The terrorists' plan was simple. Lara would steal a motorcycle, load it with 50 kg of high explosives and park it between the two towers. The bomb would be set off by a call to a cellphone connected to the detonator. Fatima would join one of the guided tours organized by the city's tourist information office and leave a small package as a 'gift' in the anatomical theater. In case someone noticed the package, she would pretend that she forgot it, and try again later.
After parking the motorcycle, Lara would enter the basilica of San Petronio and purchase a ticket that would permit her to take photographs inside the basilica. Naturally, she would carry a fair amount of specialized photographic equipment, and that would provide easy disguise for her cans of black spray and glue. When the bomb at the anatomical theater would go off, everyone's attention would be drawn to the source of the commotion. She would then press the speed-dial on her cellphone and set off the motorcycle bomb which would reduce the two famous towers into a pile of rubble. Finally, she would carry out her small act of sabotage and cover the abomination on the basilica's wall. This was much safer and easier than trying to smuggle a bomb inside the basilica.
The escape plan was also simple. Fatima would be far away from the anatomical theater when her bomb exploded, and in no danger of being spotted or apprehended. Lara would abandon her photographic equipment in the basilica and make her way out through one of the side doors used only in case of an emergency. The equipment bag would be booby-trapped so that whoever opened it would be in for an unpleasant surprise. Like many other NEMESIS attacks, the effect depended on the quality of the target rather than on the number of casualties, although in this case a large number of casualties was unavoidable.
Fatima entered the tourist information office opposite the Basilica of San Petronio on Piazza Maggiore. She wore a girdle that made her look 15 kg heavier, a blonde wig and a hat that covered most of her face. She purchased a ticket for a tour that was conducted in German, although she didn't speak a single word of that language. She did this for two reasons: she believed that the reserved Germans would keep their distance and not try to strike a conversation with her and, secondly, that in case she was suspected the search would focus on a German woman. Her backpack, with the bomb inside it, bore a small Swiss flag, as a trademark of its manufacturer.
The tour group left the tourist center 10 minutes after the scheduled time, which irritated the punctual German tourists, but was quite the standard for the Italian guide. Then they spent another 10 minutes checking the guide's microphone and the earphones of every member of the group. Fatima didn't even bother to turn on her earphone set, so stared uninterestingly at the buildings surrounding the piazza. Finally, the guide led the group to the center of the piazza and spoke about the history of each of the impressive buildings. The group then walked along via Dell'archiginassio and entered the courtyard of the historical building that was once the main building of the famous university. The guide pointed at the walls which were covered by thousands of coats of arms of rich and influential families from all over Europe.
The group ascended the broad staircase to the second floor and entered the anatomical theater. The guide told the group of tourists to take seats on the benches that had been used by generations of medical students. Fatima sat on one of the wood benches that surrounded the marble table. She made sure to find a seat at the top row of benches and placed her backpack between her feet. When the group left the anatomical theater, she made sure the backpack was out of sight and joined the group. As the tour continued its way through the narrow streets, she lagged until she felt that no one was paying attention to her. She entered one of the cafés near the church of Santa Maria della Vita, ordered espresso and nonchalantly pressed the send icon on her cellphone. She then dialed another number and pressed the send icon again.
The sound of the first explosion was muffled by the thick walls of the anatomical theater, but an instant later the large bomb planted inside the top case rack of the motorcycle parked between the two towers was detonated. The bang of the 50-kg charge was clearly heard throughout the center of Bologna. Those closer to the center of the town could also hear the unmistaken sound of the collapse of the famous landmark. A huge pile of rubble was the only thing that remained from the due tori. Some damage was also evident in the surrounding buildings, and windows were shattered even a hundred meters away. The casualties included over 100 people dead and ten times as many injured. These were mainly people who were sitting in the small square in which the towers had stood, or pedestrians who were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Many of the victims were tourists, but most were innocent local people going about their daily business.
Fatima saw the commotion and wondered if the guards and security people at the basilica were distracted. She had nothing to worry about — Lara was left alone in the part of the basilica and had no trouble spraying the mural with the abomination with her black paint and sticky glue.
The two terrorists made their way separately back to the apartment. They greeted each other with a warm embrace, opened a bottle of champagne and turned on the TV. Although the narration was in Italian, the pictures told the story of their success. Lara then switched to CNN News channel and was glad to see that the regular broadcast was interrupted by the 'Breaking News' banner, describing the terrorist attack on the due tori in Bologna. It took a while for the explosion in the anatomical theater to make the news, and even longer for the vandalism at the Basilica of San Petronio to be noticed.
The destruction of sites of cultural heritage in Bologna by terrorists made the headlines in all major news agencies and TV networks. Although many terrorist and anarchist groups claimed responsibility (they called it 'credit') for the attacks, none of these claims were credible. Bologna was famous, or infamous if you were an ultra-conservative right-wing supporter, as home for communists, anarchists and nihilists. In recent years it was also a haven for refugees from Africa and the Middle East. The leaders of the Lega Nord (North League party), who were concerned about the encroachment of refugees to the northern cities of Italy, blamed Muslim extremists for these acts of terror, and repeated their call for expulsion of all Muslims from Italy.
"Talking heads" in air-conditioned TV studios heatedly debated the issues of the proper response of European governments to the rising wave of Muslim immigration. Professor Calvino, a self-appointed expert, whose grandfather was a rabid supporter of Mussolini's fascist party, quoted a recent study published by the Pew Research Center. He said, "Western Europe will soon be dominated by Muslims. According to this study, in the year 2050, Muslims will be over 30 % of the population in Sweden, 19.9 % in Austria, 19.7 % in Germany, 18 % in France, 17.2 % in the United Kingdom and 14.1 % here in Italy. But look at other countries, where the governments adopt a strict policy prohibiting this pestilence. In Poland the Muslims will be only 0.2 % of the population, in Slovakia 0.7 %, in Romania 0.9 %. We must learn from these governments and not endanger the future of our culture. I call for immediate expulsion of all Muslims from Italy." As an afterthought he added, "Of course, this includes all other people who are not purely Italian — Africans, Jews and bleeding-heart liberals."
His opponent, Giovanni Pasolini, an avid supporter of the almost-defunct Italian communist party, shouted, "Professor Calvino, take a drink of cold-water before you have a cardiac arrest or burst a blood vessel in your brain, if you have one. Your baseless accusations and unsubstantiated statistical report are beyond simple racism — they are almost a call for murder. You, and all your right-wing colleagues, should be exterminated before you can spread your poisonous theories and turn them into a practical policy, like your grandfather did 75 years ago." The narrator had to physically restrain Professor Calvino who jumped out of his chair and assaulted Pasolini. Both men managed to exchange some blows before they were separated by the security staff.