Zone: From the Start to the Beginning

By R. Unique Hannon

With murder, money and drugs playing a vital part of this new age Bronx tale, can everyone on the team stay loyal. Rashaun wanted to be rich and it was his destiny to be. With a beautiful girl on his side named Rainy and a mean squad standing along side him, Rashaun lived up to his moniker Dangerzone or just Zone. A death within his squad meant for him and a murder commited by someone very close to him with a dark past, Rashaun finds trouble headed his way. Will Rashaun survive the game, will jail break him, will Rainy protect her man like she swears or will Zone become another statistic and meet death. From the Start To The Beginning is a definite page turner, breezing through Rashauns life right up until the end.but will the end bring us right back to where we started.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 14, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481751629

R. Unique Hannon

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© 2013 by R. Unique Hannon. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 05/09/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-5158-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-5162-9 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Epilogue

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wanna thank my mother Louise Hannon and my pops Randy Hannon, my grandmother Betty Vann, my aunt Sharon Vann, Big Unc Preme WE DID IT, Big Unc Butch, Justice Peace. My lil sisters Mecca, Shakina and Jewel, my brothers Krushaun, Lameek and Raheem. My nephews Lil’ Man, Jah, and Rashawn, my nieces Maleeka and Journey and can’t Big Tee (Christopher Pinkstion) I love you all!

Big kisses, love and many thank you’s to wife Jennifer Hannon and my kids Unique, Randoul Jr, and my soon to be born son Ra’shaun. I love ya’ll crazy. And to my mother in law Juana I love you, thanks a billion and all my in laws brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews. To all my cuzins The Walkers, The Kirklands, The Hannons, The Banks, and The Vanns I love ya’ll.

To all my niggaz ya’ll know ya’ll is… 183rd and Webster what up, weeks Ave what up, 1772 5th floor what up, Topping ave, Clay Ave, Monroe Ave what up. Shout out to The Waiters, The Deas, The Johnsons, The Fosters, The McCormicks, The Alvarez, and The Gordon, The Matthews family, just everybody, too many of ya’ll to name. To the brothers I was on lock down with love ya’ll dudes ya’ll know who ya’ll is.

On the next one I’ll give everybody a name by name shout out. I love ya’ll. Thanks for the love and support. If I forgot you I’m sorry but ya’ll know who ya’ll are and ya’ll know what ya’ll mean to me.

Wake up boy, it’s time for school. I know you hear me in there.

I’m up Ma dag I yelled back to my mother.

Don’t dag me nigga, just get your ass up and go to school. My moms yelled back at me.

Aiight Ma. Shit. I cursed under my breath.

I hated school but at the same time I loved it. I loved to learn new things but I felt school couldn’t teach me everything that I needed to know. Ignoring my moms, I climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom to help nature take its course. After brushing my teeth and washing up, I would get dressed and leave out of the crib as fast as I could. My mother Lashay Hanson only wanted the best for her three children. Me "Ra’shaun and my little brothers. Mike was ten and Unique was five. I was the oldest of the three and at eleven, I was much different from others my age.

Sitting here thinking back all those years its easy to see what direction my life was headed in.

( FLASHBACK ) My moms was on welfare, so it never made any sense to ask her for money because I knew she didn’t have any. On my way to school I’d make a few stops, at grocery stores for five finger discounts and to pick up my friends. Whom I would try to convince to cut school with me but I mostly cut school alone.

On one of those days cutting school alone, I met these kids. It was two girls and one dude. I cant remember their names or for that matter even if I got their names. I cant remember what they even looked like to this day. Its not like I hung out with them enough to remember those things but I remembered they were older than I was. I also learned something from them.

The first day I met them, I was sitting up on the roof of the pool in Clairmont Park. I watched them as they walked up the slope and sat on the benches, right under where I was on the roof. They was smoking something. Me being curious I asked them if they was smoking reefer. From the expression on the girls face, I could tell she was shocked to see me sitting up there on the edge of the roof. But she answered my question by saying yeah and asked if I wanted some. I always wanted to try weed but I never had the right chance. Today was my day. I climbed down from the roof and got my first get high. I didn’t care if they laughed at me when I choked on the smoke. I was getting high. To make a long story short, I got so fucked up that I climbed back up on the roof and couldn’t get down.

The next few times I smoked with them was cool but on that last day, I found out just how much crime paid.

( FASTFORWARD) Fifteen years ago it started and now fifteen years later I wonder will it ever end. I Ra’shaun Zone Hanson ask to myself if it will ever end. I’ve been in jail for almost the past eight years. The years have ran by me as fast as they could, and they have also slowed down to the pace of a two legged turtle. But yet time still finds its way and continues to take its course. With two weeks left to complete my time I’m faced with yet another problem. That problem is, will I still be who I was eight years ago. I still have plenty of money and my mother is still alive and well. My wife and kids are still in my life but will I have changed enough to stay home and not torture my family with coming back to these prisons. Or perhaps will they have to bury me. I sit here on my bunk talking to nobody but myself trying to figure things out one final time. I think I should take a trip down memory lane and give it to myself straight real no cut and look at me, myself and I. I just might write some of this shit down, yeah thee go my pen.

I’m only getting right with myself and going over my life but how should I start this. I know, its simple, just like this. And here we go… . WELCOME TO THE LIFE OF RA’SHAUN HANSON, (BKA) DANGERZONE OR JUST ZONE…

WELCOME NIGGAZ, WELCOME

CHAPTER ONE

This is one day in will never forget, so it makes perfect sense for me to start my story here. It was about two weeks before my 12th birthday and as usual my moms was broke. I was on my way to meet the two girls and the dude so in could smoke some free weed. But first I stopped at the grocery store for a little five finge discount. When I got to the park they weren’t there yet so I just sat on the benches and ate the chips and juise I had stolen from the store. While I waited for them I met this funny dressed African man. He asked me if I wanted to make twenty dollars.

Hell yeah, as long as your not looking for me to do no funny shit I replied quick and with rigor.

The African dude laughed and said How old are you little man?

None of ya damn business I said in the tuffest voice I could muster up.

Cool little man, so it aint none of your damn business whats in this bag I’m going to give you, to take to the store on the corner of Morris Ave. Just take it to the store and bring me back what theman in the store gives you, understand me.

My first thought was what store and what man am I supposed to give the bag to, so I asked him.

What store are u talkin’ about, there are stores up and down Morris Ave and what man am I supposed to give your bag to?

Smart kid, I’m talking about the store on the corner of 173rd street and give the bag to the man behind the counter. He’ll know who the bag is from. Now go on and I’ll be right here when you get back. The African man said.

Wit my twenty bucks right, aiight bet. I said taking the bag out of his hand.

On my way to the store I wondered what was in the bag but I didn’t open it. As bad as I wanted to look in the bag I didn’t. I figured whatever it was that was in the bag wasn’t for me to see. I thought maybe it was drugs or something. When I got to the store it was a man waiting behind the counter so I gave him the bag. He opened the bag up just enough for him to see inside of it and smiled. He then reached under the counter and gave me a thick yellow envelope. The man behind the counter never said one word to me and I thought that to be strange, so I said nothing to him.

I took the envelope back to the funny dressed African man. When I got there his first and only question was, if I had looked in the bag. I told him no and he said good. He then took the envelope and gave me the twenty dollars like he said he would from out of his back pocket. Then he told me to come back to the park in three days and do the same thing for him again and I would receive another twenty dollars.

See you in three days then. Yo whats ya name? I asked.

None of ya damn business little man and I don’t need to know ya name either. And by the way, never ask a man your doing business with his name, if its not volunteered. Sometimes its best if you don’t know some peoples name little man. And he walked away laughing and shaking his head.

I stood there watching him walk away thinking to myself about how easy it was to make money. I wondered how people could never have money when it was so many opportunities out here to make money. I was only twelve but I knew I wanted to make money and in wanted to make lots of it. When I turned around from watching the African man walk away and my thoughts, I seen the two girls and the dude walking towards me. I thought to myself that since they always gave me some of their weed, that I would buy some for us to smoke. Being that I had the money for it, why not.

Whats up ya’ll. I said giving them some dap.

Whats up shorty, you chillin? The dude asked.

Hell yeah I’m chillin’. Ya’ll wanna go get some weed?

No diggity doubt shorty. Lets go. one of the girls said grabbing my hand.

I had never brought my own weed before so I followed them all the way to the Westside of the Bronx. They took me to Old University Ave right off of University Ave. I went with them inside of this building and the dude told me I had to wait there in the lobby. When I asked why, one of the girls said I was to young to go upstairs to the spot with them. I gave my money to the pretty girl and she told me that she would be right back but nobody waited there with me. They left me standing there looking lost. Those motherfuckers never came back downstairs. I stood there in that building looking like a damn fool waiting for them.

On that day I learned two very valueable lessons of the game. It was May 18th 1989. The first lesson I learned that day was, never give your name to anyone or ask them their name if one isn’t offered to you first. Especially when your dealing with dirt. The second lesson was something I had just so happen to have learned from being self taught. And that was never trust nobody unless they earned it and gave me a reason to trust them.

It was a lesson learned that only experience could teach. If you have never been gotton you will never know how to not get got, or atleast avoid from getting played. I learned the moment I realized