A Savage Place Part 4 is the fifteenth chapter of the Black Lagoon spinoff series Eda Initial Stage. It was originally released on June 19, 2023.
Plot[]
Although Crocker shoots him in the back at point-blank range, Burt Gummer is unharmed and maintains his footing thanks to his bulletproof vest. Immediately, the prepper turns around and grabs the deputy sheriff by his neck as he misses another shot, shouting that he will not be beaten. Pinning him against a tree and wrestling for Crocker's revolver, the angered Gummer demands to know who is calling the shots. Struggling, the deputy sheriff admits that he is surprised that Gummer has not seen the full picture, asking him if he has any brains left. His eyes widening, Gummer asks him if he really collaborates with the Enos family. Scoffing at the notion, Crocker denies it, homophobically retorting that he would never work for their "f-----" leader. Hearing someone behind him, Gummer turns his head to see an attacker charging at him, so he shoves Crocker against the tree, knocking him out. The prepper catches the man's fist and pushes his arm back, giving him a nasty glare.
At the same time, while hiding from the mercenaries behind a tree, Eda tosses a pistol to Amber, who catches it and begins firing it until she runs out of bullets a second later. Amber takes cover when the mercenaries fire back upon hearing her run out, causing Eda to insult her for not hitting a single enemy. She tells Eda that she cannot be good with a gun in their current situation, but the latter warns her to take care of it since it is her last one. Hearing the knife-wielding assassin sneak up behind her, Eda barely dodges her first stab, but the fast assassin moves and stabs the knife upward, only cutting Eda's cheerleader skirt and part of her top. Nearby, having the male attacker in a chokehold, Gummer proclaims that he is one hundred years too old to challenge him to a fight, then cracking his neck and killing him. As the prepper looks down on him and wipes his face, J.J.'s car rushes at him from behind, knocking Gummer into the air. Pinned down, Eda uses her assault rifle to push back the assassin, whose knife is a millimeter from Eda's face. The female assassin flips her rifle away from Eda, shocking her. While taking cover from the two gunmen firing at her, Amber suddenly gets the idea to trigger one of the tripwires laid down throughout the forest property. Pulling one of the wires, Amber covers her head as one of the bombs explodes beneath the men, blowing them up.
As the female assassin prepares to stab the knife downward onto Eda, the force of the explosion tosses her off Eda, knocking her back. Eda grabs her rifle and stares at the irate assassin, killing her with one quick shot to the heart. Seeing that the assassin is down for good, she stands up but hears someone, immediately pointing her gun in that direction. Smirking, the lone newsboy-capped gunman remarks that her rifle should be out of bullets already. Realizing that he is correct, Eda tosses the rifle onto the ground. The gunman jokes that it goes against his principles to shoot someone unarmed, and Amber reconvenes with her and tosses her pistol to her partner. Staring down the gunman, Eda rhetorically asks him if he will regret that principle. Elsewhere in the forest, Gummer lays on his back and hears Enos II ordering him to wake up. Opening his eyes, the prepper realizes that his hands are tied behind his back. Commenting that it has been a while, Enos II asks him where Angela is. Becoming excited, Gummer answers that he still cannot believe that his daughter has come back, claiming that she has likely already created a bloodbath out of his mercenaries. He even adds that the revived Angela is as skilled with a gun as Simo Häyhä. Closing his eyes in relief, Gummer states that it is almost like a dream because his daughter has come back to life after being killed by the Enos family.
Yelling at him, Enos II repeats that Angela is not dead because she ran away after stealing his family's money and breaking his heart. Not listening to a word, Gummer thanks God for bringing his daughter back. Furious with his stubbornness, Enos II declares that he is done for. Standing next to Enos II and pulling out his pistol, Needham stares down at Gummer and remarks that their long-time feud is finally over. As Enos says that all that they have left to do is find Angela, Needham moves his pistol toward him and shoots Enos II in the head, killing him. In a flashback, a young Enos is tied against a wooden fence and desperately asks Angela why she is leaving alone, reminding her that she told him she could not betray or abandon her family. Saddened, he asks if she is abandoning him, to which Angela replies that she has had enough of being tied to "this place." She elaborates that the people of Lakeside are completely immersed in the old-fashioned place, spending their unchanging days by drinking, gambling, and fighting to get rid of their sorrows. Commenting that it will probably be the same 10 years in the future, she professes that she does not want to live like that and would rather be in charge of her own life. Distraught, Enos II pleads with her not to go, saying that he loves her. Hoisting the bag of money over her shoulder, Angela looks at him and bids her "darling" goodbye, smirkingly admitting that she loved him too. As she drives away in her car, the tied-down Enos tearfully shouts her name.
Back in the present, laughing at the dead Enos II, Needham jokes that the young man did not see that coming. He shouts that he will not let a good-for-nothing and gutless person like him take over the family that he built with his predecessor while they both drank muddy water. Needham then gloats that from now on, he and Crocker will run things smoothly. Suddenly, Gummer notes that he was the mastermind all along, surprising the gangster. The prepper begins to wriggle back and forth and, quickly getting up, breaks free of his hand binds. As Gummer charges him and grabs his collar and arm, Needham curses the former's family for being the bane of his problems. To Needham's shock, Gummer lifts his whole body above his shoulders. Trying to break free, the irate gangster warns Gummer to let him go, shooting a couple of bullets near his feet in the process. Using all his strength, Gummer throws Needham against an adjacent tree, injuring him and knocking him unconscious. Somewhere else in the forest, Eda and the gunman stand across from each other with their guns at their hips. Although Eda shows no expression, the gunman jokes that he did not expect that his one-on-one adversary would be a cheerleader. She agrees and calls him a John Wayne-esque Western-looking man. Tipping his newsboy cap, he clarifies that he is actually into spaghetti westerns.
Tensely smiling, Eda excuses herself and calls him a Clint Eastwood man. Claiming that is not the same thing, he brushes it off and spits out his cigarette. Eager to duel, he begins to pull out his revolver, but Eda has already aimed her pistol at him and shoots him once, felling him before the draw. Insulting the man as a fool, she nonchalantly assesses that one can shoot faster if they hold their gun from the start instead of shooting unannounced. Speaking about the latter, she adds that he died because he was trying to look cool and act like a gunfighter. Coming to her, Amber cheers for Eda's win, but the frustrated latter casually points her empty pistol at Amber's neck, berating her for giving her a gun with only one bullet left. Though Amber tries to explain that it was a spur-of-the-moment thing, Eda angrily asks her how careless she is with guns, noting that the pistol was so light when she received it that she almost saw the gates of heaven for a moment. Reciprocating her anger, Amber glares and yells that she still defeated the gunman in the end. Eda retorts that it was not an all-or-nothing battle, but Amber reminds her that she did not even check her bullet count when she used her rifle. The two women butt heads and growl at each other until Eda suddenly falls to the ground and collapses on her back.
Shocked, Amber asks her if she is okay and if she got shot. Eda only mutters that she is very tired, genuinely worrying Amber. With an expression of despair, Eda remains silent for a few seconds and claims that everyone in the Deep South are irredeemable idiots. Thinking that the U.S. was full of such people, she confesses that she cannot comprehend why the mother and daughter from Bosnia wanted to come to such a place. Realizing what her friend is experiencing, Amber responds that she is clearly shell-shocked. She specifies that it is not because the two women are dead but rather, she witnessed first-hand that there are things that her own organization cannot control. Smiling, Amber compliments Eda's gall, claiming that she truly is a CIA agent. As Eda looks up at the sky, she is interrupted by Gummer roaring with victorious laughter. Seeing him cheer over the unconscious Crocker and the dead mercenary, Amber remarks that he will not get better until he dies.
Eda reasons that he is like that after all because his daughter was killed, but Amber rejects the story, confusing her. The latter informs Eda that Angela stole a lot of money and ditched town, stating that it was a smart move. Baffled, Eda is perplexed, causing Amber to wonder if she genuinely believes him, joking that she pities her for believing his version of the story. Infuriated, Eda gets up, prompting Amber to warn her not to bother him anymore since they are done. Though she warns her again to leave while they still can, Eda walks up to Gummer and demands to know why he lied to her all along. Happy to see her, the prepper commends her fighting and calls her "Angela," causing Eda to deny once again that she is his daughter. She angrily advises him to get that reality into his thick skull, but the happy Gummer only replies that her gun skills have improved so much. He guesses that it is a wonderful gift from God, but Eda retorts that she does not give a damn.