Chapter 37: Excuses

"You let her get away!?" Solomon roared as he stared at everyone around him.

Everyone involved in either of the three main gangs had been gathered in the den's arena, as Solomon had demanded answers for the disastrous prisoner exchange earlier in the day.

Zevon, Ginny and Mad Maddy fearfully cast their eyes downward. Uma and Harry looked rebelliously angry, while Gil seemed to be unsure what to feel. Harriet, Anthony and Clay all had a significantly self-absorbed look on them. CJ sat on a roofbeam as usual and looked both nervous and resentful.

"You let her get away! After all our preparations, after all that we talked about! You let her get away." Solomon told his silent audience.

"I was not our fault." Harry indignantly stated. "It was those other bastards."

Solomon turned his attention to Harry. "Oh, it was those other bastards? Well, then it's all okay, isn't it? I mean, it's not like there were only four of them against pretty much our entire army, right?" He sarcastically asked.

Harry's face turned red and he simply sat back with a surly look on his face. He had a bandage on his nose and around his right arm from where he got wounded during the fighting. Gil's leg was also encased in bandages and he sported a spectacular blue eye as well. From his own gang, only Ginny was slightly injured, her right arm being grazed by an arrow.

"You just had to do it, didn't you? You just had to have your fun?" Solomon directed himself to Uma. "The plan was to immediately escort her to the den, with all the pirates! But instead you just had to resort to your old torturous habits."

"You only said that you wanted her alive! We left her alive!" Uma snapped.

"Well, you may also have noticed that she never arrived here!" Solomon shouted back.

"How were we supposed to know that she had her private break-out crew stationed on the isle?" Uma angrily asked. "Just remember that your crew was supposed to be the one guarding the isle."

Solomon slammed his hand on the table. "They were positioned in case Mal would break out herself. As I said, you were supposed to deliver her here! But instead you just had your little fun and then let her get escorted by just four people!"

Uma crossed her arms. "She was barely conscious, she wouldn't be able to run anywhere, whether she wanted to or not."

"You really did not expect that she had brought along people to rescue her?" Solomon skeptically asked.

"We told her to come alone, didn't we?" Uma replied.

"But would they ever honor that deal? Of course not! You know the people in that terrible fantasy land? They are weak! They would never let Mal go here alone to presumably get killed by us! She's the king's girlfriend! He had every resource to help her at his disposal." Solomon raged.

"You act like this is completely our fault!" Uma scoffed.

"Oh no, I have plenty of others to blame for this disgrace!" Solomon barked as he shot a dark glance at his own subordinates, who all cowered under his gaze. "I gave you all specific tasks, specific parts of the isle to cover. So, what happened?"

Zevon, Ginny and Maddy exchanged nervous looks. "Didn't really work out." Maddy eventually said.

Solomon was ready to burst. "Didn't really work out? Really? You were with dozens! They were with four! How did you not manage to kill at least one?"

"To be frank, my lord, they were excellent fighters. The ones I had been able to see at least." Zevon said servile.

"I know that. I recognized them when they escaped on that boat. I encountered them before when I was in Auradon." Solomon said.

The rest looked at him perplexed. "You fought those guys? And you're still alive?" Maddy eventually asked.

"Yes. Because unlike all of you, I am at least able to call myself a competent fighter." Solomon snapped.

The others bowed their heads in shame again.

"If you fought them though, how come they're still alive? It sounds like they might have won that fight." Uma teased.

Solomon gave her an angry stare. "Most of them were easily dispatched, except for that swordsman. If any of you encountered him, you must have seen for yourself."

"Yes! Yes, my lord." Zevon eagerly answered. "One of my patrols caught up with him when he was escaping with Mal. He said his name was Archer, son of king Arthur, and then he wiped out my entire squad."

"And yet you return to me unscathed." Solomon coolly replied.

Zevon swallowed. "Ehm, the men were wounded, my lord. I couldn't just leave them."

"You will pay for your lies and cowardice later, right now you will answer my questions. Archer, son of king Arthur, you say?" Solomon asked.

"Yes, my lord." Zevon meekly replied.

"Then my suspicions were true. That rotten bastard was wielding Excalibur." Solomon mumbled more to himself than to anyone else.

"He wielded Excalibur!?" Maddy yelled. "No wonder we couldn't beat him! That blade is the stuff of legend, it's unbeatable and infinitely powerful."

"Not entirely." Solomon said. "When I saw them leave, I saw our dear enemy limping off with quite a headwound. Any of you responsible for that?"

It remained quiet in the room for quite a while until someone spoke up. "That was my work."

Solomon looked up and stared at CJ, who let herself drop down from the roof beams. "You?" Solomon asked. "Your work?"

"Yes, my work." CJ said in a rebellious tone.

"You beat that guy in combat, all by yourself?" Solomon continued.

"I wouldn't say I beat him. He managed to escape and gave me this in the process." CJ said and pointed at a spectacular bruise on her forehead.

"But you were able to wound him?"

"Yes, a nice cut on his head and a dagger in his leg." CJ shrugged.

Solomon was involuntarily impressed. When he fought the son of Arthur when he was transporting the cauldron, he had not managed to even slightly injure him. "How? Elaborate." He demanded.

CJ sighed. "Ehm, I kinda jumped him, that's where the cut on his head came from. Then we fought for a while and he eventually caught me. But he didn't kill me, he let me go and so I decided to plant my dagger in his leg. After that he managed to push me off the roof."

"He didn't kill you? Or even hurt you?" Solomon asked intrigued.

"No." CJ replied with somewhat of a blush.

"Why not?" Solomon inquired.

CJ shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? Maybe he just liked what he saw." She said and gestured at herself.

Solomon heard someone make a loud scoffing sound behind him, and he saw Harry Hook look at him scornfully when he looked back.

"Anything you would like to say, Harry?" Solomon asked.

"Nah, you heard my sister, didn't you? Her picture-perfect face got her out of trouble yet again." Harry grinned.

"Why don't you go eat shit, Harry?" CJ immediately shouted.

"Enough!" Solomon yelled when Harry wanted to reply. "You two keep quiet unless you're spoken to!"

"You don't give my men orders, Horns! How many times do I have to tell you?" Uma intervened.

Solomon then heard Harriet chuckle slightly, and so he directed his attention to her.

"Is something funny? Because if there is, then please share." He grimly told her.

"It's just really amusing to see all of you bicker like this." Harriet said with a smile.

"Forgive me for not really valuing the input of someone who has done nothing but sit on her ass all day!" Solomon scoffed.

Harriet shrugged. "Now at least I don't have to be a part of your epic failure."

Solomon raised his finger. "I would have even expected you to put in the least bit of effort! But now you're just acting like you've forsaken the entire plan already."

"Well, it kinda is. Isn't it?" Anthony said, and everyone stared at him. "I mean, that Facilier girl got back to Auradon and she knew everything about the plans. And now Mal and her soldier buddies have seen what we've been doing here as well."

"And why would this be a reason to quit?" Solomon asked with pent-up rage.

"Wasn't the entire plan dependent on the element of surprise?" Anthony asked. "They now know what we're doing and thus have time to prepare. We don't have the strength to take on an entire Auradon army."

"Not yet. Don't forget we have an entire army in our back pocket." Solomon told him.

"And no way to retrieve it." Harriet scoffed. "The army of the dead cannot be called upon within the barrier, you said so yourself."

"I know what I said, thank you Harriet. But it changes very little. I can still pass through the barrier, and I will use that advantage to find a way to take it down, temporarily if need be." Solomon said.

"Then what?" Harriet asked.

"Depending on what will happen, we either bring a small force or the entire army into Auradon. If I won't be able to bring down the barrier in its entirety, only a small crew will suffice to help me gather the necessary things and of course bring along the cauldron." Solomon explained.

"And you can't bring the cauldron with you into Auradon when you pass through the barrier?" Clay asked.

"How many times do I have to explain that I cannot bring along any objects when I pass through the barrier from the inside!?" Solomon replied irritated.

Clay sunk back down in his chair.

"You are all right however regarding the state of our operation. The Auradonians now know what we're doing or at least suspect something. Furthermore, even though they might be the 'good' guys, we can't be certain that they won't think about wanting revenge. We need to speed things up." Solomon stated.

"So, now you realize that you should have been listening to me all this time?" Harriet sneered.

"Just shut up will you, Harriet!" Uma yelled.

"Make me!" Harriet replied as she stood up.

Uma stood up as well and both unsheathed their sword.

"Ladies! Please!" Solomon yelled. "As much as I would enjoy seeing the two of you duke it out, that would be terribly counterproductive for the cause."

"I will not be disrespected!" Harriet screamed at Uma.

"That is pretty much all that Uma does." Solomon complained.

"Screw you, horns. Really, screw you." Uma sneered.

"We will have plenty of opportunity to go at each other's throats later! For now, we only discuss things. Sit back down!" Solomon demanded.

The two sat thus sat down again after exchanging a few more hateful glances.

"Right, so. It is true that we have to alter our plan a little due to some unforeseen inconveniences." Solomon began.

Harriet scoffed again, but Solomon chose to ignore her this time.

"We will move fast this time. I tapped Freddie Facilier's magic, and once Uma and Maddy have joined me outside the barrier, we should be powerful enough to activate the cauldron." Solomon explained.

"Then why did we need Mal in the first place?" Harry asked. "If we already have the magic we need?"

Solomon rolled his eyes. "I said that I suspect that we'll have enough magic. Draining Mal's powers as well would have definitely given us the edge. Furthermore, taking over Auradon would undoubtedly be easier without her on the other side. Thanks to you however Harry, we will get to find out how much stronger her magic has become when we have to fight her."

This statement made sure Harry would refrain from making wise-cracking comments.

"We might not have to fight our purple-haired princess." Uma then said.

"And why not?" Solomon retorted. "Do you expect her to jump ship?"

"No, but me and the others did quite a number on her. That was one of the most savage beating I have seen I a while, she might not make it." Uma proposed.

"But then again, we cannot be certain." Solomon spat back. "So, we have to take her into account when we continue."

"So, what's the exact plan you have in mind now?" Uma asked, sounding a bit bored.

"We will have to move quickly, but there are still some plans to make. Most important is that I have to get back to Auradon to experiment with the barrier. We just have to hope that those pesky Auradonians won't have the balls to take us on just yet." Solomon explained.

"And what if they do?" Clay asked.

"Things might get a little chaotic, but at least we'll have the home advantage." Solomon answered.

"You don't really know the Auradonians, or beasty boy, do you Solomon?" Uma asked.

"Obviously not as much as you do, Uma. Then again, I don't spend as much time reading the gossip magazines." Solomon replied.

Uma shot him an angry glare. "I mean, you don't know how they act. They aren't like us, they hate hurting people, they hate punishing people. Hell, beastie boy was even willing to forgive me for kidnapping him and flooding his little party."

Solomon thought about that. "You're probably right. They'll probably want this to blow over with the least number of casualties. Those soldiers even refused to kill any of ours. This will cost them, massively."

"So, you get to Auradon. You fidget with the barrier, and then what?" Harriet asked.

"We'll not know for certain until then. There are three options; either I will be able to bring down the entire barrier and you will all be able to cross, I will be able to temporarily deactivate the barrier and only a portion of you will be able to cross, or I won't be able to do anything to the barrier, in which case we all stay here." Solomon spelled out.

"You're saying there's a possibility that you won't be able to do anything to the barrier?" Harriet asked.

"There's always a possibility. In this case, it's a slight one though." Solomon answered. "What seems most likely to me is that I will manage to temporarily disable the barrier. I suggest that in that case we bring a few of our best warriors over. Not an extremely large number, we don't want to be too noticeable."

"I'm coming, no matter what you have to say about that." Uma said.

"I wouldn't have expected any different from you, Uma." Solomon replied with a half-smile. "Do you wanna come too?" He then asked Harriet.

Harriet chewed on her lip a bit before answering. "Nah, I'll skip that part. I will send Anthony, Clay and some of my crew however."

"Naturally." Solomon softly said while rolling his eyes. "Zevon, Maddy and CJ will come along as well. Ginny, you stay here and take charge of the operation. Who will you bring, Uma?"

"Harry and Gil. The rest of my crew will be able to handle the rest of the production." Uma replied.

"Fine. I will make sure to give a sign when I'll try to deactivate the barrier, then you'll be able to cross into Auradon and take the cauldron and some supplies with you. The others will create a diversion on the other side of the isle so that Auradon authorities will be none the wiser." Solomon explained.

"And what will be the plan then?" Uma asked.

"We have some fun, maybe toy with them a bit, mainly create diversions. We want them distracted from the isle. So, when we eventually take down the barrier in its entirety, they won't expect it. Harriet will then lead the rest of our forces into Auradon, where they'll join up with us and the dead army which we will have summoned by then." Solomon told everyone in the room.

"And if all goes to plan, we will then conquer Auradon?" Harriet asked with a small grin.

"Exactly." Solomon replied and a pervasive whispering amongst those present filled the room.

"When do you plan on leaving?" Harriet inquired.

"Soon, but not before all the necessary preparations have been made." Solomon replied.

"I still don't feel comfortable having this operation rely entirely on whether or not you'll succeed." Uma said as she crossed her arms.

Solomon sighed. "Uma, we have come this far! Why should I back out now? And furthermore, once I leave for Auradon you'll still have the cauldron."

Uma shrugged. "Alright, you're right about that. But that doesn't mean I automatically trust you."

"Likewise." Solomon replied before directing himself to the rest. "This meeting is over, we halt production and prepare for everything to be shipped out. I want everyone on the isle battle ready within a month. Harriet, I need to discuss a few things with you in private."

His own subordinates solemnly nodded before leaving. Uma and her pirates said nothing as they took off. Harriet's goons remained, unsure whether or not they could leave without their leader.

"Go, this won't last long." Harriet told them.

After the last of the people had left, Harriet turned back to Solomon. "What is so important that it can't be said in a meeting?"

"Something that concerns us both." Solomon replied as he sat down next to the cauldron. "And that should probably remain between us."

"Just blurt it out, will you. I've got better things to do." Harriet spat.

"Fine." Solomon replied with clenched jaw. "I know of your desire to head out on your own once we have torn down the barrier."

"I'm not changing my mind about that so don't bother trying." Harriet stubbornly stated.

Solomon sighed once again. "Could it be possible for me to finish my talk for once without you interrupting me?"

"No! I say what I want to, when I want to." Harriet answered.

"Suit yourself, but I'll say what I want anyway." Solomon stated. "I know that Uma has made you an offer, or that you have made Uma an offer. I don't precisely know what it entails but I know it exists."

Harriet seemed lost for words and this only confirmed Solomon's suspicion.

"Your stunned silence makes me believe that I'm right. Well Harriet, while I'm by no means thrilled that you went behind my back, but you can be damn sure I expected it. We are all villains after all." Solomon smiled.

Harriet straightened up and shot him a foul glare. "And what is the purpose of sharing this information with me?"

"Because I am giving you an out." Solomon replied. "Whatever deal you have with Uma, break it off! Stop whatever you're planning, and you will live."

Harriet scoffed. "Right, you have convinced me! Just like that!" she said as she stood up. "Why should I take any more orders from you?"

"If you won't, you'll die." Solomon said.

"If I die, my goons will make sure to take you with me." Harriet threatened.

"I kinda took care of that. I have given my people instructions, Harriet. They are moving for Hook's inlet as we speak. Your people will be sitting ducks, waiting to be picked off by us. We will wipe all of you out in one clean swoop." Solomon countered.

Harriet paled at this. "You're full of shit!"

"Do you really want to doubt me right now?" Solomon asked. "I have been planning this for a while, you not showing up to recapture Mal was the final nail in the coffin. But as I said, I'm giving you an out. No more secret meetings with Uma, Harry or anyone else. If I even slightly suspect you're going behind my back again, you will most definitely taste my wrath."

"Fuck you, Solomon." Harriet sneered.

"So, you're not taking my offer?" Solomon replied.

"Oh, I'm taking it alright. This will not be the day that I'll die. But I swear to god Solomon, I will see you perish before suffering a similar fate." Harriet warned.

Solomon smiled. "We'll see about that. Now, get out."