Hannibal

Sometimes

Dr. Lecter and I would talk, when things got quiet enough,

about the science courses I was taking, and...

Some kind of mail-order courses in psychology, Nurse Barney?

No, sir.

See, I don't consider psychology a science, and neither did Dr. Lecter.

Now, Barney, while you were working at the asylum,

you observed Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter interacting.

Interacting?

Talking to one another.

Yes. Yes, it seemed to me that they...

I can see you're eager to justify your consulting fee,

but why don't we start with what you saw,

not what you thought about what you saw?

Cordell, don't be like that.

Barney can give us his opinion.

Barney, give us your opinion of what you saw.

What was it between them?

Well, most of the time,

Dr. Lecter didn't respond at all to visitors.

He'd just, for instance,

open his eyes long enough to insult some academic

who was there to look over him.

With Starling, he answered her questions.

She interested him. She intrigued him.

He thought she was charming and amusing.

So, Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter became friendly?

Well, inside a kind of formal structure, yes.

And he was fond of her?

Yes.

Thank you, Barney. Thank you very much for your candor.

And keep all those wonderful items

from your personal Lecter treasure trove coming,

I've enjoyed them immensely.

Mr. Verger.

Oh, I almost forgot. I might be able to get a cookie down.

What do you say, Cordell?

I think it would kill you.

- How much? - 250,000.

Cordell, cut a check for $250,000.

How can she sleep at a time like this?

She's on jump-out squad all night, she's saving her strength.

All right, everyone, pay attention. Here's the layout.

Excuse me. I'm Officer Bolton, D.C. Police.

Yes, I can see that from your badge. How do you do?

I'm in charge here.

Officer Bolton, I'm Special Agent Starling.

And just so we don't get off on the wrong foot, let me explain why we're all here.

I'm here because I know Evelda Drumgo.

I've arrested her twice on RICO warrants.

DEA and ATF, in addition to backing me up,

are here for the drugs and the weapons.

You're here because our mayor wants to appear tough on drugs,

especially after his own cocaine conviction,

and hopes he can accomplish that by having you join us here today.

You got a smart mouth, lady.

Officer, if you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me continue.

All right, take a look.

Fish market, back's on the water.

Across the street, ground floor, is the meth lab.

Evelda Drumgo is HIV positive.

She will spit and bite if she's cornered, so you should watch it.

And if you happen to be the one who puts her in a patrol car

in front of the news cameras, Officer Bolton,

you don't wanna push her head down,

she'll likely have a needle in her hair.

We wanna take her inside the building, not out in the street.

We can get closest with the van.

If it looks good, on my signal, we hit the front, DEA hits the back,

DCPD backing them up.

She'll have her watchers out at least three blocks around.

They've tipped her before in time, so let's not make spectacles of ourselves.

- Pretty busy today. - I agree.

Can I please get a cup of coffee?

- Did you see that? - That's a roger.

- What's up, man? - Hey.

Goddamn it. It's her, with three guys. They're all packing.

She's carrying something.

She's got a baby.

Hey, Brigham, it's too crowded.

There are too many people.

I say we call it off. What do you say?

I agree.

All units, stand down.

- Whiskey Team copies. - Burke copy.

This is Bolton. Stay on target.

I said all units stand down, Bolton, right now.

- It's too late, we're moving in. - Hey, Bolton, he said it's off.

Stand down, now.

She's carrying a baby. I repeat, she's carrying a baby.

All units stand down.

Keep that gun down, Bolton.

- Damn, dude got a piece. - Light his ass up.

- Son of a bitch! - It's a go. FBI, get on the ground!

Hold it!

Hold your fire!

Down!

Evelda, get out of the car!

Starling, is that you?

Step away from the car!

Show me your hands, Evelda.

Please, show me your hands.

- How have you been? - Don't do this.

Do what?

It's all right. It's okay.

I know, I know.

Baby, I know. It's okay.

It's okay. It's okay.

Friends, family, and co-workers gathered here this morning

at Arlington National Cemetery

to bury BATF agent John Brigham,

shot and killed in the line of duty, Friday.

He was 40 years old.

This ill-fated drug raid, that claimed his life and five others,

is the latest in a seemingly endless series of incidents,

beginning with Waco, Texas, in which the Justice Department and the FBI

have been questioned about their use of firepower

rather than judgment.

This time, it was FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling

heading up the calamitous strike force.

Agent Starling attained some measure of celebrity 10 years ago,

when she was given information

by Dr. Hannibal "the Cannibal" Lecter, which led to the rescue

of Catherine Martin, daughter of the former U.S. senator from Tennessee.

However, when she returns to work later this week,

she won't be so celebrated.

Attorney Telford Higgins,

representing one of the families of those slain,

says he will file a wrongful death suit.

Cordell.

Cordell.

- Yes, sir. - Get me the Justice Department.

Agent Starling? This is John Eldridge from DEA.

Assistant Director Noonan, of course, you know.

Larkin Wayne from our Office of Professional Responsibility.

Bob Sneed, ATF.

Benny Holcombe, assistant to the mayor, and Paul Krendler.

You know Paul.

Paul's come over from Justice unofficially, as a favor to us.

In other words, he's here, and he's not here.

So, I take it you've seen the coverage in the papers, and on television?

I have nothing to do with the news, Mr. Krendler.

The woman had a baby in her arms.

There are pictures. You can see the problem, I would think.

Not in her arms, in a carrier across her chest.

In her arms, she had a MAC-10.

Look, we're here to help you, Starling.

It's gonna be a hell of a lot harder to do with a combative attitude.

Can I speak freely, Mr. Pearsall?

Your agency called this office

to get me assigned to help you on this raid.

I tried to do that.

I clearly expressed my judgment, and was ignored,

and now a good agent, and a friend, is dead.

You shot and killed five people out there, Agent Starling.

Is that how you define good judgment?

This raid was an ugly mess.

I ended up in a position where I had a choice of dying,

or shooting a woman carrying a child.

I chose.

I shot her.

I killed a mother holding her child.

And I regret it, I resent myself for it.

All right, gentlemen, I'm going to call a halt to this meeting

and get back to you individually by phone.

Waste of time.

You have a secret admirer, Starling.

Isn't much to look at, but he does have friends in high places.

Remember Mason Verger?

Lecter's fourth victim,

the rich one.

The only one that survived.

He says he has some new information on Lecter. He'll only share it with you.

What do you mean, only share it with me? You want it, seize it.

We'd rather not.

I wasn't speaking to you, Mr. Krendler.

When I speak to you, you'll know it, because I'll look at you.

Why would we rather not?

The last time he called

was when we took Lecter off the Ten Most Wanted list.

He was upset about that. We said, "Hey, that's life."

He said, "Hey, this is a Senate oversight committee,

"to make your life miserable."

His family's political contributions may not be enough to buy a senator,

but they are enough to rent them from time to time.

There's no reason to go through that again if he really does have something new.

It's a good deal for you, Starling. You can't pretend it isn't.

You get to go back on a celebrated case.

I'll take care of the media for your Drumgo killing.

- Everyone's gonna be happy. - I'm not happy.

Well, maybe you're incapable of being happy.

Mr. Krendler, when you're out on the street,

you know you might take a bullet in the line of duty.

You accept it, or you get out.

You live with it.

What you don't expect, or accept,

is taking one in the back in your boss' office

for doing your job exactly as they've taught you.

That makes you unhappy.

Of course, you're right, Starling, but it doesn't really change anything.