Sorry for the late update! I got caught up in some things yesterday, but I'm posting now :) Hope you enjoy!
Will sat in his house, staring intently at the laptop on the table.
"Accusing an innocent," he muttered, shaking his head in the slightest. If there were different circumstances, Will wouldn't have minded framing this girl in the slightest. For his own murders, he'd find a killer with a similar skill set to his, uproot their victims and wrongdoings, and lead the FBI to them. Despite this insincerity of it, he was putting other killers into prison. This, however…
Will shook his head, staring at Jane Attic's file.
This was an innocent young girl.
"Dammit, Hannibal," cursed Will. He clicked through more files, desperately searching for dirt on her pure name. Shoplifting, breaking and entering… He only found nominal crimes.
Will ran a hand through his hair, squinting at the screen.
Of all the people Hannibal could protect, thought Will, why Abigail?
He huffed. Do they have a past together?
Will groaned, digging deeper. Hours later, his body leaned against the table, eyelids drooping and mouth slightly parted.
"Nothing," he huffed. "The girl's completely innocent."
He stared at the screen through half-lidded eyes, glossed over with fatigue. Will mulled over his situation, knowing his time was limited, and glanced over at his phone. He stared at it as if it would give any insight, thinking through names and possibilities. His brows rose, and he sat up straight, now awake.
"I almost forgot about him," he said as he grabbed his phone, going straight to the contacts and scrolling down. He pressed a name, let it ring, and held the phone up to his ear.
Only moments later, the line picked up.
"Well, it's been a while," said the voice, gruff and amused.
"Keanu," said Will, shoulders dropping in relief. He stared back at Jane Attic's file, forcing himself to say the next words despite the tug in his chest. "I need a favor for a case."
Will could practically hear his smile through the phone. "I thought you'd never ask," he replied. "Name?"
"Jane Attics," breathed Will, glancing away from her picture.
Shifting sounded through the other line, then the clicking of keys, and Keanu made a sound of both interest and displeasure.
"A teenager, William?"
Will sighed, scratching at his brow. "I know. But I made a deal with someone, and if I don't lead the FBI to her, something bad's gonna happen."
Keanu hummed. "Give me a summary of the situation."
"Wait," said Will, freezing. "What phone are you using?"
"My second one, now continue."
Will sighed in relief, and he nodded. "There's a young killer who's responsible for the deaths of Ana Wilson and Elise Nichols. She skins off their faces and collects them. Records don't show any other mutilations like this in the past."
"So you want to turn her file to make it seem like she's the killer?" asked Keanu.
"Yes."
Keanu laughed through the line. "So you know the real killer?"
"Just do the job, Keanu," snapped Will, receiving another laugh.
"I'm not bashing," he said. "We gotta look out for each other. Killers to killers."
Will chuckled. "Thanks, Keanu. Can you come up with something before tomorrow?"
"Don't even sweat it. I've got just the person."
Will took a deep breath and ended the call, staring at the screen for a moment. Attic's face stared straight back at him, and he shook his head, swiping down to Jack's contact and calling him. A few rings later and his voice rang through the speaker.
"Jack," said Will, clenching his fist at his side. "I found our killer."
Will stood in front of the one-sided glass, staring at Jane Attic sitting at the metal table, wringing her hands together and gnawing her lips.
"You're sure it's her?" asked Jack, raising a brow and glancing sideways at Will.
"Positive," said Will, jaw twitching. The door to their right creaked, and they glanced over. Dim light bathed over Hannibal, and he shut the door slowly so that it clicked quietly.
Will stared him in the eye and swallowed, quickly averting his gaze.
"I want to talk to her."
Jack gave Hannibal an acknowledging nod before returning his attention to Will.
"She seems distressed enough, we should give her a minute—"
"Let me talk to her," said Will, glancing back at Jack. He lingered, nodding after a moment.
"Very well," he said. "Talk to the poor kid."
Will turned around, facing Hannibal; he averted his gaze and walked past him, heading out the door to circle around and enter the grey walls that held Jane Attic. The girl gasped and turned around in her seat, wet eyes wide and glistening with hope. It tugged something in Will's chest, but he ignored it, walking past the metal table and sitting across from Attic.
"Good evening, Jane," he said softly, voice a low murmur. She sniffled, breaths hitching as she brimmed on sobbing again.
"P-please, I didn't do anything—"
Will rose a hand, and she bit her lip, clenching her cuffed fists and forcing herself to sit back in her seat.
"How are you doing today, Jane?" he asked softly, staring at her evenly. She swallowed, brows furrowing as she searched for words.
"I-I—terrible?" she whimpered, tears slipping from her eyes.
Will remembered what Keanu told him, nodding slowly.
"Are you ashamed with what you did, Jane?"
Jane's lip quivered, and she choked on a sob, hiding her face behind dark brown hair. "I-I… I can't help it," she said, admitting to something else. "My parents…"
"Gone," said Will softly.
"I'm so—I'm always so lonely," she cried. Will swallowed at her pain, keeping his face straight as she continued. "I-I thought that… if I kept causing trouble like this—that someone would finally notice me. That—that maybe they might… they might see how wrong my life is, and try to save me."
Will carefully shook his head. "You're stealing these peoples' identities, Jane. Their lives."
Jane covered her face in her hands the best she could, sobbing against the metal chains. "What else am I supposed to do?" she heaved. "I'm a nobody, but when I—"
Will rested his hand over Attic's, stopping her from letting more words pour out. Too much information and the cover's blown; too little and it'd be suspicious.
"Thank you, Jane," said Will, patting her hand gently. "You've said enough."
Jane raised her head and sniffed, hair stuck to her wet face. Will stood, and she watched deadly as he left the room, letting the door shut with a clang behind him.
He re-entered the other side of the mirror, glancing at Jane's dejected body slumped on the metal table. Will looked over and met Hannibal's eyes, hiding a smirk the best he could at the impressed arch in Lecter's brows.
"She's the one," said Will.
Jack stared at Jane through the glass, shaking his head. "Kids shouldn't be left to become like this," he said, voice edged with pity.
"The lack of love does many things to children," said Hannibal. Will swallowed at that, forcing out a dry chuckle. Lecter hid his knowing gaze.
"At least we caught her," said Will, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
Jack nodded. "Good as always, Will," he said. He looked at Attic through the corner of his eye and sighed, patting Will's shoulder as he left the room.
Hannibal glanced around the room, and—finding that it was clear—stood closer to Will.
"I'm impressed."
Will smirked, licking his lips. "I know," he said. "I saw it in your face."
Despite his amusement, that dread still tugged in his chest as he stared at Jane through the glass. He shook his head, glancing up at Lecter.
"I don't like this, you know," said Will, staring through the glass again at the girl. "Framing an innocent. Especially a child."
He turned to Hannibal, narrowing his eyes at him. "What's so important about Hobbs anyway?"
Hannibal gazed down evenly at him. "In due time, Will," he said, "I will tell you everything."
Will hummed, giving one last glance to Attic before her life was thrown away. "Well, it better be worth it," he said. "I'll see you later."
He glanced over his shoulder at Hannibal and exited the room, leaving him smiling after him.
"Soon," Hannibal whispered to himself.
We're getting closer to the big reveeeaaallll!
Thank you so much for reading, and have a great day!
-Kassian