r Fox quit his job with the BBB shortly after his return to Dover. He realised an hour or so later that he had nowhere to go, no family to return to and no place to call home. Having been a man who handled stress rather well – in fact, better than nearly every operative the BBB had ever had – he took to the realisation well enough.
Unfortunately, despite having saved Siberia from a nuclear bomb and playing a key part in preventing the end of the world in general, there were issues with his decision. Mr Fox had no name, no proof of identification, no dental records or public records with his name on them of any kind. Because of this, he had no way to open a bank account, which wasn’t as bad as it sounded, as he had no money to put in one anyway. So when the prime minister tracked him down and offered him a job (“on behalf of the entire world”), he was happy to accept. It turned out that there were other ways to save people that did not involve violence.
Within a week, he became one of the most famous people in the world, not because he was magical or special, but because those who were, trusted him. Needless to say, there were a lot of emails – several hundred million, in fact – and had it not been for the diligence of his team, led by Mr Badger, the one he really cared about might never have found him.
Her name was Elizabeth and she had loved him, apparently with all of her heart. But the Darkling that had snatched her had dropped her in its escape and she had sustained a bump to the head that for a while had lost her her memories.
Months later, just as they were slowly returning, Mr Fox had joined the BBB to have his own removed. Better to live without knowing anything about her than to live without her. Elizabeth had searched for him year after year so was rather shaken to find out not only that the world she lived in was one filled with magic but that the love of her life had been a part of keeping it whole.
Mr Fox looked in the mirror. He was wearing a dark blue suit. He could get away from grey, but suits would take months to get out of his system. Tonight he would re-meet Elizabeth for the very first time and unsurprisingly she knew his real name. Mr Fox was not one to flap, not even when facing down a twelve-foot ogre. But today and now, as the butterflies formed in his tummy, Mr Fox realised that he was pleasingly and giddily terrified.