Marcus couldn't help but laugh at the idea of someone stealing a smoothie. [color=a187be]"Man that's insane, how desperate do you have to be to steal a smoothie? Not to mention having a getaway car, how absurd! It makes me wonder if the whole thing was planned out, sort of GTA style. Like they had a board with everything mapped out, an escape route, contingency plans. Maybe they stole the car just for this heist, and what if they had a helicopter waiting for them? That would've been dope as fuck!"[/color]

  Marcus stopped himself, realizing he was the only one interested in his hypothetical smoothie master thieves. Besides, regardless of the nature of the crime his friend had still been robbed. Ally was another victim of the crime wave that was taking over this city. [color=a187be]"But for real, I know it sucks. When my dad got shot a few months back it hurt. Aside from losing my dad and struggling to keep the shop open, the loss of a sense of security really hits hard. I don't know if I was just too young and naive before to notice how bad the crime in this town was, or if it really just has started getting bad. But I just feel like I'm always on my toes now. I'm constantly looking over my shoulder and worrying that I could be mugged or get killed like my dad."[/color]

  Tears started to form in the corner of Marcus' eyes. He thought about how bad things had been since his dad died. Cowl Comics and Games, the store his father had opened, was on the verge of closing down. Then again a lot of businesses were doing poorly in Long Beach these days since everybody preferred to stay in their homes and off the street. [color=a187be]"These damn gangs are ruining this town. They're taking our freedom from us, making it hard for anybody to live around here. They just control our lives and there's nothing we can do about it. Damn cops aren't even helping and if they won't help then we're shit out of luck."[/color] Marcus stuffed some of his fries into his mouth in an effort to keep himself from sobbing. This is isn't what he wanted for his life, certainly not what his dad wanted.