The Equalizer

Previously on The Equalizer...

This is Melody, one of my oldest friends.

Mel, I'm gonna need Harry on this one.

- What do you need? - I need those freaky-ass

superpowers of yours.

How many others are out there

with nowhere to turn?

They have somewhere to turn. They turn to me.

She lied to her father.

And that dress she's wearing? She boosted it.

They just happen to be looking for volunteers,

and I'm thinking

about 25 hours ought to do it.

Detective Dante, his father was a cop, too,

who got busted for being dirty.

Now you have to admit it was kind of fun

playing outside the lines.

Playing outside the lines or crossing the line?

Whatever gets the job done.

Hey, mom, we don't have plans Saturday, right?

Is it cool if I hang out with a friend?

Who's the friend? Do I know her?

Or him?

Her name is Nicki.

We met at Grandhaven

while I was doing my community service.

Oh, is she a volunteer, too?

Uh, not exactly.

Okay, she was in detention, but for barely a year.

Mom, I swear, she's a really good person.

What'd she do?

She just got in a fight at the mall

and happened to have a pocket knife on her.

Which she says every 16-year-old girl

should have for safety.

Plus, the cop was a racist jerk.

So she's almost 18 and fresh out of juvie

for assault with a deadly weapon?

Ice is melting. I'm hungry.

You don't even know her.

How can you be so judgmental?

I mean, when you were her age, didn't you steal a car?

I shouldn't have said that.

We'll discuss your friend Nicki later.

Go get ready for school. You're gonna be late.

What?

What? Delilah's right.

You're basically telling your daughter

you don't want her to hang out with you.

Me at that age?

Hard pass.

Come on, you can't honestly

think that this is a good idea.

That is not what I'm saying.

Just don't judge a girl

by her record.

Got to go.

The cops said they couldn't help.

I just didn't know who to call,

so when I found your message board...

You might not even do this kind of thing.

Well, try me.

My daughter Maya,

she's always been happy.

She was always there to lift me up whenever I needed it.

She's smart, too.

She even got an internship

with that woman who she loves who's running for mayor.

Yep. But then...

She came home on Sunday for dinner,

and she never left.

And she's different. She's scared.

She won't eat and she won't go back to school.

Her friend from college keeps calling.

Even came down here, but Maya won't see her.

She won't tell me what's going on.

But the other day I happen to be walking by her bedroom door

and I overheard her on the phone.

She said, "what are you doing?"

"Why you doing this?

Just leave me alone."

I know it sounds crazy,

but I think someone's threatening my daughter.

And I can't help her.

Hi. Come... hi. Sit.

Doing a little Marie Kondo-ing?

The best therapy. Uh... no offense.

I didn't even know college counselors made house calls.

Well, when a parent calls with a concern, we take it seriously.

Anxiety is my dad's love language.

All parents. You missed a few days of school.

Oh, I burned out. Between,

uh, class and my internship,

it was crazy, I just needed a little me time.

You know, Maya, I'm not just a counselor.

If you're in any kind of trouble,

I'm sure I can probably help.

Seriously, I'm fine.

Your dad said he overheard a phone call.

Honestly?

I love him, but he's crazy. There was no call.

Really. I haven't been threatened,

I don't need a shrink.

Uh, what I need is about four seasons

of 90 day fiancé and a gallon of ice cream.

I'm okay.

She is not okay.

- What makes you think that? - Her behavior.

The girl put on a Broadway show,

but she couldn't hide the signs.

She was jumpy, fidgeting, and the cleaning

just hints at a need for control.

Huh. Interesting.

Oh, please. She's not talking about me.

Of course not.

And her dad's anxiety is off the charts.

Trust me, a parent knows.

Harry, were you able to access her phone records?

Yep, uh, she did get a call at the same time her dad

heard her on the phone, but the caller was using VOIP.

It's untraceable. Someone wanted to stay anonymous.

But she was definitely being threatened.

Maya got a bunch of Whatsapp messages at the same time.

This is from bringthepain91: "We had a deal.

I kept my end of the bargain. You better keep yours."

And "clock's ticking. Don't make me ruin you."

Someone was after her.

Can you decrypt the sender's account? Find out who it is?

Have you ever heard of the Arab spring?

Why would you get him started? Yes, you have,

because apps like this are so unhackable that dissidents

used them without getting caught and executed.

It would take me weeks.

Okay. I'm headed to the university.

See if Maya's friend can shed some light.

I have no idea what's going on.

And she won't tell me.

It's like she totally shut me out.

Her father, too.

It's why I'm up here to check up on her.

When did this all start? Two weeks, maybe.

She just woke up a completely different person.

Started drinking too much, uh, late to class.

Never wanted to leave the room.

Any idea what might have happened? None.

But last week she ran in here like she was being chased.

She tried to play it off,

but I swear, I caught her

checking out the window for the next hour.

I-I know I'm making her sound crazy...

No, you're not.

I think Maya was being threatened.

By who?

You recognize this username?

Bringthepain91?

No, but if they go to school here,

someone on my group texts might know.

Let me ask the hive mind.

Huh.

It's Jake Mitchell, captain of the baseball team.

T-That's weird. Why is that weird?

He's a frat boy jock. Maya hates jocks.

Why would she be DMing with him?

Hello, Jake. What the hell, lady?

Who are you? The original "bring the pain."

Maya Ruiz. Tell me about her.

Who? The girl you've been threatening.

I don't know what you're talking about.

Oh, strike one.

You remember now?

"Don't make me ruin you?"

And making threatening calls?

That's not what you think... Right. Strike two.

You running out of time, and like you told Maya,

"clock is ticking." So you ready to sing...

Soprano?

Okay.

Seriously, it was nothing.

Maya was...

She needed some extra money,

she was writing my papers for me.

Why the texts?

She missed a deadline on an essay.

I was gonna get an incomplete,

lose my eligibility.

So I sent those as, uh, motivation.

But that's it.

And I didn't call her. We were good.

She gave me the paper the night before last.

But it was weird.

She wanted to meet late, and she looked a wreck.

Said she'd been injured in a fall.

That's why she needed the pills.

Hold on. What pills? Oxy.

Instead of cash payment, Maya wanted pills.

How many? How many pills?

Maybe 20?

Hey. I've been calling.

Where's Maya? She's napping.

Maya?