The Dickensian Aspect

The Wire 5×6

Marlo Stanfield: Which one?
Chris Partlow: Don't seem possible.
Marlo Stanfield: It don't. That some Spider-Man shit there.

Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland: You happy now, bitch?
Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: I am content, yes.
Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland: You called the reporter?
Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: No, actually. That asshole's making up his own shit.

Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland: You know what, Jimmy? I'm gonna go back to the beginning and work every one of them again. Back to square one. You know why? Because I'm a murder police. I work murders. I don't fuck with no make-believe, I don't jerk shit around. I catch a murder and I work it. Working this shit like I'm supposed to.
Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: Well, let me know if you need anything, all right? Cars, some OT, some lab work... Anything you need. Because in three or four hours the money's gonna flow on my case. Whatever you need, I'm probably gonna have more of it than even Lester could use.

Executive Editor James C. Whiting III: These murders, the phone call to our reporter. It really opens up the issue.
City Editor Augustus 'Gus' Haynes: Yeah, but...
Executive Editor James C. Whiting III: From now to the end of the year, let's focus not only on covering the murders, but on the nature of homelessness itself.
City Editor Augustus 'Gus' Haynes: The Dickensian aspect of it. Yeah.

Det. Lester Freamon: When they took us off Marlo this last time, when they said they couldn't pay for further investigation, I regarded that decision as illegitimate.
Det. Leander Sydnor: Illegitimate?
Det. Lester Freamon: And so... I'm responding in kind. I'm going to press a case against Marlo Stanfield without regard to the usual rules. I'm running an illegal wiretap on Marlo Stanfield's cell phone.
Det. Leander Sydnor: Fuck. Lester?
Det. Lester Freamon: If you have a problem with this, I understand completely and I urge you to get as far fucking away from me as you can.

Det. Leander Sydnor: The homeless murders? How does that case tangle in with this?
Det. Lester Freamon: Hard to explain.

Commissioner for Operations William A. Rawls: You're a natural, kiddo. You had 'em eating out of your hand.
Deputy Commissioner Cedric Daniels: Shit, I was just following the mayor's lead. He wants a full-court press, right?
Commissioner for Operations William A. Rawls: We can add a detective or two. And you can ask patrol to concentrate on posts where vagrants congregate. But other than that, deputy, the cupboard is bare.
Deputy Commissioner Cedric Daniels: But Carcetti...
Commissioner for Operations William A. Rawls: Make no mistake. He wants us to solve the murders. He just doesn't want it to cost. Don't look so shocked. You're runnin' with the big dogs now. Heh.

Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: We're afraid to piss them off?
Judge Daniel Phelan: Never pick a fight with anyone who buys ink by the barrelful.

Det. Shakima 'Kima' Greggs: What now?
Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland: There's more than one way to skin a case.
Det. Shakima 'Kima' Greggs: Already ran them for priors, right?
Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland: Priors, yeah. But I'm gonna run every name you guys developed through the entire database. Not just for priors, but for anything at all in the Miles system. Court appearances, parole, probation, gun permits, DOC, open bails.
Det. Shakima 'Kima' Greggs: You're playing long shots, huh?
Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland: Darlin', I'm playin' the hand I've been dealt.

Omar Little: Now you make sure you tell old Marlo I burned the money. Cos it ain't about that paper. It's about me hurtin' his people and messin' with his world. Tell that boy he ain't man enough to come down to the street with Omar. You tell him that!

Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: Pictures?
Det. Lester Freamon: Photographs on cell phones. Now that means new PC to capture the photos and new equipment that could do it.
Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: How do I write that into my bullshit homeless killer's MO?

Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: When we started this, you said all we needed were some bugs, a camera or two, and in a couple of weeks, we'd have them. That's what you said. So I cranked up my bullshit to pay for that but no, then you needed a wiretap. So I went along, I got you the wiretap. Then you ask for surveillance teams, but before I can get to that, you came to me with this. I mean, what the fuck? I gotta tell you, Lester, I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I can see why Daniels cringed every time you opened your fucking mouth. You're a supervisor's nightmare.
Det. Lester Freamon: I'm just following the thread.

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