Heart Still Intact

11. The Corpses' Comfort

 Somewhere in Baltimore...

The Head of the BSU watched as they put all the corpses into body bags. Once again, the Chesapeake Ripper had just escaped his hands. Agent Crawford had to fight the urge to kick his foot into the wall. Not only does he have to face the media about this gruesome kill, but he will also have to remind himself that he had just missed the Ripper. Usually, he would have more details on the kills but unfortunately, Will was no longer with him.

"Is it him?" Crawford asked, his voice dangerously low. Part of him didn't want him to hear the answer.

"There was some blood left on one wall. We're testing it against the data but from the looks of things... it could be him." Price spoke as he handed some photographs to Crawford. "We're waiting on Zeller and Beverly to confirm everything back at the lab."

There was no doubt in Crawford's mind that it was Lecter. When he had gone to Will's house that day, he had expected to see the profiler asleep or purposefully ignoring his phone. There had been other times when Jack had been to Will's house, wanting to see if the profiler was doing well. What Jack hadn't expected to see was to see Hannibal Lecter's car.

Jack couldn't help but feel suspicious. Slowly walking into the house, Jack watched as Hannibal stuffed Will's clothes into a carry before placing the profiler's phone and gun on the table. It was then that Jack noticed the store-bought dog food on the floor. Jack knew Will would never feed his dogs the store-bought kind, When he was about to announce his presence, he found a plate flying to his face.

From what he knew, Lecter wasn't the type to be aggressive but Jack's flight or fight instinct kicked in as he reached for his gun. There wasn't a doubt that Jack had chosen to fight. "Dr. Lecter?"

Instead of answering, Hannibal merely threw objects at Jack before lunging towards him. Surprised, Jack was tackled to the floor, his gun flying beneath a cupboard. The dogs in the other room barked madly as the two men wrestled on the floor. Hannibal had gotten the upper hand as he knocked the agent unconscious.

When Jack woke up again, the room was empty. The dogs were lying around him, one of them, a brown dog that looked like a mix of a border collie and a German shepherd, was sniffing Jack's head. Jack had seen that dog with Will every time he visited. Groaning his pain, Jack clutched his shoulder before searching the entire house. Once he found no trace of Will or Hannibal, Jack ran outside and called out for Will. With no sign of the profiler, Jack reached into his pocket before calling the last number he had called. His face grimaced, the horrible realisation dawning upon Jack.

"Alana." Jack breathed out. "The Ripper's taken Will."

Unknown Location.

Will didn't know how to react. He had spent most his day trying to get the cuff off his leg and Hannibal just does it for him. Will kept quiet and let Hannibal lead him. Part of the profiler feared that if he made any sound, Hannibal would change his mind and lock Will back up in the room. Once they had reached the bottom of the stairs, Hannibal began walking to the kitchen. This was Will's first time in the kitchen and it looked awfully similar to the one Hannibal had in his other house. The one where he didn't keep Will chained to the bedroom.

While in the bedroom. Will couldn't see Hannibal's face very well. Now that he was under the artificial light, the profiler could see scratches and bruises on the doctor's face. He also noticed the slight limp Hannibal had when he walked over to the counter. Pulling out one of the kitchen island chairs, Hannibal gestured for Will to take a seat. Once again without questioning it, Will sat down. He watched as Hannibal walked over to the fridge and pulled out different vegetables.