I once sat in a cafe in London while a woman had her CV reviewed by a career advisor. She was a lesbian & was in love with her manager in her first job. Her manager promoted her. The career advisor glossed over the nepotism. Then she went to work for MI5 or MI6, I forget which.
I suppose the thing is that, in reality, you don’t expect to meet people who actually work for MI5 or MI6. It can’t be “real”. But, of course, these people really exist—just like fighter pilots and nuclear submarine commanders.