Understanding A Killer

A revenge story

When Eliana left the orchestra, night had already fallen as days became short in December. A thin layer of snow covered the ground, making the Christmas lights shine brighter. She looked at the building from a distance as soft snowflakes on her skin and the laughter of students became a blur. At the same time, her deeply buried memories slowly became clearer.

It couldn't have been a coincidence. And it wasn't.

As she drowned in the memories of the night Rosie was killed, she could almost make out the tall silhouette of a man in a black suit. His polite mannerism became palpable, together with his peculiar accent spoken in a monotone voice. It was a voice she recognized.

~ 5 years ago ~

Eliana looked in her bag while waiting for her mother to pick her up and noticed that her journal was missing. She ran back inside, but was lucky to discover someone had already found it. She caught a glimpse of  a man who brought it at the front desk as he was walking away in the opposite direction.

She took the journal from the desk, shouting towards the man who had already turned away. "Thank you so much for finding this, Mister!"

He stopped for a bit, never turning around, and spoke in a monotone voice.  "You gave us a wonderful performance tonight. At least I should give you something in return."

Eliana understood it clearly now. What he meant wasn't the journal. He gave her something much more valuable. A gift to remember.

She clenched her fists as a tear strolled down her face. Why didn't she see it before? Hannibal Lecter was, without a doubt in her mind, a skilled killer. She had no idea how far his killings reached, what the motive was, or whom exactly he had killed. Nick Boyle? Marissa Schurr? Franklyn Froideveaux? But it wasn't important, because Rosie's murder was the only thing that mattered. Now there was only one thing left to do.

*Bzzt bzzt*

Her phone buzzed once again, so she took it out of her pocket.

*7 missed calls from Will Graham*

All right. Maybe she should go see him at least one more time. It couldn't hurt the plan.

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Will drove home in a feverish haze and had to rub his eyes to convince himself what he was seeing wasn't a hallucination when he arrived. Eliana was sitting on the porch stairs with her head leaning on the fence.

"I almost fell asleep while waiting for you." - She lifted her head.

"You? Waiting for me?" - He scoffed, "Is it so hard to pick up the phone? Where the hell have you been?"

"It's no excuse but... I had something to do."

"What kind of an anwser is that?" - He tried sounding angry, but it came out as tired instead, "You just ghost for 3 whole days? You have any idea what's been going on?"

"No." - She shook her head, "But I can tell you're not better. Did you see a doctor?"

"Yeah. Hannibal seems to think I've gone insane. But I know... This is not the kinda crazy I am."

She furrowed her brows suspiciously at the mention of Hannibal. "Go seek a second opinion. You should trust your instinct."

"Maybe I should... But the conversation right now isn't about me... I can tell you're avoiding any serious questions. Again." - His expression formed into a sour smile, "You're about to do something really stupid, right?"

"What would you do if I told you?"

"Right now I can't even tell what's real so... There's nothing much I could do." - He spoke while unlocking the door, "I am angry. But I don't want you to freeze. So come inside."

"Angry, huh?" - Eliana smiled with sad eyes, "You're about to become REALLY angry."

Will turned around after closing the door behind him. "And why is that?" - He furrowed his eyebrows.

"I'm... Quitting the FBI."

The few moments Will stayed silent, just looking at her in disbelief felt like eternity to him. It's like he could feel his last straw of sanity burning together with her words. "You're leaving?" - His voice shook.

"Yeah." - She whispered.

"No, you're not quitting because you want to. It's..." - He blinked twice, trying to gather his thoughts, "Did you find the killer?"

She didn't respond, letting her eyes speak for themselves.

"I should stop you from whatever you're about to do." - Will tried to sound threatening, closing the distance between them.

"You know you can't." - She maintained eye contact. "I've made up my mind."

If Will had been in a normal state of mind, a lot of things would've come to mind, like calling Jack or physically stopping her. But he couldn't help but leaning into her firm figure, letting his raw instinct win. "Don't do it. I need you."

He put a hand on her face, just staring at her pretty features for a moment. She didn't back away and just blinked with sad eyes. He moved his face closer, landing a gentle kiss on her rosy lips. Quickly, he backed away like an apology of a rude behaviour.

Instead, she leaned in closer, pulling him into a deeper kiss. It only lasted for a few seconds before she turned away, not allowing herself to lose sight of her goal. Silence with only their breaths covered the room as their bodies still touched.

She let go of his shirt and stepped aside. "I like you, Will. Very much." - She smiled in regret, "But... I have things I can't forgive."

He grabbed her hand, making her want to let it all go and just stay. His soft eyes made her debate forgetting all of it for a moment.

"You're really going to go?" - His voice was desperate.

"You'll be okay, Will. That's because you're a good person. You may not realize it, but this house shows me all I need to know." - She gestured at the dogs lined up on the couch, "So, you don't need me."

She pulled her hand away from his grasp slowly, giving him one more sad smile before she walked away. His hazy mind couldn't do anything but watch as her figure faded out of sight.

The next time his conciousness returned, he was in a car with Jack, investigating Gideon's escape. He gasped loudly, trying to determine whether Eliana's silhouette in the back of his mind was real.

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Author's note: I actually made them kiss! I bet you thought it was never gonna happen. And yes, Will might've 'lost time' of the whole interaction ;)