“Ayo’s Reckoning”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0blTmtoGQw
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.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QPWHzMnuS
Ayo entered alone.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsslERZhEJ8
The silence was volcanic.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7EUnek9qR4
“You know why I called you,” Jabari said, voice flat.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpV8Sjwrn3M
Ayo offered a faint shrug. “Because the girls found the card?”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPRfATclf4
Jabari snapped a dossier onto the desk — a copy of Naomi’s Tribunal summary, ink still drying.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYQ98EXmTDU
“Because you sabotaged a crate we sent in good faith. Because you exposed all of us.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG2kxA789c3
Ayo stepped closer.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68LJ7xStfH
“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.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwyDIAKs71
Jabari frowned. “What does that even mean?”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEanwD0iylg
Ayo picked up a coil of magnetic wire from the desk, let it dangle.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9h9dbYFjE5
“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?”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXEZDZdyQ9z
Jabari’s voice grew sharp.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfHiDnEAxu
“You broke formation. You put everyone at risk.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZXSoMwrwu
“No,” Ayo said calmly. “I reminded everyone that you’re not clean either.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XefbNaomG
He stepped toward Jabari.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUGcZguqeL
“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.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIjqfnRSnY
Jabari didn’t speak for several moments.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4ZrQJoDhH
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.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpRSZIcubj
Ayo nodded. No fight. No protest.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgecWFTdhIN
“As long as you understand... silencing me just proves my point.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQVAAFEzk1c
He turned.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBootGVeHhN
Before walking out, he paused.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSBtOfeSWQF
“Check the old boiler room under the lab tower.” You’ll find what Mercy left us. Or what we left buried first.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwMz2adz1rt
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:21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJVBWhWmnm
“Control isn’t memory. It’s delay.” Below it, he circles one phrase: Boiler Room – Legacy Remnants.
**********21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBCJXoaHqx
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.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0a22FGrRk
Ayo arrives to find Kwame and Otieno waiting.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJAwVVhwGKI
Kwame’s expression is razor-sharp. Otieno leans against the pipe wall, arms folded, quieter but far more dangerous.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVhFvQ1pcO
“You went off-script,” Kwame said.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWfEwmoplY
“There’s no script,” Ayo replied. “That’s why we exist.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH3cmKLvbws
Otieno’s voice was cold: “There’s also no chaos clause. You don’t act alone.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKktPwhkM9g
Ayo stepped forward.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6c6le9vna
“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.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Vvw8YYqhw
Kwame’s lip curled.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ77tA6YB7S4
“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.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYUIaUPG3n
Ayo met his eyes — not defiant, but clear.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpq2rcrq2Oy
“Then I’m not among you anymore.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvwuY8ogP4i
He turned to Otieno.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHiNcLrhUf0
“I thought you understood. You used to say walls exist to be rewired, not just crossed.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70SruXz8A5
Otieno’s jaw tightened — but he said nothing.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0DliGcpsw
“So go ahead,” Ayo said. “Protect your myths. But I won’t be a shadow in someone else’s war.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlg1s7zKhS
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.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21QIYYfUVj
The thread burned silently, curling into smoke.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlTz1RNuB6S
“I'm done pretending we were ever united.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡplP0Z6fq6e
He walked out.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNq5qyRrzy
The blue thread continued to smoke.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Q6glmAxLk
Kwame didn’t stop him.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0NX5fYQAk
Otieno did not speak.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡviz3495pxC
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.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡorZUwdXSe0
Musa entered without knocking.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFqg7CUAfu
He held no files. No coded messages. Just his voice.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ9FYEVfPWL
“Don’t exile him.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkUT6mbw5F
Jabari didn’t turn. “He almost detonated the alliance.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVjrwtTDEv
“Because he saw the game Mercy was really playing,” Musa said.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVbhNKfLmX
“Not the ledgers. Not the ciphers. The distraction. The division.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgneXtgqTy
Jabari finally turned. “He burned our seal. Broke ranks. Lied with his hands.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlbXOs72oKi
Musa didn’t flinch.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KUJl6PxYj
“But he never lied with his heart.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1ZJiVxjfp
A long silence.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzOWZuieEPq
“He’s not Mercy,” Musa said. “And if we treat him like he is… we become her next chapter.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpk7Pq0dN8
Jabari exhaled slowly; hands clasped behind his back.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3iYfzuYUIa
“He’s out. No operations. No keys. No tunnels.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08N1bIdf4A
Musa nodded.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMDK7ncgB2i
“But?”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVl8fRjQklR
Jabari met his eyes.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFNdEljpDN
“He lives. Under watch and probation. If he so much as breathes another signature, he’s done.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BORgsvTIZ
Musa nodded once.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtlgwSjmYf
“Fair.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJGYTih7Mm
As he turned to leave, Jabari added, quieter:21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VoTlSUNwo
“He gave you something, didn’t he?”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vnviqfIFI
Musa paused.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnwyShZ9roH
“Only this.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfjk1hOK9A
He handed over a slip of paper — a boiler schematic with one corner circled.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3x9UT3lpr
“Where the heat doesn’t rise.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxI7WTZ8tc6
Jabari places the note into his pocket looking out at the storm again.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRozibPbc7f
“Then that’s where we look next.”
*****21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFbnbLGe0pe
The hallway behind the science block was nearly empty.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ZRH5tAHtS
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.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkdBzdTfG7
The others avoided him.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlBppAmVMIl
But Juma didn’t.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtJNT3GPx3
He approached in silence, his boots wet from the storm.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNsutpYqM2
Ayo didn’t look up.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2il1xKO81
Juma paused, then — slowly — he knelt.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWCT1et9Qf
“You were reckless,” Juma said. “But you weren’t wrong.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXjP9i6nWXs
Ayo blinked. “You hate me.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirm4Q3qjlp
“I did,” Juma replied. “But I hate lies more.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX2TPwxmBCu
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.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5hoMSX4ob
He placed it beside Ayo.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLD9sQcIrx
“Blood isn’t thicker than truth,” Juma said. “And truth deserves a second voice.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1w8YTFBMl
Ayo picks up the thread slowly. No words — just a nod.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Yqiccd2Qj
From the rooftops, unseen, Musa watches — saying nothing.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUq3SExRlvK
The storm passes over the lake, but its echo remains in the air.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡepRuKslDen
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.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1etffQ8PIF
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.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFn5K0MDdLV
“Mercy recorded everything,” he says. “Not to preserve truth. But to rewrite it. This is her first confession.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImvBpvyFnl
He plugs it into the projector system.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JrfLlv9P9
The screen flickers.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTayJYp8Wg0
Mercy appears — younger, sharper, in a classroom-turned-studio. Her voice is calm.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb7LRjiV63r
“I didn’t want to lie. But the wall made it easy. They asked me to archive. I edited.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvX1n77Uer
They asked me to expel. I accused.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52u0pwSvPf
The girl from Form 3 never returned. And I never corrected it.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqwtsu0pW6
The ledger isn’t a record.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwBM7oz4s7
It’s a grave.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ53qJnEuvTe
And if anyone finds this, I only ask one thing—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnASIyKxvZF
Don’t preserve me. Replace me.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdKJ1sFOLSy
Silence.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjuMJyLDQU2
Otieno is stone-faced. Musa breathes out slowly. One Order head lowers his eyes.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDv9hyYIB0
Juma steps forward. “That was the truth behind the ledger?”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJwIpjchVK
Jabari nods. “The one we nearly died to protect. We archived a lie.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHX6WhvEXqO
He turns to the room.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0a4Elra0dl
“You don’t get to carry Mercy’s fire and call it light.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡypiRpEFHo2
Jabari draws a circle in chalk on the floor.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8JewhQKGuR
“Step in if you still serve the old Order. Step out if you choose to build what comes next.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa5olyMH8q3
The pause is long. Weighty.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7VCgUYWYbp
Three members step in. Five steps out.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡePYKfZVxUX
Otieno steps to the edge, then deliberately wipes part of the chalk away.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2SPMCUg6YJ
“There shouldn’t be a circle anymore. Only a path.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAypuXosoJ
Jabari watches the recording fade to static. He unplugs the drive, places it in a red envelope, and hands it to Musa.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQCxerNzqbr
“Send it across the wall. No encryption.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlpcN4riBUO
Musa’s eyes widen. “You want Naomi to see it?”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavoiOxqMij
Jabari’s voice is firm.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4I0FM98NA
“No. I want everyone to.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtY0bFHWpP
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBgZqKgs2m
