“Ayo’s Reckoning”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wzFpQ77jj
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.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rr3JBwWHo
Ayo entered alone.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLW7LmZjfa
The silence was volcanic.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUQfjSqXLe
“You know why I called you,” Jabari said, voice flat.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0u3LyOFl7x
Ayo offered a faint shrug. “Because the girls found the card?”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAc1ScW2N73
Jabari snapped a dossier onto the desk — a copy of Naomi’s Tribunal summary, ink still drying.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyt6cBlyfvP
“Because you sabotaged a crate we sent in good faith. Because you exposed all of us.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjuYgh5vQM
Ayo stepped closer.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡws74HwZWNG
“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.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5SFlDoScZ
Jabari frowned. “What does that even mean?”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMlMfrOjYj
Ayo picked up a coil of magnetic wire from the desk, let it dangle.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHL2D0yv4K8
“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?”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2jOtSaZf5
Jabari’s voice grew sharp.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLzFRwyxqU
“You broke formation. You put everyone at risk.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ579RqTFVZ6
“No,” Ayo said calmly. “I reminded everyone that you’re not clean either.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1LUdwQ3b31
He stepped toward Jabari.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGlHiBxtzyf
“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.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmWp5IaK12
Jabari didn’t speak for several moments.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRqUJdqPEa
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.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXsIzRzr6q
Ayo nodded. No fight. No protest.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5l66IrA5x
“As long as you understand... silencing me just proves my point.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHsshiMRxq
He turned.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2uBxp4e69p
Before walking out, he paused.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxucl2JTAz
“Check the old boiler room under the lab tower.” You’ll find what Mercy left us. Or what we left buried first.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwwXBSeP4jg
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:109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZCMmOzRjf
“Control isn’t memory. It’s delay.” Below it, he circles one phrase: Boiler Room – Legacy Remnants.
**********109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5mDF4UX4GY
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.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrzLPRzloW
Ayo arrives to find Kwame and Otieno waiting.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHGjYDrdas
Kwame’s expression is razor-sharp. Otieno leans against the pipe wall, arms folded, quieter but far more dangerous.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6K8U3sNWa
“You went off-script,” Kwame said.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuigbpqvCVq
“There’s no script,” Ayo replied. “That’s why we exist.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8r0qsMGF62
Otieno’s voice was cold: “There’s also no chaos clause. You don’t act alone.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSUpLITdDa
Ayo stepped forward.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIwnNECrNl
“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.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuS3fRzGZYu
Kwame’s lip curled.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFS9s61f2K
“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.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpzPlMBdTFy
Ayo met his eyes — not defiant, but clear.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzdj9fL8Em
“Then I’m not among you anymore.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡso0a0aNnEQ
He turned to Otieno.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡliAcBkEipY
“I thought you understood. You used to say walls exist to be rewired, not just crossed.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe24GIvvf1x
Otieno’s jaw tightened — but he said nothing.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZdmGorNhBX
“So go ahead,” Ayo said. “Protect your myths. But I won’t be a shadow in someone else’s war.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSuI1Tzd22
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.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlc87oNzADQ
The thread burned silently, curling into smoke.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdBzP11yBhH
“I'm done pretending we were ever united.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbIeVy6NEr
He walked out.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvzr4tZpHEe
The blue thread continued to smoke.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vkgcWkfST
Kwame didn’t stop him.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQpPfeQpA2
Otieno did not speak.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiR4C3puwGV
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.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe9aLAia7vJ
Musa entered without knocking.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6u4urppb7
He held no files. No coded messages. Just his voice.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiESe6d2sNs
“Don’t exile him.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPieC2M3j8
Jabari didn’t turn. “He almost detonated the alliance.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0znd4DroE
“Because he saw the game Mercy was really playing,” Musa said.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYc6ihjM6N
“Not the ledgers. Not the ciphers. The distraction. The division.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIsOohwDA8L
Jabari finally turned. “He burned our seal. Broke ranks. Lied with his hands.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ7G0OQv43c
Musa didn’t flinch.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGti1uJ7MBC
“But he never lied with his heart.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hsNADGCc3
A long silence.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqu9d3BCCcL
“He’s not Mercy,” Musa said. “And if we treat him like he is… we become her next chapter.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsTCronrS2
Jabari exhaled slowly; hands clasped behind his back.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYjQe4roMu
“He’s out. No operations. No keys. No tunnels.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZa8kv7Gwf
Musa nodded.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuhJKdtBS0k
“But?”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTcdo7xnTJ
Jabari met his eyes.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2dgdMCLDqx
“He lives. Under watch and probation. If he so much as breathes another signature, he’s done.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2WQ6NuUyb
Musa nodded once.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVvrx9vwHO
“Fair.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNFXgdT31CQ
As he turned to leave, Jabari added, quieter:109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3OPUWvgwz3
“He gave you something, didn’t he?”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjhIyzKnsO
Musa paused.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbEGVRPlz3s
“Only this.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZ0F5kgup8
He handed over a slip of paper — a boiler schematic with one corner circled.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqgGpBcUtT
“Where the heat doesn’t rise.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0WGGq7r8mn
Jabari places the note into his pocket looking out at the storm again.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtMZD7zTzgr
“Then that’s where we look next.”
*****109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rAvaPtYFf
The hallway behind the science block was nearly empty.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4FzsLMUZ9
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.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0EYoiLc75Z
The others avoided him.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6r0wZqnMBP
But Juma didn’t.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPv7kuqVxD
He approached in silence, his boots wet from the storm.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkXjQIJMtFK
Ayo didn’t look up.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bRvxNOPj2
Juma paused, then — slowly — he knelt.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPX20qyHY9P
“You were reckless,” Juma said. “But you weren’t wrong.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYABeuBuQmi
Ayo blinked. “You hate me.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oBcO95UFG
“I did,” Juma replied. “But I hate lies more.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdFs5p6vps
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.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL2YA3c2Ycb
He placed it beside Ayo.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡayLZBPYQMz
“Blood isn’t thicker than truth,” Juma said. “And truth deserves a second voice.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjxKPYq174
Ayo picks up the thread slowly. No words — just a nod.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30s62fLkNP
From the rooftops, unseen, Musa watches — saying nothing.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpyzQw0Idtm
The storm passes over the lake, but its echo remains in the air.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6uuBuZIQU
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.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqeveYTX0j
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.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCjFqi7cBj
“Mercy recorded everything,” he says. “Not to preserve truth. But to rewrite it. This is her first confession.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLLMW0BZal0
He plugs it into the projector system.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nUrx7wNxt
The screen flickers.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczI5aj7uIm
Mercy appears — younger, sharper, in a classroom-turned-studio. Her voice is calm.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkO2malHfiv
“I didn’t want to lie. But the wall made it easy. They asked me to archive. I edited.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqcoKSqCCqO
They asked me to expel. I accused.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkFKuSSd2ry
The girl from Form 3 never returned. And I never corrected it.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopo399aglT
The ledger isn’t a record.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoz1fd7Ugl
It’s a grave.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidgBAsS4d8
And if anyone finds this, I only ask one thing—109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xprKCIn5V
Don’t preserve me. Replace me.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXGYsxReDjR
Silence.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiTjOMQsP4p
Otieno is stone-faced. Musa breathes out slowly. One Order head lowers his eyes.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6n8jCQ1Se
Juma steps forward. “That was the truth behind the ledger?”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpsyMexvCJ
Jabari nods. “The one we nearly died to protect. We archived a lie.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEM4C05Qg2v
He turns to the room.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvuREbZFo1
“You don’t get to carry Mercy’s fire and call it light.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlulJayKW2t
Jabari draws a circle in chalk on the floor.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbEtoBvKPX
“Step in if you still serve the old Order. Step out if you choose to build what comes next.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvQfSs8xgZ
The pause is long. Weighty.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQFbwxmSaER
Three members step in. Five steps out.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSZExcyU4Q
Otieno steps to the edge, then deliberately wipes part of the chalk away.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2S2wrgyRI
“There shouldn’t be a circle anymore. Only a path.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH2tfrfspGd
Jabari watches the recording fade to static. He unplugs the drive, places it in a red envelope, and hands it to Musa.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwT4JnFKEvu
“Send it across the wall. No encryption.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbSTjQBIW5
Musa’s eyes widen. “You want Naomi to see it?”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIAt6IQsNR
Jabari’s voice is firm.109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wdg4DvIUT
“No. I want everyone to.”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfz4d3YJJfj
109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaN0cLUVPV3
