Ciudad Juárez is not a place most people think of when they say “vacation”, but Alexander is not most people; this is a working vacation, anyway, and despite the fact that not long ago he was forced to flee the country because of events that occurred in this very city, he finds the familiarity reassuring. No one's bothering him here anyway in the hotel Lucerna, down the street from the American consulate – a bold move, considering who he's here to meet, but he doesn't particularly care. He could go to Cancun, or even Rosarito, beautiful tiny resort town of his childhood, but here he's near his dear cousin and godchild, and that's more important.

The poolside patio is humming with quiet activity; a few people, one nuclear family, and an employee on a break every so often. Alex sits at a glass table underneath a decorative umbrella and waits, sipping a completely innocent lemonade and scrolling threw news feeds on his Blackberry.

Moscow has not exactly been a hub of forward thinking in anything for decades now, but the remnants of the Cold War still circle like snakes in a basin, and all the best military arms shows are held there, encased in steel and crumbling imperial spires. Oracle has been involved in military advancement since its inception, and while only private contractors have ever truly invested, they're still somewhat noteworthy in the general scene.

On a personal level, Alexander just likes seeing every angle in which his products - in this case, a variety of microchips - are performing. It helps, of course, that he has a myriad of other interests for being at an expo such as this. (He has a shopping list for his dear friends in South America to keep in mind, though he won't be doing anything so blatant as to approach anyone here.)

Dark suits and uniforms litter the main floor, dotted occasionally by shapely women paid to stand in fatigue-print costumes or black bikinis and brocade shoulder bangles. Alex himself hangs back, watching from a booth on the second floor of what was once a massive theater; his translator is here with him, along with Tina and another aide, but since he speaks Russian no one's doing much work, and he's taking notes for himself. Some new tank is being unveiled - it just looks refurbished, to him, but he's being polite and hearing out the pitch.