Palatial Intimacy

IV - The Awakening

Will woke with a start, body twitching as his eyes shot open. If it weren't for the assistant at his side taking the helmet off, he would have thrown it off himself as fast as he could. He felt his senses returning to him: first his sight, vision creeping back in, followed by a new awareness of his body, then finally he regained his hearing after the earplugs were taken out.

"Fuck. Fuck." Will tugged the restraints up from his waist. He turned to look at Hannibal, who was also being slowly woken. He took it much better, though, calmly rubbing his bleary eyes and sighing.

"Hannibal." Will stood, his legs wobbling. He walked over to Hannibal's chair and crouched down to his level. "Hannibal, talk to me. Please. I know you can. I'll listen to every word, I promise."

Hannibal looked down at him, and a flash of insecurity passed through his eyes so quickly that Will almost missed it. The doctor, to Will's dismay, shook his head.

"Will," someone hissed from the doorway. Will whipped his head to the side, watching Jack beckon for him to come outside. Will hesitated to stand, wanting to get the last word in.

"Hannibal," he said, "if this is what you want, I'll keep doing it." He considered what he wanted for his end of the bargain. "But you have to promise to show me at least one relevant memory each time. Okay? They have to be relevant. We're going to find out the truth, and you have the ability to be in control of it. Do it with dignity."

He looked into Hannibal's deep brown eyes, and finally the two of them shared a nod. He shook Hannibal's hand.

"Thank you for letting me in. It's a very nice place you've got in there." He smirked, the weight on his shoulders lightening as Hannibal returned a small smile back. Finally satisfied, Will stood and left the room.

"I'm guessing it didn't work this time?" Jack asked immediately as Will stepped outside. "What went on in there?"

Will furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"Your brain waves were almost completely stable the entire time, both of you. You didn't even enter REM sleep. It was more of a light trance than actual unconsciousness."

"Are you serious?" Will's stomach flipped. It was another unsettling detail to add to this eerie portrait. "I didn't even go to sleep?"

"It was like you two were half awake, half asleep. Usually we see something much deeper."

"That can't be right. I saw things. I felt things." He remembered acclimating to his senses, thanks to Hannibal. Everything had felt so real, including the weight of Hannibal's warm hand on his shoulder and the timbre of his voice, so natural and familiar despite only having met the man once briefly.

"You saw things? What did you see?" Jack leapt at the opportunity. "Will, you have to tell me every detail, got it? Nothing is unimportant. Did you get any memories?"

"Slow down." Will sighed. "The only true memory I saw was a memory of Doctor Lecter and I meeting. Apparently he came to one of my lectures about a year ago, and he remembered my face. We've met before, briefly."

"Shit, really?" Jack grunted. "That's not good. Damnit."

"What?"

"The LOOM works best with a subject who knows nothing about the observer. That way there's no bias, no potential to manipulate." Jack leaned in closer, lowering his voice. "You're not supposed to have met him. But look, it was a small meeting with not a lot of merit. Do me a favor and keep it to yourself, okay? If anyone else finds out about this, they might take you off the case, and that would be even worse. It seems like you're the only one Lecter is receptive to."