The apartment was quiet.  Dusk was falling swiftly in the residential area.  The kids in the street were called inside.  It was calm outside and quiet inside.  The voices of the two men in the apartment were calm and conversational. 

                Gregory Lynch lay on his couch, staring up at the ceiling.  Despite the presence of the monster in his apartment, he felt much calmer.  He had something. Dr. Lecter would not drive him insane.  Dr. Lecter sat next to the couch in a chair, speaking calmly.  The scene was almost a lunatic parody of psychotherapy. 

                "Go on, Gregory," Dr. Lecter said calmly. 

                Gregory grinned a manic grin.  "They almost caught you in Torremolinos," he whispered.  His throat felt parched from talking.  After a lengthy conversation with his source, he had information that would please the doctor.  "They don't have any idea where you are, though." 

                "You didn't mention anything, did you, Gregory?"

                Gregory shook his head.  "Oh, no.  I wouldn't do that."  His voice turned pleading for a moment.  "Dr. Lecter…please.  I don't want to make you mad.  I wouldn't make you mad."

                "A wise choice," Dr. Lecter said indifferently.  "There's hope for you yet, friend Gregory.  Tell me more about Sneed, though."  His voice turned mocking on the pronunciation of the name.  "And of those who wish to see Starling fail." 

                "They…errrr…uh…they don't like her," Gregory started.  "They think she should answer for Krendler."

                Dr. Lecter sighed.  "Whyever would they think that?  I took care of Mr. Krendler.  Clarice had nothing to do with it." 

                Gregory held up his hands.  "I'm just reporting it, Dr. Lecter," he pleaded.  "Don't get mad at me." 

                "They're going to break her," Gregory added.   "Wait until she screws up.  They don't have anything, they're still working on Torremolinos.  They're hoping to get something good from your wife." 

                "Have you heard of her condition?" Dr. Lecter's voice was deceptively calm. 

                "No," Gregory swallowed.  "I…um…I didn't ask."

                Dr. Lecter pursed his lips.  "Then make sure you ask next time, Gregory." 

                "I will!  I will!  I swear I will." 

                "Very well," Dr. Lecter said, and extended his hand to Gregory.  From it, he dropped six capsules onto the man's chest. 

                "There you are, Gregory," he said calmly.  "Three days worth of medication.  Enough to still the savage beast until your next session."  He chuckled coldly. 

                Dr. Lecter left the apartment and walked back along the quiet street to his car.  The gleaming XJS sedan waited for him on the next street over from Gregory's.  Dr. Lecter had leased the Jaguar with one of his many identities.  He sat down behind the wheel and thought for a moment. 

                He had what he wanted.  Next, he had to decide the next step.  He needed to free his wife.  How to do that would be exceedingly difficult.  Quantico was a  Marine base, and no false identity papers, no matter how good, would convince him to get on the base. 

                He picked up the Beltway.  He drove fast and well, though close enough to the posted speed limit that any police officer might be willing to pass him up for pricier prey.  As he drove, he pondered.  There had to be a way out of this.  There had to be. 

                Ahead of him in the next lane over, heading south, he noticed a large blue Crown Victoria of the type favored by police.  Automatically, his foot came off the gas.  Who only knew? Then he eyed the car carefully as he neared it.  In the back, he noticed, was a blonde woman.  A brunette was driving.  Then he noticed the blonde in the back staring at him slack-jawed. 

                When he realized who it was, he almost drove into the concrete barrier separating the lanes.  Erin.  His Erin, sitting in the back of an FBI prowl car.  But who was driving?  He risked dropping back behind the big Crown Vic.  Erin watched him carefully, her eyes a mixture of delight and pain.  Was she forgetting everything he'd taught her?  She couldn't get out of the car; the back doors would have no doorhandles.  But if she called too much attention to him, it would ruin everything.  And yet there was such hope in her eyes at the sight of him. 

                Dr. Lecter carefully tried to make out what he could through the metal screen separating the front seat from the back.  He dropped over to the right of the Vic and sped up a bit.  Dark brown hair, deceptively slight form.  He caught a flash of blue eyes in the rearview mirror.  Yes, it was Clarice.  She drove carefully but fast.  She did not turn around as he pulled up alongside her.  Dr. Lecter was thankful for that; it gave him a chance to look at her and imagine what might have been.  The two women in his life, in the same car.  What had they been doing?  Why would Clarice permit her captive off base?   After a few moments of watching her, he dropped back. 

                Dr. Lecter let out a mighty sigh.  For his wife's benefit, he mouthed the words, Not now but soon.  Be strong.    For a moment, he toyed with the idea of simply ramming the Jaguar into the side of the Crown Vic and taking his wife.  But no, that would hardly work.  Then he would simply have two wrecked cars.  He could see himself trying to escape on foot with his wife, while the FBI leisurely set up a dragnet to capture them. 

                He could see Erin plant her palm against the glass of the window, and he sighed.  It wasn't time.  She had to know that.  Soon, Erin, very soon, he mouthed.  Then he pressed the accelerator down, not wanting to drag this out and make her suffer.  As the car sped by, he stole just one glance to the left at the driver.  He let out another sigh and took the exit to his hotel.

                …

                Clarice Starling was pleased with herself.  Her phone had not rung once.  Her prisoner was contented.  For once she felt like the good guy instead of the heavy.   That was nice.  Not a bad day.

                Some guy in a black Jaguar blew by her on the right.  For a moment, Clarice toyed with the idea of turning on the lights under the grille, pulling the turkey over and maybe getting the local boys to ticket him.  But no, she'd end up getting hollered at by the locals for interfering in their jurisdiction. 

                "Nut case," she muttered under her breath and glanced in the rearview.  Erin was sitting calmly in the back.  She grinned at Starling in the small reflection of the mirror and said nothing.

                The trip back to Quantico went quickly.  Once back at the building, she kept an eye on Erin after letting her out of the car.  Perhaps the taste of freedom might make her want to bolt.  But, no:  Erin seemed calm.  Happy, even.  That was good.  If she was happy, she'd be more likely to cooperate.

                "See?" Clarice said.  "Wasn't that a good day?" 

                Erin Lander smiled, a small smile as if appreciating a private joke only she understood.  "Oh, yes," she agreed.  She was calm when Clarice brought her back upstairs and back to her room.  She went in without a complaint and Clarice headed back down to Behavioral Sciences to see what her crew had turned up about catching Dr. Lecter.  She stuck her head in cubicles and chatted briefly with her agents. 

                When Clarice entered the office that Rebecca DeGould shared with two other agents, she noticed Rebecca was on the phone.  That in and of itself wasn't too odd.  But as she approached, she saw the younger woman's eyes narrow.

                "Hey…I'll talk to you later.  I gotta go, my boss just came in." 

                Rebecca hung up the phone and smiled cheerily at Clarice.  Clarice smiled back.  Both smiles seemed forced and fake. 

                "On the phone?" Clarice asked. 

                Rebecca nodded.  "Just a friend.  She called me, I didn't call her."  She rolled her eyes.  "Broke up with her boyfriend and she was in tears.  You know how it is." 

                Clarice nodded humorlessly.  "Still, I'd rather you looked for Dr. Lecter rather than make personal phone calls, Agent DeGould." 

                DeGould accepted the rebuke with some good grace.  "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that," she said smoothly.  "I'd like to try my hand at talking to Dr. Lander." 

                Clarice had to give DeGould credit for chutzpah, at least.  She'd just caught her chatting with a girlfriend – if indeed it was that – and here she was asking for access to the task force's prime source on Dr. Lecter.  She thought about it, pointedly not smiling. 

                "I'm not sure about that," Clarice said.  "You know, sometimes it works better if you just have one point of contact." 

                DeGould nodded.  Her eyes were veiled.  Yes, there was something more here, she was just hiding it.  But Clarice was absolutely sure that there was more going on than DeGould let on. 

                "That's true, to an extent," DeGould began.  "But then again, good-cop bad-cop has worked for years.  I'm closer in age to Dr. Lander than you are, plus, if she feels guilty about having maced me in Berlin, we may be able to use that.  And it seems that there's some sort of tension between you and her." 

                Clarice's mouth tightened.  "The age thing is of minor importance," she said.  "If anything, being a couple of years older gives me a bit more authority.  You've got the psych background, you know that."  Her tone was most carefully neutral.   "And there isn't any tension that I've noticed." 

                "Really?  I seem to recall her smartmouthing you at the airport.  Then you roughed her up a bit," Rebecca pointed out archly. 

                Clarice Starling said nothing for a few moments while she took that in and took several breaths.  Finally, realizing that all of this was finally coming to the core, she spoke. 

                "I did not 'rough up' Dr. Lander at the airport," Clarice said.  "She may have been a little flip, yes.  She'd just been arrested and transported back here against her will.  I was expecting a little lip."

                "You grabbed her and almost pulled her off her feet," Rebecca DeGould said.  "She was pregnant and in handcuffs." 

                "If it bothers you so much," Clarice said, her tone quite deliberate and harsh, "I can arrange for you to move off the task force to another posting." 

                Rebecca seemed less than terrified by the threat.  She let out an incredulous chuckle.  "You'd kick me off the task force for expressing concern that you used physical force against a pregnant woman who wasn't causing a problem?"  She didn't have to add that Clarice probably wouldn't win that battle.  Both women knew the rules for when an FBI agent was allowed to use physical force, and someone in handcuffs making wisecracks did not qualify. 

                Besides, Clarice thought, maybe she's just saying I should stick to the rules too.  I mean, I always used to hate it when the bosses would do things they shouldn't.  And maybe she just wants to see the task force succeed.  Yeah, and maybe I'm telling myself this hoping to God I'll believe it myself. 

                "Do you have a problem with me, Agent DeGould?" Clarice asked bluntly. 

                The attractive face closed into a calm mask.  "A problem with you, Agent Starling?  Not at all.  I do think sometimes you try and do everything yourself.  When this task force was formed, you told us you'd picked us because we were the best.  Then anything that's important you try and run yourself.  Maybe I can get something out of Dr. Lander faster than you can.  Maybe I can't.  But you won't even let me try." 

                Clarice recognized what was happening here.  Rebecca DeGould was too smart to openly fight with her boss, but there was still something going on.  And she couldn't help but shake the feeling that DeGould was not to be trusted.  But DeGould had played her cards carefully:  if Clarice tried to kick her off the force, she could already tell that she would end up getting splattered in the resulting shitstorm.  And she wanted this task force to succeed so badly. 

                "Well, Agent DeGould," Clarice said slowly,  "I have certainly tried to share credit where it's due. If you have an example where I've taken credit for someone else's work, speak up, by all means.   As far as Dr. Lander goes, she does know me, she's been becoming more cooperative and I think that'll improve.  I'm not sure bringing someone new into the equation is the best way to deal with it."  She grinned.  Two could play at the technicality game. 

                "So you're saying I can't even try."

                Clarice shrugged.  "You're sure you can do better than me, Agent DeGould.  What if you do worse?  What if she thinks you're there to retaliate for Berlin and freezes up?  She's pregnant, so she's a little emotional right now."  Part of her wanted to ask What if Erin Lander thinks you're a stuck-up little snot just like I do and doesn't want to talk to you?  Neither one of us had rich daddies who paid our way through Hahh-vahd.    

                "I have no intention of retaliating," Rebecca DeGould said calmly.   The bitchy fires were dying down now, into coals of resentment.  "I am simply asking for permission to try." 

                Fine.  If she wanted to showcase how cooperative and good she was, Clarice could do the same.  "I'll consider it, DeGould, and I'll give you an answer tomorrow.  That's about the best I can offer you." 

                DeGould nodded suddenly and gave up the gauntlet.  "All right, then," she said.  "Was there anything else you wanted?" 

                "Not right now," Clarice answered.  "If you have anything else that comes up – another good suspect, say, -- please get me immediately.  Don't wait until the next staff meeting.  I want to know the minute you do." 

                "I'll do that," DeGould said carefully. 

                Clarice Starling left her subordinate's office.  Bitch, both women thought at the same time. 

                Rebecca DeGould watched her go.  She was determined to wait until Clarice Starling left the building.  She'd have to call Sneed, but that could wait.  It was fortunate, really – Sneed could give her much-needed protective cover. 

                Clarice Starling might know what one of her cards was now, but that hardly mattered.  When you came right down to it, Starling's having grabbed the doctor in the airport wasn't a big card to play.  In other circumstances, she might have been able to claim that Clarice had twisted the doctor's arm, or something else crueler.  But there were other agents there, plus God only knew how many other people walking around.   No matter. 

                But DeGould was quite determined to see this through to the end.  Clarice thought that Dr. Lander was coming around?  That made sense.  The doctor was basically being held in isolation.  And Starling had shown a bit more sophistication than DeGould had originally credited her with.  A little taste of the outside world, just as a reward.  Perhaps Starling had actually studied a bit down there at Cow University. 

                But two could play at that game.  Rebecca DeGould carefully stuck to her assigned tasks, running checks on airline flights from Europe to South America.  It was stupid; Dr. Lecter could make himself look years younger, if so he chose.   The queries they were pulling were too narrow – dates of birth five years older and younger than Dr. Lecter's current age.  Rebecca DeGould might have no respect for Clarice Starling, but she did respect Dr. Lecter's intelligence and drive.   The man could probably make himself look twenty years younger if he wanted to. 

                Once she noticed darkness from under Clarice's door, she prepared things.  Her first prop was relatively simple:  she called down and ordered a pizza.  When the front desk called her to tell her it was here, she headed for the elevator and picked it up.  The pizza boy got a generous if unremarkable tip and then it was time. 

                Rebecca got back in the elevator.  This time, she rode up, not down.  Up to the fifth floor, where there was IT and data processing, files storage, and Dr. Erin Lander.  The guard at Erin's door glanced over at her and then did a double take when he realized she wasn't Clarice and had a pizza.   

                "Can I…help you?" he asked. 

                "Yes, thank you," Rebecca DeGould said.  "I want to get in there and talk with our prisoner there." 

                The guard hesitated.  "Access to this prisoner is only through Agent Starling," he protested. 

                DeGould was prepared for this.  She held the box with one hand and fished her cell phone out of her purse with the other.  Sneed was on speed dial.  She raised one finger politely. 

                "Hi," she said once Sneed was on the line.  "I have a guard here who won't let me in."  She handed the phone to the guard. 

                "Hello?" Bob Sneed said.

                "Yes, this is Agent Christianson," the guard said.  "Can I help you?" 

                "This is Deputy Assistant Attorney General Bob Sneed, Agent Christianson.  I'm sending in someone to interrogate Dr. Lander." 

                "This prisoner's under Agent Starling's authority, sir, no one told me." 

                "Look," Sneed said, "this is part of a DOJ audit on Agent Starling.  Civil rights inquiry.  Let her in, don't say anything about it, and you'll be fine.  Say anything, and you'll be investigating break-ins along the DEW stations in Alaska."

                "Audit?"  the guard said.  "No one said anything about that."

                "Yeah," Sneed said.  "It's a civil rights audit.  Starling's not supposed to know.  Look, just let her in, let her do her thing, and it'll all be cool."

                The guard thought about it for a moment and then shrugged.  Wasn't his job to be worrying about Starling anyway. 

                "All right," he said, and opened Erin Lander's cell door. 

                Erin Lander was sitting on her bed watching TV when the door opened.  She gave DeGould a curious look when she came in. 

                "Who are you?" Erin Lander asked.  She shifted uncomfortably and then got off the bed.  Rebecca thought she did indeed recognize her. 

                "I'm Agent Rebecca DeGould," DeGould said smoothly.  

                "What do you want?" Erin asked.  

                Rebecca took a step inside the room and smiled.  "What do I want?  What makes you think I want something?"

                Erin Lander sized up the woman and then said, "Everyone who comes in here wants something from me." 

                DeGould nodded knowingly.  "Just to talk," she said disarmingly.  "Can I talk to you, Dr. Lander?  I thought we could chat for a bit."  She raised the lid the pizza box and let the scent fill the room.  "Brought you something to eat, if you like.  I know they feed you from the cafeteria.  Lousy food, isn't it?" 

                Erin Lander had lived with Hannibal Lecter for a few years.  During that time, she had been introduced to gourmet food much different from any she had eaten before meeting him.  But she had also been deprived of the more plebian types of food.  Dr. Lecter frowned upon pizza, hamburgers, and the like.  That food was for the masses, not for his rarified tastes.

                Her eyes locked on the forbidden treat.  DeGould smiled.  Her first theory was correct.  Erin Lander had been held in isolation for a while, with only Starling to talk to.  That would have weakened her psychological defenses.  And really, it wasn't much different from when Clarice had brought the medications to the jail.  Bring a small gift; make your target feel obligated for it, and you could reap many times the value of the gift.    Plus, you'd get them thinking positive things about you. 

                "Go ahead," DeGould urged.  "Take a piece.  I just want to talk to you, that's all."

                Slowly, hesitantly, Erin reached for the box and removed a slice.  She ate it silently for a few minutes before speaking. 

                "If you're asking if I know where my husband is, I don't," she said guardedly.  "I told Agent Starling." 

                "Actually, that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about, Dr. Lander," DeGould said pleasantly.  "It's Agent Starling I wanted to talk to you about." 

                Erin shrugged.  "What about her?" 

                Rebecca DeGould sighed and looked diffident.  "Well…you know, Agent Starling's not everything she seems to be," she began.  "She's…obsessed with Dr. Lecter.  She's so concerned with getting him she doesn't care what she has to do in order to get him.  Including…well, including what she's doing to you." 

                Erin seemed nonchalant.  "She hasn't been too bad, I guess," Erin said. "I mean, she got me immunity.  And took me into the city today.  Could be a lot worse." 

                Now she would have to be careful.  Overacting could kill this.  But Rebecca knew well what she wanted to do.  She let out a sigh and looked down at the floor, affecting a mien of quiet regret.   

                "That's for now, Dr. Lander," she said.  "Once Dr. Lecter is caught, she's not going to be so nice to you by half."  She shook her head in regret.  "She's going to put you in prison, once this is done." 

                Erin Lander's eyes widened.  "She can't do that," she protested.  "We signed an agreement.  The US Attorney won't prosecute me.  I have immunity." 

                "That's what Agent Starling wants you to think," DeGould said quietly.  "The agreement you signed…it's bogus.  They're finding a way to get around it as soon as Lecter is caught." 

                Dr. Erin Lander gawped openly at Rebecca DeGould.  DeGould could see the fear in her eyes, and grinned internally.   She had to have thought about the possibility that Starling was going to screw her over during the long hours locked in here with only the TV and radio for company. 

                "But…wait…they can't do that," Erin protested. 

                "They shouldn't.  But Starling is.  I heard her on the phone to the US Attorney this afternoon, once she brought you back," DeGould said.  She raised her hands to show Erin open palms.  "Understand now, I'm not agreeing with her.  But I heard her on the phone…she was telling them to find a way to break the agreement once Lecter was in custody.  'Put the little bitch in jail for the next twenty years,' she said, 'I don't care what we signed.  Find a way.  We'll take the kid and put her in jail where she belongs.'" 

                "No!" Erin said.  "No, that can't…she can't do that!"  But horrid belief was dawning in her eyes.  "But she…she was nice to me…why would she…?"  She hung her head and stared blankly at the floor.  The slice of pizza hung forgotten in her hand. 

                "She's nice to you now, because she thinks you can get her Lecter," DeGould said.  "Even if you don't know where he is, you know what he's like now, what he's doing now.  She'll be oh so sweet to you until we get him.  Once we do…well, then, that's all she wrote for you. C'mon, she lied to your husband before, she's lying to you." 

                Erin stood up and paced up and down the room.  "What?  Then I gotta get out of here," she said.  "I need to call my attorney, and I got to--,"

                DeGould smiled sympathetically.  "Look," she said.  "Calm down.  Listen to me here, okay?" 

                Erin stared at the FBI agent like a deer facing an oncoming Mack truck. 

                "I know some people over at the Department of Justice," DeGould said.  "People bigger than Starling will ever be.  We can help.  But you gotta work with me here, okay?"

                "What do you want me to do?" Erin asked.  She looked scared.  Good, Rebecca DeGould thought. 

                "We need to buy some time," DeGould said.  "Now I know you don't like being here, but let's face it, it is a lot better than jail.    For right now, I need you to cooperate, so Starling doesn't realize you know.  But drag it out a little, you know?  Don't give her everything, if you catch my drift.  Sort of clam up a little." 

                "I can't clam up," Erin protested.  "I signed an agreement.  I have to tell the FBI what I know.  If I don't they can send me back to jail anyway." 

                "Just a little," Rebecca explained.  "Tell her just enough to keep her happy.  The absolute minimum.  That'll buy some time.  Eventually they'll send me in, then you tell me more.  That'll get Starling off your back for good.  And when you help me, Dr. Lander, then I can help you.  I'm not quite as evil as Starling is, and frankly, I don't have anything personal against you.  Seems kind of like Starling does."   She smiled conspiratorially at the surgeon.

                Erin Lander cogitated.  "She's jealous," she said softly, as if confiding a great secret.  

                Rebecca DeGould nodded.  "Yes, she is," she said, and found herself very satisfied with things.   Hopefully, a few more follow-up visits would ensure that Dr. Lander would distrust Starling.  Then she could slide in, get the doctor talking, and shove Starling aside.  

                Rebecca DeGould did not know what would happen next.  She would be as surprised as anyone when it did.  But it would work out better than she had ever expected.