Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for the ones I've made up myself. Please don't sue!
Family Blood
Chapter 4: The New Generation
Pearsall and Elaine watched as the man standing in front of them squirmed with excitement. Elaine and her team had just returned from Buenos Aires with their catch in tow. Now, back at Quantico, she watched as the administrator of the newly reopened Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane waited nervously for the news that he so desperately wanted to hear.
"Dr. Chilton," Pearsall spoke to him. "In a way, you are going to get what you wished for from us."
Dr. Nathan Chilton, nephew of the late Dr. Fredrick Chilton, raised an eyebrow. "In a way?" he repeated.
Elaine nodded. "That's right. You still get Lecter, but not the Lecter we had originally set out to capture." Handing him a piece of paper, she couldn't help but inwardly smirk at his surprised expression.
"Jadis Lecter?" he gave them a look of disbelief. "You know that we don't take women into the hospital."
Pearsall held up a finger, as if to make a point. "We realize that Dr. Chilton, but I do believe that we're allowed to make an exception every once in a while. For one, she is Lecter's daughter. Add the fact that she's also a former Special Agent here, who knows how dangerous she is." He paused for a second, as if in thought, then continued. "Besides, if we make it known that she's being held at the hospital, both Lecter and Starling may try to get her out. We keep a constant watch around the area, and if we see them, Hannibal Lecter will be all yours. What do you say?"
Chilton looked upwards towards the ceiling, as if in deep thought. "I'll agree to this on one condition," he said in his own time, carefully planning his words. "Let me treat the girl like I would treat Lecter. Straitjacket, restraints, even the mask. That should hold me over until you give me what I really want. Like you said, she is Lecter's daughter after all."
"Deal," Pearsall replied almost immediately.
Shaking Pearsall's and Elaine's hands, a grin grew wide on Chilton's face. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you two."
When Dr. Chilton was out of sight Elaine turned to Pearsall. "That was almost too easy," she commented.
He sighed. "Can't disagree with you there Parker, but I'd say it's for the best." He looked at her, a serious look planted on his features. "Are you sure that this is going to work? We are taking a pretty big risk here."
Elaine grinned. "But at the same time we're killing two birds with one stone. Besides, if this does work, and it will, I promise you that, we close one of the most frustrating cases in FBI history and we get the joy of outsmarting Lecter. What more can you ask for?"
Pearsall shook his head. "I do hope you're right."
************
In a small, yet comfortable hotel room across town, a couple who under any other circumstances would have been somewhere like Paris or Italy by now were discussing a variety of topics, all concerning their survival. Dr. Lecter and Clarice were talking when something on the news perked their interest.
"In a manner of seconds," the female reporter said. "The Federal Bureau of Investigation will make a surprising announcement concerning one of their most well-known cases and one of the most notorious manhunts in their history. We go now live to the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane with Special Agent Clint Pearsall, Behavioral Sciences Section Chief Elaine Parker and the administrator of the hospital Dr. Nathan Chilton for this special announcement."
Clarice and Dr. Lecter looked at each other as the scenery of the news program changed to an office at the hospital. "Chilton?!" Clarice repeated, dumbfounded.
"A relative, I presume," Dr. Lecter simply said as he and Clarice looked back at the television set.
Clint Pearsall was speaking into the barrage of microphones and camera flashes. "First off we would like to thank you for coming out for this declaration. Although this is not a full closing of the case, this is one step closer to it. Late last night in Buenos Aires Elaine Parker," he indicated the woman standing next to him. "and her team of agents was set out to bring down two of America's most wanted fugitives. We regret to say that they captured neither Dr. Hannibal Lecter nor Clarice Starling, but instead brought down another wanted fugitive. That other fugitive was another former FBI agent and Lecter's daughter, Jadis Rebecca Lecter. I for one congratulate Miss. Parker on her accomplishment."
A round of applause ensued amount the gathered press as Pearsall shook Elaine's hand and traded congratulatory words with her. Clarice had to fight to not throw the television set out of the window.
Her former boss continued. "Even though they got away this time, I'm confident that Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling will be brought to justice very soon, with Agent Parker's help of course. And now," Pearsall indicated the man standing next to him. "I would like to invite Dr. Nathan Chilton to speak a few words on this momentous occasion."
"Momentous," Clarice repeated, disgust dripping on her voice as the camera focused on the young man dressed in a cheap brown suit.
"Thank you Agent Pearsall and especially Agent Parker for their hard work." With a smug smile, he continued into the cameras. "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I'm proud to announce that Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane has recently admitted its first female convict." Chilton chuckled. "It's a little bizarre, isn't it? There's now a new generation of doctors and convicts gracing this hospital with their presence. I myself have followed in the noble footsteps of my uncle, the late and much missed Dr. Fredrick Chilton. And now, Jadis Lecter has followed in her father's footsteps and now has his old cell down in the basement corridors, while I have inherited my uncle's old office upstairs. Odd how fate works, don't you agree?"
Clarice's blood boiled at the mention of Fredrick Chilton's name. As the press conference concluded, she looked over at Dr. Lecter, ready to tell him the long and angry rant that was now on the tip of her tongue, when she saw that he seemed almost pleased with something.
"What's so amusing?" she asked, confused.
Dr. Lecter looked at her. "It seems that the new Dr. Chilton had said something that could be very useful to us."