Hidden Potential

HIDDEN POTENTIAL

Pecht had been leading the enterprise trouble shooter on something of a wild goose chase for perhaps ten or fifteen minutes.

He was in the back rooms and corridors of the first floor of a century old red brick building. Much of the first floor was given over to storage and kitchen areas for the relatively new restauraunt that had been doing business like gangbusters for the last week or so.

Ottimo Cibo was the name of the eatery and it was run by the Italians. The ownership was a bit murky; there was actually a silent partner that maybe three people knew about.

This silent partner had a name. Vittorio was an enforcer for the head of the Italians in this part of the city. He was in fact the nephew of the Signora who led the organization she had inherited from her late husband with a brutal efficiency that Pecht could appreciate.

The enterprise man was there investigating something that Pecht was involved in. The man’s name was Teague, and he was large for a human, and like most humans, he was somewhat clumsy and plodding. Pecht was leading the man around the back rooms, really more for amusement than anything. He did like a good joke or prank, almost above anything else.

Pecht supposed it had something to do with the fact that he would often get bored. That will happen if you are around for near six millenia.

The pixie had been flitting about in front of the enterprise man, barely showing himself before ducking into or out of a doorway or alcove.

Pecht was a spirit of Earth and he had a gift for moving about the Earth silently and unseen if he so wished. Generally he was only observed if he wanted to be. The fact that most of the corridors and rooms were somewhat dimly lit, meant that no one would have seen the pixie unless he wanted them to.

He had been distracted with this little game; and it had cost someone their life.

Teague had been accompanied to the Italian eatery by two of his large companions. The large man, Gerald by name, had followed after Teague when he saw that the villain Vittorio was also following his fellow troubleshooter out of the main dining room of Ottimo Cibo.

Teague had been attempting to follow Pecht, while he was being followed by the Italian enforcer, who was in turn being followed by Teague’s companion Gerald.

Pecht had dimly heard the big bruiser exclaim, “got you, you slippery devil.” He knew that Vittorio had made brutal work of the enterprise bruiser, and that the italian had quickly departed the grisly scene.

The pixie waited in the shadows and watched as Teague had carried his companion’s lifeless form across his broad shoulders with no visible effort, even though Gerald had outweighed Teague by close to two stone.

He followed the enterprise troubleshooter unseen as he carried his burden out of the backrooms of Ottimo Cibo and deposited him in the back of the motor coach that had brought them there.

As the body was carried past Pecht, he could sense the spirit of the fallen man. He knew that far back in the lineage of the big bruiser, was some form of Earth Spirit. Not a complex one like Pecht himself, but a much more simple one.

Because of his tenure on this plane, Pecht had abilities that even other Earth Spirits did not have. He knew that he could do something about the situation with Gerald if he so wished.

Even with his abilities, this was a very rare thing that was within Pecht’s power.

He had only been able to do this twice in near six millenia. The last time had been with a Geat hero; Bee Wulf, who had defeated a monster and its’ mother. The mother had ended him, but Pecht had been able to share a bit of himself and return the hero. Several centuries later, the hero had dispatched a dragon, but been mortally wounded in the process. This thing could only be done once with an individual, and the hero had been immortalized in a very fine saga.

The first time he had done this thing; Pecht had been a little more than a millenia on this plane. The person, whose name translated to “man of the javelin”, was written about in holy books and was attributed to living nine hundred and sixty nine years. In actuality, he had lived near two millienia.

It only took a moment for the pixie to decide; that decision was largely driven by a nagging feeling of guilt. Pecht felt that if he had been paying attention, and not goofing about; that Gerald would not have fallen prey to the Italian enforcer.

When the motor coach departed from Ottimo Cibo, Pecht knew the destination of the the troubleshooter.

Pecht used a short cut and was waiting in the back alley of the hotel when the enterprise man drove up.

The pixie waited till Teague had gone up to the third floor offices and then entered the back of the motor coach.

It took less time than one would suspect to accomplish something that any reasonable mortal individual would call a “miracle”.

Pecht would have been hard pressed to explain what happened in the back of the motor coach. If he tried; he would have to use words that no mortal man had heard in more than three millenia, and some words that were from no human tongue. In essence he shared a part of himself with the big bruiser. In doing this, Gerald was able to return.

Pecht had left the back of the motor coach when the thing was done; and waited a few minutes unseen, while Gerald collected himself.

The pixie let the big bruiser depart the motor coach and he waited nearly ten minutes before making his way to the third floor to surprise the enterprise men and their leader Penrose.