Tag
Copyright© 2025 by A Well Traveled Man
Chapter 19
Early Thursday morning, Tag was in the kitchen eating another breakfast, wondering where this was taking him. He lost 6 days in a cave after drinking the water, and feels great. He can feel changes to his body, but what changes? Then the medallion in the alcove at my hideout, and don’t forget the pool of water in the cave at Grampa’s ranch. The only thing they all have in common is water. There was more to think about as he cleaned the kitchen and headed upstairs to check email. One was from CAA wanting him to stop by Friday to pick up two scripts to read, and nothing really interesting unless he had erectile dysfunction, and of course, all his problems would be solved.
Tag shut down the computer, called his car guru about the Nova, and said to call him on Wednesday. He gets in the F250, goes to the mailbox, picks up the mail, pushes bars for the Nova, and heads to get fuel and practice evading, hiding, and pulling in the garage. Tag locked up the garage and headed up the tunnel to the house. He sat at the kitchen table and scanned the mail and it all crap. Remembering, he heads upstairs to the computer and routes and searches commercial shedders. They were not an option, so he searched for business shredders, and there was one, 2’x2’x3’ high, and it would shred up to 10 pages at a time. I ordered it and had it sent to the mail store.
He feels he was forgetting something, then it hits him, and he goes to the garage. Tag hops on the BMX and rides to stop and rob. He picks up a paper, two deli sandwiches with chips, and two sports drinks and rides home. While eating a late lunch, Tag scanned the classifieds for garages to rent. He finds two and calls both available, and with an address, he hops on the lowboy and checks them out. One is ideal. It has an alley entrance and exit, and is away from the house.
Actually, there are five garages in a row. It’s in an older section of town that was once considered upscale homes. The house has a porch that extends front and side, with its garage on the side. Tag cruised the streets around the house, and all the homes are in excellent shape. He pulls up front, and an older man meets him, directing us to seats on the porch. Tag asks about the garage rental, and he says Sorry, but I’ve decided to put the house up for sale.
I inherited my grandparents’ house, and I have been renting it. I have some health problems, and it’s too much to manage from my home in San Diego. Tag asks what he wants for it, and he says $175k. Tag asks to see the inside and the garages, and he hands him the keys. Tag looks at the house, and it’s in excellent shape. He must have done a major renovation on it. The kitchen has current appliances, and he passed by the utility/laundry room, and the electrical breaker box is updated.
Tag exited the kitchen and entered the garage, and he couldn’t believe it. The garage has an entrance in the front and an exit in the alleyway. He inspects the five garages, and they have older double-opening doors, but again, someone spent some money updating the structure. The last two have a bunch of crap stacked up you can’t even get inside or see past the door. Tag stands back and sees that the roof has been changed from flat to a gable.
He returns to the front porch, and he’s napping, so he makes a noise and asks if he would sell it to me. He looks at me and asks why. So, Tag bullshits and says his grandparents had a house like this in Missouri and he always wanted a house like this. He gave Tag the address of his attorney in town, and we scheduled a 1 p.m. appointment tomorrow. Tag asks how he wants the check made out, or if he wants a wire transfer. He asks for a certified check made out to John Ridder. We shake hands, and he leaves. Man, what a find. His own vehicle stash house.
Tag drives to the bank, gets the check, and bobs and weaves home. He locked the garage up and headed up the tunnel to the house. The rest of the roast he cooked in the crock pot is dinner tonight. Finishing cleaning up, Tag drinks his brew on the way to the gym. He goes through his nightly routine, attacks the heavy bag, and cools down on the speed bag. He heads to the shower. After the shower, Tag sat in lotus nude and centered. Then he was awake.
At 2 a.m. Friday, Tag was in the kitchen drinking his brew before heading to the gym. He did his workout with Sensi’s exercises and weight training program before heading upstairs for a shower and centering. Tag wakes at 7 a.m. and heads to the kitchen to cook breakfast: bacon and eggs with hashbrowns and wheat toast. He cleans up, returns upstairs, gets dressed, and locks and loads the house before heading down the tunnel.
Tag gets in the Cuda and drives to CAA. He walks up to the reception and says (using Joe’s voice) Hi, darlin’, you got something for me? She gets a little off-kilter and points to the door. Tag goes to Mr. Lovett’s office. His new assistant gave him the two scripts, and he left. He stopped by the deli on the way back, picked up too much meat, cheese, and buns, bobbed and weaved, and came home. Tag headed up the tunnel and put the food away.
Then he went upstairs, put the scripts in the stash, and rearmed the system. Tag headed back downstairs to the tunnel, got on the lowboy, and rode to the attorney’s office. We complete the sale, and he heads home after enjoying the sights and stopping to window shop. He makes it home and reads the scripts and both are good but the one about a navy seal coming home find his girl married to some rich asshole and soon finds himself accused of a murder he didn’t commit. Seeing the evidence stacking up against him, goes native. He has to find who set him up and why. Then punish those involved with extreme prejudice.
The second one was just as interesting. His wife gives him a hunting trip of his dreams for his birthday. It’s 7 days in the Alaska wilderness hunting elk and bear from a remote cabin. He and his wife have been at odds since he left the service. He was ready to file for divorce when she gave him the trip. He figures to have fun and get the divorce when he returns. One problem is that someone fires a stinger at the plane, which goes down. He is the only survivor and has to get back and solve the riddle, as someone is trying to kill him.
Tag calls CAA and ask for Richard Lovett. He answered and said you want both and have a good chance. The one about the Navy SEAL is in pre-production, and the lead actor got busted in Germany for pot and coke while on holiday. Production was supposed to start in ten days. You have a reading scheduled at Universal tomorrow at 10 a.m. Be yourself, and it’s a lock. The other one is still in its planning stages and will be late this year or early next year. It’s a winter film, so it will be late next year if they miss that timeframe. Tag started working on Brooks, Robert Brooks, Vol. 2, China. He worked tell his stomach said Feed me. Tag saved the file and fixed a quick prepackaged meal. He drank his brew on the way to the gym. Tag did his nightly routine and tried to hurt the heavy bag, but it didn’t work. He finished cooling down on the speed bag. Heading upstairs, he took a shower and sat nude in lotus and centered. Then he woke up.
Tag was in the kitchen early Saturday morning, drinking his brew and heading to the gym. He did his off-day routine and headed for the shower. He showered, centered, and woke at 7 a.m. He headed to the kitchen for breakfast and made a ham and cheese omelet with toast. Cleaning up after breakfast, he headed upstairs to dress. Tag worked on Vol. 2, Brooks until 9 a.m., saved and shut down the computer, and put it in the stash. He armed the bomb and the house and went through the tunnel to the garage.
Hopping on Deep Blue, pulling out, and cruising to Universal. The interview was a breeze. They liked him, and they were easygoing, so we meshed. We were filming in a small town north of us, in Ojai. Wilderness will be local to him, so he can be home on break. Tag called CAA and left a message for Mr. Lovett that he got the part. He asked Richard to let him know when it’s finalized. Tag stopped by the mailbox, picked up the mail, walked around, and spotted someone following him.
Tag laid a trap and waited for them to enter the alley. The guy was stupid to walk into an alley blind. Tag put him down with one punch and read his mind. He worked freelance and wanted to be the first to get Tag. He’s been hanging around CAA for weeks and got lucky today. Tag sent him instructions, but he came here to pee and fell. He was to follow females only and never pay attention to him again. As he was driving home, Tag thought this spy shit works.
He parks and locks up the garage when he gets to the new house. As he walked up the tunnel, it hit him, and he raced upstairs, powered up the computer, and searched for the best survival and evasion techniques. It listed four books, and they were available at the local bookstore. Locking and arming the house, he drove the Mustang to the bookstore. Tag purchased the books, played Ring Around the Rosie, and returned home. He read the books, and it was an eye-opener.
He had a notepad and made notes, which he would need in the future. The guy who wrote the first book was a former sniper, and he had to spend extended time to get a chance at his target. He really knew his stuff. The second book was about the supply of your shelter. Knowing what, where to store it, and what it would make was good. He was also an expert with firearms. He listed items needed for an extended stay. He supplied a list to stock your shelter per person, and then double it. His motto is better too much than not enough. He listed places to buy your supplies. Also, stock should be rotated well before the expiration date every few years.
The third book dealt with maneuvers to throw off your pursuers and laying traps that would take them out of the game. It gave descriptions of everything nonlethal to with extreme prejudice. If you had a problem, he had a solution but he stressed fuck with their minds and you win the game. The psyche of the pursuers can and should be played with. He went in to detail of how to get them think about it to freaking out. No sleep or nightmares will tear down your 10 times quicker than fatigue. The guy who wrote this book was a genius and a psycho. Tag was glad he was out of the game to learn from him.
The last books writer said screw running they will always catch you with time. His philosophy was while they are out chasing you fuck with them at home. He was like the other writer, mercilessly in pursuit of his goal. He had ideas that were really twisted, and I remembered them all. Like the other author (and I use that term loosely), he was a genius and a psycho. I’m looking forward to employing some of these tactics. So much so, Tag called the movie producer and director to ask for a meeting. They said Sunday brunch and gave a time and address.
Tag realized it was almost dinner time, so he made a large steak with veggies. After cleaning up and drinking his brew, he headed to the gym and seemed to have extra energy doing my forms and attacking the heavy bag. He didn’t let the speed bag off either. Tag headed upstairs for a long, hot shower. Finally relaxing, he sat nude in the lotus and centered. He woke up.
Early Sunday morning Tag was in the kitchen drinking his brew on the way to the gym. He did his off-day workout, headed upstairs, showered, and centered. When he awoke, Tag went to the kitchen and made breakfast. After cleaning up, he programmed Vol. 2 Brooks until it was time to leave. Tag dressed casually, armed the house and the closet bomb, and went down the tunnel to the garage. He hopped in the Cuda and cruised to the restaurant.
As he figured, a valet took the car and met the producer and director going inside. We were placed in a private booth. After we ordered, Tag brought up his research for the part and thought they might want to incorporate some of it. It could give an edge to his character that would keep the audience in suspense or anticipation of what might happen next. He pointed out that keeping the audience on edge could give the ending an extra effect. It could go from that was really sad to wow, I wasn’t expecting that!
They told Tag to meet them and the writers at 9 a.m. tomorrow at their offices. He left feeling like he was walking on air until he got into his car knew someone fucked with it. Tag slowly drove around the corner and parked. He popped the hood and saw his brake line had been loosened and was dripping fluid. Tag walked back and, from a distance, read the valet’s minds and found who did this. The valet will end up in a ditch tonight on the way home.
He got a wrench from the trunk, tightened the fitting, and drove to the auto parts store. He purchased a bottle of brake fluid, refilled the reservoir, and did a square dance until he was sure he was not followed and went home. Tag wanted to find out who Frank Wagner was and why he tried to kill him. It didn’t take long to find that Frank Wagner was the drug dealer for the actor arrested in Germany. Frank was now in trouble because of the loss of the drugs, and he couldn’t pay his supplier. A consultant’s job on the film was to be given to him for the interest on the drugs he fronted. The actor had a buddy in Germany who could sell them for twice what we get here. It was a win-win until he got busted. Tag located Frank Wagner’s house and shut everything down. He ate a premade dinner and drank his brew on the way to the gym. Tag put extra effort into his nightly workout and headed for the shower. After showering, he sat and centered. He awoke
At 2 a.m. Monday Tag was in the kitchen, drinking his brew. He went to the gym, did his martial arts workout and weight training, dressed in black and with my BE pack, and drove his Chevy truck to Frank’s house. After sensing the block, he parked on a side street, entered his property through the alleyway, and picked the kitchen door lock. Tag went to Frank’s bedroom, put him into a deep sleep, and read him. Tag located all the drugs and money he had.
Then Tag beat Frank’s balls badly. He won’t bet they will work again. He put Frank in his car and drove towards the truck stop. Tag stopped at an intersection and put Frank in the driver’s seat with drugs on the passenger floorboard. Tag ensured he would forget him and blame his problems on his actor friend. On the way home, Tag called from a pay phone, reporting a driver passed out and the location. Tag made it home, showered, and centered.
He woke at 7 a.m., cooked breakfast, and dressed. As he was walking down the tunnel, it felt great that the fool would pay the price. He hopped on the lowboy and rode to the production office. The writers, director, and Tag brainstormed, and there was silence when he gave his idea of ending the film. Then the producer walks in as brilliant! No one will know if he dies or lives, and we are open to a sequel. They said I would be getting a bonus, and we broke up. It was late, so he took evasive and deliberate turns and stops.
No one was following, so he headed home. Tag called the contractor and scheduled a meeting for tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the new house. He cooked tuna steak with veggies for dinner. After cleaning up, I went to the gym, drinking my brew. Tag’s nightly routine has really intensified. At the end, he was beat walking upstairs to the shower. Tag took a long, hot shower, sat in the lotus position, nude, and centered. He awoke
Early Tuesday morning Tag was in the kitchen drinking his brew. He hit the gym with his off-day exercises and heads for a shower and center. Waking at seven and cooking a Denver omelet with hash browns and wheat toast. He cleaned up the kitchen and dressed. Arming the house, he walked down the tunnel to the garage. Hopping in the F250, he went to True Value hardware, picked up two boxes of contractor trash bags, and headed to his new vehicle stash house.
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