#twistedminds

MEAT TRUCK - DAY-

Twin rows of GUTTED PIG CARCASSES hang in plastic wrapping from a rail in the roof of the darkened space. The TICK and HUM of refrigeration can be heard in the metal box.

A sudden CLANG as the door is opened and a gust of frosted air is expelled into the dark space beyond -- unclear behind the beams of a powerful light. A WHIRRING noise can be heard.

Will is actually HANGING UPSIDE DOWN like the carcasses, Hannibal alongside him, similarly trussed. The WHIRRING continues and the carcasses swing sideways as a silhouetted shape moves through them to reveal – MASON VERGER In his electric wheelchair, looking at them both with great satisfaction.

Cordell behind him. A beatific smile. “Gentlemen, welcome to Muskrat Farm.”

“Your people might have assassinated me in Florence, Mason.”

“Where's the fun in that?”

“I see the first coarse bristles of revenge have brushed the ruin of your cheek and begun to excite you. Where’s Y/N, Mason?”

“I'm very excited. She’ll be joining us… though i doubt she’ll be very comfortable.” Mason produces a KNIFE in his good hand.

“I still carry my father's knife. Ever ready to slip into a pig's back to check the depth of fat.”

Mason slides close to Hannibal and presses the blade against the flesh of his lower back. Hannibal does not flinch. Mason puts his thumb against the blade and slides it into Hannibal.  A thin TRICKLE of blood is released. Hannibal shows no sign.  Disappointed, Mason slides the blade further. “A little on the lean side. Let's fatten you up, shall we?”

MUSKRAT FARM - PIG BARN - DAY-

The meat truck has been backed through the doors into the narrow end of a funnel made by two angled rows of STEEL PIGPENS. PIGS snort nervously in the pens, clanging the bars. Mason Verger, in his wheelchair, and Cordell watch as Inspector Benetti leads bodyguards bringing Hannibal and Will from the truck, bound securely to a pair of handcarts. Will's head is cleaned up and bandaged. But he is still groggy and in pain.

“It is more trouble physically to move a semi-wild pig against its will than to kidnap a man.”

“Pigs are harder to get hold of, and big ones are stronger than a man.” As Hannibal and Will are wheeled past, Mason speaks up for their benefit and his amusement: “There are the tusks to consider, if you want to maintain the integrity of your abdomen. Something worth maintaining, Mr. Graham? Tusked beasts instinctively disembowel.” 

Will's and Hannibal's handcarts are shackled to the walls. Mason wheels closer to Hannibal, cocking his head up. “At swine fairs, I've seen exotic pigs from all over the world. For my new purpose, you are the best of all that I've seen. We will have some good, funny times, Dr. Lecter.” 

As Mason wheels away, leaving Will and Hannibal Wondering…Where is Y/N?

VERGER ESTATE HOUSE - DINING ROOM - NIGHT-

Hannibal is wheeled up to the table and his upright dolly automatically folds into a seated wheelchair at one end of the table. Hannibal is sitting secured in his seat with one arm free.

Hannibal is resplendent in suit and tie. Looking very much his old self sitting opposite Mason Verger at the other end. “I snatched Will Graham right out of your mouth. You must be famished.” A BEAUTIFUL TRAY OF OYSTERS Cordell has just placed them onto the table. Hannibal glances at the mollusks before looking back up at Mason.

“There is an inescapable parallel between you and Jezebel, Mason. Keen Bible student that you are, you'll recall dogs ate Jezebel's face, along with the rest of her.” Hannibal slides an oyster into his mouth with his free hand.

“If Jezebel was right with the Risen Jesus, if she praised His name, the Riz would have provided her a new face. As He has provided mine.” Will sitting between Mason and Hannibal, bright new head bandage. Y/N glaring sinisterly at Mason. Mason glances at Will: “The transplant surgery is extremely skillful, which is why Cordell here will be performing the face-off.”

“Hello.”

“You boys remind me of that German cannibal who advertised for a friend, then ate the friend's penis with him before he died. Tragedy being, the penis was overcooked. Go to all that trouble to eat a friend, and you overcook his penis. They ate it anyway. They had to, they committed. But they didn't enjoy it. I'm committed to enjoying every bite of you.” Will looks to Mason: “You're gonna eat him with my face?”

“Yes. I got a taste for it after the two of you had me eat my nose.”

“You must be terribly proud that you could pull this off, Mason.” I say as I groan in pain. “An accomplishment comparable to the discovery of radium. I imagine you, the product of all my searching and expenditure, glowing in the dark like the vial in Madame Curie's laboratory. I imagine after eating you, my belly will glow like a lightbulb.”

“It's dangerous to get exactly what you want, Mason. What will you do after you've eaten me?” Will glares, “You could wreck some foster homes and torment some children…”

“Drink martinis made with tears. And that little fetus in your Belly Dr. L/N, Well I have promised my sister a baby and- I don't like breaking promises.” Mason looks towards me, My heart drops. No. He wont touch her. I wont let him. I look over at Will, tears of rage fill my eyes. As another contraction rolls through my body. Will has a very dark and sinister look on his face. 

“But where, Mason, would the hardcore fun come from?”

“Foolish to dilute this ecstatic time with fears about the future. Cordell, Mr. Graham is looking very dry. A little moisturizer, please.” Mason taps his own cheek, indicating where to apply the moisturizer on Will, as he resumes the conversation.

“I'm curious, what will be the first cuts of me you'll serve?” Hannibal asks As Cordell is preparing the moisturizer, “The first course, of course, will be your hands and feet. Sizzling on a Promethean barbecue. The coal is white and very hard, makes a clear ringing sound when struck.”

“You've thought of everything.”

“After that, we'll have a pajama party, you and I. You can wear shorties by then. Cordell's going to keep you alive for a long time.” As Cordell leans in to apply Will's moisturizer, Will's head jerks up, fast, and he LOCKS HIS TEETH into Cordell's cheek.

Cordell growls, pushing a bloody-mawed Will off of him. Will spits a ragged piece of skin onto Mason's empty plate, where it leaves a RED SMEAR and lies like an insult. Cordell clutches a bloody cheek. Hannibal holds Will's gaze, amused. I look at him, if i wasnt in so much pain I’d Kill….

“No pajama party for you, Mr. Graham. We'll be feeding you to the pigs as soon as Cordell removes your face. In a much more civilized fashion than you just tried to remove his.”

VERGER ESTATE HOUSE - MASON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT-

Margot Verger is helping Mason out of bed, where he's been changed into medical pajamas, and into his wheelchair. “When I impulsively lash out, on the whole, I don't lash out randomly. I throw a very specific sort of fit.”

“You're nothing if not specific.” Mason stares at the eel swimming in the floor below his twisted feet propped in the stirrups of his wheelchair.

“I think I might feed the eel some delicacy from Lecter; his genitals, perhaps. Then when I watch it circling in a figure eight, I'll know the infinity sign it makes stands for "Lecter dead forever." How long have you and Dr. Bloom been an item?” The question gives Margot pause, but she doesn't want to betray any vulnerability to her brother. “Not long.”

“Longer than that, Cordell says. Does Dr. Bloom want children? I'm sure you've checked under the hood by now. How's the uterus? Intact? Are the hips childbearing? Roomy?”

“Land the plane, Mason.” Margot stops helping and Mason just lies there, helpless. “You have a big surprise coming to you, Margot. Do you like spoilers? I just love 'em. They don't spoil a thing for me. Would it spoil anything for you if I told you I already found us a surrogate? Not for my sperm, but for your eggs.”

“I don't have any. You took them.”

“I most certainly did, but I didn't humpty-dumpty them. I just went and found them a new basket.” Margot stares, afraid to believe him, wanting to believe him. “I told you I wanted to give you a Verger baby, our own baby. Yours and mine. But mostly yours.” Margot's voice goes cold, not to give her brother any leverage. “Where's the surrogate, Mason?”

“She's resting at the moment. Though if she fails I have a much more immediate solution.”

“She's here?” “She's on the farm.”

“I want to see her.”

First you need to prepare yourself... psychologically. This is going to be a very emotional experience for you. I have to think about the appropriate timing.”

“Don't think too long, smiley.”

“That's the spirit, Margot. Your maternal instinct is revving up.”

VERGER ESTATE HOUSE - DINING ROOM - NIGHT-

Will Graham sits alone at the table, blood still smeared across his lips and chin. A moment, then Alana Bloom enters. Will glances up and reacts, not expecting her. His initial fear for her safety melts into something more like suspicion. “What are you doing here?”

“I'm Mason Verger's psychiatrist.” A small scoff from Will, nothing but breath. “That part of his therapy or yours?”

“I think we're all working through some issues. I'm putting an emphasis on self-preservation. Jack's alive.”

“Good for Jack. You helped Mason Verger find us.”

“I helped Mason find Hannibal. We followed Bâtard-Montrachet when we should have just followed you.”

“Almost as ugly as what Mason wants to do to us is the fact that he can do it with the tacit agreement of people sworn to uphold the law. He's planning on ripping my Daughter out of Y/N’s Womb.” Will says darkly, oh how he wished he could be with his Y/N. “It's the way of the world.”

“I never knew the world to be that way within the reach of your arm. For the first time in my life I’m Terrified.”

“I was trying to get to Hannibal before you. I knew you couldn't stop yourself. So I had to try.”

“By facilitating torture and death.”

“I can abide the thought of Hannibal tortured, not necessarily to death. I'd say he has it coming, wouldn't you? Or maybe you wouldn't. By the time the FBI gets a warrant, you and any evidence of what happened would be burnt or roiling in the bowels of Mason's pigs.”

“Or Mason himself. What did you think would happen?”

“I thought Jack Crawford and the FBI would come to the rescue. But the Finer details of what I thought would happen have evolved.”

“Then you have to evolve, Alana. You have to spill blood. By your own hand or someone else's.” Cordell enters, approaching Will in his wheelchair. “We're ready for you, Mr. Graham. You’re Fiancee is already sedated and prepped. Please keep your teeth to yourself.” Alana watching Cordell wheel Will away...

MUSKRAT FARM - PIG BARN - NIGHT-

past one pig in a cage after another, until finding Hannibal bound in his own pigpen, the brand burn stands raw and livid on his back, his arms and legs bound in the cage. He glances over his shoulder at an ITALIAN COP near the door, a tranquilizer gun on the table beside him. Margot enters.

“Buonasera, signor.”

“Buonasera, Signorina Verger.” Margot takes a breath and approaches Hannibal in his pen. “Thank you for coming, Margot. Hasn't been that long since I treated you. Have you started taking the chocolate, as Mason likes to say, after you fought him for so long?”

“Are we in therapy now?”

“You tell me.”

“Mason promised to give something back to me. Something he stole. There was a surrogate all along. It's a Verger baby. My baby.”

“You think Mason will just give you what he promised?”

“It's here. On the farm.”

“He’s about to tear a newborn away from a mother who never consented. I can imagine lots of ways to be a Verger baby that are unpleasant. I'm sure your brother can, too. Especially for a baby thats not a Verger.” Margot's eyes brim with tears as her face goes still. She knows Hannibal is telling the truth. “Listen to me, Margot. Mason will deny you. He will always deny you. You know you'll have to kill him.”

“Are you saying you'd do it for me? I could never trust you.”

“No, of course not. But you could trust me never to deny that I did it. It would actually be more therapeutic for you to kill him yourself, Margot. You'll remember I recommended that in session.”

“Wait until I can get away with it, you said.”

“What difference would one more murder charge make to me? I'm the only other suspect you've got. You can do it when it suits you, and I'll write a letter gloating about how I enjoyed killing him myself.” As Margot considers his offer… Sitting by the door. Alana enters carrying a smart handbag. She approaches, smiling.

“Buonasera.” He stands to greet her, she places her handbag on the table and, in one movement, picks up the tranquilizer gun and shoots the Italian cop in the throat, and he drops. Margot stares, dumbstruck.

“He has a pocketknife.” Alana retrieves the pocketknife from the unconscious Italian cop and crosses to Hannibal in his pigpen.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Yes. I thought I could save Will and Y/N from you, but right now, you're the only one who can save Them. Promise me you'll save them. Please.”

“I promise, Alana. And I always keep my promises. Just cut the ropes on one arm, give me the knife and leave. I can do the rest.” Alana gets uncomfortably close to Hannibal, their faces very close to each other. Alana puts the blade on the rope. “Are you going to kill Mason?”

“Margot is. Snatch some of my hair, back from the hairline, if you don't mind; get some skin. Put it in Mason's hand after he's dead.” They are close enough to kiss. Alana looks into his eyes.

“Could I have ever understood you?”

“No.” Her hand slides into his hair -- and then pulls his head VICIOUSLY to one side. as hair tears from Hannibal's scalp. In the same moment, Alana slashes a knife at the cable ties used to bind him. He rises out of the pigpen -- the Kraken awoken.

VERGER ESTATE HOUSE - CORRIDOR - NIGHT-

OPERA plays. CAMERA follows the blood spray back to its source – A BODYGUARD falling backward, his throat cut. the glint of a blood-flecked BLADE wielded by –   Hannibal Who is already moving on to the second of THREE BODYGUARDS he has ambushed. He wears the clothes of the man Alana shot with the tranquilizer gun. Second bodyguard is drawing a HANDGUN from beneath his jacket. ON HIS FACE as he realizes he is too slow.

Hannibal smashes the CLAW HAMMER in his other hand into the second bodyguard's chest. He coughs blood. The gun falls from his hand as Hannibal slams him against the wall and then ducks to the ground as --

BLAM, BLAM, BLAM. The third bodyguard fires. Bullets stitch holes in the wall. Hannibal pulls his hammer from the second bodyguard with a SUCKING SQUELCH. BLAM, BLAM. Hannibal rolls under the line of fire and slams the third bodyguard THROUGH THE FOOT with the hammer.

Third bodyguard SCREAMS and tries to bring his gun to bear on Hannibal, now right below him, but Hannibal holds his wrist. A moment, and then Hannibal rips a KNIFE across the third bodyguard's abdomen. Third bodyguard sways before Hannibal – dead, just doesn’t know it yet -- as Hannibal stands up.

Hannibal reacts as doors SLAM and TWO MORE BODYGUARDS come charging into the corridor, guns drawn. Lightning fast, Hannibal hurls the bloody hammer. THE HAMMER as it spins in the air, blood trailing from it, and then -- THUNK -- it strikes one of the new arrivals, spinning him to one side. Hannibal then spins the third bodyguard and drives toward them.

BLAM, BLAM, BLAM. Bullets drive into the third bodyguard, Hannibal hidden behind him. Third bodyguard rag-dolls in Hannibal’s arms as the bullets explode into his torso. fourth bodyguard's fear as Hannibal meets them in the center of the corridor and slams third bodyguard’s face right into his.

 Fourth bodyguard flies backward, nose SPRAYING BLOOD, and tangles with the fifth bodyguard. the knife in Hannibal’s hand, as it FLASHES amid the fourth and fifth bodyguards. Blood splashes the walls.

TWO MORE BODYGUARDS -- six and seven. As they enter the corridor and pause. Guns in their hands.

The bloodbath that is the corridor -- six bloodied bodies splashed up and down the walls. GUN SMOKE hangs in the air. Blood DRIPS down the walls. Six and seven breathe deep. Tense. Guns at the ready.

 They move forward... Stepping through the bodies. their shoes as they move through the carnage. Nothing moves except for the blood sliding down the walls. Six and seven move away toward the end of the corridor. And then a bloodied figure rises from the floor

VERGER ESTATE HOUSE - OPERATING ROOM - NIGHT-

He is strapped to a gurney under the bright light of an OR, his head in a surgical vice holding him absolutely still. A shadow falls across Will's face as Cordell leans over him. “Good news and bad news. The good news is, until recently, a full face transplant was almost unthinkable.” Cordell fusses around Will, checking his monitors. Whatever else, he's a perfectionist at this.

“But medical science is a fast-moving train. First, I'll lift your pretty mush right off, and then I'll expose the blood vessels and major connections of Mason's face, then lay yours straight on top.” 

The full horror of that lands on Will. “You really are done, you know. That's the bad news. Although i will grant you one thing.” Cordell moves away, leaving Will strapped to the gurney. 

Cordell brings over a small bundle, a baby. His baby. “You have a beautiful baby daughter Mr. Graham.” Will's eyes move to His baby girl. He struggles to move his limbs. Nothing doing. We see the first panic in Will's eyes.

 MUSKRAT FARM - NIGHT-

An open doorway filled with DARKNESS. A blood-splattered Hannibal looms from within to fill it. The open fields and woodland of Muskrat Farm beyond. The huge moon hanging above and a myriad of stars. Freedom. 

He could run and no one would catch him. Leave Will and be free. The thought crosses his mind. But Y/N….She didn't deserve to suffer. He takes a deep breath of night air. And then he turns back into the house, and the shadows within envelope him once more…

VERGER ESTATE HOUSE - OPERATING ROOM - NIGHT-

Will Graham turns his head slowly sideways as Mason Verger is pushed in beside Will, on a gurney, by Cordell

“Cordell told me, if I waited long enough, he could grow me a new face from my own cells, but I was adamant it was your face I wanted. I was looking at your face while you were watching me cut mine off. I thought, "That's a nice face." and Now your Baby will see the face of Her father everyday of her life.”

“You're going under now, Mr. Verger, and when you wake up, your face will be bound and uncomfortable.” Cordell adjusts Mason's dosage and Mason begins to drift off: “Have you accepted Jesus, Mr. Graham? Do you have faith? I do. I'm free. Hallelujah…” And he's out. a needle enters Will's flesh. Cordell adjusts the IV bottle it's connected to. 

“This will immobilize your body, but you'll feel everything. Im first going to Finish sewing up your Fiancee and then I'm going to cut off your face without anesthesia, Mr. Graham.”

VERGER ESTATE HOUSE - BABY SUITE - NIGHT-

Alana and Margot move into a tiled room with a lot of hightech medical equipment. They both stop dead and stare. In the center of the room is a large table. On top, lying on its side, is a large, unconscious FEMALE PIG with IV lines and drips filtering into it, medical monitors BLEEPING quietly… The pig's belly is SWOLLEN by a pregnancy. 

Alana and Margot move around this bizarre sight. As they do, a MONITOR mounted on the wall comes into vision – AN ULTRASOUND IMAGE in grays and blacks. It shows a human fetus, almost full term, legs tucked up… Alana and Margot stare -- stunned.

“Is he alive?” Alana reacts first, moves to check the monitors. Her face falls. “There's no fetal heartbeat.” As this lands on Margot... “Take it out... take it out.”

VERGER ESTATE HOUSE - OPERATING ROOM - NIGHT-

Mason Verger, face mask off to reveal his hideous, mutilated visage, lies back, eyes closed, awaiting his new face.

Cordell's back, to find that he is hunched over Will Graham. Fully conscious as Cordell leans over him and finishes drawing a black line in marker around the line of Will's face and jaw. He leans into Will with a SCALPEL.

“You'll be sure to let me know if this hurts, won't you?”

He starts to cut around the marker line. Blood slides from the pencil-thin incision. FEELING EVERYTHING -- teeth clenched against the pain he knows is coming… -- A SCALPEL slides through skin. -- A delicate thin flow of BLOOD. -- HANDS, in surgical gloves, gently lever skin away from facial bones, revealing teeth and jaw beneath -- a face coming away from its moorings.

We are watching two interconnected operations: a face being removed and a face being sewn onto someone else. And now we add a third procedure to the mix, this one rough and violent in comparison --

the sudden BIG INCISION of a CAESARIAN SECTION across a pig's hairy belly. TIGHT FOCUS as a LAYER OF BLOODY SKIN is laid down over Mason's raw, waiting face, smearing blood where it touches.

Hands delve deep into the pig's belly, surgical gloves slick with blood. The CLOSE-UP gleam of a suture needle as it moves under bright lights, stitching the new face to Mason. Beyond, we can just make out the bloody red mess of the donor's face.

VERGER ESTATE HOUSE - BABY SUITE - NIGHT-

Margot's desperate face as she forces herself to look at Alana holding her dead child.

“I want to hold him.”

She slowly takes the bundle Alana holds out to her as Alana wraps her arms around Margot as she sobs. MARGOT -- focus moving in and around her face. Enormity of her grief slamming into her. HER EYES as she squeezes them shut, holding her child tight.

VERGER ESTATE HOUSE - MASON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT-

Mason is propped up in his wheelchair, the eel moving its ceaseless patterns in the floor. We hear Mason's voice, weak at first: “Cordell?” Croaking, a whisper. Then louder: “Cordell? Cordell?!” His senses are going off, pain hitting him, fear and dread. Something is not right. His hand pumps at an ALARM BUTTON on the arm of his wheelchair. His good hand crab-walks up his chest, pulls the neck piece away. 

the mask as it is pulled away from Mason's face, not yet revealing his surgery. He grabs the mirror and holds it up. He sees that he now IS Cordell... kind of. Cordell's face has been removed and placed over his own. As Mason stares at himself in horror, Cordell's face slides off his own, leaving smears of blood before it lands on Mason's lap. “Cordell!”

Mason's good hand fumbles with the knob, pulling the drawer open, revealing a Walther PPK. He turns his wheelchair and rounds the bed toward the door and stops short at the aquarium when he sees Alana enter. “Hi, Mason.”

“What the hell's happening out there? Where's Cordell?”

“Cordell's dead. They're all dead out there. Hannibal got away.” Margot emerges from the shadows behind Mason. “Get on the horn to Washington and get four of those bastards with guns up here. Send the helicopter.”

“I found your surrogate, Mason.”

“Your surrogate, Margot. Told you I Would give you a Verger baby.”

“I'm taking what you promised me. I got everything I need from you now.”

“You can't kill me, Margot. You'll lose everything. In the absence of an heir, the sole beneficiary is the Southern Baptist Church."

“But we are going to have an heir, Mason. A Verger baby. Our baby. Yours and mine, but mainly yours.”

“Do you know what happens if we stimulate your prostate gland with a cattle prod? Y/N and Hannibal do. They helped us milk you. Maybe you shouldnt try and steal a mothers child.”

“You're dead, Dr. Bloom.”

“Oh, Mason. We all are. Didn't you know? But these aren't.” She holds up a vial of a pearly, cloudy fluid. Mason produces his pistol. Margot sees it and moves first. Crashing into Mason as he fires.

BLAM! The aquarium's glass top SHATTERS! Margot's momentum carries the wheelchair onto its side and she and Mason fall into the aquarium.

Margot and Mason fight. His goodarm pinning her under the  water. His body is dead weight against her. her swirling hair, their SILENT SCREAMS. Alana joins Margot wrestling Mason. As the two HUMAN FACES plunge down into the water. Mason's face sending blood out like a mist.

 ALANA rushes to help Margot. Grabbing at Mason. as she comes out of the water with a GREAT GASP. She holds Alana's gaze and they bear down with relentless force. Mason's hands claw at their hair. The two women hold him down.

Cordell's transplanted face undulates in the water, blood flowing from beneath it. The eel agitates within its lair. Alana's eyes lock with Margot's. SLAM -- the eel comes up and bites at the bloody wounds holding Cordell's face to Mason's... Mason SCREAMS and swallows water as the eel tears at Cordell's face.

As it comes free, the eel thrusts itself beyond, into Mason's open mouth, seeking softer meat. Cordell's bitten and torn face -- backlit -- as it slowly sinks to the bottom of the tank. still holding Mason's good hand. She reaches into a pocket and pulls out the HANK OF HANNIBAL'S HAIR. Presses it into Mason's palm…

MUSKRAT FARM - FOREST'S EDGE - NIGHT-

Of green grass in the dark. see the moon and the stars above the field. We CRANE DOWN to find Hannibal Lecter carrying a bloody and barely-conscious Will Graham over his shoulder as he walks toward the forest's edge Where Y/N and Her daughter await. 

Out of the shadows behind Hannibal, two Verger bodyguards appear. Moving swiftly upon him, raising their RIFLES to fire – the two bodyguards looming on either shoulder. PFFT! PFFT! Both of their heads fly backward as a red mist EXPLODES from them and they crumple to the ground.

CHIYOH In the bough of a large tree, looking down the sights of her hunting rifle. Hannibal Lecter now fixed firmly in her sights…

GRAHAM/L/N HOUSE - DUSK -

Chiyoh stands on the porch alone, her rifle resting in the crook of her arm. After a contemplative moment, Hannibal emerges through the front door.

“Will you go home? Can you go home?”

“No more than you can.”

“We all form frameworks from our early experiences through which later perceptions are understood.”

“Perceptions are understood when you look harder. I've looked into you. I thought you should be caged.”

“Would you watch over me?”

“I will watch over you. Not in a cage. Some beasts shouldn't be caged.”

“Your obsessive and successful hunt, whose plight was it driven by? Mine? Y/N L/N’s? Will Graham's? Yours?”

“Mischa's. Did you eat her?”

“Yes, but I did not kill her.” Chiyoh breathes a sigh of relief. “One quality in a person doesn't rule out any other quality. They can exist side by side, good and terrible. Socrates said it better The best of you and the worst with steady hands and a slow heart.”

“The most stable elements, Chiyoh, appear in the middle of the periodic table, roughly between iron and silver. Between iron and silver. I think that is appropriate for you.” Chiyoh studying Hannibal, not taking her guard down.

GRAHAM/L/N HOUSE - DUSK-

Will Graham sits up in bed. His head stitched to match the neat, expert black sutures following his jawline. He glances at the chair near his bed, a writing pad on the seat. It's filled with symbols and signs of astro- and particle physics. Hannibal enters and Will hands him his writing pad. “Do we talk about teacups and time and the rules of disorder?”

“The teacup is broken. It'll never gather itself back together again.”

“Not even in your mind? Your memory palace is building. It's full of new things. It shares some rooms with my own. I've discovered you there. Victorious.”

“When it comes to you and me, there can be no decisive victory.”

“We are a zero-sum game?” Will takes that in, considering his home and the strangeness

of Hannibal Lecter standing in it now. His Fiancee and newborn daughter in the other room.

“I miss my dogs. I'm not going to miss you. I'm not going to find you. I'm not going to look for

you. I don't want to know where you are or what you do. I don't want to think about you anymore.” The cold, even flatness of Will's words strikes Hannibal. “You delight in wickedness and then berate yourself for the delight.”

“You delight. I tolerate.” A sting of rejection. “Tolerance is a fig leaf to hide your ravenous self from the world.”

“I don't have your appetite. Good-bye, Hannibal.” Hannibal stands there a moment, rejected. Will sighs and averts his eyes. Hannibal finally goes, leaving Will alone. 

GRAHAM/L/N HOUSE - BEDROOM - DUSK -

Hannibal enters the room to say goodbye to Y/N. A woman who truly matched himself. He finds her sitting on her and Wills shared bed, rocking the small infant in her arms. “You’ve done well. She’s beautiful.” He approaches and sits beside her. 

I rest my head on his shoulder, I admire my daughter. A creation of my own. A sense of solemness runs over me. “You’re leaving arent you?” I ask, already knowing the answer. “Will has made it clear he does not want me here any longer.” 

A stray tear falls, I sniffle softly. “Right..” He pushes my hair out of my face, “Come with me.”

I look at him, “I can’t-” He nods already knowing. “I know.” He softly kisses me, its not passionate or Sexual, its a goodbye. He leans down and Kisses Brianna’s Head. “You’re a very special girl mažasis drugelis. You’re Mother and Father are very special too.” He stands and kisses my forehead and leaves. 

GRAHAM/L/N HOUSE - NIGHT

FBI VEHICLES drive at speed toward the house and AGENTS jump out. They move toward the house, guns out and ready.

The front door opens and Will emerges Holding his Baby daughter. Something he thought hed never get to do, JACK CRAWFORD Steps out of the lead vehicle, on crutches. “He's gone, Jack.”

“I'm here.” He steps out of the trees, arms outstretched, almost welcoming. Agents move in, yelling commands. He kneels as the FBI agents surround him. 

All eyes turn to me as I exit my house, Limping, I place the handcuffs on Hannibal. And before I pull away I whisper “Thank you.” 

CHIYOH watches through her rifle scope from the distant tree line, her sights on Hannibal. Jack moves to Hannibal, Will staying on the porch, watching. “You finally caught the Chesapeake Ripper, Jack.”

“Didn't catch you, you surrendered.”

“I want you to know exactly where I am. And where you can find me.” A sly glance toward Will watching from the porch, Cradling his Daughter, Brianna. 

Hannibal: Are you a painting? Y/N: What-? Hannibal: Because I want to pin you to a wall. Will: OH GOD I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO SAY YOU WANTED TO HANG THEM OR SOMETHING-

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Y/N: Will, I’m afraid. Will: Just stay close to Hannibal. Y/N: That's why I’m afraid.

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Y/N: Hi, sorry I’m late. I was doing a couple of things and got distracted. Hannibal: I’m “a couple of things”. Will: I’m “got distracted”.

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Y/N: I like your top, Will! Hannibal: I have a name, you know. Will: sighs Why. Why are you like this.

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Hannibal: So, what is Y/N to you? Alana: The reason I wake up every morning. Hannibal: …That’s adorable. Y/N earlier that morning, barging into Alana′s room, smacking pans together: WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!!!

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Jack: Who do we know that has handcuffs? Y/N: Well Will, Hannibal and I- Will: elbows Y/N Y/N: …wouldn't know. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Y/N: Everytime I hear someone talking about updog, I’m torn between not wanting to fall for it and wanting to help them complete their joke.

Will: Okay, but what is updog? Hannibal: Updog is a long sausage in a bun, often served with ketchup, mustard, onions, and/or relish. Jack: Not, that’s a hot dog. An updog is when a new version or patch of an application is released. Alana: No, that's an update. You’re thinking of the fourth largest city in Sweden. Abigail: Surely, that’s Uppsala, where’s updog is the giant spider in Harry Potter. Y/N: That’s Aragog. Updog is a symbol conventionally used for an arbitrarily small number in analysis proofs. Jack: You’re thinking of epsilon. Updog is an upward-moving air current. Hannibal: No, that’s an updraft. An updog is the modern version of a henway. Will: What’s a henway?? Y/N: Oh, about five pounds.

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Y/N: Dumbest scar stories, go! Will: I burned my tongue once drinking tea. Hannibal: I dropped a hair dryer on my leg once and burned it. Jack: I have a piece of graphite in my leg for accidentally stabbing myself with a pencil in the first grade. Alana: I was taking a cup of noodles out of the microwave and spilled it on my hand and I got a really bad burn. Abigail: Abigail: I have emotional scars. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Y/N: Who the fuck added me to a fucking group chat? Will: >:O language Hannibal: Yeah watch your fucking language Jack: OKAY WHO TAUGHT HANNIBAL THE FUCK WORD? Alana: 'The fuck word'. Abigail: Are you stupid? You guys use the f word all the time Hannibal: Oh my god they censored it Alana: Say fuck, Abigail. Hannibal: Do it, Abigail. Say fuck. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Y/N: We need to distract these guys Will: Leave it to me Will: Centaurs have six limbs and are therefore insects. Discuss. Hannibal, Jack, and Alana: Immediately begin arguing Abigail, watching in horror: Oh this. I don’t like this. I don't like this at all ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Y/N: WHY. why did you give Hannibal a KNIFE?! Will: I’m sorry. They said they felt unsafe. Y/N: Now I feel unsafe! Will: I’m sorry. Will: ... would you like a knife? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Y/N, holding a python: Guys I impulsively bought a snake, what do I name him Will: You did WHAT– Hannibal: William Snakepeare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Y/N: I love you guys, you're the best thing that's happened to me. Will: We're the best thing that's ever happened to you? Y/N: Yes! Hannibal: I'm starting to feel a little sorry for you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prologue

Act 1-

Chapter One: Aperitif

Chapter Two: Amuse-Bouche

Chapter Three: Potage

Chapter Four: Ouef

Chapter Five: Coquilles

Chapter Six: Entree

Chapter Seven: Sorbet

Chapter Eight: Fromage

Chapter Nine: Trou-Normand

Chapter Ten: Buffet-Froid

Chapter Eleven: Roti

Chapter Twelve: Releves

Chapter Thirteen: Savouruex (Act 1 Finale)

Act 2-

Chapter Fourteen: Kaiseki

Chapter Fifteen: Sakizuke

Chapter Sixteen: Hassun

Chapter Seventeen: Takiwase

Chapter Eighteen: Mukozuke

Chapter Nineteen: Futamono Chapter Twenty: Yakimono

Chapter Twenty-one: Su-zakana

Chapter Twenty-Two: Shiizakana

Chapter Twenty-Three: Naka-Choko

Chapter Twenty-Four: Ko No Mono

Chapter Twenty-Five: Tome-Wan

Chapter Twenty-Six: Mizumono

ACT 3-

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Letter

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Primavera

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Secondo

Chapter Thirty- Contorno

Chapter Thirty-One- Dolce

Chapter Thirty-Two: Digestivo

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Great Red Dragon

Chapter Thirty-Four: And the Woman clothed with the Sun

Chapter Thirty-Five: And the Woman clothed in the Sun

Chapter Thirty-Six: And the Beast from the Sea

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Number of the Beast is 666

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Wrath of the Lamb

Epilogue

HANNIBAL LECTER'S OFFICE - DAY-

Find HANNIBAL smiling as he works on the card. An invitation card. For Jack Crawford. To dinner at Hannibal's house. Hannibal finishes the beautifully-drawn card and looks down upon it.

BAU - JACK CRAWFORD'S OFFICE - DAY-

The invitation sits on Jack's desk. MOVE UP from it to reveal JACK and Will. “Hannibal's invited me to dinner.” Will doesn't answer. Holds Jack's gaze. We are now in his office. He sits opposite Will.

HANNIBAL LECTER'S OFFICE - NIGHT-

“You sit in that chair, as you have so many times before. It holds among its molecules the vibrations of all our conversations ever held in its presence.”

“All the exchanges, the petty irritations, deadly revelations, the flat announcements of disaster.”

“The grunts and poetry of life. It's all still there. Everything we've said. Listen. What do you hear?”

“A melody.”

“We are orchestrations of carbon. You, Y/N and me and that chair.” “And Jack.”

“And Jack. All of our destinies flying and swimming in blood and emptiness.” He smiles.

BAU - JACK CRAWFORD'S OFFICE - DAY-

“Everybody's settling in for dinner.”

“I'll be wearing a wire. I'll have riflemen on rooftops of neighboring houses. Sight lines to all windows.”

“He'll try to kill you in the kitchen, for convenience. Make it easier to prepare the tartare.” Jack stares at Will a moment, "digesting" that. Then: “SWAT team will be on the ground for immediate access to the kitchen, dining room and front door. Can I convince you to wear a vest?”

“He would smell it. Besides, he's not going to shoot either one of us, Jack. He'll cut us.”

GRAHAM/BAILIE HOUSE - NIGHT-

Will walking toward his house which houses the person he calls home. The lights burning, warm and homey.

HANNIBAL LECTER'S OFFICE - NIGHT-

“Little did Agent Crawford know what waited for him when he stepped into my office that very first time. How seldom we recognize the sound when the bolt of fate slides home.”

“Jack won't be easy to kill. He'll be armed. He's strong, well trained. We can't hesitate.”

“Hesitation is a consequence of indecision or uncertainty. I'm not suffering from either. Are you?”

GRAHAM/BAILIE HOUSE - NIGHT-

Y/N enters the room with her heart in hand. Her heart racing. with everything that has happened and that will happen. it feels right to tell Will about our little love. the seed he planted is flowering into something beautiful.

As she walks into the living room. Y/N sees the man she's fallen so deeply in love with. She can't help but think about how handsome and strong he is. His muscles and hair are so inviting to her. Will Graham sits down and looks at his beautiful love. "I made you some Coffee." She said. "Thank you, Honey."

"There is something I want to talk to you about."

"Yes, my love?"

"Well, you know how I haven't been feeling well lately." "Yes."

"And we both wanted a child." "Yes." I take a deep breath. "Well, I took a test. and It turns out that I'm pregnant." Will was stunned. He looked at me with tears of joy forming in his eyes. "We're going to be parents?"

"Yes." He gets up from his chair and goes over to me and kisses me passionately. I kiss him back, wrapping my arms around him. After a minute we break the kiss and stare into each other's eyes.

BAU - JACK CRAWFORD'S OFFICE - DAY-

“Hannibal thinks you're his man in the room. I think you're mine.” Will does not respond.

HANNIBAL as he studies Will.

“When the fox hears the rabbit scream, he comes a-runnin', but not to help. When you hear Jack scream, why will you come running?”

“When the time comes…” “When the time comes…”

“...will you do what needs to be done?” “...will you do what needs to be done?” Each one want a different thing. But all he wants is to keep the woman he loves and the child she carries safe. “Oh, yes.”

GRAHAM/BAILIE HOUSE - NIGHT-

Will walks up to the porch and reacts as if he's about to greet an old acquaintance. And he is. He climbs the steps. The front door swings open revealing Will standing just outside. His DOGS surround the door, not to greet their master, but instead, they BARK and GROWL at him!

Will backs away from his front door as it reveals GARRET JACOB HOBBS standing on the porch, haloed by the porch light, the only warmth in a monochromatic night. “Shhhh.” The VICIOUS BARKING and GROWLING of dogs abruptly fades away. Will looks down -- a HUNTING RIFLE now in his hands. Hobbs moves to the railing of the porch and Will follows him.

Will's house now sits high in a TREE overlooking a FIELD OF SKELETAL TREES resembling ANTLERS. A DEER BLIND. until it reveals the BLACK STAG slowly making its way directly in front of their sights. Garret Jacob Hobbs indicates for Will to look out beyond the porch. He smiles at Will. “See?” Will looks the direction Garret Jacob Hobbs is indicating and raises his rifle, looking through the scope.

FBI - FREDDIE LOUNDS'S DORM ROOM - DAY-

Will Graham and Freddie Lounds. “The correspondents of those august journals who always looked down on me can eat their hearts out. Nothing sells better than a survival story.”

“I wouldn't count us as survivors just yet, Freddie.”

“I'm counting me as a survivor. I started as a cancer editor at a supermarket tabloid. "New Cure for Cancer." "Cancer Miracle Cure."”

“Cancer is very-lucrative media.”

“One in five Americans dies of it. The relatives of all those dying, worn out, prayed out, trying to fight raging carcinoma masses, are desperate for anything hopeful.”

“We're all desperate for a little hope. I want you to do something for me, Freddie, or rather, don't. Don't write about Abigail or Y/N. You can write about me, you can write about Hannibal. But leave Abigail and Y/N alone.” Freddie considers the odd request, studying Will, then: “You really don't know if you're going to survive him, do you?”

“Let her rest in peace. And My family live quietly.”

HANNIBAL LECTER'S OFFICE - NIGHT-

Hannibal smiles down from the second-floor landing. He turns and continues pulling out patient journals. Surrounded by stacks of the journals, Will peruses the one in his hand. He continues to study the patient journal as he crosses to the burning fire. One more moment of consideration, then he tosses it on the licking flames, which wrap around it.

It roasts on the fire, the ENCEPHALITIS CLOCK devoured by flame, leaving CURLING BLACKENED ASH. “Won't your patients need these after you're gone?” Hannibal approaches Will by the fireplace, a handful of leather-bound patient journals in his arms. “The FBI will pore over my notes if I left them intact. I would spare my patients that scrutiny.”

“That's very considerate.”

“I'm dismantling who I was and moving it brick by brick. ive gone from this life, Jack Crawford and the FBI behind us, I will always have this place.”

“In your "memory palace"?”

“My palace is vast, even by medieval standards. The foyer is the Norman chapel in Palermo, severe and beautiful and timeless, with a single reminder of mortality: a skull graven in the floor.”

“All I need is a stream. Or Y/N’s Heartbeat.”

“In those moments, when you can't overcome your surroundings, you can make it all go away.”

“Put my head back, close my eyes, wade into the quiet of the stream.”

“If I'm ever apprehended, my memory palace will serve as more than amnemonic system, I will live there.” Will studies Hannibal a moment, considering his future: “Could you be happy there?” Hannibal reflects on the question, uncertain, but smiles.

“All the palace chambers are not lovely, light and high. In the vaults of our hearts and brains, danger waits. There are holes in the floor of the mind.” As Will turns to pick up more files, Hannibal leans toward him. Hannibal's nostrils FLARE as he inhales.

BAU - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY-

Y/N listens as Alana confesses: “I feel poisoned.” I sigh softly. “We've all been poisoned.”

“Even my memories are suspect. I keep compulsively poring over every moment I've spent with him, struggling to separate the man I know from the man you know.”

“Will doesnt pretend to know him. He just understands him.”

“He saw what no one else could.”

“All it took was the traumatic.”

“Most of the literature on coping with the traumatic focuses on how people deal with the aftermath. We're still in the thick of it.”

“Almost through the worst of it.” I sigh, No matter the end of this, it wont be the end. I’ll still lose someone. Maybe even myself. “How will you get through the rest?” I consider that, then avert My weary eyes. “You'll have to ask Jack.”

“I'm asking you. Jack and Will set some sort of trap and Their goading Hannibal into it.” I look at Alana, his silence an admission. Her eyes begin to well with tears, sad about being left outside to watch some horrible unraveling of events like a bystander. “How can you be sure he's not goading Will?”

“I can't.” I sigh with worry, Cradling my belly. Alana sighs, fearing the worst.

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - DINING ROOM - NIGHT-

a standing pair of RACKS OF LAMB, INTERLACED RIBS, like the hands of prayer or a church's

steeple, to find Hannibal sitting at the head of his table, considering his reflection in the rippling red wine. “Do you know what an imago is, Will?” reveals Will by his side. “It's pulled apart, warmth erupting, extending like wings.”

“It's a flying insect.”

“It's the final stage of a transformation…Maturity.”

“When you become who you will be.”

“It's also a term from the dead religion of psychoanalysis. An imago is an image of a loved oneburied in the unconscious, carried with us all our lives.”

“An ideal.”

“The concept of an ideal always searching for an objective reality to match. I have a concept of you just as you have a concept of me.” Will takes a drink.

“Neither of us ideal.” Hannibal considers that; there was a brief moment that he believed the ideal before he smelled betrayal. Question is….is he the only one that has betrayed him? “We are both too curious about too many things for any ideals. Is it ideal that Jack die?” Will hesitates almost imperceptibly. “It's necessary. What happens to Jack has been preordained.”

“We could disappear now. Tonight. Feed your dogs. Take Y/N. Leave a note for Dr. Bloom, never see her or Jack Crawford again. Almost polite.” Hannibal Smiles at the Thought. A family within the madness of their fantasy. “That'd make this our last supper.” “Of this life. I am serving lamb.”

“Sacrificial? Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”

“I freely claim my sin. I don't need a sacrifice. Do you?”

“I need him to know. If I confessed to Jack Crawford now, you think he would forgive me?”

“I would forgive you. If Jack were to tell you all is forgiven, Will, would you accept his forgiveness?”

“Jack isn't offering forgiveness. He wants justice. He wants to see you. See who you are. See who I've become. Know the truth.” Hannibal takes the moment in, thoughtful, raises a glass: “To the truth, then. And all its consequences.” Hannibal says, tears threatening to brim in his eyes.

FBI ACADEMY - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY-

A group of FBI TACTICAL AGENTS and FORENSICS TECHS are gathered as Jack Crawford is pointing to MARKED SNIPER LOCATIONS on a satellite picture of Hannibal Lecter's neighborhood. BRIAN ZELLER and JIMMY PRICE are to one side. Kade Prurnell has entered with Alana Bloom following a few steps behind.

Jack sees Alana and Kade standing together, sighs, then: “Gentlemen, would you excuse us.” The team gets up and heads out. Zeller and Price at the back. “Not you two. Stay right there.” Zeller and Price stay. After the tactical agents have exited: “Boy, you know how to go out with a bang. This is entrapment, Jack.”

“You can't entrap someone into committing premeditated murder.”

“Yes, you can. You're doing it.” to Zeller and Price “Either of you fabricate evidence?” Zeller is genuinely unsure, “Define "fabricate."”

“Are you asking if we built something or just lied?” ignoring them; to Jack “You conspired to violate Dr. Lecter's property and personal rights. The only one involved in this investigation we can confirm has killed someone is Will Graham. And How do we Know that Dr. L/N isnt involved in any of this?”

“It was self-defense. And Y/N is expecting and has only ever been helpful, and at most times the voice of reason during cases. Me and Will wouldnt put her life and her unborn childs life at risk.”

“You're using yourself as bait.”

“I'm the best bait we have.” Kade takes a breath, focuses. “Hannibal Lecter is being induced to commit murder by an undercover FBI informant. This is outrageous government conduct. Do you realize who will be held responsible?”

“Hannibal will be held responsible.”

“You would never get a conviction.” Jack scoffs and crosses his arms.

“If Hannibal is who we believe him to be, you would've just handed him his Get Out of Jail Free card.”

“You should thank Dr. Bloom. She just saved us all a lot of trouble.”

“Thank you, Dr. Bloom.” Alana holds his gaze. “You're not thinking clearly, Jack.”

“We are as close as we will ever be.”

“You're distracted. I understand your wife is very ill. Pending an enquiry, I'm putting you on forced compassionate leave. Agents will be waiting in your office to relieve you of your badge and gun.”

BAU - JACK CRAWFORD'S OFFICE - DAY-

Jack stands behind the desk. TWO AGENTS wait to escort him out. Kade Prurnell watches the process. All plays MOS. Jack holds her gaze for a second and then walks out, the agents in close attendance behind him.

JACK CRAWFORD'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - LATE AFTERNOON-

Bella, her hands lie across her chest. The room is silent, motes of dust drift through the dimming light of the dying day. Night is coming. Bella's breathing RISES and FALLS...Jack sits in a chair, watching his wife sleep. Rise... Fall… Bella misses a breath. Jack studies her more closely. Bella breathes again, a flutter, and then a full breath. Jack rises and stands over his wife, takes her hand. She doesn't stir, breath continuing to rise and fall. Jack watching Bella sleep...

BAU - JACK CRAWFORD'S OFFICE - DAY-

Kade Prurnell sits behind Jack's desk, going through RANDALL TIER CRIME SCENE PICTURES, SATELLITE PHOTOS of Hannibal's house and various paperwork. She's boggled by it all. Alana Bloom enters the office. Kade looks up from the various pieces of evidence, noticing Alana. “This is staggering.” Alana approaches the desk, thoughtful. “What are you going to do about Hannibal Lecter?”

“What Jack should have done. We froze his passport and we're getting a search warrant.”

“Hannibal already opened his doors to the FBI. There won't be physical evidence. The only way to catch him is in the act.”

“You think we should've just let Jack Crawford hang himself and everyone else in his department.”

“No, but Will and Jack are still your best chance to catch Hannibal.” Kade references the Randall Tier crime scene photos. “The man Will Graham killed in self defense? He was mutilated. Limbs removed. Head severed at the jaw. At a certain point, self-defense stops. Will Graham didn't stop.” Kade tosses the crime scene photos back on the pile. “Jack Crawford sanctioned this. And then he covered it up.”

“I have to believe Will was trying to maintain his cover identity.”

“Reality doesn't go away if you stop believing in it, Dr. Bloom. It's stubborn like that. The reality of this situation is Jack Crawford was misusing the power of his office.”

“They're desperate.”

“They are breaking the law. This is criminal conduct. I have to bring charges against these men.”

“They're not going to stop.”

“That's why they're being brought into custody.”

“Jack knows what you'll find, he knows what you have to do. You have to know that won't stop him from doing what he has to do”

ALANA BLOOM'S CAR - NIGHT-

Alana sits in her car. Pondering what to do. Debating her actions. She pulls out her cell phone --

GRAHAM/BAILIE HOUSE - NIGHT-

The telephone RINGS and Will picks it up. “Hello.”

“It's Alana. Is Jack with you?”

“No. Why?”

“I... I wanted to find some middle ground between believing the world is perfectly safe and terribly dangerous. I was trying to…” Her voice trails off, overwhelmed with emotion. “What did you do?”

“They've issued a warrant for your arrest, Will. For acting as an accessory to entrapment and the murder of Randall Tier. They're going to arrest Jack, too.” LIGHTS and the CRUNCH of gravel draw Will to the window. Two FBI SUVs are pulling into Their driveway. “Good-bye, Alana.”

“Will?” He hangs up. Grabs his coat and gun. “Y/N! Honey we have to Go!”

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT-

Hannibal Looks up as Jack Crawford enters. Hannibal smiles. “Hello, Jack. You're early.” Hannibal never stops chopping. It slices down on the meat. ALL SOUND IS DULLED. What we can hear is the RHYTHMIC BREATHING and HEARTBEAT of Hannibal against the ORGANIC HUM of his CIRCULATORY SYSTEM.

Hannibal turns the block of knives in front of him so the handles are now facing Jack, should he want one. The light reflecting off of his kitchen knife dances briefly across his face. “Would you care to sous-chef?” Jack glances at the knives. “I want to thank you for your friendship, Hannibal.”

“The most-beautiful quality of a true friend is to understand and be understood with absolute clarity.”

“Then this is the truest moment of our friendship.” Jack’s hand drifts toward his coat, brushing his thumb across the fasten of his sidearm holster. Hannibal THROWING HIS KITCHEN KNIFE AT JACK.

Jack Crawford dives out of the way as he draws his gun from his holster and SHLUCK... Hannibal’s KNIFE MOVES THROUGH Jack’s hand at the wrist, his gun clatters to the floor. Hannibal vaults over the kitchen counter as Jack pulls the knife out of his wrist, swinging it immediately. The blade whisks through the air, narrowly missing Hannibal.

He yanks another knife from the cutting board and swings it in a deadly arc. Jack jackknifes his torso to avoid the blade, slashing back at Hannibal with quick swipes. Hannibal deflects Jack’s knife with his own and they dodge, parry and block each other’s blades.

Jack thrusts and slices into Hannibal’s waist, who twists around the knife, knocking it from Jack’s grip. Hannibal lunges his knife at Jack’s belly, meaning to gut him. Jack blocks the knife with a cutting board and then smashes the cutting board into the side of Hannibal’s head, knocking him off balance, but not quite down.

He grabs Hannibal and bodily swings him crashing into the cupboards. Hannibal throws his weight back at Jack, driving him across the kitchen, but not far. Jack is solid. Jack maneuvers his arms around Hannibal’s throat and begins to squeeze a chokehold. Hannibal writhes and kicks, trying to throw Jack off balance, but to no avail.

His eyelids flutter and pinch as he tries to focus and remain conscious. His body goes limp and he slumps in Jack’s arms... just enough for his shoulder to drop and allow his hand to reach a SHARD OF GLASS on the floor.

Hannibal plunges the SHARD OF GLASS into Jack’s neck. He recoils and stumbles back, clutching his neck. Hannibal acts quickly, picking up a butcher knife and turning on Jack. Still clutching his neck, Jack stumbles back into...

Jack falls inside, kicking the door closed on the advancing Hannibal. SLAM. SLAM. SLAM. Hannibal throws his shoulder into the pantry door, Jack’s foot braced against it. SLAM. He throws his shoulder into a braced door. Jack holds his neck wound with one hand as he fumbles for his phone with the other. SLAM. SLAM. SLAM. The door splinters. The terrible focus of a predatory animal.

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - NIGHT-

Alana approaches the front door, hesitating on the walkway. She stops, debating if she should stay or go and what the hell she was doing there in the first place. The RAIN is loud, drowning out all else in the night. She turns and starts to walk away, then stops and turns around again. This time, right up to the door.

Which is slightly ajar. Alana pushes the door open ever so slightly and listens. Straining against the rain outside... then begins to identify the SOUNDS OF STRUGGLE and a SUSTAINED SHOUT from Jack. Alana goes pale, pulls out her phone, dials. She holds the phone with one hand and digs through her bag with the other.

“911. Please state the nature of your emergency.” Alana fishes her gun out of her bag. “I'd like to report gunshots.” Gun drawn, Alana pushes the door open. She hears somethingWUMPF with a RATTLE, followed by a series of SLAM-SLAM-SLAM. “Jack?”

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - NIGHT-

Alana wades through the darkness, toward the slidingdouble doors of the dining room, open not even an inch. CUT RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE by a single SLIVER OF LIGHT, the room falling into darkness around her, gun at the ready.

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT-

SLAM. SLAM. SLAM. The door finally splinters under Hannibal's force. Alana Bloom in the doorway. “Hannibal…” then clearer “Hannibal.” Hannibal stops, turns to see Alana. “Hello, Alana.”

She looks around the broken, bloody room, mounting horror. Hannibal sighs, truly disappointed to see her here. “What a terrible and wonderful thing it is to see you.”

“Where's Jack?”

“In the pantry.” The moment of truth. “I was hoping you and I wouldn't have to say good-bye. I imagined a farewell less sorrowful, less present, an echo. Nothing said nor seen. You may've thought that rude.” He takes a step toward her, her finger tensing on the gun.

“Stop.” He does. “I was so blind.”

“In your defense, I worked very hard to blind you. You can stay blind. You can hide from this. Walk away. I'll make no plans to call on you. But if you stay, I will kill you. Be blind, Alana. Don't be brave.” She pulls the trigger. And the gun CLICKS. She pulls it again and another CLICK. “I took your bullets.” CLICK. CLICK. Alana stares. Frozen. As huge simple terror washes over her. Alana RUNS. Hannibal takes a breath, then gives reluctant pursuit.

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - ENTRANCE HALL/STAIRWAY - NIGHT-

Alana runs through the hallway and starts up a large staircase. down the stairs as Hannibal comes charging behind her. Alana speeds up. But he is faster... As they round a bend in the stairs, he grabs for her. His hand clutches at her ankle. Grasps her shoe. Alana slips, kicks her foot from her shoe and scrabbles on her knees.

KICKS Hannibal hard with the other heel, catching his face and rocking him back. Hannibal smiles. Takes his time now as he follows her. ANGLE DOWN THE STAIRCASE as Alana runs toward us, Hannibal slowly stalking behind.

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - NIGHT-

Alana comes up the stairs, into the hallway. She makes for a bedroom door.

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT-

Alana BURSTS into the dark bedroom and SLAMS the door closed. Turns the key in the lock. Stares at the door. HEART SLAMMING. CIRCULATORY SYSTEM pounding in her ears. She GASPS for breath. She is lit only by MOONLIGHT creeping through the window. Alana thinks quickly. Pulls the spare clip from her bag and ejects the empty one from her gun.

Alana SLAMS the clip into the gun and draws the slide and FIRES TWICE into the door. BANG. BANG. TWO BEAMS OF LIGHT pierce the gloom and hit Alana like laser beams.

“I found more bullets.” A SHADOW moves outside the door, blocking the beams of light for a second, and Alana fires again, making a third.

ALANA -- in profile -- breathing hard, facing the door. Lit by the orange beams of light. Gun at the ready. Aiming down the barrel, just as she was taught. Standoff. And then a figure -- indistinct -- steps from the shadows beside her. Ghostly, long-haired, ethereal...

Alana senses her presence and turns. She instinctively turns the gun to Abigail. Then lowers it. ALANA as so many things register. “Abigail…” Abigail fights tears, on the edge. “I'm so sorry…” And she suddenly SHOVES Alana, propels her backward and PUSHES Alana OUT OF THE WINDOW.

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - NIGHT-

The front of the house, viewed from the street. HEAVY RAIN FALLING. Lights burning golden yellow.

Beyond that PLANE OF FOCUS, a blur of violence inside as Alana comes through the bedroom window, SHATTERING GLASS and SPLINTERING WOOD. Alana continues to sail through the rain, accompanied by a cloud of shattered glass.

Over this, a series of single notes, played on a harpsichord, an incongruous, pretty sound, its pace somehow suiting Alana's beautiful-yet-terrible descent… Alana hits the cement outside with a sickening THWACK and a SHOWER OF BROKEN GLASS She lies broken and unmoving, pelted by rain, staring into middle distance, not breathing.

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - NIGHT-

Will and Y/N run to the corner and Hannibal's house. Guns drawn. He slows as he sees Jack's and Alana's cars outside. And then they see Alana Bloom! Will rushes to her. Drops to his knees. Until... she takes a deep breath, having had the wind knocked out of her from the fall. She tries to speak, urgent and desperate -- blood bubbles over her lips.

“Don't talk. Just breathe…” He pulls off his jacket, rolls it up and places it gently around her head. Y/N pulls her phone from her pocket. Dials. Alana grasps his hand tight. Smearing her blood on him. Will looks around, anguished. The call connects:

“This is Dr. Y/N L/N. I need ERT at Hannibal Lecter's residence.” Y/N holds Alana's gaze. ‘Jack's inside…’

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - CELLAR - NIGHT-

LOW ANGLE in the cellar, lit by cracks of light from the floorboards above. Blood slowly forms HEAVY DROPS along the edge of the boards and then DRIPS down. Follow it back up through the cracks...

Where Jack is lying on the floor, still grasping his neck wound. Blood PULSING past his hands. He is fading. He holds his cell phone. We see it is dialing. But not 911... "Bella" flashes on the display...

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - DINING ROOM - NIGHT-

Will and Y/N step into the dining room. Their movements are slow. So, so tense. They slide toward the kitchen. Eyes darting. Comes round the corner to see...

THE KITCHEN

Lights still on, blood and destruction everywhere. Will looks at the room, the blood smears and the chaos. BLOOD POOLS from beneath the pantry door. They cross to

the pantry door and then stop, realizing Their not alone. Abigail Hobbs stands in the kitchen.

Abigail turns and sees him. Her face is tear streaked. She is agitated, doesn't know what to do.

Will struggles to process her. They stare at one another. Y/N’s heart almost stops. Tears fill them. Will can't begin to understand and yet understands totally… “Abigail...?”

“I didn't know what else to do. So I did what he told me.” Abigail begins to shake, fighting sobs. Y/N goes to comfort her. Enveloping the girl into a tight maternal hug. “Where is he?” Her face suddenly falls. Will has a millisecond to register, and then, before he can react... “Hello, Will.”

I turn around keeping A hold of Abigail. Hannibal is looming behind Will. Arm coming round as if in an embrace, moving swiftly. Will is still in shock about Abigail when Hannibal warmly welcomes him with open arms. “You were supposed to leave.”

“We couldn't leave without you Two.” BLOOD SPRAYS up between them, splashing their faces. Abigail SCREAMS as Will's gun drops to the floor and his hands go to his belly. “No!’ I shout tears spilling from my eyes. Me and Abigail watch in horror as Will staggers and falls against the wall. His gun out of reach. Will looks down --

To see blood SPILLING from a WIDE CUT across his abdomen. His INNARDS straining at the wound. I attempt to go for him but Abigail Grabs my arm. “Abigail let go.” I say fighting against her hold. She just cries “I’m sorry”

“Time has reversed. The teacup I've shattered has come together. A place has been made once more in the world for Abigail. A place was made for all of us. Together. I wanted to surprise you. And you... wanted to surprise me.” Hannibal is heartbroken. Will is shaking, trying to remain conscious and out of shock. I’m still Crying.

“I let you in. I let you know me. I let you see me.” Hannibal says Stroking Will’s hair. “You wanted to be seen.” I never wanted any of this to happen. I Would've left with them if I'd known. Then maybe My friends ...My Will……The father of our child….wouldn't be bleeding out on the floor.

“By both of you. A rare gift I've given you. But you didn't want it.” Will isn't so definitive. “Didn't We?”

“You would deny me my life.”

“Not your life.”

“My freedom, then. You'd take that from me. Confine me to a basement cell. Do you believe you could change me the way I've changed you?”

“We already have.” Hannibal studies Will a moment, realizing he's right. “Fate and circumstance has returned us to the moment the teacup shatters. I forgive you, Will.” Hannibal stands next to a terrified Abigail who realizes she's made a bargain with the devil. Abigail lets go of me and goes to Hannibal. “Will you forgive me?” Hannibal is genuinely sad. Will has time for a single, shocked: “Don't…”

And Hannibal CUTS ABIGAIL'S THROAT in a single, sleek motion, right across the scar where her father once did the same. Abigail's face shows shock and horror. And then blood SPRAYS and Abigail crumples to the floor before Will. “No!” I attempt to get to her but Hannibal Grabs me by my waist. I Cry out like a mother would for her child. “No…no..” I cry.

Abigail clutches at her throat to stop the bleeding, but it pours from between her fingers. Will is horrified. “You can make it all go away.”

“Put your head back. Close your eyes. Wade into the quiet of the stream.”

Will drags himself to Abigail and takes his hands from his own terrible wound and places them against her throat. Trying to stem the flow of bleeding. A bloody Will pulls Abigail to him, lifting her head higher to try to stem the blood flow. His own wound TEARS and he SCREAMS in pain… And then it is too much and Will collapses backward to the floor. His own face is inches from Abigail's. She looks at him.

Hannibal Turns me to face him. I look broken. Tears falling. “Please…I'm pregnant…” Hannibal shushes me as he strokes my face. “I could never hurt you…..not now not ever….not even in the midst of this failed plan to capture me.” He strokes my belly gently and Kisses my forehead and my tear stained cheeks. “I’m sorry Y/N.”

We hold a look and then Hannibal disappears into the darkness, I scramble to Will. Cradling his head in my lap, I put pressure on his wound. “Its gonna be okay, you have to be okay”

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - NIGHT-

SIRENS WAIL in the night, coming closer. ALANA BLOOM -- lies on the ground outside, breathing in shallow gasps, eyes staring upward. Hannibal, now in an overcoat and carrying a valise, STEPS OVER her and keeps walking. Alana's faint breath mists the air... the puffs coming slower and slower.

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - PANTRY - NIGHT-

JACK CRAWFORD -- eyes struggling to stay open. Still. Slow, weak breaths. The phone RINGS one last time in his hand and then CLICKS. “Hello...? Jack...?” Jack's eyes flutter and close...

STREET - NIGHT-

Hannibal walks away with his valise as FLASHING LIGHTS and SIRENS invade the street behind him.

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT-

“You're moving smoothly and slowly, Jack, carrying your concentration like a brimming cup.” Will says as Jack approaches his cell. "Hannibal Lecter, And Y/N were almost murdered by an employee of this hospital. An attendant we believe killed the bailiff and judge in your trial." Jack says with a cold tone. "He killed the bailiff. He didn't kill the judge. That was the Chesapeake Ripper." Will says standing when jack comes into view. "You know this?"

"He told me."

"And then you told him to kill Hannibal Lecter and Y/N. "

“Wait did you just say Y/N? Nothing I said made that happen, Jack. It just happened. Is Y/N okay? Please tell me she's okay Jack.” Will says panicked about his Girlfriend. Does she think he had her killed? Are her Injuries life changing?

“Y/N is okay. Few deep cuts and lacerations. Some blunt force trauma. But overall she’s out of the hospital and stable. But you dont seem as broken up about Hannibal as you do for Y/N.” Jack says as he watches the curly haired man panic. 

“There is a common emotion we all recognize and have not yet named. The happy anticipation of being able to feel contempt. I love Y/N. I would never. Wish her harm.” Will says seriously. “You have contempt for Hannibal.” Jack says, its no a question its a statement. “I have contempt for the Ripper. I have contempt for what he does.” Will says as he starts to pace. 

“What does he do, Will?” Jack asks, curious to what the man will say. “What does he do? What is the first and principal thing he does? What need does he serve by killing?” Will says with a chuckle, not a funny chuckle, but one of irony.

“He harvests organs.” Jack says confused. 

“No. That's only the action of what he does. Why does he need to do? The Ripper kills in sounders of three or four, in quick order.  Do you know why? I know why. Y/N certainly knows as well.” Will is confident in his thinking because it's the only option. 

“Tell me.” “Because if he waits too long, then the meat spoils.” Will says as he steps closer to the bars. “He's eating them? Hannibal Lecter is Garret Jacob Hobbs? A cannibal?” Jack says, its almost humorous. Comparing Hannibal to Garret Jacob Hobbs. Its comical. Its like comparing a Lion to a leopard. One hunts for fun while the other Hunts to eat. And the eating is just the dessert for Hannibal. The main course was the hunt.

“Not like Garret Jacob Hobbs. Hobbs ate his victims to honor them. The Ripper eats his victims because they're no better to him than pigs.” Will says, oh how he wished to be at home with His dogs and Y/N. Hannibal would most likely try to turn her against him. But Will knows that would never happen. Y/N is a lot smarter than she looks, she always has a plan. Always thinking. “With the exception of Beverly Katz, there's no connection between Hannibal and any Ripper victims.” Jack says, “No immediate connection. He likely identifies his meals years in advance, earmarks them, then waits with the patience of a python.” Jack looks at Will in frustration.

“Hannibal Lecter is not the Chesapeake Ripper.”

“Who else do you know with unusual culinary tastes? If the Ripper's killing, you can bet Hannibal Lecter's planning a dinner party. You and I probably sipped wine while swallowing the people we were trying to give justice, Jack. Who does he have to kill before you'll open your eyes?” Will says, but we all know who. 

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT-

Y/N watches Hannibal cut the heart into morsels for the skewers. We can see the bandages on his arms as he cuts. He scrapes pieces of meat into a bowl of marinade, one by one.

“Funny how we revere and romanticize a simple pump. Merely a muscle. Yet such a potent symbol of life and the things that make us human, good and bad. Love and ache.” Hannibal says as I take the pieces of heart meat from the marinade and skewers them with pieces of vegetables between each morsel. The bandages around our arms bind us together in our experience. “All of them skewered.”  I say, the irony honestly.

“It's a thematic dish. My heart certainly feels skewered.” Hannibal says as he turns to me.

“You have the scars to prove it.” I say as I touch the marks on Hannibal's neck where he was hanged. As he grips my Forearm softly, careful not to hurt me. He admires the bandages that cover my sutured arms. “So do you, I feel as though that noose were still around my neck. It's strange to have nightmares. Never used to.” He says as he grazes my hand with his thumb. The nightmares. Mine are different from his. I killed a man. Yes, he wouldve killed me and Hannibal but its different. Its been so long since i shot someone. Almost 12 years since I Killed, Took my first life.

“Don't make the mistake I've made.” I say softly, “Which is?”

“Being your own psychiatrist. I'm always psychoanaylzing myself. Its always one step forward and three steps back.” I say as i stare at our matching wrappings. “It's the safest course. I'm metabolizing the experience by composing a new piece of music.” He says as he sighs. 

“Harpsichord or theremin?” I ask politely,  “Harpsichord. Stravinsky said, "A true composer thinks about his unfinished work the whole time; he's not always conscious of this, but he's aware of it when he suddenly knows what to do." Hannibal says fondly, “Do you know what to do?”

“I need to get my appetite back.” He smiles at her and raises his glass. Sips red wine.

PARKING LOT - DAY-

the man-tree on the horizon, asphalt stretching toward. a PD CRUISER, then another, an AMBULANCE and then an FBI CRIME SCENE VAN. An ever-increasing cordon of flashing lights and POLICE OFFICERS. Finally, a BLACK SUV rolls in.

Jack takes in the scene. Looks at the tortured figure built into the tree, his frozen scream. JIMMY PRICE and BRIAN ZELLER are starting to assess the tableau. They talk. Jack just stares. “He's been literally grafted in place -- these are living roots.” Jimmy says in awe of the Rippers artistry. “He's got varicose vines. Threaded through from his heels, under his legs, his back, through his torso and out his fingertips. Followed some pretty tricky endoscopic surgical paths.” Zeller points out. 

“Chesapeake Ripper usually cherry- picks his organs. He took every last one. Except for the lungs.” Jimmy says as he hears a car pull up, A black SUV.  “Stocking his shelves.” Zeller says turning his head to look at the car.

“There'll be something about the lungs. Why else leave them?” Jack says as he  steps forward and looks at the corpse. The artfully-arranged flowers. It offends him. “The time he devotes to what he does. He takes real pride. Belladonna for the heart, a chain of white oleander for the intestines, ragwort for the liver.”

“The flowers are all poisonous.” I say stepping on scene. The looks i get are ones of surprise. “This is judgment. Ripper believes his victim was toxic. A poisonous man. Who is he to moralize?” I continue, It feels weird to be back so soon but I have lives to save. I watch as Jack stares at the body like it speaks just to him.

“He's the eye of a storm. Working in a place of calm while the winds blow us all over. He's so damn certain, it makes me sick.” Jack says as he turns to me, I give him a soft smile. I know hes been through a lot lately.

BAU - MORGUE - DAY-

Standing on a foot ladder, Brian Zeller runs a small CHAINSAW through the branches rising out of the Tree Man's head.  Y/N L/N, Jack Crawford, and Jimmy Price  All wearing PROTECTIVE EYEWEAR, speaking over the chainsaw BUZZ. “His name is Sheldon Isley. Baltimore city councilman.” Jimmy says as Zeller ceases chainsawing to add: “Ripper's a politician now.”

“At least a conservationist. Five, six years ago, Isley brokered a woodlands development deal despite the disapproval of the EPA.” Jimmy says, he himself is a conservationist. “Councilman Isley paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” Jack shrugs. “What he paved was an important nesting habitat for endangered songbirds. The son of a bitch.” Jimmy says as we watch  Zeller reach into the branches and pulls out a nest.

“Autopsy gave us what you'd expect from the Chesapeake Ripper. Pre-mortem surgical dissection, latex glove impressions, body posed before rigor set in.” Zeller says, and I nod, the veins in the legs clearly well- at least to me. Point out the cause of death. Drowning. “What have those lungs coughed up?”

“Water. Councilman drowned. Lungs are filled with aspirated water.” Zeller points out the Tree Man's legs. I smirk internally, still got it. Today I’m alone on this case, well besides jack. “He was standing in water up to his thighs for forty-eight to seventy-two hours prior to his death.”

“To feed the tree?”

“It's possible.” Zeller says as Price guides Jack to a microscope with a video feed. “Here's the exciting part. Tree Man actually bears fruit.” A PLASMA SCREEN: Curious, geometric single-cell creatures flick back and forth. “Diatoms. Unicellular colonies. Good as fingerprints. No two water sources have the same diatom population.”

“The water in his lungs gives us a location of death. Show me.” A map of Virginia. “Fifty-mile radius -- here.” He traces a circle in the Virginia woods. Jack stares at it, contemplating his next move.

BSHCI - WILL GRAHAM'S CELL - DAY-

“You understand the reality of Beverly Katz's death. You understand your role in that.” Hannibal asks the emotionless Will. “What was my role?” Will tilts his head in question. “Beverly died at your behest. You're as angry with yourself as you are with whoever murdered her.” Hannibal claims.

“Actually, I'm not. I'm singularly angry at whoever murdered her.” Will says confidently.  “You tried to kill me, Will. It's hard not to take that personally. However, if I were Beverly's murderer, I'd applaud your effort.” Hannibal says, He knows how to hurt Will. He wont hurt someone per say but it will Anger Will. “I'm no more guilty of what you've accused me of than you are of what I have accused you of.” Will says Defiantly.

“Jack Crawford believes you were responsible.” Hannibal says almost in a reasoning sense. “Where does responsibility begin and end, Dr. Lecter? With a final act or the events that led to it?” Will asks with a raised brow. “I don't expect you to feel self-loathing or regret or shame. You knew what you were doing and you made your own decisions. Decisions that were under your control. And they got someone you love Hurt. “ Hannibal says in a darker tone. 

“You think I'm in control? I would never Hurt Y/N. Not Intentionally.”

“I think you're more in control now than you've ever been. You found a way to hurt me, Will. I wonder how many more people are going to be hurt by what you do.”

“I'll give Y/N your best.” It's a veiled threat and they both know it. “Good-bye, Will” He turns his Back to Will, not amused...

BAU - MORGUE - DAY-

TECHNICIANS wheel a sheet-covered body into the morgue where Tree Man now lies on a gurney.

Another gurney is wheeled into the swiftly-filling space. Zeller and Price waiting to receive it.

Jack Crawford watching this escalation of bodies through the glass.

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT-

The STRING QUARTET plays Mozart's "Dissonance" as a party is in full swing with well-heeled GUESTS. Four SERVERS emerge from the dining room, one then the other coming INTO FOCUS as they pass through FRAME, like dancers in a chorus line, and head into the room. The servers spread through the crowd with platters thatguests turn to take food from, creating a swirl of movement through the room.

 amidst the crowd and through them. As servers move on and two guests turn to chat, they

reveal Jack Crawford, newly arrived. Jack surveys the room.Hands take morsels of food from the servers' trays and pop them into their mouths. Teeth bite and gnash. Jack watches as they chew and swallow -- going SLO-MO as they chew and then back to NORMAL SPEED for the swallow.

He can see Hannibal talking to two guests. Y/N is nearby. She’s talking to Alana.  Alana takes an hors d'oeuvre from a passing tray, a morsel of meat on a pick, and eats it.

Dr. Chilton approaches and saddles up alongside Jack, eyeing the hors d'oeuvres as they move through the room. “Prosciutto roses. Heart tartare. Beef roulade. Needless to say, I won't be eating the food.” Chilton says uneased with the dishes. “Dr. Chilton.”

“Hannibal the Cannibal. That's what they'll call him, you know.” Chilton says amused. 

“Not according to Abel Gideon.” Jack says weery. “Gideon's caused me enough trouble today. The fact that he lied to you makes me even more certain he was telling Will Graham the truth.” Chilton eyes the roast pig's head on the buffet table. “Why did you come here tonight if you're so convinced?” Jack says 

“Darwinism. I don't want him to think I suspect anything. Keeping my mouth shut on the whole affair.” Chilton says as Jack watches Hannibal. The server returns with a Tupperware

with a lid. Jack takes it in his hands. “Help yourself.” Jack takes a latex glove from his pocket and uses it to place food into the Tupperware. Hannibal glances across the room to see Dr. Chilton watching the exchange curiously. As Jack seals the container, Hannibal smiles sadly.

“Eat it soon or it'll spoil.”

BAU - CORRIDOR - NIGHT-

Jack holds the food container as he greets Brian Zeller and Jimmy Price who are emerging from evidence processing. “Test this.” A DISTINCTIVE NOTE of a harpsichord punctuates the exchange.

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT-

The room has been tidied, but evidence of the party remains. Y/N sits at Hannibal's harpsichord, doubling the KEYS she's playing until it becomes clear she's performing a slow, dreamy version of "The Swan." Hannibal slides next to her. She smiles and he watches her for a moment, then starts playing his composition at the opposite end of the keyboard.

“The ending to my composition has been alluding me. You may have solved my problem with "The Swan."” They smile as they play, hands crossing over the keys, pushing their shoulders together.

“If only all problems could be solved with a simple waltz. Jack's treating you like a suspect.

He's pointing fingers in the dark.” I say, I wish i was scared of what i knew Hannibal was capable of. I know what he is and who he is. “I've walked away from Will, but I'm still trailing his accusations.” Hannibal says.

“I cant walk away. No matter how much I wish I wanted to. He’s my partner.” I say softly as my fingers grace the keys. “What does walking away leave us?” 

“Each other.” Hannibal looks at Y/N, admiring her, appreciating her. Y/N turns to face Hannibal. He feels her gaze and turns to her, their hands stilled on the keys. His hand reaches up and grazes her cheek softly, she leans into his touch. He kisses her softly, leaving her room to pull away. And pull away she did.

“This- This is wrong.” I say softly, though my body says otherwise. My hands rest on his chest. “What is so wrong about ones affection for another.” Hannibal says as he cups my face in his hands. “I’m with Will…” I say as I close my eyes. “Will needs to learn how to share.” He smirks. And Kisses me. One of his hands trail down to hold my waist. As my hands slide up to his hair. 

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT- We stumble into the Bedroom, Hands clawing at each others clothing. Desperate to be relieved of them. He kicks the door behind us closed. I smile into our lustful bliss, He leads us to the bed without his lips ever leaving my skin. His touch scourches my soul, leaving handprints that shall never leave my being.

He pushes me down onto the bed. He’s in control. He possesses my body, mind, and soul in this very moment. I'm afraid he'll never release me. I sit up, my hands going to the buttons on his dress shirt. His lips leave a trail of bruising marks on my neck. His hands unzip my backless dress. I kick off my heels that should've been discarded earlier. The straps of my dress fall down my shoulders.

Hannibal’s dress shirt, suit jacket, and vest have been discarded to the floor by now, leaving him in his belt, pants, and what's underneath. He pulls the straps of my dress to reveal the skin beneath. I quickly go to cover myself, but he grabs my wrists gently but tight enough to stop me.

Hannibal gazes down upon my body, my dress now joining my heels on the floor. I advert his burning Gaze. “Perfect, you are a masterpiece dear. A Living piece of Art” He says as he takes both of my wrists into one of his hands, the other lifts my chin to meet his Gaze. I flush red, feeling the heat in my cheeks and the pooling in my panties. Glad i'm wearing lace. He unpins my hair from its style, my curls fall framing my face. I bite my lip, he pulls it free with his thumb and kisses me hungrily. I moan into the kiss, Hannibal takes the opportunity to bite my lip drawing Blood from it. I gasp and look up at the much older man, He smirks and strokes my cheek. My hands go to his belt, my eyes never leave his. One of Hannibal’s hands trails down my body, coaxing shivers from my body. His fingers dip into my panties, my Breathing hitches. “So wet. Does Will ever make you this wet?” He asks darkly, I nod softly. There had been a few occasions where Will had Aroused me to this extent. 

He looks at me like I'm Prey. Like he could eat me alive. And let's be honest, He probably could. He pushes me down, and Tears my panties off me swiftly. I gasp as he spreads my legs and kneels before me. The sight of it makes me somehow wetter.

Its like the Devil kneeling before an Angel. I lean onto my elbows to watch as he kisses up my legs, my head falls back as he softly blows on my heat. I softly Whimper. He litters my inner thighs with kisses and hickeys. Then finally he brings his mouth to where i need it most.

Hannibal's tongue licks a stripe up my pussy. He groans at the taste; “You taste Divine.” He smirks and then attaches his mouth to my cunt, drinking me in. My hand tangles in his hair as the other grips the comforter tightly.  “Fuck…” I moan out the profanity, I feel him smirk against my heat. He grips my thigh with one hand as the other trails its fingers along my entrance. He pushes two long fingers into me, causing me to buck and moan out other unintelligible profanities and words of praise. 

He hikes my leg over his shoulder, my hand tangled in his hair softly tugs him closer. Im a moaning mess, He sets the pace with his fingers and curls them, expertly hittling my g-spot as he attaches his lips to my clit. 

“Oh Fuck! Hannibal.” I moan loudly, Alerting him that he found it.  If he had neighbors they'd surely hear me. I quickly feel the familiar burn of an oncoming orgasm, my pussy clenches around his fingers and he pulls way causing me to let out a pathetic whimper.

“Not yet Butterfly.” He says softly as he removes my leg from his shoulder. He leans over me and Kisses me softly, I moan softly at the taste of myself on his lips and tongue. I Kiss along his jaw and down his neck. Politely not leaving any marks. My hands unbutton his pants and i bite my lip. I knew it wasn't right. I Love Will. But there's just something about Hannibal that coaxes the dark and dangerous part of me out. 

I flip us over and straddle his thighs as he watches me with a dark smile. I kiss up his stomach, abs and chest, until I reached his lips. He grips my waist and kept me pressed to him in our passionate kiss. Until i pulled away. I tugged at his pants and he allowed me to take them off. I hear him chuckle darkly.

“What?” i ask innocently, I look up at him softly. He cups my cheek and his thumb strokes my cheek bone. “Such a good Girl.” He praises, I whimper at said praise. I focus on my task at hand. I look back up at him silently asking permission. My hands needy, grasping at his boxers. He shakes his head with a smile as he strokes my cheek. My eyebrows furrow confused. “Not tonight Butterfly.” He flips us back over. Hannibal chuckles. He strokes my hair and kisses me. I relax and sigh into the kiss. His hands explore my body, mapping out the soft skin. My arms wrap around his neck, and pull him closer. He kisses along my neck, his tongue tasting the salt on my skin. He pulls back and admires the work he has done on my neck. I reach up and brush the hair from his face. Hannibal looks back up at me and kisses me passionately. I wrap my legs around his waist, grinding up on his bulge, desperate for friction.

Hannibal moans at the action and pulls back to look at me. My face flushed. I bite my lip as he strokes my hair and tucks it behind my ear. I grind up again and he kisses me roughly.

His hands pin mine above my head, he grips them both with one hand. He lines himself up with my entrance. I moan and whimper, wanting nothing more than for him to be inside me. His other hand holds my hip, his thumb strokes the skin there. I feel his tip tease my entrance, I let out a pathetic whine. He looks into my eyes and then slides into me. We both moan, and he lets out a low growl. He bottoms out inside of me and I gasp. My back arches and my eyes roll back.

My hands grip the pillow, Hannibal releases his grip on them. He leans down and kisses me softly as he pulls back and slowly thrusts back in. I moan into the kiss and my nails drag across his scalp, making him growl into the kiss. His hands hold onto my hips tightly, I know they'll leave a mark. He thrusts into me at a slow pace, letting me feel every inch of him. He groans and moans, I love the sounds he makes.

His thrusts start getting rougher, more animalistic. My legs wrap around his waist and my heels dig into his lower back, pushing him further into me. The sound of our skin slapping is music to my ears, and i know that I can't hold back anymore.

I gasp and moan. I claw at his back, and he buries his face in the crook of my neck. His breath is hot against my skin, his teeth scrape my skin and I whimper. Hannibal thrusts harder and faster, hitting deeper with every thrust. I cry out as the all too familiar burn starts to form, my toes curl. Hannibal groans, his cock twitches inside me. I can tell he's getting close, too. His pace gets more erratic and less rhythmic.

He bites my shoulder, marking me. Claiming me as his. I scream out, the pain and pleasure overwhelming my senses. I feel him cum inside me, hot and sticky. The sensation of it sends me over the edge, my orgasm hits and i cum on his cock. We ride out our orgasms together, he slows his pace and kisses along my neck. He releases the skin of my shoulder from his teeth. He licks the blood and cleans the wound.

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT-

Her skin is in stark contrast to the crimson bedding. Hannibal sleeps soundly next to Y/N. After a moment, he opens his eyes. He watches Y/N. He finally stands. He takes Y/N's wineglass from the bedside table. With a white cloth, he wipes the rim, then sets the glass back down. He snaps his fingers close to her ears; she doesn't stir. He looks again at Y/N’s sleeping, then leaves.

HOSPITAL - DR. GIDEON'S ROOM - NIGHT-

l he lies propped up in a hospital bed, curtains drawn all around on an oval frame. His face is bruised. IV drips and monitoring are hooked up to his body. A THICK BANDAGE around his TORSO. We HEAR the door to the room open and then slowly close. Gideon's eyes open as FOOTSTEPS squeak on the floor. He sees a tall SHADOW behind the CURTAINS as it approaches.He watches as the shadow moves toward the foot of the bed. SLOW and TENSE. The curtains are drawn back and a tall figure in surgical scrubs, gloves and a MASK stands before him. He pulls down his mask to reveal Hannibal Lecter. “Hello, Dr. Gideon.”

“I knew you'd come.” Hannibal smiles at Gideon.

HOSPITAL - DR. GIDEON'S ROOM - DAWN-

Early morning light begins to creep through the windows.the curtains surrounding Gideon's bed, a GHOULISH SILHOUETTE hangs beyond them. A FLASH ignites behind the curtain, the silhouettes of TWO MEN examining the body. Jack Crawford as he approaches. He opens

the curtains to find Brian Zeller taking forensic photos of the body as Jimmy Price dusts for fingerprints.

THE BODY It seems to be floating on his belly, horizontally suspended two feet above the bed. His skin is pinched/stretched/pulled many different directions by WIRE FISHING LEADERS. Each line ends in a handcrafted HOOK -- the barb pushed through the skin of the dead man's back, arms and legs. But that dead man is not Abel Gideon. Instead, it is a BALTIMORE POLICE OFFICER, his gun belt still around the waist of his uniform pants. His torso is BARE and opened, the skin held back in flaps attached by fishhooks. The contents of his abdomen on the bed below, his badge sits on top. The finger clip from the MONITORS is attached to his hand. “Put a heart monitor on the guard so no one'd know Gideon was missing, least for as long as it took the guard to die, which wasn't long.” Zeller says.

“Long enough.” Jimmy indicates the dead police officer. “Fishhooks. Hand-tied flies. Like the ones Will Graham used to make. This one has human hair. A tooth.” Jimmy says as he indicates the parts in the flybaits. “There's no way Gideon could have done any of this with his injuries, much less get out of bed.” Zeller clarifies.

“Last time Gideon escaped custody, he was trying to find the Chesapeake Ripper. Found him all right. And tonight, the Ripper found Gideon.”

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - EARLY MORNING-

Y/N asleep in Hannibal's bed. She stirs slightly and slowly opens her eyes. Hannibal sleeps quietly next to me. I stare peacefully at the ceiling, the morning after sleeping with a friend. What the Hell have I done?  As I begin to think too much, I realize Hannibal has opened his eyes and is watching me.

“You're awake.” I say with a soft sigh and a smile. “So are you.”

“Was thinking about What we did. How I betrayed Will. My heart is torn. And I don't know why.” I say softly as my smile starts to drop. He Caresses my cheek and brushes away a stray hair in my face.  “Of course your heart is torn. You love Will. But you also care for me as well.” 

“But I feel that is unfair. Not to me but to the both of you.” I say softly  “It isn't unfair, I know how to share. And I'm certain Will does too.” He kisses me, then stops and looks at me reassuringly: I kiss him back. BING-BONG. The doorbell rings. BING-BONG.  “Last time someone rang my doorbell this early, it was a census taker.” He goes in to kiss me again before BING-BONG and begrudgingly Hannibal rises from the bed, shrugs on a robe. Hannibal goes to the curtains and draws them -- revealing the morning sun and allowing it to spill into the room.

“I'll see who it is.”

HANNIBAL LECTER'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER-

three loud RAPS on a heavy oak door. The peephole goes dark, then -- Hannibal opens the door to find Jack Crawford standing outside.

“Hello, Jack.” Hannibal says as he  leads Jack into the living room. “What can I do for you?”

“Gideon took a fall down a stairwell last night. Was hospitalized. Security guard standing watch was killed in what looks to be another Chesapeake Ripper murder. Now Gideon is nowhere to be found.” Jack explains and looks at him expectantly.

“He escaped?”

“We know he didn't walk out of the hospital. His back was broken. Someone took him. Someone he knew. Where were you last night?”

Hannibal Hesitates “I was Here.”

“All night?”

“Yes.”

“Anyone besides you can verify that?” Hannibal's quiet a moment. Then, from behind Jack: “I can.” I say wrapped in one of Hannibal's Button-ups, it goes down to my mid-thigh. Jack turns. He flashes surprise, but tamps it quickly.

“I was here with Hannibal all night, Jack. What are you accusing him of?” I ask as Hannibal reads Jack's frustration and perhaps relief. But there's a chance he woke up. Why the Hell am i not upset that i most likely Fucked the Chesapeake Ripper. “I'm not accusing him of anything. Only asking his whereabouts.”

“That's not all you were asking.” Jack looks evenly at them, nods, forced to accept that

Hannibal isn't the Chesapeake Ripper...

BAU - EVIDENCE PROCESSING - DAY-

Brian Zeller stands in front of a monitor. Jimmy Price and Jack Crawford look on. “Not cows. Wagyu beef. I'd say, a hundred dollars worth right there.”

“Sure it wasn't Kobe?” Zeller asks his fellow tech. Jimmy rolls his eyes: “All Kobe is Wagyu, but not all Wagyu is Kobe. Least we know Dr. Lecter wasn't serving up people.”

“Want people? The Chesapeake Ripper was tying flies with them. Just like Will Graham allegedly did.”

BAU - MORGUE - MOMENTS LATER-

Brian Zeller, Jimmy Price and Jack standing over a row of FISHING LURES taken from the security guard's back.

“Hair woven into the monofilament is Beverly's. Bone fragments from Miriam Lass. Veining from Sheldon Isley. Optic nerves and arteries from Judge Davies. A toenail from James Gray, our Muralist.” Zeller points to the DNA matches. A fly hook. Cleverly crafted, with bits of dark, organic material woven into the monofilament. A bone fragment. Veining coiled around hook and feather. An optic nerve entwined with bark.

“All Chesapeake Ripper victims.” Zeller says as Jimmy indicates four lures, in partial stages of

deconstruction, in individual grids. “These four lures here are almost identical to the ones we found at Will's house, made with materials from the exact same human remains. Abigail Hobbs, Marissa Schuur, Donald Sutcliffe, Georgia Madchen.” Jimmy points out.

“Will didn't kill any of them. There was no Copycat. It was always the Ripper. He's finally taking credit for those murders.” Jack realizes Will never killed anyone other than Garret Jacob Hobbs.

“May be taking too much credit. We found something else in the lures.” With tweezers, Jimmy plucks a curled, wispy wood shaving from one of the deconstructed fly grids.

“Madrona bark. It's a tree almost nonexistent on the East Coast. But this bark was peeled recently.”

Zeller gestures to the map of the area. “There's a small stand of madrona in Virginia.”

“Inside your diatom search area.” Zeller zooms in with his hand, à la an iPad. “Here.”

VIRGINIA BARN - NIGHT-

Moonlight on crisp white snow. The hulking black shadow of a heavily-built wooden barn stands stark against the white. we hear the low rumble of a car engine, to find a black sedan pulling up on the opposite side of the barn. JACK CRAWFORD and  DR. Y/N L/N Exit the car. Takes in the barn; the two heavy gate doors barred on the outside. Jack pulls out his gun and a Maglite and walks toward it, his feet crunching on the snow. Their breath frosts the air. Jack walks up the wooden ramp to the heavy doors.

Blackness, except for slivers of faint moonlight shining through the wooden beams. We hear the sound of the heavy bar eing thrown. And then the door opens and a piercing FLASHLIGHT BEAM.. Jack and Y/N silhouetted behind it as he enters the barn slowly. He plays the flashlight around the space, cautious. Tense.

.

Cobwebs and old wood. Heavy old machinery and hand tools. Dust in the air. A SKITTERING SOUND and Jack swings the light and gun -- catching a RAT scurrying for cover... Jack  and Y/N move on. Something shines in the beam and Jack moves toward it. A new steel padlock on an old door. Incongruous. Y/N looks around to be cautious of her surroundings.

A rending sound of wood and metal. A door opens to reveal a flight of wooden stairs, looking up

at Jack and Y/N.

 Y/N throws down the iron bar she used to force the lock. Jack Shines his light right at the bottom as they start down the stairs -- Jack moves down the wooden stairs, gun and flashlight before him. Y/N shines her own light to reveal a dark, low cellar space, the concrete floor dominated by the tops of two circular WATER CISTERNS.

Jack and Y/N scan the room, Their flashlight beams our only light source, casting harsh shadows and movements. Jack checks the room for danger -- light reflecting off dirt-smeared windows in the far wall; blackness reflecting back from the other side.

MOVEMENT Y/N stills as she hears it. Heart thumping. A scraping sound. BELOW HER…She moves to the cisterns, the old stone topped with much newer METAL LIDS. she pulls the first one off -- flashes the light into it – dark water rises a third of the way up the steep slick sides.