Welcome back to No More a Savage Life: Chapter Two

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CLARICE VERSES BLOOM

Clarice startled at the sound of the doorbell, unusual for her as the cheerful chime normally represented a degree of anticipation. It usually signaled the welcoming sound of visiting friends or a package arriving with the mail. Today it symbolized anxiety, judgment, even anguish. It reminded her of the short time in Argentina when she and Hannibal were living under their aliases. Then as today, the doorbell signaled the possibility of discovery…danger. Today it too signaled the potential for a life changing event. The nervous wife moved quickly to the door, opened it and was relieved to see Will Graham had indeed accompanied Doctor Bloom as promised.

"Hey Will, good to see you again," Clarice swung the door open.

"Hey Clarice, good to see you too, you remember Doctor Bloom? He's here to see your husband."

Clarice offered her hand in greeting to both men. When shaking Bloom's her grip was exceptionally firm belying her trepidation. She stepped to the side and beckoned them enter.

"Yes, welcome to our home, Doctor Bloom. Please come in."

Clarice had picked up several of Hannibal's habits during their marriage. She had developed a keen and cautious eye as an FBI agent and had been drilled to assume innocence before guilt though it was often difficult as circumstances often colored her perception. As Hannibal's wife, under his tutelage, her assessment of individuals was uncolored.

Of each particular thing ask what is it in itself? What is its nature? What does he do this man you seek?

She no longer made any assumption of innocence, or any assumption of personal safety. All were a possible threat to their happiness before the relief of the pardon. It became second nature to quickly evaluate people and circumstances. Upon evaluating Bloom, Clarice understood her husband's concern.

There was an unspoken arrogance about this man. His ego would be such that it would be difficult for him to turn from an opinion. It would be a challenge for him to admit his assessment of Hannibal was wrong. This clearly made him a threat to the safety of their family. She watched the smaller man with the round, kind face and remembered the things her husband told her about him. Had she not known his association with Chilton and the pain he caused her husband she might have thought of the man kindly. Seeing him now through Hannibal's blood red eyes, Bloom was anything but kind.

The three very different individuals with the extremely different agendas stood together in a semi-circle in the foyer of the home. Clarice turned away from the grouping for a moment and considered where to take them. She believed she could smell the fireplace in the family room.

Deciding Bloom should make the decision, she spoke with confidence, "Well we have a couple of options so I'll ask your opinion, Doctor Bloom. Hannibal is in his study and I didn't know whether or not you wanted to go straight in or if you wanted to build up to it. I know he's…well most people are a bit afraid of him and sometimes need to settle themselves down and work up their nerve. Whatever you prefer, I'd be happy to oblige."

Will took control of the situation as Bloom stood quietly, his intent unknown.

"Clarice, Doctor Bloom would like to ask you a few questions about your husband if you don't mind. I'll go in and talk to Hanni…Doctor Lecter."

Clarice nodded her agreement, "Sure…you know where it is. Go on ahead."

Will subconsciously touched a hand to the hooking scar on his side. Bloom noted, "Are you uncomfortable with this Will? I'd understand if you can't handle it."

"I'm fine Doctor Bloom. You don't have to worry about me. Doctor Lecter has nothing to gain by hurting anyone. He's changed thanks to his love for his wife. When you talk to him you'll see that you have nothing to worry about. All he wants to do is live his life. Maybe we can help him with that."

Bloom removed his hat and gloves stuffing them within the hat as he spoke. Clarice took his coat and hat and placed them within the hallway closet. Will waved a hand, preferring to keep his leather jacket on pulling it around him like a security blanket.

Bloom's tone was flippant, "We shall see…after all he was living his life quite successfully as he was committing his crimes. No one guessed what he was up to behind the scenes."

Clarice slammed the closet door closed and turned, obviously taking offense for Hannibal.

"Hey…he's my husband and I'm standing right here! You think you might want to check that attitude at the door? I thought this was going to be an honest assessment and you seem to have already made a judgment. I'm about a minute from asking you to leave myself. You won't have to worry about my husband, Doctor Bloom. If I think you're trying to railroad him…I'll tear you apart myself."

Will raised a consoling hand, "It isn't like that, Clarice. No one is going to railroad your husband. Maybe it would be a good idea to announce that it'll be just me at first?"

Clarice did not shift her eyes from Bloom as she answered Will. She decided to add a fact to her answer she believed might raise Bloom's blood pressure, "No…he'll know it's just you before you get down the hall."

Bloom raised his pompous chin questioning Clarice, "I understand that he'll know there is only one of us when he hears the footsteps coming down the hall. He'll also know it isn't you because of the difference between male and female shoes striking the hardwood floors."

Clarice stared the man down. I'll freak you out you little shit. "While I'm sure you believe it is a parlor trick, he will know each one of us individually and not by the sound of our goddamned shoes. He'll know exactly who is coming down the hall because he will identify you specifically by your personal scent. He remembers your smell and will recognize it instantly."

That's the same atrocious after shave you wore in court. Has a little ship on the bottle does it not?

"Oh yeah…I forgot about that. You okay with answering Doctor Bloom's questions? Do you want to check with your husband first?"

Clarice shook her head, still staring at Bloom, "No, we don't have that kind of relationship. I don't check with him before I make decisions. He trusts me implicitly."

Bloom baited Clarice clumsily, "Are you sure, Mrs. Lecter? I wouldn't want to upset your husband or be the cause of an argument between you."

Clarice turned, faced Bloom and crossed her arms in defiance, "Really? Do you think I'm going to be that easy? Do you actually think Hannibal Lecter, a man whose intellect is unsurpassed, would be attracted to a woman who bowed down before him or would fall for that poorly disguised bait? You wouldn't want to cause an argument? Are you fucking kidding me?"

"My apologies…I shouldn't have assumed," Bloom was embarrassed at the transparency of his plan.

Clarice was beginning to lose her temper. The obvious prejudice Bloom had against Hannibal incensed her, "No, you shouldn't have but it isn't the first assumption you've made about my husband."

Bloom's eyes widened, "What do you mean? I've made no previous assumptions about your husband, Mrs. Lecter."

Clarice raged defensively, "First of all modify the way you say my husband's surname. You speak his name as if it's profane and I'm offended by your tone and yes, you have made assumptions. You assumed that much like yourself my husband might find a stranger's pornographic suggestions enticing didn't you Doctor? So sorry he disappointed you. Unlike you and your equally inept colleague Mr. Chilton, sexually aggressive nurses aren't his thing."

Both Bloom and Graham stood staring silently at each other, unsure of what to say.

Clarice continued her proselytizing, "Let us be clear before we all get off on the wrong foot. My husband, the man I love, expected you to have questions for me. If you think there is anything in the back of your mind that he hasn't considered you can think again and in the interest of full disclosure let me be infinitely clear that nothing you say or do will ever be a shock to him. You are not merely an open book you are a pane of glass…that transparent are your motivations to him."

Clarice spun on her heel and faced Will Graham. The moment she turned her attention to Graham he flinched as if her words had heft to them the weight of which would cause injury.

He stood deadly still with his mouth agape as she confidently directed, "We'll be in the family room if you need us," she pointed over his shoulder, "It's that room, just across the hall from the dining room. Tell H I'll bring Doctor Bloom in when we've finished. Whatever else you choose to share is your own affair. Know that I will tell him everything so you needn't filter what you say. He and I have no secrets."

Graham raised a questioning eyebrow to Bloom. Bloom answered the unspoken query, "Will please tell Doctor Lecter that I will speak with his wife then I will join him. If it seems he is upset or if he seems to have any misgivings, please make note of it. You needn't question him. Merely observe and report."

"You want me to come and tell you if he seems upset?" Will questioned.

"No. There's no need for you to do that as his anger won't alter my actions… simply make note of it."

Clarice felt a well of anger begin to rise within her as she processed the last sentence.

What the hell does he mean by saying 'his anger won't alter my actions' or 'make note of it'? He wants Graham to act like a fucking spy! He doesn't even give a shit if talking to me upsets Hannibal he just wants to know about it? Oh I don't blame you for hating this asshole, H…he's lucky we have each other or I'm sure you'd make quick work of him! This fucker may not have to worry about your Harpy. I may go upstairs and get my Colt and aerate is obnoxious ass!

Clarice's mood shifted and smiled when she and Bloom entered the family room. Hannibal had obviously assumed they would use this room as he had built a cozy fire and stacked it high with logs. He also marked his territory by uncharacteristically leaving out personal possessions. The radiating warmth from the fireplace and seeing Hannibal's presence in the room comforted Clarice as was Hannibal's intent.

Bloom would not sit in the chair immediately beside the fireplace as it was obviously Hannibal's place. The book he had been reading was intentionally placed on the arm of the chair and was left open to the last chapter read. Clarice took her chair beside Hannibal's next to the fireplace following Hannibal's covert direction thus forcing Bloom to the couch.

Yea, you're not getting me on your couch you half-witted fucking Freud wannabe. It'll be a cold day in hell before you get the upper hand on me or my husband. Well played, H…well played.

Clarice took a page from Hannibal's book of self-control and restrained her aggression, "Please make yourself comfortable, Doctor Bloom. Can I offer you anything?"

Bloom pulled a small pad from his jacket pocket, removed a pen from his shirt pocket protector and began to click away at the pen top nervously, "No, thank you Mrs. Lecter though let me first apologize for what you perceived was rude behavior. It just seemed so awkward for me to say Misses in front of the name Lecter."

Clarice could feel her blood simmering within her and wondered how the hell her husband could reign in his aggressive nature and not kill this man. She lifted the book her husband left on his chair and snapped it shut loudly, indirectly demonstrating her anger. She hugged the book to her chest as if drawing her husband close for comfort and calm.

"Is that pathetic explanation what passes for an apology in your world Doctor Bloom? Are you meaning to be continually offensive or does it come so naturally to you to degrade my husband that you are actually unaware of it?"

Bloom's eyes shifted quickly to Clarice. He had not expected the response he received, though he certainly should have. Her aggression surprised him.

Hannibal Lecter would not choose a weak woman to share his life nor would he sire a child with someone he considered deficient. Personality wise, she's a good match for him…aggressive…intelligent…the physical attraction is obvious. They are well-suited. She is a strong personality and she can obviously stand up for herself to me…to Hannibal Lecter…that remains to be seen.

Clarice took her seat and faced Bloom. She surveyed her reaction to him and was amazed that he seemed to lack the emotional depth she believed necessary for a person in the field of psychiatry.

Though his expertise was Forensic Psychology she assumed Bloom would have some insight or a modicum of intuitive sense. Hannibal's perception and psychic tools were like lasers, direct and intense. His obvious intelligence was beyond assessment and his intuition was not only legendary, it was frightening. He had the ability after a few pointed questions or a brief conversation to cut through proverbial blood, bone, and muscle of a person's very essence. He could assess their strengths and weaknesses, and drive the dagger of their own personality flaws home. He could cure or encourage self-destruction with a whim. Bloom had no such tools and thus no such ability though he claimed as such.

Clarice was unimpressed.

Bloom made a mark on his pad, "So…you and your husband, Doctor Lecter…you are happily married?"

"I'm married to a man and his name is Hannibal. His patients called him Doctor Lecter. I am not his patient so I call him H and yes. We are very happily married."

"H? Why H?"

"It's just a nickname…H as in Husband."

"Not H as in Hannibal?"

"I couldn't call him Hannibal publicly."

"You went with him willingly?"

"Yes."

"You remain with him…willingly?"

"Yes, and he remains with me willingly."

"Are you ever afraid when you are with him?"

"Yes."

"In what way?"

"I'm afraid he'll wake up and realize that I'm not as intelligent or as artistic as he. The only thing I'm afraid of is that he may leave me. That is the only fear I have in regards to my husband."

"Physically you aren't afraid of him?"

"Why the hell would I be afraid of him physically…He loves me. He would never hurt me."

"Does he ever lose patience with you?"

"Not without cause."

"What might cause him to lose patience with you?"

"I imagine it would be the same things that might cause any husband to lose patience with his wife."

"You don't care to offer any examples?"

"None come to mind. He doesn't have a specific trigger that sets him off and when I mean he loses patience I don't mean he becomes aggressive. I mean that he becomes…irritated. Hannibal is a very patient man. He'd have to be to put up with me."

"What do you mean, put up with you?"

"I can be a bit…overbearing at times. He's comfortable in his manhood and isn't intimidated by an emotionally strong woman. He isn't threatened by strength. He is attracted to it."

"Speaking of attraction…" Bloom paused. He wanted to choose his words carefully.

"You want to know about our sex life?"

"Well…the child…?"

"This child is the first born son of Hannibal Lecter and for anyone who doubts that fact I will be perfectly happy to submit to a DNA test."

"I didn't intend to insinuate differently."

"Sure you did. You are just like everyone else. He isn't human to you. You see that I am pregnant and you think…because you see him as less than a man, that he doesn't make love. That he is incapable of it. It's easier for you to see him as some sort of animal and imagine that a woman having sex with him would be participating in an act of bestiality. Difficult as it is for people to believe, my husband and I have a perfectly satisfying and perfectly conventional physical relationship. He is an attentive and thorough lover and I will admit that our sex life is…well…to put it delicately… in his arms and in his bed I am physically and emotionally fulfilled."

Bloom was abashed at Clarice's forward nature as she discussed her physical relationship with her husband. He stammered his clarification, "Then when you are...having physical relations…you feel loved?"

"I feel loved. I feel absorbed. I feel engulfed. He is an intensely overwhelming man and is capable of so much more than anyone knows. He is attentive, emotionally available and very, very loving. He is everything I ever wanted or needed in a man. He is my life."

"If he is your life, what will your child be?"

"The symbol of all that we are. The joining of heart and mind and body and soul, this child represents our lives…together. Hannibal is my life…the baby is our lives…our Love."

"Soul?"

"Yes. I believe that Hannibal Lecter has a soul. Does that concept disturb you in some way?"

"I would think, if you believe in the soul as the vessel for goodness and the conveyance by which a person enters the afterlife…his previous…behaviors might prove to be a stumbling block for Doctor Lecter's entry into eternal bliss."

"How do you figure?"

"He ate people."

"Catholics believe in transubstantiation and believe, as they consume the host, that it is the actual presence of Jesus Christ. This is my blood, fruit of the everlasting vine…it shall be shed for you and for all men that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me. If you want forgiveness…you ask for it."

"That's Christian. Hannibal Lecter is Christian?"

"Hannibal Lecter is Catholic."

"Practicing?"

"Not publicly, though he may be having thoughts about that. I can't speak for him."

"Has he attended Mass recently?"

"We went together at Christmas. I know he has visited the church since that time, though I don't know if he attended an actual Mass. He enjoys the tranquility of churches. I know he is a student of architecture and religious iconography. He experiences things on so many different levels that I can only approach an understanding."

"You believe his mind processes differently than yours? "

"I don't believe it… I know it. His mind processes kind of the way airplanes stack up over an airport, but Hannibal would be able to do so much more than control the air traffic. He would be aware of all of the destinations and would plan the arrivals and departures in detail. He would contemplate the lives of the passengers at the same time he checked on the functionality of each engine in his fleet. He would be capable of listening to the movies playing on the flights while at the same time listening to all of the conversations in each of the cockpits all the while considering quantum physics, and weather patterns."

"I find that hard to believe. After all, most people can't even walk and chew gum at the same time. A lot has been said about his mind. He is intelligent. There is no doubt of that, anything beyond that seems more of fantasy…more of legend and less of man."

"You studied him…you know I'm telling the truth. He can run several trains of thought, detailed trains of thought, simultaneously, all while composing a sonata or an etude. He is a singular human. Perhaps the most evolved mind of our time. I feel honored to be with him…to have been chosen by him. You have always underestimated him."

"He is a charming and manipulative man. It wouldn't be difficult for a well-bred and well-read man to approach genius. Perhaps it is more likely that you overestimate him."

"It is impossible to overestimate that which cannot be quantified."

Bloom simply nodded. He hadn't even considered that Hannibal might have a spiritual side to him, or an emotional side. Bloom understood the intellect and he understood the anger, the rage, he even understood the drive to kill but love and Hannibal Lecter? It seemed an oxymoron and Bloom could not justify it. There was only one question he truly wanted Clarice to answer, he posed it and poised his pen for her response.

"He married you and now, he seems domesticated almost. I don't know maybe emasculated is the word I'm looking for. Do you believe him to be cured?"

"First of all my husband is anything but emasculated so just trust me when I say his genitals are intact and very... very impressive. As to your question, I don't believe him to be cured because I do not believe there was ever anything wrong with him. He made choices I did not agree with. I am certain the behaviors of my past were equally distasteful to him. We have agreed that he will no longer make those choices."

"Do you believe that? Do you believe he can control that? Do you believe you have control over him?"

"More than I have ever believed anyone. I trust him without reservation with my life and the life of my child. He would die before he would hurt us or allow anyone else to hurt us. There is no other person living or dead that I can say that about and no I don't believe I have control over him. He's a grown ass man! I have no need to control him."

Bloom looked down at his notes. He scribbled the words Die and Hurt on his pad as she said them, though he didn't know why. He clicked his pen closed and tucked it in his shirt pocket, sliding it into a plastic pocket protector. "We've finished here. Thank you for your participation, Mrs. Lecter. It has been enlightening."

Bloom closed his pad and stood silently, waiting for Clarice's lead. He had gotten all he needed from her. It was time to talk to the man himself if indeed there is man at all within the Monster Bloom believed Hannibal Lecter to be. Bloom walked down the long hallway from the family room to Hannibal Lecter's study as he considered whether or not Hannibal Lecter could actually identify him by scent, like an animal. He found the thought to be a bit…disconcerting.

Doctor Alan Bloom had finished his talk with Hannibal Lecter's Beauty. He realized that he must now face the Beast. He knew Hannibal's Nature and Bloom was afraid.

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Until the next chapter my friends,

LH