"Russian Intelligence Expert Shot, Critically Injured, at Home Near Washington"

So reads the headline at Foxnews.com from Sunday, March 04, 2007, about Russian Intelligence expert, Paul Joyal. On the previous Sunday, Joyal, 53, was intereviewed on Dateline NBC and is quoted as saying:

"A message has been communicated to anyone who wants to speak out against the Kremlin: If you do, no matter who you are, where you are, we will find you, and we will silence you--in the most horrible way possible."

Then, he's shot. In an apparently "random robbery and street shooting."

Do you believe that?

I don't. It's entirely too coincidental that a week after this man speaks out, he's nearly killed.

Want another interesting tidbit?

He was an acquaintance of Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB and FSB colonel poisoned/murdered last year. Both were vocal critics of the Kremlin. Just like Anna Politkovskaya who was shot dead in Moscow. Litvinenko had been investigating her murder at the time of his murder. Joyal incriminated the Kremlin over Litvinenko's murder at the time of his shooting.

Random robbery? I sincerely doubt it.
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I don't take pleasure in these tragedies. Lives are lost. However, it's awakening my mind, and hopefully I'm not the only one taking note of the world's events. But, the depth of all this is absolutely fascinating and intriguing for me as a novelist since I've just signed with top agent Steve Laube, who will pitch my spy novel, Midnight Zone, to CBA publishers. My story is about a former Russian double agent, Jirina Havlicek, and American Spy, Declan Burke.