Folie à Trois: a Will X Hannibal

Charlatan...

Narrator's POV

"Good afternoon, mylimasis." Hannibal greeted as Will entered his office

"Hey." Will replies, kissing his cheek as he entered

It had been a month since he had found Eldon Stammets and since they he had 'caught' the family murders and the Angel Maker.

Sitting on the plush chair he always did during their sessions, Will asked, "Who are we going to have as our scapegoat? Gideon or Chilton?"

"Chilton would suit our purposes better seeing we have the same profile." Hannibal answered, sitting down across from him, "How are you feeling, Will?"

"Freddie has reported Gideon's murder of the nurse," Will said, "I'm surprised Jack hasn't called me yet."

"You're avoiding the question, mylimasis, I thought we promised each other honesty." Hannibal pointed out

"I know, I'm just a little worried; everything really changes today." Will admitted, "When you begin taunting Jack with Miriam, I want to be there."

"Of course." The older man replied

"I want to go through our get away plan again." Will added, "Just in case."

Hannibal nodded, mentally noting that Will was a bit paranoid, "If we are together, we take our prepared suitcases to the airport and head to Florence. If we are separated, Abigail will bring our suitcases to the airport and we'll meet her there and head to Florence together. In worse case, we all head to Florence separately and meet at the Uffizi Gallery on the first Tuesday there at noon in the Botticelli Exhibit."

Before the younger man could reply, Jack called Will and told him to meet him at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

Since he had been with Hannibal when called, Will brought him along.

***

"Hello, Will." Jack said as the profiler got out of Hannibal's Bentley, then seeing the psychiatrist, "Oh and hello to you, Dr. Lecter."

"Hello, Jack." Both men greeted

"Well, thanks to Freddie Lounds, there's an unconfirmed story floating out there that The Chesapeake Ripper's already in custody." Jack informed as they walked into the asylum

"Unconfirmed. Am I confirming?" Will asked, "Fact-checking for Freddie Lounds-"

"You're fact-checking for me." Jack sternly interrupting

"I always feel a little nervous going into these places." Will admitted, pretending to ignore the rudeness

"Why's that?" Jack asked

"Afraid they won't let me out." Will awkwardly chuckled

"Don't worry. I won't leave you here." Jack replied

"Yeah, not today." Will bitterly said as they made it to Dr. Chilton's office

"Dr. Bloom just called me about you, Mr. Graham... or should I call you Dr. Graham?" Dr. Chilton said as the three men entered his office

Will slipped into his old persona easily, acting as social awkward as he always had, "I'm not a doctor."

"You're not FBI either. That's a temporary identification." Chilton pointed out1

"Mr. Graham teaches at the academy." Jack informed, shaking the other man's hand

"Ah, a teacher." Dr. Chilton said, "And it's always a pleasure to see you, Dr. Lecter. Please, gentlemen, take a seat."

"Thank you." Jack thanked as they all sat, "Dr. Chilton, we're going to need to see the crime scene while it's still relatively undisturbed."

"I assure you, for something so disturbing, it is quite undisturbed." Chilton replied, a slight smugness in his voice

***

With the rest of the rather rude questioning out if the way, they were taken to the Crime Scene and Will went through the motions like he always did.

Once he emerged from his reconstruction of the crime, making a show of being disgusted with what he saw, Will, "As far as we know it's been over two years since the Chesapeake Ripper killed?"

"That's correct." Jack confirmed

"When was Gideon admitted?" Will asked

Jack yet again answered, "Almost two years ago."

Will looked to Hannibal, just long enough to catch the momentary glint of curiosity in his maroon eyes, then saying, "I see the Ripper, but I don't...feel the Ripper. The brutalization of the body was done posthumously. The Chesapeake Ripper usually does that sort of thing during, not after."

"So, are you saying that Abel Gideon isn't the Chesapeake Ripper?" Jack asked

"Gideon's murder of his wife and her family was impulsive. The Chesapeake Ripper is methodical and meticulous. This is not his work, this is the work of someone who wants to be the Ripper." Will added sighing frustrated, "Maybe he is the Ripper, I don't know, but if he's a plagiarist, the real Chesapeake Ripper is gonna make sure everybody knows it."

***

That night, after sending Abigail to go feed Will's dogs, Hannibal and Will went down into the secret basement of Hannibal's house and had Miriam call Jack using an untraceable phone.

"Hello." Jack greeted when he answered the phone

Miriam began to speak, her voice a loud whisper, "Jack. Jack."

"Who is this?" Jack asked

"Jack, it's Miriam. I don't know where I am. I can't see anything-" Miriam began, beginning to tremble

"Miriam?" Jack interrupted

Miriam ignored the interruption, shakily saying, "I was so wrong. I was so wrong. Miriam? Please... Jack. Please. I don't want to die like this!"

***

The next day, after some plotting with Jack to lure out the real Ripper, Freddie Lounds publishes an article proclaiming Abel was the real Ripper.

So, while Hannibal made breakfast, Will read the Tattlecrime article out loud, "His name is Dr. Abel Gideon, and strong evidence has surfaced that he's far more than a mild-mannered surgeon who cruelly murdered his wife.

Maybe, just maybe, Gideon is the most sought-after serial killer at large, a killer who's eluded the FBI for years and has baffled their most gifted profilers.

That serial killer? None other than The Chesapeake Ripper. This would explain why The Ripper has been silent for more than two years."

So, after they ate, they took Miriam to Jack's house once they were sure he and Bella were gone —both clad in their murder suits— and had her leave her fingerprints and hairs all over the F.B.I agent's bed...