Burn Notice (TV Series)

Mind Games (2011)

Jeffrey Donovan: Michael Westen

Photos 

Quotes 

• Jessica : You guys know I'm broke. I can't afford to pay you anything... unless you accept free yogurt.

  Michael Westen : [takes one look at the selection of frozen yogurt]  Deal.

  ["Jessica" / "The Client"] 

• Nate Weston : By the way, that shirt looks good on you. I mean, of course, it does look better on me, but it looks pretty good on you.

  Michael Westen : I'm burning it after this is over.

  Nate Weston : Harsh.

• [first lines] 

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  As a field operative, some aspects of life aren't part of your daily experience. You may be familiar with the mountains of Afghanistan or know how to break down a .50-caliber machine gun, but that expertise comes at the cost of certain normal activities people take for granted. Keeping up with sports teams, for example, or the details of lawn care... or dealing with babies.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  One of the toughest parts of adjusting to civilian life after a major operation is the paranoia. You can't turn it off. If a shopper behind you is carrying a suspicious package and avoiding eye contact, they could be there to do you harm. And if you're right about the threat, the consequences could be serious... Of course, if you're wrong, the consequences could be serious as well... Post-operation paranoia isn't something you can control. It's with you always: when you're working, when you're relaxing. Even sleep is no escape.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Making an approach to a bad guy isn't always about seeming scary, intimidating, or even smart. A certain kind of target needs to feel superior, so if getting the job done means letting them be the dominant force in the room... you step back and let them do exactly that.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  As a spy, you get used to people having whispered conversations about you. It's a little like being in high school. But when people are whispering about you in Algebra, they're a lot less likely to try and kill you afterward.

• Michael Westen : [in Trey character, points at burning motorcycle]  Hot bike.

• Nate Weston : Hey, you know what I was thinkin'? This would be an awesome project for us. We could finally convert your ride into a spymobile. We'd put a smokescreen button right here for high-speed pursuits.

  Michael Westen : You know what happens to smoke at 60 miles an hour? It dissipates.

• Michael Westen : [in Trey character]  Two of us trying to collect, and she's tapped out? Heh. It's like squeezing juice from a stone.

  Carter : You mean "blood."

  Michael Westen : No, no. Pretty sure it's "juice."

• Michael Westen : [in Trey character]  There's more than one way to skin a cat's hair off its body.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Bad guys, like most people, aren't big on checking the details in legal documents, which makes fine print a powerful weapon for a spy. Altering information on subsection 10 of a title deed may not be very exciting, but when that information makes a loan shark look like a cop, it can be as deadly as a bullet.

• Michael Westen : [in Trey character]  Oh. Okay, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I see what's happening. You're trying to cut out the middleman. Don't look a gift horse in the teeth.

  Carter : You mean "mouth."

  Michael Westen : No, I think it's "teeth." Point is, you never cut out Trey.

  Carter : I'm not cuttin' ya out. I'll call you when I have your money.

  Michael Westen : Look, Trey is not leaving...

  Carter : [pulls a gun]  I just detailed this car. I don't want to have to detail it again.

  Michael Westen : Trey is leaving.

• Wallace : Why are you trying to blow town?

  Michael Westen : [in Trey character]  No, no, no, no, no. I just- D-don't shoot the guy with the message, all right?

• Michael Westen : [in Trey character]  Oh, you're trying to blame me? That's like the kettle insulting the pot.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  It takes a combination of factors to create the fog of war on a battlefield. But spies know even a single weapon can be a serious distraction. It's hard not ot look where someone's firing, and gunshots ar edisorienting, especially at close range.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  When you're running an official operation, the mission is over when your superiors say it is. Documents are locked away to a basement vault, and you walk away. When you're investigating events from your own life, it's harder to turn the page. Even if you've read a file 10 times, it might still hold a secret.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Gaming facilities provide a natural habitat for loan sharks who are always hunting for gamblers who need a quick buck at a bad rate. As long as they don't turn on each other, they're at the top of the food chain.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Stalling someone with a car accident is about calibrating the perfect amount of impact. You don't want to cause major injury or create a massive scene. You just need enough contact to keep your target from leaving right away. And it's all about the timing. You want to make *them*... hit *you*.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  One of the most powerful techniques in a spy's arsenal is accusing a bad guy of being a good guy. Your enemy's associates dispatch their version of justice faster than any law-enforcement agency, but they're often more ruthless. Of course, that's the same reason that spies live in fear of the day they accidentally accuse one of the good guys... of being a good guy.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  When people ware whipped into a murderous frenzy, standing between them and their target can get you killed. To stay in the game, you have to seem just as crazy as everyone else... You have to come up with a reason you need to stay close and the target needs to stay alive.

• Nate Weston : Hey, Mike, I need to talk to you for a minute. It's not about the Charger. Fi told me that you were having trouble getting by some stuff.

  Michael Westen : I don't want a lecture, Nate.

  Nate Weston : Well, I'm not lecturing you. Just saying I know a thing or two about addiction.

  Michael Westen : So you think I'm addicted to dealing with the people who burned me?

  Nate Weston : Look, I told you why I left Vegas. I didn't tell you when I decided.

  [Nate pauses] 

  Nate Weston : Charlie was born 11:42 on a Thursday morning. You know where I was at 11:42? I was at the Horseshoe, because I was up 700 bucks and I couldn't leave the table. And that was it for me. That was - that was rock bottom. I'm not telling you to stop doin' what you're doin', all right? Now, no one can make you stop - not until you're ready. And it doesn't look like you're ready.

  Michael Westen : What do you think I should do, Nate?

  Nate Weston : I think you should see this through. Right? I mean, either you're gonna find out that you're crazy, or maybe this thing with you getting burned isn't over. Either way, it's gonna hurt.

• [last lines] 

  [thunder crashes, waking up Fiona, who notices Michael isn't in bed with her, he's standing at a table with a lamp] 

  Fiona Glenanne : Michael.

  [she gets up...] 

  Fiona Glenanne : Hey.

  [... and walks over, discovering he's looking through his files again] 

  Fiona Glenanne : You said you shredded those.

  Michael Westen : I didn't actually say that. *You* said that. I just didn't correct you. I'm sorry, Fi. I just- I found a thread, and when I pulled at it...

  Fiona Glenanne : Michael, I'm... worried.

  Michael Westen : Fi, I'm not losing my mind. As the CIA was rounding up all the people who burned me, I kept thinking all my questions would be answered. But look at this. There are just a lot of inconsistencies. Just little things, you know: fuel receipts and docking papers, money transfers to *nowhere*. I answer one question, another pops up.

  Fiona Glenanne : You're never gonna answer all the questions, Michael. There'll always be another thread to pull. You have to move on.

  Michael Westen : I know. I will. I just need to take one more look. Just one more look, Fi.

  Fiona Glenanne : [sighs]  Look, come to bed, Michael. We'll look at these together tomorrow.

  Michael Westen : [absentmindedly]  Okay, I'll be right there.

  [Fiona eyes him a moment, then goes back over to the bed and lies down in a seductive pose] 

  Fiona Glenanne : Come to bed.

  Michael Westen : [still working]  I'll be right there.

  [thunder crashes] 

• Sam Axe : Hey, Mikey, how you doing? Got you a gift.

  Michael Westen : You got me gift.

  Sam Axe : Yeah. Let me tell ya, you're a tough guy to shop for. I mean, what do you get for the guy who basically has... nothing? Anyway, try that.

  Michael Westen : A gift certificate for a massage.

  Sam Axe : Best spa in Miami, the Mist at the Darabont Hotel. There's a five month waiting list, unless you have an in with the owner.

  Fiona Glenanne : Sam's new girlfriend.

  Michael Westen : You have a new girlfriend?

  Sam Axe : Elsa and I don't use labels, Mike. Except "Boy Toy." Ha! She calls me "Boy Toy." Ha ha. Anyway, this spa is so relaxing, they got to bring in a defibrillator to wake you up when your done. Might help you with your little

  [whistles] 

  Sam Axe : .

  Michael Westen : You told him, Fi?

  Fiona Glenanne : That you're obsessing over the people who burned you even though they're either dead or in jail? I might have mentioned it.

  Sam Axe : We've always known you've been a little crazy, but we just don't want you going crazy-crazy.

  Michael Westen : Sam, I'm fine. It's just nightmares.

  Fiona Glenanne : Well, they're a little more than that. You attacked a man who was about to pull a teddy bear on you.

  Michael Westen : [to Fiona]  I told you I spotted him three times.

  [to Sam] 

  Michael Westen : I couldn't take the risk. It was a mistake.

  [to both] 

  Michael Westen : I'm fine.