The Wire, Seasons 1, 2, & 3, Part 3

THE THIRD PART OF

THE WIRE

SEASONS 1, 2, & 3

DETECTIVE MCNULTY, of Major Crimes Unit.
MAJOR COLVIN, commander of Western District.
DETECTIVE GREGGS, of Major Crimes Unit.
DETECTIVE FREAMON, of Major Crimes Unit.
DETECTIVE PRYZBYLEWSKI, of Major Crimes Unit.
SERGEANT CARVER, of the Narcotics Division of Western District.                
OFFICER HERC, of the Narcotics Division of Western District.                
DETECTIVE BUNK, of Homicide Division.
CORPORAL RAWLS, of Homicide Division.

AVON BARKSDALE, kingpin.
STRINGER BELL, Avon Barksdale's partner and bank.
SHAMROCK, a lieutenant for Avon Barksdale.
SLIM CHARLES, an enforcer for Avon Barksdale.

OMAR, an infamous stick-up artist.
BROTHER, an infamous New York enforcer.

HOME CONTRACTOR, several COMMANDING OFFICERS, several HOPPERS, several OFFICERS, a REPORTER, several PARAMEDICS, and several SOLDIERS.

SCENE---BALTIMORE

Act 1. Scene 1.
Baltimore City Street.
Enter MAJOR COLVIN. Enter CORPORAL RAWLS who meets him.
CORPORAL RAWLS.
A little late, used to be when a nine-year-old kid hit the pavement, the District Commander would be there within minutes. I guess we're living in a brave new world.
MAJOR COLVIN.
I was in Washington with Commissioner Burrell when I heard.
CORPORAL RAWLS.
DC...? What for...?
MAJOR COLVIN.
Well, took a couple of District Commanders down to D.O.J. with him. Pimping ourselves for a little grant money.
So, what have we got?
CORPORAL RAWLS.
Nine-year-old in his bedroom catches a stray round through the window.
MAJOR COLVIN.
Dead...?
CORPORAL RAWLS.
Pronounced at the University.
MAJOR COLVIN.
Witnesses...?
CORPORAL RAWLS.
No one's offered up a name but the general theme is two crews arguing over the real estate, we got casings from atleast three different calibers on the ground.
We're gonna canvas hard but your people in Tactical should hit the area drug corners and collect bodies.
MAJOR COLVIN.
It's fucking pointless.
CORPORAL RAWLS.
Hey, we jack up enough shitbirds, this case can fall.
MAJOR COLVIN.
I aint talking about that, I know the drill, I'm talking about this whole mess.
Been chasing this shit from one corner to another like it's a plan....
CORPORAL RAWLS.
Hit the corners, Howard. Take scalps, you'll feel better when you do.
[Exit MAJOR COLVIN. Exit CORPORAL RAWLS.

Scene 2.
Major Crimes Division.
Enter DETECTIVE FREAMON and DETECTIVE PREZBYLEWSKI who busy themselves. Enter DETECTIVE MCNULTY and DETECTIVE GREGGS opposite.
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
To what do we owe the honor?
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
Just checking in, why, you got something going on?
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
Oh, nothing too sexy, just pushing the case uphill, inch by inch, on Kintel Williamson, our stated target.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
We're working too, Lester.
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
Yeah, on your own thing. You even listen to me, McNulty?
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
I have a real case to bring in, fella by the name of Stringer Bell, you might have heard of him, I don't know.
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
You got a mouth on you, boy.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
He's still out there, Lester.
He's got his corners, his money, fuck it, by now, for all you know he's got all that downtown real estate. Motherfucker, probably owns half of Baltimore without you even knowing it.
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
That aint the point.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
Do you even know what happened to all that real estate, Lester? All that downtown property Bell has title on? Fuck no....
He's probably laughing his balls off right now at you, me, Daniels, all of us.
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
You even pretending to speak for anyone other than yourself McNulty?
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
I'm speaking for the job.
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
You want to talk about police work? I was doing the job when you was just dreaming on it, Daniels was out there too, now you're gonna fuck him when he pulled you off a goddamn boat?
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
He's a boss, fuck the bosses.
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
Maybe, Daniels plays a few games to get by but he's cost himself plenty for the sake of the job, he's earned some loyalty.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
Fuck loyalty and fuck you, Lester. I never thought I'd hear that chain of command horseshit come out of your mouth.
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
Motherfucker, I spent a lot of time in a lot of weak units, more than you. Now, this here may not be perfect but it's a chance to be police.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
Well, then be one....
[Here DETECTIVE FREAMON squares off with DETECTIVE MCNULTY. DETECTIVE GREGGS jumps in and holds DETECTIVE MCNULTY back and they both back up.
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
You're not even worth the skin off my knuckles, boy. You put fire to everything you touch McNulty then you walk away while it burns. I got nothing more to say to you, nothing.--
[To DETECTIVE GREGGS.] And you, I'm surprised at you girl, Daniels raised you from a pup.
[Exit DETECTIVE FREAMON.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
We gotta hit up, Bubbs.
[Exit DETECTIVE MCNULTY and DETECTIVE GREGGS opposite.
Enter DETECTIVE FREAMON.
DETECTIVE FREAMON [to DETECTIVE PREZBYLEWSKI.]
Check on those fucking properties.
[Exit DETECTIVE FREAMON and DETECTIVE PREZBYLEWSKI.

Scene 3.
Parish House Kitchen.
Enter BUBBLES and JOHNNY.
BUBBLES.
Food lines will take your mind off it.
JOHNNY.
Rather my mind on it, Bubbs.
BUBBLES.
Swear, I'm sick of all this man. Wondering when I got so old.
Enter DETECTIVE GREGGS and DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
DETECTIVE GREGGS.
Hey Bubbs....
BUBBLES.
Kima....
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
Hey Bubb....
BUBBLES.
McNutty, man, my mainest man.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
Ready to put some work in?
BUBBLES.
Born ready.
JOHNNY [to BUBBLES.]
Snitching? Fuck that Bubbs.
BUBBLES.
Hey, no, no man, better than lifting five-hundred pound radiators. Yo, I'm up for these two Johnny. That's easy money man.
DETECTIVE GREGGS.
Come on, let's grab a burger.
[Here DETECTIVE GREGGS and DETECTIVE MCNULTY walk aside and pause for BUBBLES and JOHNNY. Exit JOHNNY. BUBBLES going aside meets with them.
BUBBLES.
What'd you need from me, I mean, exactly?
DETECTIVE GREGGS.
Lay of the land, who has what corners now that the towers are down.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
We want to know what happened to the Barksdale people, especially.
BUBBLES.
And, this pays how much...?
DETECTIVE GREGGS.
Let's treat it like a real job, say five an hour, thirty on a day max.
BUBBLES.
That's less than minimum wage.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
But there's no withholding Bubbs, it's tax-free.
BUBBLES.
Alright, it feels good to be out here, y'know? I mean, gainfully employed.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
I thought your boy was coming too.
BUBBLES.
Johnny...? He don't think much of this here with y'all. Besides, he happens to be one of the laziest boys to sit between two shoes, me, I've been working since I was a kid.
DETECTIVE GREGGS.
Yeah...? What's your resume read like Bubbs? Just curious.
BUBBLES.
Well, I aint claiming no payroll jobs Kima. But, it's been awhile since I punched the clock.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
When was that?
BUBBLES.
Long time ago, before I had a sheet, shit, I was still clean. Got one of those stock boy jobs, one of those cheapest-guys-in-town stores. Unloading appliances, taking air conditioners and shit out to the customers cars like, "hey man, how many do you want?" Like that.
DETECTIVE GREGGS.
So, what happened?
BUBBLES.
I put a clock-radio in a trashcan one day, trying to be cute, got caught. I didn't even need a clock-radio. See, that's me: Born fuck-up.
All right, you know what? Five dollars an hour, thirty on the day, that'll work. Huh?
[Here DETECTIVE GREGGS and DETECTIVE MCNULTY both nod. Exit BUBBLES. Exit DETECTIVE GREGGS and DETECTIVE MCNULTY.

Scene 4.
Western District Headquarters.
Enter commanding officers. Enter MAJOR COLVIN. Here MAJOR COLVIN stands before a podeium and addresses an audience of commanding officers.
MAJOR COLVIN.
In regards to Officer Dozerman, his condition has been upgraded to guarded. I'm told he can receive visits and he's been moved to recovery unit.
As of this tour, all hand-to-hand undercover buys are suspended in the Western District.--
[MAJOR COLVIN displays a brown paper bag containing a bottle within.]
Somewhere back in the dawn of time, this district had itself a civic dilemma of epic proportion, the city council had just passed a law that forbid alcoholic consumption in public places. On the streets and on the corners. But, the corner is, and it was, and it always will be the poor man's lounge, it's cheaper than a bar, catch a nice breeze, you watch the girls go by. But, the law is the law, western cops rolling by, what were they gonna do? They arrested every dude out there for tipping back a High-Life, there would be no other time for any other kind of police work. And, if they looked the other way, they'd open themselves up to all kinds of flaunting, all kinds of disrespect. Now this was before my time, there was a small moment of goddamn genius by some nameless smokehound who comes out the Cut Rate one day and on his way to the corner he slips that just bought pint of elderberry into a paper bag.--
[MAJOR COLVIN removes the bottle within and places it on the podium.]
A great moment of civic compromise. That small wrinkled-ass paper bag allowed the corner boys to have their drink in peace and it gave us permission to go and do police work, the kind of police work that's actually worth the effort, that's worth actually taking a bullet for. Officer Dozerman, he got shot last night trying to buy three vials.--
[MAJOR COLVIN displays three dope vials.]
Three...!--
[MAJOR COLVIN pauses.]
There's never been a paper bag for drugs.--
[MAJOR COLVIN places the three dope vials into the brown paper bag.]
Until now.
The new strategic plan for the district is to move all street level trafficking to three designated areas. We want to push it, they don't go easy then they go hard but we let these knuckleheads know that if they move to these areas, away from the residential streets, away from commercial areas, away from schools, if they take that shit down the road, they can go about their business without any interference from us.
[MAJOR COLVIN pauses again.]
Once... Once, they're all comfortable, once they're all rounded-up, once they've been down there a bit and they're used to putting their feet up and playing with the remote then we move in, then we go back and we do police work. Look at it this way: Would you rather shoot a fish in the ocean or would you rather gather them up in a few small barrels and start emptying your clips in?
[Here MAJOR COLVIN pauses again. Exit MAJOR COLVIN.

Scene 5.
Outside a Baltimore Rowhouse.
Enter a HOME CONTRACTOR who sets up his ladder, climbs up it, and busies himself. Enter BUBBLES and JOHNNY who stand aside.
JOHNNY.
No Bubbs, I mean, there's gotta be rules or else things get fucked up.
BUBBLES.
Aint no rules for dope fiends.
JOHNNY.
When the police got you shackled up, you make a move, right? You help yourself out but to just start snitching for no reason, that doesn't make no....
BUBBLES.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, let.... Let me track this, you out hyperbolizing that you can tattletale when you locked up but you can't do it straight up for the money? I mean, no offense son but that's some weak ass thinking.
JOHNNY.
So, a snitch is a snitch, right?
BUBBLES.
There you go.
JOHNNY.
So, why be one, man? I mean, we're getting by with our capers.
BUBBLES.
Yeah, we're getting by, out here every damn day, ripping and running. And, aint got shit to show for it...?
JOHNNY.
It's part of being a soldier. I mean, that's you, right? I mean, that's what you say.
BUBBLES.
Yeah, that's why I put all these miles on these feet. You wait, you wait until you aint a pup no more, see if you aint looking for something a little more steady for your own self.--
[JOHNNY begins to suffer from heroin withdrawal. BUBBLES pauses.]
What the fuck, you're ill, already? It's not even past morning.
JOHNNY.
I'm cool. Man, I'm fine, I'm fine.
BUBBLES.
Look, we hook up with my girl Kima, we get paid, you're gonna be better.
JOHNNY.
Fuck that Bubbs, alright? I'm not a fucking snitch.
BUBBLES.
You know, I could argue the other side, say, if you drop dime to duck a charge then you're a snitch, you do it as a living, you're a professional.
JOHNNY.
Whoa, whoa whoa, hold up.
You see that ladder, right there? Just like old times, man. I'll be the bad guy, you be the lone ranger.
BUBBLES.
Leave that man be, we get paid more hooking up to my girl.
JOHNNY.
But, that's cash money, right there.
BUBBLES.
No, with the white man I best be the bad guy, that way he aint confused.
JOHNNY.
All right, meet me in the alley.
BUBBLES.
Fuck....
[Exit JOHNNY. BUBBLES walks over and meets the HOME CONTRACTOR. BUBBLES grabs the bottom of the ladder.]
Yo mister, throw down your wallet or I'm gonna jerk this ladder right out.
HOME CONTRACTOR.
What...? No....
BUBBLES.
Come on, I'm a poor man who aint playing, throw down your goddamn money.
CONTRACTOR.
No... No.... Please, help...!
Enter JOHNNY.
JOHNNY.
Hey, hey, leave that man alone!
[Here BUBBLES flees. The HOME CONTRACTOR climbs down his ladder.
Enter JOHNNY from aside.
HOME CONTRACTOR.
Thank you.
[Here the HOME CONTRACTOR offers out some money to JOHNNY.
JOHNNY.
I can't, I can't, I can't....
HOME CONTRACTOR.
No, you saved my ass.
JOHNNY.
It's appreciated....
[JOHNNY takes the HOME CONTRACTORS money. Exit BUBBLES. Exit the HOME CONTRACTOR. JOHNNY going aside looks around for BUBBLES.]
Yo Bubbs, you won't fucking believe this.
Bubbs...?
[Exit JOHNNY.

Act 2. Scene 1.
A Designated Drug Zone.
Enter SERGEANT CARVER, MAJOR COLVIN, and several COMMANDING OFFICERS.
SERGEANT CARVER.
It aint pretty.
MAJOR COLVIN.
Doesn't have to be. Just needs to pull in from the places still worth salvageing. All right, told the other shifts, now I'm telling you, I ride my district at the end of this week, I want to see empty corners. They bring it here or the other two free zones or you bang them senseless, anything you need to do you do. Up to a body that can't walk itself up out of the emergency room, I'll back up you and your men. You understand me?
Now, I've tied up our I.I.D. representative for the entire week so all citizen complaints will be handled by one of our commanding officers.--
[They all pause.]
Whatever it takes.
[Exit MAJOR COLVIN, SERGEANT CARVER and COMMANDING OFFICERS.

Scene 2.
Funeral Home Office.
Enter AVON BARKSDALE, SLIM CHARLES, and STRINGER BELL.
AVON BARKSDALE.
Man, we aint got Fayette and Poppleton neither, what the fuck?
STRINGER BELL.
I'm working on it man and the avenue corners too.
AVON BARKSDALE.
What you mean, you working on it man? Why we aint at least got a shop set up down the block?
SLIM CHARLES.
We did.
STRINGER BELL.
There was a setback.
SLIM CHARLES.
Ran our boys off.
AVON BARKSDALE.
Who...?
STRINGER BELL.
Just some player, man.
AVON BARKSDALE [to STRINGER BELL].
Listen, let Slim tell me, man. We hired him for muscle.
SLIM CHARLES.
Boy Marlo....
AVON BARKSDALE.
Marlo, who the fuck is Marlo? He tied to one of the mobs?
SLIM CHARLES.
Young boy, running it on his own too, got maybe fifteen spots along here and the avenue.
AVON BARKSDALE.
An independent with no fucking support, got all the prime real estate and we're doing what, exactly? Young boy ran us off the corner?! I'm losing my motherfucking mind, man. What the fuck?
[Here STRINGER BELL points SLIM CHARLES to the door. Exit SLIM CHARLES.
STRINGER BELL.
Take a deep breath, man. I mean, take a long deep breath, know that if you call the shot, we at war. We at war, I'm there like I've always been.
The thing about turf, man, it aint like it was. You aint gotta pay no price of buying no corners.
AVON BARKSDALE.
Since when do we buy corners? We take corners.
STRINGER BELL.
Man, you gonna buy it one way or another, whether it's with the bodies we already lost or you're gonna lose, time in the joint that's behind us or ahead of us. I mean, you gonna get some shit in this game but aint shit for free. I mean, how many corners do we need? How much money can we make?
AVON BARKSDALE.
More than we can spend.
STRINGER BELL.
We aint gonna be around to spend what we done made already.
AVON BARKSDALE.
Shit, I didn't think I was gonna be around this long.
STRINGER BELL.
Yeah, well, we're here now. The fact is we got every mob in town, Eastside, Westside, ready to pull together, share territory on that good shit that Prop Joe putting out there. We take that shit downtown and we get in the money game and that, and nobody's going to jail. I mean, we passed that run-and-gun shit man, like we find us a package and we aint got to see nothing but bank, nothing but cash, no corners, no territory, nothing.
We make so much goddamn straight money, man, government come after us, man, aint shit they can say.
AVON BARKSDALE.
Business men, huh?
STRINGER BELL.
Let the young ones worry about how to retail, where to wholesale, I mean, who gives a fuck who's standing on what corner if we're taking that shit off the top, putting that shit to good use, making that shit work for us. We can run more than corners, b, period. We could do like Little Willy man, back in the day, with all that number money and run this goddamn city.
AVON BARKSDALE.
Like businessmen....
STRINGER BELL.
Man, just let me talk to the boy Marlo, see if I can't smooth this shit out. I mean, it aint gonna be overnight cause the man only knows what he knows but I think I could talk some sense in his head.
AVON BARKSDALE.
Yea, I aint no suit-wearing businessman like you. You know, I'm just a gangster, I suppose. And, I want my corners....
[Exit AVON BARKSDALE and STRINGER BELL.

Scene 3.
Western Baltimore City Street.
Enter DETECTIVE GREGGS and enter BUBBLES opposite who's wheeling in with him a shopping cart of merchandise.
DETECTIVE GREGGS.
So, you're working your plan, Bubbs?
BUBBLES.
Dollar here, dollar there, Kima.
DETECTIVE GREGGS.
So, what's up, why, you call?
BUBBLES.
Was just checking in, you're still interested in that boy Marlo, right? No...?
DETECTIVE GREGGS.
You want to keep getting paid, you need to get your ass up to Park Heights, school yourself on that Jamaican named Kintel who got them corners.
BUBBLES.
Kintel, huh...?
DETECTIVE GREGGS.
My bosses don't give a fuck about Marlo, Stringer's people neither.
BUBBLES.
That's too bad.
DETECTIVE GREGGS.
Yeah....
BUBBLES.
Cause, now we got a whole lot of drama.
DETECTIVE GREGGS.
What happened?
BUBBLES.
That young buck Marlo, aint getting run off.
He just dropped two of Barksdale's soldiers on the corner of Mount and Fayette, two hours past.
DETECTIVE GREGGS.
What...?
BUBBLES.
Man, corners is all jumping bad.
DETECTIVE GREGGS.
I thought Marlo had them corners with Stringer. We saw them meet.
BUBBLES.
I don't know what you saw, all I know is Marlo is flying his own colors. Westside's about to be all Baghdad and shit.
But y'all looking for Jake, what's his name, Kintel?--
[DETECTIVE GREGGS going.]
Y'all are too fickle for me, man. I swear.
[Exit DETECTIVE GREGGS. Exit BUBBLES opposite.

Scene 4.
A Designated Drug Zone.
Enter MAJOR COLVIN and SERGEANT CARVER together.
MAJOR COLVIN.
They do have a point though, right? I mean, we tell them to come down here without the guns and then we fall down on providing protection.
SERGEANT CARVER.
It's like the stick-up crews have these hoppers feeling like they live in a lion pen. They see one more gun, Gandhi world falls apart, this I guarantee.
MAJOR COLVIN.
So, what are you doing about it?
SERGEANT CARVER.
I sent a few of the victims over to the district with Herc, let them play with an identikit but you know how that goes. Can I be honest? It's not just the wolves circling the corral. We got fifty, sixty, ex-runners, ex-lookouts, on the inside, kids that have been fight or flight since they were born and now they're just thumb-up-their-ass hanging. That shit worries me just as much as any carnivores out there.
MAJOR COLVIN.
If you want to neutralize a threat, give it a job.
SERGEANT CARVER.
As...?
MAJOR COLVIN.
Auxiliary cops? Keep an eye out for the predators. Kill two birds and all that.
SERGEANT CARVER.
Right, throw them some bikes, maybe police radios.
MAJOR COLVIN.
You know, we could do that.
SERGEANT CARVER.
I was being... You're serious?
Here MAJOR COLVIN smiles and nods to SERGEANT CARVER. Exit SERGEANT CARVER and MAJOR COLVIN together.


Scene 5.
A Designated Drug Zone.
Enter BUBBLES with a shopping cart of merchandise in tow. Enter JOHNNY from within he stays close to the door.
JOHNNY.
What's up, Bubbs?
BUBBLES.
Shit, Johnny, man....
JOHNNY.
Just been chasing the pipe, you know?
BUBBLES.
All right, come on, man. You need a break, all right?
JOHNNY.
I'm a viking Bubbs, are you a viking?
Enter several hoppers fighting and several officers attempting to restrain them.
[Here BUBBLES watches the ensuing fight. Exit JOHNNY within. The hoppers are restrained and exit with the officers. BUBBLES pauses shortly. Exit BUBBLES.

Act 3. Scene 1.
A Barksdale Safehouse.
Enter AVON BARKSDALE and STRINGER BELL.
STRINGER BELL.
War...? Man, we past this bullshit.
AVON BARKSDALE.
Ah, yea... I forgot... You know, I knew I forgot something.
STRINGER BELL.
Man, you don't give this shit up, you're gonna turn everything we built to shit.
AVON BARKSDALE.
You know what the difference is between me and you? I bleed red, you bleed green. What you been building for us, huh? You know, I look at you these days, you know what I see? I see a man without a country. Not hard enough for this right here. And, maybe, just maybe, not smart enough for them out there.
STRINGER BELL.
Not hard enough...?
AVON BARKSDALE.
No offense but I don't think you ever really were. Yea, you got skills, yea no doubt. But....
STRINGER BELL.
What? Cause I don't shoot up a block indiscriminate, I aint hard enough? Because I think before I snatch a life, I aint into this bullshit?
AVON BARKSDALE.
Snatch a life? What life you snatch, huh?
STRINGER BELL.
You know, Briana went downtown, saw that detective stroking her head about, D'Angelo's death was no suicide.
AVON BARKSDALE.
Yeah, so...?
STRINGER BELL.
The man aint wrong about that.
AVON BARKSDALE.
What...?
STRINGER BELL.
Yea. I knew you couldn't do it. Briana wouldn't do that shit. You're always talking that blood is thicker than water bullshit but there go a life that had to be snatched, Avon.
[Here AVON BARKSDALE stares at STRINGER BELL until shortly they begin to fight. STRINGER BELL pins AVON BARKSDALE.
AVON BARKSDALE.
Let me up.
[Here STRINGER BELL releases AVON BARKSDALE. AVON BARKSDALE and STRINGER BELL pause shortly before exiting together.
Scene 2.
A Designated Drug Zone.
All goes dark here then pauses. All returns to light now where the body of a murdered hopper appears laid out. Enter an officer, SERGEANT CARVER, and DETECTIVE HERC.
SERGEANT CARVER [to the officer].
What's he look like?
OFFICER.
We got some casings near the victim.
SERGEANT CARVER [to the officer].
Hold the call.
DETECTIVE HERC.
So much for the no violence in the free zones theory.
SERGEANT CARVER [aside to the DETECTIVE HERC].
Help me move the the body.
DETECTIVE HERC [aside to SERGEANT CARVER].
What...?
SERGEANT CARVER [aside to the DETECTIVE HERC].
Just up the block, just out of the free zone.
DETECTIVE HERC [aside to SERGEANT CARVER].
Carv, you lost your fucking mind?
SERGEANT CARVER [aside to the DETECTIVE HERC].
Before the ambulance gets here to pronounce him, we can do it.
DETECTIVE HERC [aside to SERGEANT CARVER].
Why...?
SERGEANT CARVER [aside to DETECTIVE HERC].
Because, if homicide gets here, if they do any kind of canvasing, they're gonna get wind of the  free zone on the sixth floor, downtown.
DETECTIVE HERC [aside to SERGEANT CARVER].
Good....
SERGEANT CARVER [aside to DETECTIVE HERC].
Herc, come on.
DETECTIVE HERC [aside to SERGEANT CARVER].
No way, man... No way....
[Exit DETECTIVE HERC.
SERGEANT CARVER [aside to the officer].
Help me move this guy out of the free zone.
[Here SERGEANT CARVER and the officer exit opposite carrying the slain hopper.

Scene 3.
Major Crimes Division.
Enter DETECTIVE FREAMON and DETECTIVE PREZBYLEWSKI who busy themselves with cameras. Enter DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
On a Sunday? What the fuck Lester?
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
Could say the same of you.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
Elaine, is taking the kids to her mother's so what the fuck else am I gonna do? No life, no marriage, no kids, no problem. What's with the video?
DETECTIVE PREZBYLEWSKI.
Gonna put it up in one of the windows across from Stringer's print shop, catch him coming and going.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
You need help?
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
You're a known face. I figure me and Prez do it on a Sunday, shop is closed. You know, looking like working men.
[Here they all shortly laugh.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
You know, Lester? I do believe there aren't five swinging dicks, in this entire department, can do what we do. I'm not saying that all chest out and shit, it's just....
I mean, you think about it, there's maybe more than three-thousand sworn, right? Hundred or so are bosses so there's not a fucking clue there. Few more hundred are sergeants and lieutenants and most of them want to be bosses so they're just as fucked. Six-hundred or seven-hundred house cats. And, the patrol division, there's probably a little bit of talent there but the way the city is right now that's fifteen-hundred guys chasing calls and clearing corners.
I mean, nobody's knowing his post, nobody's building nothing, right? I mean, who is there, out there, that can do what we do with a case, huh? How many are there, really? There's not many. We're good at this, in this town we're as good as it gets.
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
Natural police....
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
Fuck yes, natural police....
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
Tell me something, Jimmy. How exactly do you think it all ends?
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
What do you mean?
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
A parade, a golden watch, a shining Jimmy McNulty Day moment when you bring in a case so sweet everybody gets together and says, Oh shit, he was right all along. We should've listened to the man. The job will not save you Jimmy. It won't make you whole, it won't fill your ass up.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
I don't know, a good case....
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
Ends, they all end. The handcuffs go click and it's over. And, the next morning, it's just you in your room with your self.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
Until, the next case.
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
Boy, you need something outside of this here.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
Like what...?
[Here DETECTIVE MCNULTY is going when DETECTIVE FREAMON answers him.
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
A life. A life Jimmy, you know what that is? It's that shit that happens while you wait for moments that never come.
[Exit all together.
Scene 4.
Western District Headquarters.
Enter MAJOR COLVIN. Enter SERGEANT CARVER who meets him.
MAJOR COLVIN.
I want to thank you for the loyalty you showed. Moving that body... It wasn't the most sensible thing but, uh, I appreciate it, none the less. You're a good man, Sergeant. You got good instincts and as far as I can tell you're a decent supervisor. But, from where I sit, you aint shit when it comes to policing.
Don't take it personal. Aint just you, it's all our young police, a whole generation of y'all. No, you think about it, you've been here over a year now Carver, you got nobody looking out for you, nobody willing to talk to you. That about sum it up?
Now, that's a problem. And, I didn't think there was any way that I was ever gonna get my head around it but then.... That's when the idea of the free zones came to me, because this drug thing... This aint police work. I mean, I can send any fool with a badge and a gun up on them corners and jack a crew and grab vials. But, policing...?
I mean, you call something a war and pretty soon everybody gonna be running around acting like warriors. They gonna be running around on a damn crusade, storming corners, wracking up body counts. And, when you're at war, you need a fucking enemy. And, pretty soon, damn near everybody on every corner is your fucking enemy. And soon, the neighborhood that you're supposed to be policing... That's just occupied territory. You follow this?
SERGEANT CARVER.
I think so.
MAJOR COLVIN.
Okay, the point I'm trying to make Carver is this: Soldering and policing... They aint the same thing. And, before we went and took the wrong turn and started up these war games, the cop walked a beat and he learned that post. And, if there were things that happened up on that post, whether it be a rape, a robbery, a shooting, he had people out there helping him, feeding him information. But, every time, I come to you for information, to find out what's going on out there in them streets, all that came back was some bullshit? You had your stats, you had your arrests, you had your seizures but don't none of that amount to shit when you're talk about protecting a neighborhood, does it?
[They pause shortly.]
You know, the worst thing about this so-called drug war, to my mind, it just... It ruined this job.
Enter a commanding officer.
LIEUTENANT.
A Sun Paper reporter, been to the free zones. All three of them.
[Exit MAJOR COLVIN. Exit all.

Scene 5.
A Designated Drug Zone.
Enter a journalist and DETECTIVE HERC.
JOURNALIST.
You're just supposed to let it go on like this?
DETECTIVE HERC.
Colvin, told us to push the street dealing inside these areas. And, then, we would start locking people up.... But, so far, not been a single arrest.
JOURNALIST.
Do they know about this downtown?
DETECTIVE HERC.
I don't think they have a fucking clue. But, I'd love to be there when you pop the question.
Enter MAJOR COLVIN.
MAJOR COLVIN.
Mind if we walk?
[Here MAJOR COLVIN takes the journalist aside.
JOURNALIST.
You got dealers selling with impunity, addicts shooting up on the street, people down here doing outreach, giving out needles. I mean, who knows about this down at headquarters?
MAJOR COLVIN.
Look, command is well aware of the situation. I mean, while there was some initial concern... But, they feel that the cases we're gonna bring in.
JOURNALIST.
Cases...?
MAJOR COLVIN.
Yeah, prosecutions, sure.
JOURNALIST.
Your detective said that no one's being locked up in the free zones.
MAJOR COLVIN.
Look, my troops are only involved in pushing the trafficking to designated areas, I mean, they're completely ignorant of the investigative aspect.
The bottom line is, you start throwing calls around right now, they're gonna come up on the case early and we won't get all we can out of this good work we did down here.
JOURNALIST.
You're telling me, all this is an enforcement strategy?
MAJOR COLVIN.
What the hell else could it be?
[Exit MAJOR COLVIN and JOURNALIST together. Exit all.

Act 4. Scene 1.
A Barksdale Safehouse.
Enter SLIM CHARLES and STRINGER BELL.
STRINGER BELL.
Where's Avon at?
SLIM CHARLES.
He'll be along shortly.
STRINGER BELL.
That's good, cause I came to see you.
[Enter AVON BARKSDALE aside, who spies on them.
SLIM CHARLES.
What you need...?
STRINGER BELL.
I need you to hit somebody.
SLIM CHARLES.
Who needs hitting?
STRINGER BELL.
Clay Davis.
SLIM CHARLES.
The Clay Davis? Downtown Clay Davis?
STRINGER BELL.
Is that supposed to mean something to me, man?
SLIM CHARLES.
Shit, String, murder aint no thing. But, this here, some assassination shit.
STRINGER BELL.
If I tell you, you getting somebody, you're getting them. I aint asking.
SLIM CHARLES.
Damn, String, I don't know.
STRINGER BELL.
Do I gotta remind you who the fuck you work for?
Enter AVON BARKSDALE the room apparent.
AVON BARKSDALE.
I think, Slim's gonna have to sit this one out, boss.
So, you're fixing to hit a state senator now, huh? Yo, you kill a downtown motherfucker like that, the whole world's gonna stand up and take notice. I'm talking about the State Police, Federals, all of that.
You need a Day-of-the-Jackal-type of motherfucker, basically, to do some shit like that. Not a rough-and-tumble motherfucker like Slim.
STRINGER BELL.
That motherfucker, took our money.
AVON BARKSDALE.
I seen it coming.
STRINGER BELL.
Well, he's got to go.
AVON BARKSDALE.
Nah, you're a fucking businessman, you wanna handle it like that.
[STRINGER BELL begins leaving.]
You got a beef with him? That shit is on you.
[Exit STRINGER BELL. Exit AVON BARKDALE and SLIM CHARLES together.

Scene 2.
A Cemetery.
Enter MAJOR COLVIN. Enter STRINGER BELL opposite.
STRINGER BELL.
Check out what I sent you?
MAJOR COLVIN.
Yea, your information's good.
STRINGER BELL.
So, we gonna talk on the real side now, huh?
MAJOR COLVIN.
Speak your mind, Russel.
STRINGER BELL.
So, it aint what it might seem to you. Avon's my brother. But, if it keeps on going like it's been, then....
Avon's still on parole. Now, I could put him at a spot that's got heavy artillery. I aint talking about pistols, I'm talking about machine guns, shotguns, even grenades.
MAJOR COLVIN.
Well, then that's a parole fall.
STRINGER BELL.
So, I was hoping you could keep that to a couple of years.
[MAJOR CARVER pauses.]
Look, you hit that joint, those people are going to try and take the rap for it. They're going to say, all that fire power is theirs. So, all you gotta do is just hit him with the parole violation.
MAJOR COLVIN.
I can't make you a promise. It's gonna be a nickle at least.
STRINGER BELL.
Come on, man. Him and me....
MAJOR COLVIN.
I'm gonna do my best, alright?
Now, he's always at this place?
STRINGER BELL.
Nah, he come and go. But, it's the spot since the war started.
[STRINGER BELL hands MAJOR CARVER a slip of paper.]
It's because you were behind the free zones, that I came to you with this. Looks like you and me are both trying to make sense of this game.
MAJOR COLVIN.
He must have done something to you.
STRINGER BELL.
Nah, it's just business.
[Exit STRINGER BELL. Exit MAJOR COLVIN.

Scene 3.
Major Crimes Division.
Enter DETECTIVE FREAMON who stands-by a laptop. The laptop chirps abruptly.
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
Hey, we're up!
[Enter DETECTIVE MCNULTY, LIEUTENANT DANIELS, and DETECTIVE GREGGS.]
Here it is.
[DETECTIVE FREAMON plays a recording from the laptop.]
STRINGER BELL [recording].
You heard from Fat Man?
SHAMROCK [recording].
Yeah.
STRINGER BELL [recording].
We're low, right?
SHAMROCK [recording].
Yeah, it's light.
STRINGER BELL [recording].
Well, tell the man that I'm doing what needs to be done.
SHAMROCK [recording].
All right, I'll tell him.
Oh, and that other thing, the hitter you asked after, they're good with it.
STRINGER BELL [recording].
All right, not on the phone.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
That's it....
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
We got him.
[DETECTIVE MCNULTY and DETECTIVE FREAMON celebrate with raucous laughter and all soon join in. DETECTIVE MCNULTY and DETECTIVE FREAMON shake hands. Exit all.


Scene 4.
Avon Barksdale's Downtown Loft.
Enter AVON BARKSDALE and STRINGER BELL.
AVON BARKSDALE.
Damn, man, I miss this crib already.
STRINGER BELL.
Yeah, well, you're spending a lot of time at the other spot.
AVON BARKSDALE.
Yeah....
STRINGER BELL.
Man, it's a shame we gotta deal with this war bullshit, man.
AVON BARKSDALE.
Don't let that shit lay on you, man.
Tonight, I mean, I'm gonna kick back and just enjoy this view.
Can you fucking believe this? I got a crib that's overlooking the harbor. I'm looking at the same place we used to run through, we had every security guard in there following us.
STRINGER BELL.
As they should have.
AVON BARKSDALE.
True, true....
And, then, there was that one time....
STRINGER BELL.
Toy store...?
AVON BARKSDALE.
Hell yeah, I told your ass not to steal a badminton set. You like, "yo, that white boy aint gonna jump over that counter and come chase after me."
STRINGER BELL.
He sure did, though.
AVON BARKSDALE.
That shit was crazy, man.
STRINGER BELL.
Right here, too, man, damn.
Can you imagine, man, if I had the money that I have now. Man, I could've bought half this waterfront property. God dammit.
AVON BARKSDALE.
Forget about that for awhile, man. You know, just dream with me.
STRINGER BELL.
We aint gotta dream no more, man. We got real shit.
I can't get too fucked up tonight, man. I got some shit I gotta do on the site tomorrow
AVON BARKSDALE.
All right....
Us, motherfucker....
STRINGER BELL.
Us, man....
[AVON BARKSDALE and STRINGER BELL embrace. Exit STRINGER BELL. Exit AVON BARKSDALE opposite.]

Scene 5.
An Under Construction Downtown High Rise.
Enter STRINGER BELL fleeing from his assailants. Enter OMAR brandishing a shotgun behind him. Enter BROTHER brandishing a pistol opposite.
STRINGER BELL.
Look, man, I'm not involved. I aint involved in that gangster bullshit.
[All pause.]
Well, it seems like I can't say nothing to change your minds.
[All pause again.]
Well, get on with it, motherfuckers!
[OMAR and BROTHER shoot STRINGER BELL several times each. STRINGER BELL dies. Exit OMAR and BROTHER.

Act 5. Scene 1.
A Downtown High Rise, Under Construction.
Enter DETECTIVE BUNK, DETECTIVE GREGGS, and DETECTIVE MCNULTY. STRINGER BELL lies dead where he was murdered.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
I caught him, Bunk. On the wire, I caught him.
[Enter several paramedics who leave with STRINGER BELL.]
I caught him and he doesn't fucking know it.
 [Exit paramedics with STRINGER BELL. Exit DETECTIVE BUNK and DETECTIVE MCNULTY.

Scene 2.
Barber Shop.
Enter BARBER and AVON BARKSDALE opposite. They greet each other then AVON BARKSDALE sits. Exit BARBER and enter BROTHER.
BROTHER.
Your man, Stringer Bell, set up a meeting at Butchie's Bar. Your man, told Omar Little that I was responsible for the torture and murder of Mister Little's lover. Your man, sought to have me hit.
AVON BARKSDALE.
If there's a way... I mean, if my man, if he made a mistake here then I'm willing to pay the cost. Can you do that?
[Here BROTHER answers with silence. AVON BARKSDALE lowers his head in shame.
BROTHER.
What got you here is your word and your reputation. With that alone you've still got an open line to New York. Without it, you and your man would've payed the cost together.
[AVON BARKSDALE pauses. Exit BROTHER. Exit AVON BARKSDALE.

Scene 3.
Western District Headquarters.
Enter MAJOR COLVIN. Enter DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
You called, I didn't know if I'd find you here so late.
[MAJOR COLVIN gives DETECTIVE MCNULTY a slip of paper.
MAJOR COLVIN.
That there is a war-time lay up for Avon Barksdale. Our sources are telling me, Avon's there most of the time with a lot of firepower.
DETECTIVE MCNULTY.
That's a hell of tip.
MAJOR COLVIN.
Shit, that right there will be the last bit of police work in a long historic career.
All right, I've taken too much of your time.
[Exit MAJOR COLVIN. Exit DETECTIVE MCNULTY.

Scene 4.
A Barksdale Safehouse.
Enter AVON BARKSDALE and several soldiers carrying several firearms. A loud knocking comes from the door within.
DETECTIVE FREAMON.
Police, open up!
[Several soldiers brandish their firearms at the door.
AVON BARKSDALE.
Not the police.
[The soldiers lower their firearms.]
Hey, y'all ask me, y'all ugly ass niggas shouldn't be here fucking around with all these guns and shit. You know what I'm talking about?
[AVON BARKSDALE hands his gun to a soldier nearby.]
Open it.
[The soldiers all drop their weapons then open the door within.
Enter DETECTIVE MCNULTY, DETECTIVE FREAMON, DETECTIVE GREGGS, and several officers.
[The soldiers and AVON BARKSDALE are placed under arrest and handcuffed. Exit all together. End.