Commissioner Morgan Elba's shiny metal cane tapped across wooden planks of the deck as the water buffalo paced about his back lawn. The sun had set about an hour ago, so his visitor shouldn't be long now. Him and his little surprise.

The wind was picking up, not quite stormy but cold enough to drive Elba into the conservatory attached to his house. He had a pot of herbal tea waiting for him on the glass table, and he filled a blue mug Starlight had given him the year before she left.

He kept his eyes on the fence bordering the wall outside as he sipped. At any moment Gabriel Mossberg would vault over the white planks and make a perfect landing on the grass.

He heard the doorbell ringing from the front of the house. Elba sighed, hoping his other visitor did not intend to go any farther than the doormat, and tapped his way through the house and to the door. He stopped when he saw the door, looked through the round window and recognized the mammal on the other side.

He quickly strode up and opened the door.

"What in God's name are you doing coming through the front?" Was all Elba got out before his eyes turned downward and he saw Gabe's surprise. "Oh."

Gabe's surprise was beginning to fuss. "Are you going to let me in or not?"

Elba snorted. "I don't know. When was the last time you changed him?"

"Elba…"

Elba chuckled and stepped aside to let the feline/fox hybrid enter. The warmth of the house soon put a stop to the infant's fussing. The water buffalo had no doubt as to whom the parents were. A bittersweet feeling welled up inside him. Now that Starlight bore a child, she was one step closer to putting her dangerous lifestyle behind them. On the other hoof, the fact that she wasn't here with her husband and son could only mean one thing.

"What's his name?" Elba guided Gabe to the couches in the next room.

Gabe gently bounced the baby in the blue outfit. "Until I get Starlight back and we discuss the matter properly, his name is Lance."

"After King Arthur's knight?"

Gabe rolled his eyes. "Why is it that every time I tell someone his name they automatically assume he's named after Lancelot?"

"I believe the fact that the name is diminutive of Lancelot has something to do with it." Elba retrieved his mug and pot from the nearby conservatory and returned with a smile. "That's probably why your grandparents named your father."

"I highly doubt that." Gabe accepted the mug, holding the baby with one arm as he drank.

Elba's smile widened as he remembered the look of pure disgust on young Starlight's face when she had tried tea for the first time. He sat down on an armchair beside the feline. "I suppose it's for the best that he isn't named after Lancelot. Arthur's reign might have lasted a little bit longer if his best knight hadn't decided to take a slice of the queen."

Gabe's face turned blank. Elba tilted his head. "I'm talking about an affair, Gabriel."

"Oh."

"Though there is a version of the legend where Lancelot executed the formerly named Gwenhwyfar and entombed Sir Mordred with her body, which he consumed bit by bit until he eventually died of starvation."

By now Gabe had laid his paw over his face. "Is there a point to this conversation?"

"I'm making you uncomfortable while at the same time admiring the child you and Starlight created." Elba reached out and stroked the baby's cheek. His spots were lighter than the rest his fur, creamy white like Starlight's. "Can I hold him?"

Gabe wordlessly held out the infant. He was small, much more so than a water buffalo calf, but that didn't change how adorable he was. Elba held little Lance in the crook of his arm and looked back to Gabe.

"You'd be my son-in-law had society allowed me to adopt Starlight, so I may as well treat you like one."

"Christ on a bike, Elba." Gabe muttered, though it was clear he appreciated the sentiment.

Elba leaned back in his chair, his mind turning to more worrying thoughts. "Have you located her yet at least?"

Gabe shook his head. "I still can't remember where they kept us. I've attracted a few allies since we last spoke, so at least I'm not the only one who's looking for her."

"And you still can't tell me what made her disappear in the first place?"

Gabe looked pained as he gazed at the older mammal. "The only reason you've never had spies knocking on your door…" He frowned at the look Elba gave him. "You know what I mean! Anyway, the reason you don't have spies watching your back is that you don't know too much. The only reason I'm here is that I know Starlight would have wanted you to know about Lance. Trust me, you'll be a lot safer worrying about the gang war in Tundratown."

"Yes, there are reports of a mammal matching your description being present at that horrible business at the Arctic House. A predator who killed dozens of his own kind before escaping in a stolen police car." Elba eyed the feline.

Gabe's arms curled around Lance protectively. "So am I a fugitive?"

"As much a fugitive as your father was when he escaped the massacre of his fellow terrorists in the capital. He was never publicly identified either." Elba paused. "It's a pity he met an early grave anyway. Forgive me, that must still be a sore subject for you."

Gabe hid his sorrow by gulping his tea until the mug was almost completely hiding his face. "I keep thinking about what I did to those predators… and to Antlerson. They were criminals, I know, and your people would have probably killed them yourselves at that shootout. But I wish it had never came to that."

Elba made his way to the cabinet where he kept his stronger beverages and picked out a half-full bottle of whiskey. "I think those words every time a hostage situation or some other calamity ends in death and destruction. I've thought those words every single day since Roarcadia. But all we can do is live with it and convince ourselves that our actions at the time were necessary." He poured glass and gave it to Gabe. "You may regret the horrendous damage you did to Antlerson, but you would have regretted it far more had you left him in any condition to continue abducting little boys and girls, I can promise you that."

"But now I've got every officer in the city hunting for his attacker. If they find out you know who attacked Antlerson and kept that from them, you could be incarcerated or worse."

"Then let us hope we can trust each other to stay silent. And you are not the only one being hunted."

"Yeah, I saw that fox at the Arctic House. He must have been the reason Koslov's goons were there in the first place."

"And he escaped in a stolen police car, just like you did." Elba said pointedly. Gabe cringed and opened his mouth to defend himself, but Elba cut him off. "Don't say another word on the matter, Gabriel. I will trust your judgment for now, but I expect you to keep a very close eye on him. But the fox is not who I'm talking about. In case you haven't heard, Antlerson disappeared as soon as he was discharged. The ZPD are currently seeking him out concerning several issues concerning his and Woolton's versions of events."

Gabe looked sharply up from the glass of whiskey in his paw. "They're actually doubting what happened?"

"Well, some of them are. Apparently a surgeon and that visiting government agent Jack Savage both pointed out that the injuries inflicted on Antlerson don't suit a savage attack. Neither did the supposed scene of the crime."

Gabe slowly lowered the whiskey onto the coffee table. "Do they have any suspects?"

"I'm afraid not, but whoever you believe is behind Antlerson's abduction of that little girl, trust me, the situation in this city is as precarious for them as it is for you."

Gabe drank the last of the whiskey. "I know you well enough to know you're going to offer to take Lance and Sherry off my paws until I find Starlight. You know why I can't do that. If the wrong people find two intended test subjects hidden in your house, all three of you will be in danger."

Elba nodded sadly. "And if I make the offer anyway?"

Gabe shook his head. "I should go. I've got to get Lance back home and Starlight still needs me. Thanks for the tea and whiskey."

"And thank you for telling me about Lance." Elba reluctantly returned the baby and led Gabe to the door. He stopped before opening it. "Can't you at least tell me why someone wants the fox and cheetah dead?"

"They both saw too much. That's all I can say. You will look after him, won't you?"

"Of course."

"And don't trust anyone from T.U.S.K. A group of them tried to kill Wilde, and he wasn't even carrying a penknife."

Elba narrowed his eyes. "Understood." He opened the door, giving one last warm glance at the little boy in Gabriel's arms as he stepped outside. "I'm glad you're naming the boy after your father. He may technically have been a terrorist once, but he was a better mammal than the original Lancelot ever was."

The tingling of his phone immediately followed the sound of the door closing behind Gabe. Morgan Elba irritably tapped his cane on the floor as he answered and heard Chief Truchbull's voice.

His blood ran colder with each distraught word that came through the receiver.

"My God."