Hot Lips

Having set the wheels in motion, it was vital that we continue our investigation to determine if Jessica was a security risk.

The scrupulous examination of her family had been conducted to our satisfaction and the feedback had been positive. Special attention had been paid to their financial affairs but they proved to be in order.

Her grandfather Salvatore 'Turiddu' Mazziarellio had left Sicily to avoid the tentacles of the Octopus (I.e. the Mafia) and came to England on a visa to work as a commis chef.
After four years of apprenticeship he set up a pizzeria and with hard work, savings and shrewd investments he amassed a fortune that set up his heirs for life.

All taxes, income, capital gains and death duty, had been duly paid and HM Customs and Excise had no outstanding claims on the estate.

The reports from the university campus on the other hand were of some concern. Because of her beauty and sexiness, boys were attracted to Jessica like bees to a honeypot, an attraction which, according to wagging tongues, she enthusiastically reciprocated.

Whether started by jealous female students or males who had a fling with her, she was nicknamed 'Hot Lips', a moniker she shrugged off defiantly but secretly relishing the notorious reputation of being a femme fatale

Her broad-mindedness was her Achilles heel. She could unknowingly become sexually involved with a handsome foreign agent and, through pillow talk, reveal confidential information that would threaten national security.
A similar situation happened in 1963 between Christine Keeler and the Russian Yevgeny Ivanov in what became known as the Profumo affair.

It was a disturbing retrograde step towards Jessica's acceptance to the Service.
One redeeming feature was that although her college had a tradition of propagating right-wing political activism she was inured to its influence and maintained a neutral stance at all times.

◊ ◊ ◊

Losing the facility to eavesdrop had been an inopportune occurrence that had caused a temporary halt to our surveillance but our boffin came up with an alternative solution: a mobile tracker phone capable not only of picking up the location but also to intercept and record conversation.

I informed Jessica that I would send a technical expert to sweep the house for undetected bugs and also a new cell phone to use for personal calls instead of the landline that may have been wired by the Russians. A necessary lie to allay her suspicions.

I began to wonder if sending Willy ('the pistol') Browning to remove the electronic bugs from the house was a good idea. He was so called not only in reference to his surname but also for his rapid-fire delivery in chatting up girls.

He is a charmer and a smooth talker so, to prevent any temptation, I – selfishly – advised Jessica to be out when he called as a precaution against a viral infection.

(If there was any physical touching to do, I wanted the prerogative.)

A fantasy that I hoped would come true.

© Luigi Pagano 2020

See also

1) https://www.abctales.com/story/luigipagano/incident-porttofino
2) https://www.abctales.com/story/luigipagano/top-secret
3) https://www.abctales.com/story/luigipagano/being-positive
4) https://www.abctales.com/story/luigipagano/chalet-bottom-garden
5) https://www.abctales.com/story/luigipagano/my-name-gideon
6) https://www.abctales.com/story/luigipagano/long-wait
7) https://www.abctales.com/story/luigipagano/truth-emerges