I keep my back very carefully to the apartment building behind me, making a show of keeping my head tucked down as if I'm trying to avoid being seen by anyone in the windows.<br/><br/>"Giving a neighbor a bit of advice." I say softly, avoiding any chance of him reading a challenge in my eyes or my body language by keeping my sight firmly focused near his feet "Third floor, fourth window from the right, see it?"<br/><br/>I wait for several moments as his eyes reflexively look upward, searching the indicated spot before I whisper "Feds."<br/><br/>I keep from grinning at the uncertain hiss that runs through his followers, though the leader barely flinches "Not sure what they've got under surveillance or why but they've been posted up there for almost a week now.  Fuchini, " another hidden smile as I name one of the Caparoni Family's most notorious bosses " asked me to keep an eye on them for the last few days."<br/><br/>Now for the hard part of the bluff.  Selling the action you want your mark to take, making him or her think that it was<em>their</em>idea to do what you wanted.  Especially with a man like this.<br/><br/>"Now, you want to destroy some old guy's business, hey no skin off my nose.  But with Federales watching every move made on this block?" I smile and raise my open hands in a helpless gesture "I'd bet you boys against any damn Feds anytime." a small, halfhearted cheer from the gang members "But a war between you and them wouldn't do any of us good.  Even if you won, you'd be hurt, and someone like Fuchini would just love to hit you boys while you're down.  And them having complete control puts<em>me</em>out of business as well."<br/><br/>I'm talking faster, hoping he doesn't spot the flaws in my logic, doesn't think to question the BS I'm feeding him "Now it's up to you, you're the big man here but I thought I'd be a good neighbor and let you in on it.  Thanks, friend." I smile as I bow slightly and turn to walk away, my heart hardly daring to beat.<br/><br/>Playing a gang leader for a sucker is always dangerous, but it works because very few people are crazy or stupid enough to try it.  Even the biggest gangs didn't want to mess with either the Feds or the Families.  Their operations were large enough that they could hold off entire precincts of regular cops if need be . . . . but the government and the Mafia operated on a whole different plane.  Any gang banger that had more than two brain cells to rub together didn't want to piss either of them off, much less<em>both</em>of them at the same time.  And I'd appealed to the most powerful of motivators for a gang leader;<em>fear</em>.  Both a tool that they used to keep their boys in line and something they themselves always labored under,<em>fear</em>was their constant companion.<br/><br/>Now all that remained was to see if my play had worked.