red
door labeled simply with a number 6. He
opened the door and waited for her to walk in first. Inside was a huge desk with three giant
monitors in front of the keyboard, all displaying dozens of small windows from
different street cameras. “So, you said
you needed to look at a specific camera,” Justin commented as he sat down. He motioned for Roberts to sit down next to him.
“That’s right,” she
said, taking the seat. She looked at the
images. “I can’t believe how clear the
pictures are.”
“All cameras installed
in the last three years are high def,” Justin replied. He typed in his ID and password and brought
up a map of the city. “Where are we
looking?”
Roberts squinted and
looked at the map. “Between 5 th and Madison.”
Justin typed in
“Madison Street”, and the map quickly zoomed in. An older picture of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral
was easily recognizable from the top. Justin looked at her. “Saint Patrick’s?”
“Mmm..hmm,” Roberts
answered, studying the map. “Do you have
a view of the north side?”
Justin zoomed in further. “Well, we have a camera here on the corner of
Madison and East 51 st .” He
used his mouse to bring up a separate window with a list of all connected
cameras. He then entered the two street
names which displayed an icon on top of the map. Clicking the icon instantly filled the right
hand monitor with the live video feed from the Madison intersection.
Roberts was
impressed. She stared closely at the
picture, trying to get her bearings. “Which direction is this facing?”
Justin pointed to a
small compass display in the right hand corner. “This is facing east.”
Roberts looked
disappointed. “So it’s facing the wrong
way?”
“Not necessarily. They’re bidirectional.” Justin said, moving the mouse. “Let me see if we can view the opposite
direction.” He clicked another button,
and it switched the view to west. “Most
of these cameras are actually quad units which means we can view each of the
four directions.” They both watched the
camera feed switch to a disturbing view of a black and smoldering block of
rubble.
“What time and day?”
Roberts looked at
him. “Saturday morning at 11:00 am.”
Justin began typing in
the date when he stopped and looked back her. “The time of the attack?”
She nodded.
“Some of us have spent
a lot of time with the FBI going over these feeds.” He entered the date and waited several
seconds while the video picture changed.
The picture switched to
an older video feed showing the giant cathedral still standing tall and
majestic in the morning sun.
“Can you freeze that?”
Justin clicked his
mouse and froze the picture. Roberts
leaned in over his shoulder and looked closer at the screen.
“This is five minutes
before the explosion.”
“Correct.”
“Can you roll it
forward in slow motion from here?” she asked.
“Yep,” he replied and
adjusted the video speed.
They both sat silently
watching the scene slowly unfold. The
crowd outside the cathedral consisted of several groups of varying sizes, most
likely tourists, and many more individuals looking, talking, and pausing for
pictures. Just as the timer on Justin’s
screen approached 11:05, he slowed the video further until they were viewing
almost frame by frame.
A black and gray cloud
of smoke suddenly burst from the giant double doors which stood wide open. Giant pieces of debris followed in the same
instant, showing what looked like large chunks of rock and wood. One piece moved through the video screen so
fast that Roberts had no idea what is was. Another giant piece right behind it was clearly a large piece of a pew
bench.
Many of the figures
standing in front of the church before the explosion disappeared into a cloud of debris that enveloped
everything. When it began to clear,
Roberts felt a sick feeling
door labeled simply with a number 6. He
opened the door and waited for her to walk in first. Inside was a huge desk with three giant
monitors in front of the keyboard, all displaying dozens of small windows from
different street cameras. “So, you said
you needed to look at a specific camera,” Justin commented as he sat down. He motioned for Roberts to sit down next to him.
“That’s right,” she
said, taking the seat. She looked at the
images. “I can’t believe how clear the
pictures are.”
“All cameras installed
in the last three years are high def,” Justin replied. He typed in his ID and password and brought
up a map of the city. “Where are we
looking?”
Roberts squinted and
looked at the map. “Between 5 th and Madison.”
Justin typed in
“Madison Street”, and the map quickly zoomed in. An older picture of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral
was easily recognizable from the top. Justin looked at her. “Saint Patrick’s?”
“Mmm..hmm,” Roberts
answered, studying the map. “Do you have
a view of the north side?”
Justin zoomed in further. “Well, we have a camera here on the corner of
Madison and East 51 st .” He
used his mouse to bring up a separate window with a list of all connected
cameras. He then entered the two street
names which displayed an icon on top of the map. Clicking the icon instantly filled the right
hand monitor with the live video feed from the Madison intersection.
Roberts was
impressed. She stared closely at the
picture, trying to get her bearings. “Which direction is this facing?”
Justin pointed to a
small compass display in the right hand corner. “This is facing east.”
Roberts looked
disappointed. “So it’s facing the wrong
way?”
“Not necessarily. They’re bidirectional.” Justin said, moving the mouse. “Let me see if we can view the opposite
direction.” He clicked another button,
and it switched the view to west. “Most
of these cameras are actually quad units which means we can view each of the
four directions.” They both watched the
camera feed switch to a disturbing view of a black and smoldering block of
rubble.
“What time and day?”
Roberts looked at
him. “Saturday morning at 11:00 am.”
Justin began typing in
the date when he stopped and looked back her. “The time of the attack?”
She nodded.
“Some of us have spent
a lot of time with the FBI going over these feeds.” He entered the date and waited several
seconds while the video picture changed.
The picture switched to
an older video feed showing the giant cathedral still standing tall and
majestic in the morning sun.
“Can you freeze that?”
Justin clicked his
mouse and froze the picture. Roberts
leaned in over his shoulder and looked closer at the screen.
“This is five minutes
before the explosion.”
“Correct.”
“Can you roll it
forward in slow motion from here?” she asked.
“Yep,” he replied and
adjusted the video speed.
They both sat silently
watching the scene slowly unfold. The
crowd outside the cathedral consisted of several groups of varying sizes, most
likely tourists, and many more individuals looking, talking, and pausing for
pictures. Just as the timer on Justin’s
screen approached 11:05, he slowed the video further until they were viewing
almost frame by frame.
A black and gray cloud
of smoke suddenly burst from the giant double doors which stood wide open. Giant pieces of debris followed in the same
instant, showing what looked like large chunks of rock and wood. One piece moved through the video screen so
fast that Roberts had no idea what is was. Another giant piece right behind it was clearly a large piece of a pew
bench.
Many of the figures
standing in front of the church before the explosion disappeared into a cloud of debris that enveloped
everything. When it began to clear,
Roberts felt a sick feeling
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