The Wire’s landscape is thick with men almost desperate to reach back and snatch some kid from the vortex.
Carver is one several cops and ex-cops taking an extracurricular interest in individual kids on the street.
The quartet of eighth-grade boys at the center of The Wire have their own way of dealing with bad police.
Carcetti is keen to meddle, but knows what to leave be.
The cat-and-mouse isn’t much of a contest at this point.
Allying with rivals to thwart a third party is the cold calculus of the city’s politicians as well.
Varied as the street characters are, their African-American counterparts in the police department are just as individualized.
Joe may still get backed into a corner, but the big guy seems smart enough to talk his way out and get back to business as usual.