Washington D.C.’s professional troubleshooter, Hannibal Jones, is enraged when he is forced to take a case at gunpoint. His client is a Russian assassin who will kill Hannibal’s beloved, Cindy Santiago, if Hannibal refuses to help him. With no choice, Hannibal agrees to investigate the smooth, wealthy Algerian who has stolen the heart of the woman his new client loves. At first the case looks simple, but Hannibal’s view quickly changes when evidence surfaces connecting the Algerian to Russian mob money and the apparent suicide of the girl’s father several years earlier. Further investigation reveals that the Algerian may not be who he says he is. Then more deaths follow, closing in on the Algerian and the girl. At first working only to protect Cindy’s life, Hannibal is soon chasing the truth for its own sake and must fight his way through past lies, present jealousies and the Red Mafiya to learn the real reason that death is stalking the couple. Hannibal peels the Algerian’s history like an onion, each layer revealing a false identity. His search for the truth leads to a dramatic shootout on Roosevelt Island, side-by-side with his murderous client. Hannibal Jones: Russian Roulette - And what a game it is Hannibal Jones: confident, sly, the thinking man s troubleshooter, faces off against the Russian mob, if only he can figure out who the players are and who s fighting whom... Russian Roulette delivers a whipsaw of a plot with more layers than a Vidalia onion.... Camacho gets it right with solid storytelling and compelling characters, all set in the off-beat neighborhoods of the Nation s Capital... Don t miss it! --Libby Fischer Hellmann, Author of the Ellie Foreman mystery/suspense series Austin S. Camacho is the author of seven novels about Washington DC-based private eye Hannibal Jones, five in the Stark and O’Brien international adventure-thriller series, and the detective novel, Beyond Blue. His short stories have been featured in several anthologies including Dying in a Winter Wonderland – an Independent Mystery Booksellers Association Top Ten Bestseller for 2008. He is featured in the Edgar nominated African American Mystery Writers: A Historical and Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey. Camacho is also editorial director for Intrigue Publishing, a Maryland small press. Russian Roulette By Austin S. Camacho Intrigue Publishing LLC Copyright © 2009 Austin S. Camacho All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-9794788-4-0 CHAPTER 1 Hannibal kept his eyes on the stranger as he pushed the door closed. He could almost feel his irises widening, adjusting to the darkness. The man behind the automatic had military-short hair. His tight, angular face looked as if someone had assembled it from a number of flat planes. The eyes were a sharp, piercing blue, like ice chips set into the ruddy face. This man would think nothing of killing Hannibal. The silencer attached to the barrel of his nine millimeter Browning Hi-power said that he might even get away after doing so. "Remove your coat," the stranger said. Hannibal considered the situation and decided that if this fellow wanted him dead he already would be, so he had nothing to lose. "Say please." The stranger smiled then, a cold, hard smile, and leaned back in Hannibal's chair. "Please." Well, the man was at least being respectful. Hannibal pulled off his coat and hung it on the coat rack beside the door. "Now, with your middle finger and thumb lift that Sig Sauer out of its holster and set it here on the desk. Please." This man was very calm and well controlled. A professional, not like the amateurs Hannibal dealt with earlier. That knowledge put him more at ease. He might die tonight, but not because of a jumpy gunman having a careless accident. Hannibal watched those hard blue eyes as he reached under his right arm and pulled his gun free of its holster. He placed it carefully on his desk in front of the gunman. Interesting, Hannibal thought, that he was left-handed too. With a nod, the other man turned on Hannibal's desk lamp. After a second he waved the tip of his barrel at Hannibal's face. "They are truly hazel, just as your file said." He would be referring to Hannibal's eyes. But what file was he talking about? Hannibal had no police record, except of course as a past officer. He had never served in the military. And not many people could get into his old Secret Service jacket. Now he was more curious than worried. "Look, I hope you won't consider this rude, but this is my office after all. Just who the hell are you?" The stranger motioned Hannibal into the guest chair. "I am Aleksandr Dimitri Ivanovich. And you are Hannibal Jones, the self-described troubleshooter, born in Frankfurt of an American soldier and a German mother. Six years New York City Police Department, three of them as a detective. Seven years in the Treasury Department's Protective Service. Licensed investigator in Washington, Virginia and Maryland." "Okay, so you've done your