Chapter 16 Renza Mensah
A few nights later…
The club was jumpin’ like a muthafucka but I wasn’t here for all that shit.
Me and Kelli was posted up in the section like we had all night, drinks on the table, music loud as hell and bodies movin’ everywhere, and not a single part of me distracted from what we really came to do.
The lights kept flashin’ across the room in different colors, hittin’ faces, chains, glasses, and skin, and the bass from the speakers kept thumpin’ through the floor like a heartbeat that never slowed down.
I had my eyes on Kush bitch ass the whole time.
A few nights ago, Kelli had cracked open some shit that changed everything.
The nigga really slipped inside Roderick house on some James Bond shit, like it was nothin’ and came out with more than just information.
He had both Roderick and his wife phones cloned to some burner phones, so every text that came through, every call, every move they made, it all went straight to him.
And what we saw on them messages… that shit spoke for itself.
Roderick wasn’t just behind the scenes pullin’ strings like we already knew.
That nigga gave direct orders. He told his nephew exactly what to do, how to do it, and promised he was gon’ clean it up after.
He really put in a text for that nigga to get in, get out, shoot Kay’Lo, and don’t worry about shit else.
Only thing is… it ain’t go how he planned.
Uncle Kwame stepped in, and now instead of Kay’Lo laid out, it was him.
Kelli showed us everything, from the messages before the shootin’ to the ones after when Kush got locked up and bailed out. Roderick was in them texts talkin’ reckless, callin’ that nigga sloppy and pissed off ’cause now he had to clean up a mess that wasn’t supposed to exist in the first place.
That was all I needed.
From that point on, this wasn’t about waitin’, and it damn sure wasn’t about hopin’ the court figured it out. Kelli worked his magic, tracked that nigga movements, and dropped his location in our lap like it was light work.
So now we was here, and I was about to hawk his ass down.
Nigga thought he was gon’ be out enjoyin’ himself, laughin’ with his people and movin’ through the crowd like he ain’t just shoot my damn uncle two weeks ago.
Every time I looked over at him, all I could see was Uncle Kwame laid out in the middle of the courthouse with blood all over his shirt, and Kay’Lo lookin’ like he was ready to tear the whole courthouse down.
That shit ain’t leave me, and it damn sure wasn’t gon’ get left alone. Every laugh that came out that nigga mouth made that image hit harder, like he was really comfortable after doin’ what he did.
I leaned back in the booth with one arm stretched across the top while I watched him take another drink, actin’ like life was still sweet for him. The glass hit his lips slow, like he ain’t have a care in the world, and that shit almost made me laugh.
Kelli sat beside me calm as ever with a drink in his hand, playin’ shit cool like he always do.
His eyes was movin’ just enough to keep track of everything without lookin’ like he was watchin’ anything at all.
The nigga had a way of sittin’ in plain sight and you would still feel like he wasn’t even there, like he blended into whatever space he stepped into without tryin’, and I respected it the more I was around him.
Even when the lights hit him, even when people looked his way, he still felt lowkey.
A couple bad bitches slid up into our section, lookin’ like they had already picked who they wanted before they even got close. They was dressed right, movin’ right and sayin’ just enough to get attention without doin’ too much.
One of ‘em even rested her hand on the edge of the table like she was tryna ease into the space without bein’ told she could stay, but Kelli ain’t give not a single one of them a reason to stay. He ain’t lean in or smile too hard. He ain’t even entertain it past a glance.
I watched that shit happen twice before I finally looked over at him.
“Say dawg,” I said, smirkin’ a lil’ while I took a sip of my drink, “you passin’ up way too much ass tonight. You good?”
He glanced at me, then at the women, then back at me like I had asked him somethin’ obvious.
“I’m straight,” he said, like it wasn’t even a question.
I shook my head, laughin’ low. “Nah, I’m serious. You ain’t even lookin’ at ‘em. You must got a type or somethin’? Like… you only fuck with white girls or some shit?”
He smirked at that, not even bothered by it. “I like beautiful women,” he said, simple as hell. “That’s it.”
I let out a short laugh and leaned forward, restin’ my elbows on my knees while I glanced back toward the floor. “Don’t seem like it, ’cause you keep curvin’ everything walkin’ up in here.”
He shook his head, finally lettin’ a laugh slip out. “We ain’t here for that, man,” he said, noddin’ toward the floor. “You know that.”
I looked back over at Kush, watchin’ him laugh with one of his boys like life wasn’t about to change for him and he ain’t even know it yet. I took a sip from my cup as I watched his head fall back while he laughed like the night belonged to him.
“Yeah,” I muttered, settin’ my glass down. “I heard that, nigga.”
The music kept goin’, people kept movin’, and time kept passin’, but me and Kelli stayed locked in.
Every now and then we would say somethin’, crack a quick joke, or comment on whatever was goin’ on around us, but for the most part, we let the night play out while we watched our target.
Even when people brushed past our section, even when bottles came and went and even when the DJ switched songs, our focus ain’t shift.
That’s what I liked about Kelli, though. He wasn’t loud, and he ain’t need to be. Everything about him said he knew exactly what he was doin’, and he wasn’t in a rush to prove it to nobody.
By the time the lights came on and the DJ started windin’ shit down, Kush and his people was movin’ toward the exit, still talkin’, laughin’ and thinkin’ they was leavin’ the night behind them. One of ‘em threw his arm around him before they broke off, like it was just another regular night.
They ain’t even know we was comin’ with it.
Me and Kelli got up like we was doin’ the same shit as everybody else without rushin’ or drawin’ attention. We just moved with the crowd until we was outside.
The air hit different once we stepped out. It was cooler, quieter, and it gave everything a sharper edge. The noise dropped down to voices, engines, and heels hittin’ the pavement.
We hung back just enough to not be obvious, watchin’ Kush split off from his people like he was ready to call it a night on his own, his steps a lil’ looser now that he wasn’t performin’ for nobody.
“That’s him,” I said under my breath.
Kelli nodded once. “I see him.”
We made our way to the car without sayin’ too much, slidin’ in like it was routine, and once Kelli pulled off, we kept a clean distance behind Kush as he drove. He ain’t suspect shit. He hit a couple turns, ran a light, and drove like a nigga who thought he was just headin’ home after a good night.
Thirty-five minutes later, he pulled into an apartment complex that looked regular as hell, like the type of place nobody paid attention to unless they had a reason to be there.
“This him,” I said, watchin’ him park.
Kelli cut the headlights and eased the car in a spot where we could see everything without bein’ seen.
We sat there for a second, just watchin’ this nigga get out and start toward his buildin’, with his keys in his hand and his steps a lil’ slower now that the night was catchin’ up to him.
I opened my door without rushin’. “I got him.”
Kelli ain’t argue. He just nodded like he already knew how this was gon’ go.
I stepped out and closed the door quiet, lettin’ it click without drawin’ attention, then started walkin’ behind Kush like I lived here too.
My pace wasn’t fast, but it wasn’t slow either. It was enough to close the distance without lookin’ like I was doin’ it on purpose, my footsteps fallin’ in rhythm with his. And he felt that shit too.
I could see it in the way his shoulders shifted, and the way his head tilted like he was tryna listen without turnin’ around.
That instinct kicked in for him, but it was already too late for this hoe ass nigga.
Before he could react, I stepped in and wrapped my arm around his neck, lockin’ it in tight from behind.
“Sleep, nigga,” I muttered low in his ear.
He panicked immediately, his hands shootin’ up, tryna grab at my arm, tryna pull it off, but I had him locked in the right way. His body jerked with his feet shufflin’ against the pavement as he tried to stay up, but I squeezed tighter, cuttin’ all his shit off.
“Yeah… relax bitch,” I said, keepin’ my voice low and calm while he fought it. “Go to sleep.”
His strength faded faster than he expected. I felt it in the way his movements got weaker, the way his hands dropped, and within seconds, his body went heavy in my arms.
I held him up for a second longer just to make sure, then eased him down.
Kelli was already movin’ by the time I looked up, comin’ around the car with a cigarette between his lips.
“You good?” he asked.
I nodded. “He out.”
We grabbed him together, one on each side, and moved him quick without drawin’ attention, gettin’ him to the trunk and liftin’ him in like he was just another bag.
The trunk shut with a soft click, and for a second, everything went quiet again.
I looked over at Kelli and let a small grin pull at my mouth. “Yeah… it’s that type of night.”
He smirked back at me, already movin’ toward the driver’s side.
I slid into the passenger seat, and as he pulled off, I leaned back and looked ahead, already knowin’ this was just the beginning.
We wasn’t done with this nigga…
After snatchin’ this nigga up and throwin’ him in the trunk I had his ass held up at what I liked to call my Chop Shop.