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Dewey Riley was infuriating. Mark had come across his fair share of difficult people- it was part of the job- and he always thought of himself as a patient man.
Right now, though, he was this close to arresting Mr. Riley for obstructing justice. He had lost count of how many times he had come close to doing that just today.
With how difficult he’s being, Mark thought cynically, Dewey Riley would have been the prime suspect in this case. If he wasn’t such a klutz, that is.
“Mr. Riley.” He tried again. “It’s imperative that we get back Sidney back to the precinct for her safety.”
“I know that, Detective. I don’t want her going with you in that car alone.” Dewey shot back.
This again. You’d think Mark was negotiating with Dewey what time he’d bring Sidney back from a date or something. Clearly, it was time for a different approach.
“Mr. Riley, it isn’t a good look for you to be accusing the detective assigned on this case of being a serial killer.”
“I don’t care. The killer is after her and the only people I trust at the moment are Gale and Sidney.” Mark bit back a retort as Dewey continued, “Besides, my experience has only told me that it’s always the people you least expect.”
Fine. Compromise it is.
“I understand how you feel, Mr. Riley.” Mark held his hand up as a gesture of peace. “You follow behind us, and you can watch me radio my partner.”
Dewey frowned as he considered the offer for a few seconds. Then nodded. Finally.
“Look, Wallace. I’m taking Ms. Prescott back to the precinct. The set’s a crime scene and with the possibility of the suspect roaming about, it’s just not safe for her to be here.”
“Going for a nice drive, eh, Kincaid?” The radio cackled, “Guess she must have really liked the flowe-”
"Enough with it already, Wallace.”
Mark doesn’t look at Dewey as he walked to the car, but he’s pretty sure Dewey was glaring daggers into the back of his head. He didn’t think it possible, but he’s sure Mr. Riley hates him even more now.
What was it with everyone, anyways? Express concern for a potential target to your partner, and everyone think you’re in with love with her. As... intriguing as Ms. Prescott was, this was Mark’s case and he wasn’t going to let some passing fancy distract him.
Sidney was waiting for him in the car. Please don’t let her have heard Wallace. That would definitely not increase anyone’s confidence in him.
She doesn’t acknowledge him when he entered the car or started the engine. He is surprised when she does speak as he moved to lock the doors.
“Don’t lock it. I’d rather stay here if you’re going to lock me in.”
He looked over at her. She wasn't looking at him, and had opted to watch Dewey in the wing mirror. Sidney doesn’t trust him, either.
Unlike what Mark had done with Dewey, he doesn’t hold it against Sidney. With what she’s been through, he’s surprised that she can trust anyone at all.
“Alright, Ms.Prescott. As you wish. My job is to protect you, and that’s what I only intend to do.” Sidney only glanced at him; she doesn’t seem convinced.
As they drove away, Mark angrily watched in the rear mirror as Dewey sauntered away with Gale.
“After all that arguing, he just walks away,” he muttered as they pull onto the main road. “So much for that.”
“Mm. It’s fine. I don’t blame him. Dewey can never say no to Gale anyways.” She seemed to smile at this. The only time he’s seen her smile is with those two; he hadn’t even seen her smile in any of her pictures in the Woodsboro file. It’s a pretty smil-
“Dewey, he’s uh,” Mark internally panicked and tried to distract himself with conversation. “He’s really protective of you.”
“Yeah. He always was like a brother to me. After Woodsboro and Tatum, he....” Sidney trailed off, turning away from him to look out the window.
He remembered Tatum Riley. The file had mentioned her to be Sidney's best friend. Dewey’s little sister. Mark winced for his earlier thoughts about Dewey; the man was just trying to make sure Sidney wasn’t hurt.
He wondered if he should apologize to Sidney, tell her that he was sorry for all that she had lost.
As they make a turn, Mark decides against it- the woman had probably heard it almost every day for years now. It would just come across as him making a lame attempt at gaining her trust.
As they make another turn, he debated telling her he understands what she’s going through
He immediately dismissed the idea. It’s such a cruel thing to say, even worse than the empty apologies. No one can truly understand these kinds of things except for the victim.
Survivor, he corrected himself, she’s a survivor. All of the people who made it out of the murders are.
Deciding that maybe staying quiet would be the best course of action, Mark stayed quiet for the rest of the drive. Sidney didn’t move from her position during the journey, her eyes staring outside the window the whole time.
“Did you find out who was lurking about in that set?” Considering how elusive this killer had been, he doubted it.
Still, he thought as he watched Sidney thumb through his books, it doesn’t hurt to ask.
“No. Honestly, Kincaid, I think the girl was just seeing things. Good call on getting her away from the scene though, the rest of the Scooby Doo gang left just after she did. You coming back to the set?”
“I just want to ask Sidney more questions-”
“What good will that do? She’s lost it, Kincaid. Remembering when we had to ask her about Maureen? We just had to ask her a few questions and she was having trouble answering those! Did you see the way she kept on looking for openings to run? The girl was in a police station, Kincaid, and still thought people were after her!”
Mark calmly let Wallace finish his ranting before he replied with a “I believe Ms. Prescott is a vital part of this case.”
“God, Kincaid. I was just joking before but you really do like her! What is it with you? You just met her-”
The conversation was over now. “I’ll see if I can dig up anything else before I head back.”
Wallace didn’t seem to agree, “I don’t need to remind you what happened to all of Grim Reaper’s love interests, do I?! One was a psycho and the second one-”
End call. A shame that Wallace never learned to take a hint. His partner had an annoying tendency to focus on the most asinine things.
Still, Mark did give Wallace’s words some thought as Sidney gave her statement. His words about Sidney’s state of mind, of course. She did seem to feel unsafe everywhere, and its only to ease her mind that he left his office door open.
Mark Kincaid wasn’t a psychologist, but as he watched Sidney’s face as she recounted the statement, something about her expression tells him she’s telling the truth. There’s not a hint of doubt or any hesitation in her voice as she answers him.
Her face shifted back to that haunted look as soon as he stops the recording. It’s that same look he used to make back when he first started. He should be heading back now, but he saw so much of himself reflected in Sidney that he couldn’t help but make excuses to himself to linger.
There was that file he could look through again.
He’s not really paying attention to the contents. His mind focused instead on how he should tell her that understoods the pain and suffering you go through when you’ve lost all hope in humanity.
It’s Sidney who gave him the opening when she asks him about his life.
Her expression was unreadable when he told her about the horrors he has seen.
He’s not even sure she was really listening when he gently tried to encourage her to give people another chance.
When she opened up about Maureen though, Mark felt the animosity between them start to disappear. He’d almost have thought it gone with the grateful look she gave him as he leaves.
Mark wasn’t sure why his heart started beating faster when she called him back. He’s definitely not sure what made him so brazen as to lean down so close to Sidney's face. That too, in full view of the rest of the precinct.
Maybe it was the hope that she’d given him that she could call him Mark.
The whole affair with the set had been a red herring, so that the police would waste away while the climax took place at Milton’s manor. Those gunshots Mark had heard just as he pulled in confirmed it.
It’d take too long for backup to arrive and, he noted grimly as he passed Tyson’s body, probably too late.
The sight of Sidney Prescott holding a gun with Gale and Dewey tied up momentarily threw him off guard. Wallace’s words come back to him as the two pointed their guns at each other, sizing the other side.
She could have snapped, most people would. But...it doesn’t add up. And Sidney...
Sidney would kill in self-defense, but murder? Never.
He heard Wallace screaming obscenities in his head as he took a leap of faith and lowered his gun.
It seemed to work. Sidney began to lower her gun, looking as if she might finally trust him.
That’s when he sees the killer.
It’s all a hazy mess after that. He remembered feeling the knife enter him, but not the pain. The struggle. Everything had turned red as the killer pushed him off.
He’s not dead. Pain has started to set in, and it was getting harder to remember why he was here in the first place.
A person? No, there were two distinct voices calling out to him. Gale and Dewey. They managed to free themself somehow and were helping him. He’s not the person they should be worried about though.
“No.” He pushed a gun into Dewey’s hand, “Get him. I’ll be okay.” The last statement seemed doubtful with how the world had started to go black.
The yelling seemed to come and go. There was a thud and a pause.
He slowly tried to move his limbs. Everything seemed to work except for an arm. There might be some fight left in him.
Mark managed to get himself out of the room as the mansion goes dark. Everything was spinning and Mark pushed himself forward with the reminder that the killer was in the mansion. He had to protect Sidney, Gale and Dewey. The mantra began to repeat in his head as he headed for the shouts and screams, giving him purpose as he reached for the doorknob.
Killer. Sidney. Gale. Dewey. Sidney.
Sidney. Sidney. Sidney. Everything had gone quiet and Mark prepared himself for what he’s about to see.
It’s Sidney. Alive, but clearly injured, and she struggled to get up.
It’s the last thing he saw before his world went completely dark.
Surprisingly, he was still alive. The pain was excruciating now, but someone was helping him up and asking if he was alright.
He’s not sure why he’s being focused on while Dewey was repeatedly shot at Roman Bridger. It doesn’t even settle in that Roman was the culprit.
He watches in dull surprise as Dewey shoots Roman in the head, and he finally goes down.
Maybe Dewey wasn’t as incompetent as he thought. Who would have imagined him of all people to take down the killer?
The case was closed, or at least, his part in it was done. Wallace would take over for the reports and conferences. Thankfully, Wallace had the good sense to not give too much of a hard for going in alone.
“Just had to be the hero, didn’t ya?” If you called a broken arm and a brutal beating being a hero, that is.
“Maybe the scars will stop you the next time you think you’re in a movie.”
Mark tuned out the rest of his rant.
He doesn’t expect Sidney to come visit him. According to Dewey, she had been discharged with fairly minor wounds and had wanted to leave to avoid the reporters.
“You got it the worse of us, huh.” It’s an observation. Guess that’s how surviving three stabbing sprees changed a person. Made a person almost indifferent to such things.
“At least I’m alive.” Then again, he was one to talk. Chatting about a near-death experience as if they were discussing the weather.
Sidney bit her lip and looked down, clearly struggling with something. A piece of paper is in her hands and he started to count as she repeatedly folded and unfolded it.
“I...I was thinking. About what you said about those ghosts. That being with people makes them go away. I’d think I’d like to try that on my own terms.”
She was not looking at him but he still lets out a weak smile.
“That’s great to hear, Sid. Good luck with that.”
“Thanks.” She moved to leave. Then, stopped. Moved to leave again. Stopped and then came back.
She met his eyes this time as she slipped him the note. “I asked around and they said you’d be on temporary leave to recover.”
Mark slowly unfolded the note. There’s an address. A phone number.
Sidney has started to walk away by the time he looked up from the note, but there was a hint of a tease in her voice.
“Don’t lose it, Mark. That’s going to be your only copy.”