San Francisco, at the bus terminal on the edge of Chinatown.
At five in the afternoon, a Route 42 bus pulled smoothly into its bay, its air brakes giving a hiss.
The doors opened, and a man in a dark blue bus company uniform stepped out.
He took off his cap, revealing silver-gray hair flattened slightly beneath it. The lines of his face had softened somewhat, but his eyes still held an indefinable arrogance.
Valmont.
Former boss of the Dark Hand, former partner of Shendu.
Current Route 42 bus driver.
He walked over to a bench beside the platform and sat down, took a bottle of mineral water from his pocket, unscrewed the cap, drank a mouthful, and let out a long breath.
"Valmont!"
A familiar voice came from the other end of the platform.
Valmont turned his head and saw three figures running toward him.
Finn led the way, still as sharp-faced as ever, only now he wore a garish Hawaiian shirt, and his hair was thinner than before.
Lassoo and Zhou followed behind him.
"Valmont! Valmont! We came to see you!"
Finn stopped in front of the bench, bracing his hands on his knees as he panted.
"We heard you were driving buses here. We've been looking everywhere!"
Lassoo plopped down on the other end of the bench, which creaked and sank a little.
"Valmont, you've lost weight."
Zhou stuffed the last bite of his savory crepe wrap into his mouth and added indistinctly.
"But you look pretty sharp."
Valmont glanced at the three of them.
"How did you know I was here?"
Finn scratched his head.
"Uh... Jackie Chan told us."
Valmont's expression darkened.
"Jackie Chan?"
"No, no, we ran into him on the street, and he happened to mention that you drove this route."
Finn hastily