Liberating Bismarck

General POV:

It was well known that they lacked the equipment to assault a city, a capital no less. Their only option was for team one to sneak in. Team two would mock assault the city, drawing omnic attention to them. This would bait out the Ravager, which team one was responsible for taking out. Without the omnic leader, the rest of the forces in the city would be easy pickings. 

Team one consisted of twenty units, five of them being Shawn and his team. The other two leaders besides the second Lieutenant felt that they were going to jeopardize the mission, but after a half hour debate, the very thought was dismissed. 

That morning, while the sun hadn't even touched the sky yet, team one began to move. Bismarck was a huge city. Trying to find the Ravager was literally like trying to find a needle in a haystack. For one, they could be in the wrong section of the city entirely. Nevertheless, they had a mission, and it was their duty to try it. 

Taking advantage of their element of surprise, team one easily entered the city. Towering skyscrapers that used to dot the city were now nothing but rubble, stripped of anything remotely useful for the omnics. Some soldiers began to feel a slight feeling of despair as they realized that their own homes probably now looked like this. But they quickly brush the feeling off as they refocus back on the mission. 

A Sergeant, who clearly opposes Shawn any chance he can, was the lead in this mission. He was directing the unit to where he thought the Ravager would be. He came up with some ludicrous theory that they were looking into the history of humanity, and the Ravager would be found at the North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum. So, the team was dodging patrols, ducking behind any cover they could as they made their way towards the building. 

As they neared the area where the building was, the team paused as Shawn held up his hand. The Segreant was pissed at the audacity of him. He comes over to him, grabbing his arm as his face grows red with rage.

"I am the lead on this mission, boy, not you. I will not tolerate insubordination." He says in a quiet tone of rage.

"Force of habit, sorry. I can finally get a sense of where the Ravager is, and he's near the Bismarck Event Center." Shawn reports. 

The Sergeant pauses. According to the plan, they had an hour to get into position before the second team began their mock assault. Due to the frequency and duration of the patrols, getting to their current position unnoticed took half their allotted time. From where they currently were, the Museum was directly to their left, while the Bismarck Event Center was to their right. They only had enough time to pick one. 

If what Shawn reports is to be believed, if they went to the Museum, they would be out of range of their target to take it out. The Sergeant shook his head. No. This was one of Shawn's attempts to undermine his authority. How could he know where the enemy was when their best scouts couldn't?

"We continue on with the plan. Fall in line." He commands, pushing a finger into Shawn's chest but is surprised by the weight behind the boy. It was like he just trying to move a brick wall. Ignoring that, he turns but is stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He sneers as he turns back to Shawn. 

"Unhand me boy before you lose the other one." He threatens.

"Listen, I know you hate me, but don't let your emotions towards me cloud your judgement. Think of the mission, of your people. I know you've read the reports, so you know I'm not lying when I say I know where the Ravager is." Shawn tries to reason.

His words only piss the guy off more. "I've been in the military for four years. I earned this rank. You've had more time in diapers than you have in the military. I'm not going to let some super freak tell me how to do my job."

Shawn shrugs off the guy's words, "Do you think this is the first time this is happening. I've reported something and the leading officer ignores it because of their ego. I've seen this too many times and I know what happens next. You might be able to put your own men at risk, but I refuse to let my team die for your ignorance."

He motions to the right, and without hesitation, his team breaks formation, heading towards the event center. Seeing this, the Sergeant's face turns purple as he pulls his gun, aiming it at Shawn. 

"Your insubordination has turned to treason. I could execute you right here and now for this."

Shawn turns to him, holding both arms out with a smug look on his face. "What's stopping you?" 

BANG!

Everyone's face turns to shock and horror as they realize that the Sergeant actually shot. 

Clink clink clink.

They turn to find Shawn exactly in the same position as before, unhurt with the bullet on the ground. He turns away from the shocked Sergeant, "You revealed yourself to be what I knew you to be. An old hater who built his entire personality around a rank. In the end, when you find yourself dying alone, just know, that no one cares or is going to remember who you are." Having said that, he walks off, leaving the rest of them in silence. 

The men who remained look at each other, then one by one follow Shawn. Witnessing Shawn tank a bullet calms him down a bit, but he's still pissed. Fine. He'll just complete the mission alone. Refusing to follow Shawn, the Sergeant sneaks towards the Museum, alone.