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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKxvpeqlUi
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrPJd9fEnpD
No one sat near the center.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCiPYWGSSRp
Jabari stood at the front of the room, back straight, the cracked ledger box in one hand.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAAIDjBDEKT
He didn’t shout.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPgEhZO5mcT
“You all saw what Mercy did.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqprMtScr5g
Silence.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPuHk3IIAUm
“She used our stories. Our fractures. She drowned us in our own past.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHzTMSNjXo
He placed the box down — loudly.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgP42t1DbYy
“So, this time… we drown her in it.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfkS5BEc6O
He scanned both sides of the room.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGiYYc47Rj7
“We have word Naomi’s side is moving — quietly. They’ve offered a containment pact.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8R6XpiO8ID
A few gasps. One laugh — quickly hushed.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCDY8zxu2S
Jabari continued.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35YdFw9964
“This isn’t an alliance for peace. This is a trap.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF8Qdt5OEwN
He walked to the chalkboard and drew a quick diagram: the chapel crypt, the drainage lines, the tunnel forks.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ehhWwXGTo
“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.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XbycVfiOp
Kwame wasn’t present.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRkt9VOXiO
But Otieno was — arms folded, expression blank.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3IZrIwOxq7
Ayo muttered under his breath, “He won’t like this.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeeIvhfJAQf
Juma asked sharply, “So we do Naomi’s cleanup?”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVevsEiRnk
Jabari looked him straight in the eyes.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQ1186CvRn
“We clean up our own ghosts. Naomi’s just part of the smoke.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRUdHnYb0f
Musa stepped forward and unrolled the scroll — Naomi’s signed terms, retrieved from the wall.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRy09CIiZHz
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYy4GvSRZth
The final line:38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrlgALpbiU
“No war until the wound is stitched.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0sUO5fry0B
A single nod from Jabari. “Vote?”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpIIjPpTCVv
This time, only one hand stayed down.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9yeLMN5WWn
Otieno.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhI1bAqWtqF
He met Jabari’s gaze, then whispered: “You catch her… Just don’t become her.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEl6o8l4Uml
The moment Musa finished rolling up the scroll, Juma stood — arms crossed, eyes cold.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUSwhLOk5y
“We’re trusting Naomi now? The same girl who tried to silence everything Mercy uncovered?”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrvjTbyMNq
The room went quiet again. Even the Shadow Walkers leaned in, sensing heat beneath the words.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJGD8HDndsm
Jabari didn’t answer immediately.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfit0vxqJBu
Juma continued, his voice quieter but heavier:38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi3k4UjA6kL
“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.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJugZm8wLM
Otieno glanced at Musa. Ayo looked away.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUbMG5HRrp
They knew what Jabari suspected but never asked.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvBheT0NX2
Juma’s voice cracked ever so slightly: “I swore I’d protect Kim. Not just physically. From all this. From becoming one of us.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMDG11RWULW
He looked straight at Jabari. “You think Naomi won’t use her if it means killing Mercy’s story?”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9He4loW6ua
A slow clap echoed from the hallway.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4oTuWx2bsi
Kwame.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6m1uADAhlb
He leaned against the doorframe, shadowed, smirking.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNgykpwwP8u
“Now that’s what I’ve been waiting for.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI168UBD9Tp
Jabari’s jaw tightened. “You weren’t invited.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktaeXXccba
Kwame stepped in. “I don’t need an invitation to watch a castle collapse. Especially when the stones fight each other.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHmPAfgmkA
He glanced at Juma. “Finally, someone with a spine.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9qtxIFMLv
Jabari stepped forward. “This isn’t about Kim.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66R3XTiRwB
Juma didn’t move. “No. It’s about all the people who can’t speak anymore. Mercy included.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMjZ9xeS7v
Kwame tilted his head, amused. “You know, I think Mercy would like him.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4nqKClNxA2
Musa finally spoke. “We don’t have time for this.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm3K3vCQLNG
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.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlwo1TazjKN
Juma’s fists clenched.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBYDcE7ZXl
But he didn’t sit back down.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFbtuC1J4HF
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApYZdUFVpd
Kwame leaned against the concrete.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZrvTEcsb1U
“So. You’re really going with Jabari?”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbublLu7vw7
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmD54g4DPMV
“Does it matter?”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9T6hnkJsv6
Kwame smirked. “It does to me. I had you pegged as a watcher. Not a follower.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6f1aHGRyuJ
Otieno stood slowly. “You’re right.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyH0uDQLO8T
He turned to face Kwame — taller than him in the dim light. 38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYh8C0nlELS
“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.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMYv5MXTQ75
Kwame’s smile faded slightly.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbn0fVsfMRy
“She’s rewriting history,” Otieno said. “And you think you’re the editor. But she’ll erase you the second you stop being useful.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PbAYRkKBX
Kwame raised an eyebrow. “And you think Jabari won’t?”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCWvCWnUsPg
Otieno stepped closer.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Bkw9qgPhj
“If we help Jabari now, we keep Mercy’s revenge from destroying us all. Not for Naomi. Not for orders. Not for walls.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSje32JeTCf
He paused. “For survival.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcNn0Akeua
Kwame scoffed lightly. “You sound like you’re preparing for a funeral.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6uo8EPeQO4
Otieno turned away, sliding the copper ring into place.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZidQG5IbL1
“I am. The old war never ended. This time, I just want to know which side I buried my friends on.”
**********38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6mM6oETtEW
The ledger crate was lighter than expected.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxu0okYpFfI
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPCcz9aGZI
Jabari stood beside him in the hallway shadows. “You’re sure?”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7fhx8Xi19b
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?”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4N9yuE4zvi
Juma, standing nearby, muttered, “It’s not the box I don’t trust. It’s the gate it’s going through.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5oLChGVMfn
Musa turned to Jabari.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUmU6B4oar
“Let me take it. If we send a signal through anyone else, they’ll second-guess it.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXyhJAE6rr
He gripped the crate.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgjSIYzn7b
“I’m neutral enough to walk through fire.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsSpT0wlhz
From behind him, Ayo appeared silently, holding a folded black card — flat, thin, almost forgettable.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsTqwl6wh7
“For insurance,” Ayo said, sliding it beneath the top canvas.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyYY7eGeqfU
Musa frowned. “We’re not sending threats.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETHSncxruZ
Ayo’s voice was smooth. “It’s not a threat. Just… a reminder. She needs to know she’s still being watched.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRFtbwolGw6
“No names. Just the old cipher. Mercy’s mark.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyiUSy6kBjG
Musa hesitated, then said nothing. There wasn’t time. Jabari was still briefing the wall runners. No one else saw.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi2P6e0AnXP
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuDj1usm0y
He stood still, adjusted his sleeves. Waited.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWODO7xx6b
The grate shifted open. Two gloved hands — Mary’s, if he had to guess — pulled the crate silently inside.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNLDeVHDIz5
No words. Only a single origami triangle left behind, folded from printed timetable paper.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPCfOHuPKp
He picked it up, unfolded it.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZruvCoAvdp
“Drop scheduled. Second chime. No shadows.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwj9yeXmUFR
The plan was live.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHMtL7Map97
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtfNndbk5S2
Below it: one line in tight handwriting.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8S7TEKG9B2
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7PnQetkmlh
Mary looked up at Naomi.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQboMQCD1u
“Did you put this in?”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23sJYwAtDn
Naomi said nothing.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBzq5ETKy6
Her fingers tightened.
*****38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOIEnNdh5Y
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PiOJfBVg2
The room smelled like old pine and chalk dust.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0KP0wz0Cm1
June, Mary, and Naomi stood around the crate. No one had spoken since the door shut.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv8TzfH96XI
The origami triangle Musa left sat neatly beside the latch. Naomi’s hands hovered above it.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWN5zS6e3DJ
“We open it now,” she said.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL1ToTsVWiT
“We can’t afford another surprise at the Tribunal.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCj6iAtlPDv
She glanced at Mary. “Gloves.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5EZe0hxxB
Mary handed them over — clean surgical pairs swiped from the chem lab.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1o5P7RmUxi
Inside, the ledgers were exactly as expected — wrapped, unmarked, blank. But under the first canvas fold, June’s hand paused.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5V9Ytp0XR
“Something’s here.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnT71vf8MKE
She pulled out the black card.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmuIUNU4nB
The serpent. Silver ink. Old cipher.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtuOBaCQ37
Naomi took it. Kim read the line aloud:38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJEIIy1VG3
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBOD9KNQdv
A beat of silence.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmkVKukembu
Naomi’s face stayed blank, but her pulse visibly jumped.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgRqw7LrtU
“It’s not hers,” she said flatly. “She never wrote in third person.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEo4Yx7AreM
June stepped in. “Then it’s meant to make it look like it is.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EIgtsiNdi
Mary whispered, “Could it be a warning? From the boys?”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNO8ad5lMD
Naomi shook her head. 38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjGjYVMdM3
“Too calculated. This isn’t warning. It’s planting doubt. Whoever slipped it in wanted us to panic in front of the school.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3ngVsKuzz
June laid the card flat on the table.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4rZ7ja0KL
“We pull it now. Quietly. And we never say a word.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfp4ffjGUdo
Naomi finally nodded. “Burn it.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLKnAwEWYW
Mary hesitated. “That’s a Mercy move.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDyA1BI8PAo
Naomi replied coldly: 38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKOYN3a5fx5
“Then maybe she taught us well.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡATT12PcGlA
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPMxfa881s
June turned to Naomi. 38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGAw28TL0iD
“When you open that crate tomorrow, make sure your voice doesn’t shake.”38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46DfnSlGkc
Naomi said nothing.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVK0eNfIuvk
But her jaw was set.
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