The Wire s01e09 Episode Script

Him on the ball, from Dunbar.
He junior college now, but he going to bigger places if he can make them grades.
He our edge, right there.
- Where he going? - I don't know.
Terps, Hoyas, Missouri, Kansas, they all want this cat.
Okay, so we in the mix, too, now.
You know what I'm talking about? Blow Proposition Joe's mind.
He ain't got nobody balling like this.
He better not have one motherfucker balling like this.
I'm tired of losing to these Eastside bitches every year.
It's been three years running now, man.
Fucking with my morale, for real.
What happened to the faggot? Omar? - That nigger in the winds, man.
- What you mean he in the wind, man? This city ain't that big.
You know what that nigger do when he holed up somewhere? He peel off one or two packages, roll around the neighborhood giving away free vials and shit.
Yeah, on some real Robin Hood type shit.
If we try and get at him we going to have two dozen niggers saying that we on our way.
If you want us to hunt that nigger, we going to hunt.
But the smart play, I think, we call a truce put this thing on hold for a hot second.
Let the faggot get comfortable and when he do, he'll pop up his head.
Boom, we got him.
What will motherfuckers be saying while we waiting? What people going to say when they see this cocksucking faggot out in the sunshine? Like it ain't no thing to take my shit.
- Kid's everything I said he was? - Yeah, he is straight.
Don't know what we're going to do without him next year.
- How come you ain't signed? - Lot of schools looking at me.
- I'm listening.
- $10,000, though, that ain't bad, right? - It ain't.
- $10,000 for the kid, plus $5,000 donation for the program.
Done.
Good.
Give me 30 from the line and get out of here.
Yo, man, good job, baby.
All right, big guy.
And I assume there's another $5,000 right here, for making this happen? Ain't shit for free, right? So, what you do for money? Can't live without it, right? You still fucked up behind that stickup, man? Shit ain't on you.
It ain't on me neither.
Motherfucker who robbed the stash shot Sterling.
He gonna get got no matter what you or me do.
I just don't wanna play.
I don't wanna play no more.
All right? I was thinking about going to school, over at Edmondson ask if they'll let me back in at the end of the semester.
- What grade? - Ninth.
Ninth? Shit, you how old? Sixteen.
Sixteen.
Damn, man, you supposed to be a junior by now.
I heard Stinkum got killed.
Yeah.
Damn.
- I said I don't want to play.
- I heard you.
And you ain't got to do nothing.
I heard you.
Take it.
Hurry up, nigger, people looking.
Look here, man, you a smart little motherfucker.
You start back up at Edmondson you likely to finish up at Harvard or some shit like that.
Believe, B.
And you got a good heart in there, too.
Not like the rest of these niggers.
- Yeah? - Ronnie Mo on Tower Phone 2.
Right.
Where the fuck you at, man? You coming to get this shit or what? Keep cool, we making rounds.
- You know I ain't moving like I used to.
- All right, couple hours, we be at you.
All right.
Wee-Bey picking up at the towers? - In a couple hours, give or take.
- Time enough for us to make a play.
What's up with Wallace? Nothing.
Nothing? Nothing.
It's all good, just leave him be.
Damn.
Fuck.
I'm tired of not having a phone up in this joint.
- I'll be right back.
- Yeah.
- Have a nice hike.
- Yeah.
- Hello, you make order? - Who this? You make order? Good yakame.
- What? - Or no delivery.
You make order, you come get.
Good yakame, good noodle.
Extra ketchup.
What the fuck was that? That was my Korean counterman.
Sounded Chinese.
Like you can fucking tell the difference.
It's a brave new world for you, boys.
- Request a lateral with - Where you at? - McCullough above Preston.
We're on a good pay phone that the pit boys are now using.
I'm up on the church.
Hang close, boys.
Might have a nicejack-up for you two.
I can't believe these boys still in business, man.
- Testers, testers coming in five.
- What's the new package, man? Yellow tops.
Shit is the bomb.
- Now shit is the bomb.
- Check it.
A man who wants to get high more than he wants to get clean.
- He was doing good, too.
- Told you, it was bullshit.
- Them meetings were just fronts.
- The man sounded strong, you know? Whatever.
It's about that time.
- Shit.
- What happened? That's the boy who beat me down, man.
The shits right here is yellow tops and they right so remember where you caught this blast and tell your fiend-ass friends.
Line the fuck up.
Back up.
Get in line, what the fuck? Line the fuck up.
Get the fuck out of here.
Damn, fuck you all.
Hurry up.
Over here.
Get one, girl, over here.
I got one.
You get one? Hold up.
You catch one? You know, I got three if you need.
You was at the meeting over at Samuel Morse.
Mr.
One-Day Man.
It wasn't even that.
Stood up, though.
Why you down at the tester line if you ain't chasing? Trying to get my little nephew off the corner.
His mama sent him up to Cumberland, you know? Try to keep him clean at my grandma's.
He ain't anywhere near his bottom.
Got to see that bottom coming up at him.
Hard, too, 'cause he's young, 24.
Most people don't get tired till they're 35, 40.
- How old are you? - Young at heart.
Walon, man.
Bubs.
Give them a long rope.
The farther away from the projects you pop him, the less risk to the wire.
Hell with the wire.
Excuse me? Gotcha, McNulty, you're too easy.
You can come at this a few ways.
First thing is we need the names of all front companies limited partnerships, LLCs, and all that mess.
- LLCs? - Limited liability corporations.
Start with the nightclub which Barksdale owns.
Look up Orlando's, by address, you match it, and you see it's owned by who? It's on Baltimore Street, right? Got it.
D & B enterprises.
Give it to Prez, who's going to get off his ass and walk on over to the state office buildings on Preston Street.
- Preston Street? - Corporate charter office.
Corporate who? They have the paperwork on every corporation and LLC licensed to do business in the state.
You look up D & B Enterprises on the computer.
You're going to get a little reel of microfilm.
Pull the corporate charter papers that way write down every name you see.
: corporate officers, shareholders, or more importantly the resident agent on the filing who is usually a lawyer.
While they use front names, you know, as corporate officers they'll usually use the same lawyer to do the charter filing.
Find that agent's name, run it through the computer find out what other corporations he's done the filing for and that way we find other front companies.
While he's doing that, what do I do? You're gonna to keep your head in this assessment book.
Look up any properties that you can connect to Barksdale.
How do you know it connects to Barksdale, right? You work off of what Prez gets you from the corporate charter documents.
Whatever companies he links to Barksdale or people connected to him you look for those companies in the city land records.
For example: McNulty said that he heard that Barksdale owned an apartment building up on Druid Park Lake.
You look up all the blocks on Reservoir Hill.
See if there's anything owned by D & B Enterprises or any other company that Prez finds through corporate charter or anything similar.
Ifyou find something that fits, you write down the folio number so that you can look it up later at the courthouse.
You don't find anything just take the names of all the corporate listings for the multi-units near the lake.
You call that list over to Prez, who pulls the charter papers and he'll look for connections.
- It's like a scavenger hunt.
- But what if Barksdale is careful? I mean, what if we can't find his name on anything? In this country somebody's name has got to be on a piece of paper.
A cousin, a girlfriend, a grandmother, a lieutenant he can trust somebody's name is on a piece of paper.
And here's the rub: You follow drugs you get drug addicts and drug dealers.
But you start to follow the money and you don't know where the fuck it's going to take you.
While we're running around on this, what are you going to do? - You need something? - Yeah.
Let me get the campaign financial reports for the western districts and actually, any citywide race.
You want quarterly reports or individual donor lists? - Both, please.
- It'll be a couple hundred pages.
Really? I'll take all of it.
What the fuck, man? With your right hand, reach for the window, open the door.
- Come on, hurry up, man.
- Step out of the car.
Drop the cane, toss the cane.
Come around to the back.
All right.
Turn around.
Sir, is there anything in the vehicle we should know about? Nope.
No guns, drugs? Me ain't got shit.
This money right here, I didn't just pull this out of your truck? What money? Damn, we'll be counting this limp-dick cash all day.
Where you guys going with all this? Like the man said, it ain't ours.
It ain't yours? So, you don't mind if we just take it off your hands? Do what you feel.
You pretending to take money out this truck.
I didn't even know it was there.
You know, I know how that shit is.
The other day, I took up the sofa cushions off my couch found $1.
40 I didn't even know was there.
You all ain't got no charge, right? No, fucker, we do not have a charge.
We just got your money.
You want it back, you can explain it to the state's attorney where you got it.
You all enjoy your day now, you hear? As I wake up in the morning And get out of my bed Give me three.
As I wake up in the morning And get out of my bed I'm thinking about the people I grew up with long dead The brothers I grew up with, locked up I'm freestyling off the top of my head You know, it's swell, Patti LaBelle I like her But Regina Bell is better Motherfucker! Motherfucker, trying to steal our shit.
Motherfucker! - Fished your wish, Bubbs? - Yeah.
And you should've seen the one that got away.
I nearly got killed behind this caper, you know? It's all in the game, Bubbs.
Yeah? This ain't shit.
I'm not high, neither.
It's fucking Arm & Hammer.
We just been firing baking soda.
It's all right, man.
I'll just come up with another plan.
I did it once, right? Fuck me.
Carv, you go to a restaurant and say the waitress gives you good, decent service.
How much do you tip? How much do I tip? - For good service.
- I don't know, 15%.
- Some people tip 20%.
- Some people got money.
What you think Wee-Bey would tip? You'd be a clever motherfucker if there wasn't a wiretap running.
What do you mean? Say we turn in $20,000, and this afternoon, the bosses are listening to the wiretap and they hear we took $30,000 out of that car.
Didn't think of that, did you? We're finding a lot of stuff on the west side of downtown that might be his, over by that Howard Street corridor.
- What kind of property? - Low-rent commercials.
A lot of vacants.
The fuck does Avon Barksdale want with a string of empty storefronts? - This feels premature.
- What does? Chasing up assets.
We're not close to putting a charge to the man.
- That should be the priority.
- We put a charge to Avon Barksdale the Deputy shuts us down, tells us to go home.
You want the money side of this case, it's now or never, Lieutenant.
I'm working here.
Maybe $20,000 or $30,000.
Dollars for donuts.
You should've seen the looks on their faces.
- What did Wee-Bey say? - "What money?" The only hassle is we need to sit here and count this shit.
- Do the ECU Submissions.
- And it's all limp-dick, dime-vial money.
Dirty bills right off the corner.
You all got the pit boys on a fresh pay phone, right? - Yeah, on McCullough.
- You take pictures? Good, we're gonna need an additional affidavit to get up on that phone.
Another 30 days, McNulty? What the fuck did I do? One day he fights, the next day he's ready to roll over.
- Does he want this fucking case or not? - Give him some slack, Jimmy.
He's wrestling with the angels on this one.
Where's my lucky pen? - You ready, bitch? - Yeah, I'm ready.
I wanna get on my knees and suck you like a great big lollipop.
- Yeah, suck it.
- Yeah, I know that's your favorite.
Let me lick that.
You like that? I want you to butt-fuck me.
We're supposed to turn off the tap when it's non-pertinent.
Fuck, no, this is too good.
- Fuck me.
- Daddy, yeah.
There's no way I'm transcribing this stuff.
Touch yourself.
Yeah.
- My pussy is so wet right now.
- Phone sex? Shit was hilarious.
You're supposed to shut down after You're gonna to look like a glazed donut, you know that? Is that right? I'm gonna get there and fuck you in all three holes.
- So, you're gonna come past here? - Tomorrow, yeah.
But I need to go past Argyle Street tonight.
- Check in with Wallace.
- Wallace? He's off the hook since we helped the tower crew get that stickup boy.
I'm telling you, Wallace is bugging.
Don't hardly even come out of that room no more.
- Why he be like that? - I think he might be getting high.
- Wallace? - Boy scaring me with his shit.
- All right, you holler at me later.
- That'll work.
Pertinent now, right? If you can explain why we're still on the line after 10 minutes jerking off.
You got to justify that.
Maybe three holes was the code for three stash houses.
Omar.
Omar coming.
- Did you hear me? I said Omar coming.
- Let's get out of here.
I said, Omar coming through.
Somebody in trouble now.
Come on, let's go.
You all need to open this door, man, before I huff and puff.
Come on, now, by the hairs of your chinny-chin-chin.
Omar, you best roll out, we up in here with a MAC-10.
I thinks not, Terrell, I thinks not.
You all might need to think this through and stop wasting my time.
Because Omar can come back tomorrow.
And the next day.
And the next day.
And I will put a bullet in all you all behind, what happen right now, you heard? Fair enough.
Here you go, keep it.
How do you wanna play it? Hard and tight, like she's got no choice.
- Shardene Ennis.
- Miss, we need to talk.
- About what? - It's a downtown talk.
This way.
Come on.
Give me a two and two.
- What's up? - What you got? Family affair, two-for-one, you up? - No.
Not me.
- All right.
How you figure these little pebbles get up on top of the roof? Where's everybody at? Maybe the whole thing is over and no one bothered to tell us.
Maybe we won.
Something ain't right.
Come on, let's take a ride.
I like these.
- The toy furniture is great.
- Doll house miniatures.
It's a hobby.
My sister had a dollhouse when we were young, but nothing as nice as these.
Can I? Sure, babe.
That's a walnut marble-top vanity.
Renaissance revival, late 19th century.
Do you have a house for them? No, I just make them and sell them.
That seems kind of sad.
You should have a house for them.
We can use the Lieutenant's office.
- No.
- I ain't asked for nothing.
What's up, Tasha? You got too pretty, girl.
Go inside, Tash.
I'm thinking about getting clean.
Again.
I was thinking, you know, I ain't got no other place to go, maybe That's wrong, right? That ain't right, right? Sorry.
I'm sorry.
Wait.
Back door only.
There's an old sofa in the basement and I'll throw you down some blankets.
You try to come up those stairs, and I'm gonna call the police on you.
I swear I will.
West fucking Baltimore is on vacation.
No crews slinging in the low-rises, the towers.
What the fuck? - Who's playing who? - West against East.
- Baltimore? - The projects, man.
The bragging rights to the projects.
The projects got a ball team? How long you been working at Orlando's? - Four, five months.
- You like it? - Pays the rent.
- You must see a lot there, I imagine.
What do you mean? There's a lot of players there.
A lot of game being played.
I know nothing about that, I just work for tips.
- For tips? - Tips, drinks.
You know, I'm just a b-girl.
I don't mess with nothing beyond that.
Some of the girls in there, they're into drugs and whatnot.
And some of them turn tricks in the rooms upstairs but I mostly just stay at the bar.
Miss Ennis, it's rare when we ask somebody to come on downtown with us and we don't have a charge on them.
We don't tell them what we're gonna talk about.
And they come along without complaining.
- That hardly ever happens.
- Rarely, if ever.
- I figure you got your reasons.
- The crew that runs Orlando's they've dropped about a dozen bodies over the last year.
And they're running the drugs in every housing project west of the Martin Luther King.
I don't know anything about that.
I just work for tips.
But now you do know, because we're telling you.
You know a girl named Keisha Michaels? - She dances with me.
- How's she doing? All right, I guess.
Will you excuse us a moment? - So, what do you think? - I think she's a sweetheart.
I think if we push her hard, she'll tumble.
You want to show her the pictures? I want to do better than that.
Come on, man, play defense.
- Let's go! - "D" up, B.
- Who is he? - That's Marcus Rivera, right there, man.
He out of Lake Clifton.
That nigger played in Italy and shit.
Slim.
What's up, man? You got to go all the way to Europe to get you a ringer? No, he home now.
But I see you pulling boys out the junior colleges.
He from Eastside, went to Dunbar.
What's up, playboy? How come you wearing that suit? It's 85 fucking degrees out here and you trying to be like Pat Riley.
Look the part, be the part, motherfucker.
You walking around with a fake fucking clipboard.
You can't even read a playbook.
Be for real.
Bunch of bitches.
- Let's go.
- That was nice.
That boy was talking to God, right? Ain't you all on the clock? - Ain't you? - We on break.
Then we on a break, too.
What's up with this game? Just something we do every year, you know? Eastside versus Westside niggers.
Loser got to throw a big-ass party at Druid Hill next weekend.
- Who's favored? - Eastside won the last two years.
My boys.
Found nude Monday morning, in a Dumpster off Reisterstown road, above Northern.
Toxicology is positive for heroin and cocaine.
- In a Dumpster? - Rolled up in a rug.
She overdosed and whoever was with her didn't do shit but roll her up and throw her away.
Because that's how they do.
Positive for semen in vaginal, anal and oral cavities.
Three different blood types, all secretors.
They fucked her and threw her away.
The only reason we knew who she was, or what she was about or what she might mean to someone like you is because we've been keeping an eye on the people who run Orlando's for some time now.
We got ways of knowing what they're saying what they're thinking.
You know what they said about this one? That the stupid bitch didn't know how good the snort was at Little Man's party.
That it was her own fault.
That's how they do it.
They use people, and when they throw them away they find a way to say it ain't on them.
Lying motherfucker.
He said they took her to a hospital.
Now, get back on "D.
" Check out Avon.
He's freaking.
Shit, man, we got to win this one.
I think Avon's here.
- Where? - Like I know what he looks like? He's a black guy rooting for Westside.
We might have a visual on Avon.
Street ball game up at Cloverdale.
- Where's Greggs and Freamon? - Pressing the stripper they picked up.
You and Carver stay on the radio.
- We should follow him.
- Why? He ain't gonna touch drugs or money anywhere you can see him, Lieutenant.
In Narcotics we follow guys.
We do it well, we make cases on it.
Mount up.
We been on this guy three months.
Don't you even want to get a look at him? I wouldn't know Avon Barksdale if I fell over him in the street.
The thing is, I don't need to.
We get him by voice alone or we don't get him.
Yeah, baby! Half-time.
You got yourself a fine ringer.
It's not your year, you know what I'm talking about? - It look that way, but you never know.
- I know, man, we up 12.
Yeah, you is, but I got a proposition for you.
- Okay.
- Double down? Let's give this wager a clean six figures.
You serious? I don't give a fuck.
It's your money.
You can waste it if you want, you know what I'm talking about? - Anyone got him? -64-Charlie to central K.
You have him? Lieutenant, I don't even know what I'm looking for.
Got him marked.
On the sideline, red shirt, white visor.
I think he's coaching or something.
Who this fucking midget? Get that midget out of here, B.
- Why you holler at me? - Man, we getting down to it.
- I get to you when I get to you.
- That's it, we're on the stash.
We are? How can you put that down when Sydnor wasn't on the roof? Yes, he was.
No, he's not, he's with Daniels.
No, he isn't.
- Get the fuck out of here.
- Ref, what the fuck? What the fuck? Ref, what the fuck? The boy was fouled.
Clear, straight up! How you going to not call that? If you want, I can put time back on the clock and replay it.
You talking about a do-over? Talking about a fucking do-over? That's not how the game is played! You can't do that! Believe this shit? Nigger talking about doing it again.
- I don't want any trouble, okay? - Ain't going to be no trouble over no ball.
Man, you supposed to be the ref, right? Why don't you stand up for your fucking self? You pussy.
You can't let any old motherfucking nigger get in your face, you understand? Now, walk away.
Turn around and walk the fuck away.
Ignorant motherfucker.
- We cool? - Yeah, we cool, baby.
You tell your people to come to the park, Saturday at noon.
Of course you come on the Westside again, without a ball I'm gonna light your ass up.
- D'Angelo? - You know him? At this point, it feels like I do.
We sort of moved in together.
He seemed like he was different.
- I have to quit the club.
- Yes, you do.
But not just yet.
We need your help.
Which is why we came to you.
- I don't know what else- - Keisha was not the first.
Unless somebody steps up a little bit, she's not going to be the last neither.
You like that one? Why don't you keep it? Thank you.
- He's getting into a black Ford Excursion.
- Copy that.
He's pulling out, north on Collington.
You got the parallel on the north, I got him on the south.
he's going east on Oliver.
He just parked.
East of Oliver.
on Federal, west of Montford.
I'm coming up from the south.
He's just sitting there.
- He's doubling back.
- Copy.
He's south on Montford.
He jumped the light at Preston and Milton and is south on Milton.
Be advised that he didn't make it to Chase.
He couldn't have gone past us.
Must have went to ground.
All right, hold your positions.
I'll take a look.
- He called again, same pay phone.
- Same voice? It was the main stash house, it's got to be.
The pattern fits.
- Who took the call at the projects? - Who knows? There was no one on the roof.
Sydnor was off with Daniels, chasing Avon in the street.
We had a good day, too.
Kima turned one of the dancers over at Avon's club.
The one who's fucking D'Angelo.
This guy's good.
We threw everything we had at him.
You know what they say, stupid criminals make stupid cops.
I'm proud to be chasing this guy.
We got four front companies so far, buying up all kinds of shit.
A club, an apartment building, a funeral home and a lot of real estate on the west side of downtown by the Howard Street corridor.
Shop fronts and warehouses.
- Barksdale's name on it? - Fronts, mostly.
Relatives, some.
Mind if I have a seat? He's had the projects for more than a year and it's a money factory.
We popped Wee-Bey coming out the other day with $22,000.
The boys talking on the wire were saying it wasn't much of a loss.
$22,000? That's just from one morning from the towers and the pit.
Add the avenue corners, you're probably up near $30,000.
Another take for the evening, $60,000.
- A day? - That's $25 million a year, conservatively.
You take out 20% for running expenses and spillage and you are still clearing $1 million a month.
- So, where's it all go? - He shows no flash.
He's got no house, no car in his name no jewelry, no clothes.
Just front companies and the property.
And political contributions.
$75,000 the last month alone all from his front companies or their listed officers.
And that's just at a quick glance.
I'm just totaling up the legal contributions.
You've got the likes of Damien Price, aide to a state senator driving out $20,000 in cash from the projects whenever he feels it.
I know you don't want to hear this, Lieutenant but the money is real and it's everywhere.
And more than the drugs, it's the money that matters.
I ain't fucked nobody else if that's what you thinking.
All right, I mean, fuck it.
If you want to go, then go! But you could give me a goddamn reason.
- What do I look like to you? - What you mean? - What do I look like to you? - You look like a girl, a woman a beautiful woman, you're fine, what? I don't look like trash to you? Baby, this ain't about what you do.
I don't look like something you could roll up in a rug and throw in the trash? Shardene.
Lieutenant, you paged us? We were almost home.
Sit.
- Yeah? Checked my count again, yo.
- How bad? Not too bad, man.
- We got hit about $22,000.
- $22,000? That's all? All right.
I got towers two, three, five and six and another one labeled "P" for the pit.
Where's one and four? It's on the wire that we took them for $22,000.
You shitheads turned in $15,000.
Where's the rest? - Lieutenant, we ain't got- - You have till roll call tomorrow to crawl back to whatever rock you hid it under.
It comes back and it goes to ECU.
This doesn't happen.
Not with me.
Not with my unit.
I wouldn't steal and not tell you about it.
This some of Avon's shit.
You got Avon Barksdale chasing your ass all around town and you still find time to take his shit.
- It's your shit now.
- What I want with that? What anybody want with that, man? - How much you asking? - We free.
Free? I'm saying, I got a little proposition for you.
Proposition is, you get four G-packs for free you give me some better idea on how I can reach Avon.
- How to contact him? - You all just had a game, right? - How you get a hold of him to parley? - We talk now and then.
I page his ass.
Okay.
That all you need? - A number? - I make do with it.
And a code for one of his peoples.
What Wee-Bey use, 07? What makes you think I ain't gonna take this off your hands and throw your ass up outta here? Come on, man, Avon goes down, the projects be open market again, right? Let me understand.
Avon loses $100,000 to me on a bet then you bring me some of his shit so that I can put your predatory self on his ass.
Not his day, is it? Fuck.
Fuck it.
- Where was it? - The wheel well.
You remember when the bag broke? Think Daniels will believe it? Would you? You didn't believe me.
I'm sorry.
Savino late, man.
I'm ready to make this money-run, get the fuck out here.
- You tired? - I'm tired, man, I'm hungry.
Shit, me too.
Want something to eat from the diner? Yeah, you going over there? Get me a cheese steak, man.
- You hungry, too? - Yeah, I could do a burger.
All right.
- Let me get onions on that, man.
- I got you.
You organizing it right? You got my $50s with my $50s, and my $100s with my $100s? All right, ladies, good night.
I see you all tomorrow, on time, you hear? Count this money, baby.
- What the fuck? - Who's that? Wee-Bey swinging me an emergency call.
Fuck.
Bey? No.
We got rules, right? Fuck.
They had cheese fries, baby.
I got you some.
Avon, stay down, man.
I got you covered.