Enidri went to her private message screen and tapped on the information that AL gave her. "There it is." 

The screen turned a bright shade of blue as her System attempted to reach Hidiko on the other end. She sat up in her bed, frantically reaching for the drawer on her desk. With her body still leaning towards her stash of eyepatches, Hidiko appeared on the other end of the screen, looking around the room for the exterminator. 

"Miss Saelex?" the young man asked as he angled his head towards the corner of the screen.

"Yeah, that's me!" Enidri shouted back, her face still out of view. She kept one hand over her the scarred section of her face. "Just give me a sec."

She sifted through the drawer and took out the first eyepatch she grabbed. After a few seconds of fumbling around, she shot back onto the screen. "Hey there."

Hidiko looked at the messy bed behind Enidri before quickly turning his gaze towards her eye. "How... did you get my number?"

"I've got connections," Enidri replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "Don't worry about that part. I just wanted to ask you if you were still looking for help with rescuing your sister."

Hidiko nodded, his eyes opening as wide as possible. "Yes!" He exclaimed. "You'll go through with the task?"

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, kid. I'm not here to take you up on that offer."

Hidiko lowered his head in disappointment. "Oh. Then why did you go through all the effort to call me if you didn't want to accept the job?"

"I'm here to suggest an alternative."

The mood of the man on the other end of the call lightened up again. "Really? I'll do whatever it takes if it means getting my sister back!"

Enidri smirked. "That's the kind of determination I like to see! You know, you kind of remind me of... well... me."

"Is that so?" 

Enidri nodded. "Oh yeah. I know I let you walk out of the bar, but after some time mulling it over, I'm going to offer you... a different service."

"I'll do whatever you need me to do!" There was a fire in Hidiko's eyes. One that was a mix of vengeance and passion. 

"You know the saying about teaching people how to fish and feeding them for life? Or however it goes."

The young man looked back at Enidri puzzled. "I... don't quite recall."

"Whatever." Enidri angled her face away from the screen slightly and scratched the back of her head as her mind raced to piece together the rest of the quote. "The phrase itself isn't important right now. What I'm trying to say is that I want to teach you."

"Teach... me?" Hidiko pointed to himself with one finger. 

"Yeah. Something in my gut tells me that you've got what it takes to be a strong fighter."

"It's not all the liquor you drank, is it?"

Enidri chuckled, taken back with genuine surprise by the quip. "And you've got a sense of humor, too? No wonder I wanted to give you a call. I think I can turn you into a fighting force, kid."

"Really?"

"For sure. You've got that passion that so many wannabes in Labrisson lack."

"I appreciate the kind words, Miss Saelex. But I'm confused as to how you training me will help get my sister back."

"Put the pieces together, pal," Enidri said curtly. "I'm not going to get your sister. But..." she said as she twirled a finger in the air.

"Oh!" Hidiko blurted. "I get it now." He closed his eyes and inhaled. "I don't have any other options. I will gladly accept your offer to become your apprentice, Miss Saelex."

"Good. I'll explain more later. What time are you available."

"The sooner we get started, the better."

"You already got the work ethic," Enidri said as she turned her body so her legs dangled off her bed. "You know how to get to Disposal Sector of Labrisson?" She scooted off her covers and slipped her feet into her boots. 

"I can figure it out."

"Meet me by the south entrance, ASAP. We'll discuss more there."

Hidiko closed his eyes and bowed his head. "Of course, Miss Saelex. I'll be leaving now." 

The floating screen disappeared, leaving the exterminator alone and in silence. She laced up her boots and headed straight towards the door, grabbing her jacket and her favorite Ion Blade on the way out. As soon as she stepped out of the room, the bombardment of rain on the tower’s ceiling made her pause. 

"Dammit!" she shouted with only one arm through her jacket's sleeve. She looked up at the ceiling and the patter of the rain grew stronger. "I knew I should have waited until the morning."

As much as she hated public transportation, Enidri opted to use Labrisson's Transit service to ride to the disposal sector. The trip was cramped; all passengers were packed shoulder to shoulder inside the carrier's rectangular interior. The exterminator was fortunate enough to get a spot by the window, meaning that she was only pressed against three other riders instead of four. She raised one arm and latched onto the handle while her eye peered out the side.

The Disposal Sector lived up to its namesake; towering piles of trash and scrap loomed in the center of the district with a plethora of other smaller buildings surrounding it. And those travelling to this section of town looked like they belonged. Torn clothes. Unkempt hair. A pungent scent. 

Enidri took two fingers and pinched her nostrils. The old man beside her reeked of sweat while his apron was coated in a thick film of various, and presumably toxic, chemicals. The vehicle came to a stop before descending like an elevator. 

"All those departing for the Disposal Sector, please leave now. Tokens will automatically be deducted from your account once you step off," a prerecorded message said through the speakers embedded in the roof. 

"Thank goodness," Enidri muttered as she let go of her safety handle. Like everyone else inching to leave, Enidri bumped and nudged the other passengers to the side, hurrying to get off the vehicle before the sea of oncoming riders swallowed her and dragged her to the back of the bus. After a bit of tussling with a few stragglers, the Exterminator hopped off the vehicle and dusted off her legs and jacket. 

"Damn public transit." Enidri turned around and watched the carrier lift into the rain and merge into the rapid stream of traffic miles in the air. She placed one arm over her face to mitigate some of the rain that now poured like a burst pipe. With a tug she pulled her jacket above her head and darted towards the shelter of the metal awning in front of the district's gate.

Two booths stood at the opposite ends of the entrance, each one operated by a low wage worker. Enidri always took the booth on the left, and because of her frequent visits to this sector, she had become somewhat acquainted with the worker.

"Enidri!" the man behind the glass pane of the booth said with a wave of his hand. "Been more than a while. How's my favorite Exterminator?" The older man's voice was filled with fake enthusiasm. His gray hair poured out beneath the cap he wore. He scratched his chest through stained tank top while one finger hovered in front of a floating panel.

"Doing about as well as you after your divorce," Enidri said dryly with her jacket still covering her head. The awning only stretched far enough over the gate to shield Enidri's front side. Water still poured down the back of her jacket and drenched her heels.

"You always gotta go there, don't you?" the booth operator replied.

"Hey, Lou. I've got somewhere to be right now. And as you can see, it's not really chatting weather. Think you could just let me through?"

The operator tapped the button at the front of the panel and the massive metal door slid up. "Yeah, yeah. Go on ahead."

Enidri walked through. She took her jacket off and shook out the excess rainwater across the dirty ground before slinging it back over her arms again. Once underneath the shelter of a metal awning that jutted from a junk shop that lined the perimeter of the district, Enidri took a moment to embrace the scenery. 

Every building was coated in rust while the metal panels that lined their exteriors looked as though they could collapse with a mean stare. The streets in the center were devoid of people because of the rain, but the wind covered the pavement with litter from years ago. A pedestrian bumped her in the back, making her stumble forward.

"Keep it moving, lady!" a hunched man dressed in a frayed coat and matching withered fedora snapped. 

Enidri clenched a fist, ready to shout back at the mouse-eared man until she realized that she was in the wrong and she would have said the same thing if the roles were reversed. Everyone in the Disposal District was on the move; standing still to 'enjoy the view' was a surefire way to expose oneself as an outsider. 

And too often, outsiders were snitches. 

The Exterminator picked up the pace and headed towards the meeting point she told Hidiko. No point in 'admiring' the scenery. It was the same filthy place that it was several months ago when she last visited to get a certain someone to repair her favorite Ion Blade. If it weren't for the underground market, everyone would avoid the Disposal Sector like the dump that it was. 

But the underground market brought people. And those people attracted fringe business like shops and vendors, turning a landfill into a thriving economy. 

“Maybe I should've given Hidiko a bit of a warning about this place,” Enidri thought once she made it to the first turn towards the southern gate. Further along the were two men fighting over a discarded piece of tech, one of the combatants being the man that bumped into her earlier. They both tugged on the device, until the fedora-wearing individual flung his rival with enough force that he soared through air high enough to vanish over the rooftops. “Not the best place for a novice.”