Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters.
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After Ardelia had alerted the FBI that Crawford's car was missing she wasn't really sure what to do. Her house was painfully quiet. A constant reminder of Clarice's absence.
With nothing left to do Ardelia contented herself with trying to fall into a fitful sleep.
That next morning Ardelia woke up early, around 4:00. Quite surprising actually, she was usually a heavy sleeper.
Ardelia hummed to herself while making coffee and performing her usual morning rituals, trying to kill sometime before 9:00 rolled around.
Finally it was 8:30 and Ardelia was able to leave her uncomfortably quiet house in order to go pick up Crawford from the hospital.
At least this time Ardelia was able to bypass the line in front of the reception desk, she already knew what room he was in.
"Hello, Mr. Crawford." Ardelia said brightly as she walked into the bland hospital room. Jack was sitting in one of the chairs beside the bed that he had just recently vacated, now dressed in his usual clothes.
"Hello, Ardelia. Please call me Jack. We'll working together now, you know. Or have you changed your mind?"
"Oh no. Why do you ask?" Ardelia replied as Jack got up from his chair.
"No reason, just making sure." Jack answered as he followed Ardelia out, down the long lime hospital corridors. After a second, Jack continued.
"Have you ever met Dr. Lecter, Ardelia?"
"Well, not in person. But Clarice often discussed him with me, and I helped her with the Buffalo Bill case. I know what I'm getting myself into, Jack."
"Good."
They arrived at the reception desk where Jack signed himself out of the hospital. Both Jack and Ardelia remained silent until the got to the car. Jack gave Ardelia directions to his house, since he couldn't drive there himself due to his lack of a car. Silence reigned again for a couple of moments before Jack was able to bring himself to ask the question that had been bugging him since they left his hospital room.
"Um...what did Clarice, say to you...about him, about Lecter, I mean."
Ardelia thought for a moment. She and Clarice had spoken a lot about him over the years. However, it mostly concerned his actions, what he did and how to be able to find him. Not really about what she thought about him personally.
Ardelia was about to tell Jack this when she remembered one time when Clarice had spoken about him personally. It had sort of freaked her out at the time but she had forgotten about it until now.
"One time, I remember her telling me that he never lied. And someone who doesn't lie can't be all bad."
Ardelia glanced at Jack as she was driving. He looked strained.
"Jack, what's wrong?" She asked worriedly.
Jack shook his head
"Oh nothing Ardelia."
Ardelia knew he wasn't telling the complete truth but she let it slide. After a couple more minutes they arrived at Jack's house.
It was a large two-story house, with a long front deck. There were two wicker rocking chairs on the side, although they looked unused.
"Would you like to come in. We might as well get started as soon as possible. Although I understand if you need another day to rest." Jack said before he got out of the car.
Ardelia shrugged her shoulders in what she hopped looked like an offhand manner. Inside she was positively ecstatic to be invited into Jack's home. If even on the premise of trying to find Clarice.
"Ok, Jack. Sure you up to it?" Ardelia answered as she followed him up to the door.
"Of course. It'll take more than a concussion to keep from putting Dr. Lecter away." He half-jokingly replied as he unlocked the entrance door.
Ardelia didn't have time to look around much as he led her to his office. But from what she could tell the rest of the house looked warm and inviting, thanks to his late wife, Bella, no doubt.
"Would you like anything, water perhaps?"
Jack asked as he directed Ardelia to sit in a leather chair facing his imposing desk that dominated the room. Unlike the rest of the house, this room looked entirely like Jack. There were dark green walls lined with books and out of place locked file cabinets. There weren't any pictures she noticed.
"No thanks. Ardelia answered after settling herself in the chair."
Jack nodded and walked around to his desk. After fiddling with one of the locked drawers for a second, he lifted out a think volume of papers and files. Then he went to one of his bookshelves and brought out another large book,
Dr. Lecter, the Madness Behind the Monster
An in depth psychological profile of one the World's Worst Serial Killers
By
Dr. Doemling
Ardelia smirked, remembering how much Clarice hated the man after meeting him at Verger's Estate that day.
"You've heard of it, I suppose then?" Jack asked.
"Only from Clarice."
"Well I don't suppose she was the most, unbiased audience. Still, the book is quiet a disappointment. I only request that you read Ch 6, it's mostly historical and will help you understand his reasoning better.
Ardelia only murmured her assent. She really couldn't see what could have happened to Dr. Lecter to make him think that murdering people was an o.k. thing to do.
"O.k. next thing. Do you know this man?" Jack asked as he pulled out a newspaper clipping photo of a tall man with dirty blond hair. He looked angry. His photo was accompanied by the title,
Baltimore Detective Unit, Still Clueless.
It was from the Tattler, Ardelia noticed as well.
"Is this...Will Graham?"
Jack only nodded in assent.
"You know Clarice. The only one who understands Dr. Lecter is Will Graham. If we're going to find them, we are going to need both of you."
Ardelia nodded. But then asked,
"How are we going to find him? Clarice told me that no one knew where he was, that he moved after his wife and her son left him?"
"Yes, that's true. However, we have a certain bond, I suppose. Something that just comes naturally after having worked together for so long. Anyways, we exchange Christmas cards every year. He actually just lives a couple hours away. Would you like to go see him today?"
"Today? Shouldn't we call him or something, beforehand?" Ardelia asked.
"Oh no. With Will it's better if you see him face to face. It's harder for him to refuse that way. Besides, the sooner we start, the sooner we get Clarice back."
"Hmm, that makes sense. Lets go then."
"O.k. Don't forget to take your book. You can read it on the way."
Ardelia nodded and followed him to the garage where Jack's second car was. Ardelia got into the side passenger seat and opened up to Ch 6. Jack started the car and quickly drove away, hoping his old friend could be persuaded.
About half an hour later Ardelia had finished the chapter. Apparently Dr. Lecter's mother and father were shot during the war. Hannibal fled to the woods and survived off the animals there. Once he was found after the war and adopted by his uncle, it was too late. He had already become a hunter. Ardelia wondered how Doemling figured all of this out. It seemed sort of melodramatic to her, but it did explain his cannibalistic tendencies. Ardelia shrugged her shoulders and decided to watch the scenery. Understanding Dr. Lecter was Clarice's thing, not hers.
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"Who is your Lamb, Hannibal?"
When Clarice asked this seemingly simple question, a thousand scenes flashed through his mind. Hannibal looked up to the darkening sky.
"It's best if we stop for now, before it gets too dark."
Clarice nodded, guessing correctly that it's not best to push him.
She followed him off the path, deeper into the woods. Hannibal stopped after a couple of minutes. They had walked to the edge of the woods, after that for a couple yards was plain stone. And after that, a sheer cliff.
Clarice cautiously walked to edge and looked down. If you fell, there wouldn't be any getting up. She also noticed that this position allowed her a perfect view of the long winding road that led into the town of Darcy and beyond. Other than the road and the small town, the view was entirely full of trees.
"Beautiful isn't?"
Hannibal whispered behind her.
Clarice turned, she didn't think Hannibal spent much time appreciating nature.
"Yes, it is."
The sun had completely set. It was getting harder to see anything at all. Clarice followed Hannibal back to their make shift campsite. It consisted of only their two packs and a couple of blankets. They had already decided against a fire, which would be only too easy to see in the dark forrest. They contended themselves with silently eating their tasteless protein bars and sipping their water bottles.
Clarice and Hannibal propped up their packs against a large tree as makeshift pillows. It was funny Clarice thought, that she was more comfortable here, in the middle of nowhere with Hannibal, than she had been anywhere else before. Just as she was drifting off to sleep she heard Hannibal say,
"Her name was Mischa."
She heard him take a ragged breath as she turned around to look at him. She couldn't see anything but his eyes in the darkness.
"She was my sister. We lived in relative happiness for most of my childhood, much like you and your father it seems."
Clarice felt rather than saw the small grin on Hannibal's face as he described the happy time.
"Then one night my family and I relocated to a hidden cottage in the woods. Hoping to be safe there until the end of war. I assume you know the story up to thus far?"
"Yes." Although there were not any definitive answer on what had happened to Hannibal while in the woods, there were many theories. Dr. Doemling's seemed to be the most believed.
"I didn't know you had a sister though."
"Yes, I suppose you wouldn't.. What's the theory now, that I became a wild beast and ate the poor forrest creatures to stay alive?"
"Yea, something like that." Clarice answered chuckling.
"Do you believe that?"
Clarice thought for a moment.
"No, I asked you years ago to fill out that psychological profile so we could better understand what happened to you. You told me that nothing just happens to someone. I know now that you were right. Whatever the truth about your past is, it doesn't define you."
"I would appreciate if you remembered that after I finish telling you about that winter."
Clarice only nodded.
As Clarice listened with wide eyes about Hannibal's past she couldn't help thinking that she probably would have done the same thing if that had happened to her. It made her angry just thinking about the fate that his beloved Mischa had to endure. After Hannibal stopped speaking the silence of the forrest seemed to press upon them.
"The death of your sister wasn't your fault." Clarice whispered when she couldn't bear the silence any longer.
"I never said it was."
"You didn't have to."
Hannibal sighed and blinked back the tears that filled his eyes.
"Thank you for understanding Clarice."
And that was how their night in the woods passed. With Clarice leaning against Hannibal's shoulder. Silently telling him that one day things would be better.
Hannibal had never before told his story to anyone, except his Lady Murasaki, and she had left him. Perhaps, now that Clarice knew and even accepted him, he could learn how to heal. He certainly hoped so as he closed his eyes to welcome sleep.
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