Thomas J. McCarthy

As McNulty and the detail continue to stake out Marlo's crew, newly elected Mayor Carcetti is finding he is stuck between keeping his promises on education and his promises on law and order.

Marlo takes care of some unfinished business and strikes a deal with Avon Barksdale. Meanwhile, Mayor Carcetti's Chief of Staff blames Royce for the Campbell revelation.

Carcetti maps out a damage-control scenario; McNulty asks Landsman to pull police off the homeless case; Haynes' concerns about Templeton fall on deaf ears; Dukie seeks out an old mentor for a loan.

Marlo forges an alliance with a drug contact who shows him a new communications trick and McNulty's case gets attention from the press. Meanwhile, Dukie turns to Cutty and Michael to hone his self-defence skills and Omar shows patience as Marlo throws out his bait.

An unexpected call puts Templeton back in the spotlight whilst getting McNulty more attention than he expected. Meanwhile, Omar sends Marlo a message.

Carcetti's chief of staff orders Rawls to initiate `creative' remedies for the rising crime rate, Freamon's vigilance provides a lead and sends the department into overdrive, and Michael is suspicious about his latest assignment.