01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 SEA 09 OF 10 11 GREED 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 S29 N30

9780735219021_SeaOfGreed_TX.indd i 8/11/18 6:36 PM 01 02 03 TITLES BY CLIVE CUSSLER 04 05 06 DIRK PITT® ADVENTURES SAM AND REMI FARGO ADVENTURES

07 Odessa Sea (with Dirk Cussler) The Romanov Ransom (with Robin 08 Havana Storm (with Dirk Cussler) Burcell) 09 Poseidon’s Arrow (with Dirk Cussler) Pirate (with Robin Burcell) The Solomon Curse (with Russell Blake) 10 Crescent Dawn (with Dirk Cussler) Arctic Drift (with Dirk Cussler) The Eye of Heaven (with Russell Blake) 11 Treasure of Khan (with Dirk Cussler) The Mayan Secrets (with Thomas Perry) 12 Black Wind (with Dirk Cussler) The Tombs (with Thomas Perry) 13 Trojan Odyssey The Kingdom (with Grant Blackwood) 14 Valhalla Rising Lost Empire (with Grant Blackwood) Atlantis Found Spartan Gold (with Grant Blackwood) 15 Flood Tide 16 Shock Wave ISAAC BELL ADVENTURES 17 Inca Gold The Cutthroat (with Justin Scott) 18 Sahara The Gangster (with Justin Scott) Dragon 19 The Assassin (with Justin Scott) Treasure 20 The Bootlegger (with Justin Scott) Cyclops The Striker (with Justin Scott) 21 Deep Six The Thief (with Justin Scott) 22 Pacific Vortex! The Race (with Justin Scott) 23 Night Probe! The Spy (with Justin Scott) Vixen 03 24 The Wrecker (with Justin Scott) Raise the Titanic! The Chase 25 Iceberg 26 The Mediterranean Caper 27 28 29S 30N

9780735219021_SeaOfGreed_TX.indd ii 8/11/18 6:36 PM 01 02 03 04 05 KURT AUSTIN ADVENTURES The Jungle (with Jack Du Brul) 06 The Silent Sea (with Jack Du Brul) NOVELS FROM THE NUMA® FILES 07 Corsair (with Jack Du Brul) 08 The Rising Sea (with Graham Brown) Plague Ship (with Jack Du Brul) Nighthawk (with Graham Brown) Skeleton Coast (with Jack Du Brul) 09 The Pharaoh’s Secret (with Graham Brown) Dark Watch (with Jack Du Brul) 10 Ghost Ship (with Graham Brown) Sacred Stone (with Craig Dirgo) 11 Zero Hour (with Graham Brown) Golden Buddha (with Craig Dirgo) 12 The Storm (with Graham Brown) Devil’s Gate (with Graham Brown) 13 NONFICTION Medusa (with Paul Kemprecos) 14 The Navigator (with Paul Kemprecos) Built for Adventure: The Classic 15 Automobiles of Clive Cussler and Polar Shift (with Paul Kemprecos) 16 Lost City (with Paul Kemprecos) Dirk Pitt 17 White Death (with Paul Kemprecos) Built to Thrill: More Classic Fire Ice (with Paul Kemprecos) Automobiles from Clive Cussler 18 Blue Gold (with Paul Kemprecos) and Dirk Pitt 19 Serpent (with Paul Kemprecos) The Sea Hunters (with Craig Dirgo) 20 The Sea Hunters II (with Craig Dirgo) 21 Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt Revealed OREGON FILES (with Craig Dirgo) 22 Typhoon Fury (with Boyd Morrison) 23 The Emperor’s Revenge (with Boyd CHILDREN’S BOOKS 24 Morrison) 25 Piranha (with Boyd Morrison) The Adventures of Vin Fiz Mirage (with Jack Du Brul) The Adventures of Hotsy Totsy 26 27 28 S29 N30

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01 02 03 CAST OF CHARACTERS 04 05 06 07 08

­MEDITERRANEAN—​­1968 09 10 David- ­Ben ​­Avi—​­Israeli genetics expert, stationed on Jaros. André ­Cheval—​­French scientist and overall leader for Project Jericho. 11 ­Lukas—​­French Commando and member of the SDECE, the French External 12 Intelligence. 13 ­Gideon—​­Executive officer on the Israeli submarine INS Dakar. 14 15 NATIONAL UNDERWATER AND MARINE AGENCY 16 Kurt ­Austin—​­Director of NUMA’s Special Projects division, ­world-​­class diver and salvage expert. 17 Joe ­Zavala—​­Kurt’s closest friend, mechanical genius responsible for con‑ 18 structing much of NUMA’s exotic equipment. 19 Priya ­Kashmir—​­Lead member of NUMA’s technology division, confined to a 20 wheelchair due to an automobile accident but determined to get onto a field team. 21 Rudi ­Gunn—​­Assistant Director of NUMA, graduate of the Naval Academy. 22 Hiram ­Yaeger—​­NUMA’s resident computer genius, owner of many patents 23 relating to computer design. 24 St. Julien Perlmutter—­ ​­NUMA historian and gourmet chef, owns thousands 25 of rare books and artifacts. 26 Paul ­Trout—​­Member of the Special Projects division, has a Ph.D. in Ocean 27 Sciences, married to Gamay. Gamay ­Trout—​­NUMA’s leading marine biologist, married to Paul, Gamay is 28 a fitness aficionado and tends to say exactly what’s on her mind. S29 Kevin ­Brooks—​­Captain of the NUMA vessel Raleigh. N30

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01 CREW OF ALPHA STAR OIL PLATFORM

02 Rick L. ­Cox—​­Operations manager and drilling supervisor of the Alpha Star 03 offshore rig. 04 Leon— ­Nash ​­Roughneck and crewmen on the Alpha Star. 05 NOVUM INDUSTRIA 06 Tessa ­Franco—​­Founder and CEO of Novum Industria, a ­high-​te­ ch alterna‑ 07 tive energy company, also the designer of the Monarch, a one‑of‑a‑kind 08 amphibious aircraft. 09 Arat ­Buran—​­Volatile leader of Central Asian oil consortium, Tessa’s former lover and confidant, currently involved with Novum via a clandestine fi‑ 10 nancial arrangement. 11 Pascal ­Millard—​­Censured French geneticist, now working for Novum. 12 Brian ­Yates—​­Engineer and architect of Novum’s revolutionary fuel cells. 13 MERCENARIES 14 15 ­Volke—​­Submersible pilot and former mercenary, works for Tessa in various capacities. 16 ­Woodrich—​­Ecological fanatic, wants to see the end of the Oil Age at all 17 costs, goes by the nickname “Woods.” 18 Alexander ­Vastoga—​­Ex–​­Russian helicopter pilot and soldier of fortune, can 19 be had for a high price. 20 FLORIDA 21 Misty Moon ­Littlefeather—​­Electronics expert and old friend of Joe’s. 22 ­Redfish—​­Misty’s father, always suspicious of Joe’s intentions toward his 23 daughter. 24 WASHINGTON POLITICIANS 25 Lance ­Alcott—​­Head of FEMA, jockeying for control of the Alpha Star 26 cleanup. 27 Leonard ­Hallsman—​­Former geologist, now Undersecretary of National Re‑ 28 sources and Energy Security. 29S James ­Sandecker—​­Vice President of the United States, founder and former Director of NUMA. 30N

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BERMUDA 01

Macklin ­Hatcher—​­Wealthy venture capitalist, false identity assumed by Kurt 02 Austin. 03 Ronald ­Ruff—​­Hatcher’s assistant, false identity assumed by Joe Zavala. 04 ISRAEL 05 06 Admiral ­Natal—​­Israeli Admiral, old friend of Rudi Gunn’s, currently in charge of the Office of Naval Records in Haifa. 07 SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT 08 09 INS Dakar—​­Israeli submarine, purchased from the British, vanished on its way from the UK to Haifa in January 1968. 10 Minerve (S647)—​­French submarine, vanished in 1968 roughly tw­ enty-​­five 11 miles from Toulon. 12 ­Monarch—​­Wide-​­body amphibious aircraft designed by Tessa Franco, built in 13 Kazakhstan. 14 Gryphon­ —​­Well-​­armed NUMA hydrofoil, deployed in dangerous environ‑ ments. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 S29 N30

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9780735219021_SeaOfGreed_TX.indd x 8/11/18 6:36 PM 9780735219021_SeaOfGreed_TX.indd xi 8/11/18 6:36 PM 01 02 03 04 05 Part One 06 07 08 09 10 The Vanishing 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 S29 N30

9780735219021_SeaOfGreed_TX.indd 1 8/11/18 6:36 PM 01 02 03 04 05 06 1 07 ISLAND OF JAROS, AEGEAN SEA 08 | JANUARY 1968 09 10 11 12 13 14 Davi d ­Ben-​­Avi walked along a trail on the rocky, windswept island 15 of Jaros. The barren clump of land was just three miles in length 16 and no more than half a mile wide at its broadest point. It sat in an 17 isolated spot of the Mediterranean, a hundred miles northwest of 18 Crete. Though it was officially uninhabited, Ben­ -​­Avi and a dozen 19 others had called it home for nearly two years. 20 With hands shoved in his pockets, ­Ben-​Av­ i kept his face to the 21 wind, walking briskly. The Mediterranean air had a bite to it in 22 January. Fresh and pure in comparison to the stuffy laboratory and 23 cramped barracks they lived in. 24 The solitude wasn’t bad ei­ ther . . . while it lasted. 25 “David,” a voice called from behind him. “Where are you going?” 26 The words came in English with a distinct French accent. 27 ­Ben-​­Avi stopped in his tracks. Mother Hen had found him. 28 He turned to see André Cheval, rushing after him. Cheval S29 was leader of the French contingent on the island but also acted as N30

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01 overall commander for the entire group. He was always after them 02 about something. Trash in the correct receptacle, no outside lights 03 after sundown, be careful near the cliffs. 04 He was dressed in outdoor gear and carrying a wool peacoat, 05 which he handed to Ben­ -​­Avi. “Put this on. It’s freezing out here.” 06 Freezing was an exaggeration, but ­Ben-​­Avi took the coat without 07 objection, he knew better than to argue. 08 “Where are you going?” Cheval asked. 09 “You know where I’m going,” ­Ben-​Av­ i said. “Out on the bluff, to 10 watch the sunset and think.” 11 “I’ll walk with you,” Cheval said. 12 “Can’t I go anywhere without a chaperone?” 13 “Of course,” Cheval said. “You’re not a prisoner.” 14 That was true. ­Ben-​Av­ i and the others were here as part of a 15 joint ­Franco–​­Israeli research project. They had all volunteered, but 16 after so long on the barren island, with only the monthly arrival of 17 a supply ship to break the monotony, it felt like they were marking 18 time and waiting to be paroled. 19 “I have a feeling,” Ben­ -​Av­ i said, “that all who come to Jaros 20 must be prisoners in one sense or another. The Greeks kept cap‑ 21 tured communist insurgents here after World War Two, the Turks 22 used it five centuries before that and the Romans picked this deso‑ 23 late spot to exile a troublesome daughter of the Emperor Octavian.” 24 “Really?” Cheval said. 25 ­Ben-​­Avi nodded. At the same time, he wondered how the French‑ 26 man could live on the tiny island so long and not know a thing 27 about it. 28 “At least the Romans put some thought into the place,” ­Ben-​Av­ i 29S said. “All the Greeks did was put up those terrible rock huts we’re 30N living in. The Romans carved the harbor out of solid rock. They set

9780735219021_SeaOfGreed_TX.indd 4 8/11/18 6:36 PM Clive Cussler 5

up catchment basins, dug a series of tunnels and underground cis‑ 01 terns to hold the rainwater, even found a way of using limestone to 02 purify it and keep it from becoming stagnant. You should really 03 have a look at them, they’re quite remarkable.” 04 Cheval nodded but seemed unimpressed. “It seems Octavian’s 05 daughter commanded a nicer prison than communist rebels.” 06 The two men continued walking, though because the path was 07 narrow in places Cheval was half a step behind. 08 “So, what do you think about when you’re out here?” Cheval 09 asked. “Getting back to Israel?” 10 “That and the implications of our work,” ­Ben-​Av­ i said. 11 “Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts? It’s a little late 12 now. The project is all but finished.” 13 ­Ben-​­Avi stopped and glanced sideways at the Frenchman. The 14 project, as he called it, was a giant step forward in an entirely new 15 branch of science called genetics. It involved manipulation of cel‑ 16 lular codes, tampering with the instructions of living things. The 17 field had been talked about in theoretical terms for years, but 18 like many scientific ­endeavors—​­everything from atomic energy to 19 ­spaceflight—​­once the military became interested, progress had ac‑ 20 celerated dramatically. 21 “We’re changing living things,” Ben­ -​Av­ i said. “Distorting life, 22 creating new life. That’s an awesome responsibility.” 23 “Yes,” Cheval said. “Some of the others have suggested that 24 we’re tampering with the designs of God. Do you feel this way?” 25 “Which god?” Ben­ -​­Avi replied briskly. 26 “Any god,” Cheval said. “Yours, mi­ ne . . . the universe at large. 27 Take your pick. Is that what you’re worried about? Divine retri‑ 28 bution?” S29 ­Ben-​­Avi resumed his walk, continuing along the path, angry N30

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01 now. “If God chose this moment to get into the retribution busi‑ 02 ness, I would find that a very funny thing indeed. I would ask 03 Him where He was when the Nazis came to power and Kristall- 04 nacht occurred. Ask Him where He was when the fires burned in 05 the camps, incinerating the bodies of murdered Jews, day and 06 night.” 07 “So, the Holocaust shook your faith?” 08 “Not just the Holocaust,” ­Ben-​­Avi said. “The entire war. I was 09 an engineering student before it started. Because of my skills, the 10 German Army dragged me into Russia with them. Whoever the 11 Germans didn’t kill on the way in the Russians killed on the way 12 out. After that, I was in Berlin when the Allies bombed it to rubble. 13 Buildings shattered to bricks, bricks pounded to dust. Day and 14 night the raids came until the air was black and we choked with 15 every breath. And that was nothing compared to the firebombing of 16 Dresden. It’s a wonder that anyone survived.” 17 ­Ben-​­Avi focused his attention back on the path, they’d come to 18 the steepest section. When they reached the top, he would be able 19 to see the ocean. “If there is a God, then either He doesn’t care 20 what we do or He’s grown so disgusted with us that He’s given up 21 on His creation. And who could really blame Him?” 22 Cheval nodded. “You are troubled, my friend. If it’s not God 23 you’re worried about, then what?” 24 “I’m concerned with the power we’ve unleashed,” ­Ben-​­Avi said. 25 “Every invention of man, every discovery ever made, has ultimately 26 been used in war. This will be no different. Mark my words.” 27 “Then why continue the work?” Cheval asked, suddenly sharper 28 in his tone. “Why wait until we’ve finally succeeded to question 29S our acts?” 30N

9780735219021_SeaOfGreed_TX.indd 6 8/11/18 6:36 PM Clive Cussler 7

­Ben-​­Avi had asked himself that question a hundred times. He had 01 a pat answer waiting. “Because the world is a harsh and unforgiving 02 place, and Israel must do what it needs to survive. With or without 03 God’s help.” 04 “So, it’s every country for itself,” Cheval said. “Is that what 05 you’re telling me?” 06 “It has to be,” Ben­ -​­Avi said. 07 ­Ben-​­Avi was breathing hard as he climbed the last section, too 08 hard to keep pontificating. He made it to the top of the bluff and 09 looked out over a sheltered bay. The sea was calm, the sunset glint‑ 10 ing upon it, the long arm of the breakwater protecting the small 11 harbor as it had since the Romans built it. But the harbor was not 12 empty as it should have been. A long, thin, ­sinister-​lo­ oking vessel 13 lay at anchor inside the bay, a surfaced submarine. Its bow pointed 14 to the heart of the island like a dagger. 15 ­Ben-​­Avi turned around and saw that Cheval was holding a pistol 16 on him. 17 “I’m afraid you’re right,” Cheval explained. “It is every nation 18 for itself. If we didn’t act, your government would. And that we 19 cannot allow.” 20 The sound of muted gunfire reached them from farther back 21 down the hill. A fight had broken ou­ t—​­not a battle‑on war, but a 22 burst here and a burst there. 23 ­Ben-​­Avi took a step toward the camp. 24 “Don’t,” Cheval warned. The Frenchman’s face was grim, as if 25 performing a task he would have rather avoided. “I’m sorry. But if 26 we had not acted, your country would have. The power you’ve un‑ 27 leashed with your genetics can reshape the world we live in more 28 easily than a dozen armies. It’s a weapon already. And it’s a threat S29 N30

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01 to France in particular. We cannot allow it to end up in foreign 02 hands.” 03 “No,” ­Ben-​­Avi said. “It’s a deterrent. No different from your 04 atomic bombs. It would never be used.” 05 “I’m afraid my country cannot take that chance,” Cheval said. 06 The sound of additional gunfire reached them from the camp. 07 “So, you’re killing us?” ­Ben-​Av­ i said. 08 “No one was supposed to be hurt,” Cheval replied. “Someone 09 must have resisted.” 10 ­Ben-​­Avi didn’t doubt that. Though he suspected the French com‑ 11 mandos might have hoped to encounter resistance. “And what 12 about me?” he asked, his voice filled with disgust for his former 13 friend. “Do I suddenly fall off the edge or are you going to shoot me 14 first and then throw me in?” 15 “Don’t be ridiculous,” Cheval said. He nodded toward the sub‑ 16 marine. “You’ll be coming with us.” 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29S 30N

9780735219021_SeaOfGreed_TX.indd 8 8/11/18 6:36 PM 01 02 03 04 05 06 2 07 FRENCH SUBMARINE MINERVE, APPROXIMATELY 08 |­TWENTY-​­FIVE MILES FROM TOULON 09 10 11 12 13 14 Eight days after leaving the island of Jaros, the French submarine 15 Minerve was nearing her home port of Toulon. It was operating 16 forty feet below the surface, running at eight knots and using the 17 diesel engines, which gulped air through a long metal tube known 18 as a snorkel. They’d been running in this configuration almost con‑ 19 tinuously since leaving Jaros and André Cheval could not wait for 20 them to surface. 21 The claustrophobia of being trapped underwater was bad 22 enough. That the Minerve was carrying extra cargo, plus the equip‑ 23 ment, supplies and samples from the laboratory, made it worse. 24 That the submarine was overpopulated and carrying nearly twice 25 the number of people it was supposed to ho­ use—​­thanks to the 26 presence of Cheval, the other French scientists and the ten French 27 commandos who’d conducted the ra­ id—​­making the situation 28 nearly unbearable. S29 The gnawing guilt that the commandos had killed all the Israelis N30

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01 except ­Ben-​­Avi did not help and Cheval had taken to drinking each 02 night to put himself to sleep. 03 Still, they were in French waters now and almost home. By this 04 time tomorrow, Cheval would be sitting in a café in Paris, forget‑ 05 ting his sorrows in the fresh air with a bottle of fine wine. 06 Until then, he stood in the submarine’s cramped control room, 07 watching everything that went on. Across from him, the Minerve’s 08 captain leaned on the periscope handles with his face pressed into 09 the viewer. Every few seconds he turned to scan a new section of 10 the surface—­ ​­dancing with the gray lady, as the sailors sometimes 11 called it. 12 Finally, he flipped the handles closed and stepped back. “No ves‑ 13 sels in sight,” he said. “Periscope down.” 14 As the periscope descended into its well, the captain turned to 15 the radio officer. “Advise, Command. Weather deteriorating. Ei­ ght-​ 16 ­foot swells and chop. We will remain at snorkel depth until we 17 reach the channel.” 18 This news was like a kick in the gut to Cheval. 19 And he wasn’t the only one. 20 A man named Lukas stood nearby, hovering over the navigation 21 charts. Lukas was the head of the commando team, a member of 22 the SDECE, the French external intelligence apparatus. He was a 23 harsh man in his ­mid-​­fifties. 24 “Must we crawl into port like this?” Lukas said. “We’ve achieved 25 a great success. We should arrive with dignity, if not fanfare.” 26 The Minerve’s captain was lifelong sailor. Like many in the reg‑ 27 ular military, he distrusted secret operatives, with their hidden 28 agendas and lack of oversight. His reply was blunt. “Do you really 29S want to surface the boat and become a target at this point?” 30N Lukas pointed at the chart and a red line, approximately four

9780735219021_SeaOfGreed_TX.indd 10 8/11/18 6:36 PM Clive Cussler 11

hundred miles behind them, that indicated the nearest possible ap‑ 01 proach of Israeli ships. “There are no Israeli ships within twelve 02 hours of our position. They cannot possibly catch us.” 03 “They have aircraft, too, Monsieur Lukas.” 04 “None with this range. And nothing our Mirage fighters could 05 not handle.” 06 “You might be right,” the captain said. “Regardless, we shall 07 remain submerged until the very last moment. And you shall re‑ 08 main silent while a guest on my boat.” 09 Lukas fumed at the reprimand, turning his back on the captain 10 and heading aft to join his men. 11 Cheval looked at his watch, fighting the claustrophobia. It was 12 early morning on the ­twenty-​­seventh of January. They’d left the 13 island on the evening of the nineteenth. They were almost home. 14 Once they were back on land, he would report Lukas for what he 15 considered war crimes. 16 Even though he could do nothing about those who’d already 17 been killed, he told himself he’d would find a way to keepBen ­ -​­Avi 18 from vanishing into an unmarked grave. 19 Three hours. He just needed to hold it together for three more 20 hours. 21 22 23 “The Minerve will reach port in three hours.” 24 The words came from a gr­ im-​­faced man, standing in a darkened 25 control room very similar to the one on the Minerve. His name was 26 Gideon. He was the executive officer of the INS Dakar, an Israeli 27 submarine recently purchased from the British. 28 His face sported two weeks of patchy beard. Scars on his jawline S29 cut across it like furrows in a field. He was tall for a submariner and N30

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01 spoke with his head ducked down to keep it beneath the pipes that 02 ran overhead. 03 “The French have stolen something precious from Israel,” he told 04 them. “We’re the only ones in position to prevent them from suc‑ 05 ceeding in this latest treachery.” 06 The Dakar had been two days out of Southampton en route to 07 Haifa when an ­ultra-​­coded signal from the Israeli high command had 08 interrupted their shakedown cruise. They’d been ordered to proceed 09 to the southern coast of France at top speed and lie in wait, while the 10 high command entered false position reports into the record and pre‑ 11 pared cover stories and obituaries should their ­high-​­risk-​­mission fail. 12 For the better part of two days, Gideon and his men had been 13 waiting and planning. After finally picking up a sonar contact, and 14 confirming it was the Minerve, they’d allowed it to pass and moved 15 in behind it. 16 They’d quickly closed to within a hundred yards. So close that 17 they could hear the Minerve’s screw turning without using their 18 hydrophones. 19 The next task seemed impossible to accomplish. Gideon and his 20 men were not commandos, most weren’t even experienced sailors, 21 but every single one of them were ready to fight and die for their 22 country. 23 Gideon explained. “In the ancient times sea battles were not 24 won by sailors but by soldiers. The Romans, the Phoenicians, the 25 ­Greeks—​­they rammed their enemies and stormed on board where 26 the fighting and killing was done by hand.” 27 The men looked on without blinking. Their smooth faces belied 28 their desire to right a terrible wrong. They didn’t know exactly what 29S was at stake, but they knew the French had betrayed them yet again. 30N After enacting an arms embargo on Israel during the Six­ -​­Day

9780735219021_SeaOfGreed_TX.indd 12 8/11/18 6:36 PM Clive Cussler 13

War. After keeping a squadron of Mirage aircraft and a small fleet 01 of patrol boats that Israel had already paid for. After suddenly co‑ 02 zying up to Israel’s Arab enemies. The French had now crossed 03 a line that could not be tolerated. They’d killed Israeli citizens 04 and taken something the Israeli high command was willing to risk 05 war over. 06 “This will not be easy,” Gideon insisted. “There hasn’t been a 07 ship boarded and captured in these waters for many centuries. One 08 is damned well going be boarded and captured today!” 09 The men cheered. They had only a few submachine guns and 10 pistols as weapons, but they most certainly had surprise on their 11 side. They were tucked in so close behind the Minerve that 12 the French submarine could not possibly hear them over its own 13 engine noise. 14 As the men readied themselves to go topside and storm the Mi- 15 nerve, a radioman several feet away sat with a hand pressing a head‑ 16 phone to his ear. “Intercepted transmission,” he said glumly. “The 17 Minerve is remaining submerged until they reach the channel.” 18 This was unwelcome news. 19 “We can’t board them in sight of the coast,” one officer pointed 20 out. “We’ll have the French Air Force down on us before we can 21 even find the materials.” 22 “We could put a fish in their side and be done with it,” the tacti‑ 23 cal officer suggested. 24 The captain shook his head. “Our orders are to get the stolen 25 materials back at all costs. Those orders come directly from the 26 Knesset and the Prime Minister. We’re to sink the Minerve only if 27 we’re in danger of being destroyed ourselves.” 28 “But we can’t board a ship that’s submerged,” the tactical offi‑ S29 cer said. N30

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01 Gideon took it from there. He’d been considering the problem 02 for a while. “Then we’ll have to force them to the surface.” 03 04 05 Ab oard the Minerve, Cheval drummed his fingers on the chart 06 table, remaining where he’d been during the argument with Lukas. 07 Every few minutes he checked the clock and the boat’s position. 08 Both seemed to be crawling. 09 “How long until we reach the channel?” he asked. 10 The captain looked his way and then turned as the sound of 11 wrenching metal ran through the boat. 12 What had to have been an impact was followed instantly by a 13 suction wave that pulled air from the cabin, causing ears to pop and 14 sinuses to ache. Yellow and red indicators lit up on a control panel 15 and the suction grew worse. 16 “It’s the snorkel,” the dive officer said. “Valves are shut. Com‑ 17 plete malfunction.” 18 The snorkel was designed with an emergency cutoff that sealed 19 the breathing tube if water overtopped the airway. With the snorkel 20 closed off, the churning diesel engines were forced to suck air from 21 the only place they could get ­it—​­the inner hull of the submarine. 22 “I ordered plus three meters on the surface,” the captain said, 23 referring to how high the snorkel was supposed to be riding above 24 the waves. 25 “We’re running at that depth,” the dive officer insisted. 26 Either the weather had gotten suddenly worse and the waves 27 larger or something in the snorkel had failed. 28 Every man in the control room looked upward, counting the sec‑ 29S onds and hoping the snorkel would clear. 30N Cheval felt a wave of nausea, partly from fear, partly from the

9780735219021_SeaOfGreed_TX.indd 14 8/11/18 6:36 PM Clive Cussler 15

decrease in pressure. He looked at the clock, this time watching the 01 second hand. Thirty seconds went by, then forty. The situation did 02 not correct itself. 03 “Water in the periscope tunnel,” one of the NCOs called out. 04 “Upper seals must be cracked.” 05 Cheval could think of nothing more fearful than water leaking 06 into a submerged vessel. Even if it was just a trickle. He considered 07 the sound of the wrenching metal, the shudder in the control room. 08 “We must have hit something,” he said. “We need to surface.” 09 To Cheval’s surprise, the captain agreed with him. “Floating de‑ 10 bris perhaps,” he said. “Take us up. Surface the boat.” 11 The dive control officer blew the tanks and changed the angle on 12 the planes. The Minerve began to rise, bow first. Cheval noticed 13 water trickling down the periscope tube. He looked to the depth 14 gauge, saw that they were rising and sighed with relief as he felt the 15 submarine break the surface and level off. 16 A second loud bang sounded and the suction vanished, causing 17 Cheval’s ears to pop again. “Main vents open,” one of the men said. 18 “Engines breathing outside air.” 19 “Ahead one quarter,” the captain ordered. “I’m going up to see 20 what kind of damage we’ve taken.” 21 With the first officer at the helm, the captain led a damage con‑ 22 trol party up into the conning tower, opening the inner and then 23 outer hatches. 24 Daylight poured in. Gray and monochrome but beautiful. As the 25 last man’s legs went up through the hatch, Cheval stared jealously 26 at the opening. Without thinking or asking permission, he stepped 27 to the ladder and began to climb. 28 He reached the top, poked his head out and paused in shock. S29 The periscope and the snorkel were bent to the side at a N30

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01 ­thirty-​­degree angle. The steel was mangled and deformed from the 02 impact. The antenna housing had been sheared off. 03 Stranger still, the captain and the damage control party were 04 not studying the damage to make repairs, they were being held at 05 gunpoint. 06 ­Black-​­clad men with submachine guns had forced them to their 07 knees. Two motorized inflatable boats were peeling off behind 08 them, heading toward the bow of another submarine. 09 Before he could process the scene and react, Cheval was yanked 10 upward and thrown against the bulkhead of the conning tower. A 11 large man with scruffy beard jammed the point of a machine gun 12 into his chest. “Not a sound, if you want to live.” 13 Cheval nodded his compliance. He knew instinctively who these 14 men were, who they had to be. “You’re Israeli.” 15 “My name is Gideon,” the bearded man said, nodding as he 16 spoke. “Judging from the lack of uniform, you must be one of 17 the French scientists. Which means you know what we’re after.” 18 Cheval hesitated, not out of defiance but from pure shock. “I 19 know what you want.” 20 “Good,” Gideon replied. “Go down the ladder first. Do anything 21 foolish and you’ll die first as well.” 22 Cheval led them back into the submarine, climbing down the 23 ladder as calmly as possible. Halfway down, Gideon kicked him 24 and sent him tumbling. The fall acted as a distraction and the crew 25 in the command center were watching him when Gideon and an‑ 26 other commando jumped down and landed on the deck. 27 With the machine guns drawn and the crew flatfooted, there was 28 no way to resist. 29S “We have your captain,” Gideon told them. “We’re here to take 30N

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back what you stole from us. No one will be harmed if you coop‑ 01 erate.” 02 As the Minerve wallowed in the swells, additional commandos 03 came down the ladder. Leaving two men to guard the control room, 04 Gideon forced Cheval to lead them deeper into the submarine. 05 They took more captives in each compartment, surprising most of 06 the men in their cabins. The French commandos were rounded up 07 as well. All except Lukas. 08 “Keep the others under guard,” Gideon ordered. “Send two men 09 to find this Lukas. Shoot him on sight.” 10 As the men moved off, Cheval took Gideon to ­Ben-​Av­ i’s quarters 11 and released him. “We’ve come to bring you back to Israel,” Gideon 12 told Ben­ -​­Avi. “But not without the materials.” 13 “I don’t know where they are,” Ben­ -​­Avi said. 14 Gideon turned to Cheval. “Where are the bacterial cultures?” 15 “In the mess hall.” 16 Cheval led them to the mess hall, with Gideon, ­Ben-​­Avi and 17 another of the Israelis right behind him. They entered the hall, 18 where several stainless steel cylinders with black bands around 19 each end stood. 20 Gideon ordered Cheval to the side and sent Ben­ -​­Avi to check the 21 equipment. 22 “This is the primary strain,” Ben­ -​­Avi said, checking the first 23 drum. “And this is­ —” 24 Before he finished his thought, the hammering of an automatic 25 weapon rang out. Ben­ -​­Avi went down in a hail of bullets. Ricochets 26 bounced around the mess hall and everyone dove for cover. 27 “Right corner, by the freezers,” the other commando yelled. 28 Cheval was on the ground, scrambling for cover, as Gideon S29 N30

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01 opened up with his weapon. By the time Cheval looked up, Lukas 02 was dead, lying prone on the deck in a pool of his own blood. A few 03 feet away, ­Ben-​Av­ i was faring little better. 04 Cheval rushed to him and tried to to check or stop the flow of 05 the bleeding. “I’m sorry,” he said. “This is all my fault. Please for‑ 06 give me.” 07 ­Ben-​­Avi looked past Cheval as if he wasn’t there. He moved his 08 mouth to say something but never spoke a word. 09 10 11 With the submarine under control and the first batch of materials 12 and a few prisoners on their way to the Dakar, Gideon contacted 13 the captain. He received bad news. 14 “French aircraft on radar, heading this way. Unsure of inten‑ 15 tions. Our escape may prove to be more difficult than expected. 16 We’re submerging and departing immediately. You and your men 17 are to remain on the Minerve and sail her to Israel.” 18 Gideon seemed surprised. “We’re commandeering her? 19 “I’m not going to send her to the bottom with her crew on board, 20 nor can I put them in lifeboats or let them sail into port and tell the 21 world about us. We must take the ship. We’ll send the sailors home 22 once we reach Haifa.” 23 “Without a wreck to find, the French will be suspicious,” Gideon 24 insisted. “They’ll come looking that much faster.” 25 “Do your best to deceive them,” the Dakar’s captain said. “Dump 26 some oil and toss some life jackets and other materials overboard, 27 then submerge and head south. Hopefully, they’ll think the Mi- 28 nerve went down.” 29S “And if they do come looking?” 30N “They’ll be looking for us,” the captain replied. “Either way, two

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boats gives us a better chance to get the materials back to Israel 01 than one. But if at least one of us gets through, then Israel will be 02 safer than she is today.” 03 Gideon would have preferred sinking the Minerve, with or with‑ 04 out the crew on board. He had no desire to lead the French crew at 05 gunpoint. There were too many ways to sabotage the ship, too 06 many things that could go wrong. Still, he did as ordered, dumping 07 four hundred gallons of diesel oil and tossing out anything that 08 might float and look like wreckage. 09 The attempt to make the French think their submarine had gone 10 down took only a few minutes. When it was completed, they were 11 ready to move off. 12 As the submarines turned away from each other, the Dakar sig‑ 13 naled Good luck with a flashing light and then submerged. 14 The Minerve dove less than two minutes later. Neither ship 15 would ever surface again. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 S29 N30

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9780735219021_SeaOfGreed_TX.indd 21 8/11/18 6:36 PM 01 02 03 04 05 06 3 07 GULF OF MEXICO 08 |THE PRESENT DAY 09 10 11 12 13 14 Rick L. Cox stood in the operations room of the Alpha Star oil 15 platform, ten stories above the water. 16 Cox was a tool push, which meant he oversaw the whole drilling 17 operation. It was a job he loved and after thirty years in the oil busi‑ 18 ness he had a sixth sense about things. He didn’t need it today. One 19 look at the panel told him a bad day was getting worse. 20 The flow rates and pressure levels in the pipelines were off. And 21 they were off in the wrong direction. Low and dropping lower, even 22 though the Alpha Star platform and two of her sisters were pump‑ 23 ing massive amounts of filtered water into the seabed to pressurize 24 the oil field and force the black gold and natural gas upward. 25 “This can’t be right,” Cox said to one of the crew. “How much 26 water are we pumping?” 27 “We’re maxed out on capacity,” one of the techs yelled back. “All 28 pumps are running at full power.” S29 N30

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01 Even so, they were registering only a weak stream of natural gas 02 and no oil at all. 03 Cox tilted the ­OSHA-​­mandated hard hat back to scratch his 04 head and then grabbed a radio. Alpha Star was working in concert 05 with two other platforms to save a dying offshore field. Maybe the 06 other two rigs were holding back on him. 07 “Alpha Two, pick up,” Cox said into the radio. 08 “Alpha Two here,” a voice with a healthy Southern accent re‑ 09 plied. “Reading you loud and clear.” 10 “What’s your injection pressure?” 11 “We’re right up against the redline.” 12 Cox pressed the talk switch again. “Alpha Three, can you give 13 us any more pressure?” 14 The foreman from the third platform replied without hesitation. 15 “We’re maxed out here as well, boss. If that oil doesn’t break loose 16 soon, we’re gonna have to back off.” 17 “I’ll be the judge of that.” Cox looked over the gauges once more. 18 “Keep the pressure up. The geologists insist there’s an ocean of oil 19 down there. If so, we’re going to force it out. I’m drilling down an‑ 20 other hundred feet. That’ll tap it for sure.” 21 As Cox finished speaking, he glanced over at Leon Nash, one of 22 the roughnecks on his crew. “Take the bit down another hundred.” 23 Nash hesitated. “The guys are a little worried, Chief. No one 24 wants a blowout.” 25 Cox brushed off the comment. “We’ve got measures in place. 26 Just check the drill angle and punch it down another hundred feet.” 27 Nash didn’t argue further. With great care he ­double-​­checked 28 the set up and reactivated the bit. In the center of the huge oil rig, a 29S thick pipe began to turn. Six thousand feet below, a carbide drill bit 30N started burrowing deeper into the earth, churning through the

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mud, salt and layers of porous rock. Slurry came rushing up the 01 pipe, but nothing more. 02 “Fifty feet,” Nash said. “Seventy feet.” 03 “Anything?” 04 “No increase in flow,” Nash said. 05 Cox was puzzled, they should have been well into the active oil 06 by now. “Careful, now,” he urged. If the oil was there, it was being 07 held under great pressure, then more pressure by the water being 08 pumped down beneath it. Tapping it too cleanly could result in a 09 sudden release, also known as a blowout. Like opening a soda bot‑ 10 tle after you’ve vigorously shaken it up. 11 “Thirty feet to go,” Nash said. “­Twenty . . .” 12 The needles on the panel flickered. The pressure in the collection 13 grid began to rise. 14 “Stop it there,” Cox said. 15 “We have liquids and gas in the pipeline,” Nash said, pumping 16 his fist. “Pressure coming up.” 17 The roughnecks behind them cheered. 18 Before Cox could join them, a series of indicators on his screen 19 went from green to yellow. 20 At the same instant, the radio came to life. “Pressure buildup in 21 the collection grid,” the foreman at Alpha 2 said. “We’re getting 22 some awfully high numbers here.” 23 Cox could see that. He turned back to Nash. “Are you still 24 drilling?” 25 “Negative.” 26 The radio chatter increased, Soon, Alpha 2 and Alpha 3 were 27 talking over each other. 28 “Ten thousand psi and rising.” S29 “Heat buildup in the main line.” N30

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01 “Shut off the injectors,” Cox said. 02 Levers were thrown from open to closed and the sound of the 03 whining pumps in a distant part of the rig died. With no more water 04 being pumped into the underlying rock, the pressure should have 05 stabilized. It didn’t. 06 “Twelve thousand psi,” Alpha 2 reported. “­Thirteen . . .” 07 Cox didn’t need the running commentary. He could see it right 08 in front of him. The yellow indicators started blinking and then 09 turned to angry, flashing red. 10 “Shut off valve failure,” Nash said from the other side of the 11 room. “Pressure in the main line at fifteen thousand. Vent the pipes 12 or the whole line is going to blow.” 13 Cox had no choice. He palmed the button for the emergency 14 pressure release and pressed it. 15 Down below the rig, a network of crisscrossing pipes connected 16 the oil platforms to one another and the collection grid. At critical 17 points along the network, large valves opened to vent the gas pres‑ 18 sure into the sea. 19 It should have caused a massive but harmless release of bubbles 20 as vented natural gas funneled upward, spreading and thinning 21 while it rose to the surface. Instead, a rumbling sound traveled 22 through the platform. 23 “We got fire on the water,” Alpha 2 called. 24 In the gap between the two rigs, a towering blaze erupted from 25 the sea. It spread across the surface in a snaking motion, joining 26 other waves of fire and soon engulfing all three platforms. 27 “Seal the rig,” Cox ordered. 28 Doors to all compartments were slammed shut against the smoke 29S and flames, but as they buttoned up the platform, a shudder ran 30N through it from deeper down. It shook the floor and buckled knees.

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“Pressure spike in the well,” Nash called out. “Blowout failure.” 01 This was the worst news yet. It meant a surge of gas had burst 02 past the bit and was traveling up through the hole they’d drilled. 03 The pressure gauge went off the scale. The bubble of gas ex‑ 04 ploded through the blowout preventer and surged upward into the 05 heart of the platform. It ignited the instant it hit the air, detonating 06 in the heart of the rig like a ­thousand-​­pound bomb. 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 S29 N30

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