Tag
Copyright© 2025 by A Well Traveled Man
Chapter 9
Early Saturday, Tag was in the gym doing his routine, followed by a hot shower, and then he sat nude in lotus, centered and dressed. He grabbed the two bags of too-small clothes and loaded them into the pickup truck. He also loaded the bike cover and had breakfast. Tag stopped by True Value to see if it had a lockable job box for the pickup. They did, and he picked one up with locks and headed to his apartment. He hauled the items into the apartment and put the job box in the closet. If I put some weight in it no one will move it. He locked it and put his old clothes in the dresser and the closet. Then he went downstairs, put the cover on the Harley, and locked it.
Then, he drove to the mall and picked up four extra sets of clothes. Tag stopped at the Sav-On drug store for shampoo, comb, brush, toothpaste, and deodorant, looked around, and found a toaster on sale. On the way to checkout, he picked up several magazines on cars, a few action/adventure books, and a cheap alarm/radio. Then, he went to Target and picked up cheap plates, silverware, and a small microwave.
Tag took all the items to the apartment and put them away. He took the trash, put it in the pickup, and drove to Ralphs. I picked up bottled water and things that wouldn’t spoil. Cereal, cans of soup, and some frozen dinners. He hauled the shit up to the apartment and put them away, and left for home. Tag backed the pickup into the garage, locked it up, and realized he hadn’t eaten. So, he hopped on the BMX bike, rode to the stop and rob. Tag picked three deli sandwiches, a large bag of chips, and three sports drinks, and headed home. He ate the late lunch and put the extra in the fridge.
Tag did a load of laundry, went upstairs, opened the stash, and started to make another go bag. He realized another run to True Value and Big 5 was in the cards for tomorrow. He also needed to check the area for new drop houses and ensure they were vacant. Returning downstairs, he started a new load, and put a load in the dryer. He pulled out the two martial arts magazines and browsed through the ads looking at all the crap people buy. He put the last load in the dryer, brought the clothes upstairs, and put them in the duffel bag. Finally, the clothes are done, and he has finished packing the duffel bag for today.
Tag, pick up the bodybuilding magazine, and start reading about nutrition and how the body burns so much fat and calories during a workout. Protein shakes before and after help replenish what was burned off during the exercise and enhance muscle growth and repair. He’ll have to ask Sensi for his advice on Monday. Tag powered up the computer and checked his email. Then, he activated encryption and emailed Gramps. Tag told him about his idea that we should have a way of notifying each other if we have to go dark, so the other is aware and takes precautions. Maybe a set of code words that would look like we are just checking on each other. Since we are known to be related by a certain agency, what did he think? Tag shut everything down, ate dinner, changed, did his evening routine, and showered. Then he sat nude in the lotus position and centered. He somehow felt he was on the right track, came out, and fell asleep.
2 a.m. Sunday, Tag was in the gym doing his off-day routine. He finished, took a hot shower, and centered. When he got out, he made a list for the apartment. He’d need towels, dish soap, chips, sodas to put in the fridge, a cheap TV, and a sound system. Then Tag checked his email, and Gramps responded and agreed. He listed what looked like a normal conversation, but had meaning. From going dark, watch your back, and run now. He recommended we both set up an email account we’ve never accessed from home and use it to communicate if something happens. He would do it this week and asked Tag to do the same, and include it in a letter sent by snail mail. Wow, we are going to James Bond now.
Tag deleted the email, emptied his trash, shut down the computer, and went to breakfast. Then he went to True Value, picked up the items to fill the go bag, and picked up two carpet rakes. After checking out, Tag headed to Big 5 for a few go-bag items and two extra backpacks. He saw a few knives he liked, added them, and checked out. Tag returned to True Value and picked up four 25-lb bags of cement and a package of industrial trash bags.
Then he heads to Target, picks up the needed items, and goes to his apartment. Tag sets everything up and puts the bags of cement at the bottom of the job box in an industrial trash bag. He cuts the cement bags open and spreads the cement out in the bag to cover the whole job box floor. Then he puts two backpacks in, locks up the job box and apartment, and heads home. Tag finishes filling the go bag and eats one of the deli sandwiches for lunch.
Then he rode his BMX bike to the apartment and put the go bag in the job box. Tag closed the closet, raked the bedroom carpet, and put the rake in the hall closet. As he took the cover off the Harley, the landlady asked what happened to the truck. Tag tells her a buddy loaned it to him for moving. He waved as he was leaving and went riding for a few hours. On the way back, Tag gets pizza for dinner and heads back to the apartment. After covering the Harley, he heads upstairs and checks the bedroom. Yes, his landlady is a snoopy one. He raked the carpet again, ate dinner, and rode his BMX bike home. Tag change and hit the gym for the evening workout. Then, he took a shower, sat nude in the lotus position, and centered. When he came out, he fell asleep.
Early Monday morning, Tag was in the gym doing his routine. At the end, he slowly stretched, followed by tai chi, a hot shower, and centering. He checked his email, and nothing. So, he goes online and routes through four servers and searches adult bookstores. He finds one two miles down the road from the dojo. Tag had an idea and looked up actors’ workshops. He printed the information, cleared his search history, and logged off. Then he went to the bathroom scale, and he was up to 165 lbs. He grabbed a pencil, backed up to the door, and marked it. Taking the tape measure, he saw he was now 6’1”.
Then he went downstairs for breakfast and ate with Maria. When they finished, Tag went to the dojo. Sensi greets Tag, and we go to the back room. We sit in the Lotus and discuss what happened on the trip, and he’s happy that Gramps is ok. Tag asks him about supplements and protein drinks he saw in a fitness magazine. Sensi said it would be a good idea to add a good multivitamin with as much exercise as he does. He said he recommended going to GNC. Sensi discussed his progress and said he was ready to advance and disappear. He said they all work together. Climbing, moving without detection, and disappearing are all necessary in a fight.
If you put them all together, you will be a formidable opponent. The obstacle course was still set up, and Sensi showed him how to disappear. Then Sensi showed Tag all three together, and it was as if someone had turned on a light in his head. We practiced it for the rest of the session, but he was beaten.
Then he cruised to the adult store. A girl behind the counter greeted him, and he told her about his problem and what he wanted to do. She was laughing so hard she lost her balance behind the counter. She recovered, and Tag asked her for help with what to buy and where to place them in his room for the most effect. She took him to the condoms first and picked up a box of jumbo size, then a bottle of lube. We went to the video section next and picked up two milf videos. Then we went to the magazine section, picked out two magazines, and went to the counter. She told him how to place everything. Tag paid and tipped her $20 for the help and left.
Tag stopped at the corner stop and rob and asked about the library nearby, but they didn’t know. It looks like the university is going to have to do it. He parked the moped around the corner and sneaked into his apartment. Tag placed everything around the apartment, like the helpful clerk said, and left. Then he rode to the university library, sat at a free computer station, and searched for Hotmail. Tag signed up and set up the account using an alias, then selected a user’s name and password. He wrote it down and logged off and back on. Tag checked everything, and it worked, so he logged off and left.
Heading back to the moped, Tag saw a messaging board with notices. One was an actor’s workshop. He took one of the phone number tabs on the bottom and headed home. He had a late lunch and emailed Sammy and Cat to let them know he was back and when it was good to restart our tutoring. Cat almost instantly replied and said Monday. Tag called the actor’s workshop number, and a lady answered. She said her name was Tammy Brown, and she runs the workshop. She said they meet on Wednesday evenings and gave him directions. The first meeting is this Wednesday.
He was about to shut down the computer when he noticed Sammy had emailed and said they could meet this Wednesday. Tag sent confirmation emails to both and thanked them. Then he emailed Gramps and asked him to check the 9 o’clock news. It was our code for meeting in a private chat room. This spy shit is great. Tag wrote Gramps and included my Hotmail address. He sealed the envelope, filled out the addresses, stamped it, and went downstairs for dinner.
After dinner, he hopped on his BMX bike and rode to the local post office. Tag put the envelope in the outside drop box and went home. Changing into gym clothes, Tag did his evening workout and showered. He sat nude in the lotus position and centered. He came out just before 9 p.m. Walking around naked is liberating. He walked to the hallway bath and looked in the mirror. He was impressed with his figure and what was hanging. Tag returned to his room, powered up the computer, routed, turned on encryption, and logged in to chat.
Tag met Gramps, and they went to a private chat room. Tag tells him about the apartment and how he set it up. He said great. Then Tag told him about his landlady, her sneaking around looking in his things, and what he did. Tag thought he had lost Gramps, but he returned and said he had done great. But your landlady is going to have some sleepless nights. Tag told him about the actor’s workshop meeting on Wednesday night and what he thought about it. Grampa sounded excited and said Yes, pursue it. It will give you a great experience playing against different people and practicing against live people. How will you sell to anyone if you can’t sell to students and a teacher? Go after it, but use an alias. Maybe the one you’re using for the apartment. We chatted for a few more minutes. Tag logged off, shut off the computer, and went to sleep.
At 2 a.m. on Tuesday, Tag went to the gym. He did his off-day workout, took a hot shower, sat in the lotus position, and centered. When he came out, he checked his email, routed and searched GNC, and found one at the mall. He needed something to read/study, so he routed through four servers and checked the dark web. Looking for educational items here is almost useless. He kept searching and found a book called Looking Inside Network Security. It looked good, so he purchased it and continued until Tag saw what he wanted. How to develop graphics that blend and move in a video game. It was called Gamers Secrets, and he ordered it. He was about to exit when a book caught his eye. Computer No Security. It explained the how, where, and why it is so inefficient and what should be done, but no one would do it because it is too much trouble. He purchased it, logged off, and shut down the computer.
Tag headed downstairs to breakfast with Maria and then off to the dojo. More disappearance training and the second hour blended all three. It was fast-paced and caused him to react before thinking. It was honing your instincts, as Sensi said. We ended it, and he rode the moped to GNC. They had a kind of open house with booths and games for kids. Tag asked a lady about nutrition and supplements, and she asked him to follow her into the store manager’s office.
She introduced herself as Candace, but Candy was okay. Tag told Candy his routine and asked what he should be adding. She measured his height and weight, then asked Tag to strip, and we both laughed. Tag told Candy he normally gets paid well for doing that and sent her off again. Tag took off his shirt and pants. Candy looked him over, said he needed to consult a professional trainer, and gave him a Rob Jackson fitness trainer card. She said his upper body was fine, but his legs were too thin and needed work.
Tag dressed, and they went into the store and pulled out the things she recommended. She wrote everything down as to what to take and when. Candy stressed that he should always space supplements out so the body could absorb them properly and reminded him to contact Rob immediately. Tag headed home, wondering what he got himself into. Six different vitamins and a huge tub of protein powder. He called Rob Jackson, gave Tag the gym’s address where he works, and said he could steer him in the right direction. We agreed to meet in one hour.
Tag ate a late lunch, packed his gym clothes, and rode the moped to the gym. Rob was a big guy, and he looked at Tag and told him to change in the locker room and return to his office. Tag changed and entered his office. We talked about what he did exercise-wise and what he wanted to achieve. Tag told Rob he needed to be flexible due to martial arts, but wanted more power and to round out his physique. He felt too light and wanted to add some muscle definition to his upper body and develop his legs. Ron asked Tag to follow him and went to an area where he measured me.
Then Ron had him get into a machine that estimated body fat. Finally, Ron asked what weight training he was doing now and how often, as he wrote everything out. He told Tag to change and come back to the office. Ron had a workout mapped out when he returned, including how many reps and sets. Ron told him you can’t put weight on until he works out and finds your max for each exercise. Normally, I get paid for this, but Candy pulled in a favor. She said to do it for free because you’re a nice guy.
Tag said hold on. He fully expects to pay you for your time. He paid a personal trainer to give him a beginning routine, and Candy not getting paid is a lie, too. Candy asked him to strip, and he told her I get paid a lot of money to do that. Candy said she needed to see what work needed to be done. He stripped to his underwear, and Candy just twirled her finger. Rob was busting up laughing and said he would razz her for that.
We set up Thursday at 1 p.m. for a workout when all hell broke out in the gym. One guy looked like a steroid-driven ape and had another guy by the shirt, yelling. Tag asked Rob what the problem was, and he said the guy was a steroid freak and couldn’t control himself. He has been banned from the gym, but he keeps coming back. Tag asked Rob if he wanted him to take care of the idiot, and he said yes. Tag vaulted over several exercise bikes, landed right in front of him and drove his foot in his balls. The look of shock on the goon’s face before he could scream, Tag pressure pointed his shoulder, and he fell like a rock.
Everyone there looked at him like what the fuck and I as for assistance. Rob and a few others picked him up and carried the goon outside. Tag bent down and whispered in his ear that he would never return. And if you do, your nut sack will feel like it does today. Rob said what the fuck when got back inside. Tag said you told me to take care of, so he did. Rob asked how you got him down easily, and Tag said pressure points. If pressure is applied to the right area, you will sleep for a while. Rob just shook his head and said Thursday, and we shook hands.