Clive Cussler - Sacred Stone

"A NEW CLIVE CUSSLER NOVEL IS LIKE A VISIT FROM YOUR BEST FRIEND."

-Tom Clancy

His first novel of the Oregon Files was hailed as "honestly fabulous" (Kirkus Reviews). Now, Clive Cussler, creator of the bestselling NUMA and Dirk Pitt series, returns with an all-new novel of adventure and intrigue featuring the enigmatic high-seas action hero Juan Cabrillo ...

In the remote wastes of Greenland, a young scientist has unearthed an artifact hidden in a cave for a millennium-a 50,000-year-old meteorite known as the Sacred Stone, which possesses potentially catastrophic radioactive power. But the astounding find places him in the crosshairs of two opposing terrorist groups who seek the stone for themselves.

One is a group of Muslim extremists who have stolen a nuclear device. With the power of the meteorite, they could vaporize any city in the West. The other group is led by a megalomaniacal industrialist who seeks to carry out the utter annihilation of Islam itself.

Caught between two militant factions bent on wholesale slaughter, Juan Cabrillo and his ship of high-tech mercenaries known as the Corporation must fight to protect the Sacred Stone-and prevent the outbreak of World War III ...

PRAISE FOR CLIVE CUSSLER

AND THE FIRST NOVEL OF THE OREGON FILES

GOLDEN BUDDHA

"Readers will burn up the pages following the blazing action and daring exploits of these men and women and their amazing machines."

-Publishers Weekly

"Fans of Cussler will not be disappointed." -Library journal

PRAISE FOR

CLIVE CUSSLER'S NUMA SERIES

"MARVELOUS ... simply terrific fun." -Kirkus Reviews

"YOU CAN'T GET MUCH MORE SATISFYING."

-The Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Cussler and Kemprecos weave A GREAT STORY." -Tulsa World

"Audacious and WILDLY ENTERTAINING." -New York Daily News

PRAISE FOR

CLIVE CUSSLER'S DIRK PITT SERIES

"[A] NONSTOP THRILLER.... CUSSLER SPEEDS AND TWISTS through the complex plot and hairbreadth escapes [with] the intensity and suspense of a NASCAR race." -Publishers Weekly

"CLIVE CUSSLER ... IS AT TOP FORM HERE." -Kirkus Reviews

"A DELIGHTFUL PAGE-TURNER that is almost impossible to put down." -The San Francisco Examiner

"THE FUNNEST DIRK PITT ADVENTURE SINCE RAISE THE TITANIC!" -Rocky Mountain News

DIRK PITT ADVENTURES BY CLIVE CUSSLER

Trojan Odyssey Valhalla Rising Atlantis Found

Flood Tide Shock Wave Inca Gold

Sahara Dragon Treasure

Cyclops Deep Six Pacific Vortex

Night Probe Vixen 03 -Raise the Titanic!

Iceberg The Mediterranean Caper

FICTION BY CLIVE CUSSLER WITH PAUL KEMPRECOS

White Death Fire Ice Serpent

Blue Gold

FICTION BY CLIVE CUSSLER AND CRAIG DIRGO

Sacred Stone Golden Buddha

NONFICTION BY CLIVE CUSSLER AND CRAIG DIRGO

The Sea Hunters II The Sea Hunters

Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt Revealed

SACRED

STONE

U BERKLEY BOOKS, NEW YORK

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4V 3B2, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi-110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), Cur. Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Copyright 2004 by Sandecker, RLLLP. Cover illustration by Edwin Herder. Cover design by Rich Hasselberger. Text design by Julie Rogers. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions. BERKLEY is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. The "B" design is a trademark belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc. PRINTING HISTORY Berkley trade paperback edition / October 2004 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cussler, Clive. Sacred stone / Clive Cussler and Craig Dirgo.-Berkley trade pbk. ed. p. cm. ISBN 0-425-19848-0 (pbk.) 1. Terrorism-Prevention-Fiction. 2. Relics-Fiction. I. Dirgo, Craig. II. Title. PS3553.U75S33 2004 813'.54-dc22 2004050206 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 JUAN CAB MAX HAN RICHARD IF GEORGE ,A RICK BAR] MONICA C CARL GAN CHUCK "T MICHAEL CLIFF HO] JULIA HU] PETE JONI HALI KASI LARRY KIT FRANKLIN BOB MEAI JUDY MIC. MARK MU] CAST OF CHARACTERS JUAN CABRILLO: Chairman of the Corporation MAX HANLEY: President of the Corporation RICHARD TRUITT: Vice President of the Corporation THE CORPORATION TEAM (OPERATIVES) (In alphabetic order) GEORGE ADAMS: Helicopter Pilot RICK BARRETT: Assistant Chef

MONICA CRABTREE: Supply and Logistics Coordinator CARL GANNON: General Operations

CHUCK "TINY" GUNDERSON: Chief Pilot Fixed-Wing MICHAEL HALPERT: Finance and Accounting

CLIFF HORNSBY: General Operations JULIA HUXLEY: Medical Officer PETE JONES: General Operations HALI KASIM: General Operations LARRY KING: Sniper

FRANKLIN LINCOLN: General Operations BOB MEADOWS: General Operations JUDY MICHAELS: Pilot

MARK MURPHY: General Operations

2 CAST OF CHARACTERS KEVIN NIXON: Magic Shop Specialist TRACY PILSTON: Pilot

SAM PRYOR: Propulsion Engineer GUNTHER REINHOLT: Propulsion Engineer TOM REYES: General Operations

LINDA ROSS: Security and Surveillance/General Operations EDDIE SENG: Director of Shore Operations/General Operations ERIC STONE: Control Room Operator/General Operations THE OTHERS LANGSTON OVERHOLT IV: CIA officer who hires the Corporation HALIFAX HICKMAN: Billionaire industrialist

CHRIS HUNT: U.S. Army officer killed in Afghanistan MICHELLE HUNT: Mother of Chris

ERIC THE RED: Legendary explorer

THE EMIR OF QATAR: Leader of the country of Qatar

JOHN ACKERMAN: Archaeologist who locates the meteorite in Greenland CLAY HUGHES: Assassin hired to recover the Greenland meteorite PIETER VANDERWALD: South African death merchant

MIKE NEILSEN: Pilot hired to fly Hughes to Mount Forel

WOODY CAMPBELL: Drunk in Greenland who rents Cabrillo a snowcat ALEIMEIN AL-KHALIFA: Terrorist planning to bomb London

SCOTT THOMPSON: Leader of the team on the Free Enterprise

THOMAS "TD" DWYER: CIA scientist who discovers the meteorite's danger MIKO "MIKE" NASUKI: NOAA astronomer who assists Dwyer

SAUD AL-SHEIK: Saudi procurement official for the hajj

JAMES BENNETT: Pilot who transports the meteorite from the Faeroe Islands to England

NEBILE LABABITI: Terrorist for London operation MILOS COUSTAS: Captain of the Larissa, the ship that delivers the bomb to England BILLY JOE SHEA: Owner of a 1947 MG TO Cabrillo borrows to chase the bomb

CAST OF CHARACTERS ROGER LASSITER: Disgraced CIA agent who delivers the meteorite to Maidenhead

ELTON JOHN: Legendary musician

AMAD: Young Yemeni who will deliver the bomb DEREK GOODLIN: Whorehouse owner in London JOHN FLEMING: Head of MI5 DR. JACK BERG: CIA doctor who forces Thompson to talk