Joe Ledger: Special Ops

Inside The DMS

JOE LEDGER

Combat Call Sign: Cowboy

Rank: Captain

Brief Bio: Joe Ledger is a former Baltimore cop recruited by the Department of Military Sciences to head a team of special operators against terrorists with cutting-edge bioweapons. Joe is a dangerous man but a badly fractured one. The victim of terrible childhood trauma, Joe has three separate and distinct personalities inside his head: The Civilized Man — that idealistic and moral part of himself; the Cop — the investigator who is all about control; and the Warrior, also known as the Killer — who is savage and unforgiving. Thanks to years of therapy with his doctor and friend, Rudy Sanchez, Joe is able to use all three of those aspects and keep them under control. Joe Ledger is tough, resourceful, and a professional smartass. Ask anyone.

First Appearance: Patient Zero

MR. CHURCH

Combat Call Sign: Deacon

Real Name: Classified

Rank: Director

Brief Bio: The enigmatic man known variously as Church, the Deacon, the Sextant, Colonel Eldridge, Dr. Pope, St. Germaine, and a dozen other names, is the founder and director of the Department of Military Sciences. Brilliant, cold and dangerous, Church brings enormous financial and technological resources to bear in his crusade against terrorism. He is apolitical, ruthless, and well-connected. The running bet is that he’s a former Cold War era special ops shooter. But that might be simply another layer of cover.

First Appearance: Patient Zero

DR. RUDY SANCHEZ

Combat Call Sign: Aztec (honorary)

Rank: Chief Medical Officer

Brief Bio: Mexican-born Rudy is now an American citizen and the Chief Medical Officer for the DMS. A psychiatrist specializing in post-violence trauma, Rudy was one of the doctors who helped Ground Zero workers cope with their experiences after 9-11. Since coming to work for the DMS, his job is to help the field teams cope with the horrors they encounter and the violence they’re forced to commit.

First Appearance: Patient Zero

AUNT SALLIE

Combat Call Sign: Auntie

Real Name: Classified

Rank: Director of Field Operations

Brief Bio: Only Mr. Church knows who Aunt Sallie really is. And, though she could pass for Whoopie Goldberg’s twin sister, she has none of the actress’ charm and compassion. A former field agent and assassin, Aunt Sallie is the only person who knows Mr. Church’s secrets. She runs the Hangar, the DMS headquarters located at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.

First Appearance: The King of Plagues

DOCTOR WILLIAM HU

Combat Call Sign: Dalek

Rank: Science Director

Brief Bio: Dr. Hu is one of the most brilliant scientists in the world — proof that Mr. Church never hires second best. He runs the advanced sciences division of the DMS and oversees research and development. He and Joe Ledger have failed to bond on a spectacular level.

First Appearance: Patient Zero

DR. CIRCE O’TREE

Combat Call Sign: Greek Fire (honorary)

Rank: Director of Strategic Intelligence

Brief Bio: A bestselling author whose books explore the ways in which religion and political ideologies are used as the basis for war and terrorism, Dr. O’Tree joined the DMS to help stop the terrorist organization known as the Seven Kings. She has since become a valuable member of the team and, most recently, the wife of Rudy Sanchez. Only a handful of people know that she is the only known surviving member of Mr. Church’s family.

First Appearance: The King of Plagues

LEROY WILLIAMS

Combat Call Sign: Bug

Rank: Director of Computer Sciences, Deputy Director of Field Support

Brief Bio: Bug is the heart and soul of the DMS. His genius with computers brought him to the attention of Mr. Church, who hired him to manage the supercomputer MindReader. Bug and his team also provide real-time intelligence support for DMS field teams. He’s one of Joe’s most trusted allies and closest friends.

First Appearance: Patient Zero

GRACE COURTLAND

Combat Call Sign: Amazing

Rank: Major, Special Air Service, UK (deceased)

Brief Bio: Grace Courtland was the first woman to make it through the experimental program for women soldiers in the SAS. After distinguishing herself in that notorious boys’ club, she helped Mr. Church form Barrier and later its American counterpart, the DMS. She and Joe Ledger became lovers for a brief time before Grace died a hero’s death saving billions from ethnic genocide.

First Appearance: Patient Zero

VIOLIN

Combat Call Sign: Violin

Real Name: Classified

Rank: Arklight Senior Team Leader

Brief Bio: Violin was born into horror, as the child of one of the breeding slaves kept by the horrific Red Knights. When her mother, Lilith, escaped the Knights and formed the covert counterterrorism hit-squad Arklight, Violin quickly rose to prominence as their top field agent. Beautiful, deadly, and not entirely human. She is Joe Ledger’s former lover and sometimes ally.

First Appearance: Assassin’s Code

JUNIE FLYNN

Combat Call Sign: Bookworm (honorary)

Rank: n/a

Brief Bio: Junie has a complex past as the subject of a breeding program initiated by the Majestic Project in the years following the Roswell Crash. She is the former host of a conspiracy theory podcast and an author, and currently heads up a foundation dedicated to repurposing technologies illegally developed by the Majestic Three. She and Joe Ledger became romantically involved during the Majestic Black Book affair.

First Appearance: Extinction Machine

GHOST

Combat Call Sign: Ghost

Rank: Sergeant

Brief Bio: A big, strong, occasionally goofy and entirely dangerous white shepherd who is partnered with Joe Ledger. He has been awarded official rank as a sergeant in the DMS.

First Appearance: Dog Days

BRADLEY SIMS

Combat Call Sign: Top

Rank: First Sergeant, Army Rangers

Brief Bio: Top Sims is Joe Ledger’s strong right hand and the most trusted field agent in the DMS. A former Ranger who came out of retirement after his son was killed and his daughter wounded in the early days of the Iraq War, Top now runs Echo Team.

First Appearance: Patient Zero

HARVEY RABBIT

Combat Call Sign: Bunny

Rank: Staff Sergeant, USMC

Brief Bio: Bunny is a big, blond, former competitive volleyball player who joined the Marines and went from Force Recon to the DMS. He and Top are best friends, and they joined Echo Team at the same time as Joe Ledger.

First Appearance: Patient Zero

LYDIA RUIZ

Combat Call Sign: Warbride

Rank: Chief Petty Officer, USN

Brief Bio: Apart from Top and Bunny, Lydia is the most experienced DMS field agent. Quick and ruthless in a fight, she’s been on some of the most terrifying missions with Echo Team.

First Appearance: Assassin’s Code

SAM IMURA

Combat Call Sign: Ronin

Rank: Lieutenant, US Army

Brief Bio: Sam is one of the best snipers in the U.S. military. Cool and patient, he provides Echo Team with long-range punch.

First Appearance: Extinction Machine

MONTANA PARKER

Combat Call Sign: Stretch

Rank: FBI Special Agent (retired)

Brief Bio: Montana is a former FBI agent and the newest member of Echo Team. Tough, outspoken and reliable, she fits in well with the other top professionals on Joe Ledger’s top squad.

First Appearance: Code Zero

SGT. GUS DIETRICH

Combat Call Sign: Bulldog

Rank: Command Sergeant Major, retired; US Army (deceased)

Brief Bio: Retired Command Sergeant Major Dietrich was Mr. Church’s personal assistant, aide and bodyguard. Bulldog tough and fiercely loyal, Dietrich was one of the few people Church trusted completely.

First Appearance: Patient Zero

BRICKLIN ANDERSON

Combat Call Sign: Stonewall

Rank: Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Army

Brief Bio: Brick Anderson is a former DMS field agent who lost a leg in combat. He originally ran the Field Support team for the Hub, the Denver Field Office, then worked out of the Warehouse before becoming Mr. Church’s personal assistant and bodyguard.

First Appearance: The Dragon Factory

BRIAN BIRD

Combat Call Sign: Birddog

Rank: Logistics Specialist

Brief Bio: Birddog works closely with Brick, making sure that the field teams get all of the hardware they need to get the job done.

First Appearance: Extinction Machine

HELMUT DEACON

Combat Call Sign: The Kid (honorary)

Rank: Junior Executive for FreeTech

Brief Bio: Helmut is a teenager whose parentage is both complicated and horrific. In a move to separate himself from his father, and prove to the world that beyond nature and nurture there’s a third option: choice, Helmut has used his genius and specialized knowledge to help humanity. He is currently on the science team for Junie Flynn’s FreeTech.

First Appearance: The Dragon Factory

THE SEVEN KINGS

A secret society made up of some of the most powerful and dangerous men in the world. To build their mystique, the Kings hijacked much of the conspiracy theories built around other groups — such as the Illuminati. Though defeated by the DMS, the Kings are far from destroyed, and it’s likely they’ll be back in force before too long.

First Appearance: The King of Plagues

HUGO VOX

The cold-hearted genius who built the Seven Kings was also one of the leading experts in anti-and counter-terrorism. He used his high security clearance to obtain insider knowledge that allowed the Kings to do untold harm.

First Appearance: The King of Plagues

THE RED KNIGHTS

The Upierczi are a genetic offshoot of humanity that live in the shadows and hunger for human blood. Although they’re not supernatural — just products of genetic aberration — they are the basis for the myths of vampires. The Red Knights are incredibly strong and fast and utterly ruthless.

First Appearance: Assassin’s Code

BERSERKERS

These super soldiers are the result of transgenics and gene therapy undertaken by the Jakoby Twins. Given DNA from silverback gorillas, the Berserkers are enormously powerful and highly dangerous.

First Appearance: The Dragon Factory

SEBASTIAN GAULT

The former pharmaceutical developer has used both his genius and his vast fortune to fund terrorist groups and to provide them with dangerous bioweapons including the fearsome Seif al Din pathogen. Gault was recruited into the Seven Kings of Hugo Vox.

First Appearance: Patient Zero

BARRIER

Barrier was the first of the modern wave of counterterrorism organizations designed to respond to enemies with the highest level of technology. Based in London, Barrier’s teams are made up largely of the best-of-the-best agents from the SAS, MI5 and MI6. The senior consultant on the design and protocols for Barrier was Mr. Church.

First Appearance: Patient Zero

ARKLIGHT

The covert and militant arm of a secret organization of female assassins, Arklight operates according to its own agenda. They are the principle enemies of the Red Knights and the Red Order. Arklight is run by Lilith, a former breeding slave of the Knights; her daughter, Violin, is their senior field agent. It’s rumored that Mr. Church and Lilith have some significant history, and they’ve shared a number of adventures in the years prior to the establishment of the DMS.

First Appearance: Assassin’s Code

TOYS

Alexander Chismer is a former criminal who worked with Sebastian Gault and Hugo Vox. When he helped bring down the Seven Kings, Mr. Church offered him a chance at redemption by entrusting him with billions of the Kings’ ill-gotten gains and challenging him to do as much good for humanity as possible with it. He is the private financier behind Junie Flynn’s FreeTech. Whether Toys will earn redemption or slip back into his corrupt ways remains to be seen.

First Appearance: Patient Zero

FREETECH

An organization formed to repurpose technologies originally created by terrorist organizations such as Majestic Three, the Seven Kings, the Jakoby Family, the Red Order and others. Funded by Alexander Chismer and run by Junie Flynn, FreeTech brings these technologies to the people who need them.

First Appearance: Code Zero

The Department of Military Sciences was created by Mr. Church and is chartered by Executive Order. It is tasked with searching out and responding to terrorist threats involving cutting-edge science.

The DMS operates out of regional field offices. Currently there are seventeen field offices that run thirty-six active teams. Joe Ledger’s Echo Team was originally based at the Warehouse in Baltimore, but was later relocated when Ledger opened the Pier in San Diego.

The DMS’s primary weapon is the supercomputer system called MindReader. This system has two primary and overlapping functions. Using an elegant pattern-recognition software package, MindReader collates information culled from all domestic law enforcement and intelligences services as well as those from trusted international allies. MindReader sifts through the data on an endless hunt for terrorist activity. Its second function is as an intrusion weapon. MindReader can hack its way into virtually any known computer system and then rewrite the target computer’s memory to erase any trace of its presence.

Unlike other covert agencies, the DMS is not buried under mountains of red tape. Field team commanders are given superior mission support and encouraged to act autonomously. Naturally this requires a certain kind of leadership personality, and screening new DMS agents is done with utmost care. Everything about the DMS is built around the accuracy of its intelligence and the speed of its response.

First Appearance: Patient Zero

Joe Ledger’s group of first-chair shooters. This SpecOps team has logged more field time than any other DMS unit; and they’ve tackled some of the most dangerous threats to humanity imaginable.

First Appearance: Patient Zero

The Baltimore Field Office and home to Joe Ledger and Echo Team from Patient Zero through Code Zero. The original Warehouse was destroyed by the terrorist Erasmus Tull, taking with it the lives of nearly two hundred agents. It was rebuilt by Ledger in the days following that tragedy.

First Appearance: Patient Zero

The main headquarters of the DMS, housed in an old hangar on Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. The decrepit exterior hides the world’s most sophisticated counterterrorism organization on earth.

First Appearance: Patient Zero

The DMS’s latest field office. Built on an actual pier in San Diego by Joe Ledger, this office is dedicated to Special Operations and runs four teams — Echo, Slingshot, Deep Six and Kraken.