This Is My Design.

Part 8: In Which There Is FBI Tartare, And Nakedness At Last

Hannibal and Will left the boat. Behind them, they heard the cracking of the hull and the screams of Jack, Brian and Jimmy.

'FBI Tartare.' Hannibal guided the dinghy to shore, his hand firm on the rudder.

'Did you have to do that?' Will stammered. 'Did you have to use my friends as...bait?'

Hannibal's mouth twitched, a hint of satisfaction. 'It had to happen.'

'Eat the rude,' said Will. 'I understand that. I can even get behind it. But they were just investigating a murder, Hannibal.'

'Jack was my friend,' Hannibal said. 'He deserved the truth, which is that you matter to me above all else. He died for you.'

Will looked over his shoulder at the dwindling boat. 'He might not be dead yet.'

'Row,' said Hannibal. 'Quickly, now.'

In the misty gloom of Chesapeake harbour, Will allowed himself a second to look back, to see three heads bobbing in the water.

Hannibal laid his hand on Will's knee. 'It's a battle to determine who is the fittest. Man or shark. We have our own battle.'

Yet, as the dinghy headed for shore, it came, the fin of a Great White, speeding towards them, like knife through butter.

'You are the fisherman,' said Hannibal, his voice calm though they were rowing frantically. 'Our lives are in your hands.'

'We just need to be still.' Will stopped rowing.'Let it look us in the eye and see that we are its predators.'

'I love it when you are masterful,' Hannibal said.

The shark's head breached the water. Its tiny dead eye met Will's. For a moment, all was still. Hannibal held his breath.

Then the fish sank beneath the water. 'Row,' Will muttered roughly. 'Now.'

'I can't wait to touch you,' Hannibal said.

They were shivering when they got to shore. 'We need to get warm now, before hypothermia sets in,' Hannibal said. 'Strip.'

'You're the doctor,' said Will, his teeth chattering. He pulled off all of his clothes, except for his underpants.

'Those too,' Hannibal said, folding his own garments on a rock. 'This is no time for modesty.'

Will peeled off the final layer.

Hannibal opened his arms. Shivering, Will came to him. Face to face. Skin to skin.

'At last,' Hannibal breathed. 'The tea cup is complete once again.'