In the Kisumu Boys' Assembly Room, a closed session in the late afternoon is underway. The rain drums faintly on the roof. Both Order loyalists and Shadow Walker affiliates have been summoned — the first meeting of its kind.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlQ34s7vlyu
The room buzzed with restrained confusion. On one side: prefects, old Order loyalists, data-keepers. On the other: Shadow Walkers — code-runners, graffiti scouts, watchers from rooftops.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb546HNisSJ
No one sat near the center.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmQrmbMOby0
Jabari stood at the front of the room, back straight, the cracked ledger box in one hand.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJHzAtH56T
He didn’t shout.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxDzCacygyi
“You all saw what Mercy did.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCKKscRg2P7
Silence.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnX699q7r1Y
“She used our stories. Our fractures. She drowned us in our own past.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKVZrnwrMY
He placed the box down — loudly.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgX6vSf1Zx
“So, this time… we drown her in it.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4hSAv7RkLG
He scanned both sides of the room.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTJ5mDNOSj
“We have word Naomi’s side is moving — quietly. They’ve offered a containment pact.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZF9P2OV07
A few gasps. One laugh — quickly hushed.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwu7u7Cipbc
Jabari continued.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNisS5RPY2
“This isn’t an alliance for peace. This is a trap.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5xWme1VlD
He walked to the chalkboard and drew a quick diagram: the chapel crypt, the drainage lines, the tunnel forks.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ARYIZ7OVj
“Mercy’s using the third memory drop — a ledger no one catalogued. We lure her into finishing the cycle. And we lock her there. Not with chains. With evidence. With noise. With memory.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkQdEecFph
Kwame wasn’t present.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4plTVEiio
But Otieno was — arms folded, expression blank.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4hbu0jAFU
Ayo muttered under his breath, “He won’t like this.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchZW9rYNks
Juma asked sharply, “So we do Naomi’s cleanup?”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCm3foQZNB
Jabari looked him straight in the eyes.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqi5bavXif
“We clean up our own ghosts. Naomi’s just part of the smoke.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnua9iNn4IU
Musa stepped forward and unrolled the scroll — Naomi’s signed terms, retrieved from the wall.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsmeTir3yAx
He read them aloud: Neutral crypt space during the trap execution. Shared counter-signal system (one chime = cancel, two = proceed). No betrayal until both crates are verified and neutralized.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjoTWsWIZd
The final line:113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNbUuX8bDaX
“No war until the wound is stitched.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlnP1xe1XXl
A single nod from Jabari. “Vote?”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4egsgQia9
This time, only one hand stayed down.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbdLznLhcP
Otieno.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwpW1FdCgl
He met Jabari’s gaze, then whispered: “You catch her… Just don’t become her.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpY6rqFEyg
The moment Musa finished rolling up the scroll, Juma stood — arms crossed, eyes cold.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv8W3o7TTvp
“We’re trusting Naomi now? The same girl who tried to silence everything Mercy uncovered?”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqTg9228luS
The room went quiet again. Even the Shadow Walkers leaned in, sensing heat beneath the words.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGo07bwjFF
Jabari didn’t answer immediately.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEer6KmODC
Juma continued, his voice quieter but heavier:113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxFqR1VIv6
“She isn’t here to contain anything. She’s here to bury it again. And if we help her… we’re part of it. We’ve already done one cover-up, Jabari. I won’t do a second.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEzrc6pGDrD
Otieno glanced at Musa. Ayo looked away.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPRIo9ReeT
They knew what Jabari suspected but never asked.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUT1h1ZfFW
Juma’s voice cracked ever so slightly: “I swore I’d protect Kim. Not just physically. From all this. From becoming one of us.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnVzt81ZqP
He looked straight at Jabari. “You think Naomi won’t use her if it means killing Mercy’s story?”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzeVZ4PDFk
A slow clap echoed from the hallway.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6gXdFTafZu
Kwame.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWMLP4UVxQH
He leaned against the doorframe, shadowed, smirking.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXAbAPTrL0
“Now that’s what I’ve been waiting for.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYQqj5N0gQ
Jabari’s jaw tightened. “You weren’t invited.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5XVOVMUPw6
Kwame stepped in. “I don’t need an invitation to watch a castle collapse. Especially when the stones fight each other.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMpHyk3VAV
He glanced at Juma. “Finally, someone with a spine.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNskB3QSr8y
Jabari stepped forward. “This isn’t about Kim.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24ThRZznsZ
Juma didn’t move. “No. It’s about all the people who can’t speak anymore. Mercy included.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4yNZZJFTP
Kwame tilted his head, amused. “You know, I think Mercy would like him.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9hz7jAOme
Musa finally spoke. “We don’t have time for this.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7MxQGkvioz
Jabari looked at Juma. “You can’t protect her from all of it. You can only decide whether you help shape the truth or let it crush her.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRs4H9I6eK
Juma’s fists clenched.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9LgkykgA9
But he didn’t sit back down.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWmGTguxkI6
Later that night, after the hall had emptied and the plan was posted on the encrypted wall scroll, Kwame found Otieno near the water tanks, where the fog rolled low and the pipes hissed with steam.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSDkmHjp2L
Kwame leaned against the concrete.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbs9zmFnpQO
“So. You’re really going with Jabari?”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgDnBU3B1f
Otieno didn’t look up. He was fitting a copper ring into the vent grate — a piece of an old filtration system he’d been rigging for months.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrMkoHHNBZ
“Does it matter?”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjDz3DVVms
Kwame smirked. “It does to me. I had you pegged as a watcher. Not a follower.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJhv3PwCcA
Otieno stood slowly. “You’re right.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkJI9J2ICF
He turned to face Kwame — taller than him in the dim light. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFaTZih09Iu
“I do watch. I watched what happened when the last war between Orders wasn’t stopped. I watched Jabari get blamed for things he never did. I watched you use Mercy’s name like a weapon — without carrying any of her burden.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidEi9e95th
Kwame’s smile faded slightly.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEl0MGtlK5
“She’s rewriting history,” Otieno said. “And you think you’re the editor. But she’ll erase you the second you stop being useful.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEWbR7M1se
Kwame raised an eyebrow. “And you think Jabari won’t?”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrIPz07kmr
Otieno stepped closer.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL1ZuONxRch
“If we help Jabari now, we keep Mercy’s revenge from destroying us all. Not for Naomi. Not for orders. Not for walls.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYVYbwCprk
He paused. “For survival.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ev73RSRUE
Kwame scoffed lightly. “You sound like you’re preparing for a funeral.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzFDKXBgsr
Otieno turned away, sliding the copper ring into place.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmx3zP2E7F
“I am. The old war never ended. This time, I just want to know which side I buried my friends on.”
**********113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7yNGLwzWS
The ledger crate was lighter than expected.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHxul6Ua9p
Musa tested its weight once more as he crouched beneath the courtyard arch. The M.O.3 chalk mark had been carefully redrawn. The false ledgers inside were wrapped in canvas, just enough heft to feel real.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhkkpYfBp9
Jabari stood beside him in the hallway shadows. “You’re sure?”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡodTyzEGx9B
Musa gave a half-smile. “You trust me with a busted borehole and a map that doesn’t exist, but not a box full of air?”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5PgykGPcL
Juma, standing nearby, muttered, “It’s not the box I don’t trust. It’s the gate it’s going through.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FzfLNNtap
Musa turned to Jabari.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3mZMUMS6Rt
“Let me take it. If we send a signal through anyone else, they’ll second-guess it.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWuQgylQ8V
He gripped the crate.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUn9oX7v8a
“I’m neutral enough to walk through fire.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ASDiRDxDD
From behind him, Ayo appeared silently, holding a folded black card — flat, thin, almost forgettable.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3GISrKUpd
“For insurance,” Ayo said, sliding it beneath the top canvas.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMvPUVePpI
Musa frowned. “We’re not sending threats.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRgTbNnR3r
Ayo’s voice was smooth. “It’s not a threat. Just… a reminder. She needs to know she’s still being watched.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnS3yNOcpzn
“No names. Just the old cipher. Mercy’s mark.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVcVxaigvRo
Musa hesitated, then said nothing. There wasn’t time. Jabari was still briefing the wall runners. No one else saw.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUeCxRtNoz
At 5:48 p.m., beneath the buzz of Science Week cleanup, Musa rolled the AV cart up to the old drain-slot gate in the concrete wall.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMuEru4HkM4
He stood still, adjusted his sleeves. Waited.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1Z3nth6rS
The grate shifted open. Two gloved hands — Mary’s, if he had to guess — pulled the crate silently inside.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVZuZaASBX
No words. Only a single origami triangle left behind, folded from printed timetable paper.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFRmdQLvf9
He picked it up, unfolded it.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZA0QTnO6B3
“Drop scheduled. Second chime. No shadows.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvehnJPjZu
The plan was live.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwb41V5dHM
Inside the crate, beneath the false ledgers and canvas, Naomi’s hand paused when she reached the black card. It bore Mercy’s old cipher — a twisting serpent swallowing its tail — stamped in silver ink.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0aRWzUQTH
Below it: one line in tight handwriting.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3peLGecwpr
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEF6EKjVLAG
Mary looked up at Naomi.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmJNpjM9vZ
“Did you put this in?”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfoZ23MhvB
Naomi said nothing.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnTlz7YXK8
Her fingers tightened.
*****113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4SI4YzbUAd
On the girls’ side. After dark. Naomi’s inner circle meets in the underground storage room behind the old library annex. The crate sits unopened on a long metal table.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHS8WQpR2Og
The room smelled like old pine and chalk dust.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWybLrM5nId
June, Mary, and Naomi stood around the crate. No one had spoken since the door shut.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEsZAtU3eeq
The origami triangle Musa left sat neatly beside the latch. Naomi’s hands hovered above it.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccPnyDWd7G
“We open it now,” she said.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJEOtHeDma6
“We can’t afford another surprise at the Tribunal.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSUK9Am42B
She glanced at Mary. “Gloves.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQdMtCJABQp
Mary handed them over — clean surgical pairs swiped from the chem lab.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxoucaxSyYq
Inside, the ledgers were exactly as expected — wrapped, unmarked, blank. But under the first canvas fold, June’s hand paused.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGw3aAA7vwc
“Something’s here.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjg15lXMKfB
She pulled out the black card.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5t7paNrxi
The serpent. Silver ink. Old cipher.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHeSZIdzF22
Naomi took it. Kim read the line aloud:113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5IaCcMKIR
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZAcovQUppi
A beat of silence.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLEZOqF2qc
Naomi’s face stayed blank, but her pulse visibly jumped.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpkJLD3jBU
“It’s not hers,” she said flatly. “She never wrote in third person.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgB555kt5id
June stepped in. “Then it’s meant to make it look like it is.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8VhvHneSI
Mary whispered, “Could it be a warning? From the boys?”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5MrQzHydcZ
Naomi shook her head. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuEGevWXAr2
“Too calculated. This isn’t warning. It’s planting doubt. Whoever slipped it in wanted us to panic in front of the school.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNEABA672p
June laid the card flat on the table.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7L9Upfb7hU
“We pull it now. Quietly. And we never say a word.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsihPpQuf3r
Naomi finally nodded. “Burn it.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsiHJsz7hHC
Mary hesitated. “That’s a Mercy move.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWP5OPBsnna
Naomi replied coldly: 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN4rPyhnYOV
“Then maybe she taught us well.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWQhW6z72v
The card was burning in a lab beaker, the serpent curling into ash by the time they were done, Naomi staring into the flame longer than the others.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1lnOmq5ige
June turned to Naomi. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5iiuoYdLoi
“When you open that crate tomorrow, make sure your voice doesn’t shake.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSTsBH8jTGd
Naomi said nothing.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQmdcW2CV6m
But her jaw was set.
