Chapter 19: Hello Again, Hello
When the nondescript van pulled up in front of the abandoned building, Ardelia was pleased to see that the front doors were already open. She could tell from the car because she'd told the agents in training she'd sent ahead of her to leave the doors open. They'd want to air out at least some of the building while they used it, and it was best to start at the front door. Maybe using the front door wasn't the best of tactics for someone on what was nearly a secret mission, but Ardelia wasn't worried about running into Hannibal Lecter or any other threat here. In the back seat, Clarice Starling was with her hands still cuffed behind her back, between two other federal agents who'd accompanied them. From here on, there would be only Ardelia and Clarice… and occasionally and other agents she might call in for assistance. Once the men inside were dismissed, it would only be the two of them. Clarice wasn't going to hurt Ardelia. She wasn't going to tell Hannibal where they were. And Ardelia wasn't going to let harm come to Clarice. It seemed simple enough.
Ardelia was very, very wrong.
Turning off the car, she took the keys out of the ignition, and placed the keys above the sun visor over the steering wheel. She had the move The Terminator to thank for that little movie. The van she drove was very old, and in such bad shape she highly doubted anyone was going to steal it. Except for maybe some homeless bum who wanted to sleep somewhere that had heat. Climbing out of the van, she walked around to the passenger side, and opened the door, waiting as the two accompanying federal agents helped Clarice from her seat, and then they all walked in a cluster towards the front door.
Clarice herself looked around in silence. She hadn't spoken since being rushed through the reporters and into the van. It didn't interest her where they were going, so she hadn't asked. Yet now, being here, she wondered if perhaps Ardelia was up to something. It worried her. Would her ex-best-friend actually torture her by bringing her to a place that caused such memories to flood through her mind. Memories of Hannibal… and even of that despicable Miggss? She didn't think Ardelia knew what she was doing.
"I won't go in there." She said in a soft, hoarse voice.
"You most certainly will." One of the agents replied harshly. Both of the assisting agents were female, at Clarice's request. She couldn't be happier if she never saw another man for as long as she lived – with the exception of Hannibal, and the baby in her womb if it came to be a boy. The agent pushed her insistently up the stairs without being too forceful, and from there Ardelia drew out a set of keys to unlock the nearby door to Dr. Chilton's old office. Her eyes squinted in the poor light of the dusty lamps overhead, and she had to struggle with the lock before it opened.
"Damn them for locking the blasted door." She muttered. "They actually thought it would be of any use to lock the door of an abandoned building!"
Moving into the office, she saw that the desk and chair – the only bits of furniture left in the room from when the place had closed down – were still dusty and covered with cobwebs. With a disgusted groan, she turned to the hallway where Clarice stood uneasily between the other agents.
"Those bastards didn't do what I told them to." She grumbled. "You stay here with Clarice. I'm going to look for those lackwits."
"Yes ma'am." One of the agents said in a quiet voice. They moved to lean against a wall, trusting that Clarice wouldn't get far if she tried to run away. They had guns. Her hands were immobilized behind her back. Who had the upper hand?
Ardelia moved down the hall and into a nearby staircase. She was almost certain of where the men would have gone to. The sub-levels of the hospital. The cell where Hannibal Lecter had been kept for seven years or more. Ardelia couldn't remember. The two bastards had been so excited when they knew they were going to be coming here. Why the hell the morbid details interested them so much, she was sure she didn't know. But they had gone to fulfill their curiosity before doing their job, and she was going to see that they knew of her intense displeasure.
"Hello, Agent Mapp."
'Shit!'
Ardelia whirled, but there was no one in the hallway. Her hand was on her gun, but her reflexes weren't fast enough to draw it. She also hadn't wanted to turn and shoot blindly. God only knew what she might hit, or if the bullet would ricochet off of something. That would be extremely dangerous. Calming her heart, she placed her hands to her sides, and began to turn back around.
'God damn Hannibal.' She thought. 'Now I'm hearing things. Am I really that paranoid?' She didn't realize she'd thought the last thing aloud.
"Hardly having hallucinations, Agent Mapp."
She whirled again. Again, there was no one behind her. She began turning in slow circles, trying to figure out where Hannibal Lecter was hiding.
"Do throw down your gun, Agent. I have the upper hand." His voice was perfectly calm, as it always had been – until that morning. "I am not going to attack you. Although I really should. You see… you've stumbled your way into my territory. I'm very territorial. Did you know that, Ardelia?"
"Come out, Doctor." She ordered, lifting her gun and aiming everywhere she turned.
"I don't think so, Agent." There was a pause. "Why didn't you tell me she was pregnant?" His voice seemed to come from everywhere. Ardelia damned the acoustics. By now she'd damned everything on Earth, and most things in Heaven and Hell.
"That was for her to tell you, which she obviously did." She replied carefully. "Doctor Lecter, I'm not alone. They'll know if anything happens to me."
"I highly doubt it. You didn't know anything had happened to your two friends."
"What did happen to them?"
"Why don't you go to my cell to find out? I promise that I'll leave you alone."
Then, she could feel that he had told her the truth. A few seconds later, the abrupt absence of his presence could be felt in the air. She was alone in the hallway. Probably alone in the basement. She wondered if perhaps she should return to the other agents, and to Clarice. Yet the other agents were armed as she herself was. They could handle themselves. Turning, she slowly continued on her way.
The hallway where Hannibal Lecter had been kept in his cell stank horribly. Ardelia bunched up her nose in disgust at the smell, and the sounds of mice scratching deep in the cells where the lights of the ward were turned off. Yet there was a light on in the Doctor's old cell. Apprehension filled her, and she wondered if this was how Clarice felt the first time she walked down the hallway. Her high-heels made dead clacks against the dusty old floor.
A sound in the cell made her freeze, and again lift her gun. Yet when she eased around the corner leading to the door, she saw the two agents, tied and gagged, laying back to back on the cot that no longer had a mattress. Swearing, Ardelia put away the gun she held, and stepped into the cell to help them. They looked at her with wide eyes, and the eye popped open even wider before she heard the undeniable CLANK of the door slamming behind her. Then, there was the sound of the automatic lock going into place. Closing her eyes, Ardelia moaned. It would do no good to turn around. She wouldn't be able to see Hannibal's smile of satisfaction. He'd used the control center where Nurse Barney had once kept vigil over the inmates of the wing.
When the nondescript van pulled up in front of the abandoned building, Ardelia was pleased to see that the front doors were already open. She could tell from the car because she'd told the agents in training she'd sent ahead of her to leave the doors open. They'd want to air out at least some of the building while they used it, and it was best to start at the front door. Maybe using the front door wasn't the best of tactics for someone on what was nearly a secret mission, but Ardelia wasn't worried about running into Hannibal Lecter or any other threat here. In the back seat, Clarice Starling was with her hands still cuffed behind her back, between two other federal agents who'd accompanied them. From here on, there would be only Ardelia and Clarice… and occasionally and other agents she might call in for assistance. Once the men inside were dismissed, it would only be the two of them. Clarice wasn't going to hurt Ardelia. She wasn't going to tell Hannibal where they were. And Ardelia wasn't going to let harm come to Clarice. It seemed simple enough.
Ardelia was very, very wrong.
Turning off the car, she took the keys out of the ignition, and placed the keys above the sun visor over the steering wheel. She had the move The Terminator to thank for that little movie. The van she drove was very old, and in such bad shape she highly doubted anyone was going to steal it. Except for maybe some homeless bum who wanted to sleep somewhere that had heat. Climbing out of the van, she walked around to the passenger side, and opened the door, waiting as the two accompanying federal agents helped Clarice from her seat, and then they all walked in a cluster towards the front door.
Clarice herself looked around in silence. She hadn't spoken since being rushed through the reporters and into the van. It didn't interest her where they were going, so she hadn't asked. Yet now, being here, she wondered if perhaps Ardelia was up to something. It worried her. Would her ex-best-friend actually torture her by bringing her to a place that caused such memories to flood through her mind. Memories of Hannibal… and even of that despicable Miggss? She didn't think Ardelia knew what she was doing.
"I won't go in there." She said in a soft, hoarse voice.
"You most certainly will." One of the agents replied harshly. Both of the assisting agents were female, at Clarice's request. She couldn't be happier if she never saw another man for as long as she lived – with the exception of Hannibal, and the baby in her womb if it came to be a boy. The agent pushed her insistently up the stairs without being too forceful, and from there Ardelia drew out a set of keys to unlock the nearby door to Dr. Chilton's old office. Her eyes squinted in the poor light of the dusty lamps overhead, and she had to struggle with the lock before it opened.
"Damn them for locking the blasted door." She muttered. "They actually thought it would be of any use to lock the door of an abandoned building!"
Moving into the office, she saw that the desk and chair – the only bits of furniture left in the room from when the place had closed down – were still dusty and covered with cobwebs. With a disgusted groan, she turned to the hallway where Clarice stood uneasily between the other agents.
"Those bastards didn't do what I told them to." She grumbled. "You stay here with Clarice. I'm going to look for those lackwits."
"Yes ma'am." One of the agents said in a quiet voice. They moved to lean against a wall, trusting that Clarice wouldn't get far if she tried to run away. They had guns. Her hands were immobilized behind her back. Who had the upper hand?
Ardelia moved down the hall and into a nearby staircase. She was almost certain of where the men would have gone to. The sub-levels of the hospital. The cell where Hannibal Lecter had been kept for seven years or more. Ardelia couldn't remember. The two bastards had been so excited when they knew they were going to be coming here. Why the hell the morbid details interested them so much, she was sure she didn't know. But they had gone to fulfill their curiosity before doing their job, and she was going to see that they knew of her intense displeasure.
"Hello, Agent Mapp."
'Shit!'
Ardelia whirled, but there was no one in the hallway. Her hand was on her gun, but her reflexes weren't fast enough to draw it. She also hadn't wanted to turn and shoot blindly. God only knew what she might hit, or if the bullet would ricochet off of something. That would be extremely dangerous. Calming her heart, she placed her hands to her sides, and began to turn back around.
'God damn Hannibal.' She thought. 'Now I'm hearing things. Am I really that paranoid?' She didn't realize she'd thought the last thing aloud.
"Hardly having hallucinations, Agent Mapp."
She whirled again. Again, there was no one behind her. She began turning in slow circles, trying to figure out where Hannibal Lecter was hiding.
"Do throw down your gun, Agent. I have the upper hand." His voice was perfectly calm, as it always had been – until that morning. "I am not going to attack you. Although I really should. You see… you've stumbled your way into my territory. I'm very territorial. Did you know that, Ardelia?"
"Come out, Doctor." She ordered, lifting her gun and aiming everywhere she turned.
"I don't think so, Agent." There was a pause. "Why didn't you tell me she was pregnant?" His voice seemed to come from everywhere. Ardelia damned the acoustics. By now she'd damned everything on Earth, and most things in Heaven and Hell.
"That was for her to tell you, which she obviously did." She replied carefully. "Doctor Lecter, I'm not alone. They'll know if anything happens to me."
"I highly doubt it. You didn't know anything had happened to your two friends."
"What did happen to them?"
"Why don't you go to my cell to find out? I promise that I'll leave you alone."
Then, she could feel that he had told her the truth. A few seconds later, the abrupt absence of his presence could be felt in the air. She was alone in the hallway. Probably alone in the basement. She wondered if perhaps she should return to the other agents, and to Clarice. Yet the other agents were armed as she herself was. They could handle themselves. Turning, she slowly continued on her way.
The hallway where Hannibal Lecter had been kept in his cell stank horribly. Ardelia bunched up her nose in disgust at the smell, and the sounds of mice scratching deep in the cells where the lights of the ward were turned off. Yet there was a light on in the Doctor's old cell. Apprehension filled her, and she wondered if this was how Clarice felt the first time she walked down the hallway. Her high-heels made dead clacks against the dusty old floor.
A sound in the cell made her freeze, and again lift her gun. Yet when she eased around the corner leading to the door, she saw the two agents, tied and gagged, laying back to back on the cot that no longer had a mattress. Swearing, Ardelia put away the gun she held, and stepped into the cell to help them. They looked at her with wide eyes, and the eye popped open even wider before she heard the undeniable CLANK of the door slamming behind her. Then, there was the sound of the automatic lock going into place. Closing her eyes, Ardelia moaned. It would do no good to turn around. She wouldn't be able to see Hannibal's smile of satisfaction. He'd used the control center where Nurse Barney had once kept vigil over the inmates of the wing.