Author's Note: Okay, first of all I'd like to thank Starling-Scully for the review! My first review ever! I'm stoked! Go check out her stories because they are really good (I loved Can I Keep her? by the way!). So that is why I decided to get this done now instead of waiting till tomorrow. Enjoy!

Chapter Two: The Case File

"Quid pro quo..." she said through her teeth.

She didn't know what to do or how to answer. She couldn't tell whether he was mocking her or playing games with her. Doctor Lecter's face was devoid of any emotion. He just stared out of her window into the night. It was almost four in the morning now. She took in a deep breath to steady herself.

"Dr. Lecter, I don't feel like playing games right now. Give me a straight answer; are you or are you not going to discuss this case with me? I know you've already gone over it in that brilliant mind of yours."

Clarice looked braver than she felt. Without her gun, her strength could not match his. Her cell phone was on her side dresser but she was sure he would take it before she even got within a foot of it. Her door was opened to reveal the hall with the staircase at the end. She wondered if she could run past him and try to get out of the house. Her rational mind quickly dismissed this idea. He would catch her. There was no doubt of it. He turned his face slowly to her.

"Quid pro quo, Clarice," he said, "like old times down in the dungeon. I know you have a lot to talk about. Do the lambs scream louder when you've down something wrong? Did they come back in full force when you saw John Brigham's body lying on that foul market's floor? Or what did they do when you put that bullet straight through that officer's heart? You know, the officer in Mason's barn..."

She sighed in defeat. She didn't have a clue how to catch the killer. She needed his help even though she would abhor herself to admit it.

"Go."

He smiled. His eyes glittering in the candle light. He walked over to her chair again and moved it closer to the bed. He settled himself comfortably in it and sat with his fingers together. She felt Doctor Lecter was at his best as a psychiatrist.

"Answer my first question, Clarice," he said softly, "and remember, don't lie or I'll know."

She took a moment to reflect on what he said and then thought of the answer.

"The lambs don't scream louder. They just visit me more frequently. I don't think I'll ever get rid of them."

"And why is that?"

"I don't know. It's your turn, Doctor. Why does the killer tie the ribbons around the victims' wrist?"

"Do you know what white symbolizes, Special Agent Starling? It embodies purity and religion. From what I've read, all the victims were thought to have none. As you think of these crimes as acts of heinous violence, our man thinks of them as acts to further his crusade."

She sat in numb silence. It was a possibility and a damn good theory. Another thought occurred to her also.

"Is that why he pierces them through the heart? To eradicate their own center of warped spirituality or lack thereof?"

"Hmm... You've seem to have forgotten the rules, Clarice. How did you feel when you killed that police officer?"

"Nothing. I felt nothing. I shot him because he wasn't a real cop. He was just a bastard hiding behind a piece of metal."

Doctor Lecter nodded and moved his gaze away from her face. She could tell his expression changed ever so slightly but she couldn't tell what that meant. She stretched her back and curled her legs under. She was becoming stiff from sitting against her wooden headboard.

"Where do you think our killer scouts out the victims?"

"Think of where the world's youth can enjoy themselves without worry and that will lead you down the right path."

He smirked at her. He loved not answering her directly. He could see how it aggravated her. She sat in silence, unconsciously rubbing the outline of her gun powder mark.

"Clubs," she said at last. "He's frequenting the local clubs or bars or any place of that nature. It would be perfect to find those kinds of people. He probably picks them out from all the rest of the kids who are there just to have fun."

She ran a hand through her hair. Her eyes wide and her breathing coming in faster.

"The killer would have to be relatively young or look young to fit in and not be noticed. Probably a man between his late twenties to early thirties."

Suddenly her face fell and she became pensive once more. Something still did not make sense. She looked at Doctor Lecter and knew immediately that he was thinking the same thing. Before she could ask him the question, he interrupted her.

"What did you feel when I kissed you?"

Clarice was taken aback when she heard this. She could feel her face become flushed and avoided his gaze. 'Of all the nerve,' she thought. 'He has to ask me that question.' She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Out of the corner of her, she saw him watching her closely.

"I...I felt angry for a moment...frustrated since I couldn't move to stop you..."

"What else?"

"I felt gratified to know that a man could take an interest in me. I'm not exactly glad to think that a psychopath finds me attractive. Most of the men, well the assholes anyway, refer to me as the ice bitch."

She looked back into his face and saw his eyes moving over her form slowly. She felt naked under his scrutiny. He looked into her eyes again. She saw something stir behind them, some hidden emotion that he wanted her to glimpse.

"They refer to you as the 'ice bitch' only because you won't return their attentions. Rightly so, in my opinion. You deserve someone who will listen to you, not stare at you. Remember, no award nor item of jewelry will show you what you truly are. You need only look into the mirror."

"Thank you, doctor," she said quietly.

Her face looked gaunt in the candle light. Clarice hadn't been sleeping well and it was taking its toll on her body. She suppressed a yawn but Doctor Lecter noticed it.

"When was the last time you slept for a full seven hours, Clarice?" asked Doctor Lecter.

"About three weeks ago. I've been too stressed out about this case and I...I keep dreaming about the lambs."

Something about her pause led him to believe she wasn't telling him the whole truth. Her eyes had flickered ever so slightly from his gaze and back again.

"Would you mind terribly if I reviewed the case file while you slept? I give you my word that I won't kidnap you again. I'll be right here when you awake."

Something about his demeanor made her calm. She nodded and yawned. She didn't feel bothered that he would be in the same room. She felt oddly comfortable and safe. 'Safe? With a serial killer? Starling you are going 'round the bend.' She laid down and covered herself with the comforter. Before she closed her eyes, she saw him move back over to the desk and open the file.

"Good night, Clarice."

"Good night, Doctor."