In the 5th episode of Countdown, Evan and Keyonte were tasked with getting any and all information on “Gallagher” (a name that Mark had seen in Mikhail’s basement); Amber and Mark searched for forensic evidence in all the places that Volchek had probably been to; and Luke looked into activity amongst Eastern European gangs. Meanwhile, Nathan followed his hunch that the Belarusian General Consul, Iosif Astapov, was in cahoots with Volchek, so much so that he orchestrated a covert mission to get into his computer system and extract all the valuable information they could get their hands on. That ended up being a huge success, and the task force not only had a relatively recent photograph of the man in the spotlight but also learned his real name: Boris Vusovich. In addition to that, they got a brief summary of how he became Volchek, which gave Nathan the impression that they were more than capable of nabbing him before he turned LA into a nuclear hellscape. But it seemed like Volchek was a few steps ahead of him, as he was already monitoring every move Nathan was making. Did the protagonists or the antagonists make any significant progress in their respective endeavors in the 6th episode of Countdown, though? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
Shawn Gallagher
Episode 6 of Countdown is essentially divided into two segments: the task force stuff and whatever Volchek is up to. There’s no real overlap between the two subplots. So, I’m going to cover the task force plotline first and then get to Volchek. Okay, the episode opens with Mark and Amber practicing at a shooting range, and the fact that their friendship and sense of camaraderie are deepening is really apparent. Then they proceed to the task force’s headquarters, where Evan reports that, based on her research on “Gallagher,” she thinks a guy named Shawn Gallagher should be their next target, largely because he used to know Timo, Mikhail’s nephew, really, really well. Mark and Amber head out to talk to Shawn’s parole officer to see where they can find him. Keyonte and Evan express their skepticism to Nathan about the reason why Astapov hasn’t made a big deal about the infiltration mission at his office. Nathan is of the opinion that maybe Astapov doesn’t want to find himself in the middle of an international scandal; hence, he is keeping things low-key so as to not attract any attention from the US or the Belarusian government. Going back to Mark and Amber, the parole officer, after a failed attempt to flirt with Amber, gives her Shawn’s address, i.e., Highland Park.
Since the parole officer’s data is a bit backdated, they don’t really find anything at that address other than a bunch of booby traps. Therefore, they move on to their next target, Wade Trippett, since he’s the one who visited Shawn when he was in jail. But this time, Luke and Keyonte are tasked with checking out the guy so that Mark and Amber can have a bit of a breather. This mini-mission takes them to Mid-Wilshire, where they corner Wade and ask him a few questions about Shawn. It’s revealed that Wade was his AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) sponsor, but they lost touch after one or both of them fell off the wagon. He also reiterates the fact that Shawn is a part of some doomsday cult. The only useful piece of information that Wade gives is that Shawn is in a part of the desert called Needles, which is apparently the “meth capital” of the state of California. Nathan orders everyone, with the exception of Evan, to head out there at the crack of dawn and nab Shawn, because that’s when he’ll supposedly be at his most vulnerable.
The Wrong Gallagher
On their way to Shawn’s location, Amber and Mark make a pit stop where the former brings up Mark’s constant headaches and asks him if he is a junkie. Mark doesn’t want to tell her the truth, or else he’ll be benched, so he turns it into a conversation about Amber’s past, where she had to become a junkie as an undercover cop, and how that junkie part of her character was hard to shed. Amber opens up to Mark like she has never opened up to anyone before regarding her trials and tribulations, but Mark continues to stick to the narrative that he is just suffering from migraines. At that point, Amber has no option but to buy whatever Mark is selling. Eventually, the task force reaches Shawn’s location, and a high-octane chase sequence ensues (which is pretty good for a TV show) as Shawn tries to get away. But he is no match for the task force, and he is caught and taken to headquarters for questioning. The interrogation goes on for such a long time that Nathan has to break out the big guns—which is basically him intimidating the hell out of Shawn—and yet, they get nothing concrete out of Shawn.
Well, that’s because he has nothing to do with the Gallagher that Volchek is associated with. This compels the task force, especially Keyonte, to not only question Mark’s mental state but also makes Mark question himself and whether or not his deteriorating physical state is causing him to see things that don’t exist in real life. It makes everyone think that they’ve just wasted a lot of time and energy on a wild-goose chase, and that angers Mark a lot. Amber manages to calm him down by giving him some medication for his headaches, thereby assuring him that he is an important member of the task force and she needs him to be at 100 percent so that they can get over this hurdle and continue with their mission. Nathan orders Evan to keep looking for places that Volchek might look to target, and he warns Keyonte to think twice before questioning his own team members’ intel, because if they start distrusting each other, they’ll never make any real progress.
Astapov Corners Volchek
Volchek is seen signing a contract worth $492,018. What’s it for? Well, it’s not exactly revealed until later on in the episode. In the meantime, we see Volchek and Andrej exiting the meeting and talking about American capitalism and how they are successfully gearing up to game the system. Andrej goes away to get some coffee, leaving Volchek in the parking lot all by himself. That’s where he is essentially ambushed by Astapov, who tells him that the Belarusian government is ready to go over his exploits once again, probably even pardon him for his “mistakes,” and strike a new deal with him. Volchek is way too offended by the fact that he has been cornered like this. Hence, he doesn’t even try to find out what Astapov is insinuating. He straight-up pretends that he doesn’t know what Astapov is talking about and claims that he has mistaken him for someone else. Astapov knows that Volchek is bluffing. So, he puts all his cards on the table and informs him that Nathan and his task force are closing in on him. Since Astapov is aware of the hack on his office’s computer system, he warns Volchek that now the task force knows what he looks like. Therefore, it’s only a matter of time before they turn this operation into a manhunt.
Given how the Belarusian government doesn’t want to sully their ties with the Americans, they have sent Astapov to avoid a potential international scandal. That prompts Volchek to drop his act and say that he’ll think about it. Astapov advises him to not take up too much time because if he has found him once, he can find him again. This really gets to an already angry Volchek, and after returning to his new headquarters (since the one in Mikhail’s basement went up in flames), he vents to his minions. Then he tasks them with following Astapov like a shadow and making a clear map of his daily movements. I don’t know how time works in the show, but in the very next scene, Andrej presents the aforementioned map. Volchek studies it and orders Danill to attack Astapov outside the bakery that he regularly frequents to send the message that he is messing with the wrong crowd. However, when he reaches the bakery to make sure that Danill goes through with the task he has been given, he gets a call from Andrej, who tells him that Astapov is at his office, not the bakery. Which means that somebody has deliberately or unintentionally given Volchek false information about Astapov’s daily routine.
Danill Is The Mole
At the end of Countdown episode 6, Volchek’s mole hunt comes to a close as he addresses his team to talk about the incident where he was cornered by Astapov. He says that his visit to that American office wasn’t a part of his usual schedule. Hence, it’s obvious that someone from his team must’ve leaked information to Astapov, thereby allowing him to surprise Volchek. Then he comes back to the topic of the bakery, which is apparently the only place that’s not a part of Astapov’s routine. When Volchek reached the bakery, neither Astapov nor Danill was anywhere to be seen. If Danill wasn’t in touch with Astapov, he would’ve simply followed Volchek’s orders and showed up where he was asked. Since Danill was in touch with Astapov, he didn’t feel the need to do so, and in doing so he revealed his hand.
Danill makes one last try to convince Volchek that he isn’t the turncoat, but when Volchek goes through Danill’s phone, his conversations confirm the fact that he has been talking to Astapov for quite a while (anyone who can read Belarusian, please, let me know what was written in the chat). On that note, Volchek shoots Danill in the head. As his body is taken away, three massive trucks from Gallagher Freight arrive at the warehouse Volchek is working out of. It’s not clear what he plans to do with it; my best guess is that it’ll be used to carry some nuclear material into the heart of the city. That said, this shows that Mark’s intel wasn’t wrong; it’s just that there was no way for him to connect “Gallagher” with a trucking company. Well, hopefully, by the next episode, the task force will realize that Volchek has a habit of using transport companies—he used the ports to bring in the nuclear material—to get his job done, and they will search for businesses named Gallagher instead of going after individuals with that surname.
