“Reassemble,” Mira said, handing Leo the screwdriver.

“No. Just the password block.” She opened a terminal and typed:

Leo had shaken his head. “Not on this model. HP ProBook 430 G5 stores the password on an EEPROM chip. It’s not like a Windows login. You guess wrong three times, it locks you out for increasing minutes. After ten tries? Permanent brick.”

The HP ProBook 430 G5 sat on the workbench like a closed coffin. Its silver lid was cool to the touch, its LED power light breathing a slow, accusing amber.