"No, Bubs." "I mean, there's gotta be rules, or else things get fucked up." "Ain't no rules with dope fiends." "When the police got you shackled up, you make a move, right?" "You help yourself out." " But to just start snitchin' for no reason..." " Whoa, whoa, whoa." "Let me track this." "You hypopulatin' that you can tattletale when you locked up but you can't do it straight up for the money?" "I mean, no offense, son, but that's some weak-ass thinkin'." "You equivocatin' like a motherfuck." "OK, so a snitch is a snitch, right?" " There you go." " So why be one, man?" "We're gettin' by with our capers." "We gettin' by out here ripping' and runnin' and ain't got shit to show for it." "It's part of bein' a soldier, right?" "That's what you say." "That's why I put all this mileage in these feet." "You wait till you ain't a pup no more." "See if you ain't lookin' for something a little more steady for your own self." "What the fuck?" "You ill already?" "It's ain't even past morning." "I'm cool, man." "I'm fine." "Look, we hook up with my girl Kima, we get paid, you gonna be better." "Fuck that, Bubs, all right?" "I'm not a fuckin' snitch." "You know, I could argue the other side - say if you drop dime to duck a charge, you a snitch." "You do it as a living, you a professional." "Hold up, hold up, hold up." "You see that ladder right there?" "Just like old times, man." "I'll be the bad guy, you be the Lone Ranger." "Leave that man be." "We get paid more hooking up to my girl." "But that's cash money right there." "With the white man, I best be the bad guy." "That way he ain't confused." "All right, meet me in the alley." "Fuck." " Yo, mister." " Yo." "Throw down your wallet, or I'll jerk this ladder right out." " What?" "No!" " I ain't playing." " Throw down the goddamn money." " No, please." "Help!" "OK!" "Hey!" "Leave that man alone!" "Oh!" "Thank you." "It's crazy, man." " What's that guy doing?" " Shit." " Here." " I can't." "No, you saved my ass." "It's appreciated, you know." "Yo, Bubs, you won't fuckin' believe this." "Bubs." "When you walk through the garden" "You gotta watch your back" "Well, I beg your pardon" "Walk the straight and narrow track" "Walk the straight and narrow track" "If you walk with Jesus" "He's gonna save your soul" "You gotta keep the devil" "Way down in the hole" "He got fire and the fury" "Fire and fury" "At his command" "Well, you don't have to worry" "Hold on to Jesus' hands" "Oh, we'll be safe from Satan" "When the thunder rolls" "Oh" "You gotta keep the devil" "Way down in the hole" "You gotta keep the devil" "Way down in the hole" "Way down" "Way down in the hole" "Dennis, you up?" "Dennis!" "Mee-maw, hey." " Guess you're not workin' today, huh?" " I'm workin' nights now." "At a bar." "Workin' the door." "You know, it's just..." " Just till I find something a little bit better." " Yeah?" "Reminds me." "Your friend called again this morning." "She said for you to remember your appointment." "Says there's a job in it, if you still lookin'." "So Marlo, right?" "He got this one boy watching' his back, name be Chris Partlow." "Bartlow with a B?" ""Part" like white people got in their hair." " And "low" like a low-bottom dope fiend." " Partlow." " Yeah, what I said." " So he's Marlo's muscle." "So, what..." " How much is that worth?" " Five, if I can work up a photo ID." " The boy, Fruit, he used that." " Fruit who runs one of Marlo's corners?" " Careful, it got prints." " Prints?" "Look at you, gettin' all CSI on me and shit." "A burner with prints, that gotta mean cash money, right?" "If I could pull a print, get Fruit ID'd, I can go to $10." "And if I show you where Marlo hides his Mercedes?" "Benz would go for 15." "You don't know it, but these are hard times." "You killing me out here, girl." "All right. 25 for the Benz." "You good peoples." "So let's total up." "We at 40, right?" " Here, bank that for me." " Bank it?" "For what?" "Got me a plan, girl." "The hoppers here only be wearing them big white T-shirts a couple of times before they chuck 'em." "So I'm thinkin', while I'm out here working for y'all," "I sell them shirts on the corner." "I'll make my nut comin' and goin'." "I don't know what more you could have done." "Charlie's right, boss." " You tried." " Fucking hoodleheads won't cooperate." "You give them their own block or two, offering them a place to sell drugs in peace, and do they listen?" "It's a damn shame too, 'cause if it worked, you might have had a positive effect on the community." "Shift commander, call the front desk." "You guys are some lying sacks of shit." " I'm saying, sir..." " I'm guessing... that you have some thoughts on where we should go from here." "Well, sir, we were thinking a modified zebra operation." "Jump-outs from sector to sector, and a zero-tolerance approach." "We detail a couple of men from each shift, build a flex unit, double up on head-knocking and corner-clearing." " More of the same, you mean." " But better." "Better?" "Better than nothing." "Ah, fuck this bullshit already." "Man, they gave us 15 cases of legal but they shorted us on the colored bonds." "What's going on, man?" "Yo." "I got this." " Officer." " Detective, String." "You remember." "Bird trial." "Detective McNulty." "You want something copied, man?" "Search warrant, court papers?" " Anything I can do to help, you know." " I ain't seen you around the way." "I'm not around the way no more." "You wanna find me, I'm right here." " Right here, huh?" " Mm-hm." "This and some real estate I'm working on is all." "More than enough to occupy me, really." " Say, where you livin', man?" " Where am I livin'?" "If you thinkin' of comin' downtown," "I got some condos about to come on the line in eight months." "You say the word, I'm gonna hook you up something nice by the Hippodrome." "Loft apartments." "Real nice." "You disappoint me, String." "I had such fuckin' hopes for us." "Have a nice day, Officer." "You see this shit?" "Remember that kid who got shot in Lake Clifton a couple months back?" "Drug feud, right?" "What about it?" "Last night, they just found the only eyewitness in an alleyway, bunch of holes in him." " And?" " What do you mean, "And?"" "You're talkin' about a state's witness." "You let a witness get killed in a case like this, it says..." " "The city's broke and can't be fixed."" " Uh-oh." " Sounds like we found an issue." " Fuck the politics for a minute." "This is something we all need to be on the same page with." "I'm serious, Tony." "You let shit like this stand, pretty soon you got nothing left." "You gonna go public and bang the mayor with it?" "You gonna bang Burrell and the state's attorney, then?" "I ain't gonna bang nobody." "Like I said, fuck the politics for once." "But there is a problem here, and I'm gonna help fix it." "You want your cape and the little red underpants?" "Or you stash that shit in the phone booth?" "I always wondered about that." " Man, I'd like a piece of that." " You'd like any piece at all." " Nigger, I'd like a piece of your mother." " Stop fuckin' around." "I ain't started that shit." "Yo, now she got our boy with his nose wide open." "He's stealing from us and she most likely the reason for it." "Y'all stay with the girl." "She'll soon enough show us the money." "Where you goin'?" "I got something I gotta do." "You supposed to be here with us." "Y'all stay with the girl." "I'll get back with y'all down the way." " Say what?" " I made a date a while back, got to keep." "Man made a date, got to keep." "We find out he pussy-whipped like this motherfucker over here." "Now, once again, from the data," " when are most cars stolen?" " Sir, at night." "And your unit, which I believe is charged with deterring the theft of autos, when do you work?" "The day shift, eight to four." "But, sir, as I tried to explain..." "You effect more arrests of car thieves during the daylight than at night." "You see, our ears work, we heard you." "But the question becomes   why the fuck can't you hear us?" " Sir, I don't..." "The Commissioner is attempting to move this department into the 21 st century." "That means preventing crime by relying on computer-generated data, not on your fly-by-your-fucked-up-ass instinct." "Give me the auto-theft numbers for downtown parking lots on Friday nights." "Sir, I have to check that." "Where are we with the gun?" "Colonel, I was made to understand that recovering Officer Dozerman's weapon was a priority." "The gun, yes, we're on it, sir." "Making progress as we speak." "Lieutenant?" "Sir, I now understand that prevention is the way to go, and we'll immediately change our hours to reflect the data." "All right, Lieutenant." "Fecal gravity." "You beat on the right people and the shit rolls down the hill." " Dennis, is it?" " Cutty works for me." "Cutty, then." "So it's just gonna be us here?" " You know, I mean, Grace..." " Sister Grace called on your behalf, but to my knowledge, she didn't plan to be here." "She's a beautiful woman." "A man might say things he didn't mean to stand closer to a woman like that." "You're in the job market, though, I understand." "A couple of questions." "You got a high-school diploma, GED?" "Any work experience?" "I worked in a warehouse for a couple of months back in, like, '86." "How do you see the church helping you?" "Maybe get me some jobs or put my name on a list or something." "I don't know." "To tell you up front, we don't do that here." "You want a job, you'll have to work to get it." "We'll help, but it's gonna be your sweat." "With that said, then, the first thing is to get you enrolled in a GED program." "Look, I don't mean to put you out, but this... this ain't how I thought it was gonna play." "Me, Oscar, a bunch of the guys... we seen it." "Couldn't help it." "They practically ran right past us." "And the victim, the girl, had a gun." "Whose side was she on?" "Couldn't tell." "They weren't doin' slow motion." "Did any of 'em have a big scar?" "Do you think you'd be able to recognize any of them?" " Just Omar." " So you know Omar?" "Omar came up around here." "That's good, Bruiser, very good." " You do know Omar has a scar, right?" " He do?" "We better go to my office, put this down on paper." "Come on." "Officer." "Excuse me, Officer." "Is this North and Pulaski?" "Cos I could fucking swear Dozerman was shot up at North and Pulaski." "No, wait, let me guess." "The pursuit of your fellow officer's service weapon has led you to this fine citizen." "Tell me, kind sir, do you know the whereabouts of said officer's weapon?" "I didn't think so." "Calls from the detention center." "Some kind souls begging to assist you in your foundering investigation." "Oop!" "Let me just grand-jury my man here, lock in his story." "Now for the gun." "Later for his story." "And that's your sergeant talking." "Wipe your nose, yo." " What the fuck?" " Oh, shit." "Motherfucker, you scared the shit out of us comin' up like that." "This shit do make you paranoid, yo." " Go on, nigger, hit this shit." " No, man, I gotta drop urine tomorrow." "You worried about that?" "Go ahead, nigger." "We got that covered." "Oh, you got that covered?" "What, you think you're the only motherfucker on parole?" " Yo, nigger, give me that shit." " There you go." " All right." "What was her day?" " She caught a hack up to Towson Town Mall." "Hit two jewelry stores and came back with bags from both." "By the time she caught up with our boy, she was wearing one of them shits around her neck." " Gave the other one to him." " You know, his and hers, like." "Yeah, Cutty." "She was on that shit, man." "It's been a week, McNulty." "Either you got something on Stringer or you don't." "He tried to sell me a condo." "Cocksucker." "Might as well join the Rotary and take up golf or some shit." "Running with the hounds, but I bet his heart's still with the fox." "Stringer's out of the game?" "Mr. Bell has become the bank." "The bank?" "The bank plays it legit." "He generates honest income." "But at the same time, his money finances packages that he himself will never touch." "He won't go near the street." "He's insulated from the everyday operations of the corner." "The money that comes back is then laundered through enough investments that there's no way to trace it." "A player gets to that point, there ain't no way in hell a working police is gonna tie a can to his tail." "Oh, man." "So, Kintel Williamson, the prince of Pimlico." " Where we at on this mope?" " DNRs on a couple of payphones." "That got it?" "About right." "You gonna help or what, boy?" "Might as well not even take a whistle if I'm just standin' in the fuckin' alley." "Back's where you belong." "Thataway I ain't got to worry about getting my head blown off 'cause you all scared and shit." "Enough!" "Y'all hear me?" "I said enough." "Come over here and put some pumpkin balls in this shotgun, man." "Kimmy!" "Both of y'all learn to live with it, or y'all out, man." "Now, this time we gonna do it right." "Y'all feel me?" "Boss, you gotta let this go." "It ain't gonna work." "You said in COMSTAT shit rolls down." "We tried to talk to all the hoppers." "What can they do about anything?" "We need to bring it to the dealers." "Sergeant." "I need a list of names of all the mid-level dealers running my corners." "Sir?" "You are my DEU sergeant, right?" "I need a list of names." "Maybe narcotics downtown has something like that." "I don't know." "We're knockin' heads, takin' bodies." "I didn't know I was supposed to be doin' a census." "Hey, yo, miss." "Where the pee-pot at?" "Thanks." "Come on, this way." "My man need to drop a negative." " $5." " Motherfucker, they was just two." "You try finding' clean piss in Baltimore." "Five a go." " How I know it's clean?" " I get mine from daycare." "I need you to put the chicken in the oven at 375." "Yes, and then I need you to help me put your sister down..." "Excuse me, miss." "Put your thumb on the scanner." "Hold on a second." " What's your name?" " Wise, Dennis Wise." "Take one of those." "Go around the corner to the second door." "No, you cannot go outside." "Are you listening to what I'm saying?" "That's all we got on the West Side dealers." "George." "I'm lookin' at a sprinkling' of rap sheets here." "You tellin' me nobody know who controls West Baltimore corners?" "Rawls has my people doin' street rips." "You want info, try the intelligence unit." " Shit, they sent me to you, George." " What the fuck can I tell you?" "With all the street work, ain't nobody left doin' high-end drug stuff." "From what I'm hearing, the guy comes in of his own accord and he gets betrayed by us." "Protection in this city amounts to nothing more than getting dumped in a fleabag joint on Route 40 and calling it a plan." "No monitoring, no assistance." "Nothing." "Just a bundle of clothes and a toothbrush." " Jesus." " No way to treat a cooperator." "I could get a lot out of this with the press." "But fuck that, because that way everybody gets defensive and nothing gets fixed." " I'm coming to you with this, straight up." " Agreed." "Where do we stand on this?" "You've already called a meeting on it with the state's attorney and the Police Commissioner." "It's penciled in for next Wednesday." "No, Tommy's right on this." "We need to act quickly." "I'm glad you came to us with this." "I'll light a fire, believe me." "All right, thanks." " Uh, you will keep me in the loop on this?" " Absolutely." "Councilman." " Slow up, we need to talk." " Yeah, sweet thing." " We met before?" " No, baby, but that can happen." "We ain't met, excuse me." " It's just talk, baby." " Get the fuck out the way." "Look, girl, all we need you to do is talk." " Is you deaf or just stupid?" " Hold on, girl..." "Damn." "Now we gonna talk." "How the fuck is this little runt of a unit holding' all this drug intelligence?" "At headquarters I came up with jack, and y'all holding' all this." "You run a couple of wiretaps, you fill up a file cabinet pretty fast." "This is great." "Thanks." "Oh, shit!" "God damn it!" "I heard this was where you landed." "This pretty boy, I broke his ass in." "I wrote more on ID complaints on bushy top here than on the whole goddamn squad." "That's till he scuffed himself up." " Now where you at, McNulty?" " 1911 South Clinton Street, first floor." "There you go." "Yeah." "I know you gotta keep him close but still, that's a good goddamn police right here." "So what brings you to our shop?" "I'm tryin' to find out who running my corners." "My own DEU is just about street rips, and headquarters wasn't no help, neither." " Y'all saved my ass, though." " You tell him about your boy, Marlo?" "It's in the files, along with every other mid-level player we know." "You don't mind me askin', what are you gonna do with all that, Major?" "Well... we'll round up these young men... and put a little COMSTAT on their ass." "Gentlemen." "Ma'am." "Bushy top." "Bushy top?" "Uh, point of order and shit." "Chair recognize the esteemed rep of the Veronica Avenue boys." "All right, look, we done talked this shit to death, all right?" " When we gonna vote?" " Rick do have a point." "All right, then." "All those in favor of goin' together so we can get the best discount on a New York package, raise up." " All right, then." " There it is." "Look like we gonna make more money, together." "I'm proud of y'all for putting aside petty grievances and puttin' this thing together." "For a cold-ass crew of gangsters, y'all carried it like Republicans and shit." "Remember, man, talk this shit up when you hit them bricks." "Best way to get more involved is to tell people about the benefits of this here thing." "No beefing, no drama, just business." "Anybody got problems with anybody else here, we bring it to the group." "We ain't gotta take it to the streets." "All right." "Let's do it." "Yo." "Motherfucker, what is that?" "The Robert Rules say we gotta have minutes for a meeting." "These the minutes." "Nigger, is you takin' notes on a criminal fuckin' conspiracy?" "What the fuck is you thinking, man?" " That's cool." " Dad, he's cheating." "Michael, take it easy on your brother." "How are you two getting along with Mom's new friend?" " We call him Dennis." "He's not new." " OK, how are you doin' with him?" "Mom says we can't talk to you about family stuff." "Dad, you going to the open house?" "Yeah, I'll try." "I've been real busy at work, though." " New case and all." " Mom says you have to go, Dad." "All the other kids' fathers are gonna be there." "Get his legs." "Aagh!" "Argh!" " Steal from us, motherfucker?" " Get the ring too, yo." " Shit won't come off, yo." " Drop him." "Arrrghh!" "You know the man works for us." "You keep goin' like that, ain't gonna be nothin' left of him to make right what he owes." "Bitch got to pay." " Check his pockets, yo." " Right." " That's mine, yo." " Fuck off!" "Get the fuck off!" "This is command to security." "What's up, baby?" "Man, I been here for 26 months, you come pick me up in a motherfuckin' Ford?" "I'm just fucking with you." "What's up, baby?" "What up, man?" "I'm feeling good to be out of this motherfucker." "There's a sign on the other side of this gate that say, "Never again."" "That's the only fucking thing I'm gonna take with me from here." " First things first." "Let's get you lookin' right." " You got my shit." "Yes." "Yes." "Good-looking, baby." "Start with Sector One." "Bring as many as you can down to Vincent Street by the end of the shift." "Don't use your wagons." "Bring as many as you can in your cars." "The hoppers wouldn't listen." "What makes you think these guys will?" "These are lieutenants running the corners and I personally feel their pain." "Now, middle-management means that you have just enough responsibility that you got to listen when people talk and not so much that you can tell anybody to go fuck themselves." "471, 471..." "Get in." "Look, my major just wants to talk." "That's all, I promise." " We'll bring you right back." " Ain't gonna happen." "What the fuck you say?" "What the fuck you mean, it ain't gonna happen?" "Let me tell you something, motherfucker." "We got orders to bring you for a sit-down with our boss." "We're prepared to take you with us now." " We can either do this the easy way..." " Brain-dead fucks." "It's up to you." " Hello." " Prez, it's me." "I think we got a little situation here." "Stay with me. 10-6." "Major wants the dickhead, you gotta go." "I think he gets a pass this time." "You sure?" "I mean, you want, he goes." "Another time, Herc." "We're on the major's clock here." "Don't forget the face, cocksucker." "It's gonna be here tomorrow." " You need me to call dispatch?" " No, it's OK." "I'll tell you later." "I say we get the troops and fuck these assholes up." " Come on, let's go again." " Come on, Tommy, it's just a game." "Look, sounds like you got what you want, anyway." "From the mayor, I mean." "Yeah, well, he's played me before." "But so help me, if he farts around on this," "I'm goin' after him, big time." " For real?" " Trust me on this." "He keeps ducking me, I'm gonna fuck him good." "That's the good part." "It's what I call the carrot." "Now, you move your people into any designated area I told you about, and you'll have immunity from arrest and prosecution." "You're free to make your drops, collect, won't nobody bother you." "You got my word on it." " What do you get outta this?" " That's a fair question." "I want to salvage what's worth salvaging in my district." "I can't do that with a bunch of hoppers scaring the hell out of decent people." "Now, these kids ain't gonna listen to me, but they will listen to y'all." "You tell them to move down here and they will." "So the way I got it figured, I motivate you... and you motivate them." "Nah, this is a trap." "No, you check out the spot." "There ain't no cameras, ain't no microphones, nothing." "Any cops you see going to be down right on the perimeter." "Just to make sure there's no violence." "And you watch." "You see if it don't work out the way I say." "Nothing personal against you, Chief, but what happens if we buck?" "You remember the carrot, right?" "Well, you choose the stick instead... you gonna feel that stick like you ain't never felt before." "We gonna indict every corner, every day." "I got over 200 sworn personnel and I plan to free up every one to knock every one of y'all down they can." "You on a corner in my district, it ain't gonna be about no humble, it ain't gonna be about no loitering charge, nothing like that." "There gonna be some biblical shit happening to you on the way to that jail wagon." "And while you bucking' the new system, the smart ones among you gonna be down here, makin' money hand over fist." "So think it over." "But I swear to God, come Monday, your world and mine ain't gonna be the same." "I thought you said these goddamn houses were vacant." "We must have missed her." "That's one more thing I gotta do, then." "Little man, up on B tier, one of his boys in the dormitory, his brother's tight with the girlfriend of the boy that shot that police." "Little man saying, "If you sprung the three of us," ""we can get her talking." You know, find the gun." "Yo, I'm hearing the boy Dink got that man's gun." "Now, I ain't sure yet if that Dink be Dink Dink or Inky Dink or maybe Fat Dink." "Then again, it might be Flatnose Dink." "No, wait." "Nah, that can't be him, that Dink dead." "Look, man, I can help you, but first you gotta get me out of these murder beefs." "How many murders are we talking?" "Look, man, do it have to be the cop's gun?" "Cos if it's guns you want, I can get you guns." "I remember this." "Sixth grade." "Miss Holley's science class." "Box lunches." "Taste like shit." "You got something so important you can't use the proper channels?" "Well, no." "I don't know." "I just figured if I told anybody but you, you might think I'm riding the rock." "What makes me think you ain't?" "Yeah, right." "That's a good point." "Look, today, me, Tuckie, Little Mikey, man, we all, a bunch of us got scooped up by the police." "Well, you shouldn't sell drugs." " All right, all right." " See, they didn't take us to the station." "They took us down to Vincent Street where all the houses is boarded up, and they let us out." "And then, on top of all of that, the whole while they was being all like decent and shit, and you know that fucked me up." "And then, like, the police chief, he come out - and this is the crazy part - he say that he got it set up so where we could sell stuff in certain spots and the police won't bother us." "I know, I know." "It's fucked up." "But I just thought you should know." " That's it?" " Yeah, just that and the boy Marlo." "Yeah, I'm on it." "Yep." "Speaking to officer at 5-Baker-25 on the northern channel." "23-03 to KGA." "Have Foxtrot meet me on six, Adam." " Foxtrot, 10-4." " 23-03 to Foxtrot." " Foxtrot, standing by." " It's a black Mercedes, pulling out the lot." "Copy that, we got the eyeball." "This here the spot?" "Cos Tuckie says we supposed to set up shop here." "Huh?" " Hamsterdam." " Yeah, this is it." "Set up anywhere inside where we got the white flags." " I'm ready to roll out." " You just got here." "What's wrong?" "Ain't nobody around to buy." "Good point." " Man needs customers." " I'm sayin'..." "No." "I mean, you can't make me." "I'm a sworn fuckin' police officer." "What's up, man?" "You got that Body Bag still?" "Two." "Narco." "Give it up, motherfucker." "Money comes back, right now." "You fuckin' up." "You didn't let me cop before you snatch me up." "Is that some fuckin' rule?" " You call, we haul." "You clean?" " Yeah, of course I'm clean." "Stupid-ass rookie didn't give me a chance to cop." "This corner's indicted." "You move over to Vincent Street, or we come back with the bracelets." "Anybody available for complaint at..." " What you got?" " 10-11 me at Riggs and Calhoun." "Despite unforeseen delays, we will begin an academy class this January, which leaves us in good shape for the coming year." "Thank you, Commissioner." "The chair pleases, I have a couple of questions." "Commissioner, you are aware that a state witness in a recent city homicide prosecution was killed." "Uh, we are treating that incident with the highest priority." "Homicide has set up a task force and Narcotics is working the informant angle." "We have also asked both the FBI and DEA for support." "It sounds like a full-court press, but you must admit it's a bit like closing the barn door after the horse is out." "The shooting of the boy at Lake Clifton School was a high-profile case, wasn't it, Commissioner?" "Yes, it was." "And yet a key witness in the case was allowed..." "One moment." "Excuse me, but the chair reminds me that you have a pressing engagement." "So if it's all right with you, we can continue this at a later date." "Meeting adjourned." "Did you see Burrell sweat?" " The man's collar almost melted." " What the hell got into you?" "You did, old buddy." "You did." "10-8, 23." "End of the line, all out." "We got that Rockefeller, yo." "We got that Rockefeller over here, yo." " Over here we got that Rockefeller." " What the fuck?" "Yo, yo, we got that Rockefeller, yo." "We got that WMD." "Right here, right here." " I hear the WMD is the bomb." " WMD." "Right here." "WMD." "Give me two, yo." "WMD." "Right here." "WMD, right here." "Right here." "Right here." "We got that Rockefeller over here." "We got that Rockefeller, yo." " What do we got?" " There's binoculars on the floor." " Marlo makin' a move?" " Just watch." "Forget everything the boy Bodie told you." "Forget the beating, it ain't about that." "You smart, man, I can see that." "I wanted you to choose somewhere safe for us to speak, but God damn... only bugs in this motherfucker gonna have legs." "Now, I appreciate smart, but you gotta know in this game, man, it ain't enough." "You a student of history?" "You know this town had its share of smart players, man?" "Melvin, Little Wil, Big Head Brother, Peanut, Warren." "All real smart, man, real smart." "But you know, soon as their names rang out... bam, the feds was on them." "You know what I mean?" "Government ain't want you to be organized." "They want you scrimpin' and scrapin' and killin' each other on the corner on some bullshit." "Not me." "That's why me and Prop Joe, we getting ready to put this co-op together." "Different crews, one package." "Best dope, best coke." "Share and share alike." " Been hearing' about that." " You been hearin' about that?" "That's good." "That's a start, right?" "You know that Mercedes you got riding' out there, you got that titled in your aunt's name or some shit?" "Now, when they come get you, that straw purchase out there gonna come bite you in the ass, boy." "That's what they do." "They turn your money against you." "Now, you, I'm thinkin' with the corners that you got..." " you close to a mil, right?" " I'm doin' all right." "You doin' all right, but all right ain't got your name on a crib, right?" "Ain't got you a little spot for you to wash that dirty money." "That's what I'm offering you, man." " Come on, who's he in there with?" " I told you, keep watching." "Bunk put you up to this?" "Tell you what, how about a case of that PBR piss you drink against a touch of the Irish that he went out the back and you're watching that house for nothing?" "Here comes your nothing." "Whoa!" "Oh, ho ho ho ho!" "I like my piss in bottles." "Any way you like, darlin'." "Chris." "Tell our people to tool up." "I'm on it." "WMD." "Got that WMD." "They get comfortable pretty quick." "It's like we ain't even standing' here." "The hoppers call it Hamsterdam." "Like from Amsterdam." "Hamsterdam." "The use of integrated match concepts, such as algebraic reasoning and number sense, geometry and probability." "Very impressive." "Now what we try to do is keep the class size under ten, 12 at the most." " And there are three levels?" " Yes, so that..." "Sorry, I'm Jim McNulty." "I'm a little late, developments at work." "Mr. McNulty." "I have some concerns about the integrated math program." "In their previous schools, Michael took introductory algebra but I hear you're doing something different." " We are." "The integrated program..." " I'm thirsty." "Can I get either of you something to drink?" "The integrated math program consists..." "Not much of a spread but you can't go wrong with crudités." "Crudity?" "I'm sorry." "I came straight from work, or I'd have changed." "No need to call names, right?" " What do you do, Mr..." " I'm on the board at Legg Mason." "Jim McNulty." "Legg Mason?" "Either that or I'm a cop in the city." "I keep forgetting." "Terri D'Agostino." "I'm an alumni and one of the school's dreaded fundraisers." "The math program offers tutoring possibilities." "So if Michael has difficulty adjusting, we can have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays." " So how do you find the school?" " It's good." "Good." "My ex and I are thinking of sending our boys here." " Any problems, difficulties?" " No, not really." "I mean, there's the math integration class for my oldest." "He's in sixth, seventh, and..." "I'm just not sure he's ready, you know, for all that math." "Aagh!" " Careful, I'm only a country boy." " Shut up." "Hey, sweetie." "Welcome home." "How you doin'?" "What's up, man?" "How you doin'?" "Welcome back." "Hey, sis." "Man, I just wish I wasn't the only one coming home, you know." "I know." "Enjoy tonight." "We'll talk later." " Welcome home." " What up, Prop?" "How you doing, man?" " You lookin' fit." " Hell, yeah," "I've been working out." "That's all you do." "Might be a good place for a fat man to find his inner self." "Yo." "I got some downtown suits who wanna holler at you real quick." "Ah, shit." "Takin' me to see suits?" "I'm tryin' to see some skirts." "So what do you do?" "You should get dressed." "I got a lot of work here." "It's a long day for me tomorrow." "I'll be really quiet." "You never know, you might get bored workin'." "I gotta work." "You gotta go." "What Stringer has done with all that property downtown, Avon," "I cannot tell the profit you're looking at once the federal redevelopment money lands." "That whole Howard Street thing will take off and you'll be right there to cut the pie." "Any dollar you spend now is gonna come back to you ten times." "And the thing is, I know you don't wanna go back to them streets." "Not after what you been through." "I know, 'cause I'm from them same streets." "And once I had the chance to play a different game it wasn't a question in my mind how to go." "Government's will look at you hard too." "No sense giving 'em what they're looking for." "You take what you have, you build on it." "It's all good." "Just put it up on the calendar." "We should meet." "Yo, Slim." "You see them two niggers right there?" "They over there getting high in the middle of all this." "Now where the fucking discipline at, yo?" "Fuck, toss them niggers." "Can I talk to you for a second?" "Don't you know not to stare at me like that?" "Yo." "I gotta show you something." "Pardon me, sweetie." "Yo, man." "You know I've been locked down, man." "You gonna love this." "Trust me." "Oh, OK." "Uhh-huh." "Yeah." "Uh-huh." "Shit, this ain't my little place down in Jessup." "But what the fuck is, right?" "This is all you, B. All you, in your name too." "You know what I mean?" "This piece of paper right here make it legit." "Keys to the Navigator in the basement." "It's just a rental until you pick out something nice." "Damn, all this, huh?" "You did good." "We makin' so much straight money, man, we can carry shit like this out in the open, in our own names." "Yo, you remember when we used to sit on the top of 734 building, man, lookin' at the city, used to talk about what we gonna do?" "And you was all heavy into that black pride bullshit talking like you gonna get two grocery stores, make motherfuckers proud." "Sure was, man, you was out hunting on a AK-47 talking about "I'm gonna go get warring'."" "Man." " We brothers, B." " Always, baby." "Always." "Just one more thing, though, man." "I don't mean to be picking with you, especially not after you did all this shit for me, but, look, man, I've been locked down." "You know what I mean?" "You know what?" "I gotta take this meet." "I'm gonna get at you." "Welcome home, man." "Hey, yo, it's me, man." "I left something." "Shit." "My man."