The Northern Expanse

Devonte stuck his ice axe into the solid ice one last time, grunting as he pulled himself up. He gasped, barely able to breathe in the thin air. A terrible fate for a brother from South Carolina, he thought, pulling himself to his feet after a few minutes and looking dully at the horizon from the peak of Denali.

With the absence of any pimping to do, Devonte had thrown himself into mountaineering, with the goal of making a career out of it. And he'd done the first part of that goal, making his way up by himself to the peak of the tallest mountain in North America. He looked down at his watch. Faith should be giving the boy his present right now, he thought, chuckling. His chuckle turned into a hacking cough, and after soothing his dry airways with some water, he knew it was time to get off this damned mountain.