Typhoon Fury
Page 1
TITLES BY CLIVE CUSSLER
DIRK PITT® ADVENTURES
Odessa Sea (with Dirk Cussler)
Havana Storm (with Dirk Cussler)
Poseidon’s Arrow (with Dirk Cussler)
Crescent Dawn (with Dirk Cussler)
Arctic Drift (with Dirk Cussler)
Treasure of Khan (with Dirk Cussler)
Black Wind (with Dirk Cussler)
Trojan Odyssey
Valhalla Rising
Atlantis Found
Flood Tide
Shock Wave
Inca Gold
Sahara
Dragon
Treasure
Cyclops
Deep Six
Pacific Vortex!
Night Probe!
Vixen 03
Raise the Titanic!
Iceberg
The Mediterranean Caper
SAM AND REMI FARGO ADVENTURES
The Romanov Ransom (with Robin Burcell)
Pirate (with Robin Burcell)
The Solomon Curse (with Russell Blake)
The Eye of Heaven (with Russell Blake)
The Mayan Secrets (with Thomas Perry)
The Tombs (with Thomas Perry)
The Kingdom (with Grant Blackwood)
Lost Empire (with Grant Blackwood)
Spartan Gold (with Grant Blackwood)
ISAAC BELL ADVENTURES
The Cutthroat (with Justin Scott)
The Gangster (with Justin Scott)
The Assassin (with Justin Scott)
The Bootlegger (with Justin Scott)
The Striker (with Justin Scott)
The Thief (with Justin Scott)
The Race (with Justin Scott)
The Spy (with Justin Scott)
The Wrecker (with Justin Scott)
The Chase
KURT AUSTIN ADVENTURES
NOVELS FROM THE NUMA® FILES
Nighthawk (with Graham Brown)
The Pharaoh’s Secret (with Graham Brown)
Ghost Ship (with Graham Brown)
Zero Hour (with Graham Brown)
The Storm (with Graham Brown)
Devil’s Gate (with Graham Brown)
Medusa (with Paul Kemprecos)
The Navigator (with Paul Kemprecos)
Polar Shift (with Paul Kemprecos)
Lost City (with Paul Kemprecos)
White Death (with Paul Kemprecos)
Fire Ice (with Paul Kemprecos)
Blue Gold (with Paul Kemprecos)
Serpent (with Paul Kemprecos)
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
The Adventures of Vin Fiz
The Adventures of Hotsy Totsy
OREGON® FILES
The Emperor’s Revenge (with Boyd Morrison)
Piranha (with Boyd Morrison)
Mirage (with Jack Du Brul)
The Jungle (with Jack Du Brul)
The Silent Sea (with Jack Du Brul)
Corsair (with Jack Du Brul)
Plague Ship (with Jack Du Brul)
Skeleton Coast (with Jack Du Brul)
Dark Watch (with Jack Du Brul)
Sacred Stone (with Craig Dirgo)
Golden Buddha (with Craig Dirgo)
NONFICTION
Built for Adventure: The Classic Automobiles of Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt
Built to Thrill: More Classic Automobiles from Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt
The Sea Hunters (with Craig Dirgo)
The Sea Hunters II (with Craig Dirgo)
Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt Revealed (with Craig Dirgo)
G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
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Copyright © 2017 by Sandecker, RLLLP
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Cussler, Clive, author. | Morrison, Boyd, author.
Title: Typhoon fury : a novel of the Oregon files / Clive Cussler and Boyd Morrison.
Description: New York : G. P. Putnam’s Sons, [2017] | Series: The Oregon files ; 12
Identifiers: LCCN 2017012116| ISBN 9780399575570 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780399575587 (ebook)
Subjects: | GSAFD: Suspense fiction. | Adventure fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3553.U75 T97 2017 | DDC 813/.54—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017012116
International edition ISBN: 9780735218376
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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CONTENTS
Titles by Clive Cussler
Title Page
Copyright
Cast of Characters
PROLOGUE
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
EPILOGUE
About the Authors
SECOND BATTLE OF CORREGIDOR 1945
Sergeant Daniel Kekoa Soldier in the 24th Infantry “Hawaiian” Division.
Captain John Hayward Biochemist in the Research and Analysis Branch of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).
THE CORPORATION
Juan Cabrillo Chairman of the Corporation and captain of the Oregon.
Max Hanley Vice president of the Corporation, Juan’s second-in-command, and chief engineer of the Oregon.
Linda Ross Vice president of Operations for the Corporation and U.S. Navy veteran.
Eddie Seng Director of Shore Operations for the Corporation and former CIA agent.
Eric “Stoney” Stone Chief helmsman on the Oregon and U.S. Navy veteran.
Mark “Murph” Murphy Chief weapons officer on the Oregon and former U.S. military weapons designer.
Franklin “Linc” Lincoln Corporation operative and former U.S. Navy SEAL.
Marion MacDougal “MacD” Lawless Corporation operative and former U.S. Army Ranger.
George “Gomez” Adams Helicopter pilot and drone operator aboard the Oregon.
Hali Kasim Chief communications officer on the Oregon.
Dr. Julia Huxley Chief medical officer on the Oregon.
Kevin Nixon Chief of the Oregon’s Magic Shop.
Maurice Chief steward on the Oregon.
PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE
Luis Navarro Inspector in charge of prisoner transfer.
Captain Garcia Captain of prison transport vessel.
CHINESE MINISTRY OF STATE SECURITY
Zhong Lin Field agent.
NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY
Abby Yamada Chief computer cryptanalyst.
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Langston Overholt IV The Corporation’s CIA liaison.
PHILIPPINES COMMUNIST INSURGENCY
Salvador Locsin Leader of the insurgents.
Nikho Tagaan Locsin’s second-in-command and marine engineer.
Stanley Alonzo Interior Ministry bureaucrat and mole for the insurgency.
Mel Ocampo Biochemist hired by the insurgency.
Maria Santos Biochemist hired by the insurgency.
Dolap Insurgent soldier and Locsin’s cousin.
THAILAND
Beth Anders Art theft investigator and appraiser.
Raven Malloy Beth’s bodyguard and former U.S. Army Military Police investigator.
Udom Leader of drug gang.
Alastair Lynch Interpol duty station official in Bangkok.
Gerhard Brekker Leader of South African mercenary squad.
Altus Van Der Waal Brekker’s second-in-command.
UNITED STATES ARMY
Greg Polten Civilian biochemical weapons expert.
Charles Davis Greg Polten’s assistant.
General Amos Jefferson Director of biochemical weapons testing at Dugway Proving Ground.
PROLOGUE
WORLD WAR II
THE SECOND BATTLE OF CORREGIDOR
THE PHILIPPINES
FEBRUARY 20, 1945
The tunnel exploded.
Sergeant Daniel Kekoa dropped to the ground and covered his head as the M4 Sherman tank that had fired on the ragged entrance was thrown backward a dozen yards by the gigantic secondary blast from inside the tunnel. The thirty-ton tank flipped over and landed on its turret before a loose shell inside tore it apart in a fireball.
When debris stopped raining down around him, Kekoa staggered to his feet, his ears ringing from the deafening explosion. Dozens of American soldiers lay dead or writhing in pain. He turned over the nearest man down. The vacant eyes and chunk of shrapnel protruding from the soldier’s chest showed that he was beyond help.
Kekoa shook his head in disgust at the deadly foul-up. The briefing from Army Intelligence indicated that this particular tunnel sheltered enemy soldiers defending the island fortress strategically located at the mouth of Manila Bay. Kekoa had called in the tank to prevent a suicidal banzai attack, which had become commonplace with the fanatical Japanese. But there had been no indication that the tunnel might also contain large quantities of explosives close to the entrance.
Captain John Hayward crouched nearby in one of the many craters created by the American pre-invasion bombardment, his hands still over his ears. Kekoa reached down to haul him to his feet. The slight man, with brown hair and circular-framed glasses, was shaking.
“All clear now, Captain,” Kekoa said. “I told you I’d get you through this battle in one piece.” Of course, Kekoa could make no such promise, but what else was he going to tell this officer whose safety the Army had entrusted to him?
“Thanks, Sergeant. I appreciate that.” Hayward took in the carnage with wide eyes. “What happened?”
“Must have been an ammo dump inside the cave. Your boys in the OSS told us the ammunition would be stored farther down the tunnels.”
“They’re not my boys. That intel came from a different part of the Office of Strategic Services. I’m not a spy, Sergeant Kekoa. I’m a scientist in the Research and Analysis Branch.”
“I can’t say I’m surprised, given the way you carry that carbine.”
The mission briefing had been just that: brief. The battalion commander had specifically asked for Kekoa to babysit Captain Hayward and follow his orders while keeping him alive. Everything else was on a need-to-know basis only, and as a grunt in the 24th Infantry “Hawaiian” Division, Kekoa apparently didn’t need to know anything. All Hayward had told his unit was that he needed to get inside the underground fortress before the Japanese could destroy it.
The tadpole-shaped island of Corregidor and its howitzers guarded the entrance to Manila Bay, one of the largest harbors in the Pacific. The strategic outpost, also known as The Rock, was four miles long and little more than a mile across at its widest. As a U.S. commonwealth, the Philippines had been the last bastion to fall during the initial Japanese onslaught at the outbreak of the war, holding on until the island’s forces surrendered in May of 1942, two months after Douglas MacArthur had been evacuated.
Kekoa was leading his unit as part of the operation to retake Malinta Hill on the island’s tail. Its vast grid of tunnels was bisected by a twenty-four-foot-wide main passageway that had served as a hospital and MacArthur’s headquarters. Dozens of smaller tunnels branched out from the main one, a bomb-proof network so large that it not only housed munitions, food, and water for a huge garrison that could withstand a siege for months but also had room for the thousand-bed hospital. In the three years since the Japanese conquered Corregidor, they had fortified their positions, digging out additional tunnels to augment the extensive system built by the Americans, some of which had been collapsed intentionally before the 1942 surrender.
Hayward’s target was inside one of those tunnels.
Kekoa took stock of the dozens of casualties and found out that two of the men who had died were in his platoon. Kekoa had served with both of them in the National Guard in Honolulu before joining the Army after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He then fought side by side with them during the invasions of New Guinea and the Filipino island of Leyte. They weren’t the first men he’d lost, and judging by the insanity of this mission, they wouldn’t be the last, either.
The explosion had closed off the entrance. They had to find another way in. Under Hayward’s direction, Kekoa gathered his platoon and headed toward the south side of Malinta Hill. The sound of rifle fire and artillery blasts continued nonstop from around the island, and Kekoa was bathed in the stench of gunpowder and burnt flesh.
When they reached their new position, Kekoa and Hayward crouched in a foxhole to plan the assault.
When he asked Hayward for orders, the captain hesitated and then asked, “What do you suggest?”
“Have you ever been in battle before
, sir?”
“I think you know the answer to that. My office is in the new Pentagon building. This is the first time I’ve been outside the United States, let alone under fire.”
“What do you do in Washington?”
“I’m a biochemist.”
“I don’t even know what that is. What I do know is that it’s suicide to go into those tunnels before we’ve cleared them out.”
Hayward gave him a halfhearted grin. “I thought you promised to get me through in one piece.”
“I’ll do my best, sir. But these defenders are fanatical. I’ve heard from soldiers in some of the other battalions that they’re strapping bomb vests to their chests and running at us kamikaze-style. The battle plan is for our troops to get close enough to the tunnels to dump gasoline down the openings, light it on fire, and then seal the entrances up to burn through all the oxygen.”
“That’s exactly why we need this mission to succeed,” said Hayward. “We need to get inside before that’s done.” He looked around, then lowered his voice so the other men couldn’t hear. “Do you think I want to be here, Sergeant? I have a wife and two children in a nice house in the Virginia suburbs. I was a college professor at Georgetown before this all started. I am not a warrior.”
“Then why are you here, sir?”
Hayward sighed with resignation. “I can’t tell you much, but you deserve to know the stakes if you might die for my sake. You can see where this war is going, right? The way we’re hopscotching islands northward?”
Kekoa nodded.
“The war is nearly over in Europe. It’s just a matter of time until Germany gives up, which means the U.S. will turn all its resources to this side of the world. Our government has said we’ll accept nothing less than unconditional surrender, so what do you think the ultimate goal in the Pacific is?”
“The invasion of Japan.”
“Right. Look around you. We’re fighting like mad for every yard on this tiny rock. Now imagine what it will take to conquer the home islands with every citizen willing to fight to the death for their beloved Emperor.”