Chapter 21: Flight
Hannibal wanted to apologize to Clarice for so many things. He was sorry for leaving fingerprints on her apartment door back in Mansfield. He felt guilty for allowing her to be taken away from him. For letting them arrest her. Most of all, he wanted her to know that he hadn't meant to outwardly seem to brush off the fact that she'd been raped. Inwardly, he'd wanted to turn the car around, and run after the agent responsible. But that could very well have meant never escaping the state. That had to come first… for now.
"The baby is yours." Clarice looked at him then, her hand still in his fierce, crushing grip. "What happened with Kevin… that was last week. I'm way too far along for the baby to be his."
He nodded, promising himself that the man called Kevin would suffer for hurting his little Starling. Even if his revenge was to threaten him, to make him be kept under extreme surveillance for years. To take away the man's privacy as he was both protected and interrogated for what he'd done to Clarice. That would be at least something. His promise came even before his pleasure at knowing he was going to be a father.
"Where are we going?" Clarice asked quietly. She wished that she could read his thoughts and emotions better. He was incredibly discouraging when he acted so stoical.
"I thought Mason's old property would suit our needs." He told her. "It should be easy to get into some loft or other undetected. Do you mind walking a ways if we leave there without a vehicle?"
"I take it you want to ditch the car."
Hannibal took her reply as a yes. She didn't mind walking if it was necessary. He would only let her walk if it was necessary, in her condition. God knew they couldn't go to a doctor or clinic now. Not now that they would be wanted everywhere. He steered the car using his disabled hand. The other never once let go of Clarice.
"My dear; why have a Taurus when we might have a Cadillac?" He smiled then. "You aren't the only person I've been keeping dibs on. The people who live there now have very, very nice cars."
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Muskrat Farm had been taken over once Mason Verger had been killed. But without his recipes to go by, the business was fast floundering. As a result, many of the buildings had become deserted as livestock was sold and moved. That gave Hannibal and Clarice just the chance they needed to hide themselves and the car within a large abandoned barn. No one was around the pastures at night; so Clarice showed Hannibal how she'd gotten in the night Mason died.
"There seems to be plenty of clean straw in the loft." Hannibal stated as they climbed up a ladder to reach it. "Do you fear mice or rats, Clarice?"
"Don't forget where I grew up." She replied dryly. Crawling into the loft, she settled herself into his arms as he sat back to rest against a pile of straw. "But I hate them. If I see one, it will be dead real quick."
Chuckling, he pushed his fingers through her hair. He kissed her gently on the side of the mouth. Several minutes later, they were progressing rapidly onward from a lip-lock. Clarice felt so safe. Even in a dirty, cold old barn, she had keeping quiet as the last thing on her list of caution. Being in his arms again for the first time made her feel so incredibly secure. She kissed him hungrily, glad to see the face she'd never thought to see again in real life.
After some time, Hannibal reluctantly broke from the kiss. Looking into her eyes, he placed a hand over her belly in a loving caress. His gaze was steady as he seemed to examine her for a long moment.
"You haven't been sleeping." He said quietly. "Lay back. I'm going to get some things from the car."
"No." Clarice took his hands quickly in a grip he hadn't expected. He looked to her with curious eyes, one leg positioned under him, the other out in front of him as he'd been about to stand up.
"No?" Gently, he reached up to touch her hair.
"Don't leave my sight for an instant." She whispered. "Remember what happened the last time I did that."
"You're free to watch me from the top of the ladder." Smiling, he kissed her again, briefly pulling her once more into his arms. Well… perhaps the supplies in the car he'd packed from the asylum, before Ardelia and her crew arrived with Clarice, would have to wait.
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"Shhhh! Clarice! It's all right!"
It was the first time she had ever awakened to a pair of arms encircling her in the dark. To a soft voice soothing away the nightmares that haunted her mind. A lamb of a different sort, one might say. If they would call it a lamb at all. She would only call it a terror.
"It's all right, Clarice." Hannibal soothed in the darkness, his lips kissing her temple. "You're safe. I promise you. You're safe."
There was a long few minutes of silence as Clarice calmed down. Being in Hannibal's arms… of course she was safe. She'd never thought twice about being in danger when near him. But she hadn't realized that when she'd first awakened. She'd been thinking about Kevin. About how he'd gotten by a guard easily during third shift without being checked on. She had be thinking about the way he attacked her. The way he'd threatened her with a loaded weapon while handcuffing her hands behind her back. While hissing obscenities at her about how she must be Hannibal's whore. It took that one night for her to stop feeling even remotely attractive… although she'd never considered herself so before. That had been plain modesty, although she sometimes told herself that she could be a fine catch for a man if she wanted to be. She'd been admired before. She'd never been blind to being hit on.
"Tell me." Hannibal whispered, pulling her relentlessly out of her tormented thoughts.
"No." She replied in a hoarse whisper. "Please. I don't want you to know. You know enough already."
In the darkness, Hannibal was silently grinding his teeth together, able to feel her torment and pain. But with it, he felt an encompassing black fury. She was trying not to worry him, to make him upset. But just hearing her whimper in her sleep had been enough to make him murderously furious with the man who'd hurt her while she was held in custody. He wanted to leave her there and go hunt the man down. Maybe he would eventually. But he couldn't leave her like this. Not when she needed him.
"Alright." He finally sighed, forcing his muscles to relax. "Clarice… I'm going to go down and get you some water from the car. Okay? I'll be right back. I promise you."
"Will you be taking the lantern?" She looked to the electric lantern he'd brought with him from the asylum. He'd turned it on before waking her up from her nightmare, and she only noticed it now, as they sat up from the straw. As she stubbornly stayed wrapped in one of his arms as he sort of tried to get away.
"I don't have to. Would you rather I left it here?"
"Yes."
"Then I will." Kissing her again, he put his fingers through her hair, and went to climb down the ladder. Clarice couldn't even begin to imagine how hard that must be with only one hand. Yet he adapted to such circumstances very easily. She'd learned that already. He did what it took to survive. He wouldn't let anything beat him.
Hannibal climbed into the back seat of the Taurus, and closed the door, the windows rolled up. Clarice watched him as he picked up his stolen cell phone from a compartment between the two front seats, punched in a number, and brought it to his ear. It was very difficult to see all this, but she was squinting very hard to make out whatever she could. Who would he be calling at a time like this? Surely not Ardelia.
He climbed back up the ladder several minutes later, carrying three 20 oz. Bottles of spring water under his handless arm. He said nothing about the phone call, although he knew she'd been watching him. He'd found it necessary to call Ardelia, yes. But only to try and force her to give him the phone number to agent Kevin's home or cellular. Either would be fine to him. Yet the woman had been stubborn, and refused. So he'd made sure she had a message to give him.
"I know what you did to her. I hope you don't mind if I come and talk to you about it sometime."
Clarice took one of the bottles as he offered it to her, and lay back in the straw again, reclined slightly against a bail of hay behind her. She took a long draught from the water, until he took hold of the bottom of it, pulling it away from her lips. His eyes were stern, but not angry.
"I will not have you making yourself ill." He scolded in a cool voice. "Give it up, Clarice. You're feeling better now, aren't you?"
"Yes." She whispered, holding her hand out to him. He settled himself beside her, and lay his leather coat across her once again. She'd kicked it off in her sleep.
"Tomorrow I'll be sure to pick up a couple of blankets at a K-Mart or Wal-Mart… or something." He promised her. "And perhaps a couple of pillows. We might end up sleeping in the back of a couple of cars for a while. We can't stay here indefinitely."
"I know." She sighed, settling her head against his shoulder. "But we can't go anywhere with a surveillance camera. The FBI is probably commanding that all tapes be reviewed in case we'd be seen in them."
"That doesn't matter." He assured her. "We'd be far from the place we bought what we needed by the time they spotted us in those pixely images. We'll zigzag across the country for a while. Go from one place to another without any particular pattern. They won't be able to find us that way."
Clarice closed her eyes, listening as he calmly spoke of his plans for their travels. Soon, she was again asleep. Just as he'd wanted her to be.
Hannibal wanted to apologize to Clarice for so many things. He was sorry for leaving fingerprints on her apartment door back in Mansfield. He felt guilty for allowing her to be taken away from him. For letting them arrest her. Most of all, he wanted her to know that he hadn't meant to outwardly seem to brush off the fact that she'd been raped. Inwardly, he'd wanted to turn the car around, and run after the agent responsible. But that could very well have meant never escaping the state. That had to come first… for now.
"The baby is yours." Clarice looked at him then, her hand still in his fierce, crushing grip. "What happened with Kevin… that was last week. I'm way too far along for the baby to be his."
He nodded, promising himself that the man called Kevin would suffer for hurting his little Starling. Even if his revenge was to threaten him, to make him be kept under extreme surveillance for years. To take away the man's privacy as he was both protected and interrogated for what he'd done to Clarice. That would be at least something. His promise came even before his pleasure at knowing he was going to be a father.
"Where are we going?" Clarice asked quietly. She wished that she could read his thoughts and emotions better. He was incredibly discouraging when he acted so stoical.
"I thought Mason's old property would suit our needs." He told her. "It should be easy to get into some loft or other undetected. Do you mind walking a ways if we leave there without a vehicle?"
"I take it you want to ditch the car."
Hannibal took her reply as a yes. She didn't mind walking if it was necessary. He would only let her walk if it was necessary, in her condition. God knew they couldn't go to a doctor or clinic now. Not now that they would be wanted everywhere. He steered the car using his disabled hand. The other never once let go of Clarice.
"My dear; why have a Taurus when we might have a Cadillac?" He smiled then. "You aren't the only person I've been keeping dibs on. The people who live there now have very, very nice cars."
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Muskrat Farm had been taken over once Mason Verger had been killed. But without his recipes to go by, the business was fast floundering. As a result, many of the buildings had become deserted as livestock was sold and moved. That gave Hannibal and Clarice just the chance they needed to hide themselves and the car within a large abandoned barn. No one was around the pastures at night; so Clarice showed Hannibal how she'd gotten in the night Mason died.
"There seems to be plenty of clean straw in the loft." Hannibal stated as they climbed up a ladder to reach it. "Do you fear mice or rats, Clarice?"
"Don't forget where I grew up." She replied dryly. Crawling into the loft, she settled herself into his arms as he sat back to rest against a pile of straw. "But I hate them. If I see one, it will be dead real quick."
Chuckling, he pushed his fingers through her hair. He kissed her gently on the side of the mouth. Several minutes later, they were progressing rapidly onward from a lip-lock. Clarice felt so safe. Even in a dirty, cold old barn, she had keeping quiet as the last thing on her list of caution. Being in his arms again for the first time made her feel so incredibly secure. She kissed him hungrily, glad to see the face she'd never thought to see again in real life.
After some time, Hannibal reluctantly broke from the kiss. Looking into her eyes, he placed a hand over her belly in a loving caress. His gaze was steady as he seemed to examine her for a long moment.
"You haven't been sleeping." He said quietly. "Lay back. I'm going to get some things from the car."
"No." Clarice took his hands quickly in a grip he hadn't expected. He looked to her with curious eyes, one leg positioned under him, the other out in front of him as he'd been about to stand up.
"No?" Gently, he reached up to touch her hair.
"Don't leave my sight for an instant." She whispered. "Remember what happened the last time I did that."
"You're free to watch me from the top of the ladder." Smiling, he kissed her again, briefly pulling her once more into his arms. Well… perhaps the supplies in the car he'd packed from the asylum, before Ardelia and her crew arrived with Clarice, would have to wait.
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"Shhhh! Clarice! It's all right!"
It was the first time she had ever awakened to a pair of arms encircling her in the dark. To a soft voice soothing away the nightmares that haunted her mind. A lamb of a different sort, one might say. If they would call it a lamb at all. She would only call it a terror.
"It's all right, Clarice." Hannibal soothed in the darkness, his lips kissing her temple. "You're safe. I promise you. You're safe."
There was a long few minutes of silence as Clarice calmed down. Being in Hannibal's arms… of course she was safe. She'd never thought twice about being in danger when near him. But she hadn't realized that when she'd first awakened. She'd been thinking about Kevin. About how he'd gotten by a guard easily during third shift without being checked on. She had be thinking about the way he attacked her. The way he'd threatened her with a loaded weapon while handcuffing her hands behind her back. While hissing obscenities at her about how she must be Hannibal's whore. It took that one night for her to stop feeling even remotely attractive… although she'd never considered herself so before. That had been plain modesty, although she sometimes told herself that she could be a fine catch for a man if she wanted to be. She'd been admired before. She'd never been blind to being hit on.
"Tell me." Hannibal whispered, pulling her relentlessly out of her tormented thoughts.
"No." She replied in a hoarse whisper. "Please. I don't want you to know. You know enough already."
In the darkness, Hannibal was silently grinding his teeth together, able to feel her torment and pain. But with it, he felt an encompassing black fury. She was trying not to worry him, to make him upset. But just hearing her whimper in her sleep had been enough to make him murderously furious with the man who'd hurt her while she was held in custody. He wanted to leave her there and go hunt the man down. Maybe he would eventually. But he couldn't leave her like this. Not when she needed him.
"Alright." He finally sighed, forcing his muscles to relax. "Clarice… I'm going to go down and get you some water from the car. Okay? I'll be right back. I promise you."
"Will you be taking the lantern?" She looked to the electric lantern he'd brought with him from the asylum. He'd turned it on before waking her up from her nightmare, and she only noticed it now, as they sat up from the straw. As she stubbornly stayed wrapped in one of his arms as he sort of tried to get away.
"I don't have to. Would you rather I left it here?"
"Yes."
"Then I will." Kissing her again, he put his fingers through her hair, and went to climb down the ladder. Clarice couldn't even begin to imagine how hard that must be with only one hand. Yet he adapted to such circumstances very easily. She'd learned that already. He did what it took to survive. He wouldn't let anything beat him.
Hannibal climbed into the back seat of the Taurus, and closed the door, the windows rolled up. Clarice watched him as he picked up his stolen cell phone from a compartment between the two front seats, punched in a number, and brought it to his ear. It was very difficult to see all this, but she was squinting very hard to make out whatever she could. Who would he be calling at a time like this? Surely not Ardelia.
He climbed back up the ladder several minutes later, carrying three 20 oz. Bottles of spring water under his handless arm. He said nothing about the phone call, although he knew she'd been watching him. He'd found it necessary to call Ardelia, yes. But only to try and force her to give him the phone number to agent Kevin's home or cellular. Either would be fine to him. Yet the woman had been stubborn, and refused. So he'd made sure she had a message to give him.
"I know what you did to her. I hope you don't mind if I come and talk to you about it sometime."
Clarice took one of the bottles as he offered it to her, and lay back in the straw again, reclined slightly against a bail of hay behind her. She took a long draught from the water, until he took hold of the bottom of it, pulling it away from her lips. His eyes were stern, but not angry.
"I will not have you making yourself ill." He scolded in a cool voice. "Give it up, Clarice. You're feeling better now, aren't you?"
"Yes." She whispered, holding her hand out to him. He settled himself beside her, and lay his leather coat across her once again. She'd kicked it off in her sleep.
"Tomorrow I'll be sure to pick up a couple of blankets at a K-Mart or Wal-Mart… or something." He promised her. "And perhaps a couple of pillows. We might end up sleeping in the back of a couple of cars for a while. We can't stay here indefinitely."
"I know." She sighed, settling her head against his shoulder. "But we can't go anywhere with a surveillance camera. The FBI is probably commanding that all tapes be reviewed in case we'd be seen in them."
"That doesn't matter." He assured her. "We'd be far from the place we bought what we needed by the time they spotted us in those pixely images. We'll zigzag across the country for a while. Go from one place to another without any particular pattern. They won't be able to find us that way."
Clarice closed her eyes, listening as he calmly spoke of his plans for their travels. Soon, she was again asleep. Just as he'd wanted her to be.