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Title: An Easy Victim
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1drabble
Prompt: 28, Notebook
Author's Note: Sequel to "Access Denied."
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Hannibal Lecter or Will Graham, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

"I suppose you could be right about this, Will."

Hannibal's brow furrowed in thought, and Will had to hold back a sigh. Of course he was right. There was really no other explanation was there?

Who else but the Chesapeake Ripper would want to harm him, get him out of the way? He was the man who was after the Ripper, the one who had the best chance of putting that monster behind bars. So of course his nemesis would want to make sure that he was out of commission.

It seemed like the perfect answer to all of his questions, the only one that really fit. But Will could tell that Hannibal had questions of his own.

He was jotting something down in his notebook.

"What are you writing?" he wanted to know, resisting the urge to reach for the notebook, to see whatever the other man had thought important enough to write down.

Hannibal shook his head, shrugging slightly. "Just jotting down your theory that it is the Chesapeake Ripper who has attacked you. It could very well be the correct thought, Will. If you think about it, he is the person who would most benefit from having you out of the picture."

Will nodded, leaning forward, eager to share his thoughts.

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Hannibal. I really don't think it could be anybody else. It's certainly not some random person. Not with an attack this centered on me."

"I believe that you are correct there, as well." Hannibal paused for a moment, as though collecting his thoughts. "If it was a random person, then others would have been attacked. But this person waited until you were sleepwalking, and came after you at a very vulnerable moment."

Those words sent a chill down Will's spine.

The exhilaration of having discovered -- well, at least he thought he might have done that -- who his attacker was had paled under the light of scrutiny.

If it was the Chesapeake Ripper who had attacked him so brutally -- and he was nearly positive that it was -- then it stood to reason that he would be attacked again, the next time he was sleepwalking. And he had no idea when that would happen -- or if he'd be protected.

The next time, Winston might not be there with him.

He would be an easy target. An easy victim. There was really no way for him to be sure that he would be lucky enough to come out of the next encounter alive.

Hannibal was writing in his notebook again, but this time, Will had no desire to see what the words were. He was fairly sure that he could guess.

Hannibal was questioning if he would come out of this intact.

And at this point, he was doing the same thing. Something told him that the odds weren't going to be on his side, and that he would need all the luck in the world to survive.

***