Dressed for Disaster

Suddenly, a shattering explosion from far above Pat sent him sprawling to the pavement. Screams filled the air as Pat gasped for breath. His stockings were torn from scraping his knees against the curb, and one of his shoes had fallen off. He was about to get up when a man tumbled against him and sent him back down again.

Pat rolled onto his rear end, in a state of shock, and pulled his dress over his bloody knees. He looked up to see an enormous fireball rising from one of the towers of the World Trade Center. As he tried to grasp what was happening, pieces of debris began to rain down onto the sidewalk. Shaken and confused, he got to his feet and began to search for his missing shoe.

A police officer appeared and began urging people to move away from the area. Spotting his shoe, Pat brushed past him and reached down for it. The policeman took his arm and steadied him as he struggled to slip it back on. "Are you okay, Miss?"

Pat struggled to maintain his composure, deliberately reaching for his female voice. "Yes, thanks" he replied. Pat had learned to speak in short, simple phrases when posing as a woman, and the years of practice did not desert him. "What happened?"

"Not sure. Looks like a plane crashed into the north tower. Can't believe it."

Several other passersby joined them. "Was it an accident?"

"Did you see the plane hit?"

"Look out!" a woman cried and pointed to an object hurtling down from the flaming building. As it hit the ground a few yards away, the horrified crowd realized that it was a body.

"Oh my God!"

"Clear this area now!" the policeman ordered. "Everybody head away from the World Trade Center."

As Pat began to move with the crowd, his mind was reeling. To Pat, the real and immediate danger was not from the explosion and fire above him. Rather, he was terrified that he might not be able to get back to his hotel room and return to his male identity. If the hotel was blocked off, and he was stranded on the street in woman's clothing, he would never be able to make it out of New York without being found out. His marriage and his six-figure income were suddenly in jeopardy.