Detectives
Jimmy McNulty and
Leander Sydnor monitor drug lieutenant
Melvin "Cheese" Wagstaff. At the Major Case Unit,
Lester Freamon,
Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski and new member
Caroline Massey monitor a wiretap. Sydnor observes that Cheese does not use a phone, instead conducting his business face-to-face and receiving phone messages through his subordinate. After being relieved by Freamon and
Kima Greggs, McNulty is told by
ASA Rhonda Pearlman and Lieutenant
Cedric Daniels that they are considering the abandonment of the wire. McNulty, believing the wire will eventually reach
Proposition Joe and
Stringer Bell, heatedly asserts that Bell is their target and that all other objectives are secondary. Daniels insists they need a break in the case to justify continued use of the wiretaps. McNulty, Greggs and Freamon observe a dealer named Drac, who is far less discreet on the phone than Cheese's crew. Freamon states that Drac is supplied by Lavelle Mann, one of Joe's
soldiers. They plan to arrest Mann in the hope that Drac, Joe's nephew, will be promoted and give them more information on the organization through his careless talk on the wire. Daniels takes the plan to Acting Commissioner
Ervin Burrell, who is reluctant to fund more wiretaps. Burrell later reports to Daniels that Mayor
Clarence Royce is now holding up the proposal to promote Daniels to the position of Major because Daniels' wife
Marla is set to challenge one of the mayor's allies in an upcoming election. McNulty goes to an
Orioles game with his old partner
Bunk Moreland. He meets his estranged wife
Elena to take his children for the second half. Despite it being his day off, Bunk is forced to leave the game early when he is called to work a murder scene. The following day, Daniels marshals his men for the hand-to-hand on Mann. Once out in the field, Greggs and McNulty make a clean arrest. Drac immediately starts talking about a possible promotion on the wire. Unfortunately for the detail, the promotion goes to Cheese instead. At midnight, Prez finds McNulty reviewing old files from the
Barksdale investigation. In the
Western District, Sergeant
Ellis Carver marshals his new squad and plans a
sting on a corner drug dealing operation. He and
Thomas "Herc" Hauk eventually chase down a runner named Tyrell. When Carver and Herc bring Tyrell in with no evidence for a drug charge, Colvin criticizes their use of resources. Later, as he prepares to patrol the Western, he is disappointed to see that Carver's squad has brought in more street dealers on
loitering charges with no leads into their distributors. Colvin further sees the
urban decay blighting the neighborhood thanks to rampant crime.
Bodie Broadus,
Poot Carr and
Puddin reminisce about the Barksdale towers, which are being demolished. Bell chairs a meeting to discuss the Barksdales' new direction now that their main territory is lost; Bodie suggests that they take new territory by force. Bell instead suggests that they supply other dealers with their product rather than battle over territory, urging his subordinates to think like businessmen. Meanwhile, in prison,
Wee-Bey Brice talks to former Barksdale soldier
Dennis "Cutty" Wise, who is about to be
paroled.
Avon Barksdale asks Cutty for help securing new territory and gives him a number to call when he is released. Once outside, Cutty arranges a meeting with
Shamrock and is given directions to a package of narcotics. Cutty observes one of
Marlo Stanfield's crews and strikes a deal with the leader,
Fruit, to work the package for a share of the profit. When Cutty returns later that night, Fruit tells him his stash was confiscated by police and drives him away with a gun.
Bubbles and
Johnny lose control of their cart, which crashes into the car of Marlo's driver. He takes their trousers as punishment. Elsewhere, Royce delivers a speech at the demolition ceremony for the towers. Councilmember
Tommy Carcetti grills Burrell and Deputy Commissioner
William Rawls about increased violent crime in
East Baltimore during a review meeting. Burrell meets with Royce and his chief of staff,
Coleman Parker, who speculates Carcetti is preparing to run for mayor. Royce dismisses Carcetti's chances of winning in a majority-black city, but Parker is concerned he could use rising crime figures to his advantage. Royce and Parker pressure Burrell to have the
Baltimore Police reduce violent crime citywide by 5% in each district and keep murders under 275 for the year. At the next
ComStat meeting, Burrell tells his men to cut the
felony rate by Royce's figures. Colonel
Raymond Foerster, now in charge of the CID, is dismayed at the directive. Colvin realizes how the commanders have been encouraged to water down their figures and questions how they could "juke the stats" with murder victims. Burrell threatens to replace commanders who fail to deliver the figures he wants. Later, Daniels attends a meeting at his home with
State Delegate Odell Watkins and Marla's other political contacts. Once they have left, Marla thanks him and he returns to sleep at the office. ==Production==