Work Text:
“VILAIN”
(a French word meaning naughty)
“Careful!” Freddie Lounds shouted, “I think you almost missed a pothole!” she yelled testily to the driver while bouncing around in the back seat of the open jeep. “I can’t believe there aren’t any better roads to this village,” she grouched.
“Freddie, that’s the whole reason Dr. Will is out there, to try and help this isolated village,” Jimmy Price said soothingly.
“First we take a 15 hour plane ride from Baltimore to Nigeria, then a 30 minute private plane to get us within range of this village, and now an hour-long jeep ride through the jungle in hundred degree weather. This Dr. Will had better be worth it,” she complained.
Hannibal Lecter sat in the front seat next to the driver and contemplated Ms. Lounds’ words. Hannibal was a photographer for a high end fashion magazine called Vilain that had started out five years ago. The magazine had similar content to many fashion magazines, but distinguished itself by being a bit more risqué with its inclusion of tasteful photographs of nude men, including a coveted centerfold. Sales had been steadily building over the last five years, but the company’s president and CEO, Brian Zeller, was pressuring everyone to come up with an idea for their five year anniversary issue to boost sales and take them into the ranks of the upper echelon of the fashion magazine trade, such as Vogue and Cosmopolitan.
Someone in marketing came up with the idea of having a magazine poll asking their readers who they most wanted to see featured nude in the pages of their magazine. The magazine said based on the results of the poll they would try to convince ten of the top voted men to grace their pages a la naturale. The results had been expected in some regards (movie stars, rock stars and sports figures), but there were several surprises, like the nerdy looking creator of a popular video game, the slightly overweight author of a popular detective series, and then there was Dr. Will who none of the staff of Vilain had ever even heard of before the poll.
When they googled him they found out that Dr. Will (as he was called in his webcast) was a medical doctor who had joined the Peace Corps and was currently living with the Bwatiye tribe in the country of Nigeria. He put out a weekly webcast from the small village giving updates on the progress of his two-year mission, and occasionally he would ask his webcast followers for help or advice. In one of the webcasts Hannibal and his crew watched, he was asking for advice and information on possible crops they could plant in the sandy soil surrounding the village to help supplement the tribe's diet. Apparently Dr. Will did not limit his village improvements to his medical expertise. All three of them had seen his appeal with his boyish good looks, his charmingly shy, awkward nature, and his beautiful eyes. They could see why he had made the poll.
Vilain had 10 photographers on staff including Hannibal, and Brian Zeller had tasked each photographer with getting one of the men on the compiled vote list to agree to pose for the magazine. Hannibal frequently worked with Freddie Lounds and Jimmy Price as part of his team. Freddie did the interviewing and wrote the story. She was as tenacious as a bulldog when interviewing people and had a real flare for the dramatic when writing her stories. Jimmy was a stylist and general gofer. As the three of them had gone through the list looking at the choices available, Freddie and Jimmy had been comfortable with Hannibal having the final say on who he most wanted to photograph. He had a keen eye, and his photos more than any of the other nine photographers had received the coveted centerfold spot. After looking through the list he gave Jimmy eight names of people to contact to see if any would agree to an interview and to pose nude for the magazine. Dr. Will was on Hannibal’s list.
Since Dr. Will was out in the middle of the jungle and Jimmy wasn’t sure what the time difference was there, Jimmy decided to just send him an email while he phoned the others on the list, who all resided in North America. After getting no’s from all seven men he had called and dreading giving the news to Hannibal and Freddie, he was surprised when he received an email back a few hours later from Dr. Will saying he had spoken with the chief of the village and they agreed to the interview and pictures, but would rather have medical supplies as payment rather than money. Jimmy went to give Hannibal and Freddie the good news.
Hannibal contemplated Dr. Will as they drove through the jungle. He was very photogenic, even in the amateurish filming of his webcasts. As a photographer Hannibal had an eye for detail, and Dr. Will had beautiful symmetry to his face. He didn’t seem to have a bad side. He couldn’t wait for their session so he could see how he measured up, as it were, without his clothes. He had several poses in mind already for the young doctor.
“Almost there,” the driver announced.
“It’s about time,” Jimmy Price said. “I’m getting blisters on my ass.”
The village came into view then. According to what they had found out about the village online, it was a smaller village with only about 150 people. They saw round huts made out of thatch, mud and twigs, several fire pits around the village, and a lot of bustling about as the tribespeople went about their daily routines. The village looked clean and well organized.
The three collected their cases from the jeep containing cameras, laptops, recording devices, medical supplies as payment to Dr. Will, and their personal effects and confirmed with the driver that he would be back to pick them up in two days. Then they stood there a little uncertain as to what to do next. Dr. Will was nowhere in sight, and from what they read online, the tribe here spoke Bata, a native language of Nigeria.
Freddie signaled one young woman who was looking at them with curious fascination and said, “Dr. Will?” while motioning with her hands for the woman to show them where he was. The young woman nodded her head in the affirmative and pointed and motioned them to follow her.
“One second,” Hannibal said to Freddie and Jimmy. “I want to get my camera out. Maybe I can get a few shots before he sees us. You know how I love natural shots when the subject is unaware.” He selected one of his cameras with a long range telephoto lens, and then they followed the young woman who led them out of the village and towards a nearby river.
“Jesus!,” Freddie said with alarm while slapping her arm, “the mosquitoes here are as big as B-59s.”
Their guide stopped and pointed to where Dr. Will was, in the river in water up to his shoulders working with some of the natives on what appeared to be some type of dam made of large stones and logs. Dr. Will hadn’t noticed he had company yet. The three stood about 50 feet back from the river’s edge watching.
“What should we do?” Freddie asked.
“Well, he’s expecting us, so call him over. We didn’t travel all this way to watch him play in the water,” Jimmy said.
“Before you call him, let me get my camera focused on him. I want to shoot him coming out of the river. The sun will be slightly behind him and I should be able to get some great first shots.” Hannibal zoomed in on Dr. Will and adjusted a few settings. “All right, Freddie, call him over,” he said when he had his telephoto lens focused on his subject.
“Dr. Will! Dr. Will!” Freddie called out, waving her arm and trying to be heard over the river.
Dr. Will looked over and caught sight of Freddie and Jimmy. Hannibal had stepped back so that he was slightly hidden in the tree line. He knew by experience that when people who weren’t professional models knew they were being photographed it changed their whole demeanor. They often tensed up and looked away from the camera.
Dr. Will waved and smiled and headed toward the shore.
Hannibal took in his dark curly hair that was a bit longer than in his webcast, almost to his shoulders, tousled and shining in the sun. He was bare chested but was wearing some sort of stone pendant that matched his eyes exactly, a beautiful blue-green, that was hanging from a brown leather cord. His upper torso was free of blemish and tattoos, which was unusual these days. When Dr. Will reached a level in the river where the water was down around his waist Hannibal started clicking. Will had his attention on Freddie and Jimmy as he moved through the water looking totally relaxed. As he got closer to the shoreline the water level dropped below his navel, and Hannibal saw he was wearing a thin pair of beige cotton shorts. As he moved closer and the water level dropped to his knees Hannibal had to stop for a second and swallow as the shorts clung to Dr. Will like a second skin. Oh my, Hannibal thought. Dr. Will was probably totally unaware of how much was on display in his wet shorts, leaving very little to the imagination. If these photos were the appetizer then Hannibal couldn’t wait for the main course. This young man was delectable.
Hannibal’s gift as a photographer was that he could look at anyone and know exactly how to photograph them to their best advantage. Also, after he took an exceptionally good photograph he always knew it because he got a weird tingling feeling, and he already had that tingling feeling after shooting Dr. Will’s emergence from the water. He snapped a couple more shots and then joined Freddie and Jimmy as they shook hands with Dr. Will and introduced themselves.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to meet you but I wasn’t sure what time you would be arriving,” Dr. Will said, blushing slightly and having trouble meeting their eyes. “Jungle transport isn’t always the most reliable.”
This one isn’t fond of eye contact, Hannibal thought. I was right to take a few shots while he was unaware. It's going to be a challenge to get him to look relaxed while posing naked in front of the camera.
“So, let me show you where you’ll be staying, get you some refreshments, and then then I can give you a tour of the village and introduce you to the chief. Then if you want to do the interview we can go ahead and do that, or if you’re tired we can save that for later,” Will said smiling shyly and leading them back to the village.
Hannibal, wanting to test the waters, walked up next to Dr. Will and said, “So, doctor, do you have any ideas on how you would like the photo shoot presented? I like to ask my subjects for their impressions. I have gotten some wonderful pictures as a result of ideas that my subjects have given me that I would never have thought of.”
Will looked over at Hannibal as they walked and said, “Oh, you know, I thought you could just take pictures as we go through my usual routine throughout the day. Maybe one picture of the whole tribe. The chief should be featured, of course, out of respect. There are a lot of adorable children in the village; those always make great shots. Of course you’re the expert in this matter so I’ll just leave that to your discretion.”
Hmm. “Yes,” Hannibal said, “but what about the posed shots? Any ideas regarding those?”
Will stopped then and looked at Hannibal with confusion clearly written on his face. “Posed shots? What posed shots?”
Hannibal looked over at Jimmy briefly and saw him looking slightly uncomfortable.
“Dr. Will,” are you familiar at all with Vilain magazine?
Will looked down and blushed before saying, “Well, no. Being out here in the middle of nowhere I don’t really have access to magazines, but Mr. Price said in his email to me that it’s a high-end fashion magazine that caters mostly to women, so I figured it was like Cosmo or something like that. And he said this was to be a human interest piece. Is that not right?” he asked looking uneasy.
“Would you please excuse me, Dr. Will, while I have a moment alone with my colleagues?”
While Dr. Will was looking decidedly uncomfortable, Hannibal directed Freddie and Jimmy several yards away and said, “Jimmy, what exactly did you say in your email to Dr. Will?”
“Uh, well, I’m pulling it up right now. Ah, here it is. I said that Vilain magazine had taken a poll and he had received a lot of votes as someone the public would like to ‘see a whole lot more of ' in our magazine and could we come and interview him for a human interest piece and take some pictures for a nice fee. I mean everyone who’s anyone knows Vilain magazine, right?” he concluded weakly.
Hannibal closed his eyes for a second before answering. “Everyone except young doctors who have been out in the middle of nowhere for the last 10 months, and then before that in med school up to their eyeballs in classwork and cadavers.” Hannibal shook his head. This was a disaster. Dr. Will had no idea they had traveled over 5,000 miles to shoot pictures of him in the nude for their magazine.
“Shit,” Freddie said. “You mean he has no idea we expect him to strip and pose for us? Shit! If we go back without these pictures after what this trip is costing, Brian is going to fire all of us.”
“Okay, let’s not panic. Let’s just think this through for a second,” Hannibal said, looking over at Dr. Will who was looking more uncomfortable by the minute. “If we ask him now and he refuses, we won’t get any decent shots of him. I mean, look at his body language right now for god’s sake.” All three looked over and Dr. Will turned beet red and seemed to cave in on himself as he stared at the ground. Hannibal sighed. “If we wait and ask him tomorrow, maybe we can at least get some good pictures of him today. That, plus a good story that you’ll write, Freddie, and we may be able to salvage something of this trip. It’s still a great public interest piece and our readers will still get good pictures of him. Even with his clothes on he’s sexy as hell. Did you see him coming out of the water with his shorts plastered to his body?”
“I noticed,” Jimmy said rolling his eyes and fanning himself.
“I got some great shots right there. Let’s just not say anything and play this by ear. Tomorrow we’ll try easing into the subject and go from there.
The three turned back and joined Dr. Will.
“Is everything all right?” Dr. Will asked, awkwardly looking between the three of them.
“Everything’s fine,” Hannibal lied, smiling, trying to put the doctor’s mind at ease. “Just needed to clear up some details with my two colleagues. How about those refreshments you promised us? I’m parched.”
Dr. Will looked clearly relieved as he led them back to a larger building that he told them was the clinic, and also where he slept. It was small but Hannibal was impressed by how organized it was and how many supplies he appeared to have.
“I take it we’re not the only ones you’ve asked for supplies from,” Hannibal stated.
Will smiled sheepishly, looking down at Hannibal’s knees. "I’m always asking for supplies. You can never have enough of anything. About a month ago one of the villagers here got mauled badly by a leopard and needed over 500 stitches. That pretty well used up all my suture thread and a great deal of antibiotics to keep infection out."
“A leopard attack,” said Freddie, looking around nervously.
“This was out in the bush when the men were out hunting for food,” Will said. “The leopard was hiding in a tree and caught the man unawares. We’re safe enough here.
After serving them a delicious beverage made out of native fruits, Dr. Will gave them a tour of the village. The tour was impressive. Dr. Will had taken them to meet with the chief first, and they were well received, due in part to the gifts they had brought him per Dr. Will’s previous emailed recommendation.
Because it was a small village, Will was the only member of the Peace Corps here. In the ten months since arriving, Will explained to them what steps he had taken to try and improve life for the villagers. He currently had taken two of the village youngsters as apprentices and was training them on basic medical care. He had selected 15 of the villagers to act as farmers, and they had planted several crops that an agricultural college in the U.S. said would thrive in the sandy soil here that would help supplement their food during the draught that happened three months out of the year. He said the dam they were currently building was to create an irrigation system of sorts for the crops. He had several others in the village working on creating unusual jewelry pieces and was in the process of trying to find a buyer in the U.S. willing to buy pieces on a regular basis so the villagers would have a small income for things they needed to purchase.
“That necklace you’re wearing, was that made by one of the tribe?” Hannibal asked.
Will smiled a rare smile. “Yes, the villagers are always on the lookout for interesting shells and rocks and bone fragment to use for jewelry and buttons and such. One day a little girl found this rock,” he said, touching the stone, “and brought it to me and said it was the same color as my eyes. I took it to one of our jewelry makers and had her make a pendant out of it. I never take it off,” he said, fingering it lovingly.
Hannibal moved in front of Dr. Will and picked up the stone and examined it. He purposely brushed the back of his knuckles along Dr. Will’s skin as he did so. He was actually trying to gauge Dr. Will’s reaction to having someone step into his personal space and touch him. This would give him an idea how comfortable he might be having Hannibal pose him and photograph him. Will looked slightly alarmed and froze, looking like he was ready to bolt. Hannibal sighed. This was not going to be an easy assignment.
After the tour Freddie said she would like to go ahead and conduct the interview. Freddie started off with her scripted questions, like why Dr. Will had joined the Peace Corps and had decided to go live in the jungle for two years, but then she started going off script trying to feel Will out in her own way.
“So, Dr. Will, what are your thoughts on the human body?” Freddie started out.
“Well, being a doctor I can honestly say that the human body is a complicated living machine in which various systems work together as a functioning whole. It is truly one of the most amazing things there is.”
“And the human form?,” she pushed. “I mean there is a lot of bare flesh being shown in this village.”
“Also amazing. It’s soft and supple, yet sturdy and adaptive. The way it mends itself after trauma is truly remarkable."
Freddie decided to change tactics. “Do you have a girlfriend here in the village?”
“Oh, no,” Will said blushing slightly. “I’m their doctor and their friend. I’ll be leaving in a little over a year and it wouldn’t be right to start any romantic entanglements.”
“How do you find any kind of release out here?” Freddie said slightly suggestively.
“Oh, you’ll see an example of that tonight, although I dread you seeing it. I’m not very good. The chief says I need to learn how to relax my body for better results. My hip movements are too jerky and the results are less than satisfying,” Will said a bit distractedly.
“Your hip movements?” Freddie asked.
“Yeah. Hip movements are hard for me. I’m pretty good with my hands, but my hips are all over the place, my movements too rough. But you’ll see that for yourself if you decide you want to watch.”
“Uh,” Freddie swallowed, “you’re okay with us watching?” she asked surprised.
“Sure. Just please don’t laugh at me. You could even join in if you wanted to. The more the merrier.”
Freddie and Jimmy were exchanging hopeful looks, but then Hannibal asked, “Dr. Will, what exactly are we talking about here?”
“Hmm? Oh. Oh! Sorry, I tend to ramble sometimes. Dancing. The tribe does the equivalent of a dance off a couple times a month, and tonight’s the night. I’ve only been doing it a couple months now and I just can’t get the hip movements right. The chief actually talked me into it. He said it would help with my shyness and confidence. Anyway, you’re welcome to come watch.”
Will couldn’t understand why Freddie and Jimmy suddenly looked so disappointed.
It turned out to be quite an experience though. The dancing started after sunset with a large bonfire in the middle of the village. The villagers were beating on drums and logs and had a wicked jungle rhythm going. Dr. Will dressed up in the traditional dance garb, which for men included a loin cloth made out of animal skins, braided leather bands tied around their biceps and forehead, and painted designs on the body and face in white, black and brown paint colors.
Will had been right about his dancing. He couldn’t hold a candle to the other dancers, though he did try. It sometimes looked as if he were having a seizure rather than dancing, and the three did have a hard time not laughing. Hannibal, however, was busy with his camera. He was getting that tingling feeling again.
* * *
The next morning Hannibal woke up well before daybreak. It was just too hot to sleep. He missed air conditioning very much. As he was sitting in a chair outside the hut that he, Jimmy and Freddie were sharing, he saw the faint glow of the sun coming up on the horizon. It was a peaceful time here in the jungle, with just a few birds and insects serenading in the background. As he was sitting relaxed just watching the sun come up, all of a sudden he saw Dr. Will come out of his hut, and for the next 30 seconds Hannibal sat frozen in his seat captivated. Shit, if only he’d had his camera.
When the other two got up and joined him they discussed the best way to approach Dr. Will about possibly posing nude. Hannibal already knew what the answer was going to be, but they had to try. Freddie was right, Brian was going to be furious about this.
Jimmy had brought a copy of Vilain with him so they decided to show Dr. Will the issue and let him draw his own conclusions.
The three of them joined Dr. Will at his clinic while he was treating a young boy who had cut his foot on something. After the boy left Jimmy took the lead.
“Uh, Dr. Will, we thought you might want to, uh, look at a copy of our magazine and see the, uh, type of content that’s usually included,” he finished lamely.
Will was a bit confused by his discomfiture, but took the magazine and stared at the cover. He knew it was a famous female actress, but he couldn’t place her. He hadn’t been to the movies in a couple years now. She was wearing a tight fitting dress with low cleavage. He must have stared a bit too long because Freddie was suddenly clearing her throat loudly.
“Oh, sorry,” he said blushing. “It’s just I haven’t seen a beautiful woman like this in a very long time.” Then Dr. Will looked aghast as he realized what he had just said to Freddie. “Uh, not that you’re not beautiful,” he stammered, “it’s just she’s so glamorous.” Dr. Will groaned then. “Not that you’re not glamorous …”
“Okay, okay, I know what you mean,” Freddie said, putting Dr. Will out of his misery.
He was already blushing as he leafed through the pages. There were the usual articles and ads on clothing and cosmetics and jewelry, but as he approached the midway point, that’s where the men were always featured. He paused at one page and blinked several times as if making sure he was seeing it right. Then he looked up at the three of them. He turned to another page and then quickly shut the magazine. “You have pictures of naked men in here,” he said slightly aghast.
“We do indeed,” Hannibal said, deciding to take over now. “It’s one of the signature trademarks of the magazine. We’re a high fashion magazine, but we provide a bit of erotic fantasy for our clientele as well.”
Hannibal could see the young doctor’s brain working now and the exact point when he had reached an uncomfortable conclusion.
“You… you didn’t come here expecting to photograph me like… like that did you?” he asked, pointing at the magazine.
“In all honesty, it was our intention. Unfortunately we now realize there was a bit of miscommunication,” he said pointedly looking at an abashed Jimmy, “and I apologize for that, but it is our hope that you might consider posing for just a few photos. I assure you they will be tasteful shots,” Hannibal added quickly.
Will’s mouth was working but no words were coming out. He was bright red now, and Hannibal saw any hope slipping away. Well, at least they had tried.
Finally when Will had composed himself so that he could speak again, he said, “Look, I told you that I joined the Peace Corps because I wanted to help people, and that was the truth, but there was another reason as well. When I graduated medical school I was 24 years old but I looked more like I was 18. I graduated summa cum laude and all my teachers said I was brilliant. I was ready to take on the world and work for a top hospital and help people and make a lot of money, but then something happened. None of the top hospitals would hire me. I didn’t know why at first, then one of the other students who was interning at one of the hospitals I interviewed at overheard two doctors speaking, and they basically said they didn’t want to be shown up by some young doctor who looked like he was still in his teens. They also said I was too shy and had no bedside manner with the patients. So, I decided to go somewhere where I would be wanted and needed and try to mature and improve my bedside manner so that when I go back to the United States I’ll have different results. Now what do you think would happen if I go back after posing nude for your magazine? Do you think they’ll take me serious then? I might as well kiss my medical degree good-bye.”
Hannibal nodded. “We understand, Dr. Will, but we had to try. But you’re okay if we publish any of the other shots I’ve taken these past two days?”
Will gave a relieved sigh. “As long as I’ve got something on I’m perfectly fine with it.” Dr. Will was a little uncomfortable with the way Hannibal was currently smiling at him.
* * *
A few days later back in Boston in the Conference Room of Vilain magazine
“Well,” Brian Zeller said to all ten photographers and their crews, “I’ve read all your interviews and they were wonderful. I’m looking forward to today’s presentation of the five photographs from each of your shoots that you feel are worthy enough to grace the pages of Vilain magazine. I’ve heard from several of you that you think you have the coveted centerfold shot, but, of course, that will be my decision. I also understand that one group failed to get their subject out of his clothes. That was certainly disappointing to hear,” he said looking over at Hannibal’s group with mild disgust.
Freddie and Jimmy exchanged worried looks. “We are so fired,” Jimmy said.
Frederick Chilton was practically vibrating with glee. Frederick was Hannibal’s biggest competitor. He was a brilliant photographer in his own right, but not as artistically creative as Hannibal. As such, Hannibal had more centerfold shots than Frederick, and Frederick probably though he had this anniversary issue wrapped up.
As Brian pointed to one of the photographers, they hooked their laptop into the projector and projected their top five photos one by one onto a screen on the far wall. Hannibal studied each shot with a critical eye and then would look at Brian for his reaction.
Hannibal could read Brian’s body language like reading a book. Brian usually stayed slumped in his chair fidgeting with nervous energy. If a photo caught his eye he stopped fidgeting and stared at the photo, analyzing it for consumer appeal. If he really liked a photo he sat up straight in the chair and stared at it, tilting his head from side to side. And if he absolutely loved a photo he sat up and leaned forward with his arms on the table vibrating with a certain excitement. After showing her five best photos, the first photographer had merely gotten Brian to stop fidgeting, nothing more. Seven more photographers displayed their work and Brian had stop fidgeting and stared at the photos a few times, but so far he had only sat up straight for four of the photos.
But now it was Frederick’s turn. Frederick looked over at Hannibal and gave him a smug smile. Frederick had been able to convince the geeky video game creator to pose for him. As Frederick flashed the first photo up Hannibal saw Brian stop fidgeting and stare at the photo. He sat up straight for the second, third and fourth photos. Frederick’s last shot, the best always being saved for last, was the 21-year-old sitting on a pinball machine in the nude and leaning back staring at a TV showing his game on the screen. Positioned on his lap was a controller with a very large joystick that the young man had one hand wrapped around tightly with his head slightly thrown back looking like he was in the throes of ecstasy. Brian was leaning forward now looking excited.
Frederick looked over at Hannibal with a smirk on his face, no doubt feeling the centerfold within his grasp. Hannibal nodded at him with respect. It was an admittedly brilliant and creative shot. However, they hadn’t seen his pictures yet. Hannibal felt anticipation trying to bubble its way out, but kept his expression calm.
“Well,” Brian said, “do you have anything even remotely interesting to show us, Hannibal? Anything that will even come close to paying for three exorbitantly-priced round trip airline tickets to Africa? I believe this is the first time I’ve sent you on assignment and you’ve failed to deliver,” he said looking disappointedly at not only Hannibal, but Freddie and Jimmy too, who were squirming under his gaze. Hannibal hadn’t shared the photos with Freddie or Jimmy, he wanted them to be a surprise.
“I believe we have a few good shots that can be used to the magazine’s benefit,” Hannibal said, still showing no emotion. He had chosen his five pictures well and had every confidence he was going to turn this around. Brian was slumped back down in his chair looking disgruntled, while Frederick Chilton and some of the others were looking at the screen with anticipated glee, clearly expecting to see the great Hannibal Lecter taken down a peg. Hannibal was going to enjoy wiping those looks right off their faces.
Hannibal hit a button on his laptop and the first picture of Dr. Will came up. Counting backwards, his fifth picture choice was when Will was showing them the garden with young plants springing up from the ground. At one point Will had gotten on his knees, sitting on his heels, and showed them the bugs that were a constant source of irritation as they ate the young leaves. Hannibal had pulled out his camera and set it for a close up. He had walked slowly up so that he was right in front of Will and had softly whispered his name. Will had looked up through those thick lashes of his straight at the camera. The look in his eyes was slightly questioning, his lips were slightly parted as he was about to ask Hannibal what he wanted. He was wearing a pale blue shirt at this point with the top two buttons undone, and the blue made his eye color pop. It was a stunning close-up of a face that was almost feminine in its beauty. Their male consumers in particular were going to love this shot of Dr. Will on his knees.
Hannibal looked over at Brian and he had stopped fidgeting and was sitting up as he looked into the face of beauty that was Dr. Will Graham. Hannibal bit down a smile. Brian was looking over at him eager to see the next shot.
His fourth place shot was a remarkable picture. At one point in the afternoon Dr. Will had sat in a sort of lawn chair outside his hut and had immediately fallen into an exhausted sleep slumped in the chair with his long legs stretched out in front of him. He was only wearing those beige shorts of his which closely matched his skin tone. A few minutes later a toddler between the ages of two and three had walked over and tried to crawl on his lap. This must be a regular thing as Dr. Will had barely woken up and lifted the child onto his lap. Small children of the village ran around naked, so this dark skinned naked little girl curled up against Will’s golden chest and put her thumb in her mouth. Will had automatically placed his cheek on the top of her head and fallen immediately back to sleep with his arms cradling her. Will was angelic looking in sleep, and with this beautiful innocent slumbering child with her head over his heart, it was a uniquely poignant and stunning shot. The women in the group were ooh-ing and aww-ing. If Hannibal had posed the shot he couldn’t have made it any better.
Hannibal saw Brian was leaning forward with his arms on the table looking over at him eagerly awaiting the next shot. Hannibal could feel the climate in the room changing as the other photographers were commenting to each other. Frederick was not looking happy. Three more pictures.
Number three was a picture of Will after that incredibly awful dancing of his; however, after the dance with sweat coating his body and his hair plastered to his face, he had a slightly wild look that Hannibal hadn’t seen on the man’s face before, like below the shy exterior there was a bit of a wild man inside. The animal skin loin cloth hugged his hips and bulged slightly after the exertion of the dance, and the paint on his skin made him look slightly barbaric, a bit wild and dangerous. Oh, yes, women liked that. He saw a couple of the women lick their lips and wipe their palms on their skirts. Brian was visibly smiling now. Two pictures left, and they were both doozies.
Number two was one of the best pictures Hannibal had ever taken. When he was sitting outside that first night watching the dawn come up and Will had come out of his hut, Hannibal had missed an incredible shot. So the next night he was ready, hoping for a repeat performance. As the sun was barely rising, Will had once again come out of his hut with the start of the sunrise behind him and laced his fingers together and stretched his arms over his head and beyond as he arched and stretched his back in a way that would make a gymnast jealous. His ribs were prominent, his stomach concave. Will apparently wore thin white cotton boxers to sleep in, and they were barely hanging onto his hipbones like they were defying gravity, like all it would take was one little nudge with a finger, just the smallest of touches to have those boxes tumbling to the ground and around his ankles. Then, with Dr. Will standing in profile and the faint rays of the sunrise behind him and his boxers being thin cotton, the outline of the treasures enclosed within those boxers were shown…but not shown. It was provocative. He saw every person there staring hard as if trying to distinguish what was what.
Brian was practically vibrating in his chair, looking at Hannibal with anticipation. He knew Hannibal was saving the best picture for last. Frederick, in the meantime, was shooting daggers out of his eyes at Hannibal, seeing the centerfold possibly slipping from his grasp.
Hannibal waited a few seconds to let the anticipation build before he flashed the last picture up, and Hannibal heard everyone in the room inhale, including himself. This was from the shots he had taken the first time he saw Will coming out of the river, water dripping down his chest, bare except for the unusual pendant. The water level was around his knees in this shot and the thin wet beige cotton shorts were hanging below his navel, barely hanging on to those hipbones, and were conforming to Will’s body showing that he’s a very well-endowed serious lefty. Several of the women were now squirming in their seats, and a couple of the men too, and Brian had a huge grin on his face.
“Damn, this guy’s a doctor?” Brian said. “We’ll have to do a special doctor issue in the future. Well, Hannibal, you really pulled it off. Of course I didn’t doubt you for a minute.”
Continuing, Brian said, “Now, I’ll be giving all your pictures my deepest consideration and I’ll let you know tomorrow whose picture I choose for the special anniversary issue centerfold. All right, back to work, everyone.”
“Whew,” Jimmy said smiling, “you really pulled that off, Hannibal. I had no idea you had all those shots of Dr. Will.”
Freddie wasn’t paying attention; she was still staring transfixed at the last shot of Dr. Will which was still on the screen.
* * *
The following day back in the Conference Room
The photographers and their crews were back in the conference room. Brian was standing next to an easel that had a covered picture on it. This was how Brian always announced the chosen centerfold picture, with a mock-up that he would now present to the room. Hannibal thought he had it, but when he looked over at Frederick he could see that Frederick still thought that he had it. Brian was letting the anticipation build.
“And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the winner of the centerfold for our special five-year anniversary issue is …" (he theatrically pulled off the cloth) "… Hannibal’s river shot of Dr. Will!"
Freddie and Jimmy were screaming and jumping up and down and clapping Hannibal on the back.
As the other photographers and their crews filed out of the conference room, Brian took Hannibal, Freddie and Jimmy aside he said, “I’m giving Dr. Will eight more pages in addition to the centerfold, so any other pictures you want to include with the story, I’m giving you carte blanche,” Brian said. "It’s a fascinating human interest story to go along with an obviously fascinating man. I have a very good feeling about this issue.”
Truer words were never spoken. As the magazine hit the newsstands a month later at 5:00 in the morning Hannibal watched the internet for comments on the issue. Within 30 minutes the hits started coming in and they didn’t stop all day long. Women and men alike were instantly in love with Dr. Will. The issue sold out so fast they printed an additional 500,000 copies. It was their best selling issue ever.
* * *
In the meantime on the other side of the world Dr. Will got a box special delivered right to the village. That had never happened before. When he looked at the return address he saw it was from Hannibal Lecter at Vilain magazine. He opened the box up and found a note with a bunch of much needed medical supplies, five copies of Vilain magazine, and a couple of large brown envelopes. Will read the note.
Dear Dr. Will,
I am forwarding you some additional medical supplies as a way to express my gratitude for your hospitality. I’m sorry things didn’t turn out quite as planned, but things have a way of working out. The enclosed magazine is proving to be our biggest seller to date, and you are partially to thank for that. The owner of the magazine has asked me to tell you that anytime you would like to pose for the magazine, even with your clothes on, he’ll be happy to give you all the medical supplies you need.
"What a strange comment," Will thought.
I have enclosed a few copies of the magazine. As you’ll see, we used many shots of the village as you recommended, in addition to some wonderful shots I took of you. I also took the liberty of forwarding some of your photos to a couple of top modeling agencies in the area, and they are very interested in you. They have given me modeling contracts to forward to you for your perusal. They also said that if you’re comfortable with me as your photographer, that could also be arranged.
"Fat chance," Will thought.
In closing I wish you good luck in all your future endeavors. Sincerely, Hannibal Lecter
Dr. Will picked up the brown envelopes containing modeling contracts and quickly tossed them aside. He then leafed through the magazine, quickly flipping past pages containing naked men, until he saw an article entitled, “The Incredible Dr. Will.” Well that’s certainly a flattering title, Will thought. There was a very nice picture of him with the villagers on the first page, with several smaller shots of the village on the page opposite. He sat down and started reading Freddie’s humorous description of the trip over, and then her observations of him and the village. He was smiling as he flipped the page over, and then his smile froze. He flipped the page again and starred in wide-eyed horror at the centerfold. He stood up and let the magazine drop from his lap onto the ground as he went in to fire up his laptop. He was going to send Hannibal Lecter a strongly worded email.
His email was loading slowly. He hadn’t checked it for a few days now. When it finally loaded he saw that he had over 2,000 new emails. He blinked and checked it again. Shit, he must have a virus. By the time he opened and read the first few emails to see what was going on he was blushing furiously at the suggestive content. He was going to kill Hannibal Lecter.
Well, his doctoring career was certainly over. He sighed as he went over and picked up the modeling contracts. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt just to take a look at them.