The Spy Who Came in from Cold Part 5 is the twentieth chapter of the Black Lagoon spinoff series Eda Initial Stage. It was originally released on November 17, 2023.
Plot[]
Surprised that the woman who saved her earlier is pointing a gun at her and her father, Lottie asks what she is doing. Speaking in pain from his arm wound, Maynard Sears tells his child to put the gun down because the matter is between him and Yevdokiya, his first daughter. Yevdokiya remarks that she has finally caught him, to which Maynard admits that he knew the day would come but expected that his ex-wife Tatiana would instead be the one to chase him down. Hearing her state that she came because her mother is sick, he apologizes that she could not escape her mother's spell, quietly taking the pistol from Lottie. Rebuffing him, Yevdokiya relays her mother's message to him about how she ordered for his wife and child to be killed in front of him if he has any and to plunge him into lament. In a flashback to when her father had recently defected from the Soviet Union, a young Yevdokiya exits an office and runs to her mother. Though the girl claims that she was interrogated by several men about her father, Tatiana explains that everyone is looking for him and demands her daughter to tell her everything she knows.
In the present, Yevdokiya tells her father that her mother became a witch from that moment on. When Tatiana became hospitalized, Yevdokiya visited her and heard her plead with her to kill the man who destroyed her father's family, also being reminded that Tatiana specifically worked very hard to get her into the FSB for the task. Pleading with "Duša" to stop, Maynard asks her to leave Lottie out of her revenge scheme and asks that only he be shot. Nonetheless, Yevdokiya sternly replies that she is using her own method to fulfill her revenge. Extending her arms in front of her father, Lottie pleads with Yevdokiya not to harm her father. Suddenly, Yevdokiya sees her younger self in Lottie, and Maynard tells the latter to get down. Noticing someone behind the woman, Lottie warns her, but Yevdokiya is immediately restrained in a headlock by Ives. As she wonders how he survived, she realizes that he is wearing body armor. Smirking, Ives affirms that he is always prepared, especially for a ransom deal. He orders Maynard to toss the duffel bag of money to him or else he will break Yevdokiya's neck. Glaring at him, Ives asks if he even cares about the daughter he left behind in his former country, then licking her neck and asking if it even matters.
Immediately tossing the duffel bag to him, Maynard asks him to let go of his first daughter. Surprised, Yevdokiya calls for her "dad" but has her gun quickly grabbed from her. Pointing the gun to her head, Ives jokes that it makes him cry to see that Maynard still has feelings for her. Pushing Yevdokiya away, he shoots around her feet and grabs the duffel bag. As Ives tries to run away, Eda shoots him once in the head at close range, killing him. Taking the duffel bag, she complains that the entire situation has nothing to do with work. Exclaiming that their mourning period is over, Eda tells the three to stay down and asserts that Yevdokiya is coming with her. Hearing the Russian woman retort that her business is not finished, the frustrated Eda warns her to shut up since she is a nuisance. Without hesitation, Yevdokiya kicks at the left side of her ribcage, but the CIA agent blocks her leg with her arm. The Russian woman recalls that her name is "Eva," causing Eda to angrily correct her own name and insult Yevdokiya's memory and FSB training.
She swings the duffel bag at Yevdokiya, who takes the blow but quickly pushes Eda's arm out of the way and grabs it. The FSB defector slams her palm into Eda's chest and then elbows her in the face. Angered, Eda fires a few shots, and the casings fly into Yevdokiya's eyes, so the former grabs her collar and flips her onto her back. Catching her breath, she jokes that she will not be able to move fast because she tossed the Russian woman onto plain concrete, not a gym mat. As Yevdokiya lays on the ground, Eda points her pistol at her and orders her to give up and stop giving her more trouble. To Eda's surprise and annoyance, Maynard tosses a pistol to Yevdokiya and tells her to shoot Eda so that she can run away and gain her freedom. For a few seconds, the two women shoot at each other until Eda manages to shoot and graze the defector's left elbow, but she herself is grazed in the left shoulder, annoying her further.
Looking at Maynard, Eda chastises him for messing with her and rhetorically asks if he should be calling an ambulance instead. Grasping her own arm, Yevdokiya quietly calls out for her own father, prompting Eda to say that she has something to tell her. Clarifying that the information she received earlier that day is from the FSB, Eda informs her that her mother Tatiana passed away three days ago, saddening Yevdokiya. Calmed down, Yevdokiya asks her father why he did not take her with him when he left the Soviet Union. Recalling the day that he bid goodbye to Yevdokiya, Maynard answers that he did not have the courage to bring her with because she knew nothing about the foreign land. Interrupting them, Eda bluntly opines that Maynard merely thought of himself and no one else. Lottie shouts that it is a terrible thing to say, to which Maynard partially agrees but assesses that it is what it is.
Some day later at Dulles International Airport, Virginia, Eda, her partner and Yevdokiya wait for the latter woman's flight to be ready for departure. She notes that Maynard was able to help her, and in return he asked her to give something to Yevdokiya, handing the Russian woman a wrapped present. Opening it and seeing a Barbie doll, Yevdokiya is shocked and briefly thinks of a different timeline where she actually received the doll from her father as a child. Getting up, she walks to a trash container and throws the doll away. Stating that was an unnecessary thing to do, Eda claims she took the effort to bring it to her and asks if she was still waiting ten or so years for the gift. Responding that the item would probably be confiscated anyway before she boards the plane, Yevdokiya reasons that it is better that she threw it away herself. Smiling, she additionally affirms that she is not a kid anymore. Smoking a cigarette, the tired Eda retorts that she still looks like a child with her happy expression. At that point, the Russian agents have arrived to pick Yevdokiya up, and Eda claims that it will be a thorny road for her. Smiling again, Yevdokiya bids farewell to Eda and leaves the United States.
Notes[]
- When Yevdokiya compares her mother to a witch (
魔女 Vī), she specifically compares her to the witch Pannochka from the 19th century horror novella "Viy" by novelist Nikolai Gogol.