The Wire

- And, uh, as you can see from the locations,

the killer is working primarily in the southern,

central and southeastern, which makes sense

given the concentrations of homeless in those districts.

Vics one and three were killed at night,

two and four had daylight t.o.d.s.

- Detective, what about the missing man, Mr. Butler?

Is there any lead at all on his whereabouts?

- No, sir. We, uh--

We have teletypes with every police agency in the mid-atlantic,

we're also running daily morguehecks

in ten states and the district,

but uh-- Nothing yet.

- Where are we on a profile?

- I've arranged for our people to travel to quantico today.

The bureau's been very accommodating.

- I mean, this is a strange one.

I've heard of people going after street people,

but it's usually adolescent sadism.

This sexual thing--

It is different.

We put it out on vicap,

and we have no hits anywhere else in the country.

- I mean, I'm all for a little kinky shit now and then,

but chewing on a homeless fella?

- You seem to be well grounded in the case file, detective.

What else do you need?

- Well, we've developed a rough list of those adult males

who were briefly detained by police near pier five

soon after the suspect made his last call.

We'd like to put some of those under surveillance.

They're not suspects,

but we wld consider them persons of interest.

We've also developed a rough list

of known adult white homosexual sex offenders in these three districts.

And, as we cull that list, we would--

We'd like to put some of those under surveillance, too.

About a dozen men.

Less, actually.

We should be able to eliminate many of our potentials

through retroactive investigation.

Do you have your people?

- I've asked the chief of patrol to detail sergeant ellis carver

from the western homicide

for purposes of running the surveillance element.

- Why not a man from one of the districts

where the attacks occurred?

- Well, I've worked with carver

on prolonged investigations in the past,

and his familiary with surveillance tactics is relevant.

Also, I would be inclined to trust his objective assessment

when choosing surveillance teams.

Very good.

If that works for patrol, it works for operations.

- What are we doing to protect people?

- Patrol and tactical are running extra cars

in all three districts with special emphasis on posts

where the homeless congregate.

We have ten undercovers, dressed as vagrants,

working staggered shifts.

- We're going to need good undercover cars as well.

And I'm told that motor pool expects nothing back

from dickman street until--

- Whatever you need, detective.

- Yes, Mr. Mayor, but we're being told by public works--

- Go to avis if you have to, hertz.

I don't give a shit. People are disappearing.

Theye dying, for crissake.

Just do what you need to do.

The bad news, gentlemen,

is we're actually going to have to catch this motherfucker.

The good news is that our mayor finally needs a police department

more than he needs a school system.

"A lie ain't a side of a story. It's just a lie." - Terry Hanning.

Yo, can I help you?

I'm looking to work.

Here?

Yeah, you need anyone?

How old are you?

Eighteen.

A-ight, man, i'm fifteen.

- I mean, yo, I can give you a form to fill out,

but the manager, he ain't gonna hire no one under seventeen.

Hey, yo.

You used to run with the boy namond, right?

Yeah, I used to be on them fayette corners.

- Oh yeah, man, I remember you.

- Yeah, I just got tired, ya know?

Shit got old.

So, I guess you need to bang a while longer,

then come back, see if we got something.

Then come back, see if we got something.

Why me?

Why not somebody from a district

where they caught one of your homeless cases?

Well, there's a hitch.

- This is some fucked-up mcnulty shit.

I don't want to get burned here.

And I don't want any of my guys getting burned.

Look, here's the deal.

Command is throwing more resources at me

than I can use on my homeless stuff.

I got that covered.

But lester--he's got a fresh line on marlo stanfield,

and he needs people to run it down.

A fresh line, huh?

He's got a fuckin' wire up is what you mean.

- No, no, there's no-- There's no wire--

- Who the fuck are you kidding?

I handed him a fresh cell number for stanfield not two weeks ago.

- Listen, I don't know anything about any wire.

I'm just saying he's got a new line on marlo,

and he needs people to run it down.

Bosses stiff-armed him?

Jesus.

Guy drops all those motherfuckers in the vacants.

Yeah.

- So you're throwing people over to lester,

and paying for it from your case, is that it?

O.t. Out the ass.

- What about the paperwork?

I'll take care of that.

Althe run sheets, office reports,

they come through me.

All your people got to do is straight police work.

Daniels gave me a free hand

to pull people from any district.

Just make sure you send me people who work.

Mcnulty.

What about cars?

- Departmental account at enterprise downtown.

Get what ya need.

- We delay fleet maintenance for public works

over the next three months.

We cut snow removal in half and pray for global warming.

That's enough to avoid any ugly cuts in school funding,

at least for this quarter.

- And this funds police operations fully, correct?

- They're back to where they started

before we bled them out.

It's time anyway.

We ducked the teacher layoffs,

and you got the fifteen points on the third-grade m.s.a.s.

You can live with that.

But if we don't drop the crime in this quarter,

and the next, you are lnerable.

It's now or never.

- Besides, you're getting traction in this homeless thing.

Governor was on y.p.r. Yesterday,

and steiner laid him out for the state cutbacks.

- Health care for the homeless

have asked for city hall's steps tomorrow night.

Candlelight vigil.

You said yes, right?

- Norman told 'em they could do it

if I got a chance to say a few choice words, yeah.

Speak of the devil.

- I just got off the phone with the "post."

Reporter there wants your comment

on a story he's workin about dobey, down in p.g.,

looking to take you on in the democratic primary.

What?

Dobey's getting in?

- Make matters worse, upshaw's telling people

he might just throw in with said county exec.

Shit, we might have a full-blown p.g. Insurrection on our hands.

- Why the fuck would they do that?

- Lots of pissed off black folks down there.

Lot of grumblin' about always a bridesmaid, never the bride.

- No way can dobey take the statehouse.

All he's gonna do is bloody us up

and make uspend money we're gonna need in the general.

- When we went a-calling in p.g. Last month,

who'd you see?

Steny.

Maloney, miller, those guys.

White, white and white.

Not even a cup of coffee with poor old congressman upshaw.

- I wasn't snubbing the guy.

- Folks down there are tired of being taken for granted.

- Fuck, I gotta kiss a ring, don't i?

- More than a ring, actually.

Unlimited o.t.

That's what I'm told.

- But you're sayin' we might not be working the homeless cases.

Not all the time.

Major crimes has a drug investigation

that may also need surveillance work.

- Shit, who cares what we work?

I need the money.

A-ight then.

You'll be working out of homicide.

Report down there to detective mcnulty.

Oh yeah--

Rented wheels on the backlot.

Fuckin' a.

- Ah, man, this is beautiful.

Oh, hell yeah.

- It's weird shit, I gotta say.

Talkin' to a psychopath like that.