It had all began the day Robb had been sentenced for possession with intent to distribute. More exactly it had all begun the day Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon had helped Jon Arryn chained a fridge to Petyr Baelish's ankles and thrown both man and fridge into Blackwater Bay. Because that's what you do for a friend when some idiot steals from him and screws his wife. Hoster Tully would have helped too, but he was already in the final stages of the dementia that ultimately claimed his life.

But for Sansa it had begun the day she'd seen her brother locked away for twenty years. She'd dropped out of Uni when her father died to take care of her mother. When Robb was arrested, the house and the family businesses had been seized and most of their bank accounts had been frozen. The day her brother had been sentenced to twenty years in prison, Sansa had sat in the courtroom for a long time after Uncle Brynden had led her catatonic mother away, thinking about what to do. She doubted anyone would listen to her protestations of Robb's innocence, even if she found proof. It was a good arrest for everyone, bringing the Stark-Lannister war to an end. And it was unlikely that sje would be able to finish law school and live a quiet life, certainly not in KL, after more than thirty years spent under the radar, the Stark name had been plastered all over the papers the last two years, not an association that a law school, let alone a city law firm would want, and she had mever lived anywhere but KL, she didn't have the relationships to go to a small town, even if she wanted to. She somehow doubted she could stomach forty years cutting richer women's hair or doing their nails. Even if Tywin left their family alone, which was unlikely, he had a long and storied reputation as a vicious bastard. When Reyne had tried to go his own way, Tywin had not only killed him and his sons, but run bankrupted his brothers car dealership, and gotten his daughter thrown out of university.

There really was only one path to take. As her father said,once you decide to do something, the only thing left to do is to do it. She stood up and walked out of the courtroom.

Her first stop had been to Luwin and Associates, to withdraw money from her trust account. Her second was to a used car dealership, trading her convertible for a second hand car. Her third was eight hundred miles away.

Sansa sat at the bar, just watching the proceedings. She didn't even need to be here, she trusted Brynden to relay her instructions and being here increased her exposure. But she liked to see her plans be put into motion.

Besides Brynden and Sansa, six men were gathered in the back office of the Smoking Log. All were now the proud owners of taxi medallions granted by the city, for the mere price of one and a quarter million dragons, per medallion. It seemed a good way to find the Lannisters without exposing their people to being shot in the head.

Brynden handed each of the men a piece of paper. "Alright boys, the six of you are going to be driving around the West side, looking for the boys out on the corners. You see one, you call it in to the first number." Then some more guys and girls in an apartment would relay the calls to the local Watch house, which would in turn send out Watchmen to arrest said dealers for possession or loitering and generally interrupt the Lannister's revenue stream. After all, that was their job, Sansa and her people couldn't be blamed for doing their civic duty.

"You see a guy who looks to be muscle, call the second number." At which point some of the Company's soldiers would show up and check it out, and then, if necessary, kill them.

"And don't forget, pick up the occasional fare, it looks good and you get to keep all the money."

"I have to say, watching Margaery Tyrell squirm is practically porn."

"I don't find it hard to believe that you think that Harry," Sansa replied. That got a few laughs from the bar. "I'm heading out." Gyles and Harry both got up from their respective tables and followed her out into the street.

She'd been putting this off for days; in truth she'd been putting it off for more than a year. But it had to be done, no matter how uncomfortable it would be.

The radio was switched to a news station, Harry's choice, as Margaery Tyrell announced a new initiative to fight corruption city wide. The irony. Sansa tuned it out.

When she'd gotten to Gulltown, she'd booked into a charge by the hour motel, put her suitcase under the bed and then walked six blocks to find a pay phone. Tywin had real money and she didn't want some Whisperer telling him where she was staying.

The meeting between her and Lysa Tully was the next day.

"Hold on there, little lady." Sansa turned and saw a man not much older than her getting out of a beat up car. "Harry Hardyng."

"Sansa Stark. I'm here to talk to Lysa Tully, I have an appointment."

"You got some ID."

"I do not. Nor do I need any."

At that point Harry put his hand on her shoulder. "I can't just let anyone in to see them." His hand shifted down to her upper arm. As much as Sansa wanted to bury the toe of her shoes between his thighs, it wouldn't get her into the building. So she fixed him with her best icy stare. Harry's hand stopped its descent, but he didn't remove it either.

Their impasse was broken by the door opening. Brynden Tully walked into the sunlight.

The meeting with Lysa had not gone well. Once Sansa had laid out her case, one she'd spent the last few days thinking through, Lysa's answer had been immediate.

"No."

"No?"

"The Lannisters are too strong. How would you even begin to oppose them?"

"At least I'm not sitting around while everything my family built turns to rubble." Not her smartest move, she realised, but it was the truth. A year ago, the Arryns had controlled organised crime in Gulltown, Maidenpool, White Harbour and Duskendale. Now, with Jon Arryn dead, it was barely hanging on to parts of Gulltown as new crews – some of them made up of defecting Arryn soldiers – contested the Arryns for control of the city.

"My priority is the protection of my family."

"We are your family."

"Robert is my family. You should look to yours."

Sansa wanted to scream, and preferably flip over the table; instead she rose and excused herself, bidding her aunt a good day – politeness is important.

Just before she put her hand on the front door, someone grabbed her arm. Sansa whirled, only to see that it was Brynden. "Lysa ordered me to stay in the next room so I heard what you said." It was so nice to know that her aunt trusted her. "Are you sure you want this?"

"They took everything from me, they have to pay."

"Your father didn't want this life for any of you."

"He thought we'd have a choice, we no longer have that luxury." Brynden nodded.

"In that case, I can help you; you certainly can't do it yourself."

"What about Lysa?"

"She never goes out and I'll be sure to leave some muscle to take care of her. She won't be able to control the city, but she can't do that now."

"Alright."

"In that case, give me a few days to settle things here."

Two days later Brynden had shown up in a pair of SUVs together with six of his men, including Harry, which had sent the manager and the local drug dealers running off down the street. He'd given her a new ID – complete with passport, driver's license and birth certificate in the name of Alayne Stone – and a Waters Arms 9mm pistol.

"So, the Arryns won't help us and Otto Hightower won't either after that unpleasantness with his nephew." Sansa had thought it prudent not to ask what the unpleasantness was. "Lannisport works for Tywin, even if they claim independence, so we can't expect any help there. So, let's go see the Martells."

Catelyn Stark lived in a five storey walk up, a shoebox apartment that was barely big enough for her and Rickon, which probably explained why he was seldom there. The other explanation was immediately obvious when Sansa walked in the door. Catelyn Stark sat by one of the few windows in the apartment, staring at nothing. For the first time, Sansa was forced to acknowledge that Lysa may have had a point.

Sansa knelt down beside her mother's chair. "Mama."

The broken woman in the chair turned to her. "Sansa?"

"Yes Mama, it's me."

"You look so thin dear, have you been eating?"

"Yes Mama."

"You've been away for so long." The sadness in her mother's voice almost broke Sansa's heart.

"I had to go away Mama, but I'm back now, I promise I'll visit more often, and I'm going to get you a nicer place, somewhere Bran can come visit you." Catelyn Stark nodded, a small smile beginning to form on her lips. Sansa decided to leave out the possibility of Robb's return, if the Appeal Division ruled against him, it would only break her heart all over again. "Would you like some tea Mama?

"Yes sweetheart. Thank you." Sansa gave her mother's hand a quick squeeze and then walked into the kitchen, where she found her brother drinking juice straight out of the carton.

"Hey."

"Hey." Rickon seemed utterly unconcerned with his sister's sudden reappearance in his life.

There was an awkward interlude while Rickon pulled out some meat and a loaf of bread and made himself a sandwich. "How are you?"

"Like you care." He tried to walk past her.

Sansa grabbed Rickon's arm. "I care. What do you think I've been doing for the last year? Trying to help this family. And what's this I hear about you getting into fights at school, you're only making this harder for her." She felt Brynden move up behind her.

"You don't get to say to me. I'm the one who has to stay here and watch her fall apart."

"You think it's easy for me. He was my father, she is my mother, Robb is my brother. I am just as angry as you are." She gathered her breath as Rickon stood with a chastened look on his face. "It's not easy, but if you let that anger get control of you, you'll never be able to do anything about it. And even then it requires sacrifice, and believe me when I say it's not easy."

"It's hard not to be angry." Sansa's heart wanted to break all over again.

"That it is mate," said Brynden, who had been waiting in the doorway. "Tell you what, I'll take you down to the gym while your sister talks to your Mother. It always helped me out."

"Okay."

"Then give your sister a hug." The two embraced before Rickon and Brynden left the apartment. Sansa set about making tea. Right or wrong, Rickon was still her brother and both he and their mother needed her.

Oberyn Martell hadn't been as intimidating as she'd expected. Dressed in a loose fitting suit and no tie he was a picture of relaxation. Though to be honest Sansa had been expecting leathery skin and fangs, given the Red Viper's reputation.

The Water Gardens resort was everything the tourist ads said it was, fine dining, clean casinos, an enormous set of pools, apparently there was even a health spa buried away somewhere in the complex. Sansa and Brynden were sitting at a table with Oberyn while the parties' respective bodyguards occupied tables close by.

"So, just to be clear, you want us to back you in a war against Tywin Lannister, not just with money but with men as well, putting us in danger of open war with the Lannisters, which would bring with it the loss of our connections with the Essosi importers and the kind of attention we have worked strenuously to avoid. And you intend that we will not get a share of the King's Landing trade, so in effect you offer us nothing."

"Other than Tywin Lannister's head on a stick, yes." The demise of her father had not been the first time that Tywin had acted without regard to collateral damage. Before Sansa was born it had been Tywin that had put a bomb beneath Rhaegar Targaryen's car, killing Rhaegar along with his wife, Elia Targaryen, nee Martell, and their two children. It had ended the war that had broken the Targaryen monopoly on imports, but it also cost Tywin his share in the spoils, forcing him to buy from Jon Arryn and cemented his reputation as a merciless bastard, as well as earning him the Martell's enduring hatred.

"Very well. Assuming you succeed, would you agree to stand neutral if we were to expand our operations into Duskendale and Gulltown?"

"No."

"Lysa Tully has clearly abandoned you or you would not be here."

"That doesn't mean she isn't family," Sansa stated firmly.

Oberyn shrugged. "It was worth a try, I will convey your terms to my brother."

Sansa spent the next three days lying by the pool, swimming, walking around the grounds and pacing her room. One night she'd run into Mrycella Baratheon and Trystane Martell, and she couldn't help but envy the way they looked at each other. Strange, considering that their parents hated each other.

At around 10pm on the third day, Sansa was playing limit Trident hold 'em, which differed from Mander hold 'em in ways Sansa didn't fully understand, with Harry and a couple of the other guys while Uncle Brynden pecked away at a keyboard. Harry was more respectful now; Sansa assumed it had something to do with the yellowing bruise around his left eye. Sansa looked at the three men seated around the table, and added the equivalent of five dragons.

Gyles and Jory folded, but Harry was more stubborn. "I see your five, and raise you another five." Sansa was fairly certain he was bluffing, so she added her own chips to match his raise. Gyles dealt the river and just for a second, Harry's face fell.

Gyles wasn't going to let him off the hook that easy. "Come on Harry, she hasn't got anything better than a pair." Harry looked at Sansa long and hard before adding another five to the pot. Sansa bet as well.

They showed down. Harry had a two pair, while Sansa had a full house.

There was a knock on the door. All three men pulled pistols out of their waistbands. Brynden took cover behind a corner while Harry knelt behind a couch, while Gyles called one of the other rooms to get the guys there to poke their heads out to see what was going on. Sansa stepped back out of the line of fire and drew the pistol that Brynden had spent a few days teaching her how to use. No one actually approached the door.

The person at the door knocked again, and there were muffled voices on the other side, a question and a reply. Gyles heard something on the phone and put it down. "It's Quentyn and Arianne." The men put their pistols away. Harry opened the door.

Once they were seated, it was Quentyn who spoke first. "Our father finds your terms acceptable. We will provide you with four men and access to bank accounts. We trust you will not exploit us." A rather stupid thing to say, as if the four men that still worked for the Martells were not also there to ensure that there was no double cross.

It made Sansa wonder whether Quentyn was really Doran's underboss. "And if we should need more?"

Quentyn hesitated and so it was Arianne who answered. "This is a one-time deal, you screw up, we won't be coming to your aid again." Question answered.

"Well, I deeply appreciate your help in this matter." She rose to shake hands with both of them. "I know we can't promise success, but I nonetheless hope that we shall have a long and profitable relationship in future."

She said the last part looking directly at Arianne, who nodded in reply. "When you see Tywin, say goodbye from us."

"I will."

"Our men will be waiting downstairs in the morning," said Quentyn.

"Thank you." The two left.

Brynden turned to her. "What was that all about?"

"Just finding out who's going to succeed Doran?"

"And what use is that?"

"At the moment, nothing, but that doesn't mean I can't keep an eye on the long game. Now, I have some money to win."

Crownlands Penitentiary was an old place, clanging doors, guards shouting, and even in the visitor's room, Sansa was not comfortable here. She hoped she would never have to be here again, but she forced herself to acknowledge it as a possibility, as Brynden was fond of saying: it is only very stupid people who think the cops are stupid.

Robb dropped into the chair behind the plexiglass and picked up the phone. "Hey sis."

"Hi Robb, you well."

"I love it here, its lucky I'm going to be here for the next decade."

"Getting into any fights?"

"Never, I'm a good boy." That surprised her, maybe she'd been wrong about Tywin. "So what took you so long? You get lost or something?"

Samsa shifted uncomfortably, this was a conversation she hadn't been looking forward to. "Something like that."

"You know, Jon came to visit me, and he spends most of his life running up and down the Frostfangs."

"They only do the Fan Dance once."

"He's still in the SAS and he still came to see me when you didn't, even though he's our cousin and you're my sister."

"Prison has turned you into such a whiner."

"I merely wanted to know why you didn't come to see me or Mother for the last year."

"I spent three hours with Mother this morning."

"Yeah and before that?"

"It's complicated."

"No, quadratic equations are complicated. Being there for your family, that's simple. Hell, that's human nature" There was more than a little hurt in Robb's voice, and anger, no doubt on behalf of their mother.

"I can't explain now," she said slowly, giving Robb a meaningful look. All conversations in the visitation room , except those covered by spousal and solicitor-client privilege, were recorded. "I take it you've heard about recent events."

He nodded. "There's not much to do here except read the papers and watch TV. Besides, Great Jon and Galbert Glover can't stop singing 'ding dong the witch is dead'."

"I meant about Janos Slynt."

"Jeyne told me. Have to say the irony pleases me. And I look forward to seeing him."

"You won't, he's not being sent here. Apparently, he's being sent to the Wall." Not that she wanted Robb to have any alone time with Slynt. The entire point was to get him out of prison, after all.

"Pity." There was a pause and Sansa could tell that her brother wanted to ask her something about those recent events, and she was thankful when he didn't. "Any updates on my appeal?"

"Luwin said that they'll make a decision on an appeal bond sometime next week."

"Hm." Robb gave another significant pause. "Sansa, if you ever find out who shot Tywin, they get a bottle of bourbon on me. And spend some more time with Mum."

"I will."

"So how's Bran? The last time I saw him he was still in rehab from the shooting, just another thing I thought I had more time for."

"He's good, he has a job, bookkeeping for a few different firms and he's doing an accounting course at community college.

"Good, and Rickon?

"He's run a little wild, fights at school, but I think we can get him back on the right track."

"Good he'll need you. So, what have you been doing with yourself?

"Well…"

Brynden and Sansa had arrived back in King's Landing almost three months after Robb Stark had been sentenced, a year after her father had died. One of their first stops was her mother's apartment. The two of them had driven in together, with the others driving in separate cars.

"You should go in."

"If Tywin's smart, and he is, he'll be watching. The only advantage we have is surprise."

"She's your mother."

"You think I'm not aware of that?"

"You might never get a chance to see her again."

"I know, but we've already said our goodbyes."

"If you're sure?"

"I am."

"In that case, whats the next move boss?"

A/N: Before anybody asks where I get the ideas for these horrible deaths from, the inspiration for Petyr's death came from the fate of Brian Alexander, a character in season 2 of the Australian show "Underbelly". And who says violent television doesn't affect us ;).

The Fan Dance is a 24km march up and down Pen y Fan which must be completed in four and a quarter hours. It isn't even the hardest thing someone has to do to get into the SAS.

Also, I realised when I was writing this chapter that putting Tywin's house in Rosby placed him about 75km from King's Landing, we'll just say that Rosby contracts its policing out to KLCW and that Tywin is able to run a criminal organisation from nearly an hour's drive away, or something.

As always constructive criticism and general adulation are welcome.