Chapter 10
' Cold Heart '
Evey sat on the bottom step. Ravensclaw was quiet----everyone had gone to bed hours ago----except for her. Victoria was asleep upstairs, exhausted from the days activities----the major one---horseback riding with her father. Evey had walked to the barn with them, Victoria dressed in a pair of jeans and black suede coat, and V, dressed as usual in his black jacket, breeches and boots---the mask and wig, no where in sight. Evey had had a brief fleeting thought about dragging him into the tack room and having her way with him, but V had caught the look in her eyes, and the soft dusty blush that had crept across her cheeks, his own eyes burned into her as he smiled wickedly. He helped Victoria make friends with her horse, Vigilante, one of the most beautiful black horses Evey had ever seen. As much as she would have loved to go riding with them, Evey begged off---the main reason----she had never been on a horse in her life! So she had returned to the house----and that had been several long hours ago. She had seen Victoria and spoke with her briefly, but V was no where in sight.
Rising from the steps, she began making her way toward the study, when the faint sound of metal against metal caught her ears. Following the clatter, she soon found herself outside a closed door. Peering inside quietly, she found V fighting against a suit of plate mail much like the one in the Shadow Gallery. His rapier sliced through the air as he danced around his old nemesis, Fernand Montego, and she had to giggle as she watched the scene before her unfold.
" Ah Mondego, we meet again......" V spoke, his rapier hitting the shoulder and arm, " This time, sirrah, I will give no quarter!"
Evey smiled, he was still the V she had fallen in love with---closing her eyes, she smiled and thanked God he had returned him to her.
" Evey?" His voice startled her as he took a step toward her.
" I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you." She replied, lowering her eyes, still shy toward him.
" Still spying on me?" He chuckled, raising one gloved hand to her cheek. " You do not have to hide any further to watch me."
" I know, " she wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling, " but sometimes, it's just plain fun to do it." She laid her head on his chest. It was still unusual for her to see him without the mask and wig---the tools of his trade, but his vigilante persona still existed, and she felt her heart almost burst as he held her close. " V...."
" Yes, my love? "
" Could we take a walk?" She ran her fingers through the short, graying brown hair.
He put the rapier away quietly.
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The fresh blanket of snow glistened in the moonlight, making the world outside, seem like a fantasy dreamland. Evey held onto V's arm, watching her steps carefully-----ice lay across the pavement that they walked on, and she didn't want to fall.
" A penny for the guy." V spoke softly, squeezing her hand.
Evey looked up at him. " What?"
" You have been most quite tonight." He stopped, " What is troubling you so, my love?"
Evey released his arm and turned away. " You remember that conversation we had about that tree thing?"
" The tree I did not think I had waiting for me?" He asked, his eyes locking with hers. " Yes...."
" Well...." She looked away again.
V felt a deep coldness settle over him. ' Evey, please don't....don't tell me you have changed your mind......' V's brain reasoned as he felt doubt starting to seep into his fragile sanity.
Evey turned to him. " Well, " She paused, " you did have a tree, just like I said, and...."
Oh god, how was she going to tell him-------she had no idea how he would react. She felt her strength slowly being sapped away.
" Evey, " V began, but was interrupted before he could finish the sentence.
" We're about to add another branch----I'm pregnant." She blurted out.
V stood frozen, mouth open, staring.
" Please....." Evey whispered, " say something....anything...."
" Pregnant?" He repeated the word slowly, tilting his head toward her.
' Well, this wasn't the kind of reaction I was hoping for....' Evey thought. A million excuses began running through her head-----she had been unsure how he would react----she knew he was older now, maybe he considered himself to old to have another child......
" Pregnant?" He repeated again, very softly, his hands at his side.
" V, I'm sorry—--I didn't mean for this to happen...." She paused, " It just did." and began crying softly.
V looked at her, a huge smile spreading across his face. " Are you sure, Evey. There is no doubt?"
" As sure as I can be without going to a doctor." She watched as his eyes grew wide with excitement, then scooped her up in his arms, twirling her in the moonlight.
" You're not angry?" Her arms flew around his neck.
" Ah, Evey...." V stopped, his eyes alight with the deepest and strongest of human emotions-----love. " How can I be angry?" A single tear ran carelessly down a semi-scared cheek. " What sweeter gift from nature has fallen to the lot of man than his children." (1)
Evey reached up and wiped the tear away with her gloved hand. " There is none, in all this cold and hollow world....no fount of deep, strong, deathless love, save that within a mother's heart."
(2) Evey sighed, " Oh, V...." She kissed him gently as the soft, curtain of snow protected them from old man winter's gaze.
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Chief Inspector Eric Finch watched, his eyes scanning every image that passed on the computer screen before him. " Bloody hell!" He swore under his breath.
Dominic Stone sat the coffee cup by Finch's hand. " How high is it now, Chief?"
" They just quarantined another sector----this time in Southwark, at Guy's Hospital. So far, thirty-five there are dead., and Dascomb just called----he wants us at the Prime Minister's press conference tomorrow morning." Finch answered as he put the cup to his lips.
" God...." Dominic ran his hand through his hair," it's St. Mary's all over again. Any idea how it's being spread?"
Finch shook his head. " They can only guess----some say it's an airborne virus, some say it's being passed person-to-person."
" What about you Chief? What do you think?"
Finch lit up his pipe. " What do I think, Dominic?" He paused, exhaling smoke. " I think it's going to be worse than St. Mary's. If Norsefire's remaining members, Viodoxin Pharmaceuticals, or whoever is behind this mess, wants attention----well, they have it now. But they also have someone else's too-----"
" You mean V, don't you.?" Dominic interrupted, " Are you going to contact him?"
" I don't think we'll need too----he'll be contacting us." Finch replied, " He knows all about the
St. Mary's virus. If anyone can help us figure this out, and put a stop to it, it's him. "
Stone nodded his head.
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V sat the phone back in it's cradle, and began pacing the floor, his hands clasped behind his back. He had just finished talking to Finch. The outbreak was getting worse-------and Finch had requested his help.
" Lord Samuel, you rang for me?" Colin Lucas entered the room in a whirlwind.
" Colin, please have Will bring the car around. I'll be leaving for London as soon as possible." V watched the older man turn and exit the room. Colin was V's other right hand man besides Gordon here at Ravensclaw----he knew more of V's past than anyone else, except Gordon, and he knew he could always count on the rather, stout, balding Irishman. Taking a deep breath, V sighed heavily, and headed for the bedroom he and Evey shared. He would explain to her about Finch's call----but not about the new virus that was attacking London-----besides, he smiled, Evey had a wedding to plan!
He rapped gently upon the door, but only silence greeted him. Pushing the door ajar, he found Evey curled up on her side, facing where he had lain not long before. One graceful leg had escaped the covers and lay where his legs had been, while her arm was curled across the pillow she had grabbed as she slept, searching for him. Moving silently to the bed, he kissed her forehead as she began the slow ascent into his world. " Good morning, my dearest." V whispered softly as amber brown eyes focused on his face.
" Good morning, V...." Evey smiled up at him, stretching. " What time is it?"
" A little after 9 am." He answered. " Are you hungry? I can fix you something if you like."
" Don't you have a cook for that?" She asked, sitting up.
" Yes, but unfortunately, " He paused sitting beside her, " today is her day off, so I get to cook for the household."
Evey giggled. ' Well, if that's the case then, I'm starved! I am now eating for two, you know...."
V ran his hand over Evey's abdomen gently, and could feel a patch of heat rising toward his palm. " Already, he knows his parent's touch."
Evey looked up at him, her eyes wide in surprise. " How do you know that?"
V chuckled. " Must I tell you all my secrets, little one?"
Evey watched the expression on his face---there was a hint of mystery in his eyes as he captured her lips with his, and Evey held the kiss as long as she could before pulling away.
V looked down into the eyes that mirrored his soul and pulled her tight. " join me downstairs after you dress." He whispered as he rose from the bed and left the room.
Evey watched as he exited the room and wondered how many more secrets he had------would she ever know the real V?
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Dominic Stone stood beside Finch as they waited for the wall to swing open, allowing their entrance into one of the deserted underground tunnel systems---- above them, Whitehall Station lay in ruins from the explosion that had brought down Parliament ten years before.
" I wonder why they never reopened this part of the Victoria line?" Dominic questioned.
" Who knows----maybe too many bad memories..." Finch replied.
Above the now closed station, stood Freedom Park and Memorial----dedicated to all who had lost their lives during Norsefire's reign of terror. Finch and Stone had walked these same tunnels many times in the past when V had been a bloody thorn in Norsefire's side, but today, it was for a different reason-----to meet with a group of freedom fighters who were helping Finch track illegal activities of the old party's remaining members. They had received information on a lab that may well be connected to the new virus. So far, at last count, over seventy-five thousand had lost their lives from the virus, and Finch and Stone both knew the numbers would continue to climb until it was eradicated. They rounded the corner and came face to face with Joshua Logan, the rebel leader and nine of his men.
" Inspector, it's good to see you again." Joshua extended his hand toward Finch who shook it. " Have you made contact with V?"
" Yes, he is returning to London immediately. " Finch answered as he and Stone followed Logan and his men through the elaborate tunnel system to their underground lair.
" I would like to meet with him as soon as possible when he returns. There are plans to be made." Joshua paused as he stepped through a doorway, and into another tunnel. " We have received new intel from our operatives pinpointing the location of the new lab. They estimate sixty to seventy people are there at any given time, and several large panel trucks have been seen entering and exiting the compound." Logan said holding the door for Finch and Stone to pass through.
" Mind if I smoke?" Finch asked pulling his pipe from his pocket.
" Please, by all means, Inspector."
The lighter burst to life, and in a few seconds, Finch exhaled a ribbon of smoke into the air. " If this is where the virus is being manufactured, the sooner we shut it down, the better. " Stone nodded as they continued down the dimly lit tunnel.
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" Would you like more, my love?" V asked, watching Evey finish off her second plate of crepes.
Pushing herself away, Evey picked up the napkin and wiped her mouth. " No, I'm full. Those were delicious, V."
" I do all that may become a man......(3) " He began, but Evey cut him off. " I know...."
V stepped back, his hands at his sides.
Evey noticed the clothing he wore----a dark silk shirt, matching vest , black trousers and shoes. " Going somewhere?"
" Evey...." V began, " I have to return to London today----I spoke with Inspector Finch, he requested my help on a small plan they have in the works." He let out a deep breath " They have located----" He stopped in mid sentence, looking at her, " A long time ago Evey, I promised you no more lies, only the truth----I will keep that promise, even now...." There was a long moment of silence before he continued." There is a new virus attacking Britain----it is possible that Norsefire scientists created it. So far, seventy-five thousand have perished from it. " V dropped his hands from her shoulders and stepped back. " Inspector Finch and Stone, with the help of a band of freedom fighters, believe they have found the lab where the virus is being cultivated." He looked at her. " Because of my exposure to the St . Mary's virus, I believe, as does Finch, that I may be of great help to them."
Evey's faced had turned a ghostly pale." V......no, you don't have to do this....."
" Evey, please.....I have to.....I can't let innocent people suffer again from something that I may have helped create." V's eyes searched hers.
" What do you mean----helped to create? I thought your blood held the cure for St. Marys."
V turned from her. " How do you think they developed the cure?" Anger began coursing through his veins. He glared at her, his eyes burning with hatred once again. " They infected us with the virus and waited to see who could survive-------I was the only one who did, and they used my blood to develop the vaccine." His hands clenched into fists. " I was the reason Norsefire came into power!"
Evey approached him, her hand touching his arm gently. " You are not to blame, V. Creedy, Sutler and the rest of Norsefire are to blame----they used you, they destroyed your memories and raped you of your humanity. You saved us-----and it almost cost you your life. Don't ever think that you were the cause!" Evey's eyes flashed as she looked at him." I'm going with you, and don't you dare tell me it's too dangerous."
" Evey...."
" I don't want to hear it, V. I've had enough of excuses....I'm going, and that's final."
" What about Victoria?" He asked .
" She'll be fine here with Gordon and Granny. I'll talk to her before we leave." Evey smiled at
him, lying her head on his chest.
V held her close, he knew that it would be useless to argue further, for he had seen the spark of fire in her eyes when she looked at him. Slowly, his hand came up beside her neck, and she slumped into his arms. " I am sorry, my dearest, but I cannot take that chance. I love you truly, and I will be most willing to give up my life for the people, but I am not so willing to give up yours." He laid the
small syringe on the table beside him and scooped Evey up in his arms starting up the stairs to the second level. She would be safe at Ravensclaw while he and Finch dealt with the virus and the remaining Norsefire party members. Then, maybe with the gods blessings, he would return to her once again. As he had said many times before, he did not believe in consequences, and therefore, fate may have just dealt him a new hand of cards.
Proverbs
Mrs. Felicia D. Hermans, Seige of Valencia
Shakespeare