Chapter 18

Two months later

Clarice and Hannibal had moved twice since Germany. They currently resided in Ireland. Hannibal had taken Clarice to numerous shows and let her explore the world through his eyes. She had also tried her hand in the culinary arts through Dr. Lecter's tutelage. She was becoming rather good at it as well. They had just flown back from Buenos Aires and Clarice had been sick all morning long. Hannibal thought it was from all the recent traveling and climate changes they had gone through. He waited upstairs outside of the bathroom and heard her retching.

"Darling, I am going to the store to pick up some things for you. Do you think you will be alright here by yourself for a while."

Clarice called from the bathroom, "Yes, I will be fine thank you. Just be careful."

"Alright. If you need anything else just call me."

Clarice waited until she heard the familiar sound of the car fire up in the garage. She looked out the window and saw him driving down the long winding driveway out of sight. She sighed in relief.

"God, what am I thinking?" She rested her feverish head against the cool window. She grabbed her purse and pulled out a single pregnancy test. Hannibal never went into her purse without permission so it was the easiest place she could think to hide it. She bought it from the store about three weeks ago and it had been there ever since. She got it one night when she went out alone to go shopping. She had missed a period and it was beginning to worry her. But she felt too afraid to even take the test.

She exhaled, "My dear Hannibal, what would your reaction be if you knew? Happy, sad?" Clarice had not had any more of Dr. Lecter's therapies in months, but she feared when he wanted to start back up. If she refused, would he figure out quickly?

"Calm the fuck down girl! You haven't even taken the damn test yet. We might not even keep it, we are two fugitives on the run, how in the actual fuck would we be able to raise a child?"

For the first time in their relationship, Clarice felt alone. She found herself missing Ardelia. She just needed someone to talk to about this other than Hannibal but that wasn't really an option. She placed back and forth in the restroom throwing up every now and again in the toilet.

She pondered, "A child to carry on his legacy, our legacy…the Lecter name would not be dead. But is that fair to a child? Damnit, damnit, damnit! Just take the fucking pregnancy test you coward!"

She glanced at the time on her watch. She had about 45 minutes before Hannibal would come back.

She sat on the toilet and ripped the packaging to the pregnancy test. She decided to go through with it. When she was finished, she placed it on the sink and waited the recommended two minutes.

"The instructions said if it is a minus then I am not pregnant and if it's a plus then I am pregnant. Please, please, please be a minus."

Those two minutes made Clarice feel twice as sick and nauseous. When the time was up, she glanced at her watch again. She found herself scared to look. She stood back up and glanced at herself in the mirror, then glanced down, and then her breathing stopped. There, plain as day, was all the proof she needed that Hannibal was indeed not the last Lecter. She grabbed it, wrapped it in toilet paper, and trashed it. Clarice's breath became shallower and shallower. She felt light headed. She reached for her phone to call her husband.

Hannibal was standing in line waiting to check out when his phone started ringing. He picked it up and answered, "Hello."

Clarice froze when she heard his voice and started to tear up, "I….uhhh…."

Genuine concern filled his voice "Is something wrong my dear?"

Clarice brushed it off, "No….I just wanted to know if you could pick me up some soup….or something for my stomach is all….."

"Of course, just get to bed my love and relax."

"Thank you."

"Are you sure that is all? You sound upset."

Clarice cursed herself, "Yes, that's all. I guess I just feel a little worse than I thought."

"Alright, I am standing in line. I should be home in about five more minutes. Just try and get some rest."

Hannibal hung up.

Clarice kept the phone in her hand a moment longer staring at her reflection in the mirror. She glanced at her watch. "Something is wrong."

Hannibal purchased all the items he needed, glanced down at his watch, and started to walk outside and then stopped. He looked outside at a nearby building and smiled, "Interesting."

He picked up a newspaper and pretended to thumb through it for a moment.

Outside in the adjacent building, armed with a sniper rifle was Agent Mitch Hill. "Target acquired."

"Good." Will said on the other end of the radio. "Stay on him."

Hannibal waited until a small group of people started to leave and he walked out with them and went around the other side.

"Shit I lost him. He walked around back." Agent Hill said, "You may want to tell the boys on the ground to close in."

Hannibal made his way down the street and noticed two large men following him. Across the street was a man leaning against a motorcycle glaring at him. Hannibal made a quick turn to the left back to his car. Hannibal then pretended to drop his keys and when he bent over to pick them up, he pulled out his knife. Then he walked into an alley.

One man stayed close and came around the corner to catch up only to meet with Hannibal's knife in his throat. Hannibal quickly grabbed his body and sat him against the wall. He quickly searched his pockets and found a gun.

"I see, so you weren't ordered to take prisoners this time around."

Hannibal stood and walked back out of the alley and into a busy coffee shop. Hannibal stepped into the bathroom and another man was quick to follow behind, only to once again meet Hannibal's knife as he came through the door. Dr. Lecter dragged his lifeless body into one of the stalls and shut the door. He then made his way out of the coffee shop and out onto the street.

"That leaves two," Hannibal whispered.

Agent Hill spoke into the tiny microphone again, "He got two of them already. That just leaves Chris. But I still have eyes on his car, if he even tries to come back to it, he is done."

Hannibal looked at the last man from across the street. Still leaning against his motorcycle. Then he glanced down at his watch. "27 minutes sounds about right."

Hannibal walked down the street and the man began to follow. Hannibal walked into a large crowd of people who were shopping with the street vendors. The man tried to get closer and closer, the crowd was making it difficult. He pulled out his gun and kept it low under his sleeve so as not to startle anyone. He finally caught up to Hannibal and reached all the way to his back when suddenly, Hannibal spun on his heels and swiveled around stabbing the man in his groin. He didn't make a sound and Hannibal gave a devilish smile and apologized for bumping into him as he moved forward.

"That leaves one."

Hannibal rounded the corner back to where his car was located and glanced down at his watch.

"43 minutes. That should do it."

He then stood in the middle of the street glancing up at the building as if staring down the man inside himself.

Agent Hill came on the radio, "He got them all, but he is just standing there. I don't understand, it's like he is daring me to take the shot."

"Then take it you fool!"

Agent Hill froze when he heard the hammer of a gun being pulled down behind him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A voice came from behind.

He jerked around to notice Clarice standing behind him gun armed at the ready.

"How? We heard your phone conversation. He didn't call for you!"

"This may sound silly, but when you are with someone day in and day out, you really get to know their mannerisms. He knew that if he tipped me, you would be expecting my arrival and thus ruin the surprise and probably set another trap up. So instead he told me in another way. He told me he would be home in five minutes, not that it matters to you since you will be dead soon, and not that it matters to whoever is on the other end of that radio because they will be dead soon too. But it takes at least 35 minutes to get from our house to the market. If he was still in line that would be virtually impossible to do."

"But how did you know I would be here in this building?"

"That part Hannibal texted me, I am sure while he wasted one of your men."

"That is why he was so observant with his watch!? That's it?"

Clarice smiled, "Well that, and also he never hangs up the phone without saying 'All my love darling.'"

Agent Hill cringed, "You are just as sick and twisted as he is!"

"Get up. My husband and I would like to have a word with you and whoever is on the other end of that radio."