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It was the first Saturday of April in Zootopia, and the weather could not have been more pleasant for early Spring. The sun shown bright in the cloudless sky, sending warm rays down upon the city. Animals moved about the town, shopping, going to movie theaters, visiting friends and relatives; enjoying such a splendid day. Busy though it was, the city maintained a calm, orderly place.

As the creatures of Zootopia walked about, a lone figure atop a tall building looked down upon them through high powered binoculars. Dressed in all black, no one could tell the identity of the creature, though he was the only one atop the roof anyway. From left to right, he scanned the creatures walking around the area on the ground. As he took the binoculars away from his eyes, he looked at the long, cordura bag to the right of him and unzipped it. He pulled an expensive, high tech rifle from out off the bag. Taking the magazine out from the rifle, he inspected the inside, making sure that it was fully loaded before putting rifle back in the bag. Putting the binoculars up to his eyes once more, he examined the creatures walking back and forth. And then he waited . . . until just the right time.

In another part of Zootopia, Nick and Judy Wilde, along with their four children were taking a Saturday trip over to see Nick's parents. It was a special occasion for the family, as Nick's coyote friend Billy Mack and his vixen wife Felicity were showing off their first born son. Billy, who'd arrived from El Paso, Texas five years ago in pursuit of Billy Joe Sullivan and Bobbi Sue Murphy, was now employed as Chief of Security for Norman Skulk, Nick's father.

"Wonder what the little guy's gonna look like?" said Nick, who was excited to see his friend's new son.

"Probably like our kids," said Judy. "You know, a mix of both parents."

"Probably right," said Nick, making a left turn in the family mini van onto the street where Skulk Mansion was.

"Mommy," said Sammy Wilde. "Are we going to see Grandma and Grandpa today?"

"Yes, sweetie," said a slightly annoyed Judy. "Don't you recognize the road we're on?"

Sammy, seated next to his brother Eddie, looked out the right side of the van, just in time to Nick pulling into the long driveway of Skulk Mansion. The little fox-rabbit hybrid waved his tail excitedly, as did Eddie. The four little cubs greatly enjoyed spending time with their grandparents and their uncle Anthony and aunt Amanda, all of whom showered love and affection on them, as well as spoiling them. No sooner had Nick parked the van, turned off the engine and unlocked the mini van, when the four little ones were outside and running toward the front doors.

"Hey," yelled Judy, running after them. "You kids wait for me!"

Nick chuckled as his kids and wife. Getting out of the driver's seat, he opened the door and ventured outside. Before following the rest of his family inside, he looked through the back window into the hatch. He saw the bag containing his recently dry-cleaned Captain's uniform. He sighed upon viewing it, hoping that he wouldn't have to put it on today because of some emergency. As much as he enjoyed his career as a police officer, it was not without his struggles. As a husband and father, he hated that there were times when he had to respond to some crisis, but that was part of the job; being on call 24/7.

Trying to forget about his job, he went up to the large front doors of the mansion. Norman and Cindy were already there, having let Judy and the kids in. Grinning with his sleepy green eyes, Nick embraced his mother and father warmly.

"Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad," he said. "Billy inside?"

"Of course," said Norman. "You've got to see little Lonnie."

Nick walked inside the palatial mansion, never failing to be in awe of the opulent surroundings his parents and siblings lived in. Walking down the long hall that was adorned with expensive vases, tables and oil paintings, he finally entered the very spacious main living room. There, sitting on a couch together was Billy and Felicity, with the latter holding a little baby in her arms. Judy and the kids were already there, encircling the Mack family. Billy, ever the friendly Texan, got up to meet his friend.

"Nick," he said with his thick Texas twang. "How the heck are ya, hombre?"

"Just fine, Billy," said Nick, genuinely excited to see his friend. He looked over at Felicity. "So, is this your boy?"

"Sure is," said Billy with the pride of a new father. "This here's little Lonnie Mack! Sure is a cute little fellar, ain't he?"

Nick looked at the boy that Felicity held. Judy was right about him looking like both parents. Lonnie, wearing only a diaper, had the tawny, fulvous coat of his coyote father. His bushy tail was bright red with a white tip; his ears also bright red, but with black tips, just like his mother. Nicke reached over, gently stroking little Lonnie's pointed ears and head fur.

"Wow," said Nick in hushed awe. "He sure is a cute little guy."

"Thank you, Nick," said Felicity. "And guess what Billy insisted his middle name be?"

Nick's jaw dropped. "Are you telling me he's named after me?"

Billy slapped Nick on the back. "Yep! Alonzo Nicholas Mack."

"Quite the auspicious name, I must say," said Nick.

"Mommy, mommy," said Emma and Abbie Wilde together.

"What?" said Judy.

"Can we play with Lonnie?" asked Emma.

"You have to ask Uncle Billy and Aunt Felicity," said Judy.

"Awe, shucks," said Billy. "Course you can. Felicity, darlin', how 'bout ya let the boy roam 'round on the floor?"

Judy, mindful of how her children might want to crowd the baby, told the four to back up and give him some space. No sooner had Lonnie been placed on the floor when he scooted about on his paws and knees. Everyone laughed at the energetic little cub. Billy, beaming with pride as his son squealed and giggled, put his arm around his vixen wife, holding her tightly as they both smiled. Nick went over to his wife, holding her tightly. The fox was so happy for his friends, who had for so long been trying to have children. He looked over at Billy, and could see how happy he was. It reminded him of how much he loved his own wife, and how much he loved being the father of four little cubs. Nick whispered into his wife's ear.

"I bet you can't wait for our next litter after seeing Lonnie, can you?"

Judy rubbed her head into her husband's chest affectionately. It had only been a month since Judy had found out that she was expecting their second litter of cubs, and she was very much looking forward to seeing the Wilde Bunch expand.

"Promise you something," said Judy, whispering into her husband's ear.

"What's that?" asked Nick.

"When I go into labor this time, I promise I won't threaten to cut off your penis," said the female rabbit.

"Ah," said Nick with a nod. "I appreciate that, honey bunny."

Nick and Judy, Billy and Felicity, as well as Norman and Cindy continued to watch little Lonnie move about the floor, with the four Wilde cubs moving around the room with the little boy. Occasionally, Judy had to correct her children, as she didn't want them playing too rough with Lonnie. Nick, still grinning from the enjoyment of watching the little boy, looked over at Billy.

"Say," said the red fox. "What exactly do you call a fox and coyote hybrid anyway?"

Billy shrugged. "Asked the Mrs. the same question. Know what she said?"

"What?" asked Nick.

"Foyote," said Billy, with a slight laugh. "Ain't that somethin'?"

"Sounds good," said Nick. "Ask my kids what I call them?"

"Hey, kids," said Billy. "Tell Uncle Billy what your Daddy calls y'all."

"Brats!" said all four Wilde cubs together.

"Well," said Nick with a grin. "It's more appropriate than calling them funnies."

As everyone watched Lonnie crawling around on the floor, Nick noticed that his brother and sister had entered the living room. Letting go of Judy, went over to them; giving them each a hug.

"Hey there, little sister," said Nick, giving Amanda a kiss on the cheek. "How have you been?"

"Just fine," said Amanda. "I guess you guys are here to see Lonnie?"

"We are," said Nick, now turning his attention over to his brother. "How've you been, Anthony?"

"Good," said the younger male fox. "Glad you could come over today."

"Hey," said Nick. "Do you think I'd miss a chance to see my little brother and sister, along with Mom and Dad? Oh, and let's not forget Uncle Billy and Aunt Felicity and your little cousin, Lonnie."

Nick wasn't joking about calling Billy and his wife "Uncle and Aunt". Norman had grown so close to Billy and Felicity, especially after he'd contributed to helping find Anthony and Amanda, that he saw him almost like a son. After Billy had been fired by El Paso PD for helping Nick with his vigilante mission to kill his siblings' kidnappers, Norman felt such gratitude for everything the coyote had done, that he made him the Chief of Security for his home; giving the former detective a much larger salary he had ever received as a civil servant. Not only that, he actually saw Billy as a kind of son, which is why Nick and Judy referred to Billy and Felicity as "Aunt and Uncle" to their kids.

"I thought you two would be going to Florida or the Bahamas for Spring Break," said Nick.

"No way," said Amanda. "We wanted to be here with the family."

"Besides," said Anthony. "Billy wanted me to play him some more Texas blues."

"Of course he does," said Nick with a laugh.

The afternoon gradually turned to evening. Everyone present was treated to a meal, courtesy of Norman and Cindy. Nick, who had until just five years ago despised Norman Skulk, the fox who had knocked up his mother, then abandoned him, had learned to respect and love his father. He had desperately wanted a father when he was growing up, and siblings. When Judy had contacted Nick's mother Cindy, asking her about Nick's father, she told him what had really happened. At first, Nick had recoiled from Norman's advances to make amends, but after he got incredibly drunk, and talked to his own mother about her drinking problem, he felt more amenable to dealing with the issue. Eventually, Nick reconciled with his father, who brought his twin son and daughter from a relationship to meet with Nick. After Nick had forgiven his father, he found out that his mother and father had resumed a relationship. Hesitant at first about their relationship, he was overjoyed when his father asked Cindy to marry him. The vixen gladly accepted, and was now a doting mother to Norman's twin cubs.

"I tell ya what," said Billy, taking a pawful of bread. "I don't think there's any fellar that's a better cop than Nick Wilde."

"You think so?" asked Norman. "Why do you say that?"

"Why?" said Billy. "Cause Nick risked everything, his career, his life, and his reputation to rescue Anthony and Amanda. Heck, I think he'd a made a fine Texas Ranger."

"I'm sure he would," said Norman, passing a bred basket over to Anthony and Amanda. "I'm very proud of my oldest boy."

Nick beamed with pride at the compliment. For so long he had longed to hear how his father was proud of him. Norman, who was the wealthiest beast in all of Zootopia, had for much time been a staunch supporter of the ZPD, but when he learned that his first son was an officer on the force, he dedicated himself to helping out the ZPD in any way he could; even going into a bank wearing only his underwear with a briefcase full of cash when Nick's former partner and best friend Jack Wolfard had been seriously wounded.

"You know, Dad," said Nick, before feeling his cellphone vibrating. Taking the device out of his pocket, he swiped the screen to answer the call. "Yes?" said the fox, listening to what was being told to him. "What? When?" he staid silent, listening to the speaker on the other line. "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"What's wrong?" asked Judy.

"There's been a multiple shooting in my command zone," said Nick as he put his phone back in his pocket. "Dad, I have to take the van to the crime scene. Can you . . ."

"Don't worry, Nick," said Norman. "Judy and the kids can stay here tonight or I can have the limo take them home; whatever you like."

"Thanks," said Nick as he moved towards the hall that lead to the entrance. Judy ran forward, taking her husband's paw and giving him a serious look.

"What happened?" asked the female rabbit.

"Like I said, there's been a huge shooting in my command zone. Chief Bogo ordered me to see what's going on."

"How many casualties?" whispered Judy in his ear.

"Seven. All dead" said Nick. "Right now, I need you to stay strong for the kids. Be strong for me, okay?"

Judy, with a tear in her eye, nodded her head in agreement. Though she hated what was going on, she had to stay strong for her husband and kids.

It was dark by the time Nick arrived downtown where the shooting had taken place. Nick had put on his Captain's uniform before venturing from his parents' house. The crime scene was buzzing with activity. The area had been secontined off with yellow tape that read POLICE LINE: DO NOT CROSS. Dozens of uniformed officers guarded the taped off area, while spot lights pointed up at the nearby buildings. Nick, who had arrived late on the scene, flashed his Captain's badge to the officers that guarded the perimeter, allowing him access inside the crime scene. Looking around the area, he saw seven blankets covering seven different areas. It didn't take him long to fiture out that the numbers specified each of the seven victims of the mass shooting. A large rhino, showing the rank of Sergeant walked up to him.

"Sir," said the rhino. "Sergeant Rockwell; senior officer on duty."

"You're relieved," said Nick, looking around the area and seeing the mass of civilians and reporters. "Tell me what happened here."

"Well, sir," began the rhino. "As best as we can gather from all the witness reports, it started when a squirrel went down with a bullet to the head. Now, nobody really understood what was going on, because nobody heard a bullet or anything. Next thing you know, a rabbit goes down, and just like the the squirrel, he has a head wound. From then on, well, it's like the numbers on the bodies."

Nick looked over the covered bodies, which all had numbers over them, in what he guessed was the ZPD's estimate of who was killed first. From the first victim to the seventh, he lifted the covers up from underneath them, seeing that they all had two things in common: all had been killed by head shots and all were prey. Nick, ever the the police officer, tried to think of a motive, but his train of though was interrupted by someone tapping him on the shoulder. He turned around, seeing a familiar face.

"Jack," he said, seeing his former partner, Jack Wolfard. "How the hell are you?"

Jack shook his former partner's paw. "Just fine, Nick. How do you like the 7th Zone?"

"Just fine," responded Nick about his command zone. "Glad to see that you're commanding the 6th zone."

"Yeah," said Jack, looking around the scene of the crime. "Look, from what I've been told, it looks like the shooter started in your area, but his victims all ended up in my zone."

"What?" responded Nick, not really sure of what Jack was talking about. "What're you talking about?"

"Nick," said Jack. "I don't know if you noticed, or anyone told you, but the victims weren't killed by close up handgun fire."

"Really?" said Nick.

"Really," responded Jack. "All of them show descending bullet wounds, and all to the head. Nick, this is serious."

Nick went over to the covered victims, briefly lifting up the sheets that covered the lifeless corpses. He looked at their wounds, and noticed that Jack was right: they all had suffered head wounds, with no other noticeable wounds coming from any part of their bodies. Frowning, Nick looked over at his former partner.

"Jack," he said with a frown. "You got a time of death on them?"

"No," said the wolf. "But it was less than an hour ago."

"That means it was already dark," observed Nick.

"Yeah," said Jack.

Just then, Nick felt his phone vibrate. Opening the screen, he answered. "Hello? What? Okay, I'll be right up." The fox ended the call. Jack looked over at his former partner.

"What's going on?" asked Jack.

"Looks like we know where the shooter was at," said Nick.

Nick and Jack, with their dark blue trench coats covering them, were escorted in through the front of the building and up to the roof. Several police officers took their flashlights and covered the area that they wanted both Captains to see. Nick, looking down at the edge of the building, saw that there were seven bullet cases, one for each victim, lying on the rooftop.

"Sergeant," said Nick to the rhino sergeant.

"Yes, sir?" responded the rhino.

"Have CSU come up here to dust the place for prints, and have them take these into evidence."

Nick noticed that the apparent murder weapon was lying on the rooftop. Picking the rifle up in his paws, he examined it, seeing it was no crappy weapon. Nick and Jack looked up and down the rifle, noticing that it was a high caliber, semi-automatic weapon, complete with noise suppressor, flash suppressor, and a very sophisticated night vision scope.

"Sergeant Rockwell," said Nick.

"Yes, Captain?" said the rhino, coming to his Captain's aid.

The rhino saw his fox Captain put a glove over his paw and pick up a pawful of brass shell casings and throw them in a plastic evidence bag. He looked down at them, seeing they were high caliber bullets. The rooftop was swarming with ZPD officers, but somehow, they had missed a small card that was lying near the rooftop edge. Nick, with his paws covered in latex gloves, picked up the card, examining it. Jack Wolfard, who had accompanied his former partner, leaned over Nick's shoulder, examining the car.

"What's it say?" asked the gray wolf.

"It says," said the red fox. "This is courtesy of the PLA."

"PLA?" repeated Nick.

"Yeah," said Nick with a sour feeling in his gut. "I don't know what it is, but I have a bad feeling that we'll know more soon."