A Hologram for the King

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1

You may find yourself

living in your garden shack

And you may find yourself

not at home in your home

And you may find yourself

looking for your large automobile

And you may find yourself

without a beautiful house

Without a beautiful wife

And you may ask yourself

"Well, how did I get here?"

Same as it ever was,

same as it ever was

Same as it ever was

Same as it ever was

Welcome to the Hyatt Jeddah.

I need you shiny

and bright here, Alan.

Look, we both know

the only reason you got this job

is your connection

to the king's nephew.

You're in charge of a deal

that's pivotal for the company,

which makes it

even more pivotal for you.

But you've got more questions

than answers here.

And that makes me

uncomfortable.

There are unanswered

questions here

because I haven't

been to Saudi yet.

I can't presume to know

the lay of the land

or the state

of the king's mind.

You've been on the bench

for a while, Alan.

This isn't

the Schwinn days.

You're not selling

bicycles to kids anymore.

So I need to know

that you're on point,

that you're going

to close this.

This is sales.

You make estimates.

And you make plans.

But then you get there

and everything changes.

But you make the sale.

I know, I'm sorry.

I got in really late last night

and I forgot

to set the alarm.

Don't worry, we're just getting set up.

Hold on. Do you guys know how

Alan can get a ride out here?

Maybe he should rent a car.

- Can you rent a car, Alan?

- I'll figure it out.

- Front desk.

- This is Alan Clay. Who am I speaking with?

- My name is Edward, sir.

- Edward. Where are you from, Edward?

- Jakarta, Indonesia, sir.

- Jakarta!

Indonesia. Edward,

what would you think

of me renting a car

through the hotel?

Do you have an international

driver's license?

No, I don't.

Then, no, I don't think it

would be possible to do this.

- Well, could I hire a car and a driver, then?

- Where to?

The King's Metropolis

of Economy and Trade.

Morning.

Excuse me.

- Are you Alan Clay?

- Are you the driver?

Driver, guide, hero.

Yousef.

Oh, no, no, no. I'm not a chauffeur.

Get in the front.

There's a water,

if you like.

You sure this thing

will get us there?

I drive this thing

to Riyadh all the time.

It never fails me.

Just one second.

- So, everything's okay?

- Oh, yeah, no.

I just had to disconnect the engine

before I came into the lobby.

- Why?

- To make sure no one wires it.

You mean hot-wires it

to steal it?

No, I mean wiring it

to explode.

No, no.

It's nothing terroristic.

This... just this guy who

thinks I'm screwing his wife.

He might be trying

to kill me.

Here we go.

- So, I'm in a car that might explode?

- No, no, no, no, no.

It's nothing to worry about. I don't think

he knows how to wire a car that way.

He's not a tough guy,

he's just rich.

It would only be possible

if he hired someone.

If you were

this rich guy,

you would hire someone

to wire the car

of the man screwing

your wife, yes?

F*ck. Now you

got me scared.

Anyway, Alan?

Where are you from?

Boston.

Ah, yeah, Boston.

I've been to Alabama.

One year of college.

- You studied in Alabama?

- Yeah.

Why Alabama?

You mean because I was the

only Arab for 1,000 miles?

I had a scholarship for

one year in Birmingham.

- Birmingham?

- Yeah.

Oh, I like Birmingham.

Are you hungry?

You want something to eat?

You mean like stop at a restaurant?

We just got in the car.

- We could go to a place in the old city.

- No, I'm in a hurry, remember?

Oh, you're late?

No, they didn't tell me you were late.

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