"From Hell. Well, at least they got the address right."
From Hell: screenplay by Terry Hayes and Rafael Yglesias
HER BURNING HEART
The Story of Lilia
Derevko by JetNoir
Note: The snowy sections of this piece seem to have been inspired by the film adaptations of Stephen King's 'Misery' and 'Storm of the Century', which I'm currently watching. I just wanted to try and get some blizzard conditions in here! And I guess there's a small nod to my own 'Ardeur et Neige'. Now, from a historical point of view, I don't know if such a blizzard occurred during the time-frame, so please accept it as dramatic license. Finally, the majority of this chapter is set during the events of my previous story 'Lessons'. Now I haven't directly transposed anything, but obviously I have to keep it the same, for continuity purposes. So here we are, with the penultimate chapter; which contains strong bloody violence.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN - Ruin
3rd January 1997
Home of Lilia Derevko; Washington, D.C.
"Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?
Send forth your light and your truth,
let them guide me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell."
It was constantly on her mind. Ever since she had read it, it wouldn't leave. Psalm 43. A bible passage.
Lilia Derevko did not believe in a god, as such. In her occasional communications (there had been three) since their meeting two years ago, Dr Lecter had written and shared many things about himself. He wrote of his dead sister, and his believe in a God of irony and malice. But for her, a deity was immaterial, unimportant to her life. If there was such a creature, she was uninterested in making its acquaintance.
So Lilia's reading of religious scriptures was unusual, even for one as interested in literature as her. Snow was falling outside, so heavy it was causing a whiteout. The tiny flakes managed to find their way into everything, be it car engines, or cracks in windows. On the ground was thick ice, and so the snow started to lay. There was very little anyone could do, but wait it out. All residents of D.C. had been advised by the Government to stay at home, unless they needed to travel urgently. The city had effectively shut down. Schools hadn't yet re-opened, for it was still the holidays, and the FBI was operating with only a skeleton staff. So Lilia was taking the opportunity to catch up with a little reading. The heating was blazing fiercely (no power cuts yet, thank goodness), her freezer and fridge (not that she needed them - all she would have to do was to place food outside - was fully stocked, and she was slowly sipping Assam tea, while working through a pile of creaking books, that looked like it would fall over at any second.
"…let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell."
Although she didn't know it, but these passages would remain in her heart, in her soul. And when she began to kill again, when it became impossible not to do so, those words would come back to her.
The majority of the Revenant murders took place in caves within mountains, all near Washington, D.C.
Lilia Derevko didn't believe in a God.
But she could be influenced by one…
--
15th February 1997
Washington, D.C.
It was starting again. Ruin, or something like it, and Lilia Derevko was no longer torn.
She loved life, her own, and that of others. But on this cold day, with snow pouring from the heavens again, she no longer denied herself. She wanted to save as many souls as possible from the damnation called Earth. She would be careful, so not to get caught, and she would protect those others, less fortunate, and enlightened as herself.
It was, too put it mildly, a bad situation.
--
17th February 1997
'Revenant' Crime Scene: Washington, D.C.
At first, it was the D.C.P.D. who were involved in trying to solve the murder. When they started to rack up, in the years to come, they wouldn't be linked, until a student, working on a dissertation, started to link several murders in D.C.; including those of 'K.F.C.'
Clarice Starling mistakenly informed Lilia of her own crimes, in the present day, simply because, she was misinformed herself. The information was not always in the right place.
When the figure was in double-digits, the F.B.I. took an interest, handing it swiftly to Behavioural Science. They had no luck (partly because Lilia handled quite a bit of the forensics, and was able to subtly alter them a little).
Clarice Starling would not be assigned to the case until after the Mason Verger debacle (she was still serving warrants, and working on jump-out squads at this point). By then many would have died: and to think; the case might not have been solved had Lilia Derevko not crossed paths with Hannibal Lecter, by placing Clarice Starling's life in mortal jeopardy.
Woulda. Coulda. Shoulda.
The cruel benefits of hindsight.
--
28th March 1997
Home of Winona Davies; Washington, D.C.
"Auntie Winona?" Lilia's voice was clear, and she poked her nose around the door. The house was in darkness, for it was overcast outside. She flicked a light switch, and the hallway was suddenly illuminated. She moved forwards, cautiously.
"Aunt? Auntie?" Her voice grew more concerned, a flicker of fear coming across, no more than a hint.
Her mind flashed backwards, in panic to that pamphlet she had found so long ago. She raced up the stairs, arms revolving frantically, as she pushed herself along.
She burst into her Aunt's bedroom, and was punished by the sight she had dreaded witnessing for so long.
"Auntie?"
--
Winona Davies had died that night, her body finally succumbing to the cancer that had ravished it. Lilia was utterly bereft, grieving for months. She continued to work, though became deeply withdrawn.
The funeral was a quiet affair, and Lilia's mother came to look after her. Yet, because of her age, and lack of usable skills; she was not able to emigrate, and once her visa ran out, she was forced to return.
Lilia was left alone, to continue her life. She wasn't happy…but then, if you think about, when had she ever been?
Answers on a postcard, please.
--
19th October 1999
J. Edgar Hoover Building, Washington, D.C.
We are two years on, a few months from the new millennium. Safeguards have been put in place to protect the FBI's vast computer network (and VICAP files) from the millennium bug, and Lilia is once again up to her eyeballs in blood.
Wait a second, I actually mean the victim's eyeball in front. Singular, removed from body. All Lilia had to do now was determine which body. That's not as easy as it sounds, as now John or Jane Does had come in for months sans an eyeball. It's actually more common than one might think, so the current lack of eyes was unusual in itself.
It was Noonan who had come to talk to Lilia, Jack Crawford was busy on another case, and so the Assistant Director was filling in the breach. Budget cuts, understand.
"We're worried this might be a case of serial-murder," said Noonan, softly.
"Serial?" said Lilia, incredulous, "I have before me one eye-ball. Not even a whole corpse…and you're already jumping to conclusions."
"But you know, all to well, about the lack of eye-less bodies through."
"Maybe we've been lucky," said Lilia, "though I haven't a clue as to why. Assistant Director, my name would be on this form, not yours. And I'm certainly not going to endorse an investigation based on a lack of evidence. It's irresponsible. My recommendation is to hand this to the Violent Crime Section, Missing Persons. Let's see what they can dig up."
"All right," said Noonan, "but if they find anything…"
"It will be upgraded when and if necessary. Now, I'd better get the DNA running through the computer."
--
As it turned out, Noonan was partly right, and after a break of three months, just at the start of the new year, three heavily decomposed corpses appeared. Behavioural Science quickly caught what was dubbed as the 'Eyeball Killer'. He was swiftly tried for Murder One, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Lilia's evidence was crucial to the verdict.
It was to be a break for her, and suddenly, those in the Bureau who had never heard of her, wanted their evidence to be processed by Lilia. As such, she was soon in heavier demand, but as her friendship continued with Clarice, she always made sure Starling's evidence was never off the top of the list.
She was loyal to her friends.
Yet, that didn't stop her killing.
--
present day - Lilia's Descent and Ruin
Very few people on the planet knew the truth of what happened in those caves. The three sole witnesses are either dead, on the run, or not speaking.
During the period, Lilia was recruited to a taskforce exclusively created for her capture. It comprised of Derevko, Matt Ito, Elias Irons (now deceased), and Clarice Starling.
A visit to Florida occurred, and the legendary Will Graham was consulted. Yet with Lilia contaminating her own crime scenes, she was in a unique position.
Then, when Clarice came to pick her up (from Lilia's house), Lilia assaulted her, and kidnapped her. She took Clarice to the mountains where Angela Gray, Alexander Strife, and many others had perished.
You see, Lilia had only the purest intentions, for she wanted to save Clarice's soul. It was just too much.
And then, before she could kill Clarice, she was confronted by Hannibal Lecter. Dr Lecter had returned to Washington to help Clarice solve the murder. Whether he had any intention of doing so, is unknown, but when the lambs life was in danger, he came running. In their communications, Lilia had told Hannibal about the murders, and he had put two and two together.
The knife fight was short, and brutal. It ended with Hannibal slitting Lilia's throat.
Lilia died with her friend's name on her lips.
Note: This has been a tremendously difficult chapter to write, not only because much of it has focused on another story I've written, and I didn't want to just copy and paste - hence the overview, instead of in details. For those that wish to read more about Lilia's demise, the full sequence is in Chapter Seven of Lessons (for that matter, could you please read the entire story!). Anyway, one chapter left, but before I write that, I'll complete Ardeur et Neige. So I hope you enjoyed it, and please review.
Disclaimer: Hannibal is copyright to Thomas Harris; and the story, plus original characters to me. This story has been written on the understanding that you may read it and print it out; but you may not pass it off as your own, hire it out, or sell it for money. You also may not put it on your own or any other web page (that includes links) without my express written permission. Thankyou!
JetNoir