"I don't even know what you're talking about," he said. "I'm not lonely. I've got friends."

"Who are your friends?"

"I'm not telling you that!"

"Derek, we're here to help you. And if you want us to, we can help you. If you just tell us what's going on, we can--"

"You're the ones who are going to be dead," Derek said. "I ain't going to jail. Over my dead body!"

Then, suddenly, Ken heard a click. The air went still. He wanted to call out for Nicky, to see where she was, but he wouldn't dare break the silence.

Then, he heard Nicky's voice: "Drop the weapon, Derek."

"Shit!" Derek yelled.

A gunshot went off.

Ken didn't think. He just ran right into the trailer. If Nicky got shot on the job, he'd never forgive himself. Maybe he hadn't always been her biggest fan--the woman could come across as too cocky and self-assured for her age, but since working closely with her, Ken had come to realize that there was a lot more to Nicky Lyons than her hardened exterior.

He wasn't about to let her die. Not on his watch.

Nicky was standing in the middle of the trailer, her gun pointed at Derek Mills. The barrel was smoking--and she had his shotgun in her hand.

Derek was on the ground, holding his arm. He was a scrawny-armed kid with bad tattoos and a rat tail. Blood leaked between his fingers. Clearly, Nicky had grazed him with the bullet, caused him to drop the weapon, and seized the shotgun.

Ken was impressed. He could see now why Nicky was considered the top agent in their office. She wasn't just competent--she was ballsy.

"You shot me!" Derek shouted, his voice shrill. "You can't do that! I'm an American! I have rights!"

"Put your hands behind your head, Derek," Nicky said. "And don't you dare move. You're under arrest."

"Oh yeah?" he said, still on the floor. "For what?"

This guy was a real piece of work. Ken leaned over him and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, picking him up. "You did something to you wife, didn't you, Derek?" Ken said. Tell me what you did to Sarah."

There was no way Derek would reasonably react the way he did and start shooting at federal agents if he were innocent. Clearly, he had something big to hide, and Ken was going to find out what.

Nicky came over, still holding her handgun. She'd thrown the shotgun off to the side, where Derek had no hope of reaching it.

"Walker, let's interrogate him on record, right here and now," Nicky said.