Snared by the Ravenstag

5

The Academy, Quantico, Virginia

As her lecture drew to an end, she noticed there was some excitement running between her students. Once she'd finished up, every student filed out of the room as fast they could, even the ones who would normally stay to ask a question or raise a point were bouncing to escape.

"What's going on?" Anna asked as she grasped Pickles' harness, "Has something happened?"

A young woman at the back of the crowd looked at her over her shoulder,

"Apparently something happened in the field with Will Graham and the doctor, Hannibal Lecter. We have his class next, so we want to know what's happened."

Glancing down at her watch, Anna began to pull Pickles towards Graham's lecture hall. She didn't have another lecture for a few hours and-

She reached the open door and looked in.

Alana Bloom was stood at the front, cross-legged and leaning against the desk.

Anna reeled back into the corridor, her hand moving to rest on Pickles' head as the dog pressed against her side.

Hannibal.

All she heard were whispers, cutting through the ringing in her ears like bullets.

Graham. Dr Lecter. Man shot dead, almost killed them all...

She ran to Crawford's office and flung the door open, forgetting herself in her haste.

"Hannibal," Anna said immediately, "is he alright?"

Jack looked at her with knowing eyes and waited. She apologised, going back to the door and knocking. It was unlike her to forget her manners but-

"Will shot a man who had just killed his wife and slit his daughter's throat. Dr Lecter was present and pinched the artery until help arrived. Without him, she would be dead. I imagine he's having a hard day."

"Where is he?"

"Last report said he was asleep in a chair beside Abigail Hobbs' bed, holding her hand. Will Graham was ...shaken."

Anna nodded and said no more. It was not her job to interfere, but-

"I'm sorry for barging in here. Please...tell him..."

Jack inclined his head with a knowing glint in his eyes.

"I'll tell Dr Lecter you were asking after him. I believe Dr Chilton wanted you to meet him at his office."

Anna swore and closed the door on her way out.

***

Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, Baltimore, Maryland

Chilton sat in his office and offered her a drink. He leant back and tapped his pen against his teeth in an arrogant gesture.

"You know, I was thinking about the significance of the stag antlers just last night."

"They can symbolise spiritual superiority, but they're also a symbol of regeneration and growth," Anna said as she typed out her notes, "what did you think?"

Chilton looked down.

"I thought that our suspect was using them to appeal to his vanity. He believes he is superior to them in every way, but...is the growth of his growth as an artist, or is it the growth of something else...someone else?"

Anna paused.

"How?"

"Will Graham refers to it as...art. One would assume that like any artist, he wants his work to be appreciated and experienced. If Will Graham can appreciate this art, perhaps the Ripper is seeking his growth, the expansion of his mind into the mind of the Chesapeake Ripper."

They stared at each other and finally,

"The Chesapeake Ripper wants a friend."

***

The Academy, Quantico, Virginia

Hannibal pushed the door open and walked through, coat over his arm, calm, composed.

Anna wanted to see if he was alright, to ask.

She'd barely taken a few steps when Alana Bloom appeared and informed him that Jack wanted to see them both, immediately. Her hand rested on his arm - a familiar gesture.

Anna walked past him with a smile, feeling his eyes on her back all the way down to the lecture halls, Pickles in tow.

Pushing into her office, she organised everything Chilton had told her into a report and walked down to Crawford's office.

Knocking lightly on the doorframe and ignoring the curious glances from both Hannibal and Alana Bloom, she smiled tightly at Crawford,

"Sorry to interrupt, I was asked to give you this." She handed him the paper, "I'll be taking leave this weekend, I'll be back Tuesday morning. Have a good weekend."

She inclined her head to them all and left without another word.