Page 49 of Double or Nothing
“No idea,” I reply. “Please tell me. I’m curious to hear how you managed to steal something this big from the Russian mob.”
“Okay,” she says. “I will tell you. Putin shut down almost all the casinos because of the Russian mafia. His plan was to take away their power by removing the casinos. When he shut down the casinos, over one hundred thousand slot machines were put on the open market. They were sold to casinos all over the world. Peru, Macao, Nice. Some were secretly sold to private buyers. These wealthy buyers brought in hackers to open the machines and crack the computer code.”
I nod, though I don’t know much about Putin and the Russian mob. Until I started doing research on Natasha, I didn’t realize they ever had casinos in Russia. Math is my game, not world history.
“How long have you had this slot machine?” I ask.
“Long enough,” Natasha answers. “We have patiently waited.”
“For what?”
“For you,” she says with a smile. “Or someone with your precise skills. Do you know how slot machines work?”
“Of course,” I reply. “They work by randomly generating numbers. But as I’ve already explained to the guys, there’s no such thing as a random sequence of numbers in anything man-made. Only events in nature are truly random.”
Natasha nods her head. “Smart is this girl,” she says to Eva. “Jade already knows what needs to be done.”
“Do all the Peggy Penguin slot machines contain the same source code?” I ask.
“Not only the Peggy Penguin slot machines,” Eva replies. “Every single machine made by the Australian manufacturer, Prestige Gaming. They were sloppy and lazy in their work. Russian hackers were able to reverse engineer the codes with only a fast laptop computer and time.”
“How long did it take them?” I ask, already knowing the answer from my research. I want to make sure everything I’ve discovered about the scheme is correct. So far, she’s confirming everything I’ve already told the guys about the machines.
“From two days to no more than a week if they knew what they were doing,” Eva replies.
“Once the machines were reverse engineered, then what happened? They shipped those hacked machines out to casinos?”
“No,” Eva answers. “There was no need to tamper with the machines themselves. That would be too risky. The code repeats itself over and over. If you know your position in the code, you can predict wins. All you need to do is synchronize your clock on a laptop to the machine. And then practice on a real machine hidden away.”
She glances at me to make sure I’m understanding the process, and I nod back at her.
“Casino security becomes suspicious when they spot someone with a high-powered laptop sitting for hours in front of a slot machine,” she continues. “This process requires a team. One person can’t possibly pull it off alone. And now we have our team…you, me, Natasha, and my assistant, King.”
“Don’t forget I brought my own team with me,” I say, pointing to the three men standing behind me.
“Including your team is still up for discussion,” Eva says firmly. “I haven’t agreed to that point yet. This is a very risky operation, and these men are all well known in Vegas. Their involvement will draw attention, which is the last thing we want to do. Not to mention the most obvious question of what their roles on the team would even be?”
“We haven’t worked through all the details yet,” I explain. “In the meantime, they’re part of the team as my protection. I need them with me and they’re staying. We’re a package deal. Obviously, we won’t be sending them in to play the slots at the casinos. But theywillbe part of the plan.”
Eva lets out a resigned sigh. “As you wish,” she says. “Are you confident of your ability to reverse engineer the code?”
“One hundred percent,” I reply.
“The slot machine can’t be moved from this secure location,” she says. “You’ll need to complete the work here in this room.”
“No way!” Seven interrupts to say. “Jade can’t work in a gloomy basement. She’ll go nuts down here. Why can’t we move it somewhere else? At least upstairs where there are windows and light.”
“The machine isn’t going anywhere,” Eva replies. “We can bring in anything Jade wants or needs. She won’t be working down here for more than a few days. Surely, she can tolerate the conditions until the reverse engineering is finished.”
“I don’t like this setup at all,” Vulcan says, frowning at her. “Especially with her being cooped up in a basement. We’ll stay with her as long as she’s here.”
Eva arches her eyebrows at him. “All of you? How is she supposed to concentrate with the three of you sitting there staring at her?”
“I’ll be fine,” I reassure them. “You’re being overprotective, and I’m eager to get started. Plus, you all have jobs to go to. Remember? Once I begin, this will be an almost twenty-four-hour a day project for me with very little sleep. I don’t need you all hovering around me, breaking my concentration.”
“Then one of us will stay here with you at all times,” Kit says. “We’ll take turns. That’s non-negotiable. If Eva can bring in a sofa or comfortable chair for us to use, we promise not to be a distraction. We want this to be done fast.”
“I can certainly bring in more furniture,” Eva says, nodding at his suggestion. “Jade, you’re welcome to use my personal bathroom upstairs, which also has a nice shower. I also work long hours. We can bring in a cot or small bed for you to take naps when you’re tired.”
