shhh....B面人生

According to CSI Files sources, "Hostage" opens on an action-packed scene. A man has taken a bank hostage, and there is a dead body in the bank's vault. The gunman demands that someone come in to prove that he did not shoot the man. Mac offers to trade himself for one of the hostages. While the scene outside gets busy with police and rescue teams, not to mention reporters jockeying for position with their cameras, Mac makes his way inside.

The gunman points his weapon at Mac and forces him to stand with his hands on his head. He checks Mac for weapons and then goes through the CSI kit Mac brought with him. The gunman removes the utility knife and has Mac take the kit as he enters the bank itself. Twelve hostages are waiting on the floor, lying face down. Mac reminds the gunman that they had a deal.

Outside the bank, everybody looks on as the gunman approaches the glass doors of the bank, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses. He opens the door and Talia Kirkfield, one of the hostages, walks out into the street. The rescue team hurries her to safety. Meanwhile, back inside the bank, Mac is looking at the dead body in the vault. He was killed by a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Mac takes pictures of the victim and sends them to Stella, who is outside with Flack and the rescue team. Talia is able to identify the man as Walter Peckham, the bank manager. She hadn't seen the gunman shoot him. Flack sends an officer to notify Walter's wife that he has been killed. Then he and Stella talk to the HRT commander, Richard Jackson. Flack asks if they have any surveillance footage, and Jackson tells him the security feed goes directly to the manager's office--Mac is the only one who can get access.

The gunman, who tells Mac to call him "Joe", takes a call on a cellphone and sounds upset. While he's talking to the person on the other end, one of the hostages gets Mac's attention and asks if he's a cop. When Mac clarifies that he's a CSI, the man says he has a badge--he needs to figure out a way to get them out of there. Another of the hostages, Lori Mandel, tells Mac that she's three months pregnant.

Joe demands a police car with the GPS disabled, and he wants the media gone. Flack talks to him over the phone, telling him there's only so much he can do and urging him to release more hostages--if he cooperates, things will go a lot faster. Mac notices defensive wounds on the victim but sees no corresponding injuries on Joe--it's possible that he's telling the truth.

Mac asks for a portable CT scanner to look for the bullet that killed Walter. When one is delivered, a hostage helps him assemble it and he removes the bullet. When he sends it back to the lab, he includes something extra for Hawkes to work with: a single strand of hair from the gunman. But is there more to this bank robbery than meets the eye? What does the gunman plan to do when (or if) Mac proves his innocence? And why does he want that car? Be sure to check back with CSI Files after the finale for a sneak-peek at the premiere of season five.

Please note that the above plot details have not been confirmed by CBS, Alliance Atlantis or Bruckheimer Films, and until such time you should treat this information as you would any other rumour. The above information comes from early script drafts and the details of the episodes are liable to change before the episodes are shown.

"Hostage" will air May 21 on CBS.