Joyce's Mercenaries

Here's the list of ablative foreign mercs, with specialties for each:

• Master Sgt. "Smedley" Sher Bahediar Ghale

Leadership, knife combat

Ageless face, somewhere north of his 40s. Gurkha, former British Master Sergeant. Still wears a red uniform coat. Supposedly took it from the officer he killed. Carries a kukri, good shot.

Quote: "Wait...for...it..."

• Rasul and his six brothers

Outdoor survival, scouting

Rasul is the oldest--early 30s. All are Pashtuns and devout Muslims. Supposedly they are the only people to have ever captured Smedley. They ride tough little Afghani ponies that are as nimble as mountain goats.

Quote: "We fight a holy war, memsahib."

• "Genghis"

Horsemanship, languages

Joyce picked him up fighting the Japanese in Mongolia; he was formerly with the Mongolian cavalry.

Quote: "My name is not Genghis."

• "Semyon"

Equipment repair, combat engineering

Mid-40s, wears a scraggly beard. Understands Russian but never speaks. Ethnicity uncertain, probably Russian-Central Asian. Good with radios, ironically.

Quote: " "

• Fan

Intimidation, hitting things with a big ass sword

Southern Chinese, mid-20s. Wears a sparse but long mustache. Quite tall. Carries an enormous Chinese broadsword.

Quote: "Fan!"

• Comrade Wu

Bureaucracy, Local knowledge

Joyce found him at a CPC camp in western China; he seems to be some kind of spy with a portfolio for Tibet.

Quote: "There's a small village two kilometers ahead, Comrade Joyce."

• The Fifth Interdisciplinary Workers' Council for the Propagation of Revolutionary Sporting Events and Activities

Infiltration, wetwork

6 person black ops squad under the command of Comrade Wu; their title is part of their cover. Two of them are women. Skilled at silent infiltration, like to use knives.

Quote: (sound of a throat being slit)