Jumping straight into the story today. Hope you enjoy!

DOGE Supernatural Division (episode 4)

High Wizard Elron and his four assistants entered the witch coven’s command post in Laredo, Texas.  He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it hadn’t been this.  Over a dozen women and men of varying ethnic backgrounds bustled around the open, cavernous room.  They wore plain clothes that ranged from jeans and T-shirts to skirts and blouses.

In the center was a round space about twenty feet in diameter with black tile and a perfectly drawn white chalk circle.  The ceiling above it had a frosted glass dome that allowed soft sunlight to filter down and brighten the room.  At the area’s perimeter were desks with laptops and a few random doors leading to other rooms.  Only one was open, leading to a small break area.

Magic tinged the air, crawling across his skin like ants on the march.  It was different than his wizard powers and highly uncomfortable.  Some would say his energies were darker and witches purer, but Elron didn’t subscribe to those beliefs.

“Attention, everyone,” he bellowed.  Only a few people glanced up before returning to their work.  “I’m here from the Department of Government Efficiency- Supernatural Division.”

A middle-aged man with short, dark hair lifted a leg from his chair and let out a long and loud fart that sounded absolutely disgusting.  How rude!  Everyone else studiously ignored him as if he ranked even less than a homeless person walking in from the streets.  They were not taking him seriously.  He’d visited many facilities that didn’t exactly welcome him with open arms, but none had pretended he and his team didn’t exist.

“Cover your ears and close your eyes,” he murmured to his assistants.  As they obeyed his command, he erected a protection spell around himself.

Still, none of the witches paid any attention to him.  Fine, so be it.

Elron lifted his arms and twisted his hands, sending a flash bomb to strike the middle of the chalk circle.  It exploded in a bright flash of light, cracking with a boom that rocked the building.  He hadn’t pushed too much magic into it, so there was only a small fissure on the tile floor, singed black at the edges.  It was more for show than damage.

Hazy smoke filled the air, but through it, Elron could see he finally had everyone’s stunned attention.  The door on the opposite end of the room opened.  A woman who appeared to be in her mid-to-late twenties, wearing black leather pants and a halter top with silver buckles at the front, strode toward him.  She had light blonde hair pulled tightly back in a bun and dark makeup that gave her a fierce appearance.  If not for the power pulsing from her as she strode toward him, he wouldn’t have guessed her for a witch.  He half expected her to pull a sword from thin air and start slashing at anything that got in her way.

“High Wizard Elron?” she asked with a lifted brow, stopping a few paces before him.

He gave her an imperious look.  “Yes, and you are?”

“You may call me Genesis.”

What an unusual name.  “Are you in charge here?”

“Not exactly.”  She set her hands on her hips.  “But the mistress is away today, so I am authorized to speak on her behalf.”

Undoubtedly, they’d anticipated he’d visit sooner or later.

“What do you usually do in this place?” he asked, genuinely curious about this strange yet beautiful woman.

A slow smile spread across her face that wasn’t the least bit friendly.  “Handle difficult problems no one else wants to manage.”

He didn’t miss the implication that he was one of those problems.  Ah, well, Elron wouldn’t let her deter him from his mission.  He’d come here with a purpose, and he would accomplish it no matter what the wicked witches threw at him.

“Do you know why I’m here?”

Genesis shrugged.  “Probably to ask about the tiny budget the U.S. government pays us to discourage immigrants from illegally crossing the border.”

“Tiny?”  He gave her an incredulous look.  “Five million dollars a year is hardly insignificant to the taxpayers.”

Technically, there were many government contractors who charged far more, but considering he could easily pull the plug on this entire operation, it was significant savings if he did so.  Elron wouldn’t have bothered to come here himself for that amount if not for the fact it was a witch coven, and it required someone powerful to handle them.  His assistants only recently received their magic.  They needed more time and power before they could hope to face experienced practitioners.

Genesis narrowed her eyes on him.  “What do you want?”

“I’m here to review where that money is going, considering you’ve failed to stem the tide of migrants in multiple locations, so you’re clearly not doing your job,” he said condescendingly.

“You get what you pay for, Elron.”  She swept her arm around her.  “Five million might seem like a lot, but it has to help pay for the facilities, employee salaries and benefits, equipment, and supplies.  The amount the government provides us is only a fifth of our annual budget.”

The High Wizard knew they performed other jobs, especially in security, but he’d had difficulty tracking the names of their clients.  This coven did an impressive job of protecting their customer’s privacy to the point even he couldn’t get past their shielding spells.  He really hated witches.  They were secretive and very good at banding together, unlike wizards who tended to be loners.

“Be that as it may, we expect better results for that amount of funds,” he said, giving her a hard look.

Genesis cocked her head.  “We told them it would take triple that to protect the entire border for this section of Texas.  Lerado is a busy area, and we already have our hands full with the segments we do cover since magic users on the other side constantly try to bring them down.  We must use the highest quality gemstones and rare herbs just to slow them down.”

Considering he had strong protection wards on his own businesses, he couldn’t argue with that point.  Unlike quick, temporary shields, long-term security required expensive resources, but if they funneled the full five million dollars to that alone, it would cover most of their assigned border.

“Use your income from other clients to finance running your business and paying your employees,” Elron said, clasping his hands behind his back in a gesture meant to show he didn’t fear her.  “Use the government funds for only supplies.”

She lifted her head and let out a mirthful laugh before calming and pressing a hand to her chest.  “Thanks, I needed a little humor this morning.  But no, we aren’t doing that.  Witches don’t work for the government for free.”

“I could pull all our funding,” he threatened.

Her gray eyes sparked in challenge.  “You won’t like what happens if you do.”

The High Wizard glared at her.  “Is that a threat?”

“There is more than one way for illegal immigrants to get into this country besides the border, you know.”

He rolled his eyes.  “We have airports and other entry points covered by more amenable security agencies.”

“Oh.” She pressed a hand to her cheek in mock innocence.  “I wasn’t speaking of that.  I was thinking more along the lines of portals from certain desperate places in the world to here in Texas.”

“You wouldn’t,” he seethed.

She shrugged.  “Can you imagine what would happen if some foolish person opened a portal from Gaza to somewhere near Brownsville, Texas?”

Elron stiffened at the threat to one of his key operations outside of DOGE.  “You wouldn’t.”

“Didn’t the president say he was looking for a nice place to send those poor refugees whose homes have been destroyed?”  She tilted her head.  “Maybe you could help make room for them in that beautiful open land there so interested parties can begin building their resorts on the Mediterranean.”

Genesis was playing a dangerous game now, one he wouldn’t tolerate.  “That would be a major security breach and enough to shut this place down for good—never mind what we would do to you for such a treasonous act.”

“Women and children are a security threat?  Are you that frightened of them?” she asked, amusement in her gaze.

He took a step closer to her.  “No one is opening a portal from outside this country to anywhere inside it without official clearance.  I promise you the U.S. government would be swift and harsh in punishing such a crime.”

“Take away our funding, and I promise you we won’t care.  We’ll get revenge and then leave to somewhere you won’t find us even with your most powerful spells,” she said, fierce promise in her voice.  “So if you want better border protection, you will have to pay a commiserate price.”

There was no way he’d raise their funding when he’d come here to cut it.  “Not happening.”

“Very well, then agree to keep the status quo.”

Elron ground his teeth.  “Fine.”

“Excellent.  It was nice doing business with you, High Wizard.”  Genesis waved her right hand, and he felt an invisible nudge against his chest.  “Have a great day, and do try to pay your fair share of taxes like the rest of us.”

Fury raced through his veins.  In a fit of temper, he sent a spell to shatter the glass dome in the ceiling.  Tiny shards crashed straight to the floor and scattered everywhere.  To his credit, he’d made certain no one was under there when he sent the spell.

“You might want to clean up that mess,” he said and spun on his heels, gesturing at his assistants to follow.

Genesis’ voice trailed him as he headed for the exit, “Replacing that dome will come out of your budget—and so will repairs for the floor.”

“Try it and you’ll find yourself in a Siberian prison with anti-magic shackles on your wrists for the rest of your miserable life,” Elron replied.  “I’m sure Putin will find some fun use for you.”

She snorted.  “You’d have to catch me first.”

That woman was a menace!

As the High Wizard made his way outside toward the parking lot, he thought hard about what he’d have to do if he wanted to force the more powerful supernatural elements to submit to his will.  His assistants would need a lot more magic and training, but he’d do whatever it took to remain at the top of the food chain.