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Title: See No Evil
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Table: Quotables Part 2, tv_universe
Prompt: "Evil doesn't always look evil. Sometimes it's staring right at us, and we don't even realize it."
Author's Note: Sequel to "Know Thine Enemy."
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.

***

"It wasn't your fault, Will." Jack's voice was very soft in the quiet office.

Will shook his head, closing his eyes. No matter what Jack said, he would always feel that he should have done more, should have seen what Hannibal was.

He had been the person closest to Hannibal, the one who the other man had picked out to be his .... well, in a way, his protégé. He should have been more aware.

He couldn't help feeling that it was his fault so many people had died. If he had seen through Hannibal's masks sooner, if he'd just been able to know how dangerous the man was .... But he hadn't known, and because of that, too many people had lost their lives.

He hadn't realized in time that Hannibal was evil. He had caused all of those people to become victims; it had been his failing that had let them down.

At least he had somewhat atoned for that, or tried to. But Hannibal was still out there, and there was no telling how many more people he would kill.

He did, after all, know that Will would feel guilty about those deaths.

"You can't be blamed for not seeing through him, Will," Jack said, sighing. "None of us did. We all thought that he was what he appeared to be."

"No one believed me when I first found out what he was," Will pointed out. "Everybody wanted to believe that I was a killer, and that he was this benevolent nice guy."

"I always had a bad feeling about him," Jack said, his tone thoughtful. "When I first met him, something just seemed .... off to me. But I ignored that. I made myself believe that he was all he said he was. I was a fool, Will, and I'm sorry. My reluctance to see his true colors could have gotten you killed."

"That's not your fault," Will said, sighing again. "Like you said, he had everybody fooled. Nobody could see behind his mask because nobody really wanted to."

"He hid his evil really carefully," Jack said, nodding in agreement. "Because, of course, to him, it isn't really evil. He's not ever going to accede that what he does is wrong."

"Evil doesn't always look evil," Will said softly, shaking his head. "Sometimes it's staring right at us, and we don't even realize it. I didn't, that's for sure. Hannibal's good at hiding what he truly is. He's managed to fool a lot of people, but at least now we know the truth."

"He's going to slip up and make a mistake at some point," Jack told him, his voice gaining strength. "We'll catch him, Will. I promise you that. He'll be behind bars sooner or later."

"What worries me is that he's probably going to take a lot more lives before we can stop him," Will said, frowning. "And now, he's got Bedelia to help him."

He'd been a fool to trust her, too, he thought.

He'd been foolish to trust a lot of people. Jack should have been the one he'd put his trust in from the beginning; he should have known that the man he worked for was a man of honor.

Jack had nearly died at Hannibal's hands, just as he himself had. That made a bond between them, not just as a boss and a subordinate, but as friends and comrades.

What they had to do now was to pool their resources and work together to put an end to Hannibal's evil. Wherever the bastard went, wherever he tried to hide, they would catch him, Will vowed silently. He wouldn't rest until Hannibal was behind bars. And he would make sure that his nemesis was jailed for life.

Hannibal had wreaked havoc on far too many lives, most of all his own. Yes, putting him behind bars would, in some ways, be vengeance. But it was the right thing to do.

Hannibal had to pay for all the crimes he'd committed, all of the lives that he had taken. His evil had to be put to an end, before any more people lost their lives to him.

Will knew that he was the person who had to do that.

It wouldn't be easy. Hannibal wasn't going to be hiding in plain sight; it would be a struggle to catch him and bring him to justice. Ending his evil wouldn't be accomplished quickly.

But somehow, he would do it, Will told himself firmly. The weight of that responsibility now fell squarely on his shoulders, and he would carry out that task if it was the last thing he ever did.

***