The Eyes of a Lamb

Sloth

"I had a dream about her the other night" Mason said suggestively as his hand fingered with the expensive ring that decorated it with pride "Your songbird."

"I thought you had stopped dreaming?" Hannibal said coolly, knowing the game had begun since the moment Mason Verger had stepped into his office for his three o'clock appointment.

"I haven't had one in a while, that is true" Mason said with a dashing smile "But my mind wandered last night as I was doing my weekly duty to Margot over her bathroom sink. I began to wonder about your little chestnut that I bumped into last week."

"Do you find it comforting raping your sister?" Hannibal said bluntly.

He could see Mason flex his jaw for a moment "Rape is a harsh term. Margot needs discipline is all."

"Isn't that the job of your father?" Hannibal said winning this mind game as Mason's eyes daunted for a moment, fleeing like a spoiled child.

"Well someone needs to teach her a lesson or two" Mason said righteously "Or else she would think he was equal to me. Your woman seems to know her place."

"You think yourself better than your sister" Hannibal said "And probably most women, what about men?"

"I find men peculiar" Mason said "There are strong men and then there are clever men. I prefer to watch them as they wander aimlessly, looking for the next hole to stick it in as they behave like the animals they were meant to be."

"A very strange view of the sexes don't you think?" Hannibal asked as he began to get tired of Mason's advances to get closer to him and to Clarice.

"Men and women are the foundations of the earth" Mason said with a wicked grin "Like Adam and Eve."

"I notice you reference the Bible during our discussions" Hannibal said "Are you a spiritual person?"

"Not likely" Mason said laughing "But I do enjoy the turmoil. Dear old mum tried to get us into private school, but the little incident with that nun crushed any school boy fantasies she might have had for me."

"Do you think you disappointed your mother?" Hannibal said watching Mason grow uncomfortable much to his delight.

"I think she's dead in the ground so what should I care?" Mason said sourly.

"I think you should care what people think about you" Hannibal said.

"I only care what you think about me" Mason said looking Hannibal in the eye, his voice low as the humor died away.

"And why is that?" Hannibal said watching the darkness glaze over Mason's eyes.

"Because you and I are one and the same" Mason said with a evil grin "We are made of the same mold."

"And what makes you think I am anything like you?" Hannibal said he felt his blood begin to boil under the cool exterior of his skin.

"We take pleasure in the suffering of others" Mason said "Don't think I don't notice the traces of roti on your breath as I walk in. It has a distinct smell that only comes from human organs. Do not think I am stupid enough to just believe you are just a psychiatrist. Someone sane would have already alerted the authorities to half of what I have confessed to you. It's a miracle that little bird you keep in your pretty cage hasn't notice the monster that lurks behind the bars. Though I'm sure the good fucking you give her dilutes the sense of it all."

Hannibal felt tense, his fingers clenching at his chair as he realized that Mason knew Hannibal was a serial killer and a cannibal. He needed to kill Mason Verger, not solely for the purpose of him knowing Hannibal's secret, but for the way he had suddenly talked about Clarice just now. Quickly he thought of something to say, something to do that would end Mason's life quickly, but hesitation gripped him tightly. What if he let Mason go just now?

Mason wouldn't expect it as his eyes now gleamed at Hannibal to make his move. He was expecting Hannibal to rush him, to kill him just now. But instead Hannibal was going to let him go, and slowly but surely, he was going to kill Mason Verger in the best way possible.

"Our time is up Mason" Hannibal said with a smile "Should I schedule you next week?"

"Yes" Mason said with a smile as the check mate was set in place "I think that would be wise."

"Are you alright?" Will said as he watched Clarice stare out of the window of the car, another crime scene just waiting for them in the condemned house that stood outside.

"I'm tired Will" Clarice said "I want to go home."

"We need you though" Will said "I...I need you. I can't go in there alone again. I can't go into that darkness."

"I'll go with you Will" Clarice said "I'm just afraid I'm going to get stuck there."

"This isn't the well Clarice" Will said "I'll be here with you."

"Then let's go" Clarice said with a quick sigh. Slowly they both got out of the car, Will bundled up from the fall air that was hitting the city hard. Clarice kept her head down as she followed Will, her brown hair whipping in her face as she felt her heart tighten.

She hadn't heard from Hannibal last night. He was suppose to call, suppose to check up on her for a moment, but the night had grown late and she never heard the phone buzz on her bedside. Barney had felt her heartbreak, his eyes looking at her with worry with each sigh that escaped her mouth. She needed him, needed to feel his touch for just a moment.

It was silly in a way, this forlorn feeling inside of her. She had been in love a few times, but she had never felt anything like this. Maybe because everything about Hannibal Lecter was different from anyone else. He spoke with feeling but his own emotions were hidden, he moved and walked through life with such control it astounded her. But she liked the way he looked at her, she hadn't been looked at like that in forever.

So why had he failed to contact her last night?

"Cool down Starling" she thought to herself "The man has a life outside of you."

Quickly she got back with the program as she found her body had taken her to the gruesome sight in front of her without even realizing it.

"Jesus" she hissed. Will simply took in a quick breath and breathed out slowly. She could feel his hand beside her searching, and she placed her own in his palm with ease. They were a team, and they had to look at the horrors and nightmares together, hell or high water.

The man, who was undoubtedly the persona of Sloth, was spread eagle out across a mattress, his body covered in barbed wire that strung out in a series of webs across the room. The man, who Clarice had heard his name but didn't register it, couldn't have gotten out of this trap no matter how much he struggled.

"He wanted to make sure he wouldn't be able to get out" Will said softly as the darkness creeped around him.

"His whole life was being wasted" Clarice said alongside him "And our killer wanted to make sure his death was as unwholesome as his life."

Will saw the pattern, the way the body had been laid out for everyone to see "My design is to show others what their vices turn out to be. What my vices are and forever will be."

"He is the sinner?" Clarice said "He commits these sins and then takes them out on others?"

"He is the persona of evil" Will whispered "And he wants to be seen that way. He wants to be Lucifer."

"Or" Clarice said as the thought floated above her mind like a moth to a flame "He's trying to impress him."

Will looked over at Clarice and knew that what she said was true.

Their killer was playing with the devil.

And it was only a matter of time before the devil noticed him.