“Ayo’s Reckoning”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5ISm3OcQO
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuD00SFWwuw
Ayo entered alone.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkrWrRVEtb
The silence was volcanic.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOdlENqnQG
“You know why I called you,” Jabari said, voice flat.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdF3dy6BA2g
Ayo offered a faint shrug. “Because the girls found the card?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurAqe2fqtq
Jabari snapped a dossier onto the desk — a copy of Naomi’s Tribunal summary, ink still drying.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcPEQfa9Edh
“Because you sabotaged a crate we sent in good faith. Because you exposed all of us.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHrTEjzxgL
Ayo stepped closer.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQaghjEGhV
“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.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHK9ccQxA6s
Jabari frowned. “What does that even mean?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8VPQZcxHIb
Ayo picked up a coil of magnetic wire from the desk, let it dangle.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMedMZoJngT
“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?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2P3wmps8yp
Jabari’s voice grew sharp.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwbBrvyyhQh
“You broke formation. You put everyone at risk.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmkbEu2FWl
“No,” Ayo said calmly. “I reminded everyone that you’re not clean either.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcaWVujxGz3
He stepped toward Jabari.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWmZNVRgnSh
“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.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8q5aXWLKD
Jabari didn’t speak for several moments.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkyzpFwjvtq
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.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWj0ugY24IJ
Ayo nodded. No fight. No protest.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX9WkqhAtqU
“As long as you understand... silencing me just proves my point.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2hiO2x6XnG
He turned.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4eaCmAg5G
Before walking out, he paused.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyE3GjNoTrf
“Check the old boiler room under the lab tower.” You’ll find what Mercy left us. Or what we left buried first.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrbmuQYsky
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:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQyEmF2XXty
“Control isn’t memory. It’s delay.” Below it, he circles one phrase: Boiler Room – Legacy Remnants.
**********50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQyVlfcsR8D
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfijbANEds
Ayo arrives to find Kwame and Otieno waiting.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSLYEWJU9AA
Kwame’s expression is razor-sharp. Otieno leans against the pipe wall, arms folded, quieter but far more dangerous.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1dUHPYlk19
“You went off-script,” Kwame said.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0KQScHqhyd
“There’s no script,” Ayo replied. “That’s why we exist.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNX1noaIgw
Otieno’s voice was cold: “There’s also no chaos clause. You don’t act alone.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cDM0rxuOi
Ayo stepped forward.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdRvsbWZ9d
“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.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4HH9qpQfTs
Kwame’s lip curled.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4wikAyW5h
“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.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84CXSA672z
Ayo met his eyes — not defiant, but clear.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ09NiRBoPnv
“Then I’m not among you anymore.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTpQPo2iGxj
He turned to Otieno.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo6y7GrsDnG
“I thought you understood. You used to say walls exist to be rewired, not just crossed.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqgmfEzkAP
Otieno’s jaw tightened — but he said nothing.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuurTNXj59T
“So go ahead,” Ayo said. “Protect your myths. But I won’t be a shadow in someone else’s war.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BykDnNREm
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XaFPYrVYC
The thread burned silently, curling into smoke.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡypHbJdHUV0
“I'm done pretending we were ever united.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuP7u3Eiysa
He walked out.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmEoXlboQX
The blue thread continued to smoke.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2seIK4R1wc
Kwame didn’t stop him.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8q4ujN6At
Otieno did not speak.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67kSldXmfF
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNme4fpEbS1
Musa entered without knocking.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfdcvktJUI
He held no files. No coded messages. Just his voice.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKuLAdHE00y
“Don’t exile him.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhrHEuil4h
Jabari didn’t turn. “He almost detonated the alliance.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL59aHTOTNf
“Because he saw the game Mercy was really playing,” Musa said.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOH2hU4fo9x
“Not the ledgers. Not the ciphers. The distraction. The division.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSwv7Oz2E4
Jabari finally turned. “He burned our seal. Broke ranks. Lied with his hands.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmiTzhC9AU
Musa didn’t flinch.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5j2aKcGgx7
“But he never lied with his heart.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpq9R7Jfl42
A long silence.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH0ZJnZ9Ech
“He’s not Mercy,” Musa said. “And if we treat him like he is… we become her next chapter.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeiFRVAJKrh
Jabari exhaled slowly; hands clasped behind his back.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5cwMntOvi
“He’s out. No operations. No keys. No tunnels.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmCFIdHsVO
Musa nodded.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJKCKVconc
“But?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX72UA7QgeQ
Jabari met his eyes.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNLDbq6SuB
“He lives. Under watch and probation. If he so much as breathes another signature, he’s done.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKsJfkXrqYM
Musa nodded once.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3nLhjPvC1w
“Fair.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFX1JZklIKR
As he turned to leave, Jabari added, quieter:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvbL5WizkJ
“He gave you something, didn’t he?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zPMYcmQ8N
Musa paused.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK4g8pSENfL
“Only this.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaf6wdTtFem
He handed over a slip of paper — a boiler schematic with one corner circled.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93I6bKEoth
“Where the heat doesn’t rise.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3X4DXvmFsN
Jabari places the note into his pocket looking out at the storm again.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGfwGscWDE
“Then that’s where we look next.”
*****50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsD4CuMTn1A
The hallway behind the science block was nearly empty.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvHXzCEYFoe
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpz1FIlTuGB
The others avoided him.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvy1bgQI24n
But Juma didn’t.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWG0gyxMP6
He approached in silence, his boots wet from the storm.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBlUTxRbJJ
Ayo didn’t look up.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyj7akY0aW
Juma paused, then — slowly — he knelt.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZyKjAo1P5z
“You were reckless,” Juma said. “But you weren’t wrong.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tZBltzLUu
Ayo blinked. “You hate me.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiuEiZhjmEp
“I did,” Juma replied. “But I hate lies more.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsi8EAvL8PG
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxR1k1yfRNL
He placed it beside Ayo.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RGXpf1MsX
“Blood isn’t thicker than truth,” Juma said. “And truth deserves a second voice.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI9nsve5ylc
Ayo picks up the thread slowly. No words — just a nod.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQUYRxN54V0
From the rooftops, unseen, Musa watches — saying nothing.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe7t7OF3700
The storm passes over the lake, but its echo remains in the air.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSApHIj3U6
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTL0hDSEhJj
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1hYmovGcnF
“Mercy recorded everything,” he says. “Not to preserve truth. But to rewrite it. This is her first confession.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL64jxqeeOB
He plugs it into the projector system.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbFlK5E3w1a
The screen flickers.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIZd7TNkIsd
Mercy appears — younger, sharper, in a classroom-turned-studio. Her voice is calm.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwtpceLocx
“I didn’t want to lie. But the wall made it easy. They asked me to archive. I edited.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8xTBLmSoa
They asked me to expel. I accused.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACBOzXBA1h
The girl from Form 3 never returned. And I never corrected it.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9c634C4KWB
The ledger isn’t a record.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvE4KPS5o2S
It’s a grave.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrbQcpWBOW
And if anyone finds this, I only ask one thing—50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqUGBzF4l8k
Don’t preserve me. Replace me.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX602KInUl3
Silence.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy1eMBcXzzA
Otieno is stone-faced. Musa breathes out slowly. One Order head lowers his eyes.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVNU4iMrIB
Juma steps forward. “That was the truth behind the ledger?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRxrcKpOpYp
Jabari nods. “The one we nearly died to protect. We archived a lie.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiuJ0sW1Z18
He turns to the room.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6xHJsRDl2
“You don’t get to carry Mercy’s fire and call it light.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCz4LJgyf6
Jabari draws a circle in chalk on the floor.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVHnYOXwMS
“Step in if you still serve the old Order. Step out if you choose to build what comes next.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡon8iZxc45o
The pause is long. Weighty.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXzmi9FRZZ
Three members step in. Five steps out.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmDHcYfW0Xk
Otieno steps to the edge, then deliberately wipes part of the chalk away.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRtE4LD68M
“There shouldn’t be a circle anymore. Only a path.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTcd3yKTYt
Jabari watches the recording fade to static. He unplugs the drive, places it in a red envelope, and hands it to Musa.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUZJg6eBWz
“Send it across the wall. No encryption.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCrx0UOlhtg
Musa’s eyes widen. “You want Naomi to see it?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIeDnAMUun
Jabari’s voice is firm.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZiDEkltEn
“No. I want everyone to.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVO3AcokF8u
50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvx3KufpxB
