Con Man Dan

Con Man Dan was someone you didn't want to deal with, not ever! He was a con artist (hence his nickname), one who stole from the elderly and gullible youth, preying on innocent idiots and naive aspiring actors, artists, authors, musicians and social media influencers who were willing to do anything to be rich and famous. Don't think for a second that you're somebody special if you do any of the above, millions if not billions of people all across the globe dream of fame. It is by design, it's how big tech companies keep you glued to your phone screens. It's also how self help books sell like hot cakes on the internet. Most of them are full of bullshit and the simple truth behind why they sell so well in the first place, is because hundreds of desperate people are willing to fork over mountains of cash for something that promises them the fame and fortune they seek. That, in a nutshell is what a scam is. A broken promise. Buy this book and you'll know how to make money, the first chapter reads; "sell people a book promising success and they'll buy it, just like you bought this one and that's how you make money". It's that simple and Con Man Dan was a pro at this deception, only at least the self help books might actually help you (unlikely but true), Dan's cons were far less forgiving. He mostly operated in the city of New York (occasionally nipping to LA, especially around Hollywood to fool desperate wannabe celebrities, into buying into his false promises). He lived in the big apple and knew there were a lot (and I mean A LOT) of young business men who wanted to be the next wolf of Wall street. Yet, Dan knew too well that the movies made this gig look way too easy and fun. The Hollywood movies will lie, saying almost anyone can become a millionaire wall street trader overnight. Reality is always far more difficult and Dan knew that far too well. He was an older man, who often preyed on the impressionable youth who still believed in those fantastical dreams. He ran a classic investment scam on many young Americans, "invest with MegaTech (an electronics company he made up) and I can promise you, in a year's time; you'll quadruple your stock value! MegaTech is a new upcoming company that will take Silicon Valley by storm!" Con Man Dan would exclaim to them, smiling his salesman's grin, he'd even go so far as to show them fake sales charts of the company's success over the recent years. Of course many knew this was too good to be true, yet very few actually believed in his lies and that's all Dan needed. Just a few. Even if it was just one dumb kid (or elderly nanny) who believed him, he knew he'd be walking home a rich man, leaving them poor and enraged! He did not care, that scumbag! Well, one day he scammed the wrong woman. Her name was Maria Samaris, an elderly lady (of course) who put her trust into Dan's fake persona and false assurances that he only wished to help invest her retirement money properly. Dan pulled off this exact scam a million times before, however what he didn't count on was the fact Maria was related to some very serious, scary and deadly crime family. He had ripped off the grandmother of Tommy Samaris, the leader of his very own mafia making moves within the city of New York. Once news of Con Man Dan's greatest mistake got out, Tommy ordered gangsters far and wide to hunt down and kill the bastard. Dan caught news of this and ran! Leaving the city to hide out in the nearby countryside, thinking he was safe, Dan moved into an isolated motel and began new cons on small town folk who were easy prey. Of course, The Samaris heard about this sooner or later, they ordered a man and woman of the gang to Dan in disguise, pretending to be clueless foreigners on a romantic holiday away from Italy. The Samaris crime family was Italian/American after all, so pretending to be dumb tourists was all too easy.
"Can you show us on motel laptop?" The woman asked Dan, purposely speaking broken English just to trick him further.
"Oh, why yes of course!" He smiled, blissfully unaware of the trap he was walking into, as he entered their motel room.
"Where is your computer?" Dan asked smiling, then he suddenly looked terrified as the male tourist pulled out a silenced pistol.
"Tommy Samaris sends his regards." The man said coldly, before drilling Con Man Dan with half a dozen bullets. Dan fell back onto the hotel room's bed, staining the sheets red with his blood, killing him instantly. So ended the tale of Con Man Dan.