Hannibal's Admirer

Hannibal Lecter sat in his chair at his desk reviewing the case files of the Chesapeake Ripper. He let out a light laugh at the incompetence of everyone in the FBI; Hannibal could kill and eat a man right in front of them and Jack would respond with, Don't worry Dr. Lecter, we'll find out who did this. He had them All exactly where he wanted them, especially Will Graham. He flipped through the crime scene photos, reminiscing his meals when the desk phone rang. Hannibal made no hesitation picking it up, "Hello."

"Doctor Lecter..." The voice on the other end was of an Irish decent, purring every syllable.

"I've come a long way to see your work and I must say, you have not disappointed me."

"I do not follow."

"Don't play games with me Doctor, I heard of the Chesapeake Ripper and I just had to get a peek for myself." Hannibal could hear a smile spread across the Irishman's face.

"I assure you I am incapable of committing such crimes." he cocked his head, unfazed by such accusations .

"Now, we both know that's not quite true."

silence.

The man spoke again, "You will be hearing from me again, very soon."

"I should hope so."

Once he heard the click of the other line hanging up, he placed the phone back on the hook. He leaned back in his chair, fingers intertwining each other, and let all the possibilities run through his mind. Finally something fun.

Hannibal was lost in thought when Will barged through the door, "This is bad, very bad."

"What is it Will?" he asked calmly.

Will was shaking, walking toward the chair, sweat beading down his forehead.

"Is it the Chesapeake Ripper again?" Hannibal asked amused at his own joke knowing he hadn't killed anyone as of late.

"No, no, there is a situation much, much worse at the moment." Hannibal's face hardened.

"Some sick bastard has kidnapped a woman, strapped bombs to her and is speaking to us through her; he says there's enough explosives on her to blow up the entire block."

Will paced nervously, biting his nails as he speaks, "After the warning phone call, he sent us a picture; he wants us to solve the puzzle."

Hannibal mumbles a few inaudible words under his breath.

"What?" Will's hands trailed down his own face, wiping the collected sweat away. Hannibal snaps out of his thoughts, "May I see the picture?"

"Yeah, Yeah, sure - of course." Will scrambled to get his cell out of his pocket. He swiped the screen to unlock it revealing a picture of a red barn in the middle of a corn field. Hannibal scanned the photo,

"Have you put this through a location recognition scan yet?"

"Yeah, nothing. we've only got two more hours."

"Look here," Hannibal zoomed into the picture, "There's a label on the barn. This is much too easy, there's a model number on it. This is no mastermind; no competition to the Chesapeake Ripper, in my opinion."

Will squinted his eyes "How did I not see this!?"

"You're stressed Will, things happen."

Hannibal knew exactly where that barn was. He let the memories flood his mind as Will ran out of his office. This was the scene he left his first victim, twenty-four years ago. Hannibal was just going to sit back, let the FBI figure out where the barn was themselves and follow very closely.

-THE FOLLOWING DAY

Jack drove with Hannibal next to him in front as they listened to Will go on and on about his theories. Hannibal wondered how Will could be so clever, yet so clueless and lets a small smile crawl upon his face. When they arrive at the property that was the written owner of the barn, they immediately exit the vehicle.

"Check around the house," Jack directs to the assisting police, "Will, Hannibal, with me."

Jack draws his gun and heads over to the barn, kicking the door open. He stops, his gun falls to his side and his free hand raises to his face. He runs his hand down his features exhaling.

"Fuck."

Jack turns to walk out speaking into his radio "3600 Orange Foot Drive, get her out of here." he walks past the police guarding the scene, "Do not let Freddie Lounds anywhere near here."

Hannibal walks in only to find a dark-haired woman with light skin laid atop a pair of antlers - exactly how he would have placed her. He walks closer snapping on a pair of latex gloves. "Is there something missing?" Will asks still in the doorway.

"Her kidney-"

"Dammit! Just what we need; The Ripper is playing games now." he walked out yelling something to Jack.

Hannibal poked around the body before forensics got there, dumbfounded at such precision, no puncture out of place, and just at the fact, he didn't do this.