Free Ecstasy by Irvine Welsh

Marcus shouting: – I will have satisfaction!
    He joined her shortly afterwards in the carriage, a little breathless. – I am sorry, Lorraine, that you had to be exposed, in this manner, to the harsher side of military discipline. It hurt me gravely to be forced to administer such a punishment, but the lot of a senior army officer is not always a pleasant one
.
    – But your way of disciplining these officers, Marcus, was that usual?
    Marcus raised an eyebow at Lorraine. – There are many methods one can call upon, but in this particular situation, these were the ones I would expect to find most effective. When one is entrusted with the responsibility of administering punishment upon one’s brother officers it is important to remember that one still cannot relinquish one’s equally compelling role in ensuring that the sense of
esprit de corps,
the sense of togetherness and, yes, the sense of love for the regiment and for brother officers be maintained. This is absolutely essential for the purposes of morale
.
    Lorraine looked doubtful, but was moved by Marcus’s eloquence to concede, – Alas, Sir, as a mere woman I am far from wise in military ways …
    – That is as it should be, Marcus nodded, – And now, what news of our friend, the Earl of Denby?
    – Oh, my Lord is still in such a sorry way, Marcus! It tears my heart! The gluttonous taking of wine and opium, the bizarre congress with that sheep … it vexes me so! He is going to Wiltshire in a few days, and he will be with that beast the entire time!
    – We must accompany him. We must endeavour to do something that will bring him to his senses. It was a trauma that enfeebled his mind, so perhaps it requires some trauma to shake him out off it. We must think
.
    – Marcus, Lorraine began, after an impressively small pause for such thought, – I think I have something in mind …

21 Lord Of The Rings
    The corpse had been pulled out of the burning warehouse early that morning. Glen winced as he looked at it; desensitised as he had become to dead bodies, some of them in abominable states, he had never come across one like this. The flesh was burned from the top half of the body, the face unrecognisable. Ominously, as Glen heard the heavy breathing of Freddy Royle behind him, he saw that the buttocks were almost untouched by the consuming flames.
    – Zo this un woz a regular arze bandit then, woz e? Freddy drawled.
    – Well, yeah, I mean it was a fire in a gay disco. The geezer’s boyfriend came in to identify the body, Glen nodded at the charred mess. – He could only recognise the ring, that’s how he was able to make the identification.
    Freddy thrust his index finger into the corpse’s arsehole. – Yeah, it’s about the only thing that ain’t been damaged … I dunno how he could tell the difference, though, most of them look the same to me. Must’ve been true love, eh?
    Glen shook his head and pointed at the gold band which was on one of the body’s charred fingers. –
That
ring, Freddy, he said.
    – Oh! Oi see wot you mean, me ol moite! Freddy laughed.
    Glen was almost gagging on the sickly scent of the charred flesh. It seemed to get everywhere. He stuck more of the blocking cream under his nostrils.
    After he had his way with the corpse, Freddy poured lighter fuel into the arsehole and set it on fire.
    – What are you doing? Glen screamed.
    – Just makin it a little bit more divigult vor that there patholigizt fella to vind evidinz, Freddy smiled as Glen started gagging again.

22 Untitled – Work In Progress
    Page 204
    – The tenderest and most succulent lamb I have tasted in many years, Denby said, then froze. The word ‘lamb’ seemed to echo in his skull. Flossie. He glanced up at Harcourt who was filling his goblet with wine
.
    – Indeed, Harcourt smiled, – meat, I hear, which has been marinated internally with the juices of the finest English aristocrat
.
    – Denby looked across at Marcus Cox. It was not the smirk he expected on