Clive Cussler's Hellburner
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Built for Adventure: The Classic Automobiles of Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Maden, Mike, author. | Cussler, Clive.
Title: Hellburner: a novel of the Oregon files / Mike Maden.
Other titles: Title appears on item as: Clive Cussler’s Hellburner
Description: New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, [2022] | Series: Oregon files
Identifiers: LCCN 2022019007 (print) | LCCN 2022019008 (ebook) | ISBN 9780593540640 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780593540657 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Cabrillo, Juan (Fictitious character)—Fiction. | Ship captains—Fiction. | LCGFT: Thrillers (Graphic works) | Novels.
Classification: LCC PS3613.A284327 H45 2022 (print) | LCC PS3613.A284327 (ebook) | DDC 813/.6—dc23/eng/20220427
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022019007
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022019008
Cover illustration: Mike Heath
Book design by Pauline Neuwirth, adapted for ebook by Maggie Hunt
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, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
pid_prh_6.0_140825327_c0_r0
CONTENTS
Cover
Titles by Clive Cussler
Title Page
Copyright
Cast of Characters
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
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
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
About the Authors
CAST OF CHARACTERS
THE CORPORATION
Juan Cabrillo—Chairman of the Corporation and captain of the Oregon.
Max Hanley—President of the Corporation, Juan’s second-in-command and the Oregon’s chief engineer. U.S. Navy and Vietnam swift boat veteran.
Linda Ross—Vice President, Operations. Retired U.S. Navy intelligence officer.
Eddie Seng—Director, Shore Operations. Former CIA agent.
Franklin “Linc” Lincoln—Operations. Former U.S. Navy SEAL sniper.
Marion MacDougal “MacD” Lawless—Operations. Former U.S. Army Ranger.
Raven Malloy—Operations. Former U.S. Army Military Police investigator.
Tom Reyes—Operations. Former U.S. Army, 82nd Airborne Division.
Eric Stone—Chief helmsman on the Oregon. Former U.S. Navy officer, weapons research and development.
Dr. Mark “Murph” Murphy—Chief weapons officer on the Oregon. Former civilian weapons designer.
Dr. Eric Littleton—Director of the Oregon’s biophysical laboratory.
Mike Lavin—Chief armorer on the Oregon. Retired U.S. Army armament/fire control maintenance supervisor.
Bill McDonald—Senior armorer on the Oregon. Former CIA paramilitary operator.
George “Gomez” Adams—Helicopter pilot and chief aerial drone operator on the Oregon. U.S. Army veteran.
Hali Kasim—Chief communications officer on the Oregon.
Dr. Julia Huxley—Chief medical officer on the Oregon. U.S. Navy veteran.
Kevin Nixon—Chief of the Oregon’s Magic Shop.
Maurice—Chief steward on the Oregon. British Royal Navy veteran.
THE PIPELINE
GREECE
Sokratis Katrakis—Founder of Katrakis Maritime, co-founder of the Pipeline.
Alexandros Katrakis—Sokratis’ son, CEO of Katrakis Maritime.
Archytas Katrakis—Son, captain of the Mountain Star.
Stephanos Katrakis—Son, general manager of Katrakis Maritime’s shipyard.
MEXICO
Víctor Herrera—Head of the Herrera Cartel, son of Hugo Herrera, Mexico’s “King of Meth.”
Lado Zazueta—Assassin employed by the cartel.
REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
David Hakobyan—Co-founder of the Pipeline. Naturalized American citizen.
REPUBLIC OF TURKEY
Cedvet Bayur—Regional mercenary commander in Libya. Former Turkish Army intelligence officer. Member of the Gray Wolves.
Yusuf Toprak—President of the Republic of Turkey.
Meliha Öztürk—Independent journalist and human rights activist, daughter of Dr. Kemal Öztürk.
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
Alyssa Grainger—President of the United States (POTUS).
Langston Overholt IV—The Corporation’s CIA liaison.
1
THE NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN
180 MILES OFF THE COAST OF SURINAME
That’s his third course correction, sir,” Santos said. “There’s no doubt he’s chasing us.”
Captain Calvera heard the tension in his first officer’s voice. They were both hovering over a military-grade electronics suite—something his commercial fishing trawler El Valiente shouldn’t have but did.
Calvera stood scratching his beard, a nervous habit. It didn’t make any sense. According to the automated identification signal, they were being chased by an Indonesian-flagged vessel, the Sungu Barat, a 590-foot break-bulk carrier scheduled to arrive in Caracas in two days. Santos had examined its shipping records. The unremarkable cargo ship had been built in 1971 and had exchanged ownership at least thirteen times over the decades, most recently a month ago. Judging by its Vesseltracker photo, it was a floating wreck. Its hull, bridge and cranes were streaked with rust and grime. It was better suited for a trip to the breaker yard than sailing the open water.
The slow-moving vessel hadn’t caught anyone’s attention over the last few days, but Santos had programmed their search radar to pick up on behavioral anomalies. Three hours ago, the Sungu Barat triggered an alarm and Calvera initiated course corrections to see if the radar’s warning software had made a mistake.
It hadn’t.
Stranger still, the Sungu Barat was over twice the length and double the weight of El Valiente and yet the broken-down cargo ship not only kept pace but was actually gaining on them. Now it was just a little over two kilometers behind and closing in.
“Who do you think it is?” Santos asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine. If anything, I’d say it might be pirates.” But even as he said it, Calvera shook his head in disbelief. “But sailing an old rust bucket like that? I doubt it.”
“What do you want to do, sir?”
Calvera frowned, thinking. There were only three choices ever available to a captain in his position: run, hide or fight. El Valiente was indeed a commercial fishing vessel, but it had been modified to function as a covert smuggler. He and his crew had spent years perfecting the art of hiding in plain sight, plying the fishing waters and port cities of the Atlantic and Mediterranean for over half a decade. Not being noticed was their first and best defense.
Apparently, the Sungu Barat had breached that first defense. Now the options were either to run or fight. His eyes quickly scanned the radar screen again. They were the only two ships within five hundred kilometers, which meant they had this patch of the ocean all to themselves. A gun battle wouldn’t be noticed.
Calvera’s inclination was to attack, but as his grandfather taught him, it was always better to defeat an enemy without actually fighting him. It was a lesson the old man learned as a young guerrilla alongside Che and Fidel in the Sierra Maestra mountains over sixty years ago. While they may be far out at sea, there was always the chance that if Calvera overplayed his hand, the authorities might be alerted. Better to play it safe.
He turned to the ship’s helmsman. “Rico, full speed ahead.”
“A la orden, mi capitán.”
Th
e helmsman advanced the throttle. The ship’s massive diesel engine roared to life. While the trawler normally cruised at eleven knots, its top speed was rated at seventeen. But with the specially modified engine fitted for just such an occasion, El Valiente accelerated to an incredible thirty. The entire vessel thrummed with the vibrations of the racing pistons now hammering belowdecks.
The sudden increase in speed brought a smile to everyone on the bridge, including Santos, still hovering over the radarscope. Calvera knew that showing such speed ruined the illusion that El Valiente was a mere fishing trawler, but shaking off this biting tick from the back of his neck was worth it.
“Captain, we caught her flat-footed,” Santos said. “We’re pulling away.”
“Excellent.”
Calvera crossed over to Rico and clapped a hand on his shoulder. The young helmsman was grinning ear to ear with pride in his vessel and his captain. They would put plenty of distance between themselves and the old junker within minutes.
“Captain. She’s closing on us—fast.”
Calvera charged back over to the radar station. He couldn’t believe his eyes. The Sungu Barat was making over sixty knots.
Sixty knots!
“Check your radar, Santos. There must be something wrong with it.”
“I ran a complete diagnostic earlier. Everything is in working condition.”
“It’s not possible.” Calvera’s face darkened. “And yet, there it is.”
The two men exchanged worried glances.
“You know what’s at stake.”
Santos nodded.
A vein throbbed on Calvera’s forehead. He had a young wife and several children. So did Santos and the other officers. It was one of the reasons they had been recruited into the organization. If they were boarded and their cargo seized, not only would they be killed but their entire families would be wiped out.
Failure was not an option.
Santos saw the flashing comms light. He pulled on his earphones and tapped a button. A moment later, he glanced up at Calvera.
“Captain, we’re receiving a message from the Sungu Barat. Their captain wants to speak with you.”