American Oxygen

Zero

                  
CHRIS POV
Seven Years Later

"The way I see it Chris, you and your friends owe the boss some bread."

"The boss?" I groaned looking over at Mijo and Michael, both badly injured from the attack. "We got jumped, Pit. We fought like hell."

My boss Pitbull shook his head, ignoring the words. "You think the boss cares what happened? You owe him 50 Gs."

I had gotten them into this mess. Mijo and Michael had lives outside of me and they had jobs. No, they hadn't been great jobs, but they were legal.

I had convinced them both that they could make a lot more money if they joined up with me.

Mijo had a girlfriend to provide for and if Melissa knew about his activities, she would have his ass on a silver platter. Michael also had a girlfriend to provide for; however, due to the recent birth of their son King, Chyna was much more accepting to acquiring money in order to take care of his needs.

Chyna worked at RC Showgirls in Norfolk and at Minx Gentleman's Club in Virginia Beach only a few miles away. Most nights she worked consecutive shifts at each club while Michael took care of their son. By the time she got home, Michael left to work full time at McDonald's, followed by a fulltime shift at Subway.  They were currently living in the basement at Michael's mother's house while they saved up for an apartment for themselves.

But with Michael's new job with me, the couple was saving up to rent a home they would eventually buy and start their lives together.

Since getting kicked out of the boot camp after enlisting in the military, Mijo found it increasingly hard to find a job. His girlfriend Melissa Forde had made a few calls to an old friend and ended up landing him a janitorial job at the local Armed Forces Bank where my mother Joyce worked. Melissa worked as the assistant manager at the Hampton Inn on the local naval base.

"Where the boss lacks a heart, I got one." Pitbull continued. "I give ya' two options, find my shit and give it back to me or you got two months to come up with the money."

"Two months?" Mijo and Michael exclaimed.

"How are we supposed to get 50 Grand in two months?" I pushed.

"That's your problem, but all three of you know what's going to happen if you don't pay it." Pitbull pointed at each individual man. "We know where Chyna and your son are, where Mel is, and Chris, your parents ain't hard to find."

Michael gritted his teeth when he mentioned his son.

"If you do well enough, maybe the boss will let you off easy."

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RIHANNA POV
Two Months Later

"Special Agents Fenty, Graham," My director Shawn Carter turned to me and my new partner Aubrey Graham, "I recommend you pack up, you're both going in the field."

"Already?" Aubrey said confused.

"Here's a tip Graham, when your commanding officer gives you an assignment, you keep your mouth shut and follow orders." Director Carter looked at him annoyed. "You'd think your father would've taught you about following orders."

"Sorry Sir."

"Like I said, pack up. You're both shipping out to Virginia." He continued. "Now normally I wouldn't send two rookies on an assignment like this, but the agents we had on the case couldn't get close enough so we needed a new set of eyes, got it?" He handed Aubrey a large file. "Both of you read up on your case, dismissed... Oh, Agent Fenty."

"Yes sir?" I stood up tall, turning back to the director.

"Agent Howard will debrief you on your mission in the conference room."

A series of home invasions and robberies in Norfolk, Virginia triggered FBI involvement with the local police on account of the string of about ten to fifteen possible burglaries where over $10,000 in property was stolen from each home and the obvious gang ties from the crimes. Special Agents Andraya Howard and Jermaine Cole were initially assigned to the case, but within the month Deputy Assistant Director Shawn Carter was looking into new agents to assign to the case.

With Robyn's history with infiltration and taking down gangs while she was working undercover with a veteran agent in Dallas, she was a no brainer for a replacement agent to work the case. The only trouble was finding her someone to work with that could help her with the case instead brining her down. Robyn was ahead of her age as an agent and anyone who wasn't up to speed with her would easily bring her down. Director Carter hoped Robyn's history with Aubrey would help them work better together.