By: Ranjan Sarkhell

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Quote

“There are still too many criminals who believe they can act with impunity… too many lives being destroyed and too many species on the brink of extinction due to this heinous crime.”

— Prince William, 2022

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Introduction

Kaelen Underwood believed he had won.

The project was stopped. The villagers were against her. Her camp was burned. The American botanist was alone, helpless, and defeated. She will leave now. She would run back to her country. She would forget the Thornwood. She would forget him.

He was wrong.

What Kaelen did not know was that the world had already shifted beneath his feet. The phone call had been made. The embassy had been alerted. Washington had issued its directives. The machinery of American power was already moving, silent and unstoppable.

“The machinery of American power was already moving, silent and unstoppable.”

Global Warming of the Heart — Part 7: Elephant Poaching and Arrest

Kaelen was celebrating a victory he had already lost.

And then he made the mistake that would cost him everything.

He killed a tusker.

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Key Points

Kaelen’s audacity increases after the project is stopped. He no longer feels pressure from Dr. Mily.

He kills a huge tusker in Thornwood jungle for elephant ivory.

Dr. Mily gets news of the incident from the field Forest Warden. She rushes to the site.

Helicopters arrive. American officials and senior officers emerge. Kaelen’s face loses color. He is caught red-handed.

“Helicopters arrive. American officials emerge. Kaelen’s face loses color. He is caught red-handed.”

Global Warming of the Heart — Part 7: Elephant Poaching and Arrest

Kaelen’s old father is informed that Kaelen will be deported to America for trial.

The father breaks into grief. He realizes that if anyone can save Kaelen, it is Dr. Mily herself.

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The Celebration

Kaelen stood on the veranda of his mansion at Toba Conservancy.

The sun was setting. The sky was orange and gold. The jungle stretched before him — vast, dark, and silent. His jungle. His empire. His kingdom.

The American had been defeated.

He had stopped her project. He had turned the villagers against her. He had burned her camp. She will leave now. She had no choice. She was alone, helpless, and defeated.

He took a sip of whisky. He smiled. It was a cold smile. It was the smile of a man who had won.

But the smile did not reach his eyes.

Because he could not stop thinking about her.

“He could not stop thinking about her.”

Global Warming of the Heart — Part 7: Elephant Poaching and Arrest

He could not stop thinking about her eyes. The green fire. The unflinching stare. The moment she had stood between him and Kihengu and refused to back down.

He could not stop thinking about the way she had looked at him. Like he was not a monster. Like he was a man.

He shook his head. He finished his whisky. He poured another.

She was nothing. She was a foreigner. She was a scientist. She was a woman who had come to Africa to tell him what to do. She was a threat to his empire. She was an enemy.

He had defeated her. That was all that mattered.

He drank. He stared at the dying sun. He told himself he had won.

But somewhere deep inside — in a place he had not visited in years — something stirred. Something he did not want to feel.

He pushed it down. He pushed it away. He finished his whisky. He went inside.

He did not know that the phone lines were burning. He did not know that Washington was watching. He did not know that his days of freedom were numbered.

He did not know that he was about to make the biggest mistake of his life.

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The Tusker

The next morning, Kaelen went hunting.

He had not hunted in Thornwood since the American arrived. He had been careful. He had been cautious. He had been strategic. But now she was defeated. Now the project had been stopped. Now there was no pressure. Now there was no one to stop him.

He gathered his men. He gathered his guns. He gathered his trucks. They drove into the Thornwood — the government forest — like they owned it.

They did.

They found the tusker near the river. It was a huge bull elephant. Old. Majestic. Its tusks were long and curved and heavy. They were worth a fortune. They were worth more than most men would earn in a lifetime.

Kaelen raised his rifle. He aimed. He fired.

The tusker fell.

“The tusker fell.”

Global Warming of the Heart — Part 7: Elephant Poaching and Arrest

The sound echoed through the jungle. The birds rose from the trees. The animals fled. The forest mourned.

Kaelen walked to the fallen giant. He looked at the tusks. He smiled. It was a cold smile. It was the smile of a man who had won.

He did not know that he had just signed his own death warrant.

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The News

Dr. Mily Anderson was at the remains of her camp when the news came.

She had spent the night putting out fires and salvaging what she could. Her notebook was gone. Her research was gone. Her equipment was gone. Everything she had worked for was ash and ruin.

But she was still there.

She had not left. She had not run. She had not given up.

“She had not left. She had not run. She had not given up.”

Global Warming of the Heart — Part 7: Elephant Poaching and Arrest

She was standing in the ruins when Joseph ran toward her. His face was pale. His eyes were wide.

“Dr. Anderson! Dr. Anderson!”

“What is it?”

“A tusker. Kaelen has killed a tusker. In Thornwood. Near the river.”

Mily felt her blood run cold.

“Take me there.”

“Dr. Anderson—”

“Take me there. Now.”

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The Rush

They drove through the jungle as fast as the old truck would go.

The road was rough. The trees pressed close. The sun was high. The air was hot. Mily did not notice any of it. She was focused. She was angry. She was ready.

She had tried to fight with science. She had tried to fight with the truth. She had tried to fight with the system. None of it had worked.

But now she had something else. She had the power of a phone call. She had the power of her uncle. She had the power of America.

She did not know what was coming. But she knew something was coming. She had felt it in her bones since the moment she had hung up the radio.

She was not alone anymore.

She was not helpless anymore.

She was not defeated anymore.

She was ready.

“She was not alone anymore. She was not helpless anymore. She was not defeated anymore. She was ready.”

Global Warming of the Heart — Part 7: Elephant Poaching and Arrest

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The Helicopter

Kaelen heard the helicopters before he saw them.

He was standing over the dead tusker. His men were cutting the ivory from the skull. The work was bloody. The work was messy. The work was illegal.

But he did not care. No one was coming. No one dared to come.

Then he heard the sound.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

He looked up. The sky was full of helicopters. Three of them. Maybe four. They were descending toward the clearing.

Kaelen squinted. He frowned. He dismissed it.

“Routine surveillance,” he said to his men. “Ignore them.”

But something in his chest tightened. Something in his gut told him this was not routine.

The helicopters landed. The doors opened. Men stepped out.

They were not forest rangers. They were not local police. They were not government officials.

They were Americans.

American embassy officials. American federal agents. American military personnel. They were dressed in dark suits and tactical gear. They carried weapons. They carried authority. They carried the full weight of the United States of America.

And behind them — stepping out of the lead helicopter — were senior officers of the African government. The commissioner. The police chief. The forest warden. All the men who had ignored Mily’s complaints. All the men who had protected Kaelen. All the men who had looked away.

They were not looking away now.

They were looking at Kaelen.

And their eyes were cold.

“They were not looking away now. They were looking at Kaelen. And their eyes were cold.”

Global Warming of the Heart — Part 7: Elephant Poaching and Arrest

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The Fear

Kaelen’s face lost color.

He had never been afraid before. He had faced lions. He had faced buffalo. He had faced men with guns. He had never been afraid.

But now — watching the Americans step out of their helicopters, watching the senior officers walk toward him with hard faces — he was afraid.

He knew what this meant. He knew who had done this. He knew who had made the call.

The American woman.

She had not run. She had not given up. She had not been defeated.

She had called for help.

And help had come.

“She had called for help. And help had come.”

Global Warming of the Heart — Part 7: Elephant Poaching and Arrest

Kaelen looked at his men. They were frozen. Their hands were still on the tusks. The blood was still on their fingers. The evidence was all around them.

There was no escape.

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The Arrest

The American official stepped forward.

He was tall. He was broad. He was dressed in a dark suit. He looked at Kaelen with eyes that held no mercy.

“Kaelen Underwood?”

Kaelen did not answer.

“You are under arrest. For illegal hunting. For trafficking of wildlife animal body parts. For arson. For the attempted murder of an American citizen.”

Kaelen’s throat went dry.

“Attempted murder?”

“The fire. At the LTEE camp. The American citizen was inside. You tried to burn her alive.”

“I did not—”

“You did. We have evidence. We have witnesses. We have everything we need.”

Kaelen’s men were being handcuffed. The tusks were being confiscated. The trucks were being searched.

Kaelen stood there. His hands were shaking. His heart was pounding. His mind was racing.

He had been caught. He had been caught red-handed. He had been caught by the Americans.

He looked up. He saw the helicopter. He saw the officials. He saw the senior officers who had once been his friends.

They were not his friends anymore.

They were his judges.

“They were not his friends anymore. They were his judges.”

Global Warming of the Heart — Part 7: Elephant Poaching and Arrest

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The Site

Dr. Mily Anderson reached the site just as they were taking Kaelen away.

She stepped out of the truck. She saw the dead tusker. She saw the blood. She saw the ivory. She saw the men in handcuffs. She saw Kaelen.

He saw her too.

Their eyes met.

She did not look away. She did not flinch. She did not smile.

She simply looked at him.

And he looked at her.

For a moment — just a moment — something passed between them. Something that was not hatred. Something that was not anger. Something that was not fear.

Something she could not name.

“Something passed between them. Something she could not name.”

Global Warming of the Heart — Part 7: Elephant Poaching and Arrest

Then the moment passed.

Kaelen was led away. He was pushed into the helicopter. The door closed. The rotors spun. The helicopter rose into the sky.

Mily watched it go. She stood there for a long time. The sun was setting. The sky was orange and gold. The jungle was silent.

She had won. She had stopped him. She had brought him to justice.

But she did not feel like celebrating.

She felt only tired. And sad. And something else. Something she could not name.

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The Charges

Kaelen was taken to the capital.

He was charged with illegal hunting. He was charged with trafficking wildlife animal body parts. He was charged with arson. He was charged with the attempted murder of an American citizen.

The charges were serious. The evidence was overwhelming. The Americans were watching. The world was watching.

Kaelen’s lawyers came. They were expensive. They were the best money could buy. They argued. They negotiated. They tried to get him out.

But the Americans would not let him go.

The American government wanted him. They wanted to try him on American soil. They wanted to make an example of him. They wanted to show the world that no one — not even a wealthy poacher in Africa — could harm an American citizen and get away with it.

The decision was made.

Kaelen Underwood would be deported to America.

He would be tried in an American court.

He would face an American judge.

He would face American justice.

And there was nothing his money could do.

“He would face American justice. And there was nothing his money could do.”

Global Warming of the Heart — Part 7: Elephant Poaching and Arrest

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The Father

Senior Underwood was at home when the news came.

He was sitting in his study. The room was dark. The curtains were drawn. He had not left the house in years. He had been a prisoner in his own home — a prisoner of his son.

He had watched Kaelen become a monster. He had watched him destroy everything he had built. He had watched him hurt people. He had watched him kill animals. He had watched him become the very thing he had spent his life fighting against.

He had tried to stop him. He had failed.

Now he was old. He was tired. He was broken.

And then the phone rang.

He picked it up. He listened. His face went pale.

Kaelen had been arrested. Kaelen had been charged. Kaelen would be deported to America. Kaelen would be tried for attempted murder.

Kaelen would never come home.

Senior Underwood dropped the phone. He sat there. His hands were shaking. His heart was pounding. His eyes were wet.

He had lost his wife. He had lost his son. He had lost everything.

He was alone.

He sat there for a long time. The sun set. The room grew dark. He did not move.

Then — slowly — he stood.

He walked to the door. He opened it. He stepped outside. He had not been outside in years.

He looked at the jungle. The dying jungle. The jungle his son had helped destroy.

And he knew what he had to do.

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The Realization

Senior Underwood sat in his car.

He had not driven in years. His hands were unsteady. His eyes were blurry. But he drove.

He drove through the villages. He drove past the people. He drove toward the LTEE camp.

He needed to see her.

He needed to see the American woman.

Because he knew — with a certainty that surprised him — that she was the only one who could save his son.

“She was the only one who could save his son.”

Global Warming of the Heart — Part 7: Elephant Poaching and Arrest

He did not know why. He did not know how. But he knew.

She had stopped Kaelen. She had brought him down. She had called the Americans. She had done what no one else had been able to do.

But she had also stood between Kaelen and Kihengu. She had refused to back down. She had looked at him — not with hatred, but with something else. Something that Senior Underwood recognized.

Something like pity.

She had seen the man beneath the monster.

And if anyone could save him — if anyone could reach the boy he had been, the boy he had lost — it was her.

Senior Underwood parked the car. He stepped out. He walked toward the camp.

He was going to see Dr. Mily Anderson.

He was going to plead for his son.

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What Comes Next

Kaelen has been arrested.

He has been charged. He has been deported. He will face American justice. He will face a long sentence. He may never come home.

His father is broken. His father is desperate. His father is coming to see Mily.

Mily has won. She has stopped the poacher. She has brought him to justice. She has saved Thornwood.

But she does not feel like she has won.

She feels tired. She feels sad. She feels something she cannot name.

And now — in the darkness — an old man is coming to her.

An old man who will ask her to save the son who tried to kill her.

“An old man who will ask her to save the son who tried to kill her.”

Global Warming of the Heart — Part 7: Elephant Poaching and Arrest

What will Mily say? Will she help the father of the man who burned her camp? And what will happen when she looks into Kaelen’s eyes again — in an American courtroom?

The answers lie in Part 8.

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Read Part 8 — Senior Underwood’s Plea

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Global Warming of the Heart — A 17-Part Romance Serial

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17

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Frequently Asked Questions About Global Warming of the Heart

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