***
The protesters had moved to Heroes’ Square now and were listening to a harangue from their leader, Pete, who was standing atop a wooden crate so as to give himself added stature.
“We’re not going to take it any more, are we, boys?” Pete shouted.
“No!” the crowd roared back.
“We’re not returning to work unless Winston takes over, right?
“Right!”
Off to the side, Jimmy and Sam observed the rally, arms crossed over their chests and disgusted looks on their faces.
“That guy’s a real leader,” Jimmy scoffed. “Maybe we should put him in the mayor’s office.”
Sam nodded agreement.
“Does anybody else have something to say?” Pete asked the crowd.
Jimmy raised his hand .
“All right,” Pete said, “let’s hear from our head foreman.”
Jimmy took a few seconds to gather his thoughts. Elegant speech was not his forte; plain talk was.
“If I’m not mistaken,” he said, “didn’t you guys kick Winston out just a few weeks ago?”
“Well, yes ... that’s true,” Pete said. “But things are different now. We repaired his statue, didn’t we?”
“Yeah!” the crowd shouted.
“That was very kind,” Jimmy said, “but what makes you think Winston is ever coming back?”
“W-well ... he has to,” Pete stammered. “We need him.”
“Why does he need you?” Jimmy asked.
Pete had no answer. The square became deathly quite except for the breeze whistling through the hulks of nearby burnt-out buildings. Anxiety shuddered through the crowd.
“So, maybe Ajax is a boring windbag,” Jimmy said, “but somebody has to be in charge.”
“Never!” Pete cried, “We’ve had enough of Ajax!”
“Yeah!” the crowd responded.
“Down with Ajax!” Pete shouted.
The mob roared a new chant:
DOWN WITH AJAX! DOWN WITH AJAX!
“Let’s get out of here, Sam,” Jimmy said. “There’s no talking sense with those bums.”
The foremen had just turned to leave when a shadow fell over the square. The infernal chanting stopped.
“What the hell!” Jimmy said.
A squadron of mech birds dove down and grabbed Pete off his soap box.
“Ahhhh!” Pete objected as he was hauled skyward.
“He’s going air express!” Sam cried.
Robots fled in all directions, pursued by the attacking mech birds.