Moving towards his car was a little sad. Neither of us had much to say now. Sometimes you just had to let things go. The same was true for people. We had reached the natural end of our friendship. I watched him get in the car and he looked at me from the driver's seat. "Is 01 even alive at this point?" he asked. I just flinched. That was a cruel question. "I guess not. You wouldn't do that so quickly. Will he be coming home with me, or is he staying with you?" was his next question. "I think he is going to be happy here." I answered. There was a dark expression the passed over his face very briefly. It was so quick that I almost could convince myself I imagined it. He said "I wish you all luck then." I had to try one last time. "You know, you could also stay with us for now. We could use an AEP unit with your set of skills." I said. He just gave me a sad look. "Thank you for the offer, Brianne. I appreciate it. I honestly do. It's just not an offer that I can accept." he said firmly. At that point, all I could do was put on a brave face. "Doesn't stop me from trying again. Have a nice trip back home, 03." I said.
Right then, my phone began to ring. My heart leapt into my chest. That really startled me. It was at one of the most awkward times possible. I gestured at 03 to wait for a moment. He rolled his eyes at me but complied. I then checked the caller ID on the phone before answering it. It was Brett calling me. "Hey. It's me." he said. I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Yeah Brett. I know that it's you. What happened?" I said. He scoffed and said "What's the matter with you? Something happen on your end? You were fine when I left the clan building." I looked up to the sky. "I'm fine. Why are you calling me?" I said. There was a pause on his end of the line. I pressed my mouth closer to the receiver. "Hello?" I asked. There was no response. This was getting weirder and weirder. "Hello? Brett? Brett!? Can you hear me!?" I called out to him. That was when he said "I got rid of that ugly chick all on my own. The baby too." I was so pissed off that I simply hung up the phone. I turned back to 03. I was in the middle of saying goodbye to a friend. "We'll meet again Brianne. And when we do. I will drain you."
Just watching him pull off and drive down the road was painful somehow. I rubbed my eyes to head off the tears that threatened to well up. "That idiot. I can't believe I am the one getting stood up in a damn video game." After my last sniffle was stifled, I turned around to head back inside the cab depot. Putting on a happy face for everyone was very important. I was the clan engineer after all. It would not be good if I was depressed over an enemy combatant like 03. That was when I saw 01 peek his head out from the corner of the building. He was supposed to be downstairs in the lab. Then again, they had come together. It would be natural for him to watch 03 leave. He did not get to say goodbye. Probably for the best. 03 would be duty bound to try killing 01 for defecting to our side. I decided to see what he was up to. I walked all of the way to the very back of the depot. 01 was frowning. "03 isn't staying." he said. I shook my head. 01 hummed to himself. "I guess it's only going to be you and me for the time being." he said. I nodded. He then smirked as he bent over. "Let's celebrate then."
