14 6 "Church in Ruins" Miguel Sapochnik Nic Pizzolatto & Scott Lasser July 26, 2015 2.34[6]

Velcoro and Semyon discuss the tip that led Velcoro to his wife's alleged rapist, with Semyon swearing that he thought the information was genuine at the time. Satisfied that Semyon did not intentionally mislead him, Velcoro confronts the man arrested for the rape in prison, promising to kill him. After an awkward supervised visit with his son, Velcoro goes on a cocaine- and alcohol-fueled bender before calling his ex-wife and agreeing to drop the custody case on the condition that she never reveal her son's true parentage. Meanwhile, Woodrugh follows up on the missing diamonds to find that they were part of a cache stolen during a double homicide and robbery in the 1992 riots that orphaned two children, making the diamonds untraceable. Semyon starts searching for Irina, making an agreement with a Mexican cartel that will allow them to move drugs through his clubs. Irina calls Semyon and reveals that she had been given the items from Caspere's home by a police officer. Semyon arranges to meet her so that she can identify the man from a photo, but when he arrives at the site, he finds her dead, having been killed by the Mexicans for dealing with police. Outnumbered and empty-handed, Semyon is forced to accept the deal with the Mexicans. Bezzerides goes undercover, posing as Athena to infiltrate one of the parties. With no phone, transmitter or weapon, she is forced to rely on Woodrugh and Velcoro for support. At the party, she is drugged and taken to the guests with a busload of other girls. Her attempts to search the party are hampered by the male guests and hallucinations of a strange man from her childhood, implying that she was sexually abused. As Woodrugh and Velcoro sneak in, they observe a meeting between McCandless and Osip where McCandless admits that Osip's investment in the rail project was far more lucrative than Semyon's. The two steal a set of contracts from McCandless' office. Bezzerides locates Vera at the party and attempts to get her out, but is forced to kill a guard in the process. She and Vera are found by Woodrugh who escorts them to Velcoro in a waiting car. As the four escape, Woodrugh goes over the stolen contracts and starts to realize the scale of what they are involved in.

15 7 "Black Maps and Motel Rooms" Daniel Attias Nic Pizzolatto August 2, 2015 2.18[7]

The task force regroups after the party to allow Vera and Bezzerides to recover from the drugs they were given while Velcoro and Woodrugh go over the documents that link Catalyst and McCandless to Osip. When morning comes, Woodrugh and Bezzerides move their families to safety while Velcoro reports to Semyon. Woodrugh discovers that Bezzerides is wanted for questioning over the death of the security guard she killed at the party while Velcoro has been named as a suspect in Davis' murder. Woodrugh is contacted by a third party blackmailing him with photos from his night with Gilb. Using information from Semyon, Vera and the police database, the three are able to formulate a theory on Caspere's death: that a group of corrupt police—Holloway, Burris, Dixon and Caspere—used the 1992 riots to steal the diamonds which they used to buy into the Vinci power structure; however, Laura, a child orphaned during the robbery, tracked them down and after posing as Caspere's assistant, killed him after confirming his involvement. Everything from their discovery of the diamonds through to the shoot-out with Ledo Amarilla has been manipulated from behind the scenes by Vinci PD to cover up their involvement in the original crime. Meanwhile, Semyon confronts Blake over his role in Osip's operation; Blake admits that Osip is trying to force Semyon out of business with the help of Chessani's son Tony, who Osip will install as mayor of Vinci to act as his puppet. When pushed further, Blake confesses to having killed Stan and staging the murder to imitate Caspere's death. Semyon kills him and arranges for Jordan to escape. Meanwhile Velcoro approaches Davis with their evidence but finds here shot dead in her car. When approached by Osip, Semyon bows out gracefully and accepts a role as manager of Osip's clubs. However, having learned of a money drop in which Osip will transfer $12 million to Tony Chessani, Semyon takes his cash reserves and burns the properties to hurt Osip's business. Faced with the realization of just how powerful their enemies are, Velcoro and Bezzerides sleep together. Meanwhile, Woodrugh is lured to a meeting with his blackmailer, Holloway, who demands the documents taken from the party. Woodrugh overpowers him and is drawn into a shootout with the Black Mountain private security accompanying Holloway on behalf of McCandless, but as he makes his escape, he is shot twice by Lieutenant Burris.