“Ayo’s Reckoning”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWPYWtNGZU
The east records room was dark — only a single desk lamp glowed over a pile of dried ledger tape and blueprint sketches. Jabari stood beside the table; hands clasped behind his back.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvtiQqc6yY
Ayo entered alone.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SkcFuPvCT
The silence was volcanic.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwIe6hlIRS
“You know why I called you,” Jabari said, voice flat.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4UP90MAq74
Ayo offered a faint shrug. “Because the girls found the card?”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmbFadoyTAF
Jabari snapped a dossier onto the desk — a copy of Naomi’s Tribunal summary, ink still drying.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBXu0Qnea1d
“Because you sabotaged a crate we sent in good faith. Because you exposed all of us.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfUo2NgtWB
Ayo stepped closer.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcPbWxhDaUY
“I didn’t poison anything. Not in the way you think. That card wasn’t to destroy Naomi. It was to prove Mercy’s poison… has no borders.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6RoQNulu4
Jabari frowned. “What does that even mean?”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtIizC414px
Ayo picked up a coil of magnetic wire from the desk, let it dangle.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfk4bn8tT9y
“You think this is about Mercy or Naomi or some crypt. But it’s not. It’s about how everyone keeps rewriting history just enough to feel like the hero. Mercy used truth as a weapon. Naomi used silence. And now we’re pretending you’re any different?”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ735qc5ziz8
Jabari’s voice grew sharp.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGdOpVQu9E
“You broke formation. You put everyone at risk.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR1biBrlTBn
“No,” Ayo said calmly. “I reminded everyone that you’re not clean either.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahxkR8Sazi
He stepped toward Jabari.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnf6ZfQz6S
“We buried names too, Jabari. You kept the order clean by editing memory. I just didn’t want her to beat us at our own trick. So, I sent a message.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhBQ2AJxf4e
Jabari didn’t speak for several moments.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5W57xY1tg
Then, slowly: “You’re suspended from all wall operations. Your archive access is revoked. Musa will clear your codes from the relay. You move only with watchers present.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfWb28GWq9G
Ayo nodded. No fight. No protest.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPnzaOLlBL
“As long as you understand... silencing me just proves my point.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMGZrByQux
He turned.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Bp4b5F7jX
Before walking out, he paused.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCgsTC9GPNd
“Check the old boiler room under the lab tower.” You’ll find what Mercy left us. Or what we left buried first.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5I0EblmxXe
Jabari sits alone in the lamp light, staring at Ayo’s vacated shadow. He slowly sits, opens a fresh notebook, and writes at the top:47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuKEOHGxSl
“Control isn’t memory. It’s delay.” Below it, he circles one phrase: Boiler Room – Legacy Remnants.
**********47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOYza2r4Hok
The old broadcast tunnel behind the boys’ science wing — was once a secret passage used for pranks, now a Shadow Walker base of sorts. Blue chalk symbols line the walls. Three lanterns cast narrow light.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpG0A3qN1pn
Ayo arrives to find Kwame and Otieno waiting.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOG2N2weGn
Kwame’s expression is razor-sharp. Otieno leans against the pipe wall, arms folded, quieter but far more dangerous.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKeLdvRtY0H
“You went off-script,” Kwame said.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBdJXDrhaF
“There’s no script,” Ayo replied. “That’s why we exist.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzOdwULmBgq
Otieno’s voice was cold: “There’s also no chaos clause. You don’t act alone.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWDuDR7rzr
Ayo stepped forward.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvq6YYOXSm
“You two talk about ‘freedom’ and ‘secrecy’ like a code. But you forgot — secrecy without purpose is just silence. Mercy cracked the Order because they were predictable. Now you’re doing the same thing.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLzfJ9TpvT
Kwame’s lip curled.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuSdqk6xVOf
“You almost got us blacklisted by the girls. You sabotaged the alliance. You played your little card trick for what — a lesson? There are no traitors among us, Ayo. Not anymore.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDqdNS7S2Z
Ayo met his eyes — not defiant, but clear.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BDY209q4y
“Then I’m not among you anymore.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7n05A4TNY9
He turned to Otieno.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLntYbEc1xs
“I thought you understood. You used to say walls exist to be rewired, not just crossed.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqCE43X9Qa
Otieno’s jaw tightened — but he said nothing.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTRZI9f684
“So go ahead,” Ayo said. “Protect your myths. But I won’t be a shadow in someone else’s war.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTnH32yoD3
From his jacket, Ayo pulled his blue-thread badge — a signal band used to mark Shadow Walker channels. He dropped it in the lantern flame.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMWEVrk4yD
The thread burned silently, curling into smoke.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfYJDp5fQ8h
“I'm done pretending we were ever united.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4ZAFDx6Cy
He walked out.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhszSIXCNTS
The blue thread continued to smoke.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVDD9Tc6ilO
Kwame didn’t stop him.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxi4UoUwmst
Otieno did not speak.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpJDKQTRft
But something in both of them fractured.
The lamplight in Jabari’s quarters flickered as storm winds from the lake whistled through the shutter vents. Jabari stood at the window, silent, watching distant lightning reflect off the rusting chapel dome.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbfSJ7WsoP
Musa entered without knocking.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJB8YlWKVWV
He held no files. No coded messages. Just his voice.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcDgJ0PzWZW
“Don’t exile him.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKhnMyfjAI
Jabari didn’t turn. “He almost detonated the alliance.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaSWHAN0Skb
“Because he saw the game Mercy was really playing,” Musa said.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOKfZdwRFX
“Not the ledgers. Not the ciphers. The distraction. The division.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr78RuA2bOi
Jabari finally turned. “He burned our seal. Broke ranks. Lied with his hands.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADdQZXBBiG
Musa didn’t flinch.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYz8ivs0ROS
“But he never lied with his heart.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NAQeKWRVV
A long silence.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk74G7ctPKy
“He’s not Mercy,” Musa said. “And if we treat him like he is… we become her next chapter.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLUV02SJv1W
Jabari exhaled slowly; hands clasped behind his back.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfhUqw0cjy
“He’s out. No operations. No keys. No tunnels.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtIjtP3yuk
Musa nodded.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwhDWQHKHZP
“But?”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXZHqFPaRU
Jabari met his eyes.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡanwCQqnGqy
“He lives. Under watch and probation. If he so much as breathes another signature, he’s done.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvagYT7uTdD
Musa nodded once.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZMve1IpRX
“Fair.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAujuajvKk
As he turned to leave, Jabari added, quieter:47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1sDo9N8I06
“He gave you something, didn’t he?”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5yCq3Px5q4
Musa paused.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxfDn6RNVW6
“Only this.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHYLgJTzhe
He handed over a slip of paper — a boiler schematic with one corner circled.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHinWyqf3jS
“Where the heat doesn’t rise.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGH4rG4LQC
Jabari places the note into his pocket looking out at the storm again.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmu2prhNwoC
“Then that’s where we look next.”
*****47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnco5vKSms
The hallway behind the science block was nearly empty.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9y3t4s2ts6
Ayo sat on the edge of the broken stone planter, stripped of codes, no longer marked by Shadow Walker ink. His signal thread was gone. His rank — erased.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdLsTq1lEX
The others avoided him.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpoK7NdE7c
But Juma didn’t.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAW42UvyL7r
He approached in silence, his boots wet from the storm.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkeThVoTRW
Ayo didn’t look up.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfoFC9euCEH
Juma paused, then — slowly — he knelt.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSk10vFX9v
“You were reckless,” Juma said. “But you weren’t wrong.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7zBJvwH2Z
Ayo blinked. “You hate me.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBGZpKWvD3y
“I did,” Juma replied. “But I hate lies more.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1erpMcOk1n
He reached into his pocket and held up an old thread of white string, the kind used to tie prefect scrolls. A sign of truth in original Order traditions — a forgotten symbol.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RiPPL2dpN
He placed it beside Ayo.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12PbtF9zGc
“Blood isn’t thicker than truth,” Juma said. “And truth deserves a second voice.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEe1uUJu9W
Ayo picks up the thread slowly. No words — just a nod.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCyCVdNspc
From the rooftops, unseen, Musa watches — saying nothing.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzzIpkUBcd
The storm passes over the lake, but its echo remains in the air.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkIBwf1pkj0
The old boiler room — recently cleaned, repurposed by Jabari into a clandestine projection hall for high-clearance Order discussions. Just past midnight. The lights are dim. The walls still echo with soot history.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡny0LrtuVQI
Jabari stands alone at the center, surrounded by Musa, Juma, Otieno, and six remaining upper-tier Order heads. He holds up a flash drive, engraved with a winged sandal — the Order’s first cipher mark.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9Acvl728y
“Mercy recorded everything,” he says. “Not to preserve truth. But to rewrite it. This is her first confession.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKExNoheBs
He plugs it into the projector system.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYvtlm8Bbu
The screen flickers.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBSB2Zx58hs
Mercy appears — younger, sharper, in a classroom-turned-studio. Her voice is calm.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12WhQKrdOR
“I didn’t want to lie. But the wall made it easy. They asked me to archive. I edited.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5ZaY9Fyzb
They asked me to expel. I accused.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpnet6CKEcy
The girl from Form 3 never returned. And I never corrected it.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBxUVQvwFUi
The ledger isn’t a record.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJzuCM9F7I
It’s a grave.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPq392cTTT
And if anyone finds this, I only ask one thing—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQKDBO0nz4
Don’t preserve me. Replace me.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqcH0x0Zm95
Silence.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEaVOk0tOH
Otieno is stone-faced. Musa breathes out slowly. One Order head lowers his eyes.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczKVhZ15Za
Juma steps forward. “That was the truth behind the ledger?”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59jVw5IGXn
Jabari nods. “The one we nearly died to protect. We archived a lie.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsqbdkUIYyc
He turns to the room.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSackYhb9b6
“You don’t get to carry Mercy’s fire and call it light.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwoD8SKGu6
Jabari draws a circle in chalk on the floor.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78c2eaCtWC
“Step in if you still serve the old Order. Step out if you choose to build what comes next.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdlm76LGDh
The pause is long. Weighty.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qdu3q0a38
Three members step in. Five steps out.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNf2rCNdDXC
Otieno steps to the edge, then deliberately wipes part of the chalk away.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpdDwGOvPB
“There shouldn’t be a circle anymore. Only a path.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXoe2j9M09
Jabari watches the recording fade to static. He unplugs the drive, places it in a red envelope, and hands it to Musa.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0akLcGXgb
“Send it across the wall. No encryption.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa5wAtS04HJ
Musa’s eyes widen. “You want Naomi to see it?”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8m35tCpkPy
Jabari’s voice is firm.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7oKGgb6nV7
“No. I want everyone to.”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhyVkV2fTD
47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2W69roqw4
