Palatial Intimacy

XXVIV- The Plan

1. Direct the FBI's attention back to Hannibal — WITHOUT SUSPICION. Get a private interview between the two of us. Make it seem like you're just covering your bases.
2. Gain Hannibal's explicit consent, even desire, to use the LOOM. Hannibal should act just shifty enough to make the FBI want to take him up on it. He knows the art of deception well enough to do this. (Will should be hesitant. It makes the entire thing seem much less intentional.)
3. Get the two of us into a lab and onto a LOOM chair. Become One. And run.

———

May 4, 2030

Will came into work the next day with massive bags under his eyes. His rest the previous night was fitful, and he couldn't bring himself to sleep peacefully with Molly so close to him. He knew that he was betraying her, and that was hurtful. Choosing a side was easy from the outside, but the meaning behind it was finally starting to hit him. Choosing Hannibal, being the kind of person that he really wanted to be, would also mean leaving behind Molly. He'd been married to her for years, and he was about to toss it all to the side to run away with someone he'd only known for a fraction of the time. That, and he was a serial killer.

Molly would likely be devastated. She was going to be left behind all over again, abandoned by the person she loved -- and this time, it was for an arguably worse reason. Her previous husband had died while they were married. She still loved him, and getting over that loss was a monumental task that she still struggled with. Will had built her up and helped her through the hard times, but now he was going to abandon her because she wasn't good enough for him. At least, that was how she would see things. No matter what, this decision wasn't fair.

To make things worse, Hannibal had been awake all night. It didn't stop Will from sleeping altogether, but when he woke the next morning he felt like he had been on overdrive for eight hours. It made sense why Hannibal did it -- he wanted to be amply prepared for the interview -- but Will was also paying the price for it.

He got in his car and left without saying goodbye to Molly. He didn't feel like waking her up, and he didn't have the heart to go through the motions of small talk. He would be back that evening, and they could talk then.

"We need to clear up a few things," Jack said the moment Will stepped into his office. Will stuffed his hands in his coat pockets.

"Okay."

"I'm going to ask you some questions, and you need to be completely honest with me, Will. Any lie, and I'll find out, and you'll have even more explaining to do."

"I'm always honest, Jack. I don't know what I did to convince you otherwise."

Jack didn't respond to that. "Outside of the conversations you had in the LOOM, inside of this FBI headquarters, have you had any direct contact with Hannibal Lecter?"

"No. I don't even know where he lives."

"Have you spoken to him online, over the phone, or through any other method?"

"No."

"You have no personal connection to Hannibal Lecter, from either before, during, or after the LOOM usage?"

"I have no personal connection at all." It was easier to lie now. Hannibal's skills, his nonchalance, had transferred to him. It made him less anxious now.

Jack studied him, eventually nodding with hesitant satisfaction. "I won't be angry if you've been speaking to him, Will. But I need to know."

"I've spoken to people he knows, but I haven't had the chance to speak to him. I have absolutely no reason to be in bed with Hannibal Lecter and not tell you about it."