[center][h3]Father Thomas[/h3][/center]
Location: Atlanta
[hr]
In the Bishops private Conference room at the Diocese in Atlanta a group was gathered to discuss the fate of one priest. It wasn't for sexual misconduct or for any grievous sin. It was that the young priest had accidentally dropped the Host and instead of it falling to the ground it floated in the air. 

"It was a miracle," The elderly woman had told the Bishop. Only a few had seen it and the Bishop quickly explained it away as Father Thomas liked to use magic tricks in his children's sermons. This too was one of those tricks He assured her, one the young priest would be punished for. Thomas' magic abilities were poor compared to the professional street performers. But he could pull a stick of gum from an ear, or make a wrapped life saver appear in his hands. But making something float was beyond his ability and not during the Sacraments. 

On his trip back from Rome, he was one of the ones that disappeared. Over the last four months things have been happening around Thomas, mostly out of his control. But this was in his control. 

The official position from the church was that those with powers were to be sanctioned in line with the government orders. Unofficially, the church had been working to help those with powers as long as they were not hurting others. Thomas was now a problem to be dealt with. 

He sat in a small library praying and waiting. For the first time that his powers worked the way they should have. His confessor had forbidden him from using his powers. He had done his best to follow the rule. This, like most of his use of his powers, this had been done on accident. The difference was this was a public display. He knew that dropping the host would have been a forgivable sin.

From the conference room he could hear the yelling back and forth. The Conference of Bishops was involved. It meant that this was eventually going to make its way to the Pope who would rule on what to do with him, if the Cardinal deemed it needed to go that far. The politics being what it was, those with powers were considered public enemies. The church would protest the policy and laws as inhumane but she would go along. This would be a right-hand and left-hand problem. At the national level the church would declare those with powers outside the church, but she would also protect those they could. 

After about an hour, one man came walking down the hall to the room. 

It was Msgr. Flanery, his confessor. He looked like a man who was beat down and carrying the weight of the world.
"My boy," he said in a tone that said it all.
 
"The decision has been made to remove you from your call," the older priest said. He grabbed Thomas' arm and held it. 
"It has nothing to do with you, my son," Msgr. Flanery said with a paternal tone and continued, "The Bishops are worried that if the authorities learn that you have the gift they will come after you and others under our protection." 

Thomas might be young but, he understood that he was being thrown to the wolves. The priest handed Thomas a packet. It included a money to take care of him for a while. 
"You are officially being placed on special assignment," the priest said. 

"As your Father, I tell you that you need to go into hiding," he said. "There are those that will help you," He continued. 

Within half an hour, All of Thomas' possessions that fit in two duffel bags were with him and he was loaded into a car and driven to an old junk yard in the slums of Atlanta. The Spanish speaking owner took him to a shack that sat in the yard and gave him a uniform to wear. A young girl came into the little office and translated for him. "Night watchman," she ended up telling him. 

Night watchman in a junk yard in the Spanish speaking part of the slums of Atlanta. At least the Mexican restaurant next door to the sleazy hotel smelled like it had good food.