by Keon Smith
Contents
Dedications
Acknowledgments
Synopsis
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Epilogue
Questions For The Reader
Note From The Author
About the Author
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© 2018 The Skyler Publishing Group
Published by The Skyler Publishing Group
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Any unauthorized reprint or use of the material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage without express permission by the author or publisher. This is an original work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Contains explicit language & adult themes suitable for ages 16+ only.
This book is dedicated to Tamyra Elias—the only one who stuck by my side like the rib that protects my heart. Girl, you are the best thing that ever happened to me in life, and I will forever love you.
“Right now, let’s not waste any more time when we both know it’s everything we ever wanted since the day we first met…”
(Kenneth “Kenny Montega” Carter)
It’s the second time around, and I have to give thanks to my homies for their support, starting with, Taurean “Juice” Jewett, DeShawn “Barney” Rogers, Maurice “Kahlil” Cheathan, Timothy “LJ” Bickham, Samaj, Tyree “Whitey” Way, Ray Ray, Lamont Cooker, EB (Harrisburg), Travis “Pudge” Stanfield, Kareem Greenwood, Khem “B” Un, Mark “Biz” Johnson, Brent “Bee” Jenkins and Blackman, Laurence “L” Brown, and Charles “Poochie” White, the real Great white.
To the whole Danger Zone movement. My brother from another, RA Certified, Los Lansky, Kareen Shaw, Troy Spiz Wiley, and the rest of the Summerville mob. The time is near. Look over your shoulders, and you’ll find me coming. Beware Of The Wolf.
To all the friends and family out there with good intentions but can’t seem to shake the ongoing problems that life throws at them, Marcus and Michael Prater, Katifah “Tee-Tee” Bundy, Kaliah Bundy, Boo-Bop, Patrice Murphy, Roderick Wheatland, China White, Meiasha Mccoy, Kia Paschall, Reese Hall, Mahdi Bey, Cyril Woodland, my sister, Jameeka Prater, John “Pookie” Prater Jr., Shekiea P. Simson, Izzy Shaw, Tamara, Tasha, Neka and Tia Smith, Josie Drew, Jermaine Roper, Tamyra Elias, Emily Coleman, Regina Giles, Alex A. Smith, Detra “Mookie” Rogers, Alysha Ms. Pinup Jones, Crystal Scott, Khalid Johnson, Kevalaa Forsyth, Wavii Boii Mitchell, Jennifer Sumstud, Brittany Washington, Tia Mitchell, Sherrell Jackson, Pfhallon Sanchez, Earline Bryant, Joshua Martin, Shabree White, Gloria Howard, Whitegirl Keemah, Kesha Wright, Victoria, Workman, Bihiyyah Smith, Ladetra King, Jayuana Bullard, Quille Ingram, Karimah Brown, Todd Dogtown Mull, Marcus Twin Mcqueen, Perry Kellam, Regina Smith, Kevin St. Felix, Whitney Beaurford, Ace Edward, Jahvion Dupiton, Quinzell Woodland, Keshaun T. Walker, Nysarah Jackson, Phillip Aye, Max Thomas, Jayda Kinard, Tyarrah Scott, Katieem Uptwon Representer, Aubrey Andrew Jackson, Andrea U. Riggins, Cara Williams, Ricquilla Cobb, Sha Donna Poe, Regina Bradford, Shatia Jackson, Mo Love, Muhammah Goode, Makkah Dumah, Ronetta Beckett, Haneef Jackson, Tajanee Glover, Chris Smalls, Denise Jenkins, Jason Taylor, Ranay Nurse Nay Herder, Tierra Harrington, Mila Shay, Uptown Ali, Reece ‘Twin’ Mcqueen, Shawnda Mitchell, Mory Hourouma, Latoya Lee, Kelz Spearman, Vaughn M. Bryant, Jo Peso Milton, John “Hook” Bryant, Latoya N. Martin, Danny Hammond, Qizzy Mac, Cain “Dip” Pharoah, Erica Wilson, Lashandia Walker, Junita Sissy Butss, Taheera Townes, Denise Hines, Akiem ‘Cuzmoe’ Mcneil, Shanta Thomas, Evelyn Lamar, Taieka Chamblee, Lala Taken byda Best G-Fam, Yazzy Beccles, Rell Ingram (RIP), Oliver Gladden, Curtis White Jr., Katima Jackson, Tanisha Johnson, Jon Randolph, Sheeda Johnson, Ophana, Walker, Hell Rell Jackson, Aunt Lisa Reaves, King Pharoah, Monique Thomas, Anthony Washington, Brandy Kenion, Nonchalant Jackson, Jimmy Young, Kevin Knight, Nonchalant Jackson, Ash One-Of-A-Kind, Julius West, Courtley Vinsion, Dee Dee, Sharita Gantz, Dominique Price, Alexis Ware AKA Bobby Headlines, Tirek Brooks AKA Reek (SP), Miranda Gore, Henry “Hindu”, Jasmine Reid, Jamie at Lil’ Miz Cupcake, Joseph “Yuseph” Reid, Karina and Aunt Donna Champmon, Kenya and Kyle Walker, Fice, Randy Jenkins, Streets, Nifice Fields, Antonio “Goose” Washington, Marc Ham, Prince Williams, Yalonda Jones, Tiffany, Yuckbird (B-More), Kareem Greenwood, James “Wazir” Mcnair, Kasim, Darrell “Butter” Giliam, D.C. Strikes, Tay, Black Ant, Goldie, Lil Geezy, Rickie Collier, Hasan “Breeezy” Mclean (BedRock Entertainment), Tiera “T-cup”, G-Love, Alismall Small (Brick City), Little C (Tampa), Kennan Prince, and Edward “Freck” Colman, Doug Edward AKA K9 Boss Doug W.O.L., and Al Ferrell.
Special thanks to Joseph Raymos, A. Rodgers, Dev, R. Best, Skyler Publishing Group. My appreciations for tightening up this project. And to everyone else showing support for this cause, thank you.
The boss's nightmare is no longer a bad dream…It’s a reality, and his name is Kenneth “Montega” Carter. Using a vigilante M.O., known as the Phantom, he is fueled with the desire to seek revenge on those who pose a threat to both family and friends. Little does he know, that threat could possibly be the end of him. All it take is the girl of his dreams and a seductive kiss of death. This is a story where pups become wolves and lions become sheep.
The Montega Chronicles is an endless maze of conflicts leaving blood and death in it's wake. Linking together man's strengths and weaknesses ultimately leads one to ask the question... can the thirst for blood, money and revenge be the prequel to Montega's ultimate demise or will the one queen in this game help him to become the man he is destined to be? The city of Philadelphia will never be the same. The chill of revenge invokes a thirst for blood money, and all who stands in its way will forever remember the name… Montega.
Nothing seems louder than the deafening sound of silence, Diamond thought as she sat calmly Indian style, front and center on the wooden floors of the most secretive dojo in California—The Black Cloud dojo. The place was massive and so quiet; an
item as small as a strand of hair could almost be heard from the back of the room where the traditional ninja weapons were mounted.
She took another deep breath, inhaling the incense burning from the shrine to her far left, and closed her eyes and listened shortly to the sizzling wax candles that barely preserved light to such a dark, dense environment. If one were to enter from the bright California sun, they would have been oblivious to the fact that there were fifty Black Cloud ninjas sitting Indian style through the entire dojo from the floor to the balcony before her, all waiting for one man.
Even in dead silence, Diamond didn’t hear his approach until he appeared before her in the dense lighting.
“Diamond, my student,” he said strongly.
Instantly, every masked ninja in the dojo pressed their palms together tightly and lowered their heads.
Diamond slowly did the same before saying, “Master Wong Lee.”
Placing his hands behind his back, he looked down at his student and said, “You have been with us for quite some time—before and after the death of your father. You have honored my organization by bringing us into the fold of your own. For that, I am truly grateful. Never have I seen one so eager to learn the way of ninjutsu like I have with you.”
From a distance, one of his trainees raised her head to look at him with disgust then lowered it again.
“You have completed your training and strategy, tactics, unconventional warfare, and guerrilla warfare, but you still haven’t overcame your fear. Kim!” he called out.
The woman who had once looked up with disgust rolled to her feet and moved beside her master. Wong Lee didn’t have to speak. With just the nod of the head, the woman made her way behind Diamond and tied a blindfold over her eyes then backed away with a bow.
Now Diamond was completely blind.
“Do you recall the story of Adam and Eve?” Wong Lee asked.
“Yes, Master,” Diamond replied but as a whisper.
“And what did the devil use to corrupt Eve?”
“A snake,” Diamond replied.
“Any reason why the devil would use a snake?”
“Snakes are cautious, beautiful but deadly creatures; this I know. However, I can’t think of why the devil would use it over any other animal.”
“Perhaps it is because a snake could sneak by a man and strike at the closest thing to his heart—his woman,” Wong Lee replied, nodding to Kim to perform another task. “The snakes are still among us, only not in the form of the devil but in the form of Man, so I ask you, what should Eve have done when she heard the snake speak to her?”
“Kill it,” Diamond whispered.
“Speak up!” Wong Lee said sternly.
“Kill it!” Diamond now shouted. Her voice echoed throughout the dojo.
“Show me,” Wong Lee replied, stepping back.
No sooner than he did, Diamond spun to her feet with quickness. From the sleeve of her black Quora sprung forth a chained dagger in which she wielded over her head and struck like a bull whip.
All that was heard was the swipe of a blade cutting through air before silence sprouted once more. The lights in the dojo turned on instantly.
Diamond listened as Wong Lee Took a deep breath and exhaled. “Your training is complete. You may remove your blindfold.”
Diamond snatched the silk fabric from her beautiful face and saw the dead, headless cobra before her that was soaked in its own blood. A devilish grin suddenly creeped across her face.
“Come, my student,” Wong Lee said. “I want to speak with you before you depart from here for good.”
Diamond followed the Asian man down a dark hall. They stopped by a large glass window where two Asian chemists wearing protective face masks were busy stirring a concoction.
“Allow me to speak freely about your brother,” Wong Lee said.
“Go ahead, speak,” Diamond replied, watching the man inside the lab.
“He is naïve and cocky. With two traits like this, his organization will not last long. When you leave here, remember this; the people around you are only as good as the one leading them.”
Diamond nodded, soaking the words up in her memory bank. Her pretty, brown eyes, however, were focused on something else. “What are they making?” she asked curiously.
“It is a strong toxin made to deploy from one touch to another,” Wong Lee explained.
“I’m not following you,” Diamond replied, confused.
“What I mean is the toxin can be placed on your skin, and you won’t be exposed. Only from the outer layers come its deadly venom. Like a snake, it releases venom from its teeth, yet the venom does not kill the snake. We as ninjas practice this, using the toxin on our two fingertips. One touch to a man’s neck brings death in a matter of minutes. We call it the touch of death.”
Diamond looked back at the two chemists then said,“Master Lee, with such a weapon like this, you’re about to make millions.” Turning to face him, she then smirked. “I want this toxin made in the form of black lipstick. I want my enemy to suffer, I want everyone to know that death is for certain from but a kiss, so that all will know that Diamond White has just made her mark."
“Where the hustlers roam and drugs are sold,
the dead walks amongst the living.
There’s a place cold, where life has no soul,
and death is only the beginning…”
October 8, 2004
CHELTEN AVENUE AND ARDLEIGH STREET…
Montega sat on the playground bench inside the gates of the Lonnie Young Recreation Center outdoor basketball courts. He looked out toward the field of green grass, deep in thought. It was a boring Thursday morning on the streets uptown in Philadelphia. The weather was warm with a light breeze to it. The sun was on the verge of peeking over the East Germantown row houses, and the smell of trash truck juice that dribbled onto the road lingered throughout the neighborhood.
Montega was a product of an environment that natives called Topside Summerville. It was a dangerous, drug-infested place full of empty crack viles and bullet shell casings. The ’Ville was a danger zone for outsiders, but this morning, it was quiet. None of the hustlers were out on the grind yet, and no police cars toured the neighborhood to harass him. He was the only one up at the crack of dawn and the last to take it in for the night. He didn’t mind being to himself. This early stretch alone gave him the time to ponder his next move.
Montega was a dedicated hustler, one who stayed on the grind. He and his homie Razor had been hustling ever since they graduated from Martin Luther King Jr High School. Poverty brought forth the goal of someday becoming millionaires. So far, their fate was the same as the others; they just couldn’t get over the hump. Here he was, twenty-two years old and barely copping a deuce and a quarter.
As Montega fired up a vanilla Dutch of some of the stickiest weed that Ashmead Street had to offer, a local corner thug named KK approached from the gated entrance with both hands in the pockets of his black Nike hoodie. Montega looked on suspiciously. He had a good sense to know what trouble looked like, and KK seemed to be drowning in it.
“What’s good wit’ you?” KK greeted, giving Montega some dap before looking around the deserted basketball court for anyone else.
“Ain’t shit but the weed,” Montega responded while exhaling a cloud of smoke.
“You the only one here?”
“It appears that way, don’t it?” Montega replied with a hint of sarcasm, shielding his eyes with his hand from the morning sun as he looked up at KK.
Montega couldn’t help but notice the disturbed look on KK’s face. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes were sharp and red. “You aight, bol?” he asked cautiously.
“Nah, man. In fact, I need you to take a walk with me. I gotta handle something, and I need someone to watch my back. Is you ridin’ or what?”
Montega looked into KK’s bloodshot red eyes but couldn’t figure him out. As much as KK didn’t like Montega, he was now asking for his help. Truth be tol
d, KK had no choice but to respect his style. Montega was a calm, laid-back dude, but he had a hair-trigger temper that could catch people off guard. Not only that, the twenty-two-year-old was also a born leader with an aura way ahead of his time.
Without answering his question, Montega followed KK down Ardleigh Street, having no clue of what to expect. Passing KK the Dutch, he tried once more to find out what the hell was going on. “Hold, bol. What up wit’ you? What’s all this about?”
KK didn’t respond; he just continued to walk. When they got to the bottom of the block, KK stopped and turned to look Montega in the eyes.
“You got a burner on you?” he asked, making the hair on the back of Montega’s neck stick up.
This shit serious, he thought. “Nah, I left mines up the street. Why? What’s goin’ on?” Montega asked again.
KK went into his waist, pulled out a 9mm, and cocked it back.
Montega quickly stopped in his tracks. “Hold up, main-man. You pullin’ out guns and shit, got me followin’ you down here without tellin’ me nothin’. Fuck I look like? A crash dummy, KK?”
