Heart Still Intact

2. Da Vinci

Will could have made the journey in forty-five minutes if he really wanted to but he was a sleep deprived person who was running on simply coffee and cereal for the past few days. He didn’t want to risk driving off a bridge or something. Part of Will knew that they were on a time crunch since the Ripper’s kills seemed to be escalating, but he still didn't want to lose his life by speeding.

Just as Jack opened his mouth to continue the argument, Will interrupted him. “This is going to go nowhere. Let's just go in and see what's going on.”

Huffing in anger, Jack simply turned around and walked in. Rubbing his eyes in exhaustion, Will followed. Just as he entered the hall, Will’s attention was immediately caught by the body that was suspended in the air. Once again, it was evident that the Ripper had gone to great lengths to pose the body in various ways.

Stopping to study the scene, Will’s eyes flitted across the entire stage. The body was hovering a few feet above the stage, a large metal hoop encircling the corpse. A few extra limbs were attached to the body. The body was splayed open, almost similar to how Nichols was. From a distance, it was visible that some of the organs were missing.

Closing his eyes Will let the pendulum swing.

The soft melody of a piano reached his ears. The song was so peaceful, it could replace a mother's lullaby. The music got louder and louder before they were replaced with the bloody curdling screams of a man. Sudden visions of limbs twisting in unholy ways as the man's face contorted into a myriad of expressions. Opening his eyes, Will stared directly into the corpse's eyes. Will was instantly able to recognise where the Ripper may have gotten the inspiration from.

“The Vitruvian Man,” an accented voice interrupted Will’s train of thought. Looking at the source, he found himself staring at a dressed-down Hannibal. Well, dressed down when compared to Hannibal's usual attire. He simply wore a light blue sweater, the collar of a dress shirt peeking from the neckline, along with some brown pants. “I hope the drive wasn’t too much of an inconvenience.” Hannibal continued as he made his way towards Will.

“Quite the opposite, actually,” Will answered, his eyes travelling to the corpse. “He’s basing his killings off famous artwork.  First Carravagio and now Da Vinci. Next thing you know, we’re looking at the Ripper’s rendition of the Whistler’s Mother.”

Standing next to him, Hannibal hummed in reply. “Is painting another hidden hobby of yours?”

“Not exactly,” Will answered, softly smiling before he continued. “My mother was a painter. I simply like to appreciate art.”

“Shall we?” Hanibal spoke, his hand gesturing to where Jack and the rest of the team were. Will nodded before they wordlessly made their way to the head of the BSU.

“So, what do you think?” Jack asked once he noticed the duo walking towards the, He seemed to have cooled down and was more collected.

“When was the body found?” Will asked, his eyes briefly meeting an equally exhausted Beverly.

“The call was made at around 12.30 am,” Beverly answered. “Judging from the state of the body, he was killed no more than six hours ago. We’ve also ID’d the victim.”

“That was fast,” Will muttered.

“He was easy to find,” Zeller answered. “Meet Kyle Rodriguez, a famous contortionist. He was reported missing three days ago by his team.”

“Well that makes sense,” Hannibal spoke, his gaze falling on Will and then the corpse. 

Hannibal, Will and Beverly answered at once. “The Vitruvian Man.”