It was dark in the tunnels a factor for which Vs senses were well prepared. The masked man skulked through the underground until he found the train, his carriage into the cold arms of death, awaiting him with a smile in its graffiti skin. The door was open. V moved slowly towards it and peeked inside the shell. There was no detonators, no cameras, no voice recorders, it was just possible that he had been careless and left the door open. But even so… someone could have gotten in. It wasn't well hidden nor at all protected. What if, after all this time the bomb didn't even go off? He felt weak and useless at the mere thought. All that work… wasted. His whole life…no, he thought guiltily… this wasn't the most important thing in his life anymore. But he didn't matter to her at all… that was his life wasted.

V examined the cabin for a while longer before the song of Big Ben broke his concentration. 11:30... 11:30? V quickly pulled a black-spot sensor from his cloak and set off along the tracks; its little red eye watched his cape dissolve into the darkness.

Two Weeks Earlier

Evey stood with her back to the wall. She had put this off too long. What would happen if he was angry for her not coming sooner? Did he have a task for her? She couldn't really picture him angry… not in that way. There had been times when he had been full of passion or frustration… but it was always her that was yelling in an argument, always her who would hit a wall or break something. He just wasn't that sort of person. It was certain to be securely monitored, the entire underground was a maze of electric darkness. He would be able to see her come in, surely. What would happen if there were automatic weapons? Would he do something like that? Intruders could have suffered much worse at the hands of V. Suddenly she was filled with regret again, she could leave now and never come back. But somehow… it was better to be here than at home. It always had been. Evey peeled herself off the concrete and plunged into the tunnel that lay ahead, still not sure where she was going. Her hands felt the comforting texture of warm wood. A door. She felt around for a handle and, hesitantly, pushed. He tunnels were suddenly filled with liquid-gold light. Strangely, Evey felt a tingle of joy run up her spine as she stepped in. Although she would never admit it, even to herself, she missed this place, she missed the music and the endless artwork, she missed him. It had been a month and a half and already she missed him. Evey considered shouting his name but found herself speechless. She melted into the smell and the light and the mood. Paper, the smell of paper was in the air and perfumes and dirt and food and… even the scent of the paint smothered her senses. The feeling was intoxicating, so strong so robust, so… V. She aimlessly followed her eyes through the deserted caverns, admiring paintings and statues, once ignored after countless sights, now revisited. It was heart-warming. All her hesitation melted away.

Carved in the yellow wall was a spot of black that caused her to stop and stare at it, his room. Evey almost lost her footing, without the use of her brain, Evey's feet found her in the doorway. His room, she was standing in HIS room. So consumed in the thought, she almost didn't take in her surroundings. She looked around behind her, he would have to be home, this was incredibly stupid. She felt herself being drawn away from the scenery of the gallery as she stepped into the room, curiosity tugging against her will. It looked much like any of the other rooms, sandstone walls and floors, heavily decorated in a way that almost seemed as if the paintings and books had been brought there by accident. It was a study more than anything else, yet nestled in-between the stacks of books and papers lay a bed. It all looked very worn, used, dirty, it seemed very un-V like. Yet it was obvious this was the room of thinking man. Uncertainly, Evey picked up a roll of paper which had been laying on the floor and scanned it. It was a building outline for a large house, possibly a mansion of some kind, filled with many small rooms and vast halls. A church, it was the church where Liliman had been killed. Her eyes found the room almost passage instantly then, the small change room where she pulled herself into the ridiculous dress, the long hallway where Denis had pulled her sternly yet slowly by the hand into the Priest's suite. Even the shape of his massive bed was marked on the sheet. She set it down gently and picked up another piece.

It was some time before she checked the door again, the halls were empty. Evey's heart sank a little. She had forgiven him, that much she was sure of. As ridiculous as it was, it was true, she didn't hate him. Earlier that day at the grocers, where she had seen Vicky, that was when she was sure. The estranged look on the girls face, looking into the eyes of a total stranger. It shocked her even now, she was free. There was nothing holding her down anymore, she was invisible. She felt a sort of weird pride she had never felt before. That was why she had come back, she wanted to thank him. Not with words of coarse, but just for reassure V that she didn't hate him. That would be enough. He could take a hint. Evey glared absently at a painting of a naked woman by a brook. If only he was here. Automatically, Evey's mind sought something to hold her attentions while her frustration simmered. Her hand found a large flat book, its cover nameless. This would inevitably be another ancient piece of reading material. Come to think of it she'd seen it somewhere before. The cover creaked as she opened it.

"His body will be left to whatever the nose or the finger has in store, I would estimated that the police will have arrived within ten minutes of my escape as the monitoring van will be not far away and on this particular evening, it will be likely the men inside it will be quite aware of the events which often perspire traditionally at this time. Evey will…"

Her name rang in her head like a bell. She almost set the book down but her hand hovered just above the table, unable to drop it. She was holding his diary. Why did he need a diary..?, She thought to herself. A strange idea murmured in her head: Do you have any idea what this IS?… it shook her a little as if the books importance was radiating power through the cover. Her body quivered involuntarily at a sudden sound.

There was a "snap" like a whip and the book fell from her shaking hands and onto the floor. V! She looked around her, out the door. He had to have seen her. What was he going to do?

Nothing.

She scanned for some small movement and found a quiver in the shadows on the bedroom floor. A rats tail floundered onto the sandstone and curled in peace around the wooden trap. She let out her breath. Evey had always wondered how he'd kept this place clean of underground pests. She could hardly keep them out of her apartment on the surface. She bent and retrieved the book from the floor which had fallen face down. It had fallen open to the latest entry.