Episode Report Card M. Giant: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Small Consulation
By M. Giant | Season 6 | Episode 12 | Aired on 03.04.2007
At the Consulate, Kiefer is coming around to find himself tied to a chair in a different room, alone with the blond Consulate Cop. He's being treated pretty well, in the sense that nobody's beating him up or cutting off his fingers. Maybe Markov took one look at Kiefer's scabby meathooks and decided against dulling his cigar cutter. It's 5:56:45 as Kiefer tries to address Blondsky in Russian, then English. Blondsky says that they're not allowed to talk to each other, and Kiefer says that's because the Consul has a secret to keep. Kiefer reveals Markov's connection to Gredenko: "Markov's working with him against the orders of your government." Blondsky says that Kiefer can make these allegations official later, but of course Kiefer says that there's no time, since three more nukes are going to be launched via unmanned drones within hours. "With the Consul's knowledge?" Blondsky asks, shocked. "That's a ridiculous accusation." Kiefer says that Markov confessed, and gave Kiefer Gredenko's location and time frame. Blondsky heads for the door, but stops when Kiefer says, "I know you believe me! You know about Markov's connection to Gredenko." I don't know how Kiefer knows this, but he's clearly getting to Blondsky. He asks him to call CTU and relay the information that Gredenko is in the Shadow Valley, which is going to be tricky because the number he gives is the same one that goes through to Logan's and Chloe's cell phones. "You need to tell them you have a message for Bill Buchanan from me. My name is Jack Bauer." Blondsky threatens that Kiefer had better not be lying. Kiefer says that if Blondsky didn't already know he wasn't, he wouldn't even think about doing this. He tells Blondsky to hurry. The clock is ticking. See? It's right there at the bottom of the screen, saying 5:58:33 through 5:58:36.
Blondsky goes into the hallway and starts looking sneaky. In other splitscreen windows, Nadia explains to Buchanan what she's been doing so that someone can take over for her after she gets arrested; the Veep wraps up his statement; Wayne still lies in the Bunker's operating room, unconscious, wrapping up the easiest day's work DB Woodside ever put in; and the O'Brians scowl at their respective monitors. Alas, Morris is failing to download himself any whisky at all.
Deciding that he's alone, Blondsky goes into a room and pulls out his cell phone, putting it to the ear that had a Bluetooth attached to it just a second ago. No sooner does he ask for Buchanan than a shadow is seen lurking behind him. Sure enough, Blondsky is still waiting for his call to be transferred when an unseen assailant puts a bullet in his head with a silenced handgun. Blondsky's dead before he hits the floor. The shooter -- a man in wingtips and a suit -- picks up the ejected shell casing. We still can't see his face, and I'm getting very nervous that something really stupid is about to happen. Buchanan is being told by the CTU switchboard operator that he's getting an urgent call from the Russian Consulate, and I don't know how the operator knows that if Blondsky is using his personal cell phone and never identified himself. Blondsky's dropped cell phone says, "This is Bill Buchanan." The shooter picks up the phone and snaps it shut, and as Buchanan and Nadia look at each other in puzzlement, we finally see the killer's face: it's the thin, dark-haired Consulate guard we saw earlier. Oh, thank God it wasn't Logan. It's 6:00:00.