DOGE Supernatural Division (episode 6)

High Wizard Elron stared incredulously at his electric car manufacturing plant in California—or rather, what was left of it.  Nearly all the buildings had been leveled the day before, and what little remained would have to be torn down.  It was incomprehensible.

“Tell me again what happened,” he said to one of the managers who’d been on-site during the incident.

Jack, a middle-aged man with thinning brown hair, shook his head.  “They’re saying it was likely an EF-4 tornado based on the damage, but we won’t know for sure until the experts finish their investigation.”

“Right.”  Elron clenched his fists.  “Since when has California ever had an EF-4?”

The manager cleared his throat.  “Never, as far as I know.”

“Perhaps you should start from the beginning,” the wizard said, thinking something wasn’t right about this.

“It was the oddest thing.  The weather forecast called for sunny skies, but storm clouds started rolling toward us in the late afternoon.  Thunder and lightning got loud.  Then, some guys ran inside, saying a tornado was heading straight for us.  It moved really slowly, like it was crawling, so we were able to evacuate in time.  As soon as everyone was out and far enough away, it got bigger and stronger just as it reached the plant.  Then it stayed there for a few minutes, grinding down everything like a giant drill.”

Elron had spent enough time in tornado alley states to know that this was not traditional tornado behavior. They never “waited” for people to evacuate, and many people would have had to clear the numerous buildings for there to be no injuries or casualties.

He took a deep breath.  “What happened next?”

“The tornado lifted back into the clouds, and about five minutes later, the storm was gone.”

The High Wizard noted most of the employee cars in the parking lot had no damage and those that did only had broken windows.  “You said it took its time coming here.  What other places in the area were damaged?

“None.”  Jack shrugged.  “Heard that it didn’t fully touch the ground until right before it struck this place.”

Now, that was too peculiar.

“But it managed to destroy the whole plant after avoiding everything else?” he asked, incredulously.

“Well…” the manager hedged.  “There was one other odd thing.”

“Show me.”

Jack guided him around the piles of debris to another side of the ravaged facilities, and High Wizard Elron nearly stumbled as the “odd thing” came into view.  Half a dozen nearly finished electric cars were stacked vertically on their backends like dominoes.  They showed no signs of damage, and even their windows were intact.  Considering all the debris scattered around them, that didn’t seem possible.

This was no natural disaster, and his insurance company would not cover the damage should it prove magic-related. This was going to cost him a fortune.  Only one race of people he knew was powerful enough to pull this off and had the motive to do it.  There happened to be a community of them living not far away in Santa Cruz. He needed to get his team together and formulate a plan before he visited them.

***

Two weeks later, High Wizard Elron pulled up to a quaint beachside neighborhood in a dark SUV with a matching vehicle following behind him.  He’d brought eight men and women to support him for this operation.  If the weather elementals thought they could get away with sabotaging his business interests because of his work with DOGE Supernatural, they would soon learn otherwise.  He would make them pay.

It was a Saturday morning, just past eight, and the neighborhood was mostly quiet. The well-kept middle-class homes had varying layouts and paint colors, but a thrum of magic hummed in the air with a familiar signature like the one at the plant. Elron had researched a few things before coming and knew only weather elementals lived on this block.

The High Wizard noted a four-year-old girl with curly black hair drawing with chalk on the sidewalk two houses down.  Her mother sat on a porch swing watching her.  Both turned to look at Elron and his DOGE team, cocking their heads in a similar manner.

Before he could consider questioning the woman, a man in his mid-thirties with short, dark hair exited the house to the right and marched their way.  The look on his face wasn’t welcoming.  Not a surprise since they must have expected a visit after the incident at his manufacturing facility.

“I need to speak with whoever is in charge,” Elron said as a brisk wind lifted his cape.

He glanced over and spotted the four-year-old with her little hands outstretched and a mischievous smile on her face.  This was one of the most powerful elemental groups in the country, possibly only rivaled by the one in Florida.  Even their children were exceptionally gifted, and this one had created enough wind that he had to brace himself to keep from falling.  It was so focused that it didn’t affect the rest of his team.  That was talent.

“Vadim has already left for work, but I am his son, and you can speak to me,” the man said, drawing his attention back toward him.

The wind gust died.

Elron noted people of all ages were steadily exiting their homes to stand on their lawns and stare at him and his people.  Within minutes, there had to be at least thirty of them outside, including more kids.  The vibe in the air wasn’t even remotely welcoming.

He narrowed his eyes on the man.  “Your name is?”

“Janos.”

Neither of them offered to shake hands.

“Very well, Janos.  I want to know which of you orchestrated a tornado attack on my car manufacturing facilities two weeks ago,” Elron said, giving him a severe look.

The weather elemental lifted a brow.  “I heard about that.  Very strange how it occurred, but I had nothing to do with it.”

He was careful with his words.  Janos must know that the High Wizard often employed a truth spell within his vicinity that would tell him if anyone lied.

“Do you know who did?” Elron asked.

The man shrugged.  “You can always ask around and see if anyone knows anything.”

He was evading the question.  Interestingly, several houses had no one standing on the lawns or signs of life.  The High Wizard was willing to bet everyone outside could claim they had no part in the weather anomaly.

“Team, knock on every door that doesn’t have someone on the lawn,” he ordered, running his gaze across his crew.  “Go in pairs and check for signs of anyone inside.”

They hurried to do his bidding.

“We have nothing to hide,” Janos said truthfully.  The gleam in his eyes suggested he did know something about the event, though.

A few minutes later, Elron’s team returned without finding anyone else.

“You’re going to tell me everything,” the High Wizard said, flicking his right hand.  A burst of sparkling blue magic flew from his fingertips, striking the man with a jolt.  It wouldn’t cause any actual harm, but it would sink inside his skin to do its work.

They had potions that did the same, but Elron didn’t need them.  Not many people knew that.  He wouldn’t have revealed that ability now, but he imagined if they held anyone down to force them to drink a magical concoction, violence would ensue.  He preferred to avoid that in an open neighborhood with children watching.

“Tell me where they are,” he ordered.

Janos’ eyes glazed as his body absorbed the spell.  “They left, but they’re not far.”

People throughout the neighborhood began moving closer to them.  They stared at the sky, where ominous storm clouds began roiling from nearby Monterey Bay.  A chill ran through him.  These people had planned on him coming, and he suspected they wouldn’t hold back from attacking if he made one wrong move.

“You made a mistake by firing several of our members who worked for NOAA and canceling leases to their facilities,” he said threateningly.  “And you don’t seem to care how it affects weather forecasts that could save lives.”

The High Wizard narrowed his eyes.  “Your people didn’t sabotage my rocket the other day, did they?”

Janos laughed and shook his head.  “We aren’t that powerful…or stupid.  Anyway, the only ones with the skills to do such a thing are angels and demons.  Don’t suppose you’ve pissed either of them off, have you?”

Not as far as he knew since neither had any ties to the government that he’d found.

“Yet, your people clearly destroyed one of my manufacturing facilities,” Elron said, getting back on topic.

The man shrugged.  “No one wants those cars anyway, and it’s not like anyone was hurt.  Did you like the display my friends left?”

He meant the cars stacked like dominoes.  “It’s what gave you fools away.”

He glared as the crowd of elementals and their kids began herding him and his people backward toward the SUVs.  They knew he drew the line at harming little ones, making it difficult for him to retaliate with any sort of offensive magic.  The hair on the back of his neck rose.  Elron glanced behind him and found a newly arrived group at the end of the street—no doubt the ones he sought.  His team was surrounded.

“We don’t want to fight,” Janos said, stepping ahead of the others.  “But if you don’t leave peacefully now, I can’t guarantee your safety.”

“I know about your government-funded research facilities.  The ones your water elementals use to study the ocean, and I think they do good work, but I’m afraid the leases on those places have been canceled.  Also, anywhere you work that has ties to the government won’t be running for long.”  He began to rattle off everything he and his team found before coming that was now on the chopping block.

Gasps ran through the crowd, and Janos’ face turned red.  “You can’t do that!”

“I can.”  Elron gestured at two of his team members.  “Get the boxes we brought.”

The elementals watched his people with trepidation as his people returned with each of their arms full.  The High Wizard opened the two boxes, instructing his team to hand out the twelve-inch dolls that looked exactly like him, including his black cape.  He held onto one himself for his demonstration.  The children’s faces lit up as they received their gifts while their parents gave them wary looks.

“Let me show you how they work,” he said, pulling a string in the back.

His exact voice sounded from the doll as it spoke, “Team DOGE Supernatural—High Wizard Elron is the best!”

“You can’t be serious,” Janos said, gaping.

He grinned and leaned down, putting his hands on his knees.  “Hey, kids.  Try rubbing his head and see what happens.”

Of course, none of them could resist.  Sparks of colorful light flew from the dolls’ heads and danced across the children’s bodies, making them laugh.  It had the nice side effect of making them especially attached to the dolls so the parents couldn’t take them away.  It was sweet revenge at its finest—all while making the kids happy.  Of course, the spell would wear off after a few months since he wasn’t so evil as to make it last forever.  It would be weird if they still ran around with those at eighty years old.

The adults had furious looks on their faces.  Some of them began to draw on their powers for an attack, but he was finished with these people for now.  Elron formed a round shield, his team joining him as they expanded it to cover themselves and their vehicles.  They’d practiced it before coming, so it formed perfectly.

The elementals brought down lightning from the storm they’d created, but it hit the shield harmlessly.  The High Wizard and his people got into their SUVs and turned them around to exit the neighborhood.  They slowed down when they reached the people at the end of the street.  He rolled down his window as they passed the elementals, and he spotted the leader, Vadim.  So kind of him to arrive near the end, so he didn’t miss anything.

“Thank you for cooperating with the Department of Government Efficiency—Supernatural Division. Expect to receive a bill soon for what you did to my car manufacturing facility,” Elron said.

Vadim’s dark eyes appeared thunderous.  “You can’t prove we did it.”

The High Wizard snorted.  “All magic has a signature, and I found yours.  We’ll see what the supernatural courts have to say on the matter if you don’t pay for the damages.”

“You should worry every time you fly in a plane,” the elemental leader said menacingly.

“My magic is stronger than you realize.”  Elron only hated that he’d have to expend so much energy constantly protecting himself.  “Your people will find that tampering with the weather around my plane would not be in their best interest with the counterspells I have in place.”

Vadim said nothing, his expression clearly livid.  Elron instructed the driver to continue on their way.  The doll idea had been so inspired he planned to deliver them to many families in the supernatural community.  They didn’t stand a chance of forgetting who was really in charge.