5:44 A.M. — South Central
Rami stood in Saint's bedroom.
The walls were lined with crumpled sketches of wings, mixtape tracklists, and a crumbling poster of Kendrick Lamar. There was a bullet casing taped to the edge of his desk — a charm, Saint once said, to "catch the next one before it caught me."
Rami picked up the casing. Cold. Real.
He turned to Dee. "You still got that connect in the Jefferson Projects?"
Dee hesitated. "You thinking revenge?"
Rami didn't blink. "I'm thinking justice."
---
6:30 A.M. — Jefferson Projects
The sun was up, but the streets still wore last night's sins.
Word on the block moved fast: some kid got gunned down on Vernon. And the name "Ghost" was floating again, like a cold front. One whisper pointed to a dude named Kano — Vernon-born, Ghost-affiliated, and loud enough to make enemies.
"Dude been moving ghost work outta 104th," Dee told Rami in the car. "If Saint was bait… this fool might've set the trap."
Rami loaded the Glock Dee gave him. "We're not asking questions."
---
7:03 A.M. — Apartment 3B, Jefferson Projects
Kano was half-naked, smoking a blunt and counting singles when the door flew open.
Rami moved like a storm. Two shots cracked the air — one in Kano's chest, one in his head. No words. No hesitation.
Dee, right behind, didn't even raise his weapon.
They searched the apartment — found burners, some blow, and a phone with one active thread.
From: Kano
> Yo they pulled it off
Little dude gone
Next we hit their OG
Rami stared at it.
"This the right guy?" Dee asked.
Rami's face hardened. "Has to be."
But as they left, an old woman across the hall watched silently, cradling a baby. She looked at Rami with something worse than fear.
She looked like she knew he'd just made it worse.
---
Later That Day — East Vernon
The streets buzzed with a strange quiet. Word spread that Kano had been hit. But not by Ghost. By someone else.
What Rami didn't know was this:
Kano wasn't the shooter.
He was the middleman.
And the real trigger-man? Still walking Vernon. Still armed. Still waiting for the next name on the list.
---
Unknown Location — Ghost's Hideout
Ghost Vernon chuckled, watching his monitor.
"Rami just buried the wrong man."
He took a sip from his glass. "Now we get to see what happens when a street soldier becomes a public executioner."
He nodded toward the screen.
"Light the block up. It's war now."
---
⚫️ End of Chapter Two