Chapter 786: Late 2002

Chapter 786: Chapter 786: Late 2002

In Fenwick, Connecticut, at the Hepburn family’s seaside villa, the annual Christmas gathering was underway.

After dinner, a group of men inevitably gathered together to discuss matters of national importance and the latest news.

One of Mrs. Hepburn’s nephews—who was, in fact, a retired old man himself—asked, "Do you think this war is really going to happen?"

"How could it not?" another man replied. "After last year’s terrorist attacks, the government quickly adjusted its strategic direction, identified its primary enemy, and aggressively rallied its allies.

"If that were all they had done, it might not mean much. But then the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1441, sending weapons inspectors to Iraq to investigate the country’s clandestine production of weapons of mass destruction.

"And in October, Congress passed the Iraq Resolution, authorizing the president to ’use all necessary means’ against Iraq. That includes the power to declare war. They’ve already gone this far. There’s no way they won’t fight."

Someone else chimed in, "Exactly. After the U.S. military launched the war in Afghanistan last year, they’ve already begun preparing for a second war. And everyone expects this one to be larger, with more troops mobilized. The Army alone is expected to deploy two hundred thousand troops in the first wave."

"That’s right. Once the U.S. military moves, the arms dealers start laughing. Is there any money to be made by buying the related stocks now?"

Everyone looked toward Henry.

His high-frequency trading fund had become everyone’s primary money-making tool in the stock market. If they wanted to change their investment strategy, they would have to rely on this man to make the adjustments.

Henry said, "The newspapers have already analyzed this. Stark Industries and Hammer Industries remain the primary contractors. Stark Industries’ procurement volume is roughly maintaining the same level as during the Afghanistan War, with a slight increase.

"Hammer Industries, meanwhile, is putting all its newly established production capacity into operation, hoping to trigger another round of commercial expansion. But this time, some of the military procurement will still flow to other arms manufacturers.

"The U.S. military needs to placate those merchants of death, and Stark Industries can’t keep eating the whole pie either. Choking to death is one thing; making everyone else jealous is another. In any case, Stark Industries will still make the most money.

"They deserve the rewards, especially because they have the ability to provide modern military products that meet the U.S. military’s requirements. However, these two companies’ stocks aren’t something you can simply buy whenever you want."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Henry’s conclusion.

The stocks of these two companies were relatively straightforward and wouldn’t drag along a bunch of related companies based on connections or hype. If someone wanted to buy shares in the parent companies themselves, they might not find anyone willing to sell even if they offered an exorbitant price.

"What about Osborn Industries? Is there any money to be made there?" someone else asked.

"Right. The carnival they hosted was hit by a terrorist attack, and several directors were killed. Didn’t the stock price take quite a beating for a while? What about now? Should we buy it while it’s down, or bet on it going up?"

"Didn’t they later establish that the company’s weapons division had suffered a security lapse and that some experimental weapons equipment had been stolen? Apparently, the thief had a grudge against Osborn Industries and launched the attack at the carnival."

"Ah, I remember that. The media even gave the thief a name: the ’Green Goblin.’ And not long afterward, Osborn Industries’ chairman, Norman Osborn, was arrested by the police while wearing similar armor."

"Osborn claimed that he’d put on similar equipment and personally gone after the ’Green Goblin’ because he wanted to clean up the mess Osborn Industries itself had caused. Do you believe that?"

"Whether everyone believes it or not doesn’t matter. The court believed it, didn’t it?"

As a member of the law-and-order camp, Henry was merely stating the plain truth.

And afterward, he had also received hush money from Norman Osborn.

The first confrontation in Central Park had already given Henry absolute certainty that the Green Goblin was Norman Osborn. He simply lacked more conclusive evidence.

But at that point, if Henry had gone to court and started making reckless accusations, there was a good chance the corporate magnate would have ended up spending some time in prison.

So the two sides had reached a private settlement and put the matter to rest.

If Henry could have been killed, Norman Osborn would certainly have preferred to silence him permanently.

Unfortunately, this was a man who couldn’t be killed.

Threatening the people around Henry at a time like this would only force both sides into a fight to the death. So Norman chose to pay him off instead.

Ten million dollars in bearer bonds, plus a favor.

Norman Osborn accepted the price, and Henry agreed to remain silent about the matter.

Henry’s thinking was simple.

His opportunity to completely deal with Norman Osborn was gone. There was no way to kill the man through the courts.

In that case, he might as well accept the money and put Norman’s mind at ease.

And there was another thing that put Henry at ease as well: Norman Osborn hadn’t tried to probe him about the Wild Boar’s identity.

The only question was whether Henry had successfully bluffed his way past him, or whether Norman was simply good enough at keeping his composure.

But if the Green Goblin came out and went berserk again in the future, Henry only needed to be prepared and deal with him the moment he appeared. No one could fault him for that.

After all, the court had already forbidden Norman Osborn from using the Green Goblin equipment.

Therefore, anyone who came back out to cause trouble would obviously be some unknown thief.

The conversation around the table continued.

"Norman Osborn was acquitted because of insufficient evidence. But the court also issued an injunction against the chairman of Osborn Industries, prohibiting him from wearing that dangerous outfit—which could easily be mistaken for the Green Goblin’s—and appearing in public. But is that really going to work?"

"I heard the police issued a wanted notice for the ’Green Goblin,’ and even people who provide information can receive a reward. Such a high-profile bounty is quite rare. It shows that there must be plenty of resentment within the police department as well. They just can’t say so openly."

"But the real issue is that the head of Osborn Industries was tied up in court and missed out on the U.S. military’s procurement orders, right?"

"To prop up its steadily falling stock price, Osborn Industries publicly announced that it was cooperating with Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius to develop nuclear fusion technology. They even claim they’ll ignite an artificial sun within two years. Henry, do you think that’s actually possible?"

Henry answered, "That kind of thing could have been accomplished a long time ago. The question is whether it has any commercial value. The technology still needs improvement."

Someone else said, "But isn’t our goal in dealing with Iraq ultimately that black liquid gold beneath the ground? What’s the point of developing nuclear fusion technology at a time like this?"

Someone explained, "Developing a new-energy project at a time like this can actually be viewed as leverage against the oil-producing countries. Even if the final result isn’t ideal, they can still pivot toward new-energy projects.

"For the United States, that’s an investment that gives them both offensive and defensive options. That’s why, as another major oil-producing country ourselves, we’re willing to provide considerable convenience for this project."

Someone else picked up the thread.

"Exactly. Otherwise, although we publicly promote an atmosphere of academic freedom in nuclear research and claim that we won’t interfere excessively with scholars or private companies, in practice we still exert some degree of control over research projects deemed ’harmful’ to national interests.

"Sometimes, they might even tacitly allow ’artificial’ obstacles to hinder a project’s progress—say, a key researcher suddenly dying in an accident.

"Rumors like that have never really stopped circulating."

"Ha. Didn’t we already say it? The most important thing in the capital markets is profit, not technological advancement or humanitarian concern. If someone genuinely believes corporations have something called ’social responsibility,’ then getting fleeced is probably exactly what they deserve."

"Whether this nuclear physicist, Otto Octavius, can really ignite an artificial sun or not, the market has bought into the grand vision Osborn Industries is selling. And that belief has been reflected in the stock price."

"Exactly. Osborn Industries had been languishing throughout the second half of the year, but now it looks like the company is making a comeback. I think Norman Osborn really is quite capable. He managed to turn things around even under circumstances like these."

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