Burn Notice (TV Series)

Square One (2011)

Jeffrey Donovan: Michael Westen

Photos 

Quotes 

• [first lines] 

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  As a spy, you're in the information business: stealing it, protecting it, and if you have to, destroying it. Some secrets are so dangerous that you can't allow them to continue to exist. A murder weapon that implicates you in a crime you didn't commit, for example, is a secret best kept with four thousand degrees of burning thermite.

• Jesse Porter : Hey. Got here as soon as I could.

  Michael Westen : How'd it go?

  Jesse Porter : Okay. Put together some credit card receipts putting everyone in Key West yesterday on a little vacation.

  Fiona Glenanne : Key West?

  Jesse Porter : Hey, you want an alibi on such short notice, you don't get to be picky.

• Michael Westen : Yoiu end up finding Brandon. What next?

  Ethan : After what he did to Heather...

  Fiona Glenanne : I think Ethan's already picked flowers for Brandon's funeral.

  Michael Westen : You're not thinking this through. She's your sister. It won't take long for the cops to figure out you're the number-one suspect.

  Ethan : So, that's it? You're saying you're not gonna help?

  Michael Westen : No, if you want *my* help, Brandon goes to jail, not to the morgue.

  Ethan : Fine. But I'm coming along every step of the way. When we catch him, I want to be there. At the very least, I owe this guy a broken nose.

  ["Ethan" / "The client"] 

  Michael Westen : I can live with that.

• [recap] 

  ["Previously on Burn Notice"] 

  Fiona Glenanne : Mysterious trips around the world with Max. I mean, he's what, your keeper or whatever?

  Michael Westen : He's my Agency contact.

  ["Max" / "Michael's Agency contact"] 

  Max : You've been putting up some W's recently. The right people are starting to take notice.

  Max : Michael Westen, soon-to-be reinstated agent of the CIA. How does that sound?

  Michael Westen : That sounds great, Max. Thanks for everything.

  [Michael turns a corner to find Max, face down on his office floor] 

  Michael Westen : Max!

  [Max exhales sharply as Michael turns him over] 

  Michael Westen : You stay with me. Stay with me, Max. Max.

  [Max dies. Michael searches for the killer. Two gunshot blanks are fired. Michael fires two bullets back, but misses. The killer escapes via an elevator shaft] 

  Michael Westen : Fi, someone shot Max, the police are on the way, and I think I'm holding the murder weapon. I covered my tracks...

  [Michael pulls the key-card log drive, rappels down the building] 

  Michael Westen : ...so I covered the tracks of the killer.

  Fiona Glenanne : Michael, we have to do something about that gun.

  Sam Axe : And we need to get an alibi for you, like, right now.

  Michael Westen : [puts on sunglasses]  Let's go to work.

• Agent Pearce : *You* must be Michael Westen. I'm Agent Pearce. Thanks for coming.

  Michael Westen : No place I'd rather be. Max was...

  Agent Pearce : A friend? I know. I'd, uh, offer my condolences, but I'm much better at catching bad guys than shedding tears. We'll find whoever did this.

  ["Pearce" / "CIA bloodhound"] 

  Michael Westen : What can I do?

  Agent Pearce : Let me walk you through the scene. You be the killer. We found two bullets out in the hallway, so if you're the killer, you fire on Max out there, miss, then chase him in here. Blood spatter says Max was... where I'm standing. You bust in, put two shots in his back. He bleeds out here. Now Max is dead. What do you do?

  Michael Westen : Run to the exit.

  Agent Pearce : I think you head for the key log.

  [key log room] 

  Agent Pearce : So, you rip the hard drive out of the wall. Now there's no record of your entry. But how do you get out clean?

  Michael Westen : Elevator.

  Agent Pearce : No trace. Try again.

  Michael Westen : [on roof]  I hope you're not asking me to jump.

  Agent Pearce : Oh, you're the killer in this little exercise. Is that how you escaped?

  Michael Westen : Not unless I could fly.

  Agent Pearce : [chuckles]  We found rope fibers, and I got friction marks right here. The killer rappelled down. Probably had help. How are your climbing skills?

  Michael Westen : Not bad. Why? Am I a suspect?

  Agent Pearce : To be honest, when I heard a burned spy was mixed up with Max, my first instinct was to fit you for a head bag.

  Michael Westen : I appreciate your restraint.

  Agent Pearce : Well, you *did* show up today. And as your new Agency contact, a head bag wouldn't have started us off on the right foot.

  Michael Westen : You're Max's replacement?

  Agent Pearce : We worked on some operations together. I have some investigations experience. I asked for this assignment.

  Michael Westen : Max was one of the good guys. I want to find out who did this just as much as you do.

  Agent Pearce : I'd love to have you on the team. You should know this about me, though: I've got a pit bull at home, and I learned how to run an investigation from her. She sinks her teeth in,

  [teeth clenched] 

  Agent Pearce : she doesn't let go.

  [laughs] 

  Agent Pearce : Ever.

  Michael Westen : [smiles]  She sounds like a nice dog.

  Agent Pearce : She can be. But she is a very, very determined bitch when she wants something. I need to know I can count on you.

  Michael Westen : I'm your man.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Whether you're operating out of a war room in Langley or comandeering a hotel in South Beach, all CIA investigations work the same. Because analysts are tied directly into federal and local databases, they have information at their fingertips. What they don't have is a magic button that tells them what is a real lead and what is a dead end. That takes boots on the ground, eyeballs on the screens, and lots and lots of coffee.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Whether you're kidnapping a ruthless dictator in a foreign country or snatching an abusive boyfriend off the street, it's best not to leave a mess behind. Using your target's own car as a getaway vehicle keeps neighbors from asking about the missing owner. Plus, you don't have to pay for gas.

• Michael Westen : Hey. Interrogation 101: you lose your head, they stop talking.

  Ethan : You can skip the Spy School. This bastard is the reason Heather's breathing through a tube right now.

  Michael Westen : Breaking his jaw is not gonna get him to talk. Go on. Cool off. Go outside.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  People tend to think spies are motivated by love of the game, desire for adventure, or patriotic fervor. The truth, though, is that you don't choose a life as a covert operative unless something deeper is going on beneath the surface, something more personal, something harder to explain, and something a lot more painful.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Jealousy is a delicate emotion: show someone what they can't have, and they'll just resent you; give it to them too easy, and they won't appreciate it. The key is allowing them just enough of a taste so all they want is more.

• Brad Ramsey : This seems too good to be true. Then your guys start asking details about my business. I mean, how do I know you're not cops?

  Sam Axe , Fiona Glenanne , Jesse Porter : [amused laughter] 

  Michael Westen : Fair question. Deserves an honest answer.

  [Michael hands his sunglasses to Fi, his drink to Sam and takes the bottle, and takes a pocket handkerchief from Ethan] 

  Michael Westen : Cops write tickets.

  [Michael pours the alcohol on the handkerchief] 

  Michael Westen : Cops eat doughnuts.

  [Michael stuffs one end of the handkerchief into the neck of the bottle] 

  Michael Westen : They don't do this.

  [Michael lights the end of the handkerchief and tosses the Molotov cocktail into a car. The glass smashes and the car's interior is engulfed in flames] 

  Brad Ramsey : Son of a bitch.

  [Brad Ramsey throws a punch at Michael, but Michael catches his arm, pulls it behind Ramsey's back, and hooks the other one as well, restraining him] 

  Michael Westen : Careful. I learned jujitsu on the sands of Okinawa.

  Brad Ramsey : That's - that's my car!

  Michael Westen : No, that's not your car.

  Michael Westen : [turns him around to a sporty sliver Porsche Carrera 4 convertible]  *That's* your car. I call it the thinking car. Take your time. Have a ball.

  [Michael shoves Ramsey towards the car. He walks over, opens the door, starts the engine and drives off] 

  Fiona Glenanne : "Thinking car"?

  Michael Westen : Felt right at the time.

  Jesse Porter : It fel- I don't give a damn how it felt; I better see my car again, Mike.

  Sam Axe : [claps Jesse's shoulder]  I know the feeling, buddy.

• Sam Axe : Mike... what happened to the bench, the one with the work toys?

  Michael Westen : Fiona thought that... she didn't want to mix work with... It's in the back now.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  When bugging a watch, it's better to use a good-looking knock-off than its authentic counterpart, and not just because it's easier on your wallet. The insides of a fake timepiece are usually smaller and simpler, leaving more room for hiding a listening device. As long as your target isn't a watch connoisseur, zinc alloy and cubic zirconia are a great way of saying, "Let's be friends."

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  In certain neighborhoods, posing as a dirty cop is a great way to confiscate information. It gives you the authority that comes with a badge and invokes the fear that comes with being a criminal.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Protecting a target from a bullet sometimes means taking a few shots at them yourself. A near miss puts the target on their guard and keeps the real gunman at bay.

  Jesse Porter : Fi. Fi, not my car!

  Fiona Glenanne : Relax. I'll just put one through the windshield.

  Jesse Porter : Fi...

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  But you can never predict how someone's going to react to a bullet whizzing by their head.

  [Fi fires, Ramsey ducks] 

  Brad Ramsey : [exclaiming]  What the hell?

  [Ramsey backs up, turns, then drives out the lot over the curb. Jesse flinches as the rear bumper detaches and is dragged behind as Ramsey races off] 

  Jesse Porter : Just the windshield, Fi?

• Madeline Westen : [watching Ethan pace in front of the Charger]  Familiar scene out there. You remember when you came home on leave that first time? You spent hours out there the day that you found out that Patrick Garney had stolen your girlfriend. And then you stole his motorcycle and drove it into the Miami river.

  Michael Westen : Mom, I think this is a little different.

  Madeline Westen : If you say so. How many years of training did it take before you learned to curb *your* anger, Michael? The man you are today is not the boy who left home. You were a scared kid when you left. You were angry at the world. You were angry at everything.

  Michael Westen : I've seen loved ones get hurt. I've never plotted to kill anyone in cold blood.

  Madeline Westen : No. Your mother raised you better than that. Someone has to teach *him*, Michael.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  For a spy, revenge is a dish that is rarely served at all. The mission objective always takes priority over personal satisfaction... But if conning a scam artist into burning everything he's worked his whole life to build serves that mission, it's hard not to take a little joy in watching it all go up in flames.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  A soldier on the battlefield would never dream of intentionally putting a dangerous weapon in the hands of an enemy. But as a spy, sometimes the only way to solve a problem is trusting a bad guy to do what comes naturally. And if you help with the plan, you know exactly how to make them fail.

• [last lines] 

  Agent Pearce : [sighs]  Langley's all over my ass, Michael, and my leads are evaporating left and right. Max's financial records, nothing. Traffic cams, nothing. You better have brought me something to chew on.

  Agent Pearce : [accepts coffee]  Thank you.

  Michael Westen : Could be something. Found a burner cell in the records you gave me. Phone was purchased at a bodega on 6th.

  Agent Pearce : They have a security camera?

  [Michael gives a look while pouring coffee] 

  Agent Pearce : You already got the footage. I don't want to know how. I just want answers.

  Michael Westen : [sits]  Already sifting through the tapes. I'll have something to report soon.

  Agent Pearce : You'll have a report for me tomorrow.

  Michael Westen : Isn't that what I just said?

  [Michael gets up and starts to leave] 

  Agent Pearce : Uh, Michael?

  [he stops] 

  Agent Pearce : I'm counting on you here. So is Max's family.

  [Michael leaves. Later, at Madeline's home...] 

  Michael Westen : [comes in]  Mom? I got your call. Did you find something on the tape?

  Madeline Westen : Michael, you need to tell me what this is all about right now.

  Michael Westen : I already told you. My friend...

  Madeline Westen : You told me that the security tape would lead to the man who killed your friend. And I know you've spared me some details. I need them now.

  Michael Westen : The person who killed my friend went to a lot of trouble to make it look like *I* did it. I'm hoping the real killer is on that tape.

  Madeline Westen : You need to see this.

  [They go to the monitor and play the tape already cued at 05:34:56. On the tape is someone with the size, build, dress, and mannerisms like Michael buying a phone, but no good image of his face] 

  Madeline Westen : He has your posture, your- your walk. He's got you down, Michael. Good luck convincing anybody else it isn't you.

• Michael Westen : What the hell were you thinking?

  Ethan : You want to know what I was thinking? I was thinking that as long as I corrected for a slight breeze and pulled the trigger on my exhale, the guy who put my sister in the hospital wasn't going to exist anymore.