(A/N: As always, thanks for the kind reviews! Well, onto chapter 2 we go!)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for the ones I've made up myself. Please don't sue me, I've got nothing!
Family Blood
Chapter 2: Hidden Dangers
"As-Salaam alaykum!" (Peace be upon you!) the merchant at the stall greeted Jadis as she approached her favorite stall.
"Wa alakum as-Salaam!" (And with you peace!) Jadis replied to the small, Arab man. "Kayf halak?" (How are you?)
The merchant grinned. "Al-ham du lellah, shukan," (I'm fine, thank you.) he told her as Jadis scanned the shelves with her camouflaged, deep violet eyes.
She didn't want to be here too long. Her father's phone call had put her on edge slightly. "Ana ureed ishtaraiti ashra azrak sham'a minfadlik," (I want to buy ten blue candles please.) she told the merchant, trying to appear rushed.
The merchant quickly found what she was looking for as she handed over the money. 'Shukran gazillan," (Thank you very much.) she told him as she gathered her purchases.
"Afwan, subik," (You're welcome, friend.) he cheerfully replied with a pleasant smile. "Wada'an!" (So long!)
"Ma'assalama!" (Good bye!) she briefly waved to him as she made her way back through the sea of people, heading home. She suddenly felt very exposed being out in the public, even if it was just the Cairo market.
**********
Nearby, hiding in the shadow of a currently vacant stall, a man watched the young woman with his cool grey eye. His other one was missing, unless if you count a glass eye as one as well. His recently dyed light brown hair and light, casual clothes made him seem nothing more than a tourist or a new addition to the city. He talked into a cell phone as he watched on.
"She was talking on a cell phone a couple seconds ago," he reported. "I'm pretty sure that it was Lecter she was talking to."
"Did you hear anything she said?" the man on the other end asked.
He shook his head. "She was speaking in Arabic so I had no idea what the hell they were talking about. But judging from how she reacted, whatever was said must have been a shock." A slight hesitation before continuing. "Do you think that they know?"
A sigh from the other man. "I hope not, we've been waiting too damn long as it is to get this plan going for them to find out about us now. We better get everything underway tonight."
The man with the glass eye nodded his agreement. "Can't wait. What do you want me to do with her exactly?"
"I could care less. Just make sure that you don't kill her yet. I'll take care of Lecter and Starling." The man paused for a second before continuing. "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for this?"
The other man grinned. "Do you have any idea how much I'm going to enjoy this?"
There was a laugh on the other end. "I can only imagine. Well, in any case, it's been a pleasure doing business with you Silversted."
Richard Silversted's grin grew wider. "Believe me, the pleasure is all mine."
With that, Silversted severed contacted with his associate and, being careful to stay out of her sight, followed Jadis Lecter through the crowds towards her home.
***********
At the offices of Quantico, Special Agent Clint Pearsall lazily sifted through file after file about a current case which was rapidly nearing its end. They knew who the killer was, and they new exactly where he was. On top of that, they were planning to bring him down that very night.
Feeling too bored to continue on with the repetitive papers and photos, Pearsall forced himself to avert his eyes from the table to the wall opposite of him. Photos and newspaper clippings of major unsolved cases stared back at him. Three photos in particular seemed to taunt him, the photographs of three people that still haunt him and everyone who was still working on the case.
The pictures of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, former Special Agent Clarice M. Starling, and former Agent Jadis Rebecca Monroe/Lecter stared back at him. It was bad enough that two agents betrayed him and the rest of the Bureau, but running off with Lecter? Not to mention having his daughter right under your nose the whole bloody time. Talk about adding insult to injury.
Oh yeah, they found out all about her. It took some digging, but they found out about her true identity. Starling was bad enough, but with a Lecter working as a FBI agent, the newspapers had a field day. The image of the FBI took a painful blow, almost making it a laughing stock of the government. But they were able to recover quickly, though it was still stained with these new developments in the Lecter case.
A fourth picture also leered at Pearsall, though not as badly as the other three. They still haven't found Richard Silversted, or Chimera as his old alias identified him as. Sometimes he wondered if Silversted had run off with Lecter as well, but highly doubted it. Evidence at the scene of their last conflict highly ruled out this possibility.
Pearsall sighed. It was with cases like this that made him wish that Jack Crawford hadn't retired two years earlier.
Looking down at his watched, he guessed that he should be leaving for the night soon. He didn't need to be around when the other agents and police take down their current killer. He trusted them enough to easily apprehend him in no time, seeing as how it was highly unlikely that this criminal would case any major disturbance in the process. It was almost laughable at how easily the FBI and police had tracked him down.
Picking up his coat, Pearsall looked forward to a long sleep as the phone rang. For a split second he considered not answering it, but gave in and picked up the receiver.
"Yes?" he said into the phone.
"Agent Pearsall, I think that you may want to have a look at this tip we just received," a female voice informed him.
Pearsall sighed. "Elaine, can't this wait until tomorrow?"
"It's Lecter, sir. We know exactly where he and Starling are, evidence and all."
He was suddenly very wide awake. "I'll be right down Agent Parker."
Putting down the phone, he more or less ran to Section Chief Elaine Parker's office to see what she had.
***************
"So why are you guys leaving exactly?" Jadis asked her father over the phone, in English.
Looking over at Clarice, who was at the moment sipping a cup of coffee, Dr. Lecter answered, "Clarice and I felt that it would be wise for us to change our location, just to be on the safe side."
Jadis hesitated for a second. "Should I do the same thing?"
"Use your better judgment where you're concerned Jadis," Dr. Lecter replied. "Do you feel that it would be best for you if you did leave Cairo at this time?"
Another hesitation. "I need to think about that for a bit, but right off the top of my head I'd say I'm pretty safe here for now. Any ideas on where you two are going to go next?"
"We haven't really thought about it yet. However," he looked back at Clarice to see her reaction. "If Clarice doesn't have any objections, I would nominate either Greece or Paris."
Clarice's eyebrows shot up as she mouthed 'Paris?!' back at him. He could tell that she was pleasantly surprised at his suggestion.
With a wink to Clarice, he spoke again to his daughter. "Judging by her expression, I'd say that we just settled on Paris for the time being."
On the other end Jadis let out a laugh. "Speaking of Clarice," she said in between chuckles. "Is it alright if I speak with her? I haven't talked to her in a bit after all."
Dr. Lecter motioned to a still astounded Clarice. "Of course, my dear," he said to the younger woman before handing over the phone to Clarice.
"Hey kid," Clarice greeted her friend as she sat down beside Dr. Lecter and rested her head on his shoulder. "How's it going?"
"Not bad I guess," Jadis replied. "So you're going to Paris I hear?"
Clarice grinned. "I believe so, unless Hannibal has any other more tempting ideas," she said while looking up at the doctor, amusement playing in both of their eyes.
Jadis let out a little laugh again. "I'm sure that you two will-" she abruptly went silent.
The other woman sat up. "Jadis?" she said into the phone.
There was another beat of silence before Jadis finally spoke again. "I think someone's in here," she informed her in a hushed tone.
Clarice thought that she heard the clicking of a gun cartridge being loaded over the phone. "I'm going to have to call you back," Jadis told her, still in a quiet voice.
She looked at Dr. Lecter, who had curiosity glinting in his eyes. "Make sure you call us back as soon as possible," she said into the phone.
"I'll try," Jadis said as she hung up the phone.
Clarice set her own back own onto the table. Looking at Dr. Lecter, she told him, "Someone broke into Jadis' house. She said that she'll try to call us back as soon as possible."
Dr. Lecter nodded. While he didn't doubt that his daughter can take care of herself, he had a really bad feeling about this.
************************
Jadis set her cell phone back onto the small coffee table as silent as possible. She had heard heavy footsteps just outside in the hallway while she was talking with Clarice. With her trusty gun in hand, she carefully edged her way towards the sound.
Looking out into the hall, she saw nothing that confirmed what she had heard. Moving onto the rest of the house, she came up with nothing.
She shook her head. 'I must be hearing things,' she thought as she reached for the cell phone again, ready to call back Clarice and Dr. Lecter.
Her hand never reached the phone. In a flash, a chloroform soaked cloth was covering her face and a strong arm kept her from struggling. It didn't take long for her to pass out into the arms of Richard Silversted.
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(A/N: Hope you're enjoying it so far! I'm hoping to have the next chapter up in the next couple days.)
-SP