In Firestarter, the secret government agency pursuing the McGees is called The Shop. The Shop is a covert organization that conducts experiments intended to explore and weaponize unusual psychic abilities, making Charlie McGee and her parents targets after a disastrous experiment.
Charlie inherits extraordinary pyrokinesis, the ability to create and control fire with her mind. Her father, Andy McGee, develops a form of mental influence called “the push,” while her mother, Vicky, gains weaker psychic abilities. Their powers are linked to Lot 6, a drug administered to college students in an experiment connected to The Shop.
The organization is not the same as The Institute, which belongs to another Stephen King story, nor is it simply a generic intelligence bureau. In Firestarter, The Shop functions as a secret research-and-security apparatus, combining scientific experimentation, surveillance, imprisonment, and attempts to turn paranormal abilities into military assets.
Stephen King published Firestarter in 1980. The novel follows Andy and Charlie as they flee across the United States, trying to evade capture while exposing the agency's abuses. The story was adapted into a 1984 film starring Drew Barrymore and later received a 2022 film remake.