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

[anamusebouche]

"I don't feel I've quite done my part," Hannibal said. "I can book you a room, but you will tell me if you need anything more? I want to help as much as I can."

[0_0_7]

"First things first, I desperately need to shower and shave and sleep. Then a change of clothes and I'll be ready for he second wave. I'll contact you then," he promised.

[anamusebouche]

"I'll be here," Hannibal assured.

He looked to the girl then, who was still avidly tapping away. "Any luck?"

[girl_upgraded]

"I think I've got him gone to the north, but nowhere specific. He's probably too careful to let anything out. But I'll keep on it. I've set up alerts on his username. If he pops up I'll track him," she said, her eyes wandering to Bond.

"Do I dare look into him? Why do I get the feeling that might get me in quite a bit of trouble?"

[anamusebouche]

"Not if you do it right," Hannibal suggested, casually.

[girl_upgraded]

"I'm not sure I want to try," she murmured. "I think he'd personally shoot me. Where'd you find him, anyway?"

It seemed to her Dr. Lecter collected the strangest people.

[anamusebouche]

"We both have a taste for good food and good opera," Hannibal offered.

[girl_upgraded]

Rave gave him a curious look, wrinkling her nose a little. She'd started to wonder if opera was something you just liked when you got older because she really didn't understand the appeal of listening to people sing songs in a language you couldn't understand.

"Like those nibbles you made for him? Those looked good, though I don't know what it was you were talking about. Beef...I understood beef."

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal walked over, and took the tray. There were still a few 'nibbles' on it. "Taste it first," he said.

[girl_upgraded]

She smiled softly and took one, something almost too beautiful to eat, and she bit into it. She could say that she'd never tasted anything like it and her eyes slipped shut as a tiny moan escaped her throat.

"Oh," she said softly. "That's really good..."

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal smiled, pleased at her reaction. "Wagyu beef. Wagyu means cow in Japanese. It's meat from Japanese cattle." He picked up one of the last few amuses left. "These slices are from a breed called Kobe. Famous for its taste and refined texture."

[girl_upgraded]

"It's so delicious. Beats English beef, to be sure," Rave said. She'd been nervous around Bond but now that he'd left the room she relaxed a bit. Dr. Lecter was intimidating, but not frightening. She did feel she needed to be at her Sunday best around him, though.

[anamusebouche]

"Are you hungry? I can make some more," Hannibal offered. "Seems unfair to keep you here working without offering you something at least. Perhaps you'd like a break?"

[girl_upgraded]

"I'll eat what's left, but you don't have to make me more. A cup of tea might be nice, too. Thank you," she said with a smile, then she returned her attention to the computer. She didn't like ghosts and saw no value in going off the grid. This task was so very difficult.

[anamusebouche]

He liked her commitment and left her to work. He returned a little later, with a tray with tea, sugar and milk.

"Milk and sugar?" He asked.

[girl_upgraded]

"Oh, please. You're so kind. But you don't have to serve me, Dr. Lecter. This is set to comb. I can get up and leave it," she said. In truth she was more than a little curious about his home. It was gorgeously decorated.

[anamusebouche]

He nodded and took the tray to the coffee table, where he set it out for her. "You know, if you find him, my friend will likely offer you a job."

[girl_upgraded]

"I'm not sure that's a line of work I want to go into," she replied. "I like what I do. I like helping the ones without a voice. I like helping the people...not governments and corporations. The little man needs help in this world. I can do that."

[anamusebouche]

"That's very noble," Hannibal said, not sounding cynical in any way. "Have you been doing this long?" He asked, conversationally, as he sat down to join her for tea.

[girl_upgraded]

"A few years. I got my first computer when I was fifteen. I caused some trouble before I graduated, and then when I got to uni I learned how to do a few things. Use the internet. I found people like me. I found a purpose," she said softly, leaving the computer and following Dr. Lecter to the tea.

[anamusebouche]

"Where you without purpose before?" Hannibal asked. A very personal question, but he asked it conversationally, almost accidentally.

[girl_upgraded]

"I don't know. I just had this feeling, for as long as I can recall, that I should be doing something. Making a difference," she answered. "And so I found a way to do that."

[anamusebouche]

"What do you do, exactly?" Hannibal asked next. "I only really know what you've done for my friends, and what you are doing for them now."

[girl_upgraded]

"I can't rally tell you what I do. It'd incriminate me...and you'r not my therapist so you could tell someone," she said. "But...I don't do anything bad. I try to do right. Sometimes the little man needs a bit of help, you know? And I can do that."

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal smiled lightly. "I have no intention to incriminate you. You've helped me and now you're helping my friends."