Sacred Stone

This is the second novel in the Oregon Files series featuring Juan Cabrillo as the chairman of the Corporation, a group of ex-military and intelligence operatives who hire themselves out to countries and individuals needing specialized services--"a private army of mercenaries with a conscience." The Oregon is a 500-foot-long cargo steamer with a state-of-the-art communications and command center and a helicopter. The group's mission is to pick up a meteorite and deliver it to the CIA. It might be made of iridium, and iridium can be used to construct a "dirty bomb." Muslim terrorists who have stolen a nuclear device may use the radioactive material in the meteorite to vaporize a large Western city. Another group, led by a demented industrialist, seeks to destroy the Islamic world. As always, the plot covers many locales around the world, and the dialogue contains lots of military jargon. The large cast of characters includes Elton John and Eric the Red.