"No witnesses then?" Will asked as he entered Jack's office with Hannibal closely behind him.
Jack looked defeated. The whiskey bottle on his desk was the proof. He was probably waiting to call it a day and drown his frustration into a glass of whiskey.
"There is a witness. We brought him in but by the time we will interrogate him, our serial killer will have committed three other crimes."
"May I ask why we are not interrogating him now?" Hannibal asked.
"We need a translator. He doesn't speak English. Took the Bureau a few hours only to find one and he can make it here in a few days."
"What does he speak then? There's a high chance Hannibal speaks it." Will commented.
"I don't speak every language on earth, darling."
"I don't speak Lithuanian."
"Lithuanian?" Jack inquired.
"Aren't you Lithuanian, doctor?" Will asked.
"I am but I haven't spoken it in years. I doubt I can be of any help."
"So be it, then."
"Doctor." Jack started. Will and Hannibal recognized Jack's persuasive voice and Will immediately regretted opening his mouth. There was no way out now. "It would be of great help if we got the physical features of our killer. I am only asking you to try. It's the only way I will be able to sleep at night."
Hannibal looked at Will, then at Jack.
-
Jack and Will watched Hannibal from behind the glass of the interrogation room.
Hannibal spoke fluently with only few hesitations. There was something else that Will couldn't point towards. He felt bad about making Hannibal help with the case. When he had said he couldn't speak Lithuanian, Will knew he wasn't being modest about his skills. He had said that just because he hadn't wanted to speak Lithuanian.
Will detected some sort of awkwardness from Hannibal in the first few minutes but he masked it well. The discussion went smoothly.
Jack was nodding pleased.
"And he was saying he can't do it." Jack commented, paying so much attention to what was happening in front of them that one could think he was understanding every word. "We might catch this one by tonight, Will."
"Hopefully."
And they did. A bit later than what Jack had expected but Hannibal's report had been of great use.
-
"You caught him." Will said as the doctor was pouring him a glass of wine.
"You and Jack did."
"We wouldn't have without your help. It made a difference."
Hannibal said nothing, which was unusual and which reminded Will of his earlier eerie feeling.
"I'm sorry about making you do it. I figured you weren't comfortable."
"You didn't make me do anything. You know how persuasive Jack can get."
"How was it?" He wasn't sure wether Hannibal would want to talk about it.
"Quite an experience, I'd say. Words I have not pronounced in years. I might have made a lot of mistakes. Good thing you and Jack couldn't tell."
"It was more than a skill issue. Words have their way of taking you to certain places. And his accent was extremely authentic."
Will smiled softly. "I am sure your Lithuanian skills are better than mine."
Hannibal brought his glass of wine to his lips and smelled it thoughtfully.
"It took you down the halls of your memory palace."
"And it opened some locked doors."
"Did you manage to close them back already?"
"Not yet. I might linger in there for a while."
Will grabbed his fork and played with the sushi roll that was resting on his plate.
"It's something he said before leaving the interrogation room. He asked me why I can speak Lithuanian. I told him that I am, in fact, Lithuanian. He was very surprised by that. He said I didn't sound Lithuanian at all." Hannibal explained and took a sip from his glass.
"You don't have to keep to yourself." He said, sensing the amount of thoughts running through Hannibal's mind. "What else bothers you?"
"How did that make you feel?" Will asked genuinely curious and was relieved to see Hannibal cracking a smile. He knew Will hated that question.
"For a second it made me question what I am. The place you are born in doesn't define that. Nor does your family, be it dead or alive."
"Then nature and nurture have no power on the individual?"
"I wouldn't choose either. I would have said that they both have a role in defining who we are."
"Implying that you no longer believe that?"
"I kept reflecting on this subject while I was cooking. I didn't come to a satisfying answer. Then you knocked."
"And?"
"And here I was going to say something inappropriate. I can't now that you made this confession."
"And I found all the answers I needed. I see myself in you. And that is more than what Lithuania will ever mean to me. And more than what nature and nurture can explain."
"What was it?"
"Today I learnt that listening to you speaking Lithuanian does certain things to me."
Hannibal put down his fork and knife, his lips slightly parted. He didn't try to hide his surprise.
"Well." He said thoughtfully. "I had made up my mind I would never use it again after today. But this changes everything."
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