Chapter 29
"Hannibal….Hannibal…can you hear me?" The man known as Leerson called out to Dr. Lecter who was currently strapped to a metal table. His chest, arms, legs, and feet were all being held down by leather straps. There was another man in the room operating to close the wound in Hannibal's chest. He was also administering fluids through an IV.
"Can he hear me Doctor Franz?"
The other man in the room responded, "He can hear you, but he is very weak. He had significant blood loss. I know you put a lot of faith in your cohort, but he came damn near close to killing him. If it was anyone else, they may have just died."
"He won't die, he can't die."
The man known as Doctor Franz packed up his bags, "Whatever you say Mr. Leerson, he is stable now. Just make sure the money gets deposited in my account. If his status changes please call me."
"Your professionalism is always appreciated Doctor, thank you."
Dr. Franz left and now it was just Hannibal and Mr. Leerson left in the room. Hannibal remained perfectly calm and still and he kept his eyes closed.
Hannibal allowed his nose to take in the different scents in the room. He could smell the leather straps holding him down, he could smell the musty stench of the room, and he could smell the other man in the room.
Mr. Leerson approached the table again, "Hannibal, I am going to need you to wake up soon, or I may just have to bring your lovely wife here. Perhaps she can rouse you from this sleep."
Hannibal kept perfectly still, but his breathing pattern changed.
"Aha! So you can hear me and you are awake. Excellent. Well then let's get to the point shall we? Do you remember me? I want you to look at me and tell me if you remember."
Hannibal suddenly jerked forward, teeth bared, ready to tear his throat out. However, the straps kept him in place. Mr. Leerson jumped back, laughing, "That was a good one Hannibal, you almost had me there. I will have to remember that even in your weakened state that you are still quite…vicious. Then again you remind me something of a feline: smooth and sleek but deadly. My grandfather had four hound dogs. One day he turned them loose and they cornered a bobcat. Small creatures bobcats, especially when compared to the strength and size of the dogs, but do you want to know what happened? That bobcat tore up those dogs, all four of them. They came yelping back home licking their wounds and the bobcat got away with barely a scratch on them. You remind me of that creature."
Hannibal glared at him, "Turn me loose and let's find out what happens."
Mr. Leerson chuckled, "No, no, now why would I do that? I need you to listen to me because what I am telling you is very important. I have waited literally years for this opportunity. You are a difficult man to reach. Now you never answered me, do you know who I am?"
Hannibal gave him a good look over and was honestly confused. He searched the depths of his memory palace, but had no recollections in any of the vast rooms of his mind.
"You heard the man call me Mr. Leerson, you obviously know that is not my real name. My real name is Patrick Vince. But that also will not ring a bell I am afraid. But believe me when I say we have met. Your mind is vast Hannibal, do you want to know where to find me? Search that dark corridor that you locked away deep down, that door that you refuse to enter. You will find me there. For you see, the last time I saw you, we were but children and your dear sister was still alive then."
Hannibal's eyes widened just a fraction before returning to a cold look, "You…it can't be…"
"Yes! We have finally come to it, though I don't blame you for forgetting me. There were several of us kids locked in that barn with you and your sister. But you were only concerned for her safety, and you didn't really care about the rest of us. They took me outside, you probably assumed they had killed me. Rightfully so, seeing as I didn't return to the barn, but I managed to escape by hitting one of them over the head with a rather large piece of wood I found. I took off running shortly after, and they were too weak with hunger to make chase. I thought the rest of you had died. I spent years living in an orphanage. I feared going out. The war had scared me and every night I went to sleep, I saw the faces of the men who captured us. Those dogs who were cooking us to eat, to survive. I thought about just ending the whole thing, all of it, but you know what changed me?"
He walked closer to Hannibal and looked him in the eye, "You did. I saw on the news years later, that one of the men who captured us had died, then another, then your face showed up on the news as the prime suspect. Your name flashed across the screen, and I remembered you. I remembered you because it was the name your sister would shout every day when she was so scared, 'Hannibal, Hannibal, Hannibal.'"
"Enough! Get to the point."
"You killed those men that did that to us and I followed your career with enthusiasm. I watched you with fascination, admiration, and I understood what it was that you had truly become. Thanks to you I was able to set myself free. You consumed the men that did that to us, and now, in order to truly free myself, Hannibal. I wish to consume you. I wish to devour that courage, the courage to stand up to our captors, the wisdom you possess, and the strength. I want it all."
Patrick pulled out his knife and brandished it in front of Hannibal, "For years I followed your career, but that woman, she has tainted you and your perfection. Only I truly understand you."
Hannibal smiled, "You should have told me you were this delusional. I could have offered you some fine therapy sessions to get passed your traumatic experience at life. But instead, it seems to me, that you have lost yourself, so this first lesson is on me. Admiration and fascination are not anywhere near the level of understanding someone. The person who knows me best might be you since you have followed my career so close and since you knew me from the time in the barn. However, the person who UNDERSTANDS me best is Clarice. And you will never understand what I am."
Patrick frowned and brought the knife to Hannibal's cheek, "That was a pretty speech Lecter, but I am not impressed."
"Oh is it Lecter now? What happened to Hannibal? Getting a bit sensitive are we Patrick?"
"You would do better to not provoke me, it is I who holds the knife."
"Physically speaking yes, you are the one holding the knife. But mentally you are too weak."
"I will show you who is weak!!"
Patrick dug the knife into Hannibal's stomach and brought his face close to Hannibal's and smiled, "Who is too weak now?"
A/N: Hello everyone! We finally figured out about the mystery man in this chapter! I wanted to give a little backstory for people who have only watched the movies and haven't read the books. So in the Book, Hannibal Rising, there are actually multiple children stuck in a barn with Hannibal and Mischa. In the book, only Hannibal survives, but I thought, "Wouldn't it be interesting if just one of those kids escaped this traumatic experience?" Anyways, for anyone wondering how this character came about, it came from the book version. The movie adaptation only has Hannibal and Mischa trapped in a house. If you haven't read the book I do highly recommend. It was way more impactful than the movie (even though the move was good). So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please comment and tell me what you think. Next chapter is coming soon because I obviously can't leave you guys hanging like this.