CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 28

CHAPTER 29

CHAPTER 30

CHAPTER 31

CHAPTER 32

CHAPTER 33

CHAPTER 34

CHAPTER 35

CHAPTER 36

CHAPTER 37

CHAPTER 38

CHAPTER 39

CHAPTER 40

CHAPTER 41

CHAPTER 42

CHAPTER 43

CHAPTER 44

CHAPTER 45

CHAPTER 46

EPILOGUE

FOREWORD

Just so you know, this is not a Dirk Pitt adventure, nor a NUMA Files–Kurt Austin story. This book is based on the old tramp cargo ship Oregonthat I described in the Pitt tale titled Flood Tide.

Beneath her derelict superstructure and rusty hull, Oregonis a mechanical marvel of technology and scientific genius. She is crewed by a group of highly educated and intelligent mercenaries who function under the myriad umbrellas of a far-flung corporate conglomerate. They contract with governments, corporations and private interests around the world to fight corruption and challenge the sinister threats of rogue villains in the exotic ports of the seven seas.

Craig Dirgo and I worked together to create an entirely new series of adventures with a cast of characters unlike any ever seen before.

I sincerely hope you will find it an enjoyable departure as well as a fun read.

Clive Cussler

GOLDEN

BUDDHA

CAST OF CHARACTERS

THE CORPORATION TEAM

JUAN CABRILLO:

Chairman of the Corporation

MAX HANLEY:

President of the Corporation

RICHARD TRUITT:

Vice President of Operations for the Corporation

THE CREW

(in alphabetic order)

GEORGE ADAMS:

Helicopter Pilot/Operative

RICK BARRETT:

Assistant Chef/Operative

MONICA CRABTREE:

Supply and Logistics Coordinator/Operative

CARL GANNON:

General Operations/Operative

CHUCK “TINY” GUNDERSON:

Chief Pilot/Operative

MICHAEL HALPERT:

Finance and Accounting/Operative

CLIFF HORNSBY:

General Operations/Operative

JULIA HUXLEY:

Medical Officer/Operative

PETE JONES:

General Operations/Operative

HALI KASIM:

Communications Expert/Operative

LARRY KING:

Sniper/Operative

FRANKLIN LINCOLN:

General Operations/Operative

BOB MEADOWS:

General Operations/Operative

MARK MURPHY:

Weapons Specialist/Operative

KEVIN NIXON:

Magic Shop Specialist/Operative

SAM PRYOR:

Propulsion Engineer/Operative

GUNTHER REINHOLT:

Propulsion Engineer/Operative

TOM REYES:

General Operations/Operative

LINDA ROSS:

Security and Surveillance/Operative

EDDIE SENG:

Director of Shore Operations/Operative

ERIC STONE:

Control Room Operations/Operative

THE OTHERS

THE DALAI LAMA:

Spiritual Leader of Tibet

HU JINTAO:

President of China

LANGSTON OVERHOLT IV:

CIA Officer who hires the Corporation to free Tibet

LEGCHOG ZHUREN:

Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region

SUNG RHEE:

Chief Inspector of the Macau Police

LING PO:

Detective with the Macau Police

STANLEY HO:

Macau billionaire and buyer of the Golden Buddha

MARCUS FRIDAY:

U.S. software billionaire who agrees to buy stolen Buddha

WINSTON SPENSER:

Crooked art dealer who attempts to steal the Golden Buddha

MICHAEL TALBOT:

San Francisco art dealer who works for Friday

PRELUDE

MARCH 31, 1959

THE flowers surrounding the summer palace of Norbulingka were closed but ready to bloom. The parklike setting of the complex was beautiful. High stone walls surrounded it, within the walls were trees and lush gardens, and in the center was a smaller yellow wall, through which only the Dalai Lama, his advisors and a few select monks passed. Here were tranquil pools, the home of the Dalai Lama and a temple for prayer.

It was a sea of order and substance centered in a country in chaos.

Not far away, perched on the side of a hill, was the imposing winter palace of Potala. The massive structure seemed to step down the hillside. Potala contained over one thousand rooms, was populated by hundreds of monks and dated from centuries before. There was an imposing orderliness to the building. Stone steps led from the mid levels of the seven-story palace in an orderly zigzag downward and then stopped at a gigantic block stone wall that formed the base of the behemoth. The precisely laid stones rose nearly eighty feet into the air.