GOLDEN
BUDDHA
CLIVE
CUSSLER
AND CRAIG DIRGO
BERKLEY BOOKS, NEW YORK
Dear Readers,
A few years ago, while I was writing Flood Tide,I realized that Dirk Pitt needed some help on a particular assignment, and so I dreamed up Juan Cabrillo.
Cabrillo ran a ship called the Oregon,on the outside completely nondescript, but on the inside packed with state-of-the-art intelligence-gathering equipment. It was a completely private enterprise, available for any government agency that could afford it. It went where no warship could go, transported secret cargo without suspicion, plucked data out of the air—it was the perfect complement to NUMA.
In fact, I had so much fun writing about the Oregonand its rakish, one-legged chief that I was sorry to see it sail off when its task was done. I promised myself I’d find a way to bring them back some day—and here, I am pleased to say, they are. Golden Buddhais the first in a new series about Juan Cabrillo’s merry men (and women!), and I hope you get as much of a kick reading about them as I did creating them.
And who knows, maybe some time they’ll cross paths with Dirk Pitt again….
Clive Cussler
“A NEW CLIVE CUSSLER NOVEL IS LIKE A VISIT FROM YOUR BEST FRIEND.”
—Tom Clancy
The New York Post called him “just about the best storyteller in the business.” Now, Clive Cussler, creator of the bestselling NUMA ® and Dirk Pitt® series, presents his latest and most-intriguing high-seas action hero: the enigmatic captain of the Oregon , Juan Cabrillo.
Only Cabrillo could convert the interior of a nondescript lumber hauler into a state-of-the-art spy ship—and only he could take the helm on the dangerous covert missions it carries out for whichever U.S. agency pays the price.
In this first feature-length adventure, Cabrillo and his crew of expert intelligence and naval men must put Tibet back in the hands of the Dalai Lama by striking a deal with the Russians and the Chinese. His gambling chip is a Golden Buddha containing records of vast oil reserves in the disputed land.
But first, he’ll have to locate—and steal—the all-important artifact. And there are certain people who would do anything in their power to see him fail….
“Readers will burn up the pages following the blazing action and daring exploits of these men and women and their amazing machines.”— Publishers Weekly
PRAISE FOR
CLIVE CUSSLER
“Just about the best storyteller in the business.”
— New York Post
“Nobody does it better than Clive Cussler. NOBODY.”
—Stephen Coonts
“PURE ENTERTAINMENT…as reliable as Pitt’s trusty Colt .45.”
— People
“PURE CUSSLER, PURE FUN. The action just keeps accelerating.”
—The San Francisco Examiner
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
Blue Gold
Serpent
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
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.
GOLDEN BUDDHA
A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with
Sandecker, RLLLP
PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley trade paperback edition / October 2003
Berkley international edition / October 2004
Copyright © 2003 by Sandecker, RLLLP.
“Foreword” by Clive Cussler copyright © 2003 by Clive Cussler.
Cover art by Edwin Herder.
Cover design by Rich Hasselberger.
Interior 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.
For information address: The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
ISBN: 978-1-1012-0634-8
BERKLEY ®
Berkley Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
BERKLEY and the “B” design are trademarks belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
For my brothers
Larry, Steve, Cliff and John,
and my sister, Dawn,
who never let a busy day
get in the way of a good nap.
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
CAST OF CHARACTERS
PRELUDE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20