Brandon's mutilated body is discovered in the pit, and Wallace is left shaken when Avon rewards him for his part in identifying the victim for Stringer. McNulty tries to get back on Rawls's good side, who gives him one week to close the Barksdale case. The detail gets a wire running on the pit pay-phones, but Herc is unimpressed when he learns it can only be activated when the phones are being used by known drug suspects, meaning they must be physically watched at all times. Daniels clashes with Rawls over the approach to the murders McNulty and Bunk linked to the Barksdale organization, with Rawls wanting to get his clearance stats up by pressing weak murder charges against D'Angelo, meaning the detail would have to give up their evidence to Barksdale attorney Maurice Levy (
Michael Kostroff), despite the unlikelihood of a conviction. Meanwhile, McNulty lets Omar view Brandon's body, and Johnny proves a bad influence on Bubbles.
—Bertaut