"Now listen here..." Marcus stood upright as he began warning Bop, looking like a legit politician for once instead of his normally corrupt impression.
"I've just come back from the town hall after successfully bringing down Montreari, so now the election's a sure win for sure, but I'd still like you to behave. Unlike those three goons we thought was Orochi that you easily beat up, the real Orochi members aren't as easy or forgiving as those three weaklings. You're lucky the territory we sent your group at with miss Meiyu had already been long abandoned by the Orochi... If you had attacked a proper Orochi base, it wouldn't have been as easy without Mussolini's backup, WHICH by the way, you didn't wait for, mind you. So I once again warn you, young man... be careful!" Marcus nagged as he and Bop walked through the streets.
Bop looked at Marcus as he listened on to his continued nagging. At this point, even the normally careless Bop valued Marcus' words as his benefactor, despite the many tedious everyday jobs he gave Bop, Marcus was generous with his salary and the favors he has given Bop.
Marcus didn't look particularly different from Bop (If he removed the condom-like white cover on his head). A devilishly roguish man with long black hair whose looks incite distrust due to his corrupt looking features, Marcus only looked different from Bop when he was angry or stressed as his six other eyes apart from the already opened two suddenly also opened, and the four hidden arms behind his back unfurled like a peacock's tail, making his total limb count into eight.
As they walked, Marcus turned to one dilapidated street corner where nobody entered as Bop followed suit.
There they reached their destination, where a very large number of people were living inside discarded metal shipping containers.
It was the 53's slums called the Boxes. But unlike normal slums, we see on Earth, the Boxes was as large as the cities we have on Earth, and it had the population to boot.
This was due to Hyper Cities' enormous sizes, that even the newly formed city of 53 which was still just developing was already as large as Texas!
And so, its slums, a place where the homeless gather, was comparable to a city like Tokyo.
The Boxes was dirty, crowded, and end its people wore rags... but strangely it wasn't ugly. In truth, the Boxes had an apocalyptic beauty as if it was a thriving city in an Apocalyptic setting...
The squatters of the Boxes decorated their shipping crate houses with Christmas lights and other glowing miscellaneous items that the ships (spacecraft) probably discarded. There were even makeshift bars and bazaars that littered the squatter city.
"Woah..." Bop marveled as he walked through the crowded makeshift street.
"This is somewhat amazing! And sad... how people could live in such destitute places, despite the rich over here with their fancy spacy mansions everywhere" Bop grumbled at Marcus as if guilt-tripping the poor Politician.
"Hey! Shut up! I let you live in that 'spacy' mansion! For free!" Marcus retorted.
"Yeah yeah... Where are we going anyway? And when can you just give these kids some money to go away?!" Bop asked as he and Marcus began to be surrounded by an army of street kids.
"Bah! Money would do them no good! Hell, it might even be taken by the syndicates who abducted them!" Marcus sternly denied giving the children money
*sigh* but after a while gave in to the poor looking children as he faced them.
"Hey, you know following us won't get you any money, right?" Marcus grunted.
"D-Don' ya hab any to spare change mistah?" A very young and chubby child who had pink skin asked.
"Haa..." Marcus' stern face slightly loosened into a gentle one as he said "Fine... those who don't want to starve anymore, follow me if you're daring enough!" Marcus ordered, further adding to the questioning gazes the young ragged children had.
"Uhm... Sir? Ar yu one o does suspishus people?" The cute pink and chubby child asked.
"Oh, of course not, young child! I am the very definition of 'law-abiding'!" Marcus reassured the crowd of children.
"Well... if yu shay so" The young children agreed.
Marcus and Bop kept walking along with the street children until they met up with a suspicious-looking dog-faced private detector who wore a grey trench and a grey fedora, on a conspicuous looking corner where a rusted out streetlamp hovered and illuminated over.
Marcus and the Dog-man's conversation went like this...
Marcus: "So... Barkfus, you got what *cough cough* I asked for?"
(What Marcus really meant: "My good law-abiding friend who happens to meet me here at a suspicious-looking place that totally has nothing to do with my request, do you have the information I asked of you?)
Barkfus the Dog Detective: "Yes, I got it right here... Make sure the Cops don't see you with it"
(What Barkfus really meant: Yes yes my long time buddy in fighting crime and corruption! I made sure to meet you here where the HPPC's influence is scant! As that information you're holding might just be the key to bring down 53's most corrupt HPPC officials!)
Marcus: "Huhuhu, when have they ever caught me? Hmm?"
(What Marcus meant: "My good friend! No need to worry Ho ho ho, those lazy policemen would die of old age before they catch any worthwhile criminal! Not that I'm one, of course, as I am a law-abiding citizen!")
Barkfus: "I see you brought new pups with you, how much do you think these are worth? The last one you took in was worth quite a lot..."
(What Barkfus meant: "I see you've saved another batch of orphaned children from here to put into one of Mussolini's orphanages! I wonder how much they'll be worth in the future when they grow up! Maybe they'll be like Mussolini in the future and achieve many great feats like him! Truly a law-abiding and model citizen that one!")
Marcus: "Hohoho, no need to be shy... I know you like children, since we know each other, maybe I can let you 'play' with some of them, hehehe"
(What Marcus meant: "You can come and hang out in the orphanage sometime, don't be a stranger!")
"Ah yes, haha... I will take your offer into consideration" Barkfus shook Marcus' hand as he passed something which looked like illegal documents (Documentation of the HPPC's corruption) while Marcus gave him a bribe (A check for a cancer charity fund Barkfus commonly goes to) in return...
[[[Uwaa~ There's no way these guys aren't suspicious...]]] Bop and the children around them thought shaking their heads in fear...