Hannibal and Jono's house, Thursday

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal had been planning on his own meal, but that had been assuming that Jono would be out of the house.

He frowned slightly and checked the clock. "Weren't you going to open the Boards today?"



[OOC: For the other who lives here, and the particulars of their discussion are SO NFB!]

Comments

[sharp_as_knives]

"Your way," Hannibal agreed. "I'm not arguing, only clarifying."

He grinned. "And if you're still feeling more physically unchallenged afterward, we can drop by a less challenging and more directly threatening item on my list."

He was being helpful here.

[furnaceface]

That seemed... like a workable compromise. With men like this, who were playing the long game themselves, Jono liked to play it right back. Unless they became an immediate danger to somebody, in which case it was the quick kill, and burn everything down on the way out.

Jono had made a lot of quick kills over the years, between keeping Karla safe and the hits that Weapon X had him doing. His own way involved a bit more soul-searching on the part of the people who had given him cause to get up and take notice.

Incidentally, it was possibly even more cruel than the quick death.

//Works for me,// he decided, nodding. //Let me know everything you have on this man. I want to get into his head before we ever get into his head.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded. "I don't keep it written down, so you'll have to get into mine first." Or he could simply say it all, but that would take longer and not be nearly as much fun.

[furnaceface]

Jono raised an eyebrow, but shrugged.

//Alright, then. Let's take a peek at what you've got in your memory palace today. Knock knock, Hannibal.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal took Jono by the hand and led him into a well-lit room with canvases spread about, propped against the wall or on easels. Works in progress, all of them, no finished artwork here. Sketches for the most part, occasionally with a bit of watercolor added; they were more direct than the other rooms, too, each of the sketches a portrait of what it represented. He headed for the one he wanted, pulled it out of the pile, and set it up for Jono to see.

Hannibal himself had little vested interest in this room - it tended to change more frequently than the others, and if elements dropped out of it, well then they clearly weren't important enough to be in here. But as always, he enjoyed having Jono in it, being able to share a part of the palace with him. His attention was much more on Jono than the sketch in front of him.

[furnaceface]

There in their minds' eyes, Jono wasn't fire, a clear testimony as to what corner of his own mind was at the fore, just then. He was flesh and blood and glowing eyes, leaning in to inspect the picture that Hannibal had presented to him for a moment, appreciating the artistry in the sketch. There was something ugly about the face in the drawing, even toxic, but the sketch itself wasn't without its own appeal. He raised a hand, and pressed it carefully against the page. And then he went still as he took it all in.

"Ah," he said, lip slightly curled as he eased away, and then fire glowing hot red as he slipped out of Hannibal's mind again. //I see.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"So," Hannibal said, "What is your plan?"

[furnaceface]

Jono paused for a moment, then tilted his head thoughtfully.

//Ever think about getting a dealer devastatingly addicted to their own drug?//

Because Jono himself would be very much on board with that. It would be playing a long game, but in the end it would do a better job of killing off whatever destructive policies he would have put into place in politics than simply killing him off with proof of his crimes gift-wrapped for the police to find.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Of course," Hannibal answered. "It is a very poetic justice, when there is the time for it."

[furnaceface]

Jono spread his hands a bit.

//He's a politician, he's clearly got influence,// he said, reasonably. //I know you were hoping for the quick kill, but if we can do this in a way that negates some, if not most, of the damage he's done in the process, that's what I want to do. Let him get a taste of his own medicine, certainly, but I want t'do more than that.//

He paused.

//I need t'do more than that. Always have. Even when I get predatory like this. I can't just sink my teeth in, Hannibal. I have to satisfy my appetite some other way.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal took one of those hands and kissed it, smiling. "It's an impulse I understand, never fear. I simply hadn't felt it here. The trick, if you want to take the time, is to begin his addiction in a subtle and innocuous way, something that others would never detect. Compromise his thinking in small, unrelated things. By the time any change is obvious, nobody will be able to point to when it began. All of his thoughts and decisions - prior to our visit as well as after - will be questioned."

Just ask Will Graham.

[furnaceface]

Jono nodded a little, closing his hand around Hannibal's and squeezing lightly.

//So... are you interested in playing the long game?//

It could be their pet project while also beating people up and taking their lunch money livers on the side.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Why not?" Hannibal said, smirking. "I enjoy a good game. And I very much look forward to you playing it."

[furnaceface]

//Well, then...// Jono gestured vaguely with one hand toward the stairs. //Less than an hour until the portal. Whatever business it is we're going to propose in order to get close, I'm going to need to dress the part.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"I look forward to that, too," Hannibal said.