PAWN
Chapter three: Check
Cordell Doemling sat outside Masons bedroom reading the current issue of Entertainment Weekly. Maybe not reading it, so much as flipping through the pages while battling the inner guilt that came with being a part of this ugly mess. Lecter being tortured and the Starling woman being dragged into it burned him to the core. He was a physician, after all, and he believed in the Hippocratic oath. First, do no harm. But in the end, Cordell came to the conclusion that there was nothing he could do except keep his mouth shut and continue to cash his astronomical pay checks.
"CORDELL!" Came the voice from the bedroom.
Somebody shoot me. He tossed the magazine to the seat next to him. Cordell took a deep breath, stood up, and went to see what His Majesty wanted this time.
"CORDELL!!!" sounding more aggravated than usual.
"Yes, Sir?"
"It's ten past eight, Carlo hasn't called me, and I can't get him on his cell." a definite whininess in his voice. Like a five year old whose not getting his own way. " Go down to the barn and see what's going on."
Cordell hesitated "But Sir, what if Lec--"
"I don't pay you to ask questions, Cordell. Just. Go. Do it."
He sighed. "Yes, Sir."
Cordell turned and headed to the main entrance I have a very bad feeling about this… Down the long halls, through the immense foyer and out; finally. He stopped once he made it down the steps and stood on the gravel of the horseshoe driveway. The sound of crickets surrounded him. His gaze peered off into the distance at the barn lights are on… He considered Walk or take the van? I could walk there in the time it would take me to go to the garage… Cordell became aware of how dark it had gotten. ten past eight, Carlo hasn't called, can't get a hold of Carlo….
Cordell took the van.
He pulled into the barn and immediately knew something was wrong. Cordell watched as a boar, on the loose, waddled past the idling van's headlights. "That can't be good." There was something in it's mouth that Cordell couldn't quite make out. A little wary to get out now, he looked out the passenger side window toward the entrance to the tack room and the pen. He couldn't see inside because of the angle, but he noticed two more stray pigs making their way out and over to the loading area where he was parked. They made a b-line for the first pig that had walked by. It stood defensively in a dim corner now, gnawing on whatever it had carried out here. Cordell backed the van out a little and turned it at an angle to shine the headlights on the pig. It was chewing on a human arm. "Oh, God." He felt the urge to throw up. The other two pigs began fighting with the first for the scrap.
"Okay. Okay…Uhhhh" He tried to calm himself. arm's too big to be the woman's… Jesus. Could be Carlo's. Did Lecter show up? Cordell backed the rest of the way out of the barn, desperate to get out of there. Once he had backed all the way out, the headlights hit something else against the side of the barn: Piero. Or what was left of him. It was evident that the pigs hadn't been the ones to chew up his face like that. Cordell locked the doors of the van and sped back to the mansion.
He pulled the van right up to the front doors and shut off the engine. A voice in the back of his mind screamed at him to get his ass out of the area. He was forced to ignore it. If I leave without reporting this to Mason, I know I'll end up paying for it. Cordell, psyching himself up to make a break for the doors, was caught in the eyes with the glare of headlights reflected in the rearview mirror. A trendy, little midlife crisis sports car pulled up behind the van and parked. Cordell recognized it as Paul Krendler's. Wonderful… he rolled his eyes. He watched as Paul got out of his car. Cordell sucked it up and got out to meet him. "Is there something you wanted, Mr. Krendler?" he asked, annoyed; at the same time, glancing around nervously.
Krendler walked up to him "Yes, there is something I wanted. I came to get my payment." Paul had made a demand as to how he was to be paid before he agreed to any deals with Verger: In cash, non-consecutive serial numbers. FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS plus whatever else he could squeeze out of him. And none of this Swiss bank account bull shit He didn't want to take any chances of it being traced.
"It's inside, Mr. Krendler. However, We're having a bit of trouble now."
"Trouble? What trouble? What's wrong?"
"Trouble concerning Doctor Lecter, Sir…. I was just about to relay the details to Mr. Verger. If you'd care to come inside." Cordell gestured his hand to the front entrance. He walked up the steps and entered the mansion with Krendler close behind. One of them would never walk out again.
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"Mr. Verger," Cordell called as he neared Masons bedroom; Krendler in tow. Walking quickly, they entered the room where Verger spent most of his days; wasting away in the white covered canopy bed. "Mr. Verger, we have a situation…"
Krendler noticed the blood spots soaking through the opaque curtains that hung on the bed and stopped short. Cordell, however, did not notice and kept talking.
" The Sardinians are all dead. Lecter was there, I think, and as far as I can tell--" Cordell pulled the curtain out of the way and what he saw made him jump back. "Oh, God!" He covered his mouth; trying to keep himself from vomiting in front of Krendler.
Paul crept forward to see the carnage. "Jesus…" He had never seen such a mess in his life; it wasn't saying much, given that Paul Krendler had never seen any field action. "Lecter did this?" he asked in awe.
"Well it sure as hell wasn't me!" as much as I would have liked to do it…
The blood had begun to drip onto the floor. For a while, it was the only sound in the room.
"I have to call this in." Cordell finally said. His back turned to the bed.
Warning bells went off in Krendler's head. I'm not getting dirty in this "Not before I get out of here. Where's my money?"
Cordell stared at him as though he had arrived from the moon. "Fine." he said after a while "Come with me." He led Krendler to the study off the bedroom and moved a panel in the wall to reveal a safe. With the combination, he popped the door and pulled out a suitcase; handing it to Krendler. "Here. It's seven hundred thousand. You can show yourself out." he said, annoyed.
Krendler opened the suitcase to look at the money. Nice….
Cordell moved to pick up the phone on the desk. Turning his back to Paul.
"Wait." Krendler called.
"What?" He turned to face him mid dial; phone to his ear. "What's wrong, now?"
"Oh… Oh never mind. It's nothing." he said with a dismissive gesture "I was worried for a second that someone might leak about my involvement in all this." His hand slipped into his suit coat. "Then I remembered that everyone who knew about me working for Verger is dead."
Cordell considered. And then it hit him "Hey, wait a minute! What about--"
Krendler pulled out his gun; which, if Clarice Starling had seen, would have shocked her to death. She didn't think he knew how to hold a gun, never mind the notion that he owned one. Krendler pulled the trigger and Cordell fell.
He took the suitcase and left.
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The sound of a gun going off caused Dr. Hannibal Lecter to pause his stride and turn his ear back toward the house for a moment. Hearing nothing else, he continued on down the service road. Curious as to what had happened, but not about to keep Clarice waiting, he dismissed it entirely.
Doctor Lecter managed to make even the drab street clothes he wore look elegant as he gracefully walked down the road; hands in his pockets. A kind of peacefulness had overcome him, as it usually did after he killed. He was very pleased that he had managed to keep from making a mess of himself during his little visit with Mason.
The Doctor was nearly positive that he would find Clarice waiting for him when he got back to the car. However, he also kept in mind that she could be very unpredictable at times. And while it may have seemed like they had made progress that morning, she may have talked some, what she would call, sense into herself by now.
Just around this next bend in the road , and he would be able to see if the black supercharged Jaguar remained where he had left it.
It was there, and the Doctor released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
Clarice sat in the passenger seat still; staring out her window with her head propped up on her hand, unaware that he studied her. She felt his intense gaze and her eyes flew up to lock on his.
When he got into the car and there was silence for a minute.
"That was fast." she said finally; looking at him.
"Yeah…" he said simply. He had hoped she would know enough not to ask what had happened unless she was sure she really wanted to know.
She didn't ask. She turned her head to look out the window again. " I was going to leave, but I didn't want to strand you here without your car." That was so lame…
He almost laughed out loud. She knew full well he could take any car he wanted and had the money to buy another car legitimately. He considered picking apart her excuse, but decided to leave it. "How very thoughtful." he said with a grin as he started the engine.
He knew he had her now.
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The ride had passed in a comfortable silence.
A good sized colonial house stood in the dark by the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. The headlights of the black Jag reflected off the windows as it turned on to the long driveway and pulled around to the rear of the house.
The car parked; Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter got out.
With the Doctor walking slightly ahead of Clarice, they made their way to the back door. Following him up the steps now, he opened the door and allowed her to walk in first. Stepping in behind her, he hit the light switch to illuminate a large kitchen with an island counter and an antique Frigidair.
"This is your house?"
"Not exactly." He shut the door behind them.
" 'Not exactly' ?" Clarice questioned; her back still to him as she looked around the kitchen. "Whose house is it?"
"Let's just say I'm borrowing it." Of course, the owner won't have any use for it much longer, I'm afraid. The Doctor saw she was still holding her side. "Get on the counter and take your shirt off, please."
Clarice spun to face him "Excuse me?" she said in a high, shaky voice, unsure she heard right. so much for foreplay….
Doctor Lecter realized the conclusion she had jumped to "So I can take care of your injury, Clarice." he said with a sly grin "Strictly in the capacity of a medical doctor."
"Oh…" She let out a small, nervous laugh. "I guess that makes sense…" Clarice released a deep breath "Uhhh…May I use your bathroom first?" she asked quietly.
"Certainly, Clarice. Where are my manners? I should have offered. Down the hall, first door on the right." He pointed out the way. "Take your time. I need to get the first aid kit from upstairs anyway."
In the bathroom now, she took care of her business, then debated on whether she should bother to look in the mirror or if it was a lost cause. She looked. Ughhh…. Clarice retrieved a hair elastic she'd kept in the pocket of her cargo pants. Pulling her hair back to a low ponytail and washing her face with warm water, she decided it was the best she could do for now. Look at me. I'm primping for the serial killer… No. No. No. I would hardly call throwing my hair up and splashing my face with some water 'primping' Fed up, Clarice went back to the kitchen.
Doctor Lecter hadn't returned yet. Clarice boosted herself onto the counter. Gingerly, she pulled her black tee shirt off; the gash on her side hurting her as she lifted it over her head Gash? Stop being a baby, Clarice. It can't be that bad. It was throbbing again. She had discarded the gauze when she went to the bathroom, incorrectly figuring the bleeding had stopped for good. Clarice waited; staring at the Frigidair refrigerator.
"Haven't you ever had people coming over and nothing in the house? You have to make due with what's in the fridge, Clarice."
It occurred to her to wonder what exactly was in his fridge. Correction: His borrowed fridge. I wonder if I would find the borrowee's body parts in there. Clarice made a mental note to be wary of anything he tried to feed her. She wanted to look inside but thought better of it. She knew how quietly Doctor Lecter moved You never know when he's going to just come up behind you and--
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Clarice."
She visibly jumped. Clarice turned to see him entering the kitchen.
He looked amused. "I apologize for startling you." In one hand he carried the first aid kit. In the other he had what looked to Clarice like one of his white button down dress shirts.
"Oh, I… uhhh…was just lost in thought." She suddenly became very aware that she was sitting on a counter in her black bra.
"From the way I saw you looking at that refrigerator, Clarice, I don't think I need to ask what you were thinking about." he said with a grin.
For a moment, she thought he might offer to show her what was in it. But he just winked at her and went about checking to make sure everything he needed was in the first aid kit. He's just letting me squirm…
It brought her back to the days of their talks in the dungeon. He winked at me. Just like that… It was the first time she had gone to see him, in fact. Trying to get him to do that bull shit Behavioral Science survey. Clarice remembered wondering how a guy who seemed so charming and polite could be capable of the things he had done. That was right before he called her a "hustling rube", and made an interesting slurpy noise after recounting the meal he'd made of the last person who'd tried to test him. Clarice smiled at the memory.
Her attention was drawn again to the shirt he had brought down "What's that for?" It rested now on the counter next to her.
"Ahh. Unfortunately, I don't have any clothing here for you; with the exception of a lovely black evening gown I bought to match the shoes--"
"Evening gown?"
"Never mind." He finished taking inventory of the first aid kit and looked at her. "So I brought that down for you to wear when I'm finished."
"Oh,"
Doctor Lecter went to the sink to wash his hands and then returned. "Okeydokey, let's see how much damage there is."
It was long slice, about seven inches, stretching from her side, across her ribs, and ended under her left breast. "It's long but it's not too deep. It won't need stitches, but I'll use butterfly sutures to be safe." The Doctor cleaned the area thoroughly. The bleeding was very minimal now. He disinfected it with Betadine, closed the cut with several butterfly sutures, and covered it with a piece of gauze; wrapping a bandage around her ribcage to hold it in place instead of taping it.
And through all this, the Doctor managed to maintain an air of professionalism. But now, as he wrapped the bandage around her, he caught a hint of her arousal on the air and his control was tested. His hand "accidentally" slid across her pale, soft skin a few times while he finished taking care of her. He couldn't keep his head from dipping down a bit to smell her hair while securing the bandage behind her back, either . He was rewarded with the scent that was uniquely Clarice Starling beneath the hint of almond shampoo. Mmmm. Reluctantly, the Doctor pulled back. He met her eyes; her lower lip between her teeth. His left hand unconsciously rested on her thigh. "Good as new." he said; his metallic voice low.
Clarice smiled " 'Only in the capacity of a medical doctor' Huh? If I had a doctor who tried that kinda' stuff, I'd hafta' kick his ass ." She spoke softly; the West Virginian twang surfacing in her voice.
Are you flirting with me, Ex Special Agent Starling?
From the look he was giving her, Clarice thought he might try to kiss her then. But the Doctor only flashed her a wicked grin before bringing his attentions to the condition of her face. "You should put some ice on that." indicating her eye. He turned to the freezer to get some, wrapped it in a dish towel, and approached her again.
Goddamn. He knows what I want and now of course he's going to tease me with it. And I'm supposed to be the Lecter expert…I should have known. Well, two can play at that game… Clarice grabbed the shirt he had brought down for her, slipped it on, and slowly buttoned it up; leaving the top few open. She swam in the large shirt; the sleeves coming past her hands. "I'm a total mess…" she said; parting her knees a little.
"Its not that bad." Doctor Lecter moved closer to her, till he was against the counter, nestled between her thighs. He gently pressed the ice to her eye.
Clarice chuckled "Yeah. Not that bad if you ignore the black eye, swollen lip, and the fact that I smell like a barn." She subtly rubbed her right leg against his left.
"It's alright, Clarice. I hardly noticed the smell." His right hand slid around to rest at the small of her back; his thumb moving in lazy circles.
"You really know how to give a girl a complement." Clarice said; tilting her head with a smile. The feeling of his hand on her bare skin had almost gotten her.
Doctor Lecter's grin had disappeared "Well, how about this one:" He removed the ice to look at her. "You're beautiful. If I saw you every day, forever, I'd remember this time." All the games had been pushed aside and he was serious now.
Clarice was a little taken aback. She was still for a moment but soon a soft smile returned "You're sweet."
The Doctor raised his eyebrows in faux shock " 'Sweet'? Mmmmmm. That is a new one on me, Clarice. People tend to use the adjective 'Monster' when I'm spoken of."
" Oooh, this could ruin your reputation."
"Only if you told."
Clarice sighed "Besides, looks are an accident, Doctor Lecter. And frowned upon in the F.B.I unless you're willing to put out to get anywhere."
He placed his hands on her hips now "If comeliness were earned you'd still be beautiful."
Clarice was left speechless. Tired of waiting for him to make the move, she decided to take the initiative. She slipped her hand behind his head, leaned the short distance in, and kissed him. Doctor Lecter quickly returned her affection with a hunger gone unsated for ten years. His tongue entering her mouth, he found she tasted better than he ever imagined.
She was the first to break away. Reluctantly, he seceded; only to look at her intensely.
"That was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." she told him quietly; running her fingers through his recently cut, spiky soft hair before bringing her lips to his again.
Doctor Lecter gripped her backside firmly; pulling her forward to the edge of the counter so she was flush against him. Clarice discovered he was just as aroused by this exchange as she was; she felt him hard against her.
She moved her lips from his and brought her mouth's attention to his neck. He smelled of that cologne again. The one he'd worn when he had visited her the other night while she was asleep. Her teeth nipped his skin and he held her just a little bit tighter; a low moan, almost a growl, emitted from his throat. "Clarice…"
Softly, slowly, and without thinking : "I love you." she said in return.
The Doctor held his breath and stiffened; shocked. Clarice, realizing what she had said as soon as it left her lips, pulled back and clapped a hand over her mouth. She met his eyes, burning into her; waiting. "Is it too late to take that back?" she said finally; biting the nail of her index finger now, a nervous habit she'd had since college.
Doctor Lecter took her hand and pulled it away from her mouth "Do you really want to, Clarice?"
I love him? It sounded good in her mind and it had felt good to say; like a deception being brought to light. It felt true. "No, I don't want to take it back. "
He didn't say it in return. He didn't need to. His actions over the years had spoken to her louder than words ever could. She was actually glad about it; Clarice found that when people said "I love you, too" it sounded forced, obligatory. Say it when it feels right.
Clarice had moved her hands to un tuck his shirt. The feel of her hands sliding under it , up his back, driving him mad. Her big blue eyes trained on his. He quickly unbuttoned the shirt that she had put on only minutes ago. He pulled out her pony tail and her hair fell loose around her shoulders; his fingertips brushing it back, his hand loosely gripping it at the nape of her neck to pull her into another deep kiss.
And that's the position Paul Krendler found them in.
The sound of his gun cocking caused Clarice and Doctor Lecter to freeze mid kiss. Their eyes opened and met as they pulled away. The Doctor lifted his gaze to see Paul standing in the kitchen doorway behind Clarice; gun held firmly, trained on Clarice then himself alternately. Clearly he had come in the front.
"Don't you FUCKING move." Paul walked from the doorway, through the kitchen to stand behind Lecter. The barrel of his gun inches away from the Doctor's dark sleek head.
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To be continued…
(Hhmmwwhahahahahah!!! I'm Eeeeeeeevile, huh?)