It’s taken them longer than Jack would have liked to find the time to prepare for this, but he’s pretty sure they’re ready. Clint and Natasha agree that they’re ready. So it happens tomorrow, before people forget entirely, before the media blackout of the incident makes it as though it never happened. They’re in danger. Real danger. If they don’t have the average citizen on their side, they won’t survive. They certainly won’t escape. So it’s necessary. Which makes it easier to commit to.

They’re done for the evening, as ready as they’re ever going to be. Which, in Jack’s opinion, is pretty damn ready. He’s almost forgotten, these last few decades, how wonderful it is to work with such truly capable people. Natasha leaves first, at Jack’s suggestion that they stagger. That’s not what he’s after, though, and once she’s gone, he taps Clint on the shoulder. “One more thing from you, if you don’t mind.”