"When I was in the academy training for the F.B.I., Jack Crawford, my superior at the time, had asked me to get Lecter to fill out a psychiatric survey to better understand him. It was hard to ask of me, I wasn't so keen on talking to Hannibal 'the Cannibal' Lecter. There were so many rules; don't tell him about yourself, don't let him inside your head, don't accept anything he wishes to pass you, don't touch the glass, don't approach the glass, don't give him anything he could use to pick the lock, etc. When I got there, I met Dr. Chilton, I met Barney, and I met him.

"Doctor Lecter was a very courteous man. I would never have expected it, to be honest, his politeness. I was polite back, he and I had a conversation about Buffalo Bill and his drawings on the walls, he spoke of Florence. He drew them all from mere memory...anyway, I asked him to look at the survey and as he did, he began to insult me. My second grade shoes, my perfume, my handbag, everything. I asked him to turn his insight to himself to see what he was, and then said that he was afraid to do it. He became interested then, I think. He asked me about Valentines Day during my visit. He gave me a clue for something and when I got there, I found...a severed head in a jar. Benjamin Raspail, a victim of his. He was helping me with the Buffalo Bill case and I became involved with the F.B.I., much like Will Graham was with the Red Dragon.

"I was stuck on the case, so Crawford and I bribed him with false promises. He could walk on the beach or swim in the ocean under S.W.A.T. team surveillance once a week for a year. He and I started a...a game of some kind. Quid Pro Quo, do you know what that means?

"It means 'something for something'. I ask a question. He asks a question. He wanted to know about myself in exchange for information on Buffalo Bill. He asked me about my father, and I told him about how he was shot and killed when I was ten and I was moved to a ranch. It wasn't until after that visit that Dr. Chilton had found out about a fake deal and called the Senator of Tennessee, who confirmed it to be lies. Lecter was moved to Memphis for information, but he gave them false information. I went to interview him again and I told him about a childhood memory I had about...lambs...and he never gave me the information back. He apparently wrote on my copy of the case file and gave me clues. I accidentally found him, Buffalo Bill, and killed him for self preservation.

"When I became an agent, Lecter called me about the lambs, then went off to kill Chilton. Ten years later, I'm put back on his case and he finds it hilarious. He was in Florence, at the time. So he contacts me and sends a perfume. I asked for tapes of the perfume shops and found him, and when I called Pazzi, an agent over in Florence, Lecter answered. Pazzi had been trying to catch Lecter himself and he was just about to be murdered when I called. You see, Pazzi wanted to catch him for the ransom and I'd seen him log into the F.B.I. most wanted list. When I saw the perfume shop tapes, I saw Lecter and knew he was in Florence then, as was Pazzi. When I asked Lecter if he were dead, he hung up. He was coming back to America.

"When I realized this, I became scared slightly. Then again I wanted to see him again, you know? Have you had that feeling with Lecter? Like he just leaves you wanting more? That's what happened with me. I could never stop thinking about him. Ever. At least thirty seconds of every day, he appeared in my head. I was almost excited to see him, to be honest.

"One day, I was told that a note was sent in, a poem. Paul Krendler had a problem with me and I suspected he was being paid to do this. I was suspended from duty and sent home. I began working without their permission. I knew I was going to get in serious trouble, but that didn't matter to me. Lecter was coming back to America. That was all I could think about.

"Then, as I was sleeping in the living room of my home at the time, Lecter called my house. He hinted that he was in the house earlier and had told me to change the battery in my cell phone and go somewhere. He and I spoke and, I can't believe I did this, but I asked him how he's been. I rebuked it somehow, but my mind was in such a jumble that I can't remember anymore.

"Lecter led me to the mall, where there was a carousel. Do you remember the carousel I took you to when you were seven? We were on vacation, visiting Ardiela, do you remember? That carousel. Lecter took off and gave me a pair of shoes. I can't believe he did, they were so nice. When he hung up, and I walked outside, I found him being hauled away into a black van. It was very...upsetting. I've anticipated seeing the man again and I finally see him, but it's a kidnapping. I tried to stop the van, but it just kept going and I couldn't do anything about it. When authorities got there, I was told to stay at my house. Well obviously, I didn't. I went chasing him because I knew just exactly where he went.

"So I went to find him. I snuck in and shot the men who were tying him up. I stormed in and I got shot just as I shot one of the guys. I more or less passed out and I'm pretty sure Lecter carried me out. Then I woke up in a dress with a stitch in my shoulder. I was angry that he changed me, but I walked down the stairs, hardly able to stand up. I saw Paul at a table with Lecter and…it's a bit fuzzy but I was seated and…honey, don't scream…Lecter ate Paul's brain. I mean, he took out a piece of his brain and fried it and fed it to Paul. He died later.

"I tried to get Lecter when he had his back turned, but he saw me coming and pinned me down. He asked…he asked me if I would ever say 'stop, if you love me stop.' I said 'Not in a million years.' and he made out like he was going to bite me, eat me up, but he stopped and said 'That's my girl.' and…kissed me.

"I…I can't believe I did this…but I handcuffed him as he was and he cut his own hand off. He fled, trapping me inside the house. I managed to get out but when I chased after him, he was gone.

"I didn't see him for another year. He'd been hiding in the US until he could speak to me again. He and I…well, we had you not that soon after and we lived somewhere off away from society. He absolutely loved you. He wanted to name you Mischa, but I had none of it, I'll have you know. I named you Reine because it means queen in…French I think. Also, you were absolutely infatuated with thunderstorms. You would cry and cry and cry without the sound of rain lulling you to sleep. Ha ha, Lecter even bought you a rain stick so he could get you to fall asleep. And your middle name, Hannah-Annabelle, well I think it kinda sounds like Hannibal. Hannah. Annabelle. Hannah starts with H and Annabelle sounds like Hannibal…okay, so I was all doped up on pain killers when I had you. I'm sorry.

"Anyway, when the FBI got an anonymous tip that he was here, we were forewarned by a friend and he left. He never spoke to you over the phone because, well, I suppose he wanted you to forget him. I suppose he wanted you to never know about what he does, what kind of 'monster' he was. I at least wanted you to know you had a father that cared for you so much and that he was still out there, but maybe I should've never told you about him and just said he died. Then again, you were four and you remember most of the things you and him did together. I don't know, Reine. I just don't."

My mother began to cry over the phone. The whole discussion had broken her apart and I had stopped moving. I was right outside the rest stop and I was sitting on the curb, watching the lights of the cars drive by as my mother tried to quiet herself. I waited. So it was true. He was my father. I found it hard to believe, but then again, I kind of knew it. I should call Lecter. Eventually. Soon. Dammit, I should call him now. I could almost feel my own tears well up in my eyes. I shouldn't cry, I should be happy. He came back. Then I felt absolute hatred. I felt absolute hatred toward myself. I ran away. I didn't recognize his voice. It was my most cherished memory of him. His voice speaking to me, calming me down, telling me everything was going to be okay.

"Mom?" I said quietly for her attention. "I have to go." and I hung up. I began to dial Lecter's number...but something stopped me. I stared at the phone, at the number marked down for me. I closed the phone and walked inside. Nothing inside the store told anyone that I was a fugitive. I was very cautious with the security cameras though. I pulled a couple of snacks from the shelves and a pair of sunglasses.

The clerk wasn't even there. I just rang it up myself and walked out. I didn't have to pay, but I left a note on a sticky note behind the desk saying "You snooze you loose. Try to stay in the store next time, won't you?" I have no idea what possessed me to do that, but at the moment, I felt like rebelling against the world. I felt...numb. I just abandoned my morals as if they didn't exist and went about my life. I needed to figure something out. Why? Why was I going so far out of my way to go meet Will Graham? I found out that my father is, biologically, Hannibal Lecter. This was ridiculous. I needed to sleep on it. I really did.

I found my way back to the motorcycle and sat on the muddy ground, leaning against the tree I parked it on. I leaned my head back, and I drifted to sleep.

Ignorance is bliss, after all.

~Starling Residence~

Agent Starling was terrified for her daughter. She was only fifteen! For god's sake, fifteen! She shouldn't have been running around trying to find something, whatever that something was! She left for leverage, leverage to make sure of what? Hannibal had threatened her and made her run, so she's probably after something to defend herself from Hannibal. The fact that she's his daughter is leverage enough, something the media would die over. That would humiliate me too, but would Hannibal even care after it's been said? Reine won't tell anyone associated with the media anyway, its not her way.

Clarice sat back on the pale blue couch against the wall, darkened in the shadows of the moonlight, and buried her face in her hands. What the hell is Reine looking for?

"Ms. Starling?" Clarice looked up toward the threshold dividing the living room from the dining room. Jacob "Is she alright?" he asked. She nodded, although she wasn't sure.

"She's in a forest. She's riding a motorcycle...God, no mother should go through this, this knowing that her daughter can crash and die without a moment to..." Clarice looked at Jacob, her eyes watering and swollen from crying. But they were also wide and filled with a confused surprise. Jacob was smiling, not as if he were laughing at a joke, but a genuine, confident smile.

He walked over to the nervous wreck of a mother and sat next to her, the smile still on his face. "You know, when I heard about Lecter, I didn't really think about him as a person, but when I saw him standing up for her when she couldn't stand up for herself against John, I realized something." Jacob looked at the blank television sitting silently in the dark, plugged in and turned off, wasting electricity.

"Reine is a strong person. She knew he was a cannibal who might not hesitate to devour her down to the bone if she got on a real bad side of him and knowing he was chasing her around, she still didn't give in. She looked for everyone, researching every person who would help her find whatever she's trying to find. And if Lecter is trying so hard to protect her from something that could get her killed, if he's trying so hard that he would get in the way of God himself, then no fucking motorcycle will kill her. Nothing will at this point, she's so driven to figure this thing out, whatever it is."

Clarice stared at Jacob and thought about this. It was true, the both of them, Hannibal and Reine, were both very driven individuals. If Hannibal wanted to hurt her, he would've done it already. In fact, he would've shot her on the spot before she ran off. He seems pretty driven to keep her safe. Reine seems pretty driven to get whatever she's trying to get.

But Hannibal isn't inhuman. He's not a god, he's not immortal, he's just a man like every other male human on the face of the planet. Clarice rubbed her eyes dry and stood up. "Fuck this, I'm going to Florida." Jacob stood up quickly, a bit too quickly really. He nearly stumbled back onto the couch.

"Ms. Starling, are you sure? We're not sure which town-"

"Marathon. We'll start there. Call Crawford and tell him to meet us at the airport."

Jacob was absolutely appalled. Was this happening? "Where in Marathon are we going? We aren't even sure where to start!"

"Will Graham's apartment. We'll need the address."

~Reine Starling-Lecter...~

The next morning was hellish. Traffic was a bitch and I was terrified someone would report the license plate on the fucking bike. No police stopped me, so I guess I was alright. The scenery was beautiful, absolutely gorgeous. I was absolutely amazed as I drove down the road that I had to stop at the beachside, to watch the waves pull in back and forth. I listened to the crashing of the waves hitting the side of the beach, slipping up and feeling the sand with it's salty fingers, rushing around me to feel the sand I sat upon, crashed with the tires of the motorcycle, then receded to savor the feeling of sand under the long stretch of the foaming water.

Interesting.

I stood up and left the motorcycle and the helmet. There was no need to hide anymore, I was almost there. What was I looking for? I don't know. But I knew that I was going to go home after this. There was no need to keep going. I found no reason to keep looking for information I didn't even need. I had enough, but maybe I could learn a bit about Lecter before I went home.

I don't know. I didn't know anything after seeing him and it just pissed me off. I liked knowing things, but if I'm off getting information and I don't even know what information I'm after, it pisses me off.

But first thing's first: Ask around town for Will Graham, the man who caught Hannibal Lecter.