The Mistake
Copyright© 2026 by A Well Traveled Man
Chapter 5
Sunday morning, after breakfast, Kim and Li picked up a local newspaper and checked the classifieds for yard sales. They found five and went to the first one. It was well picked over, so they went to the second one. Mom bought a wall clock for the kitchen, but Li didn’t find anything he wanted. The third yard sale was mostly clothes, so they passed and went to the fourth. They hit the jackpot when the young woman found that her fiancé had gone to Cabo San Lucas with her best friend and maid of honor for a two-week vacation.
She was selling all of her fiancée’s things, and he was the same size as Li. So, mom selected a tuxedo, 3 suits, 7 dress shirts, and ties. Li grabbed the poor man’s computer, two monitors, a color laser printer, a keyboard, and his backup drive. The young woman was ecstatic to get $350 in cash, and they left happy. Mom asked Li if he was aware of the cost of the clothing they got. He said no, and Mom said they were designer clothing worth over $7,000.
Li said her fiancée will be pissed, and Mom agreed. She said the tux and suits were made by Dan Ford and looked brand new. We’ll need to find a tailor to make minor adjustments for you. Li knew the computer and accessories were worth over a few thousand dollars and wondered what information was on the hard drive. He was glad they paid with cash so they couldn’t be traced. He luckily had $200 on him, or they would have had to write a check.
Arriving home, they took the clothes to his room, then Li brought in the computer gear. Mom made lunch, and while they ate, she said, “I’m glad we went yard-sale shopping.” Li agreed and asked what he needed with the tux and suits. Mom said there will be formal events at Scripps. The suits you’ll need for major occasions, and I’m sure, when we visit your grandparents. Besides, you’ve outgrown the suits we got last year.
After lunch, Li went to his room and set up his new computer. When he hacked into it, Li found that the man was a stock trader, and his Fidelity Investments login was on the desktop. He checked his email and found his name was Drew Gould. Then Li checked his photos and videos, and Drew was a player. There were dozens of photos of women he had sex with, so it was good his fiancée dumped him. Li went back to the desktop and clicked the IC icon.
It was an investment club that provided inside information on companies. Drew was doing well trading stocks and probably won’t miss his computer and clothes. But the fallout could be bad if his fiancée had family at the firm. Li pulled the case cover to ensure there wasn’t a tracker inside. There wasn’t, and he turned off the GPS locator. Li hooked up the printer and then shut everything down. He thought he could use the forger’s tools to set up an alias and open a stock trading account.
Mom called Dinner is ready and he went to the kitchen. While they ate, Mom asked what his schedule was for the week. Li said he has golf lessons on Tuesday and Thursday. Then sometime this week, he needs to sign up for courses at the university. It may be too late, and if so, he’ll sign up for online classes. Mom said she will need him on Wednesday and possibly on Friday. So do your university thing on Monday. They finished dinner, said goodnight, and went to bed.
CIA Section Chief David Beck was drinking heavily. He got a call from Sam, their document forger in Southern California, saying his agents beat him, robbed him, and stole his equipment and supplies. That meant they could disappear and no one could find them. Sam told David he was giving him a heads-up because his next call was to the director. It would take over a year to get back into business, and it was his fault for bringing crooked agents to his door.
Early Monday morning, Li was in the basement practicing martial arts on the boxing bags. Returning to his room, he showered, dressed, and went to the kitchen. Mom arrived, and they ate breakfast. She left for work, and Li drove the F150 to UC San Diego. He went to the administration office and found out it was too late to register for courses. After getting parking passes for the truck and Harley, he received an online course guide and went to the bookstore. Li charged e-books for the 8 courses he wanted to take and returned home.
Surprisingly, he was able to sign up for 7 of the 8 courses he wanted. Then Li started reading the e-books for the 7 courses, finished two, and then ate lunch. After lunch, he went swimming and finished reading the e-books. Li was three weeks behind and registered late, so he started doing his overdue homework. He completed two courses when Mom arrived home. He emailed the professors explaining the situation and submitted his work.
While they ate dinner, Mom asked how it went at the University. Li told her he was unable to sign up for on-campus classes. So, he got an online course guide and charged 8 e-books to his scholarship for the courses he wanted to take. Arriving home, he signed up for 7 online courses and spent the afternoon studying. Mom said she was glad he found something to do, and they laughed. After dinner, they said good night and went to bed.
After breakfast on Tuesday morning, Li drove the F150 to Torrey Pines Golf Course and met club pro Ben Carpenter in the pro shop. They got his clubs from the locker and went to the practice range. Ben coached Li on the proper warm-up routine, then they went to the starting line. Li teed off by himself, and Ben coached him on club and shot selection. He also created a distance notebook for Li to reference.
When he reached the green, Ben had Li read it and select the path to the hole. If he made an error, Ben would question Li about why he chose it. By the ninth green, Ben had Li adjusting his swing speed and fading his shots. When they finished the round, they added up the scores on the scorecard. Ben congratulated Li for an excellent first round of 10 over par. On the way back to the Pro Shop, Ben quizzed Li on golfing books and DVDs. They shook hands goodbye and agreed to meet on Thursday morning.
Li returned home, ate lunch, then stripped and went for a swim. After 30 minutes of swimming laps, he got out and sunbathed until dry on a lounge. He laughed, thinking he hadn’t worn any of his swimsuits yet, and he enjoyed swimming nude. Once dry, he showered and noticed the medallion on his chest illuminated as he dried. Then went to his new computer and completed the delinquent homework for his online courses.
CIA Section Chief David Beck arrived at work late and hungover from drinking his sorrows away last night. After several cups of coffee, he began planning his disappearance. David went online to check the balance of the Cayman Islands bank account. He couldn’t log in, so he called the bank. They asked for his code word and pin, and they could reset it. David didn’t remember making one, and the bank said they couldn’t help him without it.
David was pissed he couldn’t access the money he had syphoned from the projects he controlled. He was screwed without it, then two men entered his office and said the director wanted to see him. They escorted David Beck to CIA Director Doug Howell’s office. When they entered, two other men were sitting off to the side. Director Howell asked David to have a seat, then he asked where agents Burns and Geidner were.
Thinking quickly, David said he sent them to Southern California to check on a project. Director Howell asked, then why would they rob and beat up our document contact? He said, “Before you come up with some bullshit story, Sam called last night and told me everything.” Our agents impersonating FBI agents and Police Detectives for what purpose?
Before David could answer, a man stepped behind him and injected him, and he passed out. Director Howell told the men to interrogate David Beck and get all the details, then retire him. They hauled David away, and Director Howell told the two men setting off the side to audit David Burk’s work with a fine-tooth comb. We need to know what he’s been doing asap.
Li sent the homework to the professors via email, explaining why it was late. Then he watched the remaining golf DVDs and felt good catching up on everything. Then Mom arrived home, so he quickly dressed and went to the kitchen. During dinner, she asked how his golf training went. Li said it was good, and they played a full round. Then, after lunch, I got caught up on my homework. Mom said good because I need you tomorrow. They finished dinner, said goodnight, and went to bed. Li stayed awake and read two more books about the Haung clan, then fell asleep.
Early Wednesday morning, Li was in the basement beating the boxing bag with martial arts kicks and punches. When finished, he showered, dressed, and went to the kitchen. They ate breakfast, then drove to Scripps and went to Mom’s lab. There were four experiments that needed to be done. Then he needed to analyze the work from the past few days and log into the computer. So, they started on the experiments and finished them by lunch.
Kim and Li went to the cafeteria for lunch, and George Whittingham, the VP of research, stopped by. He asked Li how his golf lessons were going. He said, “Good,” and he played his first round yesterday. George asked his score, and Li said ten over par. George said, “Darn, that’s a good score on that course,” and he said to keep up the good work and left.
They finished lunch, returned to the lab, and Mom caught up on paperwork. Li began analyzing the experiments and logging into the computer. Dr. Ed Hall burst into the lab and accused Dr. Lee of stealing his work. Kim told Ed she didn’t steal anything, as all the work was assigned by George Whittingham, the VP of research. Ed called Kim a bitch, and Li stood and told him to apologize.
He said I’m not apologizing and punching Li in the face. Li responded with a kick to Ed’s balls, then an upper cut punch, knocking him out. Kim got on the phone and called George Whittingham, telling him what had happened. While she was doing that, Li applied pressure to the point of hypnotic suggestion. He told Ed he couldn’t lie, and he would leave him and Kim Lee alone. Li added that when he thought about them, Ed would punch himself in the balls.
George showed up with two security guards, and they took Ed to George’s office. He apologized for the issue. Dr. Hall has been falling behind in his work, so he gave Kim one of his overdue assignments. George assured Kim that she wouldn’t have trouble with Dr. Hall anymore and left. Li said he made better ball contact with his foot than with a club, and they laughed.
Dr. Ed Hall woke up in George Whittingham’s office with two security guards and George staring at him. George asked Ed why he went to Dr. Lee’s lab. Ed said that bitch stole my work, then her son demanded I apologize. I punched that gook then I don’t remember anything. George asked why he was so far behind in his work. Ed said his nymphomaniac assistant keeps up all night, so he takes naps during the day.
George asked Ed where his assistant was now. Ed told him Joan stays in her apartment so he can get some work done. George told Ed he was suspended pending a review. Ed was escorted out of the building cussing up a storm. When Ed got to his car, he thought about Dr. Lee and punched himself in the balls so hard he passed out.
Mom and Li finished their work, cleaned up the lab, and headed home. On the way, she said Dr. Hall had never talked to her before today. She’s heard rumors about him sleeping in his office, but she never knew anything about him. Li said he has a weak punch and his balls were an easy target. They were laughing as they arrived home, and Mom prepared dinner. They ate dinner, said goodnight, and went to bed. Li stayed awake and read two more books about the Haung clan, then fell asleep.
Li drove the F150 to Torrey Pines Golf Course after breakfast and went to the pro shop. He was informed that Ben Carpenter had a family emergency, so Li got his clubs and went to the practice range. in the pro shop. He warmed up, then went to the starting line and teed off. Li was the first golfer on the course, so he played at his own pace. He was in a sand trap trying to fade a shot, but otherwise did well. His putting improved, and after finishing the round, he added his score.
Driving home, Li was surprised he shot a 5-over-par and would have done better if he hadn’t hit the sand trap. Upon arriving home, he ate lunch, then stripped and went for a swim. After swimming laps for thirty minutes, he lay on the lounge and dried off. Then he showered, dressed, and drove to Home Depot. He got two metal shelving racks and returned. Li assembled the racks in the lab and put the forgers’ supplies on them.
Then reorganized the desk area and realized he needed a folding table. After another trip to Home Depot, he had a workable area set up. Then he thought about the bomb shelter, and a few storage racks were needed there, too. That made him remember to get a camo cover for the SUV parked in the woods. Li wondered who owned the worthless land and would have to do a property search. Returning to his room, and called the La Jolla Government offices.
Li was directed to the La Jolla Property Records department. He asked who owned the 50 acres behind, and Li gave their address. The lady said the city does, and it’s for sale. But it’s uninhabitable, and no residential or business structures can be built. Li asked if a pole barn could be built to store property maintenance supplies. She said yes as long as it was uninhabited and no business was done out of it. He asked the price, and she said 750 thousand. Li thanked her for her help and hung up.