Fanfic - Plat Froid

[indigoneutrino]

Title: Plat Froid
Fandom: Hannibal
Word Count: 576
Summary: Dr Abel Gideon wants everyone to believe that he is the Chesapeake Ripper. Hannibal is less than impressed with this. Drabble tag to "Entrée".
Notes: Looks like I've got another new fandom. This is a little drabble to try and break into it, since I'm warming up for something bigger.

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Plat Froid

It wasn't anger he felt, when he realised that Gideon had copied him. No, what he felt was much colder than that. It was disdain. A strong sense of contempt for a man with so little originality and a crass need for attention that he would attempt to take credit for crimes he didn't have the imagination to commit. The emotion didn't affect Hannibal particularly. It sat there in a detached portion of his mind, which he was able to assess and analyse without the feeling detracting from his capacity for rational thought. But despite this, it didn't mean he would let the affront slide.

He was offended, just slightly, that Dr Gideon thought it would be so easy to fool the FBI into believing he was the Chesapeake Ripper. Or, as was quite possible, perhaps Gideon's first act of deception had been on himself, becoming convinced in his own mind that he truly was responsible for all the Ripper's past kills. In either case, Hannibal wasn't going to passively allow the act without some form of retaliation. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but plagiarism was quite discourteous.

That was something he contemplated as he began to prepare dinner, considering his next course of action. Revenge wasn't something on his agenda. Any form of retaliation that directly harmed Dr Gideon would be difficult and foolish, placing Hannibal himself at a further risk of exposure. Gideon's offences were not nearly impressive enough to be worthy of that. But Hannibal did think that perhaps the FBI needed to be given something new to chew over, now that their attention had once again turned to the Ripper case after two years of dormancy. Even though they hadn't been entirely taken in by Gideon's claims, Hannibal thought that Jack Crawford was due a reminder of who exactly his adversary was. The Chesapeake Ripper was not someone who would be so easily fooled into giving himself away due to provocation from a copycat.

The knife descended again to cut another slice of meat, and Hannibal's wrist continued to work the blade up and down as he thought the situation over. Crawford's own failings in the past and his carelessness with Miriam Lass had given Hannibal enough fuel to turn against him, and the current circumstances presented him with the opportunity to use it. It almost amused him, as he considered that although Gideon's mimicry had been an attempt to deceive the FBI, only Hannibal himself had succeeded in fooling and misleading them so completely. And now if Crawford was hoping for new leads on the Ripper case to open up new avenues of investigation, Hannibal thought he would be quite pleased to give it to him. Perhaps a phonecall would be a good way to start.

A small smile of satisfaction crossed Hannibal's lips as he finished preparing the meal - kidney on a bed of leaves with French dressing – before picking up the plate to carry through to the dining room. Revenge or not, this would be a dish best served cold.