“Ayo’s Reckoning”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi29adZuuOR
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZp66KG932v
Ayo entered alone.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRzG8oQqKyL
The silence was volcanic.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCS05sexRVb
“You know why I called you,” Jabari said, voice flat.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVUZcFMVWY
Ayo offered a faint shrug. “Because the girls found the card?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7YvQbz1NI
Jabari snapped a dossier onto the desk — a copy of Naomi’s Tribunal summary, ink still drying.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSkYjBMrysu
“Because you sabotaged a crate we sent in good faith. Because you exposed all of us.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelMsMyo4Vy
Ayo stepped closer.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe5k6lPQoix
“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.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoknDC9FYiE
Jabari frowned. “What does that even mean?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QkjfM1ehl
Ayo picked up a coil of magnetic wire from the desk, let it dangle.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpLJegEzTH
“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?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvheaIeY6st
Jabari’s voice grew sharp.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbkbbur5OS
“You broke formation. You put everyone at risk.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLH8bpnmmxU
“No,” Ayo said calmly. “I reminded everyone that you’re not clean either.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhKflmTElR
He stepped toward Jabari.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp3ilRwuAnb
“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.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz45e0KUxKo
Jabari didn’t speak for several moments.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8NgYZ8fRZ
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.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvs65U9gcOW
Ayo nodded. No fight. No protest.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNd1FLsLJSm
“As long as you understand... silencing me just proves my point.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ2oE9e3Pj8
He turned.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1Sxxwe8rg
Before walking out, he paused.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACZLu9q36J
“Check the old boiler room under the lab tower.” You’ll find what Mercy left us. Or what we left buried first.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEg0CTipnyc
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:61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgI8MLe1Nid
“Control isn’t memory. It’s delay.” Below it, he circles one phrase: Boiler Room – Legacy Remnants.
**********61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsUt3Xbffu4
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQGt5StSAv
Ayo arrives to find Kwame and Otieno waiting.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZdvcEARwA
Kwame’s expression is razor-sharp. Otieno leans against the pipe wall, arms folded, quieter but far more dangerous.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacFijav4Y0
“You went off-script,” Kwame said.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5j5U7QduN
“There’s no script,” Ayo replied. “That’s why we exist.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyRgtLDhRd
Otieno’s voice was cold: “There’s also no chaos clause. You don’t act alone.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1gkocQZaR
Ayo stepped forward.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMe43W7icy
“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.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7SlHwi9DH
Kwame’s lip curled.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJUPDvVftT
“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.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26Mfsl7u1J
Ayo met his eyes — not defiant, but clear.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNFKpNlsAM
“Then I’m not among you anymore.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgZ3m50X12
He turned to Otieno.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡne3uwjzPtP
“I thought you understood. You used to say walls exist to be rewired, not just crossed.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxUBgekRb5g
Otieno’s jaw tightened — but he said nothing.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKk5xZHORr
“So go ahead,” Ayo said. “Protect your myths. But I won’t be a shadow in someone else’s war.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCz8J8B1Mgt
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyMOpWtExnk
The thread burned silently, curling into smoke.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB5yenCkVnP
“I'm done pretending we were ever united.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwNp33EYTd
He walked out.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXHBt3oZdn
The blue thread continued to smoke.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5R6O3RZlNp
Kwame didn’t stop him.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmdRzEjOcI
Otieno did not speak.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxD4BCNGxU
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUj5au3MPr
Musa entered without knocking.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz3CFgSqLDS
He held no files. No coded messages. Just his voice.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡabH8PsjLu2
“Don’t exile him.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbFUbFjqbk9
Jabari didn’t turn. “He almost detonated the alliance.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pXrSDQcBD
“Because he saw the game Mercy was really playing,” Musa said.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHFEV3YQBC
“Not the ledgers. Not the ciphers. The distraction. The division.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDRPvMu2IW
Jabari finally turned. “He burned our seal. Broke ranks. Lied with his hands.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEtsMvM6M0
Musa didn’t flinch.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2nCtfMcD7d
“But he never lied with his heart.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84H5WE65qZ
A long silence.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3nOnzLKGsa
“He’s not Mercy,” Musa said. “And if we treat him like he is… we become her next chapter.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dXKzacjad
Jabari exhaled slowly; hands clasped behind his back.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5GWDf5YbjW
“He’s out. No operations. No keys. No tunnels.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zTs4rgk2k
Musa nodded.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTZm3jVxRb
“But?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYVm8uWNtl5
Jabari met his eyes.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDeB24Jahxs
“He lives. Under watch and probation. If he so much as breathes another signature, he’s done.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXoEibKSRR
Musa nodded once.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNakRddZ4lZ
“Fair.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1sXfgKKtYC
As he turned to leave, Jabari added, quieter:61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nUyvzNPGX
“He gave you something, didn’t he?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVLlTYJnOX
Musa paused.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaam9yqs3Dj
“Only this.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJslfRC7Zh
He handed over a slip of paper — a boiler schematic with one corner circled.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4vi9UsR9t
“Where the heat doesn’t rise.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsXWAiiXw8
Jabari places the note into his pocket looking out at the storm again.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFemtqoehRe
“Then that’s where we look next.”
*****61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdvElv9S9qN
The hallway behind the science block was nearly empty.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCuS1C8EJ2
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbYFY71GZX
The others avoided him.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORUVsmLyfB
But Juma didn’t.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmcXrm3kj30
He approached in silence, his boots wet from the storm.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQdg3nLW7c
Ayo didn’t look up.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbxTEJvrC9
Juma paused, then — slowly — he knelt.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlSMT1cgx5
“You were reckless,” Juma said. “But you weren’t wrong.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdq5aHJkc3B
Ayo blinked. “You hate me.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbKUeV32p0
“I did,” Juma replied. “But I hate lies more.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMcksgyEHc
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc80A1XACam
He placed it beside Ayo.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgh8PAfmRGc
“Blood isn’t thicker than truth,” Juma said. “And truth deserves a second voice.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0wtpkchE0
Ayo picks up the thread slowly. No words — just a nod.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIOJbIuAJXj
From the rooftops, unseen, Musa watches — saying nothing.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEAbmVxGP0
The storm passes over the lake, but its echo remains in the air.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT49ZQeltQK
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZk8p0tLzXV
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt79P7I5xvU
“Mercy recorded everything,” he says. “Not to preserve truth. But to rewrite it. This is her first confession.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzxMYD4I6Fu
He plugs it into the projector system.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufpjGPlvA9
The screen flickers.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfmFazlN7c
Mercy appears — younger, sharper, in a classroom-turned-studio. Her voice is calm.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡob8vloREIw
“I didn’t want to lie. But the wall made it easy. They asked me to archive. I edited.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8w8vnnVmM9
They asked me to expel. I accused.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5id8mJwv8
The girl from Form 3 never returned. And I never corrected it.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqRQdqG2Uj2
The ledger isn’t a record.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsUuZt6mMF4
It’s a grave.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoWBHJqY91p
And if anyone finds this, I only ask one thing—61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMFXUwySzf
Don’t preserve me. Replace me.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvkZEdrn7H
Silence.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6g41frzNJO
Otieno is stone-faced. Musa breathes out slowly. One Order head lowers his eyes.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaBtearzBn8
Juma steps forward. “That was the truth behind the ledger?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtUIqh68Yj
Jabari nods. “The one we nearly died to protect. We archived a lie.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvR35qaFnnF
He turns to the room.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzvoRIH3Ei
“You don’t get to carry Mercy’s fire and call it light.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5b0XQXMySv
Jabari draws a circle in chalk on the floor.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWaYpNTrhjJ
“Step in if you still serve the old Order. Step out if you choose to build what comes next.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69aMlk5DK2
The pause is long. Weighty.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppINrmMIZQ
Three members step in. Five steps out.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3GnjPkNch
Otieno steps to the edge, then deliberately wipes part of the chalk away.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx96BZUjAkK
“There shouldn’t be a circle anymore. Only a path.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGB4KinspR
Jabari watches the recording fade to static. He unplugs the drive, places it in a red envelope, and hands it to Musa.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUhaMgCiCxn
“Send it across the wall. No encryption.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHv7ylTJ0j1
Musa’s eyes widen. “You want Naomi to see it?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzivMo5YyBG
Jabari’s voice is firm.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyfSqwHRPuu
“No. I want everyone to.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSm5YaJ85oQ
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKL0eEkKj43
