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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡevejc37vqa
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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oPklBEl4Q
No one sat near the center.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD6MQcz4TCr
Jabari stood at the front of the room, back straight, the cracked ledger box in one hand.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTqgkFkg89
He didn’t shout.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdwEILawMRq
“You all saw what Mercy did.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzTlHqeVOe
Silence.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VrcKKfOkl
“She used our stories. Our fractures. She drowned us in our own past.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYaWT0wqMk
He placed the box down — loudly.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSsuPCYRfr
“So, this time… we drown her in it.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ot8OzWc1n
He scanned both sides of the room.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYwvhKYTyT
“We have word Naomi’s side is moving — quietly. They’ve offered a containment pact.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxG6gLFqcG
A few gasps. One laugh — quickly hushed.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJrHQb9EFq
Jabari continued.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREKOt6ZMbL
“This isn’t an alliance for peace. This is a trap.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLjOCnrAz5
He walked to the chalkboard and drew a quick diagram: the chapel crypt, the drainage lines, the tunnel forks.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9iu3eDxfm
“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.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4eAONHCMV
Kwame wasn’t present.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOiquYJf08
But Otieno was — arms folded, expression blank.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4tOfDkQM3c
Ayo muttered under his breath, “He won’t like this.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLfxEZQLldh
Juma asked sharply, “So we do Naomi’s cleanup?”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqWfTH1rSL
Jabari looked him straight in the eyes.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmS5kFb6I2
“We clean up our own ghosts. Naomi’s just part of the smoke.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzRh8hv2EUp
Musa stepped forward and unrolled the scroll — Naomi’s signed terms, retrieved from the wall.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMlWwj0fpga
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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLs3n7zLt75
The final line:100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmwBWKhZs1
“No war until the wound is stitched.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjIQ7wuLFZd
A single nod from Jabari. “Vote?”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK65yt8yqAb
This time, only one hand stayed down.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLA9DFHo1Dj
Otieno.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM9fLy8PQIr
He met Jabari’s gaze, then whispered: “You catch her… Just don’t become her.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRuHujYDCml
The moment Musa finished rolling up the scroll, Juma stood — arms crossed, eyes cold.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8afR4GZYxD
“We’re trusting Naomi now? The same girl who tried to silence everything Mercy uncovered?”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOK2mHTF1BE
The room went quiet again. Even the Shadow Walkers leaned in, sensing heat beneath the words.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWXzc28FMf
Jabari didn’t answer immediately.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEPlpGAhun
Juma continued, his voice quieter but heavier:100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qmBGShfHI
“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.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTz8L0Sxjbd
Otieno glanced at Musa. Ayo looked away.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJomt9fsYmI
They knew what Jabari suspected but never asked.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJ9sBjRapC
Juma’s voice cracked ever so slightly: “I swore I’d protect Kim. Not just physically. From all this. From becoming one of us.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyB0aUOS2IN
He looked straight at Jabari. “You think Naomi won’t use her if it means killing Mercy’s story?”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LCw0xpK1O
A slow clap echoed from the hallway.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5lDr8sxEEZ
Kwame.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUgr2iLtrz
He leaned against the doorframe, shadowed, smirking.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVS0ug5tTps
“Now that’s what I’ve been waiting for.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTaXP7NcCTI
Jabari’s jaw tightened. “You weren’t invited.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAE56gmuXxb
Kwame stepped in. “I don’t need an invitation to watch a castle collapse. Especially when the stones fight each other.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4We8o5Ul3
He glanced at Juma. “Finally, someone with a spine.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnlOgMUjP0n
Jabari stepped forward. “This isn’t about Kim.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsbxMzur4GS
Juma didn’t move. “No. It’s about all the people who can’t speak anymore. Mercy included.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjzseA7dGIl
Kwame tilted his head, amused. “You know, I think Mercy would like him.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD5bpKPd7WL
Musa finally spoke. “We don’t have time for this.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBlQkTQr0E
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.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZmi30jPDt
Juma’s fists clenched.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4QqIrVes1
But he didn’t sit back down.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTgfOPUTb6
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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34vMMx3Hxv
Kwame leaned against the concrete.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBfV5a0oyZF
“So. You’re really going with Jabari?”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGUhLNtjj0
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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7Dx1xbUx6
“Does it matter?”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdjphEzDC2
Kwame smirked. “It does to me. I had you pegged as a watcher. Not a follower.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpXaIZyb5d
Otieno stood slowly. “You’re right.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykihyxz4ec
He turned to face Kwame — taller than him in the dim light. 100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDG33z8E0YQ
“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.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDBDWSTgIB
Kwame’s smile faded slightly.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSPUlkfD1L
“She’s rewriting history,” Otieno said. “And you think you’re the editor. But she’ll erase you the second you stop being useful.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9KwIkcMQy
Kwame raised an eyebrow. “And you think Jabari won’t?”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqXyqBJLHZq
Otieno stepped closer.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTg0NL2iyk2
“If we help Jabari now, we keep Mercy’s revenge from destroying us all. Not for Naomi. Not for orders. Not for walls.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgytSWOYka
He paused. “For survival.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc91YIhPRT0
Kwame scoffed lightly. “You sound like you’re preparing for a funeral.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyeZEDRMMGY
Otieno turned away, sliding the copper ring into place.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ427dDB0H32
“I am. The old war never ended. This time, I just want to know which side I buried my friends on.”
**********100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLIBAwdslQ7
The ledger crate was lighter than expected.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOK5XesYI5O
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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vBb0ywV7W
Jabari stood beside him in the hallway shadows. “You’re sure?”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4nlOCkmbV
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?”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp5lB10WIK7
Juma, standing nearby, muttered, “It’s not the box I don’t trust. It’s the gate it’s going through.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2UrZ5IytC
Musa turned to Jabari.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbo89gYswdZ
“Let me take it. If we send a signal through anyone else, they’ll second-guess it.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkctt854ySf
He gripped the crate.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIPkoHXtIY
“I’m neutral enough to walk through fire.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8U4xaN2Nm
From behind him, Ayo appeared silently, holding a folded black card — flat, thin, almost forgettable.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpb5JDpFH1g
“For insurance,” Ayo said, sliding it beneath the top canvas.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDftfjDR1J
Musa frowned. “We’re not sending threats.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡByXcM7RU85
Ayo’s voice was smooth. “It’s not a threat. Just… a reminder. She needs to know she’s still being watched.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3K9LBB2di
“No names. Just the old cipher. Mercy’s mark.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxiNxjb7nrY
Musa hesitated, then said nothing. There wasn’t time. Jabari was still briefing the wall runners. No one else saw.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡraXDOvdchV
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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfRs2upGNNf
He stood still, adjusted his sleeves. Waited.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcNxPZb27eC
The grate shifted open. Two gloved hands — Mary’s, if he had to guess — pulled the crate silently inside.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaEOkT09wIO
No words. Only a single origami triangle left behind, folded from printed timetable paper.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTOcyJvNzN
He picked it up, unfolded it.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhH6cbVFoG
“Drop scheduled. Second chime. No shadows.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡazETQuSwRr
The plan was live.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNvQVXzdr3
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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgAtuzjySiR
Below it: one line in tight handwriting.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtA5GwRefF
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡka5v7C0rq1
Mary looked up at Naomi.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRD8ZPMTPwy
“Did you put this in?”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4f20Y92fFr
Naomi said nothing.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfioKueWLUo
Her fingers tightened.
*****100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuhVujyeid9
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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcS4ONI0pZg
The room smelled like old pine and chalk dust.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rZGspg3Gc
June, Mary, and Naomi stood around the crate. No one had spoken since the door shut.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTj35UQqGb8
The origami triangle Musa left sat neatly beside the latch. Naomi’s hands hovered above it.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡulC2KOCHB0
“We open it now,” she said.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUu6jYUGcer
“We can’t afford another surprise at the Tribunal.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4XMYXZfy1T
She glanced at Mary. “Gloves.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORXvtUH5UW
Mary handed them over — clean surgical pairs swiped from the chem lab.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJhreFqkkr0
Inside, the ledgers were exactly as expected — wrapped, unmarked, blank. But under the first canvas fold, June’s hand paused.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8kmbjaDPD4
“Something’s here.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2xNTVT1uE
She pulled out the black card.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGBBZEUAEh
The serpent. Silver ink. Old cipher.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwdfFWX6d1
Naomi took it. Kim read the line aloud:100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zuB2PjOih
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFyfcB86aM
A beat of silence.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8fuQLOdkiy
Naomi’s face stayed blank, but her pulse visibly jumped.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2HeYQQLhVU
“It’s not hers,” she said flatly. “She never wrote in third person.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzhRX842Zsl
June stepped in. “Then it’s meant to make it look like it is.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQc44xzhyDw
Mary whispered, “Could it be a warning? From the boys?”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNaMHNWXOBU
Naomi shook her head. 100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ083S9V5NJK
“Too calculated. This isn’t warning. It’s planting doubt. Whoever slipped it in wanted us to panic in front of the school.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxUiib0OEY
June laid the card flat on the table.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8YnAi366oF
“We pull it now. Quietly. And we never say a word.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKkYTSKxx1v
Naomi finally nodded. “Burn it.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQdQPsWuWYq
Mary hesitated. “That’s a Mercy move.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28kweRIPjA
Naomi replied coldly: 100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtIbdTCCCC
“Then maybe she taught us well.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSOK5XHWpi
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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvFAE74fr5
June turned to Naomi. 100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrb8Ak3FObZ
“When you open that crate tomorrow, make sure your voice doesn’t shake.”100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLuXU1JBJXW
Naomi said nothing.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Zlz9C6aii
But her jaw was set.
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