PREDATOR
Most people would be fearful, not comforted to move through the darkness in an unfamiliar area but Hannibal Lecter was not most people. The moon formed a sliver in the sky, reflecting precious little light. The sky too was cooperative, the clouds moving in as if the evening welcomed him. As if it sought to envelope and to protect him.
With his car safely parked in a tourist area more than a mile from the Molina household, Hannibal ran along the back edges of the town, slipping quickly through the night. Taut muscles rippled as he dodged through the low underbrush of the Patagonian terrain, every sinew of his body responded without hesitation to his demand of it.
As he ran, his thoughts moved to Clarice. He could see her sleeping form in his mind's eye. He felt a palpable pang of loss when he left her side, the scent of her still upon him. There was no room for doubt. His mind must be clear. Clarice could not be with him on this. Hannibal stopped in his tracks, leaned against a tree and closed his eyes as he entered his memory palace. Hannibal Lecter began by closing himself off and locking the door to Husband. With a deep breath he opened the door to Predator, thus unleashing the beast he had worked so hard to trap within. His intense eyes flashed opened as if lightning shot from the pupils. The shift in his consciousness was now complete.
Instincts forced into dormancy began surging through his nervous system, electrifying him. Red irises burned. The maroon rims glow, afire with excitement ringing the deep blackness at the center. The depth and breadth of his onyx pupils are magnified to allow vision in the near total darkness. Every bit the predator, the very taste of night upon him, Hannibal Lecter was Becoming.
Ever seen blood in the moonlight…It appears quite black.
Lecter's senses steadily processed the infinite stream of olfactory and auditory stimuli swirling around him. He could smell the glacial lake not far, the scent of the Pehuen collecting dew. He could discern the meals that each family had prepared in the hours previous. He could hear the fauna moving in the distance as they avoided contact with him, obviously recognizing Hannibal as the dominant predator in the area. He had no fear of wildlife and as such, the scent of fear was not upon him. He was predator not prey.
No threats.
It wasn't long before he reached his destination. A small home, very much in the style of the area and though it was much more modest, it was similar in design to Hannibal's home, hewn from indigenous trees and rock. Homes in the area were situated in fairly close proximity to one another. He would need speed and stealth. Hannibal moved quietly around the outside of the building. The garage was empty. Parked in the driveway was one car.
Not the same vehicle. The father and son are at work. Is there a woman? Yes, there is the scent of her perfume near her car.
Lecter located the electrical and phone supply to the home. He reviewed the wiring and concluded that there was no external link to a security system. He checked the windows. The sills showed no evidence of contacts or sensors. The home most likely did not have an alarm system.
Now, where would the young man's bedroom be? Second floor… the Master would be on the main floor.
Hannibal found easy access to the second floor, a large tree growing quite conveniently along the rear of the home, out of eye sight from the road. He gripped a low hanging limb and pulled up, hooking the crook of his elbow over the limb. He then swung his body, turning onto the limb, securing a leg. With this as an anchor, he whipped his body over allowing him to sit on the branch. Hannibal then climbed quickly and quietly until he reached the roof line.
Stepping off the branch, he walked quietly on the roof, moving like mercury to avoid detection.
Looking into the windows, he quickly located Francisco's room. The walls glowed with the light of the laptop on the desk. Hannibal reached for the window, running his hand along the smooth glass he slipped in a thin sheet of metal and pushed the clasp over, unhitching the lock.
Hannibal cautiously slid the window up, waiting a few moments before entering in the event that there was an alarm he had not detected. Silence… thankfully there was no alarm.
Not much for personal security, Rodrigo? I thank you for your trusting nature. It makes my job easier.
Hannibal stepped carefully into the bedroom and moved silently to the computer.
The young man was obviously not concerned about his father accessing information. It was not password protected and the history had not been deleted. Hannibal searched the history to see what the young man had been up to. You Tube.
Cause for concern.
Hannibal removed an external hard drive from the bag slung across his chest. He connected the drive and moved folders from the young man's computer to the drive. He would reinstall folders that did not affect his safety. Only the files involving the video would be removed.
He quickly opened the applications and moved to the properties folder and in a few clicks of the mouse he was able to encrypt the contents to secure data. He checked the recycle bin just in case, and used a cipher program to overwrite the data.
Hannibal then reinstalled the harmless programs and files to the young man's lap top, making sure the video was no longer stored. He then tapped his foot on the switch of the surge protector so it would appear as if there had been tripped by a surge. Placing the hard drive back into his bag, he wiped the room down for prints and moved quickly to the window. Just as he stepped over the sill Hannibal could hear footfalls.
Danger!
It was not the scent of a female therefore Hannibal knew he had not been overheard by the mother. It was Francisco. Hannibal lowered the window and just before Francisco spotted him, Hannibal dropped down gracefully and flattened himself along the shingles.
The door to the room swung open.
Hannibal held his breath as the young man approached the window.
Until the next chapter my friends!
LH