“Ayo’s Reckoning”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKeqgHcavW
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnHggSWxir
Ayo entered alone.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPUzDh6uWq
The silence was volcanic.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡepZqoIbRLW
“You know why I called you,” Jabari said, voice flat.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaESYKBy6eA
Ayo offered a faint shrug. “Because the girls found the card?”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fCC2HWbvy
Jabari snapped a dossier onto the desk — a copy of Naomi’s Tribunal summary, ink still drying.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnG6ydKOO5
“Because you sabotaged a crate we sent in good faith. Because you exposed all of us.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXzkyocJICE
Ayo stepped closer.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOH7zgieDWh
“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.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhpbsp1CigE
Jabari frowned. “What does that even mean?”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZyXgVFiMv
Ayo picked up a coil of magnetic wire from the desk, let it dangle.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNr8MbiPGwi
“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?”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1dmFXVQFC
Jabari’s voice grew sharp.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡefnlGQxjUK
“You broke formation. You put everyone at risk.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSH1N0bUXjS
“No,” Ayo said calmly. “I reminded everyone that you’re not clean either.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs5sismhnzA
He stepped toward Jabari.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PhO7lwCf4
“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.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7bHSO7Q6M4
Jabari didn’t speak for several moments.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxEZMnkht2
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.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2UhvUqMCJs
Ayo nodded. No fight. No protest.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpz0AqXiVwE
“As long as you understand... silencing me just proves my point.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjeLjserUMx
He turned.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4WcMiTJJN
Before walking out, he paused.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnQbReLfxa
“Check the old boiler room under the lab tower.” You’ll find what Mercy left us. Or what we left buried first.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqie6Ykqfke
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:56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWcyunMtpK
“Control isn’t memory. It’s delay.” Below it, he circles one phrase: Boiler Room – Legacy Remnants.
**********56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWZJNNOPGr
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzbk4BSsHKq
Ayo arrives to find Kwame and Otieno waiting.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7LYOTWzSLp
Kwame’s expression is razor-sharp. Otieno leans against the pipe wall, arms folded, quieter but far more dangerous.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGbFpYXnCU
“You went off-script,” Kwame said.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7umzyLrP8
“There’s no script,” Ayo replied. “That’s why we exist.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡknX7NY75SR
Otieno’s voice was cold: “There’s also no chaos clause. You don’t act alone.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMerK5VqRH
Ayo stepped forward.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZuNSFqxiO
“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.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdA4BFGNEaf
Kwame’s lip curled.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKOYT7ayZb0
“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.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYeg7KBoase
Ayo met his eyes — not defiant, but clear.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkFgJrWEp1R
“Then I’m not among you anymore.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFIO5Mmp87
He turned to Otieno.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXcuEV4wTd
“I thought you understood. You used to say walls exist to be rewired, not just crossed.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwz29ODyeVR
Otieno’s jaw tightened — but he said nothing.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfH8GgjmmkL
“So go ahead,” Ayo said. “Protect your myths. But I won’t be a shadow in someone else’s war.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfgmrHSiAx
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNs6rSglvAA
The thread burned silently, curling into smoke.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi2fDcPoTNr
“I'm done pretending we were ever united.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjydGQWaNgo
He walked out.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswoscPzWyp
The blue thread continued to smoke.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1s3quTLPMJ
Kwame didn’t stop him.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjaRnuOt4J
Otieno did not speak.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD34n6Gr2co
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQ1wwmgQly
Musa entered without knocking.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDd2UCTGILH
He held no files. No coded messages. Just his voice.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3HjruUB50y
“Don’t exile him.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wmQv5F1Aq
Jabari didn’t turn. “He almost detonated the alliance.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0CK271NBJ2
“Because he saw the game Mercy was really playing,” Musa said.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ36DctSwI8R
“Not the ledgers. Not the ciphers. The distraction. The division.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvwr0b3EQ2
Jabari finally turned. “He burned our seal. Broke ranks. Lied with his hands.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3no3mUxI0
Musa didn’t flinch.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclIpSDVi2o
“But he never lied with his heart.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbhbzy1glf
A long silence.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKs0a5SjbV
“He’s not Mercy,” Musa said. “And if we treat him like he is… we become her next chapter.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDlon6I2kG0
Jabari exhaled slowly; hands clasped behind his back.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6UA6JyZTR
“He’s out. No operations. No keys. No tunnels.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrd2GkVH8iD
Musa nodded.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyMtMLLQ3kL
“But?”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxOin9cnkH
Jabari met his eyes.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTNN99lg82g
“He lives. Under watch and probation. If he so much as breathes another signature, he’s done.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MqKRVUp1a
Musa nodded once.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxEuWtHeAMu
“Fair.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCDSuth54c
As he turned to leave, Jabari added, quieter:56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDawWU4hmqE
“He gave you something, didn’t he?”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrWYStti83
Musa paused.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFC7UCDDarf
“Only this.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsHuElNolIW
He handed over a slip of paper — a boiler schematic with one corner circled.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡberxwVonIE
“Where the heat doesn’t rise.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXO7rGzOVn3
Jabari places the note into his pocket looking out at the storm again.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqmMBD9QUV
“Then that’s where we look next.”
*****56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUMTfgGXtC
The hallway behind the science block was nearly empty.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyaNjvwomcG
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwC5E79NRQm
The others avoided him.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIILjmrbaSb
But Juma didn’t.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxNRx4Voly
He approached in silence, his boots wet from the storm.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLYbh8bMTGI
Ayo didn’t look up.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Kfhh7hHWC
Juma paused, then — slowly — he knelt.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBdwobhCNv
“You were reckless,” Juma said. “But you weren’t wrong.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsTDeakpfu
Ayo blinked. “You hate me.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFQML9C1Xl9
“I did,” Juma replied. “But I hate lies more.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4CVojnGicB
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOW716Nmg6E
He placed it beside Ayo.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMI6EAt0y2D
“Blood isn’t thicker than truth,” Juma said. “And truth deserves a second voice.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9uA4y9TdO
Ayo picks up the thread slowly. No words — just a nod.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcaOW8y92lo
From the rooftops, unseen, Musa watches — saying nothing.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdA0blgLvLn
The storm passes over the lake, but its echo remains in the air.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJXbqLR6Eo
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY2YmOo7RAZ
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhRZQ0msrHe
“Mercy recorded everything,” he says. “Not to preserve truth. But to rewrite it. This is her first confession.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf5giOffw9z
He plugs it into the projector system.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRIUU22fNM7
The screen flickers.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxfFAeUFT9I
Mercy appears — younger, sharper, in a classroom-turned-studio. Her voice is calm.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmi2qvwGGJt
“I didn’t want to lie. But the wall made it easy. They asked me to archive. I edited.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSp0EIJoVg
They asked me to expel. I accused.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcM9bdLePpg
The girl from Form 3 never returned. And I never corrected it.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUXlvQawSTK
The ledger isn’t a record.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrj50mlB2V
It’s a grave.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP4vWesVFPv
And if anyone finds this, I only ask one thing—56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpl6WkBscJD
Don’t preserve me. Replace me.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7gUBbrdimu
Silence.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbUvEtXBgak
Otieno is stone-faced. Musa breathes out slowly. One Order head lowers his eyes.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7danQAVi1W
Juma steps forward. “That was the truth behind the ledger?”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgvZ1QWtKG
Jabari nods. “The one we nearly died to protect. We archived a lie.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0u987zkgx
He turns to the room.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFJTenZKKi1
“You don’t get to carry Mercy’s fire and call it light.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZOKFNg65n
Jabari draws a circle in chalk on the floor.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLfx2MoVSUD
“Step in if you still serve the old Order. Step out if you choose to build what comes next.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jYrKavHMc
The pause is long. Weighty.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIeoWqo7D1g
Three members step in. Five steps out.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUaBYryrUDZ
Otieno steps to the edge, then deliberately wipes part of the chalk away.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUa6nAnP5oQ
“There shouldn’t be a circle anymore. Only a path.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPkhuGmb0O
Jabari watches the recording fade to static. He unplugs the drive, places it in a red envelope, and hands it to Musa.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwayQb6ugq
“Send it across the wall. No encryption.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3quo0BBRJ
Musa’s eyes widen. “You want Naomi to see it?”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkCDki5nmC7
Jabari’s voice is firm.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡic2iZMaM9H
“No. I want everyone to.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8AjDibtb9
56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVeYYSXpvIE
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