History Recap / TheWireS01E12CleaningUp

* AbsenteeActor: Although credited, John Doman, Andre Royo, and Sonja Sohn do not appear in this episode.

* MercyKill: Poot's shooting of Wallace can clearly be read as such. Bodie struggles muster up the determination to kill Wallace, but can only shoot him once before loosing his nerve and stands dumbfounded and stares at the heavily wounded Wallace as he wheezes for breath. A clearly emotionally torn-up Poot then takes the gun of Bodie's hand and {{Double Tab}}s Wallace, killing him, but also putting him out of his misery.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Nakeisha Lyles was [[Recap/TheWireS01E01TheTarget bribed and lied on the stand to get D'Angelo off.]] After that, William Gant (the other witness in D's trial) was killed in retaliation by the Barksdales. This episode, she herself is killed for being a witness and a loose end the Barksdales need tied up.

* TemptingFate: When [=McNulty=] warns Santangelo to watch himself with Rawls, Santangelo responds that [[Recap/TheWireS01E07OneArrest he gave Rawls his clearance]], and adds, "What can he do to me?"

[=McNulty=] is in the hospital waiting area when Daniels comes up to him, and updates him on Kima's condition; she's stabilized, but in and out of the morphine drift. [=McNulty=] still can't bring himself to see her, and when Daniels tries [[Recap/TheWireS01E11TheHunt again to get him to work the case]], [=McNulty=] says, "Fuck the case," and admits the whole thing was less about a crusade against Avon Barksdale and more a way to show "how smart (he) was and how fucked up the department is". Daniels wonders if [=McNulty=] thinks that's news to him or anyone else. Daniels also points out Kima got shot because it meant something to her, and the people responsible are still at large, so he tells [=McNulty=] to get his ass in gear.

D'Angelo is in the Pit with Bodie and Poot, and they're complaining about not having a re-up when Stringer comes up to them. He asks for their pagers, and they hand the pagers over. Stringer gives the three of them cell phones, and instructs them to only use them to call three numbers he gives them (one for re-ups, one for muscle, and one for Stringer in case of an emergency), to not say anything over the phone, to destroy the paper with the numbers once they've memorized them, and to not call anyone else or to give the numbers out. D'Angelo still doesn't quite get it, so Stringer tells him [[Recap/TheWireS01E11TheHunt the police took the main stash.]] Stringer storms off as D'Angelo looks on, stunned.

In the detail office, Lester helps Shardene put on contact lenses as Herc and Sydnor look on. [=McNulty=] comes in, and Lester confirms there's been no activity on the phones since the stash was taken, so Prez is in Annapolis pulling [[ChekhovsGun state campaign finance reports]]. [=McNulty=] says the cops need to change up, and Lester takes that opportunity to introduce him to Shardene; he says Shardene's going to wear a wire (with Rhonda's approval), now that she's can match names to faces. Shardene is scared, but Lester assures her she'll be fine. She asks for a cup of coffee, and Lester fends off Sydnor by saying he'll get it.

Avon, Levy and Stringer are in Orlando's. Levy tells Avon he needs to take stock of his situation, and check to see where he needs [[TitleDrop cleaning up]]. Levy starts by saying they should ditch the club, since Avon's not on the license. Avon wants to know when the heat started on him, and Stringer guesses [[Recap/TheWireS01E01TheTarget it was when D'Angelo beat the murder charge]]. Levy reminds them of Nakeesha, and that they need to think of anyone who could turn on them, which he takes as his cue to leave. When he does, Stringer brings up [[Recap/TheWireS01E07OneArrest Bird]] and [[Recap/TheWireS01E11TheHunt Wee-Bey]], but Avon's not worried about either of them, he's also not worried about Savino, and Little Man was taken care of. Avon wonders, "Who else?"

Daniels is in Burrell's office, and Burrell tells him since the wire's cold, it's time to close the case. Daniels says since he has 90 days, he's going to do 90 days. Burrell laughs and says if he wants to listen to nothing, that's his funeral, but he has to give up manpower. He lets Daniels keep "that old detective from Pawn Shop" and "Valchek's brain-dead son-in-law", but Santangelo and Sydnor have to come back. Burrell also adds he needs Daniels to brief him first if Daniels wants to do anything beyond listening to silent pay phones, and adds Daniels could take over in the Northwest Command in a few months if he plays his cards right. Daniels says nothing.

Rhonda meets with her boss, State's Attorney Steven Demper (Doug Roberts), and tells him about the bug they're looking in to putting in Orlando's. Demper wants to know about the campaign finance reports being pulled, and Rhonda has no idea what he's talking about. Demper's chief aide tells her about the reports being pulled, along with background checks and calls to contributors. Rhonda truthfully says no one's approached her for a subpoena on that. Demper gives her a folder and says, just so there's no misunderstanding, he's returning campaign contributions from five separate people whose names he doesn't know, just so everything's above board. Rhonda is still stunned.

D'Angelo is in Orlando's with Avon and Stringer in their office, and they ask him about Wallace. D'Angelo tells them Wallace is out of the game, and he means no disrespect, but they should let him be. Stringer tries to press the point, but D'Angelo is adamant, and leaves. As he's walking away, he passes Shardene, who's fiddling with her hair...

...and in a surveillance van outside, Lester winces at the feedback. He also yells at Herc and Sydnor to stop talking about the chili dogs they're eating. Lester finally hears talk of a drug deal, but not much of it. Shardene says she's leaving early because she worked lunch.

Two uniform cops find Nakeesha, dead.

Lester says Shardene is out, didn't get enough they could use, and there's no good reason for her to be in Avon's office. Just then, Shardene knocks on the van door, comes in, and says she can't take it anymore. Lester assures her they no longer need her to wear a wire, but he does want her to do one last thing.

Wallace returns to the Pit, and Bodie and Poot greet him, but D'Angelo is unhappy. They talk about life in the country for a while, and then Wallace asks if he can be put back on the money. Bodie says Wallace needs to start on the bottom, and D'Angelo says he can go back on the money if he wants, but might want to consider school. D'Angelo then tells Wallace they should take a walk.

Bunk is over at the detail office, telling them about Nakeesha's murder, and "Garvey" is working the case, but he's deliberately avoiding mentioning the fact she was a witness. Daniels wants to know why she's been killed now, and Lester and [=McNulty=] agree Avon's cleaning house. [[OhCrap Daniels and Lester realize Wallace is in danger]] just as Bunk asks about him. Daniels said they were supposed to pick him up, but with Kima getting shot, they forgot. Daniels gets a state trooper on the phone, and asks him to check on Wallace. While he's on hold, Daniels orders [=McNulty=] to get Sydnor to get a car from the motor pool. When [=McNulty=] takes off, Daniels asks about Shardene. Lester says she's got heart, but Daniels means he wants her protected. Lester says she can stay with him. Daniels tells him to remember who he is.

[[WalkAndTalk As they walk through the Pit]], D'Angelo tells Wallace he should get out of the game, and he stirred up shit by leaving. Wallace says he appreciates what D'Angelo is doing for him, but he only knows the west side. As D'Angelo tells Wallace he needs to "play it tight" if he wants back in the game, and keep his mouth shut, a car pulls up. It's Brianna Barksdale (Michael Hyatt), D'Angelo's mother. D'Angelo eagerly greets her, especially when she gives him his favorite fishcakes. He kisses her hand, and she drives off.

Daniels walks into a conference room, where Burrell and [[Recap/TheWireS01E07OneArrest Clay Davis]] are sitting. Burrell brings up the fact someone's pulling campaign finance reports, and Davis, all charm, assures Daniels he's not involved in drugs. Daniels says that's good. Burrell brings up Day-Day, and Davis, still pouring on the charm, says it was all a misunderstanding, and Day-Day was bringing legitimate money from a fundraiser. Daniels is willing to go along with this as well, but maintains his people had enough probable cause to search Day-Day's car. Davis finally drops his facade, and tells Burrell to "tell this motherfucker just what the fuck it is he's doing there." Burrell starts to explain, trying to be diplomatic, but Daniels says if Davis isn't involved in any wrongdoing, he has nothing to worry about. Davis says he doesn't look into the backgrounds of his campaign donors, and doesn't care who his money's coming from, but Daniels interrupts, asking if there's anything else, and when he gets silence in response, leaves. Once he does, a furious Davis orders Burrell to punish Daniels severely.

In the detail office, Herc celebrates passing the sergeant's exam, and goes to lord it over Carver, whose score he beat. Daniels and Lester both shake their head over that news, but Daniels is interrupted by a phone call from the state trooper her called earlier, and gets the news Wallace has left his grandmother's. Daniels thanks him and hangs up.

In the Pit, Bodie is still waiting for the re-up when he sees Stringer pull up. He gets into Stringer's SUV, and after they exchange pleasantries, Stringer asks about Wallace. Bodie says he's back on the money, and Stringer, acting surprised, said he heard Wallace was out, and that Wallace [[Recap/TheWireS01E06TheWire hasn't been the same since seeing Brandon's dead body.]] Bodie confirms this, and Stringer asks if Bodie's willing to "put in the work". Bodie nods, and also says he has "heat", so Stringer says, "All right, soldier," and sends him away.

That night, Daniels and [=McNulty=] look for Wallace at his place, but he isn't there. At another squat area, Poot and Wallace bring food to Wallace's siblings.

At the detail office, Sydnor tells Daniels he drove around where Wallace's grandmother lives, but found no sign of Wallace, and [=McNulty=] adds the district cops have his photo and are on the lookout for him. Santangelo comes by, and Daniels, after explaining why Santangelo is leaving (and adding Sydnor gets to stay because his old boss owes Daniels a favor), and [=McNulty=] say goodbye to him. After he leaves, Lester spreads out blueprints of Orlando's, and says Shardene's going to help them out in a big way. Herc wants to know if they're simply going to use a tape measure. Lester asks if any of them know how to learn a thirty-inch quick time, and if anyone's been in the military. No one knows what he's talking about, and disgusted, Lester says, "[[CrowningMomentOfFunny Bunch of draft-dodging peace freaks, huh?]]" Lester orders Herc to get a ruler and some string; Herc is upset, but does so.

In the Pit, Poot is trying to tell Bodie that Wallace isn't a snitch, but Bodie wants to know how sure he is about that, and that it doesn't matter, because Stringer gave the order, and they need to step up or step off.

Rhonda comes into the detail office, tells Daniels about her meeting with Demper, and asks what they're up to. Daniels motions Lester to come in, and Lester says he's looking at where Avon's got his money. He guesses the folder she's holding is money Demper is returning. Rhonda wants to know why Lester didn't say anything, and Lester says she's better off not knowing anything. Rhonda walks out, sees Herc watching Shardene (who's counting off steps), and leaves.

Bodie and Poot have taken Wallace to a fast food place, and Wallace talks about a place his mother used to take him. Bodie gets on his case for being like a kid, but Wallace says they don't have to be hard all the time, and when Bodie asks if he's a boy or a man, assures him he's the latter.

Shardene knocks on a van outside of Orlando's, and once she gets in, she tells Lester how many steps are from the office to other places. Lester says they're going into a vacant building next to Orlando's.

Bodie, Poot and Wallace get out of a cab near an abandoned building.

In the vacant next to Orlando's, Herc is drilling a hole, and Lester tells him to keep it down, and that the hole doesn't need to be that big. Herc starts to make a joke about that when [=McNulty=] bursts in, saying he has an address for Wallace's mother. After making sure he's not needed there, Daniels takes off with [=McNulty=].

Wallace calls for the kids he was with earlier, and Bodie and Poot follow. Poot stops, not wanting to get involved, but Bodie motions him to come along, and reluctantly, Poot obeys. Wallace goes into an empty room, talking about what he's going to do with the kids when he finds them when Bodie, no longer able to wait, pulls his gun out and aims it at Wallace. Wallace starts to cry, and Bodie tells him he should have stayed in the country. Wallace pleads for Bodie not to do it, and though Bodie tells him to be a man, he can't quite bring himself to squeeze the trigger. Finally, he does, and he hits Wallace in the chest. As Wallace falls against the wall, moaning, Poot comes up to Bodie, grabs the gun out of his hand (which is shaking), and shoots two more in Wallace's head, killing him. Bodie leaves, and Poot follows after taking one last look at Wallace.

Daniels and [=McNulty=] are at Wallace's mother's apartment, and she's more concerned about the money Wallace stole from him than the fact he's missing. [=McNulty=] gives her his card, and she slams the door in his face.

Avon goes into his office at Orlando's with a couple of his men. At the abandoned building next door, Lester and Prez are watching Avon through the camera, and Prez, dispirited, figures out Avon is packing things up. Avon's men measure the safe.

Bodie's at a pay phone, telling a girl to call 911 and saying an animal has been hurt at the address he gives her.

Back at Avon's office, D'Angelo enters, and Avon tells him to do the New York run. D'Angelo says he's never done that before, but Avon says they need to maintain, and he doesn't have anyone else he can trust to do it but D'Angelo. Avon orders him to do it that night, and as they make plans, Lester calls up [=McNulty=] to tell him the news.

Bunk has caught Wallace's murder, and curses when he recognizes him.

Daniels points out a rental car to Herc and Sydnor, and Herc congratulates Daniels on how much suction he has with the FBI. As Sydnor goes to put a tracer underneath the rental car, Daniels gets a phone call, and from the expression on his face, [=McNulty=] figures out Wallace is dead.

At the building next to Orlando's, Prez finishes eating his chicken dinner, and puts the bones in the garbage on top of a newspaper. Lester sees the headline about a rehab project promising $250 million in development grants, and grabs the paper out of the garbage can.

Daniels and [=McNulty=] are in an SUV, talking about Wallace; Daniels says, "Poor kid," while [=McNulty=] is also worried they now have nothing they can tie to Stringer. They see D'Angelo, who's changed his clothes, come out of his apartment and get into the rental car. Daniels radios Sydnor, tells him they're on, and they don't need an "eyeball" since they have satellite tracking. Some time later, a state trooper has pulled D'Angelo over, and D'Angelo says he's being profiled, but stops when the trooper asks why he only drove to New York for half an hour. Just as the trooper is patting D'Angelo down, [=McNulty=] pulls up.

Later, D'Angelo is sitting in an interrogation room when Daniels and [=McNulty=] come in. D'Angelo says over and over he's not saying anything without a lawyer, even though Daniels says they have him with half a kilo of cocaine, and [=McNulty=] points out D'Angelo did nothing wrong, but will still get the blame. D'Angelo takes it all in stride, still asking for a lawyer. Daniels and [=McNulty=] make to leave, but on his way out, [=McNulty=] tells D'Angelo about Wallace. D'Angelo is sure [=McNulty=] is lying, but his face falls.

At her house, Brianna chews out Avon for having D'Angelo make the run at all, let alone without any protection. She says Levy needs to earn his money, and Avon reminds Briana D'Angelo needs to step up or they'll all go down. Brianna says they don't have to worry about D'Angelo...

...but in a meeting room at the jail, D'Angelo, still in shock, is with Stringer and Levy, who don't believe him when he claims it wasn't his fault. Levy tries to assure D'Angelo as long as he keeps his head during the bail hearing, he can come home, but D'Angelo snaps, "Then what?", and wonders who's going to take the weight for the drugs in the car. Stringer doesn't say anything.

->'''D'Angelo:''' Where's Wallace at? Where's the boy, String?
->'''Stringer:''' D'Angelo, shut your mouth.
->'''D'Angelo:''' Where's Wallace? That's all I wanna know.
->'''Levy:''' Kid, you better think.
->'''D'Angelo:''' [[TearJerker Where the fuck is Wallace? Huh? String! String! Look at me!]] (''louder'') [[TearJerker LOOK AT ME! WHERE THE FUCK IS WALLACE? HUH?]] (''as a guard moves to restrain him'') I don't want this Pay-Less motherfucker representing me. I'm gonna get my own man, all right? So just get back in your car, and get the fuck back down south.
->'''Stringer:''' All right, you stupid motherfucker. You made your decision.

As Levy and Stringer walk out, D'Angelo continues to yell, "Where's Wallace?!?"

In Burrell's office, he tells Daniels to bring Avon in, and it's all over. Daniels says they could stay on the bug they have in Avon's, and Burrell brings up the fact Daniels never told him about it. Daniels retorts he thought Burrell had a mole who kept him in the loop, and brings up the fact he's trying to make the case against those who were responsible for Kima getting shot. Burrell reminds him they're hunting Kima's shooters, and they now have a viable case on Avon they can end the case on. Daniels points out Stringer has nothing on him, and he wants to make a real case on Avon, not the penny-ante charge Burrell wants to make. Burrell asks again about the money trail they're following, and Daniels says it's part of the case. Burrell threatens to [[NoodleIncident expose Daniels' past indiscretions while he was in the Eastern]], but while Daniels blinks at that, and agrees to arrest Avon on this charge, says he knows there were a lot of stories, and if Burrell was going to destroy him, he'd do it already, because he's afraid of a bad headline. As Daniels leaves, he says he's staying on the case.

A [=SWAT=] team gathers around Orlando's, and Avon, watching from his office, cracks up at the show of force they're making as Stringer hangs up. He tells Avon Levy is meeting them at the police station. Avon complains that he couldn't get the safe out of the office, and Stringer opens it up.

Outside, Daniels and [=McNulty=] also are incredulous about the [=SWAT=] team, and they agree to arrest Avon together. They get out of their car, walk up to Orlando's, and Daniels, after telling the [=SWAT=] team to step back, knocks on the door. One of Avon's bodyguards opens it, and Daniels and [=McNulty=] march upstairs. Once they reach the office, Daniels cuffs Avon, and [=McNulty=] looks for weapons. Stringer turns around, waiting to be cuffed, but [=McNulty=] tells him, "Catch you later," and Stringer looks surprised. As Daniels leads Avon down the stairs, he looks at [=McNulty=], who's still at the top of the stairs, and after a long pause, [=McNulty=] follows.

At the detail office, Lester is studying the newspaper he fished out of the trash. Sydnor tells them Avon's been arrested, and Lester puts a note up under his picture on the bulletin board. As the two of them, and Prez, look at the board, Sydnor says, "[[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming This is the best work I ever did. I never did a case like this. But it's not enough. I gotta go back to auto tomorrow morning. I just feel like this just ain't finished.]]" Lester shakes his hand and thanks him.

We see the Pit, completely deserted.

This episode contains examples of:

* LampshadedDoubleEntendre: When Lester volunteers to let Shardene stay with him so she can be safe, and Daniels says to remember who he is, Lester responds, "Protect and serve, Lieutenant."

* GenreSavvy: Avon makes Stringer open his safe when he sees the cops so they don't break it trying to open it.

->'''Wallace:''' [[TearJerker Where the fuck is Wallace? Huh? String! String! Look at me!]] (''louder'') [[TearJerker LOOK AT ME! WHERE THE FUCK IS WALLACE? HUH?]] (''as a guard moves to restrain him'') I don't want this Pay-Less motherfucker representing me. I'm gonna get my own man, all right? So just get back in your car, and get the fuck back down south.

[[WalkAndTalk As they walk through the Pit], D'Angelo tells Wallace he should get out of the game, and he stirred up shit by leaving. Wallace says he appreciates what D'Angelo is doing for him, but he only knows the west side. As D'Angelo tells Wallace he needs to "play it tight" if he wants back in the game, and keep his mouth shut, a car pulls up. It's Brianna Barksdale (Michael Hyatt), D'Angelo's mother. D'Angelo eagerly greets her, especially when she gives him his favorite fishcakes. He kisses her hand, and she drives off.

* ShoutOut: When [=McNulty=] and Daniels see the [=SWAT=] team ready to converge on Avon, [=McNulty=] wonders if they think [[Film/{{Scarface 1983}} Tony Montana]] is up there.

* ShoutOut: When [=McNulty=] and Daniels see the [=SWAT=] team ready to converge on Avon, [=McNulty=] wonders if they think [[Film/{{Scarface 1983]] Tony Montana]] is up there.

We see the Pit, completely deserted.

At the detail office, Lester is studying the newspaper he fished out of the trash. Sydnor tells them Avon's been arrested, and Lester puts a note up under his picture on the bulletin board. As the two of them, and Prez, look at the board, Sydnor says, "[[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming This is the best work I ever did. I never did a case like this. But it's not enough. I gotta go back to auto tomorrow morning. I just feel like this just ain't finished." Lester shakes his hand and thanks him.

Daniels and [=McNulty=] are in an SUV, talking about Wallace; Daniels says, "Poor kid," while [=McNulty=] is also worried they now have nothing they can tie to Stringer. They see D'Angelo, who's changed his clothes, come out of his apartment and get into the rental car. Daniels radios Sydnor, tells him they're on, and they don't need an "eyeball" since they have satellite tracking.

Bodie and Poot have taken Wallace to a fast food place, and Wallace talks about a place his mother used to take him. Bodie gets on his case for being like a kid, but Wallace says they don't have to be hard all the time, and when Bodie asks if he's a boy or a man, assures him he's the latter.

Daniels walks into a conference room, where Burrell and [[Recap/TheWireS01E07OneArrest Clay Davis]] are sitting. Burrell brings up the fact someone's pulling campaign finance reports, and Davis, all charm, assures Daniels he's not involved in drugs. Daniels says that's good. Burrell brings up Day-Day, and Davis, still pouring on the charm, says it was all a misunderstanding, and Day-Day was bringing legitimate money from a fundraiser. Daniels is willing to go along with this as well, but maintains his people had enough probable cause to search Day-Day's car. Davis finally drops his facade, and tells Burrell to "tell this motherfucker just what the fuck it is he's doing there." Burrell starts to explain, trying to be diplomatic, but Daniels says if Davis isn't involved in any wrongdoing, he has nothing to worry about. Davis says he doesn't look into the backgrounds of his campaign donors, and doesn't care who his money's coming from, but Daniels interrupts, asking if there's anything else, and when he gets silence in response, leaves. Once he does, a furious Davis orders Burrell to punish Daniels severely.

D'Angelo is in Orlando's with Avon and Stringer, who ask him about Wallace. D'Angelo tells them Wallace is out of the game, and he means no disrespect, but they should let him be. Stringer tries to press the point, but D'Angelo is adamant, and leaves.

D'Angelo is in the Pit with Bodie and Poot, and they're complaining about not having a re-up when Stringer comes up to them. He asks for their pagers, and they hand the pagers over. Stringer gives the three of them cell phones, and instructs them to only use them to call three numbers he gives them (one for re-ups, one for muscle, and one for Stringer in case of an emergency), to not say anything over the phone, to destroy the paper with the numbers once they've memorized them, and to not call anyone else or to give the numbers out. D'Angelo still doesn't quite get it, so Stringer tells him [[Recap/TheWireS01E11TheHunt the police took the main stash.]] Stringer storms off as D'Angelo looks on, stunned.