Chapter 11: Silence
The Maryland University Library was almost empty at ten-thirty PM. In another hour, they would close, and the Internet addicts whose faces loomed in front of glowing screens would be shooed away until early the following morning when they re-opened. One or two people sat at tables, studiously taking down notes from text books and encyclopedia's for what looked to be hefty projects. It was incredibly quiet, as the clerk sat behind a tall desk reading Stephen King. No one looked up or around to spare the couple by one computer even a second glance.
"Here it is." Hannibal said in a very low voice, lifting his finger to follow the lines of a newspaper article from Connecticut. "Ah yes… it looks like there was a drug bust at your apartments. They must have wanted to explain the disturbance to you."
"Click on that photo…" Clarice whispered, pointing to a snapshot a reporter had taken the following morning. As the thumbnail turned into a full-screened black and white photograph, Clarice squinted against the bright back round of the screen. "Damn it! Ardelia!"
Hannibal looked at the face in the picture with slight amusement. There stood FBI Special Agent Ardelia Mapp, coming out of the open front door of Clarice's apartment, looking perturbed.
"I wonder if she's worried about you, Clarice." He allowed himself to chuckle. "At least she's a good friend. The article even mentions your disappearance."
"Maybe I should e-mail her."
"Not unless you want her to trace our current whereabouts." Logging off of the Internet Explorer program, Hannibal turned in the swivel chair, and took her hands gently in his own. "Tomorrow we can write a letter to her if you want her to know you're well. Though they will probably start hunting you down if you don't make at least a token appearance."
"And risk them following me back to you?" She smirked. "I don't think so, Hannibal. You won't get rid of me so easily."
"No, not you." He agreed, smiling. "You're truly enjoying this, aren't you, Clarice? Didn't think this would be so much fun, did you?"
Laughing, she took a step back so that he had room to stand, and then they walked out of the library together. Five minutes later, Clarice returned, logged back onto the Internet Explorer, and checked out the FBI's most wanted list. There was Dr. Lecter's face at number one of America's ten most wanted. Last time she had looked out of curiosity, he had been at number six. Something didn't seem right to her about that, and she wondered if she should tell Hannibal.
'Maybe they know.' She wondered. 'But I won't do anything just yet… I'll wait a few days and see what the news says. The press is never kept quiet for long.'
"Clarice – let's go!" She turned to see him a few feet behind her, and she sighed, standing to walk out of the library on his arm. They talked about trivial matters until they reached their hotel room -- which had only one King sized bed – and then set to taking showers and getting dressed for bed. Since Saturday, Clarice had been the one signing them into hotels. After all, she wasn't any sort of fugitive – as far as she knew. She didn't want Hannibal to be discovered because of some security camera watching him sign them in under an assumed name with her credit cards.
"You're worried about what's going to happen, aren't you?" He asked as they settled side by side in the bed, simply holding hands. "It's going to be all right, Clarice. Do you think I'd let anything happen, to me or you, now that you're with me?"
At his words, Clarice rolled onto her side to press up against him. They had never been intimate when spending a night in the same bed. Yet they were never far away from one another. Hannibal had a new habit of pulling her into his arms in his sleep, and holding her possessively against him so that she couldn't pull away unless she woke him up first. Yet she didn't mind being temporarily held prisoner by his arms. She wasn't afraid of them.
"There's something I haven't told you." She whispered.
"And what is that?" With one arm sliding under her to hold her, the other hand reached up to turn off the bedside lamp.
"I love you."
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
N/A – I don't want something dramatic to happen to them every single chapter. I'm the queen of mellow drama as it is. Anyhow, I'm still working things over in my mind so give me a bit of time to come up with something useful, please. I can't even think of how Hannibal would be tracked down.
The Maryland University Library was almost empty at ten-thirty PM. In another hour, they would close, and the Internet addicts whose faces loomed in front of glowing screens would be shooed away until early the following morning when they re-opened. One or two people sat at tables, studiously taking down notes from text books and encyclopedia's for what looked to be hefty projects. It was incredibly quiet, as the clerk sat behind a tall desk reading Stephen King. No one looked up or around to spare the couple by one computer even a second glance.
"Here it is." Hannibal said in a very low voice, lifting his finger to follow the lines of a newspaper article from Connecticut. "Ah yes… it looks like there was a drug bust at your apartments. They must have wanted to explain the disturbance to you."
"Click on that photo…" Clarice whispered, pointing to a snapshot a reporter had taken the following morning. As the thumbnail turned into a full-screened black and white photograph, Clarice squinted against the bright back round of the screen. "Damn it! Ardelia!"
Hannibal looked at the face in the picture with slight amusement. There stood FBI Special Agent Ardelia Mapp, coming out of the open front door of Clarice's apartment, looking perturbed.
"I wonder if she's worried about you, Clarice." He allowed himself to chuckle. "At least she's a good friend. The article even mentions your disappearance."
"Maybe I should e-mail her."
"Not unless you want her to trace our current whereabouts." Logging off of the Internet Explorer program, Hannibal turned in the swivel chair, and took her hands gently in his own. "Tomorrow we can write a letter to her if you want her to know you're well. Though they will probably start hunting you down if you don't make at least a token appearance."
"And risk them following me back to you?" She smirked. "I don't think so, Hannibal. You won't get rid of me so easily."
"No, not you." He agreed, smiling. "You're truly enjoying this, aren't you, Clarice? Didn't think this would be so much fun, did you?"
Laughing, she took a step back so that he had room to stand, and then they walked out of the library together. Five minutes later, Clarice returned, logged back onto the Internet Explorer, and checked out the FBI's most wanted list. There was Dr. Lecter's face at number one of America's ten most wanted. Last time she had looked out of curiosity, he had been at number six. Something didn't seem right to her about that, and she wondered if she should tell Hannibal.
'Maybe they know.' She wondered. 'But I won't do anything just yet… I'll wait a few days and see what the news says. The press is never kept quiet for long.'
"Clarice – let's go!" She turned to see him a few feet behind her, and she sighed, standing to walk out of the library on his arm. They talked about trivial matters until they reached their hotel room -- which had only one King sized bed – and then set to taking showers and getting dressed for bed. Since Saturday, Clarice had been the one signing them into hotels. After all, she wasn't any sort of fugitive – as far as she knew. She didn't want Hannibal to be discovered because of some security camera watching him sign them in under an assumed name with her credit cards.
"You're worried about what's going to happen, aren't you?" He asked as they settled side by side in the bed, simply holding hands. "It's going to be all right, Clarice. Do you think I'd let anything happen, to me or you, now that you're with me?"
At his words, Clarice rolled onto her side to press up against him. They had never been intimate when spending a night in the same bed. Yet they were never far away from one another. Hannibal had a new habit of pulling her into his arms in his sleep, and holding her possessively against him so that she couldn't pull away unless she woke him up first. Yet she didn't mind being temporarily held prisoner by his arms. She wasn't afraid of them.
"There's something I haven't told you." She whispered.
"And what is that?" With one arm sliding under her to hold her, the other hand reached up to turn off the bedside lamp.
"I love you."
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
N/A – I don't want something dramatic to happen to them every single chapter. I'm the queen of mellow drama as it is. Anyhow, I'm still working things over in my mind so give me a bit of time to come up with something useful, please. I can't even think of how Hannibal would be tracked down.