[3rd POV]
"Is that a fucking rhino that I'm seeing?" Ramirez asked while looking at the footage on his screen.
As usual, he was using his drone in the morning to capture footage of the Serengeti and to assess the surroundings. But unexpectedly, his drone did not make it far. It stopped and lingered on Leo and his pride and focused on the new members.
"Let me see," Hana said, coming out of the tent naked and hugging him from the back.
Their relationship had developed wonderfully. Although they still have not done the deed yet. The wild Serengeti and the thin tent did not exactly provide the best place. Both of them were also virgins, so they wanted their first time to be special and somewhere nice, not in the middle of work.
But both were suckers for cuddles and in the chilly night of the Serengeti, they were cuddle buddies, sharing body heat and all that.
"Oh shit, there really is a rhino," Hana said. She blinked owlishly and her drowsiness disappeared with every moment.
They saw the two rhinos lying down beside Leo, who was cuddling with them protectively. It didn't look like Leo was faking it or playing with his food either. It looked absolutely adorable, actually.
The biggest, meanest lion on earth, cuddling with a baby herbivore, was a sight they'd never forget.
"I knew it was getting too ordinary since the baby-making arc. About time he did something groundbreaking," Ramirez said and played with his lips.
He absolutely wanted to smoke about now. He had been a smoker since young, and he only smoked more to keep insects away in his line of work. But Hana did not like it, so he stopped immediately.
He was still getting used to the non-smoker life.
"Killing other lions is getting boring so you decided to show something new huh, big guy?" Hana commented too, her eyes locked on the screen. Leo would groom the furless rhino whenever he slipped out of his nap.
"I thought I heard something," Dr Tonson came up to the tent of the couple, a laptop in one hand and a cup of instant coffee.
"You're awake now, good," he said while standing over them. "Get dressed, will you? We have big news from the main headquarters."
Dr Tonson left them to get dressed. The two looked at each other for a second before getting up to dress. Dr Tonson was not one to have such a serious expression so it must be big.
After they got dressed, they came to the campfire. Dr Tonson was already sitting on the log they used as a seat, his laptop on the retractable plastic table.
"So what's up?" Ramirez asked, standing with folded arms. Hana sat at the other end of the log bench.
"It's not what's up, it's what the fuck happened," Dr Tonson said.
"I have been awake since 3 am. And it's because of this," Dr Tonson said and handed his laptop to Ramirez.
He took the laptop and after taking a glance his eyes widened. On the laptop was all the images of what transpired last night with the poachers. The scene was red and gory. It was unlike anything Ramirez had ever seen before.
It was much more horrifying than most Hollywood horror movies.
"There's more," Dr Tonson said.
Ramirez gulped and he moved to the next image. Every picture seemed to be worse than the last. His face changed expression rapidly as he swiped through the photos.
"What is it?" Hana stood up to try and see what the images were.
"No baby," Ramirez stopped her immediately, "You shouldn't see this."
Hana sat back down, more confused and worried.
Ramirez held his throat as he felt bile coming up. He tried his best not to gag. He could barely stand those pictures.
"We've been notified of the poachers in the Northern region. They were attacked last night, thirteen dead bodies were found. Their bodies had been mauled and ripped apart to the point that they were unrecognizable. They couldn't even prove how they died or what killed them," Dr Tonson said.
Hana gasped loudly.
She hated poachers, but in the end they were still humans like her. Death was not some silly thing, especially when it came to humans.
"The main suspect is Leo. He is the only animal in the whole Serengeti who could do such things. They also found vultures around the corpses but those prove nothing. Vultures eat all dead animals, not just the ones Leo killed," he said.
"They have no proof against him so they can't take any action," Dr Tonson said.
"But you think he is the one that killed them?" Hana asked.
"Just between us, yes. I am a hundred percent sure it's Leo. No other beast has the intelligence to massacre people with guns like this. Even an elephant would not be able to win that battle," he said.
"But we must never admit that. A wild animal killing a human is unacceptable by law, even if they were poachers," Dr Tonson said, "And from the evidence, it was clear that the poachers were making camp there and they were attacked by an animal. It was not self defense but a hunt. An animal that hunts humans."
"So Leo could get in trouble if word got out," Hana said.
"He can be named a man eater," Dr Tonson said, "Although that's a worst case scenario. But still, if it is known widely that Leo killed these poachers, we are in for a big controversy that could affect everything, even our jobs."
"So we must make our intentions clear. If a detective or rangers ever questions us, we will deny the possibility that Leo is responsible and claim his innocence as the researchers who have known him for the longest," he said.
Ramirez made a face.
"Is this a crashed vehicle that I'm seeing?" Ramirez asked when he saw a certain image.
Hana stood up to see once more and this time, Ramirez let her. The image was only that of the pickup truck that had fallen to the side. It had no gory images that she would seriously regret seeing.
"Oh," was the only thing Hana said after seeing the picture.
It was not the vehicle that was the problem, but the empty cage on the back of the truck.
"Pretty crazy right? To think Leo was able to topple a whole truck. You know the investigation states that the vehicle was driving when it crashed. That meant Leo chased it like he would chase buffalo and slammed it from the side," Dr Tonson said.
Both shook their head, not sure how to break the news.
"We might have a problem doctor," Hana said.
"What?"
Ramirez went back to the tent to take his screen. There, he played the footage that he took this morning. It was a video of Leo and his pride, including the new members.
When they showed it to Dr Tonson, he deadpanned and rubbed his eyes.
"So those were the ones in the cage," he said with a heavy heart. He did not know whether to be happy or sad. Maybe he was both.
"It was the perfect crime, no proof, no evidence. But the murderer just had to wear the clothes of his victims the very next day."
"I guess we have to think about legal battles, or at least brace for some controversy," Ramirez said.
"I guess we do," Dr Tonson said.
Luckily, the video was absolutely adorable so it was able to distract his mind. It also made his belief clear on who was the real evil and who was the king and protector.
"Fuck it we are the good guys," Dr Tonson declared, "And good guys win."
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[3rd POV]
"The investigation is over, we have determined the events and the cause of deaths," the chief ranger said.
"Leo has with him two baby rhinos suspected to be in the cage of the fallen vehicle. It's undeniable that Leo is the one that attacked their camps," he said.
They were in the main headquarters. The giant tent was filled with people this particular morning. The death of thirteen people was not some small thing that could be ignored. It was huge. The media wanted a piece of it, the police wanted a piece of it, and so did basically everyone.
"So what are you going to do now?" Dr Emmanuel asked, sitting coolly on his chair and smoking a cigarette.
"Excuse me?" the chief ranger turned to him.
"I said what are you going to do now?" Dr Emmanuel said, his eyes red from the lack of sleep.
"I will bring justice of course," the chief answered. There was an immediate tension between them as the two exchanged words. Everyone else became quiet and watched their interaction.
"Bring justice to what exactly?" Emmanuel asked.
"To the victims–"
"Victims? I will let you rephrase that word," Dr Emmanuel cut him off much to his anger.
"There is a man eater out there and I cannot let this slide so easily. People died last night doctor, they died a brutal death," he said.
"A brutal death, or a deserved death," Dr Emmanuel argued.
"No one deserves to die," the chief said, his voice going dangerously low.
"I suppose you are right. But the poachers crossed into a protected area that is the Serengeti through illegal means. They had with them illegal firearms. And they hunted endangered species and were about to traffic two white rhino calves," he said, "Maybe they don't deserve to die, but they were not victims either."
The chief ranger gritted his teeth while glaring daggers.
Dr Emmanuel stood up coolly. "You know, I've been thinking a lot since yesterday. I was there when Leo came to the dead rhino and I think it was in that moment that he decided to remove the poachers from his kingdom."
"And the same night, he was able to locate them and kill them. Don't you think that is a bit too easy? A wild animal finding his target immediately when the whole ranger squad could not remove the poachers after seven months?" he asked.
Now he was standing right in front of the chief.
"What does Leo have that you don't? Is he smarter? I suppose not since you are a human, the most intelligent species on the planet. Vultures? You have a dozen drones faster and more efficient. People? You have an entire squad, he hunted them alone," he said.
"At first I thought it was incompetence, but then your reaction to the whole incident made me think otherwise. Maybe there is a reason why those specific poachers were never found and why you react so intensely after they were killed."
There was silence.
"Are you accusing me?" the chief asked. "You must be out of your mind."
"What can I say, I have a wild imagination," Dr Emmanuel said with a shrug.
"Was one of the poachers your friend?" he asked and it seemed that crossed the line.
The chief exploded violently, throwing a right cross at the doctor. But Emmanuel, although tired and sleep deprived, was too fast and too cool to be hit.
He sidestepped the cross and hit the chief right at the jaw. The people immediately came between them to stop the fight from continuing.
But the chief had a bloody nose and Emmanuel had made his point.
There was a mole among the rangers that allowed the poachers to be in the Serengeti as long as they did.
And maybe in this recent development, those corruptions would be found.
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Author : Man, Dr Emmanuel is so cool.