PORTAL

     “Just relax and enjoy your stay,” the aging woman said pleasantly, “If you need anything call me or Walter, anytime.” She handed a single key to Roy and made her exit. Roy tossed his knapsack onto the hide-a-bed couch and sat down. Gazing about his surroundings he took in the tiny apartment.

         He could’ve done worse. The apartment was showing its age but it was clean, warm, well-kept and everything worked. The old hide-a-bed had to have come from the thirties but it was comfortable. The kitchen nook featured a drop-leaf table and two chairs that dated back to the war at the latest. Even the finished plywood kitchen cupboards kept time with the age of the building. But it almost seemed like a time capsule. The flatscreen TV was next to new, seemingly out of place compared to the rest of the furnishings and it dominated the wall across from the couch. But it was all okay, and the price was right.

Roy checked his watch then picked up the remote and pushed the power button. It felt good to be home, even if it wasn’t really home. Well, it was at least a temporary refuge.

Roy had actually lost track of how long it had been. A year maybe? He’d been on the road long enough to think that the unending stretch of pavement was the only life he knew. A good and capable mechanic, that was the career he’d chosen and he was good at what he did. He would’ve continued in that direction if things hadn’t completely derailed.

In a perfect world, you choose a career, work at it, and then work into your part of the American Dream. You marry, buy a house, raise a family, do family things and hopefully if you do everything right, you retire and enjoy your twilight years pursuing hobbies, grandkids, and just taking life easy.

Yes, in a perfect world.

But Roy’s world wasn’t perfect.

It was nothing to do with his marriage, and nothing to do with the kids. But circumstances had changed. They had to leave in a hurry but not the way they would have hoped. Nonetheless, they were getting along with the new surroundings, that was until his wife had decided that she needed to go beyond the limits. It was bad. His family, otherwise, was safe.

Roy’s problem began at work and while it shouldn’t have had anything to do with work it still happened at work and he had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Working late one night, he saw something he wasn’t supposed to see. He didn’t think it was all that serious because he’d actually seen a lot of things he wasn’t supposed to see in the past. He just dismissed them as none of his business, and most of the time he got away unscathed but this time was different; it forced him down a trail without a destination, except maybe to hell.

It turned out that it was probably a good thing he didn’t have his family in tow; he was on the dodge, and looking after himself was all he could handle.

Roy unpacked his bag then contemplated the remains of the sandwich he had taken along. It wasn’t all that appealing but he was hungry so he downed it and washed it down with a swig of luke-warm beer. It had been a long day and he was tired. In the morning he would report to the federal marshal who would tell him what to do next. Of course, until then, he could relax somewhat safely, knowing that there was one agent a short distance down the hall from his room.

He didn’t know how long he had been out but he became aware of a flickering light. Forcing himself awake he realized that the TV was on. Roy first wondered how it happened to turn itself on but then thought that he’d simply let himself fall asleep before shutting the set off. Gathering his bearings he sat up and peered at the screen.

It appeared to be featuring an old black and white movie. The scene was a small room. An attractive young woman was having an argument with a man when the man abruptly left, leaving the woman to her own devices. She stood in the room near the wall which was comprised of shelves full of books. As Roy watched the scene unfold the woman turned slowly around until she was facing the camera. Only it seemed that she wasn’t concentrating on the camera.

Roy could’ve sworn that she was looking directly at him.

The meeting with the federal marshal didn’t amount to much more than had happened before. Roy was sent to a new job that for once was up his alley; he might actually enjoy doing it. So often he was assigned to just about anything that was available. For three months he had flipped burgers at a greasy spoon roadside diner then they put him to work on a roofing crew. The latter had sort of worked out until a round from a high-powered rifle had gone through a pail of tar he was carrying. They couldn’t prove anything but it was trouble enough to send him to another assignment. It seemed the northern part of the state was dotted with antique car museums. Roy was a skilled mechanic and he was placed in charge of vehicle maintenance at one of them. He secretly hoped that this would be a place that he never had to leave; he actually looked forward to the next day.

It was a demanding day. The museum had hosted two large groups, both of which required tours on the facility’s vintage buses. One of the buses was especially cantankerous but Roy was able to determine that the fuel system was contaminated with old skunky fuel. Once he got fresh fuel in and flushed the system out, the ancient conveyance was running just fine.

Roy didn’t talk to anyone but the marshal who was still in the room across the hall. He could tell that the marshal wasn’t all that happy about his assignment but still did it. The guy had a zero personality but at least he could talk about cars.

That night it happened again. Roy awoke in a daze and found the TV was on again. This time it looked like a segment from the Jack Benny Show. But it was the same woman. She was in a fancy parlor bantering with Jack and Rochester then she left the room and ended up in a room very similar to the room she was in a few nights before. She stood still for a moment then slowly turned until she was looking directly at Roy. Being very tired from the day’s exertions, Roy wasn’t interested in the program. He picked up the remote but was startled when he heard the woman whisper.

“Roy,” she called out.

Roy couldn’t help but stare back at her. He felt like calling back but didn’t want to act like the fool he thought he was already being. He just gazed back at her and jerked his thumb back in his direction.

The woman smiled and nodded. “Roy Woodhouse. Don’t be shy; I won’t bite.” She paused for a moment. “I’m Gloria.”

Roy was incredulous. He was about to enter a conversation with a strange woman on the television set. Yet for some reason, it didn’t seem all that bizarre. “You know me?” he said finally.

“Only what I heard,” Gloria responded. “When the federal agents were in they were talking about you. Of course, I know that isn’t your real name, just as mine isn’t Gloria. You see, I’m in Witness Protection too.”

Roy refused to acknowledge that he was in Witness Protection. He was still trying to understand that he was actually talking to an attractive woman through the TV. He was almost ready to switch the channel but decided to chat some more.

“Witness Protection? What did you see?”

“I’m a reporter,” Gloria replied, “New York Post. I had been working a case involving a connection between the mob and a couple of politicians. I dug up some incriminating stuff and then turned it over to the police. The paper assigned me to a courtroom beat with that televised program—.”

         “—Evening Court?”

         Gloria nodded. “I was really enjoying it. Of course, I have to add that I was getting along with the judge too. He was young, single and a lot of fun; we dated and even talked about marriage. Then one day I was getting ready to head down to the courthouse. I was met at the door by two marshals.

“They told me that I was going to need to testify at the case I had turned over. There were already threats against me. They put me into Witness Protection. I told them that they needed to let me go to Evening Court one last time.

“Benjamin proposed to me just before the marshals took me away.” Gloria’s eyes misted over and she became very quiet.

“Sorry to hear that,” Roy said sympathetically. “My story was pretty crazy too.

“I’m from out west—Montana. I worked at a car repair shop in a wide spot in the road—some call it a town—where you blink and you passed it. The boss was a money-hungry jackass who worshipped money and anyone who had money. He would do anything, legal or not so legal if he thought he could make some money.

“The more he did the greedier he got and the bolder he got.

“He was approached by the boss of a Hutterite colony—.”

“—Hutterite?” Gloria asked.

“Hutterites are like highly mechanized Amish; they dress in black, live on huge colonies, and farm immense tracts of land. Very peaceful people overall. They were once given income tax exemptions because they were a religious organization. That got changed fifty years ago but they’re always looking for ways to avoid the tax.

“They deal with a lot of cash so they went to Vince and asked him if he knew anyone who could “look after” some money. Vince beamed and I saw one of the colony bosses bring in a briefcase full of money. I overheard the boss say that he had eight-hundred thousand dollars in the briefcase.

“In the course of a year, Vince had laundered over twenty million dollars for the Hoots. Then he got approached by other people who were more sinister. Soon he had a great business.

“Then I was working late one night. A couple of guys went into Vince’s office with several large suitcases. Lots of words then the guys headed out. Vince disappeared for a week. Came back, business as usual, then a couple more goons, more big suitcases, and Vince leaves again. Next thing I know, I’ve got a bunch of suits in my office.

“They told me I don’t have to testify; they just needed my statement. Then, they haul Vince away in handcuffs, and then I still got subpoenaed. It was all downhill from there.”

Roy then told her about life in Witness Protection. How his wife had gotten desperate and needed to go home, and went home against all the advice from the federal marshals. “The next thing I saw was two marshals at my workplace. They told me that they had pulled my wife’s body out of the charred remains of her car. She had been shot in the head, execution-style. I had to pack up and head out, and here I am.”

Roy still thought it was strange to be talking to someone who seemed to be in a completely different dimension. “How did you come to be inside the TV?”

“You just need a hand to hold onto,” Gloria told him. She reached out to Roy. “Here, take my hand.”

Roy did as he was told. He stood up, reached out toward the TV, grabbed hold of her outstretched hand, and walked toward the TV set. There was a buzzing sound accompanied by a sensation of dizziness then suddenly the scene that had once been black and white was in full color. Roy was standing in front of Gloria in a room that looked strangely familiar; in fact, it mirrored the room he had just been in. Roy looked back out at where he’d just been and could clearly see the room.

The couch was exactly like it was; the shelves that were lined with books were clearly visible. “How do you get back out?” Roy asked reasonably.

Gloria just pointed to the room. “Just head back out.”

“I’ve got a couple of other questions: “How did you get in here? And, why don’t you go out?”

“To answer your first question, I had to have someone to pull me in.”

“Who was?”

“Well, you met Mavis, the landlady, her husband, Walter.

“You see, Walter was in the program too but Mavis wasn’t. Walter discovered this; it was a dimension beside the fantasies of movies and TV programs. He found the portal and all was well. Then I came along and that enabled Walter to go back out and be with Mavis. I had nothing to lose so I let him go, and I stayed.”

“I suppose now that I’m here, you can go,” Roy said.

Gloria shrugged. “I could but I’m happy here; the life I could’ve had out there disappeared when I became a witness.”

“Don’t you wonder about Benjamin?”

“I miss him terribly, but I have faith that one day we’ll be together.”

Maybe I can help you with that, Roy thought. Gloria seemed like the type who deserved to be truly happy and it was too bad things hadn’t worked out for her.

The next several days went by without incident. Roy rode the bus to the outskirts of town and walked the rest of the way to the museum. He put in a good day and then left on foot to the bus stop, boarded the bus and rode back to the apartment. Supper and a visit with Gloria. To most, it might’ve been boring but to Roy it was survival.

One of the marshals told him that Vince had been convicted of multiple charges of embezzlement, fraud, and tax evasion. He would likely spend the rest of his life in prison, and that’s exactly what happened.

One morning Vince didn’t come out of his cell. He was found stabbed to death in the laundry room.

It was a rather dismal day at the museum. Roy had finished up and the walk to the bus stand was chilly. The bus seemed to be late and it was getting dark. Roy climbed on board and took his usual seat. As usual, he took in his surroundings. There was one person who stood out from the rest.

The man might have passed easily as a regular in places like New York but out in the Midwest, he stuck out like a sore thumb. He also glanced in Roy’s direction too many times.

Roy tried to act nonchalant and didn’t vary his routine at all. The stranger got off at the first transfer so Roy was able to give a sigh of relief. However, when he got off at his final stop he saw the stranger across the street. Roy quickly accessed his building and knocked at the marshal’s door. There was no answer. The door wasn’t completely closed so Roy slowly opened it.

His heart skipped a beat when he saw the agent sprawled out on the floor, lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling, a bullet hole in the center of his forehead.

Strangely enough, the agent’s sidearm was in its holster. Roy took it and slid it into his belt then he made his way down the hall to his own apartment. He paused, took his key out, and inserted it into the lock, at the same time looking at the eyepiece in the door.

It was just a flicker, but it was enough to know that someone was in the apartment. Roy took the agent’s gun and fired directly at the eyepiece. He heard a cry on the other side of the door and heard a body collapse on the floor. He pushed the door open and saw his assailant on the floor with half of his face missing. He only had a second to react but he lunged into the apartment at knee level. A shot from a second gun passed harmlessly overhead. Roy fired a double tap in the direction of that shot. The first shot missed but the second caught the hitman in the knee. He went down and a third shot finished him off.

Leaving the lights off, Roy found the remote and switched on the TV. The set came to life immediately, the black and white movie just beginning and Gloria was entering the room. Just then Roy was aware of someone else in the room. He switched on the light and beheld the stranger he had seen on the bus.

“Hello, Benjamin. Nice, you could make it. Here’s someone you’ve been missing for a long time.” He indicated Gloria, turned, and left the apartment.