Nick Wilde's eyes shot open. His arm flailed wildly as he tried to find the snooze button on the alarm clock before he was fully awake. His paw finally connecting with the small clock and the incessant buzzing immediately stopped. Nick sat up in bed with a groan and glanced around the darkened apartment, letting his eyes quickly adjust to the lack of light this early in the morning. He glanced over to the alarm clock and noted the time.

5:30 AM.

Nick let himself wake up for several more seconds before throwing the sheets off of himself and scampering over to the closet and getting ready for another day's work. In his previous line of work he had to have a measure of discipline to wake up at a decent hour, but he was still adjusting to waking up this early every day.

But, hey, "Justice never rests!"

A smile crawled over his face as he recalled the innumerable times his partner had said that when he complained about being tired. The small bunny always seemed to a fountain of energy to the point it was almost sickening, but at least it made each day interesting. Today was unlikely to any different.

Nick fastened his tie and checked his appearance in the mirror one last time before he headed to the door. He had just placed his paw in the doorknob when he realized that nearly forgot his aviator sunglasses that were resting on the nightstand next the bed. Nick dashed across the small room, grabbed the glasses, and let them hang out of his shirt pocket. He headed back to the door and threw it open in one swift motion and stepped out-

"Morning, partner!"

It took all of Nick's willpower to keep his mouth shut and not wake up the other inhabitants of the apartment with a shriek that would've broken glass. The fox stood motionless for several seconds to let his brain register the situation. Judy Hopps stood just outside his door with a massive grin on her face and a cup of coffee in her outstretched paw.

"Wha... What are you doing here?" Nick whispered.

"I woke up...," Judy began in her normal volume. Nick immediately shushed her and put a finger to his lips. Her ears, which had been pointed straight up, turned down past her shoulders.

"Oh, sorry," Judy continued in a hushed but still excited tone. "What I was going to say was, I woke up a little early today and thought I would get my partner his morning coffee!" She held out the cup once again with a massive grin on her face. Nick accepted with a small smile.

"Aw, that's real sweet, Carrots," Nick whispered as he raised the cup to his lips, "But you nearly woke up the entire complex to do so." Nick gave the bunny a playful slap on the back as he headed toward the elevator.

Nick and Judy walked through the main doors of the ZPD. Activity was already bustling as other police officers finished morning activities before morning roll call. Judy normally stopped by Clawhauser's desk to chat for a few minutes, but this morning Clawhauser was preoccupied with a wolf officer who was seeking some information so Judy and Nick continued toward the bullpen.

As they walked by, Nick looked over the wolf standing next to the desk. The massive figure looked like any of other wolves in the ZPD's employ, but the uniform caught Nick's eye. The heavy body armor and jet black tactical vest gave away the officer's identity even more than the white letters on his back.

SWAT.

Nick eyed the uniform with envy as he and Judy walked through the door to the bullpen. SWAT was the Special Weapons And Tactics unit. They were the ones called into situations that were deemed to dangerous for standard police officers. Nick always felt a little jealous of those guys, more for the uniforms than anything else. He already did some things of which those SWAT guys could only dream.

When was the last time they got shot out of pipe over a waterfall?

Nick climbed up on the seat in the front row of desks as Hopps climbed up next to him. The morning meeting was nothing special. Chief Bogo called everyone to order and went over the standard updates for the day. There were a few reports of disorderly conduct and a single report of a stolen car: nothing too serious.

Bogo then began divvying out the daily assignments. Several officers were sent on standard patrols while the rest were assigned to som e office jobs. Nick let out a silent sigh. He never was a fan of paperwork.

"Officer Wilde. Officer Hopps," Chief Bogo's voice snapped Nick out of his silent celebration. "The stolen vehicle is a white 2007 Impala." Realization flooded Nick's mind as he realized what their assignment would be. "It was last seen on the corner of 5th and 7th in Tundratown. Try to get leads on where it might be now." With those words, Bogo handed the pair the case file and left the room. Nick flipped through the folder in his hands. There wasn't much to go on.

"Well, let's hit the road!" Judy's voice snapped into Nick's mind.

"Ladies first," Nick replied with a mock bow. Judy simply rolled her eyes and bounded out of the room.

Nick's eyes shifted back and forth. With no known witnesses, both he and Judy knew that chances of actually finding the missing car was slim as there were literally no leads. Now the two officers were driving through the outskirts of Tundratown, hoping to see some clue.

Nick knew that there were some shifty creatures who operated chop shops out of this area, but they changed locations so often that even Nick couldn't be sure where to find them.

"Oh, this is hopeless. We're never gonna it at this rate," Judy grumbled. Nick let out a small laugh.

"Aw, what's the matter? What happened to all that optimism?" Nick responded sarcastically. Judy shot Nick a stern look.

"Hey, at least before I had a lead: you. Now we're running on sheer dumb luck!" Nick could feel the tension in her voice.

"Whoa there, Carrots, never underestimate the power of sheer dumb luck," Nick said. "I never would have gotten this far without dumb lu..." Nick's voice trailed off. "Carrots, stop the car." Judy slammed the breaks and sent Nick's head slamming into the dashboard. "Ow!"

"Sorry," Judy replied with a sheepish grin. "What is it?" she asked while she glanced around the snowy environment.

"Over there, parking lot," Nick answered while rubbing his sore forehead. Judy's eyes locked on the white Impala sitting across the street in the parking lot of the First National Tundra Bank. She quickly read the license plate.

"Nick, the plates match," Judy whispered. "YES!" Her voice suddenly shifted to a much higher volume. "Call it in to Clawhauser. We need another unit over here." Nick sat up in the seat had grabbed the radio on his belt. He had just pressed the button when Judy gripped his arm tightly. Nick looked up at the car. The doors were opening.

Nick released the button on his radio as he saw the pair of figures step out. They looked like were wolves, but it was impossible to know for sure, due to the black ski masks covering their faces. The two masked animals moved toward the front door of the bank and Nick thought he saw type of weapon, but he couldn't be sure. Judy's ear's turned downward. He felt his stomach turn.

"Well, today just got interesting."