[car passing by]
[door opens and closes]
[sighs]
Sure.
[thumping music playing]
[Shelsie] I remember an old saying, there is safety in numbers.
Momma used to say that before we'd walk to school.
Of course, it's totally BS.
If safety were that simple, we wouldn't have to live with our guard up.
Everyone would play nice. Make friends. Build their armies for safety.
[ominous music playing]
Nope. But we are just a number. So she wasn't completely wrong.
[ominous music playing]
-[grunts] [Shelsie] Mom?
I did something...
I did something I can't take back.
[ominous music playing]
[crying]
[telephone beeping]
Nobody has to know.
[sighs]
[inhales loudly]
[eerie music playing]
[Atona] Got any sixes?
Uh-uh. What do I get?
-What do you want? -You know what I want.
Is it a boy or a girl?
You know I'm not telling so you might as well go ahead and pick a card.
Tsk, I tried.
[scoffs, sighs]
You're not going to offer anything?
Just 'cause it's her problem doesn't make it mine.
Okay.
This is a game, but it's also prep
for whether or not we're there for each other out there.
Nah.
She doesn't need a lecture. She's got it all figured out.
The plan was to split up.
Yeah, but she took the combination with you.
[Keira] Oh, come on!
-Yeah? -Can I lend a hand?
Uh, yeah, I...
-I was actually just about to cut this. -[J. Kendrick] No, no, no, girl.
Uh-uh. Put those away.
-When's your birthday? -Huh?
-Your birthday. When is it? -Um...
People can never remember their combination
so they usually just put their birthday.
[Keira] Oh, it's my friend's.
[J. Kendrick] What's her birthday, then?
-[Keira] I... -[J. Kendrick] Alright.
One, two, three.
-There you go. -I'm not gonna lie.
I did not think that was going to work.
I know. Have a good day.
[Keira] Thank you!
Are you freaking kidding me?
[Henley] Alright, I'll find them. What do they look like?
What do you mean you don't know?
How'd they get in the first place?
Whoever this is, they messed with the wrong guys.
Going around back. South end all clear.
You guys got anything?
[ominous music playing]
[breathing heavily]
-Sorry. -Great.
A sincere apology, uh...
-It really just warms the heart. -[Atona] Okay, game over.
Let's get started.
[Shelsie] This is me playing well with others.
Don't get me wrong. These ladies are my life, but sometimes...
I guess, it just goes to prove the truism.
Can't live with 'em and...
I would be dead without them so...
[gasps]
[somber music playing]
[yawns]
[knocking on door]
[Shelsie] Come in!
[door creaking]
[Atona] Alright. Let's begin.
As you know, this is a gathering of women,
for women, aimed at supporting women.
And we aim...
[all] To expose wrongdoing and bring justice to those in harm's way.
Right. So, Keira, take us away.
What's on your mind this week?
I hate men.
Everything's about them.
The conversation is about them, my body is about them,
what I choose to wear is about them...
[sighs]
I'm just tired.
And I want a... I want a life again.
I wanna be done with all this.
Cry me a fuckin' river.
It can be hard to go back to, hmm, normal.
We are here for you, but, honestly, you need to suck it up.
We all want a happier life than what we got.
I mean, the minute you girls start softening up, we're done for.
You know what? You want to quit?
Go ahead. Be my guest.
Go back to a life where you're not in control.
We're here for each other,
but we are also here to kick each other in the ass when we're moping around.
What do you... what do you want, huh?
My sympathy? Sympathy never saved anyone.
No, I'm good.
[somber music playing]
[sniffles]
[clears throat]
[water running]
[knocking on door]
Hi, I'm part of a community safety group doing some research.
May I ask you some questions?
-Mrs. Martin? -Yes?
I'm from an organization doing neighborhood watch research in surrounding streets.
Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?
Lacey Garcia?
-Oh, I'm sorry. Is it Matthews now? -Who are you?
I work for the housing safety commission.
I'm here to ask you a couple of questions about the safety of your house.
Do you feel safe in your neighborhood?
I mean, I walk after dark and stuff.
Right. Uh, what about in your home?
Uh, you mean from burglars or whatever?
Uh, I guess so.
You should talk to my husband about that.
This is more of a subjective evaluation.
Any concerns with the structural integrity?
No?
[camera shutter clicks]
[camera whirring]
It's for our records. Have you experienced any danger within your home?
What do you mean?
I just mean like theft, robbery...
No. No, nothing like that.
Okay. I noticed your kitchen window was cracked. Was that from an incident?
No.
[scoffs] We've never had a break-in.
What about design flaws?
-Like support beams you can run into in the middle of the night? -I don't... I don't know.
Looks like you might have had a run in with one.
Oh. Well, it's... I don't know if it's the house, though.
I sleepwalk and so sometimes I have a run-in with the bathroom door
or kitchen counter or something like that.
Well, that sounds painful.
Any other form of danger within your home?
[suspenseful music playing]
No. No, nothing like that.
-Thank you for your time. -[Purna] Mm-hmm.
I'm sorry, what organization did you say you're with?
[Benson] Who the hell are you talking to?
[Keira] I can come back at a better time.
[Benson] What have I told you about letting the air out of the house?
I'm sorry.
What the hell do you want?
Just here to ask a couple of questions about the safety--
Get the hell off my porch.
[ominous music playing]
[door slams close]
-[Keira] Shelsie? -Hmm?
Did you have any more thoughts, or...
I'm sorry. I totally spaced out. [chuckles]
-You stressed? -Uh, yeah. A little.
About a secret you're trying to keep?
It's okay. You can tell Keira.
Shelsie got that new job.
Yeah. Receptionist in the E.R.
Nice. I mean, we're a team. Share.
Yeah, I will.
It doesn't start for a couple of weeks so...
[car rumbling]
[car beeping]
[clatters]
[sighing]
[gasps]
[breathing heavily]
[sighs]
[beeping]
You doing alright, Miss?
[sighs] Who's asking?
-Deon. -Doing just fine.
Seems like it.
Oh? And what would I say about you if we're judging looks?
True, true. Been out in the sun.
-You and me both. -Doesn't look like it.
Not that type of sun, baby boy.
Two type of heatstroke.
The one they give you and the one you give right back.
You look like you can deal it out.
Been in the sun all day but didn't get a sunburn till you been right there.
Come on, Deon. I strike you as an easy woman?
-Just making conversation. -Hmm.
Anyway, I hope it stops going "just fine" for you real soon.
Yeah, you, too.
Don't know what you mean.
It's going great for me.
Meet me here tomorrow for dinner?
Excuse me?
[Deon] I'll be here at seven if you want to grab a bite.
[clanks]
[sighs]
[ominous music playing]
Do you have something for me?
Perfect.
-So we're good? -Easy for you to say.
You had a smooth exit.
-Was it a good exit? -Yeah.
This is huge.
Formerly, we could only observe from a distance.
But with more evidence, some of us had trouble sitting by.
So now our investigative approach is more aggressive,
targeting the wives of men who are part of different fraternal societies,
some less aggressive than others,
but all with the belief that men are superior.
As you know, we've been focusing more on the Freeman Society.
There's a lot that we still don't know about them, their leadership.
But we do know that their membership requirements are,
you must be a man, you must have a wife,
and you must exercise your authority in your household.
We've uncovered a lot. We've done good work.
But we seem to have drawn some attention from this group.
-What? -Shelsie found that on her doorstep.
We're going to have to be a lot more careful.
Many of the Freeman Society members are powerful businessmen,
not to mention politicians and also the laymen,
who are often, brutes.
We can't take anything for granted.
We're out in the open now.
[Shelsie] Mom?
Mom, would you just say something?
Seriously, Mom, this is over the top.
[sighs] Okay.
I can't make you talk, but you can't keep me from talking so...
[inhales loudly]
I keep screwing things up with some friends of mine.
I mean, I cover my ass so I don't look bad but...
It feels like lying,
which is making me a little paranoid.
[birds chirping]
[electric zap]
You didn't follow her?
What am I supposed to do with this home video?
It's home addresses I need.
Good.
[Keira] You gonna share?
Um, yeah, there's a guy who crossed lines with me.
Um, for a while it was just things he said.
At first, I thought they were compliments.
But, then, something started not feeling right.
I felt uncomfortable.
I'd catch him staring at me.
After a while, he tried to touch me. He...
You know how good it is to say these things.
Even just to remind yourself.
It stimulates your fight for justice.
Yeah, well, one day, something snapped, and I left.
Is that all?
There are so many women in my life who could've done something
or said something, and they didn't.
So I don't owe any woman anything.
Look who's opening up.
Wow. Wow! Right on time.
Sorry, ladies.
No, you've got important places to be.
Uh, I actually did, though.
[knocking on door]
[sighs]
[knocking on door]
[Shelsie] I'm so paranoid right now, Mom.
I wonder if I'm just doing it to myself.
I mean, did I write the note and leave it on my porch?
Did I slash my own tires? Did I...
[sighs]
I don't know.
I think I'm losing it.
Mom?
-Mom? -[knock on door]
Hey. I'm sorry, can I help you?
-Uh, apartment 203? -Yeah?
Uh, something about a broken light bulb?
Um, I mean, yeah, I have a dead bulb,
but did I call you guys?
Look, lady, I have no idea. I just go where the property manager sends me.
Do you want the bulb changed or not?
Um, I think I'm good.
Okay. That's great. Yeah. Another bullshit job.
Guess I'll just drive across town to the next bullshit job.
That'll be great. Yeah. Love this.
I mean, do you have the bulb with you?
Yeah, I have like, uh, six of them right here.
Uh, okay, um, come on in. My roommate probably called, forgot to mention it.
-You sure? -Yeah, yeah, totally. Come on.
Right through here.
[door closes]
-Do you want anything to drink? -No, no, I'm good.
-Uh, is your roommate home? -No.
I just figure we could, uh, ask her, you know, end the great mystery.
Well, I'll just replace the bulb and I'll, uh, I'll be out of your hair.
Appreciate it. I have a lot of hair.
[chuckles]
[bulb squeaks]
So, um, you unscrew a lot of light bulbs in a day?
Uh, you know, not as many as I'd like.
Usually, I'm on the roof somewhere, fixing an AC unit or some crap.
There we go. Light.
-It's that easy. -Yeah.
Well, you know, don't ever, uh, hesitate to call.
Thank you. And I'm sorry about all the trouble.
-No, it was no trouble at all. -No, really.
Do I need to tip you or something?
-No, that's, uh, that's not necessary. -Okay.
Um, I will take that glass of water, though.
I mean, if it's still on the table.
Yes. Definitely on the table.
[water running]
-Here you go. -Thanks.
It's a beautiful place you've got here.
Thanks.
Guess I'd better be going.
Sorry for the, uh, inconvenience.
[swooshes]
[ominous music playing]
[thuds]
[whimpers]
[Shelsie] Mom? I did something.
I did something I can't take back.
[somber music playing]
[Keira] So, you gonna tell me why we're out here?
-[Deon] Do I need a reason? -[Keira] Kind of.
[Deon] You looked really intriguing.
[Keira] I looked a mess.
[Deon] Well, I guess we're all entitled to our opinion.
[Keira] Mm-Hm.
[Deon] So, uh, seems like you work a lot.
[Keira] Oh, is it the vacant expression or the gray hairs?
[Deon] You got drive.
Most people with drive don't slow down.
[Keira] Yeah, well, there's a lot going on.
[Deon] So, yeah, I guess that's why we're out here.
To slow it down.
[Keira] Tsk, well, works for me.
[Deon] Uh, this is me.
-Thanks for the lovely evening. -No, thank you.
Yeah. I'll see you around.
That's it, pretty boy?
Ain't gonna ask for my number?
You strike me as a woman who knows what she wants.
And you'd definitely be letting me know if you had some interest.
Is that right?
Oh, snap! [laughing]
-Ready to go. -Alright!
Take that, Mr. Observant.
Will do.
[ominous music playing]
[Shelsie] Being a victim.
[clatters]
My least favorite thing about being alive.
The all-knowing cynic makes it sound like a choice.
[Shelsie sighs]
But who on Earth would ever choose this?
[camera shuttler clicks, whirs]
[Deon] So, what do you do?
I, uh, I... I work for a non-profit.
-Oh, yeah? What kind? -Advocacy?
-Okay, changing the world. -Ah, well, trying.
It's never enough.
Well, that depends on what enough is.
Huh?
You ever notice how we're always moving the touchdown zone on our goals?
Just as we finally reach for the one we're working for,
we move the finish line so that nothing is ever enough.
Oh, where are those napkins?
Mm. This food's good.
Oh, thank you!
Okay, I'm going to need some serious breath mints after this.
You got any, uh, mints in your bag of magic wonder over there?
Oh!
You don't go feeling around in a girl's purse.
Oh, okay. Shoot, I... Okay, I'm sorry.
I guess I was just... I crossed the line.
It's alright.
You know I, um...
I really respect the way you stand up for people.
Now, that means something.
-There you go. Your freakin' mints. -[chuckles]
What does it mean, we're out in the open?
I mean, what are we going to do?
The whole point of what we do is that it stays anonymous.
We need to figure out how they pegged us before we get nailed.
How can you be so...
I mean, the rest of us do this out of passion or whatever,
but you're like a pro, it's unnerving.
I'm just like the rest of you.
No, but, how are you so unintimidated?
Special Forces. You were in the military?
-How old were you? -[Mara] 19.
Whoa. It's young.
-[Mara] Mm-Hm. -I guess you killed a lot of people.
No, but I should have.
[Atona] I think we're going to need to lay low after I drop the motherlode.
That's actually a great title.
-Maybe we should call it that. -We've been calling it that.
-Oh. It's a thing? -It's been a thing.
-Actually a thing. -Mm-Hm.
Clever.
We just have to get it to our contact. She'll do the rest.
Nah, I don't think we should do this.
-We've been working on this for three years. -I was there.
-We've risked a lot. -Yeah, but we're exposed.
The election is in one week. We don't have a choice.
After we do this, we can lay low.
Take a break. Live life. But we have to do this.
After how the job went, I'm not comfortable.
You're not comfortable?
Tell us what you did.
-What? -Tell me.
Tell me you stuck to the plan to a T.
-I was chased. -Oh, come...
-I got away. -Oh, my God, but did they see you?
Did they recognize you?
Did you drop your ID with your address on it?
How'd they find you? And are they after all of us now?
-Give me a break. -Shelsie, there is no break!
Are you kidding me?
If they're following you...
[sighs]
What happened?
[panting]
Look, I'm not the one with a history of screwing up jobs.
-Keira. -Hmm.
-Mara. -Hmm?
How was your last project?
[crying]
Please, please, just... just leave me alone.
Please, I can contact powerful people.
I... know people with money, I...
Please, just...
[breathing heavily]
[beeps]
Now, that is how you're supposed to beg.
[scoffs]
Not this sorry-ass moaning.
[sighs]
I know. I know, it doesn't come naturally.
Asking implies that you don't already know everything.
It's not very macho.
[chuckles] Hmm.
If it's not weakness incarnate,
at the very least,
it's a cosmic wrinkle in the tapestry of your preeminence.
Hmm.
Well, whoop-de-freaking-doo.
[sighs]
You shouldn't have touched that sweet wife of yours.
Mm.
It was alright.
Anyone looking for any sixes?
Atona was...
But game's over.
[humming]
-[Deon] Ah! -Oh, my!
-[Deon] Sorry. Sorry, I didn't-- -Are you serious?
-I'm so, so dead right now. -Yeah.
Literally, I'm dead. Hearing the actual voice of an angel.
-Really? -Yeah.
Did you hear it?
[sighs]
She stopped.
No, I... see, look, I know you think I'm crazy, right?
-You are crazy. -But I literally just saw her.
-But you're crazy. -Well, at least I'm not dead.
But what if I am?
She didn't stop singing, I just went to the bad place?
Oh, my God!
Never to see the light of day again.
-Please stop. -No. I can't.
I'm slowly sinking deeper and deeper into darkness.
I need... I need someone to pull me out.
Deon.
Oh, if she was just here with a voice of melodies,
a silken voice with a prayer of melodies!
-Wow, silken. Okay. -She could pull me out.
She could save me. Her voice could save me.
She could pull me out of this place, please.
Oh, please. Please sing.
Fine.
[sighs]
[chuckles]
♪ I can see the pain Behind your eyes ♪
♪ While you ask yourself why
♪You told me Please stop before you cry ♪
♪ And I realize...
Listen...
♪ You can only help someone So much ♪
♪ But I know how the road Can get tough ♪
♪ When it feels like You can't pray enough ♪
♪ And the world goes silent
♪ When it feels like You're walking alone ♪
♪ Fighting for life to hold on
♪ So hear me when I say You're not alone, no ♪
Damn.
Okay, seriously, what the hell are you doing in advocacy?
-Get out of there. -[laughing]
No, seriously, get out of there.
-Those kids can fend for themselves! -Stop.
[chuckles]
But seriously?
I have been thinking about quitting.
-Wow. Work? -Yeah.
[birds chirping]
I don't know. It's... it's been such a good thing for me...
[breathes heavily]
But I don't think I need that work anymore to feel purpose.
[scoffs]
Wow. How long you been working there?
-Three years? -Yeah.
Yeah. So, I have a meeting soon...
and I'm going to let the team know.
-Okay, tomorrow? -Yeah.
[sighs] Tell them I'm quitting.
[sighs] Keira, wait.
What I said before, I was out of line and I'm sorry.
Yeah, but... but you're right.
[laughs] You don't even know why you're right.
You know how Atona's like...
"Don't move on anybody until you've done the research."
Well, I did.
It was clear this wife was getting beaten. Her concealer was weak.
And I wanted to give this wife beater what he deserved and I did.
So by the time I realized that she was the one having an affair
and it was actually her boyfriend
that was beating her, not her husband...
it was too late.
For a long time, for a long time...
for a long time, I tried to move on from it, much less let it go.
But now, I think I'm able to forgive myself.
To move on.
But this foolishness is gonna mess us up.
We all gotta wrestle our own demons.
And yours is whatever you're keeping tucked down there.
One of these days, you're gonna have to let it out.
[suspenseful music playing]
[zaps]
So, check this out. I got that bag I wanted.
Wait, the like 800 dollar one? How?
Remember that guy I was telling you about? Prince charming?
Yeah, the like old-fashioned guy with super-tight Levi's
and a face like what's-his-name from Tangled?
-Exactly. -[Shelsie] He bought it for you?
Well, you know, we went out for dinner the night before last
and let's just say we didn't say goodbye at 10PM.
Oh, snap.
Yeah, so this guy sleeps like a rock.
Like a rock under a pile of rocks.
So, when he went to sleep, I,
you know, I saw his wallet peeking out of his jeans and I just--
-Wait. You took his money? -[Bree] Visa.
Bree, they can track that stuff.
I know, which is why I created a fake account,
saved his card, ordered it from the library later that day.
I don't get it. Was he mean to you or something?
No, he was amazing.
Isn't that a little wrong?
Like you're a freaking saint, Shel. Give me a break.
[gasps]
[Shelsie] Hey, Mom, um...
I was wondering if you ever had situations
where your friends weren't really your friends?
[sighs]
Okay, this is stupid, Mom. [sighs]
[breathes heavily]
Yeah. Hmm. Okay, coming.
-Shelsie? I'm Atona. -I know.
Look, I'm really glad you've been able to make it.
I feel like talking out your feelings with all these trusted women,
it helps so many of us.
Yeah.
I get the feeling that there's something that you're not sharing?
-What? -Um...
Well, you talk about sports and activities and schedule like anxiety,
but it... it doesn't really feel like the thing.
I don't know what you mean. You don't even know me.
Was that your boyfriend on the phone?
I don't have a boyfriend.
Your fiancé, then?
Yeah.
Is he the one that hits you?
Wow, that's overstepping a little, he would never--
Don't give me that bullshit, girl.
I can see the concealer on your eye.
And on your forehead. And on your arm.
I can smell the bruising.
I know nice girls like you because I used to be a nice girl like you.
My boyfriend, and then fiancé, and then husband,
he used to take advantage of that every single day.
So, you listen to me, and you listen close, because I don't know you,
and you have no reason to believe me,
but that sorry piece of shit of an excuse for a fiancé?
He's not your lover. He's not your friend.
He does not care about you.
He is not sorry like you think he is.
You are not precious to him.
You are just a piece of meat for him to hit.
Anyway, there's a small group of us who meet here on Fridays,
and we do more than talk about our feelings.
If you're interested.
[Deon] You write any others?
[chuckles] Uh, yeah, but most of them are sad.
-Sing me one. -What?
Sing me a sad song.
[sighs]
[clear throats]
♪ Footsteps on the sidewalk
♪ Of the life I've left behind
♪ Searching every hollow where
♪ The love I lost might lie
♪ Everything around me
♪ Says we're gone
♪ There's nothing left Within me ♪
♪ But his song
♪ But I've the faintest memory
♪ Of a sacred place
♪ But you're the phantom Telling me ♪
♪ That you can keep me safe
♪ But there's a hollow where
♪ The burdened hearts Laid bare ♪
♪ The eyes upon you stare
♪ Upon your pieces
♪ Broken, lying there
♪ You're lost but do not care
♪ For one has found you
♪ And found what peace is
♪ But, alas, I cannot find
♪ Hollow in my mind
♪ The hollowness is mine
[beeping]
Hey, baby.
Hey, momma, how are you?
I'm alright. How's school going?
[Rissa] Um, good?
All A's except for the classes that I keep skipping.
Oh, and how many is that?
Like, four?
Wow.
-Okay? - Mella says hi.
Hey, how's my little pumpkin-munchkin?
She's good, she's here, she just...
Oh, what's the matter?
[sighs] Nothing.
She just... she wants to be mad and maintain the intellectual integrity
of her ten-year-old tantrum, apparently.
Ten-year-old? Uh...
Yep! I guess that explains that.
I missed her birthday.
Hey, I'm so sorry, baby.
How can I make it up to you? Mella?
Why didn't you text me?
[laughs] Look, ma, I can't take responsibility for your relationships with your kids...
so I'm just going to change the subject.
- Uh, a recruiter came to school today... -[Mara] Hmm-hmm.
...for the Marines?
It would mean free college,
so I thought it might be worth looking into.
No, you may not go to the Marines.
[laughs] Huh?
No, you may not join the Marines.
So are you going to pay for my college tuition?
Okay, first of all, watch that tone with me. I'm your mother.
Oh, so I guess that respect principle only goes one way.
Secondly, you know what I've sacrificed.
You know what I've been through.
You know that's not the life that I want for my daughters.
-No. - Yeah, that's why I want to do it.
No. You will not.
[laughs]
How do you know, huh?
How do you know what I want? Uh, you're not around. All we do is skype once a week.
Does that give us a relationship now? Huh, you know my life now?
And... and what is so important that it keeps you in another city away from your kids?
-Rissa. -[laughs] No, look.
-Rissa, I... -[sighs]
I... I promised myself that I wasn't going to get angry, so...
-Rissa -- - I gotta go.
-Rissa, wait. - I love you, momma. Bye.
[beeps]
[somber] music playing]
Are you going to stand out here the whole time?
-Yeah, it's called chivalry. -It's called creepy.
And what are the other ladies gonna think?
Look at that uncreepy, chivalrous,
incredibly handsome gentleman of a guy.
And what if I came to the ladies' room
in the first place for a little privacy?
-I'll just take a stroll. -Thank you.
[door closes]
[suspenseful music playing]
[door opens]
Wrong room, boys.
Excuse me?
[panting]
[ominous music playing]
You know who we are, little girl?
The man ruining my night?
About to ruin your night and, perhaps, a few other things.
Now, there's no need to play coy.
-How'd you find me? -You?
Don't you mean us?
Maybe you should ask that little friend of yours.
She might be able to explain you how this brought us to you.
As the old book says, "An eye for an eye."
-[knocking on door] -[Deon] Hey, baby, need a search party in there?
What the hell?
[groans]
[breathing heavily]
[groans]
[grunting]
[breathing heavily]
[thuds]
[jarring indication]
[breathing heavily]
[beeping]
Please, please, please, please, oh, please, please come to the mall bathroom.
Please, my boyfriend... my boyfriend's been stabbed,
please, please, please come quick.
Hey... Oh, my God!
Oh, my... Oh, my God! Please.
Please don't do this to me. Please don't do this.
-You called me your boyfriend. -[laughs]
Hey. Hey. Hey, hey, hey, listen to me.
Listen to me.
You can't tell them about me.
Please. Please, you can't, you can't tell them about me.
-Tell... tell... tell who? -The police.
The police. You can't tell them about me.
What? What are you talking... What?
[crying]
[breathing heavily]
You're the best thing that's ever happened to me.
Just... Just stay awake, okay?
Okay?
[whimpers]
Just stay awake.
[heavy breathing]
[door closes]
[panting]
[Atona] Knock-knock.
Hey.
-[Purna] Hey. -It's a nice place.
How many floors has this place got?
-12. -Geesh.
I have something for you.
I can't help you.
The Freeman Society is giving millions
to a senatorial candidate known for misogyny and abuse.
And it's not just the senator.
It's Attorney Generals, it's representatives, it's judges.
It's, uh... it's private photographs of women,
taken without their permission,
circulated without their permission.
It's... look, it's this,
a ranking system rating women by who's the most screwable.
I've got the handwriting, I've got the photographs,
I've got names, and you don't want the scoop?
What's going on here?
Atona, I haven't heard from you in years.
And then you call out of nowhere?
Where have you been?
-Busy? -I can see that.
Congratulations.
-I can't take it. -Why not?
Because, uh, it's not smart.
Smart?
I don't understand why you'd risk this.
I finally found something that makes me whole again.
Something I believe in.
I get that.
I don't understand why you'd risk this.
I need this world to be one that I'm not afraid for this kid to grow up in.
There's no getting around that.
Atona... is it a boy or a girl?
It's a surprise.
[sighs]
[beeping]
[screams]
[struggling]
[panting]
[ominous music playing]
-A lot of grit, you ladies. -Who are you?
I think you know who I am.
You and that journalist girl,
close friends as I understand it?
Believe me, it took a lot of coaxing to persuade her to turn you away.
You could say we just got there first.
So how many girls have you gone through?
-How many teams? -I haven't gone through anybody.
People move away.
Sure.
Atona Alamon. Psychiatrist.
PhD in Cycles of Abuse.
So you landed on a pretty liberal philosophy of social action, huh?
To abuse the abuser?
I don't believe in any kind of abuse.
Then what do you call this thing that you do?
Men disappearing in the middle of the night, turning up dead?
And not just a few here and there.
Self-defense.
Right.
To defend one woman is to defend all women.
I was defending myself.
It's not self-defense. It's a preemptive strike.
No, it's not preemptive.
In many cases, it's far, far too late.
Call it what you will but you are playing with fire, girl.
And this shit will get you killed.
Better me than another woman.
Not into Darwin, I guess?
If you want to stop us, why not just kill me?
You really don't understand us pig-headed chauvinists like you think you do, huh?
I... don't want to kill you.
I want to watch you lose.
I want to ravage your mind by decimating your team,
and I want to watch it destroy you.
So I'm going to say this once, real slow.
Stop, or I will kill every one of your girls,
including that one.
[ominous music playing]
Where were you guys? Why the emergency messages?
[Atona] We're wrapping up here.
What? I just got here.
No.
I mean, for good.
-We're done. -[Shelsie] Done?
[Atona] We've gotta get out of town. Different cities.
I'm... I'm gonna be out of the country for a while.
How long is a while?
[Atona] Thank you, ladies.
It's been the greatest honor of my life to protect and serve with you all.
No. No, this is all wrong. You can't leave?
This city needs you, these women need you.
We don't have a choice.
[thuds]
So, we'll be more careful.
-We're way past that. -I don't understand.
You don't understand.
Tell us what happened.
What happened?
I was running.
We had screwed up and they were after us.
They were close and I didn't know if I could shake them.
[panting]
I didn't... I didn't know what to do.
Why didn't you tell us?
It doesn't make a difference now.
Wait! Wait, wait.
You think you know who I was when you found me, but you don't.
How could you?
I keep everyone out.
It wasn't my fiancé beating me.
It was my dad.
The one who crossed the line, who did things.
One day I just snapped. [sobs]
He... he started...
taking off my pants.
I pushed him back. I warned him.
But he came at me anyway.
And I hit him.
I just... didn't mean to hit him so hard.
And, of course, my mom walks in right then, and sees he's bleeding out.
[crying]
Never there when I needed her,
but there to witness my lowest, lowest moment.
Mom.
I tried to tell her.
But she never believed me, she never listened.
-[Ki] You're lying! -No!
She wouldn't believe what happened.
She jumped on me. [crying]
[groans]
[Shelsie] Mom, stop!
She tried to kill me.
[crying] She's literally choking me to death,
so I reach for anything I can grab to get her off me.
[groans]
[thuds]
Mom?
I knock her out.
[crying]
[Shelsie] Mom.
So, when I joined this group, it's not because...
I don't give a crap about justice. I needed a family!
You became that family. You're who I needed.
I still need you. I couldn't risk losing that. I couldn't tell you.
[somber music playing]
So, what, you're just leaving?
[Atona] It's gonna be a girl.
Mara, you can't leave. These assholes can't beat you.
I mean, you're Army, you're Special Ops.
It doesn't matter...
if your brothers outnumber you and hold you down.
What?
I was 19 when it happened the first time.
Mara, did you... did you report it?
Yeah.
This world is not meant for women who speak up.
But, I mean, you bounced back, you're here, you're unbreakable!
I guess not.
[tranquil music playing]
[telephone ringing]
[beeps]
Hey, Mom.
Um, I...
[sighs]
[Shelsie] The Earth is full of monsters.
We're all stumbling around in the dark.
And we don't know whether they find us,
or if by some happenstance of stumbling, we find them.
But worse than being found and devoured
is the danger of becoming one of them,
the haters and the participators in doing wrong or doing nothing.
So...
Be careful if you lift a finger to harm one who trusts you.
Someone is watching.
Think hard before you lose control
because if she's limping, I'll see it.
If she's bruised, I'll know.
And if she doesn't show her face for days, that's even worse.
So you better pray to God, your lady doesn't trip and fall...
because there won't be hell to pay.
There'll be you and me.
I came to this looking for a family, needing a family,
demanding a family,
expecting someone else to protect it.
And now I've destroyed the family I'm closest to.
But I'm not alone in this world.
Now, I realize a family that was here all along...
even if they don't know I'm here.
Now, I will be the one to protect them...
My sisters.
[ominous music playing]
So, I was like, "Why not? Let's do it in 24 hours.
Let's do a full feature film in 24 hours. I am with it."
Oh, and then he's like, "Guys, I got a thing to say.
We're going to do it in a day." And I was like, "Eh?"
I didn't think it would come off in one day.
I was like there's going to be some pickup shots,
you know, things will spill over, things will run late.
We'll run out of time.
I didn't know what to expect.
I didn't... I had never done a shoot that was, you know, so ambitious.
And he said he wanted to do a feature film in a day and I was like, "Okay."
[laughing]
I just didn't... I thought...
like it takes days to shoot a five-second commercial.
So, I was like, "How, who, what?"
I thought, "Can that be done?" I mean, I don't know.
I thought movies took like months and months to film.
Yeah, I was, uh, shocked. I was like, "That's insane."
When he said to me, "Hey, we're going to do this feature film in one day."
I was like, "It's not possible." Uh, I don't know what...
I don't know what's going to happen, but...
Immediately I think I was just like, "What? 24 hours.
Like the... you can't! No."
I was watching. I knew that it was a really truncated time frame,
but I did not know it was 24 hours. That was intense.
Then when he told me that the entire thing was shot
in like the course of a weekend or 24 hours,
I was very blown away.
I definitely was not sure how he was going to pull it off
because he was talking about how we're going to shoot this all in a day.
And I was like and probably said what a lot of people said,
which is, "You're crazy, I don't know how you're going to do that.
Um, but if anybody can do it, it's you."
It was really cool, like I'd never, nobody...
I've never talked to anybody who even attempted that before.
I was like, "Uh, what?"
My expectations going into the day were that
"There's no way that we're going to be able to make this happen."
My expectations were, "We won't be able to do it." [laughs]
I think my biggest stress was I really expected my baby to come early.
And the actors really blew me away in that we would do a take and I would just sit there
and be like they did the entire scene, top to bottom.
And then, uh, and then we did it.
And I think it was incredible because I really expected it to be a shit show.
It totally like shaped my perspective of possibilities.
It gave me the confidence to say like,
"Okay, so it is possible to produce feature film,
cinematic quality storytelling on a very limited timeframe."
The energy was super positive.
The story needed to be told and so it had this urgency.
And so that's where the idea came from, like the story needs to be told ASAP.
We don't have three years.
[interviewer] Uh, last question. Are you ready for the sequel?
No.
[laughing]
Especially when I can rely on those other three women.
[laughs] I just had a baby.
And having to be such a female led thing is really...
it's just so like, it's just so nice.
We found that... that sisterhood, ultimately, you know.
And... and so at the...
You know, even when the cameras were off, it was just like,
"Okay, great, you guys want to go get food?"
Or, "Hey, you want a ride home?"
Or it was just...
We were actually sisters in the end of it all.
[ominous music playing]