Bill-boy grinned back at him. It was a nasty grin, white teeth against green skin.

"Sure thing, sarge. it's good to be back."

Bill-boy was one of the bad ones. All the Greens were programmed to kill but Bill-boy loved it. He took a feral joy in slaughter. Travis had seen him take a flamethrower into a peasant village. It had not been pretty.

"Bill-boy getting easy to spook, sarge. Been here too long. Too many tours." This came from Carlo, who smiled easily as he said it. Carlo was good-humoured. Travis had done three tours with him. The scientists could say that all the Greens were alike but he knew better. Carlo and Bill-boy were as different as night and day. They all developed a personality after a few tours even if they all looked alike. At least, the ones who lived did.

Chad had finished loading his gear, hefting a rocket launcher as if it were made of cardboard. He stood playing with a long knife. He was quiet and reliable. Travis wasn't so sure about Stef, the new boy, straight from the vats. His face held no lines. Whose bright idea was it to send a new boy along on a deep penetration mission? Sometimes the stupidity of the higher command was breath taking.

"Everybody got everything?" Travis asked. The Greens nodded. Good. Let's hit the trail. Bill-boy, take point."

As his team left the clearing by the southward path Travis paused to take one last look around. The chopper was gone, back to the Contras' hidden camp in what had been Honduras when national boundaries had meant something in Central America. It had taken with it any promise of safety.

Travis shivered again. He had a bad feeling about this one.

2. Sniper.

The darkness was an ally not an obstacle. The team moved through it like ghosts. The Greens could see in the dark like cats.