, Universal Investment Bank
    Junior trader Fanni Ronaldi had
been on a hot streak, and it seemed like every time he used more leverage, his
timing of the market improved.  He could extract tens of millions in profit on
an investment of only a million or so, as a result of small movements in
various indices.  Universal’s risk managers, whose role is normally to oversee
traders and limit their exposure, were more than happy to ride his hot hand,
and had turned a blind eye to the risk involved in those levels of leverage.  Hehehe,
they’ve never busted a rogue trader for making money he thought to
himself.  This morning, Fanni was betting on a combination of higher bond prices
(lower interest rates), lower gold prices, and higher stock prices.  His
algorithms predicted these movements, and his gut told him the economy was
improving rapidly, yet these indices had not yet showed it, so the price
movements had to be imminent.
    The trading day had begun slowly
enough, and Ronaldi gradually levered up his positions, particularly in
Treasury bonds.  He had built up a huge position by 11:00 am, far beyond what
the firm could cover, but confident it would not have to.