Author's Note: So, some of my readers are unsure as to how they feel about a possibly not-so-happy-ending. If you're looking for someone to blame, look no further than my dear friend, themysteryvanishing. She put that evil into my head! But then I embraced it…the Dark Side has cookies.
Chapter 2: In which Tywin becomes suspicious.
She hadn't answered, or returned, his calls.
Usually, he supported her discretion, but the prolonged silence made him uneasy and suspicious. Tywin did not think of himself as being paranoid, merely aware, but he was determined to discover what was afoot before he stepped back onto Westerosi soil.
His first point of contact was Varys. "Find out why she isn't answering my calls, run another report on Cersei and Tyrion, and put someone on her flat. I want to know what she's doing."
His second point of contact was Genna. If there were the slightest bit of intrigue wafting around the office, she would sniff it out. "Something is not right, and I'm not coming back until I know what it is and have dealt with it."
"Don't worry, you paranoid bastard, I was due for tea with Olenna anyway."
The mere utterance of that old hag's name set his teeth on edge. "What does she have to do with anything?"
"If you want to know what's wrong in your house, you don't ask the servants, you ask the neighbors."
"Do it, then, but don't mention me. She and I are on less than agreeable terms right now. I believe that she was most displeased when Casterly won the Martell account."
"About that, be careful. I've been hearing some disconcerting things from that quarter."
"Why do you think I'm in the Free Cities? There's an information broker here who has been very useful."
A day later, Genna called, reporting on what sounded like a successful hunt. "She let slip some information about the Martells. Apparently, the second son, Oberyn, I think (they have so many bastards, it's hard to tell which Martell someone is talking about), is making waves in the company. Doesn't like the idea of bedding down with lions."
"And what of our own house?" Tywin took care not to sound impatient, lest Genna seize on the weakness and exploit it.
"Nothing. Olenna mentioned that a friend of her granddaughter was poached by Targaryen, but HR assured me that the necessary documentation was signed and filed."
He felt his chest tighten, and he knew, with every fiber of his being, which of his employees had defected, but he had to be sure. "Who?"
"Pardon?"
"Whom did Targaryen poach?"
"I think it was the Stark girl, but she's hardly important."
'Hardly important?' Genna could not be more mistaken, she was…no, Sansa Stark was insignificant. He would make sure of it. "Shore up our defenses. I do not anticipate an attack, but we cannot be too careful. Inform Kevan and have someone dredge up whatever the Stark girl had on her desk. We need to focus on damage and fallout control if it was anything remotely sensitive."
"You don't think that that overbearing Stark honor will stop her from committing corporate espionage?"
"If it doesn't, she will have a large debt to pay," and Tywin would be sure to collect it, with interest.
His feelings regarding the situation only worsened when he received Varys' report.
"It appears that Miss Stark is making plans to leave the flat. Her friend, the Tyrell girl, is applying for a new flat with the intention of taking on a co-signer. Targaryen Enterprises has been surprisingly tightlipped. I've not found one employee who has knowledge of Miss Stark's employment, which means that they're keeping it a secret, or…"
"Or what?" Tywin's silky voice dropped to a dangerous register, making Varys feel pity for the poor sod that would suffer the brunt of his wrath.
"Or, taking a job at Targaryen was a ruse designed to hide her true intentions."
"And what might those 'intentions' be?"
"I'm not sure, Mr. Lannister; with the information I have, I can only speculate."
"Then you had better rectify that oversight."
"Right away, Mr. Lannister."
Confusion was not a state that Tywin inhabited with ease, and the more he learned about the situation with Sansa, the more his confusion increased. Sansa was an honest creature by nature, and lies did not come to her easily.
He had taught her deception; the use of half-truths and omissions he had fed to her like the sweets she adored, never suspecting that she would turn his teachings against him.
Men in love were fools, and old men in love were even worse.
Author's Note II: I totally stole the phrase 'old men in love' from an Alasdair Gray novel of the same name: Old Men in Love.