Author's Notes: Yes, I'm still alive and kicking (and screaming, but that's another story). At any rate, sorry about the delay, life combined with a stubborn muse has left me a bit stuck, but things are starting to roll along nicely now. I hope. As always, please enjoy and then leave a review.
V kneels on the floor in the middle of the Gallery, the maps to the old, defunct Tube system spread out before him. He hears her door open and he suppresses his displeasure as he mentally takes down notes, his plan slowly taking form. A few moments later, the sound of retching has him on his feet and moving towards the corridor that leads to her room faster than a thought.
By the time he reaches the hallway, she's cowering against the wall, sobbing uncontrollably. There's a wet spot on the floor near her and even the mask can't filter out the stench of bile that fills the area. The instant she sees him she starts whimpering and trembling, pushing herself into the wall and curling into a tight ball as if she can escape from him that way.
With a sigh of disgust, he turns on his heel and goes off to get cleaning supplies. By the time he returns, she's moved closer to the bathroom and thrown up again, this time thoroughly getting her front in the process. He barely suppresses his ire as he puts down the cleaning items and walks over to her.
She tries to make herself as small as possible as he steps up to her, but it makes no difference. He reaches down, grabs her by the waist and easily lifts her as she continues to whimper in fear. He swiftly carries her into the bathroom, holding her at arms length and unceremoniously dumps her into the tub where he turns on the shower, not caring what the temperature is set for.
He goes to clean up the messes she's made in the hallway and returns sometime later to find that she's still curled up in the bath with her clothes on and the freezing cold water beating down on her. He turns up the heat, briefly taking his glove off to check the temperature before sliding it back on. He grabs a bottle of shampoo and a bar of soap and drops them in the tub with her before heading for the door.
"Strip, wash yourself, turn off the water, dry off, get out and then dress in clean, dry clothes," he orders. "When you accomplish that, I want you to go to the kitchen and wait for me there. We need to talk."
With that, he firmly closes the door behind himself and a cold shiver runs down her spine that has nothing to do with the temperature of the water. The tone of voice he had used in that last sentence would have made even the cruelest of trainers she ever had shudder in fear. But not wishing for a repeat performance of yesterday, she begins to strip herself of her sodden clothes to perform the tasks he's laid out before her.
Even moving as fast as she can, it still takes her over an hour to become presentable. She staggers across the Gallery and into the kitchen; a thin sheen of sweat covers her body as she gasps for air while she tries to keep from having any more dry heaves. Trembling, she collapses into a chair at the table, convulsively swallowing and she really wishes the world would stop spinning.
When V finally enters the kitchen, the world has steadied, the sweat has dried and she feels like she needs another shower. She takes one look at him and she starts trembling again, breaking out into a cold sweat. She stares down at the table top when he turns to look at her and she can hear him make a disapproving sound.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he forcefully states.
She doesn't reply, but touches the side of her face that's bruised and scabbed over.
"Not right now at any rate," he says menacingly.
She doesn't collapse in a heap, but the tears start anew, leaving wet trails down her cheeks.
"You disobeyed me," he snarls, leaning over the table towards her. "All of your supposed training and you disobeyed me. I saved your life and I should be the one person in this world you should obey without question."
"How?" she whispers.
"How what?" he growls.
"How did Ah disobey ya?" she softly asks, still staring at the table.
"HOW DID YOU DISOBEY ME!?" he repeats incredulously and she winces at the volume. "HOW!? I tell you to not contact the major's children and you ask me 'how'!?"
"No, ya didn't," she mumbles, staring at her hands in her lap.
"I didn't what?" he demands, his voice low and threatening.
"Ya didn't tell meh not to contact 'em," she answers, her voice shaking almost as badly as her body. "Ya told me Ah couldn't see 'em again, not that Ah couldn't contact them. An' I didn't ask ya ta save my life. Ah asked ya ta end it."
She closes her eyes and braces herself for the blow that is sure to come. Maybe if she's lucky he'll hit her hard enough to either knock her out or better yet, he'll give her enough of an injury that'll leave her senseless for the rest of her days. Instead of the expected beating, he places he hands on the table in front of her and leans over the piece of furniture until he's close enough for her to hear him breathing through the mask.
"You disobeyed me," he softly growls.
"Ah did not," she whispers.
"Yes, you did!" he insists rather loudly as he slams his fist on the table, causing her to jump and something inside of her just snaps.
"Ah did not!" she shoots back, her head snapping up to stare him in the mask. "Ya always told meh not to hurt myself or your home. Ya didn't say anythin' about sendin' them an email."
"You knew better," he grinds out between clenched teeth.
"Ya told me Ah was free," she snaps. "Yet, here Ah am day after day stuck down here, never seein' the sun while you're flittin' about doin' God knows what. How can ya possible expect meh to just forget about those boys when they were the only bright light in that dark hole Ah called a life? An' while you haven't done meh as much harm as Michael did, the knowledge that you won't let me see those boys again is just as cruel as any beatin' Ah ever got. A gilded cage is still a cage, V."
"There are men from both the Nose and Shire Stables searching the tunnels looking for this place and they're down there because of you," he growls.
"Then do as Ah asked you to do when we first met and kill meh!" she yells, coming to her feet bringing her face to his mask. "Leave my body where they'll find meh an' then ya won't have to worry about your precious home and whatever the hell it is your doin' down here!"
In a movement that the eye can't follow, he whips out one of his knives from God only knows where and holds it to her throat, the point on the verge of piercing the skin. She draws a sharp breath in both surprise and fear as she feels the sharp tip just above her jugular vein and then just as quickly as the fear came, it leaves as an odd sense of peace comes over her. The knowledge that it'll all be over soon and there will be no more pain and no more nightmares and no more suffering and it actually brings her comfort.
"Do it," she states in a calm, steady voice, her tears drying on her cheeks. "It's the least ya can do for those boys."
"How do you mean?" he asks and she can practically hear his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Ruth and her husband were strugglin' to make ends meet before you killed Michael," she explains. "Now they've got a couple extra mouths to feed and they're doin' even worse. As long as the government thinks that Ah'm alive, the boys won't get one red cent of Michael's money and Ruth and her husband will either have to give the boys over to the government to raise or lose their flat. Kill meh and it'll make everythin' easier on everyone."
"Don't you want to live?" he asks.
"Not if it means those boys suffer," she answers, lifting her chin a little higher. "Do it."
She waits passively for the pain to start, idly wondering if it'll hurt more than the throbbing in her head. Several seconds pass as bright green eyes stare at the black screen covered eye holes of the mask, trying to see the eyes of the man who's about to murder her. The seconds stretch out to what seems like hours as neither one of them moves, both staring at each other in silence.
Suddenly, the knife is gone, returned from whence it came and he gives an approving nod as he stands up straight once more. She blinks several times as she looks at him in bewilderment, her hand absently rubbing the spot where the knife had been. He comes around to her side of the table, takes her chin in his hand and turns her face so that he can see the mark he had left there the day before.
"Even if I do kill you and leave you for them to find, Shire Stables now knows of this place," he states. "One way or another, they will have to be dealt with. It'll probably leave a small scar, but nothing too noticeable."
"If Ah'm dead, why would they keep lookin' for this place?" she asks, refusing to sit back down despite how hard her knees are shaking.
"Because they know there's money to be had here," he states as he releases the confused woman's face and then turns towards the icebox. "Men like Percy will go to a great deal of trouble to get something if they think that it's worth it and that they can get away with it. I think breakfast first and then it will be time to start your training."
"What?" she asks in complete befuddlement as he starts pulling items from the fridge and then his last sentence fully registers. "No! No more trainin'!"
"Excuse me?" he asks as he straightens up.
"Ah said no more trainin'!" she repeats heatedly. "Ah'm not some animal an' Ah will not be trained! An' Ah don't want bacon an' eggs for breakfast."
"You are correct, you're not an animal," he replies with a nod. "I was not planning on training you to behave the way I see fit; I am going to teach you to defend yourself."
"Oh," she responds in a small voice, her cheeks starting to warm in embarrassment.
"Might I ask what you have against bacon and eggs?" he inquires as he puts the items away.
"My stomach's still queasy," she admits as she puts a hand on her tummy. "Ah'm afraid that'll just come right back up again."
"Ah, I see," he says as he closes the appliance's door. "Then what would you like for breakfast?"
"Oatmeal or porridge," she answers. "Somethin' bland. Ah can make it myself if you like."
"Very well," he nods as he opens one of the cupboards. "You'll find what you need in there. I will go get the training room ready for your first lesson and then we need to talk about what needs to be done about the current situation."
"How close are the Nose and Shire Stables to finding this place?" she asks quietly.
"Fortunately, not very close," he answers as he begins to leave. "But given enough time, they will find it and that is something I'd like to avoid."
"Ah don't suppose sayin' Ah'm sorry is gonna help," she suggests.
"No, it won't," he retorts just before he disappears around a corner.
"Ah thought not," she says quietly to herself as she goes to make her breakfast.
"Ah'm sorry, V, Ah just can't do this," she pants as they stand in the training room, sweat pouring from places she didn't know she had sweat glands.
"You can and you will," he states firmly as he approaches her once more.
"V, Ah have been lyin' or sittin' around this place for the past month like a big lump," she points out. "How in the world can ya expect me to be able to be strong enough to do any of the things ya're showin' me?"
"Oh, but you haven't been sitting around like a 'big lump'," he tells her as he circles her like a big black cat. "You have been walking around that storage room carrying around some rather sizable pieces of artwork and what I'm showing you doesn't require all that much strength, just the ability to know how to break free."
"That doesn't mean Ah have your strength or stamina," she tells him as she watches him circle around behind her.
"I would become most worried if you ever did," he chuckles. "My point is that you haven't been sitting around all this time. You simply need to work up some stamina and you need to learn to defend yourself without thinking about it."
Before she can even blink he has one arm around her neck and the other around her middle, pinning her arms to her sides. She lets out a startled squeak and then shrieks as he kicks her legs out from underneath her. She tries to land as he's shown her, but instead gets the wind knocked out of her when she hits the matt flat on her back and there are spots dancing in front of her eyes when he lands on top of her, pinning her to the ground.
She tries to drag air into her lungs as he holds her to the matt, his weight keeping her from fully expanding her lungs. She feebly struggles against his superior strength and weight and then gives up with barely a whimper. With a sound of disgust, he gets off of her, stands up and drags her to her feet. She grabs hold of his arm in order to stay on her feet and she can practically feel him glaring at her from behind that damn mask.
"Ah…Ah…Ah just can't do it," she gasps, not caring how much he dislikes being held onto.
"You can do this," he states firmly.
"How long have we been goin' at this?" she asks as she slowly gets her breath back and loosens her grip on him.
"About three hours," he answers as he peels her fingers off of his arm.
"Three hours!" she yelps in surprise. "No wonder Ah feel like Ah'm gonna drop."
He looks at her critically for a few moments and then lets out a resigned sigh.
"Very well," he grumbles. "Go get cleaned up and then we'll discuss my plans for the hapless fools who are wandering in my domain."
She just nods and then staggers out of the training room, headed for her room for clean clothes and then a shower.
"Are you ready?" he asks as she fidgets nervously beside him.
"As ready as Ah'll ever be, Ah suppose," she answers as fingers the wig she's wearing.
"Don't fidget so," he gently admonishes as he casually swings his walking stick.
"Ah'm livin' bait for the men who want to hurt me and I'm not supposed to fidget?" she snorts while he leads her up the stairs of the closed tube station.
"Point taken," he replies with a nod. "But please stop playing with your wig or your cut will be quite visible."
"Sorry," she mutters. "I'm just nervous."
"I will be there to protect you," he reminds her.
"You're supposed to be a gimpy old man," she points out.
"And you're supposed to be mute," he counters. "That being the case I suggest you stop talking in case someone accidentally hears you."
She opens her mouth to answer him and then quickly shuts it, finally nodding her response.
"Good," he says with approval. "Wait here and I'll see if the area is clear."
He leaves her in a shadowed alcove while he heads the rest of the way to the surface. She watches this strange man in yet another of his disguises as he moves smoothly up the steps. She can already feel her muscles starting to ache from the work out he gave her earlier and the long walk to get to this particular station isn't going to help any.
"It's clear," she hears him call softly. "Please hurry."
She quickly joins him at the top of the stairs as quietly as she can, but making way too much noise if the look on his latex covered face is anything to go by. With another of his disapproving sighs, he takes her arm and then quietly peeks out the entrance to the station they're in. Without a word, he slips out the door, pulling her along behind him and by some miracle she manages to make it through without catching either herself, her clothes or the basket she's carrying on the door or its frame.
As soon as they're in the darkened alley way, he takes on the role of feeble old man being escorted by his mute granddaughter. Quietly they make their way towards the busy street and she can feel her heart starting to race and her palms begin to sweat. But a few moments later, all thoughts of the Nose and Shire Stables are wiped from her mind as for the first time in a month she feels the most wonderful sensation on her skin.
The sun warms her to her very soul and she stops for a moment to just bask in its radiance. V gives her a bit before giving an impatient, but gentle tug on her arm. She ignores him as she turns her face towards that glowing disk in the sky, closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, immediately coughing as a passing coach's exhaust fills her lungs.
"Are you quite through?" he irritably whispers in her ear and she chokes as she nods 'yes'. "Good, the market is just down the street and over a block."
She nods that she understood him and they slowly make their way down the street towards the open market under the pretext of buying fresh fruits and vegetables. The process is slow going as V plays a very convincing elderly gentleman, occasionally stopping to catch his breath in places that just happen to in view of one of the many cameras watching the city. Despite the joy of feeling the sun on her skin again, she's a bundle of nerves and by the time they do finally make it to the market she's sure she's going to faint.
He gives her arm a reassuring squeeze and she gives him a small smile, taking comfort in the fact that she knows that hidden in his ill fitting clothes are enough knives to take down at least a dozen Fingermen. She takes a calming breath and they head into the square where the farmers have brought their goods into the city to sell. Within minutes she's haggling with the vendors, the inability to speak barely slowing her down and he watches, duly impressed by her ability to overcome an imposed handicap.
"You certainly have a nose for finding the bargains, my dear, but don't you think we have enough," he says and she glances around nervously.
She spots a policeman nearby, casting them sidelong glances every once and a while and she quickly nods her agreement. Careful to keep as many people between them and officer as they can, they make their way out of the market as fast as they can while trying to appear that they're not hurrying. A more nerve wracking experience she's never had and by the time they do make it back out onto the street, she's pretty sure she's going to have a heart attack.
They casually stroll down the avenue, never losing contact with each other, but not stopping for a rest as they make their way to an alley with a service entrance to the tunnels that will take them home. They barely manage to slip through the old, rusted grate and out of sight before the policeman steps into the alleyway looking for them. The two of them hide just out of the line of sight in the shadows knowing that if they move, they'll be spotted. He presses her against the rough bricks, shielding her body with his as a cloak that had been strategically placed there, waiting there for them is draped over the two of them, blending them further into the darkness.
It seems to take an eternity for the policeman to finally leave and she's not sure if she's breathed the entire time that he's searching that alley. Only after V is sure the man is gone does he step back, take the basket of produce from her sweaty fingers and leads her back underground. Once they are safely underground, he relaxes though remains on the alert for any one who might be in the area.
She follows him quietly, lost in her own thoughts, not really paying attention to where they're going. It's not until she runs into his back does she realize he's stopped walking. He looks back at her with an amused look on his face before turning his attention back to opening the hidden door that leads to the Shadow Gallery.
"You've been awfully quiet, Audrey," he says after they've entered the Gallery proper and he's locked the door behind them. "Is something troubling you?"
"When this is all over, what are ya gonna do with meh?" she asks. "Ah can't stay down here forever, V. Maybe ya'all like livin' like a gopher, but Ah need the sun."
"I have some ideas, but for now, let us concentrate on the present," he replies as he heads for the kitchen. "I will put away the food. I believe you have an email to compose."
"So Ah do," she sighs as she heads for the art storage room.