The 48 Laws Of Power

Oneofthe

financiers,

aformer

doctor,

checkedhis

pulse;

hewasdead.The

millionaires

panicked:Everyone

hadto

get

outbeforethe

police

arrived-—

they

couldallbe

charged

withmurder.

Terrified,

Geezil

hightailed

itoutofthe

gym

andbackto

Chicago,

leav-

ing

behindhis

$35,000

whichhewas

only

too

glad

to

forget,

foritseemed

asmall

price

to

pay

toavoid

beingimplicated

inacrime.Heneverwanted

toseeWeilor

any

oftheothers

again.

AfterGeezilscurried

out,

Grossstood

up,

underhisownsteam.The

bloodthathad

spurted

fromhismouthcamefromaballfilledwithchicken

bloodandhot

waterthat

hehad

hidden

in

hischeek.Thewholeaffairhad

beenmasterminded

by

Weil,

better

knownas

“theYellow

Kid,”

oneofthe

mostcreativeconartistsin

history.

Weil

split

the

$35,000

withthefi-

nanciersandtheboxers

(all

fellowcon

a:u'sts)—a

nicelittle

profit

forafew

days’

work.

Interpretation

TheYellowKidhadstakedoutGeezilasthe

perfect

sucker

long

beforehe

set

up

thecon.Heknewthe

boxingmatch

scamwouldbethe

perfect

ruse

to

separate

Geezilfromhis

moneyquickly

and

definitively.

Buthealso

knewthatifhehad

begunbytrying

tointerestGeezilinthe

boxing

match,

hewouldhavefailed

miserably.

He hadto

concealhisintentionsand

switch

attention,

createasmokescreen-—-inthiscasethesale

of

the

lodge.

OnthetrainrideandinthehotelroomGeezil’smindhadbeencom-

pletelyoccupied

withthe

pending

deal,

the

easymoney,

thechanceto

hobnobwith

wealthy

men.

He

hadfailed

tonoticethat

Gross

wasout

of

shape

and

middle-aged

atbest.

Such

isthe

distractingpower

ofasmoke

screen.

Engrossed

inthebusiness

deal,

Gee-zil’sattentionwas

easily

di—

vertedtothe

boxingmatch,

but

only

ata

point

whenitwas

already

toolate

forhimtonoticethedetailsthatwouldhave

given

Gross

away.

The

match,

after

all,

now

depended

onabriberatherthanontheboxer’s

physical

condi~

lion.AndGeezilwassodistractedatthe

end

by

theillusionof

the

boxer’sdeath

that

he

completelyforgot

abouthis

money.

LearnfromtheYellowKid:The

familiar,

inconspicuous

frontisthe

perfect

smokescreen.

Approachyour

markwithanideathatseemsordi~

naryenough—a

business

deal,

financial

intrigue.

Thesucker’smindisdis

tracted,

his

suspicionsallayed.

Thatiswhen

yougentlyguide

himonto

the

second

path,

the

slipperyslope

down

which

heslides

helplessly

into

your

trap.

OBSERVANCE

OFTHELAWII

In

the

mid-1920s,

the

powerful

warlordsof

Ethiopia

were

coming

tothere-

alizationthat

a

young

manofthe

nobility

namedHaile

Selassie,

also

knownasRas

Tafari,

was

outcompeting

themalland

nearing

the

point

wherehecould

proclaim

himselftheir

leader,

unifying

the

country

forthe

first

time

indecades.

Mostofhisrivalscouldnotunderstand

howthis

wispy,'quiet,

mild—mannered

man

hadbeenabletotakecontrol.Yetin

?:l:\llAI\'

:\tIIi‘}SSTHE

(Nl‘Ll.\l\BROAD

I)-’\\‘l.l(;llT

Thismeanstocreate:1

from

that

eventually

becomesimbuedwith

flil

fl[VflDSfl/IE7?

0!

irrtpresxiannffamilizzb

ily,

withinwhichthe

strategistmay

mcmeu-

verunseenwhileall

eyes

aretrainedtosea

obn'mrs

faniiliarities.

“’l‘!ilE

'mmTv-six

sTR;n'r.Gn-5.“

QUOTET)

rs

TH]:JAPANESEARI‘Ul“

WAR.

THOMAS

Crmsv,

1991