The Wire, Season 1

Man On Stoop:
I'm sayin', every Friday night in an alley behind the Cut Rate, we rollin' bones, you know? I mean all them boys, we roll til late.

McNulty:
Alley crap game, right?

Man On Stoop:
Like every time, Snot, he'd fade a few shooters, play it out til the pot's deep. Snatch and run.

McNulty:
What, every time?

Man On Stoop:
Couldn't help hisself.

McNulty:
Let me understand. Every Friday night, you and your boys are shooting craps, right? And every Friday night, your pal Snot Boogie… he'd wait til there's cash on the ground and he'd grab it and run away? You let him do that?

Man On Stoop:
We'd catch him and beat his ass but ain't nobody ever go past that.

McNulty:
I gotta ask ya: If every time Snotboogie would grab the money and run away, why'd you even let him in the game?

Man On Stoop:
What?

McNulty:
If Snotboogie always stole the money, why'd you let him play?

Man On Stoop:
Got to. This America, man.

McNulty:
All I did was answer the guy's questions, he's a f***ing judge.

Landsman:
And the Deputy's the f***ing Deputy, and he, not the judge, has what's left of your be-shitted career in his hot little hands.

Bunk:
[to McNulty] That will teach you to give a f*** when it ain't your turn to give a f***.

Kima:
Fighting the war on drugs... one brutality case at a time.

Carver:
Girl, you can't even think of calling this shit a war.

Herc:
Why not?

Carver:
Wars end.

Bunk:
[to dead body] You moldering motherf***er don't even think about coming back a murder. Don't even think of that shit.

Marla Daniels:
You cannot lose if you do not play.

McNulty:
This is just us talking right? Just you, me, my partner and... what did you say your name was?

Bodie:
I didn't say shit.

McNulty:
Just you, me, my partner and Mr. Shit here.

Rawls:
McNulty! Where in f*** is he?

Landsman:
I- uh... he's detailed, Major, to narcotics.

Rawls:
I f***in' know where he's detailed. I f***in' already know that.

[about chicken nuggets]

Wallace:
Man, these shits is right. Yo.

Poot:
Mm-hmm.

Wallace:
It's good with the hot sauce too, yo.

Poot:
Most definite.

Wallace:
Yo, D, you want some nuggets?

D'Angelo:
Nah, go ahead, man.

Wallace:
Man, whoever invented these, yo, he off the hook.

Poot:
What?

Wallace:
Mm. Motherf***er got the bone all the way out the damn chicken. 'Til he came along, niggas be chewin' on drumsticks and shit, gettin' they fingers all greasy. He said, Later for the bone, nugget that meat up, make some real money.

Poot:
You think the man got paid?

Wallace:
Who?

Poot:
The man who invented these.

Wallace:
Shit, he richer than a motherf***er.

D'Angelo:
Why? You think he get a percentage?

Wallace:
Why not?

D'Angelo:
Nigga, please, the man who invented them things, just some sad-ass down at the basement of McDonald's, thinkin' up some shit to make some money for the real players.

Poot:
Naw, man, that ain't right.

D'Angelo:
F*** "right." It ain't about right, it's about money. Now you think Ronald McDonald gonna go down in that basement and say, "Hey, Mr. Nugget, you the bomb. We sellin' chicken faster than you can tear the bone out. So I'm gonna write my clowny-ass name on this fat-ass check for you"?

Wallace:
Shit.

D'Angelo:
Man, the nigga who invented them things still workin' in that basement for regular wage, thinkin' up some shit to make the fries taste better, some shit like that. Believe.

Wallace:
Still had the idea though.

McNulty:
[after Sydnor comes out in disguise] Where's ya' mic?

Sydnor:
Down at my dick man. I figured they ain't gonna go down there anyway right?

Carver:
I don't know Sydnor, the way you twirlin' around, it might be the first place they look.

Pearlman:
[after having sex] You're an asshole McNulty.

McNulty:
What the f*** did I do?

Daniels:
Motherf***er, why didn't you call in sick?

McNulty:
I'm not sick.

Daniels:
Yeah, you are. Write me up a 95 on why you are physically unable to participate in today's activities.

McNulty:
You want me to lie so you can save face?

Daniels:
Go on. "I can't jump off with the rest of my unit because my tummy hurts."

Pearlman:
Let me understand. You're married and a date is a room at the Best Western with the blinds closed. Now you're single, and a date is you coming over unannounced to learn the legal requisites for a pager intercept.

McNulty:
Pretty much.

Freamon:
I don't wanna go to no dance unless I can rub some tit.

Poot:
How can he know where the stash at? The Narcos don't know, but he do, 'cause some nigga snitchin'!

D'Angelo:
Man, ain't nobody gotta be snitchin' for Omar, or one of his boys, to creep by and see where the stash at.

Wallace:
[to Bodie] How you ain't courtside for bankin' a narco?

Bodie:
Man, Boys Village ain't shit! I'm just too bad for that off-brand, lil' boy bullshit, man. It can't hold me.

McNulty:
I'm late for soccer practice.

Bubbles:
Suck what?

D'Angelo:
Yeah, but, Stringer, if you don't pay a nigga, he ain't gonna work for you.

Stringer:
What, you think a nigga's gonna get a job? You think...you think it's gonna be like, 'F*** it, let me quit this game here and go to college'? No, they're gonna buck a little, but they ain't gonna walk. And in the end, you gonna get respect.

Bubbles:
[to Kima] How y'all do what y'all do every day and not wanna get high?

Kima:
How complex a code can it be if these knuckleheads are usin' it? Then again, what does it say about us if we can't break it?

Omar:
The cheese stands alone.

Kima:
You saw the murder?

Omar:
Yeah.

Kima:
You can ID this man Bird as the shooter of William Gant? And you ain't afraid to go into court downtown and testify against one of Barksdale's people?

Omar:
Omar don't scare.

McNulty:
On this case, we're never where we need to be.

[Omar sits in the back of a police car in front of the towers]

Kima:
You worried about being seen?

Omar:
Well if anybody got a problem with me spending time with y'all, I'd be much obliged to stick my gun straight in they mouth.

McNulty:
[to Pearlman] They're gonna do me, Ronnie. I love this f***ing job, and they're gonna do me.

Bunk Moreland:
So, you're my eyeball witness, huh? [Omar nods] So, why'd you step up on this?

Omar:
Bird triflin', basically. Kill an everyday workin' man and all. I mean, I do some dirt, too, but I ain't never put my gun on nobody that wasn't in the game.

Bunk:
A man must have a code.

Omar:
Oh, no doubt.

Burrell:
[to Daniels] You're not wrong, Lieutenant. In this state, there's a thin line between campaign posters and photo arrays.

Omar:
Ayo, lesson here, Bey. You come at the king, you best not miss.

McNulty:
Lester, are we still cops?

Freamon:
Technically, I suppose so.

McNulty:
OK, I was just checking.

Herc:
What the f*** was that?

Carver:
That was my Korean counterman.

Herc:
Sounded Chinese.

Carver:
Like you can f***ing tell the difference.

Avon:
Ayo what's up playboy? How come you wearin' that suit, B? For real its 85 f***in' degrees out here and you try'na be like f***in' Pat Riley

Proposition Joe :
Look the part, be the part, motherf***er.

Proposition Joe:
I'm doing like one of them marriage counselors. Charge by the hour to tell some fool he need to bring some flowers home. Then charge another hour telling the bitch she oughta suck some cock every little once in a while. You know, keep a marriage strong like that. Speaking of cocksuckers...[Omar walks up]

Walon:
Look, forgiveness from other folks is good, but ain't nothin' but words comin' at you from outside. You want to kick this shit, you got to forgive your own self. Love yourself some, brother. And then drag your sorry ass to some meetings.

Bubbles:
Meetings?

Walon:
What the f*** do you wanna hear? That you're strong enough to do this by yourself? Gettin' clean's the easy part. And then comes life.

Judge Phelan:
McNulty, I hold you in contempt.

McNulty:
Who doesn't?

Rawls:
Listen to me, you f***. You did a lot of shit here. You played a lot of f***ing cards. And you made a lot of f***ing people do a lot of f***ing things they didn't want to do. This is true. We both know this is true. You, McNulty, are a gaping asshole. We both know this. F*** if everybody in CID doesn't know it. But f*** if I'm gonna stand here and say you did a single f***ing thing to get a police shot. You did not do this, you f***ing hear me? This is not on you. [McNulty nods] No it isn't, asshole. Believe it or not, everything isn't about you. And the motherf***er saying this, he hates your guts, McNulty. So you know if it was on you, I'd be the son of a bitch to say so. Shit went bad. She took two for the company. That's the only lesson here.

D'Angelo:
If anybody asks you if in you in this game, you tell 'em you in it for life, a'ight?. You play it hard, you play it tight, and you make sure niggas know you gonn' stand by your people. No loose talk, no second thoughts and no snitching. Play it like that.

Clay:
Erv, will you explain to this motherf***er just what the f*** it is he's doing here?

Burrell:
Lieutenant Dan-...

Daniels:
[interrupting] Excuse me, sir, but it's pretty basic. If the senator isn't involved in anything illegal, then he doesn't need to worry. I can't be any clearer than that.

Clay Davis:
Fool, what do you think? That we know anything about who gives money? That we give a damn about who they are or what they want? We have no way of running down them or their stories. We don't care. We just cash the damn cheques, count the votes and move on.

Daniels:
[stands] Anything else, Deputy Burrell? [leaves]

Bodie:
[on killing Wallace] Look, the man gave the word, so we either step up or we step the f*** off. That's the game, yo.

D'Angelo:
Where's Wallace at? ... Where's the boy, String?

Stringer:
D'Angelo, shut your mouth.

D'Angelo:
Where's Wallace? That's all I wanna know.

Levy:
Kid, you better think...

D'Angelo:
Where's Wallace? Where the f*** is Wallace? Huh? Huh? String? String? Look at me! Where the f*** is Wallace? HUH!? I don't want this Payless-wearing motherf***er representing me. I'ma get my own man. So just get back in your car and get the f*** back down south.

Stringer:
A'ight, you stupid motherf***er, you made your decision.

D'Angelo:
Yeah, I made my decision. Where's Wallace at? Where the f*** is Wallace? Where's Wallace, String? String! Where the f*** is Wallace? Huh? Stringer?!

Burrell:
You came into a lot of money quick. You can go to jail just as quick if I start asking the right questions. This case ends, or you are done. Hell, I don't even need you to lock up Barksdale. I can have your major debrief the detectives and type the warrants himself. This case is done.

Daniels:
You do what you feel. You wanna pull Avon in on half a case, you go ahead. You wanna put my shit in the street, feel free. But the Eastern had a lot of stories - mine ain't the only one. A lot of people came through that district. If you were gonna do me, I'd already be done. But there ain't nothin' you fear more than a bad headline, is there? You'd rather live in shit than let the world see you work a shovel. You can order warrants, and I'll serve 'em. But as long as I have days left on those dead wires, this case goes on.

Carver:
[observing Bodie beat a competing dealer with a bat] See, that's why we can't win.

Herc:
Why not?

Carver:
They f*** up, they get beat. We f*** up, they give us pensions.

D'Angelo:
All my people, man, my father, my uncles, It's just what we do. You just live with this shit, until you can't breathe no more. I swear to God, I was courtside for eight months, and I was freer in jail than I was at home.

Rhonda:
What are you looking for?

D'Angelo:
I want it to go away.

Rhonda:
I can't...

D'Angelo:
I want what Wallace wanted. I want to start over. That's what I want. I don't care where. Anywhere. I don't give a f***. I just want to go somewhere, where I can breathe like regular folk. You give me that... And I'll give you them.

Daniels:
[To Carver] Couple weeks from now, you're gonna be in some district somewhere with 11 or 12 uniforms looking to you for everything. And some of them are gonna be good police. Some of them are gonna be young and stupid. A few are gonna be pieces of shit. But all of them will take their cue from you. You show loyalty, they learn loyalty. You show them it's about the work, it'll be about the work. You show them some other kinda game, then that's the game they'll play. I came on in the Eastern, and there was a piece-of-shit lieutenant hoping to be a captain, piece-of-shit sergeants hoping to be lieutenants. Pretty soon we had piece-of-shit patrolmen trying to figure the job for themselves. And some of what happens then is hard as hell to live down. Comes a day you're gonna have to decide whether it's about you or about the work.

Rawls:
[To McNulty] Great work you all did. And the number of clearances I'm looking at here? I mean, Christ, for the first time this year, we got the clearance rate up over 40%. That's on the one hand. On the other hand, I know the Deputy Ops got a call from the First Deputy U.S. Attorney this morning asking whether an asshole such as yourself really works for us. And, of course, this is the first the deputy hears his troops are creeping behind his back, trying to take a case federal when they've already been told the case is closed. You're a good detective. And I've got to admit you got some stones on you. Did you actually call the first deputy an empty suit? [Chuckles] I want to see you land okay, Jimmy. So, tell me, where don't you wanna go?

Omar:
All in the game yo... [laughs] All in the game.

Landsman:
[about McNulty and Bunk] Look at 'em, Cole. Don't it make your dick bust concrete to be in the same room with two noble, selfless public servants?

McNulty:
See, that's what I don't get about the drug thing. Why can't you sell the shit and walk the fuck away? You know what I mean? Everything else in this country gets sold without people shooting each other behind it.

Heroin addict:
Got any testers, man?

Bodie:
Nigga, it ain't even 9:00 and you fiendin' on it. Get the fuck outta here, man! Damn.

D'Angelo:
Yo, why you act like that, yo?

Bodie:
What, for these junkie motherfuckers?

D'Angelo:
So you just gonna take his money all day and treat him like a dog?

Bodie:
How I'm supposed to treat him?

D'Angelo:
I don't know. But you ain't gotta punk him like that.

Poot:
He punked hisself. He a goddamn drug addict.

D'Angelo:
And you a goddamn drug dealer.

Bodie:
So? So what? Oh, what, the 'customer's always right'?

Wallace:
Yo, we in the projects. The customer be fucked up. You can't give these niggers shit, man.

D'Angelo:
Why not? Why can't you? Shit, everything else in the world gets sold without people taking advantage, scamming, lying, doing each other dirty. Why it got to be that way with this?

Poot:
'Cause they DOPE fiends.

D'Angelo:
Yeah, but the game ain't gotta be played like that, yo. You can't tell me this shit can't get done without people beatin' on each other, killing each other, doing each other like dogs. And without all that, you ain't got 5-0 down here on our backs every five minutes. Throwing us around and shit.

Wallace:
Sheeit, man.

D'Angelo:
You think 5-0 care about niggers gettin' high? In the projects? Man, 5-0 be down here about the bodies, yo. That's what they be down here about. The bodies.

Stringer:
Doin' good out there, D.

D'Angelo:
We'll be doing even better when we get that new package.

Stringer:
[laughs] New package same as old, man.

D'Angelo:
Say what?

Stringer:
Ain't no new package. Just gonna put that same shit out in a different colored gelcap is all. Might spike that shit with some procaine or some caffeine, but otherwise it's the same.

D'Angelo:
String, man, people already coming back on us tellin' us that shit is weak.

Stringer:
I know; shit is weak, but, y'know, shit is weak all over. The thing is, no matter what we call heroin, it's gonna get sold. Shit is strong, we gonna sell it; shit is weak, we gonna sell twice as much. You know why? 'Cause a fiend, he gonna chase that shit no matter what. It's crazy, you know. We do worse, and we get paid more. The government do better, and it don't mean no never mind. [pointing to the money] This shit right here, D, is forever.

McNulty:
How long you been in the pawn shop unit?

Freamon:
Thirteen years and four months.

McNulty:
Thirteen years?

Freamon:
And four months.

McNulty:
I gotta ask you, what exactly does a police officer assigned to the pawn shop unit do?

Freamon:
You intake reports from registered pawn shops on all items valued over $50. Then you make an index card for that item. Then you file that index card. If someone wants to find out if something stolen has been pawned, we look to see if we have an index card. If we do, we do. If we don't, we don't.

McNulty:
You did that for thirteen years?

Freamon:
And four months.

McNulty:
Why'd you ask out of homicide?

Freamon:
Wasn't no ask about it.

McNulty:
You got the boot?

Freamon:
Uh-huh.

McNulty:
What'd you do to piss 'em off?

Freamon:
Police work.

McNulty:
I think I need to buy you a drink.

Freamon:
Just one?

Avon:
[about Omar] He scare you, don't he?

D'Angelo:
You know, I'm just sayin'...

Avon:
He scares me. Yeah. See, if he dead, you know, I could carry it better. Commin' up the way we did, you know, you kind of expect that. Waitin' on it. See, the thing is, you only got to fuck up once. Be a little slow, be a little late, just once. And how you ain't gonna never be slow? Never be late? You can't plan through no shit like this, man. It's life.

McNulty:
[on their way to see Major Rawls] What the fuck can I tell him?

Landsman:
Whatever the man wants to hear, Jimmy. Whatever he wants to hear.

Freamon:
We're building something, here, detective, we're building it from scratch. All the pieces matter.

Daniels:
Major, I'm asking as a favor.

Rawls:
As a favor?

Daniels:
Yes, sir. A favor.

Rawls:
In that case... no!

Daniels:
The murder warrant's on hold. The deputy gave us another month. Also, whoever that was you brought in here today gave himself up as an eyewitness in the Gant murder.

McNulty:
Who, Omar?

Daniels:
And Greggs said to tell you she'd write it up in the morning.

McNulty:
Lieutenant - thanks.

[McNulty leaves]

Freamon:
It cost you?

[Daniels says nothing]

McNulty:
You know why I respect you so much, Bunk?

Bunk:
Mm-mmm.

McNulty:
It's not 'cause you're good police, 'cause, y'know, fuck that, right?

Bunk:
Mm. Fuck that, yeah.

McNulty:
It's not 'cause when I came to homicide, you taught me all kinds of cool shit about . . . well, whatever.

Bunk:
Mm. Whatever.

McNulty:
It's 'cause when it came time for you to fuck me . . . you were very gentle.

Bunk:
You damn right.

McNulty:
See, 'cause you could have hauled me out of the garage and just bent me over the hood of a radio car, and . . . no, you were, you were very gentle.

Bunk:
I knew it was your first time. I wanted to make that shit special.

McNulty:
It was, man. It fucking was.

Wallace's Little Brother:
Eight?

Wallace:
Damn Cyril look! Close your eyes. You workin' a ground stash. 20 tall pinks. Two fiends come up at you and ask for two each, another one cops three. Then Bodie hands you off ten more. But some white guy rolls up in a car, waves you down and pays for eight. How many vials you got left?

Wallace's Little Brother:
Fifteen?

Wallace:
How the fuck you able to keep the count right and you not be able to do the book problem then?

Wallace's Little Brother:
Count be wrong they fuck you up.

Omar:
Look man, I do what I can do to help y'all. But the game is out there, and it's either play or get played.

Freamon:
You follow drugs, you get drug addicts and drug dealers. But you start to follow the money, and you don't know where the fuck it's gonna take you.

McNulty:
Well, you know what they say: "stupid criminals make stupid cops". I'm proud to be chasing this guy.

Omar:
Hey, yo! Y'all need to open this door, man, before I huff and puff. C'mon, now, by the hairs of your chinny-chin-chin.

Terrell:
Omar, you best roll out. We up in here with a Mac-10.

Omar:
I thinks not, Terrell. I thinks not. Y'all might need to think this through and stop wasting my time. 'Cause Omar can come back tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day. And I will put a bullet in all y'all behind what happen right now, you heard?

[a garbage bag is dropped from the window and Omar inspects the contents]

Omar:
Fair enough.

Proposition Joe:
He said y'all would be paying my fee rather than his ownself...

Stringer:
Your fee?

Proposition Joe:
I'm doing like one of them marriage counselors. Charge by the hour to tell some fool he need to bring some flowers home, then charge another hour telling the bitch she oughta suck some cock every little once in a while. You know, keep a marriage strong like that. [Omar arrives] Speaking of cocksuckers... [to Omar] Don't believe we met. Proposition Joe. You ever steal from me, I'll kill your whole family. A'ight, you're both here on my guarantee, so respect that shit and say what you feel. I'm up out of here.

[Joe leaves. Stringer and Omar circle around the fountain]

Stringer:
I got a man who say, he gonna give you your life back, yo.

Omar:
Who? Barksdale?

Stringer:
My man say, "Tell that motherfucker that if he can find a way not to dip in our pockets, we gonna call this shit even."

Omar:
Y'all aced Bailey, and what you did to my boy? So y'all think after what you did to Brandon, we supposed to find some even on this, huh?

Stringer:
Yo, I don't know shit about shit, alright? I'm just the messenger.

Omar:
Whatever, man.

Stringer:
You know there's dead on both sides, right? There's gonna be a whole lot more if this beef keep up, but the truth be told? There be more soldiers on one half than the other, y'know what I'm sayin'?

Omar:
Hey, look here, son - you tell Barksdale that he's been paid back for what he did to my peoples. As for his product, well... man's gotta earn a living, y'know?

Stringer:
I don't know nobody called Barksdale, B. The man I'm talking about can't have his shit taken like that. That won't do.

Omar:
A'ight. Tell him to throw me some cash, then, and we'll see: about five or ten thousand. Y'know what I mean, for my retirement, homes.

Stringer:
Fine, if you can keep quiet about it.

Omar:
Send my money through Joe, man.

Stringer:
You go through Joe, you're not gonna see two thousand of that. Why don't you tell my man where you at?

Omar:
Nah, nah, nah, we gonna figure something else out, you heard? I'll be in touch, homes.

Troy Wiggins:
Shakima, she's just talking like that 'cause I had her when she was good.

Greggs:
Shiiit, you the ugly-ass motherfucker that turned me the other way.

Rawls:
What do you need?

Jay Landsman:
Room to work. I keep ordering people off the scene, and... between Narcotics, DEA, and the two districts, we keep collecting more and more bodies around here.

Rawls:
[raising his voice] Nobody move! I said, nobody fucking move! If you have not been assigned a specific task by a homicide detective, you need to step away from this crime scene. Is there anybody doesn't understand a direct order? If you have not specifically been instructed otherwise, then remove your useless, interfering asses from the area. Now! [to Landsman] Slow this thing down to a crawl. Give these bastards no chance to fuck up in a meaningful way.

McNulty:
If only half you motherfuckers at the district attorney's office didn't want to be judges, didn't want to be partners in some downtown law firm... If half of you had the fucking balls to follow through, you know what would happen? A guy like that would be indicted, tried and convicted. And the rest of 'em would back up enough, so we could push a clean case or two through your courthouse. But no, everybody stays friends. Everybody gets paid. And everybody's got a fucking future.

Wee-Bay:
[about his fish] Check it out, Dee. I need you to feed 'em while I'm gone. You gonna give 'em different food for each tank, too, alright? But don't worry, I'm gonna show ya what to do, c'mere. These are my tetras. You got Kimmy, Alex, Aubrey and Jezebel in here somewhere. I don't know, she think she cute. You take two pinches of whatever food I got next to each tank. They set for the day. You see, they ain't no problems. Just beautiful as hell, Dee. I'm gonna go upstairs, and pack some shit.

Daniels:
[leaving Burrell's office] Dope on the damn table.

Wallace:
[after D'Angelo questions him about not knowing about a particular restaurant.] Shit, if it ain't up in the West Side, I dunno shit, yo. 'Cause this shit? [points at the Pit] This is me, yo. Right here.