WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IS RATED M….for reasons you will have to read to find out. Enjoy.

Chapter 23

Clarice Lecter was exhausted. She had been on the run constantly and with morning sickness kicking in…well let's just say it made things more difficult. She watched the news, read all the newspapers she could find, and accessed the FBI's public website to try and figure out more details. It all boiled down to one move, she needed to see Ardelia. The last person with Hannibal prior to his incarceration. She had already tried to meet with her, but there were too many agents posted around her house of course. This came as no surprise to Clarice, so she came prepared with a plan of her own. Ardelia had a bar she would frequent on Saturday night. A few reasons Ardelia chose this particular bar: one – the drinks were strong, two – cute bartender she likes to flirt with, and three – drinks were cheap enough with the nice discount she received from said bartender. Clarice let Ardelia go a few times on her own with the FBI tailing her. She knew if she jumped to soon, it would be obvious. Best to let them get complacent. Clarice had gone to the bar early and watched the people dance on the floor while music was blaring overhead. She asked for water and checked her watch. The other good thing about this being the meeting location is that she was able to dress the part. Anyone giving a passing glance would not notice her right away. The make up, wig, and gaudy outfit made sure of that. Clarice checked her watch one last time and noted that Ardelia should be on her way soon, because her favorite bartender's shift started soon. So she walked into the ladies room and waited.

Right on cue, Ardelia came strolling in dressed in a skin tight dress that came to just above her knees. Her high heels were a shade of black as well. She looked good, feminine, yet strong. Her hair was pulled back and she sighed. She walked up to the counter and was greeted with the friendly smile of her bartender.

"Delia! Hey girl, been a minute! What's happening?"

She gave a fake smile, "Too much Dez…too much."

Desmond was an attractive man in his 30s. He worked at various bars and spent much of his time traveling because of it. He was very good at his job and took pride in it. He first met Ardelia a few months back. The two hit it off well. "Dez," as she liked to call him could always make her smile and laugh. That was a valuable and rare trait given Ardelia's kind of job. Clarice used to tease Ardelia constantly about him.

Ardelia sighed….she wished she knew how to get into contact with Clarice, but with the two men following her, that would be dangerous for both herself and Clarice. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed the two FBI agents trying to fit in with the crowd. Key word of course being "trying." A little hard to fit in when you have two men glaring at you. Ardelia thought they could burn a hole through her. She already knew that virtually everyone in the FBI thought she was guilty, and so she was already being treated like a convict.

Her thoughts were all interrupted when she heard Desmond say her name, "Hey! Earth to Dee?"

She turned back around and he was waving his hands around. "Sorry Dez, lost in thought."

He placed his hands palm down on the countertop and shook his head, "Look Dee…..I know this may be abrupt, but what say you and I get out of here and go for dinner?"

"What about your job?"

"My friend Josh is always looking for extra hours. All I have to do is make a phone call and he could be here in 20 minutes."

Ardelia thought about it for a long moment, "Ok, deal. I am gonna step in the bathroom and freshen up."

Dez smiled, "You got it."

Ardelia hopped out of the bar chair and walked to the back where the ladies room was and the two men followed her closely. She finally turned around and snapped, "Damnit guys! I am going to the ladies room, do you mind??? Afterwards, I have a date, so I would appreciate it if you could both sit a little further back and fuck off."

They both frowned but nodded their heads in understanding. Ardelia walked in and looked in the mirror. The stall furthest from the door opened and Ardelia glanced over. Her mouth was wide open and so were her eyes, before Ardelia Mapp, stood Clarice.

Clarice walked over to the bathroom door and locked it and then turned to face her friend. She gave a soft smile, but Ardelia could tell it was fake.

"Hey Dee."

"Hey Claire…"

"You don't look so good Dee, I thought you being here with Dez would cheer you up."

Ardelia gave a smirk, "I actually have a date, but you know….I have been treated like a guilty criminal since that day. So I am on suspension now, and I am being followed everywhere I go."

"I know. I have seen them. I tried to come sooner, but it was just too dangerous."

Clarice glanced down at the floor, then back up to her friend, "How is he?"

"I spoke to him this morning. He is alive."

Ardelia heard Clarice take her next breath and watched as her shoulders relaxed. She had been so tense the entire time and she started to cry.

"The newspapers, TV, websites….they wouldn't give any updates. I wasn't even sure if…if…"

Ardelia hugged her best friend, "I know, I know. This was that bastard Pearsall's idea. He thought that if he could keep it under wraps long enough, that maybe you would come out of hiding and reveal yourself."

When the hug ended, Ardelia looked at Clarice and asked, "I briefly heard you say something the day of the shootout. Clarice….are you…pregnant….with his?"

"Yes."

"You're gonna keep it?"

"Yes."

"Why? Clarice this is your chance, at a new life. You could-"

"Stop! I never had a chance Dee. The FBI has fucked me over more times than I can count. And now? Hell, I bet by now, I am probably a kill on sight target. Hannibal gave me the only chance at a life I will ever have. I will not deny him this life. He is the last in his family Dee. With this, he doesn't have to be."

Ardelia shook her head, "Fucking Pearsall has ruined my damn life too. I don't know what I am supposed to do now. I feel lost."

Clarice looked to her friend, "I can help you with that."

"How?"

"An exchange if you will. I could write a letter to them bragging about how I used you, we could make it work. A life for a life."

"Claire, baby, do you know what you are saying?"

"Yes. In exchange, if you help me free my husband, I promise to make Pearsall go away."

Ardelia shook her head, "I…I…can't."

"Yes you can."

Ardelia placed her hands on Clarice's shoulders and looked her in the eye, "Clarice….I cannot help you free him. Hell I am on suspension. I am of no use to you. This is pointless. Just turn the other way and run."

"No Dee, I will get him out, with or without your help. I was just hoping it would be with since you still have some friends in there to talk to. You may be suspended, but you have people that we can use to help us. Please Dee, I am getting him out with or without you. So what's it gonna be?"

Ardelia felt morally conflicted. In one hand she had her best friend for years. A woman she would gladly lay her life on the line for, on the other, the FBI. An oath she swore to serve and protect. But at what cost? The FBI had it's own corrupt officials in it, always had. Thinking back to the day of the shootout she remembered how Will had told her that Pearsall knew about the plan. They had set her up, used her, as a tool. Ardelia looked up to her friend once more.

"Damn….I guess two heads are better than one. You would probably get into a hell of a lot more trouble without me."

Clarice embraced Ardelia, "We have to keep this quick. The men outside are probably wondering where you are. Here take this."

Clarice reached into her little purse and handed Ardelia a burner phone, "I will call you tomorrow. Don't call me. Enjoy your date tonight girl."

While Clarice and Ardelia plotted their next move, Hannibal was sitting on his cot in his little cell. Since his escape from Memphis, this new room was customized specifically for him. There was an outer bulletproof glass wall similar to the one he had under the care of the late Dr. Chilton. Then there was an inner wall that consisted of iron bars. When it was time for dinner, they would open the glass wall first then place the food on the ground. This allowed the guards time to enter and place the food down. Lastly, they would close the outer glass wall and then a switch would flip to open the iron bars. Hannibal was allowed to eat then he would return his meal to the appropriate marking on the floor, and sit back down on his cot for the officers to get. No one would have to come into any contact and there was always one single wall between the men and Hannibal.

On this particular night, Hannibal's least favorite guard had been assigned to him, Bruce Fleming. A tall man appearing to be in his mid forties. He obviously frequented the gym given his physique. Many of the other guards were usually too afraid of Hannibal to speak to him. But not Bruce. He liked to appear as the dominant male in the facility. He tried and tried to provoke Hannibal but to no avail. Dr. Lecter rarely spoke and rarely cared about any of the men that came around. But on this day Bruce was being a little extra obnoxious. Must have been from all of that alcohol. Hannibal could smell it on his breath even from his cell.

"Wakey, wakey Lecter. Time for your dinner, you piece of shit."

Hannibal stood and faced the wall as he was always supposed to when the gate system began. The first wall opened and Bruce stepped through and then the glass wall closed behind him. He placed the tray on the marking on the floor and glanced up. Lecter had never moved. Bruce smiled. He stood upright and chuckled.

"You know…I was thinking about that girl you ran off with. What was her name? Stirling..or…Starling wasn't it? I saw a picture of her in the news the other day."

The glass door began to open again so Bruce would step through and then the doors would shut, then the iron bars would open up.

Bruce stepped really close to the bars, "I wanted to know….she was a pretty girl. Was she a good fuck? Shame you had to waste a nice piece of ass like that. I would like a go with her myself."

Bruce briefly saw Hannibal's hand twitch, "Oohhhh did I strike nerve Lecter?"

Bruce turned to start to walk outside the glass wall. He never heard Hannibal Lecter approach. Lecter reached far through the iron bars and managed to grab Bruce by the collar of his shirt and yank him backwards against the bars. Hannibal placed him in a chokehold and Bruce was gasping for air and trying to scream for help. Two guards were sitting down the hall. One was looking at a magazine and the other was on the phone talking. It took them a whole two minutes to even notice what was going on.

Bruce tried to reach for his gun but then Hannibal just squeezed tighter and tighter. The second bar gate system began to open now that the glass wall was completely shut. Hannibal grabbed Bruce by the hair and pulled his head through the iron bars. The automatic door began moving to the left with his head stuck in between them. Hannibal watched as the automatic gating system carried Bruce off into the wall. His head was crushed in between the bars and the wall. His body fell limp to the floor. Hannibal proceeded to grab the tray and walk back to the cot. The guards were only alerted of an issue when the red lights started blaring saying that there was an error with the gating mechanism. They jumped out of their chairs and ran towards the cell. What they saw was enough to make the younger man puke and the older one to pull out his gun and radio to call for help.

Hannibal Lecter sat on his cot, with blood splatters on his face, eating peacefully from his tray. As if there was no headless body on the ground. The iron bar gate was still opened but the glass wall had already closed up.

"What the fuck happened Lecter?!"

Hannibal gave a friendly smile, "Ah, Mr. Fleming learned the hard way that I don't share what is mine."