Portal

Five heads nodded, and I opened a door to a gloomy alley in San Francisco. They all stepped through and the door vanished as I led them to the same restaurant I had visited the day before.

As we walked in, the manager looked out from the back and smiled. “Ah! You have returned, sir! I trust your meal was to your liking?”

I nodded with a smile. “It was excellent. So good, in fact, that I’ve brought some friends with me so that they might experience it for themselves. Go ahead, guys. I’ll buy tonight.”

Shade quirked an eyebrow and shrugged. “Very well, Portal.” He turned to face the menu and thought for a moment.

I stepped back and dug my wallet out of my pocket. Fifteen bucks. I sighed. I hated having to do what I was about to do. “Be right back, have to hit the ATM next door.” Spark nodded at me, and I walked out, ducking down the narrow alley beside the restaurant.

Opening a tiny door to the bank vault down the road from my apartment, I peered in, seeing the usual darkened room. Carefully, I located a secure box, closed my doors and opened a new pair. Reaching in with a hand wrapped up in my shirt, I withdrew two hundred-dollar bills from two separate stacks and stuffed them in my wallet. I closed the doors, making sure no trace of me was left inside the box. The last thing I needed was to be accused (rightly) of bank robbery.

Returning to the restaurant, I saw that Spark was placing his order. “I’d like a quart of moo goo gai pan, three eggrolls and an order of chicken on a stick, please.”

The manager nodded, writing the order down. “And what would our savior, the mighty Portal, like for dinner?”

I smiled, my face growing warm as I perused the menu. “May I have a pint of orange chicken and a pint of General Tso’s with an order of crab rangoon and an order of chicken on a stick?”

“Absolutely. We will have it right out.” He stepped back, and was about to leave when I stopped him.

“I need to pay, right? I can’t let you guys cook us this much food for nothing.”

“For you? No. It would be most unseemly to ask you to pay.”

“Please? I-I don’t feel right about that. Let me at least pay half?”

The manager’s face went calm. “I owe you, friend. Surely you wouldn’t let me dishonor us both by continuing to take your money?”

Shade placed a hand on my shoulder. “This is the cost of being a hero, Portal.”

I bowed my head in defeat. “Okay, then. But I won’t make this a habit, sir. Once a week, tops. And only me.”

The manager - who I later learned was named Chen Shou - giggled like a schoolkid and rushed to the back, shouting orders in what I assumed was Chinese. I took a seat with the others and waited.

Dice pulled a deck of cards from her pocket and began shuffling. “Wanna make a bet, Portal?”

I saw Shade try to hide a smile from the corner of my eye. “What are we wagering, Dice?”

She grinned like a cat. “Loser buys dinner.”

I grinned and rolled my eyes. “I’m already covering dinner tonight, remember?”

“Not tonight. Later.”

I stared at her for a moment. “With a name like ‘Dice’, it isn’t hard to figure out your power. Probability?”

She nodded. “Yes. Very good. I manipulate probabilities in a very small area. So. Wanna play?”

“How small?”

“A ten foot radius centered on myself.”

I thought about it and figured it couldn’t hurt. What was a little money to me? “Okay. What are we playing?”

“War.”

I thought for a moment. “Isn’t that where you shuffle, split the deck, and flip over the top card?”

She nodded. “Yep. It’s one of the most fair ways I can make a bet with someone.”

“Always active?”

She nodded sadly and shuffled the cards. I watched her hands like a hawk. I could see zero indication of her stacking the deck or doing anything unsportsmanlike with the cards. With a final riffle, she split the deck neatly and offered me the choice. I took the left half and slid it in front of me. “Aces high, Portal.”

The game was on.

Several rounds passed with her winning most of them. I won the next few, and she won a couple of wars. The other four were watching us intently as it came down to our last ten cards each.

I played the six of clubs to her seven of spades. I played the two of diamonds to her ten of hearts. Seven and four, Jack and two, five and five - a war - eight and four.

“Last card, Dice. I think we’re tied. Last chance to say that the bet’s off.”

She grinned. “Never!”

Shade gave us an impromptu countdown. “Three, two, one!” and we flipped over our final cards. I played the Ace of clubs and she the Queen of hearts.

“I lost?”

I nodded. “Maybe? I think it’s close. Count them up.”

We sat there and counted our cards as the manager, his wife and a cook came out bearing trays of food.

I had twenty-seven cards to her twenty-five. I grinned at her. “Looks like you’re buying dinner.”

She sat there, dumbfounded, as the others laughed. Shade clapped me on the shoulder. “You’re the second person to win that game with her!”

“Who was the first?”

The laughter died down as we cleared the cards and the food was set in front of us. I thanked the manager, and he returned to the back.

Dice poked at her food. “I don’t want to talk about that.”

I nodded. “That’s okay. I didn’t mean to open a sore subject. We all have something that stays inside.” I dug into my orange chicken.

“No, it’s okay. I just don’t want to go there right now. It just brings back memories. Some wonderful, others…not so much. That’s all.” She smiled sadly at me.

“I understand. It can stay right there, and we never have to bring it up again, if that’s what you want.”

“Thanks, Portal.” She took a bite of her noodles and made an appreciative noise. “These are pretty damn good!”

I grinned and continued eating. This was a good night, all things considered.

After about forty-five minutes, we were all well and truly stuffed. The manager brought out several take-out containers, each full of the same items that we had each ordered.

“Shou…” I said softly, my eyebrows knitting together.

The smiling manager waved his hands at me as he spoke, his tone reverent. “Hush, now. I take care of people who care for me and mine. Come see us any time, Portal. We will always take care of you.”

I sighed softly. If this were to be the price of saving this restaurant and its employees, then I would bear it with as much humility as I possibly could. I smiled at the shorter man. “If that is your wish, Mr. Chen, then I will abide by it. Thank you, sir.” Turning to my companions, I nodded my head toward the door. “Shall we?”

We stood and walked out of the little restaurant, tomorrow’s lunch or breakfast in our hands. Once outside, Shade took the lead, and directed us to a dark alleyway and reached back for Spark, who took his hand. We each held hands with the other, Dice gripping mine tightly, as Shade pulled us into whatever dimension he traveled through.

Ten minutes of walking later, we emerged near the docks of home. It may just be a lake, but it smelled much like any other seaport in the world.

We all scanned our surroundings, and once we deemed the area safe, we stepped out of the shadows one by one. Shade turned to face me and smiled.

“Portal,” he said quietly, “I am glad to have you with us. I’ll send Spark to your apartment with more information on where to meet up in the future. There is also the matter of training that you will need to undergo. It might not seem like it, but we have an extensive training ground set up for all our members.”

“He’s right, man. It’s helped me immensely.” Spark nodded.

I looked between the two men. This could be the beginning of a fantastic future for me. “No problem. Spark, just so you know, it’s going to take me quite some time to trust you completely. I’ve still not forgiven what happened, and I don’t know if I can at this point. I’m not ready to write it off completely, though.” Spark met my eyes and nodded thoughtfully. I was glad that he didn’t seem to expect me to just forgive everything at a moment’s notice. Looking at Celeste and Quantum I cocked my head. “Is there somewhere I can send you guys to get you closer to home?”

“I live near Marquette Park. Can you open a door there?” Celeste asked softly.

I thought for a moment. I had been locked up at the police station near there a couple years ago. There was a mosque that was fairly dark across the street and down a ways, and I said as much.

“That will be perfect!” She bounced happily on the balls of her feet as I created a door on the wall beside us.

“Bye everyone!” She said as she opened the door and walked through.

Once the door was closed, I let it disappear. Turning to Quantum, I smiled. “And you?”

“Can you open a door to anywhere in Mississauga?” He had a half-smile on his face.

“Oof. I’ve not been out of the US, actually. Sorry, man.”

“No problem. Shade can drop me off, then.” He shrugged and smiled.

I nodded. “Spark?”

“I don’t live too far from here, really. I’m good.”

I nodded and looked over at Dice, who still held my hand in hers. I cleared my throat softly and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Dice?”

She shook her head with a start and started to stammer as she yanked her hand away from mine. “Um…uh… Y-yes?” Her face had turned a bright shade of pink.

I smirked and asked her softly, “And where can I take you?”

Her face snapped to mine and her breathing came in swift gulps. “Um… Uh… I, uh… I…what?”

“I’m sending folks close to their homes if I can. That’s all. Do you want me to open a door to somewhere close to your home?”

I saw Shade struggle to keep from laughing as Dice looked frantically around. “I-I-I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Arizona before, but I live in Sedona?”

“Um… I’ve been to Phoenix once?” I scratched my head with a rueful smile.

She smiled and shook her head. “I’ll just get a ride with Shade, then. Thank you anyway.” She quickly moved to stand beside our leader.

Our leader. My leader. Damn, but that would take some getting used to.

Shade grinned. “If we are all ready?” He held out a hand, and Dice quickly took it as Quantum reached for her other. “Spark will visit you tomorrow, Portal. Be safe, everyone.” He stepped off into the shadows, where he, Quantum and Dice vanished, leaving only Spark and myself at the docks.

“See you tomorrow, Spark.” I said as I created a wooden door leading to my room.

“See ya, dude.”