MIAMI VICE Part 1 is the third chapter of the Black Lagoon spinoff series Eda Initial Stage. It was originally released on June 17, 2022.
Plot[]
In a meeting at the CIA headquarters, several leading case officers discuss whether they should continue deploying Eda, a new CIA recruit, on field missions. Recalling that she was sent home after only 4 days on her post in Central America, one officer states that he has never seen a debacle like the one that "Calamity Jane" caused. He also notes that she received an excellent score on her general examination, has great combat skills, and has a high resistance to torture. Ruggles's own case officer remarks that Eda did not start the mess and merely put a stop to it, with Ravencroft also defending her because the conflict greatly weakened the North Gulf Cartel and made the secret police owe the U.S. a favor. Hesitant, Chesterton reminds them that she got Ruggles killed in the process, to which Ruggles's superior responds that he was a difficult agent to work with who would have caused further trouble.
Meanwhile, in a CIA training room, Eda engages in a sparring match with another agent, and although she swiftly counters his moves, he manages to pin her down and put his practice knife to her neck, winning the match. Commending her talent, he asks her why she does not apply to the special operations forces instead of asking for a desk job. She replies that she has been told that before, and the smiling agent tells her that he will be waiting for her. Closing her eyes for a bit and lying on her back, Eda is interrupted by Amber Whinberry, an agent who introduces herself as her new partner. Soon, Eda finishes taking a shower to wash off and asks Amber about her "NR" job. Amber, standing outside the showering area, clarifies that NR is the CIA's National Resources Division, which was created as a result of the tightening restrictions on CIA operations brought about by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. Drying herself off, Eda assesses that the NR is essentially for domestic espionage despite the CIA being a government agency. Hearing her, Amber comments that the CIA's budget has dwindled over time due to the decrease of external threats and therefore causing the agency to lose its purpose. Eda finishes dressing and walks out with Amber as the latter speaks about the CIA's desperation to find something useful to them. Noticing them, two male agents grin, with one man greeting Amber and joking that "Drunken Amber" is back to work. As Amber ignores them, Eda wonders if her partner is truly an alcoholic.
Driving down a long road, Eda listens to Amber inform her that their mission requires them to travel to Miami to speak with a local intermediary. The former rhetorically asks if the person has connections to Cuba, which Amber confirms is most likely because the agent knows his way around the U.S. thanks to his contacts with Cuban intelligence. She elaborates that the information broker is a businessman who is in charge of the distribution of drugs seized by local police but did not fare so well recently. Sharing Eda's skepticism, Amber adds that the man wants to sell information from Cuba to them in order to save himself, and they have to decide if his word is genuine or not. Annoyed by the lowly mission, Eda thinks to herself that the garbage job is no different than doing voluntary work in high school. That night, the two stop at a small bar on the side of the road. Pouring an alcoholic drink for herself and Eda, the exhausted Amber complains about her numb legs and envies how special operations agents can travel by private plane in lieu of cars. Annoyed, Eda sternly reminds her that she drove, to which Amber nonchalantly responds that it is customary since she is a new agent. When Eda expresses hesitancy about the amount of alcohol that Amber gives her since she needs to drive for them, Amber only claims that it is a tiny bit. The latter asks if Ruggles truly died, and Eda confirms that he died buried under his savings from his other jobs, remembering how he always lambasted her for her Harvard University affiliation. Her eyes lighting up, Amber explains that her previous boss was also a Harvard graduate who messed up once and had her take all the blame.
As Amber advises Eda to watch out for horrible bosses, several men notice the two women sitting, so they walk up to them and attempt to flirt, slyly asking them to accompany them back to their place for sexual intercourse. Eda tells the leading man to back off and drink baby's milk, to which the man tauntingly retorts that her breasts certainly have milk for him. Angered, Eda pulls out a clipped coupon for a gallon of milk and offers it to him, sternly telling him to go to the supermarket instead. Enraged, the man kicks the table and insults her, causing the bartender to order them to take their fight outside. The man yells at the bartender and grabs Eda, who angrily pleads with Amber to do something. Feeling tipsy, Amber smiles and tells her that she will be fine and just drink alone. Frustrated, Eda punches the man in the stomach and then kicks another man behind her as he charges her. At that point, a bald man holds Amber in a hug lock, and a short-haired man grabs Eda from behind while another man grabs her legs. As the second man threatens to rape her, a clean-shaven man puts his hand on the man's shoulder and jokes that his numbers against the two women are unfair. He uppercuts the hooligan and punches another man. As he exchanges a brief glance with Eda, she yells that there is someone behind him, and the man dodges a folding chair swung at him, punching the hooligan down with a right hook. Surrounding the man, the other hooligans wield chairs and declare that they will hurt him bad. Turning her back to his, Eda cracks her knuckles and jokes that it is her fight, to which the man smilingly replies that he cannot let her have all the credit. While the tipsy Amber drinks a glass and sits down to watch, Eda and the man quickly take down all the bar hooligans with ease.
Exiting the bar, Eda thanks the man for saving her, and he humbly brushes it off and offers to buy her a drink. The agent politely declines since she is in a hurry, so the man smiles and bids goodbye until next time. Near her car, Eda denies liking the man to Amber, also refusing to explain that she believes the man is just another horrible boss. The next day, the two arrive at the motel where they are supposed to meet their info broker. Eda attempts to wake up the drunken Amber to no avail, frustrated that she really is as drunk as her colleagues claimed. Knowing that the meeting is very soon, the annoyed Eda reluctantly walks to the motel room on the second floor. When she rings the bell, a bearded man asks her who she is. With a blank face, Eda realizes that she forgot to check the middleman's face and does not know the password or plans, so she puts on an act and rhetorically and grimly reminds the man that he called her to discuss something. The man lets her enter, and she is surrounded by him and Cutter at gunpoint as another man, Hancock, holds his pistol against the informant, Percy. As Eda puts her hands up, Hancock asks the beaten up Percy who she is, also calmly asking her if she is a call girl. Bursting into laughter, Percy warns Hancock not to talk to her like that, claiming that she is from the CIA. The men show surprise, and Percy proudly confirms that he brought her from her headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
The man behind Eda asks her if he speaks the truth. As she wonders what to do and tries to speak up, Sommers, the leader among them, shouts at the men to calm down. He admits that he likes Percy's story but advises him to call in the FBI next time, not believing his story because the CIA supposedly is not authorized to conduct domestic intelligence. Panicking, Percy retorts that it is just a front and reminds him about the Watergate scandal, to which Sommers only questions how a "scumbag" like Percy would even be connected to the CIA. When he begins to talk, Eda sees how the situation could turn bad for her and notes that the men are quite competent and organized for a simple drug mafia. As she insults Amber in her mind for being drunk at an inopportune time, they hear the doorbell ring again, startling the men. Percy exclaims that he does not know who it is, and Eda reciprocates the thought to the bearded man. Sommers orders Stokes to check it out, so he looks through the peephole and sees Amber. Hearing Sommers's order to make her leave, Stokes tells Amber to leave, but she immediately pepper sprays him in the eyes and kicks him down, then pulling out her pistol and loudly ordering all of the men to put their hands in the air.