Jason managed to track down Ballard and confronted the paranoid man in his apartment. He needed this man so his plan could succeed.
"Who are you? Do you work for the dollhouse?" Ballard asked, his gun pointed at the young man that had broken into his home.
Jason rolled his eyes, "No. I'm not. I came to you because you can help me get what I want."
"And what's that?" Ballard asked, still not lowering his weapon until he could get some answers.
"My informant told me that you have the location of the dollhouse. I want it." Jason said, deciding not to beat around the bush and getting straight to business.
Ballard frowned, "Why?"
Jason scowled angrily, "Because they have my fucking brother, asshole! I need the location so I can get him out of that hellhole."
Ballard lowered his weapon slightly, "Show me."
Jason sighs, but takes out a photograph of Dick and himself before Jason had been killed as well as the most recent one he had managed to find. He handed them to Ballard and watched as his expression became more sympathetic as he examined the photos given to him.
"Who are you and what's his name?" Ballard asked as he looked back towards Jason.
"His name is Richard Grayson, although he likes to be called Dick for some stupid reason. He's not my brother by blood, but by adoption. He's my big brother and when I found out he'd been lured into being one of these dolls, probably for some sick perverts… I knew it was up to me to rescue him." Jason said.
Ballard nodded in agreement, deciding that Jason was most likely telling the truth, "Okay. You can come with me. I've got a lead on the location as well as a way into the dollhouse. Looking through the records, I've found that they had hired an environmental systems consultant named Stephan Kepler who's an expert in buildings that recycle their own air, water, and power. A completely closed system."
Jason followed the man and eventually they got to their destination. They both stopped before the apartment door of the man they were looking for. Ballard knocked on the door and they both waited as the sound of multiple locks unlocking was heard before a man opened the door partially to see who was at the door.
"Are you Stephen Kepler?" Ballard asked the man.
"Okay… hi. Uh, what was that name again?" The man, Kepler, asked.
"Stephen Kepler, is that you?" Ballard asked once more.
There was a pause before he answered, "Well… there's a lot of aspects to that question... You're not from the Thai place, are you?
Ballard showed him his FBI badge and waited for the man to answer his question.
"Yeah, I wanted Tofu Satay."
"Don't worry. You're not in any trouble. But you are an expert in a field I am… interested in. Can I come in and talk for a minute?"
Kepler quickly shut the door behind him as he stepped out of his apartment, "Let's talk out here. It's nice. The hallway goes… down there all the way and…there's loses of… spacious… air… Am I still breathing?"
Jason and Ballard continued to watch as the man showed signs of a beginning panic attack before he quickly turned back to his apartment and opened the door, taking in a large gulp of air from his apartment. Ballard quickly shoved Kepler back into his apartment, Jason quickly following him and closed the door behind himself.
"No." Kepler weakly protested.
They both noticed the weed plants the man grew within the safety of his home and he quickly moved to try and block them from view.
"C-carrots! Uh… medicinal carrots. Personal use for medicinal carrots that were here when I moved in and I'm holding it for a friend…"
Jason rolled his eyes, they would definitely believe that. This man was so lucky neither of them actually gave a shit about his weed.
"You design environmental systems." Ballard said.
Once Ballard had shown no interest in his owning weed, Kepler quickly began speaking more openly, "Oh. Y-yeah, th-th-that's my thing. Uh, self-contained. Renewable everything. Uh, I mean… the ultimate goal is, uh, complete self-sufficiency, but without a lot of money. You know, the best you can hope to do is to offset your carbon footprint. You know, I care about my carbon footprint, but most people out there are… making carbon snow angels. You know, Earth Day was last week?"
"I haven't been…" Ballard stated blandly.
"Hilarious! Earth gets one day. Alright, the other 364 we're… we're cranking the AC in our Hummer and then, one day a year ooh, we'll separate the plastic. You know what I think?" He continued ranting as he poured himself a cup of coffee and took a sip before almost immediately spitting it back out into the cup, "That once we die out… uh, uh, a couple hundred years… Earth is going to have a 'people day'. You know, to remember us. One day a year, she is going to laugh and laugh and shake our bones… Recycled urine?"
Kepler had opened his fridge and talked out a jar full of a slightly yellow-tinged liquid for them to see. Jason stared at the man as if he had grown a second head, there was no way in hell that the liquid was 'recycled'.
"I'm kidding. It-it's not fully recycled. I'm tinkering with that. I also have Pom." Kepler said.
"Let's say I do have a lot of money. You can design a truly self-contained system?" Ballard asked.
"Uh… air, water, heat. Y-you wouldn't even have to use the grid… uh, maybe a little, depending on how big it is…" Kepler replied.
"So you can make a building disappear?" Jason asked.
"Mmm… only if you paint it exactly like what's behind it and then you stand…" He trailed off with a small laugh.
"But you could bury it underground." Ballard stated.
"Underground. It's best, you know, uh… insulation, structural integrity…" He trailed off as he noticed the intense stare of Jason and Ballard, "… You don't have a lot of money."
"I'm looking for something." Ballard said.
Kepler watched them nervously before seeming to realize exactly what they were looking for, "Yeah. No. Y-you need to make an appointment with Stacy… you could email me, don't email me… you know, I'm not… comfortable… having people in my home that aren't delivering me Thai food and I'm not talking about past clients."
"Tell me about the dollhouse." Ballard demanded.
"Ah, man…" Kepler moaned to himself as he walked to the far wall of his apartment and slid down in barely contained despair.
"I told you, you're not in trouble." Ballard tried to reassure Kepler.
"Oh, you are naive. They will kill me, and the two of you, and then kill me again. Please. I shouldn't have said anything." Kepler said, his voice tinged in desperation.
Ballard slowly pulled out his gun and Jason quickly followed his example, a bit miffed he hadn't pulled out his gun before Ballard.
"And now there's a gun. Two guns!" Kepler whimpered.
"You built the dollhouse." Ballard stated.
Kepler quickly shook his head in disagreement, "I built the shell."
He managed to choke out before quickly putting his hand over his mouth and cursed himself for continuing to give them the information that could get them all killed.
"Can you open the shell?" Ballard asked.
"What if I don't… tell you?" Kepler asked slowly.
Jason cocked his gun, never taking his eyes off Kepler. Kepler immediately nodded his head, not wanting to be shot.
"Probably." He replied, "But I don't know where it is. That was years ago. You know, I-I designed it from here! I never leave here, man!"
"Then this will be a real adventure for you. You're coming with us." Ballard said.
"Why would I chose to do that?" Kepler asked.
"I don't remember him using the word choose." Jason answered, a bit amused that the man actually thought he would get a choice in the matter.
"I didn't," Ballard replied, "There's a girl named Caroline and this guy's brother being held there against their wills. Now, I'm the only person who knows how to find the dollhouse and you're the only person who knows how to get in. And as much as it pains me to say it, that makes you our new partner."
"But what about him?" Kepler asks, pointing at Jason.
Jason glared at the spineless man, "This is my brother that's trapped inside this fucking dollhouse! I won't e v e r allow my brother to be hurt again! He is the kindest, most selfless person I know and he's had tragedy after tragedy practically non-stop before he was even 10. I had always done my best to protect him, but I had no choice in leaving my brother's side for a few years… I only wish I could have been by his side when another devastating tragedy occurred. Maybe I could have helped him so he wouldn't have gotten mixed up in this shit! He doesn't deserve this! He has nothing of what made my brother himself, he's just a doll that people can just buy to use! So d o n' t you ever question why I'm here again. Got it, you spineless piece of shit?!"
Kepler nodded aggressively with a whimper, shocked and a bit awed by this younger man's resolve in protecting his brother as well as absolutely terrified. Ballard quickly opened to front door and held it open, allowing Jason to shove Kepler out of his apartment.
"Then can I hold the gun?" He asked, but quickly shut up at the deadpanned expression on both their faces.