The ringing in his ears catapulted him into state where he blended out here and now completely. His whole body was shaking and yet so calm as he closed his eyes and relieved what had happened only seconds ago.

Jack Crawford was not supposed to die here.
I don't want to encounter him here, and he wants to see Hannibal instead of me. I'm facing a former friend, someone who betrayed me, but also someone I avoided calling my enemy. His death has to be quick. I can't bare to see him suffer like Freddie Lounds.
He is just as afraid of killing me as I am and that is where I use his weakness to my advantage.
But he doesn't stop me from coming closer and winding the gun out of his hand with one well-aimed move. In this moment he seems paralysed. The bullet pierces his aorta and he bleeds out within minutes. Jack Crawford dies looking me in the eyes.
This is my design.

Reality found its way back to him through the ringing in his ears. He now realized that it was over, that Jack Crawford was dead and he lived.
But it felt so much different than killing Freddie Lounds, not as relieving. The act, it seemed to Will, required a certain degree of alienation and he in fact had not been part of Jack's world for a long time now.
Only now when the blood was spreading on the floor beneath him, his eyes opened to the realization that this was the manifestation of his transformation. He had been shaped by Hannibal and his own mind until Jack Crawford had barley recognized him.

And then he finally looked up and into the eyes of Alana Bloom. She was alone, but in the background Will could here noises. Her fingers enclosed a handgun firmly without trembling and it was pointed in his direction.

And for a split second it crossed his mind to shoot her only to take a bullet in return. He could see himself bleeding of the floor, the sounds and visions slowly blurring until his heart stopped beating. It was the possibility he had taken into account when he had decided to come back. Had it ever been his main aim to save himself?
The grip around the weapon tightened, but before he could give it a second thought, FBI agents and swat team members emerged behind Alana and entered the small room, pushing Alana out of the way. There was no question she was not supposed to be here.

"drop the gun.", One of the agents' deep voice ordered, but to Will it seemed as if the words were coming from far away. He had to force himself to take action.
With a dull sound the weapon hit the floor and Will slowly raised his hands, knowing that resistance was senseless. Under the shouted orders of the man he got on his knees the hands above his head, letting the agents handcuff him before tugging him on his feet again.

He let his head drop, trying to shut down all the sensations, while he was dragged down the corridor, outside, where the cold air hit him like ice water on a hot summer day. The night was illuminated by the lights of police cars all over the place and he became more and more aware of the fact that he could have been spared this, if it hadn't been for the thoughtless boldness that drove him to give them the hints that had led them to Molly's house. He should have already been gone, slipping through the hands of the authorities instead of running into them.

He thought about Alana the entire ride, how she had stood their starring at him, both shock and coldness in her eyes. The Agents had been there just seconds later, but for some reason she had been there first, a gun in her hands.
Probably she had been one of the first people to be aware of the murder of Freddie Lounds. And after such a cruel act pointing to him and Hannibal so blatantly she wouldn't have sat and waited for the FBI, of course not. Like Jack she had took action on her own.
But Will couldn't let go of the question how long she had been watching him there, how long she had held back. He remembered Freddie's words about Alana and he wondered if maybe she had come there with the intend of saving him from being shot, no matter what it would cost.

The final destination was the Baltimore State Hospital For The Criminally Insane.
This time he was not lead to one of the cells he had spend his incarceration in the last time, but instead to the room behind plexiglass that had been Hannibal's home for three years.

Will did not ask questions, just obeyed the orders. Without asking he knew that the only reasonable explanation he had been brought to this cell, was that all of this was under Alana's direction.

The doors shut close behind him, and finally after days he found himself surrounded by silence.

Almost everything had remained the way he remembered it: The clean plexiglass, the books in their shelves, even Hannibal's drawings on the table where waiting for its resident to return. Alana must have really hoped to put the cell to use again.
Carefully he let his fingers glide over the back of the books. Maybe this would become his home now, maybe he would become what Hannibal once was. That's what he felt like at least.
His actions of the last hours hadn't been what he had intended them to be, just and preventive, instead he had let go and engaged in a game played only for the sake of pleasure. Like Hannibal one of the paths he had started to pursue was solely for his amusement.

But he didn't feel too uncomfortable in his new skin actually, it had adjusted itself to him carefully until it was perfectly fitting. Despite the unfortunate situation he found himself in, Will had to admit that a part of him enjoyed this, that a smirk fought to get to the surface when he thought about Hannibal reading about his arrest. In a way the other man had unleashed the chain of events that had lead him here, had urged him to return and to find closure. All along he had hoped that Will would hunt with him, had tried to persuade him in so many ways. And now he had finally given it to him. But Hannibal had wanted to end together what they had started with Bedelia Du Maurier and now Will had changed the rules as he pleased.

Until now he hadn't really been aware that there was frustration about Hannibal's manipulation buried in him, but in this moment the picture of the other man's unsatisfied with the outcome of his plan pleased him. It seemed like a deserved reckoning to Will.

„Will," The words broke through slowly to him as Alana emerged from the shadows. Something about her expression was deeply disturbed, but the tensed muscles of her jaw tried to conceal it. "I need to talk to you."

"Nothing prohibits you from it. This facillity and much more than it appear to be under your control, Alana. Otherwise we wouldn't have crossed paths in Molly's house." He said reluctantly while coming closer to the glass that separated the two of them. "You had the chance to make me stop but you couldn't bring yourself to shoot me..."

"It was never my intention to kill you, Will."

Something in her expression told him that this wasn't the entire truth. He could not imagine that under the pressure of the last month, Alana's mere concern had been to save him. And yet she needed him, because Hannibal was still not where she wanted him to be. Jack seemed to be not more than a casualty. Time and fear, without doubt had changed her.

"And now you want to talk about how it could come that far, how I could ever get so involved with Hannibal Lecter." He didn't hide the bitter contempt in his voice, willing to make it as hard for Alana as possible. The only thing of interest about the conversation was the question how she would try to influence him.

"The paths you took aren't a labyrinth to me."

She was showing him all the compassion possible, with a soft but serious voice and a saddened frown.

„You want to understand, after all the trouble I've cost you?"

His tone was sarcastic, but the question behind it was frank.

„With cautiousness. I'm aware of your active participation in more than one murder within the time you were on the run with Hannibal. But he coerced you to do these things, spun a web of lies around you." Her long steps were coming closer to the barrier between them and through it she scrutinized him as if he was a wounded animal, whichs suffering could only be eased by her words. "All the love he gave you was nothing more than means to manipulation."

„Oh, now you're the one manipulating me, Alana." his face was so close to the glass that his breath on it was blocking his view. „You don't see me as an innocent man, that you want to protect from the evils of this world."

„Certainly not, no." She confessed without losing any confidence. "But you are not what he is, Will."

„How can you be so sure?" There was no point in giving her hope.„We always try to separate ourselves from people who do evil by calling them monsters. We don't want to believe that we belong to the same species and that we all would be capable of the same atrocities. We don't want to accept that we are not that different..."

Holding her breath Alana lowered her eyes, as if she was scared he would see something in them that confirmed his assumption, then she collected herself. But for that one moment Will believed to detect her confirmation her admission of guilt.

Will took a step back almost ashamed of how insistent his voice had become, while he had almost pressed himself against the glass.

"You really did embrace the worst of him..."

„No one can be fully aware of another human being unless we love them." He said remembering the dream suddenly and tilted his head, just to be met with grief and confusion in her eyes. Her narrowed brows, the tightened lips, it spoke volumes about as how mad and depraved she had to view him at this moment. And he felt mad; as if the excitement the events of the last hours had granted him was not ending, but pushing him further and further into madness until his mind would crumble under the weight.

Alana had taken a few steps back and this time she addressed him in a more plain manner."So far you haven't asked me what your future holds for you."

"It's in our hands, I suppose. I'm sure you will tell it to me now, suggesting a deal to me. Just admit that the only reason for showing me sympathy is that you want me to help you catch Hannibal."

"I have spend the last year to built connections with anyone I considered useful. Now it could benefit you as well, Will. The only condition of course would be that you share your knowledge about Hannibal Lecter with me."
For a moment they locked eyes, and the provoking little smile on Wills lips faded and was replaced by a serious expression.

"I came alone. The fish you caught isn't that big after all." His voice sounded bitter as he turned around to study the book collection again. This time he didn't have eyes for the titles and their meaning, but only stared at them blindly, waiting for Alana to finally leave. But there were no determined steps, no closing of the door, just her voice.

"Why did you come back?"

He sighted and let her wait for the answer, while he moved to the other side of the shelve. "The only reason I'm here is that apparently I was not done and you and Jack were neither. I never wanted to return and end what Hannibal has started, but what we desire isn't always what we need. And I needed closure."

"Hannibal convinced you that you would find it here…." She reminded him ruthlessly. Then she took a deep breath and when she spoke again he could hear the fear of his answer in her voice. "Would I have been your next target, would you have done what Hannibal promised to do?"

Even Will was afraid of the question, he had let the answer hover in the air until he would be forced to make the decision. "if anything, on my hands your death would have been merciful. Hannibal would be ruthless with Margot and your son, I would have sparred you all the pain."

"He would not have approved of that. And that is the only reason you came back." She pondered, her eyes knowing. "If Your intention really is to spare me the pain, you make sure that Hannibal never sees the light of day again."

As he didn't answer her, Alana let out a sigh. "Despite everything you still are codependent of one another. If you play my bait, I will reward you and make use of all the control that I have. I might allow the two of you privileges such as sharing a cell."

Will heard the creaking of the door, but before it could shut close Alana stopped one more time and said. "think about it, Will."

Will did think about it. Him and Hannibal together and this world save from them…..Giving in to this temptation was a form of betrayal that Hannibal provoked.

He couldn't sleep the whole night. Awake he had laid on the mattress, his thoughts circling and falling into an abyss without any prospect of rescue and forcing him to come to a hopeless conclusion: He deserved to be in here, he deserved to feel the tugging pain of being so far away from anything that had grown familiar in the last year.

He had killed Jack, but had he found closure? There was little left of the excitement and empowerment he had felt before. His life was supposed to go on after he had cut out the past, but now he found himself in Hannibal's cage instead of his arms. And just like from the thought of Hannibal's frustration about him not returning, Will drew both regret and bitter gratification from it.

His mind was like a flower that only flourished under the right care, with enough sun, but was rotting from the inside if any of these conditions were denied. Here in Hannibal's cell the sun only touched upon him lightly.

Their was no chance of ever having a life in freedom with the man again. No matter where he would go, he would always be followed by eyes that waited to see the Hannibal and then to tear him away from Will forever.

"Give me a few more days."

The sun hadn't even risen yet and Alana was laying in her bed with only the lamp on the nightstand turned on. On the phone was Margot, keeping her from falling asleep again.

"Be careful. He has been under Hannibal's influence for so long now...I don't think you can trust him" Margot sounded worried.

"I have to to some degree. If Hannibal is so embedded in his mind, Will must have found a way into his head as well." Heading to the bathroom, her limbs still tired and heavy, she asked, "Have you increased the safety precautions, Margot? I don't think Hannibal could know….but…."

she was more concerned about him finding the residence than she admitted.

"Everything is fine here. He won't find us, Alana. If he is out there to get Will back, you are the one endangered in Baltimore.", the other woman reminded her with a soft voice.

Alana sighed."It is better this way. You know I can't come home now. It might just lead him to you."

She arrived early at the BSHFTCI, before the night staff had finished their shift.
The first encounter with Will Graham had motivated Alana to prepare herself much more for their second conversation. However, his dismissing behavior had also disappointed her. She had been ready to see a changed man, but she had not been ready to be confronted with the fact that he had become quite manipulative and cunning.
Again and again she had asked her self if she would have made the same choices, if she hadn't held onto that small grain of hope that she would still save Will from himself. Would she have sacrifised Jack if she would been only half as sure that Will might be the solution to all of her problems? On the other hand Jack would have done the same to her, had already attempted it.
Now she had to make the best out of the situation. The chances that Will would play along in her plans didn't seem very high at the moment, but she would have to try her best to get him on her side.

If she was lucky she maybe wouldn't need his cooperation, the mere news that he had been caught could lure Hannibal here, if their relationship was what Alana thought it was. The news of Will Graham's arrest had already made headlines yesterday, it had to be impossible to not pay attention to.

Alana had scheduled another "therapy session" with him in an hour, before the agents of the FBI could come in to question him this afternoon. If talking wouldn't bear any fruits she might have to give him into police custody and hope for the best. It was supposed to be a last resort, but it looked like it wasn't likely that she would have to fall back on such a scenario, as risky as it was. One misplaced step and she would be dead.

She was on her way out of the office when the phone rang. It was Margot's number. Sighting Alana picked up the phone to tell her to call later, her negotiations with Will couldn't wait.

"Margot? I can't -" She started, trying to not appear too unfriendly, but swallowed down her words when she heard only heavy breathing on the other end of the line.

She forgot instantly everything she wanted to convince Will of.

"Alana. I believe you have what does not belong to you…. and yet you want to make use of Will. I allowed myself the same move.", Hannibal's calm voice uttered. "Even though you have refused to shut your eyes, like I told you to in my kitchen, you have not considered that I would not wait until my appearance would feel comfortable for you."

So he knew Will was under her care, and he had seen through her plan to make use of it. Her dream to hope had just become a nightmare.

"Have you-"

"There would be no point in calling then." He cut her off and then left her waiting, pausing for a moment. "Your wife and son are both alive and there are ways for you to assure it remains that way."

She was pressing the phone against her ear as if she would risk missing something important if she loosened the grip.

"You want Will in exchange?"

"Only if their lives mean anything to you, Alana." He teased her. "I give you my word that I will spare your family if you will bring Will to your residence within the next three hours."

His tone was sneering, exposing the gratification he drew from her despair, but under it Alana could detect how strained Hannibal was. "Come alone and wait a mile from your home until I let them go. You'll have to give me a few moments alone with Will."

She nodded mindlessly, almost forgetting that he couldn't see her.

"Will you ever come back after that?" Her voice was trembling. She felt to petrified for any other emotion to break through to the surface other that fear.

"I offer to spare your family, Alana. But you, you can't escape me." There was silence for a moment and she knew that he meant it, that this was the promise he would never take back. "Don't be late.", were the last words whispered before he hung up, leaving Alana listening to her own heartbeat.

The color faded from his cheeks when Alana brought him the news.

"….I'll have to get you out of here before anyone notices."

She had surprised him while he was still in his bed and now he wished the cushion he sank back into would swallow him whole. Every attempt to distance himself from the man, brought him another inch closer to him, no matter how high the barrier between them was.

"tell him to leave. Tell him to leave without me.", he uttered, his voice trembling.

"You know I can't.", she replied. "You're my only hope."

The game was over, and now Hannibal was risking getting caught because of him. Now Will was fully aware of the magnitude of his actions and it took away all the gratification he had felt before.

If everything would tumble, it would tumble because of him. None of this was supposed to happen. Hannibal was supposed to be in Argentina and he himself was supposed to rot here if he had to.

"I this a trick? Are you faking my escape in the hope he will be lured by it?"

How badly he hoped it was nothing more than that.

"No. you can easily assure yourself of that." With a gesture to the phone she had brought with her she looked at him inquiring and he nodded slowly, not sure if he really was prepared for this.

When he raised the phone to his ear there was Hannibal's voice at the other end of the line, velvet and soft, like in his memory.

"Is this your next move in the chess game? They take someone from you, you take someone from them.", was the first thing that escaped his mouth.

"The prospect of checkmating the enemy is much closer this time around, Will."

He had closed his eyes, imagining to be somewhere else.

"What if one of your chessman refused to obey?" The words were hard to get over his lips, but he felt like it was the only right thing to say. Hannibal shouldn't have to rot with him here, he wanted him free.

"You finally became the killer I always wanted you to be, Will. How could I let you drown in your own madness now?" For a split second he believed to notice surprise in Hannibal's voice, not irritation necessarily. "If you refuse there will be no chance for Alana's family and nothing will hold her back from coming for me anymore. Every scenario brings us back together. one is just more favorable than the other..."

Letting the words sink in he hung up.

Alana had entered the cell, the handcuffs in her hands ready to use as if he had already agreed to playing his part in the plan.
Under her expecting eyes he turned around and let her cuff his wrists. "What an opportunity to apprehend Hannibal…..Why would you let it slip? There is no chance you believe I will be the factor that stops him from ever killing again."

"I want to save the world from the two of you, I really do. But everything has its price and in this case I'm not ready to pay it." She let his wrists go and he turned around looking her directly into the eyes. Even though the lack of distance between them held something dangerous, none of them stepped back. "I'm not giving you up, Will. I know that you can at least make sure that the chance that he leaves my family alive becomes a promise."

Will scrutinized her and this time found her words to be honest and sober. She seemed to have dropped any illusions about him being the hero.

"Then sacrifice your desire for revenge forever." Alana led him through the open door of the cell. "Pay the price for the life of Margot and your son, Alana. Lie to the FBI. Convince them Hannibal and me have not survived. These are my conditions if you want me to persuade Hannibal to never come back again."