Krepta's Writings - Dreams - the Mystery of Leblanc

Krepta's Writings
Poems, Thoughts, Stories, Songs, and Dreams

Monday, February 20, 2006 ~ 13:00

the Mystery of Leblanc

01. the Pie house
02. mr Leblanc
03. weird artifacts
04. around the village
05. a wrong turn
06. trapped in the city
07. reversal of events
08. sparring field
09. to the edge of town
10. joyride and pizzas
11. a quiet morning
12. the Mystery of Leblanc
13. family day out
14. lazy father
15. the wrong turn again
16. lost in the city
17. decisive driving
18. food and festivities
19. the Grand Poker Game
20. the deck is stacked
21. winning against all odds
22. marching band rehearsal
23. blasting brass
24. Let's take a break!
25. the teepee outhouse
26. pranksters
27. Let me show you how it's done
28. confrontation
29. hors d'oeuvres and drinks
30. the Black Book of Leblanc
31. Mystery Revealed
32. that day by the river
33. witness protection
34. the set up
35. How the world was fooled
36. closing the gap
37. How i won the poker game
38. to catch a villain
39. the true Leblanc
40. Welcome to the Pie house!

Characters (in order of appearance)

As themselves: maman, papa, doan, thuy (01); lumen, Fred, Sarodge (08); paul, arash (18); dan, max, mani (19)
As other characters: none
Fictional characters: annie (30); ethan (32) as true Leblanc

Notes

- Mr. Leblanc is a well-known and beloved personality figure in the town where the dream occurs. He owns a popular
   shop & bakery named the Pie house. Underneath this front, he is actually a former government secret agent who
   lends a hand to his old colleagues when they need his help.

- Paul does not participate in the Grand Poker Game, but he stays around to observe the action. He is the first to notice
   that the deck is stacked in favor of the host, who will later turn out to be the villain in the Leblanc affair. By the time
   Paul has an opportunity to inform us of it, however, Dan, Mani, Arash, Max, and I will already have realized it as well.
   With the tournament directors clearly in collusion with the host, there is little the five of us or any of the other players
   can do, and soon Max and Arash are eliminated. Just before the break, the game is down to four players with the host,
   Mani, Dan, and me still in the game. Mani is the short stack, and the host holds a huge chip lead.

- As players are eliminated, they go join the marching band rehearsal. I do not know why that is.

- The pranksters in scene 26 are Mani and Dan, who are simply trying to relax and get their minds off the poker game.
   Their prank fails, however, and having witnessed their attempt I undertake it myself (scene 27) and succeed in getting
   a good laugh out of everyone, even the victims of the prank.

- Just then, the host comes by and confronts me, Mani, and Dan, trying to intimidate us (scene 28). As he goes further
   away, each of the three of us admits that he has not been able to figure out a way to get around the host's cheating
   without having to resort to cheating as well, and that since each of us is already in the money, we might as well give
   up 1st Place. The eliminated players, however, urge us to defeat him for the sake of all.

- Scenes 31-35 are in narrative, third-person point of view, as I read the Black Book of Leblanc, which reveals all the
   secrets and mystery behind the Leblanc affair. It is annie who had handed the book to me in scene 30 at the request
   of both the true and stand-in Mr. Leblanc, who wanted to expose the villain and put an end to his schemes once and
   for all. The villain's right-hand man had been in possession of the book, but with the distraction of the poker game
   and by using her female charm, annie was able to snatch it from him.

- After an hour-long break, the poker game resumes. Soon, it is heads-up between me and the host. What no one is
   aware of is that I have gained knowledge of the host's tactics and deck-stacking techniques through the book. By
   carefully observing his moves I manage to counter most of the cheating, and by the time the host is finally informed
   through one of his men that the book has been taken back from them, I have already gained the upper hand in the
   game. As I deal the final blow to eliminate him, officials have arrived and previously eliminated players, along with
   Dan, Mani, Max, Arash, and Paul gather around to confront the host and the tournament directors. They all try to
   flee, but the police soon catch them.

- It turns out the host had murdered someone, and the true Mr. Leblanc, who was investigating him on other counts
   on behalf of the government, had witnessed it. The villain was also aware that officials had put Mr. Leblanc under
   protective custody and replaced him with a look-alike stand-in while they investigated the whole affair, but he was
   certain that they would never gather enough evidence to convict a man of his power and stature.

<--back