Undertow

The Wire 2×5

Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: Here. Stick that on that thing there, will you?
Reginald 'Bubbles' Cousins: The cleat? Ain't you know nothing?.. Look at you, I don't know, maybe it's just me, but something's way the fuck wrong with this picture. What the hell is that?
Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: A Baltimore knot.
Reginald 'Bubbles' Cousins: Baltimore knot? What the hell is a Baltimore knot?
Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: I don't know, but it's never the same thing twice.

Det. Lester Freamon: Colonel, respectfully, did you just fuck me over, without giving me even half a chance to clear this case?
Deputy Commissioner for Operations William A. Rawls: Let's be clear, Detective. When I fuck you over, you'll know it. You'll be so goddamn certain, you won't need to ask the question. And you, Detective Moreland, are now all alone with 14 red names. How's it feel?

Det. Lester Freamon: What's happening? Same fuck-ups in the same shit detail, working out of the same shithouse kind of office. You people lack for personal growth.

Russell 'Stringer' Bell: What are the options when you got an inferior product in an aggressive marketplace?
Mr. Lucas: If you have a large share of the market, you can buy up the competition.
Russell 'Stringer' Bell: And if you don't?
Mr. Lucas: Reduce price to increase market share.
Russell 'Stringer' Bell: That assumes low overhead.
Mr. Lucas: Of course, otherwise, you operate at a loss. And worse, as your prices drop, your product eventually loses consumer credibility. You know, the new CEO of WorldCom was faced with this very problem. The company was linked to one of the largest fraud cases in history. So he proposed...
Russell 'Stringer' Bell: To change the name?
Mr. Lucas: Exactly.

Frank Sobotka: You don't need a subpoena to see our records no more. Our books were open to the Justice Department for eight years. We're here through Bobby Kennedy, Tricky Dick Nixon, Ronnie "The Union Buster" Reagan, and half a dozen other sons of bitches. We'll be here through your weak bullshit, no problem!

Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland: You telling me you never had a CI down there, right?
Off. Beatrice 'Beadie' Russell: A CI?
Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland: An informant... You ain't got no informants on the dock? Someone you could go to on this? Someone you got a history with?
Off. Beatrice 'Beadie' Russell: Oh.
Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland: They say a police is only as good as his informants. Meaning, we ain't about much.

Frank Sobotka: I'm done. I'm out. I need nothing more to do with you people. I don't need the trouble or the money. I got a union to run.

Spiros 'Vondas' Vondopoulos: ... They used to make steel there, no? Smoke from the stacks...

—
+ Quotes on the IMDb
+ Soundtracks