The Militia

8/15/2019 The Militia

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CREDITS OVER:

EXT. CITY STREETS - NIGHT

Montage: a series of beatdowns featuring the same team ofthree women--

WHITNEY JONES, 27, light skinned, racially ambiguous, a neon-metallic red pixie cut--she runs up on a GUY IN A VEST andWHACKS him on the back of the head with the bat. Vest guygoes down, she swings a few more times and spits on him.

TASHA MCMANUS, 27, short, stout, black, small afro, and brassknuckles on her left hand--she calls out from the passengerwindow of an SUV to a pair of thuggish looking GUYS on thesidewalk. One of them approaches--she slugs him in the facewith the brass and knocks him over with the car door.

JENAYE COLE, 28, rail skinny, pale, platinum blonde, and atattoo sleeve, gets out of the backseat of the SUV, flips a

butterfly knife open, mounts the guy on the ground, and slamsthe knife through the back of his hand. With sleight ofhand, another knife is pulled from her pocket and she deftlycuts off his pinky. She leans down to whisper in his ear--

JENAYESleep with one eye open, cuz nexttime I'm taking something bigger.

She jumps back into the SUV, Whitney at the wheel, and theydrive away.

More gratuitous shots of violence against men--

SMASH CUT TO:

I/E. WHITNEY'S SUV - CITY STREETS - NIGHT

The car is parked beside the road under an elevated rail asa TRAIN PASSES OVERHEAD.

Whitney at the wheel, Tasha riding shotgun, Jenaye in backfiling her nails, and EMILIA LOPEZ, 22, short, light skinned,post-op transgender but retaining some muscle. Emilia gazesout the window.

TASHAYou think we could stop and get someWendy's on the way back?

WHITNEYI dunno...what's the most Wendy'syou can eat in a week before itbecomes unhealthy?



2.

JENAYEThink it's unhealthy no matter what.

WHITNEYNot the salads, though.

JENAYE

You seen this girl's salads? Lasttime she got a salad there, she putfries on top.

Tasha giggles.

TASHADon't hate, I like fries.

JENAYEWell, you're the one alwayscomplaining about your weight, that'sprobably why. Healthy food doesn't

work if you combine it with unhealthyfood.

TASHAOh lemme guess, I should be having akale and quinoa smoothie with a spoonof local honey or some shit, right?

JENAYEYou say that like it's a bad thing,those are all healthy and delicious.

Tasha looks over to Whitney--she shrugs.

WHITNEYI dunno, she's got a point. She cancook some good shit with quinoa,I've had it.

TASHABullshit, quinoa is never good.White folks and your nasty ass birdfood.

A bulky man in a sportcoat--CARL PERKINS, 37--passes right

by Emilia's window--she inhales sharply and her neck tenses.

All three look to her--she shuts her eyes tight, her breathingspeeds--

TASHA (CONT'D)That him!?

She nods.



3.

JENAYEShit, he's a big boy.

WHITNEYNothing Buzz can't handle.

Whitney, Tasha, and Jenaye briskly exit the car.

Whitney speeds to catch up to Carl. She places a hand onhis shoulder and steps in front of him, eye contact--

WHITNEY (CONT'D)Oh, scuse me--

Wires launch from the taser at Whitney's hip and impale Carl'sthroat--he convulses, falls, and hits the concrete face first.

Jenaye kicks him in the side and stomps on his back. Tasha,armed with Whitney's bat, lifts it over her head and bringsit down hard on the back of Carl's knee--he screams out in

pain.

Whitney ejects the taser cartridge and yanks on the wires--the electrodes rip from Carl's throat and he squelches.

WHITNEY (CONT'D)Shut the fuck up.

She wraps the taser wires up, pockets them, tosses the taserto Tasha, who tosses the bat to Whitney. Jenaye kicks himagain. Tasha aims the taser around like a gun--

TASHA

Pew pew pew!

Whitney winds up with the bat and slams it into Carl's head--he's out cold immediately and the bat slams into the pavement,splintering on the recoil.

WHITNEYAh, shit!

She picks up the fragmented bat.

WHITNEY (CONT'D)

Look what you made me do.

She spits on him.

WHITNEY (CONT'D)Asshole. Let's go.

They jump back into Whitney's SUV and drive away. Emiliakeeps her eyes locked on Carl, unconscious and bleeding.



4.

EMILIADid you kill him?

WHITNEYNope. He saw my face--I want him tohave a panic attack if he sees itagain.

Tasha looks over to Whitney and cackles. Whitney joins inlaughing as the car speeds along the street towards a lit upWendy's sign a few blocks away.

INT. WENDY'S - LATER

The quartet sits at a table, trays full of food. Tasha eatsa salad with fries on it, a contented look on her face.

WHITNEYLook who's eating fast food.

JENAYEWhat? I got extra cardio in, Ideserve this.

TASHAYes you do, baby boo.

JENAYEEmilia, how you feeling?

EMILIAOkay. Definitely better. I likedtonight. I want to do what you do,

I wanna fight back.

WHITNEYYou know of anyone else who coulduse our services, send em my way.

Emilia gazes at another table of PATRONS with food.

EMILIAI know a lot of women. Men, too. Idoubt they'd want to do anythingbesides ignore it and hope it goes

away.

JENAYESome people can do that. Some can't.

One of the women at the table catches Emilia's blank stareand quickly looks away.



5.

EMILIAI couldn't. Every time someone lookedat me, I felt...just awful.

Silence.

EMILIA (CONT'D)

I don't know if that'll ever go away.But tonight makes me feel in controlof it for a minute.

Another glance, this time Emilia awkwardly smiles and breakseye contact. The woman sneers and says something to hertable--the rest of the table sneaks obvious looks at Emilia.

Emilia looks down at her food.

Jenaye notices and looks over to the other table, annoyed.Whitney and Tasha turn to look as well.

The entire room falls quiet, minus the kitchen noises. Tashaslips her brass knuckles onto her hand.

TASHAWanna know what I did tonight?

The other table quietly averts eye contact.

TASHA (CONT'D)Fuckin thought so.

CUT TO:

EXT. DOWNTOWN STREETS - DAY

Bright, sunny day, midday traffic through the upscale partof town.

Riding along the bike lane is GRACIE JONES, 19, darker thanWhitney with curlier hair and headphones on. She weaves inand out of traffic a bit recklessly. One car HONKS at her--she flips it off as it passes.

She comes to a red light, stops, and leans on a lamppost.She retrieves a folded up paper from her bag--a university

seal in the top right, "WITHDRAWAL FORM" and her informationfilled out.

She crumples it up and tosses it into the nearest trash can,a sour look on her face.

She dismounts, locks her bike to a rack, and heads into acafe on the corner.



6.

INT. CAFE - MOMENTS LATER

Gracie sits cross legged, an espresso cup on the table infront of her, and an ebook on her phone. She reads intently,headphones on.

JACE O'NEAL, 21, cute white boy, waves to her from across

the cafe. She smiles half heartedly and returns attentionto her book.

Jace gets up and approaches--she quietly sighs and lowersher headphones to her neck.

JACEHey, Gracie!

GRACIEHey, Jace.

JACE

How's it going?

GRACIEOkay, just doing some reading.

Jace sits down at her table and places his drink down.

JACECool--hey, do you have time to goover the homework for next week?I'm like almost failing, I needsomeone to help me.

GRACIEI actually dropped out.

JACEOf the class?

GRACIEOf college.

JACEWhat? That's terrible, what happened?

GRACIEI don't really wanna talk about it.

JACEWell--okay, lemme take you to dinnertonight, then. Take your mind offit.



7.

GRACIENo, I have work tonight. Thanksthough.

JACEUm...well, are you busy afterwards?We can just kinda hang. My roommate

just got a bunch of weed in fromColorado.

GRACIEJace--no. Okay?

JACEOh--kay. Um--

She finishes her espresso, pockets her phone, and stands up.

JACE (CONT'D)I'll see you around, I guess.

GRACIEMhm.

JACESee ya!

She walks out without looking back. Jace watches her unlockher bike and ride away--he sighs.

EXT. RESTAURANT - ALLEYWAY - NIGHT

Middling rainfall, muggy night. Out back by the loading

dock, a truck backs into the unloading spot and parks.

The DRIVER gets out, hocks a lugie onto the pavement, andheads inside--Gracie passes him on the way out.

He glances at her and turns to watch her go as the doorcloses.

She unlocks her bike and puts the lock in her bag. Frombehind her--the door opens.

She turns to look--the door is still, the alley empty.

EXT. CITY STREETS - LATER

Gracie stops at a red light. From the sidewalk--

CATCALLERYour ass looks great on that bike,all wet.

She rolls her eyes and keeps her eyes locked forward.



8.

CATCALLER (CONT'D)Oh come on, I know you can hear me.Don't make me beg for it.

She puts her headphones on, no music, and bikes down a sidestreet.

INT. LIVING ROOM, JONES HOME - LATER

Whitney lazes on the couch, feet up, TV on, joint in anashtray resting on her boobs.

From the kitchenette--

GRACIE (O.S.)Do we have anything to drink besidesDogfish Ninety?

WHITNEYNope.

The fridge closes a bit hard and Gracie stomps into the livingroom and plops down on the couch next to Whitney--the jointfalls from the ashtray into her cleavage and some of the ashspills onto her clothes.

WHITNEY (CONT'D)(sitting up)

Can you chill? Why you stompingaround like that?

She fishes the joint from her shirt and brushes the ash off.

GRACIENothing. Just...work.

WHITNEYWelcome to the real world, baby.Work your ass off and die broke,just like everyone else.

Gracie lets out an exasperated grunt.

WHITNEY (CONT'D)But y'know what makes it all better?

Whitney relights the joint and holds it out.

Gracie apprehensively grabs it and takes a small hit with acough.

WHITNEY (CONT'D)You gotta smoke more, kid. Weren'tyou in philosophy class?

(MORE)



9.

WHITNEY (CONT'D)Isn't that just smoking weed andtalking about shit?

GRACIELess smoking weed, more reading.And less talking about shit, more

being told I'm wrong.

WHITNEYThe other kids in the class?

GRACIEAnd the professor.

WHITNEYWhat, were you the only girl in theclass?

GRACIE

One of three. Out of twenty. And Iwas the only one who talked.

WHITNEYGross. No wonder you dropped.Smartest decision you've made, I cantell you that from experience havingnot dropped out.

GRACIEWhat'd you major in again?

WHITNEY

Communications.

GRACIEY'know, I always thought you werereally good at communicating.

WHITNEYWhy thank you. One of my manytalents. Others include rollingjoints and...well, I guess that'sit.

GRACIEYou can drive a car, that's something.

WHITNEYI guess it is.

KNOCK KNOCK at the door. Gracie hops to her feet and eagerlyheads for the door.



10.

GRACIEAnd finding amazing Chinese food forcheap. You're really good at that.

CUT TO:

Mostly empty Chinese food containers litter the coffee table

and floor.

GRACIE (CONT'D)That was exactly what I needed.

Whitney's phone chimes, she checks it, gets up and stretches.

WHITNEYYeah it was.

(beat)Alright, time to go.

GRACIE

You're going out at midnight?

TASHA (O.S.)(yelling)

Yo shit-ney Jones! Getcha ass outhere!

Tasha KNOCKS at the door vigorously and just decides to openit and come in regardless.

WHITNEYYo. Gimme a sec to change.

TASHASmells like Chinatown in here.

WHITNEYThat'd be the Chinese food.

Whitney heads upstairs.

TASHAGracie! What up lil cuz?

GRACIE

Not much, T. How you been?

Tasha pounds her fist into her hand.

TASHAGettin my sweat on. I am ready forthis.

Gracie looks confused. Jenaye pokes her head in--



11.

JENAYEHey!

GRACIEOh, hey Jenaye.

Behind Jenaye--STEFANY MARKS, 35, leans in.

STEFANYThat lil G in there!?

Gracie gets up.

GRACIEHoly shit, hey Stef! Good to seeyou again.

STEFANYYou too! You back living here again?

GRACIEYeah, a few weeks now.

STEFANYWelcome back to the neighborhood,hasn't been the same without you.

Gracie heads to the door and peers out--Emilia leans on themailbox with a cigarette.

Sitting on the trash can--SOFIA DOMINGUEZ, 25 and razorstraight black hair, in conversation with KENDALL STEPHENS,28, messy dirty blonde hair in a controlled chaos of curls.

GRACIEShit, we got the whole block coming?What bar are y'all going to?

Tasha cackles.

TASHABar? Please. Only bar tonight is--

She reaches behind the TV and retrieves a crowbar.

TASHA (CONT'D)This beautiful bitch.

Gracie looks befuddled. Whitney descends the stairs in ahurry.

WHITNEYReady to go?



12.

GRACIEWhere are you going tonight?

WHITNEYDon't worry about it.

GRACIE

I'm not worried, I'm just curious.Are you in a fight club?

WHITNEYNo--

TASHAPretty much. It's just that insteadof fighting each other, we fightpunk ass niggas who hate women.

GRACIEThat sounds like a hell of a Friday

night. Can--

Whitney shoots her a look and she shuts up--

TASHAHell yes you can come!

Whitney grimaces.

WHITNEYThe more the merrier. You sure youcan handle yourself?

Gracie throws her jacket on and, on her way out the door,looks at Whitney like "seriously?"

CUT TO:

EXT. CITY STREETS, PROJECTS - NIGHT

Poorly lit streets, dilapidated rowhomes, sparsely populated.The gang all chit chat amongst themselves as they walk thesidewalk. Whitney totes a crowbar, Jenaye plays with herknives, Gracie's bike lock is locked on her belt loop.

Whitney, Gracie, Tasha, Kendall, and Sofia all drink fortyouncers.

GRACIEDamn, it's been too long since I hada forty.

TASHAThat's foolish. It's one of themajor food groups for bad bitches.



13.

JENAYEAnd what're the other ones?

TASHAI dunno. White girls like you forbreakfast.

She and Gracie laugh and clink bottles.

Two GUYS on a porch with a blunt point towards the gang.

GUY 1Ho train, leaving the station!

They laugh at each other.

TASHAYeah, gettin away from your nastyass!

Some 'ohhh's from the girls and they hype her up.

GUY 1Yeah? Bet you'd get it, shortround.Lookin like a damn bowling ball,probably gotta beg for it.

Tasha hands her forty off to Gracie and stomps towards theporch.

TASHAScuse me?

The rest of the gang stops--Jenaye backs her up and Whitneyfollows.

GUY 2Oh damn, look at this.

TASHAGoddamn right look at this, this isbout four five seconds from wildinon your ass.

GUY 1

Bitch please.

Tasha sticks her left hand in her pocket and pulls it out,brass knuckles on.

Jenaye flips her butterfly knife open and wiggles it towardsthem, whistling. Gracie dangles her bike lock from her middlefinger.



14.

GUY 1 (CONT'D)Oh, shit--

Tasha stops at the porch as the rest of the gang falls inbehind Jenaye and Whitney--Sofia holds the crowbar over hershoulder.

Silence.

TASHASomething you wanna say, homeboy?

GUY 1Nothing.

Tasha turns and walks away. The crowd parts to let herthrough and they all follow.

KENDALLThink twice next time, fellas.

Tasha snatches her forty back from Whitney and takes a pull.


A slightly nicer street, closed shops and bars letting theirpatrons out for the night.

Three WOMEN emerge from one bar, tipsy, and make their wayaround the corner, loudly talking amongst themselves.

Two SHADY MEN follow at a distance.

EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET

The women make their way along the less trafficked sidewalk,the men about a block behind them. The women round anothercorner and the men hurry--a WHISTLE stops them in theirtracks.

They glance over to a streetlamp--Jenaye leans against it,twirling a knife in her hands.

The men look to each other and stare at Jenaye. They starttowards her--Kendall appears beside them and stops them with

a makeshift staff, a rotted and splintering signpost.

KENDALLDoes your mother know what you're upto tonight, gentlemen?

They look at her, baffled.

Jenaye crosses the street towards them. Whitney, Tasha, andGracie fall into formation behind her.



15.

The men turn to run and Sofia jumps out from behind a porchand clotheslines one of them with the crowbar. The othersprints away. Jenaye takes aim and launches a knife towardshim--it CLANKS into the street and he gets away.

JENAYEUgh! Damn it.

She runs to retrieve her knife while the rest of the ganggroups around the supine, unlucky guy. They take turnspunching him on the ground--he desperately tries and failsto block them and get up.

Emilia and Gracie hang back--

GRACIEYou don't wanna get in on this?

Emilia shrugs. Gracie shrugs back and drops a flying elbowinto the guy's crotch. He screams in pain and goes fetal.

TASHAOh! Well done!

STEFANYBrutal.

WHITNEYGood hit, kid.

They slap hands.

Down the street, Jenaye walks back to the group, examining

her knife closely with a frown.

JENAYERuined. Can't believe this.

A cop car approaches from the corner--Jenaye clocks it andhurries up to the group--

JENAYE (CONT'D)Five oh.

They all scurry back the way they came, leaving their victim

writhing in pain on the sidewalk.

EXT. CITY STREETS

The gang hide their weapons and calmly join the rest of thePEDESTRIANS on the sidewalk.

They pass by a cop car parked in front of a fire hydrant.The COP inside gazes at them.



16.

EMILIAGood thing the police are here.

WHITNEYWho knows what might happen to thesevulnerable women if they weren'taround.

SOFIAPutos cerdos.

They pass by a pizza place--

TASHAAnybody else feelin pizza?

KENDALLOh, I'm definitely feelin pizza.

They all file into--

INT. PIZZA PLACE - CONTINUOUS

And queue up. Tasha shoves past a guy heading for the line--it's Jace--and he shoves back.

JACEUm, I was in line.

TASHAAnd you still are.

Kendall and Gracie line up beside Tasha, eyes locked on the

menu above the counter.

JACEGracie!?

GRACIE(under breath)

Ah, fuck.

JACEOh my gosh, hey! What's up?

GRACIENothing.

JACECool, cool--these your friends?

GRACIEYup.



17.

JACEHey, I'm Jace--

TASHADon't give a fuck.

KENDALL

See previous answer.

JACEAlright...so where are you guysheaded? Me and the guys are justgoing down to Flaherty's, wanna meetup there?

TASHAThis nigga for real?

JACEUm...yes?

Tasha steps up to the counter to order.

JACE (CONT'D)So--

GRACIEJesus Christ, Jace, I'm notinterested! How many times do youhave to be told no!?

Other CUSTOMERS take notice--Jace looks around, a bit nervousat the attention.

WHITNEYShe's not into you, dude!

STEFANYNo means no, homeboy!

Tasha steps to the side, leans on the counter, and leers atJace.

JACEAlright, I'm sorry, god. Nevermind,

nevermind. I'll just fuck off then,I guess.

The entire gang applauds as he steps up to the counter--

THE GANGGood job!/Well done, buddy!/Good foryou!/etc.



18.

Some other customers laugh and join in the applause. Jaceblushes uncontrollably and wipes his forehead as he steps upto the counter--the FEMALE CASHIER looks at him dismissively.

CUT TO:

EXT. CITY STREETS, PROJECTS - LATER

The gang walks in the middle of the street, chit chatting,finishing off pizza slices.

They pass by a burnt out house--boarded windows, peelingpaint, rotting fixtures, a tipped over "FOR SALE" sign.

Whitney and Kendall slow down and look at it as they pass.Jenaye joins them.

KENDALLGotta love the projects. Thegovernment caring for the needy and

whatnot.

WHITNEYGive it a few months, this'll bestudent housing and a juice bar.

JENAYEWhat's wrong with a juice bar?

WHITNEYSome luxury shit nobody in thisneighborhood asked for, brings richwhite kids in and pushes poor black

folks out.

Jenaye takes a bite of pizza.

JENAYE(through food)

Well yeah, but there are vegans inpoor neighborhoods too. There's amarket for it.

TASHAGirl, you are speaking through a

slice of pizza.

Jenaye wipes her mouth with a napkin. Gracie stops andsquints at the house.

JENAYEShush, it's my cheat day.



19.

TASHAIt's a miracle you got a body likethat.

Another bite.

JENAYE

(through food)Praise Jah.

GRACIEAnyone else hear that?

WHITNEYWhat?

GRACIEThought I heard something.

From the trap house--MUFFLED YELLING.

WHITNEYThat I definitely heard.

KENDALLCould be anything.

The rest of the gang slows and turns back to them.

Gracie slinks along the side of the house towards a window--she shoves in the poorly nailed down plywood and peeks in.

GRACIE

Shit.

She hurries back to the front door. Whitney follows--Sofia,Tasha, and Stefany back her up.

TASHAWe goin in?

GRACIESome nigga pulling a woman by thehair.

TASHAOh, we goin in.

KENDALLWe can't just go in there!

GRACIESofia.



20.

Sofia winds up with the crowbar and smashes the doorknob offthe door. Tasha squares up and kicks it down.

STEFANYShit, guess they can.

INT. TRAP HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

The gang floods the charred living room full of trash, Gracieand Whitney on point, Kendall staying at the door. Theyhead for the hallway to--

TRAP HOUSE KITCHEN

A tiny kitchen with a stairwell in the corner, as burnt outand shitty as the living room.

HIP HOP blares from an old boombox and a pot of crack simmerson the stove. A DEALER stands, backed into a corner, with agun held out in front of him.

Gracie hurries into the kitchen--he squeezes off one shotand it goes errant, his aim is awful.

She deftly grabs an empty beer bottle off the counter andpitches it at him underhand--it shatters on his face and hegoes down, unconscious.

Whitney hurries in, closely followed by Tasha.

WHITNEYYou okay!?

TASHADamn, lil G!

Gracie turns off the stove. Another DEALER hurries in fromupstairs--Gracie delivers a perfectly executed roundhousekick to his face and he collapses on the stairs.

A woman's SCREAM from upstairs. Gracie snaps to attention,vaults the dazed dealer on the stairs, and hurries up into--

TRAP HOUSE HALLWAY

Three doors--two blocked off by debris, and the third closed.Gracie shoves through the unblocked door into--

TRAP HOUSE BEDROOM

A DEALER, gun in hand, fumbles with his pants as he pullsthem up. A WOMAN lies on the bed.

Gracie pushes through the door, Whitney and Tasha down thehall behind her.



21.

She rushes the dealer, grabs the wrist of his gun hand, andtwists it into a hold.

The gun fires errantly, she takes him down to the floor andpins him--she holds his arm between her legs and hyperextendsthe elbow until it SNAPS.

The dealer screams in pain and drops the gun--Gracie hops toher feet and kicks him in the head to knock him out.

She notices a box of ammo on the charred dresser--she snatchesthe gun from the floor, sticks it in her waistband, and grabsthe ammo box.

WOMAN(groggy)

Fuck am I supposed to do when hewakes up?

GRACIE

I don't know. Break his other arm.Better yet, go to a shelter beforehe does. Whatever he provides youain't worth staying here to get it.

She turns and exits, past an amazed Tasha and Whitney. Theygawk at the bloodied dealer on the floor.

TASHAYour sister can ball.

WHITNEYNo shit.

EXT. CITY STREETS, PROJECTS - MOMENTS LATER

Gracie exits, followed by Whitney, Tasha, and Sofia.

KENDALLWhat the hell happened in there?

TASHAHomegirl busted up a crack house andstopped a rape in progress. Andlooked fly as hell doin it.

GRACIEThanks, T. Try to keep up.

TASHANo you did not--

Tasha rushes her and play-grapples with her.



22.

STEFANYAlright, break it up, ya lesbos.It's three AM and I'm tired as hell.

They stop.

TASHA

For your information, I am pansexual.

STEFANYWhatever the hell that means.

GRACIEShe definitely copped a feel.

They head down the block, back to chit chat. Whitney checksher phone.

WHITNEYGotta make a stop on the way, Taylor

got the acid.

JENAYEYes!

CUT TO:

EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE LOT - LATER

Some late night PATRONS shuffle in and out. Sofia and Gracieare in line inside. Tasha exits the store, snack in hand,and rejoins the rest of the gang in the lot.

Four PREP BOYS approach the store as Whitney heads for thedoor--one holds the door open for her.

PREPPY 1After you, my lady.

Whitney contains a disgusted grunt and passes them.

PREPPY 2Daaamn, those legs go all the wayup!

Whitney laughs, hands her shopping bag off to Tasha, holdsout her empty hand--Kendall plops the crowbar into it andWhitney stomps towards the guys.

WHITNEYSay it again, go ahead.

She shoves the crowbar in his face menacingly.



23.

PREPPY 3Hey relax, it was just a compliment.

She pushes him into the wall with the crowbar.

WHITNEYI don't recall asking for one. You

disrespect enough women and you mightjust piss off the wrong one. Guesswhat, white boy? I am the wrongone.

A cop car pulling into the lot turns on its lights, parks,and the solo cop, OFFICER BEALE, quickly jumps out, gun ready.

BEALEWhoa, whoa, back away from him, backaway! Drop the weapon and get yourhands in the air!

The rest of the gang shies away from the lot--Whitney sighs,exasperated, and makes her way away from the door, hands up.

All passers-by freeze and look on, terrified--a few of themare recording.

Whitney looks to Kendall--Kendall, eyes wide, shakes herhead no.

BEALE (CONT'D)Drop it, now!

GUNSHOT. His hand blows out some blood and he drops the gun

with a pained yelp. Passers-by flee in a panic. Gracie, atthe door, holsters her gun and runs.

The gang scatters. Whitney and Gracie stick together--asthey pass the cop, Whitney shoves him off his feet and kickshis gun under the car.

EXT. JONES HOME - LATER

Whitney and Gracie slow their run to a jog and stop outsidetheir house. They catch their breath and look around--allquiet.

From down the block--a phone light blinks twice.

Whitney throws a peace sign as she and Gracie head inside.


Whitney and Gracie laze on the couch, feet up, TV on, Chinesefood gone, and a joint passed between them.



24.

GRACIEI'm tired as shit, I gotta go tobed.

(beat)Jesus, I shot a cop tonight.

WHITNEY

In the hand, calm down.

GRACIEStill.

WHITNEYI appreciate what you did. If hefound the acid on me, I'd be headedto prison right now.

GRACIECan't let my big sister go down thateasy.

Whitney laughs and they fist bump.

WHITNEYGlad to have you watching my back.You're welcome to come with us nexttime.

GRACIEDefinitely.

Gracie drags herself off the couch and to the stairs.

WHITNEYAnd hey--

She stops at the stairs.

WHITNEY (CONT'D)It's good to have you home.

GRACIEIt's good to be home.

(beat)Night.

WHITNEYNight.

Gracie trudges upstairs. Whitney yawns and stretches out onthe couch.

CUT TO:



25.

MORNING

Whitney is in the same position.

KNOCK KNOCK from the door--Tasha opens it and enters, followedby Stefany with a bag of food.

TASHAYou gotta lock this door, homegirl.

Whitney groggily awakens and coughs.

WHITNEYYeah, who knows who might come inand wake me up.

She sniffs--

WHITNEY (CONT'D)You got food?

STEFANYBrunch.

Tasha and Whitney look at her, confused, for a beat--theyall crack up laughing.

STEFANY (CONT'D)Well it's food commonly found on abrunch menu.

TASHAYeah, alright.

WHITNEYDid you get--

They sit down next to her on the couch.

STEFANYHuevos, extra guac. I got you.

Stefany hands her a food box from the bag.

WHITNEY

Stef, you are my guardian angel.

STEFANYSpeaking of that, where's Gracie? Igot her bacon and French toast.

WHITNEY(calling)

Yo Gracie!



26.

Gracie pokes her head down from upstairs, toothbrush in mouth.

WHITNEY (CONT'D)Food.

GRACIENice!

She disappears upstairs for a beat and reappears in shortsand a bra--Tasha ogles her as she comes downstairs and pullsup a chair.

TASHAGood morning.

GRACIE(through food)

Eyes up here, T.

They chuckle and Whitney turns on the TV.

TASHAThat was some hot shit last night.When'd you learn to fight like that?

GRACIEDunno. Took a self defense classand a few jiujitsu classes at thecollege rec center. I saw a guywith a gun and I just kinda--

WHITNEYWhoa, check this shit!

She sits forward and turns up the TV, a local news broadcast.

ANCHOR...around three AM, outside thisconvenience store. The officer wasunharmed. One eyewitness recountedthe details.

TASHANo fuckin way.

The broadcast cuts to an eyewitness interview from theprevious night.

EYEWITNESSSaw about five girls hanging out inthe lot right here, one of them'sholding a crowbar, right? Then outtanowhere--

CUT TO:



27.

EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE LOT - LAST NIGHT

The eyewitness stands off to the side of a crime scene.

EYEWITNESS--these four white boys say somethingto one of them on her way out the

store.

The CAM OP subtly turns to the producer behind him and signalscut--the PRODUCER nods back.

EYEWITNESS (CONT'D)She comes back at em with the crowbar,yells something about disrespectingher--so the police show up and got agun on her, right? Then this onegirl comes out and shoots the gunout the cop's hand and they all run.I didn't even know what was happening.

All I know is these girls are badass!They are fearless Amazons, I'm tellinyou, we got a female militia here!Any boys out there disrespectingfemales got another thing coming!

CUT TO:

The YouTube video, titled "FEMALE MILITIA FULL VERSION" withover half a million hits, plays on Whitney's phone.

Whitney drops her phone on the table--she, Gracie, and Tashajump to their feet and scream in elation. Stefany laughs at

them.

TASHAYo, I'm hype as shit right now!

Whitney's phone rings--she answers without looking.

WHITNEYYou see this shit!

INTERCUT:

INT. JENAYE'S STUDIO

Jenaye sits on her bed with two cats, phone at her ear.

JENAYEI literally can't even right now!Female militia!? How great is that!?



28.

TASHAWe gotta pay that dude to be ourofficial hypeman or some shit.

JENAYETasha over there?

WHITNEYYeah, and Stef.

Jenaye hops off her bed and pulls on a pair of sweats.

JENAYEDon't move, I'm coming over.

CUT TO:


Tasha opens the door and Jenaye hurries in--they all scream

in elation again, Stefany cracks up laughing again.

JENAYEI watched it like five more times onthe train over here, I love it!

Tasha blares music from her phone--she, Jenaye, and Graciedance in celebration.

JENAYE (CONT'D)Whit, have you heard from Kendall?

Tasha stops the music.

WHITNEYNah, why?

JENAYEShe's super salty.

TASHAGo figure.

WHITNEYWhat's she complaining about now?

JENAYENot happy that we're now wantedcriminals, her words.

TASHAOh fuck off.

WHITNEYI'll talk to her.



29.

TASHAThat's why she's the leader.

GRACIEYou're the leader?

WHITNEY

Not really. Me and Kendall firstcame up with the idea and took somekickboxing classes together, thenthese two got in on it.

GRACIEWhen'd it start?

WHITNEYRight after mom died.

STEFANYAnd now it's a Jones family

institution, bless.

TASHAAmen!

Whitney looks at her phone--her eyes widen.

WHITNEYKendall just linked me to a video oflast night.

JENAYEWhoa, lemme see.

GRACIEWhat? Wait, what? Am I in it?

Whitney looks at her, a bit worried.

They all crowd to watch the video: a vertical aligned shakyvideo with harsh lighting only shows the cop clearly.Gracie's gunshot comes from off screen and the recorder veryquickly runs away.

TASHA

That's all? That's what Kendall'sworried about?

WHITNEYMaybe leave the gun at home nexttime.

GRACIEI think I'll be fine without it.

(MORE)



30.

GRACIE (CONT'D)I got something in mind besidesmurder.

SMASH CUT TO:

EXT. COLLEGE QUAD - NIGHT

Gracie whacks her bike lock into a COLLEGE BOY's face--hefalls flat onto the pavement, barely conscious.

She flips him over onto his back and leans in close to hisface.

GRACIERemember me now?

She smacks him across the face and walks away.


Montage: more beatdowns. Two new faces join the gang--

MICHELLE VARGAS, 30, Filipina with a buzzcut and a face fullof metal. She uses a drilling hammer to break a MAN'sforearm. The man screams in pain--

MANI'm sorry!

MICHELLESorry don't mean shit coming fromyou.

NIKKI ANTONUCCI, 18, tiny olive tan Sicilian with dyed blondehair, throws a weak punch on a MAN, already bloodied, andheld up from behind by Tasha.

NIKKIOww!

TASHAThrow from the hip.

NIKKI

I never understood what that means,how do you throw from the hip?

Tasha kicks the man's leg and he goes down to his knees.She releases him and steps in front as he stands up shakily.

TASHAWatch me.



31.

She delivers a nasty haymaker to his jaw--he collapses intoa pile, the rest of the gang cheering.

TASHA (CONT'D)See how my feet are planted, I'msquared up. Turn--

She goes through the motion of her haymaker, step by step.

TASHA (CONT'D)--and let the momentum go throughyour arm, all the way through. Keepyour eyes on where you wanna hit.Try it again.

GRACIEYou got this, Nikki!

Tasha waves Jenaye over--Jenaye pulls the guy to his feetand holds him in place.

MANPlease stop, just please stop. Ididn't fucking mean to, just please...

The gang boos.

JENAYEI know what you mean, man. One timemy freshman year I slipped and fellon my roommate and accidentally raped her , you fucking idiot.

She twists his arm further behind his back and he yelps inpain.

TASHAGo ahead babygirl.

Nikki squares up and throws a punch--it goes errant and grazesoff his ear.

He recoils and yells in pain. The gang "oooh"s and laughs.Nikki holds her fist.

NIKKIThat really hurts!

TASHABut it felt good though, right?

NIKKIKinda, yeah.



32.

TASHAWe'll keep practicing, you'll getthere.

JENAYEAnd if you don't, there's always theclassic fallback.

She spins him around and knees him in the crotch--he collapsesinto the fetal position, crying.

The gang laughs as they saunter away.

CUT TO:

Kendall and Whitney drift off to the side of the group.

KENDALLI didn't mean to cause a whole thing,I just--she shot a cop.

WHITNEYIn the hand.

KENDALLStill a very risky move. This isrisky enough as it is. Why poke thebear, y'know?

WHITNEYCuz the bear is harassing women. Ifthe cops wanna protect the bear,they're enemies of women--enemies of

us.

KENDALLI'm not a fan of cops either, butI'm also not trying to go out shootingat them.

WHITNEYNeither am I. But if Gracie hadn'tbeen there, I'd be in prison rightnow. I told her to leave the gun athome, but she's staying. That's it.

KENDALLAlright, that's fair.

CATCALLER (O.S.)Hey, blondie! You got the best assin the group!

KENDALLOh, bad decision, buddy.



33.

Sofia, Michelle, Tasha, and Gracie run past them.

CATCALLER (O.S.)Whoa, whoa, take it easy, I was joking--

He screams as PUNCHES land. An ELDERLY WOMAN on the porchacross the street with a cigarette laughs.

ELDERLY WOMANKnock his ass out! That the ladies'militia from the news!?

Whitney looks at Kendall, ecstatic. Kendall contains hersmile.

WHITNEYOh come on, that doesn't feel goodat all?

ELDERLY WOMAN

Y'all girls doin the lord's work!

STEFANYAmen, sister!

Kendall laughs.

WHITNEYTell me you never wanted to be famous.

KENDALLMaybe a bit.

Sofia, Michelle, Tasha, and Gracie rejoin the group and theymake their way down the block.

CATCALLER (O.S.)I'm gonna call the cops on you!

KENDALLAnd tell em what, dummy? That abunch of girls beat you up forcatcalling them?

ELDERLY WOMAN

Don't worry girls, if he does I'llwhoop his ass!

A bunch of them laugh and flip him off.

CUT TO:

The gang occupies a parklet outside a row of shops, chitchatting and eating.



34.

ALICE CHO, 17, wearing a hoodie, observes from afar. Shespots the crowbar on the ground next to Tasha's chair andstands up.

She sheepishly approaches.

ALICE

Hi.

KENDALLHello there.

ALICEAre you the girls from that video?

MICHELLEYou'll have to be more specific,I've been in a lot of videos.

Jenaye laughs.

WHITNEYThe news? Yeah, what's up?

ALICEUm...this is hard to talk about...

Whitney and Kendall share a glance--Whitney nods, stands upand ushers her off to a bench down the block.

GRACIEI think I know that girl.

WHITNEYAre you okay?

ALICENo. I can't--I don't know who to goto. My mom does everything he says,and...

WHITNEYDid your dad hurt you?

ALICE

I can't talk about this, I'm sorry,I need to go--

She gets up and starts off--

WHITNEYWhat's your name?

ALICEAlice Cho.



35.

WHITNEYAlice, I'm Whitney. I've been raped.All those girls over there, most ofthem have been raped too. If theyhaven't, they know someone who has.There's nothing to be ashamed of.

Alice tears up and covers her face.

WHITNEY (CONT'D)Were you raped?

ALICE(weak)

I didn't say no.

Gracie approaches.

WHITNEYGrace, could you give us a sec--

GRACIEYour name's Alice, right?

ALICEYeah.

GRACIEWe went to high school together, Igraduated last year. I'm Gracie.

WHITNEYMy little sister.

ALICEOh. Yeah, I think I recognize you.

GRACIEYou wanna talk?

ALICESure.

Whitney smiles at Gracie admiringly. She gets up and headsback to the parklet as Gracie and Alice sit.

Whitney looks at Kendall and shrugs like "not bad." Whitneysits next to Emilia.

EMILIAWhat's she, like sixteen?

WHITNEYStill in high school.



36.

KENDALLI don't know how I feel about knockingaround a teenager.

WHITNEYI think her dad is involved.

EMILIAJesus.

Silence. Emilia shakes her head and grits her teeth.

Gracie turns back to Whitney and nods.

WHITNEYLet's go.

EXT. CITY STREETS, CHINATOWN - LATER

Plenty of foot traffic for the late hour. Gracie, Whitney,

Kendall, and Alice lead the gang along the sidewalk of closedstorefronts.

Alice points to a laundromat across the street, on the cornerof a side street.

EXT. LAUNDROMAT, SIDE STREET - MOMENTS LATER

A hefty BOUNCER stands at the side door with a cigarette,eyes on his phone.

Jenaye, solo, sashays past, grabbing his attention. Shestops, turns, and approaches him.

JENAYEAm I in the right place?

BOUNCERGuest list only, honey.

JENAYEOh come on, you can't just let meslip in through the back?

(beat)Nothing I can do to convince you?

She sidles closer and places a hand on his crotch.

BOUNCERNo--

She clenches her fist and her free hand swiftly brings aknife up to his throat--he grunts in pain.



37.

JENAYESh sh sshhh, it'll all be over in afew minutes. Y'know who said thatto me?

The gang rounds the corner and files into the side door.Jenaye gives an extra hard squeeze and the bouncer falls to

the ground--Emilia, last in the door, kicks him on her wayin.

INT. UNDERGROUND CASINO - MOMENTS LATER

A finished basement with tacky neon Chinese decor, slot andpachinko machines, red felt card tables, and a gaudy goldenroulette wheel. The place is lively with business.

The gang enters and disperses throughout the crowd in twosand threes. Whitney, Kendall, and Gracie sit at a blackjacktable and survey the room.

Whitney's eyes stop at a large mirror next to a door. Shepoints it out to Kendall and Gracie.

KENDALLSubtle.

Gracie stands, grabs a jade laughing Buddha statue off adecorative fixture, and pitches it underhand through themirror--it shatters, revealing the counting room behind it.

Patrons panic. Two BOUNCERS in suits hurry towards Gracie--Michelle sweeps the legs out from one and Tasha tackles theother one.

GRACIEWhere the fuck is Cho!?

Some murmuring from the shocked crowd.

GRACIE (CONT'D)Xiaofeng Cho!

Nothing.

WHITNEY

Ladies?

Sofia, Jenaye, Emilia, and Stefany go to work wrecking theplace, upturning tables, smashing machines, and yanking decoroff the walls and fixtures.

XIAOFENG CHO, 56, enters--

XIAOFENGStop! What are you doing!? Stop!



38.

They stop. Gracie turns to him.

GRACIEYou must be Mister Cho!

XIAOFENGWhat the fuck have you done to my

casino!? This cost thousands ofdollars!

Gracie walks towards him.

GRACIENay-nay?

Jenaye tosses her the crowbar. She catches it, winds up andsmashes it into Xiaofeng's chin. He falls into prone andGracie jumps on his back, crowbar to his neck.

GRACIE (CONT'D)

Pimping your daughter out to thehighest bidder? You sick fuck.It's trash like you makes me wannaburn shit down.

(beat)But I'm not here for you. I'm herefor the rapist. I want a name.

XIAOFENGFuck you, little girl!

She pulls his arm behind his back until the shoulderdislocates with a sickening POP. He screams in pain and she

resets the joint.

GRACIEI can do it again if you want. What'shis name?

No answer--another dislocation, reset, and screams of agony.

GRACIE (CONT'D)I got all night, motherfucker!

XIAOFENG

LeGrange!

GRACIEWhat!?

XIAOFENGLeGrange!

GRACIELeGrange? Alright.



39.

She jumps off him, hops up onto a pai gow table and kicks astack of chips.

GRACIE (CONT'D)Where you at, LeGrange?

Some of the MEN in the crowd look at each other, panicked.

GRACIE (CONT'D)Anybody!?

(beat)Alright, that's how it's gonna be.Y'all tell LeGrange we're coming forhim!

Kendall looks at Whitney and points to her wrist. Whitneynods, stands, heads to Gracie, and pats her on the butt.

Gracie jumps off the table and heads for the exit--the gangfollows.

TASHAAnd get some air fresheners! Smellslike titty sweat down here!

She slams the door behind her.

INT. LEGRANGE'S OFFICE - NIGHT

An executive office kind of look. Potted palms and fernseverywhere surrounding an ornate wooden desk, lots of marble,a fountain, and a massive framed map of the isle ofHispaniola.

Behind the desk, a massive leather swivel chair faces thewindow. Two suited goons enter--MARCEL and GILLES--and speakto the back of the chair as plumes of smoke eject from behindit.

DAVID TOUSSAINT LEGRANGE, 44, speaks unseen from his chair.

[[Subtitled Haitian Creole]]

MARCELBoss.

LEGRANGEWhat is it, Marcel?

MARCELSomeone raided Cho's casino.

LEGRANGEA pity. Who was it?



40.

Marcel and Gilles look at each other, nervous.

GILLESWe don't know. We had her followed--

LEGRANGEHer?

MARCELYes.

LEGRANGEA woman?

GILLESA girl. A group of girls.

LEGRANGEHow much money was lost?

MARCELNone.

LEGRANGEThat's curious.

Marcel and Gilles share another nervous glance.

GILLESOne of them threatened you by name.

LEGRANGEThen I suppose I should return the

favor. You said she was followed?

MARCELYes.

LEGRANGESo kill her. I trust you can handlethis, gentlemen.

BOTHYes, sir.

They head for the door.

LEGRANGEAnd throw some money at Cho to pacifyhim.

BOTHYes, sir.



41.

They open the door and step aside to let two TEENAGEDPROSTITUTES enter and approach the desk.

LEGRANGEAh, my beauties.

Marcel and Gilles gaze at them before stepping out and closing

the doors.

CUT TO:

EXT. RESTAURANT - ALLEYWAY - NIGHT

Truck parked in the loading dock. Gracie exits the restaurantwith a yawn and unlocks her bike.

The truck driver hops out and leers at Gracie on his wayinto the restaurant.

GRACIE

Make it more obvious, asshole.

He grabs his crotch and smiles crookedly at her as the doorcloses.

She shakes her head, mounts her bike, and starts off.

CUT TO:

INT. CHO'S LAUNDROMAT - NIGHT

Alice, behind the counter, closes up shop for the night.Next to the counter is an office door and from behind it,

MUFFLED YELLING.

She cautiously presses her ear to the door.

MARCEL (O.S.)It's being taken care of as we speak,Mister Cho.

XIAOFENG (O.S.)And what am I supposed to do in themeantime!? My place is ruined, peopleno longer feel safe!

MARCEL (O.S.)And we're very sorry for that, butbesides the money, there's nothingmore we can do for you.

XIAOFENG (O.S.)You can hire bouncers who are wortha squirt of piss! What the hell doI pay you for!?



42.

The doorknob turns--Alice jumps back to the counter and looksat her phone.

MARCEL (O.S.)For that briefcase on your desk,Mister Cho. Goodnight.

The door opens and Marcel exits. Marcel smiles at Alice onhis way out. Xiaofeng, arm in a bulky sling, stands in thedoorway.

[[Subtitled Mandarin]]

XIAOFENGThis is your fault. You and thatawful gang of bitches. Do you evenrealize what you've done? You thinkthis place pays the bills? We'll belucky to recoup our losses by theend of the year! If you think any

of this money is going to your collegefund, you are sorely mistaken. Foryou, it is a scholarship or nothingat all!

(beat)Are you listening to me!?

She pockets her phone and heads for the exit. Xiaofeng grabsher arm to stop her--she turns and punches his immobilizedshoulder.

He yells in pain and falls to the ground.

ALICEI don't want your money!

She exits.


Gracie speeds along the bike lane, headphones on.

A blacked out luxury car pulls up beside her at the light.She steals a glance at it and keeps her eyes forward.

EXT. JONES HOME - NIGHT

Whitney exits the house, two trashbags in hand. She dropsthem in the cans and walks to her car parked nearby. Sheproduces another trashbag, unfolds it, opens her car door,and leans in.

MALE VOICE (O.S.)Scuse me.



43.

WHITNEYNot buying.

MALE VOICE (O.S.)I'm not soliciting, I need directions.

She grabs her taser from the center console.


Nearing her block, Gracie's bike hits a nasty bump and herrear tire goes flat.

GRACIEOh goddamn it.

She slows and looks back at the tire--she shifts into lowergear and trudges on, the tire THUDDING with each revolution.

EXT. JONES HOME - NIGHT

Whitney conceals the taser, closes the car door and turns tothe man--Gilles.

WHITNEYWhere you tryna go?

Gilles holds his phone out for her to see--

GILLESWell, if you look, the address doesn'tshow up on the map.

She looks at the phone--Gilles produces a small ivory handleddagger and plunges it into Whitney's gut twice.

Whitney grabs Gilles' hand as he attempts another stab--hesmacks his palm into her temple.

Her grip on Gilles' knife hand gives and the knife landshome for a third hit. Whitney screams weakly--Gilles quicklysurveys the empty block.

He turns back to Whitney--she shoots the taser into his chest.

Gilles releases the knife, convulses, and both fall to theirknees. Whitney smashes the butt of the taser into his faceand they both fall onto their backs.

Blood pools around Whitney as her breathing weakens. Shereleases the taser, pulls the knife out, and collapsesunconscious.

Gilles, twitching, gets up, and angrily yanks the taserelectrodes from his chest.



44.

He bends down, retrieves his knife, wipes it clean onWhitney's shirt, pockets it, and holds his head as he walksaway briskly.

He rounds the corner and Gracie passes by him on her bike.Gracie eyes him as she rounds the corner towards the house.

She dismounts the bike and carries it inside.

INT. LIVING ROOM, JONES HOME - CONTINUOUS

Gracie sets her bike down, presses on the flat tire with asigh. She enters the empty living room, a half smoked jointin the ashtray.

GRACIEYo, Whitney, you mind if I relightthat joint?

Silence.

GRACIE (CONT'D)Whit?

She peeks into the kitchen and heads for the stairs.

WHITNEY'S ROOM

Gracie gently knocks and peeks in.

GRACIEYou asleep?

She enters and pulls back the covers on the bed. She looksconfused and glances out the window--Whitney's bloody bodylies on the sidewalk in clear view from the window.

Gracie stares, wide-eyed, shocked. She blinks hard a fewtime, her breathing speeds, and she sprints for the door.

LIVING ROOM

Gracie hurries down the stairs, grabs the crowbar from behindthe TV, picks up her bike and slams the door on her way out.

EXT. CITY STREETS - MOMENTS LATER

Gilles presses a handkerchief to the small cut on his foreheadand holds his phone to his ear.

GILLES(subtitled HaitianCreole)

It's done. Absolutely, I'll see yousoon.



45.

He pockets his phone, retrieves an ivory cigarette case,slows his pace, and lights a cigarette. He stops, closeshis eyes and releases a tranquil plume of smoke skyward.

A crowbar CRACKS into the back of his head and he goes down,barely conscious. Gracie's bike speeds past, skids to astop, and she jumps off as it slides into the curb.

In a bloodlust, she runs to Gilles as he sits up--shedropkicks him in the face and he's out cold.

She smashes the crowbar into his ankle repeatedly until thejoint is mangled. She throws it into the ground and sits onthe curb, weeping.

Tasha and Stefany, across the street, chit chat as they seeGracie crying on the curb. They run to her--

STEFANYGracie, what's wrong!?

Tasha grabs the crowbar and looks at Gilles.

TASHAThis nigga try to hurt you?

Gracie, barely breathing, shakes her head.

TASHA (CONT'D)What--?

She points over her shoulder to the corner.

GRACIE(weak)

Whitney.

Tasha's eyes go wide and she bounds in that direction--sherounds the corner and stops, catching sight of Whitney'sbody.

She runs to the body and kneels in the puddle of blood. Shecradles Whitney's pale head and cries.

Stefany rounds the corner, sees this, and covers her mouth.

STEFANYLord have mercy.

She signs the cross.

STEFANY (CONT'D)Let her in, lord, let her in.



46.

Tasha screams and cries.

CUT TO:

INT. CHURCH - DAY

Whitney's funeral service. The gang fills the front pews.

Behind them some unknown faces, all WOMEN.

Gracie approaches the altar and stares at Whitney's urn.She turns to face the congregation.

GRACIEMe and Whit, we'd come to church abunch when we were kids. We nevergot much out of it--least, I didn't.I don't think she did. We didn'ttalk much back when mom was stillalive. But I've been reading. Onething going to school did for me, it

got me reading. Some of it got methinking about what we used to hearin mass. I don't need to be in churchevery Sunday to know Whitney's notgone. She's passed on, and it mightnot be to heaven or hell, but herspirit is not gone. She's stillwith us, today and every day, aslong as we remember who she was,what she stood for, what she foughtfor. I could sit around crying,asking the lord for a reason why,but I'm not. I'm not mourning her

passing, I'm celebrating that I knewher, and what she brought to theworld. I'm sad I won't see hertomorrow, but I know she wouldn'twant me to sit on that sadness andlet it tear me down. I'm gonnaremember her every damn day of mylife as the best woman any of uswill ever know.

Gracie descends the altar--Tasha jumps from her seat andhugs her tight, sobbing. Stefany joins the hug, then Jenaye

and Kendall and one by one the entire gang plus the unknownsare bunched around.

EXT. CHURCH - LATER

The funeral files out of the church, Gracie carrying theurn.

Sofia and LILI KHALIZAD, 42, approach.



47.

LILIGracie? My name is Lili, I workedwith Whitney. I'm so sorry for yourloss.

Gracie nods.

LILI (CONT'D)She really was an exemplary person.She told me what she and Sofia hadbeen up to after work. I would'vejoined if not for my leg.

She pulls her pantleg up to reveal a prosthetic leg.

LILI (CONT'D)Were you also involved?

GRACIEYes.

LILIThat is admirable for someone soyoung.

GRACIEThank you. You're welcome over thehouse anytime.

LILII appreciate that. I'd also like toextend an invitation to you, as wellas all of your friends, to the bar

after hours tonight.

GRACIEOh, that's very kind, but I don'twanna impose, get you in troublewith the manager. And besides, I'mnineteen.

LILII am the manager. And I don't carefor your age.

Gracie smiles.

LILI (CONT'D)Customers stay to drink after hoursevery night.

SOFIARegular crowd, full of obnoxiousmiddle aged men.



48.

GRACIEAlright then. I'll put the wordout.

EXT. BAR - NIGHT

A quaint neighborhood watering hole. Through the windows--

the whole funeral is inside, drinking rowdily, as well as ahandful of grumpy middle aged MEN. Jenaye, Kendall, and afew other unknown faces play darts.

Standing outside is the smoker's crowd--Emilia, Gracie,Stefany, Michelle, Sofia, Lili.

STEFANYI could tell she was proud of you.Not just recently, but always. Whenyou went off to college, she hadnothing but good things to say aboutyou. Not sure how she'd feel about

you smoking, though.

Gracie smiles and wipes her eye.

GRACIEI could say the same for you.

STEFANYI got kids, I deserve this everyonce in a while.

Laughs all around. And the lull...

STEFANY (CONT'D)Listen, Gracie, honey, I don't knowhow much more of this I got left inme. I still support you, but I can'tbe involved.

GRACIEI understand. Do what's best foryou and your family.

Stefany finishes her cigarette, flicks it aside, hugs Gracieand heads back inside. Lili follows.

MICHELLEYou said you nailed the guy who didit?

GRACIEYeah.

EMILIAIs he still alive?



49.

GRACIEYeah.

EMILIAWhat're you gonna--

GRACIE

Later. I don't wanna talk aboutthis right now.

She flicks her cigarette and heads inside, Michelle follows.

[[Subtitled Spanish]]

EMILIAI'm gonna fucking destroy him.

SOFIAYou may have to get in line.

Emilia digs her cigarettes out and offers one to Sofia--sheflicks hers, takes another one, and lights up.

Emilia sticks a cigarette to her lips and retrieves a smallhandheld blowtorch from her back pocket.

EMILIAYeah, but I think they'll make anexception for me.

She clicks it on and lights her cigarette with it.

SOFIA

Oh my god! Where did you get that?

EMILIAWork.

SOFIAYou're the crazy one, aren't you?

They laugh.

INT. BAR - LATER

Nikki and DANIELLE ANTONUCCI, 22, approach Gracie, Tasha,Jenaye, and Kendall at their table.

NIKKIGracie! This is my sister, Danielle.

DANIELLEHi.

Gracie extends her hand and they shake.



50.

GRACIEGracie.

NIKKIAnd that's Kendall, Tasha, and Jenaye.

DANIELLE

Nice to meet you. I just wanna saythanks. After the police told methey threw out my case, I just wantedto stay in bed, stop living...butNikki told me what you guys did tohim. It just, it feels like...thanks.Thank you, all of you.

KENDALLYou're welcome. To join the crew,if you'd like.

DANIELLE

If I find some time between gradschool applications, I will be there.

(beat)And, I heard about your sister--I'msorry for your loss.

Gracie nods. She stands and turns to Lili behind the baracross the room, chatting with Sofia and Stefany.

GRACIEHey Lili!

Most of the bar turns to her.

GRACIE (CONT'D)What was Whitney's favorite beer?

Tasha, Kendall, Sofia, Lili and Gracie all shout it out--

ALLDogfish Ninety!

Some laughs and cheers from the crowd.

GRACIE

We're bout to toast her. A round ofit for everyone, on me.

LILIOn the house!

Louder cheers--the male patrons at the far end of the barraise their glasses and cheer too.



51.

LILI (CONT'D)Not you! You're still paying.

One of the men--MARCO D'ANTONINI, 41, balding, a bit pudgy,and drunk red in the face--drops his hands on the bar,annoyed.

MARCOBullshit!

All the women in the house boo him and throw crumpled uptrash his way--he swats some of it away and angrily standsup.

MARCO (CONT'D)Knock that shit off, you twats!

Sofia, Michelle, Tasha, Gracie, and Jenaye jump to theirfeet and rush him.

LILINo, no!

Kendall hurries to them and puts a calming hand on Tasha'sshoulder--one of the men drinking with Marco steps in frontof him, arms out.

MARCO'S FRIENDEasy, ladies, he's drunk and hiswife left him, just let this oneslide.

GRACIE

You think I give a fuck!?

MICHELLEHard to believe she didn't wannastay with a charmer like you.

MARCOFuck off, dyke bitch!

Another rush forward--Kendall pushes in front of them andstops them.

KENDALLNot worth it. Not tonight.

GRACIEYeah. You're right.

MARCO'S FRIENDMarc, come on, let's get outside,get some fresh air. Come on.



52.

TASHABest tell your mans to watch hisback!

The guy ushers Marc out the door.

GRACIE

Sorry bout that, Lili.

LILIYou said something about a toast?

CUT TO:

Twenty something glasses full of beer are lined up on thebar--every woman in house grabs one, passes them around, andGracie jumps up onto the bar.

GRACIEAlright, everyone. I see some new

faces in the crowd tonight, I wannathank y'all for coming to honor mysister.

She holds her glass up--they all do the same.

GRACIE (CONT'D)Here lies Whitney Jones--not in ajar full of ashes, but in the spiritof every woman strong enough to say'no more!'

KENDALL

Here here!

Gracie drinks and every woman in house does the same. Somebreak off immediately, some hang on for a few seconds--Gracie,Tasha, Kendall, and Michelle finish bottoms up.

Cheers from the crowd.

Montage: more rowdy drinking as the night wears on.

EXT. BAR - LATER

Marco and his friend lean against the wall with cigarettes.

The women file out of the bar, talking amongst themselves,lighting up cigarettes.

GRACIEAlright, Amber and Rachel, I gotyour numbers, I'll hit you up fornext time!



53.

The crowd disperses. Some mount bikes, some walk off ingroups, etc.

Marco singles out Michelle--

MARCOThanks for ruining my night.

His friend shakes his head and tries to shush him.

MICHELLEYou're so welcome! I hope sheremarries you so she can leave youagain.

Marco stomps toward her.

MARCOYou fucking bitch, you don't knowanything about me!

Every woman in earshot stops and turns to him--he freezes.

KENDALLDude, you got like five seconds toapologize.

MARCOOr else what!? You gonna beat meup!? I'm a cop, honey!

Emilia, unlit cigarette in mouth, steps forward.

EMILIAYeah? You got a badge?

He digs it out of his pocket--Emilia snatches it out of hishand, produces the blowtorch from her back pocket and firesit up.

TASHAOh no she ain't gonna!

She lights her cigarette, places the badge atop a hydrant,and sets the torch on it.

Marco rushes forward--

MARCOYou fuckin tranny!

MARCO'S FRIENDShit, Marco!



54.

Emilia smacks the butt of the blowtorch into his nose--hetakes it in stride and punches Emilia in the back of thehead.

Tasha laughs, tackles him, and puts him in a sleeper hold onthe pavement. He elbows her in the gut and breaks free,onto his feet.

Marco backs away from the crowd of women forming around him,ready to brawl. He turns and runs.

Jenaye slips a knife from her pocket, takes careful aim, andlaunches it--it lands home in Marco's back and he falls flatwith a yell.

Jenaye fist pumps and high fives Sofia.

MARCO'S FRIEND (CONT'D)Jesus Christ! You psychos!

He runs over to Marco, Jenaye follows and grabs her knife.

JENAYEWe are psychos. Get the fuck usedto it.

She wipes the blood off on Marco's shirt and returns to thedispersing crowd.

GRACIEI'm finna drink more, who's down?

INT. JONES HOME - MORNING

Empty bottles and cans litter the coffee table.

Gracie lies sloppily on the floor, asleep. Emilia takes thecouch.

Gracie wakes up hungover, squinting, holding her head. Shecoughs a few times, sits up, and gazes at Whitney's ashtrayon the coffee table.

She rubs her eyes and downs a glass of water on the table.

GRACIEOh Jesus.

Emilia awakens.

GRACIE (CONT'D)Oh. I didn't even realize you werehere.

Emilia nods. Gracie looks a bit confused--



55.

GRACIE (CONT'D)We didn't...hook up, did we?

EMILIANo.

GRACIE

Okay, good. I do that when I'm drunksometimes.

EMILIAHook up with trans girls?

GRACIEAnyone, really.

(beat)Tasha's not here, right?

EMILIADon't think so.

Gracie sighs in relief. Jenaye, also hungover, descends thestairs and stops halfway down, sits, and rubs her temples.

JENAYEShe went back out to tag, her words.

(beat)That means graffiti, right? She'snot actually playing tag?

Gracie nods and looks at her phone: seven new messages. Shechecks them--all from Tasha, all pictures of graffiti muralsof Whitney.

GRACIEOh my god.

JENAYEWhat?

GRACIEWell--there's puke on the floor,but, besides that, check this out.

Gracie holds out her phone--Jenaye and Emilia look at the

pictures in awe.

EMILIAShe did that drunk?

JENAYEWho knew she was so talented.

Gracie examines the pictures closely.



56.

GRACIEThese are incredible.

(beat)I'm gonna post em on Instagram.

She glances down at the floor--

GRACIE (CONT'D)Actually think I'm gonna clean first.

CUT TO:

Montage: more murals and posted drawings of Whitney go uparound town, many of them captioned "#HereLiesWhitneyJones."

The same hashtag goes on Instagram pictures of various gangmembers and other unknown WOMEN in ski masks armed withvarious weaponry.

More beatdowns on men as the gang, nearing twenty strong but

absent Kendall, walks the streets at night. One of theirvictims, bleeding from the mouth, has his picture taken andposted on Instagram, captioned "Statute of limitations can'tprotect you #HereLiesWhitneyJones"

MATCH CUT TO:

INT. POLICE PRECINCT - DAY

That picture is on a corkboard with other pictures of thegang's victims, as well as the murals, a photo of Whitneypulled from social media, a photo of Marco in a hospitalbed, and a photo of officer Beale.

Standing in front of the board is DETECTIVE JIMMY CARTER,36, shaved head polished to a mirror sheen, button down shirtand a bright colored tie.

JIMMYOne uniform in the hospital andanother in a cast. We got...anything?Nothing?

He turns--barely any of the COPS in the busy precinct payattention to him.

JIMMY (CONT'D)Does nobody wanna chime in on thisextraordinary situation unfolding?We have a vigilante gang on our handsbragging about their work online andit's just another Wednesday for you.



57.

COP 1It's Friday, Carter. What do youwant us to do? We got the budget wegot, we can only run so many beats.Men getting knocked around forcatcalling don't really wanna bringit to the police.

Jimmy sighs and runs his hand over his head, claps and rubshis hands together.

JIMMYOkay, well, we can start makingprofiles, yeah? Large groups ofwomen, maybe those looking very angry?

COP 2That's any given Saturday nightdowntown.

JIMMYSo...shit? I guess? That's it?Let them escalate until they startopenly killing cops?

COP 3Please. It's a bunch of bra burners.Feminists are always gonna be angry.This is just another fad--it'll pass.

JIMMYThat's terrific police work, A-plus.Vigilante menace, treat it like your

fuckin teenage daughter.

COP 3Clearly you've never dealt with ateenage daughter before, it'sessentially an ongoing hostagenegotiation.

Some snickers around the group.

COP 2Jimmy, besides wait until they slip

up, there's not much we can do.

JIMMYI can't deal with this right now.

He angrily walks to his office and closes the door behindhim.

COP 1He on the rag or what?



58.

More snickers.

CUT TO:

INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY

Gracie pulls a packaged tarp from a shelf and drops it into

a cart pushed by Emilia, Jenaye in front. They continueslowly along the aisle and Gracie pulls down five more tarps.

GRACIEI just don't know anymore. Stefdropped, Kendall wasn't around lasttime, I haven't heard from Sofia orMichelle in days, Tasha might'vesnapped--

JENAYEI think you're overthinking it.Kendall's always uptight, you just

get used to it. And Tasha snapped along time ago.

GRACIEProbably.

They round the corner into the next aisle.

GRACIE (CONT'D)But Kendall's not organizing anything.That mean I gotta do it?

JENAYE

Well, you're next of kin.

GRACIEYeah, just, call everyone into theconference room and explain that I'mthe boss now?

EMILIAWhy not?

GRACIEWhat?

EMILIACall a meeting. I've busted intothe community center in myneighborhood after hours before,it's easy. Send out a group text.

GRACIECould work.



59.

Gracie grabs a hacksaw and a hatchet off the shelves anddrops them in the cart.

JENAYEIs all that necessary? I have plentyof cutlery to go around.

GRACIEMostly for show. I got some yardwork to do.

INT. LEGRANGE'S OFFICE - DAY

Same chair-facing-window setup.

LEGRANGEI trust your accommodations wereadequate.

(beat)Of course. It's been a pleasure

doing business and I eagerly awaityour return custom.

KNOCK at the door--BEEP and it opens automatically, allowingMarcel to enter.

[[Subtitled Haitian Creole]]

LEGRANGE (CONT'D)I'm quite busy at the moment, Marcel.What is it?

MARCEL

Gilles has disappeared.

LEGRANGESo I've noticed.

MARCELThe last I heard from him wasconfirming the hit.

LEGRANGEIt is done?

MARCELSo he said.

LEGRANGEThen he's to be treated as any otheremployee would when failing to showfor work.

MARCELWhat if he's been arrested?



60.

LeGrange laughs coyly.

LEGRANGEThe police and I have anunderstanding. Gilles is no longerwith us. Consider this a promotionfor yourself.

Marcel perks up to this.

LEGRANGE (CONT'D)Money will be wired to your account.I'll expect his replacement to behired within seven days.

Marcel smiles.

MARCELYes, sir.

Two BUYERS in suits poke their heads in.

BUYER 1Señor LeGrange?

Marcel turns to them and gestures towards the chair. Theypass him and sit across the desk as he heads for the door.

[[Subtitled Spanish]]

LEGRANGEGentlemen! Welcome to the UnitedStates. I trust your flight was

comfortable.

BUYER 2Next time I'd prefer a yacht.

LEGRANGEThat can be arranged.

As the door closes, LeGrange's chair turns, revealing hisburn-scarred face for a split second.

SMASH CUT TO:

INT. WHITNEY'S ROOM - NIGHT

Gilles is punched across the face.

Reveal: blackout curtains on the windows, tarp covering thefloor, walls, ceiling, and furniture. Sat in the center ofthe room is Gilles, a bit gaunt, tied to a foldout chair.Gracie, Emilia, Jenaye, and Michelle stand in front of himwith ski masks on.



61.

Michelle rubs her knuckles. Gilles recoils from the punchand can barely keep his head up.

GILLES(weak)

Water...

She takes a long swig from a water bottle.

MICHELLEWhat's he saying?

GRACIEThink he asked for water.

MICHELLEOh, this?

She pours it onto his crotch. He groans.

MICHELLE (CONT'D)Oh you meant to drink. I'm sorry,you shoulda specified. That was thelast water we had in house.

(beat)I'm glad I got back to you, Gracie,I am having too much fun right now.

Gracie chuckles and kneels in front of Gilles.

GRACIEHey listen, man. I get it, you gota job to do. Probably why you killed

my sister. But, right now, you gotthree options you gotta weigh out.First, say nothing and see how muchlonger you can go without food.

(beat)Second, you cooperate, and we giveyou all the food I know you want.Third--

He spits in her face. Jenaye smacks him on the back of thehead. Gracie grabs the hatchet from the floor behind herand holds it in his face.

GRACIE (CONT'D)You do some stupid shit like thatand we test just how far you'rewilling to go for your job.

She stands up.



62.

GRACIE (CONT'D)I'll give you thirty seconds todecide.

He curses them out in Haitian Creole.

JENAYE

We don't speak whatever languagethat is.

GILLESFuck you, cunts. And your freakladyboy friend.

Emilia looks unimpressed.

EMILIAThat the best you got, man? I'vebeen out for three years, I've heardso much worse than that.

GRACIEI'll take that to mean you're stickingwith option three.

EMILIA(aside, to Gracie)

You mind?

GRACIENah, go ahead girl.

Emilia produces her blowtorch from her back pocket and holds

it a few inches from Gilles' eye.

She CLICKS the starter--Gilles flinches, no fire.

EMILIAThis one always takes a few tries tostart up. The line is, let's saytwo point five. You got the over orthe under?

MICHLLE & JENAYEUnder.

CLICK--Gilles flinches again, no fire.

EMILIAOver! Pay up.

(beat)Third time's usually the charm, doyou really wanna test it?

Beat.



63.

GILLESStop.

They all perk up to this.

GRACIEAnd?

GILLESFood.

Jenaye tears open a jerky stick and pokes him in the facewith it. He stares daggers at her and she puts it to hismouth--he takes a bite.

GRACIEOkay, option two. Are you LeGrange?

He shakes his head no and Jenaye gives him another bite--hisswallow is labored.

GRACIE (CONT'D)So you work for him then.

He nods yes--another bite.

GRACIE (CONT'D)Who is he?

GILLESHe is a businessman from Haiti.

Another bite.

MICHELLEWhat business?

GILLESImport. Drugs, women--vice.

JENAYEWomen are a vice? Go figure, andhere I thought I was a person thiswhole time.

Jenaye opens another jerky stick and gives him another bite.

GRACIEWhere can we find him?

Silence. Jenaye pulls the jerky away.



64.

GRACIE (CONT'D)My sister said something to me beforeyou left her to die bleeding on thesidewalk. Work your ass off and diebroke, just like everyone else.

(beat)Do you really wanna die here and now

for a job?

GILLESI have loyalty. Something a womancould never understand.

Gracie pulls her gun out.

GRACIEMhm. Well I have a gun. I thinkyou understand that.

She cocks the hammer and points it in his face.

GRACIE (CONT'D)And its starter is a bit more reliablethan that blowtorch.

(beat)Where can I find LeGrange?

Emilia and Jenaye sneak sideways glances at Gracie, eyeswide.

GILLESGo to hell. And say hello to yoursister.

GUNSHOT--his brains litter the tarp and Jenaye and Emiliaflinch.

Beat.

GRACIEBring the rug in, roll him up.

She and Michelle head for the door.

EXT. JONES HOME - MOMENTS LATER

Michelle and Gracie carry a bulky rolled up rug wrapped intarp towards Whitney's SUV. Jenaye walks ahead and pops thetrunk.

Tasha, now sporting dreadlocks, approaches.

TASHAWhat up, lil G.



65.

GRACIET! Got the locks goin up?

TASHAYeah, felt like I needed somethingnew.

GRACIEI like it. It suits you.

TASHAThanks.

Jenaye goes to touch the locks--

TASHA (CONT'D)Don't.

Jenaye puts her hands up. Gracie and Michelle load thepackage into the SUV.

TASHA (CONT'D)(chuckle)

Damn, who's in the rug?

GRACIEDude that killed Whitney.

Gracie closes the trunk and Jenaye tosses the keys toMichelle.

TASHAOh, shit, you're serious. Alright,

guess I can sit on that. Where y'allheaded?

GRACIECross the river to drop him off,then to Emilia's rec center for themeeting.

TASHAWord, mind if I ride?

GRACIE

Not at all.

JENAYEYou alright?

TASHAYeah. I don't seem alright to you?

JENAYEYeah. Course.



66.

EXT. LANDFILL - NIGHT

Establishing shot.

MICHELLE (O.S.)Hang on, I've always wanted to trythis.

The engine ROARS and the SUV, trunk open, whips into thedirt lot and does a fishtail--Gilles' wrapped body launchesout into a pile of trash.

Jenaye closes the trunk from the backseat and the car drivesaway.

JENAYE (O.S.)A fitting end.

INT. COMMUNITY REC CENTER - NIGHT

Basketball courts, bleachers, and the entire gang plus theunknown faces from the funeral, plus another ten or so womenscattered around the floor, chatting amongst themselves.

Gracie, Jenaye, Tasha, and Michelle enter. Jenaye closelyinspects Gilles' ivory handled knife, very impressed.

Gracie hops onto the bleachers.

GRACIESorry we're late. Hi, everyone.Hope y'all had a good day. Firstorder of business--the man responsible

for Whitney Jones' death has beendealt with.


GRACIE (CONT'D)Damn, I did not realize we were sopopular. This is a good time tohave friends, because thisextracurricular just got risky.Anybody here not looking for a fightshould leave now.

Some confused looks.

DANIELLEWhat are you talking about?

GRACIEGlad you asked, Danielle.

(MORE)



67.

GRACIE (CONT'D)Some mafioso named LeGrange is runningdrugs and abusing women round town.He's already hurt two of our own,lord knows how many else. I say wesend him a message.

KENDALLWhat kinda message?

GRACIEA very loud one. One he won't forget.

Some murmurs.

KENDALLSo, organized crime? That's whereyou want us headed?

GRACIE

Far as I'm concerned, we fight forwomen. This dude is in import, thattells me he's probably got his handsin kidnapping.

NIKKIShouldn't the police deal with that?

GRACIEOur last two interactions with thecops haven't gone well, I see noreason to rely on them.

KENDALLI agree with that one. But this isway over our heads, Gracie. We can'tbring down an international crimering.

GRACIEWhy not!?

KENDALLBecause that's not my life. Justbecause I've committed some crimes

doesn't mean I want to continue doingso.

GRACIESo you figured this would just stopwith Whitney's death?

KENDALLIt's something to consider.



68.

She steps up onto the bleachers beside Gracie.

KENDALL (CONT'D)Now that we have the resources and amedia profile, I think we shouldopen a women's shelter.


KENDALL (CONT'D)It's more practical than trackingdown a crime lord, and it'll directlyhelp the most vulnerable women inour community. It's what Whitneywould've wanted.

GRACIEThat's a good idea. But I disagreewith you. If ending LeGrange'sbusiness connection means ending

slave trading, I think it's worthevery dime spent, every drop of sweatand blood.


KENDALLAnd where do you suggest startingthe search?

Beat.

ALICE

I think I know how to find him.

Everyone turns to her and she darts her eyes down.

GRACIESpeak up, go ahead.

ALICEMy dad hires bouncers from him.

The crowd escalates to a dull roar.

GRACIE(aside to Kendall)So, what? We vote on it?

KENDALLAnyone who votes nay would be put atrisk against their will.



69.

GRACIEWe have to split up, then. Cuz I'mnot dropping this.

KENDALLLooks that way.

GRACIE(to the crowd)Alright. We're gonna have to splitup.

Jenaye turns to the crowd--

JENAYEThis doesn't mean we love you anyless.

Laughs from the crowd.

KENDALLLeave it to you to make a joke atthe least appropriate time.

JENAYEThat way you don't have to, my dear.

GRACIEWe all wanna help women. Anyonelooking for the legal way, go withKendall. Everyone else, let's go towork.

Gracie jumps off the bleachers. Tasha, Jenaye, Michelle,Emilia, Sofia, Danielle, Alice, and two new faces--AMBERFITZGERALD, 28, colorfully dressed ginger, and ANA WACHZEWSKI,24, paler than Jenaye with jet black hair and clothes--bunchto her.

I/E. WHITNEY'S SUV - CHO'S LAUNDROMAT - NIGHT

The SUV is parked down the block from the laundromat, Michelleat the wheel, Gracie in shotgun, and Sofia, Tasha, Amber,and Ana in back. Sofia reads an old history textbook.

GRACIEI don't think the citizenship testsare that comprehensive.

SOFIAI still want to learn it, though.

AMBERMaybe don't rely on American textbooksfor American history.



70.

SOFIAI want to learn what Americans learn.

MICHELLEFirst step to being an American isnot learning what Americans learn.

SOFIAThat doesn't make any sense.

MICHELLEWelcome to America.

Tasha looks closely at the page Sofia reads.

TASHAMalcolm X is a subheading. Thisshit steams me, man. I woulda paidattention in school if they actuallytaught us who Malcolm X was.

ANAWasn't he like a terrorist?

Michelle and Amber suck their teeth and shake their heads.

TASHAOh no you fucking didn't--

Gracie's phone chimes.

GRACIEHold up.

TASHAYou hear this shit, though!?

ANAWait, I'm confused, what?

GRACIEThat was Alice.

TASHAGirl, we gotta talk later.

ANASure!

Michelle starts the car. Gracie and Tasha get out. Sofiabookmarks her page, closes the book and gets out.

Gracie unlocks her bike, mounts it, and rides down the block.Tasha and Sofia stand outside a nearby bar--Sofia lights acigarette and they appear nonchalant.



71.

Amber and Ana climb into the middle row of the SUV.

ANA (CONT'D)Okay, so what do we do now?

MICHELLEWait.

ANAI thought we were waiting.

Michelle rolls her eyes and sighs.

Amber signals for Ana to be quiet.

Three BOUNCERS exit the laundromat and split--

One gets into a car and drives down the block. Michellefollows at a distance.

The second walks for the subway stop at the corner. Sofiaflicks her cigarette as she and Tasha follow.

The third walks down the block. Gracie watches him as shefeigns inspecting her bike chain. He turns a corner andGracie hops back on her bike and follows.

INT. SUBWAY STATION - LATER

A train pulls into the station, stops, and lets off a handfulof drunk PASSENGERS. The bouncer boards--Tasha and Sofiaenter the same car on separate ends.

EXT. CITY EXPRESSWAY

Michelle speeds to keep up with the bouncer's car. It changeslanes up ahead.

MICHELLEShit.

ANAWhat's wrong?

MICHELLE

He's going outta state.

AMBERDo we follow him?

MICHELLENah, I'm breaking off. Tell Gracie.

Amber, phone already in hand, texts--



72.

EXT. CITY STREETS

Gracie follows the car at a distance. It stops at a redlight--Gracie grimaces and rides past it, through the light.

She slows down and looks behind her--the light turns greenand the car turns left.

GRACIEShit.

Her phone chimes--she ignores it, turns around, bikes to thecorner and stops.

A few blocks down, the car makes a right turn. Gracie turnsand pedals ferociously, parallel to the car's path.

She reaches the corner--the car passes through an intersectionwithin view.

She speeds to catch it.

INT. SUBWAY CAR

Four PASSENGERS plus Sofia, Tasha, and the bouncer. Allride in silence.

Sofia, seated closer to the bouncer, keeps her eyes lockedon her phone. The bouncer eyes her. Tasha, at the otherend of the car, keeps her eyes locked on the bouncer.

Sofia glances up from her phone, makes eye contact with thebouncer, and quickly looks back to her phone.

Tasha puts her hand in her pocket and slips the brass knucklesonto her fingers.

The train pulls into the station--as it slows, the bouncergets up, makes his way toward the door.

Tasha, hand pocketed, gets up and lines up at the door behindhim. He discreetly looks over his shoulder towards Tasha.

Sofia moves to get up. Tasha subtly waves her off and shesits back--

The doors open and the bouncer darts off the train--Tasharuns after him, Sofia jumps to her feet and follows.

INT. SUBWAY STATION - CONTINUOUS

The bouncer gives chase along the entire platform to a deadend. The train, pulling out of the station, passes by himand he jumps onto the backdoor platform of the last car asit leaves.



73.

TASHAShit!

Sofia and Tasha double over to catch their breath.

Tasha digs her phone from her pocket and dials--

EXT. CITY STREETS

Gracie breaks off following her car at a highway onramp.

Her phone rings, she answers.

GRACIEI lost mine. And Michelle lost hers.

TASHA (O.S.)Are you near the subway?

GRACIE

Yeah.

TASHA (O.S.)We lost ours but he's headed east,train number is forty seven ninetytwo.

From the grate on the curb beside her--a SUBWAY TRAIN ARRIVES.

She dismounts her bike, shoulders it, and hurries into--

INT. SUBWAY STATION - CONTINUOUS

Gracie, bike over her shoulder, vaults the turnstile anddescends the steps to the platform as the subway car doorsopen--the bouncer sits in the car with two other passengers.

INT. SUBWAY CAR - CONTINUOUS

Gracie hurries onto the train, leans her bike against theseats, and sits. She closes her eyes and catches her breath.

BOUNCERRough night?

GRACIEFlat tire.

BOUNCERThat's too bad.

GRACIENothing I can't handle.



74.

BOUNCER(beat)

Do I know you from somewhere?

Gracie chuckles.

GRACIE

Know how many guys have said that tome?

BOUNCERYou look familiar.

GRACIEGot one of those faces, I guess.

BOUNCERGuess so. It's a good face to have.

She smiles.

GRACIEWhere you headed?

BOUNCERWork.

GRACIEWork? Damn, at four in the morning?

He shrugs.

GRACIE (CONT'D)

Demanding job, huh. Must pay well.What do you do?

No reply.

GRACIE (CONT'D)Alright, privacy, that's fair. Canyou at least tell me your name?

BOUNCERRick.

GRACIEI'm Mary.

BOUNCERNice to meet you.

The train pulls into the next stop and the other twoPASSENGERS exit. The doors close and the train goes.



75.

BOUNCER (CONT'D)Looks like it's just you and me now,Mary.

GRACIEUh oh, you're not gonna take advantageof me, are you?

BOUNCER(chuckle)

Only if you want me to.

She laughs.

GRACIENo, thanks, I have a boyfriend.

BOUNCERI don't see him on this train.

GRACIEBecause he's stationed in Iraq.

BOUNCERWell, I can't compete with that.

GRACIEGuess not.

He glances at the lit-up rail map--Gracie stands and headsfor the door as the train slows.

BOUNCER

Look at that, same stop.

He gets up and stands next to her.


They both exit and go separate ways. Gracie rounds a corner,locks her bike up, and heads into an alley back the way shecame.

She tails him at a distance until he arrives at a highriseand enters. Beside the highrise is a fenced parking lot

full of flashy cars.

She smiles and digs her phone out of her pocket.

GRACIEThanks, Rick.

CUT TO:



76.

INT. JONES HOME - DAY

Gracie dozes on the couch, same clothes on.

KNOCK at the door. Gracie groggily awakens, drags herselfoff the couch--more KNOCKING.

She checks the peephole and opens the door.

Tasha, Jenaye, Emilia, and Danielle enter. Danielle carriesfour large coffees in a drink tray and Tasha has a half eatenchurro.

JENAYEWhoa, Gracie, you look like youhaven't slept in days. You shouldeat some acai berries.

Danielle hands her one of the coffees--she immediately drinkshalf of it.

GRACIEGood with coffee for now.

They all sit down. Gracie yawns and smacks herself acrossthe face.

GRACIE (CONT'D)Okay. I think I know our next target.

Tasha pulls a joint from somewhere inside her locks and lightsit.

TASHAYou found their turf?

GRACIEI found something. Bougie lookinhighrise, northeast side of town. Icaught up with your mark and tailedhim there.

EMILIASo what's the plan?

GRACIEHow much access do you have to yourworkshop?

EMILIAFull.

GRACIEGood. Danielle, does your studentID still get you into the chem labs?



77.

EMILIAOh I like where this is going.

DANIELLEYeah, it should.

Jenaye looks at her phone.

JENAYEWhoa, have you seen the Instagramaccount lately?

GRACIENo, what's up?

JENAYEThe Kurdish Women's Defense Unitsand the Gulabi Gang have bothofficially expressed solidarity withwhat they're calling the Whitney

Jones Militia.

DANIELLEThat's the coolest sentence I'veever heard.

JENAYEWent up on Jezebel this morning, wegot like a thousand new followers.

TASHAWhat's the Gulabi Gang?

JENAYEThe Indian version of us.

EMILIAThat India Indian or American Indian?

JENAYEIndia Indian.

EMILIADang, that's pretty cool.

TASHAWhitney Jones Militia...I like that.That's bad as fuck.

GRACIEMe too.

DANIELLESounds kinda like the DumbledoreArmy.



78.

GRACIEYeah, but Dumbledore wouldn't havedone what we bout to do.

DANIELLEDumbledore didn't do any of it, hewas dead.

JENAYEThat is true.

Gracie hushes her as she finishes her coffee and gets up.

INT. EMILIA'S WORKSHOP - NIGHT

Emilia, welding mask on, cuts a huge length of metal pipeinto foot long segments.

INT. CAMPUS CHEM LAB, ENTRANCE - NIGHT

Danielle enters with a bulky backpack and approaches thesecurity desk. A disinterested SECURITY GUARD keeps hereyes locked on her computer monitor.

Danielle swipes her student ID card on the card reader--nobeep.

DANIELLEScuse me, I don't think the thing isworking.

SECURITY GUARDSee your ID?

Danielle hands over her card.

SECURITY GUARD (CONT'D)Says you graduated.

DANIELLEEarly, yeah. I'm just finishing upsome thesis work.

The guard hands back the ID card and presses a button--BEEP.

Danielle sighs relief and heads for the door.

DANIELLE (CONT'D)Thank you!

SECURITY GUARDMhm.



79.

INT. LIQUOR STORE - NIGHT

Tasha heaves a 24-case of light beer bottles off a shelf andplaces it in a cart. Already in the cart, six plastic bottlesof high proof grain alcohol. She pushes the cart along theaisle.

Jenaye approaches and places a bottle of "Skinny Girl" wineinto the cart. Tasha looks at her, incredulous.

JENAYEI'll pay for that one.

TASHAAnd you ask why I call you a basicwhite bitch.

JENAYEThere are skinny black women, too.

Tasha pushes the cart to the cashier.

TASHAAnd none of them would be caughtdead drinking that. Diet wine,please.

JENAYEY'know what, how's this--bye, Felicia.

Jenaye whips her head away from Tasha as to flip her hair--Tasha just shakes her head no.

TASHANah. See, this is why I don't havea crush on you anymore.

JENAYEYou wish that were true.

Tasha heaves the beer case onto the counter and Jenaye getsthe bottles. The cashier gets to work scanning and bagging.

CASHIERGirls' night?

JENAYEExactly.

INT. CAMPUS CHEM LAB, BATHROOM - NIGHT

Danielle splashes some water on her face from the sink andtakes a few deep breaths, her backpack on the floor at herside. Another STUDENT walks in.



80.

STUDENTOh hey Dani!

DANIELLEH-hey!

STUDENT

How's it going?

DANIELLE(gulp)

Alright.

STUDENTDoesn't look alright. You sure?

DANIELLEUm, yeah, I hear back from MITtomorrow.

STUDENTOh. Good luck! I'm sure you'll getin.

DANIELLEMe too, just--nervous.

(beat)I'm sure it'll be fine, but still,major implications for my future areon the line so I'm a bit jittery.

STUDENTSmoke some weed. You got like a few

months left before you have to worryabout passing screening.

The student enters a stall. Danielle gingerly slings herbackpack over her shoulder and heads for the door. The trashcan next to the door is stuffed with linens--Danielle shovesthem down further into the can and exits.

INT. CAMPUS CHEM LAB, ENTRANCE - NIGHT

Danielle conspicuously strides through the door past thesecurity desk.

DANIELLEThanks, night! Have a good one!

She cringes at her own words.

SECURITY GUARD(not looking up)

Mhm.



81.

INT. JONES HOME, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Cooking utensils and cleaning supplies are scattered aboutthe kitchenette.

Gracie carefully snips the firing cap off a bullet, poursthe powder into a ramekin of powder, and places the cut bullet

onto the counter next to a dozen or so other cut bullets.

She goes to work on another--KNOCK at the door.

GRACIEWho is it?

DANIELLEDanielle.

GRACIEIt's open.

The door opens and Danielle enters, cautious not to bumpinto anything, removes the bag from her shoulder, and gingerlyplaces it in the center of the floor.

Danielle raises her hands and exhales heavily.

DANIELLEI need weed. Do you have weed?

GRACIETable.

Danielle grabs a joint from beside the ashtray, lights it,

and collapses onto the couch.

DANIELLEThat was the most nervewracking thingI've ever done in my life.

GRACIESome life.

DANIELLEYou making a bullet casserole overthere?

GRACIECasserole is white folks food. Thisis bullet jambalaya.

DANIELLEOoh, exotic.

GRACIEUnload the bag for me, could you?



82.

DANIELLE(hit on joint)

In a sec. I'm unwinding.

Another KNOCK.

GRACIE

Answer that?

Danielle gets up, checks the peephole, and opens the door--

Emilia enters carrying twelve foot-long sections of pipe,sealed at both ends, ziptied into a bundle.

EMILIAWho's ready to lay some pipe!?

She drops the pipes onto the floor with a heavy THUNK.

DANIELLE

You made those?

EMILIAI cut em.

Emilia reaches for the joint, Danielle passes it and shetakes a hit.

EMILIA (CONT'D)What's in the backpack?

Another KNOCK at the door--Danielle opens it and Michelleenters, shopping bag in hand.

MICHELLERubber cement, duct tape, cottonthread, check check check. Jenayeand Tasha are on their way in.

She tosses the bag onto the counter.

MICHELLE (CONT'D)What's in the bag?

DANIELLE

Explosive chemicals.

MICHELLEProbably oughta move it, then.

Jenaye enters, burlap shopping bags full of the grain alcohol.

Tasha enters behind her, case of beer in hand--she tripsover the bag and falls directly onto the case chest first.



83.

Everyone gawks at her, eyes wide--

TASHAOw, my titty! That hit right on thecorner, damn! Somebody move thisdamn bag!

She angrily goes to shove it with her foot and Danielleflinches to pick it up.

TASHA (CONT'D)What?

GRACIEYou almost just blew up my house, T.

TASHAServes your ass right for leaving abomb where someone might step on it.

Jenaye plops down on the couch and puts the bags down besideher.

JENAYEI'm inclined to agree with her.

GRACIEIncline later, we got work to do.

Tasha stands up, case in hands.

DANIELLEWe gotta drink all that?

TASHAHell no, why you think I got lightbeer?

She rips open the case, pulls a bottle, twists the cap off,and takes a swig.

TASHA (CONT'D)Feel better wasting carbonateddishwater.

She heads into the kitchenette and pours the beer into thesink.

MONTAGE:

Danielle unpacks three styrofoam boxes from the backpack andplaces them on the counter.

Jenaye and Michelle pour the beer into the sink two bottlesat a time and line the empties up on the counter.



84.

Gracie pulls a length of thread out of a saucepan of viscousblack liquid and hangs the coated thread on a strip of ducttape stuck to the cabinetry, alongside more coated threads.

Emilia holds one of the flexible black threads and lights it--it burns like a fuse and she drops it into the sink.

Jenaye holds an emptied beer bottle in place as Tasha poursgrain alcohol into it using a funnel. Once it's full, shehands it off to Michelle, who tops it off with a scoop ofbaking soda and a squirt of lighter fluid. Michelle handsthe bottle off to Danielle, who stuffs a ripped segment ofwashcloth into the bottle and duct tapes the bottleneck.

Gracie pours a white powder mixture into a tiny drilled holeon one of the pipes using a metal funnel. She inserts afuse into the hole and Danielle dabs some rubber cement ontothe hole to seal it.

Gracie writes "Here Lies Whitney Jones" on one of the pipe

bombs in marker and places it next to a lineup of elevenother pipe bombs and twenty four molotovs--every single onehas the same inscription written on it.

The gang sits around the living room, dressed all in black,drinks in hand, middle of a game of never have I ever. Someexcess grain alcohol and Jenaye's wine are on the coffeetable.

ANAAlright, never have I ever taken itin the ass.

Groans of disappointment and everyone besides Ana and Tashaputs a finger down.

MICHELLEWhat!?

JENAYEMissing out, honey.

ANAI just don't wanna try it! I'mperfectly fine with the hole that

lubricates itself.

TASHAMhm. Shit is dirty.

JENAYEMe and my ex fucked each other'sasses all the time...

(reminiscing)It was nice. Kinda miss him.



85.

TASHAWhere's your phone?

Jenaye points to it on the table--Tasha snatches it and stuffsit between the couch cushions, some of the girls laugh.

Gracie's phone rings--she gets up and steps off to the side

to answer it as the game continues.

GRACIEHey, what's up?

ALICE (O.S.)Did you go yet?

GRACIENah, we're waiting for Amber andSofia to get outta work.

ALICE (O.S.)

Oh...can I come?

GRACIEOh, Alice, I don't know. This isgonna be dangerous. You got yourwhole life ahead of you--

ALICE (O.S.)And I know exactly where I want itto go.

GRACIEYou sure?

ALICE (O.S.)I wanna hurt him. I've never beenmore sure about anything. This ismy fight.

GRACIEYou need a ride?

ALICE (O.S.)Yeah, can you pick me up on yourway?

GRACIESee you soon. Wear your darkestclothes, cash, no ID.

ALICE (O.S.)Got it. See you soon.

She hangs up and smiles to herself. KNOCK at the door.



86.

The entire gang gets up--Gracie and Tasha finish their drinks.

CUT TO:

EXT. LEGRANGE'S HIGHRISE - NIGHT

The SUV pulls up and double parks across the street.

The trunk opens--Emilia sits in it alongside two cardboardboxes and her blowtorch on her lap.

The doors open and the gang files out, bandanas or ski maskscovering their faces. Gracie arrives by bike and leans itagainst the car.

Emilia rips open the boxes, revealing the explosives. Emiliahops out, fires up her blowtorch, and lights a cigarette.

Gracie grabs a molotov and a pipe bomb, holds them out--Emilialights both.

Gracie strides toward the lot--everyone follows her, a litbomb in their hands.

Gracie throws the pipe bomb into the lot and it CLUNKS intoa luxury car--she winds up and pitches the molotov at thebuilding and the entire block is lit up orange.

The pipe bomb goes off and the car is wrecked.

INT. LEGRANGE'S OFFICE - NIGHT

LeGrange stands facing the window with a lit cigar. The

BANG from the detonation catches his attention and he leersat the lot below him as it catches fire.

EXT. LEGRANGE'S HIGHRISE - NIGHT

One by one, molotovs light up the building and pipe bombstotal the cars in the lot--with each explosion they all laughand cheer.

The fire rapidly ascends to the third, fourth, fifth storiesas the entire gang watches, enraptured.

EMILIAAll out. Let's go.

The gang loads into the SUV--Gracie and Alice linger andstare at the towering inferno.

TASHALet's go! Gracie, you gotta bounce!



87.

Alice hurries to the car, Michelle starts the engine anddrives away.

Gracie stands still and pulls the bandana down to her neck.

INT. WHITNEY'S SUV - MOMENTS LATER

All but Michelle gaze at the fire behind them as the cardrives away.

Gracie doesn't move, stood directly across the street fromthe fire.

TASHAWhy isn't she moving!?

ANAWhat is she doing!?

DANIELLE

Go, Gracie! Go!

JENAYEStop the car, Michelle.

Michelle slams on the brakes--they all look back to Gracie.

EXT. LEGRANGE'S HIGHRISE - CONTINUOUS

Gracie, eyes closed, takes a deep breath of orgasmicrelaxation and smiles.

SIRENS in the distance grow louder and the flashing lights

of fire engines, police cruisers, and ambulances approach.

INT. WHITNEY'S SUV - CONTINUOUS

Michelle slams on the gas.

MICHELLEWe gotta go.

ALICEGracie!

EXT. LEGRANGE'S HIGHRISE - CONTINUOUS

The fleet of emergency vehicles arrives and parks aroundGracie. FIREFIGHERS tap the hydrant and go to work dousingthe flames--barely any effect.

POLICE approach Gracie.



88.

POLICEMa'am, I'm gonna need you to putyour hands up--

One of them approaches, puts her in a hold, and pulls heraway from the fire--she breaks his grip and turns back tocontinue watching it burn.

Two more cops rush in--she kicks one in the chest and shovesthe other back.

The first cop comes back at her, baton ready. She squaresup with him as another cop gets her in a hold from behindand cuffs her.

GRACIEFUCKING PIGS!

The other two cops rush her, pin her to the ground, and beather.

The third cop stands her up and drags her towards a cruiser.She keeps her eyes locked on the fire the whole time.

INT. INTERROGATION ROOM

Gracie quietly sits cross legged, eyes closed.

The door opens and Jimmy enters, empty handed, sleeves rolledup.

JIMMYHi there. I'm Detective Carter.

What's your name?

Gracie leers at him. He shrugs and takes a seat across fromher.

JIMMY (CONT'D)Guess not. Y'know, we can find outwho you are one way or another. Areyou involved with the Whitney JonesMilitia? Is that you? Eyewitnessesto an officer shooting two weeks agoreported a blackish twenty something

female as the shooter, and that'swhat I see in front of me right now.

Same leer from Gracie--she holds this look perpetually.

JIMMY (CONT'D)You've caused nearly two million inproperty damage tonight.

(MORE)



89.

JIMMY (CONT'D)Now, I don't know why, but I wannafind out. I'm here to listen toyou. Tell me your story.

(beat)Do you have any idea who that propertybelonged to?

Beat. He exhales sharply.

JIMMY (CONT'D)The silent treatment isn't helpingyou any, young lady. You're lookingat first degree arson right off thebat--that's assuming nobody waskilled. If we find any bodies, you'refacing murder two, best case scenario.A plea is in your best interests.Start cooperating now, and the DAcan be convinced to go easy. Now,

do you want to make a phone call?Is there something we can do for youto make this easier?

(beat)It might not look like it but I'myour only hope. If I walk out thatdoor without a confession, you'refinished.

He stands up and starts for the door.

JIMMY (CONT'D)Last chance.

He grabs the door handle and pauses.

JIMMY (CONT'D)Have it your way.

BUZZER and he opens the door and exits.

OBSERVATION ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Jimmy closes the door behind him.

JIMMYShit!

He runs his hands over his head, rubs his mouth. A few COPSturn from the two way mirror towards Jimmy.

JIMMY (CONT'D)Book her, put her in the pen.



90.

COP 1We don't have enough.

JIMMYShe didn't lawyer up and we got herfor resisting arrest, that's enough.I want the marshal's report on my

desk by morning.

He exits.

CUT TO:

INT. PENITENTIARY, CAFETERIA - DAY

Gracie sits alone eating a tray of shitty food in the crowdedand bustling cafeteria.

A hefty, tattooed inmate--RHONDA, early 30s--approaches.

RHONDAWell lookie lookie at this cookie!You are a sight for sore eyes. Wedon't get many biracial beautiesaround here--besides myself, ofcourse. Stick with me, honey. I'llmake your time here as pleasurableas possible.

Gracie side eyes her and remains stoic.

RHONDA (CONT'D)Now, I should clarify--more

pleasurable than if you don't.Because, lemme tell you, sister, Ican be a goddamn nightmare, but I amnot the only dyke around here lookinfor fresh talent. You feel me?

Gracie finishes the last of her food, calmly stands up, grabsher tray, and WHACKS Rhonda across the head with it.

Rhonda goes down--the cafeteria immediately erupts in SHOUTINGand the GUARDS scramble into action.

Gracie stomps on Rhonda's head and kicks her in the sidebefore being tackled by a guard.

CUT TO:

INT. JENAYE'S STUDIO - DAY

Jenaye sits on her bed with her cats, eyes locked on the TV,phone to her ear.



91.

JENAYETurn on the news, right now. Channelsix.

The news broadcast--

ANCHOR

--leaving three dead and anotherthree in critical condition. A femalesuspect was arrested on scene withno identification and wasuncooperative. She is in policecustody awaiting trial.

JENAYEThat's gotta be her, right?

(beat)I'll call Emilia.

She hops off the bed.

INT. SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

Gracie lies on the cot in the tiny, quiet cell. She staresat the ceiling, catatonic.

TASHA (V.O.)I've been locked up awaiting trialbefore. I know they got her in thepen.

EXT. PRISON YARD - DAY

General recreation time activities going on.

MICHELLE (V.O.)Are you sure?

TASHA (V.O.)Not a doubt.

JENAYE (V.O.)Alright. I'm in then.

Rhonda, bruised up from the previous encounter, lies on a

bench press and vigorously lifts a shitload of weight. Ascrawnier INMATE spots her.

MICHELLE (V.O.)Yeah, fuck it, why not.

She racks the barbell and sits up.



92.

EMILIA (V.O.)I'll have the car ready in a fewdays.

Further down the yard, the SUV--now armored with steel platescrudely welded onto the tires and where the windows used tobe--crashes through the chain link fences with ease.

INMATES sprint for the downed fence and GUARDS scramble tostop them. Some GUNSHOTS ring out and ALARMS blare.

The SUV drives through the yard, dodging panicked inmates,and the trunk opens--Emilia and Tasha, ski masks on, holdonto tethers and lean out the back.

EMILIA & TASHAGracie! Gracie!

INT. SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

Gracie's eyes dart around the cell and she rolls over to goto sleep.

FADE OUT:

INT. VISITATION ROOM - DAY

Gracie sits at a table and stares at a domed ceiling camerain the corner.

The door opens and in strides BRADLEY WEST, late 30s, sharpsuit, sharp hair, and carrying a briefcase.

BRADLEY(chipper)

Good morning Miss Jones!

He sits and places his briefcase on the table.

BRADLEY (CONT'D)Or, may I call you Gracie?

Silence. Gracie glances up to the camera again. Bradleyfollows her glance--

BRADLEY (CONT'D)Video only. This is privileged.

GRACIEI don't have an attorney.

BRADLEYAnd that's precisely why I'm here,Gra--Miss Jones. Bradley West, West-Carter-Brown.



93.

GRACIEHow do you know who I am?

BRADLEYWell, a fabulous lesbian by the nameof Kendall Stephens informed me ofyour case, thought I could be of

some help. And wouldn't you knowit, I agree. She sends her regards,by the way, and told me to tell youto get out soon so you can get backto beating up catcallers together--which, by the way, I definitely didn'thear on account of some nastytinnitus.

Gracie cracks a tiny smile and returns to her stonefaceddemeanor.

BRADLEY (CONT'D)

Good news and bad news. Bad newsfirst--you're gonna have to stayhere until your trial. No family,no college degree, assaulting aninmate. Just doesn't look good.I'll ask for bail at arraignmenttomorrow but I can't expect much.

Gracie sighs.

BRADLEY (CONT'D)The good news, on the other hand, isjust overflowing. First, it'd be

awfully stupid for you to orchestratea jailbreak while in solitaryconfinement--besides that, theunidentified perpetrators yellingout "Gracie" could've been lookingfor any one of four Gracesincarcerated here. Three of themescaped. Guess which one didn't?

Gracie's face softens and she's intently listening.

BRADLEY (CONT'D)

That leads me to number two, I spoketo the warden, and you're coming outof the box, provided you don't assaultanymore inmates and that's a corollaryI'd like to stress. Third, I spokewith Detective Jimmy Carter--

(chuckle)Sorry, I just can't get over thatname--and, much like the actual Jimmy

(MORE)



94.

BRADLEY (CONT'D)Carter, he's got nothing. And heknows it. Your presence at the sceneis circumstantial at best and thefire marshal reported no conclusiveevidence linking you to theunfortunate conflagration in question.

The only thing the police candefinitively say you did is resistarrest. And why shouldn't you?Legally, you didn't commit any crime.

Gracie shakes her head with a smile.

BRADLEY (CONT'D)Fourth, even if any incriminatingevidence is discovered, I know theDA's office pretty well. They'remedia minded people, and they knowthat railroading an emotionally

distraught nineteen year old grievingthe loss of her entire family withina year's time is in poor taste, tosay the least, without more conclusiveevidence. Your assaulting an inmatemight look bad, but, again, think ofwhat you've been through!

GRACIE(going along with it)

It has been tough.

BRADLEY

In case they try to pull some racebait bullshit, I have the ACLU readyto sic the press on them. Fifth,turns out the unknown arsonistsresponsible for this tragedy happenedto kill one David Toussaint LeGrange,Haitian national. Well known friendof the police department's organizedcrime unit, if you catch my drift,and not everyone liked him over there.So there's some unofficial chatterthat the justice system kind of owes

you one--or rather, not you.(beat)All things considered, you should beout of here in less than a month,back to a life of law abidingcitizenry with an apology from thecity. Any questions?

Gracie looks like "not bad."



95.

GRACIENope.

BRADLEYFantastic. Didn't even need to openmy briefcase.

He grabs his briefcase and stands up.

BRADLEY (CONT'D)I'll see you in court. Take care ofyourself, Gracie Jones. You've gota lot of work to do.

END.

Documents

The Militia