"I gotta hit the head." "I can't take this shit, Bunny." "Hey" "It'll pass." "They're just riding you now." "Next week it's somebody new." "Can't take away your E.O.D., Marvin." "Worst they can do is bust you back to lieutenant." "I don't even wanna think about the worst these motherfuckers can do." "You don't either." "You're still not connecting the dots, Marvin." "Have a look." "Hoffman and Holbrook, Sir." "Very good." "You had a body drop there last week and this is what the fuck it looked like yesterday." "Bond and Preston for the record." "Ashland and Wolfe." "Chase and Durham." "Sir, I deployed my resources per your instructions." "We beefed up foot patrols." "We have our plainclothes squads on 12-hour shifts." "And the corners stay full?" "They move, Sir." "Everyday they're gonna sell their drugs somewhere." "Major Taylor." "I look at your numbers, I see the intel reports, the photos." "It all tells me that you lack a fucking clue." "If you'll permit me." "Is your Deputy Major present?" "Yes, Sir." "You now command the Eastern District." "Major Taylor, you are relieved." "Take the podium." "Anyone else having trouble with the writing on the wall?" "Dismissed." "Dead Soldiers" "And I'm like "nigger if you want to sell me a new car you better really sell it to me 'cause otherwise, I'm sittin' back and I'm watchin'."" "What you want with a new ride for?" "It ain't like you can't get a new car anywhere you want, anytime, this whole city." " I'm just sayin'." " Sayin' what?" " In case." " In case what?" "In case I ever want to buy a new car." "Damn, is that too much to ask for?" "Girl, you crazy." "Shit, shit, Get down." "Get down." "Yeah, they filling it now." "They protectin' the fuck out of it, too." "You see what you wanted?" "Yeah, man." "But they got the whole second floor boarded up." "Got a little porch 'round back." "Couple of the boys out there now smoking on them menthols." "So we slide up from the back?" "It barred up, too." "No way through the front?" "Not now." "Come tomorrow morning they gonna scale back down to a three-man skeleton crew, ya feel me?" "Not sure I like this." "Why we gotta keep hitting up the Barksdale people?" "Ain't like this whole motherfuckin' city ain't got stashes all over it." "True that." "So why?" "Because." "Because?" "Indeed." "So that's a cop shooter?" "Yeah, not much to him but he did the job on the Dozerman kid last week." "We gave it up in a full statement." "Before or after you knocked the shit out of him?" "Injuries were sustained while patrol officers were effecting pursuit and rest of aforementioned suspect." "He was caught Eastside, right?" "But the wagon made a stop at the Western District for an unscheduled tune-up." "It's dark on that backlot." "Western boys mistook him for a pinata." "So what do you think?" "I think this is a tragic motherfuckin' miscarriage of justice." "I think it deserves a special grand jury and if not, the president should appoint an independent prosecutor." "Oh, no, no, no, actually" "I think Kofi Bryant an' the United fucking Nations should get involved." "It's a murder, Bunk." "The word from upstairs is that we supposed to be havin' less murders, not more." "This is Anne Arundel county." "Why should they care about that?" "Why should you?" "Hey, Bunk." "Hey, how's it going?" "Listen, um, Deputy wants to know." "Have we recovered Dozerman's service weapon?" "No, Sir." "The kid says he sold it on the street." "Gave only the street name of the buyer." "A certain Peanut, whereabouts unknown." "They want that gun back." "Sir?" "They don't want to have a departmental weapon on the street." "You know, as a principle." "The great white deputy has spoken." "This case is not down until the gun comes home." "Fine, don't get up." "One of the most heavily armed cities in the gun-loving world, why should those ignorant motherfuckers care about one got-damn semiauto, more or less?" "What'd you bring me downtown in this shit for, man?" "Police don't get whif." "Talk to me, big man." "Thought you should know, my boy Cheese, he went into the box with a couple of police." "He stood tall?" "No doubt." "Kept his mouth shut and waited 'em out." "Way it turned out, they the ones that fucked up." "How come?" "Police let it slip Cheese played in some talkies." "Tried to pin a hit on him." "Said they had it all over." "Who got hit?" "A dog." "What kinda dog?" "Kind mistake your leg for pussy." "So, they had phones tapped?" "Don't matter to me none if they did." "Me and the people I keep close, we don't talk on the phone none." "You talk on the phone, String?" "So we good then." "What we know is they still looking hard at us." "You wanna know what kills more police than bullets and liquor?" "Boredom." "They jus' can't handle that shit." "You keep it boring, String." "You keep it dead fucking boring." "You're serious?" "I am." "What's the closest school to here?" "Stuart Hill elementary." "That's at least eight blocks." "Three sevens." "Three sevens?" "Five eights." "Bullshit, let's see it." "Five eights." "Read 'em an' weep." "You're cheating." "I just can't catch your ass is all." "It's just luck, Tony." "It's just luck." "You called my desk looking for me?" "Yes, I did, come on in." "Grab a chair." "But watch your wallet if you do." "Make it quick, Tommy." "The new city editor wants a 40-inch weekender on liquor board reform." "They're going to reform the liquor board?" "Yeah, with a hand grenade." "So what's on your mind?" "We're off the record?" "There's going to be no academy class of police cadets this year." "Mayor's orders." "Homicide rate's climbing, felonies are up we got patrol vacancies out the ass." "Even more coming at the year-end retirements." "And this is coming from his honor?" "To what end?" "Keep some money." "Money's in the budget, but even a six-month delay in hiring saves a couple million." "You think there's some paper, something the Mayor signed?" "Nah, but you call the personnel office and they'll confirm that the class is delayed until next year." "You get that much you can come back to me for a couple of quotes." "You want in on this?" "No indeed." "I love my mayor." "Councilman, thank you." "Stirring up some shit." "Just a little bit." "For the good of our fair city by the bay." "Three twos." "Housing authority has this slated for demolition, right?" "But no money to do it yet." "Boss, you sure it's a good idea not to tell anyone about this downtown?" "Ignorance is bliss, Lieutenant." "Anyone ever tell you that?" "Once, but I beat the dog-piss out of the guy with a nightstick." "Anybody seen McNulty?" "Catch him up when he posts." "New target." "Kintel Williamson goes by Prince K." "Has a string of corners from Park Circle to Woodland Avenue." "And he's dropping bodies, too." "Three in the last four months or so say our friends in the Northwestern District." "So we're off Proposition Joe's people?" "We're going to ship the mid-level arrests downtown to C.I.D." "Let narcotics work up those prosecutions." "After that, we're on to new business." "He don't look like much." "He's dropping bodies." "And with everybody pressed to bring the murder rate down that's the new mandate for this unit." "Bell has bodies on him, too." "Not lately." "And Prop Joe hasn't made much noise either." "They're still running product." "Still got kids banging out there." "And now, 'cause we blew a wire over a fucking dog we have to let them just walk on go about their shit like we were never anything to take seriously in the first place?" "I want an investigative strategy mapped out by week's end." "McNulty's here in spirit anyway." "What?" "Right there." "This will work, too." "There's a couple occupied in the 200 block and that one over there but, otherwise... we're good." "Good shit, right?" "Let's go." "Commissioner Burrell, please." "Who's calling, please?" "It's Councilman Carcetti." "Hold please." "Hello." "Erv, I'm givin' you a heads up." "You're gonna get a call from a Sun papers reporter about the academy class." "What the fuck, is this a joke?" "Calm the hell down, Erv." "You just no-comment the fucker." "You tellin' me my name will be no where near this and then send a reporter my way." "Exactly." "Then you call the mayor yourself and you tell him you got a reporter nosing around about the academy class getting pushed." "You tell him you have no idea how it leaked." "I know this shit's coming back to me." "Trust me you're covered on this." "Goddamn it." "You can't hang me out there like this with the Mayor." "My ass is flapping in the breeze." "You want that class, Erv." "You gotta trust me." "Shit!" "How you even find me?" "Ran into Lukas." "Don't even call his nigger." "Nigger still owes me money." "He just told me how to find you that's all." "He tell you how I'm doing?" "I know what you thinking." "You ain't looking all that yourself." "You look just fine, girl." "Just tryin' to find your sister that's all." "She ain't for you no more." "She ain't for none of our kind." "Gone out county-way." "Picked herself up." "County clothes, county car." "County nose to look down on all us city niggers with." "She a teacher." "Where at?" "Don't be rushing' me, motherfucker." "I know you lookin' to tip on out of here get your aftershave on get yourself correct." "She teach speech." "Make it so every nigger sound like Condo-Lisa." "Up by the B. Wells." "'Scuse me, Sir." "'Scuse me, have you seen this little girl?" "This my baby." "Can you just take that picture with you?" "Thank you so much, god bless." "'Scuse me, have you seen this little girl" "Lady, you gonna have to back up." "She's my little girl." "Please, she's only four years old." "I ain't seen your little girl, you're gonna have to back up." " Please, just take a look at her!" " I ain't seen your..." "How do?" "Let's go." "Where it at, man?" "Back there." "So, what up, man?" "You don't value my time?" "Nigga, please." "Hand me that screw gun and calm the fuck down." "Go!" "Go!" "Clear!" "Tosha go!" "Dante, go, I got your back!" "Oh, I got you, baby." "I got you." "Go!" "Go!" "Go!" "Go!" "Yo, y'all ready." "Let's bang out." "Go, go, go!" "Go!" "Come on, Kimmy, get in the car!" "Get in the car, man." "Your department leaks like a fucking sieve." "It could be someone over here at the hall." "Someone on your staff." "Someone on the Council." "Well, it doesn't matter now." "We gotta spin it the best way we can, which means, we need you to step up and take this one for the team, Erv." "Me?" "Tell the newspaper that the academy class has been delayed for some reason." "Lack of recruits problems in your personnel division." "Keep it in your shop." "After which, the Mayor steps in announces we'll have an academy class in january come hell or high water." "Do it like that, it's a one-day story." "Mr. Mayor, this was a budget question." "I was directed to delay that class." "And you took the hit then and you're taking the hit now." "And I thank you for both, Commissioner." "89." "And that's just the ones with Westside addresses." "You gotta narrow that shit down find some way to work with all them Peanuts." "Motherfucker, do I look like George Washington Carver?" "Cocksuckers got me chasing one gun through a city full of 'em." "Homicide, yeah." "Two down, Pall Mall and Pimlico." "Pall Mall and Pimlico." "Got it." "Two down, in the street." "Ray Cole's up." "Cole's in court today." "And I caught that cutting in Cherry Hill last night." "Don't look at me." "I'm in the haystacks, looking for Dozerman's prodigal gun." "You gonna make me go back-to-back as a primary?" "That's some cold shit, Bunk." "Agg assault with a two-by-four?" "I don't think so." "Put that with the part twos." "This one too." "Assault by pointing." "If you don't use a handgun you don't get credit for waving it, alright?" "Larceny here." "Hump wrote this up as a daytime b-and-e." "Fuck this." "Do it clean." "Don't massage anything." "Don't sex anything down." "We give 'em the fucking truth." "What about comstat, boss?" "They'll rip you." "There's five months to my 30, right?" "Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke." "The Major no doubt has some explanation some excuse if you will, for a weekly felony tabulation that's going in the opposite direction from the other eight districts." "I have none, Sir." "You are content with this?" "No, Deputy, I'm unhappy." "I wish we were making more of an impact." "But doing what we're doing it's clear that's not the case." "Major Colvin" "I am under the impression crime is down in the Western." "Perhaps you misfigured your felony stats this week." "No, Sir." "We were very accurate." "Sometimes the gods are... uncooperative." "Uncooperative?" "This is a cooperative effort, a cooperative department." "Why in the Eastern District," "Lieutenant Daniels exemplified this new spirit just the other day." "And because of that we got two fresh homicides in the black and a lot less bodies on the streets than could have been had that drug war been allowed to drag on." "Mayor has me taking the hit in public for the late academy class." "You're kidding me?" "Sacrifice for the greater good." "Where's the fucking loyalty, I ask you?" "But in the Western, what do I get from a veteran commander?" "You're just having a laugh, aren't you, Bunny?" "You got the real stats and projections somewhere else." "Someone's just outside the door with them, right?" "A stripper, maybe?" "That would be nice." "She comes in, flashes a little tit gives us a whiff of that muff and delivers my fucking stat sheets with a reduction that matches just what we promised the Mayor." "That would be beautiful." "That would be creme fucking brulee." "But what I got instead is some half-assed" ""I-wish-we-were-doing-better" platitude that's meant to fool maybe a six-year-old girl into thinking you're doing your job." "well, she's left the room, Major Colvin." "She's out there right now asking the stripper if she can have her job when she grows up because she sure as shit doesn't want yours." "You know why?" "Because there isn't gonna be a goddamn Western District in 20 years if this shit keeps up." "I don't care how many years you have on this job." "if the felony rate doesn't fall you most certainly will." "The gods are fucking you, you find a way to fuck them back." "It's Baltimore, Gentlemen, the gods will not save you." "She look like a player?" "Bystander?" "Right in the middle of it all if she was." "Yo, my turn to be Omar." "No." "Gimme, please, gimme." "Look, I'm tellin' you, I was there." "Whitefolks was on the stoop by the nine-oh-nine club, an' Apex just standin' over his ass pumping' more holes in the boy than a motherfucker need." "Shit, I ain't lying'," "Soon as that motherfuckin' nine stops talkin' whitefolks looks up at Apex, says:" ""Bitch, that the best you got"?" "Man, I'm jus' sayin' a boy got that much white blood, he got to be a punk." "You want me, boss?" "Your numbers way down, Fruit." "Way down." "It's Barksdale's people." "They clipping' the dope fiends comin' up Freemont." "You know, when I ran a shop an' my numbers dropped" "I damn sure did something 'bout it." " Yeah, I hear that." " I just want 'em moved." "Take the younguns with you give 'em a workout." "Alright." "So, Lieutenant you got an attaboy from the deputy today, huh." "Cost me my wire tap though." "Still, it's good work over in the Eastern." "Knocking down a drug war." "Yeah, he's gonna do the same thing for me up on Park Heights." "I got this Kintel Williamson character who needs some fixing and Rawls promised me Daniels and his unit for about a month or so." "You're getting quite the rep there, kiddo?" "So Stan, what's your plan for the Southeast?" "How're you gonna give Rawls his numbers?" "I don't know." "Flex squads on the corners foot patrols in the Perkins Homes overtime out the ass." "And if that don't work, cheat on the stats." "What say you?" "Shit, me?" "I'm gonna go to 12-hour shifts on the weekends." "What about you, Bunny?" "I dunno." "I thought I might legalize drugs." "So they hit the got-damn alley?" "And we on 'em." "That cocksmokin' motherfucker with the big-bitch gun?" "He was runnin' hard on his ass, but..." "I think I hit him." "Nigger, you ain't hit nobody." "I mighta hit him." "Yo, String, we hit the one girl." "But after that, man, I ain't see nobody catch no lead, man." "'Cept for Tank." "Yeah, Tank gone." "The other broad dropped him." "So I guess we even now." "So you get one, right?" "Yeah." "That's good." "That's like a 40-degree day?" "Ain't nobody got nothing to say about a 40-degree day." "50, bring a smile to your face." "60?" "Shit, niggers is down there barbecuing on that motherfucker." "Go down to 20, niggers get their bitch on." "Get their blood complaining'." "But 40?" "Nobody give a fuck about 40." "Nobody remember 40 and y'all niggers is giving me way too many 40-degree days!" "?" "What the fuck!" "?" "Now, we're gonna cover that bitch's funeral her fucking wake." "We're gonna be all over that motherfucker till the bitch hit the ground." "And if the faggot roll up to pay his respects we're gonna be on that motherfucker... yo, who the fuck you talking to, man?" "It's Donette, String." "She been callin'." "No." "Put the phone down." "Y'all feel me on this?" " Yeah." " Yeah." "He show up we on him like a motherfucker... like a 40-degree day." "So, overall felonies are down but murders are still up." "What's our next move?" "Let me bump overtime and court pay for homicide and district ops." "Cases go into the green before they go into the black." "Done." "And, of course, if we could get some help at the courthouse it would go a long way." "If you're going to try and dig your way out this don't make me your shovel." "My department is bringing you casework that goes nowhere." "The cases are thin." "Most wouldn't make it past a prelim in the court of a freshman judge." "Well, maybe if your personnel weren't so got-damned concerned for their got-damned conviction rate they'd chance a whodunit or two." "Oh, for chrissake!" "Jesus, at least pretend you're on the same side." "Stephen, you and I are both going to be counting votes this time next year." "Do something to help our sorry asses." "And Erv, if you want to do more than just finish out walker's term show me something more than a pass of the buck." "I don't think any of us wants to have to get a real job." "Mr. Mayor." "Alright." "I'll see you both in here on this next week." "Thank you, Sir." "Like children." "Demper's always been a hack." "But he's an elected hack, so we're stuck with him." "But burrell, though?" "You're vulnerable on crime, Clarence." "You need to set some deadwood adrift." "Burrell's got friends." "The ministers?" "He might be their man, but so are you." "You fire Burrell, you get some new blood in there the crime rate drops, huh?" "The ministers will live with it." "So you're tough on deadwood, huh?" "In the new 11th district too, I hear." "Mr. Mayor it's time for Eunetta to go." "She's had her time there are better people out there for the council." "She's on the team, Odell." "just like my police commissioner." "I value loyalty." "Don't you?" "Bunky Bunk." "Where's my Bunk?" "Cole's up, not you." "You're on Dozerman's gun, remember?" "Cole's at the courthouse." "Sue me." "Rawls and Foerster have crawled up into my backside and they're gonna stay there until you find Dozerman's gun." "Now, I would like it very much if I could unclench my ample asscheeks if you don't mind and rid myself of that discomfort." "Jay, I just caught one that pushed it's way all the way to the top of my stack." "A victim, Jay." " On the real side." " Do tell." "Second body in a double." "Girl in her 20s, caught in the middle of a firefight takes one in the dome." "But, she's still dead in a zip code that does not fucking matter and you still owe me a departmental-issue nine." "Find the fucking gun, Bunk." "Fuck me." "Kintel Williamson, who the fuck?" "He has corners in Park Heights." "But Jesus, who doesn't?" "So all day we're calling you, Jimmy wondering' where you were at." "Kima, maybe you can enlighten us." "Don't look at me." "My running' buddy don't even tell me where he's off to these days." "I was at the library." "Bullshit." "The library at M.C.I. Jessup." "D'angelo barksdale was not a suicide." "The M.E. tell you that?" "He didn't need to." "The physical evidence didn't match up." "Look, I don't like coming up off Stringer and Prop Joe anymore than you do but McNulty, this shit is kinda weak." "Cedric is under a lot of pressure to use this unit to get the murder rate down." "So, for now" "Stringer Bell's jacket belongs in narcotics." "Man took you off a boat, Jimmy." "He want to peel his unit off, his unit, Jimmy." "And go after the target of his choice, maybe it's his call." "Lester, I thought you were all about the best case possible." "When it's there, I am." "Yo, I need y'all to hear this, man." "It was my fault." "Ya hear me?" "I'm sorry, yo." "That don't do nothin' for me." "How come... they know you're police when they hook up with you." "And they know you're police when they move in." "And they know you're police when they decide to start a family with you." "And all that shit is just fine until one day it ain't." "One day, it's:" ""you should have a regular job. "" ""You need to be home at 5:00"." ""You need to call more. "" "I'm sayin'." ""You need to stop fucking waitresses. "" "I wanna come down here tomorrow to Western." "See what's what since those towers came down." "We're supposed to start on Kintel tomorrow." "Oh, fuck that chump." "He can wait day or two." "Yeah, okay." "What the fuck." "When you were humpin' a radio car in the Western?" "Was this your hole?" "Yeah." "Here and down on Winchester." "Under the bridge." "Bet there were a lot of nights you didn't go home to the missus." "Don't tell me I'm the same kinda asshole." "Pucker up, girlfriend." "Jesus." "I'm turning into McNulty." "Hey, I'm going out." "Nah, grandma, you know I can't." "Times like these, honey, you have to shine." "In your face, in your clothes and in your pocket." "Now, go on." "Make sure you get something to eat, hear?" "Go on, now." "You know 'em?" "snot a clue." "Crew on that corner looks familiar." "A couple old faces." "Not many." "You go away for a year and the whole world changes up." "Quiet though." "Barksdale loses the towers and he's able to stretch out without bodies falling?" "I wonder what the Western guys have been seeing lately." "Hey, Jay." "What the fuck happened?" "When?" "How is he?" "Aw, shit." "You'll let me know, right?" "Okay, yeah." "Thanks." "You know Ray Cole?" "Homicide, right?" "Collapsed in the gym at the central district this morning." "On a fucking stairmaster." "Well, how is he?" "A stairmaster." "Hey, Puddin', check it out." "Where they at?" "I don't know." "Look out, man." "Break it, motherfuckers." "Man said break, come on." "I was workin' on that bitch." "Yeah, Shorty, you hard." "We outta here." "The Commissioner acknowledged that money had been budgeted for the academy class but said the department was awaiting approval of a federal training and education grant before scheduling the program." "Burrell can talk some shit, can't he?" "Downtown in the house." "Hey, Kima, baby." "Hey, Ellis." "Herc." "So, what do we owe the pleasure?" "Cruisin' your district, seeing what's up since the towers fell." "We see Barksdale crews on a few corners but no one seems to be beefin' with 'em." "What's up with all this brotherhood?" "We keep the lid on tight." "You know, they know we are not their friends and they damn well know we'll take it to 'em if they don't behave." "What do your C.I.'s tell you?" "Fuck C.I.'s." "We don't need no stinkin' C.I.'s." "We tune 'em up, we beat 'em down, we lock 'em up." "It's the Western District way." "Sergeant you're wanted in roll call for a supervisor's meeting." "Gotta go." "Remember, what I told you?" "A police is only as good as his informants?" "Well, we ain't downtown no more, Kima." "We're in the trenches here." "You want information, you go get your own C.I." "And shoot the shit." "You're late, Sergeant." "I had a couple downtown detectives in my shop." "They were confused and required assistance, Sir." "Well, I'll catch you up." "The new strategic plan for the district is to move all street-level trafficking to these three areas." "We want to push it." "Push it, boss?" "If they don't go easy, then they go hard." "But... we let these knuckleheads know that if they move to these areas... away from the residential streets away from commercial areas, away from schools... if they take their shit down the road they go about their business without any interference from us." "It's going to be hands-off in the Western District for the foreseeable future." "Bullshit, man, no fuckin' way." "Wait, wait." "You're saying you want us to give them a free pass?" "How we going to look them in the eye?" "They'll shit all over us." "Tell their kids to shit all over us." "Hey, the Major wasn't finished." "You gotta take the long view here." "Once once they're all comfortable once they're all rounded up" "once they've been down there a bit and they're used to putting their feet up and playing wit the remote" "then we move." "Then we go back and we do police work." "Look at it this way, Gentlemen would you rather shoot a fish in the ocean?" "Or would you rather gather 'em up in a few small barrels and start emptying your clips then?" "Not to mention, you still get to kick the shit out of all the mopes who don't move off our corners." "So, it ain't all bad." "Slow up, girl." "Come on now." "So, this your ride?" "It's nice." "Suppose you got a Lex." "Nah, girl." "Got a bus pass." "You out the game, then." "Doing a little landscaping right now." "But trying' to figure things out." "So, what's your boy's name?" "Allen." "After Iverson?" "After his daddy." "What?" "Trying to picture you mowing a land." "I don't be wearin' the suit." "You look good in it still." "You look good too." "You know they bought a lot a folks out with early retirement in parks and rec." "I could maybe hook you up with someone to talk to." "A man at my church is helping the city fill a lot of those jobs." "That would be... thank you." "Write your number there." "He'll call you." "I gotta go." "It was good seeing you." "Grace." "Looking at you." "What?" "Hurts." "Shouldn't look then." "Food blast'll take yer mind off it." "Rather my mind on it, Bubs?" "Swear I'm sick of all this, man." "Wonderin' when I got so old." "How 'bout some more mac n' cheese, huh?" "Hey, Bubs." "Kima." "Hey, Bub." "McNutty, man, my mainest man." "You ready to put some work in?" "Born ready." "Snitchin'?" "Fuck that, Bubs." "Hey, hey, nah, man." "Better than liftin' 500 pound radiators." "I'm up for these two, Johnny." "It's easy money, man." "C'mon let's grab a burger." "Mind if I bang outta here early?" "I ain't right with this Cole thing." "Gonna be a detectives' wake at Kavanagh's tonight." "You gonna come?" "Barely knew the guy." "You all laying' him out at the bar, huh?" "Tradition." "Tomorrow night, he goes the funeral home for family." "Tonight, Ray drinks with the boys." "C'mon, Bubs, we ain't got all day." "And he's up for re-election and he's never had a single one of his goo-goo bills pass the committee." "So, he's got one for all-day kindergarten" "I mean who's gonna argue with more kindergarten?" "I mean, this guy has got a bill which is the legislative equivalent of kissing a baby." "So, right, he goes to his chairman pleads his case and says:" ""You know, this don't go through, I'm torched. "" ""I'm going to be back in that hardware store, mixing paint. "" "So, the chairman takes pity and agrees gets the bill to the floor." "But the house speaker?" "He hates this bill." "So, it gets loved to death, you know... slap on an amendment for another 150 mil in costs subsidies, handouts and the bill goes down in flames." "122 to 10." "The delegate, he can smell those paint cans." "And the chairman says:" ""Hey, sorry brother, I fought like a tiger for that bill. "" "Who wants friends like that?" "You want friends in this racket, get a dog." "What?" "I need to talk to him." "Look, just tell him it's Donette." "Yeah, he know who the fuck I am." " YoSstring, she say..." " Not now." "Look, he say not now, I gotta go." "Marlo." "It's a problem, String." "Club soda and lime." "You'll never get there that way." "Get where?" "Excuse me." "How the hell was I to know the Mayor was gonna put the screws to you?" "You read the paper?" "I look like shit." "Hey, you got your class and probably scored points with Royce out of sheer loyalty, right?" "We are police so no lies between us." "He wasn't the greatest detective and he wasn't the worst." "He put down some good cases and he dogged a few bad ones." "But, the motherfucker had his moments." "Yes, he fucking did." "You remember the Mississippi extradition the Arson murders?" "He brought that case home." "And the triple at the after-hours over on Hudson Street?" "That was Ray Cole at his best." "And Fayette Street... in '93, the drug wars." "He took a lot of hot corners and cooled 'em." "Yes, indeed." "He won as much as he lost much as any of us." "For chrissakes, Hugh, play the fucking song already." "Did he piss off a wife or three?" "No fucking doubt." "I think the last one actually kinda got used to him, thank God." "Did he say the wrong shit now and then?" "Did he bust balls and cheat on his taxes and forget to call his mother and fuck the wrong broad for the wrong fucking reason every now and then?" "Who fucking doesn't, Christ?" "Was he as full of shit as every other sadsack motherfucker wearing a badge of Baltimore City Police?" "Abso-fucking-lutely." "His shit was as weak as ours, no question." "But Ray Cole stood with us, all of us" "in Baltimore working sharing a dark corner of the american experiment." "He was called." "He served." "He is counted." "Old king Cole." "Old king Cole!" "I'm sorry, but I gotta get these guys home." "But all things considered, I think they did pretty well." "They were great." "And you were great, really, Jen." "Besides, I think they got all the family shots they need." "So, you'll be awhile, though, huh?" "Gotta work the crowd, you know?" "Make 'em think I'm worthy of their faith." "You are." " Well, thank you..." " Most of the time." "Bitch." "Not too late if you can help it, okay?" "Shit is fucked." "You fucking wake up, like any other day." "You fucking eat and think about bills and dry cleaning and shit" "and fucking vacation and your fucking retirement plan and what?" "Like that." "Like that." "He checked out of here with you still owing him a clearance on that Omar thing." "Oh, I know, I know." "I fucking know." "Like that." "On a fucking stairmaster." "On a fucking stairmaster." "Wake up an' die right, you cunts." "What's goin' on, man?" "That whip is pretty, yo." "I gotta get me one of them joints someday." "Shit." "Yeah."