We Grow Accustomed To The Dark

Chapter 13

"For every man there exists a bait which he cannot resist swallowing. "

― Nietzche

***

Hannibal's hands gripped his steering wheel tightly until his knuckles had gone white. He stared at the hospital that was lit up like a beacon in the middle of the snow storm. Several cars littered the parking lot, only one being one that he recognized. Donald's silver BMW.

Hannibal pulled his phone from his pocket and called Donald's number, the phone going to his ear. It rang several times before it was finally answered, a tired sounding voice on the other side.

"Oh, Hannibal. I'm sorry," Donald muttered. "I meant to let you know that I was called away and can't meet tonight."

Hannibal's head tipped to the side at the blatant lie, his eyes hard set on the BMW. His fingers drummed on the steering wheel and he inhaled deeply. "Oh, something came up?" Hannibal asked as innocently as he could manage. "Such a shame. I had a lovely vintage picked out."

"Yeah. Bit of a family emergency. Had to head home urgently," Donald continued with a sigh, feigning regret wonderfully. "Could we take a rain check?"

"Absolutely Donald. Just let me know when you have an open night available."

"Will do. Have a good night, Hannibal."

"You as well," Hannibal answered tightly, lowering the phone and ending the call. He shoved it back into his pocket and climbed from his car, his bag in tow.

The medical center doors opened for him and he made his way to the stairwell and started up the several flights he would need to take to reach Donald's office. Hannibal doubted there would be very many cameras, but they were likely to be present in the elevators.

On the floor to Donald's office, Hannibal stopped and opened his bag, pulling out his clear plastic paint coveralls. They were ridiculous looking, utterly ridiculous and normally Hannibal wouldn't dream of wearing such obnoxious plastic, but it made cleanup easier. After several years of scrubbing blood from his skin and digging it out from under his fingernails before spending hours burning everything, he had gone looking for a solution. The hardware store just happened to have the best answer.

The plastic crinkled and made a sticky pulling sound as it rubbed against itself, though Hannibal had grown used to the odd music the polymer would make as he walked.

The hallways were empty. Donald had to be the only one in this part of the hospital and that only benefited Hannibal all the more. In and out, easy. Simple.

Hannibal didn't knock. There was no point. His hand reached for the door handle and he pushed open the office door, stepping into the room. He pulled the door closed behind him and locked it at a surprised sound from the man behind him.

"What are you-oh." Hannibal turned around to see a nervous smile on Donald's face. Donald's hands rested on his hips under his lab coat and he gave a breath of highly strung laughter. "Doctor Lecter, I didn't expect-"

"I doubted you did," Hannibal answered with a small nod. He set his bag aside on the floor and stepped a little further into the room. He could sense Donald's eyes drifting over him curiously, no doubt wondering why he was wearing such a laughable covering over his suit and tie, but Hannibal ignored it. "Lying is a bit rude, Donald. Wouldn't you agree?"

There was another airy laugh from the man and he nodded, chewing on his tongue. He straightened his tie, cleared his throat and slowly sat behind his desk. Hannibal slowly stepped closer to the desk, his pace even and unthreatening, though he could feel the hesitancy radiating off of the man behind the desk.