Burn Notice (TV Series)

Fast Friends (2010)

Jeffrey Donovan: Michael Westen

Photos 

Quotes 

• Michael Westen : [after intense Mexican standoff]  Oh and Khan, tell your side-kick his safety's on.

  Mr. Lee : [surprised quickly checks his gun] 

• [Michael hands over two heavy bags of armaments, but henchman Mr. Lee drops them] 

  Michael Westen : [wryly]  Lift with the knees.

• [first lines] 

  Sam Axe : [close on Sam]  Mike, I'm tellin' ya, don't do it.

  Michael Westen : [across the room]  What, you don't like the belt buckle?

  Sam Axe : I'm not kidding around here. You gotta put a kibosh on this.

  Michael Westen : Sam, we talked about this.

  Sam Axe : [getting up]  Well, maybe we didn't talk about it enough! You're workin' for the same sons of bitches that burned you, Mike, and you're gonna meet with this... Vince guy?

  Michael Westen : Vaughn?

  Sam Axe : Vaughn. Good name for a vampire. I'm just sayin', I don't think you thought this through.

  Michael Westen : I don't love working with him, but what we're doing is important.

  Sam Axe : Why? Because Simon got out? OK, he was a bad guy.

  [Michael shoots Sam a look like, "Remember the hotel bomb you and Fi had to defuse?"] 

  Sam Axe : OK, a very bad guy! But he's stuck in a dungeon somewhere! Problem solved.

  Michael Westen : If it was just about Simon, maybe, but the guy who helped him escape has bigger plans.

  Sam Axe : I know you feel this is on your shoulders, but it's not your job to solve everything. Just walk away.

  Michael Westen : [softly]  I got an innocent man burned for looking into this. If I stop now, I'll have ruined Jesse Porter's life for nothing.

  Sam Axe : [reluctantly]  OK, fine.

  [Michael moves to leave] 

  Sam Axe : But I still think Vaughn is a vampire name!

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Housed in office utility rooms, a PBX is the phone switchboard for a whole company. Using a router with upgraded firmware, pros can hack them to make untraceable calls from the comfort of their own home. It's how spies get free long distance. Identifying the right line to bug on a PBX is as simple as matching call times from your records to those on the computer. Of course, if you have to comb through thousands of phone calls, it's easier said than done.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Everyone knows spies are good with languages and firearms, but they need to be great storytellers, too. If you can't keep a break-in secret, you have to get creative to cover your tracks. If a company's just laid off half its staff, no one asks many questions when it looks like an ex-employee broke in to make a mess.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Wrap a metal chain around two powerlines and you complete a very powerful electrical circuit. It can get you arrested, but it's a good way to make a ruckus in a pinch.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Like engineers and wedding planners, spies obsess over details. If you always keep a lock with a logo facing *in* and suddenly you find it turned *out*, you've got a problem. When you know someone's about to get the drop on you, you can play it safe and walk away, or pretend nothing's wrong, go about your business, and get the drop on them.

• Michael Westen : Hey there, uh, can I talk to your boss?

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  Quick and excruciating, few holds are more effective than a simple thumb lock. A little pressure on the right spot and your target will be learning how to hold a fork with a new hand.

  Michael Westen : He might want to ice that.

• Sam Axe : Did I mention I'm not a fan of running a mission with a kid we barely know?

  Michael Westen : Ten times.

  Sam Axe : I'm just sayin', these counterintel types, Mike, they're lone wolves, they're not team players.

  Michael Westen : This is Jesse's best shot at getting Khan off his back. He'll behave. Here we go, Sam.

  Sam Axe : OK, that's where Jesse's supposed to set up shop.

  [Jesse shakes his head, thinking, "To hell with this," and goes over the wall and fence] 

  Michael Westen : And yet he's still moving.

  Sam Axe : What the hell's he doin'?

  Michael Westen : [disappointed and annoyed]  His version of the plan. Watch my back.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Like pro athletes, spies know that no amount of practice or planning simulates the adrenaline rush of real action. That's why you always have to be ready to adjust tactics on the fly. If a teammate suddenly decides to shoot at you to convince the bad guys you're enemies...

  [Michael ducks aside as Jesse shoots once, the bullet going through his windshield, the driver's seatback, and out the back window] 

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  You go with the flow...

  [Michael gets out and...] 

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  And shoot back.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Whether it's in the field or a showroom, the most powerful move at the end of a sales pitch is just to walk away. It's an effective technique to close a deal, but it can also get you shot in the back.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  When using a street vehicle to haul serious weapons, some modifications are in order. Heavy-duty coil springs are used by dune buggies to race across the desert. Add them to your suspension system and you can hit a few potholes without snapping an axle. A strut brace over your engine stabilizes your center of gravity. And nothing helps with a fast getaway like a nitrous oxide tank connected to your fuel injector.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Spies know the most distrusting people are often the easiest to manipulate. If you want someone to drive around with a trunk full of illegal weapons, just insist on doing it yourself.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  If you find yourself in a high speed pursuit while driving in a caravan, you don't always have to be faster than the cops; you just have to be faster than the guy next to you. Of course, it helps if you *are* faster than the cops.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Few things are more dangerous than passing a message in plain view of hostiles. To do it, you need a reason to get close to someone, you don't get to be choosy about how.

• [last lines] 

  [Michael has just offered to help Jesse with his burned status] 

  Jesse Porter : But before I let you in on this, I need to tell you somethin': I'm seein' this through. One day, the old bosses are gonna welcome me back and they're gonna give me a commendation. I'll smile for the camera... but then I'm gonna find the person that ruined my life... and I'm gonna kill 'im. Are you good with that?

  Michael Westen : Yeah, I'm good with that.

• Fiona Glenanne : Except Jesse didn't wake up next to someone who had his back like you did.

  Michael Westen : As I recall, I woke up because somebody kicked me.