Sorry for the delay everyone! College is quite stressful, but I was able to find some time to write another chapter.
Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING
Finding out his psychologist is going to tag along with him for the day like one of his strays is disconcerting. Perhaps it was because the last time either of them had spoken was when Hannibal had made the offhanded comment about Will being a desirable "companion." It was disorienting to have someone say that to him; he had imagined multiple scenarios about his soulmate saying similar words to him, clothed in blood and righteousness, but never someone else. He glanced over at Hannibal and narrowed his eyes when he saw the man's small grin.
"What are you smiling at?" Will asked, turning his eyes back to the road.
"Peeking behind the curtain," Hannibal mused. "I'm just curious how the FBI goes about its business when it's not kicking in doors."
"Afraid your doors will get kicked in?"
"Why would I be? I have nothing to hide, Will."
Will doubted that what Hannibal was saying was true, but decided to continue the conversation. "We found a little piece of metal in Elise Nichols' clothes, a shred from a pipe threader."
Hannibal made a light scoffing noise at the statement. "There must be hundreds of construction sites all over Minnesota."
"A certain kind of metal, certain kind of pipe, certain kind of pipe coating, so we're checking all the construction sites that use that kind of pipe," Will replied. "The FBI isn't as mediocre as you might think it is, coming from your statement before."
"It is merely an observation, Will," Hannibal said. "What are we looking for?"
"Anything really. But mostly, anything peculiar."
...
When the two finally made it inside the building and started going through paperwork, Will felt his nerves already fraying. He listened as the woman at the desk prattled on-and-on about how they were disturbing her peace or some nonsense. It was getting to the point that Will wondered if he could somehow let his soulmate know that he had found his next victim for him, but Will held himself back. One of them had to have some morals, even if they were mostly questionable ones.
"Garrett Jacob Hobbs?" Will asked, pulling out the man's paperwork. It all seemed normal to the average person, but Will picked up on the missing information immediately.
"He's one of our pipe threaders," the woman at the desk said. "Those are all the resignation letters. Plumbers' Union requires 'em whenever members finish a job."
Will didn't catch the last thing she whispered in the phone, but when back to the matter at hand. "Does Mr. Hobbs have a daughter?"
"Might have," the woman shrugged, making herself busy with the random sheets of paper on her desk.
"Eighteen or 19, wind-chafed, uh, plain but pretty. She'd have auburn hair, about this tall," Will recited, making sure to mention all the qualities the victims had shared.
The woman huffed at him and narrowed her eyes. "Maybe, I don't know, I don't keep company with these people."
Will resisted the urge to bare his teeth at the woman, he really had grown intolerant with rudeness. When he felt a hand brush his arm, he flinched back in surprise. He'd completely forgotten his psychiatrist was here with him.
"What is it about Garrett Jacob Hobbs you find so peculiar?" Hannibal asked. If Will didn't know any better, he'd think Hannibal was disgruntled that this man had caught Will's attention.
"He left a phone number, no address."
Hannibal raised an eyebrow at that. "And therefore he has something to hide?"
"The others all left addresses," He responded simply before turning his attention back to the woman, "do you have an address for Mr. Hobbs?"
Luckily, the woman seemed to think that the sooner she helped them, the sooner they'd leave and promptly got the address for them. Will was even thankful that she helped them load the boxes of files into his car. It was as Hannibal was handing down a box to her that papers tumbled out of the box and unto the ground. His face held little remorse as he offered an apology and Will rolled his eyes at the man.
"I got it, go back and get the last box," Will said as he started picking up the papers. He vaguely wondered why it was taking Hannibal so long to get the last box when the man came out and calmly loaded the box into the car.
"Do forgive me, I wanted to make sure we didn't forget anything before we left," Hannibal explained, brushing imaginary dirt off his pants.
Will nodded his head and started up the car; he had a suspect to investigate.
...
Of course when they arrive at the Hobbs residence, everything goes to hell. It begins with the shouts of a woman, and Will watches as Garrett Jacob Hobbs shoves his wife onto the front porch. He doesn't waste any time before running to her aid. He takes a moment to take in the slit across her jugular, taking only a moment to admire the clean cut Hobbs made, before using his hand to try and staunch the bleeding.
He listens to the woman gasp for breath with a sort of clinical detachment. He's seen his soulmate do the same thing, only to prolong his victim's agony. But he isn't like that, he understands he is at least supposed to try and save the woman. By the way she claws at his arm, she knows that she is going to die, no matter what he does. He calmly grasps her wrists in his hands and removes her grip from his arms. He doesn't risk looking in her eyes to feel her death; he knows she regrets marrying someone who wasn't her soulmate, knows that she wonders if there is any hope for her daughter now.
It's with that thought that Will leaves the woman and heads inside, telling himself she is already as good as dead. He can at least save the daughter. He breaks the door down, his gun held at the ready.
"Garrett Jacob Hobbs?" He shouts, making his way further into the house. "FBI!"
He enters the kitchen, hearing the pitiful whimpers of Hobbs' daughter, his golden ticket. She tries to shake her father off without getting cut. Will doesn't know why he's trembling, why his hands shake as he points the gun at Hobbs. Before he can fire the first shot, Hobbs directs his arm in a desperate arch. The display steadies his hand and he fires bullet after bullet at the other man until his clip is empty. He relishes in the blood spray that hits his face, it's his turn to put on the show for his soulmate (if he can actually see any of what Will does).
Abandoning his gun he reaches out to the girl who is struggling on the floor. She gasps and struggles just like her mother did, but there isn't regret coming from her. She has a strong will to live, she needs to live for someone. She's found her soulmate already.
He spares a glance at Hobbs who is whispering a single word to him on his dying breath. Will feels slightly disappointed when the man only asks him if he sees. Perhaps he expects too much from serial killers that aren't his soulmate.
And suddenly, Hannibal is there, removing his hands from their place on her neck. Obviously the man knows what he's doing, and Will watches as the man controls the bleeding. It's then that Hannibal looks up.
The world seems quiet and yet all too loud at the same time. He watches with bewildered fascination as the blue from Hannibal's left eye drains away leaving behind a color Will is all too familiar with. It's an instant connection, and he enjoys the look of muted surprise on Hannibal's face. It's ironic, that their first meeting as soulmates is christened in blood; that Hobbs is Will's offering to Hannibal to show him that he understands the path he has taken and will continue down.
The words slip out before he can stop himself, but he doesn't regret it when Hannibal's eyes flash with something dark and reverent.
"I know," he whispers softly, "it's beautiful…"
.
.
I hope that lived up to people's expectations! The real good stuff will come in the next chapter.
Yuanfen (Chinese): A relationship by fate or destiny. This is a complex concept. It draws on principles of predetermination in Chinese culture, which dictate relationships, encounters and affinities, mostly among lovers and friends.
From what I glean, in common usage yuanfen means the "blinding force" that links two people together in any relationship.