An Unexpected Turn

Chapter 9

"He did what?!"

Harry understood Hades' anger; it was the same type of anger and fear he was feeling.

"I don't know how he got in. I locked the door behind me when I left. Mal was watching a movie and when I came back, she was gone. He left this note." He said, handing it to his girlfriend's father.

Hades read over the paper before glaring at him. "This isn't true, right? You didn't help him take her?"

Harry nearly choked on air at his comment, his anger starting to flare. "Why the fuck would I do that? Do you think I'd be asking for your help if I had anything to do with this? Do you think I'd be scared shitless right now?"

Hades held back his anger, understanding why the young man was angry. The two were very alike, whether Hades wanted to admit it or not.

"I'm going to need you to do something that you're not going to be happy about." Hades said, his voice lowering. "I need you to pretend like this was the plan. You need to go to your father, angry that he ruined your plan to bring her to him, yourself. He needs to think you're on his side." He looked over at Carlos, Evie, Jay, and Uma. "Uma will be with Harry as backup. Make him think you're together to avoid suspicion. Mal won't be happy, but if she believes it, Hook will. Evie, Carlos, and Jay will be the distraction. Try to get in and rescue Mal. They'll think you're alone, but I won't be far. When Hook is in the perfect place, I-"

"I will finish him." Harry interrupted. "He has fucked with me my entire life. He's done doing that now. He's gone too far."

Uma placed her hand on her best friend's back. "Mal might need you, Harry. You might be the only one to get her out."

He shook his head. "Hades can get her out of there and protect her until she's safe at home. I'm the reason he had such easy access to her."

Hades nodded slowly. "We'll see what happens and go with whoever is in a better position."

Harry decided to drop the subject. What mattered right now was getting Mal back home, not fighting over who got to kill his father.

On the way towards Captain Hook's ship, Harry felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see the blue-haired god behind him.

"We'll get her back. This isn't your fault."

Harry let out an angry breath. "I shouldn't have left her."

"You did it because you wanted to give her something special. There's nothing wrong with that. No one would've guessed Hook would show up. Honestly, I thought he was done going after Mal, years ago."

"He doesn't give up until he gets what he wants."

"Alright, here's where we split." Uma called back to them.

Harry looked out towards the ship. Mal was somewhere in there. He could feel it.

"Let's get this over with." He mumbled, holding out his arm to Uma. She rolled her eyes before holding onto him, the two of them walking up the ramp onto the ship.

"Where is Captain Hook?" He asked one of the crew members. The scrawny blond gestured towards the captain's quarters. Harry nodded a thanks and walked through the large doors.

"Captain." He said, getting his father's attention. "I see you ruined my surprise for you. You underestimated me but didn't give me the chance to bring her to you."

Captain Hook turned to face his son, a scowl permanently on his face. "I don't know why you thought to play around with her before bringing her to me."

Uma could feel Harry's body tense up and decided to intervene. "You know Harry, always wanting to remind his women that he could be gone in a minute. He and I were in a huge argument and he wanted to, uh....put me in my place."

If the circumstances were different, he would find Uma talking about being put in her place hilarious. Before he could say anything else, there was a noise around the corner.

"Captain Hook," Uma started. "Would you mind showing me around your ship? I'm sure my mother would love to visit this ship."

Captain Hook nodded, a mischievous smile appearing on his lips. "Of course, dear Uma. You can tell me about the last few years of my son's life that he decided not to share with me." He placed his hook on her lower back, leading her out to the deck.

As soon as the door closed, Harry began looking around the room. "Mal?" He whispered. "Where are you?"

When he found her tied up in the closet, he let out a sigh of relief. She was alive. He placed his hands on her cheeks. "Are you hurt?"

Mal's eyes glowed green. "You played me? This was all a plan? I knew you were screwing Uma!"

Harry quickly covered her mouth. "Do you want him to come back?" He let out a deep breath. "Your dad is outside. Jay, Carlos, and Evie are going to create a diversion and your dad's gonna get you out of here." He pressed his lips against hers. "Uma is distracting my my dad. You know I'd rather wrestle a crocodile than date Uma."

Mal visibly relaxed. "I don't know what happened, Harry. One second I was going through my textbook, and the next I had a bag over my head."

Harry could see the fear in her eyes. "We'll be home soon, I swear to you. I just need to give your dad the signal that I've found you." He kissed her again. "I love you." He whispered before walking out to the deck.

He leaned against the side and looked around for Hades. When he made eye contact with him, he leaned left, signaling Mal's location. Almost simultaneously, he saw Evie, Jay, and Carlos running in the opposite direction. The plan was in motion.

Harry nodded at Hades before running to find his father. "Captain, Mal's friends are coming from the right. No doubt to take her back."

Captain Hook's eyes narrowed. "Not on my watch." He said before shouting out "Intruders to the right! Stop at nothing!"

Harry grabbed Uma's arm. "Sabotage any attacks on the three. I'll keep my eye on my father."

In the middle of the commotion, Harry could see Hades carrying Mal off the ship. At least their main problem was solved. Now it was down to the last one.

Harry pulled out his sword and ran towards his father. "It's over, father." He said, pressing the blade against his throat.

This was it. He was finally going to put an end to this. An end to the torture he'd endured since he was a child, an end to the feud with Hades.

He was about to finish him when he heard a scream from the shore. He turned around to see a few of his father's goons throwing Mal into the water, Hades being attacked from all sides. He didn't have to think about his decision.

"Uma!" He yelled. "Help Hades!"

Without a second thought, he dove into the water, kicking his legs as fast as possible. He had to get to Mal. His lungs burned and the water was choppy, but it didn't slow him down. When he finally saw purple hair bobbing out of the water, he reached out to grab Mal,  swimming back to shore.

"Harry!" She said, coughing up water. "Are you okay?"

Harry just stared at her. "Me? You could've drowned. You were kidnapped! Are you okay?" He looked over her body, trying to find any serious injuries. When he didn't find anything, he looked back to see Evie, Jay, and Carlos swimming to shore. Hades and Uma were making their way over to them. "Everyone is safe."

When Hades reached them, he wrapped his arms around his daughter. "Mal, you're okay." He said with a smile on his face. He pulled away to look at Harry. "I'm sorry you didn't get your shot at your dad but..." he pointed to the ship. Almost immediately, there was a loud bang coming from the ocean. "At least you'll see his beloved ship go down. Gives you more of a chance when the opportunity arises. He won't be able to sail away."

Harry looked at Hades, unsure of what to say. All he knew was that he was more of a father than his own, and he was okay with that.

He wrapped his arms around Mal, holding her tighter. She looked up at him, a smile on her face. "I love you too, by the way."