Hannibal

[will_you_see]

When Agent Hotchner told Alcuin that one of the names on his list was missing, having not been to his place of business for several days, Alcuin had hoped fervently that it was not Anthony Petrovich. It was. And though he had hidden it well, this had sent Alcuin into a tailspin of panic. He wasn't even entirely sure what he was afraid of, just

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[anamusebouche]

Hannibal was curious by nature, and he liked being surprised by people’s reaction to his influences, whether they were aware of them or not. It had been a long time ago, however, that he had last surprised himself. He thought, in his age and with his knowledge of psychology, that he could not be surprised by facets of his own personality. He thought he knew all the corners of his mind, and understood them well. He'd come to a strange realization a few days ago.

Luring him to this abandoned warehouse under false pretences had been easy. There he had hunted the man down with a dart gun giving him increasing doses of paralytic, until he fell over motionless. He had mounted the man on some crates and began operating on him, opening his abdomen first and slowly working his way up until he reached the diaphragm and cutting upward through to his chest. The pain was only visible in the man’s eyes as he was drugged to paralyse him but not to relieve pain

[will_you_see]

"Anthony Petrovich is missing," Alcuin blurted. "And I'm panicking and I don't know why."

[anamusebouche]

The worried look on Alcuin's face made Hannibal think over his actions. He could not have displayed the man, and he would not have murdered him in any conventional, banal way. He had not considered Alcuin's reaction would be one of panic, but then again, he had not considered Alcuin's reaction at all. His killings were not for another in principle.

Hannibal frowned and unlocked the door to his practice again. "Come in," he said.

When they were inside he turned to the young man. "Vanished?"

[will_you_see]

"Agent Hotchner told me," Alcuin said. "The FBI couldn't find him to question him." He followed along, already feeling calmer just being in his presence. "I saw him last week. He was horrible."