Janet & Carla's Jungle Peril. For Belle in Boots. Part 6.

By PrimeSlimeTime. UMD.netDEC. 2019.

Enrico and Janet left her to return to her office and get her material back on the desk, then she sought about logging into the mapping systems history, her login credentials immediately available to her through the electronic mailing system, her having access to the mapping and data computer system, now in charge of mapping and site statistics, on the left hand of the management team, quite a promotion in only her first day. She spent a few hours downloading all the current data and compiling it into a project timeline that she drew up on an old large chalkboard she found in another storage hut, that took four people to lift and carry for her, the end wall in her office now covered up by it, a lot of effort needed to lift it up and bolt onto the steel end wall of her office. There were a few other items she managed to scrounge, Enrico giving her the go ahead torummage through the many storage huts in the tunnels, to see what else she could find, her digging up three old computers that contained the original project site plans with GPS coordinates and other useful mapping data, which made her day as she now had exact original reference points to go by checking the logarithm files to find that the current mapping system logarithm files were not the same, and her given permission to recreate another mapping system based on the original she had found then she uploaded it to the mapping server as a back up, rectifying immediately the problems they had with the current one, her finishing the job in a few hours, everyone impressed that she had sorted the problem so quickly.

Enrico and Janet checked in on her progress over lunch, her casually telling them the maps she had produced from the original data, loaded onto another older server she found and connected to her own system in her office providing very high detail map referencing data and much more accurate statistics, proving beyond doubt the current system was flawed as she had suggested earlier that morning. She could even zoom in on her new maps she had created and scroll around creating dot points with notes or links to other information using commercial satellite feeds they had licences for and a unix based web browser overlay app she created and distributed to the management team in under an hour, with everyone able to log in and see point by point in her time line where everything was at and download or print whatever they needed, all the core sample data immediately updated to every location point under accurate gps coordinates every time she made then saved an entry.

An old but still working coffee machine appeared at her door that afternoon from catering as her office became an immediate hub and a key reference point for the ground teams as her mapping and sample data was the most accurate anyone had seen produced so far, everyone checking on her maps what to expect on the ground that afternoon, her even finding some old plane wreckage from world war II with unexploded ordnance onboard that caused a lot of interest, with her getting the approval to attend the site in person to survey and map the ground and the wreckage at a later date with a ground team under her command, also finding some suspect areas as well marked as dangerous ground or needing careful further assessment. She spent the rest of her afternoon making a collage map of the site she glued to the outside of her office using up much of the A3 paper she found in one storage hut; it taking many trips to get it all to her office in boxes, the quality of it still good after a long time in storage. She also found a hut sized piece of perspex, with no idea how they got that there, using it to cover her wall map, so she could draw on it in white chalk ink marker, making notes for the map readers. Her office also in a few short hours turning into the main data compiling center and computer room, her computers automatically updating the ground and core sample data from the scientific team even if she wasn't there to do it herself, automation saving her a lot of time, and she was now free to check in from her hut even at night, though she would spend most of her time with her maps and core sample data, providing the scientific team in one day with very accurate up to the minute and fresh data for the entire site that would normally take weeks to produce removing the problems of the current system by referring back to the old system she had recommissioned and adjusting it to suit the needs of the present.

She got a call over her radio from Enrico asking if she was free at 1700 hours to assist him with something, and she was promptly at Janet's hut at 1645 curious to know what was up. Janet was changing into an exploring outfit, with Zamberlan boots, chaps, a knee-length safari skirt, riggers glovers on her belt with a knife and compass pouch, a sweat scarf around her neck and a weird-looking cowboy hat on her head, with Enrico already there, him clapping his hands as she entered, asking if she was ready for a bit of local exploring as she was pouring over maps all day and might like to get out into the fresh air for a while to explore some of what she had been staring at all day. She changed into exploring uniform and was back in under ten minutes ready to go. Enrico produced from behind him a triangular pouch noting that on her profile she had a current federal shooter's licence and she talked about it with him at length wondering where the conversation was going. He offered her the pouch explaining she was deemed qualified and experienced enough to hold and use firearms for hunting and safety reasons when out on the ground, Enrico asking her to sign for her firearms and ammunition if she wished, her leaving and returning soon after signing off and producing for him her in date licence, her approved to hold and use both handguns and up to medium calibre rifles and impact shotguns. She signed off on the sheet and handed it back. He then produced for her from out of sight a brand new Marlin 336W 30-30 lever action rifle with scope in a case and a chit from stores for ammunition for her sling that he also handed her. It could hold one hundred rounds at a time. The pouch contained an authentic American Colt 45 with a store chit for one hundred rounds of ammunition and a belt sling to go with it. He went on further if you had a current explosives ticket we also have dynamite on hand, the three of them laughing at the thought of Carla being in charge of explosives and her personal firearms. He also asked her not to enquire how he got it into the country, as civil war and tribal fighting over property and food was rife. The firearms purely as a safety measure just in case.
Her gun rack already installed in the masters hut, and she was the only person to access it, with four other site team members holding licences for weapons, two yet to be approved as their licences were not present on site, the two other being Enrico and Kevin, the site designated master at arms. With that they left for the masters hut and stores, Carla still unbelieving as she signed for the keys, locking the case away, the arms master asking for her to explain the aesthetics of the rifle then strip and reassemble it on the table in front of them explaining its functions as she went, her completing the task easily, then they went to stores and she filled her ammunition slings and put them on, looking rather dangerous, something like an Indiana Jayne, wrapped up in bullets and brandishing weapons. With that done, Enrico told her we're going hunting at first light so be up early and he escorted her back to the masters hut, her signing off on her ammunition count, the actions open on her weapons open her showing the master at arms they were not loaded the chambers of both empty, then locked in her gun cage with her rifle and ammunition, The name Carla Bellamy on the front of it with her licence number underneath her name. She could carry her handgun with her all the times as it was a safety weapon on site, the rifle only coming out for designated exploring and mapping expeditions, or for mandatory regular inspection, so she loaded her handgun pouch onto her sling cowboy style, it hanging loosely down one side around her waist, and packed her sling filling it with ammunition leaving five holes empty in the front in case she had to unchamber it leaving one always in it for emergencies.

They stopped off at Enrico's office on the way back him opening the door and inviting them both inside, Carla whispering wow to herself, looking at Janet wide eyed, Enrico's office hut like something out of a museum with all kinds of trophies from his adventures in the jungle, it all going everywhere he went, almost twenty years of work and travel behind him, and he offered for her to find a hat for herself from his collection, her taking an immediate liking to an Akubra Cattleman he had collected in Australia on a visit, Carla questioning him on letting her have it, Enrico explaining that she deserved it for her good work on her first day, telling her she had put the camps operations ahead by a full three months in five hours work and he ushered them out the door returning to Janet's hut, with Enrico offering Carla a small map and compass explaining this was on orienteering exercise, her two guides along for the trek. Enrico radioed in they were going to a sector bravo 10, and he repeated bravo 10, getting the return message they were free to go on their way, Janet producing another sheet handing it to Carla with a bunch of way point grid coordinates, her guides loaded with wooden surveying spikes and a hammer and a bag filled with red and green ribbon and a staple gun loaded with some heavy duty fang like staples.

Carla grabbed her prized satellite GPS watch from her bag, a gift from NASA after she successfully performed a complete and accurate grid reference map project, picking out a small insignificant crater on Mars for her first year final paper, winning a science award for her work, pointing out some elements in the ground that no one even knew existed there, turning the space science industry on its head as it was a female non recognized non scientist who made the undeniable discovery highlighting the importance of valuable resources on the red planet that could assist with building projects allowing humans to live there permanently. Her reward from a very impressed and grateful for her efforts, NASA, on her discovery of metals in a tiny crater on Mars, a very sophisticated watch with a sun dial element you can set from the ground if satellite access failed or there was an EMP explosion, the watch live tested in the Mariana Trench to a depth on 30,000 feet, accurately mapping out part of the ocean floor near the bottom of the trench and also useable to the same extent on the moon. It was very accurate in gps positioning even calibrate able for use inspace or deep under the ocean surface. Enrico was out of his mind with her mapping expertise and scientific statistical data experience upon learning just now of how she completed her Mars project, making a major scientific discoveryin the process, not even Janet aware of her NASA award, she was a human gps positioning blood hound, able to sniff out the smallest in ground detail and map it to within a thousandth of a degree on a chart, bloody amazing he thought to himself, her today even finding a warplane half buried in the ground and well hidden by dense jungle canopy and foliage. He shook his head in disbelief wondering what she would come up with next, asking Janet how she had come across her in the first place, her mapping instincts and skills way beyond tier one level in mapping scientific ground data well past her years and capable of accurately surveying Mars for land development for humans to live there.

Carla looked up after setting her watch to her exact location on earth, noting the date and time, elevation, relative humidity and temperature, and sending the data off by satellite to her computer systems as a test, asking for Janet to write it all down for reference and accuracy checking later on, even noting the suns position with respect to true north on the sundial, correcting the exact time by a few seconds, able to plot their movements and flag waypoints as they went, charting their progress on the map, and checking her bearings with her compass, following Janet's grid references exactly, her guides staking the ground where she indicated by her waypoints scanning into her watch the barcodes on top of them not making a mistake on any of them, until after an hour of time of trekking through jungle and along tracks she ran out of reference points and they stopped, Enrico calling in that they had arrived at their bravo 10 destination. He reached out for Carla's arm making her freeze and look at him, her thoughts distracted from her work, offering her some water, asking her to drink to replenish herself with some hydrolyte, to keep her body and mind in great shape. He lifted his hat to her grinning as he said, welcome to the team. Carla had a confused look on her face not sure of what he was meaning, Janet quick to explain that she had successfully led them to a newly discovered sitethey would map, survey and investigate by taking ground samples and stay at over night, returning later in the day, only an hour from camp, and she had passed her first site exam with 100% pass mark, both her and Enrico very confident, that she could take a team anywhere, and bring them back safely, her compass skills spot on and her watch incredible in its level of mapping accuracy, her composure in this hostile environment worthy of the leadership skills she possessed without even knowing it despite her young age.

Enrico patted her arm giving her the all clear to stop for the day, indicating they would make camp here and he radioed in his intentions for them to make camp at their current position calling back in at 2200 for normal radio check in. The reply came back they were received, Enrico checking his watch for the time, noting that Carla had given then an extra hour of daylight, not expecting that she would get them to their check point so soon. He ordered for them to rest and make camp, the guides straight to work cutting stout branches for the five ground sheets, or over sheets if it were to rain, and they rolled out their gear, the guides gathering good wood for a fire to heat water for washing their feet and cook their rations, the two of them local hunters soon returning with local game, some hares and a fat large lizard, apparently a local delicacy rich in fat and vitamins, plenty of meat for the group of five for the night, adding well to their ration packs of vegetables and staple of fruits and nuts. Enrico called Carla over for a weapons check, them both loading their firearms fully for the night as was the protocol, the day moving into late afternoon, the camp day time crew now at dinner time, the evening crew on station, the camp rotating in watches, in a similar fashion to military posts, and out here Enrico would use the same policy, both him and Carla sharing gun watch just in case a rogue animal came looking for a feed at their camp during the night and their lives threatened by it and it had to be shot, always two of them on watch at a time in four-hour intervals.

Janet came over to him and they rolled out some logs to sit on, digging divots into the ground to hold them still, the guides quick to dismember some stout trees then a good deal of brush to be used for a canopy, the logs quickly cut up for seats, setting them all close together around their campfire, their swags tied off the ground, and under cover of brush and ground sheets and they got into some dinner of fresh meat and vegetables, their guides making short work of the hares in a broth with vegetables, the lizard soon to be slowly roasting for added nutrients later on, the rest of it preserved in locally selected leaves for flavour, it lasting a good day or two for a boost of energy and vitamins as an emergency ration very good local cuisine. Evening turned into night, the daylight slowly fading into darkness, the night time critters out on the prowl for an easy meal, strange sounds in the night keeping them on alert, with Enrico looking across to Janet over their delicious meal asking her openly, "do you think she's ready in Spanish". Carla looked up at them both from her seat on the side, deep in discussion with her guide over the lizard and hare meal they had easily gathered, discussing the preparation and cooking methods, asking how they determined the animal was fit for eating, her focus now directed at Enrico and Janet, staring at them intently, sitting up from her meal and discussion with her guide, excusing herself from him, thanking him for his help with the day and with their meal and night preparation. Enrico patted the log next to him and invited her to join him which she did, interested in finding out what was going on, he put his arm around her shoulder, telling her she had done an amazing job on her first day, well beyond what anyone expected of her, and then in the corner of her eye she saw something move, and in horror at what she saw she drew her Colt 45 and without hesitating she cocked it and fired, the shot ringing out far into the night.

The night animals taking flight at the disturbing sound, the ground animals scurrying for cover, Enrico jumping in fright, Janet throwing herself to the side instinctively, the very large snake hanging just above and behind her, unnoticed by even the guides, lifeless, its head opened up by the bullet, its body twitching in death, the creature a very large jungle python had sized up Janet from behind, ready to make an easy meal of her despite the camp fire and human activity, desperate for a good meal, going against its instincts fatally, Carla easily killing the creature in a split second without hesitation her weapons training spot on. Janet was aghast and shaking, her realizing she had almost become the creatures meal upon looking behind her screaming in fright at the sight of it, Enrico's radio going off, then all of them, the gunshot sound reaching camp in the still night, the unmistakable noise heard miles away in the jungle darkness, Enrico quick to reassure that they were ok, with Carla having dispatched a large man-eating python and confirming they were all safe and well. Janet was on her feet and ran to Enrico throwing herself at him in a second and in shock after realizing what could have happened to her, Carla composed and eyeing the now dead creature, ready to give it another bullet if it dared to move. "How do we cook that", she calmly asked her guide in Spanish, looking at Enrico, telling a distraught Janet that it was dead, the smoke still wafting from the end of her Colt 45 ready to give it another round, the snake drooping from its attacking position in the tree behind her, its stealth almost getting it a meal, it's movement it's undoing as a very sharp Carla reversed the stakes, creating a meal for days out of it in a split second, her breathing calm, her aim sure as she holstered her pistol after loading another round into it taking out the spent cartridge tossing it to Janet as a souvenir.

Enrico was stunned by her coolness under pressure, her quick reflexes saving Janet's life, if the snake had got her, the shot most likely killing her instead, Janet now sitting on the log with Enrico, shaking and sobbing her heart out in relief, with him wrapped around her consoling her, Janet reliving Carla draw her firearm and freezing, pointing it at her, her eyes wide in horror, remaining still until the shot was fired over her shoulder and her head, thankful that Carla's aim was on target with the snakes huge head. It would have taken her for sure, hunting knives not likely in killing the beast before she was dead, her bones disjointed and her ribs crushed in mere seconds, the snake able to eat calves and other medium-sized prey by crushing it, disjointing its skeletal frame easily, killing it then taking it off for a feast, not needing to eat for some time. Carla got up from her seat and went to inspect her kill, her guides helping her to drag it out from its hiding place, its enormous length plain after they got it out, the massive snake easily able to take a human being. It had been there in hiding for some time, watching the clearing and avoiding the daytime sun and heat, waiting for a meal to come along, watching them the whole time they set up camp, waiting for the right moment to strike, with Carla beating it to the kill by mere seconds. She had never been up close with something this big running her hands over its dead warm body feeling its muscular strength under its tough scaly exterior, glad that it was dead, turning to her group with a proud grin on her face for killing the man-eater saying cheerfully that dinner was up.


Their radios went off again, with Carla taking hers and looking Enrico in the eye she calmly told everyone on the channel to shut up, calling for the medic officer who quickly responded, Carla calmly telling him she had dispatched a man-eating snake with her firearm it about to make a meal of Janet while they were sitting at camp and eating their meal, and all was well in camp with no injury, and that she had the situation under control asking for help at first light to retrieve the creature for examination and then fresh meat for everyone at the site as it was enormous, the five of them alone unable to bring it back. The report came back they would have a team there at first light, their waypoints already plotted with their destination highlighted on one of Carla's computers and maps, her GPS watch giving up to the second information via satellite telling them exactly where they were every step of the way, her watch sending data every five seconds, her programming it that way before they left, now thankful that she had set it up.

Janet looked up at her trembling still, her eyes wide and her body shaking uncontrollably and drooling from her mouth but more composed in her mind, her body still in shock slowly coming to terms with almost being eaten by the snake, it a few feet behind her and poised to strike, stalking her for quite a while, savouring the meal to come, it's focus on the easy meal it's undoing. Enrico got up from his seat and went to inspect the now unmoving snake, not having seen one this size before in his life, shaking his head and offering his prayers to it in Spanish, his hand running over the majestic creature's body, the size and weight of it unlike anything he had seen here. Carla went to Janet, hugging her firmly, Janet sobbing and shaking then looked at Enrico asking if he had any whiskey, a shot of it maybe bringing her back to her senses, him nodding that he had some which he quickly got out, Janet in Carla's arms mumbling incoherently unable to control herself, drooling all over herself having been scared out of her wits and in shock releasing her bladder where she sat, Carla whispering Geez Louise to herself having to drag her to her feet, supporting her as she urinated without bodily control, her having to call in that Janet was an alert one on her radio, Enrico returning and agreeing that it was the right call to make and they needed to get her out of there as soon as humanly possible, the two of them supporting her until she stopped urinating, then they forcibly fed her some scotch, through her chattering teeth, telling her to swallow it, the hit of scotch making her shake her head as it was strong, brought along for antiseptic in case of cuts to kill any infection, it being used now to wake up Janet and bring her back to her senses. Within a half an hour they heard voices calling out to them in the darkness, a medical team had been dispatched in the dark in response to the alert one call, the chopper useless in the dark of night, Janet still not responding to Carla or Enrico, Carla now in charge, Enrico letting her keep control of the situation, his priority on keeping Janet under control and safe in his arms, the medical team using torches and sonic beepers to find their way following the GPS waypoints from Carla's watch and stakes as waypoints, dropping glow sticks as they went eventually finding them, with Janet quickly loaded and tied and covered up on the stretcher they brought for her a team of twenty local night workers working to collect the snake and the team and get them back as quickly as possible.

Continued..