AVOIDING VIOLENCE
After dinner, Clarice and Hannibal retired to the family room and relaxed on the sofa across from the fireplace. They rested there for several hours, holding each other and occasionally talking as they listened to Hannibal's rich collection of music. They were currently listening to Beniamino Gigli's rendition of The Pearl Fishers. Hannibal was intent as Clarice listened to the lyrical tones of the tenor and watched the light of the fire play off her husband's regal profile.
Hannibal sat staring forward in the direction of the fireplace, though it seemed his eyes were somewhat unfocused. It was as if his mind were in another place. Clarice rested her head on his lap feeling the warmth of his body and enjoying the rhythm of his touch as she watched the reflection of the flames dancing in his eyes.
Appearing calm and relaxed Hannibal continued to stare ahead and continually smoothed his hands over his wife's belly much like a fortune teller would rub a crystal ball.
Clarice reached up and brushed the back of her hand along his cheek, "It's getting late, H…it's ten minutes 'til midnight, bedtime soon?"
There was no reaction to her touch. Hannibal seemed far away from her and did not attend to the sound of her voice at all. It was as if her words were unheard.
For his part, Hannibal was not ignoring her he was simply functioning far too deep within his thoughts to attend to minutia. He had been intently considering the Silentium Universi reflecting on the opinions of Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan in respect to the Fermi paradox. He was running a complex series of calculations within his mind regarding the mathematical components of scale verses probability.
The computations he formulated based on his interpretation of the theory preoccupied his thoughts as the calculations evolved within his brilliant mind. So, as his wife admired the way the fire danced within his eyes he delved into an intense assessment of time evolution equations as they relate to density states within closed timelike curves.
Clarice watched the machinations of his mind churning with the intensity of his gaze. With interest she watched his eyes track up and down, side to side as his mind scrawled the computations in the space in front of him as if he were scrawling the computations physically. Suddenly, Hannibal's eyes focused on a single object in the blank space before him. A smile crossed his face and he tilted his head slightly, appearing almost as if he were standing in a museum admiring a piece of art work.
His lashes did not flutter and his eyes remained unblinking as Clarice focused intently on the phenomenon. She was now accustomed to this state, being a less than unusual visual fixation.
He hasn't blinked in fifteen minutes…how the hell does he do that?
Again, she sought his attention by patting and smoothing her hand across his chest as she continued calling out his given name, "Hannibal…Hannibal!"
Standing in the room of his memory palace dedicated to Supersymmetric String Theory Hannibal admired a colorful three dimensional visual representation of the Theoretical Calabi-Yau space. He manipulated the object with his mind, turning it and shifting it to different angles that he might view it better. His hands were not needed and were clasped firmly behind his back.
Within the halls, Hannibal perceived the sound of his wife's voice calling out to him. With a quick twitch and a curious tilt of his head, he shifted his attention from space and time to that of his wife.
"Clarice?"
Clarice sat up and reaching into his now partially unbuttoned Italian silk shirt teased at the hairs on his chest as she flirted, "There are only a couple of minutes left until Valentine's Day is over. I'd love one last Valentine's Day kiss."
Hannibal smiled, "I can do you one better than that."
Clarice let her head drop slowly to his chest, "Oh, God H…not again When we hit that bedroom tonight it's straight to sleep for you! Whether you are or not I'm exhausted and it takes two to tango."
Hannibal smiled at her reference to their more than active sex life.
"If one wishes to extract the maximum pleasure from the process it certainly does take two, however it is nothing like that, Clarice. I assure you as I remain quite satisfied from our earlier…activities. I will not pressure you further in that regard. I do, however, have one additional gift. I was saving it for the end of the evening."
Hannibal reached over to the side table, opened the drawer and lifted a box from within. With a smile, he handed the package to Clarice. Hannibal's voice was rich with emotion, "Happy Valentine's Day my Love."
"Happy first of many Valentine's Days, H," she answered with a smile widening with anticipation. "I hope you didn't spend too much."
"Do not be a hypocrite, Clarice. I have been online since we took possession of the Bentley and have seen the price tag. What is in that box, though thoughtful, does not approach the extravagance of your gift to me."
"Well…you're a tough guy to buy for. When I thought of the Bentley, I had to…it was too perfect."
"You will have no argument from me in that regard, Clarice. It was a lovely and thoughtful gift. I would dare say it was the most thoughtful gift I have ever received. Thank you, my Love."
"You're welcome, H."
Clarice very slowly removed the outer paper, and exposed the black presentation box. She opened the velvet case to see find it lined with a rich maroon fabric, the color of which mirrored Hannibal's eyes.
Nestled within rested a platinum bracelet with loose links. The ends of the bracelet were joined by a customized charm closing it. The charm had set in the center a figure eight if held vertically. If held horizontally it appeared as if the symbol represented infinity. Two large diamonds filled the centers of the symbol.
Hannibal reached into the box, removed the bracelet and placed it on Clarice's hand. She held her arm up, twisting her wrist to fully assess the gift. It was obvious from her expression she loved it.
Hannibal explained his purpose, "The charm has a dual meaning, the figure eight represents me, Hannibal Lecter, the Eighth of my lineage, and, if turned on its side, it is the symbol for infinity thus representing our love and my infinite devotion to you."
So touched was she by the gesture that Clarice spoke very softly, "It's wonderful, H…It's absolutely wonderful. I don't know how you come up with such thoughtful gifts?"
"You inspire me, Clarice. You are my Love."
"You inspire me too H. You're my life."
With a simple kiss, the pair concluded their celebration, the first of many to come.
The following afternoon, Hannibal worked in his study on an article he was considering submitting to the Archives. Clarice left the home earlier to run several errands and walked through the house, calling his name upon her return.
"Clarice…I'm in the study," he responded when he picked up her footsteps near the stairs.
As his wife entered his workspace, Hannibal set down his fountain pen and looked up, "Did you complete your errands, Clarice?"
Hannibal pushed his chair back from the desk and offered his lap.
Clarice sat on his lap and draped her arms around his neck. She kissed him briefly and placed her head on his chest. Hannibal lowered his head and rested his cheek on the top of her head, enjoying the scent of her shampoo.
"I just had a few things to bring to the dry cleaners and I needed to stop by the post office."
"I always found visiting the post office amusing. The FBI's ten most wanted list was posted in plain view. I must admit to tempting fate for my own amusement on occasion to see if anyone connected me to the photo on the poster. Not an eyebrow was raised. It was actually quite entertaining. When is your next appointment with the obstetrician, Clarice?"
"Next Tuesday, why do you ask?"
"Curiosity, I would of course like to accompany you. You are approaching your eighth month therefore I have some developmental questions for the Doctor. It has been quite some time since last I participated in a delivery. I am quite excited about the process."
"That's because you aren't going to be passing an eight pound and constantly moving human being through your body."
"I apologize, Clarice. Physiology being such that it is, of the pair of us you must be the unfortunate recipient of that honor."
"Yeah, my mother used to say if men had to have babies it would be the end of civilization as we know it."
"Your mother was probably correct. I don't know that it is a choice I would have made if the circumstances were such."
"So what are you saying, H? Better you than me?"
"I believe I was far more diplomatic than that, though the sentiment is the same."
Clarice suddenly remembered Doctor Bloom. "Hey, H…can I see the tape of the hypnosis? Do you have it?"
Hannibal opened the top drawer to his desk and pulled out a small video tape. He placed it in his wife's hand.
"You may review it, Clarice after which point I will be removing it from the home. It would be foolhardy to store such evidence here."
"Is this tiny tape compatible with the equipment hooked up to our television?"
"I have a convertor that will allow the tape to play in the video cassette recorder. It is in the same compartment where you house your movie collection. Would you like my assistance or may I work in here while you view it?"
Clarice stood and shook her head. "No, you can keep working here. If I have any questions, I'll come back and ask. Anything I should know about it?"
"Only that the tape is forwarded past the actual hypnosis and cued to the discussion portion. I have no need to revisit the hypnotic process, merely the suggestions implanted."
"Yeah, I don't care how you did it. I just want to see what you told him to do."
"Place the tape in the carrier, load it in the player and you will have all the answers you need."
"Thanks for indulging me H. I'm just so freaking curious and I'm a little skittish about this process. I really don't trust this guy."
"You do trust me, yes?"
"Of course I do. I trust you to protect our family, H. I just need to avoid having you kill this idiot and he's making it really hard to make a case against that."
"Nothing would give me greater pleasure, Clarice. Believe me you need only give the word."
"Well, I like having you on this side of the glass, H so we'll just have to stick with your plan."
"For now, Clarice…for now."
"Not for now, H…Forever! This idiot is off limits….Permanently. He isn't Nico or a couple of gang bangers nobody gives a shit about. This moron ties directly to you. If he slips in the bathtub they'll assume you pushed him. Promise me H…Look me directly in the eyes and promise me that you will handle Bloom without violence."
Hannibal pondered exactly what making that promise to Clarice would mean. He considered, within the framework of that sentence, if his backup plan would preclude keeping that promise. He decided it would not.
Without violence? Yes, that can be accomplished.
Hannibal Lecter looked his wife directly in the eyes, as requested and spoke the promise she required.
"I promise Clarice that I will handle our friend Doctor Bloom without utilizing any violence."
Clarice, not fully understanding Hannibal's literal definition of the semantics involved, kissed her husband and left the room to view the tape fully satisfied with his promise to her.
Hannibal sat behind the desk and smiled as well. Being a Doctor, he understood that there are many ways one person might dispatch another. Though his preferred method might have included extreme violence, Hannibal was a brilliant man. He had already considered many scenarios by which he might rid himself of the offensive Doctor Bloom. Yes…violence could be avoided as the process mattered little to Hannibal. The result would be the same. After all, dead is dead.
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Until the next chapter my friends!
LH