Title: Under Oath
Prompt Number: 1
Requested By: anonymous
Description: clarice starling is asked to testify on behalf of will graham and jack crawford in their care against lecter—accusing him of being the chesapeake ripper. will she tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? or will she lie under oath?
Rating: T
Characters Mentioned: Clarice Starling; Hannibal Lecter; Will Graham; Jack Crawford; Freddie Lounds; Brian Zeller;
Word Count: 1500+
-'agent starling, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?" the question resounded throughout the entire court room, the redhead standing there with one hand on a bible and the other raised in the air as she swore an oath. starling felt almost filthy standing there. not only did the idea of swearing to a god she did not wholeheartedly believe in make her feel wrong, but she also knew that most likely her responses would not be truthful. regardless of this, she spoke—a resolute nod accompanying her words. "i do." taking the stand at a trial that could put her beloved behind bars for a lifetime, the young agent grasped at the sleeves of her jacket. the act was hidden, unlike her eyes drifting right to lecter. they soon left him to go to the district attorney, her lips neither smiling nor frowning. in all honesty, she could do neither. "agent starling, do you know why you've been called to testify?" the short-haired woman asked. what kind of stupid fuckin' question is that? of course i know! is this woman inept? "yes; i'm here because mr. crawford and mr. graham want me to go on the record sayin' that hannibal lecter is a killer and a cannibal." she replies. this response is honest, unlike what a majority of the rest would be. "very good, thank you. tell me, do you believe hannibal lecter is as will graham and jack crawford say? do you think he's a killer?" she asks, her footsteps echoing with each one of her movements. she can feel everyone's eyes boring into her with the anticipation of her answer.
-she lets her eyes pan from those she had worked with to the one she loved and knew all too well. "no, i don't believe he's a killer. i believe that crawford and graham want so badly to solve this case that they'll pin the chesapeake ripper label onto the closest person who fits. apparently, they're thinkin' that person's doctor lecter." she was keeping calm, her face remaining without emotion. she was not the best of liars out there, and this certainly was not easy. however, she would manage this for him—she would do anything for him. she can see jack's face turning angry, and graham pinching the bridge of his nose. "and you don't agree?" she asks. "of course not, ma'am…" she bites her tongue as is attempting her best to remain civil, though she knows she's just trying to get her slip up in any way she can. "they've got evidence that's highly circumstantial at best that supports their claims. if you put lecter behind bars, you'll be lettin' an innocent man rot while the real killer goes 'round doin' the same shit he's been doin' for god knows how long." the judge clears his throat in response to her swearing. "sorry, sir. things." crawford's swear jar was one thing, but complete censorship like this was ludicrous to her. "ms. starling…" the district attorney starts. "agent!" she interrupts with the correction. "forgive me… agent starling, how long have you been under the employment of the fbi?" the question seemed harmless enough, but it was going nowhere good. "three and a half years, ma'am." she nods in response to the answer, a lengthy pause before her next question. "—and how long have you been under doctor lecter?" the question was certainly a brow-raiser for the entire court room. the rudeness of her accusation was enough to make lecter's lips fall open, looking as appalled as if someone had punched her right in the face. the d.a. might as well have.
-the defense attorney stood to his feet instantaneously. "objection, your honor! the counselor is way out of line!" he speaks, and the judge seems to agree. "either change your approach, counselor, or i will hold you in contempt. i will not have my court room turned into a jerry springer episode, got it?" the judge's voice booms throughout the room. "yes, your honor." a breath. "what is the nature of your relationship with doctor lecter?" the wayward agent's response is almost immediate, sounding a bit more rehearsed than she would have liked. "he's helped me on cased before, and i'm a friend. there's nothin' more to it than that." she insists. the hum counselor jarvis makes is that kind of thoughtful sound that is so annoying it gets under your skin and does not come out. "so, he helped you out and you two became friendly?" she asked, index finger to her chin. "yes, that's what i said." listen here, you fuckin' bitch… don't talk to me like i'm an idiot! "hmm, interesting. exactly how friendly were you? coffees before work? Lunches together…? 'accidently' falling asleep at his place one night and showing up to work the next day in his clothes?" the defense, mr. warren, wanted rather badly to object but jarvis did not seem to let him get a word in edge wise, or clarice for that matter. though, unlike the lawyer, it did not keep her from speaking. "it wasn't like that, at all!" the words were barely heard, even by the stenographer. "your honor, i present to the jury exibit b54—an anonymous tipster sent a really interesting tape to Mr. Graham when they found out who he was investigating." it took lecter and starling merely seconds to guess who this supposedly anonymous tipster was. lounds. Their suspicions were confirmed when the redheads locked eyes. the journalist was sitting in the back of the room, the smuggest of grins plastering across her features. starling knew of the tape, but she had no idea who was behind it. lounds was certainly not anywhere close to making the list of either the suspect or the accomplice's favorite people. in fact, starling despised lounds almost as much as she did chilton, mason, and krendler. perhaps zeller should have been more careful with what he told her?
-a bailiff rolled in a monitor, which would have had solid evidence that starling's testimony would be extremely compromising on account of a highly personal relationship with one another. too bad for jarvis and lounds that before she got into the court room, starling switched the tape. sorry, freddie. i'm not allowin' this to happen. the world will not be this way within the reach of my arm. when jarvis pressed play, she waited to see the video she had watched a handful of times but was more than shocked to find that it was nothing more than an exercise regime tape on how to get 'buns of steel'. it took everything within the agent not to laugh, but pretty much everyone else was hysterical—except for hannibal lecter, whose expression, aimed at starling, was clearly prideful. this was just further validation that he was right in trusting her with this, even though he knew it all along. the sound of an infuriated gavel slamming down broke through the hysteria that was the laughter. "order in the court! order!" he exclaimed, and only moments later did everyone silence. jarvis was clearly humiliated. this could be a career killer if she did not do some serious damage control. "your honor, i had no idea how that tape got switched!" she insisted. "i'm sorry, counselor, but i'm having a hard time believing there was ever a tape to begin with. please dismiss this pathetic excuse of evidence from the record." he spoke, feeling a deep shame for what the judicial branch had become. warren then took the opportunity to stand. "your honor, i'd like to motion for a mistrial on the grounds that there is no known credible evidence incriminating my client." he said, straightening his tie thereafter. "unless the district attorney has more workouts to show us, i'm going to second this motion. court dismissed." a bang of the gavel led to the leaving of quite a few people. the only ones left were lecter, warren, graham, crawford, and starling. even lounds and jarvis had left. graham and crawford both approached starling as she stepped down from the stand,. meanwhile, she could see lecter and his lawyer shaking hands. "how could you do this, starling? we had him, and you'd have been a damn good testimony if you weren't fucking around with him!" graham spoke, his hatred for lecter clear as day in his uniquely colored eyes. "mr. graham, i respect you a lot i do, and i hope that you can get the chesapeake ripper—but i did nothin' run…and neither did doctor lecter. please, just… stop lookin' for answers where there aren't none." with that, she goes over to lecter. she could not even bare to look at crawford, he was pissed—as well he should be. once she was out of ear shot of both of the other men, she whispered to lecter. "so, you want to go somewhere and do somethin'?" she asked him, smiling softly to him as she made their way to the exit. "i would be most honored, clarice."