24.mad: You'll find out soon! Thanks. :)

Minx's Mom: Thanks again for the critique. Yeah, it's hard to get in everything I would like to about the characters.

L'insomnie: Glad you like it! Cool name by the way.

Disclaimer: Still, I own nothing but the plot. All characters are from their respective movies/tv shows which belong to their respective companies.

As always, reviews are appreciated.

-.-.-.-.-.-

Nighttime Stroll

After swallowing half the bottle of water and the entire cup of coffee, which Jack did in the same amount of time it took Mick to drink his own single drink, the pair had found themselves coming upon a huge complex. It definitely filled up a good portion of the area that had been zoned off on the map. They weren't even sure what it was until they came upon a sign.

"Twentieth Century Fox," Mick read. "This is where the television studios are. Or sound stages... Whatever."

"So this is where that is..." Jack said quietly. Why hadn't he been able to remember that this was here? He lived in this city after all. A glance at Mick showed he was thinking the same thing.

The Twentieth Century Fox property covered several square miles and consisted of fenced off and guarded parking lots, sound stages, trailers, and several story tall white buildings. Barbed wire topped the chain link fences and cameras were mounted at all entrances and exits to the complex.

"I don't know why... but I've got a funny feeling he's in there somewhere," Mickey said.

Jack scanned the area, looking left, right, up, and down for the best way into the guarded complex. "This is the only place 'a few blocks down' where there could be trailers. So as long as the Starbucks employee was right, he should be."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Schreber hurried down the street with all the haste he could manage. What little money Arthur Banks had left in Schreber's apartment had been used up on a cab to the enclosed area on the map. He had to find Jack and Mickey. Had to tell them what he knew.

Theories of all different credibilities and possibilities of likeliness were formed, considered and discarded from the psychiatrist's mind as nonsensical and impossible. But the one main idea stuck with him through them all...

The man shook his head and clutched his jacket closer around him as what he'd learned at the library swirled through his mind once again. But suddenly this thoughts were interrupted when a small cluster of young adults steered themselves into his way, despite the fact that there was plenty of room on the empty sidewalk for all of them, and he collided with the one in front.

Schreber stumbled back a few steps and examined the group's faces for the first time. He swallowed hard as he realized he didn't like the look of them. They were all boys, no older than their mid 20's and no younger than 17, with dark but rather shabby clothing. It was the mocking and angry sneers on their tired faces and the way their eyes were rather dilated that scared the doctor. There was one of him, six of them, and they appeared somewhat intoxicated. Hoping to diffuse the situation he spoke.

"I am sorry. Excuse me," he said and tried to make his way around them.

"Whoa whoa whoa, man. You can't just go crashing into us like that and expect things to be ok," said the one in front, the one who'd steered the gang in front of him in the first place.

"I did apologize," Schreber said as sternly as he could, but his voice still shook and he didn't meet the leader's eyes.

"An apology don't cut it. I think a little payment is in order," the gang leader declared.

As a group the six took a few steps forward and Schreber took a few steps back. He swallowed hard, cringing away and eyes darting about for some way out of this. He couldn't outrun them, not with the limp he had. All he had were words and that wasn't going to be enough with them. He couldn't believe how empty the street had become. Cars still drove by, but none took notice of the obvious trouble he was in.

"I don't have any money," Schreber told them.

The gang leader pursed his lips and shook his head almost sadly. "That's too bad. Then I guess we'll just have to excise payback from your sorry... hide..."

The young man's threat, which had begun so strong and menacing that the doctor truly began to fear for his life now faded off as something behind Schreber caught his eye. The rest of the gang looked there too and they all seemed suddenly on edge.

Schreber's breathing quickened. Was it rescue or death that waited behind him? The doctor found that he didn't dare turn around to look.

The gang leader opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Then suddenly, he took a frightened step back. Taking that as a cue, the boys behind him scattered, walking away as quickly as their pride would allow. The leader looked behind Schreber a moment longer and Schreber felt like he was watching one side of a face-off between two wild animals and the gang leader had apparently lost the show of dominance. Still without a word the gang leader took several backing steps away before turning and disappearing hurriedly behind a building.

Which left Schreber alone with the 'dominant beast'. He began to turn slowly only to see a dark shadow standing no less than a foot behind him. He started in surprise, inhaling sharply and jumping away causing the figure to chuckle darkly.

"You!" Schreber exclaimed.

The bloodthirsty David stood behind him, platinum blond mullet wisping around his black clad shoulders in the cool nighttime breeze.

"You're welcome, doctor," the seemingly young man said with amusement.

"Why-aren't you with the detective- and Jack?" he questioned with worry. Perhaps it was death that had stood behind him after all.

"Change of plans," David replied. He looked around casually. "I decided to ... check up on you."

"Are they- alright?"

David's expression turned somewhat reminiscent. "Last I saw."

Schreber hesitated before asking, "And what of Arthur- and the- imposter?"

David rolled his eyes. "Why don't you tell me what it is you've been up to. Weren't you told to stay put? Hidden in your little room, cowering in a corner?"

Schreber found himself bristling. David watched him expressionlessly as he struggled internally with what he wanted to say or do, but in the end Schreber decided to go back to his original subject.

"Did you... kill them?"

The vampire, creature, whatever he was, laughed. "I killed one of them, yes. Banks died without my help."

Schreber felt a sinking feeling in his gut. His friend was gone. Just like that.

David had no sympathy, just watched with a predatory fascination. Trying to ignore that awful feeling of danger that emanated from David, Schreber managed to put a question to him.

"Did you- speak to the imposter?"

"I did," David replied.

"Did you ask him-what he knew? How- he knew about-us?"

David's brow creased as he noted something in Schreber's tone. "No."

When Schreber shook his head as if disappointed in him then turned away without a word, David tilted his head curiously. "But you know how?"

Schreber kept limping away, muttering to himself as some of his previous skeleton theories began to take better shape in his mind, but was stopped only a few steps later when David, quick as lightning, moved to stand before him, blocking his way.

"I didn't know anything about other look alikes before I met Mick and Bauer. They didn't know anyone else looked like them either. How did that imposter know to impersonate your dear dead friend?" David questioned. "Had they met before?"

Momentarily startled to have the young man suddenly before him once again, Schreber took a second to respond.

"No."

"What do you know, doctor?" David asked.

"I – don't really know anything- for certain."

"Stop being so humble, doc," David said almost mockingly. "You seem to have the best grasp on all of this."

Schreber didn't hide the surprise from his face. "I do?"

David frowned at him and just for a second Schreber thought he looked almost like a disappointed child, so young his face seemed behind the almost non-existent stubble. But before the psychiatrist could even be certain it had been there, the look had hardened into a different disappointed look. One to be feared. Quickly and trying hard not to stutter too badly Schreber told him what sort of conclusion the little information and understanding he truly had was leading him.

"But- I think I know- what Sutherland is."

David eyed him curiously and silently for a moment. Then he drew himself up to his full height which somehow seemed to tower over the hunched doctor.

"And what is he? How does he connect to us?"

"I need to- confirm it first. I want to see this place where- Mr. Sutherland- works."

The vampire eyed him stoically for several moments before apparently deciding that that was indeed the best course of action.

"Well then, Doctor, we need to find the other two. I'm sure they're working very hard to find him first. I did give them a time limit after all."

-.-.-.-.-.-

Jack and Mick stood close to the chain link gate that fenced off the side entrance of the complex. As opposed to the official entrance to the complex, this one was unguarded by a living person, but not far away was a tall pole, atop which was mounted a security camera. It was faced away from them for the moment, but that would change any second. Jack had just pried off the access panel from the pole with the knife he'd had on his belt and was now examining the many intricate and multicolored wires inside. He took only a moment and just as the camera began to turn back their way, he cut two wires and switched them. The lock on the gate switched off. Mick watched with a surprised admiration.

"Let's go," Jack said. With a tap on Mick's shoulder he headed for the gate, sliding it open just enough to slip through. By the time the camera had swung back their way, the two were inside the complex.

"So, who did you say you worked for again?" Mick questioned in a low voice, impressed with what Jack had done. It was all very 'secret agent man'.

"Counter Terrorist Unit."

It wasn't the first time Mick had thought about it, but now he spoke his thoughts aloud. "Some sort of secret government agency?"

"Government agency, yes. Hardly secret," Jack replied as they continued to creep forward, to the edge of the long building that sat near the edge of the compound.

"Well, I've never heard of it," Mick told him.

Jack paused his walk to glance back at him in mild surprise. 'Never heard of it?' Suddenly Mick grabbed Jack by his sweatshirt and pulled him back out of the direct line of sight of a strolling security guard. The agent nodded his thanks, waited for the woman to pass, then stepped around the corner.

Suddenly the pair found themselves standing outside what seemed to be a huge trailer park. In the darkness they seemed to go on forever. They were lined up into rows and the blue stripe across their middle gave a first impression that there were a few long monstrous trailers rather than dozens of smaller ones.

One of them was Sutherland's and hopefully, it being so late, they would be able to find him in residence.

"You take that end," Jack ordered quietly, pointing towards the rows on the left, "I'll search the other side. If you find it, call me."

Mick frowned, still apparently not used to being the one taking orders, but he didn't disagree. Splitting up would not only make the search quicker, but if anyone saw Mick or Jack alone, they'd (hopefully) just think it was Sutherland. If they stuck together, it would be far harder to explain.

"Fine."

And with a nod, the pair split up. Jack strode off to the right casually, as if it were perfectly normal for him to be there. He found quickly that it wouldn't be too hard to find his target. Names of the residents were posted on the door to each trailer. He strode quickly by 'Mike Doyle', 'Bill Buchanan,' and other names he didn't recognize. Sutherland had to be around somewhere. He'd gotten to the second row when he halted in front of a name that had no business being there.

On one inside of the window on the door, posted on a piece of white paper, was a name he knew well. "Chloe O'Brian", a somewhat socially inept woman but master of computers who worked with him at CTU. What was her name doing here? There was always the possibility that this name belonged to a different woman, but the coincidence was perhaps a little too great for him to believe. Before he could decide if he wanted to follow up on Chloe or continue the search for Sutherland's trailer, his phone rang.

Instinctively he ducked down into the shadows of an adjacent trailer, melding himself into the darkness as he flipped open his cell phone.

"Bauer."

"Jack, you'd better get over here," came the voice of his doppelganger.

Jack glanced up and down the row he was in. "Did you find it?"

There was a pause on the other end, and past Mick's breathing Jack heard someone call a greeting. Mick responded with a half hearted 'hello' and after a pause where Jack assumed he was making sure the coast was clear, his voice came through whispered and anxious.

"Jack, just get down here. I'm on the second row from the left. There's a trailer here with your name on it."

-.-.-.-.-.-

Jack took longer than he needed to get there. He weaved in and out of the rows of trailers, finishing the job they'd come there to do, but there was no trailer with Sutherland's name on it. More unnerving was that Jack noted a few other trailers with names he recognized, though often he could not place where he'd heard the names before.

When he finally got to the second row from the left he found Mick standing impatiently on the step of the trailer he had mentioned. As soon as Jack was there Mick knocked. Inside, no lights were on, but that was to be expected at the pre-dawn hours. Jack stood just to the side, noting with a frown the name posted on the window. 'Jack Bauer'.

Another knock got no better results so Mick pulled a small object from his jacket's inside pocket that Jack quickly recognized as a lock pick. The man slid it gently into the hole and began to twist the prongs one way, then the other. Jack glanced anxiously around again and turned back just as the formerly locked door swung silently open.

Drawing their weapons, the pair stepped stealthily into the trailer.

-.-.-.-.-.-

It wasn't that hard to make the connection. Kiefer Sutherland had been said to have a trailer in this lot. Jack's name was on the door of one of the trailers. Since Jack had never seen it before his conclusion: Sutherland was impersonating him. The question was 'why?' To what end? Sutherland apparently wasn't using Jack's name to do anything big or else Jack or someone else in CTU would have picked up on it. So what was the point then of using his name if not to gain access to the normally inaccessible? And what did the television studio have to do with any of it? What did their current situation have to do with any of it?

The place was roomy for a trailer, but just like every other place they'd been that night, there was no Sutherland. The place was empty. At Jack's side, Mickey heaved an angry sigh of frustration.

"Jesus Christ, where the hell is this guy?!" he shouted. The detective snatched up a brown and white stuffed item off the couch/bed with the intention of having something to throw against the wall until he recognized what it was. Then his anger changed to humor and he sat wearily down with a chuckle, waving it in the air so Jack could see. "Cute."

Jack rolled his eyes and Mickey placed the brown teddy bear in a sitting position against the pillows and straightened its cream white robe.

"He's been here recently," Jack said, motioning to the kitchen where they'd noted a can of frozen juice, thawed now but still cool enough to prove that it had been taken out earlier that day.

"Just means someone's been here recently."

Jack nodded in begrudging agreement. The agent leaned on the counter that separated the dining/living room from the kitchen and quickly considered their options. In his mind there weren't many and he decided on a plan of attack only a few seconds later.

"You stay here and wait for him to come back. I'm going to go scout the rest of the lot to make sure we didn't miss anything. Then I'll move onto that building at the far end."

Mick looked up at him incredulously. "You want to do all that after what you've been through tonight?"

Jack frowned and crossed his arms. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Jack, you were beaten, tortured, and you had that... that thing sucking the life out of you like a pop drink!"

Mick's expression, filled with such disbelief that Jack still had the energy to go out there and run around caused the CTU agent to break into a smirk. It wasn't the malicious and arrogant one that David used, but one that gave Mick the impression that what he'd just listed off as being particularly devastating events were not, in fact, something that would haunt him for the rest of his days.

David had definitely been an amateur in torture, though it had still hurt like hell, but of the whole ordeal, the bite was the only thing that had truly unnerved Jack. He did not like feeling his life drain out of him, feeling so helpless to do anything about it... But even that he knew he would get over with time.

"Hayden. I'm fine," he replied. Mick looked about to respond, maybe offer that Jack stay and he be the one to go, but a voice floated to them from the door interrupting them.

"Fine?"

Jack and Mick whipped out their weapons and spun towards the entryway. There stood David and Schreber. Schreber held his hat in his hands and looked somewhat sheepish while David was watched Jack calculatingly.

"Fine?" David repeated. "I guess next time I won't go so easy on you."

David's words were aggravated, but Jack noted something else in the tone and the way David examined him. Was it possible the kid had some respect for him?

"What are you doing here, David?" Mick asked. Then in a sarcastic tone he added, "Don't vampires need to be invited before they come into a home?"

David snorted. "Only if you want some of the perks(1). But as none of you live here, your invitations would be useless anyway."

"Have you- found him yet?"

Schreber's timid and breathy voice, so different in tone from the strong ones that had just been speaking, it caught their attention more than if someone had shouted.

"No," Mick and Jack replied in sync.

Schreber nodded and began to move around the trailer as if in search of something.

"Doctor, why did you come? It was safer back at the apartment," Mick told him,

"Do you- know what this- place is?" Schreber asked haltingly.

"It's the trailer lot outside some tv studio," Mick answered.

"Tv," the doctor repeated. His eyes moved dartingly behind his thick glasses as they searched the rooms of the trailer. Outside in the before quiet of night, they could now here the sound of a door slamming and several voices talking far away. "Jack, do you- remember what I told you-when- you first came to me? I told you-my theory."

Jack nodded. "You said that the look alikes don't look like each other. We look like Sutherland."

Schreber nodded while Mick and David exchanged curious looks before remembering to glare angrily at each other and look away. Mick was still not happy with the killing David had made him agree to and he was not likely to forgive him any time soon.

"I believe this – is the case. You see, Mr. Sutherland is-"

"Coming."

Schreber, Jack, and Mick spun to face David who was now standing by an open window looking out, his ear close to the screen.

"A group just exited that building at the end of the lot," the creature reported. "They're splitting up, but I can hear the one they called Kiefer. He's coming this way."

----

footnote

1 When a vampire is invited into a home, it renders the usual means of detecting or hurting a vampire useless. (ex. Garlic, mirrors, etc)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sorry for the long wait. I've been trying to get this chapter up for a few days now, but problems with the site prevented me. Hopefully this longish chapter makes up for it. Also, you guys have officially caught up with me. I hope to keep updating weekly or less, but things are getting busier out here, so I apologize if updates take a little longer.