(A/N): We're back in 1966 with Vi, Lou, Pip, and Hettie- and apparently, Tarea Hugar. Foreshadowing, none of it subtle in any way.

Trigger Warnings: I don't think there are any trigger warnings this chapter, other than the obvious ones of Tarea Hugar existing, and Evie's 'death' being danced around, and eventually mentioned.

January 16th, 1966

Vi

Rather reluctantly, I guided Tarea Hugar- who must have been the real man in charge, given that the name on the business card had been 'Hugar Consultants and Contractors', rather than anything else- into the living room, and directed him to sit in one of the armchairs across from the couch. He hadn't reacted when I'd let him in and Hettie and Pip had stepped out, practically looming out of the darkness of the dimly lit hallway, which told me he'd probably known they were there- along with Lou- and I couldn't tell if it was because we weren't as sly as we thought we were, or if he had some sort of special ability to sense things like that. I took a seat in the middle of the couch, and immediately, Pip and Hettie dropped down on either side of me- always ready to have my back. It wasn't until Lou returned with her cup of tea and sat in the armchair next to his- flanking him, intentionally or not- that I actually addressed him.

"Alright," I said. "I'll bite. What do you know about Evie?" He tilted his head at me, as if he was amused by this for some reason.

"The question isn't so much what I know about your sister, but rather-"

I cut him off; I didn't care about anything he had to say if it didn't involve Evie, and if he was going to try to talk circles around me, he'd picked the wrong day for it. "Whatever you have to say, save it. Tell me about Evie, or get out." He pursed his lips, but surprisingly, didn't even look the slightest bit disappointed. In fact, if anything, he looked... impressed?

"If all you want to know is where your sister is-" My heart leapt into my throat. "-I can't help you." Then why the hell was he here? "I can, however, offer you some information about the people who did this." I wanted to snap at him, but in the end, I recognised that any information we could get out of him could be used to- hopefully- find Evie; which meant that no matter what, I needed to keep him talking.

"And what, exactly, are you expecting us to give you in return for that information, Mr Hugar?" The half-smile he gave me was almost indulgent. Almost.

He leaned forward to rest his forearms on his thighs, as if he wanted to get in close in order to tell me a secret, but was wary of intimidating me. And this was a man that I suspect could have been quite intimidating, if he wanted to be. "You know, when Roland told me that you were unbelievably astute, I thought he was exaggerating... this is one of the rare times I'm glad I was wrong." He glanced at the others- Hettie, in particular, seemed to catch his attention. "I'm interested to find out what else he wasn't exaggerating." Roland? ...oh! That must have been the name of the bloke from the night before- but... what had he told Hugar about us?

"Funny," I sniped at him. "He didn't tell me anything about you." The corner of his lips twitched up, and then he shrugged in a way I knew was only falsely casual.

"He knows better than that," What was that supposed to mean? "The people under my command are well-trained, Ms Wright... it's unfortunate they weren't able to reach your sister in time to bring her home." Unfortunate was an understatement, to say the least. "From what I've learned about your sister so far, she was rather..." Careful, buddy. Hey, wait a minute... "Trusting."

Well- sort of? He wasn't wrong, but it also... That wasn't the extent of it. Of her. She was more than that. Much more. She was kind, and gentle, and always worked hard to see the best in people- worked hard all the time, to keep us comfortable. Yes, she trusted more easily than the rest of us, but it wasn't... she didn't trust blindly. Yes, she was open, but she wasn't- she wasn't wide open, or unguarded... whether that was an effect of the influence we held in her life, fighting to keep her as safe as possible, I couldn't say for sure, but she wasn't... It wasn't so simple. "Is," His eyebrows furrowed slightly as if he might be confused, but otherwise, didn't react. "She is trusting. And that's not- that's not all she is. You don't know her. What she's like." He straightened up again, and inclined his head toward me, as if acknowledging- yielding- to this point.

"Then tell me. Explain her to me. You know her best- all of you- so explain to me what you think happened; how she could be convinced to join them. And before you say anything, yes- this is important. Incredibly important, in fact. Help me understand how they got in her head." It wasn't quite 'help me help her', but it was definitely better than we'd received from Roland. The only problem was- how did one go about summing up a person's entire personality? Especially when that person was Evie.

"Well," I started, then instinctively glanced to the side, to Pip- who may just understand Evie the best, even if I was her sister, and Hettie was her best friend. Pip, predictably, gave me his most reassuring nod, even if he couldn't quite muster a smile, and carefully reached out a hand to squeeze my knee. Bolstered by his support, I did my best to try to convey to this man what kind of person my little sister was. "What happened was-"

He cut me off, shaking his head. "I don't need you to tell what you know happened- Roland told me everything you told him. What I need, is to know what happened after she left the public eye- and in order to figure that out, I need to know who your sister is. Who Evelyn Miria Wright is, as a human being. Can you tell me, or not?" It wasn't pointed in the slightest, he seemed genuinely earnest about trying to learn about her- to find her- and although I was reluctant, it did make me soften to him, at least a little bit.

"Evie is... optimistic. She's not- I don't think it's entirely... innate, but she- she is. She wants to see the best in everyone, and she's very empathetic; if someone was hurt- or needed help- she wouldn't hesitate. She's gentle, but not weak. She's very-" I hesitated, glancing toward the kitchen, where the leftovers of Evie's pre-prepared meal was. "She cares very deeply. Deeper than anyone I've ever known." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hettie nod as if instinctively confirming that she agreed. "She's extremely determined. If something needs to get done, you can be damn sure she'll be the one to get it done. She works exceptionally hard, and she's always- she's always been there for us. All of us. She's just- It's hard to explain it."

He was quiet for a minute, clearly taking this all in, and when he apparently had, he nodded. "Naive? Easily tricked? How good is she at reading people?" I blinked, and started to open my mouth to snap at him, before I realised what he was saying. Asking.

"...no. No, not naive, just- more willing to give people a chance. I'd say she can read people pretty well, I'm just not sure she always... listens to what she reads. Not like she ignores it, but just- she's willing to be proven wrong in a way most people aren't. She has very little ego, and she- She puts others first. If she thought being tricked might help someone else... she might just let it happen. Does that... help?" He took a second, but eventually, he nodded again.

"It helps clear a few things up, certainly. For one, I think it's safe to say it was a team effort." What? "She isn't his type- but I dare say she is his wife's. Which is... more complicated." Her 'type'? What was that supposed to mean? Surely not-

"You're not using names," Lou piped up from her position in the armchair next to his, and he turned his head part way to look at her- as if he didn't quite want to take his eyes of the rest of us. "You seem to know a lot about these two- what they like, and what they want. How did they come to be on your list, in the first place? Better yet, who are you to be in a position to stop them?"

It was probably too early to be able to predict his movements or gestures, but it definitely wasn't unexpected when he stared her down, as if he was trying to deter her from pushing- from questioning, even. In the end though, he merely arched a brow at her, and shrugged again. "I'm just a man that is uniquely equipped to handle these things- and to teach other people to do the same. As for these people, well..." For the first time since he'd walked into our lives, he hesitated. "Before we get to who they are, I feel I would be remiss not telling you first." Telling us what? Oh, God... telling us what?!

"Telling us what?" Hettie asked sharply, just barely beating out Pip's undoubtedly softer version, and the corner of Hugar's lips tugged downward.

"There's no easy way to say this," He started, which was absolutely terrifying. "But... your sister is..." Is? Is what?! "Your sister is dead." No. No, no, no. No, no, she can't be- she can't be. No, I won't believe it. I can't believe it. No, not Evie. No, no, n- "These people- they're not- The chances that she's alive are-" But there was a chance? Any chance, no matter how slim, I had to believe- "-so incredibly slim that- I'm sorry, but I cannot sit here and lie to you. I won't. I know you love her, and because of that- I cannot draw this out. Her life was over the second she stepped foot in that bathroom... but none of that is your-"

"Evie!" Pip saw her first, and it was his cry of her name that drew our attention to the fact that we were no longer alone in the room- and beyond Tarea Hugar, standing in the entrance to the living room, was- Evie. She was here- Hugar was wrong. He was wrong, and she was safe, and she was still- my little sister; my everything. She'd come back to me. To us. And there was no way I was going to let this seemingly impossible second chance go to waste.

(A/N): Let the Tarea Hugar translation guide commence!

Tarea Hugar: 'The people under my command are well-trained, Ms Wright... it's unfortunate they weren't able to reach your sister in time to bring her home.'

Tarea Hugar: 'It's unfortunate they weren't able to reach your sister in time to save her life.'

also

Tarea Hugar: 'From what I've learned about your sister so far, she was rather... (...) trusting.'

Tarea Hugar: 'From what I've learned about your sister so far, she was pretty much straight up vampire catnip.'

also

Tarea Hugar: '(...) You know her best- all of you- so explain to me what YOU think happened; how she could be convinced to join them.'

Tarea Hugar: '(...) Help me understand how they got in her head.'

Tarea Hugar: 'I don't need you to tell what you KNOW happened (...) What I NEED, is to know what happened AFTER she left the public eye (...).'

Tarea Hugar: 'Tell me what buttons they might have pushed in order to lure her in, and tell me whether she could be convinced to turn and join their clan... and what sort of vampire I would inevitably have to fight, if she did.'

also

Tarea Hugar: 'She isn't his type- but I dare say she IS his wife's. Which is... more complicated.'

Tarea Hugar: 'Jerremyah Yates typically only kills accidentally, and the fact that Evie was alive (as far as we know) when they left that bathroom means that probably wasn't the inciting incident. Lisbet Yates doesn't kill innocents, but I dare say she COULD be convinced to turn them, given the right circumstances... and I fear we've just given her EXACTLY the right circumstances.'

also

Tarea Hugar: 'Your sister is dead.'

Tarea Hugar: 'Or a vampire, which technically also means she's dead, but a lot more dangerous.'

Tarea Hugar: 'The chances that she's alive are- (...) -so incredibly slim that- (...)'

Tarea Hugar: 'Her life was over the second she stepped foot in that bathroom... (...)'

Tarea Hugar: 'Unfortunately, she's either dead- which means we can't get any information out of her, and lost an innocent- or a vampire- which means we now have another predator on our hands, and you've lost your sister anyway- or there's a very, VERY small chance that she's alive, but they would most definitely have both Influenced her to forget everything, and Obliviated her, on top of that- which again, means no intel.'

also

Tarea Hugar: 'Your sister is dead.'

Evie: *standing in the hallway just outside, about to enter the living room*

Evie: 'Bitch, you thought?'

Chapter title is a reference to the phrase 'Denial (the Nile) is a river in Egypt', pretty much just because of Vi's strong denial when Tarea told her that Evie was dead.