He collapses in front of an old house, owned by a writer the government considers "subversive". The writer is one of the gang's victims, but he does not recognise Alex, who had been wearing a mask as he and his friends beat the man and gang-raped his wife, who later died of pneumonia the writer believes was exacerbated by her ordeal. When Alex tells him of his plight, the writer promises to help him. However, the writer realises who Alex is upon hearing him singing "Singin' in the Rain", the very song he had sung while raping his wife (in the book, he recognizes Alex’s voice and speech patterns). He drugs Alex and forces him to listen to the Ninth Symphony, which causes Alex so much pain that he attempts suicide by jumping out of the window.
