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.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlSLF31OQZ
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.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOw7ZCTpCIK
No one sat near the center.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7Z3HALF0L
Jabari stood at the front of the room, back straight, the cracked ledger box in one hand.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvpKpP3856
He didn’t shout.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnghRv4OhE
“You all saw what Mercy did.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeljNcMSapc
Silence.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIb8wu18Lt
“She used our stories. Our fractures. She drowned us in our own past.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3BxzcO744
He placed the box down — loudly.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ05GkU0Qan
“So, this time… we drown her in it.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5R5ynDEIiR
He scanned both sides of the room.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7iZwOzI9RO
“We have word Naomi’s side is moving — quietly. They’ve offered a containment pact.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OdWYkXiPs
A few gasps. One laugh — quickly hushed.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4QfaYtU2h
Jabari continued.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOcthRMru4N
“This isn’t an alliance for peace. This is a trap.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxlaha1lnw
He walked to the chalkboard and drew a quick diagram: the chapel crypt, the drainage lines, the tunnel forks.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGjdgtddM6
“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.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7fwAH4Hcq
Kwame wasn’t present.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjgVhaKTjJ
But Otieno was — arms folded, expression blank.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhs75EZFzOg
Ayo muttered under his breath, “He won’t like this.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrS5bETJTk
Juma asked sharply, “So we do Naomi’s cleanup?”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBUj8ZT05c
Jabari looked him straight in the eyes.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNAm0EsYOw
“We clean up our own ghosts. Naomi’s just part of the smoke.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡys5aGb7e4D
Musa stepped forward and unrolled the scroll — Naomi’s signed terms, retrieved from the wall.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzLTs0RZil
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.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhqu8pzvD2
The final line:93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfjHwbEfQZ
“No war until the wound is stitched.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBF8c5aNtV
A single nod from Jabari. “Vote?”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5AvqGRvJLr
This time, only one hand stayed down.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡplVjFHcLgM
Otieno.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCrVI9QZWm2
He met Jabari’s gaze, then whispered: “You catch her… Just don’t become her.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBpsQjkjE7
The moment Musa finished rolling up the scroll, Juma stood — arms crossed, eyes cold.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERskX3Pu1k
“We’re trusting Naomi now? The same girl who tried to silence everything Mercy uncovered?”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuJgi1ewJ1A
The room went quiet again. Even the Shadow Walkers leaned in, sensing heat beneath the words.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPdE2rPEViY
Jabari didn’t answer immediately.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxa3YBGikU
Juma continued, his voice quieter but heavier:93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfV5gA7hoC
“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.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNgom01TLF5
Otieno glanced at Musa. Ayo looked away.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ495Oq9fFZL
They knew what Jabari suspected but never asked.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD44zRRQBAv
Juma’s voice cracked ever so slightly: “I swore I’d protect Kim. Not just physically. From all this. From becoming one of us.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTCOOfo20M
He looked straight at Jabari. “You think Naomi won’t use her if it means killing Mercy’s story?”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXs7govs8aj
A slow clap echoed from the hallway.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqnzgWEtSPh
Kwame.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmIViKVL4nF
He leaned against the doorframe, shadowed, smirking.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rvtNPoVjk
“Now that’s what I’ve been waiting for.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoORCnCV0g7
Jabari’s jaw tightened. “You weren’t invited.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOV0nmk5RZ1
Kwame stepped in. “I don’t need an invitation to watch a castle collapse. Especially when the stones fight each other.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbUawCGlDrD
He glanced at Juma. “Finally, someone with a spine.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8P60t4wT9R
Jabari stepped forward. “This isn’t about Kim.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5T49HuPzP
Juma didn’t move. “No. It’s about all the people who can’t speak anymore. Mercy included.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkkKpt85UN
Kwame tilted his head, amused. “You know, I think Mercy would like him.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufaW01WVJ1
Musa finally spoke. “We don’t have time for this.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHoT67BIoMo
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.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnLQVsG8gV
Juma’s fists clenched.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSVH6zSffN
But he didn’t sit back down.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfiGZIzOi7U
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.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHHXesPs9T
Kwame leaned against the concrete.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4ggXJv9tw
“So. You’re really going with Jabari?”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZO4xZOqkL
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.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3WjN2q5PeM
“Does it matter?”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWjlXfWdDw
Kwame smirked. “It does to me. I had you pegged as a watcher. Not a follower.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEmkkn32VPN
Otieno stood slowly. “You’re right.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXis9KTLCfS
He turned to face Kwame — taller than him in the dim light. 93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7LYpIF2E2U
“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.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSKof3xfP0
Kwame’s smile faded slightly.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXYBbVp5Kb
“She’s rewriting history,” Otieno said. “And you think you’re the editor. But she’ll erase you the second you stop being useful.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ryWXK0GA4
Kwame raised an eyebrow. “And you think Jabari won’t?”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYoY1EAQx8g
Otieno stepped closer.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9YYNGqUF4
“If we help Jabari now, we keep Mercy’s revenge from destroying us all. Not for Naomi. Not for orders. Not for walls.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslkXHym19m
He paused. “For survival.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMM3fNTSm4
Kwame scoffed lightly. “You sound like you’re preparing for a funeral.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlmOIQjz9aN
Otieno turned away, sliding the copper ring into place.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg635WIl36D
“I am. The old war never ended. This time, I just want to know which side I buried my friends on.”
**********93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RJE08BrrZ
The ledger crate was lighter than expected.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhCaIni5MU
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.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEVyaxCVIP
Jabari stood beside him in the hallway shadows. “You’re sure?”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvnsdfGuMX
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?”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6xi9jveW9
Juma, standing nearby, muttered, “It’s not the box I don’t trust. It’s the gate it’s going through.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSH8ZjUnoiQ
Musa turned to Jabari.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9FXd0SoFr
“Let me take it. If we send a signal through anyone else, they’ll second-guess it.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRTpGLxXHeq
He gripped the crate.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFqeeUXz0h
“I’m neutral enough to walk through fire.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJV3BLJ6Pxh
From behind him, Ayo appeared silently, holding a folded black card — flat, thin, almost forgettable.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5UNOBYpKC
“For insurance,” Ayo said, sliding it beneath the top canvas.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWAgPV9xv30
Musa frowned. “We’re not sending threats.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZ5fHx3tEo
Ayo’s voice was smooth. “It’s not a threat. Just… a reminder. She needs to know she’s still being watched.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWKAiFhBEx
“No names. Just the old cipher. Mercy’s mark.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAv4j7zYos
Musa hesitated, then said nothing. There wasn’t time. Jabari was still briefing the wall runners. No one else saw.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7r0OIJ5gsB
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.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjKzK5rVTv
He stood still, adjusted his sleeves. Waited.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYoGD1XHSr
The grate shifted open. Two gloved hands — Mary’s, if he had to guess — pulled the crate silently inside.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFyQaAdEk3
No words. Only a single origami triangle left behind, folded from printed timetable paper.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWr5bg1LbK
He picked it up, unfolded it.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VOe9tIksc
“Drop scheduled. Second chime. No shadows.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH44RbhzaQx
The plan was live.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAPKtQjIA0
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.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDMo0LpobC
Below it: one line in tight handwriting.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGjsvn7cFQp
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3i1oNJ5vJD
Mary looked up at Naomi.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzjIqsYmNo
“Did you put this in?”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWyk5dLQsA
Naomi said nothing.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSOHbOTRtL
Her fingers tightened.
*****93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAe52sUT0J5
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.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVEhc0LK2DF
The room smelled like old pine and chalk dust.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHucXcGpH1p
June, Mary, and Naomi stood around the crate. No one had spoken since the door shut.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsDjw4bJAf
The origami triangle Musa left sat neatly beside the latch. Naomi’s hands hovered above it.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgEiOuUrWU
“We open it now,” she said.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuKiqfdaId
“We can’t afford another surprise at the Tribunal.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnIjCa0Xi6d
She glanced at Mary. “Gloves.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU871zq5Dyt
Mary handed them over — clean surgical pairs swiped from the chem lab.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMhgvX0jj5
Inside, the ledgers were exactly as expected — wrapped, unmarked, blank. But under the first canvas fold, June’s hand paused.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxT2LHK5KNx
“Something’s here.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEkk5KtdGdM
She pulled out the black card.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQjZUFYwF8A
The serpent. Silver ink. Old cipher.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6gcjWxKrTn
Naomi took it. Kim read the line aloud:93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhuw2t132kp
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs8igTD7CEe
A beat of silence.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWNSdCLOj8q
Naomi’s face stayed blank, but her pulse visibly jumped.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQFaaZqnaw
“It’s not hers,” she said flatly. “She never wrote in third person.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73RQAejsZi
June stepped in. “Then it’s meant to make it look like it is.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5G6cXejTH
Mary whispered, “Could it be a warning? From the boys?”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1d5ysbqSTA
Naomi shook her head. 93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bNWXUBqum
“Too calculated. This isn’t warning. It’s planting doubt. Whoever slipped it in wanted us to panic in front of the school.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzS2m1fOYW
June laid the card flat on the table.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4iFvZs2Syg
“We pull it now. Quietly. And we never say a word.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAinr9DL5hs
Naomi finally nodded. “Burn it.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXz6bGfmfA
Mary hesitated. “That’s a Mercy move.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydIVObRo2s
Naomi replied coldly: 93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkSrE9vS3AT
“Then maybe she taught us well.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxfOLcMhgPz
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.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL0MGc4MYE4
June turned to Naomi. 93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchT0pe4WK8
“When you open that crate tomorrow, make sure your voice doesn’t shake.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeAQyYWqp6x
Naomi said nothing.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxfoxQw3N2q
But her jaw was set.
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