Oil Slick — Warren Murphy; Richard Sapir

IT'S A GAS!
For years America has been supplied with oil from the Middle Eastern state of Lobynia. But there's a policy change when Lobynia's king is deposed by army Colonel Baraka in a bloodless coup. Baraka decides that American oil refineries are despoiling his homeland. Besides, he sees an opportunity to put the economic squeeze on by turning the oil supply off.

To find a way around this shutoff, an American scientist devises a revolutionary new process to extract oil from the ground. Suddenly the scientist is dead. After all, Baraka has plans... But instead of acquiring control of a major energy market, Baraka buys himself a double dose of trouble.

First there is Remo. His assignment from the supersecret agency CURE: get the oil flowing again before the American economy grinds to a halt. The second dose of trouble is Chiun, Remo's amazing Korean mentor, whose family has held an ages-old contract to protect the king of Lobynia and Chiun takes his responsibilities very seriously indeed.