Chapter 17: Hypnotic Memories

Jack was wondering if perhaps Clarice was outside somewhere and he just hadn't seen her, when he heard a soft cry from the guest bedroom. He sprinted down the rest of the hall and stopped. It sounded like woman crying.

He knocked softly and opened the door. What he saw both terrified and enraged him....

As the door creaked open, he heard the woman gasp. A woman with red, puffy eyes and messy hair lay on the guest bed, covered by a sheet. Her eyes were wide with fear, eyes she quickly hid within her hands.

Jack stood stunned, staring at this woman he couldn't recognize.

This woman was Clarice Starling. Laid on a bed, mangled and beaten, was Clarice.

Jack stood for what seemed like hours in the doorway, his hand on the knob, his mouth slightly ajar. All the while, she sat with her face buried in her hands, her whole body shaking with sobs. Finally, she looked up.

"Jack? Please... close the door," she choked between her tears.

He immediately stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him. Hesitantly, he walked over to the bed. "Clarice...? I... well... what happened?"

Clarice angrily sat up in bed, the sheet wrapped tightly around her. She pushed a hand through her tangled hair with an incensed sigh. "Look at me Jack. I mean it, look at me! What do you think happened?"

Jack sat at the edge of the bed while she seethed. He didn't know what to make of the situation. He was angry, furious that something had happened to her, but he didn't know what to do. Instead of taking any action, he waited for her to calm down. "Clarice..." He reached over the cover to clasp her hand. "I can't help you until I know what happened. Please, you need to tell me."

Clarice allowed herself to slowly lean against the headboard. After taking several deep breaths, she began to talk. "I asked Bella if I could go in for awhile. I had a headache, I needed to lie down, or even be alone for a short time. I sat in the living room for a few minutes when.... when he came in. He said he wanted to talk, but I told him I wasn't feeling well. I excused myself to lie down in here..." She began to cry again, softly this time. "He followed me in. He... he.... he wouldn't leave. We fought, he hit me- I fell on the bed and he- he just-" Whatever Clarice intended to say was lost in her tears as her words slurred into unrecognizable mumbles.

Jack felt fury building deep within him. "Who was it? Who followed you?"

Through her racking sobs, he managed to understand only two words: Paul Krendler.

&*&*&*&*&*&END FLASHBACK&*&*&*&*&*&

He couldn't remember anymore. Wouldn't remember anymore.

Jack's phone was ringing again. It was undoubtedly Pearsell, the main person with whom he didn't want to talk. Wiping his forehead with a handkerchief, he stood from his desk. He gathered his belongings into his briefcase and walked out of his office.

As he went through the crowds of crying secretaries and the mechanical buzzings of the office, he could think only one thing:

"I hope they never find you, Clarice..."

^%RETURN TO PORTUGAL%^

Hannibal pulled a chair to the side of the bed while Clarice struggled with her bindings, cursing and hissing at being restrained. He was convinced in his psychologically sound mind that he was no longer dealing with the Clarice he had fallen in love with, but with a shell of her former self. Something was dreadfully wrong with her, and he had every intention of finding out what it was.

He let the necklace hang from his fingers to dangle in front of her. "Clarice, please cooperate. I don't want to sedate you, but if that remains the only option, I won't hesitate." He watched with satisfaction as her body relaxed, only occasionally pulling at her binds.

"That's fine, thank you. Now I need you to concentrate for this to work. I need you to listen to me. Will you do that for me, Clarice?"

She pulled a final time on one of her bindings and gave in with a sigh of defeat. "Yes. And then you'll untie me?"

"Yes, I will," he promised. He began to swing the necklace slowly from side to side until it feel into a hypnotic rhythm. He waited until her eyes focused only on the emerald and diamond pendant before he began talking.

"Watch the pendant closely, Clarice.
Watch as it sways, slowly, slowly...
Your eyes begin to grow heavy as you watch;
You're getting sleepy.
Your breathing becomes slower,
Your heart becomes slower.
Your eyelids are heavy;
You can't keep them open any longer.
Your eyes close; you are asleep."

At his final word, Clarice's body relaxed completely, surrendering to sleep. Hannibal sat back in his chair and placed the necklace in his pocket. Taking a deep breath, he began.

"Can you hear me Clarice?"

She nodded slightly, eyes closed.

"Can you speak?"

"Yes." There was no thick Virginian accent anymore, only the hint that it had always been.

"Good. We are going to go back in time, Clarice. Let's go back fifteen years in your life: what are you doing?"

"I'm training to be an FBI agent."

"Where are you right now?"

"The range."

"The gun range?"

"Yes. We're practicing sharpshooting."

Hannibal grinned slightly. He would not have imagined Clarice's memory to be of guns. But, the point of hypnosis was for her to recall the most important memory of the day . Obviously, that was the most important thing that had happened that day. "Leave the gun range." He thought for a moment before proceeding. "Let's go forward a few days and visit Jack Crawford instead. Where are you?"

Clarice's lips widened into an ambitious smile. "In his office."

"What are you doing?"

"Talking."

"What about?"

"He needs me to see someone for him."

"Who?"

Her smile now turned into a smug grin. "Hannibal Lecter."

Hannibal mimicked her expression. "Why do you think he's sending you instead of a REAL agent?"

"Because... probably because I can evoke a warmer feeling from the prisoner than a male could. Or because I am well spoken." Her smile faded slightly. "Or maybe because he thinks I have nice legs."

Hannibal's eyes twinkled at Clarice's comment. No doubt old Jackie-boy had liked her legs; they were quite nice. How auspicious of her to notice his attraction. "Let's leave Jack. Where do you go after your meeting?"

Her smile was almost completely gone now, replaced by a serious depth. "The dungeon."

"Who is in the dungeon?"

"Dr. Lecter."

"Do you see him?"

"Yes."

Hannibal paused. Should he proceed with this questioning? He already knew what happened, it wasn't like he needed to know the story from her point of view.

But he did.

"What do you think of him?"

She also paused. "He... he's very smart. He's analyzing me while I speak to him."

"How does he make you feel?"

"Scared."

This was not the reaction for which he had hoped. "Scared of what?"

"Of what he says."

"Are you afraid of him?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"He's not scary. He's intelligent and controlled, which can be confused with intimidation. But he's not trying to intimidate me."

"What is he doing?"

"Helping me."

"With what?"

"The case. Myself...."

Hannibal let out a breath he didn't know he had held. He himself had been scared; scared that Clarice was EVER frightened of him. Not that he hadn't given her reason to be, at times, but she knew him better then any other person. With a tiny smile, Hannibal moved on.

"Alright, Clarice, let's leave the dungeon. Instead, let's go forward ten years." He thought a moment. "Let's go to July 4th of 2001. Where are you?"

Her face screwed up with concentration as she remembered. Her face paled slightly. "I'm... pinned."

Hannibal leaned forward in his chair. "Pinned? How are you pinned?"

"I'm against a refrigerator. My hair- its stuck."

Hannibal's baby teeth gleamed in the dim light of the room. "What are you wearing?"

Her cheek's flushed with color as she spoke. "A black dress. It's very... revealing."

"Do you like it?"

She smiled. "It's not really my style, but its very beautiful. Yes, I like it."

"What's happening?"

Clarice's eyes were rolling frantically beneath their lids. "I- he's asking me a question..."

"Who is?"

"Dr. Lecter."

This earned another smile from the doctor. Always so respectful, even when her emotions were filled to the brim. They both knew the question she was being asked, and Hannibal wouldn't ever dare to ask her in such a vulnerable state. That was an answer that she had to give him of her own free will. Or, in actuality, an answer she needed to explain to him.

He was satisfied that she was completely hypnotized and willing to speak. Now that he had tested her, he decided she needed a break before they got deeply involved in an analysis. "Let's leave this place. You'll wake at the snap of my fingers in five, four, three, two..."



A/N: All for now my little tenderloins. Prepare for the apacolypse that is chapter 18!
I simply can't wait to end this, Han deserves a well needed vacation... Ta~ Fauna