What About The Girl?
By Risty Maskell
Disclaimer: If you recognise it, I don't own it. If you don't recognise it, it's mine.
Summary: This little bunny is quite interesting and won't leave me alone. It's kinda hard to ignore a Hannibal the Cannibal bunny who is threatening to eat you if you don't write it's story...
Author's note: In case you had not realised, I am going by the timeline in the movie, as I have never read the books. No flames! They'll be used to ... well ... heat my dinner!
Another Author's Note: Thanks so much to twistedmind for the part of the script where Will meets Lecter for the first time since before the... err... "falling out" lol...
~*~*~
1994
~*~*~
The years passed by without incident like the nurse, but Chilton still kept a close eye on Hannibal. Dr Chilton had also made a rule that Hannibal's daughter could only visit him once every six months. She followed the rules. She'd visit him on his birthday and then again on her birthday. The whole idea seemed unfair to them both, though. Hannibal stated that Dr Chilton was going all out to make Hannibal's life miserable. Juliette agreed. She had taken a disliking to the administrator of the asylum.
During her visits to the asylum, Juliette would stay for hours, telling her father what had been going on over the six months they had been apart. And every time, Hannibal seemed to have accumulated another picture. She never knew her father could draw, but most of his work was exquisite. She told him so and he had smiled one of those rare smiles a father gives his daughter.
On his birthday in 1994, Juliette was 11 years old and for the first time, allowed, (with Barney and Thomas watching the monitor) to venture, with a guard, who sat just out of hearing distance, down the dark passage, lit only with harsh flourecent lights every ten feet. At first, she was afraid, but as she passed the other prisoners, such as Sylvester Dryslum and Vincent Miggs, she realised that she needn't be afraid. They had seen her many times before, and therefore, used to her presence. And she was also with the guard, who could stop them if they did anything. She sat on the metal folding chair and looked into her fathers cell. The lights were on and her father was sitting at a makeshift desk, drawing something in charcoal.
"Morning, Dad." She said, quietly. Miggs, in the next cell moaned and it sounded as though he was hitting his head against the wall. Hannibal looked up and smiled.
"Good Morning, Sweetheart, what brings you here today?"
"To say Happy Birthday." Juliette's big eyes twinkled, just like her fathers did. Her eyes were in interesting mix of violet and green. Hannibal smiled and got up.
"Thank you very much, Juliette. Now, what have you been doing over the last six months? What have you learned at school?"
"I'm learning long and short division in Mathematics." Juliette started.
"And how are you going with that?" Hannibal said on the edge of the cot and looked intently at her.
"Fine," Juliette said. "I hope..."
"You hope?"
"Well, I haven't really been doing very well in Mathematics lately, Dad." She said, knowing she couldn't lie to him or he'd know. "I've been having trouble with big numbers. We started short division in thousands the other day, and I didn't really understand how to do it."
"Ahh, well, it's quite easy, Sweetheart." He stated calmly, going over to the table and getting a clean sheet of paper and his charcoal. "For example, if you wanted to divide 3425 into 25, you take the 25 and say, 'how many times does 25 go into 3?' the answer, of course, is none. So, then you say 'how many times does 25 go into 34?'"
"Once." Juliette said, watching as he father drew the diagram on the paper.
"Exactly, and that leaves how much left over?"
"Nine!" Juliette smiled. Hannibal wrote a 1 above the 4.
"Precisely. So you draw a 9 next to the number 2. Then you ask youself 'how many times does 25 go into 92?"
"Umm..." Juliette thought for a moment. "Three times?"
Hannibal nodded. "Which would leave 17, wouldn't it?" Juliette agreed. Hannibal wrote a 3 above the 2. "Now, here's a thought, how many times does 25 go into 175?"
Juliette had to count on her fingers. "4...5...6...7 times!" Hannibal smiled.
"Yes! And how much is left over?"
"Nothing!"
"So, the answer to 3425 divided by 25 is?"
"One hundred and thirty-seven!" Juliette said triumphantly. Hannibal chuckled, glad that his daughter was catching on quite quickly.
"What else have you been learning?"
"Well, in English, we're readind 'Looking For Trouble'." Juliette smiled.
"And what's that book about?"
"It's a book about these three children who make a crime-fighting team and go around looking for crimes to solve. They name themselves 'Looking For Trouble'."
Her father laughed. "Well, it sounds rather interesting." Not particularly, but at least she's happy... he thought to himself.
Juliette stayed with her father for most of the day, until, at around four o'clock, Thomas came down to the cell and took Juliette by the hand.
"Ah Thomas." Hannibal said, his eyes gleaming. "A pleasure to see you again."
"And you, Hannibal." Thomas said with a smile. "I'm afraid it's time to go, Juliette." He said. Hannibal put the diagram of short devision into the drawer and pushed it out to her. She reached in and took it, smiling.
"Thank you, Daddy." She said quietly. "I'll see you in six months."
"Of course, where else would I be?" Hannibal said, chuckling. Juliette smiled and waved before walking out with Thomas. Hannibal's eyes were on Thomas as they walked away. If you do anything to hurt her, Thomas Bradley... I will kill you.
~
The weeks that past were rather boorish for Hannibal. He had nothing to do but draw, read or lie down. Sometimes, when Chilton was feeling especially mean, he would strip the walls bare of Hannibal's beautiful drawings and take away his books. Sometimes even his toilet seat. Then Dr Lecter had nothing. When doing nothing, Hannibal found himself thinking about when Angela, Juliette's mother, was alive. She was quite the beauty, lovely long black hair with rich green eyes. A voice that tinkled when she laughed. Hannibal knew he made his collegues jealous, when he had married her. And when they had had Juliette together, it was like an angel from heaven.
It was in one of these moments, when he was lying on his cot on his back when a tangy smell of cologne invaded his senses. He knew that smell anywhere.
"That's the same atrocious aftershave you wore to court." He said, not opening his eyes.
"I keep getting it for Christmas." Will Graham said, putting down his briefcase and sitting on the metal chair that was usually occupied by Juliette.
"Christmas, yes. Did you get my card?"
"I got it, thank you."
"So nice of the bureau's crime lab to forward that, they wouldn't give me your home address." Hannibal said, opening his eyes but not sitting up.
"Dr. Bloom sent me your article on surgical addition in the Journal of Forensic Psychiatry." Will said, ignoring the comment.
"And?"
"It was very interesting. Even to a layman."
Hannibal sat up on the cot, but still didn't look at him. "You said you're a layman." He looked at Will. "But it was you who caught me, wasn't it Will?Do you know how you did it?"
"I got lucky." Will answered
"I don't think you believe that." Hannibal said, his face expressionless.
"It's in the transcripts. What does it matter, now?" Will said, intent on getting answers.
"Doesn't matter to me Will." Hannibal said, getting up and walking over to the sink.
"I need your advice, Dr Lecter."
Hannibal looked at Will's reflection in the mirror. "Birmingham and Atlanta. You want to know how he's choosing them, don't you?"
"I thought you'd have some ideas. I'd like you to tell me what they are."
"Why should I?" Still, Hannibal didn't face Will.
"There are things you don't have. Research materials, computer access, I can talk to the chief of staff."
Hannibal almost chuckled. "Ahh, yes. Dr Chilton. Gruesome, isn't he? Fumbles at your head like a Freshman at a panty girdle. If you recall Will, our last collaboration ended rather messily."
"You get to view all the files on this case. And there's another reason." Will said, watching Hannibal.
"I'm all ears."
"I thought you might enjoy the challenge. Find out if you're smarter than the person I'm looking for." The young agent said.
"Then by implication, you think you're smarter than I am?" Hannibal said in that same curious voice he had used before stabbing Will with the stiletto all those years ago.
"No, I know I'm not smarter than you." Will said, again backing off.
"Then how did you catch me?"
"You had... disadvantages." Will said, not able to look at Hannibal.
"What disadvantages?" There it was again, the cool, calm, curious voice.
"You're insane." Will said, looking directly into Hannibal's eye. Hannibal made no move, but switched to another subject.
"You're very tanned, Will." He said. "Your hands are so rough. Not like a cop's hands anymore. And that shaving lotion you wear is something a child would select. Has a little ship on the bottle, does it not? And how is the young Josh and the lovely Molly? They're always in my thoughts you know." Like Angela... "You will not persuade me with appeals to my intellectual vanity."
"I don't think I'd persuade you at all. Either you'll do it or you won't." Will said, trying not to let emotion creep onto his face.
"Is that the case file?"
"Yes."
"With photos? Let me keep them and I might consider it."
"No."
"Do you dream, much, Will?"
"Good bye, Dr Lecter." Will said, walking back toward the entrance.
"You haven't threatened to take away my books yet! Give me the file, then!" Hannibal said, watching Will's retreating back. "And I'll tell you what I think. I'll need one hour. And privacy."
Will turned back and put the case file in the sliding drawer. Hannibal picked it up and looked at it, then looked at Will, leaning against the iron beam of his cell.
"Just like old times, eh Will?"
WIll chose not to answer and instead, left Dr Lecter alone.
~
As promised, one hour later, Will came back to find Hannibal flipping through the case file. Hannibal did not look up as he approached.
"This is a very shy boy, Will." He said, looking at shoe imprints. "I'd like to meet him. Have you considered the possibility that he is disfigured or that he may believe he is disfigured?"
"Yeah, the mirrors." Will said.
"Yeah. Notices he smashes all the mirrors in the houses and not just enough to cut the pieces he wants. Of course, those shards in theri eyes, so he can see himself there."
"That's interesting." WIll said, nodding his head.
"No, it's not interesting, you've thought of it before." Hannibal said, the usual expressionless face.
"I'd considered it. What about the women?" Will said, looking at a point on the floor.
"Dead? Mere puppets. You need to see them living, the way they caught his eye."
"That's impossible."
"Almost. Not quite." Hannibal wa enjoying this little game. It was the most interesting thing that had happened since Migg in the next cell had knocked himself out by thumping his head against the wall once to often. "What were the yards like?"
"Big back yards, fenced. Some hedges, why?"
"Because, if this pilgrim feels a special relationship with the moon, he might like to go outside and look at it. You ever seen blood in the moonlight, Will? It appears quite black. If one were nude, say, it would be better to have outdoor privacy for that sort of thing." His intense gaze seemed to be getting on Will's nerves.
"You think the yards are a factor when he selects his victims?"
"Oh yes. And there will be more of them, of course. Victims." Will stared at the floor. "So you'll be wanting lots of these little chinwags, I take it."
"I might not have time." Will said, shaking his head.
"I do." Hannibal said, still watching the young agent. "I have oodles."
"I need you opinion now." Will said, still not looking at Hannibal.
"Then here's one. You stink of fear and that cheap lotion. You stink of fear, Will, but you're not a coward!" WIll got up and began to walk away, but stopped. "You fear me, Will, but still you came here. You fear the shy boy, yet you still seek him out." Oh yes, this was an intriguing game. "Don't you understand, Will? You caught me because we are very much alike. Without our imaginations we'd be like all those other poor dullards." WIll turned back to him. "Fear is the price of our instrument. But I can help you bear it."
Hannibal watched as Will walked away, out the exit and into the real world. He chuckled to himself. He'd be back... Lecter thought. And then I'll feed him more riddles... he'll be able to figure it out sooner or later. He laughed again and sat at the desk, and began to draw.
By Risty Maskell
Disclaimer: If you recognise it, I don't own it. If you don't recognise it, it's mine.
Summary: This little bunny is quite interesting and won't leave me alone. It's kinda hard to ignore a Hannibal the Cannibal bunny who is threatening to eat you if you don't write it's story...
Author's note: In case you had not realised, I am going by the timeline in the movie, as I have never read the books. No flames! They'll be used to ... well ... heat my dinner!
Another Author's Note: Thanks so much to twistedmind for the part of the script where Will meets Lecter for the first time since before the... err... "falling out" lol...
~*~*~
1994
~*~*~
The years passed by without incident like the nurse, but Chilton still kept a close eye on Hannibal. Dr Chilton had also made a rule that Hannibal's daughter could only visit him once every six months. She followed the rules. She'd visit him on his birthday and then again on her birthday. The whole idea seemed unfair to them both, though. Hannibal stated that Dr Chilton was going all out to make Hannibal's life miserable. Juliette agreed. She had taken a disliking to the administrator of the asylum.
During her visits to the asylum, Juliette would stay for hours, telling her father what had been going on over the six months they had been apart. And every time, Hannibal seemed to have accumulated another picture. She never knew her father could draw, but most of his work was exquisite. She told him so and he had smiled one of those rare smiles a father gives his daughter.
On his birthday in 1994, Juliette was 11 years old and for the first time, allowed, (with Barney and Thomas watching the monitor) to venture, with a guard, who sat just out of hearing distance, down the dark passage, lit only with harsh flourecent lights every ten feet. At first, she was afraid, but as she passed the other prisoners, such as Sylvester Dryslum and Vincent Miggs, she realised that she needn't be afraid. They had seen her many times before, and therefore, used to her presence. And she was also with the guard, who could stop them if they did anything. She sat on the metal folding chair and looked into her fathers cell. The lights were on and her father was sitting at a makeshift desk, drawing something in charcoal.
"Morning, Dad." She said, quietly. Miggs, in the next cell moaned and it sounded as though he was hitting his head against the wall. Hannibal looked up and smiled.
"Good Morning, Sweetheart, what brings you here today?"
"To say Happy Birthday." Juliette's big eyes twinkled, just like her fathers did. Her eyes were in interesting mix of violet and green. Hannibal smiled and got up.
"Thank you very much, Juliette. Now, what have you been doing over the last six months? What have you learned at school?"
"I'm learning long and short division in Mathematics." Juliette started.
"And how are you going with that?" Hannibal said on the edge of the cot and looked intently at her.
"Fine," Juliette said. "I hope..."
"You hope?"
"Well, I haven't really been doing very well in Mathematics lately, Dad." She said, knowing she couldn't lie to him or he'd know. "I've been having trouble with big numbers. We started short division in thousands the other day, and I didn't really understand how to do it."
"Ahh, well, it's quite easy, Sweetheart." He stated calmly, going over to the table and getting a clean sheet of paper and his charcoal. "For example, if you wanted to divide 3425 into 25, you take the 25 and say, 'how many times does 25 go into 3?' the answer, of course, is none. So, then you say 'how many times does 25 go into 34?'"
"Once." Juliette said, watching as he father drew the diagram on the paper.
"Exactly, and that leaves how much left over?"
"Nine!" Juliette smiled. Hannibal wrote a 1 above the 4.
"Precisely. So you draw a 9 next to the number 2. Then you ask youself 'how many times does 25 go into 92?"
"Umm..." Juliette thought for a moment. "Three times?"
Hannibal nodded. "Which would leave 17, wouldn't it?" Juliette agreed. Hannibal wrote a 3 above the 2. "Now, here's a thought, how many times does 25 go into 175?"
Juliette had to count on her fingers. "4...5...6...7 times!" Hannibal smiled.
"Yes! And how much is left over?"
"Nothing!"
"So, the answer to 3425 divided by 25 is?"
"One hundred and thirty-seven!" Juliette said triumphantly. Hannibal chuckled, glad that his daughter was catching on quite quickly.
"What else have you been learning?"
"Well, in English, we're readind 'Looking For Trouble'." Juliette smiled.
"And what's that book about?"
"It's a book about these three children who make a crime-fighting team and go around looking for crimes to solve. They name themselves 'Looking For Trouble'."
Her father laughed. "Well, it sounds rather interesting." Not particularly, but at least she's happy... he thought to himself.
Juliette stayed with her father for most of the day, until, at around four o'clock, Thomas came down to the cell and took Juliette by the hand.
"Ah Thomas." Hannibal said, his eyes gleaming. "A pleasure to see you again."
"And you, Hannibal." Thomas said with a smile. "I'm afraid it's time to go, Juliette." He said. Hannibal put the diagram of short devision into the drawer and pushed it out to her. She reached in and took it, smiling.
"Thank you, Daddy." She said quietly. "I'll see you in six months."
"Of course, where else would I be?" Hannibal said, chuckling. Juliette smiled and waved before walking out with Thomas. Hannibal's eyes were on Thomas as they walked away. If you do anything to hurt her, Thomas Bradley... I will kill you.
~
The weeks that past were rather boorish for Hannibal. He had nothing to do but draw, read or lie down. Sometimes, when Chilton was feeling especially mean, he would strip the walls bare of Hannibal's beautiful drawings and take away his books. Sometimes even his toilet seat. Then Dr Lecter had nothing. When doing nothing, Hannibal found himself thinking about when Angela, Juliette's mother, was alive. She was quite the beauty, lovely long black hair with rich green eyes. A voice that tinkled when she laughed. Hannibal knew he made his collegues jealous, when he had married her. And when they had had Juliette together, it was like an angel from heaven.
It was in one of these moments, when he was lying on his cot on his back when a tangy smell of cologne invaded his senses. He knew that smell anywhere.
"That's the same atrocious aftershave you wore to court." He said, not opening his eyes.
"I keep getting it for Christmas." Will Graham said, putting down his briefcase and sitting on the metal chair that was usually occupied by Juliette.
"Christmas, yes. Did you get my card?"
"I got it, thank you."
"So nice of the bureau's crime lab to forward that, they wouldn't give me your home address." Hannibal said, opening his eyes but not sitting up.
"Dr. Bloom sent me your article on surgical addition in the Journal of Forensic Psychiatry." Will said, ignoring the comment.
"And?"
"It was very interesting. Even to a layman."
Hannibal sat up on the cot, but still didn't look at him. "You said you're a layman." He looked at Will. "But it was you who caught me, wasn't it Will?Do you know how you did it?"
"I got lucky." Will answered
"I don't think you believe that." Hannibal said, his face expressionless.
"It's in the transcripts. What does it matter, now?" Will said, intent on getting answers.
"Doesn't matter to me Will." Hannibal said, getting up and walking over to the sink.
"I need your advice, Dr Lecter."
Hannibal looked at Will's reflection in the mirror. "Birmingham and Atlanta. You want to know how he's choosing them, don't you?"
"I thought you'd have some ideas. I'd like you to tell me what they are."
"Why should I?" Still, Hannibal didn't face Will.
"There are things you don't have. Research materials, computer access, I can talk to the chief of staff."
Hannibal almost chuckled. "Ahh, yes. Dr Chilton. Gruesome, isn't he? Fumbles at your head like a Freshman at a panty girdle. If you recall Will, our last collaboration ended rather messily."
"You get to view all the files on this case. And there's another reason." Will said, watching Hannibal.
"I'm all ears."
"I thought you might enjoy the challenge. Find out if you're smarter than the person I'm looking for." The young agent said.
"Then by implication, you think you're smarter than I am?" Hannibal said in that same curious voice he had used before stabbing Will with the stiletto all those years ago.
"No, I know I'm not smarter than you." Will said, again backing off.
"Then how did you catch me?"
"You had... disadvantages." Will said, not able to look at Hannibal.
"What disadvantages?" There it was again, the cool, calm, curious voice.
"You're insane." Will said, looking directly into Hannibal's eye. Hannibal made no move, but switched to another subject.
"You're very tanned, Will." He said. "Your hands are so rough. Not like a cop's hands anymore. And that shaving lotion you wear is something a child would select. Has a little ship on the bottle, does it not? And how is the young Josh and the lovely Molly? They're always in my thoughts you know." Like Angela... "You will not persuade me with appeals to my intellectual vanity."
"I don't think I'd persuade you at all. Either you'll do it or you won't." Will said, trying not to let emotion creep onto his face.
"Is that the case file?"
"Yes."
"With photos? Let me keep them and I might consider it."
"No."
"Do you dream, much, Will?"
"Good bye, Dr Lecter." Will said, walking back toward the entrance.
"You haven't threatened to take away my books yet! Give me the file, then!" Hannibal said, watching Will's retreating back. "And I'll tell you what I think. I'll need one hour. And privacy."
Will turned back and put the case file in the sliding drawer. Hannibal picked it up and looked at it, then looked at Will, leaning against the iron beam of his cell.
"Just like old times, eh Will?"
WIll chose not to answer and instead, left Dr Lecter alone.
~
As promised, one hour later, Will came back to find Hannibal flipping through the case file. Hannibal did not look up as he approached.
"This is a very shy boy, Will." He said, looking at shoe imprints. "I'd like to meet him. Have you considered the possibility that he is disfigured or that he may believe he is disfigured?"
"Yeah, the mirrors." Will said.
"Yeah. Notices he smashes all the mirrors in the houses and not just enough to cut the pieces he wants. Of course, those shards in theri eyes, so he can see himself there."
"That's interesting." WIll said, nodding his head.
"No, it's not interesting, you've thought of it before." Hannibal said, the usual expressionless face.
"I'd considered it. What about the women?" Will said, looking at a point on the floor.
"Dead? Mere puppets. You need to see them living, the way they caught his eye."
"That's impossible."
"Almost. Not quite." Hannibal wa enjoying this little game. It was the most interesting thing that had happened since Migg in the next cell had knocked himself out by thumping his head against the wall once to often. "What were the yards like?"
"Big back yards, fenced. Some hedges, why?"
"Because, if this pilgrim feels a special relationship with the moon, he might like to go outside and look at it. You ever seen blood in the moonlight, Will? It appears quite black. If one were nude, say, it would be better to have outdoor privacy for that sort of thing." His intense gaze seemed to be getting on Will's nerves.
"You think the yards are a factor when he selects his victims?"
"Oh yes. And there will be more of them, of course. Victims." Will stared at the floor. "So you'll be wanting lots of these little chinwags, I take it."
"I might not have time." Will said, shaking his head.
"I do." Hannibal said, still watching the young agent. "I have oodles."
"I need you opinion now." Will said, still not looking at Hannibal.
"Then here's one. You stink of fear and that cheap lotion. You stink of fear, Will, but you're not a coward!" WIll got up and began to walk away, but stopped. "You fear me, Will, but still you came here. You fear the shy boy, yet you still seek him out." Oh yes, this was an intriguing game. "Don't you understand, Will? You caught me because we are very much alike. Without our imaginations we'd be like all those other poor dullards." WIll turned back to him. "Fear is the price of our instrument. But I can help you bear it."
Hannibal watched as Will walked away, out the exit and into the real world. He chuckled to himself. He'd be back... Lecter thought. And then I'll feed him more riddles... he'll be able to figure it out sooner or later. He laughed again and sat at the desk, and began to draw.