Jack was planning to destroy Tombstone and his gangs today.
He was sitting on top of a crane, looking out over the area below. The harbor was quiet at this hour. Distant lights from the city reflected off the water. He had been up here for a while, going over the location from every angle, working out different plans and backup routes in his head.
He wasn't rushing it.
After yesterday he knew this wasn't going to be simple. These weren't regular street criminals. Tombstone had been operating in the background the whole time, pushing smaller gangs forward to take the heat while staying invisible. That told Jack enough about how careful this guy was.
Which is why today he had gone out and found someone who actually knew where he was.
It was not as hard as he thought. After the bridge incident the city was tense and a lot of the smaller gangs were lying low. But lying low didn't mean invisible. Jack had tracked a gang leader from one of the groups connected to the harbor operation — one who had escaped from the police but couldn't escape from him. So he found him.
"Where is Tombstone right now."
The guy resisted for about 3 minutes
"I don't know much," he had said. "I only know a location. Remote area near the sea. Outside the main public zone. That's where they operate from."
"Is he there today?"
"Far as I know. I don't know for sure. But I'm telling you, man, things move fast with these people."
Jack looked into the guy's eyes for a moment. He could tell. The guy wasn't lying. Too scared to lie.
Outside the police station a police officer was walking with a donut in a package. Suddenly the wind blew. When he looked back he saw an injured, bruised guy sitting against the wall. When he looked down at his hand the donut was gone.
He stared at his empty hand for a long moment.
"Every time," he muttered.
So now he was here, sitting on a crane above the harbor district with a stolen donut in his hand, staring at the target area in the distance. He took a bite. Not bad. He made a mental note to feel bad about that later.
He said it quietly to himself.
"I don't know if it's the truth. But since it was a gang giving the info, as a good citizen hero I'm going to go and defeat them."
He almost smiled at that.
He ran through the plan one more time in his head. Entry from the east side of the harbor where the lighting was lowest. Neutralize the outer guards quickly and quietly. Get inside. Find Tombstone and defeat him.
He stood up on the crane.
"Alright," he said to no one. "Let's go."
What Jack didn't know was that he wasn't the only one moving tonight.
Three floors up in a parking structure four blocks from the target, Natasha Romanoff stood in front of a tactical map of the harbor district. It was pinned to a portable board she had set up herself two hours ago when they arrived. Six agents were positioned around the room behind her, quiet and ready.
After seeing yesterday's news on TV she knew the vigilante would definitely attack the mastermind behind the chaos. So using SHIELD she found the target — a man named Lonnie Thompson Lincoln, a gang leader also known as Tombstone.
A funny name, she thought with a smirk.
She had expected the vigilante to move last night. Her instincts told her he would hit fast after something like the bridge. But nothing happened. So she waited. And this morning she was still sure. Tonight was the night.
She trusted her instincts.
"Once the target is located," she said to the room, "everyone acts according to the plan. Nobody moves early. Nobody improvises. We wait for the right moment."
Six quiet confirmations came back from around the room.
She turned back to the monitor. It was pulling live feeds from cameras positioned around the surrounding area — harbor entrance, east dock, the main road in. Different angles, different distances.
One of the agents spoke up from across the room. "Ma'am, you really think the vigilante shows tonight?"
"Yes," she said simply.
The agent didn't push it further.
She checked her watch. 11:58 PM.
She pulled her jacket straight and watched the monitors. The harbor was still. Nothing moving yet on any of the feeds.
A minute passed. Then another.
Then the radio crackled.
"Ma'am." One of the outer positioned agents. "I found the target."
Natasha straightened.
"It's a crystal man."
The room went still for a second. Natasha stared at the monitor. Her expression didn't change but something behind her eyes shifted slightly.
She picked up the radio.
"Follow the plan."
"Yes, ma'am."
Within a second the camera showed a picture of the crystal man. He was approaching the gang hideout.
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