Call to Treason - Tom Clancy [112]
But the president's chief of staff said it was important, so Captain Brown put off going to sleep, called up a staff car, and had himself driven from the Marine Barracks at Eighth and I to the White House.
Upon arriving, he went directly to the SSOC office and was introduced to Darrell and Maria McCaskey of Op-Center. The former Russian citizen felt an immediate empathy with Mrs. McCaskey. Obviously, she was not a native to these shores.
Secret Service Agent Stephen Kearns the son of Greek immigrants offered Vlad a seat in the small office. He declined. Mrs. McCaskey was standing, and the officer would not sit in her presence. Her husband introduced himself to Vlad. He looked as tired as the marine captain felt.
"Thank you for coming," McCaskey said. "Captain Brown, we are investigating the assassination of William Wilson at the Hay-Adams Hotel. I assume you've heard about it?"
"I have, sir."
"We understand from Agent Kearns that you wear a small video camera equipped with night-vision capabilities," McCaskey said. "We would like to look at the images from that night."
"We believe the individual we are seeking walked past the park, past your observation post," Mrs. McCaskey added.
"Agent Kearns, do you have any objection?" Vlad asked. Because of the cooperative arrangement between the Secret Service and the marines, dual releases were required before a third party could examine White House security tapes.
"Mr. and Mrs. McCaskey have been cleared by the office of the chief of staff " Kearns informed him.
"Then you have my permission, sir," Vlad told the Op-Center officer.
"Thank you," McCaskey said.
Agent Kearns had booted the digital videodisc on which the images were stored. The SSOC officer swung the monitor toward the McCaskeys. The couple must have friends in high places to have been given access to these images. Few people even knew they existed.
The image was time-coded and book marked in five-minute chunks. Kearns jumped directly to the times the McCaskeys wished to see. Vlad stood back while Darrell and Maria bent very close to the monitor and to each other. There was something touching about it.
A woman walked past the screen.
"Hold on!" Darrell McCaskey said. "Can you hold the image and enlarge it?"
Agent Kearns obliged. A blurry green image of a woman filled the screen. She was walking away from the hotel toward Pennsylvania Avenue. Mr. McCaskey pointed at the monitor with his pinkie. He traced what appeared to be a faint smudge of dress beneath the woman's long jacket.
"See the line under the hem?" McCaskey asked his wife excitedly.
"Yes," Mrs. McCaskey said.
"What do you think?"
"That could be satin," she replied.
"Sir, if you give me a minute, I'll extrapolate the color information and sharpen the image," Kearns said.
"Please do," Mr. McCaskey said.
No one spoke as the computer did its job. Though the image was entirely in tones of green, the image processor was capable of matching a color to each particular shade. The saturation of green corresponded to the comparative brightness of a color. By removing the green and matching the remaining light intensity to a color, the image could be accurately colorized. At the same time, the computer scanned the picture to differentiate between legitimate information and pictorial noise such as blurred motion, video snow, and other artifacts. It removed these flaws by replicating information from adjoining pixels.
Within two minutes, the woman looked as if she had posed for a profile picture in daylight. The McCaskeys studied it for a minute, then asked Agent Kearns to print the image. He obliged. He handed the eight-by-ten to Mr. McCaskey.
"Do you recognize the individual?" Kearns asked.
"Yes," Mr. McCaskey replied. "Gentlemen, you have been of immeasurable assistance. Thank you."
Mrs. McCaskey smiled. It was formal but sincere. For Vlad, it was worth coming back to work. One day, when his assignment ended and the pressure of his job was behind him, Vlad hoped to find a woman like