cacophony of mismatched paint, and the derrick amidships looked as if it

might tumble into the water at any moment.

But the Oregon's appearance was all an illusion.

The rust was carefully applied radar-absorbing paint that allowed her

to slip off radar screens like a wraith, the junk on the decks only props.

The derricks worked fine; a couple operated as intended, a few were communication

antenna, and the rest flipped away to reveal missile-firing

pods. Belowdecks her accommodations rivaled the finest yachts. Opulent

staterooms, a state-of-the-art communications and command center, a helicopter,

shore boats, and a complete fabrication shop were inside. Her

dining room rivaled the finest restaurants. Her sick bay was more akin to

an expensive hospital suite. Powered by a pair of magnetohydrodynamic

propulsion units, the ship could run like a cheetah and turn like a bumper

car. The ship was nothing like her outside appearance indicated.

The Oregon was an armed, high-tech intelligence platform staffed

by highly trained people.

The Corporation, who owned and operated the Oregon, was comprised

of ex-military and intelligence operatives who hired themselves out

to countries and individuals needing specialized services. They were a

private army of mercenaries with a conscience. Often secretly tasked by

the U.S. government to perform missions because they were outside the

scope of congressional oversight, they existed in a shadowy world without

diplomatic protection or governmental acknowledgment.

The Corporation was a force for hire-but they accepted clients

carefully.

For the past week they had been in Iceland providing security for

the emir of Qatar, who was attending the summit. Iceland had been selected

for the meetings for a variety of reasons. The country was small,

Reykjavik's population was only around 100,000, and that helped with

the security concerns. The population was homogeneous, and that made

outsiders stand out like sore thumbs, which added to the ability to detect

terrorists intent on disturbing the peace process. And lastly, Iceland

claimed to have the world's oldest elected parliament. The country had

been involved in the democratic process from centuries past.

The agenda for the weeklong meetings included the occupation of

Iraq, the situation in Israel and Palestine and the spread of fundamentalist

terrorism. And while the summit was not sanctioned by the United

Nations or any other world governing body, the leaders in attendance realized

that policy would be formed and courses of action decided.

Russia, France, Germany, Egypt, Jordan, and a host of other Middle

Eastern countries were attending. Israel, Syria and Iran had declined. The

United States, Great Britain and Poland, as the allied liberators of Iraq,

were there, as well as a host of smaller countries. Nearly two dozen

26 CLIVE CUSSLER

nations and their ambassadors, security, intelligence operatives and handlers

had descended on Iceland's capital city like a swarm of mosquitoes

in the night. With the city's small population, the numerous spies and security

people were as obvious to the citizens of Reykjavik as if they had

been wearing bikinis in the freezing cold weather. Icelanders were fair of