Page 9 of Infernal Affairs

Today he’s wearing pressed chinos and a sweater vest at least two sizes too small, the collar tugging at his neck where the fur is thin.

You can see the strain in the seams.

He nods once, neither deferential nor dismissive, and waits for me to be the first to speak.

“Atlas,” I say. “You’re looking well.”

He grins, and a little of his old self shines through: feral, reckless, the kind of energy that once had him somersaulting off the lighthouse cliffs for bets.

“You too, Infernalis. Looks like those bakery runs are working out for you.”

“Rude,” I say, but only to earn the easy laugh. “How are you sleeping these days?”

He rocks his horns side to side, a movement I suspect mirrors a shrug he can’t quite manage with his gigantic shoulders.

“Better, I think. The nightmares have...” He searches for a word. “Subsided. Or maybe I’m just too tired to remember them.”

I nod, jot it down, and wait.

You’d be amazed at how often people fill an empty sentence.

Atlas fills it the way he fills a room—with gusto.

“Actually,” he says, “I was hoping we could talk about something else today.”

He glances at the clock.

“Something not entirely work-related.”

Atlas runs a dance studio. He tells people he teaches movement to all ages and abilities, but what he really means is that he wants every kid in Blackthorn Bay to feel like their body is a gift, not a curse.

There’s a cruelty to the irony, but he never lets on.

“Of course,” I say. “What’s up?”

He exhales—steam if it’s cold enough, which today it isn’t—and folds his massive hands in his lap.

He tries for casual, but the effect is more like a bear attempting origami.

“I’m, uh... I’ve met someone.”

“Congratulations,” I say, and mean it. “Anyone I know?”

He hesitates.

“She’s from Thistlebrook. Human. She’s taking the Monday and Wednesday beginner classes, which honestly is more punishment for me than her.”

There’s a smile creeping in now.

“She’s nice, though.”

A real one this time.

I raise an eyebrow.

“Is there a problem?”

He seems genuinely stumped by the question.