"I thought he was supposed to have a breakfast date, right?" "I mean, they told me that last night." "Breakfast?" "Is that on the sched?" "It isn't, but the lieutenant told me that he'd be doing breakfast with someone down at the harbor." "I mean, if he ain't," "I could go get this gassed up at the Fallsway." "I hate this detail, man." "It's off duty." "Lotsa perks." "All this stand around and wait, you know?" "Hoskins says I do the one year, and I'll make sergeant on the next list." "Yeah." "They told me, careerwise, you can't do better than drive the mayor." "Shit, if you could make rank the right way," "I'll still be working Western drugs." "All right, fuck this," "I'm gonna go look for the lieutenant." "Anyone comes looking," "I'm back up on the second floor." "Sir?" "I understood that the mayor might be going to, uh, breakfast at the harbor?" "With Kweisi." "But, um, that's up in the air, I thought." "Would you happen to know where Lieutenant Hoskins is?" "Sir?" "Lieutenant?" "Umm..." "You don't look happy, Detective." "We're about to raise some hell." "Maybe too much hell." "A state senator, two councilmen, the City Development Agency, all those developers..." "Princes of the city." "Lester, tell me the thought hasn't crossed your mind that some kinda shit could blow back on us, man." "Do you know what Theodore Roosevelt said about hunting grizzly bears?" "The thrill is in overcoming your own fear." "What was the thrill for the bear?" "I should've run every one of these subpoenas by my front office." "That's not procedure." "Fuck procedure, Lester." "My boss is running two points behind in the polls with the mayor's support." "How do you think he's gonna do if he pisses off Royce and starts dropping off incumbent tickets?" "Why do you care?" "If Demper thinks I fucked him and he wins," "I will be at Central Booking covering bail reviews." "If he loses to Bond, a new front office comes in and maybe they bounce the white girl back to a trial team and give the Narcotics Division to one of their own." "It's Baltimore, Lester." "We're missing a couple of subpoenas." "We are?" "Clay Davis and Andy Krawczyk." "I'm holding those till October." "Oh, the hell you are." "Lester... we drop subpoenas on either of those guys three weeks before the primary, and all hell breaks loose." "That's what I'm sayin'!" "Clay Davis is Royce's deputy campaign chairman, and the number-two man at the City Legislative Caucus." "And Krawczyk is his number-one fundraiser!" "You're giving me resumes and job titles." "I'm just following the money." "And we will follow it..." "after the polls close." "We can drop a second batch of subpoenas." "There is no reason to do this now and risk" "A year ago, if we had gone after these records," "City Hall would've stomped on this unit and the subpoenas." "And a month from now, after Royce is reelected, they'll do us the same way." "But right now, with the primary coming, they gotta worry about how they look, how they behave." "Right now, they gotta worry about scandal." "You told me you wanted to do this a year ago, but fresh cases got in the way." "You told me that." "Oh." "Very clever, Lester." "You got it all figured, huh?" "Me?" "I'm just the police." "I saw the teachers' union finally endorsed Royce." "You knew they were gonna." "What time's your first appearance?" "Today?" "I meet up with you guys at the SoWeBo forum." "And tonight, it's me and the kids next to Tommy at the Roland Park fundraiser." "Better speed things along." "A kick in the ass sometimes helps." " B-5?" " No, Daddy, D-5." "You sure you didn't say B-5?" "D-5." "What did I hit?" "Submarine." "Umm..." "E-6." "Miss." "Just gimme 10 minutes." "You seen your schedule today?" "You ain't got 10 minutes." "Norman, I got this pretty girl's aircraft carrier boxed in." " D-4." " Ow!" "Hit." "Tommy, for Christ's sakes." "Is there any way that I can win?" "With the numbers what they are, is there any way at all?" "Right, so if it's just a matter of playing out the string, then that's what I'm gonna do." "That game's pretty much over, Norman." "But this game-- this game right here-- this one could still go either way." "H-11, sweetheart." "Miss." "D-3." "So I guess y'all getting what y'all need?" " Brianna keeping' y'all close?" " She come up with it." "Money comin' through every month like she say." "A'ight, 'cause I'm standin' tall up in here." "They don't need to worry about me an' I ain't need to worry about them." " You a soldier, Bey." " You know it." "Everything all right with my fishes?" "You'd tell me if it wasn't, right?" "The fish be fine." "I mean, they fish, right?" "How I know how they feelin' about shit?" " De'londa..." " They fine, Bey." "Ask Namond." "Cleaned the tank an' all, like you say." " Cleaned the filter, too." " A'ight, a'ight." "Check you out, though." "Getting some fuzz up there, huh?" " Mm-hmm." " Yeah, whatever." "I know when I was a little kid, boy," "I couldn't wait till I started shaving." "One of the old heads on the corner say," ""Hey, little man, you wanna grow a 'stache?" "Next time you take a piss, take some of that piss, get it on your fingertips, do like this, here."" "Eww!" "You do it?" "You damn right I did it." "Shit." "What's going on with you, though, son?" "Ain't nothing." "School about to start." "So what about Bodie and his boys?" "They treating' you right?" "Yeah, he cool." "Boy, don't lie to your father." "He don't even show up for work half the damn time." " Bodie told me." " I missed a few days." "That's all, Dad." "And what money you do make, you waste on nonsense." "And if you think I'm gonna give you a dime for your school clothes, you better think again." "What Bodie got you doin'?" "I'm a runner, most days." "Everybody got to start somewhere." "You better listen to your father." "He ain't tell you 'bout that hair, though, huh?" "Yeah, he said I gotta get it cut." "I like it this way." "Even the white police lookin' out from three blocks away gonna be able to spot you from every other nigga out there." "They gonna hop out and say, "Look at the boy over there with the pretty-ass ponytail." "Get him."" "You think I'm bullshitting." "Either you real out there, or you ain't, Nay." "You see what I'm sayin'?" "Let me get some!" "Hey, yo!" "Over here!" " Whoa!" "$100!" " Thanks, mister!" " Thank you, Mr. Marlo!" " Thank you!" "That's my money, yo!" "Your name gonna ring out, man." "Manuel..." "Boy, you talk that shit better'n me and I been dealin' with these Mexicans for years now." "Yeah, I don't think they would call what I'm speakin' Spanish, man." "Just a dirty word or two here or there." "Yeah, well." "Once you can talk to these cats, the only thing you need then is a truck, man." "Could be runnin' your own crew, picking' up fresh clients." "I mean, if we put in together we could be coverin' twice the ground, makin' twice as much." "Nah, man, I got other obligations." "Oh, right." "You set to be the new Angelo Dundee." "I near forgot." "I thought you already went up to Mondawmin to get your school shit, man." "Yeah, but not all of it." "And my boy, he need to pay for his own shit and his little brother, too." "The fuck this look like, a Social Services office?" "You want a check, go the fuck up Rosemont." "Come on, man, I'll work for it." "Nay, I took you on outta respect for your father, a'ight, but I can't go hirin' the whole damn neighborhood." "You can have my job until you get enough for you an' Bug." " Thanks, man." " Yeah, work for y'all, work for me, yo." "Po-po." "Step the fuck off." "Looking for your man Lex." "I see his broom, but I don't see him." "Where's your number two been at?" " I ain't seen him." " Since when?" "I thought we were on better terms." "Or do you want me rolling past" "Iookin' for Lex every 15 minutes?" "He come past, I'll call you." "I will!" "If he come past." "Oh no, I don't know." "They're spinning their wheels." "You know, poor Tony Gray, pulling 20% of the black vote." "It's embarrassing." "Well, who knows what the fuck" "Carcetti's trying to prove?" "But I tell you, at the end of this thing, he's gonna regret getting on the wrong side of me." "Mm-hmm." "A'ight, now." "I got what you need, boy, clean tees, any sizes, huh?" "Lookin' for socks, briefs, you lookin' for dice, Zippos, cards-- come on over to the Rollin' Emporium." "You ain't gotta walk to Rite-Aid." "Shit, Rite-Aid comin' to y'all." "What can I get you, baby?" "Fresh dice an' a pack of Trojans." " All righty." " You got Philly Blunts, too?" "Bubbles got it all, dawg." "I'm the one-stop shop." " How much is that?" " Six an' a bit." "Thank you." "Thank you kindly." "Yes, sir, I see what you're lookin' at." "Two a deck, name brand." "You can't beat that price." "Yeah, let me get two decks, man, and a white tee, double-X." "And give me the rest of them paint cans, too, man." "All right, all right, there you go." "That's it?" "Yeah, what's that?" "How much the man owe, Sherrod?" " 13." " Whoa whoa whoa." "He asked for all the cans." "Three cans is $12, plus the other stuff." "It's $19." "$19, sir." "Come on, you still gettin' off with a deal," "Now, you didn't have to move your feet." "We came to you, right?" "My bad." "$19, like he said." "Thank you very much." "He's an intern, I'm working with him." "But, ma'am, what I'm asking is when was the last time you saw Lex?" "Oh, excuse me" " Curtis?" "Hmm?" " Two days ago?" " I don't know where he at." "Three days?" "You mind if I look around?" "I'd rather you leave my house be." "Well, Ms. Anderson... your son is in trouble, and I can tell you're upset." "But the best thing that you can do for him-- the best thing that he can do for himself-- is talk to me." "I'm gonna tell you the truth:" "We know he's selling drugs." "And I'm gonna tell you..." "I don't know nothin' about that." "But I'm telling you that I don't care he's selling drugs." "I'm not even gonna bother with that." "I'm here because of a homicide, and the way it looks right now your boy is running from the police behind that killing." "I don't know where he at..." "Ma'am..." "Councilman, my people got only cost-of-living bumps for four years." "Morale is at rock bottom." "All things being equal, you'd be our guy." "We like what we hear." "The polls say it's going to be Royce." "We endorse you now, we're out in the cold." "Bobby... this might be the chance to get in on the ground floor of something better." "That may be true, Major." "But for now, we're gonna play the cards that we were dealt." "Councilman, if you were me, I'm sure" "I'd cover my ass and endorse Royce, along with the teachers and the firefighters." "But I'd also tell my membership not to get carried away." "I mean, it's one thing for the police union to call out for Royce, it's another thing entirely for off-duty cops to be manning the mayor's phone banks and polling stations." "I don't think any of my officers will be too aggressive for anybody." "That much I can give you." "Best you could do, Tommy." "Royce has got all those fucks running' scared." "Yeah... best I could do." "Call it a night, Tommy." "You got a debate to prepare for tomorrow." "Yeah." "Debate." "Nothing matters more at this point." "Let the truth set you free, Norman." "Nothing matters at all." "Thanks." "Come on, boy, come on now." "Man, you better not be getting tired, 'cause you gonna get put to the test" " on Saturday night." " I'm ready." " Hey, Miss Johnson." " Hey, Justin." "Hello, Dennis." "You're Spider's mother, right?" "Right, Sharon." "Sharon Johnson." "Your boy left here a while ago." "I ain't looking for him." "He at his grandmother's." "I wanted to ask you something." "You know, my son is crazy about you." "All he talks about is boxing, bein' at the gym, and what his coach been teachin' him." "Well, Spider's a good kid." "He really studies the sport." "Dennis, I am so grateful for your interest in Spider," "I want to cook you dinner." "How 'bout tonight?" "Well, ah, that is really nice, Sharon." "But the thing is, I got four of my boys fighting this weekend, and I got to train 'em really hard these next few evenings." "You in here every night of the week." "What you do for fun?" "Look here, you got to eat, right?" "And you can look at me and know" "I throw down in the kitchen-- among other places." "Yeah, I tell you what:" "If you fix me up a plate and bring it over here," "I would love that." "That I can do." " He said what?" " "Me?" "I'm just the police."" "Like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth." "And the thing that I resent most is that he's not just playing the system, he's playing me." "Like I'm part of the problem." "You were gonna hold back the paper for Davis and Krawczyk, right?" "Only until the primary was over." "And now you feel guilty about it." "Did he do that thing where he, uh, stares at you over the top of his reading glasses?" "You know, that look that says," ""I'm the father you never had, and I don't want to be disappointed in you ever again."" "It's not funny, Cedric!" "Those subpoenas went out today!" "The front office is gonna go batshit!" "But you did it anyway." "I'm sorry, but shit, I'm just glad to see" "Lester doing it to somebody other than me." "Hey, you holdin' us back, Sherrod." "I made a mistake, man." "Why you trippin'?" "If I can cut you loose to handle the money, we can cover twice the ground, selling twice the merchandise." "More-- more-- what you call it, uh, market share." "Instead I gotta keep your ass close." "You shoulda been promoted to your own cart by now." "You keep on hittin' your dome on the glass ceiling." " Glass what?" " You gotta step up the math skills if you wanna advance in this here enterprise." "You remember last spring when you tried to take me up to Harlem Park?" "They couldn't even find my records, Bubs." "They didn't want shit to do with me." "They put you in a classroom, right?" "The teacher didn't look at me once." "So you rolled out." "An' who got hurt behind that, huh?" "The teacher or you?" "What's four times five plus six times seven?" "See?" "See?" "Fuck that shit, son." "I can't wait until school starts." " You joking, right?" " Nah, seriously, son." "I can't wait to see all them girls, see which ones got phat over the summer," " you know?" " Guess who I saw last week?" " Who?" " Kwaneese Davis." "Oh, shit, you mean Cute-Ass Kwaneese?" " Uh-huh." " She phat?" "Got titties, too." "I'm definitely tapping' that pussy, now, y'all watch." "I'm be all up in Kwaneese this year" "like this, bangin' that..." "Just like you tried to do last year, right?" "Fuck you, nigga, I only halfway tried." "So, Michael, who you gettin' with this year?" "Stankin' ass, uh-- what's her name?" "What's her name?" " What's her name?" " Oh, Tina." "Tina" " Tina Jenkins." "Don't talk bad about Tina, man." "I'm not sayin' that it bad." "I'm sayin' she be sucking dudes' dicks in the boys' bathroom and shit," " that's all." " I heard you, man." "She suck dick even better than you do, Namond." " Oh!" " Wow." "What up?" "What up, see?" "Good jabbing', man." "Chill chill chill!" "Don't rip this shit." "I just bought this throwback." "Yo, Michael, son, if I ain't had this shit on," "I'd have fucked you up." "Word up." "You little niggas ain't up to no good, is you?" "Yo, what up, Monk?" "Look here, first day of school coming up, right?" " Yeah, next week." " Y'all need school clothes and shit?" "Here..." "Yo, what's this for?" "What, you ain't hear me?" "For new clothes, whatever else you need to get." " Thanks, man!" " Damn, 200?" " Yo, thanks, Monk." " Oh, you need to thank my man Marlo." "He ain't wanna see you little motherfuckers going raggedy on the first day." "Whoa." "That Marlo?" " Naw, man, no thanks." " You ain't gotta do nothing for it." "No thank you, man." "Hey, yo, Mr. Monk?" "I'll take his if he don't want it." " I'll hold his for you" " Yo, don't press, man." "Don't press." "Fuck is wrong with you, boy?" "You too good for my money?" "Or is you such a bitch-ass punk you worried about where my money come from?" "Yeah." "Ain't no thing, shorty." "We cool." "You can't tell nobody." "Swear to me you won't spread this around." "And he saw you?" "Yeah, he saw me." "Carv, I'm fucked in the ass with a pineapple on this." " What the hell'd you say to him?" " I said, "Mr. Mayor, that's a good, strong dick you got there, and I see you know how to use it."" "I didn't say shit!" "And I didn't wait for him to say anything, either." "Shit, I'm never gonna make rank now." "I'll end up riding the boat or some shit like McNulty." "This is way beyond my pay grade." "We need to get with someone who knows politics." "Who do we know like that?" "On crime, he knows you're coming, so he's gonna set some traps and lean on stats that say crime is down." "He'll also try to inoculate himself by making it about you." "Like you're playing the race card if you talk about drugs or violent crime." "He's hoping you'll back down." "But you come on twice as hard:" ""Clarence Royce has not made this city safe."" "Hey, Jen, what's up?" " You got a second?" " No, I got time, what is it?" " You forgot the check." " Oh no, you're kidding me." "You've got to pay it right away." "No, no, I got the number here, yeah." "No, I'll straighten it out straightaway." " Okay." " Yeah." "Shit." "I forgot to mail the check to the fuckin' archdiocese." "My kid's gonna get tossed outta St. Albans if I don't get my shit together." "Tommy." "Focus." "He comes at me with race and some bullshit crime stats." "I ignore the race thing and counter by noting that homicides are up 15% even though other violent crime stats are down 12%." "I point out this does not make sense unless Royce is cooking the crime stats, making robberies, rapes, and assaults disappear." "I suggest the mayor is not telling the truth about crime in the city." "I conclude by declaring that it is for all of Baltimore-- every neighborhood-- that I'm making public safety the cornerstone of my campaign." "Tomorrow night, I will kick his ass." "But the next morning," "I still wake up white in a city that ain't." "Sister Theresa?" "Hey, how you doing?" "Yeah, Tommy Carcetti." "Yo, Randy, man, you crack me up, son." "Running behind him talking about," ""I'll take his, Mr. Monk." "Give his to me."" "Listen, man, I could've used that extra." "I already spent all the clothes money" "Miss Anna gave me on stuff to sell at school." "Yo, and plus Marlo wanted us to have it." "He want to show us who callin' the shots out here." " Yo, Michael, why you ain't take it?" " that ain't me, man." " Say what?" " That owing' niggas for shit, man." " That ain't me." " I'll take any motherfucking' money" " if he givin' it away now." " Why?" "Shit, your family got more money than all of us." "Yeah, but my mom said she cuttin' me off, she ain't buying' me school clothes and shit." "You already took my job with Bodie, so..." " Gentlemen." " Oh my God." "Oh shit!" " Donut, you crazy, man." " Yo, Donut." "You think you could steal us one of them camper trucks?" "Yo, you steal us a camper truck, we can all go campin'" " out in the woods an' all." " I be scared in the woods." "I don't mean far like that." "I mean like Howard County." "Naw naw naw, man." "The Ku Klux Klan live in Howard County." "I know that for a fact." "Nigga, my aunt live in Howard County." "There ain't no Ku Klux Klan there." "Nigga, you simple, I swear." "Hey, yo, Donut, drive me away from these ignorant bitches, man." "You can't tell these niggas nothin'." "Move, motherfucker." "Can you see over the steering wheel?" "You think he'll talk to me?" "Use my name if you have to." "I had one of his sectors for eight months." "What's wrong with that picture?" "Nigga, if there was a black one in the parking lot," "I would've took one." "Yo-- narcos, narcos!" "760 to K-G-A." "I got a bailout at Calhoun and Mosher, six to eight juveniles beating feet north in the alleys around Calhoun." "10-4." "K-G-A to all units" "I love this." "Just like old times." "I don't need to chase these fucking knuckleheads." "I know half of 'em." "Shit, I know where they hang." "Besides, you're a little overdressed." "Let's just call this in and go see the man about your thing." "Yo, yo, man, I ain't do nothin'!" " I ain't do nothin'!" " Then why you runnin'?" " 'Cause you chasin' me." " Yeah, right." "What's your name?" " For real, man, I ain't do nothin'." " What's your goddamn name?" " Randy." " Randy what?" " Wagstaff." " I know you ain't lying." "Wouldn't nobody make that shit up." "Put your hands against this fucking wall." "Come on-- what do you know about hoppers bailing from a stolen car?" "Nothin'." "Little motherfucker." "You slingin'." " No, sir." "I swear to God." " Hell you ain't." "How else you walking around with 200 in your pocket?" "My foster mother gave me that to buy school clothes with." "Your foster mother gave you 200 cash?" "Yeah." "Tell her to come down to the Western, and I'll give it back to her." "Beat feet, motherfucker, before I lock your little ass up." "Don't be fucking lookin' at me, move." "This right here is fire." "That said, I'm ready to serve 'em myself and keep your names off the returns." "I've got my 20." "You two got to live in this department." "Fuck 'em where they live." "Let's go." "The price of steel being what it is, that's gonna kill us if we can't pass along the overage." "Mr. Krawczyk?" "Baltimore City Police." " What's this?" " A subpoena for records." "You need these right now, because, uh," "I'm kinda up to my ass in stuff today." "Honor it in a timely fashion." "I think that's the legal standard." " No problem, Detective" " Shakima Greggs." "You're with the city?" " Which unit?" " Major Crimes." "Senator." "What the hell is this?" "Subpoena for records." "Sphinx Club?" " Man of the year." " What kinda bullshit is this?" "You people must be out your damn mind." "You were in the Sphinx Club?" "My uncle used to tend bar over there." "Marvin Thompson?" "Short guy" "What is your name, Officer?" "Detective Sydnor, sir." ""Major Crimes"?" "Shit..." "Enjoy your day, sir." "Son, we're gonna see about this." "That's it." "Yankin' that bitch." "Son, that's too much knuckle." "Why the fuck you keep callin' me?" "But what I say, though?" "He got the message, fool." "Yo, Monk." "Who that, man?" "Andre." "Old Face Andre." "Here, let me holla at that dude." "Yo, check this out, man." "I'm gonna show you how you do this right here, man." "Don't rush me on shit." "I'll get at you when I'm at you." "Yo, remember who you're talking to before you say another fuckin' word." "Andre, man." "Nigga need more maintenance than both my babies' mamas." "By accident." "It was accidental." "And the mayor doesn't say anything?" "I think he's pretty mad." "I mean, Major, I only took this detail to try and make sergeant on this list." "Kid, you made sergeant already." "Shit, if Royce gets reelected, you'll be a lieutenant in two years and a major in four." "You go back down to the hall." "You act like it never happened." "You shut up." "Say nothing to no one." "But the mayor, he's gonna" "He's gonna watch and see how you carry it." "And kid, you're a fucking rock." "When the mayor looks in your face, he knows he can trust you with this." "And I'll bet in a couple of weeks, he comes asking, real friendly-like, what are you looking to do with the department?" "With your career?" "He's interested in you." "But he doesn't mention no blowjob, and neither do you." "Uh-uh, it just lays there" "like a bad pierogi on the plate, both of you pretending it ain't there." "What if he screws me over?" "Bounces me to a midnight shift?" "He does that, you will talk." "What I wouldn't give to be in your shoes right now." "Kid, careers have been launched on a hell of a lot less." "Just shut up and play dumb." "I can do that." "No problem." "Thanks, Major." "Thanks for taking the time to meet me on this." "I mean, it's a weight off my mind talking to you." "It really is." "Don't mention it." "Maybe you get a chance to do me a turn one day after you make rank, huh?" "Oh, boy." "It's all good, Carv." "Because if some federal motherfucker comes through the door, I say, "Hey, it's all in the game."" "But a City Police?" "Baltimore City?" "Hell, no." "Can't be happenin', 'cause I know" "I have raised too much goddamn money for the mayor and his ticket." "Hell, no!" "Ain't no soul in the world that fuckin' ungrateful!" " Calm down, Clay, hmm?" " Money laundering?" "They gonna come talk to me about money laundering?" "In West Baltimore?" "Shit..." "Where do y'all think I'm gonna raise cash for the whole damn ticket?" "From laundromats and shit?" "From some tiny-ass Korean groceries?" "You think I have time to ask a man why he givin' me money?" "Or where he gets his money from?" "I'll take any motherfucker's money if he givin' it away." " I don't wanna know." " I know you don't wanna know." "But I'm scratchin' an' clawin' to get it done for you, Clarence." "For you and me and the rest of the team." "And who comes through my door but a Baltimore City Police" "Iookin' to get up into my shit about it." "Clay, we didn't know about that." "I'm sorry, I gots to leave up out of here before I lose my damn mind." "Nobody knew about that." "You want to run a campaign with my money pillowed under your ass, you need your people to back the fuck up, Clarence." "Krawczyk's on line one." "I'll jump on Burrell and Demper both." "Find out what the hell's going on." "Wait-- wait a minute." "That new driver, the bald-headed, white kid." "Where did he come here from?" "Hoskins brought him in, I think." "Hoskins?" "He doesn't have a better rabbi in the department than that?" "Why, you want to lose him?" "Let me think about it." "Yeah, man, Officer Walker be shady like that." "Police be stealin', yo." "Yo, what I really wanna get is a bubble Caprice." "I seen a nice one, too." "'94 caprice on 22's." "Shit was tight." "You better be careful." "They almost caught you today." "Nigga, they ain't almost caught shit." "Shh." "Be quiet, y'all." "Y'all know who I am, right?" "Carver." "You a narcos." "Today I'm auto theft." "Fair warning." "If I see any of y'all little hoppers even smile at a motor vehicle again, it ain't gonna be no juvenile hearing." "No, it's gonna be my people settling' up with y'all in the alleys." "You understand?" " You can't do that, yo." " Try me, Namond." "Yeah, that's right." "I know your name," "I know where you live and I know where y'all hang." "Damn, yo!" "Nice ride." " Hey, Bunk." " Hmm?" "You have any luck finding your shooter?" "Naw." "He's runnin'." "But at least I know who my shooter is, right?" "I just got to find the boy." " Family won't go for nothin'?" " Nah." "Mother wouldn't say shit." "But it wasn't the usual way a mama lies." " What do you mean?" " I don't know." "It was a weird vibe, man." "I can't explain it." "It was like she was off somewhere else in her head." "Line four." "Communication." " Who's up?" " I'm up." "I'll take it." "No, wait." "If it's yours, you lucky bitch, then it's a domestic in a house with four wits." " You want the call?" " But I pick up that phone, do I make it unlucky?" "Or is it still your call?" "You want the call, pick it up." "If you don't, don't." "Homicide." "Norris." "Right." "Uh-huh." "I got it." "1400 Lanvale, in the street, found by the post officer, no suspects, no witnesses." "Ah, man." "Better to be lucky than to be good." "You wanna work the heavy bag?" "G'head." "Four rounds." "Hey." " Hey." " I'm Gail." "I made this for you and the other men to let you know you're appreciated." " That's real nice." " Peach cobbler." "I'm sorry, I forgot whose mother you are." "Oh, I don't have any boys." "I just appreciate what you been doing, you and the other coaches volunteering and all." "Well, thank you, that's real nice." "I got three girls." "Y'all don't teach girls, though, do you?" " No, I'm real old-fashioned about that." " Oh, I agree wit' you." "Men should be men and women should be women." "That's what I think." "Single wound, upper back, no casings, no witnesses, and nothing on the canvas." " Dead when you got here?" " Actually not." "He was still conscious and coughing' blood when I pulled up." " You ask who shot him?" " Yeah, I asked who shot him." "He said it was a guy with a gun." "Yo, why the fuck you keep calling me?" "He got the message, fool." "Yo, Monk, who that, man?" "Andre." "Old Face Andre." "Yo, Monk, who that, man?" "Andre." "Old Face Andre." "Lemme key that." "Yo, Monk." "Who that, man?" "Andre." "Old Face Andre." "Yo, check this out, man." "Don't rush me on shit." " I'll get at you when I'm at you." " I'm just saying..." "Old Face Andre." "Tryin' to reup with Monk Metcalf." "Yeah, well, Monk took the call on his cell phone." "But that second voice ranked him." "Ranked everybody, by the sound of it." "Marlo Stanfield." "On the phone." "The way he shut that call down, I'd say, yeah, that was him." "Yeah, but what was all that in the background?" "Fireworks, or" "Naw, it was regular intervals." "Semi-auto from the sound." "Target practice, maybe." "Either that or a firing squad." "There are no bodies on this guy in months, but we get him on the phone and it sounds like a war zone." "Well, at least he gets on a phone now and then." " That's something." " Sounds arrogant, doesn't he?" "Like he's the lil' king of everything." "Ah." "Youth." "Yo, bubs." "Thought you asleep." "If you want..." "I could go to school some." "I ain't been for a while, so I don't even know if I can." "But if you want me to go... ain't no thing." "His Honor was mad?" "I can't begin to describe it." " What's he want from us?" " To block the subpoenas, but he knows we can't once those things go out." "What I could promise him is no more surprises out of our shop." "Is this that cocksucker McNulty?" "Not this time." "He's been gone from that unit a year." "My best guess would be Lester Freamon." " Freamon?" " Lester's got a helluva game." "Well, we need to sit on the motherfucker." "All that unit needs, Commissioner, is proper supervision." "Hey, the State of Maryland just lost another cooperating witness, and I just found a lot of fucking overtime." "This case went from a who-gives-a-fuck drug murder to straight-up red ball." "Fuck, I should've picked up that phone." "Hey, Sarge." "My boy's a witness." "Drug case pending in part 18." "You know for sure he's killed for that reason?" "Don't know shit." "But from the look of the court computer, this guy's the state's whole case." "Don't put it in the 24 that the guy was a witness." "Trust me, we do not wanna kick shit in an election year." "Work the case, take the O.T., but bury the witness angle till we know for sure." "And close the door." "Yeah." "It's Landsman." "Homicide." "Is the major in this morning?" "Next order of business:" "class rules." "It helps if the team is constant on these." "Less wiggle room for the children." "Mrs. Scott?" "Same as last year, double space." "Language Arts, we grade a lot of papers." "It doesn't make them write any better, but it saves my eyesight." "Make sure you demonstrate it for them." "Some of them think double-space means more space between words." "I'd of thought by eighth grade" "Rule of thumb around here, Mr. Pryzbylewski:" "Never assume." "Explain what you want them to do, have them do it, then explain again." "With time and patience, they'll get it." " Mrs. Shapiro?" " It's easier to keep track of lab work if we all use the same heading." "Upper right-hand corner, above the first blue line:" "name, date, and class number, in that order?" "Mr. Pryzbylewski, do you have anything you want addressed?" "Can we have them not chew gum?" "They won't do it in Ms. Sampson's class, but in four years, I have not been able to stop them." "You can try, but first year, it's best to stick with basics." "And team rules-- we can only go with what we can all enforce." "Also, keep your windows closed." "Makes them drowsy, and drowsy's good." "There's a lot to learn." "But for now, build in lots of activities in your lesson plan." "You can't have enough." "You keep them busy, you keep them off-guard." "You need soft eyes." "Excuse me?" "Yeah, but that doesn't prevent you from giving more under your wife's name, your children, if they got separate accounts... yeah." "Sorry, Richie, can you hold a moment?" "Your buddy from the F.O.P." "And he says it's important." "Hey, Stan." "I'm a little busy losing an election here." "You remember about six months ago, you told me to keep an eye for any witnesses gettin' clipped?" "You remember that?" "Who's better than me, Tommy?" "Hey, Richie, can I call you back?" "Thanks." "Anything else you want me to do, Miss Donnelly?" "Uh... you live near Duquan Weems, correct?" "Dukie?" "I want you to take this to his house." "These clothes won't stay clean long." "Make sure you deliver them just to Duquan, not any of the adults in the house." " Just Duquan." " Want me to do it tonight?" "that would be great." "And, Crystal, thanks for today." "You're welcome, Miss Donnelly." " Can I help you?" " Yes, ma'am." "This young man has to be registered for school." " Does he attend here?" " He should." "What I mean is, what grade were you in last year, dear?" "He kinda lost his way some time ago." "He's livin' with me now." "And you are his..." "Uncle." "I'm his uncle." "Come into my office." "Thank you." "Excuse me." "Yo, look at coach workin' it, yo." "A'ight, man, break." "That's what I like to see, baby." "That's what I like to see." "You gotta use that left" " a little more, though, a'ight?" " Yo, man, you finished?" " Got another two minutes." " Fuck that, I got a fight coming up." "You can come back later, a'ight?" "Yo, man said he got one more round, a'ight?" "Step aside, youngin'." "Naw, man, bag is mine for four rounds" " and I only did three." " Fuck that." "What the fuck you tryin' to prove, huh?" "Whoa, whoa." "Come on, man, come on." "Come on." " What's going on, boy?" " I got a fight Saturday night, an' the boy won't get off the bag." "What the fuck he on the bag for anyway, huh?" "He don't even fight." "He don't even spar." "Spar with your ass any day." " Come on, then." " Hey hey hey." "Y'all be cool, you hear me?" "I ain't putting up with this foolishness." "Come here, Michael." " I can work the bag now, right?" " Not yet." "Just wait." " You said four rounds." " Yeah, I know what I said." "You finish up your rounds, and then Justin gets on." "I don't want hear no more street talk." "We boxing' up in here, we ain't fighting'." "He wanna get in the ring with me," " we can go." " Look here, look here," "let me tell you something:" "You can come here, work out, use the equipment." "But nobody gets in that ring unless they're being trained." "You wanna be trained?" "I've been watching you hit that bag." "You got a natural right hand, the way you throw it, the way you land it." "Now if I was to train you, we'd have to start with floor work." "'Cause see, if you don't know how to move, you ain't got no business being in that ring." "So what you think?" "I'd train you myself, personally." "Nah, really I just wanna keep doing what I been doing." "All right." "Let's see that right." "Uh-huh." "Is Dukie here?" "What's that?" "That's for Duquan, right?" "I take it to him." "Gimme." "Hey, Crystal." "Miss Donnelly said to give you these." "Okay." "I'll be right down." "What?" "And for either of my opponents to suggest that downtown development comes at the expense of our city's neighborhoods, well, that's just unfair and, uh, divisive." "For them to suggest that my administration has not been responsive, well..." "Economic development cannot be a band-aid." "It is a long-term process that requires commitment to retraining our workforce and, as I said before, this can only be successful in a city where people feel safe." "So before we can even begin to think about" "Iuring new industries to Baltimore, we need to think about how we can make these neighborhoods and this city safe once again." "Mr. Carcetti may think it's in his interest to exploit people's fears." "He's been doing it throughout this campaign." "I'm offended by it, personally." "But the fact is, that violent crime is down citywide, and our police department is working hard to keep it that way-- and will continue to do so under my administration." "Councilman Carcetti, you have two minutes to respond." "Does anyone in this room really believe that crime is down in Baltimore?" "You calling me a liar, Tommy?" "Gentleman, please." "No personal interactions." " Councilman Carcetti." " Can the mayor honestly tell the people of Rosemont, of Belair Edison, of Highlandtown or Cherry Hill there's less drug-dealing, less violence?" "Any statistics coming from the police department cannot be trusted, because under this mayor, the police are more concerned with protecting Clarence Royce politically than fighting crime." "There's no leadership and morale has never been lower." "I'll change that." "It's business as usual down at City Hall and as a result, our response to crime has been characterized time and time again by wanton indifference." "...32 yards!" "What do I mean by business as usual?" "What do I mean by wanton indifference?" "Well, last night in West Baltimore, on Lanvale Street, another citizen was shot and killed." "This time, the victim was a key witness in a drug case that had yet to come to court." "Courageously, this man had agreed to testify in two weeks time in that case." "The police should have been protecting him." "They were not, and he was murdered." " Oh, shit." " Why?" "Because this mayor..." "You're prime-time, Eddie." "...would not spend the money to protect him." "Now I have no doubt that in a moment or two" "Clarence Royce will accuse me of exploiting this man's death for my own political purpose." "But the truth is, a year ago I wrote the mayor a letter." "I have copies for anyone who wants one." "I begged him to spend the money and make witness protection a priority." "He ignored me." "I even teamed up with our legislative leaders" "Delegate Watkins and others-- to get matching funds for witness protection approved in Annapolis." "And incredibly those matching funds were never claimed by this administration." "Now to mention this now may be exploitive" "I don't know." "I only know it's true, and on such truths I ask the voters of our city to consider a change." "Folks, please, please, hold your applause until after the round of questions is over." "Mayor Royce?" "No more surprises, huh?" "I am unaware of the specifics of the incident to which Councilman Carcetti is referring, uh, so I can't answer that directly, um... however, I can say that this city places the highest priority on protecting those citizens" "who come forward to testify, and we will continue to do so." "Mr. Carcetti states that he wrote a letter expressing his concerns, and I'm sure that he did." "I mean it's-- it's-- it's easy enough to write letters when all you have to do is write letters." "But when you are required to run a city on limited resources, and balance priorities, well, then-- well, then you understand that writing letters will not solve the problem." "Oh, no..." "Shit, girl." "You know I'm-a roll wit' you." "Huh, I need some kinda break." "Mm-hmm." "Oh, shit." "Ain't nothin' worse than them bitches with fucked-up nails at the blackjack table." "You know." "Hold on." "You think my son gonna go up to that school lookin' like himself?" "And I don't believe we can get a handle on crime until we get a handle on the schools." "Because we need to be thinking about these kids before the corners take them." "And this means a renewed focus on our schools..."