Two of a Kind

Day Two

Chapter 6:

Day 2

Late Afternoon

Disney Land

"This was supposed to be a vacation! A vacation means leaving your job at home. Both your jobs! We're missing out on Disney Land for God's sake!" Harrison argues as he walks next to Tru, who is headed straight to the 'Jungle Cruise' adventure to meet FBI Agent Paul Ballard.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Harrison. But I didn't ask to be kidnapped and have my entire existence wiped. Thank God for the rewind. This time it's not just my job to save someone's life, but I have to save my own as well. And I would appreciate it if you cooperate."

"Then why the hell are you trying to get to a man who tried to kill you yesterday?"

"He didn't try to kill me, he was trying to save me… try to catch up, Harr." Tru has already filled her brother in on the happenings of day one, but the complex events had him all confused.

"I still don't understand why everyone has mistaken you for some nuthouse resident."

"Dollhouse, Harrison. The place is called Dollhouse. And I don't understand its connection with me either. That place programs people's minds and uses them as toys to whoever's willing to pay."

"Sounds more like a whorehouse if you ask me!" Says Harrison. "And what's with the names? November, Alpha, Echo? What ever happened to Barbie and Ken?"

At that point, Tru spots Agent Ballard. "There he is… come on."

An anxious looking Paul Ballard has been tipped by an anonymous that the Dollhouse's Echo, whom he knows as 'Caroline', will be spending a day with the client who hired her at Disney Land. Insisting to meet Caroline directly after two years of investigating the Dollhouse's existence, and months of trying to find the mysterious Caroline, Agent Ballard is undercover and scoping the different rides and adventures in hope to find his target.

Tru Davies, who happens to be Echo's twin sister without either of them knowing about the existence of the other, is relying on her instincts which have never failed her before to solve this puzzle. Due to her ability to relive days, she is now aware of the existence of the Dollhouse, though still not aware that she has a twin somewhere. She has been mistaken by Agent Ballard and the dollhouse staff to be Echo, and had her memories wiped clean on day one. Her goal now is to avoid being taken to the Dollhouse again, in addition to preventing a possible kill. Telling the FBI Agent exactly what he wants to hear could be her only chance of achieving both goals. She decides that having her brother Harrison with her is extra safety insurance.

"How are you going to give him the inside information about this place without looking suspicious? You can't tell him about what happened… I don't think he'd be keen on the idea that you relive days." Harrison questions Tru's plan.

"Watch and learn, little brother." Tru says confidently, as she walks directly toward Ballard. He takes off his sunglasses as she approaches him, in shock that the object of his obsession is about to make contact with him right out of the blue.

"Excuse me, Sir... Are you Paul Ballard, the FBI Agent who's been investigating the Dollhouse for two years?"

Shocked, Paul grins and fires out: "How did you know…?"

"Same way I know you have a picture of me in your pocket. My name is Caroline, and I'm the one who sent you that picture." Remembering the picture he showed her on day one. "It's about time you showed up! Now we can stand here and be more obvious, or we can go somewhere to talk!"

30 minutes later

Hiding in a place overlooking the Pirates of the Caribbean adventure area, and after giving precise information about everything and everyone she remembers seeing in the Dollhouse on day one, Tru is showing Agent Paul Ballard and her brother Harrison the black van parked in the distance, telling him about the handler's job and describing the inside of the van.

"You have no idea how much help you have been, Caroline." Paul assures, "but you haven't told me how you remember all these details. Aren't you programmed to be on a mission now?"

"Yes, Caroline! Tell us how you can be two people at the same time!" Harrison teases his sister while she looks at him with daggers in her eyes.

"And you still haven't told me who this young gentleman is…" Paul asks referring to Harrison.

"Well," Tru slowly begins as she tries to fabricate a smart and convincing explanation, "I guess I'm not your average 'doll'. I don't respond well to the wiping process. And this guy… this is… Harrison Davies… the… guy who hired me to… tell you about the Dollhouse." She says with a smile.

"And I'm supposed to believe that the Dollhouse programs a doll to expose them?" asks Paul.

"No…" Her smile fades away as she realizes she's made a lame excuse. "I mean... I've known him from before I entered the Dollhouse, and he's helping me, and you, bring the place down. He just pretended to be hiring me as his sister Tru for one day."

"I see!" Paul says skeptically. "Well then, Mr Davies, if you care so much about bringing that place down, you could just spare me all the trouble and tell me where it is. You sure know the address, right?"

Both Tru and Harrison look baffled now.

"Or maybe I would just follow that van; that should lead me straight to the Dollhouse, don't you think?" Paul again implies that he's not quite buying into their story.

"No! Please don't." Tru shouts, "You would jeopardize our cover! That would endanger everybody." She explains, in an attempt to keep him as far away from Boyd as possible. "Why don't you take me and Harrison back to the station? I'm sure we can be more of help there."

Harrison suddenly takes his sister's arm and whispers, "Umm... speaking of the van… what's JACK doing in it?!!"

Tru looks at the van and in an unexpected twist is shocked to see her rival Jack Harper shaking Boyd's hand and getting into the van, taking the driver's seat.

"Damn it! This guy never gives up, does he? He had to travel all the way here to complicate my life even more." She secretly tells her brother. "Ok, change in plans." She declares. "Agent Ballard, why don't you take Harrison in for questioning…-"

"What?!" Harrison interrupts.

"…I have to go now… I promise you I will keep in touch and help you find the Dollhouse if you promise me you will not come near that van or follow it in any way. Please… you have to trust me." She tells Paul.

"Tru, you're going back to that place? That's suicide!" Harrison yells.

"Fine, I'll play along." Paul says as he hands Tru his cell phone. "Here, take my phone and give me yours. If you really want to help, then help me find this place." Somehow, despite his uneasiness toward Harrison, he feels like she's trustworthy.

She takes his phone and hands him hers. "Ok. I'll leave you a trail of pebbles that you can follow. Meanwhile, Harrison will help you know the full truth about who I am and where I come from." She tells him before she runs toward the van.

Sitting in the driver's seat drinking his coffee, Jack Harper is here to make sure the balance of the universe in preserved. His ability to relive days allows him to see what the victim has seen on his last day, which serves as clues to finding him. This time, the rewind brought with it some unusual flashbacks including, but not exclusive to, a black van with a Los Angeles license plate, a 'Disney Land' sign, and a sight of Echo, whom he thought was Tru, in a dominatrix suit and holding a whip! (Which was her last imprint before she was programmed to be 'Joy') Concerned and secretly intrigued, he's decided that flying all the way to California would help him make sure Boyd dies, in addition to avoid having Tru getting herself in unnecessary trouble. This way he would kill two birds with one stone.

"What the hell you think you're doin'?" Tru roars at him through the window of the van.

Startled, he drops some of the hot coffee on his pants. "Ahh, Jeez!! Tru… I could've settled for a simple 'hello'."

"And I could've settled for a simple vacation. But no… Fate had to screw me yet again, and now you're here to make sure I go through even more hell than I already have."

Jack laughs. "Actually, Tru, I'm here to make sure you don't!"

"And how's that, Jack? What's your big plan? Drive this man to his death? That it?"

"Correction: It's driving him to his 'fate'. You just called it 'fate' yourself a minute ago. It isn't fate if it isn't meant to be, right?"

"Correction: It is not meant to be, because it hasn't happened yet! And it's my fate to save him, not his fate to die!"

"Is it your fate to end up as an empty puppet, too?" Jack breaks.

Tru is perplexed. "How did you…?"

"Know about the Dollhouse? Everybody knows about it, Tru. But what not everybody knows is that it actually exists. Congratulations! Now you're one of the few who do."

Tru is still shocked.

"Ah, don't give me that look. I get flashbacks too, remember? I gotta say, though… You look great in leather!"

Tru doesn't know what he means by that but isn't interested in asking. The intensity of their conversation is interrupted by Boyd.

"Joy, would you like a treatment?" Boyd asks nicely.

"Treatment?!" She asks as she remembers being on the imprint chair while Adelle and Topher were talking right before her mind went blank. "Can't we just… go for ice-cream?"

"What's the matter, Joy? Can't you see the man's dying to give you a treatment?" Jack teases. "Come on, don't be rude. Hop in, he ain't got all day!"

"Thanks, new guy, but I didn't ask for your help." Boyd tells Jack.

"No, I guess you asked for hers!" Jack says with a smirk.

Tru gets on the van with Boyd knowing that although Jack's plan is to get Boyd killed, jeopardizing Tru's life or leaving her be prey for the Dollhouse is not on his agenda. The two hour drive back to Los Angeles should buy her enough time to think of a plan to save herself and Boyd.

Author's Notes:

Thank you SO MUCH to all who reviewed/commented. I know it took forever to update, but better late than never, right! This is chapter 6. The next chapter will be up within a week, I promise. And it's going to be crazy! Stay tuned.