What Truths the Light will Show
Disclaimer: As per usual, I must reluctantly admit that I do not own any part of V for Vendetta in any way, shape or form.
Chapter Five
vVv The Present vVv
Months after V's death found Evey in very much the same place she had been on the night she met him; skirting through the streets after curfew. Oh, she was a very different person now, and no longer felt the fear she had that fateful day. For one thing, curfew was more of a word than an actual policy. People were defying it more and more with the passing time, and there were almost no consequences for being out of the house after dark. Perhaps the few people left of Sutler's Fingermen understood that the public would no longer tolerate the imposed curfew. Thanks to this new public opinion, it was sometimes more dangerous to be the arrester than the arrested these days.
There were still dangers to being out alone this late. They were very much the same dangers as a woman walking alone at night faced before curfew was introduced. Robbers, rapists, killers; some of whom hid behind an all-to familiar mask. It sickened Evey to learn that the masks V had given the people to help them hide their fear and protect them from a corrupt government were now being used to protect criminals from being identified by their victims. Still, V remained a hero, and anyone caught using his face for less-than-heroic purposes were dealt with very harshly indeed. The people would not allow the reputation of their icon to be sullied in such a way.
Evey continued through the alleyway on her way to meeting Detective Finch. The two had taken to talking quite a bit about recent events and their plans for new London. It was wonderful to see the transformation in the policeman's demeanor since the fifth of November. He stood taller, smiled more easily and was obviously feeling a new sense of pride and confidence. No more squirming under the thumb of Sutler, Finch had finally realized his true purpose on the force.
Had there been even the slightest bit of noise in the night air, Evey never would have heard the sounds of another person in the alleyway. A rustle of clothing, a soft footfall against the pavement. She paused and shoved her hands beneath her jacket, searching for her weapons; the usual pepper-spray, for your every-day nuisance, and a knife (one of V's) to be used as a further deterrent. The footsteps ceased, but Evey knew that someone was still watching her from the darkness. Less than a year ago, she would have run away or cowered in the dark, begging not to be hurt. There would be none of that tonight.
"Who's there?" she challenged. Unafraid, she turned towards where she last heard the footsteps. "I don't like playing games. If you don't mean me harm, step into the light and show yourself to prove it. If you stay in the shadows, I'm coming to get you." Several seconds passed in silence. "Right then," Evey said briskly. She strode purposefully towards the stranger.
Instead of running as she had expected, her stalker had stepped into the light. Evey was enraged beyond words. Letting go of her pepper spray, she wrapped her lean fingers around the knife hidden beneath her coat. "How dare you?" she hissed. "How dare you wear that?" Standing there, seeing that smiling, friendly, familiar visage and knowing that a stranger's eyes stared back at her… it infuriated Evey beyond belief.
The man in the mask remained silent, apparently unaffected by the young woman's rage. He merely cocked his head and stood fast against her ire. "You bloody coward, how dare you wear that mask," she advanced on him. "Take it off now! At least have the courage to show your face! You don't deserve to wear his mask. Damn you!" The stranger stepped forward and slid his hand into his jacket.
Evey tensed, not with fear, but with anticipation. That a common thug would wear this face was a travesty, and the new Evey would not allow her beloved's memory to suffer this insult. She stalked towards the villain as he withdrew his hand from his coat and pulled out…
No… it can't be. This is impossible! Shock, hope and disbelief mingled in Evey's widened eyes.
The man before her held out a beautiful, red rose. A Scarlet Carson.
"I have given away many few of these," a familiar voice exclaimed, "but never to someone I cared about." He slid the flower's stem into Evey's trembling fingers. She struggled for breath, much like someone who had been drowning in a lake and had just burst free to the surface. Tears streamed down her face.
The rose slipped from between her fingers. It had not yet fallen to the ground when she took her first steps towards the man in the mask.
"Oh my God," Evey gasped. "Oh my God, oh my God…" She flung her arms around the man's neck and pressed against him. Gloved hands barely touched her sides, then slid around to her back and held her close. "Oh my God," she repeated tearfully. "V."
Author's note: I couldn't let him stay dead… I just couldn't. I'm too much of a sucker for romance and happy endings and all that jazz. Forgive my sappy, romantic, optimistic tendency to raise the dead but V is just too charming and charismatic and ADORABLE to be left for dead. In fact… never mind… I refuse to apologize. I'm not sorry. I am happy and I know it! claps hands I may or may not explain how in a couple of chapters. If you want an immediate explanation (albeit, a very unlikely one), go see my profile.