As soon as their three hours on the track ended, a cheetah, the owner of the track, signaled for them to head back to the pit after this lap. It was about time according to the fox too, as he had started to get tired no matter how much fun this was. This much high-speed driving, especially for the first time, would probably drain anyone.

"Alright, I think I made a nice time out there," Nick said. "What was my best?"

"2:06," Judy said looking at her phone, which she'd used as a stopwatch.

"Nice! Not bad at all! And what was the track's best?"

"You mean the all-time best?" Judy glanced at Nick

"Yeah!" Nick nodded while leaning the car towards the pit lane. "I feel like I'm close. Maybe off by ten or fifteen seconds."

Judy quickly typed something in her phone and after a few taps, she grimaced at the information she saw. "Do you really want to know? The best is set by professional racers. You shouldn't compare yourself with someone who is making a living out of racing."

"Go on!" Nodded Nick

"Okay…" Judy sighed. "The track best was set by Allen Saw. It was 1:16."

"1:16?! How?" The surprised Nick looked at Judy with widened eyes "It's not even possible! Or… How…"

"-Road! Look at the road."

"Yeah yeah sorry. 1:16... Jesus." Nick shook his head while thinking about how that particular time was even possible. Sure it was almost obvious that he wouldn't make a track record driving for the first time, but he thought he was at least close.

As they left the track, Nick was amazed by how slow thirty miles per hour seemed after two hundred. It was almost like they were parking and if they were going slower, they would be going backward. As neither of them had anything better to do and their stomachs were signaling that it was time to eat something, Nick parked the car next to Zonko's fast food restaurant.

'Zonko's. Where predators and prey can eat in harmony.' The sign stated below the logo, the sideways portrait of the smiling goat, who had his arms crossed, a spatula held in one of his hooves. The place was quite full, it was lunchtime after all. After finding an empty table in the middle of the restaurant, Judy told Nick to take a seat while she orders food.

"Same as always?" Judy asked to make sure before standing in the enormous queue

"You've read my mind." Nick said "Oh! And blueberry ice cream if they still have it!" He watched as the rabbit disappeared in the crowd and he was left alone to guard their precious 4 seat table. The line turned out to be longer than they anticipated and after 10 minutes of waiting and reading the calorie distribution of different meals, the fox started thinking about his new 'job' if he could call it that.

Now the situation seemed a bit more promising after hours on the track. Still, nowhere near to the required skill that would be needed, the fact that he was 1 minute behind the track's best was a good example but he was more confident. For his first race, he tried to set his expectations low. Just don't come last and don't get caught. He couldn't help smiling at this last part of the sentence. He told himself this a lot of times during the hustling years and it seemed like he will need to do it again. 'Just don't get caught!'

"Sorry, the lady before me was SUPER pissed, and she asked for the manager JUST because she couldn't get her ice cream. Oh yeah sorry, no blueberry ice cream for you. Their machine is broken." Judy placed a burger in front of Nick, and a salad in front of herself

"That should be their second slogan." Nick chuckled, grabbing his lunch "Their ice cream machine is never in working condition. 'The place where predator and prey eat in harmony, but not their ice cream. The machine is broken and we will never fix it because screw you.' Nah, probably not. It isn't that catchy." After taking a bite from his burger, he added. "But I gotta admit they do know what they are doing with this thing. Their sauce is delicious."

"Have you got any plans for tonight?" Judy changed the subject

"Ooh! Plans for tonight, eh? Want to go on a date or what?"

Judy rolled her eyes. "You know how I've meant it. The job."

Focusing more on his lunch, Nick asked "Are you sure we should discuss that here?"

"Yep." Judy Nodded "Even I can't hear any other conversation properly, this whole place is a chaos. They could be talking about blowing this whole place up right next to us and I still wouldn't have any idea."

"Alright," Nick shrugged and took another bite. "I don't have a plan per se. I will search for multiple sports cars suspiciously standing next to each other after sunset. I'll try to ask 'nicely' first, but if they are stubborn I could still drop in a few movie strategies. Like you know... 'Hey, your car seems fast but this one here could leave you behind in 2 seconds. Go on, prove me wrong!' So yeah, mainly improvising. Hopefully, I will stumble onto a big name eventually. So my plan is: Win the races and get locations."

"You can always quit, you know…" Judy cautiously brought up the possibility. She was probably thinking about this for a long time now. "I bet even Bogo would understand if you rejected this job. I still don't quite understand why he picked YOU."

"My obvious driving skill wasn't enough?" Nick grinned

"No, it's not that… I mean… Kind of… He should have picked someone with more experience in driving. Like Wolfard?" Judy asked with hopeful eyes.

"He is horrible with undercover jobs, even he knows that. Don't get me wrong, I love that guy… But he's only good as an ordinary officer. I guess Bogo didn't want to use him after the 'Wolf in sheep's clothing' job was a terrible failure."

"Yeah… Maybe Delgato?"

"Out of question. Just like you, he was on TV a lot lately. Sure, if our racing buddies lived under a rock for the past weeks it could work out. But I doubt that's the situation here."

"O-kay…" She started thinking about other names. "Grizzoli on the other paw..."

"Again… I hate to break it to you but... Not the best actor. I bet his cover would be compromised within a few days. Our little 'Hyper' Higgins would be the best, but he was assigned to Tundratown a few months ago. I bet Bogo tried to contact him first."

"So that leaves us..."

"...With me, who has experience with undercover jobs and has a slight knowledge about driving." Nick finished Judy's sentence. "It will be challenging I'm sure, but I won't back out right at the start! Let's just see where it goes. If I fail or feel like I make no progress, I'll return the car immediately to the chief. Sounds good?"

"Sounds good." Judy nodded. "Also I hope I don't need to tell you this but after today's evening don't go around during the daytime with the mustang. It will be most likely set on a watchlist, and you'll be stopped as soon as any of our colleagues spots you. You know… Us cops aren't THAT stupid."

"Mhmm," Nick growled with a full mouth. "That one got obvious right after you pulled blackmail on me. Not ALL cops are stupid."

Upon finishing their meal they both headed outside. To Nick, the afternoon seemed dangerously closer to the evening. In a few hours, he'd be speeding through the streets, presumably with a few cop cars on his tail. It would be hard being on the other side of the chase, that one was obvious.

The hours passed quicker than usual, and even the sun seemed to hide behind the horizon with record speed. After 8 Pm Nick and Judy said their goodbyes and they both went their own separate ways. Nick fired up the engine for the millionth time that day and headed out onto the main roads. He knew the first reported races usually came from downtown so he headed that way, keeping to every speed restriction and watching every single sign, as he had no intention of getting into a car chase before he could show up to a race. He didn't need to search a lot. After ten minutes of wandering around aimlessly, he'd already spotted what he was looking for. Three cars standing next to each other on a less crowded street.

"Is there room for one more?" Nick asked after rolling down the driver's side window. A rabbit, that was previously talking to the owner of a Pwudi, looked up and walked towards the newcomer.

"You're in luck bud. We were looking for one more." the jackrabbit said, looking inside the mustang. "Are you new? Haven't seen you rolling around before."

"Yep. But even though I'm new, you can be sure I'll be the first to cross the finish line."

"Alright big mouth, race first and then we will see. Quick info. I want to see clean races. If I spot you playing dirty, you can be sure I won't let you race around again."

Nick raised an eyebrow "Why? What are you, some big name?"

"I organize these races, let that be enough for you. If you can't win by playing fair, this isn't your race. It will be a short sprint. At that corner go left, after that you'll see signs where to head next, mainly arrows on led signs, pointing in the right direction. The ending line will be on Herd street. Also... Cops are already talking about them." He pointed towards the three waiting cars with a… Police radio? Nick was a bit surprised but tried hiding his shocked expression. How did he get that? "Join only if you can handle a bit of heat."

"Oh please. Cops won't be able to stop me that easily."

"Mhmm. One more thing. The entrance fee is 50 dollars. Winner takes 90% of all, so you'll get 180."

"90%? Why is that?"

"Try organizing these races without helpers. It's their payment for the trouble. If you win, meet me at Flock street tomorrow at 10 am. I will wait for you for 10 minutes. You show up, you get paid. If you lose, I don't want to see you until evening, got it?"

"Got it."

"Oh… and in case you get caught... DON'T you dare bring this on me. Not only will I deny it all, but I also have a few friends who you wouldn't like to meet with. So be a nice fox, will you?"

"Alright..." Nick shrugged and after fishing for the money a bit, he gave the 50 bucks to the rabbit. "But I have friends YOU wouldn't like to meet so… Make sure I'll get paid, bud."

The rabbit chuckled with a slight smile. "Win the race first, big mouth, and then we can talk about payment."

"Sorry, didn't quite catch your name," Nick shouted it to the leaving rabbit

"I didn't say it." The rabbit shouted back without looking at the fox.

Normally giving money to a stranger who doesn't even give you a name and hoping for more cash in return was a horrible idea. Nick got ready for the possibility that he wouldn't see any of that money ever again, even if he won this race. Getting scammed was really likely right now as he was just some rookie, that gives money to anyone who lets him race. Unfortunately, he had no other idea how to get started with racing. 'Rabbit scamming a fox. Boy, do I have a deja vu feeling right now?' Nick chuckled to himself while lining up with the other cars.

Nick took a look at the driver next to him, inside a blue Neko. The red panda barely seemed older than eighteen, but definitely less than twenty.

"Of course." Nick shook his head, laughing a bit. Most of the racers they caught, barely passed the adult age. There was one time they caught a middle-aged cheetah during the day because he was driving in a car that they chased the previous night. He was quite surprised that his car was on the watchlist. Turned out, his son took it for a bit of a joyride the previous evening. Of course, it could have been a trick, but really unlikely. At least Nick was confident he would have picked up on their lie.

"Alright, on my mark." The jackrabbit said, standing between the four cars. He listened in one more time to the radio and informed them about what he had heard "Police will be on you shortly, most likely after the third corner. Be ready." He raised one of his paws and after a short moment of waiting he quickly lowered it. Nick heard all four engines roaring up.

Despite his lack of experience and horrible start he still managed to come off as first at the beginning. He was even more surprised after keeping the lead, upon leaving the first corner. Looking in the mirror, he already saw his opponents slowly falling behind and the gap became larger and larger.

After a brief moment of confusion, he decided that it will be better to keep his attention on the road, and think later. He had those arrows to keep an eye out too and he might just miss them if he keeps looking behind himself. He knew how to get to Herd street, it wasn't that far if they took the fastest route, but right now he had no idea if that would be the case here. There were a million plus one possible ways to get to Herd street, the fastest route might not be the planned one right now.

"Alright, slow down," Nick muttered to himself as the corner was coming, with a shining arrow pointing right. It was just like the displays you see in front of pizzerias, but instead of inviting you inside for a nice meal, it was pointing to the direction they were supposed to go. As nothing else was there, and the finish line was that way, he decided to follow the 'Pizzeria' instructions.

He pushed the brakes way before he normally would. It was one of Judy's advice. If you still push the brakes while turning the steering wheel that can result in some unpleasant experiences. Wheels lock in and you give the wall a warm welcome. He released the brake right before turning the wheel. The car handled like magic at this low speed. He followed the road and glanced at the mirror again. Quite a few seconds had passed before he spotted his opponents turning the same way he did.

The fox gave a bit of a victorious grin then looked back at the road. "Slight left, slight right." He recalled this road's layout. They were patrolling this way quite often with Judy. "CAR!" He almost yelled as he did a dodging maneuver, while the horn unforgivingly 'shouted' behind him from the civilian car he'd just overtook.

He positioned himself back in his lane as he didn't want to stay on the oncoming part. That would be just too much for him. He was already far away from his comfort zone by going 100 streets, he didn't want to go further by trying his luck with the oncoming lane. He was already far ahead. There was no need for getting more lead.

He finally reached a crossroad that had another arrow pointing left, below the street name sign. It was quite hard to miss actually if you knew what to look for. The cornering was a bit awkward as he had to avoid a car that was standing exactly on the right-turning lane, waiting for the lights to change green. So Nick turned from the right lane to the left while other cars had green ahead of him. Not dangerous at all.

His ears perked up as a siren loudly rang behind him. Looks like his little maneuver didn't remain unnoticed. Looking at the silhouette of a tiger and the license plate, it was obvious for Nick who was behind the wheels. "Ayyy! Fangy! Joining the party?" He joked mainly to himself, while still looking at the road. Now he had his colleague to worry about too.

Fortunately, he knew the tigress' driving style. It wasn't anything aggressive, or strategic, only following the suspect until ordered to do otherwise. So the early braking strategy can still work out, as Fangmeyer won't knock him out of the road by bumping into his car. On the other paw… If the chase will last longer, more officers will join, and it will be almost impossible to escape with no experience on how to do it. Nick knew how things were going on the other side of the chase but not here. Despite his 'outlaw' past he never actually had to take place in car chases. He and Finnick made sure everything went as they wanted it to.

So he had to finish the race quickly and lose his loud shadow back there. They usually report back immediately to the station with a 10-80 (Chase in progress) But it takes for a while to ask for a 10-78 (Need of assistance) in case the suspect stops. In 8-9 minutes they would get the backup to Herd street even from the station, so Nick had about that much time to finish the race and hide somewhere. After that, he could even give himself up.

His only hope was that he won't get much attention as he was only a 'newbie' and he was spotted for the first time. The 'Heavy guns' only get pulled if they spot a car that has been on a watchlist for a while. So Nick was quite sure he wasn't worth being chased by a helicopter, or any high-speed unit.

With this assumption in mind, he carried on with the race. In the corner of his eyes, he saw one of the three other racers abandoning the race by turning right, where he took the dangerous left turn. The other two seemed to be determined to get back into the 1st spot. Well… Nick would be too if he was 20 and knew his money was still on the line. The R8 and the Lancer Evo were still behind him. Losing by five hundred feet, but still in view. One small mistake could change everything.

"Not much road left." Nick was quite sure now he could win this thing. He started this whole race hoping for a third or best-case scenario, a second-place but NOW he was running for first. His colleague on his tail, and opponents not far behind, but still in a great position.

He entered the 2 lane roundabout with a safe enough speed to make the turn. The last thing he wanted was to fly through it and potentially wreck the car. He didn't need any sign to tell him he had to take the 1st exit, but the arrow was there, pointing in that exact direction too. He pushed the gas again, lengthening the gap between him and others.

Another car joined the chase, but it was far behind, so Nick had no idea who drove it. Probably for the best. 'Just focus on the road dumb fox! Or would you like to say hi to them?' he could almost hear Judy's mocking advice. Or at least if she was next to him right now, she would probably constantly tell him to focus on the road ahead and not the cars behind.

Two corners were between him and the win. That's all. One right and one left, probably less than one mile. In the meantime, he saw Fangmeyer falling behind a bit. It was either because he was ordered to focus on the 2 other racers, or just simply couldn't keep up. Either way, it was great news for the fox. Bigger chance to escape.

He slowed down again, now leaving even more road to do so. He was as cautious as possible since he had a lot of space between him and his rivals. He turned onto a little one-way road. He was a bit more nervous because the parked cars had left him a tighter place to drive on but he still managed to go through it with record speed.

While getting closer to a stop sign, every inch of him wanted to step on the brakes. He could even hear his instructor saying. 'Slow down, wheels must stop, look around first and go if you can.' but this technique would probably result in everyone catching up to him and he'd broken so many safety laws already, right now it wouldn't be his most dangerous move within the past ten minutes.

So he just ignored the danger signals in his brain and drove out of the one-way alley, almost colliding with a white van. The other driver pushed the brakes and the horn at the same time. Nick could even hear a 'Watch where you drive, PUNK!' but he was already on his way again. With no more turns and still everyone behind him, he crossed the finish line with a huge grin on his face.

It felt great, being in first after a race. Maybe a bit too great. He was an officer, after all, maybe he shouldn't be as excited about winning as he was right now. He broke so many road safety laws that were there for a reason and almost collided two times, yet he was there shouting with clear happiness in his voice. His mind was already telling him to go again, let's find another race, win everything… Just like at… His grin faded

Just like at an illegal casino after winning a lower price. He thought to himself as he saw in the distance the other cars crossing the laid out line. They let you win, so you go back for more. You try to move up and lose everything on higher stakes. "Dammit!" He cursed to himself.

This whole race was probably just set up for a newbie so he can taste how winning feels, and after he goes back for more, he just finds himself in the last place all over again, until he loses all his money. He didn't win anything. They let him win. He tried to pull himself together as he still had a colleague to outrun. But this sudden feeling of happiness faded. He was just a fool they most likely played with. They hustled they out-hustler.

AN: Hello again! I hope you like this story so far and if you do, feel free to let me know. As you can probably already feel it, the races will be a bit Need for speed like (See: Fakin shining arrows.) And no, not fast and furious. I had a nice guest comment saying I've copied the movie entirely just because of the undercover racing cop plotline. Fast and furious is overrated. Change my mind.

Also I'm trying to show that Nick isn't a drift king right after the start and there is room for improvement. Of course, hopefully he will tokyo drift all over the place later, but let's not jump too straight forward.

As for the cars: I didn't want to use just real world versions of those, so I've looked for some headcanon names for them.

Herd - Ford

Pwudi - Audi

Neko - Mitsubishi

And there will be more to come...