BETWEEN IRON AND SILVER
Hannibal sat quietly, his hands gripping the arms of the richly upholstered chair until his knuckles appeared blended reds and yellows pulsing from the strain of his grasp. He did not move as the other audience members stood to leave. He sat unnaturally still, his external calm, as was his nature, masked the fury of thoughts churning within. Clarice slipped from her seat quickly, the fabric of her elegant gown swooshing with the speed of her movement. She quietly stood behind Hannibal's chair with her hand resting on his shoulder.
Hmmmm…Stalling tactics H? Not likely.
Clarice fully understood that Hannibal did not want to run into Emilia. Hannibal's problem being he fully understood Clarice did.
The cautious husband attempted to change the course his strong willed wife. She had truculently set her feet on this tumultuous path. Normally, Hannibal thrived on chaos. He lived to see the upheaval and unpredictable nature of it. The problem with this kind of chaos was the fact that his wife, normally extremely unpredictable, in this instance extremely was. She was a warrior. She would stand toe to toe and she would fight.
His legs were crossed and his hands clasped in front of him, he tapped his tented index fingers pensively against his lips.
Can I turn you from this Clarice?
"Perhaps we should wait until the majority of the patrons clear the building, Clarice. The car will wait for us. It would be no trouble. In fact, it may actually serve us well to avoid this confrontation altogether."
Clarice stared blankly at him. She understood his want to avoid the interaction. She just didn't care. She would face this woman and she would draw a line in the sand. Clarice hoped this woman was foolish enough to cross that line so that she could bury her under it.
Hannibal understood her intention as soon as their eyes met and it troubled him greatly. He questioned, already knowing the answer. "And your mind is quite set? I cannot dissuade you from this course of action, my Love?"
"Not in a thousand years." She stated firmly.
Hannibal searched her eyes to see whether there was hidden meaning in the use of this particular phrase. This time there would be no contradictory tear tracking along her cheek. This time she meant it.
"Ah, yes…very amusing, Clarice." He uncrossed his legs and placed his palms on his knees, leaning forward as if to stand though not.
Emilia was not a mystery to Hannibal. Not a mystery the way that Clarice was and always would be. Not bound by emotion or feelings, Emilia was extremely predictable. Hannibal understood the danger Emilia presented to his new found happiness. There was only one common thread that linked the two women.
The one thing that Emilia had in common with Clarice was singular vision. When her mind was set on something, she pursued it relentlessly. He was not certain exactly what Emilia's motivations were but it was obvious she was extremely invested in that pursuit and that pursuit, at least on some level, included his participation. This made Emilia more dangerous to Hannibal and Clarice than Stuart Miggs had been. Stuart was desperate for love. That word was not among Emilia's vocabulary.
Clarice stood silently next to him, her mind very obviously made up. She nudged his shoulder urging him to stand. "Let's go, H…it's time to go face the music."
Hannibal reluctantly pushed his palms against his knees and slowly rose from the chair. He held the curtain aside allowing Clarice to exit the box. The pair walked through the theatre and made their way to the foyer, Hannibal's expression appeared more as if he were walking to the gallows.
Clarice's steps were purposeful. Hannibal's agile and ready as he continually scanned the space using all of his senses. He believed his sense of smell would be the most reliable as it gave him a three hundred-sixty degree span where his visual periphery, though far more expansive than most, had obvious blind spots. He searched for evidence of her absence or presence, quickly picking up on the former.
That keen sense of smell told him he was, at least temporarily in the clear.
She has already passed this area…she is not near. Please let her be gone from this place.
Clarice noticed his diligence. "You look like a deer caught in the headlights, H. She's just a woman. You act like she's a threat to us."
Hannibal's expression was quite sober. He was not pleased that this relationship had come under such scrutiny and did not want to discuss this woman with his wife.
"Clarice, it would be best if we returned to our suite and did not interact with her on any level. She is a devious, exceedingly dangerous individual and her motivations for being here are suspect."
Clarice stopped for a moment and turned to her husband. "Are you afraid of this person, H? 'Cuz it sounds like you're scared shitless of her."
"Scatological references aside, I am not afraid of her. I am pragmatic. You are pregnant Clarice and you are very emotional. It would not be difficult to draw you into a conflict. Emilia is quite manipulative. I would not have her create a situation that would be harmful to you or to our unborn child."
Hannibal spotted their car, approached and opened the door for Clarice, allowing her to take a seat. He moved quickly to the opposite side of the vehicle. The driver opened the door and held it.
Just as Hannibal stepped into the car, he caught the scent of her. His eyes flashed wild as he took his seat beside his wife.
Hannibal could feel his strangled heart as if it had risen from his ribs and squeezed itself up to the back of his throat, choking the breath from him. The course he could not correct had been set into motion. There was no way to avoid the confrontation.
"What's going on, H?" Clarice asked, seeing the burning in his eyes.
"She is near…I caught the scent of her on the breeze as I entered the car."
Not wanting to announce Emilia's arrival, Hannibal wanted to take back the words as soon as they escaped his mouth. He was caught totally off guard when he saw the rising conflagration in His wife's eyes.
Clarice was not merely angry at Hannibal's pronouncement; she was fully enraged by it. The edge to her voice as she responded was unmistakably laced with venom as she spat forth her response.
"You remember her scent!
Hannibal wheeled his head around shocked at the response.
"Pardon me?" Suddenly, it dawned on him that Clarice believed he was making a sexual reference.
"No, Clarice, not the scent of her sex…the scent of her perfume. It is specific to her. She has it custom made in London and shipped to her several times a year. It is unchanged and quite unmistakable."
As if on cue, the woman appeared from the darkness, shade-like and shifting like ribbons of smoke on the night breeze. She approached the limo and moved to open the car door but the driver boxed her out and closed it. He then stepped in front of the handle, effectively blocking Emilia's access. Hannibal had already instructed the driver, prior to their arrival at the Opera House, that they not be disturbed.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am. My party has entered the vehicle and is ready for transport."
Emilia stood beside the door, obviously irritated not to be able to access Hannibal. "I am a very close friend of Doctor Lecter, a lover actually, and I was hoping to speak to him."
The driver held up a hand of apology. "That won't be possible. The Doctor and his wife can be reached at their hotel. If you are indeed a close friend and would like to speak to either of them and I suggest that you contact them there. If you will please excuse me, I am running late."
The driver locked the exterior doors by remote and entered the car, leaving Emilia standing there. He turned the ignition.
Clarice remembered Hannibal's letter to her, when she was battling the vultures of Buzzard's Bay. She was stability, even it anger.
'The most stable elements, Clarice appear in the middle of the periodic table, roughly between iron and silver. Between iron and silver. I think that is appropriate for you.'
That letter was a call to arms. A hand of help extended when no one else dared help. Even at the possible cost of his freedom, he reached out to her, telling her she was a warrior…telling her to fight back. She wanted to fight for him now. Clarice watched. Emilia's next actions would determine hers.
If she walks away…I will too…if not…
Emilia tapped on the darkened glass and winked diabolically at Hannibal. Although she couldn't see him through the deeply tinted privacy glass, she had from a distance and noted which side of the vehicle he had entered.
Clarice was incensed. "That's it…I'm going to kill that Bitch."
Clarice engaged the handle of the door and kicked it open aggressively.
Hannibal reached across and grabbed her arm. "Clarice…No."
She wrenched it from his grip and held a hand up in warning. "H, I told you not to get involved."
The driver shifted his attention to Hannibal, his eyes questioning whether or not to intercept the action.
Knowing it would be of no use, Hannibal shook his head.
"Thank you for your diligence, there is no need to intercede. Once my wife has committed to a course of action, she must see it through."
Hannibal turned to Clarice. "Mind you are careful, my Love. Tap on the glass if you have need of me. Until then, as promised, I will remain within."
Clarice exited the car and called to Emilia over the roofline of the vehicle.
"Hey, Emilia…Can I help you with something?" Clarice asked making no attempt to mask her jealousy or her anger.
"There is nothing I want from you." Emilia answered revealing no emotion in her voice or facial expression whatever.
Clarice noted as the woman spoke there was little life in her eyes. They were a light brown surrounded by flecks of amber giving them an almost golden color, though curiously devoid of shine. At the center, the pupils were cavernous and absent of any light. There was no spark of life at all within them.
Fearlessly, Clarice challenged the woman.
"It would seem you aren't being honest with that statement. You obviously want something from me. Something very precious to me…You want my husband."
Emilia smiled a very wicked and sadistic grin. "I've already had your husband."
Clarice could feel her blood boiling but made every effort not to appear affected by the statement.
"You had him a very long time ago. So have a lot of women. I am more than aware that my husband is a very virile man and took many partners prior to our vows. It is only fair to acknowledge that it doesn't concern me who or in your case what he fucked in the past as long as I am the only one he makes love to in the future."
"Yes it is true… we did do just that. We did fuck and we did quite often. You should know that sexually…your husband is an animal. You can have his love. I want his lust."
Emilia released this provocative pronouncement in a voice so calm that the sound twisted itself into Clarice's inner ear, searing like poison.
Although she could feel the burn of bile as the gorge rose in her throat, externally Clarice remained unflappable. "He is much older now. His tastes have changed."
Emilia pressed her body against the glass of the limo, writhing on it as if leaning against Hannibal himself. "An old lion is still a lion. You may think he is tame because you hold the key to his cage but he is wild nonetheless. You will not satisfy him for long."
Clarice reached for the Harpy and slapped it on the roof of the limo in plain sight.
Emilia looked at it and licked her lips. "Ah, he still has the Harpy! We are old friends. You take that out to scare me, but it excites me. In Hannibal's hands…it is heaven."
Clarice glared at the woman. She wanted to take the hook of the Harpy and pierce the woman's black heart with it, if in fact the organ was even present in this creature.
Clarice very slowly opened the knife, fully extended and locked the blade.
"I didn't remove the Harpy to frighten you. I removed the Harpy to illustrate that I don't hold the key to the Lion's cage. I hold the key to the Lion's heart and I control the Lion's claw."
Clarice used the point of the blade to tap on the window. Hannibal quickly exited the car and took his place beside his wife. He encircled her waist with his arms and pulled her close against his body.
"You called for me my Love?" He did not look at Emilia.
Knowing there was a part of Hannibal this woman desired, in fact begged for but had been denied, Clarice taunted. "Yes, H…I wanted a kiss."
Hannibal took her face very gently in his hands and kissed her passionately, making no effort to suppress his desire. As he released her lips, he pressed his mouth against her throat and sucked on the skin, growling his want for her. She was breathless when he released her.
"Did you want anything aside from that kiss, my Love?"
"Yes, H…when we get back to the hotel… but we will need privacy for that."
She handed him the Harpy. He took it, folded it and gave it back to his wife.
"For safe keeping… Clarice."
"Of course, H." Clarice turned her attention to Emilia. "I hope you can recount those memories and call on them when you are alone because as much as you want him…you will never, ever have him again."
"We shall see. I am a patient woman and your husband has interests that I am sure do not interest you. When your whelp starts to scream…he will grow bored of playing house."
At the moment she made that comment referring to his child, Hannibal's eyes redirected to Emilia. His irises burned from anger, the glowing orbs simmering and molten.
"Do not discuss my child, Emilia. Or I will take great offense."
Emilia blew Hannibal a kiss. "We will see each other soon, Hannibal." She then turned to Clarice. "Enjoy him while you can. Your Lion's got the scent again. Soon…nothing you can say or do will keep him from me."
Clarice did not flinch. "He loves me and I love him. Nothing you can say or do will ever change that. Nothing you can do will make him leave."
Clarice turned to Hannibal. "It's time to go home, H."
Hannibal was still absolutely fixated on Emilia, his unblinking anger evident. His voice to his wife was soft and gentle diametrically opposed to the raging conflagration burning within him.
"After you, my Love…a gentleman never enters a car before his Lady."
Clarice looked at him.
If on the periodic table she fell between Iron and Silver, Hannibal was on the fringes. He was quick, he was changing…he was volatile. He was Mercury. She understood it could be dangerous to leave him in this situation but she also understood that as a father, he would not let the insult to his child be ignored. He let his wife have her say but now he needed to say something… to issue a warning of his own.
She was certain of his intention therefore she entered the car, but listened carefully. His warning would carry far more weight than hers could ever have.
Hannibal leaned across the hood of the car. His sultry voice lost the smooth, melodic tone that nightly whispered his love to Clarice as she drifted to sleep. It now took on the threatening metallic hiss from the basement in Baltimore.
"If you continue this game of yours I will not react well, Emilia. You will leave my wife and my child out of our past. You are not a part of my future. You will not threaten my family. I will not allow it. If you continue on this path it will be at your own peril. Know that I will not relent. I will show no mercy."
Clarice imagined the flashing sparks his tone ignited, his rasp like steel that bursts fire forth as it explodes across flint. His anger was volcanic. Hannibal was unstable, unpredictable and elemental. His eyes spun in flaming pinwheels of red as if flashing the fury of his soul.
Emilia's response was curious. "Have I ever asked you for mercy?"
This woman threatened his marriage. She had almost cost him his wife's respect. Whether it was true or not, he felt lesser in her eyes and if Clarice were a lesser woman, it might have cost him everything. He would not let this come to pass.
"No, you never had to ask for mercy because you were in my care and I had never wished for your death before. Though you should know… I do now. You should also know that I have taken lives for far less reason than this and though I have never taken the life of a female… in your case, I would not hesitate to make an exception. If I perceive that my family is in jeopardy, I will act swiftly. My wife may hold my Harpy but if you try to come between us…she will place it in my hand."
"You don't frighten me Hannibal. I welcome your anger. It excites me…you excite me. You extracted from me screams of pain and tears of pleasure. I'm sure my cries haunt your dreams."
"Know the only woman that has ever haunted my dreams is the woman I hold in my arms as I sleep every night. I ignored your cries of pain in the past because it brought you pleasure. The next time I ignore those cries, I want you to know that it will bring me great pleasure. Know, too that it will bring you death."
Hannibal lowered himself into the car without lowering his eyes. Without a word passing between them Clarice reached for her husband and held him.
Like ribbons of smoke twisting on the night air, Emilia was enveloped again in the shade of night.
She would appear again far too soon.
Until the next chapter,
LH