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Duck and Cover (The Wire episode)
Encyclopedia
"Duck and Cover" is the eighth episode of the second season of the HBO original series, The Wire
. The episode was written by George Pelecanos
from a story by David Simon
& George Pelecanos and was directed by Dan Attias
. It originally aired on July 20, 2003.
, Frankie Faison
, Wood Harris
and Andre Royo
do not appear in this episode. This is notable for being the first episode where Idris Elba does not appear.
deals with the disappointment of his failed reconciliation with his wife by returning to his old drinking habits. He gets drunk and tries to drive home from the bar. When he crashes into a bridge abutment while turning a corner he refuses to believe he misjudged the turn, reverses back and hits it again, cutting his hand. He then gets some food at a diner and ends up having a one-night stand with the waitress. He wakes up the next morning hung over, with the cut in his hand having bled onto the bed.
He spends another evening drinking with Bunk Moreland
at the train yard. He asks about the detail and admits wanting to work with them again. He can't express his feelings but seems to want to say without a case to work or his family he is worthless.
By the end of the episode, McNulty finds his way on the case he has worked on as part of his personal moral crusade since the beginning of the season.
and they give her a report on their case to date. Their investigation of phone logs from George "Double G" Glekas' warehouse links to "White" Mike McArdle, Petey Dixon and Proposition Joe
. Kima Greggs
' photos confirm the link. They have identified Sergei "Serge" Malatov and tracked his cell phone through his truck rental paperwork. His phone records show that he calls the warehouse every day that a container goes missing.
Lieutenant Cedric Daniels
introduces Thomas "Herc" Hauk and Ellis Carver
's linking of Nick Sobotka
to the drug dealer Frog, which they have falsely reported as being obtained from an informant. Pearlman admits there is probable cause for wiretaps on Sergei's cell phone and the warehouse phone and checks their efforts to prove exhaustion. Pearlman checks over their paper work and takes it to the duty judge. The judge signs off on the request but has Herc and Carver move and install an air conditioner and wash his windows in exchange.
Lester Freamon
and Bunk appeal to Daniels to help McNulty by going back to Colonel William Rawls
. Rawls again tells Daniels no on McNulty's transfer. Daniels then brings up his agreement to take on investigating the murders and Rawls capitulates based on the hope that Daniels can clear his homicides. Daniels calls McNulty to let him know he is back.
In a scheme to recover the $1,250 Carver lost on the destroyed wireless mic, Herc gets his cousin Bernard to pose for photos as their fake informant, Fuzzy Dunlop. (The fake name was likely inspired by Herc and Carver's misadventures with the bug-in-a-tennis-ball in the previous episode.) Bernard insists on 10% of the CI payments. Carver hands the paperwork to Daniels who balks at the name and high price but signs it anyway. Herc and Carver grin over the success of the scheme.
Pearlman meets with Greggs and Bunk to discuss how to proceed with the investigation of the vice aspect of the smuggling. They tell her that they have found that the same company owns the warehouse and the apartments. They speculate that the apartments are being used as a cat house. They decide they need someone to go undercover to infiltrate the apartment as a john. No one seems like a good fit for the job, until McNulty shows up for duty for the first time and—much to the amusement of the rest of the detail—becomes the obvious choice.
Greggs and McNulty set up surveillance of the parking garage at the apartment building. They pull over one of the johns and get him to explain how to contact the madam. They also note the girls are being driven in via panel truck.
Beadie Russell
, Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski and Freamon notice another potential container theft from the docks - a Transco lines ship with Thomas "Horseface" Pakusa working as checker. This time the surveillance work runs in combination with the wiretaps and the detail tracks the container to the warehouse. When Frank Sobotka
sends out a second container (a clean decoy), McNulty rushes to tail it. Beady Russell arranges to slow down the rig with a fictitious traffic stop, until McNulty can get into position.
The stevedores continue to mock Ziggy Sobotka
, egging him on to retaliate against Maui's taunting. When he eventually does, the sucker punch is pathetic—Maui easily bests him, pins him down and has a forklift bring them to the top of a two-story container. Maui throws him on the top and warns the laughing stevedores not to rescue Ziggy from his predicament. Ziggy curses the other stevedores, yelling "You gave me bad advice!"
When Horseface reports the fight to Frank Sobotka, Sobotka is more worried about their month-end finances than his son's latest screw-up. He goes to pay his 90-day overdue cellphone bill but learns that his account is "flagged" to not be cut off—a possible cue that law enforcement is monitoring their activity. Horseface dismisses this as paranoia. Later, Sabotka spots Greggs on the docks when she is posing as an engineer to watch the smuggling operation. His suspicions are raised enough to ask after Beatrice Russell and he learns she lied when she told him she was transferring to Fairfield—the other port authority officers tell him she is detailed to the Baltimore City police. He decides to send out a clean container to test the waters. Sobotka notices the container being stopped and goes to call the Greek but realizes his cell phone is unsafe. He uses the untapped office phone to set up a meeting with The Greek
.
Frank meets with his brother Louis and offers him a position with the port advisory board—a position that was clearly made available to Louis after Frank made a generous contribution. Louis refuses the offer saying it's not for him. He insists that everything he has comes straight. Frank tries to claim the only difference between them is that he chose the right union but Louis disagrees. Frank is infuriated that Louis has a sense of moral superiority over his choices.
Ziggy buys a duck from a neighborhood man who keeps birds. He meets with his cousin Nick and admires his new car. Nick asks him about his fight with Maui and can't hide his amusement. Ziggy takes the duck to Delores' bar, entertaining the other stevedores with duck jokes, and the bird's propensity to drink whiskey and beer on top of the bar.
At the warehouse George "Double G" Glekas and Sergei unload the clean container and angrily phone Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos
at the cafe. The police trace the call and recognize it as the same number that Frank dialed. Vondas instructs Sergei to dump the container and McNulty follows it far enough to make sure, but is then recalled by Daniels.
Frank drinks with Nick and discusses their problems with the investigation. He asks Nick to accompany him to the meeting. The Greek is impressed by Frank's caution, suggesting they only move clean containers for a while. Nick and Frank insist that they must still be paid in full for moving the containers and The Greek agrees to their terms because he expects them to continue to do good business in the future.
and Poot Carr
walk through their territory bemoaning the lack of trade because of their weak product. Puddin has a similar story from the towers. Later they notice an independent crew dealing on their territory with far more success than they have been getting.
Bodie and Poot organize a crew to strike back against the dealers on their territory. They make an early start and beat them to their corner. When the other crew arrive they successfully drive them away but expect retaliation.
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
. The episode was written by George Pelecanos
George Pelecanos
George P. Pelecanos is a Greek-American author. Many of his works are in the genre of detective fiction and set primarily in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He is also a film and television producer and a television writer...
from a story by David Simon
David Simon
David Simon is an American author, journalist, and a writer/producer of television series. He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years. He wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood with Ed Burns...
& George Pelecanos and was directed by Dan Attias
Dan Attias
Daniel Attias is an American television director and producer. Attias' career has spanned three decades and during this time he has directed a significant number of popular primetime television programs, including Miami Vice and Beverly Hills, 90210...
. It originally aired on July 20, 2003.
Title reference
The title refers in part to Ziggy's pet duck. It also refers to Frank's realization that the docks are under surveillance and to the coverup measures he has to take. This could also be seen as a warning call to surrounding characters or the audience of McNulty's actions after his failed reconciliation with his ex-wife.Epigraph
Ziggy's question as to why ducks don't leave their cages when they are free to do so. The reason being that their wings are clipped. A metaphor for many of the groups in The Wire, and the individuals that find themselves in some way caged - the stevedores, the illegal immigrants, D'Angelo, the police, the corner boys.Non-fiction elements
Ziggy references Stephen L. Miles, a Baltimore lawyer remembered by locals due to the local-run late night commercial advertising his firm.Starring cast
Although credited, Idris ElbaIdris Elba
Idrissa Akuna "Idris" Elba is a British television, theatre, and film actor. He has starred in both British and American productions. Elba grew up in Canning Town, East London. One of his first acting roles was in the soap opera Family Affairs. He has worked in a variety of TV roles including ...
, Frankie Faison
Frankie Faison
Frankie Russel Faison , often credited as Frankie R. Faison, is an American actor.-Personal life:Faison was born in Newport News, Virginia, the son of Carmena and Edgar Faison. He studied drama at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, where he joined Theta Chi Fraternity...
, Wood Harris
Wood Harris
Sherwin David "Wood" Harris is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on the HBO television drama The Wire, and as high-school football player Julius Campbell in the 2000 motion picture Remember the Titans.-Life and career:Harris was born in...
and Andre Royo
Andre Royo
Andre Royo is an American actor. He is best known for his role as "Bubbles" in The Wire , and has had guest starring appearances in Fringe, Party Down, and How To Make It In America.-Career:...
do not appear in this episode. This is notable for being the first episode where Idris Elba does not appear.
Guest stars
- Seth GilliamSeth GilliamSeth Gilliam is an American actor. He is known for his HBO television roles, first as corrections officer-turned-prisoner Clayton Hughes on Oz, and later as Baltimore police detective promoted to sergeant Ellis Carver on The Wire. On both of these series, he co-starred with Lance Reddick and J.D....
as Detective Ellis CarverEllis CarverEllis Carver is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Seth Gilliam. Carver is an African American lieutenant and formerly in command of the Baltimore Police Department's Western District Drug Enforcement Unit... - Domenick LombardozziDomenick LombardozziDomenico "Domenick" Lombardozzi is an American actor best known for his role as Thomas "Herc" Hauk on The Wire. Lombardozzi was inspired to act by the film State of Grace.-Filmography:...
as Detective Thomas "Herc" Hauk - Jim True-FrostJim True-FrostJim True-Frost, born Jim True, is an American stage, television and screen actor. He is most known for his portrayal of Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski on all five seasons of the HBO program The Wire.-Biography:...
as Detective Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski - James RansoneJames RansoneJames Ransone is an American actor and former musician from Baltimore, Maryland. He is best known for his roles as Ziggy Sobotka in the second season of HBO's The Wire, and Corporal Josh Ray Person in the Iraq War-based mini-series Generation Kill...
as Ziggy SobotkaZiggy SobotkaChester Karol "Ziggy" Sobotka is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor James Ransone. Though his father Frank Sobotka was a well-respected stevedore union leader, Ziggy's often reckless and juvenile behavior gained him little respect among other members of the union and... - Pablo SchreiberPablo SchreiberPablo Tell Schreiber is an American actor known for his dramatic stage work and for his portrayal of the Polish-American character Nick Sobotka on HBO's Baltimore drug-related crime drama The Wire. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in Awake and Sing! on Broadway...
as Nick SobotkaNick SobotkaNickolas Andrew "Nick" Sobotka is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Pablo Schreiber. the character of Nick is cousin to, Ziggy Sobotka, the wayward and rebellious son to his uncle Frank Sobotka... - Robert HoganRobert J. HoganRobert J. Hogan is an American actor. While not a stranger to the big screen or the stage, Hogan is best known to audiences for his highly prolific career in American television which began in 1961...
as Louis Sobotka - Bill RaymondBill RaymondBill Raymond is an actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre since the 1960s.-Life and career:He featured in the second and fifth seasons of the HBO drama The Wire as "The Greek", the mysterious head of an international criminal organization. Other TV appearances include Miami Vice,...
as The GreekThe Greek (The Wire)The Greek is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Bill Raymond. The Greek is the head of an international criminal organization involved in narcotics and human trafficking.... - J.D. Williams as Preston "Boadie" BroadusBodie BroadusPreston "Bodie" Broadus is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor J. D. Williams. Bodie is initially a Barksdale organization drug dealer in "The Pit" who slowly rises through the ranks...
- Chris AshworthChris AshworthChristopher Michael Ashworth , better known as simply Chris Ashworth, is an American actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Sergei Malatov on The Wire...
as Sergei "Serge" Malatov - Ted Feldman as George "Double G" Glekas
- Jeffrey Fugitt as Officer Claude Diggins
- Lance Irwin as Maui
- Charley ScaliesCharley ScaliesCharlie Scalies is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Thomas "Horseface" Pakusa, one of the stevedores and union members on the second season of HBO's The Wire. He has also appeared in TV shows Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order, and The Sopranos.- External links :...
as Thomas "Horseface" Pakusa - Kelvin Davis as La La
- Bus Howard as Vernon "Ott" Mottley
- Richard Pelzman as Little Big Roy
- Jeffrey Pratt Gordon as Johnny "Fifty" Spamanto
- J. Valenteen Gregg as Chess
Uncredited appearances
- De'Rodd Hearns as Puddin
- Tray ChaneyTray ChaneyTray Chaney is an American actor. He appeared on the HBO program The Wire as Poot Carr.Chaney began his entertainment career as a dancer at the age of four winning competitions at the Apollo Theater. He appeared in the 2003 music video "My Baby" by rap artist Bow Wow. He later appeared in The Wire...
as Malik "Poot" CarrPoot CarrMalik "Poot" Carr is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Tray Chaney. Poot is a drug dealer in the Barksdale Organization who slowly rises through the ranks, but ends up serving time in prison as his institution collapses around him... - Luray Cooper as Nat Coxson
- Bill Heneghan as Maryland Port Authority Commander
- Kevin Jiggets as Frommers
- Lisa Bullock as Waitress
- Billy Finnigan as Bernand AKA "Fuzzy Dunlop"
- Dan Garrett as Gus the Bartender
McNulty
Jimmy McNultyJimmy McNulty
Detective James "Jimmy" McNulty is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by British actor Dominic West. McNulty is an Irish American detective in the Baltimore Police Department...
deals with the disappointment of his failed reconciliation with his wife by returning to his old drinking habits. He gets drunk and tries to drive home from the bar. When he crashes into a bridge abutment while turning a corner he refuses to believe he misjudged the turn, reverses back and hits it again, cutting his hand. He then gets some food at a diner and ends up having a one-night stand with the waitress. He wakes up the next morning hung over, with the cut in his hand having bled onto the bed.
He spends another evening drinking with Bunk Moreland
Bunk Moreland
William "Bunk" Moreland is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Wendell Pierce. Bunk's character is based on a retired Baltimore City Police Detective named Rick Requer and nicknamed "the Bunk", an officer who joined the force in 1964 as a Western District patrolman who...
at the train yard. He asks about the detail and admits wanting to work with them again. He can't express his feelings but seems to want to say without a case to work or his family he is worthless.
By the end of the episode, McNulty finds his way on the case he has worked on as part of his personal moral crusade since the beginning of the season.
Sobotka detail
The detail meets with Assistant States Attorney Rhonda PearlmanRhonda Pearlman
Rhonda Pearlman is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actress Deirdre Lovejoy. Pearlman has been the legal system liaison for all of Lieutenant Cedric Daniels' investigations on the show...
and they give her a report on their case to date. Their investigation of phone logs from George "Double G" Glekas' warehouse links to "White" Mike McArdle, Petey Dixon and Proposition Joe
Proposition Joe
Joseph "Proposition Joe" Stewart is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Robert F. Chew. Joe is an Eastside drug kingpin who preferred a peaceful solution to business disputes when possible...
. Kima Greggs
Kima Greggs
Detective Shakima "Kima" Greggs is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actress Sonja Sohn. Greggs is a police detective in the Baltimore Police Department who is a dedicated officer and capable detective with some off-the-job issues. Openly lesbian, she has had problems...
' photos confirm the link. They have identified Sergei "Serge" Malatov and tracked his cell phone through his truck rental paperwork. His phone records show that he calls the warehouse every day that a container goes missing.
Lieutenant Cedric Daniels
Cedric Daniels
Cedric Daniels is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Lance Reddick. He is a well regarded officer in the department whose focus is on good police work and quality arrests...
introduces Thomas "Herc" Hauk and Ellis Carver
Ellis Carver
Ellis Carver is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Seth Gilliam. Carver is an African American lieutenant and formerly in command of the Baltimore Police Department's Western District Drug Enforcement Unit...
's linking of Nick Sobotka
Nick Sobotka
Nickolas Andrew "Nick" Sobotka is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Pablo Schreiber. the character of Nick is cousin to, Ziggy Sobotka, the wayward and rebellious son to his uncle Frank Sobotka...
to the drug dealer Frog, which they have falsely reported as being obtained from an informant. Pearlman admits there is probable cause for wiretaps on Sergei's cell phone and the warehouse phone and checks their efforts to prove exhaustion. Pearlman checks over their paper work and takes it to the duty judge. The judge signs off on the request but has Herc and Carver move and install an air conditioner and wash his windows in exchange.
Lester Freamon
Lester Freamon
Lester Freamon is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Clarke Peters. Freamon is a detective in the Baltimore Police Department's Major Crimes Unit...
and Bunk appeal to Daniels to help McNulty by going back to Colonel William Rawls
William Rawls
William A. "Bill" Rawls is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor John Doman. Over the course of the series he ascends to the rank of Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.-Season 1:...
. Rawls again tells Daniels no on McNulty's transfer. Daniels then brings up his agreement to take on investigating the murders and Rawls capitulates based on the hope that Daniels can clear his homicides. Daniels calls McNulty to let him know he is back.
In a scheme to recover the $1,250 Carver lost on the destroyed wireless mic, Herc gets his cousin Bernard to pose for photos as their fake informant, Fuzzy Dunlop. (The fake name was likely inspired by Herc and Carver's misadventures with the bug-in-a-tennis-ball in the previous episode.) Bernard insists on 10% of the CI payments. Carver hands the paperwork to Daniels who balks at the name and high price but signs it anyway. Herc and Carver grin over the success of the scheme.
Pearlman meets with Greggs and Bunk to discuss how to proceed with the investigation of the vice aspect of the smuggling. They tell her that they have found that the same company owns the warehouse and the apartments. They speculate that the apartments are being used as a cat house. They decide they need someone to go undercover to infiltrate the apartment as a john. No one seems like a good fit for the job, until McNulty shows up for duty for the first time and—much to the amusement of the rest of the detail—becomes the obvious choice.
Greggs and McNulty set up surveillance of the parking garage at the apartment building. They pull over one of the johns and get him to explain how to contact the madam. They also note the girls are being driven in via panel truck.
Beadie Russell
Beadie Russell
Beatrice "Beadie" Russell is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actress Amy Ryan. She was featured prominently in the second season, after she discovered thirteen corpses in a container on the Baltimore docks....
, Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski and Freamon notice another potential container theft from the docks - a Transco lines ship with Thomas "Horseface" Pakusa working as checker. This time the surveillance work runs in combination with the wiretaps and the detail tracks the container to the warehouse. When Frank Sobotka
Frank Sobotka
Francis "Frank" Sobotka is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Chris Bauer.-Biography:Frank is a respected Polish-American secretary treasurer for the International Brotherhood of Stevedores at the Baltimore docks...
sends out a second container (a clean decoy), McNulty rushes to tail it. Beady Russell arranges to slow down the rig with a fictitious traffic stop, until McNulty can get into position.
Dock business
Ziggy Sobotka
Chester Karol "Ziggy" Sobotka is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor James Ransone. Though his father Frank Sobotka was a well-respected stevedore union leader, Ziggy's often reckless and juvenile behavior gained him little respect among other members of the union and...
, egging him on to retaliate against Maui's taunting. When he eventually does, the sucker punch is pathetic—Maui easily bests him, pins him down and has a forklift bring them to the top of a two-story container. Maui throws him on the top and warns the laughing stevedores not to rescue Ziggy from his predicament. Ziggy curses the other stevedores, yelling "You gave me bad advice!"
When Horseface reports the fight to Frank Sobotka, Sobotka is more worried about their month-end finances than his son's latest screw-up. He goes to pay his 90-day overdue cellphone bill but learns that his account is "flagged" to not be cut off—a possible cue that law enforcement is monitoring their activity. Horseface dismisses this as paranoia. Later, Sabotka spots Greggs on the docks when she is posing as an engineer to watch the smuggling operation. His suspicions are raised enough to ask after Beatrice Russell and he learns she lied when she told him she was transferring to Fairfield—the other port authority officers tell him she is detailed to the Baltimore City police. He decides to send out a clean container to test the waters. Sobotka notices the container being stopped and goes to call the Greek but realizes his cell phone is unsafe. He uses the untapped office phone to set up a meeting with The Greek
The Greek (The Wire)
The Greek is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Bill Raymond. The Greek is the head of an international criminal organization involved in narcotics and human trafficking....
.
Frank meets with his brother Louis and offers him a position with the port advisory board—a position that was clearly made available to Louis after Frank made a generous contribution. Louis refuses the offer saying it's not for him. He insists that everything he has comes straight. Frank tries to claim the only difference between them is that he chose the right union but Louis disagrees. Frank is infuriated that Louis has a sense of moral superiority over his choices.
Ziggy buys a duck from a neighborhood man who keeps birds. He meets with his cousin Nick and admires his new car. Nick asks him about his fight with Maui and can't hide his amusement. Ziggy takes the duck to Delores' bar, entertaining the other stevedores with duck jokes, and the bird's propensity to drink whiskey and beer on top of the bar.
At the warehouse George "Double G" Glekas and Sergei unload the clean container and angrily phone Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos
Spiros Vondas
Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Paul Ben-Victor.-Biography:...
at the cafe. The police trace the call and recognize it as the same number that Frank dialed. Vondas instructs Sergei to dump the container and McNulty follows it far enough to make sure, but is then recalled by Daniels.
Frank drinks with Nick and discusses their problems with the investigation. He asks Nick to accompany him to the meeting. The Greek is impressed by Frank's caution, suggesting they only move clean containers for a while. Nick and Frank insist that they must still be paid in full for moving the containers and The Greek agrees to their terms because he expects them to continue to do good business in the future.
After the switch
The police dismiss the non-contraband container as a mistake, but Freamon is nevertheless pleased to have obtained the number of Vondas's phone. McNulty and Beadie go for a drink and discuss their past relationships. McNulty drives her because her car is in need of repair. While at the bar McNulty calls the number for the madam and sets up an appointment. McNulty has another drink at Beadie's home but leaves quickly when he sees pictures of her children, realizing nothing good could come out of a sexual encounter with Beadie.Barksdale organization
Bodie BroadusBodie Broadus
Preston "Bodie" Broadus is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor J. D. Williams. Bodie is initially a Barksdale organization drug dealer in "The Pit" who slowly rises through the ranks...
and Poot Carr
Poot Carr
Malik "Poot" Carr is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Tray Chaney. Poot is a drug dealer in the Barksdale Organization who slowly rises through the ranks, but ends up serving time in prison as his institution collapses around him...
walk through their territory bemoaning the lack of trade because of their weak product. Puddin has a similar story from the towers. Later they notice an independent crew dealing on their territory with far more success than they have been getting.
Bodie and Poot organize a crew to strike back against the dealers on their territory. They make an early start and beat them to their corner. When the other crew arrive they successfully drive them away but expect retaliation.