This country is full of killers, nuts, and people deemed 'crazy'. A little over a month ago one of the best known ones had escaped capture from the F.B.I once again. That man was Hannibal Lecter.

Chasing after him was getting too dangerous. It just resulted in death after death. After the incident at the lake house Hannibal had been removed from the Top Ten most wanted.

It was getting too dangerous to go after him. The families of his victims were furious that it didn't look like the F.B.I was going to be trying to capture him anymore.

Rumors spread like wild fire that it was the doing of Clarice starling. Rumors of a romantic entanglement with Hannibal filled the newspapers.

It seemed a elderly couple who lived on the lake claimed to have seen the two engaged in sex through one of the windows of the house.

Clarice denied this rumors but admitted to a single kiss in the kitchen. They decided for the sake of the F.B.I that Starling be let free of her duties. It would get too confusing for the whole F.B.I and the people involved with the Hannibal Lecter case if Hannibal Lecter was spotted again.

They claimed you couldn't arrest someone that you had feelings for. Clarice had argued that she didn't have feelings for him and that it was just a kiss. But even as the words had left her lips in the office she doubted them.

Clarice had felt something when Hannibal had kissed her. She didn't know if it was love or just lust. But there had been something. She left her job without much of a fight a week later.

Her job had made her plenty of money and fame so she wasn't going to hurt financially. She kept her home in D.C. and got a part time job at a local used book store.

For someone reason she felt Hannibal would come to see her again and it would be easiest for him to find her if she stayed put. Of course she knew Hannibal wouldn't turn down a good game of chase.

Part of her couldn't wait to see Hannibal again. She did miss him. She missed the way his blue eyes locked on her eye. She missed his deep but simple remarks.

She couldn't believe that she would ever been missing a wanted killer. She didn't want to but she was starting to make excuses in her head for what he was.

"Never forget what he is."

Those words flashed in her head. She couldn't help but ignore them. There had to be a reason Hannibal was the way he was. Maybe some childhood trauma. There wasn't anything from his child hood in the files. She guessed that was because he was born in a different country.

Nearly two months later Clarice's life was starting to settle down. The papers still ran stories about her and Hannibal but they didn't have that much material to work with it.

People stared but she didn't care. No one approached her and no threats were made. Some family had threated to sue but those threats had died.

Most of her time was spent at the book store and engrossed in one of her romance novels. A man who had become a quick regular in the shop she worked had started to come on to her but Clarice had politely turned him down. She didn't want to get involved right now.

It was on a Friday that this story picks up. Clarice rose early for work. She liked to have time to stare out of the window before she took off to her job. Even though she would never admit it she was keeping an eye out for him. Deep downs she knew as soon as she stopped looking he would show up but she couldn't stop from looking.

As soon as Clarice opened her eyes that morning she felt sick. A strong wave of nausea hit her. She jumping up and barely made it to the bathroom before she was sick in the toilet.

When she was sure she was done she grabbed a towel off the rack a whipped her mouth. There was a very bad flu going around and it looked like Clarice had caught it.

"Great," she whispered. "Just what I need."

After a very small breakfast she walked out of the house and drifted to work.

Most of the time it was only her and a girl named Amy. She was a nice girl who was a bit withdrawn. Her and Clarice had hit it off right away. What the papers said didn't bother her. Clarice seemed like a good enough person and now a days nice people were hard to come by.

Clarice walked through the front door and nodded a hello to Amy. She started to put the books that had come in with the morning shipment onto the shelves.

"You alright?" Amy asked giving her friend a concerned look. "You look ill."

"I think I caught that flu that is going around," Clarice explained showing a copy of the grim fairy tales on the shelf.

"Oh my," the younger girl said. "That thing sure if nasty. I'd take a few days off if I were you. My sister caught that and was sick for weeks."

Clarice was aware that Amy was talking still but she wasn't listening. She was looking out off one of the windows in the shop. A man was standing at the corner looking straight at her. She would know that face anywhere.

"Hannibal," she whispered running to the front doors.

Amy jumped at the name and ran off Clarice to the door. By the time Clarice got to the door and scanned the corner for Hannibal it was empty.