Sybold was a leading manufacturer of electronic voting machines and automated teller machines (ATMs). Independent security researchers had recently discovered vulnerabilities in both machines. Many banks that used the Sybold ATMs had made very public statements addressing how they patched the vulnerabilities; however, local and state governments had been slow to respond, if at all. Alexei’s shadowy, off-the-books crew had purchased a number of older models of these machines in online auctions, gutted them, then sent the circuit boards to Gregor’s lab at the cottage. Gregor intended to test these machines at various patch levels to see how vulnerable they actually were. There was embedded code somewhere on a chip, and Gregor intended to find it.

Viktor walked in, examining each piece of disassembled equipment with an air of authority. He looked like he was the one that designed it.

Damn it, he’s here! Gregor thought. Smug bastard.

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“Privyet, Gregor.”

“How can I help you, Comrade?”

“I’ve come for a status report.”

“My crew has mapped each circuit, and we are in the process of reversing the code.”

“The boss is wondering why it is taking so long.”

“Reverse engineering code takes time, especially when it’s on read-only memory (ROM) chips. It would help if I had a schematic, but I’ve run into difficulty locating one for sale.”

“We will obtain a schematic. You will have five days after that.”

“By my count, we have twelve days until the vote, and I will need almost all of that time.”

Viktor left the room.

Gregor could hear Viktor talking to someone in the next room.

Viktor came back and said in a matter-of-fact tone, “The boss has already dispatched Natasha to gather the schematic. She expects to have it by this time tomorrow.”

“Great! I look forward to getting it,” Gregor said, then added under his breath, “If Natasha was sent, apparently some persuasion was necessary.”