They forever belong to Thomas Harris, and I'm forever having fun writing about them.
Thanks to all of you who continue to follow this fiction. You certainly inspire me to go on and I love you all.
Chapter 10
On the Run Again
One of the two men was pointing his gun at Hannibal Lecter at a prudent distance of about 10 feet, the other stood about 3 feet from his partner, looking nonchalant and slightly bored.
The man with the gun addressed her as soon as she entered the room
"Do what we say or I blow Grandpa's head off." He waved the gun pointed at Lecter, "Hand over the baby, lady, and nobody gets hurt."
"Give him the baby Sweetheart, well be alright," said the doctor in is best cantankerous voice.
"Please don't hurt him," Clarice pleaded, making a motion as if to hand over the baby, while she fired two shots with her right hand with such proficiency that she seemed to hit both men on the forehead simultaneously, causing the back of their heads to explode creating a grisly mess.
She turned to Hannibal,
"Sorry for the mess, I thought they might be wearing bulletproof vests. The head is always a sure hit. Do you think the noise could have damaged the babies hearing?"
"Not permanently, Clarice. Especially since his head was an arm length away from the gun when you fired.
Don't worry about the mess, we'll be leaving here shortly, we can leave the mess behind."
She appeared to examine what he said and then questioned him.
"Wouldn't that blow the identity you used to rent the house. When they find them here, in a house full of both our fingerprints?"
"So far we have nothing to worry" he didn't hide the satisfaction he derived from his own foresight and his pleasure at her lack of hesitation to shoot the intruders.
"I have at least 20 driver licenses that stand up to realtors or car salesman background checks. I used a different one for each rental, in anticipation of sticky situations such as this one.
While is true we are going to leave the mess here, is best to load their bodies back in their cars, drive it some about 10 miles and abandon it on the side of a road. That will buy us a more time, because, unless they search every single residence within a 10 miles radius is unlikely that the mess here will be discovered for a few month. By then we'll be far and gone."
She looked at him admiringly,
"If it wasn't for your planning skills, both Adam and I would be long dead. You are amazing, you know?"
"Thank you, Clarice, is good to see you finally noticed," he winked and bowed in jest, then switched to a more sober, while he methodically checked the pockets of each of the men for ID.
"Before we start loading the truck, you might want to go out and check their car to determine what tools they used to locate us and see if you can find their affiliation and identity, being that neither carried ID.
I'm not going to insult you asking if you are comfortable going out there by yourself. I never saw you in action before, Clarice, you were magnificent."
She rewarded his words with a wry but warm smile.
"Somehow I get the feeling that I might be forced to treat you other similarly magnificent performances before we finally manage to leave the country, I hope is not necessary, but I wouldn't hesitate repeat this performance, if it comes to that." She looked briefly at her feet, then raised her head again and looked at him on the eyes.
"I wonder if you are disappointed by the crude display of my killer instinct, by my lack of hesitation to readily cut down lives. I could have just disabled them, you know?"
He looked at her silently for a full second or so, his eyes were warm on hers and, when he finally spoke, there was a sly hint of affectionate sarcasm on his tone.
"Disabled them and then what?" he shook his head almost imperceptibly "You are a warrior Clarice, that's what you've always been; and warriors kill the enemy without hesitation" his naturally dark maroon eyes had turned almost light when he went on. "Disappoint me? No! on the contrary, I'm extremely proud of your reactions."
She still had her own demos to fight against, so she plunged ahead.
"What about the incorruptibility on the mirror?" she grimaced.
"What about it? What part of defending you life and that of your family can be labeled corrupt? Getting rid of the bad guys is what you have been doing all along, Clarice."
She was drinking his words; her eyes brimmed with tears, delving inside his.
"I'm beginning to suspect that on your own way, so have you...."
oooooooooooooooooo
During the hour that followed, the gathered all their belongings and loaded the Expedition; then, together they put the bodies of the two assassins in the trunk of their car, and Clarice drove the car with the two bodies, while the Doctor and Adam followed her close behind in the Expedition, when they were about 10 miles from the house she parked it on a paved rural side street; then jumped back on the waiting Expedition and they were on their way.
They had worked mostly in silence during the hour long preparations, trying to make the best possible use of time.
Once in the Expedition, Clarice leaned back on her seat, closed her eyes and sighed.
"Where is this new house of ours?" she finally asked, once they were well on their way. She sounded remarkably calm.
"Outside of Newark, Ohio, a two story house nested in the middle of an approximately 30 acres of property, all fenced around the perimeter, there are plenty of trees for privacy; the pictures looked very nice, beautiful grounds with a stream, a great patio/deck a hot tub."
"Pictures, you have pictures?" she shook her head in amazement.
"Not with me, you never know in whose hands they might fall and destroy all your plans. But I wouldn't have rented a property without seeing pictures first. Anyway, I paid the Realtor extra so he could have a cleaning service perform an extra thorough cleaning before he sent me the keys."
"He doesn't know we are coming, though." Clarice commented, and no soon she said it, she knew that he had probably made provisions for every possible contingency."
The Doctor shrugged
"For all he knows we are already there. He is NOT supposed to show up. The phone has been connected and there is Satellite TV, all properly paid for in advance. We can call him in the morning and tell him we were a little delayed and just arrived, just in case he has been snooping around."
She snorted, "Why am I not surprised?... How far a drive is it?"
From the corner of his eyes, the doctor looked at the GPS on a bracket below the car radio.
"A little under six hours." He glanced at the clock, "counting to stop twice on the road for coffee and to tend to the baby, we should be in the house by 4AM...not bad."
"Would you like me to do some of the driving?"
"That won't be necessary, Clarice. I like to drive, it gives me an exhilarating sense of freedom."
She reached out and placed one hand gently on his right forearm.
"You are an amazing man, Hannibal Lecter."
The doctor silently reached out for her hand with his left and squeezed it.
ooooooooooooooooooooo
When they finally arrived it was almost dawn. The house, fully equipped with several decorative dusk to dawn lamps, literally shone like a jewel inside a fine case; a comfortable and welcoming sight for both Hannibal and Clarice who were admittedly tired, and left most of the unpacking for later; except for sheets, towels and the bare minimum to spend the night and cover the most immediate needs of the baby. By 5AM everyone was asleep.
The baby slept in Clarice's room, and when she heard him fidget, she reached out, placing one hand in the basinet, Adam immediately got hold of one of her fingers and seemed quite content until Clarice gathered the energy to get up, change him, and place him in the infant seat, then they quietly made their way downstairs and to the kitchen to heat up his bottle.
Clarice assumed that Hannibal was still asleep, probably exhausted after the long drive.
They had brought their belonging into the kitchen the night before, so she had not difficulty finding them.
While she waited for the bottle to heat up, she surveyed the kitchen, it was huge, with a large center island with a built in range, and two wall ovens on the wall behind it. She smiled, thinking how it would please him to cook here.
French doors opened onto a huge deck that lead down to a patio.
The whole setup was so appealing that she decided to feed Adam out on the deck, so up they went again, to pick up a light blanket to cover him while he ate.
While she was going up the stairs, carrying the infant seat by the handle, Clarice seemed to believe she heard the engine of the Expedition and thought maybe Hannibal had gotten up and was bringing the car around to ease the off loading the rest of their possessions.
Upon entering the kitchen again she found Dr. Lecter there, surrounded by grocery bags and going out to the truck to fetch more.
"You went out without me?" her tone was not amused.
"Well, we needed food and you were sleeping...I thought I would make it back befo..."
Clarice interrupted him unceremoniously, while she put the infant seat on the floor, it was clear that she was downright pissed.
"I guess, at times, intelligence and sensibility don't go hand in hand" she seethed. "I asked you not to leave me alone...I asked you, dammit!"
"Clarice," he started, his tone simultaneously contrite and perplexed.
She made a rejecting gesture with her hand as if to hold him at bay, then covered her mouth and started to cry.
Once the tears started it was as if an inner wall crumbled and all her fears and frustrations and regrets just rolled out of her like a massive tidal wave. Her entire frame shook violently, while she appeared barely able to catch her breath, heaving in despair.
The doctor placed a tentative arm around her and when she didn't push him away, went on to hold her gently against him in an effort to show both support and regret for his alleged thoughtlessness.
Clarice cried against his shoulder for some time, then slowly calmed down, extricated herself from his embrace and stepped back so that their faces were only inches away. Her eyes were red and swollen.
"This is really the only thing I ask from you, PLEASE, for the time being, don't leave me. Much less without so much as a note." She had to catch her breath, "I know I'm being unreasonable, and will get over this, but right now, please humor me."
He raised his hands in apology.
"I'm sorry, Clarice...I'm truly sorry. I shouldn't have gone out. Even when I thought that I'd be back before you woke. It was both careless and insensitive of me. And I'm sorry."
As he expected, the admission of his transgression and the apology defused her entirely. "What do you say to an apologetic Hannibal Lecter?" she thought and decided to drop it.
"I think I lost one of my contacts"
"Lets look for it"
"No Hannibal, lets not, I was ready to toss this pair. I just picked up a refill of my prescription and the box with 6 pairs is still in my handbag."
"That hand bag of yours is like small department store."
She chuckled.
"I think I'm going to treat you to the sight of Clarice wearing glasses, only a few can claim such privilege but I want to try that look on you if just for an hour or so. I'll feed the baby first."
"Wearing just one contact?"
"I only need one eye to feed him." She teased.
When Adam finished the bottle, the doctor took him from Clarice.
"I'll burp him and then make breakfast while you shower."
oooooooooooooooooooo
When Clarice returned to kitchen, greeted by the tempting smell of bacon and coffee; she quietly poured herself a cup of fresh coffee and offered to pour one for the Doctor.
"No thank you, Clarice, I'll wait until I sit down for breakfast." He was scrambling eggs with his back to her and didn't turn.
"OK then," she said with a cheerful voice.
The doctor, in the meantime, removed a cookie sheet from the oven where he had cooked the bacon, and arranged several strips on each plate. He then plated the eggs and garnished them with a sprig of parsley, clearly enjoying the whole procedure.
With a plate in each hand, he turned to approach the table, and as Clarice had expected, he froze in place, then he blinked repeatedly and made a double take, Clarice burst out laughing.
He smiled, both disconcerted and downright delighted.
"This is amazing!...downright extraordinary...It changes you completely. I had no idea..."
"Nobody does!...not even Ardelia, and she was my room mate for years." She chucked, " I wear my contacts 24/7 for a month at a time. I had this done in regular glass, instead of highindex or asphric because I thought that if I needed to change my appearance they would do the trick. The prescription is not that strong but the quality of the glass makes them look like coke bottom glasses."
"You can change your whole appearance just by taking of your contacts and putting on those!"
"I never wear them, but after I picked up Adam, I put them in my handbag, just in case I wanted to go unrecognized" She paused, "ugly, ah?"
"You are still beautiful, Clarice. They look heavy."
"They are, and I hate them. I just wanted you to confirm that they will help change my looks when we need it"
"They are perfect to travel in disguise, that and the short ash blond wig I bought you before I picked you up at the cottage and never gave you, will render you totally unrecognizable."
As in second thought he added,
"If you want, after we unpack and get settled, we could go to Newark and open a mail box at the UPS Store there, and you might want to do some shopping, or check the neighborhood, what do you say?"
"I say we have a deal!"
oooooooooooooooooooo
OK, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As you probably suspect, there are more thrills and adventures ahead for this budding family. So hang on tight
Let me know if I'm still like the way this is going.
More to come