I'd like to thank Quillian for being such a loyal reader so far, andGryphinwyrm7 for theand the fact! I didn't realise that, but I have done a little more research on it and it should prove useful!

Chapter 13

"I thought Concorde weren't even allowed to fly over land," I said. "I thought the supersonic boom they made when they went at speeds faster than sound was too disturbing."

"I guess that just proves the Yeerks have control. They're not going to care about something like that. They'll just infest the guys who make the rules and get permission," said Ferdie.

"Flawless, was that a brain cell I just heard working there? Or just another silly attempt at rationalising this suicide mission?" laughed Sam. Ferdie gave her a mock-sneer and grinned.

"You know, I'm sure she's interested me in me for my mind as well as my body," he laughed. Sam batted her eyes and gave him a playful punch. It was late afternoon, and the four of us were lounging around on the roof of one of the terminals, watching the planes taxi to the runway, take off, and land. It was pretty noisy, but as far as we could tell, it was safe. The Concorde we were interested in was parked in its own holding area near the main terminal, a gleaming white machine.

"Yes, well if we could perhaps get back on track?" said Philip, rolling his eyes and staring at the two of them as if they were children. "We need to find out at what time the Concorde is taking flight."

"We can do that tomorrow morning," said Ferdie. "It will show up on the live flight info."

"Yeah, but we'll have to get through customs to view that," Sam said. "That won't be easy."

"I don't think you need to go through customs to view the flight info," I said. "Whenever I've flown anywhere, they show the schedules pretty much as soon as you walk in through the main doors. You can also view them online - you don't even need to go to the airport."

Sam shrugged her shoulders. "Ok then, I guess that makes it a bit easier. But how will we know which flight number is the Concorde one?"

"They are usually named after the airline," I said. You know, like British Airways flights become BA-Something. I guess this will be VI or VE then a load of numbers. And of course, it will be flying from here to Los Angeles International Airport, which is another piece of information shown next to the flight number. We should be able to work it out."

"Wouldn't the Yeerks want to keep the flight information secret, though?" asked Sam.

"I don't think it would bother," replied Philip. "This is a huge occasion for them. The launch of their new airline, and their partnership with The Sharing. They'll probably invite people to watch the first flight, and I'm sure they'll be inviting the press along."

"Of course," said Sam. "And I guess, if they are laying a trap for the resistance, they'll be expecting an attack - for which they're all prepared to win. They'll be wanting the resistance to know the flight details - so that they can come and attack it!"

"Rather ambitious, these Yeerks, aren't they," said Ferdie casually. "Setting up this huge trap for the resistance, and trying to infest a dozen or so celebrities? Talk about killing two birds with one stone!"

"Don't say that!" I said, wincing. "We're probably going to be in morph at sometime!"

"Actually, that reminds me," said Philip. "I read somewhere that in some airports they use hawks and falcons to keep pigeons and other birds away from the runways, so they don't get sucked into the planes' engines. Maybe they do that here."

"Maybe, but that just means we won't be able to morph crows," said Sam. "I don't suppose they encourage the hawks to go anywhere near the actual inside of the plane, do they?"

"Well, I was just saying," huffed Philip. "If we were to morph raptors, we wouldn't look suspicious."

"Well, that's a relief, Philip," I said, trying to resolve the peace between the two of them. "One less thing to worry about."

"I suggest we work out how we're going to get into the plane," said Sam, sighing. "I guess they'll have to load the luggage so maybe we could slip in as flies then."

"Probably our best bet," said Philip. "Go small, unnoticed. Find something that won't mind the cold for too long - there's no heating in the storage compartments."

"The flight is over two hours though," I mentioned. "We'll have to demorph at some point."

"We will - and we'll just have to remorph as soon as possible," replied Philip. "The pressure in the aircraft will be very low in the cargo area, especially at the heights that the Concorde travels. The plane is only pressurised in the cabin area."

"Will our flies be able to cope with those low pressures?" I asked.

"Insects are pretty hardwearing," Sam said. "Maybe not as good as cockroaches, but they should all be ok. And they don't need as much oxygen as humans, so the thin air shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"You hope," said Ferdie. "Once we find out they're not ok, it will be too late."

"Flawless, you're the one who wanted to do this!" snapped Philip. "So you'd better accept the risks involved and stop making wry comments."

"Ok, so that's agreed then?" asked Sam. "We go out as raptors early tomorrow morning, and watch for the luggage loading. As soon as possible, we find somewhere to morph flies and get aboard. When we're in flight, we stay as flies as much as possible, and only demorph when we need to, to avoid going over the two-hour limit. When we land, and the cargo compartment doors open, we fly out and get to raptors as soon as we can. We'll plan what happens then when we get to LA."

I breathed in sharply. "Wow. It all seems to simple where you say it like that."

"I can't believe we're going to be flies whilst on an actual Concorde!" said Ferdie. "I would love to be in the cabin. You can actually see the curvature of the Earth from the windows!"

"Flawless, this isn't some Tour America sightseeing trip," Philip snapped. "We're here to do a job - one, let me remind you, that you insisted we do - and there's a plan to stick to."

"Philip, I was just saying-"

"Guys, can we stop bickering, please," said Sam. "Look. There's not a huge amount we can do until tomorrow, and we're all tired and hungry. I think we should fly into the city and find something to eat and somewhere to sleep tonight."

"Cool," I said, trying to raise everyone's' spirits. "Let's visit Manhattan!"