Jesse Target lives a double life. To the common citizen, he’s an ordinary teenager. To a select few, he’s Jesse Best—top class detective/secret agent. His life has been anything but normal, and it only gets more interesting when a chance meeting puts him face to face with a millionaire’s son who looks exactly like him.
Unraveling the mystery that surrounds his lookalike is only part of Jesse’s caseload. Just as things begin to settle down with Philip Taylor, Jesse is called to go undercover to discover who is pillaging a family estate in Nevada. How is he supposed to explain his sudden disappearance to his new best friend without exposing his true, but secret, identity?
Jesse’s plane has hardly landed when he receives the terrible news that Philip has gone missing. He’s vanished without a trace and Jesse can’t help but wonder: Is it his fault?
Meet the Characters:
Jesse Target/Best:
I’m fourteen years old and I’m a private detective, but that’s not the coolest thing I am. I’m also a secret agent for the CIA. How did I become something so incredible so young? Easy. My dad was a detective, and my mom was an agent. Growing up, I mastered their skills as I watched them. Then, one day they got into some trouble, and everyone said there was no way to save them. I proved them wrong.
After successfully rescuing my parents, I was approached by the CIA director and asked if I would join Mom on cases as her backup agent. My parents thought a 9-year-old was too young for such big responsibilities, but Dad did say I could join him on some of his cases—which weren’t quite so dangerous. By the time I was eleven, I was working with both Dad and Mom. I’ve been on all kinds of cases and missions.
Since I’m just a kid, I go unnoticed a lot in the field. Also since I’m a kid, I’ve had a lot of crazy training. Because of these two things, I’ve managed to do things full-grown agents and detectives haven’t. That’s why people started calling me “the best.” The name kind of stuck. Now, on both the good and bad sides of the law, I’m known as Jesse Best.
Everything isn’t perfect, though. What I do is dangerous. What my parents do is dangerous, and even super detectives and agents get hurt. My parents did. Though I’m alone now, I have no regrets. I’m part of a legacy—the only part of their legacy that lives on. In honor of their memory, I’m going to keep taking down bad guys and making them proud.
Philip Taylor:
I’m fourteen years old and I’ve spent my life like a prince. While I’m not really royal, I’m part of a distinguished dynasty. My family has had millions since before my grandparents were born! The Taylor name is known in high society worldwide. I live with my parents in a grand Victorian mansion on a huge estate. I go to a very prestigious academy with other millionaire kids called High Crest.
Even though my family is loaded, I’m not a stuck-up snob. The Taylors know that just because we have money, it doesn’t make us better than anyone else. It simply means we’re hard workers and wise with our spending. In truth, I’m a lot like other kids my age—I just happen to have my own limo and family jet.
I spend my free time doing a variety of hobbies. I love building models—especially of vintage cars. My favorite sport is basketball and I’m pretty much ready for a game any time someone offers to play. I have three guys that I consider my closest friends. We hang out with each other and sometimes we get into a bit of trouble—depending on how hyper Steve is at the time. I can tell you on my honor, though, we really didn’t mean to knock the soap flakes into the fountain in the library and turn it into a bubble bath. Now, exploding a huge bundle of fireworks over the south pond … I’d have to plead the fifth on that one.
I love my life, but it’s not all games. The Taylors believe that wealth equals responsibility. That’s why I go to High Crest. I’m taught how to handle my status there, and how to someday manage the fortune that will be mine. At home I’m taught to give back to my community and care about the people around me. Someday, I’ll be representing the Taylor name, and I’m determined to keep the standard high.
Ace and Daisy Jackson:
We’re in our sixties and are both retired CIA agents. We worked with Jesse’s mom on several missions when she was a young agent just starting out. We also knew his dad because he was our next door neighbor. Some might say we are even responsible for the two of them getting together. Backyard BBQs can be very advantageous when handled properly!
After we retired, we moved into a large home for orphaned or abandoned teens called Twin Pines. We work as Floor Parents, which means we have fifteen to twenty boys under our supervision. We wanted to give our golden years to helping mentor America’s next generation. We never dreamed we’d end up having Jesse come to spend his teenage years with us.
After the terrible incident with his parents, Jesse needed somewhere to go where he could still be active in the field, yet have a normal life. We were asked if we would semi-come out of retirement to act as his handlers. We have counted the two years we’ve had with him as our greatest honor and highest achievement. It’s not too many grandparents who can claim to have had a part in raising the Best detective/agent in the world!
Justin and Alicia Taylor:
We aren’t the typical millionaire husband and wife you may be expecting. While it is true we are chauffeured in limos and take our vacations in the Hamptons, gaining popularity and greater fortune is not our lives’ pursuit. It is our greatest desire to raise our son Philip to be the man God wants him to be. Before anything else, we want to be his parents—parents that are involved in his life. We want to have an active role in sculpting him into the man he will become when he is grown.
Apart from mentoring Philip, we have several hobbies. Justin enjoys sports—no, please don’t assume golf because he is rich. Justin hates golf. He much prefers joining up with his colleagues and playing handball. As for Alicia, she cannot stand the idea of bridge, but she loves a good game of cribbage among her friends. If you don’t know what either interest is, don’t worry. It’s old people pastimes. We do normal things as well, like reading books, and both of us love working with our hands. Justin is quite good with wood and Alicia is a master seamstress.
As has been the Taylor standard since the very first Taylor generations ago, we are constantly looking for ways to bless those around us—and those not around us, but abroad. We are active in multiple missions and local charities. It is our highest goal to live in such a way that we are the kind of parents Philip wants to follow as examples. That is the keynote in everything we do.
