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Maxwells Demon posted:Bodie gets the entrapment defense because the police let him go earlier in the series when he's bringing a re-up to Hamsterdam. He got arrested by Major Crimes but Colvin comes in and gets Bodie and his crew out of it. Thats not the scene we're talking about. Thats how major crimes finds out about Hamsterdam, i belive.
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May 15, 2013 17:01
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SpookyLizard posted:Thats not the scene we're talking about. Thats how major crimes finds out about Hamsterdam, i belive. Yes, but the point is that it only became entrapment for Bodie because they had let him go earlier.
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May 15, 2013 18:47
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Wait what? We never see Bodie get arrested at the hamsterdam cop orgy. When they get stopped going into hamsterdam is the only thing he got out of. Unless i somehow missed a scene somewhere.
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May 15, 2013 19:40
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Fragmented posted:Wait what? We never see Bodie get arrested at the hamsterdam cop orgy. When they get stopped going into hamsterdam is the only thing he got out of. Unless i somehow missed a scene somewhere. He gets stopped going into Hamsterdam by Major Crimes but Bunny convinces them to let him go. Later on, he's arrested when Hamsterdam gets broken up. I don't remember if they specifically show him being arrested, but the scene where he brings up entrapment is when everybody from the Hamsterdam arrests are being questioned.
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May 15, 2013 19:53
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Didn't they pick him up with all the Barksdale crew at the "armory" waiting to strike on Marlo? The big dude who always is used as Muscle tells the police those weapons are his when they bust in. So they round everyone up. Anyone on parole is in violation and serving the rest of their sentence. They only evidence they have on Bodie (assuming the gun charges stick to big man alone) are the pictures/phone they have him doing business in Hamsterdam which he calls entrapment on. I don't know what they had on Poot to sit him out until he's out in S4.
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May 15, 2013 20:03
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I just started Season 5 and now I am depressed.
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May 15, 2013 20:08
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3spades posted:Didn't they pick him up with all the Barksdale crew at the "armory" waiting to strike on Marlo? The big dude who always is used as Muscle tells the police those weapons are his when they bust in. So they round everyone up. Anyone on parole is in violation and serving the rest of their sentence. They only evidence they have on Bodie (assuming the gun charges stick to big man alone) are the pictures/phone they have him doing business in Hamsterdam which he calls entrapment on. I don't know what they had on Poot to sit him out until he's out in S4. I'm pretty sure Bodie wasn't there, he was just rounded up in Hamsterdam when the cops rolled on the Free Zones...maybe I'm misremembering though.
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May 15, 2013 20:22
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Bodie was definitely not high enough up in the organization to be there with Avon.
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May 15, 2013 20:26
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It wasn't so much that he wasn't high up in the organization, but rather that he wasn't muscle. Sapper was there and I can't imagine that discount nigga was all that high up on the totem pole. 
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May 15, 2013 20:40
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Cape Cod Crab Chip posted:It wasn't so much that he wasn't high up in the organization, but rather that he wasn't muscle. Sapper was there and I can't imagine that discount nigga was all that high up on the totem pole. Yeah, it's about what they do. Bodie and Poot are lieutenants who run their own crews. Or maybe Poot was in Bodie's crew. But Gerard and Sapper were both there, and they're incompetent as hell. You can expect that if Cutty stayed in the game, he would've been there. If Slim wasn't snooping on Marlo, he would've been there. Although, there were other people there too. Bernard was there, and he wasn't in the weapons room or Hamsterdam.
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May 15, 2013 22:29
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escape artist posted:Bernard was there, and he wasn't in the weapons room or Hamsterdam. Squeak WASN'T there, which is probably why Bernard was 
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May 15, 2013 22:45
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Jerusalem posted:Squeak WASN'T there, which is probably why Bernard was You seem to be forgetting one of the funniest lines on the show!
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May 15, 2013 22:47
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Ainsley McTree posted:You seem to be forgetting one of the funniest lines on the show! I've never noticed it before, but he really whispers it hoping she doesn't hear
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May 15, 2013 23:02
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Ainsley McTree posted:You seem to be forgetting one of the funniest lines on the show! Haha, nope I will never forget that, it's one of my favorite lines/scenes ever  Edit: To clarify, I misread Escape Artist's post and somehow got it into my head that Bernard WAS in the weapons room and got picked up there, and Squeak was picked up later off of the wire and ripped him a new one once they were together again in custody.
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May 15, 2013 23:04
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edit: oh okay
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May 15, 2013 23:10
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Ainsley McTree posted:You seem to be forgetting one of the funniest lines on the show! I'm more partial to this one
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May 15, 2013 23:44
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Sour Diesel posted:I'm more partial to this one I won my puppy a stuffed dolphin at Sea World, and for about 5 years I've been saying that whenever he's playing with it.
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May 15, 2013 23:49
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Related links took me to a nice little example of effective policework/networking/relationship building and... Colicchio  Where's the love, Bodie?
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May 15, 2013 23:54
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Jerusalem posted:Related links took me to a nice little example of effective policework/networking/relationship building and... Colicchio About 10 months ago when I was flipping channels I flipped to HBO and this episode was my first introduction to The Wire. Since I am a savvy internet person I had an idea what the show was about but I didn't realise I was watching the 4th season so I just watched the episode all the way through. This scene struck out to me as I was thinking "do cops really do that? Maybe they have history" and cue me about a month later after watching the first season going "holy poo poo  "Now cue me 9 months after that fact and here I am enjoying write-ups for episodes I have fresh in my memory 
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May 16, 2013 03:17
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Diabolik900 posted:Yes, but the point is that it only became entrapment for Bodie because they had let him go earlier. It's entrapment for everyone because the cops told them could sling in hamsterdam and they won't get arrested.
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May 16, 2013 03:26
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SpookyLizard posted:It's entrapment for everyone because the cops told them could sling in hamsterdam and they won't get arrested. I'm not familiar with the specific law in Maryland, but my general understanding of the entrapment defense is that you can use it if you're charged with committing a crime that the cops led you into committing that you otherwise wouldn't have been predisposed to commit (that last part being the trickiest and most relevant part). I am genuinely a little curious how the hamsterdam arrests would have played out in court (not that they would have, the courts don't have enough time in the day for all those arrests), on account of how most of the lieutenants were seasoned drug dealers who obviously would have been dealing drugs anyway...but balanced against the fact that the cops worked their asses off to convince them that the free zones were ok to deal in (after the dealers time and time again tried to turn the offer down), and I just don't know. The scene that Jerusalem posted is the one that throws me; McNulty makes it sound like Bodie's successful entrapment defense was some kind of remarkable exception ("I'm still dining out on that one") when surely it should have been something that every defense lawyer on the hamsterdam cases would have brought up with equal vigor. I'm probably beating a dead horse at this point and I'll drop it (I'm new to the thread and it looks like it's still on Season 2, sorry to derail  ); I think I'll just accept Maxwells Demon's explanation of it, that Bodie gets an extra bump to his defense because Colvin let him go after major crimes busted him carrying the re-up. Bodie even references it in the contrapment scene (I love Pearlman's "are you loving kidding me" face she gives to McNulty after he says "kid's got a point", btw).Or more than that, I prefer to think that it's just the beginning of McNulty and Bodie's tragic Bromance
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May 16, 2013 05:07
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Ainsley McTree posted:Or more than that, I prefer to think that it's just the beginning of McNulty and Bodie's tragic Bromance This brings up one of the couple things that I didn't "get" after finishing the series. I didn't full understand why Bodie did what he did at the end of the fourth season where he got released again and just went to his corner, threw a hissy fit, pulled a gun and got shot dead. Was he just tired of the Game and went out the only way he knew how? Did he have a plan and it just went to poo poo once he saw what had become of his crew? The only other thing I didn't get was what happened with the newspaper once we found out that the one guy had been lying the entire time and was outed to the bosses, the one lady got "re-assigned" and the editor got shut down to a lower office while the liar got a Pulitzer for lying for most of the stories he did through the season. Maybe it's a news-media thing that I don't get because I have a very  opinion of most news I hear as it is but just a couple things that didn't make a lot of sense to me
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May 16, 2013 06:26
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Aces High posted:This brings up one of the couple things that I didn't "get" after finishing the series. I didn't full understand why Bodie did what he did at the end of the fourth season where he got released again and just went to his corner, threw a hissy fit, pulled a gun and got shot dead. Was he just tired of the Game and went out the only way he knew how? Did he have a plan and it just went to poo poo once he saw what had become of his crew? He didn't just throw a hissy fit; what happened was that Monk (one of Marlo's lieutenants) saw him getting into a car with McNulty and assumed he was snitching on Marlo (which, to be fair, he was about to do). They came after him, and instead of going quietly into a vacant like everyone else did, Bodie went down shooting and made them take him down like a soldier. It's a pretty poetic (if sad (if predictable)) end for him; in the beginning of the series, he's all gung ho, beating people down over nothing like a mindless thug, but as the seasons go on he matures and shows more flex, as Stringer would put it. What turns him against Marlo is that Marlo had the kind of needlessly thuggish gangster mentality that Bodie grew out of; killing people over nothing just to wave his dick around ("you want it to be one way; but it's the other way"). And then it gets him killed. quote:The only other thing I didn't get was what happened with the newspaper once we found out that the one guy had been lying the entire time and was outed to the bosses, the one lady got "re-assigned" and the editor got shut down to a lower office while the liar got a Pulitzer for lying for most of the stories he did through the season. Maybe it's a news-media thing that I don't get because I have a very My understanding of that is that the bosses at the newspaper wanted everybody to keep their mouth shut about the lying (even after it came out that it was definitely happening) because if the truth came out, it would cost them their Pulitzer. All the bosses wanted was the Pulitzer so they could go on to do bigger and better things, and if it meant covering up a lie (and crushing everyone who wanted to reveal it), then whatever, the Pulitzer more important than good reporting. Same thing as the serial killer arc; even after it came out that there never was a serial killer, nobody had any interest in revealing the fact because of how much career advancement was riding on it.
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May 16, 2013 06:39
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Sour Diesel posted:I'm more partial to this one My favorite quote is when McNulty is at the fundraiser and asks for a Jameson, and the bartender says "We have Bushmills." "THAT'S PROTESTANT WHISKEY." While searching for that clip, which I could not find, I found this: http://www.jeffreymorgenthaler.com/2010/ask-your-bartender-protestant-vs-catholic-whiskey/
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May 16, 2013 06:49
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Short answers (someone else can do longer ones if these aren't good enough but I'm on a phone so...) Bodie went back to the corner for the same reason Nick went back to the union hall; it was all he knew. He took a certain kind if rough pride in it, too, the same kind of pride guys in the infantry take. He even says so when he's talking to McNulty: You're a soldier, Bodie. Hell yeah. So he stood his post, so to speak, even when his own boss wanted him killed. His self-respect cost him his life. (Incidentally, he was the third and last person from that chessboard scene way back in season one to be killed because someone thought he was snitching.) As for the newspaper: Alma and Gus raised the stink about Templeton. But Templeton's lies brought prestige to the paper and accolades to the bosses. So the bosses at the Sun shitcanned her and demoted him because they weren't willing to be team players, ie a part of the lie. Efb I'm never posting from a phone again Asbury fucked around with this message at 06:57 on May 16, 2013 |
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May 16, 2013 06:50
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Small question: can someone clarify the distinction between CID (Criminal Investigative Division) and the rest of the districts? It seems to always be referred to as above all the rest, like someone got promoted out of Western district to be assigned downtown at CID. Are the other districts only dedicated to patrolmen and don't do any investigative work?
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May 16, 2013 07:16
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Aces High posted:This brings up one of the couple things that I didn't "get" after finishing the series. I didn't full understand why Bodie did what he did at the end of the fourth season where he got released again and just went to his corner, threw a hissy fit, pulled a gun and got shot dead. Was he just tired of the Game and went out the only way he knew how? Did he have a plan and it just went to poo poo once he saw what had become of his crew? The Scott Templeton character specifically was a reference to a former Sun reporter David Simon knew, but there had also been a number of high profile fabrication cases with young reporters in the years before and even while the show was filming including Jayson Blair and Stephen Glass. Octorok posted:Small question: can someone clarify the distinction between CID (Criminal Investigative Division) and the rest of the districts? Yeah. CID is just the various detective divisions- robbery, homicide, arson, sex crimes, pawn shop unit, etc. The District stations are patrol divisions.
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May 16, 2013 07:56
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chesh posted:"THAT'S PROTESTANT WHISKEY." This. It's become a part of my cult of personality. A bartender friend remarks that literally not once has she been asked for it, while she goes through Jameson by the case. It's another one of those little details that The Wire nails.
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May 16, 2013 10:45
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Ainsley McTree posted:I'm not familiar with the specific law in Maryland, but my general understanding of the entrapment defense is that you can use it if you're charged with committing a crime that the cops led you into committing that you otherwise wouldn't have been predisposed to commit (that last part being the trickiest and most relevant part). The best example I can think of in the show is when Carcetti is doing a ridealong with the cops, and they stop the guy on the bicycle and try to get him to go buy them drugs. He says he doesn't want to, so they bribe him with even more cash, and then arrest him when he returns. "Police" work at its finest.
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May 16, 2013 16:56
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Spoilers Below posted:The best example I can think of in the show is when Carcetti is doing a ridealong with the cops, and they stop the guy on the bicycle and try to get him to go buy them drugs. He says he doesn't want to, so they bribe him with even more cash, and then arrest him when he returns.
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May 16, 2013 17:39
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Aces High posted:This brings up one of the couple things that I didn't "get" after finishing the series. I didn't full understand why Bodie did what he did at the end of the fourth season where he got released again and just went to his corner, threw a hissy fit, pulled a gun and got shot dead. Was he just tired of the Game and went out the only way he knew how? Did he have a plan and it just went to poo poo once he saw what had become of his crew? I think the shortest answer is that he had to pay for killing Wallace. For better or for worse (unlike Poot) he never really got over that. It aged him prematurely, and he was ready to die a soldier.
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May 17, 2013 01:17
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At the end of Season 3, all those guys they had cuffed were dudes that were caught on the wire. Bunk says as much to another detective. Not all of those guys were selling in Hamsterdam presumably. Bodie was one of the few who was primarily selling in Hamsterdam, so he get's to claim entrapment.
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May 17, 2013 04:25
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Bodie also had that Last of the Barksdales thing going on. Technically he was working for Marlo, but in his heart he was still a Barksdale soldier and still Stringer's guy. He never really accepted the change of power. Another case of wanting it to be one way when it was really another.
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May 17, 2013 05:56
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Randomly Specific posted:Another case of wanting it to be one way when it was really another. "You want it to be one way. You want it to be one way, but it's the other way." is probably my favorite quote in the series. It's so simple, but it describes in two sentences the wall every human being with a heart, or a conscience, or whatever you want to call it runs into when faced with the realities of our fellow humans.
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May 17, 2013 11:29
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Regarding the fate of Bodie and Poot, it feels like they are showing us the natural progression that all of these lower level guys(pawns) go through. There are slightly different paths to take, but they always burn out. They start out young and idealistic; they're a soldier, just playing the game, grinding, whatever. They are conditioned to see that life as noble. Then over time, like Poot and Bodie, they begin to open their eyes to what the game is really about and who really benefits from it. Some get out in time, some don't. Poot is an example of the former, Bodie the latter.
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May 17, 2013 16:00
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I think that "We like the little bitches on the chessboard" is one of my favorite lines from the show. Mostly because it's a callback to a scene from 3 seasons ago and it's pretty solid writing that they kept it relevant for so long but also because I just like the wording of it. If I could get away with swearing at work (and trusted my coworkers to get the reference) I'd probably say it all the time.
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May 17, 2013 16:32
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Season 2, Episode 10: Storm WarningsZiggy posted:It pays to go with the union card every time. At the Detail Office, Prez shows up early in the morning and plays Johnny Cash's Walk The Line as he makes coffee and slowly reworks the notice-board with the haphazard notes and connections on the port case so far. A brief montage of the surveillance work going into the Detail's case occurs at the same time, showing photos of cars and license plates by Carver, Herc placing GPS trackers on the cars of The Greeks' people - Eton, Glekas, Sergei, Ilona etc. Prez divides up everything into categories - watched appreciatively by Freamon and Greggs - and finally has everything laid out in an incredibly comprehensive organizational chart that shows their knowledge of The Greek's Organization, the port workers and East Side Drug Dealers from as low as Nick Sobotka to as high as Proposition Joe. Frank Sobotka is as sidelined as it can get, the photo that one took up the most space has been cut down and tucked into one lower corner, basically irrelevant to the case now. Pleased with his work, Prez stands back and takes the entire thing in, declaring,"loving A." A very pleased Bodie is happily checking the count in the Towers, where business is once again booming and no longer wasted on happy children and social civilians enjoying the weather. He tells Puddin to let Mo Man know they'll need far more on the Re-Up, commenting that he hasn't seen things this busy for a long time. Every silver lining has a cloud though, as two cars pull up, one with Stringer Bell and the other with Cheese Wagstaff (initially known as Cheese Flagstaff in this season), an East Side dealer in Barksdale turf. Bodie greets Stringer and Shamrock and tells him the package is good, and Stringer points out the East Side dealers and tells Bodie to give them all the hospitality that West Side is known for. An enthusiastic Bodie gets Stringer's intention completely wrong and thinks he has been given carte blanche to "gently caress them up", and Stringer has to explain himself - they're to be given three of the six towers to work, and nobody is to get in their way. Bodie is shocked, but Stringer has given him his message and that is that, so off he goes as Bodie is left with nothing to do but audibly ask what these "off brand niggas" are going to do with a tower market anyway. Cheese laughs at him to calm down, and Bodie has to go after Stringer again, unable to wrap his head around an order that goes against everything he has ever known - giving up territory? To East Side no less? He tells Stringer that he heard what he said but it makes no sense, so a calm Stringer asks what he thinks of the package, and then asks him if it makes sense to him now. Bodie gets the message, but he doesn't like it, only his devotion to Stringer as his leader who always has the angles covered is keeping him in line. At the Detail, Daniels is making use of Prez' newly organized chart to point out one of the major concerns of their case. When they were on the Barksdale case they at least had a name for Avon even if they didn't have a photograph, but here they have no idea who the "Boss Man" is, and they have no idea that the number they do have is actually for the Boss Man's number 2, Spiros, whose name they also don't have. They will be on the phone soon, they have the probable cause for it, but Freamon is concerned that they may be getting on a dead phone considering how quick they were to put the warehouse on hold the moment they smelled anything suspicious. McNulty has an alternate way to get at the Boss Man though, showing off the GPS trackers they're using on Eton, Ilona and Glekas' cars. They're able to track in real time their movements, and can even speed everything up into a compressed look at a full week's worth of travel. Prez is in awe of what he's seeing, Daniels explaining that they got the trackers from the DEA and the software from McNulty's FBI friends. The travel records have shown them two locations where Eton, Glekas and Ilona have stopped together for more than five minutes at a time - a rundown old diner and a place out by Fort Howard. Even if the phone proves to be a bust, surveillance on these two locations could get them a photo and an ID on the Boss Man, and Daniels decides to send Herc and Carver to watch the diner and Bunk and McNulty to keep an eye on the Fort Howard location. They all get up to get moving, except Prez who eagerly grabs at the laptop to review the software, McNulty teasing him by closing the laptop and sharing a laugh with Beadie. Prez doesn't care, he's completely wrapped up in the kind of policework he has wanted to take part in since his eyes were opened by Freamon in season one to the idea that there is more to policework than career advancement, carrying a gun and getting in the faces of young thugs. He's found his niche and he doesn't want to ever leave it.   At the docks, Frank returns to the dock office and makes a poor effort of concealing from Ott that he's carrying fliers for his re-election as Secretary-Treasurer. An offended Ott demands he just put it out in the open, so Frank pins one up, and tells Ott it's nothing personal, he just wants to be sure he can finish what he started and get the canal dredged. Ott angrily shouts that Frank doesn't think he can do it and storms out, Frank shouting after him that it's nothing personal, and snaps at an equally grumpy looking Horseface that he had no choice, there was no way he could let Ott in on what they've been doing to make the money to get the political leverage they need. Valchek is also still in pursuit of his white whale (for Frank it's the resurrection/preservation of the Union, for Valchek it's the persecution of Frank) and, having been "betrayed" by Burrell has gone over even the Commissioner's head and gone to the FBI. They're intrigued by his obsession though, because the FBI has been and is still heavily invested in ending Union corruption/racketeering. Valchek is delighted, handing over the report that Daniels gave him (and thus, everything extra that Daniels' has uncovered), telling them that he knows they're just the bastards he needs to give this case the closure it "needs". On thinner ground, he uncomfortably brings up something that requires some discretion, and shows them the polaroids of his surveillance van, explaining that Frank Sobotka stole it but he has managed to get two workable prints from the photos! The confused FBI agents ask why he hasn't reported the van as missing and he insists that this would be a bad look for the Department (no poo poo!) and he's hoping they'll recover it on the quiet for him without a big dust-up, as a favor to him in exchange for him so kindly bringing them the union racketeering case! They exchange awkward looks, obviously wondering just what the hell they've gotten themselves into. At the towers, Bodie and his crew are not pleased as they watch Cheese and his crew right there in THEIR market. Bodie points out that if they run them off they lose access to the quality product they're selling, but his crew points out to him that the East Side dealers are undercutting them and they're not making any sales regardless. Bodie frowns and then realizes the solution to his problem, proving that he just might be a "smart rear end pawn" after all. Spotting a "soldier" (Bubbles) trying to score from an East Side dealer, he heads over and asks what is going on. A clearly concerned Bubbles says he's just trying to get "something" done but Bodie isn't being aggressive, asking if Bubbles is really trying to score from somebody he caught over on Ashland recently selling lovely drugs (a more accurate description of Bodie himself) and asks exactly what deal they were making. After Bubbles tells him, Bodie undercuts the price by $10 and offers to throw in the "ice" for free, and an eager Bubbles grabs his money back from the East Side dealer and offers it to Bodie. Bodie tells him to take it to his man behind him and watches as the East Side dealer rushes off to inform Cheese, whose reaction is... great pleasure? In a demonstration of the difference between West Side's aggressive tactics and East Side under Proposition Joe, Cheese is amused to discover a West Side dealer who can sell drugs without resorting to sticking a gun in his customer's face. Bodie enjoys the banter, telling Cheese that he and his East Side boys won't sell anything until Bodie's crew is bone-dry, and Cheese laughs, grabs his crotch and tells Bodie,"Alright nigga. Whatever man! All right, cottage cheese chest-rear end motherfucker!"   As a white dude, I have no idea what this means, but I think it's loving hilarious Herc and Carver haul in heavy equipment and are less than pleased by the dismissive way Freamon tells (not asks) them to plunk it in the corner, only paying attention when they drop it down and he snaps at them to be careful. Exchanging grumpy looks, they ask if he needs help setting it up and he growls like a disappointed parent, asking don't they have surveillance to be doing? Justifiably offended, they leave the building complaining about being treated like they're not potty-trained. To be fair, they have proven in the past to not understand the deeper complexities and subtleties of the cases they're involved in, but the complete dismissal of them, treating them as pack mules and forcing the worst duties on them as a given is hardly the way to build a sense of dedication to their roles, which are very necessary. They bump into the two FBI Agents as they leave, the Agents thrusting their IDs into Herc and Carver's face and asking Carver (the black one) if he's Lieutenant Daniels. Carver sends them on into the building and he and Herc crack jokes about how he'd never have figured out they were FBI Agents if they hadn't shoved that "billboard" of an ID badge into his face. In his office, Daniels is going over paperwork when the Agents step in, flashing their badges and introducing themselves, saying that Major Valchek said he'd be expecting them.  Clearly he was not. At Butchie's bar, two of the customers are talking about whether people from East Side or West Side are crazier, and Butchie says that for him the differences go back to Frank "Pee Wee" Matthews, who went to New York and got involved with Italians. He was West Side and he ran things like a business, no violence without a good reason, unlike the way things are today. That doesn't really answer the question, but Butchie enjoyed telling the story, and is interrupted by the joyful barking of his dog, which indicates to the blind man that a particular well-known person has arrived - Omar. Omar plays with the dog, teasing him with some food he brought and then greets Butchie, who says he has been good other than fretting on him. Omar hands over a package of money "for my people" and then - after checking out the two guys at the bar and dismissing them as civilians - another package "for a rainy day". Butchie is Omar's bank, the place where the bulk of his stolen money goes to either be redistributed to his family or kept for him in the future - he can't use a real bank, he doesn't have lawyers like Levy to handle things for him, Butchie is a necessity, a neutral third party he can trust. Butchie clearly cares about Omar, telling him he's already built up a sizable nest egg and should think about backing off, maybe retiring? And do what? Omar isn't ready to give up his lifestyle just yet, a fact that an amused Butchie accepts. That night, Ziggy picks up the cars that Glekas ordered and drives them around, playing music loudly much to Johnny 50's dismay, telling him to turn it down as he struggles to cut through the wire fence - not as easy as it looks on television and in film. Ziggy is delighted, everything is going according to his plan, and when he comes by the next time in a different car to pick Johnny up, he drives right on by the tortuously cut open fence without a second glance. Johnny is confused, but finally realizes what Ziggy's plan was - the hole in the fence is to divert suspicion that it was a Union job, he actually drives the cars into open shipping cans, exiting through the sunroof (as he told Glekas) and tying the cars into place. He doesn't have to get the cars out of the docks and risk being caught, the dockworkers will do it for him without any idea. This is a unmistakably clever idea, but of course Ziggy has to be too clever for his own good, rather arrogantly congratulating Johnny on finally catching up to his genius. While things are finally going right for Ziggy, Nick is about to discover things have been going too smoothly for him (and prove why Omar needs a "bank" like Butchie). Aimee is cleaning up and doing his laundry in his basement room when she spots something up in the air duct, left stupidly close to the opening. Bringing it down, she discovers a huge roll of cash, far more than Nick has any right to have even if he is working a second job off the books. Kima returns home and drops her keys, badge and guns on the kitchen counter. She looks in the fridge as Cheryl steps out in a gown, and asks why Cheryl hasn't bought any food yet. Cheryl takes it all in stride first, good naturedly joking that Kima is supposed to be running around looking after her every need considering her current condition. She lifts her gown to reveal a heavily pregnant belly, the treatments having paid off, but doesn't get the reaction she was looking for. Kima just saunters past her and settles down on the couch to watch television, so Cheryl joins her to ask her what is wrong, wanting to snuggle up on the couch with her, trying to share a moment by asking her to feel the baby kicking. Kima, who clearly doesn't, puts her hand onto Cheryl's belly and goes back to watching television, so Cheryl takes her hand and slides it under the gown, giggling as she feels the baby kick... but Kima can't even raise up enough to pretend enthusiasm for the pregnancy. Cheryl wants it to be one way, but it's the other. Kima, for her part, is acting incredibly immaturely, just as bad as any male officer sulkily trying to act like they had no part to play/choice in the responsibility of bringing a new life into the world. Aimee is demanding answers from Nick who is trying to act dismissive and unconcerned by her discovery. She wants an explanation for why he has a cash roll of over $4000, not believing for a second that he was able to save that much even without taxes. He makes another obvious lie, saying he got a pay bump, and then plays dirty by trying to guilt-trap her, telling her that he was saving the money to give to her to look for an apartment (remember he told Ziggy that he ALREADY did this?). He offers the cash to her now, but she isn't buying what he's selling, and he has the temerity to be offended by her, walking away. Have you ever noticed how the guilty are always the ones to be more quickly and loudly offended by an accusation of guilt?   The next day in the towers, Bubbles scores and heads away to get high as Cheese emerges out into his new domain sharing a joke with his crew.... and walks straight into what appears to a Nation of Islam member. Cheese is delighted, asking the dapper man if he's here to sell bean pies? Either he's a Muslim or he needs to make his momma stop laying out his clothes! Enjoying his own wit, Cheese is all laughter until the man - Brother Mouzone - calmly explains that he represents the interests of Avon Barksdale, and that as "Mister Cheese" is not employed by Avon Barksdale, he and his crew need to "get your black rear end across Charles Street where you belong." It's all stated with calm, reasonable politeness, and Cheese holds his men back from attacking Brother so he can retort, explaining that he clearly doesn't understand what the situation is. First of all, he has permission to "grind" here, and secondly... and here Cheese demonstrates he's not all jokes and talk, leaping forward to throw a punch and.... getting shot in the shoulder by Mouzone, who pulls a gun out of nowhere with lightning fast reaction. Cheese staggers back in shock, held up by his men, and Brother Mouzone calmly explains he just shot him with a plastic pellet of rat-shot, but the next round is a deadly shot of his own creation that WILL kill him... so Cheese needs to ask himself if he really wants to do enough to get Brother to raise his gun up again. Unarmed - Cheese was expecting complete cooperation - Cheese has no choice but to back off, and he and his crew leave as Brother Mouzone calmly hands over his weapon to his assistant, a heavyset man named Lamar who is played by DeAndrew McCullough, the real life drug-dealing youth who was featured heavily in Simon's (excellent) book "The Corner". Lamar hands Brother Mouzone some books, and he calmly opens one up to read. This entire exchange has been witnessed by the people in the towers, but in particular by Bubbles.   Another face-off is happening elsewhere in town, this between the BPD and the FBI over the Sobotka Detail. Seated around a table, they discuss the desire to turn the case into a Rico Prosecution, which suits Pearlman just fine, Rico has more teeth and means the case will be tried in Federal rather than State Court. Daniels is clearly less pleased about the FBI's involvement, but they make it clear to him that they're not interested in refining the case down to the one aspect that interests them - Waterfront Corruption. They're willing to take on the entire case and provide the Detail with resources far beyond what they could normally expect, but they're only involved because of the Waterfront aspect so that needs to remain a focus of the case. In this respect, they're giving Valchek what he wanted, but they're not looking at an immediate arrest which is what he REALLY wants - in fact all they're doing is providing Daniels with more manpower and resources. Pearlman silently urges Daniels to agree and he does so reluctantly, and things quickly get into action, they'll take all of the considerable data gathered by the Detail so far and feed it into their systems to see if they can find any extra leads to explore. Perversely, this added level of access will be what ends up costing the Detail a true victory in this case, just as their refusal to work with the FBI on the Barksdale case cost them a true victory there. Cheese has gone to Prop Joe to complain, but Joe is taking things in his usual calm manner. He asks if Cheese shouldn't be laying up to heal his wound, but with bravado Cheese insists that while his shoulder hurts, his trigger finger is just fine. Joe finishes repairing a toaster and gives it to one of his muscle, instructing him to put it on sale for $7.50, and tells Cheese it would be a shame to waste a perfectly good appliance on a simple frayed cord. Cheese, unfortunately, isn't smart enough to pick up on the lesson that Joe is trying to impart, so he has to be more explicit in his explanation. Nobody is going to go running up into Avon's towers and take a crack at Brother Mouzone, the West Side is hurting far more from his actions than East Side who are still making profits on their usual territory while West Side are in trouble once their current shipment of Joe's quality product runs out. Besides which, dangerous men have taken their shots at Brother Mouzone in the past and all of them have died, and Stringer can't do anything about it because he can't cross Avon, at least not so publicly. Cheese, disgruntled and wanting immediate satisfaction, demands that Joe just put out a bounty on Brother's head and let somebody unconnected to him or Stringer deal with Brother, but Joe points out that the moment he does this, Brother will just come straight for him to remove the temptation/reward, so he might as well shoot himself and get all the trouble over with. Cheese's suggestion HAS put an idea in his head though, there is one person he can think of who MIGHT be able to pull off taking a shot at Mouzone... the trouble is he isn't somebody who will take a contract. Pleased with himself, Joe puts through a call to a different kind of connection. At the Detail Office, Agent Fitzhugh and several other FBI Agents arrive and find Bunk and Freamon waiting for them. The Detectives eye up the Agents from across the room, the animosity palpable - everybody knows that Federal and Local don't get along, we've all seen the talk about jurisdiction and those drat "suits". The Detectives part their coats and reach for their weapons, vowing to take down Fitzhugh first... and then the Agents burst out laughing after Fitzhugh declares,"gently caress you guys!" and everybody is chummy, shaking hands and greeting each other. Why would Freamon and Bunk be angry about getting Federal assistance on this case? Particularly since they're trying to clear 14 unsolved murders, they're probably kicking themselves for not thinking of it themselves and convincing Daniels to be the one to go to them.     Glekas is going through his inventory with his young assistant, who is once again irritating him with his slack attitude and poor work ethic. This is compounded when Ziggy shows up - whom Glekas considers even worse - and cracks jokes about potential problems with thieving, not like they have at the docks. Glekas asks if he has the car and Ziggy - eager to show off his cleverness - explains that they set sail on the Caspia, listed as scrap aluminium. He has the bill of lading, which means Glekas can organize for the cans to be delivered without any issue whatsoever, protected by the precious customs seals. Glekas cuts him off though, not wanting to discuss it all here in the warehouse in front of his assistant, and takes him to his office. Settling down at his desk, he looks at the bill of lading and asks Ziggy how he knows the cans weren't just shipped out empty? Ziggy, unable to resist being a smart-rear end, points out that if he'd had a digital camera he could have taken a photo of the cars in the cans, but since Glekas destroyed his camera.... Glekas is not amused, and shuts up Ziggy's continued happy ranting to ask if he got the models he wanted. Exasparated, Ziggy tells him he got the models AND the colors, he even has one outside of the store at the moment he can look at if he doesn't believe him. Glekas can't believe it, the idiot brought a stolen car and parked it outside his store? Ziggy, again showing how little he understands the consequences of his actions, laughs that he's just taking it for a spin and will return it tonight, and Glekas laughs in disbelief and finally hands over a yellow envelope stuffed full of money. Ziggy shuts up at last, ecstatic at having successfully pulled off a job entirely of his own design and execution (with a little labor help from Johnny 50) and takes the envelope, leafing through the money inside... and his face falls. They agreed on 20%, but Glekas says that was what they agreed on LAST week, and this week the price is 10%. Justifiably enraged, Ziggy leaps up and rants that they had a deal, but Glekas laughs right in his face, knowing that Ziggy has no muscle and no respect outside of maybe his cousin Nick who doesn't appear to be involved in this. He lets Ziggy rant then silently holds up the money, and Ziggy snatches it from him in a fury, Glekas knowing that Ziggy knows that some money is better than none, telling him it's not bad for a few hours work. What Glekas (and Nick for that matter) don't understand is that Ziggy is a lot like Frank - the money isn't what is important to him, it's what it represents. For Frank, the money is his way of getting his union's plight recognized and getting something done about it. For Ziggy, the money is an indication of a deal that HE worked out, a mark of respect and recognition for his intelligence and planning. To have Glekas short-change him (just like the Colombians tried to do to The Greek, eventually costing them 45 million in product) shows that he's disrespected and dismissed as a non-entity, which to Ziggy is as grave an insult as one can experience. Clutching the money, he shouts that Glekas is a thieving Greek oval office, and Glekas has had enough of the brash, outspoken and (to him) stupid Ziggy. He grabs him by the throat and hauls him out of the office into the store, shocking the young stupid assistant. Glekas slams Ziggy against the counter and punches him in the stomach, then literally kicks him when he is down. Shoving the money into his coat pocket, he tries to push Ziggy out the door who wrenches away, gathering what little dignity he can and staggering out under his own power. He gets into his stolen Benz (a license plate loosely slapped onto the back) and sits in the car seething, lashing out angrily over all the indignities and insults he'd been forced to face during his life, never respected, never taken seriously, always treated like nothing but a joke, an unimportant person, a non-entity. Coming to a fateful decision, he reaches into the glove compartment and pulls out the gun he bought with money pawned from the necklace his duck wore what must now feel a million years ago, and then storms back into Glekas' and just opens fire. Dead-eyed, more automaton than person, he shoots the assistant in the belly before he can react, then blasts at Glekas who has immediately fleed for the back door. Glekas goes down and Ziggy follows him, finally seeing what he's wanted to see, Glekas staring back over his shoulder in fear of HIM - Ziggy has finally gotten somebody to fear him, taught them a lesson about respect, forced them to acknowledge him as somebody important. Glekas begs him,"PLease!" and Ziggy fires one last shot into his face, calling him "Malaka" before turning to leave. He spots the assistant lying on the ground with a belly wound, attempting to call the police, and drops the money - always unimportant/secondary - next to him, then walks out of the store. The camera takes us into Ziggy's headspace, everything seems blurred and shaky, sounds aren't filtering through, he moves with determination towards his car but his mind is clearly in a daze until a noise finally registers - his parking meter has run to show TIME EXPIRED, a fairly obvious bit of symbolism. He climbs into the car and tries to start the engine, but his auto-pilot is off now and he's come back to himself and massive enormity of what he has done. He grabs his cigarettes and tries to light one, but his hands shake and the cigarette falls out of his mouth, and as the sound of police sirens grow louder he cluthches his hands together and press them to his mouth, looking almost as if he is praying. Tears fall from his eyes as he breaks down, he's just killed one man, perhaps fatally wounded a young innocent and ruined his own life to boot. It's one of the most amazing performances I've ever seen in a show filled with them.     To add such much needed levity following this tragedy, the next scene is Bunk nervously checking his life preserver before he's even made it into the boat. McNulty and his old Maritime Patrol partner Claude Diggins are taking a boat called Pompano Honey out to Fort Howard for their surveillance. Bunk is not a fan of being on the water, but once they settle him into the chair and put the big rod between his legs (he laughs that he knows all about that) he looks far more at home. There's no doubt that Bunk and McNulty have gotten the far sweeter of the two surveillance deals, Herc and Carver are probably stuck in another dusty old building or in a car watching the diner. Prop Joe's contract connection turns out to be none other than Butchie, spinning a line of bullshit that he's here on behalf of Stringer Bell who is reaching out to Omar. Butchie quite rightly declares that this doesn't sound right and he wants nothing to do with it, but Joe plays it cleverly, agreeing entirely with Butchie and suggesting possible ulterior motives Stringer might have, even though the meeting is entirely Joe's own idea. Regardless, Joe has asked Stringer to ask Butchie to ask Omar, and he reminds Butchie that the last time they meet under Joe's protection everything turned out fine. Butchie counters that there was a reason to meet last time, but after considering things says that he would prefer it if his nephew Heywood (a well muscled young man) was in charge of protection instead, somebody that Butchie can absolutely trust. It makes no nevermind to Joe, acting as if it doesn't matter to him if Omar agrees or not. Landsman is interrogating Ziggy at Homicide, though it's not so much an interrogation as a smooth confession. Ziggy has laid out exactly what he did and Landsman has had it typed up for Ziggy to sign, and he's willing, asking if he can smoke a cigarette. Landsman obliges, smoking one himself, happy to have a slam-dunk on a murder (potentially a double-murder, depending on what happens/ed to the assistant) but his face falls when Ziggy starts to read it, begins crying, and asks if he can make a change. Suspecting that Ziggy has changed his mind about confessing or not having a lawyer present, he tells Ziggy he can make changes so long as he initials next to them, and Ziggy explains there is just one. Still fighting back tears, he tells Landsman that Glekas didn't "say" please to him (as in "please don't shoot"), he "begged" him not to. It sounds almost like bragging, but its not, Ziggy made the man beg for his life and it doesn't make him feel like a big man, it is devastating him that he did that to somebody else. Crying but still desperate to please, he asks Landsman if that change will gently caress things up for the police in court, and Landsman - not used to this kind of thing - tells him that this more descriptive term is good. Crying, Ziggy makes the change, initials, and then signs the confession. Carver wakes up Herc on their surveillance of the diner as two FBI Agents arrive to take over their shift, telling them that things are quiet. They drive off, while out on the Pompano Honey Bunk has gotten used to being on the water and removed his life preserver, happily smoking a cigar and enjoying the sea air, the waves lapping gently against the boat and the moonlight on the water. Diggins clearly agrees, while McNulty - never happy on the water - looks out into the night through his binoculars. Elsewhere on surveillance (the Pyramid warehouse, I think), Beadie and Greggs are discussing parenting and the job, because Greggs is trying to get her head around the notion of how they conflict. Beadie, clearly more concerned with being a parent than a cop, talks about the need to use a sitter or her parents when unexpected night-jobs like this come up, while Greggs can't fathom the idea of being forced to return home when a raid might be on. As she told Cheryl earlier, if she hears the music she's going to dance, but now she has to contend with a child being thrown into the mix. Clearly she went along with Cheryl's desire to get pregnant because it was easier to just agree than to have an argument about it, but now it's a reality that is coming closer and closer to occurring, and she doesn't know how to deal with it (maybe talk to your life partner instead of a work one!). His confession signed, Ziggy is cuffed to be taken away, though Landsman gives him the packet of cigarettes to take with him to holding. He asks if Ziggy wants to make a phonecall, and raises his eyebrows when Ziggy asks if there is any chance he gets bail. As Ziggy is taken away, Landsman asks if there is any family he wants to contact? Ziggy just shakes his head, and Landsman seems to have not made the connection between Ziggy SOBOTKA and the Sobotka Detail that has left them two men short. At the Detail office in the morning, Fitzhugh is bringing Daniels up to speed on what they're doing from the FBI end, and it's impressive. They're going through the Talco Line using Freamon and Beadie's gathered data to see if they can work out a point of origin for the cans. There are 110 cans that they're aware of (Frank has made a lot of money from this) and Freamon and Daniels exchange happily surprised looks when they hear that the FBI will use as many agents as it takes to find the source, and Fitzhugh quips that they may be assholes, but there are a lot of them. Taking Daniels' notes, he heads over to the computer to input them into the FBI's system, which is when things go horribly wrong. In Washington D.C - not San Diego - Agent Koutris gets an alert on his computer and does a double-take when he sees what has popped up. Fitzhugh's input into the system has triggered a Confidential Source Monitor alert on Koutris' computer. Koutris is not a corrupt Agent, at least not entirely. Glekas was one of his CI's (really The Greek, but either his name isn't in the system or, more likely, it hasn't come up because the Detail isn't aware of it) and lied to Fitzhugh about Glekas to protect an important source of information, who gave him a massive coup as a mark of gratitude. Going down the list of Fitzhugh's reported information, he learns who is being targeted, the DNR logs and the wiretaps on Sergei's phone and Pyramid Inc's. The FBI has just given The Greek a detailed breakdown of the entire case against him, Koutris is going to give him a Storm Warning.   Frank and Horseface are lazing about inside the Can Office, Frank letting Horseface know another Talco can is coming in soon. As Horseface jokes about how much trouble the Greeks cause them, Nick bursts in, shocked and struggling to articulate his message as Frank happily greets him. Ziggy is in prison, charged with murder having killed Glekas and his assistant, and Nick has only just found out. Frank's reaction is shock followed by fury, slamming Nick against the filing cabinet and almost throwing a punch before he is restrained by Horseface. He demands to know what Ziggy was doing at Glekas' store, was Nick involved? No? Then where was he? Why wasn't he looking out for Ziggy, he's his cousin? Still in shock, Nick manages to get out that Frank is Ziggy's father, and Frank storms out of the office, leaving Nick to drop to the ground and cry, unable to believe what has happened. The Greek meets with Koutris in an Art Museum, where by way of thanks he explains to The Greek that his tip lead to Koutris getting the credit for the largest crack seizure on record - 1,125 kilograms. This goes a long way towards explaining why Koutris is protecting The Greek despite clearly being a massive criminal - he's not quite on the take but he is a superstar at the FBI thanks to The Greek's tips, and likely to raise even higher. So he's passing on the bad news to The Greek, the local effort has sprawled to involve the FBI, and his hands are tied, he can give no assistance beyond this warning - they're onto him with wiretaps, several phones and several addresses.  Spiros receives a text message on his phone, and takes immediate action, asking the counter man - Stephanos - to send the boy to Eton and ask him to meet at "the other place", no phones are to be used. He leaves the diner, driving away completely unnoticed by Herc and Carver who are having a silly argument over whose fries were missed in their take-out order from McDonalds. Carver calls Herc fat, and Herc actually seems taken aback, asking Carver seriously,"You think I'm fat?" I wonder why nobody takes them seriously as criminal investigators Kima and Beadie spot Eton leaving and put in the call to Freamon, there's no need for an eyeball thanks to the GPS Tracker. Freamon is distracted from watching the GPS though by the unwelcome arrival of Major Valchek, in a rage over being "betrayed" by the FBI now, unable to believe they are working with the Detail instead of doing the right thing and just arresting Frank Sobotka for Valchek's vindictive pleasure. Daniels offers to take Valchek into his office so they discuss this there - and avoid Valchek making an rear end of himself in public - but he is having none of it, pointing out Frank in the corner of the organizational chart, demanding to know what he got in return for all his support and manpower? He got hosed in the rear end! Daniels tries to explain that he's going to get his Frank Sobotka arrest but Valchek isn't listening, trying to exhibit whatever pathetic remnants of authority he has by demanding that Prez pack up his things and leave with him. With satisfaction he tells Daniels that he won't let him "gently caress him" with his own men, but a horrified Prez doesn't want to go, there is work to be done and he can't fathom leaving now. Furious, Valchek stabs him in the chest with a finger, ignoring his protests and stabbing his chest again, snapping,"MOVE, SHITBIRD!"   Oh God that was glorious. Freamon grabs Prez and Daniels rushes to Valchek's side, but Valchek leaps back up with a,"JESUS!" and slaps his hat back on, storming out past the baffled FBI Agents. Prez's face falls as he realizes what he has done and Daniels growls at him to come to his office, leaving Freamon to head sadly back to the GPS tracker where he sees Eton is heading for Fort Howard, while Fitzhugh tries to figure out what kind of madhouse he's gotten himself involved in. At Fort Howard, Bunk - fully at home on the water now - is relaxing in a loud shirt, hat and sunglasses on, white dress pants, casting his rod and enjoying a relaxing day fishing on the City's dime. McNulty clearly can't understand the way Bunk has taken to the water, but then they're into action as Freamon puts through a call to let them know Eton is coming. They watch as he meets with Vondas, thinking they're on the Boss Man at last, and take photos, no idea the case is about to crash down around them. Eton is filling in Vondas on what has happened to Glekas, who can't understand why all this nonsense would happen over a few cars - of course that biggest crack seizure in history thing happened because the Colombians did the same thing that Glekas tried to do to Ziggy, but he isn't to know the particulars. Confirming that the police aren't in the store anymore, Vondas tells Eton to go there and clear it out of anything the police missed, and the same goes for the warehouse, EVERYTHING is to be cleared out now, absolutely everything - and no more phones. Before McNulty and Bunk's startled eyes, Vondas and Eton toss their phones into the water, though McNulty notices Vondas do something with his stylus on a different phone. He notes the time and asks what that was about, and Diggins informs him he was probably sending a text message, his kids are crazy about doing that. That night outside the diner, Herc and Carver are surprised to see Nick Sobotka arrive. Nick heads inside and asks Stephanos where Vondas is, and Stephanos' answer is,"Who is that?" When Nick asks for Spiros, Stephanos tells him he knows no Spiros, and a horrified Nick realizes he has been cut off. Back at the Detail building, McNulty and Bunk are laughing with Freamon and Fitzhugh over the story of Prez clocking Valchek. Daniels apparently had everybody write an account of how they say it go down, including the FBI Agents. Bunk is appreciative of the move, noting that Daniels is sharp, but Freamon says that he thinks Prez is probably done with the Detail now. Bunk jokes that he might have some psychological bullshit in his jacket that makes him immune, but McNulty quite correctly notes that Prez's immunity was Valchek, and he's lost that now. Just as Prez was coming into his own it's all been hosed up for him, perversely because he finally stood up to the one guy who kept him going when he was genuinely loving up. There has been no activity on the wiretaps for quite some time and McNulty says they've definitely dumped their phones, but he's curious about the text message he saw Spiros send, and asks Freamon what happens to those calls? Freamon, intrigued, notes that they'e sent to a tower and then the phone company's computer, and it is possible to find one... so long as you have the correct variables. They know the exact time of the call, and the location was the Fort Howard Seawall, which isn't exactly a hive of activity... but Fitzhugh notes that they don't know the provider, it could have been any number of companies. At the Towers, Brother Mouzone is calmly reading his magazines on a park bench, flanked by Lamar and another quiet, calm man. Mouzone's calm breaks when he realizes that Lamar didn't pick up Harpers amongst the magazines he requested. Lamar insists Brother Mouzone didn't ask, Mouzone insists he did, and tells him in no uncertain terms that he will get him Harpers tomorrow, along with The Nation which he also forgot. "What's the most dangerous thing in America?" he asks, answering his own question,"A nigga with a library card." He laughs at his own joke, Lamar rolling his eyes at the other man, presumably he has heard this joke many times before. They're used to Brother Mouzone though, others aren't, and Bodie and one of his Muscle are watching rapt from a distance, enthralled by the fact that Mouzone isn't doing anything but sitting and reading and yet he's kept the "East Side Bitches" away all day - that's REAL muscle. The rep is impressive, but Bodie has been picking up on what Stringer has been teaching, and he's realized that keeping East Side away is fine while they have product, but they're going to run out soon enough and then what do they do? His Muscle has a more troubling question, one that the smarter but more dedicated Bodie never considered - if Stringer wants East Side dealers in the towers, then why does Avon have Brother Mouzone there to scare them off? Cops and Feds alike in The Detail are pursuing McNulty's phone company idea but they've had no success at all. McNulty has returned to Fort Howard and gone to the exact location of where Vondas was standing when he made the text, and gives Freamon a precise latitude/longitude reading. This does the trick, Bunk and Fitzhugh go to the phone company that apparently handled the call, where an enthusiastic representative tells them how they managed to track down the text using just the time and geographic information. Bunk hands over the subpeona and prepares to look through the folder, but the rep stops him, not out of malice but necessity - a subpeona only gives him account information, he needs a search warrant to let them see the contents... but with a search warrant, they get access to TWO MONTHS worth of text messages - a police man's dream and a criminal's nightmare (or that of anybody interested in civil liberties!). Excited, Bunk tells the rep that they'll be back tomorrow with the search warrant, but can they please please please just have a peek now? The rep, completely breaking the law, gives a grin and deliberately turns his back so he can't see them, and they open the file and look at the top text message in anticipation....  "Nothing's easy," sighs Bunk. Greggs arrives at the Office and gets filled in what is happening, they've gotten the text message but it's Greek, so Fitzhugh is giving a description over the phone to another Agent using translation software. They all watch as the message is input and translated, and the result comes back....  "Sssssshit!" hisses Daniels. At a kid's playground, Nick is drinking liquor alone and is joined by Prissy, an old girlfriend of Ziggy's and childhood friend of them both. Both crying, they sit down and reminisce about old times, Ziggy always getting into trouble like the time they forged an Age of Majority card and drove over to Brooklyn Park in Prissy's mother's chevy to buy booze. They sent in Ziggy to buy the drinks and he came back with Boone's Farm, claiming it was what the College Kids drink. They came to this very playground and got blasted, and Ziggy stood up with a bottle in each hand and screamed loud enough to wake the nuns,"COLLEGE KIDS AIN'T poo poo!" Nick does the same thing now, and breaks down again, tossing his drink away and dropping to his knees to cry - Ziggy is still alive but he's treating him like he is dead, and in many ways he is, his life is completely ruined and he's been utterly removed from theirs. Beadie is woken by the phone, Kima has called to let her know they're raiding the warehouse tonight, can she join them? She insists she can, her conversation with Kima probably fresh in her mind, telling her that she'll drop the kids off at her parents' place. She thanks Kima for letting her know and rushes to dress, wanting to be in on this action now that she's become so involved in the case - the question is whether or not this is a one-time thing or something that is an intrinsic part of her, like Kima believes it is. At the Officer, Pearlman waits anxiously, not liking keeping the Judge waiting as the police and feds rush through their paperwork. Not held back by such things, Sergei leads his men through Glekas' store as they tear out everything left untouched by the police... which is nearly everything, they were investigating a homicide, nothing else. At Pyramid Inc, huge bags of drugs are cut up and dumped into a shower by mask wearing men, knowing it is at best useless to them and at worse a gigantic liability that will put them in prison. As the police rush to get permission to raid the places they know crimes are being committed, the criminals clear those places out, not realizing how close they are cutting it. The episode ends as their stockpiled drugs - and the Detail's case - is washed down the drain. 
Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 13:15 on May 18, 2013 |
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May 18, 2013 11:21
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I'm really interested in what people think of Agent Koutris, whether they feel he is corrupt or not. I tend to WANT to think of him as corrupt, but I keep thinking back to all the things that the police let people slide on in this show - Bubbles is a junkie thief who steals and scavenges to get high, and not only do the police turn a blind eye, they give him money to go out and get high with in return for information. When looking for information on Homicides, you get detectives coming down and telling corner boys,"You think I give a gently caress about drugs?" and offering them deals in return for giving them something on some bigger, "more important" crime. Koutris is protecting a slaver, smuggler, killer, drug-supplier but is this acceptable given the fruits that cooperation bears? I'd argue it doesn't, but I'm not so sure the system would agree. That massive Colombian shipment being caught won't have even made a dent in the market, but it would be considered a pretty massive win for the FBI and Koutris in particular, who probably consider "Narco-Terrorists" far more important. I do think that Koutris is dancing around the thin edge of legal with his dealings with The Greek (if not going right over it), but I also think it's something that his superiors would consider a necessary or acceptable way to operate. There's a reason that Fitzhugh doesn't pursue things when he figures out that Koutris was protecting The Greek as a CI, he knows that the investigation would be shut down/ignored, especially since the FBI gets what they wanted out of the case anyway - shutting down a Union.
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May 18, 2013 11:46
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Not to remove his agency (har har), but Koutris is just doing what his particular bureaucracy wants from him. The FBI decides they can live with the illegal drug trade if it means they can go after terrorism, which is a massive irony to anyone familiar with US foreign policy in the past 30 years. Also the opening song is I Walk the Line, not Ring of Fire.
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May 18, 2013 12:26
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comes along bort posted:Also the opening song is I Walk the Line, not Ring of Fire.  Although nobody noticed what a huge racist I was by mistaking Chess for Ott for two full episodes, so there's that 
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May 18, 2013 13:14
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