Hannibal

[0_0_7]

Q was gone. M had put them off the job until this was resolved so it wasn't as if there were any other pressing matters- no missions, no jobs. But Bond needed access to Q's tech and he only had the man's laptop.

He hadn't known anything was off until he'd gone to pay for his sandwich and his card was declined. That was never a good sign...and it was always the first sign.

"The phone is going to ring in just a moment. Please tell them I'm coming home," he said. The cashier nodded and Bond exited quickly. From then it was an exercise in futility. The only thing he had that worked was his oyster card and his mobile. No cards, no codes. He went to MI6 to seek refuge and found himself on the run. He needed to know details but he had nowhere to turn. And to make matters worse he had gone home and there had been a detail outside. Not just any detail, either. Bond recognized the agent at the door as one of the agents who was sent on assassinations. If he was there, there were likely others Bond couldn't see.

With little else he could do, Bond decided to take a chance. To reach out to someone he knew who was utterly unaffiliated with MI6. Someone the home office was likely unaware of.

Bond turned up at Hannibal's with metaphorical hat in hand. He needed help and had nowhere else to go. This was Terrance's doing. He knew that. Terrance had burned him and Bond was left in a position without hope. But it was hard to put him down- Bond's specialty was resurrection. He wouldn't be killed and he wouldn't be put off. He would get Q back despite the odds, despite the obstacles.

He just needed a friend.

Comments

[0_0_7]

"Q's been taken. Terrance snatched him. It was part of a plan but it's gone wrong. The tracker was blocked and now it's likely been passed. I've no idea how to find him, Hannibal. And I've been burned...I've got no resources. No safe harbor. Will you help me?"

For a man as proud as Bond to outright ask for help it spoke volumes to how dire the circumstances were. Bond didn't trust likely and the places he could go to ground were actually few. He was desperate.

[anamusebouche]

"Of course," Hannibal said, without a second thought. Privately, he was curious to know what had happened and to involve himself in the lives of these men. To James, though, he would be a friend, who didn't think twice to help a friend in need. "What do you need?"

2014-09-14 8:11 GMT+02:00 0_0_7 - DW Comment dw_null@dreamwidth.org:

[0_0_7]

"First, I need a place to stay. I'm not so presumptuous to think I could stay here, but my cards and accounts are all frozen so I'll need money for a hotel until I can get to my funds," he said. "And I need a computer. I'd give anything for someone with more skills than I've got, but I'll make do."

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal would not offer his house to the agent, so he was glad the man suggested otherwise. "I will book you a room and you may borrow my laptop. But..." he considered and decided to go ahead. Goodwill and all that. "I might know someone who might be able to help you. She's s hacker, I believe. She's come across Terrance in the digital world. In fact, she meant to warn Q about this man. I didn't say anything for fear of revealing your plans and identities. But she might be useful now."

[0_0_7]

"A hacker?" Bond said, his brows furrowing with concern. He didn't like the thought of a hacker but he truly was at his wits' end and he needed help. He couldn't ask Moneypenny to risk her job to help him and Mallory was...not M. Not her.

"Alright," he agreed, thinking he could always take care of the hacker if she turned out to be a problem. Such things weren't beneath him. He'd killed for much lesser reasons. "Call her in. May I use your bathroom?"

He was in quite a state but he thought maybe if he washed his face, perhaps had a gargle, he'd feel a bit more like himself.

[anamusebouche]

"End of the hall to the left," Hannibal replied. "Take the time you need," he insisted.

He then proceeded to dial Rave's number. He didn't fancy having her in his home, but it was a good idea to have her help. "Rave?" Ridiculous name.

[girl_upgraded]

"Yeah?" she said, sitting in the all night cafe. She pulled the call up on her laptop and checked out the number. It took just seconds.

"Dr. Lecter," she said, sitting up a little taller. "Did he come back?"

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal had come to like the young woman. She had a sense of Right and Wrong, strong and very personal moral standards. He was rather above that sort of thing himself, of course, but he appreciated it in others. "No. But the man he was following is in trouble. Your help would be appreciated. Can you come over?" He had no doubt she knew where he lived.

[girl_upgraded]

"Of course. Is he all right? The man? Oh, no...oh my god," she said as the scrambling sounds of her gathering her things together echoed i the background of her call. "I'll be right there. Fast as I can."

[anamusebouche]

"Discretion would be valued," Hannibal reminded her calmly. "Thank you." And then he hung up.

He then walked up to the hallway to see if he could hear James. Would he be the sort to break down in a bathroom? He doubted that.

[0_0_7]

Bond most certainly did not break down, though he did take his tie cleaning up. When he finally did emerge he looked clean, though not shaven, and there was resolve in his eyes.

"Did you make contact?" he asked. Bond wondered just how much he could ask of someone like Hannibal. The man didn't need to be dragged into this.

[anamusebouche]

"I asked her to come over," Hannibal said, with a nod. "Her name is Rave. As far as I can tell, she's very good at her job."

[0_0_7]

"A hacker named Rave. I already have a mental image," Bond said dryly, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. He reached out then and gave Hannibal a casual touch, gratitude in his eyes.

"I can't express how much I appreciate the help," he said. "I find myself in a curiously desperate situation. And, sadly, this isn't the first time I've been disavowed, but it's the first it's been so...drastic."

[anamusebouche]

"That's quite all right," Hannibal assured. "You will let me know if you require funds?"

[0_0_7]

"I'll need as much as you can spare," he said frankly. "I'm going to have to arm myself and guns aren't cheap. And I'll need some tech. Place to stay. A razor..."

That was when the reality of this hit and he deflated visibly. He had to cling to hope. Had to. But hope was slippery at the moment.

"At this moment I could really use a drink, though."

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal came from a wealthy and aristocratic family, whose riches had vanished when Lithuania had been caught behind the Iron Curtain. In his youth he had therefore lived in poverty, but those days were long past. His uncle found him, adopted him and brought him to France. After the man's sad death, the Lecter family fortunes had been passed on to Hannibal. Money was never a problem.

"I hesitated to offer," Hannibal confessed. "But of course. What will you have? Something to eat perhaps as well?"

[0_0_7]

Bond thought for a moment and then nodded. "Yes, a drink and a bit of a meal. I don't remember the last time I ate and I won't do anyone any good running on empty. You're too kind, Hannibal. I apologize for dropping this in your lap, as it were."

[anamusebouche]

"That's quite all right," Hannibal assured. "I'm glad to be able to help. I just hope we find him."

He motioned to one of the chairs. "Sit down, if you like. I'll be right back with something to eat."

[0_0_7]

"Thank you," he said again, his gratitude palpable. Bond moved away and sank into a comfortable chair. Bond let silence surround him, cocooning him in a calm space, though his mind would not slow down. Every minute, every hour, every day that passed meant Q was in Terrance's possession, at the man's mercy. And god only knew what the villain had in store for the boffin.

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal worked something up quickly. This didn't mean that it was simple, merely that he could make it with relative ease. Hannibal made a large plate of bites, on bread and salad, mostly of left-overs. A little larger than the average amuse, they would fill the agent's stomach and they suited wine as much as brandy.

He came back to the living room moments later, carrying a large tray with the amuses. "Left-overs mostly, I hope you don't mind."

[0_0_7]

"Oh, it looks delicious," Bond said as he snapped out of his reverie. The food truly looked amazing. "It looks better than anything I could have hoped for. You're an artist, Hannibal? Leftovers...I scarcely believe it," he said as he sat forward, ready to devour the bounty before him.

[anamusebouche]

"In better days, once this is over, I will invite you over and we can have a proper meal," Hannibal promised. "Eat, please," he assured, seeing James ready to eat the plate whole. "Will you have wine or something stronger?"

[0_0_7]

"If I were in the mood for civility I'd say wine, but I'd really like a scotch," he admitted. "My nerves are frayed. I'm used to running on adrenaline, but not like this. And every day that passes I fear we may have lost him forever."

[anamusebouche]

"You care very deeply about him," Hannibal observed quietly as he poured them both a decent scotch.

[0_0_7]

"That I do," Bond agreed. "Perhaps too much. Definitely unwise. But it can't be helped now. Now all I can do is try to move heaven and earth to get him back."