Author's note: If LadyOfTruth's DeGould Must Suffer Immense Torture Club doesn't have enough members, this ought to help their membership drive…J
A CD of the Goldberg Variations was playing in Dr. Lecter's suite. He rather liked the atmosphere of his hidey-hole. Room service at his whim, richly carpeted floors, a comfortable bed. A view of Washington, DC he was quite fond of. He was reading today's copy of the Washington Post. Next to him, on the side table, lay a copy of the National Tattler. He was reading both papers for news of one event. On the side of the Post's front page was an article entitled Protected Witness Escapes FBI Custody. It was subtitled Was Assisting FBI in Capture of HerHusband.
The Tattler was much more shrill and dramatic, as the tabloids were wont to be. Bride of Frankenstein escapes FBI gumshoes to rejoin her hellish husband! Terror in her wake! That Dr. Lecter found to be doubtful. Erin despised violence. And the article itself admitted reluctantly that Agent Petrie had been sedated, not slain. And hellish? Now that was just over the top, Dr. Lecter thought.
But both articles told him the same thing. His wife had escaped. Dr. Lecter was unreasonably pleased that she had duplicated his methods of ten years ago: leaving the car at the airport. Dr. Lecter wondered if Clarice thought that Erin had fled via the airport. He believed she would know better.
But tracking his wife would be much different than tracking him. Dr. Lecter preferred the finest things in life and did not want to do without them. Dr. Lander had grown accustomed to getting by on much less. He liked his five-star suite. Erin would be perfectly happy with an Econo Lodge or a Holiday Inn. If Clarice meant to track her by skimming along the best of everything, she would be sadly mistaken.
Might Clarice know that? He thought it possible. To track Erin Lander, Clarice would need to adjust. Rather more like trying to track herself down than tracking him down, he thought.
Of course, he allowed, it was more likely Clarice would have other problems. In Berlin, he had considered the authorities seeking to apprehend him as jackals. Clarice was likely to find out what jackals they could be. They might satisfy themselves with the boy-man whose small picture appeared in the Tattler article, but Dr. Lecter thought they might demand more blood.
This changed his plans. Erin no longer needed him to free her. Instead, he would have to find a way to get in contact with her. For a moment he wondered what to do with Gregory. A source in the investigation would be useful, he knew. He would continue to use Gregory for as long as he needed. He wondered how long it would take to get away, and what might happen.
The Tattler article had a picture of Clarice, advising its readers that she had 'spirited Dr. Lecter's wife away to an unknown location' and luridly wondered what tortures and torments Agent Starling had subjected her to in order to drive her to escape. That got a chortle from the good doctor. Clarice Starling could be hard, but torturing a captive? Even the most cursory grasp of her personality would indicate the utter foolishness of that. To an extent, it was a pity, Dr. Lecter thought. He had learned a great deal about forcibly extracting information from those who might not want to share with him. But Clarice would be no more interested in that than Erin had been.
Dr. Lecter resolved to get a copy of the International Herald-Tribune. Just as he had once given Clarice a code to contact him, he had given one to his wife. That was far from the only plans he had ever made in case either he or his wife were captured. He wondered how much Erin might recall. Would she be panicked and try to hide, or run? Or would she remember what he had told her? Dr. Lecter had a vacation home in another name not far from here; hidden in the walls were money and papers. Just as before, but well hidden.
He would stay hidden for a while, he decided. Just a few days, to see if Erin would try to contact him. He believed she would. He did have to wonder where she would go, though. It made only perfect sense for her to flee Washington. The heat would be hottest here. Where would she flee to? Columbus, perhaps. She knew Columbus.
Dr. Lecter wanted very badly to get his wife back. She was pregnant with his child, after all, and he cared deeply for her. But rushing out to try and find her would be foolish. No, the best thing to do would be to see if she would contact him from afar, and then arrange a meeting calmly. Preferably somewhere where he knew they would both be able to escape.
…
Clarice Starling sat in her office. A roiling churning morass had its way with her stomach. It had been two days since Erin Lander had escaped from custody. Two days of constant phone calls, meetings, and the associated administrative tortures that were due FBI agent who had failed in their duty.
William Petrie had been discovered in a hospital gown, sleeping away the dose of Haldol Dr. Lander had administered to him. He had been put on administrative leave shortly after waking up. That made Clarice feel bad; the guy was a spaz, but he hadn't deserved to be kicked out like that. The car had been found at the airport, in long term parking. Petrie's clothes and gun were right there on the passenger seat. Dr. Lander's fingerprints were all over the car; the wheel, Petrie's phone, the parking ticket. Dr. Lander herself had disappeared.
There was a meeting scheduled that afternoon to 'discuss the lapses of security that led to the escape of Dr. Lander', as Sneed had told her in his phone call. She didn't like Sneed. He was a weaselly little guy, a man who had jumped position from spin doctor over at BATF to Krendler's old position at Justice. Clarice knew what it really was. They were looking for someone to blame. And somehow, Clarice Starling had a feeling they meant to tie those cans to her tail.
Clarice couldn't help but feel betrayed by the surgeon. She'd done everything in her power to make Erin's time at Quantico comfortable. She'd made sure Erin got legal immunity for the identity crimes she'd committed. She'd ensured Erin got the best medical care Starling could provide her. She'd even ordered that Erin get her afternoons out of her cell and taken her into the city. And this was her payback? The very first protected witness ever to escape custody?
So she sat in her office and watched the clock tick. Finally, it was time. She rose and headed for the elevator to the meeting room that was there. It was already filling up, and Clarice selected a seat on one side of the table. She looked around. Pearsall, still her boss of record. That weasel Sneed. A few other FBI bigwigs she vaguely remembered the names of. Clarice sat calmly, not speaking to anyone. This wasn't going to be fun.
Finally, Sneed cleared his throat.
"Well, welcome everyone," he said. "Thank you all for coming. As you all know, this meeting is in regard to security lapses and…other causes in regard to the recent escape from federal custody of Dr. Erin Lander, known to be Hannibal Lecter's wife. This is the first time a protected witness has ever escaped FBI custody."
Clarice sighed. Here came the pain.
"To start things off, Erin Lander was in the custody of Agent Clarice Starling, pursuant to an agreement for testimony. She was to be provided with legal immunity as well as appropriate medical care for her conditions." He rattled a piece of paper. "Specifically, Erin Lander was a kidney transplant patient. She is also pregnant." He looked down sternly at Clarice. "Perhaps you could tell us a bit more about what happened in the escape of Erin Lander, Agent Starling?"
Clarice sighed. She tried to make her voice as neutral and professional as she could. "Dr. Lander was entitled to medical care, as per the agreement. I assigned Agent William Petrie to take her to her doctor's appointment. Unbeknownst to me, Dr. Lander had taken her bedsheet and pillowcase off her bed and hidden them on her person. She climbed out the window, ran across the street to the hospital, and obtained a sedative of some sort. Agent Petrie waited outside her door, as I had instructed him to do. When he discovered her absence from the exam room, he ran across the street to the hospital in an attempt to re-apprehend her. She injected him with sedatives, took his clothing, gun, and all his personal effects. She left him in a hospital room asleep, and took his car. His clothing and effects were found in the car, which was in long term parking at the airport. No airport security personnel reported seeing Dr. Lander and we don't think she left from there. Attempts to locate her are…underway."
Sneed nodded. "Well, yes, most of us know the basics," he said. "What I'm looking for is why. Dr. Lander had no reason to flee custody. It just doesn't make sense. She had everything to gain by staying here and nothing to lose. What possible reason would she have for trying an escape?"
"I don't know," Clarice admitted. "You do have to remember, Mr. Sneed. Dr. Lander had married Dr. Lecter and was carrying his child. The only thing I can guess is that she thought she could escape and be with him."
"Be with him?" Sneed seemed amused. "Why would she want to be with him?"
Clarice sighed. That was plain as day to her. Was Sneed either so naïve or so jaded he couldn't see?
"Probably, Mr. Sneed," she said, trying to keep the venom out of her voice, "probably because she l-,"
A sudden lump closed up her throat. She couldn't say it. It was so simple a concept, really. But for some reason Clarice could not say it without feeling tears glitter behind her eyelids. She took a deep breath, summoned up the Brain Police, and forced herself.
"She loves him, Mr. Sneed," she said coolly. "He's her husb-husband, and she loves him."
Sneed nodded. "How heartwarming," he said sarcastically. Then he turned to the others sitting at the conference room table. "Now, if you please, I do have someone here with some relevant information as to Dr. Lander's motives for escape," he said calmly. "If you don't mind."
No one at the table had any objection, so Sneed rose from his chair and walked across to the door. He opened it and stuck his head out.
"C'mon in," he said calmly to the person waiting outside, and returned to his chair. The person he had called in entered the room as well and sat down next to Sneed's chair at the head of the table. Clarice clamped her eyes shut. This was not going to be good. Somehow, she just knew it.
"Gentlemen…excuse me, ladies and gentlemen," Sneed said, grinning. "This is Agent Rebecca DeGould. She's here to give a statement."
"Agent DeGould," Clarice said through gritted teeth.
DeGould smiled coldly at her. "Agent Starling," she said graciously.
"I've brought Agent DeGould here because I believe she may be able to shed some light on the reasons for Dr. Lander's escape," Sneed said. "I'd like to give her the floor."
No one objected. It occurred to Clarice that she could clear her holster and probably take out DeGould and Sneed before anyone got a shot off at her. But no, this wasn't the street. It was worse. It was the bureaucracy at work. Clarice gritted her teeth and hoped for the best.
"Good afternoon," Rebecca DeGould said delicately. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Special Agent Rebecca DeGould. I'm currently assigned to LECTFOR, the task force constituted to catch Dr. Hannibal Lecter, which is headed up currently by Agent Clarice Starling." She nodded at Starling.
Sneed stood up and paced a bit like a prosecutor working with a friendly witness.
"Agent DeGould, what could you tell us about Dr. Lander while she was in FBI custody?" he asked.
"Well," DeGould began, "I was on the team assigned to capture Dr. Lecter and Dr. Lander in Berlin, Germany. I was undercover in a café that they liked. I had an electronic ESN scanner, hidden in a plastic doll to look like a baby. If Dr. Lecter called his wife on a cellular phone, I could try and monitor the conversation and possibly track him down. Dr. Lander maced me in Berlin, attempting to get away. She was captured, he was not."
"What about in the United States?" Sneed pressed on. Clarice groaned internally. She knew where this was going.
"In the US? Upon Dr. Lander's return to the United States, Agent Starling was there at the airport. At the time, Dr. Lander was in handcuffs. They traded words, and Agent Starling grabbed Dr. Lander and shook her, almost pulling her off her feet."
"That's not true," Clarice said flatly. "I just took her by the arm and--,"
Sneed turned back to her, his eyes cold and reptilian. "Agent Starling, please. You'll have an opportunity to make your own statement. For now, it's Agent DeGould's turn to speak."
"Once in the United States, Dr. Lander was taken to jail on a material witness warrant," DeGould continued. "Agent Starling had told us that she planned to offer Dr. Lander immunity in return for her assistance in finding Dr. Lecter. She made this offer to Dr. Lander alone. No one else from the task force was permitted to go along. That evening, Dr. Lander was brought back to Quantico and installed in the secure room that we keep for cooperating witnesses."
A few of the men nodded. But still this was nothing new.
"Dr. Lander was held under strict terms of solitary confinement here. She was not permitted a telephone and so far as I know not allowed to receive visitors, either family or legal. Only Agent Starling got to see her; no one else did. We did not get to hear the original tapes of her debriefings with Agent Starling, just redacted versions on paper. I have a heavy psych background myself, and I expressed interest in talking with Dr. Lander on several occasions. I believed she might feel guilty about having maced me in Berlin, plus we're reasonably close in age." She smiled coldly. "But Agent Starling repeatedly refused my requests to meet with Dr. Lander, stating that she was handling the matter. Agent Starling also expressed disgust when Dr. Lander asked for an attorney and didn't want to let her call one."
"A few days before Dr. Lander's escape, Agent Starling took her off base for several hours. None of us knew where they were headed or what she was doing. Dr. Lander was installed back in her cell before Agent Starling came back down to Behavioral Sciences. I don't know what she did to Dr. Lander – she kept it all from us."
Starling realized where DeGould was going with this. Nothing that was a lie, nothing she could object to. But she was clearly being cast as the villain here. Hopefully, she'd have some chance to turn this around. And Rebecca Snotnose DeGould was being kicked off the task force the minute Clarice got back to her office. She could find some other post in the FBI. Jump-out squad, maybe, the girl could learn a lot from being shot at and combing glass splinters out of her hair. She could be patient.
Then DeGould dropped the bomb.
"After the disappearance off-base of Dr. Lander while in Agent Starling's custody, I contacted the Department of Justice quietly," DeGould continued blandly. "I expressed concern that a pregnant woman was being held in conditions of solitary confinement. Her behavior didn't warrant it. The last agent Dr. Lander displayed any violence towards was me, back in Berlin. I also was concerned that Dr. Lander was not permitted an attorney and that the only person allowed to contact her was Agent Starling. I noted Agent Starling's defensiveness towards allowing anyone else to have access to Dr. Lander. From the Department of Justice I received permission to quietly speak with Dr. Lander after Agent Starling had left for the day."
An icy ball of rage began to seethe in Clarice Starling's stomach. DeGould had betrayed her? Snuck around with Justice behind her back? Oh, she was being booted all right, booted as soon as Clarice got back to her desk and filled out the form. Then DeGould continued, and Clarice's jaw dropped.
"I entered Dr. Lander's cell and asked her how things were going," DeGould said. "She indicated to me that she was afraid of Agent Starling. She stated that Agent Starling had been psychologically and physically abusive to her both in the interrogations and in her cell. On one occasion, she told me, Starling had rolled up a telephone book and used it to strike her. She also stated that Starling had withheld food from her until she provided information that Starling wanted. She was quite upset and afraid of Agent Starling. She did not understand why this was happening since she had been cooperative from the start." DeGould sighed and shook her head. "I felt terrible, of course. Catching Dr. Lecter is important, but it didn't justify that. I promised Dr. Lander my assistance and protection. Unfortunately, before I could get a court order to place Dr. Lander somewhere safe, she escaped from custody. But I'm not surprised."
Clarice Starling stood up and pointed. Her eyes burned with hate and injustice. Oh, she would pay for this.
"That…is…a…lie," she said coldly.
"Agent Starling," Sneed said, "please behave yourself."
"I never abused Dr. Lander," Clarice said. "That's a lie."
"Starling, you'll have a chance to speak," Sneed repeated. "If you continue, I'll have you removed from the meeting."
Clarice pressed her lips together and glared openly and hatefully at Rebecca DeGould. DeGould gave her a bitchy smile back and continued.
"If you want to know why Dr. Lander escaped, that's simple. She escaped because Agent Starling was being cruel and abusive to her. Agent Starling's past with Dr. Lecter is a matter of record. I believe she had trouble accepting that Dr. Lecter had actually taken up with another woman." She crossed her legs and smiled archly, the death blow delivered. "That's all I have to say, gentlemen. Thank you for your time."
An uneasy silence reigned in the room for a few moments. Then Clarice Starling interjected with a sentence of her own. Her eyes were rimmed red with fury. She was projecting exactly the type of anger and fury that DeGould wanted her to. She knew this, but she couldn't help it.
"May I speak now?" she said, each word bitten off with bitter anger.
"Of course, Agent Starling," Sneed said.
"A grain of what Agent DeGould has said today is true," Clarice said. "I did keep Erin Lander secluded from others. She never asked for visitors. Unlike Agent DeGould, I know Dr. Lander's file relatively well. She's an orphan. The only family she has is her husband, and obviously we're not going to let him visit. Had she asked, I would have been more than happy to allow her a visitor, within reason. She never did."
"However," Clarice continued, "the accusation that Agent DeGould has presented against me is a lie. Pure and simple. I can't tell you how angry it makes me to hear that. I have arrested plenty of people, most of them ruder and more abusive than Dr. Lander was. We were polite to each other, and I respected her needs to a fault. I certainly never…never….abused her physically or withheld food from her. Frankly, I find that accusation offensive. I think, actually, that Agent DeGould is trying to engage in some political plays here for my job. Why, I don't know. But to accuse me of torturing Dr. Lander…that's bullshit. Pure bullshit." She could feel herself shaking with rage.
Sneed gave her a few moments to hang, and then he struck.
"Agent Starling, you say you never used physical force against Dr. Lander?"
"Yes. Or psychological. I laid it on the line in jail; it was cooperate with us or lose her life, her baby, everything. But once she was here I treated her perfectly respectfully."
"So," he continued. "Knowing that this can be checked, Agent Starling. Knowing that three other agents other than Agent DeGould…presumably agents who are not in the mass conspiracy to get you….I'd like you to answer a question truthfully."
"Sure, Mr. Sneed," Clarice said, barely cutting enough venom out of her voice to make it not a snap.
"Did you employ physical force against Dr. Lander in the airport when she returned to the United States, after she had deplaned?"
Clarice sighed. How clever. DeGould had seen it, but so had the others. Hang her up on the one thing she had done, and they would believe she had done the rest.
"I took Dr. Lander's arm," she said.
"You just took her arm? Are you sure? Didn't you grab her and yank her forward?" Sneed grinned like a jackal about to strike.
"I took her arm and pulled her a step forward, yes," Clarice admitted. "She was being disrespectful."
"Was she resisting physically, or just verbally?"
"Verbally. Agent DeGould is making a mountain out of a molehill."
"And she was handcuffed at the time."
"Handcuffed and in a restraint belt, yes." Clarice said tightly. "I would like to point out that Dr. Lander did not suffer any injury or fall. If she had, I would have caught her. She was given a physical examination at her admission to jail and that revealed nothing. No injury, no nothing. She never said boo to them about it. If that's not good enough for you, she was examined by the medical staff at Georgetown and they found nothing wrong with her, and she didn't say anything about it to them either. I lost my temper for a moment, but she wasn't harmed or even hurt."
Sneed nodded and drew himself back. It reminded Clarice of a striking snake.
"Now you've arrested people, before, haven't you, Agent Starling?"
"Of course I have," Starling said coldly. "More than you and Agent DeGould put together and doubled, actually."
Sneed grinned. Suddenly, Clarice knew she was in deep shit.
"And so you're acquainted with the rules for how FBI personnel are expected to behave towards prisoners who are in restraints."
"Yes, I am," Clarice said. A sinking feeling invaded her stomach. She knew where he was going.
"Agent Starling, do FBI rules of procedure permit an agent to employ physical force against a prisoner in their custody who is in restraints, being verbally disrespectful, but not resisting physically?"
Clarice sighed. Goddam the two of you. What the hell do you want out of me, anyway?
"Agent Starling?"
"No," Clarice snapped. "I know the goddam rule, Mr. Sneed. Verbal disrespect does not justify the use of physical force on an otherwise compliant arrestee. I know what the rules say."
Sneed simply raised his palms upwards as if to say Apparently not.
One of the deputy directors cleared his throat.
"I think we've heard enough to know where to go from here," he said. "There's enough to investigate this further. Agent Starling, we'll be placing you on administrative leave for the time being until this matter is resolved."
Clarice stood up. "Sir, please. Wait. The task force is doing some very important things. We came very close to catching Dr. Lecter. We'll get him. A change of command at this time would be extremely problematic. If I need to be punished for hauling around Dr. Lander, I'll gladly submit to two weeks loss of pay. I'd be working for free. Just let me continue what I've begun."
The deputy director eyed her coldly. She was already guilty in his eyes. She could tell. Goddam you, DeGould.
"These are some very serious charges, Agent Starling," he said. "Now you know, the admin leave is not itself punitive. If you're found to be innocent, you're entitled to full reinstatement without prejudice."
"Sir, please, hear me out. You're convicting me on the word of one agent. One who has been oppositional and insubordinate from the word go."
"You've never filed anything against Agent DeGould," Sneed pointed out.
"No, I haven't. Look, sir, I have worked so hard for this. I am innocent of these charges. I never, never did anything to her."
"So why did she escape?" the deputy director sighed. "Agent Starling, you're on administrative leave. Turn over all of your equipment to Agent Pearsall, he's still your boss of record. Your access to all but public facilities is revoked. A marshal will escort you from the building. We'll have your things from your office sent to you."
"What about the task force?" Clarice asked, a final, flailing struggle against what she realized was happening.
"It'll be taken care of," he said. She knew immediately what he would say before he said it. Somehow, she just knew it. A match made in hell.
"The most qualified agent to take over the task force," he said, "is Agent Rebecca DeGould."
Clarice Starling's stomach churned with hate and rage as she handed over her pistol, ID, and cell phone to Pearsall. She glared at DeGould openly as she did so. DeGould simply smirked back. Clarice wanted nothing more than to pump several bullets into the little bitch's smirking visage. What was this? She remembered Sneed from four years ago, when he'd been part of BATF. He'd been buddies with Krendler.
A marshal, specially summoned to take Clarice to the front door, did so. She went with him quietly. Already, Clarice was trying to tamp down her rage to plan her next move. Dr. Lander. Had to find Dr. Lander. Was she in on this? Maybe, but somehow Clarice didn't think so. DeGould had gotten to her all right. What did she say to her? Clarice would find out. Even as she was taken back to her car and threw herself behind the wheel, the back of her neck steaming with rage, she determined she would find out.
After Clarice was escorted from the building, DeGould and Sneed headed back down to Behavioral Sciences to inform the troops of their new commander. DeGould entered Clarice's office – her office, now, and sat down in the chair with obvious satisfaction.
"There you go," she said. "You wanted Starling broken, and I delivered."
"And you did great," Sneed smiled. "And hey, look. I delivered too, Task Force Leader DeGould." They traded a quick high-five and chuckled.
"That was quick thinking, accusing Starling of beating up the doc," Sneed said after a moment. "You didn't think she was going to escape, did you?"
"Nope," DeGould said, looking in her new drawers and deciding what she would hang up once she got rid of Starling's trailer-park decorations. "That was a surprise. But it worked out for the best, didn't it?"
"What are you going to do with Lander once you catch her?" he queried.
"Offer her a choice," DeGould said airily. "She can cooperate with us and she'll get her deal back. I don't care. I'm more interested in getting Lecter…and Starling. And Lander can help me make sure Starling is gone for good."
Sneed tilted his head and seemed interested. "What were you thinking?"
"Well," DeGould allowed, "my word was enough to get her suspended pending investigation. But not fired. But Lander can help out there." She chuckled. "We'd be totally justified in telling her 'deal's off' when we get her. Back to jail she goes. But I'll offer her a big old hook, same as Clarice did. I'll give her the immunity, the new identity, the stipend, all same as before. Course she'll be handled more securely than Starling did – Starling did everything but play Barbies with her. All she has to do to get it back is testify that yes, Starling slapped her around, yes, Starling yelled at her. I'll tell her what to say, and she'll probably say it. That way she gets her life back. Otherwise she rots in jail. No contest, and remember, the chick sold out her own husband. She'll lie to nab Starling if she has to."
"Niiiiice," Sneed said, nodding appreciatively. He knew the day he'd looked for a means to get Starling that DeGould was the way.
"It's so perfect. By the time Starling rolls around for an inquiry – or even criminal charges, if you can manage that – Erin Lander will be the perfect victim, with her pregnant tummy under a smock. C'mon, a jury or a judge or a hearing officer is going to love that. She'll stand there and cry and talk about how mean Starling was to her, and that'll be it. You ought to know. Prosecutors love pregnant victims. Sympathy city." Her green eyes sparkled malevolently as she spoke. "The next police job Starling will be able to get is security officer at K-Mart."
"Agent DeGould," Sneed said, "I think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship."