She shuddered and grabbed the driver. Cringing and with her eyes half
closed, she pulled him out and let his body fall with a crunch onto the hard
pavement.
Christine quickly ran
to the other side of the car while Sarah hid behind the driver’s open
door. With a disgusted look, she pulled
the second officer out and onto the ground. “Get in!” she cried to Sarah.
They both jumped into
the car and crawled over each other to the opposite sides, where Christine
grabbed the keys still in the ignition and started the car. Instantly, without seat belts or even closing
the doors, she dropped it into gear and punched the accelerator.
With a giant surge, the
car lurched forward with both doors slamming closed from the momentum. Spinning tires left long skid marks as
Christine peeled out, sideswiped a nearby truck, and sped away.
20
The large, thick door
buzzed and slid open, allowing Cheryl Roberts to step in from the lobby
outside. She held up her ID and badge
and lay them on the small table in front of her. The officer before her, dressed in body
armor, scanned the ID. He then typed in
her badge number and waited to see if the photo in the database matched.
Roberts looked around
the large room where two more armor-clad officers stood by watching her
carefully. Behind them, the rest of the
room looked more like a common office than the first floor of an ultrahigh
security building.
The nondescript, gray
building was the new electronic and security nerve center of New York
City. All computers, security systems,
phones, and electronics for the largest police department in the world came
through this stronghold.
Most people, even
residents, did not know that New York had more than 6,000 security and
surveillance cameras installed throughout the city, monitoring tens of
thousands of citizens daily. They also
had thousands of microphones planted in public buildings, airports, bus stops,
and many other places where groups of people formed. The microphones were constantly listening and
feeding the audio back to the nerve center which searched every stream for
patterns of words that were considered interesting .
A young man approached
Roberts. With red hair and light
freckles, he looked like someone new to both the uniform and the
workforce. In fact, he barely looked out
of high school.
“Officer Roberts?” he
asked.
“Yes.”
“Hi, my name is Justin
Fischer. I’m your tech.”
“My tech?” she asked.
He nodded. “Everyone accessing the cameras is assigned a
tech for assistance.”
“For assistance or
supervision?” she asked.
He grinned but did not
reply.
“Okay.” She reached out
to take her identification back but was cut short by the officer behind the
table.
“We keep these until
you come out,” he said dryly.
“Both?”
“Yes.” He finished
typing and clicked his mouse, then turned to retrieve a printout. He lay the paper down in front of her and
handed her a pen. She looked it over,
surprised how much of her information was on the form. After signing, she looked at Justin who was
waiting patiently with a slight slouch.
The larger officer
picked up her paper and filed it. “You
get your ID and badge when you leave.”
She rolled her eyes and
shrugged. “Okay.” She walked past him to where Justin was
standing. “I guess I’m all yours.”
Justin smiled
politely. “Follow me, please,” he said and led her down a long hallway to
the stairs. After descending two floors,
they wound their way through a series of twists and turns. As they walked, they passed several large
rooms each with walls completely covered with hundreds of video screens. In front of the screens sat a dozen team
members watching as the views automatically switched from street to
street.
“Wow,” Roberts mumbled,
passing their fourth giant room. “This
is amazing.”
Justin stopped at a
closed, she pulled him out and let his body fall with a crunch onto the hard
pavement.
Christine quickly ran
to the other side of the car while Sarah hid behind the driver’s open
door. With a disgusted look, she pulled
the second officer out and onto the ground. “Get in!” she cried to Sarah.
They both jumped into
the car and crawled over each other to the opposite sides, where Christine
grabbed the keys still in the ignition and started the car. Instantly, without seat belts or even closing
the doors, she dropped it into gear and punched the accelerator.
With a giant surge, the
car lurched forward with both doors slamming closed from the momentum. Spinning tires left long skid marks as
Christine peeled out, sideswiped a nearby truck, and sped away.
20
The large, thick door
buzzed and slid open, allowing Cheryl Roberts to step in from the lobby
outside. She held up her ID and badge
and lay them on the small table in front of her. The officer before her, dressed in body
armor, scanned the ID. He then typed in
her badge number and waited to see if the photo in the database matched.
Roberts looked around
the large room where two more armor-clad officers stood by watching her
carefully. Behind them, the rest of the
room looked more like a common office than the first floor of an ultrahigh
security building.
The nondescript, gray
building was the new electronic and security nerve center of New York
City. All computers, security systems,
phones, and electronics for the largest police department in the world came
through this stronghold.
Most people, even
residents, did not know that New York had more than 6,000 security and
surveillance cameras installed throughout the city, monitoring tens of
thousands of citizens daily. They also
had thousands of microphones planted in public buildings, airports, bus stops,
and many other places where groups of people formed. The microphones were constantly listening and
feeding the audio back to the nerve center which searched every stream for
patterns of words that were considered interesting .
A young man approached
Roberts. With red hair and light
freckles, he looked like someone new to both the uniform and the
workforce. In fact, he barely looked out
of high school.
“Officer Roberts?” he
asked.
“Yes.”
“Hi, my name is Justin
Fischer. I’m your tech.”
“My tech?” she asked.
He nodded. “Everyone accessing the cameras is assigned a
tech for assistance.”
“For assistance or
supervision?” she asked.
He grinned but did not
reply.
“Okay.” She reached out
to take her identification back but was cut short by the officer behind the
table.
“We keep these until
you come out,” he said dryly.
“Both?”
“Yes.” He finished
typing and clicked his mouse, then turned to retrieve a printout. He lay the paper down in front of her and
handed her a pen. She looked it over,
surprised how much of her information was on the form. After signing, she looked at Justin who was
waiting patiently with a slight slouch.
The larger officer
picked up her paper and filed it. “You
get your ID and badge when you leave.”
She rolled her eyes and
shrugged. “Okay.” She walked past him to where Justin was
standing. “I guess I’m all yours.”
Justin smiled
politely. “Follow me, please,” he said and led her down a long hallway to
the stairs. After descending two floors,
they wound their way through a series of twists and turns. As they walked, they passed several large
rooms each with walls completely covered with hundreds of video screens. In front of the screens sat a dozen team
members watching as the views automatically switched from street to
street.
“Wow,” Roberts mumbled,
passing their fourth giant room. “This
is amazing.”
Justin stopped at a
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