Deep Legend by DeYtH Banger (reading rainbow books TXT) 📖

beast coming
out of the Earth; and he had two
horns like a lamb and he spake as a
dragon."

INT. SHADOW GALLERY

Another radio crackles with the Leader's voice.

LEADER (V.O.)
"And he doeth great wonders, so
that he maketh fire come down from
Heaven on the Earth in the sight of
men."

V nods, almost laughing as Evey enters the gallery.

LEADER (V.O.)
"And he deceiveth them that dwell
on the Earth by the means of those
miracles which he had the power to
do --"

EVEY
Oh, V, turn it off, please.

V
Of course, my dear.

He reaches over and changes the frequency. We hear voices,
hushed and secret but we recognize them.

CREEDY (V.O.)
But how does he know?

HELEN (V.O.)
I don't know. All I know is he
does... And I know what he wants.

The voices are labored, punctuated by gasps and moans.

EVEY
What is that, V?

V
That, Evey, is what I have been
waiting for.

CREEDY (V.O.)
Do you know what I want? I want
you just like this... Bent over
that black leather chair...

We are pulled by the radio into --

INT. CREEDY'S BEDROOM

Where we see a tiny microphone hidden in the ceiling light
above the bed.

Helen moans as we drift down, glimpsing Helen, her arms
reaching for the edges of the bed, her back arching up
towards Creedy, behind her, smiling.

CREEDY
What about Conrad?

HELEN
I told you, I'll handle Conrad and
V will take care of Susan. The mob
will take care of the guard and
then... You can use the Finger to
take over.

CREEDY
Use the Finger? You mean like
this?

He inserts a finger into her.

HELEN
Oh... oh... that is vulgar...

CREEDY
But you like it?

HELEN
Yes, oh yes, oh you're a pig,
Peter...

CREEDY
That I am, misses. But I'm the pig
that's gonna be running this
country.

That sends a shiver through Helen's body.

HELEN
Yes and I'm... I'm going to be
Eva... Oh Eva...

Her eyes close and her fists knot the sheets.

HELEN
"Don't cry for me Argen... oh
Argen... Argen... tina!

The word is almost lost in her orgasm.

EXT. LONDON

The sun rises over London. It is the morning of the fourth.

INT. FINCH'S OFFICE

Finch looks through the blinds at the morning sun. He has
been up all night. He checks his watch: 6:00am.

FINCH
Eighteen hours.

Rubbing the knot in his neck, he turns back to his office
which is now buried beneath mounds of paper.

Dominic is passed out, sprawled on the couch, and clutching a
printout from Spencer's "Fairy Queen."

FINCH
Dominic!

Dominic jumps, immediately searching the printout.

FINCH
Dominic, go home.

DOMINIC
But I've still got over three
hundred lines from The Fairy Queen.

FINCH
Forget it. There's no more time.
You go home and get some rest.
You're going to need it tonight.

Dominic lets the papers fall to the floor.

DOMINIC
He's got us, doesn't he, Finch?

FINCH
Yes, he does.

EXT. NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDING

Conrad pulls his car into his reserved space.

INT. CAR

Helen holds Conrad's chin the way a mother holds a child when
she is telling them something important.

HELEN
Now listen to me, Conrad. This is
the most important moment of our
lives. Everything I've worked and
hoped for comes to this. Susan is
a very dangerous man, especially
now, that's why I need you, Conrad.
I need you to be stronger than him.
I need you to be the better man.
Understand?

Conrad nods.

HELEN
If you do this Conrad, and you do
it right, I'm going to turn you
from the little man I married into
the man of my dreams.

CONRAD
Oh, Helen.

He embraces her to kiss but she turns her perfectly painted
lips.

HELEN
Not on the lips.

Ardently, he kisses her cheek.

INT. FINCH'S OFFICE

Finch sits alone, palms pressed to his bleary eyes.

FINCH
Give it up, old man. You're not
even sure you want to stop him.

With a red pen, he begins absently drawing red circles around
any V he sees on any piece of paper.

Victims. Vectors. Values. Victory. Words from quotes and
lists.

Suddenly, he stops. Carefully, as if reaching to touch a
butterfly, he slips a single sheet out from the sheaves
covering his desk.

The paper has a long list: the names of all the Queens of
England. He has circled in red the V in Victoria.

When it hits him, it hits him like a falling safe.

FINCH
Christ! That's it! It's got to be
it!

INT. LEADER'S OFFICE

The intercom clicks on.

LIEUTENANT (V.O.)
Sir, Mr. Heyer is here to see you.
Says it's urgent. And he's here
with his wife, sir.

LEADER
His wife?

LIEUTENANT (V.O.)
Sir, yes, sir -- Wait, you can't
go --

The door slaps open.

HELEN
Leader, I'm terribly sorry but I
absolutely must speak with you.

The Leader waves the Lieutenant off.

HELEN
I have something to tell you,
something important but --

She glances at Conrad.

HELEN
I can tell you and only you. In
private.

The Leader studies her.

HELEN
It is a matter of national
security.

EXT. CITY STREET

In his car, Finch races to a corner and slams on the brakes.
He gets out, staring at a shadow on the ground: a "V" in a
circle.

The shadow is cast by a sign for Victoria Station, part of
the abandoned subway.

The gates are chained shut. He fires his pistol into the
lock, kicks open the rusting gates, and descends into the
underground.

INT. LEADER'S PRIVATE QUARTERS

The Leader closes the door behind them.

LEADER
Now what's this all about, Mrs.
Heyer?

HELEN
Please, forgive me. I've been so
afraid, afraid to come here to talk
to you. I thought he must know. I
was terrified he knew but I had to
come because I knew you were the
only one that can protect me.

LEADER
Protect you from what?

She is unable to go on, seemingly about to burst into tears.

LEADER
Come now, Mrs. Heyer.

He touches her and it is all she needs. She buries her face
into his chest.

HELEN
You won't let him hurt me, will
you?

LEADER
Let who hurt you?

HELEN
The terrorist.

LEADER
The terrorist is dead.

HELEN
Oh, how I wanted to believe it,
Leader, but I know it's not true.

LEADER
How?

HELEN
Because I know who the terrorist
is.

INT. LEADER'S OFFICE

Conrad is alone with Fate. He glances about nervously,
moving closer and closer. His fingers reach out and graze
the main keyboard. Taking a deep breath, he turns and begins
to type.

INT. PRIVATE QUARTERS

The Leader takes hold of Helen by her shoulders.

LEADER
Who? Who is it, woman?

HELEN
It's Conrad, Leader. Conrad. My
husband is the terrorist.

LEADER
What?!

INT. LEADER'S OFFICE

Conrad accesses the department of water and power. He finds
the correct file and begins rerouting power to a once dead
system.

INT. V'S TRAIN STATION

A hanging light suddenly sizzles to life. V looks up,
smiling.

INT. LEADER'S PRIVATE QUARTERS

The Leader stares hard at Helen.

LEADER
How do you know?

HELEN
I saw him, Leader. In the middle
of the night. I heard something.
I went to the landing and that's
when I saw it.

She clutches him.

HELEN
That mask. That hideous smiling
mask.

LEADER
But how did you know it was Heyer?

HELEN
I know, Leader. I know the way a
woman knows.

LEADER
But you have no proof?

HELEN
Proof?

LEADER
Yes, proof? This is an extremely
delicate situation, Mrs. Heyer. It
has been reported that the
terrorist is dead. It would be a
catastrophe to arrest a man now
without concrete, conclusive proof.
Do you have any evidence at all?

Tears well up in Helen's eyes as she shakes her head.

LEADER
But if you're right, if Heyer is
indeed the terrorist...

His eyes fly wide and he spins away from her, throwing open
the door.

HELEN
Leader! Wait!

INT. LEADER'S OFFICE

Conrad sits calmly across the room.

CONRAD
Is everything all right? Helen?

LEADER
Yes, Mr. Heyer, your wife has done
her duty to her country.

He turns to Helen.

LEADER
Don't worry, Mrs. Heyer. You will
be taken care of. I will launch an
immediate investigation and I
promise, you will be the first to
know when an arrest will be made.

CONRAD
Investigation of what?

LEADER
Subversion, Mr. Heyer. Your wife
was privy to the dialogue of
subversives. That's all you need
to know at this time. Lieutenant!

The Lieutenant appears almost instantly.

LEADER
The Heyers are leaving. I need to
see Mr. Creedy at once.

Helen looks up at the Leader, a smile hidden near the corners
of her perfect red lips.

HELEN
Thank you, sir.

The Leader nods.

INT. NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDING

Helen and Conrad get out of the elevator, standing beneath
the rows of new party flags that line the lobby.

HELEN
I want you to go straight to your
office and wait for me to call.
When I do, I want you to come
immediately home. Understood?

CONRAD
Yes, Helen.

She embraces him, pressing her body against his.

HELEN
Oh, Conrad, I'm so proud of you.

CONRAD
I did it, Helen. I did it, didn't
I?

HELEN
Tonight, Conrad.

CONRAD
Tonight.

HELEN
I promise you will never forget
tonight.

She almost kisses him.

HELEN
Goodbye, Conrad.

Smiling, she pivots on her heel and heads for the door. He
reaches for her when --

GUARD
Mr. Heyer! Mr. Heyer!

The front desk guard rushes towards him.

CONRAD
Yes?

GUARD
Sir, this package arrived for you,
sir.

He hands him a small, brown wrapped box.

CONRAD
Thank you.

He looks back for Helen but she is already gone.

INT. SUBWAY

A single flashlight beam creeps toward us as Finch searches
the detritus of the dead train line.

INT. CONRAD'S CAR

Sitting at a stoplight, Conrad decides to open the package.
Inside is a cassette tape. The light changes and a car
behind him honks. He starts forward and inserts the tape.

INT. SUBWAY

Finch crawls up onto the platform of V's hidden station,
staring at the beautiful old train car.

INT. CONRAD'S CAR

Strangling the steering wheel, Conrad listens to the tape.
The speedometer climbs as everything seems to accelerate.

TAPE (V.O.)
Do you know what I want? I want
you just like this... bent over
that black leather chair.

Helen moans.

INT. TRAIN CAR

Finch steps inside the car, his flashlight sweeping over the
stacks of gelignite.

FINCH
Oh my god.

INT. CONRAD'S CAR

A scream builds in Conrad. With tears in his eyes, he stares
out the windshield but sees only the images created by the
tape.

TAPE (V.O.)
Use the Finger?... You mean like
this?... Oh... That's vulgar... But
you like it?... Yes... oh yes.

Conrad loses control and the car careens up onto the sidewalk
and smashes into a brick wall.

Lifting his bloodied forehead, Conrad looks out and sees the
ubiquitous poster partially destroyed by the crash: "Strength
through purity, purity through faith."

INT. TRAIN CAR

Finch hears something and jerks back, almost falling out of
the car. Aiming his gun, he finds no one. He turns and
bolts.

As the sound of his footsteps fade, V steps out of the
shadows.

INT. NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDING

The Leader's Lieutenant looks up from his desk and sees Finch
rushing towards him.

FINCH
Is the Leader in?

LIEUTENANT
Yes, but he's meeting with the
Captain of the Guard.

FINCH
Perfect.

LIEUTENANT
Mr. Finch, you can't go in --

Finch charges through the doors.

INT. LEADER'S OFFICE

The Leader and his Captain turn.

LEADER
Mr. Finch?

FINCH
Leader, I need as many men the
Captain can spare and I need them
right now.

CAPTAIN
What for?

FINCH
To capture codename V.

EXT. CONRAD'S HOUSE

Creedy opens the trunk of his car. In the phosphorescent
glow of the streetlight, the set of knives gleam. He bundles
the costume that he tried to planet on Finch into his arms,
then slams the trunk.

Above, a window blind that was cracked open snaps shut.

INT. LEADER'S OFFICE

The Leader moves towards Finch.

FINCH
He's underground. The old subway.
I know exactly what he's going to
do. If we move quickly, we can be
there, waiting for him.

INT. CONRAD'S HOUSE

Conrad waits, hidden inside a bedroom closet. He hears the
front door close and his grip tightens around the handle of a
long, steel-necked hammer.

INT. LEADER'S OFFICE

The Leader is steadily convincing himself of something.

FINCH
Leader, every second we delay...

The Leader lifts his hand, silencing Finch.

LEADER
I'm coming with you.

GUARD
Sir --

LEADER
There will be no discussion --

GUARD
But if Mr. Finch is right --

LEADER
I am sick to death of this
terrorist being everywhere and
nowhere! I will judge whether Mr.
Finch is right and I will judge it
with my own eyes! Do I make myself
clear, Captain?

CAPTAIN
Sir, yes, sir!

Finch is suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling that is common to
chess players. It is the disturbing sense that you have just
done exactly what your opponent wanted.

LEADER
Is there a problem, Mr. Finch?

FINCH
No... no sir.

LEADER
Good. Captain, mobilize your men.

CAPTAIN
Sir, yes, sir.

LEADER
We'll find this bloody bastard and
we will finish him.

INT. SHADOW GALLERY

Evey sits in the gallery, reading Pynchon's "V"