Tag
Copyright© 2025 by A Well Traveled Man
Chapter 5
Dam 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning. Tag did his forms, stretched, and took a hot shower. He dressed and researched security firms in the local area. Tag was using a private search engine, looked for feedback, and found it canned (professionally written). So, he checked to see if anyone was in the chat room, and Al popped up. Tag asked for a meeting in private. We met with encryption, and he asked about the area’s best security system/company. Al said it was one person, Todd Addison. The guy is a wiz with electronic security, and he gave him his number.
Tag thanked Al and asked if he had developed a program to ghost the IP and the UUID, would it sell? Al said like hotcakes, but it should be buried in another program so it wouldn’t get Big Brother’s attention so fast. Tag thanked him again and logged off. He got a pen and paper and started to draw a design of what he thought was needed to create the ghost. Tag thought of making a cyclone with data and seeing if it would slow it down or lose incoming or outgoing data. Also, when and where to intercept. Questions upon questions.
He guessed that the starting point is understanding how the handshake was made in the incoming and outgoing data. While using the encrypted browser, Tag asked if the chat room was for a network engineer. One answered, and he requested a private room. We met, and he informed Tag that your information is included in the stream when it leaves your mainframe/computer. Likewise, on the data received. Every transfer point can grab your identifiers, and the receiver can and will use them to catch your search “to provide a better customer experience.” Search engines are the worst. They gather, collect, and sell all your searches, be it rubbers or tampons. The whole world will know you’re practicing safe sex or on the rag.
Tag thanked him, and we exchanged emails and logged off. He sat and stared at the computer to see if some ideas would come to him. Tag had an idea that may work in theory, but much more studying would be required before he could even attempt it. He continued the diagram until my stomach said enough. Feed me, so he heated one of Maria’s breakfast specials and thought about the day.
Then Tag returned upstairs, grabbed a small day pack, and put his marbles, knives, and $500. He returned downstairs, packed two bottles of water, and was off. The woods were calling him, and he needed to go. As Tag entered the woods, he stopped to see if he could sense anyone. One person was identified in a tree. He set the day pack on the ground, grabbed some marbles and a few knives, and climbed the tree on the other side, away from him. That triggered the idea of getting a few pairs of slippers with rubber soles like ninjas wear. Plus, they look comfortable.
He sneaked beside him and said loudly, “Hey, what are you doing?” The man jumps right out of the tree and knocks himself out. Tag climbs down, grabs his shoulder pressure point, counts to 15, and lets go. He searches the man’s backpack and pockets and finds he’s a PI. Along with his ID Tag finds a camera and a voice recorder. Tag read him, and boy, is he sleazy. He will do anything for a paycheck. He had an idea and squeezed his shoulder again to put him into a deeper sleep. He ran home for a shovel and ketchup and returned.
Tag dug a shallow grave and pulled him into it. Then, he stripped him, painted occult symbols on him, and covered him up, but left his face clear enough to breathe. Then he marked some more around the grave, picked up his stuff, and left. Tag checked the pictures on the camera and found the PI was following his neighbor. He was taking pictures of her through her window and around town. Tag grabbed the PI stuff, walked to the neighbor’s house, and rang the doorbell.
She answered the door, and introductions were made. Her name is Patty Stanton. Patty invites Tag inside, and we sit in the living room. Tag asks if she has any problems that a PI would be following her. Patty sits up straight and says her husband is trying to catch her cheating. She caught him and filed for divorce. Tag tells Patty about catching the PI in the tree and how he jumped out and knocked himself out. She started laughing, and Tag told her what he did afterward, and she rolled to the floor laughing. When she stopped, tag handed her the backpack, camera, and voice recorder.
Last Tag gave Patty the PI clothes and pocket contents. Patty looked at Tag with a smile and said remind her never to piss you off. We laughed and exchanged emails, and then we heard a loud scream. We looked out the front window and watched a nude man running down the street, screaming bloody murder. Tag said he doesn’t think he will return. Just be careful and close your blinds in the bedroom. If you have any more problems, call, and they said goodbye.
Tag had to admit he felt good about what happened to that guy. He’s hungry again, and another frozen Maria meal bites the dust. He does his forms, stretches, and searches the internet for his desired shoes. Tag finds them, buys two pairs, and shuts everything down. He was lying in bed, wondering why he had gone into the woods and not used anything he had taken. Was someone or something calling me? Sleep
Early Monday morning, Tag was doing forms and stretching. Tag takes a hot shower, gets dressed, and notices everything is tight. He looked at his pants, which looked a little short. It’s time to be measured and weighed. He practiced TK lifting things, holding them up, and letting them down. Switching to Gunslinger with the trash can for 30 minutes. Tag moved to what he called tuck and roll, and practiced another 30 minutes, and it was time for another shower. This time, he dressed in sweats and sat at the computer to see when his dummy would arrive. It’s due today, and the shoes are due tomorrow.
Tag wondered how DeeDee was doing in her new profession. He’ll bet she is raking in the tits, no tips. Now, his sweet father should be back to work. That reminds him to route through four servers and check the bank account. Money is still coming in and should cover expenses this month. It will be ahead next month. He will have to call and say hello to the asshole. Tag thought, why didn’t the hitman have an overseas bank account? There is nothing on the reading or in his paperwork. He thought someone had overlooked the obvious. When all else fails, follow the money.
He goes to his stash and starts fanning through the stacks of cash from his safe. About six stacks down, Tag finds a thumb drive. The sob put high-dollar bills on the outside but put one-dollar bills in between. Then he cut the dollar bills and hid the thumb drive. Smart but stupid. Anyone robbing him would take it and find it in the future. Tag fanned through the remaining stacks just for kicks and found another one. He takes both stacks, removes the damaged money, and puts the good money in his dresser. Checking the time, it was getting late, so he shut everything down, closed his stash, and headed downstairs.
Tag was drinking water when Kim arrived. We exercised, ate breakfast with Maria, and headed to the dojo. He brought the sword for Sensi to look at, and he says it is a priceless piece of art. Tag replaces it in its case, and we will start working on num-chuks. He explains what needs to be done, and after an hour, we break and go full sparring. Tag asks Sensi to weigh him again because my clothes are tight. Tag hit the scale; he weighs 120 lbs. and is 5’7”. We will do a complete workout tomorrow.
Kim and I go home and have lunch while waiting for Pam. When she arrives, we do our thing and have dinner. After dinner, Tag asks Kim and Maria what they normally do for Thanksgiving, and they look at him like what the fuck. Then Kim said they’ve never had any holiday off, so Tag told them that changes today. He’s going to Montana for Thanksgiving, and you guys are off with pay for the time he’s away. You get off with pay from Christmas Eve until the day after New Year’s.
His parents were cheap penny-pinching assholes, but he refuses to play that game. You will all receive a bonus this year, too (cash), so you don’t have to worry about Uncle Sam taking some of it. Oh, and by the way, his parents decided to remain away. So, we are all on our own, and he will depend on you guys to help him occasionally. If something comes up, we will treat it like family because you are his family now. They looked shocked, confirmed what he said, and agreed. Tag said if anyone ever stops by and asks to see his parents, get their name and number, and say they will contact them when they can. He’ll be sure to pass the info on.
Do not let anyone in whom we do not know well. Just explain you’re following your employers’ orders. By the way, where is Yolanda? Maria said your mother cut her hours last week. She works 2 ½ days now. Tag asks Maria to call her asap. We reach her and ask her to come back full-time. Tag tells Yolanda she won’t have to deal with his parents again, and she agrees, just like a happy family. Tag headed upstairs to his room and called Todd Addison.
Todd answers, and Tag says he’s a friend of Al. Al referred him for a security system for his house, and Todd agreed to meet with him at lunchtime tomorrow. Tag does his forms, stretching, then he practices his TK. Practice makes perfect. Weights. We need a home gym where all of us can work out. The basement has a huge open area perfect for a gym. As he was falling asleep, bugs kept him awake. Dark web for bug detectors. Sleep
2:30 a.m. Tuesday. Tag did his forms, stretching, and TK practice, followed by a hot shower. He dressed in black and checked the drop houses, and one sold, but he still had four. So, he returns home, goes on the dark web, orders the best audio/video detector, and gives delivery instructions. Tag then searched for home gym designs. There were three local companies, and he checked the feedback. Tag finds two that seem good. He notes their phone numbers and is ready to shut the computer down.
But he remembers the two thumb drives from the hit man. Tag goes to the stash and retrieves them, plugs one in, and it’s all his jobs with customer info. It looks like he was covering his ass if someone tried to sell him out. He checked the last job, and it gave names and numbers. He also recorded conversations for the hit with the agreed payment schedule. Tag copied the file to a thumb drive and checked the last drive. Money is always good. And he had a lot of money, or did. After he transferred the money around Europe. Now, the money has a new home in his bank account.
Tag closed down everything and checked the time. He had 90 minutes until Kim arrived. His martial arts dummy was supposed to come yesterday, so he found it in the front closet. Thanks, Maria. Tag hauled it upstairs, but figured it would be moved. He set it up in the corner. The repair kits went into the closet, and he started knife throwing at 10 feet and moved to 15 feet. This is great, and he will use it a lot.
Tag went downstairs and drank a glass of water until Kim arrived. We exercise and eat breakfast, and he tells Kim just a minute. He runs upstairs, takes the cash out of the dresser, and puts it in his stash. He doesn’t want Yolanda to find out and cause problems. We headed to the dojo, and Sensi had his list. Pressure with hands and feet, punch and kick power (real improvement), and lotus centering and measuring distance. It seems to have topped out. Then, holding Chi, he got tired of standing in one place after an hour, so we called it and headed home for lunch.
Yolanda joined us, and Tag asked Maria to give her the new work and holiday schedule. Todd showed, and Tag asked Kim to tell Tina he would be late. It didn’t take Todd long to give me his ideas and price. Tag gave the go and asked for a timeline. He will start on Monday and finish on Wednesday. Tutoring was fun (right), followed by dinner. Tag did manage to call both companies, but one was an asshole, so he has an appointment at 11:45 a.m. tomorrow with the remaining company.
He asked Maria if any packages had arrived, and she said they had, and it was on my bed, so that’s where I went. Starting with forms and stretching, then moving to TK, followed by quick draw, tuck, and roll. Tag knew he was missing something, yes, bugs. The detector should be at the drop house. He sat in lotus, centered, and expanded as far as he could, but no one was around. Tag locked everything down, set sensors, and hit the hay. Sleep
At 2:30 on Wednesday, Tag is doing forms and stretching. Tag dressed in black with his new (martial arts) shoes (wow) and headed to the drop house. He slowed down and read the block, and noticed a car at the end of the block. So, Tag circled the block and came up behind it. He read the man’s mind inside, and he’s a friend of the owner. He saw a package delivered and was waiting to see who picked it up. Tag gave him a sleep command, and his head fell forward. So, he cut through the alley, picked up the package, reversed his route, and gave him a suggestion. The carrier picked up the package and returned it home.
Tag reads the instructions for the audio/video detector. He checked his room first, then his mother and father. Tag was surprised to find four audio bugs, which he removed and searched for the recorder/receiver. It was in the linen closet, and why hadn’t Yolanda seen it? He downloaded the files and returned it to the closet. He disabled the bugs, returned them to the master bedroom, and checked the whole house. We were clean, so he put the detector in the stash. No way Yolanda didn’t know the receiver was there, and now the question is, why would she not say anything?
He’ll read her first thing this morning and during the day to see if she is thinking about the bugs. After the call and Maria’s talk, she will be really nervous if she is involved. Another question is why bugs are put in a bedroom that stays empty most of the time. He’s thinking of just storing the recording as it will have nothing of value to him, and he never gets the time back spent listening. Tag’s mind is racing, so he sits in the lotus position, centers, and checks himself. Everything looks good, and the mind is active and colorful. The muscles and bones are healthy and look to grow (clothes), and the skin (need to check) is healthy.
When Tag exits, he feels better and makes a note to center twice a day for his mind’s health. Everything happening has it working overtime, and with the security and gym, everything should slow down a bit (yeah, right). Tag heads downstairs and gets a glass of water while waiting for Kim. When she arrives, we do exercises, eat breakfast, and head to the dojo.
The workshop was first followed by sparring and stretching as we cooled down. Tag asks Kim if we can shop for new clothes after the dojo tomorrow, and she agrees. Tag asks what she plans for Thanksgiving and says she intends to spend it with family. We eat lunch, and Tag reads Yolanda. She is thinking about how to break it to her boyfriend that the parents are staying elsewhere. Tag dives deeper, looking for information on her boyfriend, and finds he is a small-time crook looking for a score. A friend told him his parents were loaded and wanted Yolanda to get information. They planned to run away after the score. Tag gets the boyfriend’s information and plans to visit him soon.
The gym planning company arrives, and introductions are made. Jim Ellis is the designer, and we head down to the basement. Tag gives Jim an overview of what he wants and how he sees it set up. Jim was drawing as we talked and showed Tag his work, which he loves. Tag asks for professional equipment and asks if adding mirrors on a wall would make it look more open. He also asked for professional posters that show female and male muscle groups. He also wants posters of professional bodybuilders of both sexes. Tag explained that everyone would be using the gym. Jim said he would have a proposal ready tomorrow and send it to his email. Tag asked him to include a time frame should we agree.
Tag headed back upstairs for tutoring and dinner. After dinner, Tag does his forms and stretching, practices TK, and finishes with lotus position centering. When done, he turns on the computer and looks up Yolanda’s boyfriend’s address. It’s seven miles away in a questionable-looking apartment. Tag goes to his stash and gets his backpack. Then he packs some cash, gloves, a lock pick set, ninja shoes, a mask, marbles, and knives.
Looking at what is packed and thinking that water is missing, he runs downstairs for two bottles, and his pack should be complete. He needs another trip to the hardware store this weekend to get some zip ties and duct tape. While thinking about his breaking and entering kit, Tag goes to the computer and looks up voice-altering devices. Boy, what a selection to go through. Tag selects one that goes over the mouth and one for use on the phone. That phone could be fun to use on Grampa. He shut everything down and crashed.
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