When Alex is four, he asks Ian where he goes when he leaves the house. Ian tells him, quite straight-faced, that he is a spy and that he is going out to save the world from some internationally notorious drug smugglers and generally nasty all-round prison escapees. When Alex asks, giggling, how, Ian says 'by pretending to be one'.
When he gets home, three days later, tired and covered in dirt, Alex asks him how his day was at the bank.
Ian says, "Fine."
