The Fear Index

‘Come on, Hugo …’
    ‘If it’s any consolation, I was going to fire you next week whatever happened. But now seems like a better time. Write it down in your minutes, why don’t you? “After a short discussion, Gana Rajamani agreed to relinquish his duties as chief risk officer, with immediate effect. Hugo Quarry thanked him for all he had done for the company” – which as far as I’m concerned, by the way, is sod all. Now clear your desk and get off home and spend more time with those charming children of yours. And don’t worry about money – I’m more than happy to pay you a year’s salary just for the pleasure of not having to see you again.’
    Rajamani was recovering: afterwards Quarry was forced to give him credit for resilience at least. He said, ‘Let me be clear about this – you’re dismissing me simply for doing my job?’
    ‘It’s partly for doing the job, but mostly for being such a pain in the ass about doing it.’
    Rajamani said, with some dignity, ‘Thank you for that. I’ll remember those words.’ He turned to his colleagues. ‘Piet? LJ? Are you going to intervene at this point?’ Neither man moved. He added, slightly more desperately, ‘I thought we had an understanding …’
    Quarry got up and pulled the power cable out of the back of Rajamani’s computer. It emitted a slight rattle as it died. ‘Don’t make copies of any of your files – the system will tell us if you do. Turn in your mobile phone to my assistant on your way out. Don’t speak to any other employees of the company. Leave the premises within fifteen minutes. Your compensation package is conditional on your abiding by our confidentiality agreement. Is that understood? I really would prefer not to call in security – it always looks so cheap. Gentlemen,’ he said to the other two, ‘shall we leave him to his packing?’
    Rajamani called after him, ‘When word of this gets out, this company will be finished – I’ll see to that.’
    ‘Yes, I’m sure.’
    ‘You said VIXAL could fly us all into a mountainside, and that’s exactly what it’s doing …’
    Quarry put his arms around Ju-Long and van der Zyl and guided them out of the office ahead of him. He closed the door without looking back. He knew that the entire drama had been played out to an audience of quants, but that could not be helped. He felt quite cheerful; he always felt good after he’d fired someone: it was cathartic. He smiled at Rajamani’s assistant: a pretty girl; she would have to go too, unfortunately. Quarry took a pre-Christian view of these rituals: it was always best to bury the servants with the dead master in case he might require them in the next world.
    ‘I’m sorry about that,’ he said to Ju-Long and van der Zyl, ‘but at the end of the day we’re innovators in this shop, are we not, or we are nothing. And I’m afraid Gana is the kind of chap who’d have turned up on the quayside in 1492 and told Columbus he couldn’t set sail because of his negative risk assessment.’
    Ju-Long said, with an asperity Quarry had not expected, ‘Risk was his responsibility, Hugo. You may have got rid of him, but you have not got rid of the problem.’
    ‘I appreciate that, LJ, and I know he was your friend.’ He put his hand on Ju-Long’s shoulder and gazed into his dark eyes. ‘But don’t forget that at this precise moment this company is about eighty million dollars richer than it was when we came in to work this morning.’ He gestured to the trading floor: the quants had all returned to their places; there was a semblance of normality. ‘The machine is still functioning, and frankly, until Alex tells us otherwise, I think we have to trust it. We have to assume VIXAL is seeing a pattern in events that we can’t discern. Come on – people are looking.’
    They moved off, along the side of the trading floor, Quarry taking the lead. He was keen to get them away from the scene of Rajamani’s assassination. As he walked, he tried yet again to get Hoffmann on his mobile number; yet again he was put straight through to voicemail. This time he didn’t even bother to leave a message.
    Van der Zyl said, ‘You know, I was thinking.’
    ‘What were you thinking, Piet?’
    ‘That VIXAL must have extrapolated a general market collapse.’
    ‘You don’t say.’
    But van der Zyl missed the sarcasm. ‘Yes, because if you look at the stocks it’s shorting – what are they? Resorts and casinos, management consulting,