Richard Ravencroft (リチャード・レヴンクロフト Richādo Revunkurofuto),[1] alternatively called Ravenscroft in the English version of the anime, is a CIA case officer and deputy head of the CIA Intelligence Headquarters.[2] He is Eda's handler at the CIA.
Appearance[]
Ravencroft is a middle-aged Caucasian man with light brown receding hair, pale skin, a thick mustache, and round-cornered rectangular glasses. He has a large frame and stomach, and he wears a pink long-sleeved dress shirt with a yellow tie, thin black suspenders, and a name tag attached to his left suspender. Although he is usually seen without his suit jacket, he will wear it outside.
Black Lagoon history[]
El Baile de la muerte / Roberta's Blood Trail[]
Upon learning that an NSA unit was heading to mainland Southeast Asia by way of the Philippines to interfere in the CIA's territory, Ravencroft calmly remarked in his office at the CIA headquarters that the National Security Agency was trying to interfere in their "hard-grown little garden." As his subordinate Judway was leaving, he called for his assistant Cathy to get him another cup of coffee with enough milk and sugar in it to make a pancake. While looking at a map of mainland Southeast Asia, Ravencroft stated that he had to deal with the challenge of avoiding warfare between the intelligence agencies and figure out what he could obtain by exchanging information.[3]
In Roanapur while Grey Fox was waiting for orders from the NSA to make a move, Eda talked with Sister Yolanda in the Rip-Off Church drawing room about credible intel regarding the NSA's presence in the city. As Eda finished explaining that the NSA had been trying to expand their authority regarding covert operations like they did in Venezuela, Yolanda agreed to have her informants gather information on the NSA affiliates and provide it to her based on her boss's decision. Eda told her that her boss was trying to contact headquarters, but the project was clearly an independent action of the Pentagon without CIA consultation. When Eda said that payment for her information would come from her boss, Yolanda asked if Mr. Ravencroft was still her superior, which Eda confirmed. Yolanda remarked that she was glad to hear it since she had always wanted to work with Ravencroft, and she advised Eda to watch out for the NSA since they would try and sneak up on her.[2]
After Grey Fox captured Shue Yan in the Golden Triangle and brought him to the United States, Ravencroft was in his office and asked Cathy for another high-sugar cup of coffee while on a phone call with Eda. When Eda jokingly asked about Ravencroft's blood sugar level, he replied that people only lived once. He then told Eda that the Director of Central Intelligence had a private luncheon at a French restaurant with the NSA's assistant to the president, planning to draw a clear line with the NSA at the next meeting. Looking at his coffee, he added that Shue Yan's custody rights were transferred to the CIA in front of the president, pleasing Eda. Once he told her that the NSA's response could be summarized by a tirade of cuss words, Eda agreed that it was amazing and commented to Ravencroft that the NSA underestimated them.[4]
Ballad of the Sinful Wizard[]
In the second light novel Ballad of the Sinful Wizard, Ravencroft attended a meeting inside the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia to discuss the plan Operation Persephone with Eda and CIA Deputy Director Darryl Lansing. Commencing the meeting, Darryl recapped to Eda the NSA's failure in South east Asia while Ravencroft remained silent, and Lansing asked her how Grey Fox fell for the trap in Roanapur. Knowing that she had backstabbed members of a government agency, Eda made sure to think before she spoke. In order to convince the President of the U.S.A. that the CIA needed more funding, Darryl wanted to find an excuse to give to the President that there were great foreign threats to the United States of America, even telling Eda that she could use Roanapur as the place that the CIA could build its power without interference. Looking at her boss Ravencroft, Eda realized that she would not get help from him and would have to do things on her own accord.[5]
After Eda returned to Roanapur and Operation Persephone's confidentiality had been compromised (due to Lotton's actions and involving outsider help) and Eda's change in plan from rescuing Tricia O'Sullivan to killing her, Eda called Ravencroft to gain updates on his end of the operation. In the U.S., Ravencroft told her that the CIA's attempt to persuade Philip O'Sullivan that the Zeng family was involved in Tricia's disappearance had failed. Regarding the matter, Ravencroft ordered Eda to use her own judgment to move forward, tacitly giving approval of Eda's new plan for Tricia to be murdered. Eda then said that she wished that she had heard the order from Deputy Director Lansing, making Ravencroft comment that Lansing was too thick-headed to do it himself. Having one last small favor, Eda told Ravencroft to insult Lansing on her behalf, and Ravencroft jokingly replied that he would add his own insult to him as well.[6]
Later when Operation Persephone failed due to Tricia surviving and agreeing to marry her fiancé Zeng Kemin, Eda used a phone line via satellite to call Ravencroft and accept responsibility for her failure. As Eda told her superior that she would submit further details in writing on a later date, Ravencroft remained ice-cold silent, and to her shock he responded that she would not be reprimanded and there would be no report necessary. Clarifying, Ravencroft elaborated that the official record on Operation Persephone stated that the operation failed and was subsequently abandoned in the first phase, adding that including reports on the next phases' failures was unnecessary. As Eda hesitated, Ravencroft declared that Deputy Director Darryl Lansing was demoted for the blunder, saying that the operation officially ended before Eda's involvement.
Thanking Eda, he added that her report was somewhat meaningful since it confirmed that Roanapur was such a hellish city that the CIA should not engage in active interference in the town. Still curious, Eda politely asked Ravencroft to give her more details. Speaking with the tone of a psychotherapist, Ravencroft answered that one night ago the CIA intercepted a report delivered to the Dutch embassy in Thailand about how Cardinas Sheringham, codename "Wizard," died in a car crash three days ago, and he was the Directorate of Operations operative assigned for the mission. Asking Eda if the Wizard was okay, he stated that Sheringham died the day before Tricia arrived in Roanapur. As Eda became dizzy from hearing the news that the "Wizard" who she talked to was not Lotton the Wizard, Ravencroft asked Eda where and with whom exactly did she collaborate for Operation Persephone if Sheringham had already died.[7]
Eda Initial Stage history[]
MIAMI VICE[]
In a meeting with other high-ranking CIA officers, the men discussed whether the new agent Eda could continue her work. Ravencroft defended Eda by saying that she had great combat skills and had a high resistance to torture, adding that her recent involvement in the Latin American country weakened the North Gulf Cartel there, making the country's secret police owe the CIA some favors.[8]
Wandering Old Case Officer[]
At a park bench in Tidal Basin, Washington, D.C., Ravencroft discreetly met another case officer named Chesterton, who wanted a favor from him. Chesteron asked him if he knew what was the most necessary skill for a CIA agent, and Ravencroft confusingly replied that an admission test would determine one's suitability. Telling him that was not what he meant, Chesterton clarified that intuition was the best skill, stating that one should know when bad things would happen. Standing up, Chesterton told him about a retired agent named Harold Meyer, whose wife died the previous year and whose family died in an accident years ago, making Ravencroft remark that it was quite a sad story. Ending the story with Meyer's recent disappearance, Chesterton asked him to privately take care of Meyer before he tried anything, with Ravencroft agreeing and replying that he would owe him for the help.[9]
A Savage Place[]
When Eda returned to the United States after she caused a mess during her previous mission in the Balkans, Ravencroft was ordered to decide if she should continue being an agent. In his office, as he sat in his desk chair, he listened to Eda's partner, Amber Whinberry, claim that Eda's chaotic behavior was because he put her under Tobias's command. Replying that it was too late to point fingers, Ravencroft remarked that he only acquired his own job with Chesterton's influence. Smiling, Amber rhetorically asked if they did anything wrong, reminding him that they had been successful in all of their previous missions. He reminded her in turn that she and Eda left scorched paths behind them, joking that it was mainly why he found it hard to make a decision.
Sighing, he declared that he would give them a short time to allow himself to think about his final decision. Hearing that she would be assigned as Eda's caretaker, Amber joked that she liked the idea, asking if she would receive a bonus. He jokingly commented that she was getting greedy, but she clarified that she needed money to pay for child support in order to see her child. Ravencroft recalled that the CIA would become just another government agency if they did not make a move soon, reminding himself that the Soviet Union no longer existed.[10]
The Spy Who Came in from Cold[]
Although he does not appear in this arc, one male CIA agent claimed that Eda was Ravencroft's favorite CIA agent.[11]
Little King of The South[]
When Eda and her group were in trouble of being captured by Peruvian intelligence officers, she phoned in the CIA furiously demanding for backup. Learning of the news as well as Enrique Gasol's significance of being leverage against President Duarte, Ravencroft approved of a mission to send Amber with a special helicopter team to rescue her group. With Enrique's rescue, the CIA and the American ambassador to Peru coerced President Duarte into becoming a U.S. puppet under threat of being deposed.[12]
References[]
- ↑ Full name is given in the official light novel Black Lagoon 2: Ballad of the Sinful Wizard.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chapter 53: El Baile de la muerte Part 10
- ↑ Episode 25: Collateral Massacre
- ↑ Episode 29: Codename Paradise, Status MIA
- ↑ Black Lagoon 2: Ballad of the Sinful Wizard (Edith Blackwater)
- ↑ Black Lagoon 2: Ballad of the Sinful Wizard (Edith Blackwater: 4)
- ↑ Black Lagoon 2: Ballad of the Sinful Wizard (Edith Blackwater: 6)
- ↑ Eda Initial Stage Chapter 03: MIAMI VICE Part 1
- ↑ Eda Initial Stage Chapter 06: Wandering Old Case Officer Part 1
- ↑ Eda Initial Stage Chapter 12: A Savage Place Part 1
- ↑ Eda Initial Stage Chapter 16: The Spy Who Came in from Cold Part 1
- ↑ Eda Initial Stage Chapter 29: Little King of The South Part 9