Chapter Two: Plans
Atta, after deciding on the date for the attacks, informed Binalshibh of this date on August 29, 2001
As the attackers worked out the details of their plans, so did we. There were nineteen hijackers for four planes; with only seven of us, the obvious thing was to have me on the flight with only four attackers.
The others were all going as mated pairs. No one had spoken the reason out loud, but I heard it in the backs of all their minds; If anything goes wrong, I'll either save her or die with her. A fiery plane crash was one thing we might not be able to walk away from.
"Of course, we could call Tanya to pair up with you, Edward," Emmett teased.
I grimaced. "No, thanks," I said dryly. "With the rest of you in mated pairs, the last thing I want is to give that succubus any ideas." I liked Tanya fine as a "cousin," but even if I had been attracted to her, I would have had serious problems with her extracurricular activities. "I'll be fine on my own."
"You will," Alice agreed. "At least…I can 'see' you as clearly as any of the rest of us."
"They're humans," Emmett scoffed. "This is gonna be easy."
"Take them alive if you can, but kill them if you have to," Carlisle ordered, his voice heavy with regret at the thought of taking any human life. I closed my eyes against the image of those people falling tens of stories to the ground, and wondered if he could be so compassionate if he had seen the image the way Alice and I had.
Finally all our plans were made. Alice was back to her usual optimistic self, confident now that this was enough to change the future.
"All right!" Emmett said enthusiastically. "Let's roll."
oOo
I walked across the sunny airport, my heavy makeup feeling thick and sticky on my face. Emmett had thought obscene cross-dresser comments at me as Alice put it on…until Rosalie came after him with her own makeup brush.
The makeup covered every bit of exposed skin on my face and neck; though it seemed a bit odd this time of year, I wore a pair of thin leather driving gloves. I needed the cover even inside the airport; there were whole walls of windows, and skylights with the sun pouring through.
I checked in under the name George Gabriel and made it through security without a problem.
I pretended to read as I waited at the gate for my boarding call; really I was scanning the thoughts of the passengers, picking out my targets. The flight only had about twenty percent of its full passenger load; just as well. We weren't concerned about witnesses, but the fewer innocent lives I had to worry about, the better.
Six of those innocent humans were in first class with the terrorists; they would be the hardest to protect.
I had the window seat, with no one on the aisle. As soon as the seatbelt sign went off, I pulled the shutter across the window, then got up and went to the restroom. Nothing could make me itch, but this makeup was coming awfully close.
It wouldn't matter on landing; no human eye would be able to follow my departure. And if someone did glimpse my sparkling skin, it would merely cement in their minds the only conclusion humans could come to.
Next chapter coming next week!
I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know!
Please note that I have internet access only once a week, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. If you have questions regarding my Twilight alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. (I also have a chronological list of my stories, so you can see where they fit in my timeline.) Thanks for your understanding! Barbie