Burn Notice (TV Series)

Dead or Alive (2010)

Jeffrey Donovan: Michael Westen

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Quotes 

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  You can work in the field your entire life, but telling people their loved ones are dead never gets easier. There's no training that makes it better, no technique that makes it smoother. You just get through it however you can. In the end, all you can really do with that kind of pain is decide what you're going to do to make it right.

• Michael Westen : You want me to have the choice, but you want me to *choose* to turn it down? Either way, don't we end up at the same place?

  Fiona Glenanne : Michael, I hope you're never in a situation where your survival depends on your ability to understand relationships. You'll be dead in seconds.

• Marv : I checked out as much of your story as I could without raising any flags. Most of it's legit. Well, given the questionable nature of your activities, I don't know whether *that's* the right word. The thing is...

  Michael Westen : What's the thing, Marv? I've told you everything I know about the people who burned me.

  Marv : The thing is, there are other issues, other people. Sam Axe, for instance.

  Michael Westen : He's a friend. Former Navy SEAL.

  Marv : A washout. Don't even get me started on Fiona Glenanne. What do they know? Huh? Who have they told? How far does this thing go?

  Michael Westen : It goes no further than us. Sam, Fi, Jesse, and me. That's it.

  Marv : Are you willing to bet your life on that? Because if you're wrong...

  Michael Westen : Nobody else knows. Marv, if you're going to help me and Jesse, help us. If you're not going to, then don't. But I can't sit on this list forever.

  Marv : All right, I'll let you know the time and the place. You and Jesse bring the list. I'll do what I can.

  Michael Westen : [sighs]  Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more "questionable activities" to attend to.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Anyone who has battled big-city traffic knows a traffic jam is just about the easiest thing in the world to create. Any number of fluids poured on a hot engine can create enough smoke to turn a major freeway into a parking lot. If you're looking to grab someone stuck in that traffic jam, you need a choke point - a place where road conditions restrict visibility.

  Pete Jackman : [yelling at traffic]  Come on! Move it up there!

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  Your target is likely to be distracted, unarmed, and sitting in your potential getaway vehicle.

  Pete Jackman : You- you're...

  Michael Westen : Not dead. We're goin' for a little ride. Pull a U-ey and gun it, or I will.

• [last lines] 

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  It's standard protocol for a Homeland Security officer escorting classified materials to be armed. Less standard for their arms to have silencers.

  Michael Westen : Marv, who are these guys?

  Marv : Jesse, I'm sorry. They threatened me. The - they said theat they would kill my wife.

  Jesse Porter : Marv, what the hell are you talking about? What's going on?

  [security agent pulls gun, shoots Marv through the back twice] 

  Security agent : Back off! Hands in the air!

  Michael Westen : [arms apart, shielding Michael]  No! No!

  [holding their guns on Michael and Jesse, the security guys get back into their vehicle] 

  Jesse Porter : I'm not letting them get away.

  Michael Westen : [as Jesse runs for their car]  Jesse, wait!

  [a man shoots two silenced rounds into Jesse's car's tire, flattening it. At it passes, Michael sees into the back of the other vehicle and recognizes: "Tyler Brennen" / "Part-time spy" - "Full-time sociopath"] 

  Michael Westen : Brennen.

  Jesse Porter : Wait you know this guy? Who the hell is he?

  Michael Westen : Our worst nightmare.

  ["To be continued"] 

• [first lines] 

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  Covert intelligence, at the most basic level, is a type of weapon. Like any weapon, it can be used for good or evil, to make war or peace, to serve justice or power. It comes down to one thing: what you decide to do with it.

• Marv : Since I've known you, you've lured me to Miami, you blackmailed me, forced me to lie to the U.S. government. Not exactly a foundation of trust.

  ["Marv" / "Jesse's old handler"] 

  Michael Westen : Maybe it's time to build one.

  Marv : Oh, please. I've seen your file. When there's that much smoke, there's usually a flame or two.

  Michael Westen : That file is a lie. I didn't do those things.

  Marv : Ah, maybe you did, maybe you didn't. But we both know that you're never gonna get back in unless you've got a heaping pile of new evidence. And here you are with a shovel.

  Michael Westen : You think I'm lying about this list?

  Marv : I think I can't take the chance. Look, I'll vouch for you on this thing, OK? I'll hand you off to my superiors. You're gonna have to go on the record about the people who burned you, and I'm talking about every contact you've made with them.

  Michael Westen : That would be very dangerous, Marv - for me, for you. If the people who burned me found out we're talking...

  Marv : This isn't negotiable. I'm not gonna be your errand boy unless I can strap you to a polygraph, get all my questions answered.

  Michael Westen : You want to put *me* on the box?

  Marv : Twenty-seven years in counterintelligence, you think that I can't spot somebody's who's trying to beat a polygraph? Look, I'll verify and source all you got - the whole nine yards. But if you're not willing to do this...

  Michael Westen : You want to do this now? Or you want to finish your mojito?

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  In the world of deception spies inhabit, the truth takes on a peculiar power. The truth - the verifiable, unvarnished truth - becomes the ultimate barganing chip

  Marv : [to Michael strapped to a polygraph]  State your name and occupation for the record.

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  The irony is that the only time you can afford to play that chip is when everything is on the line. And you only get to play it once.

  Michael Westen : My name is Michael Westen. I used to be a spy.

• [Sam sets a big file on Michael's table] 

  Michael Westen : Sam, this isn't a case, is it?

  Sam Axe : Ah, no, this is just some stuff Jesse had and my logs from when I used to watch you for the feds. Figured it might jog your memory about your first contact with your burn pals.

  Michael Westen : You had a daily yogurt tally?

  Sam Axe : Ah, what can I say? I'm thorough.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Spies use different interrogation techniques than police. Cops tend to do their questioning in bright, fluorescent-lit rooms and they're legally required to let the bad guys know who they are before they start asking questions. Spies, on the other hand, often start interrogations in darkness in completely unfamiliar locations. And the less the bad guy knows, the better.

• Michael Westen : Sam, you really wanna go down that road?

  Sam Axe : Damn right, I do.

  Michael Westen : We'd be pitting ourselves against a police officer, and it won't bring your friend back.

  Sam Axe : No. But it will clear Kevin's name. And that's all his family has, Mike, is his name.

  Michael Westen : Go tell Kevin's wife. Let's see what we can do.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Napalm, or gelled fuel, is best known for its use in bombs, but it's essentially just gasoline that has been chemically altered to make it sticky and easier to control. It can be used in explosive devices, but it can also be used in any situation where you need to control the shape and size of a flame, which makes it very useful in forest-fire work, building demolition, and any situation where you want to scare the hell out of someone.

• Michael Westen : How do you want it? Head or chest?

  Pete Jackman : No, no, no, no.

  Michael Westen : Ooh, nice upholstery. How about the dumpster, huh?

  Pete Jackman : No, please, wait-wait!

  Michael Westen : Is the dumpster okay?

  Pete Jackman : Don't kill me, please!

  Michael Westen : Final resting place? Is that okay?

  Pete Jackman : I can explain!

  Michael Westen : Explain? Explain?

  Pete Jackman : I can explain.

  Michael Westen : [shoves Pete against dumpster]  I'm not sure there's much to explain! We had a deal and instead of honoring that deal, you tried to blow me up on a boat! I think the circle of trust is broken, Pete.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  A career in law enforcement tends to make for a cynical outlook on life. Where spies spend their careers telling lies, cops spend their careers listening to them.

  Lieutenant Briggs : So let me get this straight: you want me to reopen the case of a dirty officer so you can clear his name by implicating his partner...

  Sam Axe : Look, if you just follow me to Kevin's house right now, II can prove it. You got to believe me.

  Lieutenant Briggs : No I don't. You have no idea what you're accusing this department of.

  Sam Axe : You listen, Briggs...

  Lieutenant Briggs : It's "Lieutenenant Briggs." You're addressing a commanding officer.

  Sam Axe : Fine. You want ot earn your stripes? Help me take Jackman down.

  Lieutenant Briggs : This is insane. Get the hell out of my way.

  [Sam shoves Briggs against his car and grabs his gun from his holster] 

  Lieutenant Briggs : This is assault!

  Sam Axe : [holding Lt. Briggs's gun on him]  It's about to be a lot worse than that. Now you listen to me, Lieutenant. For the sake of a man who was my friend and your brother on the force, do not make me ask you again.

  Lieutenant Briggs : I'll have you crucified for this.

  Sam Axe : When this is done, you feel the need to crucify me, I will climb up on that cross myself.

• Michael Westen : I owe you a drink, Sam.

  Sam Axe : Yeah, I could sure use it, brother.