"BEAR TRAP" January 14, 2001

Episode 111       Airdate: 01/12/01      Writers: Damon Lindelof and Kim Beyer-Johnson     Director: Jan Eliasberg
Guest Stars: Tom Wilson, Rick Ducommun, Julia Nixon, Tod Thawley, Michael Harney.

Nash and Joe are on night-time surveillance of Mr. Foo's Herbs shop. They are expecting Canadian Mountie Jack Noon to show up. Jack has gone AWOL from the Mounties. Jack is a friend of Nash and Joe, and Jack once saved Joe's life. Jack shows up, but Nash finds a grizzly bear inside the shop. Nash lures the bear into a back room, while Mr. Foo evades Joe in the back alley. Two trappers come in (one with a box of chocolates). The trappers pull guns, forcing Nash to kill one of them. The other trapper gets away.

The bear is in custody on the SIU dock. The dead body is one of the LaFoote brothers, big-time poachers from Canada. The other brother Roger has escaped. The dropped box of chocolates are actually 20 bear galls, valuable in Asia for their medicinal qualities. Jack was after smuggler Mr. Fong. Mr. Foo is a chemist who authenticates the bear galls for Mr. Fong.

Nash visits Gordon Chang, Nash's "blood brother" in a gambling den. Chang reveals that Mr. Foo's real name is Michael Chow, and that Chow is addicted to bear bile. Chow extracts bile from Betty the bear. Smuggler Jeremiah Fong is still in town. Harvey and Antwon surveil the bear cage on the SIU dock. Chow shows up and breaks into the cage. But it is really Officer Ronnie in a bear suit - Chow is taken into custody. On interrogation, Chow reveals the location of Roger LaFoote.

Jack leads Joe, Antwon, and Harvey deep into the forest to capture Roger LaFoote. But the group walks into a bear trap field, and LaFoote gets away. Jack tells Joe an incredible story - that Jack was raised by a momma bear after his parents were killed in a plane crash. LaFoote killed that momma bear, and that is why Jack has been after LaFoote for two years.

Meanwhile, Chow is killed by Fong immediately after Chow authenticates the bear galls. Fingerprints in a limousine used by Fong reveal that Jack's wife Mindy is with Fong. Joe has invited Jack to stay at his house, with Joe hoping that Jack will find that hidden leak in his house.

Jack admits that his wife Mindy has run off with Fong, and that is part of his motive for catching Fong. One of Fong's killers show up at Joe's house. But Joe and Jack subdue him, and the thug reveals the hotel location of Fong. Jack, Joe, Harvey, and Antwon go to the hotel to arrest Fong. A shoot-out ensues, with Joe killing three of the thugs, but Fong still gets away. Jack finds his wife Mindy unconscious on the bathroom floor. At the SIU, Mindy reveals that Fong has a 3PM meeting at Portsmith Square. Jack and the SIU intercept Fong at Portsmith Square; Jack throws Fong over a bridge, knocking Fong unconscious.

Jack's boss, Sergeant McKay arrives to retrieve his AWOL mountie, which Nash and Joe try to smooth over. Jack is a hero for breaking up the poaching network, but McKay has transferred Jack to Moosejaw, Saskatchewan for his AWOL trip to San Francisco.

Meanwhile, Nick has gotten a black eye fighting with another fisherman over their same favorite fishing spot. Nash intervenes, but Nick ends up accidentally giving Nash a black eye. The fisherman's son, Jerry Stevens (a Deputy City Attorney), shows up trying to evict Nash and Nick from their apartment. Nash punches Jerry in the eye. A final confrontation at the SIU turns friendly when Nick sees the other fisherman's U.S.S. Arizona tattoo, and discovers that they were almost shipmates.

Nash asks Rachel to write up the 20 week job evaluation of Cassidy. Rumors swirl when it is revealed that Nash and Rachel were seen drinking beer together. Rachel has "female problems" causing her to be cranky, adding fuel to the rumors.

For more, see commentary for Episode 111

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