In his office, Burrell is telling Foerster and Rawls that the mayor isn't going to say anything publicly about Gant. Daniels enters, and Foerster tells him that Phelan called that day to tell them about Gant's murder. Daniels asks whether the judge said how he heard it, and whether or not Phelan dropped the name, everyone knows it's McNulty, OBVIOUSLY. Daniels, looking constipated, shifts in his seat. Rawls announces that he's fine "giving that asshole up at this point: "I don't need people I can't trust." Burrell agrees. Rawls adds that if the media get hold of Gant, it'll turn into a total clusterfuck. Burrell says that they need to reassure Phelan to keep him off his soapbox: "An arrest or two would help," he adds pointedly, in Daniels's direction. Daniels works his jaw, and then asks, "What if it's true? What if Barksdale did order the murder of a state's witness?" What kind of crazy police talk is that, oh my god! Foerster's like, "Zip it!" Rawls drawls that there's no reason to do it after the testimony's been heard, and Daniels suggests that it's payback. Rawls deems that theory "bullshit." Daniels starts to say he knows that Gant could have been killed for myriad reasons, but before he can get to his Occam's Razor-y point, Burrell exposits that there's "no money pretrial, no Witness Protection Program": "This is a poor fucking city, gentlemen. The last thing we ever need to do is announce we lost a witness." And the people who'll be most directly affected by the message Gant's death sends...kind of already know about it anyway and wouldn't need to read about it in the paper. Rawls says that they need to pull McNulty off the case. Daniels asks who caught Gant's murder and, learning that it was Bunk, says they'd have to pull him, too. Burrell says that neither of them is getting pulled anywhere, or Phelan will throw a shit fit. He says they need to let McNulty take his best shot, "and hope to hell he comes up short." Right, but can someone explain to me why it's in anyone's interest for McNulty NOT to close this case? Fucking chain of command.