The Wire (2002–2008): Season 1, Episode 10 - The Cost - full transcript

Avon, Stringer and Wee-Bey discuss how best to deal with Omar after the attempted hit on Avon, deciding to let him think they want peace, whilst secretly planning to kill him. As such, Omar...

This is the second time this week I had to pay
for a sitter 'cause he was workin' late.

With all that money he make, you can afford it.

Lord.

(indistinct conversation)

What's up, Bubbs?

HEY-

Well, there you go.

- What you got?
- I got some starters.

If you walk through the garden

You better watch your back

Well, I beg your pardon

Walk the straight and narrow track

If you walk with Jesus

He'll save your soul

You gotta keep the devil

Down in the hole

All the angels sing

About Jesus' mighty sword

And they shield you with their wings

Keep you close to the Lord

Don't pay heed to temptation

For his hands are so cold

You gotta keep the devil

Way down in the hole

Way down in the hole

Way down in the hole

Way down in the hole

Way down in the hole

My fault, A.

- Should've never left you alone, homie.
- No, shit.

Man, you didn't pull up when you did,
I'm gone.

Listen, what I want to know is how
we fucking come back on this cocksucker.

We don't. Not now. You feel me?

Listen, Stringer,
your advice was good advice.

You know what I'm saying?
I wanted you to know that.

I want you to put the word out there,

let him know we willing
to squash this, if he is.

What the fuck if he ain't?

No, this nigger live in the town, too.
He gonna listen, if we parley.

And then when he creep out of his hole,

- boom.
- Smoke him.

Say no more, got you.

- Put that out there, yo.
- All right.

About them police, though,
they was on your ass after the game?

Yeah, man, it was like two cars.

See, if they on you, then they got a name.

If they got a name,
they know you got no license.

But they don't want no traffic charges,
you know? They don't want no humble shit.

I think they was trying
to see where I might go.

Where was you gonna take them?

I was taking them to the barbershop.
For a haircut.

Get a fade?

I know, B,
but these motherfuckers are on us. Fuck.

They always been on us.
We just gotta be careful.

You not been talking on any phones
and you not been touching any drugs.

And from now on,
you are not doing the money runs.

Me and Bey gonna take care of that shit
until this whole thing cool off.

- Let me get that pager.
- What's up? You serious?

Serious. I'm gonna get you
a New York supply number only.

Any motherfucking local cats
wanna talk to you, they gotta talk to me.

We gotta build a wall around you, B.

Another month on a fresh phone?

They ripped out the payphones
in the low-rises. Now they're walking.

How much longer
until you bring this case in, Jimmy?

The quicker you can, the better for everybody,
yourself included.

Look at this. Judge Gwynn sends his regrets.

He can't make lunch.
Like I got the plague all of a sudden.

There's your new phone. 30 days.

When Burrell wanted to take down the wire,
you broke off on his ass.

Jimmy, there's a lady here.

Rhonda talks more trash than both of us,
Your Honor.

I have never been
anything other than ladylike, Your Honor.

Detective McNulty is going out of his way
to insult an officer of the court.

- McNulty, I hold you in contempt.
- Who doesn't?

What's with him?

- You haven't heard?
- No.

- What's wrong with the picture?
- Don't know.

Phelan isn't in it.

What? He's up for election?
I thought judges had 15-year terms.

They do, but Phelan was named to finish
Halpern's term, which only had two years left,

- so he has to run on his own in the primary.
- He's not on the ticket?

Why the fuck not?

Maybe it's the company he keeps.

Oh, fuck.

No, see, you ain't thinking about
how much room the baby gonna need.

Specially when he get to growing

'cause there are things we got to have.

Like a real crib, a play desk

and, you know,
he got to have one of them Little Tikes cars.

I'm not saying your place ain't nice enough

'cause for you, it do just fine,
but if we gonna be a family,

we need at least one more room, if not two.

So you add the bedroom set,

a nice bedroom set like the one they got
down at that baby store on Howard Street.

That's a room right there.

And I think we might get some better furniture

and put your stuff in the other bedroom
like it was a den,

'cause the sofa you got seen better days.

Dee, where you goin' at?

I told you I need money
for the new bedroom set. Dee!

- 'Why you holler at me?'
- 'Yo, man, we getting down to it.'

'I get to you when I get to you.'

- That's the main stash house.
- Say what?

The incoming call is the guy who runs
the main stash for Barksdale.

- Who is he?
- We don't know.

- So, y'all are just guessing he's on the stash.
- No, he's on it.

Lester was checking the logs a couple
weeks ago when he picked up the pattern.

When they get down to the ends on a package
somebody in the tower hits that pager.

Then, within a half-hour, every time

a call comes back to the tower payphone
from that number in Pimlico.

Which is?

It's a payphone at a Mondo Mart
in Reisterstown on Cold Spring Lane.

You see it now? Hm?

When the supply gets low,
they page this mope,

who always calls back from a payphone
way the fuck out in north-west.

- Same phone, same pattern.
- So y'all think that he's taking the re-up order

and that the stash is somewhere
near the Mondo Mart, right?

- You are on it, Detective Sydnor.
- OK, so what do you do with this?

What do we do?

We'll be sittin' on that phone in Pimlico
day and night waitin' on Mr. Mondo Mart.

- Herc, too.
- Hero's out this whole week.

- In-service training.
- That's too bad.

So, instead of three eight-hour shifts,
you two are gonna have to pull 12 hours.

Just fucking kill me now.

- Heard from Omar?
- Nope.

I'm gonna go try to scare him up.
Where you gonna be?

Well, everyone's saying this kid's all tore up
about the dead stickup boy.

- I'm gonna see for myself.
- Mm-hm.

- You need us, we're on the radio.
- Okay.

(Funky music on radio)

(Radio off)

Hey, what up, man?

This first time, I can go four ounces of rock

but hey, if the shit is right,
then next time I can step that up.

Almost ain't worth it for four.

Just this first go-round. Do right by me,
I'll turn around and come back on it.

Where your money at, man?

We good.

So, where the shit at?

(Laughing)

(Dogs barking)

(Woman) Ain't nobody been there but you.
Nobody came in my house but you.

Nobody but you. You're the only person
that came in my house.

So what you got goin' for you?

Ain't got nothing left, burnt it away.

Family?

Mother dead. Father, who the fuck know?

Brothers, sisters?

A sister, she lets me stay in the basement
but she lock the door so I can't go upstairs.

About the best she can do for me.

Got a kid, a son.
Imagine me bringing life into the world.

- What's his name?
- Keyshawn.

His mother took him up Jersey way,
said I wasn't fit to be with the boy.

- I ain't disagreein'.
- Well.

At least you got your health.

(Laughs) Here's to health.

I got the bug.

Had it since '94.

Gave that shit to my old lady.

Worried about passing it on to my baby girl.

No, I was spared that at least.

Damn, how do you carry it?

- You ask her forgiveness?
- Of course.

- What she say?
- What she needed to say.

Look, forgiveness from other folks is good

but ain't nothing but words coming at you
from outside.

You wanna kick this shit,
you got to forgive your own self.

Love yourself some, brother.
Then drag your sorry ass to some meetings.

- Meetings?
- What the fuck you wanna hear?

That you're strong enough to do this
by yourself? Getting dean's the easy part.

Now comes life.

It's this one here
with the orange cord coming out at the back.

They're pirating juice from the other house.

You gotta be kidding me.
Now I'm policing for BG and E?

They're not there yet,
but when this kid posts, snatch him up.

Park our asses outside this shit-hole
and wait for some little project yo?

Mrs. McNulty raised no fools.

Four Faidley's crabcakes in the bag,

24 Dutch beers in the box.

Faidley's? You're all right, McNulty.

I don't care what all them
other fucks downtown say about you.

11-35, what's up?

'Our friend wants to meet. Same spot.'

- Copy that, 15 minutes.
- What's the deal with the yo-boy?

- What'd he do?
- Stumbled into my world.

('60s soul music playing)

I can't talk to you.

- I have to go.
- Shardene.

- I said, I have to go.
- I can't have five minutes?

No, not right now.

Fuck!

How close did you get?

Y'all be chalking that nigger if Wee-Bey
ain't pop up at the last second.

Remember when we last talked?

You were gonna lay back,
let us work our case.

I said I'd do what I can.

Still, I thought I might let y'all know
Avon's people got in contact

talking about how they want to end the beef.

- They offered me some kind of amnesty.
- Amnesty?

Look, I chill out on the manhunt

and stop hitting them in the head
for they product,

- they gonna call off the bounty.
- Take the truce, Omar.

I might, if they ain't trying to play me.

- They said they want to parley on it.
- Parley?

Look, I don't know, man, but right now
I need some assistance from y'all.

Yo, son, I go to the ER
and word get back to Avon,

you know he gonna have his henchmen
waiting in the parking lot for me.

Look, I know y'all friendly
with a couple of doctors, right? Right?

He says he can buy weight.
Says he runs with some decent-size locals.

- Like who?
- Avon something. Barksdale.

Avon Barksdale?

Run it through the DECS and HIDA.
See what comes back.

I'm gonna check around, see if anybody's
working these names you given us.

If you full of shit, pal,
I'm gonna know it quick.

- What happens to me while you checking?
- Eager Street. City jail, motherfucker.

Blue came home last week.
I ain't seen him since.

Uh-huh.

Yeah.

I can't believe it.

(Belches)

- Damn, Carv, you's triflin'.
- Yeah, I admit it, I'm disgusting.

Cheese puffs and fucking Ring-Dings?

Yeah.

(Ringing)

- Yeah.
- The big fuck from the high-rise,

- what's his name?
- 'Little Man.'

Yeah, him.

All right.

(Cellphone)

- Yo.
- Be ready, we're on it.

Look at this pretty motherfucker.

Too fucked up to drive home, McNulty?

Hey, Bunk.

Kid gave us a murder.
More than that, he's put in Stringer Bell.

Oh. yeah?

Picks out Wee-Bey, Bird and Stinkum from
photo arrays. Puts 'em all up at the Greek's

the night they grab up Omar's boy, Brandon.
Puts Bell in the truck, too.

Says, "Stringer told me
to point out the stickup boy."

- Jeez, what do you have over him?
- Not a fucking thing.

Kid was ready, barely had to push him.

- Whose case?
- Norris's.

- How old?
- 16.

Lives in a shit-hole vacant over on Argyle.

When I grab him up,
I swear he's halfway into a nod.

Using?

Hmm.

When they kill the stickup boy
they dumped the body in the alley

behind where this kid and the other low-rise
hoppers lay their heads. Can you imagine?

All he can think about.

You tell him he's gonna have to testify?

Not yet, we'll get there.
Problem is, what do I do with him now?

(Camera shutter clicks)

(Phone rings)

- Yeah.
- Big boy picking up.

Okay.

- 'You holler at me, right?'
- 'Where you at, man?'

'We on our way down.'

First thing tomorrow, man.

(Cellphone)

- Yeah?
- It's him. Stay on it.

I didn't do nothing. Get me outta here.

'The 2-2, grounded slowly towards third,
and it kicks through at the last moment.'

Where my phone call at?

'Suzuki's at the plate.

'Here's the pitch.

'Line drive, up the middle,
a base hit for Suzuki.

'Suzuki's very patient at the plate.'

Yeah, man, it's me.

Guess who's up in here.

Pimpin'-ass Orlando, from the club.

Yeah. Courtside.

(Alarm system bleeping)

- So how long you been slingin'?
- Since I was, maybe, 12.

How long were you with Barksdale's crew?

With D'Angelo? Not long.

He came down from the towers
at the beginning of the summer.

Before that I worked for Ronnie Mo.

D'Angelo ever talk to you about
what happened in the 221 Building

with Pooh getting shot?

How about anything else like that?

- Like what?
- Killings, murders.

He say anything about a girl getting shot
in an apartment up on the Eastside?

No, Dee, Dee was good to me.

He all right.

But D'Angelo,

he was who you called that night
when you saw the stickup boy at the Greek's?

Yeah, but he didn't go up there.

It was mostly those tower boys.

And Stringer. You said Stringer
was in the truck. He called you over.

Asked you to point out the stickup boy.

All of it corroborated by the beeper logs
and the pen registers from the payphones.

Stinkum's dead. We've got Bird
for the Gant killing. This ties them all in.

D'Angelo, too.

Maybe,
but since he didn't show at the Greek's,

he tells the jury
he didn't see the murder coming.

- Well, it's enough to charge him, anyway.
- Parents?

Alcoholic mother. No fixed address.

Says he's got a grandmother
on the Eastern Shore.

- How about a hotel room?
- On whose dime?

The deputy won't approve the manpower to
stash a 16-year-old, much less room service.

McNulty, line two.

How about you run this up to front office?
See if the state's attorney'll kick in.

He's a kid, Cedric.

Even if we clear the money

do you really wanna put a juvenile in a hotel
for six months waiting on a trial date?

I think you all need to get with
the grandma down on the shore.

Now? She's doing this right now?

They don't have to set a hearing date
or something like that?

Christ, yeah, okay. Yeah.

I fuckin' need a fuckin' lawyer.

What?

Still, you can see
that they got the security bars

and look there.

Cameras

that see over the yard, out to the street.

Verizon said there's no phone service
at that address.

That's a telltale right there.

So what?
We try to write a warrant for this place, right?

Right?

- What are you seeing?
- No pattern, really.

Except this cluster of old storefronts

and warehouses on the west side
of downtown.

Around Paca, Eutaw, Howard Street, mostly.

- Storefronts?
- Vacants, usually.

Three different holding companies...

- Detective Pryzbylewski.
- What?

You have a gift for the paper trail.

Tomorrow calls for some street work, though.
Are you street ready?

Um, you know the lieutenant has me in-office.
I don't have my gun until the Grand Jury.

- You won't need one.
- On the street? No gun?

No gun. Not for this.

Furthermore, Mr. McNulty,
having utilized his sons

in an act of police work
involving a criminal suspect,

actually lost track of them
in a crowded municipal market.

This is simply unacceptable, Your Honor.

Be that as it may, an emergency ex parte order
is an extraordinary request, Mr. Palmer.

You actually want me to limit visitations
to afternoons only

and you want Mrs. McNulty present
at all visitations? Come on.

It is not a single lapse, Judge.

Mr. McNulty has time and again
failed to properly care for the children

when they're in his custody.

I have a list of recent events, Your Honor,
that justify an order.

Ms. Pearlman, you have a response
you'd like to offer up here?

Nope.

Nothing?

If this were possession with intent,
I'd be a prosecutor with a plan

but a domestic order hearing?
Your Honor, I'm officially clueless.

In fact, as an employee of the state,
I should not actually be here.

All right, listen up, people.

Before you have me making a ruling
on an emergency petition,

everybody here needs to take a deep breath.
Literally, come on.

Now, then, is Mr. McNulty capable of having
a civil conversation with Mrs. McNulty?

Yes, Your Honor.

And is Mrs. McNulty equally capable
of having a conversation with Mr. McNulty?

- Yes.
- Good, then I'm going to lunch.

And let's see when I return
if we can't busy this court

with something just a little more engaging
than the problems of the McNultys.

Look, the charge is on me, I understand that,
I'll carry that, but the least our people can do

is to pay something to the bondsman.

That's the deed of transfer for the club.

And the other thing is the license transfer
application for the liquor board.

They're both backdated
and notarized to last week.

What?

A front has to be clean.

And right now, you ain't that. Sign.

I want my bail paid.

You send me a bondsman, I'll sign.

Is that what you want me to tell him?

That I asked you to sign and you wouldn't?

Hmm?

You wanted to be in the game, right?

Now you're in the game.

Unbelievable. You show up with her?

You went for an emergency ex parte.
I took whatever lawyer was standing around.

She was standing?
Ask her if she wants the pictures back.

I've got her at the restaurant
with you pulling out her chair.

I've got her at the motel parking lot
with you opening the car door for her

- because you're such a gentleman now.
- I can't believe you hired Buckman.

- He never made a case that counted.
- He caught your cheating ass.

Elena, why are we here?

Because you can't have
Sean and Michael around criminals.

You can't lose them in a Baltimore market.
That's why.

He wasn't a criminal.

I know the guy.

It was a game we were playing.

It was daylight on a crowded street.
They could've been following Al Capone.

Elena, these are my sons.
I love them. Do you hear? I love them.

I'm not gonna let them get hurt.

I love you, too.

Still do.

Does she know
about the detective and the pictures?

No, why would I tell her about that?

And are the two of you still...?

No.

Yes.

A little.

Come on, let's make nice for the judge.

Okay.

'We know we have a month more to go
and we're not gonna let up.

'We are going to raise more,
we are going to spend more

'and on Election Day,
we are going to be out there

'pushing the vote in every precinct.'

You ready?

Come on, we'll get dinner first.

Ain't so hungry.

Come on.

How much were you using?

I'm asking if you're gonna be sick in my car.

A cap now and then.

You just snorting?

You'll be all right in a day or two. Come on.

This nigger coming or what, man?

Said he would, if I guaranteed a parley.
And I'm here on it.

He said you would be paying my fee
rather than his own self.

- Your fee?
- I'm doing like a marriage counselor.

Charge by the hour to tell some fool
to bring some flowers home.

Then charge another hour telling the bitch
she ought to suck some cock once in a while.

You know, keep a marriage strong like that.

Speaking of cocksuckers...

Don't believe we met. Proposition Joe.

You ever steal from me,
I kill your whole family.

All right. You all both here on my guarantee,
so respect that shit and say what you feel.

I'm up out of here.

I got a man who say he gonna
give you your life back.

Who? Barksdale?

My man say, "Tell that motherfucker that
if he can find a way not to dip in our pockets

"we gonna call this shit even."

Y'all aced Bailey,
and what you did to my boy?

Y'all think after what you did to Brandon
we supposed to find some even?

I don't know shit about shit, all right?
I'm just the messenger.

Whatever, man.

You know there's dead on both sides, right?

There's gonna be a lot more
if this beef keep up.

But the truth be told, there be more soldiers
on one half than the other.

You know what I'm saying?

Look here, son, you tell Barksdale

that he's been paid back
for what he did to my peoples.

But as for his product,
a man's got to earn a living, you know?

I don't know nobody called Barksdale, B.

The man I'm talking about can't have
his shit taken like that. That won't do.

All right, tell him to throw me
some cash, then, and we'll see.

About five or ten thousand.

You know, for my retirement?

- 'Five if you can keep quiet about it.'
- 'Send my money through Joe, man.'

'You go through Joe,
you're not gonna see 2,000 of that.

- 'Why don't you tell my man where you at?'
- 'No.'

'We gonna figure something else out,
you hear?'

'I'll be in touch, homes.'

How careful is Stringer Bell?

"L don't know no-one named Barksdale."

Shit.

Still, we got him tied to the Brandon killing.

That can be enough for one day's work.

Did what I could for y'all.

You sure, right?

Yeah, I spent a summer here when I was nine.

When was the last time they saw you?

When I was nine.

- What's that?
- What?

That noise.

It's crickets.

- Cricket.
- Crickets.

- He try to go in my pockets again?
- This nigger talking about five Gs, B.

- Shit.
- (Knock at door)

What's up, baby?

Antwon said to bring these up.
Anything else?

No, we cool.

I'm saying, how we supposed to pay that?

He talking about going through Joe,
but I'm like, fuck Joe.

Thank you, my love, you know what I mean?

You look good
and your services are appreciated.

Keep them tips.
I hope you making them, baby.

She makes the motherfucker come down
to the towers to get the rest of his money.

If he's stupid enough to come out
of the towers, he gonna get got.

It's a wrap. How we supposed to pay that?

All right, all right.

Y'all think you can hang, but, look.

(Women laughing)

No, you see, I went to journalism school.

All right? Northwestern.
So you all can't stay with me on this.

Girl, you talking like
you some crusty old reporter.

- Excuse me?
- Bitch, you work at a TV station.

It's the same thing, all right?
Look, come on, stop talking.

Here we go.

- Bring it.
- Come on, Kima.

I gotta work tomorrow.

(All) Oh!

Candy ass.

That's all I have to say.

- Okay, you see?
- I'm with you.

- All right.
- Look at Tanya.

And she run a damn art gallery.

You see, police in this town ain't about shit.

- Guess not.
- Thank you.

Can't hold a liquor.

Can't hold a doughnut.

And if you ask me, I guess
we ain't good in bed, either.

Oh, don't go there, Officer.

Don't go there.

Kima, how did you know
you wanted to be a cop?

I mean, how did you choose that?

When you were little,
did you think about it at all or...?

Come on, Kima.

I remember when I was in the Northeast,
still field-training as a cadet.

I didn't know if I was
gonna stick with it or not.

And then we got this one call.

We chased this purse-snatcher
up into these apartments.

I got separated from my FTO.

Shit, I ain't even no police yet.

You know, I'm just a trainee. And I'm alone.

Anyway, I mean,
I don't know how, but I find the guy.

So I catch him and I hold on to him
and I manage to get to my radio.

Now, we in the middle of this parking lot
and we're rolling around

and this motherfucker's
steady kicking my ass trying to get away.

I look over and I see these black patents
and these uniform blue pants.

I look up and it's Charlie Smoot.

Charlie fucking Smoot.
You know, this guy's a legend.

He looks down at me and he smiles,
you know, real quiet-like.

And he drops his cuffs.
He says, "Here you go, rook."

That's all he says.

"Here you go, rook."

And then he dropped
the bracelets and walked away.

I mean, I know you don't like it.

But shit, I was proud.

(Women) Ooh!

Goddamn.

Lester says we won't
write a warrant on this place.

- How do we not with all this PC?
- We're on the main stash, right?

Why kick the door in when all we have to do
is park a van down the street,

follow the entire Westside drug supply
in and out?

We're gonna pick up pieces of Barksdale's
world we never even knew about.

Been hell looking for you people.
What's the name of this unit anyway?

Oh shit, Kima in the house.

What's up, Wig?
State police, CID, out of Pikesville.

Name of Troy Wiggins,
but pay no attention to the man

'cause he about 90-95% pure bullshit.

Kima, she just talk like that
'cause I had her when she was good.

Shit, you the ugly-ass motherfucker
turned me the other way.

Shit, all right. Here's the thing, boys and girls.

I'm doing a reverse buy-down
in Arundel, right?

And I get this Westside asshole
nibbling on four ounces.

- A whole four ounces?
- I know, he ain't much

but I get him in the boat
and he starts flopping around

saying he can buy weight
from some motherfucker, name of Barksdale.

I never heard of no Barksdale.
But I put the name into DECS.

And the computer has Avon Barksdale
entered as an active Baltimore city target.

So I go down to City Narcotics and Dawson,
he sends me down here to see y'all.

So what's the name of your fish?

Wendell O,

as in "oh-shit-I-tried-to-buy
from-a-state-police", Blocker.

- That wouldn't be Wendell Orlando Blocker?
- Yeah. You on it.

Orlando.

They keep that back room locked.
Even if I do get back there on an errand,

then they kind of shut down.
They get real quiet.

You said you heard one say something about
making someone come into the towers.

- Yeah.
- Which one was talking?

He was tall, I think.

All right, but who else was there?

I don't really see that well without my glasses.

Where are your glasses?

You can't see faces without those?

You don't wear those while you're working,
do you though?

Would you? I gotta live off drinks and tips.

- No way.
- Why not?

Because a player wouldn't be
the name on the liquor license.

A player would have a connect
for Barksdale's coke.

He caught a charge
and now he's talking out his ass.

Face it, you'll never get Avon or Stringer
in the same room as the dope.

- We make this case on their voices alone.
- So maybe he can't buy from Barksdale.

- Maybe it's only from Savino or Wee-Bey.
- Fuck him, then.

We already got Wee-Bey tied to a murder
and Savino's the runt of the litter.

We can take what Orlando
gives us about the club,

the money laundering, maybe, or the girls.

For that kind of cooperation,
I'll drop a few years and call it fair.

(Knock at door)

- Daniels in here?
- Yeah.

Call from Deputy Commissioner for you.
You want it in here?

No.

He doesn't miss much.

(Pager beeping)

- I need some help here.
- Come on, Bubbs.

You get me across town
in the middle of a fucked-up workday

-just so you can hold 10...
- Hold on, I don't need 10. Okay?

I don't know. I need a place of my own.

All right?
Some bed, some sheets, some clothes.

I definitely need some new clothes.

How long you been clean?

A few days.

You serious about it?

Who knows?

What the fuck am I gonna do with
a clean informant? Did you think about that?

All right, I'm on it with you.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

What the fuck, give me some love.

Okay, I mean, I think I can get,
you know, a mattress, my own place,

everything for like a couple hundred dollars.

All right. We'll talk.

I gotta be somewhere tonight,
so hit me on a page tomorrow.

Tomorrow?

I got you.

- The cooperator says he can buy weight.
- Not from Barksdale or Bell.

How can you be sure?

How much dope or coke do you think
gets Barksdale into the room?

A kilo? Two kilos? 20 kilos?

We are not going to buy our way
up the ladder.

These people do not touch the drugs.
They don't go near the drugs.

The wire is what gives us Barksdale.

It gives us the whole crew.

Day by day, piece by piece.

Buy-bust, Lieutenant.

It's what I asked you for months ago.
It's what we do successfully

time and again to make these cases.

Why New York?

Must be something happening out there.
It's a bigger town, you know what I mean?

- You don't believe the truce?
- That's why I asked for that money.

If he had said, "We ain't paying, be happy to
live," I'd have been, like, they keeping it real.

But he say, come on down for $5,000.
I'm, like, "Man, please."

Look, homes, I ain't asked for much,
but I'm a little light on traveling money.

I could have gone round the block,
got myself paid, but I'm thinking.

You keep in touch with my pager.
We're gonna need you for the Gant trial.

Go easy, Omar.

Stay free.

'You be picking me up
outside the cut-rate on Lex and Fulton.'

- 'I'll be up there at the ten, right?'
- 'That'll work.'

Listen up, people.

We've got 30,000 in buy money,
courtesy of our friends at DEA.

But the thing is,
they can't have that money walking on them.

Definitely not.

So Kima will be in the car for the buy,
fronting as our Cl's girl.

Looking the part, too.

- Where's your weapon gonna be?
- He might pat me so it has to stash in the car.

I figure when Savino gets in the car
at the cut-rate, I'll be going in back.

It'll be up under the rear seat.

We probably can't be close enough for an
eyeball on this but the car will be a live wire.

And Kima will be throwing us
20s whenever she can. Rhonda.

I only want to remind Mr. Blocker here

that his plea agreement
is contingent on cooperation.

And a buy-bust on Savino Bratton
is less cooperative

than a buy-bust higher up on the food chain.

If you can get Savino talking about Avon
or Stringer, that's better for us and you.

They already know that
he got jacked on a reverse buy, right?

- Why wouldn't they assume he's snitching?
- I need money for a lawyer.

- Right?
- That's the story.

He got popped
and now he needs to get right back into it

to pay the bondsman and the lawyer.

All right. Let's make this work.

Careful. That's my career
you're holding there.

- You got a unit?
- In the mezzanine.

- Give me the keys, man.
- No, I'm driving.

Come on, man.

Death row here.

Ain't up.

Death row.

(Rap music on radio)

My girl. Half the money hers.

Baby, since we going down North Avenue,

stop by the carry-out
so I can pick me up some cigarettes.

They're going up North. Stay loose.

Shit. It's too loud.

Does any unit have the eyeball?

Negative, 11-35.

Come on, Greggs,
tell us where the fuck you are.

Pull in there.

- What?
- Pull in there.

(Music stops)

Don't fuck with this count.

I'll be right back with your shit.

Where are we?

That sign said Longwood,
but I'm sure it's Warwick.

Hoppers be turning the signs
to fuck with you all.

I make it we're on the north side of Warwick,
in an alley...

I don't know, shit.
Half a block west of Longwood, maybe?

'I hope you all copy that.'

That puts us about eight blocks away.
I'm pushing in a little closer.

All units be advised.

Warwick near Longwood
in the north side alley. Or near that 20.

(Kima) 'This got the right feel for you?'

- (Car starts up)
- You creeping closer?

He better not be long,
because I don't know where the stash is

and if they dragging us this side of town...

What's that?

- What?
- Something ain't right.

- 'What?'
- 'Shit ain't right.'

You snitching motherfucker.

'Signal 13, signal 13!'

Gunshots. Gunshots. Go city-wide. 11-35.

Signal 13. Warwick near Longwood,
officer down.

(Kima) 'Two males, black hoodie, both armed.'

- (Shots)
- Signal 13, Warwick, near Longwood.

In the alleys. Check the alleys!
Check the alleys!

Northside, 2800 block. Nothing.

'We got an officer down.
She's a number one, female undercover.'

'Unit 833, bearing east
on 3100 block of Baker. Clear.'

2900 is dark.

'11-35, 10-38 is responding.'

'10-4.'

11-71, does anyone have a visual?
Does anyone have a visual?

- Foxtrot.
- 'What are we looking for?'

11-35 to KGA. We can't find the officer down.

We need Foxtrot looking for
a green Lincoln Town Car

with a brown vinyl roof,
parked in those alleys.

'Foxtrot en route, 3-1-4.'

'3-14, be advised, we have a signal 13.'

'7820, rear odd-side.

'3300 block of Baker. Clear.'

'Visual, rear even-side
of Warwick and Longwood.'

'Signal 13, signal 13. Officer down.'

'SUV, west on Warwick, make the next right.'

'Be advised, no movement at scene.'

In here. Go on, get a medic.

We got an officer down. We need a medic.

'78-20, 10-23, give us DV in here.

'10-4.'

Where's the medic? Fuck!

Where the fuck is the medic?
Signal 13, we got an officer down.

'10-38 is responding.'

'78-24. Can we have a description?'

'Any unit on scene,
do you have a description of the suspect?'

'That's a 10-47.'