Groovy Guy Russell Part 1 is the thirtieth chapter of the Black Lagoon spinoff series Eda Initial Stage. It was originally released on September 19, 2024.

Somewhere in Peru in South America, Enrique is cornered in an alley by three men. The leader of the men advises Enrique to come with him peacefully since the boy is not allowed to leave the city. He also warns Enrique not to act on his own, nonetheless admitting that he cannot directly touch him due to the United States' previous intervention. As the man smirkingly tells him to come to their "villa," Melgar sneaks up behind them and shoots all three men in the head, killing them. While Enrique looks in shock, Melgar remarks that Paula must be desperate if she is using men from the military to carry out the Intelligence Bureau's work. The boy recognizes him as an officer of the Intelligence Bureau, causing Melgar to clarify that he was cut loose by the government. Skeptical of him, Enrique wonders why he saved him, to which the ex-officer says it is because of the way things turned out for him, adding that the boy may be of use to him when he flees the country. The teenager deduces that Melgar clearly needs help if he is asking for a child's aid. Melgar sternly states that he will not let him escape with him if he talks disrespectfully, prompting Enrique to lightheartedly assure him that he will refrain from doing so. Accepting his help, Enrique follows Melgar and asks what went wrong for them to be in their situation. The boy hopes to himself that Mayte will survive, and unknown to him, Mayte's dog Gaucho is still alive and seen walking in the wilderness.

Elsewhere in the world in Washington, D.C., Russell discreetly enters a building and begins lockpicking a door. Upon entering, he declares that "Trouble Buster Groovy Guy Russell" has arrived, though he mutters that it is a waste to act cool by himself. Seeing shelves of binders, Russell realizes that they are the collection of Leon Miller's blackmail files that he read about in a report. The cowboy grabs a table binder labeled "Index" and jokes that there are enough records of influential people's affairs to even intimidate Director Hoover. As he tries looking for a particular binder, Russell assesses that such a large trove of information would be chaotic if not organized properly. Very quickly, he finds the binder which his client asked him to retrieve, noting that it has "VIP" labeled on it. Suddenly, Russell realizes that someone is behind him, so he quickly ducks before the large man can chokehold him. He dodges the man once but is pushed against a shelf of binders, figuring out that the man is not the owner of the tapes. At the same time, Leon Miller and his girlfriend arrive and hear the commotion.

Russell fails to throw a punch and is kicked in the abdomen onto the ground, where he looks up at Miller and the woman looking down at him. Instinctively, the cowboy immediately gets up and runs in the opposite direction, causing Miller to pull out his pistol and shoot at him. Seeing another door in the large room, Russell exits into the hallway and runs down the stairs. Miller's girlfriend sees him exit the adjacent door, so she warns her boyfriend about his escape. As the enraged Miller follows the thief down the stairs, the woman wonders what could be going on and is startled by the bodyguard suddenly appearing behind her. Exiting the building, Russell runs across 14th Street through the traffic. Miller tries pursuing him but is almost hit by Amber's Jeep. He yells at her to stay out of his way, but Eda yells back that he was the one who ran through the street. The frustrated Miller retorts that he will kill her, a threat which Eda nonchalantly scoffs at. At that moment, Miller is suddenly hit by a speeding semi-truck, shocking Eda, Amber and Jaden.

Later that evening, the local news station reports the killing and explains that Miller was identified as a person connected with a number of crime syndicates. In his office, U.S. Senator Jack Bonham calls Russell and angrily requests an explanation from him. The cowboy responds that it was an accident completely out of his control. The displeased Bonham shouts that it is not an excuse and rhetorically asks what he will do when the press discovers something unnecessary. However, Bonham asserts that he is more concerned if Russell retrieved his video tape. The cowboy assures him that he believes he recovered all of his videos from the collection, so Bonham orders him to give the items to his messenger, specifying that he will elaborate on the details after he finishes his meeting the next day. Bonham likewise assures him that he will receive the reward afterward, demanding to know if Russell saw what was on the tapes. Russell confidently replies that he did not because his motto is to only work smart and to the best of his ability, but Bonham hangs up on him, annoying him.

At a bar, the three CIA agents discuss who was at fault for the car accident. Eda argues that Miller was at fault because he ran into the road, adding that she does not feel guilty since they did not directly hit him and he was a criminal anyway. Amber reminds her that she was behind the wheel and cannot fathom celebrating her return home. Eda asks "Jaden Wardington Elphinstone" what he thinks, making Amber hide her laughter upon learning of his full name. He scoffs at her opinion of his "showy" name, but the drunk Eda ignores them and tells the bartender to give her Wild Turkey on the rocks instead of beer. Looking flirtingly at Jaden, Amber asks the "boy scout" if he wants some too, making him nervous. She jokes that Eda told her he was good at mountain hiking, to which he only asks if she is in her "Drunken Amber" state. Seeing her surprise, Jaden smiles and admits that he knows she was on the verge of alcoholism at one point, which interfered with her work duties. Infuriated, Amber shouts at Eda, who denies having said anything. The former then asks if the college-educated man is trying to pick a fight with her, causing Eda to advise her to calm down. Amber notices the nervous bartender and apologizes with a flushed face.

After the bartender gives Eda her bourbon whiskey and ginger ale, the latter is angrily confused as to why the other two ordered a non-alcoholic Perrier. Amber jokes that she needs to avoid living up to her drunken reputation, whereas Jaden reasons that he wants to avoid being as drunk as he was last time. Annoyed with their alcohol avoidance, Eda yells that she does not care and will simply have fun drinking by herself. Jaden urges her to pull herself together due to their meeting the next day, intriguing Amber. He firmly tells Amber that he cannot elaborate on the details with other colleagues, making her claim that a rookie like him will not get ahead in the CIA if he does not hang out with the right people. Wondering why he is still assigned to help them out even after their mission in South America, Amber giggles and pokes her foot between his thighs, telling the annoyed Jaden to open up. Nonetheless confessing that he was not briefed on many details, he relays to her that he was only told that a U.S. senator wanted to speak with them about Southeast Asia. She mutters that the CIA has fallen greatly if they have to do a senator's bidding, to which Jaden emphasizes that they are no longer in the Cold War. Suddenly, she changes the topic and demands that Eda say how many bottles she drank during their short talk. Telling Amber to shut up, Eda retorts that she will drink uninterrupted all she wants before the day of the meeting.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in D.C., Russell angrily throws his hat on the ground, cursing Bonham for having his sex play filmed and being fooled by a random woman. Although he wants to abandon the job, the cowboy reminds himself that he would be dishonoring Don Girolamo, who offered him the job, if he did so. To his shock, two men in suits suddenly appear and force him to come with them. A short time later, Russell is tied to a chair in a house and is greeted by the leader, who apologizes for the "rough invitation." Annoyed, Russell introduces himself by his nickname and recognizes the man as a senator who opposes Senator Bonham. The politician reveals that he knows about Bonham's sex tape and its recent disappearance. Though Russell nonchalantly denies knowing what he is talking about, the man warns him not to play dumb and claims it would be wise for him to accept the deal of giving back the tape.

Russell states that if he is not released by tomorrow, then an associate will release the tape to the press, adding that he was allegedly on his way to pick up the tape. Believing the story, the senator orders his bodyguard Cyrus to accompany Russell as the latter retrieves the tape. Grimacing, Russell thinks to himself that the "low-level politician" is no better than the mafia. At a hotel, an elderly CIA agent convenes with Jaden and points out he has arrived early. Confident and prepared, Jaden confesses that he is honored to attend the meeting, promising not to let the man down. The superior agent wonders if his partner will come, surprising Jaden, who believes that Eda may have cut her career short since she may miss the meeting due to drinking so much the previous night. However, Eda shows up a second later clad in a blue business suit, leaving Jaden speechless. Greeting her partner, Eda recommends that they get going.