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Robert Knott's Cabin

 

Tex doesn't find Knott's cabin until after dark, and when he arrives, no one is there. Tex lets himself in to look around.
Once inside, look at the aquarium. There's a metal box inside being guarded by some cute fishies. Wait a sec...those aren't just any fishies -- they're piranhas.
For fun (?) reach in and grab the box. Mmm...finger shreddin' good. Guess Tex'll need something besides his fleshy, tasty fingers to get that box. Something pretty strong, indeed.
Go into the kitchen area. There's a water purifying hose attached to the sink. It's made out of metal and is very flexible and sturdy. It looks like it might even be sturdy enough to withstand a piranha attack. It's screwed on the faucet pretty tightly, though. We're going to have to find something with a lot of leverage to get it unscrewed.
It's logical that there might be something here in the kitchen that would do the trick. After all, there have got to be some times where Knott would need to remove the hose. Look around in the kitchen cabinets.
The cabinet under the sink would be the best place for what we're looking for, but all that's under there is a mini-torch.  Although, a mini-torch might prove itself to be useful. If not on this case then...sometime or other. Pocket the mini-torch.
In the cabinet to the right of the sink is something that's more along the lines of what we're looking for. A monkey wrench. Good for wrenching monkeys and for unscrewing purifying hoses. Get the monkey wrench.
Use the monkey wrench on the water purifying hose. We could use this to get the box, but there's nothing on the hose that'd hook onto it.
"Hook," eh? There certainly are a lot of pictures on Knott's walls. Lots of pictures usually mean lots of picture hooks. The only picture around here with a hook suitable enough is the "Wild Horses" picture, just above the aquarium. Move the picture. It doesn't just have a hook, it has a big ol' bent nail keeping it on the wall. Get the nail.
Combine the bent nail with the metal purifying hose to make one über fishing pole. Use the makeshift fishing pole to snag Knott's box from the piranha tank.
 
Examine Knott's box. Inside is his Law and Order I.D. badge. Ooh. Level 4.
Well, Knott's not back yet, so we might as well keep looking around 'till he gets here. Go into Knott's bedroom. On the left wall, in the corner, is an armoire. A locked armoire. Knott probably has the key, so we won't be able to open this until he gets here...whenever that'll be.
Hey, that's a great picture hanging on the wall next to the armoire. Look at it, and Tex will be inspired to come up with a great title.
With that armoire locked, there's not much more to do in here. Guess we should search the rest of the cabin for anything we might have missed. Go back out to the kitchen.
One last quick search of the cabin won't turn up much. The cabinets in the kitchen are mostly empty, but there's a length of rope in the right-most section of the pantry, on the opposite side of the kitchen from the sink. There's not a lot in the living room area, either. Log in the fireplace, but that's about it.
Well, something tells me Robert Knott isn't going to show up anytime soon. We've got his top-level Law and Order I.D. badge, though. Maybe we should go back there and see what we can dig up in the high-security areas. Travel to Law and Order.

As Tex leaves Robert Knott's cabin, he comes nose to nose with a very mean looking crossbow, and a very angry-looking Robert Knott pointing it right at him.

"Well," Tex says, staring nervously at the end of the crossbow, "I wasn't expecting any company, but as long as you're here..."

"What the hell's going on here?" Knott demands.
Outraged animal rights activist
Darth E. Vader
Get to the point
A lethal warning
Name your source
Caught flat-footed

Tex will go back inside the cabin and Knott will follow, still aiming the crossbow at Tex, but starting to get the drift that Tex is on his side. Knott finally relaxes once Tex tells him that he and Wanda were working together.

"Do you really think you're safe here?" Tex asks.

"It's as good a place as any," Knott says. "It doesn't really matter anyway. They're gonna find me sooner or later. Actually, my own death is not exactly high on my wish list of things I'd like to happen to me. But I'll tell you one thing, they know I'm not going to give up without a fight."

With that, Knott fires the arrow loaded in the crossbow at the wall behind Tex, walks over to the kitchen counter, and sets down the crossbow.

"So tell me something if you don't mind," Tex says, "but how does someone go from being the Law and Order Party candidate to the top of their 'things to kill' list?"

"A candidate is sugar coating on a pill," Knott says.  "The party sets an agenda and all I do is try to make it a little easier for the public to swallow."

"What's Law and Order trying to force feed us?" Tex asks.

Knott turns around and faces Tex. "What did you say your name was?"

"Murphy. Tex Murphy."

"Well, you've got to believe what I'm going to tell you, Tex," Knott says.

"Why not? I'm pretty gullible," says Tex.

Knott crosses the room and stands by Tex. "Law and Order has this plan," he says. "They're going to put implants into everybody. It's going to allow them to identify, track, and eventually control the whole population."

"They really believe they can get away with that?" Tex asks. As he does, several figures dressed in camouflage --and carrying guns-- silently approach Knott's cabin.

"They know it," Knott responds.

Tex and Knott move toward the fireplace.  "Listen," Tex says, "maybe you can answer something that's really bothering me. If Law and Order is so powerful, why are they going around killing everybody?"

"Call," Knott realizes. "Greg Call. They're trying to kill anyone who has ties to him. He used to work for Gideon Enterprises."

"Well, how about I go talk to Frank Schimming," Tex says.

"Schimming...no, he's squarely in the camp of Law and Order," Knott says.

"Well, maybe he's behind this whole thing!" Tex says. "I mean, Schimming could be...Schimming could be the Overlord!"

"You know about Overlord, too?" Knott says.
Almost immediately, a bullet rips through the window and into Knott's back! Knott gasps and reaches forward. A second shot is fired, this one landing in Knott's arm. Tex stands frozen, watching the whole thing, but unable to do anything about it.
Knott begins gurgling blood from his mouth, and slowly sinks to the ground. Tex finally snaps out of his shock and rushes to help Knott, but it's too late. Knott falls onto the coffee table, and Tex rolls him onto the floor.
When he realizes Knott is dead, Tex, in his usual bungling manner, stands up! In full view of the shooters! And, as is customary, the shooters begin firing at Tex! Lamps, glass bottles, and electrical wiring explode around the room as the bullets fly. Then, the lights go out, and Tex drops to the floor.
Crawling across the floor, Tex takes out his P.I. handbook, and looks for help on his situation. He finds it in P.I. Rule #2: Hide From People Carrying Guns. I tell ya', this book is just indispensable!!

Tex shuts the book, and gets to work on finding a way out of the cabin without getting shot.

Uh-oh. Tex goes on to say that at that point, he started to smell gas. One of the bullets has hit the gas line to the stove. Now, if any of the bullets makes a spark, this whole place is going out in a blaze of glory. I, for one, would rather not be around when that happens. We'd better hurry.

It's a good bet that if there are gunmen out front, there are bound to be gunmen out back as well, so going out the back door isn't an option. Pt-wang! Hey, would you guys cool it! We're trying to think in here! Pt-wang! Hey! How would you like it if you were in here, and we were out there, huh?! Huh?! Hu...hey...that might not be such a bad idea. Hmm...

To do that, though, we need a way out. With both doors covered, we're pretty much out of luck. The only other way out is that skylight in the ceiling, and I don't think there's any way we could...wait!
Quick, go to the kitchen area! Be sure to stay on the ground!! In the right-most pantry cupboard, on the opposite wall from the sink, there's a length of rope, remember? We could use this to climb out the skylight with! Open the pantry door, and get the rope.
Wait, though. Before we could climb the rope, we'd need something to anchor it up on the roof, so that it wouldn't just fall back down. Oh yeah! There's a big log in the fire place! Go grab it!
Combine the log and the rope.
Well, that looks like it would hold, but those gunmen are still firing. Tex would be an easy target while shimmying up the rope, with the bullets flying around him. We need a way to get those guys to stop shooting. Better yet, there might be a way to get them inside and Tex outside at the same time. We just need something to lure them in with. Better take a quick look around.
I think we've sufficiently covered the living room and kitchen, but there still might be something in Knott's bedroom we overlooked before. Crawl to Knott's bedroom.
Under Knott's bed is something that looks like a life raft...or something. We didn't see that before. Of course, we weren't crawling around on the floor before, either, so this would be hard to spot. Get the... whatever, and examine it. Turns out to be a blow-up doll. Knott must've gotten lonely out here in the wilderness by himself... Anyway, examine the doll, and Tex will inflate it.
Those gunmen might want to come inside and meet this lovely lady, but if offered as she looks right now, they might catch on pretty quick that she isn't real. Especially with no clothes on. If we could get into Knott's armoire, we might find some clothes to put on her, but the armoire is locked. But Knott probably has the key!!
Crawl back out to where Knott's body is laying. Knott doesn't have the key on him, but something appears to have fallen out of his pocket as he fell to the floor. And that something is a key! Get the key, and return to Knott's bedroom! Remember: Crawl!
Use the key on Knott's armoire and open it. Get the clothes inside and combine them with the doll. From as far away as the shooters are, I'd bet she looks real. Well, real enough, anyway. Let's find out.

Crawl back out to the living room, and use the clothed doll on the window. Tex will invite the gunmen in to meet his "girlfriend." She loves hunters.
Quickly! Open the skylight with the switch by the front door!
Use the combined log and rope on the open skylight.
Tex tightens the rope around the log, heaves it up through the skylight, and begins to climb. As he does, one of the gunmen notices, and begins to fire! The clock on the wall behind Tex shatters as the bullet hits it.
Tex keeps climbing, and the gunmen close in on the cabin as he reaches the top of the rope.
Tex pulls himself up through the skylight just as the gunmen break through the front door and start shooting...
...and slides on his back down the roof of the cabin. He fishes out the mini-torch, lights it, and tosses the torch through the open skylight, into the gas-filled cabin.
The mini-torch falls to the floor of the cabin, and ignites the gas, sending the cabin -- and the gunmen -- into oblivion, as Tex shields himself behind a nearby rock.

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