That evening V had a terrible night's sleep, both because of the thoughts that were running through his mind and the discomfort from his injuries. Getting up and turning his light back on, he examined his body, noting the many bruises that were forming from the hits she had landed. It brought a satisfied smile to his face and anticipation for what would happen in a sparring session where he was putting in a much more concerted effort. It seemed that he wasn't going to be getting any more sleep tonight and put on a fresh pair of clothes. Training was out of the question but he sat down at his computer to gather a list of all the potential facilities and start to try and locate Tony through the process of elimination. After a few hours of pawing through records and cross referencing where he had been moved and when, he narrowed it down to three facilities that he could currently be in. Satisfied with the amount of progress that he had made, he dressed fully and paused when he reached for his mask and wig. In the chaos of the previous evening he barely had time to think about the fact that he had revealed his face. The thought filled him with fear and nervousness, but also awe. She was the first to set eyes on his face since his rebirth and she had reacted with the same compassion to his ruined visage instead of retreating or being disgusted as he'd anticipated.
What he found even more remarkable was that despite being furious with him at that moment, she still responded with care and respect as he took his mask off. Her expression of pure panic as her hands jolted up to stop him was something that only deepened his immense respect for her. He debated leaving it on the mannequin head on his dresser for a moment but being without them for an extended period of time in her presence wasn't something he was able to do just yet. He shook his head in frustration and got fully dressed, including his mask and wig. The mutation in his genes were making easy work of healing his deformities in ways that are not possible for an average person but it took time. When he had come to the Shadow Gallery he barely had flesh on the left side of his face.
Coming out of his room, he saw Carly wrapped in a blanket and filling up a glass of water in the kitchen. When she lifted the glass to her lips and winced V immediately shut the door and closed the space between them.
"Kitten, may I see your hands?" V asked gently and peered down when she extended them toward him with purposefully her palms down. V gave her a disapproving tisk before gently turning them over and frowned as he realized that he had been indeed too late to stop her. Her hands were red and would surely blister for the next couple of days, "Your hands are too valuable to be damaged."
"I may have gone a little overboard." Carly pursed her lips and looked down at them.
"Yes, I'm pleased to say that you will make me think twice about what I'm doing if you have a weapon on your hand." V's chuckle caused him to cough slightly and wince in pain, and her expression changed from coy to concerned in a matter of milliseconds.
"Are you in pain?"
"I assure you, I'm fine."
Carly narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "Take a deep breath in for me."
V rolled his eyes slowly, breathed in and abruptly coughed when he felt a sharp pain in his left rib. "Shirt up, please."
"I don't recall you being this forward, not that I object. But not even an offer of dinner before such a request?"
"I'm afraid not. V please let me check, this is important. I think you might have broken a rib or something."
"I assure you, I'm fine. I will be right as rain by tomorrow."
"I will be assured once I examine it myself, I don't think you'll be able to do much of anything with a punctured lung." Carly's face and insistence was unwavering. V didn't have the time nor the desire to argue with her and explain his genetic anomalies that made harming him extra difficult and gave him expedited healing abilities. That would be a different conversation for later that would surely interest her as a doctor, but not a territory he wanted to cross just yet. With another deep breath and a cough V slowly lifted his shirt up to reveal the damaged area. Moving her fingers over the area he winced as she examined the bruise that was forming over it and ran her fingers along his rib. She did notice more extensive and deeper scarring on his side that most likely connected to what she saw on his neck and face but she completely ignored it. She realized that she couldn't do as much without the proper equipment but V wincing as she touched over a particular area of his lower rib told her enough. With a frown she leaned away, and motioned for him to push his shirt back down.
"Turn the upper part of your body as much as you can while keeping your legs and hips straight, like you're stretching." Carly instructed and crossed her arms over her chest, watching carefully. V compliantly lifted his arms and turned a bit before it became too much and returned to a neutral position. It had been quite some time since someone had instructed him to do anything, and even longer that he had complied.
"Hmm... thankfully I don't think you've broken one but I think there might be a hairline fracture. But I can't tell for certain without an x-ray. For now, you should take tylenol or ibuprofen regularly, rest, no extraneous activity and no alcohol. The consistent medication will give your organs a workout so it'll be best not to add to that." She instructed him.
"Doctors orders." V bowed his head graciously with a smirk and sat down on the couch.
"I'm sorry...I know that is my doing." Carly apologized earnestly and brought him some ibuprofen.
"It was impressive, never apologize for such things. I certainly brought it upon myself, and you are a worthy opponent. I can't recall the last time a person sent me home with a true injury."
"...I don't know if I like how pleased you sound about that."
"Take it for the compliment that it is, Kitten. You are a force to be reckoned with, one that manages to captivate me in new ways everyday."
"If I am going to be checking out your injuries we may have to get some equipment."
"I think we could accomplish that." V leaned his head back on the couch and breathed in an unusual state of peace. "In the spirit of being more transparent with you, I'd like to share what I have determined so far in the work I've been doing regarding Tony's location. I believe he is in one of three facilities, however I don't think we will be able to get the most up to date information unless we gather it ourselves."
"Thank you for that... How would that happen? Does that mean we would have to break into somewhere we shouldn't be?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes."
"When do you want to do that?"
"Today, if possible. I don't think that would count as strenuous activity...so long as we don't run into anyone. If we are careful, we shouldn't."
"As long as you relax until we go, I think that will be okay."
"You have my word." V nodded and wandered into his bedroom. Laying down on the bed, he closed his eyes to relax and slipped into unconsciousness.
Hours later V awoke, mildly startled that he'd managed to fall asleep for as long as he did and gently knocked on Carly's bedroom door to brief her on the plan.
"Good mor- evening." Carly smiled, seeing that it was cresting dusk.
"Hello. I apologize, it appears my body needed more rest than I anticipated."
"Knitting bones back together requires a surprising amount of energy, don't be too hard on yourself."
"I suppose it does. I wanted to take a moment to go over the plan. We will be heading through some tunnels to a junction under one of the closest government run buildings. From there I will hack you into the system. We will search through their current database to see if your brother's name is listed anywhere and while I'm doing that, if you can recall some of your work access points we may be able to see your old emails and follow the responses back to when you were taken. How does that sound?" He asked, once Carly gave him a thumbs up, he walked over to the equipment cabinet and pulled out a drawer with electronics. Grabbing a small laptop and cables he placed them into a pack with Regional Authority logos on the side. "Might as well be authentic." He handed her a harness for her weapons before leaving the room to go change into his usual outing outfit. He grabbed his black long jacket and new gloves before returning to Carly's room. "Just a few precautions first." Grabbing a pistol, some clips and a few blades and giving her a set of smaller ones that were at least the correct weight for how she handled blades. "They are not perfect, but I can request some that are more suitable for you."
That is, if you plan to stay long enough to need your own.
Without thinking V kneeled down and connected the straps against the inside of her thigh to make sure it was fitted properly. When he realized what he was doing he was very glad his mask was covering the blush that had risen to his cheeks. Standing up V stood and took a breath as he watched her sheath the small blades carefully.
"Shall we?" His question was less of one and more of a statement as he led Carly down a hallway and passed the training room, pausing at a rather large door with a wheel. With a turn the seal lock releases giving it a light push the door gives way to a dim and damp space. Curved brick and pipes line the ceiling space while water marked concrete and stone make up the floor, and a distinct smell of something musty encroaches but isn't overwhelming. Pushing the large door closed and spinning the outer wheel before placing a simple rope loop in the corner. "If we return and this is broken, we know someone is or was inside." V put a hand on Carly's shoulder and passed her slowly, their bodies close. Just after he stepped in front he paused and put up a finger, quietly addressing her "One more thing... If for any reason, at all, that I say you should run, then you should do so without hesitation. Outside of our den my orders are short and final. Follow them and we will both be safe, don't and injuries are sure to come to one of us. I can easily take care of myself and then return to you, but when I have to consider two...it could be more tricky. So until we know how each other moves and reacts, follow my orders. Understood?" He looked at her plainly and wait for the response.
"Understood." Carly nodded and followed him down the tunnel.
They head in a mishmash of directions for the better part of a half an hour. Every once in a while he paused and assisted her over around or through a tight space, as they passed through different junctions, some modern and others that were built at the beginning of the last century.
Eventually they come to a very modern concrete wall connected to old brick work. A plastic tarp covers worn work and when pulled away reveals a hole. As they step inside the new space, it's tight and filled with piping. A few more steps and voices can be heard echoing. V paused and pointed up at the heavy steel grates that had been over them. Just a few feet above a boot bottom is black against foggy silver light above. The corridor narrows even more till they are crouching and squeezing a bit around pipes and the wall. But the other side is quiet save a light hum. V leaned close to whisper in her ear, "This is a network junction for one of the government buildings." Checking his watch he noted that they are just ahead of schedule. "We have to wait here for 5 minutes till the shift changes. The guards will head back and we will have 30 minutes till the next one arrives." At this point they are inches from each other in a small space with a ladder next to them and a grate above them. Boot steps can be heard echoing and approaching.
As they waited Carly felt something atop her shoe and looked down to see a rat scampering over and clawing at her boot. She wasn't squeamish about many things, she had seen horrific injuries and the things of people's nightmares in the operating room but rats made her skin crawl. She does her best to keep quiet and gently kick her foot but it holds onto her shoe. She opened her mouth in horror before V pressed his hand over her mouth and body firmly against hers to keep her quiet and still. Her shallow and quick breathing is just barely masked by the low hum around them. Carly's eyes moved up to meet V's through his mask as she noticed the warm and solid weight of his body before his eyes lifted to track the movement of the guards. He slowly let go of her mouth as the boots moved away from them. But for some reason V is still holding her to him. The tension was then abruptly broken by V looking at his wrist and lifting his arms to push the grate above them out of the way. Making their way up, they make their way into a plain room filled with technological equipment. Dim lights from the ceiling are supplemented by racks of switches and routers against a far wall. A large rack of batteries and power panels produce the hum that is more notable now. Walking down the line of racks, they reach one at the end with a gap in it.
"Hand me the backpack please." V whispered and held it before gesturing for her to pass through the rack. There is just enough space between the back of those racks for them to work that spanned about three feet wide by fifteen feet long. V pulled out the laptop and flipped it open into her hands. "Please hold for just a moment." Standing before you V typed quickly as he made his way through routers and access points till he was logged into an email access point. "There, now it's your turn."
Turning the laptop and sitting down so that he made his lap a table for it. "Join me, won't you?"