Counteract (2025)

[bunniefuu]

(gentle music)

(dark brooding music) (static crackling)

Hey, guys!

I know it's been a while

since I've done a live.

I know you all are probably mad at me.

I'm sorry.

But, hey, your girl Sylvie Alicia is back

and I'm so excited to see

all my beautiful friends

right in real time right now.

How is everyone?

(dark brooding music continues)

Oh my, I'm not feeling that

negative energy tonight.

Can we put that somewhere else, please?

Thank you.

Look, I appreciate your concern,

but we're not on here to

talk about subscribers, okay?

We're going into part two

of our "Under Lashing" series technique,

and some new hacks I

discovered along the way

to get you looking right for the summer.

Let's get started.

(dark brooding music continues)

What?

Can we please focus on our topic tonight?

Thank you, girl.

Anyways.

Ugh!

Am I gonna have to end this live?

Why don't you guys just have a good night?

(Sylvia grunts)

(Sylvia groaning)

(laptop blips) (keyboard clacking)

(dark brooding music continues)

All right, everybody,

I was going through my mom's makeup bag

and I found brown lip liner,

so I've already got it on right now.

Let's go ahead and let's

put some lip gloss on

and see if we can get

that, that '90's vibe.

Okay, let me see.

(Sylvia growling)

(Sylvia sighs)

(dark brooding music)

(brooding music)

I just don't understand.

She's been blogging for two years

and it's like everyone in Kansas City

is supporting everything she does.

(sighs) She's on talk shows, radio shows,

making good money off her content.

I've been blogging for two

years and it's, like, nothing.

Sylvia, your father used to always say,

"Comparison ruins contentment."

You need to count your blessings

and stop telling God how

great your struggles are

and focus on how great he really is.

It is okay to desire a

victory after every outcome,

but do not forsake progress.

There's nothing wrong with it.

Even if it takes years,

you grow off of it.

It'll come.

I know, it's just frustrating, Mom

I thought I would be in a position

to help pay our bills and

everything else, you know?

Honey, I know where your heart is,

but that isn't gonna help.

I don't know how I'm gonna

keep up with this mortgage.

Mom, are we in danger

of losing the house?

I didn't say that,

but we do need some help.

I think I'm gonna pick up a second job.

Mom, no, you don't have to do that.

I could pick up some more

appointments at the salon.

That could help.

No, Sylvia, that won't help.

We need to figure out a

way to make some real money

or we're gonna have to

downsize to an apartment.

(dark brooding music)

Mom, have you heard of

the Pearson Corporation?

No, I haven't.

What is it?

This is a company that

helps with public relations

for media influencers.

One of my viewers suggested it.

Are they local?

I think so.

Mm, the owner's from KC.

Uh, Micah Pearson,

You know, that name does sound familiar.

I just read an article a

few years ago about him.

Um, he was, uh, he was

right outta Kansas City.

- Mm-hmm.

- He was like a young,

all-star athlete with a promising future.

The NBA drafted him

right outta high school.

He didn't even go to college.

And then he played for Charlotte.

And in that one year,

he tore his ACL.

And that just, that just ruined his career.

After that, we never heard from him again.

Wow.

(dark brooding music continues)

(dark brooding music continues)

(phone pings)

(phone chimes)

(dark brooding music continues)

(phone chimes)

(phone chimes)

(phone chimes)

(dark brooding music continues)

(phone chimes)

(phone chimes)

(phone chimes)

(phone chimes)

(people chattering)

(soft music)

Hi, are you from Pearson Company?

I'm Ja'Kiah Richmond,

lead recruiter and top influencer at PeCo.

Oh, wow, sounds like

you've accomplished a lot

with this company.

Just a fragment.

Girl, I'm still climbing.

So tell me, what brings you to PeCo?

Hmm, PeCo?

Pearson Company for short, babe.

Oh.

Well, as you guys probably already saw,

my channel could desperately

use some assistance,

and I'm no longer denying the fact

that it's become a major failure.

It's only a failure unless

you've totally given up,

and it seems like that's

where you are right now.

But let me tell you this.

Four years ago when I started blogging,

I was the same way.

No support, no subscribers,

no one viewing my channel,

and it turned out to be a waste of time.

But I refused to be looked down upon.

And I decided to go online

and find out about how

to be a better blogger.

Mm-hmm.

That's when I was contacted

by the one and only, Micah Pearson.

The story sounds eerily familiar.

I was exactly where you are right now.

I was very much like you,

and Micah gave me an offer

that I could not refuse,

and I took it.

He allowed me to be able

to fulfill my dreams.

And you have that opportunity

sitting in front of you right now.

What do you say?

(soft music continues)

No pressure, no rush.

Give it some time and think it over.

In the meantime, you should

come and check us out.

Yes, definitely.

Uh, I'm free tomorrow morning.

Perfect, I'll see you then.

(Sylvia giggling)

Aah!

Cancel all appointments

at the salon this week.

(upbeat music)

Kansas City, we need to stand up.

We need to do more than just rally.

We need to fight back and

let these criminals know

that it is unacceptable

and they have no right or entitlement

to come in and steal people

away from their dreams,

their lives, and their family.

Adrina is only 16 years old.

Just walking out of a movie theater

after hanging out with her friends,

like a typical teenager on a Saturday.

And out of nowhere,

a white van pulls up and takes her.

In seconds, she was gone.

No trace of her.

We haven't seen her since.

It's been over a year,

and we do not know where my daughter is.

But something deep down

inside of me believes

that she is still alive and fighting.

That's why I cannot stop.

(melancholic music)

She needs me.

She needs us, all of us,

to keep the faith.

Don't just look to join these efforts

because it's the mayor's daughter.

Do this out of sincere gratitude.

Do this because you, yourselves,

are mothers and fathers

who would go to the moon

and back to save their lives.

We will not stop until Adrina is found,

until the monsters that took her

are brought to justice.

[Group] Bring her home!

Bring her home!

Bring her home!

Bring her home!

Bring her home!

Bring her home!

Man, it's all really

just all unfortunate.

It really is.

I just don't understand

how everyone at that rally

can see the misfortunes of

this family circumstances

but the mayor himself.

Melissa, you need to leave that alone.

Where was he?

I didn't see him there.

I mean, you've got all of Kansas City

pouring out their compassion and support

for the mayor's daughter

except for the mayor.

'Cause he's grieving.

Everybody has their own ways

of coping with a family crisis.

What, are you guys golfing buddies now?

You gonna tell me how he likes

his eggs for breakfast too?

All right, all right, knock it off.

Seriously, jokes aside,

his actions just aren't

adding up right now.

It's like after the election

he just switched up.

Duh, of course he did.

Okay, tell me what politician in history

hasn't done what the mayor's

done after being elected.

No, this is different, Donald.

After the 2019 election,

Mayor Washington, he just became

a completely different man.

He always looked stressed, paranoid,

and even frustrated during

all of his press conferences.

He's done virtually none of the things

he said he would do to help this city.

Nothing.

(sighs) You may have a point there.

(dark brooding music)

[GPS] Turn left on Berkeley.

(dark brooding music continues)

'Scuse me, you look lost.

Can I help?

Yeah, sure.

Which suite is Pearson Company?

Oh, you looking for Pearson?

Find him up here.

They're down in the lower level.

Lower level?

Oh.

Oh, yeah, the company bought

out the entire basement area

and they renovated it.

Oh my, sounds fun.

Well, I have a 10:00 AM

appointment to see their office,

so how do I get down there?

I would have to take you down.

There's all types of special access

that you have to go through.

They don't want any outsiders coming in

and bothering the influencers.

Wow, really secure.

Kinda like how they do

with people on the news

or professional athletes

and their families.

Yeah, something like that.

This is kind of ridiculous

just to protect them.

Hmm.

Come on, I'll show you.

(dark brooding music)

And welcome to the

Pearson Company, sweetheart.

As you can see, we do it all.

Come walk with me.

This is so awesome.

Oh my god, wow! (chuckles)

Yeah.

And as you already have seen,

we are rated A+ with the

Better Business Bureau,

and top 100 best companies

to work for on "Forbes."

All of our girls have

reached significant platforms

through PeCo, and their

still climbing today.

Nice!

That's Lindsay.

She's into hair and cosmetics and makeup,

such as yourself.

Here we have Sophie.

She likes to keep her content about family,

relationship, and health stuff.

This is so impressive, Ja'Kiah.

Well, what do you say?

You wanna start full-time position

with a $1,500 sign on bonus?

Of course. (chuckles)

I'm in.

Awesome, you are hired.

When can you start?

Wednesday.

That's tomorrow, sweetie.

I was thinking next week.

Ma'am, if I could get started right away,

that would be very much appreciated.

Okay, well, we'll get

you a station set up.

Oh, and, sis, do something

about that attire, please.

As you can see,

we like to look the part around here.

Yeah, sure.

(dark brooding music)

I'll take care of that.

[Cellphone] You have three missed calls.

(phone pings)

(dark brooding music continues)

(dial tone ringing)

[Jeanette] Hey, this is Jeanette.

Sorry I couldn't answer.

Leave a message.

Hi, Miss Jeanette.

I'm so sorry for today.

I really am.

I had something pop up this morning

and unfortunately I won't be able

to schedule any more

appointments at the salon

because I'm resigning

effective immediately.

(dark brooding music continues)

Face.

There we go.

There we go, now we can see her.

Have you seen her?

Tell me, have you seen her?

Oh, and we're gonna get inside

the crease here and here.

Okay, I'm gonna get my lashes on

because I've got, like,

seven minutes left now.

(upbeat somber music)

(upbeat somber music continues)

(upbeat somber music continues)

These bills are overdue.

Lord, God, please help us.

Please provide where I can't provide.

Please, please. (door thuds)

(sighs) Sylvia, dinner's ready!

Sylvia?

(upbeat somber music continues)

I love you too, Mom.

I promise I'll do whatever I can

to help us make it through this.

Good morning, Mr. Mayor.

I pray all as well

and that things will continue to get well.

Thanks, Mercedes.

Um, what do we have for the week?

Well, for today, your

10:00 AM with the press

regarding the high renting prices for homes

and plans for renters

that can't afford to pay.

(scoffs) Sounds fun.

At 2:30, your council meeting.

At 4:00 PM, your video conference

with the chief of police.

Tomorrow at 9:00 AM,

the new restaurant over at the city market.

They're having their grand opening

and you are scheduled to attend.

Would you wanna reschedule

until a later date,

until you feel ready?

It, it's too soon.

It, it, okay, it's too soon.

Understood, sir.

I'll send them an email.

You are slated for several meetings

with local businesses this month.

Are we gonna move forward

with these appointments?

(phone pings) (suspenseful music)

How'd they even get this number?

I'm sorry, sir, what was that?

Um, it's, it's nothing.

I'm just going through old emails.

That's, that's all.

(phone pings)

(phone chimes) (suspenseful

music continues)

(phone chimes)

(phone chimes)

(phone chimes)

(phone chimes)

(phone chimes)

Leave her alone!

S-sir, are you okay?

Hmm.

Uh, yeah, I'm, I'm fine.

Um, just really busy,

so if you can just finish

the scheduling and get out.

I'm sorry, I'm just, I'm really busy.

That's, that's all.

(phone pings) (suspenseful music continues)

(phone chimes)

(phone chimes)

(phone chimes)

Okay, I went ahead and

finalized the details

on the school events.

I just need your input.

So if you can just look at the schedule.

Um, cancel everything.

Everything, sir?

Cancel everything.

And, Mercedes, can you do one thing for me?

Um, I want you to go home,

get my wife and bring her here, please.

Here to the office?

Uh, can she not drive herself?

Um, I'm not understanding

what's happening here.

Is she in trouble?

If so, I can call the police right away.

No, no, no, no, no.

No.

That's not necessary.

Mercedes, just go home,

get my wife, and bring her here, please.

(tense music)

[Mercedes] Okay.

Thank you.

Okay, sir.

(tense music continues)

(tense music continues)

Okay, Ms. Shaw, welcome aboard.

Today, we're gonna pair you with one

of our top professionals, Ms. Lindsay,

who you met the other day.

She's awesome.

Ask any questions,

learn as much as you can.

The shift ends at 6:00 PM.

And enjoy.

Come on, have a seat.

I'm about to go live.

How much of this do you know?

I know quite a bit.

- I have a channel.

- Hmm.

It's just not on the

level as you all here.

Okay, not bad.

We've all sort of had to

fight our way from nothing

to a decent amount of followers.

Mm-hmm.

[Lindsay] So this is the job, sis.

We sit here for hours creating content.

It's not all glory and glamour.

- Mm-hmm.

- We work.

I'm already ahead on next month's videos.

She said that you already do

cosmetic on your own channel.

- Mm-hmm.

- So you can relate to this.

We're gonna do a live stream

and then record four more videos today.

Maybe even some editing, if time permits.

You can edit, right?

Yeah, somewhat.

Oh boy, this is gonna be fun.

Standby, we're going

live in 10 seconds, okay?

Wow! You weren't kidding.

There's a lot that truly goes into this.

That live stream we did earlier

got over 10,000 views today.

That's crazy.

(dark brooding music)

I took a lotta notes today.

And when I get home, - Hmm.

I'm gonna look over all of them.

(tense music) (footsteps clacking)

Good evening, ladies.

Who's this guy?

As you all are aware,

we're a little short of performers,

so we had to make some adjustments

for tonight's rotation.

We'll be using team B for this show.

Those ladies know who they are.

What is this?

Who is team B?

What show?

Stop talking.

We'll have a lot tuning in tonight,

so we will be starting early.

And, ladies, let's have a good night.

Let's not have a repeat

of last week, got it?

Good.

Now then, get dressed and

be downstairs in 10 minutes.

What's going on?

I thought we were done.

Where are you going?

(tense music continues)

Lindsay, say something.

Talk to me. What is this?

Stop asking questions.

Why did you come here?

Hey, new girl, you're in a hurry.

Where are you headed?

Um, home.

Well, do you mind if we

introduce ourselves first?

Yeah.

Sylvia Shaw.

Derrick Stanton.

Glad to have you.

Yeah, I have to go now.

I'll check in tomorrow.

Why would you wanna

do something like that?

We're getting ready to start our sessions.

I don't know anything about that.

I have to go.

Oh no, sweetie, sessions are mandatory.

You need to follow the girls.

You said the shift ends at six.

Yes, I did.

And if you wanna continue to work here,

then you are obligated to attend

all mandated events organized

by the Pearson Company.

(tense ominous music)

(tense ominous music continues)

(knocking on door)

(Sylvia gasps)

(ominous music)

(door rattling)

(footsteps pattering)

(fist thuds) (dark brooding music)

(water dripping)

(Sylvia gasps)

Where am I?

Where am I?

What is this?

Where am I?

Sylvia, stop!

Please be quiet!

What is this, Lindsay?

Where are we?

Stop making all that noise,

they're gonna hear us.

Lindsay, shut her up

before they come in here.

(door thudding) (footsteps thudding)

He is coming, y'all, get back to bed.

(footsteps thudding)

(dark brooding music)

(dark brooding music) (water dripping)

(suspenseful music) (footsteps pattering)

We got a runner.

[Henchman] Bro, another one?

They just don't learn.

(dark brooding music)

Why am I down here?

Oh my god, where am I?

You better start explaining right now.

You let me believe this

was just a normal job.

Stop lying and tell me where I am.

Calm down, we're still

at Pearson's Company.

We're still at the studio.

We haven't went anywhere.

Yeah, we're still at work.

Work?

Work!

This isn't work!

This is bondage!

Look at you!

Look at us!

We're being held c*ptive in

a basement against our will.

It's all we know, Sylvia.

This is all we know.

I've been trapped down here for five years.

Night after night, made

to do horrible things.

We all have.

We don't even know what the

world looks like anymore.

What outside looks like.

We don't ever see it.

Ever.

What?

I'm sorry, but this place isn't close

to what you thought it was.

None of it is.

Yeah, no kidding.

(footsteps thudding) (dark brooding music)

(Maria screaming)

- Shh.

They got her.

Maria! (g*n firing)

(dark brooding music continues)

Maria!

No! Oh no!

My girlfriend! (crying)

(crying) No, Maria no!

Maria, no. (crying)

Please, Maria.

Maria, oh my god.

(Lindsay crying)

(dark brooding music continues)

I am very disappointed in this group.

We give you the dream

career you've always wanted.

We give you state of the

art equipment to work on

and a place to lay your head,

and you wanna run away.

Well, go ahead and run.

Run back to a life and a

world that doesn't want you.

You remember how things were back then,

before you became the internet sensations

that you are today.

Life for all of you were a struggle.

Most of you all came from families

that couldn't even afford

to pay their bills.

We wanna help you.

We just wanna help.

So let us help.

We don't want things to

happen like this anymore.

We don't wanna lose people.

But if you threaten the

fortunes of this company

like the last three influencers did,

there will be consequences.

So let's not do this anymore, ladies.

Stay in compliant.

Thank you.

This doesn't make any sense.

This is not like her to

do these type of things.

We've always been able

to talk to each other.

That doesn't sound like Sylvia at all.

I checked all her social media accounts.

She hasn't been online

since the last we did talk.

Hmm, have you tried the

libraries and the computer

stores?

You know that's where she likes to go.

I called the library.

She hasn't been there.

I talked to Russell down

at The Computer Shack.

She hasn't been there either.

This is just different for her.

The note says, "Mom,

thank you for everything,

but I have decided to move out.

There's a whole world for me to discover,

but most importantly,

I have to discover myself.

I love you.

And when the time is right,

we will see each other again.

Love Sylvia."

Lord have mercy.

Angela, I have to admit,

she's been very different.

What do you mean?

She's just quiet.

She looks down and out most of the time.

We all knew her to be the

fire starter here in the shop,

but lately she comes in

and hardly says a word.

She barely even speaks to her clients.

Okay, hold on.

You said you knew her to be a fire starter?

Yes, Angie, we knew her.

As in, she's not working here anymore.

What?

Why? What happened?

Honey, I don't know.

She canceled all of her appointments,

and then she left me a voicemail saying

she wasn't gonna be working here anymore.

That is crazy.

She knows she needs the money.

She didn't mention anything about quitting.

I'm so sorry, Jeanette.

When David passed away,

it's like a part of her died off

and it never recovered.

And now this?

It's all right, honey,

I've got it covered.

But in the meantime,

I'm gonna be praying for y'all.

Have you called the police?

They're on their way.

(brooding music)

So has there been any fights

or arguments between you two lately?

No.

The last conversation we had

was about our financial situation.

Well, ma'am, you did

say your husband's passing

has taken a toll on her.

And this letter,

probably just means she's finally searching

for a way to cope with it.

More than likely she's at a friend's house

or probably at a motel,

just trying to clear her head.

Sylvia doesn't have too many friends

and she certainly is not in no motel.

Look, this is not my daughter!

She doesn't just do this!

She doesn't just run off!

Angie, I understand,

but she is 23 years old.

She's a grown woman.

So she can come and go pretty

much whenever she wants.

Officer, hear me.

Sylvia Shaw is not that type of woman.

Something is wrong.

Do you know if she's been

in contact with anyone?

Not that I know of.

And you checked all

her social media messages

and conversations.

Yes, sir.

Have you checked everything?

(brooding music)

Why would you do this, Sylvia?

Looking right for the summer.

Let's get started.

(melancholic music)

(mouse clicks)

What kinda name's Modern323 anyway?

(melancholic music continues)

(Sylvia speaking faintly)

I promise, I will honor your legacy.

I know you're watching down on me.

I gotta take care of Mom.

Yes, everything has a purpose.

Has a purpose.

You are resting peacefully.

(melancholic music continues)

Hey, Mel.

Not exactly newsworthy.

This just might make your day.

What is it?

Mayor Washington's to-do lis.

What?

Apparently, he has canceled

all his public appearances

for the next month.

Okay.

So you told me last night,

this company isn't what I thought it was.

So what on earth is it really?

I can't do this right now.

Will you stop being so

scared and just talk to me?

You need to watch yourself.

They're monitoring us every second.

They can hear us and see what we're doing.

(suspenseful music)

Act like you're working.

I told you, I've been down five year.

Some of these girls have

been down here longer.

They were taken away from their families

and brought into this mess

when they were just teenagers.

Pearson Company is a lie.

They lure people in

with their fake promises

and fake internet page and fake ratings.

(dark brooding music)

And as you already have seen,

we are rated A+ plus with

the Better Business Bureau

and top 100 best companies

to work for on "Forbes."

The page is fake?

Content and everything they say on it is.

It can't be found on a regular

search engine, it's hidden.

They target women and

younger girls like us.

People who they think fit the criteria.

People who fit the criteria?

They hardly even know me.

You sure about that?

They've done their research on every girl

who has walked through

that door, me included.

You're either someone who has no friends,

is unwanted, or has major debts to pay.

They search high and

low for people like us.

They watch us for a while,

then they make their move to recruit us.

Okay, but this still doesn't add up.

You're on camera every day.

Thousands of people see your face.

So shouldn't have someone

came looking for us by now?

Our viewers are not normal people.

Most of them are very exclusive members

of a very exclusive club.

They distribute our content

like that for a reason.

So no one outside of

the club ever sees us.

(sighs) That's correct.

They make a lot of money off of us,

especially those night shows.

This is repulsive.

It's evil.

Lindsay, we have to get out.

Stop, it's never gonna happen.

It can if we come together.

(sighs) Sylvia, hear me out, okay?

You're not the first one to say that,

won't be the last.

Every single person who has tried

to be a hero and escape here,

never got past that just one more door.

I believe someone named Maria

just attempted to do that last night.

You don't want that.

I don't either.

So just understand, we live here.

(ominous music)

(ominous music continues)

Good job, ladies.

Lots of action this time.

Now beat it.

(Sylvia crying) (ominous music continues)

(Sylvia crying continues)

(banging on wall)

Someone just knocked.

Someone just knocked.

Somebody is over there.

Mules.

They have animals down here too?

No, carriers, Sylvia.

They keep people directly on

the other side of that wall

that we never see.

And some of them are kids.

And they just use them to smuggle drugs?

All the way to the border.

(sighs) Sick b*stards.

I'm tired of this, I wanna go home.

I hate what they've done to me

and what they've taken from me.

The last person I wanna

see is Micah Pearson,

and he's coming here tomorrow.

Well, let's just hope you're not the one

that has to go back with him.

Excuse me, what did you just say?

Micah, each time he visits here,

he takes one of us "lucky

girls" to California.

So he just comes here

for a short period of time

and handpicks a personal companion?

"Companion"?

That's way too nice.

More like a sl*ve.

Right.

(ominous music continues)

And I take it when him and

this person are traveling,

he's not flying commercial.

Honey, Micah is a millionaire.

He doesn't fly any airline.

He owns his own jet.

Downtown Airport.

Huh?

The Downtown Airport.

Okay, what about it?

It's not far from here.

What are you talking about, Sylvia?

I remember the directions

I took to get here.

We're about two miles

east of the Bonds Bridge.

[Lindsay] Is this some kind

of escape plan in the making?

Give it up, Sylvia.

No, listen.

He's gonna take one of us out of here.

This is our chance.

There are men upstairs with AR-15s.

And in case you haven't noticed,

they will sh**t anything they want.

The people that try to

run don't make it too far.

Yeah, it's just a silly thought.

I'm going back to sleep.

But, Sophie, you just

said you were tired of this.

Aren't you?

Well, yeah, but I

don't wanna die, Sylvia.

If we are not bold enough

to change our circumstances,

then we have no right to complain. (sobs)

Listen, I know you are all scared,

but this isn't right.

None of it is.

We are not animals.

We aren't objects! (sobbing)

We aren't sl*ves. (sobbing)

We are human beings with lives

just like them. (sobbing)

We are women.

(suspenseful music)

And I, I don't know what they

said or what happened before,

but you are wanted.

There are people that need you here.

They're searching and won't

stop until they find you.

They know your value.

I know your value.

(suspenseful music continues)

And at some point,

you girls are gonna have to

see it again for yourselves.

Please.

(soft music)

Angela.

It is really tough on me to

see you keep working like this.

Now, I've already talked to the office

and we can set up some

family leave time for you

while you get your

situation sorted through.

No, Rhonda, I'm fine, I can work.

This is literally one of the few things

keeping me together right now.

I understand, but I don't

want you stressing out

any more than you have to.

Yes.

Now if you don't mind me asking,

have you heard anything?

No, nothing.

She just disappeared.

The last thing I heard was

from some clothing store.

She bought a dress the day

before she went missing,

but that was five months ago.

A dress, huh?

Hmm.

Now I never really knew your

daughter to be the dress type.

That's different for her.

She was doing this

internet influencer thing

that everybody's been doing.

I think that she was just

trying to create a new look

to attract more followers.

Influencer, like, like

that Simone Casey girl.

You know who I'm talking about.

Yes, I know Simone.

Actually, Sylvia knows her more.

She's kind of the competition,

if you know what I mean?

Of course, you know how

those young people are.

Yeah, they gotta be the

top dog in everything.

Well, from what I know,

Simone didn't always

have such a big following

when she got started.

You know, she had to

kinda build up her page

like Sylvia was trying to.

Yeah, I mean that's

how that n-normally goes.

Are you okay, Angie?

(sighs) Yeah.

Um, can I take you up

on that offer for a PTO?

I really need to leave for the night.

Sure, go ahead.

I'll have Ron cover your floor, okay?

Are you sure you're okay?

Yeah, I, I'll see you soon.

Okay.

(dark brooding music)

Let's get started.

(dark brooding music continues)

What?

Can we please focus on our topic tonight?

What are you saying to my daughter?

What is it?

What are you hiding that

you have to delete it?

(dark brooding music continues)

Today.

Okay, guys, I am super-duper

nervous about this one.

I'm thinking we're gonna go with a smoky.

Oh.

Okay, maybe that was the wrong color,

but we gonna fix it.

All right, everybody,

I am so tired of using

these and losing these,

so we're gonna do something

a little bit different today.

(recording beeps)

Can you guys please not

spam the comment section?

Please, it's so annoying.

(dark brooding music continues)

Dude, you just posted a whole link.

I said no spam.

Besides, I already have a

decent following anyway.

Hmm, seriously though,

I might just check this out

since you're so adamant about it.

Pearson Company.

What is this, some type of law firm?

It's better not be some virus, bro.

It does look interesting though, hmm.

(dark brooding music continues)

[Sylvia] Mom, have you heard

of the Pearson Corporation?

(dark brooding music continues)

Hey, girl.

Oh, thank you for coming.

I'm always here.

How are you holding up?

(sighs) The same as you, Tina.

Just taken it day by day.

Just trusting God with all I have.

That's all we can to.

So, now, you know it's been some time

since our girls went missing.

You think this woman know something?

I think she may have

a possible lead for us.

Hmm.

(dark brooding music continues)

(dark brooding music continues)

Hello, Simone.

Thank you so much for joining

us on such short notice.

I know you're a busy lady

with all your videos and everything else.

Mrs. Shaw, it's not a problem,

I'm here to help.

How have you been?

Have you heard anything about Sylvia?

Has anyone said anything?

No, but we're hoping you

could tell us something.

Okay.

What do you need?

This may be hard for you to remember,

but at the beginning of your career

you had a lotta spam

offers in your comments

asking you to boost your audience.

Of course I did.

I still do.

Everyone does.

You should see my DMs.

They're just stupid robots

flooding their material

and it never stops.

These will be different, sweetie.

Can you guys please not

spam the comment section?

Please, it's so annoying.

Hmm, seriously though,

I might just check this out

since you're so adamant about it.

(dark brooding music continues)

Pearson Company.

What is this?

Mrs. Shaw, what are we

trying to get at here?

On this live feed,

you actually mention the people

that were offering the services.

Pearson Company.

(dark brooding music continues)

What's wrong, sweetheart?

Are you okay, Simone?

Yeah, I just didn't think I would.

Would what?

Hear that name again.

Honey, what do you know?

So, after I ended this live stream,

I actually did reach out to them.

The program just looked so

appealing and so promising.

And for a young girl,

fame, fortune, a few model pictures

and a bunch of success

stories on their page

was all it took to sell me.

Literally within hours,

they contacted me by email

and wanted to set up

an in-person interview.

It only took them a few hours

to get back to you after you applied?

Yeah. Red flag, huh?

Go on.

So the next morning,

I had an interview with this guy.

I remember his name.

It was Derrick, Derrick Stanton.

And he had a young lady with him.

She never said a word.

She just nodded her head

to whatever he said.

She was dressed very

eloquently but also very quiet.

A little too much for

an interview, you know?

So did you accept the

offer that they gave you?

I was undecided at the time.

His whole vibe was just creepy.

He told me I could come tour the facility

and meet the other influencers

to see their vision better,

but something just didn't sit well.

So afterwards, I reached

out to my publicist company

and told them about Pearson Company

and all these great things they had

to offer growing influencers like myself

and that I could be interested.

They immediately started

digging and they found nothing.

What do you mean?

There was no internet site listed,

no ratings on the BBB, like they said.

It's like all the online material

that he showed me in the

interview had just disappeared.

I assured them that

Pearson Company was real,

and when I tried to look them up myself,

I couldn't find them anywhere.

No address listed, no phone number.

Me and my team both agreed

this got real sketchy really quick.

(dark brooding music continues)

Sylvia got offers from them.

Okay, so all we have here

is some weird promotional program

that targets internet influencers

to help them build up their success.

What makes you think that

has anything to do with this?

I mean, they could be

just some startup company

trying to build up their brand.

Okay, hear me out.

There's another part of this story

that also led me to staying away from them.

When the interview was done,

I told the girl that was with him

that her dress was pretty.

She never said a word.

Instead, she just gave

me this very scared look

like she was sending me a message

that she was concerned for my safety.

Derrick had his back turned

and was talking to the clerk,

but he never saw her give me that look.

Mrs. Shaw, did Sylvia join that group?

I don't know.

Oh my god, could our girls be?

I said I don't know, Tina.

All I know is that a Micah Pearson

supposedly owns the company.

(dark brooding music continues)

Okay.

Well, listen to this.

If your girls joined this company,

they could be in trouble.

It's just my intuition.

Micah Pearson?

(police siren wailing)

What's up, guys?

Been a while, Steve.

How's it goin'?

Depressing.

All I do is watch grandkids.

Maybe that retirement package

should include a daycare.

Yeah, no kidding.

So you do know we're not paying you.

Then, normally, I would tell you,

you could take your pistols

and badges and show 'em up-

- Okay.

Okay, we got it.

If I wanted anything for this,

you would know it.

Well, so it's clearly

something we need to see

if you're not charging.

I called us here for a reason.

You're going to see something.

(tense droning)

Is that who I think it is?

Carmelia Winters.

Oh my god!

Say hello, Ms. Winters.

(tense droning continues)

Where was this recorded, and what time?

This cell phone video was captured

at 11:46 PM by one of my guys in C-35.

C-35?

I've never heard of that.

It's a very exclusive establishment,

located inside of Wild Things

on Independence Avenue.

Two clubs inside one building?

Put two and two together.

It's the club on top of another club,

if you know what I mean?

She's here.

What is Winters doing in this city?

I don't know, but if you keep watching

this should tell you something.

That's Judge Betland.

What is he doing in there?

Doesn't he know who she is?

I think he knows exactly who she is.

Zoom in a bit.

(tense droning continues)

That woman.

That's Prosecutor Allison Young.

Looks like she got a

seat at the table as well.

Apparently.

So check this out.

When the agent sent me this video,

I told him to stay on Betland's trail,

and he did just that.

Two hours and 13 minutes later,

he sent me another video.

He followed him from C-35 all the way

to an Airbnb near Columbia, Missouri.

This is where it gets dicey.

Why is she here?

It doesn't make any sense.

Oh, it makes a lotta sense.

They lost patience.

The deal was supposed to be

made over six months ago.

I know.

And there's been no movement.

I know.

I'm doing what I can.

I've got people taking care of it.

It's gonna be addressed.

Robert, you've been

saying that for months now,

but there's been no action taken.

(scoffs) Now here we are.

I'm doin' the best that

I can to make this happen!

What do you think we've been doin'?

Stop the tape.

(tense droning rinsing)

That's our police chief, Robert Jones!

I twisted that man's arm multiple times!

We threatened, we threatened his wife.

You kidnapped his daughter.

And he's still not budging.

He's just lucky we haven't k*lled him yet.

Listen, and all I know is she's here.

(tense suspenseful music)

And if she's here, he's here.

Robert, we don't make this man

fulfill all his assignments,

we're all dead.

And that's a fact.

(tense suspenseful music continues)

And there you have it, folks.

Merry Christmas.

And don't say I never did anything for you.

Yeah, thanks, Steve.

(tense droning)

(doorbell rings)

(tense music)

Good afternoon, ma'am.

I'm Detective Donald Garrison.

This is Detective Melissa Clark.

Can we come and ask you a few questions?

Yeah, sure.

Come in.

(tense music continues)

(chuckles) Excuse my mess.

Mrs. Washington, we

came here off the record

to talk to you about your husband.

Is he okay?

As far as we know, he is,

but there are some concerns.

I'm sure you know who these two men are.

Your husband certainly does.

(tense music continues)

Yeah, Chief Jones and, and Terry Betland.

Yes, Carl's known them for years.

Do you know of any recent conversations

that he's had with these two men?

Do you know if he might be

involved with anything he's in?

No, he doesn't tell me anything.

Carl's so secretive,

very discreet about everything.

Well, ma'am, one of the many secrets

that your husband's

keeping from you is that...

He knows who has your daughter,

and he's always had.

(tense music continues)

What?

Tina, we know this is

a lot for you to take in,

but we need to know who

your husband is working for.

We is he talking to?

I said I don't know.

But what you just told me

is that my husband is hiding my daughter.

He knows where Adrina is?

We believe so.

And yes, you have every

right to be upset with him,

but he hasn't told anyone about Adrina,

because he can't.

What do you mean he can't?

I've been rallying on the radio,

news channels almost every week,

campaigning for my child to come home.

People are spending money,

setting up search parties,

and he's known the whole time!

We believe Mayor

Washington is being coerced

by city officials into

making some type of agreement

with an organization that has

ties to human trafficking.

And they're using your daughter as leverage

until he makes good on this agreement.

He must have Adrina.

What kind of agreement?

(tense music continues)

We don't know.

But what I can tell you is

that some very dangerous people

have come into play on this.

Your husband's life has been threatened.

So has yours.

These two people on these photos

are our only major leads right now.

So we need to know of

any kind of conversation

they've had with Mayor Washington

over the last few months.

It can help us find your daughter.

Police Chief Robert Jones

and County Judge Terry Betland.

This is so crazy.

He should have said something.

Maybe he couldn't say anything.

No one knows who's all involved.

I mean, we don't know how far

down this rabbit hole's going.

Carl knows that.

And going to the police

could have been legit suicide

for himself, you, and your daughter.

(tense music continues)

All he was trying to do is protect you.

Jones and Betland are in cahoots

on something that can change the city.

Not in a good way.

But if we can get through to Carl,

we can find out who he's working for.

Micah Pearson.

Excuse me?

I said Micah Pearson.

You remember him, everyone does.

Local All-Pro athlete.

Didn't last two seasons in the NBA.

And after basketball,

nothin' was much heard from him.

The last we know about him is that

he took whatever money he did have left

and started a few clothing

businesses in California.

You sure about that?

(tense music continues)

Tina, what makes you

so sure Micah Pearson

has anything to do with this?

Well, he runs a very elaborate scheme

that targets young girls on the internet

to make them believe that they

can become online celebrities

with this organization of his,

and when they join, they disappear.

(scoffs) This group has taken my daughter,

and Sylvia Shaw was with them too.

Do you have a name for

this so-called organization?

I mean, do you have a website?

It's called the Pearson Company.

Yes, it has a website,

but you can only access

it through the dark web.

Okay.

Where are you getting this information?

Who did you hear this from?

Well, her name is Simone KC.

She just text me a

screenshot of the website,

and she has told us she's totally fine

with using her name publicly in the efforts

of the search for our daughters.

Can you send that to my email please?

I sure can.

Oh, that's pretty bold of her

to put her name out there like that.

She's tired of it, Detective.

We all are.

Human trafficking is something

that needs to be addressed.

And if it's not,

these criminals are gonna continue

to take away our children and our families,

their dignity, their

strength, and their lives.

Simone is making a stand,

just like a lot of people.

Call it it.

On it.

Mrs. Washington, thank you so much.

Here's my card.

If you find anything else,

please call this number.

(tense music continues)

Ja, can I have a chat with you?

Not now, the girls are runnin' content.

I'm looking at Sophie.

She's already up to, like, 4 million views,

and she just keeps climbin'.

That's wonderful.

Good for her.

But I need you right now.

What part of not now

did you not understand?

Look, when I tell you

I need you right now,

- I need you right now.

- I understand you

need me night now, but I'm

trying to look at the girls.

[Derrick] You need to

take it down a few notches!

Okay, I'm sorry, but you

know Micah's comin' today,

and I'm tryin' to make sure

the girls are ready for him.

You know how he can be.

I know he's going to k*ll us

if we don't get back there to talk to him.

What?

Are you saying he's here now?

Yes, come on.

I can't believe he came in early.

Come.

He wasn't supposed to be

here till after midnight.

(brooding music)

Micah, we weren't expecting

you so early, sir.

My dad would always

quote Benjamin Franklin.

"Early to bed, early to rise,

makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

Understood, sir.

It's somethin' else through.

How quickly they wrote me off.

How they wrote us all off.

Said that I'd fall off after the injury

that almost ended my career,

never to be seen again.

Man, were they idiots?

Just look at all this.

You done an amazing job, sir.

Yeah, you could say so.

I mean, I do have four

designer stores in LA,

and a fifth store opening in

Beverly Hills in two weeks.

What? Micah, that's huge.

I think this is a

cause for a celebration.

I am celebrating, as you can see.

Just now with you.

(brooding music continues)

Oh, okay.

We're good.

See, you said that

I've done an amazing job,

but if that were true,

then I would've hired the right

people to get the job done.

But, sir, haven't we

been doing our jobs right?

I was excited when I learned

that my new store was opening.

I couldn't wait to get back to Kansas City,

to celebrate, live it up with all my folks,

but that was before I read the report

from the last four months.

(brooding music continues)

This doesn't make any sense.

Sir, I don't understand.

This report shows a 47% drop in viewership.

How?

I was actually hoping you could explain.

- I don't understand.

- Derrick, I don't understand.

- I'm doin' my job.

- You need to-

- You're not.

- You didn't do your job.

You were supposed to put that information

in the computer system.

That doesn't make any sense!

You obviously didn't.

I mean... You musta forgot something.

It's that same dumb response

that you've given me right now

that I have to give to my investors

when they're asking me

what the heck is going on

at Pearson Company.

- Whoa, whoa!

- Micah, for God sake, please,

- don't do it!

- Put the g*n down.

- Micah, we can fix this.

- We can do better.

- I could do better.

- There's gotta be

something wrong on the system.

Yeah, I can do it.

Nah, please forgive me,

I lose my head in these situations.

I'm gonna try to remain calm.

What I'm saying is there's

no way anything amazing

could be going on with those numbers.

I have to employ people that can produce.

It's clearly not what's going on here.

Sir, are you firing us?

No, not yet anyway.

(dramatic sinister music)

I'm just putting you on notice.

And if our buyers start to

go in a different direction,

then our investors start to lose interest.

And if we lose funding,

nobody gets paid.

Not cops, not lawyers, and not judges.

Sir, the clients have done nothing

but give us positive feedback.

I, I don't understand how the report

could yield these results.

The people are happy.

(dramatic sinister music continues)

(Micah growling)

(Derrick gagging)

I could not care any less

about a group of perverts

sitting in a basement

giving me positive

feedback about my product!

If my investors are not

happy with Pearson Company,

I'm not happy.

Do you understand?

(gags) yeah.

(dramatic sinister music continues)

Now, I have to leave for a few hours,

go meet some people.

Shake some hands.

I'll be back later tonight.

And hopefully, you two imbeciles

will have started producing something.

Get to work.

(dramatic sinister music continues)

(laptop chimes)

Hey, Jamie, what do we have?

Um, I just spoke with the flight manager

over at the Downtown Airport.

Pearson's craft landed two

hours and 37 minutes ago.

First Carmelia Winters, now Micah.

Interesting.

Okay, so he's here, big deal.

I'm sure he has family that he visits.

Yeah, he's got family, for sure.

Pearson's not our guy.

Tina Washington is just so

desperate to find her daughter

that she's just throwing up names.

We don't know that for sure.

Michael Pearson just doesn't strike me

as that type of guy.

I mean, and to be honest,

this dude is just such

irrelevant conversation.

I mean, he's not even

the talk to town anymore.

Maybe back in 2012 he might had it all,

but now he's not even

the hottest topic in KC.

So seriously, what have

you found on the backend?

Uh, well, um, he owns a

few designer stores in LA.

He's got a couple of dealerships.

One in Orange County.

The other one in Burbank.

And he has some charities

going on in East LA,

but nothing on Pearson Company.

Not even on the dark web.

No arrest records, warrants.

He's clean.

See, there you have it.

We're wasting our time.

No, we're not.

I have now spoken to two women today

who believe Micah Pearson

is behind a major scheme

that involves trafficking.

Contacted the influencer?

Yes. Simone.

I had to make sure that story

that Tina told us checked out.

It sounds legit.

We may have something here.

Um, it's still speculation, Mel.

I mean, accusations at most.

I mean, I just don't see how

all this adds up to Pearson.

I mean, we just don't have

enough hard evidence to go on.

Detectives.

(dramatic music)

It's good to see you both doing

a terrific job around here.

Thank you, Chief.

Now look, I won't hold

y'all too long here.

I just wanna to say,

if you keep this up,

there could be a promotion nearby.

Ooh, wow!

We appreciate the vote of confidence.

Yes, indeed.

Now, I just want to get

something cleared up.

You know this isn't a big deal in here,

so word travels pretty fast,

and from what I've learned is that you two

are looking into Micah Pearson.

Yes, sir.

Uh, there, there is minor speculation

that he may have a hand in the Sylvia Shaw

and Tina Washington case.

Give me a break.

There's no way.

Just do me a favor and back

off before this turns ugly.

We even have reports from eyewitnesses

that say he runs a false flag website

that lures young girls into

signing up for something

that later turns out to be sex trafficking.

Eyewitnesses?

Where's evidence?

This screenshot, sir.

It's an image of the company's website.

We can't find it anywhere on the internet

because they may be hiding it.

Pearson. Sex trafficking.

He's not that kinda person.

No offense, sir, but how would you know?

I've known him for 20 years.

He's been a major staple to this community,

and we're not gonna pin

something on an innocent man

and possibly ruin his life

behind a few false accusations.

I've certainly seen enough of that.

Now I'm not gonna tell you again, drop it.

Understood, sir.

(dramatic music)

Hey, how's everyone doin'?

Good to see you?

Good. We, we good, man.

That's good.

Just keep doin' what y'all doin',

keepin' everybody safe.

All right, I'm gonna

head out for the day.

We've got a few spots to hit.

See everyone tomorrow.

(scoffs) I can't believe

he knew this entire time

and didn't say anything!

I know, Tina, but it's

like the detective said,

if he woulda told us then

they woulda k*lled him.

He still shoulda told me.

We coulda figured something out. (sobbing)

I just want my baby back.

I know, I know, sweetie, me too.

Me too. And we're gonna find our girls.

I just keep prayin' to God every

day that he finally reveals

to me what really happened to Sylvia.

Those are my prayers too.

But now we know what we need to know.

What are you talking about?

Our daughters, Angela.

I'm gonna go down to that city hall

and kick down that door

he's been hiding behind

and choke him until he

tells me where Adrina is!

First of all, put down the knife, okay?

(tense music)

Now you can't go up there confronting him.

If you confront him,

then they will k*ll him

and they will k*ll us too.

Hey, sweetheart.

I'm here,

Mayor Washington?

Angela?

It's good to see you

here comforting my wife

during this difficult time for all of us.

Trust and believe we're

gonna get our daughters back.

Sylvia and Adrina.

(tense music continues)

You keep lying, you deceiving b*stard.

What?

Stop lying to me, Carl!

You know where she is!

Baby, what are you talking about?

Carl Washington, you

need to stop playing games

with us right now!

We know about Terry Betland,

we know about Robert Jones,

and we most certainly know

that the only reason why you didn't tell us

was to protect you and your family!

Mrs. Shaw, why don't

you not take another step?

And basically stop it right there.

Stop it for what?

From whom?

This is my daughter,

and she's the home only family I have left.

And I will step over whoever

and whatever I have to

to get her home.

And I'm not running from

any of these criminals.

Now, you have a great wife,

and the only reason why

she is not harming you

is because of me!

She's angry, and for

good reason, and so am I!

But beyond that,

(exhales sharply) we're

stressed, we're tired,

and we're hurt!

(tense music continues)

We're worried about our daughters!

We're worried about this family!

And you can change that!

Please, Carl, tell us where they are.

(tense music continues)

Choose your next words carefully.

(tense music continues)

Carl, are we being watched?

It's possible, but at this

point it doesn't matter.

Just like you, I'm tired, I'm exhausted,

and I've been out running

and hiding for months now.

I've been living with this extreme guilt.

Why'd I do this?

What have I done?

Why'd I let them take my daughter?

What have you gotten this into?

It was in 2018, and election

day was around the corner.

Andrew Robinson was ahead of me by 37%.

And he shoulda won.

Our good friends, Terry and Robert,

decided to come up with a new strategy.

I was thinking maybe more campaign ads,

rallies, et cetera,

but they had a completely

different approach.

And that approach was a gentleman

and former resident of

Kansas City, Micah Pearson.

Now I'm not exactly sure

how they connected with him,

but they did,

and he offered to back me.

(tense brooding music)

So it's true?

I knew it.

Micah's behind this whole thing.

You have no idea just

how powerful this man is.

He told me anyone he personally

endorses wins, always win.

I never knew about any of that, nothing.

What other secrets are

you keeping from me, Carl?

He wanted to make a deal.

Not if, but when I won the election,

that I would put him on the ballot

so he could easily win

councilman of the first

district.

Oh my god, a known

trafficker on the city council.

And his wallet would've

won him the election,

just like it did you.

I know, I know.

Which is why I won't

sneak him on the ballot.

These are very dangerous people.

They will take the city down

and anyone who doesn't

back them, literally.

And I won't let it happen.

And that's why I won't

keep my end of the deal.

And to make me pay for it,

they took my baby girl away from me.

They took my baby girl. (sobbing)

Was it worth it?

Was winning the election

worth all this trouble?

This is a horrible situation.

And if you don't hold up

your end of the bargain,

they could come after us.

But you can change this by

just telling us where they are.

I don't know.

Yes she do!

Tina, gimme the, gimme the knife!

I don't know the exact location.

All I know is that Micah's

henchman has 'em somewhere.

You know, Simone said she met a guy,

a, a, a Derrick Stanton,

with the Pearson company.

He tried to recruit her,

just like they did Sylvia.

Simone?

Simone KC?

The internet influencer?

Please tell me you didn't bring

that young lady into this.

She knows about Micah's hidden company.

And believes that Sylvia

and Adrina are there.

I know a lot about Micah's companies,

his businesses, but I haven't

heard of this one yet.

What is it? (tense music)

A business that has made me

$3 million a year in profit.

A business that I've worked

very hard to keep going,

and I'm not about to let you

or these two tramps ruin it.

Micah, I'm sorry.

Okay, listen, let me,

let me make this right.

I know you can.

It's just that we had to

twist your arm so much

to make you wanna do it.

And to think,

we actually thought that you'd be the one

to bring about change.

You'd be the one to keep his promises.

No, not at all.

You're just another crooked politician.

So it is true.

You guys are working for him.

You three are gonna rot in a jail cell

for the next 100 years.

Carl, you should tell

your wife to shut her mouth,

I would hate to do it.

Yeah, well, I would love to.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,

whoa, hey, hey, hey!

This ain't about them, it's about me, okay?

Do what you have to do,

but don't hurt them.

This is all on me.

- Get up.

- Oh my god, please.

Listen, man, listen.

Just give me till the morning.

I'll make a few phone calls

and I'll get you on the ballot, I promise.

Just give me till the morning.

No, Carl, don't do it. (sobbing)

What happened, Micah?

People in this city look up to you.

They celebrated you.

They still do,

even with your basketball

career getting cut short.

How did you become this horrible person?

Angela Shaw. (dramatic sinister music)

Angela Shaw, Angela Shaw.

I remember when we were looking into you.

And someone thought it would be a good idea

to bring you into my company.

You're not my girl.

Too old.

Wash up even.

I mean, you can't even give my clients

the same kinda satisfaction

as your daughter did.

You b*stard!

(tense suspenseful music)

You might wanna settle down, sweetie.

(Sylvia thudding) (tense brooding music)

Who are you?

Oh man, where are my manners?

I should introduce myself.

I'm Carmelia Winters.

I've never heard of you.

Oh, I know, and you won't,

because someone like you could

never know someone like me.

What?

Carl, who is this woman?

Who is she really?

Go ahead, Mr. Mayor,

why don't you finish the introduction?

You know those people that sit at the top

that you never hear about,

they never come out,

they know about everything

and they run everything.

The Winters Family.

Oh my god.

What are you really doing here?

Micah, what are you doing?

Honey, no.

No, no, don't worry about Micah,

he's not the one.

It's my father you should

all be worried about,

if he doesn't get what he wants.

And his man on the city

council is all he wants.

So you guys can just relax,

we're not here to k*ll you yet.

We are here to warn you, Carl.

This is your final chance to finish

what we set in motion six months ago.

If you can just manage to do that,

then you might just see your girls again.

No!

If I do this deal,

we get our girls back.

Adrina has nothing to do with this.

(tense ominous music)

Sir, you don't make demands on me, okay?

Now what I can tell you

is that, as of right now,

it would be better just to

walk away with your lives.

You people never saw me here.

This situation never happened.

And you, Carl, you

finish the deal tomorrow,

then we won't have to

terminate your family.

Okay? We have an understanding?

All right.

Goodnight, everybody.

Don't make me come back here.

(dramatic music)

Did you see which direction they went in?

[Brad] No, we lost them too.

It's like he was evading us.

Great, he's onto us.

He knew we were going to follow him.

Watch his home and let me

know when or if they return.

We need to close this now.

He's getting slippery.

You know, I'll put a a PB

out on Jones and Betland.

What about Micah?

(sighs) The evidence and the accusations

you got against 'em

just isn't solid enough.

But if we can get Terry or

Robert to make a confession,

we can get to Pearson.

(slow-paced dramatic music)

Okay, ladies, listen up.

Pearson Company is expanding,

and we have 14 new

recruits coming next week.

We simply cannot house all of you anymore.

So we're gonna have to reduce the numbers

on the current team,

and this group will be

leaving in three days.

- What?

- Where are we going?

I don't know. Mexico.

Possibly, some of you all

will end up in South America.

A lot of our buyers are from there.

Buyers?

What are you saying, Ja'Kiah?

You're being sold, honey, okay?

And wherever your purchaser resides

is where you're gonna be

getting shipped off to.

Is it sinking in now?

(slow-paced dramatic music continues)

I thought so.

Now, if everyone will be so kind

to welcome our owner, Micah Pearson.

Good evening, everyone.

I won't be before you long,

I can see you are hard at work.

I like that.

But I just wanted to say that

we here at Pearson Company,

thank you for choosing us

to help unleash all your greatest talents,

and you've done that.

But unfortunately, we all know some things

do have an expiration date,

and when that happens,

we have to replenish with a new,

fresh product, nothing more.

Now, a lotta y'all been wondering

who's coming home with me, Micah?

That person is Sophie.

(slow-paced dramatic music continues)

Come here, sweetie.

(slow-paced dramatic music)

(slow-paced dramatic music continues)

Yeah, we all stand to make

a lotta money on this deal.

Contact my assistant next week,

and we'll get it done.

You gotta ask yourself,

if someone who wears paisley

and black suede like this,

I mean who you gonna trust?

Me.

That's right.

(slow-paced dramatic music continues)

If you wanna get out of this nightmare,

this is our chance.

It's risky, but it's worth a shot.

As you know, Micah is leaving here either

the night after his visit or

the first thing in the morning,

and one of us is going with him.

We don't know who that is.

It could be any of us,

so we all have to be ready.

When you get upstairs,

look for items to remember.

Buildings, offices, vehicles, landmarks.

Whatever relevant information

you can give to the authorities, get it.

Okay, then what?

Yeah, what's next?

What's next is up to you,

but it has to be fast.

(slow-paced dramatic music continues)

Hmm, just to be safe,

we should all wear heels tomorrow.

Hey, I know I haven't

been speaking very much,

it's just I know you've had a long day,

I didn't wanna bother you,

and I think you just need to be comforted.

Hmm, I knew there was

a reason why I chose you.

Relax, we're gonna make this

a fun, interesting ride.

(dark brooding music)

(flesh squelching) (Micah grunts)

(car tires screeching)

(flesh squelching) (suspenseful music)

(car horns honking)

Get out!

(grunts) What's goin' on?

Micah!

Micah!

No!

(suspenseful music continues)

Please help me. (group chattering)

(car tires screeching)

(car door slams)

Sophie!

Sophie, get over here now!

Is that Micah Pearson?

What's goin' on?

That girl is scared.

[Bystander] Security!

Excuse me, what's the problem here?

Him. He's the problem.

Sir, can I have a word with you please?

(suspenseful music continues)

(suspenseful music)

(phone ringing)

Hey, Micah, what's up?

Get outta there.

Get out of there right now.

Shut it down.

Shut it down.

Hold up. What?

Get those girls out

there now and shut it down.

Get far away from there

as you can, it's over.

(dial tone beeps)

(suspenseful music continues)

Oh my god!

Oh my god!

Derrick!

- Derrick!

- What's the problem?

We're filmin' here.

Something is wrong.

We have a situation.

[Derrick] What do you mean?

Micah just called and said

we need to leave this place right now.

What?

That doesn't make any sense.

Hey, hey, I think you

guys need to see this.

(suspenseful music continues)

My girl just sent me this video.

It's popping up all over social media.

It's out boy Micah.

Is that Sophie?

It is Sophie.

That little tr*mp.

What the?

Who did this?

Who set this up?

Look, I promise,

when we find out, I'm gonna-

- Derrick, we don't have

time for this right now.

We need to go.

You all need to get to

the front door right now.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you doing?

What?

That can't go out like that.

Look at 'em.

Hardly no clothes and

just a shower robe on.

What are you thinking?

Okay, fine.

(suspenseful music continues)

There.

Find something in this

pile to put on right now.

So they were all here?

Yes, they were all here,

and they threatened all of us,

including our families, if we talked.

Did they say anything about

where they may be going next?

Look, I know you all are scared,

but you can trust us.

We want to help you.

We want to take this down.

But we need to know whatever you know.

You know, left here in a black SUV,

went down the street.

I didn't see which way they went though.

(phone ringing)

Clark.

Are you kidding me right now?

Yes, I can.

I can be there in 15.

We're headed to the station.

Something wrong?

I'll brief you on the way.

Ms. Shaw, Mrs. Washington,

do you guys have any place to stay?

Family, friends?

We can go to my office.

We'll be safe there.

Mr. Mayor, absolutely not.

Chief Jones got people down

there lying and waiting for you.

Stay away from city hall.

I have a place we can go, all of us.

All right, I'll drive

us there, wherever it is.

When you all leave here,

turn off your phone's location.

Don't make any calls unless

it's to myself or Donald.

Don't text, just send

me an email confirming

that you all made it safely.

Got it?

Carl, I know your

obligation is to take care

of your family, and I understand that,

but you do know that all this

started with your decisions.

We'll reconvene another time,

but for now, you all get

to wherever you're going.

And here's my card.

We'll be in touch.

(dark brooding music)

(dial tone ringing)

Where are you?

I'm headin' to the airport.

Look, I need you to get

that chopper there now.

It's already done,

we got the chopper here,

like, 40 minutes ago.

We're just waiting on you.

Waiting on...

How did you find out?

It wasn't hard, Micah,

that video was on every

social media platform.

And let me tell you,

my father does not like

this type of attention.

You promised him that

everything would go smoothly

and now we might have to

walk away from this deal

because of your incompetence.

Look, I, I'm sorry, all right?

Look, t-trust me, I can explain everything.

You can explain everything to my father

when we land in LAX.

(dark brooding music continues)

Her name is Sophie Whitmore.

She's from the Dallas Fort Worth area.

According to Texas State Police,

she's been missing for about six years now.

Sophie tells us she and

several other people

were held against their will

in an underground facility

right here in Kansas City.

And her captors?

We've got officers on it right now.

We've also got APBs out for Terry Betland

and Robert Jones.

Sir, we also need to

go after Micah Pearson.

You saw the video.

We've got a pretty good

idea where we can find him.

You nailed it.

Uh, that social media video proves it all.

Good job, Detective.

Don't go praising me yet,

we're not done yet.

I'm gonna go talk to her.

Okay.

Hello, I'm Melissa Clark.

Hi.

I just wanna start off by saying

that what you did was very courageous.

It takes a lot of heart and

strength to want to get out.

Thank you.

Now I know you've been through a lot,

so I'm just gonna ask you-

- We're wasting time.

Excuse me?

You have to get out there and stop them

before they leave.

And who are they?

Derrick Stanton and Ja'Kiah Richmond.

They're the people who left

us in prison down there.

And right now, they're running.

They have the rest of

the girls in a white van

attempting to leave the state.

And where's this place located, Sophie?

Do you know?

Do you remember?

(brooding music)

Berkeley.

[Melissa] Berkeley.

You were near Berkeley?

Yeah, we drove past there.

Okay.

One more thing.

Have you seen any of these two girls.

Sylvia Shaw.

Sylvia. I know her.

She helped us plan our escape.

And she's in that van with them too.

And Adrina?

No, ma'am, I've never seen her.

All right then, Ms. Whitmore, thank you.

Just hold tight and

someone will be with you.

And one more thing.

This white van,

do you happen to know

anything else about it?

Tag numbers?

Missouri plates.

D-F-K...

(brooding music continues)

D-F-G-K-J-S.

Got it.

State troopers just

pulled over Terry Betland

about 15 minutes ago,

just a few miles south of Harrisonville.

When they approached his vehicle,

he got out and attempted to sh**t himself,

Oh.

- but troopers got

to him first.

He's dead, Melissa

And Jones?

Haven't seen him yet.

He's on the run.

They all are.

But I'll keep checking

back with the officers.

Oh, and get this.

The girl, Sophie, she stated

that she's seen Sylvia Shaw.

She's one of the victims,

and even interacted with her.

Yes!

Thank God.

But look, don't tell Mom yet, okay?

- I know.

- We don't want (indistinct).

I know.

And Adrina?

Nothing.

I wonder if she's still alive, Donald.

And if so, where is she?

(suspenseful music)

Hey, Clark.

Uh, I got the intel you

wanted on the two suspects.

Ja'Kiah Richmond, um,

former Georgia State grad,

bachelor's degree in business management.

She opened a clothing store in Marietta.

It failed miserably.

Uh, she filed for a chapter 11 three times,

but still couldn't save it.

Um, and her student loans are astronomical.

Uh, last thing I saw was

that she got a job in 2018

as a, uh, cashier in a

hardware store in Atlanta,

um, but after that, she

dropped off the grid.

No, no social media accounts,

no addresses, no phone numbers, family.

It's really weird what happened to her.

It's like she just became a ghost.

- But then this guy.

- Yeah.

This guy, Derrick Stanton,

he, uh, was arrested twice

for aggravated as*ault,

uh, in Pennsylvania.

Um, and he's wanted for

organizing Ponzi schemes

all over the United States,

extortion, and check this out.

Conspiracy of drug and sex trafficking.

Hmm, unbelievable.

Wow.

Thank you so much.

Forward this to myself

and Detective Garrison's email please.

Everyone, listen up.

Turns out our suspicions of

certain individuals are true.

It's unfortunate.

They were trafficking people

right up under our noses.

And while it will take some more time

to see how deep this is really going

and who's all involved,

we will catch them.

We will stop them from

hurting our community

and destroying our families.

What's the plan?

We go after Derrick Stanton

and Ja'Kiah Richmond right now.

An APB put out on a white passenger van

with Missouri tags,

numbers read, D-F-G-K-J-S.

The van was last seen departing

a facility near Berkeley Avenue,

just off of Riverfronts Bridge.

So it's a good chance

they're possibly headed

up north towards St. Joe.

Richmond and Stanton are in that van,

and they are trying to transport

the victims outside of Kansas City.

We are not letting them out of here.

Copy that.

I need all surrounding agencies,

state troopers and Platte

County Sheriff's Department

on this immediately.

Get Kansas as well,

just in case they cross the state line.

I'm on the phone with KCK

and highway patrol right now.

They have cars out looking.

Great.

Hey, Donald, I just got a

call from the flight manager.

Yeah, we figured.

I'm already on it.

Jamie, let's go.

(suspenseful music)

(brooding music)

Thank you.

Honey, you don't have to thank me.

I'm just so glad you're okay.

Come here.

[Sylvia] (sobbing) I can't.

I can't take anymore, I can't.

It's okay, baby, God's got you.

He's got you.

Now have a seat.

(brooding music)

Mrs. Washington.

Mr. Mayor.

I'm sorry I can't offer you more.

It's quite all right,

uh, we appreciate the accommodations.

Thank you for taking us

in at such a short notice.

Yes, thank you.

The salon is lovely.

Ms. Jeanette, you wanna turn

on the television right now.

(brooding music continues)

Uh, the rest of you,

you, you wanna come and see this too.

Good morning.

As you are all aware,

a video on social media surfaced

involving some sort of domestic altercation

between former Kansas

City legend Micah Pearson

and another young woman.

In the video, you see

Pearson yelling aggressively

at the young woman as she is

simply trying to avoid him.

It turns out now the frantic young lady

was trying to get away from him

and was a longtime victim of Pearson

in some sort of trafficking ring

that involves city leaders.

Oh my god.

(brooding music continues)

According to reports

from law enforcement,

Police Chief Robert Jones

and Judge Terry Betland

were working together with Pearson

on the inside of this operation.

Warrants have been

issued for their arrests.

Wait a minute,

we're getting some information

as it's coming into the newsroom room.

We're being told that Chief Jones

has just turned himself in.

Apparently, there was a chase

that started at a 150th Holmes Avenue

and ended just a few miles

north of Cleveland, Missouri,

where Jones stopped his vehicle

and surrendered to the authorities.

Terry Betland, however,

was stopped by state troopers

in Harrisonville over an hour ago.

According to the report,

Betland pulled out a g*n and

tried to end his own life.

Troopers then fired, k*lling him instantly.

This is some crazy mess.

I know.

We just sold them.

Karma moves quickly, doesn't she?

A wild series of events

unfolding this morning

in the Kansas City area.

Police are searching right

now for two more suspects

in the Pearson trafficking scandal.

Ja'Kiah Richmond and Derrick Stanton

are currently on the run.

Sources from the Platte

County Sheriff's Department

are telling us that these individuals

are transporting the

remaining trafficking victims

to another location and are

attempting to leave the state.

We have been given a

description of the vehicle.

They're traveling right now, as we speak,

in a white passenger van,

Missouri license plate D-F-G-K-J-S.

Police are asking civilians to stay calm,

but to remain vigilant.

If you see a van matching this description,

call 911 immediately.

That's Sylvia!

I know she's in that van.

I know she's is.

(sobbing) God, please save her.

Carl, do you think

Adrina's in there with them?

I don't know.

A warrant is out for Micah Pearson.

Police have been searching for him

since they were made aware

of his pending scandal of corruption.

It's comin' down.

It's all coming down.

(brooding music continues)

Come on, Micah, hurry it up.

Look, all we need to do is get

out of Kansas City airspace.

My father has already taken care

of the air traffic control for

the duration of the flight.

They will not make us land.

They will not make us refuel.

They will not tell the grounds

about anything that happened here today.

Good.

We just gotta get outta Kansas City

before the tower and the crew

figure out what's goin' on.

Well, you just better hope

that they haven't been

watching the local news.

(brooding music continues)

We need a quick lift off.

Let's get off the ground now.

Let's go.

Look, my family is gonna hide you out

for a couple of weeks

until this all blows over,

and believe me, it will blow over.

The team is already

working on a reversal story

to make sure everything disappears.

This is not gonna follow us to California.

There is a warrant

for my arrest, Carmelia.

It does not go away in another state.

You really don't know

who my family is, do you?

Y'all have that power?

Let's just say that if we

want something to disappear,

it's going to disappear.

But know this,

you're going to owe us big time after this.

We invested a lotta money

into your little business.

[Traffic Controller] 0-9-6-9, this is

MKC Air Traffic Conrol.

We have your request immediate departure.

Good.

Great.

[Traffic Controller] However,

it looks like your aircraft

has been placed on ground hold.

(police sirens wailing) (dramatic music)

Dad, answer the phone.

Answer the phone right now.

(police sirens wailing)

(dramatic music continues)

We have to stop for gas.

No, we cannot stop anywhere.

Do you wanna be seen?

In case you forgot,

our faces are all over

the freakin' internet.

Do you see the tank?

I mean, do you wanna be stuck

on the side of the road?

I don't.

I just wanna get outta here.

It's too risky.

You think I'm stupid?

We're not going into anywhere.

I'm not about to let

you or me be identified.

Mack.

Mack will cover us the rest of the way.

Right, Mack?

(fist thudding)

Whatever, man.

I guess.

All right, come up

here and get $60 for gas.

And fill it all the way up!

(tense music)

You girls, stay down.

You don't want us to be seen here today,

and don't try anything stupid either.

What is he doin'?

Has he got the gas yet?

What is he doing?

He's getting food.

(dark brooding music)

Oh my god, Derrick, they

got our tag information.

What? How?

Sophie.

It had to be Sophie.

It had to be.

She musta tell the tag number.

Wow, she did it.

She did it.

We got to go now.

There's no telling how

many people have seen us.

There's cameras everywhere.

We can't leave Mack.

That fool is in there buying snacks

and we're sitting here.

We leave without him.

We can't leave Mack.

We're not gonna get too far.

What about our gas situation, Derrick?

Look, we've got enough

to make it down the road.

I got a guy in Smithville

who owns a whole bunch

of used rental trucks.

We can make it there,

ditch the van, and grab somethin' else.

Are you sure about this?

Yeah.

He's gonna get us caught, forget him.

(police sirens wailing) (brooding music)

Step out of the van slowly,

with your hands on your head!

(helicopter blades whirring)

(brooding music continues)

Hey, is that your van?

Nah.

No, it ain't my van.

You sure?

'Cause I seen you get out of it.

(suspenseful music)

(police sirens wailing)

Open the door slowly,

with your hands on your head!

(helicopter blades whirring)

(melancholic music)

(melancholic music continues)

(helicopter blades whirring)

(melancholic music continues)

(police sirens wailing)

(helicopter blades whirring)

The plan, it worked.

(sighs) Can I go home now?

Yes, Lindsay, we all can go home.

(melancholic music continues)

- Sylvia Shaw?

- Yes, ma'am.

Hi, I'm Detective Melissa Clark.

I've heard a lot about you.

According to your friend Sophie,

you were the driving force

behind this whole plot.

Honestly, Detective, it took all of us

to make the choice that this

isn't how we're gonna spend

the rest of our lives.

Not like this.

I understand that.

Well, I want you to know

that Micah Pearson has been arrested,

and his associates and

him are not coming back.

(melancholic music continues)

(helicopter blades whirring)

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

No, you need to stop.

You'll be all right. You're good.

You're good, you're good.

Stop. Stay here.

(melancholic music continues)

(helicopter blades whirring)

Ma'am, we're not done.

There's more.

Where?

I can get us back there.

I saw where we came from.

(melancholic music)

(soft brooding music)

(g*ns firing)

(banging on wall)

(melancholic music continues)

Adrina?

(melancholic music continues)

[Reporter] Good morning, KC.

As a lot of you know,

it has been a very turbulent 24 hours

with the disappointing news

of local sports star Micah Pearson,

along with other city

officials being involved

in a corrupted scheme to

infiltrate city leadership

with plans to overthrow

the local government.

[Reporter] More names of

individuals who are involved

in the Pearson scandal

are emerging this morning.

Police are reporting the arrests

of city prosecutor Allison Young,

high school teacher Sean Arnold,

and local Pastor Mark Hannon.

All three of them have been

taken into police custody.

Authorities are concerned

because this list of names

are problematic and could potentially grow

before the end of the week. (phone beeps)

(melancholic music continues)

Good morning, sir.

You have visitors.

Mr. Mayor, you are under arrest

for obstruction of justice.

You have the right to remain silent.

If you give up that right,

anything you say can and

will be held against you

in a court of law.

You have the right to an attorney.

If you cannot afford an attorney,

one will be appointed for you.

Do you understand those rights

as I have explained them to you?

Very good, now turn around,

put your hands behind your

back palms facing outward.

Very good.

Hook 'em up.

(soft melancholic music)

[Sylvia] In the United States,

20 to 30,000 people are

forced into this dark world

of human trafficking every year.

What is it?

It's modern day sl*very,

which innocent people,

men, women, and children, are preyed on

by sinister individuals and made to labor

while being exploited

for their captors profit.

Lives ruined and families destroyed,

but we can stop this.

We can make a difference.

All it takes is a choice to

put the fear behind and say,

enough is enough.

Myself and Sophie

Whitmore made that choice,

now it's time for you to do the same.

(soft melancholic music)

(soft gentle music)

Sylvia, come on, we're

getting dinner started.

Coming!

(soft gentle music continues)

(soft gentle music)

(soft gentle music continues)

(soft music)

This is a story

A story of someone

who's broken, oh yeah

This is a story

A story of someone without a name

Oh-oh-oh-oh yeah

Prayed up, wash sin

away the day I wake up

Forgive I don't forget

I never change up

I'd be at it again

I'm the type who lose it all

but I still win in the end

I believe it will work out

Keep my faith in God

I believe it will work out

Keep my faith in God

I believe it will work out

Keep my faith in God

Sometimes I worry, yeah yeah

But I keep faith in God

Oh-oh-oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh-oh

I believe it will work out

I believe it will work out

I believe

And sometimes I worry, yeah yeah

But I keep faith in God

I know you will not be afraid

You know just who you are

and hopefully you will remain

I've been noticin' the truth

hurts as old as the fame

But when you finally find your purpose

You must go out with a bang

Honors can't be deputed

I was even most even

(indistinct) and gotta have a reason

And I walk in my truth

That's why my thoughts become agreeable

Sometimes I'm not

grateful for what I got

Until I need some more

And still I believe it will work out

Keep my faith in God

Work work

I believe it will work out

Keep my faith in God

Work work

I believe it will work out

Keep my faith in God

Work work

Sometimes I worry, yeah yeah

But I keep faith in God

Hands in the Oh

If you know if you

know it's working now

Hands in the Oh

Hands in the oh-oh

Hands in the Oh

Can't you see He's working now

Hands in the Oh

Hands in the Oh

I believe it will work out

Keep my faith in God

Sometimes I worry, yeah yeah

But I keep faith in God