L.A. HEAT

Chase and August are at August's gym, where they are volunteering their time to help keep kids off the street and out of gangs. In the boxing ring is Andre, a young fighter determined to stay away from gang violence. But when word comes in that Andre's brother has been shot and killed by a rival gang, Andre swears to avenge his brother's death. Chase and August try to persuade him to let the police handle it, but Andre slips from their grasp in pursuit of the killer. The incident also brings back memories for Chase, who is struggling with unresolved guilt over his former partner's murder by a gang youth.

Chase and August are escorting an annoying accountant named Cecil Rusk - the star witness for the prosecution in mobster Marius Roma's tax evasion trial - to court when they are ambushed by Roma's brother and his thugs. After their car is destroyed, the trio escape on foot through a hail of gunfire. Alone on the streets of Los Angeles, they decide to head out of town, where they believe they'll be safe. But a mole inside the force is leaking information on the detectives' whereabouts to Roma's mob, and it's up to Captain Jensen and Det. Richardson to figure out who it is.

Ariel, a prostitute, is found dead. Nearby, a beautiful young hooker named Electra wanders the streets in a daze. Narrowly escaping Uzi-toting hitmen, she is taken into custody by Chase and August. Electra has amnesia and cannot remember what happened the night of Ariel's murder. Eager to crack the case, Chase and August are relieved of their investigation by Captain Jensen after orders from the mayor's office. Chase, convinced there is a cover-up in progress, refuses to drop the case.

When a group of criminals rob a computer chip assembly plant, Chase and August link the six million dollar heist to a local computer store. Posing as computer industry executives, the detectives visit the store and stage a robbery, pretending to save the day. Winning the confidence of the store's owner, Ray Bernard, they begin to work their way into his group.

Playing host to a COPS-like television show, Chase and August are out to catch the gangbangers responsible for a string of 211s around the city. The two-person TV crew tags along while the detectives tackle a 211 in progress and apprehend a couple of suspects. When Chase saves a store owner's 12-year-old boy just before a grenade erupts and the producer of the show says he plans to make Chase ""a star,"" August fears his partner's desire to be a movie star will slow their investigation.

Chase and August are eyewitnesses to a young man who throws a Molotov cocktail into a car right outside the gym. The perpetrator gets killed in the ensuing pursuit, but they find out that the car was registered to Carlos Altamarino, a known drug dealer. Chase is visited by an old college friend, now a CIA agent, who gives Chase a mysterious gold key for safekeeping and reveals that Carlos' operation has shifted power to a brother, a cousin, or perhaps even Carlos himself using an alias. The new boss carries the name Charlie Altamirano. Chase's friend is killed later, and the detectives work to figure out just what exactly is going on.

A young female tourist has been brutally murdered. The detecives suspect ""the Reaper,"" a deranged man who suddenly appears on the roof of the crime scene, screams biblical quotes at the officers, and opens fire. After a rooftop pursuit, Chase and August take him into custody. At police headquarters, Jensen explains that ""the Reaper"" is merely a mental institution escapee. The killer is still on the loose and plays with the detectives by leaving behind verses of a poem.

Arriving at the scene of a murder, Chase and August find that the victim is Bobby Roman, a favorite target of controversial shock-jock Jerry Maxwell. Roman has been shot in the head, just as Maxwell always advocated. When Chase and August confront Maxwell about the murder, the beligerent radio host denies involvement in the crime. But then a call comes into the station, and Maxwell is shocked to hear a devoted listener, Ward Valasco, claim that he killed Roman, and that he intends to kill all of Maxwell's enemies.

Arriving at a crime scene, Chase and August find a member of the Bulldog Crips gang shot to death. Chase is surprised to find a note containing rap lyrics pinned to his sleeve, which leads them to a rival gang member named Cage. After a daring chase, Cage is apprehended and interrogated by the detectives. Cage accuses A.K., a famous rap star, of the murder. Kicking in A.K.'s door, Chase and August square off with the musician and his manager, Frank Millan. But the detectives soon learn that nothing is what it seems, and the real killer is closer than they think. Meanwhile, Jodi's parents are in town.

When a wealthy foreign couple touring L.A. are found murdered and robbed, Chase and August are assigned to investigate. What they don't know is that these are not random killings, and that Russian mobster Ivan and his gang are plotting more crimes. The FBI demands that Chase and August focus only on the homicides and leave the robberies to them, but the detectives believe the two crimes may be connected.

A promising young boxer is beaten and left nearly dead. Arriving at the hospital, August and Chase intercept a hitman who attempts to finish the kid off with a lethal injection. They pursue the would-be killer through the hospital, finally stopping him with a jolt from a set of defribulator pads. Immediately, they sense that this case involves more than a random beating. August is visited by his former boxing coach, Frank, to whom he hasn't spoken since their falling out many years before. Frank says that he must tell August a secret that has been haunting him. But before he can reveal what he knows, Frank turns up dead, plunging the detectives further into mystery.