"So," Margot started, studying Alana carefully, "why are you here?"
It was the same feeling she had when she first met her, like Margot knew exactly was she was about and Alana was just floundering next to her. "Uh, here?" she asked, her mouth dray and her words catching. It was just after her second visit with Mason Verger. As she was leaving, the sister had caught her off guard in the hall.
"It seems that most psychiatrists would avoid this place altogether," Margot said, walking from a doorway to meet her. "Especially when my brother makes it incredibly clear that's not something he's going to take any stock in."
Alana observed her carefully. She wasn't sure if she should be wary of the young woman or to trust her gut and trust her. "It is almost impossible to provide treatment to someone who refuses to receive it." Her gaze drifted as she gauged how much she could tell her. "And to be honest," She added, "I don't know where I would start with him beyond bringing him in and locking him up. We have an unfortunate common interest."
"Hannibal." Margot offered shortly. It didn't seem to faze her.
"Yes and no," Alana admitted, shifting her weight from foot to foot, "this has more do to with someone else."
"You want to protect Will Graham." Margot concluded. She was correct and inferred the rest. "By making sure Hannibal is out of the picture by someone else's hand."
She nodded slowly. "That about sums it up." This was all very dicey. Alana was new to the world of manipulation and moral gray scheming and it fit her loose and stuck like an extra-large latex glove. She didn't necessarily want to have Hannibal killed, but she was scared for Will and she was scared for herself. She didn't like it, let alone discussing it so openly with someone she just met. Even still, talking about it calmed the tension that strung through her ever since her world had been turned upside-down.
"I certainly have my feelings about Dr. Lecter, he is the one who encouraged me to get pregnant only to encourage my brother to make sure I couldn't." Alana had only heard pieces of this story. She had heard from Will about the pregnancy, and had heard on the news about the accident, and heard again from Will that Mason had something to do with it. She was surprised to hear it brought up and passed on so quickly, but then it fit with Margot's emotionally dismissive pattern. "and Will is one of the few good men I've met."
Much later Alana would realize that she had been testing her, gauging where she fit in among all these morally gray areas that seemed to pile up in their lives. Margot eased back, resting her side against the wall. "You're new to this," she observed. "Despite what the tabloids might say, I am too."
Alana was well aware, as was the rest of America – if not the world, that Margot had tried to kill her brother. It was a top trending topic for weeks. There had been heated debates all over the internet and every media outlet whether it was story of a survivor pushed to the edge, a crazed and pathological woman losing control, or some kind of publicity stunt. It didn't take a psychology degree to piece together which it was.
"It's not a pleasant feeling." Alana took a long breath, deciding she could trust her. "It's as if there's a cage and the only way out is through a pit of spiders."
Margot focused on the wall behind her. "It's like drowning and I've finally caught sight of a raft only to be blocked by a shark." She frowned, perhaps this wasn't the way she wanted the conversation to go, or perhaps she had gathered the information she needed. She looked over Alana and flashed her a smile. "So, what do you get up to these days beyond having existential debates about moral gray-ness?"
Alana laughed. "Honestly? These days not much."
Margot stepped closer. "Would you, perhaps, like something else to do?
She felt a goofy smile one her lips before she could think to right it. "I guess that depends what you're imposing."
"Drinks? Tomorrow night?"
Alana couldn't believe, she was seriously asking her out after all that. "Uh," she stuttered, caught off guard but not completely. "Sure. Yes."
Margot lightly placed a hand on Alana's arm. She leaned in close enough that Alana could smell the outdoors on her and said, "I'll see you then." She moved passed her before adding "Mikey's Bar, seven" over her shoulder as she went.
"Okay." It was all Alana could muster.
What am I getting myself into?