Chapter Text
When Will Graham reached Jack Crawford's office this morning, he found it crowded: Alana Bloom, Beverly Katz and Agent Crawford were all already there, deep into a heated conversation that stopped dead as soon as Graham appeared.
“Well, ain't I a mood breaker” William chuckled tensely, avoiding everybody's eyes... and noticing they were doing the same. “What is it?” he asked. “Did I forget to put pants on today?”
“An abduction” Crawford answered before Alana could do so –she looked at him in resentment. Apparently, they weren't on the same page about telling Will the details of said crime.
“Are we out of murderers then?” Graham said in a light tone, trying to brighten the atmosphere. “So much that we have to go after abductors instead?”
Alana sighed. “Jack and I are having a difference of opinions about this” she said. “I believe you shouldn't be put on the case.”
“And I think Will is our best shot here!” Crawford exclaimed hotly.
“That wouldn't be good for him and you know it!” Alana retorted sharply.
Will glanced at Beverly, who pursed her lips and bolded her eyes to signify her being fed up with the whole argument. He was about to ask for precisions when his cell phone rang, so he decided to take a few steps back to answer it in a quiet spot.
As he noticed the name “Hannibal” appearing on the screen Graham smiled, feeling already calmer, and a tad curious at what could push his therapist to call him so early in the morning.
“Who is it Will?” Alana suddenly asked, getting out of the conversation to focus on him worriedly.
“Nothing, it's probably just for rescheduling” Graham answered, mentally pushing her presence away to prepare himself to hearing the deep, smooth voice that would made his day bearable.
“Dr. Lecter?”
“If it's from Hannibal you shouldn't answer” Alana said, almost jumping to him –but being caught up by Jack on her way. Her glance to him was murderous.
“Hello there, Agent Graham” a silky voice answered –not Hannibal's. “What a displeasure to hear you.”
“Uh. Hello” Graham answered, startled.
“Tracing!” Jack shouted immediately, looking at Beverly who was already typing madly on her computer. “Get me something on this, Bev'!”. He then took his own phone to transmit directive to the scientific team.
Alana was gritting his teeth and looking up in defeat. Will started to feel a tad worried.
“Do you remember me, Agent Graham?” the voice said over the phone. “No, I bet not. I'm Hugh Johuo, Boris Johuo's brother. You know, the one you put in jail.” He spat the last word with such bitterness Graham almost startled. “The one who hung himself there... Do you remember now, or should I make you?” The threat in his voice was obvious, yet Graham couldn't fantom how that could actually happen over a phone.
“I remember” Graham said –although he hadn't know about Boris Johuo' suicide. “What do you want?”
The man was walking around, Will could hear his steps and the slight buzz of air around the phone.
When he stopped walking, Will could feel him looking at something over the phone.
“He doesn't cry much” he said.
“Who?”
“Your therapist. I have to say, after all I've done to him, I would have imagined he would have broken by now.”
Will sensed his heart freeze, and his ears started buzzing.
He'd been put on speaker phone thanks to Beverly; he suddenly noticed the embarrassed looks that everyone was sending him, or rather, how much they were avoiding to look at him directly.
“He's done nothing” Graham blurted. “He has nothing to do with your brother's arrest, or with his death.”
He heard the man on the phone chuckle.
“I've been watching you, Mr Graham” he mused. “You spend a lot of time with this one. Just like I used to with Boris.”
Graham swallowed. “What do you want from me?” he asked. “Do I have to go somewhere? Meet you? You know the FBI is already after you. No matter how smart you are, you will get caught.”
Hugh Johuo chuckled again. “I know” he said, and at the same time Will could hear a sharp hitting noise, like a pliable branch whipping bare flesh, promptly followed by a muffled, sibilant intake of breath.
“Ask for the tapes.”
He hung up.
Will was petrified. He heard the others talking around him, but the only thing he could think of was that Hannibal was going to die, because of him.
“I could trace the call” Beverly said –which got him off his paralytic state of mind. “It was moving along a railroad. I think Johuo's aboard a train.”
“Alright, give me the name of the line and I'll have the team analyse it” Jack said. “Send them a map of the trace too.”
“Am on it” Beverly answered.
“How was he on a train with an abducted psychiatrist?” Crawford asked.
“Part of the audio seems to come from a recording” Beverly answered. “I bet Dr Lecter wasn't actually with him at the time.”
“Is there a lake somewhere near the railroad?” Will asked, shutting out the thought of a missing Hannibal.
“Hum, yeah” Beverly said. “The railroad goes on a bridge, over the Lago Negro.”
“Isn't that near the place we found Boris' first victim?” Jack remarked. “Drowned?”
“I'd start with there” Graham said. “The phone's probably already been thrown in the lake.”
“Maybe we'll have witnesses” Beverly exclaimed, jumping on his one cell phone to organise an impromptu interview of the still travelling passengers.
Alana had approached Will and put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked. “Working on a case you are so implicated in?”
Jack was calling the Lago Negro station to establish a perimeter of security and impede anyone to get off the train.
Will thought about all had been said, about all he knew about the Johuo brothers. Twins. Boris being mentally unstable. Hugh a brilliant student with no history of violence whatsoever –even though both of them had been brought up in a terrible family environment.
“He talked about tapes” Will recalled. “What tapes?”
Alana froze, and Jack used his being on the phone card to avoid answering.
“Alana” Will growled.
She cringed. “I don't think you should see them” she said.
“I don't care what you say, just show me the damn thing” Graham snapped, brushing her hand away. “Why haven't I been told about this? Since when do you know?”
Alana lowered her eyes, then turned them aside entirely. “The first tape was delivered at twelve a.m. this morning. Lots of fingerprints and dirt, presumably from where Hugh lives. He isn't home and nobody has seen him since last thursday.”
Graham nodded. “Have we checked on Hannibal?” he asked, not noticing he was referring to his therapist by his first name.”
“He was supposed to take a week-end off” Alana said. “Fly over to Florence for a couple days, and come back on next wednesday, according to what we found at his office.”
Graham cringed at the idea of police officers rumbling around in Hannibal's things.
“We called his airline company and the hotel he'd booked in Italy. They said he hasn't showed up; and it was definitively his phone Hugh Johuo was calling from.”
So he had much probably truly fallen pray to a vengeful brother. By his fault.
Graham shuddered. “I want everything you have on this case. Tapes, videos, every single details.”
“The lab is still working on most of that” Jack remarked while he was waiting for someone on the phone.
“Do I look like I care?”
Graham stormed out of the room, going straight for the lab.
Jack and Alana exchanged a confrontational look.
“You can't put him out there now” Alana said. “If Hannibal dies –even when he sees what he's been going through– there's a very good chance he snaps.”
“He's our best shot” Crawford replied. “He's the only one good enough, and willing enough, to save Dr Lecter, and you know it.”
Alana bit her lower lip. “This could break him, Jack.”
He lowered his eyes.
“Well, let's just hope it doesn't.