Simon arrived at the Johnston estate on the banks of the Yarra River, just outside Melbourne, shortly before noon.
The morning call had come from Anthony Johnston, but only Raymond and his wife were waiting for lunch. Simon had visited the house often enough in recent weeks that Janet's parents now treated him like a son-in-law; the early awkwardness had long since vanished.
After the meal, Raymond led him to the study.
They settled onto the window-side sofa. A maid brought coffee and withdrew. Raymond wasted no time. "Simon, I know you're busy, so I'll be direct. Can you take on more capital this time?"
Simon had anticipated the question. He nodded readily. "Yes. But Ray, after the last few days, the picture has gotten murky. I can't make promises. Whatever you commit should be surplus, nothing that affects day-to-day operations, and definitely nothing raised through loans."
Raymond looked briefly surprised, then smiled. "Of course I understand. It still amazes me how clear-headed you stay."
Simon returned the smile. "Entertainment, technology, fashion, those fields already have enormous room to grow. I don't intend to pour too much energy into financial markets. This is simply a convenient moment to raise some cash along the way. How much we make doesn't matter all that much, so I won't be going all in."
Raymond nodded and pressed further. "How confident are you right now?"
Simon considered. "Profitable, certainly. And the restrictions the Japanese government imposed after the '87 crash ensure the market won't swing wildly in the short term. Even if the trend reverses, we can exit in time."
Strict daily price limits now governed both the Japanese cash and futures markets. Replicating his 1987 miracle on the S&P 500 was impossible. Yet those same limits meant that if sentiment turned, prompt withdrawal would keep losses modest.
Raymond liked the casual "we" that had slipped into Simon's answer. Still, he tempered his expression. "Here's the thing, Simon. It's not just me. Several business associates want to put money in and let you handle it."
Even during the Batman prep phase, Simon had felt the deep-rooted influence the Johnstons wielded across Australia. The social gatherings hosted at this very house had laid bare an extensive web of connections.
Maintaining such a network required more than mere friendship; mutual profit was the strongest glue.
Simon had no intention of ever parting with Janet, and her feelings were clearly the same. He was already bound to the Johnston family. He had benefited from their network while preparing Batman; it was only fair he help sustain it.
He was about to agree when another thought struck him. "Ray, how much are we talking?"
Raymond said, "We'd need your approval first, but no less than one and a half billion Australian dollars."
Simon blinked.
In Australia these days, the Aussie dollar traded around seventy cents U.S. One and a half billion AUD was roughly a billion U.S. dollars, double what Simon had originally planned to deploy.
In the late 1980s, no hedge fund anywhere neared ten billion.
Even Soros's Quantum Fund, battered by the '87 crash, had only recently crept back toward two billion, making it one of the industry giants. Most funds were in the tens of millions.
Three or five hundred million AUD he could have accepted without hesitation. A billion was another matter.
"That's too much, Ray. I'm not looking to run a major hedge fund."
His financial knowledge was limited to the experience gained in '87 and a broad sense of future macro trends.
With smaller sums he could confidently concentrate everything in index futures he understood. Billions demanded diversification into forex, bonds, areas he knew almost nothing about and he had no time to learn.
"I think I understand your concern," Raymond replied. "But a general doesn't need to be the best horseman or marksman. He wins by strategy, directing thousands who are masters of those details. You possess vision and perspective others can only dream of. The fine points can be delegated."
Simon suddenly saw where Janet's "those above employ others" mindset came from.
A faint smile touched his lips. "Still, Ray, I don't have trusted, capable people ready to manage that kind of money overnight. James can only oversee the existing trading desk; he doesn't know much more than I do in this area."
"If you agree," Raymond said, "I can recommend some."
Given the Johnston legacy, finding reliable financial talent in Australia's still-small economy would be straightforward.
Simon leaned back, weighing the decision.
Accepting the money would push his total capital under management to around one and a half billion dollars.
Larger funds generally achieved lower percentage returns—a downside of outside capital.
Yet even without discussing fees, Simon would hardly manage the money for free. Industry standard was 2% management and 20% performance; with his current clout he could demand more.
Wielding over a billion dollars in the markets was, frankly, thrilling.
As for success or failure…
In the words of a future adage: Japan's stock market right now was an updraft. Get the direction right, and even a pig could fly.
Simon, deep down, did not fear failure.
Nor did he believe an outsider couldn't run a hedge fund; the industry was full of outsiders. The true professionals usually worked for someone else. As Raymond had just said—delegate the specialties and steer the big picture.
Timing worked in his favor too. Melbourne was only an hour behind Tokyo. While shooting Batman in Australia, he could monitor Japan constantly.
If the market followed memory, the peak wouldn't arrive until year-end before turning down.
Once Batman wrapped, Simon planned a genuine break, handing off more company duties and freeing himself to oversee the fund longer-term.
Decision made, he looked up at Raymond.
Raymond had waited patiently. Sensing the answer, he set down his coffee cup.
Simon gathered his thoughts. "Ray, we can pool our own capital and run it together. For outsiders who want in, my terms are these: if returns are under 30%, I take 20% of profits as fee. Between 30% and 100%, the fee rises to 30%. Above 100%, I want 50%. Unlike ongoing funds, this Japan play is one-off—one year, maybe two. When it's over, I'll liquidate and return capital at the right moment."
Hedge funds were often seen as get-rich-quick machines.
In reality, most aimed simply to beat the market; few cleared 30% annually.
Raymond knew the landscape and found the terms entirely reasonable.
One and a half billion AUD, if it merely doubled in a year or two, everyone would be ecstatic.
The entire Johnston Holdings Group had earned less than two hundred million AUD profit the previous year; the other prospective investors' companies were in the same range.
Ordinary investments yielding twenty or thirty percent annually were already excellent.
Doubling would effectively gift each participant a full year's corporate earnings. No one would balk at higher fees.
Returns above 100% Raymond viewed as a pleasant fantasy; he understood large funds struggled for outsized gains.
Opportunity was finite. Small funds of a few million could multiply many times over in a single year, Simon's '87 triumph had been exactly that. Billion-dollar vehicles had to spread risk, guaranteeing some losers alongside winners and capping overall returns.
Raymond hadn't opened the door indiscriminately either. Apart from a few special partners, he had set a minimum ticket of one hundred million AUD, screening out anyone who couldn't afford to lose.
Simon's conditions were therefore accepted immediately.
He had also quietly exempted the Johnston family money from fees; Raymond did not object. They were already family; no need for formality.
Still, the old man thought, it would be nicer if the boy married his daughter soon.
So much to worry about.
After seeing Simon off, Raymond phoned his elder son, asking him to begin assembling capable people for Simon and, by the way, whether his moody youngest sister, who had quit right after New Year's, had returned from Europe yet.
Another headache.
The finance department was swamped at year-start, and the past two years had been rough. The CFO couldn't just walk away because she felt like it.
If a vacation brought home a son-in-law, fine—but she always traveled alone.
Their father had worried about her on his deathbed. How would they face him now?
Irritated, Raymond dug up the London number and dialed. After brief pleasantries his temper flared. He ordered her back to Melbourne next month or he'd fly over and drag her home himself.
And he stressed, this time he meant it.
Simon returned to central Melbourne as Asian futures exchanges closed for the day.
News of Simon Westeros's bullish stance on Japan had driven heavy volume in Nikkei 225 contracts on both Singapore and Osaka exchanges; even unrelated futures felt the lift.
The cash market in Japan had gone limit-up across the board. The Nikkei 225 rose 613 points to 31,992 a 1.9% gain. Without price limits, the surge would have been far larger.
Nikkei futures were less than three years old and far pricier than most contracts, typically the domain of deep-pocketed institutions. Yet soaring underlying shares had drawn explosive volume.
Analysts had forecast perhaps five million contracts traded worldwide this year, over a hundred billion dollars notional. Today alone, amid the Journal-induced storm, Singapore and Osaka combined cleared over sixty thousand Nikkei contracts.
Some piled in, some shorted against the tide, some fled.
The eye of the storm, Simon, made no moves. He simply reviewed the day's settlement report as soon as it arrived.
After Black Monday's margin crisis, exchanges had adopted daily mark-to-market settlement. No longer could traders postpone reckoning until final sale.
Each close now triggered cash transfers reflecting gains or losses.
Simon's Osaka positions had grown to six thousand contracts. Today alone they had earned him 3.678 billion yen, roughly $29.9 million U.S.
Nearly 15% return in a single day on two hundred million principal.
Simon felt no elation.
A 613-point jump was almost a typical month's gain. If this pace continued and the index hit his remembered ceiling of 38,000 too soon, the additional capital might arrive after the top.
That would be tragic.