In the Kisumu Boys' Assembly Room, a closed session in the late afternoon is underway. The rain drums faintly on the roof. Both Order loyalists and Shadow Walker affiliates have been summoned — the first meeting of its kind.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWKaYWy4YC
The room buzzed with restrained confusion. On one side: prefects, old Order loyalists, data-keepers. On the other: Shadow Walkers — code-runners, graffiti scouts, watchers from rooftops.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgkdzusLDS
No one sat near the center.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhr3rk2tuJ
Jabari stood at the front of the room, back straight, the cracked ledger box in one hand.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTXqG0KX3aa
He didn’t shout.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZCZtpnatV
“You all saw what Mercy did.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaP7Zaxt9fx
Silence.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvDfpSu1pA8
“She used our stories. Our fractures. She drowned us in our own past.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzE0Lw3hNlj
He placed the box down — loudly.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPhozQuR3Tt
“So, this time… we drown her in it.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9s8qS0ffDl
He scanned both sides of the room.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrqOVggJml
“We have word Naomi’s side is moving — quietly. They’ve offered a containment pact.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYON6pK11yq
A few gasps. One laugh — quickly hushed.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAwbbFBphxg
Jabari continued.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZIVNyzyx9
“This isn’t an alliance for peace. This is a trap.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJ1PmJsPT8
He walked to the chalkboard and drew a quick diagram: the chapel crypt, the drainage lines, the tunnel forks.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzM0h0yxKu1
“Mercy’s using the third memory drop — a ledger no one catalogued. We lure her into finishing the cycle. And we lock her there. Not with chains. With evidence. With noise. With memory.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7YUKaSCpT5
Kwame wasn’t present.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKAOZCNJwcF
But Otieno was — arms folded, expression blank.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4moGtnS4gF
Ayo muttered under his breath, “He won’t like this.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG6MITtfyuX
Juma asked sharply, “So we do Naomi’s cleanup?”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUiAKm4f3A8
Jabari looked him straight in the eyes.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6iQf8pYx6
“We clean up our own ghosts. Naomi’s just part of the smoke.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZ3XPxqYzA
Musa stepped forward and unrolled the scroll — Naomi’s signed terms, retrieved from the wall.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUzIDJ276U2
He read them aloud: Neutral crypt space during the trap execution. Shared counter-signal system (one chime = cancel, two = proceed). No betrayal until both crates are verified and neutralized.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXoxZTZuucH
The final line:89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtz9ixaGDA5
“No war until the wound is stitched.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPb5IC1wfJw
A single nod from Jabari. “Vote?”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGEhFC4IlS
This time, only one hand stayed down.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsresLyRNqA
Otieno.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAo3U13jfj1
He met Jabari’s gaze, then whispered: “You catch her… Just don’t become her.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgoxLkQUP6
The moment Musa finished rolling up the scroll, Juma stood — arms crossed, eyes cold.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrTKXGGgbA
“We’re trusting Naomi now? The same girl who tried to silence everything Mercy uncovered?”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtjj8L4ATWq
The room went quiet again. Even the Shadow Walkers leaned in, sensing heat beneath the words.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4YViE8Er0
Jabari didn’t answer immediately.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpihLetb2y
Juma continued, his voice quieter but heavier:89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5frHymND9
“She isn’t here to contain anything. She’s here to bury it again. And if we help her… we’re part of it. We’ve already done one cover-up, Jabari. I won’t do a second.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWjPbnahY4T
Otieno glanced at Musa. Ayo looked away.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktwOcELD2g
They knew what Jabari suspected but never asked.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24lO4AnKjX
Juma’s voice cracked ever so slightly: “I swore I’d protect Kim. Not just physically. From all this. From becoming one of us.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCVNH11mba5
He looked straight at Jabari. “You think Naomi won’t use her if it means killing Mercy’s story?”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4AZ7A3NApG
A slow clap echoed from the hallway.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKutMJoeF4h
Kwame.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3GZXsdU12
He leaned against the doorframe, shadowed, smirking.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtz22kTKf6a
“Now that’s what I’ve been waiting for.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRPsNT8JOt
Jabari’s jaw tightened. “You weren’t invited.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxL8yypzJBN
Kwame stepped in. “I don’t need an invitation to watch a castle collapse. Especially when the stones fight each other.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPFcZJy9wh
He glanced at Juma. “Finally, someone with a spine.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVZDKEBjXl
Jabari stepped forward. “This isn’t about Kim.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTLWOMXrvQ
Juma didn’t move. “No. It’s about all the people who can’t speak anymore. Mercy included.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWHO80z6dd
Kwame tilted his head, amused. “You know, I think Mercy would like him.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDsGLdLCVRP
Musa finally spoke. “We don’t have time for this.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZTVaVPvF7
Jabari looked at Juma. “You can’t protect her from all of it. You can only decide whether you help shape the truth or let it crush her.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcjbJN5yppG
Juma’s fists clenched.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW94cvNgWIb
But he didn’t sit back down.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZLs77S1yJ
Later that night, after the hall had emptied and the plan was posted on the encrypted wall scroll, Kwame found Otieno near the water tanks, where the fog rolled low and the pipes hissed with steam.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoULQ087kw0
Kwame leaned against the concrete.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9r99RvaW62
“So. You’re really going with Jabari?”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnU6yF1OEmL
Otieno didn’t look up. He was fitting a copper ring into the vent grate — a piece of an old filtration system he’d been rigging for months.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNz6GvqndZa
“Does it matter?”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqZaM3hlC0
Kwame smirked. “It does to me. I had you pegged as a watcher. Not a follower.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTJi8KXOfO
Otieno stood slowly. “You’re right.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrn5RCYkcT6
He turned to face Kwame — taller than him in the dim light. 89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGpUTn58SA
“I do watch. I watched what happened when the last war between Orders wasn’t stopped. I watched Jabari get blamed for things he never did. I watched you use Mercy’s name like a weapon — without carrying any of her burden.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyegA9l9Jp
Kwame’s smile faded slightly.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3TQgnMZrcb
“She’s rewriting history,” Otieno said. “And you think you’re the editor. But she’ll erase you the second you stop being useful.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWwKFYrKQQ
Kwame raised an eyebrow. “And you think Jabari won’t?”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfQoKZHlhl
Otieno stepped closer.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgQlVDZ91t
“If we help Jabari now, we keep Mercy’s revenge from destroying us all. Not for Naomi. Not for orders. Not for walls.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIgvxQBUXrw
He paused. “For survival.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QAUh3G76H
Kwame scoffed lightly. “You sound like you’re preparing for a funeral.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdvNe07glC
Otieno turned away, sliding the copper ring into place.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKiO3p0U72q
“I am. The old war never ended. This time, I just want to know which side I buried my friends on.”
**********89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZjXA0RkPQ
The ledger crate was lighter than expected.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzbDP50BsHq
Musa tested its weight once more as he crouched beneath the courtyard arch. The M.O.3 chalk mark had been carefully redrawn. The false ledgers inside were wrapped in canvas, just enough heft to feel real.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAC7DQYhink
Jabari stood beside him in the hallway shadows. “You’re sure?”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkSxn9ypE8
Musa gave a half-smile. “You trust me with a busted borehole and a map that doesn’t exist, but not a box full of air?”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwQHs0lwki
Juma, standing nearby, muttered, “It’s not the box I don’t trust. It’s the gate it’s going through.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4S2zw75MAL
Musa turned to Jabari.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡION9Y4ZDIK
“Let me take it. If we send a signal through anyone else, they’ll second-guess it.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJxDG3miwlR
He gripped the crate.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡePbHuPoTFu
“I’m neutral enough to walk through fire.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQXkolyaGr
From behind him, Ayo appeared silently, holding a folded black card — flat, thin, almost forgettable.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIKO1jItigj
“For insurance,” Ayo said, sliding it beneath the top canvas.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU46zbPtY4t
Musa frowned. “We’re not sending threats.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeuu2mVDfwc
Ayo’s voice was smooth. “It’s not a threat. Just… a reminder. She needs to know she’s still being watched.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpB0Lvvn11P
“No names. Just the old cipher. Mercy’s mark.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI9tGlzmCoF
Musa hesitated, then said nothing. There wasn’t time. Jabari was still briefing the wall runners. No one else saw.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdxJXKrWMm9
At 5:48 p.m., beneath the buzz of Science Week cleanup, Musa rolled the AV cart up to the old drain-slot gate in the concrete wall.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3LhAa9WWGh
He stood still, adjusted his sleeves. Waited.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQoB2eyA3vH
The grate shifted open. Two gloved hands — Mary’s, if he had to guess — pulled the crate silently inside.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMz7YUoZkPr
No words. Only a single origami triangle left behind, folded from printed timetable paper.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0pKZH6drv
He picked it up, unfolded it.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHt77t60uEj
“Drop scheduled. Second chime. No shadows.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvfB8MdbnRY
The plan was live.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEjD1jcnsyI
Inside the crate, beneath the false ledgers and canvas, Naomi’s hand paused when she reached the black card. It bore Mercy’s old cipher — a twisting serpent swallowing its tail — stamped in silver ink.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe9ctNvcBxS
Below it: one line in tight handwriting.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlbtAN80opP
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJvYcDt7RQ
Mary looked up at Naomi.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeD87sMPZDm
“Did you put this in?”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHQ8TTG72g
Naomi said nothing.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4hPuKfcX2A
Her fingers tightened.
*****89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9wG0popRS
On the girls’ side. After dark. Naomi’s inner circle meets in the underground storage room behind the old library annex. The crate sits unopened on a long metal table.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6X6deLGn7n
The room smelled like old pine and chalk dust.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjcvbbUeUz4
June, Mary, and Naomi stood around the crate. No one had spoken since the door shut.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5mSRaynJU
The origami triangle Musa left sat neatly beside the latch. Naomi’s hands hovered above it.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdwO3IKOTSj
“We open it now,” she said.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfFf2ONZpw
“We can’t afford another surprise at the Tribunal.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWjHaBe6mY
She glanced at Mary. “Gloves.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vPM1Tn6FK
Mary handed them over — clean surgical pairs swiped from the chem lab.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhDt0AsG0R
Inside, the ledgers were exactly as expected — wrapped, unmarked, blank. But under the first canvas fold, June’s hand paused.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRg2SVYdukm
“Something’s here.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCeIreBQ51
She pulled out the black card.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdSnh1FlUA
The serpent. Silver ink. Old cipher.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPiwrWR6kWw
Naomi took it. Kim read the line aloud:89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwuvpGitzpo
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgfceNOw8z
A beat of silence.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFgq1Iw27S
Naomi’s face stayed blank, but her pulse visibly jumped.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8oChVK4uY
“It’s not hers,” she said flatly. “She never wrote in third person.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcBINdrkzD
June stepped in. “Then it’s meant to make it look like it is.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBEFlzh7y9V
Mary whispered, “Could it be a warning? From the boys?”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJw1v4Qqwj
Naomi shook her head. 89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPG974KZeBT
“Too calculated. This isn’t warning. It’s planting doubt. Whoever slipped it in wanted us to panic in front of the school.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHRQ7oiQ47K
June laid the card flat on the table.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtIk03s8AvM
“We pull it now. Quietly. And we never say a word.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKygsjrPpkW
Naomi finally nodded. “Burn it.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeF1bS9uXtw
Mary hesitated. “That’s a Mercy move.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQuMWgaEV3g
Naomi replied coldly: 89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyb0LQNIoYM
“Then maybe she taught us well.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qDfiqnEks
The card was burning in a lab beaker, the serpent curling into ash by the time they were done, Naomi staring into the flame longer than the others.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9t6bFh7xRP
June turned to Naomi. 89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kEAUZbR0w
“When you open that crate tomorrow, make sure your voice doesn’t shake.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwSoUdRILB
Naomi said nothing.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkpKyAgye6
But her jaw was set.
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