Changes
Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own any of them….they own me….@_
Clarice fell silent as she scanned her surroundings, looking for some sign of him.
"What are you thinking now? Are you paying attention to me, Ex Special Agent Starling? ...Are you by any chance trying to trace my whereabouts?"
Instead of the Good Doctor, Clarice's gaze fell upon two greasy looking bulky men looking down at her from the balcony. Even though they both wore sunglasses, she could tell they were staring at her. She turned her attention back to the hands-free set. "I'm being followed, Dr. Lecter."
"I know, I've seen them...and now you're in a real dilemma, aren't you? Do you continue to try to find me, knowing that you're leading them to me?"
The bright, cheerful music of a merry-go-round came through over the phone line, and she headed towards the spinning lights at one end of the shopping complex.
"Do you have so much faith in your abilities, Clarice, that you honestly believe you can somehow simultaneously arrest me, and them? It could get very messy, Clarice. Like the fish market."
She began to circle the merry-go-round, trying to spot him.
He spoke again, his voice sounding more animated this time. "Hey, Clarice?"
She continued to search for him as she answered. "Yeah?"
"What if I did it for you?"
"Did what?"
"Harmed them, Clarice. The ones who have harmed you. What if I made them scream apologies?" His tone darkened as he spoke those words, then resumed the light, chatty timbre that he spoke in previously. "No, I shouldn't even say it, because you'll feel, with your perfect grasp of right and wrong, that you were somehow...accomplied."
She tuned away from the merry-go-round, just as a horse carrying a certain doctor came around behind her. Her voice carried a slight trace of anger. "Don't help me."
As Dr. Lecter passed behind her, he gently brushed his fingertips over her long auburn hair, then quickly drew back.
Cautiously, she turned around, but saw nothing.
"No, of course not, forget I said it."
Clarice continued to look for him, turning to her right.
"Clarice, you were very, very warm. You were so close...."
She turned to the left...
"...And now you're getting colder again."
Surprised, she turned back. A light was flashing in the photo booth across the foyer.
"Yeah...warmer again. Well, I think I've been generous enough with you, and the clues. You're on your own now, Clarice."
She began to walk over to the photo booth, one hand on her gun, just in case. "Dr. Lecter." No answer. Taking a deep breath, she quickly drew back the curtain....no-one there. There was a pair of black Gucci heels on the seat of the booth.
"Hope you like them, Clarice. Ta ta."
As she found the shoes, he was already heading out of the sliding doors. Two pairs of eyes watched him go. Mason Verger knew, from previous experience that the two inept Sardinians would not be able to handle capturing Lecter themselves, so he had explained how they should get a little 'help' from Clarice Starling.
As she made her way out of the door, a plain black van was pulling up to the kerb. Clarice frowned at it. She was sure that was the van that had been behind her as she drove to the...
Her eyes widened in sudden realisation, then squeezed shut as she cried out in pain. What she guessed was a taser gun struck her in the back, and the volts that coursed through her body felt like a thousand knives cutting into her skin. She let out a weak cry and she fell forwards onto the ground and everything went black. Her last thought was: 'How could I have been so stupid....?'
She came back into consciousness a few seconds later, and found herself in the back of the van. Her wrists had been tightly bound together, and one of the men were tying her ankles. She glared at him and growled "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU-"
Laughing cruelly, he stuffed a rag into her mouth. "Women should be seen, not heard, eh?" The enraged look he received only made him laugh harder. He slammed the doors shut, and she heard the tyres squeal as the van sped down the road.
Roughly twenty minutes later, she was being carried across to a barn. Her eyes narrowed as she recognised this place as part of the Verger estate. She was dragged roughly to a post in the middle of the barn and tied to it. As much as she struggled, she could not loosen the thick rope around her, that was almost cutting into her skin. She screamed her frustration, which was muffled by the rag in her mouth.
Suddenly, she heard a mocking voice coming from the loft above her.
"Well hello, Ms. Starling. So nice to see you again."
She glared upwards, and Mason Verger gave her something that was as close as he could ever get to a smile. She screamed obscenities at him behind her gag.
"I'm sorry? Carlo, remove that cloth from Ms. Starling's mouth."
Grinning at her, Carlo obliged. She scowled at him, and then turned back to Mason. "What the fuck is this?!"
"I'm glad you asked that! You have the pleasure of being our dinner guest tonight. I considered inviting a certain...Doctor...but I figured he was more likely to show up if you were here..."
She shot daggers at him. "You seriously think Dr. Lecter would risk his freedom and his life for me? I think you're going to be seriously disappointed."
"On the contrary, Ms. Starling. We both know that Lecter won't stay away if his Special Agent is in distress. And here, I'm ready for him. And when he gets here, the fun can really begin! I won't keep you in suspense...I'll tell you what's going to happen..."
Suddenly, loud grunts and squeals filled the air.
"Ah, it seems our friends are eager to get started. Pigs, you see, Ms. Starling. More specifically, pigs specially trained to eat human flesh. Live meat...The doctor and yourself will serve as a wonderful meal for them. The monster, and the 'Bride of Dracula'...die together. How fitting."
Her eyes blazed with anger, and she turned her face away from him.
"Of course, the doctor and myself have some unfinished business, so he will have the pleasure of waiting 8 hours to enjoy the...effects...between feedings. You however, Ms. Starling, will just be the one course I'm afraid. Hope that isn't a problem...?"
She turned back up to him. "Fuck you."
"Well, goodbye for now Ms. Starling. Hopefully, our other guest will be here shortly." The mechanism of the wheelchair buzzed as he turned himself around and disappeared from her view.
She shuddered as she listened to the squealing of the pigs. She closed her eyes, thinking about her impending death. She just hoped that Dr. Lecter wouldn't be foolish enough to try to help her, and get himself dragged into this mess too. Whimsy was what got him caught the last time - only this time, it wouldn't simply be 8 years in an institution. But why would he want to help her anyway?
A chuckle coming from her left broke into her thoughts, and she turned her head to the side to see Carlo staring at her. He smirked. "Thinking about how you're going to die?"
She scowled at him. "Go fuck yourself, you rancid bastard."
He laughed; a sound that made her want to punch every single one of his yellowed teeth out. "Such foul language! From such a pretty lady..." He slowly reached out to her.
"Touch me, and I bite your fucking hand off."
Smiling, he ran his hand up, over her hip, trailed over her neck, then brushed against her cheek.
With lightning-fast reflexes, she turned her head to face his hand, and caught a finger between her teeth. He screamed in agony as she ripped a chunk of flesh out of his finger. He pulled his bleeding hand away, and nursed it against her chest, his mouth opening and closing in shock and disbelief. He hissed at her. "You bitch! You fucking bitch! You learn that from that fucking cannibal?!"
A smug smile crossed her features, despite her situation, and she spat the piece of skin onto the straw-covered floor.
"I wouldn't eat contaminated meat."
With an angry howl, he raised his uninjured hand, and used it to slap her across her face. "Bitch! The only reason I'm not gonna kill you right now is cause you'll suffer more with the damn pigs!"
She watched as he angrilly marched off somewhere behind her, out of her sight.
Roughly twenty minutes later, Clarice heard a loud scream and several gunshots coming from somewhere behind her.
Oh god...please tell me that wasn't him getting his dumb ass shot! Shit!
Craning her neck, she desperately tried to see what was going on, but to no avail. She heard several more gunshots, and it sounded like a struggle was going on. The pigs also sounded a lot louder now....she could hear crashes and impatient grunts echoing round the huge barn. She muttered under her breath. "Oh god...please, no...no..."
If she wasn't tied to the wooden post, she would have jumped through the ceiling at the sound of the rich, metallic voice directly behind her.
"Tsk tsk tsk....Really Clarice..."
She gasped. "Dr. Lecter..."
He moved around to the front of her, reading her expression. A combination of relief, shock, and exhilaration washed over her features. "We always seem to meet under the worst circumstances, don't we, Clarice?"
"Doctor...I...how did you manage to-?"
He smiled. "Must you ask?"
She sighed. "I guess not...Um...are they dead?"
"The two that opposed me, yes. I presume there are more. Excuse me for a moment."
She watched in amazement as he drew his harpy from his pocket and swiftly crossed the barn.
"What was that?!" Mason quickly made his way across the loft to where it overlooked the pig pen. The pigs were going wild over the 3 bloodied messes that he assumed were his lackeys. "Cordell!"
A choked scream from behind him made him quickly spin his wheelchair around. Cordell was clutching at his throat, which was bleeding heavily, as Dr. Lecter smiled grimly at him, before pushing him over the edge of the loft, down to the waiting, hungry beasts.
Mason looked away from the pen, to spare himself the sight, but that didn't block out the sounds.
THUD
GASP
CHOMP
SQUELCH
Mason tried desperately to manouvre himself away from Lecter. However, with two strides, the good doctor was already behind him and making some 'minor adjustments' to the electronic wheelchair. To his horror, Mason found the controls would not work, and he was helpless as he was pushed towards the edge of the loft.
He stared down at the madness beneath him, frozen with fear, as Dr. Lecter leaned down close to his ear, and hissed:
"You know Mason, this makes me glad I didn't choose to feed all of you to the dogs. I prefer this immensely. Ta Ta." With that, he tipped Mason, wheelchair and all, over the edge. His screams of terror and pain echoed in the doctor's ears as he made his way back to his Clarice.
Clarice was squirming against her restraints, trying to break through the thick rope, when Dr. Lecter strode across the barn and stood calmly in front of her, watching her struggle.
She grunted in frustration.
"Patience, Clarice. I will free you shortly. But first, I would like some assurance that if I do, you won't attempt to...arrest me." He spoke the last two words as though he was tired of that idea.
She ceased her struggles and slowly lifted her head to gaze into his eyes. "...You risked yourself to save my life. I can't arrest you. I owe it to you to let you walk this time."
He let out a low chuckle. "Oh Clarice, do you really think that is what I want? To say my goodbyes and then leave you to run back to your little playmates at the F.B.I...? Is that really what you want, Clarice?"
Unable to answer, she turned her head away. Immediently, he took her chin between his fingers and tilted her head back towards him. "Answer me, Clarice." His tone carried no trace of anger, but it was firm.
She sighed, and he took in the sadness in her eyes. "You already know the answer...why ask me?"
He traced the side of her face lightly with his fingertips. "I want to hear you admit it to yourself, Clarice."
"Fine. I don't want to go back to...them. I hate it...I hate what I've become...the position they've put me in..."
He spoke softly, and continued to stroke his hand down her cheek. "You don't have to go back to them, Clarice."
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she angrilly blinked them away. "Going with you isn't an option either! I can't...I can't stay with a wanted criminal! You're a serial killer....a cannibal-"
He cut in "A monster?"
She averted her gaze, unable to face his piercing stare as she spoke the next few words. "You know I can't see you that way....You're not a monster."
"Then what do you see me as, Clarice? How do you feel? Without all those...wonderful...portrayals of us from the National Tattler?"
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "...I love you."
He didn't sound surprised, but she could tell that he was pleased. "Then why does leaving with me concern you so much?"
She kept her eyes closed, and tears began to trickle past her eyelids and down her cheeks. "Because I can't be in a love with a man who's one of America's Ten Most Wanted...you've killed so many people..."
"You repeat those things, as though to convince yourself of the reason why you will not allow yourself to be happy....look at me, Clarice."
She slowly opened her eyes, and he gently wiped away her tears with a white handkerchief he produced from his shirt pocket. "If it is my feelings that worry you...let me assure you...I love you too."
Her eyes shone, through the tears, and also with happiness. Then the joy seemed to fade, as quickly as it appeared. "Even still...if I did go with you..." She began to sob, unable to finish her sentence.
He suddenly saw why she was so concerned. She was afraid that everyone she let herself love would be taken away from her. First her father, then her good friend John Brigham, and then... "You think we will be torn away from each other...and I will be killed."
She nodded, unable to speak.
He smiled. "Clarice, I have managed to evade capture for over a decade...with one of the F.B.I's best agents on the case..." She gave him a weak smile at that point, and he continued. "I doubt they will become any more perceptive all of a sudden...especially with said agent missing in action....And I give you my promise, on my love for you, that I will never allow them to find us."
She smiled at him, and he saw her fears seem to fall away from her instantly.
He returned the smile; a sight that struck fear into the hearts of most people, but only served to heighten the sense of elation Clarice felt at that moment. "Has this changed your previous decision at all, Clarice?"
"Yes....take me with you."
Still smiling, he took lifted his harpy and made short work of her restraints, before taking her into his arms and sharing their first kiss, and the beginning of their new life together. Then, hand in hand, they began to walk out of the barn together. The pigs squealed loudly as they finished their meal, and Dr. Lecter smiled and winked at the woman he loved. "They really should get someone in her to take care of that mess."
She laughed, and pulled his arm around her shoulders, cuddling up to him. She finally felt carefree and happier than she'd ever been in her life, in the blissful silence of the lambs, that could only be brought by one man.
"Hannibal..."
Fin
A/N: I just caught the end of Beauty and the Beast on tv as I was finishing this story, so it probably reflects in the happy ending, lol.