Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for the ones I've made up myself.

Family Blood

Chapter 11: Surprises

Richard Silversted sat in the hotel room with his 'business' associate. It was very early in the morning and it was still very dark in the small room, but a little lamp on the coffee table provided light for the two men.

"So we do it tonight?" Silversted asked.

The other man nodded. "Yeah, once everyone's in bed and we rendezvous with our contact. Once we're sure that we're clear to move we'll strike." 

Silversted looked at the other man. "Where are we going to meet up with the contact?"

"Downstairs in the lobby. Do you have everything that we'll need?"

Silversted nodded and said, "Yeah, everything and then some. I don't know about you, but I think that this is going to be a hell of a lot of fun."

**********************

"Darrin Tinsley, age 24," read Matthew to the group, "Student of Behavioral Sciences here at Quantico. Was found at 11pm last night at the local park. It's been determined that he is a genuine Silversted victim."

The whole group was now getting to work in the office. Matthew, Dr. Lecter, and Elaine were seated around the desk. Jadis had sat on top of a nearby table. Ardelia, Clarice, Vermont and Lawrence were all standing at various places in the room. In all, the fairly small office looked pretty crammed.

Clarice sighed. "Well, he's defiantly nearby, that's a given. Have you guys checked out the smaller towns nearby?"

Elaine spoke up. "That was the first places we looked. Turned up with nothing."

Dr. Lecter examined the photos. "This looks like too much work for one person," he said.

"An aid?" Ardelia asked. "That's a rather big long shot there Doctor."

"He's right," Jadis quietly spoke, "Silversted isn't working alone."

"And how are you so sure of that Agent Lecter?" Elaine asked, almost sneering.

Jadis hesitated and stole a quick glance at her father before speaking. "A few nights back when I was still in hiding Silversted... attacked me. Afterwards I heard him talking on the phone to someone. It sounded like they were planning something concerning Clarice, Dr. Lecter and I."

Elaine looked at her critically. "If he attacked you then why are you still alive?"

"I don't think that he wanted to kill me, I think that he just wanted to hurt and humiliate me."

Dr. Lecter spoke up. "Richard enjoys seeing pain, especially if it's from people that he feels has hurt him in some way or another. He feels like God when he sees his victims beg for mercy. He does it partially for revenge and partially for his own amusement."

Vermont reluctantly spoke up. "But some of his victims didn't do anything to him, he just picks them from random," she said.

"True," Dr. Lecter responded. "When he chooses victims like that it's usually for sending messages, like his latest casualty."

Elaine turned her attention back to Jadis. "Did he mention the other person's name at all?"

Jadis shook her head. "I was pretty disoriented at the time. If he did then I didn't catch it."   

Elaine let out a tired sigh. "Well, if any of you turn up with anything, let me and Pearsall know immediately." With that, she left the office and went back to her normal duties around Quantico.

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It was nearing the end of the day as the group began to pack everything up for the day. Not much progress had been made concerning the case, but everyone was starting to feel more at ease with everyone else. 'Better than no progress I guess,' thought Jadis as she slipped on her jacket.

Beside her Matthew searched for his own coat among the mess that was the pile of coats on the chair in the corner of the office. The two were the last to leave, mostly because he had to pick up something from the evidence room and Jadis couldn't go anywhere without him guarding her. Matthew fingered the small package that he had picked up nervously. It had taken some doing to get it, but he was able to convince Elaine to allow him to take it out and give it back to its owner.

"So," Jadis said as he slipped on his coat, "Ready to go?"

Matthew swallowed, more than a little nervous at the thought of what he was going to do next. "Umm, yeah, just a sec, I have something for you," he handed her the small package that he had gotten from the evidence room. "I thought that you might want this back."

Jadis raised an eyebrow and took the package. She gave him a curious look before carefully opening it.

Matthew watched her face carefully, hoping that she won't be annoyed or anything at him for doing this. He really didn't want to annoy a Lecter.

As she unraveled the package her maroon eyes went wide with surprise. Matthew held his breath, more or less praying to God that he didn't make a mistake. His fears evaporated as a smile appeared on Jadis' face.

"Well, I didn't expect to see this again," Jadis commented as she carefully lifted the ankh necklace that her father had given her just before she left for Cairo a few months back. She looked up at Matthew and said, "You didn't have to do this."

Matthew grinned, "Hey, I wanted to. Consider it a thank you for helping out with this case, it's been giving me a headache for months now. Besides, it seemed kinda stupid to keep a necklace as evidence when there's nothing to gain from it."

Jadis chuckled, "I guess you're right on that point. Well, in any case, thanks. I was wondering what had happened to it."

"Wonder no more," Matthew quipped, feeling a little more at ease around the cannibal's daughter.

The two shared a little laugh as they headed out the door to the hotel. On the way they seemed to be completely at ease with each other, Matthew, to Jadis, was no longer just 'the younger brother of Paul 'the Dickhead' Krendler, and to Matthew Jadis was no longer just the daughter of Hannibal 'the Cannibal' Lecter. They were actually starting to consider the idea that they were starting to forge something like a friendship between them.

In the hallway in the hotel, Jadis stopped at her door and turned to Matthew one last time. "Thanks again for finding my necklace, you really didn't have to."

Matthew grinned, "It was no problem at all. Besides, I wanted to."

A couple minutes were spent in uncomfortable silence between the FBI agent and the fugitive, both not sure of what to say at the moment. There were a few failed attempts at talking and a lot of "umms" and "uhhs" that had managed to escape their lips before Jadis finally formed a sentence. "Well, this is kinda uncomfortable," she more or less muttered.

Matthew laughed quietly, "Can't disagree with you there," he said. "So, umm, I guess this is good night then?"

Jadis shrugged slightly, "I guess so," she said. Looking up at him, she hesitated a little before giving him a light kiss on the cheek. Grinning at Matthew's surprised expression, she simply said, "Good night Matt," and walked into her room and shut the door behind her.

Matthew blinked and, very slowly, a slight grin graced his face. "Good night Jade," he softly responded, although he knew that she couldn't hear him.

As he retired to his own room, he thought, "Yeah, she isn't that bad at all. I kinda like her..."

***************************

"So," Clarice said to Dr. Lecter, "what do you think so far?"

The couple were in their own hotel room now. Ardelia, Vermont and Lawrence were in nearby rooms, granting Dr. Lecter and Clarice some privacy.

Dr. Lecter continued to stare out of the window as he responded. "I'm still extremely wary of this whole situation. The FBI isn't going to just let us go after this is all over, that should be a given."

Clarice nodded, "I know. What do you think about Elaine? She seems like the royal bitch to me."

Dr. Lecter seemed to hesitate before responding. "I find her to be quite the... shady character to say the least. To tell the truth, she seems to be a little too confident for my liking."

Clarice joined him by the window and rested her head on his shoulder. "I see you have a high opinion of her," she said, sarcasm clear on her tone.

Dr. Lecter wrapped an arm around her and held her close, "Speaking of which, I'm curious to know of your opinion of Matthew Krendler."

Sighing, Clarice closed her eyes slightly, getting more and more tired. "He's alright I guess. Nothing like his brother thank God. He seemed to have warmed up to Jadis quite nicely though."

"That I won't argue," Dr. Lecter agreed. Looking down at Clarice, he asked, "Tired, my dear?"

Clarice lazily opened an eye and muttered something that sounded like an affirmative. Closing her eye once again, she quickly found herself lifted into Dr. Lecter's arms and carried off to bed. She was asleep before even feeling the mattress underneath her.

***************************

"So, how are you doing Nikki?" asked Jason Lawrence as he handed her a cup of Coke. The two had to share a room right across from Dr. Lecter's and Clarice's for the time being.

Nikki Vermont shrugged. "I had to follow around a cannibal all day. You were there, weren't you?" she grinned as Lawrence gave his old friend a playful punch on the shoulder. The two were best friends from way back, practically growing up together. They weren't even attracted to each other in a romantic sort of way, just best friends. Besides, both of them were very happily married.

As Vermont jokingly tackled Lawrence to the floor like she has about hundred times before in their life together, a knock at the door disturbed their play.

"Who the hell could this be?" Lawrence muttered as he got up to open the door, Vermont trailing behind him. Opening the door, the two agents were in for the shock of their life when they saw who was on the other side.

***************************

"Vermont?" Ardelia knocked on the door again. "Lawrence? Please don't tell me you two are still asleep."

It was about six thirty in the morning and the two young agents were a half hour late in getting to work. Ardelia had had enough of this. Checking the doorknob, she was surprised to find it unlocked.

'That's odd,' she thought but quickly shrugged it off.

Slipping through the door and into the room, her eyes went wide as she looked upon the scene in front of her. "Oh shit," she whispered before bolting to her room for the phone. Inside the room, the bloody corpses of Nikki Vermont and Jason Lawrence looked up towards the ceiling with lifeless eyes.

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(A/N: Okay, sorry about the little delay in getting this up, been very busy these days. Anyways, from here on it should be a little more fast paced. As always, thanks for all the great reviews! Every single on of them are greatly appreciated!)

-SP