GO AWAY, JANICE.

☆︎ FEBRUARY 2ND, 2000 ☆︎

The ever-so-nosey members of The Woodsboro Killers watched with interest as the detective pulled himself free of Jackson's grip and ran off after their lead singer. And though they weren't part of the band, Dewey and Roman were just as interested over what could've possibly happened in that interrogation room.

"Dude, what was with the threatening act?" Sophia asked her brother, frowning at him. It was rare that Jackson played the strong tough guy act despite his intimidating and muscular frame.

"That's Detective Kincaid," Jackson said, still looking in the direction they disappeared. "Mark Kincaid."

"That's Mark?" Luca asked, his eyes going wide. Then he let out a low whistle. "Yeah, I get it now."

Isaiah rolled his eyes and nudged Luca with his shoulder. "Now is not the time."

"Time for what? What's the big deal?" Dewey asked, feeling a little clueless. The detective had seemed nice enough when he met him earlier.

"Indy and Mark have... a thing," Isaiah told him. "Every time she's in L.A., they get together. Kind of like your and Virginia's thing when she first moved to Woodsboro."

"Just say they're fucking," Sophia sighed. Then she tilted her head. "Well, probably not anymore if he's a cop."

"I'm a cop," Dewey said, letting out an offended scoff. Sophia just looked pointedly at him, not retracting her statement.

"Wow," Luca mused, a little smirk on his face. "She and her sister sure take the term 'fuck the police' really literally."

Jackson curled his lips around his teeth to keep from laughing right in Dewey's face. He also felt that as Indy's best friend, it'd be wrong to laugh at the current situation knowing how angry she likely was given that she was starting to open up to Mark more — he'd simply laugh about it a few years down the road.

"I know I don't know Indy as well as the rest of you," Roman spoke up, "but I'm surprised she ran out of the room just because of that."

"Actually, she probably got pissed and stormed out because they think she's a suspect," Jackson told him, shrugging. "They didn't tell me why they think that, but that Wallace guy asked like a million questions about her."

Luca frowned at that. "But we were at our concert?"

"Oh, I told them that. And I'm sure Indy did. And the rest of you will too," he said, rolling his eyes. "It was so stupid and a big waste of time."

"I'll say," Roman grumbled. "I have to meet with Milton in a few minutes to talk about the next move with the film."

"Are they gonna drop it?" Isaiah asked him, knowing Roman was counting on Stab 3 to finally get his name out there and have people take him more seriously for future projects.

"I'm gonna do everything to make sure they don't—"

"Oh, there you all are!"

Roman was cut off by Jennifer joining them, and her bodyguard was trailing silently behind her as always. Sophia liked to stare at Stone and try to make him uncomfortable, but he never acknowledged her.

"Roman, this script change is just unacceptable!" Jennifer whined while waving a crinkled script in his face.

The director leaned back and pushed his glasses back up his nose before sighing. "Do I look like a script writer to you?"

Jennifer squinted at him and began mocking his tone. "Do I look like a — you're the director! So I suggest you direct someone to change this again. You can't kill Gale Weathers."

"Holy shit," Sophia laughed, snatching the new script out of her hands. She began quickly flipping to try and find the scene. Luca and Isaiah also looked over her shoulder. "You get your head cut off with a bread slicer!"

"Roman, you've got to keep this," Luca told him, putting his hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, fuck you," Jennifer said, glaring at the younger kids.

"It is a little harsh for someone to go that way," Dewey told him, grimacing at the mental picture.

"Look, I hate Gale Weathers, but you can't do Jen like that," Jackson told the director. "She's the only one that's stuck with this franchise. What happened to loyalty?"

Roman threw his hands up in exasperation. "I'm not doing anything! I am not a writer. I don't like them changing my movie every three days either."

"So make them not change it," Jennifer demanded, putting a hand on her hip.

Rather than keep on arguing, Roman just walked away while grumbling under his breath about not being in the writers' room when all the changes kept being made.

"Give me that back," Jennifer said, grabbing her script from Sophia, who was smirking at her. Then she looked toward Dewey and bat her eyelashes at him — though she didn't look very alluring in a neon green suit for the scene she was meant to film soon. "Dewey, would you be a dear and read lines with me?"

Dewey seemed to flounder a response, so Luca was quick to save him, throwing an arm over his shoulder. "Actually, Dewey already offered to spend the next few hours with me. He's teaching me how to read."

Sophia and Jackson started snickering while Isaiah rolled his eyes and bit back a grin. And Dewey just stupidly nodded along with Luca as if Jennifer would ever believe that.

"I suppose you are rather thick sometimes," Jennifer muttered. And that was what got Isaiah to laugh, so his boyfriend reached over to pinch his arm. Then she sighed. "Jackson, how about you?"

Jackson hesitated and looked to where Indiana and Mark went. "Maybe once Indy gets back. I want to make sure she's okay."

"You're not the only one..." Isaiah suddenly said, trailing off.

He was looking in the other direction, so they all followed his line of sight. And they saw the slightly older duplicate of Indiana waking around the set, clearly looking for anyone she knew. Dewey leaned his head closer and squinted his eyes.

"Virginia?"

Having heard him, Virginia turned on her heel and spotted them all gathered together. And she did not look happy as she stomped toward them.

"Dewey Riley, you are so goddamn lucky that—"

Whatever Virginia was going to say, Dewey kept the others from hearing as he rushed forward to intercept her and keep her from making a scene. But they could all still hear the argument that centered around Virginia not wanting Dewey to work on this movie for this very reason. She'd gotten the call from Indiana and drove straight from Woodsboro.

"He's a dead man walking," Sophia muttered, shaking her head.

Luca pursed his lips and slowly shook his head. "Nah, I don't think so."

Like he knew it was going to happen, Virginia stopped yelling and cupped Dewey's face, looking him over for injuries as if he'd been the one attacked. And he smiled and calmed her down, slowly taking her hands and lowering them while continuing to hold them. Then, she threw her arms around his neck to greet him with a kiss.

"What is that?" Jennifer asked, a scowl on her face.

"That is Dewey's girlfriend," Luca informed her, glancing between her and the couple, loving the drama that could potentially unfold.

"And what are the odds that I can take that girl in a fight?" she questioned as Dewey and Virginia stopped kissing.

"That girl is Indiana's sister, and she's in love with Dewey, so she'll beat the fucking shit out of you, Jennifer," Jackson said, deciding to be honest. Virginia was very territorial over Dewey after nearly losing him to Gale once. "But if you really want to learn what it's like to be Gale Weathers, then give it a go."

She sighed and cut her eyes to the younger boy. "Jackson, you're being very unpleasant right now."

"Well, he won't be nearly as unpleasant as Virginia if you keep flirting with Dewey in front of her," Isaiah told her. Jennifer had been nonstop with her attempts to seduce Dewey since he got to set, but that would need to stop now.

Despite his comment, Jennifer was smirking. "So, what I'm hearing is that it's okay when she's not around?" she asked, raising a challenging eyebrow.

"Yeah," Sophia said as Dewey and Virginia made their way over. "Sure, you keep trying."

And once she was close enough, Virginia turned into a mother hen, going straight for Isaiah to look at him. "You're okay?"

As soon as Isaiah nodded in confirmation, Virginia moved down the line, checking Sophia, Luca, and Jackson for injuries too. And because she was on a roll, she ended up asking Jennifer if she was okay too.

"Not a hair out of place on my perfect head," Jennifer said confidently with her chin raised. Virginia was taller than her, so she was trying to match her height.

Realizing it wasn't her little sister with the group, Virginia stepped back. "Um, good for you."

"Jennifer Jolie," she then introduced, sticking her hand out for Virginia to shake.

"Virginia. I'm Indiana's sister and Dewey's girlfriend," she said pointedly — Sophia and Indy already let her know all the gossip about the woman that was so interested in Dewey. Even Dewey himself had complained once about the actress trailing after him. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too—"

"Where's my sister?" Virginia cut her off, looking at Jackson.

The boy chewed on the inside of his cheek, not sure how much Indy would've wanted him to tell Virginia. "I don't know. I'm not her keeper."

"Yes, you are," Isaiah said with a small frown.

Jackson rolled his eyes. "She's having an argument with one of the detectives."

"Probably an argument," Luca cut in with a little smirk on his face. "There's a small chance they would be having angry sex somewhere on this set."

Jennifer let out a scandalized gasp as if she'd never fooled around on a movie set — as if she hadn't fucked Roman one night in the costume department.

Virginia peered at Luca, unable to tell if he was joking or not. "What?"

"That Mark guy is a cop," Sophia informed her. "Apple doesn't fall far from the tree or whatever."

"And yet again, I was right about you all working on this fucking movie," Virginia said, rolling her eyes.

"I mean, we don't know if it's related to the movie," Luca said, shrugging. "Could just be regular murder since Cotton was the worst."

"Nah, they've got something connecting it to Stab and to Indiana," Jackson reminded him. "Their questions about her were way too specific."

"I, uh, I actually know what they have," Dewey muttered, fiddling with his hands.

"Really?" Jennifer asked with wide eyes, putting a hand on his bicep. "You must be so important for them to trust you with something like that."

Dewey awkwardly cleared his throat and moved away from her touch. It was a good thing he did because Virginia was seconds away from pulling her off herself.

"Go away, Janice," she ordered, crossing her arms.

Jennifer narrowed her eyes at her. "It's Jennifer."

"And it's still not concerning you," she shot back. "I get you're probably method acting since you're playing the nosiest, most annoying, and tone-deaf person on the planet, but run along."

Sophia was grinning like the Cheshire Cat as Jennifer let out an affronted scoff and stormed off, Stone following after her. Then the young girl threw her arms around Virginia in a hug. "God, I forgot how mean you were. Wanna trade places with Jackson as my sibling?"

"I'm okay with that," Jackson said, shrugging. Then he looked back at Dewey. "So, what is it?"

"Well—"

Dewey was suddenly cut off by the one missing member joining them. "Virginia? What are you doing here?" Indiana asked while walking up to them, confused as to why her sister was there.

As she did with everyone else, Virginia scanned her for any injuries. But all she noticed were red eyes, a sign that she'd cried a slight bit.

"What do you think I'm doing here? It's rare that there's a dead body and you aren't involved."

"I'm not!" Indy insisted. "For real this time. I'm not a witness or a stabber or a survivor. It's completely unrelated to us."

"Actually," Dewey said, cringing. "I was just about to tell the others. There was a picture found with Cotton's body left behind by the killer. It's a photo of Sidney's mother when she was younger."

Silence fell over the group for a moment, and Indiana was the one to break it.

"No one tell her," she said in a serious tone, forgetting all about Mark and her confused feelings. Sidney was all that mattered right now. "Those of you that have her number, don't call and let her know. If she sees Cotton's death on the news and reaches out, don't tell her about her mother and tell her to stay the hell away. She's not going through this again."

"But you can?" Isaiah asked, worried about Indiana since she never seemed to worry about herself. "Maybe you should leave, ya know?"

"I'm not running. I know how to handle an asshole in a Ghostface mask," she declared. Then she looked between all her friends. "But maybe you guys should. Soph and Dewey have almost died from this. Lu, Zay, you've got no idea what this is like, and I don't want you to go through this if it's really starting again."

"Hey," Luca said, reaching to squeeze her shoulder comfortingly. "No way are we leaving you alone. We're a family. We play together – we die together."

"Luca," Isaiah sighed, shaking his head. "No one is dying if Indy has any say in it."

"Except the killer," Sophia chimed in.

"Yeah," Luca agreed. "Because let's face it — no way is Detective Dreamy gonna slap on a pair of handcuffs and stop whoever this is."

Indiana put her hand over her eyes and groaned, knowing that the nickname for Mark would stick around forever now. "I'm not ready to talk about that," she decided. Then she looked back at the oldest member of the band. "This is the last time I'm telling all of you to go home."

"Nah," he said, grinning lazily. "I mean, I kinda knew what I was getting into when I left the Lethal Lawnmowers for The Woodsboro Killers. Figured I'm here for a good time, not a long time."

"That is so not funny, Lu," she told him. "This is a very dangerous situation."

"Well, like Randy says — gay people never die in horror movies," he told her, moving to grab Isaiah and Sophia's hands. "Me, Soph, and Zay are honorary final girls."

"What?" Jackson asked, scoffing. "I'm just gonna die because I don't like boys?"

"Yes," Sophia confirmed. "Also because you're black."

"And a jock," Indiana added.

"And you've never had any contact with the killers in the past," Dewey chimed in.

"And you've got a girl waiting back home that you haven't admitted your undying love for," Isaiah then said, shaking his head.

"Oh, shit," Luca murmured. "You're gonna die, Jack. Been nice knowing ya, but I think I know of a few people we could interview to replace you in the — ow!"

Jackson had smacked Luca on the back of his head. "You can't replace me. I'm one of a kind."

"Yes, he is," Indy said, wrapping her arms around him and smushing their faces together. Jackson whined and tried to pry her off with little success, so he accepted his fate and let her hold onto him.

It was then that Detective Wallace came back over to them — Mark took the long way back to the interrogation room to avoid seeing Indiana. And things needed to stay on schedule.

"Alright, next up is Marino," he told them. "Let's keep this quick."

"Damn," Luca muttered, moving toward him. "You could've at least sent the hot one to come and get me."

"Lu," Indiana spoke up, squinting at him, "I'm gonna need you to not make jokes at my expense while you're in there with him."

"You know I can't promise that."

☆︎

When all the interrogations were over, the members of The Woodsboro Killers still hung around the set, as did Virginia since Dewey was still working, much to her annoyance. While Isaiah and Luca found his cousin, Jackson got on the phone with Randy to fill him in about everything — and he gave specific instructions not to share any of it with Sidney. And as always, Sophia found herself with Dewey and Virginia, following like a little third wheel.

Indiana ended up being recruited by Roman to join him in a less-than-private meeting about the fate of the movie. They gathered on the porch of the fake Loomis house along with Milton and a few other producers and financial backers for the studio. Some were already trying to axe the whole project.

"Look, you're worried about the movie, then protect the movie, okay? Hire more security. Hire the National Guard," Roman insisted. "Just don't kill the movie."

"The National Guard feels like overkill," Indiana said, squinting at him.

"Violence in cinema is a big deal right now, Roman," an executive producer named Charles told him. "This is not the kind of news this studio is after. And Denise Richards already dropped because of this, as well as a few smaller names. We'd have to recast all over again."

"Have Indy play herself!" he suggested, pointing to her.

But Indiana instantly shook her head. "There's quite literally not enough money that you could pay me to play myself in this," she told him. "Sorry, bud."

"Well, Indiana, what are your thoughts?" a woman named Jackie questioned.

"Look, I said it after the first Stab movie came out and I'll say it now. It may be related, but it's not the movie violence that makes people do stuff like this. They were already psycho before," she said, looking down. Her mind flashed with the image of Nancy revealing that Mickey had been killing people before they even met and planned the Windsor attacks.

"Exactly!" Roman said, glad she was partially taking his side. "So if we stop making scary movies, what? All the psychos in the world will retire? Come on."

"I've been makin' horror movies for thirty years, never had a psycho problem," Milton chimed in. This movie wasn't slated to make as much money as the first two films, but it was still going to profit him.

"He was your goddamn idea, guys," Roman then reminded all of them. "All right? An ex-con with a trashy talk show? He must've pissed people off every day."

"True," Indy mumbled, leaning against Roman's side since his arm was resting on the railing behind her.

Then Milton looked over his shoulder, spotting two men walking by. "Detectives!" he called out.

Indiana cringed and was going to stay with her back to them, but then Roman turned and pulled her with him since his arm was around her. And there Mark was, walking alongside his asshole partner and his green eyes already fixed on her.

"There's no reason to presume that Cotton's death had anything to do with this movie, is there?" Milton asked them, looking at them expectantly.

Wallace just looked at him like he was stupid. "He was making a movie called Stab. He was stabbed."

And despite how much Indiana hated the detective already, she couldn't help but laugh. Which made her look horrible, so she hid her face in Roman's chest, feeling it shake as he chuckled a little too.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, still giggling as she pulled back. "It's not funny. It really isn't."

When she glanced back at the detectives, Wallace looked surprisingly unannoyed with her, and Mark was smiling at the sight of Indiana's smile — he was worried he might not see it again. Though his own dimmed a little when Roman kept his arm around Indy and turned her back to them to focus on the meeting once again. For a moment, he was back in his living room, watching as she gave him a little kiss for winning his award, hating the sight of it.

But then Wallace was dragging him away, not caring enough about the stupid feelings that were getting in the way of solving the case.

☆︎

Isaiah was genuinely ready to scoop his brains out as he continued to be near his cousin. Luca's grip on his hand as they leaned against the railing on the Macher set house was the only thing keeping him from rolling his eyes every second. They weren't the only three there — Angelina, who was playing Sidney, and an actor named Tyson were with them as well. And like everyone else, they were talking about Cotton's death that was putting production to a halt.

"Probably some psycho fan pissed off they killed Randy in Stab 2," Tyson guessed.

"Which made no sense," Luca said with a frown. "Because he's not dead."

Randy had been furious when he watched himself get killed off in that news van. Evidently, the writers wanted more shock factor, so they chose him to lose, and a lot of die-hard fans weren't happy about their favorite being killed.

"Well, Tyson, that'd make you next, wouldn't it?" Tom asked him, a smirk on his face.

"I am not a Randy substitute. I'm my own character," he insisted.

And then Sarah, another cast member exited the house and joined them, flipping through the new version of her script. "Named Ricky, who works at the video store," she pointed out while sitting in a rocking chair.

"It's an homage," Tyson muttered defensively.

"Hey? What if the killer's Sidney Prescott?" Tom then asked with a smirk on his face.

"Cut it out, Tommy," Isaiah said, glaring at him a little.

Tom put his hands up in defense. "Seriously? I mean, what the hell ever happened to her? She's probably off in the woods, livin' like the fuckin' Unibomber, man."

"Dude," Luca said, seeing the frown on Isaiah's face deepen. "Seriously, not funny. And Indy would beat the shit out of you if she heard you."

"I'm starting to see why Tori Spelling and David Schwimmer didn't want to come back," Angelina murmured, looking down at her hands. She hadn't been very vocal at all about what happened.

"Guys, this was about Cotton. We are not in any danger," Sarah told them, rolling her eyes.

Then Tyson read directly from his script. "'We are not in any danger,' says Candy, page fifteen."

"I don't see you leaving," she sneered at him.

"You think serious black actors my age can just throw away jobs? It's all a business now," he told her. "They got Usher doing Pinter off-Broadway. L.L. Cool J's Shakespearin' in the park."

"Yeah!" Tom laughed.

"Even so, I'm pretty sure all four of you are gonna die if this movie goes on," Luca said bluntly. "I mean, Randy isn't here to say it, but you're background characters killed off to keep the pace going before the third act."

"Lu," Isaiah sighed, shaking his head. "Can we just talk about something else?"

"Maybe it's not meant to be," Angelina said quietly.

"Not meant to be?" Tom asked, looking at her in disbelief. "You win that talent search for the new Sidney. Fifty thousand girls, and they pick you. You gotta be praying this movie keeps going."

She cut her eyes to him. "Of course, I am, but not at the expense of people's lives."

Tom scoffed at such a simple and kind-hearted reply. "Oh. Cue the violins, right?"

"God forbid anyone in this industry have any compassion," Isaiah muttered, rolling his eyes. Then he tugged on Luca's hand, moving to leave. "I'll see you later, Tommy."

☆︎

"At least now you get to see what I'm doing at work," Dewey told Virginia as they walked around the set.

"You're taking a prop to Jennifer," Sophia chimed in from behind them, raising an eyebrow. "Real riveting stuff."

"Shut up, Soph," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Look, I'm glad that you're enjoying it," Virginia told Dewey. "But you know why I want you home — all of you."

"I know," he told her, squeezing her hand with his free one. "And I'll be back soon. I don't think I'm really meant for big-town living, but this has been a nice break — barring the murder, ya know."

"Well, I'm glad it hasn't taken you too long to realize that," Virginia said, feeling a little relieved that he'd be back in Woodsboro soon. In fact, really soon if the movie was trashed.

"Wow, the wardrobe department really made Jennifer easy to spot," Sophia muttered, seeing her bright green suit from across the large lot.

"Could you two try to be nice to her?" Dewey asked, glancing between the two most important girls in his life. "It'll make everything more bearable if she doesn't hate everyone here."

Virginia and Sophia shared a doubtful look, but at least he wasn't asking them to be nice to Gale. So they grunted in sync, their way of telling him they'd be cordial as they neared the woman and her bodyguard.

"Uh, Jennifer, Nick said you wanted to—" Dewey cut himself off when he was suddenly seeing double.

Gale was right next to Jennifer, wearing a neon yellow pantsuit, proof that Jennifer was accurate in the costume department.

"Gale," he said in surprise.

And she was just as shocked. "Dewey. Virginia."

"Oh, my god," Sophia said, slowly covering her mouth with her hand. But that did nothing to stifle her giggle. "The fucking micro bangs! Did a child cut your hair with crafts scissors or does your stylist just hate you like everyone else?"

Gale glared at the younger girl while Virginia bit her lip to keep from laughing. Jennifer wasn't quite as cordial as she snickered as well.

"They're in style," she snapped.

"Right, and your banana suit is in style in this fictional world you're living in too, I assume?" Sophia shot back.

Though she was amused, Virginia did pull Sophia back — insulting Gale could've gone on for hours if no one stopped her.

"Well, surprise, surprise. Someone dies, and Gale comes running," Dewey muttered, eying her with distaste.

He'd given her a second chance — not at romance, but just redemption in general. Then she went and wrote another book full of lies and embellishments that degraded everyone but herself in some way, shape, or form. But it got her a segment on Total Entertainment, so it was probably worth it to her.

"Gale, I think you'll really appreciate my character work in this one," Jennifer spoke up while moving to Dewey's other side. She placed a hand on his arm, but swiftly removed it when Virginia glared at her. "Someone's helped me understand the real you."

"Someone?" Gale questioned, not really understanding why she was seeing the Woodsboro natives.

"Your ruthless ambition, your private self-loathing, and that lost and lonely little girl inside," she listed.

Gale's eyes went wide. "Lost and lonely what?"

"You heard me," Jennifer said smugly before taking the prop from Dewey. "Thanks, Dewey, I'll return it."

"Lost and lonely what?" Gale asked louder as Jennifer stormed off.

"Little girl inside," Dewey whispered, wincing a little.

"I think she's growing on me," Virginia noted, watching Jennifer leave with a smile.

"Me too," Sophia agreed.

"I thought you were supposed to be in Woodsboro," Gale said, looking pointedly at Dewey.

"Well, I'm surprised you thought about me at all," he muttered pettily. "Listen, I gotta get back to work. I really don't have time for this."

"Wait a minute. You work here?" she asked him in disbelief.

"Don't get me started," Virginia muttered, rubbing her forehead. That was probably the one thing she and Gale would agree on at the moment.

"Yeah. The movie needed a technical advisor. Someone who went through the real experience, knew the real people," he explained.

"Hey, Dewey, Soph," Tom greeted while walking past them. He didn't really know Virginia enough to greet her.

"Hey, Tom."

"Fuck off, Tommy."

Tom rolled his eyes and went to snap at Sophia but then spotted the new addition to the group, doubling back. "Hey! It's the real Gale Weathers."

"Real from top to bottom," she said, still a little pressed about those fake nudes from years ago. And seeing Jennifer parading around like her.

"Tom Starnes-Prinze," he introduced with a charming smile. "Watch your show all the time. You're so right. Pop culture is the politics of the twenty-first century."

"Thank you," Gale said with a proud grin.

"And that story that you did last month on me crashing my car? Wow, was that ever powerful journalism," he then said in a sarcastic tone.

Gale's smile instantly dropped. "Right, uh—"

"I especially liked the way you implied that it was caused by drinking and drugs, and that the tire blowout was faked. That was great," he added while walking backward away from them.

"Tom, sometimes in journalism you have to—"

"Are you parked in the lot?" he asked, cutting her off. "'Cause I should check to make sure that nobody's messed with your brake line," he said, shooting a wink at her before leaving.

"Well, I'll be dammed," Sophia said, smirking. "He's growing on me too."

"Who's he supposed to be?" Gale asked with a huff.

Then Dewey just smiled shyly and shrugged, hinting at himself. And when Gale laughed, so did Sophia. Because it didn't matter how much she hated Gale — Tom playing Dewey was still so fucking hilarious.

"He's playing you? Him?" she asked in disbelief.

"What?" he asked defensively.

Virginia just shook her head and rubbed his shoulder. "Just drop it — both of you."

Then Gale stepped closer and lowered her voice. "I did not come here to fight with you, Dewey. Cotton's killer left a picture."

"Of Sid's mom," he finished for her. "The detectives told me."

"Well, does Sidney know about it?" she asked him.

"No fucking way," Sophia chimed in. "And she's not gonna know. She doesn't need you and your camera in her life."

Gale cut her eyes to the younger girl. "Do you see a camera?"

Dewey then cleared his throat and looked down at her purse. The others saw a small hole cut out of the side and a camera sitting inside, filming everything.

"Right. You bought me this purse, didn't you?" Gale asked sheepishly.

"Yeah."

"Look, it - it's a habit," she said, trying to defend herself. "I walk outta the house, I turn it on—"

"What the hell is this? Gale Weathers?" Milton asked, finally finished with his meeting and spotting the reporter.

Gale spun around to face the man. "Could I be more popular?" she asked in annoyance.

"No press. No press on set. Get that woman outta here," Milton ordered, snapping at some security guards.

"Yes, Mr. Milton."

"Let's go."

Two guards came up to Gale and literally began dragging her away as she yelled in protest. "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Where is Detective Kincaid? I am working with Kincaid, Dewey!"

"Rules are rules, Gale. But, really, it was great seeing you," Dewey said, clearly not meaning it.

Sophia just kept grinning even after Gale was out of sight. "This is turning out to be a great day. Maybe someone will punch her again."

Virginia nodded in agreement. "My money is on Indy if she brings Sidney up again."