Mark goes to see Johnny Swan, his old drug dealer. Johnny’s leg was amputated after he contracted gangrene from shooting up into his arteries. Despite these circumstances, Johnny is in good humor and still dreams of escaping Scotland and moving to Thailand. His one complaint is that he can’t get a girl into bed anymore.

Mark goes to see Tommy, who is dying of AIDS. Mark does not think that Tommy will survive the winter in West Granton, where he lives now. This is an uncomfortable visit in part because Mark is the one who got Tommy hooked on heroin by giving him his first shot. Tommy got AIDS by sharing needles.

Tommy asks Mark if he’s HIV-free. When Marks says yes, Tommy reacts: “You used mair thin me. And ye shared works. Sick Boy’s, Keezbo’s, Raymie’s, Spud’s, Swanney’s…ye used Matty’s fir fuck sake” (316). Mark retorts that he didn’t share needles, but the fact of injustice remains; it’s largely a question of luck that Mark didn’t get infected while Tommy did.

Tommy is still hooked on the drug and asks Mark if he has any heroin. Mark tells him he’s clean and doesn’t have anything for him, but gives him money.