Author's note: This is an extremely long chapter so I hope it lives up to your expectations and perhaps builds upon them.

Relax, read, enjoy the ride, and review. My thanks for your dedication- this story has required effort on both our parts and I am so happy to have you along as my fan fic friend!

LH

HANNIBAL VERSES BLOOM: The Interview

"It is your session, therefore I shall defer to your expertise, Doctor," Hannibal offered.

Doctor Bloom flipped the page on his pad and steadied his pen. He clicked away at the tip as he had forgotten whether or not he opened it previously. Bloom sucked in a long, strained breath as he prepared to ask his first question.

Seeking necessary distraction, Hannibal picked up a large, well-polished Morgan silver dollar he often used in his practice. He began to roll the coin over the top of his knuckles, pass it under his palm and back over his knuckles again. He continued to repeat this process as he spoke. Bloom was transfixed.

"It is amazing how you can do that. Was it difficult to learn?"

"Not especially. It is enjoyable to watch is it not?"

"Strangely so…Doctor Lecter your wife seems to be extremely defensive of you and often takes up emotional arms for you. Does it offend that she feels the need to fight your battles for you?"

Hannibal raised an eyebrow, "I would not say that she fights my battles for me, rather I would say that she is confident enough to fight beside me. And why would my wife showing her love and concern by defending me offend me? No. It does not offend me. It pleases me."

Feeling the heat of Hannibal's gaze though there was no anger or incrimination in it, Bloom refused to make eye contact, "It pleases you?"

"Immensely."

"Really? In what way?"

Tipping his head slightly to the side and as he considered Bloom, Hannibal tapped his finger on the coin he had now strategically placed on his desk.

"Can you please clarify your question? I find its ambiguity to be confusing and I do not wish to be inaccurate in my response."

Hannibal was anything but confused. As he understood from Graham, Bloom was utilizing the PCL-R checklist. He merely wished to identify the question Bloom had isolated certain he would not be foolish enough to ask them in their actual order.

Bloom looked at Hannibal's hand and watched him tap and touch the coin. Hannibal did not attend to Bloom's cursory examination of the object.

Bloom shifted his attention back to his pad and asked the question listed next, "Why specifically does it please you that your wife is so willing to come to your defense? What about that process pleases you? Is it ego related?"

Knowing there would be approximately twenty questions, and that each answer would be given a numerical assignment from zero to two, Hannibal would have to measure his responses and keep a running total in his mind.

He probably won't ask me the questions evaluating grandiosity he'll score that on his own so we begin with two points.

"No it is most certainly not ego related. It pleases me because it is my goal in life to care for my wife and to establish a secure and loving household. I wish to provide a stable environment as I have a child on the way. It pleases me because if my wife defends me, it reflects her desire to protect and care for me as well. It is evidence that our marriage and our relationship are as central to her existence as to my own existence."

Bloom nodded and continued to stare at his pad, "Can you envision any circumstance by which you might leave Clarice?"

Question nineteen…he's trying to assess the likelihood that our marriage will be long term.

"Yes."

Bloom looked up in surprise, "Really? What would that circumstance be?"

"My death." Hannibal lifted the coin from the desk and again began to roll it across his knuckles causing Bloom to look up as he answered the question.

"You are saying that while you live, she will be your wife?"

Hannibal smiled and winked at Bloom. "Yes, I assure you that as long as I draw breath, Clarice will be by my side."

Bloom began writing, obviously the addition was beginning.

If you insist on quantifying me, you will write what I direct you to write. After her behavior today it must be obvious even to you, she and I will never separate…You'll have to score that a zero.

Hannibal sat very still, his body language passive, non-threatening, careful not to appear aggressive though he wanted nothing more than to feel the heft of his Harpy in hand. He pressed his fingertips over his left cuff, missing the warm metallic contact of the folded blade against his flesh.

Bloom prodded slightly attempting to draw anger or ire, "I spoke at great length with your wife about your sex life."

Here it comes. He will attempt to unnerve me knowing that disrespect to Clarice would be a definite trigger.

Hannibal was cautious not to give Bloom the satisfaction of his jealousy. He remained open and obliging as he responded to the question posed, though within him, Protector stalked.

"Did you? Though I don't understand what bearing that has on the topic at hand, I am certain Clarice was candid. She is bold and not one to shrink from such things. She is very expressive of our love and you will forgive us, we are often very demonstrative of our affection. Though it is not my nature to be as…public, she often feels the need and I will not deny my wife."

"She has been described by others as being cold…frigid even. Sexually repressed."

Tread carefully my friend. My patience has…limits.

"One can see by our brief moment of passion earlier that she is anything but repressed. No, she is loving and quite expressive."

Bloom nodded and continued, his tone becoming somewhat more salacious as he attempted to bait Hannibal into an emotional response.

"I would think you might be upset that I questioned her about your physical relationship. Does it disturb you that we broached that topic in great detail?"

This temptation to anger was not lost on Hannibal therefore he was careful to appear passive and maintained an even tone, "Were you professional in your query, Doctor? Did you show her due respect?"

Hannibal spun the coin on its edge catching Bloom's attention momentarily.

When the spin of the coin slowed and it finally settled on its side, Bloom probed further. His tone designed to stoke Hannibal's anger, "You have my word I gave her the respect she was due."

The respect she was due? Really…do you think I'm that easy to bait, Allen?

Seeing through the pathetic attempt to anger him, Hannibal ignored the offense, "I will take you at your word, and no, it does not disturb me."

The pen clicking quickly within his nervous grasp Bloom took another tack, "There are many internet sites dedicated to your prior sex life. Is your wife aware of them and is she also aware that you have in the past been fairly promiscuous?"

"I wouldn't say I have been promiscuous, no. I was a single man for many, many years and I have an active libido. Possibly I was more adventurous than most and though I have had many sexual partners never simultaneously. She has seen the sites and read the accounts at length and while I'm certain it was not pleasant for her, she has come to terms with it and is not threatened by it."

"And now that you're married you will not entertain lovers…even if your sexual needs exceed your wife's desire?"

"I am uncertain how you came to believe that Clarice and I have different sexual needs. I have found us to be more than compatible in that area. I am certain she told you no differently Now that I am married I have been exclusively Clarice's sexual partner. She is confident in my love and is not threatened by my past."

Hannibal rubbed the coin between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand. He then tapped the edge of the coin on his desk again garnering the brief curiosity of Bloom.

Bloom shifted his focus back to his pad. "You will not grow bored with one partner?"

Hannibal smiled wryly, "No…we are extremely active and very, very creative."

"She meets all of your physical needs?"

"Yes without question and may I add that I make certain to meet her physical needs as well."

Again, a number on the paper…Promiscuity, question twelve…zero. You will not win this, Bloom.

Bloom flipped through his notes, watching Hannibal from his periphery.

"I must compliment you, Doctor Bloom you are much better at your technique than Chilton was," Hannibal stated off hand as he spun the coin again on its side.

"Better at what technique?" Bloom was curious.

"Mr. Chilton often bragged that under your tutelage, he had the mastered the ability to watch patients from his periphery. I must admit that while not perfect, you are far more adept. He was quite clumsy, though I am certain he was unaware at how obvious he was. It was actually quite amusing."

Bloom tapped his pen nervously to his teeth as he dared himself to ask that which he was most curious and also most afraid. He spat the question out before he could change his mind, "Did you enjoy killing him?"

Hannibal spoke through an affable smile, "I was never charged with killing Mr. Chilton. Why would you presume to ask that question?"

Bloom's arrogance fueled his boldness, "I am merely curious as to whether or not you actually feel any remorse for killing or for consuming human flesh."

Bored with Bloom's obvious and uninspired queries, leaning back comfortably in his large leather chair Hannibal explored the Great Hall dedicated to his family within his mind. There amongst the soaring statues, Hannibal stood in front of a large painting of his distant relative the warlord Hannibal the Grim. Sitting tall and regal in a saddle he is depicted in bloodied battle regalia after his fifteenth century victory at the Battle of Grunwald. The historic bearing of his forefathers lending an air of dignity and brutality to him, Hannibal stated with a chill of truth, "I do not feel remorse for my actions."

Bloom countered weakly, "People died."

Hannibal blinked and shifted his eyes to Bloom's. His tone remained impassive, "People die every day…what is your point?"

"Most normal people would have some degree of remorse after taking a life."

"Are you pre-determining at this early stage in our conversation that I am not normal?"

"That isn't what I meant to say," Bloom offered penitently.

"Not aloud anyway," Hannibal parried. "To further your comment about what most normal people would or would not do, I imagine that would depend on the reason for taking the life. If I had ever taken the life of someone truly innocent or good, I would most definitely have significant remorse. I have never taken a life of another person who did not in some way offend or seek to injure."

Bloom scribbled a number.

Well, I don't think I'll fare well in the remorse category. It makes no matter as long as the total does not approach or exceed thirty. He'll score that a two.

Hannibal, hands folded comfortably leaned forward just slightly, "May I ask you a question, Doctor?"

"Certainly."

"You asked me about Mr. Chilton as if I had some guilty knowledge as to his disappearance or demise. It begs the question, does the fact that Mr. Chilton disappeared weigh on your mind? Do you think of him often? Do you feel any remorse in regards to his…disposition?"

"Why would I feel remorse? I had nothing to do with his death."

"How do you know he is dead?" Hannibal asked as he flipped the coin in the air.

"I believe he is dead. He was far too driven to succeed and at the time of his disappearance he was very focused on your case and was seeking to collaborate with me on a book. He would not have simply disappeared. No I am sure he is dead and even more certain that you killed him."

Hannibal's eyes glazed slightly as he spoke quietly almost as an afterthought, "Cineri gloria sera venit."

Bloom looked up briefly as he readied his pen. "I'm not familiar with that phrase."

Hannibal's eyes glowed as they locked with Bloom's. He answered in a low tone, "Fame comes too late to the dead." Quickly, like a glint of light travelling off the edge of a blade, the fearful spark faded from Hannibal's eyes.

Bloom felt a cold chill twisting within his vertebrae, spinning like a corkscrew up his spine. He shook off his fear twisting his shoulders quickly as a dog shakes off water. Bravery, again installed he continued, "Your gallows humor aside. I still believe you murdered him."

"Hmm, that is an interesting presumption. Let us proceed on that basis, hypothetically of course shall we?"

"If you wish."

As a subconscious defense mechanism Bloom had been hunching quite low in his chair as if attempting to meld with the seat. As Hannibal spoke of Chilton, Bloom's interest piqued. He sat upright and listened intently.

Bloom quivered with anticipation and congratulated himself, fully believing he had tricked Hannibal into revealing what had happened to his colleague.

Smoothing his hair back from his forehead with the heel of his hand, Hannibal began the hypothetical questioning, "You have proposed that I killed dear Frederick? Why do you suppose I would do that?"

"I believe you were seeking vengeance."

"Vengeance is it?"

"Yes."

"Vengeance for what?"

"For the way you were treated."

Hannibal tapped the coin on the desk. "That statement is far too broad to be relevant to this discussion. If you believe I would seek vengeance for the way I was treated you are speaking specifically to what aspect of my treatment?"

"I am speaking to some of the unconventional testing you underwent. Perhaps specifically to the testing designed to assess the sexual components of your crimes."

Hannibal pressed his hands together as if in prayer and tapped the fingers to his lips as if lost in thought. His response was measured, "Ah, yes, you speak of your decision to utilize the infamous blood pressure cuff. If that were the case and I sought revenge for that indignity why would I kill Chilton and leave you alive? You were equal to him in culpability yet here you are among the living."

Being that Hannibal and Clarice had shown obvious disapproval and scorn for the process, Bloom was now becoming very self-conscious as to the actual investigatory merits of that decision. He was also disturbed by the reference to his culpability and the indirect threat of unclaimed vengeance. His next statement mirrored his discomfort, "You do understand why we did that…don't you? You would have done the same thing."

Hannibal placed his palms flat on the desk as if pressing down a lid to contain his disgust, "No, I most certainly do not understand it and I assure you I would not have done the same thing. There are no circumstances by which I would attach anything to anyone's genitals as there is no clinical merit to it. Neither would I show any interest at all in those particular organs. Not to mention, being that I am male and fairly well endowed any sexual arousal could have been determined by direct visual assessment. There was no need for you to have had that direct contact with my person nor was it necessary to subject me to that level of urogenital scrutiny. It was uncomfortable, not to mention undignified more for you than myself as there was no investigative necessity for that procedure."

Hannibal snatched the coin from the table and squeezed it in his right hand, now closed tightly in a fist.

Bloom sought to convince, "The possible information we might have gathered exceeded any discomfort connected with the procedure."

"On your part…not mine. I'm curious. ..What conclusions did you draw from the information?"

"That your crimes did not have a sexual component to them."

"One would think the absence of bodily fluids, pubic hairs or lack of evidence supporting any sexual misconduct would have achieved the same end. Also being that I am heterosexual, and my victims were all male, a sexual component to the crime was unlikely. Or perhaps you could have simply asked me."

Bloom shifted in his seat as his professional decisions were laid to waste, "You might have lied."

Hannibal tapped the edge of the coin on the desk in order to stress his point. "I never lie…Ever."

Bloom again scrawled a number.

Question number four on the checklist, lying. That had better be listed a zero Alan.

"Can I ask you a few questions about your childhood, Doctor Lecter?"

"You may ask anything you wish. Whether or not I answer will remain to be seen."

"What would preclude you from answering?"

"I will answer only questions that have bearing on this assessment."

"Fair enough. Were you a difficult child, Doctor Lecter?"

"Difficult? What do you mean…in what way?"

"Your behavior…would you say you were hyper active or in any way in need of external controls. Were you perhaps mischievous or did your maybe play pranks on people? In fact did you, on occasion, misbehave at all?"

"Not even remotely. I was raised in a very aristocratic family. Manners and comportment were stressed at a very young age. I was a respectful and very well-mannered child."

After a flurry of gesticulations Hannibal rested his hands loosely on his desk. The coin was not in view. Bloom found himself wondering where the coin was.

"No problems in school?"

"I came of school age during the war years, Doctor Bloom. I received my early education by means of a private tutor hired by my parents. He was an older Jewish man with an exceptional mind. Rest assured under his direction I became an exceptional student. Even at that early age, I much appreciated his intellect and treated him with the same level of respect and dignity with which I too had been treated."

Sorry to disappoint you Bloom…No early behavior problems…score that a zero .You may as well mark a zero for juvenile delinquency as well and kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

Bloom was curious about the teacher, "What happened to him?"

As he answered, Hannibal slowly began to lengthen his responses to match the rhythm of his speech patterns to Bloom's breathing pattern.

"Very much the same thing that happened to all Jewish men during that time, exceptional mind or not, he was killed. They removed his trousers, checked the status of his foreskin and upon seeing his circumcised member, slaughtered him where he stood. So my brilliant tutor with the exceptional mind died in the mud with his pants left around his ankles because of the state of his penis. Therefore you will forgive me if I am hyper-sensitive to the blood pressure cuff and you will understand why I would never have done the same."

Embarrassed by this statement Bloom quickly moved on, "You never pleaded guilt or innocence at your trial. Have you ever taken some manner of responsibility for your crimes, Doctor Lecter?"

"Yes."

As the light rode low in the sky the room grew darker. Instead of walking across the room to flip the main switch, Hannibal turned on the antique desk lamp no longer centered on his desk. He continued to roll the coin over his knuckles.

Bloom stared forward. He was mesmerized by the movement of the coin and became focused on Hannibal's voice. He spoke quietly, "In what way?"

"I have sought to fulfill my personal responsibility by aiding law enforcement in the identification and capture of several serial killers. Many of whom had you quite confounded if I am not mistaken, Doctor Bloom. In that way I am taking responsibility for lives taken."

"Yes, well I don't share their pathology. I believe that gave you distinct advantages over most forensic psychologists."

"Really? It couldn't be that I am insightful? It must be that I am in some way deficient and that deficiency, one that you yourself do not possess, is the reason I was able to solve the crimes and you were not? Is that what you are saying?"

"Yes, that is what I am saying."

"Interesting."

"Why would you assist in capturing the other killers? Were you attempting to prove yourself to be superior to them?"

"No, I have no need to measure my self-worth or judge my own intellectual abilities against others. Self-aggrandizement does not interest me. Neither do appeals to my intellectual vanity. I have no such need for conventional reinforcement."

"You're saying that you didn't do it for the attention you would garner? I find that hard to believe."

"No, external attention does not interest me. You are stating by implication that you wished to solve my crimes and others like mine for the personal attention you would receive for such? This assessment was ordered by the Office of the President. Your final analysis will be discussed at a detailed Executive briefing therefore you will no doubt become well-known to the White House."

"Yes. No doubt the decisions I make will be discussed at great length in many important circles. I expect this to be a study of significance in the field of psychiatry."

"That obviously pleases you."

"There is nothing wrong with wishing recognition for one's accomplishments. Yes. I am quite interested in recognition. I am not ashamed to admit that."

"I didn't say that you should be ashamed. I am simply stating that it was not a motivating factor for me."

"Then why did you do it?"

"You may find this difficult to believe of me however, I am a firm believer in personal responsibility. I took lives that I believed deserved to be taken. The killers I stopped murdered women and children. I sought to give valued lives back."

"So your main motivation was what?" Bloom questioned.

Bonum commune hominis, Doctor Bloom. I did it for the common good of man. I wished to stop the deaths of innocents."

"Did you feel sorry for the victims?"

"I felt empathy for the victims, most especially the children. It is personally abhorrent to me when women, children or the elderly are in any way injured or are made to suffer. Clarice and I visit my elderly neighbors regularly, cook for them and tend to their medical needs in emergency situations. Yes, I absolutely feel very deep empathy for those I consider vulnerable."

That gives me high marks for empathy Bloom…check off number eight. Place a zero in the column.

Bloom began to flip back and forth through his note pad, appearing confused as he attempted to discern which questions on the checklist he had failed to cover. Upon seeing he had not touched upon the need for stimulation, he began.

"Was it difficult for you during your incarceration Doctor Lecter?"

"My apologies could you be more specific, difficult in what way?"

"The need for external stimulation? Your reading and art materials were often restricted."

"Yes, they were removed often and at your suggestion I was told though I believe the toilet seat was Mr. Chilton's idea. No, that aspect of my incarceration did not trouble me. I have no need for external stimulation. I have internal resources and could spend virtual years enjoying those resources."

"What do you mean internal resources?"

"I have an exceptionally detailed memory. I can revisit museums, novels read, walk familiar streets, all without leaving the comfort of my home or the discomfort of that cell. Sensory deprivation was not a concern of mine though I am well-aware you designed my restraints with that in mind."

"What do you mean by that?"

Hannibal turned the coin within his hand.

"The restraints employed at your suggestion were overkill. Hand cuffs and a ketch pole would have served the same purpose. Multiple levels of restraint were designed to prove that you and Chilton had total control and absolute dominance over me."

"What do you mean multiple levels of restraint? You are a danger to society. The restraints are…"

"Was a danger to society…the restraints were…that is what you meant, yes Doctor?"

Distracted momentarily Bloom regrouped, "Yes…that's what I meant. What did you mean by multiple levels being unnecessary?"

"I was cuffed, shackled and strapped at several points to a hand truck."

"Yes."

"Why the straight jacket if I was already immobile? Why the bite mask if I could not move my head?"

"Precautions, that's all."

"No, the straight jacket was not necessary to restrain me. The straight jacket is the symbol of insanity. The straight jacket was a reminder to me that I was now considered to be intellectually deficient and emotionally unstable. It was a reminder that I was no longer human. I became Other. You designated me monster not man."

"The bite mask was used because of what you did to that nurse."

"What you did to that nurse by placing her in that situation. No, you placed that mask not as protection for those around me, you placed it over my face to muzzle me and to frighten people. You and Chilton sought to debase me in order to elevate your own status. The straight jacket was a symbol of dominance and insanity, the mask was sheer punishment."

"No I designed that mask myself strictly as an extra layer of protection. It was a tool plain and simple."

"If the mask had not been designed as punishment, if the mask had been designed as a tool to protect, it would have been treated like any other tool. It would have been cleaned."

Bloom shifted his eyes to the floor. He had no response.

"Your lack of reply reinforces my theory. You tested my senses. You were aware that my heightened sense of smell was the most developed of my senses. You understood how offensive, not to mention how unsanitary that mask would become, yet you personally directed the mask not be cleaned."

"Methods of control are often…uncomfortable. Incarceration is not designed to be pleasant."

"No, I do not imagine it is." Hannibal continued to pass the coin over and under his hand. Seeing that Bloom was watching the coin, Hannibal directed his attention to it as well, "I find it quite relaxing don't you?" Hannibal continued to float the coin.

"Yes…it is relaxing. I can't put my finger on why."

"The rhythm of it and the color of the coin, I believe. Watch it for a moment and tell me if it has the same effect on you. I find it clears my mind of worries…of stress. It relaxes me tremendously."

"I feel…relaxed. I do."

"It has that effect on me as well. You must allow me a moment of gratitude. Though my incarceration was, as you put it not designed to be pleasant, I wish to thank you."

Bloom's eyes stayed with the coin, "You wish to thank me for what?"

As Hannibal spoke, he was again very aware to match the rhythm of his speech to the inhalations and exhalations of Bloom's breathing patterns.

"For bringing my Clarice to me though you had no way of knowing that she would be the exceptional woman that she is. You saw her body and her looks and believed she would interest me. She did interest me though not for the reasons you assumed. Her mind is exceptional and she has the heart of a lioness. She is a warrior yet she feels so deeply that she was able to see in me that which no one else could or would. She saw past the mask you placed on me, saw the man and dared to love me. She was and is magnificent and I am humbled by her love."

Bloom scribbled copious notes.

You can score shallow affect a zero, maybe a one.

"I am happy for you both," Bloom stated with the emotional warmth of a man describing a tooth ache. He continued, equally unenthusiastic, "What do you think the future holds for you?"

"I have a wonderful future planned with Clarice and my son. We will travel as a family and I will experience my life anew through their eyes. I will see the world as if seeing it for the first time. Yes, our future together is indeed bright. I thank you for that."

Bloom placed a circle signaling zero on a line in his notebook.

That's right put a zero next to number fourteen, lack of realistic long term goals. This is far too easy my limited friend.

Hannibal again continued to roll the coin across his knuckles. Bloom's eyes followed intensely.

"So…the drive to kill is gone? You no longer feel that impulse?''

"I never killed on impulse. One might accuse me of…whimsy as I often added details to my kills as…artistic license so to speak, but I never took a life without planning for each and every contingency. I am not now nor have I ever been an impulsive man."

Put another zero in your book Alan…

As if on cue, next to question number fifteen, Doctor Alan Bloom added a zero.

Bloom pointed his pen to Hannibal's hand, still busily rolling the coin, though Hannibal made the technique seem almost boring, "That is positively mesmerizing. I'm impressed by your level of dexterity. It's incredible how relaxing it is to watch."

Hannibal proceeded with the process, "If I continue to stare at it, I find my eyelids feel heavy. As if I am about to fall asleep, but that is probably because I am controlling the coin."

"No, I feel the same way and I am not controlling a thing. I am simply watching you."

"Really? Are your limbs equally relaxed? I have discovered if I do this at length, my arms and legs grow so heavy that I feel I'm about to fall asleep. Are you experiencing a similar phenomenom?"

"Yes, absolutely…If I were resting on a couch or bed I would be sleeping by now."

"Here all along I thought it was only I who had experienced that. You were asking a question?"

"How will you support your family Doctor Lecter? Do you have a stable income or will you be forced to turn to Clarice for future assistance?"

Ahh, the section on parasitic life style…you really should have been more creative in your questioning.

I have actually just filed my taxes if you would like to review them. I have no need to turn to anyone to support my family I am independent and have no need of further financial assistance."

"By independent you suggest that your savings and assets are such that you have no need of employment?"

"It is not a suggestion. On both my paternal and maternal side I am of noble birth and as the only surviving member, though much of the personal possessions and some of the property have been lost to me, I have inherited two very vast fortunes. Though it took many long years to recoup those assets I now have control over the financial legacy left me by my ancestors. My inheritance secure I have created several trusts for my wife and child. With that solidly in place, I have more money than I can spend in my lifetime. If I pass from this life, my wife, my son and any additional children born to us will never want for a thing."

"Will you answer a question for me about crimes committed overseas? They have no bearing on your pardon."

"If I deem it appropriate…yes."

"In Florence you killed a Sardinian and a policeman?"

"I killed the Sardinian sent to kidnap me and Commendatore Rinaldo Pazzi because he attempted to sell me to Mason Verger."

"Had Pazzi not attempted to sell you to Mason Verger would you have stayed in Italy?"

"Yes, I was quite at home in Florence though I may still have contacted Clarice. I missed her tremendously."

"You had nothing to do with the Il Mostro case?"

"I was not involved in the killings attributed to Il Mostro. As I have stated I do not possess a blood lust, I do not have a drive to kill. My behavior was a choice… a choice I will never make again."

"Because of your wife?"

"Yes, because of the promises made her. I will never break those promises. It took far too long to earn her love, her trust and I would die before I would betray her faith in me."

Hannibal conveniently left out the part of the promise where Clarice conceded he could kill to defend their family. Hannibal secretly hoped it would be necessary. Perhaps he could guide the process. He had not yet decided if that would be necessary. He knew it would be enjoyable…but necessary? That remained to be seen.

"I believe our interview has concluded Doctor Lecter. Are there any questions you have for me?"

"You are certain we are finished?"

"Yes. We are most definitely finished."

Hannibal reached under his desk and flipped the toggle switch placed to control the listening and recording devices and switched them off. When he was certain there would no longer be an audio account of the interaction, Hannibal put the remainder of his plan into action.

Hannibal spent much of the session using his voice and the coin to create a state of suggestibility. He employed a technique of covert hypnosis he had used extensively in his psychiatric practice.

You are almost there are you not my friend…

Lecter the Protector leaned across his desk, and rolling the bright coin across his knuckles spoke in a low, menacing tone the sound of which, had he not been so relaxed, might have chilled Bloom to his core.

"I have no questions for you, Doctor Bloom…though I do have a few…Suggestions."

Hope the chapter lived up to your expectations! As always, review and tell me what you think then PM and say hi!

Until the next chapter, my friends!

LH