Covert Affairs Episode 5.11 Trigger Cut

In the aftermath of the bombing attempt on the treaty motorcade, wounds are still fresh. Annie managed to thwart the attack and traitorous Caitlyn is dead, but McQuaid is lying in a hospital bed in critical condition. As Annie sits vigil by his bedside, all she can do is fume over the fact that the mastermind behind the whole plot, diplomat Aleksandre Belenko, is still free. So when Arthur finds a cryptic note in Caitlyn's calendar about a meeting in Istanbul, Annie jumps at the opportunity to go to Turkey. It's a long shot, but maybe the meeting is still on and will somehow help her tie Belenko to the Chicago and DC bombings, and-better yet-figure out how to bring him down.

So Annie is off to Istanbul, where she watches as a former FSB agent meets a notorious arms dealer named Mahmoud Qabbani. Though Annie can't tell what Qabbani is selling, whatever is in the duffels he's transporting is very expensive-and likely very dangerous. Annie trails him to a hamam, where she confronts him at gunpoint to get some answers. But before Qabbani can tell Annie anything, another visitor arrives and puts a bullet in the arms dealer. Annie's fury at having lost her only lead is mitigated only slightly by the fact that the shooter is none other than her old friend Eyal Lavin, sent by Mossad to exact revenge for Qabbani's involvement in a recent bombing in Israel.

Perhaps feeling guilty that he blew Annie's op, Eyal sticks around to help her continue the mission. It's looking like they've hit a dead end until Tony Salgado, Auggie's friend in the State Department, comes through with some intel: Belenko made a last minute change of plans and is now in Istanbul. It's obvious that whatever's in those duffels must be important if the diplomat has come to get them himself, but getting to the bags and nailing Belenko won't be easy. Looks like Annie and Belenko's game of cat and mouse is just getting started...