Chapter Text
It would be quick, a painless death. Will wouldn’t feel a thing if he were fast enough. Hannibal tried to reason with himself as he stood over the sleeping form. He had to kill Will. If he didn’t, the boy would end up telling someone what he knew. Then Hannibal would be taken away and Will would get thrown back into a world that would never really understand him. He’d be seen as part of the killings, not a victim, and the world would crucify him out of some misplaced sense of justice. Killing Will now was the best thing to do, as unpleasant as the act was. It would be far crueler to leave Will at the mercy of the media circus and vindictive strangers.
He could snap Will’s neck while he slept and then create a crime scene for the FBI to search. There would be questions, but Hannibal was confident in his ability to outsmart Jack Crawford and his team. Besides, he could always hide behind the vale of a grieving parent to avoid answering any questions for a time. For once his disguise would be genuine.
Hannibal took a last look at the boy, wanting to have his final image of Will be a peaceful one. After he had committed the sleeping boy to memory, he placed a hand on the base of Will’s neck. He could feel the strong steady pulse beneath his hand and did his best to ignore it. Soon he wouldn’t feel it any longer, Will would be gone and he could get on with the rest of his life.
“‘Annibal?” A slurred voice broke Hannibal out of his thoughts. Looking down, he saw that Will had come at least partially out of his drugged sleep. Unsure of what to do, he simply stared at the boy while he tried unsuccessfully to focus on anything. “Why’d you havta be so ‘ice?” Will mumbled as his eyes closed and the drug claimed him again.
“Sleep, Will, things will be better in the morning.” Hannibal was surprised to find his own throat raw as he struggled to keep his voice level.
He couldn’t kill Will, he couldn’t. It would be the easiest kill of a very long career, but Hannibal could not make himself do it. The sleeping form beneath him had somehow managed to find a place in his long dead heart that forbade him from taking Will’s life. The hand that had previously been poised to end Will’s life brushed a few stray curls of hair away from his eyes instead. He needed time to think about what to do now. He needed to cook something.
Will awoke to the smell of citrus. After fighting to get his eyes to remain open, he was greeted with a view of an assortment of elegantly carved fruits next to his bed. That had never happened before. Confused, Will attempted to sit up and inspect the items only to have the room start spinning and feel his stomach drop.
“Careful, you must move slow if you want to avoid getting sick.” Hannibal’s voice echoed somewhere in the room as a pair of strong hands forced him to lie back down. Will heard himself start to whimper for some reason. “I am not going to hurt you, Will. Please stay calm, you are not in any danger. Just relax and let the drug wear off.”
Drug? Will’s head felt like it had been filled with cotton. Why was Hannibal talking about drugs? Yesterday’s revelation hit him, making him bolt upright. “It was you.”
“Yes, it was. Now, please eat something.”
“No.”
Hannibal sighed as if Will was being entirely unreasonable about this. “I have not tampered with the fruit, Will. Eating some will speed the drugs release.”
“You first.”
“Very well.” Hannibal replied before spearing a piece of pineapple and eating it. “Nothing had been done to the fruit.”
Will tried his best to glare at Hannibal, but the room was still moving and he found himself trying not to vomit. Hannibal seemed to sense this and placed a few grapes in Will’s hand. “This will help with the dizziness you are feeling.”
Will reluctantly popped a grape into his mouth and chewed, being sick to his stomach wouldn’t help anyone. He ate a few more and waited until his stomach had settled somewhat before asking the question that was weighing on his mind. “So, you really are the Chesapeake Ripper?”
“Yes.”
Will felt his heart sink at the confession. He had already known, but the confirmation still hurt. “Why would you kill all those innocent people?”
“They were not innocent.” Hannibal stated calmly.
“But, they hadn’t done anything wrong…”
“So was it right for your father to beat you for things beyond your control?”
“Ms. Buchanan didn’t beat me.” Will replied, ignoring the question.
“She was a callous woman whose life had been founded on casual cruelties to others. Do you truly miss her belittling comments?” Will didn’t answer. “She was a person that was cruel to all those around her. The world is full of people that should not be in it.”
“Like the men that killed your sister?” Will asked, Hannibal’s childhood story suddenly seemed much darker than it had been when originally told.
“Yes,” Hannibal replied after a pause. His voice grew colder and colder as he continued. “And the man that tried to abduct you. A jail cell is all that is keeping that man safe from me. How many children do you imagine he had taken before you? Should he be allowed to hurt more people?”
“Stop it! Killing people isn’t right!” Will cried. “You can’t just kill people, it’s wrong!”
A frown marred Hannibal’s face. “Says who? The corrupt government or police forces that are bribed and swayed by others to allow evil men to remain free?”
“Please stop it…”
“Will, I know you are a smart boy. You must know that what I am saying makes sense. The law will tell you killing is wrong; but we both know that there are people that should not live.”
“So, are you going to kill me?” The question came out as a half heard whisper.
Hannibal’s facial expression softened immediately. He reached out a hand to comfort Will, but stopped when he saw the boy flinch away from him. “I could never kill you, Will. Of all the people I have met, no one deserves to live more than you do. I could never take you from this world.”
Will studied Hannibal’s face for a long time before responding. “I believe you.” An uncomfortable silence stretched between the pair as Will continued to look for any sign of insincerity on Hannibal’s face. He either didn’t find any or gave up searching. Will moved on to the next question he needed to ask instead. “What are you going to do now?”
“That depends on you, William. What do you wish me to do?”
“What do you mean?” That didn’t make any sense to Will. Hannibal always had a plan, no matter what. He would have one in place right now as well.
“Tell me what you want to happen now. Whatever you ask of me, I will do my best to grant it.”
“But you won’t stop killing.” It was a statement, not a question.
“No,” Hannibal said with a shake of his head. “That is one thing I cannot do. I cannot look at this world and see such horrible people inhabit it without acting.”
“Can I ask you something first?”
“I believe you just did. But, you may ask me as many questions as you need.”
Will chose to ignore Hannibal’s attempt at humor. Today was not a day for it. “Was this all just so I would be with you? Why didn’t you just kidnap me?”
“That would never have worked as anything more than a temporary solution. The authorities would not have stopped searching for any trace of you, and I think you would find a way to alert someone to your predicament if I had taken you. I had planned to be placed in charge of you since the first ideas of a plan began to form in my head.”
“Why did decide to you kill my father and not me that night? I could have gotten you caught, that couldn't have been part of your plan. The safe choice would have been to kill me.”
Hannibal’s voice was still eternally calm, as if talking about murder were the most mundane thing in the word. “I killed your father because he was a vile creature, but you had done nothing wrong. I would never have been able to kill you, Will. At first, it was simply because you reminded me of my sister; but now, you are much too dear to me for any harm to come to you.”
“So you killed my dad because he hurt me?”
“Yes.”
That wasn’t the answer Will wanted to hear. It only confused things even more for him. “That’s not right.”
“Would you rather have him alive and still beating you?” Hannibal asked. Will didn’t respond. “Would you? Answer the question, Will.”
“No.” Will mumbled and shrunk in on himself.
“So you are glad that I killed your father.”
He curled further into himself. “I didn’t say that.”
“But you just told me you prefer him dead rather than living.”
“That’s not fair.”
“What is not fair is that horrible people walk the earth harming the innocent, like you. The people I take from this world are ones that don’t belong in it. It may not the right thing by the world’s standards, but what I do helps it. I make the world a better place for the good by removing the bad.”
Will couldn’t stay here and listen to this any more, he needed to move and think. “I don’t want to eat the rest of this.” He grabbed the bowl still full of fruit and took off with shaky legs towards the kitchen. Hannibal followed a few steps behind, watching.
Hannibal saw Will’s exit as a classic avoidance technique. But, neither that fact or that Will was about to dispose of a perfectly good meal bothered the man. He could tell that Will was no longer upset about Hannibal being the Ripper, but that what he said made sense.
Will’s natural empathy let him see why what Hannibal did was right, and that scared him. But Hannibal was confident that with just a little more time he could convince Will to keep quiet about his secret. He would understand that Hannibal was trying to create a better world for him.
Will’s legs gave out on him in the dining room. As the last of the drugs left Will, his body was left feeling weak and cold. In another hour, everything would be normal again. Hannibal offered to help the boy finish the trip to the kitchen, but he refused and sat in a chair to wait out the drug. He didn’t refuse the blanket offered when he started to shiver.
“This is awful.” He grumbled while pulling the blanket tighter around him. “It’s even worse than a cold.”
Hannibal sent him a sympathetic look. “I am truly sorry about drugging you, Will. I was worried you were going to cause more harm to yourself if I did not do something.”
Will looked at the bandage still covering most of his right hand. The cut was quite impressive. “Thanks for helping, I guess.”
“All I have ever tried to do is help you.”
“You’ve got a weird way of helping.”
Hannibal wanted to keep talking, but the sound of the doorbell being rung filled the room. Hannibal didn’t have any patients or guests coming over today. His mood soured when he guessed who else might be calling on him.
“I will be back in a moment, are you going to be alright alone?” Hannibal asked Will in a level voice. He didn’t want to reveal who was most likely waiting to barge into the house.
“I’m not going to call the cops if that’s what you’re worried about.” Will’s voice was bitter and slightly sarcastic, but also sincere when he spoke. It said volumes about where he stood on the Ripper issue and helped lift Hannibal’s spirit slightly.
“It would be within your rights to do so, but I appreciate that you choose not to.” With that, Hannibal headed to the door to greet Agent Jack Crawford.
Jack Crawford could not have picked a worse time to show up. Hannibal had just begun to make progress with Will. The sudden appearance of the man would make all of the morals the world had taught him come rushing back. If he managed to speak to Will, than Hannibal’s secret would come out due to guilt if nothing else.
The man needed to leave. It was with that thought in mind that Hannibal opened the door to talk with a disgruntled looking Jack Crawford. He had not taken yesterday’s phone call well it would seem.
“Goodmorning, Doctor Lecter. May I speak to Will?” His voice did not match the words he spoke. Everything about him seemed like a spring that had been pulled too far back and made all his words and actions stiff and tight. It wouldn’t take much to make the man snap. On any other day, Hannibal would have seen this as the start of a great game, but today he had more important things to do.
“Will is not available, Agent Crawford,” He stated in a level voice. “I suggest you go home.” The latter half of the sentence was more of a command than a suggestion. Jack seemed unwilling to obey though, and the two men stared each other down.
“I want him to leave!” Will yelled from inside after hearing who was at the door.
Jack brushed past Hannibal and started down the hall, ignoring the man’s protests about violating their home. “I only want to talk for a few minutes, Will.”
“No, go away!”
“I’m not leaving until we have a talk.” Jack entered the dining room and froze momentarily when he saw Will huddled up and shaking. “Are you alright?” Jack asked while reaching a hand out towards Will.
“Please just leave me alone!” Will begged as he recoiled from Jack’s touch and pulled the blanket over his head.
“Will, what’s wrong?”
Panic laced Will’s words as he hid within the blanket. “Don’t ask me to tell! Just go away!”
“Ask you to tell what?” Jack asked, clearly at a loss for what to do. “Do you need help?”
“I don’t want to tell you about the Ripper!”
“The Ripper? Did you remember something? We can keep you safe from whoever it is. No one will hurt you, Will.”
Jack meant to say more, but suddenly found a knife buried in his side. “I believe Will asked that you leave, Agent Crawford. Staying here uninvited was very rude.” Hannibal’s voice whispered in his ear while his free hand removed the Agent’s gun. He twisted the knife before removing it and shoving the man to the floor.
“Doctor Lecter?” Wide, disbelieving eyes looked up at him as Jack put the pieces together in his mind.
“Yes, I am the Chesapeake Ripper.” He declared with a malicious grin. “All these months you were searching for a man standing right next to you.”
Will stared at the blood that began to pour out of Jack Crawford’s slumped form. The image was much too similar to what had happened to his father for Will to process what was happening. He stood up to try and offer help, but froze a moment later. He didn’t know what to do now.
“I’m sorry.” He mumbled as his legs gave out and he fell to the floor. He found himself unable to look away from the red seeping through the man’s jacket despite his attempts to stop the bleeding. Everything seemed to be shutting down in Will’s mind the longer he stared at the red. “I’m sorry. Sorrysorrysorrysor-”
A pair of strong arms pulled Will’s head away from the direction of the blood and towards Hannibal’s face instead. He spoke to Will in a slow voice. “William, I had hoped to give you more time to think, but it appears we no longer have that luxury. I must go now. Do you want to come with me?”
“I don’t know…” Hannibal’s voice was so calm and comforting, but he had just stabbed a man. Nothing made sense anymore. Tears formed as the situation continued to wear him down.
Hannibal’s steady voice cut through the confusion and Will latched onto it like a lifeline. “Do you want me to leave you?”
“I…” The tears Will was holding back finally broke through as he let out a sob. He clung to Hannibal like he was the only thing keeping him from vanishing. If he let go, the man would leave and Will would have no one. “Please don’t leave me! I can’t be left alone again! Please.” He started shaking as the rest of his words dissolved into repeating ‘please’ for some unknown wish.
“Do you want to come with me?” Hannibal asked the trembling child. He needed to know for sure before he did anything. Will’s head nodded, or attempted to do so while still being buried in Hannibal’s jacket. Hannibal was struck with an odd mixture of joy and melancholy. Will had chosen to stay with him, which was the most wonderful gift that could be given to him. But, he knew what Hannibal did in the shadows now. Will would never look at him with the look of awe and adoration that used to adorn his face when he looked at Hannibal. That innocent part of the boy was gone now, torn away from Hannibal in the most violent way.
But, that was a loss he could live with. The total loss of Will would have been one that Hannibal might have never recovered from. “Very well than; I believe it is time for us to go.” Hannibal scooped the crying child up into his arms and let the boy wrap his arms around his neck. He felt tears and mucus on his neck, but he didn’t care. Will needed what little comfort he could get out of the situation. “Hush now, I have you. Nothing will take you from me.”
“We’ll find you.” Hannibal had almost forgotten about the man bleeding out on his floor. “There’s no where in the world you can go that we won’t find you.”
“An eight-year-old child solved the Ripper’s case for you. I do not fear whatever attempts at catching me that you wish to use. Now, we really must be on our way.” He placed the Agent’s phone on the opposite end of the long dining table. “I would suggest you call for an ambulance soon. A wound like that can be deadly.”
The ride in Hannibal’s car was a long one. Will had refused to let go of Hannibal at first, so the man decided to undo the jacket he usually wore and gave it to Will. The child had curled around it and seemed to be using it as a security blanket. Hannibal wanted to start a conversation with Will or put on some classical music, but he didn’t wish to startle the child.
After failing to kill Will, he had managed to secure two tickets for himself and Will on a private airline under a false identity last night. He’d feared that today might end with him fleeing the country, and it seemed that his planning had not been in vain after all. His plan was to get to Europe and drive across several nations to their new home, wherever that may be. Italy was looking like a good choice.
“Hey, Hannibal?” A quiet voice asked from within his jacket.
“Yes, Will?”
“Can we find a new house with a lawn? That way, maybe we can come get Sadie one day?” The voice was soft and strained with emotion struggling to stay in check. He didn’t look at Hannibal when he spoke.
“Whatever you want, we will get.” Hannibal meant it too. Will would be given whatever he wished if it would help bring a smile back to his face. “Just rest for now, there is a long journey ahead of us.”
The rest of the ride was filled with silence as both of the car’s occupants thought about what the future held now. Hannibal chose to view the future in an optimistic light. He had no doubt that, if given time, Will would come around to his way of thinking and would no longer question his late night activities. The boy was already conflicted morally about something he was completely against just a few hours ago. One day he would look at what Hannibal did and understand. That thought made him feel much better about the forced relocation as he led Will into the airport.
Will was surprisingly well behaved in the airport, something Hannibal counted as a silent blessing. He was able to pass off any odd behavior by the child as a fear of flying. Many of the employees of the company went out of their way to make the process of getting onboard as quick and painless as possible after hearing about poor Will’s fear.
Hannibal tried to feel disappointed about being forced to leave his life in Baltimore behind, but he couldn’t. The luxuries and social status he had built up for him had been taken from him a just a few moments. All he had worked for was gone, yet he couldn’t feel any remorse for his lost life. He felt that as long as Will stayed by his side, the best part of that life was still with him. For now, just having Will near was enough to lift his spirit. He held onto the fact that Will had chosen to go with him, even knowing what Hannibal was, as a sign that Will would be happy once again someday.
Will kept his eyes glued to the window as he watched the only life he’d even know fade away into the clouds. “I’ve never flown in a plane before.” Tears started to form again as the city was blotted out by the clouds. “What’s going to happen to me now?”
Hannibal felt as if someone had punched him when he heard Will’s question. He sounded so lost and broken. Despite his earlier restraint, Hannibal found himself pulling Will close to him. “I will take care of you. You will never want for anything.”
“Really?” That quiet, broken voice asked.
“If you ask for the Moon itself, I would find a way to give it to you.”
“I don’t want the Moon, I just want things to be normal again.”
“They will be one day.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.” Things would return to normal for Will and he would be happy again. Hannibal would make it happen. Hannibal would move Heaven and Earth to make Will happy. He had done too much damage to his Will to ever allow the world or anyone on it to hurt him ever again. Anyone that tried to harm Will in any way would be dealt with swiftly and without mercy. The boy would be kept safe from every evil in the world. Will would be safe and happy, Hannibal would make sure of it.
That was a father’s job after all.