The Best Episodes Written By Rafael Alvarez

"A man must have a code." - Bunk. Tipped off by the wire, Greggs, Herc, Carver and Freamon make a bust, but the incident makes Avon and Stringer suspicious, leading them to close shop in the Pit. Meanwhile, Bunk and McNulty look for another witness in the Gant slaying and hunt a suspect known as 'Mr. Bird.'

"Just a gangster, I suppose." -- Avon Barksdale Stringer Bell gets an education in construction management; Bunk uses shoe-leather to catch up with Omar and deliver a searing message; a frustrated Colvin unleashes the troops on the corner boys, ignoring his new edict; Avon sends Cutty and Slim Charles against Marlo; Bubbles refocuses the picture for Greggs.

The murder of two Iranian American students sparks racial unrest as Crews and Reese race to rescue their kidnapped friend.

Ballard and Gharty investigate the death of a man at a laundromat. The Waterfront Bar gets ready for the Christmas holiday. Munch's ex-wife, Gwen, shows up; her mother (a literary critic and author) has died. Tim goes Christmas shopping and runs into Julianna; he invites her to come to the Waterfront's Christmas celebration. Ballard and Gharty interview the victim's girlfriend (as listed in his address book). Cox informs Ballard and Gharty that the victim was HIV positive and she also convinces Kellerman to tell Lewis and Stivers about the Mahoney videotape. Munch gets his brother to give Gwen a deal on her mother's funeral arrangements. The victim's mother knew about his HIV status and about a girlfriend he didn't use protection with, whose name didn't appear in the address book. Ballard and Gharty find this woman and find that she has full-blown, terminal AIDS, and they bring her in for questioning. Ballard feels the woman has suffered enough so she is reluctant to a get her confessi

'Don't worry, kid. You're still on the clock.' -- Horseface Russell tells Sobotka the investigation is over, but, in fact, a port computer is cloned, and when a container goes missing, the detectives follow. Simultaneously, Greggs and Prez tap into a circuit of Russian prostitutes. With two sets of evidence, the detail goes to Pearlman. Neither crime merits wiretap--but a drug connect could give the case legs.