Chapter 7: Partners
The next morning was overcast, drizzly, and cold. Clarice clutched her knee length leather jacket around her small frame tightly and bent her head down to keep the drizzle out of her eyes as she trudged from the parking lot to the FBI building. She was late this morning, having uncharacteristically overslept, and that had already put her in a sour mood. Then the morning commute into the city had been horrendous; there had been several auto accidents due to the slick roads and that had made her even later. Of all the mornings to be late, this was not a good one. Clarice had no doubt that her boss Kendra would be on the warpath after Clarice had defied her orders yesterday and gone to see Graham.
'Dammit,' she thought. 'Why do people have to drive like assholes when it rains? I swear, I can't believe I'm this damn late. Kendra's gonna...'
"Agent Starling?" a voice from behind interrupted her thoughts.
Clarice whirled around, shielded her eyes against the light rain, and looked up into the face of Will Graham. She was stunned by his initial physical transformation; his hair was cut short, he wore a white shirt and tie, albeit they could use ironing, he had obviously showered because he was pleasant smelling, and he was clean shaven, although Clarice noted amusedly about six nicks on his cheeks and chin as if he were out of practice. Then she suddenly realized how relieved she was to see him.
"I'm glad I caught you before you went in," he smiled slightly and pulled at his tie a little self-consciously.
"Agent Graham," Clarice smiled. "Thank you so much. You don't know how much your assistance on this case will mean to me."
Will shook his head. "Don't thank me, I haven't done anything."
"You showed up this morning," Clarice replied. "That is something. I will probably never know the courage it took for you to come here."
Will shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets, looking embarrassed. "Speaking of courage," he replied and glanced up at the towering FBI building. "I'm not quite ready to venture back into that building yet." He paused. "Too many memories; good and bad."
"I understand," Clarice said softly and ran a hand through her hair. "Ich, we're getting all wet. Come on let's get out of the rain. We'll get some coffee or something and compare notes."
Will nodded and followed Clarice to her car.
In one of the corner diners in downtown D.C., the waitress showed them to their booth. She laid their menus down on the table as Will and Clarice removed their jackets and sat down.
"Can I get you two some coffee?" She asked.
Clarice nodded. "Yes please. Black."
"Just water for me please," Will replied.
The waitress nodded and walked away. Will placed the Hannibal Lecter case file on the table and slid it toward Clarice while she wringed some water out of her hair and then shook it out. Will watched her for a moment before closing his eyes. He put his head in his hands, and rubbed his temples. He felt as if there were a jackhammer in his head. As he did so, Clarice noticed a slight tremor in his hands and wondered for the umpteenth time in the last day about his reliability given his addictions. Will opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Agent Starling," he began.
"Please, call me Clarice."
He nodded. "Clarice, before we explore the parameters of our professional relationship, I have to say something. If you can look me in the eye and tell me honestly that you want my help, then I am willing to help you track down and incarcerate Dr. Lecter," Will said.
Clarice looked at him. "Please, Will. I need your help. I really do."
Will nodded grimly. "Okay, partner." He paused. He hated the idea of saying these next words to her but he knew he must. "But before I can help you, I need you to help me."
"What is it?" Clarice asked, afraid of what he might actually need her help in doing.
Will sighed heavily and habitually ran a hand through his hair to remove it from his face but because of its short length, this motion was unnecessary. "As you must undoubtedly know, I am an addict....." he began.
At that moment, the waitress placed their drinks on the table and eyed Will, having overheard his last statement. She pulled out her order pad. "What can I get for you two?"
"Nothing," Will snapped at her and put his head in his hands again.
The waitress furrowed her brow and looked at him, irritated by his sharp tone of voice.
"I'm sorry," Clarice smiled at her. "We're fine for now. Thank you."
The waitress nodded at her and moved away to wait on her other tables. Will looked at Clarice, attempting to stifle the throbbing from behind his eyes. He needed to get through this quickly before he lost it.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I feel like shit. I haven't had my pills today," he managed a wry grin. "Anyway, as I was saying, I am an addict. I am addicted to Percocet and alcohol and before I can help you fully on this case, I've got to get clean. I need your help to do that."
Clarice sipped her coffee and nodded her head. "That's not a problem. I'll make a few calls and we'll get you into an excellent rehab center. You won't have to pay a dime for that of course, the FBI will cover the expense..." she trailed off as she noticed Will shaking his head.
"There isn't time for that Clarice," he muttered. "Rehab takes at least a month, usually longer for Percocet addiction, and this case can't afford that kind of time." He paused. "If my hunch is correct, then YOU can't afford that kind of time."
"What hunch?" Clarice asked, dreading his answer.
Will grinned at her again. Despite his misgivings, he was enjoying putting his brain to work again. "Our Good Doctor is much closer than you seem to believe. I think he's close, very close, probably has a home on the east coast somewhere. From what I read in the notes he has been sending to you, his latest correspondence seems to carry an air of desperate longing, an urgency if you will, and I think he's making plans to confront you. I have no idea what the confrontation would result in, but in any case, we need to locate him before he can contact you. We need the upper hand, the element of surprise. My spending over a month in rehab would cause us to lose that surprise, I'm sure of it. We need something faster."
Clarice stared at him in stunned silence. He had only had the case file for one night and already he had developed a theory that neither she nor anyone else had even considered. 'Imagine what we could accomplish with him clean and sober,' she thought. 'And if his theory is correct, my God. He's right, I've got to find Lecter before he finds me. And I cannot do that alone.' "Alright Will," she looked at him levelly. "If you don't think rehab is the answer, what do you propose?"
To be continued! Please review!
Author's Note: I apologize I know this chapter is short. Before I can continue, I need some information that I'm having trouble locating so the next chapter may be awhile in coming. That's why I stopped here. See ya next time!
Steel: LOL, I agree with you about Crawford, too bad he died!! Otherwise he would be in for some 'fun' in my story! Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Kurt: Thanks for your review, the 'Dr. Lecter as well Dr. Lecter' part had me laughing! Thanks again.
Shattered Mug: As always, I love your review! And I'm sorry for your wait! Thanks for your continued reading and support.
Nan: Thank you for reading and reviewing. Your review was very poetic and I enjoyed it very much. Thank you.
Luna: LOL to your sniffling doc! I know, I know, you're all hyped for Clarice and him to get together. But see, this is where I have my fun! I get to torture you all!! Thanks for reading and reviewing.
LadyOfTruths: LMAO to your review! I agree completely with both of you, but Crawford's dead. Unless I just resurrect him somehow! Anyway, thanks so much for your review.
Schrander: Thank you so much for your kind review. I'm so glad people are enjoying this story. Thanks again.
Screaming Lamb: Thank you! I loved your review. I'm glad you enjoyed my Quebec mention! And although I am biased, I agree with you that this is one of the best Will Graham fics!! But in the movie the character is played by one of my favorite actors so how could I not like him and attempt to write him well?!! Anyway, thanks again for reading and reviewing.
The next morning was overcast, drizzly, and cold. Clarice clutched her knee length leather jacket around her small frame tightly and bent her head down to keep the drizzle out of her eyes as she trudged from the parking lot to the FBI building. She was late this morning, having uncharacteristically overslept, and that had already put her in a sour mood. Then the morning commute into the city had been horrendous; there had been several auto accidents due to the slick roads and that had made her even later. Of all the mornings to be late, this was not a good one. Clarice had no doubt that her boss Kendra would be on the warpath after Clarice had defied her orders yesterday and gone to see Graham.
'Dammit,' she thought. 'Why do people have to drive like assholes when it rains? I swear, I can't believe I'm this damn late. Kendra's gonna...'
"Agent Starling?" a voice from behind interrupted her thoughts.
Clarice whirled around, shielded her eyes against the light rain, and looked up into the face of Will Graham. She was stunned by his initial physical transformation; his hair was cut short, he wore a white shirt and tie, albeit they could use ironing, he had obviously showered because he was pleasant smelling, and he was clean shaven, although Clarice noted amusedly about six nicks on his cheeks and chin as if he were out of practice. Then she suddenly realized how relieved she was to see him.
"I'm glad I caught you before you went in," he smiled slightly and pulled at his tie a little self-consciously.
"Agent Graham," Clarice smiled. "Thank you so much. You don't know how much your assistance on this case will mean to me."
Will shook his head. "Don't thank me, I haven't done anything."
"You showed up this morning," Clarice replied. "That is something. I will probably never know the courage it took for you to come here."
Will shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets, looking embarrassed. "Speaking of courage," he replied and glanced up at the towering FBI building. "I'm not quite ready to venture back into that building yet." He paused. "Too many memories; good and bad."
"I understand," Clarice said softly and ran a hand through her hair. "Ich, we're getting all wet. Come on let's get out of the rain. We'll get some coffee or something and compare notes."
Will nodded and followed Clarice to her car.
In one of the corner diners in downtown D.C., the waitress showed them to their booth. She laid their menus down on the table as Will and Clarice removed their jackets and sat down.
"Can I get you two some coffee?" She asked.
Clarice nodded. "Yes please. Black."
"Just water for me please," Will replied.
The waitress nodded and walked away. Will placed the Hannibal Lecter case file on the table and slid it toward Clarice while she wringed some water out of her hair and then shook it out. Will watched her for a moment before closing his eyes. He put his head in his hands, and rubbed his temples. He felt as if there were a jackhammer in his head. As he did so, Clarice noticed a slight tremor in his hands and wondered for the umpteenth time in the last day about his reliability given his addictions. Will opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Agent Starling," he began.
"Please, call me Clarice."
He nodded. "Clarice, before we explore the parameters of our professional relationship, I have to say something. If you can look me in the eye and tell me honestly that you want my help, then I am willing to help you track down and incarcerate Dr. Lecter," Will said.
Clarice looked at him. "Please, Will. I need your help. I really do."
Will nodded grimly. "Okay, partner." He paused. He hated the idea of saying these next words to her but he knew he must. "But before I can help you, I need you to help me."
"What is it?" Clarice asked, afraid of what he might actually need her help in doing.
Will sighed heavily and habitually ran a hand through his hair to remove it from his face but because of its short length, this motion was unnecessary. "As you must undoubtedly know, I am an addict....." he began.
At that moment, the waitress placed their drinks on the table and eyed Will, having overheard his last statement. She pulled out her order pad. "What can I get for you two?"
"Nothing," Will snapped at her and put his head in his hands again.
The waitress furrowed her brow and looked at him, irritated by his sharp tone of voice.
"I'm sorry," Clarice smiled at her. "We're fine for now. Thank you."
The waitress nodded at her and moved away to wait on her other tables. Will looked at Clarice, attempting to stifle the throbbing from behind his eyes. He needed to get through this quickly before he lost it.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I feel like shit. I haven't had my pills today," he managed a wry grin. "Anyway, as I was saying, I am an addict. I am addicted to Percocet and alcohol and before I can help you fully on this case, I've got to get clean. I need your help to do that."
Clarice sipped her coffee and nodded her head. "That's not a problem. I'll make a few calls and we'll get you into an excellent rehab center. You won't have to pay a dime for that of course, the FBI will cover the expense..." she trailed off as she noticed Will shaking his head.
"There isn't time for that Clarice," he muttered. "Rehab takes at least a month, usually longer for Percocet addiction, and this case can't afford that kind of time." He paused. "If my hunch is correct, then YOU can't afford that kind of time."
"What hunch?" Clarice asked, dreading his answer.
Will grinned at her again. Despite his misgivings, he was enjoying putting his brain to work again. "Our Good Doctor is much closer than you seem to believe. I think he's close, very close, probably has a home on the east coast somewhere. From what I read in the notes he has been sending to you, his latest correspondence seems to carry an air of desperate longing, an urgency if you will, and I think he's making plans to confront you. I have no idea what the confrontation would result in, but in any case, we need to locate him before he can contact you. We need the upper hand, the element of surprise. My spending over a month in rehab would cause us to lose that surprise, I'm sure of it. We need something faster."
Clarice stared at him in stunned silence. He had only had the case file for one night and already he had developed a theory that neither she nor anyone else had even considered. 'Imagine what we could accomplish with him clean and sober,' she thought. 'And if his theory is correct, my God. He's right, I've got to find Lecter before he finds me. And I cannot do that alone.' "Alright Will," she looked at him levelly. "If you don't think rehab is the answer, what do you propose?"
To be continued! Please review!
Author's Note: I apologize I know this chapter is short. Before I can continue, I need some information that I'm having trouble locating so the next chapter may be awhile in coming. That's why I stopped here. See ya next time!
Steel: LOL, I agree with you about Crawford, too bad he died!! Otherwise he would be in for some 'fun' in my story! Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Kurt: Thanks for your review, the 'Dr. Lecter as well Dr. Lecter' part had me laughing! Thanks again.
Shattered Mug: As always, I love your review! And I'm sorry for your wait! Thanks for your continued reading and support.
Nan: Thank you for reading and reviewing. Your review was very poetic and I enjoyed it very much. Thank you.
Luna: LOL to your sniffling doc! I know, I know, you're all hyped for Clarice and him to get together. But see, this is where I have my fun! I get to torture you all!! Thanks for reading and reviewing.
LadyOfTruths: LMAO to your review! I agree completely with both of you, but Crawford's dead. Unless I just resurrect him somehow! Anyway, thanks so much for your review.
Schrander: Thank you so much for your kind review. I'm so glad people are enjoying this story. Thanks again.
Screaming Lamb: Thank you! I loved your review. I'm glad you enjoyed my Quebec mention! And although I am biased, I agree with you that this is one of the best Will Graham fics!! But in the movie the character is played by one of my favorite actors so how could I not like him and attempt to write him well?!! Anyway, thanks again for reading and reviewing.
