Little King of The South Part 4 is the twenty-fourth chapter of the Black Lagoon spinoff series Eda Initial Stage. It was originally released on March 19, 2024.
Plot[]
Stopping at the roadblock, Jaden assures the worried Enrique that they will be fine since he and Eda are essentially diplomats. Looking behind her, Eda asks Luciana if she is carrying an AK rifle, which the latter confirms. One soldier asks Jaden where a foreigner like him is traveling to, so he shows his papers and clarifies that he is an American embassy associate on official business. Examining his documents, the soldier quietly converses with a superior about the papers. The superior soldier informs Jaden that martial law is in effect, and they will have to come with them for diplomatic protection. Though he is surprised, the soldier claims that they will need to be detained for their own safety. Eda moves her legs and signals Luciana to get ready, causing the soldiers to point their guns at them and order them not to move. Thinking about when to move, Jaden suddenly slams on the car's gas pedal as Eda and Luciana pull out their firearms. As the soldiers begin opening fire, Eda helps Jaden steer the wheel as Luciana shoots out of her passenger window, killing one soldier.
As they maneuver through the roadblock, Eda and Luciana shoot in opposite directions and manage to hit a couple of soldiers. Being ordered to chase after the foreigners, two soldiers pursue them, with one using an M2 Browning machine gun to raze their car with bullets. Eda shouts at Jaden to hit the brakes, and when he does so, she and Luciana jointly shoot at the enemy vehicle, killing the driver and knocking the machine gunner off of the military Jeep. Later, the five of them arrive at a hideout in a garage. Enrique is shocked that they are under martial law as Eda yells that she does not know anything about it. Jaden frantically calls the American embassy in Peru, demanding Ambassador Alcock to tell him what is happening. The ambassador asks if he and Eda are all right, and upon learning of their well-being, he says that President Duarte has used the military to carry out a coup d'état, with the military taking over every corner of the city. Jaden is in disbelief to hear this, and Alcock remarks that unlike in Iran, the current action is state-sponsored. He thinks the military will not go as far as raiding a foreign embassy but admits that he is uncertain what will happen to Jaden if he is detained outside the embassy. Jaden asks what they should do, to which Alcock advises him to wait at the emergency safehouse until an envoy who will be sent comes there and guides them on further instructions.
After the call, Enrique asks if a coup by the president is really occurring, pointing out that a coup is usually done by the military against a president. Eda specifies that it is a self-coup in which the president declares martial law and uses the military to suppress opposition by force. Not surprised, Luciana assesses that it is the type of thing a president who was elected on a platform of ending warlord politics would do. Jaden comments that the president's main economic stimulus measures continue to fail while the national debts continue growing, believing that he must have lost his grip on the country. Eda adds that people backed into a corner do not care what happens next, and Enrique asks what she will do now. She answers that she brought them as far as promised but they are on their own for the time being until she contacts the embassy for further instructions. Displeased, Enrique and Luciana point their guns at the two CIA agents, surprising them. Eda warns him that he should stop, but he reasons that because the situation has drastically changed, the CIA is their only lifeline now and thus one of them needs to stay. The two agents scoff at his claim and rhetorically ask how threatening them will help him, to which the boy retorts that their priority is to flee the area and figure out the rest after they survive. Enrique orders Eda to stay while Jaden goes to the safehouse and asks for instructions from his superiors.
Giving Jaden his motorbike, Enrique tells him that the vehicle is far less conspicuous than his car. Begrudgingly thanking him, the CIA agent listens to him say that the military's manpower is still limited. Enrique states that if they avoid the main roads, then they can rendezvous without running into each other, handing Jaden a map of the city roads. Putting on his helmet, Jaden mutters that he did not join the CIA to play James Bond. As he drives away, he claims he will curse Enrique if he gets killed. Elsewhere, in a government building, Melgar walks in a hallway when he suddenly sees General Tovar walking toward him. As the general greets him and asks what is wrong, the annoyed Melgar asks what he did to get under the president's skin. Rebuffing the notion, Tovar replies that the operation was ordered by the president and not necessarily his own intention. Melgar mutters that he says that all the time, causing Tovar to warn him to watch his tone. Declaring that the president's authority now rests with the military, the general adds that it does not belong to an intelligence service that has not made any gains in the fight against the guerrillas. Finishing their talk, Tovar mockingly advises him to keep the president in a good mood by using his best talking points.
In the president's office, Melgar listens to Duarte rhetorically ask if he is fine with disobeying his orders and acting on his own. Willing to give Melgar one last chance, the president orders him to capture the CIA agents and the guerrillas' intermediary and also find evidence that the U.S. is connected to the guerrillas. President Duarte proclaims that they can stop the U.S. from interfering in their affairs once he accomplishes the task, so Melgar agrees to his order. In town, Jaden meets a contact at the safehouse and tells him about his situation. Meanwhile, Enrique and Mayte visit a funeral home to ask the director to make preparations for burying Casilda. Sitting outside in a van at gunpoint, Eda asks Luciana to stop pointing it at her since she is not going anywhere. Glaring at her, Luciana responds that she will never let her guard down even if it is only her and her colleague. She admits that she thought all CIA agents were businessmen like Jaden until she met Eda, whom she insults as smelling like gunpowder. Grinning, Luciana claims that she is just like them, but Eda calmly warns her not to put her in the same league as the guerrillas, asking her if she grew up in a good neighborhood. Luciana responds that birth and upbringing do not matter but rather, it is about where one's soul is born. She concludes that one does not belong to their place on earth but instead to the world where one is eventually meant to be in.
Smoking a cigarette, Eda says that her speech is very cliché. At that point, Enrique and Mayte finish their business at the funeral home and receive the address where Casilda will be buried. The four of them then return to Enrique's secondary hideout, where Jaden relays the instructions of the embassy to them, which are to secretly cross the border and escape to a neighboring country. He tells them that Enrique will need to come with them because he is a living witness to the coalition's relationship with the guerrillas and the military's massacre of civilians. Additionally, Jaden emphasizes that they cannot let the government get their hands on Enrique, who responds that he and his two friends have conditions. Eda tells her partner that they will need a guide anyway, so Jaden advises the other three to prepare for departure. While entering another room, she asks him if the ambassador truly requested him to take Enrique with him. Confirming, Jaden asks what the matter is. Eda remarks that she thought the ambassador would abandon him given his old-fashioned nature. To her surprise, Jaden confesses that the ambassador believed that disposing of Enrique would be their last resort if he did not serve as a bargaining chip against the government.
Later, Luciana finishes taking a shower and is finally relaxed. Seeing her younger sister, she asks if their grandmother's burial was satisfactory. Confirming, Mayte adds that she has mourned and now knows where she is buried, to which Luciana comments that they will have to visit it whenever things die down in their country. Quietly, Mayte asks what will happen to them. Hugging her younger sister, Luciana solemnly affirms that she will protect her no matter what since she is her only family, swearing on her own life as well as Casilda's. Mayte mentions that they have Enrique too, which Luciana accepts. In another room in the residence, Enrique calls a business client and iterates that he does not have a choice, so he suggests returning to business when things calm down. After hanging up, he hears Eda tease him for the delayed business, annoying him. Pulling out a cigarette, she states that it is indeed wise to halt business for the time being, reasoning that he cannot sell things in his situation anyway. Eda reminds Enrique that Jaden ordered her to concentrate on getting him to safety, which Enrique claims is a big job under their circumstances.
Saying he sounds disgruntled, she in turn claims he is very greedy for someone with little hands, warning him not to pick up everything since he would lose it all if he let greed get the best of him. Telling her to shut up, the frustrated Enrique exclaims that he has survived up to their current point with his own strength. He chastises her and Jaden for looking down on him and alleges that they can easily do so because they have power as Americans. Adding that they happened to be born in such a country, Enrique yells that he is a human being just like them. Though Eda continues to roll her eyes at him, he accuses them of using their country's authority to poke fun at the weak. Storming out of the room, Enrique insults them as a bunch of punks and recommends that they not forget that. Standing up, Jaden mutters that he is merely a "cocky brat with a big mouth." In contrast, the relaxed Eda comments that it is okay to be bossy, confusing him. She assesses that such an attitude is what he should have if he truly wants to start his own organization at his age.
Focusing on the present, Eda reiterates that their priority is leaving the area by the next day, stating she doubts that the people who have been spying on them will let them leave. Jaden is in disbelief at the revelation, baffling Eda, who jokes that Enrique is correct that the prestige of the United States only reaches civilized societies. Cocking her pistol, she says that the last thing they want to do is jump into a death match with no rules, admitting that her pistol and its lead bullets are the last thing to count on. Joking that they need to charge up, Eda slaps his buttocks, making him yelp in pain. Scoffing at his supposed weakness, she remarks that the guerrilla woman would have been a better partner than him.