Chief Bogo was uncharacteristically quiet. He stood at his podium, blankly staring at his notes, with such a long pause since coming into the room that everyone wondered if he had lost his voice for the day.

The expression on his face was solemn. He dreaded what he was reading, and seemed to wish it were not there. More than once, he opened his mouth to speak, but closed it immediately afterward, unable to bring himself.

More than a full minute passed. Nick was vaguely aware of the clock ticking on the back wall—something he didn't even realize existed before today. The soft breathing of all the other mammals filled his sensitive ears, and he could almost even hear Judy's heartbeat on the seat beside him.

The silence was borderline painful to him. Bogo was not the kind of mammal who liked to waste time. Usually, even if the news he had to deliver during the morning briefing was bad, he was short and to the point, just to get it over with. Today, however, whatever news the chief had must have been really bad.

Nick opened his mouth to deliver a wisecrack, but thought better of it, and promptly locked his jaws. Almost as soon as he did, Bogo finally looked up from his notes. To Nick's surprise, he locked eyes with him specifically, out of all the mammals in the room.

Nonetheless, Bogo spoke loud and addressed everyone at once. "Before I hand out assignments today, I have a gift for some of you, straight from our new assistant mayor." He looked to the back of the room and raised his voice. "Clawhauser!"

The burly cheetah bounded through the rear door, his arms struggling to support a large brown box. He stumbled to the front of the room, gasping for air, and desperately looked around for a table to set the box on.

There wasn't one. Clawhauser began whimpering, the weight of the box crushing down on him, while Bogo, standing beside him, ignored his cries for help. "I must make it clear to all of you," he continued, locking eyes with Nick once again, "I protested this the whole way. But the new assistant mayor has ignored me, and insisted that either I hand these out, or he will find a new chief of police who will." He let out a long sigh, paused for a moment to gather his thoughts, and finally grabbed the box from Clawhauser.

Clawhauser gasped for breath, freed of his burden. "Oh, thank you, Chief!" he breathed, beginning to walk down the aisle on his way out the door.

Bogo, unaffected by the weight of the box, cleared his throat. "This… This affects you too, Clawhauser." Clawhauser, stunned, froze where he stood, staring at the chief in confusion. Bogo ran a claw along the top of the box, cutting the tape that sealed it together, and spread the flaps open. "By order of the Office of the Mayor of Zootopia," he declared, "I hereby order all predators in the Zootopia Police Department to wear these."

As soon as he finished speaking, he reached into the box, grabbed something, and pulled it out, hanging it in the air for all to see. Nick felt his heart skip a beat when he laid his eyes on the object dangling between Bogo's claws, almost like a noose.

It was a shock collar.

Nick had never seen one in person, but he knew all about them. Shock collars had been used many years ago, back in a time when predators and prey were more at odds with each other than they were in modern times. They had been invented to help keep predators from attacking prey, designed in such a way as to deliver a sharp shock to the wearer if they became too aggressive.

They had been done away with upon the founding of Zootopia, a long time ago. Since then, predators and prey had lived in harmony. Sure, things weren't perfect, but there had never been a reason to bring back the shock collars.

Obviously, Assistant Mayor Rolfe—a predator himself—had decided otherwise.

Bogo began walking up and down the aisles. He paused beside each predator in the room, took a shock collar out of the box, and placed it on the desk in front of them. "Assistant Mayor Rolfe has assured me that these shock collars are only for appearance's sake," he said as he walked. "They have been modified for cops in such a way as to always be inactive. For any other predator who wears these—and, I am sorry to say, there will be more than just you—the collars will act as follows." He ended at Nick, holding the collar a bit longer than for the others, before dropping it on the desk with a thunk. "When the shock collar is properly secured, the light glows green. When the predator begins to act in an aggressive manner, the light turns yellow and beeps once in warning. If the predator continues with their aggressive behavior, the light turns red and delivers a powerful shock to the neck." He returned to the front of the room, tossed the box to the side, and held the final shock collar in his grip. "Should you see any predators in Zootopia wearing a shock collar with either a red or yellow light, you are to use any means necessary to either calm them down, or take them down."

Nick stared at the shock collar on the desk. It was an otherwise-unassuming thing, black all over with a single small console on the side. It clipped in the back, with a small hole indicating that it could only be unlocked by a key. A small space where the light would be was currently blank, and he knew as soon as he put it on, it would shine green.

As soon as I put this on, he also realized, I'm stuck with this.

Bogo stretched his arm out to Clawhauser, his face full of the most regret and pain any of the mammals had ever seen in him. "You too, Benjamin," he whispered; Nick could swear his voice was quivering.

Clawhauser seemed to have no idea what there was to worry about. He quickly, but professionally, grabbed the collar, and wrung it around his neck. As soon as it clipped in the back, the light turned on, spreading a green glow across the right side of his neck.

"Other predators throughout Zootopia will be fitted with shock collars over the next several weeks," Bogo continued. "Even Mayor Lionheart and Assistant Mayor Rolfe will wear them. For now, you cops will wear them for appearance's sake. It will help persuade our citizens that they are necessary, and that…" His voice trailed off, as it was obvious to everyone that he didn't believe a single word he was saying.

Nick didn't even bother turning around to see who called out the question. "Sir, who has the key?"

Bogo took a moment to respond. "As you all have seen, your shock collars are fitted with a lock that only a key can unlock. Assistant Mayor Rolfe has entrusted me with the key, and has instructed me to only keep it to myself." He reached into his pocket and produced the key—a very small thing, so small it could even fit in one of the pouches on Judy's utility belt.

But that small key is what stands between me and freedom as soon as I put this collar on.

Bogo swallowed hard as he put the key away. "You are to have your collars on you at all times, both on duty and off. Before you leave this room today, it is required of you to put those collars on, and leave them on until they are removed by me, or when the mayor's office withdraws this placement upon the city."

A few mammals raised their arms to ask questions, but Bogo waved them down. Then he looked upon the room in a way nobody had ever seen from him before. "Please, as your friend, I beg all of you to take this seriously. As I said, I'm fully opposed to this, but this is part of the job: doing things you don't want, all for the good of the city." He looked Nick straight in the face again. "I know you, Wilde." He looked over to Wolford. "And you, Wolford." To Fangmeyer. "And you. I know all of you. You're all good cops. I could not ask for finer police officers in all of Zootopia. I have fought this as much as I possibly could, all on your behalf."

Nick looked back at the collar on the desk. Even though he knew it would never hurt him thanks to it being modified for ZPD officers, but even so, he had worked his entire life fighting against prejudice from prey—no, from just about everyone, just because he was a fox. The world would never see him as anything more than a shifty, deceitful creature, and putting on this collar would just justify that.

"I cannot help you anymore," Bogo lamented. "If any of you wish to leave the ZPD as a result of this, I do not blame you." He indicated the door. "You can leave those collars on your desks and walk out of here right now, and nobody will think less of you."

Nick immediately dismissed the thought. Sure, he had been treated like trash his whole life—but he was finally here, an actual cop, really making a difference in the world. He was an honest-to-goodness fox now, helping to make the world a better place, right alongside the best partner he could ever ask for…

Nick had hardly even thought about his bunny the whole meeting. He glanced over to her, and was met with a surprise. Judy was staring at the shock collar with even more horror than he was. He knew she was familiar with the device, and that she had a hatred toward it. Judy, in general, hated seeing any mammal being mistreated, especially due to such a thing as mere prejudice. The shock collar was, in essence, exactly that.

Judy noticed him staring at her. He must have had a scared expression on his own face, too, because she instantly dropped her dread and replaced it with a firm smile. She reached out a paw and placed it on his arm, just like she had during their ride in the bungalow so long ago. She rubbed him softly, assuring him that, no matter what happened, they would get through it together.

Together…

His mind made up, and his spirit filled with renewed determination, Nick picked up the collar and wrapped it around his neck. "With all due respect, Chief Longhorn," he said as he clicked the collar into place, "we're not going anywhere."

The green light turned on, glaring off to the right side in his vision. It didn't feel too uncomfortable, actually; it was no more noticeable than one of his ties. He was sure he would get used to it, and besides, as long as he kept his eyes on Judy, he'd be too busy to notice the green glow anyway.

He blinked. Did I really just think that?

The sound of the other collars clicking into place caught his attention. As he looked around the room, every single other predator grabbed their collar and firmly put it on their necks. Within seconds, several small green points of light filled the room, and each of the predators saluted Bogo.

Bogo, at a loss for words, could only stare at the room in disbelief. He was silent for several long seconds, before he covered his mouth to cough—or maybe sniffle?—and shouted, "Getting sentimental on me won't get you off duty today!" He grabbed his clipboard and hid his face behind it. "Assignments! Clawhauser, front desk."

Clawhauser saluted as best he could—his arm barely reaching up to his cheeks—and smiled. "Yes sir, Chief!" He then bounded out the room, off to his usual post.

Bogo's face continued to be hidden behind his clipboard. "Officers Pennington, Delgato, McHorn, Oates, and Higgins, the usual patrolling." He waited for the mammals to stand up and leave the room. "Officer Hopps, stay behind immediately after for a private meeting. And to everyone else…" He lowered his clipboard just enough for his eyes to poke out above it. "Psychiatric evaluation," he growled between his teeth.

The only officers left, besides Judy, were the predators who had just received their shock collars. Any optimism Nick had when he put on his shock collar was instantly gone. Unable to stop himself, he called out, "Psychiatric evaluation? Why?"

Bogo raised the clipboard back up and pretended not to hear Nick's cry. "You are to be interviewed, one by one, with Dr. Chuck Wood, a beaver who will give you a psychiatric rundown on behalf of the mayor's office."

At the mention of Dr. Wood's name, the brief run-in with the beaver from the day before suddenly made sense to Nick. Dr. Wood must have known that Rolfe would create this new policy, and knew that Nick would be one of the mammals coming in for a meeting.

Well, he seemed nice enough. Nick jumped off his chair and stood at attention. Hopefully he's reasonable as well.

Judy caught his attention with a quick wave. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow," she said. Her face told him that she had hoped to spend more time with him, and she was disappointed it was not to be.

Nick began to nod, but an idea struck him, and before he knew it, he was saying it out loud. "How about tonight?"

It was, thankfully, only loud enough for Judy to hear. The question caught her off-guard, as it did Nick himself.

"Any more wisecracks, Wilde?" Bogo asked impatiently.

Nick turned his attention back to Bogo and shot him a half-lidded smile. "No, sir. You have to pay extra for those."

Bogo snorted and pointed at the door to the side. Without saying another word, Nick saluted and followed the other predators out, leaving a very bewildered Judy sitting in the chair behind.

Judy was very surprised by Nick's offer. She really shouldn't have been; it was a very Nick thing to say. Perhaps it was just surprising that he had just gone through the experience of being given a shock collar—a shock collar—and yet was able to offer such wisecracks immediately afterward. And not only that, unless she had misunderstood him, Nick had asked her out for a—

"Hopps?"

Judy blinked. She was all alone in the room, except for Chief Bogo, who now stood in front of her desk. She sat up straight, giving him her full attention. "Yes, sir?"

Bogo reached in his pocket and produced the key to the shock collars. "This one is yours." Before Judy could react, he continued quickly. "This is not for Wilde. This is for an emergency, and in direct violation of my orders from the assistant mayor. He is not to know you have this. Do you understand?" Judy nodded, and he set it on the desk, paw still over it. "Did you read the history of the shock collars? Do you know why they were discontinued in the first place, all those years ago?"

Judy thought back to what she had been taught in school. She loved history, but never really paid attention to the part of history where predators wore shock collars. "When Zootopia was created, the predators were allowed to take their shock collars off, as a sort of peace offering from the prey."

"Partially," Bogo confirmed. "I think the bigger reason is that they didn't work properly. Do you really think technology this archaic can tell when a mammal is acting aggressive? It's nothing more than a heart rate monitor with a shock attached. High heart rate, big shock, which means higher heart rate, and higher shock, and…" He sighed, gripping the key again, his claws scraping the desk. "These caused the deaths of so many mammals, most of whom never did anything wrong. I don't care what the assistant mayor wants. It will not happen on my watch." He moved the key closer to Judy and let it go. "And I don't want it to happen on yours, either."

Judy took the key and stared at it, having a hard time comprehending that the lives of many mammals now lay, literally, in her paws.

"But I must make this clear—and I will only say it once," Bogo warned. "Don't let Wilde know you have that."

Judy looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. "Any particular reason, sir?" she asked. "After all, he is my partner. We share everything on the force. All responsibilities. All—"

"He is wearing a shock collar. You are not." Bogo rubbed his forehead, once again unable to believe he was having to talk about this. "I don't want him making favors for friends. Or using this situation to his advantage—"

It was Judy's turn to interrupt. "Because that's what foxes do, sir?" Bogo paused, stunned by her accusation. "Nick has been on the force long enough for you to know better than that." She narrowed her eyes. "Why would you even think something like that?"

"I don't," Bogo insisted. "But the assistant mayor does. Apparently Wilde rubbed him the wrong way during your little talk yesterday." He pointed at Judy, driving his point home. "You let Wilde out of his collar, you're fired." When Judy once again opened her mouth to protest, he persisted, "By direct order of Mayor Lionheart, who backs this decision one hundred percent, nobody but me is supposed to know a key even exists for the collars. I'm doing far more than I ought to right now by letting you have one." He took one final breath and finished, "You've worked very hard to get this far, Hopps. Don't blow it just because of him."

Judy looked back at the key, contemplating the chief's words. It felt wrong keeping something like this from Nick. Not only would it be difficult for her to save mammals in distress without him seeing the key, but it was a blatant breech of trust. They had been partners long enough for her to trust him with anything, and knew he did the same.

But at the same time, her dream from the other night flashed through her mind momentarily. Nick's teeth and claws flying at her, the feeling of helplessness in her heart as she knew he would kill her, and there was nothing she could do…

Maybe this should just be my little secret, she decided, and slowly tucked the key into one of the pouches on her utility belt.

"Understood, Chief," she relented.

Bogo patted her shoulder reassuringly. "I don't like it either, Hopps. But like I said, being a cop is full of tough decisions." She locked eyes with him, and was met with a warm, confident gaze. "Sometimes there is no right decision. Sometimes we just have to do what we can, and hope it all works out anyway."

His words helped Judy feel better. I am not alone in this. Chief Bogo is facing worse things than I am right now, and all the predators have to wear the collars anyway. I'm just the one with the key. She straightened up. "Thank you, sir."

Bogo smiled, before raising his clipboard. "Now, your assignment for today." He glanced over it. "Those two vicious predators you helped take in yesterday. They are fully conscious and ready for questioning. You will be the one who takes care of that. No holds barred, I want you to interrogate the fur off their skin if you have to."

Judy rose to the challenge. She had never performed a police interrogation before—let alone against two mammals that she had arrested personally—but she was more than happy to jump to it. With any luck, it would also keep her mind off the things that had just been discussed.

She jumped out of her chair and saluted. "Yes, sir! I'll get right to it." She turned on her heel and ran out of the room, waved to Clawhauser on her way down the hall, and made her way to her cubicle to gather the necessary paperwork.

Her only pause was when her phone went off with a text message. She pulled it out and was greeted with a picture of Nick's face, along with the words that made her face flush the slightest hint of red.

"Pigs In A Blanket, 7 PM. Meet you there?"