“When expression returned, it was outrage. “Oh, that—” Wells couldn’t think of anything bad enough to callLaw.“Rat bastard is the word you’re looking for,” Tom filled in for him.Wells turned and stalked back up the dock.A gull alighted on the boards at Tom’s feet. It cocked a beady eye up at him. Tom gestured with his beerbottle as he commented to the bird, “You’re right. Rat bastard is two words, isn’t it.”

“What kind of rat bastard psychotic would play that song- right now, at this moment?”

“Sir Henry fixed him with a keen eye.'Odd name, Tom Skatt - eh?''Thats right''You don't think we could be related?'Tom looked up at his great-great-great-uncle and smiled.'I don't think so''No,' grinned Sir Henry "no, of course not”

“Your balls + my gun, you rat bastard.”

“We may be rats in a maze as far as the Obama administration is concerned, but in Texas, we are rats with a firm knowledge of just where the button is and how to push it. It helps us put up with all the nonsense and it would do the folks in Washington well to remember that. - Tom King ("Why the Secession Talk in Texas")”

“You’re a bastard,’ she whispered, her hands beginning to tremble as she scooped up one of the figurines. I could tell by the costume it was Pulcinella, his body split in half. The head completely shattered. ‘You’re a selfish bastard.”