Burn Notice (TV Series)

Guilty as Charged (2010)

Jeffrey Donovan: Michael Westen

Photos 

Quotes 

• Michael Westen : [as shady operative]  You don't need a lawyer, you need a miracle worker, and that's what I am.

• [recap] 

  Michael Westen : Previously on Burn Notice.

  Michael Westen : Assassinations... little wars around the world.

  Vaughn Anderson : Whoever's behind all this was being investigated by a counterintelligence agent named Jesse Porter. I need you to get his files.

  Sam Axe : Mike, the guy whose files you stole? He's being blacklisted. You just burned a spy.

  Michael Westen : [to Jesse]  Maybe I could help.

  Jesse Porter : Why would you do that?

  Michael Westen : Burned spies need to stick together.

  Fiona Glenanne : [to Michael]  So your search for the root of all evil led you to rob a bank and you're rewarded with the Word of God.

  Michael Westen : [to Jesse]  It's a book code, a cipher.

  Fiona Glenanne : [to Sam]  Jesse's been working on this investigation for years.

  Sam Axe : [indicating a file they've forged]  This little baby connects all the dots.

  Michael Westen : Everything leads back to John Barrett.

  Jesse Porter : Why didn't I put this together?

  Michael Westen : It's great cover running a telecom conglomerate. It gets Barrett into every corner of the globe.

  Michael Westen : [on phone]  If you want the Bible, Mr. Barrett, you have to get on a plane.

  John Barrett : I just got off one, son. I'll be in touch.

  Jesse Porter : [with a gun pointed at Fiona]  Michael burned me, and you all helped cover it up. Goodbye, Fiona.

  [Fiona closes her eyes, ready to be shot, but Jesse leaves instead] 

  Fiona Glenanne : [on phone to Michael]  Jesse found out... about everything. I think he's gonna make us pay.

• [first lines] 

  Madeline Westen : [lights a cigarette, takes a puff]  Well, I almost made it to Tampa, but you called and I came.

  Fiona Glenanne : Perimeter's clear. No sign of Jesse.

  Madeline Westen : Looks like he left in a hurry.

  Fiona Glenanne : Or he was on his way to Michael's place to... shoot him. I doubt he was too concerned about packing all his undershirts.

  Fiona Glenanne : [to Michael]  So, what now?

  Michael Westen : [looks up]  The situation hasn't changed. We found Barrett. He's in Miami. We grab him and we ask him some questions.

  Fiona Glenanne : Michael, Jesse vowed to put a bullet in you. That should put him at the top of your to-do list.

  Michael Westen : There's not a whole lot I can do about that right now. And if the fact is, if we don't get to Barrett, Jesse's life will be ruined for nothing. Mom...

  Michael Westen : [gets up]  under the circumstances, you might go ahead and take that trip out of town.

  Madeline Westen : Jesse and I were friends. Maybe I'll stay and try and convince him not to shoot you.

  Michael Westen : Let's go, Fi. Sam's waiting.

• John Barrett : Now that we understand each other, let's talk about my Bible.

  Michael Westen : For the moment, it's *my* Bible. You want it? You'll meet me at Dinner Key, North end, noon Tuesday.

  John Barrett : What exactly do you expect in return?

  Michael Westen : We both know the Bible is a basis for a book code. First, I want to know what it decodes, and then we can talk about our future together.

  John Barrett : "Our future *together*"?

  Michael Westen : Yeah. I was thinking you might want to hire me on. You could *really* use some new staff.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  One simple but effective trick for identifying a tail is known in the spy trade as "running errands". You drive to different locations and stop, going about ordinary business scenarios with open parking lots, while your team follows, keeping track of the cars at each stop. It doesn't matter how good your tail is; at a certain point, they're gonna pop up more than once.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  You can learn a lot from patterns of movement. Much like a hunter follows animal footprints to find where the animal sleeps, feeds, and mates, a spy can examine vehicle trails to find out where a target lives, does business, and hides the things he doesn't want found,

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Defending a position is about allocating resources: figuring out the most likely source of an attack and putting the most firepower there. Which means that less likely avenues of attack won't be as well guarded. It worked for Hannibal coming over the Alps to Italy and for Lawrence of Arabia coming over the Nefud Desert to Aqaba. It's a technique that depends on surprise, which means the only way it can go wrong... is if the bad guys somehow know you're coming.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Contracting requirements mean specs for most government vehicles are easily available. If you want to build a prison transport van, for example, you can get most of what you need from public websites. Add the paint scheme and logos of your local municipal government, and you're in business.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Fire engines and ambulances use traffic control devices to make traffic flow their way. They're fairly simple, strobing at a particular frequency that can be picked up by the traffic light. It's very illegal to use if you're a private citizen, but remarkably useful if you need to turn a red light green or, with a little rewiring, turn a green light red.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Spies and magicians use many of the same techniques. They both know people trust their eyes more than they should. If they think they know what they're looking at, they don't look too closely. A group can help sell the illusion. A few flashily dressed assistants can draw the audience's eye where you want it to go. And, of course, a well-timed cloud of fire and smoke doesn't hurt.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Whether it's with imprisoned spies, captured soldiers, or kidnapping victims, a hostage exchange is always a touchy time. Tempers run hot, and people are nervous about being tricked or ripped off. If you happen to be planning on tricking someone, you have all the more reason to be careful.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Any plan to grab a person has to strike a balance between resources and and secrecy. The more resources you bring - people, weapons, vehicles - the easier the extraction will be. At the same time, the more resources you *have* in the field, the higher your risk of exposure. You can only bring as much manpower and equipment as you can conceal... If the circumstances don't allow for much cover, an extraction can get very risky, and very, *very* lonely.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Shooting through a friendly to hit a target is a tricky thing to pull off. There are only a few places on the human body that can take a gunshot without severing a major artery or destroying a vital organ... Getting shot on the inside of the shoulder won't kill you quickly, but almost any gunshot will kill you if you give it enough time.

• [last lines] 

  John Barrett : [driving, gun on Michael]  Who do you work for?

  Michael Westen : [bleeding]  I'm self-employed.

  [Barrett makes a hard lane shift, causing Michael's shoulder wound to cause him pain] 

  Michael Westen : Oh!

  John Barrett : Oh, it hurts? You get used to it! By the time I'm done with you, you're gonna *wish* that bullet killed you!

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  There's a cold math to blood loss: the more you lose, the weaker you get, and when you're on a clock like that, it pays to act, no matter how desperate your plan might be, because if you wait, you may not have the chance.

  [Michael grabs and jerks the steering wheel hard. The SUV tips, flips, and slides to a stop. An arm slaps out, hand bloody. It's Michael, pulling himself out the passenger window of the wreck. Barrett is still inside, eyes open and still, blood traces from nose and mouth. Dead. Michael sees that the armored case containing the Bible was thrown clear. Unseen, a vehicle approaches, then footsteps. Michael sees booted feet stop by the case, a hand reach down to take it, then leave as Michael's vision blurs and he loses consciousness] 

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  The Native American practice of counting coup involved touching enemies on the battlefield. The object wasn't to do damage but to establish superiority as a warrior. Infiltrating someone's security can serve a similar function. It's a not-so-subtle way of saying, "Hi, I'm not here to hurt you, but I could hurt you badly if I chose to."