"The Cost" is the tenth episode of the first season of The Wire. The episode was written by David Simon from a story by Simon & Ed Burns and was directed by Brad Anderson. It originally aired on August 11, 2002. After being clean for three days, Bubbles gets some strong advice from a former addict. Avon and Stringer tighten up ship following Omar's attempted hit on Avon. The detail identifies a major Barksdale stash house and an undercover operation has terrible consequences. Omar and Stringer meet for a parlay.