The Wire producer and longtime Baltimore chronicler David Simon ripped into conspiracists spreading unfounded theories that today’s tragic and deadly collapse of the city’s Francis Scott Key Bridge could be a terrorist attack. Simon, a reporter for the Baltimore Sun before creating Homicide: Life On The Street, reserved a special ire for Marjorie Taylor Greene, […]
FADE IN: INT. WIRE ROOM - NIGHT
A crowded room is illuminated by dim lights casting shadows across its inhabitants. In the center, DETECTIVE JIMMY MCNULTY sits at a table, surrounded by empty bottles of whiskey and beer cans. He wears his police uniform unkempt, as if he hasn’t bothered to change since his last shift. His face is grim, eyes bloodshot.
A sound echoes through the room, growing louder. A bright light flashes in the window.
MCNULTY (CONT’D) (slurring) It’s happening again. It always happens.
He stumbles to his feet, knocking over an empty bottle which shatters on the floor. He wobbles towards the door and disappears into the night.
CUT TO:
EXT. BALTIMORE STREETS - NIGHT
Streetlights flicker above as cars rush by. The distant sound of sirens grows closer. MCNULTY stands on a bridge, observing a cargo ship passing underneath.
MCNULTY (to himself) They need me. They don’t even know it yet.
His gaze fixates on the massive ship as he fumbles with something in his pocket. With a determined look, he throws what was in his hand onto the water below.
CUT TO:
EXT. BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION SITE - NIGHT
Construction workers are busy at work, their tools clanking against metal. Suddenly, a loud crash reverberates through the air. Bricks and cement fly everywhere as the pillar supporting the bridge collapses. Screams fill the air as debris falls onto the water below.
CUT TO:
EXT. ROADWAY BELOW THE BRIDGE - NIGHT
Panicked drivers swerve to avoid falling debris. An SUV skids on its side along the road, causing a chain reaction that leaves multiple vehicles destroyed.
CUT TO:
EXT. BRIDGE COLLAPSE SCENE - NIGHT
JIMMY MCNULTY emerges from the shadows, unscathed. His face is covered in ash, but his eyes burn with an unquenchable thirst for justice. He looks up at the collapsed bridge and grins, knowing that once again, he will have a case to solve.
FADE OUT.
You forgot that he will drag his old shitty boss and department into the case against their wills by proving that the ship ran into the pillar which was land not in the water therefore it was a Baltimore jurisdiction instead of the coast guards jurisdiction.
INT. WIRE ROOM - DAY
A somber mood fills the room as detectives gather around the conference table. Lieutenant CIARAN “SNUBBY” REDMOND storms in, visibly irritated.
SNUBBY (yelling) What the hell is going on here? This is a Coast Guard case! We don’t have any jurisdiction over this!
MCNULTY steps forward, unfazed by his superior’s outburst.
MCNULTY (coolly) Actually, we do. Let me show you something.
He walks over to a projection screen, plugs in a flash drive, and starts playing a video. The recording shows the cargo ship smashing into the bridge’s pillar. However, the video is slowed down, revealing something significant.
V/O (Mcnulty) The slow-motion footage reveals that the ship didn’t just hit the pilings underwater—it also collided with solid ground.
SNUBBY (surprised) How did you get this video?
MCNULTY (smirking) Let’s just say a little birdie told me that some local fishermen captured this on their boat.
Lieutenant SNUBBY runs his fingers through his hair, defeated.
SNUBBY (muttering to himself) Damn it, McNulty. You always find a way.
The other detectives look at MCNULTY with newfound respect as he takes charge of the investigation.
FADE OUT.
That’s the McNutty we all love.