[after Sydnor comes out in disguise] Where's ya' mic?
SSydnor
Down at my dick man. I figured they ain't gonna go down there anyway right?
I don't know Sydnor, the way you twirlin' around, it might be the first place they look.
“The Buys” · Season 1, Episode 3
In this episode: Jimmy McNulty (5), D'Angelo Barksdale (3), Cedric Daniels (2), Bodie Broadus (2), Wallace (2), Rhonda Pearlman (2), Stringer Bell (1), Ellis Carver (1)
[after having sex] You're an asshole McNulty.
What the fuck did I do?
Motherfucker, why didn't you call in sick?
I'm not sick.
Yeah, you are. Write me up a 95 on why you are physically unable to participate in today's activities.
You want me to lie so you can save face?
Go on. "I can't jump off with the rest of my unit because my tummy hurts."
Let me understand. You're married and a date is a room at the Best Western with the blinds closed. Now you're single, and a date is you coming over unannounced to learn the legal requisites for a pager intercept.
Pretty much.
[D'Angelo is teaching Wallace and Bodie chess]
Now look, check it, it's simple, it's simple. See this? This the kingpin, a'ight? And he the man. You get the other dude's king, you got the game. But he trying to get your king too, so you gotta protect it. Now, the king, he move one space any direction he damn choose, 'cause he's the king. Like this, this, this, a'ight? But he ain't got no hustle. But the rest of these motherfuckers on the team, they got his back. And they run so deep, he really ain't gotta do shit.
Like your uncle.
Yeah, like my uncle. [picks up a queen] You see this? This the queen; she smart, she fierce. She move anyway she want as far as she want. And she is the go-get-shit-done piece.
Remind me of Stringer.
And this over here is the castle, like the stash. It move like this, or like this. [demonstrates]
Dog, stash don't move, man.
Come on, yo, think, how many times we move the stash house this week. Right? And every time we move the stash, we gotta move a little muscle with it.
True, true, you right. A'ight, what about them little baldheaded bitches right there?
These right here, these are the pawns. They like the soldiers. They move like this, one space forward only. Except when they fight, then it's like this. And they like the front lines, they be out in the field.
So how do you get to be the king?
It ain't like that. See the king stay the king, a'ight? Everything stay who he is, 'cept for the pawns. The pawns, they get all the way to the other dude's side, you get to be queen. And like I said, the queen ain't no bitch. She got all the moves.
A'ight, so, I make it to the other end, I win?
If you catch the other dude's king and trap it, then you win.
But I make it to the end, I'm top dog?
Naw, it ain't like that. Look, pawns man, in the game, they get capped quick. They be out the game early.
Unless they some smart-ass pawns.
HAHeroin addict
Got any testers, man?
Nigga, it ain't even 9:00 and you fiendin' on it. Get the fuck outta here, man! Damn.
Yo, why you act like that, yo?
What, for these junkie motherfuckers?
So you just gonna take his money all day and treat him like a dog?
How I'm supposed to treat him?
I don't know. But you ain't gotta punk him like that.
He punked hisself. He a goddamn drug addict.
And you a goddamn drug dealer.
So? So what? Oh, what, the 'customer's always right'?
Yo, we in the projects. The customer be fucked up. You can't give these niggers shit, man.
Why not? Why can't you? Shit, everything else in the world gets sold without people taking advantage, scamming, lying, doing each other dirty. Why it got to be that way with this?
'Cause they DOPE fiends.
Yeah, but the game ain't gotta be played like that, yo. You can't tell me this shit can't get done without people beatin' on each other, killing each other, doing each other like dogs. And without all that, you ain't got 5-0 down here on our backs every five minutes. Throwing us around and shit.
Sheeit, man.
You think 5-0 care about niggers gettin' high? In the projects? Man, 5-0 be down here about the bodies, yo. That's what they be down here about. The bodies.
Doin' good out there, D.
We'll be doing even better when we get that new package.
[laughs] New package same as old, man.
Say what?
Ain't no new package. Just gonna put that same shit out in a different colored gelcap is all. Might spike that shit with some procaine or some caffeine, but otherwise it's the same.
String, man, people already coming back on us tellin' us that shit is weak.
I know; shit is weak, but, y'know, shit is weak all over. The thing is, no matter what we call heroin, it's gonna get sold. Shit is strong, we gonna sell it; shit is weak, we gonna sell twice as much. You know why? 'Cause a fiend, he gonna chase that shit no matter what. It's crazy, you know. We do worse, and we get paid more. The government do better, and it don't mean no never mind. [pointing to the money] This shit right here, D, is forever.
I'm not going.
You're insubordinate?
I'm not jumping out on something I believe's going to harm the case. You want to write me up on that, you can.
You think I want this? I got the Deputy Ops on my ass for this shit! Now I got you showing me up in front of the whole damn detail!
I don't mean to show anyone up.
Get your vest on.
No. I've got police work to do.
Motherfucker, if you felt this way, why didn't you call in sick?
I'm not sick.
Yeah, you are. Write me up a 95 on why you are physically unable to participate in today's activities.
You want me to lie so you can save face?
Go on. "I can't jump off with the rest of my unit because my tummy hurts."
These quotes come from Wikiquote's The Wire pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.