the cabin as well as for the series of greenhouses that supplied most of shoulder and made his way toward the jet.

his food. Solar and wind energy provided electricity. Cellular and satel- Forty-seven minutes later the jet crossed into Canada on a northlite

telephone communications kept him in voice contact with the rest of northeast course.

the world. Hughes had a bank account in Missoula with a six-figure

balance, an address at a pack-and-ship office to send and receive his mail,

plus three passports, four social security numbers and driver's licenses

with different names and addresses.

Hughes liked his privacy-not uncommon among assassins who enjoy

keeping low profiles.

"I have some work for you," Hickman said.

"How much?" Hughes asked, cutting to the chase.

"Maybe five days, for fifty thousand dollars. And I supply the transportation."

"I

take it someone is going to have a bad day," Hughes said. "What

else?"

"I'll need an object delivered somewhere when it's done," Hickman

told him.

"Does it help the cause?" Hughes asked.

"Yes."

"Then the delivery will be free," Hughes said magnanimously.

"My jet will be there in an hour," Hickman said. "Dress warm."

"I want gold," Hughes said.

"Gold it is," Hickman said as he disconnected.

AN HOUR LATER a Raytheon Hawker 800XP touched down at the

Missoula airport. Hughes shut off the engine of his restored 1972 International

Scout. Reaching into the rear, he unzipped a bag and checked

his firearms once again. Satisfied all was in order, he zipped the bag

closed and lifted it out onto the ground. Then he closed the rear gate,

bent down and armed the explosive device that he used as a burglar

alarm.

If anyone messed with his vehicle while he was gone, the Scout would

explode, hiding any evidence of his ownership as well as his personal

SACRED STONE 39

5

THE DAY AFTER the e-mail from Greenland was intercepted, Langston

Overholt IV was sitting in his office at CIA headquarters in Virginia,

staring at a picture of the meteorite. He glanced at a report on iridium,

then stared at his list of agents. As usual he was shorthanded. Reaching

into a bowl on his desk, he removed a tennis ball and methodically began

bouncing it against his wall and catching it when it returned. The

repetition relaxed him.

Was this worth pulling agents off another assignment? It was always

risk versus reward. Overholt was awaiting a report from the CIA scientists

that might shed more light on the possible threat, but for right now

it looked pretty straightforward. He needed someone to travel to Greenland

and secure the meteorite. Once that was done, the risk was minimal.

Since his agents were tied up, he decided to call an old friend.

"Two five two four."

"This is Overholt. How's Iceland?"

"If I eat another piece of herring," Cabrillo said, "I could swim to

Ireland."

"Rumor has it you're working for the commies," Overholt said.

"I'm sure you know about it," Cabrillo said. "Security breach in the