The Spy Who Came in from Cold Part 3 is the eighteenth chapter of the Black Lagoon spinoff series Eda Initial Stage. It was originally released on September 19, 2023.
Plot[]
Yevdokiya Skachkova continues exchanging gunfire with one of the abductors after they crash into each other. She warns Lottie to stay down, and she manages to shoot the abductor in the arm. She tells the child to follow her, but when they exit the car, the other abductor confronts them. Lottie slides toward him and kicks him in the groin, momentarily immobilizing him. As the two women run away on the street, another car blocks their path and Ives, the man who planned Lottie's abduction, steps out and glares at them. Yevdokiya orders Lottie to follow her in another direction, and the bearded abductor runs to his boss and shouts to him that the two women are their targets. Seeing his boss merely stand there, the man angrily asks Ives why he is not going after the women given that he said they would make a lot of money by holding the child for ransom. Annoyed, Ives grabs him by the collar and chastises the "junkie" for not being able to watch a child. The henchman reminds him that he was the one who let them escape in the first place, causing Ives to threaten to dispose of him if he continues talking to him that way. Walking away, the scarred man declares that they will still pursue the women, reasoning that they will not be able to hide in a residential neighborhood.
Elsewhere, at his business, Maynard Sears repeats to Eda that he plans on going by himself to save his daughter. The CIA agent responds that his choice is exactly why she is following him, assessing that Yevdokiya will go wherever he goes. Eda emphasizes that she will stick around and recommends that he stand down, stating that her partner is already watching his house. Ignoring her, Maynard opens his safe containing a lot of money. Hearing Eda speak about the large quantity that he owns, he sternly asks if she is trying to get some. Denying the idea, she remarks that she is never short for money even for work, making Maynard mutter that the CIA is truly a den of the establishment.
In the suburbs, Yevdokiya and Lottie sit in a yard behind a fence, and the latter asks who she is. The Russian woman answers that she is an acquaintance of her father who asked her to rescue the girl. Smiling, Lottie claims that her father certainly cares about her given that she has not been kidnapped for long. Learning that Lottie is Maynard's daughter, Yevdokiya asks about him, to which she says that her father has taught her many things like how to protect herself from perverts, how to avoid harassment from classmates, and how to write a model report. The Russian woman points out that she and her family are quite close, confusing Lottie. Omitting the fact that they share the same father, Yevdokiya confesses that, in contrast, her own father left her and her mother a long time ago. She elaborates that it is just her and her mother except that the latter is in the hospital with little time left. Although she affirms that she is ready to accept her mother's passing, Yevdokiya sternly mentions that she still has one thing left to do concerning "that man," hence she came to the United States. Curious, Lottie asks if she means meeting her father, which Yevdokiya confirms in hesitancy.
As she wonders if that is truly what she wants to do, Ives suddenly kicks through the wooden fence, knocking Yevdokiya onto her front. At the same time, the bearded accomplice restrains Lottie. As Ives walks toward her, Yevdokiya kicks her left foot at his head, but he grabs it. She then swings her right leg toward him, freeing herself. She punches him in the face and kicks him in the abdomen but to her surprise, he grabs her foot. Smirking, Ives commends her skills but retorts that they do not match his own. Moving fast, he thrusts her onto the ground and grabs her hair to throw her against the fence, injuring and incapacitating her. Lottie calls for her, but Ives ignores her and wonders if Yevdokiya is the accomplice of "Vasili." His henchman asks what they will do now, to which Ives replies that she will be more fun than dealing with the child.
Back in Maynard's office, Eda asks how he could leave such a large amount of money in his office, jokingly asking if he expected his current situation to happen. Hearing Eda imply that he kept the money at his office instead of home because he planned on leaving his family, Maynard denies the desire to do so. Disagreeing that he would never want to, she comments that someone who abandoned their family once could do it again and again. Eda also asks if he even brought close to $100,000 despite his bag of cash. Maynard claims that the three captors knew that the amount they asked for would be insufficient. She asks if he is just buying time, but Maynard reasons that how they proceed will determine the outcome because he still has a reasonable amount of money to make it look convincing enough that they will bring Lottie with them. He sees her silent in thought and wonders what she is thinking. Eda believes it is suspicious that Yevdokiya is taking way too long to make contact despite the previous risk she took.
At that point, she realizes that Yevdokiya had visited the Sears residence earlier. Additionally, her partner calls her and confirms her suspicion by informing her about the details of the child's abduction which he learned from Lottie's mother. Eda relays this fact to Maynard, making him wonder if "Duša" used the men to get to Lottie. She claims that it is probably a coincidence given that she knew the CIA has been watching her. Guessing that Yevdokiya will use Lottie to meet with him, Eda tells Maynard that she assumes he will still cooperate with them, clarifying that they will use the ransom deal to lure Yevdokiya out. Slightly rejecting the plan, Maynard smiles and says he will not do it totally for free and wants something in return. At night on the street, Ives and his men put a tied up Yevdokiya in the trunk of their car. The captor tells the woman that she will need to stay there for a while but promises to "take good care of [her]" after he is done. Ordering his men to get in the car, Ives proclaims that they will get the $100,000 and see the Caribbean Sea in due time.
Soon, Eda's partner calls her and explains he is on his way to the deal, asking what she is doing in turn. Sitting in the front passenger seat in Maynard's car, Eda specifies that she will give him further instructions when they get to Patterson Park, also mentioning that Maynard asked for a favor. Agreeing to the plan, he relays a brief report from the Russian embassy to her. Finishing the call, Eda explains to Maynard that her headquarters received a report from the Russian embassy but will brief him later. Smoking a cigarette, she points out that he does not seem to care about Yevdokiya despite her being his other daughter. Maynard admits that he is more concerned with Lottie at the moment, adding that Yevdokiya is old enough to travel in exile but not Lottie. Claiming that smoking is prohibited in his family's car, he asks Eda to dispose of her cigarette. Surprised at his adamancy, she laughs and tosses it out the window, telling "dad" that she understands.