To Clarice, this kiss felt like something she had waited a thousand years for. To Hannibal, it felt like a loss of control; it was an emotion so strong that his pulsed definitely surged above 85 and he enjoyed it…relished it. His arms slowly came up to rest around her waist and her arms came up to rest on top of his shoulders. She got frustrated at how slow the kiss felt and she pushed forward into him and brought her hand up to the back of his head to pull him even closer to her. Hannibal obliged by stepping forward and pressing her back up against the wall. He wanted, no he needed to be close to her. He pressed himself into her and she gasped. Hannibal moved from her mouth down to her neck kissing her there next. Her hands were at his upper back and she was digging her nails into him as he bit down hard. They were both coming undone when they heard the faint click of the front door. Barney walked in and called out.

Hannibal pulled back from Clarice, but only slightly, "Looks like we will have to continue another time Clarice."

Maximus Verger, the son of Mason Verger, sat in silence on his balcony overlooking the large landscape of greenery. It was a rather bright and sunny day in his villa. He was dressed in a white button up shirt and dark gray slacks. His house was vast, much like his fathers was. Maximus was prideful in the fact that Mason Verger was his biological father, but he felt beyond ashamed of his mothers. Mason had paid well for Max's education and had a direct influence on how he was raised. The closeness between them always upset Margot deeply, to the point where Margot took Maximus away from the mess. Especially once she found out Mason had been plotting to abduct Hannibal Lecter. She had warned him then that meddling with Lecter would only bring destruction to the Verger family….having looked back now….she was not entirely incorrect in that assumption. But now, Maximus was fully grown and had decided to use his money in the way he saw fit. Margot and Judy had always tried to steer him in the correct direction, but Maximus was headstrong, much like Mason was, and once he had an idea in his head, trying to convince him to get off topic was much like trying to pry an animal carcass away from a wolf. On this particular day, Margot saw fit to try and visit her son again. Especially when she had heard he was on the trail of Hannibal Lecter.

Maximus moved away from his Mothers' as soon as he was able. He had planned on returning to his father, Mason, until he was informed of his death. Ever since, Maximus had been hell bent on revenge. Margot was no fool however, she had paid a few of the servants under the table to keep a watchful eye on him. If anything came up, they were to contact her directly.

Margot drove up the long gravel driveway in her silver Bentley. She parked and approached the tall red doors, knocking three times before she received an answer.

A tall man answered, "Ah! Madam, I apologize…but I don't believe Mr. Verger is expecting your company this afternoon."

Margot replied with a warning, "I don't give a shit if he is expecting me or not, I am his Mother and I need to speak with him immediately. You will do right to let me through, or I can enter by force…the choice is yours."

The man audibly gulped and stepped aside to let her in the home. Margot stepped inside and marched forward. She glanced over her shoulder, "Where is he?"

"Out on the balcony."

Margot pressed forward and opened the large glass door which led to the balcony. Maximus glanced back to see who was creating the noise and grimaced. He stood up and approached Margot.

"Margot." He said.

"Margot? Really? I am your mother, Maximus."

"No, your companion is my mother, you were just a facilitator."

Margot slapped him across the cheek hard, "I knew I should have taken you away from Mason long ago! You are too much like him. But son, listen, it is not too late to turn back from all this."

Maximus placed a hand on his cheek and looked to Margot, "Turn back from what?"

"I am no fool. I have heard from several people that you are chasing after Doctor Lecter. Max, dear, this has to stop…now! Mason tried and failed. If you keep going after him…you will try and fail too. Leave this alone!"

Maximus laughed, "Oh really? Had you not taken me from my father in the first place, I could have helped him. This was your doing. This was all your fault. That man deserves to die the most painful death possible for what he did to my father. Who is leaking this information to you huh? Who are you paying off this time?"

Margot paced back and forth, "That is not important. What is important is that you have the power to stop this here and now. If you keep pursuing this…not even I can keep you safe. Do you understand?"

Just then, a tall man with olive skin approached. He had a bald head, a beard, and was dressed in a tacky printed button up shirt with jeans and sunglasses. Maximus addressed him, "Philip! Come to deliver good news I hope?"

Margot turned and observed the man named Philip in disgust.

Philip frowned and shook his head, "My apologies boss. We couldn't catch her."

Margot looked back to Maximus, "'Catch her?' Who is 'her?'"

Maximus ignored Margot and pressed Philip, "Are you fucking kidding me? We had agents planted on her, there is no way she knew and there is no way she could have escaped. How did this happen?"

Philip looked at his shoes and back up to Maximus, "He was there, Doctor Lecter, he had intercepted the men before she got home. They are all dead. And we can't find them now."

Maximus snarled, "You let them fucking escape? This plan took months of preparation! How can you possibly be so fucking stupid!?" Maximus walked back to his chair that he was sitting in and bent over to pick up the gun that lay right next to it. He turned and pointed it at Philip.

Margot stood in shock.

"Philip…you have 48 hours to relocate them or I will locate this bullet right between your fucking eyes! Do I make myself abundantly clear?"

"Y…yes boss. We are on their trail. They couldn't have gotten far. We are tapping our resources in the FBI as we speak."

"Well get a fucking move on!"

Philip hurried away. Margot looked at Maximus in disbelief. Maximus just smiled.

"Who are you? What happened to my son?"

Maximus laughed, "I am still the same boy, mommy." The mommy was spoken more like a joke than anything.

Margot responded, "What was that man talking about? Who is this woman you are after?"

Maximus sighed, "You know…I know you think, that I think, that father was perfect. But he wasn't. He was a fool at times…missed a lot of details. One in particular that I am banking on. One named Clarice Starling."

Margot's jaw dropped, "Maximus what have you done?"

"Father tried putting Clarice under duress in order to draw at that Monster, and you know what? It actually kind of worked. But I thought of something…father was too careful and too round a bout with the matter. I decided to take her and kidnap her to draw the man out. You see, I have been chasing Lecter for almost a year. That bastard somehow manages to escape my clutches every time. And he always leaves behind a few of the dead mercenaries just to rub it in my damn face. So, I decided to try something new. I paid a few guys off at the FBI to keep an eye on Clarice Starling and to get me access to her files from the night of my father's death. Do you know what I found?"

Margot crossed her arms over her broad chest, "No."

"There were pictures of her from that night. He had her all dressed up in this sexy little black dress. They also found one Paul Krendler with his brains partially eaten. Apparently, he was some sort of enemy to Clarice Starling. Don't you see? He had made a dinner especially for her. With one of the main courses being a man that drove her career into the ground. It occurred to me then…only one thing."

"What?"

"My father thought Hannibal was just intrigued by Starling…or that he just wanted to kill her. Father kept a recording of his interview with one Barney Mathews, and I listened to it. Barney suggested that Lecter was possibly even in love with her. My father brushed this off immediately. But after looking at all the evidence….I came to one conclusion. He was wrong….Hannibal Lecter is in love with Clarice Starling. If I go after her, he will follow."

Margot approached Maximus and placed her hands on his shoulders and looked him deep in the eyes, "Son…please listen to what I am about to say. If you never listen to another thing I say ever again I can accept that. If what you are saying is true, then Hannibal Lecter is all the more dangerous if you try and pursue Clarice Starling. If he is indeed in love with her, he will stop at nothing to come after you to save her. Maximus, you have to stop this all now. You are not Mason Verger. You never should be and you never will be. Please son…before its too late. Call this whole thing off now."

Maximus smiled, "If he comes after me, then I can finally have my revenge on them both. They both are responsible for his death. I can end this all now."

"You will never get the chance…he will kill you first."

"Would you let him do that? Would you let him hurt me?"

Margot took a step back and glared at her son, "Excuse me?"

"The plan I have already set in motion….its too late. If what you say is true, he will come for me. But are you going to let him? You could help me, we could catch him. Don't you want revenge for your brother?"

"NO! I want this all behind us. You have awakened something the likes of which you cannot handle."

"Well, if you are my so called mother….protect me from him."

"What?"

Maximus approached Margot and got right up in her face, "I know you went to see him when he was still practicing as a psychologist when you were younger. Perhaps I should punish you for what happened to father as well. Had you never gone to him, my father wouldn't have been in the position he was in from the start."

Margot stood in silence for a long moment before speaking again, "Son, if there is any part of you left that is still human, I need you to listen to me. I went to Dr. Lecter because of what Mason did to me. He chose to pursue Hannibal and look at where that got him. It isn't too late for you. Stop all of this now. If you pursue him further, not I, not Judy, not your dear dead dad, or anyone on this Earth can keep him finishing you off. Stop all of this, now."

Maximus turned his back and walked out further onto the balcony overlooking the vast fields before him. He inhaled and slowly exhaled, turned around, and looked back to Margot one last time, "If you aren't here to help me catch them. If you aren't coming here to offer your services to protect me. You are useless to me. Get out of my sight!"

Margot turned to leave and headed back to the glass door that led back into the house. Maximus called out to her once more, "I want him to come after me you know. This makes my job so much easier. You are so scared of this Big, Bad Wolf. He is nothing more than an old man who got lucky a few times. I will have an army waiting for him. He isn't immortal. He will bleed, and he will die."

Margot didn't even look back as she muttered, "Yes, he does bleed. But any predator who has something to protect is infinitely more dangerous. If what you say about Clarice Starling is true, you have awakened an even bigger Monster."