Deeper Chaos: The Elite and the Rogues, #0

By Niranjan

A few incidents set in the Elite and the Rogues Universe that add to the world and characters.

Alexander Selwood meets Kaylee Ashton in an unexpected place. She has secrets to hide.

During their first meeting, Joyce doesn't trust Alexander, but Amir tries to allay her fears.

David has a quiet day at home. 

Daisy Goldman runs into someone on a sleepless night.

Daniele Donato has a new mission.

Elena Meier has plans

• Language: English
• Publisher: Geetha Krishnan
• Release date: Dec 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215567647

Niranjan

An author and editor, Niranjan’s biggest ambition is to have a character named Garth in every book they write. Niranjan writes books rooted in mythical worlds, and their stories are often a combination of magic and futuristic technology. When they are not writing or editing, Niranjan can be found cooking or just lying on their couch watching or rewatching C Dramas and writing fanfiction.

Book preview

Year 2241

A black and white image of planets Description automatically generated

GERALD LANE PRESSED the switch that raised the top half of his bed so that he was in a sitting position as he eyed his visitor warily. It wasn’t like the First Minister of the Galaxy to pay house calls, and certainly not to criminals awaiting trial, even if they happened to be dying.

So, you’re the piece of scum that killed all those kids, Cesar Thaxter spoke, his face and voice full of revulsion and contempt.

Gerald moved his hand to the top of his body before he answered, wincing at the effort it took. You mean you didn’t know before your police arrested me?

He knew it wasn’t the smartest thing to do, to sass the First Minister, but what the heck. He was tired, the frequency of the pain killers had to be increased, someone had leaked the news that he was dying of Ashkii’s to the media, and Griffel’s compound had failed. At some level, Gerald had expected it, that Griffel wouldn’t have been willing to administer it to him—irrespective of how much Gerald would have paid him—if it had any chance of working, and yet, he had hoped.

Thaxter’s lips thinned, and anger was visible in his eyes. You think because you’re dying you can say anything you want? That I’d put up with it? His voice grated in Gerald’s ears so much so he wondered how anyone had ever voted for Thaxter.

I don’t see what choice you have. Dying man here. What can you do? Nope. Not smart at all.

I shouldn’t be surprised, Thaxter loomed over him. In fact, it doesn’t surprise me at all that you should be this arrogant even when you’re dying.

Aww, Mr. Thaxter. Are you going to ask me to repent my sins and make peace with my maker, so my eternal soul wouldn’t suffer too much? Albert Gordon’s already been here with that spiel.

He hadn’t planned on mentioning it, but he was curious to know how Thaxter would react to the fact that his chief political rival—who was ahead of him in the popularity charts, according to the latest reports—had visited him. Gordon would no doubt be giving a press conference sometime soon, about how he’d tried to make the sinner see the light.

There was nothing but disdain in Thaxter’s eyes. Ignorant too, he said contemptuously. That sort of superstition may be all right for idiots like Gordon, but I’ve always been a man of science.

Yet, he’s ahead of you in the popularity polls, and we’ve elections coming up next year too, Gerald had no idea why he was provoking Thaxter like this, but he had to admit that Thaxter took it better than Gordon.

Why should you bother, you’re not gonna be alive to see it! Thaxter snapped, but still with that supremely disdainful expression on his face.

Gerald wondered what he would have to do to get a raise out of Thaxter, to make him lose his temper, and storm out of the room. It had been ridiculously easy with Gordon. Lane was sick, he was dying, and he was tired of these politicians trying to make mileage out of him. He might be a criminal, and he might have been responsible for the deaths of all those children—no matter how little he’d intended it or even expected it—but even he wasn’t so cold blooded to use those kids’ deaths as a way to further political ambitions.

Thaxter was speaking again. You’re a real piece of work, aren’t you Lane? Working with terrorists to kill children . . . and you sit there and think you’re immune to justice?

I’ve already been told that my disease is a judgement passed on me, Gerald said, trying not to squirm, because, no matter what he did, neither Gordon nor Thaxter had any right to judge him.

I would say your illness is too kind, Thaxter grated out. Even Death by administering of Zhidium is too kind. If I had my way, I would lock you up, and throw away the key, and put those kids’ faces all around you, and their parents’ so you’ll never forget what you’ve done till the end of your days!

It was a good act, Gerald decided. Thaxter carried it off much better than Gordon did. None of it was overdone: the contempt, the righteous anger, the passion.

Except his eyes were as cold and calculating as Gordon’s had been.

Why are you here, really? he asked. You know as well as I do, you’re not here just to berate me. The First Minister just doesn’t come and visit petty criminals to harangue them. What is your purpose?

At least the flash of anger in Thaxter’s eyes this time was real. "I’m here because you’ve created enough problems for me, Lane. You’ve put my entire career in jeopardy. Catching you, your trial, your sentence should have been enough to win me the elections next year, but instead you had to get a rare and