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Shadowsteps	By : vsvigalante Category: DC Verse Comics > V for Vendetta Views: 912 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own V for Vendetta, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 5: It Takes Two...

V had been asleep for almost twelve hours by Jazlyn's calculations, and within those twelve hours, she had left his side for no more than an hour. She had wanted to wake him on several occasions just to make sure he was still alive, but at the last moment had decided against it, remembering what she had witnessed in the alleyway. She had hoped that she could find something a little less restrictive for him to wear because of the wounds he had suffered, but only more of the same black breeches, jackets and vests hung in his armoire along with several colored linen shirts. She grinned to herself--she would remedy that situation later. During her explorations of the labyrinth's many rooms, she had discovered a room that had been stocked with many different kinds of fabrics in large bolts. Silk, leather, and cotton were among the many materials that lined the walls, along with several sewing machines sitting about the room. Jazlyn had decided that V must have made his own clothing because she also found several bolts of the same fabric he wore continuously. There was every color of thread probably available in the world lining shelves, dress forms that were scattered throughout the room along with scissors and other implements associated with sewing scattered about on nearby table tops.

Jazlyn saw herself as an accomplished seamstress, having sewn most of her own clothes since the age of sixteen. Yes, she had used witchcraft on a few occasions to help with complicated parts of a pattern, but most of the time, she just did it herself. Just the thought of the accomplishment made her proud.

She left the room quietly, pulling the door partly closed, and started for the kitchen. It had been hours since she had eaten, and her stomach was growling uncontrollably.
She opened the fridge door and set cold cuts,cheese,mustard and several other condiments onto the kitchen table, beginning to make herself a sandwich, while the tea pot began to whistle.

“ Mistress? ” Shadow's voice interrupted her thoughts.

“ Yes, Shadow? ”

“ Master V is awake and asking for you.”

“ Thank you. ” Jazlyn laid the knife on the plate and hurried down the hallway.

V sat up in bed, adjusting his stiff, sore body. He had already checked several wounds finding that they had already completely healed. His chest was still sore and bruised, but he knew his body was well on the way to recovery.

“ Feeling better? ” Jazlyn asked from the doorway.

“ Much.” He simply replied.

“ Are you hungry? ”

“ Yes.”

Jazlyn grinned at the mask.” I'll bring you something in.” She turned to leave.

“ Jazlyn...” V stopped her.

“ Yes? ” She turned to him.

“ Thank you.”

“ For what?” She asked.

“ For staying here...with me.” V answered, leaning back against the headboard.
Jazlyn's smile widened as she walked away.

“ You care for the Mistress, Master V?” Shadow purred from the bottom of the bed.

V cocked the mask toward her. “ What do you mean?”

“You have feelings for Mistress Jazlyn.” The panther restated the fact.

“No, no... “ V cleared his throat, ” I care for the fact, that she is a friend and remained here, out of danger.”

It was Shadow's turn to cock her head at the man dressed in black, her green eyes blinking at him, and V swore he saw a smile on her lips.

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Jazlyn fixed a bowl of homemade soup she had thrown together with some soda crackers on a tray along with a steaming cup of Earl Grey tea and headed down the hallway toward V's room. Sitting the tray on the bedside table, she walked over to the bed where V inclined, Shadow's head resting in his lap while he scratched her behind the ears. It seemed like it was the most natural thing in the world for him to be doing and she smiled standing , watching the pair.

“ Shadow, ” Jazlyn began as the cat lifted its head. “ You are going to have to move my love. The Master needs to eat.”

Shadow acknowledged with a blink of an eye ,and climbed down gracefully onto the floor, taking up a spot at the foot of the bed.

“ That smells delicious...” V paused as the aroma drifted through the screens in the mask. He smiled as she sat the tray across his lap.

“I'll be in the kitchen, should you need anything.” She turned, and pulled the door closed after her.

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Dominic Stone stared at the computer screen in utter disbelief. Numbers never lied, and according to what he was reading, there were over a hundred- thousand undesirables that were sent to various relocation camps across England. Hell, twelve thousand alone ended up in Larkhill. “ Poor bastards. ” Dominic spoke solemnly.

“ You found a connection, Dom? ” Finch's voice broke in.

Stone looked up from the desk, waving the printout. “ Larkhill Resettlement Camp. Johnson's and Snyder's employment records show they both held positions as guards there at similar times.”
“Anything linking Codename V? ”

“ Sorry Chief, most of Larkhill's records were destroyed in the fire, but I did uncover a standard
procedures and operations manual.” Dominic smiled. ” In special case studies, medical research groups used Roman numerals to identify test inmates.”

Finch slid in front of his computer. “ Five is the letter V. Brilliant, Dominic.” He keyed in a search pattern and waited.” Any leads on the girl from the alley yet?”

“ It's strange, Inspector.”

“What makes you say that, Dom?”

“ There's no record of her.” Stone shook his head. I've run her picture through every Fate identification program there is. There's nothing on her.”

Finch looked up. “ That's impossible.”

“ I know, it's like she showed up out of thin air.” Dominic replied.

Finch shook his head. “ Work on the girl, I'll pull Larkhill's employment records. Maybe
we can find a link between them.”

Dominic nodded, grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.

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“ A most enjoyable meal.” V's voice interrupted Jazlyn's thoughts as he placed the tray on the kitchen table. Dropping the pot she had been washing back into the sink when she heard V's voice, Jazlyn wheeled around.

“What are you doing out of bed!?” She exclaimed, wet hands on hips.

“ I am fine, Jazlyn. There is no reason for me to remain abed any longer.” He answered, moving into his regular stance of hands crossed in front of him, his body rigid.

“ V, “ she began, ” you were shot in the chest-- you should be in bed.” Jazlyn paused, ” You can't be...”

“ It is true, Mistress. Master V has healed. I saw the wounds myself.” Shadow spoke as she came to stand beside him.

Jazlyn looked from one to the other. “ What are you--some kind of super-human?” She asked V point-blank.

“ Some would say that.” He replied, becoming uneasy. His past was something he did not choose to speak about, but, this was different, and she needed to know some of his life at Larkhill. “ Because of the experiments that were conducted on me at Larkhill, my body has changed.”

“ Changed?” Jazlyn shook her head.” What do you mean by changed?”

“ I heal quickly, my reflexes are far beyond a normal human's, and my strength is uncomprehensible.”

“ Experiments? I didn't read anything about experiments.” Jazlyn stared at V.

“ Nor will you.” V replied, “ The records were destroyed by the fire, so no one else will ever be subjected to the terrible things that were done to us--” He paused , taking a deep breath, then finished. ”--to me.”

“ I didn't know...” Jazlyn fell silent for a moment, then looked into the black eye slits of the mask. “You were the one--it was you--you started the fire.”

“ Yes.” V answered as his mask drooped.

Jazlyn stood, frozen to the spot as her mind comprehended what he had just admitted.

“ Oh my god...” She whispered, ”no wonder you turned into a vigilante... you 're getting even with them-- because of everything that happened at Larkhill.” She stopped, then continued slowly, “ because of everything they did to you.”

V spoke softly, turning away. “ The only verdict is vengeance: a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous.” He turned to face Jazlyn. ” What they did to me was monstrous!”

“ So that gave you the right to become judge, jury and executioner?” She asked, ” How many have you killed, V? How many more will you kill?”

Fury rose up within him, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.” Everyone involved.” He spewed from beneath the mask, angrily.

Jazlyn shook her head sadly, ” Then, you are no better than they were.” She turned, leaving V standing alone with his thoughts.

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Dominic stared over Finch's shoulder as Larkhill's employment records came up.

“ Oh my god...” Finch's mouth fell open as row after row of names scrolled by followed by the words: deceased, file closed. “ Oh bloody hell...”

“ He's killed them all? It's not possible.” Dominic said, watching the data banks unfurl like a mass grave.

“ I don't think he killed them all--some where probably accidents, but the unsolved homicides--” Finch stopped to reload his pipe, “ I'm not so sure about “ The lighter roared to life as he puffed on the stem. “ Dom...”

“ Yeah?”

“ Cross reference all the deceased with the locations where the body was found. See if anything ties in with the attacks. Start checking right after the Larkhill fire through to the present.”

“I'm on it chief. ” Dominic grabbed the printout and headed for his desk.

“ What are you up to,V? ” Finch mumbled as the last pages printed off. Grabbing the last page, he scanned the names on it. There were four files that had not been closed, and when Finch saw the name
connected to each file, he slumped back into his chair and let out a deep breath.

“ What's wrong, Chief? ” Dominic looked up.

“ There are four files that are still open...Dr. Diana Stanton, Father Anthony Lilliman, Peter Creedy and Lewis Prothero.”

“What?! ” Dom exclaimed, his mind trying to comprehend what he had just heard. “ That's crazy. They all worked at Larkhill?”

“I know...” Finch typed in Prothero's name and hit the enter button. It took but a second for the information to pop up on the screen. “ Lewis Prothereo was Commander of Larkhill Relocation Center the entire time it was open. He retired shortly after the fire, and began investing in a company called Viadoxic Pharmaceuticals before he became the Voice of Fate.”

“ Isn't that the same drug lab that developed the anecdote for the St. Mary's virus a few years ago?” Dominic asked.

“ One in the same. ” Finch replied.

“ You know, these findings are becoming less and less coincidental the more we dig into them.” Dominic answered.

“ I don't think they are coincidences, Dom.” Finch replied. “ Anything else on the girl?”

“ Nothing. Chief, I've exhausted all avenues, I can't find a thing. There's nothing in the Fate system about her.”

Finch chewed on the end of his pipe. “ She's got to come out of hiding sometime. Send her picture out to all units, tell them to apprehend with extreme caution. “

“ Right, Chief. “

“ And Dom,”

“ Yeah? “

“ Grab us some lunch. This is going to be a long day.”
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Shadowsteps