"…When the communist government fell, some diehard fanatics tried to rally, and they targeted many good, loyal Russian people…He wants a list of every name and location of the people that escaped. He still wants to kill some, blackmail the others for his own self-interest, but he'll kill anyone who stands in his way."
— Roger Prescott on Vladimir Koskov, Return to Justice
Detectives Rick Hunter, Dee Dee McCall, and their allies have faced their fair share of criminals and deviants in their years behind the badge. The following adversaries prove themselves to be particularly heartless.
All spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
- "Fire Man": Donnie Warrick, having been obsessed with fire since adolescence, is a former US soldier who burned a Vietnamese village to ashes with a flamethrower, before becoming a "firebug" who uses his flamethrower to wreak havoc in the present day, resulting in a homeless person's death. Murdering his former superior officer, Gene Byrd, and stealing his identity—despite Byrd covering up Donnie's massacre—while faking his own death to work as a firefighter, when Donnie is recognized by a fellow veteran, Donnie incinerates the latter to silence him. Lured to the cemetery where he was supposedly buried by LAPD Det. Sgts. Rick Hunter and Dee Dee McCall, when Hunter attempts to talk Donnie down, Donnie disdainfully rejects Hunter's assistance.
- "Blow-Up": Otto Minsky is a homicidal explosives expert who detonates exploding parcels to kill his victims. Vengeful towards LAPD Det. Sgt. Rick Hunter over the latter previously arresting him and extraditing him to Florida to face justice for bombing a Jacksonville train station, Otto proceeds to leave a bomb in a cemetery near the gravestone of Hunter's late fiancée, killing several funeral attendees. Subsequently gaslighting Hunter by faking bombings—and proceeding to use a phone call to blow up his actual targets—Otto eliminates a District Attorney and a Judge before attempting to kill Hunter's LAPD partner, Det. Sgt. Dee Dee McCall.
- "City of Passion" three-parter:
- Judge Unger initially presents himself as a shady court official who abuses his position of power to hamstring any legal action against him, having accused LAPD Det. Sgt. Dee Dee McCall of entrapment after soliciting her as a prostitute. In fact a leader within the "Sons and Daughters of Darkness" cult who was trying to lure McCall to her death, Unger and his cult are indicated to regularly perform rituals involving sex and Human Sacrifices using prostitutes, with his most recent victim being underage. After his other intended victim—also an underage prostitute—reports the murder to Det. Sgt. Rick Hunter, Unger has her murdered to silence her.
- Lloyd Fredericks, referred to by the LAPD as "Bigfoot" due to his shoe size, exploits his job in real estate to find targets as a Serial Rapist by using realtor keys to get into the houses of professional women, with nine known prior targets. Having accidentally murdered his ninth and most recent victim, Bigfoot proceeds to stalk and harass LAPD Det. Sgt. Dee Dee McCall, intending on making her his next target. After McCall fights him off, Bigfoot walks into a trap which McCall set when he attempts to invade her home once more. Despite falsely maintaining his innocence to Det. Sgt. Rick Hunter, when Bigfoot's wife Claire discovers his crimes, she assassinates him in the police station.
- "City Under Siege" three-parter: William Joseph Powell, regularly addressed by the nickname "Billy Joe", is a Serial Killer turned Spree Killer on the loose operating alongside his paramour, fellow convict Iris Smith. Having previously mutilated fourteen prostitutes with a straight razor, Billy Joe is introduced intercepting Iris's police escort in Texas to join her on a killing spree in Los Angeles, shooting both officers dead in the process. Assisting Iris in killing two of her victims while the duo forces LAPD Det. Sgt. Rick Hunter to listen to the murders over the phone, Billy Joe eventually goes out alone to find his own victims in the hopes of satiating his own blood-thirst—despite Iris's objections—and assassinates a local vigilante as sport.
- "A Girl Named Hunter": Felicia Greene, hiding behind her role as an adoption attorney, regularly pays teenagers to get pregnant and relinquish custody of the subsequent children so she can sell them. When one of her breeding girls, Cheryl Donovan, tries to keep the child resulting from the tryst between herself and the "stud" Randy Johnson, Greene attempts to manipulate her into relinquishing custody of the child, only for Randy to accidentally kill Cheryl. After the death of one of Greene's former clients, LAPD Det. Sgts. Rick Hunter and Dee Dee McCall discover several pages worth of photographs at the crime scene, all portraying Greene's past victims.
- "Vaya Sin Dios": Johnny Crow, a sailor distinguished by a snake tattoo on his arm, is the mastermind behind a human smuggling racket which has on multiple occasions massacred the undocumented migrants it supposedly smuggles in. Discovering that one of his accomplices, Raul Lindero, is a Mexican Federal Agent, Crow forces Raul to murder the latest shipment as witnesses before having him killed himself. Extorted by a local ship mechanic, Crow threatens to maim the extortionist if he doesn't back off. Confronting Raul's partner, INS Agent James Reader, Crow viciously assaults him after mocking him over Raul's death. Having the uncle of a witness and an officer protecting her assassinated, Crow abducts the witness before dying in a firefight with Lt. Rick Hunter.
- Return to Justice: Vladimir Koskov is a former KGB official turned Russian Mobster who wishes to acquire a list of Russian expats to extort or kill, having earned a reputation as the "Butcher of St. Petersburg", due to how many dissidents have been eliminated by his hand. After Roger Prescott, real name Mishka Savaransky, lures Vladimir to Roger's home in an attempt on his life, Vladimir meets up with Roger in order to threaten him and his fiancée, Sgt. Dee Dee McCall, in particular threatening to torture McCall. Having a henchman shoot up a patio where McCall is having a discussion about the situation with LAPD Lt. Rick Hunter, Koskov eventually takes McCall hostage intending to dismember her if Roger doesn't give him the list.
