Chapter Fourteen

In the interrogation room Jefferson was being questioned about what had just happened while Nick and Judy were talking to Jason and Isabella in the lobby. Judy was asking the kids a few questions, while Nick quietly stood beside her as he listened to what they were talking about, all the while he gently held Ella's bracelet in his paw.

"Can you tell us where you two had ran away from?" Judy asked as she held a notepad and her carrot pen as she prepared to write down all the answers that the kids gave her.

"We were living in an old bakery complex since the hotel that we were supposed to be living in for the first two weeks gave away out rooms to someone else by accident." Jason replied as he began to answer Judy's questions "Everything was fine for a while, but then Mr. Jefferson started getting a big head."

"I could tell that guy already has a big head just by looking at him." Nick said as he tucked his paws into his pockets.

"Yeah, well, his head got even bigger when he decided to use us to make blueberry cookies." Isabella said, stepping in with an angry look on her face "He was making us work to the bone, while not giving us any breaks except when we go to bed. The fame of being one of the first humans living in Zootopia had really gone to his head."

When Isabella told Judy how Mr. Jefferson had been making the kids work down to the bone in making blueberry cookies, Nick began to dislike the human adult more and more to the point where he wanted to strangle him. He was just glad that he had met Ella sooner before she had to undergo something like that.

"Did you start using those strange berries when you first got here to Zootopia?" Judy asked.

"No," Jason said with a shake of his head "We used regular blueberries when we first got here to Zootopia, but we ran out so Mr. Jefferson went out to get more blueberries. But when he did he came back with those weird looking berries after he had almost been robbed by a weasel."

"A weasel?" echoed Judy as she looked up at Jason in surprise.

"Yeah," Jason replied "It had happened when he went out yesterday, while he left me and Isabella to make the cookies with orders going out to all of the districts in Zootopia."

Judy and Nick looked at each other in worry before Judy looked back at the two kids.

"What were the districts that those cookies were going out to?" Judy asked

"Jason frowned thoughtfully before answering "Um... Tundratown, Sahara Square, Little Rodentia, The Rainforest District and Bunny Burrow."

When Jason mentioned Bunny Burrow, Judy felt her heart stop for a quick second before she quickly raced to the interrogation room. The kids were confused for a second while Nick also became worried as he placed Ella's bracelet into his left pocket before he turned to look at the two kids.

"Listen, you two stay here in the lobby and don't wander off." Nick said with a stern look upon his face.

"But what about Ella?" Jason asked in a worried voice.

"Look, we'll find her, somehow," Nick replied as he raised his paws up to reassure the two kids in front of him "But until then, stay here and we'll see to it that you two are taken back to your families."

With that said, Nick ran after Judy to the interrogation room. When he got there he opened the door to see Judy on the table glaring at Mr. Jefferson with Chief Bogo watching from the side as he had his arms crossed in front of him as he watched the scene play out in front of him.

"How many cookies have you sold to my hometown?!" demanded Judy angrily.

"N-None so far!" stuttered Jefferson in fear when he saw how fierce the rabbit was glaring at him. "But I did sell a batch of cookies to a rabbit that came into the bakery before I came here."

"Who?" Judy asked

"Um... I think h-his name was Stu?" Jefferson answered "And he was dressed in farm clothes."

When he said the name and the appearance of the rabbit that bought the box of poisoned cookies, fear came over Judy's face and before anyone could move, Judy hopped off the table and ran out the door past Nick. Nick quickly ran after Judy and quickly caught her before she could dash out of the front doors of the ZPD. Judy began to kick around wildly as she tried to get out of Nick's hold.

"Let me go, Nick!" yelled Judy angrily.

"Judy, calm down!" Nick exclaimed as he held Judy tightly within his arms "What's gotten into you?"

"Let me go, I have to get back to my family before anything happens to them!" screamed Judy as tears began to form in the corner of her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked as Judy's struggles began to weaken before she fell limp within his arms.

"M-my dad, Stu, was the one that bought those cookies," Judy answered as tears started to run down her face "If he, my mother or any of my brothers and sisters eat those cookies... they'll... they'll..."

Judy couldn't finish her sentence as she turned around in Nick's arms and cried into his shirt. Nick was a little surprised by this sudden action for a moment before he gently hugged Judy, while also petting her head to calm her down. After a moment, Nick gently pushed Judy away before looking at her.

"Judy listen, you go back home and check on your family." Nick said firmly as he held Judy by the shoulders "I need to stay here and look for Ella."

"B-But you have no idea where she is," Judy said as she sniffled a bit "And we don't know if she's..."

"Ella's alive," Nick cut in with a determined look on his face "The way that you described how Manchas and Mr. Otterton had taken her makes me think that they aren't going to do anything to her, but I also have this feeling that she's alright. Besides, I've lived in Zootopia since I was a kid and I know all the streets in this city like the back of my hand even before I became a con artist. Wherever Ella is I'll still find her, but i'm going to need a bit of help from Finnick. Just trust me on this, alright?"

Judy stared at Nick in shock at his words before she wiped the tears away from her eyes and nodded her head as determination appeared on her face. Nick smiled before pulling back and quickly rushed towards the doors of the ZPD, while shouting out to Judy.

"I'll meet you back here when I find Ella!" he called before he opened the door and rushed outside.

Meanwhile Ella didn't know how long and how far Manchas had dragged her away from the ZPD with Mr. Otterton following close behind them, but they soon came to a stop at an old building within the Downtown district of Zootopia. Manchas gently dragged Ella into the building before letting go of her when they were inside. Ella sat very still as she watched in fear as Manchas stood in front of her as he began to sniff her, along with Mr. Otterton as he circled around her for a moment. Ella was a little surprised when Mr. Otterton suddenly climbed into her lap and laid there looking a little exhausted. Ella hesitated for a moment before she gently started to stroke Mr. Otterton's furry back, while the otter only laid in her lap looking content to not move. Ella smiled as she began to calm down again only to be taken by surprise again when Manchas nuzzled his head against her face for a second before walking around behind her and laid down on the floor. Ella looked at Manchas hesitantly for a second before lying against his back and received only a purr from the jaguar. Ella soon relaxed and looked up at the ceiling above her with two predators cuddling her.

"I can't wait to tell everyone about this." Ella said to herself.