8:41 a.m.
When news of an airborne hijacking arrived from Boston, the New York Air Traffic Control Center at Long Island's MacArthur Airport turned into something resembling a battlefield.
Beep, beep, beep. Beep, beep, beep.
"Asiana Flight 367, unidentified aircraft detected. Execute an immediate left turn from your current position and proceed with caution!"
"Delta Flight 277, maintain your altitude and stay alert for cockpit intrusion!"
Wearing headsets, controllers shouted themselves hoarse as they urgently cleared aircraft out of the surrounding airspace.
Lozano, the director of the New York control center, stared grimly at the radar display projected on the massive main screen across from him, biting down hard on his lower lip.
True to the busiest airspace in the United States, hundreds of flight paths crowded the screen.
With two hijackings already confirmed, the crushing fear that there could be even more hijacked passenger planes hidden among the blinking dots weighed heavily on him.
"AA11, this is New York. Do you read me? I repeat, American Airlines Flight AA11, respond!"
Amid the deafening background noise, the controller seated beside him desperately called out again and again to the hijacked American Airlines Flight AA11 and United Airlines Flight UA175, but there was no response.
Sweat beading on his forehead, the controller looked up at Director Lozano standing beside him and spoke.
"It looks like they've completely shut off their radio."
"Ghh…"
Letting out a strained groan, Director Lozano asked,
"Where are the hijacked aircraft headed right now?"
After checking the radar display, the controller answered immediately.
"They're heading straight for New York City."
Director Lozano frowned deeply, glaring at the main screen in front of him as he muttered,
"Those bastards. What the hell are they planning?"
"Since it's a twin-engine aircraft with a shorter range, could they be trying to make an emergency landing at a nearby airport?"
With a rigid expression, Lozano shook his head.
"Even if it's smaller in size, it's a medium-range passenger jet capable of cross-continental flight. And if they wanted to make an emergency landing, it would be far safer to head to a Caribbean country like Cuba. Do you really think they'd do something as stupid as landing a hijacked plane in New York, which is basically a tiger's den?"
"When you put it that way, you're right."
"On top of that, there are plenty of nearby airports like Bradley, Hudson Valley, and Sullivan County. The fact that they're ignoring all of them and continuing toward New York is suspicious."
"Could they be planning to land at a major airport like JFK or Newark Liberty to draw media attention?"
It sounded plausible, but an ominous sense of dread continued to creep through Director Lozano's chest.
At that moment, another staff member sprang to his feet, headset still on.
"Director! Four National Guard F-16 fighter jets have taken off on an emergency scramble!"
Lozano's face brightened as he snapped back,
"Those sluggish idiots! When did we notify them about the hijacking? And only now they're launching fighters? How long until they reach the hijacked aircraft?"
"They say it'll take five minutes."
Checking the radar again, Lozano spoke with a tense expression.
"We don't know what those bastards might do over New York City. Tell them to get there as fast as possible."
"Understood."
The staff member nodded and immediately opened communications with the Air Force.
Meanwhile, Director Lozano stood with his arms crossed, staring anxiously at the main screen in front of him, murmuring under his breath,
"Please… let nothing happen."
***
8:45 a.m., Manhattan, New York
Located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, the World Trade Center was a towering skyscraper that rose 110 stories and 417 meters into the sky. Alongside the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island, it stood as one of New York's defining landmarks.
The hedge fund office on the 97th floor of the North Tower was, as usual, filled with chaos just before the New York Stock Exchange opened. Phone lines rang nonstop, and traders shouted over one another.
"Okay. Done!"
"Check crude oil prices!"
"After the Saudi minister's comments, it's up ten cents from yesterday. Twenty-nine dollars and forty-five cents."
"Even though it's over-the-counter, BioIntex is up another two percent today."
"Looks like the market leaders are clearly shifting from dot-coms to biotech."
Bruno casually tossed a baseball back and forth between his hands, as if playing catch, while listening to the conversations flying around him.
The autographed baseball from his favorite player, Derek Jeter, was something he always carried with him, like a personal good-luck charm.
After scanning the trading windows and charts displayed across four monitors, he turned his head toward a colleague seated by the window and asked,
"This thing looks like it's completely bottomed out. What do you think about buying Enron stock?"
Mori, a Japanese American, adjusted his glasses with one hand before replying,
"Seems like most of the bad news that could come out already has. It doesn't look like a bad move."
"Right?"
Leaning back against his chair, Mori looked at him over the low partition.
"Are you thinking of buying?"
"Yeah. I'm thinking of putting in about a hundred thousand dollars first, just to test the waters."
Mori moved his mouse to check the short interest and slightly furrowed his brow.
"Looking at how much short interest is still piled up, it doesn't seem like the Eldorado Fund has closed its position yet. Doesn't that make you a little uneasy?"
"That's why I'm not going in big all at once. I'm just testing the waters."
"Well, there are rumors that acquisition talks are underway. If that turns out to be true, it could end up being pretty profitable."
Mori shrugged, as if to say it was up to him.
"Alright then. Let's try buying some Enron shares."
Bruno clenched the baseball he had been casually rolling around in his hand and straightened his posture.
Just then, beyond the panoramic window that covered one entire wall, he spotted something massive tearing through the white clouds as it descended. His eyes widened.
"Huh?!"
What suddenly appeared in the deep blue sky was a silver twin-engine passenger jet.
It was American Airlines Flight AA11, the very plane that had vanished after being hijacked and shutting off its IRS.
Helicopters carrying executives from major investment banks and hedge funds frequently flew over Manhattan, but this was the first time Bruno had ever seen such a large passenger jet this close. He stood there, stunned, his mouth hanging open.
"Uh…"
Seeing him make strange noises without taking his eyes off the panoramic window, Mori gave him a puzzled look.
"Did you see something you weren't supposed to? What's wrong with your face?"
"Th-that."
Bruno awkwardly rose from his seat and pointed at the window.
"Isn't that a passenger plane?"
"What are you talking about?"
Mori tilted his head, then turned to look where Bruno was pointing. His eyes widened in shock.
"What the hell is that doing here?"
Other colleagues nearby also stopped what they were doing when they noticed the suddenly appearing twin-engine jet, murmuring as they stared out the window.
"That's a Boeing 767, isn't it?"
"But why is it flying so low?"
"Huh? The direction's weird. Isn't it coming this way?"
"No way."
"Look. It is coming straight toward us."
"…You're right."
As the passenger jet rapidly closed the distance, the people who had been staring at it in fascination at first began to hesitate and step backward.
Bruno and Mori also retreated from the window, their faces pale with confusion.
"What's wrong with that thing? Is it really coming this way?"
"Uh… uh?"
The sight of the aircraft was like a colossal monster spreading its wings and charging straight at them, and terror flooded everyone's eyes.
Bruno instinctively turned and ran, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Oh my God. No! Get out of the way! Run, now!"
"Aaaah!"
"Help me!"
"Oh… God."
In an instant, panic consumed the office. People screamed as they fled deeper inside.
Stacks of documents scattered through the air. Chairs kicked aside clattered across the floor as everyone struggled desperately to put even a little more distance between themselves and the window.
But it was all futile.
Whooooo—
Turning back at the horrifying roar, Bruno saw the massive nose of the passenger jet completely filling the panoramic window. Without realizing it, he squeezed his eyes shut.
"N-no…"
KRAAANG!!
At that moment, an enormous explosion erupted, and scorching heat that felt like it would burn his entire body swallowed everything in an instant.
Then Bruno's consciousness went dark.
***
8:49 a.m., Manhattan Plaza Hotel
Seok-won was sitting alone on the sofa in the spacious penthouse living room, watching CNN with a hardened expression. When a red caption reading [Breaking News] suddenly appeared at the bottom of the screen, he clenched the fist resting on the armrest.
[W-we have just received breaking news. A passenger aircraft has crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan! I repeat, at approximately 8:46 a.m. today, a passenger plane collided with one of the World Trade Center towers.]
The female anchor's voice trembled as she delivered the horrific news.
[Black smoke is now billowing from the North Tower where the collision occurred. New York City and the fire department have immediately declared a state of emergency and begun road closures and rescue operations. Evacuations are currently underway for those who were working inside the North Tower…]
As the anchor continued speaking, the screen changed.
A heavily zoomed-in shot, likely taken with a telephoto lens, filled the screen. Amid Manhattan's dense skyline, one of the gray twin skyscrapers stood out as thick black smoke rose into the sky. The footage was being broadcast live.
Watching this, Seok-won let out a low murmur.
"Mm."
Just then, the phone on the table vibrated, and Seok-won immediately answered the call.
[Boss, have you heard the news!]
Landon shouted in an urgent voice.
"I'm watching the breaking news on TV right now."
Seok-won replied heavily, his eyes fixed on the World Trade Center twin towers engulfed in black smoke on the screen.
[To think a passenger plane crashed into the twin towers… I can't understand how something like this could even happen.]
The words this isn't even the truly horrific part yet rose to the back of his throat, but Seok-won forced them down.
[As soon as the news broke, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ temporarily suspended their openings.]
"With something this serious happening, it'd be stranger if the markets did open."
[You're absolutely right. Especially since the twin towers house numerous financial institutions and hedge funds, including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America. It won't be easy to open the markets under these circumstances.]
"We'll have to wait and see, but it'll be hard for the market to open today."
[I think so as well.]
Landon said with a sigh.
[Still, this is a truly horrific incident. The stock market is going to take a serious hit because of this.]
"Yeah."
It was not just a shock but an event that would plunge financial markets around the world into panic. Seok-won kept that thought to himself and replied in a slightly hoarse voice.
"So many people have lost their lives. If we try to profit from this, we'll face heavy criticism later. Even if the market reopens, let's suspend short selling for the time being."
[Understood. Even with just the positions we've already built, the profits will be enormous. There's no need to do something that would draw unnecessary backlash.]
Landon seemed to agree and accepted it without argument.
After giving a few more instructions and ending the call, Seok-won stared somberly at the twin towers, still pouring thick black smoke into the sky.