Hannibal Lecter: Hannibal's Masonry at Muskrat Farm

It was the mid-70 in Owing Mills, America. One of the biggest scandal's throughout the world was hitting the press, and it was hitting like a freight train. Then again, if anyone was likely to be still standing after the collision from the freight train news story, it would most likely be Mason Verger. Mason Verger, the young and vicious heir of the biggest enterprise in the world for a long time was spread across the papers: many, many counts of child molestation had cast themselves over him and his company's name. His father Molson had died just before everything had come to agreement in court, but he was alive to see how it all played out. There was severe outrage, especially on the elder Verger's part; not only had a majority of the victim of Mason's crimes come from the confines of the Southern-Baptists founded Christian camp that Molson was a big patron for, but there was rumours of one name being held from the abuse was Mason's own sister, Margot. Margot was many years younger than her elder-brother and, unusually for the younger sibling, the much less adored of the pairing. Just to give one an idea of how much Mason was loved by his father, the entire estate was put under the control the Verger son whereas Margot had to fend for herself and live off the kind-hearted nature of the gay community around her – furthermore to this, Molson wasn't angry at Mason for any of the many heinous things that his boy was accused of in the papers, but was angry at the outrage in the papers of this all, and also at Margot for not defending her brother during this time…defend him? Could ANYONE defend him after this?! What did it matter however; she was already written out the will anyway for being in the possession of a 'lick-her license', so what extra damage should be done by her standing on the side and watching Mason get slaughtered in the press – just like one of the many animals that were slaughtered to make for the Verger family wealth. It during this period that Margot was asked for the second time of her life to go to a therapist to help her get through the stress of home life. She'd visited one at the age of 12 after the older Verger's first attacks came about – his 20 year old frame forcing down on her young innocent body had caused irreparable trauma and physical damage of varying severity – from a dislocated shoulder to the necessity of stitch work to be given to her…Mason was always vicious, especially with his mouth. This therapist helped her get rid of the taste of those memories – the man was a genius. He was French (Margot guessed, but then again her name was the epitome of a French style so that's OK) or at least have come from France during the tale end of the 50's, and he was an acclaimed genius; he was the youngest ever student to be entered into French medical school in a working capacity, who became a renowned painter whilst under the tutelage of Robert Lecter and continued in Robert's own vain after his death, who had became a highly valued member of the Baltimore Philharmonic due to his wealth and his own musical talent – Mason had a seat there, but they never went, due to his lack of musical talent and much else – and was generally considered a great man in talents and the art of charm. The therapist, who was the charming and smart Dr. Hannibal Lecter, knew at once the extent of her plight. He could just look into her eyes to see the application of stitching to her posterior that affecting her walk: it should've been a powerful stride that a soldier of the same physique would use, rather than a weakened and withered old lady that she hobbled like. He never asked her to sit, even when she got tired he would bring a stool out to balance against just so too much pressure wasn't put on the wounds. Since she was OK to walk, and Margot loved the outdoors quite a lot, Dr. Lecter suggested they talked in the garden of his offices in Baltimore. She visited him all that time ago, and the pain of what had happened, but she stopped going when the charming, eloquent man said to her where the perceived source of her salvation was held – she remembered it like it was all yesterday, when he said "I'd care to never be an addition to murder Margot, but in all honesty I say that the best catharsis for what you've suffered is for you to kill your brother. That is the best and only opinion I can really give" Margot was quick to give her own opinion in addition to Dr. Lecter's. "I agree with you" she said "but…I would then have even less than nothing in the world – my dad hates me enough as it is" "As I said, it's the only advice I have for you. Keep the comfort of the plight for that moment in your memories and heart, Miss Verger. Then, when you know you can get away with it, you can do it…best for your sake".

Anyway, there wasn't time Margot could've got then, and now her time with Dr. Lecter just seemed to be mirrored; everything was the same, even the situation in the wake of her brother's scandal had made no more events move forward. Dr. Lecter offered a bowl of walnuts to new figure of Margot, which seemed to be the only new thing in their encounters now, and at least Margot now at least had something positive to show for her life rather than just a story of horror. In the discussions, Dr. Lecter expressed a set of emotions that one may have thought impossible to share simultaneously: admiration and impatience (admiration for her body-building accomplishments, but impatience for her still living under Molson and Mason's shared proverbial thumb). Dr. Lecter had something new to say:

"Margot…may I ask about your physical regime? Is there many chemical involvements to this change I see in you?"

"Only some; I mainly just stick to solid weights. Why were you curious?"

"Well, last time we spoke you'd been inclined towards starting a family – a chance to recreate a life in a better place than Owing Mills at all? And too much chemicals may leave both of those articles in tatters. Merely for your well-being, may I ask what it's for?"

"Well for a start, Doctor…may I call you that?"

Dr. Lecter laughed, for her manners were always as high as any he could've hoped for yet many other people would compare her physicality for that of some feral beast.

"Well Margot…you can call me whatever you wish for: that could be Doctor, Sir, Hannibal…it's your choice."

"Well then Doctor. I don't swing that way at all, suppose stuff with Mason left me repulsed to it, but hopefully I'll find a nice lady and we'll feel inclined"

"I hope that chance comes about Margot. Additionally, your brother's final hearing is tomorrow, and whatever sentence is given, I'll be on hand to take any calls you have to make"

Margot smiled, as she now actually had a friend in this ordeal.

Margot's hopes were too premature however: Mason's huge wealth that had been left to him in the wake of Molson's death was used to do away with a huge amount of jail time and give him a sentence that was, in the eyes of the public and the parents of the children who came forward, very lenient. Mason gave his full relief of the extent of his 'getting away with it' in as broad a way he could, as looking straight into a TV news report camera he gave a smile that he carefully used to show off all of the teeth inside his vicious mouth, and winked to everyone watching. Beside those eyes, Dr. Lecter watching from his sitting room could see behind his eyes a menace that had no intention of stopping, and no legal punishment would stop his violation of little children the way that he'd done Margot. Speaking of her, the phone rang…was it Margot, or was something equally as relevant?

Dr. Hannibal Lecter showed up at the Owing Mills property finally, and he sat down opposite his court-issued patient – Mason Randall Verger. Mason had used his immense wealth and political influence over the past year to avoid the worst fate, but the court demanded him to receive therapy from Dr. Hannibal Lecter…little did Mason know though that this was a fate worse than prison…

"Good morning Dr. Lecter. I've been looking forward to meeting" said Mason, dressed in leather-clad trousers that hung loosely around his body and made him look menacingly attractive, much like a vampire or some other great creature. His long black hair and almost sinister facial stubble helped to emphasise this great appearance as monstrous. In contrast, his therapist – some would say a pure monster – looked like the man one would be completely safe to take home to their parents, with his slick and clean look, his intelligent maroon eyes, looking completely proportionate. It was for the good of his clients however that he almost always kept his left hand – the hand that was the one with the Polydactyl middle finger – away from view. He looked into Verger's eyes, assessing him all the while.

"Mr Verger, I'll start with my obvious question: what are your exact feelings on the courts decision regarding you?

"I think it's fantastic; I mean, how else should I feel? Instead of being violated in prison, I'm just working as some low-down street sweeper and talking to an obviously intelligent person"

"I'm flattered"

"Don't be – Papa always told me that overly intelligent people were just people made to be suits among the dross. Good intelligent people are people who have no idea how the world is meant to work…I'm trying figure which one you are, Dr. Lecter"

"That is quite sneaky of you, Mason. May we stick to what the court assigned and then we'll see what I can do in sight of whatever is revealed"

Mason had to struggle a lot to hold back this insult to his wishes: all his wishes had always been provided – likely due to the immensity of resources at his disposal – but this man was challenging them. He wasn't quite like the others he'd met. Dr. Lecter continued:

"Your father owned the Christian summer camp where the events took place…"

"Founded it with his own money yes Doctor. I was among of the first to attend there – kids of all ages and sizes, up to the age of 12"

"Is that when it started – your attraction to the prepubescent? Or did it come about later?"

"I say it came later. I spent more of my youth attending the wildlife fairs with the Verger meat packing crews. I attended all stages – the showing, the slaughtering, the final packaging – so Papa could give me the firm when he finally did pass."

"So you observed the slaughters"

"Yes"

Dr. Lecter had already begun making an assessment. Clearly the man he was sat in front of wasn't a man doing what he does for sexual gratification, but more for the suffering he sees the victims doing through during the act itself. Classic sadist, but this is in addition to his detachment from the rest of the people around him so he additionally was a textbook sociopath. This was progress enough for him to begin working on the 'treatment' that he could carry out. He took the glass of wine Mason had poured him in one glug which unsettled Mason somewhat.

"You know you're the second Verger I've treated in recent history. And I'd like to talk about her briefly with regards to these 'childhood practices' you were engaged in. You see, I unfortunately don't have sister, or any close family you could refer to Mason." Dr. Lecter swallowed more wine as he said this piece of information "But…this is where I become confused…many brothers form a natural attachment to their sisters. It's the first female figure they come in contact with – and also the first friend they have as well – and they would scorch this Earth to bring down anyone who hurt them the way you ever did. Please explain to me why you carried out these acts" Dr. Lecter spat out his last sentence, desperate to hear Mason's side of the story whilst keeping his deep seated anger held back. He had planned to consume a piece of Mason, but thinking ahead, it would be hard to find a piece of him even remotely appetising. Mason started talking as he begun his speech, opening his legs up upon the chair he sat on to assert some philosophical high ground on the Doctor.

"You see those dogs over there in the cage Doctor? Margot and I could be compared to those dogs – one of us is as ugly as a dog, and the other is an alpha predator. Guess which is which, eh? Anyway, those dogs over there have been together their whole lives. From pups to how they are now: rescue dogs from the local pound. They're in that cage, with water and no food and sooner or later some results will come of all of this. Think of this – I turned to whatever was near because I am 'predatory', and I'm guessing she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Oops for her it seems. Those kids at camp were about, again oops on their behalf. It's great – using their innocent naivety to your own satisfaction. You understand at all?" Mason seemed to be angling his head slightly upwards as he was speaking: this gave him the physical presence of a preacher. And through his all, Dr. Lecter had no choice but to let a small ounce of physical repulsiveness show in his face. And to be honest, if he was a completely sane, untroubled individual, he'd have even more trouble holding back his anger.

The pair walked through into Mason's eerily named 'playroom', the room that Mason truly wanted to show off to Dr. Lecter, but not one the court was entirely comfortable with showing off. Mason poured the Doctor some more wine, straight from the bottle. He drank said wine, but Mason seemed ignorant to notice that Lecter was already putting his gloves on – the room can't be THAT cold surely? Mason dismissed this, as he showed off his various articles of eroticism. Dr. Lecter finally came to one particular thing, and it just happened to be Mason's crown built in coalition with the jewels.

"Mason. I'm highly interested in this…noose set-up you have going on here. It's for auto-erotic asphyxia, am I right?"

Mason scoffed "I thought a man of your intellect would be more categorical with this stuff! But since you ask yes, it is for that. And that mirror on that big wall there, so I can marvel at my sheer greatness of maniless while I'm doing it. Quite exhilarating"

"What is it you do? I'd care to be shown everything"

Mason was bewildered at this; he'd have expected Baltimore's most acclaimed psychiatrist to be aware of the workings of such a contraption. Nevertheless, he took to the stepladder, did the noose around his neck and put his pants around his ankles. He stepped off the stepladder to begin hanging himself, as the oxygen became trapped in his chest and creating this arousing high. Just as he was to begin masturbating in front of the Doctor – who remained stoic and understated with regards to Mason's behaviours – he heard the Doctor say something.

"Tell me Mason…you like your drugs and this high to get roused? Well, may I offer you a popper?"

Mason smiled like a naughty schoolboy "Yes please Doctor, go on!" Dr. Lecter then walked up to the hanging libertine, and gave him the drugs; drugs as in plural, for this amyl popper contained much more – LSD, Dust and Meth. It seemed that Mason's arrogant naivety of the offers were just the same as those children's 'innocent naivety'.

"THIS IS BETTER THAN CHOCOLATE!" He yelled "You know it makes me piss like a muddy stream Doctor. That might not be in my case, but using it on Margot was my way of making them hurt like me hey? MY GOD I LOVE THIS!" The Verger son kept swinging and screaming – clearly the drugs dose was high enough for Lecter's hurriedly assembled plan. Mason swung forward and he could watch himself break before his eyes into mirror like fragments. This panic quickly dispersed when we looked down to see his erected penis still standing strong. Dr. Lecter continued speaking.

"Mason…I want to see you would lure a child into your hands. Is it your smiling that does it?"

"Must be, hahahaha!"

"Care to show me how you smile? Lure the child into a sense of security?"

Mason smiled, trying his best to look sincere and benevolent, but nevertheless, his smile did have the slight hint of a hungry wolf behind the intent. As he was doing this, Lecter approached the broken mirror, picking a suitably sharp shard from it.

"No, you misunderstand. I'd care to see the mechanics behind it. Try this so I can see…try removing all the skin from your face. It'll be exhilarating!"

"I LOVE EXHILARATION!" Shouted the drug-addled Mason.

Mason snatched the piece of glass out of his hand, and took no hesitation at all into hacking away at his face with shard of glass. Dr. Lecter left the hacking lunatic for a brief space of time, as he returned to the room with the starving dogs in the cage, cooped up and resisting Mason's games. Dr. Lecter opened the door to the cage, the dogs all happy in his hands as he cupped their beautiful brown faces – Labradors, and the finest pedigree of them, but hard to believe that the previous and current owners had the heart to be so cruel to them. Dr. Lecter had always liked dogs, and he led them back to their struggling former owner, who had already uncovered the left side of his face. His aim wasn't so good it seemed, as his eye was also removed from the socket and lying on the floor, still writhing on the rope. The drugs seemed to be maintaining that lasting effect on Mason, as keep kept on going. Dr. Lecter decided to test him a bit further.

"Mason, keep going. I still can't see the workings." He feed the dogs the skinned bits of his face "How about…you try cutting off that ugly nose of yours, and try eating it"

"YES DOCTOR! THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!" The noise of Mason's voice echoing through the property as he complied with the doctors wishes, and consumed his nose before he continued with the skinning of his face. The dogs finally seemed content with the amount they had consumed, and Mason was still laughing his head off, despite the immense bleeding he was suffering. As he was swinging on the rope, Dr. Lecter decided he'd had enough – there was nothing on this guy he would ever wish to consume, with his black heart and ill-kept body he would doubt anything would be edible at all. And it seemed that now, he had him at a suitable place to kill him in. So with that, the Doctor climbed the stepladder, and took the noose above the tie in his wiry yet powerful hands, and simply gave it a strong and harsh tug, letting out a hideous snapping, crunching sound emulating the sound of a breaking neck. Mason still hung laughing, however limp and near to unresponsive, so Dr. Lecter then decided that now was the time; he took the release mechanism fresh from Mason's grasp, and tugged on it, as Mason fell to the ground and more breaking cracked through the air – this time, his legs buckling – and with this, Dr. Hannibal Lecter recomposed himself, and left the house through the front door.

Many weeks had past since Mason's mutilation. He'd survived – somehow – and he was discovered when the court phoned to see about his arrangements for court-issued community service, and when no response came, the police were on scene. Some of the more weak-bellied of the police had to relieve themselves from duty whilst Mason was taken to the hospital. Dr. Lecter had little to fear – his session with Mason wasn't clocked on the books at all, he'd left on foot to avoid car tyre prints from shown on the drive at a time when no-one would be watching, and even if Mason could remember what had happened, he was so high he could barely remember what he was wearing. Add into the equation a crime committed against someone known as a reviled paedophile that the courts didn't really care for too much, and you have a pretty secure position to be in. In short, he was fine for now. Margot equally seemed pretty content with the position she was in. The Verger company continued to operate under the bed-ridden Verger's command while his younger sister started working on building her own business designing computer systems for gyms and building her own fortunes away from her brutal brother and father. The two Labradors had their stomachs pumped of human skin, and they hadn't acquired a taste attested by many vets, but they were returned to the shelter were Dr. Lecter decided to adopt them…he loved dogs: they reminded him of France, and the fragrances of home. Naming them Bobby and Bernie, he looked after them till his imprisonment. That was one pleasant thing that came from Mason's dealings: he got two good companions from the deal, and what's more, even though he was an accomplished drawer and modeller, pianist and so-on, Dr. Hannibal Lecter will always be remembered the work he did on Mason R. Verger…and THAT was his finest piece of Artistry.