Mercenary for hire

One time in a book I read (after my brother told me how cool it was) they mentioned "soldier of fortune" magazine. I thought that was silly. Then one day I saw a copy of it at hyvee. I bought it. It was pretty silly, but obviously taken seriously by someone. Guys who leave the military and don't know how to do anything else. Of people who like to fight, maybe. Then I remember hearing about Blackwater over in Iraq. Soldiers of fortune working for our government. Bizarre line of work if you ask me.
Anyway, I was thinking the etymology of freelance was from a similar circumstance. A hired gun maybe. I'm working on a web design project and finding it to be just as much work as anything else. Plus a bit more frustrating while I'm low on the learning curve yet again.