The room went deadly silent.
"Thank you, Senator Gregory, but..." Nicky swallowed. "I don't think I can accept your offer."
The chief raised his bushy eyebrows and looked at her with his small green eyes. "Excuse me?"
"I... I can't do this," Nicky said. "I can't." Even as she was saying it, Nicky felt her heart squeeze. Maybe she was jumping the gun by saying no, but she wasn’t sure how to proceed.
"Agent Lyons..." Chief Franco's voice was sharp, his gaze flicking from Nicky to the senator and back to Nicky. "I'm not sure what you mean. We can't have a team member who isn't fully committed to the cause."
Nicky's stomach turned over and she was almost sick with the realization of what she was doing.
"I'm sorry," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "But with yesterday’s failure, I just… I don’t know if I'm the right person for the job right now. After I couldn't save Masie, I..."
Guiltily, she avoided Amara's eyes.
Amara nodded, a grim expression on her face. "Then I understand why you feel that way," she said simply.
"Okay then," Chief Franco said. "But maybe you could take a few days to get your head together, and then we can talk it over, got it?"
"I'll do that," Nicky said quietly.
Amara's eyes fell on Kate and Ken. "Can I count on both of you to be involved?"
Kate nodded, adjusting her fancy suit jacket. "I'll be here to prosecute every kidnapper you find."
"Perfect." Amara looked at Ken. "And you, Agent Walker?"
Ken adjusted his suit jacket over his broad chest. "I can spearhead it if Lyons is out," he said.
A pause in the room. Nicky felt the tension, and Ken's venomous eyes glanced at her. He was still relatively new to the office, and they’d never worked together, but Nicky had heard he was a real by the books guy.
"We will think about that, Agent Walker," Amara said. "Right now, I'd like to give Agent Lyons a few days to think about it."
Nicky felt herself clam up. At this point, she'd rather they just give it to Ken so she could focus on another task. But the least she could do was give it a second thought.
"Thanks," was all she said.
Chief Franco stood. "You're all dismissed."
Everybody stood.
But then Senator Gregory said: "Not you, Agent Lyons. Hold on."
Damn.Nicky had hoped she'd be able to get away. But maybe the senator wanted to try her hand at convincing Nicky again.
Everybody left the room but Senator Gregory and Nicky. Nicky's heart was pounding in her chest. She felt like she was about to face a firing squad.
Nicky remained standing with her hands in fists. "Is there something else, Senator?" she asked politely.
Amara motioned for her to sit down. "Yes. Actually there is. Agent Lyons," Amara said. "After the tragedy that happened to my daughter, I struggled with the most important decision of my life."
Nicky looked at her, curious.
"I had to decide if I could continue doing my job."
Nicky didn't know what to say, so she remained silent.
Amara continued, "But I realized something. Something that no one else seemed to want to tell me."