Chapter 10

' Don't Close Your Eyes......'

Tiffany tried to sleep, but every time she closed her eyes all she could see was V walking away from her and disappearing into the darkness of the Shadow Gallery. " Damn!" She threw the covers off; grabbing one of his shirts, pulled it over her tank top and shorts then stormed out of the bedroom.

He stood, just staring------his body swaying slightly to and fro, his eyes locked onto the painting hanging before him. How many times had he found himself here in the middle of the night when his mind had been occupied with thoughts of her? He had finally lost count---------she occupied his mind most of the time now, his vendetta seemingly thrown aside like a grain of sand on a beach. The hands by his side tightened into fists, and his breathing became erratic as her image filled his mind.

" No!" The scream echoed throughout the gallery as a priceless Ming vase shattered against a stone wall and onto the floor. Throwing himself into the chair behind him, V held his head in his hands as great sobs ripped from his chest. Vengeance had dealt him a swift and fatal blow-----he would not live to see the dawn of a new day in England's history--------she would claim him as her own, and he would loose the one thing he had always been denied--------love from another human being.

It was this scene of extreme emotion that Tiffany came upon---------and the man sitting in the semi-darkness tore at her heart. Never had she seen him distraught before, never had she seen him stripped of the idea-------as vulnerable as he was now before her.

" V?" She asked softly, approaching where he sat.

V straightened upon hearing Tiffany's voice, his back going ramrod straight as he swiped at the remnants of tears that trickled down his cheeks. " Do you require something Tiffany?"

She moved to kneel in front of him, her hands taking his bare ones. " V, let me help------please don't shut me out."

Letting out a deep breath, V looked up, his eyes holding hers. " This is something I must finish alone-------you were never meant to be a part of it. You were never meant to be here." How he had wanted his alternate plan to be feasible enough to work-----but now, he knew it had only been the result of an overworked mind-------and nothing more. He would never put Tiffany in the extreme danger that he was about to face. His life was expendable-------hers, would never be in his eyes.

" But yet I'm here." Tiffany smiled as she touched his cheek, brushing away the wetness that lay there." I know that you don't believe in consequences, and sometimes neither do I but V, I just have to believe that we were brought together for a reason-------what that reason is I don't know, but I do know I love you and I'm not leaving you now or after this is all finished." She moved toward him until finally, her lips captured his.

His arms slipped around her as he pulled her to him and pondered why seemingly now, it appeared that God did indeed play with dice to control the lives of men. "Love seeketh not itself to please, nor for itself any care, but for another gives its ease, and build's a Heaven in Hell's despair." (1) He spoke softly, his words gently caressing Tiffany's hair. " I dearly love you so that I will not place your precious life in danger."

Tiffany pulled slowly away, looking at him. " What are you talking about?"

" There is something I must show you." He rose from the chair, taking her with him. " Please meet me in the main chamber in fifteen minutes. Dress warmly, for where we tread it is damp and cold." He replied before walking away toward his dressing room.

" V....wait....." Tiffany called after him, but he did not alter his course nor look back and she felt a cold numbing chill engulf her. Why did she feel like this was the end of everything------the end of her perfect world? Sighing, she walked slowly down the hallway toward their bedroom.

V lead Tiffany down the hallway toward a spiral staircase that descended into blackness. " Take my hand-------the wrought iron can be very difficult to maneuver on in the dark." He held out his hand to her.

Tiffany smiled as she took it tightly. " I'm not afraid of the dark or what may lurk in it, V."

The mask turned to the left, in thoughtful contemplation. " I know." Slowly, he began his way down the steps.

Eric Finch sat comfortably in the chair next to the small heater that provided minimal warmth to his small three room apartment. Finch had lived there for almost fifteen years---------ever since the death of his wife and five year old son. St Mary's had rampaged through the streets of London like the Black Plaque some three hundred years earlier, wiping everything out in its hideous way. Taking a big gulp of scotch from the glass he held in his hand, Finch looked out across the skyline of what was once a vibrant and thriving city----but no more since Norsefire had come into power. He had just placed the glass on the nearby table when a call came in on his cell.

" Finch."

" Inspector, you need to come to the office immediately--------I think I've found something." Stone's voice filtered from the other side of the phone.

" This better be good Dominic." Finch huffed the answer.

" I've found a connection between Prothero, Lilliman....." There was a pause on the other end. " and a place called Larkhill."

Finch launched himself out of the chair." I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Grabbing his overcoat, he bolted out the door.

V lead Tiffany down the dark, stone staircase ." I've never been here before." She spoke quietly, her hand tightening the grip on his gloved one.

" Yes. It is the deepest part of my home. Once you know it, I should think you'll know everything."

V replied as his finger pushed a button, a secret passage opening into what appeared to be a large stone wall. Moving slowly, he guided her through a series of narrow passages leading to another door. Cautiously, Tiffany stepped out into an underground subway station. Not like most of the others that had fallen into ruin, this station looked as if it had just been built. White pristine walls and floors surrounded the train that sat silently in the blaring light of the overhead fixtures.

" It's beautiful, V. " Tiffany breathed as her eyes wandered the length of the cars. " Where did you get it?"

" Among the ruins. Once I laid the track to the station, I brought the train here and repaired it. It took me ten years to accomplish both tasks." V placed a gloved hand on the slick steel siding. " It will deliver Norsefire's final downfall."

Tiffany looked at him.

Understanding the expression that flitted across her face, V took her hand in his and stepped into the car.

" Oh my god......"

Stacks and stacks of fertilizer and gelignite lined the walls and covered the floor-------and she suddenly realized that the antique train car was no more than a rolling bomb. " V, where does this track lead?"

" This is the old Victoria line, but it is blocked somewhere between Whitehall and St James." He answered.

" Whitehall?" Tiffany said as confusion shone on her face, " V.......that's where Parliament is."

V nodded slowly, then turned to her. " During the time we have been together, you have opened my eyes to many things Tiffany, " He began, his hands resting on the stacks of explosives, " you have changed the way I perceive the world around me. Very shortly, this world that I am a part of and helped shape will end. You taught me that it is not my right to pull this lever," he motioned toward the engineer's control shift, " but the new world's." He let out a deep breath, " Yes, it will happen-------if you want it to."

Tiffany studied the porcelain face," If I want it to? What are you talking about V?"

" It will be up to you to make that decision."

" What-------to blow up Parliament?" Tiffany asked astonished that he had the nerve to ask her to do something so utterly ridiculous. " Are you nuts?! Never mind that------I already know you are, and this plan of yours just proved it!"

" Tiffany, please......."

" V, this is crazy!" She exclaimed backing away, " I know that I said I would help you anyway I can, but sending a train car loaded with explosives to Parliament is a little too much."

Sighing heavily, V studied her." A building is a symbol, as is the act of destroying it. Symbols are given power by people. A symbol, in and of itself is powerless, but with enough people behind it, blowing up a building can change the world." (2)

" It can also get you killed.........." She crossed her arms over her chest, and watched as the masked face before her dropped. " You really want me to do this?"

" Yes."

" Blowing up Parliament is going to change the world?" She giggled softly," Sounds a little crazy to me, but if you believe that it will , then I guess I'll just have to do it. "

" I knew you would not let me down." His gloved hand touched her face gently. " Come, I have an appointment tonight, and I may require your assistance for a short period of time."

" Oh yeah?"

" I will need you to observe the Nose for a few hours. I believe that Mr. Finch and his partner may have discovered some information."

" On you?" Tiffany asked as they left the train and headed back upstairs to the gallery.

" No, on Larkhill."

Eric Finch threw the ratty tan overcoat across his chair as he entered the office he shared with Dominic Stone. " What have you got Dominic?" He peered over Stone's shoulder at the monitor.

" A connection. " Stone looked up at him. " Larkhill Resettlement Camp. Prothero's and Lilliman's employment records show that they held positions there at similar times."

" What about Codename V?" Finch asked.

" Most of the camp's records were destroyed by Norsefire for security reasons, but I believe that we may be able to find additional information from the camp's tax records." Stone smiled.

" Brilliant, Dominic! " Finch grinned, " One thing can be said about any kind of government, they keep detailed tax records." He slapped Stone on the back, " Let's go!"

V made his way down the alleyway toward the brick building that was his destination. Stopping in the darkness, he pulled the Scarlet Carson rose from his cape and looked at it, his head tilting to the right then the left in silent thought. Tonight would be different---------- no knives, no violence. Death would be delivered by the small syringe that lay hidden in the pocket of his jacket. Even if she was a monster, she did not deserve to die as the others had---------her death would be quick and painless. He smiled slightly under the mask , replaced the rose back into the safety of the cape and hurried across the street into the darkness.

Dr. Delia Surridge drew the covers back on her bed, placing the red leather bound journal on the table beside her. Slipping between the sheets, she picked the book up and held it in her hands----it contained everything about her time at Larkhill. She knew it was only a matter of time before he would come for her, and in a way, she welcomed it. Finally, she would finally be able to rest. She had retrieved the book from the floor safe for only one reason -------so he would have it-------so he could know about himself. Everything about number Five was in that journal; from the day he arrived up to the final results of the experimentation that had been conducted on him. Hopefully, this small payment would help him find forgiveness for her, but she doubted it------not after all she had done----murder could never be forgiven. Sighing, she replaced the book back on the nightstand and shut the lamp off.

Tiffany sat on the bench staring at the train. She was going to blow up Parliament-------- oh god, she was going to become a terrorist just like V! ' Very shortly, this world that I am a part of and helped shape will end. You taught me that it is not my right to pull this lever....' She heard him in her mind again, but something was different this time........something in his voice made her think. The words he had spoken now had a finality about them. Tiffany gasped when she finally wrapped her mind around the words he had spoken, and the train. He was not planning on coming back to her-------his alternative planning was nothing more than a smoke screen to protect her. She rose from the bench, anger rising deep within her as she turned to leave---------but a small sound caught her ears, and she turned toward it. She listened closely as another sound came from down the track. " Viola?"

Another meow echoed off the walls as it came closer.

" Viola?" Tiffany moved quickly down the station platform, " Here kitty, kitty....."

Again, the meow sounded as if in response. Tiffany watched as the shadows around the car began moving toward her slowly taking form. " Viola!" She cried happily as the cat hurried to her side-------followed by four smaller forms----two black and two white and black. " You had babies!" She watched as the kittens played around at her feet, chasing their mother's twitching tail. " V is going to have a cow when.......oh crap! I've got to get back to the Gallery. Com'on guys!" She turned and hurried toward the steps, the kittens tucked protectively in her arms.

Delia Surridge awoke from a restless sleep and slowly sat up in the bed, catching a familiar scent. She could sense that she wasn't alone-----something or someone stood within the shadows of the room. " Roses." She slowly closed her eyes. " It's you, isn't it? You've come to kill me."

" Yes." A whisper from the shadows.

Tears began to streak down her face. " Thank god, oh thank god."

Finch inserted the first of several discs that contained tax information for Larkhill and waited patiently as the computer screen jumped to life. Several names began appearing, then slowly a whole list began to scroll down the screen-------- each with the word 'deceased ' following them.

"Oh bloody hell......" Finch gasped as he watched.

" He killed them all? It's not possible........" Dominic's voice trailed off in disbelief.

" According to this Dominic, there was only one remaining person from that list whose bio was still open--------a Dr. Diana Stanton......put a trace on her, find out where she is." Finch ordered as he took a seat behind his desk.

" I'm on it Chief." Stone's fingers flew across the keyboard as he began compiling any information in the Fate computer system.

Finch pulled out his pipe and lighter settling back in the chair.

" Are you afraid?" V's voice floated from the edge of the room's shadows------an avenging angel, ready to take his sacrifice.

" No, no.........I thought I would be at first, then ….....no, I'm not." Delia answered as she wiped tears from her eyes. " I'm relieved." She replied as V moved from the shadows to sit beside her on the bed.

" I always knew that you would come back." Delia paused looking at the mask, " The night you made your escape, I saw you--------you were standing against the flames, looking straight at me."

The mask almost nodded.

" I knew then that someday you would find me..........what....what happened at Larkhill........what we did.......that I could do such horrible things like that." Surridge's voice dropped to an almost confessional tone. " For years I blamed it ….....blamed it on the government, on the authority I could never stand up to, but living with that knowledge of what I did all those years ago has made me understand otherwise. I alone was accountable."

" No Delia," The soft voice that came from the mask in front of her made her look up , " you were never alone. There were others."

" It's funny. I was given one of your roses today. I wasn't sure you were the terrorist until I saw it." She smiled at the hovering mask just inches from her. " What a strange coincidence that I should be given one today."

" There are no coincidences, Delia only the illusion of coincidence. " He took her hand in his. " Maybe in another time, things could have been different."

" Oppenheimer was able to change more than the course of a war you know. He changed the entire course of human history. Is it wrong to hold onto that kind of hope?" Delia asked as she looked at the paleness of her hand wrapped in black leather.

" Only if human misery caused that hope to grow. I did not come for what you both may have hoped to do Delia, I came for what you both did." V reached into his cloak. " I have another rose. This one is for you." He handed it to her.

" Are you going to kill me now?" She looked into the black eye slits.

" I killed you ten minutes ago." He replied, holding the hypodermic needle up for her to see.

" Is there any pain?" She asked, her fingers caressing the rose petals gently.

" No. No pain."

" Thank you." Delia sighed softly, raising the rose to her nose and inhaling. " May I ask you something?"

" Anything."

" May I see your face?"

V's hand raised the mask carefully revealing himself to Surridge.

" Is it to late to say I'm sorry?" She asked as tears cascaded down her cheeks.

" Never."

" I'm so sorry." Her hand touched his face gently, " I'm so very, very sorry."

V took her hand from his cheek and laid it gently on the bed. " I know." He whispered softly as he quietly closed sightless eyes.

(1) William Blake------Songs of Experience

(2) V for Vendetta-----Movie script