DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY Can I get a Jameson?

BARTENDER Bushmills OK?

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY That's Protestant whiskey.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY How long you been in the pawn shop unit?

DET. LESTER FREAMON Thirteen years and four months.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY Thirteen years?

DET. LESTER FREAMON And four months.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY I gotta ask you, what exactly does a police officer assigned to the pawn shop unit do?

DET. LESTER FREAMON You intake reports from registered pawn shops on all items valued over $50. Then you make an index card for that item. Then you file that index card. If someone wants to find out if something stolen has been pawned, we look to see if we have an index card. If we do, we do. If we don't, we don't.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY You did that for thirteen years?

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY Why'd you ask out of homicide?

DET. LESTER FREAMON Wasn't no "ask" about it.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY You got the boot?

DET. LESTER FREAMON Uh-huh.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY What'd you do to piss 'em off?

DET. LESTER FREAMON Police work.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY I think I need to buy you a drink.

DET. LESTER FREAMON Just one?

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY [during interrogation] All right, we'll call you Boris...

SERGEI 'SERGE' MALATOV [sighs] Boris... why always Boris?

JUDGE DANIEL PHELAN Under the power vested in me by the circuit court for Baltimore city, [makes sign of the cross] I absolve you of all you sins, Detective McNulty.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY You are my sin, you know that?

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY All those mopes in bracelets and not one of them named Osama.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY Well, you know what they say: "stupid criminals make stupid cops". I'm proud to be chasing this guy.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY I listen to the shit she talks about, first time in my life I feel like a fucking doormat. Like anyone with any smarts would do something else with his life, you know, earn money or get elected. Like I'm just a breathing machine for my fucking dick.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY So your boy's name was what?

KID Snot.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY Called the guy "Snot"?

KID Snot Boogie.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY God. Snot Boogie. He like the name?

KID What?

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY Snot Boogie? [the kid does not answer] This kid, whose mama went to the trouble to christen him Omar Isaiah Betts... You know, he forgets his jacket, his nose starts running and some asshole, instead of giving him a Kleenex, he calls him "Snot". So he's Snot forever. Doesn't seem fair.

KID Life just be that way, I guess.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY So, who shot Snot?

KID I ain't goin' to no court... Mothafucka didn't have to put no cap in him though.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY Definitely not.

KID He coulda just whooped his ass like we always whoop his ass.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY I agree with you.

KID He killed Snot. Snot been doing the same shit since I don't know how long. You don't kill a man over some bullshit. I'm sayin', every Friday night in an alley behind the Cut Rate, we rollin' bones, you know? I mean all them boys, we roll till late.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY Alley crap game, right?

KID Like every time, Snot, he'd fade a few shooters, play it out till the pot's deep. Snatch and run.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY What, every time?

KID Couldn't help hisself.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY Let me understand. Every Friday night, you and your boys are shootin? crap, right? And every Friday night, your pal Snot Boogie... he'd wait till there's cash on the ground and he'd grab it and run away? You let him do that?

KID We'd catch him and beat his ass but ain't nobody ever go past that.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY I've gotta ask you: if every time Snot Boogie would grab the money and run away... why'd you even let him in the game?

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY Well, if every time, Snot Boogie stole the money, why'd you let him play?

KID Got to. It's America, man.

LT. CEDRIC DANIELS The murder warrant's on hold. The deputy gave us another month. Also, whoever that was you brought in here today gave himself up as an eyewitness in the Gant murder.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY Who, Omar?

LT. CEDRIC DANIELS And Greggs said to tell you she'd write it up in the morning.

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY Lieutenant - thanks. [McNulty leaves]

DET. LESTER FREAMON It cost you? [Daniels says nothing]

DET. JAMES 'JIMMY' MCNULTY The quicker we bring this in and shut it down, the safer we'll all be. I mean, Landsman wants me over to fucking Quantico, have the FBI do a profile.

DET. LESTER FREAMON [laughs] You might learn something about yourself.