Red Guitar

Theo Keaton had always known his family was different.

Not the kind where your family eats pizza every Friday night or your dad tells embarrassing jokes at dinner.

The Keatons were the kind of different where his mother could walk into a room and immediately know someone had moved a chair two inches. The kind where his father could repair almost anything with a strange-looking tool that nobody had ever seen before. The kind where his older sister Ivee always seemed to know when something was wrong before anyone said a word.

And then there was his grandma.

Georgia Mae Keaton.

Nobody knew exactly how old she was in spirit. Sure, her birth certificate said she was sixty-eight, but Theo was convinced she was secretly a hundred years old because of how much she knew.

Grandma Georgia always had advice.

"Pay attention to what people don't say," she would tell him.

Or:

"The smallest detail can change an entire mission."

Theo never understood why she talked like everything was a mission.

Not until he became part of one.

"Theo!"

Theo looked up from the football field.

His coach stood with his arms crossed, looking disappointed.

"If you spend any more time staring into space, I'm going to assume the football is invisible."

The other players laughed.

Theo grabbed the ball and smiled.

"Sorry, Coach."

He tossed it back.

Football was his cover.

At least, that was what he told himself.

To everyone at school, Theo Keaton was just a sixteen-year-old who played football and sometimes got distracted.

But underneath the football field was something nobody else knew about.

A secret entrance.

A hidden world.

GEM.

Theo waited until the other players were busy with practice. He walked toward the bleachers, pretending to adjust his shoe.

He glanced around.

Nobody was watching.

Good.

He crouched down and reached underneath the metal bench.

His fingers found the small keypad hidden beneath it.

He typed:

0-4-1-8

The keypad flashed green.

A quiet mechanical sound followed.

The doors closed ground shifted beneath him.

Theo smiled.

"Still cool."

The space beneath the bleachers opened, revealing a hidden elevator.

Theo stepped inside.

The doors closed.

As the elevator dropped, his football uniform slowly disappeared behind a hidden panel, revealing his agent gear underneath.

A normal student disappeared.

A spy appeared.

"Agent Keaton arriving," a voice said through the speaker.

Theo rolled his eyes.

"Do you have to announce that every time?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because it sounds professional."

Theo sighed.

"Sure."

The elevator continued downward.

Deep below the school, the secret headquarters of GEM waited.

Across the city, Ivee Keaton was having a very normal day.

At least, that was what everyone thought.

She stood behind the counter of a small café, handing a customer their drink.

"One vanilla latte."

The customer smiled.

"Thank you."

"Have a good day."

Ivee watched the customer leave.

Then she looked around.

Everything seemed normal.

Which usually meant something was about to happen.

"You know," Paige said beside her, "sometimes I think you know things before they happen."

Ivee looked over.

Her best friend raised an eyebrow.

"Like what?"

"Like yesterday when you said someone was going to spill coffee before they spilled coffee."

Ivee shrugged.

"Lucky guess."

Paige narrowed her eyes.

"Right."

Ivee smiled.

Paige was smart.

Maybe too smart.

She didn't know Ivee was an agent, but she was starting to notice that something about her friend didn't add up.

Paige grabbed her bag.

"I'm leaving early today. I have to clean my house."

"Again?"

"Yes. Unlike some people, I like knowing where everything is."

Ivee laughed.

"See you tomorrow."

Paige walked away.

The second the café door closed, Ivee's expression changed.

The friendly café worker disappeared.

The agent returned.

She walked behind the counter and stepped onto a small section of the floor.

A click sounded.

The counter moved.

A hidden panel opened beneath her feet.

Ivee grabbed her coffee.

"Still not spilling this."

Then the floor opened.

A secret slide appeared.

She disappeared underground.

At the other side of town, a bell rang as the door to The Music Box opened.

It looked like an ordinary music shop.

Old records lined the walls.

Instruments filled the shelves.

And hanging in the center was a bright red guitar.

Most people saw a decoration.

Vera and Ezra Keaton knew better.

Vera stood in front of the guitar.

"Ready?"

Ezra smiled.

"Always."

She lifted it carefully.

The guitar looked old, but it was perfectly maintained.

Vera played two notes.

G.

E minor.

Again.

G.

E minor.

Again.

G.

E minor.

The room went silent.

Then the entire shop changed.

The shelves moved backward.

Hidden lights turned on.

A Victorian piano rose from beneath the floor.

Ezra smiled.

"I still think the piano entrance is dramatic."

Vera looked at him.

"You say that every time."

"Because every time I'm right."

She ignored him and opened the back of the piano.

A passage appeared.

Beyond it was GEM.

The heart of the world's greatest secret agency.

GEM headquarters was massive.

Most people imagined a secret organization as a small underground room with a few computers.

GEM was nothing like that.

It was a city beneath the city.

Agents trained.

Scientists created new technology.

Mission teams prepared for assignments.

And at the center of it all was one person.

Georgia Mae Keaton.

She stood in her office, looking over the entire organization.

She wasn't just the President of GEM.

She was the reason it existed.

On her desk were two files.

One labeled:

THEO KEATON

The other:

IVEE KEATON

Georgia smiled.

Her grandchildren were talented.

But they still had much to learn.

A knock came at the door.

"Come in."

An agent entered.

"President Keaton, everything is ready."

Georgia nodded.

"Good."

The agent hesitated.

"Are you sure about keeping the truth from them?"

Georgia looked toward the screens showing Theo and Ivee entering GEM.

"Yes."

"They may be upset."

"They might."

"Then why?"

Georgia smiled.

"Because the best agents aren't created by being told who they are."

She looked at the screens.

"They discover it."

Later that day, Theo entered a training room.

He didn't notice the person waiting for him.

"You're late."

Theo froze.

He turned around.

"Grandma?"

Georgia Mae smiled.

"You're three minutes late."

Theo looked confused.

"How are you here?"

"Because I know everything."

Theo laughed.

"That's not creepy at all."

Georgia walked toward him.

"Your training begins now."

Theo sighed.

"Another training session?"

"Yes."

"Can I at least eat first?"

"No."

"Grandma."

"An agent must be prepared."

Theo smiled.

Even though he complained, he secretly loved these moments.

He didn't know why his grandmother was so determined to train him.

He didn't know why she believed in him so much.

And he definitely didn't know the truth.

At that same moment, Ivee entered her own training area.

Georgia had prepared both of them.

Different lessons.

Different challenges.

Same goal.

To turn them into the agents they were meant to become.

Because Georgia Mae Keaton knew something nobody else knew.

The Keaton family was about to face its greatest mission.

And this time...

the enemy wasn't the only secret they had to uncover.

It was their own family.