When a NATO weapon that could ensure peace or start World War Three;vanishes in the Arctic,;Kurt Austin and NUMA race to recover it before it falls into enemy hands in the latest;novel in the #1 In the frigid;air high above the Arctic Ocean;;American C-17 carrying a cutting-edge laser of immense power, successfully shoots down a ballistic missile nearly four hundred miles away. Before the celebration can even begin, the aircraft goes dark, vanishing off radar and disappearing into mist at the top of the world.; As the details emerge it becomes obvious that the aircraft has been hijacked, the crew murdered at their stations. It’s last known was an heading that would take it directly to Russia, but the CIA insisted it never arrived.; An odd signal suggests it crashed into the Arctic Ocean halfway between Norway and the North Pole. In a tense meeting the President asks how deep the waters are in that area.; Not deep enough, is the answer.; Russian ships are seen putting out to sea in large numbers.;Chinese vessels are spotted north of Norway.; The only American asset in the area is a small research vessel operated by NUMA. The President;orders NUMA to send it into the fray. Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala lead the search but soon find that all is not as it seems.; The Chinese were waiting for the planes arrival, the Russians had expected it to land on their territory and now all three are closing in on a shooting war to keep the others from finding the missing plane.;; With the rules of engagement suspended and lives hanging in the balance, Kurt and the NUMA special projects team pull on the threads connecting the mystery only to discover the great nations of the world being manipulated by a single man with a deadly plan of revenge.

Autorentext
Clive Cussler was the author of more than eighty books in five bestselling series, including Dirk Pitt®, NUMA Files®, Oregon Files®, Isaac Bell®, and Sam and Remi Fargo®. His life nearly paralleled that of his hero Dirk Pitt. Whether searching for lost aircraft or leading expeditions to find famous shipwrecks, he and his NUMA crew of volunteers discovered and surveyed more than seventy-five lost ships of historic significance, including the long-lost Civil War submarine Hunley, which was raised in 2000 with much publicity. Cussler passed away in February 2020.

Graham Brown is the author of Black Rain, Black Sun, Clive Cussler Condor's Fury, and Clive Cussler's Dark Vector, and the coauthor with Cussler of Devil's Gate, The Storm, Zero Hour, Ghost Ship, The Pharaoh's Secret, Nighthawk, The Rising Sea, Sea of Greed, Journey of the Pharaohs, and Fast Ice. He is a pilot and an attorney.

Klappentext

When a NATO weapon that could ensure peace or start World War Three vanishes in the Arctic, Kurt Austin and NUMA race to recover it before it falls into enemy hands in the latest novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series created by the “grand master of adventure” Clive Cussler.

In the frigid air high above the Arctic Ocean an American C-17 carrying a cutting-edge laser of immense power, successfully shoots down a ballistic missile nearly four hundred miles away. Before the celebration can even begin, the aircraft goes dark, vanishing off radar and disappearing into mist at the top of the world. 

As the details emerge it becomes obvious that the aircraft has been hijacked, the crew murdered at their stations. Its last known heading would take it directly to Russia, but the CIA insisted it never arrived. An odd signal suggests it crashed into the Arctic Ocean halfway between Norway and the North Pole. In a tense meeting the President asks how deep the waters are in that area.  Not deep enough, is the answer. 

Russian ships are seen putting out to sea in large numbers. Chinese vessels are spotted north of Norway.  The only American asset in the area is a small research vessel operated by NUMA. The President orders NUMA to send it into the fray. Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala lead the search but soon find that all is not as it seems.  The Chinese were waiting for the planes arrival, the Russians had expected it to land on their territory and now all three are closing in on a shooting war to keep the others from finding the missing plane.  

With the rules of engagement suspended and lives hanging in the balance, Kurt and the NUMA special projects team pull on the threads connecting the mystery only to discover the great nations of the world being manipulated by a single man with a deadly plan of revenge.

Leseprobe
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of Penguin Random House. Please be extra cautious when opening file attachments or clicking on links.

Chapter 1

Fifty thousand feet above the Arctic Circle the air temperature was a frigid one hundred nineteen degrees below zero. A heavily modified C-17 transport cut through this bitterly cold air with two F-35 fighters trailing a mile behind. At this temperature, the atmosphere held nothing in the way of moisture and offered crystal clear views of the stars above and the moon, which oddly appeared below the aircraft, as it had just emerged on the far horizon.

Inside the C-17, in a comfortably heated compartment just aft of the cockpit, a group of engineers and technicians sat at various computer consoles watching different systems and analyzing incoming data.

"Target spotted," a voice announced across the compartment.

Senior test engineer Dan Caldwell looked up from his screen. There wasn't supposed to be a target for them to shoot at yet. He glanced around to see who'd spoken. He was not surprised to see Ridley Wiles, one of the systems analysts, standing at the window. Ridley was twenty-three, a civilian contractor, and not all that big on discipline. But he understood the laser system they were using like no one else.

"What target are you talking about?" Caldwell asked sharply. "Nothing on my scope."

"It's big and round . . . and allegedly made of cream cheese," Ridley replied. "We can hit it from here. Then it's bagels for everyone."

Groans and mild laughter wafted through the cabin as Ridley stepped back from the window and pointed at the moon.

Caldwell was not amused. "Get in your seat, Ridley. The punishment for failed attempts at humor is washing the plane by hand once we get back to Greenland. No gloves allowed."

Ridley took his seat and strapped himself in like he was supposed to. Caldwell let it go at that. He didn't mind the break in tension that a few well-placed groaners could bring on, but it was time to get serious.

The aircraft and laser system they were about to test was known as the EAGL, Enhanced Aerial Gunnery Laser. Caldwell had always wondered why someone hadn't added another word to the name so they could call it the EAGLE proper, but that was above his pay grade.

The laser in question was the most powerful laser in the world by a wide margin. It was far too heavy to be mounted in a fighter or attack craft. But placed aboard the modified C-17 and lifted to a high altitude, it could do things that would alter the rules of war. Assuming, of course, that it worked as planned.

Time to find out, Caldwell thought.

He pressed the intercom switch and spoke to the captain. "All systems go," he reported. "Cryogenics functioning at optimal levels. Laser waveguides are tuned. Change course to two-four-zero. We're entering the firing window now. Test protocol commencing."

The pilot replied affirmatively, and the big aircraft banked into a turn. For the next few minutes, they would watch their screens and wait, while an extremely powerful radar system mounted below the craft scanned the ocean's surface out to the edge of the curvature of the earth.

Several hundred miles away, an Amer…