V watched the black empty streets of London from the rooftops, his cape bellowing around his legs as the winter began to slowly set in with biting wind. The buildings and houses twinkled softly but no-one was to be seen bar the Fingermen, the so called protectors of this once great city. They were barely men, they raped women, beat children and killed anyone who dared argue with their deranged judgement, and anything was an offence in modern day Britain.
There was currently a curfew of 10:30pm, everyone caught after curfew was subject to arrest which is why it caught V's interest when he heard the unfamiliar clacking of heels on the cobbled streets below. Carefully he followed the sound, peering over the side of roof seeing a small, elegantly dressed woman making her way down the back alleys of London, she was obviously not quite sure of the area, otherwise she would have known there were 3 patrolling Fingermen up ahead.
V continued to watch her as she came across the very Fingerman he was planning on interrogating that evening, however he listening intently to the conversation down below, she wasn't an authorised personnel from what V gathered which meant that she was subject to arrest, from these men she was subject to anything they chose. Especially when she revealed she was carrying a mace, V chuckled at her courage and begin to swiftly make his way down to the streets below in order to stop anything that was to happen to that innocent woman, she didn't deserve to die in a back street alley of London, for any reason.
His pulse quickened as he heard her begin to scream, she was screaming for someone to help her.
V stepped out from behind the stone wall and revealed himself to the Fingermen.
"The multiplying villainies of nature do swarm upon him." called out V clearly and loudly so that the 3 Fingermen noticed him as they were currently surrounding the young woman, trying to untie her jacket, this made V's blood boil with pure loathing
Two of the Fingermen turned from they're current task to look at V.
" What the hell?!"
"- Bugger off!"
V carefully revealed one of his steel knives, preparing himself to kill them, he began to speak as one approached "Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel which smoked with bloody execution."
The first guy approaching him got his fist ready to punch V "We're Fingermen, pal."
At the end of that sentence, the Fingermans nose became smashed in with the end of a blade and was punched to the other end of the alleyway, fatally hitting his head on the concrete wall. V continued his assault on the other two men, one ended up on the ground looking for a weapon, the other killed. As he caught up with the first who was struggling his way towards a weapon mere inches from him, V stood on his trousers stopping him in his tracks, making him look at the terrifying figure looming over him with a steel knife glinting menacingly in his hand.
"Jesus Christ! Mercy!" Begged the Fingerman.
V looked at him with simple disregard "We are oft to blame in this...'Tis too much proved. That with devotion's visage and pious action we do sugar o'er the devil himself."
"What's that mean?" cried the Fingerman
"Spare the rod." V replied before slashing his throat.
Assured he was dead, V turned to look at the woman he just saved, that's if she was still there.
Luckily for him she was, sat close against a wall, her mace in her hand, staring at him with wide frightened eyes. V took a careful step forward speaking softly
"I can assure you, I mean you no harm."
The young woman looked doubtful "Who are you?"
V cocked his head to its side "Who? Who is but the form following the function of what and what I am is a man in a mask."
The girl nodded her head forward with exasperation "Oh, I can see that."
"Of course you can. I'm not questioning your powers of observation. I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is." V replied calmly.
"Right." Was all the woman could reply, she was still scared and now becoming more confused.
V continued "But on this most auspicious of nights permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplace sobriquet to suggest the character of this dramatis persona." The last bit came as a whisper as he turned round and bowed his head into his cape. Then he began his performance.
"Voil!" He span round dramatically making his cape fly wide around him.
"In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance, a vendetta held as a votive not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose. So let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."
He was feeling quite giddy, he hadn't had a good audience in so long, he bowed low with his hat at the last sentence and stood up, gauging her reaction.
She stared at him for a while, looking at him extremely worried.
"Are you, like, a crazy person?" she said after a moment.
V paused in consideration, taken back by the question
"I am quite sure they will say so. But to whom, might I ask, am I speaking?" he concluded, curious to know more about his audience.
She eyed him up and down before carefully replying "I'm Evey."
Once again V cocked his head to its side in consideration "Evey? E-vey. Of course you are." He said conclusively.
"What does that mean?" said Evey.
V walked towards Evey "It means that I, like God do not play with dice and do not believe in coincidence. Are you hurt?" he said as he reached out his hand for her, which she grabbed and he pulled her up to standing. My, she was a small creature, like a doll.
"No, I'm fine. Thanks to you." She said with a small smile as she began to brush herself off.
V took a step back to give her some breathing space "Oh, I merely played my part but tell me, do you enjoy music, Evey?"
This made Evey stop in curiosity "I suppose."
V smiled widely beneath his mask "You see, I'm a musician of sorts and on my way to give a very special performance." He was once again excited, ready for the night to truly begin.
"What kind of musician?" Evey was now interested."
"Percussion instruments are my speciality but tonight I intend to call upon the entire orchestra for this event and would be honoured if you could join me.
Evey looked at him long and hard "I should be getting home." She whispered.
V gently pleaded with her "I promise you, it'll be like nothing you've ever seen and afterwards, you'll return home safely."
Evey smiled gently "Well we best go, before we're late then."
V held his arm out for her to hold, which she did and they set off for the Old Bailey.
"This is incredible, the view is breath-taking!" Exclaimed Evey, not having been this high above London before. The London Eye was demolished during the reclamation as it was deemed unnecessary and spoiled the beauty of London, or so the Chancellor says.
V agreed with her looking at all of London below them "A more perfect stage could not be asked for."
Evey looked around the terrace "I can't see any instruments V."
"Your powers of observation continue to serve you well but wait it is to Madame Justice that I dedicate this concerto, in honor of the holiday she seems to have taken from these parts and in recognition of the imposter that stands in her stead." He paused to look round at Evey, who was staring at him fixedly.
He continued "Tell me, do you know what day it is, Evey?"
"…November the 4th?" she replied, unsure.
"Not anymore." V said, as they both heard the chimes of the church bell, informing them it was midnight. V began to speak the long forgotten rhyme.
"Remember, remember
The 5th of November
The gunpowder treason and plot
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot."
V then got his baton out to begin his conducting, as Evey continued to stare at this strange man in amazement. "First, the overture." V had begun.
"Yes."
"Yes, the strings."
"Listen carefully, can you hear it?" He spoke to Evey as she waiting for a sound.
"Now the brass."
Suddenly there was beautiful noise surrounding her, she ran to the edge of the rooftop to stare over into the streets "I can hear it!" she said in wonderment.
"How do you do that?" she looked at V.
"Wait. Here comes the crescendo!" He shouted whilst waiving his baton at the Old Bailey which then exploded into a thousand pieces of debris to the surprise, and slight shock of Evey Hammond.
The music continued as did the explosions and over the racket Evey heard V manically laugh and say
"How beautiful, is it not?"
"Yes" she whispered to herself. "Yes it is."
Then at least a hundred fireworks exploded out from within the ruins, forming a V symbol in red over London.
"FIREWORKS" Evey shouted "Real fireworks! God they're so beautiful!"
It had been years, since Evey was a little girl, when Fireworks were aloud, this was first she and most of London had seen them in 20 years.
V had also stopped conducting the show, and stood back to watch the beauty of what was in front of them, Evey walked to his side and wrapped her arm around his again and just continued to stare at the blazing glory in front of them.
Eventually V sighed and looked at the beautiful woman next to him, truly she was pleasurable to look at, she had soft and kind features, dainty hands, beautiful lips….V stopped his thought process there before he carried himself away, he was a gentleman after all.
"We best start taking you home" He said gently. V had such a gentle, rich voice, it was full of culture yet sounded like a traditional English gentleman, it was very soothing and pleasant.
Evey continued to stare out at London "I've wanted to blow that building up for years."
She said it with such little emotion, it shocked V. "Is that so?" V questioned.
Evey started pacing the terrace "Yes, the Old Bailey, Parliament, The Chancellor's bloody house. This Government is so messed up, so completely wrong they deserve everything that hurts them and more." She said passionately, she continued to move around the terrace and move her arms in exaggeration. "I mean, they have killed hundreds upon hundreds of people for being Muslim, black, gay or just foreign. They have brought misery to everyone, kept us prisoners in our own homes, killed our families, IT ISN'T RIGHT V."
She had tears in her eyes, filled with passion and hatred, a hatred V knew very well himself. He gently touched her shoulder in a calming gesture, she breathed slowly before looking into the eyeholes of his mask.
"But you're actually doing something about it, unlike the rest of us who are controlled by fear and violence, you're fighting them…I wish I was as brave as you, I wish I wasn't scared all the time." Evey looked at the floor, speaking very quietly.
V looked at the amazing woman stood in front of him and spoke to her firmly "Evey, the mere fact that you think this way speaks volumes about your own courage and your own mind. Unlike so many others in this country who pretend everything is okay, you know that what Norsefire do and does will never be okay, they are inhumane. You know I think this too, I think my actions tonight spoke for that. What this country needs is Anarchy, it needs chaos to rebuild and start again as it cannot merely be changed, it needs to be rebuilt. What I do, is for the good of people who need to be taught they can change this world. People shouldn't be afraid of their Governments, Governments should be afraid of their people."
Evey was now calm and in control of herself, she listened to V carefully and looked at the remains of the Old Bailey. V spoke again
"Evey we must leave now, I wouldn't want you to be caught on camera in the company of myself." He said before gently pulling at her elbow to move off the terrace.
She nodded and they began to make their way down the stairs in the building, out into the front street, carefully walking to the back alleys in order to get Evey home safely.
As they started to make their way to her house, she stopped V suddenly and looked at him intensely
"V, let me help you."
V must have heard her wrong "Evey, I…."
Evey persisted "V, please listen. I know you will tell me that it's too dangerous and the whole country is going to be after you tomorrow morning. I barely know you but I cannot let this chance slip by me, I have no family, a low paying job, I live in a tiny dingy apartment. I'm barely living V and tonight is the most alive I have felt since…ever. I cannot continue to go about my life as it was after tonight and I want to help you, in whatever way I can to stop what is happening to this country." She said it with such conviction, V so badly wanted to say yes.
But instead he continued with the moral high ground "Evey, I cannot justify ending any chance you have of living a normal life because of one evening spent with me, whilst indeed I would never harm you, I could never hundred percent guarantee your safety if I wasn't around and it would destroy my soul if you were brought to harm. Whilst I admire that this is genuinely how you feel and what you want I can merely accept your support." He finished, feeling disappointed he simply couldn't say yes.
Evey looked at him long and hard and began to walk out onto the street before V yanked her back forcefully "What are you doing Evey?! You are just asking to be hurt, this place is going to be swarming with Fingermen and people from Fate any time soon, we need to leave now and get you home safe!" he urged her forward but Evey didn't move.
"If you do not take my help, I will turn myself in tomorrow as the girl that helped you blow up the Old Bailey. I would rather be imprisoned or killed than live the rest of my life like a zombie, V." she spoke with the last word.
If she could see his face, she would see that V was both slightly amused and utterly infuriated but decided that there was no way he was going to be able to say no to her. So as a compromise, he knocked her out by pressing hard on a pressure point in her shoulder before she noticed he moved, picked her up and began to carry her to his home.
Why, did he knock her out you are asking? He couldn't let her know just yet exactly where he lived, he also knew nothing about her background. She may trust him but he couldn't run the risk of trusting her!