Middle Ground

The Wire 3×11

Acting Commissioner Ervin H. Burrell: We're to hold off on any action in Hamsterdam. No arrests, no movement until further notice. He says he wants to regroup, determine the most effective course of action.
Deputy Commissioner for Operations William A. Rawls: Translate that for me, will you, Erv? I don't speak his fucked-up lingo.
Acting Commissioner Ervin H. Burrell: Royce is figuring a way to put all of us in the guillotine and keep the blood from spraying anywhere near the Hall... Shit, I'll be goddamned if I'm gonna go out like that.

Maurice 'Maury' Levy: This is an old game in this town. And Clay Davis? That ganef was born with his hand in someone's pocket. I just wish you'd run it by me sooner...

Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: McNulty, Major Crimes.
Sullivan: Sullivan, minor irritations.

Russell 'Stringer' Bell: That nigger took our money, man.
Avon Barksdale: I seen it coming.
Russell 'Stringer' Bell: Well, he got to go.
Avon Barksdale: You a fucking businessman. Handle it like that. You don't wanna get all gangster wild with it and shit, right? What I tell you about playing them fucking away games? Yeah... They saw your ghetto ass coming from miles away, nigger. You got a fucking beef with them? That shit is on you.

Avon Barksdale: How can we fix it? You want money?
Brother Mouzone: Money?
Avon Barksdale: Yeah, this is business.
Brother Mouzone: Business is where you are now. But 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're done.

Maj. Howard 'Bunny' Colvin: You see that building there? It was the old Stryker building, it was a funeral parlor. The last stop before the cemetery for West Side white folk back when there were still some around. Right about the time that Jim Crow was breaking up back in the early '60s, somebody asked old man Stryker, they said, "Stryker, you gonna change your policy and start burying black folk?" And Stryker said, "Yeah, on one condition... That I can do them all at once."
Councilman Thomas 'Tommy' Carcetti: That's sick.
Maj. Howard 'Bunny' Colvin: But you know something? I had a lot of respect for that man. 'Cause, unlike most folks, I always knew where he stood.

Maj. Howard 'Bunny' Colvin: Look, I done showed you the good. Come on, let me show you the ugly.

Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: How come so quick?
FBI Spec. Agent Terrance 'Fitz' Fitzhugh: Stringer Bell's given name?
Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: Russell.
FBI Spec. Agent Terrance 'Fitz' Fitzhugh: For now, Ahmed.

Councilman Thomas 'Tommy' Carcetti: How did you make this happen?
Maj. Howard 'Bunny' Colvin: I just did it. I got tired of hearing folks talk about what needed to be done or what they would do if it was up to them.
Councilman Thomas 'Tommy' Carcetti: So, this is about you making a mark?
Maj. Howard 'Bunny' Colvin: No, I ain't analyzed it all that deep. I ain't claiming no kind of victory, neither. I will say I'm glad I tried.

Russell 'Stringer' Bell: Man, it's a shame we got to deal with this Marlo bullshit, man. If I had taken care of that earlier, man...
Avon Barksdale: There's always gonna be a Marlo, man. No Marlo, no game.

Russell 'Stringer' Bell: Imagine, if I had the money that I have now, I could have bought half this waterfront property. God damn it.
Avon Barksdale: Forget about that for a while, man. You know, just dream with me.
Russell 'Stringer' Bell: We ain't gotta dream no more, man. We got real shit, real estate, that we can touch.

Avon Barksdale: You need to relax more, man.
Russell 'Stringer' Bell: Well, when the time is right, I will. You know, I don't take my work too seriously.
Avon Barksdale: That's right. It's just business... Us, motherfucker.
Russell 'Stringer' Bell: Us, man.

Omar Little: You still don't get it, do you?
Russell 'Stringer' Bell: Huh?
Omar Little: This ain't about your money, bro. Your boy gave you up.
Brother Mouzone: That's right. And we ain't had to torture his ass, neither.

—
+ Quotes on the IMDb
+ Soundtracks