Zero Alternative Read Online Free Page B

a widow’s peak.
    It looked as if he had finally lost some weight.
    At least a bit.
    Maybe a third of one per cent.
    He also looked like he was already half-drunk, sitting in his massive kitchen in Lugano, a large brandy glass at his elbow.
    ‘Yo, bitch. Whassup?’ he smiled.
    ‘Hi ugly.’ Walker switched to Italian – Luigi’s English was perfect but very flat, while his friend’s funny Sardinian accent shone through in his mother tongue. ‘I’m in pain. Serious pain.’
    ‘Been down sparring? Those kids are too good for you. You should have quit already, like twenty years ago when they rehashed your nose in the Trials. Why the hell did you pick up that barbarous hobby anyway?’
    ‘When you’re a skinny orphan at boarding school in Dulwich, it’s not a bad idea to know how to defend yourself.’
    ‘Maybe,’ Luigi sighed. ‘But now?’
    Walker shrugged. ‘I needed to take my mind off things.’
    ‘Drinking helps.’
    ‘I can tell. When are the ladies due back from America?’ Walker was godfather to Luigi’s daughter Lia, a feisty three-year-old.
    ‘Next Friday, I hope. I’ve been eating out for a week and I’m starting to get bored. So, you still think Rossini is going to win the election?’
    ‘Yep. Was I wrong three months ago when I told you the previous government would collapse?’
    ‘No, but you’re an idiot now. Rossini’s five to one at the bookies, and it’s a rip-off. The man and his Three Star Party have no chance to get more than fifteen to seventeen per cent of the votes, I reckon. You should get ten-to-one odds.’
    Walker smiled: this was the hook. Luigi was an inveterate gambler, even with his closest friends. Casinos, horses, dogs, anything was good for a wager. ‘Are you making me a market?’
    Luigi missed a beat. ‘Maybe.’
    ‘Why do you always try to take my money?’ Walker sniggered. ‘Is it because you’re only a lowly broker?’
    ‘Yeah. And I want to join the god-like beings, like you. I dream of being a trader, every night.’
    ‘You’re just jealous, mate.’ Luigi’s job as an Over-The-Counter broker consisted in helping dealers shift risk across banks and hedge funds. He earned a small commission on all trades, working as the ultimate middleman. And, though it paid well, he often got bored with it.
    ‘Jealous of all those idiots who take enormous punts with other people’s money? Of course I am.’
    ‘Great. I’ll take those odds, then.’
    ‘Dream on. Just because of our decade-old friendship, I might offer you seven to one.’
    ‘Eight.’
    Luigi grunted, as if suffering a great injustice. ‘You’re done. The usual?’
    ‘Yes sir, for a grand. Great British Pounds, not your worthless Swiss toilet paper.’
    ‘Good. At least with your cash I’ll shrug off this damn austerity drive.’
    ‘You, saving?’
    Luigi grimaced and looked at his empty glass. ‘It’s why I’ve scaled down to this cheap Grand Marnier junk, instead of the hundred-year reserve. Too many penny-pinching Protestants around Switzerland are having a bad effect on me, apparently.’
    ‘Good man. Problem is, when those other scrooges in Brussels and Frankfurt push too hard for cuts, countries implode. Greece is in ruins, Spain has become a German protectorate, for God’s sake. And Italy – there’s a riot in Rome every time Parliament tries to vote a new law. That’s whyI’m sure Rossini will win the elections. He’s the man with a plan.’
    ‘Leaving the Euro? That’s insane. The country would go under in weeks, and the rest of the world would get a heart attack.’
    ‘Maybe. But I don’t know if there are any good solutions left at all.’
    Luigi sighed, looking annoyed. ‘And here’s the reason you’ve been so damn bearish on the markets, and short. You’re trying to make money as the world slides into a depression. Very nice.’
    ‘Look – traders react to events, they don’t cause them. I can’t do anything about it, but prepare.’ It was true but it