A/N: Hi there all! This is the first chapter of my new story. I'm putting it out as a tester to see what you all think. This story unlike my first Suite Life fanfic, 'A Suite Wedding', is actually set around the time of season 3 of the series and not set in the future. I'll try to keep age differences up to speed for the characters. Please feel free to criticize and critique my writing, particularly the action scenes, in the future as well. I'll continue to write the remaining chapters as they come to me. Enjoy!

"Welcome back London, how was your trip?" Mr. Moseby asked pleasantly with a welcoming smile on his face. It had been nearly 2 weeks since I, London Tipton, had departed on my vacation to China. And now I was back in Boston at my home, the Tipton Hotel on Monday afternoon. "Thank you Moseby, I loved every minute of it," I breathed peacefully while handing my bags carelessly to Esteban the bell-boy. "Hong Kong was to die for. There were so many shopping malls as far as the eye could see. The Hong Kong Tipton was exquisite naturally, but no where on the same level as this one of course," I added, giving Mr. Moseby an indulgent smile which he returned. It was so easy keeping him happy, hotel management was his life-blood. "I'm just so happy to be home, I'm exhausted." I concluded blissfully. Maddie Fitzpatrick, the candy counter girl and my best friend couldn't stop herself from making a sarcastic retort from behind her booth. "Yes, I can see how spending Daddy's cash can really take it out of you." Maddie quipped dryly. "Madeline! Don't you have some candy to sell?" Mr. Moseby demanded reproachfully. I had to keep my face perfectly masked and free from anger. It would be just like Maddie to make a comment like that just because she was envious of my station in life. Ooh, what I wouldn't give to tell her the truth about where I'd really been. But I knew I couldn't do that. Revealing my secret would put too many people's lives in danger, especially those closest to me. So I had to ignore Maddie's callous and malicious insinuations, for now at least. I could get my revenge in other ways.

"That's alright Moseby. I guess I'll just have to give that emerald necklace I bought for Maddie with Daddy's cash to charity now." I mused, feigning deep thought. I caught a glimpse of Maddie spluttering apologies out of the corner of my eye and laughed inwardly as I walked to the elevator. I opened the door to my suite on the 23rd floor. I watch with unconcealed delight when I saw my dog Ivana come bounding towards me. I scooped her up in my arms and allowed her to lick my face incessantly. "Hi Ivana, ooh I missed you so much. Mommy's home now," I whispered into her ear while planting a kiss on her head. While I filled up Ivana's drinking bowl with a fresh bottle of Evian, I gazed absent-mindedly around the suite. It looked the same as always, but I still felt like a stranger. "Stop being so morbid, you're just tired that's all." I chastised myself loudly while sitting on a nearby recliner.

"Here are your bags Miss London," Esteban announced a minute later. He found me in the same recliner gazing out of my window at the surrounding sky-scrapers, clearly lost in thought. "Uh Miss London, is anything the matter?" Esteban asked tentatively. Poor well-meaning and perceptive Esteban. If only I could tell someone, confide in anyone. For now I contented myself with yet another lie. "Everything's fine Esteban. Could you do one thing for me? Call down to the spa and ask them to send Chanel up to my suite in an hour. I'm in desperate need of a massage." I instructed quickly. "Yes Miss London. Welcome back." Esteban answered swiftly, giving me a small smile before exiting. Sighing aloud, I settled myself more comfortably in the recliner and felt myself wince from a jarring pain in my spine. At least requiring a masseuse hadn't been a lie. Come to think of it, my entire body was aching, not to mention my arm. The damn adrenaline must have finally worn off. One of these days I was going to have to actually take a real vacation. And that got me thinking about my latest journey.

A Week Ago…

I got out of the limousine after a 10-hour flight on my private jet from Boston, which would have normally taken 20 hours. I had finally arrived at the Hong Kong Tipton where the red carpet was laid out for me. There was the usual ass-kissing manoeuvres from the personnel such as 'Good day Miss Tipton…how was your flight? We've booked the penthouse suite for you…please allow us to send up a complementary basket of assorted Lindor chocolates to your suite…' blah blah blah. It was a pity that I literally spent only 10 minutes up in my suite. It was luxurious, the view positively breathtaking. But I had my orders and I needed to act quickly. I changed rapidly out of my extravagant clothing into an inconspicuous black pants suit with matching outdoor hat and trench coat. Then the doorbell rang with three sharp clangs. Without checking the peephole, I quickly opened the door. A young woman the same height as me and sporting the same black outfit I was wearing entered the room without speaking.

Then very swiftly, she opened a sports bag she was carrying, revealing clothing that matched my former outfit down to the tee. She speedily began undressing herself right in front of me. When she was finished, she was the spitting image of myself. Wendy, or London as she would be referred to for an entire week, was my impersonator or double. She never went with me on my more dangerous missions; her only mission was to pose as me during my absences. The paparazzi would be only too eager to latch onto a rich heiress who disappeared at will into remote areas for days, weeks, even months at a time for no apparent reason. It had taken me almost a year to train Wendy in my every mannerism, speech and dress code so she wouldn't give away my secret. By now, Wendy was a pro, as if she were destined to play me all her life. And the plan was simple: I would slip out of my suite dressed as her and she would remain in my suite posing as me and play the part until my return. Wendy knew that if anything were to ever happen to me during the call of duty; if I were to be killed, she would have to shed her disguise for good and either disappear or return to her normal life. But so far, nothing had ever gone horribly wrong and I hoped my good luck would continue in this vein. What I needed to do was important and mistakes would be costly for all involved. "Happy hunting," Wendy wished by way of greeting with a grim expression. "You too, enjoy the chocolates." I returned, giving her a small smile before closing the door behind me.

After I had successfully slipped out of the Tipton, I got into the hired car that Wendy had arrived with and made my way to a tiny airstrip just north of Hong Kong in the town of Shenzhen. And there I met Alec Stone, a comrade and personal assistant to me at the best of times. Behind him stood a tiny aircraft preparing for take-off. "Here is your appropriate documentation. All your equipment and supplies are already on board," Alec began smoothly, handing me I.D. with the name 'San Mei Ying' on it. "Excellent, and the informant?" I asked Alec promptly while putting the I.D. in my pocket. "His name is Chin Kok Meng, but he calls himself the Grasshopper. You're to meet him at this address tonight at 23:35, he'll tell you more." Alec explained quickly. I nodded once to show him I understood. "I still don't understand why you had to fly clear across the country just to keep up the façade that you're still in Hong Kong." Alec stated disbelievingly. "Don't take this the wrong way Alec, but people would notice if I go missing. It kinda comes with the territory of your father's earnings being posted on Forbes. Taking necessary precautions is all part of the job." I explained curtly. "Touché. Well, you'd better take a nap before you meet Grasshopper. You'll be spending a lot of quality time with him for the next four days before you make the bust." Alec replied with a laugh. "Yay me." I muttered darkly. "Thanks Alec!" I called out before boarding the plane. "You're welcome. Be careful L!" Alec called out to me. I waved to him one last time as the plane took off towards Beijing.

I arrived in Beijing nearly 2 hours later, took a quick nap in the crappy motel I was held up in. And then I went to the warehouse/depot to meet my informant, Grasshopper. The time I spent with him (3 days and nights) was easily the most annoying and familiar I had spent with another individual. I conversed mainly with Grasshopper (an ex-con) in his native tongue of Mandarin. "So why do people call you Grasshopper?" I asked him casually in the early hours of our fourth morning together. "Because I know how to avoid getting stamped on." Grasshopper answered sardonically which made me chuckle quietly. It was silent for a few minutes while I scanned the docks for any sign of life with my night-vision goggles. It was 5am and the dockside was shrouded with morning mist. The perfect cover under which a nefarious criminal could hope to be concealed. Finally, Grasshopper broke the long silence. "I meant what I said about not getting stamped on. I've got a feeling about you Pink Lotus [his designated nickname for me]. You're going to get me killed." He stated cryptically, which made me frown. "Not if you do everything exactly the way we planned. Let's get moving, it's time." I replied silkily, scanning my watch.

It was the signal we'd been waiting for which happened at exactly 5:06am. Two men in dark overalls were pushing hefty-looking wooden crates on a pulley towards a wooden hut where a naked bulb gave the only light. I focused my goggles on the labels on the wooden crates. Sure enough, each label carried on them symbols in the Chinese language spelling out the name of a secret drug-trafficking syndicate named OPIUM. "You're in luck Grasshopper, the symbols on those crates don't spell out clam chowder. Now I don't have to shoot you in the head first." I said with a straight face which made him pale considerably. "Now, time for us to say good morning. You first." I instructed tersely, nudging Grasshopper ahead from our hiding place with my pistol. Grasshopper slouched forward begrudgingly while I hid under the window of the hut. Grasshopper opened the door tentatively and stepped inside. Naturally, I heard the loud clicking of at least six guns being pointed at Grasshopper's head. I heard Grasshopper appeasing them by encouraging them to put their guns down by saying that their boss sent them. That was my cue as I kicked the door open. "Mind if I join too?" I asked coyly, pointing my gun at the head of the first guy in front of me.

Naturally, the guns all previously pointed at Grasshopper's head now pointed to my head instead. I scanned the room quickly. The crates were open now, containing at least 500kg of cocaine per crate and briefcases of money lay open on a rickety wooden table. Without missing a beat, I flicked a switch blade concealed behind my back, tossing it carefully at the guy diagonal to me. The switchblade embedded itself neatly into the wall between the guy's legs, just millimeters south from his groin. "Drop the guns." I ordered tersely, my tone indicating that I wasn't playing around. The man that I had almost de-crowned happened to be the leader of this crew as I had correctly surmised. He ordered them in Mandarin to drop their weapons with a frantic hiss. "Frisk them," I commanded of Grasshopper after they had all dropped their guns. "Good for nothing lying bastard," a guy nearest to Grasshopper cursed aloud in Mandarin at him. "Oh, like you didn't know that before. Zip it Sailor." I retorted callously, holding my gun firmly in place. Seeing it happen far too late, the guy screaming out profanities just seconds ago whipped out a tiny pistol from his ankle holster and fired at Grasshopper's chest, sending him careening to the ground. "Shit," I muttered and dove under the wooden table. Then all hell broke loose when guns began firing all around me.

"Oh no, you didn't," I mumbled curtly, kicking savagely at a pair of shins standing near me in front of the table. While the guy was jumping around in pain, I emerged from under the table and delivered a spinning heel kick in his groin and wrapped one hand around his neck in a chokehold, throwing him down onto the ground forcefully. I grabbed the gun out of the hand of the guy directly behind me and aimed the butt at his nose, breaking it on contact. Just as a third guy tried to fire at me, I picked up a hefty silver briefcase of money and swiped at his face and shoulder, sending him collapsing onto the floor in pain. I managed to kick a stray gun on the floor out of the way as the fourth thug came hurtling towards me. I crouched down on all fours and knocked him off of his feet with a well-placed front sweep, sending him crashing onto his back. I then hit him in the head with a rickety wooden chair for good measure as well. A bullet whizzed past my ear, just missing me narrowly and embedding itself in the wall behind me. As luck would have it, the guy who shot at me had fired his last round. Before he could reload, I struck deftly at his Adam's apple with a well-placed front kick, which had him on the floor clutching his throat and gasping for breath.

That left me with Sailor Mouth, sporting a large rifle in his hands. I rolled out of the way when he fired a round at me. I rolled a heavy steel barrow in his foot path to distract him. While he tried to step out of the way, I rose in the air and delivered a 540° tornado kick at his wrist, causing the gun to fly out of his hand. Just as I disposed of the gun out the window, Sailor Mouth hit me across the cheek which sent me careening to the ground. While I felt my cheek growing inflamed by the second, I saw Sailor Mouth take a switchblade out of yet another ankle holster. "Oh swell, you like your accessories too." I huffed ironically, roiling out of the way as he took a swipe at me with the knife. I got to my feet and continued swerving left, then right and bending backwards to avoid Sailor Mouth's jabs. But then I was momentarily by the sound of sirens and a helicopter hovering in the sky overhead. I felt a searing pain in my forearm where Sailor Mouth had stabbed me. Before I could react, he pushed me onto my stomach and pressing his heavy boot into my back, winding me momentarily. He grabbed me by the hair and yanked my head upwards. The pain was excruciating in my spine and neck. Thinking carefully, I grabbed a pin from my hair. I snapped the decorative butterfly off it, revealing the sharp needle. And then I plunged the needle into the hand gripping my hair. He let go instantly and I managed to roll out from under his boot using a grappling manoeuvre known as a bridge by kicking at his feet behind me, sending him to his knees. I then righted myself and entwined my fingers together. With a sudden spurt of rage, I swung deftly at his jaw with a hammer-blow technique, sending him to the floor along with his other comrades, groaning in anguish and agony.

Just as I was tying up the six thugs two by two, the cavalry showed up. Perfect timing as always. Letting the badges take care of the thugs, I rushed over to Grasshopper's side. I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw that the bullet was embedded in his shoulder and not his chest as I previously thought. But he did look terribly pale under the light of the naked bulb from the loss of blood. "See, what did I tell you? I said you were going to get me killed you crazy bitch. I'm dying." Grasshopper croaked in Mandarin. I laughed loudly at this while feeling his pulse. "Oh don't be so melodramatic Grasshopper, it's just a flesh wound. You're going to be just fine." I chided gently, touching his cheek for a moment. I stepped away to let the paramedics tend to Grasshopper. I then turned my attention to Chief-superintendent Foo, head of the Beijing police and an old friend.

"Nice work Agent L, my men have seized at least 2000kg of cocaine. Is there any more hidden on the premises?" Superintendent Foo asked me politely. "Check the clipboard on the table. It has a list of shipments for this week. I suggest that you seize and detain any incoming cargo as they enter the harbour." I replied quickly. "I'll do that. Agent L, you're bleeding!" Superintendent Foo exclaimed in a clipped tone, pointing to my arm. Sure enough, the pain returned to me and my forearm was bleeding profusely. "You should have one of the paramedics bandage you up." Superintendent Foo instructed in a concerned voice. "That won't be necessary Chief. My own physician will be flying back with me to Boston, he can tend to it then." I intervened smoothly while putting on a brave face.

And then I was back on my private jet within the hour, taking and sending orders. Eleanor, my boss and overseer told me I was expected for debriefing the day after next once I reached headquarters. I myself had sent hurried instructions to Wendy while at the warehouse to check out of the Tipton in Hong Kong while I was on route to Shenzhen and meet me there. She was now sitting in the back of the plane watching a film while my private physician, Dr. Hamilton, tended to my arm. I tried to ignore the pain shooting down my arm while he stitched it up. "Honestly London, could you have picked a more dangerous vocation?" Dr. Hamilton asked dryly while cutting at the threads of his stitching. "Probably not Dr. Hamilton, unless you consider welding." I teased wryly with a grin which he didn't return. I sighed while I watched his weary countenance. Dr. Hamilton had been my personal physician since I was a little girl and I trusted him implicitly. He was one of the few select which I had taken into my confidence. Since I had let Dr. Hamilton in on my little secret, he now accompanied me on all my missions when I had need of his expertise in tricky situations when I couldn't go to a hospital.

"London, you know I worry about you a great deal. All these injuries, the risks you expose yourself to on a regular basis. Not to mention the sleep deprivation you inflict on yourself. If your father knew about this –" "But he doesn't Dr. Hamilton, and that's the point. His knowledge about any of this would put his life in danger and I can't have that. I can handle whatever's thrown at me." I intervened seriously. "London, I know that my part in this entire menagerie is to do my job and ask few questions. I only want you to look after yourself while you serve your country." Dr. Hamilton concluded in a softer tone. "I will, thanks for caring." I replied kindly while we smiled at one another…

I stared at the bandage around my forearm in wonder. I had to wear a long coat over my arm when I entered the Tipton earlier to avoid awkward questions. One of the many perks of my job. Not that I was complaining exactly. I minded the lies and double-standard, but I knew my reasons for doing this were good. I collapsed onto my king-sized bed, stroking Ivana's sleek fur while I stared absent-mindedly at the ceiling. It was now 3pm. Just 17 more hours till I had to be at headquarters for debriefing. At least they gave me time to sleep. Ah, sleep, my body craved it immensely. I never slept well on missions, probably because of the intense adrenaline rush before and after the job was done. But it was always easier to fall asleep in Boston, at home in my own bed. And that's when I dozed off, my thoughts ending on two lies that I have to tell myself every day in order to stay alive: 1) I am not smart and; 2) I am not a secret agent.

"In earlier news, notorious mob boss Alexei Novak, who is awaiting trial for 200 counts of drug-trafficking and money-laundering may very well be convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. In a statement released by Ching-Wen Foo, Chef-Superintendent of the Beijing Police, Chinese operatives in conjunction with American intelligence have managed to uncover cocaine to the value of $10 million stashed in warehouses across China owned by Novak. In addition, several persons in police custody once affiliated with the notorious drug syndicate aptly named OPIUM have signed sworn declarations alleging Novak's apparent guilt and direct links to the crime syndicate as its head. And these same persons are prepared to testify against Novak in front of the Supreme Court to avoid harsher sentences. Based on these findings, the Supreme Court will reconvene later this week to make its final decision on Novak's final fate and the final fate of a new generation which Novak has affected with his criminal affiliations. This is Francesca Ramirez for the 6 o'clock news on Sky."

The person controlling the remote control for the luxurious LCD TV screen switched it off rapidly, watching the TV image deteriorate in a neat line with very little satisfaction. Two men sat alone in a plush office on the 30th floor of a corporate multi-billion dollar company in a Boston sky-scraper a short distance from the Tipton. The two men were middle-aged, well-dressed businessmen. And both were extremely infuriated by the week's developments. "Trust Novak to advertise everything he was doing right up to his arrest and after. It's like leaving a bread crumb trail for the vultures." The man identified as Curtis grumbled exasperatedly. "Novak couldn't have known that American intelligence was so hot on his trails. We all thought the operation would go undetected. Someone's been playing a triple agent in the ranks." The man identified as Maxwell responded pensively. "Then perhaps it's high time we stop putting our faith in flighty and unscrupulous individuals. If the Supreme Court finds Novak guilty, even if they don't find him guilty, he cannot remain as the head of this organisation." Curtis went on forcefully. "Then we will find someone else to steer OPIUM forward, someone who won't tolerate the antics of Agent L." Maxwell remarked cryptically. "Let's schedule a meeting right before the press conference on Friday. Let the class elections begin." Curtis returned with a sly grin. Maxwell picked up the receiver of a phone nearby and began dialling. "Bridgette, send a message to Laurent immediately. There will be a meeting this Wednesday evening with the entire board of directors. Send out a memo." Maxwell instructed curtly and then hung up the phone. "And now we wait." Maxwell added more to himself while he stared out the window at the city below. "So we wait. Agent L will rue the day she dared to thwart us." Curtis concluded ominously while staring out the window in the direction of the Tipton.

A/N: Shoo, that was a long introduction! I hope you all like London with a brain. If you don't, then this story is probably not for you : ) I hope I haven't offended any Martial Arts students or instructors with my poor knowledge of technique or manoeuvres. I was playing it by ear and using Wikipedia as a starting point for my referencing. I will introduce more of the characters you love and adore from Suite Life, such as the Martin Twins after this initial chapter. So sit back and enjoy, gotta go.