Beating by Billyboy and Dim (Police)
After his release from prison and the Ludovico conditioning, Alex is brutally beaten by his former enemy Billyboy and his former droog Dim, who have both become police officers, in a remote countryside location as a form of unofficial 'summary punishment'.
Discovery and Recognition
After being attacked by a group of old men in the Public Biblio, Alex is rescued by three policemen. One of them, a young officer named Rex, holds him, but the other two are immediately familiar. The older one, with a familiar voice and face, is revealed to be Billyboy, Alex's old enemy from the gang fights of his youth. The other, grinning with a mad look, is Dim, who had once been Alex's droog but had betrayed him. Both are now wearing police uniforms and helmets, carrying whips to keep order. Alex is stunned, crying out "Oh no" and insisting it is impossible, but Billyboy confirms it with a grin, saying "Evidence of the old glazzies. Nothing up our sleeves. No magic, droog. A job for two who are now of job-age. The police." Dim adds that they were young once, but Alex was always the youngest, and now they are police officers.
The Drive and the Beating
The policemen take Alex to a patrol car and drive him out of town. Billyboy explains that it is not right for people in the town to see too much of their "summary punishments," as the streets must be kept clean in more than one way. Alex protests, saying the old days are dead and that he has been punished and cured for what he did. Dim, however, says the Superintendent read about Alex's cure to them, calling it a very good way. When Alex mocks Dim for still being too dim to read for himself, Dim responds gently but then launches a heavy punch to Alex's nose, making it bleed. Alex bitterly reflects that there was never any trust and that he was always on his own. They stop in the countryside, bare trees and a distant farm machine the only features, as dusk falls. Billyboy and Dim take Alex out of the car and beat him. The driver, Rex, remains at the wheel, smoking a cigarette and reading a small book, paying no attention. Alex does not describe the details of the beating, only that it involved panting and thudding against the background of whirring farm engines and bird twitters. One of them finally says it is enough, and they give him one final punch to the face each before he falls over and lies on the cold grass. They dust off their hands, put their helmets and tunics back on, and drive away, with Billyboy saying they will see him again sometime and Dim giving one of his old clownish laughs. The driver finishes his page and puts his book away before starting the car.
Aftermath and Significance
Alex is left alone, hurt and in the rain, with no home and little money. He cries for himself and then gets up to walk. This event marks the complete inversion of Alex's former world: his old enemy and his former friend, now agents of the state, have the power to inflict violence on him with impunity, and he is utterly helpless to resist, both physically and because his conditioning prevents him from fighting back. It is a brutal demonstration of how the system has co-opted the very violence it claims to suppress, and it drives Alex to seek refuge at the cottage called HOME, setting the stage for his final confrontation with F. Alexander.
