The CNU deals with two separate crises: one regarding an estranged father about to lose custody of his sons and another revolving a young man who takes control of a coffee shop.
An air traffic controller hijacks the control tower to protest his innocence after he is blamed for a plane crash that killed 180 people. Matt and Emily discover the hijacker might be dealing with more than the accusation when they learn his wife is having an affair.
What seems to be a textbook child kidnapping becomes a tangled mess when it is revealed that the victim is the daughter of David Lao - an Asian crime lord who is currently under FBI investigation.
A serial bank robber hits a string of banks along the California coast; Matt and Emily are determined to catch the thief. But when a confrontation goes awry and Emily becomes a hostage, Matt has trouble putting his personal feelings aside. The chase is on and after realizing that the suspects are a couple in love, Matt uses his knowledge of mixing business with pleasure to catch the robbers before Frank and the team take them out.
When a girls health takes a turn for the worse, a young boy takes hostages in a hospital to force a surgeon to operate on his terminally ill sister. But the renowned doctor is on vacation, and the remaining surgeons refuse to perform such a complicated procedure without his help.
When a mysterious sniper kills a string of random people, CNU is determined to find the snipers hideout. But when they catch a suspect and announce their success, a police captain is shot and they learn that the man in custody is actually copycat. With the real sniper on the loose, negotiations arent enough and Matt and Emily must work with Frank and Duff to catch the killer before he hurts one of them.
After a surrogate mother scams a desperate husband out $50,000 for her newborn baby, the distraught man takes matters into his own hands. He shoots the social worker who arranged the illegal adoption and then flees, taking the newborn child and the babysitter hostage.
Matt and Emily save a young woman from a hostage situation, but their work isn't done as the woman becomes prey to a stalker. When Emily discovers the woman has developed feelings for Matt, she questions the authenticity of the woman's claims. As the situation escalates, it becomes clear that the woman is holding secrets, but having saved her once, Matt takes it upon himself to save her again.
When a father finds his teenage sons notebook full of violent images and blueprints of his high school, he turns to CNU to prevent a hostage situation before its too late. Unfortunately, Matt and Emily are one step behind and by the time they arrive at the school, the tormented teens have already kidnapped their enemies. With the tables turned, the harassed become the bullies as they torture their captives and broadcast it over the Internet.
When bank robbers refuse to communicate with Matt and Emily, the negotiators are forced to bring in a third party, Angela, to help with the negotiations. But Angela takes matters into her own hands and accepts the robbers demands without consulting CNU. The situation escalates as Matt and Emily must now deal with the bank robbers while finding a way to use Angela and end the standoff.
After capturing a Mexican drug lord, Felix Aguila, Matt and Emily find themselves in a new predicament when he makes a run for the border and they are left stranded in Mexico.
A border agent tries to sneak a foreign container into the U.S. and takes his own colleagues hostage before they can stop him.
Emily negotiates with bank robbers who've taken over a commuter train while Matt deals with a schizophrenic patient holding his therapist hostage.
Matt and Emily take on the case of a polygamous-cult-leader, who has taken his daughter and wives hostage in a motor home.
A young boy is kidnapped and held hostage. The hostage-taker claims a direct connection to Emily. After releasing a videotape of the captive boy holding a sign saying "Emily Lehman did this," the situation becomes all too personal.
When the key witness in a federal money-laundering case and his wife are kidnapped and held hostage, the hostage-taker demands $2 million to free them.
Tensions are high as Matt and Emily try to avoid a violent ending to a hostage situation at a Juvenile Detention Center.
Matt and Emily hurry to resolve a hostage situation in which a recently fired corporate executive holds 16 hostages in the company's boardroom. The team stages an argument while engaged in negotiations with Finch to cover for a breach operation, ending the case without casualties.