“Ayo’s Reckoning”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH663jtY5rJ
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5WDbwt1PdG
Ayo entered alone.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyFka5HrV6j
The silence was volcanic.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAFdq8Af8U
“You know why I called you,” Jabari said, voice flat.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlNW4t5sTtg
Ayo offered a faint shrug. “Because the girls found the card?”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFfbzZcEWM
Jabari snapped a dossier onto the desk — a copy of Naomi’s Tribunal summary, ink still drying.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ13bxlYplHb
“Because you sabotaged a crate we sent in good faith. Because you exposed all of us.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj7D1noPUfb
Ayo stepped closer.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvRKKiFAbyM
“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.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8VIpqwkNLr
Jabari frowned. “What does that even mean?”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSMahrFEx8T
Ayo picked up a coil of magnetic wire from the desk, let it dangle.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5EpILuf5x
“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?”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3uaDVpUWGe
Jabari’s voice grew sharp.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeAa5DKW0W
“You broke formation. You put everyone at risk.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgYFdtncVE
“No,” Ayo said calmly. “I reminded everyone that you’re not clean either.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTHmzxITYrk
He stepped toward Jabari.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWpZ0PTw58V
“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.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSMqTbOu1pQ
Jabari didn’t speak for several moments.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxhHnqjDkIy
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.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnniedlliim
Ayo nodded. No fight. No protest.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dD3kQf0ik
“As long as you understand... silencing me just proves my point.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNVmw8hGh8
He turned.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHTL85bQVY
Before walking out, he paused.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKhDLlZHwi
“Check the old boiler room under the lab tower.” You’ll find what Mercy left us. Or what we left buried first.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgFo56REWR
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:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFkvznp64s
“Control isn’t memory. It’s delay.” Below it, he circles one phrase: Boiler Room – Legacy Remnants.
**********24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAdjsoNLlh
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KaPgLtO1n
Ayo arrives to find Kwame and Otieno waiting.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeeZtPoJLd
Kwame’s expression is razor-sharp. Otieno leans against the pipe wall, arms folded, quieter but far more dangerous.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJeey8McVv
“You went off-script,” Kwame said.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDMDRkYQu6l
“There’s no script,” Ayo replied. “That’s why we exist.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcqGXSNbKDL
Otieno’s voice was cold: “There’s also no chaos clause. You don’t act alone.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkrDAJKh1Qx
Ayo stepped forward.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBoeReth5de
“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.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68OeBCYiGP
Kwame’s lip curled.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6hjnKtf65
“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.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtgOXmy2Eg
Ayo met his eyes — not defiant, but clear.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxwArKgDWq
“Then I’m not among you anymore.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUiC9bsjXuO
He turned to Otieno.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtaUXEGPqVC
“I thought you understood. You used to say walls exist to be rewired, not just crossed.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDeZ5TJhf0W
Otieno’s jaw tightened — but he said nothing.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUO0xIkerA
“So go ahead,” Ayo said. “Protect your myths. But I won’t be a shadow in someone else’s war.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaj5vOdKMh
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9wbrKVDH1
The thread burned silently, curling into smoke.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxm9slqAENS
“I'm done pretending we were ever united.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqpBoe9sH8S
He walked out.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2m16ig5Vk
The blue thread continued to smoke.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmD5GlXsx5B
Kwame didn’t stop him.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiql9N1kEQF
Otieno did not speak.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN6SKSpqscp
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68jfsvSwCM
Musa entered without knocking.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUl8Z2qFHw
He held no files. No coded messages. Just his voice.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdUhDB7u6d
“Don’t exile him.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv2wUP3GPFP
Jabari didn’t turn. “He almost detonated the alliance.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzId1kVYoY
“Because he saw the game Mercy was really playing,” Musa said.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrldYac95ox
“Not the ledgers. Not the ciphers. The distraction. The division.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuwbTlejaaw
Jabari finally turned. “He burned our seal. Broke ranks. Lied with his hands.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xvZpsYZsw
Musa didn’t flinch.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhScMLq5HR
“But he never lied with his heart.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlhC25Tpf5s
A long silence.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡieBm7k7gcn
“He’s not Mercy,” Musa said. “And if we treat him like he is… we become her next chapter.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbflOaXlgmw
Jabari exhaled slowly; hands clasped behind his back.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpl6VAKGIVA
“He’s out. No operations. No keys. No tunnels.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcM6GDm1OFV
Musa nodded.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJEZrWYZ3C
“But?”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjZNJgrXbb
Jabari met his eyes.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFpbdNozrO
“He lives. Under watch and probation. If he so much as breathes another signature, he’s done.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItvPOvx71p
Musa nodded once.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmdqLSsoNW
“Fair.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCqKEZs5pm
As he turned to leave, Jabari added, quieter:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiu5A7UK1qv
“He gave you something, didn’t he?”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ftLwWIzwB
Musa paused.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTVh8W31eX
“Only this.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBIRyvBwlgS
He handed over a slip of paper — a boiler schematic with one corner circled.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1jNG7cjPst
“Where the heat doesn’t rise.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxkobb5BxNB
Jabari places the note into his pocket looking out at the storm again.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZyPiMsmgJ9
“Then that’s where we look next.”
*****24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTyxxD1Y2FS
The hallway behind the science block was nearly empty.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3brKBGfLs
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8f4cgsMaR
The others avoided him.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjTifH3drmc
But Juma didn’t.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6N2hSZbhTF
He approached in silence, his boots wet from the storm.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjIq4KtGrDT
Ayo didn’t look up.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BC225UqO6
Juma paused, then — slowly — he knelt.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUE1j6X50zx
“You were reckless,” Juma said. “But you weren’t wrong.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf0rRx6QNcS
Ayo blinked. “You hate me.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4OJOQyHSBc
“I did,” Juma replied. “But I hate lies more.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZJ6hwMOGV
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2yj69BgZ5
He placed it beside Ayo.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxDsaaJRZy
“Blood isn’t thicker than truth,” Juma said. “And truth deserves a second voice.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYn50fCl3W
Ayo picks up the thread slowly. No words — just a nod.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3HPefdNMkK
From the rooftops, unseen, Musa watches — saying nothing.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzx8Wlnd0PP
The storm passes over the lake, but its echo remains in the air.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJAEq7KkRT
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMk0h5pTuIy
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnUyUHpLXwi
“Mercy recorded everything,” he says. “Not to preserve truth. But to rewrite it. This is her first confession.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5iWDJQljy
He plugs it into the projector system.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3VkdoPlWLw
The screen flickers.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9AffomcIW
Mercy appears — younger, sharper, in a classroom-turned-studio. Her voice is calm.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2SR17cj1h
“I didn’t want to lie. But the wall made it easy. They asked me to archive. I edited.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpX58Y0Op1Y
They asked me to expel. I accused.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBqyJLdoop
The girl from Form 3 never returned. And I never corrected it.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8UE7IblqRv
The ledger isn’t a record.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNWwywolXR
It’s a grave.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7FWrtuOYCk
And if anyone finds this, I only ask one thing—24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROICK1tdqX
Don’t preserve me. Replace me.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5L33dA38Ug
Silence.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbI5VJ4KmG
Otieno is stone-faced. Musa breathes out slowly. One Order head lowers his eyes.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkhPFuQQfQ
Juma steps forward. “That was the truth behind the ledger?”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKInqz9J5d
Jabari nods. “The one we nearly died to protect. We archived a lie.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlQPdfUA8Ds
He turns to the room.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiPsJTXrSq3
“You don’t get to carry Mercy’s fire and call it light.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ09XWX3c7oH
Jabari draws a circle in chalk on the floor.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkdtX5XIiA
“Step in if you still serve the old Order. Step out if you choose to build what comes next.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ExwYbVrLK
The pause is long. Weighty.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHmOJdkSjb
Three members step in. Five steps out.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCp9IVYwXM9
Otieno steps to the edge, then deliberately wipes part of the chalk away.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJ5mESLAjj
“There shouldn’t be a circle anymore. Only a path.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcf9QuZ55cM
Jabari watches the recording fade to static. He unplugs the drive, places it in a red envelope, and hands it to Musa.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvCWgynb45
“Send it across the wall. No encryption.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVhDhEMKrVo
Musa’s eyes widen. “You want Naomi to see it?”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPwbrIZUNSa
Jabari’s voice is firm.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJFMiHt2YZ
“No. I want everyone to.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRHhI4z0Dh
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiNJAWPdDtQ
