I've got half my chem assignment done – that's good right? :P

Add the usual "damn I wish they were mine, but they're not"

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"Doctor Lecter," the name left Clarice's lips in a rush.

"It's been quite a while since we talked hasn't it?" he replied. 'Not long enough' she was tempted to say but didn't. The thought made her smile as she leaned against the glass of the phone booth.

"I wouldn't lean there if I was you, Clarice. You never know who has frequented such a public place," the doctor advised and Clarice automatically righted her posture with a sigh. A moment later she went rigid with realization. If he could see her… She scanned the surrounding area until her gaze came to rest on a man leaning casually against the brick wall of the building across from her. He was wearing a dark three-quarter length coat over a business suit. He was wearing sunglasses and a black fedora. He was talking on a cell phone. As she gazed at the man, he raised his left hand, in a casual salute to the brim of his hat. He chuckled at Clarice's sharply in drawn breath.

"Don't give it another thought," he said referring to his unmarked hand. The man was quite a magician. Tall, dark and handsome indeed! Be careful what you wish for, Clarice admonished herself, you just might get it. She was unwilling to examine the deeper truth behind that warning at the moment, so she pushed the thought aside as she asked him a rather redundant question.

"What are you doing here doctor?" It seemed that sociopath were multiplying in the city of Chicago.

"Why, I'm just checking up on one of my favourite patients. How's the shoulder?" he quipped.

"Fine, thank you," Clarice felt she owed him that much.

"Good," a pause then, "You sound tired, Clarice. Having trouble at work?" he asked, knowing full well what was going on.

"You could say that," she replied, frantically scrambling to figure out where this conversation was going and how she could get across the street to him. Once she got over there she wasn't exactly sure what she would do, but getting over there was definitely a priority.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" he invited.

"No," she said bluntly and then mentally kicked herself. He chuckled in response to her bluntness. The sound made her shiver, why she wasn't sure.

"Another round of quid pro quo then, perhaps? What do you want to know, Clarice?" The way he said her name warned her that she should be careful about the questions she asked. Careful had never been her style though; she asked the question that was foremost on her mind.

"Will you stay put until I can get across the street?"

"So you can slap your cuffs on me again? I don't think so, my dear. As enjoyable as our last experience was, I'd hesitate to repeat in such a public venue," his tone made her go weak in the knees and she leaned against the phone booth again. She heard what she thought was a hiss of breath as the doctor watched her reaction to his words. A quiet hum of satisfaction warned her that he was going to play without the gloves on this time around. That did not bode well for her mental stability.

"Your turn," he prompted after a moment, returning the conversation to his previous question.

"I can't catch this bastard!" she snarled thinking of the kids in the park that morning, and not bothering to fill in more details. She knew that he probably knew more than she did.

"You're more right than you know," the doctor commented enigmatically. He was telling her that she wasn't going to be able to catch this guy? Damn! Not him too!

"Let me give you some free advice," he continued. "Be careful with this one, Clarice. I don't like what I see."

"What do you see, doctor?" she asked hopefully. The doctor chuckled again at her tone so like that of their meeting in Memphis.

"That's going to cost you more than a phone call, Clarice," he told her in a tone full of promise. "Now, I'm afraid I have to run. Ta ta," and then he was gone.

Clarice dropped the phone and ran for the crosswalk just as the light changed in the right direction. She raced across the street but he was no where in sight by the time she reached the other side. Her heart pounding and her face flushed, she sighed deeply in defeat. How did he just disappear like that? That was another question for their next conversation, and she had no doubt there would be another. She felt much more energetic as she headed for her car. It was too bad she wasn't slightly more observant or she would have glanced behind her to see the man standing in the phone booth watching her walk away. He picked up the dangling phone and wiped the receiver with his handkerchief, before hanging it up. He lifted the square of silk to his nose before putting it back in his pocket and walking in the other direction towards his car. He hoped Clarice heeded his warning, but he would be watching in the event that she didn't.

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Still trying to come up with a plot…Help? luna