The best Enemies in the World

by Sataï Nad

Disclaimer : The characters are not mine. They belong to Thomas Harris. I just borrowed them. No copyright infringement is intended.

*******

Chapter 4: The Lure

Clarice Starling was upset. The Miami plane was delayed. Sat in a corner of the waiting room, sunglasses dissimulating her eyes and a cap on her head, she tried to go unnoticed while reading the news. Even a week after the official anounce of her resignation, the newspapers keep on speaking about "the affair". Since the information had been published, the reporters hadn't not stopped badgering her to obtain an interview. Clarice Starling had stayed shut up at home, avoiding coming out. She stopped answering on the phone. She stopped reading her mail too. She changed her e-mail address twice. Jack Crawford and Ardelia, her friend from the Academy called her. They both worried for her. She never called them back.

She was pretty busy before her departure. She rented a villa under a false identity and prepared her journey to Florida. She was exhausted after weeks of media pressure and personal stress. She also knew that she wouldn't have the leisure to rest. To be in this state of mind was part of the mission. The more they would believe her desperate, the more they would be interested in her. A lure, this is what you became once more, she thought bitterly. A lure ready to be sacrificed without regrets. From the very beginning she had accepted the risks of her job. She had lost colleagues, sometimes friends during missions. She knew she could have been killed. She already had been wounded twice in shootings. But never had she been misconsidered. She knew that this mission was risky and that her chances of success were poor. She questionned her superiors and herself : was she ready for a reinstatement at any price ? She seriously doubted her own motivations. The Miami plane finally took off. Starling decided to empty her mind and sank in a deep sleep without dreams.

*******

The villa was vast. Starling had chosen it for its isolated place. She quietly visited the house and set up at the ground floor in a large room that opened onto the swimming pool. Then she went to the garage and looked at the land cruiser at her disposal. In the park, she entered the small shelter where the keepers stored their hardware. She came out a few moments later handing a toolbox. Clarice came in the villa and went up to the bathroom on the first floor. She opened the trap door of the tub. She lit the flashlight she had taken in the kitchen and found the briefcase. She closed the trap door and went to the living room where she made the inventory of the case's contents. Inside she found a passport and a driving licence under a false identity, a protected mobile phone with its battery, a loaded gun provided with a silencer and some bullets, and finaly, a digital decoder. There was also a large envelope she already knew the contents. Nevertheless she opened it. She was handing a photograph of a mature man, around 50, large and slender, surrounded by bodyguards. Her targuet. A complete file on this individual was enclosed too. Starling put the papers back and closed the envelope. Inside the pocket of the case she found the small key she was looking for and some numbers engraved on a plastic card. She kept the key and the card with her, charged the telephone battery then locked the briefcase in the safe hidden in the room. Five minutes later, she came out and drove to downtown.

Starling did some shopping to fill her refrigerator with food, went to a bookshop where she bought some books and some music cds, then she finally entered the HSBC Bank. An employee led her to the strongroom. She located the safe and opened it. The young woman found forty thousand dollars in small notes. She took all the money. Before going out, she signed the register with her assumed name and left the bank. A man watched her leaving and went after her. She didn't notice him.

*******

Clarice Starling came out on the terrace to benefit from the mildness of this evening and to see the stars twinkling. It's been five days now. She had spent her time to plan her mission. Focused on her role, she had emptied her mind from the recent events and had run every morning on the beach where she finaly saw him. He wasn't very reserved. She knew he wasn't a man with the F.B.I. But it was a sign. The people concerned with her future would contact her soon. And her show will start on…

Clarice was lost in the contemplation of the starry dark sky. Inevitably, she conjured up a mental picture of Hannibal Lecter. Where are you, Doctor? I hope we have some stars in common as you told me once. The feeling of loss returned, sharpier than ever and a sudden melancholy seized her. She shivered and briefly closed her eyes. No more think of him. Anyway, she certainly would not see him again. Not after the letter that sounded like a good-bye in her mind. She shook herself up. Ridiculous… I'm ridiculous. She left the terrace and went to lie down.

=====  At the same moment, somewhere in Havana  =====

Like a statue, a man was standing in the shadow on a balcony. Smoking a cigar, he silently observed the sea. For attentive watchers, this solitary figure in the night seems to wait for someone or something. A woman, some would have said. An answer, others would have advanced. No, the massive and stylish man was watching for a sign : a call for help. This evening, his formidable instinct as a hunter had whispered something to him. He closed his eyes, relaxed and emptied his mind. Briefly, he saw a young woman standing up alone in the dark, her white nightdress reflecting the light of the Moon. As quickly as it appeared, the vision disappeared, but stayed engraved in one of the richest room of his memory palace, associated with a feeling he immediately put a name on: self-mockery. As if the young woman told herself : I'm ridiculous. He was surprised and focused. But he wasn't mistaken. He smiled. No, Clarice, you're not. He seemed that the young woman didn't need his assistance. He hadn't felt insecurity or distress. It surprised and reassured him at the same time. He threw a last glance to the stars and addressed them a silent prayer. Sweet dreams, my beautiful Clarice. Then he left the balcony and disappeared.

*******

Clarice focused on her breathing. She was running for twenty minutes on a regular rhythm at a good pace. She met others runners, but little overtook her. She felt her form coming back and already got an immense satisfaction from it. Running had always allowed her to go back to her roots and to the essentials as in this moment, to breathe in and out, to feed the muscles with oxygen, to stretch herself to her limits and to control her heart beats. She suddenly was aware that two men were following her. They were running easily behind her and maintained a short distance. She felt some irritation due to their presence. She tried to ignore them and kept on running along the beach. She finaly took a path in the dunes and the two men followed close on her heels. The irritation was replaced with worrying but she kept on running and accelerating the rhythm. However she did not outdistance them. Starling knew that she could not continue a long time at this rate so she finally decided to slow down. The men slowed down too and remained behind her. She took the road that taked her home. A real concern succeeded her faintness when a limo started to go to her side at the same speed as her. Clarice was standing five meters from it but did not manage to see the faces of the occupants through the opaque windows. She noticed her two pursuers in her neck escorting her. She sent them a glance and both returned impassively her look behind their dark sunglasses. Oh – oh, thought Clarice. Slowly, the rear window of the vehicle went down.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" said someone.

Clarice tried to ignore the man and kept on running.

"Please... stop, you're exhausting me... I have to talk to you, Miss Starling", he added.

Clarice stopped as well as the two men. The vehicle braked.

"My name's Gallagher, not Starling."

"Oh, come on..."

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I will answer this question soon, but please get in the car."

Starling hesitated. She looked at her escorts who made a short step towards her.

"We're not going to harm you, I promise. I just want to have a chat with you."

The door opened up and she reluctantly got into the car.

The limo was fresh thanks to air-conditionning. The chauffeur drove off.

"Where do you take me along?" she asked

"We will make a short drive, then we will bring you home. Meanwhile, I'm getting to know you better".

"What do you want from me?"

"What an impatient young woman you are ! Do you want something to drink ? some fresh water? fresh fruit juice? "

The tone of the man was inviting. Clarice was surprised. She accepted some water. While drinking, she took the opportunity to observe his companion. He seemed to be around forty but was certainly more. His face was tanned as if he had spent the whole year in the sun. Ironically, he was clothed like those mobsters in the movies. The outfit was complete: the watch set with diamonds, the gold ring and the gold chain bracelet, the carefully manucured hands, the perfectly black tailored suit, the expensive pink shirt, the Italian shining shoes. This guy exuded laundering.

"Now, let me explain what brings me around. My name is Tony Benedetti. I'm working for an organization which would like to use your services, Miss Starling. We know your present difficulties and we know that you look for an employer. "

" Really? " she ironised.

" Yes. "

" And you have something to offer me? "

" That depends. Our contact in Washington took some information on you. He discovered interesting facts the newspapers didn't talk about. For example, Mr. Krendler was your associate... "

She tensed. " Who told you this? "

" Quite an informed and reliable source... Why the FBI has willingly hushed this information up? "

Starling looked through the window hidding an inner satisfaction. As envisaged, the lies gathered against her by the Bureau had circulated and achieved their goals. It was her game to play.

" Corrupted agents are a bad publicity for the Bureau that doesn't want to wash its dirty linen in public..."

Amused, Benedetti shook his head and smiled. "We found out traces of the transfer Mason Verger made on your benefit. A million dollars to attract ` Hannibal the Cannibale', it's a lot of money! "

" I took a lot of risks. Doctor Lecter is not an ordinary criminal. He's very clever and unpredictable "

" Why did you go to the farm?"

" I wanted to see this bastard dead. "

Benedetti took a cigar and lit it. Slowly, he blew some smoke towards Clarice.

"So it was personal. What did he do to you? "

" He manipulated me like his victims. He's a pervert who consumes you for his own pleasure. This monster doesn't deserve to live. Believe me: you don't want Hannibal Lecter in your head "

" It was also personal for Evelda Drumgo? "

" No, it was different. She didn't leave me the choice."

" She had a baby in her arms. "

" I acted automatically. If I had to do it again, I will do it again. Without hesitation "

" You could cold-bloodedly shot on a unarmed person? "

" Lord... Listen, I do not know where you want this conversation to go but it's becoming particularly unpleasant. Or you tell me what you are awaiting from me or I'm going away right now..."

" Calm down... I just want to know if you have the necessary skills for the job "

" Which are? "

" Patience, I still have some questions... What really happened to you at the farm? "

" Doctor Lecter succeeded in escaping while taking me as a hostage. He was using me like a human shield. I was wounded. He took me along to Paul Krendler's house close to the lake. During all that time, I was unconscious. When I woke up, he already killed Paul and was about to do the same with me. I succeeded in alerting the police force and I defended myself. He fled when the cops arrived "

" Verger's physician gave another version of the facts. "

" Cordell lied. He was working for Mason Verger and paid by him. He agreed to give the authorities the same version as mine. "

" Unfortunately, there was the discovery of this bank account in your name. "

" Yes "

" Without that detail, you wouldn't have been troubled... Isn't this business unfair? You did only your job after all. Such a waste. "

" What do you suggest, Mr Benedetti? "

" I want you to work for my employer, Mr Andrew Palmer. Do you know him? "

" His name is often quoted in the financial newspapers "

"His reputation always preceded him. In the eighties, he made his fortune as a golden boy. In the nineties, he became a company's rescuer. Mr. Palmer is in big business. His activities are very diversified. He made ennemies for himself because his financial arrangements are regarded as limit by many."

" These " arrangements " as you call them led him more than once in front of the courts for fraud, Mr Benedetti. "

"Andrew Palmer has done nothing illegal: he simply benefits from the freedom of the legislative fields. Besides, concerning the legal proceedings you're refering to, he was recognized innocent."

"Thanks to his lawyers," she added.

Tony Benedetti gave her a smile and leaned towards her "I owe you a confidence: Mr Palmer pays me very well to defend his interests. As is the case with you, if you agree to work for him."

" Go ahead. "

" We need someone to rely on, a methodical and organized person who can collect first hand informations. You are stubborn and you know how to use your brain. You have all the necessary qualities for this job "

" What kind of information do you need? "

" Private and confidential informations, of course. True stakes are only on this ground. You will have means at your disposal and a great freedom of actions. It is up to you to use them with efficiency. "

" Ok. What else? "

" You will work for me directly. You will never have to mention Mr Palmer's name. The golden rule is confidence and discretion. Is that clear ?"

"Yes."

"What do you think?"

"It's enticing."

"Of course it is. It's an opportunity you have to grasp. "

Clarice shake her head. " How much? "

" Two thousand dollars per week for a start. Then, according to the information value, you will be granted bonus"

" Ok, and I want an apartment and a car in my name."

" I was going to offer them, " he said with a smile.

" A bank account abroad in some tax-free banana republic."

"Consider it done. Well ?…"

"OK."

"Then we have a deal. Very well, Miss Starling." He shook her hand. " You will not regret it."

Smiling back at Benedetti, she settled down comfortably in the leather seat while he phoned to her new boss. She was relieved: her examination was a complete success.

To Be continued.