First Confrontation (Part 1)

Hannibal

Dr. Hannibal Lecter was at a Masquerade Ball, if for nothing else to look for potential meals. He had mingled with the people that he knew, as was expected of him. But he really was bored here. Balls such as this weren't his thing normally. But alas it was also part of a case he was working on with Will Graham. It seemed that Halloween this year brought out an extra monster. So far this month five men had been killed, all after attending some kind of Halloween type party. As it was getting closer to Halloween, and therefore there were more parties taking place, the FBI decided to split their resources. Will and Hannibal had gotten this one. Not too much was known about this case, despite the fact that the killer was likely female, and she was obviously finding her victims at parties. Each man was different from the last: in age, race, job, and material status. So they were to keep an eye out for females, that were likely alone, and never stayed with one male for too long, as she was hunting for something in particular. What, they weren't sure yet.

Hannibal had noticed one such person, a woman in a red and black gown, that appeared to be alone, and never seemed to be near a man more than once. So he kept an eye on her, and when he saw an opening he took it. As he was walking towards her though he noticed an interesting thing. He watched as she bumped into someone before quickly turning to look at them. They shared a glance before both going on their way. He wondered if they knew each other. Figuring he had time to figure that out later he went back to making his way to her. As she walked by he reached out and grasped her hand. She stopped and turned to look at him.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked as he kissed her hand, hoping she wouldn't pull away from him. He was thankful when she smiled and accepted. He led her out into the middle of the room, where others were dancing. He placed his left hand on the small of her back, as he took her left hand in his right. They then started Waltzing. As they danced he studied her: his eyes scanned her small but fit frame, her blue eyes, the dark curls that framed her face. The longer they danced though the more he started to get a strange feeling about her. One that he couldn't place. Before he knew it the song ended and they stopped dancing. He took her hand in his and kissed it a second time as he thanked her for the dance.

"The honor was all mine. Believe me," she said, her voice rough and husky. Before he could say anything else she was pulled away from him into the arms of another man. In fact, he believed it was the same man that had bumped into her before they had danced. So maybe she wasn't here alone, or maybe they were wrong and a female wasn't doing the actual killings, but a male partner. It was possible that she was only a ruse to lure men for her partner, who killed them. It wasn't unheard of, but their motives were still unclear. He looked around for Will, and when he finally found him he made his way over to him.

"Will, I need to speak to you," he said as he leaned in close to him. Will nodded before they both made their way outside. Sure they could have talked inside, but with the music, and chatter of everyone else he felt it would be easier this way. Once outside they took a few moments to breathe in the fresh air before speaking. "What if the female isn't working alone? But with a partner." He watched as Will seemed to take this information in.

"Working with or working for?" Will said as he stared out into the night. Hannibal just stood there as Will seemed to be in his own mind at the moment. When Will came to he called Jack and told him they might have found some new information about the case. They were told to call it a night, and they would meet up tomorrow, but Hannibal wanted to make one last round of the ball before leaving. Going back in he weaved his way through the people. He was walking by a pillar when someone bumped into him, causing him to bump into someone. He was surprised when the person he bumped, a girl, the girl in the red and black dress, turned and hissed at him. He thought he saw blood on the corner of her lips before she seemed to compose herself. She then turned back to the guy she was with. He then watched as soon afterwards she ran off.

Seeing as she left into the night, Hannibal figured he didn't need to stick around either. So making his way through the horde of people again he left the ball once and for all. As he got in a taxi headed for home he thought about what he saw. He really could have sworn the girl had blood on her lips, but why. But more importantly was she their killer? He cleared his mind of it all. They would hopefully catch the killer or killers soon enough and then he would have his answers. Or at least most of them.