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.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNWuWvnp41
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.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBK6z6zkQzM
No one sat near the center.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxQSn6Sye7
Jabari stood at the front of the room, back straight, the cracked ledger box in one hand.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxUNCOnrjv
He didn’t shout.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw6xFp9Z91L
“You all saw what Mercy did.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxurCQkAo4H
Silence.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4krizfYD6
“She used our stories. Our fractures. She drowned us in our own past.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lGZZ6CHrx
He placed the box down — loudly.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSBXpsoknB
“So, this time… we drown her in it.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ9MM70smAY
He scanned both sides of the room.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WO6FQ112A
“We have word Naomi’s side is moving — quietly. They’ve offered a containment pact.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTH4MOBizGZ
A few gasps. One laugh — quickly hushed.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXfXgs9cMfL
Jabari continued.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVYakI7O82
“This isn’t an alliance for peace. This is a trap.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOP0ZvIy7F
He walked to the chalkboard and drew a quick diagram: the chapel crypt, the drainage lines, the tunnel forks.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkP2Hx8s06E
“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.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLPSvijGUqV
Kwame wasn’t present.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5soP8QJhtU
But Otieno was — arms folded, expression blank.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYVXFG5jYn
Ayo muttered under his breath, “He won’t like this.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPL1AI0WoeO
Juma asked sharply, “So we do Naomi’s cleanup?”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDE0XLkPfYQ
Jabari looked him straight in the eyes.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGmwKCLYIS
“We clean up our own ghosts. Naomi’s just part of the smoke.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYISD6jhA3
Musa stepped forward and unrolled the scroll — Naomi’s signed terms, retrieved from the wall.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGSs0Yj0VX
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.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvSDwHukIp
The final line:92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6jz4WrOh1
“No war until the wound is stitched.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlucfLVKO6b
A single nod from Jabari. “Vote?”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfS0ZvGZ84N
This time, only one hand stayed down.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6uHyUSuqMY
Otieno.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwGhlP79EF
He met Jabari’s gaze, then whispered: “You catch her… Just don’t become her.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaxEZQkNZA
The moment Musa finished rolling up the scroll, Juma stood — arms crossed, eyes cold.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKOatJuCjwW
“We’re trusting Naomi now? The same girl who tried to silence everything Mercy uncovered?”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDvBz2M9WEk
The room went quiet again. Even the Shadow Walkers leaned in, sensing heat beneath the words.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7rfAw3YpA
Jabari didn’t answer immediately.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTRIcGNNqs
Juma continued, his voice quieter but heavier:92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0NBQQbBdH
“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.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMpKbEhQEW
Otieno glanced at Musa. Ayo looked away.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUyxLSWl9OZ
They knew what Jabari suspected but never asked.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxZBAk2jv7
Juma’s voice cracked ever so slightly: “I swore I’d protect Kim. Not just physically. From all this. From becoming one of us.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbgwvJLqU5
He looked straight at Jabari. “You think Naomi won’t use her if it means killing Mercy’s story?”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUg9vkceGZ
A slow clap echoed from the hallway.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBfJCeiKLB
Kwame.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUL4JxUVKtq
He leaned against the doorframe, shadowed, smirking.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXv5ooOvnr
“Now that’s what I’ve been waiting for.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVW5MuI1MKj
Jabari’s jaw tightened. “You weren’t invited.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jPuOxZ1sm
Kwame stepped in. “I don’t need an invitation to watch a castle collapse. Especially when the stones fight each other.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2llQWMIQY
He glanced at Juma. “Finally, someone with a spine.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFN714rUJOF
Jabari stepped forward. “This isn’t about Kim.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjrCfczvZZ
Juma didn’t move. “No. It’s about all the people who can’t speak anymore. Mercy included.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfVCQuFrtvT
Kwame tilted his head, amused. “You know, I think Mercy would like him.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWSxRwo58c
Musa finally spoke. “We don’t have time for this.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnAWQlMVvH
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.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASBSb2HTrC
Juma’s fists clenched.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0SEMyyOhp
But he didn’t sit back down.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8vdJgeRZb4
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.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2AjVjj3FV
Kwame leaned against the concrete.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NpHsxbDeA
“So. You’re really going with Jabari?”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwOCFbVqSpL
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.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAi51L4w8g6
“Does it matter?”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrx5wbg1vkS
Kwame smirked. “It does to me. I had you pegged as a watcher. Not a follower.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQHViWWV37
Otieno stood slowly. “You’re right.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KmGSpB2Oy
He turned to face Kwame — taller than him in the dim light. 92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7HmjUdzCI
“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.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxECRfFGnCu
Kwame’s smile faded slightly.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKGcB7TNy2
“She’s rewriting history,” Otieno said. “And you think you’re the editor. But she’ll erase you the second you stop being useful.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYf9G9Hrtdb
Kwame raised an eyebrow. “And you think Jabari won’t?”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVXP1pmIvb
Otieno stepped closer.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYDObB4n0t
“If we help Jabari now, we keep Mercy’s revenge from destroying us all. Not for Naomi. Not for orders. Not for walls.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4SYCsuDLZk
He paused. “For survival.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAXUqpgRbz
Kwame scoffed lightly. “You sound like you’re preparing for a funeral.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFUIpmAJdP
Otieno turned away, sliding the copper ring into place.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tIrlJ5QyO
“I am. The old war never ended. This time, I just want to know which side I buried my friends on.”
**********92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5txnJGLaQ3
The ledger crate was lighter than expected.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCATbICL9t
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.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHm2NCDHEu
Jabari stood beside him in the hallway shadows. “You’re sure?”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUYTViwweN
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?”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaAYfZepz3q
Juma, standing nearby, muttered, “It’s not the box I don’t trust. It’s the gate it’s going through.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ72UlEcVcBM
Musa turned to Jabari.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCUONDf52O
“Let me take it. If we send a signal through anyone else, they’ll second-guess it.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvZC8f7Whf
He gripped the crate.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPEKxOsr05p
“I’m neutral enough to walk through fire.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLn7OMnPqi
From behind him, Ayo appeared silently, holding a folded black card — flat, thin, almost forgettable.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEr1Yd1F2BG
“For insurance,” Ayo said, sliding it beneath the top canvas.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgc7YmnmIEG
Musa frowned. “We’re not sending threats.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfDuY0mF8D
Ayo’s voice was smooth. “It’s not a threat. Just… a reminder. She needs to know she’s still being watched.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOuE1FHPOiF
“No names. Just the old cipher. Mercy’s mark.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVIfdEmocl
Musa hesitated, then said nothing. There wasn’t time. Jabari was still briefing the wall runners. No one else saw.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoTJrpvHbgx
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.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKDfNY9SIUV
He stood still, adjusted his sleeves. Waited.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95nsjIedbQ
The grate shifted open. Two gloved hands — Mary’s, if he had to guess — pulled the crate silently inside.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzDIsS4qtOU
No words. Only a single origami triangle left behind, folded from printed timetable paper.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTWAg5MYaw
He picked it up, unfolded it.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqv7BrQJja
“Drop scheduled. Second chime. No shadows.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pb4xB7l1m
The plan was live.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXclH2A2dBe
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.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaZ873WaA9
Below it: one line in tight handwriting.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡislQNeLUfP
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYV2AU1lF7B
Mary looked up at Naomi.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1p7pGluQO
“Did you put this in?”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfDFNGsSaLg
Naomi said nothing.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgcsO49LZyb
Her fingers tightened.
*****92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHdOxrgwdT0
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.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6CeNfiHNPK
The room smelled like old pine and chalk dust.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6jplSywDE
June, Mary, and Naomi stood around the crate. No one had spoken since the door shut.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyoCktUI36d
The origami triangle Musa left sat neatly beside the latch. Naomi’s hands hovered above it.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZY8soQOybZ
“We open it now,” she said.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwkjGhP5np5
“We can’t afford another surprise at the Tribunal.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVcewMBMaU
She glanced at Mary. “Gloves.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEuPCKU7Ml
Mary handed them over — clean surgical pairs swiped from the chem lab.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbl13yBqrs
Inside, the ledgers were exactly as expected — wrapped, unmarked, blank. But under the first canvas fold, June’s hand paused.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAJggsOI2c
“Something’s here.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRXYme1L9o0
She pulled out the black card.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkUQPJrKlK
The serpent. Silver ink. Old cipher.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Py4Fz37Cn
Naomi took it. Kim read the line aloud:92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEijkJgaGjw
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsjLffvbcTi
A beat of silence.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0GgjwvlbhU
Naomi’s face stayed blank, but her pulse visibly jumped.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv4lyzPYa2r
“It’s not hers,” she said flatly. “She never wrote in third person.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmQ2w8EXq47
June stepped in. “Then it’s meant to make it look like it is.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1ooX2i5YB
Mary whispered, “Could it be a warning? From the boys?”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzPlc6oPp5
Naomi shook her head. 92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVwugoVC08y
“Too calculated. This isn’t warning. It’s planting doubt. Whoever slipped it in wanted us to panic in front of the school.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXSisizGgU
June laid the card flat on the table.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMVEARP7Iki
“We pull it now. Quietly. And we never say a word.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFtUUwkTDI
Naomi finally nodded. “Burn it.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7NG88f49c
Mary hesitated. “That’s a Mercy move.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZTEZMHa8a
Naomi replied coldly: 92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDksD7mlcj
“Then maybe she taught us well.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV63H5CyiNY
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.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡul5VSSpNJ0
June turned to Naomi. 92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbUYJsFXX90
“When you open that crate tomorrow, make sure your voice doesn’t shake.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XizCXC8dC
Naomi said nothing.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlj6wfOd5QU
But her jaw was set.
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