Setting it up was easy. The mind was an easy place to explore, especially when he knew so much about it. The specifics. It's one thing to know another person, but something entirely different to know their mind; its intimacies, connections and most importantly, how to severe them. For Doctor Hannibal Lecter, this was exactly the knowledge that he held over Special Agent Will Graham. Graham's mind was fragile; a thing of beauty, and Hannibal wanted nothing more than to test the elasticity of its boundaries.

The Chesapeake Ripper had been caught, in the eyes of the FBI, and for his own safety, Hannibal had decided to refrain from killing in this way until it once again suited him, however much some people deserved it. With the death of Gideon came the chance of expansion for Hannibal, a chance to explore new ways of humiliating the rude. The Ripper had been a crude form for him, one that he did not truly appreciate himself, but again it had just been an experiment. For now, more subtle arts would need to be implemented. The talk in the FBI was that of success, with many thanking each other for a job well done, but for Will Graham the job did not seem finished.

For weeks now he had attempted to piece together the events of that evening. He knew the places he had been, and he knew that he had shot Doctor Gideon, but he had no idea where he had first seen him, or how he knew where he was. In his sessions with Hannibal, he had tried to explore the night and his thoughts surrounding it, but they seemed unconnected and he couldn't trust himself. Hannibal had attempted to help him, and of course told him what happened between the two of them in his dining room. With some vital changes.

"Will. I need you to concentrate. What do you remember about the room? Who was there, and where?"

Hannibal's questions were nearly always the same, and Will's answers were too. Hannibal felt quite safe from Will's jumbled memory, but wanted to make sure he still tried. If Will, by some miracle, managed to remember he could be dealt with easily enough.

"The head of the table. Gideon took his place there. A guest of honour, but somehow judged for being so. He knew he shouldn't really be there." Will's forehead creased in a mixture of frustration and concentration. "He felt real to me. I brought him to you. Or… I thought I did."

It was at this point in every conversation that Will's certainty wavered. Gideon had been with him, this much was true even the Forensics proved that, but Will still couldn't be sure that this wasn't the point at which Gideon escaped his custody.

"Doctor Gideon never entered my office, nor my dining room. This much is a fact that I myself know. You drove to my house and you say he was with you. We must look at the options here. Did he escape from you? Did you have any of your blackouts?"

"I know that I was myself for this. I-I remember it all, it just doesn't seem like I'm remembering correctly. At least, not all of it." Will buried his head in his hands in exasperation.

"Do you remember our conversation? In my dining room?"

Will nodded.

"During our conversation, where was I, and where were you?"

"I was standing by the edge of the table. A corner. You were standing about half way down, the side with the plant covered wall."

"This is true, Will. This is the truth of that evening. You would have had your back to Gideon, yes?" Hannibal's eyes stared straight at Will, watching him slowly accept Hannibal's truth over his own. It was true that Gideon had been in the room, he had spoken. It was essential, however, that Will was not aware of this.

Will nodded again. "Whilst talking to you yes… but I swear… He… I don't know."

"If you had your back to him, it is possible that my reflection on the table, or the glass window seemed like another person in the room, Will. Maybe you simply saw what you needed to see."

"What I needed to see?" Will's voice rose slightly.

"Yes." Hannibal replied, calmly. "If he had escaped from you, you would not wish to believe that he had. That the possibility of him killing Doctor Bloom was in any part your fault."

"So, you're saying that I saw him because I couldn't admit he'd outwitted me? Because he'd got away?"

"I'm saying it's a suggestion. Miss Bloom is dear to you. You would not want to see her hurt, especially by your own hand. This… connection" he said the word slowly, "could easily have caused the illusion that Gideon was there."

"I guess…"

"How else would you explain Doctor Gideon being at Miss Bloom's house when you arrived? At what point did he leave my dining room?"

Will looked up at Hannibal. "I don't know. I don't remember him leaving. Just myself taking your car to find him."

"Exactly, Will. If he did not leave, but was outside Miss Bloom's house, how can he have been here?"

Will stood up and ran his hands through his hair. He walked around the office thinking for a couple of minutes before answering. Hannibal remained seated.

"He can't."