CH 14

Evey finished her meal and went over to the sink to wash her breakfast dishes. She thought of V's disposition and how it changed. It was obvious that he was distracted by something that he didn't wish to share. There was something thick in the air. It was almost a foreboding sixth sense. A feeling of doom. It wasn't just the things he said, or the way he said them, it was his body language. He didn't want to part with her, and struggled with the decision to stay. To see V this way made Evey on edge. After Evey finished cleaning, she sat on the leather sofa in front of the television. She picked up the remote and flipped though channels until she came to a news broadcast.

Reports of food and water ration lines and the SSU military violently keeping order from the throngs of people that protested their presence. Their flag had adorned some of the buildings and troops marched through the streets in unison.

There was a band of news flowing across the bottom of the broadcast, which read: BBC SPECIAL REPORT: "10 PM military curfew… Anyone caught outside curfew will be taken into custody…SSU transporting all patients from Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospital to nearby medical facilities … SSU enforced Identity monitoring procedure for blocks "A" through "F" commencing tomorrow, please report to designated medical facilities …Norsefire former party member Brian Etheridge has been arrested on terrorism charges and crimes against humanity, if convicted he could face execution."

Evey finally understood what made V so distressed. It wasn't the fact that the SSU had occupied England, or that they were in grave danger of being found. She knew he had a plan; that he always stayed leagues ahead of his opponent and that he would protect her and his country even if it meant his demise. It was more than that. He didn't like the SSU Identity Monitoring Chip. That had to be it.

Evey heard of these devices in the past in the former U.S., but not to this extent. Over in the states, they had it completely implemented to the point that upon the birth of a newborn, the chip would be implanted under the skin. She had to admit. If V was concerned about this, he was well justified. After all, never in history had any government gained so much power so quickly from the use of a device that could dictate free will so completely. The possibilities of such a thing were frightening and endless. Through it, any government could very well likely control the world.

And V is only one man.

Evey's clenched her fists and her palms began to sweat as she watched for further developments.

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V felt cold sweat on the back of his neck as he began his intricate work. He was in the room with all of the chemicals that he used for explosives. Wearing a lab coat and plastic surgery gloves, he decided to remove his mask and select a mask that would protect his face and eyes from light and heat. The area that he operated looked more like a sterile environment with metallic small pieces that he soldered and wired. He used a magnifying glass to view his work.

He would create twelve of these little darlings. And be sure to give them the tender affection that they needed. Not missing a place or spot, until he achieved the perfection he sought. Then he would test one out. He had an inspiration about that too. She would never know. Quite the delivery system.

One complete. As he brought it up before his face, he cocked his head to the side. Brilliant. The tiny wheels could inflate on command, to compensate for rougher terrain. It still needed to be calibrated, so he grabbed a tiny instrument the size of a pin that was attached to a small unit with a wire and inserted it into the side. It squealed at first. Its wheels turned rapidly and then the resonance got to a higher and higher pitch until there was no sound. Silent. Small. About half the size in width of a business card, and about as thin as a cell phone. V looked toward the door, eager to try out his tiny masterpiece.

Evey looked absorbed in the news she was watching as V emerged from the rose room to the shadows. He had hoped that his white lab coat would not give him away and crouched down to put the device on the stone floor of the gallery. He faced it in the direction of Evey, and then stood to work the hand held remote. He pushed the small pointing device and the tiny vehicle took off and disappeared underneath the sofa where Evey sat.

V watched in amazement as he directed it to circle around her foot that was touching the floor, feeling proud of himself in the darkness at her obliviousness. He let it circle the sofa one more time just to be certain and maneuvered it to return to him. It stopped. To wait for its next command like a well trained dog. V covered his mouth with his hand and laughed at the irony. This was just too good to be true. He picked it up and went back into through the rose room to finish the rest of them. Then, all V had to do was add the volatile liquid explosive before going to the night to find them a home.

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The news had made Evey fidget and she couldn't get comfortable. To sit around and do nothing was torture and she wished that V were here to give her some reassurance. It would be a few hours yet before he would join her. Then they would discuss things and figure out what to do. She tried to read and to clean the gallery to get her mind off of things, but every time she would pass by the tele, something disturbed her eye; some vile attack on the innocent.

Perhaps if she started to make dinner that would serve as a distraction.

She went over to the stove and thought about it. Maybe a romantic dinner, some candlelight, would get her thinking of other things, since she was powerless at this point to do anything to help.

She found a roast in the refrigerator and seasoned it before baking in the oven. They would have a late dinner together, and she would discuss everything she knew and everything she learned, and then she would ask questions. She would find out what was troubling him and they would work out a solution together. Evey went into her bedroom to put on a lace bra and panty to peek through a short robe. She was checking herself in the mirror and her eye caught the business card Eric Finch gave her. He could very well be their way out if they needed him. There was something honest and sincere about him. She trusted him.

With the card in her hand, she checked on the roast, interrupted by yet another broadcast. One that made the card in her hand useless. On the Tele, Eric Finch was forcibly taken away in the back of a black truck, while the crowds around the scene were unstable, protesting. They tried to grab him. He was evidently under arrest. Evey had turned the volume down a while back and retrieved the remote to turn the volume back up as she sat down transfixed.

A female voice said, "It was not clear what he would be charged with at this moment… but former Norsefire member, Eric Finch has been arrested and detained by the SSU."

Reporters were scrambling to get a clear view of him before he disappeared into the back of the truck and the doors closed.

Evey's mouth hung open as she looked at his card in her hand. She had to notify V, something had to be done. She was not going to wait and let this situation get any worse. She got up from her seat and went to the bedroom to look for V.

"V?" She called out to him while she opened the door to the bedroom and knocked lightly.

"V?" She glanced around the bedroom. Then tried the doors to the rose room. She pushed them open, not paying any mind to the empty stems she saw scattered. "V? Are you here?" She yelled out this time.

If he were here, he would have heard her approach by now. She went back out into the hallway and tapped the business card in her hand as she went back to the bedroom. She opened the door and looked both ways first, and then looked around the dark room feeling her way to the bathroom. She turned on the bathroom light and looked behind her to see if she could find anything different.

The closet. One of his capes was missing. If she remembered correctly how many he owned. She looked at the ground thinking, and then her eyesight looked upon the small opening she had noticed before in the bathroom.

It looked like a doorframe. Evey skimmed it with her fingers and tried to find a way to open it. She looked around the bathroom for something to wedge between and found nothing. In the corner, she saw what appeared like a brick of metal. Surprised by the heavy weight of it, she brought it over to the door. It stuck with a force that startled her and she came to understand that this was not just any brick, but a powerful magnet. A secreted door knob. She pulled on it and the door opened inward revealing the blackness beyond.

"V?" She yelled out again into the pitch black and her voice echoed slightly.

Evey went through the door into the darkness and fell down a small flight of makeshift stairs feeling her ankle sprain as the heavy door shut behind her.

"Shit." She whispered in frustration.

"V?" She was in complete darkness now as she scrambled to her feet to limp back up the stairs.

"V!" She screamed loudly gripped with fear.

She panicked furiously scratching to find the opening again realizing that evidently, this was an exit only.