Miriam Lass has been missing for four weeks now. Jack Crawford has heard her terrified voice every night, and he dreams of it. He heads home, afraid he'll hear it, and afraid of not hearing it.
The phone rings and Jack answers.
This time it's not Miriam.
"Jack, it's Will. I can't see where I am. I don't know what time it is, I just woke up here, please... Jack. I'm sorry, I don't want to die like this either."
Jack shakes, later making someone check on Will. He's been missing all day.
Jack doesn't sleep at night, just paces the floor.
Bella stays awake too.
*
The day after they make a horrific discovery in Jack's garage, it's a severed human hand with a phone in it. They find Will's fingerprints on the cellphone and the hand.
Zeller and Price verify that the hand is Miriam's. Jack knows the Ripper is sending him a message: "You can send me all your bloodhounds, and I will capture them and make them mine. You cannot touch me."
Jack doesn't cry but he drinks and Bella holds him. That night there is no call, only a long silence, and many shadows to hide in.
*
Hannibal is in control.
He has Miriam Lass in his house at the bluff, guarded by Chiyoh.
Will Graham is in his soundproof basement.
He has plenty of room for Jack's hounds.
He had to sever Miriam's hand, but he prefers Will intact.
Will's brilliant mind is his now, and he can't wait to bend it to some pleasing shapes.
Hannibal plays supportive friend to Jack, though he has Will right under Jack's nose.
Poor Jack.
Alana weeps over Will, and Hannibal offers a shoulder to cry on.
*
This goes on for weeks, no traces of either agent, and Alana eventually sleeps with Hannibal.
He enjoys it, but can't help but picture Will in her stead.
Will kissed Alana, and now Hannibal steals those kisses right back.
Eventually he grows bored with her, and ends the liaison.
She accepts his cold shoulder, and buries herself in work.
*
Miriam is about ready to be let go now. She believes Chilton is the Ripper, and Hannibal knows she won't suspect him.
He feeds her pieces of rude people, and Chiyoh sighs.
*
Will is his masterpiece.
Hannibal reads him passages from Dante's inferno and equips him with a knife.
Then he locks him in with Randall Tier.
When he opens the door, Tier is dead.
Will is covered in blood, and looks most alluring.
Hannibal is pleased with his disciple's kill.
He decides it's time, and sucks Will off, Tier's blood drying on that flawless skin.
Will doesn't protest, but clings to him like he's a long lost lover.
*
Miriam resurfaces, prepared to point out the Ripper.
Jack asks her if she knows where Will is and she replies no.
She looks at her own shadow and fears it.
Hannibal offers his services as her therapist. Jack sees no reason not to agree.
*
After a year he decides to let Will out, just for the night.
Will runs through the woods where he's been driven.
Hannibal catches him and decides to fuck him.
Will doesn't fight, just pushes against him.
He bites at Hannibal's mouth and claws at his back.
He draws blood, and Hannibal smiles as he watches his love orgasm with a scream.
A night owl makes a low sound.
It's his most satisfying captive bonding yet.
Letting Will go must be done when the hooks go even deeper.
*
Hannibal keeps Will at the bluff now, and misses him during the weeks.
He's bold enough to change his arrangement, and bring Will back to his home.
He's served Will pieces of Tier for weeks.
Two years now.
It's enough.
He releases Will, and then offers to give him therapy.
It's easy to regain Will's trust, since he's implanted so many helpful suggestions.
Miriam has testified and Chilton is an inmate at his former place of employment.
It amuses him, but he doesn't come to gloat.
Will responds well to his ideas of killing rude people.
Hannibal teaches him to cook them too.
He leads Will to his bed, and let's their relationship take its natural route.
The penetration of Will Graham is a daily exercise that fits well with their routines.
He teaches Will more languages, but the man's mind is already sharp enough to appeal.
This will work out just fine.
*
Jack is pleased that the Ripper is caught and Will is safely home. Jack feels at peace, even though he wonders if it's good for Will to screw his therapist.
He decides that Will is a grownup and he shouldn't interfere.
In the dark there are monsters, and he seeks to guard the world against them.