Hey there guys! Back with another chapter here. First of all I want to thank everyone for their kind reviews. They mean the world to me! Thank you for your favorites and follows as well. They make writing all the worth while. I have a comment that I would like the address though. For my beloved readers who do not see the significance of my new character never fear! She does play a very vital role just not yet. I still have to add much deserved fluff to this story before the drama begans to spill in. I'm thinking about this chapter and one more before shit hits the fan. Both romantically and dramatically. Now then please enjoy this chapter.
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Sometimes Will really hated his job. He loathed waking up to the shrill ringing of his cell phone. Signaling either another murder or the results found from a murder. Neither were ideal.
This was followed by him driving out to the crime seen at some god forsaken location. Usually at some equally god forsaken time of day. It also did not help in the least that they always called him out for the crazy ass killers. He was always stuck looking at some deformed carcass that was to be considered "art"by their killer. Then they just threw everything at him, asking him to work his "magic." More like a curse.
And that was just how Will found himself this fine rainy day. In the middle of a warehouse.
At 6:38 A.M.
With rain coming through the various holes and cracks in the roof.
And with 5 very bloody,very gory and very dead bodies.
God he hated his job sometimes.
The cause of death for each was so easy to see that even Beverly had little to say.
Victim 1 had received wounds to the eyes. Instrument was unknown but whatever it was, it had effectively gouged out his eyes. Right between what used to be his eyes sat a ice pick. Cause of death not even worth explaining. The whole lower part of his head had been removed. Teeth and all.
Victim 2 received multiple lacerations to their legs. Including one to each separate femoral artery. Sadly though it wasn't the cause of death, if the caved in skull and bits of brain on warehouse wall were anything to go by. Their jaw had been hacked off along with their teeth.
Victim 3 was quite the site. The victims jaw was almost completely torn off. Their knee caps were nothing but a mess of pulpy tissue,crunched up bones and blood. Like a sludge hammer had been taken to them, then again one probably had been. A action used most likely to incapacitate them while their jaw was pulled apart from their head. How was unclear, however all their teeth had been removed.
Victims 4 resembled 1 in quite the same fashion. The eyes were also gouged out. However their pants had been removed and genitals now resembled a smashed tomato. They had also been stabbed by a ice pick but this time through the top of the head. Jaw along with their teeth also removed.
And finally victim 5 made it clear at who was responsible. Their head had been completely removed along with their legs. The back and been split open by who knows what kind of knife. But what gave it all away was the way their lungs and muscle had been pulled through the back and spread out, shredded and tacked to the wall like wings.
The Corpse was held up by the muscles and skin from their arms and backs. Which were made to resemble puppet strings. A message had been written across the wall behind victim 5.
"Fuck off, this is just a warning."
"The mocking bird again?"
Will was startled out of his studying as Jack asked the question that was on everyone's mind. The mocking bird. At first when they encountered something like this they had no idea what to think. Not only was their the trade mark wings but their was also many other details. Such as the victim had been sewn to other body parts to form a bird. But what gave away the bird was the colors. Whoever the killer was had painted the body parts a beautiful array of grays and whites making each line resemble a feather. So much detail, as if they were making a grand introduction.
Their killings were rare and were hardly ever dull. They each had something elaborate to them. A scheme in which they were laid out. And this one was no different.
But that wasn't what had everyone on edge and excited. The thing is was the mockingbird wasn't part of the black horns. Whoever they were part of it had to be a rival gang. Because each and everyone one of their victims including these had a tattoo of black antlers somewhere on their body.
It left many people wondering and asking why they still didn't have a I.D on any of the victims and clues to the gang. When I reality the answer was very simple. They had nothing to I.D from.
Unlike the the members of the black horns,the mockingbird left nothing to I.D. Each victims teeth were removed along with their fingers,toes and ears. Any other distinguishing tattoos or marks besides the obvious gang related one where either cut off or burned to the point beyond recognition.
All they left to distinguish the bodies was the tattoo. After all what was the point of a warning if your rivals couldn't even recognize the bodies of their comrades.
Will and the rest had long since realized that the Black horns were not the only ones to have laid a claim on the city and surrounding area. Another organization that had long since settled their
"What do you think Will?"
Will didn't even bothering look up as Jack asked. Their wasn't really much to think about. The motive was pretty easy to discern. But he guessed Jack was hoping it was something else. A turf war was something they definitely didn't need right now. With the recent grizzly murders from the black horns and Beverley turning up with nothing from the previous member they had, things were not going well.
At this rate how far could this go on before other outside forces decided the step in? How much longer did they have to solve all of this? How many more people had to die?
"Will?"
Still not looking at Jack Will answered. So absorbed in the details that he didn't catch the look of weariness Jack presented him with.
"In the past the mocking birds crime scenes have only consisted of 1 to 2 victims. Yes the killing method was elaborate but no matter what they never left any sort of message...until today. It's plainly obvious that whoever the mocking bird is taking orders from is getting tired of all this. Most likely these 5 didn't anticipate it would be so bad to piss off their rivals."
By this time everyone and gone silent. Each thoughts consisting of different variety of "oh shit were screwed." Interrupting everyone's mutual Silence. Jack once again asked what was on everyone else's mind.
"You think the mocking bird is taking orders from somebody?" All this time though they haven't shown any signs of receiving help."
"That's true, but that doesn't mean anything. If you take a look at all the murders they have committed they all are fairly connected in one way or another. Meaning they are neither random or spur of the moment."
By this point Will had caught the undivided attention of the rest of the team. Normally they would have left him alone and heard his report from Jack. But by now nobody was ignoring him.
"And pray tell us what these connections are?" Brian asked in a more than mocking voice. Earning him quite the look from Jack and a annoyed eye roll from Will.
"The murders are not close in vicinity but they do share common ground. All these have at happened in the northern areas. Never have we seen any of the mocking birds activities farther south. If you were to put this murder in proximity to the others you would find that this one is farther in the north. Which would explain the message and number of bodies."
Will could see the expressions on Jack's and Beverly's faces as the slowly connected the dotes. Slowly realizing the situation they were all in faces growing pale and horrified. But of course there were still those who didn't quite get it.
"What's your point?" Brian tone was frustrated and non convinced. Making Will sigh in exasperation. Leave it to him to ask the obvious.
"My point," Will grounded out. Doing his best to control his growing agitation, continued " that as of now we are standing in what could be described as the whoever mocking bird works for territory."
Silence overcame the group as they each became lost in their own thoughts. None of them wanting to express the fear that was slowly beginning to take hold. But something had to go. And that something being the silence which was replaced by panic in one such form of Jimmy.
"You can't be serious! Your telling me were standing in a gangs territory. One that has no problem doing things like that." At this Jimmy flung his arm out gesturing to the bodies that were still waiting to be loaded and transferred.
Good old Jimmy. Always pointing out the obvious.
"I wouldn't say it's a gang. Their too sophisticated and organized to be just a gang. Their probably a syndicate of some sorts." Will corrected. To absorbed in his thoughts to notice the sheer terror that had already long settled.
"One such syndicate that we neither have the time,resources or power to deal with. This is spiraling out of control and we need to get it under control." Jack ground out. Voice rising into a crescendo as his frustrations began to bleed out.
There was a quiet murmur of agreements as Will stood from his crouched position he had been less than a few moments ago. Taking one final look at the gruesome bodies Will turned to face the rest of the team.
Raising a eyebrow at the slight look of discomfort on Will's face Jack cleared his throat. "Do you have something else to say Will?"
"No, I have a appointment to get to, if you'll excuse me." And with that Will turned on his heel ,heading for the entryway as fast as he could. He could feel it creeping up on him. That euphoric feeling he always tried so hard to ignore. "A calling", it had once been called by someone dear to the while he tried his best to ignore the concerned gaze of Jack and the suspicious looks of the rest of the team on his back.
The one thing Will liked about visiting him was it wasn't a long drive. About at 10 min drive from work and a 25 minute drive from home. It always seemed to calm him down and the time went by in the blink of a eye. But not this time.
Will couldn't help but fidget in his seat. Fingers rapidly tapping the steering as he caught what seemed like every red light on the world. Each one felt like it lasted hours when in reality only a couple of minutes at the most. At this rate he was afraid he wouldn't make it. For every second that he had to sit at a red light and every moment he had to drive behind a slow driver it felt as if he was being swallowed by this feeling. His breath came in small pants as his eyes became heavy,wanting to close. Not from tiredness though, they wanted to close for a whole different reason.
Just as Will was about to go mad and pull into some gas station he realized he was already there. His designation lay out before him. Beckoning him sweetly as he quickly parked,unbuckled, and hurriedly made his way inside.
The receptionist whose name was Alana greeted him with a cheery smile as soon as she laid eyes on him. "Good morning Will! I'm surprised your so early. It's only 7:00. Your appointment isn't until 4:15 this afternoon." She flashed him a bright, teasing smile. One that said she knew what a bad morning person he was.
A smile that Will might have thought very enticing at one time if not for his commitment to Hannibal. Alana and Will had know each other for about 2 years as when he was a new agent she happened to be one of the intended victims of a killer known as the "master chief of Baltimore."
As the name suggested Lee Carter would kidnap, rape, skin alive and the cook his victims later eating them. He preferred young men and women and it just so happened he stumbled across Alana. One of his victims had been receiving therapy from there for there narcissistic personality disorder. A disorder Lee Carter had no problem faking and managing to convince Alana.
Will still remembers that day, how they had finally found the killer by finding body parts that he had tried to flush down the toilet in the sewer. He remembers seeing Alana's offices address written on a sticky note, stuck to the mirror of Lee's bathroom mirror,remembers his preferences in young women. He remembers driving as fast as he could and all but breaking down the door to Alana's office. Finding Lee trying to strangle Alana. And he still remembers Lee Carters dead eyes looking up at him after he put 5 bullets through his back.
No one could blame Alana for quitting her practice after what happened. It was through long secessions of therapy that she even managed to get the role of receptionist at the same place where she had received therapy.
The place where Will was about to receive his own dose of therapy.
What still surprised Will the most though was that she never stopped thanking him. Whenever she got the chance she always did something to thank him, from getting him a cup of coffee to offering to take him out somewhere. Of course there was also the fact that she use to have a big crush on him not long after the incident. Something Will had to sadly smash before it got out of hand. He just couldn't forget Hannibal at the time of her confession,nor did he want to it seemed.
Will was ushered back into the waiting area. A quaint room that gave off a calming effect. The walls were a dark forest green with a creme colored border. In the room,spread out in a meticulous manor was a dark brown leather sofa with two matching chairs. A tv was positioned in the far right corner. The morning news was on, creating a quiet murmur in the room. The smell of Apple and cinnamon wafted from the two air fresheners positioned on either side of the room.
Will sat quietly,trying his best not to fidget as he waited for his appointment to began. Now that he had made it here it seemed that sicking feeling was beginning to subside. But not completely as he watched his hands slightly tremble. There wasn't much he could do though but clench his hands together, grit his teeth and wait.
But luckily God decided to have mercy on him this once. The door creaked open to reveal a short man, about 5'3, a midnight suit with a thin green window pane pattern, single breasted but with peaked lapels, white dress shirt and purple pin strips clothed his smaller form. In his right hand he supported himself on a simple but elegant wood cane. A pompous,self important air surrounded him. One Will had a very hard time getting past.
"Your certainly here early Mr. Graham."
His voice even had a nasal,arrogant tone to it. Will just merely nodded his head as he stood and was waved in.
"Tea?" Will was asked.
"No thank you."
By this time it had become routine. He would wait for at least 10 minutes before being showed back. He would be offered tea and decline every time. He would take a seat in the comfy green chair. Then his appointment would began. This little pattern was one of the things that Will actually didn't mind when he visited his psychiatrist, Chilton.
After settling himself in the seat across from Will, Chilton began.
Dr. Chilton always started his cessions with simply questions. How was your week? What did you eat this morning? Anything exciting happen? Anything bad or relapsing happen? To most of his patients it was relaxing and helped calm down. However Will always hated him asking these stupid questions. There was no point and it really made Will want to scream to get on with it.
After what seemed like hours and after receiving nothing but sarcastic answers from Will, Dr. Chilton sighed, took a long gulp from his tea and began what he knew was going to be the most disturbing but interesting thing about his patient Will Graham.
"So Will, anything you would like to tell me? About the case you had this morning. Don't try and deny it, Jack already called and told me about it."
Will clenched his fists for a fraction of a second before relaxing at the revelation that Jack had called. That saved him the time of telling all the details. Jack was actually the one who had set him up with Dr. Chilton in order to cope with the daily strains of the job. And in all truth and no matter how irritating or pompous he could be Will actually did trust Dr. Chilton. He leant a good ear and tried to help. A fact Will did appreciate even though he didn't show it.
"Yea. I came early because while I was observing the crime scene the feeling came back." He was reluctant to admit it but there wasn't much point in coming for help if he didn't tell him everything. Chilton merely nodded his head in understanding.
"I see, and can you tell me what triggered the episode," before will could start though Dr. Chilton held up his hand" but go easy on the details, some of us don't have a strong as stomachs as you"
Smiling slightly Will sat back in his chair. Doing his best to get comfortable for what was to come. After explaining the minor details he got to the part that was bothering him.
"What did you feel when you saw those bodies?" He was asked. Chilton voice was quite almost a whisper. As if he was afraid that someone else would hear there conversation, even though nobody else was in the room.
Coping Chilton's tone of voice Will leaned forward in his seat, placing his elbows on his knees and clenching his hands together. "I felt powerful and jealous. Powerful that I knew deep down if I wanted to I could become somebody like that, become a killer like that. And jealous because they had the freedom to due such a thing, and that I wasn't the one to do it. I felt lustful." The last part was a labored whisper, as Will struggled to admit it.
Chilton's portrayed no emotion on his face except that of pure curiosity.
Another reason Will didn't mind going to him and trusted him was that he never judged, he listened, gave advice and many times he seemed even fascinated at what plagued Will.
"This killer you speak of,it's the mocking bird isn't it?"
Will nodded his head in agreement. It wasn't a surprise Chilton knew, as a condition for Chilton to be Will's psychiatrist he was given the details of each case was working on. Nothing that would in danger him or let him know of what was really going on, but sometimes they told him of he killings to get his profile as well. As a example he was given the details of the mocking birds killings in order to create a profile and help Will deal with whatever came with this mysterious killer.
Leaning back in his chair pondered where to go next. There time was almost up and Will's feeling and not been yet resolved. Turning his eyes to said patient he decided to just go with his gut.
"Perhaps you shouldn't fight it. Maybe you should channel it"
At this he was met with the surprised but blazing stare of Will. His eyes were narrowed dangerously as he altered to gripping the arm rests for support. Nails making a slight starching noise as he gripped harder. His words were a border growl. "What do you mean?"
Understanding the misunderstanding he had caused with Will, Dr. Chilton quickly waves his hand back and forth." Sorry I want being clear, I am not saying you should turn into a serial killer. What I m saying perhaps instead of trying so hard to block out this feeling you should channel it into something else, like finding out who these killers, going to the shooting range. And even if it gets to unbearable take a walk or isolate yourselves and work through them. Let your fantasies play out and then maybe you will gain insight and freedom."
As his words registered, Will began to once again relax. He had never really thought about it like that. To him it was something to be conquered and squashed. A task Will thought impossible, but this? This he could do.
And with that his appointment was over. Shaking hands with a quick thank you, Will was out the door with a "goodbye and it was nice to see you Alana".
By this time he just wanted to go home, curl up in a ball and sleep. But of course fate always had something in store for him. His was jolted out of his thoughts by the shrill ringing of his cellphone,deep in his coat pocket.
His first instinct was to groan while letting out a quick curse. It was probably Jack,either checking up on him or calling him in to do God knows what now. But when Will pulled out his phone he was surprised to see it was a unknown phone number calling,not Jack. Should he answer? He asked himself slightly as he watched his phone ring until it stopped.
Shrugging his shoulders he proceeded to began walking to his car...only to be startled by the shrill ringing of his phone again. He flailed about a bit as he managed to catch his phone after it had flew out of his hand. It was the same number. Shaking his head Will decided just answer it.
"Hello?"
"Ah Will, I was wondering if you were going to pick up." A silky voice answered on the other end of the phone. "Wait a second,I know this voice!" Will thought as his eyes widened.
"HANNIBAL?!" There was no question about it. Will knew his voice anywhere. How could he ever forget it, it haunted him daily. The question is how did he get his phone number?
Hannibal chuckled on the other end. Voice taking on one of amusement. "I am pleased that you recognized my voice so easily."
Will blushed scarlet at this statement. He had pretty much walked right into that one. Thank the gods though that Hannibal couldn't see his face though. But it being Hannibal and all he probably knew Will was profusely blushing.
"H-how did you get my phone number?"
"Your mother of course." If Will was any of a lesser person he would have face palmed himself right there. Of course his mom had decided to give his number away without permission. It wasn't like he really minded it just would have been nice to get a heads up.
Interrupting his thoughts was Hannibal silky voice again. "The reason I called was, I was hoping to meet you at a quaint, little, cafe on Rosemary street downtown."
The millions of thoughts that were racing inside his head suddenly came to a halt as Will heard Hannibal. Will would be lying if he said his heart didn't skip a beat at Hannibals words. And as he took a moment to process this a slow,giddy,excited smile spread across his face.
"I actually would like that." And for once Will praised whatever was watching over him that he didn't stutter.
"I will be looking forward to seeing you there then." Was all he heard on the other end before Hannibal hung up. Despite the quick conversation and hang up, Will could tell that Hannibal was just as excited as he was. For his voice contained a warmth that Will had only heard about when his mother spoke fondly of his father.
15 minutes and a short drive later Will found himself in front of a beautiful,little, elegant cafe. Will could clearly see Hannibal inside at one of the booths, reading a book while he waited for Will to appear. The sun bathed him in a beautiful light while his features were set in a peaceful yet amusedly bored expression .
Will could feel his hands start to sweat as he rubbed them on his jeans. Now that he was here Will was starting to get nervous. But he wouldn't back down. As so mustering up all, the courage he had Will entered the cafe.
Hannibal glanced up form his book as Will slid into the booth seat across from him. Shyly looking anywhere but at Hannibal. Closing the book he had been reading he greeted Will with a warm smile. "I am happy to see you came."
The blush that painted Will's features was truly delectable. "I-I w-was actually looking forward to coming." He managed to get out. Ugh he felt like such a school girl. He constantly asked himself how the hell Hannibal was never nervous or stuttered.
A warm laugh radiated from Hannibal as he watched Will fidget. He was truly adorable. And how lucky he felt to have such a fiancé.
Will sat astounded as he watched Hannibal laugh. Sure he had heard him chuckle but never actually laugh. It was a beautiful sound that made Will's stomach flip. And as he watched Hannibal features take on a warm smile something over came him.
"We should go on a date!" Was the first thing that spilled out of Will's mouth. As soon as it did he wanted to face plant of the table. But before he could he was surprised by Hannibal actually blushing. It wasnt much but sure enough there was light pink tinge to Hannibals cheek s and a look of surprise on his face.
"That is a good idea." Was the only answer he received as Hannibal turned his face to the window. Probably trying to hide his blush.
All the while Will could feel warmth spreading through this body. A warmth he didn't mind, one that he would later cone to know many times over.
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And done! Sorry for taking so long to update. And sorry the ending is rushed I have to go to work and I really wanted to get this out. Look forward to the next chapter and all the fluff. See you next time!