180

The two Outlaws continue to ride towards the bridge, where they bring their machines to a halt. One of them, a thin-limbed punk with a shaved head, kneels down to examine something on the ground. Then he stands, takes up a pair of binoculars slung around his neck, and focuses them on the barn. The other biker, who is dressed in a tattered blue denim boiler-suit takes a long swig from a water canteen that is strapped to his chest. They exchange words, and then together they unshoulder their machine pistols and scurry into the brush.

‘I think they know we’re in here,’ whispers Rickenbacker. ‘I don’t like it.’

‘Keep a lookout here. I’ll watch the doors,’ you reply, and quietly move towards the front of the barn. Once there, you push the right-hand door slightly ajar to get a better view, but a suspicious shuffling noise makes you duck back; it is a reaction that saves your life. A sudden burst of automatic fire peppers the door, punching a dozen holes through the rotten timbers. In the next instant, the door is kicked open and in runs the shaven-headed clansman, his machine pistol poised to fire another burst. His eyes are slow to adjust to the gloomy interior, and he fails to see you standing behind the left-hand door.

Instinctively you grab his gun and manage to wrestle it from his grasp, but he does not give it up easily. Tenaciously he fights back, knocking it from your hands as he launches his fight to the finish.

Pee-Wee: CLOSE COMBAT SKILL 16   ENDURANCE 24

You are unable to evade combat and must fight the clansman to the death.

If you win the combat, turn to 242.