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

NIRANJAN

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First published by Geetha Krishnan 2021

Copyright © 2021 by Niranjan K

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, digital, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

Niranjan K (Geetha Krishnan) asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

No part of this text or cover design may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any database for the purpose of training any model to generate text, including without limitation, technologies capable of generating works in the same style or genre without the author’s express permission to do so. The distributor from which this text was obtained does not retain the right to sublicense, reproduce, or use this text or cover design for the purpose of training such generative text or art platforms without the author’s express permission.

Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.

This text is the sole product of the author’s imagination and creativity and has not been knowingly influenced by the assistance of or generated by the use of generative text commonly referred to as artificial intelligence or large language model. The cover art is likewise the product of the creativity of the artist listed below and has not been knowingly influenced by or generated in part or in whole by any generative imagery algorithm.

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THIS BOOK CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNINGS

DEATH, MURDER, EXECUTION

TERMINAL ILLNESS

GRIEF, LOSS, PAIN

VIOLENCE, BLOOD

ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

SICKNESS

SEPARATION FROM CHILD

TABLE OF CONTENTS

YEAR 2241

A MEETING

REMEMBRANCE

SUSPICION

RELAXATION

MIDNIGHT

CONSPIRACY

PLANS

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Year 2241

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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