Original subtitles

When you corner an animal,

if you give it room,

it will escape if it can.

Others will freeze, as if studying you, to see what you'll do.

Other animals, if you don't give them any room,

they will attack you.

We have to overwhelm them completely,

so that we can find out

how they will react...

in extreme situations.

SPAIN'S ELITE POLICE: BEYOND LIMITS

EPISODE 6 UNDER PRESSURE

I try to be a good leader.

I'd like my colleagues to see me that way.

I try to do the best I can,

to run things the best I can

so that they say, "If he can do it, we have to do it."

I thought that everyone at the warehouse had a magazine.

I want a recount done.

I mentioned it yesterday and it hasn't been done.

Either they're not listening to you, or you're not listening to me.

This is all new to me, to be honest.

Sure, I'm a senior officer, but...

OFFICER TIZÓN

...here, at times, I've been given

more responsibilities

and been put in charge of more people than I'm used to.

So you must prepare your gear ahead of time

and then you can take a nap or clean your gun,

but your gear must be ready, so that when the instructor calls you,

you can get here in less than a minute and you don't make us wait 10 minutes.

-Is that clear? -Yes, Instructor.

-Don't let it happen again. -Understood.

-Ready? -Yes.

One, two...

There comes a time when...

days just start to pile up,

it gets harder to get out of bed.

It starts eating away at you more and more,

making you doubt yourself, and eventually,

it disrupts your mind.

When there's a test and I ask for a five,

you give me a five. No more, no less.

What your performance on the test

is telling me is

that you don't want to continue here.

That is my conclusion.

From the minute they start teambuilding,

we tell them where this is going

and what they'll be facing. "Are you sure that..."

And that goes on for seven and a half months, until the end.

Experiences, examples, situations that keep getting harder.

But most of all, they need to realize what they're getting into.

Whether or not they're sure that this is what they want.

Come on, Tizón.

No. Don't...

Here.

Try to grab.

Not with the palms of your hands. If you can, at least try to grab him.

I know it's hard, you might miss him, but, shit, grab him.

He's offering you his sleeve. Go on.

No clapping, try to grab his sleeve.

But don't let him grab yours. You understand what I mean?

Nothing is a given.

Tomorrow you could go home with your tail between your legs,

having accomplished nothing.

You don't trust yourself when you attack.

You try to attack, but you know from the start that you're going to fail.

And that's obvious from an outside perspective.

You don't believe it. Believe it.

After all, I think my face is the reflection of my soul,

and people see right through me.

I'm sure you've all noticed...

that I've changed a lot.

Maybe not my personality,

but I have had some hard times.

Your own stress disables you.

It disables you intellectually and physically.

To be honest,

we're improving in other aspects,

but when it comes to operations in buildings,

you just can't get it right.

I told you, TAO is essential.

If you're not comfortable in TAO,

which is the G.E.O.'s bread and butter, you can't go on.

We've been explaining the same thing for 20 weeks. This is basic stuff.

I haven't discharged anyone yet because I'm figuring out a couple of you.

I don't want to make a mistake by keeping them here.

But if you make it easy for me,

I can speed up the situation and do it quickly.

You can get discharged on a Sunday.

I don't like to because it's the Lord's day, but I can.

I'm going to explain how we're going to perform the next exercise.

We're going to shoot with a MP5 PT and PT ammunition.

PT ammunition is lethal.

If we shoot a colleague at that distance, it's lethal.

We're going to play in a higher league. The major leagues.

Okay?

Each team, Alpha and Bravo, will be waiting on the third floor.

Are you clear that if you aim or sectorize wrong and shoot a teammate,

it'll be an effective shot?

The closer we get to the end...

the further away it seems to me. I don't know why.

Everybody says the usual stuff,

"Don't worry, it's a done deal."

"You'll see, things will get easier."

Everyone remain completely silent.

Roger that.

Cross it all the way. Advance to the column.

Proceed to the door. I'll cover you.

Roger that.

Shield and openings, stand by near the door.

Shield, roger that.

National Police! You are surrounded!

Come out with your hands up!

Clear!

Get in there.

I need you to stand by the doorframe.

No one's covering the right side.

This is the police speaking.

We are entering the apartment.

Come out with your hands up.

Okay, everyone.

Since when do you go ahead of the shield?

This is the doorframe. The right side isn't covered.

Okay, so I stand here and cover it.

Since when do we do this?

What stage of the course are we at? What week?

You're not thinking about how you're carrying your gear, your MP5.

You're not thinking about how your gear is set up,

you're thinking about the objective,

about the final purpose,

because you've got the rest of it hammered out.

That has to be imprinted into your tactical DNA.

Almost like a mutation.

Fire!

On the ground!

All clear.

20, this is 21.

Copy.

Any updates?

Two suspects in custody. In the living room and in the kitchen.

Everyone, group 20.

-Stop! Police! -Shit.

Raise your hands.

Grab him.

Come on!

-Nothing here. -Mejías, we're leaving when we're done.

Everyone, group 20.

Since we're not going to shoot at them, obviously,

we try to make the situation

as uncomfortable, tense and complex as possible.

To fill them with anxiety and fear of failure,

with unknown variables they can't control, a changing dynamic,

so that we can see what they're really like.

That was a complete and absolute mess.

Why? Because you don't think.

You just don't think. You have to know where you're going.

If you don't know where you're going, this is what happens. A fucking mess.

You would've gotten killed.

I think you like to put on a show.

And I don't like people like that.

I like people who are modest, who give 200%.

I don't like show-offs. You know what I mean?

You know where I'm coming from.

You have an assault unit next to you.

A bad guy could come out. A thousand things could happen.

So you have your finger on the trigger, your shotgun ready.

Take each shot as if it were the first.

Where do I want to shoot? There.

Clear!

Turn, pull, and down.

Maybe a dislocated wrist, a hamstring, maybe a dislocated finger.

There. Broken. That's it.

There it is, get in position.

While escorting a pope, be careful that nobody lays hold of him.

Because a simple tug will take him to the ground.

He is one of the most targeted public figures.

The escort detail has to give 100% to anticipate any move.

Don't step on the shield!

Dignity.

The biggest accidents in the G.E.O. have been in interventions from heights.

I have never seen a piece of equipment fail.

All of the accidents were caused by human error.

When we're doing knot progressions

350 feet above a courtyard, in the dark, and it's damp,

and you get stuck,

you'll say, "Why wasn't I more careful with my gear?"

There. Not here.

-Is that so hard to understand? -No.

-Do you know why I'm saying this? -He's coming down.

So why are you doing it?

Let's go!

-Change the magazine! -Take cover!

What is this?

-You're all dead! -Cease fire!

You're all dead!

Now's the time to get dirty.

Now's when our elbows will bleed a little,

to endure the abrasion the gravel of Kabul will give you when you hit the ground.

I'm beat, man.

-What a morning, huh? -I'm wiped out.

From the locker room...

From the locker room to the tennis court.

-From the tennis court to the kennels. -From green to red.

You hold the shield for a minute,

and when you get to the floor you can barely hold it up.

Did you see how Diego was shaking?

I don't usually get nervous like I did today.

I wasn't this nervous in Ávila.

I'm as nervous as I was our first week.

You were shaking. We said, "Look at his hands."

Anyway...

-Good thing she got her mother's looks. -What does she weigh?

About seven pounds. Six...

-No, sorry, 7.23 pounds. -Right now?

No, I don't know. We have to take her for a check-up...

It's after 15 days. Or a week. I don't know, I'm out of the loop.

-So she weighed 7.20? -7.23 pounds.

That's good. It's a good sign.

-What's your boy like? -I'll show you a picture.

Look how handsome. Blond, blue eyes. Huh?

-This is... -He looks like a model.

-Like a baby diaper model. -He's cute.

-Look at him. -He looks just like you.

A little, but...

He has his mother's hair and eyes.

I've been on my own for three years. I'm no expert either.

So, your girl is dealing with the two of them?

-Poor thing. -She's awesome, man.

Oh, my God. She is awesome.

We've been in the G.E.O. course

for at least about 200...

About 215 Mondays.

At least. Right?

It's been long and hard.

But that's the way it should be.

It's a lot of days, a lot of work, exhaustion, pain. And, at some point,

you lose your concentration. That's when everything you've been doing,

if you were doing it right,

there comes a time when you start making one mistake,

and another, and another...

Come on!

-Let's go! -Come on, get down here.

Acha, hold on.

As you descend, slow down on the last floor.

-Keep your hands closer to your chest. -Okay, next.

Del Arco, use your feet, for your own sake.

Come on...

When you get here, you're so eager to let go, you fall.

And your feet were placed wrong from the start.

By the time you've performed

200 descents, or 500, or 1,000,

as we have, your vertebrae will be shattered.

You're slow at the top,

but when you get to the bottom, you don't slow down and you let go.

Go!

Use your feet, Gareta.

Your feet.

Del Arco.

Del Arco is going to break his ankles.

He's going too fast. Slow down!

God damn it.

-I think so. -He has a bandage.

I'll take a shower and then wrap it up.

Does this hurt? In the state it is, I don't know if it's good for you.

Does it hurt a lot?

Does it hurt?

-Did the bones snap? -The bones and the Achilles tendon.

Did you take a little plastic flag from here?

Yes.

...25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30!

-What course is this? -The 30th!

-Long live the G.E.O.! -Hurrah!

-Long live the National Police! -Hurrah!

I can't walk.

If I could walk, I would. If I could run, I would, even with pain.

But I can't even stand on it.

I just can't.

It's too bad.

My pride hurts more than my foot.

Because, shit, I like it here, man.

I feel at home here.

But you have to be honest with yourself, and...

I just can't walk.

I can't stand on it.

We were alike, we were together all day long.

We told each other everything.

We were very much alike. It really hurt to see him go.

It hurts.

I don't know why.

But...

I'm really sad that he's gone.

But...

it's like he told me.

I have to do it for him, I have to keep going, giving my all.

We're going to be friends for the rest of my life.

I'm certain of that.

It's...

really sad, very... I don't know. It really upset me.

Class! Everyone get out there! Time to work!

I don't think you'll need it, you'll go for the clash,

and this and that. Up and down.

Either fist or feet is fine. This works and this works.

All right?

We're still at an early stage.

There are many mistakes when it comes to performing the exercises.

But the difference between the beginning,

when you could see fear and insecurity in their faces...

Stop! In the corner.

Their faces look different now.

What we have now are people who are determined to be here.

They are confident that they can take on anything we throw at them,

and they like it.

Are you okay?

You have to hurt him. Hard. Really hard, so that it delivers.

It's not aggressiveness as such.

I'm talking about a way to push them,

to show that they are in control, they're charge of the situation.

Stop.

It's a way for them to trust themselves,

to feel powerful, competent and capable of carrying out an operation.

Box.

It's the foundation, the grounds,

dominating yourself and knowing how to act with a cool head, doing it right,

and reasonably.

Stop!

Stop! In the corner.

-Are you all right? -Yes.

I caught...

a glimpse of what I want to see today.

I saw a light at the end of the tunnel,

a glimpse of your future potential.

The base feels like home. The corridor we're in feels like home.

And the rest of the facility.

I mean, this year I've spent more time here than at home.

So, yes, it becomes your home.

It's my second home.

After all our teamwork,

we've managed to become a group that's...

strong enough

and united.

I think that all of our work is finally paying off.

I like what they've made out of us.

Everything revolves around this emblem, this base,

this way of life.

My pastimes,

my hobbies,

my free time, they all revolve around the G.E.O.

I can't imagine my life without the G.E.O.

You have to turn. Remember to turn.

When I get down, I brake.

If it's a helicopter, I don't want to get spun.

And if I don't have one, I lie down to make it harder for them.

If they start shooting at that car, what will you do?

You'll die like a rat.

For 24 hours a day, it has to be their life.

That's how you have to see it.

They are soaking up that culture. "My life is here.

"This is it. This is who I want to be."

When you come here and put on your uniform,

you have to be 100% focused on this.

If you have a problem outside, leave it in your locker.

Lock it up and leave it there.

If you're thinking about something else, you can't do it.

-Good morning, class. -Good morning.

Álvarez.

-Yes, sir. -Do you have something to tell us?

-It's hard, but yes. -Huh?

It's hard, but yes.

This is your moment.

I think everyone is more or less aware of my situation.

I believe I should be at home, helping my family,

so I've decided to leave the course.

Because I have to be home or things might get worse.

So that's what I've decided to do.

I wanted to thank you for everything.

Over the months, I've grown as a person,

I have learned so much, and I'm never going to forget that,

or any of you or my colleagues.

How we love an early rise

And next to Sasha wake up

If I slack off on this course

I'll never make the G.E.O. force

But if I work myself to death

Someday I'll be an operative!

-Class! -30th!

-Long live Spain! -Hurrah!

-Long live the G.E.O.! -Hurrah!

-Good luck with the baby. -Thank you.

Most of what we do in the course are things we encounter in real operations.

When we say, "Either work as a team or you'll have a hard time,"

it's because, out there, we either work as a team or we have a hard time.

It's your only family.

We have to stick together.

The G.E.O. is responsible for the security of high-risk Spanish embassies

such as the one in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Taking fire from the right!

We are inside the vehicle.

Alcántara, I'll cover you, go!

Coming!

Our big problem is that we're going to have wounded people

in areas where assistance may be either slow or inaccessible.

You're exposed in the line of fire!

They're shooting!

-You are exposed! -On the ground! That's it.

We try to explain to them

that they must be able to understand the situation

and take the right action.

It's no use getting to a wounded operative

and starting a medical procedure on him

if you're in the open and both the wounded and the helping operative can get shot.

Incoming fire from 12 o'clock!

If you don't check the chamber, you run out of ammo, champ.

How many times do I have to say it?

-They're like a bunch of old ladies. -Yeah.

-Jump, jump! -On it.

Tizón, are your comms not working?

Alcántara, whenever you're ready.

-Let's go. -Come on. Good.

Each individual's performance,

with the exception of Alcántara, was abysmal.

Good job.

Considering the crew you had with you, good job.

You're overwhelmed by the situation.

Your hands shake when you put a magazine in your pocket.

When I see someone trying to put a...

This says everything about you.

It's like, "Please, get in there already, they're looking at me."

Or, "They're shooting at me." I don't care.

That simply cannot happen at this stage.

Tizón, from this position, by the cars,

do you think you can organize the chaos that was going on over there by shouting?

No.

First of all, my position would be over there.

And second, I have communication equipment.

I'm not hearing any communication.

To be able to work as a team,

they have to be able to communicate as a team and have everyone understand.

We're holed up behind the car. I won't move until you get here.

That's what I want to hear.

It takes a lot of work.

To be able to, with just a look, communicate what I want people to do.

Let's go! Move out!

I know my people even at a distance, just by the way they move.

I can see how they're feeling just by looking at their face,

and decide who I can or can't send to a certain position.

Evacuate.

Everyone, out of here.

You have to reach that level of understanding.

End of exercise. Safeties on.

Safeties on, everyone. Come over here.

You're improving.

-One of the best performances I've seen. -It wasn't bad.

This was the first exercise I believed from an outside perspective

and understood what was going on.

This is what I want from a debriefing, to believe in what is going on,

and now each of us is shaping the fine details of the drawing.

We have to make very fast decisions,

and we have to trust the one in charge.

We also look at who is good at leading and who is good at obeying.

Because both are necessary.

But it's not blind obedience or tyrannical leadership.

This is just how we function.

We need quick decision-making during operations.

We can't set up a...

a council, a meeting, a poll, an assembly.

The G.E.O. is not a democratic unit.

Class, attention, now.

Mistakes motivate me. This is where we have to fail.

This is where we fail a thousand times,

so that we don't fail when we go out to play.

So mistakes motivate me. They don't bring me down.

I don't want to see anyone looking down anymore.

I think people respect Pelayo because...

Not for what he is,

but because of how he is.

You are the guard

of good habits and customs of the 30th G.E.O. course.

I'm putting you in charge of that.

When one of you is late, everyone is late.

You can't say, "It was his fault."

You say, "It was me, my group." That's all.

My idea was to punish

those involved in this small mistake, or big mistake, this Monday,

but we are all involved.

We are a team, we are a group.

That's the way it is. We don't go until everyone is here.

We don't leave anyone behind, and we're all late.

Let's go for a swim.

Now.

Auctoritas is the ideal

of having people respect you because you've earned their trust.

They know you're capable

and that the things you say are based on good judgement.

You're a leader.

Gather round.

I don't ever want anyone else on this course

to be one minute late for anything other than death or amputation.

-Yes, sir. -Is that clear?

It's the last time I get in the pool because of one of you.

-You hear me, Gareta? -Yes, Instructor!

-Let's get out. -Yes, sir.

Potestas are your stripes.

But the leadership in these units doesn't just depend on one's rank.

Come on, get out.

It's also important to pull your weight.

Tizón has been reprimanded many times for not pulling his weight.

If you've chosen the path of leadership,

you have to act like one.

Tizón, with full equipment, goggles and hearing protection, okay?

-Okay? -Yeah.

Let's see who's late.

You have to earn the respect of your people.

Their genuine respect.

So that if I take off this insignia

and continue talking,

they will still listen to me because they know I have good judgment.

I think a leader is essential

for a team to survive and for things to go smoothly.

But, well... I don't know...

if I've been a good leader or not. I don't know.

That's for my colleagues to decide.