The usual applies; I own no one or nothing pertaining to this story.

Chapter 3 The Search

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Hannibal made his way to the cover of the trees quickly. He stopped then, standing very still as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

As he exhaled, turning his head to the right starring into the darkness as if it were broad daylight. How very kind of Mr. Mills to snore loud enough to wake the dead, he thought.

Without a sound, Hannibal headed toward the snores and Mr. Mills. When he was almost directly under the tree that Mills was inhabiting, he was amused by the sight the young man presented.

Mills was sound asleep, clinging to one of the branches in the tree. If he were to make the slightest movement, he would surely fall from his perch.

His weapon, lying on the ground beneath him.

Hannibal just shook his head as he retrieved the weapon. He started back toward the house, leaving Mills asleep in the tree.

After entering the house, he deposited the gun in one of the kitchen drawers and went into the livingroom. What he saw there made his heart skip a beat, even after all this time.

Clarice was curled up on the sofa in front of the fireplace, still holding the glass of wine.

The firelight made her features glow, just like an angel, his angel. He walked over to the sofa, crouching down in front of her and with the back of his forefinger, he gently traced the outline of her face.

Clarice awoke almost immediately at his touch. As she opened her eyes, he took the wine glass from her, setting it on the end table. When his eyes returned to hers she asked, "Is everything o.k.?"

"For now." he replied. "Why don't you let me get you up to bed?"

"Why don't you join me here?" she whispered as she reached out and pulled the baseball hat from his head, tossing it on the floor.

With a smile he accepted her offer, joining her on the sofa. He wrapped his arms around her as she laid her head on his chest. As he kissed the top of her head, she fell asleep listening to the sound of his heartbeat.

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Mills always hated the dreams he had about falling, and this one had seemed particularly real.

Believing this dream had almost run its course, he always woke up just before hitting the ground, however this time he did not. Mills hit the ground hard. Had anyone been watching, they would have surly given him a perfect score on his belly-flop technique. He lay there stunned and out of breath for several minutes before realizing he had fallen out of the tree.

Regaining some of his oxygen, he picked himself up off the ground and began to assess the damage. He slowly stretched out, flexing his sore limbs to make sure everything was still in its correct location and working properly. Other than some discomfort in his chest and a scrape on the left side of his face, he appeared to be o.k.

Mills found his bag lying on the ground a few feet away, it's contents scattered all over the place.

Picking up the bag, he started stuffing his belonging back inside. When he didn't find his gun he started to worry. After about fifteen minutes he abandoned the search, choosing instead to sit down at the base of the tree, where he pulled a pack of twinkies from the bag. It was only five thirty in the morning and still dark outside, so he would continue to look for the gun when it got light.

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At about 7:00am, Clarice woke up alone on the sofa. She was covered in a dark green comforter, which she flipped off as she sat up. Looking around the room, she didn't see Hannibal, but she calmed when she smelled the coffee. Just as she was about to get up, he came into the livingroom, carrying two cups. He handed her a cup, before taking a seat next to her.

"You slept well I trust?" he said, taking a sip from his cup.

"Like a baby." she replied. "So what happened last night? Did you find Mills?"

"Yes, I found him. Mr. Mills seems to have taken up residence in one of our trees."

"He what?" she said almost choking on her coffee.

"I found him asleep last night in the big oak tree."

"You're kidding right?"

He looked at her with both brows raised.

"No, I guess you wouldn't be. So what did you do?"

"Nothing."

Now it was her turn, as she returned his look, both brows raised, "Nothing?"

"Clarice, I wasn't about to climb that tree to retrieve our guest. He will make his move soon enough, I did however, recover his weapon, it's in the kitchen drawer."

"Mr. Mills seems to have a hard time keeping track of his belongings.

So how long are we going to wait on him?"

"Well it looks as if we must wait a little longer, Mr. Mills has left for the time being, regrouping I suppose, now that he has been disarmed."

"So what do you want to do?"

"I thought you might want to freshen up while I make breakfast, then we could go into the city and do some shopping."

"Are you kiddi…..never mind, that sounds fine." Clarice got up and headed for the stairs, stopping, she turned and walked back to the sofa, bending down she gave him a kiss and said,

"Thank you for last night."

As she straightened up, he let his right hand slide down the outside of her left thigh and said,

"I was my pleasure, anytime I can be of service, now go on, get ready." She smiled as she turned back toward the stairs.

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Mills had left the property just after daylight. He had combed the entire area for his gun with no luck, so he set off up the road to a little restaurant he had seen from the taxi the day before. Walking through the door, he made a beeline for the restroom, receiving several stares from the other patrons as he did so. After looking in the mirror, he could see why, he was a mess.

He was covered in dirt and still had a few twigs in his hair. The scrape on his face had smudges of blood and dirt ground in from his unexpected exit from the tree.

Having only brought a couple changes of clothing, he dug out the cleaner of the two, a pair of jeans and a camouflage t-shirt and using the shirt he was wearing as a washcloth, he cleaned up as best he could.

Looking in his wallet, he was discouraged to find only about fifty dollars. Walking back into the restaurant, he took a seat at the counter, ordering breakfast. During his meal, he tried to figure out what his next move would be.

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Luna, I had this chapter written before your last review, whatta ya got ESP!?! LOL

The reviews are great and appreciated as always.