Burn Notice (TV Series)

Besieged (2011)

Jeffrey Donovan: Michael Westen

Photos 

Quotes 

• [first lines] 

  [Sam and Fi on surveillance of Michael's impersonator as time passes rapidly] 

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  In any surveillance operation, you have to resist the impulse to grab your target and interrogate him immediately. It may be tempting, particularly when your target was, say, involved in framing you for a murder.

  [subject peeks out from blinds: "Jacob" / "The man who posed as Michael", "Person of interest"] 

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  Of course, just because it's the right way to do things doesn't make it fun.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  As a spy, a lot of missions depend on the world not knowing you're there. When an op involves saving someone's life and keeping your presence unknown... you have to make their escape look credible. So if the person you're saving is an untrained civilian, you need to make it look like they escaped like an untrained civilian.

• Michael Westen : I got your message. This is my "I'm concerned we just kidnapped our only lead back to Max's killer"-face.

  Fiona Glenanne : Well, be thankful it's not your "Our only lead got murdered by a Latino gang"-face.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Spies deal with foreign agencies, dirty corporations, and criminal syndicates all the time, but none of that compares to dealing with families. Asking a man to take apart his business or turn on his country is easy compared with going into a man's home and telling him how to deal with the people he loves. That's why, when confronted with a family situation, it's usually a good idea... to tell the truth.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  There are dozens of ways to disarm a man with a gun, but unfortunately, they all come with a risk that the gun will go off. No matter how good you are, it's not something you want to try with a child present... Unless you want to tell a bereaved mom that you gambled with her kid's life because you felt lucky.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  You can tell a lot about a group from looking at their base. Their fortifications can tell you whether they're focused on offense or defense, and their vehicle type and number can tell you how mobile they are. The most important thing to check: their weapons. If they're carrying M16s on full auto, you're probably not dealing with amateurs camping in the woods.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Sneaking past trained operatives waiting in ambush is usually next to impossible. They can stay alert through the long, boring hours of waiting, ready for action at any second. Amateurs, on the other hand, tend to relax, which can give you the opening you need.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Coordinated covert offenses involving two teams are a lot like ballroom dancing: you have to synchronize your steps, time your moves, and always put your partner first. But unlike the tango or the two-step, it's good form to hog the limelight during covert ops. If all eyes are on you, your partner can work undetected on the sidelines.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Using an untrained asset to make contact with a target is not ideal; meeting in person would be an outright failure, so it helps to do it over the phone. That way you can write the script for the asset, and all they have to do is read... most of the time.

• Michael Westen : Fi, you don't have to do this. I could...

  Fiona Glenanne : Oh, please. You'll stick out like Sam's chin.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Tricking an enemy into letting you inside their stronghold is a strategy as old as the ancient Greeks. But you don't always need to build a large wooden horse. With a modified special-purpose insertion/extraction harness, you can hitch a ride under a vehicle and go right through the front door.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  For as long as armies have built fortifications, others have tried to get past them. Siege warfare can involve tunneling under, scaling over, or smashing through walls. Once you're inside, though, you're dealing with an entrenched enemy defending his home. That's why the most successful sieges often don't involve attacking at all, but tricking your enemy into coming out.

• [last lines] 

  [after tying off the steering and jumping overboard on a boat rigged with a bomb set to go off at a predetermined sea depth, a wet Michael dressed as Jacob approaches Sam on shore] 

  Sam Axe : [referencing the photo of the bomb on his phone]  Well, this puppy wasn't made by an amateur. Look at that trigger.

  Michael Westen : Yeah. Definitely a pro.

  [Michael gives Sam a piece of the C-4 he cut from the bomb] 

  Sam Axe : [takes the piece]  Well, that's the good news. We can run a chemical trace on this C-4, figure out where it's from.

  Michael Westen : That, plus the components, should be enough to find out whoever built this.

  Sam Axe : I'll show this to Fi. She'll know where to start. Don't worry, Mike. We're gonna get this guy.

  Michael Westen : I know, Sam. We just need to do it before the CIA comes after me for Max's murder. Time's running out. And when it does...

  [the boat explodes]