Seven years after killing the serial killer James Gumb, FBI agent Clarice Starling is asked to join the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms in a drug raid. She is drafted by her mentor, John Bingham, to deal with a notorious crystal meth dealer named Evelda Drumgo because Starling has arrested her on a previous occasion. Starling explains to the SWAT team that Drumgo is a former model who now works with a criminal gang to manufacture and distribute drugs. Starling claims that Drumgo is almost certainly armed and will not go without a fight. Drumgo is also “HIV positive” and may try to infect police officers with her blood (7). The resentful, sexist SWAT members listen to Starling’s brief even if they’re annoyed at her leadership role. 

At the site of the raid, Bingham notices a news helicopter and hopes that it is “doing traffic” (9). The raid takes place near a fish market, as “La Macarena” plays loudly on a radio (12). When Drumgo is spotted, Starling is “first out on the ground” and a firefight ensues (13), during which Bingham is shot and killed. Starling confronts Drumgo, who carries a baby across her chest in a “blanket” (16).