A/N – Plenty of swearing and possibly bad British accents in this one. You have been warned! It's also not a very happy chapter and it's definitely very V-centric. R&R please!
Chapter 2
Footsteps echoed deep in the vaults of the Ministry of Objectionable Materials, breaking a loud silence that often fell on places taboo in nature. Yet for Codename V, this was heaven. An entire library of books, films, music, and by far most importantly, art at his disposal, all of it hidden and marked to be destroyed by the totalitarian government that had ruled over Englanders for nearly twenty years.
Free to peruse the aisles in his Fingerman disguise at his leisure, he took his time as he would in any library, reading the occasional excerpt or two out of a leather bound book from time as volatile as the current. Many titles were duplicates of his own, but that was to be expected. Great thought alike and when the Finger came knocking, often the same books came out with their black-bagged owner.
Common Sense, he read, blacklisted Nov. 2010 for inspiring treasonous and heinous thought. He sighed, for the same could be said for most of the books in this vault. However, he was not here for books. No, a week had gone by and not a single movie had struck his interest to bring back to the Gallery.
He was just about to give up his search when a large crash brought his attention to the end of an aisle, reflexively pulling a semi-automatic pistol from it's holster at his waist, ready to attack if the need arise. He crept with the silence and speed that only genetic mutation could provide, sweeping his pistol up and down the back of the aisles until he was content that he was still alone.
Searching for the cause of the disturbance, he found a single DVD dated from 2008 laying face up on the floor, blacklisted in 2016 for 'sexual deviancy and explicit acts of violence.' Sighing, he supposed he would give this one a shot, but he hoped that the 'sexual deviancy' was kept to a minimum.
Climbing the steps to the halls above, he secreted the DVD under his jacket and proceeded unnoticed out of the emergency exit, slipping into shadows as clouds began to unleash their wet fury over a wintery London.
Forced from his usual roof routes by intermittent bouts of lightning, he felt almost vulnerable, but not from an attack. Even in the dead of winter, Fingermen still prowled in full force, always 'combatting' curfew breakers in the streets past eleven.
With the tube station entrance within sight a little more than a hundred meters away, he contemplated running for it, but almost as the thought crossed mind, a bloodcurdling scream howled behind him, and then a gunshot. Shit.
He could see another Fingerman approaching him with a pistol raised. "Marcus?" he yelled. His eyes trained on V and his eyebrows quirked in query. Who are you?
"Right here, mate," came a voice behind him. "Who's this you got with you?" They both turned towards V.
"Vance." He said as smoothly as if it had been his given name, keeping his discomfort firmly under control as he flashed his black and red badge.
"Vance? Now there's a name. You fancy yourself good at keeping you're mouth shut?" Marcus e eyed partner almost suspiciously.
V put his hands in his jacket pockets and shrugged. "I don't really give a fuck, to tell you the truth, mate."
The Fingerman smiled, convinced that this new bloke would let him get away with his lascivious deed. "Right. Well, I'm sorry to say there's no ass in it for you, but I won't tell if you don't. England prevails."
"England prevails."
He waited for the two to wander off, not wanting to be in such close proximity to a kill. V however, wanted a good look at where the scream had come from. He found the woman who's scream had pierced the wet night behind a dumpster, still alive, though clearly not for much longer. Blood bubbled pooled slowly from the gapping chest wound that had been inflicted.
"P-p-please…" she gurgled, hands clawing at his chest as he watched the last moments of her innocent life fade away. Out of pity he reached out and compressed her carotid artery, letting her slip away into unconsciousness before death finally took her. It was all he could do.
With a furtive glance he dashed across the street to the tube station, on the home stretch at last.
Evey bolted upright from her dozing on the couch at the sound of the 'front door' clicking shut. She had tried earnestly to stay up and wait from him, but as the hours ticked by, her body revolted against her and left her a drooling mess on the sofa. Quick and heavy footsteps passed within arms distance of her, yet V hadn't even offered so much as a customary 'good evening.'
Old piping creaked above her; she heard the running of water coming from one of V's suites. The smell of dampness and rain wafted through the Gallery, and following on its heels was the smell of copper. Curiosity got the better of her as she stood and walked towards the exit. His Fingerman boots were placed in a tray by the door, dripping with watery blood needing to be scrubbed away later.
She often stood her after he would leave on his 'missions,' half waiting for his return and half wondering what would happen if she simply walked out the door into the unknown.
She didn't hear him as he crept silently behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "You wouldn't get very far, you know."
She raised a hand to strike his chest, and he batted it away easily with a solemn chuckle. "You scared me!" Honestly, the man could read minds!
"Yes, that does tend to happen often." He handed her the DVD case, "Have I managed to terrify you out of watching a horror movie this evening?"
"Depends; is it related to sharks?"
"No."
"Singing transvestites?"
He raised a finger about to speak, but dropped it. Were there singing transvestites in this?
"Shall we find out?" He looped her arm around his elbow, escorting her towards the tellie room and away from the boots. Holding her close, V could feel raised goose bumps on her arms from the drafts that worked their way through the holes and crevasses of the walls. Without a thought he grabbed a red afghan from a lounge chair and handed it to Evey, receiving a quiet 'thank you' in return.
Popping the disc into the media player, V watched as Evey built herself a nest next to him on the sofa, draping his arm across the back of the chair as the opening trailers rolled, feeling Evey scoot closer to him.
He had to admit to himself that ever since Evey's arrive in the gallery, horror movies had become his favorite. Not because of the blood and death, his odd career of sorts had brought enough of that; no, it was because with every turn of a corner or scream of terror, Evey slowly scooted closer and closer to him as if he could provide protection of the horrors of the cinema screen without ever realizing it.
"Repo the Genetic Opera? Really V?"
"Have you seen it?" Though he highly doubted that.
She frowned, "Why was it blacklisted?"
"Scenes of sexual deviancy and explicit violent acts."
"How about just outright kookiness?" She said as a comic book style scene appeared on the screen. "Is it going to be like this the whole time?"
"I shouldn't think so seeing as the cover art features an actor dripping in stage blood." Too much blood, he thought, shaking the night's sorrows from his mind. Evey took it as a shiver and ignored it as a post apocalyptic plague world of death and horror was draw across the screen.
And then the singing started.
"V…" The vigilante pressed a gloved finger gently to her lips to silence her. "This isn't even a horror movie…" She groaned.
"Oh?" Then what was it supposed to be? There was plenty of blood in the first ten minutes, isn't that what made a horror movie.
"It's a slasher movie, V. There's a difference between slasher and horror."
"And what, pray tell, is the difference?"
"It's totally based on blood and gore but it's not even remotely scary. Just violent."
Ah, he thought. No matter, at least this movie seemed to have an understandable plot, unlike the previous week's feature film that left him quite at a loss for words.
For the better part of an hour, terrorist and captive sat in companionable silence, Evey flinching and V sitting stoically still when he might have chuckled as the Repo Man made quick work of all his victims. Several times Evey would look up at him, expecting a quip or two of his quirky humor, yet none came, and she had a vague feeling his lack of interest related to the boots by the door.
They watched on, V constantly tensing at the more suggestive moments as she had come to expect. She wondered if he was like this before she had come along or if it was just his way of showing modesty. She also found he would 'coincidentally' pick at a loose thread or avert his mask from the TV whenever Pavi Largo took to the screen wearing the flesh faces of his victims. For no more than a flash she saw that he too had severe burns across his face. Poor V, she thought, squeezing his knee without realizing it.
The masked man glanced down for a moment before dropping his arm along Evey's shoulders, returning the gesture for reassurance though he didn't feel he deserved her concern in the least.
The film began it's decent towards the climax, Sarah Brightman's voicing Blind Mag in her final performance.
"I wish I knew what she was singing." Evey said with a small hiccup of despair into his shoulder. With the foreshadowing plain as day, they both knew how it would end but continued to watch the final sequence.
V looked over at the slow stream of tears sliding down her rosy cheeks before translating Mag's last song:
"A long time ago
a fatal bird named Chromaggia
met the arrow of an archer
while flying. Along the lava coasts
for years, thinking it was being
chased it escaped the arrow
Chromaggia chromaggia
why don't you face danger?
the arrow was attached to its wing
and it flew trying to shake it off
Pulling the arrow
others get wounded because of me
Chromaggia, come take these eyes
I would rather be blind"
"It's beautiful," she said in spite of her sadness.
"Yes."
Along came the epilogue and like the intro, Graverobber was there to sing the final words.
"Epilogue!" she bounced against him.
V jolted out of his own world at the sound, "What was that?"
"Oh, just adding to the chorus. See? Surgery, surgery." She said in tune with the screen as it faded to black.
"So I assumed you enjoyed tonight's selection."
"Umhmm."
His efforts validated, he stood and bade Evey a pleasant evening before walking off to his room, anticipating a torturous night.
A/N #2 – So I chose 'Repo!' because 1. I LOVE it, and 2. there are a MILLION parallels that's I've found between several of the characters and V.