Central Precinct was nearly overrun by the time Wolford returned from his lunchbreak. Reporters were overflowing, bursting from the main lobby, and flooding into the streets. McHorn and Higgins were on the front lines of the insanity, their sheer size alone keeping the crowd at bay. Near the edges of the clambering, Jason caught a glimpse of Officer Grizzoli, trying his best to contain a sheep without ruffling its wool, both literally and metaphorically. Being a rather large wolf, it wouldn't take much for an innocent gesture to be taken the wrong way, and there weren't many places worse that could happen than being surrounded by cameras.

Shaking his head, Wolford slinked his way around the edge of the crowd toward the elevator. His busy tail swished impatiently from side to side while he waited. The doors couldn't open fast enough. Though he wasn't at the center of the chaos, he could still feel the animals' eyes on him. Watching him. Judging him. Keeping their distance. He nearly jumped when a zebra came around the corner, returning from the bathroom, and almost walked right into him. The hooved animal did jump, visibly startled by the sudden appearance of the large predator. And as was the case with most prey animals these days, it seemed even his blues weren't enough to assuage his concern. An apprehensive nod of acknowledgement was all he got from him.

Thus, Wolford curled his mouth upward in what — he hoped — was a reassuring grin, to ease the tension. Being careful, his lips tightly pressed together in his attempt, resulting in a rather goofy expression. He felt utterly silly, but it couldn't be helped; he had learned long ago that showing teeth with a smile was one of the quickest ways to send an uneasy prey animal into a panic. Thankfully, it seemed to work, the striped horse visibly relaxed at the sight of his face. Unfortunately, it didn't last for very long. It was all over when his eyes drifted down to his paw. Jason followed his line of sight right to the partially packaged lunch in his grip… the remaining half of a chicken sandwich.

The timber wolf attempted to laugh it off, subtly hiding the half-bite from view. The reporter said nothing, but from the way he huffed and stalked away, he knew the damage was already done. And to top it all off, the elevator doors finally slid open, a moment too late. Rolling his eyes, he stepped inside. He waited until the doors slid closed before he bit into his sandwich again, letting out a quiet groan of satisfaction when he did. As if he was going to let some stuck up equine stop him from enjoying his lunch.

When he arrived at his floor, he wandered his way over to the office, unsurprised to see two of his colleagues working diligently at their desks. The pair had never taken a day off as far as he knew since their arrival, so their presence at this point was all but a permanent fixture. At his own shared desk a few seats away sat his partner, who offered a wave before returning to his paperwork.

Jason's body sagged the moment he sank into his seat, fur ruffling with a huff. Screw professionalism, he was exhausted. Between the physical toll of working through the crime scene and examining for clues and the emotional toll of cleaning up the mess — he had finally gotten a peak under that white blanket in the morgue and immediately wished he hadn't — he was drained. Homicide cases were never pleasant to work on, even when they weren't as grisly as the one he had witnessed. Contrary to what many believed from his gruff exterior, Wolford was generally averse to violence. He always tried to resolve conflicts as peacefully as possible, whenever possible. The sight and smell of blood didn't inherently bother him. But this particular case was a bit much even for him.

Not that that ever seemed to matter to anyone else.

"Hey Jason!" Judy greeted him from her seat at the desk. He returned her acknowledgement with a nod, too tired to match her seemingly endless font of energy. Jackson was next, giving him a gentle nudge before returning to his paperwork. File after file, document after document, victim after victim. And now, they could add Casie Thompson to the list. That was precisely what he did, sliding her file at the bottom of the others before carefully cracking open another.

Taking a bite of his lunch, he grumbled. "Please tell me you've made some progress."

"Aside from a new call-in since you left, nothing much," Jackson answered. "At least this one survived."

"Thank Lupus for that…"

Nick leaned back in his chair to give his eyes a break from staring at the computer screen. He had been at it for hours. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, we haven't had much luck either."

"You? Well damn, if you two can't find our animals, then no one can," Jackson quipped.

"Har har," Judy huffed, letting her file drop on the desk. "At least last time we had some leads, no matter how small. This time around it's like we're chasing ghosts."

Jackson gave a solemn nod, flipping through the pages of his most recent document. Chasing ghosts. There really was no better comparison. Their colleague spoke the truth; it was probably the most frustrating thing about their case. Countless victims. No suspects. No trace. It was as though the perpetrators would commit the crime and disappear without leaving so much as a shred of evidence behind. The cameras captured nothing, not even the animals entering the area. No scents were left behind, no fur samples. It was like they were being wiped from existence, vanishing into thin air. It just didn't make any sense.

"That makes four of us…" Grabbing three from the pile, he spread them out across the desk and opened each of them, absentmindedly reading the information held within.

Sean Hoggs, male, age twenty-three, warthog. The victim was walking home from a bar in the Savannah District when he was attacked. His windpipe had been crushed, arm and legs broken, ear torn clean off. Found dead at the scene, no suspects at this time.

Diana Clopps, female, age thirty-seven, horse. Victim was going for a jog early morning in Central Park area. Body was found off the path, lacerations across multiple parts of the body, most prominently the abdominal area. Cause of death suspected to be blood loss. Claw marks consistent with big cat species. Found dead at the scene, no suspects at this time.

Stacey Whitetail, female, age twenty-eight, deer. Victim was found near her apartment complex in the late hours of the evening. Cause of death believed to be blood loss. Body was disemboweled, sustaining injuries consistent with canid species. Found dead at the scene, no suspects at this time.

They offered almost no helpful information. The story was the same for every file, different injuries, different causes of death, and different locations, but they all ended in the same way. A painful, and often gruesome death, for the victim. From what he could tell, a large number of the victims were female. If he had to estimate, he would say the number was almost three to one.

But there didn't seem to be any consistency between them. They varied from young to middle-aged. The only thing they shared in common were the times of death. Most occurred during early morning or late at night, consistent with the nocturnal habits of many predators. For what it was worth, the perpetrators didn't seem to be targeting females particularly, so much as they all happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just plain bad luck. Not that that made the situation any better.

Even worse, nearly every animal on file was a member of the prey species. But that was primarily because those were the only ones that ended in homicide. There had been multiple incidents involving predator species as well, but those more often than not ended in assaults and occasionally injury. Only a couple had actually resulted in death, which wasn't surprising. Predators were equipped to defend themselves. Most prey animals just weren't built to handle three-inch claws. But across all of them, one thing remained consistent. No suspect was ever found.

Nick gave a low whistle, listening to each victim's file with increasing concern. While he had heard rumors of the individual cases — mostly from news stations and hearsay — to actually hear it from the case file was something else entirely. One of the victims had his ear torn off? Another one had been disemboweled? If that wasn't a form of savagery, he didn't know what was. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought he was listening to a documentary on the History Channel. Utterly disturbing.

"Jeez… And not a single one of these left behind any evidence? Damn. Starting to wonder if our perps are getting snatched up themselves. Seems a little too convenient, right?"

"Right…" Judy murmured, her eyes scanning over her most recent case file. Adrian Clawson, leopard. Aged fifteen. "Wait…" Suddenly, her ears shot up like two rods, eyes rounding in disbelief. "Right!"

"Huh?" Nick shot back up, his expression hardening at the sound of his partner's voice. He knew that tone. Everyone did. It was the same one she had taken just before postulating that someone was making the predators go savage. It meant that Judy had an idea. That she was on to something.

"Jason, bring those files over here, really quick," she asked.

The two large predators exchanged a look of confusion. What on earth had set her off was anyone's guess, but if the look of determination on her face meant anything, she may have found a clue to solving the case. Judy Hopps' intuition was almost never wrong. With a shrug, Wolford gathered up the documents from his partner and brought them over to the other pair's desk.

Taking them from him, she spread them out across the desk side by side. Her purple orbs ran back across each line like a scanner, taking in every detail. Her little nose wiggled in concentration and her fluffy tail stood straight up. Her mind was working, they could tell. She was on the edge of a breakthrough. "Nick. What do you know about hyenas?"

"They're obnoxious, travel in packs, and laugh at just about everything."

Jackson snorted, quickly regaining his composure from the look his partner shot him. Judy shook her head. "Not your opinions of them. I mean, their biology. Their behavior. You watch the History Channel sometimes, how do they…" she swallowed. "How do they… hunt?"

Nick stared at her for a moment, unsure of how to take her question. Ever since the Night Howler incident, his partner had spent a great deal of time of time expanding her knowledge on predators. She learned their habits, their lifestyles, and in many cases, the behaviors of their ancient ancestors. And as he spent the majority of his time with her, he did too. He had even started watching the channel in his spare time.

Part of him wanted to believe that she did it purely out of curiosity. If there was one thing Judy Hopps always was, it was prepared. But the other part of him always wondered if she had done it for survival. If, while she would never admit it, she did it in the event that she should ever have to face a predator — to face him — for real. Confused, he exchanged a look with the other two predators in the room. He received a shrug in response. "They, uh… well, there are a few ways. But they typically go for the neck. Crushing the bones and windpipe."

"I knew it!"

Her outburst made all three of them startle, looking between themselves and back at the bunny. They watched her dig through her own files and documents, spreading them out on the table beneath the original three. Her eyes scanned over each one as she rearranged them, one after another, each corresponding to the one above it. After matching the first file, Nick realized what she was doing. His own ears raised in sudden interest. Once they were all lined up, the four officers made a horrifying realization.

The first pair of documents. Crushed windpipe. Broken bones. Missing mammal: hyena.

The second pair. Blood loss, claw marks consistent with big cat species. Missing mammal: panther.

The third pair. Disembowelment. Consistent with canid species. Missing mammal: African Wild Dog.

The files lined up perfectly. And Judy was willing to bet that were they to gather the others, they would find a similar pattern. It was just as Nick had said. The predators were being 'snatched up' one by one. But not before wreaking utter havoc in their wake. They would attack, annihilate, then disappear without a trace. Now, the four animals could only look at one another. The room filled with silence, tense with an unsettled understanding.

Their question was answered, and their search was over. They had all their suspects. Just no way of finding them. Of course, things could never be simple. For every door they closed, another one opened. Their cases were related. They knew that without a doubt and they now had a list of perps. What they didn't have was a motive. Why were the predators attacking in the first place? What was happening to them afterward? And where were they going? Perhaps a trip to Cliff Side was in order.

"We have to take this to Bogo, immediately," Judy mobilized, leaping from her seat and gathering up the files. But before she could go any further, a large furry paw landed on her shoulder. Following the arm upward brought her eyes to Wolford who shook his head. "Jason, this is a huge lead! We have to inform the chief so we can —"

"Don't worry about it, Hopps. We'll take the information to Bogo. You should get ready and head downstairs. It's almost 3:00, and if you don't talk to those animals soon, they're gonna riot."

"What are… oh!" Judy nearly slapped her forehead. She had completely forgotten about the press conference. "Oh, cheese and crackers! I totally lost track of time!"

"It's fine," Jackson seconded, gathering his things from his desk. "Go settle the crowd. We'll head upstairs and talk to the chief. See if we can't find some way to work together on this thing. With what you've found, we might be able to piece together the next part of this case."

"Thanks guys. Let us know how it works out. You have my number."

"Sure thing. Hurry up and get down there before Higgins throws a table."

Jason powered down his computer. "Good luck, Hopps. I do not envy you."

"Thanks, Jason. So much." Her brow flattened, fixing the wolf with a look of pure sarcasm. Her colleague only laughed. It looked like her vulpine partner really was rubbing off on her, not that it was entirely a bad thing. Irritation was adorable on Judy. Of course, he would never tell her that. He didn't want to deal with Wilde, and he certainly didn't want a kick to the face. He had seen how dangerous that rabbit was with those things; the strength of her body was truly misleading. Her feet were practically lethal weapons.

"Anytime. But seriously… good luck out there. Those guys are vultures."

"Yeah, no kidding. Come on, Nick… let's get this over with."

"Right behind you, Carrots."

With the hero duo on their way downstairs, the other two predators nodded and followed after them. The foursome walked together with Judy in front, Nick at her side, Wolford and Jackson just behind. The group split upon reaching the end of the hallway, with the smaller pair stepping into the elevator and the larger continuing down the hall toward the stairwell. True to their word, they brought what they'd found straight to the chief. They explained the entire situation from their casual conversation to Judy's connection between the cases.

Wolford and Jackson watched the ungulate rub his temples, putting down the files with a heavy sigh. "I see… so we are no closer to solving the case."

"Not entirely true. Now that we have our suspects, we know what we're looking for. That's the most progress we've made thus far."

"Be that as it may…" Bogo huffed. Jason had a valid point, up until that moment they had been chasing their own tails. They couldn't have started truly working on the cases if they wanted to, they had no clue what they were looking for. Now that they had their supposed targets, perhaps four officers would be better than two. Working together had brought them this far. Things could hopefully only improve from here. Making his decision, he put his glasses onto the desk. "Very well. Jackson. Wolford. You are no longer working solely on this case. You are to combine your efforts with Hopps and Wilde. Starting tomorrow, the four of you will report for your new assignment."

"Sir," Jason agreed. Taking his leave, he and his partner made their way down the corridor.

Finally, things were looking up.