The Renegades (Book 5): United by Jack Hunt Page A

pointing at Baja.
    Three security guards muscled their way forward towards Baja. He raised the Glocks at them. “I wouldn’t do that if I was you. Believe me, I don’t want to kill you but after what I’ve just been through, I won’t think twice.”
    I rushed up close to Baja. I leaned into him. “What the fuck are you doing?”
    “Raising a little hell, brother. Raising a little hell.”
    Sebastian could see this was getting away from him. He raised the megaphone to his mouth. “It does not change the fact that over sixty people died under Ethan’s leadership. What we are calling for is for him to step down.”
    Annora walked up to the podium. “We?”
    “All those in favor?” Sebastian bellowed.
    Hands went up all over the place. Hundreds, that then turned to thousands. He turned back to her. “The people are calling for this.”
    “Without the vote of the other leaders it doesn’t matter how many you get,” she said.
    “Then let’s see, shall we. Who is in favor?”
    One by one their hands went up. The only two who didn’t agree were Annora and Alexander from district four.
    “Four votes against three. I’m sorry, Annora, but it is what it is.”
    Baja pushed through the crowd until he was near the stage area. I stayed with him casting my eyes over the guards who were military personnel. Good people who just followed orders.
    “This is a mistake. If you allow this man to rule over you, you will see this place fall.”
    “Don’t listen to him. Guards, take him away.”
    “For what?”
    “An assault on a leader is a punishable offense.”
    I piped up. “When was that law brought in?”
    Sebastian ignored my question. “Go ahead and take in Ben and Elijah as well.”
    I cast a glance over my shoulder. Ben stared on in utter disbelief. Guards pushed through the crowd until they reached them. Within a matter of seconds, they had them cuffed with zip ties
    “What is the punishment?” I asked but again he ignored my question. I was beginning to grow tired of his bullshit. I couldn’t believe they were doing this. I bolted up the stairs that led to the stage to confront him. “What is the punishment?”
    “That will be determined. For now, they will be held until further notice.”
    “You can’t do this.”
    “No? Watch.”
    I went to grab the megaphone to speak to the people but he pushed me back. Big mistake. I swung at him and cracked him right on the jaw. He went down and the megaphone let out a garbled sound as it hit the ground.
    Before I even had a chance to do anything further I found myself thrown to the ground and zip tied.
    “Take him away with the others.”
    “Sebastian, don’t do this,” I heard Ethan say.
    “It’s already done. And you are no longer a leader.”
    “This is not what we agreed on when we founded this place.”
    “No it’s not but we must evolve if we want our people to survive.”
    Ethan tried to have a few final words but he too found himself being hauled away by guards. “You can’t do this.”
    “I can and I have.”

Chapter 9
    P aradise didn’t have a prison . There was no jail, so to speak but there were holding areas that were used by the four police officers. It was a cargo box from the back of a large truck. A steel container that had sections removed at the sides to allow air and light to seep in. In hot weather it was pretty much like a torture chamber. A person would literally sweat their balls off. More often than not people would only be in there overnight until they sobered up.
    “How ironic,” Ben said as he slumped down.
    With the steel doors sealed tight, we each handled incarceration differently. Baja beat on the side with his foot. And at the rate he was smashing it, he was liable to break a toe.
    “Let us out.”
    Ethan still thought he could negotiate. He pressed up against the side and was speaking to a guard who’d been posted outside. Elijah was moaning about how he should have never left Salt Lake. Ben agreed. I just paced