Chapter 1: BlancMan22

"Wait...hold on," Blanc said, a confused but slightly curious gleam in his eye as he stared at the IPad screen in front of him. "What just happened?"

"Blanc," said Angie, an older woman on the left bottom part of Blanc's laptop screen. "I saw you go into the engine room. You're the Imposter. We all know it. Case closed. We're done."

Blanc scrunched up his face as he looked at the other three people on his laptop screen. "I don't understand this at all. So Angie caught me, and the game's just over?"

"Sorry, Blanc," said Steve, an older gentleman on the screen above Angie. "You're thrown out of the airlock. It's a no-brainer."

Before Blanc could argue, Kareem chimed in. "I've got to say, the world's greatest detective...I thought you'd be better at this."

"I think maybe this game's just not my thing," Blanc surmised before puffing on his cigar.

"Maybe we should try uh...Quiplash," Natasha offered sweetly, a knock on Benoit's door sounding. He ignored it. Phillip would get it. "Uh, or Codenames."

Blanc took his cigar out, a look of mild disgust on his face. "No, no, I..." he paused to sigh, which was followed by a tut as he formed his words in his head. "Look, I appreciate what y'all are tryin' to do for me here."

"We're worried about you, buddy," Kareem explained. And Blanc knew where this was going. He dreaded it, but it was inevitable. "Lockdown hasn't been easy for any of us. But Phillip told me you haven't left the bath in a week."

Blanc had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Oh, that's hyperbole." Someone knocked on the door and Blanc jerked his head. "Get that, will ya?"

"You're not in the bath again, are you?" Phillip's distant but distinctly British sounding voice was heard.

Blanc slowly eyeballed his bathroom door. "Eh...no!" he said, not able to stop himself from lying. He looked at the laptop screen at his friends, an expression of slight resignation appearing on his face. "I'm just..." he said before pausing, deciding not to talk about Julia. "I lose it between cases anyway," but he huffed before adding, "I think I might be going insane. My mind is a fueled-up racing car, and I got nowhere to drive it."

"And this wouldn't have to do with a certain romance author, would it?" Angie asked.

"And there it is, the fuckening," Benoit thought to himself, closing his eyes and chastising himself for using one of Julia's favorite phrases. "I'd rather not discuss that."

Natasha quirked her lips. "Hey, can I ask...have you tried crosswords?" she asked cheerfully.

"No, no, Natasha. I...I don't need puzzles or games," Benoit replied, looking at his friends sadly. "the last thing I need is a vacation. I need danger, a hunt, a challenge...I need J-" he caught himself quickly, "Jaa mean a great case," he said before clearing his throat, looking away at the piles of books on his bathroom floor and smoking his cigar.

"Blanc? There's someone here for you! With a box!" Phillip yelled.

Blanc's head immediately jerked towards the bathroom door, his heart skipping a beat. "A man or a woman?" he shouted.

"What bloody difference does that make?" Phillip announced almost gravelly.

Blanc rolled his eyes. "Which is it?!" he shouted with a touch of annoyance in his voice.

"A woman!"

Blanc immediately said goodbye to his Among Us friends, clicked off the call and exited the game before getting out of the tub and rubbing himself dry with a towel. He quickly dressed himself in his bathrobe and rushed out the door. Dare he hope that Julia was back? However, as he got to the front door, his heart sank when he saw a stranger wearing a medical mask holding a black box. He sighed softly before eyeing the box in the woman's arms.

"Hello, sir," the woman said, her southern accent sounding quite pleasant to Blanc. "I-I really have something urgent to discuss with you, Mr. Blanc. Your office was closed and-"

"Yes," Blanc interrupted, now looking at Phillip who had patches of flour and spices on his face, apron and arms. "What the hell are you makin', Phillip?"

"I'm making pasta," Phillip replied dryly.

"From scratch?"

"Yes," Phillip said with a smug grin. "Some of us have hobbies to bide our time during lockdown, you know." Phillip eyeballed his friend with a smirk. "Healthy hobbies."

The woman cleared her throat and Blanc immediately turned his attention to her. "My apologies, um... Miss...?" Blanc began.

"Brand. Helen Brand. I came all the way here from Alabama," the woman replied.

"Uh huh," Blanc said before sucking on his teeth. "Alright, come on in."

Phillip gasped. "But Benoit, we c-can't just have...strangers come into the place!"

Blanc chuckled as he reached for the box. "She is obviously a client, Phillip. I can't let a pandemic get in the way of my job."

Blanc's friend sighed and walked back into the kitchen. "Very well. I suppose you'll want some tea or something?" he mumbled softly.

"Water is fine, thank you," Helen said as Blanc escorted her in.

"Water will do just fine, thank you, Phillip," Blanc said as he walked towards the terrace. "Let's have a look at this thing, shall we?"

Days later...

Benoit Blanc had everything planned out for this case, down to the last, minute details. And as he was sitting on the dock, waiting for "The Disruptors" to appear, looking at his watch, he saw a man walking towards him with a suitcase. Blanc studied him for a moment before standing, then he saw a car pull up and a woman get out.

"Must be Lionel and Claire," Blanc said to himself.

"Claire, my dear!" Lionel shouted softly.

Claire turned around and Blanc saw her eyes smile, her mouth covered by a mask. "Hi, you genius!" Claire responded happily.

Another sort of vehicle started to pull up, a tuneful horn honking. Blanc got a glance and saw an elegantly dressed woman step out with a big smile. He raised a brow at her choice of mouth covering, realizing it was actually not too much a mask on her face, but a decoration of one. "Oh Lord," he thought to himself.

As he watched the folks reacquaint themselves with one another, Blanc inched forward until the elegant woman, Birdie Jay, spotted him and removed her sunglasses before walking towards him past Claire. "But you..." she said in a sultry voice. "Hello, stranger danger."

Blanc shifted uncomfortably. He was in no mood for another relationship that was going to explode in his face...like the last one.

"Mr. Blanc! You are stranger danger?" someone asked.

Benoit shook his finger. "No, that's fine, Nikos. I don't even know what that means," Blanc uttered.

"Wait a second. Benoit Blanc?" Lionel asked before removing his sunglasses.

"Oh my God," Claire interrupted, approaching Blanc. "Are you Benoit Blanc, the detective?" As Benoit removed his hat, barely able to hold back his smile, Claire took off her sunglasses. "Did you solve the murder of...ah, what's her name? That um...the ballet dancer with the thing and the thing. That's you?"

"It is," Blanc chuckled. "In the flesh. I'm obviously familiar with you all as well. Governor, Dr. Toussaint, Miss Birdie Jay. What an extraordinary gathering."

A gunshot echoed off the dock followed by a motorcycle pulling in with a very large man on it and a gorgeous woman. Blanc smirked a little. "That must be Duke," Blanc thought. He checked his watch. "Where is Helen? She's gonna miss the boat."

"Crew! We've arrived!" Duke laughed before getting off his bike. "Disruptors have assembled!"

Duke went to hug Peg, Birdie's assistant, but she backed away. "No, no, absolutely not."

Blanc smiled behind his mask when Birdie embraced the giant man with a hug, lifting the woman up from the ground. Benoit noticed both Lionel and Claire seemed slightly unhappy about Duke's arrival.

"Hey guys," Duke said as he clung to who Blanc assumed was Duke's significant other. "Remember my girl, Whiskey?"

"Hi," Whiskey said with a smile.

"Of course, Whiskey," Claire said with a shake of her head. "Hello."

Duke looked behind Lionel and Claire at Blanc. "Who's that?"

Everyone looked at Blanc and Claire eyed the man. "Why are you in Greece, Mr. Blanc?" she asked.

"I was invited by Miles Bron," Blanc explained.

"Tight with Miles?" Duke asked innocently.

"No, never met."

Everyone else looked at one another curiously before Lionel came up with his own explanation. "Oh, I get it. The uh...the murder mystery thing. Benoit Blanc is going to help solve the mystery of Miles' murder. This should be fun."

"Cute," Claire added.

"Well, we'll see," Benoit said. Blanc heard a boat horn toot and he looked to his left to see a big yacht backing in. At the same time, a car pulled into the dock with a honk and stopped before none other than Ethan Hawke stepped out. "Great, more celebrities..." Blanc mumbled under his breath.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Greece," Ethan said with a cheeky grin before walking to everyone. "This fine craft will take you to Mr. Bron's island. It is a two-hour journey. Your captain, Mr. Andino, will assist you with your luggage...hold on," he said, looking around. "We're missing someone..."

Blanc cleared his throat and pointed as another car came driving down the dock. He tilted his head and squinted his eyes as the car stopped and a woman got out. A very familiar woman. His heart both stopped completely and grew when he saw who it was.

Julia Drysdale.