PART 9



Hannibal Lecter set his cup back into its saucer and glanced up from the current issue of the National Tattler.

"We have a bit of a problem to attend to, My Dear."

"What is it?"

A look of concern immediately clouded the dark eyes of the woman sitting next to him.

He turned the tabloid around to her, holding it up so that she could read the header on a column in the lower left corner of the page...

Retired FBI Investigator Will Graham Re-emerges
in On-going Search for Hannibal the Cannibal and Missing Agent

 She cocked an eyebrow and reached for it, scanning the short article quickly and then glancing at the photo insert. She then folded the paper in her lap and looked back to her companion.

"You don't really believe he could be that much trouble, do you?"

"Not on his own, no," Lecter replied thoughtfully.

"Then what?"

"I was hoping to leave the country now that the bulk of the news coverage has died down. I'm sure you realize our chances of escaping detection increase if the immigration officers and our fellow travelers aren't staring at our likenesses in whatever rag they happen to be flipping through to pass the time."

She nodded for a moment, considering.

"Graham's history is enough of a story to keep him in the spotlight for awhile, especially with a rag like the Tattler. They'll milk anything even the slightest bit lurid for all it's worth." A pause. "Still, there's nothing for him to find, Hannibal. Surely he'll give up and let it go soon. It's obvious from this thing..." She waved the paper in front of her, "... that he doesn't have any real connection to the Bureau any longer, and even the scum at the Tattler can only stretch a thin premise so far."

"All true," he conceded, "but Will can be persistent, Clarice. I think perhaps moreso than the occasion might warrant in this case."

"But why? What can he possibly have to gain from this?"

"I should think it has a good deal to do with you, Love."

"Me?"

"Mmm."

"You're going to have to help me a little on this one, I'm afraid."

"How much do you know about Will Graham, Clarice?"

She shrugged.

"What everyone in the bureau knows," she began. "He was a forensics whiz who was a little too good at getting inside a killer's head. They said he had a taste for it that went beyond the job, but frankly I never paid that much attention to agency gossip." She stopped short, chuckled. "Maybe I should have, at that. They seem to have been right, in my case."

She glanced over at him and smiled. Lecter returned the smile and reached to tuck a lock of hair affectionately behind her ear, but said nothing.

She sighed and pressed on.

"I know he spent some time in a mental ward at Bethesda... in the early '70's, I think it was."

A pause. The hint of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth as she held his eyes.

"I know he's the one who caught you."

He arched an eyebrow but still said nothing.

"Let's see... you cut him up pretty badly, as I recall. He was lucky to live through it."

"That depends on your perspective," he interrupted, chuckling as she glared at him before resuming her recitation.

"Retired to Florida until Crawford needed him for the Tooth Fairy. If I'm not mistaken, you are the helpful soul who provided that charming character with Graham's home address, no?"

"I do what I can," he murmured modestly.

She gave an indulgent shake of her head and sprinted for the finish line.

"From what I understand, he still has plenty of scars to remember the both of you by." At this she helpfully held up the article, complete with photo insert, and smirked as Lecter rolled his eyes. "He moved to a different part of the state after he got out of the hospital that last time. Last anyone I know of heard, his wife left him and he had developed a fairly serious relationship with Jose Cuervo. Did I miss anything important?"

"No, I believe that covers the basics. Pathetic really, when you see it laid out like that, isn't it?"

A heavy sigh.

"I'm sure you have a point with this little history quiz, Doctor. You always do."

His eyes grew cold. He reached out to grip the back of her neck and pull her face closer to his, just short of inflicting pain.

"I believe you might be getting entirely too comfortable with me, former Special Agent Starling."

"Mmm... could be," she admitted, calmly meeting his stare.

His grip tightened and his dark eyes flashed. He studied her for a moment, debating, and finally decided that now was not the ideal time for a lesson. He made a mental note to revisit this particular point later in the evening and released his hold on her.

"Forgive me, My Dear. I thought you wanted an answer to your question."

"I'd love one." A beat. "And I thought you'd forgotten."

"Sarcasm is hardly necessary, Clarice... nor is it wise to test my patience."

"Sorry."

A failed attempt on her part to appear contrite, followed by a weary sigh from her companion.

"Very well. Will has an empathic ability that is uncanny. His capacity to assume... shall we say, any number of unsavory mindsets served him well in forensics. He managed to decipher the thought patterns of several killers in his days at Quantico."

She raised an eyebrow at this, earning a stern look before he went on.

"No, I was not among them – though I will say that he made an extraordinary leap of reasoning based on my office decor." He paused again to offer her a charming smile. "Will caught me because he was lucky, nothing more."

A slight change in his tone as he moved back to the issue at hand.

"Unfortunately for him, he did not have a taste for it. His greatest fear was that he was able to empathize so completely with 'monsters' because he was one himself."

"Well, I suppose you really can't blame him for that, can you? He certainly had the notion reinforced for him thoroughly enough." She studied Lecter for a moment, and when she spoke her voice was tinged with accusation. "You reinforced it yourself, didn't you?"

"I might have said something. It was so long ago, who can remember?" he smirked.

"Let me guess. He was kind enough to put you in a cage, so you thought you'd return the favor and imprison him just as effectively."

"A bit facile, Clarice; but yes, something like that. Will invested a great deal of energy in trying to avoid any real understanding of his abilities. I simply took it upon myself to direct his attention to his own insights."

"But his insights were clouded by his fear."

"Precisely." That single word dripped with smug satisfaction.

"You're incorrigible."

"Thank you."

"I'm afraid I still don't see what this has to do with me."

"I'm certain if you apply yourself, you'll manage to make a connection."

He regarded her expectantly as she considered.

"You don't mean to imply that he sees me as a path to understanding himself?" "Still quick, I see." The grin he offered her was positively gleeful. "Clarice, My Love, you are Will's worst nightmare."

She chose not to acknowledge his amusement for the moment.

"You think he sees me as a way to face his fear without having to look too close to home."

"I do."

"If that's the case, this will be about familiarity for him. He'll work it like a dog with a bone, regardless of whether or not he actually expects to find us. "

"That is my concern, yes."

"I presume you have some notion of what do about it?"

His smile bordered on the unpleasant.

"You and I are going to give Mr. Graham what he least expects, Clarice."

She stared at him, astonished.

"You can't..." her voice trailed off, and she shook her head slowly from side to side.

He grinned, bearing sharp, white teeth.

"I understand the Florida Keys are lovely this time of year."