“Ayo’s Reckoning”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dqR7tB8Yp
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.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfAsJPjIIr
Ayo entered alone.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Dsp3qSRHP
The silence was volcanic.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsEY6PxvACN
“You know why I called you,” Jabari said, voice flat.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3fpo5ad6wS
Ayo offered a faint shrug. “Because the girls found the card?”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLINYDpo2sq
Jabari snapped a dossier onto the desk — a copy of Naomi’s Tribunal summary, ink still drying.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡme4Q15WCGI
“Because you sabotaged a crate we sent in good faith. Because you exposed all of us.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ96b8O3T7n
Ayo stepped closer.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB77ImRwB1c
“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.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSC7vffdmKj
Jabari frowned. “What does that even mean?”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZRznW2ihu
Ayo picked up a coil of magnetic wire from the desk, let it dangle.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiANNmat8T9
“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?”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLTlbCXEK0k
Jabari’s voice grew sharp.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwf3F5jXt9k
“You broke formation. You put everyone at risk.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0d9ssQZ8QM
“No,” Ayo said calmly. “I reminded everyone that you’re not clean either.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZQfLGprpS
He stepped toward Jabari.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWvt9TQG3F
“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.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4oCaMrbeB
Jabari didn’t speak for several moments.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYxO9M07m3W
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.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tb1lVLl2q
Ayo nodded. No fight. No protest.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1q0HFMhSlX
“As long as you understand... silencing me just proves my point.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmXI6fzqXR
He turned.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQmH5DYgcF
Before walking out, he paused.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgYMNBvK7D2
“Check the old boiler room under the lab tower.” You’ll find what Mercy left us. Or what we left buried first.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjvTcadQW7
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:33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kxyxfE0jZ
“Control isn’t memory. It’s delay.” Below it, he circles one phrase: Boiler Room – Legacy Remnants.
**********33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvagof3iT23
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.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjc25Fyeg99
Ayo arrives to find Kwame and Otieno waiting.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡapvHEQXtmN
Kwame’s expression is razor-sharp. Otieno leans against the pipe wall, arms folded, quieter but far more dangerous.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrqAa9HbaR
“You went off-script,” Kwame said.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0wzG0AldK
“There’s no script,” Ayo replied. “That’s why we exist.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2au0OZdLlv
Otieno’s voice was cold: “There’s also no chaos clause. You don’t act alone.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrD4AOxtfEZ
Ayo stepped forward.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmB3z85GoZ
“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.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmPaWacFnQ
Kwame’s lip curled.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDUpaiQhhN
“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.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMuz0w86Zy1
Ayo met his eyes — not defiant, but clear.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxK1zEjbo0
“Then I’m not among you anymore.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyB8Fj8GPo6
He turned to Otieno.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUN5ONHIJtZ
“I thought you understood. You used to say walls exist to be rewired, not just crossed.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4AQRdLroBg
Otieno’s jaw tightened — but he said nothing.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2uIeDrp6W
“So go ahead,” Ayo said. “Protect your myths. But I won’t be a shadow in someone else’s war.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmigMNwgatz
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.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtosQSpma3
The thread burned silently, curling into smoke.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJHGc4fbl9
“I'm done pretending we were ever united.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7mKH9V4m5
He walked out.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxNx4eV5rD
The blue thread continued to smoke.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqZPIblqZeW
Kwame didn’t stop him.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCqu9xRzRon
Otieno did not speak.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCT51fAcTS1
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.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMA2uffh0YY
Musa entered without knocking.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6o6cBIyCV
He held no files. No coded messages. Just his voice.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi3ZQeqRolk
“Don’t exile him.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIn92c8seP8
Jabari didn’t turn. “He almost detonated the alliance.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBCOXAXCp4
“Because he saw the game Mercy was really playing,” Musa said.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTA8agGgsah
“Not the ledgers. Not the ciphers. The distraction. The division.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaID8JvMGn1
Jabari finally turned. “He burned our seal. Broke ranks. Lied with his hands.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFvofvUXCdt
Musa didn’t flinch.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9UxYqiLb9b
“But he never lied with his heart.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEqwSmLHgl0
A long silence.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwozffaF7OA
“He’s not Mercy,” Musa said. “And if we treat him like he is… we become her next chapter.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUngGJvTJgE
Jabari exhaled slowly; hands clasped behind his back.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7bHTkEESid
“He’s out. No operations. No keys. No tunnels.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZf8wyMfHob
Musa nodded.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGztJGeNoes
“But?”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBA4wB6yLc
Jabari met his eyes.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmtsBFstRW
“He lives. Under watch and probation. If he so much as breathes another signature, he’s done.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8ovW7J18R
Musa nodded once.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9v98H8QxlH
“Fair.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAoX0R45Ic
As he turned to leave, Jabari added, quieter:33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSv4eM7yFQ
“He gave you something, didn’t he?”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnLGZCdCAd
Musa paused.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0J0qK1wSxF
“Only this.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVoW6pAJJYA
He handed over a slip of paper — a boiler schematic with one corner circled.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1OOsymP49I
“Where the heat doesn’t rise.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFFvmrPWSSa
Jabari places the note into his pocket looking out at the storm again.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MTNLbusPC
“Then that’s where we look next.”
*****33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTS53EioSr
The hallway behind the science block was nearly empty.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88eEBxhb10
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.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlI4Go1pfjC
The others avoided him.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZESTSF9sjC
But Juma didn’t.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRtwKGo2fE
He approached in silence, his boots wet from the storm.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyOQ7vxArD
Ayo didn’t look up.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTvZB97jMw
Juma paused, then — slowly — he knelt.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpT3PzPAp1s
“You were reckless,” Juma said. “But you weren’t wrong.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAk3p1jYKv
Ayo blinked. “You hate me.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMNZ3ZfAsU
“I did,” Juma replied. “But I hate lies more.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbuptN8hMxe
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.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPU6oPLYVVU
He placed it beside Ayo.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNCWYgX20l4
“Blood isn’t thicker than truth,” Juma said. “And truth deserves a second voice.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6P3VfMREoq
Ayo picks up the thread slowly. No words — just a nod.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPiA3CXTZsS
From the rooftops, unseen, Musa watches — saying nothing.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpaq8kZV1uS
The storm passes over the lake, but its echo remains in the air.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvHK3h1Fms
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.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHBnFpm3gX
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.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPRpdpkRDBD
“Mercy recorded everything,” he says. “Not to preserve truth. But to rewrite it. This is her first confession.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtUXr64uhW
He plugs it into the projector system.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDakiC85wY
The screen flickers.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnqRWpFW6AS
Mercy appears — younger, sharper, in a classroom-turned-studio. Her voice is calm.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQDOwvvBrq
“I didn’t want to lie. But the wall made it easy. They asked me to archive. I edited.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIJVGaJRsW
They asked me to expel. I accused.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgji6BGBuo
The girl from Form 3 never returned. And I never corrected it.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrKT5h7H9m
The ledger isn’t a record.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ02oIs1kfp
It’s a grave.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcdJv5Wq0n
And if anyone finds this, I only ask one thing—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgc19qyI38
Don’t preserve me. Replace me.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPO9HBPxNd
Silence.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFaRFDBc57
Otieno is stone-faced. Musa breathes out slowly. One Order head lowers his eyes.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrP5ynCpJQZ
Juma steps forward. “That was the truth behind the ledger?”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKw8ZnpdIR
Jabari nods. “The one we nearly died to protect. We archived a lie.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nVU0fiInm
He turns to the room.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXpyQPYqUUO
“You don’t get to carry Mercy’s fire and call it light.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zd69vqkPj
Jabari draws a circle in chalk on the floor.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuiOakR6ta
“Step in if you still serve the old Order. Step out if you choose to build what comes next.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFSLDsga9wD
The pause is long. Weighty.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKOcJtemui
Three members step in. Five steps out.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB0APUImdHi
Otieno steps to the edge, then deliberately wipes part of the chalk away.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3IvUssvKFa
“There shouldn’t be a circle anymore. Only a path.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNUigmLoiI
Jabari watches the recording fade to static. He unplugs the drive, places it in a red envelope, and hands it to Musa.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQoGvyh70Zz
“Send it across the wall. No encryption.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzqRx44aVFv
Musa’s eyes widen. “You want Naomi to see it?”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGQApO7xcZ
Jabari’s voice is firm.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZaPIik28m
“No. I want everyone to.”33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9GSrpO1mxG
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcqDwMJKVv
