He knows Chance had left her with the remaining cash that his agency now wants back, but Ruth says she needed it to pay debts she owed. He mentions Chance's death, deducing she had known all along that Ling was FBI. Vukovich visits Ruth as she packs up to leave L.A. Masters drops his lighter and accidentally sets himself ablaze, while Vukovich empties his gun on the burning man, killing him. Masters then covers Vukovich with shredded paper and is about to set him on fire when Vukovich wakes up and shoots Masters. While Vukovich is stunned at the revelation, Masters grabs a board and knocks him unconscious. Vukovich confronts Masters and during a brief struggle, Masters asks Vukovich why he did not take Grimes' advice to turn his partner in, revealing that Grimes was working on Masters' behalf all along. By the time he arrives, Masters has set fire to everything inside, destroying all evidence. Vukovich gives chase, going to a warehouse a previous informant had told them about. Jack and Chance fatally shoot each other, and Masters escapes. After inspecting the counterfeit million, the agents attempt to arrest Masters and Jack, but Jack pulls a shotgun. Vukovich refuses to implicate his partner.Ĭhance and Vukovich meet with Masters for the exchange. Unable to persuade Chance to come clean about their role in Ling's death, Vukovich meets with Grimes, who advises him to turn himself in and testify against Chance in exchange for a lighter sentence. While Chance and Vukovich did not kill Ling, Vukovich is nonetheless consumed by guilt, while Chance is apathetic and focused solely on getting Masters. Only a generic description of the assailants and their vehicle is given. The next day, the end of their daily briefing includes an FBI bulletin that Ling was its undercover agent, kidnapped, robbed and murdered while on a sting operation. Chance and Vukovich try to evade them through the streets, freeways and even one of the flood control channels, before a final escape by going the wrong way on the freeway. Ling's cover people follow them and while observing the robbery, open fire and accidentally fatally shoot Ling. Chance and Vukovich intercept Ling at Union Station and seize the cash in an industrial area. To get the cash, Chance persuades Vukovich to aid him in robbing Thomas Ling, a man whom Ruth previously told Chance is bringing $50,000 cash to purchase stolen diamonds. In turn, Masters demands $30,000 in front money, which is three times the authorized agency limit for buy money. Masters is reluctant to work with them, but ultimately agrees to print them $1 million worth of fake bills. Grimes, acknowledging a potential conflict of interest that could ruin his legal practice, agrees to set up a meeting between his client and the two agents, who engage Masters by posing as bankers from Palm Springs interested in Masters' counterfeiting services. While Chance relies on his sexual- extortion relationship with parolee/informant Ruth for information, Vukovich meets privately with Masters' attorney, Bob Grimes. While Vukovich wants to go by the book, Chance becomes increasingly reckless and unethical in his efforts to catch Masters. Vukovich falls asleep on watch, and consequently they fail to catch Masters in the act of murdering Waxman. The two agents attempt to get information on Masters by putting one of his criminal associates, attorney Max Waxman, under surveillance. After Masters and Jack, his bodyguard, kill Hart, Chance explains to his new partner, John Vukovich, that he will take Masters down no matter what. Alone, Hart stakes out a warehouse in the desert thought to be a print house of counterfeiter Eric Masters.
Chance has a reputation for reckless behavior, while Hart is three days away from retirement. Richard Chance and Jimmy Hart are United States Secret Service agents assigned as counterfeiting investigators in its Los Angeles field office.