//Sae: [Disposal]

Nathan's normal guise of playfulness returned after a brief moment. While Sae wasn't particularly bothered by the deaths of the people who were now reddening the pavement, Nathan's face in the moment he looked down at them was unnerving. He looked like he wasn't simply apathetic to the fact that he had killed them, but actually enjoyed it.

"Are you planning to turn me in?" Nathan asked, lifting his head to face them again. "I'm sure the idea of a few hundred thousand credits would be appealing to anyone that had the opportunity to get them."

Ahn shook his head. "We don't need credits. Information is more valuable right now. And, you were right."

"I tend to be," Nathan said with a shrug. "What are you referring to in this case?"

"The OEC probably has no intention of handing the money over to anyone. They would just take us in with you. Anyone capable enough to capture you would be a potentially valuable asset to them," Ahn explained.

Though Sae would likely have turned Nathan in for a couple of credits, let alone three hundred thousand, she agreed with Ahn. Also, that display he had just put on showed that he could be a strong ally to have.

The murderous look on his face, however, was concerning. He seemed to switch between moods and personalities almost volatilely. He was like a time bomb waiting to be set off.

"We should leave before someone finds the bodies," Sae said. "We don't want any more unwanted attention than we've already gotten."

"Ah. Right you are," Nathan said. "I made a bit of a mess, didn't I?"

"Sae," Ahn said, gesturing to the pavement. She nodded, turning towards the circle of bodies. She glanced around the small space between the buildings surrounding them, eventually finding what she was looking for.

Most modern generators utilized a similar system to Sae and Ahn's cores, self-replenishing nuclear energy, generating a large amount of heat in the process. Because the ANGELs' cores were much smaller and far more efficient, they could regulate it enough that they simply gave off heat similar to that of a human's body temperature.

The generators for buildings, however, a few of which were just a few feet from where Sae stood, produced enough thermal energy to disintegrate most biological compounds that were put directly in them. Sae grabbed a few of the corpses by the wrists, dragging them effortlessly towards the generators.

She suddenly remembered that Nathan was right next to her. This display of strength was unfitting of most humans, but he didn't seem to be surprised. Not even impressed, almost as if he was expecting her to be that physically capable. Sae thought back to the conversation they had a few hours earlier, and Nathan's comment about 'getting their wires in a bunch'. He probably knew that they were androids, but how he knew was beyond her.

She reached out to rip the protective cover off of a generator, but stopped herself. If Nathan wasn��t sure they were androids yet, tearing through thick metal would confirm any suspicions he had. She let one of the bodies go, using her freed hand to carefully unscrew each bolt holding the cover in place. It still required a considerable amount of strength to do this without any tools, but it was less conspicuous than bending steel.

The cover was loose after a couple of minutes, revealing a bright blue glow that radiated enough heat to make even Sae and Ahn flinch away from it. They managed to ignore it, quickly dragging the corpses to feed the light, watching as each one turned almost instantly to nothing but ash.

After replacing the cover, Sae turned to walk to the door, Ahn close behind. As she opened it, all of the eyes in the room turned to face her. She, too, had made a scene. She let out a soft sigh.

A few cheers rose, some for Nathan, others for Sae, of whom word had spread quickly around the bar. Nathan looked cheekily at Sae, giving her a look of exaggerated shock.

"When did you become so popular?" he joked when they were back out on the street. "You didn't exactly strike me as the partying type."

She ignored his sarcastic remark, lost in thought as they walked. Now, more than ever, she was confused by his behavior. One moment, he had a solemn air about him that was seemingly impenetrable, the next he was laughing and joking as if nothing were wrong in the world. Then, of course, there was the sick look in his eyes as he killed eight people without hesitation. He was right in doing so - they had attacked him first - but there was nothing natural about his attitude towards the killing. He clearly tried to conceal it, but there was a burning pleasure in his expression when he killed them, like an ever-consuming fire being fed and replenishing its hunger immediately after each death.

"Where exactly are we headed?" Ahn asked, taking Sae's attention away from her thoughts. "You seem to have a place in mind, but you haven't told us where you intend to go.���

"Well, it's really nothing to worry about, but since you apparently don't trust me," Nathan replied with a look of feigned hurt that was ruined entirely by the slight upward curve of his lips, "I guess it can't be helped."

Sae stared at him intently.

'Come to think of it, he never did tell us what it was he wanted to do,' she thought. 'Of course he would want something in return for his 'guidance' around District 3. Nobody like him would help us out of the kindness of his heart.'

"Well, seeing as how you two tried, and quite frankly, failed miserably to get across the wall with fake IDs, I feel that it's safe to assume what you want isn't available legally?"

Neither Sae nor Ahn replied. Nathan seemed to take their silence as confirmation.

"Right. So, I've been graciously leading you two to the black market of District 3. Most of the locals call it the 'Wormhole.'" He reached up to scratch at his nose. "If you can't find what you���re looking for there, you can find means to acquire it, for the right price, of course."

Sae processed this information. In hindsight, it would have been smart to ask Hephaestus about this so-called 'Wormhole' before they left.

"Anyway," Nathan continued. "We'd best get there quickly. We don't want to be caught out in the dark tonight. Odds are that this time, we won't be as lucky as yesterday."