“Ayo’s Reckoning”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKXN5Ct6XhK
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.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgy94MDZeoa
Ayo entered alone.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4mwcDfpWCT
The silence was volcanic.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnVaRSWBMR9
“You know why I called you,” Jabari said, voice flat.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF4a8QX6hOH
Ayo offered a faint shrug. “Because the girls found the card?”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlnH95aUCwb
Jabari snapped a dossier onto the desk — a copy of Naomi’s Tribunal summary, ink still drying.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxta7dskGl
“Because you sabotaged a crate we sent in good faith. Because you exposed all of us.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOvArAix2F5
Ayo stepped closer.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08QbZA8HEG
“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.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfEmV3rC8o4
Jabari frowned. “What does that even mean?”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykyrlqJRhL
Ayo picked up a coil of magnetic wire from the desk, let it dangle.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA19tSYj92s
“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?”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM46j6vXzad
Jabari’s voice grew sharp.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrtFwIfPyEj
“You broke formation. You put everyone at risk.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMldiRO7i9c
“No,” Ayo said calmly. “I reminded everyone that you’re not clean either.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvKO12SZpX
He stepped toward Jabari.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChWMr8W0OO
“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.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ig646LLus
Jabari didn’t speak for several moments.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGX5472QNXF
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.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqY1HG0wQk
Ayo nodded. No fight. No protest.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjd5mOKijEM
“As long as you understand... silencing me just proves my point.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxnGqghcGC1
He turned.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfxoni3Xqrc
Before walking out, he paused.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDS07j1xNEo
“Check the old boiler room under the lab tower.” You’ll find what Mercy left us. Or what we left buried first.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNfPFeb1jr
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:30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7HISJ3Dek
“Control isn’t memory. It’s delay.” Below it, he circles one phrase: Boiler Room – Legacy Remnants.
**********30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgy9x4FmHVt
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.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gAJTXydkr
Ayo arrives to find Kwame and Otieno waiting.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHT9BE8wQf
Kwame’s expression is razor-sharp. Otieno leans against the pipe wall, arms folded, quieter but far more dangerous.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKDYiheb9Uj
“You went off-script,” Kwame said.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69yI05WqBy
“There’s no script,” Ayo replied. “That’s why we exist.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVgUrb9i0s5
Otieno’s voice was cold: “There’s also no chaos clause. You don’t act alone.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSvQcN8muo
Ayo stepped forward.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEbQMUlXap
“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.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BeRBgdVW2
Kwame’s lip curled.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ91JFfLSv8F
“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.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JRylkBPEF
Ayo met his eyes — not defiant, but clear.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgY8v9rqB3
“Then I’m not among you anymore.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRFge5eMyji
He turned to Otieno.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfUhWLjAEu
“I thought you understood. You used to say walls exist to be rewired, not just crossed.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0QhrPLHCs
Otieno’s jaw tightened — but he said nothing.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtLzMPKaXe
“So go ahead,” Ayo said. “Protect your myths. But I won’t be a shadow in someone else’s war.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXK5o8bZRvw
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.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8fFmC7cYDx
The thread burned silently, curling into smoke.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCxoafgztxp
“I'm done pretending we were ever united.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYFkyWqKIq4
He walked out.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8LPRBQiHhz
The blue thread continued to smoke.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCrwobTevrX
Kwame didn’t stop him.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDa4qNhLFgd
Otieno did not speak.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrqhlR7dSo
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.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeyfaFYBAs2
Musa entered without knocking.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyk0MYGPZBW
He held no files. No coded messages. Just his voice.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJR1XkoQe63
“Don’t exile him.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo39EmGBKfM
Jabari didn’t turn. “He almost detonated the alliance.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSsumnapHVx
“Because he saw the game Mercy was really playing,” Musa said.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡewPXCnxEhE
“Not the ledgers. Not the ciphers. The distraction. The division.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ES6MAQB5Y
Jabari finally turned. “He burned our seal. Broke ranks. Lied with his hands.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0s0kZdBu5
Musa didn’t flinch.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXc381wbJV8
“But he never lied with his heart.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LcJKFIiNA
A long silence.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaU6zgaU7lR
“He’s not Mercy,” Musa said. “And if we treat him like he is… we become her next chapter.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvFuCP8Cx4
Jabari exhaled slowly; hands clasped behind his back.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtpATXNGWk3
“He’s out. No operations. No keys. No tunnels.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKtyCD1F2Tp
Musa nodded.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrjdWYA6r0
“But?”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbGutgUaZM
Jabari met his eyes.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDb3PeAyOD
“He lives. Under watch and probation. If he so much as breathes another signature, he’s done.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1f3THzFdxc
Musa nodded once.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMw7JWlVSs
“Fair.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcectKjNS0h
As he turned to leave, Jabari added, quieter:30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpbYdX8fZLy
“He gave you something, didn’t he?”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7mTdznS40
Musa paused.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnA2ieeqL6x
“Only this.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nh0YbH8V2
He handed over a slip of paper — a boiler schematic with one corner circled.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXeKWnKCrSS
“Where the heat doesn’t rise.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7bYccNihPA
Jabari places the note into his pocket looking out at the storm again.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjgf99xbLoQ
“Then that’s where we look next.”
*****30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CHKVnLqVd
The hallway behind the science block was nearly empty.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfOFOyMsdR
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.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCMa2H0tu7
The others avoided him.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCS1CMzs4pW
But Juma didn’t.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7KUPM7OUMK
He approached in silence, his boots wet from the storm.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENwhJZQLw2
Ayo didn’t look up.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwrTUGs4Vj
Juma paused, then — slowly — he knelt.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmblctrj96
“You were reckless,” Juma said. “But you weren’t wrong.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecwAOMWWo4
Ayo blinked. “You hate me.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVQe8BDxqI
“I did,” Juma replied. “But I hate lies more.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaljJpyjZz
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.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfghNqojHG
He placed it beside Ayo.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ityAUppkq
“Blood isn’t thicker than truth,” Juma said. “And truth deserves a second voice.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡby66Nxh2Bh
Ayo picks up the thread slowly. No words — just a nod.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡihkJUWM5QW
From the rooftops, unseen, Musa watches — saying nothing.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTJkhaR5N1
The storm passes over the lake, but its echo remains in the air.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8kHRWeHml
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.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYeatFcVYTb
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.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZDFB9hBPj
“Mercy recorded everything,” he says. “Not to preserve truth. But to rewrite it. This is her first confession.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVhs6XkkKJ0
He plugs it into the projector system.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡws0iDAwFo9
The screen flickers.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMirc15OaAw
Mercy appears — younger, sharper, in a classroom-turned-studio. Her voice is calm.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlK2BV8zJv6
“I didn’t want to lie. But the wall made it easy. They asked me to archive. I edited.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRNGUUaa6iE
They asked me to expel. I accused.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbP2hreOLNL
The girl from Form 3 never returned. And I never corrected it.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvr1QeTACs
The ledger isn’t a record.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPttFqdaXPr
It’s a grave.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHXe7L8tnZ
And if anyone finds this, I only ask one thing—30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItlWw4Tq3E
Don’t preserve me. Replace me.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyHCbyJbhR
Silence.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkR7EuhpEXR
Otieno is stone-faced. Musa breathes out slowly. One Order head lowers his eyes.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZpdVMBxBoU
Juma steps forward. “That was the truth behind the ledger?”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEjepWFM5V
Jabari nods. “The one we nearly died to protect. We archived a lie.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOA01c3Ggx
He turns to the room.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfhEvgV0BD
“You don’t get to carry Mercy’s fire and call it light.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqGrbmjlFK
Jabari draws a circle in chalk on the floor.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVecfNe8R5U
“Step in if you still serve the old Order. Step out if you choose to build what comes next.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsaYBA9w28
The pause is long. Weighty.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8Bxf2PiJ0
Three members step in. Five steps out.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZsVFdqjTo
Otieno steps to the edge, then deliberately wipes part of the chalk away.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0WxhVAvoX
“There shouldn’t be a circle anymore. Only a path.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvmZWzeer8
Jabari watches the recording fade to static. He unplugs the drive, places it in a red envelope, and hands it to Musa.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZjO0a00w8
“Send it across the wall. No encryption.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dX6zqUsvH
Musa’s eyes widen. “You want Naomi to see it?”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWuoyQ3gjTb
Jabari’s voice is firm.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnq5V5nfooD
“No. I want everyone to.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWzo6Jb8rvz
30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx7lLaZq1Og
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