- 3:14am, June 30th, Precinct 1 -

"Ughhh, kill me now!" Bixby slammed his forehead down onto the desk in front of him as the mountain of paperwork kept piling up before him. Apparently, there is a lot of legal documentation involved when one mammals case becomes directly involved with another individual's case. Because Team Howlett and Officers Wilde and Hopps both met abruptly while investigating essentially the same criminal then each member had to file their own paperwork on the matter.

Judy and Nick were well versed by now in how to handle these matters, having their work finished well over 3 hours ago. That included the interrogation of one Mr Bill Clause, master criminal of the grocery store variety, not so much in the bank robbery variety.

Thankfully for the Team they didn't need to go through the motions of interrogation as the evidence was enough to convict all 4 members of the gang. Although this was the first incident report any of them, bar Howlett, ever had to write so for hours, Bixby, Hunter and Benson were left scratching their heads on the proper procedure in filing the case.

"I've been done for about 20 minutes now, feels great to be free from that chair!" Lucy claimed as she sat atop Alex's desk eating an apple and playfully flicking stationary at him to distract the young canine.

"Would you quit it... trying to finish up this statement so we can go home..." Alex was understandably a little peeved, Howlett had finished his work hours before and decided to head home for some 'quality time' with his wife, leaving the rookies to fend for themselves.

"Finished!" Bixby shouted as his voice echoed around the room and down the corridor, alerting a certain Buffalo who just so happened to be walking around the station for a little exercise.

"What are you three still doing here? It's 2 in the morning!" Bogo shouted as he peeked his head around the door frame, a little bleary eyed himself.

"Chief? I didn't know you were still here... were just finishing up out statements then heading home" Benson replied as she let out a yawn and stretched over Alex's desk, further annoying the Coy.

"Lucy..." Was just about all Alex could say as he focused nearly exclusively on his last sentence, making sure there was no mistakes as he didn't plan on rewriting any of it.

"My apologies" she said as she lifted herself off his notes.

Bogo grunted and simply walked away without any further acknowledgment, Much to the rookie's relief.

"Finally done, now we can go home!" Alex said as he raised himself from his seat and began to put his waistcoat back on. Alex's dress sense was actually something of a turn on for the young Lynx who watched him slip the coat on and neatly fix his tie under it. Lucy really appreciated a well-dressed mammal.

From their Precinct to the apartment was only a 15-minute walk, made even quicker with the little amount of traffic on the roads. The night was cool, a slight breeze coming from the water to the south-west and not a single could in the night skies. Perfect night for a walk.

It had not taken the trio long to stumble their way into the complex in their sleep-deprived state. The prospect of a warm, cozy bed and someone to cuddle up to was a strong motivation for Bixby, and to an extent Alex and Lucy also. By the time Lucy had locked the front door behind her Bixby and Alex had already made their way to the bedrooms.

"Sure... leave me to lock up why don't ya..." Lucy mumbled, placing the keys in a bowl by the door. She then went over to the kitchen area and retrieved a bottle of water from the fridge, cracking open the cap and taking a few gulps from it. However, something was off... she couldn't place what it was but there was something wrong, as if someone had been in the apartment... or still is.

Without hesitation she finished the water bottle, placed it back onto the counter-top and retrieved her pistol from its holster. "Who is there?" She asked loud enough for anyone in the immediate area to hear but unfortunately not loud enough to travel to the rooms. "Show yourself!"

Upon hearing the words 'show yourself', a dark figure raced towards the young officer, startling her and causing her to pull the trigger in its general direction. There however was no bang, no flash, and no bullet traveling down range. The figure had managed to slip a knife between the firing pin and the hammer of the pistol before it was discharged.

"Shhh, we can't be waking the others now can we..." A voice said, an unfamiliar voice to the Lynx but something oddly soothing about its delivery, despite its message. "I just want to convey a message, one I am hoping you can deliver to Detective Howlett under more..." He looked down at the pistol, "...Suitable circumstances"

"Who are you and what do you want" Lucy asked, trying to find the best way to deal with the situation but however she thought about it, it was always her that would end up injured. she needed the knife away from her gun.

"My name is Charon, you may know me as a criminal but right now I have come with an offer of friendship, to you and your team mates. As you could probably tell I'm not exactly in Jay's good books, hence why I have come to you with this message. He may try to shoot me...". Charon removed his knife and with a great amount of skill, stemming from years of close quarters fighting, he removed the magazine from her pistol and emptied the chamber of its single round before setting them on the bench beside her. "Friendly... truce?"

"Fine, what is the message?" She said, arms folded with her gun still in paw.

"Simple, both mine and Jay's paths have aligned. He wants to rid the world of the Ghost... as do I. I propose a mutual understanding, at least until the world it rid of this menace... and any associates he may have."

"You're not asking much... just a wanted criminal and the top detective from Animalia working side by side... is that all?" Lucy asked with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"No I think that's... oh no wait, one more thing... tell him to not pursue me, it'll end badly for him" Charon threatened. "You have a nice evening now!" he said as he turned towards the front door, took the keys and unlocked the door.

By this time Lucy had managed to slip the single bullet into the chamber and point it at Charon's back, from this distance it would certainly hit its mark. "Give me a reason not to pull this trigger" she asked.

Charon froze briefly before turning to the Lynx, his glowing red eyes intimidating but not scaring her. "Because Ghost is one deadly little bunny, he will not hesitate to plant a bullet between your eyes if he knows that you are onto him... and I don't want that..." He said, somewhat mournfully. "Oh, and I'm bullet-proof, you are not" he said as he exited, closing the door slowly and lightly behind him.

Lucy rushed over to the door, gun at the ready while she slowly opened it again. She knew exactly what to expect when peeking out and down the corridor, just as she though, he was gone, not a single trace of him ever being here.

She admitted defeat and retreated back into the residence and locked the door behind her. The Lynx's heart was racing , a million questions raging through her mind like a wildfire, she couldn't focus on anything else at that time but the stern warning about the Ghost and the offer of an alliance. Probably the only option the team has if they stand a chance against a hardened assassin. Fight fire with fire.

After a few minutes slumped in the hallway against the front door, battling her thoughts she heard a familiar and comforting voice coming from the kitchen.

"Lucy? You coming to bed or what?" It was Alex's voice. The only voice right now that she could take comfort in. The only voice that mattered. "Come on its way past your bedtime kitten!" he whispered jokingly in her direction.

Lucy picked herself up off the floor, put on a brave face and proceeded towards Alex's room. "Coming, Coming... geez your so needy" she joked, trying to play off what had just happened. Not wanting to talk about it, at least not till the morning when she could convey the message to Howlett.

"Oh im needy am I? I do recall you wanted to sleep in next to me!" he jested back to the Lynx as she passed him in the hallway and into his bedroom, stripping down to her underwear and proceeded to steal one of his shirts as nightwear.

"Yes, you are needy, and yes, so am I... and right now I needy a cuddle so, let's get crackin!" Lu said playfully as she clambered into bed all the while motioning him with just a finger.

"Yes mam!" he replied stripping down to his underwear and climbing into the double bed beside her, maintaining a little distance... just in case...

- 1:30pm, July 1st, War's Warehouse -

The peak of Zootopian summertime. The first day if July, where temperatures reached high 90s and most mammals with a spot of free time headed right for the beaches. Those without backyard pools that is. The children of the vast city excited that school was out for 2 months. 2 months for them to explore, play games outside with their friends or for some to help their parents with odd jobs that required attention.

For others it was the start of their holidays, some jetting off to distant lands or perhaps just a few cities or states over to visit family. Niki in particular loved the summer months, he loved working outside in the warm summer air, loved venturing into the city albeit for nefarious activities but nonetheless.

Addison preferred Winter however, he would much rather have it too cold than too warm. If its too cold, simply put on some extra layers... if its too warm however there was no helping it, short of shaving himself bald. This opposition was practically the only thing that the two lovers would ever come to blows about. Their favourite seasons wouldn't exactly be much of an argument in the grand scheme of things.

One mammal in the 'employment' of War was fond of the summer months just as much as he loved the snow. Ghost was laying on top of the vast warehouse, soaking up the heat of the sun as the hustle and bustle of the jackal workforce could be heard below. The rabbit was naked from the waist up, resting upon his thin ballistic vest to prevent his back from getting burnt on the hot corrugated iron roofing. His suppressed pistol resting beside him for quick access if needed and most unusual of all, his mask was removed. The mostly solitary and particularly paranoid mammal felt at ease on warm summer days where he would find a spot where he could be himself. Out of view of prying eyes where he could remove his mask without compromising his identity. The roof was the perfect place. This particular spot was obstructed from the ground and sides, only those who knew he was there, such as Niki and Addison, would be able to find him. Ghost's spot had however a terrific view of downtown Zootopia, the massive tower blocks in the business district glistening in the sunlight.

The day was perfect. The sun beat down hard on the city. Not a single cloud in sight. Perfect.

"Niki, don't go up there!" Addison and Niki had essentially become Ghost's personal assistants, confidants and to an extent... friends. Or at least Ghost wanted to make friends with them.

"Oh Addy, don't be a wuss" The Jackal said as he climbed a small ladder leading to a skylight, the only entrance to the roof. He peeked over the edge, not getting a particularly good view on the rabbit's face but rather the underside of his boots. Deciding to get a better view, and hoping not to get caught out, he ventured further up the ladder, until his entire head and upper body was visible from the rooftop.

The rabbit heard this and promptly grabbed his mask and pistol, placing his disguise over his face without fastening it to his head and pointed the 9mm square at Niki's forehead. Ghost's brilliant blue eyes fixated on the stunned Jackal with a similar feeling washing over the canine's body as the previous day when he was held at gun point.

Speechless, the young canine let go of the ladder to raise his paws in the air, surrendering to the rabbit. In doing this however he inadvertently lost his footing on the ladder and began to tumble backwards. Luckily his mate followed him up the ladder and managed to catch him before he could do some real damage.

"Augh, Niki get your fat ass up there, I can't hold you all day!" Addy shouted from below, with Niki's ass pressed up against his face... not that he was complaining... not really... and with a gentle push Niki got his footing back and ascended to the roof, closely followed by Addison.

Ghost, his pistol still trained on the couple, glared at them with discontent. The young arctic rabbit had kept his identity secret for many years, silencing anyone who had seen his face. These actions however created a loneliness within him, unable to connect with others, distancing himself from everyone, eventually leading to a form of paranoia that all but consumed him.

His only way of dealing with it was to shut everything out, focus on the mission, no friends or relationships. Unfortunately, this lifestyle was taking its toll on him and he longed for someone to talk to, someone to connect with, someone to befriend. Ghost was hoping that taking on Addison and Niki he would be able to fill the void, that he could finally make some friends.

Although he was only in his mid-twenties, the assassin gained quite the reputation for completing exceptionally difficult contracts. His preferred method of killing, if you hadn't guessed, was long range. He only felt comfortable on a job if the target was far enough away that they could be killed without even hearing the shot. Far enough that any security or hidden threats wouldn't have any time to react as the bullet flew through the air and hit its mark, each and every time. Ghost was classified as the deadliest, most effective long-distance shooter on the planet. Rarely did he ever have to take a second shot on a target, even to judge distance. The rabbit had fired his custom R700 enough times to know the kick back intimately, to know the flight time of the bullet accurately and to gauge the distance perfectly. One shot on anyone was all the rabbit needed.
And from just 20 feet away, Niki was about to find out just how deadly his accuracy was... or so he thought...

Ghost lowered his pistol and motioned with it to join him on the roof. By this time Niki had clambered onto the edge of the roof, just beside the opening for the skylight with Addy following just behind. the pair looked at each other with a hint of fear in their eyes. This lapin was unpredictable, one minute he could be holding you at gunpoint and the next he could be staring at you complacently as if waiting for his orders.

Not wanting to anger him, the jackals slowly made their way over to him, paws raised to show no sign of threat to the smaller mammal. Within just a few seconds they had closed the distance and were standing in front of the half nude rabbit, Niki blushing a little.

"I-Is everything okay s-sir?" He muttered, scared of his own words as if he was speaking out of place.

Ghost placed his pistol on the roof beside him and patted the metal next to him as if to say sit down. It was time he made some friends. Time to do something that went against what his instincts were telling him. He lowered his mask and set it on the roof just beside his gun. The arctic rabbit was, for want of a better description, unremarkable. His fur was brilliant white as was typical with his breed, with no discernible markings on his face or ears. His nose however was more reminiscent of a hare, larger and more pronounced on his face than a rabbit would be. His perfect crystal blue eyes were a focal point for the mammal, not many having such strikingly powerful colours.

One feature that would set him apart from any other arctic rabbit would be a large, long scar that stretched from his upper lip on the left side, running down his mouth and continuing on down his neck. From the end of the scar was yet another, even more gruesome looking wound. It was understandable now why the small mammal couldn't speak, his throat at one point in his past had been cut... cut being the mild term... in truth it looked more like someone had tried to remove his head. The rest of his body was covered in other wounds, a kind of connect the dots of past injuries ranging from scrapes to knife wounds and bullet holes. This rabbit, for being so young had seen his fair share of violent chapters.

The jackals were stunned. Hearing all the tales of the infamous Ghost, that the lapin never removed his mask for anyone, that no one knew his identity nor anything else about him. They felt honoured.
He took out his small notepad and pen from his combat pants and began to write in it. When finished he handed it to Addison and pointed to it, wanting his to read out oud for Niki to hear also.

"My name is Ghost, pleased to meet you... What the hell? We already know who you are, what is this?" Addison asked, a hint of confusion and anger in his voice. Upon finishing his reading of the note, he was offered another. "I would like to start fresh"

"Aww Addy, he wants to make peace! Hello, my name is Nikola and this is my mate, Addison! Do we just call you ghost?" Niki said, to which Ghost nodded and began to write some more. Giddy with anticipation Niki was eagerly awaiting Ghost's next note. "Ohhh Addy, the bunny is opening up! I bet he has all kinds of neat stories to tell!"

"Yeah can't wait..." Addison said with annoyance. Ghost picked up on this and before handing over another note he wrote a little side note on the paper especially for Addy and handed it to Niki.

"Problems trusting people, no friends, want to make new start, want to apologise to you and Addy for my actions. P.s. Addison I'm sorry to you in particular, I did not mean to be so rude, it's how I cope" Niki read out, a little confused by 'cope'. "What exactly do you mean by cope? If i may ask?

Ghost began once again to write in his notepad, this time take a little longer than usual, making sure to get every detail of how he wanted his words to come across correct. He passed it once more to Niki.

"Cope with other mammals, to block them out. Last time I trusted someone intimately, she slit my throat with her own claws. My own mate tried to murder me... Oh Ghost... I'm so sorry, if you want to change the subject, lets" Niki asked, trying to comprehend how someone could do that to their one true love.

This revelation tugged on Addison's heart strings. He may be cold on the outside but deep down he didn't really have a grudge against the lapin. Being dropped by him the previous day and held at gunpoint mildly annoyed him but otherwise he knew that the Ghost was in a similar situation than he and Niki were in. Forced to do unspeakable things, not being treated like equals and being isolated from everyone else. "Ghost... may I ask something?"

The rabbit turned to face Addy, their eyes locked in an intense stare-off.

"What does War have on you that makes you his puppet?" Addison asked with a slight hesitation, unsure of if it was his place to ask or not. War would usually have others outside of his jackal subordinates that completed various other odds and ends for him, most of them being forced to usually through blackmail or threat of violence. Violence however could be ruled out in Ghost's case, Addy being all but sure that Ghost could take him in a battle.

Ghost hesitated, briefly looking towards the city and taking a deep breath before clicking his pen and beginning to note down his thoughts. When completed he passed the paper to Addy who proceeded to read its contents to himself at first.

"Uhu... so... Master War knows your real name? I understand how to an assassin that could be a major problem but I don't understand how that would be significant enough for you not to take a shot at him from a long way off..."

"Addison... War sent that Wolf 'Abernine' to bunny burrow 2 weeks ago... remember? It stands to reason that if he knows Ghost's name then he knows his family..." Niki spoke up with concern in his voice. Concern for the young rabbit who at this point had risen to his feet and began to slip his mask back on, gun in paw and looking towards the skylight. "Huh? What's wrong?"

"Well, it didn't take you very long to piece that one together now did it?... and here I always thought you were a little touched in the head!" An unknown voice said, the voice coming from the skylight coupled with the faint clicking of claws ascending the metal ladder to the roof. When the mystery mammal revealed himself, he was met with the barrel of Ghost's 9mm pointed his direction.

"Woooow big guy, I'm just here to deliver a message. Wouldn't want to shoot the messenger, so to speak hahaha". This new Jackal on the rooftop revealed with a wicked grin upon his muzzle. The pupils of his golden coloured eyes were small, crazed in appearance. He was tall for a jackal, well rounded and muscular. His clothes were dark and old, as if he only had the one set comprised of navy jeans, a black jacket, and hiking boots. The overall appearance of him was that of a mental patient, deranged and psychotic. For that he was.

"Cerberus... fuck do you want?" Niki spat at the other Jackal as he approached. Addison positioned himself in front of his mate to protect him from anything... unexpected.

"Relax, pillow-biter, I'm not here for you... just a little job War wants his token bunny to do for him, it's your specialty after all isn't it?" Cerberus laughed as he pushed his way past Addison, knocking him to the ground and stood in front of Niki with a disgusted look on his face as he stared at the younger, smaller mammal before him. "Yaknow, I have no idea why War bought you. You are tiny, weak, dumb and fit for fuck all... you disgust me"

Niki had heard all of these insults before. Being on of War's personal assistants didn't affect how the other jackals seen his and Addison's relationship. Most found it unusual and unnatural. Cerberus' words hurt, but it was pretty tame compared to other times...

Ghost had heard enough and forced his way between the two Jackals to separate them, holstering his pistol and snatching at the letter in Cerberus' paw.

"Fine, whatever, hope you fags enjoy your party up here, I'm out!" Cerberus said as he turned towards the skylight, flicking Addison on the forehead on his way past.

Niki let out a suppressed sigh, his pent-up anger boiling down to a simple exhale. He knew that he couldn't touch that asshole in any way because he was War's favourite. That jackal was essentially untouchable. "I'm sorry you had to see that. He's had it out for us for years..."

Ghost helped Addison to his feet and gave an 'Okay' symbol using his paw.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Niki?" Addy said as he walked over to his mate to inspect him for injury.

Niki was just inches away from bursting into tears himself but held strong for Addy's sake. "W-what does the note say?"

Ghost opened the envelope and read its contents to himself, skimming over its words carefully before folding the page back up and slipping it back where it came.

"Is there a problem?" Addison asked carefully, grabbing onto Niki's paw for additional support.

The ghost didn't reply. He simply looked up at the two jackals, his cold, crystal eyes staring aimlessly at them. There was hint of a slight tremble in his paw, as if something had got his heart racing, something got him excited for a job. At last, a chance to prove his worth, his skills. A true test of his murderous capabilities. A chance to prove he was indeed Death.