The Wire (2002–2008): Season 5, Episode 9 - Late Editions - full transcript

With Steintorf ordering Rawls to initiate 'creative' remedies for the rising crime rate, Freamon's vigilance pays off with a promising lead, sending Sydnor and the department into overdrive.

- 23-16.
- Yeah, Lester.

- Where are you at?
- On Monk in East Baltimore.

- Who's on Marlo?
- No one right now.

Marlo's been the hardest to follow. Too
paranoid. Too much counter-surveillance.

Well, peel off Monk and head out
Broening Highway to the marine terminals.

Map 44, grid G-as-in-George 10.

- 44.
- Affirmative. This is a fresh one.

If they're going all the way out there,
it might just be...

- Damn right.
- On it.

23-06 to all units on this detail.
New 20 is map 44.

Grid G-George 10.

That's 44 G-George 10.

Flood that grid and look
for suspect vehicles.

23-12. 10-4.

Take me a while. I'm up Northeast.
You want me to stay on Cheese?

Negative. New 20 is a priority.
Think we're on the main stem.

- Yeah?
- McNulty? It's on.

- Yeah?
- Oh, hell, yeah.

All right...

OK, whatchya got?

We rolled around until
Bobby spotted Chris Partlow

pulled up on a lot two blocks from here.

So we sat on him until Marlo posted. They
talked for a minute, then Marlo bounced.

And Chris goes to the warehouse gate alone
and a coupla white boys open up.

He's inside now?

Entrance is around front, it's the only
working gate. Everything else is rusted up.

- Who's watching the front?
- Two units.

They're out on foot, a block away,
with a clear view of what comes in or out.

So what do we do if Chris rolls out?

Let him go. Partlow is muscle.
He's here to make sure it looks right.

And if it does,
Monk or someone else'll come on down.

- Cheese, too, maybe.
- So this is a re-up.

Fuck a re-up, son.
This, here, in the middle of nowhere...

Miles from anywhere these mopes meet...
This is re-supply.

Other than Chris,
anybody else that goes in there,

if it's a Stanfield lieutenant
he's coming out dirty.

Follow them back to town. If he doesn't
know you're on 'em, see where he takes you.

If he catches a scent, fuck it.

Pull 'em over, jack 'em
up and get the dope.

And you want to snatch the man's cell
before he has a chance to erase anything.

The case is in the phones...

Though we're gonna need a title three
to take a look at them.

Where are you going?

Time to 'fess up.

We straight?

I said we straight, right?

Them guns was mine.

Which guns specifically?

Whatever guns them cops
took out the truck last year. They mine.

Even though I ain't touched that iron.

Ain't you got to do the bit.

With your limited priors, Mr. Hill,
you're exposed to two, three years, tops.

You'll be well compensated
for the time, I'm sure.

No good to us no how.
You on three legs.

Familiarize yourself with
the make and model of

the weapons you left in
the truck, Mr. Hill.

- The details matter.
- I get shot up an' then this shit.

- Y'all ask a lot, don'tcha?
- You can't hack, go down Wal-mart.

And see if they take care you
while you laid up for a while.

C'mon, nigger.

Jeez.
In the department, you take one in the line

they give you light duty
for as long as you need,

then you get to name your next assignment.

Marlo runs a tighter ship.

Open it.

Six icebox, 20 each.

You count, we wait.

You no count, we go to lunch early.

23-14 to 23-06.

Suspect number three is in.

- You sure?
- Been following the damn truck for a week.

- Should know by now.
- Copy that.

Ticks have six legs or eight?

Must have been a readjustment.

London was a sweet posting. I can't lie.

My only regret is I didn't
get the full three-year tour.

- Thanks.
- It's no reflection on you, man.

Shit, Gus, they even sold
the building in Kensington.

We bought that sucker
for nothing 50 years ago,

and now Chicago sells it off
for a couple million pounds.

Capitalization, they call it.

These newspaper-chain guys
just don't give a fuck, do they?

Any idea where they're gonna drop you now
that you're back in Charm City?

No, I got no idea yet.

Klebanow wants to have lunch, so I guess
it'll come at me, soon enough.

- Up for something now?
- Depends.

I gotta problem. I need someone...

A veteran reporter, quiet,
subtle, discreet, good with details,

careful to cover his tracks...

I don't care how far we go back, Gus,
no way I'm gonna kill your wife for you.

You know Scott Templeton? City G.A.

The guy talking to the homeless killer?

Not really.

- He got hired after I went to London.
- It's better you don't know him.

No opinions, one way or the other.

No, no, I'm not saying anything.

I'm not. I just need fresh eyes on
the fella. Just a careful look.

- One of Whiting's pets, isn't he?
- I said discreet.

- I hope you're wrong.
- Course you do.

- It sticks. Dag.
- Course it sticks. It's barb wire.

Sticking's what it's s'posed to do.

Come on. I ain't got all day.

Hurry up now.
Grab the aluminum strips there first off.

- How am I supposed to get back over?
- Climb the damn fence.

Do a better job of it
second time, I expect.

Grab them steel pipes quick
before we get spotted.

- Welcome home.
- Thanks.

I need a global printout on everything
under Scott Templeton's byline.

All of it, every edition.

Hey, I'm a fan.

23-14.

Monk is westbound onto O'Donnell.
Cheese Wagstaff is on the way in.

Also, the truck we saw back
on the loading dock is leaving.

That'd be empty. They've offloaded,
it's all in the warehouse now.

Bobby and me will stay on Monk. Karen'll
follow Cheese out, you stay on the gate.

Forgetting for a moment
our little problem of the serial killer,

we came in promising a double-digit drop
in violent crime.

Right up on the gubernatorial primary,
and we're looking at another record high.

Michael, this department has been crippled
by the budget cuts.

For a year now, we haven't had
the manpower or the tools.

- You have them now.
- Now. But this thing is a ship,

a super-tanker.
We can't just turn it around like that.

More foot patrols.
More cars on the street.

Get a handle on it, dammit.

See that's what doesn't work.

More cops where people can see them.
More cops on the pavement,

more cops riding past,
more cops showing the flag

so that you guys can say
you're being tough on crime.

Respectfully, sir, what works
is committing to building a real deterrent.

We take the time to retool,
to teach our people not to chase stats,

- But to do actual police work.
- Who pulled your string, deputy?

I was told by our mayor at the outset that
there would be no more Band-Aids,

no more stat games...

Then we got hit with the school budget. And
lost some of the time we needed to address

the systemic things you're talking about.

Understood. We will work back on those,

and we will support that kind of reform,
if not from City Hall

then from Annapolis, if need be.

But now, deputy, right now,
my boss needs the crime to go down.

Not three years from now.
Not even a year from now.

He needs a ten-percent drop
in the next quarter...

Or no one is gonna be in a position
to reform anything.

Be creative, gentlemen.

Deputy. A detective's outside for you,

says it's urgent.

Sydnor and I developed a source

and ran fresh surveillances
on Marlo Stanfield.

And we believe we're about to catch
his people very dirty.

- What?
- We wrapped on that Clay Davis thing

and instead of shutting Major Crimes down,

we took a couple weeks
and got back up on Marlo.

With the right warrants,
he's about to fall.

- How the fuck...
- There's no time, Cedric.

In an hour or so, I'm gonna need...

Yeah?

- Lester...
- What's up?

We pulled up Monk.
Dirty as a motherfucker.

Eight keys of the raw.

No, he jersey-rolled a stop
and when we tried to pull him over,

he went rabbit on us.

We ran him down on Lafayette,
by the overpass.

- You got the phone, right?
- Yeah, man. I got it.

Good work.

It's down.

I need teams to arrest Marlo Stanfield,
Chris Partlow, and Cheese Wagstaff.

I also need someone from our S.A.O.
to get on the horn

to Baltimore county for an S-and-S warrant
on a Middle River warehouse.

And, oh yeah...

Bunk Moreland
has a warrant on Partlow

for a separate homicide.

He held that back so we could
do this business here.

Anything else you've neglected
to tell me, Detective Freamon?

No sir. I think you're caught up.

- Hello?
- Ronnie, dear.

Hey...

- Are you sitting down?
- Why?

He was trying to erase shit
when we tackled him.

Secure this location
until we have written search-and-seizure.

Shit's on TV, yo.

With a street value of almost
sixteen million dollars in heroin,

and charges against high-level traffickers

who were going to put this poison
on the streets of this city...

Do this mean I still gotta take
that charge for y'all?

...and perseverance
by our police department.

And while I am told that this
investigation is continuing,

it is my understanding
that there is at least one murder warrant

associated with this drug organization,

which is believed to have been responsible

for many of those bodies found in vacant
rowhouses more than a year ago.

We did not give up on that investigation
just as we do not give up trying every day

to address ourselves to the task of making
this city safe and vibrant again.

Let me just say to all
others responsible for the

drug trade's assault on
the welfare of this city,

a day like this is coming for you.

Oh, you are so butch.

I have seen what drugs
have done to Baltimore.

Drug dealers do not just
destroy individuals. They destroy families.

Don't forget the communities.

They destroy entire communities.

Today the mayor of Baltimore,
our state's attorney,

our police department,
and our communities are saying,

"We have had enough."
Thank you.

Deputy. Alma Gutierrez, Sun papers.

Care to comment?

It's a good day for the good guys.

Could you be a bit more substantive?

Last time the Sun had me in its pages,
you had me doing things I didn't do.

- Regarding?
- Something about me

stabbing someone in the back.
Look it up.

"A source of information

"identified the transmission of photographs
via cellphone."

Fuck do that mean?
"Source of information."

- They sayin' somebody talkin'?
- Who the fuck even know?

I wanna talk to the lawyer.

And you caught a murder, too.
Says the same shit on yours, huh?

"From information received, investigation
led to DNA analysis of the victim."

- They got you on DNA?
- My hair, I expect.

"From information received."
More of that snitchin' shit.

I'm sayin', where the
information come from?

Onliest people knew is us right here.

- Snoop knew.
- Shit.

What about your young'un Michael?
Maybe it was him ran his mouth.

- He got picked up, right?
- I did that thing for him.

Why would he talk about
it an' put hisself in?

He been tested on the streets.

Maybe he act different
in the rooms downtown.

Boy been throwin' up
all kinda backtalk 'bout shit.

- Buck' wild about this 'n that.
- Like what?

Cryin' about how June Bug
and his people got lit up.

Cryin' about how Omar in the street runnin'
his mouth, callin' for you to step to...

- Omar say what?
- Nuthin'.

Omar tried callin' you out by name.
But, shit, it wadn't nothin'...

- What he say about me?
- Nuthin', man. Just talkin' shit.

He use my name?
In the street?

- Talk, motherfucker.
- He just, ya know...

Say that you need to step to and that...

I dunno, he just runnin' his mouth some.

- He call me a punk?
- It was bullshit, man.

- You ain't need that on your mind.
- What the fuck you know about

what I need on my mind, motherfucker?

My name was on the street.

When we bounce from this shit here,
y'all gonna go down to them corners,

let them people know.
Word did not get back to me.

Let 'em know Marlo step to any
motherfucker. Omar, Barksdale... Whoever.

My name is my name.

- Don't see the boy snitchin'.
- Neither do I.

But you ready to bet your future on that?

Ya see that, McNulty?
Ya see it?

One detective, working the file,
running a few things down and bang...

He's got an arrest.

Shit, now that Chris Partlow's locked up,
we might have some witnesses coming forward

on those cases in the vacants.

- Clear 'em all on paper.
- We got the one is all, boss.

One today, more tomorrow.
And from what?

From the Bunk just workin' a file.

Business as usual. But you...

With your overtime and your cars
and your surveillance detail

and your bullshit, where the fuck
are you on your red ball?

Nowhere.

Killer stopped calling.
Stopped killing, too.

I admit it. I'm nowhere.

From everything we've given you,
fire should be shooting out your ass,

but no, there you sit like a genital wart.

C'mon, McNulty.
Show me something.

So what are you gonna do now?

Keep half a district worth of manpower
on the street, chasing bullshit?

It'll wind down.

No more killing, no more disappearances,
no more calls.

- Marlo is in cuffs.
- Fuck Marlo.

Fuck you.

- What's going on in Klebanow's office?
- Planning meeting.

- Pulitzer submissions.
- This early?

The important thing is
that we build on this

through the end of the year,
with no falloff of coverage.

Exactly.
And Scott, we need to start looking

for the points where the response
to the problem can be criticized.

The "gotcha". I know.

At this point, we can't tell what category
we'll enter with this,

but in public service especially,

greater weight is given
to stories that result

in changes to policy,
or new legislation.

So covering the reactions to our stories
is as important as the stories themselves.

Until New Year's, we want to hammer
at whatever changes or discussions

or actions result from your
coverage of the homeless.

And graphics matter. Our presentation
must be clean and professional

when it goes to the committee.

You guys really think
this has a shot at a Pulitzer?

I do and it does.

Being on the Pulitzer board
for a couple of terms,

I've seen the process up close.

There's a way of doing these things.
Time honored.

Knowing how is
why they pay me the big bucks.

All right. What do we want to say exactly?
With our coverage.

What do we want to say about homelessness?
I mean, it's bad.

It's very bad, granted.
But isn't it actually

symptomatic of a much
greater dynamic...

We want to rediscover a world
that for too long has been ignored.

Examine the tragedy
underlying these murders, the neglect...

- The Dickensian aspect.
- Exactly.

Alma, dearest.

This quote from Daniels,
"It's a good day for the good guys."

- He couldn't come up with anything better?
- He wouldn't play.

Says we took his name in vain
last time we used it.

When was that?

When we had him backstabbing
Burrell at City Hall?

Do you want me to call Daniels at home?
Try him again?

- We're past deadline, Gus.
- I'll cut the quote.

All right.

Drink with me, Jimmy.

This is what you wanted, man.

Then why do I feel like shit?

Postpartum depression, son.

It's the journey, not the destination...

We got Marlo Stanfield.

- What about the serial killer?
- Marlo is he.

Daniels wanted me up there
at that press conference.

Up there with all the rest of
those preening motherfuckers,

congratulating themselves
on a job well done.

Part of the problem, all of them.

Yet when the bracelets come out
and the dope is on the table...

We've still got the surveillance teams.

The districts still have guys
watching the homeless,

undercovers dressed as homeless...

That shit'll end.

It always does.

Well...

If you ain't gonna celebrate with me,

you're gonna at least
chauffeur my drunken ass home.

Shardene better be awake, too.

'Cause I do believe Lester Freamon's
in the mood for love...

Yo, I'm tellin' you, it was Kenard.

Murder police been to his crib
three times tryin' to catch up with him.

Bullshit.
Omar got kilt by them Pimlico boys.

They ran up on him with three
AKs an' jus' blazed away.

- What up, soldier?
- I don't know. You tell me.

I mean, everybody locked up, right?
Damn...

Yeah. 'Cause-a that shit, I'm 'a need you
for some serious business tomorrow.

- Anyone I know?
- Big Walter.

- Big-nose Big Walter?
- Nah, skinny Big Walter,

the one be right there in front of the
Cut-rate on Calhoun and Riggs all the time.

- He witnessin'?
- Marlo say he need to get got.

So it is, what it is.

- You got a problem with that?
- We straight.

No need to bring your iron.

I got a clean nine for you
with shaved numbers.

I'll pick you up tomorrow night.

You a'ight?

- Yeah, yeah.
- A'ight.

In the last five years,
the United States has

given 15 billion dollars
to fight HIV and AIDS

around the world.
But only part of it goes to Africa,

where there's a huge epidemic
of HIV and AIDS.

I mean, ten percent
of the population of the world

lives in sub-Saharan Africa, but 70 percent
of the new AIDS cases are there.

In Kenya, one in seven people
have HIV and AIDS,

and in Zimbabwe,
one in four people have it,

according to the article in
the New York Human Rights Law Review.

Plus, the US Surgeon
General has said that

there are 22 million
people with HIV and AIDS

in those African countries.

In the next ten years,
more people will die from AIDS

in these countries than
all the wars in the 20th century,

including World War Two,
the deadliest war...

How's it feelin', Bunny?

I tell ya, if I had that boy's gift
to talk, I'd a really caused a stir.

Look at him go...

Don't sell yourself short.
He's got your way of makin' an argument.

Lucky for him, though,
he looks like his stepmama.

And AIDS in Africa said US Money
can make a huge difference in Africa

where even very small
amounts can go a long way.

There seems to be an agreement that
the money should be spent in two ways:

Medical treatment
and for education and prevention.

However, there is not an
agreement on how much money

will be needed and what programs...

- When do we bounce?
- I'm working on bail reviews.

Cheese maybe...

On a high surety bond, if he wants
to put up his mama's house. Monk, the same.

But with the murder warrant,
there is no bail for Chris,

and most likely, there's no bail for you,

as the charging papers portray you
at the top of the conspiracy.

How can they say that
when I ain't go near no drugs at all?

The full affidavit says they developed
a source of information...

Bullshit.

A source of information who told them that
you communicated with each other

using photographic transmissions
on cellphones. Coded transmissions.

Ain't nobody know about the code 'cept me,
Chris, Monk an' Cheese...

An' we all locked up behind this.

No one else even have a phone.
Not even Snoop.

- No one 'cept the supply.
- You trust the supplier?

Well, someone knew and someone told.

And now they've got your cellphones,
and they're going for a title three.

So they was on our cellphones...

No, the affidavit says the source told them
the date of your re-supply,

they followed Monk and others
to the warehouse, followed him out,

and found the drugs.

They're going to get
their title three and

they're saying that by
examining Monk's phone,

your phone, and the others,
they're going to prove the conspiracy.

You see? They weren't on a wiretap,
but now they're using

the phones and photographs
to link you all together.

So who knew that there was a re-supply?
Who knew what you all were up to yesterday?

- Snoop.
- And you trust her?

Who else?

Known sex offenders, Southern district.
Three possibles.

- You want us to sit on them?
- A day or two. Yeah.

- If nothing shows, then we'll move on...
- OK.

Dead and homeless.

Jack Street in Brooklyn.
Christeson's down there.

- Strangle?
- Sounds like a beating, actually.

- Red-ribbon tied around the wrist?
- Actually, it was more of a burnt sienna

and it was lashed around his dick.
Fuck do I know? Get down there.

Jay, this doesn't sound like...

Waste of your time, huh?

That what you have seen here today

is indicative of the
progress that city schools

are making under this
current administration.

Now I know the governor has had
some harsh things to say

about Baltimore schools, but I find
that to be cynical and disappointing.

The 15-point jump in third-grade test
scores is a trend that can't be ignored.

But we've seen third grade
scores rise before, Mr. Mayor.

And it doesn't seem as if any gains
in that grade can be sustained

into fifth and seventh-grade scores.

Kathy, you know, we are committed
to substantive change in Baltimore.

The kids that you saw today
in this citywide debate...

They are achieving at a high school level

and disproving any negative stereotypes
about the city school system.

Could you excuse me for a moment, please?

- Major Colvin.
- Just Colvin.

You know, I always wanted to say
how sorry I am how things turned out.

There wasn't anything I
could have done with

your experiment in the
Western district.

There wasn't anything that anyone
could have done with that.

Yeah, well, I guess, Mr. Mayor...

There's nothing to be done.

Mr. C., you know the mayor, too? Dag.

I can't even believe I'm
talking to you, Gus.

After that shit you pulled.

That's how you all do. Slam somebody
an' then come back the next day

like it never happened.

It's jus' bidness, Nerese.

It was your turn to read about yourself.

Now, if Carcetti's governor
and you become mayor...

Is Bond gonna run against ya?
Or is he done?

- What do you think?
- After the Clay Davis farce...

He smells like he's done to me.

There's rumor that Keiffer
wants the job, too.

I'll deal with
that as it comes.

What about this Daniels fella?

You think he's ready to run the copshop?

It's kinda ugly the way he put a knife
to Burrell like that. I mean...

I read that and wondered
where the hell you people got it from.

What do you mean?

I was behind Burrell until
the moment I wasn't.

And if he had someone backstabbing him
at City Hall...

I'd've heard about it.

Daniels wasn't even on my radar.

Daniels didn't undercut Burrell?

At the end, after his
name was floated, Daniels

went around saying he
didn't want the job.

Talk about it.

Well, he's been beat pretty good,

but I've got neck bruising too,
so it could be an attempted strangle.

- No ribbon?
- Nope.

- Bite marks?
- Not that I can see.

- This fuckin' guy stinks.
- He probably evacuated.

- What? He left and he came back?
- No, he shit himself.

It's not my guy. Sorry, rook.

He's all yours.

Does the governor think that's a problem,
something that needs addressing?

Hold on a sec...

You got the military
records from the Marines?

Three weeks at least, they said.

Sorry about that.

Hey Steven, I gotta little problem.

Well, it's common in men your age.

I need to get into Walter Reed.
I gotta talk to a vet down there.

The fella that was with our homeless vet
when he saw that firefight.

The one Templeton was writing about.

- Why go back on that?
- I just want to talk to a guy.

Homeless fella gave me the name,
said he's in-patient down there.

After the Post series blew up
Walter Reed's shit?

If you tell them you're a journalist,
you're dead to them.

I know. You know
somebody down there, right?

Not at the hospital.
A neighbor of mine is with AW2.

- What?
- The army's Wounded Warrior program.

She could get you in, if you're
not actually writing a piece.

- I'm not.
- What are you doing, Gus?

Scratching an itch.

- I do miss the shift-change parties.
- No, you don't.

You never missed a fucking one of them.

That was one sweet bust you
people put on Marlo Stanfield.

My number, right? I mean, it definitely
smells like a Lester Freamon wiretap.

I watched the news,
all that dope on the table.

I swear, Carv, I was fully erect.

Your dick got hard? How could you tell?

'Cause the head was poppin' out
of the back of your neck.

Seriously, it was a wiretap, right?

Seriously, I couldn't fuckin' tell you
if I knew, Herc.

What're you saying?
My phone number wasn't shit?

What do you want me to fuckin' say, Herc?
You're the tits.

Without your little contribution,

the whole fucking city
slips into the Chesapeake Bay.

Better?

So you grew up there?

When did your family move to Baltimore?

Reginald. You down there?

- Yes.
- Come to the steps.

Got a coupla things for you.

Soap, deodorant and the like.

Appreciate that. Usin' the washing basin
to clean up.

And to pee in.

Don't worry, I rinse it out.

I was wonderin'... I got this anniversary
comin' up, at the meetin' place.

Sometimes kin folk come along
to show support.

I was wonderin',
maybe you could...

It's hard for me to make plans
with my schedule at the hospital.

We got a little celebration after.
Thinkin' I could cook us some dinner.

I mean wouldn't be a fancy thing,

mac and cheese, like that,
but I guarantee it'll be good to you.

We'll see.

OK.

My sister. She good people.

Been through a lot though, you know?

- Levy.
- 'Scuse me?

- Levy. The lawyer.
- I know who he is.

I'm not looking for any lawyers.
I'm following the money.

Follow the lawyers.
Levy, Bronfman, Silverstein, Cray...

All those guys who take
the high-end drug work.

They don't just make money
off the criminal fees.

- How's he...
- The lawyers?

They make a path
for all this street-corner money.

They showin' all these
kingpin motherfuckers

how to send it overseas,
bring it back,

Invest the shit.

They the ones who these ignorant
ghetto motherfuckers always listen to

when it comes to cash money.

And Levy, man, he got the most grease.

So Levy routes it through who?

Anyone who got a project
or a game in need of cash.

Developers, people lookin' to capitalize,
elected folk like myself.

There's a lotta people
need a dollar now an' then...

And the lawyers take their cut.

On both ends, though I got to say,

he gonna let you rob
one of his clients only so much.

I mean once you get a Barksdale
or a Joe Stewart on the hook,

you want to go deep on they ass.

Levy'll let you get a taste,
but he won't let you run wild.

'Cause once you get past
these motherfuckin'

lawyers, you can
really play the pimp.

This one time, I had this fella named Bell

hooked up on this Howard
Street condo thing.

Got him so that he wasn't runnin' his shit
past the lawyer...

Boy, I tell you, we bled
that motherfucker...

Lawyers, huh?

Most definitely, detective.

Me? Shit, I'm just small potatoes.

Just a workin' politician
from Walbrook Junction,

tryin' to make his way
from this world into the next.

What else can you give me on Levy?

Nothin' other than what I have.
I ain't up in his business or nuthin'.

- I just takin' what he throws.
- Bullshit.

You got something solid or I'm on my way
to the US Attorney.

You ain't nuthin' but a shakedown artist.

How's this...

Levy got someone at the courthouse.

Oh, hell yeah.

Levy been buyin' papers for years and
sellin' 'em to whoever needs an early look.

And don't think there ain't
no real money in that.

- A prosecutor?
- I don't have a name.

Truly I don't,
but it seems to me, you start lookin'

at the people hangin' around the
grand jury, you'll find I'm right.

Now I know I've said enough
to buy my case back.

You know, you could buy a round, too.

I get you?

Nah, feels good, Hubert.

You dig in there, you got a mind to.

You admiring my hand, sir?

Oh, call me Gus.

It's hard to get out the habit.

- That's pretty damn lifelike.
- Yeah.

Prosthetic digits. Five of 'em,
individually controlled.

I got my key grip...

And my power grip...

My precision grip...

And my index point.

These new models got a thumb that rotates,
which makes all the difference.

Used to be you just had this one grip,
right here for everything.

- You got your...
- Not yet.

- Brave new world.
- Yeah.

Do you mind if I?

The A.W.2 lady says
you weren't writin' no story.

No, I'm just verifying details of one
we already printed in my newspaper.

Profile of your buddy.

Terry.

Yeah, he come down
visit me every coupla weeks.

He takes that Peter Pan bus
down from Baltimore.

Walks a couple of miles down Georgia Avenue
from the Silver Spring terminal.

He's having some trouble as you know.

Did you read the article?

Yeah.
Man who wrote it got some stuff right.

Terry was pissed, I tried to play it off,

make him good with it.

What did the story get wrong?

Well, that day wasn't
no Black Hawk Down thing.

You know, when shit went bad...

After I lost my hands,
them Habudabi motherfuckers

weren't even around after
the shit went off.

That's how they do.

- How you doin', marino?
- Outstanding.

Let me ask you this.
Could Terry have exaggerated?

Why not?
If he got wound up say...

You lie about combat
because you weren't there.

And Terry was. Two tours.

He's got stories if he wants 'em.
Just not on that day.

He ain't lie, y'all did, sorry t'say.

Kima, what the fuck are you taking about?

I'm sayin' you made a
mistake letting McNulty

run your people from one case to the other.

Why? What's the big deal?

Their run sheets, office reports.
McNulty covered them, right?

So fuckin' what?
They did police work.

They did good fuckin' police work, in fact.

Your guys...

You coach 'em good, Ellis.

You let them know when I.I.D. Comes callin'
that their answer is

that they didn't know anything about it,

that they did what they were told,
they turned in clean run sheets,

and they don't know what anyone else sent
upstairs for staff review.

Know about what?

When you spoke up on Colicchio
how did that feel?

- Like shit.
- You OK with it?

It was a forced move.
Tony was around the bend.

But are you OK with it?

...Q Jams. The most hip-hop and R&B.
It's your girl Neke here...

We got our peoples in the street.

They big, they fat, and they gorgeous.
What up, Porkchop?

What's up, Neke, it's your boy Porkchop...

We just gonna sit.

I should cut it. With what they charge
at the pump, don't make sense to idle.

- You can go.
- Where to?

Sayin' you can leave the car with me.

You rent by the night, right?

I ain't seen no medium of exchange.

Look, when you done, leave my short
on the street where I pick you up at.

Oh, my God. Look at this.

- Bubs.
- Walon, man...

This here's my boy Fletcher.
Newspaper writer been followin' me 'round.

You're welcome to sit in. But I have
to ask that you respect the privacy.

No notetaking, no recorders,
what you hear today stays in the room.

Not a problem.
I'm just here with Reginald.

I'm his fuckin' sponsor and I don't believe
I ever got a Christian name out of him.

- Reginald. Hot shit.
- See what you done?

- What, man?
- Come on.

My name is...

My name is...

Reginald.

- Round the way they call me Bubbles.
- Hey, Bubbles.

I'm a drug addict.

Celebratin' my anniversary.

My people couldn't make it here tonight.

I left a trail of fire behind me.

Time gonna make it right
with them, I guess.

That's right, it will.

Same thing get me right with myself.

Coupla days ago,
I took a walk down in Druid Hill Park,

right when the sun was goin' down.

You know how that time be like,
with the sun throwin' shadows an' all.

Got me thinkin' 'bout when I was a
young man, sittin' in that park.

You know, watchin' the girls, smokin'
on a little herb, drinkin' a cold beer.

You know where this is goin'.

I had this moment where, you know,
I was wantin' to feel that way again.

I remembered, what y'all said,

if the urge was to come,
call a group member up and talk.

First thing I called Walon up,
him bein' my sponsor an' all,

turns out he's on a ride
with his motorcycle club.

So I pulled out that sheet
that got passed out...

Dialed a few numbers,
couldn't get an answer.

I left a coupla messages,
but nobody called me back.

You didn't call me. 'Cause I would
have got up with you, Reginald.

You can believe that.

Obliged.

Well, anyway...

I didn't get high.

See, I knew if I did
I wouldn't get that

good feelin' back that
I was daydreamin' on.

That's right.

It got me thinkin' about
a friend of mine...

Boy named Sherrod.

I been carryin' his
passin' for a long while.

Like that memory I had
about those summer days in the park.

Thinkin' on that make me smile.

With Sherrod, it's more of a hurt.

But not as...
Not so bad like it was.

Ain't no shame in holdin' on to grief.

As long as you make room
for other things, too.

It's all right.

So thank you for listening.

- Thank you for lettin' me share.
- Thanks for sharing.

Where my gun?

In the trap. You get it when we set up.

A detective is here to see you.
Greggs, I think she said.

What? What's the matter?

How you all even know if Walter behind
everybody gettin' jacked?

I mean, ain't you all ever wonder
if he even deserve any of this shit?

Deserve got nuthin' to do with it.
It's his time, that's all.

Yo, pull over in that alley right there.
I gotta piss sumpin' fierce.

You better piss in that cup
right there on the floor.

Man, I'm gonna need ten cups.
Yo, pull over, Snoop.

What now, motherfucker? You shy?

Smart nigger. You always was.

How you know?

Y'all taught me. Get there early.

Why? What I do wrong?

Chris locked up behind
somethin' he done for you.

- You downtown with the police.
- I ain't say a word.

Yeah, that's what you say.
But it's how you carry yourself.

Always apart. Always askin'
why you should be doin' what you told.

You was never one of us.
You never could be.

How my hair look, Mike?

You look good, girl.

They're sayin' the only O.T. that anyone
has been seeing has been

through getting detailed
on the homeless killings.

- They say that's the case.
- And no wiretaps up?

I asked about that.
And I'm hearing, off-the-record kinda,

that it was a wire.

And it makes sense,
'cause that's how Lester works.

He gets hold of a number
and works it to death.

Where he would get the number
I have no idea...

But a wiretap is hours, and you say no one
is making any money...

Fuckin' department's more fucked up
than even I remember it.

Where you been at, Mike?

You gotta see this.
There's a serial killer,

but he only be killin'
other serial killers...

- Yo, yo. We about take a ride.
- You ain't got no whip.

Just gather your stuff.
Come on, we gotta move quick.

- Come on. Let's go!
- OK.

But that means...
All the calls to the newspaper.

The photographs of the missing man.

- We have a wiretap. McNulty has a...
- On a cellphone.

Jesus Christ.

- He wouldn't dare.
- What's the number?

It's on the paperwork...

- Come on.
- Where...

Evidence control.

I always thought you were bullshittin'
'bout havin' an aunt out here.

She expectin' him.

An' what's in this box.

It's nice here, huh?

Let's go, Bug.

Wish I was going with you.
You gonna have your own room.

She probably got one of them
plasma TVs, too. Them joints is wet.

Let's go.

OK, give that to Aunt Carla.

Tell her there's more behind it
when she finds the need.

A'ight?

Make sure she cop you
some fresh things, too.

I don't need you going
to a new school lookin' all...

Come on, now.
A man don't be sheddin' no tears.

Go on, Bug.

Bring it up front for re-seal
when you're through, would ya, sir?

Thanks, Augie.

- Glad you landed OK.
- Yeah.

Beats workin'.

Why here?

Why you wanna mix with their kind, man?

They give me work.

Who you talkin' to?

I know what they be doin' in there, Duke.

I could still hang with you, then.

You know I'm too hot.

You remember that one day, summer past?

When we threw them piss balloons
at them terrace boys.

You remember?
Just before school started up again...

Y'know, I took a beatdown from them boys,

I don't even throw a shadow on it.

That was a day...

Y'all bought me ice cream off the truck.

You remember, Mike?

I don't.

See you 'round, Mike.

See you, Duke.