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HANNIBAL'S TRUE NATURE

Hannibal listened carefully at the door. Nico did not have the predatory advantages that Hannibal had. Nico could not sense Hannibal's presence in the doorway. He would not be able to predict Hannibal's movements or his responses as he did not have the sensory gifts this predator had honed. He could not pick up on the older man's scent. He did not possess the unusual eyes able to see in almost no light. Soon, he would no longer have Hannibal's weapon either.

The Harpy has been tossed in a box under the table where the water vessels had been organized. Hannibal used a very specific method of cleaning and sharpening the blade preferring an oil stone to a whetstone. He added bergamot to the mineral oil he used as he found the high note released upon sharpening pleasant in the extreme. This combination generated a very distinctive scent. That mixed with the scent of Hannibal's flesh burnished upon the blade made the placement of it in the room absolutely precise. Nico would not be able to locate it as quickly as Hannibal. Nico relied on his eyesight. Hannibal had a variety of sensory tools at his disposal. Nico had no such advantage.

Hannibal stepped very slowly into the room. He had one weapon at his disposal…The room itself.

Hannibal reached for the long pole with the noose Nico had leaned near the door. He swung the pole and hooked the noose over the only light source in the room, the large construction spotlight. Hannibal twisted his body forcefully swinging the pole and releasing it like an Olympic hammer throw.

Nico heard the sound and spun to see the large lamp crash against the far wall. The halogen lamps exploded and the room went dark. The only available light was now coming from the hallway and streaming in through the open door.

Hannibal cut an imposing figure back lit in the doorway, eyes glowing with rage. He had tasted the experience of life leaving Emilia. Now he wanted…no…not wanted…he needed more. His hunger for revenge was cavernous. He would fill it with blood.

"It would seem that your woman has had a bit of an accident. Many household injuries occur in the bath. She was quite careless and now she is dead."

Nico turned to Hannibal and smiled. "It seems that you have saved me the trouble of disposing of the wench myself. Thank you."

"You are entirely welcome. I enjoyed it very much. I believe your death will be equally fulfilling."

"I will not be killing you, Hannibal. I will be keeping you. You would prefer death I'm sure but you are far too magnificent to be killed quickly. I will savor your agony for years to come."

"I will be killing you, though not quickly. I will store the memory in a very special place...a windowless room where only I can see."

With that, Hannibal slammed shut the heavy door. Hearing the approaching roar of a mustang engine echo down the long hallway he was certain to turn the lock as well.

BARNEY AND CLARICE

The wheels of the mustang spun and smoked as Clarice rounded the last corner to enter the dead end street where the rental house stood. She immediately got out of the car. Before closing the door she leaned in.

"You wait here for Ardelia and the guys."

Barney shook his head. "No way…if you're going in I'm going with you. Hannibal will kill me himself if I let you go in alone."

Clarice nodded. "Okay just promise to stay close."

Barney was sweating. "You're the only one here with a gun…I don't have to be told that twice."

Clarice moved to the front door and pounded on it.

"F.B.I.! Open the door we have a warrant!" Clarice paused. No answer. She rang the doorbell and pounded on the door again. "Open the door! This is you final warning!"

"Looks like we've got to make a decision, Clarice…are we waiting or are we going in?" Barney asked although he already knew the answer.

"We're going in." Clarice drew her weapon.

"That's what I thought." Barney backed up. "Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound."

Clarice aimed at the lock and pulled the trigger exploding the cheap wood of the door and sending splinters flying. The door swung open in surrender.

"After you Agent Starling," Barney said with a smile.

"Agent Starling would have waited for her backup," she stated as she stepped into the doorway, checking the corners before moving into the room. "I'm Hannibal's wife… the only thing I follow is my H."

Barney smiled. "Okay Mrs. Lecter…I'm with you. Let's go find your hubby."

HANNIBAL'S REVENGE

Possessing the ability to move with uncommon stealth, Hannibal slipped from the doorway silently and moved past the metal table. He knew its exact location because although Nico had rinsed the table and floor, the scent of the purged meal was still upon it.

Hannibal had already determined the distance between the autopsy table and the area where the Harpy was stored. It took Nico eight paces to move between them. While strapped to the table he had counted the distance each and every time Nico moved to retrieve another one of his instruments of anguish as it provided a brief respite.

"Where are you Hannibal?" Nico searched with his voice, the only sense functional in this darkness being his hearing. He hoped Hannibal would be foolish enough to answer and give him his bearings.

What does this idiot think this is? A game of Marco Polo?

Hannibal was not. He had no such need to detect Nico as the smell of fear was so very thick in the room. Hannibal located the box and reached carefully within taking only seconds to retrieve the Harpy. Now that he was adequately armed Hannibal needed to find a way to disable Nico quickly. He knew from the roar of the mustang's engine that Clarice would not be long.

You are Beauty, Clarice. I would spare you from this beast.

Hannibal positioned himself at the head of the metal table and moved the leather strap at the neck mounting, making sure to drag the buckle just enough to make it seem accidental.

Nico was alerted.

Hannibal then backed up to the broken halogen fixture. He located that by the smell of the burnt out lamps, now exposed. He felt along the ground to find the pole he used to heave it. Very slowly he loosened the noose and withdrew it from the machine.

"Are you returning to the table because you yearn for my attentions, Hannibal?"

No answer would be forthcoming. Hannibal carried the pole with him and returned to the table.

Nico wanted more information. He was totally blind and though he knew the room fairly well, his bearings were off and he was having difficulty centering himself in the space.

"Or would you rather forego the honor and allow me the pleasure of your lovely wife's company. Her lovely pale skin would burn far easier than yours. I believe I detected the prominent sound of a mustang just before you closed us in. Perhaps that is the reason you locked the door. It couldn't have been to keep Emilia out as you had already killed her. Though you so selfishly denied me yours, I promise you that I will hear her screams. Perhaps when I cut the child from her womb and crush it's skull under my feet?"

"You will not live long enough to see my child, Nico. You will be dead quite soon. The stench of decay is already upon you."

Hannibal swung the pole in a circle above his head to open the noose. He then whipped it straight over the area where Nico's voice, combined with his scent, gave Hannibal the bearings.

Hannibal realized he had accurately measured when the pole struck the taller man's shoulders. He then whipped the cable back, tightened the noose and dropped quickly to his knees. Hannibal wedged the base of the pole into the drain in the floor and using the momentum of Nico himself, flipped the taller man over and lifted him like a pole vault and with great force slammed him onto the metal table.

There was a loud, Ooofff! as the wind was knocked out of Nico.

Hannibal scrambled to secure the belt he had just positioned over Nico's throat. He then grabbed Nico's hands and used the waist belt to strap them across his body effectively trapping them.

Hannibal circled the table like a lion would circle an antelope. "How does it feel to be the participant my friend…we are friends are we not?"

"You would be wise to release me…if you kill me your wife will not take kindly to it. How do you think she would feel being married to a murderer?"

Hannibal continued to circle the table, speaking the entire time so that Nico would know exactly where in the room he was. His pace was slow…deliberate. He leaned over the man's restrained body as he spoke, his voice low and metallic taking on that hissing dungeon taunt.

"Please, you will have to do far better than that. My wife knows every aspect of every so-called crime I have ever committed and as such knows full well to whom she is married. A warning that she has taken as many lives as I and you held a knife to the child she carries. You endangered the life she would die to protect. I merely have my Harpy. My Love has a Colt slung low on her magnificent hip. If she perceives our family to be in danger she would not deny me your life nor would she hesitate to take that life herself. You would do well not only to respect her power but to fear her anger. My wife is a warrior."

"Your wife is a woman and as such is weak. I fear no female."

Nico began to struggle against the bonds though it would be of no use. Hannibal, still feeling the pains on both sides of his body, still tasting the water that flooded his system was aching to deliver pain of his own.

"Soon I will attend to you in much the same way you attended to me. I wonder how long it will take before I hear your screams. I doubt you have the ability to hold your tongue. You used that vile organ to taste my pain. When you open your mouth to scream prepare well as I will tear it from you."

EX-SPECIAL AGENT STARLING

Clarice and Barney moved down the long hallway with their backs pressed firmly against the wall. Clarice wagged her head signaling to the terrified man that she would enter the first bedroom, Nico's room. Clarice ducked in, checking each corner and moving along the wall, keeping her back protected and her eyes forward scanning forward. When she determined the room was empty she moved back to Barney.

Barney lifted his chin. Anything? he seemed to ask.

Clarice shook her head negatively. Barney nodded and followed as Clarice moved forward to the next room, Hannibal and Emilia's room.

Again, the same drill, Clarice entered, Barney watched the hallway. This room presented a different set of problems as it had an adjoining bath. Clarice slipped into the bathroom. She saw the body.

Well you got one of them, H. Now where in the hell are you?

Clarice waved Barney into the bedroom. Barney entered, glad to get out of the long hallway.

"That hallway has me creeped out. I keep thinking of those twins in the movie The Shining."

Clarice laughed. "Well don't look in the bathroom then 'cuz H got Emilia. She's hanging by a handcuff in the shower stall. He must have wanted to be quiet. It looks like he broke her neck and that's not usually his style although that creepy fuck Emilia had with her probably took his Harpy."

Clarice's cell buzzed in her pocket. She quickly retrieved it. "Hey Dee."

"Jesus Clarice…I thought I told you to stay outside. Now the warrant is useless."

"It was useless to begin with. Hannibal got Emilia. I have no idea where he is in the house. Emilia's twisted fuck of a friend is missing too. Just stay put. As soon as I know what we're up against, I'll call."

Clarice pocketed the cell and turned to move up the hallway. Suddenly, at the end of the hallway, behind a fortified door, wails of anguish began.

Barney looked at Clarice, an eyebrow raised. "It doesn't sound like him."

"Oh it's H or right. He just isn't the one who is screaming."

NICO'S END

Hannibal was frankly shocked that the mere point of the Harpy barely entering the pectoral muscle would have caused such an anguished cry.

"Really Nico? That barely would have registered as discomfort to me. No more than a stitch in a muscle. Wasn't it you that claimed begging and screaming would sully the dignity of this process. Though your anguish is as delicious to me as my silence was to you…rest assured I will enjoy this much more than you will."

Hannibal took his Harpy and used the hooked talon to tear the buttons from Nico's shirt.

"Get off me you wolf! Get off me!" Nico screamed in hysterics.

"Oh, I am the wolf again? What happened to Hannibal? Do you no longer wish me to remain?"

Nico thrashed at the restraints. "Get away from me!"

Hannibal hissed in Nico's ear, "No, I am enjoying this far too much to stop now."

Hannibal tore open Nico's shirt and smoothed his hand over the man's ribs and sternum. "Now exactly where is that black heart of yours?"

Again, Nico struggled trying to shift Hannibal's hands from him.

Finding the pulsing organ, Hannibal dragged the Harpy across the flesh creating an 'X' in the flesh.

"X marks the spot!" Hannibal teased.

Nico howled in pain and terror.

Hannibal mused, "It is a shame that we have company as I would love to open the door and let the light in the room. No matter. The visual loss will be a minor inconvenience. You will feel every delicious sting. Every probe and you will pray for death."

Suddenly the moment was interrupted by a pounding on the door.

"It would seem that my lovely wife has arrived. No matter. I am almost finished. She will forgive me my rudeness in making her wait."

Hannibal took his Harpy and very slowly pierced the flesh between Nico's ribs just above the beating heart now tripping dangerously at the biological limit.

Nico's terror so raw that he could barely scream as his mouth hung open, gasping terror. He fear halted his howls choking them in the back of his throat. He was barely vocalizing as Hannibal used his Harpy and cut the braid from Nico's head. "I told you that I would collect this." He stuffed it in the breast pocket of the scrubs.

On the other side of the door, Clarice, Barney and Ardelia were pounding on the door. Logan and Lloyd were called in to help. Hannibal ignored the noise.

Clarice to the men. "What do you boys think?"

Barney considered the situation. "I think the door is reinforced but not the frame. If we hit it hard enough it will open."

Ardelia nodded. "All right men…Go for it!"

Barney, Logan and Lloyd moved back and charged forward, each crashing a shoulder into the door. The door rattled in the frame.

Hannibal whispered in Nico's ear. "It would seem that my family has arrived to collect me. Your end is near…I would like a gift for my wife…her birthday is tomorrow and you have occupied me to the point that I have not had time to shop for her. If you will allow me…"

Hannibal reached into the hole created by the Harpy. He pressed and stretched his fingers, spreading the opening with excruciating pressure. Hannibal slowly probed the depths of muscle, tearing the sinews by hand. The wound yawned open under Hannibal's intrusion, blood poured forth allowing Hannibal to twist his hand deeper and deeper into the thoracic cavity.

Nico's body lurched and quaked. There was a gurgling rising from his throat.

Hannibal reached between the ribs, spread his fingers within the cavity and clutched the villian's beating heart.

Hannibal whispered in his ear. "You lived your life a heartless bastard. Now…I will end your life as such."

At the moment Hannibal reached the organ, Barney burst into the room, the frame finally giving way under his power.

Light flooded the room as Hannibal tore the pulsing organ from Nico's body.

Nico twitched, eyes wide and unblinking.

Hannibal relished Nico's life flickering and held the pulsing organ up for Nico to see. Hannibal lifted the blood covered organ to his mouth and ripped into in with his teeth. He then spit the beating flesh in Nico's face.

Barney, Logan and Lloyd stood in the doorway mouth agape at the vision of Hannibal, maroon eyes flashing in rage, blood and cardiac tissue dripping from his face.

Logan shook his head and spoke incredulously, "Dude…dude…"

Clarice stepped into the room. She processed the scene quickly realizing that Hannibal was severely injured and probably in shock. "Whatcha got in your hand H?"

Hannibal held it out. "A gift…for you."

"I appreciate the thought but I've already got one so why don't you put that back where you got it."

Hannibal jammed the heart back into the opening.

"Dude!" Logan reiterated.

Clarice moved to Hannibal putting her arms around his waist. He winced in pain. Concerned, Clarice lifted Hannibal's shirt and saw all of his wounds. She gasped.

"That mother fucker!" she walked over to the body, unbuckled the straps and pumped four rounds into the chest obliterating any evidence of Hannibal's handiwork. She holstered her weapon turned to her friends and said, "He had my husband so I shot him. That's how it went down…any questions?"

I hope this lived up to your expectations my friends! Don't forget to review and let me know what you think! Until the next chapter my friends!

LH