Pat folded a shirt and tucked it into his suitcase, the dim light of his lamp on the sheet vinyl floor, the bedroom casting shadows on the walls. A sharp knock at the door interrupted him. He opened it to find Minister Owen, his face etched with worry.
"Are you sure about going to Cascadia?" Owen asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"I've never been there and I've always wanted its beaches," Pat responded.
"The country is not safe for you to visit. Not when a drug lord is running one of the world's largest cartels."
"I'll only be gone for three months. I've to go and serve people who require God's help."
"Three months? Pat, that's too risky to be in that country for that long!" Minister Owen grimaced.
"I'm going to be fine when I'm there. Trust me, God will take care of me. Now, I've to finish packing my belongings. Do you know why the church I used to work at was bombed? It doesn't make sense to me that anyone would want to bomb a church?"
"Pat. It'll be months before the police can solve the case behind the bombing. Right now, all they've to work with is a sketchy video of an airplane that was taken beforehand."
"What did they find in the video?" Pat's eyes widened.
"Not much." Owen shrugged. "Other than they know the airplane was from another country. Why was there a foreign plane in Technate? That's what the police can't figure out."
Pat nodded.
"Don't go out past midnight because you might be mugged," Owen said before he left Pat in his bedroom.