Those were almost the very first

words he spoke to me and, in a way,

that is where this story began,

four hundred years ago, in a cellar

beneath the Houses of Parliament.



In the darkness, we find a lantern. Guy Fawkes, a dangerous

man who wears a goatee, is struggling with a wheelbarrow

stacked with barrels of gunpowder.



EVEY (V.O.)

In 1605, Guy Fawkes attempted to

blow up the Houses of Parliament.

He was caught in the cellars with

enough gunpowder to level most of

London.



Guy sees lanterns coming from both sides. He tries to run as

the dogs reach him first. He grabs for his sword as dozens

of pole axes pin him against the tunnel's stone wall.



EVEY (V.O.)

Sometimes I wonder where we would

be if he hadn't failed. I wonder

if it would have mattered.



In the dim pre-dawn light, Guy is led to the gallows.



EVEY (V.O.)

I suppose the answer is in the

rhyme. More than the man, what we

must remember is the plot itself.

For in the plot we find more than

just a man, we find the idea of

that man, the spirit of that man,

and that is what we must never

forget.



The lever is thrown and the woman looks down, a tear falling

down her face.



EVEY (V.O.)

This, then, is the story of that

idea, of that spirit that began

with an anarchist's plot four

hundred years ago.

I don't remember much of the

century's turn. I don't remember

the market crash or the plague or

any of the Trafalgar riots.



The television flickers with images of heavily armed soldiers

fighting in a shelled city.



EVEY (V.O.)

I've read about them since but I

don't recall how any of them

impacted my life except for the

fear. They would hide it from me,

like a secret between them.



Little Evey sees her father staring at her mother. They

take hold of each other's hand, clasping them tight.



EVEY (V.O.)

But I could feel it.

It must have seemed so easy to

them. They offered such a simple

deal; give up control and we will

restore order.



The sound of heavy boots swarms through the house.



LITTLE EVEY

Mommy?



Her bedroom door bursts open and a heavily armed soldier

scoops her up.



She is carried through the dark house which is filled with

soldiers. On the floor of the living room, she sees her

parents being bound with plastic zip-ties.



MOTHER

My daughter! Don't take my

daughter!



FATHER

Evey! Evey!



LITTLE EVEY

Mommy! Daddy!



A heavy black hood is pulled over each of her parent's heads

as Evey is carried out of the house.



EVEY (V.O.)

I never saw them again. Overnight,

my life, my entire world was

erased.



INT. BATHROOM



A nun with a switch in her crossed arms watches as Evey and

several other little girls scrub the floor of a dormitory

bathroom.



EVEY (V.O.)

It was done so quickly and

violently, so completely, that it

began to seem that it had never

even existed.



A tear rolls down Little Evey's cheek.



EXT. HOUSE



A gay man is dragged violently from his Piccadilly home.

Outside, he sees his lover being forced to the cobblestones.



EVEY (V.O.)

The homosexuals were next. What

God had started with AIDS had to be

finished by man. It was God's

work. That's what we were told.



He reaches for him as the clubs rise and fall, vicious and

bloody.



EVEY (V.O.)

But once they were gone, there was

someone else. Someone different.



In another neighborhood, we see the police arresting

Pakistanis.



EVEY (V.O.)

Someone dangerous.



In a different area, young black men are packed into a caged

van so tightly they are unable to move.



EVEY (V.O.)

There were those who understood

what was happening, who knew it was

wrong but who kept silent.



A young detective named Finch looks down as the van pulls

away. When he looks up, another man in a military uniform

whose name is Almond is watching him.



EVEY (V.O.)

And in the vacuum of that silence,

order was imposed.

EVEY (V.O.)

What they thought they had crushed,

the spirit they believed trampled

and ground beneath the marching of

their boots, rose up, rose as if

from a four hundred year old grave,

rose to remind us all that day.



The shadow sprays a "V" over the poster.

FATE (V.O.)

Police raided seventeen homes in

the Birmingham area, uncovering

what is believed to be a major

terrorist ring.



"The multiplying villainies of

nature do swarm upon him."

"And fortune, on his damned

quarrel, smiling, showed like a

rebel's whore."



FINGERMAN 1

We're police officers, pal.



FINGERMAN 4

We're with the Finger.



FINGERMAN 3

So bugger off!



V

"Disdaining fortune with his

brandished steel, which smoked with

bloody execution."



In the clenched fist of black leather, we see a flash of

steel.



It takes a handful of seconds and three bodies lay on the

ground. V turns to the last Fingerman who is struggling to

pull his pants up.



FINGERMAN 3

Jesus Christ! Don't hurt me!

EVEY

Who -- Who are you?



V

Me? I imagine all manner of names

shall be heaped upon my humble

visage but, for now, let us simply

say I am the villain.



He throws wide his cloak and bows deeply to her.



V

And you would be?



EVEY

Evey.



V

Of course.



They hear sirens rushing towards them. In a blink, he scoops

her up and dashes into the shadows of a narrow alleyway.



EXT. ROOFTOPS



Police cars and several ambulances swarm over the area with

the dead Fingermen.



V watches them from above.



EVEY

Why did you do that? Why did

you... help me?



V

Why indeed?



He takes out an old antique pocket watch. It is almost

midnight.



V

Almost time.



EVEY

For what?



V

For the music.



EVEY

Music?



V

Yes, music. My music. You see.

Evey, I am a performer.



EVEY

Is that why you're wearing a mask?



V

We all wear masks. Life creates

them and forces us to find the one

that fits. Do you know what day it

is?



EVEY

Uh... November fourth.



V

Not for long.

V

"Remember, remember, the fifth of

November, the gunpowder treason and

plot. I know of no reason why the

gunpowder treason should ever be

forgot."

The music mounts a climax and V points the wand at Big Ben as

cymbals crash --



Big Ben explodes with such force the world seems to shake,

while --



V, smiling, always smiling, points again with another

crescendo and --



The statue of justice is blown to smithereens.



V nods in appreciation while mustering the music towards it's

finale as fireworks begin lighting up the sky.



EVEY

Oh my...



Everywhere across the city, people stand transfixed by the

dazzling shimmer of the fireworks until --



A strobing final blitz leaves a single, starry image floating

in the smoke filled sky.



It is the letter V.



EVEY

It's beautiful...



V

Thank you.



From every direction, the city screams with the panicked

sound of sirens.



She punches a button and Billie Holiday begins to sing.



EVEY

Oh, it's beautiful. I've never

heard anything like it.



V

Of course not. You grew up in

their world. Art is created by

individuals and there are no

individuals in a world where you

are told what to think.



EVEY

This place is amazing.



V

You're welcome to stay.

EVEY

I... I don't even know your name.



V

I don't have a name. But you can



call me V.



Government LEADER:

I believe in a few things, Mr.

Finch. I believe in god. I

believe in the destiny of the

Nordic race. And I believe in

fascism. The romans invented

fascism. They had a symbol for it;

a bundle of twigs bound together.

One twig could be broken but a

bundle would prevail. That is the

heart and soul of fascism.

Strength in unity. I tell you

these things knowing full well that

they make you uncomfortable.



LEADER

This terrorist knows us, Finch.

These attacks are perfectly

calculated and they are divisive.

He knows what he's doing, Finch.

He knows us all too well.



FINCH

You think he's an insider?



LEADER

What I think is that this man must

be stopped. Stopped at all costs

and no one, I repeat, no one is to

be placed above suspicion. Do I

make myself clear?

EVEY

I was reading the inscription.

What is it?



V

A Latin quotation. A motto. "Vi

veri veniversum vivus vici." "By

the power of truth, I, while

living, have conquered the

universe."



She nods.



EVEY

Yes, I suppose you have. This

place is the only universe I have

right now.



V

Does that bother you?



EVEY

I don't know. I'm so grateful to

you -- I just feel I should help

you, you know, the way you're

helping me. I mean, that's the

deal, isn't it?



V drifts over to the big old Wurlitzer, fingers scanning the

song list.



V

No deals, Evey. Not unless you

want them.



She looks up at the inscription as an old blues song begins

to play.



EVEY

I think I do. Part of me wants to

stay here forever and never have to

face what's going on outside. But

that's not right. Is it? That's

not taking responsibility. Not

conquering my universe.



She turns to him.



EVEY

I want to help you, V. I want to

do something. Can we make a deal?



V

Yes. I think we can make a deal if

you like. I think I know a way you

could help me very soon indeed.



Evey smiles nervously.



EVEY

Good. That's that, then.



The blues song curls in the air around them like a heavy

incense.



EVEY

V, you said that Latin thing was a

quote. Who said it?



V

Nobody you'd have heard of. A

German gentleman named Dr. John

Faust.



He spins her.



V

He made a deal too.